The Adventure of Harmonyby epiccuttlefishChaptersIn-Universe TimelineChapter 1Chapter 2In-Universe TimelineAuthor's Note To avoid spoilers, this chapter only contains major events prior to the start of the story. In-Universe Timeline June, 0 NMMR (Nightmare Moon's Reign): Nightmare Moon returns. The Mane Six fail to realize the truth of the Elements after Nightmare Moon destroys their physical forms. Nightmare Moon, confident in her victory, allows them to leave with the fragments of the Elements. November, 0 NMMR: Queen Chrysalis, driven by the threat of starvation, increase the number of love harvesters she sends into Equestria, resulting in Nightmare Moon discovering her and her hive. Recognizing their abilities, Nightmare Moon offers her a choice: Join her and act as her secret police, or die. Chrysalis accepts. As a reward, Nightmare Moon provides them with a near-limitless food supply: Ex-Princess Cadance. March, 1 NMMR: The Crystal Empire returns. Faced with no outside influence, King Sombra quickly reclaims the throne. April, 1 NMMR: First meeting between Sombra and Nightmare Moon. They start to fall in love. October, 2 NMMR: An agreement is reached between King Sombra and Nightmare Moon, having the Crystal Heart moved to Queen Chrysalis's hive, both making King Sombra's best-known weakness much harder to access and providing Chrysalis's hive with a much larger food supply. June, 4 NMMR: Nightmare Moon and King Sombra get married. August, 5 NMMR: The Mane Six discover that the Elements were inside them all along, causing the fragments of the Elements to reform into new Elements. They promptly attempt to use the re-formed Elements to defeat King Sombra and Queen Nightmare Moon, but they are stopped by Queen Chrysalis. Twilight manages to teleport her friends and their Elements to safety, but is unable to escape herself. King Sombra and Queen Nightmare Moon place her in stasis to prevent the Element of Magic from choosing a new Bearer. January, 9 NMMR: Queen Nightmare Moon declares a new calendar: years are now defined in relation to the beginning of her reign. December, 17 NMMR: After many failed attempts to rescue Twilight, the remaining Bearers decide to hide their Elements and devise tests to ensure that only future Bearers can retrieve the Elements. August, 23 NMMR: Changeling Queen Antennae is killed by forces under Queen Chrysalis's command, leaving Chrysalis as the only known living Royal Changeling. July, 27 NMMR: The tests and traps that the five remaining Bearers and their allies devised to protect the Elements are finally completed and the Elements are hidden away. September, 39 NMMR: Moondancer is named Archmage. April, 50 NMMR: After a particularly successful attempt to kill King Sombra and Queen Nightmare Moon, they decide to have an heir. May, 50 NMMR: King Sombra and Queen Nightmare Moon begin the process of producing an heir, recycling Twilight's soul (chosen for her magical prowess), and using dark magic to further enhance their still-unborn child's magical powers. June, 51 NMMR: Crown Princess Nyx, daughter of King Sombra and Queen Nightmare Moon, is born. January, 53 NMMR: Princess Amaryllis, daughter of Queen Chrysalis (and the only other known living Royal Changeling) hatches. September, 60 NMMR: Dusk Wing's village is destroyed by the forces of King Sombra and Queen Nightmare Moon. January, 78 NMMR: This story begins. Chapter 1It was nighttime in town of Hollow Shades. Of course, it has been nighttime in all of Equestria ever since Nightmare Moon took over almost eighty years ago, though many would say that it had always been nighttime, and that 'day' was just a myth. Dusk Wing was one of them. Physically, Dusk was not too far out of the ordinary. He was more muscular than average, though not as much so as some ponies. He had navy blue fur, a dark blue mane, bright blue eyes, and a scar under his left eye. His cutie mark consisted of a crescent moon emblazoned of a shield. Like all thestrals, he had a pair of bat-like wings, similar to how pegasi have bird-like wings. But his past was another matter. Almost two decades ago, the army of Queen Nightmare Moon and King Sombra had descended on his village, reducing it to ash and rubble. It was then that he had earned his cutie mark - and his scar, protecting the other colts and fillies of the village as they escaped from the attacking soldiers. At one point, he had thrown a rock at one of the soldiers from behind, knocking him to the ground, in order so save a filly half his age. At the time, he was too busy running for his life to check if the soldier was dead or just unconscious, and had never bother to find out which was true at any time since then. As soon as he was old enough, he became a bodyguard, protecting those with causes he found just from bandits and the evil regents' forces alike, plotting ways that he could overthrow their evil rule. He knew that none of his plans would ever go anywhere, but it was fun and cathartic nonetheless. But recently, he had been getting... nudges, to take a break from being a bodyguard to act on his plans, to act out against the evil King and Queen. He ignored them for a while, but they kept getting stronger until he gave in. Which is why he found himself being led by a unicorn guidepony to a secret room underneath a bar, where he was told he could find some ponies who could help. He and his guide quickly reached their destination, an unassuming cellar filled with large casks of beer. The guidepony looked around for a moment, before inserting his torch into a specific sconce. He then walked over to one of the casks and opened it, revealing it to not actually be a cask full of beer, but