//------------------------------// // Death and Decisions // Story: Right Behind You // by BleepBloop2 //------------------------------// [Present] The rest of the meeting went quickly. I spoke maybe half a dozen more times total, too busy sizing them up. I’m pretty sure I managed to match the Element to the pony. Orange was Honesty, Blue was Loyalty, Pink was Laughter, Twilight was Magic, and if Yellow wasn’t Kindness I’d eat my hat, which meant White was Generosity. Twilight seemed to be Celestia’s favourite of the group, and while that alone would be enough to condemn her, I’m pretty sure I could just give her my gun and she’d blow her own head off out of sheer intelligent stupidity. Not as much fun, to be sure, but an entertaining thought in its own way. She had this need to know everything, asking a dozen questions and she kept trying to take notes of what was supposed to be a top secret meeting. How she survived childhood, I’ll never know. I know I probably would have helped beat the shit out of her if she grew up near me, and I wasn’t that much more terrible than the average kid. Pink wasn’t much better. At first I though she was tapping a hoof or something, but nope, she was vibrating. No wonder she always had a smile. She was as airheaded as a hot air balloon, daydreaming constantly, never paying attention. And she kept twitching, all over. And she made Twilight write down what body parts twitched. Like, she had Twilight write down, and I quote, ‘left ear double flop, twitchy tail, gummy eye,’ a good half dozen times. Yellow spoke less than I did, looking like she wanted to turn invisible, only looking anything less than afraid for her life when a pair of birds landed on the window ledge, when she kept glancing at them with a small smile. She squeaked as soon as someone spoke when she wasn’t paying attention, blushing a horrible pink. Orange actually seemed halfway competent. She was the only one with any decent headwear, but other than that I don’t know why I thought so. She didn’t say anything intelligent, but whenever she said anything, I got an itch to stab her in the back and laugh maniacally. Blue acted confidant, but I bet she’d have performance issues. She was all bluster and arrogance, claiming she could take me easily. Still, Celestia appeared to give her some small amount of respect, so I shouldn’t underestimate her too much. Celestia isn’t a complete idiot. She’s fifty percent idiot. Sixty max. As for White, I wasn’t sure. She didn’t do much other than let Yellow lean against her and make an occasional surprised noise. Didn’t say much, thankfully, considering her accent made me want to shove a knife in her eye and wiggle it around until it stopped being fun. Anyway, the meeting was over, and it was as we about to leave I realised something. The Element bearers, the normal ponies, they think they can win, that they can beat me. They’re confidant, heads held high. They think their precious Princesses will save them. Can’t be having that. I looked at Celestia. I couldn’t pretend to tolerate her much longer. Sooner or later, she was going to open her stupid mouth and I’d stab her out of principle. “Sister, you take the lead. I shall bring up the rear.” She smiled at me. “Yes, that is a good idea Luna. Stay between the two of us, my little ponies.” I hate that phrase. Luna used it as well, before Celestia got to her, changed her mind, made her weak. Twilight spoke as we were about to leave. “Princess, maybe Fluttershy should go talk to the animals in the garden, see if they’ve seen anything?” Yellow looked around at that, looking caught between relief and fear. Her normal expression, really. Celestia frowned, started worrying at her bottom lip. She stopped it quickly. Couldn’t let her little ponies see she wasn’t perfect. I spoke before she could shoot the idea down. It was perfect, really. “I shall escort her. Together, we can find any nocturnal creatures, to help watch when night falls.” Fluttershy - were her parents psychic? - didn’t look too happy about being alone with Luna, but I couldn’t care less. Celestia frowned, but didn’t argue. “Very well. But be quick.” I nodded. “Come, Kindness. Stay by my side.” We left before the others, heading towards a garden. It was quiet, at first, but she must have grown a spine at some point, because she came out from behind her hair long enough to speak. “Why did you call me ‘Kindness’, your Majesty?” she murmured. “Because that is what you are. I am a Princess, you are Kindness. Being a Bearer outranks all other titles you could hold.” I didn’t try and sound warm, or friendly. There was no more conversation. We got to a garden pretty quickly. She led the way, thankfully. I didn’t know my way around yet. And, turns out, she really could talk to animals. I’ll be damned. Her mark was a trio of butterflies, but that could mean pretty much anything. I stood behind her, looking around as she talked to a pair of fluffy bunnies. When I was sure she was distracted, I moved closer. She never saw the knife coming. [Celestia’s PoV] Princess Celestia, Diarch of Equestria, Lady of Morning Glory, the Sunmover, Lightbringer, the Morningstar, She Who Brings the Dawn, was nervous. Her sister had left with Fluttershy almost an hour ago, and they had been missing ever since. She almost jumped at the knock on the door. The other Element Bearers, Twilight and her