//------------------------------// // Between the Trees // Story: A Beam of Light // by OutofCuriosity //------------------------------// Arachne rubbed her sore head wondering where the chariot that hit her had went. When she opened her eyes, however, she found a white stone wall and realized something terrifying. The plan failed. And I'm still in the castle! Arachne quickly resumed her pony form, a beige unicorn named Blotter Paper. Not a moment later Princess Luna herself rounded the corner and came face-to-face Arachne/Blotter. "Princess Luna, thank goodness you're safe. I-urk," was all Arachne managed to say before being lifted up in Luna's magically grasp. Luna asked, "What was the first thing I asked you about the new inventions during my banishment?" Her tone did not leave room for anything but an immediate answer. "Why nightclubs were concerned with lights and music rather the actual night," squeaked out Arachne. Instead of being released, like the changeling expected, Luna's horn didn't stop glowing and the Princess's gaze hardened instead. Luna turned around and headed back the direction she came. Heart thudding in her throat, Arachne stammered, "P-princess? What are you doing?" I remember that conversation perfectly, so why- "I saw you transform Blot. As they say, you can 'drop the act'." Those words sent chills up Arachne's carapace as she realized Luna now knew her assistant had always been a changeling. Arachne let out a small whimper as she was carried through the castle. Meanwhile Princess Cadence was doing her best to crush the life out of her fiance, at least from his perspective. "Oh Shiny, I was so close to losing you forever. I don't care what anypony says, from now on I'm not letting you out of my sight." Cadence continued to squeeze causing Shining Armor to gain a faint blue tinge over the normally white parts of his coat. "Cadence, I appreciate your concern for me but...I can't...breathe..." Shining Armor managed to choke out as he weakly patted a hoof on Cadence's back. Twilight Sparkle and her friends watched Shining Armor's increasingly asphyxiated face with a spectrum of concern to amusement on their faces. "Uh...Cadence, I don't think Shining's coat is usually that blue," said Twilight. This finally broke through to the alicorn and she released her fiance from her vice grip. As her brother returned air to his lungs, Twilight found herself the new subject of a powerful hug causing her eyes to bug out slightly. "And thank you Twily, if it hadn't been for you I might have never made out of those caverns in time to save Shiny." "I'm sure you would have out of there on your own. I didn't really do much-". Twilight was cut off by an increase in the pressure of the hug and she felt several bones in her back crack. Fortunately Cadence was spared from committing equicide by the release of Princess Celestia from her cocoon. Two unicorn guards succeeded in peeling the shell apart and Celestia glided down to her niece and student. "Cadence, I wish to talk to you about the details of your imprisonment. I'm afraid your gratitude will have to be postponed briefly," Princess Celestia said with a small smile. "Oh, right." Cadence let go of Twilight, who straightened out the new bend in her spine. Celestia opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by Rainbow Dash flying up to the pair. "What's the matter Princess? Cadence and Shining Armor just kicked an entire army's flanks to next week. We should totally be rocking out now," Rainbow declared. Behind her, Rarity seemed to suffering a minor panic attack as she pulled Rainbow Dash to the ground with her magic. With a nervous laugh Rarity said, "Pardon us, your Highness. Just carry on with your conversation." Rarity then backed away, carrying a protesting pegasus along with her. "It is all right my little pony, I just need to clarify something with Princess Cadence and oversee the cleanup of the city. Then we can consider celebrating." Celestia turned back to Cadence and asked, "How long were you imprisoned and what do you know of Aduro's involvement in the invasion?" "If today's the wedding then I was trapped in the crystal caverns for...two weeks. As for Aduro, he only left the caverns once during my captivity as far as I know. Aside from that one instance at the beginning, he said his job was keep me imprisoned. And he did a pretty good job of it until the end." "How did you manage to escape?" At this Cadence looked away nervously for a moment before answering. "The uh, Want-It Need-It spell. I cast it on a rock and it provided me with the distraction I needed. Then I ran into Twily and you know the rest." Celestia raised an eyebrow but