//------------------------------// // Cultists 4: Absolution // Story: A Witch in Broad Daylight // by Epsilon-Delta //------------------------------// On some distant technicality, Sunset was having dinner with the rest of the elite four. That is, with the two that could be bothered to show up for anything. Twice yearly, the SA had its convention to discuss and vote on various proposals and policies. This would be the only time the entire elite four, and every S-rank pony as well, would all be in the same place. And so, following some tradition dating to a time when the elite four didn’t all hate one another, the four of them were ‘eating dinner’. Sunset and Flash Bang were locked in a staring contest, neither daring to take their eyes off the other. Starlight had her eyes closed, acting like she was above it all, but then she didn’t say a word either. Nopony heard anything from Nailbat in weeks, but it was still far too early to hope he’d died. The tension in the air was such that none of them picked up their knives for fear it might be seen as an attempted first strike. Sunset forgot what the food on her plate even was. She’d eat later. Or perhaps it wasn’t tension at all. More typically they’d be shouting at one another over whatever issues of the day they disagreed over. Indeed, the mood seemed depressed compared to what Sunset had gotten used to. The room was too big for three ponies, the lighting too dim, the ceilings too high and the atmosphere too quiet. Yes, it felt as though she was at a funeral where every pony blamed every other pony present for the death of their loved one but had just enough tact to keep their mouths shut. Only one issue was on anypony’s mind this year. For the first time in history, two witches had been defeated in a single year. In the streets, ponies were growing restlessly excited, thinking this was the dawn of some new golden age. Behind the scenes, tension was brewing among the powers that be. It looked like Rainbow Dash and Silverstorm wouldn’t be as easily bought as they’d hoped. Sunset knew these two were getting worried that they couldn’t compete. Sunset, for her part, truly believed that might made right in a way that even the other witches only pretended to. She would have no problem bowing to a pony more powerful than herself. She welcomed this change. Her ideal system always was for the strongest pony to lead the rest– it didn’t have to be her. Starlight and Flash Bang were the same sort of hypocrite, talking about the system that rewards the strong was so great… so long as nopony stronger than themselves was around. Who knew what sort of a mess they planned on making if they couldn’t get their way? The door opened and an unexpected guest arrived. It was Nailbat in his stained, green hoodie. With it up, his face became completely shrouded in darkness so that only two glowing red eyes could be seen. Yet there could be no doubt to his identity. His namesake was strapped to his foreleg by heavy chains that jingled as he walked. Even a pony with a death wish would have picked a better means to off themselves than carrying that thing around. He all but stumbled into the room, exaggerating how tired he was. Nailbat was so full of it. You couldn’t trust anything he said or did. “Oh hey, look.” Nailbat sat down at the table, putting his chin down against it like he was ready to sleep. “I actually showed up for one of these.” Nailbat took out a thermos, one Sunset hoped contained coffee. He unscrewed the top and drank the entire bottle in several long gulps. Then he looked down at the bowl in front of him, set out just in case. Sunset knew some brown stew or something filled the bowls but didn’t take her eyes off Flash Bang to look. “The crow is this?” Nailbat stabbed it with a fork. The wrong fork on purpose, Sunset knew without looking. “Is this barf? Does fine society eat the regurgitated meals of orphans now? Just to spite the rest of us?” He always knew how to get a rise out of Flash Bang. She began to falter in her staring contest at that. “It’s a mushroom bourguignon,” she said with as much restraint as possible. “I suppose you wouldn’t know, seeing as it didn’t come out of a vending machine.” “I was afraid of that.” Nailbat reached into his jacket and pulled out a small bag of chips. “But I’m prepared.” Nailbat opened the bag and started eating the potato chips right there. For a minute, the only sound in the room was his loud crunching. Flash Bang blinked once. Then twice. Then she finally turned in his direction. “You’ve been suspiciously quiet lately,” said Flash. “Nopony’s seen you for over a month. I expected you to be lazy, but not silent. You don’t have anything to say about our new friends?” “Hm.” Nailbat looked at them each in turn. “None of you figured out where I was? You need better spies. Well, I went on a little adventure. Surely, I’m not the only pony here who thought that backstory was suspicious, am I?” He didn’t need to elaborate. Claiming you were one of Bloodstorm’s kids from the pirate coast was one way to give yourself an untraceable history. If somepony were going to make up a cover story, they’d make up something like that. “Well, the difference is I called her bluff,” Nailbat continued. “I went all the way to the pirate coast to investigate.” Nailbat reached into his filthy hoodie and pulled out a stack of unorganized papers that he set down on the table. “She’s telling the truth,” he concluded. “I found plenty of evidence to corroborate the story. I got there before word of Trixie’s defeat and found plenty of ponies who had seen Silverstorm and could attest to her power. The hermit she claimed raised her, Sea Scroll, is a well-known sage near the Dunmare islands. Furthermore, I found a paper trail.” He put a hoof on the top sheet of paper and slid it across the table. “The Skull and Saber pirates keep a record of all slave transactions. This is the documentation of Silverstorm’s mother selling her, aged three, for approximately fifteen thousand bits. They paid this much because a former member of the original Bloodstorm Cartel vouched that she was one of Bloodstorm’s daughters. Those fetch a lot of money as ponies expect his foals to have superpowers or some such.” Sunset had seen such a document before and it certainly looked authentic at first glance. The Skull and Saber were one of the many criminal organizations that chose to bend the knee to Screwball when she made clear her intention to recreate the Bloodstorm Cartel. She pulled it closer with her magic and studied it carefully, looking for any sign it might be a forgery. She’d need to analyze the actual age of this document later. The Skull and Saber hadn’t existed for some time, so if it were too new… “I have a second one where the hermit she mentioned, Sea Scroll, purchased her for one and a half times as much.” He presented a slightly less battered piece of paper as evidence next. “But perhaps more interesting than any of that… I heard a few rumors that might elucidate her true motives.” Nailbat put both his forehooves