//------------------------------// // Epilogue: The View Forward // Story: The Brass Conspiracy // by MadHighlander //------------------------------// Broken Horn Hill Three Days Later Most of Canterlot’s citizenry had been completely unaware of the events of that night. It was only once they woke up and noticed the blackened ruin of the Royal Tower that some began to question what had occurred. Celestia had, at that time, been bedridden, and so Princess Luna had made a statement to the population to confirm that Cogspin was, once and for all, gone, and that his co-conspirator had been rounded up and imprisoned. The exception – Shimmerthread – had apparently plowed through an entire squad of Royal Guards (now freed from the Crown’s influence) sent to apprehend her before she could escape. None had been killed, but many had been badly wounded – between their accounts, and Rarity’s, Celestia and Luna confirmed that Shimmerthread was, like her reformed sister, an Irex. Speaking of Poison Point, she had recovered remarkably quickly from being knocked unconscious twice in the same night – by Cogspin, and then by the concussion of the helical converter. Luna had explained that Irex – reformed or otherwise – were remarkably durable. Celestia had recommended that Poison seek a psychiatric professional to ensure that the ill effects of Kingsblood stayed gone, advice that Poison had taken to heart immediately. Pinkie and Twilight had also recovered from the effects of the explosion more quickly than the castle physician had predicted, a fact he attributed to their bonds to the Elements of Harmony, though he confessed being unable to explain how that worked. Fluttershy had also woken the next morning with no ill effects, save for an overwhelming feeling of responsibility that her friends endeavored, more or less successfully, to quell. Apparently Shimmerthread had simply used a common sleeping spell to render her unconscious. Rainbow Dash's transport of Grain and Macaroon had been completely uneventful, and after everypony had gotten together again she was frustrated for two reasons: First, that she hadn't been there to help Rarity, and second, that she had missed the last of the action. Rarity assured her that she couldn't have known what would happen. Those who had been present - Applejack, Spike, and the other two Crusaders - had escaped mostly unscathed from being tossed around by Shimmerthread, a fact likely attributable to the natural durability of their respective species. The two fillies had had to be physically prevented from chasing after Sweetie Belle, and Applejack and Rainbow had both resolved to make sure they didn't sneak out to rescue their friend. Admirable though their intentions may have been, simply being on their own in the wilderness was too dangerous for foals, to say nothing about Shimmerthread herself. Celestia too had recovered from the explosion within the first day, though the loss of her horn apparently resulted in occasional dizzy spells. Luna insisted she take at least a week’s rest, but Celestia had begun taking on some of her political duties despite her sister’s advice. She had, as well, contracted a group of machinists to uncover and dismantle the machine that Cogspin had used to entrap Aurora. These machinists happened to be the Spark brothers, whom Twilight, Pinkie, and Poison had met in Baltimare, and their parents, Lightning and Socket. Poison had initially had concerns that they might blame her for what had happened at the hideout, but of course they didn’t – Chiaroscuro had confessed, strictly speaking, back there. As for Ross himself, he had fled to Zebrica as soon as he’d received his reward from Cogspin, and even if he hadn’t, Ratchet lamented, he hadn’t technically done anything illegal in reporting them to Macaroon, even by the newly reinstated Celestian laws. Of course Twilight had been curious as to how the Sparks had escaped from Macaroon and her guards. Gearbox reported that their escape had been possible largely thanks to Iron Will, who had distracted every single unicorn guard simply through the effort to keep him restrained. The Wonderbolts had flown away, the Spark brothers had teleported out, and Box had simply jumped out the window and run off. The Minotaur had been arrested and locked up (Celestia, upon hearing this, had sent word to Baltimare to have him released immediately), but everypony else had escaped without incident and hidden until Cogspin’s defeat. As for the so-called ‘Brass Conspirators’ who had been captured – Macaroon, Grain Chaff, Stone Cutter, and the Flim Flam Brothers – they had been transported