Thistleroot read the letter for the eighth time that day.
Thistleroot
I hope this letter finds you. Rose said you were set free, same as the rest of us. I don’t trust her, but I have to believe that you’re okay.
I’m going to the Crystal Empire with Spike, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle. We have to tell Princess Cadence what’s happened so far, and I’m hoping the Crystal Heart will have some magic that can help. It seems like a long shot, but it’s all I can think of.
I’m scared about everything that’s happening, but I’m trying not to let them see it. I think you might have been right about that, at least. I come up with an idea and they agree to it. I don’t like it. I really don't like feeling like everypony is following me, but they’re my friends. I don’t want to let them down.
I don’t know what we can do anymore. I don’t know if you know this already, but the elements are gone. They were destroyed by Nocturne. The fragment of harmony is missing, too, and Starswirl is probably dead.
My sister and Twilight and the others are still in stone, but Nocturne promised to release them if we just leave her alone for a year. It would be so easy to just stop trying to fight. We could let her win, and eventually Dash would be back. We could keep ourselves safe, but other ponies can’t. Apple Bloom’s niece was almost attacked by timber wolves. Her brother is taking care of the farm by himself, rather than being with his family. And that’s just one pony in one town. Who knows what else is going on all over Equestria without the princesses to keep everything in check?
Which is why I’ve made a decision. I don’t know how to put this except to just write it. Please don't be mad.
I want you to stay there. I want you to stay safe. And I want you to start looking for a way to free Discord. If we die trying to fight Nocturne, freeing him might be the only chance we have left. He beat her once. He can do it again.
I know what you’re probably thinking. Discord wouldn’t be any better than Nocturne. I don’t think that’s true. At least, it doesn’t have to be true. I don’t know how many details you know about what happened ten years ago. I told you I was one of the ponies that freed him, but I never told you why.
Discord was my friend. He was manipulating me, trying to get me to free him, but I honestly think he cared about me in his own way.
I know he’s capable of kindness. I know there’s something good there. If I was a better pony, I might have done more to bring it out, but it’s too late for that. Now, if anypony can do it, it’s you. Hay, with your sense of humor the two of you would probably get along pretty well.
I know it’s a selfish request, and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have to ask this of you, and I shouldn’t be putting myself over defeating Nocturne. I should be trying to find a way to free him now, not using him as a backup plan, but the idea of setting him free while I’m still around scares me so badly I can barely hold this quill.
This is all a long shot. I don’t even know if you’ll go back to Canterlot, let alone find this letter.
I don’t even know if it’s possible to free him without the elements, but you’re smart. You can figure it out.
Stay safe, Thistleroot. Hopefully, I’ll see you soon.
—Scootaloo
Thistleroot sighed and tucked it back into his pack, right beside the fragment of harmony, before continuing down the street. It had taken him the better part of an hour to decide what he was going to do about the letter. Now that he finally had, he was eager to get it over with.
Thistleroot wasn’t sure how everything was going to work out, but he knew it was going to be a long day.
*****
The Royal Guard had set up near the center of Camp Canterlot, having already erected several tents to use as barracks. With Shining Armor’s return, a certain level of organization had returned to the scattered guards, and they had begun operating towards their new goals efficiently within just a few hours.
The tent furthest south in the grouping had been turned into something of a front office. It was a two part tent, where volunteers could sign up in the front, and information could be stored in the back half.
Spike was already at work setting up a system to organize the volunteers, drawing on a lifetime of experience as Twilight’s number one assistant. He’d organized several tables, storing each volunteer’s name, description, and a way to contact them on paper, and sorting the papers alphabetically. A dozen boxes sat on the tables, marked A-B, C-E, and so on.
Scootaloo had decided to stay and offer what help she could, though it became apparent after only a few minutes that her presence was more a hindrance. She’d finally agreed to stand in the corner and just keep him company while he worked.
“And then we find out they don’t even have popcorn in Yakyakistan,” Spike said, dropping the newest form for a pony named Sunny Blossom into the S-T box. “So yeah. Luckily Princess Celestia managed to step in and keep it from becoming an international incident.”
