The Shadow

Chapters

Prologue: Broken Coronation
Chapter 1: Deeper Levels.
Chapter 2: The Ocolyte

Prologue: Broken Coronation

“And now, it is my pleasure to announce the new ruler of Equestria, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia called out to the now cheering crowd of ponies below. Among them, Twilight could see friends from home and abroad, all here to support her as she strode to stand in between her former Princesses. She felt an unsure smile spread across her face as she watched friend and family alike clap and cheer. With each face she saw, memory of the adventures they’d shared filled her mind, turning her smile into a much more genuine edition. Each pony, dragon, changeling, hippogriff, griffon, cat, and yak below had helped her on her journey somehow, and to each of them, she wanted to spend hours thanking them.

She knew now that from this point on, however, they weren’t merely her friends, but her subjects too. They would need her now in more ways than they had when she was just Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship. Now, she had their welfare and livelihood to defend, and their trust to lead them to the best of her abilities. The thought was admittedly daunting, but she knew she had friends willing to help her rule.

She saw Spike in the crowd, sitting at a table with Applejack and Pinkie Pie. Even now, he gripped his glass, ready to give her a cheer as soon as beverages were passed out. Applejack sat closest to him, her face set with a determined smile with a glisten in her eye that had to be tears. Pinkie was almost hovering off her seat out of excitement. The sight of it made her giggle. She could feel the eyes of Rarity on her back, and resisted the urge to tug at her velvety soft dress. She also knew that out there, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were about to do their parts in supporting her. The thoughts of so many friends here to support her made her teary eyed, and she resisted crying lest it ruined the delicate makeup work by Rarity.

The alicorns on either side of her nodded to each other. In unison, they used their magic and pulled the crowns from off their heads. Twilight watched in wonder as the eyes of all in Canterlot went to the crowns as they floated into each other. In a bright flash of light that nearly blinded the spectators, the two crowns combined into a spectacular new one. The golden crown was three-pronged with her cutie mark dead in the center of it. It was really too much, and Twilight would have said so herself, if it hadn’t been for the fact that something shining to the left caught her eye.

Turning her head slightly to look at it, she saw a bright blue flash of light shooting her way. Before she could react, Celestia leapt in front of her, throwing up a sunflower yellow shield. The blue beam deflected off the shield, smashing into the archway behind them. A large explosion erupted from where it hit, stone shrapnel shooting towards the three of them. Luna was prepared, however, with her own midnight blue shield. Dust and stone enveloped them as the crowd below finally reacted with screams and exclamations of surprise.

Twilight’s eyes shot back to the crowd below, searching for the source of the attack, a stunning beam already prepared. Her eyes found a brown unicorn with a blue mane running through the now surging crowd below. She tried to line up a shot as she noticed two Royal Guards approaching the stallion, but couldn’t without risking hitting a member in the crowd. She watched in horror as the pony shot a spliced beam of red light at the two Guards, rocketing them back into the crowd. Screams and yells erupted from the area with renewed passion, and Twilight caught somepony yelling, “He killed them!”

Twilight let out a short scream as a second orange blast struck right in front of her face. This one shattered on impact, leaving Celestia’s shield glowing, precariously on the edge of destruction. With a grunt of effort, Celestia reinforced her shield as a third bright green flash smashed into the balcony below their hooves. Instead of exploding, the structure crumbled away, forcing the three alicorns into the air.

Twilight gasped as she saw three pairs of pegasi flying in from behind the castle. Each of the pairs went to a separate unicorn, where earth ponies and other unicorns were holding off the Royal Guards. Twilight quickly made some mental calculations, firing her stunning spell at one of the swooping pegasi. It hit it squarely in the chest, sending it spiralling into the ground and smashing into a nearby table. Luna had shot her own stunning spell, this one aimed at one of the unicorns that Twilight had failed to see until now. It hit the purple mare, sending her slumping to the ground as her pegasus allies flew in and lifted her up. The same thing occurred with the other two, although with only one pegasus to help carry him away, the third and final unicorn and his pegasi escort were slow and easily picked off by the unicorns in the Royal Guard.

The carrying away of the unicorns seemed to be a signal to the other ponies fighting amid the crowd. Flashes of light signifying teleportation went off, along with large puffs of smoke, obscured much of the writhing crowd, and, unfortunately, all of the insurgents. Both Celestia and Luna were flying in front of her now, blocking her view, and pegasi members of the Royal Guard now flanked her from behind.

“Move Twilight into the dungeons until further orders, and set up a guard of as many unicorns and pegasi as you can to defend her,” Celestia commanded. “We need to protect her as much as possible.” She turned to her sister and instructed, “Stay with her and take charge of defending her. I’ll head out and lead the investigations and interrogation of the captured insurgents. It seems somepony doesn’t want our dear Twilight on the throne.”

Luna nodded to her sister, turning to Twilight and gesturing for her to follow. She did so, feeling the watchful pegasi guards behind her closing the gap. She could still hear the shouts and other noises of the crowd as she and her escorts flew back towards the entrance from the balcony. The rubble had mostly cleared, but Luna levitated the last few pieces of larger rubble aside dismissively.

In doing so, she revealed the corridor that Twilight had emerged from what seemed only minutes ago. It also revealed a white unicorn lying on the ground with a large bruise already formed on her head.

“Rarity,” Twilight exclaimed, rushing to her fallen friend. Pressing her hoof against her neck, she felt a firm pulse. She looked back up at Luna, who had landed beside her with a worried expression. “She’s unconscious, but not hurt too bad.”

Luna nodded in understanding, turning to the guards behind her, she commanded, “Take her with us.”

As the pegasi flew to pick her up, Twilight frantically asked, “What about Fluttershy and Applejack and Pinkie? What about Spike and Rainbow Dash? What will happen to them.”

“Already taken care of,” Luna replied curtly, looking around suspiciously for any other signs. Looking directly into Twilight’s eyes suddenly, she said, “I know you have a lot of questions for what’s going on, as do I and my sister, but you must get to safety first and foremost.” Upon Twilight’s nodding, she turned back to the guards, she commanded, “Come. We must get the Princess to the dungeons.”

******************************************************************

*Three hours later*

The snowy mountains of the Crystal Empire were currently being windswept by a large blizzard. Polish Mark plodded along the little trail slowly with the remaining Alter squad. They had lost Heler, Pitch, Akson, and Fir to the fighting, the latter before the plan had been initiated. His stomach grumbled, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten since dinner last night. He solemnly straightened his stride. This climb wasn’t easy on purpose. It would be a tragedy if an innocent foal accidentally stumbled upon their hideout. Speaking of which…

The small mouth of a cave appeared on the side of the mountain, as if by magic. The sight didn’t give him pleasure, rather dread. The Author wouldn’t like it that they had failed their mission. Why did Gallant have to initiate the plan ahead of schedule? That stupid pony didn’t deserve to be a part of the team, let alone lead it. Not that he actually thought the mare was good for anything, her shot had only put the alicorns in the air. If only he knew her actual name, or anypony’s in this operation. At least then he would have something to put on their grave.

