//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: Shadows of the Sun // by theamberfox //------------------------------// Just as a note to everyone, chapter 2 and chapter 4 were revised. The chapter 2 revision is quite major, while the chapter 4 revision was very minor. I encourage you to read chapter 2 again, but it doesn't contain any major changes to the actual plot. Shadows of the Sun By theamberfox Chapter 8 “Alright, I’ve given us enough time to get out of the city, now I want to know who’s responsible for all of this! Who was the filthy scoundrel that nearly cost me my life!?” Thunderhorn yelled, startling the ponies inside the stagecoach as he glared around the interior. “Calm down, general. We can all hear you.” Vortex smirked, “Although I have to admit, I’m a little bit curious myself.” “Don’t you dare think I’m going to take you out of the equation, you egotistical brat.” “Don’t make accusations you can’t back up!” Goldenroot interrupted, glaring at the grey unicorn, “You don’t even know what you’re talking about! How do you know that anyone here is actually a traitor?” Vortex smiled faintly, embarrassed that Goldenroot was defending her, admittedly, discourteous actions. Thunderhorn snorted, “We wouldn’t have lost our jobs and been banished from our homeland if someone wasn’t a traitor.” “No, “Goldenroot replied with a deathly serious expression, “but don’t you think there’s more to it than just a traitor? I don’t think that anyone would want to betray both Princess Celestia and their country for promises of power.” “Why does this always have to be a game to you, Goldenroot?” Wind Dancer asked, gently sobbing as she leaned against the wall. “We lost our homes, our fortunes, our fame… What was wrong with the way things were?” The small carriage went quiet as the five ponies just sat and listened to the pegasus sobbing in the corner. “It was you, wasn’t it, Goldenroot?” she asked quietly, breaking the silence, “You were the one helping Prance, weren’t you?” There was a momentary pause as they all turned to look towards the pale green stallion. He slowly lifted his hoof to his face and started to rub the bridge of his nose, letting a deep sigh escape his lungs. “Yes, but it’s not…” he started. “I knew it was you, you filthy mongrel! How dare you destroy everything I worked so hard to obtain!” Thunderhorn interrupted, jumping up from his seat and throttling the stallion with his magic. “Stop it, Thunderhorn! I won’t watch you turn into a murderer!” Crescendo shouted while using his own magic to break the unicorn’s grasp. Thunderhorn reluctantly complied, falling back onto the bench and putting a hoof up to his face. Goldenroot coughed and rubbed his neck, while Vortex just sat and stared at the stallion in disbelief. “Besides, I would rather hear him explain himself.” Crescendo continued. But before Goldenroot could say anything, Prairie Star started to laugh in her corner of the stagecoach. She just giggled away as everyone diverted their attention towards her. “Are you alright, Prairie Star?” Crescendo asked. “I thought I had everything under control.” she replied with a strange smile. “But in the end, I wasn’t really doing anything was I? The whole thing was completely out of my hooves and it all turned into a nightmare. “I sacrificed so much for this, so much of my life, my happiness, even my own personality… I remember that stallion I met so long ago. He was so handsome… so sweet… but I was just too boring. I had spent my entire life learning how to react to both exciting and depressing news in complete monotony that I couldn’t even remember how to have fun so I just sat and watched him go. Watched him leave… I couldn’t even cry about it when I got home. I didn’t even know how to do that anymore…” The mare continued to stare outside the window and started to laugh quietly. “You’re all so sad that you lost your precious houses and your beloved money, but you still have what’s important, don’t you?” Tears started to form in the corners of her eyes as she turned around and looked away from the window and into the carriage at each of the ponies inside. “I don’t have that.” She turned back towards the window and gazed outside again. “But at least my life is depressing enough now that I can remember how to cry…” Prairie Star closed her eyes gently and started to sob uncontrollably, her golden hair obscuring her face. Her startling reaction had even surprised the usually overdramatic Wind Dancer, who now sat upright and completely motionless in her seat. Vortex leaned over from her seat and wrapped her arms around the mare. No one had ever seen her like this. No one could have ever imagined the kind of effect that something like this might have on a pony, but Prairie Star’s entire life revolved around the council. As a young filly, she grew up believing that the council was one of the most important organizations in the entire country and she had spent most of her life trying