Solid Script Equestria
Chapter 29: Side Chapter 2: A Templar’s Rescue
Previous Chapter Next ChapterLegacy Tracer POV
“Are we there yet?” Flora asked for the seventh time. I just sigh and shook my head after a quick glance out the window, seeing we were still a ways away from our destination. I returned to my copy of Obsidian Weaponry that I borrowed from the guilds library as the train continued on its way.
This was going to be my first job since I began to learn some dark magic from Lex since she found the time to be away from her kids. It took quite a while before I was comfortable to begin to truly learn the spells, but it has been worth it so far from what I have learned.
I glanced past my book to see my partners for this quest. Zen and Flora were talking to one another about what we were going to see when we arrived at Dustmane Ridge, while Nate was trying to catch some rest before we arrive, smart move.
The quest was a simple, but potentially dangerous one. Supposedly a cult of some kind had taken up residence in an abandoned temple to Nightmare Moon on the edge of the forest near town, and some townsfolk were worried about what they were planning, while others thought it was just some colts playing around.
The worry only multiplied when two abyssians, a mother and her kitten, arrived in town stating the cult was responsible for the kidnapping of her husband. The town wanted to charge and destroy the cult for their supposed taken sacrifice to Nightmare, but the mayor knew simple farmers and fishers wouldn’t stand a change against a cult of likely crazy ponies.
I took out the quest sheet from my bag and looked it over again. The quest was as followed; infiltrate the temple and assess just how dangerous the cult was, and if it were possible, take them down ourselves. We also had a call gem for the nearby guards outpost should the situation prove to much for us. We are to use it after the cult is dealt with so they could be arrested, or should we need backup.
I took this job myself to see if maybe I could get a lead on my own past. All I remember was what the doctors told me back in Manehatten. If this cult was a branch of the Eclipsed Ones, then they may know who I was. If not, then oh well, we still get payed.
The others decided to tag along because they were worried about me. Even before we joined the guild officially, Flora and Zen were really nice after we met, and while I haven’t talked to him a whole lot, I considered Nate a friend. That just became more apparent after the guild opened, since we were all co-workers as well as guild members.
Now I may want to learn my past, but as I reassured them, I really couldn’t care that much about who I was before we all met Lex. Now I was a diehard Fairy Tail wizard, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I just want to know if I did anything bad so I know what I have to make up for. And this seemed like as good a place as any to begin hunting for clues.
I guess I was really lost in my reminiscing and my book as I felt a talon lightly tapping on my shoulder. I glanced up at Flora, who just pointed out the window. I looked out the window and felt my blood freeze somewhat.
The town, there was smoke rising into the sky.
We were only two minutes out, but from we could see, it wasn’t good. As soon as we rushed out of the train with our luggage and took a moment to look around.
The station itself looked at least mildly untouched, but that wasn’t the case for he surrounding area. Walking through the town, we saw that several houses were nearly burned down, there were feathers around the area, clearly from the local pegasi and griffins, as well as spots of blood here and there. It didn’t look like the place was ransacked per say, but it was definitely attacked.
“What happened here?” I hear Nate mutter, earning a shrug from his brother. I was just silent as I looked around the area, before pausing as I spot something. Walking over, it looks like a simple metal pole, but the end was what both caught my attention, and made me realize what it was.
It was a branding iron, the ones used to brand things like boats and crate. Or if you wanted to be crazy, ponies and other creatures. The brand itself looked vaguely familiar. But I couldn’t put my finger on it.
“Trace?” I look back to the others, seeing Zen point to the east, where I could very vaguely hear voices. I nod to the them, and the four of us rush over, seeing its the town hall, and it was not a good sight.
There were ponies, griffons and a couple Minotaurs all around the area, the latter creatures moving some lumber and supplies around while the ponies were sorting things out and the griffons flying about with things like water buckets. The four of us looked around for a moment, taking in all the creatures, before spotting who we needed to see.
The mayor of the little settlement, a rust orange coated earth pony with a short vanilla blond mane, named Gilded Wood was talking to our allies for the mission, two members of the local guard, fraternal twins named Solar Sin and Lunar Saint, a unicorn and Bat pony respectively. They were townsponies from birth and they came back to check on their old home once they heard about the cult. They looked like inverted ponies, the former having an eggshell white coat and lilac purple mane and the latter having a pale midnight purple coat and a Snow White mane.
Lastly, near them was the abyssian duo that tipped off the town. The mother was clearly the one who ‘wore the pants’ in her relationship. The feline was ripped! She was easily taller than all of us, her faded brown fur and a lighter brown and grey tipped hair was slightly unkept from the attack, her shirt being discarded, leaving her in a sports bra that showed off her abs. She didn’t really seem to mind, her vibrant green eyes kept on her daughter.
Said ‘kitten’ was actually in her teens by the looks of things. She had slightly darker brown fur and hair, and I caught a glimpse of a pair of amber eyes as she rushed around as fast as Pinkie, bringing supplies around the area. I had to admit, she looked kinda cute, especially as she tripped and doused herself in water, before bouncing up and running again a second later.