and his head down on the table and spoke in a hushed tone as he watched the others. “You see, while she lived the life of a hermit, Silverstorm was strongly attached to the sage Sea Scroll. And guess who killed the wrong crow, as they say?” Nailbat straightened up and with his hoof drew a line across his neck. “Yes, Screwball was the one who killed her mentor. And she was livid about it and swore revenge and came to Equestria shortly thereafter. “It’s likely she came here to bring Equestria to war with the pirate coast. I suspect her true aim is not just killing Screwball but destroying absolutely everything she’s ever built or cared about. That’s where she aims to take us– to war.” The story he wove was believable enough. Everypony on the pirate coast had either sworn loyalty or an oath of revenge to Screwball. Her wanting to defeat ‘all’ of the witches, as she’d said in private, would coincidentally include Screwball. It wasn’t exactly above Nailbat to fake this sort of thing. He didn’t like any of the ponies present and him helping them needed more explaining than him lying to them. But if it was true Silverstorm ultimately wanted to lead them to war? Perhaps even then it’d be worth it to side with her. “With Minuette and her curses out of the way, we may not be far from bringing that rabble in line,” said Flash Bang. “I’m hardly against bringing the light of Equestria to those wretches.” Two generations ago, her grandfather, Flash Blade, had conquered Manehattan and gotten North Equestria to submit to his rule. The Flashes had been expanding Equestria’s borders for some time now. Bringing order to the pirate coast and turning it into an Equestrian colony was one of their many pipe dreams. Indeed, there was little else she could do to live up to her grandfather’s name at this point. “But how do we know anything you just said is true?” Flash Bang was the one to ask it. Nailbat gave a slow and weary shrug. “I guess you just gotta have faith or something,” he left that sappy line to linger a moment. “Or barring that, you could go to the pirate coast yourself. I suppose you’d have a harder time getting ponies to talk given your track record. But I’ll give you this. Her mother’s name is Silverlace. I last saw her on the island of Dunmare. It’s a backwater and she likely still doesn’t know her daughter is famous here.” He simply closed his eyes and rested his head on the table again, showing no concern about them calling his bluff. Yes, Sunset Shimmer did not doubt at all she’d find this ‘Silverlace’ if she ever went there. Of course, Nailbat would have coached Silverlace on everything to say either way making it a waste of time. A better question was why would he lie about this? Sunset turned her gaze back to Flash Bang and decided on an answer. That was right. If Silverstorm wanted to go to war with the pirate coast, Flash Bang would have a motivation to not get in her way just yet. She would start thinking of ways to use Silverstorm to colonize the pirate coast, rather than destroy her. Which in turn must mean Nailbat wanted to use Silverstorm to some end as well. “Or I suppose we could see how eager she is to go to war,” Flash Bang suggested. “I’ve spoken to her in private, as you know,” Sunset added to the lie. “She plays dumb in public if you can’t tell by those interviews. But when alone, she’s a little too eager to go after Screwball. Silverstorm told me that Screwball’s influence is like a blight that needs to be purged. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if she was on some quest to off Screwball and every pony who ever worked for her.” Flash Bang silently watched Sunset from the corner of her eyes, tapping a hoof on the table. It was rare for any two of them to agree on something. Maybe that would be just enough to gaslight her. “Well I’m hardly opposed to the reunification of all ponies.” That was what Flash Bang said instead of ‘conquest’. Her family had a long-standing quest to colonize every place that ponies lived. “But you can’t tell me you don’t think these two are naïve. It’s dangerous to allow them to gain any further political power. Even if you happen to agree with them, they’re too ignorant to be put in charge of anything but fighting witches.” “Well isn’t that interesting?” Nailbat looked left and right. “We all believe in the SA’s creed that the strongest of us should be on top, but the second somepony with even more power appears we start with all this simpering philosophy?” “I’m not balking,” said Sunset. “If Silverstorm is the strongest pony alive then she’ll rule over the rest of us. That’s simply how the world works, and I accept it.” “Ah! Then I guess everything is fine!” Nailbat leaned his chair back. “War it is! So are we done, then?” “We are not done!” Flash Bang stood up. “These two could jeopardize the SA itself!” “I’m fine with that.” Nailbat shrugged. “I only feel alive when I’m jeopardizing things.” “Please don’t make any further attempts at humor.” Flash Bang cringed. “I know you’re little more than a mad dog, but surely the rest of you are capable of reason. Equestria has been besieged by chaos and darkness for millennia! The old system of royalty and nobility failed us and led to ever steeper decline and disharmony. It was the SA alone that dragged us out of those dark ages and brought us to the point where we can compete even with witches. “Even barring anomalies like these newcomers, we’ve proven during the Toxco War that we can defeat a witch with our armies. We are no longer at the mercy of the monsters thanks to the SA. That’s how important our system is. To entertain anything that may undo it, the very bedrock of order and stability, the only thing protecting our ponies from this horrid world, is the height of irresponsibility.” “That’s where we’re different,” said Nailbat. “When you look at change, you see what could go wrong. I get kind of excited. I agree that SA and the democracy it created are better than the old monarchy. But doesn’t that mean we can change for the better again?” “Perhaps if this was about some luminary like Commander Hurricane,” said Flash Bang, “who gave up the chance to declare herself queen to instill democracy. Or perhaps if Silverstorm was an erudite like Clover the Clever with the wisdom and knowledge to forge a democracy that could last thirteen hundred years at the least. But you can hardly claim this pirate is a visionary such as that.” “Well it takes visionary to know a visionary.” Nailbat swirled his hoof about in the air. “And I don’t think any of those are present here, so who knows? Maybe we all just need to have faith.” There must have been some hidden barb, there. Starlight Glimmer didn’t like the way he kept using the word ‘faith’. The sternness in her expression was slight, but just enough for Sunset to pick up on. “You’ve been awfully quiet, Starlight.” Flash Bang must have noticed it too. “Do you only speak to fools as gullible as your followers?” “Please don’t set her up like that,” Nailbat grumbled. Starlight finally opened her eyes, as if at last