Chapter 31
I backed away from the Goddess, completely shocked.
“What?!” I exclaimed. I saw Othello die, right in front of me. There was nothing of him that I could find in Equestria other than his corpse. Celestia’s eyes lit up with some unidentifiable emotion.
“But the sword is still here! I did not know if it was until I saw it with my own eyes just now. It means that he is alive, Edwin! It means that he is still using the magic keeping this sword in existence, somewhere in Equestria. He lingers, Edwin!” She said, the passion filling the words she spoke. I shook my head.
“There’s no way. I saw him die! You saw him die!” I said, citing reason while she cited her needs.
“He has to be alive, Edwin. This sword still exists, and that means that he must still be using magic.” She said, growing impassioned as she continued to press her indefensible point. I started to back away from her.
“He can’t be alive. We were both there. Nopony could survive that, not even him.” I reasoned, hoping that Celestia would understand. I collided with a chair as I was backing away from him.
“No, Edwin. He is still alive! He must be! He couldn’t leave me! I need him!” She said, her expression growing dangerous. I began to realize the danger that I was in by not agreeing with her, and I turned and ran. I fled through the maze of priceless collectibles, running as fast as my hooves would carry me. I ran this way, dodged around vases and swerved in front of tapestries, and hoped and prayed that she would not catch me. I noticed the hypocrisy in my words, and I only hoped that she would not catch me. I ran and ran and ran as fast as I possibly could. I ran till it felt as if my lungs would burst out of my chest, and then I ran some more. It took me a long time to calm down enough to think my way out of this labyrinth of art. I plunged into the Flow, feeling all of the life around me, and allowing the limitless energy to flow into my limbs. I could feel the pulsing strength ready to do whatever I wished of it. I was pleased to find the Princess not a long way away from me, but separated by several walls. I thought about the only pony that could possibly save me from this baroque hell. I closed my eyes and felt the familiar cool breeze. I opened my eyes.
“Doctor?” I asked, looking around the Tardis. It seemed rather vibrant, but it was cold and empty. There was the occasional click and whirr of some machine, but there was no overseer to speak to. I walked over to the door of the Tardis and pushed open one of them tentatively.
The scene in front of me looked much like a moodily lit room, in shades of orange and red and yellow, accented by swaths of loose-hanging fabric on the walls. There was a piano on top of a small stage, and an innocuous dark blue pony tapping out a soft jazz tune. I stepped out of the tardis and looked around. There were a few ponies sitting at tables, and a few ponies milling about the bar. I walked up to the bar and sat, trying to figure out what was going on. I couldn’t see the Doctor, but I was fairly sure that he would be near his machine. A golden-yellow pony with a darker mane walked up to me from behind the bar, polishing a wine glass with magic.
“Welcome to the Blue Alicorn. What can I do for you?” He asked. I gulped.
“Cranberry juice?” I replied tentatively. The unicorn scoffed.
“You don’t look like one for cranberry juice. You don’t look like one for money, either. Do you even know what bits look like?” The unicorn inquired with a knowing tone.
“Bits?” I responded stuipidly. The Unicorn smiled, and leaned his hooves on the bar, then crossed them together.
“You’re an interesting one. Coming into a bar without any bits, and don’t even know what bits are. I’ll keep an eye on you, even if it’s just for amusement.” He responded. I took the opportunity to ask a question.
“Have you seen somepony?” I inquired. The golden unicorn smiled.
“I’ve seen a lot of someponies. Can you be specific?” He asked in a warm tone.
“Brown.”
“Yeah, that narrows it down quite a bit.” He said sarcastically.
“He has an accent, a tiny little pen that buzzes, and he came out of that big blue box over there.”
“Not ringing any bells.”
“He goes by Doctor?” I continued, exasperated. The unicorn’s eyes lit up.
“Oh, the Doc! He’s right in the back, let me take you to him.” He said, walking our from behind the bar. He gestured for me to follow him, and I did.
