XVII. Trust and Loyalty
“Oooh!” Scootaloo interrupted them all as she leaned over and gazed down at the giant dragon turtle, wearing the broadest grin across her face. Snapcase turned his head around and winked a reptilian eye at the young pony. Scootaloo gasped and flapped her wings in excited glee. “This is so cool!” she proclaimed.
“Twi?” Rainbow Dash gasped as she realized who was standing there. “Twi!” she repeated as she rushed to tackle-hug her princess.
“Ah!” Twilight startled, and her form shimmered briefly as Rainbow Dash fell on her face at her hooves instead of falling around her neck. “Oh my. I’m so sorry.” Twilight looked down at the changeling at her hooves. Bonbon wished she could read the alicorn’s face, but it was hard to tell all the emotions apart in that one instant.
“Whu—” Rainbow Dash blinked and looked up at Twilight’s shimmering form.
“I’m really sorry,” Twilight said again and reached down to help Rainbow back up before she remembered herself. She pulled her hoof away again with a sheepish chuckle. “Right. These forms are only mirages. This was the most expedient way for Princess Luna to bring us all together to talk.”
Rainbow Dash got back on her legs and looked mournfully at her illusory marefriend. “Oh,” she said, her ears flat against her head.
Twilight reached out a hoof, pretending to touch her. “It’s … it’s okay, dear.”
Luna coughed to get their attention again. “Where is Miss Heartstrings?” she said and leveled her gaze once more at Bonbon. Her hard eyes arrested Bonbon’s gaze, fixing it in place as she looked for any signs of trickery or lies. “Speak!”
Bonbon gulped and opened her mouth, stammering hard as she spoke. “S-she’s not h—”
“Silence!” Luna stomped her hoof with a crack of thunder, her voice shaking everypony present. With a dismissive throw of her head, she turned her back on them, briefly leveling her gaze at the blankets where Lyra was hiding. “Since thou insist upon lying to our face, this meeting is over! We shall return you to your bodies immediately, whereupon you shall stand judgment under Equestrian law. We shall deal with the humans ourselves!”
Fluttershy gasped at Luna’s pronouncement, as the princess’ horn began to glow. Rainbow Dash blinked and stared at Fluttershy. “You told her? I thought you swore never to tell anypony! How could you?”
“I didn’t!” Fluttershy cried and tried to hide herself behind her hooves and mane, quivering from nose to tail. “She must have found out somehow. I n-never told her! I swear I didn’t!”
“And be assured that we have not forgotten thy wilful deceit and criminal behaviour in this matter,” Luna said and leveled a cold glare at the shivering pegasus. “Not only didst thou obstruct our investigation and destroy important evidence, thou endeavored to cause our personal guard and student grave mental distress. Understand this, Miss Fluttershy: an attack upon our guard is an attack upon us personally.”
Twilight looked heartbroken as Fluttershy shrank back from the princess, sobbing inconsolably. Scootaloo was biting her lip, trying her best to maintain her professional composure. Bonbon’s eyes widened and her ears flattened at the realization of what was happening. She scrambled forward and grabbed at Luna’s shimmering silver hoof. “Your Highness, p-please. I beg you, don’t do this!”
Twilight took a few steps forward, a conflict of emotions showing on her face as she faced the dark alicorn. “Luna, you’re being too harsh now. At least give them a chance.”
Scootaloo touched Luna’s shoulder and looked up at her.
Luna met her student’s eyes, then pulled her hoof away from Bonbon and halted her spell, letting it linger at the tip of her horn. She took a step forward, past Twilight and Bonbon, and spoke to the bundle of blankets hiding Lyra. “Come out, Miss Heartstrings, and face us. Be assured that we have already seen the truth of thy being. Hiding will not help thee.”
Lyra’s voice was muffled, quavering from beneath the blankets. “Please, Your Highness, I don’t want to come out. N-not like this,” she begged. “I’ll talk, I swear.”
“Denied!” Luna said. “We demand to see thy face and eyes.”
“I-I’m not a monster,” Lyra cried and lowered the blankets. She looked almost in great pain as she sat there, naked and exposed to all their stares. Twilight and Scootaloo gasped at the sight of her. “P-please don’t hate me! I’m not a monster, I swear!”
“That remains to be seen,” Luna said under her breath and narrowed her eyes. She didn’t seem the least bit surprised at what she saw. “If thou art not a monster as thou sayeth, thou hast nothing to fear from us. Look at us!”
Lyra lifted her head and tried to look at Luna, whose piercing eyes fixed hers, as if staring into her soul. Lyra squirmed under the lengthy gaze, unable to break the eye contact. Finally, after what seemed like an age of tense scrutiny, Luna relaxed her stance, though her face remained impassive. “And where is your fourth companion now?” She turned to look at Bonbon and Rainbow Dash in turn as she waited for an answer.
“She’s … We don’t know, Your Highness,” Bonbon whispered, her head bowed. “We haven’t seen her recently.”
Luna narrowed her eyes for a moment, then turned and walked among them as she directed her eyes at the stars in thought. “Miss Heartstrings must return to Equestria along with Miss Bonbon and Rainbow Dash. There you will be held in custody until it can be determined with certainty that you pose no threat. Return willingly and in a timely fashion, and it will be counted as a mark in your favor,” she declared. “We shall be as lenient as the matter allows us.”
“But what about—” Rainbow Dash broke in but was interrupted before she could continue.
Luna raised a hoof to still her. “We shall locate Corporal Lightning Dust, thy wayward team mate, and free her from the clutches of this evil that possesses her. Do not concern thyself with this. As commander-in-chief of Equestria’s armed forces, we relieve thee of thy duty and command thee at once to return.”
Rainbow Dash deflated on the spot, staring at the softly swaying ground.
