"Did you hear? About Sister Tiara..."
"Is it really true? How can it be?"
"Nobody knows for sure. But it's her we're talking about. It can't be true."
"Yes, I see what you mean..."
"I'll never believe it anyway."
"Good morning, Sister Myrtle, Sister Iris." I'd already mastered the precise approach I needed to take in this type of situation as I drew closer to the two gossiping mares, giving them a courteous bow and a gentle smile that did not betray the image that I had cultivated since I arrived at Sanctuary.
"Lovely morning, Sister Tiara! It's always great to see you so early in the day. And thank you again for filling the halls with your usual lavender bouquets last night. They must be so difficult to grow all the way out here!" Iris responded all while Myrtle nodded to agree.
"Just a bit of nature magic, or so the green thumbs of my old town used to say. Think nothing of it. Hmm, but by the sounds of it, I take it they were able to help the two of you sleep well last night?"
"Not just us, the whole of Sanctuary! I heard from the grapevine that even Abbess Berry has been having pleasant dreams lately." Myrtle exclaimed with enthusiasm.
"Really? Even Mother Superior?"
Myrtle looked around to see if it were only just the three of us in these winding halls. She was not one for subtlety when she felt a sense of security, and so she didn't bother to lower her voice at all for what she said next. "Yep! And it's even starting to show! I mean, you know how much of a grouch she can be at times, right? But lately, she seems... softer. Hard to describe it. But it's a welcome change!"
"I'm glad my efforts are bearing fruit. It's just a small gesture, but I'm happy to have helped this monastery."
"Small?!" Iris' voice sounded flabbergasted by the notion. "All of us had terrible dreams every single day since before you arrived. A lot of us are here due in no small part to them! You're a huge help, Sister Tiara. Not just with the lavender, but with helping around the Monastery. Our chores have lessened considerably thanks to you, and I'm finally starting to enjoy my stay here! It doesn't even feel as cold in here when you're around!"
As if to prove her words right, the high winds outside carrying large swaths of snow churned and bellowed for a brief moment, sounding their discontent at being unable to chill the spaces inside. If one could see past the snowstorm through the windows, they would only be met by the depressing sight of a winter desert. Life in the monastery had been cruel and difficult before my arrival, that much was true. But these were all just conjecture on their part, since they could not know the effort I had gone through to secure the monastery from the elements.
"You're a godsend, Sister Tiara! A true miracle that descended upon our little Sanctuary."
"Please, Sisters. I'm just a single pony. I'm not nearly so grand like you believe me to be. I'm sure there's some logical explanation to all of this that has nothing to do with my arrival here. Even the lavender bouquets are a trick I learned from Princess Luna, so I can hardly lay claim to all this praise."
"That's where you'll find that most of the mares here would disagree with you, Tiara. Even I concur with Myrtle and Iris. Their cutiemarks are in horticulture, and they can't grow a flower to save their lives out here in these frozen tundras. Also, who ever heard of a bit of lavender being able to quell the vicious nightmares of this abbey? And if even the magic from the Princesses of Equestria haven't been able to fight back against the almighty forces of nature outside, a wonder what kind of divine providence you carry to have brought warmth into this bleak and dreary Sanctuary of ours."
"Reverend Mother!" Iris and Myrtle froze for a second upon hearing her sharp voice and bowed their heads in respect.
"And while there's no evidence tying you to all of that, your presence seems to elicit that feeling of comfort that begs to question what the truth of it is. Forgetting all of that, just your tireless efforts here have afforded our girls a bit of leniency in their workloads. I'd almost forgotten what it was like to walk through a hall without feeling a layer of dust attaching itself to my hooves. That's a miracle all on its own." Her proud opal eyes fell on the two stiff ponies who were sweating, hoping she hadn't caught their conversation earlier. "At ease, Sisters. I'm not here to punish anyone, despite it being my usual duties." They seemed to relax for a second, until... "And I'll pretend I didn't hear that earlier statement for now since I have more pressing business with her." She pointed her darkly orchid-colored hoof over in my direction and then swished it toward her body to signal me to follow. "Tiara, a moment of your time? I require another favor from you. Let us speak in my office."
Calculated. Perfect. Sublime. I hesitated, looked towards the fearful mares, and looked back to the Abbess' patient gaze. "Only if you'll do me the favor of exercising mercy on 'future' punishments, Mother Tempest." The Head Mother scowled something fierce at my words, made fiercer by her sharp eyes and the scar that ran along one of them. Her broken horn seemed to glow ever so slightly as if relapsing into her old self from having her temper tested.
