Fluttershy was quiet.
Well, more so than usual. She barely spoke more than one word. Her eyes were always on the ground and she dragged her hooves every step of the way..
'Maybe that's not right.' Sabine thought to herself as she kept an eye on the pink-haired mare as the two quietly worked on the same lot they'd been cleaning and digging up yesterday. 'Maybe she's just thinking. She knew this would happen...'
'Still, she's a little sensitive. You can't expect her to just get over it.' She reasoned. She looked over Fluttershy when the pegasus turned away to pick up a shovel.
'Or they're good actors.'
"Bullshit." Sabine whispered to herself, and stared back at the hole she was digging when Fluttershy turned back around. Fluttershy would have to be the most godly actor to have ever graced Coltriella to pull this off. 'They're all a bunch of good girls. A bunch of close friends, looking out for eachother.'
'Struggling to admit their feelings for each other too...' Sabine sighed. She didn't know Rainbow Dash well enough to pass judgement on her but she liked Twilight Sparkle enough to be happy for her, and liked Fluttershy well enough to be angry at Twilight for not getting it.
She wanted to go hunt down the so called queen and give her a piece of her mind for not realizing just why Fluttershy was so shy around her. 'Oh listen to yourself.' Sabine mentally kicked her own hindquarters. 'Focus.'
She had to plan out her route and duties to the exact second. She was to meet with Twilight the moment Sadi called her. She was to walk with her to the palace and to the front doors, then she'd turn around and go to the service entrance, and lastly-
"Sabine?" The almost too soft voice caught her attention. Sabine turned her head to face Fluttershy, and the yellow mare kept her eyes to the ground, but glanced up briefly to meet her eyes.
"What's up Fluttershy?" Sabine asked, forgetting what her plan had been. Find the service entrance-
"I-I wanted to thank you..." Fluttershy's voice was barely heard, but Sabine managed to pick it up.
"Thank me?" Sabine asked.
Fluttershy seemed to struggle to speak up again. "Yes. Thank you." Fluttershy finally whispered. "Y-you were right. Drinking... it helped. Thank you."
"I- It's no problem Fluttershy. I'm glad you liked it." Sabine nodded. 'Shoot, what was I-'
"And..." Fluttershy gulped audibly. "And for helping Twilight with Rainbow Dash. I am very happy for the both of them." Fluttershy stared back at the ground with trembling legs.
'Twilight you-' Sabine caught herself before she could sneer, '- moron...' She shook her head, then put on a little smile. She rest her hoof on Fluttershy's back. "It's not a problem. I'm happy to help. But are you going to be okay?"
Fluttershy calmly rubbed the crook of one leg against her eye and nodded. "I will be. I just need some time." Fluttershy whispered. That was all she needed, she reasoned. Time to heal. To forget? But how...? She would see them a lot. They were her friends, and if she just up and left all of a sudden...
"Yeah, just some time." Sabine agreed. It just seemed so unfair. From what she picked up on, Fluttershy was one of the sweetest, loving young mares she'd ever met. She doubted there was a single bad bone in her body. How could Twilight pick Dash over her? "So... you are actually okay with them being together, right?" Sabine prodded.
Fluttershy hesitated, but then nodded. "Yes." She let out a small sigh, and her gaze slid more to the left, far away from Sabine. "They deserve each other."
"Why's that?" Sabine pressed, but very lightly. She didn't want Fluttershy to break down, but her own curiosity was getting the better of her.
"Oh, well..." Fluttershy looked up at the bright blue sky, and she seemed to chew her tongue a little. "They'd escaped being imprisoned together..."
'Imprisoned!?' Alarms went off in Sabine's head. Did she convince Sadi to meet face to face with a dangerous prisoner? 'Calm down!' Sabine untensed, sucked in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Twilight, as far as she'd seen, wasn't violent or dangerous. Weird, sure, but all of the foreign girls were. Rainbow Dash was a little more temperamental, but that didn't mean violent.
"And they were chosen together..." Fluttershy continued, scraping at the ground with the tip of her hoof.
"Chosen for what?" Sabine asked, watching Fluttershy think to herself.
"This..." The pegasus answered, and her eyes went back to the ground. "Coming here, meeting the Princess, speaking to Terraria-" the alarms in Sabine's head squealed in distress.
"Who and what needs you to speak to Terraria?!" She shouted suddenly, her voice trembling with fury. She caught herself, but it was too late. Fluttershy stared at her with wide eyes, and she began to tremble. 'Oh no.' Sabine lost the anger in her face as Fluttershy's eyes watered up and her lower-lip began to tremble. 'Oh no oh no oh no-'
A single glimmering tear escaped Fluttershy's eye, and Sabine felt very small as Fluttershy chewed her lower lip to keep herself from sobbing. 'You are the worst.' Sabine's flank dropped to the ground. She didn't have to try to look guilty, the tiny, sad whimpers that escaped Fluttershy were more than enough to make her conscience chew her out.
"Fl-Fluttershy, no no, please..." Sabine took a few steps forward, but the pink-haired mare shuffled back, shaking her head rapidly as she began to sob. For a moment, Sabine was at a loss, but then she took a deep breath and walked forward until she could gently nuzzle Fluttershy. "Don't cry. Please, I didn't mean to yell, you just... you surprised me is all. Please don't cry."
Fluttershy trembled against her, but the shakes began to lessen. She was still tense, but Fluttershy finally stopped whimpering, and used her foreleg to wipe the tears out of her eyes. "Sorry..."
"Don't be." Sabine insisted with a small smile. She backed up and met Fluttershy's eyes. For a second, she could have sworn Fluttershy was contemplating something, and she tensed her lips as if to say something, but then the mare looked down.
"Okay..." Fluttershy no longer shook or whimpered as she worked, but when Sabine caught a glimpse of her face, the pegasus seemed to be heavy in thought, and staring after her.
It didn't go by unnoticed, and after a while, Sabine began to get an idea of what it was. It was an odd feeling, since every now and then she'd catch Fluttershy watching her out of the corner of her eye. This was bad news. They didn't talk for a while, but Sabine was picking up on the signs. The sudden nervousness, the long stares, the quietness...
She really really hoped they could get them out of the city before she'd have to tell Fluttershy they wouldn't work out.
----------
'Another crowd wowed by the talents of Rainbow Dash.' Dash thought to herself proudly as her red-haired copy crept to the door that was between her and Twilight. Down below, her five other copies were entertaining the Belezians, allowing her a chance to sneak out.
Even while she was making a crowd grow wild with excitement and beg to see more, Dash felt that uncomfortable pinch in her chest. She laid low as she waited for the feeling to pass. Her magic was amazing, unique, powerful, yet it was not the same. There was no rush of excitement, no thrill to it. She made five identical copies of herself with less and less effort each time she used it. She used them to fight, to cook, to set up camp; they were useful, but where was the energy?
She missed the ache in her wings, the numbness in her legs, when she couldn't feel her lips or her eyeballs. Probably the worst of it though was how much she missed the view. She knew Coltriella from ground level, saw how tall the walls and buildings were, got to walk up the steps to the palace, dance around the front yard of the Blade Headquarters, but she never saw what it really looked like.
She got a small taste from up on the dragons, but that wasn't what she wanted. She wanted to see it from the clouds, she wanted to landmark the buildings, she wanted to... she just wanted to fly. Magic was Twilight's thing, not hers. She would gladly trade this magic away for her wings again. She would trade anything away for wings again.
She very lightly pushed open the door, and pulled her eyes up from the ground. Long, skinny lavender legs lifted, bent, and then settled on the floor, cautiously avoiding books laid down in a pattern. The round, curvy body on top of those legs was a little tense, and Twilight had a look of unbreakable concentration on her face. 'Maybe not... anything...'
The unicorn's eyes were mostly focused on the floor, but every now and then she'd glance up at a small red fruit hovering just above her horn, suspended by nothing. There was no glow around it, and it wasn't connected to her horn...
Dash was contemplating interrupting the unicorn, but she wasn't sure how. Steal the fruit, tickle her tummy, maybe just go lay a big wet kiss on her cheek... It all seemed so tempting! She hardly even noticed another unicorn coming to meet her.
"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity called with a smile as she trotted on over.
"Rainbow Dash!?" Dash looked away from Rarity as Twilight turned to face her, and for a moment she saw the joy on the unicorn's face, up until the red fruit fell out of the air onto her head. "Oh, shoot!" Twilight's frowned as the cactus apple rolled off her head and splattered on the ground.
She looked back up, and her frown disappeared as blue lips took hers. The lessons she learned today seemed to just melt away. Air and fire turned meaningless as she and Dash kissed. There was nothing wrong with the world, there was not a beast, an army, or a deific figure that could ruin this moment.
"... Aaawwwww!" But there was Rarity. Twilight broke the kiss with Dash, giving her an amused look as Rarity watched them with shining eyes. "I-it's just so... perfect..." The unicorn whimpered in joy.
"You are so weird." Dash sighed, then leaned back over to give Twilight another peck on the cheek. "Feeling better, Twi?"
Twilight giggled warmly, then leaned up to nip her mare's ear. "I'm doing great, sweetie!"
Dash pulled her head back to stare at Twilight. "'Sweetie'?" She glanced to Rarity. The fashion-mistress shrugged. Twilight looked between the two in worry, as if she had messed up.
"Well, yes, 'sweetie'." Twilight nodded. Dash continued to stare until Twilight started to blush. "A term of endearment for a pony you're in a romantic relationship with. Correct?" Twilight turned hastily to face Rarity.
"Well, yes, and it's not a bad name, but for somepony like Rainbow Dash it's a little..." Rarity hummed in thought.
"Cliche." Dash finished, but she looked far from annoyed. In fact, Twilight could swear there was the slightest blush on her cheeks. "It's cool Twi, I mean, it's no big deal."
Twilight cringed at the phrase. 'No big deal'?! "Uh... what about something else? Like 'honey'?"
"Do I look sweet to you?" Dash snickered, making Twilight's cheeks glow even brighter. "Yeah that's what I thought. Listen babe, it's not a big-"
"Shnookums?!"
"... Twilight, seriously?"
"Ahem." The three mares looked up to the top of the disc floating over the center of the room. Sul stood over them, watching with an annoyed twitch in her brow. "I hate to be the one to break up your little reunion, but I am trying to teach a lesson. Twilight, back to the beginning of the course. Rarity and Rainbow Dash, at my heels."
"Yes lady Sul." Twilight and Rarity answered at the same time. Twilight gave Dash one more little kiss and ran around the circle of books laying on the floor. Dash followed Rarity, stepping over each book carefully to reach the staircase leading up to the disc. From up top, she could clearly see what the circle was for. The books were an obstacle course, creating staircases, stepping stones, all sorts of designs.
Twilight walked around the length of it until she reached a table where there were several more cactus apples laying around. Twilight lifted one into the air, and Dash watched closely as a hole appeared in the fruit, going straight through the full length of it. "What's going on?" Dash turned towards Rarity.
"We're learning to control air today." Rarity answered. "It's very hard to control, so we just direct it. We've been practicing making cuts with it all day, but this one is making things much more difficult. We have to use air and air alone to drill a hole through the cactus apple, then carry it through the obstacle course without dropping it."
"Doesn't sound too hard." Dash noted as she watched. She suddenly wanted to try. She glanced back at her tiny wings, and wondered if her magic would allow it. She was supposed to mirror and copy, she wondered if it would allow her to copy Twilight using magic. It certainly let her copy Comprehension, but this seemed a lot less solid. "Why aren't you down there too?"
"Oh I already finished." Rarity sighed. "Not an easy thing to do, quite exhausting in fact. Twilight's nearly done, though. She's been getting closer and closer faster and faster."
Dash looked back down to watch Twilight. The first obstacle was simple, she just had to make a right turn through a row of books and then a left turn. She walked onto a book serving as a step and took a step over some open space onto the next book. She climbed a short staircase, then climbed back down the other side, walked on a small bridge made of books and was back where Dash first saw her.
It didn't really look difficult, but Twilight was taking her time, her eyes flickering from the apple above her head to the floor below, avoiding the obstacles while not ripping the cactus apple apart. Dash wondered if it was as hard as they made it look, Rarity wasn't even that magical and she performed it. She supposed Twilight was still getting used to her power boost, and new styles were sorta weird to get used to.
Twilight did reach the end though, and Rarity clapped happily for her while Sul nodded. "Well done, Twilight. Four tries is a record. If you'd like, we can call an end to practice for today. If I'm still training you tomorrow, we can refine your control of both fire and wind."
Twilight let out a relieved sigh and dropped the apple, catching it with her magic this time and taking a bite of it. She very nearly had time to enjoy it before Dash landed on her. "Heck yes! C'mon Twi, let's go! I'm hungry!"
"O-okay Dash just wait a- eep!" Twilight lay limp as Dash dragged her out the door by the tail.
Sul let out a small sigh. She'd been hoping to have a short word with Twilight, but that would have to wait. She noted Rarity was no longer by her side, and saw her trot down the staircase.
"Thank you very much for the lesson, Sul!" Rarity called, heading for the door.
----------
"Hm, 'kay. That should be enough, Pinks."
Enough was the light way to put it. Pinkie Pie was splayed out on the ground and panting. Ha'Jin'Vega stared down at her for a few moments, then nudged her with her hoof.
"Up." Nudge. "Up!" She flipped Pinkie onto her back, and the pink mare moaned and squeezed her eyes shut. "... You have to the count of three. One..." No response. "Two!" A slight twitch. "Three!" Pinkie still didn't move. Vega glared down at the pony, but Pinkie paid no attention. Vega let out a sigh, narrowed her eyes, and grabbed Pinkie by the tail. "Fine, but don't ever say I never did anything for you."
Vega dragged the smaller pink mare towards the building, not really trying to avoid any bumps along the way. Pinkie, to her credit, never complained once as she slid over a rock, then up the stairs, through the door, and down a stone passage. Vega stopped dragging her in a room that sort of smelled of sweat and water, and Pinkie vaguely heard unbuckling noises, and clothing and various tools hit the floor before she was pulled into a humid, damp room. "Bu' I dun' wanna swim mamma... cotton candy melts in wa-TER!?"
