“It’s good to have patrons in Rarity and Applejack.”
Geuse smiled satisfactorily while holding a big bag of bits. “With this much money, we can equip ourselves well. It’s a shame that there aren’t any places in this town that sell good armors, weapons and such.”
Pinkie smilingly shook her head. “Heh Geusie, Equestria is a peaceful land. There’s no need for those kind of things! Only the royal armory makes those stuffs!”
“Bummer.”
Geuse shrugged with a sigh. “You Equestrians are fluff. No wonder a bunch of treehouse pegasuses can kick your plots so easily in Las Pegasus.”
“Don’t let them hear that! Cruzesians can fight as well as chugging down mugs of rum all while partying hard, I know it firsthoof when I hosted the welcoming ceremony a few weeks ago. They might be carefree, but when it comes to coming together to fight, they’re hardcore! Remember, that’s the people who used to…”
She then made a scary wheezing noise. “… whip themselves to cleanse and embolden themselves! How hardcore is that, heh!”
“They’re a fighting people for sure, and I didn’t say that to badmouth the Cruzesians.”
Pinkie pouted a little. “So you’re taking potshots at Equestrians, then?”
Geuse scratched her mane and grinned wryly. “Not all Equestrians. I just meant that that alone doesn’t explain how Equestrian coast guards flee from the first sight of action, or so I heard. I swear by my obsidian trident, even the small contingent of our Timbucktuan warband could’ve taken over the city if what I saw from the papers were true. An aerial vertical pincer attack with the pegasus shock troops combined with bull and antelope auxillaries would knock out that pitiful defense in the time someone pour me a rooibos. I even doodled some battle plans in my free time.”
Pinkie still smiled, but she asked with some unease. “H- Heh, Geusie, surely you don’t mean to actually, like, plan to…”
Geuse turned her head to Pinkie and widened her eyes. Slowly, she began to laugh aloud. “… Ha ha ha! For someone that always looks so happy-go-lucky, you sure also share Twilie’s fussiness. Of course not, even if I can!”
Pinkie looked fretful for having accused the orange pegasus. “I’m s-”
The orange pegasus waved her down. “Don’t be. That’s not an unreasonable thought after I talk tough for as long as we met.”
Geuse turned to her thoughts, sighed and looked a little bit miffed. “Yes, Verna and I are adventurers. Some would even say we’re just glorified mercenaries. But I’m also a knight of Timbucktu… Even a hedge knight has its code of honor. We fight for money, but it’s just like a bonus of our job. I’m okay with earning enough to have food to eat and a roof to sleep under...”
She grinned. “Moneygrubbing is Vernie’s thing anyway.”
Pinkie nodded, and then she asked with a more comfortable smile. “Hey, then what about the whole ‘fighting for a name and a title’ thing?”
Geuse’s gaze flickered. “What do you mean?”
“You said those when we first met! I also asked Vernie when she dropped by the Sugarcube Corner earlier this week, and she nudged and winked at me a lot! Heh, I might not be the smartest pony in town, because that pony is certainly Twilight, but I can still totally, entirely catch a hint lopped right at my snout! She was hinting if we can get you some official recognition on the knightly roster in Equestria as well!”
Geuse’s eyes narrowed thinly. Pinkie noticed the slight change in her expression, but she did not comment and even show any reaction to it.
The orange pegasus eventually drew in a breath, and then toothily shook her head. “… Silly bokkie. Yes, I love fame and glory, they’re two of the reasons that I went into the adverturing career. I welcome the attention fighting hard foes brings, I love the big silly grin my clients show when I solve their headache-inducing problem, and the flattering words of mouth that spread among the people.”
She spread her mane backwards with her hoof. “That makes me sound like a gloryhound, doesn’t it?”
Pinkie hurriedly shook her head and said. “N- No, of course not!”
Geuse smiled a bit wearily this time. “Thanks, Pinkie. To me, fame and glory that comes with pulling political strings is like a jousting drape – colorful, pretty, but useless in battles and ultimately empty. This is because making things right and dealing justice is always my big goal, both personally and as a knighted pegasus. If the Timbucktuan court is not so hopelessly biased against non-ponies like my good friend Vernie, then I might consider soldiering instead of adventuring. That’s why I joined force with Twilie, and the Timbucktu royal army even I hate their pretentious guts. That’s why now I so long to go north and rescue that bloke’s family.”
Looking at the slightly bemused look on Pinkie’s face, Geuse again shook her head with a grin. “I’ve been blabbering, haven’t I?”
Pinkie let out a clear chuckle, and shook her head quickly. “I’m beginning to understand you more… I’m really glad we have this chat!”
Geuse again laughed. “You would know me much better much earlier, if we haven’t just partied and feasted on the entire selection of cakes and pastries in your bakery for three solid weeks like a pair of butterqueens!”
Pinkie protested with a blush. “But you enjoyed them a lot, didn’t you!”
“Oh yes, I certainly did. If anything, they also gave me a great sugar rush before working out. But this is no longer time to chow on sweets or fool around, for we have a really difficult task ahead.”
Pinkie’s smile faded, giving way to a determined gaze.
“Are you ready, Pinkie?”
Pinkie proudly raised a hoof and said. “Born ready!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Pinkie shoved the last batch of her incredible gadgets down the seemingly bottomless saddlebag of hers, she heard a heavy voice muttering something behind her.
“The North… Ranging…”
“Eh? What are you saying, Geusie? Something about raining?”
Geuse put down the newspaper she’s holding, and showed her rolling eyes. “No, ranging. Apparently, Consul Sunset Shimmer of the Crystal Empire has just ordered a great ranging to the far north.”
Pinkie raised an eyebrow and asked quizzically. “What exactly is that?”
“Basically, the Crystal Empire wants to survey their old borders and gather a lot of hooves in order to do so. They apparently want to stick their flags again on the land previously belonging to the Crystal Empire, but neglected because the crystal ponies had disappeared from the surface of the earth. That does not only include the Circumference, but also lands farther to the north…”
Geuse shrugged in disappointment. “Shame, Equestrian records are rather iffy on those places.”
The orange pegasus looked to the pink mare, who froze in the middle of the packing in deep frown and thinking.
“Pinkie?”
Pinkie replied inattentively. “Geusie, Equestrian records are iffy when you go beyond the border of Equestria proper. Equestrians rarely travel overseas. There’s a Griffon joke about it – There are only two kinds of reactions you can get from Equestrians when you tell them about Griffonstone: whether you can buy one, or whether it also afflict the kidneys.”
Geuse snorted. “I don’t know you can do deadpan humor as well.”
Pinkie turned and smiled helplessly. “The Westerly Peninsula lies just a sniff to the northeast of Las Pegasus, but officially it is entirely uncharted. Nations, even fellow pony nations are poorly documented. Griffonstone is actually one of the better known nations because of the rail connection, and we still become the plot of their joke, so you see…”
“Weird.”
Pinkie shook her head. “It’s more or less encouraged officially and unofficially. Equestrians always have this mindset of inward perfection, as we think we’re the shining example of harmony. And while we aren’t xenophobic, we aren’t exactly raring to explore. Some say it’s to prevent raising Tartarus with tampering the magic in other parts of the world, some say it’s easier for the Princesses to rule if the ponies stay neat and tidy in one place, some say that it’s just that most adventurous ponies simply chose other places than Equestria to settle.”
Geuse listened with interest. However, she chose not to comment on the perceived geographical ignorance of Equestrians, and instead turned the attention back to the Crystal Empire. “But hey Pinkie, aren’t those lands that are going to be claimed by Crystal Empire simply ice and more ice? Why would they want that?”
Pinkie touched her lips with her hooves with intrigue. “The geography of the Frozen North is not well known, but it’s far from ‘just ice’. The cold winds surrounding the city proper might give us an impression that the north is harsher than it is, but it’s just because the site was at the end of a funnel-shaped valley, and the cold arctic air and snow shot down from the other side of the Everhoof like a gatling confetti machine. Yakyakistan to the northwest, for example, was dry and cool, but not quite as harsh. The old mountain colonies in the Circonferenza were also cold but tolerable, not to mention bearing great mineral wealth. Perhaps there are milder spots in the north which the crystal ponies think would be worth resettling.”