Without a doubt, humans had a wider berth of knowledge when it came to playing mind games and were unparalleled in power plays. Studying Mary's mind had given me the edge in all manner of conversation as I looked through the many examples that she had seen and read. Whether that was from books, fictitious media, or even her world's real history. When I realized I would one day need them before Mary's downfall, I studied humanity's inventions veraciously. My tutors were many. Cleopatra, Queen Victoria, Maria Theresa, and Catherine the Great among many others. And through them, I understood the ingenuity in grace and charisma. That wars were not always waged on battlefields.
But here and now, I was starting out small. First, I need to make a name out of myself. An image, if you will. To create that image I had to make an air about myself. A bubble that could be felt and seen without sight or feel. So while what I said might have sounded like I was playing my cards horribly wrong against the most prominent figurehead of this monastery, in truth, it was having a much more important effect on the image I was constructing of my character.
A truly graceful mare must never bend her will to another. Even in the name of peace, I needed to make sure that others would never find fault or weakness in my character. Powerful, fearless, ruthless, and even mercifully compassionate. I had insulted the Head Mother directly to her face and I had done so in the same breath that was protecting the two fearful sisters.
If their admiration for me seemed unwarranted, then perhaps it was. I had fabricated all of it, after all. I had long stood up for them in similar ways and had done more than they would ever know to secure their trust. I wasn't just the do-gooder saintly figure they needed me to be. I was a commanding presence when their motivations waned. A pillar that they could lean upon when they grew tired. A tree that they could find shade in when the sun shone too bright. A war-horn to inspire their fights when their willpower faltered.
Mary had shown me, in Flurry Heart and in Twilight, that a strong enough grasp on one's heart could outdo Silver Spoon's vile magic. So you best believe I will not give anyone the chance to rob me of what I love ever again.
I will dominate this world with my presence. I will give them no room to ever doubt me again. I will make them depend on my very existence. I will subject them to the same horrid hurt I felt when losing Mary if they are ever to lose me in turn. This is my curse upon the world.
"Tiara, you..." The Abbess' voice was in a low growl as she squinted her eyes, and was about to continue with what she was going to say before getting interrupted by the two fearful sisters from before.
"Please Mother Superior! It's my fault. I'm so sorry I called you a grouch. I'll take any punishment you have for me! Just spare Sister Tiara!" Myrtle pleaded.
"Or me! I'm always complaining to Myrtle about you, so it's my fault she's had that idea stuck in her head! Sister Tiara is only trying to look out for us, so please!" Iris joined in, the both of them bowing their heads to the Abbess.
The air was tense. I was honestly rather grateful to the Abbess. Without knowing it, she was playing her part effortlessly. When I first joined Sanctuary, I did not know what to expect. It would have been infinitely harder to create the image I wanted to create if an old, gentle, motherly mare had been the one in charge of the monastery. But thanks to her reputation and scary appearance, the air she had about her had made her the perfect jumping point for my plans. The extent of my grip on the hearts of the Sisters was something I was able to achieve in a manner of a few months, rather than a few years.
Right about now, however, it was finally the time to rip that perfect little band-aid off, as I had already won in that regard and needed not keep this farce going any longer.
"I keep telling you, Mother Berry. It's the eyes. Watch your eyes. They're real menacing when you scowl and squint like that. They say anger is quite unsightly and it's probably why you're getting more crow's feet by the day." It was hard to hide the amusement in my smile as the two mares from before looked over to me in shock and awe.
"And whose fault do you think this is, Tiara?!" Mother Berrytwist slammed her hoof with exasperation, flustered and composing herself with a dignified cough. "Again, at ease Sister Myrtle, Sister Iris. Like I said, I'm not here to punish you. I'm aware that I've been... abrasive in the past. I deserve those words. Taking over the position from the previous Head Mother when she retired hasn't been easy. The nightmares being a part of it. But I guess I was also not ready to start leading ponies. I'd grown too used to bossing the big hedgehog lugs from the lands beyond Equestria. They were the kind that required a more... forceful push, if I can describe it politely."
The two got up from this surreal conversation that they never thought in a million years they'd be having with Mother Berry.
"I-I'm..." Myrtle was still hesitant to speak, and Mother Berry's expression seemed to soften at this, feeling a bit hurt that her sincerity hadn't gotten through to them. But really, like I kept telling her, it was just the scowl of hers that was the issue. Myrtle found it a lot easier to speak to her at that point since it faded from her face. "I'm sorry Mother Berry... Even if you say it's okay, I don't think I should've said that about you. We just didn't know your circumstances and um... to be honest... you look a little scary at times." Iris nodded along with this.
