Chapter 24: In the Presence of Power
"Sheesh," muttered Soarin', "Even I wasn't expecting this much drama."
"Can it," said Spitfire as she trotted up to join Arkenstone, "I'll have to admit, it was a lot of fun." She grinned at Rainbow Dash. "How're ya doing, newbie?"
"Great," said Rainbow, a wide grin on her face as she greeted her captain, "I'm really glad you're here. This party was getting boring really fast."
Spitfire chuckled at Rainbow's words. "That's certainly true," she agreed. She was dressed in a brilliant orange and red dress, her skirt seeming to have been woven from tongues of flame. The dress, combined with her mane being combed back, made her look completely beautiful as the colors of her dress seemed to dance in the light of the torches.
"So...this is the rookie you've been going on about," commented another mare, trotting over to them.
Looking at the mare, Rainbow found herself staring unabashedly. The pink pegasus mare was older...much older than Spitfire. She might very well have been the oldest pony in the room. Interestingly enough, even though it was obvious that she was old, that didn't seem to detract from her appearance at all. In fact, if there were a picture next to the definition of the term "aging gracefully," it would probably be of this mare.
Her pale-pink coat did nothing to hide the slight wrinkles in her skin, particularly those at the corners of her eyes and lips, making it clear that she was a pony who smiled a lot, just like how she was smiling at Rainbow now. Contrasting with her coat were a light-blue mane and tail, which helped to frame a pair of grayish-purple eyes. In spite of her age, there was no air of frailty about her and her taut musculature and lithe form suggested that she was still in peak physical condition for a pony half as old as she was. Unlike Spitfire, this mare had chosen not to wear a dress and, in spite of the occasion, didn't seem to need it. There was an air of confidence about her that surpassed the need for any articles of clothing and she seemed to glow with the radiance her own spirit as she proudly showed the two blue lightning bolts that decorated her flank.
"You're staring," commented Spitfire wryly, moving in to nudge Rainbow in the ribs.
"So am I," commented the other mare with a chuckle, "You mind introducing us?"
"Not at all," said Spitfire. Gesturing towards the pink pegasus, she said, "Rainbow, this is Firefly, the Knight of the Shining Heavens."
"Wow," said Rainbow, "That sure is an impressive title."
"It's annoying," muttered Firefly with a grimace, "It's so darn pretentious. That's what we get for letting our peers think up these things." Shrugging off her frustration, Firefly turned her full attention back to Rainbow and studied the younger mare intently. Rainbow got the distinct feeling, like she was a specimen under a microscope. Rainbow had an unsettling feeling that whatever this mare said next could decide the path of her future, for better or for worse.
Finally, Firefly's face lit up in a happy smile and she began to chuckle. "She wasn't kidding. You certainly do seem to be everything that Spitfire said that you were."
"Huh?" Rainbow gaped for a second. "You could tell all that just by looking at me?"
"For some ponies, it's easier than others," said Firefly, "You have no reason to hide what kind of pony you are. You wear your nature proudly. Furthermore, your artistic friend, the one who made your dress, clearly sees it as well, given that she put your love for the sky so boldly on display."
"Love for the sky...?" mused Rainbow, staring off into space as she pondered Firefly's words.
In the meantime, Firefly turned to Spitfire. "I like her a lot. I'll do it!"
"Great!" replied Spitfire with a cheerful grin.
"What are they talking about?" Rainbow whispered as she leaned in towards Soarin', the two of them being momentarily forgotten by the pair of chatting Knights.
"Remember when I told you that Spitfire had something special in mind for your training?" asked Soarin'. When Rainbow nodded, her explained, "Well, Firefly has been looking for a student for some time now. She's the most senior member of the Knights currently serving and she's been looking for somepony to teach her skills to, but not just any old pegasus will cut it."
"So they picked me?" asked Rainbow, a bit stunned by the idea that she'd somehow gained the approval of not just one, but two Celestial Knights.
Soarin' nodded. "That's right. When you come to us in the spring, you're going to get a special training regiment from Firefly, rather than the usual one Spitfire gives most recruits."
"That's great but..." Rainbow hesitated, "I'm still gonna be a Wonderbolt, right?"
"Of course," said Soarin' with complete conviction, "We found you first. We have dibs after all. It's not her Knighthood that Firefly wants to pass on to you. The whole Celestial Knight thing doesn't work like that. She just wants to pass on her skill to another pony before it's too late. I've heard it's one of the highest pegasus arts in existence, something even more advanced than the Gale King."
"In a sense," commented another mare, coming up behind them, "But it's not that the Gale King is inferior. If anything, Firefly's magic is the ultimate refinement of the principles behind the Gale King. But, like your coltfriend said, it's not for everypony."
Rainbow and Soarin' turned around to regard the newcomer and Rainbow's jaw hit the floor as her eyes threatened to forcefully leap from their sockets. "Bwhaaaa! Y-y-y-y-y-you're...."