under heavy guard to Broken Horn Hill, where they were scheduled to remain pending a formal trial, and following that – most likely, considering what they had done and how publicly they had done it – they would remain indefinitely. Rarity had attempted to leave Canterlot almost immediately after she had been freed from the cocoon-like structure that Shimmerthread had woven, with the intention of searching for Sweetie Belle. Celestia had persuaded her to wait for further information, explaining that she had done the same thing during her own search for Aurora. Celestia pointed out that the five ponies now held in Broken Horn Hill may know, if not where Shimmerthread is, then where she might go, thereby giving Rarity at the very least an idea of where to look. And that is what brought Rarity, Celestia, and Pinkie to see the Brass Conspirators at Broken Horn Hill. Neither Celestia nor Rarity had been aware of Pinkie’s presence until their arrival – not because she had simply appeared, as she might usually do, but because she had been unusually somber (for Pinkie at least) for the entire journey. The cells at Broken Horn Hill were the same layout as in any other prison across Equestria – two beds, no more than a pony-length apart, forming the sole decoration in the rooms. These, however, had extra security designed specifically to help secure the facility’s all-unicorn population. First and most noticeable was the lack of bars on each cell, replaced by a magical forcefield that Celestia explained allowed passage based on intent: If one intended to leave the complex, or if one intended harm to anyone or anything, then one could not pass. It could be deactivated using a horn-socket next to the chamber if somepony needed to be let out, but to prevent escape in such cases, deactivation of the forcefield would trigger an attractor cuff above each bed that pulled on the horn limiter it was bound to, keeping the prisoner restrained. But there was no need for the guards to deactivate the fields for this visit: sound traveled perfectly fine through the field. “Shimmerthread, as you may have noticed, has evaded capture.” Celestia addressed the captive audience. “Good for her,” said Stone darkly. Nopony else replied. “If any of you have information that may lead to her capture, I urge you to come forward with it now.” Stone laughed. “Now why in the name of Tartarus would we want to do that?” Celestia was about to reply when Rarity approached the field, glaring angrily at Stone. “Because she has my sister, and I will do anything to ensure Sweetie’s safety.” This produced no reaction from Stone, apart from grinning broadly and leaning back on his bed. “I doubt I’ll see anything outside of these walls for the rest of my life. What more could you do?” Celestia spoke this time. “If you were to cooperate, I might be able to have your sentence reduced.” Stone shrugged. “Meh. I can deal with this place.” Grain was completely silent, staring at the attractor cuff above his bed and completely ignoring them. Macaroon simply stared intently at Pinkie. Flim and Flam on the other hand, began nodding vigorously. “I for one would rather not waste away in this place, don’t you agree, brother?” said Flim. Flam nodded. “We didn’t want to participate in this whole fiasco. We’re just con artists, not maniacal zealots like our fellow prisoners.” “Exceptionally fabulous con artists, but nothing more.” “Why, I daresay-” Rarity decided to step in and stop the two before they got on a roll. “Get to the point, you two. Do you have information about Shimmerthread or not?” The brothers cleared their throats in unison and lined up in front of the force field. Flam started, “Well, we may perhaps not know as much as you like.” His brother continued, “But we will share what we do know.” “Shimmerthread owns some abandoned property near Grimy Gulch.” “Under a false name – Cross Stitch. She bought it ten-fifteen years ago, or some such.” “We can’t say definitively she’ll be there-” “But there’s a very good chance she will.” Rarity smiled. “Thank you.” She turned and began trotting away. “Wait!” called Flam. “Are you going to get us out of here?” Celestia addressed them. “I will see what can be done. Understand, though, that you will not escape this without consequences. I may be able to move you to a facility with less tight security, and I may be able to have your sentence reduced to a period of several years. But, willing or not, you did conspire to overthrow me and my sister, and regardless of your cooperation that is something I cannot ignore altogether.” The brothers shared a glance, then nodded