[When war and hate corrupts one’s heart, memories can be the only solace. Carried away to a time of peace and harmony, nostalgia is sometimes the only escape for the weary. What do you do when the peacefulness of the past eases its way into the present, and the pain you’ve built your life on dissolves?]
Twilight bathed in the rays of the warm sun as she waited for her friends to arrive at the park. The trees whispering in the wind and the peaceful chirping of the birds eased all of her worries away, relaxing every muscle. She stared off into the distance, thinking about the recent events. Master Plan had left early that morning, to discuss something with his group of friends, leaving Twilight to hers. While she had enjoyed having company, she still felt unsettled about her strange feeling the other night. Who was this pony, and why did he feel so familiar? Furthermore, who were his friends; they were all so varied and unique. While the same could be said of Twilight and her friends, they were not traveling about, and were all from Ponyville with the exception of Twilight herself. Still, she tried to not let it bother her as she enjoyed the warm summer air.
It wasn’t long before everypony else had arrived and the picnic was in full swing. The mat was laid out with an assortment of sandwiches and snacks, a pitcher of punch in the corner. Pinkie had even brought balloons to tie up to a nearby tree to make this bright day even more cheerful. The six of them talked about all kinds of things, from Twilight’s latest studies to Rarity’s most absurd customers, but the conversation drifted, inevitably, to their newest visitors and associates.
“That Valor girl was going to join us, but it appears she was preoccupied.” Rarity remarked, “A shame, really; she seemed like such a nice girl. Did you know she was a guardspony?”
“Yeah, it’s weird, Plan left early this morning too,” Twilight chimed in, “I wonder if they had some sort of meeting or something?”
“I don’t think I like his type,” Applejack grumbled, “the big feller was okay, but that shady guy doesn’t sit right with me.”
“I’m afraid I have to agree,” Rarity added. “Did you see the scar on his face? It was positively hideous!”
“Rarity!” Twilight was almost insulted by her friend’s close-mindedness.
“I’m sorry, dear, you’re right. But was does a pony do to get such a thing on his face?” Twilight was inclined to agree, the few scars she saw when he started to remove his coat were intriguing, to say the least.
“Maybe they had a rough trip getting here,” Fluttershy spoke up, “Pinkie said they came here on foot.” Pinkie nodded enthusiastically, her eyes wide for emphasis
“Well, ah still don’t like ‘em. Something’s not right about that pony,” Applejack grimaced.
“Applejack! We don’t know what these ponies have been through,” Twilight protested, “what if they’re escaping some horrible tragedy?”
“Oh no! That would be, like, super-dooper sad!” Pinkie added, her eyes wide with excitement as though she didn’t notice the correlation of her own comment. “You guys know what we should do? We should throw them a party!”
“I don’t know, Pinkie,” Twilight’s ears fell back, “I’m not sure they’re the type of ponies who would like your parties.”
“What!? What kind of pony doesn’t like a party?”
“Remember when you met Cranky Doodle Donkey?” Twilight raised an eyebrow.
“I think it’s a wonderful idea,” Rarity chimed in, “it might be just the thing to break them out of their shells. Perhaps a little less emphasis on games than usual, but a big welcome party may be what we need to lighten up that dour attitude of theirs.” Though she would never admit it, Rarity was also eager to “break them out of their shells” to glean some juicy secrets from their mysterious visitors.
Twilight thought it over for a moment before looking up with a sense of resolution. “It’s settled, then; we’ll start preparing for a party right away!”
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Master Plan stared into the open skies as he waited for Steel Hoof to arrive. He thought over what had occurred over the last few days, and what had to be done now to enlist the help he needed. The quiet blue sky calmed him as he scanned his mind, preparing and planning. Royal Valor sat at his side, unsure of exactly she was supposed to do while they waited. She did not share his calm, a subtle but forceful anger building up inside her. Angry at Plan, angry at herself, for the whimsical decision she made that changed her life. Not a day went by that she didn’t doubt herself for what she did, but it was too late to turn back. Besides, if this whole mess failed, she would probably not live long enough to worry about it.
Steel Hoof trotted in from the distance, grumbling and hard-faced as usual. “What is it you want?” he was as direct as always.
