“Can I open my eyes yet?”
“As I’ve said multiple times already, you need not have closed them at all in the first place.”
“Well, you said you had a surprise for me; I just want it to be as much of a surprise as possible!”
“Yes, well your enthusiasm, endearing as it may be, has also already delayed our arrival significantly. Not to mention the alarming amount of walls you’ve flown into.”
“Oh come on, it’s not my fault you’re a lousy navigator. You gotta be telling me when to turn those corners.”
“Ah yes, of course, how silly of me, how could I possibly have forgotten that I’m the careless one in all this, because, as we all know, there’s absolutely nothing reckless whatsoever about flying blind in a narrow passageway?”
“It’s less reckless than flying in general would’ve been for me a year ago.”
“Hm, well, you may be right about that.” Both Derpy and Aucune enjoyed a good chuckle at that, the sounds of their playful banter echoing down the corridor. More than a few passersby burst into giggles and fits of laughter as well at the absurd sight of Derpy flying beside the normally austere Aucune with her hooves over her eyes. This wasn’t the usual laughter of derision that Derpy’d grown all too accustomed to through the years; it was a true mirth that all could share in and enjoy in equal measure, the type of laughs that Pinkie Pie had always been so good at eliciting in countless crowds back in Ponyville.
She liked it. It felt right.
“Well, here we are,” Aucune announced.
“Where’s here?” Derpy asked.
“Oh for heaven’s sake, uncover your eyes already!” he enjoined.
“Nuh uh, not until it’s time for my surprise,” Derpy insisted, much to Aucune’s exasperation.
“Ugh, fine, have it your way, you silly filly. If you must know, we’re at my cell.”
“That’s not the surprise, is it?”
“Of course not,” Aucune replied as the two entered the cramped quarters.
“Good.”
“Why in Equestria would that be the surprise? That’d be a terrible surprise! I’m not sure it even qualifies as a surprise.”
“I don’t know. Some ponies have really terrible conceptions of what a good surprise is.”
“True, but I’d hope nopony in their right mind would ever actually think that that constitutes a good surprise.”
“Doesn’t mean they’re not out there,” Derpy teased, still shielding her eyes with her forehooves.
“Fine, if you insist on taking this illogical conversation to its ‘logical’ conclusion, I’ll concede that there’s a remote possibility that somewhere out there, there exists a dullard who could conceive of something so banal as this as qualifying as a surprise. Happy now?”
“Yes, very.” The two laughed once more, barely able to contain themselves at the plain silliness of their ridiculous tangent. The fact that Aucune was laughing along with her at all only made her mirth all the more gratifying; when she’d first met him, Derpy could never have dreamed of sharing so much as a chuckle with the stoic stallion. But now? Well, needless to say, she wasn’t the only pony in Die Schmiede who’d changed for the better in the past year.
“Well now, are you ready for your surprise, or would you rather continue to hover there with your eyes shut? Because you can if you want, really, I can see the appeal in the latter.”
“Tempting as that sounds, I think I’ll settle for the surprise.” Truth be told, Derpy was terribly keen to find out just what exactly Aucune had in store for her. Up to this point the only surprises he’d ever given her had been soaking her in ice-cold water now and then as a morning wake up call, but she was pretty sure that’s not what he had in mind now. At least she hoped it wasn’t. Touching down beside him, Derpy lowered her forehooves, but kept her eyes closed. “S’alright for me to look?”
“By all means, Miss Hooves.” As she opened her eyes, Derpy caught her breath when she beheld the sight before her: a mannequin clad in a gleaming new suit of armor.
“What? I can’t – no way, that’s not – are you serious?” Derpy stuttered more than a colt on his first date, trying to wrap her head around what she was looking at. “Is that for… me?”
“It’s certainly not for anypony else.” Aucune trotted over to the breathtaking gift and beckoned his pupil to join him, which she readily did. “It’s not really a ‘full’ suit of armor in the traditional sense; there’s no helmet or croupiere like you’d see the Royal Guard wearing. Don’t worry, though, that’s deliberate. Protection is undoubtedly critical, but we wouldn’t want to slow you down, now, would we? I don’t like bogging down any of our members beneath unnecessary accoutrements; if you’re in our ranks, you should be more than capable of taking care of yourself in dangerous situations with next to nothing on. Still, better safe than sorry, and I’m confident you’ll have no trouble handling this modest amount of equipment.”
