The rain pattered endlessly on the cobblestones of the oldest of Equestria's cities. The Weather Patrol worked tirelessly for days to wrangle the dark clouds but the mood in Canterlot could not be lifted and the clouds would always return. Most tried to go about their business while the weather continued to drown spirits but one unicorn sat and gazed out the windows of the palace at the ever swirling clouds unable to overcome the dark mood that walked hoof in hoof with the depressing weather
“It'll be alright, Sweetheart. You've all been through a lot. They probably just needed a break from all of this, it doesn't mean they aren't your friends anymore.” Twilight turned her eyes away from the window to look upon the concerned face of her father. The older stallion reached a hoof over to comfort his daughter. The small, intimate dinner table was set for six and the Sparkle family sat and waited for the two remaining guests to show up.
Spike squirmed restlessly on his cushion and looked over at the older unicorn mare. “D-do you want me to go find the Princesses, Miss Sparkle?”
Star Sparkle rolled her eyes and smirked at the young dragon. “For the last time Spike, you can call me Mom. But no, Dear... I’m sure there is a good reason for the little holdup.” She smiled reassuringly at her adoptive son but her smile fell slowly when she looked at the expression which graced the face of her daughter.
Twilight just looked at the empty places and then returned her gaze to the window and the never ending rain.
The calm of the rain-filled night erupted in a burst of force. The crackling lines of magic coursed like crawling ivy over the stone wall centred on the body of the stallion being pinned there. The pegasus stallion squirmed and struggled a moment more before his eyes went wide and he shook the brass boot off his forehoof.
“I... I surrender!” He choked out as the lines of green magic curled around his neck and squeezed. His heart beat faster and faster as the unicorn stallion walked slowly towards him. Armour shining dull under the rain-soaked street lamps and his breath leaving a brief cloud before him.
“Sorry... Didn't hear you, Mate.” The Guard Sergeant squeezed more and the pinned pegasus' eyes began to water. The life of the pinned pegasus began to flash before his eyes though it was interrupted suddenly by a voice which simply dripped with authority.
“Enough, Trusty!” Sergeant Shrike limped slowly out of the alleyway, her right wing hanging limply at her side. The grip on the thug's throat lessened though he still hung still against the wall. The green stallion stood stock still.
“I said stand down, Sergeant!” Shrike bellowed and slowly the grip faded more and more. Shrike limped slowly towards where the assailant was pinned and quickly clipped the manacles to his forehooves, the green force finally letting him drop, half conscious, to the ground. Job done, Shrike turned her gaze on her second in command. She pulled him around a corner out of earshot of their captive.
“What in Celestia's name was that about?” She yanked her helmet from her head and tossed it to the cobblestones. “I get one punch to the wings and you suddenly decide that you're going to throw a pony through a dumpster and try to strangle the bugger. What the buck is wrong with you?”
Trusty's face was empty of emotion, not even his usual sly smirk. “He hurt you...” Was his only response.
Trusty lowered his eyes and turned away from his marefriend and Captain. She, however trotted to face him again and yanked his head up to meet her gaze. “Trusty I’m not made of glass... I’m not some prissy stay-at-home mare who can't take a bloody punch. And you're not a killer! How could you even think that it would make things better?”
Trusty let his eyes close and gave a sigh. His shoulders slumped in defeat and he pulled away from the grey pegasus before him. “I’m taking sick leave, boss...” Shrike fell silent as he trotted around the nearest corner and disappeared.
The rain fell as far as Ponyville the next morning, and though this storm was a scheduled one, it did little to detract from the fact that the skies were grey and the ponies of Ponyville were keeping indoors. The beautifully decorated Carousel Boutique was still and silent with the outdoor lights off, there would be no customers today for the beautiful and talented Rarity to ply her trade thanks to the 'closed for a special project' placard placed in the front window.
Anypony who knew the white unicorn would be surprised to see her now. Her immaculate desk was covered with an oilcloth sheet, stained with grease. Her usual array of fine needles and threads was replaced with rough and ready screwdrivers and a smoking soldering iron. Careful sketches of dresses were pushed aside in favour of detailed diagrams. Lastly the mare herself sat still, her mane tied back in a non-to-flattering knot and her horn aglow.
The words of her pink friend were sinking deeper than she had expected. She was useless to the guards, useless to her friends, save for a deft horn at needlework when they needed stitches. Their comforting words fell on deaf ears. In desperation she threw herself into the new task. This would be a masterpiece, not of fashion but of her worth. She would give back something precious to those who had lost so much.
She lifted the soldering iron once more and touched it to a delicate coil of wire within the device on her desk. It sparked and the whole assembly twitched a little. “Just a teensy bit more.” She inched the iron closer and set another wire into place. When the device shook on the table the iron slipped.
The white unicorn winced and jerked her hoof back as the hot metal scored a line across the softest part of her hoof. The room filled with the uncomfortable smell of burnt hair and sizzling flesh. Tears streaked down her dirty cheeks and she thumped backwards off her stool, her injured hoof clutched in the crook of her foreleg.
Rarity trembled as she withdrew her hoof and examined the damage. The burn was already beginning to ooze blood slightly and she let out a trembling breath. “One little burn... compared to them, this is nothing. If I work through the night then I shall be in Canterlot by tomorrow afternoon.” She quickly bandaged her hoof and grit her teeth returning to the machine. The white unicorn fought through the tears and throbbing pain in her hoof pouring her heart and soul into her work.
The rain poured down on the orchards outside Ponyville and on the form of one of Equestria's hardest working farmponies. The thick oiled raincoat she wore did little to take away the chill and the old material leaked. With every buck she shivered a little more, the soaking apples falling to the sodden earth and bobbing in puddles when they didn't hit her carelessly placed baskets. Her motions carried none of their passion, none of her love of the job. Today she was an apple bucking machine, fuelled by the need to not be alone with her thoughts.
Lift hooves and set in position, she went over the instructions her father had told her in her head, drilling them into every action she took. Front down, use yer forelegs and push back. Her hooves struck the trunk and another rain of apples fell to or near their respective baskets. She lined up with the next tree when a whistle caught her attention and she looked over to the farmhouse. She saw the shape of her older brother standing on the covered porch.
With a sigh she left her work and trudged from the orchards to the steps. “This important, Mac? I'm a might busy right now.” She scowled up at the unshakable red stallion. He shifted a little and nodded to a steaming mug on the railing.
“Made ya a toddy, ya looked cold.” His deep voice rumbled and Applejack cracked a bit of a smile. She climbed the steps and took off her prized hat, hanging it on a worn hook beside the door to drip in peace while her muddy hooves thankfully scooped up the steaming drink.
Mac looked out to the orchard and the pair stood in silence for a moment longer. “Tell me why ya done it, AJ?” His question caught the orange pony off-guard. She and her brother always had an unspoken rule. She never asked him about his decisions and the same courtesy was afforded to her.
“Tha south orchard needed-” she began but Mac cut her off.
“Tha south orchard is doin' just fine. I asked Carrot ta mind the garden fer a basket a what she wants once a week and Caramel is finally pullin' his own weight. I meant why didja leave tha badge...” He turned his eyes to hers and Applejack looked away. “You ain't been no good at lyin', AJ... 'specially ta yerself.”
“Ponies are dead Mac... lotsa ponies... this ain't a game no-more.” She took another sip of her drink and sighed.
“T'weren't a game from tha start, AJ...” He rumbled slow and took a seat beside where Applejack stood. “Pappy was darn proud a ya.”
Applejack nearly dropped her cup, turning to look at her brother who remained as calm as always. He cleared his throat to forestall her inevitable question, “Applebloom wrote ta him and ma 'bout how yer a big fancy guard now.”
“Pappy ain't ever been proud a me, Mac...” Applejack took a seat beside her brother and looked down into her drink with a sigh.
“That's a load a manure and ya know it.” He chuckled and put a hoof around her shoulders. “Applejack, Pappy wrote back near right away. He was happy as a pig in mud. Thought ya might whip them airhead pegasus guards inta shape.” Even Applejack chuckled a little but it was short-lived.
“Mac... Ah can't do it... ah can't go out every single day and see ponies ah like, mah friends, end up gettin' cut ta ribbons. Ya didn't see p-poor Shootin' Star,” Applejack trailed off with a shudder, squeezing her eyes shut tight.
“Applejack,” Mac sighed and ran his other hoof through his mane. “Remember when we were foals, we used ta grab sticks and pretend we were knights. Remember tha words?”
Applejack blushed, imagining herself as a reckless little filly but her lips soon turned up in a smile. “In brotherhood we stand together, in sisterhood may we find grace...” Her voice was soft and she felt as Mac nodded.
