//------------------------------// // 45 - Loyalty // Story: Just Roll With It // by sunnypack //------------------------------// Chapter 45: Loyalty After the meeting, Verity guided me to my room. From there, though it looked like she wanted to talk to me about a veritable inexhaustible amount of topics, she refrained from doing so, because I think she realised that I was rapidly reaching my limit for the first day’s worth of work. Even though she was the first one to suggest a while back that I should’ve taken a break. Sneaky pony. Still, from the way things were, she did well on not ambushing me with an interview on exactly where and when I’d learned the little epidemic tip-off. Although I won’t be divulging my sources, thank you very much. I’ve got your back, Runner. Though I may have prevented you from getting a medal of honour for reporting such a thing to royalty, so maybe I haven’t done you a big favour, my friend. Sorry for that. The room I was in didn’t have any personal effects. It was spacious, and the furnishings were lovely. After all, even though I had my own room, getting any member of royalty to sleep in a humble servant’s room would be out of the question. Even though I had insisted. They were adamant. So I stayed in the chamber with more space than sense and sat there in the empty void alone with my thoughts. It wasn’t the best of circumstances, but it could be worse. Reaching into my pockets, I withdrew each of the crystals and the Lodestar. The crystals and the Lodestar were all glowing with a faint light. Seems like Tempora had left me a gift before leaving. I would feel glad, but I don’t feel anything other than being tired. The Lodestar reminded me of Discord and the crystals reminded me of Tempora. According to Verity, I held some very powerful artefacts. If I could tap into the power… well, I didn’t even want to think about the power of something that could destroy a whole nation and nearly wipe out a species from the face of a planet. But they looked so beautiful. Kind of the same way a sharpened sword looked in the right light. The fact that it was designed for a sordid purpose did not detract from its devilish charm in the way that it was constructed. I toyed with the crystals and the Lodestar for a while. Until I made the mistake of letting them touch each other. The Lodestar got progressively brighter and brighter until the light was so all-encompassing, I dashed it from the table blindly swiping it. As I touched the Lodestar, my hands felt like it was burning and with a strangled scream, I tried pulling away, but strong force gripped my hand, pinning it to the Lodestar. Then all around me was white. The first thing my mind managed was a silent scream. After exhausting that option, I just stood there for a long time trying to gather my thoughts. I thought I should be resistant to unexpected circumstances, seeing as I’ve been placed in an overwhelming amount of them, but I guess that’s what makes something unexpected. It’s unexpected. Then, suddenly as it appeared, it disappeared, leaving me alone in the room touching the Lodestar. The other crystals had been scattered around the tabletop. I don’t know how long I have been out, but there wasn’t any sign that the moon had risen any further when I peeked out the window. I wasn’t keen on experimenting with the crystals because of that burning sensation, but then I thought about Discord and the hope he placed in me to figure out something. Okay. Experimentation. I threw up a quill and quickly touched the crystals and the Lodestar together. Searing pain flashed through my nerves as I tried to jerk back once more. Frozen in that state, I met the white void once again. Not much was different, other than my adjustment to the alien environment. I was breathing, but for some reason, I didn’t feel the need to. So for a minute, I simply stopped breathing. Then abruptly, just like last time, the sensation of suspension in the white void vanished and I came to, with the clatter of the quill bringing things back into focus. Did time stop when I was in the void? It had lasted a lot longer than before… I heard a crystal thump onto the plush carpet below. Ah, the crystals would keep me in the void as long as they were touching. Cold sweat beaded my forehead as I realised my folly. If I hadn’t positioned the crystals so they’d break contact with the Lodestar, I would have been trapped in that void until someone came to free me. By that time, who knows how long I would have been trapped there. I might have gone mad with how long I was there. Shivering with the epiphany, I carefully kept the Lodestar and the other crystals apart as I pondered what I could do with them. I needed more experimentation, but although I didn’t feel physically exhausted, I was starting to feel exhausted mentally. I could do it one more time… Yes, just one more. I threw the quill again. Carefully positioning the crystals to break contact once more, I took the Lodestar and tapped it to the crystals. Again I was in the void. This time I tried to summon my magic. Sparks flew as I snapped my fingers. Oh, so that worked here. Contrary to the outside, I didn’t feel like there was any drain on my power reserves. I teleported and created a barrier at the same time. They were the two most consuming spells I knew. As a bubble formed around me and I teleported a few feet away, I carefully monitored my power and found that it had dipped slightly. If by slightly you mean