//------------------------------// // Ch.18: Enigmatic Ends // Story: Tapestry: A World Apart // by Star Scraper //------------------------------// Twilight was lost on an island of thought. Her wings and limbs bound, blindfolded, gagged, she laid on the inclined concrete wall. There was a lingering pain in the back of her throat from whatever mist had blown in her face from the canister. Her mouth was painfully dry, but they'd given her nothing to eat or drink for what felt like days, though it was impossible to know how long she hung there. She couldn't remember when she'd given up on trying to make sense of the world. Sombra had created a terrible dystopia, but he was a powerful, legendary wizard with such magical skill and knowledge he rivaled the alicorns themselves. Anyone who opposed him, he could easily defeat alone. But here, apparently this kingdom hated unicorns, and alicorns, too. How could any tyrant rule without such power? Why would ponies willingly be so terrible to each other? This world could be nothing but an absurd fiction. There was no sense in trying to understand why they'd taken away her magic and bound her so she couldn't even move a sore limb. It was a glaring plothole as ridiculous – but far darker and worse – than Spike's Power Ponies comic her and her friends had gotten stuck in. But it wasn't like being a Power Pony. She tried to be a heroine, but now only hung powerless. Knowledge, logic and reason were superpowers that could get her out of any bind, but when the world itself ignored logic with such absurdity as ponies being this cruel, what could be done? How could she hope to reason her way to life, never mind freedom, when ponies were so unreasonable? Maybe it'll be Pinkie or Applejack that saves me. Or Rainbow Dash coming in after she's heard we read the book, she scoffed through her gag. Or maybe it's just a terrible tragedy. At the very least, I got Rarity kicked out of the book before the worst of it. Her ears folded down. Or maybe she actually just... No, there's no way to know. We never died in Spike's comic book but there's no reason to assume death wouldn't just kick us out. So why assume Rarity really died? There's no way to know until I find some way back. Or if dying kicks us out, I'll find out when they... she shivered as she remembered being unable to breathe, cry out or even beg. I always felt uncomfortable when history books mentioned executions. How cold and cruel ponies could be to each other is – it's absolutely unbelievable. And it always disturbed me to wonder what it was like to be so completely helpless and bound as others ended my life. I guess now I'll find out, at least... Unless... Unless somepony rescues me. But... Without my horn... If I survive like this, will I return to Equestria without a horn? Or will I be healed? But if they kill me here, either that will be it, and I'll be dead, or I'll return to Equestria whole... right? I'm not sure I want to go back and live without my horn. She felt her eyes water as she remembered Celestia raising the sun, so long ago, when she was a mere blank-flanked filly. How the princess of light lifted into the sky, and the brilliant sun rose and showered the world with warmth on that summer solstice. What would even be the purpose of living, without magic? Friendship, I guess? friendship has been more fulfilling than magic has been. But then who am I? Even more of a joke of a princess than I was before. How am I supposed to protect my subjects if I can't even protect myself? Not as though I could protect Rarity even when I had my magic... She suddenly found herself sobbing. I – I can't protect myself. No matter how much I knew, I couldn't – no, I could, but I failed! I can't even live on my own, nevermind save other ponies. What kind of joke of a princess am I!? She couldn't take it, so she went somewhere else. She just wanted the pain to stop, to be somewhere else – so she imagined an island. She could see the bright sun and crystal blue sky on her tropical island. Pinkie and Rainbow were playing in the water, Fluttershy and Rarity were sunbathing, while Applejack gathered some coconuts to make a drink. She felt her conscience nab at her constantly – you know you're lying to yourself. Stop running away. Face your problems! It's the only way to overcome them! But why? I can't overcome them so why face them!? I'm clearly the damsel in distress in this horrid story. This isn't some Daring Do adventure. My friend is dead – I held her body. I was too late. I'm probably not even going to be rescued at all, and my horn is gone, I can't even lift a hoof or beg for water, so why just torture myself more by facing it? Everypony else has tortured me enough. Can't I at least... Just pretend for a little... She fought herself for hours, tiring her mind more and more. Her thoughts grew more sluggish and hazy as the endless hours of her mute blindness stretched on with her lying on the concrete wall, partially hanging from the cold metal restraints. I guess there's something... almost nice about being the damsel in distress. I lost. I lost my friend, my magic, I can't even make the slightest move, and they'll shoot me if I make the slightest sound or even start to escape. It's over. There's nothing left for me to do or to worry about – I can worry about how they'll kill