The Shadow of a King
Machinations of Deceit
Author: Draconis187

Rarity was leisurely walking down the pathway to Fluttershy’s cottage to collect her for their usual session at the spa with Aloe and Lotus. They had been maintaining their old habit ever since life seemed to normalise after the fight in the Crystal Empire. She was humming a small tune to herself as she saw her destination come into view.

Fluttershy’s cottage has always been a quaint place for Rarity to visit. Secluded from the rest of Ponyville and yet Sweet Apple Acres is not that far from it. The fact that it rested on a small hill with tiny cliff-face was always a question Twilight enjoyed asking. It wasn’t made from any kind of erosion and the group always joked that Fluttershy made it herself. Although now it seemed it would be a plausible idea.

“Fluttershy? Fluttershy darling?” Rarity called out as she knocked lightly, “Fluttershy?”

She wasn’t going to shout as it was unbecoming of a lady. She pouted slightly and knocked a tad harder on the cottage door. She waited patiently for a few minutes but Fluttershy still refused to make any sound. Rarity frowned slightly and went around to the animals that her friend took care of to try the back door.

“Where could she be?” Rarity muttered under her breath.

Rarity looked around and found the animals were where Fluttershy had always left them. As the fashionista walked past their food troughs, she found Fluttershy had fed them very recently. The chickens looked up to Rarity with inquisitive - yet confused - looks.

“Do any of you dears know where Fluttershy is?” Rarity asked. The chickens looked at each other and shrugged before returning their gaze towards Rarity and shaking their heads, “I thank you anyway. Look at yourself Rarity, asking animals if they know where a friend is. Of course they wouldn’t know.”

She felt a small tugging on her mane and turned around to see Angel Bunny, “Now see here! You do not get a lady’s attention in such fashion. It is rude and can mess up her mane.”

Angel rolled his eyes at Rarity’s scolding and pointed towards the cottage. Rarity looked and saw the back door was ajar. Rarity walked up to the door and gave it a gentle nudge with her hoof to open it.

“Hello?” Rarity asked nervously as the door widened, “Fluttershy are you there?”

Angel hopped past Rarity and began gesturing to the top of the staircase. The bottom floor was silent and empty. The bird houses were vacant and the mouse was already outside by the look of things. Other than that, the building was spotless. Rarity gingerly trotted up the stairs with Angel Bunny just in front of her, acting like a guide of sorts.

The landing was deserted and Rarity was starting to really worry about Fluttershy. As Angel hooped towards Fluttershy’s room, Rarity picked up a fern that sat atop a table nearby. She would have readied Lucifer but she left it at the boutique, locked in a secret compartment in her closet. Not even Sweetie Belle knew where it was.

Angel stopped just outside the door and gestured for Rarity to enter. She slowly pushed the door open with her magic. The door creaked as it widened, making Rarity shake a little as she entered the room. Rarity facehoofed as she saw the main occupant.

Fluttershy was fast asleep, sprawled on the bed and making the weirdest sound that couldn’t even be called snoring, it was too cute. Rarity rolled her eyes and placed the small potted plant on Fluttershy’s bedside table. Rarity’s face cracked a small smirk as she grabbed hold of Fluttershy’s covers and pulled.

The result was instantaneous: Fluttershy rolled to the right side of her bed and seemingly fell off. When she got up, she was holding Pity and Fool in her hooves. She had a deathly glare on her face that quickly softened when she saw Rarity’s smile. The pistols fell to the floor as the two mares embraced in a friendly hug.

“Good afternoon, Fluttershy. Did you forget our engagement for the day?” Rarity inquired as they broke the hug. Fluttershy’s eyes bulged slightly.

“S-sorry Rarity. The chickens got attacked by a pack of Timberwolves last night and I spent an hour just trying to track down my chickens,” Fluttershy replied apologetically as she tried to hide behind her own mane.

Going up against an army of Changelings on her own? No problem. Assaulting the lord the Demon World himself? Nothing worse than a walk in the park. A friend disappointed because she failed to remember an engagement? Worse than death.

Rarity chuckled as she noticed her friend still using her old tactics. She wondered if Fluttershy had actually come out of her shell since her adventures but it appeared to not be the case. She was still a shy pony amongst her friends but she was noticeably more confident when facing danger. If she could stare down a dragon before her adventures, she was already safe. Rarity did notice she was more confident whenever she wore the leather coat Dante gave her. Even the small necklace she wore made her feel a little more at ease.

