My head was swimming with thoughts as I stumbled through the chapel. The way Pinkie was acting just didn’t make any sense to me, she was always so friendly to everypony… wasn’t she? I smiled vacantly as a few pious ponies gave me a nod of recognition, and walked on past them.
I couldn’t ask anypony for advice here, even indirectly, could I? Somehow, Pinkie knew I’d been talking in this specific chapel, though I had no clue how she picked up on that. Did the Priestess tell her? Did one of the Acolytes? I couldn’t know for certain, and that made my head ache even more as I paused at the threshold of the spiralling ramp. That probably meant it was unwise to visit the other locations too. I couldn’t be sure who was listening and who wasn’t, and there were so many ponies there at the same time, it could be anypony who’d tell the High Priestess.
I looked up the ramp as best as I could, trying to push past my blurring vision. Should I just go back to my room, then? A Prophet was meant to be a model to their Acolytes, and if the High Priestess herself ordered something, was it not my duty to obey?
A deep grumbling made me gasp, and it took me a second to regain my composure. It was only when a gnawing ache in my gut accompanied it that I realized the noise had come from me. When was the last time I’d eaten? I tried to think back. Probably not since yesterday, before my shift when I’d sat on the Solarium floor and was lost in blissful unawareness.
Sun have mercy, what was I going to do about that? I had to tell somepony, but the Church… somepony had betrayed me. The pain clawing at my stomach turned cold as a burst of panic shot through me. The Acolytes themselves. Did they even trust me? I knew most ponies outside of the Goddess’s light didn’t particularly enjoy my company, but I’d tried to encourage good, faithful, Loyal thoughts from those who were wise enough to join the Church. They’d never mocked me for being one of them. And yet…
One of them thought I was suspicious. Perhaps even more than one. I chewed on the inside of my cheek as I mindlessly started wandering down the ramp, towards one of the lower cafeterias. Maybe I could catch an Acolyte among the horribly faithless crowds, and with the rabble and noise I could speak to them without fearing being overheard.
Unless, of course, that the pony I found was one of the ponies who’d tell Pinkie what I was asking, of course. Then… I had no clue what I’d do then, but something about what Pinkie said just didn’t sit quite right with me. She’d always told everypony about absolutely everything, so why would she want to keep it quiet until I was better? I was fine!
I sidestepped clumsily before my muzzle could smack into the gently curving wall. A few passing foals giggled at me, but I did my best to ignore them. Already, I could hear the murmuring chatter from the cafeteria a few floors below. It sounded like I’d reached the end of most pony’s lunchtime breaks, judging by the quieter tone. Ponies tended to talk less when they shoveled the last few bites of food into their mouths - or, at least, I hoped they did. Manners wasn’t exactly an Element, but sometimes I wished it was, since some ponies deemed it mostly an afterthought. Especially those working in Mechanics.
A few floors down from here, I’d be at the next Church location, surrounded by quietly whirring gears and dedicated to the Goddess’s glorious warmth. With the steam pipes running across the ceiling, painted in a faded gold, it was one of the spots I loved to frequent the most, though I could only spend so long in there without overheating. My robes might have been worn from years of use, but they also made for decent insulation.
The cafeteria I was approaching would’ve made for a good secondary location for meditating on the purifying warmth of the Goddess, though with the warmth of the crowds came the scent of old metal, sweat, and a few ponies who could stand to brush their teeth a little more often. I usually ate at the one near my room. It was far less crowded up there, and most of the ponies with business towards the Solarium were respectful of my desire to eat alone. A part of me wished I were back up in my room, enjoying the quiet comforts of my personal space, but the rest of me burned with a need for an Honest conversation with somepony I could trust.
As predicted, the smell was one of the first things that hit me as I peeked into the cafeteria. Food was usually a sort of free-for-all, but each eating space made its own menu. Beneath the metallic tang of copper and hardworking ponies I could smell the fresh tang of herbs and subtle sweetness of carrots. My stomach growled again as I stood in the doorway, trying to plot the best possible route to the food. I’d deal with finding somepony to talk to later on.
Life, of course, never made it easy on the Goddess’s most Loyal. My hoof had barely hit the well-swept floor when a few ponies seated against the wall leapt to their hooves. I backed away from them instinctively, slamming my shoulder against the other side of the entryway.