He was the third to squeeze through the tight gap, feeling the icy walls cold embrace. He shivered, despite going through the prospect time and time again. He emerged from the confines into a dark chamber, lit entirely by the natural pale blue light flooding from the large crevice hundreds of spans above. A cold, damp mist spread the light unevenly through the rest of the chamber, giving the room a more dubious mood. Polish kept his jaw tight and his lips pursed as he approached one of the darker, mistier parts of the chamber, knowing it was where the Author was waiting, watching silently.

Snowflakes drifted about, remnants of the storm that was silently raging above. The remaining three ponies entered the chamber after him, their faces unreadable as they conjoined in a small cluster. “Come,” a low, gruff voice called from the shadows, eliciting a wince from the incompetent mare in front of him. As soon as they were but a few spans away from where the shadows and mist were thickest, the voice commanded, “Report.”

“The mission was a failure,” Gallant replied, having the sense to step forward and keep her chin up. “We found that Fir was secretly with the Royal Guard and attempted to contact them, but Faux dealt with him accordingly before he could ruin anything. We initiated the attack as the Princess was being crowned, but she was protected by both Princesses. Faux had to kill two of the Royal Guard to escape, and possibly a member of the crowd, and I was unable to access a clear shot at Captain Shining Armor. Pitch, Akson, and Heler were all captured in the fray, and we have no knowledge as to how many of our grunts were captured as well.”

“Pray tell,” the low, whispery voice asked, nearer now than before, “why you initiated the attack before the intended time.”

“W-well,” the mare stammered, her guard breaking. “I noticed that from Faux’s position, he had a clear shot at the Princess without any further need of movement. I also noted that the Royal Guard was weakest in the right middle flank, where Akson was located. I deducted that the moment was right to strike since the Royal Guards had stopped their patrol to watch the crowning, and everypony else was looking up. I… I forgot that the Princesses were… were as powerful as they are.”

“Interesting,” the voice said in an almost contemplative tone. “It sounds like you had doubt in my plan and took matters into your own hooves. And now it looks like your actions risked the entire base of operations I have spent decades building.”

“I had no intent of-” the unicorn began desperately protesting, only to be interrupted by the soft voice of the mist.

“Silence.” A hooded head suddenly emerged from the mist, a gray horn poking out from the shadowed hood. It tapped the tip of Gallant’s own red horn, the mare opening her mouth in surprise. A sudden pass of silver lightning passed along her, provoking a pained scream from the mare. She stumbled back as all eyes watched her pain grimly. Polish himself was resisting the urge to smile at the cruel irony befalling his former companion. Hadn’t this same, wretched, cloven-hoofed fool been threatening him about her immense prowess only hours ago. Pitiful.

The mare continued to shriek in pain as the tip of horn began turning into a smooth gray stone. It spread to her head, freezing the panic and pain in her eyes in stone. Her screaming was cut off as her throat became stone. Her entire body fell to the ground, her stone upper parts now outweighing the rest of her body. The head and neck cracked off into separate pieces as the rest of her bodice transformed into cold, dead stone. As it finished transforming, new cracks appeared in the stone. It spread like breaking glass until the pieces were entirely covered with cracks. Finally, the pieces began breaking down into dust, until all that remained of the arrogant pony was a collection of dust.

Despite his best efforts, Polish had found himself smiling at the whole affair. The others around him seemed to find less pleasure in the morbid display, though not too openly. Some had pale faces, while most just stared at the pile of dust with the same expression they had held upon entering the chamber. Impressive, since he’d seen some of these same ponies lose their lunch to less horrific… displays.

“Faux,” the voice called from the mist. The head had disappeared for the time being, but he had little doubts that the Author would poke out again to reward the next failure. “Step forward.”

He did so, deliberately trodding over the dust of his failed ally. The voice seemed to enjoy that as what sounded like a chuckle emitted from the mist’s depths. He erased his smile, making his face as blank as the other’s and tilting his chin up.

“Congratulations, Captain,” the voice said slowly. “You’ve been promoted.”

“Thank you,” the unicorn said with a modest bow. “I will do my best, my liege.”

Author's Note

So, the first chapter of the latest story of mine. This was really fun to write, and its actually been stuck in my head for forever. This was actually sort of a stress release story because I couldn't keep my mind focused on EROH typing. Anyways, please comment below on your thoughts and go check out my other stories!

Chapter 1: Deeper Levels.

Twilight was in tears as she followed Luna in the path towards the dungeons. The adrenaline from the attack was slowly wearing off, leaving her shivering with fear and confusion. She recognized the symptoms of shock easily as the tears, wanting to flow, stayed in her eyes. She had been in many situations before where the adrenaline rushing through her brain had been the difference between victory and defeat. Today, it had meant the difference between life and death.

Twilight still didn’t understand what had happened entirely. One moment, she had been near the point of hyperventilating due to how nervous she was about being crowned, the next, she had been shooting pegasi out of the sky. Come to think of it, today was the first time she had ever used her magic on another pony passed picking them up. It was also her first time being shot at by another pony, nearly dethroned, and had a full Royal Guard squadron assigned to her. So today was a day of firsts.

She nearly laughed out loud at the absurd thought, instead resolving to chuckle quietly under her breath. It was still enough to get a worried glance from Luna and several of the guards, but she didn’t really mind at the moment. She had nearly died, for Celestia’s sake! She was allowed to have some form of mental breakdown. She paused that line of thought in its path, instead resolving to another altercation.

Yes, she had nearly died, but she was also now the ruler of all of Equestria. She needed to be an example to all, and if she became some sort of psychopath, she doubted her reign would end well. The ponies of Equestria needed to see that their new leader was strong and could take this attempt on her life in stride. They needed to know that she could survive whatever her doubters threw at her, that she was an unbreakable wall protecting them.

At the same time, Equestria’s enemies and allies alike needed to see that Twilight was no soft noble. She knew how to be a leader, she knew how to handle crisis, and she was more than flesh and bone. She had saved Eques more than once with her only her wit and friends more than once before, and she had gained her wings -literally at that- because of her vast knowledge of magic. Slowly, she felt her confidence in herself rising, and her chin along with it. Let Equestria see that she was stronger than her enemies, whoever they were.

