In the present…
“Well! I guess you’d have to give them points for honesty,” said Twilight chuckling, “I don’t think Jackie would be so forthright."
The mother smirked.
“That’s how we felt at first,” said Velvet. “But let’s go on.”
In the past…
“Wait! What?” said Velvet unsure but actually amused.
“We really need to talk,” said Orion, “and on the doorstep is not the best place to do this.”
A couple of minutes later, Twilight Velvet, Dream Walker, Twilight Glow and the two ‘assassin’ ponies from the door were sitting in the living room drinking tea and eating tea biscuits.
“Thank you for your hospitality Mrs. Glow,” said Meadow Flower.
“Don’t mention it,” said Twilight Glow, “I don’t often get a chance to entertain ponies that want to kill my daughter and daughter-in-law. At least ones who are honest about it. Usually, they’re dispatched before they can do anything.”
“About that,” said Orion, setting down his cup. “As I said earlier, we were sent by the Church of Nightmare Moon’s Witnesses to kill you.
But that’s not why we’re here.”
“We and others in the church are losing faith,” said Meadow, “things that were forbidden in the past are now compulsory, things that were allowed and encouraged, are now forbidden.”
“Like?” asked Velvet.
“I’m now carrying Orion’s child,” said Meadow, “I had a zebra healer confirm it. What should’ve been joyous news, has us in fear.”
‘That’s our fault,’ thought Twilight Velvet to Dream Walker.
“So could you explain why they sent you?” asked Dream.
“We were sent to Canterlot to follow you and keep tabs on you. However, other… Matters… Distracted us,” said Meadow Flower, taking Orion’s hoof. “The zebra told me that she could tell that some outside influences had been at work.”
“I was told five years ago that we were looking for Ψ agents,” said Orion, “the superiors told us what you were able to do. And I saw evidence of it that one fateful night.”
“We’re sorry,” said Dream Walker, “but we couldn’t let you mutilate my wife.”
“Please,” said Orion, “I’ve gotten past that and am glad that I was detained. Or I might have been counted among the fatalities.
But I’m sure that you may’ve been the reason that Meadow Flower and I spent the time on the airship falling in love. That is the most important point.”
“We thank you for that,” said Meadow. Who turned and kissed Orion, perhaps their first kiss in public.
“We were called to meet was a strange pony who explained that we needed to kill the ponies that we were following. He said it was because the church had not assassinated the two of you back in Ponyville. He appeared nervous but the hate he was displaying told us that what we were being told to do had nothing to do with church business.
But what he said made me suspicious, I knew that we weren’t going to kill either of you, back then. It was only to sterilize you, ma’am. That told us that what we believed in, back in the beginning, was no longer true and our leaders only had personal agendas.”
“This strange stallion,” said Dream Walker, “can you describe him?”
“Well he…” But Orion was interrupted by Meadow Flower placing a hoof on his foreleg and pointed to the wall.
“That’s the pony!” said Orion surprised.
The rest of the ponies turned and saw a wedding portrait on the wall of Moon Shadow and Meteor Shower.
“Well buck me running!” said Velvet almost shouting.
“Twilight!” said the mother with a snicker, “language! We have guests!”
“Sorry mom,” said Dream, “I think my wife’s mind is blown with the news that her brother-in-law has ordered that we be killed.”
“Brother-in-law?” said the two guests in disbelief.
“Can you excuse us for a couple minutes?” asked Dream Walker.
The other ponies nodded as Dream and Velvet got up to leave the room. But they heard from Twilight Glow:
“So you two are going to have a foal. That’s great news. Let me show you some of Twilight’s baby pictures.”
“MOM!” called out Velvet but Dream just giggled.
In the next room, Velvet and Dream Ψ spoke.
‘Honey,’ said Dream, ‘this could work to our advantage.’
‘How so,’ asked her wife.
‘Help me scan them to see if they’re being truthful, deceitful or they’ve been Ψ adjusted’
After a few moments, they were satisfied that these were telling the truth, they were sincere with their concern and even that Orion held no ill will toward Twilight or Dream. They could also feel the depth of their love for each other.
