"Remember the plan," announced Celestia to everyone in the cart. "Find out what's brewing in Tall Tale, gather information on the Crystal Heart if possible, and rendezvous back near the Unicorn Range."
A degree of fear, an uncertain reluctance, still hung over the ponies as they all wandered out the locomotive, followed closely by Serath. They turned round and waved a hopeful goodbye to their princess, and exchanged nods of agreement.
The door slid shut, and as the locomotive began to move again. Corvo, from the edge of a window, called back: "A word of advice from someone who has visited strange locations before: mind yourselves, have some courtesy, but keep a watch all about you."
A blast of smoke spat into the air, and the train sped up, and was now accelerating far down the track.
"Tall Tale is roughly seven kilometer south," said Luna. "We must move quickly and without straggle should we wish to achieve maximum efficiency. Let us move on!"
Such was the damp and mist that it was a while before daylight could break through the clouds, and it was nearly impossible to distinguish anything from afar. A white fog began to loll atop the fields and trees, a pulp of struggling visibility, moving in irregular streams by the chilling wind. Fortunately the fellowship carried a map—a fairly accurate one—and without much of an obstacle navigated their way round and about the geography and down the desired path. When they were only one or two kilometers away from the town, wandering up a hill and going round a bend, a conversation ensued.
"I've been thinking," began Twilight, readily, "if Vanhoover really has managed to apprehend Sombra, and we win once this and for all, what do we expect to find in Tall Tale?"
"We have got to be safe, and make no exceptions," replied Luna. "Why do you ask? Do you believe that this trip is a vain one?"
"No, not that, I don't think," said Twilight again. "It just feels weird. I have this strange feeling, maybe some silly premonition, that what's waiting for us in Tall Tale will be more surprising than what Corvo and Celestia and Discord are expecting to find."
"Fear of the unknown is the strongest sort of fear," said Serath at once. "The more mysterious, the more despair, as I like to say."
"Serath," said Luna, gazing at Serath with a vague concentration of astonishment, "would you consider yourself a philosopher?"
"A... philosopher?" he pronounced slowly, and with contemplation. "I don't believe I do."
"You seem to have a knack for theorizing."
"Theorizing? Oh, not at all. I may be decent, I suppose, depending on who you ask; Corvo is better at it."
"You guys are pretty different if you ask me," added Rainbow Dash with plain acknowledgement. "Both you and Corvo, I mean. He's really, er, disagreeable, and you? Heh, you seem like a bit of a pushover, no offence."
Serath was unsure of how to respond to this, and merely shrugged, as though unfocused on what they were asking of him. Luna, furthermore, noticed the transformed expression on his face, and added at once: "How would you describe your friendship with each other?"
"What do you expect to hear?"
"I expect to hear the explanation of a rather stable one; you two seem to have much in common, though I really do sense a sort of difference."
"No two friends are perfectly aligned in that way."
"I never said they were, but you strike me as the type who can befriend anyone in particular."
And indeed, Serath really did strike the ponies as the likable 'type'—in his own way, that is. But above all else, the ponies' feelings towards this friend of Corvo's were mixed, although far more inclined to embrace future, more friendly conversation.
"You really need to understand what we're thinking, Serath," said Twilight observantly. "A lot of paranoia about Corvo remained ever since he left, and now with you here the only instinctive respond would be hostility. But Princess Celestia seemed pretty sure in trusting you; we can't be one hundred percent sure on that matter, no doubt, but your help can prove to be valuable, and we're trying our hardest to move you into the more favorable circle. We just need your support on that."
"I hope to deliver then," said Serath, resuming his smile. "I myself put a great deal of trust in your venerable princess."
"And coming back to my question—?" said Luna with a searching tone.
"I believe our friendship stems from common likes and dislikes, plain and simple, as any psychologist would explain to a child." Quite beside himself he spoke with a casual air; and despite her efforts Luna found it impossible not to maintain such an agreeable discussion. He went on: "We talk, and talk a lot, in order to remain informed on all facets of our city; we enjoy challenging each other's viewpoints, and playing chess, and we find much value in the help we provide each other."
"Help?" echoed Luna differentially.
"I believe friends help each other whenever convenient or beneficial, and I suspect you ponies know this, if not for the product of your synergy, like right now."
"Good way to put it," said Twilight with a sheepish chuckle, and a faint smile crossed over her features. She thought for a while, paused and thought again, far too concerned with what to say rather than saying it, and at last, as one concludes the trivial complements before discussing the main topic, said: "And what about this philosophical side you alluded to Corvo?"
Serath's face turned quite pale in that moment, quite beside himself, and hummed thoughtfully and with vague indignation. "We debate quite a lot," he answered, casting a glance over to Twilight, then hurriedly looked forward once more. "Nothing in line with heated arguing, but more of, I would put it, intellectual sparring sessions. We possess many different ideas and discuss these ideas, which is what I meant my challenging each other's viewpoints."
"Oh, I get it," interjected Pinkie. "Like when deciding how you should solve a friendship problem?"
"Not particularly. Our friendship is not in any problematic waters as far as I can see."
"Care to elaborate on that, dear?" inquired Rarity.
"For starters, I guess, we often converse about any recent political news, mostly in our own country."
"Po-li-ti-cal?" Pinkie pronounced with an effort, and lowered her eyebrows.
"What news do y'all talk about exactly?" asked Applejack with intense curiosity.
"Er, the legislature concerning our government—parliament, and how they should go on about taxes, their military, the marketplace, ideological regimes, that kind of news." Serath was profoundly bewildered, even taken aback, by the extraordinary faces and questioning eyes the ponies led on to him. It was as if their long-held presuppositions were unexpectedly shattered, and they did not know what to say next.
"Why would you have to talk about any of that stuff?" asked Fluttershy at last.
"So neither of us grows bored," replied Serath, so readily in his reply, in fact, that he shrugged without noticing it.
"And what's a parliament, if ya don't mind mah askin'?" asked Applejack curiously.
"Ah, I failed to realize," said Serath, as though disappointed in himself. "You ponies are ruled under a diarchy, or at least all the signs point to that type of government. And a monarch whom you trust wholeheartedly—very lucky."
"You think we're in luck for living beneath Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's rule?" put in Twilight with a hint of animation. "I mean, regarding back to the wilderness or the dragons' homelands, you can say that, bluntly so, but hearing it from you—and you have nothing to compare Equestria to in relation to this world's other locations—what's it like living in... the place, where you live in, er..."
