Chapter 20
I arose from unconsciousness suddenly. I tried to inhale but only drew water into my lungs. I struggled against arms that I could not see, trying to get above water. I could feel myself rising out of the water, and I gasped loudly as my head emerged. The cold air shocked me, making me shiver. I sputtered, completely soaked. I couldn’t see anything through my wet mane hanging over my face.
“Again, Gespard.” Said a deep voice. I was again plunged into cold, cold water. The water got into my eyes and burned. I coughed and retched when I was taken back out.
“Over here.” The deep voice said. I was moved through the cold air and placed on a hard surface. I tried to get my mane out of my face as I heard a pony trotting over to me. I parted my sopping mane from my eyes to see Othello staring at me intently, not inches from my face.
“Tell me what you saw, Edwin.” Othello said in a desperate tone.
“What?” I asked, the fog of unconsciousness still polluting my mind.
“Tell me what you saw! Before you lost consciousness! TELL ME WHAT YOU SAW!” Othello boomed at me, his mane waving with wind that was not there. I cringed away from his violent anger. I knew immediately exactly what he meant.
“It was a white pony! It was wearing a black scarf!” I pleaded with Othello. His eyes grew wide. He straightened himself, rising to his full height.
“Are you sure that it was wearing a black scarf?” Othello asked. I nodded.
“Are you sure that its hair was black? Did its tail match?” He probed deeper. I nodded again. His expression grew stony. I looked up at the towering Numbered, afraid. He could do anything and I could do nothing to prevent it. I gulped, knowing that he could kill me. He looked back to Gespard. I looked back as well, seeing the blue pony nod. I could see that we were in a cold stone room, not unlike the catacombs where the Doctor parked his tardis. I coughed, inhaling dusty air.
“I am going to talk to Princess Celestia for a moment, Edwin. Being a ranking officer in the Royal guards, I would ask you to accompany me to keep the peace. Our discussions tend to get the slightest bit... Heated, if you will.” Said Othello. I looked up to him, my mane completely plastered to my face. Othello noticed.
“Sorry, let me get that for you.” He said. He closed his eyes and the room grew much hotter. I could feel the heat radiating off of him, nearly burning my face. My hair was drying out quickly. I got to my hooves and shook the water out. When I was done, I looked to Othello. He looked over my shoulder. We were in a small stone room, but it had a small stone pool in the middle of it. I turned to see what Othello was looking at. There was a single small window, through which I could see the deep orange of dusk. Othello sighed, and I turned to look at him.
“This is a very important matter, so we will be teleporting into the entryway of the throne room. I would usually like to walk there, but this is of such import that we do not have the luxury of time. I would like for you to go first and announce my arrival, if you would, Edwin.” He said much more calmly than his earlier words. I nodded. I closed my eyes and thought of the grand doors of the throne room. The cool breeze felt slightly chilly against my wet body. I opened my eyes to see the large, ornate doors of my imaginings. I walked up to one, and knocked on it. The loud sound reverberated through the hall that I was in. The door creaked open to reveal a medium sized grey pony wearing a golden scarf. He didn’t open the door all of the way, but stuck his head through the opening.
“Antony! It’s been a while.” I said, feeling happy to finally see him. Antony smiled as well.
“It certainly does seem so. What brings you here?” He asked quietly.
“I’m here to ask the Princess for an audience on behalf of Othello.” I said. Antony’s eyes seemed to betray a wariness.
“I don’t know if she would be too happy to see him, but I will announce you anyways.” The grey colt said, retracting himself from the door. It swung slowly shut behind him. I looked behind me to see Othello.
“What did he say?” He murmured, his voice carrying through the halls.
“He said that Celestia would not be to happy about it, but he would see if she would let us in.” I replied. Othello sighed.
“I do miss the peacetimes, Edwin. So much less complicated, so much less busy. I could sit down and read without anyone coming to tell me something or other went wrong. It was a simpler time...” He trailed off, remembering the times between cataclysms. I looked down at the thick purple carpet, wondering about whether I would live to see it. He seemed to pluck the thought out of my head.
“Don’t be so glum, Edwin. One day this will all be over and peace will again reign in Equestria. It is a much different place when it is not in danger.” he said, fondly reminiscing over times long past. I looked up to him, truly seeing what the pony was. He was an arbiter. A keeper of peace in all senses of the word. Fighting may come easily to him, but he does not go easily to it. The crimson stallion was a pacifist, drawn to defend the sacred trust of his order only in times of gravest danger. The idea of a pacifist Numbered made me smile, thinking about how much more happy I would be if I were not required to fight all of the time. I was thinking of this when I heard a quiet creak behind me. I turned around to see Antony sticking his head out of the door.
“The Princess will see you now.” He said. I walked forward, but Othello coughed. I looked back to him.
“I would like to talk to her, Edwin, so if you would stay by the door by Antony.” He said. I nodded, finding this slightly odd but not wanting to object. I walked in to find Celesita talking to a small green pony to her side. The green pony had an large assortment of fabrics draped across her back.