“We need to prepare for the next phase of the plan,” Master Plan responded, “does anypony know where Kataro has gone?”
All three ponies looked around, as though one of the other two was concealing the answer. “He doesn’t seem to be in Ponyville,” Royal Valor finally replied.
“Very well, I’ll just have to fill him in later. The fact of the matter is that we need the aid of these ponies to succeed; we need to earn their trust. However, we can’t have anypony learning about our operation before it’s time.”
“We already know this; it is obvious,” Steel Hoof bluntly Replied.
“I’m just touching base here; making sure everypony knows what needs to be done.”
“Why is this? Before you were always secrets, always ‘you will see,’ now you need to ‘touch base’ on obvious?” Steel Hoof was clearly impatient, though Master Plan didn’t imagine there was anything that demanded his attention otherwise.
“Because this step is particularly essential, and will likely be prolonged. Gathering the elements is essential to our cause; without them, we will fail. But with them, the whole country will rally behind us.” Master Plan’s expression was dead serious as he looked into the eyes of his compatriots.
Just then, Kataro approached from the northeast, more cut and worn than before. “Do you mind telling us where you’ve been?” Royal Valor’s eyes lit up with frustration.
“You do not need to worry, friends, I just had to tie loose ends.” Kataro replied calmly.
“Really? Is that why you wandered into the forest in the middle of the night? And why you took all of our money with you?”
Kataro stared with confusion for a moment, until the fact of the matter dawned on him. “I apologize for my forgetfulness, but did it really cause so much distress?” Master Plan, too, wondered what was grating her nerves.
“Well… no, but we were forced to impose because of your mistake!” Royal’s Trottingham mannerisms made such a position difficult for her.
“There’s something more we need to discuss,” Master Plan interjected, “if whoever attacked us on the train comes after us again, today is when he’ll do it. I believe, however that the collateral damage that was sustained will be enough to keep us safe from the direct attack of any government officials. That means that there will likely be covert agents here in Ponyville, here to spy on us or even assassinate us one by one, so keep your guard up and your lips sealed.” As he looked over the various members of the group, Royal Valor thought of her meeting earlier that day. Her intuition told her this “Cleric” was possibly involved, but she decided to keep her mouth shut for now.
“With that,” Master Plan continued, “I suggest you return to whatever it was you were doing.” Each pony headed off in a different direction, with the exception of Kataro, who followed Master Plan.
“Where I should head, I do not know; so tell me, friend, where should I go?”
Master Plan thought for a moment, before replying, “Head to Fluttershy’s, or the Motel, if you’re looking for accommodations. Otherwise I don’t care where you go.” With that, Kataro headed off as well.
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As master Plan headed towards the library, he saw Spike racing towards him. “Hiya, Plan!” Spike looked around nervously as though he forgot what he wanted to say. “Wanna… um… hey! Do you know any cool spells?”
Master Pan cocked an eyebrow as he thought about it. Most of the spells he learned had to do with either his mission or his special talent. While Spike would probably be impressed by some of the combat spells he had learned over the years, they were certainly not appropriate to display in the middle of Ponyville, and he didn’t have time to entertain a child.“No.”
“Uh.. okay, well I need you to come with me to Sugarcube corner!” Spike frantically replied.
“Really?”Master Plan’s unamused tone was a little disheartening for the dragon, but he tried to keep pace anyway.
“Yeah! See… Twilight ordered a bunch of cupcakes, and I can’t carry them all by myself!”
“You can’t carry a box of cupcakes?”
“Uh, well… they’re out of boxes, and.. well you can do magic! I can only carry two at a time!”
Apathetically, Master Plan agreed to go along with Spike, and headed with him into town square.
***
Steel Hoof spent most of his day working on the Apple family’s farm; plowing fields, pulling carts, he lightened up Big Macintosh’s workload by a decent amount. At first Big Mac was happy to have his work day cut in half, he never really got much time off before without getting injured first.
However, it was when Steel was pulling the plow that he first saw Big Macintosh, pushing past him as an almost running pace. Steel Hoof picked up his own pace and the two were neck in neck. Nopony said a word, but the both of them had a fire in their eyes as they tried racing past one another. The pattern repeated when they moved on to the carts, both ponies pulling almost twice what they normally could, just to prove they were the strongest.
