Chapter Twenty-Seven
Gentle Step
The rest of that day, and then all of the next, passed. And then it was the second morning after she'd faced Hardy Rule in court, and with a final review of her work, Gentle Step nodded to herself in a satisfied manner. Things were finally in as much order as she could get them.
Her guards, and the rest, had handled things rather well in her absence, she was proud to see. Except for the somewhat haphazard means in disseminating the griffons' information, and she'd already spoken to Mist Flight about remedying that. Even now, he was working with the other lieutenants, preparing a statement announcing the Guard's plans for aiding any griffon who required aid in finding their relatives.
Shortly after she and her fellows had held their initial group talk with the Six, she'd sent a brief notice to King Well Banded informing him that they'd held such a meeting and, once they'd conducted further interviews with the Six so as to gather as much information as possible, would be compiling and submitting a full report to him. He had in turn sent back a note of his own, acknowledging hers and giving his approval to her request for more time, along with a request of his own that she and her fellows question the Six as much as they could about the Virtues of the past; apparently Mist had already let him know that the Six had learned details about their predecessors that conflicted with what was publicly known. She'd sent back a reply acknowledging his request and promising to carry it out.
The following morning, she'd read the first news articles about her hearing. Some were more accurate than others about exactly what had happened in the courtroom, but all agreed that Hardy Rule had overstepped his bounds in attempting to have her removed for his own personal reasons.
Others also noted the reveal of Sweet's husband and wife, and speculated on why she'd kept it secret. At least one guessed correctly that she'd done so to avoid making them targets, which Gentle Step had appreciated. Others were less than amusing, and she made a few notes to make a public statement on the matter and set things straight, once she'd discussed it with Sweet and her partners.
After completing that task, she'd gone back to focusing on other concerns, such as issuing a statement to Major Blade and to his son, extending their temporary stationing in Canterlot while also granting them leave back to Vanhoover for a few days. She understood and empathized with the Major's desire to see his wife again, but his family ties to one of the Six meant that she had her own reasons to keep he and his son close by.
By the end of the work day, she'd gotten preliminary reports from her Captains based on their group talk with the Six, along with notes on what else they each hoped to learn from them. The specifics varied, but in each case, she'd approved, and sent back messages saying so.
Now, checking the time, she rose. Thanks to the efficiency of her soldiers during her absence, she had caught up on everything that needed her attention quite easily since returning to work, allowing her to make arrangements with the Academy to sit in on one of Xvital's classes this very morning. The time to attend it was soon, and she let her lieutenant know as she passed him on the way out.
"Understood, sir," he said with a salute.
Gentle Step returned it. "I'll let you know if anything else comes up, Mist," she said.
Mist Flight nodded, holding his salute, until she departed.
Xvital
She really wasn't looking forward to another class but it was a necessary evil. The advice Deep had given her about finding something important to her to focus on, rather than a generic image, was helping. She still needed more practice though, which meant dealing with everyone else. They weren't bad by any stretch of the word, but the gap between her and them was just massive. In no small part because she was the only non-pony in the class and she was still learning all of this stuff.
Tapping the memories Twilight had given her wasn't helping much, unfortunately. They had been a great boost at the time but they had faded away quickly. Not to mention that Twilight had been a prodigy when it came to magic, and Xvital... well, wasn't, she would readily admit.
She half-wished she could just learn directly from Page; her friend was very skilled in magic, and Xvital expected she had read up on some of these techniques during her life. Plus, she'd always done better in a one-on-one setting; her time learning from Machtia. But she also knew that Page's work with her hive had to be a priority for now, so that idea was out.
So was asking Rex for help; while his grasp of theory was incredible, he was busy with the trackers the Guards had asked for and with his own classes and he also couldn't actually use magic on his own, beyond studying and interpreting it into a written form.
Come to think of it, until she'd gotten her powers, Page had been the only one of their group who could actually use magic for spellcasting.
She shook her head as she suddenly remembered a conversation they'd all had a long time ago - or at least, that Vix-Lei and Rex had had, and repeated to the rest of them later during dinner that night. Half of us were one thing and the other half were the opposite for a lot of stuff, and one thing they thought of is actually the case now, she mused. All we need is for a third one of us to be able to use magic, and that'll be balanced too.
