Terror in Equestria 11: Death and Destruction

Two days had passed and up in the Crystal Empire, Scootaloo, LaurFa and Celestia had been talking and she had shared more about Colgate, her activities and her increasing paranoia. More importantly though, they had begun to form a bond like allies should, not that of ponies who are merely spying against their enemies.

Another good thing was that LaurFa and Celestia's wings were no longer sore and all three of them were itching to get going. One thing they would discuss first though would be how they would get to Maredrid as it was a very long distance. LaurFa was the first to say anything, "Scootaloo, I know it would be dangerous but the shortest path would be to fly over the eastern part of Coastal Equestria."

Celestia added, "I'm not real sure about that. If we were to get spotted, we could start a war."

Given that they had stopped and visited Luna there in the past Scootaloo suggested, "I know it will take longer but I have a suggestion." She grabbed a map and continued, "How about we fly to Marescow first, stay the night and then fly down to Maredrid. That way we can avoid flying over Coastal Equestria and not tire our wings out. Yes it would add an extra day to the trip but I think it would be worth it."

Both of them were shocked by her suggestion. The Scootaloo that they had known for many millennia, even dating back to when she was a filly, would have wanted to hurry up and get to their destination as quickly as possible. They both gave her a smile and LaurFa agreed, "I think that is our best option."

Celestia added, "I think that is a great idea. We won't risk starting a war nor will we tire our wings out, it is a win-win for all of us."

Given that it was still morning, Scootaloo looked off to the east and suggested, "Shall we? It is no short flight to Marescow but if we leave now, we should be able to get there before sundown."

Both agreed with her and they took off. They were unsure of how it would be outside of the Empire but once they left the protective dome, they would be pleasantly surprised when it was a rather nice day. Yes it was chilly but no wind was blowing so it didn't feel nearly as cold as it normally would.

Despite the trip to Marescow being a rather long one, the calm and sunny conditions made the trip seem not quite so long. After what took a great part of the day, they saw the city approaching in the distance, along with the ancient citadel which had stood for as long as the city existed. When they landed they saw something strange sitting by the walled off building, something they had never seen before, an air ship.

As soon as they got to the gates, they were greeted by two guards.

"Halt, who goes there?"

"State your business."

Given that she was Luna's sister, Princess Celestia answered, "My name is Princess Celestia and with me is Creator Goddess LaurFa and Supreme Commander Scootaloo of the Crystal Empire. I am wondering if my sister is here or if she is down in Maredrid."

The guards became much more relaxed when she stated who she was, "I'm sorry about the gruff question your Majesty. Luna is here, let me lead you three to the throne room."

As they were being led to the throne room, Celestia couldn't help but be excited to see her sister yet be nervous at the same time. She knew that her sister would likely have a similar reaction to what Scootaloo did at first. When they finally arrived, Celestia was the first to approach her, "Sister, we have a serious problem."

LaurFa added, "It involves those Alicorn gems and then another gem, one of pure evil."

Luna gave her a scowl, "Oh? So I take it the gems do exist after all?"

LaurFa replied, "Yes and I think that they have been stolen, including the black diamond."

The black diamond was something that Luna had a very hard time believing was real. She asked, "Tell me, how do you know these gems are real and how do you know this alleged black diamond is real?"

LaurFa could tell that the queen was going to be even more skeptical and became nervous, "Well-well, you see, I discovered this old prophecy book and it spoke of them. Half of it wasn't legible but all I got out of it was the gems and a tower."

Scootaloo added, "We think the whole tower part may involve Colgate."

Luna ignored Scootaloo and scoffed, "Pfft.....a prophecy book, really?" She became more serious as she continued, "Where is this prophecy book? I would like very much to see it."

LaurFa gulped, "Well I left it at home. I was thinking once we gather everypony, we could all go to Faustica and study it."

Luna was far less than pleased. She lit up her horn and reverted to her archaic way of speaking, "What? Thou tells us of this book yet thou dost not bring it with thee? Thou expects us all to go to Faustica just to see it?"

LaurFa knew that in this day and age, that Luna only spoke that way when she was angry and Celestia knew that she had to intervene, "Sister, I along with Scootaloo both wondered the same but I think it would be best if we left tomorrow at the latest."

Luna asked, "And I take it our next destination would be Ridead to notify mom and dad about this and hope they will join us?"

Celestia replied, "Well yes, that was LaurFa's plan."

Luna asked, "Alright, so we will need to get mom and dad, we will have to get King Blue Star and Ruby and White Magick." She looked around and noticed, "Speaking of them, where are they? I thought you would have went to Unicornia prior to coming here."

The three looked at one another in shock. They had been so concerned over first the prophecy book, Scootaloo revealing more of Colgate's plans and then getting to Marescow. Scootaloo replied, "Well they are probably still in Unicornia."

Again Luna flared her horn up in anger, "What? Thou decides everypony needs to be gathered yet thou dost not travel there before thou came here?"

LaurFa too flared her horn up, "Look, how are we supposed to even get to them? The portal to Unicornia lies inside Coastal Equestria and you know as well as we do that Colgate does not exactly trust us and if we were to go into Coastal Equestria, that she may see it as an act of war."

Luna pointed her hoof towards Scootaloo, "What about you? You and Colgate are still close."

Scootaloo replied, "I could probably do it. It will take quite a while to fly there......"

Luna interrupted, "Scootaloo, outside of Colgate, you have the strongest wings out of all of us." Luna paused for a moment before continuing, "I have an idea. How about we stay here until tomorrow morning. After breakfast you will head to Unicornia while the three of us will go to Ridead."

Scootaloo knew that she didn't have much of a choice so she agreed, "Ok but what about after I get them? Where do we go then?"

Luna began to say something before LaurFa interrupted, "Go to Faustica. Yes it will take a couple days but it will be much easier than flying over the whole planet looking for us."

Scootaloo replied, "Very well, that is what we will do then."

While everypony else thought that would be a good plan, Scootaloo couldn't help but wonder if it was entirely safe to be flying over Coastal Equestria. She knew that Colgate was likely monitoring her, LaurFa and Celestia during their time in the Empire. She also knew that given how Colgate is, that she may even consider allowing them to stay for a couple of days as an act of treason.