Author's Note:
I do not own My Little Pony or any of it's content. My thanks go to TwiceMarked, the Beta reader/Editor of this story, who stuck through this, my first fanfic, and made it acceptable to release to the public. Visit his profile (after reading this), your time will not be wasted.
Chapter 1
Tidings
BANG!
Twilight woke with a start. She had been studying hard through the night and had drifted off while wading through "The Intriguing Life of the Lesser Spotted Apple Tick" by A. R. Dreadmouth. Looking around franticly, she tried to see where the sound had come from.
BANG!
There it was again! As the sound repeated itself once more, Twilight realized that the infernal noise was, in fact, somepony knocking at the door. The jarring impact of hoof on wood had also served to awaken a certain young dragon that, eager to receive the praise of his master, attempted to run down the steps. This action ended in a dismal failure, as well as a case of concussion; so Twilight decided to answer the door for herself.
Sleepily opening the door, Twilight received the full blast of a fanfare of trumpets directly in her face which was quickly hushed as the chorus of "Shut up, it's 3 o'clock in the morning!" was roared by neighboring ponies that had been awakened. All thoughts of sleep driven from her mind, Twilight was nevertheless flummoxed when Princess Celestia walked into the room, much to the embarrassment of the sleep deprived ponies, who quietly closed their doors and windows and hoped, futilely, that they had not been noticed. Bowing, abruptly, Twilight tried to force her brain into coherent thought.
"Wha- why are you here? Is something wrong? How is-"
The Princess held up a hoof to silence her student. "My Faithful Student, I'm disappointed in you! I do not only talk to you in cases of emergency. I just thought you might want to hear the news."
"What news?"
Princess Celestia smiled mysteriously. "I think that another pony deserves to inform you of the situation."
"You come all this way to tell me that you can't tell me some news?" Twilight asked exasperatedly, before blushing as she remembered whom it was that she was talking to. "Forgive me your Highness," she said, bowing once more, "Who would be able to tell me this news then?"
"I believe that would be me." A new voice joined the fray. Twilight quickly turned around to see her brother standing in the doorway.
"BBBFF! Wait…why are you here? What's the matter? Is Cadence ok? What's wrong? Wh-" Twilight stopped talking for a moment (As her brother, Shining Armour had found out long ago that it is better that Twilight endure a hoof to the mouth for a few seconds than for him to endure a headache for a number of hours, dependent on how long she went without the hoof.)
"Nothing's wrong Twilee, it's just…"
"What?"
"That-"
"Yes?"
Shining Armor reapplied the hoof to mouth treatment in an effort to finish what he was saying.
"It's that Cadence is pregnant. I'm going to be a father."
"What? This…this is amazing! Wait, let me tell all my friends, Ha ha, this is wonderful!" as Twilight rushed out, Celestia looked at Shining Armour
"Next time, just send a letter. It worked for the wedding after all," the Princess suggested.
"Your pardon Princess, but actually it didn't," he said, grimacing at the memory.
"Twilight was quite mad about the whole letter fiasco- wait, what do you mean - next time?"
"Rarity." Twilight gently shook her friends' shoulder. "Rarity, wake up! Rarity! Wake up!" Finally loosing her already limited patience, a good five minutes after her first attempt of waking up her friend, Twilight discarded all attempts of subtleness. Taking a deep breath and bending at the neck the purple unicorn resorted to shouting directly in Rarity's ear. The only effect that this had was that Rarity stirred, slightly, rolled over and muttered, dramatically, "No George, we can never by together!"
"What?" Twilight demanded, before realizing that Rarity was still asleep. "Ugh!" Twilight grunted, going out of the room. Minutes later, Twilight was back at Rarity's side, a large bucket of water held poised over her friends' head.
Rarity screamed. A lot. She had been doing so since her dear friend Twilight had unceremoniously dumped the watery contents of a bucket all over her beautiful mane. After complaining about her beauty sleep, or, to be precise, the lack of it, Rarity started to wonder out loud how Twilight had managed to get inside her house.
"The spare key you gave me in case of emergencies," Twilight explained, casually. Rarity smiled slightly as she remembered the event. Giving each other their spare keys had been a kind of a declaration of trust between the six friends, although the bill from the locksmith had left something to be desired. A huge key-giving party, courtesy of Pinkie Pie, had followed the event. The party was somehow viewed as more important than the actual swapping of the keys.
"So you used the key, the one that is only to be used in case of the direst circumstances, to inform me that I need a shower?"
"No, I wanted to tell you that Shining Armour came to me this morning and told me that Cadence was pregnant, and I wanted to tell all of my friends the wonderful news."
"Oh. I am very happy for you." Rarity gasped. "Idea! I can make the foal an outfit, and then I can open up a new line of foalware! And your brother's foal can be the first to sample it and…"
"Ok. Come on, let's go wake Pinkie."
"Sure. I am sooooo happy for you."
"Thank you."
"So, if the foal is a colt I can do something blue, or maybe green. What if I did blue and purple? Or maybe I should do pink and purple if the foal is a mare. Ooh, I simply must check what the fashion is for the moment, would ruffles be good? Oh and what about the fabrics? Would silk be too flashy?"
Pinkie was already awake, despite the fact that it was around 4 o'clock in the morning. Just as Twilight was about to open Pinkie's door, the pony opened it for her and slammed her face against Twilight's.
"Morning Twi!" she shouted, their eyes not even an inch apart.
"Whoa!" Twilight yelped, startled. "Pinkie! What are you doing awake?"
"My pinkie sense got me up." Twilight and Rarity just blinked
"It can do that?" Rarity asked curiously.
"It can now," Pinkie exclaimed happily, a huge smile lighting up her features
Knowing better than to question the pink earth pony, Twilight decided to just drop it.
"Do you know the news then?"
"No. My sense isn't that good…yet."
"Well, Princess Celestia visited me this morning and accompanying her was Shining Armour. He told me that Cadence is pregnant and I simply had to tell all my friends this wonderful news."
"Lovely! I can throw a party to celebrate, and-" Pinkie noticed Rarity, who had gone back to sleep. 'Always a good time to test out my party cannon!' Pinkie Pie thought.
BOOM!
"AAAAGHH!"
"…"
Twilight was not amused.
"Pinkie, that wasn't very nice. Where did you get your cannon from anyway?"
"What cannon?"
"What do you mean what - what in Equestria?" The cannon had disappeared. Twilight thought about this for a while, but soon forced herself to stop, as her brain would explode if she continued.
