Chapters “Did you hear something?” The guard glimpsed around the external area of Celestia's chamber. There was nothing. Just a stone corridor, a torch on the wall and a bleak silence.
“Nah, just your imagination.” The other replied. He sat beside his colleague, digging into a bowl of some of Equestria's most delicious apples.
The guard still stared down the hallway, seeing nothing, but having a sense that there was some sort of unknown presence lurking nearby. “I think there's something down there.” He squinted, focusing his eyes on a suspicious oddity. There was a distinct shadow looming around a corner. It formed a very peculiar shape. “Can you see that?”
No reply. His acquaintance met his fate, there was only a sudden pain in his back which ended his life in less than a second. There was not even a sound, no shudder, not a squeal for mercy and no chance either. Only an instant death.
“Hey? You there?” He turned to see the body lifeless. That was saddening, seeing a good friend with the life stripped from him before he saw it coming. What was it? There was a stream of blood pouring from the back of the unfortunate victim.
But there was no time to look over his dead friend, he had to find the culprit of this crime. His horn was at the ready, prepared to conjure any sort of spell which would defend him and the entrance to the throne room of Canterlot castle.
There was courage in his eyes. Whatever was attacking, he would be ready to fight down. Nothing could pass his vision. He surveyed the area, checking all possible spots for the intruder to be hiding. However, he did not move from his post in front of the door, protecting the Princess was his main priority.
The effort was valiant, but the one who murdered his friend struck again. From the ceiling they came, driving a spike of some kind into the back of the royal guard, deeming him to the same fate as the other. In less than a second a thump landed on the ground.
The guards were down. The intruders eyes were set to the prize. Celestia. His intentions were assassination, and after handling two professional guardians who sat on the highest ranks, this could be a danger to the Princess.
The mysterious figure, recognised as a cloaked, hooded, stallion unicorn, pushed the huge doors aside. As he barged in there were only two eyes to lay attention on him. Celestia was alone, sitting on the throne of her grand hall. As the eyes of the two foes met there was an instant understanding of why this moment was between them. 'How' was another matter.
“I presume you come from Direlake Forest?” Celestia greeted, not once being fazed by the disastrous criminal confronting her.
“Princess.” He nodded. “Your time is at an end.” His voice didn't create a disapproving sound at all, nothing which could be complained about. It was not strange or mysterious, just normal, if not a bit different. He pulled his hood down, revealing the face of a murderer. A grown stallion, dark in the eyes with a poorly tendered black mane. His coat was grey, matching the shadowed style nicely.
“I knew you would come. I didn't know when, and I do not know how you would escape the trap I set for you.” The alicorn knew exactly what the enemy wanted. The throne. In all the struggles this pony was prepared to fight there was only one target he was pursuing, though not the only he would settle for. The death of Celestia would suffice nicely.
“Only two of us escaped. I think you know who the other would be.”
“Hmm. Then which one are you?” The princess rose from her seat, standing on all four hooves with the horn above her at the ready. Soon it would begin.
He held up his chin. Before committing the greatest murder Equestria had ever feared there was surely a scene to be made. “I am Cawthrux, the one who shall rest poison in your heart.”
The deity chuckled. “Ha! You have come far then. I congratulate you on infiltrating my castle, impressive.”
“I am no fool, your majesty. Infiltrating a castle of yours is like wandering in through the front gate. You betrayed our family and now I have been given the pleasure of granting you the most dishonourable death of all.”
“Then strike me down.” Her wings spread to their full extent. The bone structures stretched and dominated a vast space surrounding her with the elegant white feathers which gleamed like magic.
The unicorn paused before reacting. Planning thoughts travelled through his mind. The chance for an attack was bait, nothing more. Her battle strategy was unsheathed and ready. His was encased, but prepared to be swiftly flung like a wild animal pounces at its prey. But that was exactly what she wanted, too obvious from the smile on her face.
If there was one thing Cawthrux knew about the goddess' battle style it was that her strength was his weakness. Celestia could undoubtedly fight through a battle of endurance. He picked off his victims in a blink second. So this would have to be fast.
That was sadly not an option, Celestia knew he would strike with speed and she was ready to defend. Perhaps there was a way around it...
