If Aloe had at least one regret in her life, right now it would be attacking Rarity and Fluttershy on their Spa visit.
This was not just because she regretted hurting customers, that much was a given. No, the real reason she regretted it was losing almost two weeks’ worth of supplies in a mad dash to take Rarity down as quickly as possible. So as she hoisted a large crate up onto her lower arms, the mare had to hold back a roll of her eyes while forcing herself to take a shaky step forward. Even if she’d told herself the crate was heavy, she still wasn’t prepared for just how heavy it was. She stumbled backwards the second her foot left the ground, the weight shoving into her chest.
“Here!” A gruff voice suddenly rang out, and two small but beefy arms took hold of the crate. Almost as though it weighed nothing, the crate was hoisted up onto the stallion’s shoulder.
“T-Thank you, Bulk…” Aloe shook her arms out, her forearms burning and throbbing “These crates must be extra full today!”
“Heh, they probably are! I can’t tell!” Bulk Biceps easily held the crate up on one arm, taking one in his left arm as well, “I’ll get these, why don’t you head back inside for now?”
“Are you sure, Bulk? I’m sure I can manage out here with you just fine…” Aloe winced as she tried to pick up another crate.
“I’m sure!” Bulk leaned forward, putting his hand on Aloe’s shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze, “This is a pretty big shipment, especially after all those crates downstairs melted when the boiler went off! I’ll unload these while you handle the customers up front!”
Giving a nod of thanks, Aloe gave a weak smile and fixed her hair back. As she made her way out from the back of the spa, seeing Bulk unloading crates effortlessly made her gaze waver. She’d have to give him more thanks later for this.
Aloe put that thought out of her mind as she made her way briskly back into the spa, cutting down the main hall to head back up front. Along the way, she stepped into the small break room, grabbing her white apron from the rack beside the door. As she slid it over her head, she looked up to the bulletin board for her shifts. Bulk was working late tonight, and was filling in for her massage shifts it seemed. That stallion had a real drive to work, Aloe had to admit.
She herself had to start servicing customers here soon, this was a business after all! A few more steps and an opened door and Aloe was behind the counter in her lobby with what looked to be 8 ponies waiting. Rarity was here for her tri-weekly visit, along with a few other regulars. Nopony that Aloe didn’t recognize.
“Sorry to keep you wait, everypony!” Aloe called out as she flipped a page on her desk clipboard, “I’ll be taking care of your treatments today.”
“Miss Amethyst, Miss Cherry Blossom, Miss Rarity, please, come with me,” Aloe straightened her back, “We’ll get you each started on your circuits. I’ll be taking care of your massages while Lotus w-”
Aloe froze for a brief moment before shaking herself, “Ahem, I’ll be taking care of all of you. Please, follow me.”
As the three mares stood up to follow Aloe into the spa, she intentionally kept her back to them. Her fingers drummed on the back of the clipboard. Had they heard her mention Lotus? It was no secret by now that she was missing; between her and Bulk, they were still perpetually backed up. Why she’d made that slip-up today she didn’t know.
“Miss Rarity, the steam room should be ready for you momentarily. I will prep the mineral baths for you two,” Aloe bowed gently, “We’re deeply sorry for any wait we may have caused you.”
“Oh it’s no worries, dear,” Rarity shook her head, “I know you’re a very efficient spa. Though I missed my last appointment and I think my pores have just completely closed off! A steam should do just the trick.”
“Would you come check up on me after you’re finished prepping for them, Aloe?” Aloe was taken aback hearing Rarity continuing to speak. Amethyst and Cherry both rolled their eyes, albeit in a playful manner.
Both mares gave Rarity a strange look, who only smiled at them. Aloe’s fingers started to silently drum against the clipboard she had. Tentatively, she nodded her head.
“Yes, of course, Miss Rarity…” Aloe felt a shiver go up her spine as she turned her back on Rarity, the white mare descending down a small incline to reach the steam room.
Years of experience meant getting the two baths prepped took only a few minutes, and most of that was letting the baths refill. After taking care of said baths and promising the two mares she’d be right back, Aloe made her way over into the main hallway. It wasn’t that long of a trip to the steam room, but even as irrational as she knew this worry was, it still felt like she was walking to her mother to receive a punishment.
Her hand almost felt as though it was trembling when she reached forward to knock on the door, calling out, “Miss Rarity? You requested me?”
“Come in, darling!” Rarity’s voice called back, “Take a seat!”
While Aloe wasn’t sure what Rarity wanted, she slowly nodded her head and stepped inside. She shut the door to the room quickly so the building steam wouldn’t escape. Once inside, she nervously slid onto the bench, turning her head up towards Rarity and opening her mouth to speak, only to be cut off.
“There’s no need to be so tense around, me, Aloe dear,” Rarity gave a coy smirk and leaned her head back, “What happened between us has passed already.”
“Of course, Miss Rarity…” As though she’d just been hit in the gut, Aloe gave a hard exhale and slowly looked down towards the ground. Shaking her head to clear it, Aloe slowly bit her lip, “Is there anything you needed?”
“Why it’s not what I need, but you,” Rarity’s lips curled into a tiny frown, “Not to be rude, but I couldn’t help but hear that slip-up. Is everything alright, Aloe?”
“I…” Aloe’s lip quivered. It was supposed to be okay now. She wasn’t under that stallion’s control anymore. She had her spa back. And… and Rarity wasn’t upset with her. This was supposed to mean everything was okay now. “I’m… still searching for Lotus.”
“So they still haven’t found her yet,” Rarity’s little frown fell ever further.
“N-No…” Aloe’s hands quivered, “Nopony has. Nopony has even seen her since… since the last time I spoke to her. I know that she has to be somewhere but… but I can’t find her. I don’t even know where to start looking…”
“I’m certain you’ll find her,” Rarity spoke a bit slower, as though deliberating the proper words, “A sister’s bond is a strong one. Do you feel that she’s still here?”
“Yes, I do. But,” Aloe muttered, “She’s been gone for almost three weeks now… and that’s if my memories aren’t, corrupted anymore by that stallion. There’s so much I just don’t remember!”
“Just keep looking, dear!” Rarity’s lip twitched, “You’ll find her. Don’t give up hope! I’ll ask Twilight today if she can help. She might have some resources we don’t.”