her expression remained neutral, while Twilight's became thoughtful, her friends grimaced at the memory of the 'Smartypants' incident, and Shining Armor looked concerned. As Celestia's lack of reaction continued Cadence felt a hole appear in the joy she had been feeling and she began to fidget like a school filly under the Princess's gaze. Then Celestia draped a wing around Cadence and smiled encouragingly. "You can relax Cadenz-Cadence. You're not in any trouble for being forced to act under duress. I probably would have used that spell after a week myself. You know how quickly paperwork can build up around here." Shining Armor let out a breath he'd been holding as both Princesses shared a chuckle. Celestia turned to walk out of the room when Applejack spoke up. "Do you need us do anything to help clean up your Majesty? I know whenever we get an infestation in the orchards we call in extra help. An' Canterlot jus' had one hay of a bug problem," she said adjusting her hat. However Celestia merely continued walking at a leisurely pace craning her neck to look at Applejack. "That shouldn't be necessary. It won't take long to make repairs and ensure this is the end of hostilities. This isn't the first 'infestation' I've had to deal with. The Royal Guard know what to do right Captain?" Shining Armor snapped to attention and saluted Celestia. He gave Cadence a peck on the cheek and an apologetic smile before galloping towards the Guard headquarters. "If you feel like you want to help anyway I'm sure I can think of something for you to do," Celestia called back to the group. A few glances were shared before the six ponies, one dragon, and one alicorn followed the Sun Princess. In the back of the group, Applejack looked at Twilight and asked, "Would somepony please explain to me jus' who is this Aduro fella?" Twilight's ears flopped down, as an annoyed sigh escaped her lips, and she muttered, "Does anypony read the books I send them?" She then straightened her neck and began to lecture like a history professor. "Aduro is a dragon who's supposed to be a prisoner in Tartarus for leading a break in of the old Castle of the Two Sisters. Several ponies died during the event, leading to Aduro's imprisonment; but I can't find a lot of records about Aduro before then, aside from being called 'Lucere' prior to his imprisonment and having a hand in advancing early post-Discordian medicine. The strangest thing I found was that some texts refered to Aduro as a 'she' and others as a 'he'." "What, was everypony too afraid to ask which he was?" Rainbow Dashed snickered to Pinkie Pie. "No, she just didn't want to be bothered by such questions because she actually isn't either gender so she always told everypony to 'pick a pronoun and at least be consistent'," said Celestia from the front. "Wait, so a big ol' dragon literally from Tartarus is runnin' round the city and nopony is acting like that's somethin' to worry about?" Applejack half-yelled before running to the nearest open window and looking out the window for any sign of the beast. "Applejack, you don't need to worry so," said Celestia approaching the window and placed a hoof on Applejack's shoulder. "Luna sent me message saying she had defeated A-Lucere. Furthermore, Lucere was never as big as a regular dragon, at most she is slightly taller than the average pony. The Guard will soon have her in custody." Applejack looked like she wanted to argue for a moment longer but her faith in Princess Celestia overruled her own doubts and she let the matter drop. No pony knew how wrong Celestia was until much later in the day. ---------- Aduro awoke to find sunbeams landing directly onto his face. Briefly he was confused as to where he was before the memories of the last several weeks came flooding back. He glanced up at Canterlot to find almost no smoke rising from the city and the sun resting much lower in the sky. With a groan he raised his head up from a tree branch feeling the wounds covering his body and his aching muscles protesting. Ignoring his discomfort he untangled himself from the tree and climbed down. Halfway to the bottom he leapt off, expecting his wings to catch the wind and bring him gliding down to the ground. Instead he plummeted and landed on his feet with a jolt that went up his entire body. Looking at his back Aduro found only a dark red stain running down his back instead of a pair of wings. His innate magic had kept him from bleeding out in his unconscious state but the wounds had partly reopened due to the jolt of his dismount from the tree. Aduro looked at the spots where his wings used to rest for a minute before forcefully suppressing a roar of anger. He