Mantis, surprisingly enough, was true to his word. Once we return to the large chamber above where all the eggs used to be, there's no sign of the changeling at all, and all of the eggs are missing. Them teleportation spells are way too convenient, if you ask me. Though I guess it goes both ways, since a similar spell saved my ass as well as the other Elements back in the wedding hall.
In the main chamber, everypony in the search party is there. I guess while I was with Rainbow, they'd all congregated there, having seen the green signal. As maze-like as this hive is, it's probably not that difficult if they all managed to get here so quickly.
“Are you all right, captain?” Rose addresses Shining Armor, who has joined them as well. Now that he's not currently trying to kill me, Shining Armor is looking around, entirely clueless as to what went down after he was slimed.
“I'll be better once Cadance is free,” Shining Armor states flatly. Rose nods in response. “Where exactly is this place? And what happened to the enemy?”
“It's kind of a long story,” Spitfire says wryly. That's an understatement. So much has happened while Shining Armor wasn't around. “We should get back to Princess Celestia. She can give you a copy of the incident reports.”
“I can tell you that this is a changeling hive,” Iron explains, walking up to his captain and saluting him. Right, the fact that Iron served under Shining Armor armor had completely slipped my mind before now. “It's good to have you back, captain.”
“Thanks, commander. I'm guessing that you were promoted to Acting-Captain in my absence?” Shining Armor responds, returning the salute.
“Yes sir. However, now that you've returned, I, as well as the First Regiment, are at your command once more,” Iron declares. Shining Armor nods in satisfaction. For some reason, I'm disappointed. While I know Shining Armor is more than capable (since, you know, he held up a double fucking barrier while preparing for a wedding), I think I'd prefer Iron as the captain, because I know he won't let his emotions get the better of him.
“Good. I agree with Spitfire then. Let's get back to the surface. The sooner I find a safe place to free Cadance, the better,” Shining Armor commands, but he doesn't move. Probably because he doesn't know the way out, like the rest of us do. Well, I think I know the way out. Who knows, this place is a maze.
“I hear that. I'm telling ya, I'm way too old to go delving through slimy insect hives,” Blades complains with a dry chuckle. He's the first to move back the way we came. “Let's go. Princess Celestia is waiting for us at the camp.”
Seems like everypony is leaving now. I put my hands in my pockets and walk behind them in silence. Some of the ponies in front of me are joking and laughing, like Blades and Spitfire, but that's probably because they've completed the mission without a hitch. Shining Armor is uncharacteristically quiet, however. He's probably not over being slimed yet. That, and I'm sure he's anxious to get Cadance out of that slime as well.
“I'm ready to get out of these mines. I want to feel that wind under my feathers again,” Rainbow expresses, stretching out her wings impatiently. I give her a disbelieving look.
“You know, you didn't even have to come down here in the first place. I was the only one called,” I point out to her as we enter the tunnels again, walking on a steady incline that would eventually take us back to camp. “Were you that worried about me?”
“Y...Yeah right! I was only following Princess Celestia's orders!” Rainbow protests, making a point not to meet my gaze.
“Uh-huh,” I reply, clearly telling her that her shit isn't fooling me.
“What, are you doubting me?” Rainbow shoots back, equally as convincing as her last words.
“Nope,” I say with a smirk, earning a glare from the target of my teasing. And while this is going on, I can faintly hear Shining Armor and Iron talking about something at the head of the group, but I can't make it out because Blades and Spitfire are cracking jokes to one another.
I guess this mission went a lot better than I expected it to. There are so many ways it could have gone wrong. If Chrysalis had been in there, chances are I'd have died before I could even press the crystal. I think Chrysalis is more than mad enough to kill me on sight now, despite her promise to give me a life 'beyond my wildest dreams.' Which probably just equates to 'all the mind-blowing sex you want.' Disgusting. The day I take that offer is the day the world ends. I'd sooner fuck a pony than a fucked up insect pony thing, and that's saying something.
Well, while my mind had been in disturbing places, Iron has led us out of the hive and onto the pathway leading back to the camp. Finally. I'm so done with this shit. Though I'm sure I'll be put to work somewhere else the moment we're done with this. No rest for the wicked, after all.
