The Mortal Game

by TheApexSovereign

Rating: teen
Tags: Starlight Glimmer, Original Character, Spike, Adventure, Twilight Sparkle, Main 6, Dark
Length: 6700

Beyond Equestria, there is a land where primal magic thrives and banditry is custom, and in it, a cursed stallion who can survive wounds that would kill a normal pony. This power, however it was achieved, must never, ever reach Equestria.

Since the beginning of time, Destiny paved the road to the future. Long ago, in an age forgotten, a climactic event threw nature out of balance. Inheritors of the world wrestled for control of the elements, Chaos reigned, but in time, Harmony reigned. Destiny resumed its position, and it is the immortal alicorns, gifted by the universe itself, who shine the way.

It is when individuals stray from the path of Destiny, that this gentle balance is once again threatened.

And it is in a distant corner of the world, governed by primeval magic and unbound by the common laws of her world, that Twilight Sparkle and her friends seek to free a pony cursed with the inability to die. But she will soon discover that far greater, more insidious forces are at play.

Against a backdrop of fairness and justice, victory and loss, fate and freedom, Equestria and the world it unites are forced to endure the greatest conflict in the universe:

The Mortal Game.

Proofread/Edited by Ice Colt and AlicornPriest

Published 2016-07-18 21:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-07-18 21:20:01 UTC

Prologue: By Light of Dusk

Celes

Princess Celestia,

Disharmony brews. There have been signs for months, but only now is their meaning clear. Supply lines under heavier guard. Bandit activity low. Nopony asking why. Thundersnow in the mountains. Laughter in the woods. Monsters in the water. This land has always been odd, Your Highness. Of that I do not deny. But in its madness there was always order. Tonight, that order has been disrupted. It may seem small to you at first, probably no more than an amusing happenstance. But it only takes one pluck of the thread to unweave the banner.And I fear what comes

Forgive me, my pen is shaking and already I have exceeded the length of a typical field report. This must all seem like a madpony’s drivel to you. If you have the time to read my words, allow me to explain. I must start from an hour ago, to organize my thoughts, and for you to understand.

By light of dusk, I was tracking a thief through the woods…

The hoofprints were shadowed in a sunny glow, the same that sheathed Stalwart Shield’s horn. It paid to be trained in the arts of arcane espionage, and a tracking spell was incredibly useful for hunting clumsy, stupid thieves.

The hoofprints glowed to life several feet before Stalwart’s path as he followed their rhythm, as though a gold-footed phantom guided the way to his target. Princess Celestia, he prayed, light my way. “Celestia” led him deeper into the wildwood.

Before long, the canopy had thickened to a black shroud that stirred like some great slumbering beast. The air around him was still and cool, yet Stalwart Shield knew the winds were beginning to howl, and as anypony north of the North would know, that meant a storm was on its way. He observed the dim that lay ahead, flanking his every side, grey and quiet. The trees crowded against one another, moss-bearded trunks thick enough to conceal all manner of beasts. With the night rapidly approaching, it was only a matter of time before something truly awful would make itself known. For now though, with what little daylight was on his side, Stalwart was just peachy with being observed from afar.

Trepidation had ruled his step several years ago, with eyes whizzing about in his skull, foolishly trying to catch wind of a would-be predator before it got the drop on him. Of course now he knew that the forest always had the drop on him, that he was constantly being observed from afar.

Stalwart learned long ago that he, an Equestrian, was no longer a master of nature as the rest of his kind back home. Here, he was merely a guest in this wild frontier. Learning and accepting this was paramount. Arrogance that was commonplace in his kind would have rendered even the Princess carrion for the corpse-eaters long ago.

After accepting this, one need only be afraid of the monsters bold enough to outright confront a trotter of the trees. Though in Stalwart Shield’s experience, these monsters were of the variety that prowled on four hooves, and made up in numbers what they lacked for in courage.

His belly writhed and a sweat accumulated beneath Stalwart’s jerkin as he thought of his beloved home. He could not help himself, especially on a day lonely as this. It had been far too long since he touched Equestrian soil, exchanged words with an Equestrian face or felt the Equestrian sun warm his back. The number of princesses had quintupled since Stalwart left. He had yet to meet Princess Celestia’s younger sister, nor the new princess that saved her, or the one that ruled an empire not far from the No Zone and then birthed yet another. Stalwart was unsure if he would ever get to meet them.

Oh, Princess Celestia, bemoaned the Unicorn, what I would give to hear your voice again, to bask in the radiance of your sun…

Stalwart shook his head; such thoughts might as well have been wind, pointless. He set his eyes straight ahead, into the depths of the forest as it began to weep.

