“T-that’s a preposterous fantasy!” Artemis growls defiantly, not enjoying what I had just implied.
“Nah, that’s the truth,” I shrug him off, sticking to my guns.
“Then prove it, whelp!”
“Gladly,” I smile in turn, as a weight lifts itself off my worried mind. “If you wanted to see my vision, then why didn’t you just ask me at the start?”
“Because thou would have said no!”
“If I share them willingly with Solaris, why wouldn’t I with you?”
Artemis attempts to shout something back… only for the words not to come.
He doesn’t have an answer to that question.
“The thought never crossed your mind, did it?” I finish for him, revealing what I’ve learned so far. “Me being willing to work with you was never considered in your ‘master plan’.”
“W-well... of course not!” the alicorn asserts, trying to save face. “Brother forbid us from speaking with thee, so why would we ever consider striking such a deal?!”
“But you were already planning to disobey your brother anyways,” I point out the contradiction. “And you said earlier that you have a memory erase spell! Wouldn’t you have at least attempted to speak with me first before doing anything rash, and simply erased my memories if I said no?”
“... Er… I-I… W-whose to say we didn’t already attempt such and failed?!”
Without missing a beat, I stick out my thumb and point it towards my chest.
"Me," I state boldly, keeping my momentum. "I say. If you had talked to me first, I know I would have shown you that vision in its entirety.”
“Thou lies!”
“We speaketh the truth,” I mock Artemis’ Canterlot Voice slip up. “I have no reason to hide it, which is why I offered to share it with you earlier, stupid!"
As if hit by an invisible baseball, Artemis flinches.
"Like I said," I continue forth, unwavering. "I’m already planning to share what I saw with Solaris this weekend! Whether you got an early peek now, or tried to overhear it again like last time, it wouldn’t have mattered to me! That’s why I’m so certain that you never even bothered to ask, Prince Artemis!”
The alicorn winces yet again.
“You just went straight into my dreams,” I go on, and allow myself to pace like Solaris once again. “Straight into theft, just so you could see one vision…
“... Or," I turn on the spot, and aim my talon true. "to quote yourself; 'One… for now'.”
Artemis’ eyes cross as he stares at my pointing talon… before his face turns white thanks to having realized his slip up.
“I'll say it again; you showed me your hand, Princy,” I repeat my words, now ready to reveal their meaning. “I might have been upset at the time, but I was still listening! Care to explain that little addition of yours?”
“T-there was no such meaning behind it!” my opponent insists, becoming red in the face. “Thou art simply playing pretend at this point, child!”
“Guilty as charged,” I snark back, not fearing him any longer. “Pretend Detectives is one of my favorite games to play with Sweepy and Scooter. Not to brag, but I’m the reigning champ.”
“We have already had to remind thee that this is no mere foal’s game!” the alicorn rages at my boast.
“Game or no game I’m still in it to win it, dude.”
“Cease thy prattling, and thy usage of the word 'dude', at once, See-"
“You still haven’t answered my question, Artemis,” I cut him off, and jab him again in the chest. “You’re still ignoring it.”
“B-because there is nothing to say concerning i-”
“We both know that’s a lie,” I interrupt, pushing myself away from him. “If you don’t want to be a big pony and admit what you’ve done then, by all means, please allow me to say it instead.”
Before Artemis could respond, before I granted him another opening to argue in; I raised my voice and began reciting the whole gosh darn picture.
Get some popcorn, folks. This is going to be a doozy:
“Prince Solaris was glad to have you back, Artemis, and pleased that the Elements freed you from your dark magic... but the two of you felt that a rift had grown between you thanks to your banishment, and thanks to your violent actions. Solaris willingly lent you an ear, and took the time to catch you up on current events, but beyond that he's colder and more distant then you remember him being. You felt that the years and years and YEARS had changed him greatly into somepony you hardly recognize...
“... But then one day, as you were exploring the castle, you came across your big brother talking with a small baby dragon; myself.
“Solaris laughed with the dragon.
“Solaris shared his thoughts with the dragon.
“Solaris even traded secrets with the dragon...
“... But that only served to be a cold reminder of the relationship he no longer had with you...
“... Jealousy began to cloud your mind thanks to this.
“You wanted that.
“You wanted to return to that.
“You wanted Solaris to talk to you again like he did with that dragon, so you spied on the meeting and learned things you weren't supposed to know.
"After being discovered your brother scolded you greatly, and ordered you not to approach the dragon, the Seer, again...
“... You, however, only grew more jealous.
