Chapter 28: Moving On
The funeral was a quiet affair. For a pony who had such a remarkable and storied history, the practice of laying Granny Smith to rest seemed almost criminally subdued. Aside from her immediate family, there were only a few others. All five of Applejack's closest friends were in attendance, along with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Rainbow Dash had flown straight down from Cloudsdale the moment word had reached her about what had happened. Arkenstone was there as well, silently leaning against Twilight Sparkle's shoulder as she sobbed quietly. Filthy Rich had come, dressed in his best suit, but had left Diamond Tiara at home. The only other outsider there was a wheelchair-bound Red River, who had insisted on attending, even though the doctors at the hospital were reluctant to allow him to travel.
Granny Smith hadn't wanted a large funeral. Rather, as detailed in her will, her body was quietly cremated and her ashes were laid to rest amid the trees of Sweet Apple Acres, a single granite plaque set into the ground marking the spot. The ceremony was swift and perfunctory, once again per Smith's instructions.
Once it was over, everypony turned to head back to the farmhouse to hold the wake. Mayweather, the Cakes, as well as several other ponies were preparing the food, setting up an occasion where everypony else in town could have their own chance to mourn Smith's passing.
Only Applejack stayed behind. "Go on, y'all," she said, her voice choking with sorrow, "Ah just wanted to stay here a spell."
To her surprise, a hoof rested on her shoulder. Looking over, she could see Red smiling at her. He'd been through multiple healing spells by this point. As a consequence, he was in something of a dazed state, but still lucid enough to stay awake through the funeral itself. When all was said and done, he would probably be whisked back to the hospital before the wake had even started.
"I'll stay with you," he said.
"But..."
"I'm staying." Red's tone was firm and indicated he wouldn't be budging without Applejack. Like Storm Front, Red had forgone the use of painkillers in between healing treatments. While his body wasn't in searing agony, he was beset by a near constant barrage of aches and bizarre sensations from his flesh and bones literally binding themselves back together. Despite that, his face didn't so much as twitch as he smiled at his fillyfriend.
"...'Kay," said Applejack after a moment's hesitation. She gave him a small smile before leaning in to kiss Red on the lips. "Thank ya."
Red nodded and settled back in his seat as Applejack turned to Smith's grave. Behind them, the others were already making their way to the farmhouse. Applejack gently ran a hoof along the edges of the stone square that marked Granny Smith's final resting place.
"Ah don't know how Ah'm gonna carry on without ya," she said, "Ya were there fer everythin'; when Ah was born, when Ah started walkin', when Ah got mah cutie mark, when Ma and Pa died. Ya've always been there, as much a part 'o this land as the grass and trees...and now yer gone." Tears ran from Applejack's eyes and her legs buckled. She fell to her stomach and laid her head on the stone. "Ah don't want ya to go, Granny! Ah...thought ya'd be here, always."
As the tears running down Applejack's cheeks spattered on the stone, something happened. Through her stomach and hooves, Applejack felt a pulse through the earth. She couldn't rightly say where it came from, but it flowed into her, warm and welcoming. It wrapped around her like a gentle embrace and Applejack felt the faint, phantom sensation of a hoof stroking her mane. However, Red, the only other pony present, wasn't in a position to reach her from his wheelchair.
At that same moment, the trees around them began to rustle. They were in a section of the orchard that hadn't started flowering yet. However, over the space of a few seconds, the trees all around the gravesite suddenly put forth a whole host of new buds that then bloomed into beautiful blossoms, filling the trees around them with color.
Stunned, Applejack could only gape and stare as she lifted her head away from the gravestone. "What in Celestia's name...?"
"It's just as you said," said Red, rolling his chair towards her, "She's a part of this land, as much as the grass and trees. Her entire lifetime, she poured her power and will into this place and, even though her body has departed, her love for you remains."
Getting up, Applejack looked over at her coltfriend, who lifted a shaky hoof to caress her cheek. "I don't think she'll ever be truly gone. Her presence dwells here still and, I think, shall remain until the mountains crumble. She's stubborn that way."
"That's true enough," agreed Applejack with sobbing laugh. Taking the sight of her coltfriend, she was abruptly reminded of how close he had come to death. Applejack's heart shuddered at the thought of losing not just Granny Smith, but Red as well. She was almost overcome by the urge throw her arms around the stallion and hold him tight. Only by remembering his currently delicate condition did she manage to keep herself from doing so. Instead, Applejack settled for resting her head over Red's shoulder and pressing their necks together. "Ah'm so glad yer gonna be okay."
