//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: On The Move // Story: The Unity Pact // by Truthseeker //------------------------------// "I told you I wasn't gonna hurt nobody unless I had to." Mario LeBlanch said, "And I sure as fuck ain't gonna hurt no girl that got a bun in the oven." "Will you shut up already Mario." Tina groaned, "You've been going on and on about that for over a week now." The four Humans were cranky. Their canteens were full but their supplies of food were nearly half depleted, they hadn't seen any fruit trees, and no one liked the prospect of eating insects. They had headed directly North after leaving the site of the massacre. They had no idea they were traveling parallel to the main group. The trees had thinned out and more and more bushes and shrubs grew along the ground. Their feet were sore and they smelled of body odor and sweat. Their foot wraps needed to be washed and the blankets they wore were soiled, scratched, and torn. The three friends had reluctantly decided to let Mario stay with them provided he got rid of his weapon and never picked up anything that could be used as one. Thus far, as far as Tina, Rachel, and David knew, he had kept his word. He had learned the day before that Tina was pregnant and had been offering to carry her bags. Tina was irritated and Mario was getting on her nerves. "Wish we had a tent." Rachel said, not for the first time. "It can't be helped. We just have to keep going . . . " Mario began. "Until what!?" Tina snapped, "Until we starve? Until we get eaten by some animal? Until those horse things find us?" she sighed, "I wish we had just gone to find their camp. Maybe they really are nice." "Yeah, they so nice after they fuckin' massacre sixty three o' us." Mario grumbled. The African-American man stopped and shook his head, "You ain't totally wrong though." he sighed shaking his head and looked at Rachel and David, "Walkin' all fuckin' day like this ain't good for Tina." "I'm standing right here!" Tina snapped. "I know." Mario said, "I got an idea. They got to be followin' us an' there's four o' us right? We ain't seen 'em yet so they got to be followin' us by our tracks. Why don't yall three go find some place to hide for a while. I'll lead 'em off o' us an' yall backtrack an' find the rest o' the group. I'ma step real careful an' make it look like there's still four o' us. When they pass yall and yall is backtrackin', only step on yall's own footprints so yall don't make no new tracks." "What about you?" Rachel asked, "What happens to you?" "Do yall really care?" Mario asked crossing his arms and shaking his head, "I'm dead either way. We make it back to the group, they gonna execute my ass. I get caught by them horse things, I'ma spend the rest o' my life as some fuckin' experiment. Out here, I got a chance to keep 'em off yall for a while." "That's awfully noble for a murderer." Tina said suspiciously. Mario shrugged, "I got enough shit to answer for when I'm standin' in front o' god. I don't need three more people dyin' pegged on my ass too, especially no baby. Fuck that shit. I'ma make sure yall live." "Oh yeah, like YOU'RE a believer." Tina said sarcastically. Mario smiled and bowed, "Barabus baby." he said, "The murderer that the people let live instead o' Jesus. Now it's my turn to pay that shit back." he straightened up and clenched his jaw, "Now yall go find a fuckin' place to hide." * * * "We've got an audience." Masonete whispered to Joyner, "I need to talk to you, alone." Joyner's nod was so slight Masonete almost missed it, "Go on ahead. I'll follow you in a minute." The group was stopped for lunch in a massive thicket of wild plums. Their bags were already set out to receive the juicy fruits. Joyner was worried though. Ever since the attack Jason hadn't been the same. He was still the groups best 'Pathfinder' but something had broken inside him. He was cantankerous and always on edge. He had become aggressive and bellicose in the week since the attack. He never went anywhere without his weapons and he was as jumpy as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. More than once Joyner had to talk Jason out of committing suicide. There also seemed to be a division among the people. Some wanted to venture out and find out where the equinoids lived. They said they wanted to 'give them a taste of their own medicine'. Thus far, the Fellowship Of Leadership had kept them in check but the notion was spreading somewhat. Some people were angry and bitter about the attack and wanted revenge for the unjustified killings. The vast majority of the people had developed night terrors and would wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat screaming. Many had withdrawn and seemingly lost