“Wait,” said one of them, a suspicious squint screwing up his face. “Yer that cult goon, right? What’s going on up at the top?”
Another one poked her hoof firmly against my chest. “Yeah, my brother was working on engineering the magelights in the Solarium, and suddenly he was kicked out! He said, and I quote, that there was something fishy going on, because everypony else was told to leave too.”
I took a deep calming breath and pressed forward with as much authority as I could muster. “It was Church business. Perhaps if you opened your mind to the Goddess, she’d grant you enlightenment and peace.”
The third stallion, a larger specimen than the other two, sidestepped in front of me to block my way. “Yeah, there’s so little truth in that fluff, if I tossed it down the ramp there wouldn’t even be enough to roll. What do you take us for? We’re not your brainless worshippers.” He snorted, sticking out a hoof as I tried to skirt around him, nearly tripping me as I stumbled. “Tell us the truth, cult mare. We know you’re one of the ponies in charge. You gotta know something.”
“I don’t,” I grumbled, trying to catch my balance as my vision spun around me. I couldn’t quite see the exact expressions they made, but I could tell it wasn’t one of relieved belief. “The High Priestess doesn’t tell me nearly as much as you think she does.” Trust me, she’s the one acting more suspicious, I mentally added.
“Hm…” said the mare, tapping her chin in profound sarcasm. “Nope. Not buying that. Now, are you gonna tell us the truth, or are we going to have to ask a little less nicely?”
“It’s jus’ a simple question, filly,” snarled the smaller stallion, and I winced as I felt a few drops of spit fleck my muzzle. The nerve of him! It took all the control I had remaining to keep from bolting, either out and upwards towards my room, or deep into the relative safety of the crowd.
“I’m just here for some food,” I said quietly. “I would be more than happy to discuss this with you at a later time, alright?”
The large stallion laughed, a deep booming sound just loud enough to make everypony nearby stop their conversation. A few ears twitched in our direction. “Little cultist,” he murmured with a saccharine tone of warning, once he was sure he had more than just my attention. “You wouldn’t want to cause a scene, here, would you? I know we aren’t the only ones with questions. Just answer our question and we’ll let you on your way.”
I clenched my teeth so hard my jaw started to ache. “And I know that you wouldn’t dare risk the wrath of the Church of Daylight. Don’t threaten me. I said I’ll talk about it later, but I can’t right now, okay?”
One of the large stallion’s eyebrows raised as he took a deep breath. The mare rolled her eyes and plugged her ears with her hooves while the smaller stallion gave me a vindictive smirk.
“ARE YOU SAYING YOU AREN’T GOING TO TELL US ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED UP THERE?” The larger stallion bellowed, as every head swiveled towards us. I looked around as a few muttered conversations started up beneath the baritone of his voice. “YOU KNOW WHY ALL THE WORKING PONIES WERE SUDDENLY KICKED OUT OF THE SOLARIUM, AND YOU REFUSE TO GIVE US AN ANSWER?”
It was mercifully still for a few moments as the cafeteria considered his echoing words. Then, a warbling voice from somewhere in the back tables called out. “Yeah, what did happen? My marefriend was sent home and they didn’t let her get back to work today! How’s she going to earn her credits now?”
“Calm down,” I whispered, trying to contain the note of anxiety creeping into my voice, but I didn’t think anyone could hear me as more people joined in.
“Yeah! My cousin worked as a Peacekeeper up there, and he isn’t even allowed at his post! Some weird Priestesses said that they were gonna-”
“-and it’s not like most of us are supposed to be up there anyway, but it’d be nice if we had the option to-”
“Guys, guys! Out of the way! I’m gonna be late for my second shift, and Coral’s gonna be-”
“Oh, lay off it, Parasol, we all know you’re in the cult too. Do you know anything?”
My fur prickled as ponies started to rise to their hooves, some of them struggling to make their way towards me, some towards each other, and a few towards the exits. I tried to inch myself along the wall, but some of the crowd followed me and a few tried to cut me off.
“I’m just saying, if she did know anything, do you really think she’d tell us? Those cult ponies are all about secrets and cover-ups!”