settled for picking up a stone and crushing it to dust between his teeth. Again!? I lose my wings, have them reattached, and then have them ripped off again? Damn you Chrysalis! And my stupidity for agreeing to her deal in the first place...Didn't I do something similar to Kolran before I...Stop. Those memories hold nothing but long dead madness. Focus on now. Not going back to Tartarus is the priority. First, find water to bathe and drink from. Ensure my wounds don't get infected. Then find enough gems to avoid stealing food from towns. Aduro threw one last glance at Canterlot before heading north of the city. Ignoring the pain coming from his back Aduro kept a steady pace as his mind wandered. I'm at a disadvantage, I can't put as much distance between me and the Princesses as fast as I'd like. But until they find my wings, they won't look for me on the ground. And considering my luck so far, it's merely a matter of time. With this fact in mind, Aduro increased his pace a little and Canterlot was soon hidden from view by the leaves of the trees. ---------- Whatever Arachne had expected to happen when Luna captured her, standing in line and answering questions like 'how long have you lived in Canterlot' was not one of them. After a process that strongly reminded her of an average day's work at the castle with the addition of a number of changelings that would simply snarl at the guards asking the questions, Arachne was lead with several other changelings into a secure yet oddly well furnished room she didn't recognize. "Does anyone know what's going on?" Arachne asked. She was met with equally confused shrugs and glances. None of the changelings were disguised, the ones who had refused to drop their disguises had them blasted off with magic. Now she was left sitting in a chair nervously awaiting whatever fate awaited them The strangeness of the situation was not lost on any of the occupants. Several weak attempts at small talk were made and Arachne noticed that all the changelings in the room were members of the infiltration caste. After what seemed to be an eternity the door to the room was opened and Princess Celestia and Luna walked into the room. Before the door closed Arachne could see a number of guards standing by the door. "Greetings," said Celestia breaking the silence. "The reason you have been separated from your fellows is because based on your answers to the questions and reports compiled from your jobs, you have managed to create lives for yourselves in Canterlot among our subjects. You have not replaced any subjects and have performed your jobs well, so we have an offer for you. You will be allowed to remain in Canterlot and your involvement in the invasion will only be known to a select few aside from Luna and myself." "In exchange we ask that you reveal all that you knew of the invasion and any information concerning the current state of changeling affairs. If you feel your loyalty lies with the rest of your hive, you will be escorted out of Equestria to join them. This deal will only be available for a short time, so think carefully about your decisions." Arachne sat still, digesting the Princesses' offer. She glanced around to see other stunned faces and quietly curled her legs to her body. Betray the Queen and remain in Canterlot. Or stay loyal and be banished. Staying in Canterlot means never having to worry about running out of love to eat, but be a traitor to all my friends and family. Then Luna spoke, causing Arachne to lose her train of thought. "You will now be separated and be free to make choice without any outside influence." Luna then stomped her hoof twice and a squad of guards entered and broke off to carry one changeling each. Arachne was escorted outside and lead to what looked like a supply closet that had all its contents emptied. A single light hung from the ceiling illuminating bare dusty shelves. They're leaving us to stew in our own minds and left to wonder what the others are doing. Well-done Celestia. Hours seemed to pass as Arachne argued for both sides before finally reaching her decision. She knocked on the door with her hoof and told the guards she'd reached a decision. She was then lead back to room she'd waited with the other changelings to find the Princesses dealing with stacks of paper and talking with the veritable stream of ponies entering and leaving the room. Arachne and the guards entered the stream and soon were before the Princesses. "I-I want to stay in Canterlot. I'll tell you as much as I can." Celestia and Luna both smiled at the news and Celestia began filling out a sheet of paper. "But I will only comply on one condition." Arachne drew a shuddering