This rivalry was cut short, however, when as soon as Applejack showed up. “Hold your horses, you two, we still got a farm to finish!” If they had gone much longer, Big Mac’s chores would have been finished for the day already. Applejack turned to her newest worker, “Steel, ah need you to take this here basket of apples to Twilight’s.” Steel Hoof simply gave her a lethargic look before hoisting up the basket and slowly trotting off.
***
As Royal Valor trotted back towards the Carousel Boutique, a voice from above caught her attention. “Hey, Royal, bet you can’t beat me in a race!” Rainbow Dash shined a wolfish grin.
“Oh, can’t I?” Royal cocked an eyebrow.
“No way! I’m the fastest flier in all of Equestria!” Rainbow Dash pumped her forelegs triumphantly.
“Oh. Then no, I can’t.”
Rainbow Dash was shocked by this pegasus’ lack of competitiveness. “You… don’t wanna race, then?”
“I don’t think so. My specialty lies in precision, and skill in combat,” she showed off her cutie mark; a pair of crossed swords.
Rainbow’s grin returned. “Oh, yeah? Well I just happen to be the one and only Iron Pony!” she declared, thoughtless to how unproven that really was.
Royal Valor sighed. “If you really want to prove yourself to me so badly, how about a duel?”
“A… duel?” Rainbow Dash was not only confused at the notion, but a little concerned.
“Indeed. The first pony to touch their opponent’s flank with their hoof wins. Much like fencing, but with hooves, as it were.”
“You’re on!” She jetted down towards Royal Valor, her foreleg extended. The white pegasus, however, simply sidestepped the lunge, softly bucking Rainbow Dash’s side with her back leg as she passed. “No fair! You cheated!”
“I did not,” Royal responded promptly, “I’m a mare of precision, as I said. It’s a test of skill as much as a test of physical strength.”
“One more round!” Rainbow Dash suddenly recalled her orders to gather Royal, but her pride pushed such thoughts deep down with no way to escape as she darted again.
***
“One dozen cupcakes, please” Spike called over the counter.
“I thought you said Twilight already ordered them,” Master Plan was quick to point out.
“Oh, yeah… I mean, did I? Well… that must’ve been a mistake, err, yeah. I mean, she told me to order them.” Mrs. Cake brought a box of blue-frosted cupcakes to the counter, a cheerful smile spread across her face.
“Oh look, a box,” Master Plan pointed out sarcastically.
“Would you look at that? Uh, I guess they ordered more!”
“Oh, well I guess that makes sense.” Spike sighed with relief that his ruse worked. “HOW STUPID DO YOU THINK I AM?! WHY DOES TWILIGHT WANT ME OUT OF THE LIBRARY?” Master Plan barked, forcing spike into a corner.
“What? Uh, don’t be crazy, Twi doesn’t want you out of the library!” Spike’s hesitation was now more prevalent than ever, thanks to Plan’s sudden outburst.
“Oh, no? Then I guess I’ll just head over there now!” Master Plan stomped towards the door.
“Wait!” Spike grabbed Plan’s tail, “I mean, don’t you want to hang out some more?”
“Don’t you have to pay?” Mrs. Cake called from the other end of the room.
This made Master Plan legitimately stop, and he turned back towards the counter. “How much do I owe you”
“Well, that box there’ll be six bits.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have that much on me,” Plan searched his pockets, “but I suppose you can put it on my tab.”
“I’m sorry, but we don’t run tabs here,” Mrs. Cake replied, sounding almost offended. Master Plan gave her a piercing glare with his crimson eyes, and Mrs. Cake took a step back, “… and I’m happy to say you’re our first! Congratulations!” her voice was nervous and shaky.
As he exited the shop, Master Plan thought over his actions. Not the best first impression with the locals, but it have always gone worse.
***
Kataro headed up the path towards Fluttershy’s cottage, slightly unsure of what he was there to ask, exactly. The sounds of small animals playing and moving about could be heard over the still weather behind the fence. As he approached the cottage, Kataro knocked on the door, which slowly swung open with minimal force. Inside, a variety of small critters immediately halted their activities to stare frightfully at the unexpected visitor.