“Out of my way, Jinx, I don’t want to be in here when hooves start flying!”
“Ow! That was my hoof! Ah swear, ah don’t know nothing, ah quit those sun-drunk weirdos ages ago!”
A pegasus leapt over the crowd, wings beating furiously as he angled himself at me. On one of the downbeats, his wingtip smacked an arguing mare in the side of the head, and I watched as she slid to her seat, stunned.
“Watch where you’re going, featherbrain! You hit Daisy!”
A few hooves dragged the pegasus out of the air, and the room erupted into chaos. My mane felt as though it was standing on end as I bolted towards the food. Maybe the tables could provide some cover, I reasoned, barely ducking underneath a swung hoof. Was that aimed at me? Was that for somepony else? I heard a heavy crack and a yelp of pain deeper in the lunch crowd. It was probably best if I didn’t find out.
“Get back here, you bitch! You’ve got a lot of nerve, coming in here after you sent Saltwater home! It was her birthday!”
“Please, I just wanna go home! Let me out!”
“Didn’t I see you coming from up there last night? Spill it, Cobalt!”
A quiet crinkling noise made my head throb as I wove like a drunken mare through the yelling throng of ponies. A pegasus flew over me, barely missing my head as a few stray bolts of magic lit up the angry crowd. Somepony behind me gave a piercing whistle, and for a split second I could taste the sharp tang of ozone.
I barely managed to stifle a scream as pain lit up my left side.
It felt like somepony stabbed me behind the shoulder. My front hoof collapsed underneath me, and dimly I felt the rest of myself go with it. I wheezed as I tried to fill my lungs with air, but for a few nerve wracking heartbeats my body didn’t want to obey me. Dimly, my brain noted the distinct scent of singed fur.
“Everybody, quiet.” It was a slightly scratchy voice that spoke up, barely above normal speaking volume, but for some reason everypony around me froze. The ponies they were shoving or fighting or yelling at realized that their counterparts had stilled and grew quiet as well, until the whole room grew silent. I tried to see who’d spoken, but my vision was blurred with tears.
“Now,” the voice behind me continued after a few tense seconds, as though I hadn’t been writhing on the floor in pain. “I’m aware this mare started it, but if anypony else would like to continue it, feel free to speak up now.”
A few hooves shuffled. I could hear the telltale fizzle of spells dispersed as the mob’s unease grew penitent.
“No?” The voice, and I couldn’t tell if they were a male or female, sighed with terse irritation. “Then what are you all still doing here, huh? You got shifts! Get moving, or I’ll decide to start taking down names and reporting you officially.”
There was a flurry of movement around me, hooves trampling and wings beating around me. They seemed to give the stranger and I a large berth, and I struggled to move one of my right hooves underneath me. My side stung and I gasped in pain as I stretched my left forehoof out to right myself.
“Stay down,” hissed the voice as I heard the crowds slowly filter out the cafeteria entrance. “You want one of them to decide to take you with them for questioning?”
I paused where I’d strained my neck upright and slowly lowered my cheek back to the floor. It made sense. Finally, somepony who made some sort of sense. She’d known what to do, calming down the crowd… who…
My mind raced as it did a few fuzzy calculations, and I frowned. “You-” My voice came out strangled and weak, so I swallowed and tried again. “You stabbed me.”
The voice laughed, before a feathery wing slid deftly underneath my side and slung me across their back. “Nah, that’d be too messy. Probably hurts like hell, though. You’re coming with me, cult mare.”
I shuddered against their back as feeling crept back into the tip of my hoof. “But-”
The black-cloaked back I was draped across shifted and one of the wings, pale blue like its owner, pressed against my front legs, securing me as the pony began to walk steadily towards the door. My rope dragged on the ground as I watched the room and the few straggling ponies lurch past me.
“Do you really want to stay here? Once the next group of pony’s shift ends, you’ll just have to deal with this all over again, and while I get compensated for my time, the doctors will already have enough to deal with from all this. Besides,” the pony snorted and looked back at me. Their- her, I guessed, mane spiked in prismatic hues that had to be fake. “Unless you want to be zapped again, I suspect you’ll be more comfortable without resisting.”