“Are there native population up in the north, like the yaks?”
“I’d guess there might be some, but there is no official record for that. Legends exist about other communities and creatures in the north. The bringer of infinite winter, the Windigos for instance, are said to live in the Frozen North. But there is also myth about white wolves, reindeers, muskoxen, ice dragon and even ponies who were scattered to the north by wars and conflicts, and somehow survived and thrived in the cold weather. But none of those are confirmed, or indeed seen for the last thousand years.”
“Thanks, Pinkie, that’s super informative, much more so than I could’ve looked by sifting the papers and records.”
“You’re very welcome!”
Geuse then shook her head for some reason. She took up her saddlebag, and the equipment inside the bag clanged together like a chiming wind bell.
“That’s strange.”
“Strange, right?”
“Yeah, the way you spout out handy information, I thought you were Twilie for a second.”
Pinkie’s entire body shook in shock, but she immediately covered her astonishment by beaming a grin. “Ha ha! What a joke, Geusie!”
“Joke or not, I always get the feeling that all six of you are ridiculously knowledgeable and skillful for mares of your age.”
Just as Pinkie flustered for a response, the orange pegasus added. “I always thought I was among the brighter bunch to have gotten into Sandcore, but after meeting so many precocious and bright individuals on this journey, I feel like I might as well be a dumb flabby piece of muscle.”
“Don’t say that, Geusie! You’re a graduate yourself, aren’t you? I didn’t even attend a college! I’m just a baker!”
“…”
Geuse stopped and turned to look at Pinkie incredulously. Pinkie smiled uneasily and asked. “What’s wrong, Geusie?”
“… H- Haha- Hahahaha!”
Although Pinkie Pie felt somewhat glad to see her friend laugh aloud, she was far more concerned that the laughter seemed to be directed to her and she didn’t know why.
After her laughter died down and a few more dry coughs, Geuse began her diatribe.
“Come on now, just a baker? Every single one of you six mares have proven to be extraordinarily competent in a bizarrely wide range of areas. For instance, even with the similarity between Equestrian and Zebrikaans, it took Verna and I almost three moons to get comfortable with speak it, and another two moons to read it. And yet you six walk around like universal translators.”
Her wings extended in heightened excitement. “Then there is that unnervingly intimate knowledge of ancient history and legends. And you, Pinkie Pie, are a highly proficient mechanic, as well as a cook and a comedian. Yesterday I heard from Mevrou Cake that you even have a factory under your name. And yet you tell me you’re just a baker? For goodness’s sake, you’re a walking, talking multiple switchblade. I think bringing you is much more useful than bringing my trident, and this comes from someone who absolutely love her trident.”
Pinkie sweat-dropped. “W- Well, you’re too kind, Geusie!”
“You’re way too humble, just like every absolute geniuses I met… Except Kanipha maybe, he’s still a jackas- mmpf!”
“No swearing inside the Sugarcube Corner!”
Geuse removed the pink hoof in her mouth. “Pfeh! Pfeh! How come it’s so sweet? Are you snacking on cupcakes again?”
“Ehehe.”
Geuse rolled her eyes. “But even he’s toning down after spending time with Twilie and now you guys.”
The orange pegasus sighed and turned back to her saddlebag, her eyes swept across the clock.
“Golly, we’ve been chitchatting for so long. How’s your preparation, Pinkie?”
“I’m almost done!”
“Great, because I’m almost done as well. I have to go sharpen my weapon, you know, just in case. Since I can’t do it here, let’s meet later at the bend at 7, okay?”
“Aye, aye, Geusie!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“This stinks, and I’ve travelled in cow carts covered in dung before.”
Geuse’s eyes twitched as she breathed in another bout of coal dust when she spoke. “Are you sure this is the best way of transport?”
Pinkie wincingly said. “I’m sorry, Geusie, but Rarity, Applejack and I agree that riding on a nightly supply train is the best way of transport with the lowest risk. We can’t risk being tracked by whatever powers that be who threatened Buon Vino into doing something that bad. His family’s safety will be on the line if our plan to sneak in is discovered.”
Geuse coughed. “Yeah… But this is still going to slice a few years off my life.”
Pinkie could only pat the orange pegasus’s back and offered some comforting words with smile.
Suddenly, the train shook and stopped, and the vibrating pile of coal behind them gradually settled down, allowing for a better breathing space. Geuse widened her eyes and asked. “What happened? We’ve arrived already?”
Pinkie shook her head. “Nope, not yet. The train should now be stopping over at Rainbow Falls for a routine check before heading through nominal Cloudsdale territories.”
“I knew it, because it’s not freezing cold just yet. But ugh… It honestly feels like an eternity in here.”
Geuse then scratched her cheek. “But customs check? Aren’t we just passing through internal borders?”
“Equestria is a confederal state, and it has a lot of strange quirks. Cloudsdale always enjoys a high degree of autonomy and has a very unique identity. They have quite a lot of special rights. In this case, they limit the amount of freight train that can pass under their territories each day, because they care a lot about the quality of the water they make cloud out of. And since we’re transporting coal, it goes double for them!”
“I see…”
Geuse then gasped. “But then won’t they open this train car and discover us?!”
“Eheh, they won’t.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Well… Rarity has inherited and expanded Twilight’s network of favors… And she, mm, already spread them around to ensure that this particular freight will pass with nopony disturbing.”
Geuse deeply frowned. “This is blatant bribing of officials! I hate this corruption nonsense back in home, and the Timbucktu court is filled to the brim with useless corrupted bureaucrats slunging around on the people’s wealth and ignoring the law of the land, Vernie’s family got stuffed and screwed over by them hard! Don’t tell me you guys endorse this, or I would be really disappointed!”
Pinkie tried to be diplomatic. “Geusie, I- I understand. But sometimes favo-”
“Stop calling them favors! Bribes are bribes, and they don’t get miraculously better even if you call them ‘happy rainbow fees’!”
Pinkie snorted a bit inappropriately. Geuse also noticed that her inadvertent joke broke the serious atmosphere slightly, but she still looked deeply unamused.
“Please, Geusie, nopony is hurt by this, right?”
“A dam burst starts from an ant’s nibble. Commoners get routinely shafted by the rampant corruption in the government. If we allow small transgression to a clean and transparent government pass, then as time goes by, things would get worse and worse because corrupted fat cats help each other and suppress honest officials, until everything goes to Tartarus.”
Pinkie lowered her head worriedly. She didn’t know what to say to placate the proudly upright pegasus.
After an awkward silence, Geuse sighed deeply. “I’m sorry if I come off as a moral neat freak, Pinkie.”
“N- Not at all, Geusie. It’s our fault to have-”
“We can talk about this later, after we go back. I’m not unreasonable as my old stallion…”
“Your dad?”
Geuse covered her mouth and coughed. “T- The point is, I know that neither you nor I can do anything about this now. So let’s put this aside first.”
Raring for another topic to discuss, the orange pegasus hurriedly said. “Hey Pinkie, I’ve been thinking over the Crystallian ranging for some time now.”
“What about it?”
“It’s a military expedition. There will be soldiers, there will be fighting.”
“W- What?!” Pinkie Pie yelped in shock. “What are they trying to fight?”
“Beats me. I think this might be the case because I’ve chatted with some of my brothers who’ve returned from working on the Northern Railway before we departed. They told me that there are some shuffling of soldiers and personnel in the Empire. Most of them are Sunset Shimmer’s guards, but there are also quite a number of civilians. Once you told me about Yakyakistan, I looked briefly into their history. I don’t think that the yaks and the ponies really see eye to eye.”
Cold sweat was dripping down Pinkie Pie’s face already. “A- Are you saying that Sunset Shimmer is trying to start a war with Yakyakistan?”