"I'm not going anywhere," said Red, leaning into Applejack, "Your grandmother had a message for me as well, though I'm afraid mine was more strict than yours."
"What'd she tell ya?"
"She told me not to do wrong by you. There was the implication that she would probably come back to haunt me if I did so." Red chuckled. "She had a few other things to say, I think, about foals and the like-"
"Ah don't need to hear that!" snapped Applejack, her cheeks flushing as she jumped back from Red, prompting a laugh from the stallion. Allowing herself a small smile, Applejack started to chuckle along with him, her heart feeling lighter now.
"We should go," he said, carefully pulling at the wheels of his chair to turn himself around, "The others will start to worry."
With a sigh, Applejack settled in behind the chair and began to push it. "Ah'm sorry about yer spear," she said as they headed to the farmhouse and the wake, "Ah heard it got broken during yer fight."
Red shrugged indifferently. "I'll simply have to make a new one."
Applejack stopped for a second. "Ah thought ya'd be sadder. Didn't yer teacher give ya that spear as a goodbye?"
"Oh...that wasn't the spear the old Abbot gave me," said Red blithely, "That spear broke a long time ago. All weapons do that eventually. This latest one was the one I made to replace it. I was also experimenting in creating a spear that was more travel-friendly."
"Ya've gotta be kiddn' me," grumbled Applejack, "And here Ah was, all worried that ya'd be all mopey because of it."
"Even if I was so sentimental about it, I can't really afford to be mopey," said Red with an impish grin over his shoulder, "I think you've been mopey enough for the both of us."
"Why Ah ought'a..." Applejack's irritated grumbles and Red's amused laughter flowed between the trees as the two of them returned home.
The conference room was more crowded than usual. Even during the most important of diplomatic negotiations, Princess Celestia had always preferred more intimate and personal discussions rather than flooding the place with ambassadors and their retinues. It was rare for this room to see more than ten ponies at a time. But now it was filled nearly to capacity. Every seat at the table was filled and the table itself was covered by maps and charts, overlaid with stacks of paper detailing the logistics of the plan that Celestia was about to order into action.
"I understand you have your reservations, Captain," said Celestia, looking over some of the papers hovering in front of her at Shining Armor, who was seated at the table across from her, with Cadance next to him.
"I understand your desire to do something about this," said Shining, his face grim, "I want to put an end to this as well. But the Royal Guard will be stretched far too thin for this. Even with the Wonderbolts lending us their assistance, there's no way we can possibly cover every sector in such a short amount of time. It just isn't possible.
"On top of that, it means leaving Canterlot almost completely unguarded. The citizens and most definitely the nobles won't like idea of the entire Royal Guard shipping out at once. There's going to be an uproar."
Celestia pressed her lips together. She wanted to put an end to the Cult Solar's farce once and for all. Her unwillingness to take direct action had brought harm to a great many ponies. However, by her reckoning, simply trying to go through Equestria, one town at a time, would ultimately work against them. Word would spread ahead of the Royal Guard's advance after their first crackdown, the Cultists would go to ground, and their dismayingly persuasive leader would probably still find some way to twist Celestia's actions back against Luna and ponies like Dawn.
Then, to her surprise, the pony on Shining's other side raised a hoof and tapped the table. He was a handsome, bright-orange pegasus with a dark-blue mane named Flash Sentry. In addition to being Shining's Lieutenant and second-in-command of the Royal Guard, he had also been named as the pony to succeed Shining once he retired from his captaincy.
"I'd like to suggest something," said Sentry, "Rather than trying to cover everything at once or do this one town at a time, why don't we select a few particular points that we can strike at in order to maximize our effectiveness?"
"What sort of particular points?" asked Shining, raising an eyebrow.
"Places where these Cultists gather," replied Sentry, "They're a religion after all. They must have meeting places, worship spaces, points where they can commune with each other and organize their efforts. The reports already mention a temple in Appleloosa. We should be looking for places like that."
"Speaking of the temple," said Celestia, "What's the status of the squad that's en-route?"
"They should arrive the day after tomorrow," said Shining. Celestia had wanted to move against the Appleloosa temple immediately after Terra's attack in order to find what the Cult Solar was hiding there. However, organizing relief efforts for Ponyville had derailed that plan and the squads assigned there had only just departed by train. Celestia fully intended to go out there and join them herself when the time came. If nothing else, her leading the investigation of the Cult's temple personally would hopefully send the strongest message possible to the group that she was not happy with them.
