Penumbra, Lux, Terra (Private)

The two guards standing in front of her door huffed a bit but didn't question it. The first one motioned to the other. "Go to the kitchen to get some tea," he said to his companion. "Then, alert the prince of the progress."

The guard nodded. He trotted over to the kitchen first to alert the staff that tea must be served in room so-and-so, after which one of the maids nodded and started to prepare the beverage. Then, the guard trotten on to the chamber where the Prince held his meeting.

He was still busy, apparently, and the guard lingered at the door, not wanting to interrupt the Prince.
"Well, Market," Shining Armor anwered him, "I can assure you that I have ordered my guards to be at their utmost attention. I also send some of my men, extra, to secure the streets and make sure none of the civilians are effected. There is an investigation on the way, though I haven't heard anything back from them yet."

At that moment, he noticed the guard and he nodded. The guard saluted.
"The weapons are ready, sir."

The prince nodded. "Good. Let them be brought to the armory on the ground floor."

The guard saluted. "Yessir." And with that, he turned around and marched off.

"I see. At least nothing so far to the town itself..." There was a relief in his mind as the Prince explained events so far, glad to know he was getting the Guard moving about orderly soon after the attacks.

Once the cue had come to move again, he was more than eager to get up and return the empty chair to where it was, standing at attention. "Does that mean we move out now?" He was probably too eager, but all signs still pointed to him having to go out and face the problem head on.

Seeing that a whole minute went by and her before ordered tea were nowhere to be found threw Umbra her hands up in the air and shook her head, her blue and white locks of hair waving freely in the air since she no longer needed to hide her face away. "A kettle of tea and a bit of sugar on the side is all that I ask in return for enchanting two dozens and then some weapons, and I have to go get it myself. Yes this is certainly a backwater place that were forgotten by time itself! There were manners and chivalry in my youth, things that clearly wasn't invented way back then, it would be no wonder if someone told me that they greeted newcommers to their lands with a dab on the head with a stone mallet before the rein of Sombra." Her muttering all that and much more as she went away with dragging tired steps to find somewhere, anywhere really, where she would be able to get some new sweet energy inside her body.

But while she was outraged and sour over the treatment she were given, did she still mind her manners, her speaking in her own tongue so none of the guards or other people she met in the castles halls would end up offended like she had been. She were sure that she were going in the right direction, at least now were she certain that she were sure after her last three meetings with dead ends, but as a heavenly smell waved past her nose, its slender enticing fingers hooked her by her nose and began to drag her towards its source left she her certain path to tea, her not being able to resist the call of this scent even if she had wished to fight against it.

After a right here, a left there, a second left and a jump out of a half closed window found she the source at last!

---

The guard would see the woman come over to him, her eyes being wide open and empty, but still staring with a creepy goosebumps inducing uncomfortable burning intensity at his hands, and in those his cup of guard break cocoa he had flirted out of one of kitchen maids. She would come closer and closer towards him, her speed increasing with each step she took. While he were a highly trained guard would he under no circumstance claim that he had been trained for such madness there played on her face, him backing tactically away from her as quickly his legs could take him without him falling onto his armoured rear, until his back was, literary, against a wall.

With that crazy thing being so close to him that he could feel its breath, it not being able to be a she, feared he for the first time honestly for his life. His mother were right with her worries, he should never have chosen to become one of the guard! As she opened her mouth expected he fangs, sharp things ready to bite into his tender flesh and rip him apart and spread him for the four winds, but saw ordinary brilliant white teeth, and heard a voice he at first could not believe came from the creature right in front of him. "What is that?" Her hands close to his, so very close that he were sure that they would touch at every moment, her eyes still locked onto his cop of cocoa.

Shining Armor smiled slightly at his eagerness. He nods. "Yes, mister Market. If there aren't any other questions, we'll fetch the weapons and move out."
He looked around the room to the other onlookers. "So. Any questions?"
No hands were raised.
"Good. Then let's go."

All the guards saluted and stood up to walk out of the room, single-file. Shining smiled at Sugary and gestured him to exit first, and Shining closed the line.

