Chapter Eight: A Difference of Opinion
~BlackRoseRaven
Princess Celestia sat in a meeting room with her advisers and generals, calmly sipping tea as she read the report that had been placed in front of her. Her lips tightened slightly, and her eyes narrowed before they roved up, and she asked quietly: “Who authorized this?”
“I did, ma'am. I thought it was necessary for us to gain a better understanding of what we were up against.” answered an old unicorn calmly, even as he shivered a little under that hard gaze.
“These parameters are unacceptable. What separates us from Lord Black is not our lack of technology, but our inflexible morals.” Princess Celestia put down the report on the Kirin's biology before she ordered: “Have the prisoners moved to holding cells. Any further interrogation will go through proper channels. We will not lower ourselves to Lord Black's level.”
“Yes ma'am. Sorry ma'am.” answered the general humbly, before he climbed to his hooves and quickly left the room, chastened.
Princess Celestia's eyes swept through the room, and then returned to the reports in front of her, asking: “Have our 'packages' arrived yet?”
“Yes ma'am. Three were deployed, and all three have arrived at their locations. We have reports that Lord Black has already reached the griffin nation and begun negotiations.” answered one of her advisers.
“Excellent. That will hopefully delay him for several days. But we must be aware than once he realizes the package is a ruse, he will likely redouble his search efforts. We can't expect him to fall for the same trick twice. Send a message to Princess Cadence and tell her to begin quietly fortifying the Crystal Empire's defenses. We have to anticipate that Lord Black will shift his focus to the colony.” Princess Celestia gave a thin smile. “I'm sure he already knows about the core piece there, after all.”
“But if he doesn't, won't increasing our defenses there draw his attention?” asked one of her generals.
“No. He's aware that it is there. Our counterintelligence efforts have confirmed that.” Princess Celestia answered, giving her council both a reply and an unspoken reprimand.
Her servants all lowered their heads politely, and Princess Celestia drew her eyes across the table before she said firmly: “First and foremost, our priority must be protecting the ponies, and the core pieces. If we lose the piece held by Princess Cadence, we will only have one left. The New Power Initiative must be successful, or our entire nation could be in jeopardy, if not our entire world.”
Her advisers nodded solemnly, and Princess Celestia closed her eyes, willing down her frustration before one of her generals said apprehensively: “The New Power Initiative is progressing ahead of schedule, your majesty. The extractor has been modified as your plans defined, and soon it should be capable of drawing energy from the core.”
“Excellent.” Princess Celestia hesitated all the same. Her expression was pensive, almost nonchalant, but she was all too aware of the gravity of the choices before her, and the consequences that they would have.
But she didn't have a choice.
“I want three armored escorts prepared. These should head to Dragon's Keep to 'retrieve' the package there. That might attract Lord Black's attention, and it might buy us time.” Princess Celestia said slowly. “Five more transports should be dispatched in secret. I want each to be pulled by one pony, and protected by a single escort. No Royal markings, no uniforms, not even soldiers if you can avoid it. Each will be sent to a different location, where they will await further instruction.”
“Decoys. But one of them will be bringing the core home.” one of her generals said.
The others mused, before an adviser muttered: “I don't think this is a good idea. Lord Black-”
“Won't be able to stop all of them. Our only hope is that he doesn't figure out which transport is carrying the core.” Princess Celestia said grimly.
“Why don't we just recall the piece from the Crystal Empire?” asked one of her advisers. “If we act quickly and have them send it by train-”
“Then Lord Black's agents will sabotage the train and leave it as easy pickings. We can't take that risk.” Princess Celestia answered. “No, it's too dangerous.”
It was an incomplete answer, but since her councilors were in no position to question her, they uncomfortably let it sit. That was what she wanted, though: it was, for better or worse, what had to be done.
They finished the meeting almost abruptly after a few more minutes of chatter, and once they were all gone, Princess Celestia called one of her personal guard over and told him, quietly and gently: “Head to Vesper's Peak, and find the store called Radiant Jewel's. Ask if they have queen's diamonds in stock. When she says no, ask if there's anything she can recommend. When she asks what you're looking for in particular, tell her 'a gift fit for a princess.' Be discreet. Be careful. I trust your judgment.”