how a bucket of water reduced the ocean’s volume slightly. There was unfathomably depth and precision attached to how I could wield and perceive magic here. I tried to use ‘recall’ spells to examine certain memories. Usually they would blur and become indistinct, just like how real memories were, but as they appeared all around me like realistic holograms, or as real life played around me, I was struck by the leap it gave. With this sort of magic, anything was possible. Well, anything in this white void. Excitement made my fingertips tingle with anticipation. Oh, what else could I do? I remodelled my room in the house, complete with all the books and furniture. I went down to Dad’s study and picked out a book. Most of the text was there, but there were blanks in places at odd positions. In books I haven’t looked inside at all, all the pages were blank. That meant that the reconstructed memory could only hold information I knew. Still, it could recall it perfectly. Also, come to think of it, the annoying burst of light that came with teleportation didn’t exist here. I simply popped in and out of existence. It was as if this void recreated the perfect versions of the spells themselves. Interesting. Then, like before, it was over, jolting me back to the present. I grinned to myself. This was a great find. ———————— At the crack of dawn, Verity found me in the library. “I went to your room, Harmony, but you weren’t—” I heard the clatter of hoof steps approaching “…what are you doing?” It must have looked incredibly strange. I was flicking through the books at lightning speed. “I’m reading the books.” Verity poked me from the side, but I didn’t look up. I imagined that she would have a frowning pout on her lips. “You can’t be serious.” “I am. Just trust me on this.” Verity sighed audibly, then tugged on my shirt. “Come on, Harmony, Court will be starting soon. I finished flicking through the last book and then closed the tome. I would have to review all of the volumes of history, politics and magic back in that white void, but it was worth it. I had to get better in the small amount of time. I had to be powerful enough and smart enough to make a home for Discord and secure the path for Celestia and Luna’s ascension to the throne. Suppressing a yawn, I followed the Lady Verity as she glided forward. ———————— “Presenting, his royal Highness, Prince Harmony of Equestria!” This time Verity didn’t say a word and held back in the general crowd of nobles. It was the chamberlain of the castle that handled the announcing. He was somewhat glad to be back in his position, puffing up his chest in pride as he bellowed the announcement. An impressive voice from that small barrel chest of his, as I could attest to, being just less than four feet away from his mouth. I would have liked to be in another room, if possible, actually. “Petitioners, step forward!” “Just a moment, Harper Bell, there is something I want to announce to the Court before we begin.” “Yes, your Highness,” the chamberlain bowed, stepping out of the way. “You may have heard rumours from last night that there is a dire situation that has arisen,” I began, in as formal a tone as I could. “An emergency meeting was called last night and it was discussed in the meeting that there were reports of a disease outbreak.” Worried mutterings filled the court. As I continued, the hubbub died away. “Decisive action was taken. The Equestrian military, the Society of Magic and the Ministry of Agriculture had been called together to coordinate a rapid response to this outbreak. We will be quarantining areas deeply affected and are currently suspending trade without inspection. This means no unauthorised travel in and out of any village until the situation can be resolved!” Instantly, and to my surprise, there was uproar. “Suspension of trade? How will we survive, your Highness?” “No travel?” “Are we to be trapped in the castle?” “What of our villages in our fiefdom? Who will rule over the ponies there?” I signalled the chamberlain. “SILENCE! His Highness is speaking.” “Of course there will be problems and I do not intend to stay in the castle without doing anything. Thus, I will be headed towards the first reported outbreak and seeing what I can do there.” The Court burst into chaos. “Your Highness!” “We only have one ruler!” “You cannot be serious?” “This will throw the country into madness!” I signalled for the chamberlain once again. “SILENCE.” This time the response wasn’t immediate and it came more grudgingly. “My subjects. I will not abandon you or foolishly risk my life on a whim. You seem to forget that I am not a pony and it is unlikely that a disease would affect separate species. Surely you haven’t forgotten the dreaded spotted disease that had infected the griffon populace, but left ponies untouched?” There were reluctant agreements all around. “I, of course, will not be going alone. I will ask the Commander to accommodate me with a suitable retinue and I will not be in direct contact with the disease. But there is evidence that some information is not reaching the Courts, so my physical presence is required. Thus, risking my life, no matter the odds, has now become necessary.” My words, coupled with the insinuation among the nobles, returned a stifling silence. “I will leave at once. Court is dismissed for today. In my absence, I will leave the Courts to joint custody of the Treasurer, the Commander and the Chamberlain of Magic.” It was not lost on