“Modest?” Derpy blurted in disbelief. “You think this is ‘modest’? No, this is… this is too much.”
“Oh? You think it’ll weigh you down?” Aucune asked with concern.
“Oh no, gosh no, not like that!” Derpy emphatically assured him. “No, I just meant that… Mister Magique, this is too much, too generous of you. How much trouble did you have to go through to put this all together?”
“Oh it wasn’t any trouble at all! Let me tell you, we have some exceptional blacksmiths here,” Aucune said with pride. “And ‘too much’? Don’t be ridiculous, you’ve more than earned this after all you’ve done.” Derpy raised a quizzical eyebrow at that.
“Earned it? What do you mean?” she asked.
“Well, truth be told, I was going to present this to you upon your formal initiation into the Order but I… well I just figured why wait? As far as I’m concerned, you’re already one of us in every way except name. Your spirit, the boundless strength and relentless determination you constantly exhibit, it embodies that which we all strive for here: to be our very best. I’ve never seen anyone make as fast a turn as you have. To go from such a desperate state to where you are now, it’s simply unheard of, and you should feel proud Miss Hooves, of all of it. This armor is testimony to what you’ve achieved, but more importantly, it’s a symbol of things to come, namely, your work. We all need our own ‘tools of the trade’; these are yours, and I’ve no doubt you’ll use them well.”
Listening to Aucune’s words of praise, Derpy felt a fiery blush burning her cheeks. He normally wasn’t this forward about anything, especially not compliments or flattery. She knew from the start that he’d always believed in her, hay, it was one of the prime reasons she’d come in the first place. Just having somepony at all who thought she could be something special had made so much of a difference for her. Now, on top of all that, she knew without a doubt that not only was Aucune a true friend, but that he felt the same way about her.
Still, this was a pretty unexpected development, all things considered, and a very pertinent thought suddenly occurred to her.
“What kind of work am I going to be doing, Mister Magique?” she asked somewhat apprehensively.
“Why, that’s up to you, my dear,” Aucune maintained. “It’s been up to you this entire time. We all must do our part for the good of the Order and Equestria, and we do so by pursuing the best paths for ourselves. If at any point in Verbesserung you’d ever felt uncomfortable with the path you were taking, I would have adjusted your regimen appropriately to fit your needs. But you never objected. I merely presented you with a program that I felt corresponded with your talents and personality, and not once have you objected to it. If it hadn’t felt right, I’m sure you would’ve known early on and would’ve said so; as things stand, however, I can only assume that the path you’ve taken feels right and always has. Pray tell me I’m not wrong, Miss Hooves? That would be a most inconvenient bit of information to learn only now.”
Hmmm… can’t say Aucune ever told me I had a choice in all this, but I suppose he never said I had to pick up all these skills either. I probably would’ve spoken up if something ever felt off, so… yeah, I guess he’s right. These were just the right things for me to learn, the right skills to hone. I don’t exactly know yet why I need them, or what I’m going to do with them, but… I don’t know, I’ve just got this feeling in the pit of my stomach that I can do a lot of good with what I’ve learned. Just gotta follow your gut sometimes, I guess.
“No, you’re not wrong,” Derpy reassured her mentor. “Guess I still have some things to figure out, is all. That said, this is beautiful.” Shifting the conversation back to its original subject, Derpy ogled the armor once more, looking it up and down admiringly. “There’s not a doubt in my mind that I can put this gift to good use.”
“I’m glad you feel that way, and I wholeheartedly agree. Would you like to try it on, get a feel for it?”
“You bet I would!” Derpy replied.
“Very good, let’s start with the peytral then,” Aucune said, motioning towards the primary component of the armor. “The peytral’s your standard, steel chest plate, nothing too fancy or anything. As I said before, normally a peytral is complimented by a croupiere to protect your, er, hindquarters, but again, we feel that the trade-off for speed at the cost of some extra protection is worth it. Let’s see how it fits.”