Could he cause a distraction? Distract a ruler for a single second? Was that possible? There was a way, one with little chances of success and a high price of failure... But to kill a legend, it was worth a try.
He removed a dagger from one sheath which rested around his neck on a belt. It was held in his right hoof, giving the impression he was about to throw it straight towards his nemesis. His horn glowed for a brief second, enchanting the dagger which emitted a light glow. He filled the princess' predictions by sending the dagger flying for her face.
Her horn lit up almost instantly, creating a large shield made of pure light which appeared in front of her. The dagger struck and shattered, but not before causing its collision with the shield to spark furious bolts of lightning which jumped around the entire room.
The distraction worked. It was more of a surprise, but it worked none the less. Cawthrux had escaped the view of Celestia, all she saw in front of her was a black cloak lying on the floor of her room and no trace of her opponent. She could only cower, covering her eyes and tensing her wings, folding them in slightly.
She anticipated the pain would come, and it did. A dagger throbbed right into the side of her back. She suffered. With her endurance she managed to survive, it wasn't the only dagger which struck her hide, and it hopefully would not be the last. Cawthrux stepped back, success was achieved, but he did not anticipate the final strike of his enemy. A final glow of Celestia's horn pushed him back and started to create an earthquake. The whole castle shook and the bells were heard.
The entire castle recognised this spell, it was like the structure itself knew what to do. Guards trotted towards the throne room, knowing full well that she was definitely occupied. And Cawthrux, he found himself in a position where he needed to flee before anypony found him. Window. It was a straight forward jump for him and his magic, but there was time to bid his farewell.
“You're done, Celestia, betraying us has brought you your reward.” He spoke right into her ear as she whimpered on the floor, burning up from the pain. The dagger was still there, surrounded in blood and threatening her life force. “I think you know why it hurts so much. And now I must leave.” With a smirk he beamed a missile to the stain glass window which was decorated with a pattern of Celestia raising the sun. It smashed into pieces.
Guards rushed in, aiming their attacks on the unicorn climbing for his escape. A few dozen missiles shot by, completely missing any intended targets. They failed to catch Cawthrux, he had already disappeared through the window and there was no doubt he could make it out of Canterlot unscathed.
Scenes happened in Celestia's eyes. Ponies came. Ponies went. There was a system in place for this kind of disaster, one created by Celestia herself... But from the state she was in, she could not recognise it. She never left the throne room and she was hardly moved from one place to another. On none of these occasions could she feel anything.
She could still think and hear. Though sadly most aspects of those senses were locked off; combined together, she felt trapped in a cell without the key. To make matters worse, she could not move a bone in her body, as if she was trapped between life and death...
Hours went past... Or were they days? Minutes? She didn't know. She couldn't sleep either, being sleepless while trapped in a vortex of worry and confusion was nothing anypony would ever want to endure... Few ponies hit with the same affliction would ever have to endure such a fate, they would suffer a miserable conclusion to their life beforehand.
Light came... Sunlight... From the sun... Through the royal smashed window. It was a relief to see her element living on. It reminded her of who she was, unbinding her from a portion of the curse like a spell of healing. She developed an understanding of what was happening; reminding herself of who she was. Soon that rejuvenating feeling returned her conscience... Only to be warped into more clueless doom.
“Agh...” The princess moaned. Doctor Ocean was treating her, the most skilled physician in all of Equestria, present with a blue fur coat and a brown mane. His cutie mark appeared to be a vial with some sort of green liquid inside. This wasn't the first time the pegasus treated her for a dagger wound, and he couldn't figure out why his method was vastly inferior to his success in the last incident.
They remained in the throne room to give the doctor as much space and silence as possible. With that there was a much better chance of Celestia surviving the wound.
“I do not understand. The wound is hardly deep and everything looks like it should be clear.” He grumbled to himself, watching over Celestia. “I'm sorry... I've tried for hours, Celestia, I don't know what's wrong.”
She could only stare at him. There was certainly something which he was missing, but he couldn't see what. It was the morning after the attack, ponies who were close to the princess were alerted. Canterlot knew about the tragedy and they awaited the response from her professional doctor, expecting a perfect recovery less and less with each passing hour that no news was given.
The wound was clean, the dagger extracted and yet she could not heal. “Come on. Please speak.”