"Have you located any such places of interest?" asked Celestia.
"We've been looking," replied Sentry, "But, so far, all we've found are meetings of small groups, usually at ponies' houses and rarely in the same place twice. But for the Cult Solar to have so much traction, I'd be willing to bet my commission that they have something more prominent somewhere." He glanced past his captain at Princess Cadance, who was looking distinctly uncomfortable with the situation. "I was hoping that, since we apparently have the Cult Solar's second-in-command in custody, that we might get some more definitive information on that."
"Anything yet?" asked Celestia, looking to her niece.
"Nothing," said Cadance with a sad shake of her head, "Terra Heart is a broken stallion. He hasn't uttered a single word since you brought him here. He barely even eats. I think that his mind might have been broken."
"Perhaps I should speak to him again," said Celestia, a hint of anger creeping into her voice.
"If you try harsh methods, you'll only break him further," said Cadance, "That won't get you what you're looking for. He'll just shut down completely."
"If only there was some clue," muttered Shining.
At that instant, the door to the conference room slammed open to reveal a heavily panting pegasus decked out in the uniform of a high-security courier tasked with carrying only the most sensitive information for the Guard. Behind her, the thunder of hooves echoed down the hallway as a half-dozen rank and file members of the Royal Guard charged up behind her, clearly intent on apprehending the mare, who apparently hadn't bothered to follow proper procedure in her rush to deliver her message.
"Emergency communication for the Princess!" gasped the mare frantically as her pursuers closed in, "Highest priority!"
Celestia stood and stepped out the door, forcing the mare to back up into the hallway. She lifted a hoof, bringing the pursuing Guards to a halt. "Return to your posts," she said. Pausing, the Guards turned reluctantly and did as they were bid. Celestia then turned her attention back to the courier and smiled warmly. "Please give me the message. I'm afraid I don't have a lot of time right now."
The mare nodded and slid a sealed tube out of her sleeve. Celestia took it up with her magic and examined it. The message tube was indeed one used to transport high-priority messages. Only the highest ranked members of the Guard had access to these canisters and used them for only the most urgent communications. "Who is this from?"
"Um...he called himself Milk Snake," said the mare, blinking in confusion, "I don't think he was from the Guard, but the confirmation code he used was legitimate..." She paused, apparently trying to recall more details.
"I see," said Celestia. She turned back to address the ponies assembled in the conference room. "This meeting is adjourned for now. Something urgent has just come up. Shining Armor, Cadance, please accompany me."
Shining and his wife exchanged baffled glances even as the rest of the assembled ponies broke down into confused mutterings. Still, they did as they were told and followed Celestia into the hall as she led them down towards her room.
"What's going on?" asked Shining, "Who is this Milk Snake guy and why is his message so important?"
Celestia couldn't keep an amused smile from her face. "Shining Armor, I think you can work it out for yourself. Just what is a milk snake?"
Shining mulled the question over, trying to remember an obscure bit of zoological trivia he'd probably learned back in elementary school. Beside him, Cadance was doing much the same.
"Oh!" shouted Shining and Cadance simultaneously, freezing in place for a second as the revelation dawned on them, "Swift Stride!"
"I suppose a message from him would be important," said Shining, "But is it really something this urgent?"
Celestia frowned, her eyes drifting down to the message tube held in her magic. "I believe so. Swift never contacts me unless there is a serious need. The last time I spoke to him was after that one escaped from Tartarus. We narrowly managed to avert disaster that time. I would much rather err on the side of caution."
"If you say so," said Shining hesitantly. He wasn't so sure. Swift Stride was known, by the few who knew about the Celestial Knights at all, as the most eccentric of the Knights. Coming from a group with ponies like Arcana Lulamoon, that was saying something indeed. He was deceptive and evasive, always saying one thing and doing another. He rarely came to Canterlot or the Royal Palace, preferring to wander Equestria and its neighboring countries seemingly at will. Shining had received word about Swift's actions sporadically over the years, but had only met the stallion himself a grand total of twice. Neither of those occasions had left a good impression on him.
