Chapter 17: The Show Must Go On
The door to Ponyville's Guard station shut behind Arkenstone. He let out his breath slowly and willed his body to relax. It's a bit strange, he thought, It's been so long since I've been that openly furious with somepony. Still, he hadn't had to kill her. That was something good about this situation.
"Well, that was entertaining."
Arkenstone's ears perked at the sound of Arcana's voice. It took less than a second to pinpoint the location of Trixie's brother. Arcana wasn't trying to hide himself anyway.
"I noticed you didn't do anything to help," said Arkenstone, "You could have looked for Shade Steel yourself, aided our search."
"Too many cooks spoil the broth," said Arcana in a smug tone that allowed Arkenstone to practically hear the smirk on his face, "I figured that, if I interfered, I might unintentionally muck things up more than they already were. We aren't exactly accustomed to working together after all. Besides, I figured this was a good chance."
"A good chance for what?"
Arcana's smile widened. "It was a good chance to see Dawn Lightwing in action for myself. After hearing about him from both you and Spitfire, I figured it was a good opportunity to see how he handled the situation. I must say, he didn't disappoint."
"He has great potential," said Arkenstone, nodding in agreement.
"I can see why you and Spitfire have marked him as a possible successor." Arcana chuckled. "I notice that you didn't mention anything to Shade Steel about how the fight ended."
"She will probably figure it out soon enough," remarked Arkenstone.
"Indeed," agreed Arcana, "Dawn was rubbing it in...in a way. Even though he had removed Dinky Doo from the picture, he was still fighting as though she was there in the cave with them, still at risk. He conformed to the rules that Shade Steel set to the very end of the match, even though it could have potentially cost him his life. It seems rather silly that he'd risk so much for the sake of pride."
"It wasn't pride," said Arkenstone, "It was about Dinky."
"Oh?" said Arcana, raising an eyebrow, "How so?"
"What Dawn despises more than anything is that the ponies who seek him would try to hurt others or put them at risk in order to put him at a disadvantage. Even though Dawn had helped Dinky Doo escape, he still abided by the conditions that Shade Steel had set to show that there was no need for her to involve an innocent pony. He still would have faced her in a situation that was to her advantage, he was even willing to forgo his most effective skills. Dawn played by Shade Steel's rules, not to uphold his own pride, but to show Shade Steel just how wrong she was about the way she saw him. I don't know if Shade Steel will see things in quite that way, but it was Dawn's own way of striking at the very pillar of her cause directly."
Arcana chuckled. "In a way, that's rather vindictive of him. If Shade Steel realizes that, it could tear her very world asunder. I'd heard that your two hirelings helped him with his emotional issues, but it would seem that Dawn still has quite the mean streak when it suits him."
"Perhaps," said Arkenstone with a small smile, "But he is channeling even that attribute in a positive direction, so I cannot truly complain. Besides, it's not as though we haven't done similar things in our day."
"True enough," agreed Arcana with a shrug.
"Oooh yes, right there darling..." Rarity sighed happily as Lotus kneaded her hooves into the muscles along Rarity's back, working out the tension and placing Rarity in a state of absolute bliss. With a soft moan, Rarity settled more heavily onto the massage table as she turned her gaze to Twilight, who was relaxing in the mud bath while wearing a full facial mask. "Don't keep us in suspense. Just how is Dawn doing?"
Twilight smiled and turned her head in Rarity's direction, though Twilight couldn't see Rarity though the cucumbers resting atop her eyes. "Arkenstone told me that Dawn's life isn't in any danger. He lost quite a bit of blood, but they managed to get him treated before he went into shock."
"That's a blessing," said Rarity, "It's a good thing they had enough blood on hoof."
"I don't think there'll be a shortage anytime soon," said Twilight wryly.
"How are Dinky and Ditzy doing?" asked Applejack, reclining on her back and enjoying another hooficure.
"I talked with Ditzy this morning," said Rainbow Dash from where she and Melon Cream were relaxing in the herbal bath, "She says Dinky's fine. She had a few light bruises from the wires that the nutjob tied her down with. But, other than that, she's okay. She's a tough filly and she'll bounce back without too many problems."
Melon raised a hoof to her lips and tittered lightly. "If anything, I'm willing to be that Dinky was actually thrilled that Dawn came to her rescue."
Rainbow let out a sly cackle of her own. "Yeah, there is that."
