//------------------------------// // Truth: Gambit // Story: Shine Of The Silver Sun // by Nameless Narrator //------------------------------// It was three days later, and the late evening lights of Canterlot castle illuminated the darkness slowly blanketing the decorative garden maze behind it. A unicorn and a griffon were sitting on a white bench by a pond in the maze's center. Cromach, his foreleg wrapped around Contradiction's barrel, was talking while she listened, ears lazily flopping around. "I haven't been here since the incident with Straw Basket and the Observers. I still get a little creeped out when a leaf moves out of place." "I've been here only once myself," mumbled Connie, "and that was just in passing. It's pretty calm like this, though. I'm sure I heard that princess Celestia often eats lunch here alone in peace." "It definitely feels like work and responsibilities have no place here. No worries, no threats, no business, budgeting, or politics. A little piece of heaven." "I love it when I can just sit back and relax. Too bad that in the back of my mind I'm expecting an official complaint from Arcane Hex or some other wizard." "How come?" Connie told him everything about sending Bubbles to spy on the old mage and the demoness' report about being caught. "-and while she said he was polite and took it in stride, we kinda went against the law a little. I was planning to defend us by using the investigation as an excuse, but I haven't heard a word about anything yet. Unless I'm being skipped over and you'll have an official complaint about the dummy getting caught on your table soon." "Arcane Hex would be in the right here, no matter the circumstances," Cromach sighed, "We don't really have any official capacity to do anything here in Canterlot without the Royal Guard permission. You said Hex was fine with it?" "He actually treated Bubbles to hot cocoa she really enjoyed, allowed her to search his quarters, and then did some tests on her when he learned what she was." "Hmmm," Cromach scratched his head, replacing his foreleg around Connie with his wing. The unicorn snuggled deeper into the big, soft feathers. "Is something wrong?" "I might be misjudging the old unicorn, or I'm just naturally suspicious. You see, Blaze was borderline paranoid, but he taught me something important, something that has proven true over and over. Especially when dealing with griffons in positions of power." "What was it?" "Whenever ponies are nice to you for no reason when you pester them, they either want something or are hiding something," Cromach's beak twisted in an evil grin, "You know, I might just give you a rather peculiar unofficial order..." "I'm listening," she purred, eagerly listening to the unusually devious griffon. "You might want to send Bubbles to spy on Hex again, just to see if he's really that chill, or if it's a mask that might crack a little." "She'll get caught immediately. She said Hex's place was protected by magic all over. Should I send her where she spent the night after? She found a rather good vantage point from which somepony with her kind of eyes can keep tabs on Hex's quarters." Cromach didn't answer, humming to himself instead and mindlessly scratching Connie behind the ear. Her hind leg involuntarily kicked the air from time to time while she melted under the touch. Suddenly, Cromach stopped. "You said you wanted to send Astray to ask Leo about the ceremony guest list, right?" "Yeah, he should be there right now." "I see. Connie?" "Mhm?" "Send Bubbles to check on Hex tomorrow. I'll tell you the exact time after I get something from my Black Ops supplier here in Canterlot. Oh, and after Astray comes back, tell him to meet me in my office at the castle immediately." "Will you be needing me or Anvil?" "Not for what I have in mind, no." "Good, then I'll check Secret Seeker's apartment again. I can't shake off the feeling that I missed a clue Black Shield left for me, or misinterpreted something," Connie's hind leg kicked the bench, "Does this mean tonight is over?" Cromach's talons ran down Connie's mane. "I'm afraid so. The stuff I need to get for tomorrow isn't easy to acquire." "When this is over, I'm locking you up in my room, chaining you to the radiator, and cuddling you twenty-four seven." The hint of disappointment in Connie's voice made Cromach hesitate. "Hmmm... I suppose ten more minutes without work won't hurt." *** "My my, who is this hottie?" Astray had never seen a female satyr before, but bowed despite the unexpected greeting without staring for too long. She was wearing gold-embroidered white leggings tightly hugging her legs and showing thick, toned thighs and calves underneath. Her upper body was covered by a matching white shirt with golden trimmings on the sleeves and around her waist making her look slimmer than she actually was. How the shirt fit extremely snugly