Change of Flight Patterns
Chapter 8: Chapter Seven: The Day Off
Previous ChapterSaberStar had no dreams or nightmares when he slept. He slept peacefully and quietly. When he woke, went to go find Adamant. He was in the lab, working on a spear that didn't dull.
"Where is she?" Saber asked "
The ballroom." Adamant replied. "Don't worry. Nopony else is there." Saber thanked him and flew to the ballroom. A guard was standing by the door and looked at Saber cautiously. Saber opened the door, but the guard didn't stop him. Fluttershy was looking out the window where the palace gardens were. Where it had all happened. She had a sad, hurt, and scared look on her face. Saber approached her and put a hoof on her shoulder. She jumped and whirled around to face him.
"Oh, you startled me." she said.
"Sorry," Saber apologized, "I didn't mean to. I have a day off today, and I don't know what to do. Adamant told me you were here and I decided that the best way to spend would be with you."
"Oh," she said, blushing. Fluttershy was wearing the necklace he had given her before the battle and she was wearing a silver charm bracelet on her left hoof. Saber folded his left wing and put his right one around her. She seemed...... off .This wasn't like her. She usually was easygoing and happy. Not cautious and sad.
"Hey, what's wrong?" She looked away, but didn't respond.
"It's just that before we left for the Gala, I told you I was going to see Rainbow Dash. I did, but she got mad. She said that she was the one who should be with you. I just didn't want to hurt anypony. I never wanted to hurt anypony." She didn't start crying, but she did look on the verge of tears. "And then the incident with that guard and Discord, I just don't feel safe here." Saber never really felt safe at any time at all, but Fluttershy should feel safe most of the time. Canterlot was very safe unless it was under attack. He suspected something had happened when Saber was gone. He noticed something scribbled on a pillar. He couldn't make out the letters. Taking Fluttershy with him, he examined the wording. He didn't recognize the glyphs but they looked a bit like English lettering. It said: ΣαβεrΣταr: Πεαcβrιngεr, βυτ αlσο θε Βrιnγεr Οf Δεαθ. "What are you looking at?" Fluttershy asked, squinting at the lettering.
"Something in a different language. I can't decipher it. Maybe Adamant can. He can read every ancient language there is."
Saber knocked on the Canterlot Laboratory door. He knew that Adamant would be in here. Sure enough, Adamant stuck his head out.
"Saber?" he inquired, "Aren't you spending your day with Fluttershy?"
"Well, I'm going to, but first I need you to help me decipher something." When they got to the ballroom, Saber found the pillar after some searching. He pointed to the lettering on it. "This is what we need help with." Adamant peered at the runes, read them and stepped back in shock. He looked startled, scared even. "What did it say?" Saber asked.
"This says in Ancient Greek: SaberStar, Peacebringer, but also the Bringer of Death." Adamant and Fluttershy stared at Saber, their eyes unreadable. What worried Saber was that the lettering was faded and weathered, not recently carved. They looked as if they were carved maybe a hundred years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon. A scrawled prophecy maybe?
"Let's not worry about these carved runes. We all have a day off. I suggest we get to what we wanted to do." Saber suggested. They all agreed. Adamant trotted towards the lab where he was working previously. Saber looked down at Fluttershy who was at his side. She leaned into him and smiled. He smiled back at her and pulled her closer. Kissing her on the cheek, he said, "I want to show you something."
Saber took Fluttershy to the palace gardens. She hesitated when she saw where they were going. Putting a hoof on her shoulder, he said,
"Don't worry. We're not going anywhere near that place." Saber led her to a section of the gardens where a circular clearing was. In the middle of the clearing, a statue of the Elements of Harmony stood. He didn't mention that a carving was in the middle. A prophecy was etched in the middle. When the battle has lasted thirty years, a warrior will come. When the land is soaked in pain and tears, a savior will come. A bringer of Peace and Death, fighter of Fire and Shadow as well, will banish the monsters from the gates of hell. He will save the one he cares for the most but lose those close to him. He will wash the land clear of sin. The Sword That Will Give Peace in Equestria is here. Saber didn't want to pressure him or Fluttershy with these runes carved on stone. He flew up, formed a cloud big enough for him and Fluttershy. He lowered it down and helped her onto it. She settled down on it and smiled at him, a bit of her old self returning. Saber pushed up the cloud and flew up onto it and sat next to Fluttershy. She leaned into him and he kissed her forehead. Her cheeks turned slightly red. She kissed him on the cheek and said, "Where are we going?" "You'll see." Saber replied. Fluttershy closed her eyes and put her head on his shoulder. Saber flew the cloud towards an odd light show near the north. Streams of light spread out and shimmered.