Vega stared upwards as Pinkie Pie clung to the roof of the solid stone room. "... How the hell are you doing that?"
"Doing what?" Pinkie called downwards, wiggling herself dry, tossing water droplets everywhere, still attached to the ceiling.
Vega raised an eyebrow and cocked her jaw in confusion. "Th-that. On the ceiling. How are you staying there?"
Pinkie Pie stared down at her, then let go with her bottom hooves. She dangled for a few seconds with her front hooves, then dropped to the ground on all four. She looked like she regretted it as she nearly collapsed from landing on her exhausted legs. "Um, with my hooves?" She finally answered when she pulled herself up.
Vega stared at her, then pressed a hoof to her forehead. "Okay, y'know what? Whatever. Don't care. Let's just shower." Vega twisted the shower nozzle on again. Pinkie squeaked at the cold water, but began to relax as it cooled and soothed her burning muscles.
Vega went to a nozzle nearby and twisted it on, and lifted her chin up to let water wash off her face and neck.
Pinkie stood underneath the cold, running water without thinking or saying anything for a good while. Her legs ached, her jaw ached, her mind was foggy from thinking so much. Vega had wanted her to think on her hooves while they fought. She wanted her to think about hoof-placement, about openings, and about countering. She wanted her to move, jump, leap, block, attack, and a dozen other things that wouldn't let her stand still.
Pinkie was not the sort of girl who stood still anyways, but not in such hot weather while trying to avoid a sword and planning out every move she was going to make four steps ahead while readjusting her plan everytime Vega so much as took a single step backwards. Needless to say, she lost. A lot. Vega never hit her hard, but the number of hits she took took their toll.
The cold water washed all that away. The sand in her coat and hair, the burn in her muscles, the irrepressible mind she had... it was bliss. She was glad she had a baker's life back home. It was much less taxing yet much more rewarding. She couldn't understand how a pony like Vega could do it all day.
Curiously, she opened her eyes and looked to Vega. The tall, pink mare had her eyes closed and face inches away from the faucet. She was calm, which was a first as far as Pinkie knew, and unclothed. This gave Pinkie a chance to inspect her.
She had a body like Applejack, but bigger. She was thick with muscle, especially around the thighs and legs, but the rest of her body wasn't lacking either. Her hair, though long, had a sense of discipline about it. Perfectly straight, not covering the face, and hanging flat around her neck rather than flowing along it.
Then Vega lifted herself on her back legs. Pinkie stared curiously as the mare balanced on her hind legs and never once wavered. The cold water ran down the General's chest and belly, and Pinkie shook her head as she briefly imagined herself doing the same thing. Of course she'd do the same thing, but to have fun rather than wash off. Baths would get her tummy just fine.
"Pinks." Vega grunted suddenly, eyes never opening. Pinkie, on instinct, stood smartly, but dared not tense her sore legs. "It's cute that you're checking me out, but I am not interested." Pinkie's face grew a little red.
"Oh! Sorry, I wasn't checking you out, even though you are a pretty lady, I was just thinking it's funny that you're standing on your hind legs when that's something I'd do!" Pinkie pointed out. Vega lowered herself onto her hooves, and shot Pinkie a casual smirk.
"Oh really?" She asked, and Pinkie nodded quickly. "Well that's stupid. Ponies must think you look pretty dumb when you do that." Vega snickered.
"Not any more than you do!" Pinkie smiled brightly. Vega's smile fell, and Pinkie did her best to keep hers despite the sweat creeping down her neck.
"Well." Vega sniffed, an almost evil glare coming over her as she stared down Pinkie. The sweat on Pinkie's neck was soon joined by sweat pouring down her forehead, and her smile faltered. Vega stuck her nose in Pinkie's face, and the two pink mares stood still. Then, Vega smirked. "I guess your tubby ass grew a spine. Can't wait to see it on the field tomorrow."
Vega turned off her shower and walked out. Pinkie stared after her, her frozen smile finally falling as she sighed in relief and turned the shower off.
----------
Four of the new recruits had already dropped out, and three were nursing hoof-related injuries that would take at least a week to heal. Como'Byuan did not like those numbers. Ha'Jin'Vega may have been correct that their standards were lowering, but since only the older generation seemed to remember the war they were getting less and less recruits each year.
He would hate telling the general this, just another thing to make her mad today. She was already personally training three mares with little to no experience, but she was also going to find out that her army was shrinking slowly and steadily. He saw another night in the town, baring her insults and regrets while she drank her annoyance away.
He shook his head as he went looking for her.
He heard her as he walked down one of the stone hallways of the Headquarters, coming from the locker rooms. Wonderful, the exact middle of the HQ. Everypony in the whole building would hear her in there. She'd shout up a storm and get the whole place riled up again, further compounding on the rumors of her short temper.
'Not that they're wrong.' He thought to himself with a sigh as he stepped inside. He saw a flash of pink and turned his head away to grab his papers. "Ha'Jin'Vega, I am sorry to disturb you but we have a situation-" he looked back to meet the eyes of the general and paused. A short little pink mare, with soft, baby-blue eyes stared at him. Her dark pink hair lay long and flat across her neck.
His head lifted up further, and he saw the exact same mare, but taller, walking over to meet him. She gave him an annoyed look as he glanced back down to the shorter mare.
His jaw trembled. Pink on pink, flat hair, blue eyes... "There's... two... of her..." He mumbled in terror, backing up quickly towards the door. He turned, and bolted out of the shower while screamed: "There's two of her! TWO OF HER! Semala'to'guala! TWO! TWO!"
He ran. Heads poked out of the various rooms as their ears cocked while he ran. "TWO OF HER! SHE CONVERTED THE SPROUT! THERE'S TWO OF HER!"
Pinkie stood still, watching after him with wide eyes while Vega's eyebrow raised up high, then glanced down at the paper he had dropped. "Shit." She kicked the paper away suddenly, making Pinkie step back in surprise. "Seven down already. Fuck, this is the lousiest bunch of- those mule-humpers can go fuck themselves. Damnit!" Vega stormed around the locker room and roughly tossed a towel at Pinkie.
Pinkie nearly tipped over from the hard throw, but caught herself and stared after Vega as the general ranted and paced around the room with increasing agitation. "What's wrong?" She asked after her, using the towel to dry off.
"Seven recruits!" Vega shouted, glancing towards Pinkie with an annoyed glare. "Four dropped out, three got hurt, and the rest are a bunch of Ao-damned idiots whose hooves are bigger than their brains! That's what's wrong! Shit..." Vega slowed down and pressed her forehead to the wall. "I need a drink."
Pinkie stared at the general for a few seconds and thought to herself as the towel slid down her neck, revealing her puffy mane. That certainly wasn't a good thing, no. Vega seemed to be taking it hard, and for a moment, Pinkie was worried the old mare was actually depressed. She couldn't imagine this cursing, strong general to be depressed, but... "Um, ma'am?" She called.
"Yes Pinks, you're dismissed. Get the hell out before I have to kick your bloated ass out." Vega grumbled against the wall and lifted her head to stare at the ceiling.
"I was just gonna ask you," Pinkie rubbed one hoof against the other and gulped some. She might regret this. "Whenever I get sad I like to go home and bake for all my friends so we can all have yummy snacks and fun and I was wondering if you'd like to bake with me?"
Vega turned to face her sharply, nearly glaring at Pinkie for the suggestion, but her expression softened. "... Baking."
"Yuh-huh!" Pinkie bobbed her head.
"Pinks, I haven't baked in over twenty years." Vega grouched and stared at the wall again.
"Oh it's not hard! It's like riding a bike! Except instead of axles and chains and gears it's a lot more flour and ovens and chocolate icing!" Pinkie walked over, looking up at Vega until the bigger mare looked at her. "It's fun! We just gotta get the stuff and we can make all sortsa muffins and cakes and pies!"
Vega stared down at her, then the ceiling, then the floor, then Pinkie again, and the ceiling once more. Her muscles seemed to relax a little. "... What the hell. Better than standing around doing nothing."
Pinkie gave her a huge smile and lead the way out with a bounce.
----------
'It's time.' Sabine glanced upwards, watching the sun as she felt the painless, burning sensation in her ears. Sadi was ready for her. She'd have to move forward quickly to meet with Twilight and then get to the palace.
"Ma?" She called to the older mare. She nudged Fluttershy to get her to pay attention. They still had several more pieces of equipment to install before the playground was complete, but that would have to wait.
"Problem, Sabine?" Ma looked away from the blueprints to look at the young mare while Fluttershy tuned in to listen on. Sabine noticed the way Fluttershy's eyes went straight to her, as if trying to meet her eyes before Sabine could look to Ma.
"Ma, Fluttershy and I need to get going." Sabine answered. Ma looked somewhat surprised, and Fluttershy looked somewhere between relieved and confused. "Have an appointment I need to catch up on."
Ma looked to the sun, then back to Sabine. "Sure you can't wrangle out a few more minutes? I don't know if we can get the kids to sit still long enough to help bolt in the seesaw properly."
Fluttershy spoke up. "I wouldn't mind staying a little longer, Sabine." Her voice was kind of insistent, maybe even a little hopeful.
One side of Sabine's mouth stretched and tensed in thought, but she shook her head. "No can do Fluttershy. Need to get moving." The heat in her ears disappeared, then flared up again when the spell was renewed. Sadi wanted her on the move now. "Right now, in fact." She fixated Ma with her best big-eyed innocent look, and the old nag relented.
"Alright then. Be sure to tell the others, and go on and git. We'll see you tomorrow night, Sabine." Ma nodded, and Sabine smiled back.
Sabine lead the way through the gates, Fluttershy just behind her wondering what Sabine was being called to. She noted with a little more confusion how much Sabine's ears were moving. There were a lot of sounds in Coltriella, but the way her ears twitched and swivelled, it was almost as if she was listening to something specific or everything at once. Wordlessly, Sabine continued onwards, heading deeper into the city until they made it to the third ring.
She didn't go straight for the next gate, she was walking down the road, ears still turning about. "Sabine?" Fluttershy called softly, making the mare pause, but not answer. "Where are we going?"
The mare was quiet for a few seconds, then her ears stopped moving. "It's about three or so, isn't it?" She was staring at a particular building, approaching it slowly with Fluttershy following behind her.
Fluttershy frowned, but nodded. "Looks that way, yes."
"So about time for dinner." Sabine went to the door of the building.
Was that what this was about? Getting something to eat? Fluttershy just looked more confused. "Well, I mean, if you're hungry. It's a little early for dinner, I think." Then her stomach growled a little, she suppressed an embarrassed blush, though Sabine didn't notice.
The inside of the building was cool, and kind of small. There weren't too many ponies beyond a few waiters and a barkeeper, but Sabine turned her head slowly until her eyes locked onto a certain table. Fluttershy looked, and froze immediately.
"- so then while she was too busy yelling, trying to get her sword in her mouth, I jabbed her right in the flank!" Dash broke out into peels of laughter, and despite her very best efforts, Twilight couldn't keep herself from giggling as she rested her cheek against her hoof.
"Dash, that's awful. You could have made her really angry." Twilight pointed out, leaning her head down to sip at a straw in a tall glass of water, an empty shot glass right next to it.
"Oh, she was." Dash almost sounded smug. She had a half-empty glass of something dark brown and filled with ice in front of her. "We ended up going at it bare-hooved 'cause of that. Pinkie decided to join in though."
"Ugh. Just hearing about it makes me tired." Twilight smiled affectionately and stretched a hoof on the table. Dash immediately touched Twilight's hoof with her own, and the two shared a small smile and an innocent blush.
"Well isn't this a coincidence!" The two mares turned immediately to face the voice. Sabine was approaching them with a big, glowing smile, Fluttershy numbly walking towards them with her eyes on the ground. "Hi there girls!"
"Oh. Hello Sabine." Twilight answered politely. There was a very slight edge of disappointment in her voice but none of the others noticed. However, the moment Fluttershy came close, Twilight cracked out an honest smile and slid out of her seat.
"Yeah. Hey." Rainbow Dash's annoyance was much more evident. She pulled her hooves back to her seat and fixed Sabine with her best 'now is not the time' look she could manage without showing anger.
If Sabine noticed, she didn't care. "Fluttershy and I are done for the day, thought we'd stop by somewhere to get a bite to eat." The mare looked back at Fluttershy, and once again caught her staring at her. It was the same, odd, contemplative look she'd had for the past few hours.
"That is pretty convenient." Twilight agreed as she moved to Fluttershy. She leaned forward to snuggle her, when Fluttershy lifted her front legs up to take Twilight into a hug. Sabine did a double-take as she stared, and wasn't sure if she should have felt relieved or betrayed. Rainbow Dash seemed as surprised as Twilight as Fluttershy pressed their cheeks together, hiding her mouth behind Twilight.
"Fluttershy?" Twilight reached her hooves around Fluttershy to return the hug awkwardly. "Are you okay?"
"She's lying." Fluttershy's voice was almost too soft to hear. Twilight's blood suddenly turned cold. Fluttershy continued. "Sabine. She's lying." Fluttershy repeated. Twilight fluttered her eyelids, and flicked her attention towards Sabine for just a second. "She knows about Terraria, she knew you were here, she's lying, Twilight." Fluttershy whispered again, and lowered herself to her front hooves.
Twilight let go of Fluttershy a few seconds later, and did her best to hide the shock on her face. "Are you sure?" She whispered. Fluttershy didn't say anything or move, but Twilight understood.
Twilight smiled awkwardly at Sabine, and Fluttershy mopingly walked around the table to meet with Rainbow Dash. "So, you want to get something to eat?" Twilight offered, pushing a chair out. Sabine bobbed her head and slid into the chair, her ears no longer burning. A messenger was on the way.
"Yeah, I'm famished. Fluttershy and I were working under that sun from the moment everypony left." Sabine smiled as borrowed Twilight's menu. "Oh! They have a good selection. Hm, maybe I should wait on the drinks. What'd you have?"