Rain again. Stalwart Shield lit his horn, and a pulled a hood over his head.

=======

“Caught the bad guy for ya.”

Stalwart Shield stared at the hoofprints before him, dragging his eyes up their glimmering path where they faded before the body of a violet-coated Earth Pony, swaddled in burlap and secured with a tightly-knotted rope. A strip of cloth wrapped around his lilac-maned head, clenched firmly between his teeth. Purple eyes glared up at Stalwart, glistening in the light of a cookfire heating a pot of what smelled like potato stew.

The speaker, another Earth Pony, and near-three times the size of his captive, grinned at Stalwart with yellow teeth and a scar that scrunched against his cheek when he did. The Equestrian had trouble deciphering by light of the flame if his coat was red, or a deep orange. His mane, though, had been tied back in a ponytail, thick and brown as mud, as was the jerkin that covered his torso. Bracers covered both his forelegs, as was common among non-magical fighters north of Equestria.

“And who might you be?” Stalwart asked. He did not fail to notice a large sword propped against the root of a tree that shaded Lunk’s sparse encampment. “I can see you are well equipped for these woods.”

The commanding tone of his deep, rich voice made the Earth Pony snort like a pig. “It’d be Lunk, Sergeant.” His utterance sounded a coarse whisper.

Pleasant enough, nickname aside. Stalwart aimed to keep it that way. “You did well, Lunk. Though you are probably aware, the thief you have apprehended made off with some—”

Stalwart flinched when the heavy sack was thrown, though it landed right in front of him. A few apples and onions rolled out onto the dirt. He looked back up at Lunk, taken aback by the gift.

His eyes sparkled. “Tell Mz. Kettleblack I says hello, and that we’re sorry.” He thought for a moment, and before Stalwart could get another word in he added, “Actually, I’ll just tell ‘er myself, when we get back to Shady Copse that is.”

Stalwart rose his snout. “Oh?”

“‘Oh,’ indeed.” Lunk pointed a hoof large enough to stomp melons. “You’re going to help me and my chum out with a little problem.”

Stalwart’s eyes fell upon the gagged thief once more, then drifted back to Lunk. Is this his chum? “If it’s money you are after, then the reward is yours, friend.” He kept a friendly disposition, despite the sinister turn Lunk had suddenly taken. “I just want to see this one in chains.”

“This one?” Lunk tilted his head to the gagged pony, whose eyes shifted rapidly between his captor and the unicorn that had happened upon them. Lunk reached a hoof across his jerkin to a knife wide enough to need its own scabbard. It made a long hiss as he drew it out, clutched in the grip of his bracer.

Lunk held up his foreleg, admiring the blade equipped while its surface gleamed as though it were fresh-pulled from a forge. “Nah, he don’t do well in chains. They tried that already, you see.”

Stalwart, even living in this land as long as he has, did not possess the foresight to avert the blade from suddenly lashing out, slicing through the thief’s burlap restraints like butter, and cleaving smoothly through his flesh. He gave a short, sharp grunt in protest before all strength fled his body, and he seemingly sank deeper into the ground, a corpse with one hoof in the grave.

Stalwart closed his mouth before Lunk turned towards him, though he could do nothing to lessen the shock in his widened eyes. He wet his lips. “You should not have killed him,” declared the servant of Equestria and Harmony. Emotion stirred inside him. “You did not need to kill him.” His voice was hard.

Lunk smiled, seeming very amused with the whole scenario. “Actually,” he paused, punctuated by slamming his blade back into its scabbard, “I did.”

He was waiting for Stalwart to respond, who steadily grew in anger as he demanded, “Why?”

“You would not have believed me otherwise, Knight of Princess Celestia.”

Stalwart Shield felt his heart skip a beat. Or ten.

They know…

Driven by a furious adrenaline suddenly pulsing through his figure, Stalwart stomped back and with a single pull of magic ripped his broadsword from its scabbard.

Seven years and I’ve been found, by some wretched vagrant no less.

“Careful now you don’t hurt yourself, Ser.”

“I’m not a knight,” Stalwart admitted, a hint of bitterness in his voice. “But you will not live to tell anypony else.”

“Which is exactly why I’m not going to draw my weapon.” Lunk shrugged his enormous shoulders. “Cut me down, Southerner. My survival, it matters not. We’ll get what we want before the sun is up, I assure you.”

Stalwart drew his head back, the tip of his sword slowly descending. “You will not defend yourself?”

