//------------------------------// // Chapter 27: Friend or Foe // Story: Sun & Moon Act II: A Crown Divided // by cursedchords //------------------------------// “Eventually I would have left Equestria. Already it was tearing itself apart even without my influence.” - Discord “Intruder!” the stallion yelled, instantly bounding toward her and reaching up with a large hoof. Celestia knew that all she could do now was fly, but she was too late. Barely had she managed to get her wings out than the stallion had her leg pinned. She reached out to kick him, but he easily shook off the blow, pulling her down onto the ground with pure brute strength. He looked down at her with furious eyes, and all Celestia could do was pull back from his face. His hot breath reeked of garlic. “Who are you?” he bellowed, grabbing her by the cheek to force their eyes to meet. “A spy sent to find out all about us for your masters back in Eridian? Speak!” She could only meet his gaze for a moment before tearing her face away. “Please,” she choked, “don’t hurt me, please. I didn’t mean anything…” “Why were you sulking around then? What are you even doing here, huh? Pretty far from home to be out wandering! We oughta’ find out what you know, I think!” Still holding her down, he turned his head to look back at the door to their hidey-hole. “Someone get some rope! We’ve got a live one!” “What?” came the voice of the one called Quartz, who came around the corner to reveal himself as a green stallion with soft lavender eyes. His mane was styled into a casual lick, hanging down over the right side of his face. The knife he had mentioned earlier was tucked into a sheath that hung across his neck, ready to be drawn at a moment’s notice. “Well, what do you know?” he said as he looked Celestia over appraisingly. “Guess we still have a fun night ahead.” Trinity came last, armed with a metal pot that was still dripping. “Who?” she said from around the corner, before stopping when she saw Celestia’s face. The alicorn gave her a bare-toothed sneer, and Trinity lowered the pot, remorse clear in her eyes. “Relax, Merc,” she said. “I know her.” The big stallion whipped his head around, the bunch of his tied mane sailing along behind. “She was spying on us, Trin. You might think you know her, but she hasn’t been real friendly.” “You didn’t tell us you were bringing any guests,” Quartz chipped in, offering Celestia a sidelong grin that she didn’t like one bit. “And I’ve never seen her face before.” “I didn’t say she was a friend,” Trinity replied. “Just that I know her.” She reached around the corner and then tossed Merc a length of rope. “Tie her up, but nothing more. She’s not one of us, but I can tell you that she’s not one of them either.” Merc caught the rope with a free hoof, but didn’t take his eyes off of her. “You’re not making much sense, Trin. If she’s not with us, then she’s far from where she ought to be. Orders from Everfree are pretty solid. Our secrecy is number one.” “You’ll see,” Trinity said calmly, giving Celestia a gentle nod, seemingly all the same friend as she had always been, though obviously now in a much different light. “She’ll talk.” She looked over at Quartz, and the earth pony just shrugged his shoulders. That only left Merc. “Your call, Trin,” he said gruffly, before taking the rope and starting on Celestia’s front legs. “You better talk,” he said quietly to her. “And we all better like what you have to say.” After binding all of her legs and wings, Merc carried Celestia around to the front of the tree and down into the little cellar that the three of them had been reveling in before. Celestia’s suspicions turned out to be just right, as the small door opened up into a moderately-sized space dug out of the hillside, cozy with its three original inhabitants, cramped with her on the floor as well. The chamber was roughly cylindrical, with three hammocks hung around its outside, and the middle cleared out enough for a small fire pit, the smoke leaving through a vent that had been dug in the roof. A couple of blackened cooking pots were scattered on the floor of the chamber around the fire pit, and one of them held the leftovers of the night’s meal, a brown soup that had a touch of scent left to it. It was enough to make Celestia remember that she hadn’t had her supper yet. In all, the space was actually rather homely, especially since it was lit warmly, and was quite comfortable with the heat of the fire. Despite being bound wing-and-hoof, compared to the chill outside this place was quite pleasant. The other three were sitting in their hammocks. Quartz had drawn his knife and was lazily running its back over his hooves, looking disinterested in the whole affair. Merc, meanwhile, was alternating stony glares between Celestia and Trinity. “Well?” he demanded as soon as the door swung shut again, the deep rumble of his voice even more pronounced in the small chamber. “Which of you is going to talk first?” Celestia wanted to start, to scream in defiance that they’d get nothing from her. That their days were surely numbered and it wouldn’t be long until they all met the fate that they deserved. But she was the one bound in this arrangement, and even though these Resistance agents had held off on harming her so far, she knew that they still could. Merc especially had a rough and suppressed sense of violence about him, an anger that she could tell was still simmering under the skin. Even