"Well, can we all at least agree to blame the previous Head Mother for leaving it up to Mother Berry to look after Sanctuary when she left? I mean, what kind of bright idea was that?" Everyone seemed to chuckle at my small joke, and the mood had finally been defused with all of this.
The two sisters and Berry talked about a few things before they finally left. Mostly just breaking the ice that existed in the monastery between them for god knows how long. And even the stone-faced Fizzlepop seemed to finally smile when she got an unexpected hug from them before they went off to go do their chores. And off to spread the good word about her too among the rest of the sisters of the abbey. I got one as well, naturally, for having been the winds of change that was necessary for them to grow.
Not everyone was entirely appreciative of my efforts, however.
"I swear to all that is holy, Tiara. I will end you if you embarrass me like that again." Fizzlepop mouthed quietly from the corner of her lips once the two sisters were out of direct earshot for such a low-volume statement. I only returned it with a mischievous smirk. "I know you meant well, but at least warn me next time if you're going to bring up some old wounds."
"And here I was thinking that the Storm King's former lieutenant was made of sterner stuff. Seems a few jokes are enough to fell that mighty beast."
"What did I just say!?" She turned to face me, her eyes growing narrower and her face getting closer, sparks jutting out of her horn like a broken sparkler.
"That you'll end me." We physically butted heads when I dove my own head forward. "I'd like to see you try."
After a bit, Berrytwist stepped backward and began to laugh. "You're the bravest, or perhaps the stupidest pony I've ever met. I can't decide. But you're a riot, Tiara. And..." She sighed. "Thank you, for helping me all this time. All of us. I don't know what kind of tricks you're using on Sanctuary to make this brick tomb more comfortable, but it's working."
"Why, whatever do you mean?"
"You berate my appearance, but I think that big smile of yours is a little too eager for its own good. Gives you away. Ah ah, and that one you're making now doesn't quite reach your eyes and seems very sly." Tsk. Pesky magenta purple pony. "It's fine. We've all got things we rather not talk about. It probably has something to do with your sentence from the Princess, huh?"
"Something like that." I huffed my discontent. "What about you, Lieutenant?"
"Same." At this, we had now entered her offices to be behind closed doors. She seemed to relax now that she was in privacy with a kindred spirit. "Just have to trust Princess Twilight's judgment and hope for the best. I'm starting to think this whole atonement and friendship thing isn't so bad after all. But say, Tiara..." She shuffled in her seat uncomfortably. "About your sentence... Did you really do that to Her Majesty?"
"Ah, so that's what the whispers this morning were about." I leaned back in my chair, feeling all the pressure to be perfect slip in this moment too. Berrytwist was the only one I could do that around thus far. There were preying eyes on the prowl looking for any sign of weakness within the monastery, and with our chat earlier, I was able to confirm that Berry was herself here, so I felt more at ease. "What do you think, Fizzlepop?"
"A load of rubbish, mostly. I've been in that line of work, as you already know all about. It's subtle, but the details look fabricated. I only partly glanced at your files when you arrived at Sanctuary, but even back then and especially now, it seems too good to be true. Too clean, too concise. Evil doing is a messy art. If you really are innocent, you've got quite the target painted on your back. But that's just a what-if. I can't get a good bead on you at all, Tiara. So while I can't trust the accusations against you, I can't trust you either."
"That's why I like you, Lieutenant. Trust is so easily shaken nowadays, don't you agree? That's why I'm not giving you the whole truth. I need someone to always be questioning every bit of me. Only then can I be a truly honest person."
She sighed and put a hoof to her temple, annoyed. "I don't want to be a part of your mind games Tiara, but I owe you that much. At the very least, I feel like your intentions are good, and that's enough for me. But don't expect for me to heel and bark at a moment's notice."
"I wouldn't count on it."
"Okay, now that smile right there. That just sent a chill down my back. Please don't do that again." She went to go fetch a couple of papers from her desk and brought them out on top of it. "A wonder whatever happened to that meek and mild Tiara when she first walked into my office with the prettiest words I'd ever heard, on her first day here in Sanctuary. Oh right, I remember. She disappeared the moment that Evergold walked in here a few weeks later with all my history and background checks on her lap, cornering me like a pawn in a chess game."
"You're mistaken, Abbess."
"How so?"
"She never existed to begin with."
"Right, right. Of course she didn't. To this day, I wonder how you got a hold of my resumé."