The guards nearest to the edge of camp raise a clamor upon sighting us, no doubt catching Celestia's attention.
As Shining Armor steps into camp, the guards that spot him cheer loudly, raising their weapons and showing just how happy they are to see their captain return. I'm guessing most of these guards are from the First Regiment, seeing how they're calling out things like, “Captain!”, and “The captain's back!”
The search party, including me, congregate at the entrance to the camp, taking solace in the fact that we're not in constant danger anymore. Still, I wonder what Celestia is going to do about the fact that there's a changeling hive underneath Canterlot.
Celestia pokes her head out of the tent on the far end of the camp. A relieved smile crosses her face when she spots us, especially when she spots Shining Armor and the slimed form of Cadance. She leaves the tent and approaches us happily.
As I'm waiting for Celestia to get here and tell me what to do next, I'm looking around the camp, noticing that there's more ponies here than before. Several of them are civilians, which tells me that the guards here have been working hard on freeing as many ponies as possible.
I suddenly cross gazes with a certain mint-green pony that's been staring at me ever since I got out of the hive, and I freeze. Is that...?
Lyra is sitting on her haunches near the edge of camp, gazing at me with a forlorn, yet somewhat hopeful expression on her usually cheerful face. I turn all the way to look at her. Holy shit, it's Lyra. I thought she was dead! I mean, Lyra usually annoys the fuck out of me, but every time I thought about how my silence got her killed, it would hurt, even though I didn't want to admit it.
Therefore, now that I'm seeing her alive in front of me, I can't help but feel a burden lift off of my shoulders. Heh, she's alive. Holy shit, I didn't get her killed. A relieved smile crosses my face involuntarily.
Lyra's eyes widen upon seeing that, and she reciprocates with a weak smile of her own. Fuck, she thinks I just smiled at her. Well, whatever. At this point I'm just happy she's not dead. As annoying as she is, I'd rather her be alive and annoying, rather than dead and absent. It's funny how nearly losing somepony you know makes you think twice about how you view them.
“I'm glad to see you all return unharmed,” Celestia addresses us, having finally reached us. Now that she's here, I turn away from Lyra and focus on the princess, since she likely has more orders for us. Celestia leans down and nuzzles Shining Armor affectionately, much to his surprise. “Especially you, my future nephew-in-law. That is, if you're still interested after this disaster of a first attempt.”
“Don't be silly, Princess. Of course I'm still interested,” Shining Armor assures her, returning the nuzzle. “I fully intend to go forward with the wedding, once this mess is cleaned up.”
“That's good to hear. As I said before, I would be delighted to count you amongst my family,” Celestia says, withdrawing her head. Then she pans her gaze across the rest of us. “You all seem unharmed. I trust you did not run into too much trouble in the hive?”
“Nuthin' we couldn't handle. But there is somethin' worth mentionin'.” Blades is the one to respond to that, which makes sense, because he and I had to deal with Chrysalis' bitch. What? That's totally what Mantis was. “Seth an' I ran into one o' them sentient changelings down at the bottom. We had to let him go, as well as the hundreds of eggs there, in exchange for Shining Armor and Cadance's lives.”
Celestia's smile drops, to be replaced by a grim expression. “I see. Perhaps it would be best for us to return to the command tent and discuss this in greater detail,” she determines. Yeah, Celestia's not an idiot. She knows just how much of a threat those eggs can be.
“A good idea,” Shining Armor agrees. “Plus, I'd like to free Cadance, and get a copy of the incident reports.”
“Of course. You probably are anxious to hear about what happened to the city during the time you were incapacitated,” Celestia agrees. She beckons to us all with a hoof. The group starts to move towards the command tent. Well, except for me.
“Celestia, I'm gonna catch up in a bit,” I announce. Celestia stops and looks back at me, confused. “There's something I have to take care of first.”
Celestia scans my face for a moments, probably trying to discern my intentions. Finally, she sighs. “All right. I will rely on Captain Blades to give me his account in your stead,” she says with a nod. With that, the officers return to the command tent, leaving just Rainbow and I.