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and the teacher heaved a huge sigh and went to answer it. A moment later, they said, rather nervously Xvital thought, "Come in, Captain-General."
Xvital froze, like everyone else in the room, as Gentle Step entered, and looked around.
"First off, nopony here is in trouble," she said. "I simply wished to observe your progress."
There was an almost audible sigh of relief as most of the students seemed to relax, and the tension level in the room could be felt dropping, though everyone kept their eyes on her as she moved to the back of the room, and stared forwards.
Knowing that the Captain-General was there mainly for her, even if she wasn't saying so aloud, Xvital did her best to relax and focus on tuning out her surroundings, trying to concentrate on the magic within. Unfortunately, it wasn't working very well with her magic sparking as she failed to pull it together.
She tried to repeat the same mental exercises but none of them were working for her and she could feel the weight of eyes on her now which was not helping!
"ARRRGH!!!" she finally groaned out. "Why. Won't. This. Work?"
There was a moment of silence around the room, and then she looked up to see Gentle Step standing over her.
"Perhaps," the Captain-General said. "You and I should take this elsewhere."
She spoke briefly to the teacher, then headed for the door, Xvital following her. Once they were outside, Gentle Step placed a hoof on her back, then teleported them both away.
They landed in a place Xvital didn't recognize, but Gentle Step gestured for her to sit down on a rather plain looking sofa, before speaking. "What seems to be the problem?"
Xvital sighed before wincing, her ears popping from the sudden change in altitude. "I... I can't figure this out," she admitted. "I'm trying to visualize something personal to me, like Deep suggested, to help me concentrate. But I just can't stay focused."
Gentle Step nodded, seeing the problem. "I have found that when someone is trying to force themselves to stay calm, it is a surefire way to ensure that they do not succeed," she said. "And you have been under a great deal of stress lately, what with having new powers and responsibilities suddenly dumped on you, which isn't helping."
Xvital grunted. "Exactly," she said. "I mean, before all of this, all I had to worry about was what my latest mark would be or what my latest scam would entail. Now I have to worry about my friends' safety, learning all this new way of thinking and doing things and my marriage to Tizoc is coming up. I mean, I'm going to become queen of an entire nation that I haven't even seen in ages, and if I mess up, it's not just on me but Tizy too. Not to mention having to put up with the mother-in-law from Mictlan."
Gentle Step resisted the urge to snort in amusement. "I see," she said instead. "And there is also the issue of your Element. It requires all six of you present to activate the full powers of Harmony, and having one of you living elsewhere would be an issue when an emergency that requires them comes up."
Xvital gave her a dirty look. "Just having five of them is still effective," she said. "Case in point, purifying Sunset Shimmer. But Tizy and I have already discussed this, and that's one of the reasons I need to get this whole magic thing down, so I can teleport to them again like I did when we were fighting the Nightmare."
"Hm," Gentle tilted her head at that nugget of information. "A teleportation network would help address matters but that spell is one of the more complex spells and not one that is normally taught to civilians. Myself and all of my fellow Captains can use it. Even Standing Wall, before you say anything," she said as she saw the startled look on Xvital's face, and guessed what she was thinking. "She has worked out her own version using Earth Pony magic. All six of our lieutenants can also use the spell, but it took them a very long time to perfect it."
"Yeah..." Xvital said. "I'm not surprised. The only reason I was able to do it as fast as I did was because Twilight dropped some of her knowledge and skill into my head for a little while. I remember what she said directly to be, but I haven't been able to really access any of the rest of it since that day though."
"Still, you are expecting yourself to run a marathon when you have just discovered you could walk," Gentle Step said with a frown. "Perhaps we should redirect your teacher to adjust your curriculum."
"To what, exactly," Xvital asked, eyeing her very carefully.
