//------------------------------// // Rain // Story: Disharmony // by RandomNoob57 //------------------------------// Episode 1 – Rain Part 1 Rain. Rain is all it takes, to wash away bad memories. At least that was, what the curled up pony lying on the steps in front of an abandoned house thought. The nights were dark, lately. The streets barren, the wet stone tiles glimmering in the pale bluish light of the moon. Windows were barred, lamps were turned off. The white-furred pony was the only one outside, cold and alone, her teardrops mixing with the rain. She hoped, rain would make her forget. Nopony dared to go outside during those hours. They were too afraid of night raids. The pony’s name was Noir Disharmony and she used to be the princess of Zir’lan. Used to. Now she was nothing but a target of suspicion and doubt. A few weeks ago, before it all happened, Noir was sleeping comfortably in her bed, deep inside the royal palace. Now she was out in the streets, in a different town, away from the Capital. Forced to evacuate, the young unicorn ended up here, at the border of the zir’lanian kingdom, Coltstone, a small and remote town. She was too scared to seek help, too scared to look the other ponies in the eye. Not after what happened, not after the princess was somehow the only one that survived. The red, faint, glowing dot in her green eye was her thing now. It had lit up the night it happened, the night the Blitz happened, and it never quite turned itself off since then. In the dark, it shined like a red star, faint, but always present, at least when the princess was alone. What happened was simple; they weren’t prepared. Nopony was. Everypony was celebrating 100 years since the founding of the kingdom. There was a big party in the central square. There were fireworks, drinks and lots of ponies. Noir’s father, Lux Disharmony, the beloved king, held a nice speech, about how much the kingdom had accomplished, about how different and yet beautiful Zir’lan was, but most importantly, about the 100 years of peace that kept it running. Ponies applauded. Noir’s mother, Sonya, was talking with the important guests that had arrived. If only she knew... Noir was standing on the podium, next to her parents, smiling and saluting. And yet, 100 years of serenity somehow was too good to be true, even though it should've been true. The princess started noticing something was wrong the moment an important stallion in a uniform approached her dad and whispered something in his ear. The face Lux had after those words... He left the podium in a hurry, not saying anything. When he came back, the square was discretely surrounded by guards. Noir kept smiling. If only she would’ve stopped smiling and do something. But no, she kept smiling.  Everypony in the square remained quiet and still, however, once the farmer covered in dirt, with an expression of horror on his face and with his legs trembling, rushed in chased by guards, coming from his ranch on the fields, begging them to listen. That’s when they all panicked. The farmer rambled about a large blue flame crashing on his ranch while he was out plowing. Noir didn’t know what that meant, but seeing her parents' expression... It just seemed like they knew what was coming. They ordered everypony to seek shelter, but it was already too late. Ponies looked up in the sky and saw many more blue flames falling, crashing on the fields outside of the Capital in a cloud of dust and smoke. Then the screams started. At first, distant, but then closer and closer. The guards were drunk and the army was far away from the Capital. Nopony was prepared. The machines raided the city. Fast, large, wolf-like metal constructs, with clawed tentacles for tails, dotted with spotlights and railguns. They knew exactly where to target their attack, and went straight for the royal palace. It was night, their blinding lights confused the soldiers. The Wolmetahls, as they were called afterwards, surrounded the central square. There were around seven of them, three stayed behind and opened fire on the fleeing public, and the other four came straight for the royal family. Sonya quickly cast a protective shield around Noir and told her to run, but the princess simply couldn’t move. She remained on the podium, shaking, and witnessed the struggle of her parents as they repeatedly tried focusing their laser beams on the metal monstrosities and dodging their claws at the same time. One of the Wolmetahls fired at Noir, but the beam hit the shield and bounced back into the monster’s eye, frying its computers. The princess hid behind the podium, but still watched, with each really close claw-swipe at her parents shuddering violently. Lux was the first one to get hit. He stuttered, then fell on the stone tile, but not before slaying three of the robots. Sonya got distracted, just for a second, the moment her husband got hit, but she knew it was enough. The last three Wolmetahls focused fire on her, and her shields crumbled one by