friends, all glanced at the door. Rainbow Dash moved towards it, but stopped, looking at her for guidance. Celestia waved them back, then walked over and opened the door. Outside was a guard she didn’t recognise, but they had had a wave of new recruits, and the armour was enchanted to make them almost identical. Still, the vibe the recruit gave her was odd, but she pushed it away. Nerves, she told herself. “Yes,” she said, glancing at the insignia on his shoulder, “Private?” The recruit bowed his head. “You’re needed in the throne room, your Highness.” “What for?” The Private licked his lips. He was as nervous as she was, Celestia realised. And hiding it better, at that. His mouth was dry, eyes wide, tail twitching rapidly. Something had spooked him. He glanced behind her, at the Elements. “I, I don’t have the words, your Highness. I was just told to come get you.” He glanced behind her again. “I don’t know if they should see this.” “See what, my little pony?” He swallowed noisily, and seemed to swallow some of his fear. “The intruder, the Spy, has left a message for you. In the throne room.” Celestia doubted anyone there noticed the effect that message had on her. The slight twitch of her wings, the tiniest droop of her shoulders, a dozen other little things that showed her nerves. And yes, her fear. Spy had managed to best her three times out of five, and despite a millenia spent searching, she still had no idea who he was, never mind what, or how he managed the things he did. She took a deep breath, steadying herself. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the Elements looking at her. “We go to the throne room.” They all stood. She could see they were nervous as well, but behind the nervous she could see what helped them stay strong. They all knew, not merely believed, or thought, but knew, in the deepest parts of their souls, that she would protect them, save them, keep them safe. She looked down at the Private. How old was he? Twenty? Eighteen? Barely old enough to be out of his mother's sight. None of them were. Which made it a good thing she was there to take care of them, did it not? “I shall take point,” she said. The Private seemed surprised. Did he expect her not to know any military terms? Or perhaps he was just surprised by how sharply she said it. It mattered not. “I’ll take the rear,” he replied, stepping to one side to let her pass. She nodded, and started walking. It took her a second to remember to slow down enough for the others to keep up. The walk to the throne room was a short but tense one. She regretted not pressing the Private to say what had happened more. But such was the power of hindsight. She regretted it a thousand times more the moment she opened the throne room doors. Fluttershy lay across both thrones. Her face was peaceful, a small smile on her face even in death. A knife lay next to her, the blade red and still dripping. She tried to stop them from seeing it, she truly did, but it was too little, too late. She was not sure which one threw up first, but soon they all were. Celestia stepped into the throne room, almost gagging as the smell of blood and offal hit her. She heard tears and more vomiting behind her, five voices crying out in pain and grief. She glanced around the throne room, looking for her guards and finding none. What had happened to them? And where was Luna? She turned around. Five voices. The Elements were there, with the Guard that came to fetch her looking ill, but solid. She gave him a small nod, glancing at the bearers. He nodded back, and moved between them and the doorway, his back to the crying ponies. There was something on Luna’s throne, she realised. Walking over, taking care to go around Fluttershy, she lifted it up. It was a letter. On her sister’s stationary, and addressed to her. She lifted it to eye level and inspected it carefully. Spy had laced a letter with some vile white dust conjured from who knows where, that had made her deathly ill and killed dozens of ponies before her medics figured out the spell to stop it. When she was sure it was free of traps or tricks, she opened it and emptied the contents onto the throne. It was a picture, of the Element bearers. In it, Fluttershy’s face was crossed out and the others had question marks over their faces. She turned it over, looking for more information. There was nothing. A sound like thunder echoed throughout the throne room. She knew the sound well. It had featured prominently in her nightmares during the war. The screaming grew louder. Turning around, Celestia could not help but think that, at least she would finally no longer have Tirek in her nightmares. The scene before her easily replaced that. The first thing she noticed was the surprised look on Twilight’s face. Not pain, or fear, but surprise. Her friends cries paused, too shocked to continue, as Twilight slumped forward, her coat turning red from the hole in her back. He stood behind her, and even as Celestia gathered her power to smite him, reduce him to ash, he tipped his hat - her sisters crown - and vanished. The picture fell, burning, from Celestia’s telekinesis. She was going to kill Spy, but first she had to find him. And who better to find a Spy, than a spy? As she ushered the remaining bearers from the throne room with soft wings and softer words, she began composing a letter to the Changeling Queen.