"To what you need, as a beginner," Gentle Step said. "You have power, and you have an idea of what can be done with it. But most unicorns who are just starting out learn the focus that will let them tap that power properly before they start learning specific spells that will help them build up their stores. The lessons you've been receiving seem to be focusing on trying to teach you specific spells, but that focus, to let you access your magic at will, is more important at this stage."
"And that's exactly what I'm having trouble with," Xvital said with a sigh. "Maybe I'm focused on the wrong thing."
"Hmm." Gentle Step tapped her chin. "Is there something you ever felt truly at ease with, something that would let you go through the motions without thinking, rather than forcing it?"
"I... yeah," Xvital admitted. "My calligraphy. If I was trying to copy specific handwriting, it was tricky at first, but once I got the feel of it, it just came out."
"Then I suggest you try to remember the sensation of that moment, when the words flowed and came out," Gentle Step said. "Apply that to your magic."
Xvital nodded, and closed her eyes, trying to get into the proper mindset but it still felt off, unreal to her. She was about to say something when she felt a pen slid into her hand. Blinking her eyes open, she saw that there was a desk before her with a blank piece of paper and inkwell in the corner.
"The motions itself might help you focus more, for now," Gentle Step said. "In time you will learn how to call on the focus without external aid. But to start, use this with it."
Xvital nodded again, and set the pen to the paper.
And then she began to write, something she half-remembered copying down when she was first practicing under Machtia.
Bit by bit, she felt that old sensation come back, and then she reached.
Slowly, she saw her hand lighting up with the magic within, and did her best to hold onto that feeling. Then she looked at Gentle Step, and saw the proud expression on her face.
"Well done," the other woman said. "Congratulations, Xvital."
Breathing slowly, Xvital let go of the magic, and watched the glow fade. "That was... incredible," she said.
Gentle Step nodded. "Now, you must learn how to call upon that feeling more readily," she said. "With practice, it will become second nature. And then we will start to work on your repertoire of spells, from the basics to the more complex. In time, you will be able to achieve what you desire most when it comes to magic."
"Right now, I'll settle for keeping it from surging and burning stuff when I'm not paying attention," Xvital said.
"That would be natural, all things considered," Gentle said. "As to lean on the metaphor before, you are a child just learning how to use your magic. All ponies capable of magic do have their surges when young until they learn how to control it."
"Right." Xvital nodded, then set her pen to the paper.
Practice, she told herself. Remember what you've learned.
Then she set to work, writing once again and focusing on the sensations from before.
And as she practiced, she could feel Gentle Step's eyes on her, a faint hint of a smile from the mare.
Thanks, Captain, she thought. For everything you've taught me here today.
For a moment, her mind drifted, wondering if Twilight would have been as good a teacher in a direct one-on-one setting, before she set back to work.
Rex
The tip of Rex's tongue stuck out from his mouth as he concentrated on the formulae in front of him. "Just a bit more..." he whispered to himself, before he added the last line. "There!"
Looking up from the table, he studied the completed formula and smiled. "Perfect."
Then he heard a knock on the door, and at his "Yes?", one of the Guards stuck his head in.
"Sir, you have a visitor," he said, before moving aside to reveal a familiar face.
"Ah, Captain!" Rex greeted the unicorn mare as she entered his library workshop. "It's good to see you again."
"The same to you, Rex," Violet returned with a smile before moving aside to let a unicorn stallion with a bushy red mane and beard enter. "This is my lieutenant, Lunar Light."
Rex nodded and held out his hand. "A pleasure, sir."
"The pleasure is all mine," Lunar Light replied as he returned the handshake with his hoof. "Vi here was quite impressed with your work, from what she's told me, so I just had to see it for myself. Amulets aren't my specialty, but it's still a good topic to know about."
Rex smiled. "Indeed."
For the next several minutes, he showed the two unicorns his work, explaining what he had accomplished so far, and how. Both were very impressed, but finally, Rex saw Violet looking a little distracted.
"Is there something on your mind?" he asked.
Violet nodded. "First off, you can say anything you have to in front of my lieutenant," she said. "I share everything important with him, unless ordered by a superior officer. And this was important."
Rex nodded back. There had been a tone to her voice that left no doubt in his mind to what she was referring to, but he said nothing as she looked around a little more before turning back to him, a serious look on her face.
