//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: Ruling Out The Improbable // Story: Elements of Honor // by SpitFlame //------------------------------// Corvo wandered away from the black tree, where it now bore five stones in its branches. Walking to Princess Celestia, he asked her: “Shall we be off to Neighagra Falls tomorrow?” “Yes, that would be best,” she said. “There remains only a few hours before sunset; and travelling is always more efficient in the daylight.” “Well spoken,” said Corvo. “Anyway, after such a tedious train-ride here, I would feel cross to go all the way back. But I will.” Celestia tilted her head. “You’re not going to stay here?” she asked. “Luna and I could use your opinions to decypher the seventh stone’s location.” “Verily, I would love to,” said Corvo, “but I have work to do.” “Work? It can’t be official without my knowing.” “No, it is not.” Corvo opened the main-door, looking down the crystal hall, then back to Celestia. “I was thinking to go back to Canterlot for my own time. I need to be alone to sort things out.” Celestia rubbed a hoof under her chin. “Sort things out? Like what?” “I plan to keep true to Luna’s wish after all,” said Corvo: “why these oddities are occurring for reasons we are blind to see. I plan to figure out what these 'reasons' are and why so.” “You think you could figure out why, say, this tree is here and how it connects to Equestria?” “No, no. That is not it. Well, maybe.” Corvo tapped a finger to his sword’s handle. “I mean not to make matters seem dire, per se. I merely request time alone to see if I can uncover reasons for these disasters.” “I see,” said Celestia, sighing. “I suppose you shall go to Canterlot while the other ponies and I remain here. Are you sure you can handle yourself there on your own?” “But of course,” said Corvo. “Please have as many documents regarding this case as possible to my acquirement. It would help.” Celestia nodded. “I will send a letter to get what I can to your room. Are you sure you will know what you will be doing?” “I would not do this if I was not one-hundred-percent certain,” he assured. Before Corvo could leave, however, he asked one more thing on his mind. “Say, how do you yourself plan to figure out the seventh stone’s location?” “Observation of our map,” she said. “I’m hardly sure we will find it, but it can never hurt to try.” “Makes sense,” he said. “I will be off now. Good luck with your examining of the map.” “You too.” She watched as he left, then closed the door. “Yes, good luck on deducing the causes. And now that you are gone, this time is best for one other thing.” * * * Both Celestia and Luna now sat opposite of each other on a large carpet, amid wide walls, and facing them a tall fireplace. The moon was high in the starless night, making their room very dark; save for the flickering fire upon the wooden logs, which illuminated just enough for the two sisters to see the other’s figure. “Tia, this is a good meeting place for the two of us to discuss these matters,” said Luna. “Yes, it sure is,” said Celestia. “Anyway, let us get to it.” Luna hovered the map in front of her. “Where shall we begin?” “Oh, that’s not it, dear sister,” said Celestia, shaking her head, grabbing the map with her horn and placing it to her side. “We will continue with the final stone later. Now, we are here to discuss Corvo.” Luna raised an eyebrow. “Corvo? What for? I thought we had already come to the conclusion that he would help until Equestria was back to normal and end it there.” “I’m sorry I haven’t told you everything, Luna,” said Celestia in a grim tone. “Now I can fully open up to you. See, I don’t trust Corvo. In fact, I trust him no more now than when we first met him again back in Canterlot.” “Didn’t you say you made a test to gauge his trustworthiness? One with having your guards attack him?” said Luna. “Or at least, for that very moment?” Celestia shook her head again. “No, that test was absolutely absurd in every sense of the word. If I did it or not, well, it wouldn’t change my thoughts on him.” “So you assume he is up to no good?” “More or less. Actually, that’s precisely it!” said Celestia. “Let us look back to when he initially came to Equestria.” “Go on,” hastened Luna. “I remember when he first came. I was in my throne, signing away at invitations to special events, all planned months in advance,” said Celestia. “Well, he didn’t come in definition where I saw him. I just heard about him. There were many call-outs for help with many other guards. I kept getting warnings and complaints that there was something lurking in the shadows. Something causing