"With an extensive information network, Mother Superior. A girl can't be walking around naked without one of her own nowadays, don't you know?" I brought one of my hooves to my direct sight to look at it carefully, twisting it around to see if there was even a speck of dust on it. As a show, of course. Vanity serves its own uses. "But even if I didn't have something like that, I think it's only right that you should know..." Berrytwist's ears seemed to perk up as I hung onto that sentence for dramatic effect. "I knew about you right from the start."
"Haha." There was a tinge of nervousness in that fake laughter she made. "Remind me to never get on your bad side, Tiara."
"Don't worry about it, Fizzlepop. It would take an ungodly amount of effort on your part to cross me."
"I wouldn't pray on it. I'm getting too old to be messing around with villains of your caliber." She slid the papers she had on the table over to me.
"That you are, Mother Berry." She squinted her displeasure and tapped on the papers with her hoof to signal us to change the conversation.
"Anyways, we’ve gone on long enough speaking in rhetoric. I have actual problems that need attending to, and you’re just the pony for the job.”
“Convenient.” I looked over the papers she was trying to present to me. At a glance, it was just a mess of numbers, dates, and names. The monastery’s taxation records over the last five years which Berry had inherited when the original Abbess stepped down. Nothing in them would’ve clued me into what Mother Berry was asking of me if I had been anyone lesser.
“Think your pretty little horseshoes can handle it? Just so you know, I’m not asking you to bookkeep here. This isn’t a desk job, what I need from you is-”
“If you wanted me to oust the local Equestrian lord for defrauding the monastery in its taxations, you could’ve just asked, Mother Superior. The inconsistencies here line up with many similar, individual cases for the residents of Yakyakistan and a few small businesses in the Crystal Empire. It’s safe to say this has been going on for far longer than the establishment of the monastery itself, and I’ve been building a case against him for several weeks now.”
“I... was going to say to just investigate this issue and speak to the Marquis about the numbers here being slightly off. I honestly had no idea that this was happening elsewhere. But if you’re the one saying it, then I can see how it would be a scam. If even I could not see into it, then this type of trickery is very subtle. How’d you figure all of this, Tiara? You got eyes on the back of your head or something?”
“I don’t, and I didn’t initially. Anyone outside of the grand design might as well be invisible or non-existent.”
“Look, I know I run a monastery now, but what are you going on about? Grand design, what?”
“Never you mind my words, Mother Berry. Just speaking my thoughts out loud. If you must know how I realized the Marquis’ ploy before anyone has, in this one case, it was a matter of happenstance. I’ve made it a ‘personal’ goal to investigate any connection that leads to my wonderful parents’ business, you see. You’d be surprised how far their money network goes and what they’re willing to do to grow it further. The Marquis here just happened to be one of my quarries as a result. As if the fate of Equestria wasn’t enough, I also have to keep those two greed mites in check.”
“Sounds like you have a very delicate and complicated relationship with your parents, and oh no, will you look at that, I don’t have the time to hear you out.” She brought out one of her hooves to hold it steady in front of us while she used another to imitate opening an invisible pocketwatch atop of it, wordlessly boohooing with her facial expression.
“Good, because I wouldn’t have told you about it anyway.”
“Excellent. I’ll be expecting a detailed report on my desk on your findings about the Marquis by this afternoon.”
“Alright, give me permission to venture outside the monastery for today so that I can solidify my case against the Marquis, and then you can do us both the honors of toppling him since I’m not supposed to be meddling in Equestrian affairs, after all.”
“Leaving me with the hard job, is it? I regret not giving this chore to one of my normal girls. Maybe then I wouldn’t be thinking about how I’ll have to testify against nobility on a royal court.” She sighed.
“It’s not so bad. If Twilight or the defense try to scare you at any point, just scrunch your face up and scare them right back with that nasty scowl of yours.”
“Haha, aren’t you funny. I suppose you would know from experience.” She organized the documents together to place them into a saddlebag for me, and magically levitated it onto my back to hold. “Well, don’t let me stop you, Evergold. The door is right there.”
“Aye aye, Lieutenant Tempest.” I was halfway out the door before she stopped me one last time.
“And Tiara? Don’t be long. I’m not technically allowed to let you out of the monastery. These concessions are in light of your wonderful behavior dear, so don’t test it. Oh, and for the last time, watch that evil-looking smile of yours.” Tsk. That bothersome old hag. “Your eyes are leaking your thoughts out, you know. And clicking your tongue is never a good look.
“Whatever you say, ‘Mother’.”
“Bye bye, don’t let the door hit you on your way out now.” She said before purposely slamming the door on my rear with her magic. I was half-tempted to atomize it with a kick there and then, but that would’ve been unsightly. So I took my leave for the day.