in unison. “That’s… reasonable.” Celestia turned to follow Rarity out of the compound, but stopped when she realized Pinkie had simply sat down in front of Macaroon’s cell. Pinkie had altogether ignored Rarity and Celestia making a deal with the brothers; she had come here for a different reason entirely. Her and Macaroon had spent the whole time since her arrival simply staring at each other across the pale yellowish force field. At once, she finally asked the question that had consumed her ever since she’d heard exactly what her former friend Mac had been party to: “Why?” Macaroon smiled nonchalantly. “Why what? Why is the sky blue? Why do we go door to door on Nightmare Night? Why does the blue wolf howl?” She leaned in close to the force field and whispered, “It’s because somepony painted him blue.” Pinkie shook her head. “You know what I mean. Why did you join Cogspin? Why did you do all of those things you did? Those weren’t the type of thing the Macaroon I knew would do.” “Well, Pinkie, perhaps I’m just not the Macaroon you used to know.” She jumped back, hopping in place repeatedly. “See, while you were away, I realised something. Ponykind needs direction, we need somepony to tell us what to do. And the old kings and queens, they didn’t work out because they were, at the core, just ponies, like us. That’s why Celestia has hung on so long, see, because she is, for all intents and purposes, godlike. But she’s not, really. She’s just like all her predecessors, from Platinum to Stardust. She just happened to get a lucky break a couple millennia ago.” Pinkie raised an eyebrow. “So you used this… warped logic, to justify taking over because, what, you believed Cogspin was…” “A god?” Macaroon scoffed. “No, no-no-no-no. That kind of thinking is Shimmerthread’s territory. I follow the whim of a far superior being to Cogspin, a true Deity.” She sat back and spread her forehooves in an almost serene gesture. “It was on His command that I helped Cogspin. He told me I was helping with His own grand plan to bring about His resurrection, His ultimate endeavor to give the ponies of Equestria the ruler they want, even if they don’t know it yet.” Macaroon was sounding less and less like Pinkie’s doppelganger and more like a maniacal zealot. Even Stone and Grain in the next cell over were casting odd glances in Macaroon’s general direction. Pinkie shook her head. “You’re delusional.” The smile dropped from Macaroon’s face, and she charged the forcefield, striking it with the bell-like peal of impact, and pressed her face against it. “Delusional, am I? You’ll see. Soon, He’ll free me from this place, and we shall bend the fabric of space and time together.” Macaroon’s eye had taken on a mad, menacing gleam. Pinkie began to back away. Turning from the cell, she walked towards the exit alongside Celestia, who draped a wing over her back. Macaroon called after her. “You’ll see it my way eventually, I know you will. You’ll hear him too! He told me,” she paused for breath, and then shouted, “YOU’LL HEAR HIM TOO!” Meanwhile Winberg, capital of Gryphon Winberg was the oldest Griffon settlement on the mainland. Technically, it had been taken by the invading Griffons from the Diamond Dogs, who had built and ruled it initially, but like much of the northeastern mainland of Equis, it was Gryphonian now. The city had been hewn into the side of a tall mountain overlooking the sea by the Dogs, and most of the original architecture was hidden within the mountain’s bulk. Griffon additions included external platforms from which to take off and land, all hewn from dark granite by the finest of Griffon craftsbirds, as well as a palatial castle which looked superficially similar to the Royal Palace of Equestria, though Griffon emperors through the ages have persistently denied any connection. Within that palace dwelled the Royal Family of Gryphon, currently helmed by HRH Harthacnut Magnusson III, an old, scarred, and graying, but still strong and brash griffon. Emperor Harthacnut was not a fan of ponykind in general, but didn’t have the military power to move on Equestria without some sort of countermeasure to the famed Elements of Harmony. The latter was the only reason he agreed to meet with the mysterious pony who claimed to have just such a thing. As that cloaked pony was marched down the grand hall of the Winberg throne room, carrying a thick burlap set of saddlebags and flanked by a pair of Griffon guards, Harthacnut’s diminutive Diamond Dog aide stood and announced to the guest, “You stand in the presence of His Royal Highness Harthacnut Magnusson the Third. Respect is expected of