Quartz, laid back as he looked, clearly knew his way around that knife and likely was keen to use it. “She’s the one I told you about,” Trinity began, swinging her hammock slowly with a hoof against the chamber wall. Her voice was even, neutral, and Celestia couldn’t tell if she was sorry or glad at the situation. “The one Fastidious hired to look for me.” “The one you’ve got on the leash,” Quartz added, not looking up. “So much for that, I guess.” “Then she works for Fastidious,” Merc said, his eyes and face hard as a block of granite. “A member of the Upper-folk, and a traitor after all.” “No,” Trinity said back immediately. “It’s complicated, but I told you she’s not one of them. She works for him, yes, but she’s not a traitor.” “How so?” Trinity shrugged, trying to be as clear as possible. “She’d better explain that herself.” She looked down, and Celestia was surprised to see that she was still looking friendly, encouraging even despite her earlier words. “Go on,” she said. “They’re both ponies just like you and I. They just need to know that you’re not one like Fastidious and Gala.” Celestia gulped, buying herself a couple of seconds before she had to start her tale. She didn’t see that she had much choice as far as what she said was concerned. Trinity already knew the whole story after all, and if she was too evasive her friend might still decide to let Merc and Quartz have the lead on dealing with her again. So she started from the beginning, talking about her mother and father, how they’d passed during the Chaos Storm, how Rosy had taken her in, and how she’d met Wickerlock, Capstan, and then eventually Trinity. She gave them the whole story on Fastidious, leaving out nothing there. Again, she’d already told Trinity most of this already, so they’d know if she was lying. But she did leave out one important detail, hoping that Trinity would let it pass. Throughout the whole story, she didn’t mention Luna once. Once she had finished, the room was silent, save for the crackle of the fire as it burned lower and dimmer in the pit. A quick look around the room revealed that the story hadn’t made much of an impression. Merc still sat as stone-faced as ever, and Quartz was still playing with his knife. Trinity was of course thoughtful, but she hadn’t mentioned Luna herself either. “Complicated is right,” Merc eventually said. “Enough to make me say that maybe she isn’t one of them just yet. But I’m still not seeing why we can let her go.” The sudden crystallization of the stakes in play sent a jolt of fear up Celestia’s spine, making the room feel cold even if it was still bathed in firelight. What would they do if they weren’t going to let her go? Trinity answered back right away, though. “Think about it, Merc! Think about everything I’ve been able to accomplish! How much more could we do if we had an agent inside Fastidious’s inner circle? We could take all of Upper Eridian down from the inside out!” “That’s fantasy,” Merc replied dismissively. “How under the stars can you think that you’d have that kind of loyalty from her? She knows all of us. She could give us up in a second, and we wouldn’t even know until the King’s hit squads showed up at our door.” “She wouldn’t,” Trinity answered boldly, leaning forward in the hammock, her eyebrows drawn low. “That’s not what she wants. A better life, sure, but she’s not one of them. And I know that she’d never become one. Trust me on this, Merc.” The big earth pony looked unmoved. “It’s too much of a risk. How do you know that Fastidious hasn’t compromised her? What if she’s actually a double agent in our ranks, and we’re the ones who get taken apart from the inside?” “We can adapt,” Trinity said, refusing to back down. “We’ll keep her on a close leash. You and Quartz can move to new assignments, out of the spotlight, maybe back in Everfree. She doesn’t need to know anything more about our operation, only what we decide that Fastidious needs to know. I’ll set up somepony else to take the fall for the sabotage, and we’ll let the orchard shoulder on. And meanwhile we’ll have a mole inside the offices of a real Eridian Lord! And if it all goes south, I’ll be the only one that we lose.” Merc seemed to consider that, for once not having a cold reply on the tip of his tongue. “You could get captured,” he said finally, the barest note of warmth in his tone for the first time all night. “What if they compromised you?” With her chin up, Trinity shook her head. “I’ve been through the training. I wouldn’t give them anything. Trust me, this is worth it.” Celestia could see Trinity willing the other pony to finally give in, and for her part she hoped that he would too. That resolution ended with her making it out of here in one piece after all, even if she wasn’t completely sure of everything else that her former friend had said. Finally, Merc closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. “Okay, Trinity,” he said, sounding resigned. “You can have this one. But don’t you dare push it too far.” “I won’t,” she replied, getting off of her hammock to give him a firm hoofshake, looking quite pleased with the outcome. “We’ll need to agree on our communication,” the stallion said, before turning to look at Quartz, who was still idly sitting in his hammock. “Quartz, tear the place down. You and I are moving on tonight. Trinity, get your friend out of here, out of the trees. She doesn’t need to see or hear any of this.” Trinity nodded, and