//------------------------------// // Would it matter? // Story: Equestrian Landings // by qwefg //------------------------------// Celestia Celestia prepared herself as she was certain she had covered all her bases. She had a small list of questions she had prepared in advance to ask Lockheart since she knew she couldn’t ask him upfront. Either Lockheart would find a way to weasel out of answering one of the questions or he might panic. With a deep breath and a gentle push against the window with her magic she was happy to feel the new wards in effect; they would hopefully keep Lockheart inside the room if he tried to flee. Her desk drawers hid the fresh food and drink she had requested for this meeting, along with some nice slices of cake for herself. Celestia glanced over thoughtfully at a “family relations” book she had purchased for herself...ages years ago. It reminded her that sometimes there could be a gem born into the Blue Blood family line, and how the little foal would become close to Celestia’s heart. Often, you got a bad apple that would learn to interfere for their own gain, or the happy foal simply grew up more distant as life took it’s course… but sometimes one of those happy foals would grow up to be a fine mare or stallion that would still feel like a valued member of her family. A pony that refused to let life beat them down, or allow society to make them stuck up, or let hardships make them cynical of the world. Celestia took a deep breath as… She realized she had to treat her current situation like one of those "family" moments. The often-heartless biological “Parents” of the latest happy foal generally disliked Celestia because they enjoyed playing the games of nobility. While their foal was so close to Celestia, any interaction couldn't be handled within the same relationship as ruler and subject. If anything went wrong, then the foal's “Parents” would usually decide to send the foal away to a boarding school for nobility, invariably turning the happy foal into a grumpy stuck up jerk… Celestia took another deep breath and slowly exhaled. A part of her preferred to think of Lockheart fitting into the "Parents" category of their upcoming "family" moment… It was simpler, from that point of view: Lockheart was the stallion of influence who she didn’t exactly see eye to eye with, but simply forcing him to do or say something only on her authority as Princess Of Equestria wouldn’t be the right thing to do because of an existing personal relationship. More than that, Celestia had already been through enough theoretically similar situations that she had a rough idea of what would happen if her plan was a success… or a failure. Lockheart, on the other hoof, continued creating more questions every day, and the few answers she had received didn’t make the situation any easier… much less how little she actually knew was actually true. She was having to deal with a frightened pony who was used to running away. If Celestia was too forceful in her actions then Lockheart would simply flee, because that was how he managed to survive up until now. “Don’t simply ask him if he’s an alicorn,” Celestia reminded herself aloud. “That is not only a loaded question, but his view point on what 'alicorn' means or what it stands for is different from my own. To him, the term alicorn is one of meaning or status instead of a simple biological fact.” Celestia closed her eyes and thought back to his alteration techniques and his… emotional ability. His emotions could affect or be altered by those around him, especially when he lowered his guard or removed the extra layers of disguises and illusions he constantly wore. “His cutie mark must be referencing his personality and special talent,” Celestia told herself. “He keeps his own heart locked up, yet he can also slip past the 'locks' of others to take a peek into their hearts.” Celestia rubbed her chin. “Or instead of the cutie mark describing him...could his cutie mark be referencing his past trauma, and how destiny may yet provide a way to open his heart up again?” Celestia shook her head. “Why couldn’t it have been a simple cutie mark that was easy to interpret? I mean, having a cutie mark of the sun or the moon is easy: It could mean a talent for astrology, or a talent for magic… The pony’s personality generally makes it easy to guess what it stands for.” Celestia glanced outside as she looked at Canterlot in an attempt to calm herself down. It was such a peaceful city; despite all of its problems, Canterlot continued to grow and flourish. She had defended her land from monsters and invaders, wherever they tried to attack her peaceful nation. She had helped tend to the fields and helped tend her ponies, when pestilence or disease stuck her kingdom. She had established a school to gather young gifted unicorns together where Celestia could teach them of magic and Harmony, so that those ponies could then spread out into her fair nation and help those around them. It was funny to Celestia, in light of all those accomplishments, how badly this one single moment now frightened her; she felt like a filly about to take a test only to realize how unprepared she actually was. The biggest, and possibly easiest question that would solve most of her fears… was also the hardest one to ask. Asking that one simple question wouldn't be just be asking about if he was related to Luna… it would invite him to share what he truly thought about Celestia, and how he felt she had done in managing the kingdom since Luna's banishment. All the actions she had made throughout the long years as Princess of Equestria would not be placed in front of the court of another ruler, who’s judgment could be colored by the fact they were allies or rivals or enemies, potential or otherwise. Her actions would be judged by a single pony; a pony that had inadvertently been on the wrong side of one of Celestia’s worst mistakes. The worst part of it all, was a small hint of stomach sickening dread that made her shiver, as Celestia started to draw a few unsettling facts together. What sort of nation would be frightened of an Alicorn that also held ponies? What sort of nation would claim him to be a “monster” when Alicorns had been known as peaceful rulers? A nation that had seen one Alicorn turn into Nightmare Moon. A nation that had seen another Alicorn banish her only sister for the greater good. It's easy to convince somepony to forgive your choices when it's proven you were in the right. It's harder to convince somepony to forgive you if that somepony directly suffered from your actions because you foolishly wiped their parent's names from the history books, leaving only a nightmarish tale about a foal eating monster passed down through the common pony's superstitious folklore to act as their legacy. The door opened. Celestia turned around and put on her best smile as Lockheart entered the room. Celestia felt her heart clench in actual pain as she saw just how nervous Lockheart was as he entered the room. Lockheart had locked his wings against his sides to streamline himself into the smallest possible target. His face and neck were tense with the grimace of stress. His eyes glanced into every corner of the room, yet his gaze always landed back onto Celestia's horn or hooves between each ocular twitch. His leg muscles visibly coiled with each carefully measured step, as