their initiative in life. They would only respond when spoken to and not take action to interact with others. Fortunately, a few of the people seemed to have effectively moved past their memories of the attack and just wanted to find somewhere to stay and build. THAT mentality was spreading like wildfire and it was the hope of the Leadership that it would lead to more and more mental healing and stability. The people were getting sick of running and hiding. Tina Pho and her friends had started something when they left. People had been talking about how they imagined Tina, Rachel, and David were living it up somewhere. The growing consensus was not to seek out the equinoids but to make a home and let 'the natives' come to them. The term, 'the natives' had sprung up the day after Tina and her friends had left and it had caught on quite popularly. Some people had insisted the equinoids be called 'ponies' but the notion had been largely laughed off. People thought it sounded too cute for creatures that could kill with such ease. Joyner began counting down five minutes in his head as Richardson sat down beside him, "How far out are we?" she asked. Richardson had slowly started to come back to herself after the attack. She wasn't fully recovered but she could think clearly again. She could reason and come up with ideas on her own once more. She was, however one of the ones who woke up with night terrors. She was improving slowly but steadily. Joyner took a bite out of a juicy plum and scratched his whisker laden face, "I'd say with the rate at which we've been going, we'll reach the big field in about a three more weeks. Baring, of course, any further catastrophes that set us back." he took another bite of the plum. "Aiit" Richardson said as she proceeded to take a bite out of her own plum, "We need to figure out a way to deal with women issues soon. There's eighty or so women who are in their time of the month and they're startin' to smell. We need more soap an' figure out a way to make pads or somethin' cause these women are stinkin'." Joyner took a third bite out of his plum, "I'll leave that in your capable hands. I don't know enough about how women used to do it back in history to give you a solution. Maybe ask Brinsin or Morris, they're more likely to know." he stood up and took the last bite out of his plum, "Nature's calling for me too." Joyner wandered away from Richardson and began looking for Masonete. He trekked out of the stand of plum trees and found the elusive man waiting for him near the area that had been designated for a latrine. Masonete was staring out away from the group with his arms crossed. His beard was coming in thickly and the javelins and dagger he carried with his bags were only the icing on the cake that completed the barbarian look. He had slimmed down, every person in the group had. They had shed any fat they had carried before and everyone was looking 'lean and mean' as Hord had put it. Muscles were more evident in every arm and leg and the Fellowship Of Leadership was beginning to suspect that many people were sneaking off at night to enjoy a sexual romp with growing frequency. "We're being followed." Masonete said quietly. Joyner's head snapped up sharply, "One of the natives?" Masonete didn't move a muscle, didn't even turn his head, "Yup. Looking straight at him right now." Joyner tried to follow his friend's eyes but couldn't pick out anything unusual in the forest, "Where?" "The trees straight ahead, about a hundred feet. Head is poking out from behind a spruce. Got a fuchsia mane and a tan coat." Joyner looked again. He counted out roughly what he estimated to be one hundred feet and swept his gaze back and forth. After five full minutes or so, he was about ready to give up when a tiny twitch of movement caught his eye. His eyes focused on the one eye and half a head that was poking out from behind a tree. It was nearly impossible to spot initially but once he saw it, he couldn't figure out how he had ever missed it. "I see him." Joyner said evenly, "How long has he been following us, Andrew?" "For at least three days." Masonete said quietly, "Kaneesha and I tried to sneak up and get in close but every time we do he seems to know and just takes off. You wouldn't know it but he's fast, real fast. Being lower to the ground means he doesn't have as many obstacles to navigate around and his skin is pretty thick too. He ran straight through a thorn patch and Kaneesha and I couldn't follow him." "Do you think he's one of the military types we encountered before?" Joyner asked. "Doesn't wear any armor and neither of us have seen any weapons, but he's a Unicorn so there is that. At first I thought he might be a local from that one town to the East who saw