“You thought things like ‘Solaris cares more about this Seer then he does me,’ and ‘He trusts this child more with his ponderings then his own kin’.
"Those thoughts began to eat you up inside, just like they did a thousand years ago.
“You tried to ignore them, to not fall a second time, but your memories of past Seers and their ‘betrayals’ only grew louder in your head until, finally… a plan began to hatch.
“'All Seers hide something.'
“'All Seers hide something.'
“Your mind spun around that one little idea like a carousel, until eventually you came to a conclusion:
“'Barbara must be hiding something too.'
“'She must be.’
“So, with that understanding carved into your heart, you started sneaking peeks at the letters your brother receives from Ponyville. Waiting for an opportunity to present itself, weeks flew by until, one day, it finally does. A vision had swerved, meaning that the Seer was about to share it with your brother.
“If what the Seer said ended up being different than what she actually saw; if it was altered even slightly from the truth… what would that mean...?
“... I’ll tell you what it would mean, Artemis.
“It would mean that Solaris placed his faith in the wrong person, and that you would just so happen to have the evidence to prove it!”
Ending my breakdown, I look the Prince right in the eyes… and confirm that I’ve practically read his mind.
Jackpot.
“Sorcery,” Artemis speaks in a hush, now rightfully fearing me. “Pure sorcery! Art thou the most powerful clairvoyant in Equestria’s history, or art thou a practitioner of the dark arts?”
“No magic here, Princy,” I shrug, and offer a tired sigh. “Not even a Seer trick, I swear. I’m just good at reading ponies, and spotting clues… Heh... Occupational hazard of being Dusk’s assistant, I guess,” I share my honest take, and squee silently over conquering another difficult word. “He’s the book pony, I’m the social dragon; we complete each other.”
“To see through me so thoroughly though,” Artemis continues, so in awe of what I had managed to put together that the Royal We vanishes. “H-how is such a thing possible?”
“Your history of jealous outbursts is now public knowledge, you wear your desire to not upset your brother on your haunches, and not only did you admit to thinking less of Seers, but you also did to the fact that you want to see more than one of my visions,” I lay the facts bare on the table, allowing them to speak for themselves. “Put that all together and what do you get?”
“Er… Utter nonsense?”
“Eh,” I produce a wrong answer noise, and cross my arms into an X. “Nope, sorry. The answer was ‘A hairbrained scheme to make yourself look good and me bad’... Thanks for playing though.”
“W-what?! We have insinuated no such thing, whelp!” the alicorn fires back, not allowing things to end there. “Thou can not conjure such bile from the ether and expect it to be truth!”
“Then why didn’t you ask to see my vision?”
“... W-well I-”
“Because you needed to see more than one, and couldn't think of a way to ask for it,” I finish for the tongue-tied stallion, clamming him up. “Seeing lies in one of my visions wouldn’t have been enough to build a case against me, you realized. You would have needed to see a bunch of them, and raised the chances of me saying something compromising. I’m betting you were planning to make more than one visit to Ponyville too, at least until you got everything you needed out of me... That’s why you were so willing to say that you ‘only’ needed to see one vision; to get me to lower my guard, and to give yourself another shot of doing this again without my permission...”
At long last, after remaining mostly stone-faced and barely emotive since Artemis’ Seer rant; I grant the Prince an angry glare.
“... Throwing me under the flipping carriage is about the most despicable way for you to get back into your brother’s good graces, Artemis! How could you?!”
“LIES!!” the Prince retaliates, pushing against his restraints; booming the Canterlot Voice. “Lies and slander, Barbara The Dragoness!”
“Only person lying here is you, dude, and the only one whose buying it is yourself!”
“Thou knows nothing!” he screams, and even jumps in place.
The chair he’s attached to moves slightly thanks to this, causing me to step backwards in shock...
Fump
… but Red Gala’s hoof, still shrouded in shadows, places itself firmly upon my back and halts my retreat.
The gesture was simple, as too the message behind it. “Don’t back down now, Barb. Ya got him on the ropes.”
Damn right I do, Red.
Damn right I do.
“Willing to do anything to stay by somepony’s side, Artemis?” I shout back, rising to the Prince’s challenge. “I understand that completely!”
“Lies!” he again wails.
“It’s the truth!” I plead from the depths of my soul. “I swear on my scales that I'm telling you the truth! I understand what you wanted!”
“Thou art a child!” Artemis argues back, voice still raised; goal to escape forgotten. “Thou can’t possibly know such pain and sorro-”
“I could have been adopted, but I chose to stay Dusk’s assistant instead!”
Artemis’ rant ends.