one. She felt as her magic wasn’t effective anymore, and shortly after fell as well. The Wolmetahls then approached Noir, the last living pony in the square, guns charging. It was all over for the entire royal family of the kingdom... Except Noir. She should’ve been dead, and yet... She wasn’t. Everything happened very fast, but the princess could remember seeing her parents lying on the stone tile like it was yesterday. In that moment, Noir had felt something break inside of her. A chain, which kept a hidden side of her grounded, a side that she always had but never knew about. What had happened next was nothing Noir ever understood. The princess had closed her eyes, waiting for her demise, when she suddenly stopped feeling fear. Instead, she felt something else, something unexplained. As her eyes opened, that wretched red dot turned itself on, for the first time ever. Noir felt like losing control, as her mouth widened into a smile, and that’s when her disharmonious side took over. The next thing the princess of Zir’lan knew that night, she had drilled clean holes straight through the machines, with the red lightning that came out of her horn. She walked down the stairs of the podium, her ears twitching, and the machines fell one by one in a pool of motor oil as lightning struck them down in an instant. After she had finished off the rest of the Wolmetahls, the dot faded, but didn’t disappear. Tears flooded her eyes, as she collapsed of exhaustion and guilt. Guilt that she did not help her parents. Guilt that she was the only one still alive in the square, just lying there, until the soldiers arrived and she ran, too scared to be seen. Just before she fell, she could've sworn she saw herself at the other side of the square. The news of the attack, the Blitz, spread like a shockwave, as everypony barred themselves in their homes and announced the end of Zir’lan. Raids followed, night after night of distant thumps and sudden flashes, all across Zir'lan; it seemed as if the machines kept coming out of the very ground. The fields constantly glimmered with their spotlights at night. And that’s how Noir ended up on the streets. It took one night for an entire kingdom to go down, and it went down without much of a fight... Thus, the raindrops kept flowing down the princess' black and purple mane. The dot was going to turn itself off one day; that day, Noir would forget. The rain wasn’t helping though. “Freakin’ ponybots are behind this, I swear, if I ever see one again I’ll run it over!” Noir raised her head and looked around, to see where the quiet chatter was coming from. Not far from her down the street, one of those standard issue ponybots that were being manufactured to help with rebuilding was sifting through the rubble of a house that had been destroyed during the raid from the other night. Noir forgot what she was thinking about for a second, but only because she thought she had heard the robot talk. She placed her head onto her front hooves again and closed her eyes. “They always tell me I’m special, but nopony thought about giving me better assignments than this. I could be a soldier.” Noir was sure she wasn’t dreaming. The standard issue mark 3 ponybot on the other side of the street was talking. The princess stood up, shivering, and approached the red pony-looking machine. The ponybot turned around on its tracks and jumped. “Holy mother of screws and bolts, you scared me, young lady!” Noir’s hoof remained in midair. “You are talking”, she said. “How are you talking?” “Ugh”, the bot mumbled then turned around and distanced himself away from Noir. “No, wait!” She shouted and closed the distance. “What are you doing in the rain?” “What does it look like I’m doing? What any other standard ponybot does. Rubble-ing.” “But you don’t seem like standard to me.” “Aw, thanks. Look, lady, I heard that sentence three times today. I really need to get back to work.” “You’re going to rust out here”, the princess argued. “Better rust than get sent to the scrapyard for not doin’ my job, right? They have compressors there, and my tracks get stuck at the thought of those monstrosities. After all, there’s rubble every night to clean, doesn’t matter if it’s raining or not.” The ponybot expected Noir to leave, but seeing the look on her face... She went through some flummery, he thought, and approached her: “Look, I’m sorry if I was blunt. I’m Trackhead. What’s your name?” “Noir”, the princess said quietly. “Wait. There’s only one Noir I know and she disappeared after the Blitz in the Capital. Are you new around these parts?” Noir felt anger, but only for a second. Then, all she felt was sadness. “I... Yes, I’m new.” “Where are you from?” “Uhh... Equestria”, she replied after a short pause. Trackhead lowered his head. “You are a lucky pony, then”, he said, “Very lucky. Why in the name of Disharmony would you come to Zir’lan?!” “I... I guess I got lost. I don’t really know.” “Well, you should leave. It’s not safe for you here. Leave as fast as