rather a secret passageway, lit by a turquoise magelight. He then used his magic to retrieve his torch and indicated for Dusk to enter the passageway. "Shouldn't you go first?" Dusk asked. "I have to close the 'cask' behind us," the guidepony explained. Dusk nodded and entered the secret tunnel. While his guide closed the secret entrance behind them, he explored the stone-brick tunnel. It was a dead end. "This is a dead end! Where are you taking me?" Dusk asked. The guidepony simply smiled and knocked on a specific stone brick in a particular pattern. Two knocks, three rapid knocks, a brief pause, two more knocks. About a second later, a wooden door opened in the near the end of the passage, the illusion spell that had been hiding it failing as it did so. He indicated for Dusk to enter. On the other side of the door, there was a small room. There was a small table in the middle of it, obviously intended for two ponies to have a discussion. Bookshelves, about half full with books of varying ages, lined the back wall. The left wall was bare, and the open door prevented Dusk from seeing the right wall. "Have a seat," a voice called from Dusk's right, startling him. The voice sounded like a mare's voice, but distorted and deeper than any mare's voice had any right being. As Dusk did as the voice bid him to, the guidepony (who he still didn't know the name of) stepped into the room behind him and closed the door. As he did so, Dusk realized that the room was L-shaped, and that the secret passageway that he had taken to get here would intersect the room if it extended any further. The owner of the voice came around the corner soon after. They were tall (about half a head taller than Dusk), and wearing a baggy cloak that prevented him from determining any of their other physical features, even gender, though the shape of the hood indicated that the were either a unicorn or were wearing a fake horn. "Thank you Astral," they said, looking at the guidepony, before turning to look at Dusk. "Anyway, sorry about the wait, however short it may have been. I was just doing some research. Would you like something to drink?" When Dusk nodded, the mystery pony used their magic (turquoise, Dusk noted) to retrieve a decanter of a pale yellow liquid and three glasses from a small, frost-covered metal box that Dusk hadn't noticed earlier. As the mystery pony began pouring the liquid into the glasses, Dusk's mind made a connection to something he had seen earlier. "The magelight outside. It's yours, isn't it?" The mystery pony paused for half a second before replying. "Yes. How could you tell?" "Magelights are always the same color as their owner's magic, and can only be recharged by their owner, so I knew that that magelight's owner had to be somepony fairly close, that could be trusted to stay close, and has turquoise magic," Dusk replied. The mystery pony passed out the three glasses (one to Dusk, one to the guidepony that Dusk now knew was named Astral, and one for themselves) as they replied. "Not many ponies know that." Dusk was about to take a sip of the liquid when he realized something. "How do I know that you aren't one of Chrysalis's changelings?" The mystery pony had taken a sip while Dusk was talking, and tapped their now half-empty glass. "This is lemonade." "So?" The mystery pony looked at Dusk like he was stupid, which was somewhat impressive, considering how much of their body language was obscured by their cloak. "Lemonade is made from lemon juice. Everypony knows that changelings are allergic to lemon juice." "Fair enough," Dusk replied. "Anyway, I'm Dusk Wing. What's your name?" "His name is Astral Bristle," the mystery pony said, pointing at Astral. "You can call me Dusty Cloak. And before you ask, yes, I am a mare." "Dusty Cloak? That's obviously a pseudonym. What's your real name?" Dusk replied. "I'm wearing a cloak that hides my features and I am wearing an amulet that is enchanted to distort my voice so that it can't be recognized - which is very expensive to get, by the way. What makes you think that I would tell you my real name?" she responded. Dusk opened and closed his mouth a few times before replying. "Good point." "On to business, then. What do you think of our illustrious rulers?" Dusty asked, in a tone of voice carefully crafted to leave it ambiguous whether or not she was being sarcastic. Dusk decided to be honest. "They're evil and need to die." Dusty sighed. "That's... a bit extreme. I don't think they're evil. Yes, they are terrible leaders, and yes, they do need to removed from power, and I can't think of any way to remove them from power without either killing them or causing a civil war, but I don't think that they're evil." "Civil war? Who would be stupid enough to support them?" Dusk asked incredulously. "Most of the nobility is loyal to them, as are the military leaders (and thus most of the military), as well as Queen Chrysalis and her changelings." Dusty explained. "Huh. I assume you have a plan, then?" "Yes," Dusty replied, pulling a binder full of notes out of the bookshelf. "In my research, I have found evidence of a set of six magical artifacts known as the 'Elements of Harmony', which have been used previously to defeat Nightmare Moon and Should work against Sombra as well. If they don't, there's another magical artifact, the 'Crystal Heart', which has been used to defeat him. I am just unsure of how to deal with Chrysalis... I don't know if the Elements would work on her, a I am certain that the Heart wouldn't. But she is the weakest of the three, so seeing the defeat of Sombra and Nightmare Moon might convince her to surrender." "Sounds like you've done your research. So