Obsidian rushed and helped them both up. "Silver, slow down. You won't find her if you rush." He turned his head to the sky suddenly. "I sense a corrupted aura... A faint remnant of it at least..." He wandered slightly to the hospital. "What happened there?" He pointed to an open window and motioned to Crimson to answer.
Celestia's smile grew wider as Nightshade made her oath. "Then you shall become one of my paladins in this time of need. From this day onward, you will serve under the true nation of the sun. You will now be addressed as Paladin Nightshade and will have control of any of our military resources as i see fit. It's a pleasure having you under our allegiance Nightshade, let it grow into a prosperous relationship between you and me. You can start immediately, but is not recommended due to having to fly that awful distance. Go get some rest and head out tomorrow. I like to give my agents freedom." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Crimson accidentally bumped into Silver almost comically. When he got back up, he was very happy see his friend again. Yet also super disappointed as he had to break the bad news. "Silver! Thank goodness you are alright. I understand you are looking for Nightshade, there was a serious ordeal i had to deal with." Crimson said sadly. He then told Silver everything about what had happened, from her reaction to his death, her attempted murder on Nightmare Moon which Crimson stopped and her being reported for capture by Crimson for negotiations until she left the Crystal Empire borders, traveling several thousand miles across the open sky's towards Canterlot. "Nightmare Moon is upstairs. She is awake and i think she is expecting you. She was just about to wake up before....she had a dagger plunged into her ribcage by Nightshade." Crimson said sadly, trying to fill in every detail for Silver and hoping for Silver not to get angry at him. "I have done what i could for her and The Night Princess but she is nowhere to be seen. Not even our contacts know where she is. Im sorry for not trying to stop her Silver, i have done my best. I feel like i have failed you as a friend and to my duty to the Princesses."
"You did nothing wrong, old friend. I... I failed. I failed to protect the princess, and I failed to protect my dau... I failed to protect Nightshade. Everything that happens to her now, all of it, is my fault. She is the best warrior that I have ever trained. I should have trusted her to take care of herself. When I put that accursed amulet on her, I thought that I was protecting her. I was wrong, and now she'll pay the price for my mistake. Celestia will, no doubt, kill her." Silver hung his head, and began walking slowly up the stairs. He had failed the Dark Princess, as well, and was in no hurry to face her. In Canterlot, a Royal Guard showed Nightshade to her room. It was enormous, beautifully decorated with fine silks and expensive furniture. She had never seen anything like it. She sunk happily into the bed and fell asleep.
Meanwhile, the ritual summoning was taking longer than Star Shimmer had thought it would. Makes sense, she reasoned to herself, The parts of him that weren't completely destroyed have to be brought back from every corner of the world... Suddenly she winced, as if suddenly hit with a body wide cramp. Then another, and another. She smiled through the pain. "It's working, Emerald!" She seemed delirious at this point, as she could no longer stand from the pain within her entire body. She thought, horrified, Is this what Diamond Dust felt?! How could I have done this to anyone?! The quicksilver ring around Yclept glowed and Sombra's horn turned completely black before turning to dust before thier eyes. Soon afterward, Star Shimmer collapsed. ----- Princess Cadence soon recovered in the palace's infirmary. When she realized where she was, she snapped awake, shouting, "Chrysalis! Where is she?!" Her eyes burned with the fury that only a woman's scorn could possess. ----- Chrysalis, on the other hoof, couldn't be happier. She almost seemed to skip through the Equestrian camp. When she reached its center, she gleefully sang, "Oh, children~! Mommy has news!" At her call, several changelings returned to their true forms, some leaving tents as they did so. They stood attentively and listened to their mother's words. "The Phoenix Queen has made good on her promise! We'll not go hungry again!" This was met by rousing cheers, or chittering that could be taken as cheers. Chrysalis continued. "Come! We shall return to our lands and dine like kings!" With that, the changelings rose as one and flew toward the Badlands. When they were out of earshot of the camp, not that anyone would be able to hear over the buzzing, Chrysalis turned toward her most loyal servant, a soldier caste changeling named Scree. "Scree, be a dear and take a small regiment to the Crystal Empire...and have Tick return a regiment to the Equestrians. Disguised, of course." Scree saluted and flew down to the ground, along with a small herd of troops. Upon reaching the ground, they changed into a herd of deer, just as the Queen commanded. derpe. They then swept toward the Crystal Empire as breakneck speeds. Meanwhile Tick took her soldiers and disguised them as all races of ponies and returned to the Equestrian camp. Tick, at least, was pleased. She had unfinished business in a certain unicorn's tent... ----- Star woke up a few minutes later. "Where...where am I?" She turned toward Yclept and glared at him. "Slave! What is the meaning of this?! Unless...you have revived me? Well done, Slave. I will make sure to reward you handsomely. What do they call you, Slave?"
