Chapter 48
Letter, unsent. Sealed in the Imperial Crystal Library. Date unknown but assumed to be prior to the death of Twilight Sparkle.
Dear Princess Twilight,
Your last letter was like a breath of life to these old bones. I can’t express how much your continued friendship has meant to me in my sunset years. My lungs are finally failing, and the doctors have said there is nothing more they can do. This may very well be my last letter to you.
If it is so, I wish to unburden myself before I pass. You see, I have hidden something from you for decades. The last time you visited, you asked if I had seen Starlight Glimmer since you and she fought over her use of dark magic to prolong her life. I told you I had not. This was a prevarication.
I saw her once, nearly fifteen years ago. I went with Trixie to search for her, following a tip I received from another old friend of yours, a pegasus mare named Yearling. We did not tell you at the time, because I know you and Trixie had not been getting along. (I don’t know if she ever managed to reconcile with you before she died, Twilight, but you should know that Trixie regretted the wedge that had grown between the two of you, even asking me to secure your forgiveness. To my shame I left it undone until now. Please forgive me as well.)
We located Starlight in the Badlands. She had found a repository of old Changeling lore, histories and records written down by Chrysalis’ predecessor. She was doing magical research, still trying to follow some lead or other into Rarity’s disappearance. I have no idea what she sought, exactly, only that we caught her just as she was about to leave.
She was in a sorry state, Your Highness. She barely remembered Trixie, and she’d forgotten most of our childhood, remembering only parts of our shared history as adults. I must admit it broke my heart. We had not been romantically involved for decades, but it still hurt to know she didn’t remember any of our first kiss, the first time we’d made love, or even what we’d planned to name the foal before Starlight miscarried.
We begged her to return with us, to come back to you, to Ponyville, that all would be forgiven. We even promised to help in her fruitless search for Rarity. She told us our promises were empty, and that we wasted our time. Before I could stop her she’d teleported away.
The whole experience filled me with a renewed sense of purpose. For the last several years, even after Trixie’s passing, I’ve been working on a way to help her. I have long since realized I will never be able to see my plan put into motion myself, but I am proud to tell you that I have come up with something that might help.
Do you remember Somnambula’s theory on the recurrence of souls? The unproven idea that a pony’s soul, when deceased, may sometimes find its way into a newborn body, with no memories of its past life? I have long wondered why she always seemed so sure that she was correct, or why august ponies such as her fellow Pillar, Starswirl, or even Princess Cadance, seemed so ready to agree with the possibility. I have decided, however, to trust in their faith and put my plan into motion.
I am anchoring a combination of four spells to my soul. If indeed Somnambula is correct, and I will be reborn as a new pony some time after I die, then the spells should still be attached to me. If I am correct, we shall not only prove her theory true, we shall also have a way to help Starlight in her pain. For her condition will only worsen, until she is nothing more than a pile of bones with a mission and no memories.
The spells are Paladin Pride’s Holy Shroud (which, as you well know, makes a shield from dark magic) Starswirl’s Persistent Permanence (a binding enchantment used usually to make magical artifacts. I have modified it to effect something a little more ephemeral than an amulet or a silly sword), Clover the Clever’s own Memory Lock, and a heavily modified version of the very spell you and Starswirl collaborated on, the one that led to your ascension.
If my calculations are correct, these four spells will bind to my soul. When I am reborn, my new self will be destined to encounter Starlight. By my very presence, she may be shielded from her own folly and begin to regain what she, in her grief and loss, chose to give up.
You and I both know this won’t fix Starlight, or give her back what she sacrificed. But if I’m right, we can provide her with enough lucidity and clarity to find some measure of peace and rest.
After I am gone, Princess Twilight, I beg you; look for my reincarnation. Find the pony that bears my soul. Help them to help Starlight.
As always, you have been a true friend to me. If this is truly to be my last words to you, please know that I have always held you in the highest regard. If the opinion of an old, dried up imposter wizard means anything, you have been truly the greatest leader we could ever hope for.
Signed,
Sunburst
The High Seas, 1113 AF
“They’re right behind us!” Captain Yancey bellowed. Even with his powerful voice, it was still nearly impossible to hear over the sounds of the splashing waves and the wind rushing in Emberglow’s ears. “Are there no tricks you Knights can do?”
“Sorry!” Emberglow shouted back. “I don’t know any maritime spells. It wasn’t my focus! Heartwing might know!”
“You mean the prisoner? But Captain Yancey can’t just—"
A loud explosion came from the pursuing ship, and a cannonball sent up a huge splash of water, just behind them. Sailors gasped in fright as they rushed about with their tasks, trying desperately to keep Pearl Shimmer going just as fast as the wind would allow. Rarity stood at the stern of the ship, her horn glowing. Emberglow’s heart pounded with worry for her, but there was nothing she could do without upsetting her.
“Captain Yancey, he’s the oldest, wiliest, most experienced Knight alive. If anypony knows something that will get us out of this chase, it will be him.”
“But Captain Yancey is responsible! If I let the prisoner out, he could break loose and escape!”
“And if we all go down? If the ship sinks?”
The captain only needed a moment to ponder. “Captain Yancey has your word that he will return to custody when we are out of danger?”
“I promise, captain. I’ll make sure of it myself.”
“Very well. Captain Yancey trusts you, pink pegasus.” He took a hoof off the wheel long enough to fish a ring of brass keys out of his pocket. “Please don’t let Captain Yancey down.”