I shook my head and we walked over, earning the attention of some nearby residence, the griffons and stallions looking at us with more hostility than normal. Before long we made it to the centre, the mayor and guards looking at us wearily.
“The hell are you?” Sin bluntly asked, earning an elbow in the ribs from his sister, but she nodded with him anyways. I took a quick glance around and noticed all the hostile looks, as well as a few of them brandishing things like planks, harpoons and a couple other makeshift weapons. Of course Zen ended up taking point for this.
“Sorry we’re late, you would not believe how long the train took to get here.” I saw that didn’t help at all and nudged to canine, raising a brow. He nods and clears his throat. “Right then. Mayor Gilded Wood. We’re the wizards from the Fairy Tail guild responding to your request for aid.” The four of us show off our emblems. Immediately the creatures relaxed and put away their ‘weapons’.
“FAIRY TAIL!?!?” I blinked, and suddenly the kitten was right infront of my face, causing me to jump back and Flora to take to the air.
“Maddie, don’t be rude.” Her mother scolds, walking over to us as well and pulling back her daughter. Crap she is tall. “Sorry about my daughter, she can be rather excitable. Plus she is a big fan of your guild once we heard about it several months back. Oh, my name is Aspen Marigold by the way.”
“Ahem, well then. How about we get down to business. My name is Trace. These are my guildmates, Flora, Zen and Nate. Like Zen said, we’re hear to help.” I look around with a wince. “But I guess we’re a little late. Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. Those damned cultists showed up before dawn and just caught us off guard.” Gilded Wood states, turning his nose up at the memory. I just frown as that didn’t seem necessary. After a moment he composes himself and motions for us to follow, my team, the guard and oddly the abyssians doing so.
After a minute we arrived at what looked like a meeting room, with a large round desk with several chairs around it, several maps and other items strewn about on the table. All of us took our seats and the mayor cleared his throat.
“Well, now that everyone is here, we can begin to review of what we know, and plan accordingly.” He states professionally. We all nod and Solar Sin stands.
“As it stands, we had very limit information about the cult that has taken residents nearby, but this morning attack has shed at least a little light on the situation.” He took out several old scrolls. “The cult in question is the ‘Order of the Celestial Light’ as they call themselves, but they are better known by a name given to them by Celestia herself. The Cult Solar.”
That immediately got my attention. I had read about this cult before in my search for my past. They were a madly fanatical group that believed that Princess Celestia was the sole and only true ruler of Equestria, believing she is a goddess in all senses of the word. They worshiped her in everything yet refused to listen to her when she tried to discredit several of their ramblings over a thousand years ago.
They were considered one of the biggest and most prevalent reasons for Luna’s decent into Nightmare Moon, as they sought to give their ‘great and all powerful saviour’ an adversary. And what better pick than the princess of the night herself.
Once Luna was sealed away, Celestia began an underground crusade to destroy the Cult Solar, confiscating their ancient texts and artifacts, publicly discrediting and even demonizing them for their hand in turning Luna into Nightmare Moon. Unfortunately she could only do so much, and supposedly pockets of the cult were still sprinkled around the continent in the smallest of settlements, even to this day. But....
“The Cult Solar? I thought they were eradicated centuries ago? Are you sure that’s who took my papa?” The kitten asks, earning a sad nod from the unicorn.
“Unfortunately yes. Their attack this morning proved it, as more than a few of the cultist bore the symbol of the Cult Solar. But what I want to know is why attack? Why foalnap mister Marigold? They seemed to do it for shits and giggles from what I can tell.” Saint questions. The mother abyssian shakes her head.
“Unfortunately, they didn’t attack without gaining something.” We turned our attention to the large feline. “When they were retreating after the attack, I noticed there was somepony with them, but not going willingly. A foal. I couldn’t get a good look at them because it was so dark, but I think they were a pegasus. They were silent, but I could clearly see them being picked up and hauled off like a sack of potato’s by one of the ponies.”
Immediately, Sin and Saint stood in anger.
“THEY FOALNAPPED DAWN?!” The duo yell in unison, earning confusion from all of us.
“Who’s Dawn?” Flora question. The duo flinch and look to one another in worry.
“Hey, if you know who that is, tell us. That way we know not to attack them when we go after them.” Nate bluntly states. Sin and Saint sigh and sit down, the former beginning to speak.
“His name is Dawn Lightwing. He’s a pegasus colt that wandered into town a couple days ago. He’s about twelve or thirteen, I am not sure, with a black coat, silver mane and turquoise eyes with slit pupils. He looked half starved when I found him, despite being in great shape for somepony his age. But when I tried to get close to him, he disappeared.” His sister spoke up.