then she picked Celestia up by the shoulders and carried her all of the way out of the little forest thicket, setting her down on the grass outside, still bound. “Wait here a moment,” she said quietly. “I promise that I’ll be back, but I can’t untie you until then. Holler if anything happens.” “Are you sure about this?” Celestia asked. “Very,” she replied, doing her best to sound comforting. “But we can talk about that later. Just give me one minute to say good-bye to those two.” She vanished back into the forest. For several seconds, Celestia heard the sound of her friend moving back through the brush, but then it was replaced by silence. Merc and Quartz would disappear back to Everfree, wherever that was, and likely she was never going to see either of them again. The chances of Fastidious getting either of them were now effectively none. But what of Trinity? Celestia could of course still give the other pony up. If she understood the arrangement that they were about to form, then there would be nothing stopping her from doing that. But Trinity had stuck her neck out for her, far more than Celestia had expected. Did Trinity think that they were still friends somehow, even after all of this? The sound of hooves once again approached her from behind, and in a second Trinity emerged into the night, her eyes downcast. She stood a moment in place, breathing deeply while looking out over the countryside, at nothing in particular as far as Celestia could see. Then, she shook herself as if clearing away a mist from her mind, and walked up to Celestia to begin untying the ropes. “I hope you understand that I bear you no ill will,” she said quietly, guilt evident in her voice. Celestia knew that she had a range of possible tacks to take at this conversation, each one bringing a particular point up to the fore first. She chose indignation. “I understand that very well,” she bristled, her feeling of betrayal boiling to the surface. “I heard all of your revelry, Trinity, all of your celebration at how — what were the words? — soon enough Fastidious would take care of your problem for you? I really trusted you, Trinity. Don’t think for a second that any of that remains.” As the ropes came off of her hooves, Celestia pulled each one away from Trinity emphatically. She rolled over when the earth pony went to get her wings. “I can take care of those myself.” “As you wish,” Trinity said, gathering up the ropes and hiding them under a bush. Presumably this area would still be her safe house in the region, the pigeon coop remaining her method of communicating with Everfree. “I do understand your bitterness, Celestia, but I was hoping that you might be able to see things from my perspective.” “The perspective of a traitor?” Trinity flinched, which was honestly a little surprising. She had weathered the glare of that pony Merc without batting an eye after all. “The perspective of a pony trying to do the right thing. You know what that means, I know you do.” To that Celestia didn’t have a real answer. For of course she did, and Trinity didn’t have to explain any further for them both to know precisely what she was referring to. Trinity started the walk back to the orchard, and Celestia followed along, walking right beside her. The countryside ahead was all rough and turned up, rocks dotting the plains and little gullies of streams that might have run through here once upon a time zig-zagging this way and that. A pony would be lucky to get through without injuring a leg, especially in the dark, but Trinity was navigating it with ease. “I know that I used you, Celestia, and for that I’m truly sorry. When we first met, you seemed like a nice enough pony, so I picked you up as a friend, and you’ll have to believe me that right then, it wasn’t anything more than that. It was only when you started really working for Fastidious that things changed. “We were still friends, though, you understand,” she continued. “I suppose you now realize that I was leaning on you for information on how the Lord was doing, how close I was to finally ruining him. Once I got Screw kicked off of the repair work and you were put in charge instead, well, that was when things got really serious.” “You weren’t actually helping me at all, were you?”, Celestia asked, more calmly. It was hard to keep her anger up when Trinity was being so gentle about the whole thing. The other mare chuckled at that. “I never told you to look closer into me, did I? What did eventually tip you off, anyway?” “It was the hammer,” Celestia said, thinking back to the encounter that had started her off. It probably hadn’t been more than an hour ago, actually. A thought struck her. “You were doing something to the supply, weren’t you?” “Yeah. I knew I was cutting it close with that one. The teams will be short a few tools tomorrow morning.” Trinity stopped on a low hill, over which the orchard had appeared again on the horizon. Even though it was still the middle of night over the estate, the moonlight coming in through the hole in the clouds made the whole orchard shine like a beacon. “But that’ll be the last time you have to worry about anything going wrong. Intentionally, anyway.” Them having come this far, Celestia knew that she had to broach the subject now, or else face the question alone without any information. A part of her wanted to hold off, and let Trinity continue without realizing her mistake. Let Trinity be the one played for a