"And I can think of no ponies I'd rather have at my side, old friends. After all, we and Robin are the only ponies alive with actual combat experience against Alicorns." He shook his head. "Still, all of our skills combined will not be enough to stop Celestia. That's why I've asked you here. After centuries of searching, Holly and I have finally found the last of set of artifacts that will give us the edge in the upcoming battle. I will explain when the others arrive."
Star could indeed feel her newly unlocked power rushing through her. She smiled, knowing that she hadn't felt this way since...was it when she first summoned the Dark King? No...it must've been when she called his spirit through the aether to inhabit her body, then... No...that wasn't it either. But then...where could she have felt such a rush? When? It was when she was returned to the surface, and was bestowed upon with the images of her prey, that it dawned on her: She hadn't felt this way since she and Parson... She shook her head violently in an effort to erase any memory of that night. But...it had been so...wonderful... After Midnight had disappeared, she spoke to no one in particular through gritted teeth. "Shut up. I will never have that again. All that will be will be pain...and vengeance." Just then, she heard the sound of a twig snapping nearby. Her crown lit with dark purple energy as she called out to the darkness, "Show yourself, coward!" A Night Guard confidently stepped into view. "Star Shimmer?" Star kept her eyes locked on the guard as she replied, "Yes. What is it?" The guard tossed a scroll in her direction, which the crystal pony caught with her magic. As she unfurled it, the guard added, "General Crescent doesn't like to be kept waiting." With those words, he seemed to disappear into the darkness. Star read the note, then ignited it with a green flame. As she did so, she thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Her crown lit with dark purple energy as she remarked, "Still here, Night Guard? I thought you were done." As she turned to get a better look at the guard, she caught a flash of something green. The pony seemed to disappear as quickly as it appeared. Star knew that she didn't have time to play "Hide and Seek" with any wayward guards, so she turned away as she prepared a teleportation spell. Just as the spell concluded and her body started to fade into the space between worlds, she heard a whisper: "My precious gem..." When she arrived at her destination, she appeared visibly shaken. After a moment, the feeling passed, and she addressed Silver Crescent. "I'm curious. Why did you summon us here?"
Crimson and Ocean poked their heads up to see Star. Before they could both say anything, Star and Silver were already deep in conversation. They already knew that the Eriborian would not be attending this meeting due to his separate conquest to retake his homeland from Equestria before rejoining the republic. While him alone would have been an enormous advantage to the already and seemingly unstoppable New Lunar Republic, the Eriborian and the remainder of his kind was already a major superpower on their own. Ocean looked at her husbands newest weapon, a special sword given to him by Venquis. It acted similar to a spell sword, but it's design was completely different. She smiled as she also receved what Venquis called "Helacrusa", Ryborian Spell Daggers. She then turned back to Star and focused on what she said.
Robin slowly but surely arrived. "AHHH, my head. never do a Dragon Fireball." he took off his cloak still unwary of the fact he was wearing the mares dress uniform. "So whats the situation."
Silver looked at Robin and sighed. "Interesting fashion statement, old friend." He shook his head in frustration. "We're still missing a few, but I suppose we will just have to catch them up later. The reason I called you all here is because I need you all to see..." He opened his saddlebag and produced five intricately carved wooden horn-rings. "...These. The Rings of Downfall. Holly and I have spent centuries searching for them, and now we finally have them all. Used together, they have the ability to permanently drain the magic from their victim, regardless of their power. Originally created by Star Swirl the Bearded, they were stolen by the dark wizard Downfall the Mad in a failed attempt to conquer the Old Lands. He was defeated before he could use them, however, and they were recovered. Fearing that such power was too great for any one pony, Star Swirl added two enchantments to the Rings. The first is very similar to the enchantment on the Alicorn Amulet. Once a ring is placed, it can only be removed by the pony that placed it. The second enchantment is why I need all of you. To ensure that the Rings could never be used by a single pony, Star Swirl put a spell on the rings so that each could only be used by a single race." He held up each ring. "The Ring of Magic, to be used by a Unicorn. It was found inside the giant hourglass in the Canterlot Archives." "The Ring of Air, to be used by a Pegasus. Found buried underneath the Wonderbolts Academy runway. " "The Ring of Crystal, for use by a Crystal Pony. Found in the caves under Canterlot." "The Ring of Mountains, to be used by a Lunar Pegasus. A gift from my father, many years ago." "The Ring of Earth. Found by Holly in the village of Hollow Shades. Though it was meant to be used by an Earth Pony, it can also be used by a Deer. I had originally intended to give it to Obsidian, but with him gone..." He banished thoughts of his fallen friend from his head, and continued. "These are our last hope against the Phoenix Queen. As she is now, she is invincible. If we can get all five rings on her horn, however, they will slowly drain her magic and eventually give us a chance to finish her off for good."