us, but he's been following us for three days so," Masonete shrugged, "Who knows. He hasn't been hostile or anything though. Seems to mostly be curious. Can't blame him for that." Joyner scratched his beard, it was almost constantly itchy, "This could be good or bad. Good if he turns out to be a curious local. Maybe we can try talking to him. Potentially bad if he's a scout for that military group." Joyner scratched his head and dandruff flakes fell from his hair, "What do you think the chances are of him being spotted by anyone in the group?" "Probably pretty slim. He keeps his distance. We've never seen him come closer than seventy five feet or so and that was at night." Masonete finally turned to Joyner, "What are you thinking, Mike?" "Should we tell anyone or not?" Joyner scratched his head some more, "Some of them are paranoid and might start looking for our curious friend for very bad reasons." he sighed and crossed his arms, "Then again if someone spots our friend and looses their cool, which is a good chance, we'll have to deny any knowledge of him or lose face with the group." "Well the Leadership has to know at least. If you don't tell them, I will. We can't make any sound decisions if we don't have all the information. That road leads to distrust and infighting. Honestly, I think we should tell people and let the cards fall where they may." Joyner nodded, "Yeah, at least we'll be able to assert some level of control and it would foster more trust if we do." Joyner hung his head, "When did we start deciding what to tell people based on their reactions and how well we can control them?" "That's the way leadership works sometimes. No point in fussing about it. We have to what's best for the people. Some measure of control is a good thing, it gives us stability and helps us organize. Not enough people have self control to let them self regulate, it would be chaos if we tried." Without any warning, Joyner's hand shot up and he waved at the Unicorn with a big, goofy grin plastered on his face. The Unicorn shrank back, behind the tree for a moment, then peaked back out. It slowly raised its left fore hoof and waved back timidly. "Do you think he's going to be too skittish to approach?" Joyner asked. Masonete nodded as he crossed his arms, "I guarantee it. Kaneesha and I have tried several times. We've tried waving to him and walking out toward him in the open, he ran. We tried sneaking up on him as silently as we could, he ran. It seems like he's only interested in watching for now. He'll wave back every time but he won't get close and he won't let us do it either." "I guess the only thing to do now is to wait and see what he does." Joyner said rummaging through the bag on his chest, "Here," he said holding out a pair of plums, "You need to eat something." Masonete shook his head, "Already ate partner." he reached down and patted his front bag, "Got my pack filled with plums. Head on back. I'll be along in a little while." Joyner nodded and turned to leave but ran directly into Jewel, "We got a big problem." Jewel said seriously, "Ever heard of scurvy?" Joyner lowered his head and rubbed his temples, "Correct me if I'm wrong but don't the symptoms of scurvy take about a month to show up?" Jewel nodded, "Yup. That means about fifteen people had a dietary deficiency before we came here. Now, these plums are going to help, but we'll need a surefire source of vitamin C in the long term. Oranges, cherries, grapefruit, or tomatoes would work nicely but we need a sustainable source. If we're constantly traveling we're going to HAVE to stop for at least a day or two every time we find a grove. I'd recommend staying right here for at least three or four days. I don't like it but people can die from scurvy and I'm not going to expose anyone to anymore risk than I have to." Joyner groaned, "Fine." he said sourly, "I'm going to triple the number of people we have on patrol. There's no way we're getting caught with our pants down again." * * * Razor Wit withdrew after the tall dark colored Human left, she presumed, to join the rest of his kind, "How did that one see me?" she asked herself, "Are their senses THAT good? I thought only animals had senses that sharp." She had been able to see them clearly enough to determine that they were Human but the outlines of their bodies and the finer details of them were blurry to her eyes. Her magic was taxed by the Proximity Ward spell Peach Pit had taught her, it drained her considerably. She had asked how the Humans managed to infiltrate the Unicorn and Earth Pony camp if the Unicorns knew the Proximity Ward spell and the Earth Ponies were trained in Tremor Sense. Peach Pit claimed that due to a mix up in the roster of which Guards were on