//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 // Story: When Friends are Said and Dun // by xenos29 //------------------------------// Twilight was beyond glad when her friends finally arrived; not only was she happy to see them, but they had broken the listless silence that had filled the room for the last half-hour. They entered in a group, and Jade stood to greet them. “Hello, girls. Good to see all of you safe. Are you doing alright?” “Yes, ma’am,” answered Applejack. “Firing on all pistons, but we’re getting it done. Everypony’s settled and got a place to sleep now.” Jade nodded thoughtfully. “Good. Well, we’ve already made some headway. Everything you should need is on the table. Just make yourselves comfortable while I get more tea.” “Thank you, Miss Singer,” said Rarity. As her friends walked towards the desks, Twilight examined each of them closely. They all seemed much better than they did this morning. Even Applejack looked like herself again. “Is everything ok down at the train station?” “Yep,” said Applejack, wiping her forehead. “It took some time, but we finally found a place for everypony. They’re crowded, but should be comfortable enough until they can go back home. We were lucky enough to have some kind Canterlot folk helping out.” “It was so nice of them to volunteer,” added Fluttershy. “We couldn’t have done it so quickly without them. Pinkie and Spike even managed to set up a puppet show to cheer up the little ponies.” Pinkie Pie hopped in place. “All in a day’s work, right Spike?” “Yep!” “What have you two found so far?” asked Rarity. “Actually, I found out…” Twilight stopped. She had finally discovered something significant about Alpenglow, but lacking a good way to bring it up, she decided now was the time everypony could get to know each other. As far as she could tell, they were all going to be spending some time together. “Well, for starters, would you care to introduce yourself, Alpenglow?” The stallion stood, and after surveying Twilight’s friends for a moment, he said formally, “Hello, everyone. My name is Alpenglow. I’ve been an Equestrian Knight for...well, let’s just say a long time. I promise to do everything I can to help you stop Blight.” Rainbow Dash cocked her head sideways. “Sooo...are you like one of the guards?” Alpenglow nodded. “Not too different. In addition to being protection for the princesses, we were also their personal ambassadors and assistants. We were often acted on their behalf for matters in and out of Equestria, if and when they were otherwise busy.” “Sounds like y’all were pretty important,” said Applejack. “How did you wind up a statue sittin’ under the princesses’ old castle for a thousand years?” “It was my last battle with Blight. He was hiding on the edge of the griffin kingdom for months, preparing to attack Equestria.” Alpenglow frowned. “I don’t remember what happened during the fight, but I stopped him before he could. That box I was chained to likely had something to do with it.” “How can you not remember something as important as how you beat this guy?” asked Rainbow. “Rainbow Dash, don’t be rude,” said Rarity. “I’m sorry, miss, I just don’t. It was a long time ago. I don’t remember a lot about what happened that day,” said Alpenglow, his eyes downcast. “It’s alright. We’ll figure it out,” assured Twilight. “First of all, I want you to meet everypony, Alpenglow. This is Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Spike.” Alpenglow bowed his head slightly to greet them. “We really should get back to work,” he said flatly and sat back down. Everypony's eyebrows rose, then lowered as they looked at one another, frowning in confusion. Then, they all pulled up chairs and began to read. Shortly after, Jade came back with more tea and sat down next to Twilight. For an hour they all sat, reading quietly until Spike scooped up his book and bounced over to Twilight’s side of the table. “Look, Twilight!” he said, holding up the worn pages. “This book on the founding of Equestria has a section on the princesses’ old castle.” Spike read from it, following the words with his claw. “This chapter says the castle used to have a museum dedicated to 'the fabled knights of ancient Equestria.’” “That’s exactly what we need, Spike!” exclaimed Twilight. She lifted the book onto the table where everypony could see. “It says here that the museum contained many artifacts belonging to each generation of knights, including replicas of the Elements of Heroism.” “‘Elements of what?’” asked Rainbow. Twilight flipped through the next couple of pages. “The book doesn’t say what they are, just that they 'allowed the knights to defeat evil time and time again.'” “You think they’re like the Elements of Harmony, Twi’?” wondered Applejack. “I don’t know. The book says there were only