//------------------------------//
// The Everfree and the Castle//Chapter 12--Part 2 
// Story: The Rise of the Guardians and the Fall of One Hero 
// by TrinityDragon 
//------------------------------//

	Later, Phebe returned to the library. However, as she drew near, she heard an unfamiliar voice. The words came out calmly, sweetly, and orderly. “I don't want to fight you; I simply wanted to know what your intentions are.” As Phebe got closer to the room, she saw Princess Celestia standing in her noble manner near to Black Star who was casually reading a book.
“Hahah. You don't want to fight?” Black Star hopped off his seat. “That's really funny. Honestly, I would love to fight you.” Cockiness abounded. “No, I don't want to kill you, but I want to see if at least you would be a challenge. I don't think anypony else would stand a chance.” He shrugged. “We both don't have time to play around, though, so we won't. First things first...” Hooves carried him straight to her. “Hm. You're really tall. Can you lower your head a bit?” Despite the oddity of the request, Celestia complied, albeit carrying a quizzical expression. As soon as she did, Black Star tapped her nose. “Boop.” She reeled back with a raised brow, but he cheered, “That's one down. Now, down to business, eh?” The princess nodded. “You want to know my intentions? How about... no?” A rude attitude leaped from his tongue. “I won't aid the ally of Equestria's enemies.”
That statement made Phebe wonder. Though, for now, she continued to watch silently.
“What do you mean?” Celestia inquired sustaining complete composure. “I protect Equestria.”
He mocked, “Protect? What do you call the Dodge City incident? No.” Hoof stomped. “You could have prevented that. Your people died. Doesn't that mean anything to you?”
“I do care, but I had no idea that would happen. How does one predict that wild Timberwolves would assault a populated city that they would otherwise avoid?” Her demeanor remained unaffected, and she retained her sweet tone. “I have no qualms with you, my little pony. Why are you angry? If there is something I have done to cause your anger, please tell me.”
“Hah!” Black accusatively put his hoof to her breast. “I'll get to the point. You're protecting Hypatios and the Guardians. You're overseeing the investigation into the Dodge City because you want to control the information released on them.” Phebe wasn't sure how Black knew that, but apparently he did. “These are the true enemies, and because of your secrecy, the Changelings are being blamed falsely. In one way, yeah, they deserve to be blamed, but you know, as well as I, that they didn't cause the Timberwolves to attack. They tried to help.”
A long sigh fell from her highness’ lips. “I am aware of the situation in part, but I need to know more. I'm keeping it secret to involve as few of my people as possible. Unfortunately, until I have more information, I could cause concern and panic within Equestria by sharing what little I know.”
“You're telling a half-truth,” Black insisted. Phebe, on the other hoof, didn't agree. The princess consistently kept composed and spoke kind; if she had something to hide, there would be a tell. “The Guardians are a threat to Equestria. They showed no signs of mercy to the Dodge City citizens. Do you think giving them space will keep them from attacking again?”
“Clearly, you know more about the Guardians than I do. If you're willing-”
“Shut up, insufferable bigot.” He marched away from her, stepped atop a table, and motioned to the shelves all around. “You will speak when I say you can.”
Phebe grew frustrated. Sure, Black had some oddities, but this mistreatment of Equestria's esteemed leader was uncalled for. Celestia deserved respect. For the moment, Hoshana held her peace, but she would lash out if his poor behavior continued. Celestia held her peace as well, though likely much better than Phebe. By appearance alone, she was not offended at all. She continued to calmly and politely go along with Black Star's outbursts.  
“Of all the ponies in Equestria,” Black continued, “you know the most about the Guardians. Whether you're willing or not, you should be telling me about them.” His head shook sternly. “Unlike a certain complacent ruler, I will not shuffle my hooves while ponies are slaughtered. So, what do you know about them?”
“Do you re-”
“Stop.” A drawn out breath left his lungs, and then an equally long breath entered. “Don't answer my questions with questions. Just answer mine. Am I clear? Yes, that's a question. Answer it.”
She stared at him. “Yes.”
“Good, you're learning. Old dogs can learn new tricks, after all. Next question, who is Hypatios? Yes, he's a guardian, but besides that.” Obviously, she knew who Hypatios was, seeing she wrote letters to him.
With a simple tone, she replied, “Even if I told you, you would accuse me of lying.” He tried to interrupt her, but she did not stop speaking. His words were muffled underneath her voice. “I will return another day. I would like to clear up this confusion with you, but you have to be willing. When I come back, I ask for your willingness.” She stretched out her wings.
“Hahah!” Instead of mocking laughter, a cheerful cackle came from Black. “Wow, you're amazing. I don't think anyone as ever handled my terrible attitude that well before. You didn't fall for any of my obvious traps, either.” She hesitated flying away; apparently, his change of attitude caught her attention. “I guess your age and experience really does make a difference. Heh.” The darker tone returned. “What if I told you I wasn't your citizen?” Celestia responded with a cocked head. “Sure, I'm a pony, but I wasn't born or raised in your wonderful little nation.”
“That does not surprise.”
“Nothing gets to you, eh?” Black sighed. He sat down atop the table he had been standing on. “Too bad you're a liar. Fine, go home, but, don't come back. I don't want anything to do with a weak ruler.” Without any further discussion, the princess went airborne and escaped through the broken ceiling.