The mare in front of them flashed a cheeky grin at Rainbow, tossing her grayscale mane as she struck a pose, throwing her head back and spreading her wings back and out slightly, the very image of a pegasus showing off. Her sand-colored coat was covered by a glittering, emerald-green dress that hung somewhat loosely from her shoulders. She winked a cerise-colored eye, the same color as Rainbow's eyes in fact, at Rainbow. "What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Y-y-y-you're D-Daring..." Rainbow paused and brought her forehooves up to rub her eyes vigorously. She blinked fiercely as she lowered her hooves, but the mare standing in front of her was still there, looking exactly the same as before. "This can't be right. I must be dreaming. Soarin'! Pinch me! Quick!"
With a chuckle and an amused roll of his eyes, Soarin' shrugged before leaning in to lightly bite Rainbow's exposed shoulder.
"Eep! That hurt! That means I'm not dreaming!"
"That's right," said the sandy mare, flashing that same wry grin, "You're not dreaming...You're hallucinating. I'm a figment of your imagination conjured up by the stuff Pinkie Pie spiked the punch with."
"What? Really?" Rainbow froze. "Pinkie spiked the punch?" Her wings snapped open. "Hold on! I haven't even drunk anything yet tonight!"
"Then you're hallucinating preemptively," suggested the mare again, once again flashing that cheeky grin of hers.
"I'm not hallucinating!" snapped Rainbow, getting up in the mare's face, "Who the hay are you?"
"Daring Do."
Once again, Rainbow froze with shock.
"Just kidding."
A low growl rumbled out of Rainbow's throat. "Why I ought'a..."
The mare couldn't help it. She threw her head back and let out a round of laughter that seemed to fill up the entire room. The sound was rich and resonant, suggesting that this was a mare who liked to laugh and enjoy herself and, above all else, didn't take herself too seriously. "Oh you're just too cute. I may just have to steal you from Spitfire and Firefly."
"Alright! Cut the manure!" snapped Rainbow, "Who are you, really?"
"Right," said the mare, "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sparrowhawk. My fellow Knights call me the Magpie."
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "Magpie?"
"Perhaps she is interested in shiny objects."
Rainbow jumped at the sound of Dawn's voice. Both Dawn and Scootaloo had walked up to join them.
Sparrowhawk chuckled at Dawn's suggestion. "That's about the crux of it. I'm what you might call Celestia's seeker. Of all the Knights, I'm the one who spends the most time abroad."
"What do you do?" asked Rainbow.
"I track down lost artifacts, particularly dangerous magical ones," replied Sparrowhawk, "You wouldn't believe how many of those things are just lying around, waiting for somepony to pick them up. I round them up so that the Princess can box 'em up and hide them in her secret warehouse in...wherever it is."
"Sounds like an interesting job," noted Dawn.
"Sounds like Daring Do," commented Scootaloo.
Sparrowhawk shrugged. "In a sense, I suppose it is Daring Do. I'm sure you noticed the resemblance." She struck another pose, once again tossing her multi-toned, gray mane. However, the act of striking said pose caused the hem of her skirt to lift off the floor, giving her audience a view of the magnifying glass cutie mark that decorated her flank.
"You don't have the same cutie mark," Rainbow pointed out.
Once again, Sparrowhawk laughed. "Of course I don't," she replied, "Daring Do's a fictional character after all."
"I'm guessing that her fictional exploits have at least some basis in your reality," said Dawn, raising an eyebrow.
"You'd be right," said Sparrowhawk with a smirk.
"Are you the author?" demanded Rainbow, excitement bleeding through into her voice as she began to get uncomfortably close to the sand-colored mare.
"Afraid not," replied Sparrowhawk, edging back from Rainbow a little nervously, "And it's a personal policy not to reveal her private information to crazed fangirls. She tends to dislike being badgered about when her next book is coming out."
"Oh come on!" snapped Rainbow.
"Why don't we go get something to drink," suggested Soarin' carefully, resting a wing over Rainbow's back and guiding her away from the sardonic Knight.
Dawn glanced sidelong at Sparrowhawk, who was not trying very hard to restrain her giggles. "You're toying with her, aren't you."
"I can't help it," said Sparrowhawk, "She's so much fun and she has all these obvious buttons that I can't help but want to push." She threw a wink at Dawn.
Scootaloo frowned and glared up at Sparrowhawk, who seemed not to notice.
Instead, she turned and grinned down at the two foals. "By the way, I've really been looking forward to meeting you kids. Arkenstone's been saying a lot about you two. It's rare for any of us to take such an interest in somepony."
Scootaloo and Dawn both blushed slightly. "And your impression?" asked Dawn.
Sparrowhawk studied them intently for a moment. "I like you two," she said finally, "Especially you, little lady. I get the feeling you've got a lot of potential."
"Me?" gasped Scootaloo, her hoof going to her chest.
Sparrowhawk studied Dawn's reaction at that moment. To her surprise, Dawn didn't look the slightest bit miffed that Scootaloo had apparently made a stronger impression than he had, nor did he look even the slightest bit depressed by that information. Rather, it looked as though he had been expecting that observation on some level. He even looked...proud, as his gaze flickered to Scootaloo before returning to Sparrowhawk. Sparrowhawk's estimation of the colt went up a little more when she saw that.
I guess that makes sense, she thought, He is the one teaching her after all. He would have been the first to see her potential. If I were to hazard a guess, she's got him beat in both talent and passion when it comes to the Art. But he doesn't seem to mind in the slightest. If I'm right about that then, his true talent lies elsewhere. Sparrowhawk had an inkling as to just where that passion might lie, but decided to keep that information to herself. It would be more rewarding for Dawn to find it out on his own.