Luna turned to Twilight, changing tone as she talked to the young princess. “Twilight Sparkle, I will require your assistance in hunting down the entity known as Humble Soul and her sister. They are both extremely dangerous individuals and must be approached with the utmost caution. We condemn Humble to the depths of Tartarus, indefinitely, for the safety and protection of Equestria and the world. Her sister shall be judged upon her capture.”
Twilight bowed her head. “You know you can count on me, Princess Luna.”
“No!” Bonbon found her voice and threw herself at the hooves of Luna and Twilight once more, begging at the two princesses. “Please, you can’t do this! Humble has already suffered, and she doesn’t mean any harm. She doesn’t deserve this!”
Luna looked down at Bonbon’s tearful eyes. “Accept this, Miss Bonbon; you cannot trust this foul apparition of a human. Her influence over thy mind and emotions is all too clear. She is ancient and powerful, touched by incurable madness and dark, corrupting magics. She can not be allowed to roam free.”
Bonbon sank down on her haunches, shoulders sagging. “Y-you can’t. I-I know there’s some good in her, if we just give her a chance.”
Luna turned away from Bonbon to regard Lyra, who was hugging herself and the blankets. “It will be as we command. Art thou going to come willingly, or must we make good on our threats? We possess the real bodies of thy companions, and we can return their minds to their rightful place at any time, shouldst thou choose not to cooperate.”
Lyra lowered her head and wiped her face against the blanket, her shoulders shaking. “I … I will return,” she whispered.
“Good,” Luna said and relaxed. “Then it is—”
“No way!” Rainbow Dash jumped in front of Luna and lowered herself between the princess and Lyra, meeting Luna’s piercing gaze with her own. “I’m not abandoning Lightning Dust! And I’m not leaving Lyra and Bonbon either. They’ve done nothing wrong!” She turned her head and looked pleadingly at Twilight. “Please, Twilight, you have to trust me! Luna is wrong about Lyra and … and about Humble too! She’s not evil, she’s just a really broken girl who needs our help.”
Twilight looked uncomfortable as she looked between Rainbow Dash and Luna.
Rainbow Dash turned to Scootaloo, who stood uncertainly by Luna’s side. “Kid …”
“Lieutenant Rainbow Dash,” Luna interrupted. Everyone stopped and looked at her. “As a Wonderbolt, thou art sworn to defend Equestria and all of its ponies. Thou art sworn to obey thy commanders at all times. We admire thy loyalty to thy friends, but thou hast a loyalty to Equestria as well. Do not forget this.”
“Yeah, I haven’t forgotten. But my friends will always come first,” Rainbow Dash said and stomped her hoof. “Sorry, princess, but I cannot do as you say.”
“And should Equestria fall, would thy friends be safe then?” Luna said. “Consider carefully.”
Fluttershy broke in, walking up between Luna and Rainbow Dash. She looked up at Luna like a beaten puppy. “There has to be another way, Princess,” she said quietly but seemed to be picking up courage as she went. “Remember how lonely you were. It was friendship and forgiveness, not Tartarus or the moon that saved you from your darkest self. I trust Rainbow Dash. I know she would never, ever betray her friends, or Equestria.”
Luna opened her mouth to speak but halted when Scootaloo looked up at her. Luna gave a nod, and Scootaloo bowed her head before looking up at them all. “Luna is right,” she said. “No pony knows dark magic and corruption like she does. If she says Humble is evil and dangerous, and that she’s using some dark dream magic on Miss Bonbon, then I have to believe her.”
Rainbow Dash gave her a hurt look. “You’re not gonna question her at all?”
Scootaloo did her best to meet Rainbow’s eyes. “I have to do what I know is right, Rainbow Dash. Luna is only trying to protect and help you because she sees the danger you are in. You’ve always been like an awesome big sister to me, and that’s why I don’t want to see you get hurt. I trust Luna, and I beg you to trust her too.” She stepped back next to Luna and bowed her head.
Rainbow Dash stared at her, unable to speak. Luna held up a hoof to stall any more comments and turned to look at Twilight. “And you, Twilight Sparkle?”
Twilight opened her mouth, then closed it, before finally opening it again to say, “Rainbow Dash is one of my dearest friends, and the pony who I love with all my heart.”
“And, what does your heart tell you?” Luna inquired.
Twilight turned and looked Rainbow Dash in the eyes for a long time. “I trust Rainbow Dash,” she said with certainty and looked at Luna. “If … she says she can help this … creature and her sister, then I believe her. I would not be where I am, and neither would you, if I did not believe in the power of friendship to overcome the darkness in our hearts, no matter how ancient or corrupt.”
Luna looked between them all, then turned away, looking out over the swamps and marshes from atop the dragon turtle. “What would you have us do? Let you all go on your way, knowing what evil you are dealing with and the danger you face? Even knowing what danger your wish might pose to everypony under my care and protection?”
“Yes,” Bonbon said. “Please, you have to trust us, Princess.”
“I see. It would seem that only my faithful student supports me,” Luna said, her back to all of them as she gazed towards the east. She didn’t seem to expect a response. There was a long silence before the princess turned around again. “So be it. I … have listened to your plea, and shall grant you this trust and let you continue on your way,” she declared.
Bonbon felt her heart leap. Was she hearing correctly?
Luna held up a hoof to stall any celebrations. “I hope for your sake that my trust is not misplaced,” she said and leveled her gaze at Lyra. “I demand all of you must wear these necklaces at all times, unless you wish to lose my trust. That includes Lyra and, if she should return, Humble as well. Twilight Sparkle and Scootaloo shall keep a watchful eye on you through the amulets, and report everything to me.”
Twilight and Scootaloo both bowed their heads at the order.
“You must find Lightning Dust, and you must determine the threat of Humble Soul and her sister. Be warned that if I should detect any signs that the humans are manipulating you, I will not hesitate to return you to your bodies immediately and call a hunt. I give you this one chance. I shall keep your bodies safe until I am certain this matter is dealt with. Is that all clear?” Luna looked directly at Bonbon and Rainbow Dash.
