Nebula's War

Once Jacob had explained the outcome of his meeting with Tenebris, Azure summoned the team to his cabin for an important meeting.

"I'm happy to say that the meetings went well, although not quite what we had expected." said Azure. "Canis, King of The Diamond Dogs agreed to trade some silver for Nox's mining tools…" Azure dropped eight silver bars onto the table. "… but not as much as we requested."

"What's wrong with that?" Anamir asked. "That looks like plenty of silver!"

"Well, I was hoping to make an entire arsenal of silver weapons," Nox explained. "But with this, I could only make a dozen daggers, and maybe enough left over for some silver-tipped arrows."

"So let's make some daggers and arrows." said Anamir. "As long as we have something we can use against Nebula."

"Speaking of Nebula, I found out how he got so powerful." said Jacob. "I met with Tenebris, Lord of Tartarus and found out that Nebula sold his soul in exchange for ultimate power." There was a collective gasp and nervous murmuring. "I don't know much about selling souls, other than the fact that it's really dangerous business. Nebula must be really desperate for power if he made a literal deal with the devil."

"That much is obvious." Azure remarked. "Maybe we can use it to our advantage." He gestured to Vesper. "Aaron, why don't you introduce our new ally?"

"Melody, Chiarascura and I visited the bat ponies today." Aaron explained. "We asked them for help, but Chief Neoma refused to help us unless we can prove that King Blueblood is an impostor. Well of course, we don't have any solid proof right now, but Vesper asked to join our cause." He motioned to Vesper, who bowed her head.

"I assure you, Chief Neoma is not a cruel or foolish leader." Vesper insisted. "She is just… careful. Her #1 priority is the safety of the bat ponies, and she does not want to jeopardize it by flying to Canterlot and committing regicide."

"But it's not regicide!" Silver cried. "This guy isn't really-!"

"Yes, your friends have explained the situation." Vesper interrupted. "But until she is shown irrefutable proof that King Blueblood is an imposter, she will not support your mission."

"So why are you here?" Anamir asked.

"Because I trust Aaron, Melody and Chiarascura." Vesper said. "I do not know who is right and who is wrong, but I convinced Chief Neoma to let me investigate regardless. She will call me back if there are any problems."

"Well, now that we've got that figured out," said Azure, "I've been working on tactical plans in my spare time, but I've always come to the same conclusion: we can't stop Nebula. That is," he continued before the others could object. "Not in our current condition. You guys are good fighters, but you're still novices. We have weapons, Nebula has an armory. Right now, I think our best course of action is to expose Nebula for the fraud that he is. If we show everypony that he's not really Blueblood, it’ll tip the odds in our favor. There are far more ponies than Nebula has minions.” Everypony nodded in agreement.

"Well yeah, it's a good idea in theory," said Anamir. "But how do we do it? We can't just drag Nebula in front of every pony in the nation and force him to show himself."

"Well, maybe we don't need to." said EagleHeart. "I know of a few surveillance spells that would prove beyond a doubt that Nebula is masquerading as King Blueblood."

"Perfect!" Silver cheered. "So we can just catch Nebula off guard and have him spill his secret to the nation!" EagleHeart shook his head.

"Well, it won't be that easy. I know that the spells exist, but I don't know how to perform them."

"So we're back to square one." Silver sighed.

"Not exactly." said Azure. "EagleHeart, how did you hear of these spells?"

"Well, Princess Twilight used them to expose-!"

"Then that's our answer!" Azure pounded his hoof on the table. "We need to get into The Castle of Friendship and find the appropriate spell book!"

"Go back to the castle?" Trixie cried. "What are you, crazy? We barely made it out of there alive!"

"It's our only hope, Trixie." EagleHeart assured her. "We need to try."

"… Very well." Trixie sighed. "But Trixie insists on accompanying you."

"Me too." said Vesper. "I will distract the guards while you slip in and find the book."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." said EagleHeart.

