- =Helios 21=
- >Crewmen ran to and fro along the bow of the ship, pulling ropes in order to keep the lighter than air craft afloat.
- >Celestia stood at the bow of the ship, her horn glowing as she directed your party ever Westward.
- >You stood in the middle of the deck, generally just trying to stay out of the crewmen's way as Captain Fancypants shouted orders.
- >"Come along lads! Put your backs into it!" He shouted.
- >The captain stopped next to you and looked to Celestia as she guided the craft you were in.
- "Know anything about our destination Captain?"
- >He shakes his head. "Afraid not ol' bean. Bad Wolf Bay has always been a bit of a mystery to us sky captains...for the Princess to wish to settle on its shores is..."
- "Yeah..."
- >Celestia had found you asleep on the stairs up to the castle, and that had only been the beginning of your nightmares.
- >She had been alarmed as you both ran through the Canterlot streets, Celestia swinging her horn around rampantly casting detection spells.
- >Celestia had stopped in the city square, eyes wide and full of horror.
- >"She took them..." She had said.
- >You had asked her "Who took who?"
- >"Luna...she took the foals." Was your only answer.
- >After that Celestia had teleported you both back to the barracks and woken every guard in it.
- >She placed a few calls and had gotten Fancypants to gather his crew and get into the air.
- >You had even swung by Ponyville to gather Twilight and her friends.
- >And so here you were, flying at best speed to the edge of Equestrian territory.
- >Princess Celestia stops casting her spell and trots past the two of you.
- >"Come with me Anonymous."
- >Just because you were married didn't mean this was a time for pleasantries.
- >You silently follow her as she heads to the interior of the ship.
- >She leads you into an impromptu meeting room in the bowels of the airship.
- >Assembled around a small table was Twilight and her friends and Captain Dapper Thunder.
- >"Hello everyp0ny." Celestia says as she takes her place at the table.
- >Twilight props herself up on the table. "Princess what's going on? Why did you need us..." She yawns a bit. "...in the middle of the night?"
- >Celestia takes a deep breath.
- >"Roughly six hours ago, my sister Princess Luna stole several dozen young foals from around Canterlot and has fled to an island to the West of Bad Wolf Bay."
- >The girls react with a mix of shock and horror.
- >"No way!"
- >"Oh, those poor foals!"
- >"Why would Luna do this!?"
- >Celestia holds up a hoof, silencing the girls. "Perhaps a history lesson is in order..."
- >"Over a thousand years ago, before Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon, this very same thing happened." She said. "Luna stole several younglings from around the city and took them to found a new nation free of Equestria. I confronted her about it and brought the foals back to their homes...it was one of the catalysts for Luna's decent into Nightmare Moon..."
- >Twilight speaks up. "And you think that something similar is happening here Princess?"
- >Celestia solemnly nods. "That is what evidence leads me to believe, yes."
- >A small chest was levitated onto the table and opened.
- >Inside rested five necklaces and a tiara.
- >"I intend to try diplomacy with my sister, but we must be prepared to use the Elements on her if she does not cooperate."
- >The girls stare at the jewelry in the chest for a moment before Twilight nods in understanding.
- >"You can count on us Princess."
- >You, Celestia and the Girls step off the airship and onto the shores.
- >Before you stretched an entire city of buildings made of earth with a gargantuan spire in the center of it all.
- >Everything a worthless piece of rock needs to become the capitol of a new nation.
- >You turned back to the airship, looking to the guard captain on the deck.
- "We'll check it out on foot. Keep the ship safe Dapper, we may need to leave in a hurry."
- >Dapper salutes and heads back into the bowels of the airship.
- >Celestia surveys the land. "We need to split up Anonymous."
- "Are you sure that's a good idea?"
- >Celestia nods. "We need to find Luna as fast as we can. And if she has countermeasures, we need to avoid being a large target."
- >You nod.
- "Agreed."
- >Celestia turns back to the girls. "I will take Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie with me to the South."
- >The three of them fall in with Celestia.
- "The rest of us will head North. What are we looking for?"
- >"Any sign of sorcery. Luna is planning something..." Celestia said.
- "Right."
- >"And Anon."
- >Celestia gives you a peck on the cheek.
- >"Please be careful."
- >You, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Applejack walked through the city streets.
- >The silence of a city that never was had been getting to all of you.
- >There was just NOTHING here.
- >No ponies, no birds, no tree leaves rustling.
- >Just the howl of wind through the street.
- >"This place jitters my critters..." Applejack says next to you.
- >Rainbow Dash was walking next to her, the storm clouds overhead grounding her.
- >"Y-yeah...Kinda like the Everfree Forest in here..."
- >You remember hearing about the Everfree, a chaotically natural place in the world.
- >Twilight looked around the raised buildings.
- >"These look like transmutation marks...but...I didn't know that Princess Luna could do magic on THIS scale..."
- >You run a hand over the side of a building.
- >Looking down, you see that it is still connected to the ground.
- >EVERY building is like that...
- "They all look like they were grown right out of the ground..."