“We don’t often see ponies in costume here.” He stated.
“What?” I exclaimed. The bartender looked over his shoulder lazily.
“Let me guess. You don’t know what armor is, either?” He asked, his voice dripping sarcasm. I suddenly remembered that I was still wearing my armor for the meeting.
“It’s for work.”
“Oh, even better! A royal guard thousands of miles away from Canterlot, trying to buy drinks without any money!” The unicorn continued, becoming obviously overjoyed. I didn’t want to satisfy him with a response, and thankfully he did not continue his tirade. He walked down a long hallway, passing several doorways covered in the warm fabric that was draped outside. He stopped outside of one, hesitating.
“Your name is?”
“Edwin Shell.” I answered. The bartender ducked a head into the room.
“Doc, I’ve got an ‘Edwin Shell’ here to see you. You want ‘im?” The unicorn asked in a hushed tone, thinking that I would not hear him over the soft piano and the heavy fabric. Something inside made a coughing noise
“Oh Goddesses, Yes! Send him in now!” The voice said in between coughs. The unicorn backed out and looked at me awkwardly.
“If you need anything, ask for Sam.” The bartender said, and then walked away without any prompting. I hesitated before I entered the room, then took a big breath and ducked inside.
I was immediately treated to the Doctor curled up on a thick rug, with a mare not too far away from him. I could immediately tell that the mare was Sebastian, with her somewhat curvy figure and her extremely long black mane and tail, but also her lack of a cutie mark. I stiffened immediately, but the Doctor waved a hoof at me.
“Calm down, Edwin. We’re all too long-lived to hold grudges. Take off your helm, stay a while.” He said, gesturing to a large plush mat not too far away from either of them. I took a seat and levitated my helm off of my head. I set it next to me as I sat down on the red mat. The Doctor was playing with a bit of Sebastian’s tail that was pooling around him. He looked up to me.
“You must be excellent at hide and find.” He said. I laughed.
“I got you good, Doctor. I have a few questions.” I said.
“I’m sure you do, but here comes lunch!” the Doctor said, and a tray laden with all kinds of baked goods floated in on a cloud of silvery magic. It set itself down between the Doctor and I, and I did not hesitate to grab a pastry and shove it in my mouth. I could not believe how insatiably hungry I was until there was food in front of me.
“Goddesses, Edwin!” The Doctor exclaimed. I looked up at him with a mouthful of danish and two hooves filled with apple tarts.
“Whut?” I asked, and crumbs flew everywhere.
“I should really feed you more often. I can’t have you acting like this everywhere I take you.” The Doctor said.
“Bhut Ah Furnd Yeh.” I said, reaching for another danish
“And I’m sure that that ‘Furnd’ was ‘Bhuted’ quite well, but that is no excuse for bad manners. But I suppose that starvation may be an exception...” The Doctor trailed off, talking to himself more than to me. I took another opportunity to cram another pastry into my mouth.
“Celestia asked you to find Othello, didn’t she?” The Doctor asked. I looked to Sebastian before I answered, and I could see that she was sleeping. I turned back to the Doctor and swallowed my food.
“He can’t be alive, can he?” I asked.
“No. I delivered him to his funeral personally. But that does leave the question of why his sword still exists.” The Doctor tried to reason.
“It shouldn’t matter, should it?”
“It does. If a bladesinger dies, any blades that he has summoned that still exist usually just flicker into oblivion. Othello’s blade should not be held to that rule, but it certainly cannot be ignored as some kind of...” The Doctor trailed, waving a hoof in the air.
“Aberration?” I supplied. The Doctor smiled and nodded.
“Yes, as some kind of aberration. There is a source of magic somewhere that is keeping the blade in existence, but I don’t know what it could possibly be.” The Doctor said, swirling around Sebastian’s flowing hair with a lazy hoof.
“Do you think that Celestia could be doing it to delude herself into thinking that he is still alive?” I wondered aloud. The Doctor shook his head immediately.