Red Gala’s hoof moves off my back.
My breathing remains steady.
“I could have been adopted,” I repeat, cupping my claws together for strength. “I could have been somepony’s daughter, and gone to school, and had all the same opportunities as a normal filly… But I loved Dusk too much to leave him, even after I hadn't seen him in a very long time.
“Being willing to do anything to be there for a loved one, even giving up happiness… I can understand that, Artemis…
“... Being willing to stomp on someone else to do it though, and make them give up their happiness?! That's something I don’t understand! That sounds more like something Nightterror Nebula would do, not Prince Artemis of Equestria, don't you think?
"Or were they one in the same this whole time...?"
“...”
“...”
“... You are no child, Barbara...”
My heart skips a beat.
“... You are a storm I foolishly entered unprepared.”
I release the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
“You saw through my machinations thoroughly,” Artemis lowers his head, and offers a ghost of a smile. “Even the ones I myself was unaware of.”
Um... Huh?
Unable to think of anything more intelligent to say, I repeat my thoughts aloud. “Um… Huh?”
“You were wrong about my initial intentions," the Prince elaborates, at last willingly answering my questions. “At first I only wished to see your visions to gain insight into their nature... Hah... Though I'd be branded a liar if I claimed I wasn’t a tad curious about what the me in your envisioned Equestria is like, and how his-,er, her decisions closely matched my own... But I suppose a seed of jealousy did in fact manifest within my psyche, and a plot to return to brother’s good graces through your destruction did materialize somewhat.”
Somewhat?” I scoff. “I think it did completely, dude.”
“T-that is… sigh… That is correct,” the alicorn finally admits. “My mind wanted only to steal away a peek, and gain clarity on my own situation... but it would seem my black heart desired a quick return to that which is long gone; a quick return to brother’s side, and to be l… l-l...lo-...”
"Be loved,” I complete Artemis’ sentence for him, realizing the word he was struggling with. “Again, I get it. He’s the only family you have left in this world, so the thought of him not speaking to you anymore..."
Elusive's visage briefly flashes in my mind's eye.
"... was like a bitter poison," I finish, as my thoughts momentarily drift elsewhere.
“Yes,” the young Prince whispers to himself, and hangs his head in defeat. “Yes… That was truly the answer from the very beginning, wasn’t it… Haha… Oh how blind I was… and how foalish...”
“Can’t say I can really argue with that take,” I speak neutrally, not meaning anything either positive or negative with the remark. “You made a bad call, happens to us all.”
“If only we were more cautious,” he muses to himself, making me question whether he heard me or not. “If only we weren't so eager to cut corners… Hmph… It would seem our unicorn upbringing still holds us back even to this day… Most humorous.”
“... Unicorn upbringing?” I blink, confused by that last bit. “You were raised by unicorns?”
“Solaris and I both were born as unicorns, Barbara.”
“PONIES CAN GROW WINGS?!”
Rolling his eyes at my sudden outburst, and muttering something under his breath along the lines of “Can’t believe this kid beat me,” Artemis straightens his posture as he asks perhaps the most important question of all. “Where do we go from here?”
Shaking off my surprise over an aspect of pony anatomy the Bluebelles' training hadn't covered, I realize what it is the Prince is now curious about:
What the hell am I going to do about him...?
I’m still debating that answer, actually.
I’ve caught Artemis dead-to-rights. He selfishly invaded my dreams in the hope of digging up dirt, just so he could convince his brother to trust him again instead of me...
… Super flawed logic when you stop to think about it for more than two minutes but, hey, this is Mister Eternal Night we’re talking about here; long term planning is clearly not his forté.
Regardless, I can’t have him leave here thinking that doing something like this is acceptable by any stretch of the imagination. He needs to be punished, and he needs to be punished so thoroughly that the mere suggestion of a repeat performance will only result in him soiling his non-existent pants.
I bet Prince Solaris would be more than capable of dishing out such a disciplining...
…
…
… But…
… I don’t want him to…
...
… Damn it damn it damn it; I don’t want him to!
Solaris was so incredibly happy when I told him Artemis could be saved! I vividly remember him crying tears of joy, and dropping his mask for the first time in what was probably a thousand years! Having to punish his brother again so soon after his return, maybe even going so far as to banish him, would no doubt DESTROY the big guy… and probably Dusk too… followed shortly by all of Equestria! Need I remind you that slavery only became a thing in this world a clawful of years after he banished Artemis the first time?!
My episode knowledge won’t help me in a land ruled by a depressed Solaris; that much is certain.