how do we get and use these artifacts?" "That's the tricky part. Almost every reference that I've found to the Elements says that they can only be used by six friends who embody the Elements: Honesty, Magic, Loyalty, Kindness, Laughter, and Generosity. As for getting them, the Element of Magic was last seen in the possession of a unicorn named Twilight Sparkle when she was captured by Sombra and Nightmare Moon almost seventy-five years ago. As for the other five, there are rumors that the other five Bearers at the time hid them in ways that ensure that only future Bearers can find them. As for the Crystal Heart, it was relatively easy to find its location: Chrysalis's main hive." "Great. The more useful artifacts you found are useless with one destroyed, and even IF we had them all, we would still need to find six specific ponies AND convince them to help us AND get them to become friends! And the LESS helpful artifact is still in one of the most heavily-guarded places in Equestria! How does any of that help us!?" Dusk interrupted. "It's not that bad. Nightmare Moon tried to destroy the Elements when she first took over, and failed then, so it's likely that the she and Sombra couldn't destroy the Element of Magic and it's just in the Everfree Palace somewhere. And from my research, it seems like the Elements 'choose' Bearers who are already friends - or will be friends when they need to use the Elements. As for finding the Bearers, my cutie mark includes the ancient symbol of Magic, just like the previous Bearer of Magic, so it seems likely that I am the Bearer of Magic. And if I am one of the Bearers, I feel that it is likely that my long-time friend Obsidia is another one," Dusty calmly replied. "Well, sounds like your plan might work. What should I do to help?" "I think that it would be best if you joined us on our search for the Elements and the other Bearers. You're a bodyguard, correct?" "Yeah. So where and when should I meet you?" "Tomorrow at 9AM, west edge of town. Astral will be staying here to keep an eye out, so it'll just be me and Obsidia." "Alright then, tomorrow at 9, at the west edge of town." Author's Note I have set myself a writing goal of 500 words/day for the summer, split between this fic and my other fic, Secure Containment for Ponies, so updates for both should be quicker than last summer. Chapter 2As the chosen time approached, Dusk walked west through the town, his well-used (but well-maintained) armor muffled and hidden beneath hes cloak, his custom-made wing-blades concealed and ready to be used at a moment's notice. As he did so, he wondered why Dusty had chosen the west edge of town. There were no roads leading out of town in that direction. He didn't think there were any trails leading in that direction, only wild, untamed forest (which Dusk had heard had been unheard of outside of the Everfree before Nightmare Moon rose to power). When he reached the edge of town (not long after - the town was not large), he saw two ponies waiting. One of them was Dusty cloak (or at least he presumed so - the cloak that they were wearing made it impossible to be certain). The other was a unicorn mare with a very dark purple coat, a long, straight, black mane, and bright green eyes. Her cutie mark was a knife with a black blade. It did not include any blood (like an assassin's would), but it did not include any smithing equipment (like a cutler's or knifesmith's would), either. "Hello, Dusk!" the cloaked pony called, her familiar, distorted voice confirming that it was, in fact, Dusty Cloak. She indicated the other pony waiting. "As you may have guessed, this is Obsidia." Obsidia nodded towards Dusk. "Greetings," she said, her voice smooth and refined, marking her as a pony of noble birth and upbringing. Dusk nodded back, and turned towards Dusty. "So, why did you chose to meet here? There's nothing in this direction besides forest." "That's exactly why. Because there's nothing here, there aren't any ponies here, so I figured it would be easy for us to find each other," Dusty replied. "That's smart. So where do we go now?" Dusk asked. "The way I see it, we have two options. We can either take the main road north, as that's the only road out of town; or we can travel through the forest. I don't see any reason to go through the forest, as we haven't yet done anything worthy of being stopped by the guards, so I think that we should take the road," Obsidia said. "I still think that we should go through the forest. If we travel by road, then the guards could record our journey (which my disguise makes more likely), and, once we do do something to attract the attention of the guards, they could retrace our journey and find anypony who has helped us and punish and/or question them," Dusty argued. "Looks like you'll have to act as the tiebreaker, Dusk," Obsidia observed. Dusk thought for a few seconds before coming to a decision. "We should travel through the forest to enter and leave towns in order to avoid the guards, but travel on the roads for most of the journey for safety," Dusk said. Obsidia thought for a moment. "Coming onto the road from the forest is suspicious, but we might not be seen doing so, and not everypony who sees us will report us to the guards, so the overall risk is lower." "I still don't like it. I can't really exercise in this cloak, and traveling on a road increases the chance that somepony will stumble on me when I'm exercising," Dusty said. "Hmm... That's a good point... Maybe we could camp a bit farther into the forest than normal? Or you could walk a bit into the forest to exercise?" Dusk suggested. "That's... fair. Let's do that," Dusty agreed. "So... where are we