Twilight wasn't looking at Sabine, she was watching Rainbow Dash lead the way to the restroom with Fluttershy right behind her. 'She's lying.' Went through her head again. Lying about the coincidence of them meeting here? Sabine knew about Terraria, which if Ao's reaction in the court was any indication was a big deal. And what did she mean 'she knew you were here'? "Oh, half a shot of whiskey. Wanted something strong, but not too much."
"Good choice. I'll need a minute to look this over. Hm, maybe some tomato slices with it too..." Sabine looked over the menu closely. As far as Twilight saw, Sabine wasn't acting any differently, but Fluttershy, even if she was acting strange today, wasn't the type to lie.
"Alright." Twilight sat in her chair and glanced to the restrooms. No doubt Dash was being told the same thing. With how hot-headed she could be, Twilight was a little worried that Dash would react badly. Actually, she was almost sure that Dash would take offense. "So, Sabine." Twilight spoke up, a little worried on what to say now. So they were all hiding something from each other... but what? "What made you pick this restaurant?"
"Hm? Oh, it looked empty." Sabine waved her hoof, never taking her eyes off the menu. "Huh, this place doesn't have a whole lot to eat. Mm, guess it'll be only tomato slices then. Did you and Dash order yet?" Sabine glanced up to Twilight.
Twilight shook her head. "No, we were about to. We just got our drinks."
The door to the restroom was kicked open suddenly. Twilight and Sabine both looked up to see Rainbow Dash standing there, eyes fixed on Sabine. Her snout was crinkled up, her eyebrows pushed together, and the edges of her mouth were tugged way down. Her tiny wings were spread out as she marched towards the table and managed to get in her seat without ever looking away from Sabine.
Sabine stared back, and her throat bobbed.
Twilight glanced from Sabine to Rainbow Dash while Fluttershy gingerly slid into a chair next to her. Dash looked ready to strangle somepony.
"So." Dash almost spoke through her teeth. "Is there anything you want to tell us, Sabine?" There was a healthy moment of silence where Sabine sat completely still, eyes wide. "If that is your real name?!" Dash rose up, nearly leaning over the table to stare Sabine down.
"... Yes?" Sabine squeaked. 'I am so boned.' She thought to herself. The good news was that she still had her ace up her sleeve. If Dash did attack, she could be out of here lickety-split. Maybe she could explain though. Maybe they'd understand that all she was doing was spying on them extensively and getting them drunk enough to tell her their secrets.
They'd understand that perfectly. She was totally innocent.
'So very boned.' Sabine gulped again. "Um, well, I'm a Scorpio?"
"Ah-hah!" Dash slammed her hooves down on the table and pressed her nose to Sabine's. "The liar of the star signs!"
"Dash." Rainbow Dash stopped and turned her head to face Twilight. Twilight's eyes were wide. She was trying to stay calm, but she was fidgeting. She nodded to Dash to back up. Dash complied grudgingly, still keeping her eyes on Sabine as Twilight shakily sipped from her water. "Sabine. You've been wonderful friend throughout our time here, but I'd like you to be honest with me: is there anything we should know about?"
'Thank you and that level head of yours, Twilight.' Sabine thought, but did not say anything. She was caught. Somehow. Perhaps Fluttershy? She had no time to dwell on that, the three other girls were staring at her.
'You need to lie.' She told herself. She bridged her hooves in front of her mouth. It seemed so easy, they were three lost girls in a city far away from home, they had no real leverage here even if Sadi and To'Ao alike were interested in their case. She could use a bit of magic, be out of here, and never be seen by the girls again. It'd be that easy. They'd remain forever clueless, and the only thing any of them would lose is their friendship.
Sabine opened her mouth and looked Twilight in the eye, her need to remain hidden and subtle fueling the spell she was about to cast, when her mouth clamped shut and her desires wavered.
'But... then you'd never get to hang out with them again.' Sabine's mouth fell a little. That was true. She, Twilight, and Fluttershy would never get to go out for another drink, she'd have to watch Fluttershy's growing depression, watch Twilight's cluelessness, and then her other friends- well, Applejack and Rarity and Rainbow Dash would pin so much blame on her...
'What does it matter? They're your job. You don't need them, you have Sadi, you have Marcelle, you have Hal.' Sabine nodded without showing it and stared down at her hooves. She'd gotten her hooves dirtier than this, she could live with some bad blood with ponies she'd never see after today. These girls were entirely disposable. If she ever had to, if the order ever came through, she would have no trouble... removing...
'You'd hate me if I ordered you to hurt your friends.'
No, that was unfair. She couldn't hide behind Sadi's words, sometimes one pony's actions were too dangerous to ignore. If Sadi's visions were true, she may not have any choice but to hurt them.
No! No! It was so unfair! Six lovely young mares come into her city without a hint of malice, not tangled up in Coltriella's fucked up politics, not demanding audience despite where they were from or that one of them was royalty, perfectly content to sit and wait, get to know the place and the ponies and get closer to each other and she wasn't allowed to get attached! She'd done this before, why was this so different?!
'They don't want into your hind-quarters, they don't want into Sadi's hindquarters, they don't treat you like a servant rather than a friend, they don't want profit, they don't want land, they don't wants rules or anything...'
'What do they want?'
'... Safety.'
Both Twilight's and Fluttershy's ears twitched with worry as Sadi stared off into space, completely silent.
'They want to be your friend, but you're the suspicious one.'
'They're hiding just as much as I am.'
'They have royal business, nothing for a common pony.'
'So do I, and I am far from a common pony.'
'They still care for you and trust you.'
'Not anymore. I've been compromised. I need to leave.'
'No you don't. Maybe they'll understand.'
'They'll hate me... I'm using them... No matter what I do, I'm going to lose them.'
'You said the same thing about Ma.'
'...'
Sabine's ear twitched. Twilight and Fluttershy both glanced to each other in worry as she seemed to stare straight through them, through the wall behind them, and somewhere far beyond the land of Coltriella. "Sabine?" Twilight questioned. "Are you alright?"
Sabine blinked suddenly, and turned to face Twilight with a worried expression. "Well, no, it's-"
"Ahem." Four heads swivelled to face the voice. Twilight felt an immediate twist in her gut. Covered from snout to hooves was a heavily armored soldier, speaking almost robotically through his head-covering helmet. While he was only one, Twilight remembered the hundreds that had captured them only a scant few days ago, and gulped. "By the order of Sadi’o’farrosun’o’eropafaniquehuomla," he announced, his deep voice almost a growl through the slitted mouthpiece of his helmet, "I am to take you, Twilight Sparkle, and you alone to meet with Sadi’o’farrosun’o’eropafaniquehuomla."
Twilight looked to Sabine to see if she'd finish, but the Coltriellan mare had gone quiet and sunk into her chair. Twilight then looked to Dash, who was glancing between the soldier and their "friend". Twilight turned back to the soldier. "We're in the middle of eating, could it-"
His heavy hoof stomped the ground, the sound of banging metal making all four girls wince as the soldier marched forward. "This order is to be followed by immediate compliance, with or without your consent." It was then Twilight noticed three other heavily armored soldiers standing by the door, watching her through their expressionless helmets. Twilight sensed Dash tensing up next to her, and could feel magic trickling out of her.
"O-okay, if she's so insistent." Twilight said quickly. The last thing she wanted was Dash surprising the guards into attacking, leading to another brawl. "I'll go." She wondered what the rush was for, but wasn't about to get in more trouble. She hopped out of her seat quickly to meet with the guard.
The other three mares stared dumbfounded, until Sabine slid out of her seat. "I'll go with you."
Dash shot out of her chair and jumped over the table to land next to Sabine, staring the guard down. "I'll go too."
"No." The guard walked around Twilight and stood in front of her as the other three soldiers surrounded her, making a barrier of steel and brass around the purple unicorn. "Sadi’o’farrosun’o’eropafaniquehuomla wants to meet with Twilight Sparkle alone. Nopony else may have audience with her today."
Sabine turned to face Dash and gave her an honest expression. "I'll keep an eye on Twilight, don't worry about a thing."
Dash's expression hardened, and Sabine took a step back as the mare flicked her tail in a mixture of distress and anger. "What makes you so special?! If anypony is going to be watching Twilight, it's me, I'm her guard!"
"Me too." Fluttershy appeared at Dash's side. Both mares looked to her. Fluttershy looked worried, and she was stomping her hooves nervously as she looked to the guards, but the moment she focused on Twilight she straightened up. "I-I want to help too."
The guard spoke up again, his voice loud and overpowering: "Sadi’o’farrosun’o’eropafaniquehuomla has requested-"
"Shut up." Sabine shot him a glare, and the guard froze immediately.
"Yes ma'am." The guard answered meekly. Twilight, Dash, and Fluttershy could only watch with amazed expressions as Sabine paced around.
"To'Sadi has given her orders, yeah, but she's too sick to pay attention to the details. We're going to be following Twilight. She can have her one-on-one with Twilight but I am not going to allow another fight to break out, or delay her. Lead us." Sabine ordered. Her cover was blown. She felt so exposed now as the guard shuffled and stuttered to try and contradict her that she could have sworn her cloak had flown off.
The guard finally relented with a hang of his head. "Y-yes ma'am, as you wish. Please follow us." The guard turned, and the other three surrounded the four mares. They marched their way out of the bar and into the open air of the third circle. The four guards each raised a flag, displaying their bright red colors and the white star, and citizens, nobles and artisans alike stood out of the way as the escorts walked towards the second gate.
"Sabine?" Twilight spoke up. Sabine turned to face Twilight, and tried to ignore her unsure stare. "Who are you?"
Sabine gulped loudly, and fixed Twilight with a twitching smile. "Just a mare doing her job." She answered. Behind her, she heard Rainbow Dash snort. She still had no idea if what she was doing was the right thing. She still had no idea if she could bare to get rid of the six Equestrians.
She really hoped Sadi was in a good mood.
----------
The first indication that the stables were nearby was the happy-go-lucky draconic roars that shook the sand off the walls and the fireballs suddenly hanging overhead, then dissipating rapidly into thin air.
Rarity hesitated to take her next step. She felt a nervous tingle in her stomach as she walked through the heavily barred gates and found herself in a courtyard with around half a dozen ponies in large coats trying to wrangle a small herd of terrified camels. Water troughs lined the walls with open feed bags, and there was a tall, sturdy iron pole with ropes tied to several rings at the top in the middle of a heavily worn circle in the sand-and-stone floor.
"C-calm down ya silly dragon!" Came from the squat, dark building across the courtyard. Rarity let out a sigh of relief as she heard the voice. "Leapin' lizards ye're excited!" A low growl, or rather a series of them, as other dragon voices had joined in. "Alright alright, I missed y'all three too."
Rarity took cautious steps towards the building, picking up the pace as she saw a flash of the blonde's mane when a very familiar dragon wing lifted for just a moment. "Applejack?" Rarity called out.
One of the heavily coated ponies quickly ran in front of her, cutting her off from the building. "Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to step back." She ordered, making Rarity pause in surprise.
"Oh, am I not allowed in?" She asked, peering past the pony to watch several dragons she knew lift their heads up, staring out the door.
"It's very dangerous at the moment, ma'am. We've recently wrangled three very temperamental dragons, and their trainer is trying to get them to calm down. Please step back." The mare ordered.
Rarity thought about it for a moment, then cleared her throat. "Oh Appleja~ack!" She called, her voice a loving song that caught her partner's attention without fault. "Guess who~o!" She called again.
She had been expecting to see the green eyes, orange fur, and blonde hair rush out to meet her. She didn't expect one great lizard to beat her.
"I-it's escaped!" One of the caretakers shouted, leaping backwards and tugging a trio of camels to follow as Hayseed squeezed his way through the door and lifted his head high to stare down at Rarity.
Rarity stared up into the dark, reptilian eyes of a mighty dragon, and watched the mare trying to defend her tense up and shake as a long, forked tongue slid out of the beast's maw and tasted the air a few times, leaning down slowly to lick at the air around Rarity. "Ma'am! Step back!" The mare called shakily, backing up against Rarity demandingly.
"Ahem." Rarity took a step around the mare, getting a stunned look from the terrified care-taker as Rarity stared up at Hayseed. The great dragon flared its wings a little, and a blast of hot air escaped its nostrils and washed over Rarity. "... Ew." Rarity coughed politely into the crook of her foreleg as the rank stench, then fixed Hayseed with an offended look. "What have I told you about being delicate around my mane, Hayseed?"
"Rowr?" The dragon paused, and seemed to think for a few moments. After the moment passed, Hayseed flared his webbed wings again and leaned down closer, snout nearly touching Rarity as its eyes searched her mane. Then, when he found nothing wrong, he lifted up and shook his head.
"Well you could have hurt it, thank you very much. I don't appreciate you being so nonchalant towards me!" Rarity stomped her hoof lightly, and Hayseed let out another puff of hot air, this time above Rarity, not at her. After another tense moment, Hayseed leaned down, and pressed his snout to Rarity's front and began to nuzzle, making the purple-maned mare giggle. "Yes, yes, you are quite forgiven." Rarity chuckled merrily, and was briefly off her hooves when Hayseed lifted his nose. "Oof! Yes, Hayseed, I missed you too."
Not entirely true. She hadn't given the dragons much thought since entering the city, but mainly due to how much she'd had on her mind. Still, the sight of the dragons filled her with a sense of comfort.
"Howdy Rare." Applejack called. Rarity lifted her head from Hayseed's snout and stretched her neck to look over the great reptile snuggling her, and a smile spread across her face when she saw that familiar blonde mane. Applejack was climbing over Hayseed's back, and Hayseed tipped his snout down to let Rarity climb across his neck.
The caretakers of the stables could only watch in awe as the two met in the middle of the dragon's back for a small nuzzle, then settle down side by side. Hayseed ducked his head into the building, and carefully maneuvered his way inside to not dislodge his riders.
----------
She should have been more nervous than she was. Twilight knew what she was about to walk into, she was about to be in the audience of the princess, the only authority in Coltriella to have any sort of connection with one of the three greatest powers in the world. The impression she made here could have lasting effects on their quest, not the least of which was losing their chance to peacefully gain access to Terraria.