to work her way in. Unfortunately, unlike the other members, she was not a celebrity in any way, shape, or form and she was completely ignored in the elections. So the only chance she had was to apply for the director position, which only required a nomination from the princess. While she would not actually participate in the voting procedure, she still felt like she would be making a difference and perhaps, someday, she could become a proper member. But the position required every single aspect of the personality she did not have. She was an excitable and emotional mare who reacted to almost everything in a spectacular fashion. It was only through determination and intense training that she was able to contain these feelings and establish her legendary monotony. And once she had that, Princess Celestia was more than happy to give her the nomination and, when it became available, the actual position. But now that the council was gone and she was banished from her country, she had lost her dreams and with it, everything she believed in. They remained in silence for a few hours while the coach just bumped along the road, nearing ever closer to their destination. Not until Prairie Star had finally stopped sobbing and drifted off into a deep sleep, did they once again start to question Goldenroot’s involvement. Vortex, still holding onto the sleeping pony, glanced over at the stallion with a worried expression, “So what were you doing? Why did you want to help Prance overthrow Celestia?” Once again, the focus of attention returned to Goldenroot as he replied, “I was only ever trying to get the commoners involved in the council. I was not trying to overthrow Princess Celestia, I don’t even know where that came from. I don’t know whether it’s a lie or just a misunderstanding, but it’s not the truth.” “You mean you didn’t know what they were trying to accomplish?” Crescendo asked, slightly taken aback. “No. I had no idea. To be honest, I still can’t believe that’s what they were trying to do.” “So what do you believe?” Vortex asked, holding the sleeping mare more tightly between her forelegs. “Well that’s kind of difficult to explain on its own, so I’ll go back to the beginning. You see, some time ago when the drought had first started, I was approached by Le Roi Pierre at my home. Naturally, I was a bit curious since we rarely ever have any foreigners in the country and having the monarch of any country on your doorstep is quite the honour. I was told that he was trying to keep his visit very low profile. He didn’t really want the general public to know that he was here.” Thunderhorn scoffed, “And you didn’t find that at all suspicious?” “Actually I did, but then he told me why he had actually arrived. You see, he came to see Princess Celestia.” The other ponies exchanged several surprised glances. “Why would he want to see Celestia?” Crescendo blurted, asking the obvious question. “Le Roi Pierre told me about the situation in his country and how they were having problems acquiring all the resources they needed. They relied heavily on trade with their surrounding nations and when the largest country in the world refuses to trade with you, it’s hard to make a living. “He only wanted to know why we wouldn’t trade with his country.” “Why would he need to come all the way to Equestria to do that?” Vortex asked. “Well it sounded like he wasn’t really asking… He was begging…” Goldenroot replied. “His country had spent the last two hundred years trying to establish proper trade routes with us, but every single proposal was turned down and they were finally getting desperate.” “Why wouldn’t Princess Celestia just pass the law and get it over with.” Wind Dancer asked, jumping into the conversation and rolling her eyes a little. “It doesn’t seem like such a bad thing.” “It wasn’t Princess Celestia’s fault.” Thunderhorn interjected. “It was ours. As far as I’m aware, Princess Celestia both proposed and approved every one of those laws. The council, however, refused to sign any of them. It wasn’t worth our time or effort to get wrapped up in the outside world.” “Exactly.” Goldenroot said, nodding his head slowly. “Le Roi Pierre was trying to get Princess Celestia to convince the council, but she couldn’t do anything. The council was stubborn and refused to change their opinion. I was part of the council when one of those proposals went through, as well as Crescendo and Thunderhorn; however, I was the only one to vote in favour of it. That’s exactly why Le Roi Pierre came to me. Princess Celestia had actually pointed him in my direction.” “Thunderhorn and I had been in the council long enough to see three of those dreaded proposals. No one ever wanted to deal with all the problems it would create…” Crescendo said, shaking his head. “I say, Goldenroot, this is getting more confusing the more I hear about it. It seems like Princess Celestia knows a lot more about all of this than she lets on, so why does