me, but nothing I can do will stop it. She felt her ears fold down again, pressing flat against the sides of her head this time. The agony of her failures panged her mind again. I can't do anything about it, now. So there's nothing to worry about. I – I did my best. But I failed. Maybe I should just... accept that. Let go. It's not like it's going to make a difference now, anyways. My life is in other pony's hooves, and they're going to end it, soon. At least I can die knowing I was just the poor victim in all of this. I tried to be a heroine. That's got to count for something, right? Whether I see Celestia after this in the astral plane, or back in Canterlot... I can proudly tell her what I did. I did what I could to rescue my friend. But... it's over now. She could feel muscles relax that she hadn't even realized were tense, easing some of her pain. It's okay. It's going to hurt a lot and I'll die, but... this will all be over soon. I don't have any more decisions to make. No plans to go wrong. I know exactly what will happen. They'll drag me out like Rarity, torture me, and kill me, and I'll be free. I just have to wait. There's nothing else I can do, anyways. She repeated to herself, feeling a fresh wave of tears come to her eyes. But this time, she cried quietly. This time, the tears washed pain away as she felt herself relax. I did my best. But it's not my fault anymore. No decisions or plans to make or worry about, nothing I can fail at, because it's impossible, literally impossible for me to fail at the one thing I have left to do – that they'll do to me, to set me free. It's all out of my hooves. And maybe, just maybe somepony will rescue me, and our friendship will grow. But that's not for me to worry about. I'm just the damsel in distress. No matter what I do from here out, I'm... she felt another hot, fresh wave of tears well up. I'm the good pony. And I get to relax, now. My part is over. Maybe forever. Being a damsel in distress isn't all that bad... Her ears perked as she heard hoofsteps. It wasn't the same deep clod of the guards' boots, and it wasn't a whole group of guards changing shifts. It wasn't a march, either, but slow, confident, lone strides. “Twilight Sparkle,” a smooth, confident voice sounded. She raised her head. She felt her blindfold and gag wrapped in magic and pulled off. Everything was a thick blur – she blinked a few times as her eyes slowly made sense of the world again. In front of her stood a purple unicorn in a deep blue robe that sparkled with magic as stars twinkle with light. The prison looked nothing like she expected. She was in the only cell at the end of a long hall painted with some glittering white paint. The closest guards were far away – and yet stood unnaturally rock still, watching her with lifeless eyes. Even without her horn, it was easy to sense that powerful magic was at play. She felt her hooves phase through her restraints, and she was carefully, gently lowered to the ground by the unicorn. “Who-” it took her a second to get used to her own voice again. She cleared her throat, the lingering pain from the mist still there. “who are you?” The robed mare relished and articulated every word, speaking poetically, “It is written, 'For though the Proud One be lost in the shadows, the Angel shall guide her to light. The captives shall be freed, The Proud shall be humbled, and shall return to her eternal rest. Thus shall the new be born, the slain return, and be free from their captivity in the shadows.' I, Twilight Sparkle, am a forgotten child. But to you, I am the angel of death. I am the angel of mercy.” Her heart sank. Her limbs were sore – she could only even stand because the unicorn's magic helped hold her up. She knew it was unusual for her – she knew she should be, and normally would be, defiant to the end. But she was weak, and even more confused by the unicorn's cryptic ramblings. Even with the helping force of the 'angel's magic, she shook with her own hunger, exhaustion and thirst. “T-then you want to?...” “No.” The unicorn shook her head. “I do not want to end your life. I want to offer you an easier way out, in one way, and in another way, I am here to take you home, to a home you do not yet remember. I do not want to see you tortured and abused, to suffer horribly the pains that await you – even exceedingly worse by far than you've experienced here. If you suffer those pains, they will hurt me, and they will hurt you, long after you have died, even,” she explained. Twilight looked intently at her. “Then – then you know that this world...?” “Is but a story, yes. Or rather, that you see it as nothing but a story. Yet I do not speak of your release from it, as you believe it will come. I speak of something different entirely. You remember the land from where you came, but I speak of a home you have forgotten, a home here that I will restore to your memory. It is something you are not now prepared to comprehend, though you will, in due time, in some other form. Twilight Sparkle, all that you need know is you have a choice before you.” Materializing out of the air, she formed a teacup with a strong, warm smell, and a glass of red wine, and set them in front of Twilight. She gestured towards the wine, “drink the red wine, and I will give you some comfort and rest, though you will be left