//------------------------------//
// Sorry 
// Story: Twilight's Kingdom of Steam 
// by Darthvalgaav 
//------------------------------//

When Twilight awoke the next night it was to hear that Arms Dealer had been found. The report was read to her by Spike, the several documents held in his claws as she quickly readied herself for the night ahead. The rapist had been brought in alive, much to her delight, after being caught trying to leave the city on hoof. The report made it clear that when the Clubbers found him, Arms Dealer was not in the best of shape. He already had several wounds including missing teeth, a black eye, several bruises across his body, and a twisted wing making flight impossible for the next several days. The arresting Clubbers claimed to have no idea how that happened and were denying that they were the ones to inflict such injuries. Their best guess was that he might have come across some unsavory ponies during the day. Or perhaps he had tried to find another mare only to bite off more than he could chew. While Twilight never said anything aloud, she had a good hunch that Just Dandy and his friends might have made sure he got the message he was no longer welcome in their gang. His injuries were probably their goodbye gift.


Spike continued to read off that Arms Dealer was asked to come quietly and read his rights. He did not. Like a cornered animal, he lashed out trying to bite the arresting Clubbers with his bare fangs in a vain effort to secure his freedom. He had bitten one of the officers on his foreleg, digging in deep and refusing to let go. In the end, the others there were forced to hit him with their clubs until he let go. Currently the stallion was being held at a place called Three Strings Penitentiary.


“Seems a little weird,” muttered Spike as the two entered the lift to go down to Twilight office. Twilight, who was in the middle of eating a small pastry, paused as she looked down at her assistant. “I mean, doesn’t he know that his dad will bail him out again? Or at least try to? Why act like that when he won’t be in jail for very long?”


Twilight let out a hum before finishing her meal. “Maybe something changed,” said Twilight as she thought about her meeting with Just Dandy. She had not told anypony or Spike about the details of that meeting. About how close Arms Dealer came from becoming a body floating in the river because of her. Right now they didn’t need to know. “Perhaps he wanted to get as far away from whoever gave him those injuries. He might not even feel safe at his father’s home. Then again, he might not want to stay in one of our jails. Still have no idea what they’re like.”


At that moment the door to the lift opened. Standing at the threshold was Count Raven as he bowed to her. An uncomfortable silence filled the room as Twilight walked out of the lift, biting her lower lip as she avoided looking at him. Her normally helpful adviser had not said much to her since her late day departure to look for Just Dandy. From what she could tell he had probably gotten into some trouble. In fact, there were times at the meeting when it felt like the others nobles in attendance were angry with him, based on what they said.


Slowly the Count rose into a standing position, his gaze downcast and his ears limp. “I hope you slept well, Your Grace,” he said emotionlessly. Twilight felt like cringing at the sound of his voice, but fought off the impulse as much as she could. It was just so heartbreaking to hear him sound like this.


“I-I did,” replied Twilight as she stumbled with her words. “As much as I could anyways.” As she spoke, she could see that his normal state of dress was nowhere to be found. Tonight it looked like it had been put on half hazardly, slightly crooked in some areas or with ceases.


“I see,” said the Count as he closed his eyes. “As Your Grace commanded, all lessons have been halted for the foreseeable future. The district attorney has been contracted and has begun to put together a case against Arms Dealer. She has promised to keep Your Grace up to date with all her progress and has even scheduled a meeting with Your Grace two nights from now. I have also contacted all the qualified ponies need to help with Your Grace’s research project without greatly hindering the operations of the government. They shall be forwarding all information straight to Your Grace as it comes up.”


“I-I see,” said Twilight as she looked at the stallion with growing dread. To do all of the things he had just listed must have taken an enormous amount of time. Even with her magic, organization, and friends it would have taken Twilight hours or even a whole day to get all of those things finished. For Count Raven to do all of that…had she forced him to stay up all night? “Well, how about you take the rest of the night off?”


That got a reaction out of the stallion as he swiftly lifted his head, eyes opening slightly as he looked at Twilight. “Nonsense Your Grace,” he said, his voice mustering up a bit of his old energy. “It is my duty to stay by Your Grace’s side through this endeavor no matter what! I shall not fail Your Grace again. Now, if Your Grace will excuse me, there is still much work left to be done.”


As Count Raven bowed before Twilight, sinking a bit lower than normal, a worried frown appeared on the mare’s face. Had he thought he had failed her somehow? Did he think that he would be thrown out into the streets like how the hired help thought they would be if they were sick or injured? Or was it that he was in so much trouble with everypony else that he did not want to risk having Twilight’s wrath heaped upon him?