going?" Dusk asked. "Good question... Dusty?" Obsidia said, looking towards Dusty. "I haven't decided yet... but I feel that we should go to Hourton. I don't have any logical reason for that, just a feeling," Dusty replied. Obsidia thought for a moment, before sighing. "I can't think of a better place to go. I'm sure there is a better place to go, I just can't think of it, so let's go with that." "If we're going to Hourton, it might be faster to go straight through the forest rather than travel on the roads. More dangerous, but likely faster," Dusk added. "We have two powerful mages and a professional bodyguard. I think that we can handle the increased danger," Dusty said. "In my experience, having somepony say something like that means that things will go very poorly," Dusk grumbled, "but if that's the course that you two want to take, then I'll go along." Several hours later, the three ponies were heading north-east through the forest. Dusty' and Obsidia's magelights, combined with what little moonlight filtered through the thick foliage, allowed them to see their surroundings. Not as much as they would have liked, but enough to move through the forest. Dusk was using his wing-blades to clear a path through the thick vegetation, with Obsidia using her bright-green magic to cut through the branches that were too tough for Dusk to cut. Dusty's horn glowed as she cast a spell to check the time. "We should probably stop for lunch before too long. It's after noon." "About time. I could really use a break," Dusk replied. "I'll get the food," Dusty said. As Dusty retrieved the food from her interdimensional storage space, Dusk and Obsidia began retrieving their mess kits from their saddlebags. "I don't think you'll need your mess kits for this. It's just daisy sandwiches," Dusty said. Dusk and Obsidia both put their stuff back into their packs as Dusty distributed the sandwiches. "So, how does that 'pocket dimension' thing of yours work, Dusty?" Dusk asked. "First off, it's not a true pocket dimension. As for how it works, it opens a portal to the void between realms, a place where time does not pass. I put stuff in; the stuff stays there, unchanging; I take stuff out. Theoretically, anypony who can open such a portal could access my storage space, but only I know where it is in the void. And besides, only powerful and skilled mages can cast the spell required," Dusty answered. "Okay... so how is that different from a pocket dimension?" Dusk asked. Obsidia replied this time. "A pocket dimension is just that - a dimension created by the user for some purpose. Currently, there is no known portable way to access pocket dimensions - it's just too magic-intensive for any pony or known pony-portable artifact to do. What Dusty is doing is putting stuff in the space between dimensions, which is much easier to do." "Hmm..." Dusk thought, before changing the subject. "So, how far are we from Hourton?" Obsidia's horn lit up as she cast a spell to determine her position. "We've made good time. At our current pace, I'd say we're about another two to three hours away." After the sandwiches had been eaten, Dusty spoke to Obsidia. "Obsidia, do you want me to be on branch-cutting duty for the rest of the day?" "No, it's fine. Besides, you are more experienced with combat magic than I am, so it makes sense for you to conserve your magic for when we run into something nasty," Obsidia replied. As if on cue, a howl disrupted the relatively-peaceful forest. Birds flew from the trees and small animals skittered away towards safety. Dusk recognized the the howl. He had heard it many times before. "Timberwolves." Crown Princess Nyx walked to her parents' room in the Everfree Palace, knocking on the door twice before entering. "Mom?" she called. "Yes, sweetie?" Queen Nightmare Moon replied. "Amaryllis and I were doing some research, and we found some references to six magical artifacts that could be used to defeat you and Dad, the 'Elements of Harmony'. One of them was last seen in your possession, so I assume that you or Dad know where it is, so we figured that we should go retrieve the other five. We already have a plan." "Chrysalis's changelings have been searching for the remaining five Elements for decades. What makes you think you can find them when they haven't?" Nyx explained the plan that she and Amaryllis had come up with. Nightmare Moon smiled. "That might actually work. Well done, sweetie. But why should you go instead of a well-chosen group of guards?" "I just feel that this is important enough to warrant our action. And besides, even a well-chosen guard might turn out to be disloyal, especially given the circumstances of the plan. Don't forget that both Amaryllis and I are probably in the top five mages in the world, so we can handle just about anything." "Well spoken, sweetie. You've convinced me. We'll just have to see if you can convince your father." Princess Amaryllis walked into the throne room of the primary Changeling Hive. Queen Chrysalis got up off of her throne and walked towards her. "What do you need, my daughter?" "Nyx and I were doing some research, and we found that there are some magical artifacts that could be used to kill King Sombra and Queen Nightmare Moon, so we feel that we should retrieve them." Chrysalis thought for a few moments. "If Nyx's parents say she can go, you can go too." "Really? Thanks, mom!" That evening, Nyx and Amaryllis met in the Palace's courtyard. "What did your parents say?" Amaryllis asked. "They said that I can go!" Nyx replied. "What about yours?" "Mom said I can go if you can go." "Great! You go get your stuff, I'll go get my stuff, and we'll meet pack here in, say, two hours? Then, we'll go get those Elements!"
