Upheaval: Reckoning
Chapter 44: Why I Serve
It came as no surprise to Rarity that her friends all headed off in different directions after being instructed to rest. It had been a pattern since they came to the Barrier Lands. Even Pinkie Pie had an agenda of her own. Just a moment ago, Pinkie just galloped past her with that glowing stone tablet.
‘Perhaps I’m looking at this in an overly negative way,” Rarity thought. They had been asked to relax, but she decided to do so through a calming walk through Canterlot rather than bed rest as Applejack had done. The late afternoon scene throughout the streets of Canterlot had a mixed atmosphere about it. Businesses were closing up for the day. Their owners walked home in a slow, tired pace, while no-nonsense Legion and Royal Guard patrols trotted past them. There were a few nervous ponies gathered together whispering about a disturbance in the Royal Palace and how a lot of legionnaires had been heading there the past few hours.
A streak of rainbow colors caught Rarity's eye as it flitted about the spires of the city. ‘What’s she up to?’ she thought. She waited for a streak of red to accompany that burst of colors. To her pleasant surprise, she didn't find one.
“What happened to you? You disappeared for a long time and we were all so worried!”
The excited question didn't exactly stand out among the various worried talks scattered across the streets. The residents of Canterlot worried a great deal for their newly drafted family and friends and fussed over them whenever they were reunited. When Rarity caught a glimpse of the one who spoke, however, she stopped momentarily. She recognized this group of earth ponies: a purple stallion with a harp cutie mark, a brown one with a pair of musical notes for a cutie mark, and a light blue mare. The three had surrounded another mare, a gray one with purple eyes and a G-Clef cutie mark carrying a cello case on her back. Where had she seen these ponies before? Something about parties…
“Oh, you shouldn't have,” the gray mare said. “I've just been busy with performances. You’re the ones that should be worried about. How has your stay in the Legion been?”
“Performances” proved enough to jog Rarity’s memory. She had heard this quartet play several times before. Nostalgia suddenly flooded her. How long had it been since she had the time to listen to some classical Equestrian music? Pinkie Pie’s singing, her occasional humming to herself, and the rhythm of hammer blows against an anvil, were all well and good, but to be seated in front of an opera…to hear a live orchestral performance from the Canterlot Symphony…those were sounds from another lifetime. She shook her head. No, that wasn't necessarily true. The time will come when she would get to hear that sort of music again. She walked past the group. As she did so, the cello player glanced her way.
Their eyes met only for a moment, but Rarity was rooted to the spot. The cello player recognized her. Not just that, the short glance was enough to leave her cold and uneasy. Something was wrong here.
“I’m just so amazed that you managed to get gigs with everything that’s been happening,” the light blue mare said. “I guess that goes to show what an amazing musician you are, Octavia!”
“Oh, nonsense, Beauty Brass, if you weren't strapped for Legion work, you’d be playing right next to me.” Octavia looked to the two stallions. “All of you would be.”
The warmth in Octavia’s smile took Rarity aback. Was this the same mare who had glanced at her earlier? Perhaps she had just imagined the whole thing.
“Well, I’ll see all of you again sometime,” Octavia said. “You all look tired and you have more training tomorrow.”
“Stay safe, Octavia,” Beauty Brass said. She wiped a tear from her eye. “You’ll see, we’ll be a quartet again soon.”
The four embraced tenderly for a few moments, then Beauty Brass and the two stallions went on their way. Octavia waved at them until they rounded a street corner. With her friends gone, she turned to face Rarity. “Hello, Miss Rarity,” she said. Every trace of warmth she had shown dissipated like so much morning fog.
Rarity cleared her throat. Her unease only continued to grow, but she wasn't going to be the first to lose her poise. “You recognize me,” she said. “That’s quite a surprise.”
“You did become the talk of all of Canterlot once,” Octavia said. “Lion Court also speaks very highly of you. I believe he once mentioned that you are the best among your peers.”
“That’s very flattering,” Rarity replied, “but most untrue and likely said to praise himself.” She lifted her chin a bit nevertheless. Praise from Lion Court may be under-hoofed, aimed to create rifts, and self-serving, but it was still praise.
