The Redemption of Jericho Swain
Chapter 24: The Fundamental Difference
Twilight leaned against the railing of the airship, letting the harsh, bitterly cold winds lash at her as she stared blankly at the clouds below her. Occasionally, she could catch glimpses of the land through holes in the patchwork of the clouds. It was strangely disconcerting to be on the other side of an overcast day. Above the clouds, it was bright and sunny, a sharp contrast to what she imagined was a very gray day below. In truth, she felt that it was appropriate: a clear disposition resting above a layer of shadow.
In her youth, she had never had much reason to brood as she was doing now. Being the personal student to the ruler of the land, Twilight was no stranger to the stress of high expectations, and despite her mentor's best efforts, she still had much trouble coping with living up to the perfection of Princess Celestia, despite the princess' insistence that Twilight's performance had always been beyond expectations. Despite being so susceptible to stress though, she had always bounced back quickly. A few days after the infamous 'Smarty Pants Incident', where she had accidentally hypnotized the entire town, she was back to learning the magic of friendship, nary a dark thought in sight.
Now, as dark thoughts churned about in her head, she felt utterly unprepared to deal with them. Saving the world from Nightmare Moon, Discord, or King Sombra, fighting through beasts and men in the League, all of them had been high-stress situations that had tested her core resolve, and she'd bounced back from them. Singed and Swain had been something different though. All of the villains she'd faced down had an ulterior motive for the suffering they had caused, whether it be spite or ambition. Singed had been content to simply use her as a plaything for a time and then shrug it off later. Even that was understandable next to Swain, though. Singed had simply been a madman, while Swain was so far from insane that she instinctively recoiled from the thought. Yet, he had done all of these terrible things, and now he was helping them with what seemed like sincere intentions, and he felt justified in all of it. Not once had Swain given the impression that he had violated his own moral compass. Swain was honestly convinced that he was doing the right thing.
What bothered Twilight the most, though, was that she had no way of saying that he wasn't. After careful consideration, she had been unable to dismiss his version of right and wrong simply because it wasn't hers. Where did Equestrian morality even come from? It was instilled in every pony from the cradle to the grave to be kind, to not hurt others, to be a shining example of Princess Celestia's personal philosophy, often called the Path of Harmony. Despite her insistence that she was no goddess, the Equestrian world revolved around Princess Celestia. Her wisdom and experience had kept Equestria in a state of peace and prosperity for over one thousand years, and despite countless books written, interviews given, and seminars led, ponies never quite seemed to understand the difference between harmony as a choice and Harmony as a divine mandate. Twilight knew objectively that despite being her idol, her ruler was no divine being, though. It had never occurred to her that there ever was another system of morality, however, much less that it could be so radically different. On her world, all of civilized existence seemed to bow to Princess Celestia's harmony. Even griffons and minotaurs, while perhaps a bit rough around the edges, had harmonious intentions at heart. Zebras knew of the magic of friendship as ancient ritual songs and poems rose up from the tribes' campfires as a sign of unity. Goats, mules, and donkeys stood alongside each other with a smile even as the more magical races tended to ignore them. It had just seemed so natural, so innate for harmony to be the natural state of life.
It wasn't, though, as Swain had taught her. Upon closer inspection, even such bastions of knowledge like Nasus and Ryze were radically different in their approach. Ryze feverishly craved knowledge, not unlike Twilight, but in a manner very much unlike her, he was at times willing to put aside friendship, kindness, and all but the most basic of harmonious values in his pursuit. He was often rude and impatient, especially with people he wasn't familiar with. Then there was Nasus. Half of the time, it was impossible to divine even the most trivial of his thoughts. He seemed kind and patient, with wisdom to belie the ferocity hidden within himself. She had seen him fight before, and it had been something both poetic and frighteningly feral. She suspected his genuine love for his fallen brother was at the heart of a burning fire of regret. Was Nasus driven by a desire to be good and kind to as many as would get close to him, or was it merely fear of losing yet another loved one that drove him to be such a fierce protector? Could she condemn him if that was the case? She knew the answer to that already, and it only frustrated her.
Harmony had been the rock that her life had been built upon, and it had been shattered. She suspected that her Element knew it as well, as any attempt to access that vibrant strand of magic that linked all of them together had suggested to her. She could still feel the magic permeating her friends, as one might feel a phantom limb. She could not access it though. Never had she felt so disconnected from the other girls, now that she was cut off from the force that had brought them together in the first place. It made her heart feel weak and her head erupt with the worst kind of thoughts if she dwelt on it for more than a few seconds.
Twilight's grip on the railing tightened, and she raised her head. "No," she spoke to nobody in particular, "I still have my friends, and they need me to... wait... is that another airship? Oh my..."
That was all she had time to say before falling over as a smaller craft rammed squarely into them, a faint magical glow leaking from several rods that seemed to be tethering the two ships together. Twilight only had to see a glimpse of purple before she regained her senses enough to cry for help.
- - - -
"So what I think, Riven, is that we should make education a government function separate from the military, similar to Bandle City's public education system, but with an apprenticeship program once students reach a certain level. The universities of Bandle City are just far too expensive and general. An apprenticeship program would allow for cheaper, more specialized education without needless-" Swain stumbled into a wall as the airship rocked, his cane clattering down the hallway as Riven reached out a hand to steady him. "It's probably just a problem with the airship's turbulence compensator. Just in case though, I'm going to go check with the captain."