Scootaloo chuckled. “I still can’t believe anypony agreed to name Pinkie Pie an ambassador.”
“They didn’t have any choice. She’s the only pony that can get Prince Rutherford to listen. I don’t know how she does it. I just attribute it to the usual Pinkie Pie weirdness.”
“Yeah, that sounds about right.” Scootaloo shrugged and watched him work for a few minutes. “Hey, Spike?”
“Yeah?” He said without looking up from the form he was checking over. “Oh, come on, name goes in the first box, it’s not that hard.”
“There’s something you should know.” Scootaloo swallowed and glanced away. “The letter we sent to Thistleroot. I told him to start looking for a way to free Discord.”
The quill in Spike’s claws came to a stop. He was silent for a beat before looking up at her. He didn’t look angry, like she’d expected. He didn’t even look all that surprised. He grumbled unintelligibly and then shrugged. He started writing again, and Scootaloo watched him in silence until he’d filed the paper into the J-M box.
“I’ve been thinking about that too,” Spike finally said. “Ever since Apple Bloom brought it up.”
“You have?” Scootaloo asked.
“Yeah. I don’t think it’s a good idea, honestly, but... I just don’t know. Nopony died while Discord was free. Maybe it would be better.” Spike sighed. “I don’t know what to say one way or the other. I don’t know how anypony could decide. How many lives is a world full of chaos worth? You know?”
Scootaloo nodded.
“It’s probably the right decision,” Spike said. “I mean, we’ve beaten Discord before. Twice. Even with the elements gone, maybe we could do it again, if we had to.”
“I’m glad you think so,” Scootaloo said. “I was afraid you’d be mad. I’m still afraid Thistleroot will be mad, but hopefully he’ll understand. And I needed a second opinion. I’m not sure I’m the best pony to make decisions as far as Discord is concerned.”
Spike shifted in the seat and set the quill down. “You want to talk about it?”
It was a question he’d asked before. Her answer had always been the same. ‘No.’
They’d talked about what happened, of course. Discussed it with each other and with Twilight and Rainbow Dash and the princesses and even Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. That wasn’t what Spike was asking about. It wasn’t what Scootaloo had kept to herself.
“Yeah,” she said.
Spike said nothing, but he shifted in his seat to better face her.
“I missed him,” she said. She’d never admitted it to somepony else. She’d only recently been willing to admit it to herself. “We spent months talking. I was afraid of him, at first. I knew he was supposed to be evil, but he never seemed that bad. He made me food, the first time we talked. I had a hot meal for Hearth's Warming Day because of him. He knew the truth about my parents, something not even Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle knew. He was my friend.”
Spike opened his mouth, but then thought better of it.
“I know,” Scootaloo said. “He was just manipulating me. He didn’t really mean it.”
“Uh, yeah,” Spike said.
“That’s the thing,” Scootaloo said. “I’m not sure. You remember that night, right? While you got the elements to the girls, I was distracting him.”
“Yeah. You had your saddle bags full of rocks to make it look like you had the elements,” Spike said. “I’m still surprised that worked.”
“The thing is, before you arrived, Discord tried to get me to give him the elements back.”
“Of course he did,” Spike said. “So they couldn’t be used against him. That's called winning.”
“No, that’s not what I mean,” Scootaloo said. “He wanted me to give them to him. He could have taken them easily. Just snapped his talons and zapped my saddle bags into his paw, but he didn’t. He wanted me to side with him. He offered to let me rule Equestria with him. He told me I could be a princess or a queen. He even promised to send the changelings away.
“At the time, I was still so mad at him. I’d just realized how much he’d hurt you to get what he wanted. Chrysalis had mind controlled Gilda and thrown everything back in my face in the worst way, I never considered the idea that he might have been telling the truth.”
“Do you really think so?” Spike asked, voice a mix of curiosity and disbelief.
“He had no reason to lie at that point. He didn’t know you had the elements. He thought he could just take them. What did he have to gain from making me offers?”