“What's this thing you have to take care of?” Rainbow asks, confused. “Something happen when I wasn't looking?”
“Sort of. Would you mind going with them?” I say cryptically. I really don't want Rainbow here when I do this. I'm about to have a conversation she has no place in.
“What? But...Celestia ordered me to stay with you,” Rainbow responds, tilting her head to one side. “It can't be that bad, right?”
“Would you just...!?” I start to snap, but then I stop myself and take a deep breath. Rainbow winces and waits for me to continue. “Don't fight me on this. Just go to the meeting, and tell me what they say. I'll be there in a few minutes.”
“...Fine, I guess. Don't take too long, or I'll come drag you back to us,” Rainbow relents after a long pause. She backs away, eyeing me suspiciously, and then finally she enters the tent with the rest of them, leaving me alone in the camp. Well, as alone as you can get in a camp filled with guards.
Ugh, my conscience is really a pain in the ass at times. Once I'm certain that I'm on my own, I turn around and stride towards Lyra. I should probably get this out of the way now, rather than wait. I'm both curious as to how she's going to feel about all of this, as well as what the hell happened to her after I scared her away when I first confronted Chrysalis in the dressing room.
The moment Lyra sees that I'm walking towards her, she gets up and streaks over to me in a flash of mint green. I recoil as her two front hooves wrap around my body in a hug, her head resting on my waist. Um...that's certainly not the reaction I was expecting. “Uh...why the fuck are you hugging me?” I ask cluelessly, looking down. I notice with a start that tears are squeezing out from underneath Lyra's closed eyelids, trickling down her face. “And why are you crying?”
“I'm so glad you're all right, Seth,” Lyra whispers, her voice shaking. “I heard from the guards that you went into the hive. I was worried that something might happen, before I had a chance to thank you.”
“Thank me? For what!?” I demand, completely confused. The hell is this mare even talking about?
“I understand now what you were trying to do, back in the dressing room. You were trying to save us, weren't you?” Lyra reveals. “You knew what she was, before any of us did.”
“What are you talking about? Can you make some sense?” I snap. “As far as I can see, I nearly got you killed. In fact, I thought I had gotten you killed. That doesn't exactly warrant thanks.”
Lyra releases me at last, smiling at me tearfully. “Yeah...I'm sorry. I sound like I'm rambling, don't I?” she says softly. “Can you come sit with me for a moment?”
“Eh, might as well. I came over here to talk to you, after all,” I express, much to Lyra's happiness. She leads me back over to where I first saw her, and then the two of us sit down together. She rests on her haunches, and I sit back, holding my upper body up with my hands. We sit there in silence together for almost a minute before Lyra pulls herself together long enough to start telling me what her deal is.
“When you attacked those guards in the dressing room, I was so scared and confused. I've never seen you like that; I didn't even know you had magic!” Lyra begins, sniffing slightly. Well, looks like I'm getting a story. I guess it's better than having Shining Armor glare daggers at me in the command tent. “It was...so sudden. When you threatened me...I didn't know what to think. I didn't have time. I just ran.”
“Good. That's what I wanted you to do,” I remark, but Lyra ignores me, continuing her story.
“But now, I understand what you were trying to do. Cadance approached us while we were alone some time after that and...oh Celestia,” Lyra cuts off a moment to cover her face with her hooves. I wait there awkwardly, because as I've said before, I don't have a clue on how to help ponies out with trauma. “She changed...and her skin just fell off! She was a monster, Seth.”
“Trust me...I know. So what happened after that? I thought she'd killed you,” I press. Lyra trembles slightly, and then she lets out a sob, the memories no doubt being painful to her. Before continuing, she leans into me, pressing her side up against me and slipping her head under my arm so that I'm involuntarily hugging her. “Ugh, you ponies are so touchy-feely.”
I'm complaining, but I don't try and push Lyra away. I mean, physical contact has always been something I disdain (since most of the time it's fake or annoying as fuck), but it's my fault she's feeling like this. She didn't deserve for any of this to happen to her. If leaning on me brings her some measure of comfort, far be it from me to deny her that.