she seem to have such a convoluted understanding?” “I think Goldenroot is lying.” Thunderhorn exclaimed. “Why would I lie now?” Goldenroot asked. “If I wanted to lie about this, why would I wait until the very end and explain to you that I’m responsible? I won’t gain anything from lying to you now.” “Alright, I see your point.” Thunderhorn admitted, “So why would Princess Celestia believe we were the cause of the drought?” Goldenroot frowned slightly, “I was partly responsible for the drought. Not for starting it, but for making it worse. You see, I explained to Le Roi Pierre that the council was stubborn and unwilling to change. I talked about how I had hoped to expand the council to include everyone in Equestria, not just the nobility. I wanted everyone to have a voice in the government, but the rest of the council did not. It’s much easier to just sit in your house and watch the world go by from your window than it is to actually step outside. You feel comfortable and safe, free from all the world’s problems. “He just smiled at me and said, ‘No one will change if they don’t have to. Sometimes you have to create the catalyst for change. You have to set their houses on fire and force them to step outside.’” “And the drought was your fire…” Vortex remarked, quietly interrupting the stallion. “Yeah…” the pale green stallion responded, nodding his head. “A natural disaster inspires fear in your heart. That fear forces you to try and fix the problem before it gets worse. In Equestria, we have been mostly sheltered from these natural disasters. Princess Celestia’s power and wisdom lets her fix almost everything before it can get worse and even when problems do exist, she shields us from fear. She tries to hide the truth. I knew that for a fact from my experience with the arboreal virus. I was knighted for saving the world, but no one even knew it was ever in danger.” “So you sabotaged the country and made the drought worse to help pass both your laws.” Crescendo said, trying to bring him back to the point. “We paid teams of pegasi to prevent certain weather patterns from entering the country. Some rain still got through, but we were keeping enough back to stop the crops from growing.” “Do you have any idea how much damage you caused with all of this!?” Thunderhorn asked, shaking his head. Prairie Star stirred in her sleep, adjusting her head slightly as she reacted to the unicorn’s noisy response. “Ponies lost their homes, some almost died.” he continued, trying to keep his volume to a minimum. “No one was supposed to get hurt.” Goldenroot answered, “We had organized for Prance to send provisions to help everyone, but I never expected the nobility to end up buying all of the supplies they sent. They took everything, far more than they needed. “I was worried, so we stopped worsening the drought and let everything return to normal. However, not before Princess Celestia sent Twilight Sparkle to Prance. I don’t think she knew what I was actually doing, but I think that she was trying to get us, the council, to realize that we needed to trade with them. She already knew the answer to our problem and she was trying to convince us indirectly.” “But we didn’t listen.” Crescendo replied. “Yeah. Only I knew the truth, but I couldn’t tell anyone. If I did, I risked being discovered and I would probably be thrown in jail for treason.” “Or exiled…” Wind Dancer scoffed, rolling her eyes and glancing out the window. Goldenroot frowned and rubbed the bridge of his nose again. “So I just stuck to the plan and tried to get everyone to vote for the law to involve the commoners in the council. After that was passed, we would all have to run for re-election. When the new council was formed, Equestria would recover on its own now that we weren’t sabotaging it and the public would believe that the drought was improving due to the changes in the council. I, being the one to first suggest the idea, would be regarded as a national hero and an important political figure. I would have an incredible influence and I could convince everyone to establish the trade routes with Prance.” “And what if you didn’t get re-elected?” Thunderhorn asked. “I was giving every single pony in Equestria the right to vote, something that they’ve wanted for generations. It’s very hard to believe that I wouldn’t get re-elected after that.” “So what? You just wanted to become some kind of national hero?” Vortex asked, turning to watch the countryside pass by outside the window. “This was all just some kind of ego trip for you?” “I didn’t really want to be a hero, Vortex.” he replied, dropping his head slightly. “I just wanted to make a difference. Ever since I got involved with politics after the forest fire, I wanted to do something like this. I thought this was my only chance and, even though it seemed like a more elaborate way of making an impact than I wanted, we weren’t making any progress in the council.” “Two hundred years… They had been