"Dunwall, to be certain," said Serath with a faint, if not pale, smile; "and to be even surer, the north-west Isle, right besides—ah, I shall not bore you with a slog of my history."
"Please don't hesitate," said Luna, almost mechanically, as if she were subtlety faking some sort of weariness. "We're not going anywhere, ought to pass the time by listening to new experiences I'm unfamiliar with. Actually, please do: living for thousands of years is only wonderful at the start."
"You've piqued my interest as well," said Rarity, nodding. "Our species—they can only get so different from one another, and you must hold a wealth of knowledge to share, hardly a bore."
Given in to these unexpected and most interested requests, Serath, failing to see any sort of harm in telling these ponies the basic history of his world—the common sense every child in school would know—told them of Dunwall's history. Now then, I won't actually outline the political junctures of Dunwall because I don't wish to bore you yourself, but if you must know, in Serath's brief words:
"Dunwall is the capital city of our country, subsequently powered by whale oil. It was established under a legislation some two hundred years back, which put the ruling empresses side-by-side with a limiting parliament—if you don't know, a bureaucracy. Beforehand, like most of the laboring world, absolutism took hold of the city. In a mischievous spout of war the king was eventually overthrown. Nowadays, we work by a parliament government, that is to say, a fusion between the executive and legislative branches, which, for now, is the reason we took up stable sovereignty a long while back, that is to say, after the war."
This is only but a sizable piece of information. Serath, unable to restrain himself, went on for nearly five minutes concerning the historical events which led to the first empress, the multiple factions which dug up old civil war tendencies, and their current situation now, with the (in his opinion flawed) democratic elitism.
All the ponies learned rather quickly how little they understood these specificities of political life, all save Luna, of course. And maybe Twilight, if only by her studious nature.
"You know, girls," began Rainbow Dash, chuckling in caustic tones, "that feeling when you, like, totally don't get something so much you don't even know where to begin when asking questions. Oh, uh, I'm totally talking about you guys!"
They all agreed quickly, even excited to get this history lesson over with, albeit with ironic eyebrows raised at Rainbow's last remark. Serath didn't mind this blind disregard, much to his surprise. He couldn't possibly blame them when he himself knew very little of Equestria. But then again, he would think, these political ties are extraordinarily common. They had to exist in Equestria.
"I know what elitism is," commented Twilight bluntly, but nonetheless inclined to extreme curiosity. "But what's a 'democratic' elitist regime?"
"A small group of higher-ups, most of whom are in charge of the economy," said Serath fixedly. "Their influence is entirely independent from the state's elections."
"This democratic elitism—you called it flawed," said Luna. "I wonder what you would propose: equal power among the citizens?"
"Not entirely," sighed Serath, as though confused himself. His first stood in firm support under his chin, and he kept his walking pace consistent with that of Luna's. "Please bear in mind that I am a doctor, not a graduate of politics, but I do loosen my time every once in a while to think about how the world works, and how it ought to: practice to theory is best, I would say."
"You mentioned the way Corvo and you hold friendly debates," said Twilight, as if to change the subject. "Know what his comments would be if he were walking at our side right now?"
A quick, staggered laugh escaped Serath's lips; he looked up in contemplation, only for an instance, and cast a glance to Twilight. "I cannot say with certainty. I am not Corvo."
"I meant what's your guess," she said again with expectation.
"He is somewhat of a patriot," replied Serath after a pause. "Well, this is to say, he is well above my feelings in that regard. Although, now that I think on it, he has been acting very lukewarm about his city."
Luna momentarily considered this odd sentiment Serath displayed for his friend, but only to learn all she could of Serath's personality and interests to, in her mind, be on guard should anything unfortunate occur.
"This does not cause any conflict between you two, these deep-rooted and rather sensitive disagreements?" she inquired at length.
"Makes no difference to me," said Serath, completely steadfast in his wording. "There are very few things I require from someone if we are to be compatible: I wish for them to be intellectually curious; I wish for them to be unafraid to display a sense of humour; and above all else, if we are to become friends, their loyalty."
"Well struck," said Luna with incredible satisfaction.
At last they had arrived. The remote village of Tall Tale stood seemingly crooked about half a kilometer off, which came into sight when the company took a turn round a particular road. It looked like this town was built by ancestors many generations prior to now over several contradicting hills—of course, by contradicting these hills lumped over one another, as though fighting for the spaciousness of territory, under the watchful sky. A single acre, assumed to be wilting now with very little vegetation, lay flat on the east side of the community. A pony or two would wander by, from behind one leaning house to the next, every minute. By the time the company had reached the first signpost, which stood almost touching an aging fence, they had witnessed at least a dozen ponies, the inhabitants. It was decently populated at best.
It was not long before a pegasus stallion of dubious attire flew over to them in a moment's notice, bowed respectfully at the sight of Princess Luna and Princess Twilight, and addressed himself as Air Hoof.
"Greetings there!" this was how he began. "Not often we get visitors at daybreak, so please excuse us if any of our services appear to be unaccustomed at first. I humbly ask what brings you to Tall Tale? I go by Air Hoof."
Unique styles of names often come with different cultures, this I know, thought Serath; but Air Hoof? I suspect that in Equestria parents pull words at random from censored dictionaries when naming their kids.
"Pleasure to make your acquaintance," said Luna, shaking the stallion's hoof shortly after his bow. "These are my friends." She stepped aside and the six ponies wandered over. Naturally they all said their names and were equally polite in their introductions.
However, Air Hoof raised an eyebrow and pointed at Serath. "I've met griffons before, even a couple of yaks in my time, but I've never seen anything like you before."
"Serath Hemsworth," said Serath out of practiced habit, although an air of nervousness rose in his tone. But he instantly noticed this and cleared his throat. "I may be outlandish in appearance, but truth be told, or written, this is my first time in Equestria as well."
"Oh," said Air Hoof with a visible nod, and then a smile. "You seem pleasant enough, a far cry from what a monster would be. Please, if this is a visit, feel free to stop by the inn. Auntie Grape Shot can tell you a bit more about our humble abode."
"Please tell me a spa is in use not a long's way off," announced Rarity, clearly bringing attention to herself. "Look at these hooves: they're practically begging for a rest in the steam!"