The awkward silence was broken as a voice called out from behind. “Kataro!” Master Plan was heading up the trail with Spike hastily following, a large white box in his claws. As Master Plan reached Kataro’s position, the zebra could see the frustration in his friend’s eyes. “I need to borrow some money.”
“Of course, my friend, here are some funds; may I ask what you need done?”
Master Plan glared at Spike for a moment before turning back to Kataro. “This little pest here has caused me to open a tab; I’d rather have all debts paid to avoid attracting any unwanted attention.”
“Very well, Master Plan, here you go. But it seems here nopony is home.” Kataro gestured anxiously toward the open door. Master Plan was actually surprised that his friend was so uneasy about intruding in somepony’s home. It may be a cultural thing, but Master Plan suspected it was more of a personal pet peeve.
“All right, Kataro, you come with me, we’re headed to the library after I get these,” he gestured towards the white box, which Spike was doing his best not to rummage through, “paid off.”
***
After paying Mrs. Cake and heading toward the library, Master Plan found his other companions heading in the same direction. A fire lit in his eyes as he tried to deduce the situation. “Steel Hoof!” he shouted to his friend, “were you asked to come here?” Steel Hoof merely nodded in reply, and Royal did the same when he looked to her. “Spike, what is going on here?” he looked menacingly at the young dragon.
“Twilight told me not to say anything!” he responded nervously. Whatever was going on, it was evident Master Plan was being singled out. Perhaps they discovered his mission, came into contact with some government official or the like, and they were just trying to persuade his compatriots to stand down so they could catch him alone. Perhaps they were trying to turn his allies against him, providing promises of peace and harmony in exchange for his life. Whatever was happening, it was evident that his own allies didn’t know, so his best shot was to enter the library with them and stand his ground there.
Master Plan stomped towards the library door, practically seething, waiting for his friends before bursting through the door. Despite his knack for planning the future, nothing could have prepared him for what he saw.
“SUPRISE!” confetti fell from above, accompanied by a high-pitched honking sound. Tables with punch and cake were laid out around the room, and streamers adorned the balcony above. The look spread across Master plan’s face was one of sheer confusion that his allies had never seen before (though both Steel and Kataro had similar expressions).
“… I’m not sure what to make of this…” was all Master Plan could muster after a few moments of inspection
“Not sure what to make of it? It’s a PARTY!” Pinky was almost offended by his implications.
“We thought you guys looked like you needed cheering up!” Twilight giggled. At first, Plan was annoyed. We don’t need cheering up, he thought, we need progress. Then something dawned on him. He needed their trust, and they wanted his friendship; this was exactly the opportunity he was looking for.
Plan gave a weak smile, “So… what should we do first?”
Twilight giggled again, “Whatever you want!” Master Plan nervously looked around; he had been to a party before, of course, but it had been a very long time.
Kataro, on the other hand, had no issue getting settled in, heading over towards the makeshift dance floor and moving about wildly. Royal followed in his stead, treating herself to the punch and conversing with their hosts. It wasn’t long before everypony was dancing, mingling, and just enjoying themselves. Still, Master Plan remained uneasy. Despite his best attempts to interact with his new found friends, he wasn’t used to the cheeriness of his environment, and he couldn’t shake his discomfort. Though he tried his best to fit in, he managed to remain distant for the better part of an hour, until he eventually just wandered upstairs.
You fool, he thought to himself; you’re missing your chance! Too much rested on this opportunity to waste it, but he wasn’t going to make any allies feeling the way he did. “What’s wrong?” Twilight’s sympathetic tone pierced the chaos that stirred in Plan’s mind.
He chuckled lightly as he turned back to her. “It’s… it’s nothing.” He returned to the window, “The sky here is beautiful,” he vacantly remarked.
Twilight tilted her head. She agreed, of course; to her, all of Ponyville was beautiful, but the sky was nothing spectacular. “The sky…? Don’t you have pegasus ponies where you come from?”
Below, Fluttershy’s ears perked up in momentary alarm. Her time spent with very small animals had made her hearing very acute towards softer sounds. While she couldn’t discern the nature of the conversation upstairs, she could hear the concern in Twilight’s voice, and headed up to see what was wrong.
Twilight Sparkle stopped for a moment, realizing an interesting factor to her last question. “Actually, if you don’t mind me asking, where do you come from?” She shrunk back slightly in embarrassment.