trying to establish trade routes with us for two hundred years and our ignorance was the only thing standing in their way. The situation with the commoners and the council has roots that go much deeper than that. I thought this was the best thing to do… I never wanted to hurt anyone.” “Fair enough, Goldenroot.” Crescendo said, shrugging. “So Le Roi Pierre is a die-hard patriot and you’re an arsonist and a lost visionary. That doesn’t explain why Princess Celestia would think that Prance is trying to take over the world.” The stagecoach came to an abrupt stop and jolted the ponies inside. Prairie Star batted her eyelids and leaned away from the wall. Vortex smiled at her gently and slowly removed her forelegs from around her waist. “No it doesn’t. That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to tell you. This doesn’t make any sense.” Goldenroot exclaimed, “Something else is going on here and now I’m afraid that we’ll never find out.” The door to the stagecoach swung open and the two guards looked inside. “This is your stop, traitors. A land with no name, owned by no country.” one of the guards announced with a brash tone. Wind Dancer was the first to step out, glaring at the two as she left. Neither she, nor any of the other council members, appreciated being called a traitor. The others followed suit, stepping out into a dense forest. Having travelled all day, it was now dark outside. The thick pine trees of the woods rose high above their heads, partially masking the glowing moon and stars in the serene night sky. Dim lights shone out from the windows in the small village off in the distance and a bumpy dirt trail leading to the village was covered erratically in little stones and patches of moss and grass. Is this where we have to spend the rest of our days? Goldenroot thought, watching the lights flicker in the distant windows of the town. Cast out, we’re intended to be lost and forgotten and live like savages in the middle of nowhere? The guards slammed the stagecoach’s door shut and returned to their place behind the wagon, the two ponies in front making a wide arc as they turned the carriage around and started the long journey home. “So what exactly are we supposed to do?” Wind Dancer asked looking around the group in confusion. “We should probably find some food and lodging first. We can figure out what we’re going to do in the morning.” Goldenroot replied. “Does anyone have any money?” Thunderhorn asked. The other ponies all just shook their heads. “Wonderful…” he sighed, “I’m so glad we were all prepared for this.” “How could you possibly be prepared for something like this?” Vortex said under her breath. “Regardless, we should still find an inn.” Crescendo said, “Perhaps we can work out some kind of arrangement.” ~ At the base of the cliff from which Canterlot was situated, a vast army was forming. The sea of golden armoured soldiers blanketed the ground. They had pitched thousands of tents, sticking out at regular intervals and disturbing the peaceful tranquility of the green fields they occupied. It had only been one week, but it was more than enough time to gather the bulk of the army and only a few remained to keep vigilant watch over the various cities and towns around the country. It wasn’t conscription, but it may as well have been. All of Equestria had been devastated by the drought and its entire population had been cowering in the corner, afraid of the distant enemy they could not see with their own eyes. So when it was revealed that Prance and the council were responsible for the drought, they were eager to fight back. Now they had a common enemy to direct their anger and sorrow towards, more than happy to eliminate the pointless squabbling amongst their own kind. They could do nothing against the drought, but they could something against Prance. They could punish them for the sorrow and pain they had endured. Everything that they had lost, Prance would be held responsible for taking. Celestia, perched on the towering balcony above, monitored their progress and tried to keep an accurate measure of their numbers. It was well over twenty thousand now, not nearly as many as the armies of legends, but more than enough to accomplish the task that had been laid out for them. In truth, she had no intention of actually taking Prance for her own, ruling over it like she did with Equestria. She wanted to free the nation from the tyranny of their imprudent ruler, but there was something else that ate at her insides like a horrible disease. It was a feeling that she struggled to contain, a thirst that she refused to quench. It was a thirst for revenge and, like the soldiers below, she wanted to make Le Roi Pierre pay for his crimes. She wanted to make him pay, but she knew she couldn’t. She couldn’t let her anger and hatred for a single pony take control. It was an unreasonable desire that could only lead a pony to madness, so she just watched. She watched and planned