"Seems like a... WHAT THE BUCK." the realization of what happened that night came back as he rushed out the room into his typical armour. "NEVER speak of that again. Oh and there's two unicorns and 1 ring. so who's going to get it. Finally does Luna or midnight remember the spell that turned us into alicorn badasses ages ago. we could sure use that."
"That could work, but the spell could only be performed via the tablet that Celestia has deep inside Old Canterlot. She would have destroyed it by now or the very destruction of the city would have destroyed the tablet anyway." Ocean turned to speak to Robin before turning to Silver. "I'll take the responsibility of the Ring of Air. If the rings manage to drain her magic and render it useless, we will have a chance. I don't know if it would affect her physically. Considering her practically now god like powers, will the rings even slow her down?" -------------------------------------------------- Celestia stood on the top of New Canterlot's majestic palace surrounded by Solar Flares. She looked up towards the sun, with a smug evil grin on her face. During the year, the Empire had lost almost all of it's conquered territory and a substantial amount of troopers. However, the Equestrian war machine was still operational. She was going to break the silence. Celestia flew into the air as she was surrounded by her Flares, with non flying ponies being given the gift of flight through the use of a gold necklace and rings. Her right foreleg suddenly glowed violently as she fired an enormous beam into the sun itself. Nothing happened. However, Celestia's grin grew wider as she flew back downwards with her guards and returned into the palace. She could trigger an apocalypse against the Republic whenever she wanted, but decided to give it time.
Silver laughed bitterly. "The Rings WILL drain her magic. Of that, there can be no doubt. However, we still need to get close enough to put all five onto her horn. Even if we pull that off, the draining process could take hours, and she would still retain her strength and speed." He sighed. "Make no mistake. The Rings of Downfall, for all their power, are just a weapon. They are not a guarantee of victory."
"The last time i seen Celestia in my previous life was before our funeral, back before she became what she is. Her power remained the same since the Eve of the Final Eclipse, but what happened after her betrayal. She is possibly hundreds of times stronger then what she was during the Ardak Luvanius attacks. She leveled the Everfree like it was nothing, what could she perform if she were at full power?" Crimson said. "Sorry about this grim talk, but if we want to survive, we need to defeat her quickly." Ocean shook her head. "The Phoenix Queen is extraordinary powerful, her power apparently on par with major deity's, but Silver said those rings could take hours to affect her. In a group, we actually stand a chance. If you were alone husband, she would kill you in seconds." The pegasi turned to Silver. "We are going to need everypony to stop her. All of us, the Eriborian, The Night Princess and Prince of Magic, The Night Guards, every single pony we know can hold their ground against her. We need to stand strong, stand together, and stand to defeat her."
"That you do, children..." Pale yellow mist (If your character has seen Obsidian fight post-discord, they probably recognize the color) flowed through the room, covering the floor lightly. "Thank you for informing us of this get together, dear Silver, alas my disciple cannot make it..." The mist flowed away from every-pony and formed into the anonymous shape it took while addressing Tricorna earlier. "I certainly hope you know what you're doing, children. Using such power against each other." The mist walked forward, straight through Silver. "When the times comes, I will ensure you all play nice... like the good little children you can be..." The voice started to fade. "And be sure, those of you who do not follow mother's rules, shall be punished properly..." The mist quickly turned to Star and charged her, dissipating right before touching her.
Crimson and Ocean looked surprised to see their former comrade Obsidian, the ascendent to the elder realms, standing and speaking to them. Ocean tried to hide her surprised facials while Crimson smiled at the yellow mist. "We're going to play by mothers rules and play along with each other, dear friend. It's unfortunate that there is somepony that doesnt get the message, and will be punished accordingly." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Venquis, suffering no side-effects of the previous night's celebration, stood infront of his top officers. The Eriborian knew that once Ardelan was taken, he would stop Celestia alongside his friends. He was in full armour with the exception of a helmet, and Moonsaber was at his side. He spoke to his officers, dressed in various armour's starting from the regular forces, to the Spell-Swords and only one Crimson Rose. Once he concluded, all of them saluted and left the Eriborian in his office towards the Ryborian legions. Venquis left not long after and was walking downstairs past Silver and his friends, where the Eriborian gave a friendly wave to Silver and company to wish them well before disappearing into the city towards the gate of the capital where Tricornia said she would meet him. He couldn't be late, and his deadline would be at noon before he had to leave.