if his instincts were expecting some sort of trap to be sprung. He nodded towards Celestia after fully entering the room, but she recognized the look in his eyes as he was trying to plan where he could run if things went bad. Whatever inner peace Celestia had managed to achieve earlier was swiftly broken by a rush of empathy as Lockheart's old paranoia and fears took root again. Celestia calmed herself, or at least did her best to mask her own unease as she said, “So how was Cloudsdale?” Lockheart stopped scanning the room for possible exits as his head snapped forward to meet Celestia's gaze directly. “I now understand some of the differences between different political climates of Equestria.” That was not the sort of answer Celestia was expecting. “Can you explain?”, Celestia asked calmly. “Canterlot focuses more on blood ties and the social status of those around them. A pony who owns more money or power than even the lowest noble is still considered to be lesser than the noble, even if that noble is flat broke.” Lockheart replied as if he was taking a test. “Cloudsdale, while it holds ties to nobility, is more politically focused towards a Capitalist political landscape. They focus more on success than ties to nobility, but nobles are still considered important for their cultural connections and governmental finances, not due to the fact they are of noble blood. A pony in Cloudsdale born with the same resources as a given noble but without noble blood would be considered to be of equal importance as the noble.” Celestia just sat there as Lockheart kept his eyes focused on her, as if he was afraid that she would summon the guards to toss him into the dungeon or something. A part of her mind couldn’t help but wonder if he could somehow sense her own emotional turmoil and was now being affected by it… or if Celestia was seeing her own panic and stress be openly displayed right in front of her through his special talent. “How was Hollow Shades?” Celestia carefully replied as she tried to move onto a safer topic. Instead of relaxing him, Lockheart’s body became rigid. His muscles visibly tensed, as if preparation to fight Celestia or run for his life, while he reported, “I didn’t know about the Element of Harmony; they had contacted me in the middle of the night. I sent a letter to inform you about the possible situation as soon as I could!” “What about the fact you introduced the local foals to ice cream?” Celestia quickly replied, trying to ease his worries. "And please let it be a happy story!" she pleaded in the back of her mind. Lockheart simply stared at Celestia as if she had grown second head. It was clear to anypony in the room that Lockheart wasn’t expecting that question at all. She couldn’t help but wonder what exactly had happened… He didn’t seem nervous in Cloudsdale... or had Celestia’s surprise arrival done more than give a small scare to the locals of Cloudsdale? Celestia held up a hoof and tried to calm him down. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I was just… surprised that the area had been zoned off because of a possible… Cuteness Overload?” Celestia couldn’t help but chuckle at her own comment, as the statement seemed so utterly ridiculous… but this was an event involving Lockheart; a pony who's very existence actively defied whatever could be counted as “normal” on a weekly, if not daily, occurrence. Lockheart started to relax a little as he nervously replied, “I was experimenting with my magic a little. I had a bunch of children to entertain and… I’ll admit that feeding them ice cream wasn’t the smartest idea...” “...Because you had hoped to draw on their excess joy in an attempt to replenish your magic.” Celestia finished as a she smirked. “I already read the reports regarding your current skills in magic, as well as what magics you have attempted to experiment with.” Lockheart blinked as he asked with a hint of fear and confusion, “Doesn’t that concern you? I mean…” Celestia rolled her eyes as realized she should have seen this coming. Her sudden arrival and departure must have caused a lot more problems for Lockheart than she realized. Instead of her ponies seeing her praising Lockheart’s success… they must have interpreted the whole incident as Celestia checking up on Lockheart to see if he was doing a good job, or messing things up. Celestia did her best to stay visibly relaxed as she calmly said, “Magic that deals with or focuses on utilizing certain types of emotions have existed in Equestria long before changelings became public knowledge. Can you tell me how the Crystal Heart works?” Lockheart shrugged. “The Crystal Heart focuses the joy and cheer of the Crystal Ponies through the Crystal Kingdom's magical arrays, which in turn empowers the Crystal Heart to protect them and even generate nice and pleasant weather instead of having the kingdom freeze to death.” Celestia knew that was all she needed to say. Hopefully that statement would help alleviate what worries or concerns he might have had after any… unpleasant rumors or barbs she had inadvertently subjected him to as… Celestia tried her best not to sigh out loud. She could believe Lockheart really was Luna’s son, if only by just how similarly she had made things worse when she tried to help either of them. Still... a part of Celestia wanted to see just how much knowledge of the Crystal Empire Lockheart possessed. “And what about when a Crystalling happens?” “A new born infant is presented in front of the Crystal Heart when their parents find a gem that best matches the foal. Then the love and energy from the Crystalling ritual is used to strengthen, repair, and improve the Crystal Heart, while also helping to apply the crystal effect to the ponies themselves.” Lockheart replied with the same monotonous tone he had used to describe the Crystal Heart. Celestia was honestly a little bit surprised that he knew of the Crystalling ritual as it was a background cultural event similar to “The Running of the Leaves”. The only time it was ever celebrated on par with a national holiday was when the rulers of the Crystal Kingdom gave birth to a new royal heir; even then, the celebration was not so much about the Crystalling of the new foal, but about formally recognizing the latest addition to the Royal Bloodline with the promise that the peace and prosperity brought about by the current rulers would be continued by their children. It would have been fine if he had stopped there… but then Lockheart continued, “Due to the protection of the Crystal Heart… the Crystalling ritual is also important as it helps expand the current barrier so that the kingdom is large enough to support it’s new population without the population growing so large that only the way to sustain their numbers would be to send the excess citizens out into the frozen wasteland as a means of population control. Of course, if the population is reduced than the magical protection is cut back, reducing the amount of magical energy needed to sustain the shield barrier, and forcing anyone who wished to invade the kingdom to have to deal with the harsh elements of the north; this helps compensate for the lack of defenders that would normally be available for the Crystal Empire, as the shield would then only extend to the kingdom’s outer walls.” Celestia nodded as she said, “See? It isn’t that unusual...” What was unusual was