//------------------------------// // Stability // Story: Babel // by BaeroRemedy //------------------------------// “I don’t think they were happy to see me.” Discord said as he appeared in a flash of light in Fluttershy’s living room. Little critters scurried away from the avatar of chaos as he raised his long draconian tail whose tip had a little flame eating away at the white fur springing from it. He used two of the fingers on his lion’s paw to smother the flame. “But I got your…thing.” He tossed an old rusted piece of metal onto the floor. “Are we almost done, Twilight Sparkle? While your little scavenger hunt that has put me in peril at every turn is fascinating, I do need to get back to tending to these animals.” “Discord, you have no idea how much this means to us.” Twilight picked up the rusted metal slab with her magic and studied it. “Only one more for you to get, and then the real work begins.” “Then we still have to get the one in Manehatten.” Starlight chimed in as she took the hunk of metal from her mentor and took it away to stash with the other relics Discord had acquired for them. “Yeah…” That was the one Twilight was looking forward to the least, but she knew it had to be done. “We’ll save that one for last, I think.” She turned back to Discord, who was now lounging on the couch. “The last one is in an ancient village on an island off the coast, it was almost destroyed by a volcano and was said to be saved by-” A wispy trail of smoke coming in from the window interrupted Twilight’s train of thought. It made its way over to Twilight and erupted in a plume of green fire, which when it faded left a letter in its place. Twilight quickly snatched the letter out of the air and read through it. “Oh no…” She re-read it, then she re-read it again and again and again just to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating the contents of the letter. “Celestia, how did this happen…?” She mumbled as her heart sank into her stomach. “Twilight, what’s going on?” Starlight approached from behind her and placed a hoof on her back. “Is everything okay?” “No…no, something terrible has happened.” She closed her eyes and handed the letter back to her pupil. “I-I need to go back to Manehattan, just for a bit. At least I’ll be able to get the last artifact while I’m there.” She did her best to look on the bright side as a horrified look swept across Starlight’s face. Twilight summoned all of the magic she could muster and focused on the elevator that led to the sequestered floor where the royal sisters resided. The floor itself was shrouded with charms and spells to keep ponies from just popping in, so she had to enter like anypony else would. She focused all of her magic into her horn, then let it envelop her and disappeared in a flash of light. The next time she opened her eyes, she was face to face with two guards standing in front of an elevator. The two of them, both unicorns, shot up straight and gave her a surprised salute. One opened their mouth to speak, but Twilight strode by them both and hit the button to open the doors. Once they parted, she stepped in and hit the only button on the panel and the doors slid closed in front of her. The entire interior of the elevator was covered in mirrors. Before she had left on her mission she had lobbied repeatedly to have them removed or covered, insisting that the unicorns who regularly took it to attend to the princesses didn’t want to be surrounded by mirrors if they were still deformed from The Event. That had only been a half truth. Twilight hated looking at herself just as much as the unicorns who still remain half-changed. Even now, the mare who looked back at her hardly fit the name ‘Twilight Sparkle’. Her mane was unkempt and longer than it had ever been before, dark bags hung under her eyes like so much ballast, and she wore a permanent grimace that she doubted even Pinkie could remove with a military grade party cannon. Twilight closed her eyes and centered herself. Judging by Spike’s handwriting in the letter, things weren’t okay. She was here for him more than anything. After everything he had done for her, she had abandoned him and left him here with Celestia and Luna. It broke her heart every day that she didn’t see him, but every time she did see him she was just reminded of how much she hurt him. He needed her now, though. It was her responsibility to make sure he was okay. The elevator doors opened and Twilight was greeted with a small antechamber, a massive pair of double doors just on the other side. She made her way across the floor to them and pushed them open with no hesitation. The white marble room beyond was how she had left it months ago, just with more paintings. A lot more paintings. They lined every available space they could lean against, each one an amateurly done portrait of a pony. Beyond that, angry mumbles were coming from the room that belonged to the painter of those grim things. Twilight let loose a sigh and moved towards the sounds. Celestia’s room was a mess. A massive painting, one that looked like a ghoulish blood-stained caricature of Twilight’s teacher, dominated almost an entire wall and looked down on the impromptu proceedings in front of it with a demented grin. Celestia sat on her bed, staring out into space as Princess Luna and Shining Armor glowered angrily at one another with Spike between them both. Nopony had noticed her arrival. “How did this happen?” She cut through the tension in the room with the best authoritative voice she could manage. Every eye in the room, even Celestia’s, turned to look at her. There was a beat, then Spike sprinted over to her and jumped up to hug her. Twilight fell onto her haunches and caught the little dragon in a tight and warm embrace. She closed her eyes and rested her head on him for a few moments, the feeling of his rough scales against her coat like so much therapy she knew she needed. They could only afford those few moments of warm intimacy before she released him and stood