“I was thinkin' more on tha lines a loyal to our roots remain us.” Big Mac let a smirk grace his lips for a moment and Applejack lowered her head slowly. “Ah know that loyalty is kinda Miss Dash's thing but it's somethin' that all ponies should have in 'em. Ya never let family down and those friends a yours are practically sisters to ya.”
“It's... real complicated, Mac...” Applejack rose and downed the last of her mug before pushing the front door open.
Mac sat still and sighed as he heard Granny's always repeated words. “Jackie, wipe yer dern hooves. Ya may've been born in tha barn but yer not livin' in one.” The red stallion couldn't help but smile a little at the grumble from his sister.
In the lofty heights of Pinkie Pie's vaulted ceiling, a pony laid on a wooden rafter in silence. Her job with the rain finished for the day, Rainbow Dash eagerly sought comfort indoors. Her mind worked in the background and her tail flicked in annoyance. Boredom was something that the blue pegasus could not cope with and sleep was elusive.
Casting her eyes down to the room below she took in the furniture. The short table where she had interrupted Pinkie Pie's crazy party. The carpet on which Pinkie had apologized for sitting on Dash's head with a hug that had turned into an eager kiss. The dresser where Pinkie kept a picture of Dash so she could, 'See the most important pony in my life each and every day'. And the bed where...
Rainbow blushed and closed her eyes tightly. She cared deeply for Pinkie Pie and the pink party pony was more than enamoured with Rainbow Dash in return. Still, ever since her return to Ponyville she had felt terrible in so many ways. Her thoughts led to more discomfort. Pinkie had twisted her hoof to get her to come back, she had fought dirty and Rainbow couldn't help but feel used.
She imagined Shrike getting the news of their departure or Shooting Star awakening to word that her friend had fled like a coward. And Rainbow Dash was no coward. She thumped her head against the rafter beam, upsetting a pair of dust bunnies which drifted harmlessly to the floor to be stepped on by the little green alligator who had been watching her intently. “How am I supposed to keep my promise to Pinkie when I feel like this?” She asked the green gator and sighed as no response was forthcoming.
Far below, in the kitchens of Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie was lost in her own little world as she whipped up a batch of frosting. She was running on automatic, her eyes unfocused and staring into space as her hooves moved like a blur over the mixing bowl. She stopped and nodded her head once before the bell on the stove dinged and she removed the next batch of cupcakes. With them cooling she moved on to icing the previous batch.
She didn't hear the sound of hooves in the kitchen or her name being called but she jumped and spun with a shriek, the icing flying waywardly from her dropped bowl, when Mister Cake touched a hoof to her shoulder. Pinkie blinked and blushed up at her employer as a blob of white icing slid off his nose to land on the floor with a splat.
“If you wanted me to taste the icing, Pinkie Pie, you just had to ask.” He cracked a smile and Pinkie couldn't help but giggle. “Actually... Pinkamina...” He spoke in a much more subdued tone and Pinkie's eyes went wide. The Cakes only called her Pinkamena when she did something terrible. “Cup and I think that... maybe you should take the rest of the day off... or the weekend if you need it.”
Pinkie's eyes began to water and her shoulders shook. “Y-you're not... f-firing me are you? I promise I’ll do better! I won't take any more sample cupcakes. I'll work even harder!” Her panic rose until the older stallion placed his hooves on her shoulders.
“Pinkie. Pinkie it's alright.” His smile worked to calm the pink pony some and finally he let her go to point a hoof towards the rack of confections she had made. “It's just that... we can see you're upset.” Pinkie blinked but soon her eyes followed where he was pointing and she gasped.
Row upon row of cupcakes stood like little snowy mountains. No chocolate ones, no sprinkles, no new experiments in baking like her ill-fated banana and chili pepper muffins. She had baked a day's worth of vanilla cupcakes.
Pinkie Pie slumped to the floor and just stared as Mister Cake took a seat beside her. “My wife and I have been keeping track of the newspapers, we heard what happened. I don't blame you in the least for coming home. In your place I’m sure I would have too... but I can see that your brain is still back in Canterlot”
Pinkie nodded slowly and let out a little sigh. “It was just so awful... it made me want to do bad things. Bad scary things... to other ponies... ” She trailed off and closed her eyes.
“Anger makes ponies think scary things sometimes, but it's okay to be angry, especially after what you went through. You know, Pinkie, you're a lot more than an employee to Cup and me... you're more like a daughter. Take all the time you need to think and make your decision. Whatever you pick, no matter the choice, we'll be behind you.” Mister Cake put a foreleg around Pinkie's shoulders in a little hug and the pink pony let a smile slip onto her lips. She sat on the floor of the kitchen a long while after Mister Cake had gotten up to return to the front of the shop. Her eyes traced the lines in the floor and looked over every utensil and tool which hung neatly in their proper places.
“Seen you lookin' happier, Miss Pie.” a familiar voice spoke soft and Pinkie nodded. A presence settling itself onto the floor beside her. “You got the girl, you got your old life back... why no smiles?”
Pinkie closed her eyes and rubbed her forehooves together nervously, “I’m just scared... I wasn't me and I did something bad... then when I heard about the... the firework thing... I just couldn't stay anymore. What if the Princess hadn't moved us?”
“Then you and I would be having a lot easier conversation, Miss Pie...” The voice of Jammy the unicorn spoke softly with a bit of a chuckle and Pinkie let a giggle slip herself. “As it is I’m just a bit of a daydream from that overactive imagination of yours.”
“I miss you...” She whispered, “I never lost a friend before... I don't want that to happen again.”
“If you went back, and saw this through to the end... could you live with the scars and the chance that another one of your friends wouldn’t be coming home?” The calm voice drifted through Pinkie's thoughts and she opened her mouth to answer but he spoke again, “Or could you live with yourself if you stayed here and hid under your bed?”
Pinkie Pie blushed and nodded slowly. “You're right... if I’m not there then how can I protect my new friends.”
“Who are you talking to, Dearie?” Missus Cake poked her head around the door and looked into the kitchen, concern written all over her face.
“Just my Pinkie self, Missus Cake...” Pinkie took a breath and turned with a smile, “Sorry about all the vanilla cupcakes, but I think I have some things I need to do.” Missus Cake nodded with a renewed smile, seeing the pink pony bounce past and head for the stairs.
In Pinkie's apartment, Rainbow Dash paced back and forth, a toothless alligator hanging from the end of her multi-hued tail. “How... how can I tell Pinkie...” She muttered to herself before flopping onto her haunches and thumping her forehooves against her head in frustration. “Come on brain, think think!”
Rainbow's mental battle was interrupted as the door to the room opened and the pink pony herself trotted in. Rainbow turned and squeezed her eyes shut tight for a second, willing herself to be strong as Pinkie Pie took a breath. In unison the two ponies exclaimed
“Pinkie, I need to go back to Canterlot”
“Dashie, I need to go back to Canterlot”
The ponies stopped and stared at one another. Blinking and unsure of how to continue. “What do you mean 'you need to go back' ?” The friends and lovers spoke in perfect stereo again. They stopped, blinking as they took several steps closer to each other.
Pinkie opened her mouth to speak but Rainbow's hoof gently rested on her lips and the pink pony blushed. “OK... we'll both go.” Without another word, Rainbow and Pinkie held each other close as the rain pattered on the windows and the world outside began to slip towards nightfall.
Fluttershy felt the chilly rain soaking her coat and weighing down her wings but she walked on still. The path before her twinkled in the light from her lantern as she ran the events over in her mind. Her trip to Ponyville to see her friends had ended in sadness. Rarity's boutique was closed tight and locked. The lights of Pinkie Pie's apartment were off and Rainbow Dash wasn't at home.
The yellow pony blushed as she realized where her pegasus friend most likely was. It filled her with a different kind of sadness as her hooves splashed in the broad mud puddles. She wasn't a stranger to feelings of romance but in her experience, her shyness was the all-consuming barrier between her romantic heart and a lasting relationship.
Fluttershy shook her soaking mane and sighed. She had a lot more to be sad about then not finding the right stallion at the moment. What she wanted more than a lot of things was to talk to her friends. They had all been avoiding each other since they had come back to Ponyville and the elephant in the room was so obvious it was wearing a sign.
They had abandoned their friends and run when the threat of instant mortality had reared its head. They were all terrified at the thought of a mare who would stop at nothing to achieve her goals, which included putting mares and stallions to death in horrible ways. Fluttershy had sat at the bedside of Constable Boulder and, more recently, Shooting Star. She saw how her friend's hearts had been twisted up in pain at the sight of ponies suffering and treading inches from the grave. All the while she had thought, What could I possibly do?