"What are you talking about?" asked Twilight, turning her head about in confusion.
"Dinky has a big crush on Dawn," explained Rainbow.
Rarity gasped dramatically, nearly shooting to her hooves before a cough and a stern glare from Lotus caused her to laugh and grin sheepishly at her masseuse prompted her to lay back down on the table. "Oh my, so Dawn was like Dinky's knight in shining armor. That's so romantic."
Rainbow couldn't help but laugh some more. "Yeah, but the poor guy is completely clueless about it, not to mention that Scootaloo's not about to let him go anytime soon."
"Ooh! A love triangle!" gasped Rarity, "How marvelous!"
Twilight was disappointed that her mask completely obscured the deadpan expression she was giving Rarity. "Somehow, I get the impression that it's not nearly as dramatic as you're making it out to be."
At that moment, the door to the sauna slid open, releasing a billowing cloud of steam into the room. "Aaaaaaah! The Great and Powerful Trixie is reborn," gasped Trixie with a toss of her head, the lustrous locks of her mane swinging about dramatically as she trotted into the room.
"I must say, you look much better now," said Rarity as she smiled at Trixie.
Indeed, Trixie looked like a completely new pony...or rather, the pony she had been the last time they'd seen her in Ponyville. Her mane had been trimmed and evened out, her tail combed, and her fur brushed. With Rarity's help, Trixie looked as good as new, only the faint thinness along her barrel and the heavier musculature along her legs served to indicate the time she had spent in the northern climes with her brother.
With a grateful sigh, Trixie sank into the bath along with Melon and Rainbow. "Thank you so much for treating me to this. I don't deserve it after the way I treated all of you."
"Perhaps not," said Rarity, "But, if what Twilight told us is true, then your brother has more than seen to your punishment."
"I'm surprised he came to Ponyville with you," said Twilight.
"Well, he is overseeing my training after all," said Trixie, "Arcana may not be a Still Way practitioner himself, but he has been helping me try and learn it. Besides, that's not his only reason for coming."
"Then why?" asked Twilight.
"Arcana was very curious about that colt you've been talking about," said Trixie, "What was his name again?"
"Dawn Lightwing," said Melon helpfully.
"Exactly," said Trixie, "I have to admit, I'm curious about him too. It's a shame I haven't gotten a chance to meet him yet."
"I thought you'd been over to the teahouse a couple of times," said Twilight.
Trixie nodded. "Yes, but he wasn't there when I went."
"Well we can arrange for you to meet him sooner or later," said Twilight, "By the way, in about a week, we're going up to Canterlot to get ready for the pageant. Did you want to join us?"
Trixie gasped, her hooves going to her mouth. "Oh my goodness! Are you sure?"
"Of course," said Twilight, "You're welcome to come with us. We'd even be happy to have you attend the Winter Gala with us."
Rarity ducked her head to hide a sly smirk.
"That would be wonderful," said Trixie, looking like she'd won the lottery.
"So...it's become a summons?" asked Arkenstone, running his hoof over the card in front of him. To Arcana, who sat across the table from him, it appeared blank, though he knew otherwise. The silver, monogramed writing on his own invitation stood in stark contrast to Arkenstone's own. The sender was well aware that any fancy filigree would be lost on the blind stallion and had simply made the lettering raised on Arkenstone's invitation to make it easier to read.
"More like a general invitation," said Acana, "I think it was Spitfire's idea. She knew you'd be there with Twilight Sparkle. She will be there, since it's typical for the Wonderbolts to attend the Winter Gala, barring emergencies. I recently told her that I would probably be attending as well."
"A whim?" asked Arkenstone.
"Well, I figured that Twilight Sparkle and her friends would invite Trixie to come with them, so I figured I would tag along."
"How very brotherly of you."
Arcana ignored Arkenstone's snark and continued his explanation. "So I believe that Celestia and Luna got it into their heads to invite all the Knights. It's the first time in a long time that all seven of us will be in one place at the same time."
"Assuming all seven of us actually make it," said Arkenstone, "Who sent out the invitation?"
"Given how fancy they look, I'd guess this is Sunny's work," remarked Arcana.
Arkenstone raised an eyebrow. "Her? I never figured she'd go along with this. She's normally too prickly to want to get along with any of us if she can avoid it."
"Who knows," said Arcana with a shrug.
"I take it Swift was invited as well."