While Rarity did not share Fluttershy’s unique level of hearing, she did maintain a sense of her surroundings. Three ponies were missing from the party, and after quick inspection, she found the three of them, with concerned looks on their faces, and trotted up the stairs to see what she could do to help.
Master Plan smiled, “I’m assuming you’ve attended a Hearth’s Warming Eve pageant?” he replied.
“Well, yes, we actually hosted one,” Fluttershy replied abashedly.
“Indeed, in fact it was the royal Canterlot pageant!” Rarity added proudly.
“When the leaders of Unicornia, Pegasopolis, and Earth traveled to the land of Equestria, they did not bring all of their subjects with them,” plan continued. Twilight Sparkle nodded in agreement, it was something she had learned about already to a slight degree. “However, it was the leaders of these kingdoms that harbored the most bitterness, and when they left, they brought the windigoes with them.”
By now, nearly everypony was forming a semi-circle around Master Plan, with the exception of Pinkie Pie and Kataro, who were too caught up in the festivities downstairs. “The peasants of their kingdoms had the chance to rebuild, and formed a single kingdom, much like Equestria. Though we refer to each of the individual city-states individually, most Equestrians know my homeland simply as ‘the old kingdom.’”
“But then what’s wrong with the sky there? Is there some sort of dispute between unicorns and pegasi?”
“No, in fact recent events have unified the kingdoms more than ever,” his eyes became solemn, “you see we recently suffered the arrival of a large red dragon, who chose our highest peak as his sleeping grounds. This dragon, you see, was prone to snoring, and the fumes billowing from his slumber began to choke the skies.”
“Well, we had a problem like that, an’ Fluttershy here just convinced him tuh leave!” Applejack replied resolutely.
“We tried diplomacy with the creature, offering up riches and rewards for his departure. He told us that a group of ponies had done the same when he tried to rest in Equestria, and that he would not move again.” Twilight and her friends shrunk back as they made the connection between their triumph and his sorrow. “When diplomacy failed, we tried using force.” Fluttershy covered her ears and squinted in agony at the thought of violence, even against a dragon. “Our best military efforts were not enough to get rid of the massive creature, and it was soon too late anyways. Now my country is shrouded in over a hundred years of darkness, so I have taken it upon myself to ‘discuss’ the matter with your princess, Celestia.”
Though the music cheerfully continued downstairs, nopony felt the same joy they had only shortly ago. That is, of course, except Pinkie Pie.
“Hey everypony! We still got a perfectly good party downstairs!” her usual cheeriness certainly helped lighten the mood, as the pink mare somehow descended from the ceiling. Still, Plan’s story struck Twilight, and she wished she could do something a little more fitting for him.
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The party ended before dark, the various groups leaving Twilight’s library with a wave and a smile. “You go on, dear, I’m going to help Twilight clean up,” Rarity called out to Royal Valor. The pace of the party had certainly picked up after Master Plan’s little story, to the point that they even got Steel Hoof to dance (though he was really horrible at it).
Rarity returned to Twilight Sparkle, who had already gotten started on the cleanup. Twilight had specifically asked her to stay behind, but it appeared private, so Rarity did her best not to let on. Twilight magically handed a box of party supplies to Spike before giving Rarity her attention. “This party was a great idea, but after hearing Plan’s story, I feel like we need to do something else for him; after all, we may be the cause of his problems.”
“I agree, of course, but what more can we do?” Rarity’s ears fell back in concern.
“I think I have an idea…” Twilight whispered as Plan entered the room. “Plan, would you mind bringing some of this stuff to Sugarcube corner? Pinkie may want to re-stock her party cannon.”
“Party cannon?” Master Plan cocked an eyebrow.
“You’ll understand when you see it,” Twilight empathized with his confusion.
Master Plan merely shrugged before heading out the door, a box of party hats and confetti magically floating above his head. Rarity turned back to Twilight, “You don’t think the dragon in his story…? I mean, we did the right thing, didn’t we?”
Twilight didn’t respond, her eyes sorrowfully tracking Master Plan as he left.