“Count Raven, before you leave, would you care to have a cup of tea with me?” The words left Twilight’s mouth before the good Count could rise. Her voice had been gentle, gesturing to a pair of seats in the corner of her office as she spoke.


“Your Grace, as lovely as that sounds there is much to do-” began the Count but was silenced when Twilight raised a hoof.


“There are plenty of hours in the night still,” she said as she walked over to one of the chairs. “So I don’t think taking a couple of minutes to have some tea with me will hurt that much.” As she then sat down, Twilight looked over at her assistant. “Spike, would you please fetch us some tea?”


As Spike nodded and hurried over to the communication device, Twilight sat patiently as she waited for Count Raven to take the chair next to her. As she sat there, Twilight couldn’t help put pat herself on the back for this idea. It was just like how Princess Celestia would help calm down Twilight whenever she was stressed out about a magic assignment back in Canterlot. Or like the times she would spend with Fluttershy, talking about their problems over a soothing cup of tea. This would be a great chance for the two of them to ‘clear the air’ as it were. After all, they both had apologies to give to the other.


Shortly after Count Raven sat down there was a knock on the door which Spike answered. It was a maid with one of their brass and copper carts. On the cart was a, thankfully, normal looking teapot as well as a few elegant looking cups. Alongside them were several other items arranged elegantly, including several slices of lemons, honey, and milk. But that wasn’t all. Surprising Twilight were all the other extras the maid had added. Several sugar cookies were piled neatly in one corner along with a few crackers. Fruits like strawberries and slices of apples were also found there waiting for a pony to take a bite out of them. The only thing that hadn’t been added it seemed were those small tea sandwiches that Rarity would have had at one of her tea parties.


As the maid set up their food on the small table between the two ponies, Twilight noticed Count Raven giving the maid a disapproving look. Whatever the issue was he held his tongue, watching as the maid poured them both their first cup. Which she did with a small smile on her face. This was odd since the maids always seemed to have a neutral expression or just seemed to frown. Come to think of it, it was also odd to see the maids bring her this much in the first place. Normally they would bring her only what she asked for with no sides. Before Twilight could question this, the maid had bowed and left leaving the two of them with steaming cups of tea made just the way they liked them while Spike munched on one of the cookies.


“I believe an apology is in order,” said Twilight after Count Raven has picked up his drink. There was a brief clatter as she spoke, nearly causing the steaming liquid to pour over him. After sighing in relief at what could have happened, the stallion looked over at Twilight.


“I suppose that is true,” he said in a solemn tone as he looked at his un-sipped drink. “I-”


“I’m sorry about how I handled myself last night,” said Twilight suddenly. “Not only did I make everypony here worry about me for no reason, but I wasn’t here when that object entered into the country. Because of that, you probably got into a lot of trouble. I hope you can accept my apology.”


Count Raven stared at Twilight as she spoke, eyes widened a bit more than normal. By the time she was finished, he had already taken a deep breath. “Your Grace,” he began in a somewhat choked tone. “While as flattering as it is, please rest assured that whatever may happen to me is irrelevant. Last night I was more concerned for Your Grace’s well being and safety more than anything else. To be honest, there was a moment when I feared that Your Grace might have been seriously injured. The streets are quite dangerous for those who have no idea what to expect.” At that, Twilight felt her ears flatten against her skull as she looked away.


“The truth, Your Grace, is that I have failed spectacularly,” continued the Count causing Twilight to look back at him. Slowly he placed his untouched cup of tea on the table between them. “I should have informed Your Grace about Arms Maker and that…son of his. The history we have with them, the complications therein. Furthermore, I should have remained by Your Graces side until Your Grace was ready to truly retire for the night. Perhaps, had I done my duty, Your Grace would not have had to face that…creature alone. Or, perhaps, I had not done enough to make it clear that my services to Your Grace knew no hour so that I may be contacted whenever Your Grace so desired. I apologize for that shortcoming and hope that Your Grace will find it in Her Grace’s heart to forgive me.”


Twilight sat there for a moment feeling like she had been punched in the gut. All the air in her lungs seemed to be gone, keeping her from speaking while her eyes watered up. But this feeling lasted only a moment as she took a breath to steady herself. Slowly, she placed her own cup down while reaching over to touch the Count’s hoof with her own. He flinched at the contact, looking up at her with alarm. Yet, Twilight did her best to give him a reassuring expression.