“It’s quite alright darling. I was just worried when you didn’t come to the door,” Rarity smiled as she draped her one hoof over Fluttershy, “I think that day at the spa is just what you need. What do you think?”

Fluttershy gave her friend a grin and nodded her head as she grabbed the Amulet of Talos before leaving with Rarity.

**** **** **** ****

Twilight was stood on her own in the middle of her basement. Her eyes were closed as she tried to concentrate. Spike was out in Ponyville, on his weekly stationary shopping spree. As Twilight concentrated, eight magenta blades appeared around her.

She had gotten the gist of creating the blades but she quickly found out that she was not able to maintain more than four after conjuring the first eight. As the blades circled around their master, Twilight opened her eyes and picked up a piece of nearby parchment for her to take notes.

She stopped the blades’ spinning motion and rotated them to face the same direction she was while rearranging them into a four by four, box-like configuration by either side of her body. She gazed forward at a crudely drawn red ‘X’ on the wall in front of her an-

“Twilight!” A loud, yet shrill voice shouted from above, “Twilight!”

Twilight had lost her concentration and the blades shattered as they left the plane of existence. She looked up to the door and muttered angrily under her breath. The library was closed on a Sunday, why ponies didn’t seem to understand that Twilight was never able to tell. How they got in must have been a prank by Spike again.

The door to the basement opened with force and Twilight’s scowl instantly softened.

“Twilight, why are you in the basement?” Nyx asked, looking up at Twilight with that curious look Twilight was all too familiar with, “I thought you were doing experiments in the evening?”

“Sorry, Nyx. I just couldn’t wait to start,” Twilight responded as she closed the door rather abruptly behind her but Nyx failed to notice, “Where are the other Crusaders?”

“Well, Scootaloo wanted to try bear wrestling and asked Fluttershy but she yelped and flew off before we knew what happened. The other Fluttershy would have probably told us about it though.”

Twilight shook her head, “Nyx, you know how I feel about you going to that world. It’s dangerous.”

Nyx raised an eyebrow, “More dangerous than Scorpios, Ursa Majors, Minors as well as the other creatures that attacked Ponyville a while back, hm?”

“That was different and you know it,” Twilight argued, “You were forced to fight demons! Demons, Nyx!”

Nyx rolled her eyes, “Yes, with a demon weapon. I did say I was at my full size at that time and I was perfectly safe. Besides all that stuff is over now.”

“Nyx, this is not a discussion!” Twilight glared at Nyx, making her take a few steps back, “I know those ponies can protect you but I’m not very comfortable with you being near so much violence. Please don’t tell the Crusaders about that world.”

“I already Pinkie Promised, how can I make a bigger one?” Nyx asked, shrugging her shoulders and adjusting her glasses on her nose.

“I know but still, I know how you can get when you’re excited. I just worry about you,” Twilight said, embracing Nyx in her forehooves.

“I know,” Nyx replied with a smile, “Mind if I go now?”

“As long as you’re safe and you don’t use that thing I’ll be happy,” Twilight responded, emphasising her disdain for the Devil Arm Alastor, “As much as I don’t like you going, I know you’ll just go anyway. At least I know now where you are.”

“It’s ok, I don’t even know where it is. See you later,” Nyx said as she trotted upstairs.

“I hope she makes the soup like I do!” Twilight shouted with a small grin on her face.

“She is you remember?” Nyx half laughed, half shouted back.

Nyx opened up the door to her room and dove under her bed. She emerged several seconds later in triumph. She kept her most prized possessions in a box save for Alastor. The emerald amulet that allowed her passage between the worlds glowed faintly as if in anticipation. Nyx placed her head through the silver chain, securing it around her neck and touched the emerald.

**** **** **** ****

Twilight was busy reading the ‘The Equestrian Encyclopaedia: The Ramblings of Time Turner and Why We Never Listened’ as the air around her room dropped drastically in temperature. She got under her covers and wrapped a scarf around her neck and continued reading. Beside her bed, a large green blob started to form.

“Spike!” Twilight shouted, keeping her eyes focused on her book, “Can you make some hot chocolate please?”

The blob was no bigger than Peewee but that slowly changed as five growths formed while it enlarged. Four of them angled towards the ground and extended until they touched the wooden floorboards. The fifth appendage reached upwards and began to enlarge at the tip. The body began to take on more pony-like features as the head formed and the legs thickened.

