The Royal Palace was in an uproar led by a very determined Princess Luna. She was up and about, spearheading a search, one word burning through her mind.
Traitors!
She had come from her visit with Jakob, blood at a boil. Her mood was aggressive—demeanor cold and biting. The Lunar Guard were rousted from their sleep, every room was being swept. Messengers began fleeing the palace as fast as their wings could carry. Luna was taking this personally and was using this moment to assert her authority in a manner not seen in a thousand years. She stopped by her sister’s office, only to ask her elder sister to look in on Jakob. It was more of a command, the seriousness of her request filling the room with frosty resolve.
Princess Celestia knew better than to argue with her younger sister when she was like this. So, she told Luna she would set aside the growing mountain of reports overwhelming her desk, and set off to see the human. In a way, she was proud Luna was returning to something resembling her old form in the years since her Return.
“You should know,” Luna warned before setting off, “we had some walls down there. We should be thankful he vented his wrath upon the unfeeling stones. Do not be alarmed by what you see. Jakob is calm, for now, but he asked for you. Asked. He has made no demands. Jakob needs our aid and we will give it to him, sister, within reason. Take no guards with you. Show Jakob you trust him. He will give that trust in kind. He may be feral, so do as you usually do when speaking to a dear friend. Jakob needs one right now, but he needs one that can give him what he needs. He will go after June. Whatever he needs, we must do what we can to give, within reason.”
“Of course,” Celestia replied with a nod, “within reason.” She was already moving, her mind racing with what might come. An unfamiliar sensation of fear clamped an icy grip on her heart. How could Luna be comfortable around Jakob? The human could be impossible to read, his poker face among the best she had ever borne witness to. Even his dearly departed wife had confessed to the princess how Jakob’s perpetual grouchy face made him impossible to read.
Having seen the first reports of June’s foalnapping, Celestia felt the first onset of fear. A part of her imagined the enraged human tearing apart Canterlot in a feral frenzy, seeking for his stolen daughter. Instead, he was found aiding his very guards. They had been incapacitated with poison in their drinks, though the investigation would be ongoing for some time.
Having Rainbow Dash, her foals, and Rarity there might have had something to do with his outward calm. They had herded around him, doing their level best to keep the human from doing anything rash. Rainbow had always held a soft spot for Jakob and would have asked him to be the godfather to Daring and Danger, but Spitfire was against the idea, and for practical reasons.
The moment June’s disappearance had been reported, Celestia demanded the presence of the captain of the guard and the list of names of the undercover guards sent to protect Jakob and June. There were many questions with regard to this catastrophic failure of duty. The princess smelled a rat and she intended to ferret it out. Her own Solar Guard were involved in the investigation. Jakob might not have had the popularity of Kaga, but their child was something of a sensation, especially since she was first spotted arriving in Canterlot. The press had been begging for an interview with the girl. Jakob had not been made aware of the requests, as they had been rebuffed, citing the family’s need for privacy.
Still, this meant going deep underground, where a part of the catacombs had been converted for containing dangerous threats to Equestria and her citizens. Off she went, not knowing how Jakob’s state would affect his mental condition.
The Sun Princess hated this part of her palace. They served a purpose, and she understood this purpose. It, nevertheless made her feel ill just thinking a living, sapient being was down here, isolated from the rest of the world. She worried, of course, as it was her nature to do so. Fear wormed its way into her heart and her mind. It was a challenge to keep herself calm in a situation like this. The Beast, a loathsome name bestowed upon Jakob by those who were ignorant, lurked in the darkness. Her fear brought this terrible nickname to mind and Celestia found herself ashamed for even thinking it. Jakob was a kind man beneath his stony disposition. He was not the sort to go and actively seek trouble. The past eight years was a testament to this fact.
Celestia was second guessing herself now, thinking that allowing access to Jakob and June might have staved off this attempt. The darkness before her was consuming, but it was not the lack of light she feared.
The tip of her horn flared to life, illuminating the passage way. The dark gray stones down here were a far cry from the bright marble above. The entire section had been evacuated, which was easily done as there were no prisoners down here and the lone guard on duty was sent elsewhere.
The Beast lurked.
Celestia chided herself, feeling shame. The whispers of the dissenting nobles had wormed their way into her mind. No, his name was Jakob Gray, husband to the late Kaga Gray, and father to young June Gray. He was a patient creature, kind and thoughtful. He was more than the violence he was remembered for! Jakob was not a savage monster. Jakob ended monsters!
Inhaling deeply, the scent of cool, damp air filled her nostrils. She could detect a faint touch of blood in the air and there was still plenty of dust yet to settle. A great commotion had happened down here, as the light of her horn and her steps brought her eyes into view of the first fallen stones in the hall.