“Modest too,” Octavia said. She walked on and Rarity kept in step with her. “Lion Court may exaggerate, but there is some truth in what he says. You are easily the most elegant in your group.” Her voice, already calm and cool, turned frigid. “It’s a pity that you’re a legionnaire.”
Rarity’s eyes narrowed. “And what is that supposed to mean?” she asked.
“The Legion takes everything of grace and refinement and turns it into a hardened and crude tool. As a legionnaire, it won’t be long until your fate is the same.”
“Such a poor opinion of elegance you have, then. True beauty and refinement adapts and grows stronger with changing times. It is not ‘turned crude’ by anything. Speaking of turning, I see that you've turned into a Thorn. I would have never expected one of Canterlot’s own to join Black Rose’s elite.”
“And why not?” Octavia asked. “Did you expect every chosen in Equestria to bow their heads and meekly follow where the Legion leads them? Or that no chosen could possibly have the skills that Black Rose could use?”
“Well that depends now, doesn't it, Miss Octavia? What skills did Black Rose find a use for in your case?”
Octavia turned her nose up. “My music, of course. The Legion may find no use for the musical arts, but Black Rose sees value in using and protecting them. And what of you, Miss Rarity? Has the Legion benefited greatly from your fabulous dress designs?”
“My time in the Legion has allowed me to learn a different set of skills,” Rarity replied. “In return, I've committed to helping them fight Equestria’s enemies, a cause I happen to have quite a stake in. I may have had some bad experiences with the Legion, Miss Octavia, but being under-appreciated is not one of them.” Rarity tilted her head slightly. “Of course, I’m sure that Black Rose has found many wonderful uses for your talents. When Pinkie Pie and some legionnaires were severely injured a while ago, they said they heard some music that left them weak and vulnerable to a Thorn’s poison gas attack. They described it as coming from ‘a bigger deeper violin’.”
“It’s called a cello. I must admit that the Legion has vastly exceeded my expectations by even knowing what a violin is.”
“Then I suggest that you open your eyes a little wider,” Rarity said sharply. “The Legion is vast, the Barrier Lands even vaster. Reducing them into a horde of barbarians out to destroy all that is beautiful does not speak well of your own refinement.” Her voice lowered. “Neither does aiding the poisoner who sent my friend to the hospital.”
Octavia’s cold glance did not change. “Sablesteel’s attacks were measured, as were her poisons, my music, Lion Court’s cuts, and Longstride’s shots. You and your friends may not like being on the receiving end, but our precise movements guided by Black Rose’s intellect serves Equestria well.”
Rarity quickened her pace. Some sense of competitiveness was starting to take over this strange conversation. It suddenly wasn't enough to keep in pace with Octavia. “That would be true,” she said, “if Black Rose and Equestria were one and the same. You are being deceived, Miss Octavia, you’ll find out too late that her goals have nothing to do with preserving the Heartland’s culture and society as you apparently believe.”
“Spoken like a true legionnaire. You’re deceiving yourself, Miss Rarity. It’s true that the Legion is here to stay and that they do have some use, but only when guided by a firm and refined hoof. The more I stay with Black Rose, the more I believe that it should be hers. She will see to it that the beauty of ‘the Heartland’, as you legionnaires keep calling it, remains intact, regardless of her other goals.” Octavia stopped when they approached a street corner. “I believe this is where we part ways. I came by just to pay a short visit to my family. Afterwards, you and I have duties to attend to.”
“Goodbye for now,” Rarity replied. “We’ll meet again, I’m sure. When we do, you’ll see for yourself that elegance and strength are often one and the same.”
Octavia didn't reply and slowly disappeared among the other ponies walking the street.
Pinkie Pie galloped through Canterlot, barely aware of the swiftly changing scenery around her. One minute, she was running through the Royal Palace’s halls, then she was by its entrance, then she was zigzagging through ponies on the streets. The only constant sight was the channeling tablet clenched tightly between her teeth. She wasn't sure where it was leading her, but she knew it had to be towards one of the two ponies she had to find.
After reading through some stuff about Rock Maven, Pinkie wanted to talk to Copper Mane. He enjoyed launching into anecdotes about the first leader of the True Earth Ponies, as well as other great channelers. She didn't particularly enjoy them, especially when he lingered on how many unicorn and pegasi “oppressors” they killed. Pinkie had been worried that, since all the stories she heard about the Old Kingdom and the Six Companions were bad, Rock Maven was also going to turn out to be a monster.
