//------------------------------// // Seeing The Truth // Story: Wise Beyond Her Years // by Pen Stroke //------------------------------// Wise Beyond Her Years By Pen Stroke Preread, Edited, and Reviewed By Batty Gloom, Illustrious Q, Obselescence, El Oso Fangwarden, Kohta Izumi, Applejack-fan, Kirk Heller ===================================================================== Chapter 8 Seeing The Truth ==================== “Oh, and then we all sang a song telling what really happened. How Captain Nephthys was the dealer in the card game between Bermuda Bones and Sparrow, and how she made sure Bones won the conch. That way she could stop Bermuda Bones with Queen Oceania’s help, and she could keep Sparrow stuck on land because of how mad Queen Oceania was going to be when she found out Sparrow bet the conch on a card game. And it helped the pair realize Nephthys had split them up on purpose, and so they sailed off together on the Lunar Wind while me and all the sea ponies in the water finished the song.” “I don’t know, Pinkie Pie. Sounds like a tall tale to me.” Applejack said as she and Pinkie walked from the train station to the library. “Well, yours was just as tall and shorter. The Crystal Castle, which is alive, helped you find a memory stone. I mean, where were the evil, long forgotten knights of King Sombra’s reign? You should have had a big sword fight and a joust and—” “Pinkie Pie, I think I had more than enough on my plate, and I didn’t say the castle was alive. I think it’s just enchanted.” “Yeah, to be alive!” Pinkie Pie shouted, stopping in the street to wave her forehooves in the air. Applejack rolled her eyes and just kept walking. “Let’s just agree to disagree. Now, come on, we need to get back to the library to— Whoa Nelly!” Applejack and Pinkie Pie both stopped in their tracks, a large shadow having just passed over them. They and many residents in Ponyville had turned their eyes to the sky, where a big red dragon was coming in for a landing. There were shouts of panic. Ponies were running in any direction that would carry them away from the dragon. Except for Pinkie Pie and Applejack, who were running against the flow of the crowd towards the spot where the dragon was going to land. The street outside the library. Applejack tossed her head, trying to urge Pinkie Pie to run just a little bit faster. “Come on, we have to stop him before he... puts on a sweater...” The pair skidded to a stop after rounding a corner, minds dumbstruck by what they were seeing. The dragon, who was not ravaging the town in search of gems, was instead pulling a sweater the size of a house over his head. It was a wide mixture of colors in a geometric pattern. Perhaps a bit bold, considering all the colors involved, but the dragon seemed to appreciate it all the same. He smiled, gave a thankful wave of his claw, and then he took off, flying high into the sky before banking and heading northward. And in the wake of his departure, Applejack and Pinkie Pie saw Fluttershy waving a happy goodbye right back. “What in the wide world of Equestria is going on!?” Applejack asked as she and Pinkie Pie galloped up to the front of the library where Fluttershy was standing. “Oh, I was just giving that dragon a sweater I made him,” Fluttershy answered sweetly, as if she had just knitted a tiny sweater for one of the friendly, woodland creatures she took care of. “Whoa, you knitted all that!” Pinkie Pie pointed to the dragon that was now but a small dot in the sky. “Where did you get all the yarn!?” “And why would you knit a dragon a sweater? Aren’t they always warm cause of the fire in their chests?” Applejack asked. “Well, unlike most scaled animals, dragons are warm blooded, but that doesn’t mean they don’t get cold like we do. That poor dragon left some of his treasure in a northern mountain, but couldn’t go back to get it because of the weather. So I knitted him a sweater, so he can get his treasure and I think impress a nice girl dragon he mentioned.” “It did look like a pretty snazzy sweater,” Pinkie Pie commented. “But what about all the yarn!? I’ve never seen that much in one place in my life!” “Oh, well... while we were all doing our research, Twilight went a little overboard with her web in the library. So, Rarity thought the best thing we could do is take it down and sew all of it into something she wouldn’t be able to reuse.” Applejack nodded her head, looking at what was now the small speck in the sky that was the dragon. “I suppose that giving it to a dragon as something of a