“No, sir, I won’t.” Emberglow reached out for the keys.
Just then, another air-shattering boom made the timbers of the ship tremble, and there was a flash of blue light. For an instant, Emberglow saw Rarity’s horn blaze like an inferno, as a blue sphere appeared around the ship. A cannonball struck the shield hard, exploding in the air as bits of it rained down into the ocean behind them.
At the same time the ship lurched, and everypony stumbled to the right. Captain Yancey had to steady Emberglow with a hoof, before she could spread her wings herself, just giving herself enough lift to keep her balance on the wildly rolling deck. She grabbed the keys he offered in one hoof, clutching them tightly.
“Your unicorn friend looks tired. Captain Yancey doesn’t know how much longer she can keep things going. Hurry, please, pink pegasus.”
Emberglow rushed to the stairs that descended below the quarter deck, wrenching the door open as quickly as she could. Her eyes drifted to the Diarchy vessel in close pursuit, and the figure of a purple armored Knight on deck. Emberglow didn’t need to look more closely to know who it was; the terrified drumbeat of her heart was all she needed.
She spared one last glance back at the stern, to Rarity’s back. Good luck, she mouthed. Stay safe. She knew Rarity couldn’t see, but it felt better. Like a prayer.
Emberglow raced down the stairs and into the hallway that led to the galley, and from there to the hold, where Heartwing was still being kept in the ship’s makeshift brig. She ran past the room where Lofty, Topaz, and True stayed, gratified to see the gentle glow of a shield spell surrounding the room. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to check.
“Lofty? Everything still okay in there?” she called, tapping on the door.
“We’re fine, Emberglow. What’s the situation up top?”
“They’re closing on us. Rarity is fending off the cannon fire, but we need Heartwing. Captain Yancey gave me permission to free him.”
“Are they close enough to see who’s on board?” Lofty sounded worried. “Did you see Lady Mercy?”
Of course he’d be worried about facing off against his old mentor. “No. I didn’t see her on board. Just Brightblade.” She was proud of herself for not stumbling over his name.
“Good luck, then.”
She knocked on the door again in farewell, then ran down the hallway, through the empty galley, and tossed open the hatch leading into the belly of the ship. She dove inside, spreading her wings as soon as she was through the tiny portal in order to bypass the awkward ladder going down.
Inside the cargo hold, it was nearly pitch black. Emberglow could still hear the battle above, but it was faint, muted by several layers of wood and muffled by sloshing from the ship’s bilge water.
“Is somepony there?” Heartwing called from the other end. “The last lurch tossed my lantern to the floor. I’d just use my horn, but…”
“I’ll be there in a second, Heartwing,” Emberglow called. She landed, trying to move with the lurching and swaying of the ship, and raised her gauntlet to cast. A second later an orb of white light floated in the air above her, spilling illumination throughout the piles of crates and various supplies. In the far end, she could see Heartwing in his brig, still wearing his hoof shackles and horn ring. “I convinced the captain we need your help. I did swear an oath that you’d go back to prison as soon as we were safe, though.”
“I can live with that,” Heartwing said eagerly. “You have the keys?”
“Yes, right—”
A deafening crash shook through Pearl Sunset’s hull, causing the ship to jerk. Emberglow fluttered her wings, managing to not be dashed to the floor like Heartwing’s lantern, but the keys weren’t so lucky. They slipped out of her hoof and splashed into the brackish water at her hooves.
“Oh for the love of…” Heartwing moaned.
“It’s okay, I’ll find them!” Emberglow looked about, her orb of summoned light staying just behind her head as she desperately cast about for the keys. The water was just deep enough, and the darting, spinning shadows just dark enough, that she couldn’t quite see where they had landed. “Do you see them?”
“I can barely see anything with your light moving about like that!” Heartwing cried. “Can’t you hold it still?”
“Not if I want to keep looking, I can’t!” She ran her hooves through the water, feeling rather than looking. “Just see if you can spot the light glinting off the metal!”
Emberglow felt around in the water, running her hooves over the floor, splashing through the water. Her heart pounded; every second wasted because of her stupid fumble was another second Rarity and the others were in danger. But there was nothing but water and wood under her hooves.
“Where could it have—”
“Is that it?” Heartwing called out. She glanced over; he was pointing with a hoof behind a crate. It was possible; it could have slid with the rolling of the ship. She ran over to check. As soon as her light rounded the corner of the crate, she could see the glint of the metal. She reached down to snatch it up.
There was a terrifying crunch, and suddenly the hull just above her head indented inwards, wood cracking and splintering. Emberglow gave a little shriek and jerked away, but besides the three or four streams of water now squirting through at high pressure, nothing else happened. She took a few deep breaths and grabbed the keys.
“That was close,” Heartwing said. “You okay?”
“Yes. But now water’s coming in!” Emberglow backed away from the hissing streams. Heartwing shrugged.
“Relax, it’s not much. I’m sure—” there was another horrifying crunching noise, and the section cracking inwardly lurched another few inches. The streams multiplied. “Um. Might want to get me out quick, please. I’m not really a fan of drowning.”
Emberglow darted over to the cage, her hooves shaking as she tried to shove the key into the padlock. She was gripping the jingling ring tightly, so that it wouldn’t fall again and start this whole thing over, but it also meant that the tip of the key wouldn’t go into the lock like it was supposed to.