“Perhaps one day, I can show you around the Deepstone Quarter of the Great Delve, Pinkie Pie. You can see for yourself the armaments of Rock Maven himself, still waiting for the day when a true earth pony would be strong enough to carry them to battle,”
The truth was…well, it wasn't that it was the opposite. Rock Maven did lead his clan and the other enslaved earth pony clans to freedom. He did wear enormous stone plates that could block even magic for armor. He also did crush hundreds of unicorns and pegasi with a big stone club made from fossilized dragon bone.
The True Earth Ponies revered Rock Maven for real reasons, but the archives had stories that they couldn't have read if they were all out in the Barrier Lands. There was more to Rock Maven than the pony who had to be mean to help his friends and family. If she could tell him about it, the two of them might be able to come up with a better way to learn this channeling thing.
The other was Sablesteel. That wasp of a pony had a sting that hurt so badly that even the memory of them left Pinkie wincing. She was a horrible pony and Pinkie didn't need to read any book to know that. But there was-
“Pinkie! Pinkie!”
The blurry scenery slowed down at the sound of those voices from the other side of the street. Pinkie didn't spend a lot of time with her two sisters, certainly not as much as she hoped to, but they were hard workers who wanted to take part in the rock-farming business while her destiny took her to Ponyville.
Sure enough, there was dark gray-maned, gray-coated Inkie, smiling and waving gently. Blinkie, easily recognizable with her short white mane and her grayish purple coat, stood on her hind legs and waved more enthusiastically. In an instant, Pinkie was standing between the two of them.
“Are you alright?” Pinkie asked. She looked her sisters over, even lifting them above her head to see if they were suffering from any horrible poisoned wounds. “Nothing bad has happened, has it? Where are mom and dad?”
“We’re both fine, Pinkie,” Inkie Pie said. She pushed some of her long, straight, mane from her eyes. “Mom and Dad are fine too. We were worried about you. We heard that something weird has happened to the Royal Palace.”
“Yeah, there were these evil bony monsters, but the princess took care of that.” Pinkie tilted her head. “So what are you two doing out here? Were you headed for the Royal Palace to check on me?”
“Well, not really,” Inkie replied. “I was just returning from a meeting with some ponies from the Legion.”
“The Legion?” Pinkie Pie’s eyes widened. “The Legion? Why? Are they trying to get you to join the Legion? Because they’re not allowed to, you know! I’m already in it!”
Inkie giggled. “No, silly, I’m not getting drafted! The Legion has a lot of construction projects lined up, which means there’s a huge demand for building stone. Dad and I have been working on a couple of big contracts.” Her smile widened. “I really think you did the farm a huge favor!” Her voice lowered to barely above a whisper and her smile faded. “I mean, that’s okay, right?”
“Okay?” Pinkie asked. “Why wouldn't it be?”
“We’re not bad for benefiting from the Legion’s presence, are we? We don’t like war or fighting, but business has been terrible for the past couple of years. Now, we're going to recover and start raking in the bits! I was just thinking that maybe it’s not proper to have a reason to be happy when there are so many glum ponies around.”
“Don’t be silly!” Pinkie said. “Being sad’s never helped the situation get better! You should be glad to be glad!” She looked towards her other sister. “What about Blinkie? Is she also working contracts?”
“No!” Blinkie Pie said. She raised her chin proudly. “Dad and Inkie can deal with boring business talk, I've been learning from some of the Legion engineers and masons.” Her eyes widened and her voice gained a sense of wonder. “They've got some amazing stone-working techniques that’ll really blow your mind! I’m trying to get an apprenticeship. Dad says it’s fine as long as I don’t end up in the Barrier Lands.”
Pinkie looked around. "You said you and dad were working on contracts," she said to Inkie. "So where's dad?"
"Oh, his front knees are bothering him again," Inkie said softly. "You know how they act up during winter."
Blinkie suddenly grabbed hold of Pinkie's shoulders and spun her around. “Never mind that! You never told us that the new prince was the prince of rocks!”
“New prince?” Pinkie raised an eyebrow. “Oh, you mean Prince Terrato? He’s not really new, he’s as old as Princess Celestia! Well, she’s his big sister, so probably not as old, but I’m sure it’s close-!”