“She...I don't know what she did. She just glared at me, and I couldn't control my body. It's like I was a stranger looking through another pony's eyes,” Lyra continues, her voice wavering. Huh? Why would Chrysalis want to control Lyra? This doesn't make any sense. It would have been far easier to just kill her, as terrible as I am for even thinking that. “And the sounds, those awful sounds! It was like hundreds of hydra were hissing in my mind. It drowned out my screams and made it impossible to think.”
Lyra's getting worse as she tells her tale. Shit, she's traumatized as fuck. It's like as she's telling this to me, she's reliving the memories in her head. I think there's some psychological term for that, but I can't remember it.
It sounds to me like Chrysalis's control spell is not actually a spell at all, but a way of connecting the victim to a hive mind of sorts. Then Chrysalis could control them the same way she controls her drones. God, this is some Harbinger shit. I swear, if I hear somepony say “assuming direct control,” I'm fucking booking it.
“I could hear her voice in my head. That monster. It was like she was thinking for me, suppressing my own thoughts and making me do things I'd never do,” Lyra recalls, pressing her head against my chest. Hurry up and get off of me, this is getting uncomfortable. Fucking ponies, trying to be my clothes. “She sent me down here and made me try to...try to...”
Lyra cuts off there, unable to continue. She squeezes her eyes shut and hugs me tightly, sobbing quietly. This is getting more and more awkward for me. As much as my conscience is telling me to let her take comfort in my presence, every other part of me wants me to throw her off and find someplace where I can breathe in peace.
A full minute passes before Lyra is composed enough to continue. “She made me try to...hurt Twilight. All I could hear in my head was that monster's voice telling me to kill her.” It clicks in my head, and I remember what Chrysalis said to Twilight right before shit hit the fan.
“I must say, how did you get past my thralls?”
Thralls. Was Chrysalis talking about Lyra and the other initial bridesmaids? That makes more sense now. Chrysalis must have used Lyra and the others to stave off Twilight long enough for the wedding to get underway, when it was already too late to stop her.
“I've never used my magic like that before. I can still remember how it felt,” Lyra admits, sniffling. “I'm just glad Twilight stopped me. I don't think I'd be able to live with myself if I harmed her.”
“Please, you couldn't touch her. She's the Element of Magic. I don't think any other unicorn would be able to hold a candle to her if she actually trained,” I retort.
“That isn't the point. I tried to hurt her, Seth. I couldn't do anything except watch,” Lyra laments, squeezing me harder. “It was the worst experience of my life.”
“Okay, that part I can agree with. I can safely say that this was the most difficult period of my life that I've ever had to deal with,” I respond honestly after a pause. Losing my family once was the worst feeling, but knowing that you had the chance to bring them back and didn't was even worse. Lyra nods, which feels weird because she's doing it against my chest. “Uh...Lyra...”
“Can you...just let me lean on you for a little while longer?” Lyra asks softly. Ugh...goddammit, when you phrase it like that...it makes it almost impossible to turn you down. Suddenly I remember that this pony still might have a crush on me. This is just going to make it worse, isn't it? Fucking...damn my conscience straight to hell. I remain still and quiet, leaning my head back and looking up at the ceiling. I don't understand how this is comforting to her.
After a few minutes, Lyra releases me at last and stands back up, looking at me with a tearful smile. “Thank you. Despite what the guards said about you, you're still the Seth I know,” she relates to me. Wait, what the guards said? Does that mean she heard about my fuck up?
“Hold on a minute. What did the guards say about me?” As much as I don't want to ask this question, I have to know.
“They said that...the monster offered you your family back,” Lyra answers haltingly. I groan and rub my forehead. I've never told Lyra anything about my family. I'm getting somewhat pissed that all of these random ponies now know about something so personal to me. And it's only going to get worse, once Celestia makes me sign citizenship papers or whatever I need to do to become a citizen of Equestria. “I'm glad you chose to save us all, but why didn't you accept?”
“I'm not answering that question. That's too personal,” I snap. I don't plan on sharing why I did what I did with everypony that asks, that's for sure.