"I'll join you, Rarity," said Spike with a wide grin. He chuckled shamefully, however, at the mockingly straight face he received from Twilight.
"Ooh, ooh, I hope you have a bakery here!" said Pinkie with animation, bouncing forth for a closer look at this village.
"Yes, I would very much like to see what your inn is peddling," said Serath, also requesting secondary distractions. "In fact, I think no one here has been treated to a proper breakfast just yet."
"I must remind everypony that we are here on business," said Luna, louder than the rest, but not quite a shout. "I'm afraid courtesies have to be cut short. To ensure the safety of Equestria and its citizens we are obliged to ask a few questions, and possibly an investigation is needed, if it's not a bother in your context."
Air Hoof danced his eyes from pony to pony, then to Serath, then to Luna once again, and hummed thoughtfully. "Hmm, yes, quite, I understand if you've any current duties. Please, at least let me guide you to the local inn. Only a block down that way. I shall answer any and all questions you may pose, princess, and perhaps your companions can peruse whatever catches their interest. Marketplace is still well and alive here."
They agreed, of course, and were led down the dirt path, past a dozen houses, some taller than others, at either side. Minding the unattractive aesthetics of this town—with the bent dwellings, lack of flowers, and dull colours—everything played out normally. It was merely an offshoot village, and a large village at that, though not as expansive as Ponyville. Several ponies waved plainly as the travelers swept by, with a few lot even bowing quickly. One thing was unmistakable: amid Tall Tale, Serath stood out the most intensely.
* * *
"I tell you: the rook easily hooks the bishop in usability," Corvo went on insistently. "Not much to learn from the latter if you manage to have the knights figured out. But the rook reaches maximum effect when complemented by pawns, which are themselves integral."
"I have to disagree," reproached Celestia, readily, now moving her gaze from the window. "Most of the best tricks in the book puts more importance on the bishop. You can't ignore how far it can reach, given the right circumstances."
"Practice to theory," said Corvo again. "You can go on until the sun eclipses the moon about how the bishop could be of assistance, and it is, I don't mean to disregard it like that, but such a piece is not nearly as much a utility as the rook, which the best players take advantage of the most."
"And the queen beats both of them!" put in Discord with fake enthusiasm, as though in a desperate attempt to pass the time by joining in this conversation, even if it did not interest him in the slightest. No investment on his side.
"We were not talking about that," said Corvo dubiously.
"I know," deadpanned Discord. He slumped back onto his seat, accompanied by a deflating sound. "I've heard the stories, and now I hear the present—why must you and Princess Celestia always talk about chess? Where's the sport if both teams kick off with even opportunities?" He then added grumpily, which seemed to be an effect of his boredom: "Besides, perfect play on both sides shall always lead to a tie."
"Perfect play does not exist," said Corvo.
"It can," countered Celestia.
"It can, but it does not," said Corvo again, carried by a complacent certainty. "And I must ask, Celestia, out of sheer spite, for the sake of knowing: when was the last time you handled a round?"
"Two years ago, against you. Remember?" she replied with equal weight. "I like to spend my free time on more productive endeavors. And," she now spoke with admiration, and was entirely aware of this, "there's no entertainment in it anymore ever since you left. You're the strongest player I've ever encountered, truth be told."
"I can name up to a dozen contrarians whom could very well give me a hard time," said Corvo, sighing. "I entered a tournament last year, in fact. I well-funded one. Lost on the third round."
"How many rounds did your 'folk' work up?" asked Discord.
"Seven."
"I hope either of you two kept any conversation starters in store for later," said Celestia, rising from her seat. "We're here."
"Oh, goodie!" sang Discord, teleporting from his cushion to in-between Corvo and Celestia. He observed the distance with squinted eyes, as though piercing through a white fog. His wry smile, reflective of the dubious mischievous at the edge of his mind, widened even further as he rubbed his palms. "Well now, what's the plan? You barge through in a rush of heroism, ever so adamant on the city's safety? Or do we interrogate King Sombra, beat the information outta that rascal? Or maybe you two stay put, and I'll be the one to get the credit!"
"Not what I had in mind, Discord," said Celestia, making her way down the aisle. "We'll be met by the security, naturally. They expect us. I will be the one to talk with King Sombra, if he truly does lie in chains. First and foremost—and we better do this fast—we have to meet the mayor first. Corvo, you'll be by my side the whole way through. Discord, don't try to scare anypony off, and if you can, see if you sense any dark magic in the air. Think you can do it?"
"Well, when you word it like it's a challenge, I just have to accept," replied Discord, losing his own childish exterior to better focus on the matter at hand. "But you didn't say I have to stay close, so I'm off to business. Good luck!" He snapped his fingers sharply, and was off.
"Wait!" Celestia called back instantly. "Ugh, fine. Let's get going. The train is coming to a stop."
"Celestia," called Corvo, quietly, but in grave surprise, his observations locked on the window, like something were holding him in place. He rose from his seat at last, and cast an intent interest in Celestia's bewildered face. He crossed his arms. "The case may have gotten a tad more complicated."
As the train slowed forth, the distant structures swiped by one another, until it revealed a bright blaze in what looked like the city's central point. When the locomotive finally screeched and shook still, there was no mistake to be made: waves if bending heat capped dozens of buildings, even spreading onto the streets. Dull shrieks and cries sounded off as they dropped off and approached the main road.
"What happened?" asked Celestia to no one in particular. The whiplash of confusion and terror remained washed on her protective instinct to get there as quickly as possible, which transformed into action as soon as this new revelation revealed itself.
Without much objection she teleported the two of them there, right at the city gate, which had been twisted inwardly, half its bars on the floor. The whole city was caught in a torrent of flames. While the buildings themselves weren't nearly as tall nor as expansive as that of Manehattan's, this was seemingly impossible nonetheless.
"How could this have happened?" said Celestia, aghast, turning her head about in vain for clues. Guard-ponies busied themselves on the sidewalks, evacuating as many residents as needed. The streets were in a frenzy.
Discord appeared, fortunately enough, along the lines of rapidly snapping his claws and paws, summoning up levitating water hoses to dull the flames, or large trampolines to catch the falling ponies. At last he caught sight of Celestia and (a momentarily dizzied) Corvo, and dashed to them right off.
