Bringing Balance

by Shumiry

Chapter 4

He sat in the chamber, letting the charging power of the sun run the rune sphere for the machine. This gave him the energy to add new programming to his nanobots, and modify their capabilities. With the ink sacs installed, he'd be able to have them form runes on his body as he needed them, meaning anypony trying to collect data on him would think he had none, until they attacked.
When the task was complete, and the bots knew all the runes and their respective locations, he extricated himself from the machine and went over to the table where his breakfast lay. He had meant to eat it long before the picnic, but it was looking like he'd only just make it in time as it was. With a grin, he put the daffodil sandwich and daisy salad away, and began exiting the labyrinthine structure.
As he made his way towards the location near Ponyville, his mind wandered to the two demons. He'd been able to see the murdered pony's memories, so he knew what they looked like, assuming they didn't change their appearances. Unfortunately, information about them was sparse, having been around long before Equestria was the country it is today.
Celestia had been willing to shed some light on the subject, detailing her chase of the two monsters, and how she'd managed to separate them with Discord's help. But even to her, they were largely a mystery. Their motives were not so simple as acting out the part imposed upon them by their titles. Carryion didn't just go around killing for no reason. There was some sort of purpose, some plan behind the victims he chose, she was sure of it, though she'd never been able to guess just what that plan was.
With a sigh, he pushed the thoughts from his mind. There had been some sort of fire in Ponyville. Good old Couches and Quills had suffered some minor damage, but nopony had been hurt, thanks in no small part to the efforts of a certain sky blue pegasus. And Fluttershy had apparently reported to the Princesses that the creatures of the Everfree Forest were continuing to propagate, returning the fauna to its proper abundance.
Soon Ponyville came into sight. Today was going to be a good day.
The six friends lay sprawled around the picnic area, nibbling at various sandwiches and salads, and a delightful carrot casserole Fluttershy had brought. They'd been talking and laughing, watching the antics as their pets rolled and played, and everypony seemed to be having a good time.
Rescuing those two ponies apparently had done wonders for Rainbow Dash's mood, Fluttershy noted, and she was back to her old self, more or less. With a sigh of relief, the yellow pegasus relaxed for the first time in a week.
Twilight watched and waited, until the right moment presented itself. Rarity had just engaged Fluttershy in a discussion about her newest dress design, and Applejack and Pinkie Pie were... well they weren't quite arguing... hammering out the details behind the virtue of a good day's hard work, and the necessity of parties. This was her chance!
Slyly, she made her way over to Dash, who had put her shades on and was sprawled out in the sun.
“Hey Rainbow,” she said, her voice low.
“Hey Twi! What's up?” Twilight was struck by a sense of deja vu, as she recalled the other night.
“Umm, I wanted to talk to you about something...” she trailed off meaningfully, hoping Dash would get the hint. The pegasus raised her sunglasses to look at her friend,
“Yeah sure. What's on your mind?” she said, just as loudly. Twilight had to resist the urge to smack her forehead with her hoof. Leaning down, she put her face only inches away from Rainbow's, causing the other mare to push her own head away in suspicion.
“About what happened at Couches and Quills.” Twilight tried to keep the venom from her voice, but she just couldn't shake the image from her dream last night. To her credit, the pegasus remained remarkably cool.
“Oh sure,” she said, as she scooted away from her purple friend, “what'd you want to know?” Fed up with the games, Twilight magicked the mold, dental records, and box of matches out of her pack and set them before Rainbow Dash.
“Tell me you have a good explanation for this...” she said, tears beginning to form in her eyes.
Dash went deathly pale.
“Wh-where did you get that, those?” she asked, beads of sweat forming on her brow. Her reaction sent a chill through Twilight's spine. She couldn't stand up anymore. Her legs had started shaking, and she had to sink to the grass.