over her shoulders was Astray's second clue. Now knowing Anvil's figure better than ever before, Astray made the correct judgement that this noble satyr was no fragile lady, and was used to carrying very heavy things for long distances. She was only a little smaller than him, and wore her brown hair in a short, simple ponytail with no further decorations. The lack of any features associated with high society, other than the obviously well-tailored clothing, would have made Astray think the other satyr opening the door was some servant, but he'd been instructed on who to expect by sir Cromach earlier that day. He gave her a deep bow. "Lady Fortune, I presume?" "I don't know about the lady, but you got the rest right," she looked him up and down with clear interest, "And I'm honestly pretty stumped to see a satyr paladin at my doorstep." Astray gave her a questioning look before realizing what she was referring to. As usual, he was wearing his lower body armor and a white Order shirt. Reaching into the small pouch on his belt right next to his sword and a gun, he pulled out his Silver Sun badge. "My name is Astray. I'm not a paladin, ma'am, I work for sir Cromach in Manehattan. He sent me here to ask you and your soon-to-be husband about the events of the ceremony where this mansion was attacked." Fortune's expression went from curious to dark, then back to a calm, friendly one. "Alright, come in, I'll go grab Leo. He'll love hearing about things in Manehattan." Following her into the pristine building and then through a long entry hallway, Astray didn't have much time to examine his surroundings, but they seemed pretty spartan. Only occasionally there were portraits hanging on the walls, no servants or guards on every step, and the whole place was uncharacteristically quiet. Not that Astray had any experience with the houses of nobility, but both Canterlot castle and the Order mansion were brimming with life in comparison to this place. On their way, he peeked into a door cracked open and spotted two ponies working in what looked like a well-equipped kitchen. On a T section at the end of the hall leading presumably to both wings of the mansion, Fortune ushered him into a comfortable-looking study equipped with a trio of armchairs, a couch, a work desk in the middle, all completed with shelves stocked with books and wooden panels on the walls. "Have a seat," Fortune pointed at one of the armchairs, "Anything to drink?" "Just water, please." "A servant will be back soon with it," she nodded and walked out. A short while later, a young unicorn mare in a maid outfit came in, levitating a tray with three glasses, bowed to Astray who waved back at her, and silently put the tray on a small, round table. Afterwards, she moved the other two armchairs around it. Astray felt as if he should say something. "Thank you," he smiled, "Mind if I ask - is this place always this quiet?" She nodded, silently opened her mouth, pointed inside, and then gave the satyr a deep bow. The door behind her opened, and Fortune returned with a unicorn who may as well have had 'NOBILITY' painted on his face. Fit build of a warrior who wasn't wearing armor anymore but still kept in shape, long, blond mane nearly sparkling in the late morning light, blue eyes, and pristine, white coat. Unlike Fortune, the only thing he wore was a black, gold-embroidered jacket. He approached Astray standing up at attention with no hesitation and offered his hoof. Astray shook it. "Leo Goldhorn. How are things back home?" "I am Astray. Ummm, home?" Astray blinked in confusion. "He means Manehattan," Fortune sat down into a free armchair and waved the maid away, "This place is pretty posh, but a room into which you haven't crawled on your fours after having the snot beaten out of you by Cross just isn't the same." "Pretty much," Leo shrugged, easing himself into the last free one, "I still feel like a guest in here rather than the 'master of this house'," he completed the sentence with hoof air-quotes. The heavy, uncertain atmosphere lifted instantly with those words. Astray's hesitation disappeared as the fact that these two really were his predecessors finally wormed its way into his head. "We are still working on finding the pony who stole your rings." "Ponies," Leo corrected him. "We dealt with the two who originally robbed you already." "Really?" Fortune raised an eyebrow, "Great job!" "Unfortunately, things aren't as good as they seem," Astray shook his head, "We believe somepony else was behind them, and said pony now has your rings. The problem is that our best clues lead us to the School for Gifted Unicorns, and Contradiction thinks a high-tier wizard is involved." "How come?" In the next few minutes, Astray told Leo and Fortune everything that had happened, including his version of events. "-and that is why sir Cromach sent me here to go over the guest list