you can, and tell your ponies to stay away. And don’t stray too far into the fields.” “What about you?” “What about me?” “I don’t know, you’re a talking robot. Shouldn’t you be kept out of the rain?” “Ah, yes, the rain. I’m fine, young lady. Thanks for the concern, though. Here, let me give you this:” A small hatch opened in Trackhead’s chest and a robotic arm handed Noir a flashlight. The flashlight accidentally turned itself on, throwing light in Noir’s face. She took the torch, but noticed that Trackhead was shocked to the point of stuck tracks. “N...Noir, Disharmony?! Your majesty?! Wha...” Noir was already galloping away, but Trackhead revved his engines and took off after her. “Wait!” He shouted. “How?! Stop running, please, I’m... I’ll run out of fuel and die!” Noir paused. Trackhead stopped near her. “Is that true?” Noir asked. “If you run out of fuel, you die?” “Uh, no. I don’t even run on fuel. But don’t go away, please!” “Fine”, she mumbled and laid on the wet grass. They both realized, they were quite far away from the city now. “We should go back”, Trackhead said lightly. “So, you’re Noir? The princess? How did you survive? I mean, ahem, I’m so happy you’re alive! I mean... I... It’s good to see you’re fine. For some reason, everpony said you were... You know...” “I stayed away from ponies”, Noir said, then sighed. “I was too scared, of their reaction, of the fact I am the only one that survived...” Trackhead became sad. “I’m sorry”, he said. “It’s fine. Actually it’s not; but there’s nothing you can do.” Trackhead was about to leave, when he suddenly remembered. “Actually, there might be something.” Noir stood up and shook the water off of her. “What?” She asked. “My father. Actually, haha, my creator. A crazy guy, doesn’t know how to tie his shoelaces, but he does know a lot about the Wolmetahls. He studies them. You’re a princess, you can actually do something, so you might want the information he holds. We need to pay him a visit. That is... If the ponybot office doesn’t turn me to scrap metal first.” “We’ll go tomorrow. Right now we shouldn’t be out here”, Noir said, then listened carefully. She thought she had heard something. They both started going back to the city, but the princess wasn’t feeling comfortable. It was as if... Something was following them. She looked behind, but the night was too dark for her to see much. Suddenly, a thump alerted both of them. Noir gasped and quickly hid herself in the tall grass, but Trackhead wasn’t fast enough. He was blinded as spotlights turned themselves on, pointed at him, and Noir could see the Wolmetahl that had climbed down the hill and that was behind them the whole time. It growled and slowly approached Trackhead, whose tracks were stuck of fear. Right when Noir wanted to jump out and help, one of the clawed tentacles picked the ponybot up and the laser scanner above the Wolmetahl’s eye measured him top to tracks; however, after a close inspection, the horrifying machine dropped the ponybot, turned its lights off and left, consumed by the darkness of the night. Noir slowly stood up, unsure of the monster’s departure, and approached Trackhead, who was tipped on the side. “What was that about?!” She whispered to him, then levitated him back on tracks. Trackhead was relieved and cramped at the same time. He spoke quietly: “I have no idea. Can we just go back to the city now?” “I approve of that intention”, Noir said, looking behind to make sure the thing was gone. However, the Wolmetahl knew very well about Noir being somewhere in the grass. It was trying to find a good time to strike, not risking to end up like his friends during the Blitz. It knew Noir had more power than met the eye, and scanned the other to make sure he wasn’t a threat as well. Now, it was a matter of surprise. ** In the meantime, at the edge of Coltstone, commissar Storm Cloud, his second-in-command QB and a squadron of pegasi were waiting. Storm was a young pegasus and not the actual commissar; he was assigned to that position when the official one disappeared the night before. Everypony questioned the decision, simply because Storm didn’t exactly look like an army officer, and ponies said he didn’t have what it takes. Still, he could control clouds, but that was a trait of his necklace rather than his own skill. He had a rough day, no doubt. So rough, in fact, he created himself a raincloud and let it rain over him... To relax. He didn’t notice that despite the already present rain outside, he also still had that cloud over his head and the soldiers were trying not to laugh too hard about it. “Are you sure this is going to work?” QB asked him, pointing at the bags of electromagnetic webs on their backs. “I hope it will”, Storm replied and finally banished the cloud above him. Maybe he knew it was there and just wanted to be double-rained. “Well that’s not exactly comforting. This crazy scientist of yours... Does he know what he’s talking about?” “I hope he doe... Yeah.” QB wanted to start