“Jakob?” she called out, her voice soft and filled with concern. “Jakob, Luna said you wished to speak with me. Where are you so we can talk?”
Her ears caught the sound of shuffled movement, the scraping of something on stone. Her hackles went up and Celestia hesitated. They swiveled and locked, her legs following the sound. Her ethereal mane and tail flickered and waved, showing a hint of anxiety. Tempering her nerves, the princess went towards the noise, letting out a soft wicker.
“Princess Celestia, is that you?” a voice croaked in the darkness ahead. There was a terrible growl to that voice, thick with emotion, fighting to maintain civility.
“I am here, Jakob. Please, come forward, let me see you. Why are you hiding in the darkness?” Her voice echoed, a bit too loud to her own ears. Celestia winced and took another deep breath. “Luna said you had asked for me. I am here. I want to help. Please, Jakob, come to my light.”
“They took my daughter,” grated Jakob, still unseen. Celestia could hear the sound of his slow steps, the sound of stone being kicked aside.
“I know,” Celestia replied, “I feel as though I must bear some responsibility. I have been betrayed. Equestria has been betrayed. This was done by my ponies. I am ashamed of their actions.” At any given moment, she knew Jakob was well capable of striking out at her. Was he in a frame of mind to do so?
“What do you know?” rasped the voice in the darkness.
“Not much,” she admitted with a sigh. “I wish we could have the answers right now, but the investigation has only just begun. I fear there are many ponies involved. What do you intend to do, Jakob?”
“Find her. Nothing else matters.” A bearded face appeared at the edge of the light. It was haggard and there was a look in those dark eyes which sent shudders down Celestia’s spine. “I need help.” His shirt was ragged and torn, peppered with his own blood and dust from his actions.
“What can I help you with, Jakob? Won’t you sit? Please,” she noted his bloody knuckles, “let me help you heal those wounds.”
He shook her off with a guttural growl, “My wounds do not concern me.”
“Sit down. Please?” Celestia begged. She would be far more comfortable if Jakob would not assume such an aggressive stance. Seriously, how does Luna feel so comfortable around him?
Jakob’s eyes glinted in the light, constantly shifting, searching. He would not look Celestia directly in the eye, clenching and relaxing his fists over and over. After a moment or two of indecision, he sat on the floor of the hall. The back of one fist began pounding at the wall he rested against.
“Luna was helpful,” the man managed as he held up his hands. His eyes stared at the knuckles, shifting from right to left. Flexing his fingers, he dropped his arms and sighed, closing his eyes and thumping the back of his head against the stone. “I was able to clear my head and think.”
How is it Luna can approach him with no fear? Celestia waited, sitting upon her haunches and inhaling deeply to keep herself calm. Jakob was in a dangerous state, she believed. Without Kaga, he was...what was he? Celestia honestly did not know what the human was like without his mate to compliment him. There was the outward appearance of a man who wanted to be left alone, with little desire to socialize. The alicorn had spent time trying to have agents keep an eye on him, but that infernal changeling queen was very good at ferreting them out!
“Luna cares very much for you,” she told him in a soft whisper, thinking of how her younger sister spoke of Jakob in the tones of a proud mother. “I am amazed at how well the two of you connect. She claimed you as her own. She does not fear you. My sister is amazing at times.” Celestia was feeling the sudden oppression of guilt on her heart. I have failed this man and his daughter. I am so very sorry!
Jakob tilted his head up and to one side, “You fear me?”
Celestia hesitated to answer, her eyes becoming downcast. “I,” she managed, clearing her throat, then looking at the man, “I am afraid of you. You have a ferocity I have not seen since King Sombra so many centuries ago, yet you choose not to use it. While rage can be a crutch, it can also be a powerful weapon—you use it for neither.”
Jakob snarled, eyes hardening, “I have reason, now.”
“What do you need? Luna said to give you anything you need, within reason.” Celestia reached out with a wing and touched the tips of her outermost primaries to his shoulder. “I want to help you, Jakob. A great wrong has been done to you and I will do everything within my power to help you.”
“A ship, a crew,” Jakob grunted. “The bug horse and her brood. Supplies. I want my armor, weapons. I want to be seeking my daughter before the setting of tomorrow’s sun." He paused. "What time is it?”
“An hour before sunrise,” Celestia answered. Her brows furrowed, “Why do you need Queen Cassandra?”
One corner of the human’s mouth curled up for a brief moment, “She can track June. There is nowhere she can be taken the bug horse cannot follow. Give me that ship, Celestia. A small, fast warship.” A thought crossed his mind, brows raising high, “Fizzlepop Berrytwist. I want her to be a part of the crew.”