Lockheart's grimly logical addition to the Crystalling event that he had added to the simple question. He had turned her question about a happy celebration into a question about a nation’s defense or method of expansion. In fact, Celestia wasn’t sure how many other ponies besides Lockheart would have thought to consider both the major and minor ramifications of such a simple event. So she did what anypony would do by saying, “And yet... you don’t know how long a moon is.” Lockheart simply groaned. “I still can’t tell if you’re using lunar cycle, weekly, or some subjective term that varies depending on the situation it is used in!” It was nice to know that some things still eluded him. Celestia shook her head as she used her magic to pull out snacks and drinks from the desk drawers. She thought some refreshments would help ease the current mood... and hopefully show Lockheart that she wasn’t trying to interrogate him like a common criminal. It also reminded her that Lockheart knew a lot more about some things than what could be considered “normal”. When Luna was still around, and for at least few years after her… banishment… such knowledge would have been commonplace. Now that the Crystal Empire had been gone for hundreds of years, only a few books even talked about the “mythical empire”. It was especially surprising to hear somepony talk about a common event that nopony ever bothered recording in a history book because of how it was so… mundane back then. Lockheart took a small sniff of the hot cocoa as he tried to levitate it up to himself. Celestia could see the hot liquid slowly lurch about in the mug as he did his best not to spill any of it, and she couldn’t help but try to steady the mug for him. Instead of a cheerful smile, Lockheart looked a little bit ashamed for not even being able to carry the cup without nearly spilling it on the floor. “I’m still trying to get the hang of it.” Lockheart apologized to Celestia. Celestia felt a small jab of pain in her heart as the kind gesture had been mistaken for her being angry or upset at… his lack of skill. Boulder Dash’s dreaded question now gnawed at the back of her mind as she wished she could figure out what she was supposed to be doing. Celestia would gladly go and fight Emberess and all the other escaped Tartarus criminals all by herself than struggle with her current awkward situation. She decided to wait for Lockheart to finish with his drink before she accidentally made things worse again… or at least wait until the point she wouldn’t feel like face hoofing if she said something wrong. “But look at the bright side!” Celestia told herself in the back of her mind. “At least he doesn’t think you’re going to banish him to the moon or incinerate him!” She nearly sighed out loud as she hated how that actually did sound like an improvement. Now instead of being terrified of her... he was simply stuck feeling as if Celestia thought he was helpless or even a public embarrassment. “Is everything alright?” Lockheart asked in confusion. Celestia was about to open her mouth until she saw the hints of doubt and fear in his eyes. He wasn’t so much asking out of concern for her… but from some unspoken fear that still lingered. “What makes you think that?” Celestia managed to calmly reply even as she tried to hide her own doubts and fears. Lockheart motioned towards the desk. “Drinks… food… no questions about any of the documentation that has been signed or any that might be resubmitted back to you for proper authorization if the event may extend past Cloudsdale?” Celestia tried not to groan. She had tried to make a peaceful atmosphere… only to make everything seem so… unnatural. Lockheart didn’t even touch the hot cocoa; he only pretended to drink some of it before setting it aside. All that had changed was that Lockheart had managed to calm himself down so that he was ready to act rationally instead of panicking if she tried to do something nasty to him. Celestia couldn’t take it anymore as she let out a large sigh. “I was… worried. You spend more of your time locked up in your room than even when it was just a small jail cell. When I saw an excuse to visit… to see how you were doing outside of Canterlot… I’ll admit that I was a bit foolish to send you to Cloudsdale and expect anything different.” Lockheart was now staring at Celestia as if she had taken off her wings and admitted that she was just one of a long line of white coated unicorns who dyed their hair and pretended to be an alicorn while the sun and the moon somehow naturally went around Equs without anypony’s direct intervention to ensure that the moon or the sun didn’t collide into Equus or each other. Celestia stared back at Lockheart, and she couldn’t help but smile. “Is it so hard to believe that even I make mistakes or feel sorry about something?” Lockheart just sat there as Celestia waited a few seconds for an answer… and then began to worry that she had somehow broken him. When he finally moved, Lockheart shook his head as he said, “I know you have you have your own concerns, worries, and fears… but…” Celestia closed her eyes as she finished his sentence, “Just… not about you.” Lockheart actually thought that she-!… Well…she could see why Lockheart might think she didn’t care what happened to him. He had blackmailed his way into learning magic. He was given a flying instructor only after he had accidentally let himself be noticed by the public at large, and that was also when he had been given better quarters. In fact most of the “blessings” that Celestia had given Lockheart could have been given out of a show of public image. It wouldn’t look good to see a flightless Alicorn. It wouldn’t be “proper” for an Alicorn to sleep in a jail cell. It wouldn’t be “right” if an Alicorn struggled to move a cup full of water, or a mug full of hot cocoa, without splashing any of it on the ground. While Lockheart was paranoid of her… it wasn’t exactly like Celestia had really ever shown any… care for him. That might have been the most painful part of it all; that she was still making the exact same mistakes she had made all those hundreds of years ago. Now the words Boulder Dash had spoken to her no longer talked about Lockheart possibly being Luna’s son… but of her treatment of him, or rather her lack of treatment to him. Silence filled the room as neither of them knew what to say. Celestia wished she could figure out what Lockheart was thinking… or how he was reacting to what she had just… told him. A small smile did come to her lips when he finally took a small sip of the hot cocoa as he just sat there trying to figure out what to do next. “So…” Celestia started to say. “How was Hollow Shades?” Silence blanketed the room again. Celestia couldn’t help but start to feel a little bit awkward as… it was just them. Usually Remedy Cross would have said something, or somepony would pop up with an important matter, but the one time she needed an interruption… it refused to come. “It was… nice.” Lockheart meekly replied as he had no idea what to say. Celestia took a sip of her hot cocoa as the silence drifted back into the room. Mentally, she berated herself, thinking how it shouldn’t be this hard to simply talk to him; she never had a problem talking to Lockheart in the past. That, and the awkward silence between them, was starting to bother Celestia to the point that she would