3-8 Recap · 2:35am Nov 15th, 2015
It's that time again, tomorrow will see another chapter! Here's your recap:
Twilight nodded, before opening her mouth to carefully ask her next question. “And… do you know who my real… who my biological parents are?”
Night Light glanced over at his wife and bit his lip. “Your mother and I actually have an… interesting theory about that.
“A couple of years before we adopted you, there was an especially big Grand Galloping Gala in Canterlot with nobles from all over Equestria. At the Gala, we noticed that Princess Celestia was frequently seen in the company of a noblestallion: Sacred Home, of House Warmblood. You’ve probably heard of them, they’re the most influential noble family in Baltimare. Anyway, he and Celestia were together throughout the evening, even spending some time alone afterwards.
“Now, what you need to understand is that back in the time of pre-Luna’s banishment, it wasn’t unusual for the Princess to take on a… consort from time to time. After all, she’s a pony just like the rest of us. Nowadays, it’s a bit more taboo, but if you’re observant enough, you can tell when somepony she’s ‘friends’ with is something… more.”
“Allegedly….” muttered Velvet.
“He wouldn’t have been the first in recent times. Those very signs were on the wall with Celestia and Sacred Home. He stayed in Canterlot for months at a time over the following couple of years, but he didn’t have his own place. He seemed to be living at the castle. And of course, he was almost always seen in the company of Princess Celestia.
“Then one day, both he and the Princess just disappeared from the public eye. No one heard from Sacred Home since, and Princess Celestia only appeared in public again after approximately nine months.”
Twilight’s jaw slowly started to drift toward the ground. “Nine months…?”
Night Light nodded. “That’s right. Around the same time you mysteriously appeared in the Foal Services system… as barely a newborn foal.”
The sun was barely over the horizon as the large group of fifteen stood on the train platform. Twilight stood at the head of her group with Church and Washington at her side. Behind her, Caboose, Donut, Simmons, Rainbow Dash and Applejack waited patiently. Tucker, Rarity, and Sarge stood facing her, with Grif, Lopez, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie behind them. The depression of steam sounded from the train just off to the side as Twilight began briefing Tucker and Rarity’s group on their mission to Canterlot.
“Once you enter the castle, you’ll need to find the orbital strike beacon,” Washington took over for Twilight. “It’s about the size of a large tablet. Check any relatively flat roof, open courtyard, anywhere it can transmit a signal with minimal interference.”
“I don’t know where the transmitter is,” Osgoode said to the gathered ponies and sim troopers. “Our inside pony planted it herself. Right now, Agent Wyoming is the only person in the city who knows its exact location.”
“Hmm. And we can’t exactly interrogate him, he’s the one with his hand on the proverbial kill switch,” the black armored construct mused.
That was when Osgoode remembered another crucial detail. “Though, Wyoming seems to think that Princess Celestia somehow figured out where it is, but she’s under heavy guard. I’ve been ordered to find out whether she does indeed know its location, but she doesn’t answer my questions. Just keeps saying the same cryptic nonsense over and over again.”
“Well, that’s a start. Getting to Celestia isn’t going to be easy, but we may not have a choice.”
“What did she say?” the yellow pony asked. “When you asked her about the transmitter, what did the princess say?”
Osgoode eyed the little yellow pony critically. There was no way they could make sense of the princess’s ramblings, so she decided there wasn’t any harm in saying, “Like I said, she just replies the same way each time I ask: ‘Twists and turns indeed’.”
Rarity put a hoof on her chin. “Twists and turns… why does that phrase seem so familiar?”
“Aren’t there a couple of foals named Twist and Turn in Ponyville?” Pinkie asked.
It was some time before the yellow pony whispered quietly, “‘Twists and turns are my master plan…’” she suddenly gasped. “The Castle Labyrinth! Where we faced Discord for the first time… that’s where the transmitter is!”
The griffon was large, much larger than the other griffons Church had seen so far. His coat was such a dark gray that it almost looked black, and his eagle-like head was comprised of white feathers tipped with purple. A scar ran down the left side of his face and through his eye, which was covered with an eyepatch. “Although queerly stated, your comrade has one thing right. My name is Godfrey Graywing, commander-in-chief of the Whitewater Military Company’s Equestria branch.”
“Well, commander, tell us why we shouldn’t just shoot you now, because at this moment I’m not seeing any downsides,” Washington stated.
“Because I have a hostage.”
On cue, the sound of another set of wings filled the pass as a second griffon landed beside Commander Graywing. This one was smaller, with a brown coat and similarly white purple-tipped feathers on her head. But what caught Church’s attention was the squirming rainbow-maned pony in her claws.
“Rainbow!” Applejack called out.
“The targets refused to surrender, and they were in a position where I couldn’t take them alive without significant losses,” Godfrey said, raising a claw to preemptively shut down the smarmy suggestion on Sunset’s lips. “And no, I’m not going to senselessly throw away my troops’ lives when there are better alternatives.”
“Oh sure, because returning with two of the wrong hostages is so much better!”
“Do you fish, Miss Shimmer?”
Sunset Shimmer scowled. “What?”
“I didn’t think so. Most ponies don’t unless it’s catch and release.” Godfrey set his meat down and stared across the flames at her. “So why do you insist on telling a fisherman how to fish?”
With a roll of her eyes, Sunset said, “Commander Graywing, I don’t see what fishing has to do with any of this.”
“Again, I didn’t think you would, so let me make it simple for you.” The commander then glanced at Rainbow Dash before he said, “Any fisherman will tell you it takes good bait to make a good catch.”
Sunset Shimmer just sighed and rubbed the bridge of her snout. “You could have just said you were going to use them as bait from the start and saved us a lot of trouble.”
“Anyway, we’ve been friends our whole lives,” Gilda said to Rainbow Dash, unusually quiet. “I just thought it was stupid to throw all that away after one fight.”
“Yeah? Capturing me and holding a gun to my head is a great way to show that you want to make up,” Rainbow grumbled.
Gilda just looked away. “Look, I didn’t want to do that, okay? But I can’t exactly disobey the commander’s orders... especially when he’s also my father.”
“No way, that big guy with the eyepatch is your dad?” Rainbow asked, genuinely surprised. “You never mentioned your dad was a big mean sellsword.”
“Well, he wasn’t exactly a big part of my life growing up….”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Oh c’mon, Gilda. You’re not gonna get me to accept you again with some ‘daddy didn’t love me’ sob story.”
Gilda frowned and said bitterly, “You sure? That touchy-feely crap seems to be the norm for your new, lame pony friends.”
Rainbow Dash turned away, unable to look at the griffoness anymore. “Maybe. But that’s why they’re the ones who are there when I need them. Not you.”
As the rest of the cave silently studied Washington with looks of apprehension, Twilight decided to speak up. “Look, Washington has one thing right: we need to stop bickering and act!” Twilight briefly regarded Washington with a stern look before continuing, “I don’t agree with his recent actions and would really prefer if he at least warned us the next time he tries something like that, but we can’t keep fighting amongst ourselves like this. If we do, we’re just going to invite more Windigoes to….”
Twilight trailed off, and her eyes grew distant as a grin slowly spread across her face.
“Uh, Twilight? You okay, there?” Simmons asked. “You’re doing a really creepy, but oddly spot-on Grinch impression.”
“I’m fine, Simmons,” Twilight said, the grin still firm on her face. “I just gave myself an idea….”