"Anyway" the completely non-traumatized unicorn said, "I'm… going to go wake up Fluttershy now. Bye, oh, and you better take care of Rarity, finding her would be a good start. Bye."
"Okey dokey lokey. Bye."
After waking the rest of her friends and telling them the good news, Twilight went back to her library. It had been a long three hours, but this didn't stop her bouncing like a filly finding a much-wanted toy in the (metaphorical) stocking on hearth's warming eve. Or like Pinkie pie.
Shining Armour was still in the library, reading Daring Do and the quest for the Sapphire Statuette.
"Where's Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked, hoping that her mentor was still in Ponyville.
"She went to raise the sun. She told me to stay her to tell you that she didn't abandon you - don't worry; the rest of her guards went with her."
"Oh. Okay."
"You do know that you didn't have to tell the whole of Equestria that Cadence is pregnant."
"What? I did not."
"Right, because waking up five ponies takes hours."
"Yes. At first I had to wake up Rarity, who is quite a heavy sleeper, but not as heavy as Rainbow. Luckily she wakes up early in the morning for training. Oh and Fluttershy-"
"Ok, so it does take hours." Shining Armour laughed, surrendering to Twilight although this did not stop him from looking around desperately for something to stop the near-endless torrent of noise emanating from his sister. Luckily for him, Pinkie walked (well, bounced) through the door.
"Hi Twilight, I've got the party almost ready-" Pinkie pulled out her party cannon and shot it, decorations somehow putting themselves all over the place, turning the library into a place for party. "-Ok the party is ready now."
Twilight had been friends with Pinkie for some time now, and still could not entirely understand her habit of thinking that physics was just something that happens to other ponies. Shining Armour, on the other hand, didn't know Pinkie Pie nearly as well as Twilight. However, he never took ways to shut his sister up for granted and so he ignored the impossible and hoped that this strange young mare would not cause the universe explode.
The party was one to be remembered, proof of Pinkies' real talent. It was held in Sugar Cube Corner. Princess Celestia and Shining Armour were seated at the table for esteemed guests, surrounded by the assorted sycophants and hangers-on that generally gather around royalty and other ponies of importance. Princess Celestia treated them with patience, but as they still annoyed her she took the first opportunity to talk to Twilight, one of the few ponies that treat her as one of their own, without being overly zealous. Unfortunately, this time Twilight was still over-enthusiastic, but not as unbearably so as the others.
"So, Twilight, do you have any reports on the magic of friendship?"
"Um…"
Celestia smiled "checkmate". Celestia, being an immortal being thousands of years old, was often a bored pony and so she liked to spice life up a bit, which was sometimes unfortunate for her subjects.
"Have you learned nothing?"
"N-no." Twilight was starting to sound like Fluttershy.
"Nothing at all?"
"No."
"Excuse me?"
"NO!"
"Hmm." Celestia somehow managed to keep a straight face.
"Well, I suppose I can forgive you."
The relief was evident on Twilights' face. She knew that it was not likely that Princess Celestia would banish her to the Everfree Forest, but with royalty, who could be sure? "Well I could always stay with Zecora- Zecora!" Twilight hadn't told the zebra the news yet.
"I really need to tell her that." Twilight muttered to herself.
"Tell who?" For a pony over a thousand years old, the Princess had very sharp hearing.
"Zecora. You know, the zebra."
"Ah. I haven't met a zebra in a very long time. I would like to meet this Zecora."
"Sure, I'll just go get her."
"Thank you, loyal subject."
"Welcome."
Twilight was running through the Everfree Forest, she was still quite excited about the whole going-to-become-an-Aunt thing, which meant that she was not looking where she was going as much as she usually would. This meant that she did
not notice the silhouette of a pony until it was too late to avoid it.
CRASH!
Twilight landed on the path, still very much intact.
"Argh!" The pony's face was clenched in pain. "What the hay are you doing, you foal?"
"Sorry about that, I was going to go to tell Zecora, a zebra in the forest that my brother's wife is pregnant. I was a bit excited, so I was running without looking."
Twilight could see the pony more clearly now, and she found out the pony was, in fact, an Alicorn. He was male and his skin was an extremely dark shade of blue. So dark, in fact, that it was almost black. The Alicorn's cutie mark was interesting; it looked like a ball of fire was being lobbed up his leg. The fireball started about a quarter of a nose from his tail, and the fireballs tail following the curve of his backside about half a nose in from it. In the middle of the fireball, there was a bolt of lightning, which made it look like the lightning bolt had burst into flames and then started being thrown up his leg. The entire mark was such a contrast to his dark hide that it seemed to glow slightly, pulsing with an inner light. Snapping herself out of his Cutie Mark's hypnotizing effect, Twilight gasped. The Alicorn's wing was sticking out at an odd angle, and this fact seemed to be causing him pain. Most of the Alicorn's wing was the same dark blue as the rest of his body, yet his feathers were even darker than his skin tone.
"Ugh. Congratulations then." For some reason Twilight didn't think he meant it. "Though you should still look where you are going, otherwise you will cause pain." He then mumbled, in words that were only meant for him, "Only a foal runs without looking where they are going." The Alicorn then sighed and mumbled something about being surrounded by idiots.
Twilight silently berated herself. She might not have been as worried about friends as Pinkie, but that didn't mean she should go around making all the ponies she met thinking that she was an idiot. Then again, that wasn't very nice of the Alicorn.
"That isn't very nice." Twilight had to state it.
"What? And introducing yourself by dislocating my wing is?" The Alicorn's orange eyes bored holes in Twilight.
Twilight winced, realizing the extent of her actions. "Good point. I am so sorry I did that."
"Apology accepted," the Alicorn muttered, grumpily. "I myself apologize for overestimating your mental capacity. Who are you anyway?"
Twilight frowned at the implied insult, yet forged ahead and answered him anyway. "My name is Twilight Sparkle and I am student to Princess Celestia and brother to-"
The Alicorn silenced her. "Yes, yes I don't want your life story," he interrupted, before turning on his way. He froze halfway through the motion. "Hang on…did you say 'student' to Princess Celestia?"
"Yes," Twilight said proudly, glad to have some reaction from the grumpy stranger other than sarcasm.
This seemed to surprise the dark-skinned alicorn. "Well then, I must say, I am almost pleased to meet you, young Twilight." He said, indicating his wing with a wry grin as he said the word almost. He seemed to have warmed up to her a bit.