“Heh, I don’t know. I lean towards ‘no’, because usually even fighting among city-states in West Zebrica requires far more preparation than that, but without witnessing what’s really going on up there I can’t be sure. The most benevolent explanation would be that the soldiers and volunteers are there to assist the reintroduction of Crystallian rule in the area. If so, other than straining a few yak nerves, I don’t think it is going to turn into a war.”
Pinkie Pie gulped. “I… I don’t think the yaks will just leave them alone. They’re as easy to anger as a swarm of wasps… uh, no disrespect intended, but they really, really think very high of any perceived slight to their pride!”
Geuse reached inside her saddlebag and stroke her obsidian weapon. “If conflicts really break out, there is use for a fighter like me.”
“I- I don’t mean to demean you or your skills, but fighting is… um… not good! It hurts others! We really shouldn’t be there and fan the flames!”
“True. But there are times when our fighting skills are warranted. Against unjust forces, for instance, needs us to stand up and fight. You, alongside Twilie and others, fought the corrupted Equestrian princess, and also the wisselkinds. In this case, whether to make peace or defend the needy, there can always be a place for a black trident.”
Pinkie looked distraught. “I just don’t want any more conflicts to happen in my sweet homeland. It once took away Twilight from us, and it was an unrecoverable blow. A militant Crystal Empire would be a thousand times worse than a changeling invasion.”
“… Well, yeah. I’m not a warmonger. Peace is much more valuable than all the fame I can obtain in fighting. So let’s hope that it’s all just my unfounded fear.”
Pinkie nodded forcefully. “Yes, Geusie, I hope so too…”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the Northern Railway was still under work, and the fact that the supply train was officially to supply fuel to site only, the train could only reach the Galloping Gorge Station.
After hopping off the train in the dimming twilight and having a rough wash in a nearby cold stream, they were almost immediately waved towards a non-descript carriage by a brown earth pony who recognized the two immediately.
“Hiya, Doctor!”
“Welcome, Miss Geuse, Pinki-”
“Hey you!”
Geuse accused with a red face. “Are you watching us washing in the river?”
The brown stallion’s face also immediately reddened like a tomato. “N- N- No! I would not do something like that! I have a marefriend at home already!”
Pinkie chuckled with some embarrassment. “He isn’t that kind of stallion. He’s super loyal to Derpy!”
“You tell her, Pinkie! Goodness gracious, I’m just paying back favors from Twilight by doing this. I haven’t tried pull this kind of stunts in years.”
Geuse narrowed one of her eyes, and sighed. “If Pinkie says so… What’s your name?”
“Doctor Whooves at your service.”
“You’re a doctor?” Geuse asked.
“Not a medical one, I have a doctorate in intelligence studies in the Royal Canterlot Army Institute.”
“In other words, he’s a former spy!” Pinkie grinned.
“Pinkie, you know well that I prefer the official term ‘intelligence agent’.”
Pinkie chuckled again. “Aye, aye Agent Smith.”
“Sweetie Drops would have come, but she’s on vacation with her roommate. I know it would’ve been awkward.”
Geuse looked a bit regretful to have accused the stallion. “Okay, I’m sorry for the baseless accusation. But uh…”
“What’s the problem, Geusie?”
“Is he…?”
“You don’t have to worry about my loyalty or my ability to keep secrets, Miss Geuse. For one, I wasn’t told about the purpose of this trip, only the fact that I have to get you two inside the Crystal Empire covertly at all cost. And as a former intelligence agent, I know that the ability to keep my mouth shut is the reason people entrust me with secrets and therefore my lifeline, and I won’t ruin it by divulging them to anyone. Last and perhaps most importantly, Twilight helped Derpy immensely with some medical issues and thusly did me a great favor, I would not for the life of me think of betrayal.”
Geuse gazed into Doctor Whooves’ eyes, and nodded. “Okay then, I trust you. Just try not to disappoint us.”
“No problem. I get out of the profession because I want to stay at home with my loved one, but I also love me some occasional action. Pleased to be of help.”
The brown stallion pulled open the curtain of the carriage, revealing a surprisingly large and bright interior with all kinds of gadgets and tools.
“Whoa!”
“Woohoo, Doctor! Your gadgetry never stops to amaze!”
“Hah hah, Pinkie, as if you aren’t proficient in espionage yourself. Now, feel free to use the inside of the carriage to change into your disguises. We’re taking the fast route, and we should be at the gate before dawn.”
Geuse still looked a bit unsure, but Pinkie thanked Doctor Whooves and immediately shoved the orange pegasus inside. The carriage then moved without any sign of delay, storming through a hidden path in the pinewoods.
“Hey Doctor.” Geuse called out to the front compartment.
The stallion’s voice came through the small door. “Finished with the disguises?”
“Y- Yeah, you can open the door now.”
With a creak, Doctor Whooves poked his head out from his driver’s seat.
Geuse asked curiously. “How’s this carriage moving? I don’t see somepony pulling it, or a steam engine.”
“You’re Miss Geuse, I presume? That’s an impeccable disguise.”
Geuse looked down to her new disguise and gingerly smiled. “Ah yep, I’m.”
“For your question, a steam engine would be way too loud. This carriage runs on electricity. I heard from Applejack that the Flim Flams were testing out new motors in their shed, so I went and bought a prototype from them. It was too weak to pull the harvest, but it’s enough to pull a lightweighted car like this.”
“I see. This is quite ingenious. I wish my brethrens in West Zebrica is half as industrious as ponies here.”
“Heh. Now you two should take a good rest. I know it must be very uncomfortable to have sat inside a coal freight car for half a day.”
Geuse drily chuckled. “You don’t say, Doctor.”
“Now that we’re inside forested area, we can afford to use a more comfortable mode of transport. You two should take a good rest, because you might need to see action soon. I can only stop at the edge of the forest line, and you two have to walk to the gate yourselves.”
“Roger that.”
As the two mares leaned back for a rest, they could feel that even the air inside the well-insulated carriage became noticeably cooler. Peeking out of the black laminated window, Geuse noticed that there was already snow on the fast-moving forest floor.
After a few more hours of uneventful journey, the carriage reached the edge of the snow-covered pine forest. They carefully got off and waved goodbye to the brown stallion, who swiftly went back the way he came.
The two then treaded on the snow with anticipation and some unease. The gate was at a distance, glowing a curious purple in the morning light.
The entrance to Crystal Empire was a magical gate in the middle of a snowy mountain pass. The magic of the Crystal Heart not only pumped warmth for the enclave, it also hid the empire from plain sight in the middle of the windblown mountains.
However, the usually lightly defended entrance was heavily guarded when the two arrived. One of the guards in brown-shirted, a light yellow coated crystal pony, saw the approaching pair, and loudly yelled in Crystallian.
"Halt! Citizens of the great empire, show me your identification.”
Geuse widened her eyes at hearing the completely foreign tongue, and turned to Pinkie with a helpless look. Pinkie was also a bit shocked at hearing old Crystallian instead of the lingua franca that was Equestrian. Crystallian had largely been supplanted by Equestrian as the vernacular in Crystal Empire, so it was strange to hear it from the guard.
The guard narrowed his eyes and tutted his tongue. “Looks like we’ve got ourselves another pair of barbaros. Learn your mother tongue, dannazioni!”
Although Pinkie knew Crystallian just as she knew other ancient tongues, she decided to play along in the off-chance that it might net them some information. “W- We’re sorry, we should really learn it long ago, but you know…”
“Stop giving out excuses, citizens. You know our beloved Guida Shimmer has since the very beginning mandated the use of Crystallian in all official occasions. You’re only lucky that the law for mandatory national language test is still being passed, or else you would be in deep trouble.”
The duo silently took note of the information. Pinkie nodded timidly. “Yes, yes, we’re terribly sorry.”
“Now give me your IDs, and go learn Crystallian for Crystal Heart’s sake!”