Twilight was not a violent mare. She hadn't made friends with any mares that were overly violent; aggressive, sure, but being competitive and being violent were two different things. Everything could be solved with logic, words, and rationalization. Surely the princess would understand she was just trying to save the world, and by proxy, her own kingdom, but her encounters with a certain other group of foreign ponies troubled her.
She had been imprisoned, questioned, and crippled with one ignored chance to plead her case. No amount of reasoning would have made them look in any other direction, no amount of logic would unblind them. They served themselves and their king, and didn't listen to a word she'd said.
The princess had to be different. That was what separated the good from the evil, at least according to her books. The kind, noble, just king listened to what had to be said and understood the reality of it. He served his kingdom and the world around him, and no matter how sacred he considered the deity, or the artifact, or the land the hero was questioning, he gave the hero the benefit of the doubt.
The princess had to be like that. Otherwise...
... ... ...
Otherwise, Twilight feared whatever alternative they'd have to take.
She gasped, shocked from her own thoughts as something pressed against her side. Twilight glanced to her left quickly. They were at the palace stairs, just about to climb up the two-hundred and seventy-nine steps of the palace, and it had taken Twilight a moment to realize she'd frozen at the first step.
She'd stared into the wine-red eyes of the pony that had nudged her, and for a moment felt foalish. She was getting caught up in her own thoughts again. She'd been doing that a lot lately, though, not without reason. There was so much to consider lately...
Oh, she was doing it again.
"Hey egghead." Dash prodded her with an amused smile, and Twilight fluttered her eyes rapidly to clear her head. "Hey, there you are. You zoned out."
"Sorry." Twilight felt her cheeks burn. "What's going on?"
"We're at the palace." The lead guard said gruffly, gesturing to the steps and the building they lead to. Twilight stared up, momentarily stunned. Had she really got lost in her own head that much?
"Oh, looks like we are. Okay." Twilight bobbed her head. She felt foalish again. She shouldn't be losing herself like this. 'Focus Twilight.' She took her first step up, and immediately the three other guards closed in behind her, cutting her off from her friends.
"H-hey! What's the big idea?!" Rainbow Dash demanded, trying to move around the guards. They would have none of it though, and constantly kept them apart. "Move!"
"You have not been formally invited into the palace. Uninvited ponies must stay in the palace gardens unless you have been invited by royalty. Is that clear?" One of the guards announced with a stomp of his hoof.
Dash let loose a low snarl, and Twilight saw her neck twitch to reach for her sword. "I am her guardian. It is my duty to stay by her side-"
"And it is my duty to enforce the rules of the royal palace. Stay!" The guard ordered, bending his head just slightly to stare down at her menacingly. Dash returned the glare, her jaw shifting as she bore her teeth.
"Please?" Fluttershy approached with a tiny whisper, looking past them worriedly at Twilight. "We just want to keep her safe."
"The safety of the royal family, Coltriellan citizens, and all guests are our top priority. Your friend shall be given the greatest protection Coltriella has to offer." The guard grunted.
"That's not good enough! We need to be there too!" Dash shouted.
"Guys, calm down." Sabine tried to speak up. "They're just doing their duty. She'll be fine."
"I didn't ask you!" Dash flicked her tail.
"Dash." Twilight spoke up, immediately getting her marefriend's attention. She didn't want to be left alone with these guards. She wanted to have Rainbow Dash by her side. She wanted Fluttershy with her as well. Hay, she'd settle for Sabine as long as she could have one friend by her side. Outside of Equestria, the thought of being alone terrified her. Who could she turn to? Who could she trust? She loved her girls and wanted to be with them.
"No, Twilight!" Dash countered, losing her strength for just a moment to give her a pleading look, but then her face tightened up again. "I can't leave you!"
"Dash..." Twilight calmly worked her way through the guards, and they separated for her and her alone as she came nose to nose with Dash. "Dash, let's make this easy on ourselves. I need to speak to the princess. I can stand a few hours by myself. Besides, they'll keep me safe, they said so. Right Sabine?" She turned her head to Sabine.
Sabine wasn't looking at Twilight, but at the lead guard of the troop. She nodded firmly. "Of course they will."
"Twilight..." Dash loosened up, and stared at Twilight with those gorgeous red eyes, and Twilight leaned forward to give her a comforting kiss. The silence that followed when they broke it made Twilight's hooves feel cold, but she gave her a reassuring smile. "... Be safe."
"Always will be." Twilight perked up, and turned to face Fluttershy. She seemed equally distraught, and it took Twilight some gentle coaxing with her hoof to get their eyes to meet. "Keep an eye on Rainbow Dash, okay? Why don't you two grab a few drinks? Calm yourselves down?"
Fluttershy looked into her eyes, but then nodded. She shook, she stared, she frowned, but Fluttershy stood up and gently pressed her forehead against Dash's neck to whisper to her. Dash frowned and nodded, and they both took a few steps back.
"Thanks. I'll be back in a few hours." Twilight looked back up at the palace and began to climb the steps, surrounded by the four guards. She chanced a look back at the three girls, still smiling, but faltered for a moment. A guard lightly nudged her to get her moving again, so Twilight complied, but she looked back to the space Sabine had just been and could only wonder where she'd gone.
----------
'Thrones are Built for Tyrants.'
They were the first thing Twilight noticed when the four guards undid the cloth around her eyes. She had been lead to the throne room while blinded again, and she was once more standing in front of an ornate door leading to a ruler of the kingdom who was in who-knew-what mood.
Two of the guards left their formation to stand by the door. The other two pushed the double doors open and stood aside. Twilight walked inside, forcing herself not to drag her hooves.
Just like before, Twilight froze briefly, bewildered and elated as rows and rows of green caught her eyes. The throne room was still a sterilized white along the walls, but the plants that filled up the middle of the room made her breath a tiny sigh of relief. She was so used to sand and stone, smooth, hot surfaces that resisted any chance of being warped by weight alone that it surprised her by how relieved she felt from seeing the tiny bits of nature. A soft breath stirred blades of grass, lifted pollen around her, tickled her nose with the scent of a blooming world... but she quickly caught herself. She was losing out to her own instincts and thoughts again. She turned her head to face the head of the room.
At the far end, sitting up on the slightly raised platform in front of the apple tree was a slightly pink mare with a blonde mane. Twilight stared as she walked forward, no longer escorted by guards, but she could see them along the edge of the room, with two sitting at the bottom of the raised platform.
Sadi was sitting on several cushions, looking pale, her eyes heavy with bags. Her front legs shivered every now and then, but the princess forced herself to stay up. Twilight's lip pursed slightly as she stared at the Princess.
'She looks awful.' The mare was sick. She had no reason to be out of bed, and Twilight began to worry that she was imposing on the Princess' rest. Her stomach began to quiver from sympathy pains as her own ordeal came to mind.
She looked up into the mare's eyes when the princess focused on her. Though the life in her eyes was diminished by her weakened state, Sadi still had a piercing, sharp gaze. Even though she should have been asleep in bed, the girl was still judging her.
It struck Twilight that she was in the presence of a princess. Twilight took a few short steps forward, then bent her front knees and lowered her head.
"Sadi’o’farrosun’o’eropafaniquehuomla." she recited, barely stumbling over the middle syllables. She'd been mumbling it to herself the whole way to the throne room, it would look tacky if she couldn't even pronounce the name right. "My name is Twilight Sparkle." She said loudly. Her tongue felt swollen. She hated to be the loud one in the room, but proper court procedure dictated that she call attention to herself. Twilight slowly lifted her head to look up at Sadi again. Those judging eyes hardly blinked, hardly seemed impressed, yet didn't warrant any alarm. "Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, and especially in such dire condition."
Silence followed. Twilight stayed quiet and continued to stare at the princess until she began to feel awkward. She lowered her eyes to Sadi's hooves. She wondered if Sadi was silent because she expected more or if because Twilight broke their gaze. Was she in the wrong to do so? Was she expected to keep her eyes on Sadi's face? It felt rude, now that she thought about it, and Twilight felt a bubble of panic as she considered what proper Coltriellan procedure was like...
"That's fine, Twilight Sparkle." Sadi spoke her, her voice a little choked. Sadi coughed softly into her hoof, and Twilight looked up at her face again, a bit of pity forming for the mare. "Stand up." She ordered. Twilight did so.
The Princess' voice was naturally low and a bit husky, possibly from her illness, but it had a an alarming bite to it. When she spoke, Twilight didn't feel relaxed, or comforted, her ears swivelled to attention. Sadi didn't speak with the squeak of a child, nor did she convey any sense of lethargy. She was sharp, she was adult, she was the first and last authority, and she was spitting into a handkerchief and shivering on her hooves.
The edges of Twilight's mouth fell as she watched Sadi force herself to face her again. This wasn't particularly fair to the princess. Twilight's situation was dire, but-... no, no, she couldn't let her pity overcome her. This issue needed to be confronted before Twilight could care for anypony else. When she had permission, then she could risk a moment of weakness.
Before she could open her mouth, the doors leading into the throne room opened. Twilight's ears turned, and she shuffled to face the open doors as Sadi looked up. A single guard stood there, in full armor, motionless other than a softly flicking tail. Twilight raised an eyebrow. It was so quiet she could hear a pin drop, but nopony said anything. Sadi just silently watched the pony enter the room and shut the door itself.
It seemed odd, not to mention fairly unprofessional. What was a guard doing out of their place? Especially when what they were guarding was the princess? Twilight elected to give the pony a very odd stare as they casually settled in front of the now closed door, as if their body alone would keep it from opening.
Twilight squeezed her eyes shut and forced herself to face the princess again. It was no time to get lost in her own thoughts again. The unpunctual guard could be tended to later, if at all.
"Twilight Sparkle, I want something to be understood." Sadi spoke up, fixing those piercing eyes on the lavender unicorn. "I am not seeing you out of any form of generosity or courtesy. As I sit here before you, I want you to understand: you are something to be feared."
Twilight managed to hide the surprise on her face as she was told this, but did give Sadi an uncertain look. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make anypony scared. I only wanted-"
"You come in riding on the mounts of our historical enemies, claiming to be from a land spoken of only in myth and wonder, boasting magical strength that would put even a veteran practitioner to shame and making bold claims of a mission put on your shoulders by the very beings who gave us the world around us." Sadi went on, rubbing her no-doubt aching eyes with one leg.
"Well..." Okay, point taken. Thrown into her face like that, it did sound rather ridiculous. "But-"
"You'll understand if this whole thing sounds a little far fetched, and I'm rather disinclined to give into your demands immediately." Sadi set her hoof down and blinked at the ground a few times before lifting her head to look Twilight in the eye.
"I-" Twilight swallowed. "I never made any demands..."
"You've asked for access to our nation's greatest secret and most sacred treasure." Sadi paused. Twilight considered what to say, but Sadi continued. "Let me rephrase that: you showed up on the backs of enemy mounts, had to be forcibly restrained, came in talking about things you shouldn't know about, claiming to be from a place where gods supposedly reside... and you want access to something that the ponies in this room are only allowed to know by name."
Twilight stared up at Sadi, not expecting such a blunt summation, but at the same time, mentally rebelling with unsaid cries of 'no fair!' "Look," Twilight offered a hoof, as if it somehow held the entire explanation of her mission on it. "I know it sounds ridiculous, actually I agree that it sounds completely ridiculous, but I haven't lied about where I'm from and what I intend to do here."
Sadi said nothing, and didn't blink for a few seconds. Twilight noticed that her eyes subtly lifted to look past her, and Twilight turned to casually glance at what she was looking at. It was that guard, the one that had been late. Whoever was underneath all that armor was completely silent and unmoving, but thanks to the shifting reflection off the pony's helmet, she saw the faintest of nods.
Were they conspiring against her?
Twilight flattened her ears in slight distress. This really was unfair. If there actually was a conspiracy to ruin her chances of meeting Terraria, there'd be no way she'd win. They'd have her sent out and she could never reach Terraria and Equestria would-
'Deep breaths.' She told herself, sucking in a lot of air, and passing it through her teeth slowly, quietly. 'These are ponies. Government ponies, but still ponies.' She brought herself up, and looked Sadi in the eye once more. "I meant no harm to anypony. We were scouting the city on our dragons to assure ourselves that we were in the right place." Twilight had a small idea, and closed her eyes. A moment later, there was a flash of light, and her massive horn appear on her forehead. She heard shifting around the room and risked a look. The guards were unsheathing various weapons and staring intently at the horn on her head, some of them whispering to each other. The princess, however, stayed composed, even though her eyes were glued to Twilight's horn with a bit of envy. "I was using a spell to follow the leylines here. I am seeking council with Terraria."
"So I have been informed." Sadi answered. There was a brief moment where her eyes unfocused and her brow rose, wrinkled, and then fell as a slight pain passed. "But..." She rubbed her forehead. Twilight chewed the edge of her lower lip; the princess was dancing between incoherent and conscious, and it worried Twilight that it would pressure the Princess' condition... and her own chances of meeting Terraria. "But I haven't been told why. What could Terraria possibly grant you? Even if you are on a mission from Equestria of all places, Terraria, nor his brothers, nor his nieces have ever requested any sort of meeting with anypony outside of the royal family."
That was a very specific requirement to speak with Terraria, and it bore sour news to Twilight. Terraria had not exiled himself, he'd merely sealed himself away, if at all, and gave one pony the key. What could he be doing with the royal family? Why them? What did they give him? What did he give them?
"His brother Anemone asked me to speak with him. Equestria is the central location of all the leylines-"
"Of all the leylines on the planet, providing it with immense magical power that regulates itself and grants the ponies there power over the land and weather itself, while the wise princesses watch over the cycle of the stars." Sadi recited, almost bitterly. Once again her eyes flickered up, past Twilight, towards the guard behind her.
"Yes." Twilight confirmed, stomping out the miniscule annoyance she felt. Sadi was just so plain and blunt. There weren't any word games or hidden meanings in it, Twilight was used to the Canterlot Elite and the odd social games they played. Sadi would stand out like a lamed leg, then comment on how she did and that everypony else was hiding under a rock. Very well then, if Sadi would be blunt, so would Twilight. "Golding is invading Equestria for unknown reasons, probably related to the slow death of their lands. I have been captured, tortured, and oppressed by them with the intent of-"
There was a heavy scraping of metal. Twilight turned her head quickly, missing the alarmed look on Sadi's face. That one guard who stood directly in front of the door had stood up suddenly, and the rest of the guards, as well as the princess herself was staring at them in confusion. There were a few quiet, tense moments, and the guard slowly lowered themselves. Twilight hesitantly looked away, back at the princess.