breath and tried not to imagine the horrible things the alicorns could do to her. "I want to guarantee that my mate will also be able to remain in Canterlot with me." Luna looked slightly surprised by the request but Celestia merely smiled again. "What is your mate's name?" asked Celestia drawing out another sheet of paper. "His name is Flitter and until recently he was one of the Royal gardener's assistants." "You mean the blue stallion I constantly see you staring at through the window?" asked Luna. "The one and the same. But the Queen had him do some other job. I don't know what it was though," answered Arachne. "Ah, yes, I have a record of him here. He is being held with the majority of the changelings we picked out of the rubble. He will be released in short order and the both of you will be under surveillance for a yet to be determined amount of time. To ensure your sincerity," said Celestia with a hint of something behind her kind smile. Luna began the questioning with "Why was Aduro released from Tartarus?" -----One Week Later----- Aduro opened her eyes to the ground shaking beneath her feet. She scrambled upright from her perch in a tree to find an Ursa Minor drinking from the river next to the tree in the moonlight. She relaxed upon seeing the massive star bear. Even in her current state such creatures were no threat to her. She crawled down from the tree careful not to disturb the bandages she'd wrapped around her midsection to cover the wounds on her back. Her stomach rumbled reminding her to find some gems to eat. So far she'd managed to only come across what she dug up near a small mining town. That had been three days ago. Now her hunger had returned with a vengeance. Aduro leaned over the riverbank and drank from the water, making sure to be upstream of the Ursa Minor. Unfortunately for her, the Usra decided to play with the strange little white creature next to it. The Ursa reached a paw out to nudge Aduro but it bent around the dragon, a decidedly painful experience judging by the Ursa's roars. The bear nursed its paw, now back in its original shape. Aduro merely watched as the Ursa swung its other paw in an attempt to harm her. This time the bear's paw and part of its arm were bent around Aduro causing an even louder roar to erupt from the Ursa Minor. This particular roar of pain was soon replaced with the ground beginning to shake even harder than before and an Ursa Major carved a path through the forest towards its injured young. Aduro mildly concerned with the amount of noise being made decided to distance herself from the loud Ursa and began swimming across the river. She hadn't made it a quarter of the way across when the Ursa Major caught up with the Minor. Several grunts and gesturing pointed out the white dragon to the Purple Ursa Major. Unbeknownst to Aduro, she had encountered the Ursa Major before, although at the time it had been little more than a newborn Ursa Minor. Several Ursa Major and their offspring had amassed near a pony town much to the displeasure of the ponies. The Ursa Major remembered the white creature that no Ursa could touch, how all who attempted were met only had twisted limbs and roars of pain as the result of their efforts. The group of Ursa were split up by the creature, herded like cattle out to distant reaches of Equestria. This memory sparked within the Ursa Major and it snatched up its young and retreated back to its cave deeper in the forest, the magical light of their skin faintly luminescent against the night sky. Meanwhile Aduro merely swam on unconcerned. Once she reached the other side of the river, she checked her bandages to ensure they were still secured to her body. Then she continued on her way, occasionally stopping to sniff the air for any signs of pony villages. After two hours Celestia had raised the sun and Aduro caught the scent of baking bread to the west. Following her nose Aduro soon found a small town half of whose inhabitants had barricaded themselves inside their homes, probably due to the roars of the Ursa Minor. The other half were nervously going about their daily routines, occasionally stopping to look around as if they expected to see the Ursa before they heard it. Aduro spilled into the town, invisible, searching for material to make fresh bandages and for any food. Aduro found a bed-sheet hanging out to dry and quickly cut it up into strips for her bandages. She was near the edge of town searching for the source of the smell of bread when she came across something that made her change her mind on where to get food from. What she found was a sign that declared 'Pie Family Rock Farm 20 miles' pointing northwest of the small town.