The soldier saluted and nodded, then he saluted before quickly turning and leaving. Princess Celestia settled back in her seat, closing her eyes and meditating for a moment. So far, everything was going according to plan.
Well, not everything. She had honestly thought Twilight Sparkle would be successful in hiding the core piece she had been given, at least for a little while. That meant he had two of the core pieces, and in all likelihood, soon he would have three.
There was no chance that the Crystal Empire would be able to hold off Lord Black's floating fortress for long, or that they would have their extractor ready in time to defend themselves. She had sent all the help she could afford, but if they wanted to protect Equestria, they had to concentrate on getting the New Power Initiative operational here. Then they would be able to defend themselves against Lord Black.
She hoped they could hold him off long enough for the project to be finished: as much as it pained her, she hoped that he took the bait and followed at least one of her decoys. She had also ordered Cloudsdale to move into a defensive position outside of Canterlot, along with several other cloud cities. If worst came to worst, she would have to order them to blockade Lord Black's floating fortress while they finished preparations.
She hoped it didn't have to come to that. But this was why she was Princess Celestia, leader of all of Equestria. She had to make hard choices for the sake of the greater good of all her people. Not just herself, and not just those close to her.
The orders she'd saved for Twilight were proof enough of that. If... when Twilight found out the truth behind all of this, she might never forgive her. But Twilight Sparkle was still young, and naive, and believed there were easy solutions: she had such faith in other ponies!
But your faith wasn't always rewarded, and some things were too important to leave to chance or blind trust. Some things you had to do yourself, to ensure that your friends, your family, your country were kept safe. Even at the cost of everything that mattered to you...
Princess Celestia took a breath, and then she looked up as a soldier entered the room and bowed to her politely before announcing: “Twilight Sparkle has arrived, your majesty, and wishes to speak with you.”
“Send her in.” Celestia set down the report she had pointlessly been trying to distract herself with, automatically shuffling the papers in front of her so that their contents were hidden from plain view. An old habit, she thought wryly, as the guard left: not that it mattered.
She knew why Twilight was here. She would want answers after her meeting with Lord Black. And Celestia would give her all the answers she could afford to share, but she knew this was also a test of her faith in herself, and her willingness to sacrifice even what was important to her for the betterment of the nation.
She hoped that one day Twilight would forgive her. And it hurt her heart to watch as Twilight Sparkle walked in through that door with a tremble and a distrustful glare, but all the same, Celestia smiled and remained neutral, greeting softly: “Twilight Sparkle.”
“Princess Celestia.” Twilight answered, and she stood for a moment, the two lingering, eyes studying each other until the alicorn finally gestured at her student to sit.
Twilight took a breath as she sat, biting her lip for a moment before she rose her head slightly and asked directly: “Did you have some kind of deal with Thorn Blackfeather?”
Princess Celestia smiled at her, calm and composed as she evaded: “You need to work on your diplomatic approach, Twilight. While I appreciate your candor, a little tact will take you much further in the world.”
“Princess Celestia, please, I need to know-”
“Ponies, after all, are stupid.” Princess Celestia continued, letting a bit of hardness creep into her voice, and Twilight was silenced by it. And it hurt to teach this lesson, and to teach it harshly, but it was something Twilight had to learn. “Some ponies will react to being ordered to do something, anything, even things in their best interest, with stubbornness and resistance. They will fight you, every step of the way, out of nothing but a bitter belief that 'I deserved better,' whether they really did or not. I have seen ponies, Twilight, put themselves in danger of death purely because someone was rude to them. I have seen ponies do great harm to other ponies, just because someone was short with them on a bad day.
“But some ponies will do anything for you, as long as you ask nicely. A smile, and a bit of flattery. That's all it takes to get some ponies to give you the keys to their home, their money, their love.” Princess Celestia continued calmly, meeting Twilight's eyes evenly. “Because they don't know better. Because we have become a nation of words, not actions. We judge everyone else by what they say, by what they like, by who they admire; not what they actually do.”
The two ponies studied each other for a few moments, and then Princess Celestia smiled even as her eyes remained neutral, asking quietly: “Now what did you want to ask me, Twilight Sparkle?”