deeming the rest of them worthy of attention. “Oh, I’m not the least bit worried about any of this,” said Starlight. “I have everything under control.” Sunset worried that might be the case. At long last came the day when Dash would be given the presidential medal of valor! Oh, they’d been stuck in Canterlot for a whole day straight, being bored out of their minds in preparation for this, but it was all worth it! The doors opened to the long hall leading up to the podium where Starlight was waiting. The ceilings of Canterlot Castle’s great hall towered above them. The Equestrian flag showed its white and red– a pictogram of a red phoenix overlaid on a white backdrop– hanging from every wall and draping down from the ceiling. The national anthem played as crowds on either side cheered wildly in an attempt to drown it out. Dash beamed wildly as she strode out into the hall, tears in her eyes. She’d finally proven everypony wrong. She felt Twilight pressing up hard against her side. It was unfortunate that she couldn’t enjoy this too. This was the arena where Dash would have to look out for Twilight, and so Dash leaned back against Twilight in support. Dash reached the alter where Starlight stood, the other three elite four sat just behind her. Dash felt a twinge of annoyance when she saw Nailbat had fallen asleep in a sitting position. But she wouldn’t let that get in the way! Dash didn’t even care who gave it to her. She bowed her head as Starlight put the medal around her neck. Twilight received hers a bit more awkwardly a moment later. Then came the speeches. Things dragged on and on with all these speeches about stuff Dash didn’t even think was relevant. She studied her medal of valor carefully until every detail of it was etched in her mind. A detailed picture of a blazing phoenix took up most of its real estate. But things just kept going! Before long, she began to forgive Nailbat for getting a head start on the whole sleeping thing. Maybe he even dozed off by accident. Who knew how long he’d been here? Somehow this had always been so much more amazing in Dash’s head. And for the first fifteen minutes, it kinda was. But after three hours of this, she just wanted to go home and go to sleep. When it was all said and done, Dash felt exhausted more than anything else. Twilight was in even rougher shape. Wanting to do her a solid, Dash got Starlight’s permission to head out into a back room for a little while where they could be alone. Twilight ended up collapsing for a half-hour on a couch. Already feeling a bit cooped up, Dash decided to poke her head out and see if anypony was still in the great hall. Walking back onto the stage she was surprised to see how few ponies were still around. Nailbat remained asleep in his chair even now. The room seemed so much bigger when emptied and the few ponies in the audience looked far away. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized one other member of the elite four was still here. Flash Bang saw her and approached, two armored pegasi in tow. Dash took some solace in the realization that she was taller than Flash Bang. At Flash Bang’s side was the holy spear Longinus, which Dash recognized immediately from its distinctive look and purple coloration. Dash knew it was a spear, but it looked a little like a fork to her. At the edge, it split into two prongs. Dash looked around. Nopony else was here but Nailbat and he was asleep. Evermore paranoid about being alone, Dash had to fight the urge to take a step back. “I did want to commend your competence.” Flash Bang rose her head instead of bowing it. “But I also wanted to give you a warning. The world isn’t as simple as you think it is. Extending friendship to everypony may sound great, but now that you have this reputation, I expect you’ll begin to encounter smiling jackals. Ponies will take advantage of your naivety, so long as you keep it.” “Just because I don’t agree with you on everything doesn’t mean I’m naive,” said Dash. “You know, I used to agree with you on a lot more stuff before I got out and actually met other ponies. So I say you’re the ignorant one.” “I can’t see a pony who tries to befriend ghosts as anything else,” said Flash Bang. “Ghosts are predators that eat ponies. They can barely resist the urge.” “Hey! The one I know isn’t a predator. She’s a vegan who got over her addiction and–” “Do you really think I’ve never heard of vegan ghosts?” Flash Bang shot her a deadly look. “Do you think this pony is the first ghost to ever get over her addiction to body heat?” “Well, uh.” Dash faltered. She herself had never heard of vegan ghosts until meeting Fluttershy, nor had she heard of others afterward. As far as Dash knew, Fluttershy really was the first. “I see.” Flash Bang put her wing on the shaft of her spear and stepped towards Dash. “Then tell me. Are you aware that this friend of yours gambled the lives of other ponies for the sake of her own moral satisfaction?” “Huh? What are you–” “And you presume my ignorance? To get over the addiction to body heat a ghost must go two to three years without consuming heat from any living thing. It is an extremely painful process for them, and we estimate some ninety percent of them lose control during that time. They become overwhelmed by the urges and go berserk. In a manic fit, they seek out the nearest pony to freeze to death.” Dash struggled to come up with a pithy one-liner in response to that. Was any of that true? Fluttershy never told Dash how she’d gotten over the addiction. Really, between their banishment and all the bad blood that existed with ghosts, it was hard to know very much about them. “I suppose it’s good your friend got lucky,” Flash continued. “But let’s not pretend that the real lucky pony was the one who was spared being murdered by your friend. I truly hope that you’re not about to suggest every ghost conducts the same experiment on us.” It all sounded damning, but Dash couldn’t seriously imagine Fluttershy putting another pony in danger like that. At least, not knowingly. There had to be more to this. “I– of course not! I just don’t think it’s fair to lump her in with ghosts who are perfectly happy to kill. Some ghosts can be good.” “Of course I know that. I’ve seen them myself,” said Flash Bang. “They’re the ones who stay far away from civilization, so they won’t be tempted to kill us. They’re the ones who accept that they are predators who can’t control their urges and live in lonely woods eating forest animals. I can tell your running into this rare exception has distorted your view on them, but know they are predators. This isn’t like some foolish prejudice between unicorns and pegasi, nor even between ponies and zebras. We are exceptionally different, and it isn’t safe for us to be near each other.” For a moment, Dash did feel ignorant. She really didn’t know a lot about ghosts, if she was being honest. Fluttershy was an outlander in her own culture, having been isolated from other ghosts for so long. Knowing even just one ghost put her above most Equestrians in