“Okay, I understand. I shouldn't have asked,” Lyra says apologetically. After a pause, she reaches up with her head and nuzzles my cheek...again, without my consent. Damn touchy-feely ponies. “Thank you for being such a good friend.”
“Right...whatever. All I did was sit here. It's not like I can offer you solutions,” I respond uncomfortably. The last thing Lyra said reminds me that I never told her that I don't consider her a friend. Ever since that scene on the bridge over a month ago, she's gone on thinking we're friends, which didn't go away no matter how much I tried to avoid her after that. Besides, I've never spent any time with Lyra, so I don't know enough about her to make a judgment.
“That's enough for me,” Lyra assures me. She's looking much better now. I guess pouring all of that out to someone helped, if only a little. I find it odd that I helped at all, when all I did was sit here and do nothing while she talked. Is that really all it takes to help? Seems too easy to me.
“Rogers!” That call abruptly interrupts us, and I look up in confusion. Who the fuck just called me Rogers? No one does that except...shit, it's Shining Armor. The captain is walking towards Lyra and I, staring at me with a neutral expression. I'm guessing he read over the incident reports.
“What?” I reply simply, standing back up. I wonder if he's going to try and kill me again. He doesn't look as blatantly furious as he was the first time we woke up, but I don't think that's much to go on.
“Princess Celestia has informed you that you have been temporarily placed under the command of the First Division for the duration of your service,” Shining Armor tells me. I place my hands in my pockets and wait for him to continue, since I already knew that. “While you were under Commander Iron's command in my absence, you now report to me. Is that understood?”
Fuck, that's right. Shining Armor is the captain of the First Division. Just lovely. I'm working under a pony that would very much like to see me asphyxiated on the floor right now. “Sure, whatever,” I respond. Shining Armor's eyes narrow at my seemingly lackadaisical remark. “What? I hope you don't expect me to act like military. Because I'm not.”
“That's fine,” Shining Armor grits out. Yeah, he's still pissed. He's trying hard not to let it show, but I can tell. You're good, but you're no Iron. Shining Armor takes a breath. “This is what I wanted to tell you. I want you to meet me at the First Regiment Barracks tonight. There is something I wish to discuss with you.”
“And it's something you can't just talk to me about here?” I ask in annoyance. He's likely going to try chewing me out again.
“No, it is not. First Regiment Barracks. Remember that, and don't be late,” Shining Armor responds, and then he turns away from me, returning to the command tent. Well, so that's a thing that just happened.
I notice that the other officers are emerging from the command tent, which means the debriefing or whatever it is they were doing in there must be over. I spot Rainbow by the edge of the tent. She meets my gaze with a concerned expression. How long has she been out there?
“Seth?” Lyra speaks up, getting my attention again. She's turned the other direction as well. “I'm going to join the rest of the civilians. Thanks again!”
“All right, see ya,” I say with a halfhearted wave. Once Lyra is out of my view, I stalk over to Rainbow, passing Blades and Rose on the way, the former of which greets me with a wordless nod. When I reach Rainbow, I stand next to her, turning my back to the tent. “S'up?”
“What was that all about?” Rainbow asks, pointing a hoof back over to where I'd just been standing.
“What, that? Oh, Shining Armor wants me to meet him someplace. The guy's still pissed,” I respond uncaringly. Honestly I'm hoping to just go there, deal with his shit, and then go to sleep so I can fix my sleep schedule.
“No, I know that, Celestia told him to talk to you about it,” Rainbow corrects me. “No, I'm talking about Lyra. What was that?”
“That's what you're confused about? It was nothing, really,” I reply, raising an eyebrow. What does it matter to her?
“It didn't look like nothing,” Rainbow protests.
“What are you even talking about?”
“She nuzzled you!”
“And?”
“What's up with that?” Rainbow finishes, gesturing at me with her two front hooves. “I thought she annoyed you and stuff.”
“You know, if you want a nuzzle too, you can just ask,” I tease her. I saw the chance to fuck with her, and I'm taking it. “I mean, since you seem so jealous.”
“W...What!? Why would I be jealous of Lyra?” Rainbow retaliates, crossing her hooves. “I don't want a nuzzle. Don't be stupid.”