"Probably. Who knows if he'll actually be there. Even if he RSVPs, he could simply be faking it. I wouldn't bet either way."
Arkenstone sighed. "I'd hate to say this about one of my contemporaries, but everypony would probably be better off if he stayed away."
"I rather agree," admitted Arcana without the slightest hint of shame, "At the very least, we'd know that he and Applejack would probably get along like oil and water."
"More like vinegar and baking soda," muttered Arkenstone.
"Well, either way, this gathering promises to be quite interesting," said Arcana with a grin, "Regardless of whether Swift shows up or not, I haven't seen any of the others in quite some time."
"We can only hope that their respective duties allow them to attend," said Arkenstone, nodding in agreement.
Dawn blinked and shaded his eyes. After spending so many hours in the slightly darkened hospital room, with the curtains drawn over the windows, the bright sunlight of the afternoon stung his sensitive eyes. Beside him, Fluttershy let out a demure giggle. "Maybe we should get you some sunglasses."
"I'll adjust soon enough," said Dawn, squinting against the glare. The snow on the ground didn't help, its white surface catching the sunlight and throwing it at Dawn's face from below. He briefly considered simply closing his eyes and using his wind-sense to navigate, but opted to stick it out.
A few moments later, his eyes properly adjusted and Dawn was ready to join his family and Scootaloo for the journey back home. As they began to set out, their attention was drawn to the sound of wingbeats as a familiar pegasus alighted on the ground in front of them.
"Dawn!" exclaimed Ditzy happily, "I'm so glad to see you're alright!"
"Thank you," said Dawn.
A grayish-purple blur leapt down from Ditzy's back and bounded across the ground between them. Dawn rocked back as Dinky all but crashed into him, throwing her arms enthusiastically around his neck and nuzzling against him. "My hero!" she squealed.
"Y-you're welcome," said Dawn, awkwardly reaching up with one foreleg to return the embrace while he balanced on the remaining three.
Fluttershy and Ditzy couldn't help but giggle at the scene, whilst Caramel snorted with restrained laughter. Only Scootaloo didn't seem amused as she glowered sullenly at the sight of Dinky snuggling against her coltfriend, only to flinch as Dinky pulled her face away from Dawn's neck to give Scootaloo a sly and triumphant smile before turning and giving Dawn a peck on the cheek. Scootaloo's expression went from sullen to outraged in an instant. Why that little sneak!
If anything, Scootaloo's unconcealed frustration only served to amuse the onlookers even further.
Shade Steel had never found herself so completely and thoroughly intimidated by absolutely nothing. The throne room was empty, the dual thrones of Celestia and Luna looming ahead on the dais, empty and unattended. Even the pair of Guards, who stood on either side of Shade were more like ornaments than actual ponies, silent and unresponsive, moving in synch with Shade like mindless automatons. Shade remembered her own days, spent standing and waiting, her watchful gaze surveying a hall or room for any signs of disturbance.
While it was no state secret, it was very easy for regular ponies to forget that the Royal Guard were some of the finest Guardsmares in all of Equestria. Most simply assumed that their only role was standing guard at the gates and along hallways, that they were mostly for appearances. Given the rigorous standards required to join, Royal Guards were, as a rule, better trained and more experienced that most average members of any other city or town Guard in the nation. Furthermore, the majority of the elite Guard teams, like the SES, which Shade had originally served on, were attached to the Royal Guard. Though Shade knew that she was probably more experienced and more skilled than either of the two ponies flanking her, she had little chance of escape in her current condition.
She'd expected to spend a few days cooling her hooves in the dungeon before she was dragged before Celestia to learn her fate. To Shade's surprise though, she was escorted through Canterlot and the Palace, straight into the throne room, where she was now waiting in silence for the pony she had once sworn allegiance to.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, the doors behind the throne opened wide. The bottom dropped out of Shade's stomach when she saw, not one, but two ponies coming through. It was all too easy to recognize the alabaster coat and shimmering auroral mane of Princess Celestia. But what really shocked and frightened Shade was the dark-blue coat and flowing starscape mane of Princess Luna, who walked alongside her older and taller sister, her stern gaze no less intimidating.
