Elements of Battle

Chapters

Ponyville
Moonlit Steel
Reasons
Misunderstandings

Ponyville

The wind blew softer here than in my homeland. Its touch passed gently over the wide plains. It quietly rustled the leaves of its many forests, and whistled through the passes of their mountains. The feeling of the gentle breeze playing across my skin made me feel at ease, much in the same way the pair of blades on my left hip did. Taking a single gold coin from my purse, flicked it up in the air with my thumb and let it fall to my palm, as had become my habit. Before it could land, however, a big, meaty hand snatched it from the air with surprising dexterity for something so large.

“Would you knock that the hell off, Felix?!” Grunted one of my companions, his gruff voice more than a little annoyed. “You always flippin’ ‘at coin like it’some kinda charm, and I’m-“

“Oh give it a rest, Nero. You know he can’t stop,” a bored voice interrupted the big guy. “It’s his Curse.”

Ignoring them, I slipped another coin from Nero’s wallet. As luck would have it, he didn’t even notice. I just happened to pick the moment when he was most distracted. Flipping the coin into the air again, this time it came down and landed right on the edge, standing perfectly still in the most precarious position possible. An uncertain result. Again. Then, unlike last time, it fell, landing “tails”. Something very good was going to happen soon, followed by something very, very bad. Of course, that was only a guess, since I’d never seen that result before.

I was excited about it. Not about the good thing that may happen, but about the bad, the one that was going to happen. Good things were boring. They meant safety. Bad things were dangerous. Danger is what gets my blood pumping, makes me feel alive like nothing else can. There is nothing like being locked, eye to eye with an enemy, the single-edged blades of my twin daggers the only things separating me from Death’s cold embrace.

Gazing over the land before us, bathed in the light of the dawn, I shuddered with anticipation. Who knew what could be waiting for us here? Only one thing was certain. I was going to have fun later.

Twilight Sparkle had been up all night, reading. The library in Ponyville only had so many books, but so many of them held secrets even the Royal Canterlot Archives did not. This nondescript book told tales of a fierce race of furless, tail-less two-legged creatures who lived in a land far across the sea. It sounded like a mere legend, but the way it was written led Twilight to suspect otherwise… the descriptions were precise, even going so far as to describe their appearance in great detail. That just didn’t say “myth” to her, despite how fantastic it seemed.

Looking out the window, she saw the sun rising over the Ponyville market. Everything looked so normal, peaceful. So why did something feel so… wrong? It felt much like the day Discord had risen, or when Nightmare Moon had returned. There was something dangerous coming, her magical sense told her this much. But what would it be this time?

Shoving the coin back into my purse, I stood from my crouch. It was time to go; we had a queen to meet. “From all our reports, we’re looking for a Princess Celestia, not a queen,” Came the reminder in the form of a familiar bored voice.

“I don’ care wha’ she’s ca’d, Alaric,” grumbled Nero. “We got a job ta do, and a’s all ah I care ‘bout.” Dumb brute.

“How are we supposed to find the capitol?” I asked, “I mean it’s not like we can just go to the nearest town and ask where it is…”

“Dex?”

My shortest companion looked up from cleaning his already-spotless longsword. “Oh, well… what I gathered from what I overheard, we’re looking for a city called ‘Canterlot’ or some such.”

“Canterlot,” Alaric repeated. “Well, did you get any clues as to where it is?”

“Well, see that town over there?” he pointed to the village where he’d gained his information. “If we go there, and head east along the road, it’ll take us straight there. We should be able to make it within a week or less, at a guess.”

“Alright,” Alaric turned to me. “Felix. I want you and Shun to head into that village first. If anything happens, you two have the best chances of getting away without having to fight.” Made sense, but I didn’t like it. A sleepy town like that would be boring.

I sighed, digging another coin from my pocket and flipping it. This time, it landed on the edge, and stayed there until I plucked it away with my fingers. Strange. “Alright, Shun. Let’s go before you get tripped up again.” Several snickers from the others, and a glare that could’ve melted stone followed my remark. Nonetheless, she pulled the hood on her cloak up, and darted away so fast it was as if she’d vanished. Pulling my own hood up to leave my face in shadow, I spun toward my destination, my own cloak flapping in the breeze, and followed at a walk.

Rainbow Dash thought she’d seen just about everything in Equestria since leaving Cloudsdale when she was a filly. But in all her time in the land of the clouds, she’d never once seen anything like the strange, cloaked figures that’d walked in to town shortly after dawn. Right from the moment she noticed them walking through the fields to the northeast of Ponyville. In the distance, she could see several more (perhaps four?) staying low on a hill behind them. To anypony on the ground, they would’ve been invisible. But she was the best flyer in Equestria, and from the sky, they couldn’t be more obvious… or so she told herself. In actuality, their drab grey cloaks blended into the ground quite well, and even from her vantage she’d had a hard time spotting them, at first.

Looking at those cloaks, she cringed. She wasn’t nearly as fashionable as Rarity, but those things were nasty! After she checked these guys out, she was going to go right to Rarity’s Carousel Boutique to give her a heads up, just in case. Taking off from her cloud, the pegasus pony flew toward those ugly-looking cloaks, her mind set on saying hello.

“Hey there!” A single voice broke the silence, making me jump, my hands flying to the hilts of my daggers under my cloak. “I’m Rainbow Dash.”

The second vocalization told me where it came from. I looked up. Above me, sitting on a cloud just a few feet above us, was what could only be a winged horse of some kind. Its blue fur and feathers surprised me almost as much as its multicolored mane and tail. My hands fell from the hilts they gripped. If it had wanted to attack, it would have done so before we were aware. “I’m Felix. This is Shun,” I said, “Nice to meet you, Rainbow Dash.” I pulled back my cowl, “But we’re in a bit of a hurry today, so we need to go.”

She, for it was definitely female by the voice, was visibly surprised at my sudden dismissal. Even so, after a couple seconds, she said, “Well if that’s the case, how ‘bout a race? Here to Ponyville, fast as you can!”

I sighed and glanced at my partner, knowing the look I’d find on her face. Unsurprisingly, she was ready to show off, as usual. Then again, that was her Curse. “Alright, on my go.” I sighed. Counting to three, I said, “GO!” and two blurs sped away, one grey and one like a rainbow faster than I could truly see.

I swear they left the ground smoking behind them while I followed at my own pace.

“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! Twilight!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, rushing into the library, “RainbowDashfoundsomeponynewtora-”

She was abruptly cut off by Twilight’s hoof in her face, the pony in question looking rather annoyed. “Pinkie, start over. Slowly.” She drew out that last word for extra emphasis.

Taking a deep breath, the fun-loving pony began, “Rainbow Dash found somepony new to race, and they aren’t like anypony I’ve ever seen before!” When Twilight just looked confused, she continued, “This pony isn’t a pony at all! They’ve only got two legs and they don’t even have a tail! And they almost beat Dashie!”

“What do you mean ‘almost’,” the unicorn asked.

“It was a tie!”

If Twilight hadn’t been interested before, she certainly was now. “Lead the way!”

When I got to the place where Shun and that pegasus had finished, I found them glaring at each other, surrounded by a crowd of creatures similar to Rainbow Dash.

“I won!” yelled Shun

“No, it was me!” cried the pegasus!

I stomped toward my comrade.

Pinkie Pie led Twilight to where Rainbow Dash and the funny-looking pony were yelling at each other. Twilight had followed, curious to know just who was fast enough to beat her friend. Rainbow was the fastest pony in Equestria when she was in the sky, and she’d proven that time and again! Even the Wonderbolts couldn’t beat her in a race of sheer speed! So who…

She stopped dead when she saw them.

Just as Pinkie led her out of the ring of ponies that had formed to stare, there was a loud smack, almost like a high-pitched crack, and it took her a moment to process what she was seeing. Standing before her, at the center of the crowd, Rainbow Dash watched with surprise almost equal to her own, as the two strange, pale creatures glared at each other, a red mark on one’s cheek, and the other one’s weirdly-shaped hoof still extended out from the blow.