that regard… but she still only knew the one. Maybe Dash really wasn’t as worldly as she’d felt yesterday. “And despite knowing nothing you wish to go even further with all this.” Flash Bang closed her eyes and sighed. “You’re going to ignorantly put yourself through every type of danger possible? And drag the rest of us along with you? I certainly won’t allow you to do the latter.” “Well I won’t ask you to until I figure it out myself.” Dash pointed at herself and grinned. “But I will figure it out! Just wait! I’ll find some way to get them over their addictions. I’ll find a way we can be friends with them.” “You honestly believe you’re the first pony that thought to try this?” Flash asked. “For thousands of years, good fools and bad have tried the same and every one of them has frozen to death. You need to accept that some things are simply facts that are impossible to change.” She was right. Most ponies would admit something like that was impossible. Yet her words were a little too familiar. What should have been another jab instead filled her with confidence. Rainbow Dash had already done something impossible. She’d been mocked and ridiculed for thinking that after hundreds of years of ponies far smarter and stronger than her, that she of all ponies would be the one to get past Twilight’s curse and find the master witch. “I don’t think so. Even if a billion ponies in a row fail at something, that still doesn’t mean it’s impossible,” said Dash. “Things can change. Like, we have phones now, so we don’t actually need to be in the same room as the ghosts to ally with them, yeah? And as for the griffons, if we can break the curse of undeath there’d be no reason to bar them from Equestria anymore too, right?” “Oh? And you intend to simply end the curse of undeath too?” “I am kinda on a roll.” Dash held up the medal. Flash Bang kept her eyes on Dash but turned her head slightly, frowning with distaste. For once, she didn’t have a strong counter. “At any rate, I suppose the griffons, ghosts, and whatever else should be left to deal with their own problems,” Flash changed the subject. Even Dash could see this was a retreat. “My job is to bring unity, order, and safety to my own kind.” But before Dash could rub anything in, Twilight finally came back. Curiously, Twilight froze on the spot upon seeing Flash Bang for the first time. “Wait!” Twilight reared her head back as she looked down at Flash Bang’s spear. “That spear!” Flash gave her spear a disinterested look, before turning back to Twilight with the first smile Dash had seen from her. “Ah, yes,” she said. “This is the legendary spear, Longinus. It’s one of the very few weapons made of solid adamantium. It was discovered by my ancestor, Flash Sentry, and has been passed down through my noble lineage for six hundred years.” Twilight’s eye twitched, but she coughed to stop herself from saying her initial thought and glanced aside. “Oh!” Twilight’s eyes went straight forward. “So you’re descended from that guy, huh?” Flash Bang narrowed her eyes with an air of contempt. Dash flicked her gaze from Twilight to Flash and at last, it clicked with her. Twilight had always simply referred to her crummy ex-boyfriend as ‘Flash’, but it was clear now that was short for the legendary Flash Sentry. She’d come shockingly close to being the mother of the most politically influential family in the past six hundred years. Really, Dash felt stupid for not making that connection sooner! It seemed so obvious in retrospect. “Do you have some problem with my family?” Flash asked. “’That guy’ was a hero as are all the ponies in my family. My grandfather, Flash Blade, is considered one of the greatest presidents of the democratic era. He won the war against Toxco and reunited us with North Equestria. I could go on for hours on my family's achievements. I hardly think it suitable for one with such an ignoble lineage to speak ill of mine.” But all Dash could think about was the fact that Twilight had banged a major historical figure. She desperately wanted to get that idea out of her head, but it just wouldn’t go. And another thing! How the crow had Twilight lost her virginity despite being locked up harder than the worst criminal in history while Dash couldn’t even– “I didn’t mean it like that.” Twilight shook her head, seemingly willing to let her ancestry slide. “I was surprised. You know, adamantium’s indestructible so you can’t normally forge it into anything. It’s really hard to get.” “You forge it as adamantium oxide, then reduce it,” Flash said dully. “Once it becomes true adamantium, its form is fixed forever.” “I see.” “Though that hardly matters. There was something I hoped to ask you, specifically,” said Flash Bang. “Is it your intention to lead us to war with the Bloodstorm Cartel? And to what end?” “To what end?” Twilight repeated the question. “I want to defeat Screwball and take away her spellbook. I’ve repeatedly said that.” “I see.” Flash rubbed the spot between her eyes. “And have you really not thought about what that would entail?” “I already defeated two other witches.” “You defeated them in battle, yes, but your fight against Screwball would be a war. Screwball is the head of the Bloodstorm Cartel. She controls vast, criminal networks and enough pirates to form her own navy. Fighting her means fighting tens of thousands of ponies hiding in every shadow.” “I don’t need to fight all of them. I can just go for Screwball directly.” “Cutting off her head will only take away their highest ace. Baton Pass would take over the cartel in a heartbeat and continue the fight and there are more after Screwball’s second. And do you think any of them will return the favor by going after you?” “Do me a favor by trying to kill me?” Twilight pointed to herself, not picking up on things. Flash Bang clicked her tongue, clearly not impressed by Twilight’s tactical brain. “I mean, they’ll attack you from the side. They’ll go after the weakest ponies you associate yourself with. They’ll try to destroy you financially or psychologically or in whatever capacity they feel they may stand a chance. But after your display– I don’t expect anything like them attacking you directly.” Twilight’s eyes went straight to Dash, and Dash saw a rare sort of fear in Twilight’s eyes. She was easily frightened by talking or opening up to other ponies but rarely did Twilight get nervous about fighting. Even now it was short-lived. Twilight turned back to Flash Bang with resolve. “I know I can protect my friends,” said Twilight. “I don’t understand war, but I’ll accept it if I have to.” “I see. Know that I’d certainly support you in a war against that wretch however I can. But after?” “After?” “The pirate coast and the eastern islands are the last places ponies live outside of Equestrian rule. However, there should only be one nation of ponies. Our kind should all live as one, in harmony, under the same banner. Do you not agree? Have you not witnessed firsthand the chaos that comes from shunning your brethren and living apart from other ponies?” “I