Chapter 70
Stepping off of the train, Sumac saw a lot of guards on the platform. His front legs were a little stiff but getting better, and he got out of the way so others could exit the train car. Trixie moved and covered him, stepping over him, and standing over him. Peering out from between her front legs, he took in the view. With the wedding coming up, security was everywhere.
And Sumac found himself in the middle of it all. The realisation that some of this security was here for him unnerved him. Trixie and Twilight had given him a little talk that the wedding would create crowds, and crowds represented danger. As Sumac stood there looking about, the wall of armor parted and Gosling revealed himself.
Smiling, Sumac was happy to see him, so he lifted up a hoof and waved.
“There is a carriage waiting to take us to where we’re going,” Gosling said as his eyes darted around. “Tensions are a little high right now, so you must forgive me if I am abrupt. We need to get all of you off of the platform and into the carriage right away.”
Ears perking, Sumac heard the quacking of ducks. It seemed that Gosling did as well and the pegasus looked around with one raised eyebrow. When the ducks quacked again, Sumac looked up as Gosling looked down at him and Sumac could see the hint of a smile hiding upon Gosling’s muzzle.
“Oh, I get it… somepony has to tease me about my cutie mark. Fine.” As Gosling spoke, Trixie and Sumac both began to laugh. “That’s right, yuck it up for the rubber duck.” As if on cue, there was more quacking and Gosling rolled his eyes.
“Begging your pardon,” Octavia began, “but my companion is suffering some peculiar magical side effects.” She looked at Gosling, then at Vinyl, and then back at Gosling. “My apologies.”
“So… how does a mute pony quack?” Gosling asked as he gave Vinyl an incredulous stare mixed with a doubtful raised eyebrow.
In reply, there was a lone single quack, then Vinyl made a feeble effort to hike up her tail, releasing a cacophony quacks, which sounded like a whole flock of ducks flying out of her backside. Lemon Hearts was overcome by the giggles, which she tried to swallow, but they came out as snorting gigglets, which were a bit like piglets, but didn’t have the stink or the oink.
“Eh, unicorns.” Nonplussed, Gosling backed away from the group and made a gesture. “Go on, get into the carriage and make sure you keep a window down so the ducks can escape.” He flapped his wings as he let out a hesitant laugh. “Ladies, after you.”
The carriage rocked from side to side as it made its way down the cobblestone streets of Canterlot. Outside, Sumac could hear the heavy shod hooves of the guard and the whistle of strong wind. Canterlot it seemed, was blustery and the wind carried with it a hint of magic. Sumac suspected that something was up with the wind, but he didn’t ask.
Far more interesting than the wind was the unicorn that Gosling had introduced named Fox Populi, somepony that Vinyl Scratch already knew and the two of them had exchanged a hug. Fox was, for the most part, fox-like, with an orange pelt that had hints of white. What drew Sumac’s attention the most though was that Fox had swords. Bright, shiny swords, one short, one long.
“We thought about putting you into the Lord Mayor’s Manse, but Luna insisted that it was a bad idea even though Celestia said it would be just fine. I took Luna’s side on the issue as I trust her intuition a great deal.” Gosling paused for a moment and used his wing to rub his chin. “I suppose I ended that argument before it got heated,” he mumbled to himself, distracted.
Shaking his head, he returned his attention to the matter at hoof.
“Fox here is a member of Lucerna Perpetuum,” Gosling said in a soft voice, “as some of you already know.” Gosling lifted his head and focused his stare upon Vinyl Scratch. “You’ll have to forgive me as I am just now starting to learn about all of these secret societies. Anyhow, Fox has offered to keep you as guests in their headquarters here in Canterlot.”
“What is.. Lucer… uh…” Sumac, unable to repeat the words, hoped that somepony would explain what was going on.