Twilight bit her lip, and then she forced herself to steady and take a breath before she asked, keeping her voice as casual and pleasant as possible: “How long were you working with Lord Black?”
Princess Celestia considered the question. She considered lying, but it hurt her heart to see Twilight already so upset, struggling to keep herself together, to keep herself strong. But if she couldn't learn to rein in her emotions, Lord Black would make her into an unwitting pawn, and the things she might have to do, the evils she would have to face and swallow... they could destroy her.
“Lord Black, or Thorn Blackfeather, arrived several weeks ago. I do not remember the exact date.” A half-lie. Or half-truth, if you were an optimist, and rounded up from all the gray between fact and fiction. “He wanted to talk to me about what he called the 'anchor.' He knew we possessed it, and said that we were 'tampering' with it.
“We had a long, peaceful discussion at first, on property rights and other boring things.” Princess Celestia continued. “He was cold, but cordial. Intellectual. We had much in common and we had several interesting talks on philosophy, nature, and politics. I consider him my equal, and I respect him, even if he is also... ruthless.”
Twilight only listened, sitting silently, waiting. And the waiting ground at Celestia, pushed her to continue to fill the void even as her expression darkened slightly, at both Twilight's quiet insistence and the all-too-fresh memories. “Lord Black was the one who told me that the anchor could be cut without damaging its ability to retain and generate energy. I told him I wanted to better understand the scope of its power, that I wanted to run some tests before I turned it over to him. He was kind enough to supply some of the equipment we needed to do so.”
“Then why is he attacking us?” Twilight asked in confusion, shaking her head in disbelief. “If he was helping you at first, and... why would he-”
“Pursuit of knowledge.” Princess Celestia answered, before she smiled thinly. “And as I said, he was willing to negotiate at first. He said we could have a piece of the anchor. Enough to power Canterlot.”
“But you wanted more.” Twilight's eyes widened slightly, and Celestia sighed and shook her head slowly.
“Not more. Enough, for the entire nation.” Princess Celestia answered in a quieter voice. “Do you know what having a single crystal, with only enough energy to power Canterlot would do? It would inspire war. Other ponies would become jealous, and angry. Even other nations might want it: the 'magic crystal' that can power an entire city. People would want to steal it, politicians would petition for it, the ignorant masses would beg and plead and demand it.
“Our power situation is rapidly worsening, Twilight. Our current system draws on natural elemental energy from the world, using a combination of arte and magic.” Princess Celestia explained, becoming softer as she reached the crux of the matter. “But this spiritual energy isn't infinite. While it will regenerate over time, we are using more energy than can be generated naturally by the world.”
“That's why we're having brownouts. That's why some ponies' artes aren't functioning as reliably as they once did.” Twilight murmured, her eyes lighting up as she straightened slightly in surprise. “But if that's true, then why-”
“Why haven't we done anything about it?” Princess Celestia smiled faintly, shaking her head slowly. “These systems have been powering Equestria for years. I don't even know how long... some days, it... it feels like they were always here, like they themselves are a part of this world.”
Her voice lowered, her eyes shifted away, became almost hazy as she muttered: “Like a test. A forbidden fruit, given to us to see if we would abuse them or resist temptation...”
Twilight shifted uneasily, and then Celestia shook her head, took a steadying breath, and then returned her eyes to her protege, saying quietly: “It will take years to dismantle and replace our current system of elemental generators. And that's not even considering how long it will take to create an alternative system.”
“But what about the New Power Initiative?” blurted Twilight. “Or... or artes! Ponies used artes for years to-”
“There are more ponies in Equestria than there have ever been, and more and more of them are becoming arte-capable. It's no longer a secret skill, but something every pony grows up being taught to harness.” But Princess Celestia sounded bitter, and Twilight didn't realize why until the mare continued: “Casting artes consumes and redirects elemental energy. Let's assume that a pony casting an arte is the equivalent to a drop of water being removed from an ocean's worth of energy.
