The Devil You Know

The journey down into the depths of Canterlot castle was a quiet one for Twilight and Celestia. After their brief talk in her study, she had fallen silent, a heavy frown on her face as she breezed through the comings and goings of the castle proper. Nobles and dignitaries flocked to the princess’ side, but she brushed them off with a brisk apology.

Twilight felt she had seen another side of the princess since this whole mess started. Before, Celestia was so far above her she could never have hoped to understand her. She was a living goddess whose power could move the heavens. A monarch and general whose very will was all that held the shattered nations together.

Yet, Twilight had seen something beneath that hard outer shell the princess had built around herself. She had been forced to banish her own sister and then live a life facing the consequences of her actions for millennia. Now, with the prospect of the two meeting once more, she was faced with the real possibility of history repeating itself, and it clearly hurt her.

Despite Celestia being the architect of her current misfortune, Twilight could not help but pity the mare.

They arrived at a large chamber in the bowels of the castle's keep. Even with Twilight’s limited magical senses, she could feel power emanating from deep underground. It felt old, far older than the castle that had been build over it. This was something ancient, from perhaps before ponykind even existed.

A large arcane diagram had been etched into the ground and marked with blue powder. As they trotted across, Twilight began to see markings she recognised in the smooth granite floor.

This place was a giant teleportation chamber! She had read about them being used by unicorn mage covens in ancient times to pass about unseen. Such things required enormous amounts of magical energy to power.

This explains the power I felt, she mused to herself, It must be drawing energy from ley lines beneath Canterlot!

“Squad, Attention!” a familiar stallion’s voice called out, making her nearly jump out of her skin.

To one side of the chamber, eleven armour-clad ponies had gathered. There looked to be an even mix of the three tribes gathered for the mission, scrambling to attention as the princess approached. Each bore the same grimly determined expression, their eyes having a distant, unsettling intensity.

They all stood at attention, hooves coming down in a unified stomp as Celestia approached.

“Be at ease, my ponies,” Celestia said.

Twilight felt her spirits rise as Shining Armour emerged from the ranks to give Celestia a salute.

“Captain Armour, is the squad to your liking?” she asked, giving him a brief nod in return.

“Yes, Your Highness,” he replied, his gaze softening as his eyes fell upon his sister. “I know most of these ponies personally or by reputation. I couldn’t have asked for a better unit.”

“Good, this mission demands the best. Now, please assist Miss Sparkle in donning her armour,” she said. “I trust the armourers were able to adjust a suit to her size?”

“Um armour, your highness?” Twilight asked nervously.

Celestia tilted her head to look at her. “Of course, you are the most vital part of the mission. You must be protected. Go with the captain; he will see you are outfitted. I must prepare the portal for your journey.”

She nodded, feeling her stomach tighten as her fear began to resurface.

“How are you feeling?” Shining asked softly.

“A strange mix of giddiness and absolute terror,” she joked, though it was disturbingly accurate nonetheless.

“At least you have your sense of humour,” he said as they trotted over to an armour stand where her suit of barding lay. “Hold still while I put this on you. Just relax—deep breaths.”

There was nothing fancy or elaborate about it, a suit of padding followed by a vest of chainmail so heavy it that nearly made her legs buckle. Shining smirked at her discomfort as he attached a set of banded metal greaves onto her legs. Then came a set of saddlebags that had been loaded with Starswirl’s books and everything else they might need.

“There’s a map of the tomb in your saddlebags. We all had one prepared for us so finding our way should be easy.”

“So are you going to carry me into battle or am I going to crawl?” Twilight grumbled, fighting to simply stay standing.

Shining smiled. “Oh don’t worry, you’ll be able to move just fine.”

He levitated a small green emerald and attached it into a slot in her armour’s chest piece. The effect was instantaneous; a tiny pulse of magic, and the oppressive weight of the armour simply vanished. Shining grinned at her astonished expression as she made some test jumps.

“A transmutation spell,” she murmured, “fascinating.”

“Glad it’s to your liking,” he said before levitating over an ornate box. Upon opening it, she found a small amulet of gold with a red ruby at its centre surrounded by runes. The box had at least ten additional empty grooves, showing this amulet as the last of a set.

“Put this on.”

“What is it?” she asked, levitating it over and placing it around her neck.

