Regression

by chief maximus

The Masks of Power

Eros gawked at the magnificent buildings surrounding him as they entered the center of the city. Even in such disrepair, they were even more beautiful than anything he'd ever imagined. Griffon architecture was mainly functional, with little time spent on aesthetics. These buildings seemed to have both in mind, and integrated wonderfully.

Apple Bloom seemed to notice his stare. "Pretty neat, huh?"

He turned to her and nodded before resuming his attempts to take in his surroundings. "What are all these buildings for?" he asked.

Apple Bloom moved to his side of the cart and sat next to him. "That one's the temple of the sun and moon," she said pointing to a grand structure in the distance. "That's where the legends say the Princesses defeated Discord and founded Equestria."

Eros squinted against the sun. "They beat him in that building?" He'd heard of Discord, but only thought he was a legend, not an actual being.

"No," Apple Bloom laughed. "They built it over the site. They froze him in stone and stuck him in the palace gardens."

They continued down the bumpy road, Apple Bloom wearing the smile she'd had since Spike delivered the news of her friends being alive.

Eros couldn't blame her. Try as he might, everything around him seemed so surreal. It was as though none of this were real, as though he'd return home to the Iron Mountains after all was said and done, and go back to his normal life of schoolwork, friends, and dodging detention. He could picture his home now. Eros closed his eyes for a moment, swearing the smell of his mother's wood-burning stove wafting through his neighborhood as he made his way home from school.

His modest house filled with the smell of her cooking around sunset, and he could almost feel the dust beneath his paws as he pushed through his front door, the hinges announcing his presence before he ever had to. His Mom would smile, tell him dinner was nearly ready, and ask him how school had been that day. Inevitably, he'd tell her it was 'fine' and usually nothing more, but she was fine with that, it seemed.

A particularly nasty jolt pulled him from his memories, accompanied by the snap of splintering wood. The cart heaved violently, nearly dumping Eros and Apple Bloom into the street. Eros' glanced across the cart to see Apple Bloom with a hoof rubbing her jaw.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just bit my tongue." Apple Bloom climbed out of the cart and spit on the ground beside the cart. A streak of crimson mixed with her saliva as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hoof. Eros jumped out of the cart and inspected the damage with his father. Argos knelt beneath the cart and sighed heavily.

"It's just a broken spoke, but it'll take some time to fix," his father said as Spike came up behind them.

"Sorry, I should have kept a sharper eye out for potholes."

Argos shook his head. "No, it was no fault of yours. I was the one driving the team, I should've kept better watch."

Spike glanced down the road and smiled. "Good news is, we're almost there. You think it'll make it a quarter of a mile?"

"I think it will, but we'll need to lighten the load as much as possible." Argos turned to his son and the filly that had walked beside him. "I hope you two don't mind walking for a bit."

"No sir, I'm fine with walkin'." Apple Bloom answered.

"Me too!" Eros followed, as though she'd beaten him to the punch.

His father smiled. "Well then, let's press on, and hope the wheel will last."

"Your Highness, Spike has returned with the outsiders."

Twilight's head rose from her scroll. She set the quill back in her ink jar and removed herself from behind her desk. With a quick spell, her crown and hoof-guards adorned her as she walked to the door of her chambers with the guard that had summoned her.

"What was the final count of their party?" she asked, shielding her eyes from the sunlight with a wing as they entered the courtyard.

"One adult griffon, one adolescent, and an earth pony filly."

Twilight's heart jumped in excitement, even though she'd known Apple Bloom was with them before. The grazing wasn't known to attack griffons, and thought of an earth pony having resisted the grass for so long outside the protection of her compound stirred a feeling in her she'd not felt since before this disaster visited her kingdom. "How is she?"

"She's fine. She answered questions, never tasted the grass, and seems normal overall." Twilight couldn't help but smile. The expression felt almost alien on her lips. It had been so long since she had a reason to do it genuinely. She put on a brave face for those still under her rule—as well she had to. If her subjects thought even for a second that she'd contemplated all hope being lost, then she would be ruling nothing but an empty keep, waiting alone for the cravings to take her. Twilight stopped at the statue of Celestia and Luna in the courtyard. She could see the outsiders cart being inspected by the guards, and they themselves being checked for grass.