over-watch, not a single Guard who was on over-watch was trained in the proper spells. A simple error and oversight had cost the Royal Guard their equipment. Razor wondered how the different Regiments of Guards could differentiate individuals with specialty training. There were no outward signs or symbols the she could discern. She shrugged it off and backed up to a tree to relieve herself. She missed having a toilet. She lifted her tail and held it off to her right, 'Toilet paper,' she mused, 'What a wonderful invention.' Having finished with her business, she levitated a small shovel off her saddle bags and covered her mess. The Guards had been nice enough to outfit her with a few supplies. Razor would be the first to admit she was not overly fond of camping. She knew it showed, 'I should have dug the hole BEFORE doing my business.' she groused to herself. She headed back to the tree where she had been watching the Humans but none were present, 'Hmm. I won't be doing any good if I can't see them. Looks like I need to get closer.' She canceled her Proximity Ward and sighed with delight, 'Useful or not, that spell is rough to keep active all the time.' She bent her legs and began sneaking through the bushes and trees quietly, 'If nothing else this will give me a higher ability level in Comprehend and Spirit. Most Unicorns never use Spirit at all. Hopefully my Spirit will be a level three when I finish this. I know Princess Celestia is a ten in most Nouns and Verbs and I'll bet Princess Luna is too. They ARE the basis for the system of levels after all.' Razor smiled quite pleased with herself as she remembered Peach Pit's reaction to her levels, 'Not bad for a civilian indeed. The Regimental Commander is a three in more than half the Nouns and Verbs, while little old me, a 'civilian' is a two. Heh, he tried to recruit me. Yeah, I'm not a warrior, Commander. I don't know any offensive spells, or I didn't until he taught me one. I wonder if that was legal? Offensive spells are forbidden by law. I'll have to ask Princess Celestia about it. Hopefully I won't have to use the so called Spirit Blade, it sounds pretty nasty.' Razor shuddered, 'The thought of even partially severing a living thing's spirit from their body sounds horrible. What kind of Unicorn even came up with something like that?' Razor Wit perked her ears, she could hear Humans talking nearby. She froze and channeled her magic through her horn then used the collected magic to reactivate the Proximity Ward spell. She had to put effort into not yelping every time she activated it. The Proximity Ward detected four Humans within a furlong of her. She lowered her ears and head and slowly backed up until she could barely detect them at the edge of the Proximity Ward, which Peach Pit had explained was roughly two furlongs away from the center of the spell, which was Razor Wit. She lowered her focus on the spell thus reducing the glow to her horn down to almost nothing. She lifted her head above the bush she was in and looked on as the Humans engaged in what looked like a sort of town meeting. She couldn't identify the one who was speaking, she was too far away, but she could hear him, 'Alright I've been watching and listening for three days now. I've seen and heard enough that I'm gauging from his tone, that tones of voice and inflections are identical to our own. That seems very odd. Why would their inflections, tones, and so forth be identical to our own? We are two different societies that developed on two different worlds, according to Princess Celestia, so why are the inflections and tones identical? The development is aligned along different paths yet there is such a significant similarity. That's so odd. There must be, or must have been something that aligned the development of our societies for a time, then each group deviated from each other.' Razor shook her head and refocused on the Human who was speaking, 'I really need to be able to see him. I've heard him speaking for three days and I still don't know what he looks like.' she huffed in agitation, 'I need to know what he looks like so I can know who to try to approach when the time comes. I need a spell to enhance my vision, but I'm not good enough at magic to have more than one spell active at a time.' she whimpered at what she knew she had to do, 'I have to drop the Proximity Ward spell so I can use the Sensory Enhancement spell. Oh I hope none of the Humans notice me.' Razor Wit dropped the Proximity Ward spell and her awareness faded significantly. She licked her lips nervously and slowly channeled magic into her horn so as to keep the brightness of the magic as subtle as possible. She focused her magic into the new spell and it began to settle over her senses. Before