//------------------------------// // A Word for a World // Story: The Road to Prolegomena // by stanku //------------------------------// In the Supreme Commander’s tent, on a simple bed with a hay mattress, two ponies drown in each other’s bodies. Their intimacy remains impregnable, protected from outside world by the thick canvas that enrobes them like a soap bubble. Armor basks in the warmth of her touch, breathing in her fragrance. With his eyes closed, he can almost ignore the faint noises carrying from outside. His bliss shatters as a rough voice near the entrance addresses him by his title. At least they didn’t rush in, he thinks while glaring at the voice’s direction. “Yes?” “The strike force has been assembled, Supreme Commander,” says the voice beyond the fabric. “They are awaiting for your inspection.” Of course they are. “I’ll be there in a minute.” Half-risen from the bed, he glances at his wife next to him. Her eyes remain closed. “I'd apologize, but you'd tell me not to worry about it,” he says quietly. A smile touches a corner of her mouth. “I’ve taught you well.” She huddles closer to him. “Can you come back afterwards?” she purrs, panting the lightest kiss on his stomach. “I would if I could,” he says, kissing her exposed ear. “But the inspection is followed by the Council’s meeting where we refine the final plans. That will probably take us well into the evening.” “Plans for what?” she asks, opening an eye. Shining Armor bites his lip. “I didn’t mention the attack yet, did I?” Her other eye opens also. “The attack?” He glances at the tent's entrance. “I'd love to explain everything about that to you properly, but I really need to be on my way soon.” She sits up, still smiling, although not as satisfyingly as a minute ago. “I can settle for the short version for now.” “Mind if I dress at the same time?” She shakes her head faintly. “To put it curtly,” he begins while getting off the bed. “We're going to storm the city at first light of the dawn.” He glances behind as he walks to the rack. “But don’t worry, there is a catch.” He expects her to say something, but when her lips remain sealed, he continues: “We are sending a strike force under the Castle, using the same tunnels that Chrysalis did to imprison you. Some of the soldiers will cause a diversion while the rest head to the city’s main gate, bust it open, and let the rest of us inside.” Wrapped in a blue aura, the plates of armor begin to cover him. “The rest of us?” she asks casually. “Will you be joining them?” He pulls the strap of his breastplate to tighten it up. “A figure of speech. As the Commander of the whole attack, I can't take part in it directly.” He can’t hear her sigh, but rather he feels it in his heart. “I don’t wish to criticize, but aren't you hurrying this too much?” she says. “Isn't this something you should be planning for weeks?” Gleaming plates attach themselves to his legs. “We don’t have weeks. According to our estimation, the city’s food supplies ran out days ago. Besides, we haven’t just been idling around all this time.” Lastly, his helmet comes down. “We have come up with strategies that can be applied to our present needs.” He turns around, his armor glowing even in the sparse light that carries through the canvas. “How do I look?” There is only one thing in the world she can answer to that. “Like a Shining Armor.” The chainmail that protects his joints clatters as he trots to her. They share one last kiss. “You could come with me, you know?” he says hopefully as their lips separate. She smiles sadly at that. “No, I could not. The Supreme Commander doesn’t inspect his troops with his wife next to him, nor focus on strategy while stealing glances at her.” She smooths his metallic cheek with a hoof. “I had you for an hour, and that was more than I could ask for. Now it’s Equestria’s turn.” His eyes remain fixed in her's. One word from you and I'd turn my back to all of it. A word for a world and not a thought would stand in my way to you. Is that love? Or just madness? His casual grin hides his thoughts like a shield. “For the two mistresses that own me, it’s always you who sends me for the other one.” He turns and walks away. “Don’t be afraid to ask for more wine,” he says by the entrance. “The first bottle seems to have faced an accident.” The tent door flaps, and he is gone, swallowed by the bright daylight that momentarily floods in. Cadance, sitting by the bedside, looks at the carpet that the wine has ruined. She looks at the picture of the white, rearing horse, studies how the red stains its head, neck, and mane. Without exactly knowing why, she suddenly can’t stand the sight of the thing a second longer. A light-pink aura captures the carpet and rolls it together. To her annoyance she finds that the wine has seeped through and pooled on the tent floor under. I’m being stupid… It’s just some spilled wine. Nopony ever died of