Interlude – History Insight II

The sleigh glided gracefully over the fresh snow. Reindeer pulling it tirelessly continued uphill, leaving their hoof prints behind. The two colts sitting inside the sledge were immersed in their conversation, too eager to notice the slight inclination.

“Man, that gives me shivers! Put on your goddamn coat, or you’ll freeze!” Said the one robed in a thick fur. He shook his head to get the snowflakes out of his mane.

“Whatever. Better die bare than wear this monstrosity.” Kamina pushed the coat as far as possible to the left. “How the hell do you know it’s Christmas anyway?” He slid in his seat and put his forehooves behind his head.

“I don’t, alright? But it’s snowing and it seemed convenient. I can’t believe you people don’t have this tradition back where you came from.” The colt sneered.

Kamina shrugged and turned the topic against him: “About generosity, you’re the one who got himself a frickin’ castle this year, so...”

“And a neat baron title too! Ain’t I awesome, huh?! Besides, I am the one who had ended the bloody war, so I think I deserve it after all!”

“Say that again!” Kamina bellowed. “You fought in that war for more than two centuries. I found you, saved your ass like five times and only then was the war miraculously over! Ain’t that a coincidence?!”

The colts gazed with a scowl and snarled at each other for a minute, their snouts dangerously close. Then, at the same time, they burst out in laughter.

“Oh man, you almost got me this time.” Baron wiped off the tear from his eye.

Their schoolgirl-like giggle still echoed through the forest when they reached the castle.

Twilight glared absent-mindedly at the scenery darting by. She propped her head up with a hoof and counted houses engraved in the countryside out of boredom. It has been two days already and Twilight couldn’t bring herself to sleep. Not due to train’s continual rattle, but because what Kamina did. ‘Isn’t he the actual villain? He could persuade the captain to say those things about Celestia in front of me.’ For all that she knew, the colt schemed ahead and the whole train station affair could be a stage play.

In one single moment, she remembered all those looks they exchanged. The fire in his eyes spoke of no inner hatred or vengeance. Instead, it shone with determination and had a certain enigma of nobleness wrapped around it, something she haven’t encountered yet and could not identify. Pinkie Pie was a murderer. He had his chance to kill her and she still lived. Rainbow Dash too. Twilight sat quietly and wondered about Kamina’s actions, seeking answers from the orange-dyed sky.

It wasn’t long before she discovered what was wrong. Her mind was aware of every second, minute and hour. ’How could I not notice this before?’ For the last two sleepless nights, the moon has disappeared. The sun changed its color. Her doubts of Kamina washed away as she prayed for Luna’s safety. ‘Assuming she’s not Nightmare Moon by now.’ She could only imagine the terrible consequences if Celestia decided that the sun would never set again.

The fact that today was not the case brought relief. Third night without moon felt unnatural. The mare cocked her head to side when she saw the empty glass on the table. Her stomach growled and she felt thirsty, too. She turned to the door and knocked.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” She asked curiously.

“Yes, it’s opened.” The door slid inside the wall. There was a royal guard standing at the entry. She immediately frowned.

“Hasn’t it crossed your mind to at least bring me something to eat?” Twilight scolded him. His mouth opened and eyes narrowed in excuse:
“I...” He gasped. ”I’m sorry. The commander ordered us to guard the Elements and change shifts. He said that aside from Loyalty, Laughter and Honesty, everypony else will secure their daily meals.”

She trotted out of her coupe. The royal backed off.

“T-the dining room is this way.” He clumsily pointed down the corridor. Twilight ran and angrily kicked the door to the other wagon. She found the Commander and two royals laughing at a dinner table over some hay salad. Fluttershy and Rarity sorrowfully munched on their daisy sandwiches at the other table nearby.

“What the hell!? You just sit here and stuff your stomach with hay while I’m starving to death? Go buck yourself!” She yelled.

“B-b-but what’s the problem? I unlocked your compartment once the station was out of sight. We thought you was-… weren’t hungry.” He replied in panic.