When Pinkie snapped at all of them, Fluttershy had scurried away. Pinkie had been right, she couldn't and wouldn't fight. The very idea of raising her hoof in anger appalled her, but deep in her heart she knew that where she should really be right now wasn't walking down a mud-soaked path at night in the rain. Where she should be was at the side of her friends, lending them as much support as she could. Can I be brave enough to ask them? The thought surfaced in her mind and she closed her eyes.
“M-Miss Shy?” A deep voice pulled her from her thoughts and she squeaked in surprise as she looked up at the towering form of her friend's older brother. “What are ya doin' out this late, and in tha rain?”
Fluttershy blushed and set her lantern down so she could speak, which is to say she mumbled quietly up at the big stallion. “O-oh Macintosh... I... I was just going to see Applejack and ummm... talk to her... if she doesn't mind that is.”
Most ponies would lean closer and ask her to repeat what she said but Big Mac wasn't most ponies. “'Fraid AJ's in bed, Miss Shy... sorry. Ah just saw yer lantern down the lane and thought I’d see who it was at this hour.”
“O-oh...” Fluttershy began and leaned down to pick up her lamp, speaking around the handle. “T-that's OK.. I’ll just... come back tomorrow.” She turned and started to nervously trot back the way she'd come when she felt a tug and her eyes went wide. Her flushed cheeks deepened another shade of red and she turned her head slowly.
Big Mac held her tail in his teeth as delicately as he could, his eyes looking to hers while his own cheeks showed a blush even through his deep red coat. “N-now it just wouldn't be proper a me ta turn ya away.” He released her tail and Fluttershy turned slowly, her knees knocking nervously. “Let me warm ya up,” His eyes went wide and he coughed, “Ah... ah mean, let me get ya somethin' warm ta drink a-and a towel.” He looked away and Fluttershy gave the slightest giggle. That was the fastest and loudest she had ever heard the big stallion speak.
“T-that would be... nice.” She smiled and big Mac let out a relieved breath.
Inside the cozy farmhouse, Fluttershy sat on a woven rug before the kitchen hearth with a large towel over her shoulders and a steaming cup of hot apple cider between her hooves. Big Macintosh sat not far away in a rocking chair, watching the fire crackle and pop with an old guitar resting at his hooves which he plucked idly. There wasn't a tune or any real song but the pair still shared a moment in silence that said more than any conversation they could have had.
The comforting moment was broken by a creak from the floorboards upstairs and the sound of unsteady hooves trudging down the stairs towards them. Fluttershy began to grow nervous once more as a sleepy looking pony stumbled into the kitchen. “Mac, con'sarnit... it's late what the hay are you doin' up?” Applejack yawned and stopped when she spotted Fluttershy, wrapped up in her brother's towel, sitting before the fire.
“She was out in tha rain, tryin' ta come see ya.” Mac supplied the answer to the unasked question when his little sister raised an eyebrow. Big Mac looked to the yellow pegasus, still seated comfortably. The pair shared a little smile before the red stallion slung his guitar and trotted out of the kitchen to let the two friends talk in private.
Applejack watched him go and turned a sly smile back to Fluttershy who flushed red once more and looked away. “Mah big brother is a might sweet on ya, Shy.” Fluttershy squeaked and looked away as if to say, 'I have no idea what you're talking about'.
With a sigh, Applejack flopped down beside the yellow pegasus and looked into the flickering flames. “What didja come ta see me for, Shy?”
Fluttershy looked down into the cup of hot cider as if it would lend her the strength to ask the question she most needed to. She watched as the firelight played over the top of the mug and made the contents shimmer slightly. Her mind drifted back to the happy moments she had just experienced and how it made her feel. With a breath she closed her eyes and spoke all-at-once. “Applejack... we all need to go back to Canterlot.”
Applejack sat silent, just looking at her usually meek friend. The words she spoke were not a question or a pleasant request. They held weight with them and a conviction she had not seen from the yellow pegasus save for on very rare occasions. “W-why” came AJ's response, her voice almost cracking under the emotional strain of the evening already.
“Because it's the right thing to do... and if we're very lucky, Twilight will forgive us and we can bring all this stupid fighting to an end.” Fluttershy blushed bright as she realized her tone and her shoulders hunched. “I mean... if that's OK with you... that is...”
“But we could all be killed, Fluttershy This ain't fun... this ain't how ponies should be livin'.” Applejack scuffed her hoof on the floor, sending a stray pebble to the hearth's edge.
“So why don't we do everything we can to make all this stop?” Fluttershy set down her cup and turned herself so she was facing the farmpony. Applejack met her gaze and sighed. This wasn't The Stare, this was the yellow pony's quiet plea. Applejack couldn't think of more to say, she just gave a nod in agreement and turned her eyes to the fire.
The rain died away as the warmth of the fire burned down and soon Applejack was alone in the kitchen. She heard the heavy hooffalls of her brother approach from behind and she turned her eyes up at him. “Ya walk Fluttershy home?” Her question was met with a nod as he plunked himself down on the hearth rug by the dying fire
“Just got one thing ta tell ya, little sis...” He spoke slow as always though there was an edge of something else creeping into his voice. Applejack waited patiently for him to continue and he gave a little sigh. “Bring that girl back home... whatever ya do, AJ. Make sure Fluttershy comes home.” Applejack just grinned wide and burst out laughing.
Celestia stood still upon her balcony as the sun crept over the horizon and cast its muted glow over the lands of Equestria. She sighed and looked across the top of the small tower to the balcony opposite her own where her sister should be standing to lower her moon to make way for the day. The place was empty as it had been when the younger alicorn was imprisoned upon the moon.
“Oh blast.... I’m late again...” The Lunar Princess stumbled the last few steps up the stairs and looked out at the red clouds on the horizon signalling the birth of a new day. “I’m so sorry, Tia... I’ve just been-” Celestia raised a hoof to silence her sister, still not looking in her direction.
“Tired... I know...” The white alicorn lowered her hoof and slowly sank down onto her haunches, letting her eyes close. “Luna... am I a fair and just ruler?”
Princess Luna stepped slowly to her sister's side and settled in to watch the sunrise. “All I have read has spoken volumes to your kindness and generosity over the millennium I was... gone. What brings these thoughts on, sister?”
“These dark times,” Celestia looked up towards the heavens and smiled just a little. “I have taken a great interest in our subjects, seen them grow and prosper under my protection. And since your return the world has become whole again... but... what could possess one of my ponies to wish so much destruction on their fellow ponies? Have I wronged some innocent somehow? Have I caused harm unknowingly to prompt some poor soul to vengeance? Where have I gone wrong?”
Luna’s eyes softened and she rushed as close as she was able, pressing her cheek against her sister's neck. “Oh, Sister. This is none of your doing, these are simply dark times. Remember long ago when the land was under the grip of Discord? Or when the gryphon clans swept over the Northern peaks. We have weathered those disasters and so have our subjects. Even the Nightmare was no match for the tenacity of your ponies. Why I am certain that Twilight Sparkle will-” Luna’s words of praise and support were cut off sharply by Celestia shoving the younger princess away.
“Luna, please stop...” The Solar Sovereign turned her eyes downward and took a step closer to the edge of her balcony, staring down at the tower where her former student had been residing until Fiona, another in the long line of her disappointments, had damaged it. “My faithful student. You know well why she holds that position. Why she, above all ponies through the long millennia, has outshone all others.” Celestia carefully floated the crown from her brow and let the glimmering object hang in the air before her. She turned it slightly so the light of the morning sun caressed the radiant purple stone set into its centre.
Celestia returned the crown, reluctantly, to its place behind her horn and turned her tearful eyes back to her sister. “The long gambit i have played to ensure that my beloved sister would return to me. That the darkness be cast from her heart once and for all. I played my game well and our greatest foe too fell to her power and skill.” Luna gave a slow nod as a smile grew on her lips.
“What you didn't count on was her heart... did you, Tia?” Luna took a step to her sister's side and brushed a wing against Celestia's, the white alicorn's cheeks colouring slightly with a blush. “You tried to craft a weapon and instead you found a friend. Though i do see now, looking back on what i have seen and read of your student, that you chose her instead of the other young unicorns because she reminded you so much of a certain indigo filly who gazed up at the limitless heavens and gave names to every star she set there.”
Celestia met Luna’s gaze and in the privacy of her tower-top high above the streets of Canterlot, she cried unashamedly with an ever-growing smile. “Little Lulu... with her books and her careful approach to her craft. Measuring the distance of each point of starlight and ensuring no two shone exactly the same.”
“As opposed to impatient Tia who had no time to shepherd a glorious sky and instead cast an enormous ball of fire into the heavens and called her job done.” Luna smirked and Celestia's blush intensified tenfold. “I am surprised that you of all ponies would have the patience to play such a long game to achieve your goal.”