"This is not what I expected!" he spat out, in utter annoyance. "Everypony here has lost their minds!"
"Let me take the tiller," said Corvo, shaking off the effects of teleportation. "Sombra is obviously behind this attack, and this wildfire cannot have happened in the course of a few hours."
"It was spreading when I got here," said Discord.
"Two things to know," said Celestia, stretching her wings for takeoff. "How King Sombra managed to do this, and why. If it's to get our attention, he'd still be here."
"Princess Celestia!" called out a guard. "Thank goodness you are here!"
"What happened?" she asked with piercing authority.
"As you must have read in the letter, we apprehended King Sombra," he went on, hastily, as if something else were on his mind. "We kept him in the interrogation room, applied several anti-magic tools to keep him in check. Yet before we knew it, he vanished, just like that, and the fire flashed up, one flame after the other, almost endlessly."
"Discord," said Celestia, "you keep doing what you're up to. Get as many ponies out of here as you can manage. I want nothing more than to go after King Sombra, but I can't abandon these guards just yet."
"I can," said Corvo, neatly making certain his sword was besides him. "Let me race to the city's center. What? No, I will find it, no need for a guide."
The guard, far too distraught to ask about or, frankly, care who Corvo was, blurted out to both of them: "That's the problem! That whole section seems to be cut off. Too much smoke to handle, and not a single living soul has managed to escape. But what shakes me the most," he spoke after a large and unsteady breath, "is what is on everypony's minds. None of them around city hall or downtown are even trying to escape."
"You lot stay here," said Corvo, in the beginning of a long sprint, "I will head there. Do what you must!"
Before Celestia could even raise an objection, she witnessed cries for help from within a burning house, and rushed to it in flight. Discord simply shrugged to the guard, who went on to his own business, and flew up to help as well.
This felt strange indeed. The further Corvo proceeded to the center of Vanhoover the quieter it became, save for the loud waves of fire. Darkening smoke began to clog up, clouding his vision. At that moment we wished nothing more for a fire-extinguisher spell, but his Mark could only create them. At last he took cover in a house, apparently burnt black but freed from the flames altogether.
Smoke is too thick, he processed. I saw this city hall the guard spoke of, four blocks further down. I cannot get through like this. He looked over and ahead, viewing the rough outline of a large, circular construct, much like the one in Ponyville, but wider in diameter. Come now, Corvo, what can you recall? Books on house fires? No, those are rubbish. Survival guides on how to survive the smoke? Ah, enough with the jests; I wish to pass through the smoke, not dwell in it. I remember when Rarity proposed that riddle about the two guards in the prison cell. How did I figure it out? Of course, mathematical proof: a positive can only equal a positive when transitioned through another positive, but should it join with a negative, its true nature can be revealed. If I must pass something beyond this smoke...
He jumped up, ran out of the house and towards the smoke.
I may only create heat, but if the laws of thermodynamics apply, I can move the smoke in a chain to areas with less potential energy, thus decreasing its initial energy overall.
With his Mark brazenly ignited he swiped his arm; the smoke turned a dull red, and distortions took hold. Soon enough the smoke seemingly grew heavier, falling down into dense concentrations on the ground, and new walls of fire shot up on the sidewalks. Next, Corvo added in a wind blast, the strongest he could reasonably muster, and momentarily cleared a path. Lastly he slowed time—which was the limits of his body—and ran straight through.
After an entire session of his breath held his Mark turned black—a whole minute of agony, it seemed—the smoke collapsed and exploded back into the air. Luckily for him he overcame this obstacle and found himself on the main road again, if only by the skin of his teeth.
Hundreds of ponies were mindlessly running all about, with no notion of his existence. There was town hall, ablaze as everything else looked to be. The front double door was shaking in and out, accompanied by broad bangs, like a whole crowd were attempting to escape. He steadied his breathing—for using that many spells for such a period of time straight fatigued him greatly—and jogged up the steps. Something was definitely wrong here: these ponies ran around like headless chickens, desperate for life, yet remained there, at the heart of this outbreak.
He teleported up to a ledge, carefully, and slipped through an open window. There was something or other about sneaking into places such as this, without him wearing his mask, which left him growing uncomfortable, but he put this feeling at the back of his conscious.
When Corvo reached an indoor balcony, he witnessed only an even stranger sight. The place stood as a wreck, absolutely gutted, and presently alight by the flames as well. On what looked to be a stage stood the mayor, he supposed, watching with empty eyes at all the ponies trying to break free. No guards were in sight. This pony held the look of one disconnected, nonchalant about violence, and like he dreamt up every possible nightmare imaginable.
Corvo teleported to the floor and up the stage he ran.
"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.
The mayor did not respond; in fact, he even leaned to one side, catching the view of the ponies, even somewhat vexed that Corvo blocked his view.
"Where is Sombra?" Corvo asked once again, nearing the end of his patience.
"He gave me a promise," said the mayor with a strange calmness.
Corvo looked round for anything to set his eye on, at the same time taking out his folding sword and mechanical crossbow. "Tell me what happened here."
"Mister Sombra," the mayor got out, looking down in shame, "what a lovely stallion. He came in here and promised me an interesting life. But first, I had to do him a favor."
"Some favor," remarked Corvo, and then looked back to the mayor. "Where is he?"
"Look at those ponies. All tumbling over the other, only caring about their own safety. Mister Sombra told me to expect that, but to not accept it."
Corvo heaved a long sigh. This pony was clearly out of his mind.
"At the very least tell me where he has gone."
"Upstairs!" spat out the mayor in feverish animation. "He said to not worry about it, though." The mayor took small steps closer to Corvo.
"Upstairs?" said Corvo. "I suppose I can run up, perhaps use my Dark Vision to scan the area." He started to walk away, but the mayor shrieked, and grabbed at his arm.
"Where are you heading off to!" he cried.
Corvo attempted to shake him off, and with serious effort, but the mayor's grip was too dedicated at keeping him put, only further made obvious by the frantic look in his eyes.
"Where else do you think? Get off of me!"
"No! No! If you find Mister Sombra, he'll surely kill me. He promised me! Don't—"
Corvo at once shot a bolt through his skull, and the mayor flung back with a thud, now still as stone and caught in the fire.
He lit his Mark again, the entirety of the environment now overlapped with a blue filter; every single pony was outlined in a golden glow, even a couple of still figures up above, and some still moving.