“Are you sure? You sound like you really want a nuzzle,” I press, poking her side. Hilariously enough, Rainbow nips at me, causing me to withdraw my finger.
“I'm not nuzzling you!” Rainbow insists, turning her gaze away from me. Heh, this is too funny. You make this too easy, Rainbow.
“Perfectly good nuzzle you're turning down here,” I warn her once more with a dumb grin on my face. I can't help but chuckle when she shoves me in frustration. “No, seriously, though, Lyra was a bit traumatized because Chrysalis controlled her the same way she did Shining Armor.”
“Really?” Rainbow turns back to look at me, her eyes widening. When I nod, she blanches. “That can't have been pleasant. Shining Armor said it was like having your head shoved in a den of snakes.”
“That's kinda what Lyra said. But I figured that since it's partially my fault that happened, I might as well hear her out,” I finish. Rainbow nods in understanding...and then grins a few seconds later.
“You're getting nicer, Seth,” she teases me, poking my side with a hoof. I smack her hoof away with a grunt.
“Oh, fuck you. Go jump off of that cliff over there, you blasted mare,” I tell her with a huff, but that just gets Rainbow laughing.
“You remember I can fly, right?” she reminds me.
“Not the point!” Despite all the shit that's going on right now, the both of us take a moment and just laugh. “Ah, well, I should probably get moving. Celestia's dismissed us all, right?”
“Yeah. Nothing really happened in the meeting. I mean, Blades talked about the deal and all, but other than that it was mostly just for Shining Armor and Cadance,” Rainbow explains. Speaking of Cadance, she walks out of the tent next, and dear god, she's a mess. And when I say walk, I mean lean on Shining Armor with a haggard expression on her face. As the two of them pass us, Cadance gives me a look that I can't read before she passes out of sight. Huh, right, still have to deal with her as well. “Which reminds me, you're going to go talk to him, right?”
“Shining Armor? Yep, seems like that's the case,” I respond with a groan. “Let's hope he doesn't try to kill me again.”
“Yeah, that's not happening. Celestia was extremely firm that Shining Armor never lay a hoof on you again,” Rainbow tells me, much to my surprise. Once again, Celestia, saving me the trouble of having to deal with a potentially homicidal warrior.
“Right. And I'm guessing you got away with punching him in the face?” I ask her with a wry expression. Rainbow quickly turns embarrassed, looking down at the ground.
“He was hurting you. I just stopped him, that's all,” Rainbow defends herself. “Anyway, enough about him. Celestia said we're done for today, so let's get going already.”
“Yeah, sure. I'll tag along as long until we pass the barracks. Then I have to go deal with bullshit I'd rather not,” I agree, and then the two of us join the stream of guards and civilians heading back to the surface.
The ponies working on repairing the street have made some serious progress. If this continues, they'll have the place patched up in less than a week. Which means reconstruction for this whole time will take less than I thought. I'm estimating around a month of work, give or take a week or so.
That aside, once Rainbow and I reach the castle, the time for me to split off from her comes all too soon. Once I recognize the hallway that exits out into the clearing that houses the barracks, I slow down and turn away. “I'm headed out, Rainbow. I'll see you tonight, I guess,” I inform her, just before turning down a different hallway from her.
“Okay. See you then!” Rainbow calls after me, and then I'm on my own. IT doesn't take me long to exit the hallway into the training area.
Yeah, this place is a mess. The grass is all torn up, burnt, and downright missing in some areas, training dummies are knocked over, and debris litters the ground. No doubt after the changelings showed up, the guards in the barracks here were forced right into battle. Judging by the bits of slime I can see as well, some of them ended up getting slimed, though they've since been freed. Suffice to say, I think this barracks became a battleground after I took the Elements and ran for it.
Some of the castle staff is out here in the clearing, cleaning up the mess. They mostly ignore me as I pass. With a sigh of resignation, I walk into the barracks. A series of signs on the walls (which I can read now, unlike the last time I was here) guides me to the Captain's office, which is up a set of stairs and down at the end of the hallway.