Downstairs, they found quite the strange scene. Umbra was standing in front of a deathly terrified guard, his armor clattering along with his teeth, his eyes wide. The poor guard gulped.
"I-i-it's hot coco..." He looked away and muttered something that was very close to 'please don't kill me.'

Shining lifted his eyebrow. "What is going on here?" He looked at Umbra. "Ma'am, you're not harassing our guards, are you?"

Finally! The time had come to rally the forces with arcane might at their beck and call! Every step a triumphant one despite the exhaustion as Sugary made his way with the troops to take care of business right away and slay the fell beings that had begun to terrorize the castle town! Umbra scaring a guard stiff along the way and the group halted to a full stop- It was at that moment Sugary took a double-take of what was going on with a very puzzled stare between Shining, the guard, Umbra, and the hot cocoa from up close. "... Umbra, did you finish your spell already, or did you want chocolate again that badly...?"

"Coco? Chocolate? Can you two choose what it is and what it isn't?" Came it from Umbra, her eyes still locked on the devine smelling drink in the guards shaking hands, her eara having turned to the prince and Sugary.

"But yes, I am done with the enchanting, as I said I would be. I went out to see what there had happened to my tea, but I think that I have changed my mind and want to try some of this drink instead... what is that white stuff there are swimming around in his cup, if I may ask?" The mare first now pulling her self away from the guard as it seemed that she herself could get some of that drink.

The guard was finally able to breathe normally again and backpedaled away from the 'mare' and sat down at a lenght that he deemed 'safe-ish'. He gulped. "Th-those are marshmellows, ma'am." He went back a few inches more and looked pleadingly at Shining Armor, the cup still in his hands.

Shining rolled his eyes. "Go to the kitchen and ask for another cup to be brought to miss Umbra's chambers." The guard nodded and ran off as if his life was on the line. Once the guard was gone, Shining sighed and nodded towards Umbra. "Anyway... thank you for your services. The cocoa will be brought to your room where you can rest and enjoy it in peace." He nodded to another guard who walked forward to escort Umbra to the chambers.

Sugary thought the moment had been an odd one given the circumstances, but soon he perked up happily as he looked to Umbra and Shining. "Wait, this changes things! We can go get Umbra's enchanted gear and head out then!" Ever focused on the task, he was eager to move. That didn't mean he forgot his manners though now that Umbra was there, and he moved closer with a bright smile. "That was fast work then... If those weapons work as well as you claimed, I'll happily make more chocolate treats for you later."

Was it not for the mention of the divine liquid known as cocoa only being brought to one of the rooms of the castle would Umbra have spoken rather loudly about how her room were on Sugary's airship, but why take the change of loosing cocoa by bringing such a minor detail up before the prince and Sugary.

"I do not know if I should be offended or not by your comment Sugary, I know how dire the situation is, that peoples life are on the line, why would I do anything else than my quickest and best work?" her manners not being the bests as she did not turn to speak to him, her attention being on the guard that she slowly began to follow in his steps. "Hurry up and get back then... Unhurt as well that is. It would not be nice to let a lady down after such a promise after all!"

As the guard disappeared with Umbra in tow, Shining turned back to the other guards, nodding.
"Alright. Let's go get the weapons and move out."
The Prince then turned around and continues on his way towards where the weapons were. He did not look back, knowing that all his warriors would follow him.

Soon, they entered the small room where all the weapons were laid out. They did not look very different then before - but they did feel different. It was a near inexplicable feeling, a feeling of wrongness - and with that they knew it was right to defend themselves against the enemies they faced.

Shining nodded as his warriors chose their weapons of choice. "Go out and help the others defend the city. Once a Shadow has been sighted, be prepared to drop everything you were doing to assist the others." Shining nodded and picked up a sword himself. "Let those shadows rue the day they chose to attack us!"

His men cheered and raised their swords, then marched out - single-file - to their new purpose.

At the very least, Sugary felt things between him and Umbra were alright under the circumstances. It was a nice breath of fresh air knowing she looked forward to something he could make, and he was glad she didn't work herself too hard after all. As he had already made a promise to return safely, he just calmly waved to her even if she didn't look his way with a smile, but soon turned to the others eagerly and followed.