“We saw him fly by the other day!” Inkie said. She pressed her front hooves against her slightly red cheeks and closed her eyes. “His coat is such a magnificent shade of gray! Like finely polished granite!”
“And that chiseled jaw!” Blinkie added breathlessly. “A hundred master stone-crafters working together wouldn't even come close to duplicating it!”
“Those rock-hard muscles!”
“Those craggy eyebrows!”
“That stony glare!”
While her sisters swooned over the meanest of the royal siblings, Pinkie's thoughts went to other things. It had only been days since Sablesteel threatened to kill her loved ones and melt their bodies with horrible poisons. Yet, here they were, completely untouched. Blue Moon may be right after all. Maybe Sablesteel had no intention of hurting any of them.
“Hurting you…stains me.”
What did Sablesteel mean by that? Pinkie hadn't paid those words much attention until she got to talk with Blue Moon. When she was first laid out on that hospital bed, all she could imagine of Sablesteel was a monstrous insect-pony. After Blue Moon, she began to remember that alley fight a little more differently. All that anger suddenly wasn't aimed at her. All those strikes seemed slowed by hesitation. Sablesteel was trying to be mean, but she was trying too hard. That was what Blue Moon had been worried about. If they could only meet again…
“Pinkie, are you alright?” Inkie asked. “You’re staring off.”
“Oh! Uh…I’m okay!” Pinkie pulled out the slab again. The gems and the markings were still glowing. “You two stay safe alright?” she said. “I’ve got to go! Good luck with your work! And the prince!” The two waved as she galloped off.
Seeing her sisters safe and happy only proved to Pinkie more that she needed to see Sablesteel. She ran past one fancy house after another until she began to notice a pattern. She was heading for the older sections of Canterlot. The bright colors looked more faded here, the paint was even peeling in some areas. The walls were cracked and the gates dilapidated. Finally, the slab brought her in front of the most ruined building in Equestria’s capital.
Pinkie slowed to a cautious walk as she moved past the rusted metal bars the front gate. A cold wind picked up and fresh snow swirled around her. She shivered and trotted inside the mansion. She would have knocked, but the doors had long since collapsed on their sides and nopony clearly lived here.
The boards of the wooden floor creaked ominously as Pinkie walked over them. She stepped as lightly as she could, afraid that she might fall through. It was a little warmer inside the mansion, although the sights weren't any better. The rooms were mostly empty save for a few pieces of broken furniture here and there. The window frames were rotted and the panes had long since shattered. With night and plenty of snowfall closing in, the interior was shrouded in darkness. Only the lights coming from the slab's gems and markings showed glimpses of anything.
“This is quite the dismal place you've found, Pinkie Pie.”
Pinkie yelped and jumped, nearly hitting the low ceiling with her head. The disembodied voice had come from behind her and she was so sure that it was going to be followed by a poisoned blade digging into her flesh. It was only when she was picking herself off the floor and looking at the silver-shoed hooves of the pony who spoke did she recognize the voice. “Princess Luna!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing here? And how did you sneak up on me like that?”
Princess Luna smiled. “I had guessed that you may be looking for Sablesteel. I followed discreetly. As for sneaking, Illusion is one of my specialties. Becoming invisible is a simple enough task.” Her voice lowered and her eyebrows met. “Masking my presence from your strange channeling proved a more difficult task though.”
“Why are you looking for Sablesteel?” Pinkie asked. “Are you going to kill her?” She fell on her belly and grabbed hold of Luna’s hooves. “Please don’t kill her!”
“You are surprisingly protective of the enemy agent who poisoned you and threatened to kill your family,” Luna replied. “But you needn't worry. I have not come here to hurt or kill anypony.”
“Oh, good,” Pinkie said with a sigh of relief.
Luna pointed to a narrow flight of wooden stairs that led downwards. “Shall we see where those stairs lead?” The steps were cracked, but they looked sturdy enough. Pinkie consulted her slab and nodded. The stairs ended with a single door, surprisingly still intact. Luna blocked Pinkie with a hoof just as she was about to turn the knob. “Be careful, Pinkie Pie, the door is old, but its placement here is recent.”