“Just put the long skinny bit into the hole, c’mon, this is basic birds-and-bees—”
“Can you not be lewd right now?” Emberglow screamed, and Heartwing gave a little laugh.
“Just trying to lighten the mood.” She glared at his stupidly relaxed face, but he just grinned at her. He seemed so confident, so trusting, that it managed to calm her hooves and her nerves just a little. She gave a nervous little laugh of her own, and somehow managed to shove the key into the lock. She turned it, and for a second thought maybe she’d gotten the wrong key. But then the key twisted with a hard click, and the padlock burst open. She ripped it out of its place and swung the door wide.
“Horn ring next,” Heartwing said, still calmly. Emberglow spared a glance down at her hooves. Was the water getting higher? “No, don’t look at that. Focus. Once I can cast, everything gets better.”
“That’s e-easy for you to say,” Emberglow fumbled for the next key. There were four on the ring, and the padlock for the cage had been the largest. She had three other guesses. She picked the smallest looking one, and held it up to the lock on his horn. Heartwing lowered his head obligingly, and she slipped the key inside. Far too small.
“If you don’t guess right next time, I’m going to make more innuendos,” Heartwing teased, and this time Emberglow laughed. She got the next-largest key on the ring, and managed to slip it into the hole. This one was right, and it turned with a mechanical click of its own.
The very second the mystical restraint opened on its hinge, Heartwing’s horn lit the room in a blaze of yellow. Emberglow was sure he’d be taking the keys from her to unlock his shackles, but instead she saw a glowing yellow aura smother the broken, leaking hull, spreading over the entire area like a blanket. The splintered, broken bits were forced back into place, though Emberglow was close enough to hear his grunt of effort.
“Lots of water p-pressure,” he managed, through gritted teeth. “And… done! Great! Now a little repair spell…”
His eyes nearly crossed with the effort, the glow of his horn growing even larger, and Emberglow was reminded of watching Rarity rip the door of her cell out of place, just yesterday.
“Oh!” She realized she’d been staring, while Heartwing still had his hoof-shackles. She fiddled with the keys, finding the third small key and undoing the shackles on his forehooves while he did his spell work. She was going for his hindhooves when the golden aura surrounded the keys, taking them from her gently.
“Thank you, Emberglow,” he said, unlocking himself. “Now, let’s go see how Rarity’s faring.”
“If a cannonball got through to hit the side of the ship…” Emberglow didn’t want to finish that thought.
“Rarity is fine, Emberglow,” he said, as they splashed through the water out of his cell. Emberglow couldn’t help but glance at the place where he’d repaired the hull; it wasn’t a perfect fix; she could still see the cracks, and a trickle of water seeping through. “She’s a powerful unicorn now. She’s just not perfect, or as practiced, just yet. She probably just missed one.”
“Right.” Emberglow didn’t even bother to hide her skepticism.
They rushed to the hatch, making their way up the ladder and into the galley. It was no longer empty; there were two crystal pony sailors and one of the diamond dogs, laying on hastily set-up triage beds on the ground. All of them were wounded. Topaz and one of the other sailors were already seeing to them.
“I…” Emberglow moved to help, but Topaz was already holding up a hoof.
“Nothing life threatening,” Topaz breathed. She was panting, resting for a moment. Emberglow guessed she’d helped move the wounded. “Just some shrapnel from where a cannonball wrecked one of the side railings. We’ll do first aid, you just head up on deck. They need your help.”
“Lofty? True?” Emberglow asked. Topaz laughed, and pointed at one of the tables. Emberglow could see True poking his little head out, watching all of this with wide eyes. Starlight was there as well, wrapping a bony leg around him to keep him steady.
“True is in good hooves,” Topaz said. “Lofty is on deck, helping with the shield work.”
“Emberglow,” Heartwing said. “Come. They’ll be fine here. Let’s end this chase.”
She wasn’t quite sure what he meant, but she followed him on deck.
Above decks was loud. Sailors shouted to each other, not in chaos, but in the call-and-response cadence of a sailing ship at work, despite the desperate circumstances. Captain Yancey’s voice boomed over everything, calling orders while keeping a firm hoof on the wheel. It was all like a very noisy machine.
Emberglow stepped out onto the deck, and the wind from the quickly moving ship caught her, and she had to extend her wings to help keep from swaying and stumbling. Quickly she looked to the stern, where Rarity had been standing before.
Terminus and Lofty stood on either side of Rarity’s slumped form, gauntlets moving almost in tandem as they cast shield spells together. They were doing their best to conserve their battery power, Emberglow realized, by holding their spells until the last second right before the cannonball got too close. It was a risky tactic, but one that would hopefully pay out for them in the long run.
Emberglow, however, was more worried about the figure between them. She rushed over, weaving through the busy sailors as best as she could, with Heartwing trailing close behind. She could see Rarity’s mane and tail, sodden with seawater and weighted down. Rarity’s back was to them, and Emberglow couldn’t even tell if Rarity was awake. She thundered up the short steps to the raised stern, and nearly cried out with joy when Rarity raised her head.
“I’m fine, I’m fine, darling. Just taking a little breather.” Emberglow had to stop herself from raising a hoof to confirm with a diagnosis spell. They had other things to worry about, regardless of what Emberglow’s personal priorities might be.
"Lofty, Terminus, good work on that shielding,” Heartwing said, and Emberglow could hear the change in his voice from friend to military commander. “Lofty, I’m going to need you to keep it up on your own for a bit. I need to borrow Terminus for a plan.”
