//------------------------------// // Chapter 51 - Bunsen Burner, Bon Bon, Applejack // Story: A Journey Unthought Of: Revival of Chaos // by Hustlin Tom //------------------------------// “We have a problem,” Princess Cadence said as she opened her eyes, blinking thoroughly as she did. Fancy Pants, Bon Bon, Bunsen Burner, and the Elements all looked at her expectantly for what she had to say. “Falena has been taken in for questioning.” “So,” Fancy Pants breathed with a heavy sigh as he leaned backward on his sitting pillow and removed his monocle, “our double agent has been compromised.” “We can’t be too sure of that,” the Princess replied as she waved her hoof, “The one who took her in, Papillon, seems to have some motive of her own for interrogating Falena. She’s not in trouble; not yet anyways. Our only hope is that she can find a way to turn the situation to her advantage.” “Did she at least manage to find out anything before she was caught?” Twilight asked anxiously. “The Queen of the Changelings said that Canterlot is guarding an uncontrollable weapon below the mountain.” “Ah’d take that ta mean it has somethin’ ta do with your spooks then,” Applejack meaningfully glanced to Bunsen Burner with an arched eyebrow, “Care ta share?” “It could be any number of things, really,” Bunsen Burner said as he put his hooves together, sporadically tapping them as he thought, “Just about anything from the Black Vault could be a threat to a city or even a nation if placed in competent hooves. The Queen’s intel comes from the good Captain’s own knowledge, which would narrow the threat down to something we’ve acquired within the past five to ten years. If memory serves, that number totals at seventeen items or entities that the RSD has informed him of.” “So we’re stuck until we can get more info,” Rainbow Dash huffed in frustration, “Whatever it is they’re trying to use, we need to get everypony else away from Canterlot, then we can bring out our hooves swinging.” Bon Bon grimaced as she rubbed her head, “It’s too late for that. The herd is too committed, and if we stop now we might lose our chance to draw the Changelings out. To pardon the analogy, we’ve set sail on the Furia Ocean: the only way out is to press on.” Bunsen Burner nodded his approval of the idea, “We should make full speed to Canterlot then. It is our safest position of defense, and now that our mare on the inside is out of the game, we can be assured that our enemy will do everything in their power to end the threat we pose to them before we make it there.” The Council of Harmony ended after a little further deliberation, and each of the members went their separate ways. Princess Cadence had just returned to her small tent, where Umbra and Nox were just waking up from their daily slumber, and was about to step inside when she heard somepony call for her. Looking just behind her, she found Bunsen Burner breathing a little raggedly as he approached her. “Are you alright?” she asked. “Oh, splendid,” he wheezed slightly, “Just a geriatric trying to catch his breath.” After a few moments’ pause, he finally was able to say his peace, “Because of my current lifetime sentence of banishment bestowed on me by your aunt Luna, I cannot enter the walls of Canterlot with you.” The Princess had forgotten about this judgment, and she began to think aloud, “Given that Luna has abdicated to me, I am fully willing to-“ “No,” the old stallion interjected, “The law is not overturned for the sake of one stallion. I will return to my exile tonight, but first I must offer some small advice: tell your husband to begin preliminary checks for the activation of Siege Mode. If ever there was a time to use it, it’s now.” The Princess froze for a second before she gave a simple nod, “Very well.” “You have two days before you reach Canterlot at the herd’s current pace; make it in one or less. The sooner the city is secured with you inside, the better. I don’t care if you have to start a stampede to make it there in time.” He paused, unsure of how to proceed. After an awkward moment had passed, he reached for the satchel on his back and brought out a grey notebook, “These are your father’s research notes. With the empty space still left, I filled every blank page with as much of my memories of your parents as I could. It’s now yours to keep.” Trixie, who had been walking a little ways off initially unaware of the conversation, stopped heading towards where she had originally been going and slunk a little closer to the two ponies, unseen by either of them. The Princess was touched by her godfather’s offering, and accepted the book from his mouth with her magic. The warmness in her heart dimmed a little when she remembered this was his parting gift to her, but a sweet smile graced the corners of her lips all the same, “This is so sudden. Couldn’t you stay even a little longer?” “I’d only prove to be a distraction,” he replied matter-of-factly, “Your mind must be on the herd’s good now more than ever.” After another seemingly awkward pause, he offered the Princess a very stiff hug. Trixie was surprised by this sudden display of affection. To be fair, so was the Princess. For just the tiniest moment, her empathic powers picked up a small surge of emotion in the steely-eyed stallion. Paternal love, worry, and happiness for her were all a part of the