havoc, and something injuring my ponies.” “Yes, at the time I was in the Crystal Empire with Cadence,” said Luna. “I see you remember,” said Celestia. She looked to the fireplace, thinking carefully, then back to her sister. “I remember when he appeared he tried to kill me. I defeated him quite easily, but in exchange for much damage. Twilight, her friends, and I managed to get to the Crystal Empire. That’s when Corvo followed me, and that’s when he tried to kill the two of us.” “Wasn’t it at that point when we first heard him talk?” said Luna. “Ah, no matter how hard I try to think back I cannot remember what he specifically spoke,” said Celestia in disappointment. “Something about… an outsider, if I’m correct.” Luna nodded. “I think so, yes.” “Putting that aside, he escaped, where we tracked him down to the Everfree forest. And after a rather short battle, he suddenly—” “Disappeared! Vanished from sight!” interrupted Luna. “Exactly. That is what happened,” said Celestia. “Now, Luna, answer me this: why did I just re-tell you what we know of Corvo’s first visit?” “To analyse it and to come with the conclusion as to why he’s here again?” answered Luna, tilting her head. “Mostly that, but there is something more,” said Celestia, leaning in closer. What she spoke next she said very slowly. “I think that Corvo may be trying to kill us again.” “You cannot be serious!” Luna now felt very bewildered. “He is here to help us. What can there possibly be to use against him at this moment?” “Right now, hardly anything, and what we have isn’t solid in the least,” said Celestia. “Think about it: he came here, trying to help us, after he tried to kill us.” “Yes, he acknowledged that, and now he has been doing nothing but aiding us.” “There is also the chess match we both had. The way he played. He was so hasty with his deductions that it begs the question: why he would play that way?” “You think what he does in real life reflects off of how he plays chess?” “There is always something to reflect off of.” Celestia swallowed hard. “Luna, I’ve been alive for thousands of years, and no pony would ever try to come back so early after an assassination attempt. Even you should no this.” “He is technically not a pony; and he only came three months or so after that, which is not very early,” Luna argued. Celestia couldn’t help but chuckle. “It’s strange, sister,” she said. “Before this you were the one who was always against him while I tried to support his stay. Now it’s quite the opposite.” “I see,” said Luna, sighing. She scanned her eyes about the dark room. “Please explain to me what you now think in the final run. Add this all up.” “Gladly,” said Celestia. “Reflecting off the way he played, he’s up to something that even he may be planning still. He came here, asking for forgiveness, and seemed much too normal for my liking. The way he passed the first test even. If I were to guess the results without seeing for myself, I would say that he would have attacked.” Celestia now leaned even closer to her sister. “It’s hard to explain, but with this tree connecting to that mark on his hand and all these acts, I am sure he is up to evil.” “All I can do is trust you,” said Luna, proffering her thoughts. “What about once we have all the stones? Do you think Corvo will make some sort of move?” “I think something will indeed happen on the final stone, maybe even the sixth stone,” said Celestia. “He knows so well on how to obtain these artifacts, and that same knowledge appeared in the chess game. Coincidence? No. Too convenient.” “I understand the final stone, but why the second to last?” “To throw us off? Or maybe to prepare for an attack. Whatever it may be, we must plan ahead.” Luna breathed out heavily, leaning into Celestia, and looking into her eyes. To her this was all moving too quickly. She needed to know how to save Equestria, but more directly, how to figure the assassin out. “Speak away,” she said. “How will we plan this?” * * * Corvo sat in a high chair, a wooden desk in front of him. To his left there were two candles, flames wavering upon their wicks, filling the room in a dim, amber glow. Right in front of him—and to his right as well—were many papers of written importance. Some were scrolls, some were small notes, and some seemed to be pieces of paper ripped right out of history books. Corvo looked beyond his window, noticing the waxing moon eyeing him from above, then looked back to the desk. He had already read over most of what he had, and now rubbed his temple in weariness. “This is all very interesting,” he said to himself, “but it does not reveal much. That I will have to