“I’m not so sure that it would, Miss Rarity…” Aloe shook her head, “I don’t even know what memories are my own anymore. Everytime I think about, the last time I saw Lotus, the stallion is there. He’s in my head now. It’s… it’s like the memories flooded back, but the fake memories didn’t leave. Whenever, I think about Lotus, I see him. And if, she was with him then… then…”
“If, you would excuse me, Miss Rarity,” Aloe suddenly slid up onto her feet, “But I must attend to our other clients. I… don’t have as many hands here as I’m used to.”
Rarity’s frown twitched, but she said nothing. She instead nodded her head, slowly turning to look towards the door as Aloe exited through it. It was her exiting the door so fast that made her forget to mind the little gap created by the steam room floor and the outer floor, and sent her towards the floor quickly.
“Aloe!” Bulk shouted from down the hallway, “I got the boxes downstairs! Let’s sort them all out tonight!”
“Sure thing, Bulk! Do you think you could help me with our regular circuits?” Aloe called back.
“Got it! Who do we got?” Bulk’s massive form appeared from around the corner.
“Amethyst and Cherry, they’re in the baths at the moment!” Aloe gestured, “I’m going to get the massage room ready so we can transition them there. Do you mind checking up on the ba-”
“ALOE! Yo, Aloe!”
“Vinyl?!” Aloe turned on her heel, whipping about to see Vinyl standing in the middle of the hallway, panting hard. Her hair was even more unkempt than usual, and were those bruises? Despite this and her glasses being cracked, her eyes were wild with excitement. Aloe noted Bangarang’s chord plugged into the DJ’s throat.
“Yeah, that’s me!” Vinyl grinned, “Oh gosh you’re not gonna believe what just happened! There was this Stand, he chased me all around town! I swung around on a crane and stopped my own heart! Oh and I lost my groceries, but that’s not the point!” Vinyl ignored the fact she hadn’t even been making a point in the first place, “We gotta tell Twilight about this right now!”
“Right now?” Aloe blinked, “I agree we should talk to her but, is there a reason..?”
“Vinyl can talk?!” Bulk’s head shot between the two of them, “I’m into the new voice but when did Vinyl learn to talk!?”
“Long story, not enough time! And trust me, oh it’s a big one!” Vinyl smirked, “Come on, I’ll tell you on the way! Let’s just say that Crimson guy is screwed!”
~~~
Twilight’s horn lit up above her, causing a nearby tape recorder to press record. She telekinetically lifted the object up above her head, holding it there and taking a seat on a small silver chair in front of the doors to the cell bars. At the same time, a notepad hovered in front of her, along with a pencil. All three hovered just out of her view so she could view her target.
Across from her, Crimson lay atop his cot. The stallion’s eyes were unfocused, staring up at the ceiling as though counting the number of lines in it. Whilst he now longer had his blazer on, the clothing he’d worn during the fight at Sweet Apple Acres he still wore, despite the tears and gashes in them from the final attack on him. As Twilight spoke, his eyes didn’t even turn to look at her.
“Your name is Crimson Spirit,” Twilight’s voice echoed through the room, “You have murdered one stallion, Data Stream, and took at least 6 ponies under your Stand’s control, including one foal. You threatened to use your control to assist in suicide, and attempted homicide on five others, myself included. You also manipulated a mare into giving you sanctuary for several months. Do you or do you not agree to these allegations levied against you?”
We’ve... been over this, Sparkle,” Crimson, his breath coming in small rasps whilst he attempted to lift himself up from his cot, took in a deep enough breath to scoff, “It should be obvious what the answer to that is.”
“Answer my question, Crimson! Do you or do you not agree to these allegations levied against you?!” Twilight’s horn lit up, taking hold of Crimson’s neck and pulling him upright fully in the cot.
“I would either ask me a question you actually want the answer to, or leave me be to rot in this rock-candy colored dungeon.” His almost condescendingly slow and drawn out response sent Twilight’s lip twitching, “I’m not answering worthless questions.”
Twilight’s fingers curled into her palm, but otherwise her body showed no signs of moving. She stared at him for a long moment, trying to meet his gaze. His yellow orbs never betrayed anything about him, not his thoughts, nor his feelings. All he did was stare back at her, with that same unflinching, unwavering gaze of anger, annoyance and determination.
“If you cooperate with me, Crimson, then I can ensure that whatever punishment you received will be far less severe,” When she spoke again, her tone was less firm, “Right now you’re looking at banishment at best. I can make certain that you can might actually have a shot at instead being allowed to stay in Equestria.”
“Stay in Equestria? Really?” Crimson put a hand on his chest, “That’s the nicest thing you could ever offer me! I’m surprised you didn’t lead off with that!”
“I’m serious, Crimson,” Twilight frowned, “The severity of your crimes is enough to warrant banishment. You’ll be banished to lands so distant, so far from Equestria you’ll never find your way back. Is that what you want? To never set foot in this land again?”
Crimson, silent for a moment, slowly turned his head towards her. There was still nothing that was telling about him. Interrogation was about finding those little things to exploit. He gave her nothing, not a single twitch.
“The land as it is now is rotten. You’re all rotten. You parade friendship about like you know what it actually means, when you cling to the words uttered by foals just leaving primary school. You corrupt everything with it, even Discord. Yet when my Stand does the same, you call me evil…”
“Because your friendship isn’t genuine!” Twilight countered back at him, “You started friendships solely to exploit them. Friendship is a two way street; you just take from them and leave them. To know more about them. I’m willing to make friends with anypony. Anypony at all. And I’m willing to help you, if you’re willing to help me.”
“I don’t want your help!” Crimson scoffed, “I have all the help I need already.” He turned, “The rest will be coming for me soon enough.”
Twilight held back an exasperated sigh. She was back against this excuse again! She’d tried everything she knew on him, and even tried bringing in Verde to show she had the skills to make him talk. All she’d gotten was that Verde recognized him and that was it.
“Nopony is coming to rescue you,” Twilight stood up, “Not your allies, not your cult and certainly not any of the ponies you manipulated with your Stand. I’ll be downstairs later to talk to you. You should consider your options.”
The alicorn turned and cast a spell on the bars to the cell. The cell itself was made to only open to her magical frequency, something that had taken a good bit of doing but meant escape was impossible unless someone was able to steal her magic. Crimson, however, had shown no signs of even attempting escape.