to the hooves of these fools who seek to torture and slay you. This will not only hurt you greatly, but it will also cause me great pain, and another, as well. Drink the tea, and I will take you somewhere beautiful and warm as the land from whence you came, where you will die peacefully, quietly, comfortably, with all the privacy you want.” Twilight's eyes widened. She looked at the two drinks, then up at the rock-still guards, then at the unicorn. “I – I'm free now, I -” “No,” the unicorn interrupted. “You will die in these next twenty-four hours, Twilight. One way or another, you will certainly die. I will not save your life. I will not slay you, either, however. But the tea will make your death painless. I will lull you to sleep on silk pillows, under warm sunlight, to the sounds of chirping birds and trickling water, if you like. Take a small sip, and you will have days in my paradise to bid your life farewell. Drink the whole thing, and you will die immediately, all your worries and fears gone with you. But drink the wine, or drink neither, and I will give you a few minutes of rest, and something to drink, and then return you to your captors to do with you as they please.” “But – why?” she asked pitifully. “You – you can save me. You're doing it now! So why do you want me dead so badly?” The unicorn shook her head again. “I do not wish for your death. In fact, why don't I change my offer? The wine is just the same as if you drank neither, really, so why not use it for something else?” She smiled as she switched from using archaic to using more modern vocabulary. She now spoke casually, a happy smile on her face, “Drink the wine, and I will bring you to my Eternal Refuge – and its grand library within it – the same paradise that awaits you with the tea, only I will grant you an entire decade of life, so long as you agree and know you will die before the ten years are out. I'll even give you back your horn, though that may take awhile. But I would be pleased to speak with you about your world, and we shall live in endless bliss, you will be free from the bonds of metal and responsibility that bind you.” “Responsibility?” she asked. It was apparent this would not end quickly, nor did she want to be rushed away from an opportunity to speak to this pony – whoever she was – so she sat down. “Twilight,” the unicorn started more solemnly, “I am not offering you a decade of life lightly, or as though you would enjoy this more than being free as you were before. I am offering it as an alternative to being tortured to death on a public stage of humiliation and agony. There are no routes left for you to save your friends. Your life, and the lives of those you love, are out of your hooves now. Shackled hooves can hardly be held responsible for what they've failed to do. Rest now.” She put a hoof on Twilight's back, and with a single, smooth motion, Twilight felt all the pain, stress, fear and anxiety in her body melt away, from her pained forehead, to her sore hooves. The unicorn offered again, “Live, speak with me for a time, then die on your own terms, on pillows, with your mane being stroked, as gently as falling asleep under the care of a loving mother, or return to those shackles to be horribly tortured. I apologize, but I cannot save you as you would truly wish, nor do circumstances allow me to explain why in greater detail. But this is your choice. It does not seem a hard choice to me.” The alicorn looked at the wine glass at her hooves. The concrete floor was hard, her mind thick and hazy from her blindness and the silence. The room was cold, and she couldn't forget the rope that had been around her neck. Yet across the wine glass was a warm bed, a library of ancient and otherworldly knowledge, and the same great wizard who now stood in front of her. How can I break free by myself? I have no magic anymore, yet this pony can conjure drinks from air, leave the guards oblivious and even oblivious to their own oblivion. There's no doubt her abilities rival even my own! And she promised my horn... “Perhaps, you hope against all chance that you may see Equestria once more, do you not?” Twilight's head shot back up. “You know about Equestria?” The strange pony nodded. “Yes, though only as well as you do. And I understand that, to you, this world seems fake. I know not what to say to this solipsistic flight of fancy, but that I have lived here a long, long time, and that is enough for me. And I am sorry to say, but that your odds of returning, in some way, are best, I believe, if you drink either the wine or the tea. If you stay here, I believe it less likely you will ever see your Celestia or Equestrian friends again,” she simply stated. “It must seem an odd thing – I have asserted you will surely die, no matter what – and this is still true – yet in some form you may see Equestria again, and that it is more likely to happen if you come with me. I cannot explain it all, yet. You are not ready, but come with me, read my libraries, and you will come to understand all.” “I...” she hesitated. “I'll do neither.” She stood up. She still felt the unicorn's magic helping her stand, even as she stood against her. The Angel looked surprised, but not angry as Twilight continued, “I know you think it's impossible for me to survive, but I'm not drinking poison, and I'm