spilled wine. She covers the wine stain with the rolled carpet and falls back on the bed. Outside, Shining Armor walks between four unicorn guards, heading towards the centre of the camp. Salutes and greetings blossom along his way but his eyes don’t stray, nor does his stern face show any signs of acknowledging the soldiers around him. The higher the rank, the more distant the commander must be. The chain of command must remain straight, strained, tense. Otherwise it only gets tangled. Only when one of the lieutenants salutes him does Armor nod shortly at the pegasus, immediately forgetting him afterwards. As they come to the large, square shaped clearing in the middle of the camp, Shining Armor notices that Cloud Shield is there already. The Captain is talking quietly with two other Canterlotian pegasi. All are dressed in their chainmails which, while offering less protection than a full plate mail, allows for more maneuverability while airborne. As Shining Armor gets closer, one of the pegasi nods at his direction. Cloud Shield glances behind him, shares one last word with the other pegasi and turns fully towards Armor. “Commander Armor,” he says, saluting with his right front leg. “The strike force is ready for your inspection.” Behind him, the two pegasi step back into the line of a couple dozen ponies. “At ease, Captain,” says Armor, stopping well away from him. The unicorns in front of him stand aside as he walks next to the Captain. “So they chose you to lead the strike force?” he continues. “Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.” He gives him an encouraging smile. Cloud Shield’s expression remains blank. “With your permission, I would indeed wish to lead the attack inside the Castle.” Shining Armor studies the pegasus in front of him, his smile gradually fading. Memories of the past life spring to his mind without an invitation. You always were a reliable Second Lieutenant, perhaps even worthy of being the first one someday… But to think of you as the Captain? It took nothing less than turning the world upside down to achieve that. “I wouldn't have it any other way,” says Armor. The absolute lack of reaction from Cloud Shield’s part confounds him for a second, but soon he continues: “I can see that you have chosen the strike force wisely.” He turns his eyes past the pegasus at the two ranks behind him. “Crystal ponies, for all their brilliance, make poor members for a mission where stealth is the key to the success.” “That is what we thought first, too,” says Cloud Shield, turning around to face the strike force, all of whom share the common Equestrian coat. Armor sweeps the ponies before him with keen eyes, noticing how they all carry the marked armor of the Royal Guard. “I count twentythree, plus yourself. Don’t you think thirty would be more appropriate?” “This is all what’s left of the Royal Guard, Commander Armor.” All that’s left… The thought suspends Shining Armor’s train of thought for a moment. “It can’t be helped, then.” He gives one more look at the gathered ponies, checking if he really can’t recognize any of them. They must be all rather new to the Guard. That makes sense, considering that the rookies sleep in the barracks outside the Inner Keep. They were the only ones who could get out in time. “I’ll speak to them now,” he says to the pegasus next to him. Cloud Shield nods and shouts: “Platoon! Attention!”   A heavy, metallic noise cuts the air as two rows of soldiers stand in attention, stomping the ground once with their right front legs. Chins raise up, necks strain, and twentythree bodies lose even the ghost of slacking, turning into statues of martial glory and pride. At least they would win any parading competition they went into. The Supreme Commander draws a deep breath and speaks with a loud, authoritative voice: “Soldiers! Dark times have once again befallen our brilliant city and country. As before, the enemy came to us like a thief in the black of night, filled with treachery. As such, they were able to steal the day from us.” He searches their faces for signs of emotions. He might as well look for them from bare stone. “That will change tonight. With you as our key, we will liberate Canterlot from the shackles that have bound her. We will sever the chains that have imprisoned our brethren inside their own bodies, that have turned them into the slaves of our enemy. You will have heard this a hundred times already, but I will say it once more: they are not our real enemy. They are not to be harmed except in the direst of circumstances.” A head seems to shake among the soldiers, but the movement is too quick for Armor to say if it was only his imagination. “You will shortly be briefed about the mission’s details by Captain Cloud Shield. From my part, you will only hear this simple truth.” He pauses for four heartbeats. “Canterlot trusts in you. Equestria trusts in you. I trust in you.” “Stand