//------------------------------// // 24 - Religious Debate // Story: A Dangerous Sparkle // by David Silver //------------------------------// The door to their room slammed open, waking both with a start. "You fools!" came a familiar voice. Twilight shoved her covers down to see who was speaking, sleep and adrenaline mixing unpleasantly as the masculine figure continued, "It was scheduled for months! months, with scholars coming from across the nation, just to find out some amateur called her in early!" It was Dawn Event, and he slammed a hoof down on the floor, "Do you have any idea what you have done?" Spike leaned over the side of the bed, venturing a soft, "No?" Dawn Event took a slow breath, "Then allow me to explain. The gods are bound by rules older than themselves, to keep our world in order and prevent a collapse of all we are aware of. They may not appear at your side as whimsically as your own god." He stormed up to the bunk bed, looking up at Spike and down at Twilight, "Princess Luminace only appears, at most, once a year, for longer than a minute at a time. That is the way it must be." Twilight swallowed nervously as she sat up, covering herself with her blanket, "I didn't know. I didn't mean to bother anypony." "And that makes it better?" asked Dawn Event, "Will you stand before the hundreds assembled and tell them their money and time is wasted, to come back next year? Are you to receive their ire, shielded with 'I didn't know'?" Twilight cowered away from the raging cleric, pulling up her covers until only her eyes and horn peeked free, "I didn't even know it'd work. I figured she would tell me, or just not appear, if it was a problem." Dawn Event snorted loudly, pawing at the ground as if preparing for a charge, , "I imagine she did. She is a shy goddess. If you insist she stay, then she does, rather than argue. Miss Sparkle..." He let out his breath, "Let me start with asking how. How did you even learn the ritual for attracting her attention?" Spike raised a claw, "That would be me. I looked it up. It was kind of a mess of stuff in a lot of books, but I put it together and gave it to Twilight." Dawn Event raised his neck to be eye to eye with the dragon, "Then I suppose I have you to thank as well. If it is of any consolation, the goddess does not appear to be upset herself, but her followers... Does not your god have yearly rituals?" Twilight tapped her chin before nodding, "The Summer Sun Celebration. Celestia raises the sun in front of a crowd." "And," spoke Dawn Event, "surely there is a large gathering to see this event?" "Of course," agreed Twilight. "Good, now," said Dawn Event as he began to pace the room, "Imagine the day of the event is nigh, and this 'Celestia' is not there, and never appears. How would those who came to see her feel?" Twilight could feel color draining from her exposed flesh as she shook her head quickly, "I didn't mean to! I'm sorry! I... just..." she started to sniffle a little, unsure what to say to quell the anger radiating off of Dawn Event, or the shame building in her, "She was so nice..." Dawn Event softened, a gentle smile on his face, "She is one of the nicest. But for as kind as she can be, her followers are not always so. You took their evening, and selfishly claimed it for your own." He turned away from them both, "If I tell them what happened in truth, they will demand painful prices from you both, then the Seekers. Everyone around you will suffer for your misstep." Twilight began whipping her head back and forth quickly as she sputtered, "No! No no, don't tell them! I don't want everyone getting into trouble! Please. Isn't there something else I can do?" Dawn Event paced back to Twilight's bed and wrenched her blanket away. She was no more exposed than was normal in Equestria, but she felt exposed despite it, curling on herself as he raised a hoof and tapped her on the nose, "You will fix it. I will take you, and your dragon, and we will recover a text rare and lost enough that its gift will draw her early, and save the holiday yet. I have a few others in mind that can come with us, for it will be a dangerous journey." Spike suddenly joined the conversation, "Wait! Our friend is on the way, and there's this paladin we know from the city. They would be glad to come along." Dawn Event looked up at Spike, "Truly? The gods provide then. Fate has spoken. Assemble your friends. I will return in one week's time, and we shall set out immediately. Be prepared to be underground." The door slammed just as loudly when Dawn left, with a muffled shout to be quiet drifting from elsewhere in the sleeping area. Twilight leaned over to peek up at Spike, "Are you sure we should be getting them involved?" Spike gave a soft pfft, "Long Road will be delighted to get the chance to show his stuff, and we'd have to keep Pinkie away from it. She'll come here to be with us if no other reason, why wouldn't she want to come along?" Twilight let out a soft sigh as she reclaimed her blanket and pulled it back over herself, "I hope you're right. Celestia, I really stepped in it this time." Reginald sat behind his desk, watching the pink pony admire his collection. She was bounding from one object to the next. Some she lifted up to peer at before setting down. She didn't seem to be causing any harm, so he watched her quietly, or at least as quietly as he could. She frequently asked questions about the artifacts she hefted. Where he got one, or what one did. At last, her curiosity was sated