//------------------------------// // Chapter 20: Illumination // Story: Marked // by Eisen //------------------------------// Twilight groaned as she finally came to, recovering consciousness with a fading throb in her head. After an encounter like that, she was expecting to wake up in a holding cell, or buckled down with restraints, but the very first thing she could feel was... she was sitting on a very soft chair, her spine resting against its back, and her front legs held up by the cushioned elbow rests. "Ah, princess! I'm so pleased you're awake. I must apologize for my associate's behavior, he can be quite the brute at times." The voice that spoke was flat overall, but had an air of gladness about it, as if a bored business pony had just been impressed with a successful proposal. This prompted her to fully open her eyes and look up, and she was met by the sight of another pony sitting in an identical chair, facing her, just a few feet away. He was a light gray earth pony, with short, neat, black hair, piercing green eyes, and a small, almost pleasant smile worn upon his thin lips. "Where did you take them? Where am I?" the princess demanded with a start. Her horn began to glow, but she powered it down after an ache ran through it. Must still be sore from the direct hit it took earlier. Despite her horn faltering however, her posture and tone still elicited command, and she sat firm in her question. "Oh, your friends are quite alright I assure you, no harm will come to them. As for where you are, I wish to welcome you to my humble office," the stallion responded calmly, unfazed by her display of authority. It was interesting, his tone of voice was very unique, reminding her slightly of Discord's, but much flatter, and it had a more formal air to it. His office? She swiveled her head about, and other than the two fancy chairs, the office was actually very blank, much like the mysterious pony himself. The office was very large, with a fairly high ceiling. The walls were about the same shade of gray as his coat, while the floors were made up of polished, ebony colored tiles. There was a plain metal desk just a few feet from her right, and a wooden double door to her left. Twilight felt very confused about this entire situation. As she looked down to think, she was surprised to see her coat had been returned to it's original purple coloration, which was even more distressing, given that, in theory, only the user should be able to reverse the changes. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry, where are my manners? I have yet to introduce myself. My name is Far Reach, CEO of Reach Mining Company... though, I think you're more than familiar with that, given we found you stealing from my Crystal Empire branch." Despite the accusation, he did not sound mad in the slightest. In fact, he almost sounded amused at the fact that she tried stealing from him. So this was Far Reach, the mysterious CEO himself. "So this is your office... are we in a Reach Company building then?" she inquired. Reach chuckled slightly and shook his head slowly. "Oh no, we're nowhere so public as a corporate office. We're at my... let's say, more important place of work." Twilight had had just about enough of all these dead ends and riddles, and her brow furrowed in determination as she stared directly at him, speaking slowly. "What is going on here?" Reach ceased his laughter and stared back, the two pairs of eyes staring into each other, both asserting their power, and neither noticeably faltering. Finally, Reach relaxed subtly without breaking eye contact. "Would you like some tea?" he offered, pressing a button on the side of his armrest. She looked over on the left side of her chair as a small end table rose up out of the floor with a cup of hot tea on it. She looked over to see that the same had appeared on the right side of his chair, and he was already taking a drink from his. "I personally prefer Earl Gray tea, straight, no sugar, but we took the time to get to know you a little better. Fresh Canterlot tea straight from your favorite shop, three sugar cubes, just as you like it," he said, nodding at her cup. She smelled it, and it was exactly the same. His smelled rather bitter, but she was more concerned with the matter at hand than some businessman getting her tea right. "What is going on here?" She repeated the question with more intensity this time, looking back at him. His thin smile disappeared much like the steam from his tea, and after taking at sip and sighing, he put down the half-filled cup on the side table. "Always with the questions!" he started with a mildly annoyed tone. It was the first real expression of emotion that she could truly believe from him, but even that was subdued. "You know, I can never understand what it is with you princesses always asking so many questions, each of you!" "What do you mean by that?" the princess asked, slight concern etching features into her face. Reach refocused on her and began to