Celestia's smile fell for a moment and she hung her head when she replied. “I have had a thousand years to learn the value of patience, dear sister.” Luna raised a hoof and lifted Celestia's gaze back to her own.
“Twilight will see this through, Tia. With or without the aid of her friends, though the Elements of Harmony can never truly be severed. You waited a millennium to return me to the light, and you did say that Twilight has surpassed all the expectations you had for her.” Celestia gave a sheepish smile that she was glad nopony save her sister could see.
“You heard that?” the regal white alicorn's voice was a soft whisper to which Luna nodded slowly.
“I am a Princess of the Night, moving unseen and silent is as rudimentary as breathing for one such as myself. All I ask, is that you carry your faith in your student- no... your friend Twilight just a little longer.” Luna smiled as warmly as she was able even with the fatigue gnawing at the corners of her sanity and Celestia returned the gesture in full. The sisters of sun and moon stepped close as they were able and let the troubles of the mortal world fade away for the briefest moment. They shared a hug and silent tears as Celestia knew that come rain or shine, no matter what she had done in the name of love for her sister, that the Jewel of Equestria would prevail in her task. She only hoped that Twilight would be able to forgive her all she had done and all she would yet have to endure.
The light of the sun didn't last and the clouds again returned to Canterlot to envelop the city in their dull grey embrace. Nopony ventured out-of-doors save for those who couldn't come up with a viable excuse. There were no shouts of the shopkeepers or sounds of the street carts rattling over the cobblestones. The only sound, in fact, which pierced the insufferably dour atmosphere was the marching of the Royal Guards.
Every branch of the services marched in careful patrols, no ponies trudging alone and no squad too far away from another to call for help. The golden armour of Celestia's elite blanketed the cityscape with searching eyes. However, at the main gate there stood a trio of guards looking more than a little tired and bored.
“How much longer?” The tallest pegasus mumbled out of the corner of his mouth earning a glance from both his companions.
“Why are you asking us again?” The middle guard, a pegasus mare spoke as well as she could while trying to give the impression that she wasn't moving her lips. There was an image of the guard to be maintained after all.
“Because Coal's got a watch and I can't see the Celestia-damned-sun.” The tallest guard mumbled and the final pony, a unicorn guard of the citadel broke his statuesque pose and fished a timepiece out of his uniform.
“Don't mind him, Moonbeam. He's just sore because you whipped his flank at poker last night.” Coal the unicorn flicked the case of his watch open and glanced at the time. “And for your information, Silver, it's two in the afternoon.”
The male pegasus groaned though stood still as a statue. “We usually change up the rotation twice by now... what's that new Captain thinking?”
“Cut her some slack, she was at the explosion at the hospital... nearly lost one of her own.” Moonbeam chimed in and the mood turned greyer than the clouds overhead. The guards of Canterlot were taking a beating. For every one of the traitors that was brought in, there was one of their own who was being nursed back to health in the hospital ward. The guards were used to dealing with rowdies and drunkards, petty thieves and the occasional domestic dispute. Now they were fighting armed thugs and trained assassins who thought nothing of crippling a pony in order to achieve their goals or to evade capture.
“Look alive, chums... carriage on the road.” Silver narrowed his eyes and stood more stiffly at attention and his two companions did the same.
“How in Celestia's name can you see that far?” Coal could barely spot the speck of the white carriage as it was making its way towards Canterlot.
“It's a pegasus thing... speaking of...” He trailed off as a bright shape descended from the clouds and landed before the three gate guards. The pegasus threw off an oiled rain hood and shook out her mane before removing the goggles from her bright rose eyes.
“Special Constable Rainbow Dash, arriving in advance of the rest of the Elements of Harmony. We would like to see Captain Shrike and Twilight Sparkle as soon as possible.”
“Is there anything you would like us to tell them, Ma'am?” Moonbeam raised an eyebrow and the rainbow-maned mare before her just grinned.
“Tell them,” Rainbow took a breath and let her eyes close for just a moment in thought, “that their friends are back and more than ready to see this through til the end.”
Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie stood still before the desk which still bore the gold plaque with the name 'Lord Captain Drussard' upon its solid oak front. Across from them a pair of green eyes glared, unhappy green eyes with heavy bags beneath them. The eyes of Knight Paladin Shrike. She leaned back in her seat and nudged the trio of badges on the desk. The clinking of brass on brass still the only sound in the office.
Just as the tension was growing so thick, Pinkie Pie could have cut slices of it and served it for dessert, Shrike let out a little sigh and rubbed her forehead gently. “So... just back? You did some soul searching or whatnot and now you're just back?”
“That's about it...” Rainbow Dash piped up softly and coughed into her hoof. “We need to see this thorough.”
“And what if I tell you I’ve got no place for deserters?” Shrike kept her eyes closed and leaned back more in her chair. “I’ve had fifteen guards quit on me in the last week. After Constable Storm's son got foalnapped, nopony wants to be in the spotlight. Even my own Sergeant is off on 'sick leave' whatever the buck that means.”
“Then yer admittin' yer short-staffed... ya need more hooves and we're more than willin' ta help.” Applejack placed her forehooves on the edge of the desk and looked down at the older mare. “We ain't askin' fer a second chance or fer forgiveness or none a that. We have our reasons and yer just gonna hafta trust that we got the jitters outa us these last couple days.”
Shrike opened her eyes and looked up at the cowpony then glanced down her side to where the score marks from Fiona’s claws had done their dirty work. The lines in her coat barely noticeable but still the scars lurked below. She rested a hoof on her throat and felt over the scar there from the gryphon's anger. “Consider yourself reinstated...” She said simply and both Rainbow and Applejack let out the breath they didn't know they were holding.
Pinkie Pie however jumped an almost imposable height in the air and seemed to produce a bag of confetti from nowhere in particular. “Yippee! You know what this calls for? A P-” Pinkie Pie was cut off sharply.
“Pinkie Pie! If the next word that comes out of your mouth is 'party' I will fire you and lock you in the dungeons for disturbing the peace.” Shrike couldn't keep the grin off her lips as the pink pony slowly landed back on the floor, flying in the face of the natural laws of physics and looked sheepishly at the Captain.
“It calls for a... a... jovial celebration possibly involving sweets and tasteful music...” Pinkie Pie spoke softly and the room descended into laughter before Shrike shoved their badges into their hooves and shooed the mares out of the office so she could dig back into the weighty problem of her paperwork.
The guards parted reluctantly and the now off-white unicorn known as Rarity trotted into the bedroom of the most powerful pony in all of Equestria. The Solar Princess wasn't there at the moment though, instead there rested a pair of hospital beds and a nurse who kept watch over the magical sensors monitoring the life of Constable Boulder. Rarity took a long breath and trotted into the room, the bundle tied to her back shaking a little both from her gait and from her nervousness.
Rarity had stood vigil over the bedside of Shooting Star after the blast which nearly claimed her life as she had stood vigil over the large blue stallion. She barely knew either guardpony, she hadn't been in Trottingham, she hadn't connected with any of them on any real level but she was determined to show them all that she could be of use. That Rarity the unicorn could have her moment in the spotlight.
Her cheeks were tinged with a blush as well as the grime and grease of her endeavour as she approached Shooting Star and gave a polite cough to draw the attention of the half awake pegasus. Star's eyes opened and she gave the slightest smile, her coat still patchy from her burns and bandaged in many places. “R-Rarity... didn't expect to see you here...” Star spoke soft, all the brashness gone from her voice. The life and vitality that filled the young pegasus had been drained away.
Rarity did her best to smile and knelt beside the bed, carefully levitating the bundled object and resting it on the bed. “I had to come back for you... and for all my friends.” Rarity took a breath and let her eyes close. “I was met with an uncomfortable truth... that outside my expertise with fashion and gemstones... I’m useless.”
Star wanted to tell her that she wasn't useless, that she helped in a lot of ways but Rarity continued before she could get the chance. “I am not as shallow as one thinks... I am not as one dimensional. Few ponies know what I am capable of. My father fixed machines for a living... though it was not his special talent he showed me that I did not have to limit myself to just one thing to lead a fulfilling life. I grew up around his workshop... tinkering with my sewing machine when it refused to work and eventually that tinkering became improving. Within a few years I was building new machines from scratch to meet my needs and specifications.”
Rarity took a moment and grinned, tapping the wrapped parcel. “I have spoken to several scientists and doctors about what I have built and they all agree that the work behind it is sound.” Rarity drew her hoof sheepishly through her mane and then smiled. “Would you care to lift the canvass?”
Star blinked some and reached her hoof over to catch the edge of the wrapping and slowly opened the neat parcel. All at once her eyes went wide and she stared at Rarity unblinking. “Is this... what I think it is?” Rarity only nodded and watched as Star's grin spread wider and wider.