Corvo made his way up the building, ignoring the cries for help. Every few floors he would cast a glance out an opening, to witness the faraway buildings and houses destroyed by the circling fire, and silhouettes of ponies frantically galloping from every single angle.
Trouble arose, unfortunately. On the way up, much like the mayor, several ponies—all donning office-appropriate uniforms—went as far as to tackle him, in a way to prevent him from reaching the top.
Corvo managed well, avoiding these instances, and slaying a few he found particularly troublesome. At last he reached the rooftop, and there sat King Sombra, gazing upon the city like it were a portrait.
As if previously rehearsed, Sombra turned round and waved to Corvo.
"Didn't think you'd get up here," he began, that sense of mindfulness in his expression, but nevertheless amused in his own tidings. "Did mayor Puff Cloud reveal my location?"
"He did," replied Corvo with gravity to his phrasing. He wandered forth until both he and Sombra stood facing each other, some five yards apart.
"Hmm, pity. Looks like I'll have to garrote him after all, just like I specified."
"No need," said Corvo, almost restlessly. He spun back his sword and stored it away beneath his blue frock coat, but this only led to him holding his crossbow with two concerned hands.
"I gotcha," said Sombra, extremely satisfied with himself. "But you make decent company, Corvo. It's good that you're here. Was starting to drift off in boredom, see. This place reeks of filth."
"What were you expecting?"
Sombra hummed to himself with added reflection, and, much to his intention, shrugged after a second or two of thought. "I don't know. Scent of roses?"
"Would have been nice."
"I'm obliged to agree." Sombra now smiled a caustic smile. "Don't look at me like that! I know why you're here: to put an end to my line of work. Don't get your feathers rustled over what's been going on for me and what's not been going on for you. Despite the appalling things ponies have said about me, I tend to disagree. I am as honest as can be and have the heart of a happy child. I keep it in a jar on my desk."
"Curious," said Corvo, "how did this all fall into place? I suspect you know Celestia is a way's off, lending her hoof to the guards. Discord is here, too. A promise—mayor mentioned it."
"Do you think my plan is complicated?"
"Probably."
"But it is ever so simple." Sombra cleared his throat. "I let myself be captured, yes. Most of Equestria by now has me on its mind, the shadowy smoke I conjured up, evacuate from the country, et cetera, et cetera. I was, of course, hanged up for questioning, that is to say, imprisoned. Magic-absorbing locks, too. I talked with a certain interrogator, and yet I was dying to leave. Under different circumstances that would be a proposition, but I digress. I, ahem, convinced the interrogator to let me see the mayor. He came. We spoke for about half an hour, and all I did was make a few promises; in fact, any promise worded correctly shall capture the will of anypony. He let me go of the locks, convinced I was sincere—"
"You expect me to believe they simply let you out, just like that?" interrupted Corvo, his crossbow halfway raised to Sombra now.
"But they did!" reproached Sombra, and his next words left his mouth with cold earnestness. "I told the mayor that his life was unsatisfied, and he took my rhetoric with feeling. I told him he could do so much more, that I hadn't killed anypony yet—which is technically true—that I was there to negotiate myself. We went for a walk. I even persuaded the guards.
"And, you know, the mayor put his heart on me. The mad stallion he is, or turned out to be, so many troubles in his life. Horrible, really, unlike you, Corvo. He went on and on about how soothing my voice was to him, and even some of his secretaries joined in on the conversation. I discussed their matters as well. Everything here occurred in the last six hours. What I had to say spread, of course."
The careful recount of Sombra's story took him to look down in disappointment, and sigh heavily; that expression, ever so mysterious in its possibilities, paused the moment—only for a moment, that is.
"But why not set a bit of excitement?" he said again with a horribly twisted smile. "You are only as good as the opinion your enemy holds of you. Well now, my magic was freed from the suppressors, and I could influence those more conveniently, only then complemented by my ideas. I didn't know what I was doing. Even so, I found myself dictating the actions of most ponies within city hall, and advised them ever so politely to let me use all my magic. A mare in particular even wanted some alone time with me."
"You used your magic to burn the city down," said Corvo at last, matter-of-factly.
"I only wanted to light a few buildings at first," he laughed, "but what do you know? I got carried away, I guess, and created flames so bright it drove everypony frantic. Naturally, just to see what would happen, out of sheer spitefulness, I locked every single door here; I wished to observe the ponies, wished to see what they would do, out of curiosity. I never meant for all of this, just a stick in the bucket, nothing more. And before I regained control, everything else was covered in fire. And you know what's the worst part?" he coughed out, unable to control himself, both laughing and gritting his teeth. "I even told some ponies to shut off access to the water plant; it took a bit of convincing, but they did it for me. And all I did was add more fuel to the ever-growing fire. I can't believe what has come out of this!"
Corvo, much to the rarity of Sombra's shock, kept himself in utter stillness, his face that of someone who was gazing at birds.
"And why do any of this?" he asked.
"Because... I can," replied Sombra, close to a personal undertone. "The world is so full of intriguing ponies, or any other sentient creatures, like people, like you. The point of a civilized society is to live together despite our prejudice towards one another, despite these differences. Some ponies simply do not see that. So I myself, at the end of it all, want to know what it's like to live in a place with no differences at all. What's the best way to come about that?"
"We exist to disagree, nothing more, all of us," said Corvo with a smirk, letting his voice carry his mood. "Which is why I am here. You cannot get something out of nothing, and if we were all to agree, you have no substance. That is your motivation, I suspect: to be the last pony alive."
"Wr-on-g!" Sombra spewed out in an incredible fit. "I made all that up, I admit it; yes, I did! Just to see what you'd say, that is. I may twist the truth every now and again, but I do so with humility, to better understand the consequences for our actions and, better yet, our words. If I act like a buffoon, it's seriously justified in the end, I think. I lie to end my lies, and I comment on matters like these—to meddle, that is—just for the absolute sake of it. I didn't mean a thing of that, I said it because... because... I can!" he laughed more violently than before.
"Still unable to call myself satisfied," said Corvo, his smirk fading away. "I have experience with lunatics like you, so let us skip the flirting. I do not care what your intentions are, what they could be."
"I get it. Fine. Maybe I kill for the sport of it, maybe not. You want me to come with you, right? I'm positively ecstatic to hear what Princess Celestia has to say."