Pinkie and Geuse immediately pulled out the forged documents just as rehearsed. The now grey and magenta ponies tried to appear calm as the guard kept sweeping his gazes on their faces.
“Hey you.”
The guard pointed towards Geuse, who internally gasped to herself. On the surface, she squeezed out a smile. “What’s the matter, officer?”
“Nothing, I just think that you’re a bit too young to be allowed out of the Empire in the first place.”
Geuse was bemused, until she realized that her disguise gave her a younger look than she actually was.
“Betelia is my little sister.” Pinkie smiled.
Geuse stuck to her script and added. “Y- Yeah, Rosa and I went south to check out the legends that our ancient ally, the Cruzesians, has come to Equestria.”
The guard flipped open the giant logbook he kept on his saddlebag and muttered. “Of course it’s true, our beloved Guida just sent out an official delegation to them. Hopefully they shall honor our age-old alliance.”
Geuse felt uneasy, not just because she’s being questioned, but the fact that they had to spend time with this unusually talkative officer. Her breath slightly quickened when the guard’s gaze turned a bit suspicious and walked back to check with the apparently superior officer.
However, the tension loosened when the officer came back with a nod and said. “Citizens, worry not. Although we cannot find your names on the register, the other information you provided seem to be complete. We understand that the turmoils before the ascension of the Guida and the Principessa caused the loss of a lot of records. Follow commandant Asclepias. He would lead you to the registrar, and you’d be free to go afterwards. Just don’t cause any trouble on your way there.”
“Y- Yes, thank you officer.”
The duo turned and saw a green-coated and large-build crystal pony wearing a brown come to them. A six-pointed crystal prominently featured on his shirt.
“Welcome home, citizens. I’m Asclepias, commandant-general of the reformed Frontier Militia of Crystalline Voluntary Squadron.”
Pinkie gulped and spluttered. “C- Commandant-general? Thank you very dearly kindly, but it might-would-could probably be a bother to you-”
“Not at all, citizen. Our return has been a trying time for all, and it’s only our good blessing to have such a strong leader at our helm. It happens that I have finished my inspection and is about to leave for the barrack. Rather than moving the guards at post, I would personally send you two to the registrar.”
Looking at the unsure faces, Asclepias seemed to take it as the typical fear for armed individuals. “Fear not, for I’m perfectly aware of the reputation of the VS among the civilians. I’m here precisely to gauge the opinions and clear up misunderstandings.”
The two mares looked to each other, and Pinkie turned back with an uneasy smile. “Okay.”
“Let’s move then, citizens. I must report back before eight, for the Guida would have a grand speech very shortly.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pinkie Pie and Geuse strode into the gate to Crystal Empire after the commandant. Before them unfolded a dreamy landscape of crystalline buildings. Crystal Castle stood prominently in the middle of the city, and the numerous buildings spread from the center radially, with streets neatly forming rings of concentric circles.
Pinkie Pie finally could not suppress her mix of curiosity and nagging concern and burst out. “Commandant?”
Geuse and Asclepias both turned. Geuse’s composure was somewhat shakier, as she struggled to get into character, and she was further spooked that Pinkie opened the chatterbox and potentially exposing them to suspicion.
Asclepias seemed not to notice, however. He thinly nodded and said. “Speak, citizen.”
“I, uh, love Guida Shimmer, she’s done a lot for us, huh?”
The corner of Asclepias’s mouth raised. “Of course.”
“I just, um, have been curious about the goal of the language program.”
Geuse tensed up, but Asclepias simply waved his somewhat long silver mane. “… Ha ha, good question. You see, as a commandant in charge of overseeing the border, I see a lot of our good crystal brethren and foreigners alike. And I can tell you that foreigners can be really really stubbornly stupid at times.”
Alarmed at heart, Pinkie put up a faux-knowing smile. “Heh, right?”
“I know that a thousand years have passed for them, but it’s no reason to sully the great name of crystal ponies by calling them just ‘shiny earth ponies’ or the ‘additional’ tribe. That’s unacceptable! Crystal ponies are the first pony nation. As the one nation who gave the world civilization and light, we afford a higher degree of respect from the Equestrians than to be lumped together with the three tribes! The least that we can do is to emphasize our identity and independence by asserting the use of our own language. And you two should subscribe to the official language program as soon as possible, for it’s our patriotic duty to strengthen the knowledge of our mother tongue.”
Pinkie blinked, and remembered to give a response. “A- Ah, yes, definitely!”
Asclepias cleanly chuckled at the slightly off-tone outburst. “Oh my. I seem to have get a bit excited myself. Even the anticipation of the Guida’s great speech has this effect on us.”
He then continued. “But still, by natural order of things, crystal ponies should speak their mother tongue, the one gifted directly from the Old Roam. It’s only through unfortunate historical circumstances that it is supplanted by the Southern tongue in the public, and il Guida is fixated on fixing that. All public servants, except in foreign receptions, are required to speak in Crystallian language, or face censure.”
“Thank you! You’ve been most kind to explain this in such detail to us.”
Pinkie Pie slowly nodded. “What about the great ra-”
Geuse hurriedly poked Pinkie’s back, herself burning from the unease and worry that her incessant questioning would raise alarm. However, Asclepias simply smiled placidly. “You mean the official northern expedition? It’s always great for the citizens to care so deeply about our nation’s glorious exploit. I can’t tell you confidential details, but I will try my best to assuage any concerns or misunderstanding, as it’s my job to communicate with my fellow citizens.”
“Great! Ah, I saw the news on newspaper in the south first. I just want to know if the… beloved Guida of ours have in plan for the great northern lands.”
“None can fully comprehend the Guida’s immense foresight and illustrious plan for our nation, but as far as I know, this is both to ensure the safety of our settlers by surveying our future land, and also a military exercise to stave off Yakyakistani threats of aggression by showing of strength.”
Both mares felt worry rising in their hearts. “The yaks?”
“Perhaps you haven’t heard about this since you two have been away from the Empire, but the yaks have made repeated noises about our rightful return. They complain annoyingly about intrusion and other ridiculous claims of offense. Everypony saw in the Gazetta how baseless and unreasonable those claims are. The yaks are just another race of stubbornly stupid foreigners who are ever so easily offended by the slightest perception of not following their foolish barbarian customs. The only antidote to that is to show that you’re so overwhelmingly strong that it was futile to make a squeak about their nonsense. Remember the old Roaman saying – If you want peace, prepare for war.”
The two mares each took his words differently. Pinkie was still uncomfortable with the belligerent tone, but even she had to quietly acknowledge that the yaks could be highly unreasonable, and the crystal ponies might not be wrong to be displeased with their gestures.
Geuse instead felt some resonance with his last message, as she nodded. “Indeed, strength makes peace.”
“That’s a succinct way to put it.”
Asclepias looked to the front and said. “Oh, it seems that we’ve already arrived.”
Pinkie slightly widened her eyes. They’ve come to the castle itself. She almost yelped out in surprise, but she managed to steady herself. Still, she wondered why such a civilian matter would have to be dealt with in the Crystal Castle itself.
Regardless, the trio finished their trot through the final stretch of the strangely empty boulevard, the few civilians on the street saluted the commandant as he grinned back.
As they arrived at the gate to the Crystal Castle, however, they were blocked by some sort of ceremony. Asclepias looked a bit surprised.
“Oh dear, I’ve been a little bit late. The Guida is already here.”
A platoon of crystal pony soldiers were standing before the gate, an orange pony with red and yellow mane stood high on the gate balcony and yelled with a magically-enhanced voice.
“Soldiers, ponies of the Crystal blood, hear my words!
Look around you, an organized squadron vowing to protect your nation... no longer themselves slaves, but triumphant warriors ready to restore Crystal Empire to her former height!
We had fallen into a deathly slumber for a thousand years. But now all of that belongs to the past. We have to retake what had been unjustly taken away from us.
Our resurgence is a must, a necessity, a natural evolution of the great Roaman nation. The hour has struck for us to take action, and take control of our destiny!”