"They had me captured and suppressed my magic. Their intent was to send me to wherever they had set up, believing I had stolen magic from their Princess." Twilight finished.
"Princess Sellina?" Sadi questioned, eyes flickering between Twilight and the guard behind her. Twilight didn't miss the looks.
"Yes." She nodded. Sadi drew herself up, and lightly stretched her forelegs, as if she needed to pace. "Sul had a look at the magic I had 'stolen', and confirmed it is from Princess Sellina, or at the very least it was her best explanation. I have no idea how I got it or why I can use it, but it's there." She gulped heavily. Sadi was staring at her as if she'd grown a second head. A reasonable reaction if there ever was one, same with the guards now nervously chewing on the bits of their sword hilts and shuddering. "They kidnapped me to try and get it back, but I escaped with the help of a friend while they were doing some sort of dig to get to Anemone's resting place. We managed to open the door blocking them from Anemone, and complete the tests to see him, where he told us the world was dying due to the depleting ley lines, and that we needed to seek out his brothers to rejuvenate them."
Sadi watched her for the longest time, thinking to herself. Twilight gulped a little. That was probably a stupid move, being so plain and quick to the point. She needed to play this more easily. She wanted the Princess' favor, she didn't want to hurry her decision more than it needed to be. "So, you intend to complete this task rather than handle your home defense issues." Sadi murmured.
Before Twilight said anything, she made herself think. "We felt..." She chewed the inside of her lip. "We, me, my friends, and the princesses felt that this task should take priority. We have an army at home, they can handle the defenses of Equestria while my friends and I accomplish this-"
"If I may ask, Twilight Sparkle." Sadi cut in, slowly working her tongue around her teeth. "Were you and your friends chosen to come here because you and your friend were picked by Anemone, or is there more to you than just a common Equestrian unicorn who happened to gain a taste of Sellina's magical power?"
"Oh, well, I suppose there is." Twilight felt a slight cramping in the left side of her body and shifted her weight. She hadn't even noticed she'd been holding herself there for that long. "I am Princess Celestia's personal student in magic, as well as the bearer Element of Magic in the Elements of Harmony." The words rolled out more quickly than she'd intended.
The look on Sadi's face gave Twilight the feeling that she should be running. The princess didn't even seem to be breathing as she stared at Twilight, as if only just realizing exactly what stood in front of her. Twilight knew being Princess Celestia's student was a big thing, but she always saw it on a personal, "I can never fail you" level. Only recently did she begin to see exactly what other ponies thought of that.
Much less ponies who saw Celestia as something greater than a loving princess.
Twilight never saw it as anything more than an occupation: she was Celestia's student of magic. When she told other ponies this, no matter who they were, what they'd been doing, or how they saw her, they seemed to withdraw in themselves, quietly stunned by what she'd just told them. The ones she told in Ponyville suddenly went rigid and looked at her in disbelief, but when they began to realize she was telling the truth...
"Twilight Sparkle." Sadi whispered, her piercing eyes boring a greater hole through Twilight as the princess shuddered. "I do not appreciate lies." The nervousness in her voice, the sudden stillness of her shaky legs...
"I'm not lying to you." Twilight assured while nervously scuffing the floor with her hoof. "The full story is a little long, but she told me my magic was greater than any other unicorns' she'd ever seen when I was only a filly, and she spent years teaching me how to use it. And I didn't know it at the time, but she set me out to gather the Elements of Harmony to save Princess Luna. It turned out the Elements aren't things, but ponies... a circle of friends." Twilight nodded.
"And you and... the ponies with you?" Sadi stood up, her backside shaking a little from the strain. The princess stared at the floor, then Twilight. "You are the Elements of Harmony?"
Twilight hesitated, but nodded in confirmation. In Ponyville, heck, in all of Equestria, nopony treated it as a big deal. The Elements of Harmony were disconnected from most of Equestria, and in Ponyville, they were the friends and neighbors of a lot of ponies, causing and solving many problems just like every other pony. Sure they possessed immense power that could potentially banish an alicorn for some one-thousand years, but other than that they were normal ponies.
Twilight licked her suddenly dry lips. "Correct."
With alarm, the princess stared back at the guard behind Twilight. This time, Twilight risked a look. She couldn't see past the helmet, she couldn't even see the eyes, but the armored pony stared at her like she was... like...
'Like other ponies stare at the Princesses.' Twilight realized. Her heart began to hammer. "I-I know it sounds ridiculous-"
"Queen of Laputa..." Sadi suddenly whispered, and reared back as if struck.
"No no! Please!" Twilight pleaded, taking a few quick steps forward. Guards rushed to their hooves. "Listen, I don't want anything more than to speak with Terraria!" She was approaching the podium quickly, her eyes fixed to the princess. Sadi took several shaky steps back, fear in her eyes. Twilight could feel the situation falling from her fast. "Please! I don't want anything else! I just want to get to Terraria and go home!"
Something pressed to her throat. She stopped immediately as a cold metal edge rubbed against the soft underside of her neck, and she felt it press. She felt her skin part, and in a brief moment of panic she let out a surprised yelp, her hoof rising to push the blade away. She heard hooves, shaking armor, swords unsheathing, the whistling of blades. For a second she felt vulnerable, naked. Her horn flared to life as she tried to recall a spell that would help her, but it didn't respond to her fear.
Too many things happened at once.
Something shoved her down.
The orange aura, Sellina's magic sprung to life, and began to quiver as she pressed to the floor.
Four legs surrounded her, heavy, armored legs.
There was a wild yell, somepony whinnying, others whimpering. The many guards froze around her, and Twilight looked up. The pony standing above her, one of the guards was carefully positioned to cover Twilight's whole body with their own. Swords rest against their back, caught by the armor the pony wore.
In the stunned silence, Twilight heard Sadi's voice. "Wh-what?!" She shouted. Twilight looked up. Sadi, caught up in her own emotions from the revelation of who and what she was dealing with, could only stare at the guard. "You..." She began, her voice shaking, though not from sickness. "Stop!" She shouted, strength returning to her voice. "Back off of her! Leave her alone!"
The guards slowly withdrew their weapons and took several steps back. Twilight stayed perfectly still, shaking a little and rubbing the area of her throat that had nearly been cut. The guard standing above her sagged a little, whether from relief or shame she couldn't tell, but the pony took a few steps back.
Twilight stood and whirled around quickly and looked the pony in the eye, or as best as she could. Through the armor, she couldn't see anything, but when she looked back the princess...
Sadi's gaze twitched between the guard and Twilight rapidly. She swallowed with a dry throat, and walked forward until she was at the edge of the dias. She stared straight into the eyeholes of the guard's helmet. She spoke softly, her voice breaking a little. "Why...?"
The guard by Twilight's side remained silent. Twilight didn't want to admit it, but just having the guard there made her feel more secure. It was a stupid feeling, but the guard may have very well saved her life. It was then with a slight bit of embarrassment did she realize the orange aura around her was still waiting to be used, and she tried to wrangle it in.
"She..." the guard spoke. It was a mare, definitely, and Twilight's ears swivelled towards the voice. Even through the metal she could tell the voice was disguised. "She's just a mare." The guard said glumly, lowering her head a bit. "Just a mare doing her job."
Twilight watched, slowly backing away as Sadi risked herself by stepping off the dais to get face to face with the guard. There was no anger, just confusion. Sadi briefly looked to Twilight, and Twilight gulped and gave her a very sorry look. "But... what she is..."
"She's an Element of Harmony..." The guard mumbled, but didn't look away from the princess. "She's- well, she's not bad. An Element of Harmony has to be a good pony, right?" The guard offered up weakly.
"... But... my vision...?" Sadi whispered. Twilight glanced to the mare in the armor, then to Sadi once more. They both seemed so confused, and Twilight herself was unsure. There were questions floating around that they weren't asking her, she knew there was more to this... "The heart shall be put away..." Sadi whispered suddenly. The mare in the armor nodded with a sagged head. Sadi continued quietly.
"The heart shall be put away...
Six gathered shall split and fray.
Fires alight under the falling sun,
Fear and laughter will twist into one."
Sadi seemed to lift her own spirits, her stance becoming more rigid, her eyes staring darkly into the guard's. She seemed to be silently daring her to do something. Then, the guard spoke. "Ache will-..." She paused, and sighed heavily through her armor.
"Ache will bring the heart to life,
the titan of light will fuel the strife.
The earth will rise and shatter the walls..." she trailed off.
Twilight's ears perked, and she fixed them with a worried stare as Sadi and the guard continued.
"... and Equestria will strengthen as Coltriella falls."
Twilight felt a pit form in her stomach. What did that mean? Where did that come from? What did it mean?
"You know this." Sadi hissed, her face falling as the guard turned their heard slightly to the side.
"I do." The guard answered, refusing to look at Sadi.
"I've never been wrong!" Sadi kept her voice low and level, but there was a hint of fright in it. Twilight opened her mouth, but then shut it. What did it mean?
"That doesn't mean you're right." The guard spoke low, but defiant. Sadi turned her head to look at Twilight, but the guard moved to block her view.
Sadi was quiet. Twilight couldn't see her, something she was partially thankful for, but then spoke up. "How can you defend her? You're supposed to defend me. You can't just..." Her voice broke a little, "betray me like that..."
The words hung over them sourly, and the guard took a tense stance. "I'm not betraying you..."
"Yes you are!" Sadi accused, fearfully looking past her at Twilight. "For her!"
"I am not betraying you!" The guard stomped her hoof. Sadi quieted down. "I'm keeping you from making the wrong decision." Another bout of silence. Twilight shifted to look at Sadi, and spoke up.
"I don't-"
"Shush!" The guard glanced to her quickly, then back to Sadi. The princess was sulking where she stood, but the guard quietly spoke up. "Please... she's an Element of Harmony, not some weapon. She's a pony for Coltriella's sake, not a monster."
Sadi took a long, slow breath. "Ponies are capable of being monsters."
"She's not one." The guard said firmly. It then occurred to Twilight: why was this guard helping her out so much? Why did she save her? Why was she defending her from the princess of all things?
"..." The princess could only stare at the guard. Her jaw worked in a slow circle, and a shuddering breath escaped her. "How do you know?"
The guard shifted her head to look at Twilight through one of the dark eye holes, and then spoke. "Monsters don't love other ponies. She loves another pony. She sincerely loves another pony. She sincerely loves all of her friends." The pony reached up, and started to undo a clasp on her helm. "Even the ones she just met."
Twilight watched with growing eyes as the helmet came off, and of all ponies, Sabine stood in front of her in full guard's armor, lacking her normal hat. And of all things, there was a horn sitting nice and open on her forehead. "S-Sa-Sa-Sab-Sa-..." Twilight stuttered in disbelief as Sabine gave her a sad smile.
"I'm sorry Twilight, and I'm sorry Sadi." Sabine sighed deeply. She seemed to perk up a little, and turned to look Twilight in the eye. "I'm just tired of lying. Feels silly now that I think about it."
Sadi gave her a shaky stare, and she grit her teeth, her jaw sliding out. "Sabine... you weren't-... why are you disobeying me?" She asked, sounding more defeated than angry.
"My orders are to serve you to the best of my abilities." Sabine recited, her horn glowing a comforting yellow as the pack on her side opened up, and of all things, out came a pot of tea and a cup. "Guards." Sabine called, pouring the beverage into the cup. The guards stood up awkwardly, mere observers to the strange scene unfolding in front of them. "Leave the room and cover all entrances. Nopony is to enter." The princess opened her mouth, but Sabine spoke louder. "And I'm calling guardian law: the princess is too sick to think for herself. Obey my orders."
The guards hesitantly glanced back and forth at each other as the princess' personal servant passed tea to a unicorn they were just about to turn into a bloody smear, and sheepishly complied. Sadi stared at Sabine incredulously, pausing only when a tea cup was pressed to her lips. "There are no words to describe how much I hate you, Sabine." The princess whispered coldly.
"Yes there are." Sabine said, a proud smile on her lips. "But you love me too much to come up with them." Twilight could still only stare, jaw on the floor somewhere as Sadi huffed, grunted, and glared at Sabine. The princess then took a long sip from the tea cup, her glare only sharpening as she gulped down the drink.
This was unreal.
"Twilight." Twilight snapped out of her funk and stared Sabine in the eye, politely taking the tea cup hovering in front of her. Sabine gave her an apologetic frown. "I'm... sorry about this. It's a little unusual, I know, but I am, well... a unicorn." She pointed up to her horn.
"Yeah, I see that." Twilight noted dryly, taking a sip of the tea without really tasting it. It moistened her suddenly dry, disbelieving tongue. "Sabine, why are you a unicorn?" Twilight tried to ask politely, but her voice betrayed her confusion.
"Always been." Sabine smiled triumphantly. "Been using the same spell you've been casting to keep your horn hidden. Sadi and I," Sabine threw an armored leg around Sadi's back, the contact causing Sadi to take a longer, louder sip, "grew up together. She's the princess, and I've been raised to be her buddy, her servant, and her guard all at once. Part of that includes making sure she makes the right decisions." Sabine needled, and Sadi grunted.
"This is a mistake, Sabine." Sadi growled, but the words seemed to have more bark than bite. Twilight slowly began to believe Sabine, since Sadi was taking this more in stride than she thought.
"It is not." Sabine corrected her with a firm look. "I'm the one who spent the past few days being her buddy and showing her the city, I'm the one who got to know her and watched her get her marefriend."
"Hmph." Sadi lowered her eyes into her cup. "Your emotions are clouding you." She mumbled.
Sabine rolled her eyes, and sighed. "I'm better at reading ponies than you. Besides, don't you trust my judgement?" The newly-revealed unicorn grunted. Twilight still couldn't believe it.