In the meantime, Soarin' led Rainbow to a table set off to the side of the room. It was almost a miniature version of the big buffet table laid out in the main ballroom. However, the foods that decorated this one were simpler, less ornate, less...frou-frou, as Rainbow liked to think about it. It was clear that the Knights were far less picky about the confections that they ate.
She took a sip of the punch that Soarin' hoofed her and swallowed it, willing herself to calm down after having her feathers ruffled by the ornery mare that looked like her favorite book character. She wasn't so thick that she hadn't realized that Sparrowhawk was messing with her. She supposed she couldn't hold a grudge against the Knight. It had all been in good fun and Sparrowhawk hadn't pushed things too far. All in all, she seemed to be a good pony, but Rainbow felt that she'd had enough teasing for a little while.
"So, who do you want to meet next?" asked Soarin'.
"Um...who's left?" asked Rainbow, turning to regard the rest of the room. Her eyes wandered, picking out Twilight and Arkenstone as they chatted with...
"Hey," said Rainbow, "Is that Trixie's older brother?"
Soarin' immediately picked out who Rainbow as looking at and his eyes widened. At a bit of a loss for words, he decided to fall back on the tactics of a certain red stallion he'd become drinking buddies with back when he'd stayed in Ponyville. "Eeyup."
"Is he wearing a dress?"
"Eeyup."
"And he's making look good?"
"Eeyup!"
Rainbow froze and turned to stare at her coltfriend, who had frozen with that familiar look of a stallion who'd just been caught saying something very wrong. Soarin' looked back at her and quickly shrugged. "What can I say? He really makes that look work. You'd never know he was a stallion."
Turning away from Soarin', Rainbow groaned and smacked her head with a hoof.
Meanwhile, Twilight was...well..."enjoying" wasn't the word she'd use for her feelings regarding her conversation with Arcana. The stallion was by himself, for the time being. Trixie had apparently gone off to the Gala proper to take in the experience as a whole. It was her first time attending
"I can't believe you're actually wearing that thing in public," muttered Twilight as she once again took in the sight of Arcana in his dress, the completed version of the one she had seen him modeling for Rarity, "Scratch that, I can't believe Rarity actually made that for you."
"Well, she insisted after all," said Arcana, "And since she went through the trouble, I could scarcely let her hard work go to waste, now could I."
Twilight sagged and half-glared at the svelte stallion. "I don't think I can say anything to that." She looked around the room, taking in the sight of Spitfire and Firefly chatting casually while Dawn and Scootaloo talked with Sparrowhawk. Rainbow and Soarin' were coming over to where Twilight and Arcana were speaking, both of them looking just as baffled by Arcana's choice of garment as Twilight was.
Letting out a sigh, Twilight turned back to Trixie's brother. "Frankly I'm amazed so many of you got together."
Arcana chuckled. "Well, it seemed like a decent idea. Arkenstone was coming with you, I was coming with Trixie, Spitfire was already slated to be here. Having me and Arkenstone here was rare enough in and of itself that Sunny thought it would be a good idea to invite everypony."
"Sunny...?" Twilight raised an eyebrow as she looked around in confusion. She suddenly remembered that, when she and Arkenstone had arrived, there had been five other ponies, including Arcana. But now, she only noticed four.
"It's so nice to finally meet the great Twilight Sparkle in the flesh."
Twilight shrieked as the taunting voice seemed to emerge from every single section of the room all at once. Dawn's reaction was instantaneous, sinking down into a battle-ready crouch with his wings spread, ready for an attack from any direction. Scootaloo backed up against him, her own wings spread as she looked around warily. Soarin' and Rainbow both tensed, but Rainbow relaxed when she felt Soarin's wing over her back give her a reassuring squeeze as he smiled at her.
Twilight expected the Knights to react similarly. However, they instead merely looked annoyed. Even Arkenstone, usually so calm and relaxed, swished his tail impatiently. "Are you finished with the dramatics?" he asked cooly, his ears swiveling around.
The torches seemed to blaze brighter, the light emitting from their flames washing out most of the details in the room and throwing everypony, their shadows in particular, into stark relief. The multiple sources of light created multiple shadows that stretched out from everypony in different directions.
Twilight failed to see the figure of a mare rising up out of her own shadow, coming up directly behind her. "You know," the mare whispered into Twilight's ear, "Whenever I can be bothered to talk to Celestia, she just won't shut up about you."
"Eek!" Twilight spun around to face the mare whispering into her ear, but the strange mare seemed to vanish into the light without a trace.
In the next second, it was Dawn and Scootaloo who were subjected to the mare's attention. Dawn's feathers twitched and he immediately whirled about, even as the mare seemed to condense out of the light around them like a shadow without an owner. Dawn kept himself positioned so that Scootaloo was slightly behind him as she too tried to orient on the unknown mare.
"From what I've heard, you two seem to have rare potential." The mare's features were obscured by both the light and the darkness, but her audience was fairly sure that she was smirking. "I don't see much worth remarking on."