Clearing her throat, Octavia held up her hoof. She waited for a moment, looking at Vinyl, and then she explained, “Lucerna Perpetuum is an ancient order dedicated to keeping the lights on in Equestria. The name means ‘the candle unending’ or something to that effect, and their symbol is a burning candle. Many of their members can be found in libraries, archives, and places of knowledge. They are everywhere and many ponies have developed crackpot conspiracy theories about them. Most of those conspiracies were created by the order itself.”
“Hey!” Trixie turned her head and looked over at Octavia. “The old Ponyville library where Twilight lived… it had a burning candle on the door.”
“Yes it did,” Fox replied in a soft whisper. “It was one of our places. We are saddened by its loss.” A smirky smile appeared upon the wily stallion’s face and his eyes swept over the passengers in the carriage. “A few years ago, we formed an alliance with the new druid order… specifically, with the agents of Selene and their herald.” His eyes fell upon Vinyl Scratch for a moment, and then he looked right at Sumac. “We were very surprised to discover that she had taken an apprentice.”
Curious, Sumac turned to look at Vinyl and discovered that she was staring right at him, which made him feel squirmy. He had the feeling that he had stumbled his way into something beyond his understanding and now, he had a lot of catching up to do. After a bit of mental gymnastics, Sumac had the curious revelation that he was being watched over, how else had Fox known that Vinyl had taken him as an apprentice.
“You must excuse me, you two beautiful ladies,” Fox said in a sly, slithery voice to Lemon Hearts and Trixie, “but I fear that the two of you are about to be inducted into our order. You already know too much and hey, we now have a vested interest in helping you.”
“And what about me?” Sumac asked.
“At some point, we need to discuss your future,” Fox replied. “Your master is the Herald of Selene, which places you in a peculiar position and we would very much like to know—” Fox fell silent as Vinyl raised her hoof and he stared at her for a moment. “Ah, I must ask forgiveness… I got carried away. I did not mean to start my interrogation so soon.” Leaning back in his seat, Fox began to chuckle.
“There are too many secret societies,” Gosling muttered.
“I grew up in a secret society and they have kept me safe.” Pebble’s piercing gaze focused upon Gosling. “This particular secret society is the very backbone of Equestria and you’d better not say anything bad about it. I’m still alive because of them. I exist because they have protected me.”
“Hey! Hey… I’m sorry I brought it up.” Gosling held out a wing as he tried to appease Pebble. “It just makes me uncomfortable, that’s all. Plus, it is really, really weird to know that two popular musicians live secret lives in secret societies. That’s plural. Societies.”
“If the darkness comes and swallows the land, it will take art with it… art is the very essence of free expression. It is the language of the soul. Art, music, all of those things that make a society truly great, these things will be the very first things to go if the lights of our great society go out. Art, music, free expression, all of these things are beacons of hope. They provide sustenance to the equine spirit… no, not just us, but all of us. Gosling… you’re supposed to be the cultured sort, tell me, how much more miserable would your existence have been in the inner city without museums, without theatre, without musicals and plays?” Octavia’s eyes narrowed and she waited for an answer.
Sumac, who had paid attention to Princess Celestia, knew that Octavia’s talent was inspiration, and he was feeling it right now. Her words settled into his mind like a ton of bricks and his brain struggled to understand everything she had said and how it applied to him.
“I might not have turned out the way I did,” Gosling replied in a soft whisper, “and I certainly would not be where I am right now.”
“One burning candle can be used to light other candles,” Fox said as he cocked one white eyebrow. “And so long as one candle keeps burning, we will endure… we will survive. It is better to light a candle than it is to curse the darkness.”
Distracted, Sumac retreated into his own headspace so he could think about everything being said. He leaned up against Trixie and thought about how everything had turned topsy turvy since going to Castle Midnight. That had been a dark place. Things had certainly been a little dark since going there and recovering the lantern.
Perhaps it was time to let his light shine.
Tilting his head back, Sumac looked up at the octogonal tower. It was rather big, but it wasn’t the tallest tower in Canterlot. The stone was a subdued shade of grey with black and shiny speckles in it. The windows, if they could be called that, were narrow slits that were sort of keyhole shaped. At the top of the tower was a copper roof that had long since turned green.