Turning her way down a darkened hallway, Twilight made her way to a spiral staircase at the end of it. This entire section hadn’t been created with the rest of her castle when the Tree of Harmony had gifted it to her, and thus while the walls were painted magically to mimic the colors of the rest of the structure. This meant after a few steps, concrete turned to crystal, and Twilight’s wings ruffled as the far colder underground transitioned to the much warmer ground level.
After ascending back up to ground level, Twilight turned a few halls back into the main throne room. Inside, splayed out perpendicular to her throne’s back was Rainbow Dash, her knees dangling over the armrest and her head in her hands. Almost directly across from her in her own throne was Applejack, resting with her hat pulled down over her eyes and her chest rising and falling softly.
“Hey, Twilight!” Once back inside the throne room, Rainbow’s voice called out from her throne, “Did you get anything out of him?”
Applejack perked up under her hat, giving a little snort as she did so. She pulled it back up onto her head, straightening her back and stretching it up.
Casting an eye at how Rainbow was seated in her throne, Twilight plopped down in her own and tossed her notepad up onto the table. She magically pulled the pencil out from the notepad and then flung that on top of the notepad.
“No. He won’t tell me anything! I tried a mind probing spell on him but he noticed it instantly. His mind is like an iron wall in there!” Twilight huffed, “It’s like he’s had this done before! He’s not even a unicorn, he couldn’t have spells on his mind to resist me! He’s just… a wall!”
“Aren’t there spells to force him to?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow, “Why don’t you just make him talk?”
“I don’t think that would work. Those only work if the pony either doesn’t know or has too weak a will to resist. Crimson is adamant on not talking. I don’t think any amount of magical persuasion would do the trick,” Twilight rubbed her temples.
“Did he say anything about me?” Applejack leaned forward, “I still can’t remember much about him… I don’t even remember this whole spirits deal he was going on about.”
“Golden Harvest and Vinyl said their memories came back, but the fake ones didn’t disappear,” Twilight grimaced, “I think it might take a little while for you and Clear to actually get your memories back, since you two were under his control the longest.”
“I still don’t like thinking about what I almost did to y’all… to all y’all…” Applejack frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.
We talked about this, Applejack.” Twilight stood up and made her way over to Applejack, putting a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezing it, “What you did that day wasn’t you. None of us knew anything about him, it isn’t your fault.”
“Well, let me at him!” Appearing above Rainbow, 2M2M moved around to place its hands on her shoulders, helping lift her up from her throne to look over at Twilight, “I’m sure I can get him talking once I’m done with him!” Both Rainbow and her Stand brought their knuckles together.
“No,” Twilight calmly retorted, “It’s important that only one interrogator be interrogating him. Otherwise it’ll give the impression that I can’t do this by myself.”
“Where’d you hear that?” Rainbow frowned, 2M2M mirroring her by lowering its shoulders.
“Princess Luna,” Twilight responded, “She said if you ever need to interrogate somepony, you can’t show any weakness. Any weakness and they’ll push right through you.”
“Well then maybe we should go down there together,” Applejack propped her arm up on the table, her hand curling into a fist, “There’s more than one way to make a pig squeal after all.”
Twilight turned her gaze away from the two of them. She’d needed to focus here, and think this through logically. Crimson was a tough nut to crack. She slowly put her fingers together in front of her, sifting through the jumbled mess of thoughts. Her breath began to pick up as she thought harder and deeper.
She needed more information about the cult. Discord’s box had just been one big history lesson. Nothing in it seemed to pertain to today! She sucked in another breath. Why would a cult be sending in somepony to go and make Stand Users everywhere? Why now? What did all this have to do with Discord?
“Uh, Twilight?” Applejack raised an eyebrow, “You’re doing something funny with your breathing there.”
“Huh?” Yanked out of her thoughts, Twilight put a finger to her lip before she shook her head, “Oh, sorry. It’s something Princess Celestia taught me.”
“Breathing funny?” Rainbow snickered, “Didn’t you learn that on your own?”
“No, Rainbow,” Twilight frowned, “She taught me proper breathing techniques. Just like how I’m sure you had to learn proper gliding techniques.”
Before Rainbow could respond to her, a loud banging filled the room. Twilight turned towards the main entrance to the throne room, her magically enhanced hearing picking up the sound coming from the front door. Unfurling her wings, Twilight took off into the hallway, landing at the front door and opening it up slowly.
The door swung open, nearly striking Twilight as Vinyl and Aloe burst inside. Aloe was panting, her hairband taken off and her hair splayed out behind her. Sweat coated her forehead and her legs were a bit wobbly. Vinyl, despite having come with her, didn’t seem to have broken much more of a sweat in doing so.
“Hey! Princess!” Vinyl’s reverb-enhanced voice yelled out loud enough to make Twilight flinch, “I got some big news for you!”
Twilight frowned, rubbing her ears at the loud voice. She took hold of the doors magically and caught them from swinging out into the walls. Slowly, she reset them and stood up front her throne.
“Vinyl,” Twilight huffed, “Can you keep your voice down? I understand this is still new to you, but I’m sure the Yaks can hear you when you yell like that!”
“Oh, heh, sorry. Still figuring out how loud is too loud to talk and all that,” Vinyl shrugged her shoulders, “But you’re never going to believe what just happened to me!”
“Vinyl got attacked by an enemy Stand User!” Aloe coughed and hit her chest, “It attacked her just an hour ago!”
Vinyl slowly turned her head towards Aloe, giving her a strange stare before turning her head back forward. She adjusted her glasses and pursed her lips together. Twilight cut them both off before they could say anything else.
“Wait, what?!” Twilight gasped out, her wings spreading wide and darting forward, looking Vinyl up and down and using her magic to turn Vinyl around to look at her, “Are you okay?! Did it hurt you?! Where’s the User?!”
“Woah Woah Woah!” Vinyl flailed her arms until Twilight let go of her with her magic, at which point she scoffed, “Easy there, Princess! This guy called himself Façade, and he’s with the police right now. I said he tried to assault me in my own home which uh, was mostly true!”
“There was another enemy Stand User in Ponyville?” Twilight pursed her lips together, nodding before turning around and looking off towards the throne room, “Let’s get the full story here. You can come too, Aloe.”
Aloe rolled her eyes but nodded, following after Vinyl as the three made their way into the throne room. Once there, Vinyl plopped herself down in Pinkie’s throne, leaning back and melting against the back of the chair. Aloe took a seat in Rarity’s throne, crossing her hands over her lap and sitting upright to look about. Rainbow and Applejack perked up before Twilight took a seat in her own throne.