“Is this the sort of plan we need the Captain’s permission for, sir? Or that maybe we should warn him about?” Terminus managed to sound both amused and wary.
“Easier to ask forgiveness than permission, love.” Heartwing’s grin was from ear to ear, before he turned to Emberglow with a more serious expression. “Now Emberglow. Did they teach you combat weather magic in the Ivy Seminary?”
“Combat weather magic…” Emberglow blinked. “Sir, weather classes were optional. An elective. I focused on…”
“On Radiant stuff, yeah, yeah,” Heartwing waved a hoof dismissively. “You’ll have to pick it up on the fly, so to speak.” He waggled an eyebrow and laughed at his own pun. “Now Rarity, have you accomplished fine control over the shape and size of your shields, yet? Can you make, say, a cone? And can you make it permeable to ponies, but not to water or cannonballs?”
“I can try, darling, but I don’t know how long I can hold it.”
“Only for a few minutes,” Heartwing said. “Our pegasi friends are going to get rid of our pursuit. Do you remember when Cloudsdale would hold tornado day?”
“You mean that huge to-do where they’d round up all the pegasi in a region to…” Rarity’s eyes shot wide. “Oh!”
“It won’t be huge, because there’s only two of them. I just need a shield in place so it doesn’t get out of hand and come after us.”
“I’m sure between the two of us, we can keep it in check.”
“I’ll be trying to steer the thing, Rarity. You’ll need to manage the shield on your own.”
“I suppose I can do my best, but—”
“Wait!” Emberglow shouted. “I have no idea what the plan is!”
In the short silence that followed, Lofty swore loudly, barely finishing his spell in time to block the latest volley. “Figure it out fast!”
“Emberglow!” Terminus called. “We’re making a cyclone. Follow me and fly hard! Stay in my draft until we get far enough away from the ship. Rarity will keep it contained, and Heartwing will steer it into the ship chasing us!”
Oh. Well, that made sense. But she’d never—
“Go!” Terminus shouted, and Emberglow was startled into flight. She followed right behind him, wings beating hard. A cyclone. They were going to make a cyclone.
“Crazy ponies!” she could hear Captain Yancey shouting behind them. “What are crazy ponies planning?”
“Don’t worry!” Terminus shouted, his voice carried back by the wind as they pushed in front of the ship. It took Emberglow a moment to realize he was talking to her, not to Captain Yancey. “Your part will be easy!”
The easy part. Of starting a cyclone. A giddy little panic-laugh bubbled out of her, which of course Terminus didn’t hear.
Suddenly he pulled up, looking back towards the ship. “Far enough to be safe. Now quickly. We need to fly in a circle, looping around each other. Stay low to the ocean at first, then watch for my signal to begin rising in elevation. Our pegasus magic will start to raise the water in a cyclone, and Rarity’s magic will keep it contained. Keep the cycle tight, and keep your balance. If you spin out, don’t try to rejoin without picking up some speed first.”
Emberglow’s mind was spinning. She’d never really done weather work before, so she wasn’t sure what he was talking about. Her pegasus magic would start to raise the cyclone? What was—
“Sorry, we don’t have more time to practice. Now, fly!”
He started out slow, giving her a few seconds to see what he meant. But the ships were fast approaching, and soon enough both she and Terminus were flying as quickly as they could.
As her wings burned with the effort of their sprint, Emberglow suddenly felt something. It was a strange sort of sensation, similar to the buildup of pressure that happened right before releasing a rune spell. Only instead of building, it flowed out of her, reaching towards the air, the clouds above, even the sea below them.
“That’s it! Now push yourself! Pick up the pace!”
Emberglow was already going pretty fast, but she grit her teeth and pushed harder. She could feel the magic pulling at the water as they spun in the air.
There was magic in the air around them, a blue glow that Emberglow recognized as Rarity’s aura. She couldn’t look over, though. Or even look at the approaching ships. Suddenly the centrifugal force was pulling her sideways, tugging her out, wanting to toss her aside like a rag doll. Now, it wasn’t about flying fast; now she was hanging on for dear life.
“Hold on, Emberglow, it’s rising!” She could barely hear him over the sound of the wind and the rush of the water shooting up between them. “We’ve got it, just a little longer!”
Emberglow’s wings ached. She could feel her feathers tingling. Ocean spray was getting into her eyes, but she couldn’t close them or blink away the sting; one misstep meant a spinout, or worse, a collision with Terminus. One more loop, she told herself. One more loop. And after that, just one more loop. She hurt all over.
“As soon as Pearl Shimmer passes us, we’re releasing the cyclone. You’re gonna be dizzy, but you need to gain altitude to get out of the way!”
Emberglow barely registered his words. Her head pounded, her breath came in ragged, desperate gasps, and her every muscle ached. Her wings felt like they were about to fall off. She couldn’t even look to see how close the ship was.
“Okay, break off!”
Emberglow let the force of her momentum toss her away from the roaring cyclone. She spun through the air, and for one nauseous moment, she couldn’t tell which way was up and which was down. The blue of the sky and the blue of the sea became the same grey blur as she spun. Swirls and spirals of unconsciousness danced at the edges of her vision, and she felt herself slipping into…
“Emberglow, even out! Recover, recover!”