“Yes, sir!” Rainbow Dash said and saluted.
“Thank you, Princess,” Bonbon said and bowed, a sliver of relief in her voice.
Princess Luna nodded once and looked east. “Heed my advice and prepare well for the journey ahead. Pack all the food and water you can carry, while you can. You will see for yourself what evil the humans have wrought upon the world, and perhaps you shall change your minds before this is over. You will not be safe.”
“P-princess,” Lyra stammered. “Can you tell us what you know about the humans?”
Luna lowered her head and frowned. “It was little enough until you caught my attention,” she admitted and turned her head east once more with a distant gaze. “But I have seen what they left behind, and your journey has brought me many answers to many ancient questions. My sister and I assumed the last of them had disappeared thousands of years ago, before even our time. We were wrong.”
They all looked at each other uncertainly. Rainbow Dash stepped forward and looked at Luna. “What’s out there, beyond the swamps?”
“A land as cursed and tainted as the ones who once lived there. Pray that you do not have to venture far into that place to catch your quarry.” She looked up at the moon. “Our time here grows short, and we must leave soon. Make your farewells for now,” she said and walked to the edge of their ride, standing there like a dark silhouette against the sky.
Rainbow Dash immediately rushed over to talk to Twilight and Scootaloo. Bonbon watched them for a time, feeling a stab in her heart. She turned to find Fluttershy talking to Lyra. Bonbon walked up next to Lyra. “Are you okay?”
Fluttershy looked away. “I … I can leave if you don’t want me here,” she whispered.
Lyra shook her head from within the bundle of blankets. “I’m o-okay,” she stammered. “I want to hear about that other human you met,” she said to Fluttershy.
“Oh, um, I guess I could tell you,” Fluttershy said and sat down to begin the telling.
Bonbon looked up at where Luna was standing alone at the front of the turtle’s shell, staring into the distance. She left Lyra and Fluttershy alone and walked up next to the princess. “Princess Luna?”
“Yes, Miss Bonbon?” Luna kept her eyes on the east horizon.
“I know you don’t really trust us,” she said and looked up at the silent alicorn. “But thank you for giving us this chance anyway. It means so much to me.”
Luna gave a terse nod in response, not meeting Bonbon’s eyes.
“But, if you don’t mind, why don’t you trust us?” Bonbon tried to catch her eyes.
“I have seen her corrupted touch all over your dreams, and the dark obsession with which she clings to you.” Luna turned to meet her eyes. “And I have seen the results of her deeds, long ago. I cannot ignore either. I know you wish to believe there is some good in her that can be saved, but you can never trust her.”
“Forgive me, Princess, but how is that any different from you?”
Luna looked away again. “It is not. My sister banished me because it was the only way, since she could never bring herself to kill me. No matter how much she wanted to hope that I could be saved, she could never take that chance. What she did was right, and I know that she would have let Twilight Sparkle and her friends banish me a second time too, but as my luck would have it the Elements had different plans.” She glanced up at the moon. “Still …”
“What is it, Princess?” Bonbon took a step closer.
“I do question my sister’s wisdom, letting me return to the throne and trusting me even after what I became. I would not have, in her place, and I worry what other beings of evil and darkness her forgiveness may release upon the world.”
Bonbon blinked at the princess, staring at her in disbelief at what she thought she had just heard the alicorn say. “You … you’re saying she should banish you again, even though you’re no longer Nightmare Moon?”
Luna turned her head and looked down at Bonbon. “Yes, or even better, she ought to part me with my head and rid the world of my threat once and for all. Is that so surprising?”
“You’d just let her do that?” Bonbon couldn’t believe what Luna was saying. She wrinkled her nose and added, “That’s incredibly morbid, by the way.”
“Ha! What gave you that ludicrous idea?” Luna laughed darkly. “I’d fight with everything I had to never again be denied my freedom, or my life. But I’d know she was doing the right thing, the safe thing, for the good of Equestria. Knowing what is right, and having the courage to do what is right are very different challenges. I am a selfish coward, Miss Bonbon, like anyone else.”
“I … I don’t understand,” Bonbon said.
Luna reached out a hoof and touched her shoulder. “I am no longer Nightmare Moon, because I choose not to be like that. I could become that dark mare once again, right now, if I wished it. The Elements opened my eyes and calmed my hate and jealousy, showing me a different path, but they did not change who I am or what I did. I try hard to earn the trust and forgiveness that my sister has shown me in her foolish kindness, but I know better than any the dark and terrible power I possess. I have looked very, very deep into the darkness of my heart. Were I in my sister’s horseshoes, and were I truly wise, I would never again trust me.”
“That’s a very bleak outlook,” Bonbon said.
“The world needs its kind and forgiving fools, like my sister, too. I know that much now.” Luna lowered her head. “She sees the light in everything, while I see the dark and the shadows lurking in those same things. Sometimes I wonder if ponies have forgotten about the darkness in my absence and become too trusting and soft.”
“But isn’t there light and beauty and hope in the darkness too?” Bonbon protested.
“Of course,” Luna said with a hint of pride. “But unlike the sun which blocks out all the dark and makes you forget its presence, the moon and the stars serve to guide you through the dark and remind you to be ever watchful.” She looked Bonbon directly in the eyes. “There are some things you must always be wary of. Do not let your hope blind you to the truth of Humble.”
Luna turned around, leaving Bonbon standing there. “It is time for us to leave now. I hope for all our sakes that I am not proven correct in my fears. Watch yourselves, and prepare!” Her horn began to glow, and the four mirages began to fade away in the night.
Bonbon nearly jumped as Snapcase whispered close her ear. She hadn’t even noticed the giant turtle’s head sneaking up on her. “Do you think she noticed me?”
It took Bonbon several seconds to process the question. Then she burst out laughing. “I’m sure she was practically swooning.”
“Hmm …” the dragon turtle hummed as he returned to his slow and steady trudge through the swamps. “What a fascinating creature.”