She stared. Not so much because of the event, as it was who, or rather what had caused it. She’d just been reading a book about creatures like these, but it couldn’t be! They’d gone extinct over a thousand years ago, and that was if they’d really existed in the first place!

Humans.

The world seemed to fade away, save those two strange creatures. If they were what she thought they were, then she could learn SO much from them! The way she was feeling, she thought it must be how Pinkie felt whenever she made someone laugh. She started forward.

“Hi, I’m Twilight Sparkle,” I heard a voice declare from behind. “I was hoping I could ask you some questions?”

Turning, I found a pony with a spike sticking out of its forehead. What did they call those again? Oh, right! Unicorns. I sighed. “Felix. I’m sorry, but we’re kind of in a hurry. I don’t suppose you could give us directions to Canterlot, could you?” I pulled my hood back so she could see my face. I didn’t want to come across as rude.

The pony perked up even further, if that was possible. “I can do better than that! I can take you there!” she cried. That got ME to perk up. A guide would be even better than directions.

“Shun. Go back to the others.”

“But…”

“Now!” I put as much force into that one word as I could. “Tell them to meet me tonight. I’ve gotta have a talk with Ms. Twilight.” My eyes never left hers.

Nobody does anything for free I thought. “Lead the way, Ms. Sparkle.”

“Please, call me Twilight.” She smiled at me, her intelligent eyes glinting like she’d found a literal mountain of gold, all for her to take. It wasn’t a friendly view… but it reaffirmed that I had something she wanted. Hopefully it was something easy to give. With a toss of her head, as if to say “this way,” she walked off, and I, somewhat apprehensively, followed in her wake.

“You want me to what?!” I demanded, though I’d heard perfectly well.

“It’s for research!” the unicorn replied. “It’s not like I’m going to get off until you do, anyways!”

“By the five! I am not going to be doing that! I already stripped down and let you do what you wanted to me! Now you want me to do that for you!?”

“The five” seems to be an important part of the modern human culture, scrawled her floating quill onto her equally levitating parchment. Beyond that, it seems to be nonsense. I swear she was trying to goad me into explaining it without having to actually ask, but I refused to be tricked so easily as that. Even with her standing over me and “examining” my nude form, she was hardly an imposing figure. But, despite all my luck, I didn’t have any with women… of any species, it would seem. I couldn’t even persuade her to peacefully let me get dressed when she’d finished with examining my… parts, which she’d done despite my numerous protests. When you got this apparent scholar’s interest peaked, it seemed she didn’t take “no” for an answer easily.

“You will not be taking a closer look at my… bits… than you’ve already gotten!” even as I said this, her horn began to glow, and a squishy sensation enveloped my hands, promptly pulling them away from my groin and exposing my crotch to her curious gaze.

A cold hoof lifted my genitals a bit so she could examine them. After but a second, she said, “Certainly far different from the stallions I’ve seen.” The way she was talking actually made me blush a bit. Before she could scrawl more notes onto her parchment, the door suddenly burst open with a loud crash.

In stepped another unfamiliar figure. “Oh my gosh, Twilight!” cried the new, white unicorn, “How can you stand to be anywhere near that cloa-,” she stopped mid-sentence when she saw me. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I’ll come back later!”

“Wait!” I shouted, almost desperately. “Any chance you could convince Twilight here to stop with her ‘research’?”
She looked at me like I was insane. “Well, I do need you to make you a new cloak…” she mumbled.

“Rarity! I’m in the middle of important research!” An exasperated Twilight stated. “It can wait!”

Alright. That was the last straw. I thought. Bracing myself, I put together a simple counterspell in my mind with what I knew of the magic being used to bind my hands. I wasn’t nearly as skilled as Alaric, but this spell wasn’t particularly powerful, and luck was always on my side. Focusing on the bindings, I imagined them shattering, and poured power into that image. “ενέργειας που συνδέεται με να σπάσει!” I shouted. The effect was instant. With a sound like breaking glass, the magic binding me broke. Leaping to my feet, I ran over to my clothes and dressed in a matter of seconds, buckling my weapons into place faster than ever before. My cloak, left in a heap on the floor, was quickly swept up and with a flourish that was actually to keep my eyes on the unicorn, I spun it onto my shoulders and fastened the brooch.

“Ok, that was way more than I agreed to!” I growled. “I’m leaving. If you try to stop me…” I left it hanging there, my left hand finding its way to the familiar surface of the worn silk that wrapped the hilts of my blades, while the fingers of my right hand etched a series of burning runes in the air, readying a simple flame spell. We stood there, nobody moving, for several heartbeats. Twilight’s eyes remained fixed on my magiki grafi, my spell’s written form, as if trying to decipher it.
Then, before I felt it necessary to cast my spell, the door crashed open again. Concentrating on my spell as I was, I couldn’t afford to look and see who had burst in. But I had a feeling it wasn’t a friend of mine.

“What’s going on here!?” Demanded a high-pitched voice. “Is it a party? Why wasn’t I invited!?” at the last line, the voice sounded distinctly offended.

“It’s not a party Pinkie!” yelled Twilight, but the interruption had already diffused the situation. I could see it in how they all relaxed. So, with a flick of my wrist, I drew a slash through the floating runes, and they dispersed bursting into nothing more than a nimbus of light before vanishing entirely.

While their attention was averted, I took the opportunity to start making my way toward the window. Just then, I heard another voice say, “Did ah hear somethin’ ‘bout a partay?” with a rather… distinct accent. Turning, I saw there were now five others besides my “scholar” of a captor. One of them looked very familiar, too. Looking back, I tried the window, only to find that it didn’t even open! Fuck!

“Who’s that?” a soft, barely audible voice asked, and I looked back to find twelve eyes staring back at me.

“That? Oh, he’s what’s called a ‘human’,” said Twilight. “He was allowing me to do some research in exchange for taking him to Canterlot.”

There was practically a riot from the other equines.

“Canterlot!? Oh I simply must make him a new cloak first!”

“Y’all ain’t goin’ nowhere without us!”

“Ooh, sounds like lots of fun!”

“uhm… if it wouldn’t be too much trouble… could I… maybe… come, too?”

“Hey, if you’re going to Canterlot with him, then I’m coming too!”

Twilight seemed to get a bit of an earful, almost looking as if she was getting a headache. After a few seconds of this outcry, she burst out, “FINE! YOU CAN ALL COME WITH!!!” In an instant, I was picked up by a glowing purple nimbus, and levitated toward the white unicorn. “Rarity, go make your cloak or whatever. The rest of you, go get ready. I have a letter to write.”

For the next three hours, I was forced to stand still while an absentminded unicorn went about fitting me with an extremely “elegant” new cloak. Simple silver cloth trimmed with gold and with a dark pink ruby inlaid in the silver brooch. All in all, I was grudgingly forced to admit that it was somewhat impressive when it was finished. “I doubt this will stay very clean on the dusty roads,” I mentioned. The white unicorn, Rarity, laughed.

“Oh, darling. I put a spell to repel dust and rain on the fabric. Why, unless you dive into the ocean, or jump in a mountain of dust, that cloak will stay as spotless as it is now.” Clearly, she was quite proud of her handiwork. “It’s such a pity you there’s no time to make you a new outfit as well.” That was something we disagreed on… not that I was about to admit as much to the crazy unicorn. She’d probably try to impale me on her horn if I said something like that.

Before the silence that was beginning could develop into any particular mood, the door crashed open, and when I spun around, I saw a sight that almost struck me as amusing. Twilight Sparkle was straining against the thick rope lassoed around her neck, her eyes locked on me. Four ponies (and Shun) were straining even harder than the unicorn was at the rope, and still she took another step forward, a wild gleam in her eyes.

“Felix!” Yelled Shun, “Run! She found out about the Elements!”

Shit, I thought. This can’t be good. If there was one thing I’d learned about the scholarly unicorn, it was that she’d stop at nothing to sate her curiosity. So, without a second thought, I turned and dove out the nearest window, following the river along what I guessed to be its southern bank. Perhaps two kilometers ahead, I could see the trees thicken, growing more dense and far more foreboding. Perfect, I thought, I can lose her in there.

