"Is there anything you can do for her, Ace?" I was putting way too much pressure on the yellow unicorn, but I knew he performed at his best when he was forced into a corner. His horn was aglow as he shined a beam of light into one of Violent's eyes.
Panacea, whom I lovingly referred to as "Ace", was the Rainbow Guard's medic. He was also the second youngest member of my elite squad, which has proved quite an obstacle for the doctor. At the tender age of twenty, he's kind of scrawny, but makes up for his lack of physical prowess with his girly mug and exceptionally high IQ.
His dark brown mane was flawlessly groomed and accented the yellow sun like hue of his coat perfectly. I wasn't sure if the round brown rimmed glasses he wore were prescribed or if they were a fashion choice. Either way, they framed his face well. His cutie mark displayed two criss-crossing pills, one red and the other blue, with a medical syringe cutting vertically through the center of them.
The three of us occupied what was essentially Ace's office. Violent sat awkwardly, twitching on a sparse bed with Ace looking her over while sitting on a stool. I was bouncing around the room impatiently, frustrated that there wasn't more I could do to help either of them.
There were medical tools lying on various trays and hanging from the walls, as well as a bookcase filled with medical literature. Anatomy reference diagrams for different species of Equestria were posted on the walls around the room as well.
"You know I can, boss. I'm just not sure how long it'll take, this is magic unlike anything I've ever seen before." There wasn't an ailment that Ace had come across that he couldn't remedy. He'd said it was because of his special talent and after seeing the results he produced I never doubted him. Since he'd become a member of the guard he'd proven his ability to keep any and all he monitored in tip-top shape.
"Why? What's wrong with her?" I got closer to the pegasus, bumping my rump roughly into Ace's, sending him sprawling into the corner of the room. She looked mostly normal, at least to me. Maybe a little more tired than usual, like she'd spent last night partying, but overall pretty healthy. "How are you feeling, Violent?" I tried to sound as gentle as I could, stowing the air and authority of her captain.
"I... I..." she stared at me like I was a monster that was about to tear her limb from limb.
"Violent, it's me, Flurry," I laid my hooves on her shoulders, the contact causing her to recoil as if I was about to strike her. Her slight twitching had turned to all out shivering at the physical contact.
"I-I'm s-sorry!" her jaw quaked as tears began to form in the corners of her eyes.
"Ugh, my head." Ace had come to a stop upside down, pinned against the wall underneath his stool.
"Ace, I think she's-"
"Scared... though a more appropriate description would be, absolutely terrified." He moved the stool off of himself with a quick telekinesis spell before standing upright. "Her physical evaluation is normal, save a severely elevated heart rate, but that could be attributed to the internal horror she seems to be experiencing."
"Sorry 'bout that." With a drooping head I got out of his way as he took back his rightful position in front of his patient.
"Don't worry about it, boss," he held his hoof up in front of Violent. "Look right here, Vi," he moved his hoof left to right slowly as the cyan pegasus tried to follow it with her petrified amber eyes. "I know you're just worried about her."
"Aren't you? Isn't she your..." I couldn't bring myself to look at them, the guilt much too strong. While it didn't appear to be a life threatening condition, it was not something she should have to deal with. I knew something like this might happen and I still allowed her inclusion in such a reckless mission.
"Not at all," he spun on his stool to face me. I was amazed to find a confident smile on his face.
"Don't tell me you've already figured out a cure," I said in disbelief.
"What? No way! What the heck do you think I am, a wizard?" He pulsed his horn, the bright white flicking in and out. I stared back at him, not amused in the slightest. He spun back around to continue with Violent. "Okay, tough crowd," he whispered under his breath. "Boss, she knew what she was getting into." My eyes sprung open at that. "We all do when we accept a mission. We're soldiers. Sometimes nothing unexpected happens. Sometimes stuff like this happens. Sometimes..." his head fell a bit, but he recovered his composure quickly. "No matter what might come, we'll always be prepared." I placed my hoof on his shoulder, drawing his gaze.