With a ghost of a smile, Lunk shook his head. “I’m not an idiot, and you’re not a Ser. Show us if you’re as honorable as an Equestrian knight, then.”

Stalwart had the grace not to swear; he counted upon this brute being as bloodthirsty as he appeared. Clearly, this mountain of a stallion is smarter than I gave credit for. He did not lunge forward, battle-ready, though his sword remained hovering between himself and the brigand.

“Then we are at an impasse, Mr. Lunk. You will not fight, but I ultimately cannot let you leave here, knowing what you know. Too dangerous, you see, and I have my orders.”

Lunk rose a brow, intrigued. “You would slaughter an unarmed pony?”

“Yes.” Stalwart did not hesitate. “Equestria comes before my honor. That’s understandable, is it not?” Lunk did not reply, he merely stood his ground, looking quite lethargic for a pony with a sword pointed towards them. The fire crackled on, and the leaves above trembled. “So are we to spend the rest of our night locked in an eternal staredown, or is there something to discuss?”

Lunk gave a laugh. “Neither, Equestrian. Rather, you’re going to pen a message to your Sun Goddess. Bring her here. Show her, and she will see what will happen if she doesn’t act now.”

“What will happen?”

There was shuffling to his left. Stalwart looked over, sword following. His eyes grew so wide they were dry and sore before he remembered to blink again.

The stallion whose throat was slit was now shambling about, his joints popping from long underuse as he clawed his hooves through the dirt, emerging slowly from the burlap sack. In the firelight Stalwart saw grooves line the stallion’s body: scars of all kinds, some left by blade, many by fire, with thread weaving through his skin, stitching it poorly together like some patchwork doll. The red smile on his throat opened wide and oddly dry as he bent his head back, flashing Stalwart several dark slits strewn randomly across his breast, telling the story of someone who had been stabbing away in evident desperation.

The stallion reached up with one hoof, a foreleg with stitches around its whole circumference at the elbow, to remove the cloth gagging him. Stalwart’s eyes followed the article as it fell limply to the dirt, dry and bloodless from where the thought-to-be-perished stallion fell.

When he looked up, his gaze was greeted by one of dullness, hope, and a little, tiny flicker of sadistic glee, which reached into the smile he gave as he sincerely replied in a low, posh lilt,

“Everypony will be like me.”

The Mortal Game
Written by TheApexSovereign

I - A Sunny Day in Equestria

Spike twiddled with his claws, wringing them one at a time until he heard a knuckle give a short, sharp pop. A nervous habit he developed after the whole Sombra affair, with Twilight urging him not to touch anything throughout the whole ordeal. She tried to get him to stop, saying his knuckles would swell up, and when he’s all grown be the size of hot air balloons. But how could he help himself now? When the Cutie Map called upon his friends to come here of all places, the worst he was expecting was some sibling spat between the Royal Sisters.

This was a whole other league entirely.

“That’s… horrifyin’,” said Applejack, her voice quiet. Her fellow ponies looked somberly to those at their sides, ears flat against their heads.

A few ponies nestled deeper into their sitting pillows, only briefly stirring the quiet. The quarters of Princess Celestia were as serene and pure as the royal tenant herself, as she lived so high up in her kingdom that nature seldom reached her—the rustling of leaves, the chirping of birds being most notably absent. Equestria had recently settled into spring, therefore her fireplace remained still as the grave.

When Twilight Sparkle finally broke the silence, the suddenness of her voice made a white unicorn and yellow pegasus jump a bit, despite its softness. “Is that all there is?”

Princess Celestia, her height doubled that of the younger alicorn, even while lying on her stomach, only nodded her head once. “Unfortunately. The individual who calls himself Patriot is quite protective of the nature of his condition,” she explained, no longer reading from the open journal floating beside her. “As Stalwart Shield reports, he did just as Patriot asked. They returned to the town in which he resides, and immediately set upon writing me this message. Neither of them had eaten, Stalwart claiming he had lost his appetite for the night and Patriot saying he hasn’t fed in about twenty years.” In the perpetual quiet of her space, the softness of the princess’s voice felt loud as a dragon’s holler. Her words carried a near-unbearable weight in the stomachs of her little subjects.

On the rightmost side of the group, Rarity swayed a bit, placing a hoof to her forehead. “This is far too much for me…” she said faintly. Fluttershy rested a comforting hoof against her foreleg.

“An’ the rest?” asked Applejack, eyebrow cocked.

“Ravings,” Celestia replied, paused, then added, “with respect to Stalwart Shield.”