She tried to remember the face of the pony that had shot at her first. His face was unforgettable, twisted in anger, though not directly at her. She wondered why briefly, but decided that it might be best to focus on what else she might be able to recognize about him. He was a stallion, she could tell as much even from the distance, but his age was undeterminable. Late twenties, at least, mid thirties at most was her best guess. That still left enough time for him to be five or eleven years older than her. She had been unable to discern his cutie mark well beyond it being red and squiggly. Not the best hint as to what, but she had an idea. She had never seen the spell he had used to kill the two guards before, not even among the darker books in the libraries of the Crystal Empire and Castle of the Royal Sisters. She also guessed it was a self-taught spell, but the thoughts of how he could possibly know how well it would work on a pony made her sick.

They turned down a corridor and a long flight of stairs towards where she knew the dungeons would be. She had never been there personally, but she knew the general gist of where she was going thanks to the guards. However, at the end of the flight of stairs was a solid brick wall. Twilight’s confusion lasted only a second as two of the pegasi pushed at two of the bricks. The wall shuttered as it pulled apart into two passageways that led into the same room. Twilight had seen a spell like this before, but never so intricately and practically put.

The dungeon beyond was nothing like Twilight had expected, and certainly not what was advertised. The dungeon was well lit with not candle light, but glowing lines in the ceiling that flowed around the edges of the walls. She was able to tell that the glowing fluid was bullwater concealed in long tubes, an incredibly common liquid rarely used in more than pain medicines. She had never seen it used in such a manner. It was strange, yet relatively soothing too.

As they continued down the passages, Twilight noticed that the cells were all but empty of inhabitants, and the few that did have them were deep asleep. If it weren’t for the current situation she was in, she would have asked as to the meaning of such things. Instead, she continued to fly softly through the passages beside Luna and the guards. She gave Rarity, who lay on the back of one of the guards, a quick look to see how she was doing.

A large purple bruise had formed on her head, marking where she had been struck on the head. Her eyes were half-closed, but it was obvious that she was still unconscious. She seemed to be almost sleeping, her chest rising and falling slowly. The guard holding her had to have been specially trained for this kind of situation, the way he balanced her so that she rocked only slightly with each turn around a corner.

Another flight of stairs and two lefts found them at the end of a short stone brick hall. Twilight landed, confusion spreading across her features. The wall in front of them was flat and gray with no discernible patterns. She assumed that they were here at the entrance of some secret passage, but there was no clue as to what it might be. The stone brick wall around them was perfectly symmetrical, and left no room for a passage in them. Looking up, she saw that the bullwater tubes circled back around to each other, which meant either there was no room onward or it wasn’t lit by the same line of bullwater.

The same two pegasi who had revealed the dungeon passages flew to opposite walls, pushing on a random brick each. Instead of the wall moving, the bricks slid out of their places. The pegasi each reached into the bricks, which were hollow, pulling out separate items. The one to the left pulled out a stone and piece of metal, the other two short, skinny sticks. The former pegasus lit the sticks of the later with the stone and steel, the sound of the scraping rocks the only thing audible in the chamber. A foul smell emitted from the lit sticks as the pegasi set the stone and steel aside and took one of them, holding the orange flame away from her face.

The two went to opposite sides of the wall, raising the flame along the side of the wall. A crackling sound filled the room as a small line of sparks flew up the wall, disappearing before it reached the bullwater tubes. A mechanical clicking filled the air as the wall began to slide down to floor level. Twilight’s jaw dropped slightly at the sight, confusion as to how the strange contraption worked. She would’ve asked if it hadn’t been for the fact that she was being rushed into the room quicker than AJ could’ve come up with a countryism. As soon as they were across, the wall sprung up into place.

She stared at the closing wall in a mixture of confusion and intrigue for a second longer before taking in her surroundings. The guards had all landed now and were setting up a stationary perimeter; for what, she did not know. They stood in a long cavern with smoothed out, ridged walls and a high ceiling. The entire cavern was shaped like a cylinder, the smell of mold and water mixing with the foul odor of the flames. The pegasi extinguished the flames, leaving them in near darkness. A dim gray-blue light lit the majority of the cavern's gray slate walls. Other than the distant sound of what seemed to be rushing water, everypony was silent, watching their surroundings.

Twilight took the pause to trot over to Princess Luna, who was looking back through the wall. As she was about to speak, she held up a hoof, silencing Twilight’s question. She was staring at the ground intently, her brows furrowed as if concerned about something. The image was slightly disturbing, so Twilight looked away towards the other ponies, trying to find solace in the cave. There was nothing here, she was pretty sure at least. No scat, claw marks, or other evidence of dangerous creatures, just a long tube of stone and empty halls.

“What do you need, Twilight,” Luna quietly asked her from the side, startling her with the sudden question. She turned back to the Princess, shaking her head a little.

“I was just wondering, why are we stopping. We could go much further before a break,” she stated, looking around at the guards. She saw the one that had been carrying Rarity gently laying her down on her side. Her eyes were fluttering open even as her carrier carefully pressed a hoof over them, silently urging her to be still. The other guards seemed to be settling down for a while longer than a simple break, sitting down or laying their spears against the walls. After a second of thinking, she sheepishly added, “I also kinda want to know how the wall works.”

“We need a break to allow your friends and the guards protecting them to catch up with us here,” she answered quietly with a smile, trotting towards one of the walls. “The more of us together, the safer we’ll be. I was just in contact with my sister, who informed me that your four friends are in a group currently racing through the palace corridors to reach us. Your and their families are currently being moved to a secretive location in the Crystal Empire, where they’ll be held until proper security measures are placed on their homes.

“The door is actually a contraption of my own design. We light gnarlwood roots lined infused with magnesium and hold the flame to ganatrite lining in the wall. It burns until it sparks on a lever, which triggers two solid stones to be pistoned back. This allows the wall to slide down to where four sets of iron coiled springs wait on top of plated pistons. The springs slow the wall for approximately fifteen point four seconds until they trigger the pistons, which shoot the wall back into place. Another plate above the wall is triggered, which in turn resets the two stone blocks for another go. Since ganatrite only lights with that certain heat with gnarlwood/magnesium flame, nopony else will be able to get in through the wall without having Royal Ops training. The ganatrite is also a self-renewing resource, so the process can be done over and over again, although until now, we’ve only used this place thrice.”

“And where exactly is this place,” Twilight asked.

“You’ll see,” Luna answered with a gentle smile. She breathed in deeply, taking a look around fondly. “This cavern is secured by hexing charms and natural resources from magical and destructive means of entering. There’s no teleporting in or out of here.”