I tried to focus on the edge of her mane, but the sharp edge of my headache was returning. “Resisting?”
The mare rolled her eyes and trotted out the door, turning right at the ramp and heading downwards. “Do I really have to spell it out for you? I’m taking you in for starting a fight.” My legs tensed up to struggle or protest or something but her wing clamped harder over my front limbs. “If you try to run off, I’ll take out one of your back legs, and you can explain to whatever freaky cult member you hang with why your cutie mark has a scorch mark on it.”
I scowled and attempted to relax as best as I could. We weren’t a cult. I was used to many of the unfaithful throwing that in my face as a barbed insult, but she just said it matter-of-factly, like it was a commonly-known truth. Still, it’d probably be unwise, protection of the Church and blessings of the Goddess aside, to offend the mare who’d “zapped” me.
“Trust me,” my captor added, after a few seconds of relatively quiet walking. “It’s for your own good.”
That didn’t make me feel any better. I felt her deceptively lean shoulders and hips roll underneath me as we made our way down. A part of my mind that’d walked these halls said that we’d passed the second chapel location, the one I’d usually visited, and for a second I could have sworn I heard a few ponies humming familiar hymns, but then I was lost again. I racked my brain as the swirls of color on the walls blended together into a cacophony of hues.
There were shops this far down with specialty goods, mixed in between corridors where many of the mechanics worked and lived. They had access points all throughout the colony, but much of the mechanisms that they still interacted with coincided around this level, so some of the mechanics never really left this area. Between the dormitories, the cafeteria, and here, they didn’t go out much. To be fair, I didn’t either, but I usually spent my time enlightening the various churches and providing guidance to the Acolytes and Priestesses.
I squinted at a shop sign as we walked past. I couldn’t quite make out the words, but the bobbin and needle told me that this must’ve been a mending shop. A sharp tug on the hem of my cloak made me wince against the mare as we continued onward. If she kept trodding on my robe, I’d have to get it fixed sooner rather than later. I doubted they’d have a perfect match for the ancient fabric, but perhaps somepony would be able to hem the parts that were fraying.
Not that I was vain, of course, but the tradition was sacred, and the cloak had belonged to the first Prophet, who was said to have spoken with the Goddess herself before the Goddess’s mighty gesture to keep ponykind alive. I squirmed one of my hind legs, trying to kick up the edge off the ground, but with little luck.
The shops were fairly quiet at this time of day. Most ponies were either just starting their next work shift, or quietly finishing their last one. I shivered as I breathed in the scents of freshly-mixed paints, baked clay, and the sharp fragrance of incense. A couple of ponies laughed to each other as they sorted racks of well-loved clothes. One waved at the mare carrying me, and her hoofsteps paused as she waved back before continuing her descent. Neither pony, I noted sourly, even bothered to acknowledge my presence.
A firm press of the edge of the pegasus’s wing was my only warning before we turned sharply to the right, into a tunnel so tight I felt my tail brush against the wall. A few faint lights bobbed against the ceiling at uneven intervals, reminding me painfully of the distant pinpricks of stars. A wave of nauseous fear rose within my mind as I tried to keep my breathing steady. What in the Goddess’s mercy were we going to do, we were on a separate planet, we-
“Hey, deep breaths,” said the mare calmly, startling me out of my thoughts. “I’m not gonna lock you up forever, you know. The cult would kill me, and I don’t want the whole relationship between us and you to get worse than it already is.”
She turned and a cool glow flooded the tunnel up ahead. My jaw ached, and I realized I’d been clenching it tight. “It’s just a shortcut,” she added after a few moments of uncomfortable silence. “Nothing more. You’ve visited one of the guardhouses before, right? Sibling group trip, maybe?”
I shook my head and tried to squint into the light. “If I have, I don’t remember it. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen any of the other foals I was raised with, and I don’t think they’d be particularly interested in telling me if I ask. We weren’t very close.”
My eyes watered as we stepped into the brightly-lit room. It was rectangular in shape, with a few chairs next to each small room that branched off of it. A few thin blue tendrils of electricity snaked from the ceiling of each cell’s opening to the floor. I couldn’t see what was inside, but it didn’t look like there was anypony in here at the time but us. In the center of the room stood a few tables with paperwork stacked in neat piles.