“This ‘Patriot,’” Twilight pressed, “he didn’t tell Stalwart anything about what happened to him? How he got to be like this?” She thought a moment, her eyes widening slightly. “Why he took twenty years to seek help? Or why news of an immortal stallion never spread across the planet?” The absurdity of it all only served to make the young princess raise her voice the more she questioned.

Celestia answered in a low voice, one reflecting her thoughts on the matter, even if her inflection did not. “In regards to your last question, Twilight, there is a reason. But to answer your first three, I am just as in the dark as you are. My knowledge begins and ends with what Stalwart told me, in here.” She set the journal on the ground between herself and her fellow princess. “Patriot only asked for Stalwart Shield to send a letter, directly to me. But I think we can deduce a bit of information about this stallion from the actions he took.”

“Like what, Princess?” Fluttershy asked. She shuddered. “This pony just seems so, so… mean. Wouldn’t it have been easier to just go to Stalwart without scaring the poor thing?”

Beside her, Pinkie Pie was lying on her back, gesturing with her forelegs as she mused. “He makes a crazy first impression! I know I’d be all shakey-bakey like Stalwart if I met a zombie pony in the woods!”

Celestia nodded to the pink pony. “Indeed. I do not blame Stalwart for reacting in such a way. Not to mention, a pony who could never be slain is a dangerous enemy to have. But this Patriot is one for theatrics, him and his friend. And he wanted to ask Stalwart for help without actually asking him anything, merely scaring him into doing what they want.” She let them chew on that. “Anypony know why? Why would this pony who clearly desires help go through all this trouble just to make an impression?” Everypony took a moment to ponder, their eyes rolling to the ceiling. “What is a pony trying to say when putting on an act?”

“Ooh, he’s hiding it!” Of all ponies, it was Rainbow Dash who spoke, blurting out her answer as soon as it came to her. All eyes turned to the back of the group, where Rainbow sat on the edge of Princess Celestia’s bed and was turning crimson. “Err, I mean, he’s afraid... and he doesn’t want anypony knowing it.”

“Exactly, Rainbow Dash. This Patriot, for all his theatrics, is clearly afraid. He is begging me for help.”

Twilight flinched back. Silence reigned amongst the ponies, until Fluttershy announced in a quiet voice, “He’s desperate.”

“Um, Princess…” Twilight began, then hesitated. Celestia smiled encouragingly at her former student. “Well, it’s just that… hearing Stalwart’s story here and Patriot ‘knowing what he is,’ that, well, kind of makes it sound like he’s a spy.” She chuckled lightly, though it quickly died out when she noticed Celestia’s expression remained still. “Princess?”

“Yer Highness, is this Stalwart fella even in Equestria?” asked Applejack. “Pardon mah forwardness. It’s just, ah was pickin’ up on some might’ peculiar phrasin’ in his letter. ‘No Zone’? ‘Shady Copse’? None o’ that sounds like anyplace the Apple Family’s done business with.”

A reserved smile appeared on Princess Celestia’s face. “You are quite the observant pony, Applejack. Apologies, everyone, for my hesitance moments ago. Even now, concerning a situation so dire, instinct was telling me to avoid the subject altogether. Though,” her gaze shifted to the faintly-glowing marks burning on each of the ponies’ flanks, “it would be quite ridiculous to try and keep you all in the dark. Especially after everything you’ve done for Equestria.”

“Don’t worry, Princess!” said Pinkie Pie, flipping onto her stomach and sitting up on her luminous haunches. “You got nothing to worry about, we can keep a secret! Promise.” Smiling, Pinkie crossed a hoof over her heart, a gesture that finally made Celestia give a small laugh and alleviate some of the tension in the room, as all the other ponies visibly relaxed.

“I do not doubt your loyalty, little ones,” said the Princess, bowing her head. “Indeed, the land from which I have received these dark tidings, the land where Patriot awaits my reply with bated breath, and have my own personal agent keeping tabs on the goings-on within, is one that lies far beyond the reach of Equestria and her allies.”

With a pull of her magic, Celestia drew the curtains and cast the room in a comfortable dimness. She stood up and backed away, gesturing with a hoof for the ponies to remain seated when they started to get up. In the space between herself and her audience, Celestia fired a beam from her horn onto the floor, a magic ring quickly expanding from where she shot and filling the glowy visage with a three-dimensional rendering of Equestria, or at least the heart of it, with Canterlot Mountain standing proud and in center.

“I can’t imagine the Cutie Map knew where to send you,” the princess remarked.