Slowing down from my full sprint to a pace I could keep for longer. Daring to look back for a moment, I found the terrifying sight of the purple unicorn still behind me, still with the rope lassoed around her neck, but she must’ve shaken the others free, because it merely trailed behind her in the dirt. I rethought my change of pace, my new cloak billowing around me as I once again sprinted toward the forest.

“He went into the Everfree Forest!” Twilight almost screamed.

“Calm down, now, Twi…,” said AppleJack. “It’s not as dangerous as we used to think, remember?”

“But it’s still dangerous!” insisted the unicorn. “Remember the manticore and the cockatrice? And those aren’t even the worst things in there!”

“Are you saying you chased Felix into a deadly jungle?” asked the human carrying that weird walking stick.

“Only the most dangerous one in Equestria!” said Rainbow Dash, sounding incredibly worried from where she was hovering up by the ceiling.

The stick-carrying human looked at one of the others. “He’s going to love this.” He said, grinning.

“Yes. Oh yes he is.” Said the female with the strange, curved weapon.

“Uhh… are we missin’ somethin’ here? He’s in one of the most dangerous places in all o’ Equestria!” Came AppleJack’s concerned voice.

“Exactly,” said the one with the long, straight blade at her hip. “Of us all, he’s the only one who desires to put his life on the line.”

“But why would he-,” began Twilight, only to be interrupted by Rainbow Dash

“That’s crazy!” said the multicolored pegasus. “Who in the world wants to die?!”

“We never said anything about him wanting to die,” replied the human with the slender, curved blade. “We said he wants to risk death. I believe he said it ‘gets his blood pumping’.”

My heart was hammering in my chest, but I’m certain my face was grinning like a madman. Perhaps I was a madman. I don’t know what that thing was, but those claws could’ve ripped me in two! And that thing with the bird head and the dragon’s body that I saw turn a squirrel to what appeared to be stone? Well, it’s obvious what that could’ve done to me, but I’d managed to get close enough to cut its throat from behind before it could see me. Then there was the latest one: a pack of what looked like wolves, but made out of broken branches so old they were colorless and cracking. Those I’d been unable to escape or sneak up on, so I’d had to fight them off. They didn’t die easily, but a dagger through what approximated the forehead seemed to turn them to dust in an instant. After killing two or three of them, the rest were quick to back off. I didn’t stay around to see if they’d grow a pair and try again.

“Oh creature from across the sea,” said a deep feminine voice from behind me, making me jump. “Is that a human standing before me?”

I spun around to confront the source, and immediately found myself face-to-face with a rather strange-looking pony. Dark stripes cut through her pelt and her mane, and she wore countless rings of what looked like pure gold on various parts of her body.

Even at first glance, it was obvious she wasn’t here by mistake. Her head held high, and her… hooves, I think they’re called… firmly planted in a wide stance marked her as just as much of a warrior as I myself was. The edges of her hooves were obviously sharpened, even with the short glance I gave them, and I had little doubt she had other weapons on her somewhere.

Standing up straight, I looked this creature in the eyes the same way I would any warrior of my own kind, I said, “Yes, I’m a human.”

Her eyes showed her acknowledgement at my respect, and she returned it equally by not looking away. “The dust of the timber wolves I saw on my way back. Did you perhaps encounter the pack?”

I was surprised she recognized the piles of dust that were the remains of the strange canines, for only that could be what she was talking about. “I was attacked by many strange creatures of wood. After a few tries, I found a dagger between their eyes killed them quickly, and after losing a few members, the rest of the back backed off.”

The look on her face changed. She’d been looking at me with more curiosity initially, but when I said that, she began to watch me as she would a potential threat. For an instant, my hand moved closer to my weapons out of instinct, but then my mind took over. Such a move would be perceived as a threat. This creature was skilled enough to sneak up on me without a branch “happening” to snap under a hoof. Fighting an opponent whose skill completely surpassed my luck would be suicide, especially on their home ground. Slowly, I raised my hands in a gesture of peace. She seemed to take the meaning as quickly as it was given, and her stance relaxed. Slightly.

For a moment, we simply watched each other, waiting for something. Then, to my surprise, the pony spoke again. “What brings you to me, out here in the Everfree?”

“I was chased here by a purple pony bent on doing research,” I said, bluntly.

The striped creature blinked at me slowly, comprehension dawning even slower. “This pony who gave you a fright, was she the one named Twilight?”

For a moment, I wondered how she knew… then I realized that there couldn’t be many ponies with her… dedication to research. I simply nodded, and rolled my eyes when the pony shook her head as if exasperated. “I’m sorry, but… I don’t believe we’ve been introduced. I’m Felix, of the moon clan and the city of Athens.”

“Ah, I apologize for my mistake. My name is Zecora, and a pleasure your acquaintance is to make.”

For the first time, I noticed the long, shallow gash on Zecora’s back leg. Motioning to the injury, I said, “If it’s alright with you, I’d like to have a view.” For a moment, I just blinked, wondering why that sounded strange. Then it hit me, and I literally slapped myself. I imagine it was quite the amusing display.

“A salve for it I am going to find, as soon as I go inside.”

Before I could go and start rhyming again, I checked myself and said, “No need. I know a simple spell that’ll take care of it if you’ll allow me…”

The pony hesitated for a moment, looking me right in the eye, before relaxing, and turning slightly to give me more access to her rear leg. Taking that as a gesture of assent, I moved forward. “About nine centimeters long and barely breaking the skin…,” I muttered to myself. “A lot of blood for such an injury, but she must’ve been walking or running for a while…” shaking my head for a second to rid it of the unnecessary thoughts, I closed my eyes for a moment, focusing on the tip of my finger.

Even as I my eyes opened, I began to trace out the magiki grafi that I needed, laying them out around the wound. When I’d finished etching the glowing, wavering runes into her fur, I held out my left hand, and started etching some more on there. After I’d finally finished with that, I braced myself for what was to come. “θεραπεύσει αυτή την σάρκα, και να μεταφέρει τον πόνο μου!” instantly, my thigh began to itch, but that sensation quickly grew to become pain. All the pain that she would have felt from the healing of the wound flowed into me at once. Weeks, perhaps months of itching were condensed into mere seconds of pure agony. I was barely able to keep my binding hand in place. If not for the years of training I’d been through, I almost certainly would have been unable to persist, so great was the pain.

Before I knew it, yet after far too long, the spell, having met its requirements, dissipated, and left me kneeling, gasping on the forest floor. Fuck, I hate that spell! Even the smallest wounds were agony to heal like that. Staggering back to my feet, I felt dizzy for a moment, and braced myself against the nearest tree.

“What is wrong?” Came a concerned question. Surprisingly, Zecora failed to rhyme that time. I rolled my eyes when I thought that, and wanted to slap myself again, but refrained.

“That spell… takes all the pain you’d feel while it healed naturally… and makes me feel it all at once,” I panted, the shock having faded. The look of horror on her face, with her ears cocked back and her eyes wide, couldn’t have been more obvious.

“Few know how much pain that truly is,” I said, “but from your expression, you seem to have an idea.” Zecora nodded in affirmation, but said nothing.

It took a moment to recover, but once I was back on my own two feet and not being supported by a plant, Zecora walked past me and disappeared inside of a tree, making me blink. The place started to glow the color of a hearth-fire from what I could now see as a door and windows. After about a minute a striped head popped back out of the door. “Come in and have a seat. I’ll fix you up a tasty treat!”

I wasn’t sure if she was serious, or if she was simply saying that to rhyme again, but nonetheless, I slowly walked to the entrance. At a single glance, the place seemed completely foreign, both to my own home and to this place. Strange masks adorned the walls, herbs and other plants, as well as stranger things, were on every surface.

I spied a spot that was relatively clear at a table in what could’ve been the dining room. Glancing around, I saw the zebra already doing… something by the fire. Tentatively, I sat down.

“And you’re sure this ‘Zecora’ will be able to help us find Felix?” asked Alaric. “Because I’d rather not wander aimlessly in here.”