On my way out, I left the rest of the sisters with specific instructions on the monastery. I often acted as the Abbess’ right-hoofed mare, as the sisters looked to me to organize the monastery’s many tasks. Not only were my own efforts a huge help towards the abbey’s upkeep, but my synergized plan of action for the rest of the sisters had allowed their own efforts to reach farther and wider while giving them ample time to relax thanks to being ahead of schedule on their duties.
Many of the mares never even knew they had talents for other things like cooking, cleaning, or bookkeeping in the library since they had fallen into the complacency of the monastery’s unmalleable routines. Some were even reluctant to try other things and give up their old chores to other girls since their only anchor to the monastery was their duties. On many occasions, I had to win individual hearts by convincing them they had more purpose in life than the little pockets of comfort the monastery could offer.
Life in Sanctuary had been horrible for so long before my arrival, in more ways than the ferocious weather outside or the monastery’s bleak, grey brick walls. Many of the sisters there had become sisters for the monastery due to some severe issue or other. Whether that was the universal nightmares that all of them had that had driven them near to the point of insanity, or some mistake that they had made that had brought them to this cold lonely exile. Most of them felt like they had no real place in the world, and that their only tether to it lay inside those depressing walls. Walking through Sanctuary for the first time had been even more doom and gloom thanks to the departure of the original Mother Superior, since that old mare used to be the saving grace for many of the sisters, and were deeply saddened to see her be replaced by Berry, who unbeknownst to them had, had good intentions but just couldn’t compete.
So my plan of action to take over Sanctuary was a simple one. Improve it. And all it took was a bit of hard work, sweat, magical barriers, and forming a relationship with an Aspect of Hatred. A deal with the devil, if you will. In Mary’s terms. But is it really a loaded deal if it’s loaded in your favor? Or perhaps thinking about that statement backward would help to put things into perspective.
As I trudged through the thick snowy tundras of the Frozen North and towards Yakyakistan, once I was out of eyesight of anyone within the heavy snowstorm, I whistled as loudly as I could to get the attention of my patron spirit animal. For a second, the winds howled louder and stronger, beating across those white plains wildly. Then, the distinct ethereal and otherworldly neighing of its voice tore through the air as the Aspect jumped from cloud to cloud, making a pathway down to descend upon the earth in front of me.
This creature was majestic. Beautiful and graceful. I rested my two hooves beneath its long, refreshingly chilling snout. I cradled its forehead to mine and conjoined our spirits as I let it eat any warmth lingering on me. As I pulled away, it looked to me expectantly, like a puppy awaiting an order from its master lovingly.
Windigos. What loyal and intelligent spirits they were once you tamed them. They were such strange Equestrian phenomena that neither the history of this world nor the one in Mary’s offered clues for. Their existence was a universal law of this world, yet held feelings of reverence, respect, and even love. Do you understand how crazy that sounds?! Tell that to any other pony, and they’ll look at you funny. Aspects of Hatred can have love, what? Have you gone mad? But it’s true. This magnificent creature before me was proof of that. I had proven it. And Mary had proven it too, as she had tamed a similarly hateful beast.
“It’s great to see you, girl. You’re looking lovely as usual, you magnificent creature, you.” I focused my internal magic well over to my hoof by focusing on it, densely packing it with layers upon layers of raw magic. Then I held it out in front of the Windigo for it to feast on, taking chomps out of the air above it like invisible sugarcubes. I brushed her chillingly cold mane with my other hoof, using carefully controlled magic to gently stroke its ghostly mane so as to pet it, and not hurt it inadvertently. “Thank you for keeping the monastery warm with your powers, Yuki.”
Yuki was a name that I had given her. It is the abbreviated name of a similarly tragic and often maliciously portrayed spirit of ice and snow from Mary’s world, known as Yuki-Onna. And as to why I was treating her like an animal and not a pony, well...
It’s hard to explain. But the windigos don’t feel or think like people or ponies do. Not even Equestrian animals for that matter. To me, now that I was up close to one and interacting with it, it reminded me of a much more instinctual creature. One with feelings and thoughts, sure. But not one like those seen in Equestria, not even in its monsters. In fact, as it bobbed its head down to eat from my hoof, letting out its cold breath by blowing and snorting out noises of contentedness, this creature reminded me of an animal.
A horse.