again. “We’re glad you could join us, Twilight Sparkle.” Luna spoke first. “The situation has deteriorated significantly. Some ponies in the press have already caught wind and the story is spreading.” “Okay, but what exactly happened?” Twilight reiterated. “What caused this?” “Well?” Luna looked to Shining Armor as she asked the question. “It was…it was a misunderstanding.” The captain muttered in response. Shining wasn’t even wearing his armor right now, instead he only wore red and tired eyes and a scowl. “We’ve been getting more and more refugees, it’s been impossible to keep track. Our rations have been getting stretched thinner and thinner and…and we hit a wall.” His voice was devoid of every emotion except guilt as he explained. “We ran out in less than an hour of serving ponies…so did most stations in the city. Princess Luna told me to have my guards collect more from the farming communities on their next round of collections. I misunderstood.” Shining’s head fell and he took a deep breath. “I had Spike send a letter out to the posts, it said to have them collect more food. I…didn’t say on their next rounds. A few of them interpreted it to mean ‘now’ and not later.” “I-it’s my fault too.” Spike’s clawed hand balled into a fist as tears fell from his eyes. “I should’ve clarified. I should’ve asked. You always told me to make sure that what I’m writing is clear and not just write down everything word for word.” “How many?” Twilight murmured as she pulled Spike close to her body with a wing. “The letter said Appleloosa, but how many ponies? Were any other towns affected?” “Initial report says two dozen in Appleloosa.” Shining Armor’s voice became an even wider chasm of guilt as he spoke. “Some other towns were visited, but there was no violence. Just in Appleloosa.” Silence filled the room atop the Royale Hotel as the royals marinated in the information. Twilight wasn’t even sure where to go from here. They obviously needed to issue a statement, which meant she needed to issue a statement. The very few times since The Event that any of the alicorns had spoken to the public, it had been her since she looked the most normal of the bunch. What would she even say? “They were all unicorns.” Celestia spoke, her voice flat and emotionless. “The guards, they were all unicorns.” “No…” Twilight put a hoof to her head and sucked in a deep breath before letting it out in a long sigh. “Okay.” Twilight closed her eyes for a brief moment to collect her thoughts before speaking again. “We can handle this.” “We cannot take responsibility.” Luna stated adamantly. “The fault must be put on the guards who carried it out, not us.” Shining Armor and Twilight both looked at the princess of the night with varying levels of disgust. “They were faulty orders. They were doing as they were told!” Shining Armor’s vast guilt seemed to evaporate as a ball of fire welled up inside of him. “They just killed innocent ponies and you don’t think they’re suffering enough? The last thing they need is all of Equestria blaming them.” “We can’t have ponies lose any more faith in us.” Celestia spoke again, this time in agreement with her sister. “They must believe that we are doing our best, that we are right. Faith in the crown can’t waiver, especially now.” “Well that might be easier if any of you ever showed yourself.” Shining Armor fired right back at the two, dropping all decorum he might’ve once had. “Celestia locks herself up here, Luna curates who sees her and Twilight is off doing who knows what. How can anypony out there have any faith in ponies they can’t even see?” “Captain, you forget yourself.” Luna’s leathery wings flared as she advanced on the stallion, her head held high. “I’ll remind you to whom you are speaking.” “I know who I’m talking to. My little sister and my two in-laws.” Shining Armor glared back at Luna. “I’m not throwing my ponies under the bus when it was our fault. We didn’t keep track of ponies. We didn’t properly monitor rations. We haven’t even tried to relocate any of the unicorns here to help with the food shortage. The buck stops here, Luna.” “Well We cannot do it alone!” Luna shouted back at him as tears started to run down her own face. “We spend all day trying Our best while they—” she pointed an accusatory hoof at the other alicorns in the room. “—do not help Us at all!” Luna sat down and a low rumble started in her throat as fangs peeked out from her lips. “I need help.” She finally said. “Give me a week.” Twilight sighed as she spoke. “That’s all I need, a week. I’ll be finished with what I’m doing and I’ll be back here to help.” She prayed it would only take a week. Everything was about ready, she just had to get a few more things and then set it all up. “We don’t have a week.” Shining Armor pointed out. “In a week the food shortages will be worse. Then in two weeks, Princess Luna has that summit with the Changelings and Dragons in the Changeling Hive. We need to get something sorted out by then.” “I can be here by then.” Twilight reasserted. “What if we’re not enough anymore?” The sad, quiet question came from the dusk-maned alicorn on the bed. Perhaps it had been on everypony’s minds, but none had dared to ask it. A heavy silence descended on the room as they all pondered that question. Alicorns had ruled over Equestria’s body politic for well over a thousand years at this point and it had been only them. First the sisters, then Celesita alone, and now all four of them ruled as a group and chipped in where they could. What if that wasn’t viable anymore? What would an Equestria without full power in the hooves of the alicorns look like? Would that even be Equestria anymore? “All of Equestria hurts right now.” Spike was the next one to speak as he gently put Twilight’s wing back against her body. “Everypony is like you guys. They’re scared and hurt…and…and broken. Just like you.” The ponies in the room flinched at the words and looked away from the little dragon’s words. “Everypony is hurting. They don’t know what’s supposed