//------------------------------//
// 12 - Audience 
// Story: Gladiator 
// by Not_A_Hat 
//------------------------------//

I was in trouble.

I glanced at my dwindling reserves, and checked my weapons again. This was going to be close.

I eyed my opponent, studying them, trying to discern what lay behind that impassable mask.

I wouldn't have guessed it, but Pinkie Pie was absolutely amazing at poker.

"All in." I pushed the last of my potato chips into the center of the table. She gasped, eyes flicking back and forth from her hand to the three face-up cards, trying to guess what I was holding. It had taken a while for me to interest Twilight's friends in the game, but once I'd gotten them to try it, they found it very enjoyable. Applejack, who I had just met a few days ago, was the worst at it despite being so stereotypically 'cowpony'. She couldn't bluff to save her life.

Fluttershy played too conservatively, but was surprisingly good at reading people. Rarity played a pretty even game, but usually wasn't able to conceal her feelings well enough to last till the end. Rainbow Dash was the opposite of Fluttershy; she overplayed, dramatically. Twilight was good, honestly scary with her calculating gaze and cold poker face. Shining Armor was all over the place. His game varied with his mood too much. I wasn't that great myself, honestly; I usually didn't risk enough, and fell out pretty early. However, everypony, and I mean everypony, fell before the Pink Menace. I was never sure if she was actually playing randomly, or if there was a cold, calculating intelligence behind it, but she seemed able to read minds, bluff with steel confidence and hide any possible tells behind a blinding facade of nonsense. This time, maybe, she was bluffing.

I turned over my cards. Three of a kind; a pretty good hand. I groaned when she revealed hers. Of course she would have a full house.

I gathered the cards together while she pulled the pile of treats we'd been betting with over to her side of the table where she began demolishing them cheerfully. Fluttershy watched in fascination as I shuffled, once again demonstrating the utility of fingers.

"Good game!" Pinkie said.

"You know," I said, "If you don't want to share your snacks, you don't have to loan them to us and then win them all back."

"Nonsense!" She winked. "They taste better this way! Anyways, you all have fun too!"

I nodded ruefully. I'd always enjoyed poker, and playing with friends was even better. Not that I'd ever won much, but I never let that stop me.

"So, Twilight, what's the word?" I leaned back in my seat and addressed the pony across from me. We were on the train to Canterlot, having been released from the hospital as fit to travel. Captain Shining and his squad had located the fortress from our leads and staked it out for several days. When no movement was observed, he had decided to assault it, setting the time for today. His magically delivered report had arrived while we were in the middle of our game, and Twilight had just finished reading it.

"It's just about as we suspected. There was no-one there. They did document everything we reported to them, including the cells, the teleport room, and the remains of the lab, although much of the equipment was gone."

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. That was about what I'd feared. We knew where his hideout was, we had busted up his golems and his lab. If I'd been Sombra, I would have been out of there before the dust settled.

"There's not much more, except my brother does make a note about not finding the Windigoes Sombra controlled. If he commands more, we need to make preparations for real conflict. If he has that sort of army at his disposal, he could be planning to attack much more openly now he's lost the element of surprise."

"Advice from the expert." I shrugged. "I just hope it doesn't come to that." She nodded, her reply lost in the squeal of brakes. The train was coming into the station. We had arrived at Canterlot.





Twilight and I paced through the wide halls of Canterlot Castle with slowly heightening apprehension. My fingers and chest were still bandaged, but I had no trouble walking. The rest of the Elements were chatting happily, but the cheerful noise swirled past our morose mood without touching us.

I leaned my head back, trying to take a deep enough breath to relax. I was attempting to take my mind off my thoughts by appreciating the view of the capital city through passing windows.

Canterlot was really quite impressive.

Tall towers rose all across the city. It was built onto the side of the mountain, small plots of land terraced into a slowly sweeping cityscape. The blocks were small and the roads narrow, but the height the homes and businesses made up for it. It wasn't anything compared to a modern skyline of concrete and glass, but the fact that it had been put together using simpler technology made the whole thing more impressive, not less, like the architecture of ancient Rome or Greece. The noonday sun smiled brightly on the whole scene, illuminating the roads and byways where hoof traffic mingled with a few carts and wagons.

I followed the road from the train station with my eyes. We had wound our way up and up, slowly working towards the center point of the whole city, the towering castle where the Sun and Moon Diarchs ruled, where we were now. In the back of my mind I tried to compare it to the ruins I'd seen in the Everfree, but I couldn't manage to set one above the other. The warm stone around me contrasted too sharply with the dim magnificence in the forest.

My mental excursion came full circle as I looked at the bright stained glass surrounding us, and I remembered where we were headed. I sighed and lowered my head.

"So, um, any pointers on etiquette?" I asked.

"Not much," Twilight replied. "Be respectful. Don't interrupt. Be truthful. I've never actually figured out if Princess Celestia is just really, really good at reading ponies, or if she actually has a lie detector spell she uses. That's about all that's needed for a private audience. She's never been a stickler for protocol, and there's not nearly enough time to give you the formal rules. Even if you could remember them all."

I glanced over at her, watching as her eyes grew soft with memories of her mentor.

"You two are close."

"...Yes."

She lowered her eyes, dread for the meeting dragging her head down again, and we went back to glooming for a bit.

"For what it's worth," I said, trying to raise her spirits, "I appreciate the choice you made. I don't know the Princess, but I don't think she'll be angry at you for saving my life."

"I know. I'm not...not really...afraid of her reaction any more. At least, not as far as any sort of punishment. I panicked, I really did, when I started to realize what had happened."