ease!” shouts Cloud Shield when he sees Armor’s nod. “Your words give us strength, Commander Armor,” he says to him, expression serious as a grave. I’d rather give you ten more horns, he thinks while turning away from him. I can only hope that the hate you harbour will catch to these green lads. Even if that is not the type of strength Cadance would have me bless you with. The four unicorn guards settle around him once more as he leaves the square and heads to the War Council’s tent. The same salutes accompany him on his way as they always do. He treats them with the same distanced authority as before. When he trots by a group of earth ponies playing with dice, they nearly tip over the table in their haste to acknowledge his presence. Once I would have laughed at that and asked to join in the game, thinks Armor as he glances at the soldiers. Soon enough, the Council’s tent, even larger than his own, peeks over the sea of colored fabric. “Attention!” shouts a guard inside the tent as Shining Armor steps in alone. The three other Commanders and the two guards stomp their hooves on the ground, eyes nailed in front of them. “Carry on,” says Armor. He walks to his place at the end of the table. “I’m glad to see that everypony made it in time regardless of their other duties. We shall begin immediately.” “Won’t Cloud Shield be joining us?” asks Bright Wing. “He was named as the leader of the strike force,” explains Shining Armor, already blinking his eyes as he tries to look more than ten seconds directly at the glimmering pegasus. “His main task is to plan the strategy for the operation inside the Castle.” Despite the slight watering of his eyes, he can see the pegasus flinch. “I will be of course going through the plan afterwards with him,” adds Armor quickly. Proud Freight, standing between Armor and the Bright Wing, clears his throat. “I am confident in Cloud Shield’s ability to lead the strike force. I wouldn’t have picked him were I not.” His eyes move expectantly to Bright Wing. “Or would you disagree with the choice?” With all three Commanders looking at him, Bright Wings's coat flickers momentarily. “Well, now that you ask… I feel obliged to express my surprise about your choice.” His eyes move to Armor. “I hate to question the issue at this point, but can we truly trust Cloud Shield in this?” Armor ponders his words for a moment, looking the pegasus in the eyes regardless of the stinging that it’s causing in him. “I know what you mean and to an extent I share your doubt… but I still support Proud Freight in this.” Bright Wing’s coat shimmers again. “If I recall correctly, it was your idea to send him after Princess Twilight in the first place. To get him out of here for a while?” “I admit that to be one of the reasons for that," says Armor. “But as we have all seen, his absence served its purpose. Cloud Shield enjoys my complete trust once more.” He blinks as he says that. “He is also the only available officer who knows the Castle well enough,” says Proud Freight. “It is not just a question of whether he is the most suitable candidate. He may very well be our only choice.” “By Sombra’s beard,” says the stout unicorn who had so far remained silent. “Is that why you picked him?” “You heard Commander Armor well enough, did you not?” answers Proud Freight. “If he believes that Cloud Shield can be relied on, so will I.” “But the incident–” continues the stout unicorn. “Is past now,” interrupts Armor, raising his voice over the other unicorn’s. He eyes him and Bright Wing for a moment. “That issue has been settled for good, and it’s in all of our interests to keep it that way. Cloud Shield will lead the attack in the Castle.” “It is as you say, Supreme Commander,” says the stout unicorn with a level voice. Bright Wing stays silent for a heartbeat longer than Armor would like, glancing at Proud Freight. The bearded unicorn seems to be studying the map of Canterlot with great interest. “I concur, Commander Armor,” says the pegasus finally.   “Good. Now, let’s focus on the real questions at hoof.” They start discussing the strategy and nothing more. Like Shining Armor predicted, the task takes them beyond the afternoon and on the precipice evening. When the lighting in the tent has grown dim enough that only the coats of the crystal ponies keep it up, they finally end their meeting. “Now it’s only a matter of informing the officers about the final plans,” says Shining Armor. “And come the dawn, we will attack.” He looks at the other commanders. In the dim, their coats are rather more bearable to look at. “I declare the meeting dismissed. We all know what to do. All that is left is to do it.” “Tomorrow Canterlot will be ours again,” says the stout unicorn. “And our fellow ponies will regain their freedom,” continues Bright Wing. “Tomorrow, I will see my son and daughter-in-law,” finishes Proud Freight, smiling faintly. They leave the tent without another word. But just as Proud Freight is stepping out, Shining Armor, still on his place at the end of the table, says: “A moment longer, Freight? There is a question I need to ask about the first battalion.”   