* * *
Lyra reached out to take the necklace from Bonbon’s outstretched hoof. Her hand trembled as her fingertips lingered a hair’s breadth from the silver medallion. Seeing her hesitation, Bonbon scooched closer and reached around Lyra’s back, using her magic to help clasp the delicate chain around her neck. The moonlight glinted in the silver as Bonbon leaned back and let the necklace fall on Lyra’s chest.
Lyra said nothing. Her shoulders sagged as if the thin necklace was a prisoner’s chain.
“Are you alright?” Bonbon asked and immediately felt stupid for doing so. It was plain that Lyra was miserable. Bonbon quickly added, “Luna has given us all a rare chance, even though she didn’t have to do anything for us. If Luna herself is willing to do that, then there’s still hope, Lyra.”
“She’s just manipulating you,” Lyra muttered and pulled a blanket around herself. “She’s got your bodies as ransom to make sure you do exactly what she wants. She won’t ever trust me or see me as anything but a monster. She just wants you to get Humble and her sister in the net too.”
“You don’t know that’s true,” Bonbon said. “She just doesn’t know you or Humble yet.”
Lyra let out a long sigh. “I saw it in her eyes, the way she looked at me. The way all of them looked at me. It’s all the same.”
“What about Fluttershy? Don’t tell me she thinks of you as a monster.” Bonbon reached out to Lyra.
“Are you sure?” Lyra turned away. “She looks at all kinds of monsters the same way … the same way she looks at me. How can you tell the difference?” She didn’t give Bonbon a chance to respond before saying, “And now she’s in trouble because of me. And so are you and Rainbow Dash. It doesn’t matter how she looks at me.”
“Lyra …” Bonbon tried to lay a hoof on Lyra’s shoulder, but the human simply turned away.
Lyra sniffed and pulled out her lyre, gracing the strings with the tips of her fingers. Bonbon watched her in silence, unsure what to say. “Please leave me alone, Bonbon. I need to be alone for a bit.”
“If you need me, I’m always here for you.” Bonbon stood up and walked away from Lyra, looking back at the human hunched over her instrument.
“She’s kinda right, you know,” Rainbow Dash said as Bonbon sat down nearby.
“About what? Fluttershy?”
Rainbow Dash huffed. “No. Fluttershy could look at all the tentacled horrors in the deepest pits of Tartarus and just see a kennel full of lost puppies. When she actually thinks something is a monster, she doesn’t look at it at all, you know. I meant about Luna using us.”
Bonbon raised her shoulders in a half-shrug and looked along the curving shell of the turtle. “What choice do we have? At least she’s given us a chance.”
“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash said and scratched her belly, giving the sky a longing gaze. “She’s got us by the tail end, alright.”
“The food still not working for you?” Bonbon gave the pegasus a concerned look. Rainbow Dash shook her head and grimaced as her stomach growled. Bonbon wished there was something she could do. She wasn’t sure how long a changeling could go without love, but Rainbow was already looking a little thin, even for a changeling. With no answers on the horizon, she turned back to stare into the night while listening to Lyra’s tune.
She snuck another glance at Rainbow. “By the way, I just wanted to say … Thanks for believing in me, and for believing in Humble.” Rainbow Dash looked up at her. Bonbon smiled. “I know what you thought of her at first, and you could have just saved yourself, but you didn’t.”
Rainbow Dash huffed. “I’d never leave you and Lyra hanging,” she said. Her ears fell, and she turned her gaze away from Bonbon. “Besides, you kinda yelled at me.”
Bonbon smiled.
“And you were right,” Rainbow Dash quickly added. “I was being a total jerk, I guess.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Bonbon said and laid a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder.
“Yeah yeah,” Rainbow said and rolled her eyes. “Just don’t … don’t tell anypony. I still need to think of my reputation, you know.”
“Of course.” Bonbon chuckled and looked back into the night around them. Slowly her smile faded, replaced by worry. “I wonder where she’s at. I hope she isn’t afraid to return.”
Rainbow Dash looked around at the darkness. “If she wants to find her sister, she’ll be going the same way we are anyway.” They sat together as the night grew deeper and Lyra’s music began to quiet. Nothing but the wind stirred in the shadows around them.
* * *
Mountains were creeping up on their left, draped in the white capes of the north. To the south and east the land fell gradually into hills of glorious green cut through by deep ravines and winding streams of fresh blue. After the endless dreary wasteland of the marshes and swamps, they had all been thrilled by the change in landscape and got off their ride to run free. Rainbow Dash had flown ahead to scout out the land, recalling Luna’s warnings, while Lyra and Bonbon galloped through the grass ahead of the dragon turtle, the sun baking their backs.
It warmed Bonbon’s heart as well to see Lyra running free, her mood lifted by the sun and grass despite her worries. Even though it was temporary and the worries would return, a sort of inherent joy of life still resided within Lyra and wouldn’t let go even now. If Bonbon had ever worried that Lyra’s eternal cheer and good nature was merely a facade adopted to fit in among ponies, she had since come to learn different. Unfortunately, Bonbon wasn’t sure Lyra was as convinced of this as Bonbon was. The truth was, if anypony saw Lyra as a monster, it was probably Lyra herself more than anypony else.
Bonbon leapt over a small stream and slowly came to a stop in the soft grass. She turned her head upwards. She could see the tiny black dot of Rainbow Dash far, far above them, circling the endless sky. It barely occurred to Bonbon that she could actually join her up there, if she wanted. She didn’t; she had become quite used to the emotions emanating from Lyra and Humble, to the point that she almost didn’t pay them any attention now, and she had a decent feel for her new magic, but flight still felt unfamiliar and weird. Magic and emotions she could deal with, as long as she had the solid ground beneath her hooves.
Lyra called to her from atop a hill, breaking her out of her contemplations. Bonbon looked up at the waving unicorn before setting into a gallop once more. “What’s up?” she asked as she reached the top and came to a slow halt beside Lyra. “Is something wrong?”