little seed of pathos flickering inside his heart. “You’ve been a fine Princess in this crisis,” he said, and as he pulled away his voice broke a little, “and you’ll make an excellent mother when the time comes.” “Thank you,” she whispered with muted joy. His heart, not dead, only buried, returned to its normally chilled iron state, and Bunsen Burner turned and walked away, “Goodbye, Princess Cadence.” “May I visit you sometime?” she called to him. He stopped, and looked a little back towards her, a microscopic smile on his face, “I suppose you could come to Pferdshire when this is all over. I won’t stop you.” The old stallion walked slowly back to his tent and began to pack up his things. As he did, he noticed a certain cerulean unicorn approach him. “What are you doing?” Trixie asked him with simmering anger. “I’m leaving. Isn’t it obvious?” he replied curtly as he began to break down his tent. “No, I mean what are you doing?” she asked insistently, “We know you’d originally been planning to go to Canterlot all along, so why leave now?” “ ‘We’?” the old stallion asked as he turned to look at her. “Yes, ‘We’,” Mr. Black declared as he descended with a final flap of his wings and landed near the two ponies, “After all we’ve done to fight the bugs, you’re just going to turn tail before our biggest battle yet? You’ve changed quite a bit in the past few days if that’s true. ‘Coward’ isn’t something I’d pegged you for turning into.” “I’m not retreating,” he replied calmly as he took a familiar ovoid shaped device from his satchel and strung it around his neck, “I’m the advance party.” “Huh,” the Griffon grunted, “So you did get your beacon working.” “I have an alibi for disappearing, you two don’t. I need you to stay here and be on your guard.” “Why did you lie to the Princess?” Trixie asked with bitter pointedness. Bunsen Burner looked at Trixie with a small amount of surprise, “You spied on me?” Trixie’s expression didn’t change from her agitated glare. Finally, the older stallion gave a little smile, “Good. You’re learning. As a general rule, Ms. Lulamoon, I lie to everyone, but always out of necessity.” “That talk about a pony like you being able to change,” Trixie asked as she raised her voice a little higher, “Was that a lie too?” Bunsen Burner froze as he thought about what he had said a few nights previous. Finally he sighed in frustration, unable to say anything clever in response. Trixie’s eyes widened as she injected meaning into his silence, “You don’t want to change, do you? You’d rather stay as you are, heading off into the stars know what, than be someone else and stay out of harm’s way?” “I’ve made my choice,” Bunsen Burner replied simply. “Just go,” she exclaimed with a frustrated waving of her hooves, “Can’t you just leave this to us? You’ve done your part, so why can’t you just go and try to live a life that will at least give you a chance at happiness?” “He won’t stop; not now, not ever,” Mr. Black declared as he turned to look at the unicorn, “As long as there is something to fight for, he won’t rest until he’s gotten it. That’s his way. He can never leave anything half done, and he’s not walking away until this war is seen through.” The griffon glanced at his former squadmate; the old stallion nodded appreciatively for his understanding. Mr. Black then looked back at Trixie and quietly finished, “Now, give him his jolt of magic and send him on his way.” She glared at the griffon for a full three seconds and then wordlessly lowered her head, and fired an energy bolt directly at the surface of the tele-beacon. The device began to shine blue in resonance with her aura, and it retained the magic it had been imparted with. “You’d better come out of this alright, you stubborn old earth pony,” she declared with a hurt but angry voice, “Or I’ll never forgive you!” “I’ll try,” he replied grimly, “Be ready for anything.” He then pressed the surface of the beacon with his hoof. In an instant, a blue light flashed all around which forced the two warriors to shield their eyes, and with the sound of firecrackers and smoke, the old stallion was gone. “Hope you gave him enough juice,” Mr. Black idly commented as he took to the skies once again, leaving a concerned Trixie to stare at the spot Bunsen Burner had just left, “Otherwise some archeologists in the future will find a rather interesting fossil down the road.” Bon Bon was having a difficult time dealing with her new responsibilities as, well, whatever she was to everypony else. When she was able to get away from the ponies in the camp who continued to ask her questions she definitely didn’t know the answers to, she found refuge inside a cook’s tent. The smell of the various stowed spices and seasonings were almost an immediate aphrodisiac to her. She was in a place she understood completely, and she finally found some peace to think. Who knew that nirvana smelled like cinnamon, sugar, thyme, garlic, lavender, dandelions, and a pantheon’s worth of other wonderful ingredients? As an artist possessed by some creative force, the initially troubled earth pony settled into a rhythm as she took stock of her utensils, pots, and pans, found her items of interest with which to cook, and set to work over the small fire nearby. “May Ah join you?” a voice interrupted her trance. Bon Bon whirled around to find Applejack at