The green pony body began to turn black as purple hair sprouted from the creature’s head and backside, forming a mane and tail respectively. The body then sprouted more detailed features, mainly a pair of glasses, a purple coat similar to the ones Rarity made for the Winter Wrap Up teams and a headband.

Nyx opened her eyes and began to shiver uncontrollably. In a second, she found her field of vision obscured as a blanket was draped over her body in an attempt to keep her warm. Nyx managed to poke her head out and found Twilight’s smiling face greeting her, a steaming mug of hot chocolate just a short distance away in the claws of Spike the Dragon.

“Hey there Nyx,” Spike greeted as he handed the mug over to Nyx’s magic grip, “Still getting cold?”

Twilight looked agitated as that statement but it was not directed to any of them, “I’m sure it’s some kind of twisted joke on Discord’s part.”

“Well, at least I can visit. I don’t mind the cold so much anymore,” Nyx said, trying to not get the Lord of Chaos on Twilight’s bad side. This Twilight was very similar to her Twilight in attitude and that worried Nyx, especially when this Twilight wielded magic blades.

After a few minutes – and another mug of hot chocolate – Nyx felt warmer and was ready to go out into Equestria. She used Twilight’s mirror in her bathroom to make sure her attire was in top condition. As she trotted outside to find the other CMC who did know of her weapon and the fact she came from another world, Twilight went into the basement with Spike.

“Twilight, shouldn’t we tell Nyx that you found a better way of getting here?” Spike asked as Twilight removed a tarp that was covering a very old and broken looking piece of architecture.

Twilight gave Spike a ‘really?’ look and sighed, “Spike, the process to get this thing working is rather delicate. Not to mention I only managed to get an audio/visual working a week ago and that was after two months of near endless work! And I had to keep a secret from Nyx every time she came. It’s not ready to transport anything.”

Spike folded his arms, “’kay, I hear ya. What are we doing here now anyway? Shouldn’t you be watching Nyx?”

“I have been speaking to Nyx’s Twilight. And from what the both of them told me, she can take care of herself,” Twilight replied as she gazed at the machine, “It seems we were both working on a similar project but mine is less compact than her own.”

The machine in question resembled a metal archway. It was made from a rare metal that only the Princesses have access and permission to use. Not even Twilight could fully pronounce nor spell the name correctly off the top of her head. Whenever the Princesses mentioned it, it sounded like one of Pinkie Pie’s random nonsense words.

The archway itself was not smooth as it was pieced together in a fashion that made some sections look either too large or too small. Twilight would never have finished it if the instructions she had informed her to the contrary. In the end she finished it under the guise of a new form of scanner in case Nyx or anypony else found out.

The archway was sky blue with several lines of yellow running along it like exposed wiring. Twilight took a deep breath and walked up to the wall behind it. She removed a magic seal that kept the false wall from being seen and gazed at a small pedestal with a black gemstone in it.

“Uh, Twilight…” Spike said nervously as he ran his claws over each other, “Is that-?”

“The very same gem from Saddle Arabia that sent Discord to the Demon World and ultimately reuniting him with Fluttershy and causing us a number of problems?” Twilight finished for him. She was not smiling, “Yes it is.”

“But why is it here?” Spike asked as the gem glowed faintly, making him take a cautious step back.

“After Fluttershy told us about what happened to Discord, I thought that the gem must have the same or similar properties as the Hell Gate that appeared in the Crystal Empire since both allow passage to the Demon World,” Twilight explained, “It turned out that I was right. The gem appears to be made of the same material that the Hell Gate was comprised of and has identical properties, save one major one.

“It lacks direction, control. It seems that the gem radiates the same energy that the Hell Gate did but it can not fully determine the destination it sends somepony other than somewhere in the Demon World,” Twilight paused for a minute as the gem’s energy seeped down into the ground, snaking towards the archway, “The Celestial Archway channels the power of magic imbued gemstones to stabilize the portal that gets its energy from the metal in the archway itself.”

“But why didn’t use this to get Fluttershy back instead of waiting until now?” Spike asked.

Twilight hung her head as the archway crackled and a noxious blue-yellow gas seeped out and into the centre of the arch itself, “Starswirl the Bearded never finished the design. He died shortly after making the blueprint so never even managed a prototype. In truth I didn’t even know it existed until Princess Luna asked me to finish it as a form of backup plan.”

Spike let out a low whistle, “So this is a major breakthrough in science then?”