The three of them arrived at Celestia's private chambers. Celestia immediately went to her desk as Shining and Cadance closed the doors behind them. Popping the top off the tube, Celestia slid out the scroll and unrolled it. Her eyes scanned the message, reading rapidly. She started smiling, the smile getting wider as she read each successive line. However, as she reached the end of her letter, the smile vanished and Celestia let out a startled gasp. Her magic vanished, leaving the scroll to drop down to the surface of her desk.
"Princess?" asked Shining, stepping forward. He reached out a hoof for the scroll so that he could read it himself. However, to his shock, Celestia slammed her hoof down on the paper and pulled it over to herself.
"Shining Armor!" said Celestia. Her tone caused both Shining and Cadance to stiffen as they heard it. They'd never heard Celestia speak like this before. She sounded somewhere between absolute terror and overpowering rage.
"Yes!" snapped Shining, automatically coming to attention.
"Mobilize the SES at once," said Celestia, "Have them ready to move out within the hour. Organize the rest of the Royal Guard for rapid deployment...all of them!"
"But we don't have enough pegasi and chariots to do that!" protested Shining.
"As many as you can then," replied Celestia, "But I want as many ponies as you can get underway ready in an hour. Send the rest by train and make sure that the tracks are clear on all routes. This gets absolute highest priority. This situation just got upgraded to a national emergency!"
"What's going on?" asked Shining, "What's in that letter?"
"Targets," snarled Celestia,
Shining swallowed. He'd never seen Princess Celestia like this before. She was both angry and terrified at the same time. However, the tone of her voice made it perfectly clear that she didn't want any arguments over this. Seeing that the conversation was over, he scrambled out of the room to carry out her orders. Cadance remained behind, watching with concern as the torrent of emotion faded from Celestia, leaving her to stare dumbly at scroll in front of her.
"What is it?" asked Cadance, stepping closer.
Celestia sighed. "Ever since that Flash Spark fellow appeared, I'd wondered what he was doing, what he was up to..." Her eyes drifted closed. "I probably should have seen this much sooner."
"What are you talking about?" asked Cadance, disturbed by what she was hearing.
However, Celestia seemed to simply ignore her niece as she stared at the letter in front of her. "Morning Star..."
"Oh bother," muttered Morning Star, gently rubbing his nose as he watched the reconstruction efforts, "This is troublesome..."
The damage done by Swift Stride's little act of sabotage had been more severe than Morning had initially thought. Though a great many components of the mechanism could simply be moved back into place, doing so had proved a tedious task, one that his workers had tackled with commendable zeal, but tedious all the same. Making sure everything was moved back into the right place was a tad more complicated than building it in the first place, especially when damaged pieces had to be removed and replaced at the same time.
Already, they were past the deadline of the spring equinox. Terra Heart had already carried out his attempt to kill Dawn Lightwing. From everything Morning had heard about the affair, Terra hadn't succeeded. Fortunately, Celestia's efforts to mobilize the Royal Guard had been delayed by dealing with the damage done to Ponyville. But the game was up now. He'd already learned from his Canterlot sources that Celestia was moving out the Royal Guard. They were on the move and were heading straight for the temples, even the ones in secluded areas, like the one he was in now.
Swift Stride...was there anything he didn't ferret out? wondered Morning idly. He didn't have much time left. Even more agonizing was that he didn't know just how close the deadline was looming.
In spite of this, a faint smile played across Morning Star's face. It's a good thing I took some precautions then...
Coco Pommel swallowed as she looked up at the library. She'd been here numerous times in the past few months. She'd checked out books, sometimes at the request of Rarity, sometimes for her own enjoyment or for the benefit of her personal projects. But now she was here for an entirely different reason. Her eyes drifted down to the ruined remains of the teahouse that had once stood next to the tree. She'd been to that building as well, enjoying the taste of a warm cup of spiced tea while chatting with Rarity over whatever they'd been working on at the time.
Her stomach dropped at the sight of the establishment's remains now. For some reasons she couldn't fully place, Coco had felt surprisingly safe and secure in the teahouse, like she was under the watchful eye of somepony who was more than willing to keep her safe from harm. Given what she knew now, that much had apparently been true...aside from the watchful eye part.
I should tell them, she thought, returning her attention to the library, Surely Mr. Arkenstone can help me. He must be strong enough.