“There’s something out there,” Lyra said and pointed towards the east horizon. Her tone was uncertain.
Bonbon looked in the direction Lyra was pointing and squinted her eyes. Green hills and sparse forests dominated her view. She let her eyes wander over the hills and among the trees for a minute or two. “What am I looking for?”
“I don’t know,” Lyra said, her eyes drifting the horizon as well. “It comes and goes,” she continued, then turned Bonbon’s head a little towards the south. “There! All the way on the other side of that narrow stretch of forest right ahead.”
Bonbon blinked and squinted again, trying to stop her eyes from swimming. She found the stretch of trees Lyra was pointing at and let her gaze drift further still, to the green and yellow fields beyond. The land seemed to wave and flicker, like heat and flames without smoke. “What the …” Bonbon sat down and rubbed her eyes, blinking a few times before looking again.
“It’s like the fields are aflame,” Lyra said beside her. “But it’s not like an actual forest fire, ‘cause I don’t see any smoke, and it wasn’t there a moment ago.”
The strange flickering light snaked its way across the hills in the distance. Bonbon watched it move, and the untouched land of green grass behind it. “It doesn’t even burn the grass.”
“And there it goes again,” Lyra said as the lights vanished. “See?”
Bonbon scratched her head and looked around. She turned her gaze up to look for Rainbow Dash and found the tiny black dot hovering above. Waving wildly, she didn’t seem to draw any attention from the flier. “I think she’s seen it too,” Bonbon said as she gave up.
Lyra charged her horn and sent a small dart of magical energy into the sky. Bonbon shielded her eyes with a hoof as she followed the streak of light until it faded together with the rest of the bright blue sky. A moment later, the dark spot jerked suddenly. Lyra gave a startled eep and jumped back as a green flash struck the ground at her hooves, leaving a scorched mark on the ground. Bonbon chuckled. “She’s been practicing. At least now her magic lightning bolts don’t explode in her face.”
They watched as Rainbow Dash descended. “Damn, I missed. So I guess you’ve seen it too, huh?” she said as she planted her hooves in the grass and folded her wings.
“Could you see what it was?” Lyra asked, ignoring the scorch mark.
Rainbow Dash shook her head and turned around, staring out at the rolling hills and forests. “There’s something weird going on out there,” she said, her voice betraying a tinge of unease. “And I don’t mean weird as in funny or Pinkie Pie, I mean it’s giving me the heebie-jeebies.”
“From what Luna said, it sounded like the lands beyond the marshes aren’t a nice place,” Bonbon said. “I guess she may have been right, even though it’s been real nice so far.”
“Ya think?” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and pointed a hoof at the sky. “You should see it from up there. Whole horizon is blazing with freaky magic.”
“What should we do?” Lyra looked at them both.
Bonbon watched the horizon. “We do as Luna suggested: prepare for a long ride into the unknown, while we have the chance. Food, water, everything we might need. There’s plenty of fresh food and water here. If we pack it well we could have enough for weeks of travel.”
“Preparing. That’s your answer to everything,” Rainbow Dash teased.
“Yes, yes it is!” Bonbon said proudly. She poked Rainbow Dash in the chest with a hoof. “And you know why? Because no pony else ever thinks to do it!” She turned around and trotted down the hill. “Come on. We have food to gather.”
* * *
They were following a wide river upstream as the sun was setting behind them. Snapcase was trudging along some distance away, keeping a leisurely pace as always. Bonbon half suspected the massive dragon turtle could move much faster than he let on; perhaps he simply enjoyed strolling along in no rush while soaking up the occasional look of frustration from Rainbow Dash.
For the moment, Rainbow Dash was not complaining. Starvation and a day of flying high had left her dragging her hooves through the cool, refreshing water of the river. The small waves and currents splashed against her legs. Bonbon stopped to dip her hooves as well and took a drink while she rested. The water eased the mild ache from having galloped all day. She mused about how, only weeks ago, she would barely have been able to do the Running of the Leaves.
Lyra called from up ahead, interrupting her break. Bonbon stepped out of the water and trotted to catch up to her. She stopped and looked up, seeing the waterfall ahead of them. Trees grew all around the lake at the base of the fall, creating a verdant circle of green and blue.
“I say we set up camp over there,” Lyra said. Bonbon nodded and waited for Rainbow Dash to catch up—a rare experience—before following Lyra.
Streams of water trickled among ancient stone steps overgrown with moss, winding their way up the side of the cliffs among trees and crumbling walls. Above them, great cascades of water fell from an open cave mouth, splashing down the cliffside to feed the lake. Bonbon hovered above a collapsed arch of stone and gazed down into the valley far below. She could see Snapcase floating on the surface of the lake, chewing on the rich crystal deposits at the foot of the waterfall.
Lyra walked with measured steps among the ruins, careful where she put each hoof on the wet and treacherous steps. Rainbow Dash was ahead of them both once more, inspecting the cave mouth higher up the cliff. Lyra stopped within what must have been a room once, but now was overgrown with grass and shaded by trees. “These ruins look really old,” she commented as she dropped her bags in the middle of the open space.
Bonbon landed in the soft grass and looked around at the walls disintegrated by age and weather. “Some of these look like they were sculpted out of the cliff itself by magic. Probably the work of unicorns. They built all those grand cities and castles on cliffs and mountains in the old days.”
“The ones who went on to help found Equestria were known for that style, but other tribes of unicorns have used different styles.” Lyra opened her packs and began rummaging around.
Bonbon studied the walls for a little longer before joining Lyra to help set up their camp. “You don’t think this is from the time before Equestria was founded?”
“I think this might be older, or at least a different tribe,” Lyra said. “The founding tribes of Equestria came from the very distant north, where they lived before the Windigo turned that land into an unlivable waste of ice and snow. The humans came from the east long before even that, and they shared their land with all three types of ponies. Most likely these ruins were made by some of these early pony tribes who survived the war with the humans. The ones who didn’t move north but stayed here.”