with you." Leo jumped out of his armchair. "I'll go grab it-" "Sit down," Fortune put her hand on his neck and called out, "Hey, Featherfall!" The door opened and the mute mare from before entered. When she caught Fortune's gaze, the satyr ordered: "Go to Leo's office and bring us a... where did you put the guest list, dear?" Leo, slowly coming to terms with him having servants again, sat back down and thought for a second. "It's in the filing cabinets by the back wall under 'Special'. I originally put it there in case guards wanted to see it, but they didn't find anything unusual." The maid bowed and rushed off. "Few days ago, we wouldn't have even thought that something unusual could be in it. Everypony thought it was an action of two criminals from outside," explained Astray, "By the way, now that we're thinking about things differently, can the two of you recall something out of place?" "There wasn't really anything usual as such about the situation," said Fortune, "Everyone got paralyzed, rings got stolen, zombies came out of nowhere, and then disappeared in a bright flash of light. Did I forget something, Leo?" "No," the unicorn shook his head, "That's pretty much the whole story, not counting Connie getting wasted. Oh, and the fact that Cromach and Connie broke the spell earlier than anypony else. Then, I think it was Straw and us." "Sir Cromach told me that happened because of divine power or something. Contradiction said she discovered a new power herself. Her telekinesis now summons glowing tentacles. Pretty strange, if you ask me." Leo hummed to himself. "That... that would make sense, maybe. Wait, tentacles?" "Can we invite her for a private visit later?" asked Fortune. "EHM!" Leo coughed loudly, making Fortune whistle innocently. "Aaaanyway," Fortune had the decency to look away before snapping her fingers, "Wait, that would not make sense at all. The princesses remained frozen until the spell dissipated from everypony, and if there's somepony brimming with divinity then it's an alicorn." Quiet knocking interrupted sudden thoughtful silence, and Featherfall returned, levitating several sheets of paper. Leo took them and thanked the maid before she left. "Hmm, yeah. I'm no wizard, but there should have been no way for others, even us, to recover before the princesses. Unless the spell was specifically tailored for them which should not be doable. From what I remember Blazing Light teaching us about divine power, it varies too much from wielder to wielder so both sisters being caught by a spell this spread out should be impossible," his eyes darting from name to name on the list, Leo clicked his teeth, "There are three wizards on the list. You can tell because they love to write all their academic titles around their names. Arcane Hex, Eagle Eye, and Shimmering Thread. I have no clue who they are." "Hey, what about a close range spell?" asked Fortune out of nowhere, "I mean, would it be possible to stop the princesses from acting if you were right next to them." "Honestly, honey, I'm not the one to ask because I'm more of a natural spellcaster rather than a magic researcher, but it's definitely much easier to affect something or somepony with magic when you are closer and focused on just them." "Well, right before everypony froze up, I saw a wizard standing in front of both sisters. It was the guy who eventually destroyed all the undead." "That was Arcane Hex. I was there when the guards interrogated him later." Listening, Astray kept writing small details into a small notepad he pulled out of his shirt's pocket in the meantime. "Arcane Hex, Eagle Eye, Shimmering Thread," he mutterd to himself as he wrote the names down, drawing a circle around Hex's. "The thing is," said Leo, "A spell capable of stopping two alicorns would overwhelm the senses of all unicorns in the vicinity, even those not really attuned to magic. A mage powerful enough to pull that off is unheard of." "Umm," Astray raised his hand, "How about masking such spell by using a much more widespread one?" "You mean that the mass paralysis spell was just a decoy so that this Arcane Hex could use a focused one on the princesses?" Astray shivered when he realized that the fact that Arcane Hex had teleported him near Contradiction might have been just a ploy to get rid of him. Deep down he'd known all the time that was a possibility, but now it felt a lot closer. Maybe his disappearance would have been lost on everypony just like Shield's had. "Not a decoy as such, but if we assume that Arcane Hex and Secret Seeker had worked together from the beginning, and that the photo Contradiction found in Seeker's apartment was something to work with then two really good wizards could pull something on that scale off, right?" "I honestly don't know," Leo shrugged, "You need a mage to analyze this, not me." Astray finished off his glass of water. "Then I