"Thank you," Twilight said, smiling. "What is your name?"
The Alicorn paused, as if remembering his own name. "Shade," he said, slowly. "Just call me Shade," he finished, melancholy filling his voice for a moment. The alicorn paused, before adding, his voice having regained its seemingly usual annoyed demeanour.
"So, you are going to Zecora's? Well then, as a Gentlestallion, I am afraid that I cannot allow you to venture inside such a perilous place as the Everfree Forest unaided and unescorted. I shall therefore take it upon myself to accompany you there." He swept down in an elegant bow as he finished speaking, holding Twilight's fore hoof in his.
"O-oh," Twilight stuttered, slightly embarrassed by the alicorn's suddenly courtly actions. "N-no, it's alright I'll be fine."
Shade shrugged before blowing off her objection. "Don't worry about it, I need to grab some painkillers anyway."
Twilight blinked. "Why would you need painkillers?"
Shade simply stared deadpan Twilight, before glancing at his twisted wing and staring back at the young unicorn, raising an eyebrow in a how-stupid-are-you look.
"Oh. Yeah."
They had been walking through the forest in silence for a while before Shade started another conversation. "So, do you know how Celestia became a princess?"
"No," Twilight replied, curious as to why that would be something he wanted to know.
"Horseapples," he muttered, disappointed. "What about Luna? Is she a princess?"
"Of course! Do you know her?"
"You might say that."
"How?"
Shade paused for a moment. "Long story, too long for now. How do you know her?"
"Well, once we turned her back to Luna-"
"What?"
"You know, she was an evil mare called Nightmare Moon."
"No, actually I didn't. Please, tell me how Luna became evil."
"Well, ponies didn't admire her night. This made her angry. Luna then tried to make night last forever so Princess Celestia used the Elements of Harmony against Luna to banish her to the moon for a thousand years."
"What? Celestia banished Luna?" Shade sounded amazed.
"Yes," Twilight said, amazed at the Alicorn's lack of common knowledge.
Shade sighed. "What is it with her and banishing things?"
"Excuse me?" Twilight did not quite hear Shade, as he was speaking under his breath.
"Don't worry. So, when Luna became Nightmare, did she seem at war with herself?"
"I'm not sure. You should ask Princess Celestia or Luna about that."
Twilight and Shade talked for the rest of the journey, Shade appeared to know both of the princesses, but it was evident that he had not been in Equestria for an extremely long time. He was not even aware of the first time that Discord was turned to stone, however, he did seem to have vast knowledge of the Draconequus himself. This was a matter that Twilight intended to investigate, but Shade kept on changing the subject whenever she asked him about his past.
Eventually, the pair arrived at Zecora's cottage. By then, Twilight had told Shade about many of the notable events in Equestrian history, and about her time with Celestia and her family. For some reason he found it funny that Twilight's brother was named Shining Armour! Twilight shook her head as she came to a conclusion: Shade was very weird. Even for an alicorn.
Reaching in front of her, Shade opened the door of Zecora's cottage and gestured gallantly for her to enter. Weird as he may be, Shade was still quite chivalrous. Zecora turned her head at the sound of her front door opening and smiled when she saw her young friend enter. The smile turned into a shocked look when Shade followed in after her. Twilight raised an eyebrow at the expression. She had gathered that Shade knew Zecora, but she found it curious that Zecora had never mentioned him.
"Shade? Twilight! What are you doing in each other's sight?" Zecora sounded amazed.
"I'm not that antisocial," Shade said, his voice tinged with amusement.
"You are not antisocial, really? You definitely could have fooled me." Zecora replied.
"Oh please, who was the one that whenever she came into town caused everypony to bolt like you forgot to brush your
teeth? Picture it. They smelled your halitosis from the other side of the town, and dashed."
Zecora merely cocked an eyebrow at him. "They thought I would eat their children, and so Ponyville became so barren."
"Of course…" Shade drawled sarcastically, "Because that just makes everything so much better." He seemed to find the entire incident quite amusing. "Anyway, Twilight here dislocated my wing, so I need a painkiller. Please?"
"You are very lucky Shade, for an anesthetic I have just made."
"Thanks Zecora. I owe you one."
Shade drank the anesthetic and, using his magic, put his wing back in its joint. Several cracking noises emanated from Shade, which made both Twilight and Zecora wince.
Twilight noticed another strange thing about Shade. His magic flickered, never staying still in the same aura like most other magic's. It looked like fire.
"Hmm, memo to myself, next time I have a dislocated wing, wait until the anesthetic has taken effect before putting it back in place," Shade said, quite calmly.
Zecora facehoofed.
"Excuse me, please," Shade said, quite calmly, before walking slowly out the door.
"So, uh Zecora?" Twilight said, before being interrupted by a loud and extremely emphatic string of profanities that floated into the room from outside.
Zecora turned to face Twilight, seemingly glad for the distraction from Shade's embarrassing, albeit amusing situation.
"Hmm?"
"Princess Celestia and my brother, Shining Armour-"
Twilight was interrupted by Shade's voice drifting in.
"What kind of parents would name their child that?" Shade asked himself, loudly.
Twilight continued, unperturbed by Shade's ranting.
"-Anyway, Shining Armour told me that Cadence is pregnant and I told all of my friends this. Then Pinkie threw a party and Celestia said she would like to meet you. So could you come please?"
"I will come, don't you worry. I will not make you sorry."
"Thanks- Hey Shade!"
"Yes?"
"I think you should come to. Celestia would be overjoyed to see another alicorn."
"That probably wouldn't be the best idea…"
"Please?"
"Sorry, but no."
"You should go Shade, if you had gone sooner, you just might have met Princess Luna." Zecora also thought that Shade should go. He had been alone for a long time…too long.
"Et tu Zecora?" Shade said clutching his chest dramatically, speaking in a wounded tone.
Zecora nodded, smiling.
"Fine, be that way; but I am not going."
"Why not?" Twilight wondered if the reason he refused to go had something to do with his past. "Well, duh." She thought. But what was it?
"That-" Twilight could swear she heard Shade's voice crack a little. "-That is- it is a very long story, one that happened a long time ago. One that I have no intention of speaking of."
"Shade, Shade, don't you see? I gave you the potion. You owe me."
"What the- horse apples. IT DIDN'T EVEN WORK!"