ranting about an experimental plan that could get them all killed, but he noticed movement on the fields. “There!” He shouted, "commissar, order your soldiers down at the cannon to get ready.” “No, wait, I don’t think it’s a Wolmetahl”, said Storm and raised a hoof. “Looks more like... A ponybot and a civilian.” “Great, that’s exactly what we need right now. Civilians in the way. Hey! Lady! What in the hay are you doing?!” “Hold your fire!” Noir shouted back. “There’s no Wolmetahls around!” “I wish that was true”, the officer mumbled. Noir and Trackhead were just about to reach Storm Cloud and his pegasi, when, suddenly, jumping from behind them in front, the Wolmetahl from before came from nowhere. Noir screamed as the thing lifted its laser guns and pointed them at her. Storm Cloud was stuck. He wanted to give the order, but the words never came out of his mouth. Thankfully, his second-in-command pushed him aside and yelled at the cannon crew to fire. The laser struck the Wolmetahl and propelled it on the side, but the thing stood back up. It didn’t target the cannon, as if it wasn’t even there, it just kept going for Noir and Noir only. It knew, she was the only real threat. It knew what its mission was, as it came just for her. It didn’t matter the cannon was going to kill it; it had a command to execute. Thus, it charged its guns again, pointing them at the princess, but it never fired, as the electromagnetic webs were dropped over it by the pegasi. The thing’s weapon systems were deactivated and it crashed to the ground, immobile. Noir stood up, covered in dirt, as was Trackhead. Storm landed near them, together with the rest of the pegasi. “Are you okay?” The commissar asked Noir. “She’s fine, but you aren’t”, QB said from behind them. “You failed to give one simple order, and this lady would’ve been dead if it wasn’t for me.” Storm Cloud sighed and turned around, then said: “Fine, enjoy the rank of commissar, then. It’s what you really wanted, isn’t it?” “What’s that supposed to mean?!” The officer shouted, but Storm ignored him. He created a cloud and showered Noir with rain, to clean her of dirt. Noir was once again... Wet. “Noir Disharmony? You’re alive? Thank the gods!” He shouted and wanted to hug the princess, but changed his mind. “I’m sorry”, he continued, “that I was so weak and didn’t give the order. There’s ponies more suited for giving orders than I am, but we’re very short-staffed. So you survived the Blitz. That... Actually means a lot more than you might think. We have a leader now. We thought we didn’t, but it seems we were wrong.” “I guess...” Noir sighed, lowering her head. She wasn’t a leader. She was an unstable unicorn that could turn into a killing machine any second. “Hey, don’t be sad, we will win this war”, Storm said, looking in Noir’s eyes. Noir looked back. He was a light-gray-furred pony, with a black-and gold mane and tail, and green, deep eyes. He wasn’t confident in his strength, but he had a good soul. “Yeah, we will win”, she said, then, after a couple moments of staring at the “sleeping” Wolmetahl, she left. The princess arrived back at the abandoned house, but this time she didn’t sleep in the rain. She entered the old house and curled up on a pillow, then lighted the fireplace with a spark. The family that lived there had fled the kingdom once the Wolmetahls came, along with thousands other ponies. The nation was falling apart, but there was somepony that could do something, and that somepony was her. Trackhead stayed behind, in the rain, his ponybot ethics dictating him to not enter the houses of ponies that didn’t hire him. “Well, nails”, he said to himself out loud, “Look, Track, you screwed up again. She doesn’t care about you, and you didn’t do your job and almost got killed. Great.” The wooden door opened, with Noir standing in the frame. “Get inside and shut up. You weren’t supposed to be talking in the first place.” Part 2 The next day, Coltstone was foggy and quiet. The humid air formed webs of vapor that floated, carried away by the chilly wind, and sun-rays that broke through the barrier of clouds lit them up in a golden aura. Usually, during the day, streets weren’t so barren, but the mere presence of the fog made everypony just stay inside and look out their windows, dreaming of the peaceful times that had come to past. Still, they managed to get some sleep that night, something that didn’t happen very often. The town looked even worse during the day than it did during the night; a lot of houses were empty, some scorched, some just piles of rubble. Most of their residents had moved to the fortress on top of the hill, which became the new town center, hospital and home of an increasing number of ponies. Surrounding the town, a quick wall had been put together by ponybots. Now, the defense was carried out by civilians; the actual soldiers had left the town to help with the resistance at Sector 0, the only region of the Capital that wasn’t evacuated, a safe haven where