"You're a good soldier, Ace," I smiled. He chuckled, a toothy grin coming to his face.
"Thanks, boss, that means a lot coming from you. I've got good news. I think I have an id-" the gentle knock at the door cut him off. Mom, followed in tow by my grandmares, quietly entered the room, causing Ace to lose his cool immediately. "Your Highness... es!" He was down on the floor in a deep bow quicker than a fox that'd gotten its tail lit on fire.
"Panacea, Flurry." Mom bowed her head at the two of us, the look of worry on her face was vivid. "How's Violet doing?" It was clear as crystal that mom was much more concerned with the pegasus than with following any formalities.
"Ace was just telling me he might have an idea," I nodded my head at the still prostrating unicorn.
"OH! Yes!" Back in the physician mindset, Ace forgot all about etiquette and was standing in front of Granny Sola in a flash. "Your Highness, I was informed that the spells that were cast on Vi, er, Violet possessed two different auras."
"That is correct. The first spell was done with Twilight's natural magic. The second," she contemplated for a moment. "Was much darker." Ace nodded as if that was exactly what he'd expected to hear.
"Perfect," he smiled confidently.
"What is your conclusion, doctor?" Granny Moona asked, causing Ace to blush slightly. He wasn't referred to as doctor or any similar terms often, so he must've gotten a bit embarrassed, especially with the renowned Princess of the Night referring to him as such.
"So," he moved in front of us, Violent sitting behind him, still just blankly staring ahead. "Dark magic is referenced in many texts in multiple ways. One of the main problems with that designation is it's a poor way to describe what one is actually referring to. Even forbidden is a poor descriptor for what we're speaking of. Magic as basic as a duplication spell can be considered forbidden when used on something like say for example, bits. I think the best way to describe what we are discussing now is 'evil'."
"You would get quite a bit of pushback from the masses for a perspective like that," Granny Sola did not hesitate to speak up. "Good and evil are subjective in the eyes of many Equestrians, as well as other nations' citizens." Ace's eyes narrowed, a look of utter contempt coming to his face as he stared at the Princess of the Sun.
"And?" His voice was shrill, as if he were speaking with an enemy and not one of the most powerful beings to ever exist. When Granny didn't reply, he pressed on. "What say you, Celestia? Are good and evil truly subjective?" Granny Sola and Ace glared at one another, neither breaking. The rest of us were mere spectators, witnesses to an epic battle of the strongest of wills. Unbelievably, my grandmare crumbled first, lowering her head.
"I... I don't know," she sighed. I'd never seen Ace like this, his conviction stout enough to overcome a princess. It was impressive. I was really proud of him.
Good on you, Ace.
"If I may interject," Granny Moona drew the attention of the room... except maybe Violent's.
"Of course, Your Highness," Ace consented with a nod.
"When speaking of... in general, trivial or mundane things, good and evil, right and wrong, are indeed subjective. A preferred drink versus another. A vocalists level of talent. Things like that are left up to personal preferences." We listened intently, Granny Sola and Ace particularly invested in what the dark alicorn was saying. "On the other hoof, in reference to critical things, things that are of the utmost importance, there is always an objective good and an objective evil," Granny Moona sighed. "Evil can attempt to justify its actions any way it may choose to do so, but when all is said and done, it is still evil until it changes it's ways and decides to follow the path of light," Granny Moona smiled softly at her sister who returned the gesture.
"Precisely, Your Highness! Well said!" Ace pointed a hoof at the Night Princess, a pleased smile on his face. "Now if we follow that same line of logic and apply it to magic then there is dark elemental magic, such as spells employed by the Rainbow Guard's own Starless Night, and then there are spells like this," he waved a hoof at Violent. "This is evil magic, and as such it has a very obvious antithesis."
"Good... magic?" I answered, but it was in the form of a question. It sounded right, but confused me at the same time.