She listened... He needed a response, that was obvious, but could she give that to him? She was weak, she hadn't been able to move since the crime. Her best attempt at cooperation was all she had to offer. “Doctor...”
“Yes?!” He jumped up, thrilled at the reply however quiet and cricked it was. This was hopeful, if she could talk then maybe she was beginning to heal, never minding the fact that her voice was very weak and almost silent.
“I know what the poison is...” She paused to cough.
“Poison?”
“The dagger. It was poisoned with Gar's fury.”
“Gar's fury? That's a name I haven't heard for so long.”
“I know...” She was regaining control of her voice, but slowly, and she could still not feel her body enough to move. “Do you know the cure?”
“I think... The tears of... Claud?”
“Plaud the Unbound. That is my only hope.” Speaking was straining, becoming harder and harder to invoke energy from within her throat to emit into words. There wasn't much more she could say.
“Plaud? He hasn't walked Equestria for centuries.”
“I know... But I know where his remains lie.” It became crippling. Just speaking caused a tingle throughout her body.
“Where?”
“Ugh...” She was beginning to feel strain on her throat, and it wasn't long before speaking would become too painful. “Get... Get Twilight Sparkle.”
“Of course.” He left the room, notifying guards that the request for the young mares presence must be demanded at once. He wanted to know where to find the tears badly, but her commands were the priority. He walked back towards the princess who laid on a bed in the middle of the throne room. “Sleep, you need to rest before your friend arrives.”
She obeyed, knowing this to be his area of speciality. Doctor Ocean had never failed her before, and they both prayed this would not be the first time.
Afternoon swept across the land. It still felt like morning. Mainly due to the delay of the sun rising, while Celestia was paralysed there was only one other who could raise the sun: Luna. Even though she was not in her element the sisters had managed to adjust their abilities into different situations. However, Luna hadn't raised the sun in over a thousand years, she was quite out of practice. Even worse, Luna's days of harmony were at an end. She wasn't as strong as Celestia, she was locked on the other side of the moon for a thousand years; liberated of some slight essence of her magical powers. Raising the sun and the moon would be something she'd have to get used to if Celestia's fate was sealed.
“Princess Celestia!” The sweet mares voice echoed into the throne room, disturbing the alicorn from her attempt at rest. Twilight ran up to her teacher, not daring to touch her at the doctors command, indicated by the raising of his right hoof.
“I assume you are Twilight Sparkle.” Doctor Ocean predicted.
The purple mare nodded. “What happened?!”
The Doctor sat down, his mind recalled on the events of the night before. “The castle was attacked, all we know is a unicorn of some kind jumped out of that window.” He pointed a hoof towards the smashed glass window, seeing the sharp glass which still remained on the tiled floor. “And a cloak was left along with many dead guards.”
“And what happened to the princess?!” She awaited the most important answer of all.
“She took a dagger to her back. I healed her as best I could, but it's worse than I thought.” He paused to look at the princess, staring anxiously. “She managed to speak a few hours ago, this is when she told me about the poison... The dagger was covered in the Fury of Gar.”
“What's that?” Twilight asked. She was calm, but horrified. The situation was already terrible, and the fact that there was some sort of poison which she had never even heard of was even worse. As was any other occasion where there was something Twilight was not aware of.
“You wouldn't know it... For the safety of everypony we avoid revealing the facts about the substance. If you survive a few seconds of the fury in your blood then you suffer a week long death of constant pain...” He covered his eyes, he did not want to see the sight of the students heart breaking.
That's exactly what Twilight displayed. Tears bulged in her eyes. He mind was filling with more and more clouds, potentially blocking any other thought. She wanted to help, but to hear the princess was suffering something like that horrifying. Her teacher. Her majesty. Her friend... Twilight was the pony who Celestia raised her to be, a master of magic. The last thing she wanted was to see was pain prying life from her friends dying hooves.
“Twilight. Stop crying.” Ocean commanded, lifting his head from concealment behind his hooves. He didn't want to hear the pony sob, nor did he want to listen to the sound of hope shattering. All she wanted was what any other citizen under Celestias ruler ship wanted: to save their princess. “Keep strong, listen to what Celestia has to say.”
Twilight looked towards the alicorn, wanting to hear the true reason for her summoning. A way to save her? Last words? Whatever it was, this may have been the most important moment of her life so far.