Twilight nodded in understanding, following Luna’s gaze until it fell upon the Royal Guards. They all wore similar expressions as to the one Luna had when she was speaking with Celestia telepathically. Looking from Luna, who still wore a relatively calm face, to the guard’s grim, determined faces, she could tell she wasn’t the one holding the mental conversation. She certainly wasn’t hosting the mental meeting, and there were no unicorns with the magical or mental capacity to host one, only pegasi. Unless...

Lighting her horn, she cast a spell over her eyes to throw off any mental imaging spells cast on her. When that revealed nothing, she cast a spell of disclosure that allowed her to see through common charms that changed appearances to anypony but the user. When that too failed, she cast a full-fledged disillusioning spell, concentrating hard on the twelve pegasi in front of her. The veil finally lifted as she saw that the pegasi that had been carrying Rarity was indeed a unicorn.

Instead of being the same hardened yellow as his illusion counterpart, he was a light teal with a blonde mane. His cutie mark was concealed by his armor, but given as to how he was in the Guard now and magically affiliated too, it would be something like a sparkling spear. He was at least a decade younger than the image, and easily better looking in any regard. He had to be at least five years younger than the youngest of the other guards, which made him maybe two years her senior. This was actually surprising, seeing as how most of the Royal Guard were in their early to late thirties. His eyes were screwed shut in concentration, which must have been hard on him.

He was upholding a strong, complicated spell that many common and magically touched unicorns would be struggling to keep for even a minute whilst hosting a telepathic conversation with eleven other guards. And he wasn’t even breaking a sweat! His magical capacity was almost unbelievable strong -no- solid as he simply stood without any shaking or other show of exertion aside from his clenched eyebrows. Even that could be attributed to being focused on the conversation he was hosting or the subject of said conversation.

The stallion suddenly looked up at her, revealing a pair of sharp, sky blue eyes that looked beyond her eyes. She gulped silently as her heart threatened to skip a beat. Who had trained this one to be so intimidating that even those he was guarding lost their breath? He seemed to realize that he was unnerving his charge, giving her a small nod with a smile of acknowledgement. “Is there something you require, Your Majesty?” Celestia above, he even was calling her by her royal monicker already!

“Your- your a unicorn,” she asked, holding back a cringe at her stammer. He turned his head slightly, as if confused by the question. A flash of realization crossed his face and his smile became more genuine than before.

“Yes, I am,” the stallion answered. “Is there anything you require, Your Majesty?”

“Um, yeah, just real quick, what are you doing?” She could feel Luna’s inquisitive stare on the back of her head, but she had to know. Was this unicorn even more powerful than herself before her transformation to an alicorn? The unicorn’s smile seemed slightly strained as he took a moment to think.

“Well, if Your Majesty must know, I’m hosting a mental conversation with myself and thirty one other of the Royal Guard-” Twilight’s jaw dropped farther than she thought it could “-while simultaneously upholding aa illusionary spell that requires a level three disillusionment spell.” His small smile disappeared as he realized that his tone had been rather passive-aggressive. “You’ll have to forgive me, Your Majesty, for the sharpness, but you’ll have to understand my predicament.”

Twilight’s eyes widened as she realized how invasive she was being, blushing as she nodded. “Oh, yes, of course. Sorry.”

He nodded, returning to closing his eyes as he sat down. Luna strode up to her, smiling slightly at her. “You seem surprised. Not what you expected,” she whispered.

“Very much so,” she muttered as she tore her eyes from the now illusioned pony to look at Luna. “Who is he?”

“That’s Aerius,” she said quietly with a knowing smile. “Quite the catch if I do say so myself.”

“Yeah,” Twilight agreed, before realizing what she’d just agreed to. She sent Luna a withering glare, which only made her giggle. “Oh stop it. I was talking about his magical potential. It’s amazing!”

“Yes, of course you were,” Luna whispered under her breath, just loud enough for Twilight to hear. She felt the heat on her face and on her ears, and she knew she was blushing. Dang it, why did Luna have to know her so well! Luna grew slightly solemn as she muttered, “We found him on the streets with his father. They’re both guards now, but they don’t really have a home outside of the castle. They haven’t had a pleasant life.”

“Oh,” Twilight said, looking back at the hardened yellow pegasus, knowing what lay underneath his disguise. “What about the dead guards? The ones killed by the unicorn that shot at me?”

“Unidentified, as of yet,” she answered slowly, a shake to her head. “The panicked crowd trampled their bodies so identification will have to be done by a specialist.”

“I want to go to their funerals,” Twilight said firmly, looking back at Luna.

“I suspected you would,” Luna responded with another small smile. “We’ll have to leave it up to their families, but I suspect that they won’t refuse.”

“Why,” she asked her, slightly confused.

“You’re the ruler of Equestria,” she answered with a sideways glance. “Get used to ponies agreeing with whatever you say.”

“Oh, right. Should’ve thought of that.”

Silence fell once again as Luna walked away, towards where no guards were standing vigil. She lay down on her side, her thinking face back on again. Twilight sat down, looking from the mentally conversing Royal Guards to the form of Luna lying on her side. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath for herself as she did so. Her mind was actually surprisingly empty. Hadn’t she just been attacked and nearly killed? Checking herself, she could see she was no longer shaking, and the sweat from the event had dried.

She continued to contemplate the strange course of events that had brought her to this point. The insurrectionists seemed to want her off the throne, begging the question as to if it was because they wanted one of the Princesses on the throne, or to impose a new leader completely on the citizens of Equestria. Twilight found that she didn’t want to know the answer. If ponies already doubted her potential as Ruler of Equestria, how many would come to? And if they thought that the Princesses who had reigned for millennia were still more suitable for them, who was Twilight to refuse. She hadn’t been elected as monarch over Equestria, only brought before them and announced as the replacement for the exhausted rulers before her. How many of those cheers she had heard change to boos over the years?

The disturbing line of thought was abruptly interrupted by an earsplitting screeching that came from behind her. She shot up from her sitting position, looking at the moving wall behind her, lighting her horn just in case. However, upon its full retreat into the ground, she extinguished it, seeing her friends and their guards rushing across into the room. She rushed to hug the closest two, Fluttershy and AJ, and Rainbow Dash and Pinkie quickly joined.

The Royal Guards broke apart their group hug, ushering them further away from the door as it snapped into place. Once they were deep enough into the cavern for the guard’s appeasement, they resumed their embrace. Fluttershy began crying quietly, and the whole group focused on trying to quietly calm her.

“I was so scared, Twilight,” she whispered as she continued to cry. “They tried to kill you! Why would they do that?”