Hearing Terminus’ voice was just what Emberglow needed to orient herself, and with one last surge of her wings, she managed to pull out of her spin and right herself. Terminus hovered in the air just above her. She joined him, wings aching, her vision still spinning, though at least the sea and the air were in the right spots.
“Now watch this. Heartwing’s gonna put his master’s touch on this little plan.”
Emberglow followed Terminus’ pointing hoof, to see the cylinder of cerulean light containing a raging cyclone of spinning water. She could see Pearl Shimmer, just below them. And closing fast was the Diarchy ship. The cerulean light blinked out, and the entire cyclone glowed yellow. Emberglow could see Heartwing by his glowing horn, still standing on Pearl Shimmer’s stern.
The cyclone was already moving of its own accord, twisting and spinning about chaotically. But then it stretched and squirmed and split, one cyclone becoming two. Then it split again, becoming four. Golden veins of magic pulsed through all four cyclones as they jerked and spasmed towards the enemy ship.
“C’mon. Fly slow and carefully. You did good.”
“I… are they going to be okay?” Emberglow eyed the Diarchy ship.
“We had to defend ourselves, Emberglow,” Terminus said, and Emberglow flinched. “If it helps, I think the cyclones might toss them around a bit and convince them not to come after us. I can’t promise you nopony will be hurt, though.”
“It’s fine,” Emberglow breathed. “Really, it is. I don’t want to hurt anypony, but I will defend them.” She looked back to Pearl Shimmer, to where Rarity, Lofty, and Heartwing all stood. She didn’t have to like it, but she’d do it.
The cyclones were approaching the enemy ship. Emberglow could see the Knights on board scrambling to put up shields, and the sailors trying to turn their ship, but it was too late: the cyclones struck with the force of a cannonball.
The first one lifted out of the water, slowly dissipating its force into the air and sending water everywhere, but not before slicing through sails and rigging, leaving tattered threads and rags in its wake. The next two unleashed their chaos on the deck of the ship, tossing about ponies and planks and lines like a pair of foals rampaging through a toy room. The last nearly missed, seeming to bounce off the front of the boat, taking with it only the ship’s figurehead; a painted carving of Rainbow Dash.
“He probably did that on purpose, didn’t he?” Emberglow gasped, still trying to catch her breath.
Terminus laughed, shrugging. “Probably. Let’s fly back. We’ll have to fly a little hard to catch up.”
Emberglow wasn’t sure she could, but then Rarity waved from the deck of the ship, and she felt like maybe, just maybe, she’d have a second wind.
* * * * *
“Crazy ponies are crazy!” Captain Yancey was shouting as soon as Emberglow and Terminus landed on deck. “A cyclone? It could have gone anywhere! The wind should have—”
“It doesn’t matter what direction the wind was blowing,” Heartwing interrupted him, slashing the air with a hoof. “I was in control the whole time!” His voice calmed. “Besides, I had limited options. Your ship doesn’t have rear-facing canons. You barely have any armaments at all! The only other option would have been to pull to one side for a broadside, and you saw how well armed the other ship was. We would have been ripped to shreds.”
“Pearl Shimmer is built for speed, not for defense. We’ve always been able to outrun pirates before.”
“That was a warship. Maybe you could have outrun her in time, but not before my Knights ran out of motes for their shield spells. How many holes did you want in Pearl Shimmer before you got away? Including the hole in the bottom I patched up as soon as Emberglow got my magic suppressor off?”
Captain Yancey stared at Heartwing, hard. Or at least Emberglow thought he was staring; it was hard to tell with his eyes mostly hidden by his bangs. Then he began to laugh; a boisterous belly laugh that Emberglow could have sworn was shaking the deck of the ship.
“Very well, pony wizard. Besides, for uncontrollable cyclones, they worked very well. Impressive. Fantastic!” He closed the distance between them, so they were muzzle to muzzle. “Don’t do it again.”
“Noted,” Heartwing smirked. “So, are you going to put me back down in the cage again?”
“Pony wizard saved us all, and pony wizard hasn’t tried to escape or take control of Pearl Shimmer. Does pony wizard promise not to try these things? And to obey Captain Yancey’s orders?”
“I promise,” Heartwing said. “You have nothing to fear from me, Captain Yancey. I’ve always liked yaks. They’ve got such a style to them.”
“Because YAKS are BEST!” The captain roared loudly, prompting both eye-rolls and cheers from the surrounding sailors, most of whom were still busy putting more distance between them and the disabled Diarchy ship. “But, uh… you said a hole in the bottom of Captain Yancey’s ship?”
“I did an emergency patch job with my magic, and it will probably hold until we reach the Empire, but you’ll want to have a repair crew check it, to be sure,” Heartwing said.
“Captain Yancey will see to repairs when we reach the bay at Makucha ya Paka. Captain Yancey assumes pony wizard would like to go on shore with the rest of his party?”
Heartwing hesitated. “I thought your orders were—”
“Captain Yancey is captain. Captain Yancey will make decisions. Pony wizard saved Captain Yancey’s ship. However… unconventionally. And pony wizard has given his word. Pony wizard can go on shore.”
“We have to get there first,” Heartwing said. “We know they were building an outpost on the island, even though the zebras didn’t like it. What do you think the odds are that they don’t know we’re coming?”
Nopony said anything in the wake of that comment.
The next few hours were the calm after the storm. Her friends were able to rest, and Emberglow had a chance to check on the wounded while the sailors did some minor repairs. Emberglow was rather impressed with Topaz and the way she’d overseen the first aid of the wounded soldiers.