"Bingo, Captain!" he pointed at me enthusiastically. "Traditionally, magic is viewed as subjectively good, depending on who uses it and for what purpose. Starting a fire to keep yourself warm? Good. Starting somepony on fire. Evil. Conjuring a glass of water to quench your thirst? Good. Conjuring a pool of water to drown somepony in. I'm sure you all understand the concept. This is a reasonable thought process and while we can find exceptions and specific situations that might contradict it, it's mostly the standard. However, there's one thing we haven't considered. If there's objectively evil magic, then..." He waited for us to give an answer.
"It is as I thought, Luna," Granny Sola nodded as she looked at her sister.
"Cadance," was all Granny Moona said with a sudden look of comprehension.
"ME!?" Mom spun around to look at her aunt's and then back at Ace.
"Correct," Ace smiled, satisfied he'd made his point without having to make it too apparent. Well, at least to everypony except for Mom. "If you don't mind, Your Highness, could you cast one of your love spells on Vi, erm that is um, Violet," he blushed for just a second, though I'm pretty sure I was the only one that noticed. Mom was still confused, but stepped up to the seated pegasus.
"Okay, here goes nothing," her horn glowed as she pressed it against Violent's forehead. In a flash of brilliant light the spell was complete, the room returning back to its normal luminescence. All eyes were on the blue pegasus. While she still looked scared and took a while to speak, her voice sounded completely different.
"What did I do?" she looked around at us four alicorns and her fellow guard. The five of us let out a relieved breath followed by a bout of cheerful laughter.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Leave the empire!?" Mom nearly dropped the cup her magic held, quickly collecting herself and steadying it before lowering it back onto the table. Her, Granny Sola, Granny Moona, and I sat at the table in the dining hall.
Granny Moona had raised her moon minutes ago before joining us for what Granny Sola said was critical to the future of Equestria. Upon first getting some privacy we'd explained the reasoning behind why we'd sent Violent to overwatch the meeting. While she didn't necessarily agree with such a risk, Granny Sola was grateful we were so concerned for her safety. I'm pretty sure Granny Moona- was grateful we'd done it. Then out of left field, Granny Sola asked mom to accompany her to Canterlot for some reason.
"Equestria needs you, Cadance." Granny Sola sat next to her sister across from my mom and I. "I need you."
"I can-" I sat forward eagerly, but Granny Sola shook her head firmly.
"It has to be your mother," my granny tapped her chin with a hoof. "It's quite similar to the reasoning behind your sending Violet."
"Ugh, again?" I sat back in my chair, crossing my forelegs and completely deflated. "Seems like I'm pretty useless these days."
"On the contrary, Flurry, we ask that you perform a much more dangerous task than simply traveling to Canterlot." Granny Moona looked at my mom, knowing news like that would bother her. I, on the other hoof, brightened up considerably.
"Hold on," Mom lifted her hooves. It was easy to see she was already feeling daunted by all of this. "Just... okay. Let's just start from the beginning, please. Clearly you have a plan of action, Auntie," she looked at the alabaster alicorn who was taking a sip of her drink. "How about we start with that."
"Very well," Granny Sola set her cup on the table, ready to get down to business. "Luna and I believe that Twilight is using evil magic to steal the life force of Equestrian citizens so that she may bring about a new world free of death." There was a tense silence for about a minute. Mom may have been able to control herself, but I sure couldn't. The laughter that came from my gullet was harder than any I had produced in years, probably since before my dad had passed away.
My outburst managed to draw the ire of my Granny Moona, but her sister didn't appear to mind too much. Mom remained quiet, seemingly entertaining such a ludicrous notion.
"Sorry, Granny," I wiped away a tear with my hoof. "I'm pretty sure that's one of the plotlines from a Saturday morning cartoon I used to watch when I was a filly." Granny Sola looked at me with a pitying smile.
"My student was never one to dabble in cartoons." The sad state of her ended my raucous attitude.
It really isn't a joke? She's serious?
I fell back in my chair, unable to think of a single thing to say. Granny Moona cleared her throat, a look of minor irritation on her face.