It was a necessary, if not a bit degrading step. Twilight was still unsure what exactly triggered the grazer's cravings, but keeping any and all grass out of her domain seemed to be working.

The fluttering of wings drew her attention over her shoulder. "Are they here?" Rainbow Dash asked, with Fluttershy landing softly behind her, each with a Cutie Mark Crusader on their back. Twilight smiled at both fillies, their wide eyes looking to her expectantly.

"Rainbow Dash told us you had a surprise," Scootaloo said impatiently.

Twilight looked to her. "You didn't tell them?" she asked.

"Nah, I figured you could use a win." Dash winked, letting Scootaloo slide off her back as Sweetie Belle did the same.

Princess Twilight nodded a wordless thank you before looking down to the fillies she'd practically seen grow into young mares before her eyes. "We have visitors from outside today," she said softly. "One I think you might know."

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo exchanged glances. "Someone we know?" Sweetie asked.

Twilight stepped out of the way, motioning toward the gatehouse where Spike and three figures approached the statue. The way the two fillies eyes widened was worth all the freshly foraged food and sips of stored wine in the world. Wordlessly, Apple Bloom broke into a run, as did Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Twilight cringed in anticipation of the three of them colliding, but instead, they stopped, simply content to stare at each other for a time. She could guess what was running through their minds.

Twilight tried to imagine herself in their position. She imagined it was Princess Celestia coming home to her, or her brother, or her parents, or Cadence, or Rarity, or Applejack, or...

She paused, feeling a stinging in her eyes as she watched the fillies hug each other, tears and sobs serving as the only greeting between the three of them. No mistake about it, Twilight was happy she was able to give the girls something to be happy about. In fact, she'd wager every pony in the compound would be happy to hear the news. But, for whatever reason, she couldn't dwell on what they'd found today, only what she'd lost in the months prior.

Twilight desperately wished it were her celebrating a reunion. But instead, she would go back to her dreary lab, back to making hard and unpopular decisions for the best of the ponies still untainted by the blades. For an instant, she forgot herself, and allowed the true pain to show on her face. With a swipe of her hoof, the tears were gone, and her false smile had returned.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

For a brief, joyous moment, Twilight had mistaken Fluttershy's voice for one she'd longed to hear.

"Yes. Yes it is."

There had been a lot of hugs, and even a few tears once Apple Bloom had been reunited with her friends. Eros was happy for her, though it was a bit awkward at first. Eventually, they got around to the introductions.

"Girls, this is Eros," Apple Bloom said, motioning to the young griffon standing quietly behind her. "He found me in Ponyville with his Dad and helped me get here."

Eros blushed, not that anyone would have noticed. "I-uh... we were just passing through and..."

"Don't be so modest!" Sweetie Belle chided.

"Really, Eros," Apple Bloom agreed, turning to face him. "I don't know what I'd have done without y'all."

He glanced away from his paws, feeling the heat on his cheeks. Before the moment could get any more awkward, Scootaloo came to the rescue. "Hey, you guys should come check out the castle!"

"Yeah!" Sweetie Belle chimed. "We've got some time to waste before dinner."

With that, the four set off into the stone hallways of the once bustling castle. Eros had never seen such a palace. The ceilings were so high, he wasn't sure he could even see them. The echoing hoofsteps of the fillies he had been following led him to believe this place was a lot bigger than it looked. Only a few torches had been lit, though there were spots for many more.

"I forgot how creepy this place was..." Apple Bloom mumbled to herself.

"Hang on a sec..." Scootaloo said, stopping in her tracks. "Before we go any further, we have to do something." She turned on her hooves and strode towards Eros. "What do you know about the great and important secrets of Equestria?"

"The what?" Eros asked.

"How do we know we can trust you?" Scootaloo probed further.

"He saved my dang life!" Apple Bloom protested.

"Good enough." Scootaloo turned to her fellow Crusaders. "Looks like we'll have to perform the rites here."

Eros shifted on his paws. "Rites?"

"Eros the griffon, do you solemnly swear to uphold the truths, secrets and values of the Cutie Mark Crusaders?"