“My student...” The deity tried to smile, but it was vague and hardly noticeable, she was in too much pain. Her voice was stronger than before, but still croaking painfully.
“Princess Celestia.” Those were the only words she could urge to say from the shock. Tears were soaking the fur coat below her eyes, steadily creeping down her cheeks.
“I don't have much time... I need your help to survive...”
Twilight listened patiently. Her eyes were misty and wide open, paying maximum attention to her master.
“I've lived for so long now. I've done so much. I've done good, but I've also done bad... I've created life, but I've also caused death... Luna knows that well, but there are some who know better. The attacker last night, I was familiar with. He comes from a family known as the Defiers, they used to be good friends of mine many years ago... Until they became corrupt. They demanded power for themselves which wouldn't be fair for me to grant, so I had to do what was necessary before they formed their uprising.”
She stopped, leaving the story unfinished. Twilight was left shuddering for the end, but dreading wherever this story could go, and what relevance it had to what was happening. “What happened?”
“Maybe you should-” The pegasus tried to speak, but his sentence was cut short by the princess continuing.
“I set a trap in the home of the Defiers... A disgusting trap... It was not fair of me to cast judgement so soon... The trap burned most of them, I knew one escaped with lasting wounds. The other, Cawthrux, was the one I met last night... I never spoke with him much, he was well atoned with the shadows and that is what drew me away from trusting him. I was surprised to see it was him who escaped, with the ability of the others I was in doubt that he would be the one to survive. I guess I saw last night his true skill.”
Silence came. Silence passed. Celestia knew this story grew depressing, mainly for herself, but they both knew this story matched a very obscure legend involving similar characters.
“Twilight Sparkle. I need you to find the cure for me. The Tears of Plaud the Unbound.”
“What are they? Where do I find them?” She asked with some obvious anticipation in her voice. Anything, it didn't matter what, she would save her.
“That is the difficult part. I know where you can find them. I don't want to put you in that kind of danger though. It's a long journey, one which I do not want to send you on.”
“Anywhere. I don't care where you want to send me if it means I can save your life.”
“Then I have a request. I want you to travel to Mount Fausmor, beyond Direlake Forest. The remains of Plaud the Unbound sit at the top, a single drop will be enough to heal me... But if you do not wish to go then I will not be disappointed. It's not a task which anypony should ever have to endure.”
Give up? Not a chance. Sparkle would not give up. If there was a chance it was a chance worth taking, regardless of the risks. She had a time limit too, this was going to test her ability to the absolute toughest. But nothing else mattered, her teacher was in danger. That was the mare who was needed throughout all of Equestria. Even if there was a pony to take her place, the world would never be the same.
“Twilight... Just tell me where you're going...” Spike moaned. They sat in the library as the afternoon light shined in through a row of windows. The train ride back to Ponyville was quick, that was convenient as she had so much planning to do for this journey out into the wilderness. Maps were out and ready, books open to gather information about where the mythical mountain of Fausmor was... She had little to go on, a few map scraps and lines of text which suggested what direction she could walk in from what destination to proceed in the right direction. Fausmor Mountain was a long way south, at least a few days of constant fast paced trotting. Departure tonight was imminent if they were to have any hope of getting there and back in time. There would be a little contingency and time for sleeping, but most of the time would need to be spent walking.
“I can't, this is something I have to do alone.” Twilight focused on a certain piece of paper which she carefully plotted out a map with a pencil. A purple glow surrounded the tool as it made precise marks. To her left was an open book with a green cover. It was an old tome, tattered at the edges and a faded picture on front. It was titled 'Demeanour of a Forbidden Foe', a novel about the mysterious inhabitants around Fausmor. It described a town, lost in mists and rotting away with time. The pony who wrote the tale was diagnosed as being a mad mare and strangely murdered in the night over a century ago... The only evidence of who performed that crime was a letter with the words 'cruel fate comes to those who break promises'.
“Come on, you're going to need my help.” He persuaded, but to no avail. Twilight was busy trying to plan out a journey without distractions. She began walking upstairs, ignoring Spike's offer of companionship. Even after being rejected, Spike was not about to give up. He was determined to nag Twilight into accepting him on the adventure, wherever that may be to.