“Yes, the blue one I think, Luna would like that.” She murmured quietly. My Numbered ears picked it out of the air as clearly as if she had said it right beside me. The green pony nodded once and disappeared behind her throne. She turned to Othello and I. I stopped at the door, waiting next to Antony while Othello continued on to the middle of the room. Celestia smiled as she saw us.
“Othello and Edwin! What a pleasant surprise. What brings you two here today?” She said cheerfully. Othello said nothing, but continued on to her throne. He bounded up the steps leading up to her and stood over her imposingly. He reached behind his shoulder with the opposite hoof. He slammed it back down and struck the Princess across the face. Her face followed his hoof down, leaving her looking at the ground to her right. There was a small trickle of blood coming out of the corner of her mouth. Antony growled behind me, and I could feel him release his magic. I turned back to him to see his horn stop glowing. I heard Othello grunt as I turned back to him. He looked like a grim pincushion. I could see three hilts with glowing plum gems in the pommel sticking out of him, with the tips sticking out of his belly, dripping blood. There were two daggers sticking out of his long, crimson neck. Celestia turned one large, surprised purple eye to the two of us, then up to the dying red stallion. Her mouth hung agape as she stared up at him.
“You know how dangerous they are, Celestia! Yet you aided it and let it into the palace! It could have killed something! It probably did!” Othello managed to say. The Princess just looked at him, completely stunned.
“He made me an offer I could not refuse, Othello! I had to!” She said with the same intensity.
“You are a Goddess! You could have said no at any time! To be held hostage by a small white pony? It is unbecoming of you, Princess!” Othello retorted, his voice growing weaker as the pool of blood under him grew larger.
“He said that he could find all of the spies in my Palace! I could not turn it down!” Celestia said, looking up at the dying colt. Celestia turned back to Antony and I with a scared look of shock on her face.
“Get rid of them, Captain Antony!” She shouted. His horn glowed and the swords disappeared. The blood flowed even faster from Othello, like a faucet being opened. He fell over, landing with a loud thump. I leaped over to him, bounding across the room up to the throne. I placed my hooves on Othello and poured my energy into him I could see the wounds slowly closing on his sides. He looked up to Celestia with a tired eye.
“We killed them for a reason, Princess. They were too dangerous to be left to their own devices. One would get bored after millennia of dormancy, kill an entire city, and then run for years. It took us centuries to find all of the wild Ghosts and kill them. And you are keeping one like a pet.” He said, wheezing on his words. A trickle of blood ran out of his mouth. Celestia looked up to me, completely scared.
“Save him, Edwin.” She said, her voice full of urgency.
“I’m trying.” I replied angrily. My magic was barely working to heal him. Othello coughed, and we both looked down at his bleeding body.
“The only reason we kept Edwin was because he could have killed us all if we tried to kill him first. That’s how it was to begin with, but with time he became... Trustworthy. He was not inclined to the mindless violence of his brethren. He was-” His voice hitched and He coughed up blood.
“Princess... Look after Edwin. He is- He is all we have left. Our only hope against the Angelic horde, and the only one who can start the ceremony to summon the next Numbered. You must trust him implicitly, and do everything that you can to help him...” He trailed off. I could feel him growing colder under me. I pushed harder with my hooves, trying to force the magic to flow into him faster. It was a small trickle of magic into him, making his wounds heal at an incredibly slow rate. It was almost as if he was resisting my efforts.
“No, Othello. Don’t die...” I said, trying to force my magic into him. The wounds began to heal somewhat faster, but that was not the problem. He was losing copious amounts of blood. Celestia and I were both standing in a puddle of crimson.
“Edwin... No... Don’t. This is my time. I’ve lived a long, full life. Two of them. I’ve fought, I’ve laughed... I’ve loved.” He said, looking at Celestia. She laughed once through the sobs now shaking her shoulders.
“Don’t go, Othello. I wouldn’t know what to do without you. I’ve known you since I was a little filly. You were always there to help. Please don’t go. There is so much more. So much is yet to happen. So much more to see.” She whispered. He smiled in a knowing fashion.
“And I’m about to see it. Goodbye, my Princess... May we meet again on warmer shores...” He whispered. He closed his eyes. He drew one more ragged breath, and then it left him. He grew limp. His whole body drooped. The blood stopped flowing from his wounds. Celestia sobbed louder, leaning down to look at him. She wept over him, getting lower to the ground. She lied down on the ground next to him in the puddle of his blood, looking down at his dead body.
“Princess...” I said tentatively.
“Leave.” She said. She was not looking at me, but had her neck draped over Othello. Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears.
“What?” I asked.
“Leave!” She shouted, turning to me. Her horn glowed for a second, and I felt a strong blow to my chest. It sent me flying through the air and slammed me into the large wooden doors. The blow made all of the air go out of my lungs, and I landed hard on the throne room floor. I looked over to Antony. His face was contorted into a look of confusion and pain. I got slowly to my hooves and looked at him. He looked back to me.
“Edwin... What have I done?” He said, looking down at the floor. I paused for a second, truly wondering the import of his actions. I choked with the finality of Othello’s death.
“Your job.” I said, walking out of the door.