"It would have if you waited to fix your wing, so that fact does not change a thing." Zecora smirked. It would be good for Shade to get out meeting some ponies. That could be easily seen, it had been a long time since Shade had been so…animated. Zecora had Twilight to thank for that. Besides, ponies were not meant to be alone, not for long.
Shade sighed. He hated it when Zecora was right. "Fine then, let's go but on one condition."
"What?" Twilight hopefully asked.
Shade smiled brightly. "I get to wear my hooded robe!"
Twilight blinked. "Okaaaaay…sure, come on, let's go then."
"So, aren't you getting your coat then?"
"Yes, why?"
"We're leaving, as in going away from your coat."
"So?"
"What? Are you going to magic up your robe?" Twilight asked, her voice portraying a hint of sarcasm.
Shade rolled his eyes and turned to the side of the trail. His horn lit up and an area of grass burst into flames.
Twilight gasped. She had not expected such an act of wanton destruction from him. The area that had been covered with fire was blackened- 'wait, why is the burnt area higher than the- oh, he's good.' What Twilight thought was the ash of the grass was actually a long, flowing cloak. 'Makes sense, ash wouldn't be that dark anyway.'
"How did you do that?"
"Do what?" Shade asked as he donned the robe, making sure it covered both his wings and his cutie mark- 'Probably not to attract to much attention' Twilight reasoned.
"Summon the cloak?"
"What, you've never seen it done before?"
"No."
"Oh. Well, at first you need to focus your mind on an object…" Shade went on to explain the inner workings the spell to her. But as Twilight asked more and more questions, Shade began to mention other spells that she had never even heard of before, leading him having to explain those ones as well. Which would lead to other spells being mentioned and…well. This phenomenon was much to Twilight's delight, although Zecora did not seem to have the same sense of enthusiasm. Zecora never really understood magic and had no interest in doing so, probably due to the fact that, not being a unicorn, she would never have the opportunity to use it. Shade, however, was quite happy talking about magic, almost seeming to open up a bit more as they discussed spell after spell, many of which Twilight had not even known that she didn't know about.
Twilight led her two new friends to Ponyville. Shade seemed slightly hesitant of entering the village, yet came without needing any form of encouragement. He seemed slightly nervous as they walked down the main road. His eyes flickered from pony to pony, alert, tense and above all, ready; Twilight could not help but wonder, 'ready for what?' However, the trip went on without too much incident, though some of the more curious ponies that saw Shade wondered who the newcomer was. Yet as both Twilight and Zecorah, two known and trusted ponies, were escorting him they quickly dismissed him from their thoughts. Shade chuckled internally. It seemed as if the peace that reigned over the land had softened them. How much, however, was yet to be seen. All thoughts of this flew from his head as Sugarcube Corner came into view. Two of Equestria's finest stood guard at the door, their stone like expression dismissing all in the vicinity. Nevertheless, their spears barred the way to the door, yet only for a moment, as a voice inside caused them to stand down.
"Twilight!" Princess Celestia said joyfully, catching sight of her faithful student.
"Good Morning Princess Celestia, may I introduce to you my dear friend Zecora, a zebra of great knowledge and rhyme.
Zecora, this is Princess Celesteia would you like to meet the Princess?
"Pleased to meet you. Princess Celestia, how do you do?"
"I feel lovely, thank you." Celestia said, nodding her head graciously to the Zebra. A twitch of movement in the background brought her attention to another pony, one who acted as if he would rather be somewhere…else. She waited for Twilight to introduce the two of them, yet it seemed as if her student had forgotten about him. No matter. "Oh hello," Celestia said with a kind smile, believing him to just be a bit shy meeting royalty. "Who might you be?"
The hooded figure inclined his head deliberately in a motion that she had not seen in over almost a thousand years, a motion that indicated disdain to someone of equal stature.
"Shade," he answered, his voice a monotone. The absence of any deference whatsoever to the princess was made immediately apparent.
An expression finally crossed the guards' faces as they scowled angrily at this insolent pony. Subtly, they leaned forward, ready to put this upstart in his place. Celestia casually lifted a hoof, the indicated sign of 'hold' calming them.
"Oh, well I am pleased to meet you, Shade."
Silence. Honestly, Shade thought, I can't say the same.
"The Princess has spoken to you, you insolent foal! You would be wise to show her the respect due her station and answer her!" Shining Armor commanded angrily.
The hooded figure immediately bowed his head down to the ground. For a moment, those around him thought that this was the beginning of his apology. Silence reigned over he area as they waited for him to begin. They waited in vain. A small outtake of air broke the silence.
"Heh. Heheh. Heheheheh, hahahahaha HAHAHAHAHA!" First came the chuckle, then full blown laughter as Shade roared his amusement to the heavens. Shining Armor took an angry step forward and the laughter cut off as quickly and abruptly as it began.
"Forgive me my amusement, boy! But if you were in my situation I assure you that you would find it just as amusing!" Shade's voice was still tinged with humor, yet it carried a dark undertone that froze all who heard it into motionlessness. Celestia's voice broke the spell.
"TWILIGHT! GET AWAY FROM HIM!"
Celestia had no idea who the pony before them was, yet the aura of power that suddenly surrounded him had left her with a seldom felt emotion…fear. That was enough to know that she did not want any of her little ponies near this stallion.
Startled, Twilight did as she was told.
"Remove your hood, stranger!" Celestia commanded, her voice ringing with authority.
The pony ignored the Princess' order and turned to Zecora. "You should probably go now Zecora, I doubt you would want to get caught up in this."
"Shade, I do not think so. Why is it you want me to go?"
"I wasn't asking."
Zecora stiffened, before bowing deeply to Shade her and galloping back to the forest.
Twilight's eyes widened at this response. That bow had been just as respectful as the one that Zecora had given to Celestia herself! Who was this pony?
Celestia ignored the zebra, keeping her attention fixed on the larger threat. "I will not ask you again! Remove your hood!"
The pony known as Shade lifted his head from the ground and curled his lip in a small half smile, revealing white teeth and one sharpened fang. "No."
Several ponies retreated a step seeing the sharpened tooth, before stepping forward once more, resolute in dealing with this menace.
"Shade, please lift your hood!" Twilight cried out, trying to get Shade to co-operate hood before the situation deteriorated into violence.
Shade laughed once more, his voice sounding almost…free. "Sorry Twilight, but the answer stays the same. I will not show my face!"
"Enough! Either reveal your identity or I will!" Celestia cried out.
A full blown grin was revealed at this, showing off both fangs. "Try it." The words Shade spoke were a definite challenge.