“Actually,” Twilight said, “when everypony arrived at my castle, the Map showed all our Cutie Marks floating just around here.” She pointed a hoof to the Royal Ivory Tower of Canterlot, the highest of the palace. “It just so happens that Spike got your urgent summons almost at the exact same time. Needless to say, it was a strange coincidence.”

“That’s putting it mildly, darling!” Rarity remarked. “You almost took off for Canterlot with poor Spike still grasping the scroll!” The memory stirred laughter within the friend group while Twilight sat in the center of it, red in the face despite her bashful smile.

Smiling wide at the scene before her, Princess Celestia said, “And I thank you all for making such an impromptu visit to Canterlot, which I suppose extends to the map as well for bringing you all together.”

“No prob, Princess!” said Rainbow Dash. “Anything for Equestria!”

With that statement, the amusement in Celestia’s eyes drained, and her gaze returned to the map before her. “Yes,” she agreed quietly. She gently shook her head, only once. “Indeed,” she continued, more life in her voice, “the timing was quite the coincidence… yes. In fact, it is not one that I believe happened by chance. For you see, the map is connected to your castle, Twilight. That itself is connected to the Tree of Harmony, which is then linked to all of Equestria. To detect an anomaly beyond our lands, it’s most troubling.”

The ponies looked to one another, worried. Rainbow boasted, “Just tell us where this guy is, Princess! We’ll stop whatever he’s planning.” She beat a hoof proudly against her chest.

There was no reaction to the Pegasus pony’s heated words. Princess Celestia’s eyes gazed deep into the glowing projection, almost as if in a trance. “It is a land you have probably heard of in a bedtime story when you were fillies, once or twice,” she continued. “A land so remote, so miniscule, that hardly anypony finds it worthwhile to set out and seek. Not a single individual born in this land ever leaves its borders, and hardly any outsiders care to enter, save for a few seekers of fortune and trouble. Its contact with the outside world is kept to a minimum, and in fact, it wasn’t until recently that I’ve been able to get a set of eyes and ears within.”

With that, Canterlot Mountain and the lands around it moved downward, toward Twilight and her friends, before disappearing beyond the projection’s borders. The speed at which the land moved before them increased exponentially, a great blur turning from bright meadows to dark forests and back to meadows again, a dreadful wasteland, and then slowing down when the familiar tundra of the Frozen North brightened the room considerably. The direction of the map slowly veered towards the East, which the ponies noted would have otherwise hit the far, far northern realm of Equestria’s newest ally, Yakyakistan.

Here, Twilight Sparkle’s eyes began to widen as realization dawned on her, and one other pony in the room. “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh,” Pinkie Pie whispered-slash-squealed to herself. “Just like in Nana Pie’s stories!”

Twilight shook her head, unbelieving. “Princess Celestia, you don’t mean, this whole time you’ve had an agent stationed at… in...”

The wintry landscape of the map began to cycle by at a slower rate, and just as it had, the terrain morphed into one jagged and fierce, long claws of dark grey crags and dead stone raking at the sky, nary a hut nor pine in sight. That is until the mountains sank back into the ground some several miles later, and the land became a strong, earthy green once more.

Celestia fired another beam at the map, and the terrain began to shrink as the map pulled out, giving way to larger, wilder looking greenlands, soupy-brown bogs, further north revealing rows of mountains nearly stretching all across, swirling white fog crowning them. Further and further the map pulled back, until the deep blue of the ocean became visible on the right, overlooked by a stony shore that ran to a dark, shadowy part of the map in the farthest north, where no specific landscape could be discerned. It all formed a land that looked at least half the size of Equestria, which was not entirely impressive when looking at a map of the pony nation.

Several ponies cooed upon beholding the new land, Pinkie laughing in delight, while Twilight and Spike exchanged a look of quiet awe and nostalgia.

Princess Celestia explained for the rest. “This is a nation that has been separated from the rest of the world for millennium by ravenous snowstorms, and that deathly valley you saw before. The Dead Zone, it’s unofficially called. It is as if the land itself does not wish to make contact with the rest of us.”

Applejack pried her eyes away for a brief moment to make contact with Celestia’s. “But… what is it?”

Princess Celestia looked down at the map, her voice low. “This, my little ponies, is Kno’herre.”

“‘Kno’herre?’” Rarity echoed. “Quite an unusual name, I’ll say. I, for one, have never heard of it!”

“Neither have I,” said Applejack. Fluttershy simply shook her head, as Rainbow chimed in, “Me neither.”