No, again, not a pony. Not Alicorns. Not large stallions like Big Mac, Rockhoof, or Trouble Shoes. I’m talking about a horse in Mary’s world. A wild, free, nature-bound animal only truly guided by its internal design. It’s no wonder how no pony has ever been able to understand Windigos well up until now. They were so unlike anything in Equestria. So truly otherworldly. Ponies already feared the Everfree Forest for being natural, magical though it was by Equestrian standards. Now imagine what they must think of Windigos, ice spirits that feed on hatred and act more animal-like than even the animals of Equestria. Certainly doesn’t help that their features are closely identical to our own. It would’ve been the equivalent of you looking upon an evil ghost in the image of your species. You certainly don’t stop to think of its animal-like qualities. Especially if none of your animals act that way. But I had Mary’s blessing, and was able to ascertain their nature through that knowledge.
Curious as to how I even befriended a Windigo in the first place? Well, it’s actually really simple. If you ever find yourself in my horseshoes, all you gotta know is this one simple trick:
How do you tame an Aspect of Hatred? You overpower it with your own.
Perhaps that’s the reason why Yuki absolutely loves being around me. I have hatred to spare for an eternity. Every time I step outside the monastery, she quickly runs to my side to protect me from the elements and dutifully does what I ask of her. I had to train her real well not to follow me into the monastery itself, or show herself prematurely to others in her haste to get to me. If you’ve never trained an animal as large and innately magical as a Windigo before, just know it’s not a simple process. It runs counter to usual animal training. If your patience starts to wane and you become frustrated with one, you’ll just be encouraging those bad behaviors by feeding your hatred to them.
Still, as loyal as a Windigo can get, you also need to understand that its loyalty is only a result of the hatred within you. If at any point it starts to sense a slip and a softening of that hatred, you may yet feel its wrath. The ‘devil’ in this part of the deal.
But it goes without saying, this part of the deal is nothing to me. Perhaps it is Yuki who finds herself dealing with a devil.
I instructed her to keep looking after Sanctuary in my absence and had her disappear from view once I drew close to the walls of Yakyakistan. There I was able to meet up with a good friend I could count on, as she seemed relatively unaffected by Silver’s Spoons mass hysteria and was empathetic to my cause.
“Pink pony Tiara! Good seeing friend.”
“An absolute pleasure to see you too, Yona. It has certainly been a while. How’s working for Rarity’s boutique treating you?”
“Yona thinks it’s okay, mostly.”
“That’s not very reassuring. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing wrong with the work. The ponies, however...” She withheld from saying, not wanting to be rude and wanting to avoid stereotyping ponies in front of me.
“Speak freely, Yona. I’d like to hear your take on Equestria’s current state.”
“It’s... not like it was when Yona was smaller. Ponies ruder, meaner, and constantly bickering nowadays. Twilight friend circle and Sandbar only nice ponies left. Yona couldn’t stand it much longer. Took vacation and came back home for a while.”
“I see. It really hasn’t gotten any better, has it?” Yona shook her head sadly. “Thanks for telling me Yona. All we can do now is pray that things will get better from here on. I have faith in my fellow ponies. Kindness and friendship will prevail, just you see.” I graced her with my signature saintly smile and placed a hoof to her shoulder. Her worries seemed to melt at my words.
“Yona hope so. Yona and friends have tried many times to talk sense to ponies, but making little progress. Wish friend Tiara was with us.”
“Thank you Yona, that sentiment alone is enough. But I’m sorry. I cannot go back. Many still believe I am to blame for the way things are now. And by royal decree, I am still exiled. Even if I wasn’t... I don’t think I’m ready to return to Equestria just yet... I’m sorry.”
Calculated, perfect, sublime. I tilted my head downward to look sorrowfully at the ground, draping a foreleg over my mouth so as to only show my downtrodden eyes. To great effect, as Yona reached out to hug me in the traditional Yak way. Which was to hug the living soul out of you.
“Friend Tiara, it’s okay! No need to return. Always welcome in Yakyakistan forever. Friend of mine is friend to all Yaks.” She said in trying to cheer me up.
“It’s okay, Yona. Please, do not feel too sorry for me. If the newspapers are to be believed and I really am guilty, I don’t want you to share in that. Perhaps one day when my name is cleared and my heart is ready, I will rejoin my motherland. But until then, I must find atonement in the lands beyond.”
“Bah!” Yona smashed a nearby log in her frustration. “Ponies not know what they are talking about! Tiara friend innocent. Never believed such obvious lies. If you ever need Yona’s help, need only call.”
“Thank you, Yona. Truly. I’m grateful to call you my friend.” The lovely yak nodded to agree with the sentiment. “But onto lighter topics, did you bring my order of lavender seeds Yona?” She pulled out the bag I had requested from her with a big smile, which fell when she realized she might’ve overstuffed the bag in an effort to please me and looked much too big for me to carry. To her pleasant surprise, I thanked her while walking out with it with ease.