Once at the new room, he looked around and felt for the weapons himself and chose to grab whatever remained. "... This blade should do nicely..." He carried it along with the scabbard on his grip, and kept it there even as the others cheered for the time being while he studied the nature of it. Nonetheless, he kept his ears sharp for anything else outside.

Shining Armor nodded at himself as he sheathed his magical sword next to his normal one, judging the sword's quality. He also chose a spear, but he kept his normal shield. He watched his men choose their weapons of choice, smiling.

"Alright, once all of you are done, get into position. Reme-"

At that moment a guard bursted in. "Shining...!" He panted. "S-shadows... Attack!"

Shining nodded, determined. "Remember what I have said. Now move out!"

((Charge!))

This was exactly what Sugary had been worrying over, but there was nothing more to do than charge out with the rest. His first priority was simple: Spot for anyone in danger and aid them. Second priority: Attack the monsters with Umbra's enchantments. Third priority: Use his own might to assist the Royal Guard.

Quickly, the party moved towards the sightings of the Shadows. Once there, they were roaring silently over the streets, the civillians running away in panic. Shouting guards were heard in the distance, trying to herd all the ponies away from the attackers.

Shining was shouting orders around and huffed. "It seems like they're going big..." He unsheathed his sword and swung with it, letting it blink unnaturally in the moonlight. "Let's give them big!" He took a mighty swing at the closest of the shadows, that yelped. It seemed to be cut in two, then dissipated immediately - the spell had worked. Shining grinned and continued to defend himself and the civilians against the monsters, destroying all enemy shadows that were coming too cose.

(A fine post, Civ, but you'll have to edit out the sunlight thing to moonlight... It's nighttime right now. There's a nice aurora to see for that matter if it intrigues you. o3o)

As Shining was having a thrill going against the monsters so far, Sugary thought to focus on providing backup for the retreating guards and citizens in another corner of the same area to test his own weapon in a different way. He'd use telekinesis on the weapon, and swung it in a wide and fast arch at mid range to see if he could get at least a few shadow monsters that way before calling it up close again. He needed to examine how the sword behaved afterwards as he had not forgotten Umbra's caution regarding enchantment limits...

As much as all the shadows were slain, they wouldn't dwindle. It was as if they were coming from somewhere...
One of the warriors voiced Shining's thoughts. "For every shadow we slay, three more come back! It's like mopping with an open tap!"
Shining grunted. "Then we should find the source and stop it."

He turned around to slay another Shadow. He glanced at Sugary, who was helping with the evacuation. To Shining's relief, the streets in which the shadows were lurking were empty, and it seems like all the shadows were focused on them. Shining struck one more time, but he snarled at the shadow when it didn't go away completely.

"Mister Market!" He yelled, stabbing towards a shadow, that did dissipate completely. "Find where they are all coming from! They must have a source!"

The more they fought, the more the weapons seemed to act as Umbra stated while Sugary observed: There was only so much they could absorb at a time, but were otherwise highly effective. Still, the concerns about a constant approach needed to be addressed, and so he began to focus more where he stood, this time with his horn turning dark briefly before it let out a pulse outwards with a wince. "I'm on it! But it's hard to tell yet...!" He was attempting to find where the energy he just released from himself was being attracted to the most... If he still did not find a source, he'd begin to move around and let out more pulses of Dark energy...

During the fight, something very curious occurred to Shining: the shadows weren't fighting back. They were just... there, ready to be slashed into oblivion. He frowned. It was almost like they all had one mind, one strategy, and that was to defeat them with their overwhelming numbers.

Or to keep them busy...

Shining suddenly froze, his head snapped up as he came to that revelation. He spun around as one of the guards ran towards them, screaming, panting.
"CADENCE! THE CRYSTAL HEART!"

Shining's eyes widened. "NO!" He jumped away towards the castle, leaving the shadows for what they were. He could only hope Market would find the source quickly and shut them down before any harm would come to his wife and the heart.