“Rainbow, please... Tell me this isn't what it looks like.” Dash's eyes darted around, tears welling up in the bottoms,
“Can we...” her voice cracked slightly, “can we talk about this someplace else?” She indicated the other ponies, who still hadn't taken notice of the exchange, caught up in their own conversations. Twilight nodded, and the two broke away in a slow trot to a copse of trees. Once they were alone, Twilight advanced again. Her eyes were dry now, and she moved with a sinister calm.
“What happened?” she asked, her voice devoid of emotion. Dash looked around, panicked. Her legs were wobbly, and her wings kept twitching, like she wanted to fly away. With a fwoof they spread... and were instantly crushed back to her side by a purple cloud.
“Tell me what happened, Rainbow, or I'm going to the police!” Her voice was deadly calm, but inside, she was tearing apart. It hurt so much to grill her friend like this, to put her in this situation, but if she was going to claim to be Rainbow's friend, she had to know.
Finally, the fight went out of the pegasus, and tears ran free as she sank to the ground.
“I had to do something...” she said, struggling past the sobs, “I never wanted to hurt anypony, I just needed somepony to save.” When she looked up, Twilight took a step back, struck by the depth of suffering in her eyes.
“I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat. I couldn't stop seeing Secret Seeker every time I closed my eyes.” Like a dam bursting, once started, the words poured out of her. She told of the nightmares, the shakes, the pins and needles. How nothing had helped. How she'd started twitching and shaking, and, at the end, how she'd just been watching herself do things. She'd bought the matches from Matchboxes and Megaphones, then looked for a place to burn. Couches and Quills made sense because it had multiple windows on both floors, and the roof would catch quickly.
Plus, having been in there before with Twilight on several occasions, she knew the layout, and would be able to get to the ponies within easily. By the time she finished, Dash had her head held under her hooves, weeping. She knew Twilight would never forgive her. Hay, she'd never forgive herself! I'm a monster!
“Just... just take me to Brass Badge,” she choked out through the tears, “I'll come quietly.” Fwoosh! She looked up. Twilight stood over a small fire which was consuming the mold, dental records, and box of matches.
“Twi...” Dash said, unable to believe what her friend was doing. When the purple mare turned to her, Rainbow could see the other pony understood.
Twilight rushed over, wrapping her hooves around the pegasus' neck, crushing her in a fierce hug.
“Stupid,” she whispered, tears leaking into the rainbow mane, “why didn't you ask for help? Don't you remember what happened to me?” She pulled away, looking into Dash's eyes, a smile on her face. The sky blue mare thought for a moment, then shook her head, forming a smile of her own. Twilight laughed,
“Remember when I thought I was going to be late with my friendship report to the Princess?”
“Ooooh yeah.” Dash did remember. Suddenly, the scenes flooded back to her. The twitching, the ear flopping, the erratic movements. Twi had the same problems.
“That's why there are six Elements,” Twilight went on, “so that we can help each other.” The pegasus' ears went down as she ducked her head, embarrassed.
“I know,” she mumbled, “I was just ashamed. I'm the Element of Loyalty, I'm supposed to be there for you.” She was staring at her hooves, a blush on her cheeks.
“Oh Dash...” Twilight admonished, “you know that's not how it works. Besides, it's not just the Elements. You're my friend. It's just as much my job to be there for you as it is for you to be there for me.” Rainbow smiled sheepishly, shrugging,
“Yeah... I know.” She looked up at the unicorn, “So now what?” Twilight gave her a wink and a roguish grin,
“Can you keep a secret?” The two laughed,
“Cross my heart and hope to fly,” they sang in unison, “stick a cupcake in my eye.” Their mirth died when they heard Rarity's scream. Twilight took off, but Dash was faster, soaring through the air, where she saw the white unicorn shaking in Applejack's forelegs, while Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy tried to rouse a seemingly unconscious colt.
Deep within her, the feeling stirred again. She went into autopilot, swooping down and landing by the inert unicorn. He had a rich, light brown mane and tail, and a strange cutie mark.
“Dashie!” Pinkie said, using her pet name for the pegasus, “He snuck up on Rarity and when he said 'Hi!' she panicked and kicked him and now he won't mmf gmmff...” Rainbow had stuffed a forehoof into the excitable pony's mouth to stop the streaming explanation. It didn't matter right now. She leaned over the still form, and gently shook him with a hoof.
