Act 1-Part 1-Greyscale
He passed through the forest silently, his hooves expertly avoiding any crunchy twigs or leaves. Labored breathing could be heard up ahead, the quite of the forest’s only interruption. He passed through the wet leaves of a low-growing bush, as he had many times before. Still-drying blood adorned the clearing past the bushes, as well as revealing the noise’s owner. The stallion somehow saw him crouched in the bushes, staring determinedly into his eyes.
“Come to finish me off have you?”
“Fluttershy darling, you simply must try this hoof-i-cure. It is simply wonderful!” Rarity exclaimed, while Aloe and Lotus steadfastly grinded her hooves with small nail files.
“Oh, uh, sorry Rarity. I don’t really like ponies touching my hooves, if that’s okay, it’s fine if you want me to I can get one…” Mumbled Fluttershy, accepting Lotus’ off to dab a small amount of green goo on her cheeks.
“I’m not going to force you to get anything done dear, it’s just that you get the same thing each time we come to the spa! I’m beginning to think you only come to please me.” Rarity dramatically wiggled back on her lounge chair, looking over to Fluttershy with puppy-dog eyes.
“Oh no Rarity, I like the spa it’s… Nice.”
“Well, if you’re having fun I can’t fault you.” Rarity sighed. “But you really shouldn’t limit yourself like this; you have a fantastic body and really should treat it right.”
“Oh, thanks Rarity… Maybe I will get a hoof-i-cure…”
“That’s the spirit darling!”
Earlier in the morning…
“Spike?” asked Twilight, leaning uncomfortably close to the small dragon in his bed/basket.
“Twilight? Is it morning already?” he asked back, peeking out his scaly head from underneath his cocoon of covers. The unicorn withdrew to a more comfortable distance, blushing slightly from embarrassment.
“Well, no. It’s 4 a.m.”
“Twilight,” he groaned. “Why do you insist on keeping me up at these ungodly hours?”
“I’ve noticed an anomaly in the sky; I need you to get a message to the princess.” She said, getting straight to the point.
“Fine,” grumbled Spike, sliding out from beneath his blanket, and walking over to the writing desk to retrieve a quill.
“Twilight,” he asked, deadpan. “Did you use up all the paper?”
“Err… Yes?” answered the unicorn sheepishly, wondering how she could have possibly used all the paper.
“It’s okay.” Spike sighed; he fished out a key from his basket, moving over to a locked drawer on Twilight’s drawer. He unlocked it and drew out several pieces of parchment, and a fresh jar of ink.
“Oh, good. Say, why were you keeping those locked up?”
The dragon stared at her, an “are you serious”, look on his face.
“I learned my lesson in Canterlot, I don’t like going to the 24-hour hour store every time you get in a studious fervor. So I started keeping a stash of supplies out of your reach.”
They both stared awkwardly at each other, Spike still clutching the quill and parchment.
“Well?” he asked, fed up with the silence and wanting to get some sleep.
“Hmm mm, yes. Begin writing Spike. Dear Princess Celestia, I have recently begun to notice strange anomalies in the sky over Ponyville. I don’t believe they pose any threat to the village as of now, but I am unable to observe them in any detail due to the low power of my current equipment. I request that the Arcanum lend me some of their void-prospectors for as much time it takes me to fully assess the situation. With love, your faithful student Twilight Sparkle.”
“-ilight Sparkle. Done, now good night Twilight. You need some rest too; you get grumpy in the mornings when you stay up all night.” Spike yawned, letting a small tendril of fire burn away the letter. He expertly slithered back into his basket, cocooning himself once again inside his blanket. Twilight yawned too, feeling the drag on her consciousness that always accompanied sleep deprivation. Maybe resting up wouldn’t be such an awful thing. She crawled into bed, magicking her blankets around her. The night was so calm, so serene, nothing could possibly keep her from taking her well-deserved rest.
But of course, her calm was interrupted by a bright blue flash. Her eyes immediately snapped open, and she teleported herself in panic to the side of her bed. The cause of her panic, as she could now see, was a return letter. She levitated it over to herself, noticing some oddities from Celestia’s normal letters. Instead of having a red wax seal, imprinted with the image of the sun, it was fastened with a similar blue seal, this one bearing a crescent moon.
This must be Luna’s. Twilight thought to herself, not speaking out loud to avoid waking Spike. She quickly cracked open the scroll with magic, curious as to why Luna would be writing to her, Twilight had never received a letter from her before.