At that moment, a surge of magic went through the ship, and shortly afterward Twilight's cry for help, reached the ears of all of those in the airship's lounge. "I don't think that'll be necessary," said Riven, handing Swain his cane. "You want me to keep whoever it is busy while you get your armor?"
Swain shook his head, turning to the other occupants of the room. "No time. The aliens need to stay in here. Nasus, stay here to guard them. You're too big to be of use on deck, and you'd probably just fall off. This room has the most space on the airship. You might have to forsake the staff if there's not enough space to maneuver."
Rarity and Fluttershy nodded, but Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash looked less than enthusiastic, especially the later. "What gives, Swain? We can help too. You're telling me you don't want someone with wings to help you out up there?"
Swain rolled his eyes. "Be still, and let the man who has years of military experience speak. Firstly, you six are the primary targets, and the most important target is the most vulnerable one. We cannot afford any distractions up there if we are to assure Twilight's safety, not to mention the fact that we'd only have one of us guarding Rarity and Fluttershy. This is my ship, these are my orders, follow them for the sake of your friends if not for your own. I have already wasted enough time explaining my plans to you. Riven, look around the airship's interior to make sure none slipped through, and then join me on deck."
Riven nodded. "Affirmative." With that, the two exited the room. After she had closed the door behind them, Riven spoke again. "Malzahar's boys aren't very subtle, are they? I swear I sensed the Void magic at least a full three seconds before the impact."
Swain raised an eyebrow. "You can sense magic? I didn't know you had any talent in the arts," he said, curiosity leaking into his voice.
Riven nodded, drawing her broken blade from the sheath on her back. "I was trained in mage killing as part of my officer training. Most people think it's just the magic of the runeblade, but it wouldn't function if I wasn't able to channel a bit of my own energy through it. I can't cast any spells, but I can still channel the full power of the blade for a while, even though it's broken."
"Interesting." Swain paused for a moment to look at the stairs before him. "It's time. Good hunting." Riven only nodded in response before quickly stalking away with an impressive lack of sound.
- - - -
Twilight was surrounded. Around her, bolts of violet magic dissipated harmlessly against the shield she had conjured. Shield magic was something she knew relatively well, as her brother, Shining Armor, was somewhat of a prodigy in the field. While she lacked his raw talent and trained skill, she had the raw power to make up for it. The problem came in that without proper training, she couldn't risk splitting her focus between her shield and attacking. She knew the cultists wouldn't want to damage their prize, so dying was a relatively small concern next to being captured, but trying to sneak attacks past her barricade could open her up to being hit by one of the fifteen cultists pelting her. They weren't well-trained, judging by the quality of the stunning spells surrounding her, but you didn't need to be an archmage to successfully stun someone.
Twilight's tactical deliberations were interrupted by a green flash and a cry of pain as one of the cultists collapsed, writhing in torment. Surrounded by the armed airship personnel streaming by him, Swain didn't so much walk onto the deck as much as slowly swagger, somehow not giving off the impression of weakness despite the cane. Before Twilight even had a chance to react, a flash from the mouth of Swain's bird signaled another two cultists being blasted over the edge, clutching identical scorch marks over their hearts. Knowing what was coming next, Twilight tried and failed to look away as one of Swain's signature spells took form. With a wood-shattering crunch and a chorus of screams, several claws erupted from the deck of the ship, shredding the legs of three more of the cultists.
With Swain and the crew taking out more and more of the cultists with each moment, the call to retreat swiftly came, and a scant five of the boarding party made it over before the magic holding the two airships broke, causing Twilight to stumble for a moment, and when she regained her footing, she looked up to find the dead cultists being dumped off of the side rails into the forest below.
"Shoot them down," said Swain flatly, tapping the still-writhing cultist that he had first struck down with his cane. "Take this one below. We'll interrogate him later."
"What?!" exclaimed Twilight. "No! You can't do that! We beat them! You'll kill all of them!"
"Twilight," said Swain as he watched his men ready their bows, setting alight their arrowheads, "These men were going to abduct you and use you for whatever dark designs they have in store for the world. As it stands they get to go home, give their master any new information they might have gathered, and oppose and endanger us on another day. What about your friends? Our enemy would not hesitate to kill you or any of them if their plans called for it. Why would you if it meant making your loved ones safer?"
"In the heat of battle, I can understand not being able to find another way," said Twilight, "but I know what I could become if I went down that path. I see it every time I look at you. If any of us get to the point where we'd rather kill a retreating foe for being potentially dangerous than risk our own lives, then we have become something so different than what we started as, that we might as well be called dead. I'd rather physically die true to my beliefs than live to become opposed to them."
Swain simply looked at her for a moment, his eyes boring deep into her own, neither flinching until a soft caw caught Swain's attention. A scowl formed on Swains face for a moment before he yelled out, "Let them go!"
"Sir?" questioned one of the crewmen incredulously.
"Let the damn ship go!" Swain barked out. "If any one of you so much as looses an arrow in their direction, I'll hurl them overboard myself! Back to your stations! And someone repair the deck!" With that, Swain whipped about and stormed back below deck.
Twilight only smiled as he left, and she felt a tiny tug of a familiar magic for a split second before it faded and she headed after him.