“But that pony isn't casting one arte. That pony is casting several artes a day. And nor is it only that pony: it's thousands upon thousands of ponies, all casting multiple artes a day.” Celestia shook her head slowly, continuing: “And none of that even begins to scratch the surface of our problems. What about the griffins? They have their own unique artes, as do dragons. Other nations use similar elemental generators as we do: do you really think they'll shut down their generators because we ask nicely?”
Twilight bit her lip, and helplessly, she returned to the same question, starting: “The New Power Initiative-”
“Is the only way to save Equestria.” finished Celestia. “The anchor will supply all the energy Equestria needs. Our nation will be able to save itself, to flourish again: the brownouts will stop, and artes will stabilize with all the extra energy being generated. Energy we will return to our earth, Twilight, that will create a surplus of power even beyond our borders.
“But I will protect Equestria first and foremost. I will save my little ponies, at any cost.” Princess Celestia continued, soft but determined: there was a passion, a fire in her that should have inspired Twilight, but here and now, with all her fears and questions, it instead frightened her. “There will be costs. Sacrifices will have to be made. But Equestria will survive, will thrive.”
Twilight trembled, and then she shook her head and asked: “But what about Lord Black? How are you going to deal with him? He's never going to stop and... what if we... we...”
Celestia's eyes shifted to Twilight, and Twilight trembled as she saw the answer to her question. She bit her lip, shaking her head meekly, and Celestia closed her eyes before she said with awful calm: “I will do whatever must be done. Whatever it takes, Twilight Sparkle.”
“We can't fight him. We... we don't even know what he's really capable of!” Twilight argued, almost desperately. “And wasting all that potential on a weapon-”
“Not a waste. A test, and a warning to our enemies.” Celestia countered with a brief shake of her head. “Lord Black wants to negotiate through force. If we demonstrate to him that we are capable of fighting back, he won't risk-”
“You said yourself that Lord Black was ruthless! I talked to him, and I saw the... the determination he has to get that anchor back!” Twilight almost shouted, before she took a breath as she saw Celestia hardening, preparing to scold her, and yet instead of backing down she uttered: “Faciam quodlibet quod necesse est. That's what he said. That's what he believes.”
There was silence for a few long moments, until Twilight finally lowered her head and whispered: “I don't get it. We all want the same thing. He doesn't want to fight, you don't want to fight, so why are we fighting? If we need power generators, he must have something we can use-”
“And it will take us years to replicate and understand. I already asked for help, Twilight. He refused to give it.” Celestia answered with a shake of her head. “He will blink, Twilight. Whether or not he's telling the truth about being from some other world, he is far from home, and-”
“And what if they send someone else? What if you do drive him off, but he returns with more?” Twilight asked sharply. “What then?”
Celestia was silent, but she didn't have to speak her answer. Her eyes did that for her, and Twilight reared back, trembling a little.
“I've told you everything you need to know, Twilight. More than that, even.” Princess Celestia said quietly. “You have a choice. You can help us, or you can leave. You're welcome to try and negotiate peace, but I think you're aware that neither myself nor Lord Black are going to budge from our stated positions.”
“What if we save Equestria, only to doom his world? To doom... whatever else is out there?” asked Twilight weakly.
Princess Celestia smiled faintly, answering: “Then I will bear the burden of those unknown sins. Ask yourself this, Twilight: by becoming my student, how many other unicorns did you rob of that opportunity?”
Twilight bit her lip, and Celestia continued: “The nature of living is such that no matter what you do, there are consequences, both foreseen and invisible. Just by existing, just by living through each and every day, you take from the world, even as you also do your best to give back to it. Your opportunities come from someone else's failures and disappointments. Your victories mean someone else's defeat. How many accolades have you earned that would have been better off going to someone else? Remember that full scholarship you won to the Magic Academy? You used it to pay for your classes. But some other unicorn, given that money, would have used it to pay for food, just to live. Should you mourn them? Are you responsible for them?”
Twilight spluttered, shaking her head, trying to come up with the answer, but the gears in her mind ground painfully as she wrestled with herself before Princess Celestia explained, patiently, as if to a child: “But we don't think about these things. We can't. We take what we earn, whatever we can claim, and damn the consequences. So what is your choice now, Twilight? Will you help me save this world, and the ponies who matter to you, or are you going to try and save some other world, and the ponies who don't?”