“Land ho!” came the sudden cry from up on the crow’s nest. “Two nautical miles, forty degrees to starboard!”
“Is it our island?” Captain Yancey shouted up at the sailor. There was a pause.
“Aye, Captain! Makucha ya Paka!”
“Good stallion! Keep a weather eye for more ships!”
“Nothing yet, Captain!”
Emberglow found herself lined up on deck with the other Knights, as well as Topaz and Rarity, watching in the distance as a crescent shaped island came into view over the waves. It was low to the ocean, but slowly they could make out the central point: a raised ridge of jagged, tooth-like rock that broke out of the surf.
“Are we even sure this is where the song is pointing?” Lofty said, as they all stood at the railing and watched the island approach.
“It's the only lead we have,” Rarity replied. “I have to have faith. Otherwise Chip’s sacrifice…”
“If we find nothing, then we just continue on to the Empire,” Heartwing said. “Princess Flurry will help us find the Element of Magic if we don’t find it here.”
“Oh, she will?” Terminus sounded a little bitter. “Are you sure she won’t just throw you in a dungeon?”
“She’s too smart for that,” Topaz insisted. “She wouldn’t. You’re an Element of Harmony. You’ll be needed to fix the world.”
“It sounds so wonderfully simple when you put it that way,” Heartwing smirked. “But really, we’re borrowing trouble with this conversation. Let’s just see what the Cat’s Claw holds, and then worry about what Princess Flurry may or may not do when she gets her hooves on me, hm?”
The Captain called the ship to a halt near the southern tip of the island; from this vantage point, they could see the beginnings of a structure on the opposite end. Abandoned scaffolding and wood framework lay strewn about, discarded remains of the Diarchy outpost. There were no ships around, though,, nor were there any ponies to be seen. Heartwing and Terminus had both checked, using long range vision enchantments. Captain Yancey had even retrieved a spyglass from the pocket of his coat. The area was still.
The sailors prepared a rowboat for the land-bound ponies. Heartwing even asked the Captain if he wanted to send any of his own sailors with them, to make sure he didn’t try to escape.
“Pony wizard will keep his word,” Captain Yancey said. “Captain Yancey believes it. And Captain Yancey is an excellent judge of character.”
With that, the sailors lowered them via pulleys to the ocean, and Heartwing and Lofty took turns rowing them to shore.
“We could help,” Topaz muttered as Emberglow and Terminus followed, flying overhead.
“Oh, let the boys row,” Rarity stage-whispered. “It helps them feel all muscly and studly.”
Lofty blushed, but Heartwing gave a hearty laugh.
Honestly, Emberglow wished she was in the small rowboat, resting while others did all the work. A few hours of rest weren’t enough after her desperate sprint. But at least they weren’t flying for their lives.
The island loomed in front of them like a natural fortress; all grey stone and no greenery. It was imposing and craggy, with sharp jutting rocks hiding all kinds of crannies. There wasn’t much of a beach, only a few feet of rough, pebbly sand. Emberglow wondered how the Diarchy marines had even found enough flat ground to build on. They’d probably had to use stilts, or something.
Emberglow and Terminus landed ahead of the others, by unspoken agreement. Terminus had left his long rifle on board the ship, bringing a spear instead. Emberglow held only the shield she’d been gifted from Mlinzi. Both of them did a quick reconnoiter of the small beach as the rowboat made the last few feet towards the shore.
“Shore appears clear of the enemy, sir,” Emberglow said, as soon as the prow drove into the shore. Heartwing stepped out and steadied the boat while the others disembarked. “We can do a flyover, if you want. See if there’s anything to see.”
“Stay within sight, and stay close to each other,” Heartwing said. “Just get airborne enough to see if there’s any sort of cave or ruin.”
Terminus took off first, and Emberglow followed. They did as Heartwing asked, flying just high enough to see over the jagged ridge of the island’s spine. There was no cave that they could see, or ruins, but something caught her eye, something that made Emberglow’s breath freeze in her throat.
On the north end of the island, just south of the paused construction of the Diarchy outpost, stood Mercy Song. She wore robes rather than armor, and carried a broken spear shaft in one hoof, topped with a white flag of truce.
“That can’t be good,” Terminus muttered. Emberglow met eyes with the Diarchy Knight, her old friend, and Mercy Song nodded her way, then sat on the ground. Emberglow shuddered.
“No, it can’t. Terminus… I don’t want to talk to her.”
“I know, Emberglow. Let’s go tell Heartwing.”
They flew back down to where the others waited on the shore.
“Bad news, sir,” Terminus said. “Diarchy Knight, flying a flag of truce. Just south of their construction. She appears alone, but there could be more hidden somewhere.”
“It was Mercy Song,” Emberglow said, and she saw Lofty stiffen. Topaz leaned over and wrapped a hoof around him.
“She’s alone,” Starlight said, and everypony jumped. She hadn’t been in the boat.
“Starlight? Where’s True?” Lofty asked nervously.
“Captain Yancey is watching him. True is now the honorary cabin boy,” Starlight said. Her glowing eyes flickered a bit. “The Knight is alone. There’s nopony else here. But ponies shouldn’t kill ponies.”
“Don’t worry, Starlight. She’s flying a flag of truce. We’ll honor it, as long as she keeps her end,” Heartwing said. “Let’s see what she wants. Lead the way, Terminus.”