“For science!” Twilight’s smile returned in earnest as the gas stabilised and a picture of Twilight appeared in the portal. She looked around, fascinated by the portal’s design and finally turned her attention to the Twilight with Spike standing next to her.

“Hi, how are you? Or is that me?” Twilight asked, looking at the pair with a grin, “Nyx not giving you any trouble is she?”

Twilight and Spike shook their heads, “No, she’s been perfectly fine. Other than the usual antics the Crusaders get up to at any rate.”

Twilight giggled, “Well, she is just a filly.”

Twilight and Spike turned to each other, sharing a sceptical look before turning to Nyx’s mother, “Are you sure about that?”

The other Twilight understood what her counterpart meant and gave another giggle, “Well, she does seem to be a magnet for all kinds of trouble despite the measures I use or the warnings I give her. I just want to protect her.”

“Speaking of protection, how are you progressing?” Twilight inquired of her counterpart who suddenly found the ceiling of her basement highly intriguing.

**** **** **** ****

“Ugh, what hit me?” A voice came from a covered mass that lay on the red velvet couch Rarity possessed.

The covers were yanked off by Rarity who had returned to her shop to wake up her layabout assistant. Joystick reluctantly got up and rubbed his eyes before reaching for his fashionable – yet useless – glasses. His red eyes were bloodshot and his mane was dishevelled.

“Joystick darling, the shower is upstairs,” Rarity pointed out, giving Joystick one of her judging looks as the unicorn quietly obeyed. As he vanished from earshot, she muttered under her breath, “I really need to teach that stallion some etiquette. I never knew he would drink that much cider at a fashion show. If I had known he was going to sleep in this late, I would’ve woken him up before leaving.”

As Rarity set about making sure her displays were just perfect while she heard the water turning on upstairs. As Rarity went into the kitchen to make something to sober up Joystick, she found Joystick hid Blue Rose in her teapot. Chuckling lightly to herself, she placed the revolver into one of her drawers and made a note to inform the stallion of the location.

As the tea brewed, Joystick returned. He looked slightly better as the bags under his eyes were thoroughly covered by his glasses. He sat down at the table with a thud, still hungover.

“Try this Joystick,” Rarity said as she offered a cup of the tea she made, “I’m afraid you’d have to make your own breakfast. I have an order from Hoity that needs finishing and then there’s the dress Sapphire Shores wanted. I’ll need to go to the Diamond Fields again with Spikey.”

“No worries, Rarity,” Joystick replied as he took a sip.

Joystick’s body felt like it was on fire from the inside almost instantly, threatening to cook him to a crisp. He ran over to the sink and tried to drink straight from the tap. The cold water only aggravated the sensation, causing the stallion to run around the shop in a desperate bid to find a solution.

Rarity looked on, giggling up a storm as a lady doesn’t laugh like Pinkie Pie does and she is the only exception to the rule. She watched as Joystick finally came to a halt as the sensation ended as abruptly as it arrived. He looked at Rarity with wide eyes as if she had just stabbed him and was about to leave him for dead.

“What in Equestria was that?!” He shouted. His eyes were so wide Rarity saw her whole body reflected in them.

“It’s a special brew that Zecora taught me how to make,” Rarity giggled as Joystick slumped down onto his flank, “It works wonders for when one indulges a tad too much.”

“You could have warned me you know,” Joystick complained as he lowered his glasses to give her his best piercing glare.

“And waste the opportunity to see the expression on your face?” Rarity asked innocently.

Joystick finally smiled back at Rarity, “Rarity, you are a devious mare.”

“A lady is not devious. She just knows how to let on,” Rarity replied cheerfully, “I must ask though: do you feel any better?”

Joystick nodded, “I feel brilliant to be honest. No headache whatsoever.”

“I shall inform Zecora that her brew works then,” Rarity replied with a snide grin.

“I was a test subject?!” Joystick shouted in shock.

**** **** **** ****

Later on, as Rarity went out to the Diamond Fields with Lucifer atop her back, she failed to notice a lime green Pegasus watching her from the clouds. The stallion watched her from the edge of the cloud, making sure not to draw the white mare’s attention. His silver mane hung over his right eye but he paid his annoying obstruction no mind.

“Off to go gem gathering are we?” He muttered to himself, “Too bad you took the most valuable thing you possess but I’m sure I can make do with what you left behind.”