Suddenly, the light from the torches returned to a normal level. The mare once again dissolved into a cloud of swirling darkness, which drifted over halfway between the foals and Twilight before congealing back into the form of a mare. Her coloration was similar to Spitfire's in a sense. Her yellow coat was offset by a mane of red and yellow stripes, along with a matching tail. The mare's cutie mark was the symbol of the sun, much like Celestia's, but divided into light and dark halves.
"Who are you?" asked Twilight, her mood resting somewhere between angry and terrified. Something about this mare unnerved her, but the strange mare's demeanor was also grating in a much more serious sense than Twilight even found Arcana to be, something almost personal.
Arkenstone stepped forward with a resigned sigh. "Allow me to introduce our sixth member, Sunset Shimmer, otherwise known as the Shadowlight."
The mare identified as Sunset Shimmer rolled her cyan eyes and smirked mockingly at Twilight. "To be honest, I'm amazed you've never heard of me. Did Princess Celestia never tell you about me?"
Twilight shook her head. "I don't recall her mentioning anypony by your name even once."
Sunset's smirk melted into an angry scowl. "It figures. She's always been like that."
"What are you talking about?" demanded Twilight.
"You should be more respectful to your upperclassmare," said Sunset in a haughty tone, "Though Celestia ultimately flunked me."
"You were Princess Celestia's personal student?" demanded Twilight.
"One of them anyway," replied Sunset cooly, "You didn't think you were all that special, did you? Celestia's taken on several such students over the years."
Twilight's brow furrowed. She could remember the name of one student in particular. Given the time frame, she wondered if Morning Star had been Sunset's classmate.
Sunset began to prowl clockwise around Twilight, "And now you've become Arkenstone's fillyfriend. You must be so proud of yourself, especially after he brought you in here to parade you around to the rest of us."
Twilight shrunk back from Sunset, nervously pressing herself up against Arkenstone's side. Sunset's demeanor upset Twilight more than her words did. Twilight could feel a simmering resentment from Sunset, almost as though the prickly mare hated her with a passion.
"That's enough, Sunset," said Arkenstone, his tone a low rumble that seemed to make the stones beneath their hooves tremble. He stepped forward, keeping himself between Twilight and Sunset, cutting off the aura of animosity that was unnerving Twilight. Instead, a growing tension enveloped the room. For a moment, Twilight was afraid the two of them were going to start fighting.
A flash of pink and blue crossed her field of vision and Firefly suddenly appeared between both Arkenstone and Sunset. Before either of them could react, Firefly lashed out with her hooves and smacked them against the foreheads of the two other Knights, resulting in a loud crack echoing through the room as Arkenstone and Sunset both backed down, nursing identical bruises. Twilight noted that Firefly had clearly taken care to avoid striking Sunset's horn.
"Unbelievable you two," said Firefly in a stern, almost motherly tone that would have made Princess Celestia proud, "The first time that we're together in years and the only thing you can do is squabble like a pair of foals. Don't make me put you two in time out. Especially you..." She whirled on Sunset, who now looked less menacing and more like a pouting filly. "What have I told you about antagonizing ponies needlessly? Whatever is between you and Celestia is not her fault. If you and the Princess can't work it out between the two of you, then that's not her problem. Don't go dragging somepony into this just because you're jealous. That's probably exactly why Celestia never told Twilight about you."
Sunset let out a snort and looked away from Firefly's intense gaze. "Fine," she puffed. She turned and began to wander away.
"Don't think you can leave," Firefly shouted after her, "This party was your idea, that means you're obligated to see it through to the end."
A dismissive lash of the tail was all the acknowledgement that Sunset gave Firefly's words as she continued to walk away.
Firefly let out a sigh and turned back to Twilight and Arkenstone. "Please forgive Sunset for her attitude. I don't know the full details myself, but I know that she and Princess Celestia had a serious falling out."
"I see..." said Twilight nervously, casting a glance at the retreating Sunset Shimmer. She wasn't exactly surprised to find out that Celestia had another student. Part of her wanted to go after Sunset and ask if she knew anything about Morning Star. However, doing so would require worming her past the very prickly issue of whatever lay between Sunset and Princess Celestia...not to mention having to explain how she knew about Morning Star when every trace of his existence had been wiped from records both public and private.
But there was something else that Twilight was curious about. Sunset's magic was completely different from anything Twilight had ever seen before. The way Sunset had melted out of shadow and into light made it almost seem as though she had been made of magic herself. Could she be...?
"I'm sure you noticed," said Arkenstone, "But Sunset Shimmer is a master of the Still Way."
Firefly nodded in agreement. "Extinguish the self, embrace the essence of nothingness and become one with your own magic. She's probably the foremost master of the Still Way in all of Equestria right now."
"Wow," breathed Twilight. Still...that attitude was her embracing nothingness...?
Seemingly reading her thoughts, Arcana chuckled. "Nothingness is not such a simple concept to grasp. It is not something as simple as erasing your emotions."
Twilight frowned and thought things over for a moment. "Excuse me," she said softly, peeling herself away from Arkenstone for the first time that night and heading off after Sunset.
Arkenstone lifted a hoof to follow her, but stopped as Firefly's wing extended to block him.