"I have to ask," she said. "Twilight Sparkle, the Magi of Stars. We revere her as the patron saint of knowledge, and this library was founded in her memory. How accurate was that description of her though?"
"If I am interpreting things correctly, it was very accurate," Rex said. "When Page described how she got her Cutie Mark, for helping another pony find the book they needed, Twilight's friends said she'd be proud of Page for having such a talent. And as I recall, when Xvital first donned her Element, she described herself as appearing in a room full of books before she actually met Twilight in her other guise."
Violet smiled. "That's good to know," she said. "At least we got some things right."
Rex nodded. "They say that legend fades to myth, given enough time," he said. "My own people have forgotten how we came to exist. Some say we evolved from normal canines over millions of years, others that the first Diamond Dogs came about when magic was infused into rock and turned it to flesh. But we simply do not know the truth. Personally, I am more inclined to believe the former story is more accurate."
"Do you think there is any way you could communicate with the spirits of the Virtues again, so as to ask them for some of this information?" Lunar Light asked.
"I doubt it," Rex replied, shaking his head. "Unless we were to regain access to the mirror that sent us across worlds, and be able to come in contact with our friends there again. But we have no idea where the mirror even is, or when we'd be able to use it a second time. Before we parted ways with its last guardian, they informed us that it only opened at a set interval, and then only for a few days. They did not give us an exact time, however."
Violet shook her head. "I wish I could have seen it," she said. "It sounds like it would have been fascinating to study."
"I quite agree," Rex replied. "The Order had many fascinating artifacts in their vault when we were there, all of which have since been relocated. I regret that we did not have time to study all of them in-depth." He looked at her. "Though I expect that Page remembers most of what was on the inventory list she found when we first arrived. I did not get a chance to see it myself, unfortunately, and she was not allowed to keep it when we left, so her memories are the only source of knowledge we currently have of what was there."
"Just how many of them did you get to see?" Violet asked.
Rex considered. "Night, Wind and Vix-Lei spent more of their time studying the armory," he said. "Page and Xvital were the ones who actually went through the crates. I looked through some of them too, but I must admit, I spent more time trying to resist the urge to start eating the walls." At Violet's raised eyebrow, he looked somewhat embarrassed. "They were made of crystal, and such things tend to whet my appetite."
"Quite," Violet said.
"I must also admit to getting distracted by the sight of the mirror that Sunset Shimmer used, and trying to figure out why it was there," Rex said. "It seemed... rather unusual, but I could not recall any specific legends about such an item. I wish now I had thought to ask Rarity and her friends, when we had the chance, if they knew anything about it beyond what we had already learned through simple observation and usage."
"What could have been," Violet agreed. "And speaking of what you saw on the other side, you met my ancestor's counterpart, correct?"
Rex nodded. "She was a teenage girl, just like the human Bearers that we met," he said. "A talented stage magician, from what I observed, skilled with sleight of hand tricks that created the illusion of effects being produced by real thaumatology. And she seemed to have quite the fondness for peanut butter."
"That last part sounds like Vi, all right," Lunar Light said with a smirk. "She bakes all kinds of goodies when she isn't working or writing. Especially peanut butter cookies."
"And of course Weird Beard here tends to eat most of what I make," Violet said sharply, before softening. "Not that I'd have it any other way. He's one of my best friends, after all."
Rex smiled. "I quite understand," he said. "Friends may have their differences, but in the end, we are friends, and can work our way past any issues that crop up between us."
"Wiser words have rarely been spoken," Violet said, looking at him with a smile. "Are you sure you aren't the moral center of your group?"
"No, that is definitely Page," Rex said. "I am the one who understands and inspires others with my words and actions."
Violet nodded. "In that case, do you think you could inspire my lieutenant to finally do some spring cleaning? That topmost floor of his house has been a disaster area since he moved in."
At that, Lunar Light made a face and stuck his tongue out at her, prompting laughs from both she and Rex.
Night Blade
Wind was fidgeting as they walked, and Night looked at him in concern. "Are you all right?" he asked.