Star blinked, apparently confused, then recognition sparked in her green eyes. "Star... I have heard this name. The Slaves called her Amethyst Witch..." She pondered to a moment, then replied, "Ah...so it is her you want. Very well. I shall have her brought to you. Take me to the palace."
Silver entered the Dark Princess' room, followed by Discord, who remained in Unicorn form, and Holly. Nightmare Moon smiled slightly. "It is good to see that your death was not as permanent as I had thought. We have much to discuss. Namely..." She lost her smile, and her expression changed to one of perfect calm. Silver recognized the look. She was furious. "...the Alicorn Amulet. Zecora entrusted it to you when she died because she thought, as did I, that you would never use it. It saddens me to think that her trust was so badly misplaced. What were you thinking?!" Silver hung his head. "I wanted her to survive. The amulet was supposed to give her an edge in the battle. I was going to remove it after the fighting was over. I take full responsibilty for what happened. Nightshade understood and accepted the risks that come with being a Night Guard. I should not have intervened. I am sorry." Nightmare Moon glared at him. "You are not as sorry as you will be when you are forced to fight her. I have seen into Nightshade's dreams. She has sworn an oath to my sister. She is now the enemy."
Star's eyes fluttered for a few moments before she seemed to lose consciousness. After a moment, she looked up at Yclept, her yellow eyes staring into his. "Did...did the spell work?" She seemed almost fearful as she asked, "Is he...is he here...?"
Surprisingly, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Whew!" I almost thought he would try to take you..." She quickly got to her hooves and inspected Yclept. "He didn't hurt you, did he? Did he say anything?" ----- Scree, in the form of a magnificent buck, stopped his herd just short of the shield that surrounded the Crystal Empire. He turned toward the others and chittered in the language of his kind, "-Mother told me of this. It killed Kwar with lightning. She said it's very painful.-". The others chittered in concern before Scree held up his hoof. "-Do not fear, brothers and sisters, we will make it through. Mother says that we need to be in invited, like vampires.-". The others hissed and one said, "-We must turn into vampires?-" Scree shook his head in frustration. "-No, stupid sister! We must be invited in like vampires. It's a metaphor!-" "-What's a metaphor?-" Scree hissed, "-It's a secret!-" Then he turned to the other changelings. "-No one tell stupid sister what a metaphor is under pain of death! Come now, we will circle the city until someone lets us in!-". He reared up on his hind legs before leading his heard around the shield, heading to he other side.
"What? You're asking if I'm okay & you have some sort of evil trying to take you over? And I'm assuming that it's sombra because they thought they still ruled..."
