//------------------------------// // The Best Laid Plans // Story: The Golden Armor Part II: Lost chapters // by Comet Burst //------------------------------// Comet sat in the far corner of the room, watching through his blonde mane at Gorgon while she was instructed about how to lift a teacup with magic, something that Nova would never know how to do. A bitter taste coated his mouth as he looked down at the floor, hearing her cheery voice ring out. "Comet, look! I'm lifting it!" She cried out with barely contained joy. His only response was to close his eyes and grit his teeth, wishing he didn't have to respond. "T... that's great... Nova." He forced out, trying to sound happy about it. An uncomfortable silence grew as he finished the sentence, but Comet forced himself to remain oblivious to it. He was sure that Gorgon, Nova, or whoever the buck she thought she was, had returned to her lesson, preferring to ignore his sullen attitude. The system worked well for him, as he really didn't want to interact with her any more than he had to. It almost felt expected, then, when Princess Celestia chimed in. "Nova, are you hungry? I think it is time for a snack." She spoke in a soothing tone. Comet was too busy paying attention to the loops in the red rug below him to notice the reaction Nova/Gorgon gave, but it didn't really matter to him right then. Princess Celestia confirmed what he thought it was almost immediately after. "Why don't you go down to my dining chamber and Holly Stalk will bring you something. I need to speak with your brother for a bit." Comet's hearing tried to blot out the 'brother' part of that sentence. That monster was most definitely not his beloved sister, no matter if she thought she was. Nova had been dead for years and all that was left of her by now were probably a pile of bones. There was no bright smile on her muzzle anymore, no sparkling tangerine eyes or soft voice asking him not to worry about her. Just a pile of rotting bones that he had buried long ago. His teeth grit harder as he stared at the rug while Nova/Gorgon passed by, pausing for a second when she was next to him. "C-comet?" She asked tentatively. "Are you alright?" This was all wrong in Comet's mind. Nova had never asked him that. "Fine." He said, his voice showing no emotion. The changeling walked past him after that, leaving him alone with his thoughts. He knew what Princess Celestia was about to ask him, so he did his best to bottle the many emotions he felt right then. It was an easy thing to do before when the subject of Nova came up, but this time was different for some reason. A lot of things came flooding back to him from the dark recesses of his mind, mental images of a happy Nova smiling at him from the bed and playing with her Princess Celestia plushie. Those wonderful memories were instantly tainted by a far darker one: the soft smile she wore when he saw her on the park bench. The door to the chamber echoed loudly as it shut, leaving Comet alone with the most powerful and most important pony in all of Equestria. His gaze remained fixed on the rug, not wishing to look up as he heard the hooffalls approaching him. Still, the soldier part of him reacted and his hoof raised to salute her. "At ease, Commander." Celestia spoke. "There is no need for formality here." Comet's hoof dropped to the floor like a brick, making a hollow noise as it landed. His mind stayed blank, even as she continued speaking. "Just so you know, I am not omnipotent, so I need you to tell me about her, about Nova. I can understand your mistrust of Gorgon, but Nova has spoken of you as if you are the most precious thing in the world to her. She has gone on for days, telling me about how sweet and caring you are, stating that her greatest wish was to see you again. You, however, are acting like this is the most painful thing you've ever gone through. So, please, tell me why she is so happy to see you and you want nothing to do with her." Comet closed his eyes, all of those words stinging at him like a colony of ants. He wanted to say so many things right then, but kept his tongue in check. It had already cost Angel her job. "That's not Nova." He spoke bitterly. "I am quite aware of that, Commander, but that does not tell me why you are so defensive about the subject. Before you do tell me, though, I think it would be prudent on my part to explain why she is here." Celestia spoke, causing Comet's head to snap up. He met her gaze, staring into the magenta eyes of a pony who seemed the most capable to understand nearly anything. "After the attack on the Gala, I had my guard sweep the grounds to locate any possible holes in our defense. Three days after the sweep began, my guards found her deep in the woods after hearing screams of agony. She was alert and wandering around, muttering nonsense and seemed to be in a haze. They managed to capture her and brought her directly to the dungeons here, but she was crying the whole way, asking for you specifically." Celestia took a deep breath, her gaze dropping a bit before returning to it's previous intensity. "They brought this to my attention when one of the guards