Ever since she had come to Ponyville, even through Perlin Bluestreak's multiple visits to the town, Coco had never fully endorsed the idea of telling anypony the truth about her situation. After all, Perlin had made it quite clear who he worked for. If Baron Elderflower thought that she was going to be a liability, if he even suspected that she'd told anypony about being under his control, Coco was sure that Perlin would deliver her a swift death. She'd gotten first-hoof experience in just how far the Baron's reach extended. His brief arrival in Ponyville back before spring had come was like a jolting reminder, which was only reinforced with each of Perlin's subsequent visits.
And, as far as Coco knew, there was nopony that could stop them. She had seen Perlin effortlessly slaughter two-score of trained fighters without so much as a scratch. He was a living weapon with wings forged from a nearly indestructible metal that could cut through steel like paper. How could anpony hope to stand against something like that? Certainly, she'd heard that Dawn Lightwing was an accomplished martial artist and a capable fighter. However, Coco had only heard vague statements about the colt's abilities. It was hard for her to imagine that somepony could hope to equal the threat Perlin posed, especially somepony so young.
But then Terra Heart had come to Ponyville. Coco counted herself lucky that she hadn't been present when the fight had actually started. Terra had apparently come for Dawn, because of some superstition about Dawn's eyes, and Dawn had fought back. But Dawn had lost. However, Arkenstone had taken up the fight and Arkenstone had won. That fact stood out in Coco's mind. Terra Heart's arrival had been likened to an oncoming natural disaster. If Arkenstone could beat a monster like that, then, perhaps, he could protect her from Perlin Bluestreak as well. Coco could tell him everything and she knew that Arkenstone could keep Perlin or any of Baron Elderflower's other agents away from her.
So why haven't I told him already? She'd dithered over the decision ever since the battle, inventing excuse after excuse. Arkenstone had won, but he'd been pretty seriously injured in the fight. It wasn't right to dump her situation on him when he was still recovering. Then it was because she was too busy helping Rarity salvage what they could from the Carousel Boutique so that they wouldn't have to start from scratch when the shop reopened. Then she was too busy helping with other relief efforts around town. All of them were just excuses to hid the real reason she hadn't gone to Arkenstone already.
She was afraid, not of Perlin and Baron Elderflower's retribution this time, but because it would mean revealing that everything about her move to Ponyville, from working on Rarity's costume for the Hearth's Warming pageant to wanting to finish her apprenticeship under Rarity, had been done under false pretenses, the result of Baron Elderflower's machinations. Certainly, Coco's enthusiasm for working under Rarity had been real, but that didn't change the fact that she was still a pawn, however unwitting and unwilling, in Edlerflower's strange political game. Once Arkenstone learned the truth about her circumstances, it was only a matter of time until Rarity learned the truth as well. How would she respond? Would she feel betrayed? Would she still want Coco to apprentice under her? Or would Coco simply end up in the same straights she had during the nadir of her career, when Viscount Eventide had sunk her previous employer, Suri Polomare's reputation and Coco's along with it?
That was what truly frightened Coco the most. Every minute she had spent in the Carousel Boutique was a betrayal of Rarity's trust. Once she told Arkenstone, that betrayal would be revealed. Coco was certain that there was no way that Rarity would be able to forgive her. After everything she's done for me...how have I repaid her? By lying to her face every single day...
Still, Coco couldn't bear to simply wait passively until the day the Baron decided to make use of her. She had to tell Arkenstone at some point. She was certain that the blind stallion was the only one with capacity to actually protect her from Elderflower's reprisals. Taking a deep breath, Coco did everything possible to steady her nerves and took her first steps toward the library door...
Only to be drawn up short as something wrapped tightly around her neck, cutting off her air. Coco barely managed to force out a strangled noise before she was yanked bodily off her hooves and onto her back. Then, the mysterious force gripping her neck dragged her away from the library. Coco's eyes widened with fear as she found herself being pulled down towards a pair of closed shops and the alleyway between them. She thrashed and struggled, but it was a futile effort. Her vision was starting to go dark as her lungs burned from a lack of air.
Just as she was on the verge of passing out, Coco's journey ceased and the unknown force released her neck. Flopping to the ground like a landed fish, Coco gasped and coughed as her abused throat both demanded and rejected the air she drew in. Breathing was a painful task and it took a few minutes for her to get herself back under control.