Then, not only the platoon soldiers cheered extremely lively, Asclepias also joined in, raising his right hoof and ululated, shouting a passionate war-cry.
“Whoa.” Geuse stated neutrally, while Pinkie Pie maintained a fixed smile.
“See? The Guida can inspire so many pride in our chest just by giving a short speech.”
Pinkie Pie gazed at the orange unicorn in surprise. She looks just like a crystal pony, but also with a horn like a unicorn. It seemed that the rumors about her own new connection to the Crystal Heart was not unfounded.
Before the pair could respond, a bright flash shone in their face. And in the light appeared the orange unicorn they had been watching a minute ago.
“Salve! Asclepias.”
“Salve, I- Il Guida!” The stallion gulped and stepped back immediately.
“Well done with bringing them to me. Now back to your post, soldier.”
“Si!”
With a nervous shout, the previously casual and calm commandant scurried away like a house rat seeing a cat.
The orange unicorn turned to look at the duo, who stood there with utter shock that the top mare herself descended and teleported right in front of them. There should not be a reason for her to set her eyes on them if they were just ordinary crystal ponies.
“Greetings.”
“H- Hail to you too, G- Guida Shimmer!” Pinkie gulped and squeezed out hurriedly.
“At ease, I’m not here to eat you whole.”
Sunset Shimmer smirked. “You’ve come to register your names on the citizenship roster, haven’t you?”
“Y- Yes, uh, so if you so graciously can point us to the registrar-”
“I’m the registrar. In fact, the vetting of all citizenship matters passes through me, for I desire to know each and every of my… citizens intimately.”
Pinkie almost wheezed aloud. But Sunset Shimmer’s gaze flickered again curiously and smiled. “I do have a word with you two, but this is not a place for discussion. If so you may, please hold onto me and I would teleport all three of us into my office.”
Pinkie and Geuse looked to each other again for confirmation, and they eventually gingerly nodded.
“Excellent, so three, two, one-”
After a bright flash of green magic and brief disorientation, the three appeared inside a wide and large office. A semi-circular crystalline office desk encrusted with stylish orange fire opal and also black obsidian sat in the middle, and Sunset Shimmer already sat at it comfortably.
“Welcome to the Crystal Empire, Miss Pinkamena Diane Pie, and Miss Geuse.”
“… E- Eh?!” The two yelped out in shock.
The orange unicorn chortled. “Don’t be surprised, I know more than you think I do.”
Facing the almost terrified looks on the two mares, Sunset Shimmer simply shook her head with a light smile. “Don’t be afraid, I fully understand why you two take to such an extreme measure to hide your identities. As a matter of fact, the conundrum with the family of Buon Vino has already been resolved. His family was already rescued from the undue and unrightful surveillance and personal threats from the outlaws in cahoots with corrupted officials, and the agents we sent to secure Buon Vino have already established correspondence with him in order to arrange for possible repatriation.”
Geuse deeply sighed, as she immediately took off the delicate but now useless disguise and threw it onto the floor unceremoniously. She then asked while panting in sweat. “We need proof…! And explanations.”
A glint of displeasure shone in the eyes of Sunset Shimmer, but it was quickly covered up with a neutral expression.
“Proof, you say? Is the word of the highest office in the land not enough for you?”
Pinkie has also put away her disguise, and she agreed with unusual seriousness. “As lives are on stake here, we can’t afford to be sloppy.”
Sunset Shimmer took in a breath and smirked. “Very well. Let’s just say that Buon Vino was an unfortunate victim of some power struggle among the corrupted ranks of government officials who stood to profit from a deal with foreign agitators.”
Geuse asked. “What foreign agitators?”
“It’s classified.”
“Mmm…”
Sunset Shimmer threw her mane backwards and said. “I’ll direct you to the Vino household later. But I also have one demand of my own.”
Pinkie sighed. “Please tell.”
“I want some time to talk with Miss Pie alone.”
Geuse became alarmed and said. “Why would you want to do that? What’s it that I cannot be present?”
“Miss Geuse, what I’m about to ask her was about highly confidential national secrets, the fewer ponies know the better. Please respect the need for Crystal Empire to maintain a certain veil of secrecy.”
Sunset Shimmer then offered a conciliatory tone. “Of course, I’m not barring the possibility, nor do I have the power to stop her if she decides that it would be suitable to divulge those information to you. But the meeting has to take place first.”
“… Pinkie?”
Pinkie returned an assuring nod. “I’ll go, Geusie, just wait here for me to come back!”
“Great! Miss Geuse, please feel at ease in here. Miss Pie and I will discuss in the backroom, and we should be back shortly.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With some trepidation, Pinkie followed the orange unicorn into the secluded room. Her mind was cluttered with uncertainty about how their plan to sneak into Crystal Empire came apart so easily and how come it was plainly knowable by this Sunset Shimmer. However, she tried her best not to let her worry get to her.
The crystalline room was plainly decorated. A lone bookshelf stood behind three strategically-placed couch, two cups of hot tea already poured and served nearby on a small table.
Sunset Shimmer walked near the heavy door, and used her magic to slam it shut. She then turned towards Pinkie with a grin.
“This room is absolutely soundproof. No voice or vibration, however large, could escape.”
The orange unicorn then touched her horn to the wall of the room. Again, a soft green glow enveloped the whole room, and disappeared gradually as she powered down. Pinkie looked on with concern, because for all she knew she couldn’t tell which spell Sunset Shimmer was casting.
“How come you know about our plan to come into Crystal Empire?”
Sunset Shimmer snorted, and then the snort turned into a hysterical laugh. Regardless of her status as the Element-bearer of Laughter, Pinkie was not devoid of contextual understanding. She immediately demanded. “W- What are you laughing at, Shimmie?”
The last word of address did stop the orange unicorn’s laughter in its track. “S- Shimmie?”
“Yes, you, Shimmie!”
Her annoyance was quickly replaced by a narrow glint in her eyes, as Sunset Shimmer blinked and snorted again. “Getting on first-name basis so quickly, huh? Very well, Pinkie, now that I’ve separated you from that meddling pegasus, we can be somewhat honest here.”
“What are you talking about?”
“This is all a ruse to get one of you Element-bearers here. And you’re my chosen one, Pinkie Pie.”
“What?! What naughty thing are you planning to do?”
“I have no desire to tell you the whole picture, because there’s no need to. But if it sates your curiosity, then I would briefly tell you what these nonsenses about kidnapping are about.”
Sunset Shimmer then flatly smiled. “You see, Buon Vino is just a hapless chess piece that I used to lure you in. The chessboard is large, and many things are moving at once. All the signs are already there, if you aren’t so blind. And if you’re slightly cleverer, then you might have noticed where one of all these fail to make sense.”
The orange unicorn swerved and sat in one of the couches. “For instance, if any powers that be really want to turn the Saddle River into a trail of black sludge and frame your friend, why would they use an unwilling pony who would spill everything under stress? If there’s anything I’ve learnt, it’s that loyalty cannot be forced with fear of retribution alone. In fact, I can’t care less about the river.”
“Grr…” Pinkie gritted her teeth.
“Now that you’re with me, I can finally investigate the source of my concern…”
“Huh…?”
“In case you don’t know, I have gone south to check out each of you Element-bearers inside the town of Ponyville myself earlier, and I have agents down south as well. At first, I’m just concerned that you lots might interfere with my plan to raise Crystallia to her former glory at the possible detriment to our southern neighbor…”
“You can’t be planning to go to war with Equestria?!”
Sunset Shimmer smirked knowingly. “Alas, to actually fight means hurting our illustrious citizenry. There is little benefit for pony nation to fight pony nation unless the situation is extreme. As her proud adopted daughter, I just mean to bring the Crystal Empire again to the forefront of all pony nations.”
She turned her gaze on the pink pony again. “But bringing you here is less about that grand goal of mine, but more about a personal matter… You particular… even though it was partly circumstances that make me settle my gaze on you, but you prove to be a more than suitable candidate for me to make the first move.”
