//------------------------------//
// Chapter 21. The mark of the Order runs deep. 
// Story: Temor 
// by Askre 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 21

It took the six friends almost a full day to make their way down the mountains, as they reached closer to bottom, Applejack did start to recognize the area as the Badlands, a desert south of Dodge City. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief when hearing that, this meant they weren’t that far away from Equestria.

Emotionally the unicorn was exhausted, she had allowed herself to become very invested in this mission. Ever since reading that passage in the history book about the then unknown prince, who the chronicler had no idea where he came from. As she learned what Celestia knew and what they discovered from the investigation, Twilight had become determined to get back the pony King Sombra had stolen.

Twilight had been so sure she could do it, that she just needed to remind Private of the family he had here, that he was free of Sombra now that the king was dead. Then they had finally met him, the pony the Dark King had molded into his heir. Her words just angered him; his old name infuriated him. Nothing she said got through. By the time she was even considering finally using magic to defend herself and her friends it was too late, the High Shadow had arrived and ended the battle.

Temor had been right, they hadn’t stood a chance using talk. She should just have focused on taking him out of commission and bring him to the Princess Celestia as she had been told to do. The final words from him to her still rung through her head, ‘enemy for life.’ Twilight now knew that whatever pony Private used to be, he was dead. King Sombra had corrupted him beyond any hope, he hadn’t even flinched when Sombra hugged him, in fact he had looked happy.

The six friends found a shelter in a cave near the bottom of the mountains for the night. It was almost more comfortable than the cell they had previously been in. It probably helped that they weren’t in chains. Twilight slept uneasily for most of it, Temor’s words still bothered her, there had been so much venom and hatred in them.

The next day, they started to head north hoping they could reach Dodge City and take a train from there to Canterlot. The trip was mostly done in silence, Twilight just didn’t feel like talking right now. Rainbow Dash flew above them, both to see how far they had to go and to be on the lookout for any sign of trouble.

They did have a problem though, one they discovered when still going down the mountain. There were no supplies, the backpacks had not been returned to them. Going back to the fort and ask for them back had not appealed to the ponies at all. Twilight didn’t want to risk teleporting until she knew where they were and right now she wasn’t sure how far Dodge City was. She could accidentally teleport them way off course.

“I am thirsty,” Pinky finally broke the silence, she was starting to drag her hooves, tired after a long walk and parched.

“I know.” Twilight looked up, not a cloud was in the sky so they couldn’t ask Rainbow to go up and have it rain on them. The unicorn frowned, she had maybe failed her mission, but she was not going to let her friends die of thirst in the desert. “Let me try a spell.”

Twilight fired up her horn and aimed it at the ground. It was a difficult spell, one she was still mastering, but the unicorn knew they had to try it. She fired the magic and it sunk into the sand. The ponies gathered around, waiting in anticipation. Then to Twilight’s relief, water began pouring out in a fountain like stream.

“Drink up, it will only last for so long,” she told them. Her friends didn’t need to be told twice and eagerly drank up the flowing water. Then Twilight had an idea and used another spell to conjure up six canteens, thankfully the water spell lasted long enough to fill all of them up.

Twilight berated herself for not thinking of doing this sooner, back when they first realized they had no supplies. They could still go on for a while without food, but water was much more vital for survival, especially now.

“I’m sorry girls,” she apologized as she gave each of them a canteen. “I was just thinking so much about what happened… I just didn’t think to use my magic to help you.”

“Don’t fret it Twilight, we know,” Applejack patted her gently on the back. “Not been our most pleasant of missions, has it?”

“Pinkie dear, don’t drink up all the water in one go,” Rarity warned the pink pony who was gulping from her canteen.

“It’s alright, Rarity, I can still do this spell few more times before I get too tired to do it.” Twilight smiled, she much rather see Pinkie like this, gulping down quickly whatever edible or drinkable she had. It just seemed right, the only thing currently that did.

“Aaahh,” Pinkie sighed in contentment as she put down her canteen. She was already feeling much better, she shook the container and grinned when hearing the water splash inside of it. “Still got plenty.”

“If you need more, just let me know. I already had my fill from the earlier,” Rarity told her friend and hung her still full canteen around her neck.

“Alright, let’s get going, we probably still have a bit to go before reaching Dodge City,” Twilight told her friends, all of them feeling much more refreshed after drinking the water.

They were about to head off but froze in their tracks, ahead of them stood Ira. Staring at the six ponies in contempt. Rainbow Dash growled and would probably have charged if Twilight hadn’t held up her leg to stop her, then the purple unicorn frowned and stepped forward.

“What do you want, High Shadow?” she asked warily, the previous spell had taken some effort and she wasn’t sure she was up for a duel. Twilight almost wanted to groan when once again she and her friends were encased in white magic bubbles.

“How does she keep doing that!” Pinkie complained, folding her front legs in a huff.