you. State your business.” The pony lowered her hood, revealing a dirtied, off-white coat and fraying green mane, as well as a prominent unicorn horn. She smiled slyly. “I’ve no love for the current government of Equestria. I’m given to understand you share that position.” Harthacnut narrowed his eyes. “Supposing your understanding were accurate, just what would you do about it?” “Everycreature knows the only real obstacle to an invasion of Equestria is the Elements of Harmony. I am prepared to help you neutralize them.” The griffon, and indeed most of his court, leaned forward in a barely contained display of interest. “How would this be accomplished?” he asked. The pony dropped her saddlebags, allowing the cloth to fall away from a small pony, no more than a foal, who was not moving. Harthacnut, despite being a member of a race not magical in and of itself, was still knowledgeable to recognise the signs of a magically imposed sleep state. “I’m afraid you’ll have to enlighten me further,” said the emperor. “Does the foal have some manner of unusual magical ability?” “No. The foal is only part of the plan. For the rest of it, I’ll need some alchemical equipment, as well as, let me see…” She put a hoof to her chin, as if recalling a memory. “Phoenix blood, extract of rotthorn root, dried poison joke, Tatzlwurm mucus, Changeling chitin, Mirror’s Fluid, and as much crystalline magic as you can get your claws on. Any will do, though I’d prefer Imperial. Oh yes, and a live parasprite.” Harthacnut leaned over to a younger griffon nearby, who whispered in his ear. The pony guest waited patiently. After a moment of discourse, the aged griffon returned his attention to the pony. “My alchemical expert has a lot of interesting information about these things you’ve requested. Most notably that most are extremely expensive and hard to get. I’m not altogether certain I’m willing to commit such significant resources to this initiative without more information. I don’t even know your name.” “I’d like to keep it that way, if it’s quite all right with you,” said the pony shortly. Harthacnut frowned. “So long as you are more forthcoming with my other questions, I shall name you… þræll.” He brightened on thinking of the name, and much of his court cackled or guffawed loudly. The pony, however, curled her lip in distaste. “Ah, we speak Griffonian, do we? Perhaps you would prefer Sveinstauli? Or Lítthestr?” The pony’s expression soured further with each name. “Lítthestr it is then.” The pony, now known as Lítthestr, looked around in irritation, but said nothing. “Who is the foal?” asked the emperor. “The younger sister of one of the Element Bearers.” There was a flurry of murmurs amongst the assembled griffons. “How did you come by her?” asked Harthacnut incredulously. Lítthestr answered simply, “At great effort.” She then continued, “In answer to what I’m sure will be your next question, we will not be using her as a bargaining chip. She is a weapon.” “A weapon, you say? And just how do you plan to convince her to turn against her home and family? And even if you can, you said before she possesses no special powers. What good will she do?” “That is what the alchemical ingredients are for.” Harthacnut tutted. “Ah, but my alchemist informs me that the ingredients you named are not useful together, and poison joke is not alchemically useful at all.” Here, Lítthestr grinned evilly. “That is because your advisor’s knowledge of alchemy is incomplete.” She chuckled. “I happen to know how to make those ingredients do exactly what we want.” Here, the griffon alchemist spoke to Lítthestr directly. “You lie! My knowledge of alchemy is unmatched! If there were such a potion, I would know about it.” Lítthestr shook her head calmly. “You do not know about it because it has been lost for thousands of years. It was rediscovered and the methods of its making taught to me. It was known, in its time, as Kingsblood.” It was obvious that the term ‘kingsblood’ did mean something to the griffon, as he sat back, wide-eyed, and mumbled something under his breath. “Colden?” Harthacnut addressed the alchemist. “If she’s telling the truth, she’s referring to what you and I would better know as the Bane of Numitor, your Majesty. Kingsblood was its equine name.” There was a moment of shocked silence, as the assembled griffons processed the revelation. “And you,” said Harthacnut, “you are willing to turn the power of Numitor’s Bane against Equestria?” Shimmerthread, or Lítthestr as it seemed she was now to be known, smiled, knowing she had the griffons convinced. “I am.” “Then you shall have what you need.”