not agreeing to die. Somehow – somehow I'll get out of this.” She bit her lip nervously, anxiety coming over her in crashing waves as she questioned her decision. I – I know I'll have to be rescued but... Rescued for a less painful death? That's not a rescue at all! She affirmed to herself. At least – at least I still have a chance like this! SOME chance! Maybe my friends will still somehow rescue me! But if I drink poison – or just as bad or worse, if I agree to die to a powerful wizard – then what? Then I'll have no hope of guiding Pinkie Pie and Applejack home! I still don't know for sure that dying will take me back to Equestria, and I'm not going to agree to be trapped here for ten years while my friends need me! The stranger was merely silent for a long minute, before bowing her head. She muttered, “I have failed.” She pulled her hood back, revealing a deep purple mane. With her eyes now finally adjusted and focused, Twilight noticed the bridge of the unicorn's snout was speckled with darker purple. The Angel conjured up two more teacups next to her, then walked over to, and sat next to Twilight. A pillow appeared beneath each of them. The sudden plush softness was a welcome break from the hard metal and concrete she'd felt for so long. “What are you doing?” she asked with surprise. “If it makes no difference to the world of the surface, then at least I can give you a little comfort before you die. This is a tradition The Governor herself would normally perform. Though she would give you a large shot of a strong, alcoholic drink just before your execution, I think I'll offer you some plain tea, instead. What flavor would you like?” “Well, given you just offered me poisoned tea I'm a little turned off by the idea...” she refused. The robed pony's voice dropped with a tone of annoyance, “If I wanted to kill you regardless of your consent, do you really think I'd have to resort to trickery?” Twilight thought for a moment, glancing between the tea and the wizard. “...I think I'd actually prefer hot chocolate.” The self-proclaimed Angel of Mercy chuckled softly, a slight, calm smile appearing on her lips. The tea swirled with magic and turned brown. “You're fortunate I know what that is. This world never discovered the cocoa bean. The Winter came before they discovered many things.” Twilight took the cocoa and smelled it. It smelled normal. Her painfully dry mouth begged for it badly enough that she almost drank immediately. Instead, she looked at the unicorn again, uncertain. “So... no poison?” The unicorn sighed. “No. No poison. You will be slain by your entire body weight being suspended by -” she put a hoof behind Twilight's chin, against her neck “- here.” She pushed up ever so slightly, and Twilight immediately found she couldn't breathe. The unicorn immedately released, then looked down at her own tea. “You will probably writhe in agony for minutes. I'm sorry I can't save you, but I tried to make it easier for you, at least.” “I'm not going to give up yet. I still have a chance!” she replied, standing up. The robed stranger didn't even look away from her own drink. Her voice was apologetic, “It seems I've accidentally given you false hope – restored your broken spirit. Maybe that's for the best. It's an admirable, albeit naïve spirit. You probably don't feel much like relaxing, though it's what you'd love more than anything else at this time. I can't help you, though, other than what I have offered. I have an old promise to keep.” She stood up, and Twilight's drink turned to a glass of water. “At least take a drink. No promise, no poison, just refreshment to help you be a bit more comfortable. If you don't trust my cocoa, at least trust my water, please.” Her voice sounded sincere enough, and though Twilight was still on edge, wondering where or what might be a trick, she knew this unicorn was right. She really could just kill me if she wanted. Though her aches had been rested, and the sting from the gas was gone, her throat still cried for water. So she finally satisfied it with the glass floating in front of her, breathing a sigh of relief as the glass was emptied. As she turned to speak to the robed pony, she found her right in front of her, her hood back up, setting her hoof on her shoulder and looking her square in the eyes. “Adieu, Twilight Sparkle. Cry for the 'Angel of Mercy', and I will come. No gag will keep me from understanding your cry. But for now, and perhaps forever if you hold your voice, adieu.” In an instant she was back on her shackles, blindfolded and gagged, the loose rope around her neck that the governor had tortured her with. Just like that, it's over!? Did I – did I dream that? That wasn't a dream, was it!? She knew better than to cry out, but she couldn't keep from at least screaming it in her head, please, don't just leave me! She said I could cry for her and – the panic in her mind settled. No. I'm not going to ask her to kill me. Celestia said I would find a way home, and... I'm going to. Somehow. Governor Spectrum had called off a regular cabinet meeting, leaving it to Captain Steelheart to manage tomorrow. On this last evening before the trip, she had decided she needed time to think. She was alone in the palace aviary – a sort of warm garden with ponds. She sat on a stone path that ran beside one of the pools, staring