“No. She loved him in life, and idolized him in death. She couldn’t possibly violate the sanctity of her most precious gift from him.” The Doctor explained. I thought about this and inhaled another pastry. Sebastian mumbled something and stirred lightly.
“Try to be quieter, Edwin. She’s been though a lot in the past day.” The Doctor said softly, rising from his mat. Sebastian seemed to mutter louder, and her stirring became a little more active. The Doctor placed a hoof on her shoulder as he closed his eyes. Sebastian immediately stopped muttering, and her shaking became far less pronounced. The Doctor, on the other hand, became much tenser, with the tendons in his neck flexing, and his eyes were moving under his closed lids. I was about to approach him and see what was going on when he stopped me.
“Don’t do anything, it will be over in a minute.” He said, and he continued his fit. I watched worriedly as his breathing became stressed, and his shaking became worse. I wanted desperately to help, but all I could do was watch as the Doctor shook. He finally opened his eyes in a flash, taking a big gasp as he did so. He panted heavily for a few moments, nearly collapsing on the mat. I rushed up to him.
“What happened? Did she-” The Doctor stopped me by placing a hoof on my shoulder.
“We... We all have... Our demons, Edwin...” The Doctor said, panting between words. “Sebastian... Just has more... Than her fair share.” He concluded, wheezing as he did so.
“Do you need anything, can I go get-”
“Give me time, Edwin... The one thing I have... so much of. I will become better shortly.” The Doctor said, lying down. He curled into a loose ball, and his forehooves began to shake.
“She was there, Edwin. I never knew she was there.” He said after a while. I looked up from an interestingly-frosted doughnut. The Doctor was lying there, with wide eyes and his limbs tucked into his chest.
“She was where?” I responded.
“The Genocide. She was there when Evangeline slaughtered the Conclave.” He whispered. I looked at the Doctor a little harder than before. He seemed... afraid. He was never afraid. He mistook my look to be one of confusion, and started to explain in a soft whisper.
“The ghost met once every hundred years to discuss problems. Some of which they caused, but not all. They had worries about food, land, and other things. The last Conclave ever held was the Five hundred and eighty-fourth. Evangeline found out where it was being held and snuck in. There was only one survivor.” He said, his whispery voice growing even more unsteady as he spoke. I felt disgusted.
“I can never look at Eve the same way again.” I muttered to myself. The Doctor seemed to recover slightly, and rose to a sitting position.
“Do you want to see it?” The Doctor asked.
“See what?”
“Her dream.” He said. I laughed.
“Like that’s possible. I might as well walk on clouds, or breathe underwater.” I said mockingly. The Doctor grinned.
“But you can walk on clouds, Edwin. Come here.” He said, drawing me to him with his hooves. I walked forward tentatively, and the Doctor grabbed my head with his hooves. He bumped his forehead up to mine, and began to speak,
“Close your eyes and empty your mind.” He said. I closed my eyes and tried my best to lose my connection to thinking. A bright spark of something popped up in my mind, and it soon flared into an overwhelming torrent of information, flooding my senses. I could smell the crisp air, I could feel the cold in my hooves. I could see. I could see the little ponies around me that looked just like I did, with the manes and tails matching. There was a dragon. I liked the dragon. He was big. Bigger than me. We played on him, climbing over him and under him and in his ears and under his scales. He laughed, a big rumbling noise that made my teeth clatter and my bones shake. The trees shivered when he laughed. We were all playing, with the grown-ups talking away from us. We laughed and played in the cool winter sun. I remembered the warm white scales under me as I snoozed. I was his favorite. I knew I was. It made me happy. I fell asleep under a translucent white wing as I thought about it.
Something was wrong. I woke with a start, noticing that the scales underneath me were moving. I tried to get up but the wing over me would not let me out. I remember asking a question
I can’t let you out. a rumbling deep voice said. I complained. It was too hot. My hooves were stiff.