the tent flap, a compassionate but hesitant smile on her face. The cook calmed herself a little first before she responded with a warm, “Sure!” “Whatcha making there?” her companion asked inquisitively as she looked down into the pan in the fire. Bon Bon followed her gaze, and was legitimately surprised when even she herself wasn’t sure. “They almost look like cinnamon rolls stretched into a burrito shape,” she finally observed, “Apart from that, I couldn’t tell you what they are.” Applejack shrugged a little, “Well, yer guess is bound ta be better’an mine!” She then sat down at the fire’s edge, her recent curiosity replaced once again with an understanding glance, “You wanna talk?” “Hm? Talk about what?” “Well, we’ve all been under a lotta pressure, and you’re still new ta all this. Ah figured maybe you needed a little help gettin’ adjusted to it all.” Bon Bon look at her for a moment, and then her defenses broke down entirely. She leaned forward a little and exhaled with a sigh, “Sweet Celestia, yes.” She then looked back up to Applejack in equal parts confusion and panic, “I think I’ve been asked almost every question possible. ‘What do you think about the economy?’ ‘Ms. Bon Bon, what is your opinion on Celestia’s Equal Races, Equal Rights doctrine?’ ‘What do you think Equestria’s policy should be on dealing with the Changelings post-war?’ ‘What about the rise of post-Harmonic thought?’ Everypony seems to think I have all the answers because I spoke my mind one time, but I am so absolutely in over my head I don’t know what to say or do!” She paused and almost looked up at her fellow earth pony in awe, “How do you and the others do it? With your friends it almost seems like you always know what to say and when to say it. How do you handle all this stress: the weight of the world hanging on your shoulders?” Applejack looked sheepishly at Bon Bon and nervously chuckled, embarrassed by the way that the candy maker looked up to her, “Ah’m gonna be perfectly clear with you Bon Bon: Ah have never had to deal with the spotlight the way you have. From the outside it may look like we have a plan, but by Celestia’s sweet sun, Ah swear we make it up as we go along. It’s always like we’re all tryin’ to lay the track down only a couple of minutes ‘fore the train’s comin’.” “Hold that thought,” Bon Bon said as she reached for a plate and spatula, “I need to get our mystery food out of the fire.” Applejack patiently waited as the cook dexterously flipped the four cylindrical items from out of the pan and onto the plate with just her teeth and her tool. Bon Bon then whisked them to a nearby table to cool off, and she then began to clean up the many pans and utensils that had been strewn about the area in her wake. “Ponies came from all over the country ta hear what you had ta say,” Applejack began again, “not because you necessarily said it with flowery prose or with some unseen eloquence: it was because you said what was closest to both their hearts and yer own! They admire yer honesty, so just continue to be honest with’em.” Bon Bon put down the bowl she had just been about to put away and turned to the orange pony, blinking in surprise, “Is it really that simple?” “Well,” Applejack chuckled good-naturedly, “Ah don’t know about that. Ah’ve never really been a politician before! Farm work keeps me too preoccupied to try’an run fer election to the House of Commonponies, even if Ah had an interest in the matter! Bein’ the Element of Honesty an’ all, Ah can definitely say that ponies really appreciate when ya talk straight with’em.” She then got up from where she had been sitting and put her hoof around Bon Bon’s back and gave her a soft squeeze of encouragement, “All things considers, Ah’d say yer doin' remarkably well. You know what our secret is? How we make it all look easy?” “How,” Bon Bon asked with a true sense of wonder in her voice. “We believe in each other. That’s the steam ta our locomotive. With each other at our backs to help push us through, we’re unstoppable. You believe in us, so let us believe in you too.” Bon Bon cocked her head a little as she thought with bemusement, and then a smile slowly grew across her face as she turned to her friend, “Yeah. Maybe that is what I need to do: stick with what I know best, be truthful about all the rest, and remember that my friends will always be there for me.” “Ya couldn’t have said it finer!” Applejack replied with a grin. Now at peace in both body and mind, Bon Bon turned to the now sufficiently cooled food waiting for them, and then glanced back at Applejack, “You want to see what it is now?” “Why not? Let’s give it’a whirl!” she replied. They each took one of the treats in their hooves. Bon Bon took the first bite: if she was going to poison somepony, she sarcastically thought to herself, it’d be herself over Applejack. “Huh!” she exclaim in surprise as the light, doughy shell melted in her mouth, “How about that: it is a cinnamon roll burrito!” “Mmmm,” Applejack exhaled contentedly as she took her first bite. She then shook her head up and down a little. “You definitely need to write that recipe down!” she exclaimed through another mouthful, “This is unbelievably good!” Bon Bon eyed her cinnamon burrito in frustration before she chuckled a little, “Great! Now I just have to remember how it was I made it in the first place.”