The crystal unicorn stops and returns to the table. “Yes? What would you wish to know?” Shining Armor waits that Bright Wing and the stout unicorn trot out before speaking. “Nothing. I just wished to express my gratitude for taking my advice on the strike force leader’s election.” Proud Freight gives him a blank look. “Do you think that I did you some sort of a favour in that regard? I was only following my judgement, which was to trust my Supreme Commander’s own.” “Right, of course,” says Armor quickly. “I knew I could count on you. Well, that is all.” Proud Freight stays on his place, looking oddly at him. “It was by your best judgement that you instructed me to choose Cloud Shield, was it not?” Armor blinks. “Of course I did. Why would you ask that?” The sliver of doubt that wasn’t supposed to be there in the first place disappears from the crystal pony’s face. “Slip of the tongue. It has been a long day.” “It has indeed,” agrees Armor. “And it’s only going to get longer.” Neither glances at each other as they walk out of the tent and into the twilight. From the horizon, the retreating sun and the raising moon paint the world in golden red, deep purple, and in all the other colors that the ponykind has not even found a name yet. Despite the undeniable beauty of the sight, the faces of the unicorns remain grave as they look upon it. “They say that the fact that the Sun and the Moon keep on their courses regardless of the recent events proves that the Sisters never had power over them to begin with,” says Proud Freight with a faraway voice. His coat reflects the celestial play to the utmost detail, especially in what comes to its sinister shades. Shining Armor glances first at Proud Freight, then at the unicorn guards around them, all of whom shine like the bearded pony does. How could he say that out loud when there are other ponies around? “Who says that?” he asks audibly. The older unicorn turns to Armor. The few inches that he has on him allow the shining eyes to just slightly look down upon the Supreme Commander. “Nopony. Everypony. It does not matter who says it if everypony is thinking about it.” “It is still heresy,” says Armor, lowering down his voice before the pools of brightness. “In any case, I refuse to believe it.” A hint of curiosity, mixed with amusement, crosses Proud Freight’s eyes. “What do you believe in, then?” Is he talking to me like a father, now? “I believe it to be a sign that the Sisters are still alive. The enemy might have imprisoned them and is forcing them to use their powers.” Proud Freight looks at him a moment longer and then smiles his faint smile, the smile that a ghost might wear. “That is a good thing to believe in.” Like blown off by a breeze, the smile evaporates in a blink of an eye. “I beg for your leave now, for the sake of both of us. As you said, there is still work to do.” Armor nods at him and watches him trot on his way with two guards. I could ask what you believe in, but I think I have a pretty good idea of that already. With his own guards falling in formation around him, Shining Armor heads to the western end of the camp where the pegasi companies are located. The pathways are mostly clear by now, so apart from a few guards' salutes, his path is more quiet than usual. Still, despite the order to hit the hay earlier, he can hear faint voices carrying from several of the tents. They almost disappear when he and his retinue walk by. They are nervous and who can blame them? Better let them share some of that nervousness than to insist on hiding it.    When he finally gets to Cloud Shield’s tent, he is surprised to find it dark. A peek inside verifies his notion that the tent is indeed empty. Looking around, he spots a pair of pegasi guards trotting nearby. “Ask them if they know where Captain Cloud Shield is,” he says to his closest guard. The unicorn obeys and returns shortly with the following message: “Captain Cloud Shield is in the pegasus training yard.” Is he practicing at this hour? thinks Shining Armour as he heads towards the training yard that lies on the outskirts of the camp. When they reach the site, this turns out to be exactly the case. The five unicorns stop to watch at the figure that zigzags with formidable speed among various obstacles, dealing blows at dummies that block his path. The practice dolls, filled with sand, break apart as the pegasus brings his full weight upon them. One of the things practically explodes as he kicks it twice with his front legs. “Captain!” shouts Armor at the pegasus who seems to be too focused on the training to notice anything else. That includes the voice of the Supreme Commander. Armor tries again, and again for the third