at the rippling reflection of the brilliant mercury-vapor lamps on the water's surface. In paintings and drawings, water was always a beautiful blue, like the sky above it. Only a generation before hers, water had largely been this way in the domes, under their magical cerulean skies. But she'd never seen blue water before – it always just reflected the black of the sky, ever since The Great Nightfall had hit Hatten, long before she was born. Long before the aviary she sat in had been built. This is where Veil would usually appear to speak with her. She could only guess what arcane powers the unicorn used to know when she was alone in the aviary, but somehow or other, Veil always knew. She felt sick to her stomach as she looked into the water, thinking, still in her formal dress from her shortened day of work. She had sat in this very spot when she'd decided to go ahead with the purges. I nearly killed myself back then. But I decided it was my duty to stay strong. Where has that decision gone? Why do I suddenly doubt it all again? I know it's wrong. But I know I have to. But now, with an alicorn – I wonder – did I have to? Is this really the state ponykind is consigned to forever? The purges were never what I ordered. What I ordered was the complete destruction of all traitors, demanding full loyalty from my subjects, the purging of our society of the elements that would seek to undermine, destroy, and enslave it. A purging of everything that held us back from the glory of liberation from this winter. From the glory of dawn! I thought perhaps a thousand would die, but only as an absolute necessity so the other two million Delphinians could live. What did I get instead? Two hundred thousand dead in my name. A tenth of the dome's entire population. Dead. Hanged, and when the gallows couldn't kill fast enough, taken into The Abyss to freeze. Maybe I should've stopped there, when there were so many... But what, fail to hold on to Delphi, retreat back to Hatten, and let the unicorns and their winter kill the other two million survivors we had barely saved from them!? Never! I was in the right! I didn't kill two hundred thousand, I saved almost two million! Yes, it was my duty – I'm tired of this struggle! She sat up straight, her chest puffing out, feeling the medals pinned on them. The medals for nothing more than political favors, that she knew she didn't deserve. Her posture weakened again, her back and ears losing their rigidity. ...So why can't I just let it go? She sighed. Veil must have some insight on this alicorn, and how to prove if it's real or not. Why can I see mass executions and relish my power, obsess over and seek the suffering of ponies, but the cries of a single demon are so unbearable? She knew the answer. Because I don't relish or seek it. I obsess over it like a nightmare I can't wake up from. I... Part of me wants it. Another doesn't. She leaned a little forward, looking at her reflection in the water. Her mane was still pale, light blue, almost identical to Icewind's. And how did the alicorn know my hair is bleached? Maybe it's one of those alicorn powers... She spread a wing and ran her hoof through her feathers, thinking of the feeling of the feathers of creature's wings. They'd felt the same. ...If alicorns truly exist, then Ironhide was wrong, and everything The Order is built on... “Salutations, Governor,” a smooth, confident female voice sounded behind her. She twisted around. A pony with deep purple fur, an even darker purple mane stood in front of her. Most of her body was hidden under a navy blue cloak a shade lighter than The Governor's own dress. The fringes of Veil's cloak and hood had intricate violet and lavender patterns that had an enchanting primordial wonder to them, and on her forehead, was a horn. “Hark! The Angel that conquers The Proud. None shall withstand her light! You know her well!” the unicorn introduced herself with a small, polite bow. “You... What are you saying, Veil?” Spectrum asked. “'For though the Proud One be lost in the shadows, the Angel shall guide her to light.' 'Yet before then shall The Angel be broken, her spirit gone, her breath stopped, yet never her heart stilled. For she shall triumph over her own captivity,'” she recited more lines, as though memorized from an ancient text. “Why say anything if you're going to say gibberish?” Veil dashed forward and grabbed the Governor, holding her up like a mother picking up a filly in a hug. “Rejoice with me! The hour is here! The dawn breaks!” “What!?” Spectrum gasped, pushing herself out of the embrace and hovering in front of Veil. “Dawn is rising outside the dome!?” Veil laughed. “No, no, not yet. But the hour draws nigh! You won't live to see it. Neither will any pony alive on this world.” “What – speak sense! What are you going on about!? Are you going to kill us all!?” The Governor landed, her wings spread and her voice indignant. “No! You know I have an oath! I only have to wait...” The excitement faded from her voice. “You will bring your own end. And as I said when we met, I will do what you ask, to help bring you to it sooner.” “Why are you acting like this!? Are you saying you'll betray me?” I've never seen Veil act so energetic! “Only through loyalty. Let a fool speak, and she will shame herself. Let a fool act, and she will