"What is that?" Fluttershy asked.
"The Aurora Borealis," Saber replied, "Or the Northern Lights as some ponies call them." A red streak and a yellow streak crossed and disappeared. Saber wrapped his other wing around Fluttershy, kissed her and she kissed him.
They watched the lights for hours until eventually, the lights faded. He flew Fluttershy back to the castle just in time for dinner. Saber seated himself next to her and she next to Applejack. Saber was feeling better and went to dinner that night unlike yesterday. Twilight was limping on her leg where Chrysalis had jabbed her shoulder. One soldier, a guard by the name of Flash Sentry was in attendance. Saber suspected Twilight liked him because when he sat down next to her, she blushed furiously. He remembered back to when Twilight had told him about Fluttershy, she had mentioned a crush. Saber guessed this was the pony she had one on. The feast was lively but was only Twilight, Flash, Pinkie, Rarity, Rainbow, Applejack, Vinyl, Adamant, Saber and Fluttershy there. Nopony else, so it was casual. Flash Sentry was impressed by Saber's victory.
"How did you win?" he asked, "Nopony has beaten the queen hoof to hoof." Saber explained his wings and the certain powers he had gained after it had happened. When he was about to tell Flash about the incident guard, LunarSun, he hesitated.
"What did happened that night to make you court-martial one o your best soldiers? That's what Ah want to know." Applejack said aloud. Saber's expression darkened and he didn't respond.
"That's a story for another time." he said in a low voice.
"Not to prod Saber, but we all want to know what happened." Twilight said and winced as Saber glared at her.
"I don't." Adamant voiced. Saber shot him a dirty look.
"No offense but NOT HELPING!" Everypony in the room noticed that Saber's eyes glowed ice blue and he put a wing around Fluttershy protectively. Twilight suspected it had involved SaberStar, Fluttershy and the guard he had court-martialed. They all sensed this was not going to end well if they pressed any further. Saber's eyes were glowing brighter. Not like a Changeling's eyes. Like his armor had made a connection between him and his eyes. His wings were steaming and his eyes were blood-red instead of their normal flame red. Saber's eyes returned to their normal color. His wing folded against his side but he kept the other around Fluttershy.
"But seriously," Rainbow said, "What happened?" Saber's ears were and cheeks were tinted red.
"Ask Adamant. He can tell you later. We have other problems. Today me and Fluttershy found ancient lettering on a pillar. They said in Grecian letters, 'SaberStar, Peacebringer, but also the Bringer of Death.' and a while back, I found a prophecy carved in the center of a statue. It said, 'When the battle has lasted thirty years, a warrior will come. When the land is soaked in pain and tears, a savior will come. A bringer of Peace and Death, fighter of Fire and Shadow as well, will banish the monsters from the gates of hell. He will save the one he cares for the most but lose those close to him. He will wash the land clear of sin. The Sword That Will Give Peace in Equestria is here.'" Everypony stared at Saber. His eyes went through a multitude of colors. White, black, sea-green, ice blue and finally yellow. Confusion. He was very confused. A prophecy about him? If the Changeling hadn't cut off his wings, he'd be normal. Not a powerful Pegasus soldier with strange powers and robotic wings. He felt up to his neck in problems. Wounds, LunarSun, Changelings, and now these prophecies. Nothing he wanted to deal with. But these worries had good effects. If the Changeling hadn't cut off his wings, he wouldn't have met Fluttershy and he wouldn't have stopped Chrysalis from invading Canterlot. He was happy about those things. His eyes glowed gold. Happiness.
"We need to figure out what this means." Twilight said, sipping her drink. "If we can figure what it means, we can maybe stop some of the death described in it."
"Agreed," Flash replied, "If we can, we can still bring peace to Equestria like it says. But who is it about?"
"It said a 'Sword'. A saber is a kind of sword." Pinkie Pie interjected. Now Saber felt uncomfortable. This prophecy might really be about him. His eyes glowed a color nopony saw very often. It was one he didn't let his eyes be. Sea-green. Fear. This was terrifying. He couldn't lose more soldiers or friends. He wouldn't. He needed a break. Some time alone. He silently got down from the table and walked out. But he didn't go unnoticed. Rainbow saw him leave and was curious. She excused herself and followed him.
When she found him walking glumly in the palace gardens, his eyes were black. Rainbow didn't know what that meant but she knew it wasn't a happy feeling. She tapped him on the shoulder softly. Saber whirled around flipping one wing up to her chin. He sighed and lowered it down.
