Harmony and curse

For Celestia, it only took a split second to get a grasp of the situation after feeling the energy wave. As soon as she rose from her bed, she teleported directly to the room of her current guard commander.

"General Falcon!" Princess Celestia shouted to wake up the leader of the guard.

But it wasn’t necessary—just like Celestia, the general hadn't wasted any time. He was already equipping his armor and stepped out of his room as soon as he heard his princess. True to his rank, the unicorn general, Falcon, was clad in heavy golden armor with his helmet in one hoof. The gray streaks in his mane and his unwavering gaze reflected his years of service.

"I’m aware, Your Majesty. I’m ready to receive orders!" he said, putting on his helmet as he stepped out.

Before she could respond to her soldier, Celestia's ears perked up as she heard a shout:

"ALL NIGHT GUARDS, YOUR PRINCESS AWAITS YOU IN THE TRAINING GROUNDS. THAT’S AN ORDER!"

"Well, it seems my dear sister acted before I did," Celestia remarked as she watched the night guards leaving their posts and heading to the training grounds. If she’s ordering the entire guard to assemble without consulting me first, she might know more about what’s happening.

"Well, you heard her, General—gather all the day guards at the training grounds."

"Right away, Your Majesty." With a flash of magic, the general disappeared from sight.

Once her order was given, Celestia also teleported to find her sister.

FLASH

As if summoned, Celestia appeared at Luna's side in a burst of teleportation magic.

"Dear sister, I’ve been searching everywhere for you! I heard that your guards are gathering at the training grounds. May I assume you know what’s going on?"

"We need to go to the training platform. I’ll explain everything on the way," Luna said, frowning as she glanced toward the Everfree Forest, then back to her sister. "Tia, I think this could be the biggest problem we’ve faced in decades."

Celestia’s eyes widened at her sister’s serious tone. She certainly wasn’t prepared to hear what Luna was about to say.

In about two minutes, all the guards had gathered at the training grounds. A mix of all pony races—unicorns using their magic to move swiftly or teleport, pegasi flying in from all directions, with some hovering in the air awaiting orders, and earth ponies galloping with all their might.

Worried murmurs filled the air, echoing from every direction, as, like the townsfolk in Ponyville, everyone in Canterlot had also felt the energy wave. The guards knew that was why they were summoned, but they were anxious to know who or what could have caused such a powerful force.

Among the crowd, two recognizable guards stood out—Berry and Flowy, who were being bombarded with questions.

"Berry! You’re the one who called us here, right? And you say you don’t know why?" a pegasus demanded irritably.

"Are you dense, pal? It’s obviously because of that magical energy wave from earlier," a unicorn retorted, turning back to Berry. "The real question is, why gather here instead of starting patrols as protocol dictates?"

"It wasn’t just Berry who called everyone. General Falcon of the day guard did too. We shouldn’t doubt him. If he called us, it must be serious," a pegasus from the day guard joined the conversation. "Are you really saying you don’t know what’s going on, Berry? Who ordered you to assemble your guards?"

"Will this take long?"

"Where did that energy come from?"

"Do you know who caused it?"

"W-well, no, I don’t know anything more than what you all already know. I, uh…" All the questions overwhelmed the stallion, and he began to panic.

"It was Princess Luna who ordered this gathering! We don’t know anything else, so leave Berry alone! The princess will be here soon and will tell us what to do, okay?" Flowy stepped in to defend him.

"ATTENTION, ALL GUARDS, FORM RANKS!"

Before the soldiers could continue arguing, General Falcon’s voice boomed from the front, prompting all the day guards to take their positions. Unlike the night guards, they were uncertain about following his command, as he wasn’t their direct commander.

"THIS GOES FOR THE NIGHT GUARD TOO. FORM UP! YOU HAVE FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE… ATTENTION! STAND AT ATTENTION!"

Right beside General Falcon, another unicorn teleported in—the General of the Night Guard. As soon as they counted down, the soldiers lined up and stood tall.

Berry sighed with relief. "Thanks, Flowy, I owe you one," he smiled a little sheepishly as he took his place firmly like the others.

"Don’t worry. I’m your partner, after all," the mare laughed, turning to look straight ahead.

As the soldiers looked forward, they saw Princesses Celestia and Luna approaching the training platform with serious expressions.

"One of King Sombra’s crystals… There’s no doubt. He managed to place it so close to us without anyone noticing. This is a serious problem," Celestia thought, recognizing immediately who was behind it. The dark crystals were unmistakably the mark of that pony.

But it didn’t make sense; King Sombra had been completely defeated by the Elements of Harmony. He hadn’t had a chance to cast his strange spell to vanish with the Crystal Empire. Using that crystal would have served him no purpose; Sombra had disappeared completely, leaving Celestia to a second, more concerning theory.

"The ponies you saw… You said some were injured, while others were fleeing the cave. Those first two, from how you described it and from the nightmare of the wounded pony, it seems they were captured, which leads us to the second group," Celestia said thoughtfully, watching as the guards formed in front of the platform.

"The group that escaped," Luna continued, "were behind me, so I couldn’t see them well, but I did catch a glimpse of their cloaks." Luna looked down, recalling as much as she could about the cave. "But it doesn’t make much sense either. Why wear those cloaks? They were rather ordinary with no distinct markings. I don’t think they’re a cult dedicated to King Sombra," Luna turned to her sister, her expression troubled.