have been happy if somepony outside had let off a set of fireworks near the castle, or if an ancient monster suddenly decided to attack the city. Celestia shook her head, “This is ridiculous… let’s just try to be honest and get any questions off our chest.” Lockheart didn’t seem to look any better after hearing her suggestion when he replied, “Any question?” Celestia did her best to smile as she said, “Just a few questions. You can even go first.” Lockheart just stared into his cup. Celestia couldn’t help but listen to the ticking of the clock inside her room. It was a crazy suggestion, and even then there was still the chance he would simply dismiss her questions or reject the whole arrangement… “Why do you try to sabotage the Grand Galloping Gala each year?” Lockheart replied. Celestia was shocked by his statement. “That’s your question?” Celestia asked in surprise at… how blunt it was. Lockheart nodded. He watched her like a hawk as he refused to back down. He didn’t want to play this game, but at the same time… he refused to be the one that backed down. Celestia couldn’t help but feel a small smirk forming on her face as she said, “First of all… what makes you think that?” Lockheart rolled his eyes. “You had me deal with nobles about certain transactions and quite a few of them talk about the Gala.” So it was that obvious? Lockheart hadn’t even been to a Gala and he could tell something was up. This was going to be tricky, but Celestia refused to back down. “Alright… but only if you answer one of my questions afterwards.” Lockheart stared at her. “And what would that be?” Celestia’s mind raced for an answer and said, “Tell me… how exactly did you get Silk Scarf to trade her estate for swamp land?” The confusion on his face was plain to see as he replied, “That’s your question?” Celestia smiled as she said, “I’d rather prefer asking why you did that, but if you don’t think that’s equal to your question…” Lockheart held up a hoof. “Alright… Silk Scarf was a rather annoying mare as she reeked of greed. I could practically taste the deceit coming off her as she tried to twist some obscure law into allowing me to pass a bill that was rejected by you.” Lockheart took a deep breath. “So… I figured the best way to deal with it was by giving her what she asked for… but not what she wanted, as most of this was just an attempt to keep future nobles from bothering me. I took the papers and then saw her… bill to preserve some random swamp and create a tax for it. I looked at where the funds were going and what groups would have moved in afterwards.” Lockheart rubbed the back of his head. “I ended up gaining control of her house because the funds were being siphoned to it.” Celestia’s eyes widened as she said, “That can’t be right… her estate has belonged to her family for generations… surely you couldn’t have used some paper document to take it from her!” Lockheart shook his head. “Who said I took it? I simply took control of her wildlife preservation act using royal authority and then under the act I simply repeated the same steps she did to take a couple of other ponies' homes. Turns out she wanted to use the tax to get more money and to quickly evict the ponies from… Diamond Gulch and because they were the ones who found all of the gems and they founded the town without the help of a Canterlot Noble… Silk Scarf wanted the land under her swamp territory.” Lockheart then went into detail about how the laws Silk Scarf used allowed her to tax the ponies living there before kicking them out of their homes. The homes and buildings would then fall under the crown's domain, which Silk Scar would then "sell" to the ponies in her employ, allowing her to illegally evict the ponies from their homes while keeping the land and the mines for herself. Lockheart, on the other hoof, wasn’t as kind as Celestia. He passed the law… and then used it to quickly seize her house through the same twisted laws and logic she used, before he had the Lunar Guard… help return the missing property. When the criminals who bought the land realized it was being taken from them by the same law Silk Scarf used to originally give them the property... they resisted the Lunar Guard, which landed them in jail, where they then ratted out Silk Scarf, resulting in the law being double checked… which Celestia remembered returning the land back to their owners in Crystal Gulch… and didn’t realize Silk Scarf’s home was also taken. Lockheart rubbed the back of his head. “So you see… I never actually took her house. Still, if she admitted her involvement to you she could easily get her family estate back.” Celestia face hoofed. “And open herself to investigations. Just out of curiosity… what exactly did you do with her house?” Lockheart shrugged. “Nothing, because I don’t even know where it is in Canterlot's noble district. When the other nobles asked why Silk Scarf hated me, or why she abandoned her home… I just told them I got her house when I gave her some swamp land… because that’s what Diamond Gulch was listed as in her bill. The house is still listed as property under the crown; you could give it back to her anytime you want.” Celestia shook her head as she replied, “The reason why I try to sabotage the Gala each year is because…” she sighed “The first Gala. It was to celebrate the completion of Canterlot. Then the nobles invited other ponies over to throw one big party to help everypony cheer up and laugh. It was done to help ponies have fun instead of trying to make business arrangements or flaunt their wealth.” Lockheart nodded. “And…” Celestia frowned. “It was simple. I got to socialize with everypony else; it was suppose to be a moment were we all could just be ponies. I wasn’t Princess Celestia, but just plain Celestia; one stallion even tried his hoof at a date with me.” A small smile came to Celestia's face. “It ended up being the best night of his life.” Lockheart took a loud sip of his now room temperature cocoa as he tried very hard not to think about what she said. Celestia couldn't help but smile. “So when they wanted to do it every year, who was I to complain? One day out of the entire year where I could stop being Princess Celestia and just be… me. Then as the years went by it became less about charity, good will towards others, or even having fun. It became more about ponies flaunting their wealth, or making backroom business deals… more ponies came each year, repeating the same song and dance... whatever they didn't remove for something more expensive was kept exactly the same, except they didn't keep the spirit of the first Gala, and year after year… it became my job to stand at the door and smile and shake everypony’s hoof as they came in.” Celestia stared up at the ceiling; it felt good to let it out. “So the one day I could take off my crown… became the day I stood by the door. The day I was forced to talk about the things I didn’t want to talk about, and deal with nobles who no longer cared what the Gala originally was. Then came the first Gala Disaster… a wild paraspite wandered into the kitchen the day before and… do you know what a parasprite is?” Lockheart flinched. “Let me guess… on opening night the castle was suddenly flooded with tiny colored puff balls that barfed out new parasprites.” Celestia couldn’t help but chuckle. “The mess started when somepony first cut the cake, only to unleash a