“You’ll be safe and comfortable here,” Gosling said to everypony gathered around.
Trixie, who turned to face Gosling, cleared her throat and focused her uninjured eye upon him. “A word or two with you if I may.”
“Of course.” Gosling bowed his head in a well practiced courtly manner.
“Trixie has a nagging suspicion that something else is going on here.” Nostrils flaring, Trixie’s eye narrowed and her ears angled over her face in an aggressive manner. “It strikes me as odd that Sumac and Pebble are to be kept together at all costs. In fact, everything about this arrangement rubs me wrong. I don’t mind going along with whatever has been planned, but I demand to know what is really going on.”
Drawing himself up to his full height, Gosling’s own eyes narrowed from Trixie’s accusations. He glanced at Fox, who nodded, and then Gosling returned his attention to Trixie. Sumac, sensing the tension, moved closer to his mother and pressed up against her leg, needing to feel her, needing her silent reassurance that he was safe.
“This is more than a wedding,” Gosling admitted and he glanced once at Vinyl before he returned his attention to Trixie and continued. He took a deep breath and looked Trixie in the eye. “The wedding, and by extension, Sumac and Pebble, are bait. A lot of the guests aren’t your common garden variety socialites. I am just finding out about this myself and I don’t know everything that is going on. Nopony knows all of the details of what is going on, at least I don’t think. The info has been compartmentalised. I know that Vinyl knows, at least, I was told that she knows a fair bit, as some of this was her plan.”
Sneaky. Sumac looked over over at his master and felt a new sense of appreciation.
“Tarnish has that weird second sight astral vision thing that he does where he can see a pony’s soul. Princess Celestia is hoping that the immense crowds will draw in some of our enemies and Tarnish will be able to spot them. If there are wedding crashers… we’ll be ready for them.” Gosling’s ears pinned back against his skull and he gave Trixie an apologetic glance. “We’ve done everything we can to make certain that Sumac will stay as safe as possible.”
Trixie looked down at Pebble, who looked up at her, and then over at Octavia and Vinyl. She said nothing, but studied them for a time, then she looked at Gosling. After a few seconds, she looked down at Pebble once more and she sighed.
“You get used to it,” Pebble deadpanned. “I don’t even bother asking. I just assume everything is normal and fine. I stay happier that way.”
“I suppose you would know.” Trixie angled her head down and looked at Sumac, who was peeking up from between her front legs. “Kiddo, we’re in quite a mess… how do you feel about it?”
“Eh, I feel fine,” Sumac said, lying through his teeth. He felt guilty about it right away and he could feel his stomach muscles knotting up. He had to be brave though and give his mother one less thing to worry about. The guilt caused a physical ache—he had just lied—and in his mind, that was worthy of a spanking.
“You’re a brave one,” Trixie whispered. “How about we go and visit the cemetery here like you’ve been pestering me about for years?”
“I’d like that.” Sumac had some trouble meeting his mother’s gaze.
“I wanna go.” Pebble shuffled a little closer to where Sumac and Trixie stood.
“We’ll get settled here, have some lunch, and then we’ll go and visit the cemetery, though I’m not sure why a foal would want to do that.” Octavia moved to stand over Pebble and her eyes darted around, looking for any sign of danger that might be lurking.
“There will be guards all around you, but you won’t even know they are there.” Gosling made a gesture at Fox. “He’ll be with you though. If there is a problem, you are to follow his instructions. Got that?” Gosling looked down at Pebble and Sumac.
Sumac nodded and Pebble did the same.
“I’m starving,” Lemon Hearts said to Fox, “what’s for lunch?”
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I'm excited to see what happens.
Curiouser indeed.
I'm glad to be caught up, but at the same time I'm not as these have some spoilers for Venenum Iocus sequel and potentially The Perilous Gestation of Swans
7690817
Gestation happens in the winter. No spoilers here. Winter has not come yet.