“Over the next couple days we would see him popping up and around the town, sometimes grabbing things like apples and the like that he could eat, before disappearing again. It took a long while, but we managed to coax him out of hiding with some food and ‘talked’. But that is being generous. All he told us was his name and when I asked why he was running all he said way ‘ponies don’t like my eyes’, before vanishing again.”
My team and I looked to one another in confusion. Why would someone be freaked out by a colt? If anything he sounded like a lonely kid, not some kind of bloodthirsty monster or demon or whatever. Then something I read popped into my mind.
“Wait. Did you said he had slit pupils? Like a snake?” I question earning a nod from the duo. I frown as I realized something. “The Eyes of Nightmare.” Everyone turns to me in question. “It’s something from the Cult Solars old texts. Supposedly those with the Eyes of Nightmare are supposed to be demons or evil spirits in the servitude of Nightmare Moon possessing the bodies of stillborn foals. To the majority of others, they would grow and act like a normal pony, but when ‘their duty was called for’ their eyes would turn reptilian and they would carry out Nightmare’s wicked word.”
“Uh, how do you know this Trace?” Flora questions.
“I read it in the library when I was studying.” My friends immediately knew what I meant by that, while the others were confused and a little worried.
“And, is their any credibility to these claims?” Aspen questions with a hint of anger.
“Nope!” I state, popping the ‘P’. “All of it was fanatical superstition from a bunch of mad cultists with little to no real info. I mean, in the same passage I read, it stated that one should kill any who were even slightly suspected to have the Eyes, without any real info to back it up.”
“Despicable!” Gilded states, slamming his hand on the table. Then he froze up. “But, if that was the case, then why did they foalnap young Dawn and not kill him?”
That immediately put us all on high alert. That was a good question, why foalnap, as opposed to kill? I frown and take a breath.
“I am not sure, but what I do know is we need to get him and Miss Marigolds husband out of their clutch’s before something happens to them.” I look over the papers, seeing an old map for the castle.
“That map shouldn't be relayed heavily on. It was made and persevered from when the temple was first constructed centuries ago. And who know what potential modification those damned monsters have done, as well as structural damage and the like.” Sin states, but I still look it over with a critical eye, memorizing the layout.
“So, how do we do this?” Aspen questions, earning our attention.
“Hold on ‘we’? Miss Aspen, I don’t think you should-” Zen was cut off by the feline slamming her hand on the table, nearly cracking it.
“My husband is in that temple, and I’ll be damned before I leave him behind.” She states seriously, shaking all of us except her daughter, who was pouting and nodding. Gods that was cute.
“Ahem, but, what about your daughter?” Flora manages to question.
“She’ll be safe here in town. We have known Aspen for several years, so they town is more than willing to look over little Madness.” Gilded states, confusing us for a moment.
“Madness?” Nate questions.
“Yup!” We jump as the feline is suddenly behind us with a wide grin. “Maddie ‘Madness’ Marigold at your service! Hey, I wanna know, how do you become a member of Fairy Tail?!”
We all look to one another for a moment before glancing the teenagers mother, who is shaking her head in amusement. “Like I said, big fan of your guild.”
It took a bit, but we recovered and began to get a plan together. We didn’t know how long we had before things went to hell, so we decided it would be best to start as soon as possible. We put together everything the town knew, all that I read about the cult in my own time, and all our abilities and made a plan, now we just needed to make it work.
Two Hours Later
Temple of Nightmare
3rd person POV
Walking up to the temple gate, Trace and Sin were careful in their approach. The duo were outfitted into a couple of robes from two of the cultist that were killed during the morning attack. Since they saw a majority of the cultist using magic, it was assumed most of them were unicorns, which made Trace and Sin the go-to for getting in first.
“Are you sure this is going to work?” Sin question as they near the temple.
“Not one bit. But if we’re lucky these guys are either dumb, or racist and believe unicorns are the best.” Trace responds, before stopping, Sin stopping with him. After a moment, the large gates before the temple slowly opened, a small crowd of similarly robbed ponies flooding out. As expected, all of them were unicorns, not a single pegasus or earth pony to be seen.
Slowly, another pony exited the building, this one being a brick red unicorn with a grey buzz cut mane wearing a more heavily detailed robe. He looked over Trace and Sin with a critical eye, making the duo inwardly uncomfortable.
“Follow my lead.” Trace states quietly, walking forwards a few steps before going to a knee in a bow, Sin following a moment later. The supposed leader grinned and nodded seeing the duo were new members of their brotherhood.
“Hello my brothers. I was wondering when we would be getting new members. I was beginning to worry we would need to spread out to open the eyes of others.” The stallion states with an eerie smile.
“Hello brother. It is nice to meet you. I was fearful that there were none who had their eyes opened to the truth about that false Alicorn.” Trace states with a relieved smile, while internally screaming that he had to diss Luna like that. “Once we heard of your movement this far out, my soul was filled with relief that we could find a home.”