The guard leading us ushered our group into a large, lushly appointed room. Celestia had called the Elements and me for a private meeting. Although I'd like to see the throne room at some point, I was also relieved that we weren't going to be under the scrutiny by the whole court.

"It's just..." Twilight flopped into a chair, and I sank into one nearby. "I mean, I did what I needed to do. I needed to make things right, I had a way to do it, I counted the cost, and I put my hooves where my heart was. It was my decision, and I made it. What bothers me is not the possible punishment, but the idea that this might distance me from her. It's not her anger I fear..."

"But her disappointment." I finished.

She nodded. We sat in silence for a few minutes. The rest of the group sunk into uneasy quiet as well.

Soon the doors opened again, and Celestia entered.

I was awestruck.

It was hard to tell if her force of presence was magical or not. I didn't realize just how strongly it was affecting me until I realized my jaw had fallen open. I slowly closed it, and tried to assess her calmly.

She was a little taller than me, much slimmer and maybe a bit shorter than an Earth horse, but only if you disregarded her horn. I wasn't really prepared for her height. In my mind I'd been equating her with Luna, and the fact that she was noticeably taller caught me off guard. She was also brilliantly white. I'd been prepared for the billowing mane from meeting her sister, but her soft pastels and brilliant coat were enough of a contrast to catch me by surprise.

Her eyes were absolutely huge, just like every other pony I'd met so far, but they were actually more in proportion on her.

I was so caught up in assessing her royal demeanor that I jumped when she swept Twilight up in a hug.

"Twilight! Are you OK?" Celestia set Twilight down and walked around her. "What have you done to keep the numosic flux under control? Do you have a stability matrix you're using?"

She sounded worried. Not angry, or sad, but worried, like a parent whose child hasn't called home.

"Princess, I'm fine. I detailed everything that happened in my letter. But...aren't you...angry?"

The white alicorn took a step back and smiled at Twilight briefly.

"Twilight. I thought I told you after the wedding that I admired how you stood by what you thought was right despite opposition. I certainly learned to trust your vision and commitment more. If you thought this necessary, I'm willing to trust that."

Twilight sagged in relief, a week worth of tension and worry fading from her body. She jerked forward and embraced Celestia, tears glimmering in her eyes.

"Oh Princess, I was so worried!"

"Shush. There, it's Ok." The alicorn soothed her for a second, before stepping back. "Twilight, I really do need answers for those questions, though. Flux, and a matrix. What’s going on here?"

"Um, flux. We've had some. Memories seeping, which seemed controllable, and as I mentioned in my report, one shared dream in the hospital. Also, one after I sent it."

I winced at that. If the first dream was from Twilight's mind, the second had been from mine. I was used to waking up in a cold sweat. Twilight had screamed herself awake.

"Hmm." Celestia narrowed her eyes. "Let me scan you."

"Just a second, Princess. The matrix we're using...Wes, could you show her?"

I nodded and unbuttoned my shirt, pulling the bandages aside to expose my crystal.

"This is the matrix originally grafted to Wes as part of his...ordeal under the changelings. My breaking it almost killed him." Her voice barely quavered. "I rebuilt and re-purposed it as best I could, but It's frankly beyond my understanding. It’s a conductor of unparalleled capacity, though. Honestly, if it wasn't of such high quality, we would be in much more trouble. Still, according to Wes, it's not the sort of thing casually made."

"Indeed." Celestia stared at it for a while. She turned back to her desk, and a notebook flipped open while a pen inked itself. She took notes for a few moments, before turning back to us. "I do want to scan you, but I will do it later." She turned to look around the study, meeting the eyes of the other five ponies watching the proceedings intently. "Girls, although this is mainly between Wesley and Twilight, I called you all here because it does concern you as well. Specifically in your capacity as elements of Harmony." She levitated a stone box down from a nearby shelf. "You see, Twilight, although I will not punish you for what you have done, it is not without consequences. My sister Luna spoke truly when she claimed you knew not what you have wrought. This concerns the Elements. After all, they are bonded to your very soul. Consider the shapes they have taken on, each one shaped after your cutie mark."

She set the box in front of Twilight.

"Now, since your very soul has been broken, Equestria itself may come to rue the decision you've made." She raised the lid, exposing the contents. It held golden tiara with a dull gray star set in the crown, split down the middle with a single jagged fracture.

"Um," I said, in response to the six-fold gasp that echoed through the room, "I guess it's not supposed to be like that?"

"No." Twilight's voice was soft with terror. "I...I broke the Element of Magic?"

Everyone jumped slightly at Celestia's silver chuckle.

"Not quite, Twilight." She stepped towards her student, and snapped her out of an oncoming panic attack with a gentle nuzzle. "The Elements are not so easily destroyed. At best, you have begun to de-harmonize with it. At worst, it has begun to reject you. But you have not broken it."

"Oh." Again, Twilight sagged in relief. "That's good?" She sounded like she was trying to decide whether to be relieved or continue into shock.

"Well, maybe not good, Sugarcube, but I guess it's a darn sight better than th'other." Applejack interjected. "Princess, is there anything we can do about this?"

"I'm afraid not." Celestia gazed around the room again. "I've informed you because this affects you, as Elements, but this problem is tied up with the other." She pointed to me. "When this is resolved, I hope the element will return to Twilight. To further this, I'm putting all of you on this. We need to do whatever we can to help Twilight and Wes untangle themselves."

"Um, Princess," Twilight said nervously. "I thought maybe if we knew more about the matrix, we could do something. And Wes had an idea about that." She nodded at me. I cleared my throat nervously, a bit apprehensive at being scrutinized by Celestia’s champagne-pink eyes.

"Well," I said, "Do you know that there is a nest of changelings living inside your borders?"