He shifted his uncertain gaze between each of them. "Uh... sure."

Scootaloo smiled. "Good! Girls, welcome the newest member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Sweetie clapped her hooves while Apple Bloom and Eros held their confusion.

"What's a Cutie Mark Crusader?" Eros asked, his question echoing through the empty hallways.

"We are! And you're our first male member," Sweetie Belle explained.

"Oh. So, why was that necessary, exactly?" he asked as they continued their walk down the darkened hallway.

"Because, only crusaders are allowed into the clubhouse!" she continued.

"You guys have a clubhouse here?" Apple Bloom asked.

"You bet! The Cutie Mark Crusaders are nothing without a clubhouse. C'mon!"

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle galloped into the darkness as Eros and Apple Bloom raced behind them. As he ran, the intermittent torch light illuminated tapestry after tapestry of Equestrian history. He hadn't known much about the subject, but judging by the illustrations, this had once been a great nation indeed. Though it was known throughout the land as a peaceful nation, Equestria seemed to have just as many banners depicting battles as well as times of celebration.

"Are you keeping count?" Sweetie asked.

"Yes, I'm counting!" Scootaloo snapped. "Twenty three, twenty four, twenty five! Here we are."

Eros stared at the blank brick wall before them. Before he could ask, Scootaloo reached a hoof to an empty torch mount and yanked straight down. With a grinding rumble, a section of wall swung open, revealing a tunnel small enough for the fillies and their friend to pass through. Cautiously, Eros followed his new friends down a hallway somehow darker than the one they had just come from.

For a moment, he followed the sound of their hoofsteps alone. Before long, a faint green glow appeared at the end of the long hallway. In a few short steps, he found himself inside what looked like a crystalized room. The ceiling was far lower than the decadent hallways they'd come through. In fact, he cleared it by only a few inches. Thanking his lucky stars that he wasn't claustrophobic, he continued to the center of the room, where a jar of fireflies cast their glow on the pages of coloring books and the few worn out toys that littered the room.

"Here we are." Scootaloo smiled, as though she had just come home from a hard day's work "Our clubhouse away from the clubhouse."

"It's... cool." Eros mused. And cool it was. Having a place to call your own, away from the rules most children are forced to live by was unthinkable. But they had it, sure enough.

"I know it's not as nice as the old one, but it'll have to work until Princess Twilight figures out how to fix everypony," Sweetie said, settling in on a soft but dirty looking cushion. Scootaloo took a seat near a scooter missing a rear wheel while Apple Bloom sat in the opposite corner. Eros took the hint and found the remaining corner.

"So, what was it like outside the wall?" Scootaloo asked. Eros had only just met this filly, but he could tell she hated being cooped up here more than her other friends. He sat up, shifting his weight so his sword rested naturally on his side. "Well, it's kinda..."

Apple Bloom spoke before Eros could find the words to describe the abandoned country.

"Lonely."

"Your son makes fast friends," Spike commented as he helped him repair the broken cartwheel in the courtyard.

Argos smiled. "He's always been a social one."

He followed the dragon's eyes over his shoulder, spying an alicorn and her friends walking toward them. "We'll unload the cart," Spike said, grabbing a large sack from the back of the cart. "I think Princess Twilight might want a few words with you."

Argos nodded. "I know how many gems are in each sack," he warned Spike as he strode toward the princess.

"Don't worry!" Spike laughed. "They'll be safe with me."

Before he could question the truth behind that statement, he found himself bowing before the ruler of the castle.

"Princess, it's an honor," Argos said sincerely.

"I appreciate the courtesy, but we haven't had much use for formality here," Twilight replied, bidding him rise. "Girls, do you think you could help Spike unload the cart?"

The mares by her side fluttered into action without a word.

"Would you like a tour?" Twilight asked, the first genuine smile she could remember coming across her lips.

"I would, your Highness."