Dream and Twilight came back into the living room.
“And here you can see that Velvet would still suck her hoof until she was in middle School.” Said the mother, the two other ponies giggled.
Twilight Velvet rolled her eyes as she levitated the picture albums away from the group.
“Listen,” said Dream, “we have a plan that’ll help Twilight and I to take care of these issues.”
“And if successful, it’ll also help you from being persecuted by the church,” said Twilight. “And if it goes well, we can help get your new life started.”
“Will you trust us?” asked Dream.
“That goes for you too mom,” said Velvet.
The couple looked at each other and came to a silent consent.
“We’ll trust you,” said Orion.
“You know that I’ll always trust my daughters,” said Glow.
“Okay,” said Dream, “this is what we’re going to do…
Moon Shadow and Meteor Shower were contacted to come to Twilight Glow’s home right away, it was urgent, but nothing else was said.
Now as they were approaching Twilight Glow’s home. They were surprised at all the Guard and police presence there. Meteor was starting to get nervous.
Two ponies were being led away from Twilight Glow’s home. They were wide eyed and stressed beyond words. It looked as if they were covered in blood.
“Clean them up and take them to the train station to be taken straight to Canterlot,” said a Royal Guard Sargent. “If they try to flee, kill them! Murdering Royal Guard Officers needs to go before Princess Celestia herself!”
The two ponies didn’t fight back, they were obviously in deep shock. But as they saw Meteor Shower, they pulled loose from their escorts, then ran to Meteor Shower and fell to their knees.
“Did we do it right?” asked the stallion.
“We never had to kill before,” said the mare, “we did just as you told us.”
Several of the Guard and police close by looked at Meteor.
“Meteor!” exclaimed Moon, “what did you do to my sister?”
“We came up behind them and cut their throats,” said the mare, “was that the right way?”
“You didn’t tell us how,” said Orion.
At that moment, ponies from the coroner’s office levitated two stretchers out from the house. There were white sheets over the bodies and the sheets were stained with a lot of blood. The edge of one of the sheets was stepped on and slid off. There was Twilight Velvet, a large bloody gash on her throat and a look of pain and fear on her dead face.
Moon Shadow screamed and fainted.
“Did we do good?” asked the stallion, “is this what His Eminence ordered?”
The police, by this time, restrained the two assassins and started to take them away.
“Tell His Eminence, that we were faithful to the end,” said the mare, over her shoulder.
A couple of Guards came up to Meteor as well.
“Sir,” said the Guard, “we have some questions for you.”
“You can’t do this!” said Meteor, “I’m the district councilpony!”
“We don’t care if you’re Princess Celestia!” said another Guard. “Incitement to commit murder is a serious crime. Against Guard members makes it doubly so. Come with us.”
Ignoring his wife on the ground, Meteor showed his true colors and ran off. Several Guard and police took off after him. If he wasn’t in such a state of mind, he might’ve noticed that they weren’t perusing him as much as they were following at a distance.
Moon Shadow was taken in the house and put on the couch. After several minutes she awoke with a cold compress on her forehead and her mother holding her hoof.
“Mom?” said Moon, weakly.
“Yes honey, I’m right here.”
Moon sat up and looked around. There was no sign of blood or evidence of a struggle anywhere.
“What happened?”
“Well, Honey,” said the mother, “this afternoon, two ponies came to my door and told us that they were here because they were ordered to kill your sister and your sister-in-law.
Ordered by your husband.”
“Are you sure?” asked the daughter.
“They pointed him out from your wedding picture without anypony prompting them.
Your sister and Dream had us play along with an illusion, that they were murdered. They contacted ponies to make sure that you were to come here. They waited to enact the confrontation when you were in sight. It was so convincing, I almost fainted at first.”
“But the ponies who were being taken away, they were acting so convincingly.”
“You know your sister’s special talent. Dream Walker has that talent also. They did something, that I can’t understand, to make them believe that they really did it.”