Trying to get her bearings, Coco rolled over to get her hooves back under her and slowly forced herself to stand up. Her eyes managed to make out somepony in front of her. A unicorn mare with a blotchy white coat stepped forward, gazing at Coco with soulless, pitch-black eyes. The stare sent shivers down Coco's spine. However, at even that tiny motion, the mare's eyes narrowed fiercely and her horn began to shimmer with black lines of energy, paradoxically illuminating the cracks that ran along its length and sometimes shining out of them. As her magic built the mare's horn began to let out faint wisps of smoke. Coco froze at the sight, realizing just what force had dragged her into the alley. Furthermore, as the smoke from the smoldering horn reached her nostrils, Coco had to fight back the urge to retch.
"Paying a late night visit to the library, were we?" taunted a gruff, masculine voice from above Coco. Before she could tilt her head to look up at the source, she felt something cold and sharp press lightly against her neck, the edge of some sort of blade, held just a fraction away from breaking the skin of her throat and drawing blood.
Careful to not move her head, Coco rolled her eyes upwards as far as they would go to try and see the speaker. She caught a glimpse of a shadow hanging between the buildings overhead. Struggling to keep from shaking, lest she accidentally press her neck down onto the blade against her throat, she opened her mouth, debating whether or not to say anything at all.
"Wh-who are you? What d-do you want?" she stammered.
"You could say that we're coworkers," taunted the voice from above, "which is why we wanted to make sure that you weren't having thoughts about betraying our mutual employer."
So these ponies were working for Elderflower as well. To make matters worse, they certainly weren't working reluctantly. But if they were here then... "Where...where's P-Perlin?" In spite of herself, Coco actually found herself missing the presence of the young stallion. At least he'd never abused her like this.
A faint chuckle escaped the figure above her. "Your little coltfriend hasn't come down with us. The Lord Baron has...doubts...about the boy's work ethic when it comes to you."
Coco swallowed, the motion causing her throat to push uncomfortably against the edge of the blade.
"Now then...to business," continued the stallion above her, "Since you obviously were not planning on going to spill whatever you know about Baron Elderflower to Twilight Sparkle, we have no reason to kill you here and now. That's quite fortunate, because we have a little job for you, courtesy of the Lord Baron."
Coco whimpered. So this was what Baron Elderflower had gone through the trouble of having her placed under Rarity's care for. Something dropped down from the space above, but was caught in a field of ebony magic before it could hit the ground. It was a tiny vial of some kind of transparent liquid, probably no more than five ounces. Hanging in the mare's magic, it hovered over to Coco so that it hung in the air directly before her eyes.
"Hold out your hoof," instructed the stallion. Coco did as she was told and the vial began to drift down to her hoof, where she could take hold of it. However, it paused in the air just above her hoof. "Do not drop it," said the stallion sternly, "If that vial hits the ground, the next thing to hit the ground after it will be your head, sans the rest of you."
Coco whimpered in acknowledgement and the vial was set gently so that she could curl her fetlock around it.
"Take good care of it. You won't need much at all. It's extremely potent."
The blade to her throat began to slide forwards and upwards, scraping ever so gently against the underside of Coco's neck as it traced her contours all the way along her jaw to the very tip of her chin. Only then did it come to a stop again. In its new position, Coco now had a better view of the weapon that was threatening her. A long, slightly curved blade that tapered down to a vicious-looking point at one end hung just below her chin. On the other side, it joined perpendicularly with a shaft of rough wood that stretched upwards into the darkness above; a scythe.
The stallion on the other end of the scythe slowly pulled the blade upwards, and with it, Coco's head as she tilted it upward to keep the blade from cutting into her chin. The stallion guided Coco into tilting her head all the way back so that she was looking straight up at him. An emerald-green pegasus, his coat covered in blotches and scars, had wedged himself between the two buildings making up the sides of the alleyway. His hind legs were spread out so that his hooves pressed against the walls while his wings did the the same. His forelegs were curled around the shaft of the scythe that still rested just barely against Coco's chin.
"Listen carefully," said the stallion, grinning as he met Coco's eyes with his one good one, "You're going to do exactly as we say or you will die. The mare in front of you has a very good set of eyes and she will be watching you carefully to make sure that you don't have any thoughts about betraying us. Now...are you going to cooperate?"
Tears leaked out of Coco's eyes. "Y-yes," she said, her hold on the vial tightening.
"Good," said the stallion, "Now here's the plan..."