Once she believed Celestia to be gone,  Phebe immediately stormed up to Black. “What was that!?” Silently, Black Star moseyed over to the table he was at when Celestia arrived. He gazed sorrowfully the book he had been reading. “Black Star, answer me!” Nothing. Frustrated to no end, she rushed up beside him once more, slammed her hoof on the table, and shouted, “That's Princess Celestia!” Her yell sprung out at full strength, causing her voice to squeal somewhat. “Do you have any what she has gone through? She deserves respect. ” Midst her scolding, Black held his peace still staring at the book. His quiet only enraged her further. “Why aren't you listening to me!?” Finally, she let off.
Having a moment to watch, she noticed several splotches of water on the book underneath Black. Soon after, she saw a droplet fall from his face.
Black breathed, “Why.”
“Huh?”
“Why-” He attempted to speak a full sentence but choked on his words. An audible yet soft sob exited his mouth. Fighting tears, he clenched his teeth and muttered, “Why is this the truth? Why!” Phebe had no clue as to what he referenced.
Pursuing a curious tone—as opposed to her previously angry one—she inquired, “What are you talking about? What truth?” With a shaky hoof, he pulled a folded note from underneath the book and gave it to her. When she received it, an insurmountable weight of dread dropped upon her shoulders. Without knowing its contents, she already knew what lay inside was terrible. Black tended to drift between emotional states, and she recognized this. Even so, a typical piece of written material would not cause him such grief.
Hesitantly, she spread open the paper. Inside, she discovered a clearly written, entirely unfaded letter from Celestia to Hypatios. The growing pit in her stomach intensified while she read it aloud:
“To my dear Hypatios—Sublimis Doctus Dux...” Phebe stopped at the first line. “Doctus Dux,” if she recalled rightly was something Vick—a leader of the Guardian—had called himself. Terrified of what would come next, she tried to peel her eyes away, but she could not. Inevitably, she continued where she left off, “Hypatios, it has grieved me so that you have decided to take this path. If you had let me know of what you were researching earlier, the results could have been different. Unfortunately, it is too late. The Crystal Kingdom has been lost due to a Unicorn corrupted by that same magic, and I do believe he discovered it through you.” King Sombra floated about in her mind, but she didn't dwell on him. “It is to my chagrin that Equestria can no longer cooperate with those in the Wetlands. Furthermore, all of our personal ties are to be cut off. I cannot support a creature who would delve into such dangerous activities—regardless of the reason. The next time we see each other, we will no longer be allies, nor comrades. Hypatios, I ask you understand my situation and the position you have put me in.
For all the wonderful memories we had together,
Your love, Princess Celestia.”
Once she finished, Phebe stared long and hard at the words. So many thoughts had struck her mind—so much she wanted clarification on—yet she could not derive any satisfactory conclusions. “I... I...”
“Phebe.” Black startled with his one word. “This will sound... bad, but please understand our situation... and the position Hypatios has put us in.” As he stared directly into her eyes, she saw that no longer had tears in his eyes. Albeit, she now knew why he had been adversely affected by it. “This letter was not faded like the rest. In all likelihood, Celestia wrote this recently. I especially believe this true because I found a no-longer-dusty book. All the books around it were dusty, and I know I didn't touch it. So... someone did.” With a sigh, he added, “Celestia did... to hide this note that she wrote.”
“Why did she write it?” Phebe immediately asked.
“...have you ever played back events in your head? Like when you're frustrated by something or saddened, you just... watch in your mind's eye over and over again—wondering how you could have done it differently or how to do it better next time.” Frowning lightly, he loosed another, heavier sigh. “This is probably like that. Considering the Guardian's, and possibly Hypatios', resurgence, she probably wanted to get her thoughts on paper. Maybe—just maybe—she could rekindle the friendship she had with him and his people.”
“...” She looked at him with an empty expression. “I... I...”
“We need to focus, Phebe.”
Surprised by the sudden firm attitude, she jolted her head back. “What do you mean?”
“That letter brought to light a lot of previously unknown details, and it does answer many questions.” He snatched the letter from Phebe, slid it into the book on the table, and replaced the book in the shelf at the edge of the library. Upon returning, he finishes his thought, “But, we need to focus on the details that matter. First of all—you saw it yourself—Celestia lied to my face about Hypatios. It would be one thing if she had forgotten after... a thousand years? Except... she had just written this. Thus, she, without a doubt, knows who he is. Considering she lied to me about him, I doubt we can expect her or Equestria's help for the near-future.” He looked to the side. “We... cannot stay in Equestria. It is significantly more dangerous here than anywhere else. In the badlands, we only have one overall foe to worry about, but here, we have to worry about everyone. And... the moment a pony blows the whistle, the Guardian will know—which then means we fight on two fronts. Overall, we're in deep trouble staying here, and we've got very few allies to rely upon. ”
“I see,” she responded weakly. In her overwhelmed state, she still could not process most of the information. For the moment, she had to accept that Black Star knew what he was talking about. She spun around preparing to leave the library and find Artemis to tell him the news; however, a hoof on her shoulder stopped her. “Huh?”
Black, who had put his hoof there, explained, “Take a minute and organize your thoughts. If you have to, go somewhere quiet, get a little rest, and think clearly before you start acting on what you now know.”
“Uhm...” Too boggled to object, she relented, “Okay. I'll... be back, I guess.”
“Sounds good.”