“Don’t worry, Celestia’s pet,” Ira said softly and approached the six mares. “You are going to Canterlot, to report your failing to your princess. I just realized I made an error in letting you leave by the front door.”

“And what error would that be?” Applejack asked, grunting as her bubble and the others were lifted from the ground.

“Well, there is no point of having a secret order, if our enemies know its location, now is it?” the dark unicorn now smiled. “How fortunate for me that you hadn’t made it too far yet. I must admit, I half expected the element of magic to have teleported you far off by now.”

Twilight cringed, regretting even more now not having just done exactly what Ira had said. Berating herself to have been so hung up on the mission and how she had failed. The High Shadow was right, she should have teleported them the moment they got out of the fort.

“Thankfully my magic has recovered enough after resurrecting my brother. Just needed to rest a spell, how considerate of you to take the long route while I did so,” Ira chuckled, suddenly her horn began bending and turn red, her eyes turned green and before the ponies could even protest they were all locked in her gaze.

Ira let out a soft cold chuckle. Then her gaze turned towards Fluttershy, a sinister smile crossed her lips.





Twilight and her friends all yelped as they poured out of a shadow right in front of the royal palace of Canterlot. The ponies started to pick themselves up, disoriented and confused. The last thing they remembered was Ira telling the guards to toss them out.

“When she said toss, she really meant toss,” Pinkie Pie grumbled, gingerly rubbing her sore head.

“We’re in Canterlot.” Twilight realized quickly, yet this didn’t feel right, it was like something was missing in her mind. She was almost certain that Ira had said they had to find their own way there.

“Then what are we waiting for, let’s go tell the Princesses…” Rainbow Dash was just about to dash off but immediately halted mid flight. “Wait, do any of you know where we were?”

“Not a clue. I for one am glad to be away from that dreadful place, did you see the banners? Ugh,” Rarity shuddered, then she noticed her friends were giving her strange looks. “What?”

“Woah, déjà vu,” Pinkie remarked, the other ponies agreed, that had been oddly familiar.

“No time for that, we need to tell the Princesses what happened.” Twilight quickly shook her confusing off and dashed towards the palace, quickly followed by her friends.

The six ponies expected warm welcome, what they didn’t expect was Celestia and Luna looking ecstatic over their return. The Sun Princess even draped her wing around Twilight and pulled the unicorn closer in a hug.

“Oh am so I relieved to see you, Twilight,” the Princess whispered, then looked at the other five ponies. “And your friends too.”

“You have been gone for several days, we were about to dispatch search parties because we had heard no word from you,” Luna explained to the surprised mares.

“We would have sent them sooner but… we were having some difficulties determining who to send,” her sister sighed sadly. “The Order of Umbrum has proven to be more extensive than we previously thought.”

Twilight and her friends cringed, remembering all the familiar faces in the crowd at the fort. The hateful stares from ponies they had known for so long, friends they had spent time with, be it meeting at the spa, Sugarcube Corner or just on meeting them randomly on the street.

“Yes, we know,” Twilight said looking dejected.

The ponies didn’t get a chance to explain much just yet, the princesses quickly ushered them through a side door in the throne room and to a private dining parlor. The six friends were instructed to sit down, then Celestia had a servant bring in food and drinks. She gave them all a firm order to eat and relax before saying anything.

Pinkie didn’t need to be told twice, diving into the food when it became available. The others conducted themselves more calmly, except for Twilight who barely ate, just slowly nibbled on her food.

“Celestia…” she finally spoke up and looked at the princess. “I failed… I didn’t get the prince. He was too far gone.”

Celestia gave Luna a glance, before nodding to Twilight to proceed. The celestial sisters then listened attentively as Twilight and four of her friends told them of what had happened. The only one who remained silent was Fluttershy looking deep in thought.

“So Sombra draws breath again,” Luna frowned in concern. “It was bad enough having to deal with this secret order dedicated to his return, that they have succeeded…”

“What of Temor?” Celestia asked though from what Twilight had already said, the princess could already guess the answer.

“I’m sorry, I just couldn’t get through to him. Sombra had just done too much damage. Whoever Temor used to be, he’s gone,” Twilight sighed regretfully. Celestia hung her head, closing her eyes as she did.

“We may have a chance though, maybe the Elements of Harmony could help, vanquish Sombra before he and his sister can do any harm,” Twilight then suggested, four of her friends nodded in agreement. Luna scowled, Celestia raised her head again, furrowing her brow.

“No.”

Everyone looked at the yellow pegasus who had suddenly spoken up. Fluttershy was frowning hard where she sat, strange uncharacteristic determination in her eyes. She shook her head.

“What was that?” Rainbow asked, arching her brow. “Why did you say no?”

“We should not use the Elements, what harm have they really done?” Fluttershy asked, looking straight at her rainbow maned friend.

“Harm? A pony killed herself right in front of me!” the pegasus snapped, watching Calcite killing herself was still vivid in her mind.

“As sad as it is, that was her choice, nopony forced her to do it,” the pegasus pointed out.