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
I hope that you are not angered at us for intercepting thy letter. Our sister does not enjoy being awoken at such untimely hours. We believe we are more than capable of answering your inquiry. No, the Arcanum is not currently able to lend out any of their void-prospectors, as they are investigating their own spatial distortions. We would allow you to use our personal instruments though, as long as you are able to take up residence in the castle at this time.
Sincerely,
The Mistress of the Night
“Princess Luna would be willing to let me use her personal items?” Twilight said out loud. From beneath his blanket Spike grumbled. Twilight blushed in embarrassment, retreating back to her bed.
Seems like I’m going to Canterlot tomorrow, she thought to herself, it will be good to see my family again, and see how far the re-construction’s gotten.
She stifled another yawn, wriggling further into her blanket, Canterlot could wait, she was tired.
Back to the present…
Rarity and Fluttershy paid their bits and left the spa, thanking Aloe and Lotus profusely for providing their amazing service once again. Fluttershy in particular felt rejuvenated, in more ways than one. She felt proud of herself for being able to overcome her fear of trying new things, and to tell the truth her hooves did need some serious work. Walking on them felt ten times better without all that bothersome buildup. It had been one of the better days this week, what with all her animal friends misbehaving at home. Yesterday they had almost gone rampant, and a few of them had even gotten hurt! She really needed to find out what was getting them riled up, or they could hurt themselves more.
“Fluttershy dear what’s wrong? You’re frowning.” Rarity asked by the yellow mare’s side. Fluttershy jumped in the air at the sudden noise, her wings snapping open. She soon realized it was only Rarity, and let herself float down on her extended wings. She embarrassedly hoofed at the ground, letting her mane hide her face.
“Sorry for that Rarity, I was just thinking about my animals. They’ve been really jumpy lately, and violent. I think something’s scaring them.” She finally answered, lowering her head even further to the ground. Wondering why she had to be so jumpy all the time.
“Oh it’s nothing to be sorry of I assure you, though do try and not jump quite as high next time. These pauses are getting slowly more awkward as time goes by.” Fluttershy looked up and gave Rarity a small smile.
“I’m glad I have friends as nice as you Rarity.”
They briefly nuzzled each other before setting off for their respective destinations, Fluttershy had to go home to check on her erratic animals, and Rarity needed to ask Rainbow Dash to model a new dress for her. Rarity walked past the spa building and into the small square beside it, squinting her eyes at the sky to see if she could spot Dash’s cloud house. The mare moved it whenever she got bored, which made it hard for other ponies to keep track of where it was. As such, all her attention on the sky, Rarity didn’t notice the black-clad unicorn in the bushes leap out at her. She did notice however, when his hoof connected with her face.
She fell over backwards on the ground, knocking her perfectly styled mane loose. The assailant’s horn quickly flashed in an orange aura, drawing out a small blade with his magic. Rarity screamed and tried to use her own horn, but couldn’t concentrate correctly after the blow she had taken. All she managed to do was to throw several weak sparks into the air, which barely fazed him. He plunged the knife down as Rarity clenched her eyes, bracing for the inevitable. Several seconds passed.
Shouldn’t I be dead by now? She thought to herself, cracking open one eye. The sight in front of her shocked the other one into opening, and she audibly gasped in surprise. The knife had been stopped in the air just inches from her throat, by another unicorn’s own horn, having been locked into one of its grooves.
The knife had been stopped in the air just inches from her throat…
“Now my friend we wouldn’t want you to do anything you would regret, now would we?” A voice asked, talking to the knife wielder. It was obviously masculine, with a slight French accent, as if the owner was a native French-speaker who had been speaking only in English for a long while. Rarity wanted to look at her savior, but her gaze was still locked on the knife in front of her, she was too afraid to look away. The tense embrace of horn and knife held for several seconds, before the orange magic pulled back the blade.
“Why do you save this mare?” questioned the assassin, his speech disjointed and sharp. Rarity ripped her eyes away from the dark blade, determined to take to memory every detail of this pony, so the guards could arrest him later. She found an issue almost immediately, he had no features. That is to say none to remember, she was sure he had some, but they were all hidden underneath a full-body black suit. Everything was covered by the material, what looked to be cotton, even his horn and eyes! The only thing that betrayed him was the color of his magical aura, a bright orange, it was little to go on but at least it was something.