The purple mare trembled for a few moments, and then she dropped her head. Her mane fell over her eyes, hiding them from view, but they did little to cover up the tears that rolled down her cheeks as she took a shuddering breath.
Celestia waited for a moment, and then she instructed in a gentler voice: “Lord Black is going to turn his sights on the Crystal Empire once he realizes a piece of the core is there. Your brother and Princess Cadence are protecting it. If you really think you can somehow broker peace between us... then this is your last chance to do so.”
Twilight looked sharply up, and the two looked at one-another before Princess Celestia smiled faintly and said quietly, fighting back the tears that wanted to rise in her own eyes: “Either you'll succeed where I failed, or you'll learn for yourself that some things just can't be worked out, no matter how much you might want them to.”
The purple unicorn bit her lip, and then she took a slow, shuddering breath before she nodded once, saying finally: “I... I will. I'll talk to him. I need to be there for my brother, too, and... I appreciate you giving me this chance.”
“Tactful. Better.” Princess Celestia said softly, and then she sighed as she sat back in her chair, looking down at the scattered reports and papers across her desk as she murmured: “Once upon a time, I was an idealist too, Twilight. I wanted only the best, not just for my people, but the whole world and beyond. And then, out of nowhere... I lost everything that mattered to me in one fell swoop.”
Twilight frowned uneasily, shifting slowly: somehow, she didn't think Princess Celestia was talking about what had happened with her sister Luna, even though... “Then, out of nowhere, I woke up one day and it was all back to the way it had been. As if nothing had ever happened. No, no, that's not quite true, there were changes: ponies were different. I was different. And precious few people recognized the truth, that things had changed. Some days, it's blurry even to me, even now that...”
She broke off, then smiled faintly as she shook her head and looked up at Twilight Sparkle. “I may sound cruel. Remorseless, even. But even immortal as I am, seeing... countless ponies live, and die... I thought I had time. I didn't realize just how fragile and unfair life, and death, could be, until that moment. And now it's happening again, but this time maybe I can stop it. I will do anything to stop it.”
Celestia quieted, then closed her eyes and lowered her head, murmuring: “Just ignore me, Twilight. It's just the ramblings of an old mare. I've ruled Equestria for twelve hundred years and I think my age is finally beginning to wear on me. Please, go. A train should already be ready and waiting for you at the station, you and...whoever you want to bring with you on this journey. I wouldn't separate you from your friends at this juncture, after all. You deserve that much.”
Twilight shifted uneasily. Something didn't sit right with her, but she only nodded. She got up from the table, wiping at her own eyes before she said finally: “I'm... going to go see Spike. Then I'll take the train and... I'll stop this. I will.”
“For all our sakes, I hope you do.” Celestia said honestly, before she gave a solemn smile as she said, with unwavering, unnerving certainty. “But you won't.”
Twilight bit her lip, and then she turned and hurried out of the room, into the corridors of Canterlot. In spite of what she'd said she was going to do, she was aimless at first, wandering these halls, feeling the aura of dread that filled the building, hearing the mutters and the whispers: she felt glares like daggers and heard words like poison, but by now she was strangely used to being a pariah, and the fear that Celestia had laced her veins with fortified her against the harshness that some of these ponies treated her with.
She felt like she had missed something. Like something was wrong. Some part of the puzzle didn't fit, and it chewed at her brain and made it hard to focus until-
Equestria had only recently celebrated its thousandth summer sun celebration. That had been the night of Nightmare Moon's return.
So how could Celestia have ruled Equestria for twelve hundred years?
Maybe she had misspoken. Maybe the Princess of the Sun had admitted her age; no pony really knew for sure just how old she was, and she always laughed and made some joke when Twilight asked at her birthday parties.
But that didn't feel like it was it, as simple, as comforting as that rational explanation was.
Twilight forced herself to refocus: it didn't matter. No, she had a chance to fix things, to make up for losing the core piece, and maybe, just maybe, to end this conflict once and for all. Maybe it was because she was in the middle of it instead of at one extreme or the other, but she thought there was plenty of ground where Lord Black or Thorn Blackfeather or whatever his real name was, and Princess Celestia, could meet and work out a fair deal.