bring her own ruin. Look at you, Full, you are among the most powerful, yet wretched creatures I know. Even your prisoner is in less agony than you. All because of the power you have, for decisions that you could not have been prepared for...” Yet her services are invaluable... The Governor bit her lip, but Veil spoke before she could think of a response. “Perhaps, you will even suffer enough to get a hold of yourself and set yourself free. But enough of that. I guess you are here to inquire about an alicorn in your possession?” Set myself free? What exactly do you mean by that? Spectrum sighed, refocusing. She's proven herself over years of service. I know she won't lie to me or betray me, she never has, even when my father tried to kill her. We couldn't get rid of her, and she won't betray or lie to me, so just work with her... she reminded herself. “Yes, Veil. Is she actually an alicorn?” “Yes, and that is the reason for my rejoicing! She is the fulfillment of prophecy. That is how I know the dawn is near.” Her voice bore no menace, only delivery of fact, “Though not you, nor any other being on this world, will live to see it.” “We shall see about that...” The Governor growled, then her voice turned to a sincere, questioning tone, “So does that mean... That Celestia really did exist? Is... the winter not truly brought by your kind?” “No hooves in this world are clean of blood,” Veil muttered, then raised her voice to her usual tone again, “but some are more bloody than others, even if only stained by circumstance. You sympathized with the alicorn at one point because you recognized misery on her face. You were mistaken. She was pained because of her failure. In truth, she feels no remorse for the lives she took, because she still does not believe they were real. In your place she would gladly do all that you have done and more. Worse even than that, she would feel no remorse, because she doesn't think this world is real. But what does justice, in its blind fury, know of ignorance? “As for myself, I have held true to my oath of non-violence. But I won't answer your question directly. Not now. You don't really want the truth, yet. You will only argue it endlessly more in your mind. When you are ready, I will show you. But for now...” she paused for a moment, her tone switching as uncertainty hit her, “I must ask, you do intend to kill this alicorn, do you not? You haven't gone so far in your questioning as to halt your work, have you?” The governor blinked at the sudden question. “I won't kill the unicorn this time. 'Twilight', was her name? But I won't kill her yet. But I might - it depends on what your answer is to my question. But you haven't answered it! So for now I'll hold on to her.” “...For how long?” Veil hesitantly asked. “I don't know. I need to... think of some things,” she said, then looked down at her reflection in the pond again. Veil sat silently behind Spectrum for long minutes, her head slightly bowed and turned as both carefully considered their next words. Finally, Veil approached the pegasus. The governor turned to face her, and the unicorn put a hoof on her shoulder. Her voice and expression were heavy and clothed in pity. “Well, then it's decided. I cannot use you for my purposes any longer. I will seek another, then. I am truly sorry for this horrible world you have found yourself in, little pony. Know that you will be among the last generation to suffer it. The time of The Prophesy is fulfilled, it is known and foretold; the end has come. You and your kind shall be free from the torment you endlessly inflict upon yourselves. As it is written, your false sun shall purify you by fire, and the forgotten will inherit the Earth.” The governor's heart started to race, her eyes wide. Veil continued in her final tone. “I have been broken, my spirit gone, my breath stopped, yet never my heart stilled. I have triumphed over my own captivity, seen with my own eyes, carried a light from afar, and been the messenger of salvation for The Forgotten Children, so I know the end time has come, and I shall prevail!” She paused for a moment, relaxed, and pulled back her hood, for the first time The Governor had ever seen. She discovered the bridge of Veil's snout was spotted with a darker purple. Her voice took on an affectionate undertone, and her eyes showed sincerity and depth. “I enjoyed our time together, Governor Full Spectrum. You're different from any of the other leaders I've seen. I must commend you for that. But there are far greater things of eternal importance unfolding here and now, and they demand another take your place... You are the only one in this den of wolves I've seen still bear a soul. Keep it, and perhaps you will find mercy in the hooves of my Dear Mother. But for the sake of the ones I love, and with a heavy heart, I must leave you. Now, I bid you adieu.” Just as suddenly, she vanished in a flash of light. The governor was left shaking, terrified, alone. She glanced around her – the aviary was empty. “V-Veil?” she asked. “W-what happened? What's going on? What do you mean?” Only the trickling of water in a nearby stream could be heard. “In the hooves of your 'dear mother'!? For the sake of the ones you love!?... I'm so confused. Veil, what do you mean!?” she cried out. But nothing answered her except the trickling water.