“Alright, Vinyl,” Twilight frowned, “Tell us about the Stand User.”
~~~
“So,” Applejack snorted, “The cult’s trying to snuff us out already?” She sighed, “I thought we’d have at least a week before they found out we took him.”
“Same,” Twilight muttered, “We’ve only had him for three days and already the cult found out, and they knew about all the Stand Users he created….” Twilight sighed, “And you’re sure that Façade said he was there to kill all of us and Crimson?”
“Yeah, he called me a ‘loose end,’ he didn’t say he was there to kill Crimson but he kinda implied it. Like how you imply you’re gonna be out late when you say you’re going to one of my gigs, that sort of thing.” Vinyl sighed and leaned her head back and up, resting in Pinkie Pie’s throne, “You know, for crystals these thrones are pretty dang comfortable.”
“I know, right?” Rainbow grinned, “I had the same thought when I saw these things for the first time!”
While the two shared a chuckle, Twilight was pondering over what was just said to her. She started to write a few more things down, circling a few lines and scratching out others.
Applejack, taking notice, raised an eyebrow, “What’cha thinkin’, Twilight?”
“I think I have just what I need now to make Crimson talk,” Twilight tapped her page, “He may not be loyal to Discord, but he’s loyal to this cult. Once I tell him that the cult tried to have him offed, I think he might cooperate with us.”
“Really? Sweet!” Rainbow sat upright, gripping her armrests, “Go down there and tell him now! Let’s get him talking so we can beat these cult guys!”
“No,” Twilight shook her head, “If I talked to him now it’d seem like I was making this up. We need to wait a few hours and let him think that we were off doing something else. Once I can get him to tell us where the cult is stationed, then I can tell Celestia and have this group shut down.”
“What?!” Rainbow shot upright, her wings open and her hand coming down on the table, “You’re gonna let Celestia take care of this!? Crimson attacked us and our friends! If anyone should be going after him, it’s us!”
“If we tell Celestia, she can mobilize the guard and have them taken out in a few hours!”Twilight frowned hard, “If we go, they’ll just pack up and move. Celestia might be able to have Luna lead a strike team and end this entire situation. Spike started breathing fire again, so once I get the message we’ll send a letter to Celestia secretly.”
Rainbow growled, “Won’t Celestia just send us anyway? Crimson tried to kill us! The least we can do is go and get this cult ourselves! We’ll save Equestria again for like the billionth time now!”
“We don’t even know what this cult even wants,” Twilight pointed out, “I need to get that information out of Crimson first, then we’ll see what we need to do. For right now, we need to wait to talk to him,” Twilight turned to Vinyl and Aloe, “You two are welcome to stay in the castle if you like.”
“I actually gotta go out and get all the groceries I kinda left in an alley getting away from Temposhark,” Vinyl rubbed her neck, “I wonder if they’re still there actually…”
Aloe looked up at Twilight. The entire time that Vinyl had spoken, she hadn’t said a word. She’d been staring off into the walls of the castle, not giving anyone that long of a glance or even acknowledging what was said. Being addressed directly made her just nod her head, still not saying anything and just slowly sliding to her feet.
“Alright,” Twilight smiled, “If you two want anything, the kitchen is down the hall, third door on the right.. If you need anything else, Rainbow knows the castle,.” She picked her pencil back up, “I got a speech to write.”
~~~
In his cell, Crimson’s eyes were shut as breath slowly came through his nose. His hands rested overlapped on his chest, and he laid completely still. The gentle sound of his breathing was the only noise to fill the dungeon, a comforting one amidst the darkened halls and crystalline colored walls. The thin magically imbued crystals giving light to the walls produced no sound, not a hum nor a crackle, and thus the deathly quiet sound of the dungeon prevailed.
A slight twinkling noise filled the air, shattering the silence. The slanted bars of Crimson’s cell slowly turned parallel, sliding towards the right and leaving the exit open. A moment later, Twilight stepped past the barricade. She slowly reached out to take her chair that she’d used earlier, sliding it to her and taking a seat. The bars behind her slid back into place with a small metallic screech.
At first, Crimson didn’t move. His breathing continued, and his eyelids didn’t even flutter at the noise. It was not until Twilight had fully seated herself and had opened her mouth to draw in a breath that his lips moved in an eerily peaceful manner.
“Welcome back to my cell, Sparkle. Thank you interrupting my nap. That isn’t very friendly of you, is it?”
“We both know that you weren’t napping,” Twilight responded swiftly, “I have some information that you might find interesting, Crimson Spirit.”
“I doubt there is much information that I can find anywhere near interesting, stuck in this little cell as I am,” Crimson still didn’t move anything but his lips, “If this is about the arrow again, it was a gift from my allies. All I know about the arrow you already know for yourself.”
Twilight’s eyebrow twitched. Crimson was trying to redirect her thoughts already, and she had only just given her first statement. She would have to remain hyper focused if she wanted to get anything actually useful out of him it seemed. She straightened her back up in seat, allowing her wings to unfurl enough to cast a small shadow over the floor. Her chair was situated so that the light crystal on the wall was directly behind her.
“Vinyl Scratch is dead,” Twilight grimaced, her tone lowering, “One of your cult has killed her.”
“Really?” Crimson chuckled, “You’re an awful liar, Sparkle. I was sent here alone. I didn’t even know Verde existed until you showed him to me… how is he doing, by the way? I noticed you haven’t kept him here within the castle… or do you detain so many ponies under the name of reformation you have a second dungeon?”
“Vinyl was killed by a Stand named Temposhark,” Twilight frowned, “The Stand swam into her heart and mauled her to death.”
At the mention of the Stand’s name, Crimson’s eyes opened. He sat up rather quickly, his gaze burrowing hard into Twilight once more. As they met, it was almost as though a battle of wills was once more at place, and Twilight wasn’t sure what the competition was.
“Really?” Crimson growled, “That was the name of the Stand? Temposhark? And he killed Vinyl Scratch?”
“Yes, he did,” Twilight did not falter, “We found Façade impersonating a doctor and arrested him. He was sent here to take care of you and every Stand User you created. We found this on his person when we arrested him.”
Twilight produced a small journal, tossing it over to Crimson. Through her connections to the police, she’d obtained the notepad that Façade had on him. Just like she had suspected, all of the ponies that Crimson had pierced as well as her friend’s cutie marks were on it. She, however, had left it open to the page that contained Crimson’s mark just underneath that of Golden Harvest.