"Just... nervous, I guess," Wind admitted. "Not every day one of the Captains calls and asks you to meet with them. Even if he is one of the nicer ones."
Night nodded understandingly. He'd been quite surprised when he and Wind had gotten the message requesting their presence at the Celestia Guards' primary Guardhouse, where Blazen Sun kept his personal office. They'd also gotten an escort, and he had the feeling at least some of them had been told specifically to keep an eye on him for his own good; he'd caught them peering at his bandaged wing more than once.
Inwardly, he sighed; he could understand the reasoning but he did not like being treated like a foal.
Idly, he wondered if any of their other friends were meeting with Captains today. Page and Rex were back at the Library, Page to do her duties as Queen and Rex to work with the Magi of Stars Guards on his trackers, while Xvital was in class again and Vix-Lei had disappeared off on some personal mission that she hadn't explained; when he'd asked what she was up to, she'd just smiled and winked before heading out.
The pair kept walking until they finally reached their destination, the central Guardhouse of the East, and were led into the building. It was a rather tall guardhouse, covered in the traditional golden sunburst sigils of the solar goddess Celestia, all emblazoned against a white marble surface. In some places, reddish carvings resembling phoenix feathers could also be seen as it was stated in some of the stories that she had owned such a creature, supposedly the same Philomena that could be seen roosting on the statue of her in the senate building at the top of Canterlot from time to time.
Night could see Wind craning his head around as he looked at everything in obvious awe. "Impressive, isn't it?" he asked quietly.
Wind nodded. "Very."
"Thank you," a voice said ahead of them, and both looked up to see a unicorn stallion. "I'll take it from here, gentlecolts," he said to the other Guards, and they saluted him instantly.
Night studied their new escort as he led them down the hall towards what must have been Blazen Sun's personal office. He was tall, for a pony, and well-muscled with an almost silver sheen to his otherwise purplish-red coat and deep yellow mane.
"Lieutenant Steady Lance," he said by way of introduction. "My captain's been expecting you."
Both nodded, and followed him to their destination, which was a pair of doors engraved with a single massive golden sunburst.
At a quick knock and a call of "Come in!", they entered into Blazen Sun's office, which Night could immediately tell had been styled to be... well, "welcoming" was the best way he could describe it. Among the desk, filing cabinets and every other surface were pictures of ponies who Night assumed were of the Captain's massive family. The carpet was a lush and deep yellow, with Night’s hooves sinking to his fetlocks.
The Captain himself was sitting at his desk, studying some paperwork, but at the sight of his guests his eyes lit up. "Greetings, young ones."
Both bowed, while the Lieutenant saluted until Blazen Sun dismissed him. Once the door had shut and he had activated something on his desk that Night expected was intended to prevent eavesdropping, he studied Night and Wind for a minute, then gestured for them to sit down wherever they felt appropriate.
"So." He settled back into his own seat. "I expect you are wondering why I have called you here."
"We were, kind of," Wind admitted. "I mean, it's not like we had anything else planned to do today, and it's nice to get out of the hotel again, but why us specifically?"
Night would have elbowed him if he thought he could get away with it; Wind's nervous babbling was making his hackles raise. Blazen Sun, however, merely seemed amused.
"You are here because I wished to speak more about your adventures, and yourselves," he said. "I must confess that even before it came out that you and your friends were being set up by the Nightmare, I had my doubts about the accusations made against you. I could not see any reason for any of you to be plotting regicide and overthrowing the government. While I admit to carrying out extreme measures in our attempted pursuit of your group, it was done so we could get to the truth behind everything."
Wind nodded slowly, and Night saw that he was looking calmer. "Honestly, we were as surprised as anypony else when we discovered what was going on," he said. "Balance's showing up and telling us what it did freaked me out, not to mention the idea of what we were up against. I don't know if you know or not, but at the time we figured that our bad guy was acting through the Captain-General."
Blazen nodded. "Captain Gaze informed us of that detail, when he was explaining about his own position as one of us," he said. "It was a logical assumption, one that no one can fault you for."
Wind nodded back. "Page was freaked out when she actually saw the Nightmare where it was really hiding," he said.