it had completely settled, she shifted the focal point of the spell onto her eyes then let it settle completely. Her vision shifted and sharpened intensely. She could make out every detail of the leaves in front of her. She smiled and lifted her head to try to see the Human who was speaking. The detail she could make out on every Human was absolutely incredible. The man she wanted to focus on was immediately crystal clear. He was speaking still, gesturing around himself. Razor focused on the features of his face, 'The Human in charge.' she dedicated his face to memory then refocused on what was being said, 'Since inflections and tones are effectively identical I can at least try to guess what he's saying.' Razor listened carefully as the Human leader gestured frequently and she made sure to pay special attention to the reaction of the other Humans, 'He seems to be giving instructions and he keeps motioning to the other Humans standing with him. Perhaps they don't have a single leader but a council which responds to a leader, like the Gryphons. That would make this much more complex.' she cocked her head to the side in puzzlement as the leader pulled back his lips and gestured to his gums, 'Is he making a point about oral hygiene? These Humans are strange. Interesting as hay, but strange.' * * * "So are there any questions?" Joyner asked. The people had taken to sitting down whenever a meeting was called, "Yeah," a young woman's voice called as she stood up, "What are you going to do about the native that's been watching us? I don't feel safe going to the bathroom now." "Then go in pairs and have someone keep an eye out while you do your business." Joyner responded, "For now I want everyone to keep an eye out and let one of the Leadership know if you spot the native. Please don't try to capture, injure, or kill him. He's been watching us for several days and he hasn't tried anything, he seems to be curious, so let's let him. Curiosity is a good thing for us. Curiosity means he won't hurt anyone . . . " "Unless he wants a single specimen to study!" Jason yelled, "What do we do if someone goes missing?" The gathered people began murmuring to each other, some agreed with the concern. "Then we find 'em." Brinsin said, "An' we get 'em back. It ain't hard bro." "And what about the one who took them?" Jason pressed. "No good researcher would do that." Morris said, Vacca picked up on his thinking, "He's right. The best way to obtain usable data is to observe from a distance. Anything else, any other course of action would taint the findings. We're probably safer with a curious researcher studying us, that way the military will need permission from the researcher to so much as look at any of us." "How do you know?" a young man asked. Vacca shot the man a deadpan look, "How does any military know how to do anything? Simple research. Without researchers and scientists our own military back on Earth would still be using sticks and stones to fight with. Science is the only way to improve so logically, the military would kneel to scientists and researchers." Vacca rocked back on his heels and nodded his head, "We're safe." Jason sat down grumbling angrily. "Are there any other questions?" Joyner asked. No one spoke so he finished, "Alright then, remember to eat plenty of plums to keep up your vitamin C and go about your work." Joyner turned to Jason as the gathering of people was dispersing, "Would you like to tell me what that was about?" he asked quietly. Jason curled his upper lip, "What does it matter?" he said, "You guys won, want to rub it in?" "It isn't about winning or losing," Joyner said emphatically, "We need to present a unified front or else the people won't listen to us. We have to keep them safe." "The same way you did when we lost over sixty people to those monsters?" Jason spat, "That's what they are, plain and simple. How many more people have to die before you see that?" Jason rose to his feet and stuck his finger in Joyner's face, "I'm not buying it. I've seen it, we've all seen it. YOU just refuse to admit what's right in front of us! We need to make them fear us! We need to strike back and strike back hard! If they're scared of us they'll leave us alone!" "Either that or they'll descend on us en-mass and wipe us out." Joyner said calmly, "Or did you forget that it only took fifty of them to kill sixty of us?" he pushed Jason's finger back down, "We saw thousands of them in that camp we raided. They have magic, they outnumber us, and they have armor. What, exactly do we have except stolen equipment?" "We can hit them when and where they're not expecting it." Jason said, a malicious glint in his eyes, "Their civilians." "You're talking about us becoming murderers now." Joyner