“If it's not any trouble can I get a drink of water?” A voice spoke up from beside the grinning pair and without a thought, Rarity lifted a glass with her magic and filled it with cold water from a nearby pitcher. “Thanks, Miss Rarity... wow... looks like you took a beating Star.”
Shooting Star and Rarity both blinked and turned their eyes over to Constable Boulder who was half sitting up in bed and finishing off a glass of water. He blinked a little and raised an eyebrow, “Why are ya looking at me like that?” Both mares began to laugh which of course alerted the nurse who had fallen asleep on the job. Boulder just blinked more and cracked a smile.
“OK, fillies... somepony fill me in... I’m feelin' a tad out of the loop here.” The blue stallion scratched his head which only caused Star and Rarity to laugh more, tears running down their cheeks as the dark mood over them all began to lift bit by bit.
Shrike paced when she was nervous. It was a habit she wasn't proud of but at least the ponies she worked with knew what it meant by now and gave her the space she needed. The long table in the centre of the room lay strewn with reports and documents about the arrests that had been made and every little cryptic detail that the traitors had let slip. Also on the table were several trays of multicoloured cupcakes and various other tarts and things which, despite Shrike's vehement protests, were still supplied by Pinkie Pie.
As tense as she was and as dour her mood, it was good to have the girls back. They all seemed to be able to liven somepony's day just by stepping into the room. Shrike finally sighed. “Where is Rarity? I would like to get this going but we're one mare short.”
“She said she was lending Star a hoof with something, Captain.” The deep voice of Constable Boulder drifted into the room and Shrike cracked a smile. It was good to have the big lug back, even if most of this political nonsense was over his head.
Shrike slumped back in her seat and looked down into her coffee cup again as if she could simply wish it to fill with the lifesaving brown liquid her body needed to survive. Her eyes glanced to Trusty and he quickly looked the other way. The Captain closed her eyes and smothered her rising ire with several deep breaths. If she had to ask her Sergeant for anything, including a pot of coffee, there was going to be a fight and Shrike just didn't have the energy for that kind of nonsense today.
Before any more grumbling could be made, the door to the meeting room opened and a pearly white unicorn stood in the doorway, blocking the view of the room beyond. “I am terribly sorry I’m late Captain. There were some complications, and i did take a moment for a desperately needed bath, but the project has been otherwise successful.” She beamed though she still had the faint aura of fatigue about her actions. With care she stepped back to the side of the door and took a seat.
All eyes turned as the sound of hooves came don the hallway. There were quiet gasps from those nearest the door and Shrike raised an eyebrow before her Constable rounded the door and smiled a little. Her sandy coat was dishevelled and her rusty red mane was considerably shorter than it had been. Then the Captain's eyes fell to the forehoof which the doctors were unable to save. Where there should have been nothing supporting her, something steel looked bolted directly to her body.
Constable Shooting Star took a seat on the floor and raised the artificial hoof to her forehead in a smart salute. Her wings were still bandaged but it was undoubtedly the pegasus she had seen snatched away from the jaws of death. “Constable Shooting Star, reporting for duty, Captain.” No sooner had the words left her mouth then she was hit by the blue blur of Rainbow Dash and swept into a hug like the pair had been separated for years.
“S-Star...” Shrike spoke softly and took a stumbling step to her hooves. “Sweet Celestia, Rarity. How could this be done?” The Captain looked to the white unicorn and the fashion pony's smile broadened slightly.
She cleared her throat to forestall any further comments as her friends all stared with slack jaws at her. “Just because I choose to follow what my talent dictates does not mean I am bound to it. All the machines for my sewing and various other things are hoof-made. Why dears, have none of you asked what I keep in my basement?” Rarity chuckled and if it were possible for the jaws in the room to drop any further, they would have.
Rarity stood slowly and looked to each of her friends. “You all have skills outside your special talent. Pinkie Pie, you are perhaps the greatest baker alive in Equestria even though your talent is about making other ponies smile.” The pink pony blushed a little at the compliment. “Fluttershy, you can calm and befriend any animals you come across but you also have a beautiful singing voice. Applejack, apples or no apples, I doubt there is a faster hoof racer in all of Equestria. Rainbow Dash, i realize you will not find this complimenting in the least but the renovations i have seen you busy yourself with on your home put any architecture i have seen in Cloudsdale to shame. And you dear Twilight, your talent is wielding magic but you have, in the short time i have known you, become one of my most steadfast friends and I think anyone in this room would say the same, you truly have a gift for understanding everypony.”
Rarity stopped to take a breath and wipe a tear from the corner of her eye. “What I’m trying to say, girls... and gentlecolts of course... is that just because we are outside our element does not mean we cannot shine.”
One by one everypony smiled and nodded, the darkness in the room fled. Shrike looked once more to her Constable and then even back to Trusty who couldn't hide his grin if he tried. The Captain closed her eyes slowly and took a deep breath before stepping before Rarity. “Rarity... you're right. You couldn't be more right. You've given us back something we thought was gone for good. You have not only my respect but my gratitude. It's time we stopped second-guessing ourselves and got down to work.” Shrike grinned as Dash and Star separated from their tearful hug and everypony began to take their seats. Twilight and her five Elements of Harmony were, perhaps closer than ever after their own tearful reconciliation. Boulder was back in the waking world, none the worse for wear and even Star, who Shrike had almost written off as lost for good, was back in armour and ready to go. “The gang's all here...” She whispered under her breath with a smile.
“Captain if I may make a suggestion,” Twilight raised a hoof and Shrike nodded to the purple unicorn to continue. “We know that the Dark Lady has many contacts and those she uses magical force to control. She seems to be one step ahead of our movements a lot of the time, or baits us into uncovering a hideout only to capture her subordinates. Would it be a good bet that she has someone in the palace that is working for her?”
Shrike nodded slowly and looked down to the papers before her. “It's a safe bet she has an informant... which is why this meeting isn't on the official lists and from this point on I want everything we say to stay between us. This isn't a request... it's an order.” The ponies in the room nodded slowly in comprehension as Trusty stood and closed the large door before locking it with a swirl of his magic. “OK... any suggestions?”
“It looks like whoever this unicorn is, she likes to use high society ponies for most of her dirty work. Lots of money can buy a lot of fencing lessons I guess.” Rainbow Dash took a glance around the room, the seriousness in her voice was a little heavy but it made Shrike glad that she was taking this job to heart. She wished she had a dozen more like the Rainbow-maned pegasus. “So whoever this pony is it won't be one of the gardeners or the cooks or anything like that.”
“Clerks...” Pinkie Pie tapped her chin in thought. “Smarty ponies are usually the ones she makes do important stuff. Like letting that nasty gryphon out or setting up the big fireworks' explosion. The other ponies are just ones she needs for a teensy bit. Like that poor guard who had his colt foalnapped or that pony who came after me.”
Twilight shuffled the papers before her and looked at her notes. “So what we need to find is a pony in a position to overhear important information who is well off and intelligent.” Twilight's eyes narrowed and she sighed. “That in essence describes most of the staff of the palace.”
“Well we can't go interview everypony one at a time.” Shrike put a hoof to her forehead again and sighed.
“Why can't we?” The stern Southern voice of Applejack cut through the brief silence and all eyes fell on her. “We know this pony'll be a might nervous and flighty if we're askin' all sorts a questions 'bout this Dark Lady. So why don't we do up a sort a review. Get all tha clerks and such in one room an take em ta see us one at a time. Ask em a couple questions and send em on their way.”
“That still doesn't mean we'll find this spy.” Rainbow Dash cut in with frustration in her voice.
“Ah reckon ah can tell if anypony's lyin' ta me. Even before I had tha element a honesty, ah could always tell if somepony was tryin' ta cheat me on a deal. Comes with workin' tha markets as long as ah have. Ya get em in a room and ah'll tell ya if their lyin' or not.” Applejack nodded her head with certainty.
“Oh... ummm if I can just add something... if that's OK I mean.” Fluttershy spoke up softly and Shrike tried not to giggle at the poor girl's expense but she was adorable when she was nervous, which was all the time it seemed. “My animals can't tell me a lot of things so I need to be very good at reading their body language. The way they walk and the way they stand can tell me a lot about what they're thinking. I should be able to help Applejack tell if anypony isn't being truthful.”
OK... Shrike thought to herself with a renewed grin. We have a plan, not a great plan but a plan... if we can find somepony who knows what might be going on with that Dark Lady then we can press them for all the information they can give us. “Alright, tomorrow morning we round up the day-clerks, all of them and take them to the main ballroom, under guard. We keep them comfy for as long as we can while Fluttershy and Applejack run through the list of names. If we don't find the clerk then we do the same thing with the night-staff.”