Celestia was angry now. This insolence had gone far enough. A pink aura surrounded her horn and his garment both.
Under the shadow of his cloak, Shade tossed his head and something that looked like fire covered Celestia's horn.
'He's cutting off the Princess' ability to use magic!' Twilight realized with a start. She had been quick to realize that Shade had an extensive knowledge of the arcane, perhaps greater than her own. The way he explained spells on the journey to Ponyville was nothing short of ingenious, though she never dreamed that he could he would know enough to prevent Celestia herself from using her powers! From the shocked expression on Celestia's face, she had not seen it coming either.
"Charge!" Shining Armour shouted, following his own commands as he and his lackeys charged at Shade. Shade snorted and pawed the ground angrily. The glow around Celestia's horn dimmed as fire roared around him. The flame rushed forward in a solid wall, hurtling the charging ponies aside as a child would his toys in a tantrum. Shining Armor alone stood strong against the assault, his barrier surrounding him and protecting both his sister and his princess from the assault.
"You monster!" the Captain of the Guard cried out.
"You have spirit, little pony." Lightning ran over each of his forehoofs as Shade slammed them together. Armour's barrier shattered as electricity arced over the screaming Captain's frame. "But that alone is not enough," he finished with a smirk as Shining Armor collapsed to the ground.
"Brother!" Twilight cried as she rushed to her brothers' side, he was still alive, thank Celestia, but was out cold. Twilight turned on Shade, furious at him for hurting her brother. She used this anger to cast a quick bolt of energy at him. The rampaging stallion caught it in the ribs. It elicited nothing but a grunt.
The bolt obviously didn't do much harm, but it was enough to disrupt his tenuous grasp on Celestia, who immediately used the distraction to rip off Shade's hood, revealing him to all. "Starfire?" Celestia gasped, actually retreating back a step.
'Starfire? Who the hay is Starfire?' Twilight wondered.
"Did you miss me, Celestia?" Shade asked. "I missed you. After all, it's quite lonely being banished, but you wouldn't know that would you, because I don't banish ponies at the drop of a crown."
"Enough! No, you never banished anypony. Instead, you made the whole of Equestria burn. You should be banished. You deserved that."
Starfire sneered. "Nopony deserves to be in that hell you sent me to Celestia. Nopony at all." Shades' voice burned with hatred. His voice turned musing. "In fact, I think I would have preferred the fiery depths of hell." Fire surrounded him once more in a blaze before vanishing instantly. "At least that I could have used."
Twilight gasped at his words, but what really shocked her were his eyes. Before they had been the cheery color of a campfire. Now they were an angry shade, as if the campfire had turned into a raging furnace, ready to scorch anything that stood in its way.
Celestia shook her head in denial. "You deserved it. I don't care how you got back, as you will soon be returned to your banishment." Celestia's shouted, her voice filled with fury.
Starfire leaned close to Celestia, a sweet smile on his face. "Over the blackened remains of Equestria." His voice, though hateful, was almost a whisper and made a stark contrast to the Celestia's shouting, sending a shiver of fear down the backs of all who heard it.
"You. Wouldn't. Dare." Celestia stated quietly, in a tone filled of threat and loathing.
"I've done it before. I can do it again. Push me, and I will do it again," Shade snarled, his mane filled with flickering tongues of flame.
"You. Monster."
Shade glanced down for a moment, looking sorrowful, before he looked up once more, hatred in his eyes. "That's the second time I've been called that today…seems like nothing has changed despite the turning of the age." The tip of his horn slowly began to glow, reaching a blazing white-hot. Throwing his head back, Shade shouted out loud as he gathered his power. With widened eyes Celestia raised a shield, which glowed a blinding white as it thrummed with power, anticipating an explosion of huge caliber. Twilight, however, had a different reaction. She charged forward. She knew that she would never be able to reach Celestia's shield in time, but if she could reach Shade first, she could disrupt his spell. She was too late.
Fire rose around Shade and Twilight both, but instead of exploding, it just disappeared, taking Shade and Twilight with it.
Celestia was relieved, despite her preparation she had not been sure her shield would hold against such a blast. The news that Starfire was back had shocked her greatly and had left her with many questions. One however, presided above them all: how did Starfire get back from his banishment? Unlike Luna's, his was meant to be permanent. She would have to ask Twilight how she met him. Wait‚ Twilight. Where was she? Celestia found, only scorched earth where her beloved student had been standing. Twilight was gone. Starfire had taken her, no, not Starfire, Ignis. Rage rose up in Celestia's breast. There would be a reckoning, this she promised herself.
"IGNIIIIIIIIIIIS!"
Shining Armor woke up with a start. His whole body was filled with pain. ‘Wha- what happened?’ He then looked around. What remained of Sugar Cube Corner was black and smelled of smoke. It appeared that it had not been spared during the battle. Wait, the fight! Shining Armour’s eyes widened as the memories of recent events ran through his head. “Princess!” Shining Armor yelled, as he tried to get up, only to be pressed back down to the ground with the gentle push of a hoof. A damp cloth was placed on his head, its coolness doing what it could to relieve the pain of his head.
“Don’t move, little one. You are injured.” Celestia’s voice was tinged with something that Shining Armor had never thought he would hear coming from the Princess. Fear.
“Did you get the upstart, Princess?” he asked, hopefully.
Celestia sighed. “No.” Her voice took on a more steely tone. “But I will.”
“Of that, I have no doubt.” Shining Armor looked around, and noticed the absence of one particular pony. “Where’s Twilight?”
Celestia winced. “Ignis took her.”
“WHAT!” Shining Armor was horrified by this news. His little sister, gone? In a flash, his horror turned to anger, then rage. “This Ignis will pay! By your leave, Princess, let me go and search him out! I will bring Twilee back, and show this, this monster exactly what happens when he messes with you, me, and Equestria!”
Celestia shook her head. “I forbid it.”
“Wha- why not? Please, excuse the disrespect, Princess, but I need to rescue Twilight. Please, let me go.”
“No!” An echoing sound resounded amongst the nearby ponies as Celestia slammed one hoof against the ground. Shining Armor instinctively shied back a bit at the ferocious expression that graced Celestia’s usually calm features. The Princess immediately softened, yet did not relent. She sighed, shaking her head. “I can not allow it. Not in good conscience. Your wife is pregnant, Captain, and I do not wish to be the one to tell her that her foal will never see its father.