“…Tell me exactly what Vinyl looked like when she was brought in,” Crimson only looked to it for a single second, refusing to break his gaze, though Twilight could see his fingers tightening.
“She looked normal,” Twilight shook her head, “The doctors think it was a heart attack. There were no visible wounds on her body. It was like, her heart was stopped from the inside, she was dead before she hit the ground.”
The two continued to stare each other down for several seconds. Crimon’s fingers tightened around his bunk, straining his knuckles to the point of them going white. Just when Twilight swore he was about to overpower her, his eyes finally broke her gaze and he shot his head down to look at the bunk.
“So… they sent the cult’s cleaning crew… after me…” Crimson’s eyes shut tightly, his arms shaking, “Those… those bastards…” Slowly, Crimson opened his eyes just enough to look at his right wrist, staring at it and making a single friendship band form, a charm with a strange mark on it. Slowly, he brought his left hand up to fiddle with the charm, twisting it back and forth and feeling it against his skin.
“They didn’t trust you enough not to talk,” Twilight pressed, “And already they’ve taken down one of your loose ends. We caught Façade, but what about any others? If you are not careful, they will do the same to Aloe, Clear Skies, Applejack, Twist and eventually, you!” Twilight scowled, “Unless you are willing to answer my questions so I can provide you with the protection you need…” Twilight looked to his wrist, “You don’t exactly have many friends you can turn to right now.”
Crimson gave Twilight an angered look, trying to hold it but finding his rage directed elsewhere. His finger slowly released the charm he was fiddling with, letting his wrist return to normal. He took in a deep breath. His hands curled into fists before releasing, resting calmly on his thighs once more. The rage seemingly evaporated from his body as he turned his gaze up to Twilight.
“Alright then, Princess…” Crimson narrowed his gaze, “Maybe I’ll answer some of your questions. Depending on what you ask me.”
Twilight let her scowl slip into a neutral smile, but internally she was grinning. She’d have to act carefully here, but if she could get him to talk then she might have a chance!
“My first question is this: what were the details of your mission here in Ponyville?”
“Ah,” Crimson slowly leaned back down to lay on his cot again, “Exactly what I thought you’d ask. My mission was to do two things: to make certain the town would be a favorable environment for whatever mission the cult has, and to make sure specifically that you, Sparkle, did not interfere with those plans. With my Stand, I was the best suited for the job.”
“And that mission is?” Twilight pursed her lips together.
“I have no idea,” Crimson turned towards Twilight, meeting her look of disbelief, “I’m being serious here, Princess. The cult has an inner circle, and they are the ones who hand down the orders. I’m simply an agent that’s close to the inner circle. Nopony is every allowed into the circle. They are the ones planning everything….”
“What do you know about this ‘inner circle’ outside of the fact they handle the planning?”
“Well,” Crimson sat up again “That depends on what rumors you want to go by. I know there are a total of nine of them, including the leader. Only one of them gives orders, we know him simply as V. But he isn’t the leader, he’s, a right hand, you might say,” Crimson leaned back, “V is the only one I’ve ever heard from. Each of us have met the leader when we were initiated… none of us know what he looks like. Some have said that they actually remember when Discord was in reign, and that’s why they’re so devoted to him. Though, that would require them to be living for over a thousand moons, so I have my doubts.”
The box Discord had given her, he had listed ten ponies as being apart of the original cult. The number was close to the nine that Crimson had pointed out… but that would also require that they be alive far longer than the average lifespan as Crimson already pointed out. And if he had only heard of somepony named V before, that didn’t tell her anything useful.
“Where is the cult situated, Crimson?” Twilight sat forward.
“It’s not ‘situated’ anywhere…” Crimson rolled his eyes, “I think you would have gotten this from Verde, but we don’t go to organized meetings. After I entered the cult I never saw another member in my life. We receive messages that tell us what to do. The only time we meet each other is when we go to meet the leader, and when we get paired up for assignments. The only ponies that would stay together are maybe the inner circle, but again I don’t know where that is,” Crimson paused, “Where you planning on using my information here to try to take out the cult in a single move, Sparkle?”
“What?” Twilight frowned, “I don’t have to have a plan for every little action I take,” Her fingers tapped her thigh, “How large is the cult, number wise? If you don’t know, then is this your first mission you’ve ever undertaken?”
“Clever, Sparkle… the answer to the first one is indeed I don’t know, and to the second I don’t actually have any clue. Now your third question...” Crimson shook his head, “This would be my… perhaps, fifteenth if I count my little surprise job in Fillydelphia.”
Twilight felt she was reaching the limit of Crimson’s knowledge of the cult. If the cult didn’t meet in one place, and everything was done in the messages Verde had received, then she couldn’t exactly sit here and continue to press him for information on it. She would need to ask different questions, and get other answers while he was actually cooperative.
“Data Stream,” Twilight frowned, “Explain what happened with him.”
“Mhm… yes, Data Stream,” Crimson frowned, “You and your friends pushed me a bit towards the thin side of my abilities, and I needed a Stand User fast. I’m sure by now you know that I can alter memories with my Stand here… well, if I altered the memories that I was in for Data Stream, he’d forget everything I taught him about Straight to Video. So I was forced to instead just erase my name and how we met. He tracked me down when the fight went south… and I couldn’t have him giving my identity away, now could I?”
“I suppose you couldn’t… I don’t know what good it did you,” Twilight leaned back in her own chair, her fingers drumming, “Why did you choose the ponies you did for your Stand?”
“Honestly?” Crimson shrugged, “Proximity and convenience. I’ll go ahead and explain it too, since you’ve already seen it in action: my Stand works by using the friendship that I generate with a pony to put them under my control. Ponyville just so happens to be one of the friendliest places in Equestria, and I met Clear Skies the day I arrived,” He looked up at Twilight, “I formed a genuine friendship with all of them. Even Aloe… that one took a little while. She thought I was just some business pony for the longest time after all…”
“Does this Stand have a name?” Twilight leaned forward, “You certainly liked showing it off at Sweet Apple Acres.”
“Naming a weapon is such a sick concept…” Crimson huffed, “Naming something implies that you hold a certain degree of affection for it. I would prefer if I am going to attack someone else, I am not attached to the very thing that I use to drain the life from their eyes. But!” Crimson raised a finger, “I suppose if you were to ask them to describe my ability… I suppose they’d say I Know You Too Well.” He paused, “Yes… Know You Too Well, that would be an interesting name. That was, if I were a sadist of course.”