She licked her lips and muttered. “Mhmm… I can sense it now.”
“What in the hay are you talking about?!” Pinkie shouted in a mix of fear and anger.
“Oh, feisty. I just sensed the delicate magical signature that I recognize from… a certain place that I stayed for a long, long time. There can be no mistaking it. And you six must be hiding something besides your obvious statuses as Element-bearers.”
Pinkie’s mind briefly went to their deepest secret, and breathed in sharply. But she soon rebuked in defiance. “I won’t tell you a thing if I keep being a meanie like that, hmpf!”
Sunset Shimmer touched her forehead and smiled. “Meanie, huh? How delightfully innocent.”
Pinkie crossed her hooves. “This is more than enough! Why on Earth are you in charge of everything instead of Princess Cadance anyway? Where is she and where is Shining Armor?”
“They’re on a diplomatic overture at Yakyakistan, don’t you worry. They serve well to placate our perennial rival while we quietly move to positions.”
The orange unicorn raised a hoof. “But now, since Miss Geuse is waiting for so long outside, I might as well finish up my business here instead of keep on partaking this pointless chit-chat.”
Pinkie became much more guarded. “What do you want to do?”
“… Spike the Dragon.”
“Eh?!”
“Well, it does surprise me somewhat to see a pony in a relation with a dragon, and it further surprises me that it turns out that you are the hypotenuse, huh?”
“H- How dare you?! Spike loves us all the same, stop trying to spread lies and divide us, you big bad bully!”
“Remember, Pinkie Pie, we’re in the land of love. As the First Consul of Crystal Empire and the only newly ascendant crystal pony aside from Cadenza, I share a connection to the Crystal Heart almost on par with her. And I can sense the undeniable doubt and self-doubt in the love you emanate when I mention the name of the dragon. You know well that he only takes you on because of guilt, not of love.”
“H- H- how did you…?!”
The orange unicorn did not answer, instead she smirked again. “Can you look me in the eyes and say that it isn’t the case?”
Pinkie immediately turned up her glare and burrowed her gaze into Sunset Shimmer’s greenish blue eyes, eager to prove to her that her love of Spike could undergo the truest of tests.
“Of course it-”
Pinkie gasped when she did look into the eyes of the orange mare. Her resolve for some reason drained away completely when she met the unicorn’s solid gaze.
“I- It… I don’t… It’s not…”
“Pinkie Pie, don’t you feel that your relationship with him is… perhaps a bit too flimsy? Tacked on, even?”
Pinkie gritted her teeth, but she also felt some moisture near her eyes. “That’s n- not true!”
“I might be a magical unicorn, but even I can’t bend truth. The truth is in your heart, ask yourself whether you ever feel like you are at the helm of this relationship?”
Sunset Shimmer then lowly hummed. “Accept it, Pinkie Pie, you’re just a match of convenience. Everyone in Ponyville knows that the dragon loves Rarity as a mare but merely likes you as a friend, despite what some of your friends told you for comfort. This situation is but a thrown-together half-solution in order for the Element-bearers to keep as one. When are you going to wake up from this untruth?”
Pinkie Pie thought she was made of stronger material, but the orange unicorn’s word hit rightly at the most insecure places in her heart. She had always feared that she could not compare to the first and ‘real’ love Spike had for Rarity. Whenever she’s reminded with what was foretold in the visions, she feared that she was an anomaly, a divergence from the right path, a temporary state that eventually had to end.
She was bemused about how this orange unicorn and former student of Celestia managed to know so much about her personal relationships. However, she was way too hurt and confused to think clearly.
The orange unicorn’s eyes remained ever steady, and it seemed to add to the authority of whatever she said. The aquamarine of her eyes was strangely luring, drawing her gaze and refusing to let it go.
The voice of the orange unicorn dropped to a quiet coo. “Pinkie Pie, Pinkie, why it must be the case?”
“I… uh… I… ?”
“Why must you adhere to the thin veil of duty and solidarity all while your true love withers? What is protecting the realm compared to the warmth of his smile? What is advancing the welfare of the townsponies compared to the feel of your beloved dragon in your hooves? It’s but morning mist, winds and words. We are only mortals, and we’re fashioned for love by nature.”
Sunset Shimmer closed in, until it was almost snout to snout. She did not for a second break her gaze, however. Pinkie Pie barely noticed that the unicorn’s horn was gradually glowing with a stronger and stronger green glow.
“Embrace your raw feelings, Pinkie Pie. Look at my eyes, think of it as a mirror to your heart.”
An illuminant limish glow reflected off Pinkie’s eyes, as she wallowed in self-doubt. Whenever she thought of Spike, she felt as if her heart was sliced by a sharp knife.
A forbidden thought began to form in her mind. Why must she share? She had just as much right to him as the white unicorn who was the object of his desire. With all her foreknowledge and a bit of added initiative, she could have easily crafted a situation that would send Spike into her hooves and hers alone. The only obstacle was her… so-called solidarity with Rarity and the other mares. What’s even the world to her if she could have her love?
Pinkie wheezed in some air sharply but weakly. How could she think like that? That wasn’t her, that mustn’t be her. The five mares were all her dearest friends, sisters in hooves, they’ve been so much that no force in the world could’ve separated them-
The limish glow in her eyes wobbled, and Sunset Shimmer let out a dismissive groan. The orange unicorn doubled down her efforts as her horn shone in brilliant green.
Pinkie now felt a tangible pounding in her head, as she began to slowly realize that her conscious mind was being tampered with by the orange unicorn’s magical suggestion.
“W- What are y- you doing t- to-”
“Why resist, Pinkie Pie? You bear an unmistakeable signature that ties us together in fate as much as you and your other five so-called friends do.”
“I, ugh, I… I- I don’t know what you’re t- talking about!”
“Then don’t think about it, just follow your instinct, where your desire brings you towards.”
“Le- let… gr…”
Pinkie felt never so weak and exposed. She could sense some foreign probing in her mind, threatening to invade her private thoughts and direct her to do things not of her thinking. It just so happened that Sunset Shimmer’s honey-covered words were the most savory poison, easing her controlling magic into the recesses of her mind.
A small part of her, the remaining rational part in her mind regretted letting down her defense inside this secluded room, and also becoming intensely concerned that their greatest secret might be leaked to this malicious mare by way of force. Her heart pounded, but her head was like in thick fog, unable to assess the current situation.
She wondered briefly if this could be compared to Twilight’s resistance to Chrysalis’s attack in Canterlot, but it soon turned to bitter regret as she realized that she had no magic whatsoever to mount a meaningful resistance. Sunset Shimmer’s magic was like sharp ice picks, quickly sending them inside her brain and taking over her remaining mental faculties one by one.
She difficultly wheezed again. She could not be the sole failure among the six mares. She always was the one with the greatest mental flexibility, and she must figure a way to...
Like a diver of minds, she used her last bit of strength and reached into her own inner sanctum. The old connection to Twilight left an indelible legacy, granting them visions of the future and knowledges of the past. This was the one thing that could not be left in evil hooves.
The connection of her mind branched out into an entire network that made up the mare that was Pinkie Pie. Immediately, like pulling in clothlines from inside the house, she settled her inner eyes on those parts of memories which would expose their biggest secret, and began to pull them towards the innermost part of her mind.
At the risk of damaging her delicate network of memories, she rapidly hid the important pieces of information inside and rushed to seal them in with her very self with the latent magic from Twilight and the Ancient Spirit.
The mental invasion was swift, and Pinkie struggled to draw all the memories within the last perimeters in time. Those precious moments with Spike’s were still largely outside, but it was too late to put them inside. With great reluctance, she sealed the perimeter just in time. The leaden sphere wobbled slightly, and then disappeared from the recesses of her mind quietly.