“You probably have, when you were foals,” said Twilight. She levitated her pillow as she sat to spin it around and face her friends, Celestia making it around the map in a couple large strides before leaning in to listen. “As an ancient, inaccessible land legendarily seeped in primeval magic, Kno’herre was of course subject to many artists during Equestria’s own renaissance period, particularly to writers and poets. Several old timey fables that we still know today originate from these. You know, like the Headless Horse, Flutter Ponies, the Ladies of the Wood, uh, the Meat Eaters of Midnight Castle,” a gasp from Fluttershy and a “Good heaves!” curse by Rarity for that one, “tree spirits and gumblesnarks and sea dragons…”

“Tree spirits?” Fluttershy exclaimed while still maintaining her inside voice.

Rarity scrunched her nose. “Gumblesnarks?”

Rainbow smirked Twilight’s way. “And just how do you know all this, Egghead?”

Twilight smiled and even flared her wings open as she admitted with pride, “Why, I read it in a book!”

“Woah. Gimme a moment to scrape my brain off the ceiling, that was some mind-blowing revelation.”

“The Yarn of Fables, Fiction, and Romance: A Compendium, to be exact!”

“And don’t forget: giant, yummy-yammy fruit growing from big purple trees! With mountains made from milk chocolate!” Pinkie Pie didn’t bother wiping the drool from her mouth. “‘There’s nowhere like Kno’herre,’ Granny Pie always said!” Twilight couldn’t help but pair a smile with the roll of her eyes.

“Sounds fastastical,” Fluttershy commented.

“Sounds too good to be real,” added Applejack. “In mah experience those fruits are probably full o’ manure, and those mountains taste like a whole lotta dirt.”

Rarity was still grumbling, “I, for one, would like to know what a gumblesnark is.”

“A cute little animal?” Fluttershy suggested.

“One full o’ fleas an’ pests,” the farmpony insisted.

“Who knows a giant killjoy named Applejack,” joked Rainbow.

“And her best friend, Pinkie Pie!”

“Gumblesnarks aren’t real!” said Twilight. “There’s no evidence proving they exist!”

“But what is a gumblesnark?” Rarity cried.

Rainbow flew into Twilight’s face, her expression firm. “They are so totally real, Egghead!”

The stupidity of that statement was enough to make the princess gasp. “You didn’t even know what Kno’herre was until three minutes ago!”

“But I know what a gumblesnark is, I’m looking at the queen of them right now.”

“Just because I could potentially be the queen of the gumblesnarks, doesn’t mean that I’m actually their queen or that they’re even real!”

The ponies fell silent.

Rainbow landed all four hooves on the ground. She blinked, her mouth struggling to form words. “Wait, huh?” she managed to say. “Was I, like, accidentally right?” A laugh from Princess Celestia, soon joined by Twilight’s snickering, did away with her confusion. Now she pouted. “Har har, nice one. Score one for Her Royal Nerdiness,” Rainbow performed a mock bow, “Twilight Sparkle.”

The Princess of Friendship was undeterred. “I prefer Her Royal Cleverness, or maybe Her Royal Learnedness?” She tapped a hoof to her chin in deep thought. Spike was just shaking his head in embarrassment. “Actually, Her Royal Harmonious sounds pretty cool, and it makes sense too, given our connection with the Elements. I wonder if I could patent that title?”

Rainbow regarded Twilight with a flat stare. But just as she was opening her mouth to reply, Pinkie remarked with blunt joy, “Nope! Nerdiness sounds just about right!”

The six friends burst into laughter, completely overpowering Twilight’s grouchy hollering that quickly died off when she noticed her former mentor smothering a few royal chuckles with the back of her hoof. “Never revel in your victories, Twilight,” the young princess cynically muttered.

“Got that right, Gumblesnark. Only I can.” Rainbow drifted lazily in the air, lying on her back with her hooves folded behind her head.

“I’m still wondering if even half of these myths Twilight and Pinkie Pie are mentioning have any merit to them,” said Rarity. She looked up at Princess Celestia. “You say Stalwart Shield is there? Surely he knows what is fact and what is fiction, yes?”

The princess smiled knowingly. “A bit. But you ponies will have to find your own answers… and mine.” And with that, Princess Celestia floated the journal into Twilight’s waiting forelegs.

The young princess looked down, gazing softly at the sun printed on its cover, before meeting the now-solemn gaze of Princess Celestia. “You... mean for us to go to Kno’herre?”

It was a simple question, spoken softly by a pony who on any other day was so outgoing and confident. Princess Celestia’s expression wilted, something that made several ponies in the room look to her with concern. “When the disharmony that’s beginning to stir is so great, that the Tree of Harmony can sense it outside of Equestria… I must admit, whatever looms from this Patriot is quite worrying.