In-Universe TimelineAuthor's Note To avoid spoilers, this chapter only contains major events prior to the start of the story. In-Universe Timeline June, 0 NMMR (Nightmare Moon's Reign): Nightmare Moon returns. The Mane Six fail to realize the truth of the Elements after Nightmare Moon destroys their physical forms. Nightmare Moon, confident in her victory, allows them to leave with the fragments of the Elements. November, 0 NMMR: Queen Chrysalis, driven by the threat of starvation, increase the number of love harvesters she sends into Equestria, resulting in Nightmare Moon discovering her and her hive. Recognizing their abilities, Nightmare Moon offers her a choice: Join her and act as her secret police, or die. Chrysalis accepts. As a reward, Nightmare Moon provides them with a near-limitless food supply: Ex-Princess Cadance. March, 1 NMMR: The Crystal Empire returns. Faced with no outside influence, King Sombra quickly reclaims the throne. April, 1 NMMR: First meeting between Sombra and Nightmare Moon. They start to fall in love. October, 2 NMMR: An agreement is reached between King Sombra and Nightmare Moon, having the Crystal Heart moved to Queen Chrysalis's hive, both making King Sombra's best-known weakness much harder to access and providing Chrysalis's hive with a much larger food supply. June, 4 NMMR: Nightmare Moon and King Sombra get married. August, 5 NMMR: The Mane Six discover that the Elements were inside them all along, causing the fragments of the Elements to reform into new Elements. They promptly attempt to use the re-formed Elements to defeat King Sombra and Queen Nightmare Moon, but they are stopped by Queen Chrysalis. Twilight manages to teleport her friends and their Elements to safety, but is unable to escape herself. King Sombra and Queen Nightmare Moon place her in stasis to prevent the Element of Magic from choosing a new Bearer. January, 9 NMMR: Queen Nightmare Moon declares a new calendar: years are now defined in relation to the beginning of her reign. December, 17 NMMR: After many failed attempts to rescue Twilight, the remaining Bearers decide to hide their Elements and devise tests to ensure that only future Bearers can retrieve the Elements. August, 23 NMMR: Changeling Queen Antennae is killed by forces under Queen Chrysalis's command, leaving Chrysalis as the only known living Royal Changeling. July, 27 NMMR: The tests and traps that the five remaining Bearers and their allies devised to protect the Elements are finally completed and the Elements are hidden away. September, 39 NMMR: Moondancer is named Archmage. April, 50 NMMR: After a particularly successful attempt to kill King Sombra and Queen Nightmare Moon, they decide to have an heir. May, 50 NMMR: King Sombra and Queen Nightmare Moon begin the process of producing an heir, recycling Twilight's soul (chosen for her magical prowess), and using dark magic to further enhance their still-unborn child's magical powers. June, 51 NMMR: Crown Princess Nyx, daughter of King Sombra and Queen Nightmare Moon, is born. January, 53 NMMR: Princess Amaryllis, daughter of Queen Chrysalis (and the only other known living Royal Changeling) hatches. September, 60 NMMR: Dusk Wing's village is destroyed by the forces of King Sombra and Queen Nightmare Moon. January, 78 NMMR: This story begins.
Chapter 1It was nighttime in town of Hollow Shades. Of course, it has been nighttime in all of Equestria ever since Nightmare Moon took over almost eighty years ago, though many would say that it had always been nighttime, and that 'day' was just a myth. Dusk Wing was one of them. Physically, Dusk was not too far out of the ordinary. He was more muscular than average, though not as much so as some ponies. He had navy blue fur, a dark blue mane, bright blue eyes, and a scar under his left eye. His cutie mark consisted of a crescent moon emblazoned of a shield. Like all thestrals, he had a pair of bat-like wings, similar to how pegasi have bird-like wings. But his past was another matter. Almost two decades ago, the army of Queen Nightmare Moon and King Sombra had descended on his village, reducing it to ash and rubble. It was then that he had earned his cutie mark - and his scar, protecting the other colts and fillies of the village as they escaped from the attacking soldiers. At one point, he had thrown a rock at one of the soldiers from behind, knocking him to the ground, in order so save a filly half his age. At the time, he was too busy running for his life to check if the soldier was dead or just unconscious, and had never bother to find out which was true at any time since then. As soon as he was old enough, he became a bodyguard, protecting those with causes he found just from bandits and the evil regents' forces alike, plotting ways that he could overthrow their evil rule. He knew that none of his plans would ever go anywhere, but it was fun and cathartic nonetheless. But recently, he had been getting... nudges, to take a break from being a bodyguard to act on his plans, to act out against the evil King and Queen. He ignored them for a while, but they kept getting stronger until he gave in. Which is why he found himself being led by a unicorn guidepony to a secret room underneath a bar, where he was told he could find some ponies who could help. He and his guide quickly reached their destination, an unassuming cellar filled with large casks of beer. The guidepony looked around for a moment, before inserting his torch into a specific sconce. He then walked over to one of the casks and opened it, revealing it to not actually be a cask full of beer, but rather a secret passageway, lit by a turquoise