Sunset Shimmer’s grin turned bigger and bigger. The pathetic defense put up by the so-called Element-bearer was not worth even a mention. Quickly, the defiant, angry look put up by the pink mare was replaced by a confused but thin, pliant smile. Her ears drooped, and her blue eyes were brightly lit with green magic, suggesting a fully susceptible mode of mind.
The orange unicorn clasped her hooves together and leaned in, horn almost jutting at Pinkie’s forehead.
“Where is it, where is it?!”
Sunset Shimmer desperately searched for the source of the weak magical signature that she sensed from all of the Element-bearers.
In actuality, she felt the strongest signal from Twilight Sparkle, the Element-bearer of Magic. But despite her disabilities, getting close to her was prohibitively difficult, she had the closest brush with being discovered inside the army camp of the Cruzesians. It was at that time she decided to set her eyes on the seemingly most emotionally vulnerable of the Element-bearers.
“Grgh! How come there is no one single source for that magical signature! Don’t tell me all those planning and risk to be discovered net me no progress at all! I didn’t spend time out of Crystal Empire for nothing, did I?”
The pink mare gave no response, her half-closed eyes looked at nothing in particular. Green glow flickered off the two half-concealed eyes of hers, until Sunset Shimmer crudely held Pinkie’s jaw up with her hoof.
“What a weak, useless fool. Tangled by petty emotions. Even your Element… Laughter, is itself laughable.”
She rudely threw down her hoof, and Pinkie’s head drooped again. “Oh well, at least I get one of the Element-bearers by my side. With Twilight Sparkle’s miraculous comeback, I had thought that they would become a hard thorn on my side, but now I’ve secured one of them, they would no longer be able to activate the Elements one way or another.”
Sunset Shimmer narrowed her eyes and smirked. “Pinkie Pie, Pinkie Pie, let’s prove yourself useful, will you? You shall become my loyal servant, my sleeper agent in Equestria.”
Her horn flashed again, and Pinkie abruptly raised her head, though it was seemingly by force rather than self-initiative.
“Pinkamena Diane Pie, you will hear my words and take them as thoughts and memories of your own, do you understand?”
Like slurred mumbling in sleep, Pinkie replied with a drunken smile. “Yes, Shimmie.”
Sunset Shimmer rolled her eyes in annoyance with the hated nickname. “Tsk. You will remember none of the events once you entered this room. We merely had a pleasant talk about… the miraculous comeback of Crystal Empire.”
Pinkie Pie numbly nodded, and Sunset Shimmer continued. “You should adore no one but me, and become my diehard servant and my most ardent supporter. Though in public eyes you shall remain cozy with your other friends and stifle their suspicion with your intimacy. But when I so order, you should always cast everything aside in favor of absolute obedience towards me. My words are the only truth and I’m your only goal, nothing else is important, and you shall act upon them whenever you receive my order. Do you understand?”
The pink mare again nodded, and Sunset Shimmer grinned. “Upon hearing a tap on the floor, you shall again become lucid, with all my commands remaining effective.”
The orange unicorn tapped the floor, and the pink mare drew in a big gasp of air. Her eyes were still glazed, and her gaze confused. But when she set sight on the orange mare, she beamed a big grin. With the stereotypical strength of an earth pony, she tackled the orange mare onto the ground.
Sunset Shimmer yelped out in shock and almost instinctively casted a spell to peel Pinkie off from her, but when she looked at her more carefully, she only noticed a loving look in her eyes and an intimate body expression of tight embrace.
“Shimmie, I’ll never leave your side…”
Sunset Shimmer looked back with a deeply unamused expression. She unceremoniously threw Pinkie down to the floor with a wave of hoof, and the pink pony simply drop to floor with a plop.
Although clearly hurting, Pinkie’s face was still filled with eagerness to please.
Sunset Shimmer suddenly thought of something and touched her cheek thoughtfully. “I’ve never tried this ever since… well, let’s see if it’s still as strong as it’d need to be.”
“Pinkie Pie.” She called out.
“Y- Yes, Shimmie?”
“If now I send you out to hit your Pegasus friend out there squarely in the head with this spiked hammer until she was bleeding red and unconscious.”
Sunset Shimmer took out an ornate hammer from a box in her saddlebag. “Would you do it for me?”
Pinkie nodded with a vacant smile. “It might sound a little bit mean, but if Shimmie says so, it must be right! It might even be good for her!”
“What about Princess Celestia or Luna?”
“Gladly!”
“What about each and every one of your five friends?”
Expecting at least a flicker of resistance, Sunset Shimmer was surprised to see a series of enthusiastic nods. “No problem at all!”
“What about… Spike?”
The pink mare stopped and frowned. Sunset Shimmer raised a brow, thinking that she had finally reached the threshold of her latent resistance. After all, she had made used of her love for her small dragon in order to soften her for the domination of her mind.
The pink mare did show some hesitation, but after some more blinking, she said while scratching her cheek.
“Well, it’s not like dagger is going to penetrate his thick scales. You would better off using tampered ruby or diamond to make him faint!”
“Hah hah hah! This is brilliant, wondrous! I never thought my spell’s influence is this complete and overwhelming! The average crystal pony I understand, but you, Pinkie Pie, are an Element-bearer! It’s as if I have a completely heartless and remorseless underling by my side! With your past track record as a skillful mare, surely you would fit right in the most competent of my followers.”
She grinned and said cryptically. “Oh my, oh my, what a fortunate encounter, me and my vast magical potential.”
She touched her horn with satisfaction. “But do try to maintain a veil of normalcy when we’re outside, Pinkie Pie. Don’t rouse any suspicion in your friend yet until I decide on what to do with her. I will send you two back after wrapping things up… Hmm, or maybe not, you and even that pegasus might be useful fodders. I should probably think this over more carefully.”
“Whatever you say, Shimmie! You’re my bestest one true friend and I will do anything for you!”
“F- Friend?”
Sunset Shimmer turned abruptly and opened her mouth, almost retorting. Then she realized that her commands during Pinkie’s hypnotic stage must have been construed this way.
Her eyes twitched and she quietly shook her head. This should not cause any disruption. In fact, if those self-annointed protectors of harmony were so enamored with the concept of friendship, then she being seen as her one true friend would be immensely helpful for her control over the pink mare.
“On second thought, it might be beneficial for me to keep you by my side a bit longer. Say, what do you have in your arsenal if you must fight?”
Pinkie’s blank smile did not waver, and she asked. “Oh, oh! I have a-plenty! Shimmie, are you sure this room is strong enough for testing?”
“Of course, I have anticipated a possible fight, so this room is constructed with the strongest gemstone pos-”
Pinkie had already taken out a long hoof-held cannon and fired her weapon. Sunset Shimmer shrieked as the fire-breathing projectile blazed through the side of her ears. It landed on the crystalline wall behind her just in time for her to cast a hastily constructed magical shield.
A ground-shaking tremor almost caused the two to lose their footing, and Sunset Shimmer looked back in shock. The strongest adamantine crystal was blasted clean off, leaving a giant semi-spherical crater on the wall.
She immediately yelled in anger. “Damn it, Pinkamena Diane Pie! Are you trying to kill me?! And how dare you to ruin perfectly good adamantine!”
Pinkie beamed a bright smile. “I will never do something like that! You’re the one pony that I adore the most, remember? I was just following your order to test my weapons!”
Sunset Shimmer breathed in and out, gasping for air and heart still beating fast. She looked into the glassy blue beads of eyes that Pinkie used to look at her, searching for any sign of magic miscasting on her part, or deception on the pink mare’s part. But all she saw was an empty smile and a glazed gaze.
She pondered briefly. It was even much emptier than the usual test subjects or her past preys. It was as if she was a soulless automaton to begin with, but she knew that it could not be the case.
Or was her magic strengthened to such a degree that it was able to completely suppress and wipe clean a pony’s mind save for their surface traits?
