//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: Those Who Sport With Giants // by lord_steak //------------------------------// Twilight closed the door to the conference room, still wearing her Ponyville team jersey.  She took her spot at the head of the table, looking across the worried faces of Princess Celestia, Princess Cadance, Captain Spitfire, Commander Soairn’, Commander Fleetfoot, Ensign Rainbow Dash, Ensign Stormbringer, and Sub-Lieutenant Thundercracker, the latter six wearing Wonderbolts dress uniforms, complete with neckties.  Twilight shut the windows in the room with a quick flick of magic, and pulled the blinds to keep the late afternoon sun and any wandering eyes out.  Princess Celestia began, “We really should wait for my sister.” “Celestia, this is a security risk we need to address immediately,” replied Twilight, uncharacteristically blunt toward her mentor.  “We’ll fill in Luna when she gets back.” Twilight took a deep breath as she looked around the room.  “I called you all here so that you’ll be fully aware of what happened in the stadium today.  Everypony here was aware of the mist?” The others in the room nodded.  Twilight continued, “Good, that will save some explanation.  Nopony in the stands knew about it.  Everypony I called in to talk about what happened were all stunned at the news.  They recall being angry, and not knowing why.  Even those working concessions had the mist in their booths.  Pinkie Pie said she knew she shouldn’t be angry, and tried to just let it go as she does, but couldn’t.  She even described feeling ready to attack somepony, anypony, if they did something she didn’t like.” “Pinkie said that?” asked Dash with uncertainty. Twilight had a small grin for a moment, then elaborated, “Well, yeah, but she described it in terms of knocking the filling out of doughnuts and smashing cakes.” Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance both snickered softly while shaking their heads.  Rainbow nodded, muttering, “Yep.  Definitely Pinkie for ya.” Twilight gestured toward the only one in the room with a single silver bar on his uniform’s epaulette, saying, “Thundercracker, if you would, please.” The Sub-Lieutenant stood at the table, looking across the others.  He began, “They seeded the clouds to make the mist.  Since each section of the stands was a reshaped cumulus cloud, they had to insert a device into each of those clouds.  Unfortunately, these machines self-destructed whenever we got near one.  We have no idea how they were made, or what they used to drive the black mist.  But we do know their devices were the culprit, as they gave off some of that black mist when they fried themselves and broke apart.  Being too close once when one self-destructed, I can say for certain the black mist reduced how aware I was of the world around me, and made me feel really mad.  Both feelings quickly disappeared when the mist was gone.” Fleetfoot asked, “So, when Her Majesty and Her Excellency broke through the black mist, it had those clear lines because the device affect only its own cloud?” Twilight nodded, answering, “It sure looks like it.” A nearly white, pale blue flash came over the table.  There materialized Princess Luna, to the shriek of Princess Celestia.  The lunar princess was bloodied, showing numerous cuts and even had a broken-off spear embedded in her flank.  She lightly set herself down, leaning to one side.  Off Luna’s back and onto the table slid an unconscious white pegasus mare with a curly yellow coat, with similar gashes from battle, but had several spear wounds in her side instead of just the one, leaving her Wonderbolts wingsuit barely recognizable.  Luna lay down, breathing hard, unable to continue standing on those shaking legs.  Running over to the wounded, smaller mare, Spitfire cried out, “Surprise!?  Talk to me, girl!  I need to hear you say something, Commander!!” ...oh.  Oh dear me.  I wouldn't hesitate to lay down my life for Twilight, or any of my friends, but...goodness, I never thought it’d really come to that.... Dash sat overwhelmed with an otherwise vacant expression.  She looked around slowly as Twilight, Celestia, and Cadance all leapt up, a green ray coming out of each of their horns at Luna as both Twilight’s and Cadance’s mane and tail looked more like Celestia’s.  The broken-off spearhead clattered to the floor as Soarin’ yanked it out, just before the healing spells patched up the royal backside.  As Luna was able to stand up again, she joined her fellow princesses with the curative magic on Surprise.  Her eyes fluttered open, as she said sounding half-awake, “Hey, Cap’n.  I ran into some problems in Detrot.” Thanks heavens...!  I don't think I could stand to be in the room when somepony passes away...certainly not from battle wounds.... Tears filled Spitfire’s eyes as she hugged Surprise.  Luna explained, “The conference had not been going well.  But the talks were beginning to turn in the right direction, until word reached the city about Ponyville winning the game.  That’s when they struck.  They thought killing my guards and wearing their armor meant I wouldn’t notice the difference, nor their approach.  They pulled out the spears when I demanded to know what happened to my actual guards.  Surprise shielded me with her body.  They would have pierced me through the neck and head it if weren’t for her bravery.” Luna hung her head with some tears trickling down her face.  “I don’t think any of the company representatives made it out of the room.  I survived because I can teleport, and brought Surprise with me.” “So they’re after all of us,” murmured Princess Cadance emptily.  The others turned to her as she explained, “I thought it was just a lone assassin, in a dull orange and purple cloak that came after me that night.” Twilight rushed over and hugged her old foalsitter.  Smiling sadly, Cadance returned the embrace, saying to her, “Your brother is much quicker than ponies think he is.  He caught her before she had done more than reach for a knife and opened a vial of some poison.  I thought he was gonna kill that young mare, the one who tried to get me.  When he went to seize her, she took the poison herself, preventing us from getting any answers.  We didn’t talk about it, because panic is about the last thing we need.” Even Princess Cadance!!?  