magelight. He then used his magic to retrieve his torch and indicated for Dusk to enter the passageway. "Shouldn't you go first?" Dusk asked. "I have to close the 'cask' behind us," the guidepony explained. Dusk nodded and entered the secret tunnel. While his guide closed the secret entrance behind them, he explored the stone-brick tunnel. It was a dead end. "This is a dead end! Where are you taking me?" Dusk asked. The guidepony simply smiled and knocked on a specific stone brick in a particular pattern. Two knocks, three rapid knocks, a brief pause, two more knocks. About a second later, a wooden door opened in the near the end of the passage, the illusion spell that had been hiding it failing as it did so. He indicated for Dusk to enter. On the other side of the door, there was a small room. There was a small table in the middle of it, obviously intended for two ponies to have a discussion. Bookshelves, about half full with books of varying ages, lined the back wall. The left wall was bare, and the open door prevented Dusk from seeing the right wall. "Have a seat," a voice called from Dusk's right, startling him. The voice sounded like a mare's voice, but distorted and deeper than any mare's voice had any right being. As Dusk did as the voice bid him to, the guidepony (who he still didn't know the name of) stepped into the room behind him and closed the door. As he did so, Dusk realized that the room was L-shaped, and that the secret passageway that he had taken to get here would intersect the room if it extended any further. The owner of the voice came around the corner soon after. They were tall (about half a head taller than Dusk), and wearing a baggy cloak that prevented him from determining any of their other physical features, even gender, though the shape of the hood indicated that the were either a unicorn or were wearing a fake horn. "Thank you Astral," they said, looking at the guidepony, before turning to look at Dusk. "Anyway, sorry about the wait, however short it may have been. I was just doing some research. Would you like something to drink?" When Dusk nodded, the mystery pony used their magic (turquoise, Dusk noted) to retrieve a decanter of a pale yellow liquid and three glasses from a small, frost-covered metal box that Dusk hadn't noticed earlier. As the mystery pony began pouring the liquid into the glasses, Dusk's mind made a connection to something he had seen earlier. "The magelight outside. It's yours, isn't it?" The mystery pony paused for half a second before replying. "Yes. How could you tell?" "Magelights are always the same color as their owner's magic, and can only be recharged by their owner, so I knew that that magelight's owner had to be somepony fairly close, that could be trusted to stay close, and has turquoise magic," Dusk replied. The mystery pony passed out the three glasses (one to Dusk, one to the guidepony that Dusk now knew was named Astral, and one for themselves) as they replied. "Not many ponies know that." Dusk was about to take a sip of the liquid when he realized something. "How do I know that you aren't one of Chrysalis's changelings?" The mystery pony had taken a sip while Dusk was talking, and tapped their now half-empty glass. "This is lemonade." "So?" The mystery pony looked at Dusk like he was stupid, which was somewhat impressive, considering how much of their body language was obscured by their cloak. "Lemonade is made from lemon juice. Everypony knows that changelings are allergic to lemon juice." "Fair enough," Dusk replied. "Anyway, I'm Dusk Wing. What's your name?" "His name is Astral Bristle," the mystery pony said, pointing at Astral. "You can call me Dusty Cloak. And before you ask, yes, I am a mare." "Dusty Cloak? That's obviously a pseudonym. What's your real name?" Dusk replied. "I'm wearing a cloak that hides my features and I am wearing an amulet that is enchanted to distort my voice so that it can't be recognized - which is very expensive to get, by the way. What makes you think that I would tell you my real name?" she responded. Dusk opened and closed his mouth a few times before replying. "Good point." "On to business, then. What do you think of our illustrious rulers?" Dusty asked, in a tone of voice carefully crafted to leave it ambiguous whether or not she was being sarcastic. Dusk decided to be honest. "They're evil and need to die." Dusty sighed. "That's... a bit extreme. I don't think they're evil. Yes, they are terrible leaders, and yes, they do need to removed from power, and I can't think of any way to remove them from power without either killing them or causing a civil war, but I don't think that they're evil." "Civil war? Who would be stupid enough to support them?" Dusk asked incredulously. "Most of the nobility is loyal to them, as are the military leaders (and thus most of the military), as well as Queen Chrysalis and her changelings." Dusty explained. "Huh. I assume you have a plan, then?" "Yes," Dusty replied, pulling a binder full of notes out of the bookshelf. "In my research, I have found evidence of a set of six magical artifacts known as the 'Elements of Harmony', which have been used previously to defeat Nightmare Moon and Should work against Sombra as well. If they don't, there's another magical artifact, the 'Crystal Heart', which has been used to defeat him. I am just unsure of how to deal with Chrysalis... I don't know if the Elements would work on her, a I am certain that the Heart wouldn't. But she is the weakest of the three, so seeing the defeat of Sombra and Nightmare Moon might convince her to surrender." "Sounds like you've done your research. So how do we get and use these artifacts?" "That's