Sugary heard Shining's cries, and looked to see what the problem was. However, while he saw that the Prince and Captain was rather perturbed by something, he had finally caught sign of the target he was looking for as it responded with a pulse in return; A pulse stronger than what the smaller shadows were giving out. He considered asking for aid, but the town was already in danger with the mass of creatures, and needed every soldier available. He decided to ask a couple of the soldiers for aid hoping they'd assist, and go fast towards the source he felt to take it out, fighting his way out along the way... Would it lead him to the edge of town? The edge of the grassy plains? Or further away into the cold night snow...?

Shining Armor ran towards the castle, seeing the many shadows emerge towards the castle, trying to dispel every single one, but in his worry he didn't stop to look. He simply ran, his mind set on one thing: saving his wife and the Crystal Heart and hoping Market would do his job. As he reached the Crystal Heart, he sighed relieved, seeing it was still unharmed - Cadence was standing there. He frowned and wanted to say something, but there was no time: shadows were moving in fast. Standing strong next to Cadence, he defended the Heart with all his might.

~

Rising Spear and his 'colleague', Rough Tumble, had been on guard duty for quite a while when the shadows attacked. He was looking forward to a break -especially from Rough - but then those stupid black... things had to spoil it. He tried to fight them, but his spear hardly seemed to work: they would just pop up somewhere else. He groaned and grittet his teeth, looking towards her, who was doing just as well, it seems.

Suddenly, he saw an armed stallion running into their direction. Rookie Rough stepped in his way, lowering her spear and aiming towards him.
"Halt! Who are you and where are you going at a time like this?"

Sugary didn't have the time to be held back again, and made his intent shown when he once again swung Umbra's sword against more shadows near the guards and looked ready to run past the guards. "Ally of the Crystal Empire, and looking for an end to the problem! Now please get that spear out of my face and either help me or don't, but I got work to do!"

Rough Tumble frowned as she watched the strange stallion fight the shadows - with success, something she and her 'companion' haven't been able to do. She decided to take a gamble and trust him. She knew it would tick off Rising Spear, but that didn't matter. He deserved it after his last stunt... Anyway, stay focused.
"Alright, fine. Where do you want?" she asked, lifting her spear. She glanced towards Rising Spear, but to her surprise, he wasn't scowling at her. In fact, he was agreeing with her decision to trust him. But she didn't show it and stayed stoic, as a good guard would.

Sugary eased up a bit, but still looked to be in a hurry as he examined the guards. "... I'm on my way to try and seek out a source worth stopping; Shining's last orders before he had to go back. I'd go alone, but I'm really not sure what I'll find, and I'm not feeling my best today as is, so company would be great right about now... I also can't help but notice your gear isn't enchanted. I can fix that whether you wanna follow me or not..." He focused his magic, horn shining a bright white as he looked at their weapons while reaching out with his right hand, small runes coursing through it.

If they did not accept, he'd just go on his way... But if they accepted the enchantment regardless of them following or not, their weapons would be surrounded by the very runes he had upon him with swirling magic before they infused themselves from him to the metal from top to bottom. When the process was done, the runes and weapons would pulse with a soft glow, ready for battle with the shadows; And from there, he'd double-time to where he was originally headed...

Rising Spear nodded. "You're here to stop these shadows?" He glanced to a shadow coming up to them and pointed his spear at it, despite knowing it won't help much. "Then we accept - at least, I do." He looked back to Rough, who nodded, albeit a little hesistantly, pointing at the shadows as well. He blinked, slightly surprised, but turned back to Sugary and nodded, bringing his spear upright.
"We will help you."

Pleased to know that he had good company with good instincts, Sugary led the way for them, looking for a proper location to go to, while briefly explaining how his enchanting worked after the approaching shadow had jumped right at the spear pointed at it and became purified and destroyed in a mere moment while a rune marking disappeared along with it. "Good! Now pay attention...! Those weapons are meant to cancel out the Dark energies with the power of Light, essentially purifying them on the spot. But watch the runes. For every strike, it loses some of its power even if you don't hit a monster; More so against powerful Dark beings... And don't poke yourselves on it either, you'll find the Light can carry quite a bit of stinging heat with it."