"Let them work it out themselves," she said in a sage tone, "Sunset doesn't really hate your fillyfriend, but it was an easy way to work out her frustrations."
"They have sufficient common ground that I think they'll be able to come to some sort of peace," added Arcana, only to freeze as the other two gave him disbelieving looks, "What?"
"It doesn't feel right to hear something so wise and considerate come out of your mouth," said Arkenstone.
"What he said," added Firefly.
Arcana glared at them as Rainbow Dash and Soarin' both began to laugh at his consternation.
"Well, you two seem to be getting along well," observed Cadance as she and Shining Armor came across Caramel and Fluttershy.
The two of them had been enjoying an evening stroll through the gardens. With a little advice from a friendly groundskeeper, Fluttershy had finally been able to entice some of the exotic and rare animals found in the gardens over so that she could speak with them. Though Caramel had essentially been left out one half of the various conversations, the look of sheer bliss on Fluttershy's face was more than enough to keep him happy.
Even though it was in the middle of winter, the gardens looked as though it were nothing more than a warm, summer night. Many of the exotic creatures and plants that populated the gardens came from warm, even tropical climes and would have fared poorly during the Equestrian winter. To counter this, wards had been laid around the gardens to maintain a warm temperature, regardless of the season.
Fluttershy blushed profusely at Cadance's comment. "Thank you very much," she said. She paused to look around. "By the way, have you seen Dawn and Scootaloo? I haven't seen them all evening. Scootaloo's mother is probably getting worried too."
Cadance giggled. "Don't worry. Right now, Dawn and Scootaloo are attending a special gathering. Since you're Dawn's mother, I don't see why you couldn't join them." She gave Fluttershy the directions to the room where the Knights had gathered.
"Thank you," said Fluttershy, bobbing her head in gratitude towards Cadance before turning to trot towards the room in question.
Caramel fell in behind Fluttershy, but not before casting one last look over his shoulder at Cadance. To his surprise, the Princess of Love met his gaze and threw him a playful wink. The stallion hadn't thought it possible for his heart to feel any lighter than it already had. But he was practically floating off the ground as he drifted after Fluttershy.
"I guess things are working out pretty well between them," mused Shining as he watched the couple go.
"Oh they most certainly are," agreed Cadance.
Shining smirked at his wife. "And guess who I just managed to coax out of hiding."
"Did you really?" asked Cadance, her eyes widening.
At that moment, the music coming from the main ballroom changed. The other three members of the quartet fell silent as Octavia's cello sounded out by itself, a beautiful, deep, haunting melody that drifted across the audience of ponies, who had stopped in the midst of what they were doing to listen to the singular song being played by the gray mare's skilled hooves. She played with an incredible intensity that drew everypony's attention and made it clear that this was not music they were meant to dance to, but rather, it was music that demanded their fullest attention.
Shining and Cadance listened, as spellbound as everyone else. Only when the final strains of the melody faded away and the quartet once again resumed their typical ballroom music, did the two of them snap out of the daze Octavia's music had inspired.
"There's only one reason she would have done that," said Cadance slyly.
With a sigh, Shining reached into the pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a few bits, which he hoofed over to his wife. "You win," he groaned, "There's just no beating you."
Cadance let out a victorious giggle. "Not where love is concerned anyway."
The spare ballroom being used by the Knights for their gathering was situated on the same level as the main ballroom. However, because of its position, the back doors, rather than opening up into the gardens, instead opened into a balcony that looked out over the sheer cliffs of the mountain and across the foothills and valleys below.
Sunset Shimmer stared out over the vista, its stunning beauty seemingly lost on her. She was dressed now, clad in a silky, slinky crimson gown that accentuated her enticing figure. If she joined the main party, she would probably be knocking over stallions left and right.
"May I join you?"
Sunset turned to regard the source of the timid request. "I don't see why not," she said, doing her best to keep a haughty tone, "It's not like this is my palace after all. I don't have any right to dictate what parts of it you can and can't go to."
"Yeah," agreed Twilight as she trotted out to join Sunset, "That would be Princess Celestia's prerogative, I guess." The wards placed around the Palace grounds kept everything a constant, comfortable temperature, even in the dead of winter, so there was no discomfort from the night air as they surveyed the snow-covered expanse in front of them.
Sunset winced visibly at Twilight's words. She let out a tired sigh and leaned forward to rest her chin on the railing. "I'm sorry about earlier," she said, "I guess I'm not really over that. A long time ago, I'd thought that mastering the Still Way would help me get over my resentment, but it's still there."
"Why would you think that?" asked Twilight.
"Because that's what attaining Nothingness is supposed to do," said Sunset, "It's supposed to allow you to find peace with yourself so that you don't have to deal with anger and resentment and all that crap.
"But, that's not what it's about. The heart feels what it feels. Embracing nothingness is about accepting what you feel and learning how to not let it control you."
"It sounded like you let your feelings control you back there," commented Twilight.
"Not at first," said Sunset, "At first I was just going to poke a little fun at you, try to ruffle that colt's feathers and see how he handled me. One the best ways to get a feel for a pony is to see what makes them angry and then what happens when you actually get them angry. But..."
"But, I'm guessing the fact that Princess Celestia never told me about you made your emotions a bit harder to control," ventured Twilight.