“Why?”
His words were cold, savage, “She is not squeamish. There will be blood. I do not want to be surrounded by those who tremble at the sight of death.”
Celestia, herself not one to shy from bloodshed, repressed a shudder nevertheless. “I will ask for her on your behalf,” she told him. Fizzlepop Berrytwist— Tempest Shadow is far from squeamish. She is a good choice. A curious, but also a wise one.
“I also need to speak with Cadence,” Jakob rumbled. His legs were now splayed out before him. The man was exhausted and emotionally drained. “Kaga made many enemies. I will not do this blindly.”
“What does that have to do with Cadence?” Celestia asked, curious.
“The... candle” —Jakob spat the word— “has the memories of my wife. It might have answers I seek,” Jakob told her, baring his teeth with distaste.
“I see,” Celestia nodded in understanding.
“Celestia.”
“Yes, Jakob?”
“You have nothing to fear from me. I only want my daughter. I was born of nothing, and I will die with nothing. I only want to see June grow into a woman, find her own path... I want my daughter to be herself, something I was denied.”
“What about yourself? What do you want in life?”
“To be left alone, in peace,” Jakob snorted, then growled, "Can you give me what I ask? Please.” Grit teeth gleamed in the light of Celestia’s horn as he peeled back his lips.
“I believe I can do all that you ask,” she replied. “I am your friend, Jakob.”
“Am I?” he challenged through a whisper. “I have feared you since learning you could raise the sun. That is the power of a goddess. It is something far beyond my understanding.”
“And yet you could overcome me with your physical strength, if you so chose,” she countered, not at all expecting Jakob to be afraid of her. The alicorn could not bring herself to believe him.
The human said nothing, but gave a slight shake of his head. He seemed so tired, so worn! Celestia could feel nothing but sympathy for Jakob. The man deserved none of this, nor did his daughter. Those dark, brooding eyes closed and a slow exhalation fell from his mouth.
“I had hoped you would find new love after all this time,” Celestia admitted. “I would like to see you happy, Jakob.”
The human held his breath. “Irrelevant,” he said, cracking his eyes open, boring them into Celestia’s own.
“Love is a wonderful gift one can give to another, Jakob,” Celestia continued with a wan smile. “I would hope it finds you in its own time. Cadence... Cadence tried too hard to help you and it overwhelmed her. She gave into her talent and it imbalanced her emotional center. She loves you like a brother and wants you to be happy. Sometimes she forgets things must take their natural course and cannot be forced.”
“Can I speak with her?” Jakob asked, his face a deadpan.
“Of course,” she replied with a sniff, “I will make arrangements. Things must move swiftly. It will be seen to. I owe you so much and more. All that can be done will be done in the time needed. Do you need anything else?”
He shook his head. “No. I just need a moment longer to clear my head. I must plan. There is little I can do until Cassandra gets here.” A meaningful look graced his rugged features.
Celestia nodded, “I will have your armor sent to your room. It was repaired and placed in storage at the armory. You may go over it and make sure it is in order. If anything, it will occupy your mind.”
“I would like that, thank you,” Jakob lifted his chin, locking eyes with the alicorn. “I will have to become the thing I had hoped to never become again,” his voice had become a raspy whisper, the windows into his soul displaying the cold flames of a terrible resolve. They closed, leaving Celestia to shudder as she was dismissed to the sound of silence as the man’s bearded chin fell to his chest.
She turned and made her exit, terrified of what had just transpired. His words, they were nothing compared to the aura given off. Celestia began to wonder if helping him would in turn become another damnation for her to bear on her shoulders.
The darkness was soothing to Jakob. Celestia had departed, and he trusted her to do as he had asked. She did not have to, she could have told him there would be no help. It was not the alicorn’s way to deny help to those in need. A desperate father fighting his own rage and despair. His mind raced. It was a struggle to focus. Somehow, he had managed.
Celestia seemed unbothered by her shattered walls. Jakob made sure he destroyed that which could be repaired. Both hands throbbed with pain, but with each blow, he had found some measure of relief. It was not enough. It would never be enough until June was safe.
His blood roared in his ears, but the Screaming Voice in his head demanding the hunt had to be quelled for a bit longer. Jakob was not prepared.
Why is she afraid of me? She is Power Incarnate. She is a Goddess. Why? Does she fear I will harm her subjects? Does she fear what I am capable of? I am mortal. She is Forever. She would have been She Who I Will Follow in the other world. I would follow her now, but I have too much blood on my hands. I cannot…
Kaga’s face appeared before him in the darkness, her emerald eyes flecked with gold regarding him with an unreadable expression. Where is our daughter?