mean.” Twilight looked upwards as she thought it over, accepting the suggestion at face value. “I guess everypony living in harmony sounds like a nice thing. I never really got why there was more than one nation, you know? It sounds more efficient to just have one.” There were a few comments Dash wanted to make there, but she stopped herself. Flash Bang seemed to appreciate that sentiment. “Really.” Flash Bang sized Twilight up once more, as though seeing her for the first time. “Well if your heart yearns for unity among all ponies, perhaps you aren’t as bad as I feared. For the record, I would support even an all-out invasion of the pirate coast. We should speak more in private.” Without needing to be gestured to, one of the pegasi behind Flash handed Twilight a card. Flash gave her the slightest bow of her head, then the three of them departed. As soon as Dash was sure they were out of earshot, she approached Twilight. “Why didn’t you tell me your ex-boyfriend was Flash Sentry?” Dash whispered. “I didn’t think you’d know who that was. I always just called him Flash.” Nailbat began to stir at last, startling both the other ponies. Hopefully, he hadn’t heard Dash’s whisper just now. “Oh, hey. You’re awake.” Dash stepped towards him. “I’m curious if you were actually asleep or if you were listening this whole time.” “Oh, no worries. I slept through the whole thing.” Nailbat stretched his back and got off the chair. Dash frowned as he started down the hallway. Was she supposed to say ‘thanks’ or something? And Nailbat just kept walking off like this was all nothing. “Well?” Dash called after him as he passed her. “Well what?” He stopped and turned to her. “Aren’t you going to try and convince me to side with you on stuff?” Dash asked. “Huh?” Nailbat yawned. “Nah. I’m good. Too tired.” “You just slept for three hours!” “I know.” He looked up at the ceiling. “It isn’t fair. Anyway. Later.” Nailbat started walking away, the chains around his right foreleg jingling with each step. He only went a short distance before turning around. “Oh! Hold up. There is one thing, actually.” Nailbat beckoned to Dash then stepped closer to her, his voice got a little lower. “Do you know a pony named Rarity?” “Uh.” Dash took a step back. Ponies often yelled at her about Fluttershy, but nopony had connected her with Rarity yet! It caught her off guard that a guy like this would have been the first to figure it out. She wasn’t sure how worried to be at first. She’d discussed this with Pinkie’s lawyer and was sure she could get out of trouble if this ever came to light. Still, it’d be a major headache. Dash didn’t need anything else to worry about right now. “Calm down.” Nailbat held out his right foreleg, covered in chains. “Does it look like I got the right to judge anypony?” Dash wasn’t going to say anything out loud, but he did look a bit rougher than he did on film. “See, I just wanted to help you out a little.” He came close. “You know who the leader of the Mad Science League is, don’t you?” Did she? Dash’s mind reeled trying to remember if that ever even came up. She figured it wasn’t that important since Rarity was about to take over, anyway. Dash could go through five or six of Rarity’s friends, but… no! She did remember the leader a little. He was always shrouded in shadows and always made a big deal about not saying his name. So maybe it was important? “Uh. Nope!” Dash smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her mane. “Who is he?” Nailbat’s glowing red eyes blinked. “I see.” Nailbat stepped forward, rubbing his chin. “I guess I could tell you but– I have a better idea. This won’t work if you aren’t ignorant, but I know a way to make sure Rarity is truly on your side. Ask her if she knows anything about a ‘project moonstone’. If she pretends not to know… she’s secretly working for your enemies.” “I’m pretty sure that–” Nailbat just ignored her and started walking off. “Hey! You know, you’re really rude!” “Yeah. Sorry about that.” He waved as he walked off. “I’d say be careful of traps but eh. You’ll probably be fine.” Twilight stepped back to Dash’s side. “You don’t think–” “No way.” Dash shook her head. “But he kinda implied she’d know about whatever the heck he’s talking about with these moonstones.” Dash yawned, too tired to give it any more thought than that. These past few days had left her beyond exhausted. All she wanted to do was go home and rest for as long as possible. They still had one more meeting to get through, potentially the most important of them all at that. Another hour passed and the two of them were ushered into an elevator. This was the tallest one in Canterlot and would lead them to the highest point of the city. The entire exterior of the elevator was made of glass, letting them watch as the rest of the city shrank beneath them. The sunlight tower they now found themselves in rose to the same height as the mountain’s summit. Because Canterlot Castle stood on the far edge of the city’s plates, all of Canterlot could be seen from this vantage point. It wasn’t the tallest building in the world. Yet given that it already rested on a mountain, it still rose higher than any skyscraper. Canterlot itself mimicked the colors of the flag. The buildings were nearly all made of white stone, trimmed with red. Towers and castle-esque structures filled the valley between the enormous palace and the slope of the mountain. Few structures stood on the rocky mountainside itself, but Dash could see the one waterfall of the mountain pouring off to the side. Looking off from the other ledge, you could see as far as the day was clear. On a day like this, she could just barely make out the mist rising from the Everfree Forest and see the mountains near Ponytown on the far horizon. The door opened, allowing them out into an open-air observatory. At the center of it all was set up a small table where tea had been made ready. President Starlight Glimmer, with nopony else in attendance, waited for them alone. “I hope you didn’t take offense to me not meeting you sooner,” said Starlight. “Being president, among all my other responsibilities, really doesn’t leave me with a lot of gaps in my schedule.” She beckoned for them to come sit across from her. Dash did so and looked over all the things she could add to the tea. Not knowing what any of them were, and overwhelmed by the choices, Dash decided to just take a sip without adding anything. “Ah, good!” Starlight smiled brightly, the sun behind her. “They say only ponies with truly refined taste add nothing to their tea.” “Oh! Yeah!” Dash set her cup down gently. At second glance, Dash realized Starlight wasn’t completely alone. On a perch next to Starlight sat a brilliantly red bird. Dash recognized her at once. This was Philomena– the very phoenix on Equestria’s flag since the start of the democratic era 1355 years ago. She could not be mistaken for any other phoenix as there were no others known to exist. She was something of Canterlot’s mascot. They said that bird was older than the mountain Canterlot had