“Celestia prepared these for us. The Everfree is meant to protect the tomb from any intruders trying to reach it. These amulets should let us pass through the woods unmolested,” he assured, levitating his own to show her.

“First the Umbra, now pony-eating plant life,” she muttered. “This day just keeps getting better and better.”

“You’ll be fine. We’ll be right there with you, sis,” he said, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “Just don’t be calling me any embarrassing nicknames while we’re out there. I’ve got a reputation to uphold.”

“I’ll do my best, B.B.B.F.F.” she said with a sly grin.

Suddenly, the slamming of a door caught everypony’s attention, and all eyes turned towards the offender. Standing there was a cyan coated pegasus mare with the most vibrant rainbow-coloured mane Twilight had ever seen poking out of her leather helm. She looked to be close to Twilight’s age, her eyes lacking that hard edge of the older ponies in the squad. Streams of sweat ran down her brow, and she was panting like she’d just done the Running of the Leaves three or four times.

Shining Armour’s expression darkened. “Wait here, I’ll deal with this.”

He trotted over to the mare, who grinned eagerly before he pulled her away out of earshot. From their expressions, it seemed the mare’s arrival was as unexpected as it was unwelcome.

“Somepony is in trouble,” a flat voice from behind Twilight spoke out of nowhere, nearly making her jump a second time. Standing there was the pink earth pony mare that she’d seen earlier in the day. The newcomer tilted her head with an eerie smile. “You’re awfully jumpy.”

“Oh, you’re the mare from earlier… Pinkamena, wasn’t it?” Twilight stammered, offering a hoof. “I’m Twilight Sparkle. It’s, um, nice to meet you.”

“You remembered! Most ponies forget right away,” Pinkamena said, eagerly shaking her hoof with such force it nearly pulled Twilight’s shoulder from its socket.

“Did they draft you in too?” Twilight asked, snatching her hoof away before she did any permanent damage.

“Oh no! They asked and I volunteered,” the pink mare grinned.

“Y-you volunteered?” Twilight gasped.

“They needed a pony that could shift rocks, and me and my sisters are good at shifting rocks. I’m good but not as good as my sister Maud,” Pinkamena babbled, continuing to talk long after any normal pony would have run out of breath.

“Uh huh,” Twilight said with a frown, eyeing with concern the mare’s practically bare body. “Aren’t you going to wear any armour?”

“Oh I don’t need any,” she said. “I’d just end up breaking it if I wore any. When I go loopy, lots of things tend to break.”

“O-oh,” Twilight said. “T-that’s good to know.”

“Yepperoni,” she grinned. “Don’t worry, I only break bad things.”

“G-great!”

I’m dead. I’m so very dead.

Twilight’s consternation was interrupted by raised voices coming from the direction of Shining Armour and the newly arrived mare.

“You’re not coming with us and that’s final!” Shining snarled. Twilight had never heard him sound so angry.

“Please, sir,” the rainbow maned mare begged. “I can help you. I know I can. Don’t leave me behind like this.”

There was such desperation in her voice, did she not know how dangerous this was going to be?

“You could die, Rainbow.” Shining said, his anger fading into concern.

“Everypony is doing something, and I’m just sitting here.” Her voice dropped and ears flattened as she scuffed the ground with a hoof. “Please, sir, whether I stay or go, I’m dead either way. You know that. I can do this. Just give me a chance.”

Shining was about to speak but clamped his mouth shut. His ears flattened for a moment and he shook his head, “Fine, but you do what I say, when I say it.” He looked over to Celestia. “With your permission, Your Highness.”

“I trust your judgement, Captain.” Celestia said, with a nod, before she turned and began working on the teleportation circle.

He levitated out his Everfree amulet and gently placed it around the pegasus’ neck. “Take this, you’ll need it when we hit the Everfree. Now, fall in, Private.”

The mare looked at the amulet for a second then back at Shining, a slight blush on her cheeks. Then, she straightened herself. “Yes sir! Thank you, sir!” she practically shouted, her smile beaming as she trotted over to join the others. Some gave her narrow-eyed looks of disgust and distrust in equal measure, but most simply turned their backs on her.

“Alright, everypony gather round,” Shining Armour said, motioning for Twilight to join him at the head of the group. “This is Twilight Sparkle. She’s a specialist that is vital to our mission. She must arrive at our destination safely, even if it costs us all our lives.”