time. “Get him here,” he says finally to one of his guards. The unicorn gallops to the obstacle course and almost becomes one of Cloud Shield’s targets there. This doesn't bode well, thinks Armor when the Captain finally flies to him, the smell of sweat heavy on him. “Supreme Commander,” he pants, raising his hoof to a salute. “I didn’t hear you.” “It makes no matter,” says Armor calmly. “We need to–” Suddenly, he realizes what the pegasus is wearing in his hooves. A feeling cold as frost lances through him. “You were practicing with blades?” he asks. The pegasus lowers his front leg, studying seemingly indifferently the sharp metallic edge that has been strapped to his hoof. It gleams in the mixed light of the celestial bodies. “I did,” he says bluntly, looking at his own reflection in the weapon. “It has been a while since I used these. Thought to give them a go before the big day.” Armor looks at him in astonishment. “You don’t mean to wear them tomorrow, do you?” The pegasus gives him a deeply confused look. “Of course I will. We all will. That’s what they’re for.” Armor’s mind blanks out for a moment from the sheer genuine honesty that the pegasus’s voice and face convey. “Leave us,” he finally manages, directing his words at the guards. They obey immediately, trotting to what Shining Armor hopes to be out of earshot. He takes a step closer to the Captain. “Are you insane?” he whispers to him, his voice thick with anger. The pegasus flinches, his perplexion still evident. “I’m not sure if I follow, Commander Armor.” “The blades,” hisses Armor. “They're meant for killing.” The confusion hardens into an iron frost. “I know.” Armor almost kicks him for that. Instead, he shouts in rage: “What’s the matter with you!? We made it perfectly clear that the Changed ponies are not to be harmed!” The bladed hoof lands to the ground with a metallic thud. “You also said that we were allowed to defend ourselves from them. We pegasi cannot do that without weapons.” The blank expression he wore earlier has returned in its full unreadability. "And the unicorns could use them in a pinch, too." “I meant self-defence by non-lethal means,” continues Armor slowly, emphasizing the negative prefix. Then his eyes go wide. “Wait: are you saying that the whole strike force will wear these?” Cloud Shield nods. “I didn’t see it fit to deny them something I take for granted.” “They want to wear them?” Cloud Shield shrugs. “None of them objected.” Shining Armor is not somepony whom those who know him would call impulsive. Seeing him now, on this very moment, they might change their opinion quite radically. “How can you be so thick?!” he cries at the other stallion’s face. “Didn’t you learn anything from the first incident!” Cloud Shield doesn’t even blink. “How many of your brothers and fellow ponies you want to maim?!” continues Armor. “Wasn't one enough?! You have no idea what I had to go through to keep you out of court-martial for that, you have no idea!” “I expressed my gratitude for that at the time, Commander Armor,” he says quietly. “It isn’t your bucking gratitude I want but your obedience! And your wits, if you still have any!”   A shadow travels past Cloud Shield’s eyes. “My wits?” “Yes, your bloody wits!” “Is my Commander worried about my sanity?” asks Cloud Shield, his voice suddenly oddly sinister. The observation escapes Armor who is preoccupied with his boiling rage. “Oh, you noticed?! How convenient! Perhaps you'd–” He quiets down when the gleaming blade stops a breath of a hair from his throat. The sudden movement of Cloud Shield brought their faces only centimeters from one another. “My sanity, Commander?” he repeats almost inaudibly. “After what they did, you question my sanity?” “Soldier. Put down the blade.” Armor’s voice is thinner than the distance from his coat to the steel. Cloud Shield sounds as if he was suffocating on something. “Members of the Royal Guard… attacking Princess Celestia herself?” His hoof shakes a bit, bringing the blade yet closer to the snow-white coat. “I saw the Captain himself… take the tiara of her head…” Armor's eyes remain locked into his. “Cloud Shield,” he says. “I know. You told me all that already. He wasn't in his right mind, none of them were.” “He deserved to die,” continues the pegasus, oblivious to Armor’s words. ”I’m not ashamed to say it. I’m not sorry that I did it. What they did was treason. No… It was more… It was beyond treason.” The blade shakes again. This time, it cuts a few hairs off Armor’s coat. “You… You killed the Captain of the Royal Guard?” Did I ask that aloud? “He was no Captain!” cries the pegasus. “He was not even a pony anymore.” He blinks for the first time in what seems like an eternity. “Although… when I pierced his throat with my spear… his eyes… they turned green again.” Something that resembles a short laugh climbs up his throat. He blinks again, but when his eyelids open