out her careful advance upon her northern neighbour. Everything had to go according to plan or she would only become the cause of more pain and misery for the ponies in the nation she protected. They had suffered enough already under her selfish neglect. Behind her, a familiar purple pony slowly approached. Carefully moving one hoof after another and trying not to startle her teacher, Twilight stopped just beside her. “Hello Twilight.” Celestia said pleasantly, still keeping an eye on the golden mass of soldiers below. “You seem awfully calm about all of this, Princess Celestia.” Twilight remarked, turning a concerned glance towards the alicorn. “I have to be. They depend on me for their strength. They may be soldiers, but they are far from fearless and it has been centuries since Equestria was part of any major conflicts. None of these soldiers have any real battle experience. At best, they might have some familiarity with petty bar fights.” “But doesn’t that mean you’ve just been doing a good job of ruling over our country? You’ve lived for so long, yet you’ve avoided so many wars. I never would have imagined that I would be seeing this in my lifetime.” “Unfortunately, that only makes the problem worse. It’s exactly as you say. No one could have imagined this and that only means we’re unprepared.” The two silently watched the soldiers move far below the castle. From a distance, they looked like a powerful army, but Twilight could see the real ponies below. Some were scared, regretful of the positions they had signed up for. Others were too worried about the kind of amazing stories they would tell when they returned in a few weeks, completely ignorant of the danger that waited for them. “I don’t suppose you’re here to try and convince me to change my mind.” Celestia asked, breaking the silence as she finally turned to face her student. “I’m not really sure what to believe anymore, princess.” Twilight replied, letting her head slowly fall towards the floor. “I still want to believe that there’s another, better way, but I’m starting to understand that there isn’t. I came, not because I wanted to try and convince you of anything, but because I wanted to know that you’re absolutely certain that this is the right decision.” “We are by nature, very near-sighted creatures, Twilight. We always want to do what we think is best at the moment, but we never really take the time to stop and think about how our decisions are going to affect the future. Sadly, the future is almost entirely unpredictable so how can we ever be sure we’re making the right decisions?” “I’ve always believed quite strongly that we can’t. We can never be absolutely sure that we’re making the right decisions and that’s exactly why we have to take such a near-sighted approach to everything. We can only do what we believe is right at the moment and hope for the best.” “So you only think this is the right thing to do at the moment? What if you change your mind?” Celestia smiled faintly and turned back to stare across the horizon. The rolling hills and forests leading away from the castle and into the distance painted a beautiful picture on the landscape. “You are and will always be more than just a student to me, Twilight. If I have to do this to protect you, my sister and everyone else in Equestria from harm, then I believe this is the right thing to do. I don’t think I could ever live long enough to regret protecting the ones I care about.” Twilight moved closer and nuzzled her head up against the side of Celestia’s neck. The alicorn smiled more brightly and moved her wing around the unicorn, pulling her closer. “When will you be back?” Twilight asked, not daring to look up at her teacher. “As soon as I can be.” she answered, “I hope to be back in a few weeks, but I can’t be sure. Nothing ever really seems to go according to plan, does it?” Celestia turned her head down towards Twilight and smiled, the unicorn reluctantly returning the gesture. “I don’t really care how long it takes, princess.” Twilight said, closing her eyes and pulling herself closer to the alicorn. “I just want you to come back.” “I will never leave you alone, Twilight. I won’t make that mistake again.” ~ It was a dark and overall depressing place, doing nothing to help lighten the mood. The floor, made of rickety wooden boards that unevenly covered the dirt beneath, squeaked curiously as it moved under the pressure of a pony’s hooves. And, located in the basement, it was nearly freezing to the touch, in spite of the unusually warm autumn weather waiting just outside the building’s walls. Shelves stacked chaotically with old books and documents detailed the otherwise boring walls on either side of the room. At the far end, however, was a single painting that glowed like a lantern in a dark cave. It was ugly, horrendous even, but that’s exactly what made it so interesting to look at. It was a picture of a burning village, smeared across with poorly