Sky Dreamer was braced for what he had coming to himself now that he stood in front of Mistress Rarity, finally summoned to face his punishment for the incident at the Wall. He was not afraid, he believed he did the right thing in defense of his House, even if he had to go against his superior's wishes.
"Explain to me, 'Silent Wing', why did you disobey General Fancy Pant's orders?" Rarity asked, looking at him carefully.
"I had two reasons for that, mistress. Based on the information the prisoner provided me, the pony behind the attack was likely a cultist who I have encountered more than once and has gone out of her way to confront me. I could not let her endanger the Wall because of me. My other reason was simply the defense of the Wall. I was not going to sit idly while ponies risked themselves defending the Wall against the Cult, I had to do something even if it involved disobeying orders that were meant to ensure my survival," he explained calmly, trusting his words and tone.
"Oh, I see. Do you think you are more important than the rest of the soldiers, Silent Wing?" the Mistress asked, feigning surprise and offense.
"Not at all, which is precisely why I refused to go to a safer place when the security of our fortress city was threatened."
"...Let us move on then." Rarity did not show it, but she was slightly frustrated that Sky Dreamer could answer her so calmly. "Why did you release the prisoner?"
"He provided me vital information, twice, and played an important role in bringing the attack to a stop. If I may add, he also allowed me to confront the cultist I mentioned before and make it clear to her that Whitegold will prevail against the cult."
"Did you end her life?"
"No, mistress. Due to an unfortunate injury on my right foreleg, I was unable to land the coup de grâce before she escaped." Sky Dreamer himself felt regret at letting her escape, but he knew showing any emotion could turn out to be an advantage for Rarity against him.
"Unfortunate. Let us move on to the other reason I called you here..." Rarity smiled, a sign that things were either alright or truly bad for the pony she talked to. "I recently learned of a certain 'secret operation' in Fillydelphia to steal gems from their gem mines, and that such operation was deliberately kept a secret from me."
Sky Dreamer gulped, and if one were to measure his temperature, they would have seen a sudden increase.
"...And I was also told that you were the one behind it," Rarity finally said, her smile turning into an unsettling smirk. "And reports of the operation confirm this fact."
Sky Dreamer used his talent of quick thinking to think of a convincing excuse, though now it was failing him. "M-Mistress, I can explain. It was not my intention to hide this operation from you, but-"
Rarity put her crystalline hoof in front of him, waving it in a gesture to make him stop talking. "I believe you deserve a 'Congratulations' and a just reward for your actions, Sky Dreamer."
To say that Sky Dreamer was surprised would have been a huge understatement. Those words went against everything he knew about Rarity since he started to work for her. "Beg your pardon, mistress?"
"Do not act so surprised. You were vital to the defense of the Wall during the Cult attack and you successfully returned Fillydelphia's gems to their rightful owners, at the same time making Earthborn and the Cult fight each other, definitely decreasing their numbers. I must admit I am impressed. You have turned out to be a valuable asset to Whitegold, despite some...flaws."
"...Thank you, Mistress Rarity." Sky Dreamer bowed down.
"You will have time to properly thank me after your next assignment." Rarity levitated an envelope with her magic, giving it to Sky Dreamer. "Our spies in Hoofington have reported a decrease in their numbers, with the last discovered spy being found with his mouth cut and twisted into a smile."
"The Cult of Laughter...I understand, Mistress. I will deal with this as soon as possible."
"Good. Now, leave me."
Sky Dreamer bowed his head and left the room. Outside the room were Leaf Heart, now in a more elegant attire to help her blend in with Manehattan's populace, and Lucky Shot, waiting for him. As he expected, Leaf Heart hugged him, concerned, and he was quick to calm her down.
"So what happened in there, partner?"
"I honestly have no idea...but I'm afraid I will have to go to Hoofington...Cult problems."
"Are you at least off the hook with the...you know?" Leaf Heart asked, trying to be optimistic.
"Yes, I am." Sky Dreamer nuzzled Leaf Heart before continuing to walk.
***
Flying to Hoofington was a crazy idea, even if alone, so against his wishes, Sky Dreamer had to travel through the tunnels. It wasn't that he hated the tunnels, but it was natural for a pegasus to prefer flying and out in the open to travelling underground. Even with the Diamond Dog's carts, it took nearly one day to get to Hoofington, and one day away from the surface level did not make this Sky Dreamer's favorite trip. His only distracting thought was that Leaf Heart and Starsong could take this day to bond, and thinking about them inevitably brought a smile to his face.