said. "SO WHAT!?" Jason said, "They massacre a bunch of us and we're civilians! I say we fight fire with fire! We hit them back and we make it count! We can see better than they can. We can pick them off at a distance. I'm sure Brinsin or Morris knows how to make slings and this land is loaded with rivers filled with perfectly shaped stones. We have everything we need to make them pay for what they did!" "And what if we're right and the ones who showed up after the first wave arrested them? Who knows, they might be in prison or executed already." Joyner explained, "How do you think they would react if we attack a bunch of their families after they punished their own for the same thing?" "They'd understand that we're just making the score even! Whatever happened to Hammurabi's Code? Huh? An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth? Remember that? We can't let this go! We'd be saying that it's alright for them to bully us! We have to stand up for ourselves! Why can't you see that!?" Jason said loudly. "Would you let it go if a mistake someone else made got your family murdered? No. You'd go after the one who murdered your family." Joyner lowered his head, closed his eyes, and shook his head sadly, "Listen to yourself, Jason. Do you have any idea how crazy this idea of yours sounds? You're not thinking straight . . . " "NO!" Jason spat, "I'm the only one around here who IS thinking clearly!" he poked Joyner in the chest, "I'll follow your lead and I'll play nice in public, but I'm through with you guys until you stop seeing those monsters through rose tinted goggles! It's either us or them, there is no in-between and they've already shown that!" he lowered his finger from Joyner's chest slowly, "And I'll make all of you see it too." * * * "Prisoner transport for the criminal Proud Hoof, has arrived your Majesties." a Guard informed Princess Celestia. The audience chamber was empty of both petitioners and nobles. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and their Guards were the only attendees. Once the two Alicorns heard that Proud Hoof had survived the massacre and had been retrieved by the rest of the Royal Guard, they had insisted that he be brought before them for judgement, personally. The two Princesses were seated on their thrones. The only things that moved were their manes and tails, billowing in a perpetual, nonexistent breeze. Until Princess Celestia spoke, "Bring them in." The huge, golden double doors swung open slowly, revealing ten Royal Guards escorting an eleventh who was pulling a steel cage set on the flat of a wooden cart. Lying inside the cage was Proud Hoof. His armor had been removed. He had been washed and his wounds had been tended to, but his once proud overall appearance was pitiful. His mane and tail were a brilliant, fiery orange but matted and unkempt. His coat was acorn brown but lacked any sort of healthy sheen, loose hairs flaked off his body at the tiniest hint of a breeze. His bloodshot lavender eyes peered out from under his disheveled mane with a mixture of fear and malice. His hind legs lay splayed out behind him, clean but completely useless. Wagon rolled to a stop and the Guards bowed deeply before their rulers. Proud Hoof didn't so much as incline his head. The two Princesses gracefully rose and regally descended from the dual dais of their thrones in perfect synchronicity. They stopped in front of Proud Hoof's cage and simply observed him. The Unicorn stallion never flinched, he merely stared back impetuously. Neither Alicorn's expression gave away a single hint of what they were thinking. Princess Luna was the first to break the silence, "So, I gave you orders to attack the Humans?" she asked. Proud Hoof remained silent. Luna's eyes narrowed significantly as she lowered her head to speak into Proud Hoof's left ear, "I asked you a question." she said quietly. "What would you have me say?" Proud Hoof asked, "That I lied to the others and led them on an attack under false pretenses? You already know what happened. It was glaringly obvious from the way I was treated." Luna's head snapped up sharply, "Has he been mistreated!?" "No." Proud Hoof said blandly, "But the way they looked at me said it loudly enough. Why are you doing this? Why not just sentence me and get it over with?" "Because we wish to hear your side of the story." Celestia said, "Why did you do it?" Proud Hoof verbally exploded, "BECAUSE THEY TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!" he shrieked, "FIRST THEY TOOK MY FAMILY'S TRIDENT, THEN MY DIGNITY, THEN MY RANK, AND YOU LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT!" he paused for a breath and struggled up onto his fore legs, dragging his hind legs behind him as he yelled at Princess