Twilight sighed. “No, I am not sure. But it’s the best chance we’ve got.”

The path they were on was the quickest and safest way to the middle of the forest, or so the ponies claimed. Twice already they’d had to fight off some strange creatures, so the humans weren’t sure about how “safe” this was.

“Alaric,” whispered Shun. “Four o’clock.”

The man with the staff nodded just slightly. “Do it silently,” he murmured. “I don’t want to scare any of our guides.” She vanished, leaving only a slight disturbance in the air behind her.

There was a series of brief hissing sounds, each followed by a soft smack, and a thud. None of the equines even noticed, but all the humans looked to each other out of the corner of their eyes, as if to confirm what they already knew.

This place is more dangerous than these ponies realize. Alaric thought. We need to find Felix before he falls in a pile of shit he can’t roll out of. “How much longer?”

“… and then Alaric, one of the most skilled mages in the country, accidentally adds a glyph and turns φωτά into φωτιά… err, ‘lights’ into ‘fire’… and instead of illuminating the general’s tent, he sets it alight!” Zecora chuckled at the story, but I couldn’t hold back my laughter. “and to top it off, when he tried to put it out, he did it again, misspelling νερό as νεό… ‘water’ as ‘a new’, and another tent just popped outta thin air right next to the burning one!”

I’d have continued with the story, but even before I could laugh again, I felt the familiar sensation of a spell being cast. My daggers all but jumping into my grasp as I spun around, knocking over the stool I had been sitting on in the process. As I spun, I slashed at the air behind me where I could feel the magic aiming for, and was fortunate enough to catch the fireball on the edge of my blades, and sent a surge of my own power through them, shattering the flaming ball of death before it could do any harm. Looking up, I was unsurprised to see a very angry Alaric, staff still pointed at me. “You swore you’d never speak of that again!”

Well shit.

Fortunately, Shun was already upon him, grabbing him by his outstretched arm and pulling him over her shoulder to land on the floor. “Alaric!” she grunted, “calm down. Now.” Looking up, she noticed the pony standing behind me. “Are you ok, ma’am? I’m sorry about him; he’s… a bit touchy.” I rolled my eyes at the purposefully vague apology.

“It is quite alright. The interruption was rather a delight!” well that was rude of her… I suppose it was only fair, though. I had been rambling a bit.

Then I noticed the multicolored creatures watching from behind them. As soon as my eyes caught a glimpse of Twilight, I was unable to stop myself from diving through the nearest window. Within seconds, I found myself darting between the trees, the only thing on my mind being to get as far from her as I possibly could.

Moonlit Steel

Well shit. Before me lay a tear in the earth, a gorge so deep and wide I couldn’t possibly leap it on my own. A few meters to the left lay the remains of an ancient bridge, the wood having rotted away to almost nothing and the ropes in such bad shape that even with magic to repair it, the bridge would never hold so much as a glass of water, let alone a 23 year old man with heavy clothing. Going back never even occurred to me. She was back there, and I’d first risk jumping down into that chasm before I faced her again.

“There he is!” As if summoned, the purple, one-horned demon appeared behind me, the shriek of her voice tearing into my very soul.

Well, one thing’s for certain, I’m no liar. Taking a few steps back, I sprinted forward and jumped as hard as I could, and in a heartbeat I found myself flying over empty space. My stomach found itself somewhere in one of my toes when I realized I was correct in thinking I wouldn’t be able to jump it. Without the time to construct a proper spell, my instinct took over, and without time to hesitate, I broke the seal on my blood with a burst of energy.

Instantly, unbridled joy flooded my mind, the back of my tunic tearing open as silver-dotted dark blue blades of light shot from between my shoulder blades. Or maybe “blades of darkness” is a better way of describing my inheritance.

Within a moment, I alighted on the other side. Already I regretted breaking my power loose. It’d been years since I’d had my wings sealed away by my master, and though they felt comfortingly familiar, I was far from used to them. Flying any farther right now would be dumb, so with every bit of willpower I could muster, I forced my wings to dissipate their physical form, but I could still feel them within me, glowing with power just waiting to be released. It was at once a comforting and disturbing sensation to feel throughout my form. Without looking back, I began running into the thick forest once again. At least my cloak had somehow managed to survive being shredded.

This time, a path long since abandoned and forgotten among the dark reaches of the forest stretched through the brush. With nothing better to do, I followed it, only slowing from my sprint when the sounds of shouting died behind me. The cracked and broken cobblestones looked as if they hadn’t seen a single step in the last five-hundred years! They were barely visible under all the plants that had grown over them in the years, but they still marked a path for me to follow.

It must have been twenty minutes later that I stopped in my tracks. Not five steps back the forest was so thick that you couldn’t see through it, but where I stood it suddenly opened up, and the sight before me was extremely impressive. A massive castle, its walls looking almost to be made of lapis lazuli, deep blue and speckled with silver stars, much like my wings. It took me a moment to realize that the walls actually looked exactly like the night sky, with many familiar constellations adorning them, almost identical to my wings. After a moment, I realized how strange that was. Curiosity overtook me, and with barely a second thought, I began striding toward the palace.

I’d barely gotten five meters when a voice boomed out from the shadows. “WHO GOES THERE!?” it demanded, its deep, thundering rumble echoing across the land. I paused, my eyes scanning the area warily.

“I am Felix of Athens. Show yourself, lest I accuse you of being craven.” I didn’t normally speak in the dialect of my home, but with everything that happened, my discipline broke a bit.

“WE DO NOT HIDE FROM THEE, MORTAL!” Said the voice, “LOOK TO OUR TOWERS, AND THOU SHALT SEE US!”

My gaze darted upward at the words, alighting upon a lone figure at the top of the nearest spire. At first, I believed it to be at Pegasus, with its massive wings spread out behind it, but almost as soon as I thought that, I saw the horn that was as long as a sword jutting from its head. I had no time to wonder, however, for as soon as my eyes found it, the figure leapt from its perch, diving straight towards me. In an instant, it landed in front of me without so much as a flare of the wings to slow it down. But despite crashing into the ground from that height, the creature looked as if it had simply landed as any normal pegasus would.

So impressive was the first landing, I almost didn’t notice the two pegasi that swooped in behind the first. I was too busy admiring the pony before me. Far larger than any of the others I’d yet seen, its wingspan was incredible, each one being at least as long as I was tall. My eyes traced its form up, taking in the mane that appeared as if it were identical to everything else here, and the rather sharp horn.

“WHAT MANNER OF CREATURE ARE YOU, TO TRESSPASS UPON THE GROUNDS OF THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT!?” That voice once again boomed, much louder than before with its proximity. Already I could see the trick for what it was, and it really wasn’t as extraordinary as it initially appeared. A simple magnifying charm placed outside the mouth increased that voice to fifteen or so times its normal volume.

Wincing at the ringing in my ears, I said, “Could you please dispense with the voice?”

“TAKE IT,” the equine screamed. Within a second, the two bat-winged pegasi flanking it flew at me.

Without time to draw a weapon, I did the only other thing I could: I let my wings loose. With a flash, the star-spattered blades of night caught the armored guards by surprise, deflecting their attacks and pushing them back with a quick movement. While they were stunned, I reached into the pouch I wore behind my waist, and pulled out a folded piece of paper; one I hadn’t touched since I became the Element of Luck nine months ago.

Even as the guards stood back up and got their bearings, my fingers traced over the runes on the page before me, giving them life once again and watching as they began to glow. Even as they charged me, the portal opened before me, and my arm disappeared into the page, feeling for the object I sought. Just as the guards leapt at me, my fingers finally found the hilt of my blade, a thousand miles away, and I pulled.

The sword, still sheathed, caught the four hooves that were aimed for me and sent their owners flying in a single strike. With a deft flourish, I strapped the scabbard across my back, over my cloak, and drew the blade, gripping it just below the wing-shaped guard in my right hand. The third time the two armored pegasi flew at me, the world seemed to slow down as my eyes hunted for the weak spots in their protective covering.