"You are not getting off cheap," said Corvo, angling his aim so that it was directly parallel to Sombra. "Unsavory as it seems there is a silver lining here—on my behalf, that is." He snapped the trigger, and a bolt pierced Sombra's horn, halting halfway. Sombra himself stumbled back, but his face showed no signs of pain, only contempt.
Corvo creased his brow and groaned at what happened next. His horn, along with the bolt, vaporized into smoke at first, and then disappeared completely. Right away, forming out of the bursting black bubbles and green hue of magic, a new horn shot upwards. Sombra twisted his neck, evidently in discomfort, and let a small smile curve on his lips, like he were enjoying it somehow.
"That hurt," he said gravely, and lit his horn in dark magic. "Maybe this will hurt you a little more."
On reaction Corvo activated his Mark as well, directed his palm to Sombra, with the intention to possess him, for he felt a cool irritation pass through his head. In harmony both of them entered into the mind of the other.
* * *
Serath and company at last reached the inn Air Hoof so proudly spoke of. They entered to find at least five tables on either side, and round the corner a door leading off to a second floor. The counter was there, up against the wall; an elderly mare, a unicorn, navigated several bottles and mugs from a shelf onto the a small cabinet. Her face was gaunt, with shallow eyes and greying hair, her heavy cheeks evident of her proud ownership of this so-called establishment, yet little history could be evaluated. Nothing necessarily off, if not for her seemingly paranoid twitches, which wasn't at all on her alone, but everypony else in the inn, which only Serath managed to notice.
When the ponies entered, a small bell clanged soundly; she looked up to determine who it was this time, but nearly tripped on her own hoof to see two alicorn princesses, followed by five other ponies, and a tall being she'd never set eyes on before, wander over. Air Hoof was the last to enter.
"Your Grace! Both of ye!" she cried in animation. She rattled the bottles and mugs away, clearing the counter. "I has only got meself finished work."
"Auntie, these here are recent arrivals, and on official business," said Air Hoof. They decided to sit down, except for Twilight and Serath, who both preferred to stand and look round.
"Ah, yes, good on ye!" she said. "No Yakin' mead to be found, but no wee problem. What're ye all doin' 'ere?"
"We've a few questions to ask," said Luna, greeting auntie Grape Shot with a friendly nod. "First off: who happens to be in charge of Tall Tale?"
"Auntie usually handles the work," said Air Hoof. "Her husband, Grape Vine, is tending to the dishes in the back right now."
"Aye," said auntie Grape Shot. "I'll give ye anything, dear princess. Among us is bookkeeping, we value that! We've all our organizin' about us." She eyed the rest of the ponies intently. "And what by Celestia's sun do ye lasses want to drink?"
"I'll have a mug of cider," said Rainbow Dash, and then nudging to Applejack added: "Bet you were thinking the same, huh?"
"Yeah, ya got me," replied Applejack, rolling her eyes. "Cider please, if it's available."
"Nothing for me," said Rarity; but with neediness asked: "But please do inform me of a spa that is currently in working condition here."
"Right y'are! Ah'll get me husband in a scurry for that, dear," said auntie Grape Shot. "We're tidy full of towels, too."
"Um, I'll just have a muffin," said Pinkie Pie, indifferent to herself, but the idea came back, and she added excitedly: "Or maybe two. Or three! Or ten! What? I'm hungry!"
Auntie Grape Shot snapped a glance at Fluttershy, suddenly too, causing the yellow mare to nearly stumble back. "Oh, I'm good," she said politely, regaining her balance.
"I'm good, too," said Spike, looking nervously at Luna.
"Anyway," Luna pressed, "I would like to ask my questions, auntie Grape Shot, Air hoof."
"Of course now," said Air Hoof, bowing his head first.
"Did you or did you not receive the letter sent to you by dragon-fire mail?" asked Luna.
"Letter?" repeated Air Hoof, perplexed.
"You know, the one warning everypony about the return of King Sombra," said Rainbow Dash with a hoof gesture. "You must know about that already. Practically every city and town's been told."
"Hmm," contemplated Air Hoof uneasily, biting his lip. "Any mail we might get from royal officials would come in Grape Vine's box. He must have gotten it. Remain there; I'll go ask him."
"Or how about I find him," said Luna. She stepped away from her stool and circled round the counter. "This is important, and we haven't much time to waste. King Sombra's magic is spreading across Equestria, and you all need to leave. It is for your own safety."
"No need to rein outta yer cupboard just yet," put in auntie Grape Shot. "Just came to me! Me husband went out, he were tendin' to the dishes an hour round ago, 'fore anything else. Stay put, I'll be off now to get 'im for ye."
Luna did not consider it terribly necessary to intervene here, only at the start at first, and simply sighed and went back to her seat. "Fine," she said. "Be quick. We will stay for ten more minutes, at most, then we must be off. Venture to say the walk back to the train might even place us a bit behind schedule."
"I better go, too," said Air Hoof, with a pleasant air. "Got things to work on now. None much of note here for me. I hope you find what you're looking for, you all." He took off, slowly at first, looked from side to side, and ran through the main door.
All the while Serath and Twilight were waiting together, observing the scene with intention. Twilight was spying out for anything out of place, much like Luna, but Serath kept his arms crossed, only now noticing that every while or so at least two ponies would exit out the inn.
Fifteen minutes crawled by; Serath was tapping his boot to the wooden floor, the ponies were still waiting on their orders, as well as for the mare's husband. At last Luna ejected from her stool, her hooves stomping heavily on the floor.
"Enough waiting," she said with indignation. "Twilight, we are to find out where this Grape Vine is. It is improper to keep royalty waiting."
"A bit more finesse, I implore you," said Serath, equally ready to look round the room. "Something indeed is stirring here. Look: all the ponies are gone, we are the only ones left."
"What's that 'sposed to mean?" said Applejack, leaving her seat, as well as the others.
"I do not know," said Serath. He wandered over to the front door, about to push it open, if only for a peek outside, but he found himself unable to. The door was locked from the outside.
"What the..." was all Twilight got out. She trotted over to the door and, with marked struggle, attempted to push it open with magic. "Oof, the door isn't giving up easily. Who did this?"
There was immediate panic. All the ponies, Spike included, rushed together, all whispering about their current predicament.