anypony that I had excluded the Chancellor of Agriculture. ———————— I was on the ground with the troops, so to speak. “Careful, your Highness, there’s a ditch.” I resisted the urge to sigh painfully. The ‘ditch’ was a shallow depression less than an inch deep. The guards was well-meaning, but overprotective was the understatement of the century. “Listen, you don’t have to point out every flaw and crack in the road. I can see them myself.” “But your Highness, the Commander said not to get a single scratch on you—” “Just ignore her and continue like normal. You don’t have to go so far as to give me special treatment.” The guards that were pacing ahead of me and looking at the cracks and holes in the road (not at any dangers or would-be assailants) stopped doing so and looked like I had taken candy from a child. Their overbearing duty being candy and them being the child. Pouting ponies preferred a punishing but productive prescribed performance. They liked orders. But not orders telling them to ignore orders. “Your Highness, we were given strict orders—” “Oh please, I’m not going to die from bruise.” I pointed forward along the path. “I’m heading towards a village which is home to thousands of infected citizens. I think the enemy here is not the ground but rather something more invisible and sinister.” Hearing my words, the soldier nodded reluctantly, seemingly understanding what I was getting at. “Soldiers, we do not have to dedicate all our attention to the ground. His Highness is right! Only half of us will look at the ground and the rest to the sky!” …Is it just me or was I surrounded by clowns? Verity stifled laughter disguised as a cough and the last words of the Commander that sent me off came crashing back to me. After committing so many of our more agile and able troops at short notice, for his Highness we regretfully only have… well… you’ll see. Well now I have, that freakin’ Commander. Her expression hadn’t changed from the beginning of our little talk to the end, but I swore I could feel mirth leaking out from her stony facial features. I sighed. Regardless, this was one of the first times I had even journeyed further than the castle and the surrounding villages. The school was close by and the Dragon Lands didn’t really count. For the first time in a while, I grasped how out of touch I was with the majority of Equestria. Farmlands stretched for miles and miles on end, painting the surrounding scenery with the pastel greens and browns of tended nature. Farm ponies hurriedly fell to their knees, bowing, as they saw the crest and the guard procession as we marched forward towards the small village in the centre of a nation-wide storm. Entering the village, we could immediately feel the pall of misery. According to the reports, miraculously, no ponies had so far died from the outbreak, but for every pony infected with the sickness, it took another to take care of that pony. With how the sickness was spreading, this would eventually lead to our agriculture and livelihoods grinding to a halt. And that was if every pony that contracted the disease did not die. I shook the morbid thoughts away as we approached the lone guard at the perimeter of the village. He rushed forward, bowing immediately. Rather than a guard, I would say that he was more of a temporary sentry. It seemed that in the wake of the sickness, some ponies had started to take advantage of the situation and was stealing from their fellows lying in bed. My lips curled in anger. Immediately, I ordered half my guard to patrol and subdue anypony found stealing or breaking the law in the village. We proceeded to a group that was part of the initial rapid response team that were composed of the army and the personnel from the Society. They bowed as we approached but I motioned them up with a call out to stop them. “No need for that,” I said, “please get me up to speed on the situation.” Grimly, a pegasus from the army stepped forward. “Your Highness,” she reported, “over one third of the village has fallen ill. More than half the village is now occupied with tending to the sick or trying to keep the village functioning.” “Have you been able to diagnose the sickness?” This time, the unicorn from the Society stepped forward. “Your Highness, I regret to say that we’ve never seen anything like it. A high fever, rash, a parched throat and sluggish movements from weakened muscles.” “So the sickness is completely new and unknown?” “Yes, your Highness, there doesn’t seem to be a cure for it, but those not actively using magic and taking small amounts of willow tree bark tea are faring better. Although they are complaining of a headache in return for drinking too much.” Willow tree… that’s what they used before aspirin. “Are there any supplies en route?” “On the way? Yes, your Highness. This will tide the villages over for the next few weeks.” “Weeks?!” That wasn’t much time at all. Even if the ponies were cured today, recuperating and subsequent harvesting would mean that the supply wouldn’t last more than two weeks. With the harvest compromised, they wouldn’t be able to get through winter. “We need to dispatch more supplies to the surrounding villages.” “Your Highness, if we do that we can no longer guarantee that the nobles can tide it through the winter either.” “We will have to take the risk,” I replied. I made to say more, but Verity tugged on my sleeve, pulling me back. “It’s probably not a good idea to release more than one tenth