"You've been quiet," observed Twilight as she lowered her book to look at Arkenstone. The two of them had arranged themselves on a pile of cushions in front of the fireplace. Twilight, as almost always, had a book laying open in front of her. In contrast, Arkenstone was laying all the way down, resting his chin on another pillow. With his eyes closed as they always were, he could have easily been mistaken for having dozed off. However, by now, Twilight knew well enough that he was awake and that he was clearly being pensive about something.
"I've had a lot to think about," said Arkenstone. He was never one to not think, of course. But recent events had given him more food for thought than even he was used to. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that I wasn't the only one keeping secrets."
"You mean that thing you went to see Granny Smith about?" asked Twilight, "Can you tell me about it?"
"I can," said Arkenstone, letting out a breath, "Granny Smith passed her seat to me."
"Her seat...?" asked Twilight, a little confused by the vague terms.
"It turns out that the Siege Perilous is not simply a title for an old, retired Knight," said Arkenstone, "Even at this late stage, Granny Smith was still fulfilling an important duty."
"A secret?" Twilight ventured.
"Yes," said Arkenstone, "A very important secret, one that could do untold damage in the wrong hooves. It exists as a check to Princess Celestia's power."
"A check...?" mused Twilight.
Arkenstone nodded. "Remember what we learned recently about Princess Celestia's 'ultimate punishment?'"
Twilight nodded. She remembered quite clearly, including her own worries about such a punishment. "Then...that knowledge is..."
Arkenstone smiled. "That's right. It's all here, the ponies she excommunicated, the crimes they committed, everything pertaining to their cases. Apparently, the Siege Perilous serves as a repository for this knowledge, a single pony to remember in order to keep Princess Celestia from ever abusing that power. I can also tell you that everything she said to us at that time was truth."
Twilight felt a faint relief settle into her heart. She knew better than to believe that Celestia would actually abuse her power, especially when using such a terrible punishment. If anything, Celestia was regularly afraid of exercising her power too much, sometimes to the detriment of others. However, it was a relief to have confirmation of that. "I'm glad," said Twilight.
"So am I," said Arkenstone, leaning his head against Twilight's shoulder.
"Thank you for trusting me," she whispered.
"Thank you for being somepony I can trust," he replied.
Dawn pushed the bowl away. "I'm full."
On the other side of the table, Fluttershy and Caramel shared a relieved look with each other. Since his fight with Terra, Dawn's constitution had been weaker than usual, reminding the two of them of the days when he had first come to Ponyville after a year's time spent eating little but grasses, herbs, and whatever else he could scrounge up in the Everfree Forest. Back then, more substantial fare, such as baked goods or anything especially sweet, had been enough to make him physically ill.
This time had been slightly different. As could be expected from a pony who'd just been through a potent healing, Dawn's appetite had been enhanced. But, at the same time, as a consequence of his being on the receiving end of a magical transfusion, his stomach had rejected more substantive food and he'd been forced to rely primarily on broths and stocks. On the doctor's recommendation, Fluttershy and Caramel had been slowly working him back onto solid foods. The transition hadn't been an easy one. They'd started by switching from broths to progressively thicker gruels and porridges made from grains like oats, barely, and corn. Eventually, they would build up to more solid fare and get him eating normally within a couple more weeks.
Tonight, he had eaten a fairly thick barely soup made by mixing a vegetable broth with grits ground from hulled barely, seasoned with a few herbs and spices. Fluttershy and Caramel had turned the soup into a stew for themselves, adding cut potatoes and several vegetables. Dawn had managed two fair-sized bowls for himself, which at least showed that he was feeling better.
There were other consequences from Dawn's fight. His experience of what Dr. Stable had termed "Wing Stroke," had left him unable to use his magic until it sufficiently recovered. Initially, Fluttershy, Caramel, and even Dawn himself had figured that it simply meant he would have to go without flying or practicing the Gale King for a while. However, even Dawn had underestimated just how much he'd relied on his pegasus magic to go through his daily life, namely his wind-sense.
Initially, Dawn and his parents had attributed his bouts of clumsiness to general weakness and exhaustion. However, as time progressed and Dawn's physical strength and stamina recovered, he noticed that he was still unusually clumsy; bumping against items and ponies he'd thought were a safe distance away, knocking over objects he'd been reaching for, stumbling over unexpected obstacles, and being much more easily surprised than before. Once, Fluttershy had come up behind him and wrapped him in a hug. Normally, such an action wouldn't have troubled Dawn in the slightest. But, on this occasion, he jumped and wrenched himself from her grip, actually kicking her in the stomach with his hind legs in the process. Only his awkward position had kept it from being a proper buck, which had saved Fluttershy from any injury more serious than a bruise. Dawn had been mortified by his actions and it had taken both Fluttershy and Caramel to calm him down after much cuddling and nuzzling.