It was only when Luna had raised a shield around them did they push the door together. Past it was a great basement library, easily big enough to occupy the mansion’s entire lowest floor. This time, the glow from Pinkie’s tablet was not the only illumination. There were lamps hung all over the room, giving the entire place a dim, flickering orange glow. Most of the shelves had fallen over, broken into pieces, or rotted away. There were pages scattered across the ground, the writing impossible to read because of fading, stains, or the paper simply too badly damaged.
“I’m busy, Longstride!”
There was no mistaking the sound of that voice. It sounded a little different, but that was because there was no mask to distort it. Pinkie had found the pony she was searching for.
“How in the moon princess’s star-spangled-? Nevermind! I’ll get the information to them! Just don’t mess things up any further, Longstride! And don’t try anything stupid while you’re up there!”
Luna's eyebrow twitched, but pressed on without saying anything.
At the center of it all, a lone mare sat on top of a pile of ruined books, quietly staring at a small fire. Sablesteel had most of her gear on, save for the mask. Her wavy gray mane, the tips curling just a bit, fell loosely across her shoulders and face. She didn't look up when they approached. “I didn't think you were so stupid as to seek me out twice, Pinkie Pie, especially after how our last meeting ended,” she said. “I see you brought back up. Are you here to attack me again, moon princess? All the extra-dimensional portals in Canterot have been shut down.”
“We agreed to cease hostilities until Gravitas has been dealt with,” Luna replied. “I will not be the first to start breaking agreements. Lion Court just rented a room in one of Canterlot’s best hotels, Sablesteel. Yet, here you are camping out in a ruin.”
“I like the old forgotten places,” Sablesteel said. “Reminds me of home.” She looked towards Pinkie. “Just so you know, Rainbow Dash got herself trapped by a blizzard near Mount Unicornia’s summit with Longstride. She’ll rejoin you once the weather clears.”
“Uh…okay,” Pinkie said.
Sablesteel tossed a book into the flames. “The both of you can go now,” she said. “We’re done here.”
“Wait.” Pinkie Pie tried stepping closer, but even that was difficult. There was some kind of invisible barrier around Sablesteel. It wasn't magic or some kind of device. If she crossed that boundary, she would be quickly met by poisoned blades. She didn't want another stay in the hospital, but she also didn't want to just walk away because Sablesteel was so prickly.
“What is it?” Sablesteel asked. “You should be resting.”
“I want to ask you some things,” Pinkie replied. “If you answer without making threats, or insulting somepony, or swearing, or throwing poison gas bombs, or slicing and stabbing things, then…then I’ll leave, and rest up, and never try to look for you again!”
Sablesteel stared at Pinkie Pie silently, her forelegs tapping together and her tail flicking behind her. The stinger clinked against the floor as the seconds passed. “That’s a decent offer, Pinkie Pie. I was expecting something dumber like offering a platter of cupcakes to get answers.”
Pinkie swallowed. “Well, that was kind of my back- never mind, you agree right? It’s a promise?”
“You never said I can’t answer with silence,” Sablesteel said. “Ask your questions. Regardless of my reply, go away.”
“What do you really want, Sablesteel?”
“I've explained myself clearly the last time.”
“No, you told me what Black Rose wanted, and what was good for Equestria. What about you?" Pinkie nearly gasped when an emotion besides annoyance showed on Sablesteel’s face. For a few seconds, those blue and green eyes showed what she had believed, had hoped, she'd see: some sign that there was something more to Black Rose’s ruthless agent.
“What I want…” Sablesteel stopped, savoring the words and the concept behind them. “Pinkie Pie…why would you ask that? Are you going to give me what I want? Is the Element of Joy here to make me happy?”
“No fair,” Pinkie Pie said. “I asked first.”
Sablesteel didn't say anything again. Pinkie’s ears drooped.
“It involves the Blackmoon Blades, doesn't it?” Luna asked.
The irritation was back in both Sablesteel’s eyes and voice. “You shut your horse-!” She looked at Pinkie Pie, then settled down with a long exhale. “Is that why you’re here, moon princess?” she asked.
“You wouldn't say anything so I made a guess,” Luna said. “I took some time to find out more since our last encounter, Sablesteel. My brother may say otherwise, but you are the last Blackmoon Blade, the sole heiress to a very long tradition of subterfuge, poisoncraft and assassination. It doesn't take much to guess that these mean a lot to you.”