“I failed,” he whispered into the void.
Failure is not an option, husband.
“No, it is not.”
You know what you must do, her voice filled his ears, an echo of a memory. It had been so long, Jakob could not know if that was her voice or simply the distortion of time affecting what he thought he knew.
Clutching his head with his hands, Jakob dug his fingertips deep into his scalp. “I will bring her back,” his voice rasped through clenched teeth.
Let there be blood.
“Let there be blood.”
Be justice. Be the executioner.
“Be justice. Be the executioner.”
The blood of your enemies will scream for mercy.
“The blood of my enemies will scream for mercy.”
Let your rage be your strength. Seek it out. Take it. Hold it. Do not let it go until June is safe.
“Let my rage be my strength. I am Rage Incarnate. I am as I was made to be. I will forge a path of violence, for my enemies know nothing else. Let the folly of their choice be their downfall. I will return, my daughter with me.”
So let it be written.
Jakob lifted his head, a sensation of chilled calm washing over his heart. “So let it be done.”
“Sister?” Luna greeted Celestia when the door opened. She had been waiting for her in the white alicorn’s chambers. Tea had been prepared and was waiting. “How did it go?”
Celestia went over to her sister and the pair shared a nuzzle. Seating herself at the small tea table, she began serving herself. “Well,” she began, pausing to gather her thoughts into forming the right words, “he is obsessed with getting June back, as he rightfully should.” She selected two cubes of sugar and dropped them into her cup. Cream was being debated for the moment, the hesitation bringing her attention back to her sister.
“He terrifies you, doesn’t he?” Luna surmised, stirring her own cup with a spoon.
“Jakob is capable of a great deal of destructive violence.” Celestia poured a bit of cream into her tea and began to stir it with a spoon. “We both know this. However, I would not mistake what I had just witnessed as an act of madness.”
“He is grieving and fighting himself to maintain control over his emotions.”
Celestia nodded, lifting her cup to her lips. She sipped and stared for a moment at the surface of her drink. It was barely steaming. “I will give him what he asks for. I think I can scrounge up a ship and a crew for him. Volunteers, of course.”
“On short notice? He’ll want to leave as soon as possible,” Luna reminded Celestia. “You still didn’t answer my question.”
“What?” Celestia blinked at the stoic visage of her younger sibling, “If he terrifies me?”
Luna hummed in the affirmative.
“Does he terrify you?”
“No,” Luna said, resolute. “My trust in him is absolute. You do not have fear of those you trust. You do not trust him, do you?” Her grin was insufferable.
Feeling a bit guilty to admit it, Celestia muttered, “I do not know him.”
Luna stared at her, sipped her tea, then remarked, “After all these years? Did you ever try to get to know him?” She wore the most exaggerated of shocked expressions ever to grace the world.
“I—” Celestia paused, then closed her eyes and let out a sigh, “No, I did not. I spent more time fostering a relationship with Kaga. I always thought there would be time to build a rapport with Jakob. I thought it wise to leave him to you. The man took a liking to you and you needed someone to talk to who was not your overbearing sister. He is an intimidating presence and can be quite menacing.”
“He’s as gentle as a lamb, sister,” Luna scoffed with a shake of her head, “so long as you don’t poke him with the wrong stick. I did tell you there was nothing to fear from him. This is a trying time for him emotionally, but I promise you he is in complete control of himself.”
“Those poor fools,” Celestia sighed, closing her eyes and shaking her mane. An ear flicked and she gave out a little whicker. “They have touched that which should not be touched.”
“All we can do is do our part to ensure his enemies do not delay him.”
Another sip of tea. “Any progress in the investigation?”
“The Captain’s office had been broken into,” Luna said with an irritated snort. A folder materialized and was floated over to Celestia. “Nothing was taken, but there were signs the secure filing cabinets had been gone through. The roster for Jakob’s entourage had been found. A copy seems to have been made. Somepony knew how to get in without being noticed and bypass the security wards, unlock the cabinet, and help themselves to the information within.”
Celestia frowned, “Somepony from within?” She leafed through the pages in the file, pursing her lips. Setting it aside, the alicorn sipped at her tea with a concerned look.
“I am working on it. I do not have answers yet, but there is a trail and I will find it.”
“Don’t you mean ‘if” there is a trail, sister?”
Luna gave a predatory grin, “Oh, there is a trail, dear ‘Tia. I have leads and I intend to see each of them to their ends. It is only a matter of time.” She was still smiling as she finished off her tea.
The white alicorn sighed at her dark blue sibling, “Do what you must, but if you find those responsible, I want them alive. No disintegrations.”