been built on top of. Philomena had lived here long enough to witness Mount Canter rise from the earth, and likely would be here long enough to see it erode into dust. A phoenix could not be killed by any means. Through all those millennia, Canterlot stood by her side. It too had been destroyed, sometimes nearly completely, but it always rose again shortly after. The longest Canterlot Castle had ever lied in ruins was perhaps two years. The legend went that Philomena’s spirit infused the city of Canterlot, if not all of Equestria so that it could never fall. The phoenix looked at each of the ponies in turn with the indifference of millennia. Then, deeming none of them worth her attention, looked up at the passing clouds. Starlight, conversely, noticed Dash’s interest. “You know, one of the president’s jobs is taking care of Philomena.” Starlight held her hoof out to get a slight flick from Philomena. Even that slight acknowledgment seemed like a great deal. “It’s the easiest job in the world, seeing as I couldn’t harm the bird no matter how hard I tried. But as the old riddle asks– if phoenixes can’t die then why is there only one left?” Starlight levitated the top part of the perch off its shaft and brought it in front of her to pet Philomena. “They say Philomena was originally the pet of our founder, Golden Feather.” Starlight stroked the indifferent bird. “She still waits here for her master to return, millennia after millennia. She refuses to die until the two can be reunited and so she is immortal. What a sad creature.” Starlight grew quiet, as if to mourn. Things grew uncomfortably silent. Dash had so many things to say to the president but now, just like with the tea, all the options overwhelmed her. In the end, Twilight spoke first. “Do you have any news on Minuette?” Twilight asked. “She’s in Area 5X, right?” “Her condition is no longer critical, but she’ll be in a coma for some time, likely months at the least. They do expect she’ll wake up, though. But between the damage to her horn and the stroke she suffered– well, we likely won’t even need to put her in maximum security when she regains consciousness.” That update did leave Twilight relieved. She’d been so worried for the first few hours that she may have killed Minuette. Even after being assured the other witch was stable and would almost certainly live, Twilight could still hardly get any sleep. Thankfully, it looked like going from almost certain to just certain was enough to calm her down. Dash was antsy about the result for a different reason. From what Dash heard, Minuette figured out Twilight’s identity at the last moment. It hardly mattered if Pinkie was to be believed. She said ponies rarely retained their short-term memories of such traumatic injuries. Pinkie lost all of her memories after her own coma. “Though I’m curious why you care,” said Starlight. “She’s responsible for many deaths, you know. She’s caused a great deal of suffering. Few would deem her worthy of such sympathy.” “I don’t decide who I have empathy for,” said Twilight. “I feel bad when I hurt somepony, no matter who they are.” “How could a pony from the pirate coast have such a gentle heart, I wonder?” “I left the pirate coast, didn’t I?” “I suppose!” Starlight laughed. “I take it you like living with us better?” “Yes,” Twilight said, hesitating slightly. “I like having friends and… being able to cooperate with others.” Despite how much more open she was now, Twilight still said it like she was confessing to having some weird fetish. At least that’d throw Starlight off, play into their backstory. “And you?” Starlight looked to Dash. “You look like you’ve had something to say to me this whole time.” “I suppose I do have some problems with the whole cult thing,” said Dash. “Rainbow Dash, I’m not a child,” said Starlight. “You can be as frank as you want. Vulgar, even. I won’t get upset by you criticizing me. In fact, I welcome it. Do you not like how I do things? Does my religion make you uncomfortable?” An open invitation was more than Dash could resist. “Well, yeah,” said Dash. “I met your buddy Night Glider. You have her totally brainwashed. I don’t like that.” “Oh! I’d be worried about that too.” Starlight smiled. “What did she do that made you think she was brainwashed, exactly?” Suddenly, Dash felt like she was talking to a psychiatrist. “Don’t screw with me.” Dash pushed her chair back an inch. “She was completely unwilling to listen to anything I said and just kept repeating the same line over and over again. And you have her working non-stop for you and she ‘donates’ all of her money to you on top of that. It’s not healthy.” “I see.” Starlight sat down, resting her chin on both hooves. “So you’re assuming that Night Glider wasn’t like that before I met her.” “Huh?” “Rainbow Dash, some ponies simply have obsessive personalities,” Starlight spoke to her like she would a filly. “Before she came to me, Night Glider would spend all day locked in her basement playing game after game of pinball, unable to pull herself away. She’d keep telling herself she’d just play one more game until she collapsed.” Dash raised her brow, unsure if she should believe that story. “Maybe she became the world champion,” Starlight granted, “but she blew all of that money on MLMs and pyramid schemes that she was easily convinced to join. Most ponies would have written Night Glider off as a hopeless wretch destined to end up on the streets. But I see no weaknesses in ponies, only unrealized strengths. You can’t change a pony like her, but you can make virtues of her vices. I turned her obsessive nature into something positive, that she can be happy with, and her faith in my religion protects her from being led astray yet again by more conponies.” Dash was starting to see why ponies would follow Starlight, at least. Even she felt her convictions faltering. “What about how you keep saying your divine?” Twilight asked. “You claim you can make true void and that proves it?” “You say that as if I can’t.” Starlight raised an eyebrow. “Do you doubt it?” “Yes.” Twilight put her hooves on the table and leaned forward. “Can you do it? Like right now?” “Oh, you want to see it yourself?” Starlight took a slow sip of her tea, showing she was in no hurry to grant requests. “Well I’ve never balked at such requests. Seeing is the difference between a miracle and a rumor, I always say.” “Uh-huh.” Twilight refused to back off even an inch. Dash could hardly understand why Twilight got so upset about this one. Sure, it took a while but… on second thought, Dash didn’t understand any part of this. “You know, I still don’t get what’s even impressive about this thing,” said Dash. “Aren’t I creating ‘nothing’ right now?” “No!” Twilight turned to her. “You aren’t creating anything, not creating nothing. Get it?” “No.” “Interesting!” Starlight set her tea down and turned to Dash. “You know, I would have expected you to be the one more knowledgeable about Equestrian philosophy. There’s a common philosophical question I think is related. What would be the