- >A dark mist began to seep from the buildings
- >"Just one of the gifts The Queen has bestowed upon us." Came a voice from the shadows.
- >The sound of flapping wings pushed the four of you back into a circle.
- >Hoofs meet stone in the mist ahead of you.
- >The obstruction parts to reveal five pegusi standing in formation ahead of you.
- >Rainbow Dash immediately went on guard and the rest of you followed suit.
- >The lead pegasus lifted her goggles and eyes you up.
- >"Well well, if it isn't the Prince's handsome friend~..."
- >Your face contorts in confusion.
- >"Don't remember me? I'm hurt...The names Nightshade big guy."
- >"And these..." The rest of her friends step forward.
- >"Are my Shadowbolts."
- >"And we..."They take off to the sky, leaving only Nightshade on the ground.
- >"Are gonna put a stop to your adventure here, hot stuff."
- >Four of the Shadowbolts orbited in the air like hungry vultures.
- >One of them, the one with the blue mane and lightning coming off her shot off behind you at a mind-blowing speed, Rainbow Dash right behind her.
- >Two more broke off and began attacking Twilight and Applejack.
- >The remaining two, Nightshade and a pegasus with a rather scarred face charged you.
- >You slashed your sword in a horizontal arc as they closed, but the buggers were quick enough to dodge
- >That wasn't the end of your tricks though, you grabbed the male and twisted him into a headlock.
- >Nightshade darted back just out of reach and started jabbing you with her fore hooves.
- >They clanged against your sword as you met each attack and bounced off her horseshoes.
- >"Oh, you're a quick one aren't ya!?" Nightshade shouted.
- >The pegasus under your arm bucks and twists, getting to the point where you have to toss him into a building wall.
- >"And strong too! You'll do great in my room!"
- >You try to block out what she means as you get back to sparring.
- >Out of the corner of your eye you spot Twilight trying to blast her magenta maned opponent out of the sky while Applejack got a lasso around hers and was trying to drag him down.
- >Your two opponents dove back at you as Nightshade kept talking.
- >"You know, I think I saw you somewhere before!"
- >She dodges a swing.
- >"Yeah! You used to pal around with Spits before I got thrown out!"
- >You really don't know what she's talking about, you blocked out most of your time with Spitfire.
- >Too much rubber...
- >Nightshade grows a sick grin. "Imagine that fat sluts face when I steal her ex for my own!"
- >They were double teaming you now, leaving you to block the male with your sword and Nightshade with your forearm, and even then a few hits got through.
- >They were forcing you back when something slammed into the male and crashed into a building down the street.
- >That was accompanied by a laughing rainbow blur that snaked its way into the clouds ahead to avoid a similar fate.
- >Nightshade looks behind her in horror. "What!? What in Tartarus was thaAAAAAA!"
- >She continued screaming as you grabbed her mane and spun her around.
- >Pegusi were always light...
- "You."
- >You smashed her face against a rock.
- "Talk."
- >You scooped her up and tossed her against a nearby wall, crushing her face against it with your fist.
- "Too."
- >Her leg shot up in your grasp as you threw her over your head and into the ground.
- "Damn."
- >She almost got a yelp of surprise out as your boot slammed into her face and cracked her goggles.
- "Much."
- -Celestia PoV-
- >You and your party had headed the other direction from Anonymous.
- >It wasn't long before you saw two streaks shoot out of the city from the North and clash over the water.
- >You hoped he was okay...
- >Fluttershy and Rarity had noticed the oddness about how empty this place was, with Pinkie calling "Weird with an extra order of weird and weird on the side."
- >You had to agree with her there.
- >The four of you approached a large building with a courtyard.
- >It was hewn out of the same earth as the rest of the buildings, but this looked more finished, as if more attention had been paid to it.
- >Stepping inside revealed rows and rows of stone pews laid out in neat order, all facing a podium at the back of the building.
- >A podium which had a small colt sitting in front of it. "Hello everyp0ny!" he shouted.
- >Pinkie Pie burst into the air. "PIP!
- >She shot over to this "Pip" and started bouncing around him shouting his name.
- >They exchanged a quick hug as the rest of you approached.
- >Rarity stepped up. "Darling, what in the world are you doing here?"
- >Pip smiled. "Princess Luna floated me up out of my house and brought me here! She says I get to be a king!"
- >What?
- "Did she say why Pip?"
- >The boy gulps and looks up at you. "S-she said we're gonna start a new kingdom here after she gets all the magic she keeps in the moon."
- >Your stomach sank.
- >Both you and Luna kept immense reserves of magical energy in the bodies you controlled for use in emergencies.
- >If she was gathering all that...
- >Pip shuffled on his rear. "Princess...can I tell you something?"
- >You shake your head.[spoiler][/spoiler] "Is it about Luna, Pip?"
- >He nods.
- >The boy looks over his shoulders in both directions, seemingly looking for someone who wasn't there.
- >"I don't know but..."
- >He leans in close and puts his hoof to his mouth.
- >"I don't think it's Princess Luna..."
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