Twilight put her hooves over her face. She just wanted to cry. The reasons he wasn’t in charge of the royal guard became apparent. Alas, how could he even be a deputy to Shining Armor was a great mystery to her. She just grabbed a stack of sandwiches and walked over to her friends. When she saw Rarity’s frightened expression however, she continued to the far side of the wagon and nestled in the corner.

By the time she was full, everypony else had already left. She wavered a moment. The table was covered in sauce and crumbs covered the seats next to her. Hunger got the best of her. ‘Rarity would not approve.’ She carefully pulled herself from the table and ran back for the coupe, leaving the big mess behind. On the way, she stumbled across Irongate.

“L-lady Sparkle, I… I want to apologize. I made sure you’ll be informed of everything. We’re arriving to Trottingham tomorrow. So… good night.”

“Alright, thank you. Good night.” She dismissed him. The folding bed was already prepared for her when she returned. She accepted its warm embrace and slept, undisturbed by the train as she adapted to its clamor over the three days.

Sunrays woke Twilight up in the morning, their touch felt extraordinary hot upon her coat. She shook the blanket off her and drew the curtains. She stayed wallowing in the bed, staring at the ceiling with a blank look. Her peaceful rest got interrupted hours later, around noon, when the train began to brake and a loud knock stroke against the door.

“Time to get up. We’re in Trottingham.” Commander’s rasping voice sounded from the other side.

‘Oh really? Who would’ve thought…’ She stood up tiredly. “Yes, I’m coming.”

Outside, she joined Fluttershy and Rarity, who were standing by their baggage, although they still refused to talk to her. The commander approached them again with a map and a note.

Twilight skipped through it quickly and summed for her friends: “We’ve been reserved rooms in one of the hotels here, apparently. I suggest to head there first, so we can check in and accommodate.”

“Uhm, o-okay, we’re right behind you.” Fluttershy nodded and turned to Rarity. Then, she gently nuzzled the mare’s snout with hers, whispering to her. Rarity forced herself to smile faintly. Twilight raised an eyebrow. Confused, she shrugged in her mind.

The tree ponies entered the Marebourne hotel after half an hour of walking through the busy streets. They were advised to avoid the main ones by the commander, as the news spread fast and every intersection was blocked due to heavy traffic. This city, albeit it did not appear like it on the first sight, was too overwhelmed by chaos.

The colt at reception handed them keys without questioning, since their reservations were of Very Important Pony status. Each of them had been arranged their own room and Twilight welcomed this setting; staying around Rarity wouldn’t be much of a win right now. She only unpacked things necessary for the night and left for the lobby. There, she waited for the royal guard deputy.
According to her expectation, he arrived alone to inform her of the situation.

“So, where have you been, commander?” She asked with a slightly provoking tone.

“I...- making myself useful of course!” He stepped up for her challenge with stupid pride. “We now have full cooperation of both the local city guard and police. They can line up on my orders immediately if you ask.”

She widened her eyes in surprise a little, but it went unnoticed by the robust colt: “Well, I am impressed."

‘So, Kamina can inspire anypony after all.’ She smiled.

“Th-thank you, miss Sparkle. Also, lord Kamina has contacted us.”

“Kamina? What did he say?!” She exclaimed, taken by the mere mention of his name.

“N-nothing. I mean we haven’t had the chance to answer to him. The stone he gave us started to flicker an-and… I thought you’d like to be present.”

“Alright, lead the way!” She spurted with enthusiasm.

“Well, actually…” He let out a dumb laugh as the two royal unicorns trotted through the front door.

‘You’re overdoing this, commander. Kamina at least has style.’ She had to admit to herself.

Back in her room, one of the guards pulled out a crystal similar to Kamina’s. Instead of a burning emerald however, this was a fine genuine diamond. The unicorn put the sparking jewel on the table, and he and his colleague focused their magic against it. ‘These crystals. How does he get them? Where?’ Twilight couldn’t pass over the fact that some lunatic had access to permanently enchanted items while the greatest minds in Canterlot failed to figure out the right technique to create them. The diamond activated and a projection of a well-known grin appeared on the wall.