the new regent and his makeshift cardboard administration had setup camp. The only authority figures left in town were Storm Cloud, QB, and a disorderly bunch of poorly-trained resistance volunteers, all the strong stallions in the town having enrolled in their crooked lines. It was silence though, and the ponies were enjoying it, while it lasted. Noir was also looking out the window, but she wasn’t dreaming about the past, but rather thinking about the future. What was she supposed to do? She was alone, for the first time ever. Alone, in a world that frowned upon seeing her. Zir’lan was falling apart. Should the ex-princess just barge into the regent’s office and declare her status as the heir to the throne? Would they follow her? She could show them her real power, lead them with an iron hoof. Lead what? Smoldering ruins? Was she supposed to just strike all the Wolmetahls with lightning and call it a day? It probably wasn’t that easy, after all, knowing how unstable her disharmonious side was. She needed help, but there was probably nopony that could give it to her. Noir had a dream that night. She couldn’t remember exactly what she had dreamed about, but it had unsettled her beyond words. The whole thing just didn’t make any sense. Why would they not confirm her death before assigning a regent to rule? Why would they not look for her? The dream had something to do with snow. Why snow, of all things? In the middle of autumn? Noir was pulled out of her thoughts when Trackhead, who had left early to help with reinforcing the wall, barged inside the house, apparently excited about something. “Noir!” He shouted. “You need to see this!” “See what?” Noir asked and turned around facing him. “An emissary from Sector 0 has arrived, at least that’s what the other ponies are saying. He’s here to see the Wolmetahl we took down last night. You should go meet him.” The princess wanted to go, but stopped on the steps in front of the house, hesitant. “I don’t think it’s a good idea that he sees me, Track, let alone talk to me”, she said. Noir didn’t have such a great feeling about meeting a pony from Sector 0. You can’t stop gossip. “Come on, Noir, this is your chance! Just go talk with the guy”, Trackhead insisted. Noir watched the fog roll by for a couple moments, then sighed. “Fine, I’ll talk with him”, she mumbled. They approached the crowd that had formed around the stallion in the uniform, all the ponies throwing questions at him, but it didn’t seem like the emissary was there to chat. The soldiers surrounding him were pushing the townsfolk away, yelling. Noir kept her distance, but she managed to catch a glimpse of the emissary and her heart skipped a beat. She was certain. It was the same stallion that came to her father that night, to tell him something, the night the Blitz happened. The princess gently pushed aside the other ponies with her magic, receiving obfuscated interjections in return, then stepped right in front of the stallion. The emissary remained still, then raised a hoof to stop the soldiers that wanted to grab Noir. “Step aside”, the stallion said sharply. “I’m here on important royal business.” Noir stuttered. That wasn’t the reaction she was expecting. “Seriously? That’s how you greet your king’s daughter? Where are your manners, officer?!” She said. The emissary let out a short “heh” and said: “The king’s dead and so is the entire Disharmony family. I have no idea what you’re talking about.” “What?! You don’t recognize me? I’m Noir! Noir Disharmony!” “Oh really? That’s odd. I just saw Noir in Sector 0 the other day. It was at her funeral.” The soldiers laughed. The crowd was confused as to what was going on. “How dare you? My family died in the most gruesome way one could imagine, and this is how you treat me? This is how you treat the last member of the royal family you swore to protect?!” The princess shouted. “Well how did you escape, Noir?” The stallion quickly asked, looking down at the princess. “Care to tell us, why you ran away when you realized, you were the only pony that survived? Maybe you... Snapped. Maybe it was an accident, and you killed all those poor ponies. What happened, huh?” The crowd suddenly became silent and everypony turned their eyes on the princess, all of them showing suspicion, all of them frowning. Noir felt boiling anger choking her. It was unacceptable. She went through so much flummery just so the stallion that used to look after the family could throw more mud at her and accuse her, in front of everypony. “Do you really want to know what happened?” She suddenly asked him on a lower, threatening tone. Her red dot glimmered faintly. “Noir, don’t”, Trackhead said from behind her. “Let’s just let the pony do his job here and leave.” “Go on, I’m more than curios”, the stallion said, ignoring the ponybot and grinning. “Hey!” Storm Cloud landed near them, breaking the ice. Noir felt a bit safer, now that he was there, but she didn’t take her eyes off the emissary. “What’s going on