think I've got what I came for. Thank you very much. Mind if I take the list with me?" Leo levitated an empty sheet of paper out of a nearby drawer followed by an inkwell, and in a golden glow there soon lay a second set of papers with copied writing. "No, but take this duplicate. One of the more useful spells I know," said the unicorn an levitated the copy to Astray. "You sure you can't stay and chat? I'd still like to know how things are back in Manehattan." Astray shook his head. "I'm sorry. Sir Cromach said he needed this as soon as possible." "Well," Fortune stood up, walked over to Astray and shook his hand, "it's been nice meeting you then, and I hope we'll have a chance for a long chat under better circumstances." "Definitely," Leo joined in, "Cromach said you are working side by side with a minotaur, but that she didn't really like you... or anypony really." Astray smiled. "A lot of things have changed during the month, and I'll gladly come back here with all my friends. Have a great day," he bowed. Fortune leaned to him conspiratorially. "You too, and don't forget that if you need some help with firepower, we're both here and somewhat bored." "I'll keep that in mind," chuckled Astray. *** "-and that's pretty much everything." Astray finished his short report of his visit. Cromach, listening intently behind the desk of his Canterlot castle office, stood up and stretched. "I guess we'll just follow Hex's trail first then, whether it's a real clue or a massive coincidence. If only to get him off the list." "What have you got in mind, sir?" "A little something for a plan I cooked up overnight and had to send several dragonfire messages to my friends in the Empire." Cromach opened the top drawer of his table, and pulled out two vials with something dark purple sloshing inside. "What is that?" "These, Astray, are potions of magical insensibility. They are supposed to allow their user to bypass scrying magic and alarm spells of all sorts. Something most unicorns and even griffons consider completely and utterly useless, because they don't work as such." "Ummm, I think I'm missing a key point, sir." With a triumphant smile on his beak, Cromach hid both vials into a saddlebag lying on the couch. "They work only if the user already has some sort of innate magic resistance. That limits its use to trained earthponies and zebras, or dragons. You'd have to make a bucket of this stuff to work for a dragon, though." "I'm still kinda lost." "I, thanks to my divine power, possess reasonable resistance against magical effects." Astray nodded. From all he'd heard about the griffon, that made sense. There was still one unresolved issue. "Where do I come in, sir?" "I... had a chat with the princesses, specifically princess Twilight, about a certain world very different from ours, one inhabited by hairless bipedal creatures somewhat similar to minotaurs on the first glance." The satyr's jaw dropped. "Yo- you mean... like me? You know who my parents are?" "Hmm?" Cromach shook his head, "No, I don't. And no, the beings in that world aren't satyrs. However, from all we know at this point it is possible for a pony and said creature to concieve a foal. Now that is a satyr. However," the griffon raised his talons, "I can hear all the little questions you are about to ask already, and I don't have the answers. The reason I'm telling you this, and why you are here, is that there is no magic in the other world and, from some experiments we ran on Fortune a while ago it means satyrs are more difficult to affect by magic. That way you should be able to use the potion effectively as well." "So my non-pony parent was completely immune and I inherited something?" "That's not how it works apparently. According to Twilight, they aren't any more resistant than an earthpony. The interaction between magical being like a pony and one of them is what causes satyr resistance." "Wait wait wait wait," Astray waved his hand, "Does that mean I can eat a fireball spell?" "Only if you're really tired of life," the griffon chuckled, "I believe you might strengthen your resistance to a decent degree like my old friend Heavy Hoof did through rather drastic training. Right now, any semi-competent wizard would wipe the floor with you if you relied on some innate defense. However, it should be the necessary amount for the potions." "And if it isn't? Do we have a way to test it?" Cromach scratched his head hesitantly. "Well, these things are expensive and difficult to make. Mostly only zebras bother with it, so I have only the two. If it doesn't work, we'll just have to talk our way out of things." "I suppose I should have asked that in the first place - where are we going?" "I'd like to examine the School for Gifted Unicorns cellars without a bunch of pesky unicorns looking over my shoulder. That, the nearby mine shafts, and Arcane Hex's quarters. Some of the