"If we are done ridiculing my sister, I might be able to elaborate," she looked my way. I only lowered my head in response. "Cadance, you spoke of Twilight's beast so I assume I am correct in believing that you are aware of it as well, Flurry." I nodded, not looking up at her. "Right. When I was ambushed by it, I was forced to endure its flames." I had to look up at that. Granny wasn't phased by her admission, looking more annoyed than before. "I was able to escape the attack with only moderate injuries, however, if I had been unable to teleport away, I would not be sitting before you now."
"So not only did Twilight try to murder you, Auntie Celestia, but you as well, Aunt Luna?" Mom's expression was hard to read. She was the only one out of the four of us who hadn't spoken to Auntie Twilight since this all began. There could still be doubt inside of her. To be completely honest, there was still doubt in me.
"Perhaps," Granny Moona took a sip of her coffee. "That is where we must begin to speculate."
"What does that mean?" Mom asked. Granny Moona's statement made me as confused as my mother. It sure sounded like she was implying my aunt had tried to kill them both.
"I... lost a part of myself to the flames," she looked lost in thought, although not fearful, only reflective. "I do not believe I was dying per se... my life or soul if you will, was being drained... taken away from me... taken out of my body." We all grew quiet. Mom scratched her mane roughly with a hoof before speaking, a tinge of frustration in her voice.
"Let's move forward under the assumption that your hypothesis is correct, Aunt Luna," she took a short drink before continuing. "Knowing that, are we also to assume that she's doing this to those within her barriers?"
"We believe so." Granny Sola's emotionless affirmation sent chills down my spine and drew a look of shock from my mom.
"No way," I said more to myself than to my family, shuddering at the possibility of my aunt's actions.
Stealing souls?
It was just way too much to bear.
"If it's possible they aren't dead yet, can we reverse the spell... is there anything we can do to save them?" Mom somehow kept her composure, already searching for a solution. I couldn't shake the feeling I'd gotten when I went to Canterlot to confront my aunt. It came back as soon as I realized that I'd felt nothing then because there was nothing to feel. From the most insignificant insect to the guard with a wife and several foals.
At the time Auntie had already... they were all...
"There may be a way." Granny Sola was being vague, but it was enough to stir my spirit.
"Then we have to do it!" I stood out of my chair looking at them frantically. "No matter what it takes... we have to try!" They all looked at me as if I were out of line. "Don't we?" I lost a smidgeon of my enthusiasm at their lack of gusto. After an uncomfortably long wait my grandmares looked at each other, smiles coming to their lips.
"Of course we do, little one." Granny Sola seemed to have relaxed because of my declaration.
Was she worried we wouldn't help?
"And that's why we're here. As Panacea so expertly illustrated, Cadance's magic is critical in contending with the evil spells Twilight is utilizing."
"Auntie, you don't intend to have me fight my own sister, do you?" Mom's face betrayed no emotion. Granny Sola stared back at her, her own expression statuesque. They were suddenly playing politics, the one game I lost every time. "I'm no fighter, Auntie. I just don't have it in me. Especially against somepony I love." Mom explained after a span of silent struggle between the two. A small smile returned to Granny Sola's face.
"You underestimate yourself, Cadance. But no, I would never ask you to fight against your own family," Granny's smile faded again as she looked sadly at her younger sister who returned a similar look. "That is something that should never be thrust upon anypony."
"Why would I leave my empire if not to confront Twilight directly? I still don't understand." A light bulb turned on upstairs at my mom's inquiry.
"The barriers!" I accidently said my conclusion out loud.
"Flurry is correct," Granny Sola confirmed with a pleased smile. "I need to get inside Canterlot, and I believe you can get me through the barrier, Cadance."
"To what end, Auntie?" Mom remained skeptical. "And what of all the other defenses Twilight has surely prepared in order to stop us?"
"I believe there's a tome Twilight has come to possess, a book that's granting her the knowledge to perform these heinous crimes. If we can acquire that book, or at the very least peruse it, we may be able to find a way to reverse my students machinations." The further Granny Sola progressed the more questions that popped into my head. I spoke without thinking.