of our supplies,” Verity told me in a low voice. “But this is clearly not enough, Verity! These ponies will starve.” “It’s regrettable, but we shouldn’t release more of our stores—” “Who’s side are you on, Verity?” Verity stiffened at my tone, a corner of her lip drawing down. She took a deep breath and then resumed in a cool tone. “Prince Harmony, I am merely advising that releasing so much of our food stores will end up doing no good. For now, we do not know the extent of the outbreak and how many will be affected in the future. If we send supplies now, we may risk throwing away supplies to ponies that have already succumbed to the disease. The food supplies will not be useful to the dead.” Her words made me bow my head in shame. I immediately regretted the impulsive thoughts I had of her. Naïve, I was too naïve. “I’m sorry, Verity.” Verity didn’t say anything, only smiling stiffly in response. I felt like such a foal then. “Ahem,” I quickly moved on, trying to cover up my stupidity by continuing the conversation, “I will revise those orders. Please keep the supplies steady but slow for now. Keep some ponies at the ready to transport, though, we may need to move larger quantities in the near future.” The unicorn bowed. “Yes, your Highness.” By now, a small crowd of ponies from the village had gathered around us, curiously. An elderly stallion stepped forward. He glanced at me, looking unsure of himself. “Your… Highness, thank you for visiting our village. We would have given you a warmer welcome, but as you can see…” He looked around, the state of the village being plenty of evidence. I tilted my head, remembering my etiquette just in time. “Thank you…?” “Spring, your Highness. I am currently the village elder.” “Thank you, Spring. We will try not to interfere with the village too much. Mostly, we will be asking questions to get to the root of the sickness.” “As you wish, your Highness.” Bowing once more, the village elder took me around to a small hut where the patients were situated. There were groans, coughing and moans that created a gloomy atmosphere. A few were lucid enough to widen their eyes at my approach, but they were more surprised at my retinue than me. They kept a wary eye pinned to me, though. There was a earth pony mare in a white coat, dashing around, feeling foreheads, administering herbal teas and tonics and applying cool towels to heads. Many ponies smiled at her approach and appreciated her care. The only ones who didn’t weren’t conscious enough to do so. I thought it was a good idea to get some information from her. “Excuse me,” I called out to her. “I’m busy,” she said in reply. A couple of gasps could be heard, the biggest one from Spring. “L-Lily! P-Please listen, we’ve got a pretty important guest over.” Lily “I don’t care if it’s the Queen, these poor ponies need to be treated now! If somepony wants to talk to me then they can sit or stand in the corner and wait!” She didn’t even look up from what she was doing. Smiling a little, I decided to sit down. “Your Highness,” Spring hissed, “I deeply apologise—” I held up a hand. “No need, Elder, I will wait. I can also take the opportunity to confer with my team.” The Elder bowed his head. “Thank you for your patience—” he looked up as a grey-coated stallion burst into the room. He whispered something into Spring’s ear and Spring sighed deeply. “One of hundred things that need my attention,” he grumbled. “Your Highness, may I?” “Please, take care of your village.” Spring bowed. “Thank you, your Highness.” As he exited, I was left with Verity and the small unit detached to this village. “Sorry, through all this rush, I didn’t get your names…?” The three mares from the response unit stepped forward. The mare from the Society introduced herself. “Lilac, your Highness, I am from the Society of Magic.” The pegasus from the army and the earth pony accompanying them stepped forward. “Sergeant Cirrus, your Highness. This is Private Buttercup.” Cirrus looked a little annoyed that Lilac had taken the initiative to introduce herself first. Buttercup was so shy and timid that I hadn’t even recognised her from the initial greeting. She must have been sticking around the back. With a little prodding, she stood, fidgeting, as I tilted my head in acknowledgement. “You can call me Harmony and this is Verity.” Verity elegantly bowed and then shot me a wry smile. “What Prince Harmony meant to say is that since we are in the field, there is no need to use excessive titles.” “Call me what you like, I haven’t done anything yet to deserve the title,” I added, with a sigh. Looking around, all these ponies were relying on me to do something about the outbreak of the disease, but we still haven’t made any headway into the root cause. “Ahem,” Cirrus cleared her throat. The response team members all shared an awkward glance, as she continued hastily, “Well, your Highness, it’s enough to see that you’re here among the ponies instead of the castle—” “I disagree!” We all turned to Lilac, who stomped her fore hoof in agitation. “His royal Highness should be in the castle, protected!” “It is important for the leaders to know the state of their subjects! All you’ve done since coming here is complain that you can’t get back to your research!” Lilac went scarlet. “And you’ve—“ “Now, now,” Verity interrupted the argument before it could get more heated. “Let’s all just—” “Be quiet!” Lily stalked over with a gaze that could cut through steel. “You are