Sunset sighed again. "Yeah, that's pretty much it. In the end, I threw it all away to master the Still Way, but being Celestia's student had been a big portion of my life. For her to never acknowledge it, not even to another one of her precious students, irks me."
"What happened?" asked Twilight, "What made you so angry at her that you cast away everything she taught you?"
"It's a long story," said Sunset, "But the long and short of it was that I didn't meet her expectations. I was a different mare back then. Only two things really mattered to me, Celestia's approval and the perks that came with it. But Celestia was never really happy with me, no matter how difficult the spells I managed to master were or how advanced the theories I developed became, it just didn't seem to be what she was looking for. I think she was looking for some kind of sign that I was meant to be something more."
"Something more...?" Twilight thought that over for a second before her eyebrows shot sharply upwards. "You mean, something like an Element of Magic?"
Sunset shrugged. "Maybe. I can't even say that for sure. It's impossible to get a straight answer about something like that out of Celestia. She never wants to tell ponies straight out what she has planned for them. She always wants them to work things out for themselves. Only...sometimes the answer is something you just can't work out."
Thinking about the "test" Celestia had once set for her to save the Crystal Empire, Twilight could understand the sentiment at least a little.
"You think she was grooming you to be the Element of Magic, but that she was disappointed when she thought you might not be it."
Sunset nodded. "The problem is, I'm not sure Celestia truly understood what the Element of Magic was, much less how it worked or how to make it appear. I think that she was operating off the basic assumption that, because of the Element's name, if she picked and nurtured ponies with substantial magical talent, then one of them was bound to be the wielder of that Element." Turning her eyes back out over the balcony, Sunset directed a vacant gaze away from the Palace. "I guess she was right."
"I don't think so," said Twilight, smiling at Sunset, "I can honestly say, having used the Element of Magic twice, that I still don't fully understand how it works. I'm pretty sure that, even if what you said is what Princess Celestia thought, it's not correct."
Sunset's gaze snapped back to Twilight in an instant, staring wide eyed at the younger mare. She'd always thought that, from everything Celestia had said about Twilight, that Twilight Sparkle would never dare question her mentor's judgment.
"It's just that, the impression I've had is that the power that the Elements of Harmony isn't magic in the way that we understand it," continued Twilight, "When I confronted Nightmare Moon, I recognized the things that made my friends their respective Elements. But, in retrospect, the things that made me realize that were so small and tiny that, had they not been in the context of that incident, I wouldn't have even noticed, much less recognized their significance.
"After thinking about it for a very long time, I came to a certain conclusion." Twilight took a deep breath. "I concluded that, the Elements of Harmony could actually be wielded by anypony."
Sunset's jaw dropped and she gaped unashamedly at Twilight. "What!? You can't be serious. The Elements of Harmony are one of, if not the most powerful force in the world. An empowered alicorn like Nightmare Moon was laid low with a single blast. You turned Discord, the god of chaos himself, who couldn't even be touched by the mundane forces of this world, to stone in the blink of an eye. There's no way that such a mighty power could be wielded by just anypony."
"Of course, not just anypony," replied Twilight, "Only ponies who embody the Elements' nature could possibly hope to wield them. Only a pony who could give freely of herself without counting the cost when it really counts could hope to wield Generosity. Only a pony who could respond with compassion, even towards something that inspires fear and anger, could hope to use Kindness. Only a pony who has the heart to remain true to the things that are really important could hope to carry Loyalty. Only a pony who genuinely seeks to lift the hearts and spirits of those around her could bear Laughter. And only a pony who knows that the importance of speaking and recognizing the truth could command Honesty.
"But, my friends, the other bearers of the Elements, they aren't perfect paragons of what those Elements represent. Rarity's been selfish in the past. Fluttershy is, admittedly rarely, capable of giving in to her anger. Rainbow Dash has had her loyalties divided and failed to understand what's really important. Even Pinkie Pie has occasionally forgotten that the point of laughter is to enable ponies to enjoy themselves. And Applejack...Applejack's occasionally told lies, some of the worst to herself." Twilight shivered at a fairly recent memory of that last occasion.
"The point is, my friends, even though they're the bearers of their Elements, aren't perfect ponies. If anything, they're perfectly ordinary ponies."
"A mare who can perform the legendary Sonic Rainboom, a pegasus who can speak the language of animals, the foremost fashion designer and artisan in Equestria, the heir to the most powerful agricultural clan in the nation, and...Pinkie Pie...are ordinary ponies?" Sunset raised a skeptical eyebrow.
Twilight couldn't quite contain her giggle. "Of course they are," she said, "They're ordinary ponies who can do extraordinary things...really extraordinary in Pinkie's case. What's important is that, when it really counts, they can embrace the things that represent their Elements. That's what gives them the power to wield the Elements. And...if that's the case, then anypony could wield the Elements of Harmony, so long as they truly endorse and exhibit the qualities of harmony that the Elements represent." She smiled at Sunset. "You could wield an Element, if you're willing to embrace those things."
"What about Magic?" asked Sunset.
Now it was Twilight's turn to shrug. "Magic is...ambiguous...at least, as far as I can tell. I haven't quite figured it out all the way." She turned to look back out over the balcony again. "But...what I think is that Magic doesn't really represent 'magic' in the sense that we unicorns think about it. I think that it represents something more potent and important."