"Dash, what on Earth are you doing?" he asked,
"You left the table and without Fluttershy. That's unlike you." Saber's eyes turned purple. Misery. He sat down, but still no reply. Rainbow sat next to him. She pecked him on the cheek and put his wing around her. Saber's ears and cheeks blushed. His eyes flashed cherry red and then gray as a raincloud. Shame. Rainbow looked upset or sad.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"The same reason why I got mad at you. I know that you and Fluttershy are together and that this may make you uncomfortable. I don't want to interfere with you guys. But-" her voice broke and she cried into his shoulder.
"Shh, shh, it's okay." he said, awkwardly patting her back. Then, Rainbow kissed him.
Saber liked to think of himself of a victim of circumstance. Wrong place, wrong time. Right as she kissed him, Fluttershy walked out into the garden. She looked at the two in surprise. Betrayal filled her eyes. Fluttershy ran off, sobbing. A brown Earth Pony stallion stepped out of the bushes along with a grey and blonde Pegasus mare.
"Busted." the Earth Pony said. Saber glared at the pony.
"Shut up!" he yelled.
"You can't talk to the Doctor like that! He's a time-traveling pony! He's saved the world hundreds of times and you haven't saved it once" the mare yelled.
"Well, just saved it from the Changelings! Doctor, as you can see I am NOT IN A GOOD MOOD. If you could go back in time and stop this, it would help." Saber snapped.
"Don't talk to my companion like that! And I can't do that. It would cause a catalyst and we don't want that." the Doctor replied.
"Fine. Just leave me alone." and he stormed off.
"Bit of a grump." the Doctor whispered. Him and his assistant opened the door to an old time police box. It whirred and disappeared. Saber had had enough. He flew up to the top of the cloud level. He made a indent and burrowed in the cloud. Saber felt torn. His eyes were two different colors. One gray, one blood-red. He lapsed into a dreamless sleep.
Saber woke to an angry Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Flash, and even angry Pinkie Pie.
"Explain yourself." Flash said sharply.
"I don't know what happened last night but it wasn't my fault." Saber tried to explain.
"Yeah right." said, Flash, kicking him in the side. Saber grunted but didn't fight back. His eyes flashed white. Pain "I swear I'm telling the truth." he said. They turned to Applejack.
"Is he lying?" Twilight asked.
"No." Applejack replied, "Not yet." Saber had no reaction.
"Rainbow just kissed me. I kinda want to be left alone or with somepony who doesn't hate me." Saber said softly. So they left and Saber lay thinking. He didn't understand. Why was all this happening to him? He lay there for an hour when a certain cyan Pegasus . Saber's eyes turned the color of blood. Now he was normally a peaceful pony, but when someone made him angry, he wasn't all nice and happy. Saber glared at Rainbow. He turned around and faced the other direction. His eyes turned completely blood red. Rainbow stepped off the balloon and landed with a soft thump. He whirled around and flicked his wing up to her chin and this time, he didn't put the wing down.
"What do you want?" he said anger in his voice. Rainbow looked down at her hooves.
"I'm sorry Saber. I really am. I came to tell you a message. The message is 'It's over.' Saber's eyes went white. She guessed that meant shock or pain. He sank to the ground.
"Who sent you this message?" he asked quietly.
"Discord." Vinyl replied. Saber's eyes turned sea-green.
"Then we have to hurry." he grabbed Rainbow and flew down towards the castle as fast as he could. When he got there, a guard was blocking Fluttershy's room. Ironically, it was LunarSun.
"Oh it's you," he said, "She's not happy. And I don't think she wants to see you."
"I suspected as much," Saber muttered, "Then give her a message. Tell her I'm sorry. Oh and promotion to General." and he walked away, leaving Vinyl and the confused guard.
Vinyl trotted to catch up to him. His eyes were the darkest blue she had ever seen. She started to cry. "I did this," she whispered, "I did this." Saber looked over at Vinyl. He didn't disagree with her but he wasn't cruel. He put his wing around her and comforted her. His side and leg flared and he collapsed. His eyes turned white. Rainbow came down with him. He lit his wing on fire and touched his leg with it. She tried to stop him but she was too late. She expected his hoof to burn off. Instead, it burned off the bandage. No cut. His eyes returned to dark blue, but for a moment, they flashed gold. He stood up, tall and strong. Rainbow stood up with him. His eyes turned steely gray. Determination. A guard came running. He was so beat up that Saber didn't recognize him. It was LunarSun,
"Sir! The Changelings have captured Princess Twilight, Adamant Shadow, Vinyl and Applejack! They're about to escape!" Saber's eyes turned blood-red.
"We need to catch them!" Saber and Rainbow galloped towards the entrance. Little did Saber know what he was getting himself into.