disturbing the sick ponies here!” “Lady Lily,” I said smoothly before anyone can react. “My name is Harmony and I’m here to help with the outbreak.” “You’re from the castle?” she said with narrowed eyes. “Yes—” “Well, then, I guess it’s okay then.” She trotted over to me and held out a hoof. “Nice to meet you, Harmony, my name is Lily. I’m no Lady, so you don’t need to call me any of that.” She cleared her throat. “Sorry about before… I tend to get a little rude when I’m busy. Truthfully, there’s a lot to do and I don’t have much time, but if you’re here to help, I’d be glad. Thank you for being patient and keeping out of the way.” “Thank you for taking the time to talk.” I gestured around. “Is there someplace we can have a chat?” Lily nodded and moved further into the building, but when she saw everyone following she frowned and I waved them off except Verity. They all left reluctantly with expressions of curiosity. Continuing in, we sat down across a small table in a tight room. “So, what is it you wanted to talk about?” “Do you know anything about the disease?” Lily blinked at me and shrugged. “Apart from that it is very similar to the winter sickness? Not much.” “Winter sickness?” Lily nodded. “High temperatures, pain in the extremities, but no weakness of the muscle.” “Do you know how these ponies started getting sick?” Lily shook her head. “We’ve tried looking at the well water, the plants and food… but we couldn’t find anything. We suspected…” She shook her head. “Never mind.” I leaned forward. “What? What did you suspect?” Lily frowned, gathering her thoughts as she leaned back in her chair. “Well, in the beginning, there was this peddler that came around to the village. Nopony would have paid her any mind, except…” This time Verity frowned. “There was something off about this pony?” Lily nodded slowly. “She was from the castle. We didn’t see any crest indicating exactly where, but she was definitely from there and she was not a peddler.” “How could you tell?” Lily snorted at that. “How can you tell a rooster from a chicken? If not for the comb, the way he struts shows what they are.” I nodded, the nobles from the castle all had the same sort of presence. Pompous and arrogant were putting it lightly, although not all of them were like that. Those that were, however, would be easily identifiable. “Okay, so there’s a mysterious peddler that came from the castle. We can’t investigate this without any additional leads. What did she do and where did she go?” Lily shrugged helplessly. “I didn’t catch sight of her apart from a passing glance. She looked like she was in a hurry. She stuck around the well water for a while, but I couldn’t detect any diseases in the water. There wasn’t any poisons either.” The door pounded suddenly. “Your Highness!” a muffled voice called from the outside. It was Lilac. “You have to see this!” Opening the door we rushed outside to meet with Lilac dancing on her hooves. “Your Highness, the pony down there…” She pointed with a shaking hoof down to the end of the room. There a pony was no longer moaning. She was screaming. “Argggh! It’s on my leg! AHHHHHHH!” “This pony!” Lily shouted, dashing forward. “Sable!” Rushing over, we found that one of her legs had turned into crystal. “Impossible!” Verity exclaimed. “This isn’t a normal disease,” I muttered. “This is something worse.” “Your Highness?” Lily murmured nervously. She seemed to realise I was more than just a person from the castle. Now was not the time to think about that, though. Crystallisation… Tempora had mentioned this before when she gave me the crystals. She said ponies that were exposed to the crystal would eventually turn into crystal themselves. She never said anything of them surviving and from the looks of things, the pain was excruciating. I had to do something. “This isn’t caused by any natural disease,” I said quickly, snapping my fingers and examining the magical structure around the Sable’s leg. “Hold her down, please.” I waved my hand around it, confirming my suspicions. It had exactly the same composition as the crystals Tempora had given me earlier. “This is caused by a rare type of crystal found in the North.” I gestured to the guards and the response team. “Bring me a bucket of the well water and seal it off. Notify the other villages to seal off their well water. Only river water is to be used and confiscate all well water that is kept. It is contaminated.” Lily stepped forward. “Your Highness, we checked—” I drew out a crystal that was in my pocket. “This is the crystal that is causing the trouble. Somepony deliberately spread this into the water in the well. I don’t know how they did it, but I intend to find out.” Lily’s brows drew down in concern as she tried to comfort the poor mare gritting her teeth in pain and thrashing around. “Is there anything we can do for them?” I slowly shook my head, biting my lip in sympathy with his moans. “I don’t know what we can do. Was Sable the first to get sick?” Lily shook her head slowly. “Sable was one of the last ones to fall ill.” Strange. Unlike most of the village she was a unicorn. Why did the crystallisation attack her first? The symptoms were alleviated by willow tree bark and water… Did that cause the crystals infecting the ponies to be diluted? “Did she have willow tree bark?” Lily nodded. So it wasn’t effective… I examined her body, trying to find any clue as to what would trigger the crystallisation process to occur on her first. I couldn’t