"But if I could make one small request?" Vesper asked. "Could we please wait until nightfall? I am quite sensitive to sunlight."

"That sounds reasonable." said Trixie. "It will be that much more difficult for the guards to see us in the dark."

"Okay, sounds like a plan." said Azure. "EagleHeart, Trixie and Vesper, make a plan for infiltrating the castle. Jacob, you know the castle better than any of us, so you should probably give them a layout of the area. Everypony else, meet me at the arena in five minutes for sparring practice." Sparring practice went well: Anamir was Azure's best student, using her considerable strength to wrestle her opponents into submission. Melody and Chiarascura were hesitant to attack their friends, but they were so fast and nimble that nopony could hit them. Aaron, while inexperienced was very well rounded: he was strong enough to deal damage, but still fast enough to dodge incoming attacks. Like Melody and Chiarascura, Silver often dodged attacks instead of dealing them, but he occasionally tripped on his peg leg.

After the sparring match, everypony was covered in scratches and bruises, which Zecora healed with her home-brewed healing potion, and then it was time for dinner. The team sat down around the bonfire, eating garden salads with cucumbers, carrots and diced apples. Aaron and the bat ponies, however preferred whole apples, which they drained to withered husks and spat on the ground. Melody was halfway through his salad when he noticed that Chiarascura wasn't eating.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" asked Melody. "Would you like some oil for your salad?"

"No, it's not that." Chiarascura sighed. "I'll tell you when we get back to the cabin." After dinner, EagleHeart, Jacob, Trixie and Vesper left for The Castle of Friendship, while the others retired to their cabins.

"Now then, what did you want to tell me?" Melody asked.

"It's just… I'm afraid." Chiarascura admitted. "We're going to end up fighting Nebula again, and I don't want to fight."

"I know, neither do I." Melody replied. "I don't want to hurt anypony, but this is different. Nebula and his henchmen have tricked the entire nation into worshipping them! They've enslaved the changelings, dragons and griffons! I hate to say it, but they deserve everything that's coming to them."

"But what chance do we have against him? We're not soldiers! I'm an artist, you're a musician, Anamir is a baker, and Nebula is an all-powerful unicorn! He'll kill us on sight, and…" she buried her face into Melody's fluffy chest. "I don't want to die, Melody. I have so much to live for." Melody lifted her chin and dried her tears.

"That's right, Chiarascura, you do have something to live for, and so do I." He gave her a tender kiss on the lips. "We have each other. Remember when we fought those demons in the castle together? They were going to kill us, and even though we're not soldiers, we beat them up."

"Well… yes, I guess we did."

"And we have Azure and his friends teaching us how to fight. He told us that we're really good at dodging, but we can't be afraid to attack." Chiarascura frowned and lowered her ears, so Melody added, "And if you're afraid to fight, just remember what those demons called you." Chiarascura's eyes flashed.

"I can do that." she said with a malicious smile.

"That's the spirit!" Melody said as he climbed into bed. "Now let's get some rest, we have a big day tomorrow." Meanwhile, EagleHeart, Trixie and Vesper were sneaking through the streets of Ponyville, keeping a careful eye out for enemy soldiers.

"How remarkable!" Vesper whispered. "I've never imagined that humble earth ponies could create such a prosperous society without magic."

"Well yes, Ponyville was founded by earth ponies," EagleHeart explained. "But many unicorns and pegasi have since moved to Ponyville in hopes of a more… humble life."

"Is that how you met your friend?" Vesper asked, gesturing to Trixie.

"Yes, Trixie was performing a magic show in Ponyville when she first met EagleHeart." Trixie confirmed. "EagleHeart met Trixie after the show and congratulated Trixie on her showmanship. He helped Trixie clean up the stage, and invited Trixie to join him for a snack at Sugarcube Corner. Soon after, Trixie decided to settle down in Ponyville so that she could be closer to her friend EagleHeart. We've been friends ever since, studying magic, going on picnics and generally hanging out in our spare time."