“You all must understand the gravity of this undertaking. On his own, one pony does not seem like much. But immortality is gifted to alicorns for a reason, they have proven their worth of receiving it and are deemed capable of dealing with the responsibilities that go with it. And even then, we princesses are not invincible. A pony who can never die is an antithesis to Harmony itself, and everything our guild stands for. This power, this, and pardon my harsh language little ones, this bastardized shape of immortality must never, ever reach Equestria. If this curse were to spread beyond just one pony, the right pony, well… the results could no doubt be catastrophic for this fragile balance we have in the world.”

The ponies were given a moment to chew on this. Several glanced to those at their sides, Spike leaning into Twilight’s barrel, hugging himself. He started wringing his fingers between the crook of his arms now.

“I understand, Princess Celestia.” The ponies all turned with interest mixed with surprise, towards their soft-spoken friend, Fluttershy. The pegasus sat in her huge pillow, wings drooping slightly as did the ears on either side of her head. “To never pass on, unable even if you wanted to, it’s horrible. It’s against nature. It’s… scary.” Her mane fell over one eye as she shrank back. “No creature should have to suffer like that, especially this poor Patriot. I must admit… I, well, I was a bit nervous at first, believe it or not. But now I’ve decided: I want to help Patriot, even if I have to go on the other side of Equis to do it.” She smiled weakly at Princess Celestia, whom returned the gesture tenfold, making Fluttershy blush proudly.

Spike’s eyes shone as he gazed upon this surprising source of courage. So much so that he couldn’t help but give his shy friend a thumbs up, ceasing his current knuckle-popping. “So,” he began cockily, looking to the others, “anypony want to back down after hearing that?” Fluttershy turned red for Spike’s appraisal, but smiled proudly despite herself.

But Princess Celestia spoke up before anyone else could. “Not so fast, Spike. While it would be irresponsible of me as a Princess of Equestria not to ask this of you, as a friend… I cannot force any of you to uproot your lives for such an indiscernible amount of time. Many of you have careers, families to consider.”

“Yeah, what about Rares and Ah?” asked Applejack. “We got our families, our businesses… near-everypony else here’s got themselves a job.”

“Aw, I’m sure Mr. and Mrs. Cake will understand!” said Pinkie Pie. “It is the fate of Equestria hanging in the balance after all! I just hope the little-wittle twins can get another sitter as funeriffic as I am.”

“Same with Spitfire.” Rainbow Dash gave her princess an assuring grin. “I mean, except for the babysitting stuff. But I’m pretty sure the captain of the Wonderbolts will understand if I had to take a month or so off to save Equestria. So… yeah! You can count on me, Princess!”

“She can count on all of us, Dash,” Applejack growled. Everypony looked to their friend with concern. She at the very least had the grace to sigh for her outburst before explaining, “Of course y’all can count on me. Ah’m willin’ to go to the ends of Equestria if it meant keepin’ mah kin safe. But… beyond that? With zap apple season comin’ right up, and cider season after that? And fer… fer what exactly? The land o’ giant mushrooms and grumble-whathaveyous, where there’s this random pony who ain’t even particularly friendly-like causin’ a fuss cuz he can take an extra buck to the face?”

Princess Celestia bowed her head. “I understand completely, Applejack.”

“‘Course you do,” the farmpony whispered under her breath. She ignored the shocked-turned-fiery glare sent by Twilight.

“The crown is prepared to compensate for any losses you may receive. I wouldn’t ask you all to just abandon your livelihoods for free, after all.”

“‘Course, ‘course,” Applejack continued to mutter.

“Compensation? How generous,” said Rarity with a smile. “Though I would still ask one of my employees in Manehattan to hold the fort here in Ponyville. Miss Bobbin, perhaps. Fashion is a restless filly, after all.”

“Buck it all to Dodge an’ back. Ah’m in.” Applejack, whose hat was by her side the entire time, was then placed firmly atop her head. She ignored the look of concern Rainbow and Twilight gave her, instead tipping her stetson so it shaded her eyes.

The young princess realized she was the only one who hadn’t spoken. She took a moment to choose her next words. “So the Map called on us, but you’re saying we don’t need to go. Princess, what would happen if just one, oh, for whatever reason, decides she can’t go?” She lowered her head, wearing a bashful smile, feeling as though she was already saying “No” by asking that.