“You know how to take some time to respond, huh?” Kamina groaned on the commander. He swept his eyes carelessly around the room, but suddenly, he gasped. Twilight knew she heard it, yet it went unnoticed by others. She examined the setting around him. White bubbly walls gave up the location on first sight. ‘Cloudsdale.’

“What’s the situation there, lord Kamina?” The royal asked.

“Guys, you wouldn’t believe the shit that’s gone down in the past three days. First, you guys,” He pointed at the guards, “are all fired. Apparently, Her Majesty declared you traitors to the crown. Any guard who joined the rebellion is dismissed of his duties and is to be hunted down. Not like the others have had a choice though. They’ve been hexed by a mind-controlling spell and I can only free the captured.”

“Wait, what the hay are you talking about? Her Majesty? Crown?! What’s going on?” Twilight spoke up with a startled voice.

“Yup. You heard me. Empress Celestia crowned herself and proclaimed a shining new future for Equestria.” His indifferent tone made it sound like a forecast.

“But we are not going to let that happen of course.” Another voice, melodic and strongly familiar, sounded from the crystal. Princess Luna trotted into sight. She grandiosely tossed her mane to the side and revealed a banner she carried, a full moon with three capital letters NLR written unto it.

“Oh man, that must've looked totally rad from their point of view! Brohoof, Luna!” The illustrious clink of hooves colliding sealed the two’s little spectacle.

“Tell me, what do you think of making this place a republic? You’ll get a parliament, a voting right and so on! Believe in me, democracy is awesome!”

“I don’t understand a single word you just said.” Twilight retorted, trying not to look surprised. ‘He got Luna too? Why does everypony like him so much? Well, at least now I know she’s safe.’ She glanced at Kamina and reconsidered. ‘On second thought, maybe not so safe after all.’

“What are you doing in Cloudsdale again anyways?!” She snapped out of her reflection.

“Hah! After you left, we tried to evacuate Ponyville, you know, mares n’ foals. But, we’ve been attacked by Canterlot army while doing that. However, since I am such great strategist and one hell of a tactician, we succeeded to both win the battle and get those fillies out of town.” He gave Twilight a firm, meaningful look: “With ZERO casualties.”

Luna’s expression grew serious and she continued: “I managed to escape out of Canterlot the next day. Sister was so angry she got distracted enough for me to slip from the dungeon. We’ve been pressing on them hard and we are closing onto the city each day.”

“As for Cloudsdale, we reached a stalemate. Three of the four royal families here are fighting for Celestia, because they were the one running the Rainbow Factory. Even with the pegasi from the Night Guard, it’s taking more time than expected. They are entrenched pretty deep, so we have to liberate the city house by house.”

“You still haven’t said what happened. Who is our true enemy in this?”

“Now now, be patient. You’ll get all your answers in Wingesburg, the castle on the outskirts of Flankstad. That’s where you’re headed after all.” He let out a slight giggle, as if he couldn’t hold it and was about to burst laughing out loud. Twilight, angered by this answer, scolded him with an unpleasant frown. She was ready to protest more, but a loud crack coming from the transmission cut her off.

“We gotta end it up here, guys.” Kamina whispered, pointing his hooves in different directions, silently giving orders to soldiers not visible on the broadcast. “One last thing, the actual reason I called: A division of Celestia's royal guards left the castle right after your departure. I have no doubt they are on your trail. Use Trottingham defenses well,” he addressed the commander, “and best of luck to you.”

“There he is! Atta-“ The audio turned off and the projection slowly faded. The hotel room went quiet for a moment, Irongate and Twilight staring at each other. He took the opportunity to leave in a hurry: “It seems we have to prepare for a battle. We need to find a place for the Elements to hide.” He nodded to the two unicorns before storming out into the hallway.

One of them promptly followed while the other packed the crystal and approached Twilight: “Miss Sparkle, have you ever been in Trottingham before? It is for sure a modern city, but before it grows, every Equestrian city has to start as a small settlement. Trottingham is no exception. The skyscrapers you see today have been built on old foundations. Please, come with me.”