three elements, but the words are faded. I can’t tell what they say.” “Courage, Altruism, and Integrity,” Alpenglow said from across the table, causing everypony to look at him in surprise. “Altru-what?” asked Spike. “Altruism,” corrected Twilight. “It means being kind to others, just because it’s the right thing to do. Think of it as generosity and kindness combined, while integrity means being loyal and honest to what you think is right and wrong.” “Oh, got it,” said Spike. “I can’t believe I forgot them,” continued Alpenglow. It was our secret, back when Equestria was founded, along with the knights. It’s how I beat Blight before, and if we can find them, I can do it again.” Everypony stopped to think. Finally Twilight asked, “But if we can use them to stop Blight, why didn’t Princess Celestia tell us before?” “Yeah, and why didn’t the Elements of Harmony work on Blight, anyway?” asked Rainbow. Alpenglow leaned forward on the table. “The princesses didn’t know about the Elements of Heroism. Like I said, it was a secret, from Starswirl to us, each and every generation of knights. Princess Celestia decided it would be best for it to remain our secret, in case anything ever happened to her or Luna. They definitely knew about the elements, but they never asked about them out of respect for Starswirl and the tradition.” “So how did you use them?” asked Applejack. Alpenglow shook his head. “I don’t remember.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “You don’t remember a lot, do you?” “Rainbow!” scolded Fluttershy. “I’m sorry. It’s all coming back to me, but slowly. I just need more time.” Twilight shut the book and handed it to Spike. “Jade,” she asked, turning to her, “do you have any ideas about where else we can look for information on the Elements of Heroism?” Jade looked around the library, her eyebrows furrowed. “I'm not sure. That has to be one of the oldest books in here. Unless…” She rubbed her chin again. “Have you thought about the Crystal Empire? Their records must be even older than the ones here. They might have what you need.” “That’s a great idea, Jade!” Twilight turned to her friends. “We’ll check in with the princesses and my brother, then we’re going to the Crystal Empire.” “Slim or not, that’s a lead if I ever heard one,” said Applejack. “Road trip!” squealed Pinkie. Rainbow Dash shot out of the room, stopping just long enough to turn her head around and shout, “Let’s get a move on, then! We're not gonna beat Blight just sitting here!” Twilight hugged Jade goodbye. “Thank you so much for the help, Jade. We’ll be back soon.” Jade hugged her back. “Happy to help, Twilight. If I find anything else, I’ll make sure it reaches you. Here, let me show you out.” As the ponies walked down the hall and towards the front door, Twilight noticed again that Spike was still carrying Alpenglow’s things. She stopped Spike, looked at the helmet, then motioned her head towards Alpenglow. Her assistant nodded, and with a timid tap on the knight's shoulder, he gingerly held out both items. “Here,” he said with a nervous laugh. “I think you dropped these earlier.” Alpenglow looked down at Spike for a moment before taking his things, slipping the helmet over his head and the bag over his back. “Thanks,” he said, “but you should have just left them. By stopping to pick them up, you put yourself and everypony else at risk, twice.” Spike stepped back, looking hurt. “Sorry, they looked important. I didn’t want to leave them.” “Even had they been important, they were not worth endangering any of us or the mission for. Be careful and think next time, because we can't afford something like this happening again.” “Oh, okay,” Spike sighed as he walked to join everypony else. Twilight looked at the stallion next to her, somewhat taken aback. “He was just trying to help." “I’m sorry,” replied Alpenglow, his apology echoing harsh and metallic with the helmet, “but you know as well as I do that we need to focus on stopping Blight. Nothing else matters. The more your friends understand that, the better off we’ll be.” Twilight frowned. “Maybe, but we need to work together if we’re going to save Equestria. It's how we've gotten this far." “I don't doubt it, Twilight, and I trust you, but you need to realize that having friends alone won't stop Blight, finding the Elements of Heroism will.” “If those stories Jade told about you are true, then I think you know both will be important. And maybe having one will help us find the other,” she said firmly, but sincerely. The helmeted head swiveled to face her. “If you say so.” Jade and everypony had were already waiting at the door. As Twilight and Alpenglow continued to walk down the hall, she asked, “Could I see one of those maps you mentioned?” “Sure. Try the one on the left.” Twilight opened the