treasure is the best way to make sure Twilight can’t get it back. But where is Twilight now?” “In the library with Rarity and Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy said, the trio of mares turning and heading for the front door. “Rarity’s helping Twilight put only the most important parts of her yarn web back together. And Rainbow Dash... well, she’s helping too, but... she’s also kind of paying Rarity back for a favor.” At that Fluttershy opened the door, allowing Pinkie Pie and Applejack to see in. The library was now looking like a library again. Books stacked on clean shelves, the windows free from clutter and letting the light in, and the reading table set out with a few choice stories. And the web that had once choked the library was now a single flat piece of yarn, almost like a quilt. The important pieces of paper were sewn into the fabric and the strands of yarn themselves were woven through one another like a well organized train map. But that was not what drew Applejack and Pinkie Pie’s eyes. They were instead focused on Rainbow Dash, who was fidgeting and flapping her wings as she held a few free pieces of yarn. She was wearing what could only be described as a business suit, a darker tone of blue than her coat. Her mane was done up in a bun, she was wearing what some might say were fashionable glasses, and she looked like every moment of wearing the ensemble was pure torture. Applejack couldn’t help herself and burst out laughing at the sight. “Well now, didn’t think Manehatten would get to you that fast, Rainbow.” Applejack paused to clear her throat, and then continued to speak with such clarity and conciseness, one would think she had been raised all her life in the big city. “All it took was three days and now look at you: you are a regular cosmopolitan.” “Shut up!” Rainbow whined. “I’m not wearing this stuff because I want to.” “Then why are you wearing it?” Pinkie Pie asked as she bounded up beside Rainbow, using her hoof to gently poke at the pegasus’s side. “Uh... well... because... it’s a funny story. You see—” “I had to bail her out of jail,” Rarity said, coming down the steps that lead to the library’s second floor with Twilight a few steps behind her, looking well rested and far more sane than she had been just the day before. “ What did you do?!” Applejack snapped as her sisterly instincts, normally reserved for when Apple Bloom had done something wrong, became focused on Rainbow. “I didn’t do anything!” “Trespassing in The Museum of the Manehatten Phantom, theft of a map from said museum, resisting arrest, fleeing the police, putting a hole in the roof of grand central station, and calling that nice zebra police officer a few very colorful names while you were being interrogated.” Rarity listed off as she approached the web, taking a single thread of yarn and adding one more elegant line to her carefully-woven creation. “Rainbow Dash!” Applejack snapped, causing Rainbow Dash to flinch like a foal being punished. “It’s not my fault! The Kalaharis and that police officer are part of Twilight’s conspiracy! They were trying to keep The Phantom’s lair hidden, but I found it! I found the lair and all the stuff she stole over the years.” Despite wearing the business suit, Rainbow Dash found a reason to smile as she brought a hoof to her chest. “I was just like Daring Do. They’re even going to give me some of the credit when the new exhibit opens at the museum. “I would have gotten a finder’s fee too if somepony hadn’t given it away!” Rainbow’s eyes were fixed in a cold glare on the back of Rarity’s neck. “Your portion of the finder’s fee was what convinced the Kalaharis and the police to drop the charges, so consider yourself lucky,” Rarity said as she turned away from the web. “You couldn’t even leave me a little?!” Rainbow Dash snapped. “I could have gotten that flight suit I’ve been eyeing! If I’m going to join the Wonderbolts, I got to get used to flying in a flight suit!” Rarity huffed and glared right back at Rainbow. “Keep talking about suits, and the next one you’ll be wearing is this pretty pink number I’ve been working on.” “Girls, enough!” Twilight snapped, putting herself between her arguing friends. “We have bigger things to worry about. Did you forget about the organization we’ve been trying to uncover?” “Oh! Twilight! Twilight! That reminds me, I have so much to tell you about Captain Nephthys!” Pinkie Pie said with a bounce. “I found out about her and sea ponies and immortal pirates and undead pirates and got to sing two