“Well you are just in time brother. We had captured several of the Dark witches servants, and were about to purify them. Come, come. You should aid! You will love this.” The clearly deranged stallion states in an excited tone, motion for the duo to follow. Trace and Sin do so, giving the briefest of glances around the area.
While the duo had the cults attention, Flora and Saint were high in the air, far above the cloud layer and out of sight from the unicorns below. The hen took out her communication card and focused her magic while the batpony stayed on lookout.
‘Alright, Sin and Trace are in. How are you three doing down there?’ She questions.
Meanwhile, a dozen feet below the ground, a duo of diamond dogs and an abyssian were slowly making their way underground, Nate using his magic to crush up the ground and stone into sand to make a tunnel and storing said sand into a large container on his back. While his magic can just make sand, using pre-existing sand uses less magic.
‘We’re about thirty feet out from the castles lower levels. Make sure your coltfriend keeps posted on their position.’ Zen responds with a smirk.
‘He’s not my coltfriend!’ Zen can feel Flora’s blush from his position as she telepathically yelled that.
“Are you sure this is the best method of attack? We won’t know where we will be entering the castle.” Aspen states, more than a little worried and mildly uncomfortable in the tunnel.
“We’ll be fine. Trace may be a little absentminded at times, but he won’t let us down. Plus he is more than powerful enough to handle himself should the situation call for it.” Nate states, before stopping, his magic stopping as well as all the sand retreats into his container. “Four feet.”
Zen and Aspen nod and go near the end of their tunnel and wait. Now, they just had to wait for the signal from Sin and Trace before they attack.
Inside of the temple, Trace and Sin were being lead through the confusing corridors, down several levels, into the bowels of the castle. While they were silently going through the castle, Sin was mentally taking note of all the members in the castle, so far tracking at least two dozen. All unicorns, only about five mares, the rest were stallions.
Trace was mentally tracking where they were walking, having memorized the old map beforehand, and so far saw they were going in two circles before going down, thus far following the castles pre-set hallways, but once they reached the lower level, his saw some makeshift hallways and tunnels leading in different directions.
“Excuse me brother? How long have all of you been here for? These tunnel’s don’t look very old.” Trace questions in a very curious tone.
“Well my young brother, our people have actually been taking refuge in this old temple for several years. However, you are correct in that the tunnels are a newer addition. You see, the leader before my leader was looking are the forest nearby in search of some wild berries, when he stumbled across an opening in the ground. He followed it, and found a large cavern beneath the temple. He believed that it could be used as a base and escape route should those heathen fools that follow the Nightmare try and attack us for our righteous cause.”
Outwardly Trace nod in understanding, while telling his friends what he was just told. Flora and Saint quickly fly around the area, and after a minute find the opening. Getting close, Flora begins to cover herself and her ally in a bubble of air. The air ripples around them before fading somewhat. To Saint, it looked like nothing happened, but to the outside viewer, they would see nothing but air. The spell caused the composition of air around them to shift, effectively making an invisibility sphere.
‘We found the entrance and are hidden. Anypony that runs out will be dealt with by Saint, and I’ll provide support from here.’ Flora informs, earning confirmation from her friends. She then finds a branch on a nearby tree, and perches, just waiting for the signal.
Trace and Sin make it near the entrance to the cavern, but pass by what looks like some prison cells. As they are walking by, Sin looks through each cell, searching for the foalnapped Pegasus and Abyssian. While he couldn’t find those two, he was able to spot someone in one of the cells.
A dragoness. She had dulled black scales with gold spines and horns curled forwards. She looked to be unconscious, with her arms shackled to the wall behind her. He couldn’t get all that great a look as he kept up with Trace and their ‘guide’.
Trace meanwhile, perks up as he can faintly hear something that turned his blood to ice.
Screams.
Screams of pain.
“Brother? Who is screaming?” Trace calmly asks his guide, internally wondering how far a unicorn’s neck can twist before death.
“Oh, that would be one of our captured heathens. The fool. Only those born with of the superior race should have that much magic.” The stallion see’s Trace’s confused expression. “A while ago, some of our brothers captured a male Abyssian, one that has far more magic energy in his body than should be allowed. Only unicorns or our glorious goddess should have that much power. We’ve been showing him his place and using a rare spell to take back all that magic that he stole.”
Trace and Sin nodded, the former having to mentally stop himself from using his magic to twist his guides clothes into a makeshift noose while the latter’s hand was shaking an inch from his hidden daggers under the cloak. They both took quiet deep breaths and Trace put on a curious expression.
“Brother? When we were wandering through the town earlier, we had heard you had captured some pegasus colt. I must ask, is he...one of the Nightmares?” Trace questions in a practiced fearful tone. Their guide nods and puts a reassuring hand on Traces shoulder.
“Indeed they are brother. But do not be fearful. After we are done with that heretic feline, that demon is next.”
Sin almost lost it when he heard that, and was only stopped when they entered what looked like a makeshift, bootlegged version of the main hall in Canterlot Castle. There were banners of Celestia and the cult and a few other decorations, but other than that, it was kinda barren.