“You’re half right, at least,” Sablesteel said flatly. “First, the prince is right; I am not the last Blackmoon Blade. That title belongs to my grandfather. It is true that I inherited all their important traditions.”
“Then why make such a distinction?” Luna asked. “Your grandfather must have brought you into the group if he taught you everything. Why would he stop at actually making you a blade?”
“You don’t understand,” Sablesteel said. She spoke softly, even reverently. “He wasn't blind to their faults. The Blackmoon Blades were deluded fanatics. They believed that they did your will. That every slaying they ever performed was done in the name of Princess Luna, their ‘Great Watcher in the Night’, ‘Blessed Lady of Dreams’, and ‘Silver Beacon’.” She let out a brief, cheerless laugh. “They had no idea what your will was. How could they? All they had were things that the first few grand masters of the Starlight Sentinels had written down. So they invented their own Princess Luna and made up things about her that seemed fitting.” She let herself smile a little. “They argued over some of the stupidest things like if it would please Princess Luna more if they sliced off the tongues of ponies who took her name in vain or if they should stick to the more general warning of ear-less corpses. Grandfather didn't want any part of that to be inherited.” The smile disappeared as Sablesteel tossed a sheaf of papers into the fire. “I was to be pure. I was to have in me everything that was good in the Blackmoon Blades: their dedicated discipline, their brutal and effective training, their accumulated knowledge on the arts of killing. He didn't want a single drop of their worthless, deluded, self-serving dogma to taint me. That is why it is so important that I am not the last Blackmoon Blade.”
Sablesteel turned towards Pinkie Pie. “What do I want, you ask me? I want the purpose and conviction that the Blackmoon Blades thought they had. I want to be part of a truly worthy cause that I believe with all my heart, led by a pony with true vision and dedication.” Sablesteel’s face soured and her tone grew harsher. “The moon princess failed. She ran to the Heartland and failed us all. The sun princess was an even bigger failure and the earth prince would not budge. After grandfather died, I tried to put my skills to work in the Legion. I grew so restless and frustrated that I wanted to get myself killed.” All the anger drained from her. “Then, I met Black Rose…Black Rose, the greatest daughter Equestria has ever had and will ever have. She had the purpose and dedication. She had the vision, the will, the ruthlessness: everything that the Blackmoon Blades so dearly wished to have been part of. I was at peace. The Thorns were my Blackmoon Blades and Black Rose was my princess.”
“Then…” Pinkie Pie spoke so softly that it sounded more as if there was a mouse in the library. “Then…you’re happy now, right?”
“NO!”
Sablesteel’s shout shook some dust from the beams above them. Sheets of paper flew from her as she stood up. Pinkie fell on her belly on instinct and covered her face with her front hooves.
“Why not?” Luna asked. "Has Black Rose failed you as well?"
“Black Rose does not fail! Has she not drilled that into your skulls yet? Her plans are reaching their completion. Her life will end with them and the last thing I get to do in her service is to bully a pink party pony into becoming strong enough to be useful to her. After that, everything good and worthy that grandfather has sought to preserve will disappear with me.” Sablesteel settled down once more. “It’s not…enough.” She turned her back on the two of them. “We’re done here. Leave.”
“Sablesteel," Pinkie said as she stood up. "I…uh, I know you’re not glad to have me as your ‘assignment’. But, I promise, I will be a strong enough Element of Joy.”
The sound of metal sliding against metal, followed by a glint that could only come from blades extending, came from Sablesteel. “I don’t need your pity, Pinkie Pie,” she growled.
“It’s not pity!” Pinkie Pie said. She didn't squeak this time. “You’ll see! You don’t need to bully or frighten me into becoming stronger. I will be a good enough Element of Harmony! I will protect Equestria! And I’m sure that your grandpa will be proud of you for helping so much!”
Sablesteel didn't turn around. “You talk a good game, Pinkie Pie,” she said. Her voice was much softer. “I’ll be watching. With blades drawn, mind you.”
“Come along, Pinkie Pie,” Luna said. “I’ll teleport us back to the palace so you can rest up.”
Pinkie Pie nodded and waited for the teleportation spell to take her away.