“Because the anarchists do not approve of her,” another voice said, this one well recognizable. Turning to the voice, Twilight found Celestia retreating from an embrace with her sister. “They feel that you are unfit to rule, and wish to depose you. That is all we got from one of the traitors before he killed himself.”

“K-killed himself,” Rainbow questioned.

Celestia nodded grimly. “Snapped his own neck. These insurrectionists are a deadly group, willing to die for their cause.”

“Or they're too afraid of failure,” Luna interjected with a knowing look. “Sister, what did bring you here? I believe we agreed on having you head the operations of investigating and interrogating while I protected Twilight and her friends.”

A frown filled Celestia’s face, one of concern and sadness. “There is no interrogation. Captain Shining Armor, with assistance from Sunburst and Starlight Glimmer, are investigating the spells used. The two pegasi sent to retrieve the unicorn are also dead. The one Twilight shot down died from the blunt force head trauma caused by her crash, and the other one was hit by no less than six stunning charms, shutting her body down completely.”

Twilight could feel her stomach rolling at the news. She had killed somepony no less than a minute into her reign. What kind of tyrant was she? She hadn’t meant to kill the pegasus, only disarm her so they wouldn’t be able to hurt anypony. Instead, she had killed them. Done. Up and ended another’s life. She swallowed down the bile, trying to stay strong in the eyes of her peers.

“Twilight,” Applejack spoke up. “If you’re gonna lose yer lunch, please attempt not to do it on anypony’s hooves.”

Twilight nodded, looking into the face of her mentor. “That can’t be the only reason. You would be heading the search investigating the spells unless something else more important were to present itself,” she pointed out. Celestia’s frown deepened as her eyes flickered over the Royal Guards.

“Twilight is correct, sister,” Luna agreed, stepping in closer to her sister. “What brings you here?”

Before Celestia could answer, one of the guards called out, “It’s time, Your Majesties.” Celestia looked over to the guard, a cyan pegasus like Rainbow, but the bit of mane visible under his helmet was blonde, nodding in acknowledgement.

“Come, my little ponies, we have ground to cover,” Luna spoke as she turned to follow Celestia. Twilight and the others nodded as they began following her. However, Fluttershy suddenly cried, “Wait! What about Rarity.”

“She is safe with me,” Aerius spoke, lifting the unconscious form of Rarity onto his back. Upon seeing her friend’s worried faces, he added, “She will be fine. I gave her a sedative-” A lie for sure, it must’ve been a charm “-so she won’t awaken during the journey, though she might mumble. The concussion is only minor, but it would affect her walking and slow us down.”

They began moving down the cavern, the guards forming a circle around the three Princesses, five Element Bearers, and Aerius. They turned left with the wide tunnel, revealing a near infinitely long tunnel that seemed to have no end. They walked for hours in a constant straight pattern, taking their time as they moved down the ridged walls. More than once, Rainbow and AJ offered to run or fly down the length to see where it led. However, every time they did, they were met with a quick rebuttal from the cyan pegasus, who seemed to be commander of the guard here.

The large company moved in silence from then, nopony wishing to disturb the eerie silence of the cave. Twilight found solace in admiring the ridges in the wall, their wavy patterns sure to have earned a compliment on natural beauty from Rarity if she were conscious. They were all near identical, but as the minutes ticked by, she realized they were each different in very minute ways. Maybe because of how large the ridge was to how long it seemed to go before it faded into the wall. She also noticed that the stone was always the same, no new element of stone tainting the slate gray walls.

There was a certain uneasiness to the group that put Twilight on edge, as if the guards were expecting something to pop out of the walls at any moment. Initially, it had been unnoticed by the young Princess, but as silence continued and her thoughts became more prominent and movements more mechanical, she felt it. The way the muscles on the guards were tense as if they were marching into the battle, the way they shot a look at any sound made, it wasn’t encouraging. She knew her friends also noticed, the way their eyes were widened more than usual and darting over every surface in sight. Even the Princesses seemed ready for a fight at any moment, which led to Twilight mentally preparing a list of spells to use on ponies, beasts, changelings, and griffons, if the situation presented itself.

Twilight found herself looking back the way they came, surprised at how far away it seemed compared to how far away they still were to the end of this tunnel. Both sides were now shrouded in a kind of thin mist, likely from the humidity that filled the air. Everyponies hair had become rather frazzled due to it, to which she had no doubt Rarity would have complaints about. The distant rumbling continued to sound louder and louder as they continued to get closer to it, and the dank smell of wet fur began permeating the air.

Finally, after hours of walking, the end of the tunnel appeared in the distance. Twilight felt like yelling with joy at the sight, fighting the urge to race to the end to see if it really ended, or went on in another near infinite tunnel. The roaring had grown to be tremendously loud, so much so that she doubted the others would hear her yell of joy. As they got closer and closer to the end, she could see that all of her friends but Rarity, who had begun softly snoring, were excited to see what was around the corner. Rainbow’s wings were buzzing, AJ’s muscles tense, Fluttershy’s lip was quivering, and Pinkie was literally buzzing with excitement, her hair once again poofy.

Smiling, she turned the corner with the forefront of the guards, a gasp escaping her lips as she viewed the scenery. Rushing water fell in a large foaming blue wall, the sound crashing echoing through the cavern it concealed. Twilight could see the muddled night sky beyond, the dark light shining through the waterfall. The others also appreciated the sight while the guards, remaining stoic in the face of such majesty, settled down once again. Spray from the water crashing against the overhang wet Twilight’s face, but she welcomed the cool sensation. Puddles had formed around the area closest to the falling water and more water dripped from the overhang they stood under, giving the impression that it was raining.

Aerius lay Rarity down gently, far enough away from the rushing water that she wouldn’t be wet. Her eyes fluttered open as he removed the sleeping charm from her and she looked around in confusion. She tried to say something, but the sound of rushing water drowned it out. Fluttershy rushed to her side, an unheard conversation starting between them as she cradled Rarity’s head. AJ noticed and went to her friend’s side, entering the conversation too as she helped lift the unicorn to her hooves. Twilight went to Celestia’s side, seeing that her friend was now being well tended to by the others.

“What are we doing here,” she practically yelled over the din. Celestia turned to her, pointing to a shadow in the corner of the chamber. The only corner in the chamber, as it happened.

“It’s about time to meet an old friend,” she yelled back.

Twilight was about to ask what she meant, when something in the shadows moved, or rather, the shadows moved. They combined together in a large blob on the floor before raising itself into a massive shape. It stood on two legs, its oily black skin shining from the light of the moon through the waterfall. Arms and a head formed shortly afterward, but the head remained faceless as it spoke.