Shade felt a cold sweat break out on her brow. She'd known that Princess Celestia would want to see her. But to have Princess Luna, whom Shade had always believed to be darkness and evil incarnate, along for the ride was terrifying, though not because Shade was afraid of Luna. Shade had always been prepared to give her life in battle against Nightmare Moon if it ever came to that. Rather, what intimidated the former Guardsmare was the fact that Luna's presence was a slap in the face to everything she had believed since she was a little filly. For as long as she possibly could, Shade had always managed to convince herself that Luna's presence and supposed role in Equestria's politics since her return had been the result of her scheming and lying. But now, faced with Luna and Celestia, standing together as sisters and equals, Shade realized that her fantasies couldn't stand up to reality any longer.
"Guards," said Celestia calmly, her voice completely devoid of any trace of anger, "You may leave us."
The two Royal Guards on either side of Shade bowed slightly and turned, taking their leave without the slightest hesitation. Had she not been a Royal Guard herself once, Shade might have been shocked at their compliance. But it had always made sense to her. If there was a threat dangerous enough to be potentially harmful to the Princess, then there was very little the Guard could actually do about it, least of all try and protect a pony who was leagues above them in power. They were better served getting civilians and servants out from underhoof so that Celestia could manage whatever that threat was.
When the doors behind Shade slammed shut, silence returned to the throne room. Shade was now alone with the two alicorns, both of them staring down at her. Celestia's gaze was impassive, cold as the void between stars. In contrast, Luna's gaze was relaxed, with a hint of...curiosity, as though she was more amused and perplexed by the pony who stood before her, than incensed by Shade's affiliation with the Order of Celestial Light.
Finally, it was Celestia who broke the silence. "Shade Steel. Once, I could have counted you amongst the finest ponies to ever serve in our Guard. Your record speaks for itself, as do you your skills. In your time as a member of the Royal Guard and a member of the Special Equine Services, you have performed great services for our nation and have done a great deal to protect our little ponies from harm..." A long pause hovered in the air. "...All of which only serves to make me all the more disappointed to be forced to meet you like this." She sighed.
Shade was trembling, the weight of Celestia's disappointment pressed down upon the dark-gray mare like a massive boulder pressing down between her wings.
Celestia began to pace back and forth on the dais. "I could easily overlook your affiliation with the Cult Solar, as they were probably a fixture of your earliest days. Barring their animosity towards my beloved sister, I have heard that the group has actually done much good for the communities they have joined in recent years. It upsets me that so many of you would go so far as to ignore my explicit wishes by persecuting ponies on the basis of sham superstitions that have no basis in reality. It upsets me, but there is only so much I can do to combat it without overstepping the bounds of a just ruler and into tyranny."
She came to a halt and turned with a snap, now facing Shade directly, an expression of outrage that looked completely alien to her decorating her face. "But you...! You served under me in my Guard. You acted as an extension of my will and authority across Equestria. You were taught and trained to protect our ponies harm. You were there when I came back to Canterlot on that fateful day and introduced Luna as my sister and explicitly stated my wish that she reclaim her throne to rule beside me. You chose to ignore all that, abandon your position, threaten and harm the very subjects you had once sworn to protect. Why?" Her last word echoed like thunder across the empty expanse of the throne room, the sheer force of her voice and will practically pressing Shade down to the floor with a whimper.
Celestia remained where she was, glaring down at Shade with all the fury that her thousands of years could imbue into her gaze. Silence returned once again to the throne room, only occasionally broken by the soft whimpers from Shade as the pegasus fought for the words to justify her actions.
"Answer me!" snapped Celestia.
Shade could only squeak unintelligibly. All of her justifications, all of her carefully considered arguments, her detailed reasoning. All of it fell apart completely as she lay here before the very object of her adoration, who was telling her in no uncertain terms that she had been wrong about everything.
"Tia," said Luna softly, her voice cutting through Celestia's rage, causing the older of the Royal Sisters to jolt out of her anger. Celestia turned to regard Luna, blinking in slight confusion. Luna simply nodded to her and stepped forward to address Shade directly.
"Shade Steel," said Luna, "Stand up and look upon me."
Slowly, Shade rose back to her hooves and lifted her eyes to look at the Princess of the Night...really look at her...for the first time since she had entered the room. Luna gazed back, her expression impassive, almost serene.
"Shade Steel, I want you to look me and the eye and tell me all that you think that I am," said Luna, "Be completely honest with me. There shall be no punishment, no retribution for simply speaking your mind. Pay no mind to my sister's presence for the moment."