I can’t let you out. We have to leave. The voice said again. I remember crying. I wanted to see mommy. Why couldn’t I see mommy? The voice was very sad when it answered.
I... Mommy went away for a while. She will come back soon. The voice said mournfully. I managed to crawl up through the wing to look at him. His long, angular head had suffering etched onto it. Where are we going?
Away. Somewhere safe. Where she can’t find us. The voice answered. I looked up to him, his head blocking the sun. I could hear noises, loud ones. I wanted to know what they were
Never you mind what they are. We have to go. He repeated. I could tell he was lying. I could always tell. I could hear his lies before he told them. Where are we going? I want mommy. Where are you taking me?
I... the voice stammered. I stared up at his bright red eye. It had a single tear in the corner of it. I listened for what I could hear. I saw a picture of her, in his mind. Her long legs, her strong body. Her golden hair. Her.
Now you know. We can’t go back. He said. What about mommy?
Mommy... She... Had to leave.
Why would mommy leave without telling me? I want to talk to mommy! Where is she! I was shouting. The Dragon shushed me, hunching down his shoulders and grabbing me with one of his hands. He held me up to his face.
We have to be quiet. She cannot find us. We are all that is left. We-
“Trying to run, Alucard?” A strong voice asked. I could feel the pearly white scales tense a little bit as his face grew a scary snarl.
Evangeline. Mercy upon the innocent.
“You speak in paradoxes, Alucard. There are no innocents where your species is concerned.” The strong voice said. The Dragon growled.
She is just a hatchling. She knows nothing of your hate.
“When I have my way, she won’t know anything at all.” The strong voice spoke smoothly. The Dragon looked at me, he whispered.
I need to go now, Sebastian. he sobbed softly. No. Don’t go. I need you.
Such is life, Sebastian. Things change. It is best that you learn that now by choice, rather than later by necessity. I must leave you now. He whispered as best as any dragon could. I could feel his magic, throwing me away from him, pushing me into the flow completely. I existed more in the flow than in the real world. I was the Flow. The Flow was me. There was no discerning between the two. I could feel the Dragon call upon me, and he took my energy to try and fight the Mare. He was winning. He was winning. I felt exuberant that the evil creature would finally die. She tricked him. She blinded him, kept light from his eyes. He swiped with his strong claws, trying to hit her. But she was so fast. I couldn’t watch. I turned away from it. I couldn’t watch. But I felt it. I felt him die. I cried where nothing could see. I was the Flow.
I rode the flow. I searched and searched for others like me. I traversed the Threads themselves to try and find them. Years. I looked for years. I found one. He used the flow. Masterfully, skillfully. I found him and held him. Who are you? I said. Who are you that uses me like this, with such skill? I asked.
C-Columnus. He stammered. I smiled. I poured myself out onto his dimension, like how cold honey would pour onto a cookie sheet. I attained form. I was. I simply was, after so long of not being. I cried in happiness, feeling the sun on my face. I collapsed onto the grass-
I tore myself from the dream, gasping. I couldn’t handle it. I couldn’t bear to live another second in the hazy dream-world. I collapsed, sprawling backwards onto the mat in the room with the Doctor and the pastries and the sleeping mare. I let myself lie there, trying to reject the dream that was forced upon me. The Doctor tutted, and picked up a pastry. He sniffed it, then put it back down.
“Now you know.” He said calmly. I wanted to scream at him, to shout until my throat bled.
“Ignorance... Is bliss...” I managed to gasp out. The Doctor smiled patronizingly.
“Not for ponies like you. Ignorance is a luxury that you cannot afford.” He said. I grumbled, but I wanted to scream and writhe and tear my skin out
“Cruel... Doctor...” I said.
“Maybe. But I would rather be cruel than caring if it meant that you would be safe.” He said. He said nothing else, and all that could be heard were my gasps and Sebastian’s innocent snores.