here?” The pegasus asked, looking at Noir, then at the emissary. “Oh, good, you’re here, commissar”, the latter said. “No, that would be QB. He’s waiting for you at the fortress. What’s this about?” Storm asked. “QB? Never heard of him. Did you get demoted?” Storm Cloud paused. The stallion was getting on his nerves already and was avoiding the question. “I trust you have business to attend”, the pegasus said. “As I said, QB is waiting for you.” “Yes, I do”, the stallion replied. “I don’t even know why I got sidetracked. Ah, it was this poor lady here. She thinks she’s the princess of Zir’lan. That’s just sad.” Storm wanted to leave, but turned around. “She really is, and I would watch my tongue if I were you”, he said through his teeth. “Oh, I must’ve hit a sensitive chord. My apologies.” “Shut the hay up!” The last words that came from Storm were shouted. He quickly softened up afterwards and clenched his jaw in expectation. The emissary remained calm, but his voice cracked as he said: “Take that back.” Noir sighed and closed her eyes. She exploded: “Cut it OUT you two! We are at war. We cannot focus ourselves on petty things! The Wolmetahls are out there, and they’re getting closer to our families every day! Emissary, I am the princess of Zir’lan. It may seem weird and suspicious, and I understand why you’re acting like this, but there’s really no time for us to argue. The reason I wanted to talk to you was that I wanted to know one thing.” “What”, the emissary asked phlegmatically. “What did you say to my father the night he died?” The other remained quiet for a few moments. He threw Storm Cloud a venomous look and said: “I told him... That the gates were open.” Noir shook. A tear fell on the stone tile. She knew now, and she regretted knowing. “Why were the gates open, officer?” She asked lightly, close to the point of crying. The stallion sighed. His blindfold of ignorance and prejudgment fell off and he finally recognized the pony before him. It was princess Noir, and he accepted that. “Because...” He said, “because we left them open.” Noir lowered her head. She felt warm tears running down her cheeks. “Look”, the emissary continued, “it was an accident. I’m sorry. I lost my wife in the Blitz, that’s why I was such an ass. I just couldn’t let go... Of the fact you survived and she... Didn’t. Still, that doesn’t change anything. I apologize for my ignorance.” “It’s fine”, the princess whispered. She wiped her tears off and asked: “Could you help me with something?” The stallion frowned. “What is it?” He said. “I need to get inside the Capital. Can you get me past the soldiers?” “The Capital? You mean, Sector 0?” “No. The lock-down zone.” The emissary looked around discouraged. He stuttered and said: “I don’t think I can do that...” “Please. It’s important”, Noir said. “I’ll try, but don’t expect anything. Let me do my job here and then we’ll go.” “Thank you”, Noir said and backed away slowly to let the convoy go forward. The princess then thought about what the emissary said about the night of the Blitz and started sobbing quietly. The gates had been left open, that was it. If they would’ve been closed... They would’ve had time to evacuate, to muster the royal guard... And her parents... They might’ve still been alive. Storm Cloud approached her, but just couldn’t find anything to say to her. “I understand what you feel” was plain stupid and a horrendous insult, “I’m sorry” was what everypony said but most didn’t mean, and “Everything will be alright” was probably a fat lie. He thus said nothing, but instead gave her a hug. ** The emissary’s name was Aendel Scroll. He was one blunt unicorn, one with a hat through which his horn had punched a hole, a sectorial air surrounding him. The Blitz had left a scar on his heart like many others; it was funny, wasn’t it, how he then became more and more suspicious and paranoid by the day, surrounded in Sector 0 by ponies all wanting Noir executed or in prison. He wasn’t sure himself, what had happened that night. He had left to round up the royal guard and came back when it was too late. What was he even thinking? Noir was dangerous. Why did he even let her go, he should’ve arrested her on the spot. And now she wanted to get in the Capital, closer to their safe haven, closer to his majesty, the regent... Why? Still, he wasn’t sure about anything. After all, what Sector 0 said was always half a lie. The whole thing was off, Aendel thought, the Capital closing its gates, denying any more ponies from entering... The regent, seemingly stupid but somehow still on top of the situation... But the weirdest thing of all... Aendel could’ve sworn that he saw the princess in Sector 0, on multiple occasions, wearing an eye-patch. Either he was going insane or there were two Noirs, and the latter made as much sense as a pony drowning in air. “Sir Scroll, I presume?” Aendel woke up from his thoughts and nodded at the guard. He looked up; the fortress was quite large. It had an inner courtyard, where