songs! Two! It was the best pirate adventure ever! And it all started when I met this old pirate in a bar.” ~~~ “Tell me your secrets.” Twilight whispered these words as she gazed upon what was, for the moment, the completed conspiracy quilt. The important information her friends had gathered had been integrated, and the quilt was now surrounded on sides by pictures Rarity brought back from Canterlot. Photographs of old portraits that hung in the private collections of the capital’s wealthiest families. Those high quality photographs were complemented by rough copies of newspaper articles from Fluttershy, the broken crystal Applejack had found, and some blurry images from the Kalaharis’ museum. In all the information, in all the pictures, the simple theme continued. Zebra, doing things that had some lasting impact on Equestria who then vanished in their youth. “And are you sure Nephthys still fits the pattern?” Rarity asked as she and the other mares stood a few steps behind Twilight. Pinkie Pie nodded. “Eeyuperooni! Queen Oceania mentioned that she gave Nephthys a favor, for saving her from falling into Bermuda Bones’ trap. A favor she used a few years later. I had almost forgotten about it because that’s about when Bermuda Bones showed up and everything got super crazy! Still, she said Nephthys disappeared a few years later after being thrown overboard in a terrible storm. The crew never found her body, and I bet it’s because Nephthys used her favor with the queen to disappear. “But I’m not jumping to conclusions like I did with the Marzipan Meringue Madness,” Pinkie Pie pointed out. “I don’t have any evidence besides what the queen said, so it's just an idea.” “It’s a good theory, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said as she continued to look at the conspiracy quilt. “And I can feel we’re closing in. We just need to review the facts. First, the organization has existed for a very, very long time. This is proven by what Applejack found in the Crystal Empire. Second, Rarity and Fluttershy’s research showed how widespread the organization is, both in where they operate and how they operate. Third, Rainbow Dash’s experience supports a theory that this organization is alive and well in our modern Equestria. “And perhaps the most troubling truth is one confirmed by Pinkie Pie and Applejack,” Twilight said as she turned to face her friends. “That this organization is willing to manipulate ponies to turn them against one another and that it is not as benevolent or infallible as I originally believed. “But all this information alone isn’t enough. We still have no real leads on a way to identify who is part of this organization or how they operate. If I want to take this evidence to the princesses, I need something more solid to go on.” “Well, I can tell you right now, none of them share a common sense for fashion,” Rarity commented as she looked across the pictures. “Some can pull an ensemble together so wonderfully, but some of the others...” Rarity shivered and glanced at a few pictures that had been secured by Fluttershy from the newspapers in the Canterlot Library’s Archives. “There are just some things that don’t go well with black and white stripes.” “What about finding some mark they all share, like the whole skull and snake tattoo?” Rainbow asked, recalling part of the conversation which had sent her and her friends to so many different and distant places. “We haven’t really found enough photographic evidence to try and do that. All of the pictures you brought from Manehatten are blurry glimpses of The Phantom. All of the photographs Rarity brought are of portraits in Canterlot, and all those portraits are from the neck up. There isn’t a single body shot anywhere. The only real picture evidence we have is the broken crystal Applejack found, and the zebra in that one is wearing a heavy cloak. We can hardly see the bridge of her nose, let alone anything else.” “Well, why would you need anything else?” Pinkie Pie asked, a question that caused Twilight to cock her head to one side. “What do you mean?” “I... well, it just seems so obvious.” “What is it?” Applejack asked. “Do you girls really not see it?” “No, Pinkie, we don’t,” Rarity said courteously, “and that’s why we’d be ever so appreciative if you would just tell us.” “But that wouldn’t be any fun. That whole quilt is like a big game of I Spy! Hey, how about this? How about I give you a hint?” “How about you just tell us?” Rainbow Dash said, she and the other mares closing in with irritation and