“Twilight Sparkle, it is good to see you. Please don’t die under my care.”

Author's Note

This one was a fun one to write. I actually expected to be slower with this chapter, and that it would be tops 2700 words. Needless to say, it's two thousand words longer than anticipated, and I am very much happy with this one. I actually have become quite attached to this story, relative to how much I've been thinking to it as of late. As always, feedback is welcome.

Chapter 2: The Ocolyte

The ocolyte stood at his usual height, approximately six feet and two inches from the ground, and four feet and eight inches above the Princess of Friendship. While he preferred a much more imposing nine foot ten, he knew that the experience would be too intimidating and fascinating for Twilight Sparkle to comprehend. Rather than overwhelm his newest charge, he would build her up to his various talents and abilities. And, despite the rather minute height he took on, she was already frozen in fear, and, much to her character, awe.

S’sel’walgni’Gar, as he was called in his own tongue, had studied his newest charge since the moment she had become associated with Celestia in any way. Immediately, he could see the affection Celestia had for the child, and knew that she would become something important, though he had never thought her of the future Princess of Equestria. However, like many others he had studied, he had found her rather dull to investigate, as if reading merely a manual on her. He found her rather unique in personality, though, and it had intrigued him to the point of further exploration.

He knew everything about her now, as much as any relative or friend could, and then some, as he had trained too. Her height, her weight, length, palate, anything that could be used in effect against her. She wasn’t the only one, and was yet the youngest, as he had studied thousands of ponies over hundreds of years. Celestia and Luna had made many loved ones and many more friends, and there had yet to be one, until now, that had ever been more than temporary. The fact that Twilight was now his charge meant that times were changing in more than the means of leadership. It was as Re’eseht had prophesied. Slightly concerning, but he was not one to decide history, only that his charge died old. Well, maybe not this one. If he failed again that is.

The purple alicorn was still staring dumbly at him, jaw dropped and eyes wide. She was still in relative shock outwardly, though internally, she was studying his physique and trying to decipher exactly what he was. The ocolytes were a very seclusive and rare species, with only two other than him living: Re’eseht and G’niwon’Kall. It was understandable in general to see the reason for her confusion and perplexity, if not slightly annoying. He was wasting precious time letting her stare at him and not introducing himself, when instead he should be moving her back to a secured area. As secretive as this cavern was and as well protected as she and the other Elements were with two former Princesses and three dozen Royal Guards, he didn’t want to risk a suicide assault from whoever opposed the newly crowned Princess.

Giving a quick glance around without moving an artificial muscle, giving a millisecond assessment of each of the ponies in the cave. The other Elements had the same awed and shocked expressions on their face, and even some of the Guards' eyes were widened in amazement. It wasn’t to be unexpected, just like the tensed muscles of Applejack and Rainbow Dash, nor the slightly lit horn of Rarity. Pinkie Pie seemed more inquisitive, while Fluttershy was almost hiding behind Celestia in her normal demure manner. The latter and her sister were smiling softly at him, their old friend and protectorate. And failure.

Many of the Guard had their faces stoic and stances tensed as they had been trained, though they stole the occasional glance at him. There was one exception, however, a teal unicorn who was upholding a complex illusionary spell to give himself the form of a hardened yellow pegasus. His blonde mane was rather long for a Guard, though it seemed fitting on him in a roguish sense. He hardly gave him mind, as there was a strong spell of despair on him, as if he’d lost somebody incredibly close to him. It was barely noticeable, a glint in his hard eyes at something that was piercing him deeply in his mind. He was keeping it especially well hidden, like the one who had gone would have liked. Probably a male, though it wasn’t unlikely that they were a female, especially if it was one of the Apples. He, however, was no Apple, instead sharing the same slender but tough look of a Fir or Tosser. Perhaps even a Belle?

The spoken word of Twilight Sparkle broke his inquisitive thoughts off instantly, though he stored the pieces in a compiled memory to investigate. “What are you,” the Princess asked, voice heavy with awe and quivering slightly with fear. “You’re nothing like anything I’ve ever read about.”

“You would not have read about me in even the oldest of books, as I’m older than parchment and my kind have been concealed for even longer,” he answered emotionlessly. “In my own language, I am S’sel’walgni’Gar, and my species the Emer’pusdra’ug, though you may call me whatever you please. I am here to protect you and those you wish protected, nothing less, and nothing you do not wish. I will answer further questions, Twilight Sparkle, when you are safely where no word other than mine and yours can be heard.”

The Princess seemed slightly perturbed by the abruptness and formality for which he spoke, but he continued. “We go to the Castle again, now that I’ve arrived, to conceal and defend Her Highness from the aggressors of the enemy. I will take lead, and you will follow by wing along with a third of the Guard, and Luna to protect you. Your friends would best be kept in the lower kitchens of the Castle, where none suspect and there is nourishment for a hold out, if needs be.” Twilight Sparkle attempted to speak, but sharpening his voice slightly, he broke in, “I am here to protect you, and doing such requires only my knowledge and skill, and maybe your compliance. Maybe”

Despite the grimness of his tone, he heard Celestia fail to hold her composure, chuckling breaking the sincerity of his words. “He was always so grim with us, too, Twilight,” she said, looking over her former pupil and then to Luna. “You remember that too, Luna?”

“Yes, sister, I remember well,” she responded, a smile lighting her face. She, too, looked over to the Princess, who had torn her gaze from him to the speaking sisters. “We always called him Inkwell, Twilight. And don't worry, he’s always this grim.”

Turning his head to either of the two so they could feel his sharp glare, even if they couldn’t see it, he responded, “I am only realistic, and if you can remember four thousand years ago, and my failure then, I guarantee you won’t find this as an over exaggeration of protection.” That sobered the two sisters up quickly, and he turned his gaze back to the Princess. She seemed taken aback by his blatant harshness, but he cared not. He was not to be loved, and not to love, only serve and protect. “Come, Princess, we must go.”

He did not wait for response, just turned and began taking long strides towards the waterfall. As he did so, he began moving his bones within himself, dissolving muscle and tissue on his shoulders and feeding it into newly formed veins. He set his bones into waiting while his skin flowed to form a protected casing around them, sealing them before pushing it from his existing skin. The forming wings’ skin expanded as muscle formed around the bones, a string becoming a rope and strengthening his wings. He flexed them out, testing them as he stopped in the face of the falling water, a sense of determination filling him.

Looking back, he could see the open gaping of all those had been paying attention to him, including Luna and Celestia. “Come,” he said gruffly, “We have much to do tonight and there is little time before the enemy moves against us. I will hold back the force of the waterfall while those assigned to be with the Princess fly out, then I will take point.”