Removing the jet black chest armor from the mannequin, Aucune helped Derpy ease into it, sliding it over her head and fitting it onto the front of her trunk.
“Uh, I hate to say this, Mister Magique, but it feels a bit big for m– woah!” Derpy jumped with fright as a blue shimmer suddenly resonated from the armor, which seemed to shrink until it snuggly fit her trunk and chest. “Woah… what just happened?”
“Apologies for the fright, Miss Hooves,” Aucune said, though evidently he seemed amused by his student’s reaction. “I didn’t have your measurements, so I had Charming take a look at it as soon as it’d been finished. He’s one of our more skilled enchanters, and was able to endow the armor with the ability to adjust its size according to the wearer.”
“Enchanted, huh? Any other magical goodies I should know about?” Derpy asked.
“Just a few. Defense upgrades improving its strength and magical resistance, a weight-reduction charm that makes the armor lighter than it already is for increased mobility, you know, pretty standard stuff.”
“Wow… cool,” Derpy remarked absentmindedly as she continued to admire the look and feel of the armor. It fit so well that it practically felt like a second skin, aside of course from its cold, metallic touch.
“I’m glad to see you like it, Miss Hooves, but why don’t you see how the hammer hooves feel as well?” Aucune suggested.
“Is that what they are?” Derpy asked, eyeing the four hoof coverings warily. “I’ve never actually trained with these before; they sounded like they’d be too heavy for me to handle.”
“Most would be,” Aucune agreed. “Don’t worry, though, these have been custom designed just like the peytral. They’ll adjust to your hooves’ size and all have a weight-reduction charm as well, perfect for a smaller pegasus such as yourself. Considerably less cumbersome than those massive, unwieldy hammer hooves that you’ll typically see earth ponies and larger stallions in general wielding on the battlefield. Well, go on, Miss Hooves, try ‘em.”
Derpy removed the hammer hooves from the mannequin and one by one slipped her hooves into them. As with the chest piece before, a blue shimmer emanated from the equipment as all four hammer hooves magically adjusted their size accordingly till they fit like a glove. True to Aucune’s word, they also felt quite a bit lighter than they looked; it really didn’t seem like they’d substantially hinder Derpy’s movement in any way, certainly no more than the peytral would. Derpy trotted in place for a few seconds, trying to get a feel for the whole suit.
“You know, it’s not that bad. I feel a lot looser than I thought I would with all this on.”
“Wonderful!” Aucune exclaimed. “I was, admittedly, a bit worried that you might not take a fancy to the armor, what with the added weight and all. Glad to see those fears were unfounded.”
“So what happens now?” Derpy asked, drawing a puzzled look from Aucune.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, where do we go from here?” she clarified.
“Well, uh, that’s a bit tricky,” Aucune replied, biting his lower lip. “You’re… you’re so close, Miss Hooves, you are so close to becoming one of us. There’s just a few more things we need to go over before we can make it official, but that’s literally all that’s standing in your way at this point!”
“What kind of things?”
“Well… I guess you could say matters of the future. We just need to talk about your future with the Order, what role you’d like to play, figure out where you’re going to fit in in the grand scheme of things. That’s quite literally it, Miss Hooves; compared to everything else you’ve already gone through, it should be a cakewalk to the finish line.”
Derpy felt a flood of elation. She’d conquered both literal and figurative mountains in the past year, but now all that stood between her and starting her life anew for good was a mere molehill by comparison. It all seemed a bit anticlimactic, really, but no matter how simple the task that lay before her, it still couldn’t take away from the electrifying excitement she now felt charging through her.
“Thank you. Just… thank you, again. For everything.” Aucune didn’t say a word, but merely nodded. Nothing else was needed besides that. Words couldn’t properly express the bond these two now shared, the gratitude they felt for each other. At this moment, the tranquil silence in the room spoke louder than any words they could’ve possibly mustered to describe the calm their souls felt. Right here, right now, in this perfect moment, it seemed that any hardship suffered, any turmoil at all, could only be a thing of the past. The future, murky as it may be, was at the same time bright with promise, and that promise of good things to come seemed as certain as the next day’s dawn.