they're not looking at Armor anymore, but at his raised hoof. “What the buck?” And then a storm breaks loose. “Get him!” cries a shout from beyond Shining Armor’s vision. He sees how the confusion ignites into blind rage in the pegasus’s eyes, but before he can do nothing else, the green glow that had creeped along his raised hoof speeds to enrobe his whole front leg, from there his shoulder. He tries to pull away from the glow, but suddenly his limb twists into an unnatural angle behind his back. “Ngh!” he grunts and falls to the ground. Immediately he tries to rise again, but the green aura only tightens its grip. “Let go of me!” he cries, thrashing violently. He glances up at Armor, face twisted by madness. “Make them to let go of me!” Shining Armor only stares at the pegasus in disbelief. “You had your blade on my throat…” He touches the spot where the cold steel almost kissed him. At the same moment, a rough voice addresses him from behind. “Supreme Commander! Are you alright?” He turns around and sees one of his guards looking at him anxiously. More are galloping over, some to him, but most head to the still thrashing pegasus. All of their horns are glowing ready. “We heard the shouting and saw what happened,” continues the guard. “It took us awhile to get close enough to seize him safely.” “Good work,” hears Armor himself saying, lowering his hoof. “Good… work…” “Let go of me! I am the Captain of the Royal Guard!” “What would you have us do with him?” asks the guard, looking at Cloud Shield in disdain. As if in a dream, Armor looks again at the mindlessly flailing pony at his legs. I would have trusted the fate of Canterlot in your hooves. I almost trusted thousands of lives in your care, in your hate… “Commander Armor?” asks the guard, looking at him again. “Lock him up in the cells meant for the Changed ponies,” he says with a detached voice. “But don’t put him in with the rest of them.” “Yes, Commander Armor.” Armor watches the guards take the pegasus away. His resistance is fervent enough so that Armor sends all four to make sure that the Captain reaches his new accommodations safely. “And somepony, just shut his mouth. He’ll wake up the whole damn camp like that.” I really thought I could trust you, Armor thinks as the green glow muffles Cloud Shield. Why could I not see what had become of you? Why? Why…? As the guards take the pegasus away, Armor notices the hoof blades that somepony took off from Cloud Shield at some point. He picks them up, studying them in the faint light. He had even sharpened them. I must cancel his order to the strike force at once, cancel it and… and… The weapons drop to the ground. There is no leader for the strike force. Cloud Shield is the only officer we have who has actually been inside the Castle. And the team is green as summer grass: they need an experienced pony to lead them. The sun has almost already gone, and the moon is well on its way to greet the night. The practice yard rings with silence. From here, he can see the silhouette of Canterlot rising against the mountainside. From this distance and in the sparse light, it almost looks like the city is untouched. If I delay the attack, more ponies will starve, and the device comes yet closer to become finished. There is only one thing I can do, then… as the Supreme Commander. The real problem is… can I do it as Shining Armor? A word for a world…   ***    The sound of breaking wood fills the air again and again as the walls of the small shed are brought down, plank by plank. Amidst the saw dust, dirt, and splinters, Rainbow Dash gives another kick of her wiry hind legs to the dry wood. After two hours of work in the sunlight, she is both panting and sweating heavily, yet the blows she deals are as fiery as when she began, if not even more so. Most of the shed, along with the logs that it contained, are spread on the yard in a mismatched order. Only one corner is still standing. She stares at it with glee, her breathing heavy and rapid. She is about to crash into it when a familiar voice from behind asks: “Is that truly necessary anymore?” Dash gives Rarity a sardonic look. “You think it ever was?” She nails her gaze at the corner and with a short aerial charge, brings it crashing down.   “What do you mean?” asks Rarity, walking closer to Rainbow Dash. “It’s a bucking shed!” shouts the pegasus, kicking a plank in two. “Full of logs, spiders, and dust! What an awesome waste of my time!” She turns an annoyed look at Rarity. “Please tell me you at least spend your time usefully.”   “Not exactly, no,” says Rarity, shaking her head. “Twilight is still at it, but I had to get a break… Reading that diary is starting to take its toll on me.” “Why? What’s in it? Something evil?” “Nothing of the sort, actually,” says Rarity, looking at the ruin of the woodshed. “It is all the same from day to day: observations on animals, various thoughts… some poems… Just about the stuff that you would expect to find from a diary of a hermit.” “But there’s gotta be something else, right?” insists Dash. “The guy couldn’t have just planned the attack all in his head! He must’ve hid the evidence somewhere.” “I suppose so,” says Rarity quietly, eyes looking nowhere. Dash tilts her head. “And whaddya mean, ‘taking its toll on you’? Are the poems that bad?” An ironic smile spreads on her thin lips. Rarity frowns at her. “They are quite beautiful, in fact: intricate and ponderous. And it’s that what keeps on bothering me.” “What?” “Would a profoundly evil pony been capable of writing poems such as that? Or been interested in the mating habits of the local doves?” Dash snorts. “The diary is obviously a fake. It’s meant to cover his real identity in case somepony tracked him down.”   The anxiousness in Rarity’s face only deepens. “You truly believe that he would have written an entire diary just for that? The thing covers over a decade of his live.” “Or so it's meant to.” Dash rises on her wings and circles Rarity in the air. “What are you on about, Rar?” Her gaze follows Dash floating above her. “I think you know quite well what that would be, Dash.” Dash narrows her eyes. “Now why would you be thinking something stupid like that?” “Because if he really wasn’t whom we thought him to be–” “He was,” says Dash sharply. “And were I you, I wouldn’t be hinting anything different.” Rarity arches an eyebrow. “Or what? What do you mean by that?” Dash lands abruptly right in front of Rarity. “I mean,” she begins quietly. “That what you’re saying, even if there was some truth to it – which there isn’t – is not something you want Twilight to be thinking about right now.” She nods meaningfully at the cabin’s direction. Rarity studies her friend carefully. “I know that. Believe me, I know. I could not even think about…” A shudder travels along her neck. “I just needed to talk to somepony about that,” she finishes, eyes cast down. Dash’s expression softens slightly. “Well you talked about it. Might as well forget it now.” Rarity is about to answer when she hears a sound of flapping wings approaching them. She looks at the river’s direction and sees Fluttershy coming fast towards them. Her flight is broken and unsteady. Soon she lands next to them, panting. “I… I found… something,” she manages while catching her breath. “What?” say Rarity and Dash in unison. “Something… important,” she continues, swaying slightly. “Where?” the two ask together. “Up the mountain... trail,” says Fluttershy and collapses. Dash barely manages to catch her before she hits the ground. “There is a cave,” says Fluttershy, sweat trickling down her brow. “I came as fast as I could… I may have overdone myself…” “She is feverish,” says Rarity worriedly as she tries her friend’s brow. “Twilight warned that this could happen: it’s the side effect of the potion. We must take her inside.” “No!” blurts Fluttershy, her eyes wide. “I must tell you! I must… let you know…” Her voice trails off along with her consciousness. “We got you, Shy,” says Dash as Rarity gently helps Fluttershy onto her back. “Just relax now. We got you.” They hurry inside where Twilight is surrounded by various papers and an opened diary.   “What happened?” she asks surprised as she sees the unconscious Fluttershy. “She wore herself out while flying up to the mountain,” says Rarity quickly. “She has fever, too.”     Dash sets Fluttershy carefully on an old couch. “What potion did you gave her back then?” she asks, looking anxiously at Twilight. “One that saved her life,” she answers, hurrying to the couch. She tries Fluttershy’s brow, listens to her breathing, and opens carefully her eyelids while lighting her pupils with her horn. “This doesn’t make sense,” she mutters. She turns to face the other two ponies. “Tell me exactly what happened.” “We were talking about… stuff with Rarity,” says Dash quickly. “And then she came staggering down from the sky, all sweaty and out of breath,” continues Rarity. “She said that she had found something up the mountain trail,” says Dash. “Something important.” “And then she collapsed,” finishes Rarity, her eyes watering slightly. “Twilight, what happened to her?” Twilight eyes the two ponies carefully for a moment and then turns back to Fluttershy. The pegasus's mouth is slightly cracked open, she breathes more steadily now, and without the heavy sweat that covers her, one could almost think that she is just sleeping calmly. “I grabbed the potion from the Castle’s hospital while we fled from there. It’s supposed to milden and heal magical injuries by slowing down the victim’s body functions by creating a sort of a coma so that the disintegrating magic in the body becomes dulled, too.” She bites her lip. “But this is wrong. The medicine shouldn’t be affecting her anymore, not this strongly at least.” “‘A sort of a coma?!” cries Dash. “What, is Fluttershy