At least, aside from the dozen and a half unicorns, four of which were using their magic to levitate a certain Abyssian onto some kind of alter next to a glowing brown orb.
The feline looked half dead already, his brown fur and hair that should have been the same shade as Maddie, was a paling brown like desert dirt with off white ends. He was significantly smaller than they expected, maybe half a foot taller than his daughter, with a now frail frame that looked like all his muscle mass had been drained out of him.
Trace took a moment to look around, using a spell he learned from Lex to connect his sight to the telepathy cards his friends had with them. His eyes seemed to gain a gold circle around his pupils, only visible if you looked closely. He smirked as he saw Nate and Zen’s positions. They were actually next to the room they were in, a few feet above the floor in the eastern wall.
“Hmph. Only one more use of the spell and we should have all the magic stored into that crystal.” Their guide states with a sadistic smile before he turned to two of the cultists. “Bring the Nightmare and the dragoness. They’re next.”
Sin was about to move, before he felt Trace’s hand on his shoulder. The blue maned unicorn subtly shook his head and and motioned to the wall where the others were hiding.
“Wait till Dawn and the dragoness gets here.” He whispered. Sin begrudgingly nods and the duo take up position on the opposite end of the hall from where Zen, Nate and Aspen are and wait. They didn’t need to do so for long before a group of unicorns walked in, dragging the unconscious dragon as well as the colt in question.
Like described earlier, the colt looked to be in his double digits, barely, with a pitch black coat and silver mane and tail. His fur and mane were ruffled, messy and clearly not taken care of, but Trace was able to see a pair of very well taken care of and strong wings on the colts back. Actually, as Trace tracked Dawn, he could see that the young pony was very well built for his age, despite clearly not having eaten in a while.
Once the duo were thrown to the foot of the alter, the dragoness yelping his pain as she landed on her wing, the unicorns before and light their horns.
“Now brothers, sister, we shall take back that which was stolen from us. The magic coursing through these miserable creatures are not theirs to begin with, and thus, shall now be returned to us. And soon, we will gain enough magic to aid our glorious goddess and destroy that false Alicorn, once and for all!”
Sin looks to Trace with a glare, and nods as Trace takes out his card.
‘Now!’
Zen nods and gathers his magic into his palms, before getting a short running start and slamming his palm on the wall separating the trio from the room. The wall suddenly explodes outwards, shocking and disorienting the unicorns. Taking this opportunity, Trace and Sin remove their robes, and rush forwards.
“What!?”
The cultists all turned to the charging unicorns, ignoring the hole in the wall and left themselves open as Zen, Nate and Aspen jumped out, Aspen and Zen going on the offensive with melee while Nate rushed over to the downed pegasus and dragon.
“No, who are you?!” The leader demands lighting his horn and blasting it towards Trace. The unicorn kept running forwards, the cultist thinking he was insane, before being silenced as his beam of magic suddenly twisted around him and stuck a cultist behind him.
“Who are we? We’re the wizards that are going to smash your faces in!” Zen roars as he struck another unicorn in the snout, feeling it crack beneath his paw.
“We’re from Fairy Tail!” Trace waves his hands, two cultist robes suddenly twisting around themselves and trapping them. With another wave of his hand, he focused on the small group coming in behind him.
“Spiral Pain!” The air around the group behind him visibly twisted into a odd cyclone, sending the group into the air and shredding their robes and fur.
With Nate, he used his Sandstorm to create three protective sand cocoons around the dragon, pegasus and abyssian, hoping to keep them safe before turning his attention to a quartet of unicorns aiming their horns at the canine. Nate raised his arm as the group fired.
“Sand Wall!” Out of his container a large amount of sand formed a rectangular wall infront of him, blocking the magic blasts and shocking the unicorns. Nate smirked and gathered the sand into his hand. “Sand Rebellion!” The sand surrounded the group before rushing towards them into a colliding explosion. The four unicorns were left unconscious on the ground as Nate retracted his sand to him.
Zen and Aspen stood back-to-back as they were surrounded by a small group of unicorns, but despite this, the duo had confident grins on their faces. As two of the unicorns fired their magic at the duo, Zen intercepted them, waving his palm in a circular motion and deflecting the blasts. Once they were clear, Aspen rushed forward at a surprising speed for one her size, and proceeded to beat the unicorns into submission with nothing but her bare paws. Zen took a moment to gawk and feel respect towards Aspen’s husband before following her example and beating his own opponents, deflecting their magic bolts with his palms.
The leader growled lowly as he saw his bothers and sisters being so utterly decimated by a bunch of insignificant flies. He had heard of this ‘Fairy Tail’, but thought them to be nothing more than a bunch of heretical flies that were seeking to undermine his goddess control. He scanned over the area, looking for some way to win, before his view landed on the orb of extracted magic energy. He smirked to himself as he slowly made his way over to orb, avoiding the battle taking place near him.