accomplish on my own.” He picked up a paper, crumbled up on its edges; and on it it said in dark, heavy letters: Week one after events have started. There is a clear pattern riding from mountain to mountain in the east to north, then from west to south. Magnitudes in such occurrences very much differ in location. ~~ Studies continuing after one month after events have started. Magnitudes are increasing. New patterns seem to be arising based on locations again. There are— Corvo didn't bother to continue reading. He put the note down, rested his back upon his chair, and looked up to the dark ceiling. “Again, information regarding our case, but it does not mean anything for the reason,” he said again to himself. Corvo then looked back to the two candles, resting his elbows upon the desk, and holding a fist under his chin. “If I were to eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable it may seem, must be the absolute truth.” Corvo sighed, closed his eyes, and calmed his expression. He was deep in thought, arraying his mind and the information available towards him. In his head he re-opened his eyes, concentrating on the daunting facts. About him was pitch-black; and upon thought many words and sentences from the notes floated round him. He looked even further to see a map of Equestria, where much more information organized in front of him in the form of imaginary words. I must narrow all of this down, he thought to himself. Patterns were discovered. Very clear indeed. In his mind he lifted an arm, and began to sort out the words. Every once in a while he would throw information to the side, where it would disappear and never be seen again by him. Most of this would be pointless. Dates and times are what can correlate with the magnitudes. The stones were in unique locations. Seeing as how these placements were organized, that could mean it would have been intentionally— Corvo re-opened his eyes again, seeing the candles still burning. “Intentionally,” he whispered to himself. He closed his eyes once again, thought for a moment, and opened them yet again. “That is it. Everything is now connecting. There is someone who is intentionally causing this. A person. More specifically, a conscious entity who has an independent mind, must possess great power, and is aware of what is happening. It would be ridiculous to assume these events are happening due to magical distortions in nature. This entity must be the one creating these occurrences to simply exist—somehow. But who?” Corvo now saw the many thought-of words round his vision. There are many names and peoples to consider, he thought. The person who is responsible must have great power. Therefore, I can rule out most of the ponies and the ones I know back in my world. Could it be either Celestia or Luna? No. They would never do this to their country, but that is not why. Their frequent actions would not leave them enough time to do anything of such levels. Could it be The Outsider? Corvo swallowed hard, and began to feel cold. My mark, which belongs to him, is on the stones we find, which are connected to the tree, which is connected to Equestria. He is the one who gave me the mark and its powers after all. Corvo tapped his fingers on the desk, his eyes twitching. No, it cannot be him. He is too neutral, too impartial to interfere with other worlds. I would see him, and I do not. I cannot even remember his saying on Equestria for a long time. Yes, thinking about it, it absolutely cannot be him. Corvo tightened his jaw and slammed a fist over the papers. “For goodness’ sake, who would it be!” he said out loud. Can it be someone from Equestria? No. I know my mark is connected, and there is nothing regarding The Outsider’s powers with this land. Can it be another person from my world bearing the mark? No, they would not be powerful enough to alter such logic concerning ponies’ magic. And I have not heard from any of them up until this point. Without noticing, Corvo began to bite his nail, thinking harder than before. How can I correlate this with such an entity’s doings? He closed his eyes, and began to shift his head about. Upon re-opening his eyes he said: “What can I remember before coming to Equestria?” He was about to answer himself, but Corvo found it to be difficult. And the more he pondered on the question, the more he thought it was near impossible to answer. “Why can I not remember why I came to Equestria—specifically, anyway?” He looked over his notes with heavy eyes. I know I came to Equestria to seek redemption, but anything before that is unclear. Why would I come to such a conclusion? It is not like me... err, rather