“Or by the humans themselves.”
Lyra looked up at Bonbon, then around at the ruins. “I don’t think we’ve come that far east yet.” She didn’t sound entirely convinced. “We’d be able to see the floating mountain from the legends, at the very least, if this was the former land of the humans.”
“Hey, you two!” They looked up to find Rainbow Dash waving at them from the cave mouth. “Get your flanks up here! I think I’ve found something,” she yelled down at them before disappearing into the mouth of the cave.
Bonbon looked at Lyra and shrugged, then wrapped her legs around Lyra’s body and lifted off. The extra weight made her flight even slower and more clumsy than it already was, but thankfully she didn’t have to carry Lyra very far. The faint sound of Rainbow’s hoofsteps echoed out at them as she landed just inside the cave and let go of Lyra.
The cave was damp and misty, and the floor littered with rocks and cracks where the water flowed through before falling off the edge and into the lake below. Bonbon followed Lyra deeper into the mist, looking around for a sign of Rainbow Dash. They found her hovering within a large cavern where the water pooled together from above. Hoof-painted images and carvings decorated the stone of the cave, badly faded by time and mist.
Bonbon paused and looked around at the walls and vague images. Most of them she could not make head nor tail of. Rainbow Dash pointed a hoof at a place on the wall and turned her head to look at them. “This here thing …”
“A human.” Lyra stepped up beside Rainbow Dash, who moved away to give her more room. Lyra looked at the faded human figure on the wall, then at the lines and drawings around it. “But it’s upside down … no, wait, it’s … falling, don’t you think?”
“What’s that mean?” Rainbow scratched her head.
Bonbon left Lyra to study the drawings and went around the cave herself. She stopped at the edge of a small pool of still water. Her face stared back at her with its empty blue insect eyes. Bonbon shivered at the visual reminder of her change. Carvings in the floor lining the edge of the pool had faded like everything else with age. Bonbon leaned down to get a better look. “I … think this is writing,” she said. “Someone’s written something around this pool.”
Lyra and Rainbow Dash joined her around the pool, gazing down at the markings circling the clear water. Lyra’s human face looked back up at the minty unicorn and her friends within the still pond. Lyra knelt down, the better to study the letters. “This is badly worn,” she said. “But I think I can make out some of it.”
“So? What’s it say?” Rainbow Dash leaned over impatiently to hear.
“True faces turned from view …” Lyra read slowly, concentrating as she parsed each word into meaningful sentences, filling in the blanks where she could. “Revealed in water’s blue. If forked tongue will lie, tell it snakes can fly.”
Bonbon furrowed her brow as she tried to make sense of the rhyming message. Rainbow Dash scratched her head. “So … what’s it mean?”
Lyra looked around the cave, then back at the pool, finally back at the cave mouth where the waterfall fell into the valley below. “It means … they threw them off the cliff. Anypony suspected of being human, they brought up here and made them look in this pool.”
“No matter their form, still water shows the other face,” Bonbon recalled. “At day the water shows a human, and at night a pony. Just like it’s showing your human face right now, even though we see you as a pony. So if the water showed that they were human, they would be told to ‘fly’?”
Lyra gave a small nod and walked up to the edge of the cliff, cautiously gazing down at the hazy waters and cliffs below. Bonbon and Rainbow Dash followed and stood beside her, gazing down. “It’s a long drop,” Bonbon said and sank a lump in her throat. “I wonder how many ended their lives at the end of that plunge.”
* * *
Clouds drifted across the face of the moon, darkening the lake below Bonbon. Somewhere, a fish snapped at the surface, the brief pop echoing in the stillness of the night. Bonbon shivered despite the blanket she had wrapped herself in and glanced at the shadows lurking around her. Finding nothing, her eyes soon drifted back to the lake. Imaginary bones seemed to shine up at her from the deep, their voices rattling in her ear, too faint to hear but for a soft murmur.
Bonbon pulled the blanket tighter around herself and forcefully turned her attention away from the edge. The only ghost here, she assured herself, was the faintly glowing image of Scootaloo by the fire. Rainbow Dash sat opposite the filly by the warming flames, staring listlessly at a bowl of stew as she said something Bonbon didn’t catch. Bonbon turned her ears to what they were saying, deciding it was better than staring at the cold lake with its whispering bones.
Scootaloo looked at the flames licking the wood. “No, of course not. Sometimes she reacts too harshly, like last night. It’s not easy for her to be forgiving like her sister.” She looked back up at Rainbow Dash. “But that’s why she tries so hard to listen, and why she needs friends she can trust, and who trusts her.”
Rainbow Dash gulped down her stew as if it was a chore to be done as quickly as possible. She wiped her muzzle with a hoof as Scootaloo continued.
“You’re the one who taught me about loyalty, about giving yourself one hundred percent. All my friends and family know there are things that I can’t tell even them now, and that I may have to put the princess before them. I think they understand, and I hope they are proud of me, even if it’s kinda hard to think about.”
“Hey, you know I’ll always be proud of you, kid!” Rainbow Dash reached across to muss up the filly’s mane. It didn’t quite work, since Scootaloo was but a reflection of moonlight, but the gesture brought a smile out of her anyway. “I just …” Rainbow withdrew her hoof. “I just hope she’ll never betray your trust.”
Scootaloo smiled and sidled closer to Rainbow Dash. “Luna knows that, sometimes, she needs protection from herself most of all. She is her own greatest fear and most dangerous foe. That’s why she chose every one of her personal guards herself and trains us the way she does. We become her closest friends.” Scootaloo looked up at the moon peeking through the clouds. Rain was starting to fall, but the heavy drops didn’t touch the filly. “I trust her like she trusts me, because I know she tries harder than anypony else I know to be a good leader and protector of her ponies.”