"Hey, auntie Grape Shot! Air Hoof!" cried Pinkie to the emptiness of the room.
"Quiet, Pinkie!" said Rainbow Dash.
"I believe I have the key," said Luna at last; from the unexpected glow of her horn she scorched the door with a great force, spreading it outwards into smoking splinters. Daylight broke through. All that had been keeping the room from growing dark previously were the several placed lanterns.
"No one's here," commented Spike with extensive worriment. He began gnawing at his claws.
"The ponies all left through this door," said Serath, examining the town all round him. "This is simply not an accident, I am afraid." His face turned pale. "Dear oh dear, how useful it would be to be owner of a magical mark like Corvo's."
"They're playing tricks on us," said Luna defiantly. "I'll give it a bit more time; we better start searching; if not, we have to leave. It'd be terribly irresponsible to miss our get-together with my sister and the others."
"The houses are, in all likelihood, empty," said Serath, pointing to a select few. "See for yourselves. All dark inside, nothing moving, most are merely one-storied."
"How about we check that mare's husband's house," suggested Fluttershy. "Maybe he has something we could find out about."
"I'll go checking. The rest need not come," said Luna, going off at once.
"I will," said Serath hurriedly, jogging to her side. "Perhaps I will spot some oddity there, if not for anything that you miss."
"Fine," said Luna. "Come on."
Twilight and her friends decided to put their usefulness at the forefront and search nearby houses, through the windows, into the keyholes, behind where some kept garden fountains, and so on. This was done superficially, however, as none wished to fully impede on property not theirs. Even then, a pressure to leave hung in the air.
Grape Vine's house was two-storied, a nice little setting, with a small garden adorning its port side, and close to the edge of town. Its walls were made of logs, some appearing to be older than others, just like an old-fashioned cottage, yet more modernized. They knocked at first, naturally, but the front door creaked open at this. Not a single living soul could be found.
Inside only the most necessary items were either stashed or propped up. The house looked to be bigger from the outside; inside the logs bent forward towards the others, and plain furniture avoided the walls, haphazardly spread out; a low ceiling accompanied by a spinning fan lessened the available space even more.
"Look at these candles," said Serath, coming close to one of the shelves. "No dust marks. They were recently moved."
"So?" said Luna.
"Nothing of interest yet, just commenting."
He made his way to the living room and bent down for a closer inspection at the carpet. "Dirt tracks here."
"Where?" Luna came up shortly. "All I noticed was a smashed pot in the next room. Looks as if it has been there for some time. And what of these tracks?"
"Previously outdoors, he was," said Serath, rising up and following the trail. "That elderly pony might have been mistaken concerning her husband's whereabouts."
"Or she intended to deceive us."
"Look at these hoof-prints closely. He was running, possible chasing something. See there, couch is pushed off where it ought to be. Bits of bark at the wall there, where the tracks end. Seems as if a pony rubbed against the wall."
"Let me use a scanning spell," said Luna. A wall of light shone out of the tip of her horn, encompassing her entire field of view; it started at the ceiling, and gradually washed down half the living room. The spell died out, and Luna stepped back.
"I also noticed that the prints get lighter," said Serath, "much like how they were in haste at first, then trotted carefully."
"Serath, wait," said Luna. "There's something here."
He looked at the wall with interest, waiting patiently to see what Luna would do.
She tapped the wall, and a hollow noise reverberated in response.
"Hmm, some odd one definitely went through there," said Serath.
"Luna! Serath!" Twilight called back from behind them. Both turned to look back, and saw the other ponies at the door's entrance. "We didn't find anything, so we agreed to come to you. Hope we're not interrupting anything."
"But we are about to interrupt their little hideout," said Luna with determination. Once again she concentrated her horn, a wave of dark-blue light grappled the hollowed area of the wooden wall, and quickly the entire section evaporated into smoke. A hidden entrance, leading off underground, was roughly outlined like some sort of cave.
"Whoa, jackpot!" said Rainbow Dash in victory. The ponies hurriedly made their way to Serath and Luna, some accidentally bumping into the furniture, either stools or shelves or lamps, and some even observed the house with caution.
"What do you think is down there?" asked Spike, peering into the dark path.
"We better find out before anything else drags our attention elsewhere," said Twilight. "Follow me."
The fellowship wandered down the path, Twilight at the front with her horn aglow, Serath and Spike in the middle, and Luna close behind, her horn even brighter.
This stairway, creaky as it turned out, was relatively safe, and short, too. They only gaited straight down at a steep angle, and for ten seconds at most. At last the steps ended on solid ground, a hallway a bit off now, connecting to a postern door with a loose, rusting gate.
They made it through and found themselves in a room of moderate size, made of stone, holding up at least half a dozen dim torches. A notable number of trap doors were outlined in either the ground or up against the north wall, like a hidden morgue. Luna began to sweat, keeping her gaze up more often than the rest, not only for her responsibility to these ponies—and Serath, even—but the sight of a dark, stone room brought back unpleasant memories.
"Found a chest here," said Spike with some accomplishment. "Hmm, weird, it's locked tight, but it's got this note on top."
"Give it to me," said Luna, taking hold of this note and surveying it quickly. "What is this? A number combination?"
"Must be for the lock," said Serath.
Luna squinted her eyes through the shadows, seeing indeed a metal lock, round with what looked like hundreds of small numbers etched in its frame, clinging shut to this wooden chest.
"I recognize this metal," she remarked, but with reluctant contempt. "Dimeritium—special kind of alloy which absorbs magic, far more than any invention we've created." She took a second to consider this finding. "But this doesn't make any sense. Dimeritium is extraordinarily rare, and costs a fortune. There is zero plausibility to these simple townsponies getting hold of even a single gram."
"Unless somepony were to provide a sample," put in Twilight, perturbed.
"A rather weighty sample then," said Serath. "But I really must know: what inside could be so important to call for dimer... dinum... er, dimeritium!"
"Yeah, I'm curious as well," said Twilight with a hoof beneath her chin. "First the ponies vanish, then a secret passage, now this. If for nothing else we could at least see what's inside."
But this thought process took a turn to be cut short. A rumble suddenly shook the ground with unexpected force. From beyond the entrance they had entered flashes of electric crackling resounded heavily, and an unforeseen noise of rushing wind came afterwards.