Shining Armor stiffened at that. His pride was affronted, his sister was in danger and he did not appreciate Celestia bringing his family into this matter. “I never knew you thought so poorly of my ability, your Highness,” he said slowly.
Celestia frowned. “I think highly of your ability Captain, in fact, I know it very well. However, I have never known the true extent of Ignis’ ability. What I do know, is that if you faced him, you would die. I do not mean to say that there is a chance you would die. It is a certainty. Ignis would fight without remorse, without pity and without mercy. Make no mistake, Captain. If you faced him alone, he would strike you down before you even touched him.”
Silence greeted this statement. “And you say this bozo has Twilight?” Celestia turned to see the rest of the Mane Six had gathered together, no doubt drawn by the smoke.
“Oh my,” Fluttershy whispered, looking horrified.
“Sounds like this pony’s ah dang’rous sort, Princess,” Applejack said, standing at the front of the pack, side by side with Rainbow Dash. “Y’ gonna need our help with this’n?”
Celestia nodded slowly. “The Elements of Harmony would indeed be a welcome addition. Captain Shining Armor, I have a new mission for you.”
Armor bowed his head. “Your Highness?”
“You are injured, I understand, but this is a matter that cannot wait. You are charged with the protection of Canterlot. Protect the city and alert the Guard. Send the Elements of Harmony as to me and as many combat capable ponies as possible without weakening the defences.”
“Yes your Highness,” immediately, he turned to leave.
“Captain!” He faced her again. Face serious, Celestia continued. “I mean that Captain, I want Canterlot prepared for a full scale invasion. Double the Guard, double the weapons, double everything! If he attacks, you’ll be fighting a holding action, so send me the attack specialists, primarily unicorn mages and pegasi, if possible.”
Shining Armor’s eyes widened at the amount of precautions that this Ignis warranted. All of a sudden he found himself glad that he had not gone after him alone.
“And Captain…” Celestia halted, looking grim. “I know that this is a tall order, but, if possible, I want you to do everything you can to make sure that Luna is not made aware of this situation.”
Shining Armor was about to ask why, but something made him stop himself. He simply nodded. “Yes Princess. Canterlot will be safe. I shall not fail you.” So saying, he limped off, the battered remnants of his Princess’ escort following him.
“Does this brute really need necessitate such a clamor?” Rarity asked.
Celestia shuddered slightly. That was answer enough.
“Now what, Princess?” Rainbow Dash asked. She was mad at Ignis, and wanted to know how she could help bring him down.
“First we get what information we can while we wait for the others to arrive. Then, we hunt this demon down.
“Ugh.” Twilight’s eyes crept open. She had the beginnings of a headache, not helped by the near constant mutterings of Starfire, who seemed intrigued by her awakening.
“Hmm. I didn’t expect you to wake up so early. It’s been what, an hour since the teleportation? I expected at least double that. I wonder why that would be so? This needs some thought. Maybe it could be because of a greater skill with magic? Whose skill, one might ask? It goes without saying that my magic has definitely improved since the banishment, but I still don’t think that would have cut down the time of recovery that much. Maybe it has something to do with your own skill.”
Regaining her awareness, Twilight stared at her abductor. “You.”’
“Yes?” he answered, innocently.
“What did you do?” Twilight asked, not fooled for a moment by his façade.
“Um…I teleported?” he seemed unsure of his response, although that might have just been because of the rather ferocious glare that Twilight was leveling at him.
“Why did you take me with you?”
“I didn’t mean to! Teleportation is useful for a quick getaway, but has the unfortunate habit of taking anypony near you with you, even if you do not want to.”
“That’s not true,” Twilight objected.
Starfire looked at her oddly. “I assure you, it is.”
“No, it’s not! I’ve teleported hundreds of times before and it never did something like that.”
“Oh?” Starfire inquired, curiously. “Show me.”
Twilight briefly considered objecting to him, before a thought came to her. With a smile, she concentrated and teleported. The sound of air rushing in to fill a vacuum filled the room. Milliseconds later Twilight appeared a few meters above the ground from her original position, before falling to the ground with a thump. Slowly, Twilight regained her feet, clutching her head. The headache had worsened considerably since her teleportation. It didn’t help that during the spell she had apparently hit some type of metaphysical wall that had prevented her from just teleporting back to Ponyville.
“Ooh, so it was.” Starfire clapped his forehooves together excitedly. “I could hardly believe it, but it seems that somepony has improved my teleportation spell. You must tell me- are you all right?”
Twilight kept her silence, fearful of the pony beside her. The pain in her head had swelled to enormous portions by now.
“Headache?”
“Yeah.” Try as she might, Twilight could not manage anything past one syllable. Sitting down on her haunches and closing her eyes, Twilight rubbed her temples while trying to calm down the furious beating of her heart.
Hearing the sound of movement, she opened her eyes once more. Her pulse skyrocketed when she beheld Starfire’s face close to her own, his horn lit with that fiery glow, ready to cast a spell.
Twilight jumped, immediately starting a spell of her own. The feeling of Starfire’s magic wasn’t all that aggressive, but it gave her the feeling that there was a thunderstorm very close to her- just waiting to break free. But the action proved to be too much for her and Twilight groaned as the sudden movement, combined with the spellwork caused her headache to blossom. The pain was unbearable, growing every second, the agony causing her to almost black out and then, it – disappeared. Twilight blinked. That was sudden.
“There you go. The pain should be gone by now.” Starfire said, satisfied, as he moved his horn away from her own.
Twilight just stared at him, her expression dumbstruck as he walked away. Despite that, an automatic response left her lips.
“Thank you.”
Starfire looked back over his shoulder at her and smiled. “Your welcome. Oh, and don’t worry, I’ m not going to hurt you.”
How did he know what she was worrying about? It was like he could read her thoughts. Blushing, at Starfire’s crooked grin, Twilight realized that she had spoken aloud.
“I don’t need to be able to read your mind to recognize that look in your eyes. It’s the look of a frightened animal.” In a voice clearly meant only for him he added, “I have experienced that feeling far too many times myself. I know what it looks like.”
Deciding to ignore the second statement, for now, Twilight focused on the more important things, like that magic he had just used.
“What did you just do to me?”
Starfire looked at her blankly. “Huh?
“The spell you used to take away my headache!”
Starfire shrugged. “Oh, that? That was just an application of healing magic.”
“Healing magic?” Twilight asked incredulously.
“Yes, healing magic,” Starfire said again, confused as to why this was so hard to believe.