He followed the purple unicorn upstairs, listening to the mares reply. “You'll be fine with Fluttershy. This is important and I need to do it by myself.”
“This is because of the Princess isn't it?” He taunted, trying to expose the obvious truth. “It's because she's dying.”
What? How could anypony know already? That happened late at night, if Spike knew then there was no doubt every other pony already knew about it as well, considering his lack of keeping up to date with the latest news around town. So the assault on Canterlot was no secret, just as it shouldn't be, but was it really the best idea to let that sort of news out to the public so soon?
Twilight stood outside her room, staring at the door and reminding herself how important this quest was. She knew more truth than others, Celestia was dying. She wasn't getting any better, not this time, not like the other times Celestia has suffered from painful wounds which threaten her life. It was up to her to sort of the whole situation out...
“Twilight. Stop acting so weird.” Spike groaned. He gave her a nudge at her side, shoving her a little to the left and snapping her out of a daze. She looked down at him with a disappointed frown, but also showing anxiety in rushing forwards to the task ahead... However, the young dragon did deserve some explanation as to what was going on.
With a quick flash of her horn the door of her bedroom swung open. While trotting in she levitated flew a satchel which sat in the corner of the room onto her bed and started searching for a few necessary items which would help in the wild. “Spike.” She began, while continuing to work. “I know you're worried. But this is something I really need to do alone. Celestia isn't just sick, this isn't just some usual dagger wound. She's suffering from some sort of poison.”
“What are you saying?” The dragon wanted to get straight to the point. Celestia was ill, that he knew, but he didn't know what Twilight was dedicating her full attention to. Did Celestia ask something from her when she went to see her in Canterlot? It would've been nice if she stopped to talk about her visit to the castle instead of barging back into the library and immediately yanking fifty books from every shelf.
“I'm saying I need to find the cure to the poison.” She replied, sliding a hat and scarf into the bag. She knew she was going to need them, especially at Mount Fausmor, it was a barren wasteland covered in snow. It also had one of the highest summits in all of the partially known world.
Spike raised his eye brow; crossed his arms and questioned further. “And where is this cure?” The answer wasn't going to be something which he would understand. He didn't expect to understand. If Twilight was this focused then it was a surely serious adventure, it always was.
“It's far south, beyond Apple Loosa...” That was the start of a long explanation. She looked towards Spike before continuing, the lack of change in his expression indicated he wanted to know more. “I've planned out a map and I have an idea of where I'm going. I can take a train for the night to get some way south, but after that I'm on my own to travel into the wilderness...” She paused again, the next part made the whole idea seem suspicious. “Nopony has perfectly recorded the location of Fausmor, it's a land wrapped in mystery, adventurers visited the area and either they did not return or they went mad shortly after returning. It doesn't make sense.”
“And the cure is there?!” Spike was worried now. That description sounded quite intimidating, and when his closest friend and master wanted to travel there it became a worry.
“Yes Spike. And I can't sit around for long.” Twilight explained while putting one last item into the bag: a bottle. With a quick glow of her horn the bag closed about began floating. It sprung up and fell onto her back, perfectly matching her size. “Celestia is dying and she needs my help.”
“Then let me come too! You'll need the help. And I won't get in your way, I'll keep up however fast you go.” The baby dragon pleaded for the right to join the quest. His master was going so he wanted to help out. But it wasn't helping, the purple mare continued to trot back down the stairs towards the kitchen where she would grab some sort of food for the journey. Spike followed and kept attempting to beg. “I want to help, if noPONY came back without going bad then what if a dragon went?”
That... Was an interesting point. Would species really affect anything? Twilight was not an experienced adventurer. If famous names have headed to that Celestia forsaken place only to return with insanity later on... Then what would become of her? A friend to walk alongside her might help in prevention to that demented defeat.
So... Maybe she would benefit from the assistance. He was good servant, and a great friend, no doubt he would want nothing more than to help however he could... That's what friends did: help each other out even in the direst of times.
“Okay then, Spike, you can come.” Her decision was made. Whatever was ahead they'd face together as a team. From Twilight's description, they knew this was a horrific risk, one which would result in doom if it ended up in failure... However, that did not matter. If they tried hard and fought well then they would truly avail without a doubt.