the Wolmetahl was held. The guards opened the gate decorated with the Zir’lanian banner to allow Aendel to enter, and the emissary reached the courtyard, his soldiers staying behind near the gate. QB was leaning against the Wolmetahl's cage, in his new commissar uniform, with a shining sword strapped to his hip. “Well, I’ve been waiting for quite a while now”, QB said, raising an eyebrow. “I had some other things to deal with”, Aendel replied. “So, this is the Wolmetahl? It’s... It’s quite... Large.” The emissary barely kept his cool noticing the monster as it growled. It was occasionally slapping its tentacles against the walls of the cage, being otherwise immobile due to the webs and chains. “Oh don’t worry, it’s harmless right now. As long as you don’t get too close to the cage, that is”, QB said grinning. “I guess you ponies from Sector 0 never saw these up-close, huh? Never tasted their motor oil after emptying a railgun in them?” Aendel threw him a look and saw hostility in the commissar’s eyes. “The fact Sector 0 is an impenetrable fortress of a city doesn’t mean we don’t fight the Wolmetahls”, he said to QB. “Oh I bet. How many did you kill, eh?” The other one insisted. The emissary didn’t answer. Instead, he took the files that were lying on a table and started analyzing the contents, namely the electromagnetic web blueprints. “These are the blueprints, yes?” He asked the commissar, but the other one wouldn’t drop the initial question. “That’s what I thought”, QB said, lifting a leg. His hoof had markings written in motor oil, keeping count of killed Wolmetahls. Aendel could see three black lines, the last one still fresh. “Admirable, but I find it hard to believe you killed three all by yourself”, the emissary said, continuing to study the papers. QB’s grin turned into a wry slit. “How would you know? You royal snobs never use your horn for anything besides opening doors. I don’t even have a horn. I fly above them and drop myself onto their backs, then I cut their tentacles one by one and use their own guns to punch holes in their heads.” "Good for you", Aendel mumbled. QB suddenly asked, continuing to grin imperceptibly: “Why are you here, huh?” The emissary turned around, facing him. “What do you mean?” He asked, frowning. “I’m here for these”, he continued, pointing his muzzle at the papers. “No, that’s not it”, QB said, and approached the emissary. “You’re here for something else, aren’t you? Who sent you?” Aendel's look turned aggressive. “I assure you, commissar, I was sent by his majesty, the regent. I don’t understand where you’re going with...” “Listen to me, Aendel, is it? I was in Sector 0. I know what you and your regent are planning.” “Oh, and, in the name of Disharmony, what could we possibly plan?” “Don’t act foolish. You’re here because Noir is here. Do you work for her?” “As I said, I work for the crown. Noir is no longer the crown so I do not work for her. Can we please discuss these blueprints now?” “Sure we can. First you’re going to tell me why Noir is not in prison, if you don’t work for her.” “I don’t have to tell you anything”, the emissary said through his teeth. “Where are you getting at? Continue like this and I’ll arrest you.” “Why? Don’t you agree she should be locked up?” Aendel threw the papers back on the table. “These are fake”, he said, then approached QB. The two ponies were now inches away from each other. “I have very influential friends, commissar”, he continued, “and they’re all very eager to have a chat with noise-makers like you. Now, I do not know what you’re trying to accomplish, but I’m warning you, I will arrest you if you continue like this. Where are the blueprints?” “Influential friends, you say? Like Noir Disharmony?” QB said. “Leave Noir out of this.” “Why? She might as well be the one behind all this. How do you know she didn’t kill all those ponies that night?” “That’s a stupid accusation, even for you. Noir lost her parents, her friends and her home in the Blitz.” “Yeah well, accidents happen. Besides, your friends back in Sector 0 seem to think the same way. There’s bounty-hunters after Noir, fathers that lost their family in the Blitz that want her dead. You would understand, it just looked bad.” Aendel wanted to argue, but he thought about all that he heard back home and he asked: “Do you think the same way?” QB paused. He grinned and whispered: “Oh I am sure about it. Why else would she hide?” “Because there’s killers after her?” the emissary said laughing. “No no, you got it wrong. Why else would she hide her eye? You know... The one that sometimes glows?” Aendel shook. All those times he saw the princess in Sector 0, or thought he saw her, she was wearing an eye-patch. The emissary tilted his head to the side and clenched his jaws. “She wasn’t hiding her eye today, though.” QB’s eyes flashed. “Wait, you saw her?” “She was wandering on the streets...” “Where?” “Here, in Coltsto...” The emissary stopped, then backed away slowly, signaling his soldiers to