"It's the only reason I'm not screaming for my father, the guards, and having you both locked away for this. Honestly." Sadi sighed, and finally sagged. Sabine positioned herself quickly, and allowed Sadi to rest against her side. The princess opened her eyes and glared at Sabine. "... I can't believe you trust her over me..." Her voice wavered.
"It's not that." Sabine tried to assure her with an awkward smile. "My gut just tells me that... that she's right. Or honest, or something. She's not a bad mare..."
"... Still..." Sadi closed her eyes slowly.
"Wait..." Twilight spoke up, feeling her tongue for the first time since Sabine, of all ponies, revealed herself. "You've always been working for her?" Twilight glanced to Sadi.
"Uh-huh." Sabine nodded.
"Even from the very start, when we met in that alleyway?" Twilight's eyebrow raised high.
"Yeah. Sadi here..." Sabine nudged her. "Her magical power allows her to get visions of the future while she sleeps. She knew where you'd be, and knew..." Sabine trailed off, and gulped. "She's been getting visions of Coltriella, of you guys, and of nasty stuff happening. She's been getting them for weeks. We knew when you'd be arriving, we knew what you wanted, so she asked me to watch you guys."
"... Why?!" Twilight finally demanded, stomping her hooves. Her eye twitched as she took the last mouthful of her tea and swallowed it. "If you knew, why let us in with all this pretense that you didn't know? Why spy on us? Who even knew?!"
"Um, well, everypony here." Sabine shrugged, and Sadi nodded subtly. "We were originally going to have you jailed until we could figure out what to do with you, but Sul thought better of it. She wanted to observe you first and figure out what you wanted to do with Terraria. I fit in best among the common pony, less ponies know precisely what I am outside the palace and I can pull a lot of favors around here, so I was an obvious choice..."
Twilight could feel her head burning as her brain worked itself up, and finally she set the tea down. "So you weren't getting friendly with us to be friends?" Twilight demanded, and Sabine gave a shallow nod of confirmation. "So you took us out drinking and got me and Fluttershy drunk just to pry?!" Another nod. "Then why were you drinking too?"
Sadi's eyes widened, and she looked to Sabine with a confused expression. Sabine began to sweat a little. "You drink?" She asked lamely, and Sabine chuckled nervously.
"Sometimes?" Sabine offered up.
"You knew the bartender and waitress by name!" Twilight pointed out, and Sabine's smile slipped as Sadi's eyes narrowed.
"... You sneak." Sadi accused weakly, and closed her eyes. Sabine's worried expression shifted from her hooves to Sadi.
"Are you alright?" She asked, carefully slipping beneath the princess the lift her onto her back.
"I'm fine, just... tired. All of this..." Sadi waved her hoof. "It's too much." She set her hoof down and groaned. "... We're going to talk about your drinking, Sabine."
"Please no?" Sabine whimpered, but shifted herself so Sadi was laying more solidly on her back. "Let's get you to bed, princess." Twilight agreed with that. Sadi was over-extending herself already, and all of this couldn't be helping. High emotion didn't help the sickly. Twilight wasn't sure if she accomplished anything, but she would be walking out alive... hopefully.
"No." Sadi spoke up, rousing herself a little.
"No?" Sabine and Twilight both parroted perfectly.
"No." Sadi opened her eyes and looked at Twilight. "... Sabine trusts you. That's... it's more than enough for me." She lifted her head, and Twilight felt her heart rate pick up as Sadi continued. "I'm not perfect. My magic isn't perfect either. It's not giving me the full picture, so for now, I'm going to trust you Twilight. I will let you speak to Terraria." Twilight felt a smile tug at the edge of her lips, and then it grew until Sabine could almost count her teeth.
"Thank you Sadi'o'farru-"
"But." The princess interrupted her. Their eyes met, and Twilight's smile winded down until she could manage a serious look. "But, you must promise me..." Sadi leaned in closer and gave Twilight a pleading look. "No harm shall befall Coltriella."
Twilight opened her mouth, but hesitated. The idea seemed so alien to her. The city around her had sheltered and fed her, and was allowing her to continue with her mission. It was under false pretenses, but at the end, Sabine told her the truth... she still had so many questions to ask, but what mattered was that, despite everything, they were treated well, and they were reaching their objective. "I have no intention to harm Coltriella or its ponies, and... if there's anything I can do, I would help it however possible."
Sabine smiled at that, but Sadi's face stayed frozen in a somber stare. "Very well. We'll discuss this later. For now, Sabine, round up the guards and take us to Terraria's shrine."
"Right now?" Sabine stared back at the sick princess laying on her back, and then shook her head. "Sadi, no. You're sick, you need to go rest and get your-"
"No." Sadi's voice was quiet, and she drew herself up as high as possible. "Get a carriage ready if you so dearly want to watch my health. I want this over with. The sooner Twilight meets with Terraria, the sooner we can put this behind us."
Sabine frowned a little, but then nodded her head. "Very well."
"Are you sure?" Twilight interjected, nervously eyeing the ill mare. "If it's too much of a bother, I can wait. A day won't hurt us."
"Maybe not you, but my city is in a tender state." Sadi looked back at Twilight with a serious expression. "The state of Equestria will be reflected by the rest of the world. Equestria is in trouble, and it is our duties to the brothers, the princesses, and to ourselves to help it. All that I ask is for the safety of Coltriella."
Twilight stared at the princess, then bobbed her head. "You have my word that we will not harm Coltriella. In fact..." She gave her a small, caring smile. "In fact, when we revitalize the ley lines, life should return here. Plants, animals, all of that will be brought back. Our mission isn't to protect Equestria, that's the princesses' mission." Twilight gulped softly, and gave Sadi a warm grin. "Our mission is to bring life and comfort to the rest of the world."
Sadi's expression did not change, but her body language did. She seemed to relax a little as she thought about it. "... So why now? Why wait for so long, so long after the End Harvest? So long after the wars and the anarchy...?" She asked, her tone troubled.
Twilight did not know how to answer right away. Why did nopony try beforehand? Why wasn't anypony informed...? "I think..." Twilight began. "I think it's because I was the first to know. If I had known sooner, if the princesses had known sooner, I think- no, I know we would have acted on it."
The princess still watched her, but seemed to be satisfied, finally, with one of her answers. "Very well. Let's go."
----------
"This place smells too clean." Vega sniffed the air once she was in the Gardet House.
"We take real good care of ourselves here!" Pinkie bounced to the kitchen, happy to have a cooking partner. She started going through the drawers, pulling out baking ingredients she'd bought on a whim, along with several old pots and pans.
"You mean you sit around on your fat asses all day doing nothing." Vega griped. She'd been to plenty of fancy noble functions and was even invited into a few of their houses. She accepted only if the invitation promised free booze, so she idly kicked herself for not asking her excitable pink mini-me if there was even a drop of alcohol in the house.
"Well, duh." Pinkie stuck her head out of the kitchen, her tone implying the obvious. "We don't have anything better to do around here! That princess of yours is taking so long to see us!" She ducked back into the kitchen, where cooking ware rattled.
"Don't you speak of the princess like that." The larger mare huffed, scanning a few pieces of paper on the table. Something about magical theory, a dress idea that looked like it came out of the depths of fashion hell, an idly drawn doodle of a familiar mare in a hat showing her rump... Vega raised an eyebrow. Applejack's girlfriend was a pervert.
"Sorry!" Pinkie called, poking her head out the door with a big grin. "Didn't mean to! We're just all so tired of waiting! We want to get home and save our friends! Now c'mon, the goodies won't bake themselves!"
Vega stared after the mare and sighed loudly. Why did she agree to this again? 'I could be out drinking.' She grumbled as she entered the kitchen. Pinkie was bouncing around, a bag of flour in her mouth, inspecting everything and firing up the stove. Vega raised an eyebrow. 'Then what?' She sighed. Well, this was better than sitting around getting fat off alcohol...
"Okay Ha'Jin'Vega!" Pinkie bounced to the tall mare's side and beamed. "We're all ready to go when you are! Let's get this started!" Pinkie started hopping in place, an expectant smile on her face as Vega glanced up.
The counter was lined with cooking ware, ingredients, fruits, veggies, and bits and pieces of candy to be mixed into... whatever they were going to end up making. She took a few uncomfortable steps forward and stared over everything. Okay, there was flour... and the sink would provide water. The yeast was out too... And, uh, sugar and salt... "Um..." Vega felt a strange bit of nostalgia, and she idly tapped the floor with her hoof to remind herself she wasn't standing on her rickety little stool from way back when. She lifted a hoof and calmly poked a bag of flour.
"Are you okay?" Pinkie popped up beside the mare, and Vega suppressed a yelp of surprise and a kick to the intruder's adorably infuriating face. Vega snarled at her in warning, but Pinkie turned away to stare at all the stuff. "You said you baked before, right?"
Vega suppressed another threatening noise and stared back at all the tools in front of her. "Listen here you tubby little- urgh. I haven't baked since my father started training me. I don't remember a thing." Vega let out sharply, and took a few steps back for Pinkie to take her place. She was stopped when the same mare started pushing her back forward.
"Now listen here, ma'am! Baking is like breathing, or dancing, or making the perfect party! It doesn't help to just think! When you think about it, you start to forget! You learned once, so you should be able to keep doing it!" Pinkie popped up by Vega's side again and looked at all the ingredients and dishes. "Don't think about it, Vega. Just feel it."
Vega's eyebrows quirked, but she slowly turned to face the ingredients. 'Feel it.' She thought to herself. She chewed her inner lip idly and lifted a hoof.
"Feel it!" Pinkie whispered excitedly as Vega leaned down and picked up the bag of flour.
And just like that, the lock on that dusty old door of memories fell apart, and the portal flew open as strings of rhymes and instructions tumbled out. "Flour to give it power..." Vega whispered to herself, and ripped open the bag of flour to pour it into the bowl. A memory flickered in her mind, and she stopped just before it overloaded. "Water to make it softer..." She took the bowl to the sink and began to fill it, stopping at just the right time. It looked right, and the weight felt right. Everything felt... right. "Sugar for flavor..." A bit of sugar... "Salt to savor..." A few, mind-measure teaspoons of salt... "And last but not least, the right amount of yeast." In went the yeast.
Vega stared at the bowl of ingredients, and wavered a little as memories of cooking over the stove with her mother came back to her. Her mother, the baker, her father, the general, and her, getting the skills of both. "Ooh, that was good!" Pinkie bounced nearby as Vega looked at her work. "I'll have to keep that one in mind for when we go home! Flour, power, water, softer, sugar and flavor and salt to savor- it's perfect!" Pinkie hopped around the kitchen as Vega added some more flour and quickly washed her hooves. She then began to stir.
Not too long later, she was kneading the dough with her bare hooves. "Huh..." She mumbled as she rolled, pressed, and as her mother would have told her, massaged the dough. She did this for several minutes as Pinkie got to work making another bowl of bread batter. It smelled sweeter though, and made her nose tickle. 'Cupcake batter.' Sprang to mind. She didn't know exactly how she knew that, her mind just assured her that, without a doubt, it was cupcake batter.
"What kinda cupcakes do you want, Vega?" Pinkie smiled up at her excitedly as Vega got the bread dough just right. Now it just needed to be fit into the bread pan and baked to perfection.
Vega answered without thinking much. "How about strawberry frosting, mom?" She froze, and Pinkie fumbled with the mixing spoon. They stared at each other. "Pinkie. I mean Pinkie!" She groaned and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I knew this was a bad idea. I'm just going to leave." She stepped back from the bread dough. "Baking is behind me, Pinkie. I don't want to-"
Pinkie stared at her with two big, blue eyes and a kind, understanding smile. "I-I don't mind! It's not a big deal at all! Pleeeaaase? The bread's almost done!" She pointed to the dough, and Vega groaned out loud.
"... Fine." Vega put the bread in the bowl to let the yeast rise, then slipped it into the hot oven, and immediately began to mentally tick down how long it would take to bake the bread. She sighed. This was why she drank, she found these old memories annoying.
But ye gods the smell was tempting...
----------
The throne room's door opened outwards and every guard lifted their head at once to see the princess floating towards them. Sabine stood by her side, and narrowed her eyes at the guards. "We need transportation to the seventh wall shrine this instant!" She barked, and every guard threw themselves to their hooves. "I want a carriage at the steps of the palace by the time we're outside! Understood?!"
"Yes ma'am!" The guards chorused and all but two of them scampered down the hallway, their heavy armor rattling the whole way. The two that remained walked ahead of the trio of unicorns while they moved.
Twilight's horn glowed with soft power as she held Sadi suspended in the air with perfect precision. Sadi wasn't at all heavy, underfed even. Though Sadi was hesitant at first she quickly went quiet as the stress was taken off her legs. The Princess allowed her legs to dangle as they walked quickly through a series of passageways to reach the foyer once more, the only sign that she wasn't some sort of macabre puppet was a blink every now and then.
They reached the foyer quickly, but slowed when they heard shouting. There was a pile of ponies biting, kicking, pulling, blocking, and throwing each other, blades drawn and menacing each other while others wrestled with each other. A good number of the combatants were blue, each with a different color of hair, and there was even a certain yellow mare valiantly kicking a guard in his stomach as he tried to hold her back.
"Dash?! What are you doing! I thought you were-" Twilight rushed forward and tried to nose her way past the guards, but they wouldn't have it. She looked back at Sabine. The armored mare nodded in understanding and leapt into the middle of the ponies with a heavy thud, then turned and looked one pony in the face and roared. The fighter's immediately stopped and looked.
Sabine drew herself up and glared, conveying her superiority with a simple sweep of her eyes. "Leave these mares alone! They are with me, the princess, and our esteemed guest!" The guards holding the mares suddenly and hastily began to untangle with the Rainbow Dashs and Fluttershy, both of whom stood up quickly. "If you don't want me getting rations cut for the next week you will leave." That was more than enough to get the guards rushing out the open palace doors.
Sabine glared after them, and Twilight approached, Sadi hovering nearby, her eyes defocusing and focusing rapidly as she tried to adjust to the desert sun. "You are pretty good at that." Twilight noted. Before she could even glance, a solid Rainbow Dash was wrapped around her neck.