Groaning, the pegasus stretched out her wings, unclamping my hooves from her side before tilting her barrel. Getting the hint, I gingerly slid to the floor, testing my weight against my left forehoof. It barely stung anymore, compared to the immediate blinding pain of earlier.
“Alright,” began the mare, stepping towards one of the cells. With a practiced flick, her feathers held back a few of the arcs of electricity that danced from the opening. “In here.” I hesitated, and she held up one of her front hooves casually, letting me get a good look at the thin black box strapped to her foreleg. “Don’t make me zap you again.”
I took a deep breath and stumbled towards the caged room, shying away from the strands of energy that her wings didn’t somehow neutralize. Just being that close to them made my fur stand on end, and I got the feeling that they, like the little box secured to the guard’s hoof, carried a far stronger punch than I’d expect.
The pegasus casually folded her wing once I was pressed against the back wall. The room was actually a semicircle inside, and contained a thin mattress and a bucket, with little room for much else. I sat down on the edge of my robe, not trusting whatever had used the bed before I’d been in there. It smelled clean enough, but a few pale stains decorated one edge.
“Now, let’s see here.” I looked up through the electric bars as the pegasus rifled through a few of the stacks. She firmly tugged out a notebook with most of the pages torn out and a pen. “Alright, so most of those ponies were out for your blood. Did you say anything to rile them up, or was it just because you’re part of that cult?”
I felt my brow crinkle as I frowned at her. “The Church of Daylight is not a cult. It welcomes anypony who wishes to follow the Goddess’s light. And I didn’t mean to start a fight! I just wanted lunch, and to talk to somepony. That’s not a crime!”
The mare scratched out a few lines of notes on the paper before glancing up at me. “Yeah, but you’re pretty high up in that cu- Church of yours, and a whole bunch of ponies who either regularly visited the upper regions or knew somepony who did have reported something unusual going on. Your… organization caused a disruption. They want answers.”
I slumped to the ground. A few strands of my mane floated above the others with the residual static. “They were the ones who attacked me. Besides, it’s just Church business. Things should be back to normal-” I cut myself off, pressing my lips together.
It wouldn’t be back to normal, would it? How could anypony go back to normal after everything we thought we knew was wrong? There was no way the High Priestess would see fit to let ponies up there before she thought of what to tell everypony. “Uh, soon. I don’t know when, exactly,” I finished lamely.
The mare continued her notes for about a minute after I’d talked, looking up at me every so often before jotting down a few more phrases. “So you don’t know anything about what’s going on up there? I find that hard to believe. Did you know that even most Peacekeepers aren’t allowed near the Solarium right now? They’re only letting those already in the Church stand guard, and let’s just say most of the ponies they’ve got on watch wouldn’t be my first choice for a patrol.”
My stomach grumbled, and I pressed a hoof against it in an attempt to silence it. “I…” Loyalty or Honesty? Both were important, but I could barely think, and I had to say something before the guard mare started asking more questions. “I don’t,” I mumbled, looking away. “I’m sorry. The High Priestess didn’t tell me anything.”
The mare sucked in a breath slowly before letting it out and wrote a few final words on the page before closing the notebook and setting it aside. “Okay,” she said slowly, bending down slightly so she was eye-level with me. “I’ll believe you. If you think of something later on, tell me. For now, wait here while I go sort things out with the other Peacekeepers, Miss-” She cocked her head, jostling her multicolored mane. “Didn’t catch your name, and you cul- church ponies don’t usually interact with those outside your little group enough for me to know the important ones.”
Huh. I thought everypony knew what the Prophet did, but maybe this mare just didn’t get out of her guard post very much. I gave her my best serene smile, given the circumstances at least. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. I’m the Prophet for the Church of Daylight.”
“Nice to meet ya, Twilight,” she replied, giving me a measured grin as she turned towards one of the tunnels branching off of the rectangular room. “I’m Rainbow Dash. Head Peacekeeper.Try not to touch the bars when I’m gone, okay? They won’t respond to your spells, and you’ll be unconscious before you can break through them.”
It was only after she’d left that I remembered I’d forgotten to ask if she could get me some food.