We parted ways after one last round of hugs and thus I began my true work here in Yakyakistan. Finishing my report on the Marquis. It was simple work. It mostly consisted of asking some of the yaks for the tax records. Well, maybe not so simple. Yaks aren’t exactly the bookkeeping, carefully organized types. But there were a few amongst their midst who cut through the mold and they thankfully had preserved a large part of the Yak’s history, whether historical or financial. And with them, I was able to get the last bits of information I needed.
The Marquis had walked into my spun web without realizing it. Almost quite literally, since my ‘information network’ was a family of spiders I had befriended long ago. Or I should say, Mary had.
Mary had spent a good bit of her days studying anything she could from Twilight’s group of friends. That included Fluttershy, who taught her the ways of kindness and animal speak. Mostly just animal speak, because Mary was a fountain of kindness and goodwill already. Thanks to that, Mary was able to make friends with a small little spider she had met at her windowsill one night.
Now, this spider was all sorts of scary. Its carapace was pitch black, mostly hairless. Its back was relatively flat, with an almost hexagonal yellow shape. At the edges of its back were long thin red spikes jutting out of every end. It was the kind of appearance that was made by nature to say something along the lines of “DANGER, this creature is deadly and evil”.
But again, as I’ve already told you before, Mary is not the kind to listen to warning signs like that. In case that wasn’t already evident by her taste in ponies. She spoke to this spider, took it in, and let it have the time of its life at her side.
Turns out, fate is a real trickster. This spider was not only NOT dangerous in any way, it longed to be accepted. Which is a hard thing for a creature that looks like it will murderize you just by touching it. The fate of every Orb Weaver spider, unfortunately. Most spiders, now that we’re on the topic. Some are dangerous, mind. So exercising caution is only natural.
In Equestria however, if you can look past your fearful prejudices and can give things another chance, you might find that the tiny spider you befriended might just be a magical one. One that will never forget the favor you’ve given it, and will stick by you until you yourself are old and grey. One who turns out to be a mother, and who passes those lessons on to her many children. And then they turn out to be intelligent little creatures that are good at spy work thanks to their tiny size and inconspicuous nature. You might even find yourself with an information broker’s empire on your lap suddenly, all because of one tiny act of kindness.
I’ll burn to dust before I let a debt go unpaid. I give my spiders any luxuries they desire. They are my eyes, my ears, and sometimes even my very limbs, so to them, I give willingly, passing on Mary’s virtue to them, and spreading the good word of their kind amongst my sisters and the yaks. I lay a small tray of sugar water before a particularly hard-working spider that had arrived to pass on its findings of the Marquis’ involvements within the Crystal Empire. I can’t help but smile at their devotion to my cause. They are tragic little creatures and yet they live for my dreams. One day, I will repay them in kind.
But for now, I needed every bit of their tireless efforts to help me. The battle I’m fighting now can not be won with reckless abandon. Information is golden, and I had almost none of it on Silver Spoon’s plans. But we were slowly starting to piece it together.
I took one sharp turn around Yakyakistan after the next. Information is a lot of things. It’s weaknesses, vulnerabilities, vantages. Its pathways, shortcuts, side paths. And it’s protection, privacy, security. Knowing who or what was chasing after you was equal measures of important to how you could shake them off your trail.
Yuki was a great way to keep outside forces from reaching the monastery since the snowstorm she called forth made for a rather impassible wall for those woefully unprepared. But outside its walls was a different story altogether. And even with my hundreds of wonderful tiny helpers, I still have many blind spots. I’ve spread many of my spiders thin in search of information far and wide. So right about now, I was on edge. I was vulnerable. I hadn’t had a slip-up yet, but I guess it was just the mind of a villainess playing tricks on me since I felt I needed to exercise caution anyway.
To be honest, I had felt this way even inside the monastery too. All because of a few words Twilight had said...
You might think I’m crazy for thinking this, but I don’t like to ignore even vague statements done in passing. Especially not from Twilight. Remember what she said? “This is only conditional, Tiara. Break my trust even once, and I won’t allow you even a hundred miles from my castle, you hear?” And what did she decide to do for my punishment? Exile.
So excuse me if I’m a little paranoid after she had said “From here henceforth, she is to be exiled from Equestria and placed under strict supervision at a monastery in the Frozen North lands.” during my hearing.
Whether that means Berrytwist keeping a lazy eye out to see if I’m regressing into my villainous ways or having someone incredibly adept at espionage looking after me 24/7 is beyond me, because if it’s the latter, whoever Twilight signed up for the job is extremely good. And it irks me. It feels like I don’t have precise control over my situation. But not all is lost, I should add. I’ve been acting and performing in accordance with the idea that someone might be looking at everything I do and relaying it back to her.