Even if that sort of outcome is admittedly unlikely, my gut is still yelling at me to not get Solaris involved in this. This world is so weirdly unstable sometimes that it's hard to tell what would and wouldn't completely derail the canon; obviously Princess Luna never tried to interrogate Spike, and neither did he her, so logically that means chastising this pony falls on my shoulders and my shoulders alone. It's my responsibility to set right that which my birth set wrong... but what can I do to dissuade Artemis from trying this stunt again? Simply saying I'll tell his brother won't work if he's bold enough to use his memory erase spell on the second attempt, or even after I let him go! He may seem to be remorseful for now, but he hasn't done a thing to earn back my trust yet...
… Grrr... Come on, brain! We used to be a mother for Pete’s sake! This isn’t the first time we had to dish out a scolding, and discourage repeat offenses! What did we used to do with little Ashley or Nathanial when they did something naughty...?
Hmm… I remember using timeouts, taking away allowances, locking up toys and games, and…
!!!
I got it.
"Your inhibitor ring is actually a chocolate donut,” I at last spill the beans, no doubt putting Red Gala on high alert. "Look more closely at it,” I add, pointing a talon up towards the pastry.
Stunned into silence, Artemis quickly obeys, only for his jaw to drop as he spots the accidental bite mark left in the ring from when my gal pal had replaced it... A mark I hadn’t realized was there until just now…
... Phew
Real glad neither of us spotted that earlier, h-heheh.
“T-the ring isn’t…” Artemis slowly realizes, more visibly shocked than I am. “We had access to our magic this whole time?!”
“Yeah,” I nod my head, unfazed by his shouting at this point. “You did.”
“...”
… The alicorn’s horn begins to light up.
“Remember you still got knocked out though,” I hurriedly report, causing the light to die down. “That’s kind of an important detail to forget, so don’t; kay?”
“That’s… right,” Artemis squints, mentally retracing his steps. “We did… Was the first ring fake as well?”
Putting my claws behind my head, I answer with “Eeyup, it was.”
This stealthily signals my partner to get into position.
“... But,” the Prince cocks his head, unaware of the movement going on behind his seat. “Then how did-”
Suddenly a look of realization dawns on his face.
“The light switches,” the stallion speaks quietly, regaining the memory of my earlier riddle. “We aren’t alone down here!”
“Maybe,” I again shrug, and act aloof. “Maybe not. Who's to say whether we’re alone in this laboratory or not?”
“Thou does!”
“Hmmm… true,” I giggle, continuing to push his buttons. “I could answer that question for you real easily, but I want to ask you something first, your highness. Now that you know you have your magic... what are you going to do with it?
“Are you going to enter my head again like a thief, to make me forget about you even being here?
“Are you going to fight back like a villain, covering your bases?
“Will you simply run away, like a scared little colt…?
“... Or will you be the honorable Prince you say you are?
“Your answer to this question will determine what punishment you’ll be receiving from me, so please choose wisely for both our sakes.... You have one minute starting...
"... now."
Tap... tap... tap... tap...
Save for the tapping of my foot against the floor, acting as a pseudo-timer of a sorts, the room turns deathly quiet.
This, right here, is the climax.
Red is where she needs to be to knock Artemis out again if he tries anything funny with his magic. If he goes down that thief route, having clearly learned nothing, his punishment will be to wake up on the first train to Canterlot with a sternly written letter duct taped to his chest. Something along the lines of, "I have pictures of you being in the library and will send them to your brother if either myself or my friends sees you again," should be enough to nip this whole thing in the bud... but the invisible terror of Red's mighty kick will be what ultimately seals the deal.
Experiencing tangible consequences will make my warning more credible, and more effective, then just letting him go with it in mind ever will... If he turns out to be too quick on the draw for my gal pal to stop, however, and ends up fighting both of us as the villain he is… Well that would be most unfortunate.
It would be unfortunate because it would prove that he's utterly irredeemable, and more than deserving of punishment number two:
Third degree burns.
Thanks to Solaris’ missing eye, I have the dark knowledge that permanently scarring alicorns is not only possible, but also that it can be done without altering the show too noticeably. The chest, the flank, the back; all are acceptable targets in a world that has makeup and illusion spells. Tangible proof that he was scummy enough to attack a child would be sufficient blackmail material for me to dangle over Artemis for the rest of his days as, even if he erases mine and Red's memories afterwards, he'll still be forever marked by his poor decision. There isn't that many dragons around these parts, and I've earned Solaris' trust over him, so it wouldn't take much for his brother to put two and two together and realize what had happened...