Shade opened her mouth, ready to spill out everything she had ever been taught and ever believed about Nightmare Moon in a torrent. But her words turned to ash on her tongue. Her mouth worked silently as she tried to say something...anything...But words failed her utterly.
Luna waited a little bit longer to see if Shade anything to say before sighing. "I see," she said, "Would that you could have realized your errors before it came to this. In all honesty, I could forgive you for your misconceptions regarding me, even if you went so far as to defy my sister to hold true to your beliefs. Even your actions against Dawn Lightwing could be forgiven. I have spoken to the boy and know him to be skilled and tenacious. I have placed my trust in him and his friends to help him, regardless of what threats may come his way. But all of that pales in comparison to your most grievous crime."
Shade was about ready to fall back down to the floor as her legs shook. Luna spoke calmly and softly, her voice devoid of anger, but weighed down by a heavy sadness that seemed to seep into Shade's very soul.
Taking a deep breath, Luna pressed on. "You took an innocent filly hostage, imprisoned her in order to lure your true victim out. But what truly saddens me is that you deliberately placed that filly in harm's way solely to give yourself an advantage over Dawn. We know the whole details of the fight. You had Dinky Doo bound to a makeshift lightning rod, so that if Dawn ever resorted to that technique, Dinky would be the one to suffer the consequences for it."
The marble floor beneath Shade's hooves grew wet with tears.
"To make matters worse," continued Luna, "imagine what might have happened if you had, by some freak chance, been right about Dawn. If he had truly been a demon without regard for the wellbeing of others, he would have unleashed his lightning there with nary a thought for Dinky's safety. An innocent filly would be gravely injured, perhaps even dead, all because you used her as an equine shield.
"Even worse, she was one of the ponies that you, as a Royal Guard, had sworn to protect. Did you cast aside that oath as well when you left? Did refusing to bow to me earn you the privilege to endanger the lives you were once sworn to preserve?"
Shade collapsed sobbing. Once, she would have been incensed at the idea of the Princess of the Night putting her in this position. But hearing the cold, stark truth, straight from the mouth of the pony Shade would have once decried as the Queen of Lies, shredded all thoughts of resistance and anger.
"I'm sorry!" she sobbed, unable to lift her face from the floor any longer. The phrase escaped her again and again as she sobbed and wailed, the realization of just how far she had fallen leaving her with nothing but regret and remorse.
Celestia's horn flared, summoning the Guards waiting outside. "Put her in the dungeon," said Celestia, looking pityingly at Shade, "Luna and I shall decide what her punishment shall be soon."
The Guards nodded and began to slowly drag the still sobbing pegasus away. When they were left alone in the throne room once again, Luna turned to regard her older sister. "Well, what shall we do with her then, Tia?"
"I am not yet certain," admitted Celestia, "But it must be appropriate. The first thing we need to do is gather all the information we can about the Cult Solar from her. We need to know it's overall shape, who is spreading its message, how are they getting from one community to another. Most importantly, we need to track down this Supreme Pontiff of theirs and his Cardinal. Until we have genuine proof of their intended action, all we have is hearsay from members acting on their own."
"Haven't you had Shining Armor investigate that temple in Appleloosa?" asked Luna.
Celestia shrugged. "Without additional proof of action and intent from the Cult's leadership, there's only so far we can go. It's the difference between Shining being permitted to scan for secret doors and being able to simply blow through the floor to find out what they've buried under that building. If we can locate the Cult's leaders and obtain proof of their intent, then we can tear the whole organization up by its roots and find out what the so-called Supreme Pontiff is up to. If we can manage it before he and his crony actually attack Dawn, so much the better."
"Are you absolutely certain that you'll be alright on your own?" asked Rarity as she stacked another trunk on the pile of luggage awaiting transport to the train station.
Flaxseed eyed the pile dubiously before returning his attention to his employer/landlady. "You do realize that I was living on my own before I came here, right?"
"Of course I do dear," said Rarity, giving him a warm smile, "But it doesn't change the fact that it's going to get very lonely without anypony here for you to talk to. Rumble told me that you are welcome to join his family for dinner on Hearth's Warming Eve. They are all wonderful and decent ponies who would be only too happy to have you join them."
Flaxseed frowned slightly, not sure what to say. "I'll think about it."