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As Master Plan entered Sugarcube corner, he found Pinkie Pie already sorting leftover treats and supplies. “Hello, Pinkie,” he called out, “Twilight said you would want these for a party… cannon?”
Instantly, Pinkie’s eyes lit up as she turned to face him. “Oooh!” she chirped before pulling a large cannon from behind her. Master Plan wondered how he failed to see it earlier, as it was almost as large as Pinkie. “Just toss ‘em right in there!” she gestured towards the barrel of the artillery.
Master Plan hesitantly hoisted the contents of the box into the seemingly bottomless pit before starting to head out. As he exited the shop, his thoughts drifted to the next phase of his plan. He had just revealed more to the elements of harmony than he did his current allies, and hopefully gained their trust. Obviously the impromptu party indicated they felt no reason not to trust him, but the coming days would be trying times.
His absence of presence made the collision even more surprising, knocking Plan and his opposing force to their flanks. “Sorry!” the bubbly unicorn scrambled to her feet. A box of baked treats fell to the ground, its contents aptly scrambled.
Master Plan turned his gaze to the box, still slightly stunned by his lack of attentiveness. Regaining his composure, he turned back to the white pony. “Sorry about that,” he gestured towards the box, “I’ll buy you a new one.”
“No, it’s alright,” the unicorn blushed.
“Don’t worry about it; it’s not a problem at all.” He was growing short on funds, but he needed to keep his cover. “Here, come with me,” he extended a hoof towards the stranger.
As the two returned to Sugarcube corner, Pinkie’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Ohmygosh! Somepony new!” Master Plan rolled his eyes as he prepared himself for Pinkie Pie’s shenanigans.
The unicorn blushed nervously. “Oh, yes, well I’m just here to visit.”
“Well let me be the first to welcome you to Ponyville! I’m Pinkie Pie!”
“Cleric” she replied. She turned to Mrs. Cake, who was approaching the counter. “I dropped the last batch of cupcakes, sorry.”
“Don’t worry, dear, this next batch is on me!” The salespony replied, a chill going down her spine as Master Plan caught her eye.
Pinkie didn’t let the change in topic stop her momentum. “You know what we should do? We should throw another party!” she proclaimed.
Master Plan looked at her uneasily, “Really, Pinkie? You don’t think it’s too soon?”
Pinkie Pie’s eyes showed nothing less than pure shock. “Too soon for a PARTY? Are you loco in the coco?!”
Cleric turned her head abashedly, “It’s alright, I’m only going to be here for a short while.” In truth, Plan was glad this stranger had saved him from another one of Pinkie’s parties; while the festivities earlier that day did grow to be rather enjoyable, he was growing tired of her obnoxiousness.
Still, something stood out about this mare. “You seem familiar… where did you say you were from?”
Cleric panicked for a moment, searching for an acceptable answer. Should she tell him? She thought to her instructions before leaving. Don’t lie, she was told, but don’t tell him everything. “Well, I’m from Manehattan.”
“Really? I thought I saw you once in Canterlot.”
When had he been to Canterlot? Why did she lie? “Oh, well, my family is from Canterlot, so I spend a lot of time there.” The answer seemed to satisfy him long enough for Mrs. Cake to arrive.
“Here you go dear,” Mrs. Cake passed the box over the counter.
“Thank you,” Cleric replied as she magically lifted the box.
She started to head away from Master Plan before he called out to her, “Cleric! I’d like to show you something.” Why was he taking such an interest in her? She froze as he approached her. “There’s a spot just outside town where the view of Canterlot is spectacular. Here, I’ll show you.”
It made her feel uneasy, but this may be the chance she needed to get some info on her target. “Sure.”
The duo headed outside town towards the Everfree forest when suddenly Plan stopped. “Why are you following me?” Cleric didn’t have time to reply before Master Plan pounced on her, pinning her to the ground. “Who do you work for?” Despite the intensity of his actions, Plan’s voice remained calm and cool.
“What? Who do I work for?” Cleric’s voice held a sense of concern.
“Don’t give me that. I could smell you a mile away.” As Plan’s eyes narrowed, Cleric’s feigned confusion was replaced with a sense of genuine fear. “It’s that white pony, isn’t it? The one who attacked us on the train?” Yes, as he thought to that night, he remembered seeing another pony of her general appearance by his side.