tide of parasprites. I just watched the disaster unfold and… it was fun to watch! No pony got hurt, and we cleaned up the mess… but the best part of it all was how ponies talked about it. Certainly some ponies were upset, but most of the others saw it as a funny accident that they talked about fondly for days afterwards. Then when the second disaster happened…” “Still not your fault?” Lockheart questioned her. Celestia shook her head. “Sorry to disappoint you. A couple had brought their foal with them, and she had a magical surge… which ended up making the food come to life and attack everypony. After the next two Galas, each having similar disasters, the fifth one was… back to normal. It was dull, boring… and honestly no pony really remembered it. So, when the next Gala came… I set in motion a possible disaster… and then just like the other Galas no pony got hurt, and while a few were a little bit sore… everypony fondly talked about that Gala for days later until it became… expected.” Lockheart held up a hoof. “So wait… the disasters are caused… to make ponies happy?” Celestia couldn’t help but smirk. “That’s true… but it also lets me have some fun trying to prank everypony who attends. It’s also a little bit funny watching how a few ponies bring pranks of their own in an attempt to avoid being hit by the next prank or disaster. Sometimes it’s as minor as a few dribble glasses, and sometimes a minor prank I had set out… ends up becoming much bigger than I had imagined.” Lockheart stared at her in confusion. “You're joking.” Celestia rolled her eyes, “All right it wasn’t the best prank I ever thought of, but it was fun watching their reactions as they tried to pretend nothing was wrong while making sure they didn’t pick up one of the rigged glasses. So does that answer your question?” Lockheart simply shook his head, but she could spot the smile on his face. Maybe this was all she needed. ****** Steel Halberd Steel shook his head as he stared at Valkyrie. Her injuries couldn’t be healed while she was trapped in stone. The doctors and cockatrice experts told him she wouldn’t feel the pass of time, and she was essentially “preserved” until they fixed her. The problem was that those words did very little to help fix the pain he felt in his chest whenever he looked at her. The Royal Guard Barracks felt different now, as the others walked about trying to live their lives. Ponies patrolled the walls as new recruits were training outside, while the older guards practiced advanced formation techniques. Steel just sat in front of Valkyrie; he wasn’t wearing his armor. He had been given a few days off to settle down… to try to relax and not do something stupid. Steel couldn’t help but chuckle sadly as he said, “What happened to us? The Royal Guard used to be the elite of Equestria… the ponies that could protect Equestria from anything.” He shook his head as he felt a mixture of pride and shame at that statement. “We were the best, until this chaos happened… not you Valkyrie, but… Duran, Sanguine, Brass… more villains keep popping up, each one twisted in their own unique way.” Steel glanced at the medal he had been given. He forgot what it was exactly for, but he had written it down somewhere… the small medal of the sun had been given to him for his quick thinking, skill of command, and managing to lead a small force of ponies to defeat an ancient enemy from the past that required an army to fight. It was a win for the Royal Guard… a big win, as even if Celestia hadn't arrived at the last minute to save him… the plan would have still gone off successfully, as he would have been the only casualty. He glanced back up at Valkyrie. “Celestia says she is looking for a way to fix this in one of her old spell books… but how long will that take? How much of the world will change before you are free?” Steel opened his saddle bag and pulled out a jug of water. He refused to bring alcohol with him, not only because was he still a member of the Royal Guard… but because Valkyrie was still alive. It was Steel’s personal belief that a pony in the Royal Guard should only drink in honor of a happy time, or when somepony died. Valkyrie wasn’t dead, so he didn’t drink alcohol… but he felt like drinking something. “Four months ago, the biggest thing that would usually happen was somepony catching Celestia trying to change her routine, or eating cake in a… manner not befitting for a Princess.” He replied to himself with a small chuckle. “Now? Crazy mind controlling monsters, magically powerful monsters, and twisted ponies who act like monsters. We even have a group breaking monsters out of Tartarus for... Celestia only knows what. How will Equestria look next month… season… year?” Steel sighed. “It’s even gotten to Celestia. She smiles, but she’s not really smiling anymore. She just smiles because that’s what we expect. We want her to smile and tell us everything is alright, despite what is actually going on.” Steel took a sip of water from the jug before glancing at Valkyrie. Valkyrie had been was still their best fighter, a pony who wasn’t even born in Equestria as she hadn’t ever discovered her cutie mark. The same nervous mare who lost a decent chunk of her past, yet managed to be the pony they were all striving to be. Steel shook his head as he thought back to his encounters with her. She was a good fighter… almost a prodigy really, but it wasn’t because she was born that way, nor had some unique cutie mark talent given Valkyrie her amazing ability. It was her training… how she pushed herself. While it was true that most ponies wouldn’t be able to reach what seemed like a lifetime devotion of training their combative skills… she was a mortal pony. Steel couldn’t help but smile as he remembered her rather endearing flaws. She was useless with a bow. He had to give her basic weather management courses, as she had never before made a cloud pour down rain… Her lack of knowledge with Equestrian culture could sometimes be humorous or quite embarrassing, but it was often both. When you simply got down to it... when you took Valkyrie off the battlefield, she was a very innocent and sweet pony who had managed to worm her way into his heart. Steel sighed as there wasn’t anything wrong with feeling something towards another pony in the Royal Guard… but it was preferred that the pony was in a different division or group. The worst part of it all was how he couldn't stop thinking about his last order to her, over and over in his mind. Brass’s gang of criminals had taken to the skies. They had released an ancient villain to secure their escape. The ones near the entrance to Tartarus were already dealt with by Cerberus. Emberess was growing more powerful by the second and somepony had to be bait. Steel had the training and the experience. He had played the role as bait before, luring dangerous monsters away from towns and into traps or ambushes. Valkyrie was trained for combat instead of playing bait. She could make it rain, but not only would it have been a waste of her skills, she was one of the few ponies who had already traversed through the diamond dog tunnels. Brass’s criminal allies that stayed on the surface were trying to use the forest for cover as they escaped. Steel placed his hoof against his face as he went over the last details. He had made the right call with Valkyrie. Not only was it the safest place