How can anypony hate the Princess of Love? Silence.  Cadance looked sad and a bit scared, while everypony else sat in disbelief.  Twilight trudged back to her seat.  Several started to move their mouths at one point or another, but could find no words.  Surprise had gathered up enough of her strength to pull herself towards the edge of the table and lower herself into a chair. Spitfire’s voice returned first as she croaked, “What about Buckham?” Celestia answered quietly, “David will make a full recovery from his experience, at least, physically.  I doubt he will ever visit Detrot again.” Spitfire asked, “If you please, Your Majesty, what happened to him?  You said he had been ‘implanted.’  What does that mean?” Celestia turned to Twilight, who hastily looked around the room. “This last winter, after visiting a few Detrot high schools and talking with their student-athletes about professional athletics, stormball, and staying focused on long-term goals, he decided to take in the city sights.  Mrs. Buckham was back in Cloudsdale at the time, two performances from the closing night of...can’t remember which opera, but that’s unimportant anyway.  While he enjoyed a late lunch at a pub somewhere on the south side, he said somepony attacked him from behind and hit him at the base of the skull, knocking him out.  When he came to, he said some ponies in dull orange and purple cloaks had him tied up.  They pulled out a long black crystal and touched it to his belly button.  He said the crystal forced itself into him, and he lost consciousness.” Princess Celestia took over. “Since then, he’s been fighting something that’s not him in his mind, just to maintain control over himself.  Every time he resisted that other presence’s commands and use of his person, it would stimulate pain receptors all over his body.  He said it felts like he was both burning and freezing at the same.  If he truly mounted a strong resistance, that crystal would create the black mist, the same kind we saw in the stands.  This mist usually manifested itself as it exited out the tear ducts.” Soarin’ began, “But there’s been many times we’ve seen the black mist coming out of his eyes!  Reinaldo told us he saw it happen when he fumed about Your Majesties supposedly having total control over all our lives!  How does that mean he was resisting it?” “He actually mentioned that,” answered Twilight.  “He’s been fighting it the whole time, knowing the physical pain he’d have to endure, but there’s only so much he can take at once.  He tried to tell you or Spitfire over and over about the crystal embedded in him, but could not get through the pain.  Every time you saw the mist out of his eyes, he was trying to talk about what happened.  His talk with Reinaldo was when he tried blowing the cover off the Elevens’ plans.  Cadance’s love-awakening spell gave him enough strength to get out most of a sentence directly on the matter.” Fleetfoot respectfully disagreed, “Begging your pardons, Your Majesty, Your Highness, but are you really that certain he was honest?  I recall being asked to leave the room after you got the crystal out of his belly.” Cadance replied, “Commander, do you really think there is anything in the world that can hoodwink a veritas spell cast at alicorn level by not one, not two, but three princesses?  It’s why we’re convinced he told the truth.” Luna asked, “What else do we know about this black crystal?” “It has a green sheen in the right lighting, and acts as though it were sentient,” anwered Twilight.  “Shortly after the Wonderbolts left the room, we saw it ‘melt’ and disappear through the floor.” “That means there could be any number of ponies controlled by these crystals around Equestria, waiting for the moment to strike,” surmised Luna.  “So...clearly the Elevens are patient, and plan their moves long in advance.” “Or they may snag any number of ponies, see what they can do, then form plans around their abilities,” suggested Stormbringer. Celestia said irritably, “From what Buckham was saying, and how he said it, I’m more likely to agree with my sister.  They had this game in mind for months.” “At least we kept those plans from working!” chimed in Dash, leaning back with her hooves behind her head, looking very self-satisfied. “No, Dash.”  Rainbow Dash sat upright, staring at her friend in shock.  Twilight was shaking her head discontentedly.  She said, “No.  Their plan worked, and too well.” “Twi, you’re still here, kicking and breathing!  What about that isn’t foiling an assassination?” Rainbow griped in exasperation and confusion. Twilight sighed. “Soarin’ mentioned the chat between Buckham and Reinaldo, when Buckham said something about the princesses having total control over the common ponies’ lives.  How do you think it looked to others, that Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance intervened when the audience wasn’t feeling emotions they approved?” “You know that’s not what they were doing!” protested Dash. “I know that, you know that, everypony here does too, but what about those didn’t see it firsthand?” asked Twilight.  “We’ll need to check every major newspaper’s sports sections and editorials over the coming days, to see how they’ll play up the intervention to sway those who weren’t there.” “What about them attacking Princess Luna!?  You can’t tell me that will play to their advantage, too!” Luna shook her head sadly.  “They can, and will, spin that to their advantage.  It was no secret the revitalizing conference wasn’t going well, that these business ponies weren’t convinced material investments in Detrot would benefit both the city and their companies.  Then they all end up dead behind closed doors by ponies in the Night Guards’ uniforms while the princess teleports away.  How do you think that looks to others?” Rainbow Dash appeared distraught, unwilling to accept the clever play by the enemy to erode at the common ponies’ opinions of Their Majesties.  She sighed long and low, slowly closing her eyes.  Twilight resumed, “In Pferdland, or Germane as most ponies call the place, they use the word ‘zugzwang’ for moments like this.  In acting for the safety of others, either one of us dies, or public opinion of us drops, either of which strengthens their political position.  This cannot be allowed to continue.  We have to do something, and soon….”