to happen either…so maybe-maybe you should ask them what they think should happen.” “The Stables.” Luna murmured after another bout of oppressive silence. “We could convene The Stables.” “The what?” Shining Armor asked. “I haven’t thought of them in…a very long time.” Celestia muttered as she looked up at the ceiling. “Could we even track those bloodlines?” “If some of them even survived The Event.” Luna retorted. “We could make new rules for it, I think. We have that power.” “What are The Stables?” Shining Armor asked as he stamped a hoof against the floor. “I’m a little lost here.” “Post-Unification but Pre-Alicorn form of government.” Twilight rattled off the information effortlessly. “It consisted of the heads of ‘great families’ from the three tribes that met in Fillydelphia to decide matters of policy.” “We used them early in our reign as well.” Luna added. “They were useful during the transition to the diarchy. We would certainly need to alter the qualifications for members, but we could do it.” She looked to Celestia on the bed. “Sister, will you help Us? You are the only other pony who knows so much about The Stables.” She then looked to Spike. “The Manehatten Library has a copy of the original charter, or it should, can you retrieve it for us so that we may have it to go off of?” “This is all well and good.” Twilight stepped into the conversation again. “But what about Appleloosa? What about the ponies that…” She swallowed the word that would’ve finished the sentence. Yet again, a heavy silence pressed down on the room. “I’ll take responsibility.” Shining Armor said with a sigh. As he spoke those words, one could see his frame visibly sag. “Maybe you’re right that the crown can’t take the hit, but I can. They were bad orders. I issued them. I’ll say I tried to take matters into my own hooves and didn’t make sure the orders I sent out were clear enough.” He closed his eyes and hung his head. “I-I’ll call a press conference and handle it.” Twilight ran over and embraced her brother, as did Spike. It took a moment, but he reciprocated and then squeezed them both tight. The three Sparkle siblings stood there for a moment and relished in the closeness of family. “Visit more often, Twily. I miss you.” “I will…I’m almost done. Soon I can rest.” She mumbled in response as she pulled away from the hug. Speaking of her mission, she had one more piece of business here. She turned to Luna, who was talking with Celestia about their plan. “You have something I need, Princess Luna. An artifact.” —- The office of the Equestrian Repopulation Bureau in Vanhoover was nothing but a converted townhouse, sandwiched between numerous other converted homes. The northwest of Equestria was sparsely populated, but it was far enough away from Manehattan that a regional capital of sorts was needed to properly exercise the will of the crown across the region. Vanhoover was equidistant to Whinnyapolis, the remnants of Cloudsdale, and the border of the Crystal Empire. It also had jurisdiction over the various villages that dotted the surrounding wilderness. So large swaths of its residential areas, now conveniently empty, had been converted into government buildings. Inside, on the first level, two stallions sat on either side of a desk. A fire crackled not too far away from them in a red brick hearth. The stallion behind the desk was a once-pudgy bureaucrat who had to tighten his proverbial belts like the rest of the country, but even now the loose skin around his face and legs showed how nice and full he had once been. The other stallion was a hulking specimen, pure muscle from years of hard work in the outdoors. His coat was light brown with long streaks of a darker shade of brown running through it. A long shaggy chestnut mane hung around his brilliant blue eyes. “You got another one for me?” The bigger stallion asked, his voice nowhere near as booming as one might imagine it. Instead it was soft and gentle. “Yep.” The bureaucrat pushed a file across the oak desk. “This one’s in Hope Hollow, Cheerilee. She’s a bit of an older mare, but we think she can still have foals. How soon do you think you can be out there, Muddy?” “Gotta pack up the boys again.” The stallion, Muddy, muttered. “Give me a day to get everything here sorted, then I can head out. Shouldn’t take me more than a couple of days to get out there.” “I know all of this moving around can’t be easy with your colts, Muddy.” The bureaucrat leaned back in his chair, which creaked in protest. “I’m trying to keep you close to home so you don’t have to drag them all over Equestria and back again.” “And I appreciate that, I truly do.” Muddy responded with a smile and a nod. “Rock and Roll, they’re at that age where they think they can do everything. They think they’re invincible, y’know?” “Well they survived The Event.” The other pony said with a shrug. “Ponies that young surviving those terrible terrible monsters, they have every right to feel like that.” “Wish the same could be said for us, huh?” Muddy chuckled. “All it did for me was open my eyes to how dangerous everything is. Made me feel a whole lot more scared than invincible.” “That’s the gift of youth, I guess.” There was a beat of silence between the two. “This town, it doesn’t have any unicorns, right?” Muddy asked as he picked up the file finally and flipped through it. Inside was a picture of the mare to whom he was now assigned. She was pretty enough, a mulberry coat with a very light pink mane. She already had a very motherly look to her as well. The file said she was a teacher, so at least she would be good with his kids. “No no.” The other pony waved a hoof. “A few pegasi, but mostly earth ponies.” Muddy rolled his eyes at the mention of the pegasi and grumbled under his breath. Not everything could be perfect, he guessed. It would be good enough for now. Plus, they were about to add three more earth ponies to the town with a fourth soon to be on the way. The perfect town didn’t exist yet, but he knew it was within reach.