at the moment, they needed somepony to help deal with any Crystal Golems that might have prevented the trap from working, and Valkyrie was able to quickly recover and help catch one of the unicorns in case they had to make an emergency teleport to above ground... after all, the plan was to bring down the entire tunnel complex right under Emberess's feet. Looking back at what he knew now… Arrow Strike had managed to follow the criminals to a relay point where unicorns with the Teleportation skill managed to evacuate any criminals who arrived, but they had only waited for a certain amount of time; anypony afterwards was left behind. Brass didn’t go to the relay point; she went underground as she had a separate means of escape. Not only that, but according to Valkyrie’s group Brass didn’t want her other allies to know about her magical means of escape… and that Brass had allies with a Griffin nation. She wasn’t the mastermind behind the prison break, but she was important enough to be recruited for it. Steel glanced at Valkyrie and sighed, “Which one is the biggest threat? Would going after Brass be wrong because I wish to toss her in jail and cure you… I mean, she is a dangerous pony. While she may have helped take Sanguine Point down with her cockatrice, that doesn’t excuse her for seeking revenge against Remedy Cross or turning you to stone.” Steel shook his head. “The mare calling herself Brass Balls is a skilled criminal leader who will hire her team out to whoever has the bits and doesn’t mind her sketchy morals.” Steel pulled out a daisy sandwich and took a few bites. He had plenty of reasons to chase after Brass, as they all held very clear and valid points. The problem was that he didn’t know if Brass had reunited with the other criminals, or if she was hiding out in some random location, or if she had gone to an unknown Griffin nation to prepare another business arrangement, or possibly adjust her former employer’s plans to better suit her own plans. “Then there are the… flunkies.” Steel replied to himself in disappointment. “We don’t know much about them. We don’t know why they broke into Tartarus to steal those villains. We don’t even know how they knew about them, even though the Pegasus who unleashed Emberess certainly seemed to know what he was doing.” Steel took another few bites as he tried to calm down. “They abandoned their own allies. The ones we caught were useless, and the ones that tried to save their own flanks only told us what Arrow Strike told us. The ones who didn’t talk just sat there and smirked as… either they really are that loyal, or they don’t expect to be in jail for that long. They were part of a group that orchestrated a jailbreak into Tartarus after all.” He couldn’t figure it out. Whoever had hired the extra ponies had apparently promised them a way back home or the chance to be heroes… they had gathered together a large group of criminals of all races, only to then abandon them after they got what they wanted… but what made those villains worth more than all the allies they had left behind? Steel groaned in frustration, “Even then, their signal for a second meeting or to regroup or act… All they were supposedly told was that they would know when it happened.” He sighed “Were they being played for fools, and the pony pulling the strings is planning something terrible… or do we have an idiot who is doing the wrong thing for the right reason?” He glanced at Valkyrie as he wished she was able to talk to him. “You’ve seen the differences. The crazy bug monster… that thing was twisted, but it was still able to give a decent “hero speech” as it lead them into doing things they wouldn’t have normally done. Maxwell was a part of their group in the beginning… but that was before they went off the deep end; he is a good pony… who just ended up not realizing just how wrong things were becoming until it had gone too far.” Steel stared back down at the floor. “If we find Brass, then it’s easy; we get her to talk before we toss her in jail. She’s a criminal, and while she has managed to escape… her acts have proven that while she isn’t as…insane as Sanguine Point, she won’t stop what she is doing. If we find the other group… do we try to talk them down? Do we end up fighting as they continued to follow their own misguided ideals? Do we simply treat them like Brass or one of the other villains?” Steel finished his daisy sandwich as he weighed the options. One group was an unknown, and they weren’t even sure when, or even if, they would act again. Brass was a known criminal who wasn’t going to stop after this incident. She already had another employer for some other job, and she had fully admitted that she was going after Remedy Cross as she would gladly harm anypony that was associated with Remedy Cross just to hurt her. The worst part of it all was that he had no idea what was going to happen. Would he be put in charge of picking who would go after her, or would they simply assign which group to go after? The worst thing that could happen was the possibility that he would be put on guard duty… not something bearable like guarding Remedy, in case Brass tried to attack her… but guarding a random hallway just to keep him from being involved with either choice. Steel wouldn’t say it, but he knew that he needed to feel like he was involved, even if it was just sitting behind a desk and sending reports to help keep both groups up to date on what they had found out so far. “When this is all over…” Steel took a deep breath, “When we can both talk again…” Steel sighed as he packed up his saddlebags and left. A part of him didn’t feel right without Valkyrie, but he wanted to make sure he wasn’t mistaking losing a pony under his command for something else. Then there was of course the issue about her home, 'Boston'… He saw the joy in her eyes when she talked about it. Even if she had lost a couple of her memories, it was clear she still cared about it. If there really was some way for her to return home… would he just end up having to say goodbye to her again? Would a relationship really work out? He was going to have to figure out what he would say to her when she was back. ****** Celestia Celestia enjoyed her the rest of her slice of cake as she glanced over the papers she had to deal with. Lockheart was reading over one of the few books on the Crystal Empire Celestia owned, either trying to figure out how their theory of magic worked... or to see if anything caught his interest. Both of them had asked each other questions, but they would only answer… if the other pony would answer a question they deemed of equal value. Celestia had enjoyed the simplicity of paper work before, as she could see the odds and ends of it. The question game with Lockheart, on the other hoof, felt more like a game of chess, but with an oddly shaped chess board. Lockheart used his rooks and bishops with ruthless efficiency, as some of his questions were meant to have Celestia simply admit defeat. Yet he made sure that the nature of the questions were not too ruthless or painful, as he focused his assault on eliminating her pieces rather than risking a piece to get her in check. So Celestia had to counter with well placed pawns… simple questions that wouldn’t mean much by themselves, but at the end of the game they would transform into powerful pieces. In opposition to Lockheart's