Six strikes later, there was a loud clang as the iron breastplates fell to the ground, their straps neatly severed without so much as scratching their fur. Apparently they didn’t get the hint, however, for they didn’t stay down. Staggering to their feet for the last time, I had to give them points for persistence. This time, when they flew at me, they were quicker than before.

I was still far faster. With a flap of my wings, I flew far above their attack, and then dove at them, the fingers of my left hand a blur as they scribbled magiki grafi in the air before me. “λιποθυμία” appeared on the palm of both my hands, and when I touched the fur of the pegasi guards’ backs, it transferred, and the spell instantly knocked them out. They’d probably wake in a few hours with a minor headache.

Now I was down to the strange unicorn-pegasus hybrid. “Look, I don’t want to fight you…” I began.

“WE DO NOT BELIEVE THEE. THOU HAST DEFEATED OUR GUARDS WITHOUT HESITATION, AND NOW THOU SHALT FACE US!” The horn glowed, and a beam of light shot from it, aiming straight for my chest. Twisting to the side, I barely managed to dodge the ray of what looked like moonlight.

Well, I tried to be reasonable, but when I saw the trench that blast of energy left in the ground, even I could tell there was no point. With a grimace, I spread my wings once again, raising my sword before me. Pointing it at my adversary, I waited for her to make the first move.

I didn’t have to wait long. Within a matter of seconds, she raised her head, the tip of her horn glowing brightly, crackling with energy. Almost as quickly as it began, the energy was released in another beam, heading right for me. With a shout and a cry of, «απαλλαγή σεληνόφως!” The magiki grafi began to glow along the flat of the blade, and an arc of white light shot from the tip of my blade, following the curve of my stroke. The two collided at an angle, and somehow managed to deflect each other into the ground, my attack leaving a trench, and hers leaving a crater in the hard soil below us.

I didn’t get even a short reprieve this time. Just after firing the beam at me, the pony charged me, apparently intent on impaling me with her horn. Fortunately, a quick spin of my blade slapped her horn aside, allowing me to twist away from the rest of her body before it could hit me. Acting on instinct, I found myself clinging to the black mare’s neck, the blade of my sword pressed against her throat. “I really don’t want to hurt you,” I said, “but that doesn’t mean I won’t if you force my hand.”

“FELIX!” roared an all-too-familiar voice. Great. “LET HER GO, NOW!”

“Alaric?!” I turned my gaze to the source of the voice. Sure enough, my companions, and the ponies, had managed to catch up with me. “Hey, she attacked me!” I yelled, indignant. But nonetheless I pulled my blade from her throat and leapt off, my wings disappearing and allowing me to drop to the ground, where I rolled to disperse the energy from the fall.

Nero immediately stormed over to me and grabbed me by the collar of my shirt… which tore off when he tried to haul me into the air. Undeterred, he grabbed my cloak and tried again, this time successfully. Staring into my eyes, he growled, “You’d better have a hell of a good explanation for what happened here.” I was glad to see that the ponies who’d come with my companions were rushing to my previous opponent, if only because it meant Twilight Sparkle wasn’t anywhere near me.

“If you’d let go of me, I’ll explain.” I was unceremoniously dropped to the ground. Sheathing my sword, I did my best to give my story. From the reason I unsealed my wings, to why I pulled my sword to this land, to why I had been found riding what turned out to be the ruler of night in this land with a sword to her throat.

Turning to the Princess in question, I bowed respectfully. “My apologies for my previous behavior, your Majesty.” I received no response, which I chose to take as a good thing.

When I straightened back up, I found myself nose-to-muzzle with what was currently my least-favorite unicorn. I immediately bolted, but before I got so much as a meter, my cloak was caught in an iron grip. “Oh no you don’t,” came Dexter’s rarely-heard voice. “You’ve caused enough trouble tonight.”

With running being futile, I briefly considered taking flight, but dismissed the idea almost instantly. I’d be caught before I even left the ground. With a sigh, I went a bit limp, signaling defeat. Fortunately, Twilight Sparkle seemed to take the hint well enough. She was on the other side of the courtyard, tending to the Princess.

As my group all turned to see what they could do to make amends, I unsheathed my sword, looking it over. It’d been almost a year since I last saw it, but it looked, and felt, exactly as I remembered it. Its wide blade glinted brightly in the moonlight, almost mirror-like, until it met the owl-shaped guard, the bird of my clan carved lovingly into the steel and wood, unbelievably detailed in spite of countless years of wear. The hilt was quite simple in comparison; merely a textured wooden grip, in the style of a hand-and-a-half sword, with a pommel that was carved to look like a sleeping owl, but not nearly so detailed as the guard. Yet the beauty failed to hide the blood that stained this blade, the same blood that covered my hands, as well.

A hand landing heavily on my shoulder interrupted my brooding. “You can’t undo the past, Felix.” I turned to find Alaric regarding me with sad eyes. “Regret won’t bring him back.”

I sighed heavily and sheathed my sword. “I know.”

“We’re here to make sure their plan fails.”

“YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW THAT?!” I couldn’t help it, I screamed. “YOU THINK THAT MAKES IT ANY EASIER THAT I HAD TO KILL MY BROTHER WITH THIS CURSED THING!?” I slammed my mouth shut, immediately regretting the outburst, but the damage was done. Even without looking around, I could feel 12 pairs of eyes boring into me. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to once again run off into the darkness before me, but I steeled myself. If I didn’t face this now I might never be able to. Alaric was the only one who’d know about it before that moment, but now everyone with ears knew. Feeling as if I were passively committing suicide, I turned to face the eyes.

Their expressions were almost all different. They ranged from downright horror on a couple of the ponies faces, to surprise, to concern. But the one that surprised me was the expression on the Princess’s face. Her muzzle wore an expression of pure sympathy, as if she knew the pain losing a brother to your own actions caused. But none of those expressions made it any more pleasant to have it out in the open. The fact that it was my actions that had led to this situation did nothing to make it any easier.

Gritting my teeth, I growled, “Point me in the direction of Camelot-“

“You mean Canterlot?” the Princess asked.

I continued. “Point me in the direction of Canterlot,” I put as much venom as I could into the name, “and I’ll meet you there.”

Seven ponies all pointed with their hooves at the same time and in the same direction. Without thinking, I turned and began jogging, intending to get out of sight as fast as possible. Too late, I realized the fatal flaw in my plan. I was barely paying attention to where I was going, and the next thing I knew, I ran face-first into a very, very hard wall, and promptly proceeded to pass out.

sorry this took so long. lotta stuff going on right now.

edit: sorry, i was so eager to get this posted, i posted the wrong version. should be fixed now

Reasons

I groaned loudly, consciousness slowly returning to me. And with it, a headache worse than any I’d had since my brother hit me over the head with his training sword when we were practicing. My brother… I shot straight up as the memories of the events leading up to my nap came back to me without so much as opening my eyes.

And, of course, my head met something hard. For a second, I thought I had hit another wall, but as I opened my eyes, a voice cried “OW!” and before me stood one of the ponies… Rainbow Dash, as if I could forget that name. “What the hay!?”

Needless to say, my headache was only made worse; this did not make me happy. “I don’t know. Why don’t you try asking the pegasus,” I said the word as if it were a curse, “Who put her head too close to mine!?” I wrapped my hands around my temples, as if squeezing would alleviate the pain. It took me a moment to realize I was now sitting on a rather plush bed.

“Everypony, leave Felix and I alone.” The voice of the Princess, whose name I still didn’t know, interrupted our fight before it could begin. I heard a door open, and the sound of hooves walking away for a few seconds, and then the door clicked shut once again.

Already I guessed what this was about. “You want me to tell you why.” It wasn’t a question. “I saw that look in your eyes; you know what it is to lose a sibling.”

“Not quite,” came her surprisingly gentle reply. “We know that if you feel pain, thou had a reason for thy actions. That is what we wish to know.”

“First, since I detest using formal titles, may I have your name?” I was stalling, and I knew it. I’m sure she knew too, but nonetheless she obliged me.