Her savior, on the other hand, was almost the exact opposite. He bore more of a resemblance to the princesses than to a common pony, his body type being much thinner and angular than the normally round pony. He also had a very limited color make-up, his coat a stark white similar to Rarity’s own and no more than two shades of grey in his mane. His eyes were also grey, albeit a lighter shade than the rest of his body, his cutie mark was of two jet-black swords, crossed together, a small bit of hair was on his face, a small mustache and goatee. He wore several pieces of clothing, a small vest overtop a striped shirt, and a small woolen belt. Two swords, similar to the ones on his cutie mark, hung off his vest buckles, their hilts keeping them in place. He was very beaten up and disheveled, as if he had been through a cheese grater. Scratches and scuffs covered his entire body, a chunk was missing from one of his ears, one of his back hooves sported a heavy cut, and a bandage was tightly wrapped around his forehead, presumably with more wounds underneath. He didn’t have the look of an invalid though; a roguish smirk adorned his face, and his eyes held nothing but amusement.
Rarity felt equally relieved and concerned, he looked like a pony who could handle himself, but on the other hoof he looked as though he had fallen through a garbage disposal. But as long a she was alive she didn’t see any problems.
“Miss?” Questioned the grey stallion. Rarity shook her head, she must have zoned out for a second.
“Ah yes of course, there’s still the small matter of the crazy assassin. So if we resolve that issue post-haste I would be glad to chat with you.” Rarity sounded nearly hysterical with her response, how much was real and how much was drama was anypony’s guess.
“Good to see you’re okay. Now my gentlecolt I am protecting this mare because I would rather not see anypony killed. An assassin who attacks defenseless mares on the other hoof I do not consider a pony, so your life isn’t as important to me.”
The assassin took a defensive stance, once again bringing his blade to bear. Rarity gave a sharp squeal and wiggled back on her hooves, getting a safe distance away. The grey stallion’s humored look fell from his face, turning into a determined glare. His horn lit up, and he drew one of his swords from his vest buckle. They stood stock-still for a moment, sizing up their opponents. The assassin struck first, bringing his knife around almost too fast to see, the sword met the knife instantly, locking it on its hilt. The second sword suddenly slipped from its buckle, grey magic quickly whipped its hilt into the assassin’s face, momentarily breaking his concentration. The knife dropped from the air, giving grey enough time to slash his swords repeatedly across his opponent’s chest and face. The other stallion gave up fumbling with his magic, instead lowering his head and charging forward horn-first.
Grey couldn’t stop the assassin’s momentum, and received a hole on his shoulder, the flesh carved out by his enemy’s horn. He gurgled briefly and collapsed, the new wound on top of his existing injuries too much to bear. The corrupt unicorn reared up on his hooves, intending to cave in the skull of his adversary. Just as he brought his hooves down a solid wall of flesh crashed against him, throwing him several feet and into the bushes, he landed with a crack, his horn chipped at the top. A knew challenger appeared, a large tan stallion with a brown mane, three blue horseshoes adorned his flank, and an angry scowl dominated his features.
“I suggest you GET OUT before I squash you like an apple!” He roared, rearing back on his hooves. The assassin hissed of all things, and dashed away from Ponyville, darting glances back at the muscly earth pony that had bested him. Within moments he was gone, and if not for the bleeding stallion you wouldn’t have known he had been there at all. The uninjured stallion helped grey to his feet, brushing off some of the dirt on his vest with a hoof. Grey leaned against him for support, and draped a hoof over his flank, stabilizing himself. The earth pony didn’t say anything, but Rarity could tell of his discomfort by the sweat pouring off his body.
…but Rarity could tell of his discomfort by the sweat pouring off his body.
“Well madam I believe I’ve made rather a mess of this all.” Said grey, shaking a bit from the effort; he had already snapped back to his humorous features. A slight crinkle in the corner of his eye told of the pain he was currently experiencing, Rarity could tell, she had always been good at reading other ponies’ emotions.
“Not at all, if it hadn’t been for you and Caramel I…” she shuddered a bit. “I don’t wish to imagine what would have happened.” Rarity insisted, moving forward a bit to stress her sincerity. To her surprise the wounded stallion laughed, throwing back his head a bit.
“There go my manners, the first pony whose name I learn is one I haven’t let introduce themselves. My name is Greyscale by the way, a pleasure to meet both of you. And I thank my savior especially, got me out of a bit of trouble there.”
“My name’s Caramel,” said the earth pony, in a smooth voice. “Though I suppose you already know that. Ain’t no trouble helping out a fellow, ‘specially when he put his own life on the line for someone.”
“Truer words are rarely spoken through the mouths of mortal ponies my friend,” Greyscale chuckled to himself a little, before they quickly turned into racking coughs. “Sorry to ask a favor to the one who saved my life, but could you direct me to the nearest clinic. I’m in rather dire straits as of this moment.”
“The hospital’s right next to the spa dear,” answered Rarity before Caramel, wanting to get back into the conversation. “A large building with a red cross on it, you can’t miss it.”