"Why assume it's in Canterlot? Couldn't she be carrying it with her? Couldn't she have hidden it somewhere less conspicuous? Maybe slipped it into a pocket dimension? Couldn't she have destroyed it, just to be sure there's no way to reverse what she's done?" Though I felt I had to interject I didn't mean to ask so much so quickly.
"All valid questions, Flurry," Granny Sola wasn't phased by my mountain of concerns. "Another good one is, 'what if there's no book at all?'"
Wait, what?
"There's a decent chance that I'm completely wrong."
"Well that's... reassuring," I chuckled dryly.
"We still don't have much to go on... unfortunately." Granny Sola seemed pretty disappointed herself. "If it's all for naught, if there is no treasure at the end of this rainbow, Cadance and I can retreat and provide support with Luna's half of the mission."
"Granny?" I turned to my other grandmare who'd been quiet while the rest of us conversed. She took a swig of her drink before placing it down and speaking.
"Flurry, our task will be to keep Twilight busy while Cadance and Celestia search Canterlot," she explained calmly as she looked at me. It seemed as if she was purposely trying to avoid eye contact with my mom. "The longer we can keep her attention the better."
I like the sound of that. Finally some action.
There was one thing that didn't add up though.
"Keep her busy where?" Mom asked the question that I'd been trying to figure out. My grandmare's looked at each other uncomfortably, clearly not wanting to address that question.
"There is only one place that makes some degree of sense." Granny Moona was speaking to but not looking at Mom. "It must be a location that is easily defended while being lucrative enough to Twilight Sparkle's motivations."
"Aunt Luna," Mom's voice was demanding, her face stone. I think at this point we knew where they'd planned, but she clearly wanted to hear it from the Night Princess' mouth.
"Your presumption is correct, Cadance." Granny Moona's gaze was still downcast. Mom sighed pinching the bridge of her nose with a hoof, the headache she obviously had, getting to her. When she finally spoke, it was barely above a whisper.
"You're asking me as the ruler of the Crystal Empire, to invite war to my doorstep? War that could cost millions of lives. Not only that, but that I should abandon my subjects as part of some convoluted mission to stop my dearest sister from destroying the world?" When she put it that way I wasn't sure how they were ever gonna convince her. Honestly, I wasn't sure how they were ever gonna convince me. Mom looked offended and I definitely understood her feelings.
Why not just assault Canterlot? Take it by force? We have the army to do so, don't we?
"I know what we ask seems like a lot, but-" I was fairly stunned when mom loudly interrupted Granny Sola.
"SEEMS!?" she scoffed. "Auntie, you're asking me to put EVERYTHING on the line! My citizens, my empire, my..." she looked at me, a stark realization overcoming her features.
She's scared.
"Mom..." My heart ached for her. She stood to her hooves, turning toward the door.
"I'm... I need to be alone, to think things over. I'm turning in for the night." She walked away like she'd suddenly become a zombie, her horn sparkling to life to open the doors.
"Make haste Cadance, time is of the essence." Granny Moona called after her withdrawing form eliciting a look of disdain from her sister.
"I'll have an answer by tomorrow night." She didn't turn around as she closed the double doors behind herself.
"LUNA?!" Granny Sola almost shouted, her jaw slack.
"We do not have the luxury of time, Sister." Granny Moona took a calm sip of coffee. "You have already seen where hesitation has gotten us." The reply was effective, Granny Sola still looking appalled, but less so as she sat back down in her chair.
"Still..." was all she could say.
"She's right though," my words drew their gazes. "Mom has to decide as soon as possible... even if it's difficult for her." Granny Sola sighed while Granny Moona smiled and nodded in agreeance.
"Where do you stand, Flurry?" Granny Moona asked.
"I..." Regardless of my pause there was only one real choice wasn't there?
I can't stand by and watch while innocent creatures suffer.
Even if I wasn't fully convinced it was the best plan, it was the only plan. If there was anything I could do, I would do it. No matter the cost I would gladly pay it to help somepony in need, even if it was against somepony I loved. Even if it was against my own family. "I'm In."