“Poor ponies, to get arrested for something they didn’t do.”
“Not quite,” said the mother, “they were here trying to get away from that horrible church. Velvet and Dream told them if they allowed them to do something to them, then they’d guarantee that they could get away to where they could never be persecuted and they could deliver and raise their foal in peace.”
Elsewhere…
As the group was out of sight, a Ψ officer took custody of the two ‘prisoners’. He quickly removed the mental instructions that made them believe that they did commit the murders.
They were cleaned up and taken to the train headed south. They were given new ID’s and many bits to start a new life. The Ψ officer accompanied them all the way to Appaloosa. The two submitted to a mind wipe to remove the memories of the Church of Nightmare Witnesses.
The local Apple family gladly took them in. They eventually gave birth to a beautiful colt.
They named him Braeburn.
Back in Vanhoover...
Meteor Shower ran as if Cerberus were on his heels. He ran to the only place that he'd thought to go. Surely he would be able to help. Meteor pounded on the front door to the church.
The door opened slightly.
“How can we help?” said a voice.
“Let me in for Faust sake!” cried Meteor. He could see the police approaching at a distance. “Give me sanctuary!”
The door burst open, there was the pony in the white robe.
“Fool!” he screamed, “you’ve led them here!”
“But the ponies you had me send identified me and named you as the one who ordered the murders,” said Meteor, not knowing why he wasn’t being let in.
“That’s all we needed to hear,” said a voice.
The mental block that has made Twilight and Dream almost invisible, dropped.
“You’ve ruined everything!” screamed the robed pony, a bright bolt of orange flew from his horn and struck Meteor Shower, who screamed and fell unmoving.
Then he turned to retreat into the church. But the doors slammed closed in front of him and his robe flew off.
“Deputy Commandant, Major General Cygnus!” said Dream and Twilight together almost in shock.
“You bitches have ruined everything!” he shouted, “you mare-lovers have shamed the Ψ Unit by your very existence. But I’ll fix that now!”
With that the orange bolt struck out at Twilight. Twilight was able to produce a shield but it wasn’t enough. But before anything else happened, Dream Walker knocked Twilight out of the way and took a majority of the attack. She fell unmoving.
“DREAMY!”
The general laughed at this. But it gave Twilight enough time to focus all her hate and wrath. Her violet bolt struck out toward the general. His orange bolt intercepted it. It appeared that the general was powerful enough to stop it. But Dream’s blue bolt struck out from where she was laying. It hit the general without much effect. But it was enough to distract him.
Twilight’s violet bolt now broke past the general’s defense and slammed him hard. He started screaming as the aura covered him. Then he started to smoke as Twilight’s attack continued. He burst into flame, still screaming. Twilight was not letting up. Only when he was nothing but ash on the ground and even the bones were completely consumed did her aura dissipate.
The police and Guard arrived.
“I’m Lieutenant Colonel Twilight Velvet. Take care of the fallen and prepare to collect prisoners.
Then she cried out in an amplified voice:
“Everypony out of this so-called-church or in five seconds, or you’ll all be killed!”
The ponies that had been at the door watching ran out, followed by many others. After they were out, the ones that were coming out, Twilight’s horn glowed and the building burst into magic blue flames.
“Let it burn!” said Twilight, “no pony is to stop it. That’s an order!”
The prisoners were held until Ψ agents could determine if they were simply church members or if they were part of the conspiracy.
Not even caring about the status of Meteor Shower, whom medics were covering with a white sheet, Twilight sat on the ground holding Dream. Dream wasn’t able to speak, but Twilight felt her mind.
‘Honey, why did you do that?’ thought Twilight.
‘Twilight, my only love, I couldn’t let anything happen to you.’
‘That was foolish,’ thought Twilight, ‘but thank you my love.’
Dream’s mind went silent. Twilight started to panic, but she could feel that the mind was still there, just at rest.
Twilight cried uncontrollably. A pony sat beside her and was holding her, and cried as well. It was Moon Shadow.