"You're okay!" Dash sighed in relief. Twilight smiled at the way Rainbow Dash relaxed around her, and dropped to her hooves. "When I saw all those guards running out I thought something had happened."
"We tried asking about you but when we got inside they, well..." Fluttershy didn't have to finish, Twilight was already nodding.
"Well we're alright. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, this is Princess Sadi'ofar-"
"Yeah yeah, real nice. Hold on." Dash whirled around on her hooves, and she stood snout to snout with Sabine with an accusing glare on her face. Sabine took a step and met Dash's glare with a squeak of distress. "And just what do you think you're doing?" She demanded.
"Uh, escorting Twilight and Sadi-"
"You were supposed to come with us, you disappeared, and now here you are!" Dash snorted, puffing air through her nose angrily. "What next?! And where did you get that horn? How long have you been lying to us? What the hay is going on?!"
Sabine opened her mouth, but Sadi spoke up. "Esteemed royal guard of Queen Twilight Sparkle of Laputa, I would like you to meet Sabine, esteemed royal servant of me, the Princess of Coltriella." She said in half a sneer. Dash stared at the princess and then Sabine incredulously, until Twilight nudged her.
"Dash, we can explain along the way. We're going to go speak with Terraria. Please trust me on this, Sabine isn't bad, she's just been a little secretive." Twilight rubbed against her side reassuringly, but Dash just snorted again.
"Just a little?" Fluttershy spoke up. Sabine met her eyes and nearly flinched. There was a bit of steel in her gaze that made her shudder. "I-I told you all those things..."
"Fluttershy, now's not the-"
Sabine interrupted Twilight before she could finish. "Yes, you did, and I'm sorry I lied to you all, I have been spying on you so the Princess would know you're safe. Anything I did or said was genuine. Ssssort of..."
"This is unbelievable!" Dash announced, and the three mares stared each other down while Twilight ran her hoof down the bridge of her nose. Sadi felt much the same way.
"What is unbelievable," Sadi snarled, then paused to swallow dryly, "is how much time we're wasting standing here when I could be getting you council and then going to bed."
"Sadi's right." Twilight interjected before any of the others could respond. "Yes this is a very tense situation and yes we were lied to but it wasn't malicious. Like I said, we'll talk about it on the way there, right now we need to focus."
Twilight met Rainbow Dash's eyes. The fire in those wine-red beauties spoke of angry, uncomfortable arguments she wanted to have. Dash's brow knit, Fluttershy wings flapped with agitation, but then Dash let out a low breath. "Okay Twilight." She gulped loudly and finally look at the princess floating by Twilight's side. "... Ma'am." Dash murmured gruffly as she gave her a slight bow, enough to please Twilight.
"As you were." Sadi nodded. Fluttershy did the same, and was met with the same response. "If it's any consolation, I shall take full responsibility for the blame you're placing on Sabine. She acted under my orders."
"But why?" Fluttershy asked with a hurt look.
"Carriage." Sabine answered in a grunt, looking to the light. "We can talk in the carriage. Right now, we're wasting time." Despite the hostile looks that met Sabine's insistance, they all started to move.
Rainbow Dash walked ahead, Twilight, Sabine, and Sadi just behind her, moving in a line, while Fluttershy floated down the stairs behind them. A carriage was at the very bottom of the steps, two guards hooked up to pull it, one sitting in the driver's seat, and four more standing around the sides and back.
The guard closest to the door quickly pulled it open, while Dash stood to the side. Twilight met her eyes briefly, and the two shared a small smile before Twilight climbed inside with Sadi in tow. Sadi was carefully settled onto one of the seats, facing Twilight, Sabine climbed in, followed by Fluttershy.
Sabine slid in next to Sadi, using magic to pull her pack off and bring out more tea, this time with five cups to go to each pony. Rainbow Dash stepped inside and paused. Fluttershy and Twilight both looked at her, until Fluttershy noticed her seating placement. Without thinking about it, she'd sat down right next to Twilight, leaving Dash at the end. The pink-haired mare quickly scooched away, and Dash happily took the now vacant spot.
Twilight and Dash thought little of it as they got the chance to sit back and cross hooves, both watching Sadi and Sabine. Sabine, however, took to watching Fluttershy. The pegasus didn't look particularly hurt by trading seats. It was common courtesy to let the couple sit together, but with everything she knew... it troubled her watching Fluttershy shut the door and lean back, an inch of space between her and Dash, while Dash and Twilight almost pressed to each others' sides. She wanted to say something, but knew it wasn't her place.
Also in trouble with the two. She'd nearly forgotten about that until Dash cleared her throat loudly. "Okay then, Sabine, let's hear it. What's going on?"
It was Sadi who answered, after taking a long drink from her cup. "It's simple. I asked her to spy on you."
"Why?" Dash demanded. Fluttershy leaned in to hear the explanation, all the while giving Sabine a few looks. Both Twilight and Sabine pitched in to help explain everything. Rainbow Dash kept her face a mask of stoic demanding, but when Twilight reassured her of... everything it began to crack a little. It all fit, and it even made sense, but one thing gnawed at her. "So, okay, you had to make sure we're safe and all that but... why try and be our friends?" Dash asked, staring Sabine in the eye with a worried look. "It's one thing if you're trying to be like, a ninja or something, but you went through all that effort helping us."
"Well," Sabine shrugged, "most ponies are more open with somepony they trust. So I figured-"
"No no, I get that." Dash waved her hooves and glared a little. "Why put so much effort into it though? You nearly got killed by those Golding ponies when we first met!"
Sabine crossed her forelegs and looked down. Her ears twitched in thought, and everypony expectantly awaited her answer. "I never really got the impression that you girls were up to anything 'bad'. I mean, you made yourselves look like foals jumping off that building, and you seemed more scared than anything. Those Golding ponies were causing a ruckus though, and trying to hurt you. I," Sabine thought a little longer and chewed on the inside of her cheek. "I wanted to protect you. I knew I couldn't use magic to help but I had to do something for you guys."
Dash went quiet. She crossed her own forehooves in thought, then let out a little sigh. "Thanks."
Sabine nodded back, smiling. It wasn't much, but it was something. Twilight looked immensely pleased, though Fluttershy... the way Fluttershy stared at her was unnerving. Nothing panic-worthy but it wasn't exactly happy, nor relieved. She kept a lot of secrets, true, and Fluttershy had let her in on a few herself.
"Milady." The carriage driver called through the small window into the back as it rolled to a stop. "We're here."
Sadi sat up quickly, and immediately regretted it. Amid the whispered curses, Fluttershy lead the way out, though not without shooting Sabine another quick look. The rest climbed out of the carriage and stood in front of the seventh wall. Twilight had never been past the fourth wall, but the seventh wall dwarfed the fourth wall in both height and construction. The stones making up the wall were gigantic, each nearly her size, stacked in uniform manner and raising to the sky. She imagined it got pretty cool in the shade here, but her attention was quickly drawn towards the shrine.
It was hardly even a building. It was built right into the wall, with a low roof jutting out over a squat, square doorway that didn't even have a door. A set of three stairs lead up to it, leaving Twilight quite... unimpressed. However, Sabine and Sadi were completely silent as the former lead the way upstairs. It was then Twilight noted that it was very quiet all around here. Looking past the carriage, she saw no other ponies other than her companions and the guards. this whole district of the walls was clear other than a few rough statues depicting a large, powerful pony, most likely a crude rendition of Terraria made by artists who didn't even know their fabled creator's name.
This area, maybe two-hundred feet of district was boxed in by low walls, and few voices carried over them. She could say a lot about the Coltriellans, but one thing she could confirm was that they took their sites of worship seriously. She wondered if any of the common ponies beyond the low walls knew what this place even was...
"Twilight." The unicorn quickly looked back. Sadi beckoned her with a weak wiggle of her hoof, and Twilight nodded. Reaffirming her hold on the princess, she walked inside.
The shrine was dark, cold, and no guards followed them in. Twilight couldn't believe how chilly it was inside of this simple, lightless building. It was almost a featureless stone box. Fluttershy huddled up next to Rainbow Dash instinctively and Twilight did the same, and the athletic pony tried to flatten her trimmed wings across their backs for comfort.
Sabine refused to say a word, and motioned for the other four to do the same. Rainbow Dash was about to open her mouth, and either thought better of it or Twilight's nudge got the point through.
Sadi dismissed the telekinesis holding her up and fell to her hooves, and nearly crumpled. Sabine was at her side instantly, helping her up until Sadi could hold herself. The princess walked to the wall furthest from the door while Twilight and her friends watched. The only feature in the whole room was a metal plate on the wall, which looked completely normal.
Sadi's horn started to glow, gold light streaming off it and grasping the metal plate. She gasped, her left hind leg giving out in pain, and Twilight nearly jumped forward but Sabine had her. Sadi's magic increased in intensity, and she began to shake, sweat beading on her body and leaking through her coat. "T-Terraria..." She whispered his name.
Twilight watched with increasing distress as Sadi's magic held the plate on the wall, and for several tense moments nothing happened. Then there was a grinding noise filling her ears. The ceiling, which she wasn't even able to see, was shifting above them, grains of sand and copious amounts of dust pouring out, making her throat itch and eyes water as she ducked her head to avoid it. Fluttershy's wings were flapping by her sides, pushing the irritants away from them when Dash quickly got their attention and pointed to the entrance. A single stone slab was being pushed from the ceiling, closing downwards, preventing them from leaving.
It was now pitch black inside the room, and Twilight chewed her lower lip. It was completely silent. Sabine didn't speak, and she feared doing so as well. She felt Fluttershy move in to block her from the other side, her two friends keeping her comforted in the darkness.
The plate on the wall lit up, but just barely. They could see Sadi was now on Sabine's back, staring at the plate as ethereal green energy, flowing like streams of water, swirled on the plate. The whole room as it was cast in a sickly green glow as the plate fully lit up. Fluttershy's feathers brushed across her back protectively as she stared with notable intensity. Rainbow Dash had unsheathed her sword at some point, and chewed on it nervously.
Twilight could feel it. An oppressive, powerful force seemed to surround them. It wasn't like being underwater, it was like being under the judging stare of a courtroom of accusing ponies. She shuddered as she felt her knees weaken, and Fluttershy began to pant heavily and shake. Rainbow Dash didn't show any outward changes, though Twilight could feel her heartbeat was racing in her chest.
She began to feel guilty. Immensely guilty, and she didn't know for what. She'd done something wrong and she didn't remember what it was, and as the green light grew-
Child.
The three mares gasped as the voice rang in their head like a gong, the deep, thundering male voice more like an avalanche, gems and rocks being crushed between steel drums, the thrum of the earth as it shifted and collided with itself. She felt faint. She could barely see Sabine, who was holding herself up on her front hooves.
What do you want?
Twilight could feel moisture in her ears. She hoped it wasn't blood. She opened her eyes and stared at the ground, her vision hazy as the crushing force grabbed her brain, her body, and her soul and began to wring any thought and feeling out of them. She felt Fluttershy collapse by her side, her legs spasming, kicking her lightly as Dash stood stock still. Her sword lay a foot away, her jaw dropped, her eyes rolled up into her head.
Then the force was gone. Twilight let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She panted, her eyes focusing as her mind stabilized, no longer being crushed by two grindstones. Fluttershy sat up, slowly, biting her lower lip as tears ran down her cheeks. Instinctively Twilight leaned over and helped her up, but neither of them said anything.
Twilight looked to Rainbow Dash. The pegasus was working her tongue around silently, licking up her own tears before they could reach her jaw. She shakily took a few steps and leaned down to pick up her sword. She lost her grip twice, then finally put it in her sheath and all but collapsed against Twilight.
Sabine was laying on her side, Sadi awkwardly positioned on top of her. Sadi lifted her head, and spoke quietly. "We have somepony who was sent to speak to you."
The glowing green plate shimmered silently for a moment, and things were quiet. Everypony stared at the plate.
Then, before she knew what was happening, Twilight's ears were filled with her own screams, Fluttershy's a distant echo to her side. She collapsed as Dash slammed into her, and her vision was suddenly filled.
'- take you as my personal student -' Celestia whispered.
'- make some friends!' Spike smiled.
'- friends-' Applejack waved to her.
'- hang out-' Rainbow Dash flew away from her.
'- what friends do!' Rarity chirped.
'- baby dragon?!' Fluttershy gasped.
'SURPRISE!' Pinkie squealed.
Thousands of images flashed across her eyes. Her friends' faces, Nightmare Moon laughing, the return of Princess Luna, the defeat of the Hydra, the taming of the bear, the wreck they made of the Gala, the net slamming her into Dash, the face of Rukafelth, the test, Tanat, then her mind froze as Anemone came into view.
Echoes of his voice playing through her mind as he asked for her help and heaped gifts onto her. Then the image in her head froze at Anemone's truly relieved smile, his domain around him cleansed of its disturbing impurities, his gentle laugh playing through her mind over and over again. That oppressive force lessoned around her mind, but she felt something grasping at those thoughts desperately, trying to hold onto the image as it slipped away, pulling it back briefly but it kept leaving faster and faster until all she saw was darkness.
Then every memory from that point to now played, sped up, the voices blurring together until it was a static buzz in her mind that made her lose the feeling in her legs. Her vision came back and she was on the floor, on her side. Fluttershy had her hoof to her mouth above her, terrified as the tip of her wing pressed against Twilight's side testingly. Rainbow Dash was listening to her heartbeat, and finally stood when Twilight lifted her head.
The purple mare saw Sadi and Sabine staring at her. Sabine beckoned her with one hoof, and Twilight stood slowly. With Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash pushing her along, she approached the plate. It shown on her, making her blink back tears formed from the bright light. Her two guardians were pulled away by Sabine, who shushed them and watched Twilight carefully. She felt that force around her again, making her sieze up and shake, but it didn't dominate her senses the same way it did before. It was touching her, sizing her up this time, not judging her.
Who are you?
She silently screamed in her own head as the question sprang into her mind, overtaking her thoughts and forcing her to envision it clearly before it was swept away and allowed her to think. "T-t-Twi-Twilight Sparkle..." She stuttered out as the force of the question echoed in the back of her mind.