“I guess I can see that,” Rainbow Dash said as she instinctively tried to fluff her feathered wings against the rain and cold wind. The result was a brief buzz instead, and a frustrated grunt as it only served to spray the rain all over. “I really miss my old wings and coat.”
“Can’t you just turn into your old self?” Scootaloo studied her curiously. “I mean, at least you could look like yourself, but I bet it would help with the cold too.”
Rainbow Dash grumbled and glanced up as her horn sputtered a few flickers of green flame. “Haven’t exactly figured out this magic mojo yet,” she said and poked her horn.
“Oh.” Scootaloo tilted her head and tapped her cheek. “I bet Twilight could teach you. She knows more about magic than anypony, except maybe Celestia and Luna, and she taught Sweetie Belle her first magic too. If she could teach Sweetie Belle, you should be no challenge.” She grinned. “Even if you are a bug-ugly insect monster.”
“That wasn’t very nice ...” Rainbow Dash grinned and poked the ghostly filly in the chest “… to Sweetie.”
Scootaloo winced and looked down at her hooves. “You’re right … my big, stupid mouth. I shouldn’t be saying stuff like that.” She beat her wings a few times. Bonbon remembered all the times the filly had been in her shop, muttering about chicken jokes. Scootaloo lifted her gaze back up at Rainbow Dash. “She wasn’t actually that slow to learn magic, and Twilight says she’s got amazing finesse. Like, way better than most. Her magic’s just not very strong.”
“She still lookin’ for her cutie mark?” Rainbow Dash poked the fire a bit before throwing another piece of wood into the flames.
“Oh, right, I haven’t told you yet?” Scootaloo shot up straight with a grin. “Oh mare, you’re never gonna guess what it is.”
Rainbow Dash looked at the filly and raised an eyebrow. “It’s totally gonna be something to do with singing. We’ve all known for years what hers was gonna be. You and AB on the other hoof …”
Scootaloo snickered, covering it with a pair of hooves. “Yeah, she’s on her first tour right now, actually. Left just the other day.”
Rainbow Dash nodded and rubbed her hooves together for warmth, sporting a satisfied grin. “Told ya so.”
“With DJ PON-3.”
“Really?” Rainbow’s ears perked up, and she stopped rubbing her hooves. “Hey, that’s—”
“As her new Sound Technician.” Scootaloo’s grin threatened to split her head in two.
“Bluh?” Rainbow Dash’s words all got stuck in her mouth at the same time.
Scootaloo could barely keep herself upright. “Yeah,” she laughed and pointed at Rainbow’s face. “Yeah, that’s what all our faces looked like too.” She laughed for a couple more minutes before composing herself at last. “Her cutie mark’s a microphone and a wire forming a heart. She’s crazy awesome at all that magitech stuff.”
Rainbow Dash stroked the back of what would have been her mane in her old form as she took in the news. “Wow, uh … how did that happen?”
“Remember our first talent show back in school?” Rainbow Dash winched and covered her ears at the memory. Scootaloo chuckled. “Yeah, well, Sweetie Belle was the one who rigged up all the lights and sound and fog machine and stuff. It was totally awesome. Of course … well, everything else was pretty crap, so no one ever noticed that all the tech worked like a charm.”
“You don’t say.”
“I guess nopony ever thought of it. Anyway, DJ PON-3 was in town recently for a gig, and Rarity had backstage passes for herself and Sweetie Belle. Just as the show was about to start, the whole sound system broke down for some reason. Vinyl was having a breakdown of her own, I hear. I have no clue what Sweetie did, but she got right in there among all the cables and stuff with her horn alit. A few moments later, the sound blasted out again and Sweetie emerged with the biggest grin—and her cutie mark.”
“Wicked.” Rainbow Dash stretched herself and shook off the rain before laying down on her side by the fire. “So what now for the Cutie Mark Crusaders?”
Scootaloo looked at the rain. “I don’t know. It’s still kinda weird, with me in Canterlot almost all the time and Sweetie out on tours, but I guess we’ll always be friends.” She smiled. “And we’ll always find something else to get together for.”
Bonbon lay her head on her hooves and looked out from under the tent where she had taken cover from the rain. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo continued their conversation as the rain fell around them in the ruins of the ancient city. The wind cried softly among the stones and rocks. Blowing over the waters below, it seemed to pick up the voices of the dead and carry them up to where she lay. Bonbon shut her eyes and pulled the blanket over her head.
Somewhere in the ruins, Lyra picked up her lyre and joined its tunes to their song.
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It's weird. Whenever a new chapter for this comes up, I kinda don't want to read it, but once I have read it, I enjoy it.
5289681
I must have been thinking of "comely". Good catch.
5289752
I often feel that way about the stories I'm reading too. Probably fairly normal.
5289896
I get it for some stories, but not most in my tracking list. And only one in my favourites list (this story is not there).
5289896 Thought it was only me.
Honestly one of the best story's I've read in a long time. Please don't suddenly vanish like so many authors.
I don´t get it. What crimes has Lyra presumably committed for the Princess putting her on a trial? Is "being human" included on Equestria Penal Code?
Also, while I understand why Luna considers Humble and her sister threats to her kingdom, I find ludicrous the concept of punishing them for events prior even to her reign. Besides, while I´m not sure about how legality works on Equestria, has the Lunar Guard any jurisdiction over the territory where the humans are currently situated to justify their capture?
5291926
I'm pretty sure jurisdiction isn't much of a thing in the pony world, doubly so because we're well outside of any recognized nation here.
Lyra's "crime" is being a monster, or a potential monster, and a possible danger to Equestria. Much like it's probably a "crime" to be a changeling in Equestria. She is also the one who summoned Humble's sister (potentially an ancient and powerful evil) from the stars, thereby causing damage and widespread panic and madness across Equestria in the process (remember Manehattan and Trixie) not to mention the griffon city of Mais as well, and subsequently awakened Humble too. Luna has many reasons to suspect that Lyra is a monster and/or a danger, and that she needs to be imprisoned for the safety of all. At the very least her danger must be assessed at a trial. It doesn't help her case that she appears to be fleeing Equestria.