As Rarity walked off and out of sight, the Pegasus glided down and began to pick the lock on her window. Most of Ponyville was too busy going about their day, caught up in their own little worlds to notice the burglar gaining entry. As he flew in, he began to raid Rarity’s boudoir and assaulted her vanity for anything of value. He tossed the varying clothes around, tearing some that had gem insets before placing them into his saddlebags.

Joystick’s ears perked up as he heard the faint commotion from upstairs, “What in the hell is going on? I thought Rarity told Sweetie to stay out of her room?”

Joystick pulled out Blue Rose from its holster and pulled back the hammer with his magic. He carefully trotted upstairs, making sure to avoid stair four, eight and ten since they creaked. He followed the sounds until he heard somepony muttering.

“Is this all she has?” The voice said, “I would have thought an Element bearer like her had more than this. Oh, we-”

At this point Joystick had heard enough and bucked the door open with force, “Freeze criminal scum!”

The stallion in front of him dropped his saddlebags in shock and in a second, Joystick was looking at himself. The other Joystick had a pistol identical to the original one Joystick carried. The pair looked at each other in silence as they waited for the other to make the first move. The air blew through the bedroom, making what dresses that still remained partially intact rustle slightly as the two stared each other down.

“A Changeling huh?” Joystick commented as the replica of himself took a nervous step back.

It all happened very quickly as the copypony casted a spell and filled the room with darkness. Blue Rose’s shots echoed through the room, ricocheting off surfaces before stopping against a hard surface. Joystick heard the assailant’s hoofsteps and then the sound vanished.

As the spell dispelled itself after a short period of time, Joystick looked around to find the criminal had cleaned Rarity out of all her valuable possessions. He looked around and noticed the varying bullet holes littering the room and he muttered a small curse under his breath.

“Rarity is so not going to be happy about this,” Joystick muttered worriedly.

**** **** **** ****

Applejack was busy running into the orchard, Clunker by her side and Volendrung on her back. She looked absolutely livid as she reached her destination.

“Now ya’ll can go get yer apples from the market like every other pony!” She shouted as the orchard was attacked by a pair of ravenous Changelings, “The trees are not yer tables!”

They just looked at her and the demon for a second before returning to their feast. Applejack straightened her hat and took Volendrung off her back.

“Alright then Clunker, let ‘em have it!” She said as she spun herself around like a hammer throwing champion before letting the Daedric hammer fly off towards one of the Changelings.

The hammer missed as the Changeling easily dodged it and blew a raspberry at her to add insult to injury. Its compatriot cackled with glee as Clunker missed his target as well when he spat a rock at it. The Changelings looked to each other before casting a spell, causing the area to be filled with dark clouds. The two farm workers coughed and hacked as the cloud entered their lungs. Once it dissipated, the troublemakers were already long gone.

“Dagnabit!” Applejack threw her hat onto the floor in a rage as Clunker went off to retrieve Volendrung. As she dusted her hat off, she looked up to the tree the Changelings were eating from, “I could’a sworn only Rebel and Legion ate pony food.”

**** **** **** ****

As night fell upon Ponyville, a group of seemingly normal ponies met in an apartment near Town Hall. Three ponies were gathered around a table waiting for their two compatriots to return from the bathroom.

“Ugh, remind me to never eat again. I hate this,” One of the returning ponies said with disgust as he took his seat.

“Oh, stop complaining Silver. At least you didn’t get shot at,” A lime green Pegasus spat back, “I swear I have enough holes to advertise myself as swiss cheese.”

“At least you didn’t have to tail that filly,” A grey Pegasus said callously, “She always seems to know when somepony is following her. It’s like a bucking sixth sense. I had to observe her from over a bucking mile away!”

“Whatever Blaze, Streak. Now then, how did the operation go?” A yellow Pegasus asked as she surveyed the assembled group.

“Well, we’ve aroused suspicion so it’s a start. Our little ‘buffet’ at Sweet Apple Acres will be the talk of the town by tomorrow and I’m sure that Carousel Boutique’s break-in will be too,” A brown Pegasus replied, “My mission was thoroughly successful, Town Hall had some rather interesting info on the Element bearer’s background except for Twilight. She is a Canterlot mare after all.”

“We will get to that when the time comes. We’ve accomplished the first step,” The mare said with a snide grin, “Onward to Phase Two.”

Author's Notes:

Well, here is Chapter Two! I wonder how many of you can guess the state and identities of the five ponies?