She stifled a chuckle. "Please, Twilight is fine." The two began their walk through the castle grounds. Argos recalled what this place used to look like. Immaculate gardens, gleaming spires, polished marble, everything fit for royalty presented for all to see. Now, everything was the dull grey of concrete, hastily poured to cover every inch of vegetation or soil. The ponies within the castle walls wore masks of cautious optimism. Argos figured visitors were fairly rare. Looking around, he noticed a peculiar instance. The foals of the castle played games in the courtyard, as though they had been all their lives. As though nothing was the matter, as though a scourge hadn't ravaged their population and nearly wiped out their civilization. Something about it filled him with the same optimism he witnessed growing on the faces of all the adults he'd passed on his walk with the Princess.

As they went, Twilight began explaining the desperate times that had fallen upon their once spectacular nation.

"No doubt you've seen what's become of our lands on your way here."

"I have," Argos answered. "I've made this trip many times over the years, and always look forward to it. Suffice to say I was shocked."

Twilight nodded. "I'm sorry you and your son had to see us in our hour of peril. I'm working on trying to reverse whatever is happening, but it's a slow process." As they walked through the stone courtyard, they stopped at a fountain of Celestia and Luna, the water that once flowed from it having long since dried up. Argos stood before the once magnificent deities and held his silence. His guide continued to stare at the statues, as though through will power alone she would be able to keep the fountain flowing.

"They trusted me..." he seemed to hear Twilight whisper.

"Pardon, Princess?" he asked.

"Nothing." She shook off her brief moment of vulnerability like a fox shakes winter snow from its coat. "I don't suppose they need any introduction?" she asked, motioning to the statues.

"Not at all. I was never lucky enough for an audience, but a gem merchant doesn't usually require one." Argos wondered what had become of them, though he wasn't sure it was his place to ask. For the time being, he held his tongue.

Twilight moved on from the fountain and started toward the entrance to the keep. "Forgive me, Princess, but do you know what caused this to happen to your kingdom?" Argos asked, following her.

"I have a few ideas, but nothing proven," Twilight sighed. "But, with your arrival, my fortunes may have just been reversed."

"How is that?"

Twilight stopped at the gates, the two guards posted at the door saluting as she approached. "We will discuss that later. For now, I'm sure you're exhausted from your journey." Argos couldn't argue. It had been a while since he had bathed and preened properly, and he had no doubts he was nowhere near presentable to royalty. Twilight turned to her guards. "Make sure Argos and his son have everything they need."

"Yes, Your Highness! Please, follow us." From a distance, the guards looked as any other Royal Guard might have looked, back when the kingdom was untouched by this plague. Upon closer inspection, Argos noticed that one of the guards was barely more than a colt, and the other a frayed-looking old stallion. Their armor hung loosely from their frames, as if meant for a much stronger and fitter pony. When Argos glanced back toward Twilight, all he caught was her tail disappearing into the shadows of the inner keep. As he did, his eyelids began to grow heavy. Silently thanking the Princess for keeping the tour brief, he followed his escorts to his and his son's new accommodations.

The old corridors held so many memories, Twilight sometimes loathed walking down them. If it weren't for her constant efforts to conserve her magic, she'd simply teleport everywhere. In truth, there were only three rooms she ever visited. She steered clear of the throne room. It simply held too many reminders of how far they had fallen. She scoffed at herself. Imagine, her, Twilight Sparkle, savior of Equestria, afraid of a room! Though she may have been a savior in the past, she certainly didn't feel like much of one now. How could anyone be called a savior in any capacity when they watched helplessly as city after city fell into madness and suddenly went silent?

She was no savior. Not until she passed this; her final test. Celestia had always told her that she could do anything she put her mind to. This time was no different. Though, it seemed much much different. She'd already lost some of her friends, and even her mentor herself. Where was she to turn now? Spike was there for her, but even he could only do so much. The answer to her problem was out there somewhere, she knew. But where?

A smile played at her lips at the thought of Apple Bloom. She had survived outside the walls, for weeks on end. She had been exposed to the grass, and yet nothing had become of her. She was still a normal filly, by all accounts. Twilight had to figure out what made her immune to the blade's power. For now, however, she would let the newly re-united Cutie Mark Crusaders have their night of happiness and joy. There was truly not much of that to come by as of late. Tomorrow, she would interview the newcomers in hopes of getting some useful information about the outside world and what had become of it.

But for tonight, a celebration dinner was in order. Tonight, she would have a reason to smile genuinely. And that pleased her.