“What’s going on?” I asked as I joined them.
Twilight smiled, “Oh, I’m just asking Starlight Glimmer if she would show us the cave where they keep their old Cutie Marks.”
I looked between them and then nodded, “I see. Can we?”
Starlight Glimmer smiled and happily nodded, “Of course! Please, if you will all follow me?”
Said the giant spider to the pony. Hopefully not literally.
“Sure,” I agreed with a smile. “Excuse me for a second?”
Pulling back, I walked off and as soon as I was out of sight, I looked to the side. “Amber.”
There was a small pause before I heard a voice behind me, “Sir?”
“I need you to take a message to Canterlot and your Princess,” I said as I turned to my changeling guard, raising my hoof to stop her protests. “I know your orders, but this might actually put your hive at risk. Keeping Princess Skitter safe overrules everything, including her orders to keep me protected, right?”
Amber really didn’t look happy about this at all, but she finally nodded after a pause, “…Yes sir.”
“Good. Now, I want you to alert the Guard garrison in Las Pegasus and tell them to get here and secure the area. Then I need you to continue to Canterlot and tell Skitter and the other Princesses that they need to mobilize the rest of the Guard just to be safe. Something really fucking freaky is going on here involving the removal of ponies' cutie marks. I want Princess Celestia to come down on this place like a fucking solar flare before it can spread. Under no circumstances are any of the Royal Sisters to get within ten leagues of this place.”
Whatever happened here, it removed ponies' special talents. If that happened to Luna… or even worse for Equestria, Celestia…
It could end the world.
Amber nodded, “Yes sir. Anything else?”
I shook my head, “Go and go fast.”
The changeling hesitated for a second, “Be careful, sir.”
Smiling, I nodded and she took to the air, flying off towards the horizon before I turned and walked off, returning to the other side of the building to rejoin the group.
XXXXXXXX
“Just through here!” Starlight Glimmer exclaimed and paused by a cave entrance, waving her hoof before walking inside.
Letting Twilight take the lead, I shared a look with Sunset. Whatever it was that did this, it was in there most likely. If it was there all this time or if it was Starlight Glimmer that did it was yet to be seen.
I slowly moved into the dark cavern with the rest. Yeah, this wasn’t ominous at all.
“Behold! The Cutie Vault!” Starlight exclaimed and stopped, gesturing forward. At the end of the cave was a massive matrix of shelves behind glass. Each compartment seemed to have a floating hologram of a cutie mark in it, glowing and lighting up the cavern.
Before it a wooden staff was sitting on a low pedestal, balanced on its lower end.
Twilight gasped softly, “I have never seen anything like it.”
“And this, is the Staff of Sameness,” Starlight Glimmer said as she walked up to it, picking it up in her magic. “It was one of the great Metal Brook's nine enchanted items. We are incredibly fortunate to have it here. This is the tool that allows us to free ourselves from our marks!” she said before she smiled at us. “I’m curiouAHHH!”
She finished in a scream as splinters and pieces of wood rained down all over her. We all turned to look at Sunset who shrugged as light faded from her horn, “What? If you gonna cast, cast, don’t talk.”
I just laughed and nodded, “Good girl!” before I turned towards Starlight.
“How… you… how DARE you!?” she screamed. “Stop them! Stop them!”
And just like that, the villagers rushed in from all sides, through hidden pathways. We were surrounded.
Shit, shit, shit!
If they were the villagers and just under some sort of mind control…
Twilight flashed away in a burst of teleportation, reappearing in the air, her wings spread to get a clear line of fire. Starlight lit up her horn and shot a beam at the alicorn.
As I watched, unable to stop it, Twilight’s horn lit up in a spell glow, but it was too late and the beam hit her in the chest.
“Twilight!”
I wasn’t sure which of the girls it was that screamed as Twilight’s mark ripped from her flank and floated away through the air before the alicorn dropped to the ground.
“Luckily, I no longer need the staff,” Starlight said as the mark floated over to her. “Now, hold them! They will all learn the greatness of sameness!”
“Sunset, pincher! It wasn’t the McGuffin!” I commanded her and didn’t wait for a response. Instead I ran to the right, slamming the stallion in my way off his hooves with a blast of energy before ducking beneath a beam of energy from Starlight.
Unknown spell, dodge, don’t shield.
Throwing myself to the side, I managed to just about avoid another beam before I hit the ground hard as something slammed into me from the side before I could retaliate.
“Get off!” I yelled and bucked the earth pony in the face only to catch the greenish beam from Starlight in the side.
The last thing I saw before everything faded to black was Sunset sending the pink unicorn rolling across the cavern with a yellow spell.
i never thought to what could happen if starlight remove luna's or celestia's cutie mark
Welp. Walked right into that one.
While dramatic and well written, I call hax on Starlight being able to take down Page like that. I mean, unlike Twilight he's actually got combat training... Gah. Part of me can see why it might still have happened, but that doesn't mean I like it! *shakes a hoof angrily in the air* There had better be some Unveiled Alicorn Status coming from this...
Well that escalated quickly.
Given that he keeps using his bodyguards as messengers, he obviously needs a dedicated messenger or two to prevent conflicts of interest as well as another three or four bodyguards just on general principle. I'm surprised that he hasn't been slapped with a group yet. It's not like Skitter or the Sisters are lacking for manpower for this sort of thing. He also has no legs to stand on on the issue.
Damnit, cliffhanger.
F&@$ Yeah Sunset!!!