She trotted cautiously behind the unicorn, because she felt something about him was strange. His calm, enigmatic voice made her magically attracted to him and the manner he spoke resembled the one of the higher society. She studied him on the way to the elevator. His golden armor covered most of his body and blended good with his cream coat. The straight, light brown mane was curiously similar to her own, but shorter. It matched his eyes in color and seemed well maintained. ‘He is kind of handsome.’ She pointed out to herself, but quickly discarded the girly thought.

“Hmm? Is there anything you wanted to ask?” He smiled with suspicion when he caught her inquisitive look.

“It-it's nothing. I don't suppose I've seen you before?” She reflected, startled, and entered the lift cabin.

“That is possible. After all, your brother is the captain of the royal guard.” He pressed the button for the lowest floor.

“Where are we going?”

“As I was saying, some of the buildings in this city are quite aged. There are lodgings which haven’t been attended to or visited in decades.” The lift stopped and they walked out into the dark basement. Without a word, he led her through several rooms and to a stairway. He used magic to emit light from his horn, so they could descend safely to yet another corridor, with feeble timber door at its end. Unclosed, it poured a wave of moist, murky air onto them and Twilight coughed. The guard lit up some candles on the nearby table, which in turn revealed several chairs scattered around the chamber.

“This will be your hiding place. Please wait here while I return for the other Elements.” He left her alone in the gloomy room. She levitated a chair to her and allowed herself some rest. His return took longer than expected and instead of lingering, she cast telekinesis again. Carefully, she set the chairs one by one with unnecessary focus and detail, creating a perfect circle.

Finally, the door opened again and the unicorn trotted in with some of the other guards. He moved two of the chairs further to the darkness. ‘Damn it!’ Twilight groaned inwardly over the lost work she'd done. The duo of prisoners was brought in first and strapped tightly to the chairs. The next pony who walked in was Honesty. “Applejack!” Twilight shouted in surprise, but the cowpony carried on without a response, and sat down quietly. After her, Fluttershy with Rarity came inside and toppled to the chairs they were ordered to.

“They’re here.” The royal colt stated. “Celestia's army, I mean. Listen, if they find you down here, you must protect the elements. You're the only one who can. So feel free to prepare some offensive spells.” He winked and the room enshrouded in darkness again.

Twilight sighed and ensconced on the last available free seat. The waiting was terrible. There was no way to kill time in that dark room, and in return, time was quite literally killing her from the inside. A mind of a bright scholar has its cons, and the inability to shut it down as you like is one of them. The stillness of the cellar allowed her to think freely, which, given the available topics, was outright painful. She reacted to this subconsciously, filling her heart with disturbing emptiness again.

Twilight’s thoughts were chaotic, random, and the strands of time flew by, unacknowledged by the confused mare. The commander stormed in some hours later, right after a little quarrel the pink demon started. A quick escort later, Twilight found herself back in the lobby, strangely, without her friends.

“They retreated for now, but I am sure the full force is yet to come down upon us.” He explained to her. “I must find more colts, because the city guard won’t be enough.”

She remained silent and let him off to his concerns. ‘You go make yourself a city militia. I just need some rest.’ She could feel the warmth of her bed already on the way to her premises. Before entering her room, she stopped. An envelope lied at its doorstep, unopened. Picking it up, she tore the white paper and read:

‘You want your answers? I have them all. Meet me at the train station in fifteen minutes. Bring generosity and kindness.’

Twilight gasped and revised the note once more. It was clearly written in hurry, yet still with care and elegance. The craving was here since the night she went out to buy ink, but today, it helped her to overcome her rational side. She NEEDED the answers. ‘Let’s do it the Kamina way, right? It always works for him.’ She let out an unstable giggle and her pupils narrowed into tiny dots, somewhat reminiscent of one specific, unrelated accident with a pony doll.
Fluttershy had no time to respond as Twilight dragged her off the couch. Rarity woke to the loud crash the purple unicorn made when she broke the door, and now sat wearily in Fluttershy’s bed. “So you two were having a sleepover?” Twilight laughed. “Saves me time I guess!”