most difficult work of art to create? The mark of the truest master of artistic expression?” Starlight paused for long enough that Dash hoped she didn’t seriously want an answer just now. “At first you might think something like ‘the ability to perfectly recreate nature’ or ‘to instill the exact emotions intended’ in the viewer without fail. But these are in the far opposite direction of the truth. The true test is creating something that means absolutely nothing. To create something that defies purpose, which cannot be imparted with meaning by any pony who views it. Ponies have tried such a feat, but none have ever come close.” “Okay.” Dash raised an eyebrow. “I get that it’s hard or whatever… but what good does ‘nothing’ do?” “It answers all sorts of questions for one,” Twilight huffed. “Intuitively, the universe was either created from nothing or else something always had to exist. Some of the gods tell us they have always existed. Others tell us that true void will spontaneously collapse into matter. The theory is that true void would be devoid of all things, including the idea of causality and time. Therefore, it would be indistinguishable from total chaos, and anything could happen when it's around. This would mean the early universe was in a state of absolute chaos.” “Very good!” Starlight clapped her hooves, as if to congratulate a foal. “But of course, there’s one way we can be sure of the truth and about which gods are lying to us. We can create true void ourselves and see. Does it remain nothing? Or does it become something?” At that, Starlight quit stalling. She closed her eyes, and her horn began to glow. Here was the moment of truth! Though it was still the middle of the day, the stars became visible. It didn’t get darker, exactly, but the sun seemed to recede, and the stars grew until they could pierce through the blue sky above. Then they all turned red. Dash looked left and right. This was exactly what it looked like when Twilight created true void. Dash had seen it sparingly before. Next, if she remembered, the stars should appear to bleed. The red light came streaming down just as predicted. Now Dash turned her gaze to Twilight to find the witch stunned by what she was witnessing. It seemed Starlight really could create true void. However, Dash still couldn’t perceive whatever Twilight gaped at. The effect ended and Starlight held her hoof as though there was something there. This was the point Twilight’s surprise peaked. How were you supposed to see nothing itself, again? Maybe she should ask later. “What?! But–” Twilight sputtered. “How is that possible? It’s not decomposing?!” “Hm?” Starlight lifted her head, sporting a smug grin. “I take it you’re impressed by my divine miracle?” “I– I mean! It’s–” Twilight coughed and planted her gaze straight down at the ground. “I was expecting it to explode into true chaos.” “Oh, really now?” Starlight leaned forward resting her chin on a hoof. Her smile looked sharper, more dangerous, now. “And why did you have such confidence it would?” “Oh!” Twilight’s eyes darted about as she tried to make up an excuse on the spot. “Well! It’s just my mentor was always so sure it would. You know, for philosophical reasons.” “Yeah! He had a syllogism and everything,” Dash interrupted. This was one area Twilight needed somepony to cover for her. “I saw it too. And I mean, if you got a syllogism, you can’t possibly be wrong. Isn’t that what your book says?” Starlight flicked her eyes to Dash. She knew. She knew Dash was baiting her into changing the subject. Dash needed even stronger bait! “But you know what I wanna know?” Dash put her elbow on the table, nearly knocking over her own mug. “Maybe I don’t understand all the philosophical implications of whatever. But if you’re really so divine and can do all these miracles, how come you only took down one witch, huh? We already doubled that. Just saying.” Starlight took her chin off her hoof. This was a question she couldn’t possibly avoid answering. “Don’t get me wrong,” said Starlight. “I’m not trying to diminish your accomplishments. Defeating witches will certainly help a great many ponies. You seem to have filled everypony with a manic sense of hope.” “But?” Dash raised her eyebrow. “Can you think of nothing more suited to my attention? Are the witches really the greatest threat to our world?” Dash and Twilight glanced at each other, then back at Starlight “Yes?” They both guessed. Starlight merely giggled. “Okay. Then what is?” Dash asked. “Take a look at the world we live in.” Starlight reclined in her chair and looked up at the sky. “An infinite, clawing void surrounds and consumes us at every turn. The sun and stars are nothing more than music to distract us from the dark woods we’re lost inside of. The vast majority of this universe is nothing but darkness and emptiness. “There are an endless number of planets, but Equus alone has life, light, and magic. Even here, only Equestria appears to be truly stable. Other nations fall more often than they rise in a world of such chaos and darkness. Currently, the griffons and zebras lie in ruins, the dragons sleep, and the diamond dogs survive only by digging deeper than anything else will go. For countless millennia, this one tiny fraction of a speck has never truly fallen. Why were we given this one ray of light in such a black and lonely place?” It was a fair question. Dash herself often wondered how Equestria managed to survive so long with so many threats against it. Their nation was ageless, going back farther than history itself, back to the time alicorns still lingered about if Twilight was to be believed. In that time they’d entered plenty of ‘dark ages’ where great deals of knowledge and history were lost and Equestria entered a period of decline. Yet those never lasted long, and the nation never truly collapsed. Contrast that to any other attempt to form a nation. They never lasted more than a century or so before something horrible destroyed them. Even something like the great empire of Hippotigris only managed three hundred years before total collapse. But why? “More importantly,” Starlight continued after a short pause, “what sort of gods create a world like this? So much emptiness?” “Isn’t that just what you get in a polytheistic world?” Dash supposed. “That explains anything that doesn’t make sense as far as I’m concerned. Like, there are thousands of species of ants ‘cause they couldn’t agree on anything. I guess in a monotheistic world there’d only be one species of ant.” “You’re probably right about that last part,” said Starlight. “But I don’t think it’s that simple. No, we live in an empty world because something has been taken out of it. A void is what remains when you remove something. Perhaps, as the gods tore it away from us, a few crumbs fell around Canterlot and that alone is the light of Equestria ponies speak of.” “The gods stole something from the world?” In the moment, and with the picture Starlight painted, it almost sounded plausible to Dash. “What are you talking about, exactly?” “It’s