Crimson went over to Candence and began to check on her. He could tell that she was furious, but had to calm her down so that he could explain everything. “Candace. Chrysalis was caught committing the act and we captured her. She also made a deal with Celestia to ensure her dying race’s survival, in which would be granted if you were to die. It seems like she missed, and me and her made a deal. She now is allied with us and has changeling spies inside Equestria telling us of their situation in exchange for your life. You have been out for quite a while, many things have happened to this place. Let me just say now that you were a tough cookie to operate on.” Ocean then came upstairs and bowed down to the two current princesses in the room. It seemed that now was a good time to reveal their plan to Candace. A plan, if she were to approve, would change the entire war. “You should have all movement restored, so walking will be normal. Do you mind if we can set up a telepathic link or a discussion in private? We have an idea that might give us a winning edge.” Candace. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Celestia might have lost the battle for the Crystal Empire, but she has not lost the war in the slightest. After losing a fair amount of her soldiers and rangers, she is going for the defensive posture instead of aggressive. Planning another full-scale battle like the size of the previous one would take over a month while defending and reinforcing her empire would only take two weeks if working at maximum capacity. She then stood up and was surrounded by five Solar Flares. The Solar Flares only took orders directly from the Phoenix Queen herself and were the best of the best. Almost all of them were former rangers who had served over twenty years as Rangers. They specialized in assassinations, torture and high risk operations. They were dressed in a special hybrid of Equestrian and Ryborian styled armor from head to hoof. Giving them a demonic appearance in their red and gold armor. They were rarely seen on the battlefield, only serving as Celestia’s guards unless an operation was present. “Execute order 33....” Almost instantly, the five Solar Flares left the palace at breakneck speed to virtually destroy all forms of resistance among the borders leading up to the Crystal Empire. Nightshade would be the one killing the princesses; the Solar Flares will simply assist her by removing obstacles along her way.
Obsidian slid into an empty room and began to meditate. He entered the second world, pleased that it was now free of celestia's power, and he drained away Discord's influence. He felt a strong presence and broke his meditation, looking up to see Jack and his armored ally standing before him. "Hello child. You are causing our masters a bit of trouble. Far more than such a weak being should." The next second Obsidian was standing before the semi-circle of "elders." "You have had a hand in both the return of Sombra, and the overpowering of your little friend. While you haven't had a direct hand in any of the other abominations this war is causing, you will help fix them." A flash of light and Obsidian was back at the hospital a mere second after he left. He stood up and walked into the room with the princesses and watched from the side quietly, his eyes fading between an array of colors.
Silver stood silently, his mind trying to process what the Dark Princess had told him. If Nightshade had sworn an oath to Celestia, then she was beyond his help. Even if Silver was able to remove the Alicorn Amulet, she was now bound to the Phoenix Queen. To a Pegasi warrior, an oath, once taken, was an unbreakable promise. He left the room without a word. He needed to be alone. After he left, Nightmare Moon finally took a closer look at the strange Unicorn that had come in with him. The instant she saw his yellow eyes, she recognized him. "Discord." Discord returned to Draconequus form and laughed. "Why yes! I am, in fact, Discord! I'm so glad you remember me!"
Equestria was multitasking in reinforcing defence and attack. Tens of millions of Equestrians signed up for military after Celestia made a patriotic speech, which in turn healed the gap left in Equestria’s military. From Canterlot all the way to the borders of the empire, the Solar Flares made a path for Nightshade to cross into enemy lines. Five Solar Flares could easily take down over five hundred hostile soldiers by themselves almost without breaking a sweat. They were to be considered to be as good as Pre Black War Ardelanian Spell-Swords. Celestia also gave Nightshade a special set of armour and weaponry. A custom made replica of Dovian’s astronomically strong and light Spell-Sword armour with a custom colour of her choice. She also received a custom forged set of Ryborian/Equestrian hybrid weaponry which was used by Solar Flares and Celestia herself. (Spell Sword looks like Loki’s armour from the avengers minus the helmet)Spell-Sword armor is considered to be the best on the planet, and it’s easy to understand why when the user dons it. Celestia afforded her every luxury at her disposal in the Equestrian Empire, out of gratitude and a quiet sense of pride for her choice in lieutenants. Having Nightshade as her Paladin, one of her agents and her being devout to her cause, Celestia loved the fact of giving her the chance to finish her sister off. However, she instantly recognised the Alicorn Amulet on her head slowly corrupting her. If Nightshade were to try and overthrow the Phoenix Queen, she would be defeated swiftly and executed. The thought was always in the back of her mind, but kept it to herself. Luckily for Nightshade. With Celestia’s Solar Flares making a path for her, Celestia was just about to give her the opportunity that she has wanted to have ever since she joined the Empire. For now, Nightshade needed a good rest.