Master Plan held a glowing magical dagger to her throat, and Cleric squinted as she prepared for the end. She felt the blade press against her neck, her mind racing through the various interrogation exercises she was trained in. She knew various spells to disarm a pony assaulting her, to keep from talking under stress, and, if need be, to take her own life for the good of her country. But this was different; she wasn’t behind enemy lines, she wasn’t engaging a foreign enemy or even some sort of cult. She was on the outskirts of Ponyville, possibly the most harmonious town on the planet, with the task of making her enemies her closest friends. She felt the chill of fear not only because she was discovered, but because she felt a strange sense of betrayal. In the few short days she spent in Ponyville, she had already gotten accustomed to the peaceful lifestyle of its ponies, and this sudden burst of violence was disquieting, to say the least.
Soon, however, she heard the shimmering hum of Plan’s magic die out, and felt the pressure of the dagger leave her neck. “I’m not going to kill you,” he proclaimed, “not now. Instead you are going to go to your boss, and tell him that I know he’s coming. Tell him that an entire legion of troops won’t stop me, and he certainly won’t on his own.” As he unpinned his quarry, he turned his eyes upward, another thought coming to mind. “And I want you to think about what exactly your mission is here. You need to decide for yourself, miss ‘Cleric,’ whether the country I’m here to end is one you truly want to protect. I’m not here to destroy Equestria, I’m here to save it.” As he turned away she felt a surge of anger course through her. She was here to protect her country, and this foal had no right to doubt it. She thought of all the techniques she was taught, how easily she could end his life with his back turned.
No, that is what he expects, she thought, her senses returning. He demonstrated he knows some combat spells of his own, and even if she could best him here, he would become a martyr for his cause. His current allies would easily overpower her together, not to mention the elements of harmony, who would most assuredly join his cause. And there was something stirring in her, about his final words. What if the country she served was not the one she wanted to protect? Was there something more, something she remained ignorant to for her own purposes? A tear streaked down Cleric’s face as she tried to regain her composure, her inner turmoil failing to settle.
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When Master Plan returned to the library, it was already getting dark. The various party supplies had been cleaned up, and he found Twilight Sparkle waiting for him, smiling.
“Plan, there’s something I want to show you,” she simply stated. She gestured to be followed and led him to a hill where the rest of their friends awaited. These mares don’t stop, he thought to himself as he braced himself for more festivities.
Instead, though, he saw a calm smile on each of their faces, except of course Steel Hoof. Laid out on the hill was a plaid picnic blanket, adorned with various snacks, and a telescope. “You told us how beautiful the sky was here,” Twilight continued, “but I always find it more beautiful at night.”It was true; as the sun vanished from the horizon the sky was painted with a shimmering display of distant stars.
Master Plan’s eyes widened in genuine surprise; while the party earlier seemed like a tacky display of hospitality, what he was seeing now was a genuine show of kindness. Rarity stepped forward, “We felt awful about what had happened to you dear, and we would like to extend a hoof in friendship.” Then, in a regular show of self-promotion, she added, “In fact, I’m willing to give all of you a free wardrobe makeover at my boutique!”
As the night went on, the ten ponies conversed, star-gazed, and enjoyed each other’s company. Master Plan felt a twinge in his chest as his new friends spoke, as though a closed-off part of him was opened for the first time. As the evening grew late, they found themselves sitting quietly on the grass, stargazing into the night sky.
Twilight looked to her side and smiled, watching Master Plan’s wide eyes dart between the various stars in the sky, filled with calm and wonder. His crimson eyes, which shined with a malevolent hue before, now seemed to warm the cold night, like a pair of glowing hearts.
Soon their friends left for bed, one by one, as Spike, Twilight, and Plan watched the stars late into the night. When they finally left themselves, Twilight turned to Plan and gave a warm grin. “I know things can feel rough, but your friends are here for you.”
Though the night before Master Plan was the first to get some sleep, tonight he was awake late into the morning, doing his best to gather his thoughts and emotions. As he stared out the window, he recalled nights like this during his foalhood, stargazing with his beloved mentor. He looked to Twilight Sparkle, who slept peacefully beside him, before turning back to the window. “You shouldn’t believe everything you’re told.”
End Chapter 7