"Given the aura it was giving off, I don't blame her," Night said. "But... the other day, the Captain-General described it as divine?"
Blazen nodded again. "Its aura, though dark, was not a demonic one," he said. "We believe it to have come from the same source, or a similar one, as Harmony itself. How this is possible, we do not know. Though it is clear that unlike Harmony, its actions were malevolent rather than beneficial." He sighed, shaking his head. "The ramifications of this, once it has been declassified, will cause some serious theoretical reorganization in the churches."
Wind nodded. "No kidding. Like I said the other day, I could tell it was going way beyond its assigned duties. I can see the benefits of using fear to try and turn people away from doing bad stuff - goddesses only know how many times the Sisters at the Hatchery pulled that sort of thing on some of us, especially when we were younger. I mean, they just had to look at us a certain way just to scare us into behaving. But trying to use it to take over the world? That was breaking the Rules it was supposed to abide by."
Then he cocked his head. "I wonder how many others like it and Harmony there are? I think Celestia, Luna and Mi Amore Cadenza were among them, Applejack never said anything about them not being goddesses when we called them that..."
"One can only guess," Blazen said. "We can be certain there are more, but how many or what they represent is a mystery."
Wind nodded again, then suddenly cringed. "That reminds me," he said with a sigh. "There's something else I meant to tell you and the other Captains about when we were talking the other day."
"Oh?" Blazen regarded him.
"Yeah." Wind sighed again. "First off, when we first met Balance, it told us that by appearing to us and giving us our mission, it had to tell our enemy about us, and that because of what it had already told us, the Nightmare - not that it actually said that's who we were up against, we didn't learn its name until we all woke up in the Gem Room - would be allowed to take over the government to balance the scales."
Blazen arched an eyebrow, and Wind continued. "Then, the first time I met Applejack, she told me there was something out there that was even worse than the Nightmare. Something we weren't ready for. And later we found out that if we learned too much directly from our predecessors about our then current bad guy, Balance would have to both bring the Nightmare to where we were and release this other villain and sic it on us, essentially, just like it had already had to help the Nightmare once."
The older stallion suddenly looked more serious than he ever had during either of their talks. "And you didn't tell us about this before, why?"
"Because you guys scare me!" Wind admitted. "I mean, you're the Captains. The most powerful, physically and magically, ponies in all of Equestria. Can you blame me for being too intimidated by your presence to remember everything all at once?"
Blazen Sun regarded him, then shifted back in his seat. "I suppose not," he said. "So, this other enemy of yours is still out there?"
Wind nodded. "No idea who he is. Applejack called him a... rattlesnake, during our first talk, but that was probably just an expression. Then Balance took over and said if I tried to make her tell us who it was, he'd be forced to let it free, and it would End the world." He sighed. "After that, I was told it was time for me to wake up, and I did."
Blazen nodded. "Did they, by chance, explain any of their other old enemies?"
"Some," Night said. "The Griffon Scourge, the Trio Wood Nymphs and their Fearless Followers, the All-Seeing Pegasus of Thunder... they were all either harmless, or in the first's case, just rude. But when King Blueblood read about them, he misunderstood, and his own stories about them made them all out to be much worse than they'd really been."
"Ah." Blazen nodded understandingly. "I believe you said the Trio Wood Nymphs were actually family members of some of the original Virtues?"
"Yeah," Wind said. "Their little sisters - Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. What did Fluttershy say... oh yeah, that they were just three little fillies who could be rambunctious some of the time, and got into a lot of mishaps. And that tree sap was involved in those mishaps more than once, by accident."
Blazen smiled. "Typical precocious children, in other words. They sound like some of my own little ones and their little ones in turn, in their younger days."
"That sounds about right," Night agreed. "As for their so-called fearless followers, they were the exact opposite of what King Blueblood described. As we were told, they were three mares who ran the local flower shop and freaked out when anything went wrong." He sounded amused. "I met their human versions, teenage girls at Canterlot High, and they panicked and almost passed out just because I blinked at them!"
"Goodness!" Blazen laughed.