“We are Luna, Princess of the moon and sovereign ruler of the night,” she declared. “And thou art Felix of the Moon clan, bearer of the Element of Luck.”

“If Alaric told you that, why’d he not tell you what you wish to know?”

“Alaric said it was not his place to speak for you in this matter, and I respected his decision.” That certainly sounded like Al. Alright, no more delaying the inevitable.

“I assume you’ve been told why we’re here by now?” I received a quick shake of the head, and sighed. “Then I’ll start at the beginning.”

“The land from which I hail has been plagued by unpredictable weather for the last century. Our mages and scholars have been trying to figure out the cause of this for the last half, and finally they traced it back to this land… or rather, to the weather in this land.” I paused, waiting to see if she understood where this was going before continuing. “Almost as soon as they heard, the vast majority of my people began to cry for war, saying that manipulating the weather here was a deliberate ploy to weaken our people.”

“I see… and your brother believed otherwise?”

“No…” I could almost feel my gaze darken. “My brother, the previous bearer of the Element of Luck, wanted to immediately attack you with the full might of our military. I tried to persuade him that diplomacy should at least be attempted, but…” I hesitated.

“If you wish to stop, we believe we understand enough.”

I sighed. “No, it needs to be said. Long story short, we came to an impasse, and I made an ultimatum. Neither of us would leave the room until we came to an understanding, or until the other was dead.”

“So he attacked you?”

I hesitated, not wanting to recall the event itself. “I think he believed that his power as the Element of Luck would prevent him from having to kill me. In a way, he was right. He charged me, and it was over in a single stroke when he tripped…”

“But thou said he was the previous Element of Luck. How did he lose?”

“It seems my luck was greater. Luck has always been the most fickle of the Elements. It changes bearers as it sees fit. It’s part of the Curse.”

“You speak as if these weapons have consciousness.” She sounded more confused than anything else.

“They do… it’s one of the few things our scholars agree on when it comes to them. They use us at least as much as we do them. I think they use us more.” I paused, waiting for that to sink in. “One day; perhaps tomorrow, perhaps fifty years from now; but one day my life will be ended by the next one the Element chooses, once I’m no longer useful.”

“But back to why we’re here,” I began again. “We’re here to inform your people of the war you’re about to be forced into, and to offer our assistance.” Again, I paused before continuing, this time with some hesitation. “But if you want my honest opinion, I suspect our Elements are pulling the strings, changing the world. They want to be here, or perhaps they want us to be here.”

The equine princess looked as if she was thinking it over, to my surprise. I expected disbelief or the like, but no, she looked pensive. After a moment, she said, “It seems we must get you to Canterlot as quickly as possible…” I wanted to slap my face. I’d been saying that. She turned to the door, which was flanked by two guards I hadn’t even noticed. “Go, gather the others of his kind and bring them to the bridge.”

“But, your Majesty…,” began one.

“HE ALREADY DEFEATED THEE IN COMBAT QUITE EASILY, AND THOU THINKS THAT THY CAN PROTECT US?” The guards, who I realized were in fact the ones I’d knocked out earlier, flinched quite heavily. “I will escort him myself.” Without a glance back, the two of them dashed out of the room.

When I made to get out of the bed, I noticed for the first time that I could feel the blanket rubbing against my bare skin, and I turned bright red. “uhh…”

Thankfully, the Princess turned her back to me. “Ms. Rarity left a new set of clothing for you. Your previous set was… well it was covered in blood from your nose.”

“How long was I out?!”

“About twelve hours,” said the equine simply. That unicorn worked fast, I knew. But nobody could make a full set of clothes that fast, no matter the quality. Yet what I found waiting for me at the foot of the bed was impossible. The pants, black as night, fit like a dream. Following those were the boots, just as black, but with white laces to fit them to my feet. The shirt, its long sleeves comfortably wide, with the symbol of my clan, a crescent moon with a staff and a sword crossed behind it, was emblazoned on the left breast with amazing detail.

“Woah,” was the most intelligent response I could come up with. These clothes were perfect… but why was there something on the floor yet? Picking up the square of white cloth, it unfolded as I lifted it, revealing a dazzlingly bright cloak, with only a single, crisp mark of black on it… the symbol of my clan, but along with the staff and sword, a pair of daggers were thrust into the sides, and an uncomfortably familiar sword was sheathed, point down, in the crescent. “Wait… She already made me a cloak…”

“The enchantments didn’t repel blood,” said Alaric, stomping into the room. It took me a moment to believe my eyes. His clothes had changed completely… and he was now wearing what appeared to be the reverse of my own, with a black cloak and white clothes. But the insignia on his cloak lacked the daggers and second sword mine had, retaining only the basic shape. Apparently he noticed my disbelieving stare. “What?”

“Your clothes… how… when… what…”

“That unicorn has some crazy focus,” was all I could get out of him. I assumed he meant Rarity. As for what that meant… I had no clue. Though if he had new clothes…

“Did we all get new stuff?” I asked, disbelievingly. To my shock, my answer came in the form of Nero bumbling into the room. Rather than the ratty, travel-worn garments he’d been wearing, he was now in a set of cerulean clothes, with his clan crest, a stylized ocean-going ship impaled on a spear, emblazoned in emerald. His outfit was looser than that of Alaric and I's, and he wore no cloak.

“We did,” said Nero gruffly. “’At pony is even more crazy wit the magic ‘an you two.” He didn’t appear completely at ease with his new outfit, despite it looking more comfortable than ours.

“Though it took us a while to convince her that Shun and Satomi wouldn’t want dresses…” Alaric added. That was actually surprising. Not that they wouldn’t want dresses; that was obvious. What surprised me was that anyone would even think they’d ever wear them. Knowing those two, they’d walk around naked first. Especially Shun… actually, Shun would probably get a kick out of that.

As if to prevent me from saying the thought aloud, the two she-demons themselves appeared, wearing clothing just as impressive as the rest of what I’d seen from Rarity, if a bit more feminine with a couple well-placed gems glinting on their outfits.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say we were going to some fancy royal wedding or something,” I muttered.

“No, that was last month,” said Twilight, prancing into the room. “My brother married Princess Cadence.” Wow, ponies have sharp hearing. Apparently my lack of comprehension was written on my face. “What, didn’t you know that?” I decided not to answer.

“About time you woke up, Lucky.”

“Shut up, Dexter, or I’ll shut you up myself.” I think it was pretty obvious the man walking into the room wasn’t my friend. I’d trust my life to the man, but I wouldn’t be eating next to him any time soon, and I suspect the feeling was mutual.

“Hey, I’m not the one who’s holding us all up because he can’t look where he’s going.” Ouch.

“Did I ask you to wait for me?” I demanded rhetorically. “No. But since you did, we may as well get going now.”

Dexter glared at me, looking as though he was about to say something when he was interrupted by the princess. “Well, if thou art ready to go, we shall take you.”

“Lead the way, your Majesty,” came Al’s elegant response.

Following her out, I found myself admiring the high, arched ceiling that looked as if I could see the night sky through it despite the sunlight filtering through the windows. It was amazing that a place could be so beautiful with so little decoration, but that was the only word I could use to describe the shadowy halls and corridors we were led through. Finally, we stopped in a large hall, empty save for a wide arch in the center.

For a moment, the arch appeared to be nothing special… until I noticed the faded golden runes that lined it. What the hell are magiki grafi doing there?! I wasn’t the only one to notice. Al and Shun both walked up to it with me, examining it as I did. Yes, those were in fact magiki grafi, and they were beyond intricate. Al could do something similar, writing runes with lines of runes, but I lacked the skill to do so. This was on a whole other level, though. Runes within runes within runes and so forth. We came to a conclusion almost at the same time. “This was crafted by Merlin.”

The princess looked askance at us, as did everyone else in the room. “This was made by one of the most powerful human mages in history.” Al clarified.

“Judging by the similarities in the architecture, this whole place was built by him,” Shun continued.

“And guessing by the enchanted ceiling, that gate links to another castle, based around the daytime sky.” I finished.

Luna looked astonished. “This castle was here when our kind came to this land several millennia ago, as was the portal.”