"What do you mean?"
Twilight frowned and narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "I don't like to put too much thought in it, because I'm always afraid of letting it go to my head, but I've been called the most powerful mage in Equestria since Starswirl the Bearded. I have three Principles in multiple fields; four, if you count the honorary one. But...none of that was ever just me.
"I would never have gotten this far if it hadn't been for Princess Celestia taking me under her wing. I would never have obtained those Principles without the knowledge and experience of my teachers and other students before me to build off of. And I would never have had any of that at all if my parents hadn't put their livelihoods on the line to help me to gain admittance to the School for Gifted Unicorns. If Princess Celestia hadn't completely paid for my schooling, the tuition and various other fees would have beggared them.
"Likewise, if I hadn't met those five ponies in Ponyville and if they hadn't come with me into the Everfree Forest, I wouldn't have ever realized what the Elements of Harmony meant and I wouldn't have ever obtained the Element of Magic. We would never have succeeded against Nightmare Moon or Discord. All those accomplishments, many of which are attributed to me alone, especially here in Canterlot, are things I would have never been able to do on my own.
"But rather than thinking of that as a weakness, my theory is that that is the true form of Magic. No matter how great a mage a unicorn might be, she'd never be great without learning from others. Even if you sought knowledge on your own, that knowledge comes from other sources that you then build off of. That's what real Magic is. It's the bonds and connections with others that shape our lives and guide our paths, which is why Magic didn't appear until I'd realized the truth about the other Elements. It's the keystone for the Elements as a whole, but it's nothing on its own without the power of the others. If that's the case, then anypony who could realize that is more than capable of using the Element of Magic."
Twilight turned and grinned sheepishly at Sunset. "That's my theory anyway."
Sunset stared silently at Twilight for a moment, the gears in her head turning fiercely as she fought to comprehend what she'd just heard. I think... she realized, I think I now understand why Celestia picked her.
Slowly, Sunset's lips curled up into a smile. "You really are somepony special," she said finally, "Can you forgive me for those things I said earlier?"
"Of course I can," said Twilight, reciprocating Sunset's smile with one of her own, "You're my precious upperclassmare after all."
"True enough," agreed Sunset with a laugh, "Come on, we should get back to the others."
The two of them left the balcony and head back into the ballroom, where the others were waiting. Twilight was surprised to see that Fluttershy and Caramel had joined the gathering. She guessed they'd been trying to track down Dawn and Scootaloo. The couple were now speaking with Firefly. Fluttershy seemed to be surprisingly animated, given her normal shyness around unfamiliar ponies. However, Twilight guessed that Firefly's gentle, motherly nature was something that reached out to the butter-colored pegasus.
Twilight and Sunset had barely taken two steps into the ballroom when they were approached by Sparrowhawk, who was grinning slyly at them. "So...did you two kiss and make up."
Twilight and Sunset blushed brilliantly. "I'm not the one here that swings that way, Magpie," snapped Sunset.
"Oh! Come on!" protested Sparrowhawk, slinking over to throw a foreleg around Twilight's withers, "You can't tell me you don't find this little cutie attractive."
Twilight's blush intensified, especially when she felt Arkenstone pressing up on her other side. "Go get your own fillyfriend," reprimanded the beige stallion, flashing Twilight an uncharacteristically playful smile of his own, "This one's mine."
"You could at least share," muttered Sparrowhawk, puffing out her cheeks as she pulled away.
"You could always take me," suggested Arcana, coming up to them, "I've been told I greatly resemble a mare. Maybe that would be good enough for your tastes."
Sparrowhawk made a gagging noise and let her tongue stick out. "Ew! Please! Not in a million years, you crazy cross-dresser."
"Come on now," chided Firefly, moving from her conversation with Fluttershy and Caramel, "Let's try to all get along."
"You keep out of this, grandma!" retorted Sparrowhawk.
Firefly's eyelid twitched. "Grandma..."
"Elders should just embrace their age and nap quietly," added Sunset, "In fact, why don't you just go to the retirement home already."
Twilight shivered as she suddenly felt a surge of energy from the...extremely youthful and not in any way elderly...pegasus as she turned a grin on the other Knights that was almost predatory.
"My my," said Firefly, "Such impudent foals, hmm... As your elder, I suppose it falls to me to teach you some respect."
Twilight pried herself away from Arkenstone and Sparrowhawk, doing her best to distance herself from the conflict that was brewing. She stepped over to where Rainbow and Soarin' were standing with Dawn and Scootaloo, all of them watching the fabled guardians of Equestria's safety squabbled like a group of foals with varying degrees of confusion. They were quickly joined by Fluttershy and Caramel, who looked on with a similar degree of bamboozlement. Already, Spitfire was rushing in to join the fray as well.
Arkenstone wasn't kidding when he said that they didn't really get along, mused Twilight as she watched the Knights bicker and tease one another. Fortunately, nopony had come to blows just yet. Still...they seem...close to each other, in a sense.
She'd seen this before, at Applejack's family reunions. She'd watched distant relatives who rarely saw one another trade warm embraces and good-spirited barbs in equal measure. In a sense, she supposed that the Knights were a family in their own way.