“Secret Seeker?” she whispered, the feeling in her chest having grown into a deep buzz. The stallion's eyelids snapped open,
“Anyone catch the license plate on that truck?” he said, eyes rolling in his head. Dash gently shook him again, causing his gaze to focus on her. A warm smile spread across his features.
“Oh, hi Rainbow Dash,” he said, “how's life treating ya?” With a very unDash-like squeal, the pegasus grabbed the unicorn up in a bone-crushing embrace.
“You're alive! You're alive! I can't believe it!” she was jumping up and down, causing his head to flop around, making his eyes roll again. The feeling had evaporated the moment he'd spoken. Like a ten ton brick being lifted off her chest. She could breathe again! She could fly! With a jump, she took off, still squeezing the poor pony.
After a moment, she realized she was still holding him, and released him with a squeak. It wasn't until he started getting smaller that she realized what she'd done.
“Oh horseapples...” she muttered, diving down to catch the falling unicorn, who was looking up at her with an amused smirk. He's not even afraid, she thought, a twinge of respect thrumming through her as she reached him and scooped him up in her forelegs again. Setting him down on the ground, she apologized profusely for her behavior.
“Quite alright my dear,” he said, rising to his hooves and dusting himself off. With a shake of his mane, the last vestiges of his ordeal were erased, and he shined another smile at the gathered mares. Pinkie and Dash stood, mouths agape. Applejack was still trying to calm Rarity down, insisting that the colt she'd kicked was just fine, he had not been trying to “accost” her, if she'd just look over there. Twilight was beaming a knowing grin at him.
Intrigued, he arched an eyebrow at her.
“You don't seem too terribly surprised to see me,” he said, pretending to be hurt by the revelation.
“Hmph,” she snorted, “I'm not stupid. Anypony... anyone who could learn everything you did in two weeks would never be defeated so easily. I knew you had to have some kind of back up plan in store.” It was faint, but he thought he detected a hint of resentment in her voice, though it was hard to tell through the joy bubbling underneath.
Pinkie poked him in the ribs, eliciting a reflexive “oof” as she craned her neck to examine him.
“So is this a real body or another one of those golem things?” she said, checking him over.
“Well, technically speaking,” he was twisting his head around, trying to maintain eye contact with her, “a golem is a real body, it's just not created the same way, and is a little more resilient.” Pinkie was nodding her head,
“Uh huh, uh huh, but can it change shape?” His eyebrow went up again,
“Uh, well, probably, but that's not because it's a golem, that's just shapeshifting magic-” The pink earth pony sucked in a huge gasp.
“Omigoddess! We're going to have to have an even bigger, even huger party now!” She was positively vibrating with energy. Before things could get too far out of hoof, he placed a calming forehoof on her shoulder.
“Well, actually, I'd prefer a smaller get together. Maybe just all of you and the Princesses.” Pinkie's face dropped as her mood deflated, “There's something very important we need to discuss, but,” he added with a wink at the earth pony, “I bet we could still have a hay of a good party at my underground castle!” That got her mood up again.
“Ooooh! I've never thrown a party underground! This will be so exciting! You've got to show me where it is so I can start planning! Oh I'm going to need...” she went on for a while. Meanwhile, Rarity had finally calmed from her hysterics, and she and Applejack were staring at Secret Seeker. The earth pony spoke first,
“So what is this important thing we need 'ta talk about?” Seeker sighed, his gaze on the ground. Finally, he raised his head, and fixed them with a level stare,
“Carryion, the Lord of Death, and Mephistopheles, the Lord of Deceit, have escaped from Tartarus.” The gathered ponies gasped, except Pinkie Pie, who was still planning for the party, Where did she get her party cannon from?! Twilight, however, was the only one who truly understood the implication.
“Celestia preserve us,” she whispered, knowing that even her beloved mentor lacked the power to deal with the two evils.