recognized your name after the promotion you received. I went to see her and was mildly surprised that she was snarling at me, claiming you had ruined her life. When I asked how, she showed me what happened when she tried to use magic. I must admit, I was not prepared for that." "But why, Princess?" Comet asked. "Why take her seriously?" "Because of what she told me after. Her demeanor changed entirely and she acted as if she had never seen me before. I could also sense her mind had shifted dramatically from when I had first arrived. She went from spiteful and filled with rage to happy and full of fear, asking if I knew you. When I told her I did, her face filled with so much glee, I was almost sure I was smiling with her. However, your reactions to her are a far cry from hers about you, and I would like to know why." Celestia let her words hang in the air, crushing Comet under their weight. He had to tell her, even if he didn't want to. "Princess... Nova is my sister." He grit out. "My older sister." Princess Celestia's eyes changed size for a moment and she tilted her head, an expression of slight curiosity on her muzzle. "Then why are you so horrified to see her? I understand it is a bit jarring to see a doppleganger, but—" "She's dead." Comet spat out, lowering his own gaze. "She's been dead for years." A long silence filled the room, making the space uncomfortable for both ponies. "Commander, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize—" Celestia spoke, the shock evident in her voice. "She died when I was little and I couldn't save her. I had buried everything about her until that monster, Gorgon, attacked. When I nearly beat her to death, she transformed into her. She became Nova to protect herself from me." Another silence reigned over them, causing Comet to shift uncomfortably. Why did this problem never seem to go away? In the past two years, he had been forced to relive the hurt that Nova had left him with more than the years since she died. It all felt like some cosmic joke to him, a cruel and twisted scheme that when he found a bit of happiness, Nova was there to squelch it. "You know, I felt like that once. Like my sister had died and a monster was hiding behind her face." Celestia spoke as if admitting something. Comet looked up to see the Sun Princess staring at the floor like he was, a sad expression on her muzzle. "When Luna became Nightmare Moon, I felt as if my fears were playing with me. She was still in there and I tried to plead with her, but all I could see was a monster smiling from behind her face, knowing I would avoid hurting her at all costs. It pained me to fight back, making it seem as if I was betraying the trust she had in me. Banishing of her was the hardest thing I think I've ever done, but even though I've put it behind me, I still fear seeing her like that again." Comet's throat constricted as the Princess finished, his chest feeling abnormally tight. Why was he reacting to her words this way? He had buried all his fears of Nova, right? Angel had wiped away the raw feeling of her death and replaced it with the obnoxious joy he loved and despised at the same time. Small pockets of emotion rubbed against his thoughts, though, telling him that no matter what Angel did, there was nothing that would soothe the pain other than fixing what had happened with Nova. As if on cue, Princess Celestia spoke up again. "Commander, I am truly sorry about your sister's death, but you are an intricate part of this situation and must be the one to help Gorgon with her problem. I have tried, but there is a strange magic at work with her that seems to only react to your presence. While you may have strong emotions for her for what she has done, you should attempt to see it from her perspective. Gorgon is alone in a strange place filled with ponies that want to hurt her and crippled with a condition where she loses control of her mind. Would you be upset if you were in that position?" Comet didn't want to, but he nodded slowly. He decided then that if Princess Celestia was a mother, her foal would be the most down-to-earth pony ever. A small smile played across her face and her eyes twinkled, as if she was happy that Comet had listened instead of storming off like he felt he should. "I will continue to work with her," Princess Celestia continued, "But I want you to spend time with her. I know it will be difficult and I am heaping this upon you before you've officially started your new position, but please do this for her sake. Gorgon is in pain, holding in everything that hurts because nopony will take the time to listen to her, but I think that, should the two of you get to know each other, you may find she is not the monster she portrays herself as." "And if she is?" Comet asked pointedly. Celestia closed her eyes for a second, as if coming to terms with something. Once she reopened them, her eyes were void of the emotion that filled them earlier. "If we cannot reach her heart, then she is a threat to Equestria and will be dealt with as such. I do not want to resort to this as I believe there is good in all ponies, but if she cannot be helped, she