afford to wait longer and figure it out later. More ponies would inevitably succumb to the crystallisation. I noticed her fore hooves were less rough. On instinct, I asked, “What does Sable do?” “She records things in the village. She is a very talented scholar. The only one to gain an apprenticeship to the Society of Magic in our village. Her innate magic is very strong, but she stayed with the village rather than take a scholarship and enter into formal training. She disliked the courts and the nobles.” Strange. Why would she be struck down first? I glanced at the other occupants in the room. The one by far the worst was also a unicorn… Don’t tell me? Magic?! “Sable,” I shook her, “Sable, this is very important.” Sable moaned and cracked open her eyes. She peered at me with fear and pain clouding her vision. “Who… arrrrgh… you?” “Sable, I’m Harmony. I need your help to cure you. Please tell me if you’ve drunken the well water.” “Well… water?” “Yes, yes, the well water, did you drink it.” Too much in pain, Sable jerked her head up and down in affirmation. “Sable, okay, one last question, please. You can do it.” Sable moaned. “No more… make… it… STOP!” I gripped her hoof in my hands. “Please Sable, we can help you, one more question. Did you try and use magic to heal yourself?” Sable nodded painfully once more. I patted her head. “Thank you, Sable.” “Lily, can you please fetch some tonic to ease her pain, or better yet, let her sleep?” “Yes, your Highness.” “Thank you, Lily.” The response team came back with a bucket brimming with the well water. They set it down carefully next to me as I snapped my fingers and held my hands over it. The magic pulsed back. I could feel an immense number of small crystal fragments floating in the water, like a powder. Concern growing, I snapped my fingers, casting a simple healing spell. The crystals immediately responded, linking together and forming a web in the water, coagulating the fluid and making it viscous. It confirmed my suspicions and made me groan in trepidation. I turned to the guards and the response team. “I want you all to spread the word. No healing spell is to be casted over any of the ponies infected. Send word back to the castle that it must cease immediately!” Verity dashed forward. “I will go with them. It may be misinterpreted if it isn’t explained properly. “Thanks, Verity.” “Are you still staying here?” “I have to solve this problem.” “Harmony, we found the cause, but you are no expert in magic. It may be best to leave this to the Magic Society and head back to the castle.” I shook my head. “I can’t just abandon them.” “Harmony—” “This is not something I want to compromise on, Verity. Let me handle this, please.” “If you do not produce results for this, many will criticise you—” “For once, Verity, leave politics out of this!” Verity stepped back and snapped shut her mouth. She gave me a stiff bow. “As you wish, your Highness.” Ignoring her, I snapped my fingers again over the well water and tried to dispel the coagulating water. The crystals were growing, I could tell. —————— It was on the third day that I realised I could not halt the growth of the crystals. No matter what I did with the crystals, they just kept growing and growing. In the beginning, Sable was lucid enough to grasp my hand out of fear. Her eyes, in the beginning, had been filled with hope. But as the rest of her legs crystallised and it reached her abdomen, her eyes filled with despair. No matter what I did, magic only made it worse. Trying to separate the crystal from the living tissue would only knit it tighter into it. “I’m sorry,” I kept saying to her as she slumbered, more often than not passed out with pain, “I’m sorry, I’m trying to help you, but I can’t…” The crystals in the buckets around me had all coalesced into solid crystal. They grew with all the magic I invested into them. I even tried to utilise time using the Lodestar and the six crystal fragments that Tempora had given me. Lily came in from time to time to check on Sable, but she didn’t stay long. She looked at me with eyes full of sympathy. One time, she laid a hoof on my shoulder. “You can’t blame yourself, your Highness. Nopony has come up with a solution. It was true. The Courts were in an uproar. Less than a day’s carriage ride separated us from the castle, but the castle hadn’t sent anypony back other than to give me a message from Verity that the situation has grown dire there and the nobles had her hooves full. Day and night, I tried different spells until I almost exhausted myself from the backlash. As the days stretched to a week, I found myself more often than not sleeping at Sable’s side. What kind of ruler would I be if I couldn’t save the subject in front of me? —————— On the tenth day here, Sable stopped breathing. Crying with grief and screaming at my own powerless, I threw everything I had at her body. Her dark coat had turned clear with the crystals infusing into her hair. Her mane sparkled, in a way, she looked beautiful. There was serenity, for she wasn’t in pain anymore. But it was the peace only given to those who had passed on. The crystals had reached her heart. Tears flowed down my cheeks as I tried to revive her with spell after spell. I couldn’t do anything but increase the growth of those cursed crystals. Lily dragged me away from the body and pushed me down into a bed where I clutched the covers and beat my hands at the coarse mattress. —————— The next day, I got out of