“Thank you my dear,” said Greyscale, removing himself from Caramel to gingerly kiss her hoof. “A creature so fine as you should not have to have gone through this experience. Please, take care of yourself.” To Grayscale’s surprise Rarity giggled, holding up her forehoof to suppress further chuckles.
“This is hardly a new experience; I’m either in the clutches of death or in the middle of a disaster every other week!” She managed to keep a straight face while saying this, trying to maintain her ladylike composure. Caramel chuckled a bit after she was done.
“You wouldn’t know it mister but Rarity’s sort of a local celebrity. She’s one of the elements of harmony, and helps the town through every crisis that’s happened in the last couple of years. She even helped stop Discord, Nightmare Moon, Chrysalis, just about every baddy that’s rolled through Equestria.”
“Hmm, I didn’t know I had saved such an esteemed mare. I’m going to Canterlot once I recover, perhaps you could join me in my family home if you ever visit?” Greyscale asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.
“I would be honored, but might I ask your family name?”
“The De-Lis family, though I’m sure you haven’t heard of them.”
“Actually I met one while visiting Canterlot earlier, Fleur I think her name was.”
“Ho-ho, so you met my sister. How is she holding up? That’s the reason I decided to come back from my expedition at all!”
“Your expedition, what did you do to get so hurt?”
“Not to interrupt,” interrupted Caramel. “But I’m basically holding Greyscale, not to ruin your conversation but I think he needs to see a doctor… Right now.”
“Of course, of course, sorry for holding you. Thank you both for saving me, and take care of yourselves!”
“Bye.”
“Farewell!”
Caramel draped Greyscale over his back and began walking to the hospital; Rarity tracked them with her eyes for a while before turning away. She still needed Rainbow to do that modeling, after all, business waits for none.
“Even when one tries to kill you.” She whispered to herself, glad she hadn’t let the boys see how shaken she was. She had been in dangerous situations before, but one of her own species had never attacked her, tried to kill her. She shivered a bit and turned her eyes back to the sky, this time paying attention to Everypony around her, knowing they could each be carrying a blade.
End of Part 1
Act 1- Part 2- Flight to Canterlot
If you’re going to do it then get on with it.”
“Do what?”
“Kill me.”
The stallion wriggled on the ground, he couldn’t move. His body was lacerated, he wouldn’t survive.
“I’m not going to.”
“It doesn’t matter,” the stallion sighed. “I’m dead anyway.”
“It doesn’t have to be that way.”
“Uhh, bread loaves...” Rarity mumbled from inside her dream. She had returned to her boutique after Rainbow modeled the dress, the pegasus had resisted at first but given in when Rarity offered to stich her a new Wonderbolts costume. She had worked all day long, dress after dress, and had settled sown for some well-earned rest afterwards. She was now curled up comfortably inside her favorite blanket, her sleeping mask firmly clamped over her eyes. Being asleep she didn’t hear the faint click of the window opening, or the slight sizzle of unicorn magic levitating an object.
“Blueblood you deserve to get punished… You naughty little foal…” she giggled to herself, turning over once again, and right out of the bed.
“Mwah!” She screamed, flailing about while on the floor. She giggled again when she realized what had happened. She pulled herself to her hooves, using a crackle of magic to clear the dust from her coat. The glow of her horn dimly illuminated the room, which to her shock, held the same unicorn from earlier that day. She screamed and backpedaled, knocking over several mannequins. Her horn’s light went out and the room was cast into darkness.
Her horn’s light went out and the room was cast into darkness…
Rarity breathed heavily, her chest heaving, her ears fluttering. All was completely silent, then she heard him shuffle forward. She backed up more, right into a wall. She stopped breathing, hoping he would be able to find her in the darkness. Several tense seconds passed, perhaps she had imagined him, it would certainly be possible with the stress from earlier today. That line of thought was shattered when the attacker pinned her to the wall by the shoulders, she tried wriggling out but was completely immobilized. She panicked and cast a light spell, accidentally putting too much power into it and making a blinding glare. The attacker yelled and pulled away, momentarily blinded by the attack, Rarity took advantage of this and roughly bucked him to the floor. Her horn lit up once again and she levitated a sewing machine from its place in her room, she shoved it forward quickly, braining the assassin.
She grabbed his tail with magic while still thwacking him with the machine, tossing him into a window. He impacted harshly as it shattered, casting him out of her room in a hail of glass shards. She dashed over to the window, peering out into the night. She could just see him as he disappeared around a street corner. Rarity dragged herself back to bed, casting a restoration spell on the window as she went. She didn’t bother getting back under the blankets, she would shiver with or without them.