At that moment, looking at the six of them, the stunning momentousness of the occasion settled into her stomach. She was looking at the members of the Celestial Order of Knights, six of the most powerful and dangerous ponies in all of Equestria and, possibly, the world beyond it as well. These were ponies with the power to shake the earth, make the skies roar, and put entire armies into flight. How truly rare and amazing it was that they were all gathered here in this place at once. The situation was different from what she could have imagined.
...Very different, she concluded ruefully as she watched Firefly put an agitated Sparrowhawk in a headlock and began to vigorously ruffle the younger pegasus' mane as Sparrowhawk twisted and writhed, but was completely unable to pry herself loose from her tormentor.
At that moment, something clicked in Twilight's head. Six! There are only six of them here! Carefully, Twilight stepped forward and approached the bickering group.
"...Arcana! You and I are never going to agree on anything!" Sunset was shouting as Twilight came closer.
"By the way," said Twilight, having to shout a little to make herself heard over the din, "I've been wondering...What's the seventh Knight like?"
The response was instantaneous. All six of the ponies in front of her froze on the spot. At once, they grimaced identically. Twilight remembered Arkenstone giving her the same expression the last time she'd brought up the last of the Celestial Knights.
"Him..." said Firefly.
"He's the worst," everypony said in unison.
Twilight and her friends all gaped at the Knights' response. All six of them gave the exact same answer.
Arcana turned to Sunset. "We agreed."
"Huh?!"
"I don't understand..." said Twilight, blinking and tilting her head, "What do you mean by that?"
Arkenstone managed shake off the revulsion that Twilight's question had apparently stirred up within him. "Well...We Knights tend not to get along perfectly with each other, but Swift Stride is a special case."
"What do you mean?"
"What Arkenstone's saying is that Swift is a jerk," replied Sparrowhawk with a loud snort, "In fact, he's the only one of us who makes a point of being a jerk."
"He's a liar," said Firefly with a stern frown.
"He's a thug," added Spitfire.
"He's a thief," said Sparrowhawk.
"He's a dick," groused Sunset.
"Sunset would know about that last one," said Arcana.
"Shut up!"
"Um..." Twilight still couldn't make sense of what she was hearing.
Arkenstone chuckled sheepishly and gently pressed up against her side. "Remember when I said that we all have titles that we've given one another? Swift Stride is probably the Knight with the most titles out of all of us. None of them are very flattering.
"He's been known as Swift Stride, the Mad Bomber; Swift Stride, the Laughing Mad; even Swift Stride, the Lost Cause...We've given him too many to count really."
Arkenstone slowly shook his head. "However, I've always thought that the title that suited him best is the one that Princess Celestia herself bestowed upon him."
"What title is that?" asked Twilight.
"Swift Stride, the False."
"Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!Achoo!Achoo!ACHOO!"
The earth pony paused, his hooves sinking into the deep snow as he reached back to pull out a hoofkerchief and wipe his nose clear of the splattered snot before it could freeze to his muzzle. Taking a deep breath, the stallion blew his nose into the hookerchief to clear away the remnants of the sneeze that had been left behind. Lowering the cloth, the stallion glanced at it one last time before tossing it away into the wilderness.
The stallion shook his head vigorously, waving the spikes of his grayish-white mane through the air. He was dressed in a black outfit of loose-fitting silk that covered him from shoulders to haunches, complete with loose sleeves that ran down all four of his legs, leaving a hole for his tail to swish through the air behind him. As such, his head was the only part of him visible that displayed the khaki color of his coat. Up close, it was difficult to discern the color of his eyes, given that he habitually squinted so tightly that they seemed closed most of the time. Around his barrel, he'd wrapped a long, white sash, the ends of which trailed behind him like a pair of extra tails.
Swift Stride rubbed his muzzle with his bare hoof one last time and sniffled. "Geez. Somepony must be talking some serious smack about me." He looked upwards and noted the position of the moon relative to the horizon. "Sunny's little party should be in full swing right now. So it's probably those girls."
He chuckled. "Well. It's nice to know they're thinking of me at least. Maybe I should'a dropped in on them after all. It would've been a nice surprise." After thinking it over for a moment, he barked out a sharp laugh. "Nah. They're probably happy that I'm not there."
Lowering his gaze from the sky, Swift grinned widely at what laid before him. "Besides, I should report to my new boss." His eyes homed in on the domed shape that rose out of the otherwise barren, uninhabited terrain ahead of him; a low, stout building made from bricks carved out of granite. "Time to do Her Radiance's will."
"...The False?" asked Twilight.
Arkenstone nodded slowly. "He's unique amongst the Knights in that he specializes in deception and misdirection. He's a tricky, dangerous fighter and you can never be sure of yourself when he's around."
"That doesn't sound like what a Knight would do at all," said Twilight pensively. It certainly seemed different from the others.
"I suppose he is," said Arkenstone, "However, the most important thing is that, without question, I believe that Swift Stride is the strongest of the Celestial Knights, in many ways."
"The strongest Knight," repeated Twilight softly, "I wonder what he's like."
"As I told you once before," said Arkenstone with a wince, "I hope you never have to find out."