"That sounds nice." Vesper sighed. "I have many coworkers, but not so many friends in Noctis. We get along, but we seldom spend recreational time together, unless we are training for battle."

"I'm sorry to hear that." said EagleHeart. "But for what it's worth, Trixie and I consider you to be our friend." Vesper smiled at him.

"Thank you." They continued on the road for another minute, until they were twenty feet away from the crystalline fortress.

"We made it!" Trixie cheered. "Trixie will go in first." She stepped forward, but EagleHeart held her back.

"No, you can't!" He pointed up at the balcony, where a tall skeletal figure was standing guard. "Jacob said that demons have excellent night vision. They'll see us before we reach the door!"

"Perhaps we should take advantage of that…" Vesper suggested. "Follow my lead." Up on the balcony, Ossium scanned the horizon for any sign of intruders.

"Bah! What a waste of my talent!" He sighed. "I don't know why Nebula trusts Malum as his second in command, he's so uncooperative and rude! I, on the other hand… wait! What's that?" He peered into the distance, where a small dark shape was growing larger by the moment. Seconds later, Ossium was tackled by a tall dark bat pony, who leapt to her hooves and pawed the ground.

"You have no business in this castle, monster!" Vesper growled. "Be gone from this place!"

"What? Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Ossium demanded.

"I could ask you the same question." Vesper shot back. "I won't let you defile this sacred place with your presence! I challenge you to a duel!" Ossium' eyes widened: this mare was challenging his honor, and he refused, he would be branded a coward for the rest of his unnatural life! His reputation was on the line, and regardless of his duty to Nebula, he would not let it be sullied.

"Very well, I accept your challenge!" Ossium announced. "I will prove my superiority!" As he boasted, Ossium failed to notice two unicorns float over the balcony wall and sneak into the castle.

"That was very brave of Vesper, taking on Ossium all by herself." Trixie whispered.

"I trust her judgment." said EagleHeart. "Now let's find that book!" EagleHeart's horn illuminated every corner of the hallway, which was unnervingly empty.

"Be careful! There may be traps hiding around every corner!" Trixie warned. Her horn glowed pink, and Trixie closed her eyes, as if thinking very hard about something. "Trixie has something!" she whispered. "There is a silent alarm connected to a trip wire five feet down the hall."

"Good catch." EagleHeart said, and carefully stepped over the wire. "Do you see anything else?" Trixie closed her eyes again.

"Yes, there is a net eight feet ahead that will ensnare anypony who walks over it." They carefully slipped around the net, and avoided capture.

"What else?"

"There is a pressure plate on the floor that will drop a cage over anypony who activates it." With Trixie's guidance, she and EagleHeart slipped past every trap without so much as a blip on the record. Finally, they stood before the stained glass doors that led into the library.

"Be careful!" Trixie warned. "Trixie is certain that there are more traps waiting inside." She put her ear to the door. "Yes, Trixie hears voices. Nebula will surely have set up guards to protect the spell books."

"But who can we expect to find?" EagleHeart asked.

"Trixie is afraid that we'll have to find out." She tapped the handle with her horn, and the door creaked open.

"Hey, did you hear something?" called a low, growling voice.

"Eh, probably just the wind." said a second voice. As EagleHeart and Trixie peered inside, they saw absolute darkness, except for a massive torch standing on the opposite wall. Upon closer inspection, EagleHeart realized that the torch was actually the flaming mane of Ignis, which meant that the cruel face illuminated in the dull light was his brother, Cornu!

"Okay, we can do this." EagleHeart whispered. "It's two against two, and they may be strong, but we have magic! Are you ready, Trixie?" Trixie was shivering from head to hoof, but she nodded regardless.