the tricky part. Almost every reference that I've found to the Elements says that they can only be used by six friends who embody the Elements: Honesty, Magic, Loyalty, Kindness, Laughter, and Generosity. As for getting them, the Element of Magic was last seen in the possession of a unicorn named Twilight Sparkle when she was captured by Sombra and Nightmare Moon almost seventy-five years ago. As for the other five, there are rumors that the other five Bearers at the time hid them in ways that ensure that only future Bearers can find them. As for the Crystal Heart, it was relatively easy to find its location: Chrysalis's main hive." "Great. The more useful artifacts you found are useless with one destroyed, and even IF we had them all, we would still need to find six specific ponies AND convince them to help us AND get them to become friends! And the LESS helpful artifact is still in one of the most heavily-guarded places in Equestria! How does any of that help us!?" Dusk interrupted. "It's not that bad. Nightmare Moon tried to destroy the Elements when she first took over, and failed then, so it's likely that the she and Sombra couldn't destroy the Element of Magic and it's just in the Everfree Palace somewhere. And from my research, it seems like the Elements 'choose' Bearers who are already friends - or will be friends when they need to use the Elements. As for finding the Bearers, my cutie mark includes the ancient symbol of Magic, just like the previous Bearer of Magic, so it seems likely that I am the Bearer of Magic. And if I am one of the Bearers, I feel that it is likely that my long-time friend Obsidia is another one," Dusty calmly replied. "Well, sounds like your plan might work. What should I do to help?" "I think that it would be best if you joined us on our search for the Elements and the other Bearers. You're a bodyguard, correct?" "Yeah. So where and when should I meet you?" "Tomorrow at 9AM, west edge of town. Astral will be staying here to keep an eye out, so it'll just be me and Obsidia." "Alright then, tomorrow at 9, at the west edge of town." Author's Note I have set myself a writing goal of 500 words/day for the summer, split between this fic and my other fic, Secure Containment for Ponies, so updates for both should be quicker than last summer.
Chapter 2As the chosen time approached, Dusk walked west through the town, his well-used (but well-maintained) armor muffled and hidden beneath hes cloak, his custom-made wing-blades concealed and ready to be used at a moment's notice. As he did so, he wondered why Dusty had chosen the west edge of town. There were no roads leading out of town in that direction. He didn't think there were any trails leading in that direction, only wild, untamed forest (which Dusk had heard had been unheard of outside of the Everfree before Nightmare Moon rose to power). When he reached the edge of town (not long after - the town was not large), he saw two ponies waiting. One of them was Dusty cloak (or at least he presumed so - the cloak that they were wearing made it impossible to be certain). The other was a unicorn mare with a very dark purple coat, a long, straight, black mane, and bright green eyes. Her cutie mark was a knife with a black blade. It did not include any blood (like an assassin's would), but it did not include any smithing equipment (like a cutler's or knifesmith's would), either. "Hello, Dusk!" the cloaked pony called, her familiar, distorted voice confirming that it was, in fact, Dusty Cloak. She indicated the other pony waiting. "As you may have guessed, this is Obsidia." Obsidia nodded towards Dusk. "Greetings," she said, her voice smooth and refined, marking her as a pony of noble birth and upbringing. Dusk nodded back, and turned towards Dusty. "So, why did you chose to meet here? There's nothing in this direction besides forest." "That's exactly why. Because there's nothing here, there aren't any ponies here, so I figured it would be easy for us to find each other," Dusty replied. "That's smart. So where do we go now?" Dusk asked. "The way I see it, we have two options. We can either take the main road north, as that's the only road out of town; or we can travel through the forest. I don't see any reason to go through the forest, as we haven't yet done anything worthy of being stopped by the guards, so I think that we should take the road," Obsidia said. "I still think that we should go through the forest. If we travel by road, then the guards could record our journey (which my disguise makes more likely), and, once we do do something to attract the attention of the guards, they could retrace our journey and find anypony who has helped us and punish and/or question them," Dusty argued. "Looks like you'll have to act as the tiebreaker, Dusk," Obsidia observed. Dusk thought for a few seconds before coming to a decision. "We should travel through the forest to enter and leave towns in order to avoid the guards, but travel on the roads for most of the journey for safety," Dusk said. Obsidia thought for a moment. "Coming onto the road from the forest is suspicious, but we might not be seen doing so, and not everypony who sees us will report us to the guards, so the overall risk is lower." "I still don't like it. I can't really exercise in this cloak, and traveling on a road increases the chance that somepony will stumble on me when I'm exercising," Dusty said. "Hmm... That's a good point... Maybe we could camp a bit farther into the forest than normal? Or you could walk a bit into the forest to exercise?" Dusk suggested. "That's... fair. Let's do that," Dusty agreed. "So... where are we going?" Dusk asked. "Good question... Dusty?" Obsidia