“Do you have anything to do with the disappearance of Lotus?” Twilight’s fingers drummed a bit faster.
“Mhm… maybe, you don’t need to ask me that question, Sparkle…” Crimson grinned, “Aloe already knows the answer to that.”
“That is not what I asked,” Twilight shook her head, “Now, tell me, yes or no, did you have something to do with Lotus?”
“Of course I did!” Crimson grinned, “But I don’t answer pointless questions. You’ll have to find those answers out on your own!”
Twilight’s fingers stopped, “I said if you didn’t cooperate, I couldn’t help you. Right now, you need me to help you.”
“I actually don’t need anything from you,” Crimson retorted, “If the cult has a death threat on my head, I’m going to die soon enough. I’m only doing this out of the goodness of my heart. And I’m afraid that was a very shallow well you just dried up. I suggest you make like your Stand and just disappear.”
“We weren’t talking about Stands,” Twilight shook her head, “Several ponies have gone missing, and you’re the only connection. I need to know if you had anything to do with it.”
“And my answer to that is I won’t tell you!” Crimson turned his head away, “You already know the answer. If I said it, I’d just be stroking your fragile ego.”
Twilight’s fingers clenched. It looked like she was reaching the end of her rope with him. She had gotten something out of him at least… perhaps she should end it now.
“I have one last question then, Crimson,” Twilight leaned back, “Why did you join the cult?”
Crimson’s breathing stopped. He sat there, looking up at the cell’s wall. He turned slowly towards Twilight, then sat up and gently crossed his legs, placing his forearms on his knees as he once more met his full gaze with Twilight’s own.
“Because friendship took my family away from me,” Crimson smiled, “It took away everything I cared about. I lost everything because of it. And then, I realized something. Friendship, your values of spreading love and peace and acceptance, all of that, those were what hurt the most. I made a choice to reject them. And once I made that choice,” His smile turned into a grin, “They found me and explained everything.”
That was it. Twilight broke his gaze. She used her magic to open the cell doors up. His condescension had returned in force, there was no point in pressing further. She opened the cell bars and turned to look at him for a brief moment, then made her way up the hall.
With a small sigh, Crimson slowly laid back down on his cot.. For a brief moment, he picked up the notepad that Twilight had left. He flipped through its pages, then threw it across the cell. The stallion had no smile nor frown, and he simply seemed to wish to go back to sleep. His breathing once more filled the cell walls.
As Twilight ascended the stairs, a small portion of the crystal wall rippled like water. Once the mare had ascended the stairs, another mare stepped out of the wall as though it was water. Her Stand slowly took its hands off her face, and she set aside the small bit of tube between her lips. Slowly, she took in a deep breath, and stepped towards the cell.
“Is it true?” Aloe growled, “Did you have something to do with Lotus?”
“How long have you been hiding inside that wall there, Aloe?” Crimson answered without moving a muscle.
“That’s not the point!” Suddenly, Slippery When Wet’s fist had hold of Crimson’s shirt. The stallion yelped as he was suddenly dragged upwards and across the floor, pulled up towards the bars. His feet scraped the ground audibly as Aloe brought their faces as close as she could with the bars separating them, “I asked you, did you truly have something to do with Lotus?!”
For a brief moment, Aloe swore she saw fear in his eyes. But it was gone almost as soon as she thought she saw it. Instead, Crimson slowly reached up and put his hands on where Slippery When Wet was grabbing him, trying to tug his shirt back into place.
“Do you ponies ever listen to me? You already know the answer, Aloe. You know exactly what happened to her… or did Twilight not tell you about the arrow?”
“She… she mentioned it to me!” Aloe growled, “She said it’s how you get a Stand!”
“But you didn’t have a cut on your hand… did you?” Crimson slowly raised an eyebrow, “`How about I give you a little hint here: when you get pierced by the arrow, you’re not the only one that gets a Stand… does that ring some bells?”
Aloe growled, feeling her Stand’s grip on Crimson tightening. If she wasn’t pierced by the arrow, how did she get one? He had to have pierced somepony with it… and Spike almost died from it according to what she heard. How could she get a Stand from the arrow, if she wasn’t cut? There had to be a connection somehow…
...Connection…
“I see you're starting to figure it out,” Crimson rolled his eyes, “You take too long with these things. Think, what’s the only connection that matters between you and Lotus?”
Aloe felt something inside her starting to boil. Something raw. Something angry. Memories, those memories she was putting aside, thinking were fake. Lotus… she’d been sick one day, hadn’t she? She met Crimson around that time, but she didn’t know him. She didn’t know anything about the arrow! It was an arrow!
“You… You…” Aloe’s grip trembled, “Tell me it isn’t true! Tell me you didn’t cut Lotus with the arrow! Tell me!!!” Her voice heightened as Slippery When Wet brought Crimson’s face up to the bars, causing it to smack into them and send a reverb through the room.
“Guh…” Crimson shook his head, a bit of blood coming out of his nose, “Well I had to make a Stand User out of somepony. It just so happened that you had a sister. If you both developed Stands, that just meant I reaped double the rewards. In the end, I only needed one of you.”
Aloe’s pupils were visibly shaking. Her breath was coming even faster out of her lips. Her fingers were turning white. Her entire body seemed to be holding back something primal. Slippery When Wet was starting to mimic her feelings, its grip tightening and twisting Crimson’s shirt in its grasp. The stallion let out a wheeze as he was lifted up off the ground by Slippery When Wet.
“I want to hear you say it!!!” Aloe’s voice rose to a shout, “I want to hear you tell me right here and now you murdered my sister and stole my memories of it happening! TELL ME CRIMSON, TELL ME NOW!”
Crimson’s fingers started to curl into fists, but just as they tightened, he released them. Instead, he slowly let his head roll to the side to look at Aloe with an almost innocent gaze. Slowly, his lips curled into a tiny grin, and he let out a little laugh. A hollow laugh, one that seemed to pierce her skull with a dull blunt tip.