"Trixie supposes so." She replied. The slipped inside and tiptoed along the wall, but Trixie had a sneaking suspicion that Ignis' eyes were following their progress. EagleHeart cast a spell to scan each book as they passed, and finally stopped in front of a crimson tome with gold markings.

"I've got it!" EagleHeart whispered triumphantly.

"Yeah, and we've got you!" Cornu growled as he and Ignis grabbed EagleHeart and Trixie by their necks. EagleHeart thrashed and kicked, but the harder Cornu squeezed the harder it was for EagleHeart to cast a spell.

“Well well well, what have we here?" Ignis laughed. "Two little mages sneaking in for some late night reading. Remind me to tell Nebula that Azure's team is a little short on magic."

"Like it'd make any difference!" Cornu added. "He doesn't use his magic except for waving around his little pig stickers!"

"Ha ha, yeah! I thought unicorns were pathetic, but then Azure showed up and my brain said, 'you ain't seen nothin' yet!" Ignis and Cornu were so busy making jokes that they forgot to strangle EagleHeart and Trixie, who leaned back and fired a concussive blast that knocked their assailants off their feet.

"Are you… okay, Trixie?" EagleHeart gasped, and massaged his throat.

"Trixie has been better, but she's not dead." Ignis and Cornu stood up and pawed the ground.

"Not dead YET, you mean." Cornu growled. "We're going to teach you the meaning of pain." As they charged, EagleHeart twirled his horn in a circle, summoning an emerald green band that wrapped itself around Cornu's legs and brought him crashing to the ground. A torrent of water burst from Trixie's horn, soaking Ignis from head to hoof and extinguishing his mane. EagleHeart and Trixie smiled, but an instant later, Cornu broke free and Ignis' mane reignited.

"Oh, you think that's funny?" Cornu shouted. "Well, why don't you try this one on for size?" Cornu lowered his head so that his spikes were pointed directly at EagleHeart. EagleHeart thought that Cornu was going to charge at him, which made it all the more surprising when four spikes propelled themselves from his scalp like six-inch bullets. EagleHeart had just enough time to conjure an emerald shield, which deflected three of the deadly spikes; the fourth spike lodged itself in EagleHeart's shoulder.

"ARRGH!" EagleHeart cried and fired the spikes back at Cornu, who nimbly dodged the projectiles as they smashed against the wall.

"I know, I'm a real thorn in your side!" Cornu laughed. "Well, there's more where that came from!" As EagleHeart watched in horror, a new set of spikes grew from Cornu's scalp and jettisoned themselves across the room. EagleHeart tried to summon a second shield, but a spasm of pain shot up his injured shoulder, and the shield faded away. In desperation, EagleHeart fired a series of concussive spells that deflected the spikes, causing them to break against the walls or impale themselves in spell books. With the spike in his shoulder, it was all EagleHeart could do to keep from passing out.

He hazarded a glance at Trixie, who was having similar troubles with Ignis. As Ignis shot balls of fire from his mane, Trixie met them in midair with jets of water, which reduced the fireballs to steam in an instant. However, Ignis would not relent, and it was all Trixie could do to keep the flames from hitting her. Once or twice, a small fireball caught her in the chest, burning away her fur and scorching her skin in several places, but she kept fighting.

"Come on, sweetheart, give it up!" Ignis laughed. "You can't protect yourself forever, you know! Fire is stronger than water!"

"The Great… and Powerful Trixie… does not… give up!" Trixie spat as she extinguished another fireball. "Trixie will… prevail!"

"It's your funeral." Ignis scoffed, and threw several more fireballs at Trixie.

"Trixie, I'll be right there!" EagleHeart called as he deflected another spike. Although he sounded confident, EagleHeart’s brain was racing, trying to think of a plan. He and Trixie needed to take charge of the battle, but if they attacked, there was a good chance that they would be killed in an instant. But he couldn't give up! He needed a bright idea before - a bright idea! that's it! EagleHeart thought and shouted.