the bed and resumed the spells mechanically. I was no longer thinking of the matrices and the intricate designs required to achieve a result. All I was thinking was of Sable. I couldn’t save her. I failed my duty in the first month of my rule. Without thinking, I snapped my fingers, not caring whether it would succeed or fail. The magic went haywire. It blasted sections of the wall and scorched the ceiling. Lily came flying around the corner and yelled at me, kicking me out. Woodenly, I stared at her. She shook her head slowly and told me to leave. I trudged out the door. She was right. There was no use for me here. If anything, I had made it worse. I think I might’ve hastened Sable’s death. A pony I didn’t even know died by my hands. She didn’t even say any last words… In contrast to my bitter anguish, the Lodestar merely shone with its shifting, tranquil light. My turbulent thoughts were settled by its calming glow. Magic had purpose, had feeling, and the Lodestar responded to it, didn’t it? This was an artefact that was powerful enough to wipe out its creators. In my hands I had so much power, but I couldn’t use it. How do you work?! Tell me, how do I even use you?! There was a slight pause and the Lodestar flashed, drowning everything in white. Surprised, I looked around. I was in the timeless void again. Then, suddenly, knowledge flooded my mind. Matrices, calculations, theorems, architectures for immensely complex designs. It kept coming in pounding at my mind, shredding my mental defences, overtaking my memories— “STOP, STOP, STOP!” As abruptly as it has started, it ceased. My hands were shaking. In this world, there wasn’t anything physical, but it felt real. My heart was still racing and my breathing was still harsh and shallow. This knowledge… was it the draconequus’? Despite me learning this new information, I still couldn’t find a cure. But I did know one thing. The crystals couldn’t be cured, but they could be fused. Crystals devoured magic, but by sharing its magic continuously, it wouldn’t grow rampant and swallow its host. I found the solution… but it was too late. I took one of the six crystals and fused it with the well water crystals. A very, very small crystal came out of the results only an inch wide. In time, if the ponies infected with the crystals shared their magic with the crystal, then it would grow. A true symbiosis of magic. I was approaching it all wrong. —————— I entered into the hut once more. Lily rushed forward with a thunderous look, but stopped when I shook my head and apologised. She faltered and pointed to my hand. “What is that?” I hefted the crystal. “The ‘cure’.” I laughed bitterly. “I figured some things out, but it was too late.” I held it over the most advanced case. The crystal rapidly advanced from his abdomen, climbing to his heart. With a gasp, Lily whipped around. “Harmony, what the hay are you doing?!” She tackled me, but it was too late, it reached his heart and covered his whole body. Lily stared at the aftermath in shock. The stallion blinked at her. He blinked. The crystallised ponies couldn’t blink. Lily jerked her head back to me, then stared at the stallion who practically leaped out of the bed and was hopping around like nothing had ever happened… Only he was slightly see-through. Lily slowly sank down and eventually sat on her rump, sighing plaintively. After a while, she managed to speak through the tension that had seeped out of her body. “Thank you, finally, we have a cure.” I shook my head sadly. “These ponies can’t go back to normal…” “You mean they’re stuck in this crystallised state?” I nodded slowly. “But I think other than appearance-wise, they’re pretty similar. Also, they’ll have to be close to this crystal, at least for the time being.” “What did you do?” “I figured out that the crystals were ‘feeding’ on the innate magic ponies had. Casting spells drastically increased the flow of magic in their bodies, spreading the crystals everywhere. What I did was slow down this progression and uhh… made the crystals into a soluble form, just like in the bucket. They will accumulate crystals and incorporate it into their structure, making it a symbiotic-like state of cooperation. Crystal magic also works slightly different to our regular magic as well…” I went to the next pony and cast the spell ‘curing’ the next pony. “They will have to live with this mostly cosmetic defect for the rest of their lives. I’m sorry, I couldn’t use this or any other knowledge to turn them back to normal.” Lily reached up and patted my shoulder. “That’s enough, Harmony, you can’t save everypony.” Her voice hardened. “But there’s something you can do.” Now it was my turn to be shocked. “What do you mean?” Lily held my gaze prisoner as she conveyed her heartfelt feelings. “Find the pony who did this.” ——————— Betrayal. It was a simple concept, but it’s always so unexpected. Even if you know it’s coming, you hold onto the hope that the one that committed this act against you didn’t really mean it. After all, betrayal can only happen when you trust. I trusted Water Crest. True, I didn’t expect much loyalty from her, given I’ve basically publicly and politically gutted her, but the one thing I thought for sure that we would all agree on was that we wouldn’t sacrifice our own kind. We wouldn’t sell out our own. I guess I was too liberal with the definition of ‘our own’. Clearly Water Crest was only concerned about herself and those that supported her. She was