ruthless efficiency, Celestia asked minor questions about almost meaningless details. Lockheart would certainly refuse any questions that directly asked about his past… but his answers could paint a picture of his experiences, and what things he had learned in his journeys. Still, like any good game this match would soon come to an end. Either a more pressing matter would pop up to forcibly close this game out, or one of their unspoken questions would become too much to hold in. One of the questions they would ask… would simply have nothing worth the price of the question itself. Celestia shuffled together the last of the papers and sighed. “Sometimes I think that I should simply try making this nation a… I believe you call it a democracy in order to help remove some of this paper work.” “It wouldn’t work.” Lockheart replied without interest. “Democracy, monarchy, even a Dictatorship all bow before one power.” Celestia couldn’t help but smirk as she replied, “Friendship? The will of their subjects?” “Bureaucracy.” Lockheart replied without missing a beat, “In the end a nation will grow too large for one individual to govern everything. Those underneath will send requests for what is needed as those above them must debate between the smaller groups and the requests they give which in turn goes up another level repeating the same process over and over until they reach you. The only thing that will change as time goes on is how many extra levels will be added to the ever growing chains of Bureaucracy itself.” Celestia rolled her eyes as she jokingly replied, “Go on, continue. I’m sure I can find a foal with an ice-cream cone for you to knock over, or would you rather grab a cloud and hover over a birthday party?” Celestia had to admit that… it was easier having Lockheart help relieve some of the paperwork, even if he knew some of his actions wouldn’t win him any popularity. She also found it a little bit humorous when she learned about how much detail he had put into the… “Air Race”. While the reason for this "race" was silly, Celestia had to admit that it gave them something to strive for, even if it was just for the sake of competing against each other. Some of the experimentation being done with these arcane machines was both interesting… and worrying, especially after seeing the reports on an incident involving a fire ruby. While Celestia still had to give her final opinion on a few things… what would normally have taken an entire week was reduced to just two hours at her desk. She couldn’t help but chuckle as she thought about getting used to this sort of productivity, but sadly her break from the dreaded eldritch monster of bureaucracy would end by the beginning of next week, as Lockheart’s task of dealing with the new flux of civilians and their requests would certainly be matched by the attempts of those few foolish or greedy nobles willing to trick Lockheart into passing something that had already been rejected by Celestia. Of course, she knew that Legal Right was the pony that made half of what Lockheart had done possible… it was hard enough finding a single pony to help her out with her own paper work… Celestia wasn’t sure if she could find a third pony in all of Equestria that was as skilled with a quill, without the possibility of that pony abusing their position. All she knew about Legal Right and Lockheart’s relationship was that Lockheart respected the unicorn and… Legal Right enjoyed his new position… and understood that Lockheart had some hidden ability to detect emotion, along with a rather twisted sense of humor when it came to punishments. Still, Celestia knew he would be busy enough in these next few days trying to go over forms and attempting to bring the Luna Guard up to date, or up to “His” standards for certain areas. Then of course there was the earth pony training and testing and... Celestia prepared herself as she said, “Lockheart… why do you detest being called an Alicorn, or even the very possibility of it?” Lockheart didn’t answer for a moment. “Can you be more precise?” “The position… how ponies look at you… how every time somepony calls you an Alicorn you immediately dismiss it and say “Not an Alicorn” for everypony to hear.” Celestia replied, carefully choosing her words. “With Cloudsdale, you didn’t seem to notice or care about what had happened, or how some of the residents had mistreated you.” Lockheart shrugged. “I wasn't exactly surprised by it.” Celestia rubbed her temple with a hoof and said, “That’s what I’m talking about… what you’re doing right now… why?” Lockheart went silent as Celestia figured she had pushed too far. The seconds passed by as Celestia couldn’t help but wonder what his answer could be… would he dismiss her question, now that it had been brought to his notice? Would he try to evade the question like all the others… or would he simply lie? “To borrow a phrase I’ve once heard…” Lockheart replied, “Would it matter?” Celestia blinked. “I don’t understand.” Lockheart stared at her. Celestia could tell he was serious. His body had tensed up and his eyes were completely focused on her as if looking for any sign of weakness or unconscious reaction that might betray her. Celestia stood firm. She cleared her mind and mentally prepared herself; Celestia was certain Lockheart was trying to get ready to read her emotions. “It is both a question and a story in itself, though.” Lockheart firmly stated. His gaze didn’t let up. Celestia nodded, as she prepared herself. “Would it matter if I was a changeling.” He finally replied. Celestia blinked. “That’s the question?” Lockheart shook his head. “Not exactly, as there is more to it than that… I have to say all of it, otherwise the question itself will not be said.” Celestia took a deep breath and nodded. Lockheart’s question wasn’t so much a question… but a statement to see just how Celestia would react. If she could handle what he said, then he would answer her question. Lockheart took a deep breath. “Would it matter if I was a changeling?” His horn glowed as Celestia prepared her mental wards. She didn’t know if it was an attempt to influence her emotions or an attempt to read them, but all she had to do was listen to the story. “Would it matter if I lied to you about who I said I was?” Lockheart firmly replied to himself. Celestia shook her head “Considering you are used to living in disguise, I wouldn’t say I would blame you.” Lockheart sighed. “I’m sorry, but can you... just wait until the end?” Celestia stared at Lockheart. “Wait… your question is not to have me answer?” He shook his head “It’s not a quick answer, but… essentially, it’s a story about two friends sitting across the table. One says the comment off hand, and the other one asks why. The first one simply asks “Would it matter?” and the other one says “Of course it matters” and so in turn the first friend asks why would it matter.” Celestia tried to wrap her head around the question that… oddly enough, was currently in question. “Then what is the point of the question, if not to answer it?” Lockheart hung his head and sighed in very much the same way Luna would when she talked about one of her paintings. “It is not the question itself that matters, but what it brings into question, and the reaction it brings as it forces the listener to think about the question that has both been spoken and has yet to be spoken.” Celestia