Rarity nodded and reached up to rest a friendly hoof on his shoulder. "Please think hard about it. You're never going to learn to relax in the company of others if you don't expand beyond your comfort zone a little. I'm not suggesting that you throw yourself into the middle of Filthy Rich's post-pageant wrap-up party, but please consider doing more than spending the evening by yourself."
Flaxseed let out a despondent sigh. "I'll try my best."
"That's all I can ask," said Rarity. She turned her attention to the stairway leading to the second floor. "Sweetie Belle! It's almost time for us to go. Are you packed yet?"
"Yes!" Sweetie shouted back as she trotted down the stairs, a pair of suitcases floating in her magic behind her. She was also wearing her saddlebags, which were bulging, possibly with the presents she had gotten for her friends.
"Excellent, let's head for the station then." Rarity lit her own horn and lifted several of the bags she had packed. A few seconds later, Flaxseed picked up the remaining bags and, together, the three of them left the Carousel Boutique behind, making their way to the train station.
Everypony was already waiting for them there. Of course, the fact that Rarity was behind everyone else made sense when she had more luggage than the rest of them put together.
“Geez Rarity,” groused Rainbow, “You think you brought enough stuff?”
“Well, I am traveling rather light, so I had to make sure I had nothing but the bare essentials. Also, your new dresses are all in here.” Rarity nodded at the pile of bags that she and Flaxseed had deposited on the platform.
“I thought Twilight was the only one asking for a new dress,” said Rainbow, tilting her head curiously.
“Well, her idea was so fascinating that I couldn’t help but make one for everypony.” Rarity tossed her mane and posed proudly. “With this, we are sure to make a spectacular impact at the Winter Gala.”
The others were already in the process of loading their bags on the train, a process exacerbated by the number of bags that Rarity had brought with her. The adults and foals worked together, save for two.
“It’s gonna be okay,” said Rumble, giving Sweetie a nuzzle on the cheek as she sniffed, “It’s only for a little bit and then you’ll be right back.”
“But I was really hoping I’d get to spend my Hearth’s Warming Eve with you,” said Sweetie, “Are you sure you can’t come.”
“Yeah,” said Rumble looking down, “If I came, I’d have to invite Thunderlane and Cloud Chaser, Flitter too. Then Flitter would probably want to invite Storm Front. I don’t think the Princesses have that many rooms.”
“Yeah,” said Sweetie with a despondent sigh, trying her hardest to mask her disappointment, “It’s not fair though. Everypony else is gonna be with their special somepony…”
Rumble smiled and leaned in to give Sweetie a light peck on the lips. “Listen, when you get back, I promise we’ll so something special. Is that okay?”
With a sigh, Sweetie managed to will a smile onto her face. “Yeah.”
“Good. I’ll see you then.” Rumble and Sweetie shared one last kiss before the colt backed up to let Sweetie join her family and other friends on the train.
Twilight looked around, taking stock on the situation. “Okay, all the luggage is stowed…everypony who’s coming should be on the train. Right Spike let’s…” Twilight’s voice trailed off as she remembered the absence of her Number One Assistant.
“Huh?” Scootaloo leaned out the window, noticing for the first time that their party seemed to be short by a few members. “Where’s Spike? For that matter, where are Applejack and Apple Bloom?”
“Finishing up the wintersilk harvest,” said Twilight, “Spike’s helping them keep it organized. They’re going to catch a later train and probably be about six hours behind us.”
Only two of days ago, Twilight and Applejack had determined that the wintersilk apples had fully ripened. The Apples had quickly gone into full harvesting mode, divesting the wintersilk trees of their fruit and stowing them in the barrels that Twilight had equipped with stasis spells. The family had even started production on a few cider varieties, trying to find the best way to use the ample juice content of the wintersilks. Unfortunately, it would be a couple of weeks at least before the first hard ciders made from wintersilk juice were ready. Applejack, with Spike’s help, projected that they would at least be finished with the harvest before the remainder of the day was out, so that she, Red River, Apple Bloom, and Spike could catch the late evening train to Canterlot. Big Macintosh and Granny Smith would be staying behind, Granny Smith because she didn’t feel up to traveling, while Macintosh wanted to celebrate the holiday with his fiancée and daughter-to-be.
“I hope they don’t work themselves too hard,” said Rarity, glancing in the general direction of Sweet Apple Acres.
“Don’t worry,” said Twilight, “The wintersilk orchard is still relatively small, especially compared to the rest of the farm. I suspect that they’re already wrapping up the actual harvesting and are getting everything stowed right now. They just won’t be in time to catch this train because they have to pack too.”