“In that case,” Celestia began, “then I shall go myself, and tend to this matter my own way. The Map may have called upon the Princess of Friendship and her entourage, but I myself am still the ruler of this land and a keeper of Harmony. It is doable. And Equestria still has three princesses to look to for guidance.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Twilight cut in quickly. She winced a bit, realizing she shattered the tranquility of Celestia’s quarters. “I mean, you won’t have to. I still don’t fully understand the Tree of Harmony and my connection to it, but if I’m needed then I’ll be there!”

“And so will I!” cheered Spike.

“Actually Spike, you will have a very important role on this journey.”

Enthusiasm twinkled in the dragon’s eyes. “I will? Really?”

“Of course. You will be the link for Twilight and I while you’re journeying through Kno’herre. I’d like to be notified of your progress and any developments that may occur along the way. Do you think you can do that, Spike?”

The dragon beat a little fist against his chest. “You can count on me, Princess!”

“I know I can always trust a noble dragon such as yourself, Spike.” Her comment rendered the little guy blushing furiously, and he tried to hide it by leaning behind Twilight’s wing hanging at half-mast.

To the rest of the ponies, Celestia beamed brighter than the sun she represented. “On behalf of all of Equestria, I thank you for accepting this hefty undertaking. It won’t be easy, it may not even be particularly safe, but I have never wavered in my faith. You will all do wonderfully.”

“Of course we will!” said Rainbow. “We’re awesome!”

“Take the time to gather yourselves, there is no rush to leave. My zeppelin will be ready to take off when you’re ready.”

“The royal zeppelin! My word,” Rarity cooed in delight.

“And my journal contains every report Stalwart Shield has sent me in the last seven years. I recommend you all read at least some of it. You’ll be as informed about its customs as I am at the very least, so you’ll know what to expect from Kno’herre.” Twilight looked down at the princess’s journal, still cradled in her forelegs, similar in appearance to the one she used to communicate with Sunset Shimmer.

Her gaze met Celestia’s, glazed and warm as the most serene of summer days. “Thank you. For trusting me with this,” she said sincerely.

“No, Twilight. Thank you.”

The Princess of Friendship stood. “Come on everypony, let’s prepare. Spike, I’ll want you to fill in Starlight Glimmer when we get back to the castle. She’s coming with us.”

“Is she!?” the little dragon cried at her heels. “Awesome!”

The other ponies chatted amongst themselves as they filed out of Celestia’s quarters. Fluttershy spoke with her usual bashful enthusiasm, “I need to ask Discord if he can take care of my animal friends while we’re gone. I hope he doesn’t mind.”

“I’m sure he won’t, dear,” Rarity assured her. “Me on the other hoof, well, I hope Blue Bobbin is willing to do me such a large favor. She’s a flexible, practical pony though, so I have little concern. I must pen a letter.”

“Already done!” Spike held up a folded letter, with the address to Rarity For You inked in the corner. “I even used the royal seal, so it will get to her by dinnertime!”

Rarity squeaked in surprise, then chuckled as she ruffled the dragon’s head frills. “My dextrous little gentledrake.” She kissed him on top of the head, earning a blush that intensified as the rest of the girls giggled around him.

Together the friends walked through the double doors, except for Twilight, who hung back, lingering a stare at her former mentor. Celestia dispelled the map, leaving the carpet bare once more as cushions floated over to the opposite end of the room and the drapes pulled open, letting ample sunlight into the otherwise cool-colored room. When Celestia turned, she was still beaming with pride.

“We’ll be back soon.”

“Take your time.” Her eyes stared off at a point above Twilight’s head for just a brief moment before linking with her former student’s once more. Her smile diminished into one far more reserved. “Speak with Applejack. She was unhappy with me, I could tell.”

The reminder of her apple-bucking friend’s downright rude attitude to the princess made Twilight groan. “Tell me about it. Don’t worry Celestia, I’ll get an apology from her.”

“Whatever you think is wise, my fellow princess. As soon as you exit this castle, I leave this mission entirely in your capable hooves…”

“...Conduct it as you see fit. I know you’ll make me proud.”

Anyone with a little power can get what they want, but only the untouchable few with infinite power can make it happen. Princess Celestia was no different, never different. Only Applejack sensed it, even if she did not understand it yet. With just the barest hint of what we were in for, we marched out those ivory gates, just as Princess Celestia wanted.

Author's Note

Should this continue: yes, those three OCs will be characters, and they'll be explored further. Yes, Starlight is in this story and she has a purpose. All the mane six do. And I'm not going to diddle around and take six chapters for them to get to Kno'herre; they'll be there by the end of the next chapter.

Hope you all enjoyed.

-Apex