daunting in such a sense. It would be a funny joke if I tried to do all of these things. It cannot happen, of course, but— The assassin was immediately taken aback, sliding his chair against the floor and nearly falling off. He looked to his mark, his eyes aghast. I know this may seem completely absurd, and quite impossible, but what if I am the one to be this ominous entity? Arraying my ideas, there is a legitimate chance of it being me, for now. He then began to speak out loud, sorting the papers on the desk. “I do not think I would have the power to do so, but with enough planning nearly anything can be accomplished. I do not remember much of what has happened.” He began to rub his temple again, breathing sharply. “Dear Lord! What can be happening? Let us hypothetically say that I did cause these events. How did I do it? Increase in my mark’s power? Do not be ridiculous, Corvo. That is obviously impossible. Help from anyone else? Other than The Outsider, which is very slim, there is no one else I can think of.” Corvo looked beyond his window again, noticing how the moon was waning in altitude. He suddenly shot a straight glare to the two candles, now very low in height. If I did do this, would it be by my will—because I wanted to? Or was it because I was forced to—by the will of another? The latter would explain me not remembering. Come now. Think! Rule out the improbable until only a factual result remains. After remaining still for many slow minutes, thinking very carefully and with a hardened expression, Corvo said to himself: “I see. Given the current premise, it would be the former: by my will. Putting that concept into view, it seems impossible to be me. I suppose I should rule that out as well.” But Corvo found himself hesitating. After many more minutes, his mind reached a final conclusion. He put the concept of him being the entity to the end of his mind—and he thought it was very silly for him to be helping Equestria as well—so he never thought of it again. Right now, he resumed to thinking and studying for the rest of the night as to what or who was doing this to Equestria; and more importantly to him, who or what created the tree and placed the seven stones. * * * The sun had just come up, as Celestia wearily made her way about a crystal hallway. Luna was by her side, but they did not say a single word to each other as they walked. Upon reaching the main crystal foyer they saw the main six. Each bore a saddlebag to their side, some looking out the window and some standing by the giant double door. Twilight, upon seeing the princesses, ran to Celestia. “Princess Celestia, you’re awake!” she said. “Twilight, why are you and your friends here so early?” said Celestia, hiding a yawn with a hoof. “Didn’t you spend most of the night working on gathering all the stones—or the knowledge of doing so, anyway?” “We decided to sleep early so we could leave in the morning,” said Twilight. “The faster we collect these stones the better. I just hope Corvo gets here soon.” “Yes, let us hope,” said Celestia. After an hour of waiting, Corvo had finally arrived. The double door opened quickly as he stepped inside the room, his sable hood about his head. “It is still very much cold outside,” said he, flipping his hood backwards. “But that does not matter. Thank you for waiting.” “Come on, everypony!” yelled Pinkie as she headed for the door. “The faster we save Equestria, the faster we could be in Ponyville again!” “I agree!” said Rainbow Dash, flying to the entrance. “Let’s go, girls,” said Twilight as her friends all gaited by to their awaiting train. She then looked to Corvo. “Come on. Neighagra Falls shouldn't be too far from here by train.” “Yes, I know,” he said. “Not too many leagues from the Crystal Empire, I would predict. Let us be off.” Twilight nodded and trotted out the door. Just as Corvo was about to do the same, Luna called to him. “Do not get so hasty, Corvo,” she said, walking over to where he was. “I will be coming with you and the ponies.” Corvo raised an eyebrow. “You will be coming?” he said. “Err, very well! Actually, now that I think on it, that seems like a fine idea. I would be happy to have you come.” As Luna levitated a saddlebag to her side, Celestia said: “Corvo, she is coming—not to really help you in that sense—but to get to know you better.” “Get to know me better?” questioned Corvo. “Mostly what it sounds like,” said Luna. “To get to know you better in a way of helping Equestria. As friends, that would be good, too.” “Then let us be off, I guess,” he said, sounding slightly off, but nonetheless indifferent before wandering outside.