“B-but, there have been many ponies over the years who have attempted to learn such magic, it was thought to be impossible!”
Starfire snorted. “Impossible my flank! Before my banishment it was actually quite commonplace. Luna was a genius at it.”
“Then why has it fallen into disuse?” Twilight countered.
Starfire pondered the question for a while. Truth be told, he wasn’t entirely sure why Celestia would allow healing magic to be forgotten. Unless…
“That which can create can also destroy. That which can heal can also hurt,” he said softly.
A shiver ran over Twilight’s coat.
“Explain.”
Starfire shrugged. “The spell was a relatively simple one, as long as you keep your balance. I simply moved your pain, through me, to the stone ground. It can take a lot of pain, not as much as fire though.”
“So?”
“So, not only is it dangerous to the caster if they don’t know what they’re doing, what’s to stop me from taking your pain and putting it into another pony?”
Twilight opened her mouth, stopped and closed it, her eyes widening.
“Then we move onto the more complex healing magic, such as repairing muscles, fixing broken bones, sealing cuts. What are you actually doing.”
“You would be manipulating a pony’s body on a cellular level,” Twilight said slowly. Starfire nodded, impressed despite himself. This pony was one smart cookie.
“Exactly, so then, what’s to stop me from simply, oh, I don’t know, stopping your heart? Pinching a couple nerves in your brain? Causing a hemorrhage? And that’s just being a little bit creative. If necessary, it is possible to remove a unicorn’s ability to do magic, or a pegasus’ ability to fly, all with the same magic that you would use to heal. As always, it’s a whole lot easier to cause damage than to help.”
Twilight had turned a little green as she looked at this pony who spoke of injuring others so casually. And after hearing him explain the magic he had used on her in such detail, she felt dirty, somehow.
Starfire shrugged. “Don’t look at me, personally I see it as a waste. Learning how to heal is a long, arduous process. Using it to kill seems to be…disrespectful.”
Seeing the fear and anger in her eyes, his own hardened. “Don’t knock it, little one. It can be used for great good and has saved my own life more times than I can count. It is a useful skill. Although I usually only do it with permission, so you have my apologies.”
“Oh.” Twilight was not angry with Starfire anymore and could understand why such a brand of magic, useful as it was, would be banned.
“Are you angry at me?”
“Not really,” Twilight answered.
‘Scared? Yes. Angry? Not so much,’ she thought to herself. Of course, simple fear wasn’t about to stop the barrage of questions she had to ask. “Why does Princess Celestia hate you so much?”
Starfire chuckled, grimly. “Probably for the same reason why she banished me.”
“How long did she banish you for?”
“Eternity.”
Twilight stopped, before swallowing, not sure if she really wanted to know the answer to her next question.
“Why were you banished?” she asked softly.
Sitting down on his haunches, the male alicorn put one hoof to his chin. “You know, I’m not entirely sure. Her reason was either the destruction of Equestria or that she personally just didn’t like me. Possibly a combination of the two.” His voice turned bitter. “Or it could just have been the deaths of so many of her little ponies.”
Twilight was horrified. She went to fire a bolt of magic at Starfire, but found she couldn’t- something about her magic wasn’t working. Due to the conversation that they had just had, she immediately assumed the worst.
Seeing her horrified expression, Starfire winced. “Please don’t.”
“What’s happening to me?” Twilight cried, ignoring, distraught. “I can’t use my magic!” She was panicking now, she could feel her magic, it was right there, there just seemed to be something blocking it.
“Shh, don’t worry, you can still use magic, just…not here, not now. To be frank with you I don’t right feel like being turned into a turkey, so I’m just…shielding you from using your magic. The wards helped. You may have noticed them when you tried to teleport out of sight.”
“Right.” Twilight was unsure of what to say next. She was relieved that the worst had not happened; yet she was still scared of this pony, his abilities and what he might do with her. She didn’t even notice when she tried to imperceptibly shuffle away from him.
Starfire, however, did and felt awkward in this situation. For some reason that he couldn’t figure out, he would rather face down a hydra than lose this unicorn’s trust. “Curse these social tendencies,” he muttered to himself. “I’m becoming attached to her. Why? I am Starfire, the terror of Celestia, the downfall of Equestria- not some soppy sentimental half-baked adolescent foal.”
“Anyway,” he continued to Twilight. “Since you will be staying here for a while, I might as well show you around.”
So saying, he trotted off in the direction of the door, before turning and quirking an eye at Twilight, who had not yet moved from her spot.
“Coming?” he asked sardonically.
“Oh, alright.”
Starfire opened the door and motioned for her to go outside. “Ladies first,” he said graciously.
Twilight scowled, slightly, getting the feeling that he was mocking her. As Starfire closed the door, she asked him a more pointed question. “So, why did you destroy Equestria?”
The stallion swore under his breath before mentioning one name: “Discord.”
“What about him?” Twilight asked, who was by now very interested.
“He is the reason I was forced to destroy Equestria, the reason why almost everypony I used to know either hates me, or is dead.”
“But-“ Twilight stopped herself when Starfire frowned and sighed.
“Forgive me if I do not elaborate,” he said stiffly. “Painful memories.”
“Oh. Are you al-“
“Yes, of course I’m bloody well alright!” This sudden outburst surprised Twilight, who backed away once more. Whatever this alicorn was, he was definitely not stable.
“Ok… So…”
Starfire sighed, seeming to regret his outburst. “Would you still like me to show you around?”
Twilight nodded. “Yes please.”
Starfire inclined his head to her and took a single step, before halting once more and turning his neck to face her. “Oh, but before we continue, I feel it only fair to warn you. Don’t do anything stupid.”
“Like?”
“Oh, I don’t know, like trying to run away, or escape in general. After all, right now we just so happen to be deep in the Everfree forest, surrounded by a lot of dangerous creatures who would absolutely love to hunt you down and would devour you with relish. And if you do happen to escape, then if those monsters find you, you better thank your lucky stars. Because despite all those dangerous creatures out for your blood, - that’s not the worst of it, because then I would start hunting for you. Ok?” he finished with a cheery grin.
Starfire didn’t wait for Twilight to acknowledge, he simply put a wing over her back, wincing as he did so, and started steering her to see the main sights of his home. Why did he put a wing over her back? Well, judging by all her shivering she must have been cold.