illustrated flames and lifeless ponies. They just seemed to stand there and watch the flames consuming their houses, displaying no emotions or reacting at all to the terrible disaster taking place before their eyes. It was the only thing in the room that gave it any character and what character it gave was miserable and unwanted. The innkeeper had graciously given them all a room to sleep in and enough food to keep their stomachs from complaining, but the old stallion wasn’t about to give away his best accommodations to a bizarre collection of ponies that just seemed to appear out of thin air in the middle of the night. So they had all slept in the basement with its completely chilling atmosphere and just as unpleasant beds. Thin sheets were laid out across a hard mattress, only just barely adequate in covering their bodies and protecting them from the night. It was entirely comparable to the dungeon in which they had spent their last night in Equestria, just less ominous and fear-provoking. The event had changed them all, leaving them with invisible scars and constant reminders of their grim situation. None of them really knew what was going to happen next, which was exactly why they all seemed to have just given up. They couldn’t return to their past life, it was too far gone and their last experience left many of them with a sour taste in their mouths and no desire to revisit their home country. They could live here, but they had nothing. Politicians with few survival skills, they were as good as beggars. Finally, as a last alternative, they could leave and go somewhere else, the fate that Crescendo had resigned himself to. “Where are the others?” The dark brown unicorn asked, as he fumbled with the supplies in his bag. “Vortex is out in the forest with Prairie Star.” Goldenroot replied, getting up and walking over to his colleague. “Wind Dancer and Thunderhorn are still out trying to find ways to make some money.” “They didn’t want to see me off, then?” “Prairie Star has been having a difficult time ever since the incident in the stagecoach. I don’t want to force her to do anything right now and I’m grateful that Vortex is spending so much time with her.” “And Wind Dancer and Thunderhorn just don’t really care?” the unicorn asked, grinning slightly and chuckling. “They both still want to go back to Equestria, don’t they?” “Why wouldn’t they? It’s their home isn’t it?” Goldenroot asked with a hint of irritation in his voice as he watched Crescendo organize his things. “I like to think of this as an excuse to go on a very long vacation. It’s almost like someone has given me permission to explore anywhere in the world, except Equestria. And I’m alright with that. I’ve already been there anyway.” Crescendo stopped fiddling with his bags and glanced over towards the pale green stallion standing near him. He smiled brightly and chuckled to himself before turning serious again. “I guess I’m just too old to deal with this anymore, Goldenroot. I just want to go out into the world and enjoy myself a bit. That’s something I never really had the time to do. So much of my life revolved around music and the council and now…” The unicorn hoisted the bags up and over his head, letting them come to a slow rest on his back before releasing his grasp and letting them sag over the side of his body. “Well it’s kind of like you said, isn’t it? No one ever really wants to leave the comfort of their own home, but if someone sets it on fire then you don’t really have a choice.” “I’m sorry, Crescendo.” Goldenroot apologized, letting his gaze drop from the unicorn. “I guess I just thought that everything would go according to plan. I really believed that I was going to help everyone.” “I’ve heard that one before.” Crescendo said, grinning slightly. “Don’t get me wrong, I do blame you for what happened, but I’m just not angry about it. I’m far too old for that and there are far more important things to worry about than revenge.” The unicorn started walking towards the door leading out of the basement and into the rest of the building. Slowly pulling it open, he turned around and glanced at the stallion standing in the center of the room. “You’re a good pony, Goldenroot, but you made a really poor decision. I may not really care, but you should find a way to make it up to everyone else. Or, at the very least, you should find a way to make it up to her.” The unicorn let the door gently close behind him as he stepped outside, leaving Goldenroot alone in the silence of the small room. Vortex wasn’t angry with him, like Thunderhorn and Wind Dancer were. No, what she felt was more of a sense of disappointment, like he had failed her in some way. Goldenroot had wanted to apologize, but he didn’t know how. They had lived here for over a week now and he could barely even work up the courage to look at her, let alone say anything, so how could he possibly apologize to her for destroying their lives and disturbing the peace of