“If it's alright with you Captain I think I might have something that can help but I need to do more research just to be sure.” Twilight's smile was a little on the manic side but Shrike had been warned in confidence about what happens when Twilight doesn't finish an assignment.
Shrike nodded and took a breath to steady her nerves once more. She was about to open her mouth before there came a tapping from Rarity's hoof on the table. “Captain, if I may... I believe there is something immediate that must be addressed. One does not get as far as I have in an industry based upon images without learning the value of understanding the feelings between others.” Her eyes glanced over to Sergeant Trusty who was a rather more pale shade of green at the moment, his eyes wide and both ears drooped.
“Rarity... you wouldn't... not here...” Trusty’s voice was a whisper, the usual bravado and easy-going demeanour was gone. His hooves trembled as he clutched both to the pouch that had been affixed to the front of his armour.
“Yes I’m afraid, dear Sergeant... I believe the term is 'Now or never'” Rarity's smile didn't waiver in the slightest, in fact she moved a little further away, making room between herself and Shrike for the green stallion.
Trusty gave a nod and trembled still as he stepped closer and closer to where Shrike was seated. The grey pegasus began to blush at his nervousness and tried to shy back but Rarity gave a gentle shake of the head. Trusty swallowed down his fear for a moment and fidgeted with the pouch now on his waist. “Shrike...” He began softly, “I know things have been... bumpy lately. And I know I’m being an ass about a lot of things but... but things need to be set right between us.”
He knelt down on one hind knee and Shrike's eyes went wide. No... no not here, not now, and not in front of everypony... oh Celestia! The stupid pony is really doing it! Shrike's eyes went wide and her mind whirled with a thousand thoughts at once as he took her hoof and, without the aid of his magic, carefully slipped a simple silver band in place, the single emerald glittering in the sunlight which drifted through the window at the end of the room.
“When we get out of this stupid mess... we're getting married... I’m not even gonna ask, it's just happening whether you like it or not, Love...” The grin returned to Trusty’s lips and he gave a slight wink. All her resentment drained away as her heart filled with warmth and her stomach filled with butterflies. He leaned closer but before he could touch his lips to hers, Shrike grabbed him and kissed him with all the force she could muster.
Cheers and applause filled the meeting room but neither Shrike nor Trusty seemed to care anymore, their minds fully occupied on the not so distant future which seemed to be getting brighter and brighter.
The streets of lower Canterlot were too far off the beaten track for any tourist brochure. The back alleys where the lower classes worked and lived to keep a roof over the heads of the wealthy weren't a place most ponies wanted to see which is a perfect place to not be seen. Walking with care, draped in a heavy woollen cloak, a pony made his way through the maze of tight alleyways and barred gates towards his destination.
Level Ledger, Head Clerk in the employ of the crown, pushed the glasses further up his nose and sighed as he approached the door on the side of a building. He tapped the wood gently. Four knocks, pause, four knocks, pause, and another four knocks... After a Final long pause, he pulled the cloak tighter around his shoulders to keep out the chill night air. I don't have the wrong building, do I? He thought to himself before the door opened a crack and he slipped into the old building.
“You're expected, Mister Ledger.” The deep voice of one of her guards caught his attention and he tried to stifle the shriek of surprise as the black armoured unicorn stepped from the shadows and held out a hoof to take his cloak.
“Always knows when I’m coming, doesn't she?” He tried to smile but the guard's face remained cold as he took the clerk's cloak and unceremoniously dumped it on a nearby piece of dust-covered furniture strewn around the former home. With a snort of derision, the guard motioned for him to head down the flight of stairs leading to the basement. His hooves clicked loudly on the stone as he descended the spiralling staircase further and further into the shadows. Ledger tried to ignore the muttered words of disgust and hate that the guard let slip as he passed. This was always the part he hated, how the lady and those she employed would twist the knife of shame further into his back.
He approached the broken basement wall and ducked past the crumbling stone to enter yet another staircase which led further. Here there were sputtering torches and candles which dripped long strands of wax down the walls. It was the only light of any kind he could hope to see as long as he remained here. With a sigh he stepped down the final stair and looked off into the vaulted ceiling of some long forgotten chamber. Maybe it was a storeroom or a vault for some wealthy merchant a few hundred years ago. Now, however, it was where she held her loathsome council.
The shadows at the far end of the room shifted slightly and Ledger could just make out the shape of a cloaked pony sitting before a small writing table. “Ah right on time as always,” The voice drifted through the air like silk and Ledger shuddered from the tone. It was seductive and maddening at the same I instant. “What do you have to report?'
“Not good news, Mistress...” He licked his lips, throat suddenly dry as the figure moved again.
“It is never good news these days... speak now, you are trying my patience.” She snapped at him and Ledger stumbled back to land on his haunches.
“The Elements of Harmony have returned as well as both guards that were injured. The champions stand at full strength again.” Ledger shrieked and slammed his eyes closed as the shape in the darkness let out a shout of frustration and an inkwell sailed past his head to shatter on the wall behind him, drops of inky blackness running down the ancient stone as the air grew far colder.
“Those insufferable ponies! Why can they not simply die... why can they not leave my work in peace.” A burst of chilling purple energy lashed out and soon the whole writing desk joined the inkwell in pieces upon the floor. “Ledger! We are advancing the timetable... send word to the three and have them prepare their contributions and I shall carry out the final piece of the plan personally. There is nothing to stop us this time. Oh... and Ledger...” The voice whispered, soft and sweet once more and he let his eyes creek open the slightest bit. “You do remember that should you fail... the evidence against you will be in the hooves of the guards before you can get out of Canterlot.”
Ledger went pale and shuddered, eyes wide as he looked at the cold stone. The voice continued. “The fact that you were drunk at the time... is of no concern... the fact remains that you have done what you have done and there is a special place in Canterlot prison for ponies such as yourself.” A tightly bound hoof touched below his chin and lifted his gaze, the eyes, sickly and evil green stared back at him as the voice floated once more from the recesses of the cloak.
“I hope you are very aware of what your fellow inmates will do to you should you end up in Canterlot prison... what they do to all ponies like yourself.” Ledger tried not to retch as the Dark Lady slipped away into the shadows again.
“With most ponies I just fond something they love to hold against them, for you I just needed one photograph... but of course that is what you hold dear isn't it? Your passions and your secrets...” Her laugh cut through the gloom, bouncing off the walls and seeming to come from all sides. The tan coated clerk curled up further upon himself. “Now go... do as I command.”
“Y-yes Mistress...” Ledger mumbled and slunk back up the steps faster than most would have considered healthy. The Dark Lady just laughed once more, cruelty always brought out her sense of humour.
Luna stumbled, half awake down the stairway which led from the top of the tower towards the ultimate destination of her bedroom. The moon was lowered and Celestia's sun was climbing once more through the daytime sky. Her sister had slipped away to her duties which left the Princess of the Moon to tread the marble corridors alone.
She stopped and let out a wide yawn, stopping to rub the tears from the corner of her eyes. “Blasted fatigue... I curse thee.” She mumbled as she approached her living quarters.
“Princess Luna,” The familiar voice of Twilight Sparkle called out to her and she stopped with a smile. “Good morning to you Princess.” Twilight gave a little bow and Luna nodded her head softly.
“It is more evening than morning for me, Twilight Sparkle. What can I do for you before my wakefulness meets its inevitable match and I allow myself to rest?” Luna chuckled and Twilight gave a little giggle as well. Luna quite appreciated having Twilight around. She was one of the few ponies who was both intelligent and friendly enough to understand most of her rather verbose jokes.
“Well I was actually wondering if you knew where Princess Celestia is. She was going to meet me for tea this morning but she seemed a little distracted.” Luna nodded politely but on the inside she said a silent curse to Celestia. Her sister and her morose attitude weren't making anything easier on her prized student. “I thought that if she couldn't come to tea then tea could come to her!” Twilight levitated the thermos of tea and Luna gave a bright chuckle.
“Quite right, Twilight. I'm sure Tia will be glad to have some company.” Luna smiled and Twilight blushed ever so slightly at the cute nickname for her teacher. “How did your research last night go by the way? I'm sorry I couldn't stay and be of more assistance.”
“Oh that's alright,” Twilight waved her hoof with a smile, dismissing the issue. “I think I may have found something but I need to ask for Princess Celestia's help to get it. I think it might help both practically and on a more intangible level.” Luna raised an eyebrow and Twilight lifted a heavy bound book from her saddlebags which Luna immediately recognized as the itemized list of the contents of the royal vaults. With the utmost care, Twilight let the book open to her marked page and she hovered it before the Princess.