Without another word, Derpy threw a hoof around Aucune’s neck and clasped him briefly in a quick embrace. Then she turned and left his cell, clad in the priceless gift.
Aucune looked on after her in the wake of her departure, a serene smile fixed on his face.
It really didn’t get much better than this.
Outside of Die Schmiede’s walls, a dull thump echoed repeatedly throughout the vale. Any curious bystanders drawn by the noise could watch from its walls and spy a grey and black blur energetically bolting to and fro within the arid field bound by the dirt track adjacent to the castle. Nimble as a ballerina, Derpy, clad in the armor so recently bequeathed to her, danced with ease about a wooden training dummy she’d set up. Darting in and out, she landed blow after blow upon the dummy; a kick here, a punch there, just about any combination of strikes she could think of was fair game.
Left, right, left, right, roundhouse kick, retreat.
She’d been getting used to the armor for the last couple of weeks, doing activities like this in her spare time when she wasn’t training with her instructors. The added weight was a new factor she had to account for, as well as the ways it constricted her movements, no matter how light or formfitting it was.
Front kick, left, left, right, right, left, right, side kick, side kick, retreat.
All things considered, however, she thought she was starting to get the hang of it. Flying, running, and practicing her martial arts techniques as she was now were all starting to pay dividends. Sure she’d been slower at first and experienced fatigue at a far faster rate, but she could tell her body was starting to get more comfortable with the added accoutrements. Her speed and stamina were increasing every day, and Derpy only kept pushing herself to improve even more. After all, there was always room to improve.
Left, right, axe kick, left, left, left, right, right, butterfly kick, vault, back kick, retreat.
Derpy panted, taking gulps of air and giving herself a moment’s rest after that last series of strikes. Beads of sweat dripped from every inch of her body, and she retrieved a flask of water she’d brought along, greedily draining its contents. After emptying it she sat down, leaning against the old, beat-up training dummy fixed into the earth, eyes closed, and letting her train of thought come to a halt.
Unfortunately, the relaxing silence in the vale was quite suddenly broken by an unexpected source.
“Impressive work, Miss Hooves. You seem to be speedily growing accustomed to your new equipment.”
Derpy’s eyes shot open upon hearing the voice directly in front of her. Standing before her was none other than the imposing figure of Dämons Hengst, garbed in a black cloak to match his equally dark coat.
“Oh, uh, hello sir, how are you? Sorry, guess I’m a bit out of it, you kinda snuck up on me there.”
“Bah, think nothing of it. Anypony going as hard as you were would be out of it by now.” Dämons reassured her. “And I’m doing fine, thank you for asking, especially after watching you; as I said, impressive work, Miss Hooves, impressive work indeed. You already move like a natural in that armor, if I do say so myself.”
Derpy smiled appreciatively at the compliment, though simultaneously felt puzzled all the same. She hadn’t really interacted that much with the Order’s reclusive leader, so a compliment like that coming from him didn’t really have the same kind of personal impact on her like it would if Aucune, or anypony else closer to her for that matter, had said it instead.
Still nice of him to say it, regardless. Besides, I’m sure we’ll be working closer sooner or later, once I officially join the Order, so until then it can’t possibly hurt getting to know him better.
“Thank you, sir, that’s very kind of you to say,” she said, bowing her head in gratitude. “Glad to hear my technique seems to be holding up, I’ve mostly been getting used to this armor all on my own ever since Mister Magique gave it to me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been nice having some spare time to work with it, but everyone else has been so busy that I really haven’t had a second opinion to tell me whether or not I’m practicing with it properly.”
She shrugged and gave a light chuckle, but Dämons didn’t seem to notice. His eyes, although directed Derpy’s way, seemed distant, as though his mind were somewhere else. Noticing Derpy giving him a funny look, he blinked and gave a forced laugh as he snapped himself out of whatever train of thought he’d been on.
“Sorry, er, yes, of course, happy to help with… all that. I’m sure Aucune would be happy to assist you if he were here; maybe you’ll both be able to arrange something once he gets back.”