Nightshade was overjoyed. The Phoenix Queen was being so wonderfully kind to her, giving her amazing new equipment and a room fit for a princess. She stood in front of the mirror admiring her new armor. It was beautiful. Pure white, it gleamed like freshly fallen snow. She looked with scorn at her old armor. Silver had given it to her as a gift on her eighteenth birthday. He had told her that it had once belonged to "somepony wonderful." She laughed. "I cannot believe that I ever wished that old fool was my father. The only thing that I ever got from him is the used armor of a long dead mare." She grabbed her new spear and ran to inform Celestia that she was ready. Silver walked out of the room, furious with himself. There was no way around it. He was going to have to kill Nightshade. Even if he were to fly straight to Canterlot Palace and tell her the truth, that she was, in fact, his daughter, it would change nothing. She had sided with Celestia. He punched the wall in frustration, and to his astonishment, the heavy stone wall collapsed into rubble, leaving a massive hole in the side of the hospital. "Okay... that's new." "Why are you here, Discord? Surely you did not come all this way just to raise one corpse?" Nightmare Moon looked at the God of Chaos with suspicion. Before he could answer, there was a loud crash and the entire building shook. Discord smiled and laughed. "That would be Silver. I've made some... improvements."
Celestia seen her new paladin run into the throne room happily as she wore her new armour and weaponry. She had to admit, she looked fantastic in it. Celestia looked happily as she acted like her ‘mother’. She was her nation’s mother in a way. She could improve her with a vast knowledge of spells and power, but would wait until she was ready to attack. “Excellent timing Paladin Nightshade. I was actually just about to send some guards to tell you of what you know is already about to happen.” Celestia smiled as she poured herself a glass of wine as she sat in her throne. “You know exactly why I sent you here. While you were asleep, the Solar Flares had carved a path just for you to leave an opening to your destination. My sister is recovering in the hospital there, an easy target. However, you are going to go through many obstacles. First of all, your fathers companions now see you as an enemy and will not hesitate to end you. Second of all, the city itself is surrounded by a mere 3,000 survivors of the battle that happened recently. And lastly, we have heard reports about your father." "Now...Apparently, he survived but will now declare you, his own daughter, as his enemy. The fool cares only for my sister, nothing more and nothing less.” Celestia took a sip of the wine. “Come back alive with the task completed and you will be promoted as my Head Paladin, or even better, my ‘Archangel’. Crimson was my last Archangel, and look where he ended up. You might have been rejected by your father, but you will always be family to me and Equestria. Don’t disappoint me...” -------------------------------------------------- Venquis got out of bed slowly and got back into his Spell-Sword armour and equipped his weaponry. He was recovering much faster than both the Alicorn’s as he was walking around the room getting used to his surroundings. Ocean found Venquis exactly the way she'd expected to: standing in lonely silence, silhouetted against the bright blue Crystal sky. The Ryborian was standing at the window of the hospital room. His arms were crossed, his brow furrowed in deep thought as he stared out across the Crystal City and beyond into the lands of the buffalo. He looked across the lands, knowing that something bad was going to happen. Very bad. He then moved again as he excused himself to go downstairs to catch some air. His real motive however, was to check on the situation of this crisis he felt was going to happen.
Silver Crescent avoided Nightmare Moon's gaze as he walked back into the room. "Lord Discord? What just happened? I do not feel any stronger, but the... renovations... I just made to this building would indicate otherwise."
Star's eyes glowed green as her rage suddenly boiled over. "That was the plan, you simpleton! That was always the plan!" She seemed to fight herself for control as her eyes returned their normal yellow color. "This was part of my plan. He's trapped inside me. He's just..." She winced. "Harder to contain than I thought..." She looked at Yclept, and pleaded, "Please stay with me. I can't do this myself. His power is too much." ----- Cadence listened as Crimson explained the situation to her regarding Chrysalis. Afterward, she sighed. "I wish I could personally keep an eye on her, but if she does make good on her promise, then I suppose that'll count for something..." She the stood up and tested her legs, which seemed to work just fine. "I would like to hear your plan."