Spike pondered the question. “Yeah. I guess you’re right.” He looked up at Scootaloo. “So? If you’d thought back then that he was telling the truth, would you have taken him up on it and become the queen of Equestria.”
“No,” Scootaloo said. “Well, probably not. I hope.” She glanced away, a touch of pink coming to her cheeks. “I was just a filly. Who knows, maybe. But that’s not what’s important. After I realized that he might actually have cared about me, I felt guilty. If I’d realized it before, could I have done things differently? Could I could have convinced him to unstone the princess? Those are questions that have been bugging me for ten years.”
“I guess I never thought about it from your perspective,” Spike said. He shrugged. “Maybe if he’d been nice to both of us, he’d have actually won.”
Scootaloo considered that for a moment. “Maybe if he’d kept a tighter leash on Chrysalis. I haven’t forgotten what he did to you, just so you know. I don’t think he was actually good, just, maybe not one hundred percent evil to the core.”
Spike nodded. “I get what you mean.” He got off his chair. “Anyway, that makes sense for a back up plan, but since we don’t have a way of freeing him right now, we should focus on our main plan. Maybe we can get Starlight to figure out a way to free him later.”
Scootaloo nodded. “Hopefully they’ll be done looking at the princess’s prison soon, and then we can look for—”
“Helloooooo, everypony!” An obnoxiously loud voice called from the front half of the tent. Spike perked up, while Scootaloo just rolled her eyes and grinned.
“Is this where I sign up for the whole saving Equestria from the forces of evil thing?” The voice asked. Scootaloo hopped off her chair and started for the flap separating the two halves.
“Uh, yes,” Shining Armor answered in a quieter voice.
“Excellent, excellent! I would like to sign up post-haste. As soon as we go over my contractual provisions.”
“Your... huh?”
Scootaloo poked her head through the flap to watch the scene unfold. Standing in the front half of the room, facing away from her and toward the table that had been set up, was Thistleroot. He looked no worse for the wear. He had a pair of saddlebags slung over his back, and was grinning at Shining Armor.
“My contractual provisions, fine sir!” He said, his voice still obnoxiously loud and upbeat. “First, I only eat the finest gluten free wheat. If accommodations can’t be met I’ll need a stipend to buy my own. The Royal Guard does feed its members, yes?”
Shining Armor just blinked.
“Second, I refuse to work for any employer that doesn’t offer a comprehensive dental plan. Third, I insist to be paired up with mares of the highest esteem. Preferably the kind that are bold to the point of audaciousness, daring, clever,” he held his hoof up to just above his own eye level. “About this tall, orange, pegasus, purple hair. Seriously though, have you seen her?”
“Nope,” Scootaloo said, pushing her way into the room. “She’s not around. Try again tomorrow.”
“Ah! I see my feelings about this place were spot on. Good show, old chap.” He stepped forward and threw a leg around her. She returned the hug and stepped back.
“Glad to see you're okay," Scootaloo said. "We've been worried. Uh, but can you drop the voice?” She asked. “You’re scaring away potential volunteers.”
“Yeah, okay,” Thistleroot said. He turned back to Shining Armor, who’s look of confusion had settled into one of understanding. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine,” he said.
“Anyway,” Thistleroot continued, “Let’s go. Hi Spike.”
“Hey,” Spike answered, having just followed Scootaloo through the tent flap. “Where are we going?”
“Not us,” Thistleroot said. “No offense, but I’d like to speak to Scootaloo alone.”
“What about?” Scootaloo asked.
“A certain little letter I got, and how much trouble you’re in for writing it.”
Scootaloo sighed. “I’m sorry. I wouldn’t have asked if I thought it would put you in any real danger, I just didn’t—”
“Uhp buhp buhp!” Thistleroot held up his hoof, interrupting her. “Come on. I said I wanted to talk to you alone.”
He turned and left the tent. Scootaloo sighed again, looking at Spike.
Spike shrugged. “He can’t be that mad if he’s in the mood for joking around.”
“True,” Scootaloo said. She shook her head and followed Thistleroot out of the tent.