“If you’re so deaf you need me to say it… fine…” Crimson let out another chuckle before his head snapped straight, focusing his yellow eyes onto Aloe’s face, “I pierced your sister with the arrow, and what remains of her body is at Clear Skies’ house. She lacked the willpower to handle the power of a weapon, and instead you gained the Stand. You wouldn’t stop crying when you saw Lotus slowly withering away on her deathbed, so I did a little editing to make you think she instead was kidnapped by Princess Twilight Sparkle!” Crimson grinned, “Is that what you wanted to hear me say?”
In that moment, Aloe’s eyes seemed to dilate. Her pupils expanded, filling with the slightest hint of tears. The moisture culminated in a single tear rolling down her face, before Slippery When Wet’s finger turned it to steam. The constant shaking in her body stayed, leaving her completely still as her eyes met Crimson’s own. And in that moment, they both knew what was about to happen.
“Aloe! What the hay are you doing down here?!” Rainbow Dash’s raspy voice called out to her from the stairwell, “You’re not supposed to be down here without Twilight!”
“I’LL KILL YOU!!!” Aloe screamed, Slippery When Wet’s hand suddenly shooting up to grab Crimson’s temples, “I’LL BOIL YOUR BRAIN OUT OF YOUR SKULL YOU SICK STALLION!”
Crimson’s jaw opened wide, only to let out a dull wheeze as suddenly his head felt hot. Incredibly hot. His entire body went rigid, his eyeballs bulging out of his skull as his entire vision started to go hazy. In a matter of seconds, his limbs began to spasm. His body writhed and squirmed under the Stand’s attack, but his head remained perfectly still, held in place as it was by Aloe’s Stand.
“Hey!” The sound of jets roaring to life caught Aloe’s ear as Rainbow Dash had jumped on top of 2M2M, already soaring straight towards her, “Get away from Crimson right now, Aloe!”
“SHUT UP!” Aloe screamed, “COME ANY CLOSER AND I’LL KILL YOU TOO!”
As Crimson felt his grip on consciousness fading away, Rainbow spread her legs out in a running stance. Under her, 2M2M formed laying almost completely flat. Her hands only lightly gripped the handles, and her feet didn’t even touch the pedals to kick back on. Instead, she flared her wings out.
In less than a second, Rainbow Dash was already only a few feet away from Aloe. That split second, however, was all Aloe need to let go of Crimson’s head with one hand and shoot it over towards Rainbow Dash. Having simply used her Stand as a speed boost to get there, Rainbow had spread her wings out, planning to tackle Aloe to the ground.
Aloe, however, was seemingly faster. Whether by virtue of her own rage or strength, Rainbow’s face connected with Slippery When Wet’s fist in full force. For more mares, this would be enough to knock them out. But even as stars danced in Rainbow’s vision, the mare had seen her number of crash landings. And in turn, even as the flew backwards, Rainbow kicked her left leg out, knocking Aloe’s out from under her.
While her Stand didn’t need to let go of Crimson, the shock of being knocked back caused Aloe to instinctively draw it away from Crimson. The stallion crumpled to the floor, clutching his temples in turn as he continued to spasm. As Aloe hit the ground, however, Slippery When Wet’s hands shot out to catch her shoulders, hoisting her back up onto her feet. Rainbow had already climbed back up onto her own when Aloe’s hands had darted out to grab her face.
At the last second, the hands of 2M2M appeared to grab Aloe’s hands. Yet while 2M2M had gripped Aloe’s hands, Slippery When Wet’s wrapped around 2M2M’s to reach out for Rainbow’s temples. Time seemed to slow down as Rainbow saw the hands coming towards her face. Even as 2M2M tried to spread its fingers out to grab them, Rainbow knew it would be too late.
Just as Rainbow felt her face heating up, suddenly two ink cuffs wrapped around Slippery When Wet’s wrists. Before Aloe could react, the Stand’s arms were spread wide, causing Aloe to do so as well. Once she was removed from Rainbow Dash, the ink came together to form bands around Slippery When Wet’s arms. The bands colheased together into one large bind that prevented Slippery When Wet from moving its arms apart.
“Aloe!” Twilight’s voice shouted out towards Aloe, amplified via magic to cause the sound waves to hit her face, “What are you doing?!”
“He killed Lotus!” Aloe shouted without missing a beat, “He killed her, HER KILLED HER!” She tired to turn to face his cell, but the ink binds held her in place.
“...Rainbow,” Twilight slowly frowned and walked forward, “Keep an eye on Aloe while I check on Crimson.”
“You got it…” Rainbow, while panting slightly, simply turned to Aloe with her strained look. 2M2M took hold of Slippery When Wet’s shoulders, forcing Aloe down onto her knees. Twilight’s magic lit up, opening the cell as she slid past Aloe’s struggling form.
“Don’t you dare help him!!!” Aloe hissed, “He’s a murderer! A MURDERER!” She struggled hard, “He deserves to pay for what he did to Lotus!!”
Twilight said nothing. Instead, her magic slowly enveloped Crimson’s body and hoisted him up onto his cot. Her magic them moved up to his temples, seemingly seeping inside his head.
After a few moments of silence, Twilight slowly sighed, “He’s going to be okay… he almost had a stroke,” Twilight withdrew her magic, “I don’t know much about healing spells, but he should be okay.”
Aloe let out a shout, devolving into a snarl as she tried to break out of the grip of both Stands. When that proved fruitless, she hung limp for a moment as sweat poured down her forehead. She panted hard, chest heaving as Twilight stepped out of the cell. Twilight slowly got down on one knee in front of Aloe, narrowing her eyes to focus on the squirming mare. After a few seconds, Twilight took in a deep breath.
“Aloe, you just attempted to murder somepony,” Twilight put her hands up on her knee, “This is a serious crime. No matter what Crimson has done, you’re not above the law. You cannot go and murder Crimson as though you have the right to do so!”
“Don’t start talking to me like that!” Aloe hissed, her anger still very alive in her, “He murdered Lotus, and if the arrow kills ponies if they don’t get a Stand, how many other ponies must he have murdered?!” Aloe spat in Twilight’s face, still struggling, “He was willing to let me die, to let us all die just so he could hide behind his Stand! And you’re going to let him stay down here?!”
“Yes!” Twilight firmly declared back, “I am a Princess of Equestria! I can’t allow somepony to come down here and exact their own form of justice on this stallion!”