He didn’t need to turn to see the understanding nods of the Guard. He shot off from the ground on the first flap of his large wings, parting the water like a hoe through dirt. A dozen or so feet from where he had taken off, he hardened the skin of his legs into steel pikes, stabbing them deep in the rock face with a sharp crack. He spread his strong wings, causing the water to part. It pommeled him, trying to push him down, but he kept firm and outward, watching as the first of the Guard passed underneath him. He was pleasantly surprised to see that they were all focused on their task, not bothering to look up to what was holding the water back. Even Princess Twilight, when she passed under him, did not look up, only flew by with determined flapping. Only Luna looked up to him, and briefly even for the speed at which she moved, enough to assess and think on.

When the last of them had passed, he launched in the direction of the Castle, surpassing the Princesses and a few Guards in one beat of his wings, and taking lead in the second. He allowed himself to glide, as if he had travelled on in the same way, he would have outpaced the entire group by a mile in five beats. He scanned the town immediately above the waterfall as soon as they reached the elevation to see it. There were barely ponies out except for reserve Guards patrolling after the incident yesterday. The moon had risen well enough that only the most astute astronomer would notice the slight angling Luna had made, a result of being unable to view the moon.

They flew in what could’ve been called silence, but the roaring of the wind prevented any noise but it to be heard. He kept his view constantly on the ground and the ponies behind him without moving the part of his body called a face. He had mastered full body vision in the centuries of guarding he’d done before he’d discovered the alicorns, and was now able to do so without thought. He knew that one of the others knew how to cause separate pieces of body to connect vision into one large perspective of an area, but he had yet to master the technique. He might have to now, he realized solemnly.

Swift movement from below made him hone his vision in on the terraced second level of Canterlot. Several pegasi in a group, fifteen to be exact, much too large to be casual night strollers, and much to sellective to be less than a scouting unit. A cloud nearby, off to their left, made a jerk forward as if pushed forward, small, but noticeable to anypony watching. A surprise attack, then. Grimly, he assessed them with two separate viewings, watching their movement. It was calculated, as if it was a moment to moment movement to movement, new information being received causing the minute, but abrupt, changes.

Giving a third viewing point behind him, he tried to assess which of the pegasi was the informant. None of them could be though, they didn’t have magic. He focused his view on the singular unicorn, but found nothing to condemn him as the traitor. No glowing horn, and no feel of magical use from him, even though he could tell that there was indeed one. He glanced around at the Princesses, but they were all flying on in mute determination, and he severely doubted that they were related in any way to the attempts on Twilight Sparkle’s life. No, the source of magic was dead, there, but unable to do much more than rot.

He began inspecting each of the Guards’ faces, searching for signs of strain, distress or pain. And he found it. The Guard to the left of Twilight Sparkle was seemingly struggling to fly, their wings occasionally flapping a beat off. Her -he knew as per the shape of her face and genitalia- face was showing all of the signs. She kept anxiously glancing between the Princesses, the Guards, and him, though nopony else would be able to tell in the cloud-covered moonlight.

In an abrupt movement, he curled his wings and pulled back, angling himself at the treacherous guard. Propelled by the wind, he shot backwards through the surprised Guard, right into the traitor. He sharpened his legs as he pulled backwards once again, flipping his head windward while his legs stuck straight out like a spear, feet unformed, aimed for her chest. They collided with a loud squelching sound, bones snapping as the sharpened nubs of his feet easily piercing through her armor, instantly ending the mare’s life. He flipped forward in a complete circle, allowing him to grab the mare’s body for inspection later.

The strike had occurred so quickly that it was only when he had grabbed the lifeless corpse of the traitor that sounds of alarm started. “What was that about?” one shouted while another called out “Traitor!” and a third cried “That was Silver Bearings!”

Celestia silenced all cries and complaints, including Twilight Sparkle’s. “Peace, everypony,” she shouted over the noise of flapping wings and yelling ponies. The roaring wind had ceased as the party had come to a halt. Everypony had come to a halt, their eyes on him. Everypony except the unicorn, who, despite glaring at him, was scanning the cloud that was now behind him. The ponies backs were to the city and sky, while their attention was to him, a situation less than ideal. He ignored their bickering while he began a full body viewing, using every surface of his body facing outward as his eyes.

They were beginning to make aggressive movements, shooting from cloud to cloud now, while the ground forces were taking off on a swerve to hit them from behind. He wasn’t able to make any accurate calculations to the ones in the clouds, as their movement was quick and sudden, and the colors near indistinguishable in the muddled moonlight. The unicorn’s glaring intensified as he -also seeing the enemy’s movement- prepared to shout, but was unable to see the arrow shooting towards him. S’sel’walgni’Gar was faster than it, propelling in the path of the arrow. It hit with more force than intended, tearing through his black skin and piercing the Guard’s side.

His cry of pain and the ocolyte’s actions had drawn everypony’s attention once more, and the Guards were quickly tightening their circle around the Princesses and their grip on their spears. The enemy, catching that they were no longer a secret, charged from the ground and clouds. They were two silent, large masses that shot from their hidden points, outnumbering the Guard near two to one. Some fifty three had charged from the cover of the clouds, while the fifteen flanked from the behind, forcing the Guard to divide themselves.

“Go,” the ocolyte shouted to them, scanning the buildings for the archer. Finding him, he shot one of his spare rib cages covered in solidified skin at him. “Take the Princesses to the Castle and fortify it. I’ll hold them off for the most part, but some may try to bypass me.” With a glance to his left, he saw the unicorn slipping from consciousness, and caught hold of him. “Somepony take this one back too. He is invaluable. And the body.”

Several nodded, complying to his commanding tone and taking the two, and though he heard Twilight Sparkle attempt to argue for his sake, she was silenced by a sleeping spell from Luna. Several beams of light flew past the group, sent by unicorns being carried by pegasi pairs or levitating. One was deflected by his shining skin, shot by one of the floating ponies. His focus intensified, drawing out any other noise but those of battle, which were none at the moment. His gaze centered only on those who threatened his charge, nearly outlining them with the glow of the moon.

He focused on the smaller group first, as it would be the easiest to destroy. He called back the rib he had shot, and obediently it returned, bloodstained, joining his other ribs. He set them to form a sort of bone armor within his skin and launched himself into the fray, arms nothing more than swords.