Trace waved his arms, binding another cultist with their own robes before turning to the cocoons of sand. Taking his telepathy card out, he contacted Flora.
‘Flora, can you two get down here and grab these hostages?’ The unicorn questions, reflecting another bolt of magic around himself.
Outside, the batpony and griffon just finished knocking out and tying up a third retreating cultist when Flora heard her friend.
‘Copy that, we’re on our way.’ With a quick motion to the cave below, both airborn creatures rushed downwards, knocking out another cultist on the way.
“Sand Slash!” Nate sent his attack towards a damaged pillar nearby, causing it to fall and for the unicorns to scatter out of the way, leaving themselves open for Zen and Aspen to rush in and take them out while off balance, then be bound by Trace.
Looking around, there’s a little over two dozen bound or unconscious unicorns on the ground, the small group catching their breath for a moment. Nate smiles and released the Sand Cocoon from the trio behind him, the dragoness immediately perking up and looking around in confusion.
“What where who huh?” She quickly mutters before noticing the scene before her. While she was trying to comprehend what was going on, Aspen rushed past her to her unconscious husband.
“Era!” She quickly checks over his injuries, growling as she sees the full extent of his damage. Meanwhile, Flora and Saint fly in, the latter and her brother rushing over to the unconscious pegasus.
“Dawn! Are you ok!?”
“C’mon kid wake up!”
Immediately, the black furred pegasus eyes snap open and he blurs, reappearing at the end of the hall and looking around in a deadpan caution.
“Oi, you shouldn’t move around like that kid.” The colt turns to Zen and regards his with silent suspect before noticing all the bound unicorns around him.
“What happened here?” He asks, his voice barely above a whispers with a scratch to it from lack of use.
“Well we came to save you guys of course!” Flora cheers, flying in the spacious room. Dawn regards her with the same expression on his face. He turns to the guard duo.
“Who are these people? And why are they helping us?” He questions. Trace waves them off as they are about to answer before stepping forwards. He can see Dawn tense and shift his stance, clearly ready for a fight, so he stops a respectable distance away.
“Dawn. My name is Trace. I know you do not trust us right now, honestly I can’t blame you, but we are here to help. We, the diamond dogs, griffon and myself, are members of the Fairy Tail wizards guild and were hired to help take down this cult. Rescuing you was just a bonus objective.”
Dawn tilts his head, looking at the unicorns with a small, almost unnoticeable glint of curiosity in his eyes. They remained like that for a moment, the colt looking over everyone, before turning back to them.
“Are you not afraid?” Everyone is confused by that, silently asking for an elaboration. “You are maintaining eye contact with me, all of you were, yet none of you have so much as flinched. Why?”
“Oh, you must be talking about how you have slit pupils.” Nate mutters, Dawn slowly nodding.
“Well, to be honest, while they are a little odd on a pony, Fairy Tail has a couple of dragons, changlings, abyssians, really almost all the races as members. So seeing someone with slit pupils isn’t that surprising. Actually I think they look really cool.” Flora states, Dawn showing emotion for the first time as his eyes widen a fraction before returning to how he was before.
“I see.” Was all he said. ‘Fairy Tail...’
Aspen grabs her husband and holds him bridle style in her arms, the dragoness walking over alongside her looking intrigued.
“I think it is time we left.” Sin states, levitating all the cultists with his magic, earning a nod from everyone.
“One sec, I want to grab that orb before we-” Trace stopped as he looked to the alter. He froze, before his already white fur paled further.
“THE ORB IS GONE!!!” He screams, startling everyone who noticed that he was right.
“Wait, where’s Brick Head?” the dragoness questions, earning confused glances from the others. “The leader.”
Everyone looked around quickly before Nate and Zen’s ears perked up and they turned to the hallway.
“He’s running!” Zen and his brother rushed out ahead of the others, Flora close behind before Trace stopped the rest.
“The rest of you get out of here. We can handle this bastard. Get to town, and prepare yourselves just incase things go south.” The unicorns commands before running ahead to meet up with his friends. The remaining creatures pause for a moment before the guard duo nod to one another.
“Let’s go. Those wizards can handle the leader. Let’s just get these dopes to some cells and Mr.Marigold to the hospital.” Sin states, levitating all the cultist while the others nod. The group make their way out through the tunnel Nate made, leaving the wizards to deal with the cult leader.
*****
A pair of hooves made loud clops against the stone of the temple floor as one Brick Head was running down the halls of the forgotten temple, a glowing brown orb of crystallized magic clutched firmly in his hands. His distain and angered scowl seemed permanently stuck to his face as he rushed through the tunnels, thanking his goddess that he memorized the layout. Only a few more corridors.
He made it to the entrance hall, only two dozen feet from the entrance, when he felt something wrap around his ankle and trip him, losing grip on the orb as it rolled away. With a growl he checked what was holding him and saw a lasso of sand wrapped around his limb.