Not long after taking a five hour nap, the Diamond Dogs operating the cart told him they arrived at his destination, so Sky Dreamer quickly got off the cart and walked to the tunnel's exit, carefully placed in the basement of the house of a Whitegold spy. He was greeted by his contact's wife, a unicorn mare in elegant clothes.
"Benvenuto, Silent Wing." The mare said as she motioned for him to follow her up the stairs.
"Thank you, Miss Pearl Serenade. I was somehow expecting to see your husband, where is he?"
"Quartz Sonata is currently at a rehearsal, you know musicians. He won't be back until tonight."
"I see. Well, let's do this quickly, shall we? Where should I go?"
"The last unfortunate victim was found in his house just a couple blocks from here, to the north. The house is the only one with a golden unicorn symbol on its door. He was a very professional spy, but we do not know how the Cult found him, and we know it's not a coincidence, considering how lately a lot of spies are showing up dead. You can look for clues there, the Cult likely left something behind."
"Perfect. I will return as soon as possible."
"Oh, one last thing. The Inquistion is around here, so unless you can hide that slave mark of yours, you will need to escape quickly."
Upon hearing about the Inquistion, Sky Dreamer immediately thought of Dusk Fire and Black Night. "...I will keep that in mind." He walked towards the door and opened it. "I will knock twice three times when I return."
"Buona fortuna, Silent Wing!" the mare said as he left and closed the door.
Sky Dreamer began walking to the north, avoiding eye contact with anypony as he used anything as a cover. However, as luck would have it, nopony bothered to look at him. He felt like he was in Manehattan again, except Manehattan did not have the Inquisition around. Upon reaching the house Serenade had described, he noticed the door was open, and he knew it wasn't a good sign. He carefully walked in, finding the house to be a complete ruin. The entire structure was nearly crumbling down, though what bothered him the most was the fact that the destruction seemed recent, and the smell of gunpowder was in the air.
"Alright, pal, put your hooves in the air and nopony will get hurt!" a high pitch voice shouted.
Sky Dreamer complied, but as he did so he looked around with his only eye. "It's so like the Cult to not respect the dead and destroy their homes..."
A group of ten cultist ponies came out from under the destroyed furniture, laughing at the statement. They surrounded him, pointing pitchforks and knives at him, all the while smiling at him. "Well what are you gonna do about it, brony?"
"Simple, I take my weapons and kill you all..." Sky Dreamer said, only to be met with more laughter. "...Or not. I could always do this instead." As soon as he finished, he took a smoke bomb and dropped it, then quickly flew up and hid on top of a still hanging chandelier.
Unexpectedly, one of the cultists began throwing bombs everywhere, destroying what was still standing in the house. However, this drew the attention of patrolling Inquisitors, and they decided to run into the house, finding cultists. Naturally, the Inquisitors fought the cultists, but they were outnumbered and the one Jester throwing bombs was not making it any easier for the Inquisitors. Sky Dreamer only watched, but knew he had to make a choice. He could either escape and return to Serenade, saying it was a Cult ambush and that he could not find any clues, failing his mission, or he could aid one of the two battling sides. He had no love for either of them, but he really hated the Cult, and he thought that perhaps the Inquisitors would at least let him go for helping them. He dismissed this thought as ridiculous, but then recognized among the Inquisitors the mare that was with Dusk Fire when he attempted to execute them, and thought that he could use her to get answers about Dusk. While the sane part of his mind said this was a bad idea, he flew towards the cultists and began killing them.
He focused on the bomb juggling Jester, seemingly a pink earth pony stallion, and after clearing out some of the cultists, attacked him. However, while he expected a battle, the Jester did not put up a fight. Just the sight of his friends being slaughtered made him cower in fear, making it really easy for Sky Dreamer to knock him to the ground. However, upon doing so, the Jester's bronze mask fell off, revealing that it was no stallion at all, it was a mare, leaving Sky Dreamer very confused.
"P-Please don't kill me! Wait...MY MASK!" The mare covered her face. "Don't look at me, I'm slightly less handsome!"
After taking a moment to absorb that, Sky Dreamer used his blades to threaten him, or rather, her. "Who are you? What does the Cult want with the dead ponies?"
"I don't know, honest! The orders came from Baltimare!" the mare cried, still attempting to cover her face. "Please let me go! I don't even like these ponies, they are all crazy!"