an entire country? The stallion only just decided to sit down on his bed to give it some more thought when several short, precisely spaced knocks arrived at the door. Did he forget something? he thought, rolling his eyes and continuing on to the bed. The knocks at the door continued, identical to the last. “Oh, just come in already!” he shouted angrily, tilting his head towards the door, but not bothering to look back. “Is this a bad time, Sir Goldenroot?” a graceful, but anxious voice asked through the door. “I can come back later, if you like.” Goldenroot paused for a moment, completely unable to recognize the voice on the other side of the door, Sir Goldenroot!? The door sighed heavily as it opened and the stallion just stared at the pony in the doorway. She was not completely unlike Wind Dancer and he would not have given a second thought to calling her by that name if it weren’t for a few defining characteristics. Her coat was undeniably the same white, but her mane and tail were a darker shade of indigo instead of the light blue hair that gently cascaded down Wind Dancer’s body. Surprisingly, however, it was just as expertly groomed, if not even more so than the mare who claimed to spend hours on her hair every morning. And yet, despite the difference in hair colour and appeal, what stood out most boldly was the absence of her wings and the presence of a horn on the top her head. Indeed, she was a unicorn and not a pegasus like the mare he had worked with in the council. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Rarity. I’m one of Twilight Sparkle’s friends?” she said, leaving the last part as a kind of question and hoping that the stallion would recognize the name of Celestia’s star pupil. “Yes, I know Twilight. She’s Princess Celestia’s student. What do you want?” Goldenroot replied, still staring at the brilliant unicorn standing at the entrance to the dark pit that he now called his home. “You are Sir Goldenroot, are you not?” she asked, staring back at him curiously. “Not anymore, I had that title revoked.” “Well actually, that’s part of the reason I’m here.” “I don’t want to be called that anymore, Miss Rarity. I’m not the hero everyone thought I was and I just want to be left alone.” Goldenroot started to push the door closed, but Rarity held it open with her magic. “Please, this is very important.” she insisted, releasing her grasp once he stopped pushing. “Alright then.” he sighed, turning around. “I imagine this is going to take a while. Do you want to sit down, Miss Rarity?” She cautiously walked into the room and stopped, carefully investigating the uncomfortable and filthy mattresses on the floor and then the strange objects around the room. She only stopped when she arrived at the peculiar picture hanging on the wall. “Miss Rarity?” he asked again. “Umm, I think I would rather stand.” she replied, pulling her eyes away from the painting and flashing a nervous smile at the stallion. “Yeah, I don’t like it either, but I haven’t really had much of a choice.” Goldenroot said, frowned slightly as he lay down on one of the beds, “What did you want to talk about?” “Well I was actually hoping that you might help me.” Goldenroot laughed, “What could I possible do?” “I understand why you might find this humorous, but I really do need your help. You see, Twilight Sparkle…” She paused and slowly turned her head to the side as she tried to think about what to say next. “She’s not really…” she continued, “Well, she was supposed to come and see us in Ponyville, but…” “Listen, Miss Rarity, I may live in a dark hole in the middle of nowhere, but I don’t want you to waste my time. I know Twilight has been depressed since her journey and she spends a lot of time with Celestia now, but that’s not really my problem. So if that’s all you’re going…” “I don’t think she ever actually came back from Prance.” Rarity blurted out, interrupting Goldenroot midsentence. ________________________________________________________________________ Author’s notes: Hello again readers. I’ll start off by saying thanks to my editor, Specter Von Baren, for helping me out with the story, as always. I would also like to give a shout out to MaximillianVeers on Deviant Art who has been maintaining a stunning eReader ready PDF of my story. Thank you so much, MaximillianVeers, I really appreciate your hard work and I’m honoured to know that my story is worthy of your time and effort. (Now if only I had an actual eReader…) As always, if you have any questions or comments about the story, you can reach me at my email: admin@theamberfox.ca I’ll also be keeping a close eye on the comments below the story. ________________________________________________________________________ Disclaimer: “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” and its derivatives are the sole intellectual property of Hasbro©. I do not have, nor claim to have, the rights to the intellectual property that this story is based on.