It was then that Dawn had realized his real problem. Ever since learning and refining his wind-sense, he had gradually grown more and more dependent on it beyond simply using it in battle. Though he'd never realized it before, Dawn relied on his wind-sense to gauge distances, his proximity to objects and other ponies. He used it to keep track of the things in his environment. In his current condition, without his magic to support it, Dawn's wind-sense had been muted completely. Just as somepony with a cold who finds her nose stuffed or her ears feeling plugged, or how a pony who has recently lost an eye might struggle with depth perception issues, Dawn was feeling oddly detached from the world around him and it hampered his ability to engage with it.
"Thanks for dinner," said Dawn before trying, and failing, to suppress the burp that forced its way up his throat.
"You're welcome," said Caramel as he took their bowls to the sink and began to wash them, Fluttershy joining him. Dawn had tried helping on previous occasions, but a few broken dishes had ultimately led to him staying back and allowing his parents to take care of cleanup after meals.
After the dishes were finished, the three of them retired to the living room. Caramel settled himself onto the couch, while Fluttershy settled in next to him, cuddling up and laying her head against his shoulder. Dawn then climbed up next to her and tucked himself under her wing. The three of them settled down to read books that they'd recently checked out from the library, an activity that had become commonplace ever since Caramel had moved in.
After a short while, the quiet evening was interrupted by somepony knocking on the door. Glancing at the clock, Fluttershy noted that it was still early in the evening. However... "Who could that be at this time?"
"I'll check," said Dawn, sliding out from under Fluttershy's wing and walking to the door. Upon opening it, his eyes widened in surprise at the pony before him. "Scootaloo?"
"Hey," said the filly, grinning at Dawn from beyond the threshold, "I just wanted to check up on you."
Dawn blinked, a bit unsure about what to say. There wasn't exactly all that much to say about his condition. It was improving gradually, but he still wasn't feeling at his best. At this point in time, simply walking to the tent that had been set up as Ponyville's temporary schoolhouse was a chore. He hadn't been able to go to Scootaloo's for training in the mornings like he was used to, nor was he able to play as hard with his friends in the afternoon. Between his recovering stamina and his newfound clumsiness, regular life was much more difficult.
"I wanted to train with you for a little while," said Scootaloo, giving Dawn a warmer, more sincere smile, "Since we can't go out to the quarry, I figured I'd come here to your place."
"But I-"
Scootaloo cut off his protest with a derisive snort. "Come on Dawn! Even if you can't use your magic right now, you should still be going through your forms. It's good exercise and you need it. Besides, you'll get rusty if you spend every evening just sitting around on your rump after getting back from school."
"But..." Dawn cast an uncertain glance back at his parents, who were both smiling at him.
"The doctor did say some light exercise is fine," said Caramel.
"Just don't go overdoing it," advised Fluttershy with a smile of her own.
"You put her up to this, didn't you?" inquired Dawn, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Caramel coughed politely into his hoof. "I may have mentioned something about you laying around to Melon Cream earlier today." His hoof was still up by his mouth, but now it was hiding a grin.
Dawn snorted, but was suddenly caught in a flowing stream of air that began to pull him out the door. Whipping his head around, he stared in surprise at Scootaloo as she swept her wings back, using the airflow to draw Dawn towards her. When did she get this good at regulating her strength? His question went unanswered as Scootaloo threw her arms around him and pulled the colt into an enthusiastic kiss as soon as he was in reach.
"Come on and stop sulking," she said with a playful grin, once she pulled back away, "I didn't give you a ton of my magic so you could spend every day down in the dumps."
Dawn was unable to keep a smile from his own face as he sighed in resignation. "Fine...let's get started then."
"Now that's what I want to hear!" cheered Scootaloo as she pulled them both out into the yard.
"Have fun," called Fluttershy as she shut the door behind the foals.
Still smiling, Dawn took up his position beside Scootaloo and spread his wings. Before long, the two of them began working their way through the First Form, pausing occasionally whenever Dawn stumbled, which was fairly often. However, as he continued, Dawn's heart felt lighter and lighter with each passing moment. I suppose everything's going to be alright after all.
To be continued...