My Little Ragnarök: Vermintide

Chapter 4

Shadows in the Dark

   There was a reason why Canterlot survived the Skaven invasion without a scratch; Grey magic. There was a charm in the castle that shielded it from Skaven attack. The magic is strangely weak now, but there's still a change to strengthen the grey spell and maybe even get some answers on how the Skaven came in the first place. Twilight and her friends entered the castle with keen eyes. There were still aware that SOME of the Skaven had slunk their way into some of the chambers. "We'll have to split up," Twilight suggested, "I'll check the throne room. You girls take a look in the other rooms." They dispersed, and the search began.

   Applejack looked in the bedrooms. Not much was inside, but a simple hair brush in one of the rooms. Fluttershy checked the gardens. The animals were still a little nervous at the sight of her, but she felt shame to herself on looking at them. Both could very well remember what happened in the Grand Galloping Gala. Rainbow Dash searched the observatory. There was a little bit of blood on one of the telescopes. Has there been a Skaven attack in here? Rarity looked in the library. She found an open book lying on the floor and went over for a closer look. "I wonder if THIS was what summoned the Skaven here," she thought to herself. Pinkie Pie looked into the ball room. It was rather quiet and dark. Of course, all she could find was a cake. She couldn't resist the temptation and chowed down on it.

   In the throne room, Twilight looked at the stained glass windows as she walked down the hall. Each panel represented a moment in history when she and her friends have conquered evil. One showed them using the Elements of Harmony to defeat Nightmare Moon, another pictured Twilight's coronation into the princess she was now. When she reached the end of the hall, she saw no one there! "They escaped," she thought to herself, "What a relief." Twilight looked around the empty room. She was all by herself in this quiet, cold chamber. No pony was there, and not a single sound was heard. "Alright," Twilight called out, "I've come all this way for the truth. So I want to know, right now, what's going on."

   Then, suddenly, Twilight heard a voice calling back to her saying one word; "JUSTICE." Twilight turned fast, and from behind, she saw three silhouettes. They soon came closer to her, one step after another, until they came into full view. Twilight knew them straight away. Three unicorns; Two were mares, and one was a stallion. There names were Goldcap, Zappityhoof, and Decepticolt. "So," Twilight said, "We meet again." "And what perfect timing too," replied Decepticolt, "It's been a while, hasn't it?" "Sucks that we had to interrupt your alone time, Princess," smirked Zappityhoof, "But do you remember us?"

   Twilight thought hard. She knew them from SOMEWHERE, but she wasn't sure. Then, a picture of Rainbow Dash's wings came into her mind. So, THAT was it! Now she knew. "Well?" Decepticolt asked, "Do you?" "...Yes," Twilight answered, "I remember you three." "We thought so," Zappityhoof chuckled, "We're the ponies you zapped on the butts." "Just so you know," Goldcap added, "The four of us here have unfinished business." "I... DID zap you, didn't I?" Twilight giggled, sheepishly. "Oh, don't be so stupid, you snobby Alicorn overlord!" said Decepticolt, in a sly tone, "You obviously have wings, like WE should've had." Twilight started looking cross. "Of course," she said, "THAT must be why you tried to steal my friend's wings to begin with." "We don't care about what you think we did," snapped Zappityhoof, "We deserved our wings! And you took our opportunity away from us."

   Twilight kept silent. This time, she thinks there's a connection between them and the Skaven. "That's exactly why all this bloodshed is happening, Twilight," said Decepticolt, "We want REVENGE." At that moment, it dawned on her; these three convict unicorns had unleashed the Skaven onto Equestria! "You've done this..." Twilight said, "All the Skaven, the rats... It was all you!" "Congratulations," Zappityhoof joked, "You're twice as smart as we thought you were." "You wanted to take me and the princesses," Twilight continued, "So you can dominate Equestria!" "You brought it on yourself," cackled Goldcap. "You all deserve imprisonment in Tartarus for this!" Twilight said, angrily. "We'll drag you down there ourselves kicking and screaming," grinned Decepticolt, "if we have to."

   A Skaven war horn! the pack was coming! Soon, Twilight could see rat men bursting through the doors. Twilight quickly flew up and escaped the first charge, landing right behind the army. She blasted her magic missiles at the rate of a machine gun, clearing out most of the Skaven. Soon, it was just Twilight and the criminals. The three started their attack first, Twilight dodged. When Twilight attacked, the three unicorns dodged. "Give it up, you overpowered princess!" laughed Decepticolt, "We'll win one way or another!" Twilight just stood her ground, not moving. "Don't be so sure," she said, softly, as her horn started to glow brightly, "I told you before, but I'll remind you once more; I made friends, learned well, and studied hard. THAT was how I earned my wings." As she spoke, her horn glowed at it's brightest. At that moment, the three criminals had no chance of escape. "And all you did," she ended, with her magic at full power, "was misuse your magic for your own gain." Then, she leaned her head back and suddenly cocked it down as her horn released a massive, awesome blast of magic directly at the shrieking unicorns, sending them flying.

   As her horn cooled down, Twilight walked slowly towards the three bodies. To her relief, all three were okay. "Sweet mother of Celestia," she thought to herself, "That could've killed them!" When the unicorns came to, Twilight spoke to them. "Tell me," she said, softly yet firm, "You brought the Skaven here. Perhaps you could send them back?" "What good can we do about this?" smirked Decepticolt, coughing, "We just opened the book. The leader of this operation is OBVIOUSLY the Skaven Grey Seer." "Where is he now?" Twilight asked. "As far as we know," answered Zappityhoof, "He could've very well made his home in Ponyville Town Hall." "You're gonna have to fight him near his lair," added Goldcap, "He's like the mad genius of the Skaven, and he doesn't voluntarily put himself at risk." "Thank you," Twilight said, and she walked off. As she walked away, The three started to get up. "This... isn't over..." said Decepticolt. Clearly, they STILL haven't changed. They started to blast their magic in the direction of the princess! Poomf! To their disappointment, nothing happened. Once again, Twilight temporarily disabled them from using magic. "Oh, not again..." Decepticolt sighed. The other two just groaned. Twilight has won again. And this time, the three delinquents have the royal Canterlot Guard to deal with, should they ever find them.