“Count Raven, you have not failed me,” began Twilight earning a shocked look from the stallion. “Since before I arrived here, you have been my guide in this new path my life has taken. I don’t know if I would still even be here without your teachings and words of advice. You are always looking out for what is best for me so that I will succeed in this task. You’re more than just an advisor to me. I consider you to be one of my friends. Which is why I must apologize to you. Last night, it never occurred to me to call upon you for advice when I needed it the most. I was so frantic that I went running out the door without a clue as to what I was doing. It might have all worked out, but I made not just you worry but several other ponies who have become my friends here worry as well. I also left you in a bad position with the General. That is not something a good ruler nor friend should do. And for that, I am truly sorry.”


Twilight then let out a sigh. “As for you not being there when I was fighting Arms Dealer, I’ll tell you what I told Overkill: it wasn’t your fault. I dismissed you for the day just like I did with her. I went someplace I probably shouldn’t have on a whim and stumbled onto the crime. I don’t blame you in the slightest for not being there so, please, don’t go blaming yourself.”


Count Raven continued to stare at Twilight for the next several seconds which seemed to draw themselves out. Then, slowly, he began to smile and then nod. “Thank you, Your Grace,” he whispered in a horse voice. There was a twinkling in his eyes that hinted that tears might be on the verge of forming yet he kept them at bay without lifting a hoof.


“However,” said Twilight as she pulled back her hoof, “curious as to why I was never informed about the on goings of Arms Dealer and Arms Maker. I believe that was something I should have been told about before last night.”


For his part, Count Raven nodded as he picked up his cup. Before speaking he took a sip of his drink. “I suppose I just wanted to continue to hope that Arms Dealer had learned by now,” admitted Count Raven as he pulled the cup away from his mouth. “That all the stress King Cobalt went through wasn’t in vain. That’s why I invited Arms Maker to that get together. It would have been a fresh start for the two of you. I suppose I was a bit fearful that, had I told Your Grace the history we had with him and his son, Your Grace would have been cold or distant to him. Perhaps even refusing to see him entirely. But, for whatever reason, he never showed. I suppose at that point it should have been my duty to inform Your Grace of his history. For that, I hope Your Grace can forgive me.”


“I will. Just please don’t let it happen again,” said Twilight as she picked up her cup and took a sip. She balked at the cooler temperature, warming it with her magic before taking another sip. She smiled a bit as the warmer liquid entered her mouth. “Much better. Now, I do have another question for you and I hope you will answer me truthfully.”


“Of course Your Grace. Of course.”


“In your opinion, do you think I’m doing the right thing by bringing Arms Dealer to justice?” asked Twilight. “The Dukes and Duchesses seem to believe, despite their own personal feelings on the matter, that letting him go again would be in everypony’s best interests. You never really spoke out during the meeting so I was curious.”


“What you are doing right now is the same thing that King Cobalt would have if he were still alive,” said Count Raven instantly, surprising Twilight a bit. “Even with all the trouble going on in Your Grace’s kingdom, the former king would have stood by him word and thrown every law book he could get his hooves on at the damned colt. I know this for a fact. Besides, the idea of letting him go again after he attacked Your Grace in this very castle is absolutely insane! If Your Grace lets him go after that, there is no telling what he might do next! It’s the same as saying he can attack any noble or member of the royal family without cost! It is clear that Arms Dealer has no intention on changing his ways for anypony. We can only hope that Arms Maker can see this or convince him that his efforts were in vain.”


Twilight nodded. “We can hope. But still, better to plan around-” Twilight’s words were interrupted by a knock on the door. As she turned her head to look at it, it was suddenly opened as a very worried looking Overkill stepped in. It was the first time she had seen Overkill since last night, having not been in her bedroom this morning nor at breakfast. The thought of asking her bodyguard where she was died in her throat as Overkill’s worried eyes looked into Twilight’s.


“Forgive the interruption of whatever this is,” said Overkill quickly as she saluted, standing in front of Twilight as she did so. “We just received a communication that the object that entered Thunder Valley yesterday is heading in the direction of Automahollow. Zeppelins have tried to cut off whatever this thing is only to be out maneuvered. It should arrive within the next few minutes.”


-x-


Time had passed quickly as Twilight now stood outside on the castle roof, her mask firmly in place as she scanned the skies around her city. Next to her was Overkill, bellowing orders to all of the castle guards as they scrambled into the air like nothing Twilight had ever seen before. They were coming out of every window, doorway, and so on like a swarm of ants before opening their wings to enter into the night’s sky. Most of them seemed to remain near the castle, to protect the seat of government from this unknown threat as best they could. They hovered in the air, blunderbusses at the ready, in five by five formations in the air around the castle. Others were being positioned in the city, ready to strike if it decided on another target. All military zeppelins were being positioned outside of the city with their cannons at the ready.