approach. “Why are you asking?” He said. QB placed his hoof on his hip, near the handle of the sword. “It’s just that... We both saw her in Sector 0, didn’t we?” He quickly answered. “Yet, she’s here now.” “I guess she came here... For some reason.” Aendel said, and with each word felt angrier. QB was maybe not saying something too far off from the truth... “I just had a brilliant idea”, QB suddenly said, “Why don’t you arrest Noir so you can ask her some questions? She might be using illegal teleportation magic, after all... You wouldn’t want to let that continue, would you?” QB spoke louder, so that the soldiers and everypony else around could hear. Aendel felt cornered. “Or... Even better! I’ll arrest her, as the commissar of Coltstone. I’ll report to you whatever I find out”, the commissar continued. The emissary felt drops of sweat going down his neck. He couldn’t... He promised her he would take her to the Capital... But he had no choice. His authority only allowed him to arrest, not dictate who gets arrested. After all, he was also conflicted about Noir both being in Sector 0 and in Coltstone seemingly at the same time... Teleportation magic was the only logical explanation. “Am I sensing hesitation on your part, emissary? Come on, Sir Scroll, we both know Noir is as suspicious as a pony with a raincoat on a sunny day! She’s no longer a princess, but a suspect in all of Zir’lan and a reason for ponies to be insecure. You would just be doing the population a favor.” “You’re sick, Noir lost her family and you want to ruin her life more”, Aendel threw him. “Where are those blueprints?” “Oh yes, excuse me, Sir Scroll, I have them right here”, QB said and pulled a couple papers out of a pocket, hoofing them over to the emissary. “Why did you give me forgeries?” The emissary asked aggressively. “Oh but please do forgive me, I must’ve switched them around. I need those copies for the resistance volunteers.” Aendel looked at the Wolmetahl once more and then left. It took him a walk all the way back to the city gates to realize his huge mistake. He felt it; he felt it going up his spine and triggering every alarm in his head, the shiver of realization, as he rushed back to the fortress only to find the cage of the Wolmetahl empty and all the guards dead. Of course, QB wasn’t among the bodies. ** Noir was wandering about aimlessly at the edge of town, alone, just to clear her head. Trackhead had left to continue the work at the wall. The autumn leaves were falling around her like the raindrops the night before, and it was silence, the wind howl being the only thing stirring up the air. She was waiting for Aendel to finish his work, so that he could finally take her to the Capital. The scientist Trackhead spoke about was really the only pony that could help them at that point... Noir continued walking, passing the last few houses on the street she was on. The silence was the only thing that saved her. She heard everything, the rustling on the roof of a house behind her, the metal clicks, the light thumps... It happened very fast, the moment Noir jumped to the side, avoiding three large claws that then hit the stone tile with a horrifying sound. She turned around and saw the Wolmetahl, slowly climbing off the house and jumping in front of the princess, tentacles arching forward and its mouth opening, revealing three sets of curved air-cutting-sharp teeth. The princess backed away in fear, not knowing what to do. She screamed for help, but there was nopony around. Then she felt it. She looked the Wolmetahl in its eye, and suddenly... She felt light-headed, the same way she had felt the night of the Blitz. Her eye lighting up as her dot started burning with the flame of sorrow, she knew what was happening. The monster growled, circling her like a beast circling its prey. But this prey... This prey was a wolf dressed like a sheep. The Wolmetahl made its move; its tentacles swung high up in the air, preparing to strike with the sharp razors attached to them. Noir hadn’t moved a hoof. Coltstone lit up red as the lightning coming from the princess' horn lunged at the Wolmetahl like a cobra, punching a clean hole through it and throwing it through the air. Its tentacles swung wildly, before falling to the ground, motor oil pooling under it. Noir was shaking, as she lied down, feeling sick. Her head flooded with flashing images of the night of the Blitz, her parents, the square... And the dream. She suddenly remembered what she dreamed about; she saw herself... And yet it was somepony else. Somepony very similar, and yet her opposite. It was the same pony the princess saw the night of the Blitz after it happened, standing there, looking at her. Her name was Snow. “Hey Noir. How’s it going?” The princess looked around, blinking as she switched back to her normal self and saw QB pointing a crossbow at her. She wanted to say something, she wanted to fight back... But she couldn’t. She felt a small dart hitting her neck and everything went black.