Glancing up, he growled louder as he saw the Quartz brothers along with Flora closing in. Lighting his horn, he blasted the sand off his leg and scrambled to his hooves as Flora tried to blast him with a burst of air. He clumsily flipped up to his hooves as Trace joined his team in facing the cultist.
“Give up Brick Head. You’re outnumbered and outgunned. Each of our unique magical abilities are more than enough to beat you, so come quietly as we won’t hurt you....much.” Trace states, keeping a close eye on their opponent.
Brick looked back and forth between the wizards before him, trying to think of a plan, before his eyes landed on the orb he brought with him. He grinned and rushed to the orb, clutching it in hand as the others prepare themselves for a fight. Flora thrust her hand forwards and caused the air next to the unicorn to become distorted. She closed her talons to make it burst, only for Brick to put the orb into the air and cause it to go back to normal, the spell being drained into the orb. He smirked and began to laugh.
“Hahaha, fools, with this orb I can just absorb all your heretical magic! Then, maybe I’ll go to your foolish guildhall to train their magic. I wonder how many mares there are?” He questions with a lecherous grin.
Flora’s wings bristled at the thought, but before they could do anything, a black and purple beam went past her and towards Brick. He raised the orb fast enough to catch the beam of magic but it still caused him to slide back a few feet as his hooves dug into the cobblestone floor.
The group looked behind them, and paled slightly as Trace walked forwards, his horn covered in black and purple dark magic as his eyes shifted from their calm sky blue, to a menacing blood red. His face though, made them pause.
Trace wasn’t mad, oh no, he wasn’t mad.
Legacy Tracer was bucking LIVID.
“What did you say?” His startlingly stern tone sent shivers down the backs of everyone present, his friends taking half a step back as he walked towards the other unicorn. Said pony was quivering in his robes, but still managed to give a weak snarl.
“You know, I am normally a very calm and collected pony.” Trace states, never losing the enraged expression on his face as he spoke. “Very little makes me made. Mostly because I am surrounded by such great friends. My guild is a place where a simple amnesiac like myself can fit in perfectly. My guildmates are more than my friends. They are my family. So I ask again.”
He disappeared and reappeared barely a centimetre from the other unicorns face, startling everyone, especially Brick.
“What. The FUCK! Did you just say?”
Brick didn’t get a change to respond as Trace lit up his horn and blasted the unicorns square in the chest and through the wall outside. Trace followed after him a second later, his friends frozen in shock before Flora shook her head and took flight after them, followed by the brothers.
They all arrived and watched as Trace slowly, mockingly, walked towards the now panicking cultist. Brick launched multiple powerful beams of magic and even threw some rocks, but every one was reflected around Trace, who made no indication he even noticed.
“I am going to tell you this only once, since it is the last thing you will be hearing from me. No one, not unicorns, pegasus, earth pony, griffon, changeling or even Alicorn. None, WILL HARM MY FAMILY!”
The air around everyone became heavy as the sun was blocked by wild clouds, a dark aura covering Trace from horn to hoof. They suddenly hear the cracking and twisting of bones as Trace hunches over, before his muscles and skin begin to bulge and tear.
“What in Celestia’s name!?” Brick was forced against a tree as Trace grows, his teeth become fangs too large for his mouth to contain, and his horn splits into a trident shape. He soon begins to tower over the unicorn as his hands become talons that look sharp enough to cut atoms, his red eyes become more demonic as he growls down to the frozen unicorn.
Brick can do nothing but stare in complete and utter terror, his grip on his orb faltering as it rolls to Trace’s taloned feet. He grabs the orb with his clawed hand and growls before adding pressure, shattering the orb into nothing but dust. The magic released went everywhere, but trace payed it no mind as he stomped to the cowering unicorn.
”Prepare to die, you miserable insect.”
Trace pulled his arm back, claws pointed at his opponent and trust his claws too fast for Brick to move, being impaled through the stomach. He remained in shocked silence as he felt his insides being stabbed and his magic somehow being drained from his body, before the overload of pain reached his brain and he passed.
Trace’s team were all shaking in fear at Trace’s merciless attack and his nightmarish transformation. They briefly wondered where Trace learned such a terrifying spell, before they blinked. The trio blinked again as they saw the area around Trace and Brick wobble, seeming to become like clear jelly, and Flora noticed the sky above them. Trace smirked to himself as the sun broke through the clouds.
Flora, Zen and Nate all dropped their jaws as they saw the area around Trace suddenly crack, then shatter like glass, revealing a normal Legacy Tracer, with the orb of drained magic in hand, said orb being pushed into Brick Head’s stomach.
With a small chuckle, Trace pulled back his hand that was holding the orb at the cultist stomach, allowing said unicorn to fall to the ground unconscious from magical exhaustion. He tossed the orb into the air a few times before putting the orb into one of his travel pockets. He turned to his friends, and noticed their expressions.
“What?”