will either be imprisoned, banished or erased." "E-erased?" Comet asked tentatively, fearing what the answer would be. "It is a method only the highest ranks of the Royal Guard know of. Back when my sister turned, there were ponies that still allied themselves to her and fought back fiercely, killing and maiming the Royal Guard in the name of vengeance. In response, I and my most accomplished unicorn guardsponies erased them, implanting them with a new personality that steadily overtook the old one. It was an extreme measure done to only the worst of the worst and has not been used in almost a thousand years, but it was effective." Celestia spoke in a deadly serious tone. Comet's eyes widened with each word, unable to comprehend what she was saying. Princess Celestia, the great ruler of Equestria, had rewritten entire personalities in ponies? She had literally erased the problem at the source, along with everything that made the pony unique. Comet made a move to say something, but Celestia raised a hoof and continued talking. "I know what you are about to say, Commander, but the past is done and even I cannot rewrite it. I made a lot of decisions I was not proud of back then for the good of everypony and I still question whether they were needed or not. That is why I have not employed this measure for so long. However, Gorgon exhibits the early signs of the erasing process, especially since the Nova part is becoming stronger day by day. If the worst comes to pass, then I will let the process run its course and Gorgon will be no more." "But how?" Comet rebutted, "If it is Gorgon's mind, why is Nova able to do anything at all? Can't you remove her with a spell?" Princess Celestia let out a pained smile before speaking. "When I met with Nova in the dungeons, she could not cast magic. The only way Gorgon regained control was when Nova slept, either from a nap or a night's rest. I did not teach Nova to use magic, either. She is learning herself and harnessing Gorgon's natural ability while Gorgon is losing her ability to cast spells, even the most simple ones. She struggles to do anything out of fear of Nova and is losing her place in her own mind." Comet looked down, trying to imagine what it would feel like to lose control of something like that. He painted a terrible mental picture of himself, a weak and broken pegasus losing the ability to fly and to be around Angel, and shuddered violently. That was something he wouldn't wish on anypony, not even Gorgon. Yes, he still hated her, but nopony deserved that unless they were far beyond redemption. "What I hope to do is save Gorgon." Princess Celestia continued softly. "I understand that it may be a gift to see Nova again, but—" "It's not really her." Comet finished. Celestia nodded morosely in response, her eyes looking down at the stones below their hooves. "Yes. If Nova passed away long ago, then this is nothing but a shadow of who she was. Gorgon is still the rightful owner of her mind and body, and as such, she deserves a chance to keep it like anypony does. My goal is to help Gorgon reclaim her mind and fight back against the parasitic personality, but I can only help her as far as she will let me. She seems to have a much more open mindset when with you, as your meeting showed." "But why?" Comet queried. "Why me? I hate her and she hates me!" "You are also the only pony she has ever reacted to that way." Celestia spoke calmly. "Your very presence around her seems to make her much more talkative and open. When I was alone with her, Gorgon almost refused to speak with me. When the two of you met, she expressed emotions and even yelled at me, something she has never done before. While I was not pleased with it, you made more progress with her in ten minutes than I did in ten weeks." Comet's stare could only be described as comical. His eyes were wide, but a look of disbelief surrounded them. "I.. er, what? I didn't..." He spluttered. Princess Celestia allowed a warm smile to grace her features, looking much more like her normal self. "There is hope for Gorgon, Commander, and you are the pony to give it to her. She needs somepony she knows to to take an interest in her, to be willing to listen and sympathize and, most of all, one who knows about her and is unafraid of her presence. If you do that for her, I am sure she will stop being hostile towards you and will regain control of her mind from Nova." "You speak of this like it has been done before." Comet remarked. Princess Celestia allowed a small laugh, a welcome sound in the silence of the room. "Let's just say this, Commander. You have a special opportunity to reform Gorgon without magic, something I tested on Discord himself with my star pupil and her friends. If they could reform him without resorting to magic, then I have complete confidence you can do it too." Comet could only gulp as he realized what his Princess was asking of him. Part of his duties as the new Captain was to now reform one the most dangerous ponies in all of Equestria with little more than words and to save her from a terrible fate. He could almost hear Angel laughing in the back of his mind right then.