slowly nodded, “And that question would be… if it would matter.” “Exactly.” Lockheart replied in a heavy sigh. “So just think about the question as I repeat the tale. I’ll let you know when I finally ask you the real question, and if you can respond… then I will answer your question. Is that fair?” Celestia nodded, as she figured it was a fair trade. All she had to do was simply wait for Lockheart's question-story to reach the end so she could finally learn an important answer. Lockheart started from the beginning again, “Would it matter if I was a changeling.” Celestia prepared herself for any tricks he might have. The only question she had to answer would be the question he would let her know she had to answer. The rest of the questions were simply a means to distract her and hopefully let him escape without giving an answer to her question. “Would it matter to you, if I lied to you about who I said I was?” Celestia took a deep breath as she mentally applied the emotional persona she used in court. In a flash, she had reduced herself to fit the mental mask of 'Princess Celestia', and waited for him to finish with a expression of beatific tranquility. “Would it matter to you that you would never have accepted me, if I had never spun that lie in the first place?” Oddly enough, that part of the question was rather… close to home. “Would you think I only came here to feed on the love of those around me?” Lockheart's horn continued to glow, yet Celestia stayed calm. “Would my actions suddenly change, now that you know who I am?” Then to Celestia's surprise, green flames consumed Lockheart's body for an instant. His coat had become almost midnight black in color. His mane had changed to a green color that shined with an otherworldly appearance. He stared at her with eyes similar to Nightmare Moon's; his eyes were filled with unspoken hatred. His voice now carried more emotion as he said, “Would it matter that those around me curse me for my lineage, despite the fact I haven’t committed any crimes, other than feeding the lie of my disguise?” Celestia stayed calm. A smile appeared on his face. “Is it wrong for me to want to come out of the shadows, and wish for something more?” Then a very familiar chill suddenly ran down Celestia's spine. “Is it wrong for me to also wish for the affection of those around me, even if I know that they despise me?” His voice somehow whispered into her ears. His eyes focused on her. She could see a hint of rage and almost bitter jealousy in those eyes. He stayed focused and refused to break eye sight as he continued, “Would you have ever given me the chance if you really knew the truth?” Celestia held her ground; she called upon the countless years of listening to delegations to keep her calm and not show a flicker of emotion. Lockheart turned away from Celestia, and the green flames consumed his body again, returning him to his usual disguise as he said, “So would it matter if I was a changling?” He turned his head back to stare at her. “Would it matter in the end?" He sighed, and Celestia could see the sorrow in his eyes. "That is my question, Celestia.” Celestia blinked as she had been momentarily been caught off guard. This was where she was supposed to answer the question so he would answer her question? “It wouldn’t.” Celestia calmly replied with a small smile on her face. Then to her dismay, he smiled, revealing his sharp teeth as he venomously replied, “Even considering how the public would react if they learned of my lineage?” Celestia opened her mouth, and Lockheart sighed, “Don’t bother saying anything. Your expression says it all.” “Was that the question?” Celestia calmly asked as she did her best to again mask her emotion. Lockheart shrugged. “Actually, that's the end of the story. Essentially, it’s about two friends who ask a simple question as one couldn’t help but wonder about it. Still, the story never says if the first friend was really a changeling or not… but in the end, it didn’t matter.” Celestia took a deep breath as she prepared herself. “Why didn’t it matter?” Lockheart rubbed his chin. “Because it’s easy to say something without thinking about it until the truth of the situation hits you. That was the point of the other question being asked after the question had been asked. It's kind of hard to explain without making the story lose it's meaning." Celestia couldn’t help but feel a little bit uneasy after hearing his “Story” as it fell a little bit too close to home… especially if somepony replaced the word “changeling” with “Luna’s son” during the “transformation sequence” Lockheart had done. Celestia nodded, and she tried not to let it bother her as she said, “And what about my question?” Lockheart looked away from Celestia before saying, “Because I am not you.” “Can you explain?” Celestia replied as she couldn’t help but wonder if he was trying to evade the question. Lockheart sighed as he didn’t meet her gaze. “Simply because...I..." He sighed out loud, "... am not you. They do not want an unknown to suddenly come into their lives. They do not want a… pony who does not match what they expect. They do not care who or what I am simply because…" Lockheart now gazed at Celestia as he said. “I am not you.” His words seemed to burn themselves into her mind. “It’s just as simple as that. In the end… it wouldn’t matter.” Lockheart got up from his seat and started to walk to the door. Celestia thought about what he said for a minute, because what he said… had reminded her of Luna. Celestia watched Lockheart reach the door, then she said, “Is that all?” Lockheart simply turned around as a bitter smile appeared on his face. “If I'm telling the truth or if I’m lying? Would it matter either way?” Celestia sighed as it wasn’t a straight answer. “Just do me a favor and… think before you act.” Lockheart tried his best to chuckle. “Who do you think I am?” Celestia shook her head. “A pony who’s worried about his friend?” Lockheart blinked. “What?” Celestia then realized that Lockheart didn’t know… she hadn’t told him when he entered the room, and nopony must have informed him of what had happened. Celestia hung her head as she truly felt sorrow for him. “Valkyrie is in recovery… she was turned to stone by a cockatrice.” Lockheart's body froze as the knowledge struck him. “A mare calling herself Brass Balls used it when Valkyrie had tried to capture her… Brass took the cockatrice with her and escaped.” Celestia looked up at Lockheart to see his reaction. He simply stood there, as if he didn’t know how to make sense of the world. Celestia knew she should have told him sooner. “I thought somepony had informed you before you…” Lockheart was gone from the room, and she could hear him running in the hallway. He had ran to rescue a pony he only knew for two days from the Everfree Forest. She had no idea what he would do with the name of a pony who had cursed Valkyrie. Celestia shook her head as she thought to herself, “What did he see when he asked that question? Should I have told him that I didn't care if he was related to Luna... or that I care for him because he is my nephew?” Celestia sat in the room trying to think about the question that he had said... and the unspoken question that he was too frightened to ask. Most of all, Celestia hoped that if he really was Luna's foal... she hoped that Lockheart didn't inherit his mother's wrath.