The door to the office is open, and I can hear Shining Armor's growls from here, and the sound of Cadance trying to calm him down with her soothing tones. When I reach the office, I walk inside without announcing myself.
“There you are,” Shining Armor growls, as unhappy to see me as ever. Cadance looks at me as well, a slight frown on her face.“Now, I'm going to be very busy with the reconstruction effort, so I'm going to make this quick.”
“Good. You're probably just going to yell at me anyway, so go ahead,” I say, my hands in my pockets once more.
“Are you really going to act like you don't care?” Shining Armor demands angrily, taking offense to my tone. He thrusts his hoof towards the window, where you can see one of the largest holes in the streets, as well as the broken buildings from the battle. “Don't you understand what you've done? All of this is your fault!”
“Of course I care, idiot. But you're not telling me anything I don't already know,” I retort, annoyed with this already.
“By all rights, I'd have you banished, but that's not up to me,” Shining Armor tells me, huffing in frustration. “I can't believe you played us all like fools, only to turn around and stab us in the back when we weren't looking.”
Shining Armor storms up to me and stares at me in the eyes, telling me that he means everything he's saying. “Best man at my wedding? What a joke! You just stood there and let that witch nearly bring Canterlot to its knees single-hoofed, while simultaneously wrecking what was supposed to be the best day of my life!”
“In case you hadn't noticed, I saved your sister's life and then proceeded to beat her down,” I point out, though that doesn't seem to calm Shining Armor down at all. I notice that Cadance is pointedly staying out of this argument, though she's looking more and more troubled the more Shining Armor yells.
“None of which would be necessary if you had just gone to the Princess in the first place! Don't you realize that your indecision cost several good ponies their lives, and nearly cost us the whole city?” Shining Armor responds viciously.
“I know that, goddammit! You think it was easy for me? I bet you're just like Rose, thinking that my supposed country should come before my family!” I finally retaliate, getting tired of his shit. “I didn't betray you, because I hold no loyalty to you in the first place!”
“I considered you a friend, Seth! Control or not, I was going to let you stand in for Twilight at my wedding, because you were a friend to my bride-to-be. But you were going to let us die, all because you believed that Chrysalis was going to send you back!” Shining Armor returns.
“She was going to send me back. I know she can do it, because she showed me!” I shoot right back.
“That's not the point! She's a born deceiver. The point is you were willing to let all of us, including your friends, die for a promise that may or may not have been a trap,” Shining Armor corrects me, and that gets me to shut up. He's right about that. Chrysalis is one hell of a liar, as she was able to lie to Celestia and fool her. She might have been lying to me as well just to get me out of the picture until she could focus on me entirely. “And that tells me just what kind of man you are.”
“What are you...?” I start to say, but Shining Armor cuts me off.
“No. I'm done. I don't want you around normal ponies, my sister, and certainly not my wedding,” Shining Armor snaps, and then he pushes past me, leaving the room. “And you can forget about that meal I promised you!”
Shining Armor slams the door behind him, and I wince. I mean...he's not wrong about most of what he said. I don't think I'm going to be able to come to terms with my choice then for a long time.
“Don't worry, Seth. I'll talk to him later,” Cadance assures me, finally saying something to me for the first time since coming out of the slime. I blink, not sure if I heard what I think I just heard. “I read the incident report as well. I was hoping that I could talk to Shining Armor before this, but...”
“Cadance, you should be just as angry as he is,” I tell her flatly, not taking any of her bullshit. “If anyone should be pissed at me, it's you. This was your night.”
“Seth, I was already captured before you even arrived in Canterlot,” Cadance informs me with a pained expression. “No matter what choice you made, my wedding was already ruined.”
“Maybe, but still. Shining Armor isn't wrong. I fucked up big time,” I say with a shrug. Cadance steps closer to me.
“Shining Armor is a very earnest pony, and I adore that about him, but sometimes it's hard for him to show empathy,” Cadance explains. “I understand what you had to go through, and I'm proud of you for making the choice you did.”
“Are you kidding me? You're not mad at all?” I demand incredulously. She's the one I expected to be the angriest at me, and she's being the most understanding? What?