Rarity nodded and settled into her seat. "What about Trixie? I thought she was coming with us."
"Actually, Trixie and Arcana went ahead on an earlier train," replied Twilight, "Trixie said they would meet us at the Palace tomorrow."
The train let out a whistle and began to pull out of the station. Sweetie leaned out the window and waved enthusiastically to Rumble, who used his wings to follow along for a short distance until the train began to pull away from the Ponyville town limits. With a despondent sigh, Sweetie closed the window and sat back down on her seat. Dawn and Scootaloo shared a glance. The two of them climbed up on the seat, settling themselves on either side of Sweetie. Extending their wings, the pegasi enfolded the unicorn in a double embrace as they leaned against her from either side. Drawing comfort from their presence, Sweetie gave them both a small smile before she allowed herself to lean against Scootaloo and enjoy the comfort of her friends.
“There!” exclaimed Coco Pommel as she made the final adjustments to the Princess Platinum costume that Rarity would be wearing for the pageant, “Finished!”
“It looks very nice,” observed Perlin Bluestreak from his position slightly behind Coco, “I must admit that I am rather impressed that you managed the fine details without magic.”
Once again, Coco felt a shiver go down her spine as she was reminded of the young stallion’s presence. She wished her employer was here. Lockstitch wasn’t exactly engaging company. But, at least when she was present, then Perlin would make himself absent, as nopony was supposed to know where he was. Coco got the impression that Perlin might have been going against Baron Elderflower’s orders by visiting her to begin with, though she couldn’t fathom the reason why. At first, she had simply thought that he was keeping an eye on her. But it seemed that Perlin was doing it more for the sake of his curiosity than out of any obligation to his employer or any other cause.
"W-well..." said Coco nervously, "a sewing m-machine helps, but it usually comes down to p-practice..."
"Practice?" Perlin raised an eyebrow at her.
"W-well of course," said Coco, "I don't have unicorn magic, so I had to learn how to do all the stitches by hoof and tooth. There are only a couple of the most complicated ones that I don't have a handle on yet." To her own surprise, she felt a bit easier now that the conversation was clearly in her territory. She hadn't really noticed it before, but Perlin always seemed to steer things this way when he was with her. He asked about her work, asked about the things that interested her, but hardly offered anything from his own interests and experiences. Which is probably for the best, she thought queasily. She wasn't sure if she'd get anything done and Perlin had insisted on reminding her just how deadly he was every time he came, much less how casually he approached the idea of killing.
"It shows," said Perlin, stepping past Coco, shifting just a couple of inches so that he didn't brush against her, something that Coco was grateful for, as it ensured that she wouldn't accidentally be cut by the blade-like feathers of his wing. Then she realized that he was wearing his coat, which should have prevented such an accident, even if he had brushed against her. It almost seemed that he was giving Coco the extra space out of consideration for her.
Is this his way of being polite? she wondered as she watched Perlin carefully examine the dress, looking genuinely fascinated by her work.
"It looks like something the ancient unicornian royalty would actually wear," said Perlin softly, seemingly lost in the design, "Though I don't think the pattern quite matches."
"Huh?" Coco had to process that for a second. "What are you talking about?"
"The embroidery," said Perlin, inspecting a piece of the dress that flowed over the back, "I saw the pattern used by the House of Platinum in a history book when I was young. Its use was discontinued when the last Princess Platinum relinquished her position and authority to the Royal Diarchy, along with the leadership of the other tribes. It was never actually used again out of deference for the work the House of Platinum had done to help build Equestria."
"I didn't know that?" said Coco, leaning in to inspect her own work more closely. It wasn't her design, unfortunately. Lockstitch had been the one to design the pattern and had merely instructed her on how to produce it. It was actually part of Coco's ongoing training as she worked to finish her apprenticeship under the Canterlot seamstress as the pattern had included several of the stitches Coco had been working to perfect. It had been the hardest part of the costume.
That was one of the things that made Lockstitch so much better than Suri Polomare as a master in Coco's eyes. Suri had merely used Coco's apprenticeship as a source of free labor, while Lockstitch treated it like an actual learning experience, continuing to give Coco assignments that challenged her abilities and helped her to learn more of the aspects of her business.