“That’s it,” she told herself. “I’m going to Canterlot tomorrow and getting help from the Princesses. This is just too much for one poor mare.”
Rarity re-checked her saddlebags. It had been awhile since she had visited Canterlot and she wanted to make sure she packed the essentials. Satisfied she turned for one last look at her boutique, how it stood glimmering in the morning sun, beautiful and eternal. Eternal up to the point that the paint flaked off and the wood rotted. She shook her head, clearing it of the somber thought. She didn’t need to think of inevitable things right after two attempts on her life.
Rarity had left a message for Sweetie Belle, telling her she might be gone for a few days. The filly would be annoyed that she hadn’t had any previous warnings of her sister’s departure, but would surely forget about before it became an issue. It was just the way child’s mind worked. She started to trot her way through Ponyville, saying hello to the occasional early-waker. For the most part the streets of Ponyville were deserted, as was the norm at this point in time. If she didn’t want to catch the early-train she would still be curled up in her blanket, in the warm embrace of dreamy oblivion.
She spotted the hospital as she neared the train station. Should she go in and see if that stallion from yesterday was okay? The answer was given to her by the clock tower, which rang several times, signaling the time she was supposed to be at the station. She broke into a gallop, drawing up at the station just as the train did, barely making the deadline. She walked up to the ticket booth, with the intentions to purchase round-trip tickets to Canterlot.
“Hello Miss Rarity,” welcomed the booth owner. He was a light brown stallion with an unruly dark brown mane. His cutie mark was of a clock, giving hint to his talent of keeping the trains on time.
“Hello Mr. Hooves,” Rarity greeted back. “How is Ditzy?”
“Oh she’s fine. Won the town lottery if you can believe, won just enough to pay off the damages.”
“That’s fantastic darling, I imagine she won’t be pulling many more night shifts. Or you for that matter.” Rarity beamed at the news, maybe her mail would be delivered on time from now on, now that the wall-eyed pegasus could get some sleep.
“No, no more of that. I expect round-trip tickets to Canterlot? 6 bits please.”
Rarity smiled, the booth-runner and she had come to an understanding that the only tickets she purchased were one to Canterlot. It certainly made purchases go faster.
“Yes please, and say hello to Ditzy for me. She simply doesn’t come by the boutique often enough.”
The stallion chuckled nervously a bit, accepting the bits from Rarity and giving her her ticket.
“I don’t think that would be best, remember the porcupine incident?”
It was Rarity’s turn to be a bit embarrassed.
“As long as she doesn’t bring her mail bags with her it should be fine.”
The two friends said goodbye as Rarity moved onto the train. It still amazed her that the metal monstrosity had such wonderfully furbished insides. Delicate gold chandeliers were evenly spaced inside the cabin, supporting a great number of white candles, all enchanted so they wouldn’t drip. Cushy red carpets padded the floors, giving a delightful spring to anypony’s step; booths with leather backed chairs were aligned along either side, providing adequate sitting space. The windows offered a wide view the outside, which would be stunning once they got up to full speed.
Rarity stored her bags in a compartment, lying down inside one of the booths. It would be several minutes before the train took off, giving her time to fall asleep. The door hissed with air-pressure as it opened once again. Rarity lazily cracked open an eye, curious as to who would be joining her on the journey.
A bulky stallion got aboard, his light brown coat and blue horseshoes cutie mark clueing her in to his identity.
“Caramel?” she asked, surprised to see him on the train. To her knowledge the only time he had ridden before was to visit his sister in Appaloosa.
“Oh, hey Rarity, didn’t expect to see you on. Going to Canterlot too I suppose.” He responded, surprise showing on his face.
“Well yes, I’m going to ask the Princess about the assassin attack. But why are you on dear? I thought you would be helping the Apple family on the farm?” She didn’t let him know of the second attack, the work pony would only be needlessly alarmed.
“I believe I can answer that.” Said a white pony, stepping gingerly into the cabin, it was Greyscale, Rarity noted, shocked.
“Caramel here insisted that a wounded gentleman such as myself shouldn’t travel alone. And so I insisted that I purchase both of out tickets and that he stay at my family mansion. The mare who runs his business was kind enough to let him off for the week. I believe Applejack was her name?” He looked to Caramel, who nodded his assurance.
“Uncanny, I’m going to Canterlot also. Funny how fate decides to work.”
Greyscale laughed, once again leaning against Caramel. Rarity noticed that his sibling Fleur had done the same with Fancypants. Maybe it was a quirk of the family to drape themselves off of large stallions.
“I hardly think it’s fate my dear. Simple coincidence is more apt for the situation.” He let out a short laugh.
“But I must agree, uncanny how our paths cross.”