"As for the All-Seeing Pegasus of Thunder, she was a real sweetheart and a loving mom who had an accident one day where she shocked herself and another pony when she was bouncing on a cloud and made it shoot lightning," Wind said. "No malice intended, she was just clumsy. And her human self was nice too. She actually danced with the both of us at the Fall Formal we attended at her school - we got hired to work there as assistant teachers for a few days, and went to the big fall dance as chaperones," he explained when Blazen raised an eyebrow at him. "Long story, but Principal Celestia had taken custody of Xvital's Element after Sunset stole it, and we couldn't officially get it back from her until after the dance. She gave us a reasonable excuse for staying in the school during that time."
"Ah." Blazen nodded. "I will be asking more about that later, but for now... the Griffon Scourge?"
"An old friend of Rainbow Dash's who came to town one day and was grouchy and rude to her other friends," Night told him. "Rainbow Dash seems to have forgiven her; she blames Gilda's behavior on her upbringing and what her hometown was like. Unfortunately, she didn't name it or describe it to me, but I got the impression that it wasn't the best sort of place." He sighed. "I can understand her upbringing making her grouchy a lot of the time, I've had enough of that problem myself."
"No kidding," Wind said. "I fully admit I had a lot of problems with my Element, admitting the truth to myself that I was an alcoholic." Suddenly, he stopped, and then facetaloned. "Of course..."
"What?" Night asked him.
Wind looked up. "I remember now that Balance said that some of us just needed to stop suppressing our Elements. They must have been talking about me, specifically." He turned to Night. "And he also said that for some of us, our actions were suppressing our Element. No offense intended, but he probably meant you when he said that - you were kind of focused on Page rather than the rest of us."
Night bowed his head. "I know," he admitted. "Balance had to come and speak to me directly when I abandoned you all, to tell me just how badly I'd screwed up, blaming everypony but myself for my actions. I almost wonder if it had to help the Nightmare with something more because of it."
"The fact that you have learned from this experience is evident," Blazen said, speaking up suddenly. "As is the fact that if Loyalty accepted you, you must have met its standards, even if you did not realize it at the time."
Wind nodded. "You came back for us," he said. "You risked your life to save us. A truly selfish pony wouldn't have done that, they'd have damned the world without a second thought even if it cost them their own life. Sure, it may have taken you a while to realize you cared, but that's because you were lying to yourself and managed to convince yourself about how much you didn't care for anypony. Deep inside though, you really did, and you came back to us because of it. And that's what counts in the end."
Night looked at him skeptically, but Wind put a talon on his shoulder. "Take it from the guy who knows all about lying to himself, and whose Element is still in overdrive and can see the truth," he said. "You are Loyalty, no matter what some ponies might say."
Night nodded slowly. "Thank... thank you," he said.
Wind smiled. "What are friends for?" he asked. "You and I may have had a rougher start than some of the others, but we bonded after a while. And not just because of how we each feel about Page."
Night raised an eyebrow. "Wind, I am trying very hard not to think about the fact that if things go well for Page and I, I'm going to end up with a second nephew about my own age."
Wind laughed. "Right. But still, we did connect, you and I." He suddenly blinked. "Hay, if Xvital hadn't suddenly barged in because she thought we were fighting again, we might well have realized the truth about friendship being the key to our Elements before we ever made it to the Crystal Dominance."
Night nodded. "True."
Then he looked at Blazen. "Speaking of the Crystal Dominance and what we encountered there, I cannot help but recall that Captain-General Step never did answer our questions about Sunset Shimmer."
Blazen nodded. "I am afraid I cannot say much about her without Step's direct permission," he said. "But the fact that Sunset Shimmer is alive and has been freed of the Nightmare's manipulations is a very good sign."
Wind nodded back. "Applejack said she wasn't beyond saving," he said. "And that she'd need the girls to help guide her along the right path, but that it'd be worth it in the long run."
"Considering how horrified she looked when we first told her that the Celestia of our world was dead, and that she promised to avenge her once she came back to Equestria..." Night sighed. "I can certainly believe that she still cared in some way about her former teacher. Even if it was twisted by her negative emotions."