curiosity in equal measure. “Or how about we play Twenty Questions? I could give you a hint if you want, or we could make it a game. How about Twenty Questions? Do you want to play that?” “Just tell us what it is!” Rarity, Applejack, Twilight, and Rainbow snapped in unison. “Well, okay, but you four are missing a great opportunity for a game,” Pinkie Pie said as she pushed past her friends and took Twilight’s place in front of the quilt. “Still, if you want to know the answer, then it’s obvious. Even with the limited stories and pictures we have, there is something I can see. I spy with my little eye that...” Pinkie Pie turned with a flourish and raised one hoof only to stomp it with playful flare. “All these zebra look like Zecora.” “Beg your pardon?” Applejack said, cocking an eyebrow in confusion. “They all look like Zecora!” Pinkie Pie said again, even repeating her hoof stomp. Rainbow Dash groaned and slapped a hoof to her face. “Pinkie Pie, of course they all look like Zecora! They’re all zebras!” “No no no,” Pinkie Pie said, firmly shaking her head. “I know that, but they really, really look like Zecora!” “But that’s impossible,” Applejack said. “I mean, most of these zebras are older than Granny Smith. A lot older. There ain’t no way they could all look that much like Zecora.” “I know. They shouldn’t, but they do!” Pinkie Pie stressed as she quickly zipped over to one of the pictures that was hung near the floor. “But, I mean, look at this one. She smiles just like that one over there, and they both smile like Zecora did when we threw her that surprise birthday party! And it’s not just those two. They all! Look! Like! Zecora!” “But Pinkie Pie, do you really think—” Fluttershy tried to say only to make a small “eep” when Pinkie Pie stomped her hoof and shouted. “They all! Look! Like! Her!” “I can understand why’d you think that, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight interrupted, her voice taking on the tone of a teacher speaking to her students. “I’ve actually done some reading on the subject of visual recognition. Ponies are wired to recognize and differentiate between one another by color. No two ponies have the exact same coat and mane color. There are always slight nuances in shade that our eyes are able to notice. “But zebras aren’t the same way,” Twilight continued. “They, instead, rely their stripe patterns. The stripes on a zebra are unique. No two zebras have the same markings, and even minor differences in those patterns allow zebras to distinguish between one another in the same manner that ponies are able to identify one another by color. “It’s just the way our brains are built. So, it’s perfectly natural for a pony to have trouble distinguishing between a bunch of zebras. Zecora would probably have the same amount of trouble if we put her in front of a bunch of pictures of blue ponies with gray manes.” “I know, I get that, but they! All! Really! Really! Look! Like Zecora!” Pinkie Pie stressed before quickly galloping out the library. The rest of the mares all looked to the front door, wondering just where Pinkie had gone only to see her come back a few minutes later. She was pulling a pink wagon behind her. She was wearing a paint spattered shirt, a burette, and in her wagon she had numerous blank canvases, easels, a brush, a tube of green paint, and a large bucket of black paint. “Pinkie Pie, what are you—?” Twilight tried to ask, only to get “sshhh”ed by Pinkie Pie. Without a word of explanation, she set up the half dozen canvases and easels she had brought with her. Once that was done, Pinkie Pie then went to each one and painted a rough picture with the black ink. She then went back to each, using a bit of the green ink she had brought with her to add a few final touches. By the time Pinkie Pie was done, each of the six canvases had been painted with a right facing profile picture of a zebra. The six zebras in question were six of the zebras from the pictures hanging in front of the girls. Each was uniquely identifiable as a different mare. One could tell Captain Nephthys apart from Green Leaf, but the six comparing portraits served a greater purpose. They showed the similar cuts of the jaws, the shapes of the noses, and the pattern of the stripes. Despite the unique features possessed by each zebra mare, Pinkie Pie’s paintings showed the truth she had seen. “See!” Pinkie Pie said as she swung her paint brush around haphazardly, painting her own face as she spoke. “They all have those three stripes under their eyes. They all