"They wanted to conceal themselves, and those runes…" Celestia frowned. "I don’t want to make any accusations without proof, but… runes are the specialty of zebras. A unicorn wouldn’t need to use them."

Luna’s eyes widened at this realization. "You think that…!" She almost let out the Royal Voice.

Celestia quickly interrupted, "We can’t draw conclusions so soon. Runes can be made by any pony. We must consider all possibilities, or we could be facing a serious territorial conflict between kingdoms."

"For now, we should focus on the wounded ponies. I’ll send reconnaissance soldiers to search for them," Luna sighed. "I just hope this isn’t as serious as I think."

The sisters finally reached the stairs to the platform and quickly climbed up.

"We’ll find out soon enough," Celestia said simply.

"ATTENTION ALL SOLDIERS! THE PRINCESSES ARE AT THE FRONT OF THE FORMATION! ALL SOLDIERS, EYES FORWARD!"

Both generals shouted in unison. After ensuring that everyone was still and silent, they turned to face the princesses, who waited patiently.

"Your Majesty Celestia, Your Majesty Luna, as you ordered, the entire day and night guard, except those on Canterlot patrol duty, are here. We’re ready to receive your orders." The two generals bowed after speaking.

"Thank you, generals," Luna responded calmly, turning her head to look at her sister. She closed her eyes and, with a nod of her head, signaled for Celestia to take the first word.

Princess Celestia didn’t wait a second longer and spoke loud and clear. "Soldiers, first of all, I want to apologize to my guards for interrupting your rest, but right now, we’re on high alert!"

All the soldiers tensed.

"We have information on the location of that energy felt a few minutes ago, and there are injured ponies involved! About 12 kilometers into the Everfree Forest, an explosion occurred, caused by unknown individuals!" Celestia used her magic to create an image in the form of a map, marking the location near the mountainous areas.

Celestia turned and looked at Luna, who understood instantly and continued the explanation. “We don’t know the reason, but it appears a pair of ponies has been kidnapped!” Like Celestia, Luna created an image to identify the ponies. “As you can see, one of them is extremely injured—”

Some guards, especially the younger ones, gulped as they saw the terribly wounded unconscious pony.

“Right now, our orders are clear. All present soldiers will create a perimeter in the Everfree Forest, prioritizing the protection of Ponyville, the closest town. Nothing will enter or exit the forest—without exception! Meanwhile, the reconnaissance squad will enter the forest to locate the abducted and take them to the nearest hospital.”

Celestia raised a hoof to halt Luna, deciding to conclude the speech herself. “Rescuing the hostages is our top priority. If you encounter any issues, you are to send me a scroll immediately, and I will have the Wonderbolts join the mission.” Celestia’s gaze drifted from the ground soldiers to those hovering in the air.

As they noticed her looking, Captain Spitfire struck her hoof against her chest in acknowledgment, followed by the other Wonderbolts who repeated the action in a resounding salute.

“If you find those responsible, you must neutralize them and bring them before us. As we’ve said, we don’t know who they are. All we know is that they’re wearing cloaks. I don’t need to stress the importance of this mission—not just for Canterlot, but for all of Equestria. I wish you luck, my loyal guards.”

Celestia concluded with a solemn blessing for her soldiers. She looked once more at the generals who stood at attention. “I’m entrusting this mission to you.”

“Of course, Your Majesty!” they replied in unison. “SOLDIERS, MOVE OUT! PEGASI, YOU’RE UP FRONT! HEAD DIRECTLY TO PONYVILLE AND THEN CIRCLE AROUND EVERFREE! ALL OTHERS, SWEEP THROUGH THE AREAS NEAREST TO CANTERLOT!”

“SIR, YES, SIR!” all the soldiers shouted in unison.

The guards quickly deployed to their assigned locations, moving as swiftly as they could, each grouping into their designated squadrons.

From Canterlot, a large formation of pegasi could be seen flying toward Ponyville and beyond, while those galloping on the ground headed in the opposite direction toward the Canterlot border of the forest.

As all of this was happening, Captain Spitfire flew in front of her team members. “For now, we’ll be observers only. We’ll stay in Ponyville to be closer to the mission area, and we’ll simply await orders from Celestia once we arrive. Understood?”

Spitfire swept her gaze across her members, who remained silent and focused.

Spitfire frowned slightly and shouted, “UNDERSTOOD?”

“Yes, Ma’am!” all responded, having realized their momentary lapse.

“All right, then! Move those chicken wings, let’s go, go, go!”

The Wonderbolts flew at full speed toward Ponyville, aiming for Cloudsdale specifically. Spitfire led the group, her expression focused, yet in the back of her mind, she recalled a certain rainbow-maned pegasus known for her speed and reckless bravery. She wanted to arrive in time to prevent that impulsive mare from diving headlong into a situation beyond her control. Celestia had been clear that absolutely no one was to enter the forest—not even the bearers of the Elements of Harmony.

“Rainbow Dash, you better not do anything reckless,” she muttered.

The Wonderbolts team disappeared over the horizon.

Both princesses watched as the training grounds gradually emptied, leaving just the two of them. The sisters silently hoped it wouldn’t be too late for the ponies who had been taken. For now, all they could do was wait.