"I saw the pattern in a history book when I was still learning," explained Perlin, "I don't remember it exactly, but it was a fair bit different from this one. It's probably for the best. I'm guessing that an accurate reproduction of the pattern would be something of a faux-pas."
"A history book?" It was hard for Coco to imagine the idea of Perlin sitting behind a desk in school, listening as a teacher droned on in front of him. On some level, she must have known that the young stallion in front of her must have had some sort of education. He was far too well-spoken and insightful to be uneducated.
"My father had always favored history of all subjects, aside from combat, when it came to my education," said Perlin with a shrug, "He always said it could be useful for gaining insight into my enemies' ways of thinking."
"Your father taught you?" asked Coco, tilting her head.
"Not directly," said Perlin, "But I was homeschooled in nearly all basic subjects during the gaps in my training regiment."
"So you never went to school?" asked Coco, a bit curious, in spite of herself.
"Never," replied Perlin, "After all, my father didn't want the public to know that he had sired a pegasus...If he did sire me." Perlin tapped his chin thoughtfully for a moment. "But he was adamant about raising me to be the instrument of his vengeance against Princess Celestia, so he didn't skimp on my education otherwise."
"O-oh..." said Coco, feeling a bit sympathetic in spite of herself. She couldn't help but feel sad at the idea of a young foal being locked inside his home with nothing but a spiteful tribalist father and a hoofful of instructors for company. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," said Perlin, smiling at her, "I enjoyed my education, especially the combat training."
"Y-you did?" stammered Coco, a hint of her earlier queasiness returning.
"Yes," said Perlin with a nod as his expression turned wistful, "It was like learning magic tricks." He paused to think his words over. "Only, instead of learning how pull a bit out of a pony's ear, I learned to separate a pony from her head."
Coco's knees nearly went out from under her, they were trembling so badly. "O-oh..." she could barely manage to squeak. For a short time, she'd been able to forget how terrifyingly dangerous Perlin was and hold something resembling a normal conversation with him. But, in just a few seconds, a slight shift in the conversation served to undo all of that and remind Coco of just who she was dealing with.
And yet, there was something off about it in a way that, strangely, comforted Coco. Perlin spoke of killing with an eerie degree of casualness. Given how easily she had seen him cut down two-score of trained guardsmares in the Crystal Caverns below the city, that was understandable. However, it hadn't been anything more than casual. There was no sign of gleeful sadism, the idea that Perlin sincerely enjoyed killing, in his voice and words. It wasn't that he liked killing, but rather, that he liked fighting and that killing just happened to result from that. It was still a twisted and warped way of thinking, but perhaps not as bad as Coco had feared after the first time she'd met the young stallion.
Then, there was the way he was behaving now, looking at her with a slightly guilty expression, seemingly signifying that Perlin was aware that he'd misstepped and that he genuinely regretted upsetting her.
"I think I'll go," said Perlin softly, "I have a few errands to run before I call it a night." Perlin quickly walked past her toward the door, once again shifting to avoid brushing against her.
When he was gone, a sense of quiet descended on the workroom, the emptiness Perlin left behind somehow just as disconcerting as his presence. Coco was more than slightly miffed by the fact that, while she never felt quite completely at ease in his presence, she had actually started to get used to having him there. Thinking back to all the times she'd seen Perlin, she wondered if it was truly some sort of fascination with her work that prompted him to keep coming back. At first, he'd always had some kind of excuse, such as repairing the tears to his cloak that resulted, almost inevitably, from his work. Then, after a while, he'd simply show up without a word of explanation and settle in to watch her work, quietly and never overly intrusively (aside from how intrusive the fact of his simple presence was). More importantly, he seemed to care what she thought of him, moderating his conversation to avoid things that made her uncomfortable, save for the occasional slip of his tongue, like this most recent one.
Could he... she wondered, ...Could he have a crush on me? The idea was almost as inconceivable as it was disconcerting. It certainly would explain a few things, such as his creepy behavior, essentially stalking her and watching her intently, even if it didn't make them any less disturbing.
In some ways, Coco preferred the idea that Perlin found her an interesting oddity more, if only because that suggested that he might one day lose interest and stop watching her so often. No matter what, she wanted as little to do with Perlin Bluestreak as possible, because, whenever she saw him, she would always be reminded of the first time she had truly met him, when he was standing amongst the carnage he had wrought.
With a final shudder, Coco shook her head fiercely to clear the images of blood and bodies that hovered before her eyes.