“I’ve been here for a few months, about as long as you’ve known Zecora from what I’m told. I don’t really keep track of time that well you see. During that time I may have gotten a bit bored, so I built a few things, such as my guest house, well, one of them. You’ve already seen that though, after all, that’s where you woke up. I grow my own food, which is doing wonders thanks to Zecora’s special fertilizer mix. It may have taken a while, but I have also built my own lab, house and a small library.”
Twilight looked around. The clearing seemed more like a small village than the residence of one pony.
“Now that the general tour is over, is there anything you would like to see in particular?” Starfire asked. When Twilight didn’t answer, he began waving a hoof in front of her face. Apparently, the mare was too busy gawping at his clearing to notice him. “Hey, Twilight. Twilight! Equestria to Twilight, come in!”
“Yes?” Twilight answered, starting a little.
“Allow me to repeat myself, is there any place that you would like to see in particular?”
“I would like to see the library please,” Twilight said, enthusiastically. Starfire got the feeling that she was an avid reader.
“Sure. Follow me.” He led the way to a building slightly larger then the rest. Inside of it, Twilight could see that the library’s contents were a bit more varied than usual. The objects besides the numerous works of literature included a hoof-sized emerald and a manikin, on which was a suit of armor. The metal glinted in the light shed from the open door, prompting Twilight to examine it more closely. The full body armor seemed to consist of at the very least one hundred separate pieces, made of many plates of differing sizes. The armor’s edges were gilt with gold. Engravings covered it, and Twilight could feel the magic that thrummed through its entirety. For a thing of war, it looked beautiful- so much so that it would make Rarity weep out of jealousy. Next to the armour were various blades, which could be attached to it in the place of some of the plates. Twilight moved closer, wanting to catch a glimpse of the pictures that were on the armor’s surface, sure that they had some meaning to them, before Starfire threw a blanket over the whole thing, hiding it from view.
“I take it you like my armor?” Starfire stated unnecessarily, noticing her look of wonder. Twilight nodded, speechless. “The dragons made it for me.”
“What?”
Starfire smiled. “Dragons are extremely good smiths, the best I have ever seen. This armor is an example of their finest handiwork.”
“But how did you get the dragons to make you such armor? Why would they agree to it?
“How did I get the dragons to make me such fine armor? That is long story. Let’s just say that the dragons like me. I know and respect their ways.”
“Their ways of what?”
“The three C’s.”
“Courage, confidence and most importantly, competence in the ways of violence.” Starfire said this without thinking, though he seemed amused by Twilights flustered reaction to both his words and his decidedly draconic grin.
“Wha-but-but-“
“Oh, please I don’t appreciate unnecessary violence, but you can have so much fun when dueling a dragon.” This only served to confuse Twilight more. Starfire sighed ‘there’s no understanding a mare’. He walked up to his ‘library’, consisting of a few shelves, pulled out a large book (explosives for foals) and waved it in front of Twilights face. “Hey Twilight! Look! A book!” She was still standing there with a puzzled look gracing her features, so Starfire threw the book using telekinesis across the room. “Fetch!”
‘What is with alicorn? Is he evil?’ Twilight asked herself. “What is wrong with him? Would asking that offend him? Why would the dragons like him so much to build him such good armor? Where is he going- wait, why is he waving a book in front of my face? Oh, and now he’s thrown it. That’s no way to treat a book.’ Twilight’s thoughts barraged her poor brain non-stop, before they came back to the basics. She was a librarian. She looked after books, ergo ‘I should probably get that book.’
To Starfire she added, “You really shouldn’t treat books like that,” as she trotted over and picked the book up.
Starfire chuckled “Wow, I can’t believe that actually worked. Talos would be proud.”
Twilight overheard him. “Who’s Talos?”’
“A friend.” Starfire replied.
“Will I meet him?” Twilight asked not really caring about the answer
Starfire gazed thoughtfully at Twilight, before abruptly shivering. “Hopefully not.”
“Oh. Won’t he like me?” she asked, definitely curious now.
Starfire snorted. “Actually he would like you. A lot. Too much in fact.”
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, not understanding.
Starfire glanced around the room, his eyes suddenly shifty. “He’s single,” he blurted.
“So?” Twilight really wasn’t sure where Starfire was going here.
“Are you single?” he tried, striving to find a way to get the message across.
“That’s beside the point,” Twilight stuttered as she blushed
Starfire gave a short bark of laughter. “ Lady, that is the point.”
“Okay…” ‘What was wrong with this one? Was it apple cider? Why is he looking at me like that? Aaggh! I can’t think of any reasonable explanations! Why? Ok, get a book. Read it. Just- just- WHY CAN’T I THINK STRAIGHT?’ Twilight was puzzled with these thoughts. She usually could think straight. It was like her thoughts were trying to confuse her. ‘Great. Now he’s managed to turn my own brain against me. What manner of sorcery is this?’
Starfire sighed at Twilight’s relatively short attention span. He decided it best to leave her to gather her thoughts. “Right, I’ll be going to think up devious traps for your friends if they choose to come after me and then visiting Zecora. Feel free to look around, but don’t try to escape or destroy any of my property, because then I will have to punish you.”
“Ok- wait what?”
“Are you afraid of him? We will protect you.”
Zecora chuckled. “There is no protection from the Shade. If he wanted so, my death is as good as made.”
The questionings of Zecora had gone on for a few minutes now. Ignis had undoubtedly scared Zecora enough to make her fear him, for she would not tell them where they could find him. It must be fear, for who would be loyal to one so terrible as Ignis?
“Give me a map, so I can fight him for what he has done. He is not only content with destroying Olden Equestria, but now he has foalnapped Twilight, my student and your friend. So tell me where he is,” Celestia commanded.
“Do you wish to challenge the Shade? If so, I will give you a map to his glade.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow. She didn’t know much about the hierarchy of the Zebronic tribes, but she was sure that Zecora meant a challenge of leadership, one-on-one combat to discern the leader of the tribe. Interesting.
“Yes, I wish to challenge Ignis to a duel.”
“Fine. I will give you a map to the field. A warning though, when the Shade fights, he does not yield. While this map is true, you will only get there if he wants you to.”
“Thank you.”
“Welcome, and good luck. You’ll need it. I hope your lives he will admit.”
“Sure. Bye.”
With that Celestia went Zecora’s cottage. ‘Now I have a map’ the Princess thought. ‘A way that will lead me right to Ignis’ front door. He better watch out, because nothing in heaven or in Tartarus is going to stop me from giving him what he deserves.’