“Fluttershy, darling, that’s because she had been brainwashed to…” Rarity fell silent when her yellow friend gave her a look.

“Let Fluttershy speak,” Celestia spoke up, looking kindly at the timid pegasus.

“Look, I’m not excusing what King Sombra did in the past, but I can’t be the only one who actually listened to what he said on that stage. Princess Celestia, would the cruel pony who ruled the Crystal Empire, just release six ponies he knew could defeat him?” Fluttershy asked, giving Celestia a pointed look.

“No, Sombra is too pragmatic to just let his enemies go away like that,” the princess answered after a second of thought.

“You saw what the first thing he did when he was fully formed didn’t you guys?” Fluttershy looked at her friends pointily now. “He looked at his sister with concern, because she looked so weak. Then he turned to hug Temor. He didn’t even laugh, mock or gloat. He even allowed us all a chance to debate him about Temor.”

“Yes, I was really scared about what he would do to us. But…” the pegasus looked down. “I saw kindness, I saw love, all directed towards Temor. I for one will not use my element on Sombra without a good reason. Do we have any evidence what he plans to do?”

“Raising a child can be a life-changing experience,” Luna spoke up and all eyes turned to her, the Lunar Princess directed her smile towards Twilight Sparkle. “Remember when I told you that.”

“But…” Twilight started to speak then frowned as she thoughts those words over.

“What about Emerald, the crystal pony?” Rainbow Dash spoke up still not quite believing the others were turning away from the initial idea of using the Elements.

“Well, she kind of chose to help Temor because they used to be friends, besides, we saw her up on the balcony, she’s clearly one of them,” Pinkie now spoke up. “Sorry guys, I have to go with Fluttershy on this one, Sombra sounded pretty genuine when talking about Temor.”

“Besides, the Elements are for defense, not offense,” Celestia spoke up. “Plus, I am not convinced they are a very effective weapon against Sombra.”

All eyes went to the princess, expecting some sort of an explanation. The Solar Princess shook her head sadly.

“The elements cleansed Luna of her corruption and set Discord to stone. They merely banished Sombra and even then he could curse the Crystal Empire to vanish,” she started explaining, then she frowned. “And in a cruel twisted way, he didn’t introduce disharmony. He introduced order, twisted, cruel and tyrannical order, but order still.”

Twilight gasped as if something just suddenly occurred to her, the attention turned to her. The unicorn grimaced as if she really didn’t want to say what she had just thought.

“He used his own twisted version of the elements on Temor. He was kind and generous by taking him in, he said himself that Temor sometimes made him laugh, implying in a good way. He was completely honest about abducting Temor, didn’t even try to hide it and in his own way very loyal to him,” Twilight whispered. “He was Temor’s… friend… as well as a parent… no wonder he got into Temor’s head so badly. No wonder he managed to twist him so well into what he is now.”

“I fear you’re right,” Celestia agreed, so did her sister. Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie also nodded though with more hesitation.

“So, we are just going to let them go free? What about our friends we saw in that crowd?” Rainbow Dash growled, practically roaring to go now that she had rested a little and eaten

“Rainbow,” Twilight looked at her rainbow friend. She was smiling solemnly. “I know it was hard to see our friends in that crowd, staring at us like that, like we were enemies. But what can we do? We don’t even know where they are.”

Rainbow Dash huffed and crossed her front legs, not liking to admit that her friend was right. The Elements of Harmony didn’t exactly work without knowing where to point them at. Plus, it sounded like they wouldn’t be used at all anyway. She had just been so enraged to see ponies she had known almost all her life in that gathering. She was almost positive that they were brainwashed and mind-controlled.

“Rainbow Dash, we do have one advantage, we do know now that the Order of Umbrum exists, we can now work on rooting it fully it out. I’m not entirely convinced that all members were present at this gathering,” Celestia said with a gentle smile, remembering how Raven hadn’t left until she had been discovered.

“So yes, we are going to let them go for now. But we will be watching, we know who the High Shadow is and we know Sombra is alive, so we won’t be caught by surprise if they do plan something,” Luna then told them.

Twilight just nodded, knowing there wasn’t much else she could do. Rarity and Applejack also agreed, Pinkie shrugged and started eating again. Rainbow Dash still huffed, making some plans of her own to question ponies if they were a member of this stupid order later.

The only one smiling genuinely was Fluttershy. The timid pegasus sipped her tea, feeling happy and content that this was over for now. She remembered that kind comforting smile, those red eyes filled with love and compassion. They chased away her fright, calmed her down.

Hail the High Shadow. Fluttershy accepted another cake from Celestia, who was now telling them about the investigation into the order she and Luna had done.

Hail Queen Ira. Fluttershy allowed Rarity to refill her tea cup, thanking her friend kindly.

Hail King Sombra. Fluttershy drank her tea and at her cake, listening attentively to what the Celestial sisters had discovered.

End chapter 21