exceedingly vindictive. By the time I got back, evidence against her had been piling up and up, yet she still desperately tried to deflect the mounting accusations that she was the one to start the outbreak. Even to the last second, she screamed. “I wasn’t the one who did it. Please, your Highness, believe me!” Sable’s death was still fresh in my mind. Even though I should blame myself, I was consumed with the need to exact what was due from her perpetrators. “Even in the last minute, you still shirk your responsibility.” I sat on the throne and felt the weight of the staff given to me. It was ceremonial, only to be used in the event of royalty passing judgement on one of the highest crimes in the land. Treason. “Water Crest, you are stripped of all lands and title. You are henceforth banished from Equestria, begone!” Verity frowned a little. “Should you not make an example of Water Crest, the Law allows—” “I DO NOT CARE WHAT THE LAW SAYS RIGHT NOW!” The Court fell silent at my sudden bellow. Even the guards relaxed their grips on Water Crest enough to let her flop to the floor. She didn’t take the opportunity to escape, however, because she, like the rest, was frozen by my outburst. “There has been enough deaths, all I want is peace…” None of the other unicorns could replicate my spell. I had to travel to each village and administer the ‘cure’ one by one. By the time I finished, I was heralded as a hero to the ponies, but the time it took to travel between villages raised the toll from one to one thousand. How many would have been saved if I had just found out about the hidden knowledge within the Lodestar just a few days earlier? How many more if I had found out immediately? “I will allow Water Crest one thousand bits.” “Your Highness—” “Outrageous!” I cut through the clamour and gritted my teeth. “Silence!” Unlike before, it was immediate. “Water Crest, this is a chance to redeem yourself in another life. Do not waste this opportunity.” “Your Highness, thank you. I was wronged, but I will set it right!” I didn’t want to hear any more of her petty excuses. “So be it. You have a week to leave the country.” Water Crest bowed and left and then, despite the protests of the nobles, I made to leave. Before I could turn, though, Verity called out to the crowd. “His Highness has been working non-stop for over a month to cure his subjects, if there is anypony that dares to disturb him, they will answer to me!” Verity glared out to the gathered nobles, challenging them to say anything. The Commander stepped forward. “I recognise his Highness’ efforts. I add my support.” The Society of Magic’s Chamberlain stepped forward. “I recognise his Highness’ efforts. I add my support.” All at once there was a clamouring as the nobles stepped forward to quickly add their support. The difference between now and before was that there were a lot more sincere voices. Verity gave me a small smile and gestured to the assembled crowd. Leaning in, she whispered in my ear, her brow furrowing in thought. “Harmony, I had a thought about Chancellor Water Crest.” I got up and headed to the exit, leaning back to converse with Verity. “What thought?” “I have this feeling that Water Crest wasn’t lying. At least, not about instigating the incident with the crystals.” I could feel my lips draw down in disgust. I didn’t expect out of all the ponies around me, for Verity to take her side, even after the sentence. She certainly didn’t speak up then. “The evidence that was gathered put the incident solely at her hooves. There wasn’t a shred of evidence against it.” “Yes, but—” “Weren’t you the one telling me to put my feelings aside and concentrate on what’s good for the country?” “I didn’t say those exact words, but that’s beside the point.” Verity motioned for me to enter into her chambers as we stopped outside. The guards took positions at the ends of the halls, giving us some privacy. Entering into her room, I sat at the familiar table and sighed. “So, what is it you think about Water Crest?” “Water Crest should be angry at you for deposing her from her position, right?” I tapped a finger to my chin. “Anger is rarely rational.” Verity raised an eyebrow. “But the cause is. Water Crest doesn’t blame you for banishing her. Instead, she’s convinced that somepony had been framing her.” “She could have been using that fact to cover up for her own part in it.” Verity snorted. “Water Crest isn’t as smart as you give her credit for.” I considered Verity’s words. “I cannot overturn her banishment with that basis.” Verity nodded. “I know, I simply want you to give me some resources to investigate this.” Groaning, I raked my fingers through my hair. “Since you have more experience than I, you know exactly what you’re asking for, right?” Verity gave me a sympathetic smile, but her eyes remained determined. “We’re stretched for ponies in the aftermath of this incident, pulling some away from their duties…” “You’re right, Harmony, forget about it.” Verity looked disappointed, but accepted my arguments. “Hang on,” I said, “I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it. Justice is important after all, and I didn’t feel like Water Crest would do something like this. She’s not a good pony, but I feel like she could be.” Surprisingly, Verity gave me a little hug. “That’s the Harmony I know.” “How’re we going to find these ‘culprits’, if they even exist?” Verity’s grin was like a fox’s. “Leave it to me. This sort of thing is my speciality.”