“That sounds likely. Merlin vanished from our records after creating the five clans, four thousand years ago, give or take a few centuries,” Alaric lectured. No doubt he’d have continued, had I not interrupted him.

“Hey, Al, come look at this… the enchantment is getting ragged at the ends…”

Alarmed, the scholar darted over to me. “Nonononononono! This is the first artifact of his we’ve discovered in five hundred years! We have to save it!”

“Calm down Al,” I said, “it looks like all it needs is a recharge.” The words were not my own. I could feel them being shown to me by something… something powerful beyond belief. Yet a part of me, something in the deepest part of my mind, told me to keep quiet about that. I sensed that this voice could be trusted, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my life, it’s to follow my instincts. “See here? It’s only just starting to fade, not vanish.”

The relief on my cousin’s face was palpable as it was in his following sigh. “Thank the Five… I doubt there’s anyone alive with the skill to even patch it if the spell were to break.” He put a hand to the stone, his fingertips beginning to glow. Soon, the golden light encompassed his arm up to the elbow, and sweat began to break out on his brow. “Shit, Felix, I could use some help with this…” even after only a few moments, the strain in his voice was incredible. Rushing over to the other side, I put my own hand to the arch, a silver aura tinged with black flecks encompassing my own arm as I called on my power. Within seconds, the runes on either side of the arch began to glow starting from our fingers and flowing up the structure, until they met in the middle.

The instant the two halves met, a power like nothing I’d ever felt before flooded my body. Within moments, it overflowed, and the resulting burst of raw energy sent me flying through the air, until my back collided with the wall that had been at least five meters away. Darkness was eating at the edges of my sight, but I refused to give in to unconsciousness. With a pained grunt I got to my feet after sliding down the wall to the floor. A look to the left showed me Alaric slumped against the wall, out cold.

Despite my best efforts at staying conscious, the darkness kept encroaching. Realizing how little time I had, I said, “Shun, if the runes are fixed, get that gate open and drag us to Canterlot if you have to.” I staggered, coughing. When I felt something sticky on my lip, I wiped it away, and my hand came away bloody. Well shit… was all I had time to think, before I pitched forward, falling into warm blackness before even my knees hit the floor.

aaaaaaaaand another one down. wait.... is this a cliffhanger!? *ominous music*

Misunderstandings

A dream? I wondered, looking around. If it was, it was certainly unusual. The room was solid, detailed to the point that there were even imperfections, like a nick in the kettle on the fire. The room itself was rather small. In one corner was a bed, another held the fireplace with a kettle, complete with something foul-smelling boiling inside. Aside from those two spaces, almost every other space was crammed with books. I even recognized a copy of the book I’d written on the use of non-combat spells in combat situations, which confused me. Only fifteen copies had been written that I was aware of… besides the original, that is.

Finally, I noticed the figure hunched over the desk next to the bed, face buried in… wait that was MY book! But how? It had just been sitting on the table! I looked again, and the book was no longer where it had been.

“Ah, good: you’re here.” The figure finally looked up. “I’ve been waiting for you to find your way here.”

I looked him up and down for a moment, or at least what I could see of him. He couldn’t have been more than twenty-five, with brown hair and tan skin. But his youthful appearance was belied by his eyes. They were the eyes of an old man: tired, experienced, wise.

“Where are we… and who’re you?” my hand crept toward my sword, but found only air.

The man noticed the motion. “Your sword’s still with your body, along with your Element. As for your questions, the complete answers are rather complicated and would take too long to explain. Suffice it to say, we’re no longer in the physical realm.”

“You mean we’re in one of the Aetherial Realms?”

“For one of your era, you’re surprisingly knowledgeable of the Old Ways.”

“Since you’re reading my book, I’d have thought you knew of that already. Especially since that looks like my original copy, complete with all my notes!” My tone was borderline accusatory.

“You’re the one who brought this here, in your memories.” The man admonished, “I’m merely looking at it as you remember it.”

“You still haven’t answered my second question.” I flatly stated, barely fazed. The Aetherial planes were all unique, and anything was possible in them.

He paused, looking me up and down for a long time. “I apologize, but I’m afraid I can’t reveal that to you yet. Much too soon, too much to do before you’re ready.”

That answer, cryptic as it was, said something at least. “You’re an ancient mage,” I said, firmly. “I don’t know which one, but that’s the only thing I can make sense of.”

He just grinned at me. “Ah yes! I needed to tell you something, and time runs short!” His eyes began to glow green, and an aura of power like none I’d ever felt before flowed from him. In a voice that was completely different than the one that had been speaking mere moments before, he began, “Trust not the one who wears the form of the Alicorn and bears dominion over the heart,” the world began to fade, as if I was being pulled away, perhaps back to my body. “For in her heart she holds a great darkness; a darkness ….” There was more, but it faded into the darkness that began to encompass everything.

I was unfortunate enough to wake to two unpleasant sensations. First, golden light burned into my eyes and blinded me even before I managed to open them. Then came the pain; pure, burning agony from my whole body, centering in my chest and stomach and flaring out from there. After a moment, I could feel myself moving, and it was as if I was… floating. “Fuck… my everything,” I groaned, my voice coming out weaker than I intended. Despite my eyes screaming at me that it was a bad idea, I forced them open just a crack.

Above me, not three meters from my eyes, the sun burned intensely. A quick shift of my eyes showed that it curved inward, but a dark shape interrupted my inspection before I could complete it. “Don’t try to move, Felix. I’m not sure how bad it is yet.”

With a groan, I relaxed. If my companions were here, there was no need to worry. “Who’s carrying me?” I asked. Alaric was probably still out, even if he’d been healed already, and Shun was obviously too busy probing me with her diagnostic magic to be maintaining a levitation spell.

“Oh, that’d be Twilight,” she said casually. Immediately I attempted to leap away in terror, but as if the unicorn had been expecting this move, the spell shifted and caught me, holding me firmly in place, but not before a surge of blinding pain forced me to forgo any plans of escape.

“Am I really that bad?” squeaked the voice of absolute terror from somewhere underneath me.

“Nope,” was Shun’s long-winded response.

A few seconds of silence passed, until suddenly…

“AHA!” The cry of victory accompanied a sharp pain in my belly, followed by countless, tumbling through my form like the ripples after a rock hits water. Then, the pain faded into a warm, soothing pleasure.

“’Bout time,” I mumbled, sleepily.

“That’s right,” muttered the healer. “Sleep.”

Twilight watched the human female, Shun, use a very strange spell. The threads of power woven by her ‘fingers’ so fine that they were nearly invisible, even to the unicorn. Suddenly, with a triumphant shout that made the pony jump in surprise, the threads melted into Felix’s body, and he fainted again. A quick shift of her eyes showed that the threads of magic, moving so fast that she couldn’t even begin to guess how they worked, started to heal his broken body.

“Wow…” was all she could manage. The complexity of that spell was years beyond her. Maybe decades. “Where did you learn to do that!?”

The woman glanced over at her briefly, before moving onto the other injured human. “My clan specializes in the healing arts. Even the youngest of us know more about the human body than the entirety of any other clan put together.” She gave Twilight a quick wink. “And I always had a knack for magic, so putting the two together just felt… natural.”

They finally reached the end of the bridge between Princess Luna’s castle and Canterlot. Almost as soon as they exited the brightly-lit portal, they found their way barred by two guards, both unicorns, for but a moment until they saw the Princess and the Elements of Harmony. Though the strange creatures they were escorting gave them pause, they were not so foolish as to attempt to hinder these ponies.

Walking through the doors, they walked down a set of spiral stairs until they hit the ground floor. Twilight, long familiar with the castle’s layout, led the way through the twisting corridors to her old chambers, still unoccupied and with her things still lying exactly where she’d left them, even after more than a year away. Stopping in the center of the room, she turned to face the humans. “I will request an audience with Princess Celestia. Everypony else should wait here… shouldn’t be more than a few hours for her personal student.” The lavender unicorn almost glowed with pride at her own words.