7954829 I'd say the solar System would fade into anarchaos
Sunset is going to end up getting blasted with the full force of all the cutie marks breaking free, and pull a Page, isn't she?
One of the all time greatest movie quotes ever from Sunset.
It's good that Page has someone who can connect with him over human stuff. Even Luna can't provide that.
Yay, more chrono disruptions
G'dammit, Hiver! Stop with the exciting stuff in such tiny chapters! It was just long enough to get worked up and then it's like orgasm denial!
And here the part of the story where Page loses his secret...
Pure Genius right there! What if the spell USES the shield to attack?
7954981 yep
7954981
At least this way he can get chapters out faster
7954910 that would be awesome.
Grats of being featured again.
Hopefully a new chapter comes out tomorrow. Quite a cliffhanger we got here.
7954910
got my thumbs up
Now, will the Royal Guards find 8 ponies in need of rescue, or one unicorn in need of a lot of medical care?
I very much hope the latter.
Huh, I didn't see the horde of useless villagers stepping into the fray. Still, even with the ambush and the help it looks like Starlight went down like the little bitch she is, and I seriously doubt Sunset is going to leave anything to chance after Starlight nailed both Twilight and Page. I expect crippling injuries on the basis that Starlight is no threat if she can't move under her own power or cast magic, and while death isn't out of the question as the ultimate form of incapacitation, that's probably beyond what anyone but Page would be willing to dish out.
Fucking hell, Hiver, can't even give me a full 1k? Do I mean that little to you?
7955131 apparently so
Starlight is in one of deepest s**t, that you can imagine in Equestria. There are two options She will get beating from Sunset, then get charged for mindraping of innocents, usage of dangerous artifact and assault on royalities. Or she beat Sunset, will have a moment of glory, then see batalion of soldiers, who will beat crap out of her and charge her, adding that she damaged their batons with her head .
If she somehow escape, then she will be wanted criminal. Also there is no Crystal Map, so can't pull her reality and Canon breaking revenge.
Damm it, just as it got exciting again, these short chapters are such teasers.
7954977
Well that's one way to put it. Thumbs up for creative thoughts.
7954910
I like your thinking.
(proof reads then realises) WAIT A MINUTE! Your not implying what I think your implying. A Tirek accident sequel
7954840
HA Loved that Moive. Thumbs up.
7954981
Despite having the predication/worry of that happening, I still wonder what kind of reaction that's is going to have.
7955060 Agreed never liked starlight at all (not even as a villain)
7955044 Silly Flash, this is a Hiver story, of course it is!
7955256 Starlight is a bit of a Canon Mary-Sue.
She is not quite Mary-Sue, but she is definitely up there.
Personally, I don't have nearly as much problem with her as other people because I watch the show because I enjoy it, not because I want to pick it apart and/or claiming any waifu.
*looking at my Stalight-punched-in-the-face countdown clock*
Still not time yet...but hopefully soon! I'm waiting Hiver....
Ive always wanted to see that village suffer for what they did to the main 6
Well it's interesting to see that Sunset did an preemptive strike on Starlight Glimmer, I am sure she will be piss at her for a long while. Still I feel that the chapter was rushed with just immateriality going to the cave without trying to asses the situation or explain why the mane six wanted to go to the cave in the first place.
Let me ask this of everyone...If Page has lost his mark (or has been injured at all), how much trouble will Starlight be in with Luna?????
7955632 Probably Nightmare levels.
Why do you ask?
Nice chapter, good work.
Oh dear, that message. I bet that everything will be resolved in the end, but by the time they leave Our Town the entire Equestrian army will standing outside, lead by Luna and Celestia in full battle armor.
Luna: Page, I hope you have a good reason for asking us to mobilizing the entire army.
Page: Uh... Well...
7954829
That was my fear for the remainder of that season opener when Twi, an Alicorn, got zapped in that Ep. and stripped of her mark.
It did not go away for the remainder of that season when the twerp revealed she was capable of taking on Alicorns by herself without actually BEING one... -aaaand she escaped.
If I were the Royal Sisters, I would have a very fatal plan B ready should Twilight's stewardship/taming of Commisar Starlight fail...
7955632 Starlight will have to learn to sleep during the day. And for only minutes at a time. Oh and even if she reforms, it's doubtful that Luna will warn her of The Changeling Incursion in the most recent season.
Then again, changelings go good in this series, so she is SOL.
There's a reason I like this guy.
Oh boy... shit is gonna hit the fan. Badly!
7954841 You know, Page is a qualified War Mage. By royal decree Luna at least will DEMAND that he trains compatriots to be with him in duty, also as bodyguards. XD Skitter is going to quadruple the guard she has on him now though. -..-;
One interesting twist to this situation will be that unlik otl there will be an imede
7957173 ...what?
7956582 He actually has common fucking sense.
The name of the pony is actually Meadowbrook not Metal Brook. I know it sounds similar, but it is based on a G1 pony name.
7972531 I was just about to comment this. The author seems to have issues with names, especially Daring Do, which he will randomly decide is either Doo or Do depending on what chapter it is.
Moral of the story: communism never works.
Get read like a book Glim Glam. Sunset knows this game.
Unless Sunset smacked her down, I'll give Starlight this one due to numbers, but if she ends up going one on one against Page or Sunset like she did Twilight in canon, she should lose hard since unlike Twi, they have actual combat training.
7954829
i read one story where that made the sun go haywire, resulting in that lifeless wasteland that Twilight dragged Starlight into.
What's the point in getting your shit kicked in by The Big Blue for years if you're still can't throw a single knife?