“Yeah, maybe. Do you know when he’s supposed to return?” Derpy asked.
“I cannot say, unfortunately. There was no set timetable for however long his business was supposed to take; all I know for sure is that it’ll be done whenever it’s done.”
Ah well, didn’t hurt to ask. Hope he gets back soon, though; I know it hasn’t been that long, but truth be told, I miss him already.
It’d been a couple days since Aucune had left the castle, apparently called away on some kind of important business. He’d been pretty vague about what exactly he was going away for, but Derpy figured it must be something important since in all the time she’d been at Die Schmiede, he hadn’t once left the castle or its alpine haven for anything at all. Whatever he was up to, she hoped it was going well; more importantly, she just hoped he came back soon. She knew that sounded a little selfish, but the whole place felt kind of empty without him, at least to her.
“Anyway,” Dämons continued, “back to business.”
“Business?” Derpy cocked her eyebrow ever so slightly.
“Yes, business. Specifically, the business of your future with the Order. I believe Aucune already filled you in about that, correct?”
“Well… kinda. He said we have to figure out what I’m going to be doing, but he didn’t really go into any more detail beyond that. Is there more to it?” Derpy asked.
A slight smile surfaced on Dämons’s thin lips. “Oh yes, just a bit more,” he answered. “Follow me, please.” Before she could say another word, Dämons began trotting away from her towards the mountains at the edge of the vale. Confused, the befuddled Derpy caught up with the unicorn as fast as she could, even though she had no idea what he was up to.
“So, no disrespect sir, but you mind telling me what exactly is going on?”
“Your final test, of course. Whatever future you may have with the Order ultimately hinges upon the strength of your commitment to us and our tenets. Before you can truly become one of us, you must first prove your loyalty.” Dämons didn’t say another word after that cryptic explanation, much to Derpy’s frustration. However, she figured she’d know what he meant soon enough, so for now she just silently followed his lead.
In the distance, unbeknownst to either of them, a lone figure watched the two from atop Die Schmiede’s walls.
“Hmmm… not good,” he muttered to himself.
Scrutinizing the mountains they were steadily approaching, it suddenly dawned on Derpy that she knew exactly where they were headed. The sight of a gaping black hole in the distance confirmed her intuition.
Wait… that’s the Dark Mile. What are we going there for? It’s just a tunnel from one end to the other.
“I hope I don’t have to prove my loyalty by flying through there all day again, Mister Hengst. Or maybe you want me to go for a week this time?” she playfully teased. Derpy’s jest, however, didn’t draw so much as a peep out of Dämons; apparently he didn’t have quite the sense of humor that Aucune did, if any at all. The two simply kept on cantering towards the Dark Mile as Derpy and Aucune had a year ago, and even though Dämons seemed as serious now as Aucune had been then, there was something more unpleasant about the former’s demeanor.
C’mon Derpy, you just don’t know him too well, that’s all. We’ve barely talked to each other, so it’s not like I should expect us to instantly be fast friends or anything. Besides, can’t really blame the guy for taking his job so seriously; I’m sure being in charge of the entire Order’s very serious work. Whatever he needs me to do, I’m sure it’ll all make sense once he explains it. That’s the way it’s always been with Aucune; all his tasks, no matter how nutty, have each had their own rational basis that became clear as day by the time I completed them.
Have faith, Derpy, just have faith. Trusting their wisdom’s gotten me this far already, so why question it now?
Arriving at the tunnel’s entrance, the pair didn’t so much as pause for breath and continued on their way, entering the Dark Mile. As they did, a low, faint moan seemed to be echoing throughout the passageway; at first Derpy just assumed it was the wind and shrugged it off, but the further they went, the louder it seemed to get. The peculiar noise only continued to grow in volume, and Derpy, growing considerably concerned, decided to say something.
“Mister Hengst, sir, do you hear that noise? I can’t say for sure, but I think there might be something in the tunnel with us. What do you think?” As before, however, Dämons said nothing yet again; it didn’t seem like he’d even noticed Derpy had spoken, much less the noise itself. Frustrated, Derpy resigned herself to continue trotting along beside him, though still determined to discover the source of that strange sound.