gonna turn into a vegetable?!” Rarity starts sobbing. “That shouldn’t be possible!” shouts Twilight helplessly, staring at Fluttershy. “I gave her the minimum dose! There is no way this can be the potion’s fault!” “It doesn’t matter whose fault it is,” says Dash, flying to Twilight. “How do we fix this?” Twilight turns her eyes slowly to Dash. The corner of her mouth twitches faintly. “I… don’t know…” Rarity cries helplessly. Dash opens her mouth to say something, but can only stumble into the chaotic thoughts that clog up her mind. Her wide magenta eyes keep on staring incredulously at Twilight. “W-what?” “I said that I don’t know what to do!” Twilight cries, stomping the floor with her front leg. “This doesn't make any sense!” “Hey guys…” carriers a faint voice from behind Twilight. “Why... are you yelling?” All eyes dart to Fluttershy whose half-opened eyes blink feebly at them. “Fluttershy!” they say together, rushing to her. A storm of worried question ensues, and it's finally Rainbow Dash who has to push her two other friends away to give some breathing room for Fluttershy. After they have all somewhat calmed down, Fluttershy coughs and says: “I think I’m better already, thank you.” She gives them a wavering smile. “You shouldn’t have strained yourself so much!” blurts Rarity. “What did you find?” asks Twilight, moving closer to the couch. “Whoah, Twi, cut her some slack!” says Dash and puts a hoof on her shoulder. “No, Dashie,” says Fluttershy before Twilight can answer. “I did find something important… A cave.” “Where,” asks Twilight slowly. Fluttershy wipes her brow with a wing and swallows. “It’s very hard to find... I have to show it to you myself.” She tries to get up, but Dash presses her gently back into the couch. “Not yet you’re not," she says. "What’s so important about that cave?” Fluttershy closes her eyes before answering. “The squirrels said that it was there that he went once or twice a month. He just trotted inside and came out days later, maybe even a week. The bats even remembered that he favoured to go there on Tuesdays.” Her eyes open again. This time, a sense of fear flickers in their bright blue depths. “They also said that sometimes, they heard screams from there. Not often, but sometimes.” Twilight, Dash, and Rarity share a look. “Did they ever saw what he was doing there?” asks Twilight. Fluttershy shakes her head weakly. “The didn’t dare to look. Also, they said that the back of the cave had some kind of a magical seal that blocked their path to where the screams came from.” “Okay, that does it,” says Dash. “We have to check that cave out asap.” She glances at Fluttershy again. “Can you tell some bird to take us there?” “I can try… but all the animals were very reluctant to get close to the place. I had to ask them really nicely and I can’t say if they’ll go there without me.” She coughs a few times into her hoof. "If the cave wasn't their home, the bats would've been long gone, too." “Well that’s just great,” snaps Dash, rising to the air. “What the hay is in there?” “That we’ll find out,” says Twilight determinately. She looks at Fluttershy. “I don’t want to rush you… but you know what is at stake here.” Fluttershy swallows. “I… I know.” Twilight studies her for a moment. “It is possible that you have traces of the potion left in your circulatory system. Combined with the recent stress and physical strain, that could explain your sudden lack of strength. With enough water and rest, you should be on your feet by tomorrow.” “Are you certain of that?” asks Rarity. “She does look awfully pale.” “So do you,” says Twilight bluntly. A sudden silence descends into the room. “I’m sorry,” she continues, eyes cast down. “I didn’t mean anything by that… Honestly, I feel kind of weak myself.” “I understand, Twilight,” says Rarity, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “We all have been burning the candle from both ends lately.” “You three should all rest,” says Dash, still floating in the air. She looks at Fluttershy. “I’ll get you a drink from the stream. Heck, I’ll even go scrape some ice for you from the mountaintop.” She grins encouragingly at her. “You brought us the best news we’ve had for longer than I care to remember.”     Rarity is the first to take the cue. “Dash is right. You did a wonderful deed, Fluttershy.” “Thank you,” says Fluttershy shyly, hiding her face into her mane. “It was nothing, really… Dashie would have spotted it eventually… or either one of you.” Twilight takes a step forward and lifts her friend’s chin gently with a hoof. “But it was you who did find it. And for that, the whole Equestria will be in debt to you.” Fluttershy looks her in the eyes. Amidst the deep purple, she catches a sense of familiarity that she thought to have lost forever. It is a peculiar thing and slightly unsettling, too. It is almost as if she saw a glimmer of Princess Celestia in those twilight eyes.