7690820 I said potentially, but thanks for the affirmation. It's appreciated
They give a reasonable reason to have a society. Not as much of one for having it be secret.
7690851
Some ponies freak out about silly things, like the supposed illuminati.
7690820
<snrk>
I'm not sure if I'm puerile enough to... Yes. Yes I am.
Winter's not the only thing that hasn't come yet.
Will Cadence be at the wedding?
7690885
Yes, she will. She is determined to have a wedding that changelings or other enemies do not ruin.
Honeypot wedding. Nice.
I have to say, I wasn't expecting any of this when we started. Originally I expected crazy shenanigans with Twilight as she ran a school for some wacko foals. As for Gosling and his love life, I expected a very bizarre story of his romance with the Sisters and a very bizarre and insane wedding.
But here we are, stuck in the middle of a war with an undead (I guess?) goat from Tartaurus' backside.
Just goes to prove, I have no idea what the hell is going on anymore.
Now, who's got more popcorn? I'm out.
Lucerna Perpetuum sounds like my kind of secret society.
7690860 Illuminati is just troll and conspiracy nut bait. created by other societies that are sick of idiots interfering in the mundane affairs of their cliquey groups.
octagonal (typo, let the Ents crush it)
This sounds like Orthanc tower almost.
i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n482/danrahn/LOTRO/ScreenShot00180.jpg
Is this a talent of his I missed in VI or is it coming up in another story?
7690902 Thank goodness. I just hope Sumac doesn't speak too critical to Cadence when he finds her.
7690945
7690947 On "How to matchmake in nicer way"?
7690949
Spying!
7690947 She's a Princess and is above writing essays.
7690960 even though Twilight turned one in.
Damnit! The notes page, it grew a deal. And now my conspiracy/prediction page, that poor page, just lost a percentage of its worth.
This rabbit hole jut keeps going!!!
7690967
???
7690969 the growing number of Secret Societies changes things! I thought there was only a few of em!
7690973
Wait till you see who Fox's boss is in the next chapter. Place your bets now.
It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.
7690947 Besides, Cadence has her own children to take care of. Too busy to write essays.
You may have missed this in my other comment
octagonal (typo, let the Ents crush it)
7690982 Helianthus?
7690982
hmmm, princesses? Not that likely. Philomena? If only. Shining? No. Gos? Definitely not.
Candle in the darkness, over cursing the night...
I don't know.
7691024
It is spelled correctly. Both spellings are correct.
7691030
A light shines in the darkness...
7691040
You know what, haven't seen Flamingo in a while, maybe she got a body or some shit (probably not, though where is she?)
The line makes me think of the lantern, but it's definitely not Sumac. Also makes me think of Philomena, but it ain't her.
I honestly have no idea.
I feel like i should get it and im just missing something obvious, but i got nothing.
7691051 I think it might be nightlight
7691040
Heck, I'll throw my hat into this ring. Twilight Velvet. She's Fox's boss.
Does this mean that we will be seeing the wedding covered here? Great! I was afraid that you were going to elide it, and go straight from the engagement to the pregnancy,
7691099 THATS HIS NAME!
He was actually one of my guesses, but I couldn't for the life of me remember his name. Thanks you.
Secret societies working for the good of Equestria? Neat. This Lucerna Perpetuum one in particular sounds like it is probably operating with Celestia's involvement, too, considering the library revelation and that that was Twilight's arranged place to stay upon being sent to Ponyville.
Interesting.
A honeypot wedding? Sounds like a good way to catch bugs.
7691040 Oh that's gotta be Night Light.
7691182
For anybody reading this and wondering what is going on, the ending events of Venenum Iocus makes it clear who the Herald of Selene is.
7691182
Night Light? Oh dang, that's gotta be it!
So long as one candle burns the darkness holds no dominion.
I am now saddened that I've caught up with this fic
So much for my reading binge
7690820
404 likes. Hehe. Hihi. *Childish gigglesnorting*
7690982 ...Unless you're in a small closed-up room with a furiously quacking Vinyl pony.