His flying fortress, after all, had to have an incredible power system. Enough to power even a city like Canterlot. They could replicate it! And they could return the anchor pieces to him after he helped them establish new power plants, or retrofit their current elemental generators...
There had to be a solution! Neither side wanted this war, and... well, maybe she could convince Thorn that he owed them something in return for the...
Twilight shivered as she passed through the main foyer of the castle, where several wreaths had been set up on a small shrine, with small offerings for the fallen resting all around the base of the statue. And it made her angry, but it also made her feel terribly sad: lives, wasted, for no reason at all. Because they had been in the wrong place, at the wrong time, when Lord Black had decided to demonstrate to Princess Celestia that he wasn't someone to be trifled with.
She still didn't entirely understand why he had resorted to force.
No. He had said something else. Something she had forgotten – or maybe just been too afraid – to ask about during her meeting with Princess Celestia. Not that Princess Celestia hadn't clearly controlled the entire conversation anyway, and avoided mentioning the fact that she had apparently offered her up like a bargaining chip...
Unless Lord Black had been lying. But why would he lie about something like that? It didn't make any sense, although it sure as hell didn't make any sense to her why Princess Celestia would want to send her off to the Orphanage, or whatever Lord Black had called it...
Celestia wasn't telling her everything.
It was something she knew from the start, and yet realizing it, and more, understanding it, hit her like a train. Princess Celestia wasn't actually telling her everything, and whatever the alicorn said, it wasn't just because she wanted to protect her. Was she a pawn in this game? Or was there something that Celestia desperately didn't want her to know, because...
Because why?
The look she'd had on her face when she'd talked about how fragile life was, and what she'd lost...
What terrible secret did she know?
Twilight wasn't sure she wanted to know. But at the same time she couldn't help but wonder if it was part of what was driving Celestia's desire to protect her country at any and all cost.
Twilight chewed on her lip, before she looked up in surprise as a voice said softly: “It seems you have some heavy thoughts, Twilight Sparkle. You should lay them down, before their weight crushes you.”
Twilight Sparkle blushed a bit as a sapphire alicorn approached her, her long, star-filled mane swirling out behind her, the symbol of the crescent moon gleaming on the peytral across her chest, a match for the cutie mark on her splotched flank.
They looked at each other for a moment, and then Twilight Sparkle bowed her head, murmuring: “Princess Luna. I uh, I was just on my way to see Spike, but...” She laughed, awkwardly looking back and forth. “I got lost.”
“In your own thoughts, I assume, not the castle. Besides, your friend has been moved to somewhere safer. But we should not speak of this, and it would be safer if you would instead accompany me.” Princess Luna said gently, and Twilight blinked, opening her mouth- “Yes, I have my suspicions that there are spies in our midst. My sister believes she knows who they all are, but I... I am better aware of what greed and shame can do to even a righteous pony.”
Twilight smiled faintly, and then she asked quietly: “My... my friend is okay, though? I haven't heard anything, even though I know, well...”
She broke off, and Princess Luna nodded, stepping forwards and reassuring gently: “He is in very deep sleep, in a very safe place. You do not have to fear for him. We are doing all we can to make him better. He is not awake yet, no, but I believe that is for the best. It is better that he comes back in his own time, rather than we force him to awaken with magic.”
“And I think I want to spare him all this, if we could.” Twilight murmured, before she sighed and nodded, then blinked in surprise when Luna gently touched her shoulder.
“Come. Let us walk, Twilight Sparkle. We must prepare you for the journey ahead.” Luna said gently.
“Are you going to tell me what Celestia wouldn't?” Twilight asked impulsively, but Princess Luna only smiled as she walked past, her eyes shifting knowingly back to Twilight as she continued down the corridor.
“I will not. But perhaps Mare Imbrium shall.” she answered, before she paused and became solemn for a moment as she said in a softer voice: “Only remember, Twilight... some truths cannot be unheard.”
Twilight blinked in surprise, but then hurried to catch up to the Princess of the Night as Luna turned the corner, both anxious and afraid to know the truth.