said, looking towards Dusty. "I haven't decided yet... but I feel that we should go to Hourton. I don't have any logical reason for that, just a feeling," Dusty replied. Obsidia thought for a moment, before sighing. "I can't think of a better place to go. I'm sure there is a better place to go, I just can't think of it, so let's go with that." "If we're going to Hourton, it might be faster to go straight through the forest rather than travel on the roads. More dangerous, but likely faster," Dusk added. "We have two powerful mages and a professional bodyguard. I think that we can handle the increased danger," Dusty said. "In my experience, having somepony say something like that means that things will go very poorly," Dusk grumbled, "but if that's the course that you two want to take, then I'll go along." Several hours later, the three ponies were heading north-east through the forest. Dusty' and Obsidia's magelights, combined with what little moonlight filtered through the thick foliage, allowed them to see their surroundings. Not as much as they would have liked, but enough to move through the forest. Dusk was using his wing-blades to clear a path through the thick vegetation, with Obsidia using her bright-green magic to cut through the branches that were too tough for Dusk to cut. Dusty's horn glowed as she cast a spell to check the time. "We should probably stop for lunch before too long. It's after noon." "About time. I could really use a break," Dusk replied. "I'll get the food," Dusty said. As Dusty retrieved the food from her interdimensional storage space, Dusk and Obsidia began retrieving their mess kits from their saddlebags. "I don't think you'll need your mess kits for this. It's just daisy sandwiches," Dusty said. Dusk and Obsidia both put their stuff back into their packs as Dusty distributed the sandwiches. "So, how does that 'pocket dimension' thing of yours work, Dusty?" Dusk asked. "First off, it's not a true pocket dimension. As for how it works, it opens a portal to the void between realms, a place where time does not pass. I put stuff in; the stuff stays there, unchanging; I take stuff out. Theoretically, anypony who can open such a portal could access my storage space, but only I know where it is in the void. And besides, only powerful and skilled mages can cast the spell required," Dusty answered. "Okay... so how is that different from a pocket dimension?" Dusk asked. Obsidia replied this time. "A pocket dimension is just that - a dimension created by the user for some purpose. Currently, there is no known portable way to access pocket dimensions - it's just too magic-intensive for any pony or known pony-portable artifact to do. What Dusty is doing is putting stuff in the space between dimensions, which is much easier to do." "Hmm..." Dusk thought, before changing the subject. "So, how far are we from Hourton?" Obsidia's horn lit up as she cast a spell to determine her position. "We've made good time. At our current pace, I'd say we're about another two to three hours away." After the sandwiches had been eaten, Dusty spoke to Obsidia. "Obsidia, do you want me to be on branch-cutting duty for the rest of the day?" "No, it's fine. Besides, you are more experienced with combat magic than I am, so it makes sense for you to conserve your magic for when we run into something nasty," Obsidia replied. As if on cue, a howl disrupted the relatively-peaceful forest. Birds flew from the trees and small animals skittered away towards safety. Dusk recognized the the howl. He had heard it many times before. "Timberwolves." Crown Princess Nyx walked to her parents' room in the Everfree Palace, knocking on the door twice before entering. "Mom?" she called. "Yes, sweetie?" Queen Nightmare Moon replied. "Amaryllis and I were doing some research, and we found some references to six magical artifacts that could be used to defeat you and Dad, the 'Elements of Harmony'. One of them was last seen in your possession, so I assume that you or Dad know where it is, so we figured that we should go retrieve the other five. We already have a plan." "Chrysalis's changelings have been searching for the remaining five Elements for decades. What makes you think you can find them when they haven't?" Nyx explained the plan that she and Amaryllis had come up with. Nightmare Moon smiled. "That might actually work. Well done, sweetie. But why should you go instead of a well-chosen group of guards?" "I just feel that this is important enough to warrant our action. And besides, even a well-chosen guard might turn out to be disloyal, especially given the circumstances of the plan. Don't forget that both Amaryllis and I are probably in the top five mages in the world, so we can handle just about anything." "Well spoken, sweetie. You've convinced me. We'll just have to see if you can convince your father." Princess Amaryllis walked into the throne room of the primary Changeling Hive. Queen Chrysalis got up off of her throne and walked towards her. "What do you need, my daughter?" "Nyx and I were doing some research, and we found that there are some magical artifacts that could be used to kill King Sombra and Queen Nightmare Moon, so we feel that we should retrieve them." Chrysalis thought for a few moments. "If Nyx's parents say she can go, you can go too." "Really? Thanks, mom!" That evening, Nyx and Amaryllis met in the Palace's courtyard. "What did your parents say?" Amaryllis asked. "They said that I can go!" Nyx replied. "What about yours?" "Mom said I can go if you can go." "Great! You go get your stuff, I'll go get my stuff, and we'll meet pack here in, say, two hours? Then, we'll go get those Elements!"