"Says the mare with a stallion mask...I will let you go, but you will tell the Cult to no longer mess with Whitegold, or else I will be there to stop it," Sky Dreamer said as he walked away from the Jester, his instincts telling him the mare was not going to attack him.
"W-Who should I say you are?" the mare asked as she got up and retrieved her mask.
"Tell them I'm the one with the eyepatch."
The mare ran off, blasting a hole through a wall and leaving the house. Sky Dreamer shook his head and looked at what had become of the battle. Only one Inquisitor survived, and precisely the one he was interested in.
She looked at him and her horn began glowing as a crystal orb floated in front of him, enveloped in a fiery aura. "Stand back!" the Inquisitor shouted, trembling.
Sky Dreamer did not even flinch, he could see how nervous the mare was. "...Is this the first time you confront an enemy, lady?" Sky Dreamer moved closer, the orb keeping its distance.
The inquisitor was about to cast a harmful spell when she noticed the eyepatch he wore. Recognizing him as the pony Dusk Fire attempted to execute, she slowly lowered her guard, though mostly out of curiosity. "You...You are the one who murdered High Inquisitor Black Night!"
"I assure you I had my reasons."
"...What reason could you possibly have to kill a High Inquisitor?"
"See this?" Sky Dreamer turned to show her his slave mark. "It was his fault."
The Inquisitor could understand a slave could want revenge against Moon and Star, but she still did not understand how that counted as a good reason, but she wanted to know something else first. "...Inquisitor Dusk Fire seemingly recognized you before attempting to execute you. Why? Do you two know each other?"
"It is a long story. We were friends before the war, best of friends, even brothers," he explained, the memories of the past slowly bringing sorrow to his mind.
The Inquisitor could tell it wasn't a lie, since Dusk Fire had implied that during his outburst and had even told her about it. "I see." The mare made the magic orb return to its normal state and put it away under her robes. "My name is Crystal Eclipse...I believe we should talk, Sky Dreamer."
"Of course." Sky Dreamer looked around for a safe place to talk, away from curious eyes from outside the house. He noticed the second floor had not suffered a lot of damage and was safe to use. He pointed upstairs and flew up, bringing her with him. They walked into the first room they deemed comfortable and sat down, Sky Dreamer removing his mask to talk to her more directly. "Tell me, Crystal Eclipse, what is your relationship with Dusk Fire?"
Crystal Eclipse smiled and blushed a little, looking down. "He is...my coltfriend."
Sky Dreamer was surprised to hear that, and at the same time he was somewhat happy for them. "Congratulations, I suppose."
Crystal Eclipse looked at him, her smile becoming a bit weaker. "Yes, he is a great stallion...When you overlook certain flaws."
"What kind of flaws?" he asked, intrigued.
Crystal Eclipse's ears lowered and her smile left her. "...He gets violent when angered."
Sky Dreamer could not believe what he had just heard. "He...He hurts you?" he asked, concerned.
Crystal Eclipse nodded. "When you escaped, I asked him about you, but he slapped me and said it was none of my business. He apologized immediately afterwards, though. When he learned of his father's death, I tried to calm him down, but he took out his anger on me."
"And you simply let him do it?!" he asked, both with surprise and with anger.
"He was sorry! And I didn't have much of a choice, trust me, he would have done worse if I wasn't around. His father was his only family, and losing him just made him lose his mind and I understand, truly. He explained that he was raised that way, and I respect that."
Sky Dreamer's anger boiled, he knew exactly who to blame for that. "Raised by his father, no doubt. His mother was always the one to oppose acts of violence when we were kids."
Crystal Eclipse noticed the aggressive tone Sky Dreamer used to mention Dusk's father, and she knew there was something to it. "...Tell me, what do you know of Black Night? What drives you to hate him so much?"