“What you faced was beyond anything anyone should have to deal with. I understand that there was no right choice in that situation, from your point of view,” Cadance explains. “If anything, I feel grateful that you chose to save us. According to the incident report, Canterlot would not have survived if it weren't for you.”
“Yeah...” I trail off, not really sure what to say. Cadance is being way too forgiving to me, but everything she's saying makes sense. There's a silence between us as I try and think of a way to respond to that. In the mean time, Cadance takes two cups out of a drawer and fills them up with a golden drink from a small keg on the desk.
“I'm curious though. All the report said that you chose to save us, but not why you made that choice. If you don't mind me asking, what was it about us that made us worth saving, to you?” Cadance asks, and then she passes one of the cups to me and takes a sip from her own.
I drink from the cup and discover that it's apple cider. It's not fresh, but it's good, so I'll take it. “You're probably not going to like the answer. I shouldn't even tell you, but since it was your wedding that got fucked up, I feel I owe you something, and I hate owing anything to others,” I confess to her. “It was Rainbow Dash. If Chrysalis hadn't threatened to kill her, I would have chosen my family in a heartbeat.”
Cadance's eyes widen. “I see. I think I understand. You couldn't stand to see her die,” she reasons. Then she gives me a strange look that I can't read. “Do you mind if I ask you a question?”
“Sure. What is it?” I say, drinking again from my cup.
“Do you like Rainbow?” Cadance asks. I raise an eyebrow, finding that a rather odd question. I mean, shouldn't it be obvious?”
“Damn right I do. I wouldn't have bothered saving her if I didn't like her,” I reply. Cadance shakes her head, confusing me.
“That's not what I meant. Let me rephrase that. Are you in love with Rainbow?” Cadance repeats. As I'm in the middle of drinking when she says that, I promptly spit cider all over the floor, choking slightly.
“What!?” I finally say after forcefully expelling the drop or two that had gone down the wrong pipe. I apparently didn't mishear her, because Cadance doesn't try to amend her question, instead waiting for me to answer. “Of...Of course not. What a dumb question. She's my best friend, and a pony too. No. Definitely not.”
“Oh. I was curious, because most individuals wouldn't give up their family and race for someone who was just a friend to them,” Cadance explains. Wha...I mean...she's right...but Rainbow...she...is she...? No, she's a pony. A pony that saved my life, but still a pony. She's my best friend. That would be weird. Why am I thinking about this? Fuck you, Cadance. “I'm sorry for my assumption.”
“No, it's fine. Just caught me a bit off guard,” I comment wryly, wiping my chin. Cadance giggles at the mess I made, and proceeds to clean it up herself with magic. “So I've been meaning to ask. What's going to happen with the wedding now that this happened?”
“The wedding? Well, it's still happening, of course. I love Shining Armor dearly,” Cadance answers with a happy smile. “Of course, it's going to wait until after we're done rebuilding.”
“I see. In a month or so then,” I respond. “Well, I hope you enjoy it. I'm not going to be there, apparently.”
“Why ever not? I told you, I'm going to speak with Shining Armor. I'd love for you to be there. After all, it's partly because of you that we can still have this wedding,” Cadance returns with a reassuring smile.
“I suppose,” I grunt, not sure how I feel about that. Before I can say anythign else, a yawn overtakes me, earning a giggle from Cadance.
“Go on. You should get some sleep. You look exhausted,” Cadance says understandingly. “We can talk about this more later, if you're still feeling down about it.”
“All right. In that case, I'm going to go and do just that. I am tired as fuck,” I say gratefully turning my back. Opening the door, I step out into the hallway, already anticipating the feeling of a warm bed eagerly. “Good night, I guess.”
“Good night, Seth. And don't worry about Shining Armor. He'll come around,” Cadance calls after me, waving at me until I can't see her anymore.
Well, that went both worse and better than I expected. Still, my emotions are going in circles now, thanks to that good cop bad cop bullshit they just pulled on me. What? That's essentially what that was.
Whatever. I'll ignore these dumb emotions that have no business existing and just focus on the month of work that I'm going to be doing.
Because that's a thing.