Why are you here?
When Terraria spoke, she saw nothing but the words before her, written in perfect Equestrian. His avalanche of a voice filled her ears, blocking out the sound of her own heartbeat. Every sense was taken and briefly enslaved to his words whenever he spoke, and her body rebelled at being taken so carelessly. "Anemom- Aneno- Anemon-"
Anemone?
She opened her mouth to cry out as the name, the question, the face, the voice, the vision, her past, her present, and everything intermixed at once, leaving no doubt who Terraria thought she was speaking of. "Y-yes! YES!" She cried out as the feeling left her. "He sent me here to you!" She wasn't aware she was screaming. She couldn't see the concern on her friends' faces as they watched her. This was worse than what the Golding ponies had force-fed her. This was worse than her horn growing.
...
The thoughtful silence was palpable. In her own head, she could visualize how he was thinking. She could feel it pressed down on her, a dozen questions flitting about, nearly springing to his lips but never being spoken.
Is he okay?
Twilight let out a tiny gasp, the power of his words not hurting her so much as concern filled each word, consoling not just her, but the very idea of Anemone. "H-he wants..." Twilight gasped for air. "He needs your help... yours' and Atmos'-"
!!!
The alarm sent shockwaves through her body, her adrenaline flowing as her heart beat increased exponentially, and a mixture of anger and revulsion flowed through her, making her queasy with rage until it died off. Then her eyes began to sting. Tears flowed freely from them as she felt sorrow, regret, and self-loathing when the name came more clearly to her mind.
What does he need us for?
Talking became easier. Her thoughts were no longer overtaken by his will. He no longer demanded her fullest, most absolute attention. "The world is in trouble." Twilight paused, her sore lungs expanding a few more times before the pain went away. "The leylines are draining, the world is dying out, things aren't peaceful, beasts are running rampant, Equestria's being invaded..." She spoke quickly, her tongue thick and her voice garbled with emotion.
...
She took a moment to catch her breath, to calm herself down, to bring herself back down into her own mortal body, where she could feel everything as it was meant to be. She felt through her skin, saw through her eyes, heard with her ears, smelled with her nose, tasted through her tongue... nothing out of place.
We must speak in person.
Twilight prepared herself with a wince, but the words didn't jump into her eyes, their meaning not clutching her body. The voice was more soothing, less like gravel under a wagon wheel, more like sand flowing across a dune. She bobbed her head in agreement, and then the force clutching her left. She collapsed immediately, the disk losing its glow.
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash charged forward and pressed to her side, looking her over with worry, but Twilight began to smile. They both let out relieved sighs, and then Sabine spoke. "... He answered you." She said, almost startled.
"We're in dire times." Sadi responded on her back, nestled against her mane, eyes closed. "He doesn't have to abide to his own rules if it inconveniences him."
"But what now?" Rainbow Dash asked, staring into Twilight's eyes with worry as the unicorn panted on the ground. Twilight carefully got herself to her hooves. She didn't feel numb, or dull, or anything negative. She felt strangely used, but not abused. His very presence had been controlling her body, but he did not harm her, even if it did feel like she was being crushed while they'd been speaking.
"He said we needed to speak in person." Twilight answered after several deep breaths. Her lungs burned a little, but nothing felt too terrible.
A few long moments of hesitation, then Sadi spoke. "That will be... difficult. He has never emerged from his exile..."
"Then, we'll go find him?" Fluttershy offered up.
Before anypony answered, the city shuddered.
----------
A good ways away from the front gate of Coltriella, Balla set her quill down and lifted her head as she heard rumbling outside her cabin. She raced to the deck of the ship where all of the crew had assembled at the side, watching the world around them shake. She rechecked the invisibility shield placed around her squadron out of worry, but found it to be perfectly intact. She scanned around her.
Every other airship's deck around them was filled with ponies watching the land. Dunes began to collapse, the dust and sand coating the outer walls of the city was shaken off, but the sturdy walls themselves stood fast.
"What's going on?" Balla demanded of the pony closest to her. She saw the pony shift out of the corner of her eye, and nearly recoiled as the foal's cap wearing skull smiled and shook its head.
"The divine are rearing their ugly heads." Cloppin said in a calm, reassuring whisper. "The world will be graced once more."
Ignoring his distracted tone, Balla turned her head to see what the massive cloud billowing half a mile from the seventh wall was.
----------
Centuries of piled gravel and stone, packed together into a hardened crust beneath the desert's surface cracked and rose upwards. The ever-shifting sand of Coltriella rose upwards and began to flee from the land around Coltriella, leaving the red, cracked stone underneath exposed to Celestia's sun as an invisible force pushed it all away. Ponies stood on the walls, hanging on for their dear lives as they gaped at the changing world around them, while screams rose up from Coltriella as if by a single entity.
Ponies hid underneath tables, carriages, and piled on top of each other to avoid the wreckage the tremors would leave behind. Despite the relative frailty of the buildings and walls in the face of the natural disaster, they stood strong, seemingly untouched by the force of the shaking, despite the fears of the city-dwellers.
Sul, high in her study tower stared out the window, the wrinkles on her face lax from concern, her inquisitive eyes wide, curious, and afraid as the Belezians and their Servants scrambled for cover.
Ha'Jin'Vega shattered the door to the Gardet's house as she barrelled out, barely keeping her balance as she tried to look around for the cause of the tremors, while Pinkie hopped out, curious but seemingly unimpeded.
The dragons in their stables roared and screamed in anxiety, trying to escape all at once as Applejack and Rarity shouted to keep them calm, but they and the rest of the animals were going crazy as they tried to keep their balance and escape. Applejack held onto Hayseed's foot, barely avoiding getting her lower legs crushed when the dragon stomped, and Rarity's panic began to become more real as tiny sparks erupted from her horn.
To'Ao'Coltriella hovered in the air above his city, high above his palace, his wings beating rhythmically as he sucked in deep breaths to calm himself as he watched the sand leave his city. In one certain spot, he could see the bare earth cracking, rising. One of the few pegasi the city had flew up to his side, panting and staring at him confused, wide-eyed. "Sir!" He announced, saluting quickly. "What's going on?!"
Ao worked his jaw silently and closed his eyes. Terraria... He glanced to the pegasus flying next to him, then the rest of the pegasi scrambling below him. Sadi was meeting with Terraria. It was the best explanation he could come up with. His daughter was out exerting herself. He felt a bubble of panic in his stomach, but let out a small sigh. "Sadi knows what she's doing. Keep an eye on things."
The pegasus stared at him, but nodded in understanding.
----------
Twilight was underneath not just one, but two pegasi. Fluttershy had thrown herself on top of Twilight to guard her with her own body, while Rainbow Dash stood over her. Sadi was lying on her side on the ground, staring around rapidly while Sabine stood over her just like Rainbow Dash.
The world around them was trembling, and Dash and Sabine only barely kept on their hooves as the plate on the wall slid into the wall. The back wall of the shrine fell outwards, revealing the world outside Coltriella, and the bare earth beneath the sounds as mountainous piles of sand collected at a certain distance from the city, stopping at a certain point.
Half a mile away, the bare earth was cracking as the tip of a massive stone punctured through it. The stone rose, pushing aside earth, destroying the thick foundation that had laid there since the beginning of the era. It increased in thickness with every passing second, turning from a simple rock into a mountain as it seemed to pull itself from the very core of the earth. Terraria's voice suddenly wasn't as terrifying as the way the mountain sounded as it scraped against the ground.
Then, when it towered above Coltriella, casting a massive shadow across it, dwarfing the palace's highest tower, it finally stopped. The world stopped shaking. There wasn’t any wind. The bare land around Coltriella remain unmarked. Twilight carefully stood, nudging Fluttershy to her hooves so she could move to the edge of the room with her and Rainbow Dash. They stared out at the mountain across from them.
"Nopony said anything about this." Sabine whispered. Sadi was on top of her again, wide-eyed, for once seemingly not troubled by her illness as she stared at the mountain.
Its highest point stood like a spire, serving as the backbone for the width of the natural stone monument. From its highest point it tapered down quickly on all sides, but more so on the side facing the city. While it was gigantic, and enormously thick, the side facing Coltriella was more concave, shaped like it was attempting to engulf the circular wall of the city.
Directly across from the shrine was a visible platform.
Twilight lifted her hoof to cover her eyes as a strong wind suddenly blasted the city, nearly pushing an unprepared Fluttershy off her hooves. Sand flew at the wall, and all of them shared a moment of panic as the wall of sand threatened to bury them, already trapped in the room from one side. Yet, the instant it reached the open-walled shrine, it flew backwards, towards the mountain. It curled in itself, tons upon tons of sand swirled, pressed into itself, and became solid.
From the open wall of the shrine, a bridge of sandstone was formed, stretching towards the platform on the mountain. It was flat, featureless, no rising supports to keep it aloft, but it was there.
Twilight stared across it in disbelief, but then felt an odd surge in her horn. Powerful magic was emanating from the mountain, beckoning her inside. A spell entered her head, nothing too complex but... special. It was to reach Terraria.
She took the first step onto the bridge, eyes focused forward. Dash frowned, but followed and Fluttershy flapped her wings a few times to catch up. Sabine brought up the rear, staring up at the mountain in awe with her passenger.
Their hooves made audible claps against the bridge beneath them. It was as hard and smooth as a marble slab, created with perfect precision. Fluttershy stared down at the ground over the side of the bridge as they walked. They must have been twenty feet above the ground, without any supports or rails, but Twilight walked fearlessly ahead.
Fluttershy gulped and steeled herself to move forward. They were one step closer. They couldn't turn back now.
----------
Balla lowered her binoculars, then tossed them behind her towards another unicorn as she stared at the moving figures on the bridge. She ground her teeth together and turned her head to face the crew. "Bring us in, slow and silent." She checked the invisibility shield one last time as the ship broke formation from the fleet.
----------
Halfway across the bridge, she sped up, trotting quickly towards the platform and the door it lead to. The rest sped up to match her pace. When they reached the platform, Twilight took quick note of its features. The area they stood on was perfectly flat, no rises or pits, no cracks or anything. The door, which was large, made of two rectangular stone sections, and looked carved from the mountain itself, stood ominously.
"Sadi..." Sabine whispered in awe.
"I see it." Sadi whispered back as they stepped onto the platform.
Twilight eyed the doors with growing anxiety and excitement. They were here. They were finally here. They were going to see Terraria...
"We did it!" Rainbow Dash finally spoke up, bumping into Twilight playfully.
Twilight yelped as she stumbled forward, then turned and smiled mischievously at Rainbow Dash. "Little sneak." She sprang towards her, and the two embraced. "We're here. We're finally here." Twilight sighed happily. After days of waiting, of being unsure, of worry, of confusion, of emotional crap, they were finally where they needed to be.
They split apart, and Twilight turned her smile on Fluttershy. Fluttershy nodded, managing a tiny smile as well. She hid everything else, and then looked to the door nervously. She had a strange feeling. They were here, but...
Twilight faced the door, and her horn began to glow. The spell Terraria left her with came out naturally, and the door creaked as the two stone slabs opened outwards, inviting them in, towards a deep, dark stairway leading down, into the mountain. They couldn't see too far past the darkness, but the call was stronger than ever.
"Alright girls..." Twilight whispered, taking in a deep breath. "This is what we came for." Her chest swelled with pride as Fluttershy came and stood next to her, staring down the stairwell with a rapidly beating heart.
"Twilight Sparkle." Twilight turned to face Sadi as she spoke from Sabine's back. She walked over to the princess, and smiled. "I wish you the best of luck. I'm sure you can overcome whatever trials Terraria has set up to keep interlopers out."
"There's nothing to worry about, Princess." Dash strode up next to Twilight confidently. "We'll be back in no time."
"I'm sure." Sadi nodded softly, and Sabine beamed.
"Yeah. I'm going to return the princess to the palace and report to her father. This is, well, incredible..."
The four kept speaking as Fluttershy stared down the stone stairwell into the darkness below. She felt an odd bit of panic. There was nothing necessarily dangerous about the stairwell, but she couldn't help but have the feeling something was wrong.
"Could you please report to Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie too? They'll want to know where we've gone." Twilight asked, and Sabine nodded.
"No problem, Queenie."
Twilight turned to face the door, ready to join Fluttershy, when a distant cracking noise made her ears twitch. She hit the ground numbly, her mind confused, her eyes fuzzy. She heard screaming around her as splitting pain spread across her back. Something warm was dripping down her side. Fluttershy turned to face her, and her eyes widened.
"H-huh..." Twilight whimpered out as what felt like acid spread down her spine and down her legs, her mind scrambling with terror as she heard that cracking sound again. Dash suddenly leapt in front of her, shouted something, and was bowled over as a larger pony slammed into her.
There was action all around her as multiple Dashs appeared. Something grabbed her and hoisted her off the ground, and then blue Dash leapt up to grab her but a gold armored pony crashed into her. Sabine was sprinting away, Sadi on her back, being tailed by multiple soldiers, while Fluttershy backed away from the violence in silent terror.
"Return!" A female voice shouted above Twilight, and she risked looking upwards. A mare, purple much like herself, in a regal uniform was hoisting her onto a boat, a circlet around her head glowing brightly with magic as she looked into Twilight's face with one eye. Dozens of ponies leapt onto the ship as Twilight was suspended just above its edge by magic.
Her own magic wouldn't come to her horn. It felt dead inside her veins. Her legs hung limply in the air, and she could only stare down at the mountain's platform as Dash screamed up after them.
"Fire." The purple mare ordered, and from the side of the ship, a white-hot blast of condensed, volatile magic hit the platform and exploded, tossing Rainbow Dash off the mountain. Fluttershy was nowhere to be seen. The doors were destroyed, rock crumbling to cover the entrance.
Twilight was dropped unceremoniously on the deck, twitching in agony, feeling returning to her legs. She looked up at the mare as she walked closer, to stare down at her prisoner. Twilight met the mare's single eye.
"Twilight Sparkle." Balla spoke up in an authoritative voice. "It's about time you paid for your crimes."