things Bubbles described from the place were... suspicious." "You mean like using blood magic?" "Oh right, you did mention that. I completely forgot." "Exactly." "Thanks for reminding me," Cromach rubbed his chin, "You know, I'm glad we know he's researching it. That way we won't go crazy about any forbidden books we might find." "How do you intend to get to his tower, though?" "We'll pose as investigators. The wizards are still shaking in their horseshoes from a bunch of pissed off paladins running around their school. As for Arcane Hex himself, I asked Connie to organize a little distraction." "What distraction?" "I'll tell you on the way." "What if we are completely wrong about everything?" "Then I'll offer Hex an official public apology and offer myself for his research into divinity. That's something he's wanted since the ceremony," he looked at the clock on the wall, "We still have some time, but better early than late. Let's go." "Yes, sir." *** Bubbles, tail swinging through the air, was resting by Arcane Hex's chimney and enjoying the sunlight. She'd climbed the whole tower after being told by miss Connie and then by Anvil who was now her official boss. Bubbles didn't mind others telling her what to do. After all, they were smart and experienced while she was still lacking in that department, and if somepony was to order her around then at least it was somepony she trusted. Bubbles hadn't been too happy last time with Arcane Hex, feeling that deep down the nice acting wizard had been annoyed, but it was understandable. This time, though, she was less nervous and much more curious. The mage had already proven to be interested in her for some reason, and miss Connie had told her she wouldn't get into any legal trouble, although she should still be on a lookout for any threats connected with the case. That, and he made really delicious cocoa. With her ear near the chimney, she heard the wizard moving around under the roof. When the noise stopped mid-step, she heard the crunch of a horseshoe on a random piece of dirt lying nearby. She turned her head to the still invisible unicorn slowly turning from a hazy shimmer and then his full old form. "Hello, mister Hex!" she waved at him, smiling her trademark 'shark that ate a box of buzzsaws' smile. "Greetings again," the elderly wizard nodded towards her, "Are you on a secret mission regarding my chimney again, or do you just enjoy sunbathing up here?" "I'm here for the cocoa!" Bubbles continued with her boundless enthusiasm. Behind the smile and cheery demeanor, she was listening for anything and everything. Thankfully, the day was calm and even in this height she could make out the voices of ponies down in the streets. "Cocoa...?" the unicorn choked out, clearly completely taken aback. "You make the best cocoa I've ever had," she admitted. At least that was completely true. Hex cleared his throat and his voice calmed down to his usual warm tone. "I can, of course, invite you in, but just like last time I might ask you to help me with some tests. Since I'm not short on time today, that would mean more detailed examination in my private lab." She was supposed to either keep him away from his quarters, which didn't really seem possible here on the roof, or distract him from sir Cromach attempting to break into his home. The secret laboratory stuff sounded fun, and she might even see something interesting there. "Umm," she gave him her best puppy eyes, "Still no needles, right?" Hex laughed it off. "Needles? Of course not, I'm not a doctor." "Let's go then. I'd like to see your personal lab. Do you have the green stuff that bubbles and foams all the time?" "I do believe the cleaning lady uses some liquid soap. Come here," Hex put his foreleg on Bubbles' back and- -Bubbles regained awareness of herself in complete darkness lit only by a blue circle with strange writing surrounding her. She felt so heavy, so slow for the first time in her life. Wait, no. It was like when she'd been really bad and her mom put her in the timeout crate. That time she'd gotten really scared when a unicorn beat her up with the silver whip too hard and she bit him. She tried to walk away, hitting an invisible wall. Her jaws snapped without anything to bite when she wanted to destroy the strange barrier. Out of nowhere, she felt her legs spread out despite all her effort, and she was levitated upwards and left suspended a pony height above ground. She couldn't move at all anymore. The chills of panic ran down her spine, something she hadn't felt since she'd seen her best friends executed by miss Connie. Hoofsteps broke her train of thought. "Anvil?" she called out into the darkness, "Miss Connie! Astray! SOMEPONY!" The hoofsteps stopped just outside the circle, but she couldn't see anything other than complete blackness and the blue outline surrounded by runes. "...help me?" she whimpered.