Wind snapped his talons. "That's another thing," he said. "Sunset claimed at one point that Celestia used to be the Bearer of three of the Elements, and that her sister Luna had the other three until she got turned into a monster by some curse, so Celestia took her three Elements away and used all six of them to imprison her. And that doing this caused all of them to abandon her for a thousand years, until they found Twilight and her friends." He grimaced. "I can tell, in here-" and he tapped his chest - "That she was telling the truth. And I can guess, given that Luna was around when Chrysalis invaded, and that the Virtues were active for a good while before that time, that Twilight and her friends were the ones to save Luna from whatever was afflicting her when she returned from wherever Celestia had to send her - just like their human selves were able to purify Sunset of what the Nightmare and its allies did to her before she came to the human world."
Both stallions looked at him in stunned surprise, and then Blazen shook his head. "We are clearly going to have to seek out some way of determining just how accurate all of this is," he said. "I suspect that there is much more going on than any of us, Sunset Shimmer included, are aware."
"Yeah." Wind breathed heavily for a moment. "Yeah, there's definitely something more going on. What, I can't tell, but there's definitely more."
"It's clear to me that we really need to find where the Questioning Order took that mirror, and see if there's a way we can send a message through it to Sunset," Night said. "We aren't sure how she missed out on finding out about Princess Celestia's death until we told her, but she did seem to know about the Bearers of that time and could probably answer more than a few of our questions about the past."
Blazen nodded, a serious expression on his face. "Quite. I will make sure to inform Captain Gaze of our need to find them and why."
For a moment, there was silence, and then Wind cleared his throat. "Was there anything else in particular you were wanting to ask us?" he asked.
Blazen considered. "A few things," he said. "Of you in particular, young Blade."
Night looked at him questioningly, and Blazen continued. "How are you and your family getting along since you got back from overseas? I have heard that they had reached out to you."
Night relaxed. "Surprisingly well," he said. "I have yet to speak to my parents since then, or my eldest siblings - Hidden had to go out of town again, and I'm not sure where Crooked and Striking actually are; they had both been stationed here in Canterlot by the time we returned from the Cuanmiztl Kingdom, but I haven't met either face to face since then. Though Wind met Striking when he got the file that sent us to the Griffish Isles."
Blazen nodded. "We Captains were told that they were both in attendance at the gathering on Mount Legion, as I recall," he said.
Night looked a little startled. "I see." Then he continued. "Serrated and I spent a fair amount of time together the day we got back, and I spoke with Deep briefly during that time. Then he visited me yesterday after he got off work for the day. We had a long talk about things."
Blazen nodded again. "It is good to hear that they are making the effort at last," he said. "Family is important to me, and the reports we received while investigating each of you, stating that you barely interacted with any of your siblings... well, I don't mind saying that that aspect bothered me. I almost wonder if outside forces may have been involved in this... not the Nightmare itself, but perhaps one or more of its allies, attempting to weaken your ability to form bonds so as to remove Harmony's ability to fight back against the Nightmare."
"Now that's a scary thought," Wind muttered.
Night winced at the Captain's words. "While I am tempted to wish that was the case, I doubt it was," he said. "As my friend has so aptly pointed out, the simple truth is that I messed things up all on my own, with my denying the truth to myself for so long."
Wind suddenly broke out in a massive coughing fit, and both stallions looked at him in concern.
"Wind, are you all right?" Night asked. He would have said more, but Wind raised a talon, signaling him to wait. Once his coughing fit had subsided, he shook his head.
"Goddesses, that was a bad one," he muttered, before looking at Night. "Night, I think you were half right. You did mess up, but I don't think it was just you. Something else was involved too. Not directly - it didn't force you into making any of the decisions you did. But it did something way back that set things up in a way that majorly influenced your life."
At that pronunciation, all three males suddenly had the strangest feeling, like a chill going down their spines.
"Whatever it is," Blazen Sun said gravely, "We shall keep an eye out for it as best as we can, in case it seeks to act against us further. Equestria will not let itself be caught off guard again."
The other two nodded in agreement.