She didn’t have to wait long to find out what it was, but when she did, she wasn’t ready for it. In a thousand lifetimes in a thousand different Equestrias, she still might never have been ready for it.
About halfway through the Dark Mile, in a pool of light cast by one of the tunnel’s few skylights, lay what appeared to be a stallion with a burlap sack covering his head. When Derpy first caught sight of him, she wasn’t even entirely sure of what exactly she was looking at; his body seemed to be contorted, legs sprawled out in a very unnatural manner, and from a distance he looked more like a life-size marionette than a living being. Up close, it quickly became apparent why he looked so misshapen.
His legs had been broken. Not just one, no, as far as Derpy could tell all four of his legs had suffered fractures. Each one was bent outward at the same queer angle; whatever had happened to him, it’d been done deliberately and in a ruthlessly precise fashion. Marks in the dirt on the ground and scuffs on his legs suggested he had been attempting to crawl, but given his current state, his attempts to move had quite obviously been unsuccessful. He looked rather like a grotesque turtle or a squashed bug, so miserable and pathetic in his helplessness that one felt compelled to look away from him more than anything else. His muffled moans emanating from beneath the sack covering his face contained a combination of pain, fear, and desperation; Derpy couldn’t even begin to imagine what kind of pain he must’ve been in at the moment, and truthfully didn’t want to.
Horrified, she stood frozen in place, her mind grinding to a halt at the unfathomable sight before her. Unable to think of anything else to say, she just blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“Sir… what the buck is this?”
“This is your final test,” Dämons replied in an unnervingly nonchalant manner. That snapped Derpy’s mind out of its petrified state, but now a million different thoughts were flying through it at lightning fast speed, namely every single possible implication of that simple but foreboding statement.
What the buck, what the buck, what the buck, what the buck, what the buck, what the buck, what the buck – OK, stop. Just… stop. Come on Derpy, get a grip. There’s got to be a logical explanation for this. There’s always a logical explanation. Just assess the situation, determine a sound course of action, and execute. Maybe he’s… uh… I don’t know, maybe I have to help him. Yeah, that sounds reasonable. Testing my ability to respond to a high-stakes, emergency scenario: why wouldn’t that be my final test? That has to be it.
Just when it seemed like she’d figured everything out, however, a new wrench got thrown into the works when Dämons removed the sack from the mysterious pony’s head, revealing him to be a unicorn. He had some sort of ring lodged around his horn, which Derpy suspected was for nullifying his magic, but something else stuck out to her besides that.
Wait a minute… I know this guy. Where the hay have I seen him befo –
“Look familiar, Miss Hooves?” Dämons asked sharply. “He should, though I’d understand if you didn’t recognize him at first glance. This fellow is –”
“Please!” the hapless unicorn suddenly croaked. “Please help me! Where am I? What am I doing here? Please, it hurts so much, I can’t even move.”
“Be silent!” Dämons commanded, and the terrified unicorn obliged, though he continued whimpering in pain. “As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, whether or not you remember him, you are in fact acquainted with the individual before you. Miss Hooves, I give you Copper Crust; you might recall that he was one of the wardens charged with guarding you during your brief incarceration at the Manehattan Correctional Facility last year.”
Oh horsefeathers, it’s that bad-tempered officer from the prison! Just what the hay is going on here?
While Derpy tried to wrap her mind around this inconceivable revelation, Dämons suddenly produced a dagger from beneath his cloak, levitating it with his magic.
“Today, you’re going to bring Mister Crust to justice,” he stated, guiding the razor-sharp blade until it hung in the air just beneath Copper Crust’s throat.
Again, Derpy was rendered speechless, though now it seemed perfectly clear what was expected of her. Nonetheless, she refused to believe what she was hearing; there just had to be something she was missing in all this madness.
“What exactly are you asking me to do, sir?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Simple: Copper Crust here represents everything we stand against. He has consistently displayed abusive behavior towards the prisoners under his charge, especially prisoners like you once were. The weak, the misfits, the invisible; they are the bread and butter of his cruelty, and he revels in their suffering. But you should already know this. You may have been there for only a day, but in that time did he not treat you with nothing but malice and disdain?”