for his office and she approached him in that springing gait to land before the desk, her fore-hooves parked on the edge as she looked at him, "So what's it like being a human?" "What's it like being a pony?" he asked with a practiced tone and a patient smile. "Well," replied Pinkie, "It's kind of fuzzy all over, and we have a great tail that's awesome for show people how we feel, or sometimes as a handle. It must be funny having ears on the sides like that, and they don't move at all. How do you know what direction a sound is coming from like that?" A popping sound made him turn left, then right, "Oh wow, you do know!" she exclaimed with delight, clapping her hooves. This was not the first over-exuberant pony he had dealt with before, but most were much younger. Taking a risk, he tried a trick he knew worked on foals and reached over, scratching Pinkie behind one of her ears. She fell forward with a thump, turning limp under the simple attention, "Oh my Celestia," she said in a sleepy tone, "Hands are great! You should open a massage parlor, we have one of those back in Ponyville." Despite her limp form, her mouth happily ran on, expounding on her home. "Say, have you seen Twilight? Did you give her one of these?" She was still, at least, accepting the scritches as she talked and talked. He wasn't entirely certain why, but he felt a fondness towards the strange pony. "I have. She lives here and I will be sending for her shortly," he confessed. "You will be reunited." "That's great, Reggi!" exclaimed Pinkie as she unleashed confetti without pockets. This reminded him, "You will have to get clothing. Your friends arrived in a similar state of nudity, but that is not how this city operates." Pinkie suddenly pulled back, standing tall as she grinned, "Oh that's ok, I keep a spare suit ju..." she trailed off, "Oh wait, that's in Ponyville. Huh... I'll have to buy some new duds!" A knock on the door interrupted her as the guild master shouted out, "See them in." The door opened to permit Twilight and Spike, but they got barely a step into the room before they were covered by Pinkie and drawn into a bone crushing group hug. "I'm so happy to see you guys!" She cried, pulling them tight, "I saw you two doing crazy fights and things and me and Zecora were like 'wow, look at all that!', I mean Twilight was stabbed by that big bug thing, and ponies were fighting all over the place, and even the parties! So if you two are playing dress up like the old stories, what do I get to be?" she released them and struck a pose as if holding a sword, balancing on two legs easily, "Will I be a brave swashbuckler, swashing the buckles?" She began sneaking in place, running her hooves as if she were walking slowly, "Or a sneaky burglar? Ohh Ohh I know" She started making grand gestures, "I'll be the wizard, throwing eldritch doom on everyone! Oh wait, Twilight has that covered." Spike regained his breath even as soft giggles threatened to escape at Pinkie's antics, "Why don't you do what you always do?" he asked. Pinkie Pie considered that a moment before she nodded, "Sing songs, make people happy, and throw great parties? I can do that!" Twilight nodded in agreement, "And that unique magic that makes you... you. Come on, let's get you dressed." The trio left, making small talk as they passed Fast Shadow, who went in to speak to Reginald. "What do you think?" she asked. Reginald gestured after them, "Good bonds can make unlikely teams stronger than the most optimized team of individuals. They're obviously friends and know how to work together. I don't see any reason to separate them." "And the donkey?" asked Fast Shadow. "Long Road? His application has been across my desk before." Fast Shadow nodded, "I'll tell him the bad news." "I didn't say my answer was the same," corrected Reginald. "It's difficult to place donkies on teams, but Spike and Twilight obviously want him. That's one less decision to make. If he works out there, great, if he doesn't, nothing really lost." Fast Shadow gave a hesitant nod, "Of course. I suppose everyone... deserves a chance." Her tone was heavy with distrust. "He's got four hooves, a tail, and fuzzy ears," said Reginald, "From my view he's closer to a pony than I am. Give him a chance." Fast Shadow looked a little disgusted at the comparison, "If you say so, but it's not my team." She turned to the door, "Hopefully it will turn out well. I would hate to lose great talent so quickly." "Their next mission has them working next to Dawn Event. He's a trustworthy soul. I expect them to all come back in once piece." Fast Shadow hesitated and turned her head over shoulder to look at him, "What is that mission about? It was so suddenly given, without any clients showing up." Reginald held up a finger, a uniquely humanoid action, "That's a secret. Client/Seeker confidentiality. It shouldn't take them longer than a few weeks, maybe even one, to clear up. It will be good to get them all some actual dungeon experience with a veteran nearby." "Underground, is it?" asked Fast Shadow, "I'll be sure to drill Spike on close quarters combat before he goes. You can't rely on flight underground, especially dungeons." Reginald sat forward, "I'm confident that Spike will perform well. Focus on their new teammates. Pinkie? I believe her name was, and Long Road. Neither of them have met the kindness of your hooves on the training field yet." A soft snort, then Fast Shadow was gone, marching out the door and kicking it closed behind herself.