"Trixie! Close your eyes!" Trixie obeyed, and EagleHeart fired a brief, but intense beam of light from his horn. Ignis and Cornu were not especially weak to sunlight, but the magical light conjured by EagleHeart was too much: the brothers screamed in pain and covered their eyes.

"Now's our chance!" EagleHeart shouted, and fired a concussive blast that sent Cornu crashing into the wall, where he landed in a crumpled heap on the floor. Trixie, on the other hand cast a spell that encased Ignis in a block of ice. Trixie smiled at Ignis and said,

"You better believe I got tricks up my sleeve."

"Trixie, are you okay?" EagleHeart asked, trotting across the room on his three good legs.

"Singed, but safe." Trixie replied. "But what about you? There's a spike in your shoulder!"

"Yeah, I noticed." EagleHeart laughed. "But we'll ask Zecora to patch us up when we get back to the camp. Right now, we need to get those books and get out!" EagleHeart and Tribe galloped around the library, gathering all the books they could find on surveillance spells.

"This is perfect!" Trixie cheered. "Not only will we expose Nebula, but we could also use these spells on our camp, to keep an eye out for intruders!"

"Yeah, it's the perfect-!" EagleHeart stopped and looked back at Ignis and Cornu.

"Oh no. Oh no!" He cried. "Trixie, I can't believe I was so stupid! When those two wake up, they'll tell Nebula that we were here! They might even track down our camp!" Trixie put a hoof to her forehead.

"Oh Celestia, you're right! And even if we were to, well, dispatch them, Nebula would be able to tell by their disappearance that-!" A look of comprehension seemed to dawn on Trixie's face. "Hold on, Trixie has an idea!" EagleHeart watched intently as Trixie galloped up a flight of stairs and along a catwalk. "Trixie is certain that Twilight would have it!" Trixie mumbled to herself. "She has at least one copy of every book in-AHA!" Trixie produced a small black book from a cobweb-ridden shelf and galloped back down to meet EagleHeart. As Trixie got closer, EagleHeart saw that the book had a large white spiral on either cover. "Hypnosis!" Trixie explained, tapping on the cover. "Trixie will enchant the brothers and tell them to forget that we were ever here!"

Trixie and EagleHeart poured over the tome for several minutes, and then approached Cornu and Ignis. After evaporating the ice and releasing Ignis, Trixie turned to EagleHeart.

"Ready?" She called, and EagleHeart nodded. They pointed their horns at the brothers and thought, 'there were no intruders, no irregularities, and any injuries sustained were the result of a boredom-fueled battle." Ignis and Cornus' eyes went pure white for a moment, then returned to their usual red.

"There were no intruders, no irregularities, and any injuries sustained were the result of a boredom-fueled battle." They murmured, assuring EagleHeart and Tribe that the hypnosis had worked.

"Good! They won't remember anything about our skirmish." said EagleHeart. "But they might notice the missing spell books." He looked down at the floor, which was littered with Cornu's spikes, then smiled at Trixie. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Several minutes later, the discarded spikes had been transformed into a variety of books that EagleHeart and Trixie set in place of the real spell books.

"Good, that's everything." said Trixie. "Now let's go help Vesper!" EagleHeart and Trixie left the library, sneaked past the traps and back out onto the balcony, where a badly bruised Vesper stood triumphant over a pile of bones.

"He fought valiantly, but his pride got the better of him." Vesper explained.

"Hold on, we'll hypnotize him so that he doesn't remember we were here." EagleHeart lowered his horn to Ossium's protesting skull and made him forget about the skirmish. When they were a safe distance from the castle, Vesper turned to Trixie and asked,

"Did you find the spell books?" Trixie held up the books, and Vesper smiled. "Excellent! Another victory for Team Azure! Nebula's defeat is within sight!"

"Yes it is," EagleHeart said, limping on his injured leg. "But I think Trixie and I could stand to join a sparring match."