Luna’s eyes went wide before a grin spread over her lips. “Twilight... I believe even my sister does not comprehend how brilliant you are. Just the image of this... just its presence will rally our guards to new heights.” Twilight couldn't help but blush as the book was closed and she looked away with a smile.
“Oh I’m not that brilliant, Princess... I’m just trying to do my best.” The purple unicorn looked sheepishly down at the marble patterns and Luna smiled slightly, leaning down and giving her the softest kiss below her horn.
“And you succeed... you are worthy of your position and your praise. Celestia knew what she was doing when she took you under her wing and I for one am grateful. You are far more like a second sister to us both than a simple student. Never forget that Twilight.” Luna smiled, it wasn't possible for the purple unicorn to be blushing any more than she was. Luna turned her head away and failed miserably to conceal another yawn behind her hoof. “Ooh I am sorry, Twilight, but I must retire for the day, all these emotional troubles are causing quite a lack of sleep. At this time of day i believe you will find my sister in her personal office.”
Twilight gave a little bow and said a soft thank-you for Luna’s time before she stepped aside to let the indigo alicorn continue to her much needed rest.
Twilight walked the corridors slowly, still thinking about what Luna had said. That she was like another sister, that she was more family to the Princesses than just a subject or even a friend. It filled her with a brand new spark of joy and it made each of her steps lighter as she approached the quiet office that was Celestia's place of rest from the troubles brought to her in the actual throne room.
As was the custom for the Princess, the door was unguarded and open just slightly. She liked the feeling of normalcy that came with simply sitting in her study. Twilight took a breath and peeked into the room. Her teacher sat still with her eyes glued to the embers of a fire in the fireplace, the room was dark. The curtains which were rarely drawn had been closed tightly against the soft sunlight which had begun to creep through the clouds and the Solar Princess kept still, her radiant mane and tail didn't even move on their own.
Twilight carefully slipped int the room and lifted the thermos of tea out of her saddlebag as well as the simple tin cup she had borrowed from Sergeant Trusty. She was about to clear her throat hen Celestia spoke softly. “Can I help you with something?”
Twilight was startled for a moment and blushes as she whispered. “You missed having tea so I thought I would bring you some.” In an instant Celestia had turned, a smile on her lips and a hoof placed over her chest.
“Oh Twilight... I thought for a moment you were Ledger bringing me another document to read over.” The white alicorn looked to the desk where an unread stack of papers was being held in place by the weight of her discarded crown. “and yes... some tea would be lovely.”
Twilight smiled as she filled the cup with the already blended mix. Just the right amount of sugar and a twist of lemon, just as her teacher always took it. Celestia bowed her head and accepted the cup before letting the fragrance and the soothing warmth ease her tension. Celestia let her eyes open and watched as her student ran her eyes over the contents of the simple office, her gaze resting for a long while on the windows.
“Princess...” Twilight began. Celestia took another sip of tea, expecting the question she was about to be asked. “what's bothering you, if you don't mind me asking?”
Celestia took great care not to cough up her mouthful of tea, that was not the question she had been expecting. She regarded her student and the expression on her face. It wasn't the same as she had displayed on so many other occasions. It was warmer, more caring. “What makes you think something is bothering me?” The Princess spoke with as much calm as she could muster.
Twilight looked away and sighed. “You never close the windows in your office except if it's very cold outside. You missed dinner with my parents and tea on more than one occasion... and you never apologized for missing them. You always apologize when something comes up. So I can deduce that you just... didn't want to... which is very unlike you.”
Celestia kept still, carefully setting the cup down and meeting Twilight's gaze as the purple unicorn turned towards her once more. Those lavender eyes were pleading with her, begging her to open up. Celestia cracked the faintest smile and gave a slow nod. “Yes, Twilight... I have been out of sorts... I haven't been depressed in roughly a thousand years.”
Twilight stepped closer and laid a hoof gently on Celestia's. It was a level of familiarity that she wouldn't tolerate from any other aside from Luna, or perhaps Captain Drussard if he ever let protocol slip long enough to relax. “The last time I felt this way was after Nightmare Moon's banishment. I sat powerless while my only sister was taken from me. I tried to purge the Nightmare from her but I could not and in the end I was forced to send both her and the darkness within her to the moon. Now I sit here and wonder if my kingdom... my precious subjects are being taken from me. So many have been hurt or killed in recent days and I have almost lost you as well. The game grows ever more dangerous as it draws to a close. But a cornered beast will fight back with more tenacity.”
Twilight sat and listened while Celestia spoke, her teacher's eyes closed deep in thought. “She has turned my subjects against me, even my own guards and old friends. I half expect this unicorn to try to turn one of your friends against us... Nightmare Moon was an easy threat, powerful yes, but simple to defeat. Even Discord was just a single foe. This Dark Lady uses the lives of innocents and her own followers as a shield. She skulks in the shadows and twists any pony she chooses to her will.”
“But we're stronger...” Twilight whispered and Celestia turned her eyes to her prized student. “In the end the Dark Lady is just that... one pony... just one pony. Not an immortal alicorn or a spirit of chaos and destruction. She is just a unicorn and once we have her cornered she can be brought to justice just like anypony else.” Twilight smiled and Celestia let out a little chuckle.
“And how do you propose we bring her to justice, my faithful student?” The Solar Princess couldn't help but smile and lay a wing softly over Twilight's back. Twilight grinned in response and lifted a book from her saddlebags. “The contents of the royal vaults? Whatever could you need from there, Twilight?” Celestia gave the purple unicorn a puzzled expression which quickly faded to a grin when she read the entry that Twilight had turned to.
“Do you think we might be able to borrow this? Just for a little?” Twilight smiled mischievously and Celestia laughed.
“Certainly... certainly, Twilight... I believe my old friend would be more than pleased to see it used once more.” Celestia looked down at Twilight and leaned close to nuzzle her cheek. “You never cease to amaze me, Twilight Sparkle.”
The royal ballroom was stifling and the worried murmurs and whispers of the other clerks was doing nothing to help the mood of one Level Ledger. His eyes darted to the guards on each door and to the group of mares who seemed to be chatting to a few clerks and asking if anypony needed refreshment. This was too close for comfort. It had the air about it of intense interrogations as clerks were led one by one into the door to the small antechamber. It didn't bode well. He was sweating nervously but much to his delight, several others were as well.
“Can I get ya anything?” The appearance of the pink pony and her outburst almost made him scream but Ledger took a couple of breaths to steady himself before he smiled as pleasantly as he could manage. “Just a glass of water would be nice.” The girl giggled brightly and nodded before bouncing away. He watched her go and a smile crossed his lips. I wonder what she would look like as a filly. That sweet smile and her nice plump rump... NO! Those kind of thoughts are what got you into this mess... now keep calm.
Ledger took slower more steady breaths and looked back and forth through the room as casually as he could. They were almost through all the notaries, it would be his turn soon. “Here's your water!” The pink mare again appeared and again Ledger had to fight down the urge to have a heart attack, accepting the drink in the grip of his magic and tried not to watch the bouncy girl make her way back through the room.
“Mister Level Ledger!” A large blue stallion by the door spoke his name in a booming voice and reluctantly, Ledger set down his half empty glass and slipped through the crowd into the other room.
Fluttershy sat on the other side of a low table with Applejack beside her. There were two other guards in the room, a black coated unicorn of the Citadel and a female pegasus in the gold white and blue of Celestia's Canterlot Guards. The yellow pegasus let out a little squeak as she adjusted the paper in front of her and tried not to stare too much at the new stallion who had been ushered in.
Applejack looked him over as he took a seat before the two mares and adjusted his glasses. “What can I do to help you ladies today?' He did his best to smile and look interested as the orange cowgirl pony coughed and sat up straighter.
“We're just gonna ask ya a couple questions and then ya can get on yer way.” Applejack smiled and tipped her hat back to look less threatening. “Now... ya hear about this 'Dark Lady'?”
Ledger nodded, “Who hasn't... it's all anypony talks about in the palace these days.”
Applejack gave a glance to Fluttershy and the yellow pegasus nodded softly. “So... um...” Fluttershy began. “Have you... you know... ever met this pony? The Dark Lady?”
Ledger's heart began to beat harder and he smiled a bit to try and look as if the question hadn't upset him. “Me? Of course not. That's a silly thing to ask a pony.” Applejack and Fluttershy again shared a glance.
“Just one more...” The cowpony spoke soft though her eyes seemed to harden and her gaze grew harder for Ledger to look away from. “Ya guilty a anythin' that ya ain't been rightly punished for?”
Ledger began to sweat and he managed a shake of the head. Applejack and Fluttershy looked to each other once more before AJ nodded her head to the unicorn guard who levitated a pair of manacles out of his saddlebag. All at once Ledger leapt up and snatched the iron shackles out of the air, he gave them a swing and they struck the side of the unicorn's head solidly and he slumped to the marble floor out cold.