change. But in reality she had to ask, because Celestia knew that the answer could turn out to be all that mattered. “Why do you trust me to hold to the arrangement you proposed back there? I can still tell Fastidious all about you, and he’d have you in custody before you could figure out that I had done it.” Trinity nodded, unfazed by the notion. “All true, and all things that Merc and Quartz told me when I went back into the bush to meet them.” She gave Celestia a serious look, a tiny touch of reflected light from the orchard twinkling in her eyes. “But I know that you won’t. Again, because I know why you’re here.” “But why not?” Celestia said, shaking her head, unable to see the reasoning. “What are you offering to me that Fastidious can’t deliver? That life is safety, it’s security, it’s knowledge that every day you can wake up and know that you have enough to eat. It’s a future that I can rely on. Your hovel back in the hill was charming, but barely a taste of what I’ve already seen from the Lord.” “It looks flashy, I’ll give you that,” Trinity replied, shivering in perhaps an exaggerated way. Celestia was, after all, still wearing the coat that Fastidious had given her, embroidered with the crest of the Rose et Blanc on each side. “From your perspective I’m sure that it has to look nice. But Fastidious and Gala are not good ponies, whatever you might think of them. A pony like you couldn’t enjoy life in the court. It’s not who you are.” You know nothing of who I am, Celestia thought to herself. She wanted to interject, but wasn’t sure how far she could push it before Trinity started to really doubt. Luckily, Trinity seemed to have come to the same conclusion. “I know that’s going to sound ridiculous to you, but think about it for a second. You’ve seen the accounts, so think about all of the tricoins that Fastidious spends on his own espionage operations. All of the deceit and manipulation that to him is just an average day. Think for a second on what happened to your predecessor, Quill. Or Screw. When was the last time that you saw him?” Celestia opened her mouth for a quick reply, but caught herself on the thought. When was the last time that she had seen the chief mechanic? Not since collaborating with him on the plans for the new press building. But what had Fastidious said? “He’s been assigned somewhere else. Probably still keeping the other presses going. It’s a big orchard, and I’ve been at the construction site day in and day out. I’m sure that I’ve just missed him.” Taking her first step down the hillside, Trinity rolled her eyes. “Convincing, maybe. The next time that you see the Lord, maybe ask him about it. See if you like what he has to say on the matter.” “I suppose I will,” she replied, joining up with the other pony a couple of steps down the hill. “But even then what does it matter? You still haven’t answered my question.” Trinity held her gaze for a second, her eyes shrewdly probing, asking a question all on their own. “Take the night to think about it. I know that you want some safety and some security, but what kind of life do you really want for little Luna? What kind of world do you really want her to grow up in? I know that you’ll come to the right decision.” The orchard was looming up ahead of them, only a few hundred feet now separating the two ponies from the estate’s southern wall. Torches burned here and there along its length, some of them moving around as they were carried by guards patrolling the perimeter. Here now was Celestia’s first opportunity, to call one of them over and have Trinity apprehended. With that one stroke, this whole saga would be over. The project would come to its conclusion, back on schedule and perhaps even ahead with the extra shifts that Celestia had formed up. Soon enough, Fastidious and Gala would see the benefits of her approach, and she’d have a new place made for her in the household. She could say goodbye to Eridian then, and so could Luna. They would live here, the Sun overhead during the day and the Moon at night. There would be green grass, the scent of apples in the air when harvest came around again, maybe even a proper winter if such things could still exist. Most importantly, there would be a future for them, steady, waiting, always there to work toward. They wouldn’t have to secure the doors at night; Celestia could even rest easily with her sister free to roam the grounds. They would be safe. And all that she had to do to guarantee that was call out right now. “Hey!” a voice came from the wall ahead, accompanied by a scuffle and a few torches bobbing around. The caller was just a profile against the light. “I see somepony out there! Who are you?” Trinity gave her a look. Celestia nodded to her. “It’s Celestia!” she called back, knowing that if nothing else her brooch would dispel any suspicions. “Out for a little investigation work.” There was a moment of silence, followed by another shout. “And who’s the other one? Friend or foe?” “Friend,” Celestia said back. “A trusted eye, accompanying me on the journey. You can look her over if you like, but she’ll be on her way home soon.” Trinity nodded back, a knowing look clear in her eyes. Celestia offered her a small smile in return. She would take the night to think it over, just as Trinity had said. Maybe there was something to what her friend had said, and maybe there wasn’t. Either way, Celestia expected that she wouldn’t be getting much sleep.