As for Humble and Melodious ... Imagine when Nightmare Moon returned from the moon, instead of going on to blanket the world in darkness once again she had quietly gone into hiding in some far-off land, bothering no one. Should Celestia simply leave her be, because her crimes were committed a thousand years ago? Of course not, because Celestia would know what she was capable of and that she almost certainly wouldn't stay hidden forever.
Finally, there is the possibility (still speculative) that the curse itself is causing ponies to mistrust the humans, including Lyra, even if she had done nothing to provoke their ire (but she has, as noted above).
Is Luna reacting a little harshly? Absolutely, and they all point it out to her. But she has her reasons for reacting the way she does, and Scootaloo explains why she tends to react a little harshly too.
Awesome, the story's not dead!
Well, you're an outlaw now, Fluttershy. Time to flee into the countryside and steal food from travelers until you meet a kind family that lets you stay with them the night. Then you discover that family has been having issues with a group of thugs that have been muscling their way through town and you decide to repay their kindness by driving out the thugs and then become a hero of the small village.
You would then vanish into the countryside, stealing from travelers for food until... Why am I obsessed with this vigilante story?
Well at least now they have a better emergency line if they get in trouble again, and they're not entirely alone in the unexplored wilds. Even if that help and companionship is intangible.
5299121
I love it when people speculate
Hehe, we'll see
I think they need to go do stuff
the story's great and all 
don't get me wrong but it needs a little more... stuff...
But other wise i love it!
Holy cow, it's been so long since the last chapter, I can hardly remember where we left off.
I need a Previously on Uniformity or something. Oh well; best go back and read the last five chapters or something. I'm just trying to find certain important sections to give myself a good-enough recap without having to re-read the whole thing from the beginning, but maybe I'll just end up doing that.
5409669
Yeah, I'm sorry for that. The updates have been much too slow with these last few chapters. It's a bit of a problem for me as well, trying to remember what's happening and all.
Okay, so, after re-reading the first chapter, skimming a few others to make sure of certain important plot-points (though I could never find the chapter where Lyra lays out the whole story of Humble and her sister [I remembered the main point of it, thankfully]), and re-reading the last three chapters to properly get back into the groove, I have finally read this chapter – and a great chapter it was! I'm so glad to be reading this story again. I had all but forgotten about this story, and man, did I not realize how much I missed it until now!
Thoughts I wrote down as I was reading it:
Dang, Luna was pretty harsh. I'm not entirely sure what she's so incredibly worried about. Does she really see Humble as such a massive threat to all of Equestria? She seems like the ruthless CIA director obsessed with her country's safety. I'm inclined to side with Lyra and Rainbow that she is manipulating our protagonists – and without much just cause. Am I right in thinking she doesn't just own Lyra, or did a miss something? Frankly I'm rather surprised she was so distrusting of Rainbow Dash right off the bat like that, too. Good for BonBon, confronting her about her similarities to Humble. Go, Bonbon, and prove Luna's bleak outlook wrong!
That being said, I think Scootaloo did a good job playing the role of devil's advocate and redeeming Luna. The whole conversation between her and Rainbow was a nice breath of more light-hearted feels, hearing about Sweetie Belle's cutie-mark. Someday, I think someone (perhaps myself, if I ever manage to take on the challenge of writing a long-form story) could write a really good bittersweet-uplifting, drama-ish story about Sweetie's touring experience.
Back on topic, that execution waterfall is pretty intense. Humble really did stir up war with the equine race. Despite all that, I still side with her, and I hope she returns to Bonbon, Lyra, and Rainbow soon.
Overall, this chapter was a great balance of satisfying plot progression and more slow-paced, atmospheric world-building that flowed very well (I could just see Lyra and Bonbon galloping across the fields to an uplifting soundtrack, providing a break to the more somber mood recently). I thoroughly enjoyed it – particularly, as I said, the conversation at the end, followed by a bittersweet conclusion to the chapter – and I really hope we'll be seeing more soon! If I may ask, are you "back in business", writing wise?
5569030
I'm really glad to hear it
Lyra's story of Humble and her sister is spread out a bit between the first six chapters. It begins in chapter 2, during the train ride to Manehattan, and I think she finishes most of the major points in chapter 6, but there are probably some additional points and stuff in later chapters too.
Scootaloo's talk with Rainbow Dash was indeed intended to shine a bit of light on Luna's harsh reaction. I'm glad it achieved its objective. While we don't get all that close to them in this story, Luna and Scootaloo are very much inspired by the recent NSA revelations, so it's no coincidence that Luna comes across the way you describe, it's intentional. That said, even though her reaction is harsh (as Scootaloo admits), her fears aren't without reason. We know that Humble is an ancient and deeply disturbed person possessed of powerful dark magics, who once caused a massive war through deceit and lies because she hated ponies, and has been playing around inside Bonbon's mind. Luna could be right, it's not impossible to think that Humble is deceiving them. Her sister's mental state is also entirely unknown but quite possibly extremely volatile.
Currently I'm focusing all my writerly attention on my other story, Back and Forth, in order to get it finished. It's almost done, only needs a bit more editing, but I've been pretty busy and distracted of late. After that, Uniformity is next on my list of priorities.
5572420
As a big fan of this story, that's fine by me. I'm just glad to hear that that doesn't seem very far away.
5289752 It's a feeling of dread that something bad's gonna happen in the next chapter and it will end on a cliffhanger from that point, or the situation will get even worse from there on. I think I've got this from reading Project Horizons, because instead of it being a rare occurence, things getting worse seems to be the status quo there instead.
5684486
Nah, I think it's something to do with the style of writing. I also get it with one or two other fics in my favourites and/or tracking lists.