They followed the inside curve of the tiny island, only a mile long, towards the half finished buildings. Mercy Song had stepped out from the craggy rock face and onto the beach and was waiting for them as they approached. She called out as soon as they were close enough to hear.
“I am unarmed. I didn’t even bring my gauntlet. I just want to talk to Emberglow and Lofty. Alone, please.”
The six ponies exchanged glances, and something unspoken passed between them all. Everypony seemed to be waiting for something else to happen, though Heartwing’s expression was somehow knowing. Emberglow felt a sort of pressure in the air, a weight of sorts. And then Rarity spoke.
“I think not, whoever you are.” Everypony’s eyes were drawn to Rarity. An ocean breeze flowed past them, rustling Rarity’s mane like a pegasus’ feathers and bringing with it the scent of ocean air, and perhaps something more; a ghost of a scent, candle wax and old parchment. “I told you the same thing back in Jubilation. Whatever you have to say to one of us, you can say to all of us. And I won’t let you hurt Emberglow anymore. I think you should remember that conversation, too.”
Mercy flinched, clutching at one of her hooves. “Very well, if you insist.” She sighed, and her eyes found Lofty. Emberglow stepped a little closer to her old friend. “Lofty… I just wish I understood.”
“Do you even want to know?” Lofty shot back, sounding bitter. Emberglow had to agree with the sentiment. “The Knighthood is corrupt to the core. The connected and wealthy are promoted over the skilled and dedicated. The oaths are hardly followed, and then only when convenient. And when I was forced to choose between what was right and honest, and what was expected, I was punished for making the correct choice. Where are the Saints in all of this?” Lofty spat. “They’re dead. All except Saint Rarity, here. And it turns out the whole thing is just as fake as every fairy tale and fable that the Diarchy ever wrote about her.”
“Lofty, I…” Mercy looked awkwardly around at each of their silent faces. “I heard about you and your son. I’m sorry. For what it’s worth, I think you made the right choice.”
“Your approval means nothing,” Lofty muttered, but Emberglow could tell it wasn’t entirely true. “But is that really what you came here for?”
“No. N-not really.” Mercy’s eyes were wet. “I… I had to try again. Emberglow. We need you. Steadfast needs you. Your parents, your friends, your Sisters all need you.”
“We had this conversation already,” Emberglow said, turning away. “Did you forget how it ended?”
“Brightblade isn’t here this time!” Mercy Song said urgently. Rarity’s horn lit up at the mention of Brightblade’s name, and Mercy backpedaled a few feet, eyes widening in fear. “Really! He has no idea I came. We’re both heading back to New Canterlot City. We’ve… been banished from Jubilation.” She shivered and shook her head. “That’s not important. I’m not here to talk about Brightblade.” She set her flag down on the ground, and lowered herself into a grovel. “I’m here to beg, Emberglow. We need you.”
“Why?” Emberglow breathed.
“Because…” her eyes darted between the assembled ponies in a spasm of fear and anger. “Because of things I’ve sworn not to talk about in front of the uninitiated. Things only you would understand. Sister.”
“I… what?”
“I believe,” Heartwing drawled, “that she’s referring to some sort of secret the two of you share as Radiants. Perhaps an oracle, hidden away in the basement of the Shrine of the Generous?” Mercy Song made an outraged noise, but Heartwing laughed. “Please. The Discordant have known about that for centuries. You know Emberglow isn’t the first of your Order to uncover the lies. You know that horn doesn’t belong to Sweetie Belle, but to…” he glanced around. “Huh. She was here a second ago.”
“Sweetie Belle?” Rarity breathed. “You’re telling me that these awful imposters have been claiming to have my sister’s horn?”
“They don’t know any better,” Heartwing said. “They know she was a unicorn. It’s their ‘big, dark secret’. They use the horn as an oracle. Only it’s not hers, it’s Starlight Glimmer’s.”
“Whose?” Mercy’s face twisted in confusion.
“You use a unicorn’s severed horn as an oracle?” Rarity’s voice shook with rage. “You disfigure and maim, and then defile a corpse? When do your atrocities end?”
“I…” Mercy looked on the verge of panic. It was almost enough to make Emberglow feel sorry for her.
“Whatever you came for, Mercy, whatever you think you need me for, you can forget about it. My place is here, with my friends. You can tell Steadfast the same. I tried to go to him for help, when I was in crisis. You know how that ended.”
“Emberglow, you have to come back!” Mercy shrieked. “It was… I can’t talk about it. It’s sacred. But… my vision. The one I got, when I joined the Radiant.” She shifted her hooves nervously. Even knowing that everypony here already knew her secret, it seemed impossible for her to say it. “My vision, Emberglow. Things are happening exactly…” she breathed. “Exactly as the oracle predicted in my vision. I know it! And you have to come back!”
“What about my vision, Mercy?” Emberglow had recorded it in her journal, but she’d never spoken about it to anypony. “What if I’m fulfilling my own prophecy? Do you want to hear about it?” Mercy was shaking her head, but Emberglow pressed forward. “There was the first part, the one everypony hears. The Sleeper will awaken at the hooves of her children.”
“Emberglow, not in front of…”
“I deny your oaths, Mercy Song,” Emberglow interrupted. “But do you want to know the truth? That one has come true already.” She pointed her hoof. “Rarity was the sleeper. And one of her ‘children’ woke her up.