Sunset Shimmer couldn’t help but break into a twisted grin. If so, her plan to raise the Empire and herself to the top of all would be even easier. For now though, the sheer versatility and firepower provided by her brainwashed captive would serve her well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Geuse and Pinkie stayed over inside one of the guest rooms in the Crystal Castle after the bizarre encounter with Sunset Shimmer. Wearing a grey cape, she accompanied the two to the Vino household, and the family of the crystal pony seemed to be incredibly thankful for escaping the menace of the ‘corrupted’ Brownshirts.
Throughout the walk, Geuse couldn’t help but silently observe the similarly orange pony, who seemed to know their carefully hidden plan to infiltrate the Crystal Empire so well, it was honestly unnerving to the adventuring knight.
But more unnerving was Pinkie after she came out of the conversation. Although it was understandable for her to become less tense, after their main goal here seemed to be resolved automatically, it was still paradoxically out of character for Pinkie to act so bubbly with abandon.
Although she only spent several weeks’ time with Pinkie, she knew that she was much more than a simply happy-go-lucky party-planner. Underneath that cheery exterior hid a complex, thoughtful and delicate mare, who always thought for her friends and put them before herself. She was one of the, for the lack of a better word, the ‘realest’ ponies she’s spent time with.
But ever since she came out of that room, she only spouted elated platitudes and placid greetings, avoiding or ignoring all conversations of substance. Even though it was ostensibly more pleasant than seeing a cheerful pony worrying one thing over another, it was distinctly unnatural. It was as if the orange unicorn placed a spell on her in their meeting…
Geuse gulped. Was she being paranoid? Pinkie still acted roughly normal otherwise, and she even continued the chain of conversation they had been in before going into the room. Perhaps Pinkie only acted like that to conceal some of her deeper worries, and the orange pegasus would be overstepping her bound to push for an answer.
As a Zebrican, Geuse had been stereotyped by Equestrians as a superstitious bunch, a label that made her both vexed and frustrated because it had a small grain of truth, as education and general knowledge about both pony and other types of magic was sorely lacking. That made her reflexively doubtful whenever it came to suspecting any occurrence of malicious spell-casting.
She sighed and muttered. “Hey Pinkie, care to bring me a glass of water? I need some to clear up my mind.”
Pinkie did not even wait before turning to the small kitchen in the room. After a while, she gave the cup of water to Geuse with a full grin.
Geuse narrowed an eye. She thought of something and wanted to test the pink mare’s reaction. “Pinkie, can you go to the kitchen and… er, make me a giant three-layered cake? I just feel like it.”
Expecting a playful rebuke for her ridiculous demand, Geuse was shocked to see the pink mare simply nod off and walk towards the kitchen.
Geuse immediately caught the pink mare’s back hoof and called out. “Pinkie, are you crazy? I’m just so obviously kidding!”
“I’m not crazy, Geusie! There’s a command to make a cake for you, and I just followed it! That’s just what friend does to friend, right?”
Geuse looked at Pinkie, shaking her head at the unbelievable sight. “Pinkie, that’s ridiculous! So what if I tell you to hug and kiss me like you would’ve done to Spike- umhmmh!”
Geuse felt a full-frontal sensory attack by both the physical touch on her body and on her lips. She didn’t know what had possessed her to tempt fate – or an obviously out-of-her-mind Pinkie with such a command.
Compared to her experience in combat, she was a complete novice in anything related to romance. She knew she fancied stallions, but her martial outlook made it difficult to get dates in schools. Even before she kicked the stallions who harassed off down the clouds, she was already the big scary sis in the eyes of stallions.
She would never, even under the pain of torture, admit to anyone, but she did also harbor some forbidden fantasies for her lifelong partner Verna. She knew that if she ever expressed those feelings, she would be immediately castigated by her fellow Zebricans.
Despite her refusal to mingle with other knights due to their stuck-up pride, she still observed a long list of knightly conducts, this meant never to simply give in to her own carnal desires. Pinkie’s sudden but relentless assault reminded her of those long-suppressed thoughts, and unlike others whom she could just forcefully peel off, Pinkie was her and Twilie’s friend, and as such she could not quite act rough on her.
Wading her remaining rational mind out of a sea of confused thoughts, Geuse briefly managed to separate her lips from that of the manic pink mare. She gasped for air and shouted. “What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?! Pink- mhmm!”
Pinkie seemed to hear nothing, as she smilingly but blankly ramped up her attack. Geuse felt never quite as helpless, as she limply tried to hold a line of defense against the pink tsunami. She felt like her rational mind slowly giving way to her confused thirst for intimacy by Pinkie’s alarmingly expertly caresses.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pinkie stood near the door with the same smile as before, but Geuse was sitting at the corner opposite to the pink mare, shuddering and whimpering after being completely overwhelmed by the puissant pink pony. She would quietly condemn her own unknightly and weak outlook that she must be sporting right now, but in truth she could no longer care.
She felt completely confused. It had long past the threshold of play and gone into something else entirely. She didn’t know what and how to think about the pink pony. She liked the pink mare, but only as friend, not… like that. Before this she could chat with the pink pony easily and casually, but now, whenever she tried to weakly sneak a glance to the pink mare, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of fear and tumult. It was as if she didn’t know the pink pony anymore.
She sniffled. It was then that she sharply realized – the fact that she was quietly sobbing. A proud knight and a brave adventurer that she was, now pitifully tearing up at a corner like some defenseless damsel? How pathetic that she had become, she thought.
Still, she drew up her remaining courage and peeked at the pink mare, who has since stood near the door with a vacant smile, seemingly awaiting something.
Geuse looked on with disbelief. How could such a previously considerate and compassionate mare be so blind to the fact that she had ravished one of her dear friends? Even though she arguably gave the command, but the pink pony should also have some capacity of self-determination, especially when she yelled and resisted, right? It’s not like she had to follow every command that found its place into her mind.
Geuse resentfully gritted her teeth. She really hated to think badly of the cheery and friendly pink pony, but what she’s done had shaken her up so much that she was totally beset with sadness, fear and even anger. She just couldn’t comprehend how the pink pony could still act like nothing had happened at all and stand them with that faux-innocent smile. Couldn’t the pink pony see how much anguish she had caused at all? Where did her empathy go?
Suddenly, sounds of trotting hooves could be heard from outside the room. Geuse gasped and immediately stood up, her bullheaded pride forbidding her from showing weakness to more than the ones she knew. She hurriedly rubbed out all her tears and tidied herself.
The door opened, and to her surprise, it was Sunset Shimmer herself again. Why would such a busy leader take such a personal interest on them two?
The orange unicorn first took a satisfied glance at the pink pony, who perked up so much seeing her she beamed as brightly as sunshine.
“My, Pinkie Pie, I’m pleased to see you await me at the door as you’re told. This bid well for our…”
She glanced at the guarded-looking pegasus. “… future cooperation.”
Geuse rubbed her snout and said, doubt clouding her mind. “… What might you be wanting from us at this hour in the night, Consul Shimmer?”
“I just have some unfinished discussion I had with Miss Pie. She… has been immensely helpful with her display of skills and knowledge, and I certainly want to learn more from her.”
Sunset Shimmer coughed and smirked. “With her consent, hmm?”
Pinkie Pie almost immediately replied with a sing-song voice. “Of course! I’d be really glad to help Shimmie out! She’s such a great pony and friend after all!”
“Excellent! So, uh, Miss Geuse, you may want to go to sleep early tonight, because our talk might be quite long.”
The orange unicorn again smirked. “You… look a bit banged up, don’t you? Puffy eyes and all, maybe our crystalline bed is too hard for you to sleep on? I shall order a servant to bring you more mattresses to ease your sleep.”
“Uh… tha-”
Pinkie said with a glowing and adoring tone. “Ohhh, Shimmie, you’re such a kind and benevolent pony! I love you so much!”
“… Let’s move out. Have a good night of sleep, Miss Geuse.”
“Uh…”
Geuse weakly reached towards the two mares, but Sunset Shimmer quickly left, with Pinkie almost hanging onto her hind leg with a revering look. The heavy door then banged shut, leaving the befuddled knight inside the guest room pondering all the strange happenings of today.