When it comes to the art of war, Mary’s world truly takes the cake. And some of my favorite lessons are in the art of manipulating information. Turns out, purposely feeding misinformation can be more lucrative than withholding any from the enemy.
It would take someone truly special to see past my outward persona. And so far, that façade of mine has yet to slip in public, of that much I’m sure.
I gathered the last bit of information I needed from the Yaks, making sure to not give anyone the suspicion that I was investigating the Marquis and left back to the monastery with the lavender seeds in tow. And I got my petty revenge on Fizzlepop when I burst into her office without knocking, spooking her from the suddenness of my entrance.
“You do not do warnings, do you, Evergold.” She said, annoyed.
“Evidently not, Abbess. Here’s what you asked for.” She glanced at the papers that I had left on her desk and then proceeded to give me a half-hearted smile.
“Great, you even added line graphs and pie charts. I’m sure the court is going to dig those.”
“I know a certain purple someone will, so consider it a bonus towards your case.”
She waved her hoof dismissively. “Sure sure, if you say so.” She glanced at me once over again and lifted an eyebrow. “So I’m guessing that massive saddlebag isn’t relevant to any of this?”
“Nope. This is lavender seeds.”
“All of that is?”
“Yes. A yak friend of mine prepared them for me.”
“Ah, say less. I get it. I still don’t see how a bit of lavender can stave off our nightmares, but I won’t argue with results. Well, thanks again for taking care of this for me, Tiara. Even IF you made more work for me in the end. At least this’ll get rid of that obnoxious penny pincher.”
“My pleasure. Just remember to not mention my involvement in this.” The Abbess busied herself reviewing all of my findings to confirm the case for herself, then looked up after a while to see me still in her office, hanging around in the silence.
“You got something you want to say? Why am I still looking at your pretty little mug, Tiara?”
“We still have to discuss my reward, Mother Berry.”
She sighed. “I already said that I won’t be punishing Myrtle or Iris.”
“Yes, I heard you. And that’s not what I’m asking for.”
“Oh?” She put down the papers to listen intently, crossing her hooves in order to lean a little in. “Do tell. What do you want?”
“Just one small little teeny weeny week-long vacation from the monastery is all.”
She exploded with laughter, twisting the last few laughs with a cruel, sadistic reveling. “I’ll get right on it. Tell you what, I’ll even go ask the Princess in person to approve your vacation days when I go see her in court. Sound fair?”
“Golden, Abbess.”
“And this is why I like you, Tiara. You’re reasonable when it counts. I just hope you’re not too disappointed when she says ‘no’. I’ll even try and put in a good word for you. It’s the least I could do.”
“One last thing, Abbess?” She laid out a hoof for me to proceed. “Do let her know that by ‘vacation’, I don’t mean returning to Equestria. Or even Equestrian influenced territories like the Crystal Empire or Yakyakistan.”
“Oh? If you cross those two out, there really is nothing out there. What are you going to do for that week, camp out in the blizzard?”
I shrugged. “Something like that.”
“Well, whatever. I’ll try and make it happen, Tiara, that’s my guarantee. If it does or doesn’t, that’s for the Princess to decide. Now scamper off. You’re ruining my concentration.” She said as she picked my reports back up.
I returned to my chamber, where a small spider was waiting for me on the windowsill. It was repeating the collected reports of many of his brethren in places all throughout Equestria. Through him and the many that I left behind, I was able to gauge the temperature throughout all of the Equestrian cities on the increasing civil unrest that Silver Spoon had brought about. I was also trying to locate her, wherever she was. But that too was proving difficult. Things were still relatively cool, but the cracks were beginning to show. City officials were scattering to appease the general consensus, to no avail. And Sanctuary’s unique circumstances were starting to become commonplace everywhere.
When can you begin to tell when the end is drawing near? When a story is at its peak, and it has only one way to go from there? When the world no longer seems to be spinning and turning the way it used to? Or is it when there’s still a moment of peace? A chance to catch your breath. A lull that’s driving you into a false sense of security and complacency.
Perhaps doomsday is still far away, biding its time. Patiently, gradually making its way towards us.
Whatever the case, I don’t know about you, but I don’t intend to sit around and find out. I’ll be damned if let myself go peacefully into the quiet night. I already have my next destination in mind. A hapless place ravaged by time and frost. A place twisted by cruel fate, and contorted by uncaring magic.
A place abandoned by all living things where even the gods don’t dare to thread.
The ruins of Pony-kind.