have that big black part on their noses. They all have three black stripes on their manes, and they all have green eyes just like Zecora!” “B-but that’s not possible. Zebras are supposed to have unique stripes!” Twilight said as she looked across the canvases. “Maybe the stripes on the rest of their bodies are different,” Rainbow Dash said as she floated in front of the easel which depicted Captain Nephthys. “That’s a sound theory, Rainbow,” Rarity said as she examined one of the other canvases, “but it’s hard to prove. None of us were able to find a picture of these zebra that shows anything from the shoulders down except clothes.” “But how can this be?” Twilight asked. “There has to be differences. I’m sure if we measure them we’ll find the spacing is different and the length. I mean, there’s no way to explain why they’d all look the same.” “Sure there is,” Pinkie Pie said with a smile as she began to sign the six canvases with a big, cursive lettering. “They could all be related. I may not be gray like my sisters or brown like my dad, but I sure am as pink as my Granny Pie was. And she was as pink as her grandmother. Yepperoni, my family has always had a pink pony in it every other generation for as far back as we know.” Twilight stared at Pinkie Pie a moment, the intensity in her eyes reflecting the thoughts going on in her head. She then looked back at the pictures as the epiphany swept over her. “It’s a family. It’s not just an organization. It’s a family! It makes perfect sense! The stripes on the face are passed down from parents to their children, and even if it skips a generation it resurfaces later. “It’s the perfect uniform,” Twilight said, marveling a little at the genius of it all. “They don’t have to wear pins, get tattoos, or do anything to identify themselves. They just have their stripes. And what better way to pass down the tradition than through a family? Who better to trust with manipulating the affairs of Equestria than a zebra you’ve trained from birth? And that would explain why they all vanished as early as they did. It was so they could start a normal life someplace and have children of their own. “It makes sense!” Fluttershy gently raised a hoof, as if trying to get the attention of a teacher. “Uh... Twilight, wouldn’t that mean that Zecora could be related to these mares?” “What!? No way!” Rainbow Dash said. “Zecora wouldn’t be part of this. She’s too cool for it. Okay, maybe she did just sort of appear out of the Everfree Forest one day, but that doesn’t mean anything.” “No, but as I recall she’s also helped us out of a few strange pickles,” Applejack argued. “Not unlike some of them zebras in those pictures.” “But she was in Ponyville when Luna came for Nightmare Night! Twilight said that these zebra do everything they can to stay away from the princesses.” “But she did stay away from the princess,” Twilight said as her eyes stayed fixed on the portraits, both the ones that were hanging and the ones Pinkie Pie had just painted. “When Luna first appeared, I was with Zecora at the Nightmare Moon statue outside of town. I ran back to the town square while Pinkie Pie and the kids just ran off, but Zecora didn’t go with either group. She ran off on her own, and I didn’t see her again until we took the kids back to the statue. Even then, she didn’t go near it. She stayed back, and wasn’t anywhere near when Luna scared the children again.” “But I saw her around Ponyville during the festival,” Rainbow Dash said, though doubt had entered her voice. “I scared her with my thunder cloud.” “I saw her too. She came and bobbed for an apple.” “But think; was she ever around when Princess Luna was playing the festival games?” Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at each other, their faces silently conveying the fact that they couldn’t remember a moment from that night when they had seen Zecora and Luna anywhere near one another. At the same time, Twilight turned away from the portraits, a nervous fear in her eyes like there was a snake coiling around her legs. The truth was weighing down on her mind, and she felt as if her knees would give away at any moment. It all made sense! Zecora was part of the conspiracy! ===================================================================== Questions, Comments, Concerns? pen.stroke.pony@gmail.com My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic © Hasbro I do not own the intellectual properties this fan-fiction is based on. =====================================================================