“What is your plan with him?!” Aloe’s eyes shut tightly as she thrust her face out towards Twilight, “What do you think is going to happen!? What evidence do you have against him?! We all have fake memories! We don’t know which are true and which aren’t! If you tried to try him, Clear Skies would go to jail for having a dead body in her house! We don’t even know what memories of ours are genuine anymore; he’d walk free!!!” She screamed, “WE STAND USERS ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO CAN ENACT JUSTICE UPON HIM!”
“No!” Twilight’s horn flared, “If we did that, we’re no better than him! When we gather enough evidence against him, we’ll try him! He’ll go to jail for life!”
“Shut up, Shut Up, SHUT UP!” Aloe shouted again, tears now streaming from her eyes, “Lotus is gone because of him! I almost killed Rarity and Fluttershy! I did horrible things because of him! I can’t take back what I did! I’ll never take it back! I got Slippery When Wet because Lotus died! I’m never going to see her again and the only thing I have to remember her by is THIS THING HE FORCED ONTO ME!!!”
Aloe let out one last cry, her limbs spasming as they tried to break the bonds holding her. For a brief moment, Twilight could feel the ink starting to strain. Her quill raised up in the air, ready to reinforce the bond and tell Rainbow to hold her down.
Yet the second she did so, Aloe’s body seemed to go completely limp. It was as though all the rage, all the anger, all the hatred evaporated out of her. She hung completely limb, sobbing openly. Her tears streamed down her face, glistening in the dull crystal light. As she wept, a few words slowly left her lips:
“L-Lotus died… because of him…. And I… was the one… he used…” Aloe’s words trailed off, “...why… she didn’t deserve this…”
Rainbow looked up to Twilight, raising an eyebrow. Twilight nodded her head, and the ink bonds holding Slippery When Wet retreated into Night Wish’s cloak. Rainbow nodded to 2M2M, whom took its hands off the Stand as well. Slowly, Rainbow got down on her knees, moving to Aloe’s side and putting a firm hand on her shoulder.
“You’re right, she didn’t deserve all this,” Rainbow forced herself not to sound angry. Not to show how much she too wanted to punch Crimson until he broke. Aloe needed this, “Crimson is an awful guy, I totally agree with you. But killing him isn’t the right answer here…” Her fist tightened, “We’re gonna track down the rest of his cult, and we’re gonna stop them. We’re going to get revenge for Lotus by taking down the guys who put him up to this.” The mare’s breathing slowed, but tears still streamed from her face.
Rainbow slowly forced a grin, “Cause if you kill your enemies, they win. They want you to do that. I’m pretty sure he does too,” She took Aloe’s hand in her own, squeezing it, “Aloe, we’re going to show him we’re better than him and all his stupid cult. We’ll take them down, together.”
Aloe slowly turned towards Rainbow. The rainbow mare didn’t stop her smile. For a few long seconds, Aloe didn’t react to her. Until finally, she gave a tiny nod.
Grinning even wider, Rainbow got up onto her feet, extending her hand, “That’s it. Come on Aloe, let’s go stop a cult.”
Aloe slowly nodded her head, taking Rainbow’s own. The mare trembled, but she slowly got up just as Rainbow asked. She gave a weak smile to Rainbow, slowly leaning forward and wrapping her arms around her.
Just as her hands connected around Rainbow’s back, she leaned in to her, “T-Thank you, Rainbow Dash…” She paused, “But I can’t let him live after what he did.”
At that moment, Slippery When Wet shot out, sending an uppercut directly to Rainbow’s jaw. The mare went flying backwards, and 2M2M appeared in front of her almost instantly to sling a punch at Aloe. Aloe, however, jumped backwards, falling back onto her knee. Despite 2M2M’s speed, the stunned Rainbow couldn’t command it, and thus it acted solely to preserve her own life. Slippery When Wet darted directly past it, reaching out for the cell bars.
Just before it could reach them, however, the Stand suddenly faded. Aloe hit the floor hard, her eyes having rolled up into her head. The mare was knocked out cold, and a small flash of Twilight’s horn brought her eyelids shut.
“Rainbow, are you alright?” Twilight spoke calmly, as though the fact she’d just magically knocked a mare out didn’t happen. As a precaution, several chains of ink wrapped around Aloe’s body, fully binding her arms to her sides.
“Yeah… gahhh!” Rainbow rubbed her jaw hard, a bit of blood leaking out the side of her mouth, “Ugh… what are we going to do with her..?”
“I’ll have to lock her up in another part of the castle,” Twilight frowned, “I’ll have to find a way to make it so she can’t get out until she calms down.”
Solemnly, Twilight levitated Aloe’s body up in her magic. The mare held her a few feet in front of her, not giving her any space to move. Rainbow rubbed her jaw hard, trying to alleviate the pain in her face. And slowly, the mare followed Twilight up the stairs.
Crimson’s gaze followed them the entire time.
---
Being fully aware of her Stand was a new experience for Fluttershy. As she sat on her sofa, staring at the figure that was floating in front of her, she felt both a sense of familiarity and of dissonance. It was something that had always been there, and yet she knew nothing of it. And now that it was fully in front of her, there were many things she wanted to ask it.
Yet Comfortably Numb was a Stand, and that wasn’t something she could do. So she had taken to trying to memorize it. Its face, its hands, and its body all were imprinted on her mind now. She hoped that would have told her something about it, yet it instead meant she’d just been staring at something in silence for a half hour.
“I… I hope, you’re a good Stand, like Two Minutes to Midnight!” Fluttershy piped up, “I want to do good things with you, like Rainbow and the others! We’ll help ponies and animals with your powers, uhm, I mean, my powers!” The Stand just stared back at her.
“Hhmmrrr,” Fluttershy thought of ways to use it again. Was she thinking the wrong way? Or perhaps she wasn’t thinking of it the right way! Either way, she was jolted from her line of thought as she heard the doorbell ring.
“Coming!” Fluttershy called out, “Angel, can you get the door?”
The little white rabbit stamped his foot and opened the door handle just as Fluttershy arrived. She stood in the opening with a wide smile on her face, “Hello!”
In the doorway stood two stallions. Both of them were in simple clothes, with nothing unique on them. The stallion furthest away from Fluttershy had his back slightly turned away form her, looking down the road. The other was slightly hunched over, and looked up towards Fluttershy with a trembling smile.
“May we come in..?” The hunched stallion whispered, “I have a few things I’d like to ask you about, Fluttershy…”
“Oh yes, yes! Come in, come in!” Fluttershy stepped aside, “I’ll make us some tea!” She let the two step inside, and then the door slowly shut.