“No,” Princess Luna’s voice was soft, but it made Twilight jump in surprise. “This is a matter of the utmost importance. We shall inform my sister of this, and thou will have her ear within the hour.”

Twilight deflated visibly. “G-good idea…” she said, almost dejectedly.

“Hey, cheer up kid,” said Shun. “Even I couldn’t compete with royalty when it comes to getting attention.”

Even before I opened my eyes, I bolted upright, the covers flying away from my chest as I began searching for clues to my location. My eyes opened as the covers hit my legs, and began to dart around the room, taking not of the bookshelves, the windows, the doors, the… two armored unicorns staring at me as I slept? Shit. With a quick somersault, I vaulted off the bed, landing on my feet almost two meters away and taking up an unarmed fighting stance, facing the steel-clad ponies, who simply watched me, not attacking.

“Where are my weapons?” I asked cautiously, taking note of the polished marble… Not as good as normal rock, but it’ll have to do. Wordlessly and simultaneously, the two white unicorns lifted a hoof and pointed… to the nightstand directly next to the bed, where my blades were calmly sitting despite my failure to see them. More than a little red in the face, I’m sure, I made my way over to them, and strapped them in place, glad for more than one reason that I was still dressed.

Turning back to the door, the comforting weight of my weapons back in their places, I said, “Please stand aside.” Of course, the two didn’t budge. “If you do not allow me to leave, I will force my way out.” My hand moved to grip my sword’s hilt as I advanced on the two soldiers.

To my surprise, the one on the left finally spoke. “We’ve been ordered to escort you through the castle, kid, but don’t expect us to bow to your every whim just because the Princess’s personal student has taken a liking to you.”

“Who has taken a liking to me?” I asked, more than merely confused. I’d never even met anyone who claimed to have that title.

With a grunt of annoyance came the reply, “Lady Twilight Sparkle.” And my head went spinning. That crazy unicorn was a noble?! Looking around, this time out of curiosity, I noticed that this was the kind of place I could imagine her living. Bookshelves on every wall, going up to the ceiling, and all crammed with books so tightly, it wouldn’t have surprised me if magic had been used to jam them together.

“This is her… Lady Twilight’s room, isn’t it?” the looks I was given were about as close to a ‘well duh,’ as it got. “Well this is awkward… care to ‘escort’ me anywhere but here?”

I swear I saw a brief flash of understanding dart across those blank faces, but it could very well have been my imagination. “Where are you planning to go?”

I paused to think for a moment. “Where are the others who came with me?”

“They should be on their way to the throne room as we speak for their audience with the princesses.”

“Take me to them.”

I was led quickly through the winding corridors, and it was obvious almost instantly how lost I’d have been on my own. Within just a couple minutes, my guides managed to find their way to a set of massive double-doors. Just outside stood my comrades, Nero’s hand already on the door handle. Without a word to my guards, I sprinted up to catch them just as the doors swung open. “’Bout time, Felix,” Al muttered to me. “I was starting to think you wouldn’t make it.”

I was about to reply, but then a loud, feminine voice said, “Welcome to Equestria, my sister has said only…” she broke off, staring at us for a moment. “YOU!” she screamed, “YOU DARE TO RETURN HERE?! GUARDS!”

I was confused, but with the sound of clanking steel signaling the arrival of what seemed to be a hundred guards, I didn’t have time to dwell on it. A quick look around, and we’d all met eyes. That glance was all it took.

We moved as one. Grabbing the threads of magic from the surrounding stone with my fingertips, I gave a slight tug, and the floor directly behind us rose to form a wall, cutting off reinforcements. I sensed Al casting stun spells from his staff, while everybody else formed up around us, weapons drawn and lowered at the bright-white princess. Within seconds, the only ones not paralyzed by Al’s spellcasting were us and the two princesses. Tying off the threads with a flick of my wrist, the new wall behind us wasn’t going anywhere for now.

With an inarticulate scream of rage, Celestia jumped at us with a flap of her wings, firing a stream of burning golden fire at us from the tip of her horn. Drawing my sword, I leapt in front of the inferno, slashing down. My blade met resistance, and it took all I had to hold it before me, cutting the blaze to part off to the sides, where I could hear it blasting through the marble I’d raised. The heat was incredible! Fortunately, it took only a moment for the fire to cease, though the end of it blasted me back, leaving me dazed. Unfortunately, that horn was pointed straight at me and the alicorn was still flying straight where it led.

At the last possible instant, a large, hulking form appeared in front of me so fast it was almost as if it’d been teleported in. Nero’s feet slid back a bit when the weight of the flying pony slammed into his grip, full-force. Just as quickly, three other shapes appeared: Shun to the left, an arrow drawn and positioned barely a centimeter from the princess’s right eye; Satomi, with the tip of her katana just as close on the opposite side; Dexter stood calmly between her wings, the tip of his longsword resting gently against the back of her skull. Panting, I stood back up and moved around to stand next to Nero. Only then did I notice that the horn he had saved me from was resting against his throat, just barely breaking skin and drawing blood.

“What the fuck!?” Was all I could manage to say. Looking around, I realized that, despite the inelegance of the phrase, all our thoughts were expressed perfectly by those three words.

One sky-blue eye alighted on me, and a look of confusion took it. “Who’re you?”

“What do you mean!? You attacked us!” Yelled Shun.

Looking over the rest of us, the alicorn seemed… confused. “You have the same aura…” she muttered, so quietly I may have been the only one to hear, “but different faces…”

There was a clanking of metal, and suddenly, I felt cold steel pressing against the back of my head. Looking around, I saw a look on each of my companions’ faces that said they felt the same thing.

Nero looked into the princess’s eyes and said, “You gunna to have them lower the weapons, or’ll we have to fight y’all ‘fore we can even warn ya about the comin’ war?”

The equine’s eyes widened at his words, and her body relaxed. “Guards, lower your hooves. I would like to speak with these warriors in peace.” There was barely a moment’s hesitation before I felt the edge lift from my skull. Slowly, cautiously, I sheathed my sword, taking a step back as the others did likewise.

“Hang on, let me unseal the entrance,” I said, grabbing the magical knot and undoing it with a quick mental flick, allowing the now-broken wall to sink back into the floor, leaving barely a hint that it had ever been anything but smooth marble. Instantly, many more armored soldiers rushed in, but stopped when they heard their princess call them off.

“Guards, leave us,” Commanded the princess. “Twilight Sparkle, if you would be so kind as to fetch your brother from his office? And made sure you and he come back alone.” The purple unicorn nodded vigorously, disappearing in a flash of light.

“Unicorns can teleport that easily?!” Demanded Alaric and I in unison, the two of us instantly distracted by the magical curiosity.

Just as quickly, we received annoyed looks from the other four. “Is this really the time?” demanded Shun. At her tone, we recoiled.

“Oh, right,” mumbled Al.

“Yeah… we’ll find out later,” I said to him.

No sooner than did I speak did Twilight reappear before us. “He said he’ll be right here.”

We waited almost ten seconds. Then, finally, another flash signaled a second, larger pony to appear. Instantly, something went wrong. The new pony leapt at me with a wordless battle cry, attempting to spear me on his horn the same way Celestia had done. With no time to draw a weapon to deflect the blow, and nobody near enough to help me, I did the only other thing I could and released my wings again, wincing when I realized that it would no doubt tear my shirt up again, and the jacket, too.

The silver-speckled blades caught his horn at the tip, wrapping around me like armor made from the night sky. Looking him in the eye, I saw the surprise I expected to see, but also… was that respect? Pushing my wings out, I easily tossed him back, watching as he was caught in a golden haze that kept him from hitting the floor.

“Shining!” came Twilights distressed cry.

Looking around, I saw that everyone in the room was watching me, weapons drawn. So, they’re all waiting to see if I’ll be the one to ruin this delicate balancing act? I thought. No pressure. Taking a deep breath, I stood straight, looking the unicorn that had just attacked me in the eye. “No hard feelings,” I said, “I’d probably have done the same thing.”

The tension in the room relaxed instantly, and it palpable.

Celestia let out a small sigh. “So, what’s this about a war coming?” she demanded.