“W-what is it now, Twilight?” Rarity bawled at her resentfully. She was about to complain more, but got interrupted by a flash coming out of Twilight’s horn. Rarity realized both she and Fluttershy were being lifted to the air, and before they could react, the magic tossed them through the window into the warm night.

Rarity was falling out of the 9th floor of a hotel and her chances looked pretty grim. She could see Twilight jumping after them with a grin from ear to ear and Fluttershy by her side, struggling to use her wings against the red magic shivering. She shut her eyes out of fear and awaited her death as the fall was about to reach its end. However, the impact never came.

Opening her eyes, she found herself levitating inches above the ground. Her pegasi friend was in the same situation. Twilight stepped upon the paved road, mumbling to herself: “So that’s how he does it! Interesting. Simplifies everything a lot.” She seemed to have returned to her regular state of mind, as their friends dropped down unharmed.

“What the buck were you thinking? Are you trying to get us all killed?” Rarity shouted, drawing the mare’s attention.

“I’m sorry. For everything. Rarity…” Twilight paused for a moment. “Can you ever forgive me for hitting you?” She stared directly into Rarity’s eyes, pulling off the cutest puppy face of her life.

Rarity stood in surprise for a couple of seconds, then, she offered the mare a hoof and the two embraced in a hug. “Alright, alright, I forgive you. But you have some explaining to do! First, what was this all about? I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

Twilight’s adorable apologetic look quickly disappeared and was replaced with fresh enthusiasm, the one usually coming from Pinkie Pie:

“Ha! We just needed to sneak past the royal guards at the lobby. This was the best solution at the time.” She grinned again.

“The best solu-?!”

“Anyway,” Twilight nipped in, “we must get to the train station, and fast. Since I don’t know the local streets, we’ll take the easy route.”

“What does that mean?” Rarity asked curiously.

“Fluttershy, Rarity… please, grab my tail.” Her friends exchanged confused looks, unaware of the burgundy glow on her hoofs. They reluctantly seized her tail, not knowing what to expect.

“ADVENTURE!”

In no time, the trio was back high in the air, aiming towards the train station.

“Agh! Can’t you be a little careful next time?” Rarity groaned out of pain, since they all crashed head first into the wall of the station.

“Who cares for a few bruises? I am a unicorn and I can motherbuckin’ fly! That wasn’t bad at all for my first attempt!” Twilight vaunted herself.

“No, it wasn’t. Glad you made it in time.” The same pony who led them to the cellar, the one, whose voice was so calm and mysterious, walked into the dim light of the nearby lamp. “I’m sorry to have lured you here like this, but the commander is a goddamn idiot. And Kamina too, for choosing him.”

Twilight jumped into an offensive position and slowly backed off, the horn pointed towards the unicorn. He no longer wore the armor of a royal guard; instead, a familiar black cape concealed his back. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t just fry you with a fireball right now.” She said with noticeable hostility.

“I’ve got three, actually.” The wagon behind him lit up and she gasped. Three coupes on the side, the rest of the elements enclosed in each.

“Don’t take this as a threat, though. You’re leaving a day early. Get in.

Twilight, having mixed feelings, muttered: “But… Why?”

“As I said, the commander is an idiot. That is proved by the fact I was able to sneak in his squad and order them around. Celestia’s army is already inside the city. You need to go now.”

A series of screams came from the back alleyway, signifying he was speaking the truth. The royal guards were already after them, and the commander wasn’t able to predict this night-time assault. Twilight hurriedly boarded the train after her two friends, as it started to move off. He didn’t follow them on the train.

She tried to call out to the colt, but he already turned back, no longer listening, a battle axe in his hooves. The last thing she saw before losing him from sight was his face, the mane covering his eyes, and a smirk, the same she knew only from one colt before. ‘Kamina?’ She asked herself, startled only by his brown mane and posture.

The train went swiftly, and Twilight looked from the window, just before the last turning to wilderness. It gave her a sight of a burning city and another moonless night, a day ended in bloodshed.

Author's Note

Another black cape character, not from Gurren Lagann. Second of the three anime crossovers.
Also couldn't help but sneak a Fallout Equestria reference in. I'm sorry.