(I never actually said it was Obsidian, because it actually isn't! Obsidian's powers just happened to have the color of mother nature.) The mist slowly took over the area around the gate, covering the entire area, anypony besides Venquis that entered would merely walk back out the way they entered after a few steps. A light voice echoed around it, speaking in a near in-audible level. "My disciple awaits you, Eriborian."
(Sorry. I was still half-asleep when i wrote that, i woke up barely a minute and a half before i started writing that post, so i was still "asleep" if you say that.") Venquis looked uptowards the mist and bowed to show respect. "She will be in good hooves, blessings be upon you." before standing back up. The legions decided to leave once they got the Eriborians blessing early due to the 4,000 mile trip towards Ardelan and Equestria. To any other non flying race, this would have taken over a month to cover this distance at a fast pace. To the Ryborians, who had more physical attributes then other races, this would only take a week. To any flying race, this would take just over a week of non-stop flight. Alicorns and Lunar Pegasi however, possibly only 2-3 days. Since he rescued Sihana, he was given the ability of non-winged flight and many another 'special' abilities. He awaited Tricorna's arrival, where he could just carry her on his back or decide to use one of his special for extreme teleportation.
Star didn't recognize the fog for what it...she truly was. When it disapated before her, she huffed at it. "I don't fear yellow mist..." Before she could comment on the rings, which she was actually quite impressed by, she heard a soft voice coming from behind her. You should. It's, um...stronger than you. Star assumed an aggressive stance. "Who said that?"
Silver regarded the mist with annoyed amusement. "Informing 'us?' I do not recall sending a message to a puff of smoke." He recognized the scent of the magic as being quite similar to Obsidian's own, but there was something... different... about it. "I don't suppose you will tell us just who or what you are?"
Crimson and Ocean looked at the commotion that unfolded with the group, and the fog in front of their eyes. They were surprised that this fog could even speak, intelligently as well. Upon hearing Silver's request for the name of this mysterious strange fog, they decided they wanted to know as well.
The mist took back shape behind Star. "Who am I? I am the air you breathe." The mist flowed to Crimson, up his nose, and out his mouth. "The land you stand upon." The mist flowed around Ocean's feet. "The blood in your veins." The mist flowed around Silver, and took its shape once again on Silver's back. "I am life, and death. Carbon and Arsenic. Wings and horns. I am... Oh, I seem to be overstepping a deal I made... I must be off it seems, children. Don't kill yourselves please..." The mist turned to star. "Listen to him dear, and please don't do what you're thinking of doing." With that the mists vanished from both the group and the gates, leaving Tricorna laying, asleep, in front of Venquis.
Silver sighed in frustration. "Perfect. Another unnecessary complication. We are on the verge of the largest battle this world has ever seen, and no we have some sort of nature spirit showing up for gods know what! At least the lack of a wielder for the Ring of Earth will be an easy thing to fix. Holly, go find Cricket and bring her here." The Timber-Wolf barked and ran from the room, in search of the Changeling songstress that Silver had asked her to find.
Venquis found Tricorna asleep in-front of him, dumped for some reason on the road. Believing that she was hurt, the Eriborian checked her pulse but found no injuries nor any internal organ failures. She was asleep. The Eriborian smiled as he levitated the doe onto his back and walked out of the gate smiling before vanishing in a purple light as he teleported. When she woke up, he could tell her exactly what had happened. --------------------------------------------------------------- Celestia stood besides a faceless hooded figure as they both stared out into the horizon of New Canterlot. Since Dovian, Celestia had been busy resurrecting many fallen legends from the grave. While she knew that the previous ones she had sent were not able to defeat them, she did manage to slow them down enough to allow her to prepare for her Empire's death blow. Her newest batch of legends to throw against the Republic had enormous potential. The Equestrian Empire, as mighty as it once was, would cease to exist within the next couple weeks. Celestia broke the silence and began to speak. "Beautiful, is it not?" "It certainly is my Queen. The Empire would be destroyed soon, because of your sister and her band of misfits. Are you going to miss it?" Celestia looked down at her legs towards the ground sighing. "1200 years after it's formation as an independent nation. I watched it grow and prosper into what it has become, and now I'm going to watch it die helplessly. I'm going to miss it." The Figure then walked towards the palace doors as Celestia smiled. She did not expect a massacre, she expected a genocide. If her 'Apocalypse' did not destroy the Republic first, her newest pawn would. "Leave nothing alive..."
Robin just stood there observing and not saying everything as he had nothing to say. He was too eager to get this war over with. Also he wanted to find out what happened to Cobraheart. Luna and cadence said he was K.I.A but he knew Cobra well enough that he was only M.I.A.