“Coal!” The pegasus shouted and tried to dash in the way but she was quickly snapped up by the clerk who was running on adrenaline and utter fear at the moment. The pegasus began to struggle and squirm but Ledger's horn glowed brightly and soon her armour clattered to the floor as she was reduced to the age of a filly, no older than Applejack's little sister.
Applejack and Fluttershy stood quickly but Ledger held a hoof against Constable Moonbeam's neck. “Stay there! Both of you!” He snapped loudly and backed up against the wall away from the door. “She's just a filly now... I can snap her neck.”
“J-Jackass!” The pegasus filly in his grasp squirmed and tried to kick her way free as the childish tears of fear came to her eyes. “Let me go!”
“Now don't go doin' nothin' stupid, Mister... yer surrounded by guards. There is no way yer gettin' out a this easy. But... if ya put Constable Moonbeam down... and make her right again... then ah might not hafta beat the manure outa ya.” Applejack didn't step closer but took a few steps sideways of Fluttershy.
The grip on the filly's neck tightened. “I’m not kidding around! Let me leave or I do something we will all regret!”
“Oh dear Celestia it's you! We've been trying to track down this unicorn for over a year.” Moonbeam, who had been staring up at the face of her captor struggled harder and began to cry. “You sick sick pony! Fluttershy, Applejack please get me away from him!” Moonbeam whimpered and struggled until her young body was sore.
“Don't worry none, Moonbeam...” Applejack's eyes narrowed and she pawed at the marble. “Now Mister, Ledger... lets all be reasonable here...”
“Guys! That's how he knows this disgusting spell... he takes innocent mares and uses this on them. He's a foal-fiddler! Oh Celestia please!” Moonbeam wailed.
“Shut up you stupid filly! I was gonna let you go but i think I'd rather enjoy your squirming somewhere more private!” Ledger snapped and the grip on her throat tightened, her sobbing reduced to pained whimpers. The room had become deathly still, Applejack’s eyes narrowed more and she snorted in anger.
“OK... forget reasonable... put Moonbeam down right NOW and I might not break all yer limbs...” She spoke in a harsh whisper.
“A-Applejack...” Fluttershy's voice was thin and restrained and when Applejack looked at her her eyes widened.
“Oh horseapples! Moon! Close yer eyes and don't look whatever ya do!” Applejack turned away and all the puzzled Ledger was able to do was mutter a soft “Huh” before Fluttershy's head rose and her eyes snapped open.
The stare was something Fluttershy couldn't control. She had used it on misbehaving animals, on a naughty cockatrice and even managed to stare down a full-grown dragon. This time however it wasn't something desperate or stern. This was Fluttershy's anger. Her rage pouring out in the gaze she gave the tan stallion. His eyes widened more and more and his hooves slipped, releasing the filly-sized Constable Moonbeam to the floor where her hooves carried her blindly below the table.
“N-no.... keep... away...” Ledger choked out softly as he fell to his haunches and began to shake. Fluttershy advanced on him slowly, her hooves the only sound in the room as everypony who could was desperately trying to block out the sheer presence of will that the yellow pegasus was showing. It was like gazing into an inferno, the heart of the sun, the depths of an untamed ocean, the eye of a hurricane.
His face grew blue as he realized that he couldn't breathe, his eyes burned when he realized that he couldn't blink. The pain searing through his mind was intense and finally with a gasp he had at least some control of himself back, enough to draw a trembling breath. Ledger could taste the hot coppery drip of blood running down his snout but it was far from over.
“What did you do?” Fluttershy asked simply and Ledger tried his hardest not to cry as her voice weighed on his mind. Not even his own mother could illicit a confession from him but he found his lips moving.
“Bad things... naughty things... horrible things... such a bad pony.” He croaked.
“Tell me... tell me what you know.” Fluttershy's voice was like taking an axe to his willpower, her eyes blazed with an inner light that made him feel faint.
“Dark Lady... has... has help... nobles... paid off... has a plan... to destroy Canterlot using the... f-firework... p-p-powder.” Applejack did her best to listen to what he had to say and to jot it down blindly on a pad of paper.
“Who... who are the nobles...” The voice of the yellow pegasus slammed into his very soul again with a crushing force and he shook, coughing as blood drooled from his lips as well.
“Ebony Keys... owner of... half the nightclubs in... Manehattan...” Ledger began, looking more like a puppet being held up by a string. “Sir Wind Sword... Captain of the Cloudsdale Guard... and... and Midnight Whisper... Professor of telekinesis of Canterlot university."
“Now... turn my friend Moonbeam back into an adult and don't let me EVER hear about you doing anything evil to a foal ever again... or I WILL find you myself...” Fluttershy blinked and finally the tan unicorn dropped to the floor with a thud and a whimper, the darkness in the room lifting slowly. “O-oh my... did... did I hurt somepony?” Fluttershy whispered, her voice once again normal.
“S'OK Fluttershy... he deserved it...” The farmpony shook the thoughts from her head and glanced at her notes, still readable. On the floor the broken unicorn raised his head and waved his horn, the table bounced a little as Moonbeam regained her size in the confined space.
“OK... I can add that to my list of things I never hope to do again.” Constable Moonbeam smiled meekly, still shaking in fear. She looked at her companion who was sitting up with a groan though only dazed.
“Tell me about it...” Applejack chuckled and looked at the guardsmare. “Tell ya what, Constable... take Corporal Coal to tha Doc's ta get that bump checked up on an then take tha rest a tha day off.... I think ya earned it.” Applejack snatched the iron manacles off the floor and turned to Ledger who opened his bloodshot eyes just long enough to watch as the orange farmpony clamped his hooves together and leaned down to whisper in his ear, “Ah got a baby sister back home ya dadgum, mother-buckin' freak... that bein' said... this one's fer her.”
Applejack jerked the manacles a little too hard as she stood up, and the last thing that Level Ledger saw was applejack's forehead approaching his at speed before the world of conscious thought fled.
Deep in the dark, far below the streets of Canterlot, a scream pierced the darkness. Under the light of a sputtering torch, a pony gasped as the last of his life's blood slipped away. The mare beside him, still bound by her forehooves watched the light fade from her companion's eyes. "You... you didn't have to kill him." She stated, her voice cracking as hot tears ran down her cheeks.
"Neither did I require him to be alive... though now he serves a far more important purpose... he is a warning." The voice in the dark spoke soft and the azure unicorn tried to choke back a cry of anguish.
"What do you want from me? Couldn't you see I was happy... I made something of my life! I'm not a Celestia-damned charlattan anymore." She shook against her restraints and shouted her frustration, all the while watching the spreading pool of blood as it almost blended into the crimson of his mane.
"Oh you will always be what you always were, my dear... now... we have business to discuss." The eerie glow of magic swirled around the unicorn sword as it was pulled slowly from the corpse on the floor and with another flick of magic, wiped of blood. "You are going to attempt to destroy a certain pony... one I believe you know of... Twilight Sparkle..."
"What do I have against her? If it wasn't for her I wouldn't have turned my life around." The mare shook again and pulled at the ropes. "I demand you release me!"
"Ah, there is the voice again... sweet music... the arrogance... the self serving egotism..." The unicorn in the dark whispered and the blade swung idly through the air "You are going to kill that pony because you are her equal... if perhaps not in brute force then in skill."
"What if I refuse to help you? You have done nothing to make me sympathetic towards you in the least." The mare raised an eyebrow but shuddered at the sadistic chuckle which came from the depths of the dark room.
"If you refuse... then you join the prone fellow there... in death." The sick chuckle returned and chilled the darkness further, "But should you help me.. should you do as I ask, and exactly as I ask... then I promise that your name will be shouted in the streets, your fame will know no bounds... you will be Great and Powerful once more..."
Trixie looked at the stone floor and to the dead eyes of the stallion before her. Her tears of anguish spent and her heart was in tatters. With a steadying breath she settled her thoughts on the last kiss they had shared, their last meal, the last time she heard him laugh or proclaim she was the very best pony. She took a slow breath and whispered, as soft as she was able though she hoped to Celestia that he could hear her wherever he was now, "I'm sorry my Love..."
Trixie's horn flared to life and every strand of the ropes binding her curled away and they fell in a heap of fibres on the floor. With a trembling hoof she closed the dead stallion's eyes and laid the gentlest of kisses upon his dun coloured cheek. When she rose to her hooves, the familiar purple cape flowed back into place over her shoulders and with a flick of her magic, the matched hat perched atop her head. Her eyes burned with a fire from within and for a moment the darkness was dispelled by the explosion of magic around her.. "The Great and Powerful Trixie... will do as you ask."