“OK, yeah, so he’s a jerk, a really, really big jerk. I won’t deny that for a second. That still doesn’t explain why he’s here and looks like he just got mangled by a Timberwolf.”
“Doesn’t it?” Dämons asked rhetorically. “Copper Crust is not just one bad egg. He’s a symptom of a disease which permeates through all of Equestria: apathy. Apathy for the purposeless, indifference towards the lost in life. Any pony who fails to fit into this neat little order of life as defined by one’s cutie mark, either because they do not understand theirs or never even receive one, is simply left behind to wither and die. This veritable cult of the cutie mark is a cancer to our society, and individuals like Copper Crust are the worst offshoots of it.
“What do we do to cancers, Miss Hooves? We cut them out. That is the only course of action we can take with ponies like Copper Crust and his ilk. Every last trace of this disease must be ruthlessly purged from Equestria; only then will our nation have the opportunity to be truly healthy again. This is our mission, Miss Hooves. This is who we are and what we must do.”
Dumbfounded, Derpy just stared at the tearful unicorn before her, her eyes wide as saucer plates. Try as she might, she couldn’t bring herself to swallow the insanity Dämons was clearly trying to spoon-feed her. It just seemed so alien compared to everything else she’d been taught.
“Well, Miss Hooves, what’ll it be? Are you really one of us?”
At that moment, the crippled Copper Crust fearfully raised his eyes and met Derpy’s gaze, an act made all the more difficult by Dämons pressing his dagger even closer to his throat. In that instant, as their eyes met, Derpy saw a completely different stallion. Not just because this broken figure was but a mere shell of the irritable prison guard she knew him to be; that stallion was still there, past his humbled, broken body, of that she was certain.
But looking at him now, tears streaming down his face and mouthing ‘please’ over and over, something else stirred in her heart, something she could only describe as pity.
It wasn’t just pity for his sorry state. This was the same kind of pity she felt for those she had once been like herself, the weak, the helpless, the hopeless. Such ponies were practically kin to her, something she could definitely not say of him. If anything, Dämons was right; Copper Crust was everything the Order stood against. Yet looking at him now, this pony she should hate for what he was and what he stood for, Derpy felt nothing of the sort. In fact, hate was the furthest thing from her heart. She pitied him, felt sympathy for him, because she saw a pony like any other she’d gladly stand up for. He’d wronged others to be sure, of that she had no doubts; but whatever his past sins, he didn’t deserve this terror, and certainly not what Dämons was asking of her now.
Justice can be harsh to those who deserve it, but this isn’t… who am I to take a life? I’m not a soldier, I’m not a ruler, I’m just… me. I want to do right by others, to protect the innocent and punish wrongdoers. But justice… true justice means bringing justice to everyone the right way. If I become something worse than what I’m fighting against, then what am I? I certainly wouldn’t be me anymore. I’d just be replacing a bad guy with a… a monster.
That’s it! That’s gotta be what the test is. He can’t really want me to do this; nopony in their right mind would want me to do something like this! The Order’s dedicated to ponies being their best, and that means more than anything else doing right by our fellow pony in all we do. Getting to where you want to go is more than just ending up in the right place; it’s also taking the right path to get there. If I want to be a true member of the Order, I’ve got to be dedicated to doing the right things the right way.
An impatient Dämons beckoned Derpy once more to take the dagger in front of her, but she knew better. Shaking her head, she took a step back.
“I am one of you, Mister Hengst. That’s why I won’t do what you’re asking me to do. This isn’t who we are, and this isn’t how true good is accomplished. I see that now, and I’m ready to stick to that course in whatever I do.”
Yeah, she knew better. Any second now Dämons was going to bring this extremely unorthodox test to a conclusion and congratulate her on a job well done. Hay, maybe Copper himself was actually a member as well and his fractures were all some sort of illusion. Pretty soon she’d be laughing about this with all her friends back at Die Schmiede, regaling Aucune once he got back with stories of how Dämons really had almost gotten her with this ruse. There was just no other way this was all going to end.
And then Dämons sighed and slit Copper’s throat.
“So disappointing.”