“But what about the next bit? About the gems? One of them came to me in my vision, Mercy Song. But you already know about that, don’t you? The Element of Honesty.” Her voice was raising, and she was nearly shouting. “The Element of Honesty, that came to me after I denied Steadfast and his lies!”
“But Steadfast says…”
“I don’t want to hear what Steadfast says!” Emberglow shrieked loud enough that her friends flinched, and Rarity reached out to lay a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “I don’t want to hear about your vision! I don’t want to hear you beg! I want you, and Steadfast, and Brightblade out of my life forever!”
For a moment, her shriek was followed by dead silence, except for the waves lapping against the shore. Then Heartwing started to clap.
“Ow!” he complained, as both Terminus and Rarity tweaked one of his ears each. “What? I wasn’t being rude, it was a good speech!”
“Thanks,” Emberglow whispered, though she wouldn’t take her eyes off Mercy.
“Is that everything?” Rarity asked Mercy dismissively. “Because if all you’re here to do is waste our time with this pointless begging, I suggest you leave.”
“This isn’t over, Emberglow. Your destiny as an Element is back in the Diarchy. I know it. Steadfast knows it.” She stood up and brushed the dirt off her robes. “You won’t find what you came here for.” She left the broken spear shaft on the ground as she turned to walk away.
“Care to explain that remark?” Rarity called after her. But Mercy Song would not turn around.
They watched her leave, uncomfortable in the silence that followed.
“Do we… go after her?” Lofty asked.
Rarity shook her head. “I think not. As much as I would love to rip my cutie mark off of her offensive robes, she did keep her truce. There’s no ambush here.”
“Yet,” Heartwing said darkly. “We should hurry and search the island.”
“I found something.”
Starlight’s voice once again made them all jump.
“Starlight, darling? One might think you’d started to take notes on dramatic entrances from Maud Pie.” Rarity gave a nervous laugh. “What did you find?”
“Rocks, not where they should be,” Starlight replied. “Come. I’ll show you.”
“Now she really is sounding like Maud,” Heartwing murmured.
Emberglow had no idea who they were talking about. She was more worried about Mercy Song’s last cryptic remark.
You won’t find what you came here for.
“Are we going to talk about that last thing she said?” Emberglow asked as they followed after Starlight, moving carefully over the jagged stone towards the island’s spine. Emberglow and Terminus finally took wing, hovering a few hoof-lengths off the ground to avoid stumbling and struggling over the broken ground. “What did she mean?”
“My guess is she was just playing mind games.” Terminus waved a hoof in the direction Mercy went.
“That’s not Mercy’s style,” Lofty said. “She doesn’t do mind games. She’s… direct.”
“How did she get to the island? And how is she getting off?” Emberglow asked. “If there’s another ship in the area, the Captain and his crew might be in danger.”
“We’ll just have to hurry, then. And be on our guard. Starlight, where are these rocks that are out of place?”
It turned out that the rocks were not out of place, so much as oddly arranged. There was a wide, flat face of grey stone, striped through with red strata. Emberglow didn’t know much about geology, though the odd diagonal cracks that ran perpendicular to the red strata looked out of place. They were just a little too straight to be natural, though small enough to have been overlooked.
“One moment,” Heartwing said, before raising his gauntlet to cast a spell.
“I’m curious, darling,” Rarity asked. “You’re a unicorn, but you still use a Knight’s rune magic on occasion. Why is that?”
“There’s nothing wrong with having lots of options,” Heartwing shrugged as he finished his spell. Emberglow recognized it as a simple motic detection spell; something that would alert him to nearby sources of energy. “Besides, horn magic and rune magic can both do similar things, though not entirely. This detection spell, for example, can—” he cut off with a gasp. “Woah.”
“What is it?” Emberglow landed next to him, carefully feeling her hoof along the grey stone. It felt warm from the sun, but other than that, completely normal.
“There’s a huge energy source trapped underneath these stones. Massive.”
“Anything like the spell that was keeping Rarity alive under Manehatten?”
“Very similar, in fact,” Heartwing said. He began casting another spell, this time with his horn. “Rarity? See if you can help me shift this rock. I think it slides…”
At the touch of their magic, the stone trembled, then slid, receding into the ground itself in a grind of stone and dust. Heartwing and Emberglow both jerked backwards, staring into the gaping hole it revealed.
“Was the song… a prophecy, then?” Emberglow breathed. “’The wizard’s skull will guide the path’?” She glanced meaningfully at Starlight.
“I suppose so,” Heartwing said. His horn glowed yellow, and he angled the tip to cast light into the cave before them. There was a rough cut stone staircase descending into the darkness; it seemed almost impervious to the light of Heartwing’s horn. “Shall we go look, and see what surprises Captain Celeano hid here for us to find?”
Emberglow couldn’t help but feel excited. The last time they’d sensed a similar magical signature, it had been Rarity. What sort of truth from the past could be down here?
Maybe another pony?
There was a buzzing of wings behind them, and each pony looked up to see Escher, in his odd, bug-like form with a red and black carapace, descending towards them urgently.
“Hey! You’re going to need to hurry!” he called out before his hooves even touched the ground. “The other ship’s back. They’re keeping their distance for now, but who knows how long that will last. If this is going to be a fight, we’re going to need your help.”
“I guess…” Rarity peered into the darkness. “I guess we’d best hurry, then. Into the maw of the beast, as it were.”