Trace was suddenly snout to beak with Flora, a wild and slightly terrified look in her eyes. “What the pluck was that!?” Trace took a second to recompose himself and pushed Flora back a bit.
“That was one of my illusion spells that came with my Reflector magic. Phantom Fear. But, that was all it was, an illusion. I can’t really turn into some kind of monster, but if I can alter ones perception, then I may as well be able too.” Trace explained. The trio looked to him in shock at how nonchalant he was, before Flora began to giggle. That giggle spread to Nate, then Zen, and before they knew it the wizards were all on the ground laughing their heads off.
Once they all managed to get their laughter under control, Trace tied up Brick in his own robes and Zen tossed him over his shoulder. The wizards then made their way back to the village, a strong sense of accomplishment in their hearts, and more than a little bit of fear now directed to their leader.
Two Days Later....
Trace POV
I stretched my slightly sore muscles as my team and I made our way to the train station. After we made it to town and dealt with some paperwork about bringing the cultists in to the guard station, we got payed both with bits as well as a party the like of which would make Pinkie Pie proud. I also lost count on how many drinks Zen and I had.
I also had a momentary shock as I woke up yesterday with Flora in my bed with me, but for some reason, I couldn’t really claim to dislike it. But I still left before she could potentially scratch me to death.
After that we started to help out around town for another day while waiting for Aspen’s husband to regain consciousness. With Nate and Flora using their magic to lift heavier equipment and supplies while Zen used his magic to work as a living hammer, we managed to repair a couple of the houses that were destroyed by the cultists.
I kept my eyes out and saw that Dawn was actually watching us as we were helping out, though he mostly remained out of sight of anyone beside me and Zen. I just kept my distance and pretended not to notice him. It would be best if he were to approach us first.
Flora had also been talking to the dragon we rescued. Her name is Reni, and she was visiting the town from the dragon lands as she was apparently one of the nicer dragons like Spike since she was raised here. She is pretty timid at first despite being 20, but considering we all have dealt with Fluttershy at some point, we knew how to act around her.
I wonder how Spike and his team are doing, considering we left the guild a day after they left. Either way, Reni decided to come and inspect Fairy Tail to see if maybe she could join as well. It would be cool, since we only have one dragon member right now.
After helping to repair a couple buildings, and another party to celebrate as the cultists were taken away, my team and I, along with out new addition of Reni, made our way to the train station to go back to the guild for. After this, I think some of us could use some RNR and I could use the time to study more on illusion magic. Maybe Trixie can give me some pointers.
Eventually the five of us make it to the train depot, ten minutes early, and relax and wait. Flora and Reni were sitting on the roof, the former telling the latter what the guild is like, while Zen and Nate are checking their luggage again to make sure we aren’t missing anything.
I shake my head slightly and feel along my pocket, feeling the orb I took from Brick head in one of them. I decided to bring it back to the guild hall so Lex can take a look at it and maybe find a way to either destroy it, or make it complexity useless. Either or, it doesn’t really matter to me.
“HEEEYYY!” The five of us perk up and look back to the town to see a certain duo of felines rushing over to us. Maddie had a large rucksack on her back while her mother had some kind of satchel around her waist. The five of us group up with them as they run over to us, the younger one sporting an excited smile, while her mother had a small grin.
“Uh, hey Maddie, Aspen, what are you two doing here?” Flora questions, hovering in the air.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Aspen responds, confusing us slightly. “We’re coming with you to join Fairy Tail.”
That caught us off guard, and confused us. “But, what about-” Nate starts only for Maddie to pop in.
“Papa woke up earlier today and said that we should come with you guys after we told him what happened! He said he was fine here in town.” She said. That....didn’t really help out. Her mother walked up with a small shake of the head and a smile.
“Era knew how much my daughter wanted to visit Fairy Tail during our travels, we are just a family of nomads basically, so he figured her going to the guild would be good for her since we never really stayed in one place for too long. My husband said once he recovered he would be wandering around again, and I didn’t want Maddie to be bored as she normally is. Plus, I myself am very curious about your guild now after seeing what you four can do. And I am not the only one.”
We were confused by that last part, but Aspen just smirked and pointed behind us. Turning, Flora and Nate jumped slightly, as in the shadow of the station, we saw a certain pair of turquoise eyes looking at us neutrally.
“Dawn?” I question, the colt in question stepping into the light, but still maintaining that same blank expression. He looked over all of us before leaning against the building, waiting for the train in silence. The others look to me, but I just shrug. It’s not like I would be opposed to him coming to Fairy Tail, the opposite actually. I think it would do him some good since he would find a place to belong, as well as interact with others that don’t give a damn about his appearance.
I just nod to everyone and the others get their gear as the train finally arrived. I can see that Dawn has a little trepidation, likely having never actually ridden a train before, so I just pat his head, the colt freezing up and clearly stopping himself from vanishing. I just smile and motion to follow, and he actually listens. I smile as we all took our seat, and took a glance at our new additions.
Looks like I just got some more family.