hard to define what was taken from us, what left the universe a lifeless, empty husk. But I do know the gods have stolen something from us and I intend to take it back,” said Starlight. “I’ve been to the outer realm, and I’ve seen the light and power we are denied. The gods who would steal the light from us are our true enemy, as is the void that consumes the universe. That is where my attention must go.” “So you’re going to go fight the alicorns and the rest of those guys?” Dash knew she’d just been giving speeches about how you should ignore what other ponies think is impossible. Yet this seemed to be on a whole other level. Could Starlight even beat Trixie? Then again, Starlight was dangerously close to becoming an alicorn herself according to Dash’s information. She glanced briefly at Twilight, who had been searching for that secret element of harmony this whole time. “Potentially.” Starlight got up and walked toward the ledge of the observatory. “All I can say for now is that I will fix the world.” And eyes lingered on the horizon to convince Dash that she either believed this or was a grand actor. “But I’m sure you two have a clear part to play in all this.” Starlight turned back to them so that the sun showed behind her. “Yes! Continue to fight against the witches! I look forward to your future success!” It’d been so hard to keep her cool during the rest of that meeting! How Twilight had wanted to storm off the moment she’d seen the true void! But sadly, they had to endure another torturous hour before finally being released. She left in a huff, struggling to understand what she’d just seen. Twilight had created true void so many times and it was never stable. It didn’t make any sense for it to be stable because there were no laws or rules to keep it from falling apart! Starswirl died because true void and true chaos were the same. Twilight knew this better than she knew the color of her own fur. Yet what Starlight had shown her looked exactly like true void, only it remained nothing. How?! It had to be some kind of trick or illusion! Maybe if she’d gotten more time to look, Twilight would have found some flaw with it, but nothing stood out. How would Starlight have even discovered the secret of making something like that? It’d been an enormous undertaking for Twilight to gain that ability. Starlight wasn’t nearly old enough to have done the same. Could it have possibly been true that a god had shown it to her, as Starlight claimed? Or perhaps she’d inherited a mind fiber with the secrets written on it? It had to be something like that! Twilight refused to believe anypony could have learned to cast that spell so easily otherwise. “So was that really–” Dash whispered in her ear. “Maybe,” Twilight grumbled. “And what about the thing.” Dash whispered. Twilight only just remembered the element of harmony they were supposed to be looking for. Truth be told, she’d gotten distracted by that revelation, but thankfully she’d already gotten to the bottom of things by then. “Oh, that.” Twilight nodded. “Yes. I’m convinced it’s something she carries with her at all times, now.” “You mean she had it?” Dash glanced over her shoulder. “Just now?” “Yeah.” Starlight absolutely did resonate with reality in a way she hadn’t seen since the element of magic was in her possession. Yet there was no second location. The only conclusion Twilight could draw was that Starlight carried the artifact on her. What’s more, the effect followed Starlight wherever she went. Even now, Twilight could all but see the element of harmony moving out to the balcony where Starlight was about to address another crowd. “She only had two pieces of jewelry,” said Twilight. “It’s either her earrings or her bracelet.” Dash considered the implications of that. The most immediate meant it’d be more difficult to steal it than Twilight hoped. For now, she just wanted to get back home and regroup! All this fanfare in the aftermath was always far more exhausting than the actual fights with the witches. She knew Dash would have to stay for at least another day to ‘vote’ on ‘things’ as an S-rank pony. She wondered how hard it’d be to just go back home and sleep. As they exited the castle, Twilight could see another crowd outside already. To her relief, it at least didn’t seem like she was the one they’d come for. Starlight stood up on a balcony, above the restless crowd. Clearly, they were displeased about something. “Heh.” Dash elbowed her. “Well if it makes you feel any better, it looks like we’re giving Starlight a headache over there. Her followers are probably getting antsy that there’s another pony who can compete with her.” Twilight nodded. Strangely, that did make her feel better. The feeling ended when a pony came out of the crowd towards them. It was another pegasus, darker than Rainbow Dash. “Oh, hey Night Glider!” Dash called out to her. “So now that we’ve taken out two witches, I don’t suppose your opinion on who best pony is has changed, huh?” “Yeah!” Night Glider laughed like she was in on it. “I was worried about that for a second too. But then I talked to Starlight, and she explained to me what’s really going on!” Dash’s smugness vanished. “Wait. What’s really going on?” Dash tilted her head. “Starlight’s talking about it right now!” Night Glider pointed up at her. The two of them swiveled their ears to listen better. It was still hard to hear, but Twilight could just barely make out what “I promised you an end to all witches and so soon did these two emerge!” Starlight called out to them. “I hoped none of you lack so badly in faith that you thought this a coincidence.” Twilight, at first, thought nopony would fall for something like that, but the crowd did begin to settle. “The outer realm and my struggle against the gods must take on all of my attention. I do not have the time to spare on worldly, but nonetheless important, problems. Yet, I always keep my promises and I will leave no evil unbanished. To that end, Cosmos has imbued these newcomers with the strength to carry out this mission in my stead. They too have been chosen by our god to carry out a great burden! They shall be the instrument by which I will rid the world of witches. For this reason, we should place our support behind them!” And now the crowd was actually cheering for her. Twilight was stunned yet again. How could she flip their opinions around so quickly?! “Okay, you know none of that is true, right?” Dash spun around to face Night Glider. “Oh, wow! Starlight even predicted you’d deny it! Isn’t that amazing? It really is like she knows the future.” Night Glider came even closer, glowing with glee. “She said your journey to defeat the witches will fill you with the wisdom to finally understand that our religion is right. Oh, I can’t wait until you convert! You were so obstinate last time we met I thought you’d never come around.” “I’m obstinate?” “Well, yeah. You refused to accept my airtight arguments. But I guess the blind can’t–” “Yeah, I got it!” There was no winning with these ponies, was there?!