… I pray it doesn't come to that though.
Like I wrote earlier in The Poisoned Barb, I don’t consider myself to be a violent person! Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t even dare to burn somepony with my flames, let alone in self defense!
These aren't normal circumstances though.
These are circumstances where I'm not the only one in danger of getting hurt.
Red Gala can take care of herself, sure, but she's still putting her neck on the line here to lend me a helping hoof. I owe it to her to watch her back just as closely as she's been watching mine. Even... e-even if that means using my fire breath against a pony, I'll do whatever it takes to protect her.
Brrrr... Dark, nuclear option, realities aside; it would be in Artemis’ best interest, as well as my own, if he either ran away or surrendered. Teleporting out of his bindings and fleeing would allow Red to remain anonymous which, just like in option one, would help greatly in discouraging the Prince from sneaking around these parts ever again.
Surrendering, meanwhile, would be the absolutely most desired outcome of all.
Surrendering would mean that Artemis has at long last come to realize how much of a dunderhead he’s been today, and that he understands how far he still has to grow as both a stallion and a Prince... But even in a cartoon like My Little Pony that would be a pretty far-fetched resolution to all this...
... I still want to give him the benefit of the doubt though.
I still want to believe that him and Princess Luna aren't two completely different ponies.
This tiny spark of hope is the whole reason why I told him the truth about the inhibitor ring ploy, and why I laid out his options for moving forward; because, in my eyes, it’s one thing for a disobedient child to say they understand that what they did was wrong, but it’s another thing entirely to see them actively trying to do better!
Secret Tests of Character: Kid tested, Mother approved... or, in this case, Mother tested, Kid approved.
Now let’s see which path Artemis will choose for himself.
Tap... tap... tap... tap...
“...”
Tap... tap... tap... tap...
“...”
Tap... tap... tap... tap...
“...”
Tap... tap... ta-
… Twinkle twinkle twinkle
The alicorn's horn begins to glow softly, illuminating the room.
Crouching down, I ready myself for anything.
Magic swirls aimlessly in place above the Prince as he debates on what to do with it.
Lying in wait behind him, Red Gala remains out of Artemis' line of sight as she prepares to KO him for the second time.
Twinkle twinkle twinkle
Twinkle twinkle twinkle
Twinkle twinkle twinkl-
My scales tingle as the stallion's magic finds its way up my arm.
Despite all the outs I’ve given him; despite everything I’ve said and done and how much of my heart I shared with him... it looks like the Prince of the Night has decided to go with option one...
…
… I’m not mad.
I’m just disappointed.
Springing into action, Red Gala’s back leg flies forward like a bullet as it heads straight for the back of the alicorn’s noggin.
Twinkletwinkletwinkle
?!
But, to the surprise of us both, Artemis’ magic catches the hoof at the last second and holds it in place.
“Ahhh, there art thou,” he threatens my friend, shooting her a menacing side glance. “Striking a Prince is most unbecoming of a lady, dear.”
Horseapples.
Darkest timeline it is then.
“Let her go!” I threaten right on back, my mouth engulfed in flames.
Twinkle twinkle twinkle
Shooting his eyes back towards me, I find the magical hold on my arm increase in strength, a-and lift me off the ground!
Crap crap crap!
Fear begins to grip me as my gambit ends in failure, and my hopes for a peaceful solution are dashed right before my ey-
“NNOPE!!”
WHOMP!
… Crinkle crick crack
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Outside of being two Lost Souls, in a sense, ripped from their "worlds" and forced to restart from zero; another interesting similarity Artemis and I share is in the fact that we both have a bad habit of underestimating the tenacity of earth ponies.
Before today I had it in my head this false understanding of just how strong magic manipulation was in comparison to the other tribes’ passive usage of mana. Earth ponies move the ground, pegasi move the heavens, and unicorns move the stars; that translates into the power difference between the three of them, right?
Well, actually, no.
When push comes to shove, earth ponies are more than capable of moving gods just as well as soil.
Prince Artemis found this out the hard way when Red Gala used the magical hold on her raised leg against him…
… Specifically she used it as leverage to lift herself into the air at just the right angle to buck her assailant's horn clean off.
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~Journal Entry 0049 Page 4~
Before we go more into detail concerning our final thoughts on this most dreadful interesting of days, we feel the need to leave a note to our future self concerning something we have only come to realize in this exact moment; as muscles we have not used in stars know how long scream out in agony, and the taste of our dirty quill lingers sourly on our refined tongue.
Writing with one’s own mouth again after years of neglecting the skill is a torture most pure.