While all this was going on, an alarm could be heard bellowing across Automahollow. Out of the corner of the Princess’ eye, Twilight could see thestrals quickly making their way towards the underground shelter where she hoped they would be ok. This had been done on the suggestion of Count Raven. Right after Overkill had informed them of what was going on, the older stallion had instantly recommended that they implement the emergency system that would inform all citizens to make their way to underground shelters positioned all across the city. Even if every building was on fire, the civilians would be safe. It was a hard choice for the princess to make. She did not want to consider that whatever this was could be an enemy. But since it had outrun the military and made its way here without saying if it was friend or foe, she felt it best to err on the side of caution. The last thing she wanted was for the ponies in the city to get hurt right now. Their safety was her first priority.


“Your Grace,” said Count Raven as he stood next to her. “Please permit me to escort Your Grace to a safer location.”


Twilight shook her head, horn glowing as she did. “Whatever this thing is, it might be magically powered,” she said. “Since it hasn’t hurt anypony, I want to believe that it is peaceful. There is a chance I can neutralize it with my magic and perhaps even figure out what it is. If it is an attack, then my magic might be the only thing to slow it down or stop it. Besides, it just doesn’t feel right hiding with everypony else when I can do something to help.”


“Maybe you could put up a barrier like Shining Armor did around Canterlot,” suggested Spike as he looked out.


Twilight didn’t say anything at first, just looking up at the cloudy sky. “I don’t know if I can do something like that,” she admitted. “I’ve never tried to cover an entire city in a spell like that before. Not to mention that Automahollow is a much larger city than Canterlot. I might not be able to cover everything or the spell might leave me drained and not that strong. We’ll just have to hope that-”


“IT’S HERE!” shouted somepony in the distance. Twilight shut her mouth as she began to look around frantically, worried pouring over her. The nervousness that appeared within her whenever she face an unknown enemy was there. It whispered to her how everything could go wrong. This could be an enemy attack, some super powerful villain with powers far above anything she had ever faced before with enough force to destroy the city. If she survived, it would be her fault that the nation was doomed and she would have failed all those who believed in her.


But there was another part of her mind that argued she could do this, louder than the whispers of doubt. She understood magic, had studied it. There were only a few ponies alive better suited to dealing with a situation like this. She knew that if this was some sort of attack, the power behind it had to be weakening since magic was like a power source. The longer it was cut away from the source the weaker it got. Very few spells could last forever without some impressive amplification. Even then, those spell were normally banishment spells and not attack spells. She felt sure that she could deal with this situation. She had to.


Moments ticked by as she stood there, the sounds of cannons firing in the distance. Most likely the zeppelins firing on the target. Quickly she ordered Overkill to inform them that they were not allowed to fire in the direction of the city. The last thing she needed was for a cannon fire to destroy somepony’s home or business. Overkill nodded, quickly speaking into a machine she had brought with her but before she could finish issuing the order, the thing entered the city.


“Is that?” asked Twilight as she saw a very familiar multi rainbow colored streak of light enter the city before making a U-turn back out. She turned to look at Spike who looked as confused as she was.


“I think it is,” said Spike as the beam of light entered the city again. It got a bit farther than the last time, maybe halfway to the castle, before it made another U-turn. Before either of them could do anything else, the beam of light made four more attempts to enter the city with none of the succeeding for long. All of the guards seemed confused by this, Twilight spotting a few of them looking at each other in confusion.


Then, something happened to make Twilight’s eyes widen behind her mask. The object flew high into the sky outside the city dodging cannon fire as it did. Quickly, Twilight turned to Overkill to order a cease fire and for all zeppelins to get out of the area. Or at least to brace for impact. But it was too late. The object shot downwards faster than ever before until there was a sonic boom followed by a rainbow colored explosion of light. All of Twilight’s guards were flung back, almost falling into the murky water that surrounded her castle. The zeppelins she could see were rocked back and forth due to the wind speed that blew over everything in the area.


As the guards scrambled to get back into formation, the blur flew towards the castle. It made a single half circle before landing in front of Twilight. The purple Princess let out a sigh of annoyance and relief to see Rainbow Dash standing before her.


“Hey Twilight, did you know you have a serious air problem?” asked Rainbow before the clicks dozens of blunderbusses sounded around her.