The first pegasus attempted to strike his head with a buck of the hind legs, but he ducked under the strike and opened up her stomach with the swish of an arm. Three attempted to grab him from the behind while two more tried to land strikes on his head and chest. He impaled one of the ones attempting to blindside him while one in the front split their hoof on his triple layered skull. His scream was cut off with his head, as S’sel’walgni’Gar made a wide sweep with both arms in a wide rotation, catching another through the head. The remaining two decided it was past time to escape, but he quickly extended both of his arms, cutting through both.

The action had hyperextended existing muscles and destroyed the newly formed ones, leaving his arms to flop down unsupported. That was fine, however, as he strengthened them once again as he shot forward with a beat of his wings to catch up with the now single group of insurgents. They were behind the smaller group of Guards and Princesses, the unicorns firing at the shield the Princesses had formed vainly. With another beat of his wings, his now longer arms were healed, and in another, he was upon his enemy.

He struck two from behind, the sound of their bones splitting and tissue tearing covered up by the roar of the wind. He was able to behead another before one saw him and cried out. He died as over a dozen turned to face him, including a floating unicorn and a unicorn supported by two pegasi. He rammed into one of the pegasi, knocking her out cold while slicing the other in half, leaving the unicorn stallion to scream to the heavens as he fell to his death below. One of the pegasi foolishly charged him, ending with him stuck on the end of his sharpened arm. The ending of their comrades barely seemed to faze the others as they struck at him with fervor.

One of the other pegasi stabbed a spear into his side where he hadn’t hardened his skin, jamming it between two ribs. The ocolyte twisted to the side, snapping the spearhead off and slapping the pegasi with the blunt side of his sword arm. It still hit with enough force to crack the pegasi’s skull, sending the stallion into one of his allies. Using the latter’s temporary blindness as a body obscured their vision, he slid his blades in between his ribs effortlessly.

Pulling back, he rammed his back into an oncoming duo of pegasi, though it allowed a powerful magical blast hit him in the lower body. He felt the enemies’s bones snap against his skin, screams of pain echoing in the night. As the bodies fell, another beam hit him in his face area. Growling, he turned his body to the imposing unicorn, using an arm to block an incoming arrow. He could see the hope in his enemy’s eyes that they were finally harming their near invincible foe. Their hope was false.

In a motion quicker than the blink of an eye, he distorted his body, stabbing limbs and muscled bits of hardened skin at all six remaining enemies. He pulled back, feeling sore in every fiber of his body, dissolving himself of the excess skin and muscle. The lifeless bodies fell without a second thought, their inhabitants forgotten, another tool to whoever their master was used up. Looking around quickly, he found the remaining forty four pegasi and unicorns surrounding him from every direction. A large patchwork cage made of corpses, he mused.

A blast, then another, hit him from the front and side. The insurgents must have realized that, in order for this or any other plan to work, they would need to first eliminate him. Pity they had all chosen to die, but then again, they had made that promise with whatever oath they had taken on their treasonous path.

He tucked his wings, giving them even more bone and muscle as he fell. The two pegasi beneath him flew to the side and stuck out blades as if to cut him as he fell, but they hadn’t accounted for the fact that he was impervious to any weapon of pony design. As he was about to pass, he spread his wings, the heavy wings slamming into them, snapping their necks and several other bones with the impact. He flapped his wings hard, shooting back up into the air whilst shooting the bodies back to the earth below.

His launch caught another pegasi in the stomach with his head. He went straight through, the bits sliding off and falling to the ground below. More than one of the ponies were fazed by that, he could see, but they didn’t back down. He spun once again, bladed arms cutting through two more approaching pegasi and warding off the rest. A sword landed a hit on his back while two spears broke on his hardened chest, an arrow harmlessly bouncing off. The hits didn’t go unpunished, as he managed to kick one of the pegasi from below with a thickened leg, collapsing the pony’s rib cage on him.

The others began landing more and more hits on him, attempting to overwhelm him with their numbers. A mace in the midsection earned a grunt, though not of pain as the insurgents took it, but of concentration. He spiked the skin on his back suddenly as he curled inward with his arms and legs, the hardened skin catching five of them as they sought more hits on his back. This bought him time, as the others backed up for a moment, though it was more to allow the unicorns to hit him with several magical blasts.

His wing beats became slower and more spread, allowing him to drop altitude. His enemy took it as a sign of weakness, pressing their attack with new fervor, hitting him wherever they could.

With a sudden large beat of his wings, he shot forward, knocking three of his foes sideways, killing one. He slashed outward with both blades, catching a pegasus pair and the unicorn they were supporting in a cleaving arc. Before their bodies had even begun to fall, he turned and cut through the two remaining unicorns who were hovering side by side. Finishing his sweep, he caught another three in the path of his blades, leaving their bodies to fall in more than one piece.

Another group of three charged him, though they were unsupported by their allies as they fell back into the much opener ensnarement. He dispatched the three as easily as he had the others, giving no heed to their falling bodies as he scanned his enemies lines. They seemed more hesitant to fight him now, seeing as how he had thinned out their numbers into only half of what they had engaged him with. That was fine by him, as it allowed him to see just how far behind he was from the rest of the group. Too far, he saw, as the silhouettes of the group were now arriving at the distant Castle, merely specks in the distance.

The growling of a nearby enemy -in fact, two, nearby enemies- snapped him back into focus. The group would arrive at the Castle in less than two minutes, and he could get there in roughly a fourth of that time. He could deal with these enemies individually and in smaller groups, though that would take much too long. There was one way to dispatch all of his enemies at once, one he had never tried before, though he had thought of it during the slumbering. The amount of focus it would take, the accuracy he had to have, though, that was the true trick to this specific maneuver.

Drawing himself inward, all of his body except for the wings, towards his core. He began pointing all of his ribs outward, forcing them straight and hardening the skin immediately around him. All the while he was keeping his view on his enemy, watching their movement in body and attitude. They were being cautious still, though the few with bows had begun raising them, nocking arrows on the bowstring. The others pointed their spears and swords at him, though more than one panicked look from one to another was exchanged.

Before they could, however, he unleashed.

Spreading his wings out and throwing his arms and feet to the side, he shot the entirety of his rib cage and the spares out in all directions. Yelps, crunches, and screams of pain all echoed in the night as he pulled his body back together. He began to reset his ribs as eighteen bodies began to fall all around him, blood and entrails raining around them. A groan of pain from the maneuver tried to make itself existent, but even alone with only the falling dead, he would not allow weakness to wrest control of him. Turning back to the Castle, he began to fly away.

Author's Note

Okay, this was probably the enjoyable chapter to write, just because it allowed me to, for the first time, write out an action sequence. There wasn't much to actually typing out the chapter, as it took only five days to type, but I felt that this took so much longer to get out than any other. I would really appreciate comments on how I did with the combat/battle sequence!