Sky Dreamer sighed, knowing he had to retell the story of how Black Night ruined his life again. "When the war started, my unicorn mother thought we would be safe in Canterlot, so she brought me and my pegasus father. However, shortly after we arrived, non-unicorn ponies were made slaves. A friend of my parents, a unicorn mage named Thin Veil, tried to intercede for us, but the higher mages only gave us the choice, it was either me or my father. My father went to the slave camps willingly so that I could be...'free'...My mother was allowed to raise me, as long as it was in secret. I often visited my father in the slave camps, but one day everything changed. An Earthborn force assaulted Canterlot, and my father was one of the slaves sent to fight. I watched from a safe place, I watched..." Sky Dreamer's eye watered. "...I watched as a certain High Inquisitor used him as a meatshield against a Juggernaut's charge. My father was, simply put, torn apart." He heard Crystal Eclipse gasp, but he did not look at her as he continued. "I ran back to my mother, telling her everything that had happened. That night, she tried to avenge my father, she tried to kill Black Night. But Black Night found her first, in her own house, and...He used his magic to create an orb of water and forced my mother's head into it. She tried to hold her breath, but she couldn't and...She drowned. I watched her die, I just stood there, unable to do anything, unable to move. When Black Night had finished her, he saw me, he laughed at me, and sent me to the slave camps himself. The next day, Thin Veil came to the slave camps to tell me that Black Night had managed to convince Moon and Star that my mother was a traitor...you can guess who they believed. In the slave camps, for the next 10 years, Thin Veil tried to make it bearable, visiting me every time she could, bringing me food, and she's the reason I only have one slave mark. One day I escaped...She helped me, giving me money to start a new life anywhere, and opening a hole in the slave dome so that I could escape. I owe her everything..." Sky Dreamer's tears flowed from his eye, and he could hear Crystal Eclipse was nearly crying herself. "...I traveled all over Equestria, eventually finding myself in Appleloosa. When I was there, Black Night was taken prisoner, and I saw him. I took the chance and killed him, and if I could, I would kill him again, and again, and AGAIN!" he said, his rage getting the best of him, before being reduced to tears. While he always put on the disguise of a strong stallion, deep down he was a tortured soul, and no matter how many times he would tell the story, he would always end up crying, though this was only known to his friends and daughter, and now to Crystal Eclipse.
Crystal Eclipse was shocked to have followed orders from such a monster, and felt sympathy for Sky Dreamer. Slowly walking over to him, she put a comforting hoof on his shoulder, but then gave him a soft hug. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry."
It took Sky Dreamer one minute to calm down, but right after doing so, he decided to ask about Dusk Fire. "How come you and Dusk Fire never knew of this?"
"Black Night...Truthfully, I never believed him, but Dusk Fire believed him when he said he would never hurt anypony for the wrong reasons. To Dusk, Black Night was like a hero, and anypony who doubted him was a fool. Dusk Fire, sadly, is really stubborn, both as an Inquisitor and as a pony...I'm...Sorry to tell you this, but, he has convinced the Inquistion and some of the officers that you are a threat that needs to be dealt with immediately. He even told me he would place a reward on your head if given the chance."
"...Sweet Heavens..." Sky Dreamer looked down as he realized what he feared and what Lucky Shot had told him was true. His friendship with Dusk Fire was gone forever.
"If...If you want, I can try to convince him otherwise. I don't care if he hurts me again, I am used to it, but he really needs to see the truth." Crystal Eclipse tried to reassure him with a smile. "He can listen to me...He has to.."
"...Thank you, Crystal Eclipse." Sky Dreamer smiled at her, before looking out the window and noticing it was almost sunset. "If you excuse me, I must return to Manehattan. Once again, thank you."
"No problem. May the Princesses bless you."
"...Yes, from wherever they are." Sky Dreamer moved towards the window and put his mask on. Waving at Crystal Eclipse one last time, he jumped out and hurried to fly back to Serenade's house. He was somehow glad to see that not all ponies in the Inquisition were monsters. Someday, he had to have a more casual talk with Crystal Eclipse...Of course, provided she was unhurt. He felt bad for Dusk Fire being manipulated by Black Night like that. At times like these, he wished he had his journal. If he showed it to Dusk Fire, there would have been a chance for him to understand.
He arrived shortly at the house, and knocked twice three times just like he had said. Serenade opened the door to let him in. "Welcome back, Silent Wing. Did you find anything?" she asked.
"No, but I made it clear to the cultists that Whitegold is not to be toyed with." Sky Dreamer went back to the basement to return to the tunnels, and to Manehattan. "I'm sorry, but I must return quickly, I beg you not to ask. I will see you later, Miss Pearl Serenade, tell Mister Quartz Sonata I said hello."
Serenade was slightly confused at his apparent hurry to return home, but in the end, she concluded all Nighthooves were the same. "Arrivederci, Silent Wing!" she said as the pegasus disappeared from her sight.