There was a silence as everypony's eyes fixed on her; Pinkamena grinned, the cyan pegasus just scowled, and the rest gave her a mixture of encouraging and uninterested looks.

“Permission to speak, sir,” a tall earth pony mare with sea-grey coat asked.

“Go ahead, Corporal Ocean Breeze,” Shining said.

“We’re already watching a civvy, so don’t you think having Rainbow Crash here along for the ride is asking a bit much?” the mare asked, giving the cyan pegasus a dirty look.

There were sniggers from a few of the other ponies present.

The cyan mare’s ears were pinned back, and she seemed to wilt, her lip quivering slightly.

“Are you doubting my judgement, Corporal?” Shining Armour snapped, getting almost snout to snout with her. As big as she was, he was bigger. “Private Rainbow Dash had the courage to at least volunteer, unlike some ponies.”

Twilight winced reflexively even though she knew the accusation hadn’t been directed at her.

“This is going to be hard enough without you picking fights. So let me make one thing clear. If I hear any more of your yakshit, Corporal, I’ll beat you down so hard your foals’ll be spitting out your teeth, are we clear?”

The mare straightened, eyeing him dangerously before she looked away. “Yes, sir.”

“Are we clear?!” he repeated.

“Crystal, sir!” she replied, giving him a salute.

“Alright, grab your gear. We teleport in five minutes.”

Twilight stood with her mouth agape at her brother’s actions. It was like watching a stranger moving around in her brother’s body. He turned to face her, that hard stare softening as their eyes met.

He trotted up to her, causing her to take a step back. “Are you okay?”

“I,” she hesitated, afraid of his reaction. “Y-yes, I’m fine.”

His brow furrowed, “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she assured, though she really wasn’t. “All this is just a little overwhelming for me.”

“It can seem rough to an outsider, but little arguments like that are everyday life for a pony in the Guard,” he said.

“Remind me never to enlist,” she said.

He gave her a pat on her shoulder before returning to the others.

In the corner of her eye, she caught Rainbow Dash giving her a death glare. Twilight could only frown at the mare, who continued staring at her, her tail swishing.

Great, first that crazy pink mare and now a rainbow pegasus with a chip on her shoulder. This just keeps getting better and better.

“So this is the great Twilight Sparkle, eh Captain?” a mare’s voice asked, breaking her out of her thoughts. Standing beside her brother was light grey unicorn mare with black speckled across her coat, her snow white mane mostly hidden under an impressive looking helmet.

“Oh, hello,” Twilight said sheepishly.

The mare grinned. “Your brother has never stopped talking about you, ever. I hope you live up to the hype.”

“Oh really?” Twilight said, looking to Shining, who was scratching the back of his neck.

“Really,” she said, giving Shining a nudge. “If you’re as wicked smart as he says you are, then getting this done shouldn’t take long.”

Shining blushed slightly and sighed. “This is Meadow Grass. We’ve served together for years. She should be getting ready for our mission.”

“Way ahead of you,” she said with a grin, levitating a hoof-long iron stake from a quiver at her sides. “Brummbar’s getting the rest.” She gestured over to a massive dark brown earth pony stallion, hulking a terrifyingly large warhammer about like it was nothing. “Hey Brum, come and meet Shining’s sister.”

The earth pony trotted over, each hoofstep so heavy Twilight felt a slight tremor as he walked. He towered over them all by a good head in height, even Shining Armour.

“It’s nice to meet you, Miss Sparkle,” he said in an impossibly deep voice. “Don’t worry about a thing; we’ll protect you like you were our own kin.”

“She might as well be, given how much Shining has told us.” Meadow laughed.

It was Twilight’s turn to blush now.

“Everypony, the spell has been prepared,” Celestia called, the spell circle in the ground now having picked up a gentle glow.

“You heard the princess, everypony in the circle!” Shining barked.

They all gathered around in a circle, putting Twilight in the centre. It was a bit irritating because she really wanted to see the spell being cast, and now everypony was in the way. She could already feel the buildup of power in the air, the faint taste of ozone now becoming more apparent.

“This will place you not far from the ruins of the old castle. Good luck, my ponies. The fate of Equestria is in your hooves,” Celestia said, the runes at their hooves beginning to burn brightly now. “You may feel some disorientation when you rematerialise.”

“How much dis—arghh!” Twilight cried as the world melted away in a flash of blinding light.