Celestia, "I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO WAS BRAVE ENOUGH TO MAKE THEM PAY FOR IT AND WHEN I DID, THEY TOOK MY ABILITY TO WALK AND MY FREEDOM! I HAVE NOTHING LEFT AND IT'S ALL THEIR FAULT!" The audience chamber rang with the echos of his voice as he panted for breath. Neither Princess nor the Guards flinched at any point during his tirade, their calm was perfect. At length, Celestia spoke, "The only thing they took from you was your trident." she said, voice silky smooth, "Your dignity could have remained intact had you the humility for it. The loss of your rank was your own doing when you abused your position and authority by ordering other Guards to attack the Humans. You lied to fifty other Guards and because of you ninety two beings now lay dead. Ninety two lights snuffed out all because of your pride. The loss of the use of your legs was the price for your pride and a small one indeed, by comparison to what others suffered. How many thefts in Equestria go unresolved especially where my sister or I are involved?" Celestia paused to let it sink in, "None." Celestia and Luna began slowly walking in circles around the cage like yin and yang, speaking in turn, "Do you think we would have let the theft of a family's cherished heirloom go?" "Surely not. Twas not only a stout tool with years of service left but also a symbol of your family's loyal service to the Ponies of Equestria, a symbol of your family's honor and duty," she lowered her voice, "And righteous pride." "And now, it shall be remembered as an evil thing." "A thing that was deemed so important that it cost the lives of ninety two beings." "It and your name shall be spat as foul words on the tongues of generations to come." "Your name will be recorded in the annals of the Royal Guard Archives, not as a hero, but as the single greatest liar, traitor, and murderer ever to hold the title." "Your family already knows of your deeds." At hearing those words Proud Hoof looked up, panic and pain written all over his expression as the two Princesses began speaking more and more quickly. "We initially only said you had fallen, so as to spare them the shame." "They insisted to know, even after we told them it would only bring pain." "Your Father has declined to be present, such is the shame you have brought him." Proud Hoof tried to blink away the tears welling up in his eyes. "Your Blood Mother and Mothers all broke down in tears at the telling." "No more." Proud Hoof whispered. "Your Blood Mother cursed her own body for producing such a monster." "No more!" he cried. "Your five Sisters wept bitterly at the tale of your betrayal." "Please stop!" he cried out loudly. "And your brother spoke of wishing for the right to take your head, himself." "STOP IT!" Proud Hoof screamed. The two Alicorns suddenly stopped and spoke in unison, "Was your pride truly worth so much grief?" In the quiet that followed, the only sound was of the tears of a Unicorn stallion hitting the steel floor of his cage. Proud Hoof's forelegs gave out as the full enormity and weight of his crime came crashing down on him. "And that was merely your family." Celestia said, "The families of the twenty nine other Unicorns that died that night know who it was that lied to their loved ones and led them to their deaths." "A great many voices curse your name and call for your head. Some of the families have even gone so far as to take up a collection for the victims of this tragedy." Luna said. The sisters of Alicorn let the silence linger in the audience chamber as Proud Hoof whimpered and sobbed. "Yet." Celestia began, "The blows that shattered your spine should have killed you outright, but still you live." "Your continued living can only be an act of magic and indeed we can feel its lingering resonance on you." Luna said, "You still have a purpose, a role, a part to play, but that purpose lies not within this nation." "We learned long ago that if the magic of the world intervenes in any situation, we dare not work against it." Celestia explained. The sisters walked around to the front of the cage and opened their wings, speaking in unison once more, "Proud Hoof, you are banished forthwith from Equestria to wander the world until your purpose has been fulfilled." "So let it be written." Celestia spoke. "So let it be done." Luna finished. The sounds of both Alicorns loudly folding their wings more resembled the slamming of a door. The Royal Guards left the audience chamber, pulling a cage which held a broken, weeping Unicorn stallion in their midst. "That seemed unnecessarily harsh, sister." Luna said quietly, "Cruel in fact." "Gold coins must be broken and melted down before they can be reforged into a scepter." Celestia said mysteriously.