explain. "You see, each princess at some point decided to start looking for Marks. My predecessors had to deal with Luna and Celestia, and I had to deal with Cadence before you... but you my dear were never daunted, never gave up! Congratulations, you are the first princess to ever make it as far as learning about the Brander." He said the last statement with almost some enthusiasm, as if he was nearly proud of her achievement. Cadence, Luna, Celestia... Twilight suddenly began to realize why they each had acted so strange and out of character whenever she began her inquiries and investigations. If they had been through similar things, and were persuaded to stop seeking... Who were these people? Reach continued on with his proud expression beaming on her achievement. "You know, some of the council was actually considering termination, but I saw the potential in you. You're intelligent, you're inquisitive, and most importantly: you care for your subjects. Thus, I actually have a proposal for you." She suddenly shot her head up to look back to him. "Proposal? What Proposal? What council?" she asked in confused tone, almost desperate for answers. "Again with the questions," he said nonchalantly before looking into the yearning eyes of the monarch. He closed his eyes for a moment and stretched his neck back before staring directly at her while he explained. "Princess, I represent a large organization known as the Trident. We have been ensuring peace and harmony in Equestria since it's very dawn. Now I needn't dive into details quite yet, given it's nature, but I'm offering you a job that entails managing and ensuring safety of a large population. Your intellectual ability would make our operations significantly more efficient." He finished his statement with another small smile, and took a sip from his tea. Twilight sat in silence for about a minute, pondering what she was just offered. She became filled with all sorts of emotions. A secret organization? Forbidden knowledge? This was almost a dream come true! But then, something came to mind that completely overshadowed her fantasies of knowing so many secrets. "Wait, but your evil henchman committed murder! He murdered and innocent pony! Under your authority!" Twilight accused, leaning forward in her seat and getting very heated. Reach was taken aback, and wore a new expression of mixed surprise and disgust. "Oh, you accuse me after I offer you a job? I assure you, his death was not my fault, and in fact my excessively violent associate was punished for such a horrendous act... but I'm sure you're aware of the price he paid." Twilight's face went soft after this comment, which robbed of her righteous anger. "I... I did see him jump into the fire... but you gave him the compound!" she began, still grasping at something to accuse this shadowy figure of. "Yes, I gave him the Reach gel, based on intel that he was burning an empty, uninhabited building. At most, I was an accessory to destruction of property, but the landowner received a generous compensation from 'an anonymous organization who heard about the fire.' We can both agree that what he did was unacceptable, and I understand how you would make the connection, but you really shouldn't accuse someone you've just met based off of one little sale in a file." He ended solidly, not showing any aggression back towards her, and remaining neutral and fair throughout the discussion. The princess paused and thought hard about the situation. He has a valid point, and it sounds like he paid for every issue he caused... Yet, she still tried to find something, anything to pin on the guy. "And what about Gray Gravel? And Ruby Crystal?" she inquired, much more mellow now, but there was blood coming from both of them, last she had seen. "Oh, they're being taken care of, they're alive an well, and in good hands. My associate is getting a stern talking to about harming ponies under my watch, especially potential friends. After all, the ally of our ally is our friend. You are our ally, aren't you, princess?" His question returned him to a smile, looking almost smug as he finished his tea completely, and put it back on the table. She bit her lip and wondered what to say, thinking about all the pros and cons. Much like his tea, her accusations were completely gone. Twilight finally asked if she could have time to think about it. Reach was elated at her consideration. "Of course, of course, take your time! After all, you are a thinker first and foremost. Feel free to walk about this facility, I only ask you not to enter any doors marked with a red arrow. You can see whats behind those if you decide to join," he explained kindly. He pressed a button and their tables retracted into the floor. Hers came back up with her saddlebag, which she levitated and placed back onto her back. It felt exactly the same weight, yet... almost easier to bear. She thanked him and headed out of the large wooden doors, leaving Reach behind, smiling to himself in his chair.