bag with her magic and pulled out the largest scroll. She unrolled it halfway, revealing a huge map of ancient Equestria. The historian in Twilight marveled at the absence of Canterlot and Ponyville, as well as the various symbols and trails that peppered and crisscrossed the map. She unrolled it more, looking for the legend, when another scroll fell to the floor. Whatever it was, it didn't seem to bother Alpenglow, who kept walking as Twilight stopped to pick it up. It was addressed to Princess Celestia, and though part of Twilight began to lecture the importance of not opening things that didn't belong to her, she couldn't help but carefully peel off the seal and unfurl the yellowed parchment. She would soon regret her curiosity. As she read the letter, Twilight’s face drooped with each passing line, and by the end, her eyes were a little glossy at the edges. Thankfully, she was in nopony's sight, and even if she were, she was holding the map right in front of her face. Without expressly meaning to, she started rereading the letter, if only to make sure she had learned everything she could from it: Dear Princess Celestia, For the past two hours, I’ve been sitting here, alone in my tent on the outskirts of the griffin kingdom, trying to figure out just what I should do and what I should say in this letter in response to your letters and some questions you have asked regarding our mission. I have purposely not told you very much about my world over here, because I thought it might upset you. Perhaps that has been a mistake, so let me correct that now. I still doubt you will be able to comprehend it. I don’t think anyone can who has not been through it. I live in a world of horrors. I have watched despair and hatred twist my friends into individuals I can no longer recognize, and I take full responsibility for my part in making them so. Bridge Builder was the first to go. A week after we arrived, Blight showed himself on the edge of the kingdom. He had taken over one of the small towns there and enslaved its citizens, so we had to fight through them to reach him. But the second we did, he released his control over the townspeople and escaped, but not before sinking the entire city into the ground. It shook all of us up, but that didn’t change our resolve. We chased him to the next town, and he did it again. And again and again and again. Eventually, Bridge Builder had had enough. He said everything happening was our fault for chasing Blight. He turned on us, then disappeared. I believe now that Blight must have cast some spell on him during our fights. Regardless of whether he did or not, we never saw Bridge Builder again. I will spare you the details of what happened to the others, as their fates were ultimately the same. It is now just me and Tawny Timbre left, though I fear even that will not last. Everywhere Blight has gone, he has left a trail of destruction and misery, and we are caught in its wake. So far, we have done our duty the best we can, and if you believe we haven’t, then I am sorry. As I look out over the countryside that once held the griffins’ lush orchards, I can see nothing but a wasteland of mud, shriveled vines, and rotting trees, reminding me of every time we have failed to stop him, and what those failures have cost us all. My hopes for the future have sustained me, Princess. But like everything else around me, my hopes are dying, too. In spite of everything, our plan to recapture Blight may succeed, and perhaps one day you will see us again, but we will not be the same ponies you remember from our school days with you and Luna. No one can go through this and not change. We are all monsters. In the meantime, we just go on. Somehow, someway, this will have an ending. Whatever it is, I am ready for it. Alpenglow Twilight closed the letter. The storm of despairing images from her first reading had subsided into a clinging chill, leaving her with the reality that, unlike the stories Jade had told, this letter was only simple, pitiless truth. Every struggle, every misery it described had happened, not to some larger-than-life hero, but to a pony Twilight spoke to not more than thirty seconds ago. Discord's advice suddenly made a little too much sense. The question was what she would do now. To ask Alpenglow would be to make him relive something he had forgotten with good reason. To tell everypony except him was no option either, as the trust he had given her was new, fragile, and based too heavily on her being a princess. Barely knowing Alpenglow was no excuse to betray that trust, so if Twilight was to respect his past with the princesses, as well as bring everypony together on this mission, all she could do for now was clear her eyes and thoughts, tuck the scrolls under her wing, and join her friends outside.