"What in Equestria was that!" squeaked Rarity, much to her added dismay.
"Magic trap I set," replied Luna, but with that expression of relief one holds as if they caught a live prey. "When I performed that scanning spell I left behind a welcoming gift for our hosts. It was meant to stun, two or three ponies at the most."
"Um, everypony," said Spike with uncertainty, "is it just me or do the numbers on this lock look weird."
Twilight got a closer inspection, and indeed he had a point: instead of numbers they were odd signs and scratches, beyond any sort of recognition, even in Luna's case. To supply the confusion was that each sign connected to its neighbors in different ways, with no discernible pattern.
Serath bent down and looked hard at this lock, lifting it up; it was unbelievably heavy.
"Hmm," he went on to himself, "what did you find scribbled on that paper, Spike?"
Spike turned round quickly, thrown off at the mention of his name in such a salient manner, and hurried off to Serath's service. "Oh, um, three-two-seven."
"Er, getting light-headed," breathed Twilight in irritation. "Dimeritium lock must be stealing our magic already."
Hoof-steps were beginning to stomp in closer. The ponies remained switching their attention back and forth between Serath and the entrance, unsure of whether to stay put or run out.
"G-guys, I think t-they're coming!" said Spike through chattering teeth.
"Enough of this nonsense," declared Luna, nearing her Royal Canterlot Voice. She stood there, at the ready, imminently awaiting these ponies to know just what was going on.
And out the entrance came out three ponies: Air Hoof and two other ponies they've never met before, though judging by their cutie marks one was presumably Grape Vine. However, the atmosphere these villagers carried, once in a welcoming state, was now unrecognizable. Their eyes dim and sharp in concentration, eyebrows creased, jaws shut tight. Most unexpected were their coat colours, which had, along the way, darkened or turned pale.
"Princess Luna," greeted the pony assumed to be Grape Vine, and after came a loud, horrible gulp. "What ever are you doing to invade our privacy?"
"You are the one to stand on the podium," reproached Luna in threatening tones. "Not only did you townsponies abandon us at the inn, it looks as if everypony vanished. I guess not anymore."
"What are you doing there?" asked Air Hoof in a shrill voice, looking to Spike and Serath. Spike froze with his shoulders held high, to the discretion of himself, and slowly nudged away from the chest.
"I still know very little about Equestria, including this town," said Serath, but he did not look away, and spoke with his back to the ponies. "But I must add, for our own sake: you were to get a letter from Princess Celestia ordering you lot to leave Equestria, this goes for everyone, I believe. We are your 'guests' of a sort for you never responded. Furthermore, the Crystal Heart—we are searching for it. It is imperative!"
"Ah, 'old on there!" said Grape Vine, because it did turn out to be him. "You must've met mah wife, Grape Shot."
"Yeah, we did!" shot back Rainbow Dash, flying next to Luna. "She was a creep anyway."
"Now, now, missy," pronounced Grape Vine, and the way he moved, as though possessed, gloomily overlapped with an air of contempt. "Y'all told us o' King Sombra, huh? He ain't do nothin' wrong, hear now? Ain't no need t' give us a whirlin'!"
"Nothing wrong?" said Twilight, on the point of extreme skepticism, now starting to understand these folk, mush to her disdain. "We told you King Sombra returned. He's out there, now, do you understand?—wreaking havoc on all of Equestria!"
"You've heard uncle Grape Vine," said Air Hoof, almost pleadingly even. "King Sombra is in no way the bad guy, nor shape or form, you get me?"
"I beg to differ," the way in which Luna said this revealed her limitation for these ponies, that is to say, her temperament was on the rise. "You defend King Sombra's name? Fine. We here were under the obligation to find out why none of you have confirmed the threat, and I got my answer. Come now, ponies, Spike, Serath. We're leaving."
"Wait a minute!" blurted out Twilight upon a critical realization. Luna glanced back to her, head titled in confusion. All her friends waited for what she had to say as well. But she found this difficult to put out there, and with a bitten lower lip scanned round the room, still contemplating on how to word this in particular.
"That magic trap Princess Luna set," she began at last, "we heard it detonate. Must have stunned at least one of you. Yet when you got here none of you asked what that was about, why there was a magical bomb waiting for you to step on it. I'm willing to bet there's some temporarily paralyzed bloke just sitting up there. So answer me this: why don't you seem the least bit concerned here?"
The three ponies, with their sodden eyes and poker faces, hid their true feelings under the superficiality of the corner's shadow. They stood there, in utter frenzy, yet did nothing about it, and merely glared at Serath. And Serath himself kept twisting the lock back and forth, deep in thought.
"They expected us to fight back," said Serath quietly, almost sadly. "They knew we were investigating their silence concerning King Sombra. And now they, out of nowhere, admire him?"
All the while most of the ponies were simply terrified. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie embraced in a hug together, that sort of comical hug friends commit to in unfortunate circumstances; Rarity remained wildly uncomfortable, wishing nothing more than to be sat at home, sewing away her machine. Fluttershy was accompanied by Spike now, perhaps now bitterly regretting their interference in the matter.
Rainbow Dash landed on the ground, with much reluctance, and backed away to Applejack's side; these two looked at each other with uncertain communication. Twilight, out of panic, lit her horn with incredible effort, subtly at first, but once the lavender glow made its notice, she dedicated to the act and cast an even greater glow.
"This means King Sombra was here," said Luna, igniting her own horn as well, but she as well noticed her magic seeping away. "This was his doing, wasn't it? It was. Fine, we are to leave at once. Let yourselves become consumed in his black magic, we are wasting our time here."
"Ah, I believe I understand," announced Serath, nearly putting the tension on pause. An audible cling snapped with force, he raised his arm, pushed the lock back, and it fell into the ground, slightly sinking into it, too.
"No need for commotion," said the third pony abruptly, holding a hoof up. "This must be a minor misunderstanding. We'll let you leave. No violence is necessary."
Serath flipped open the chest, stared absentmindedly into its case, licking his lips, out of habit, from a complete wave of contrasting thoughts; at first he went on to pick up what was inside, but hesitated with unexpected gravity; now, at last, looking back upon the room, said: "Does the Crystal Heart look like a... crystallized sculpture of a heart?"
Luna gasped, nearly beside herself, and before she could give in an answer, the three ponies, in a mad state of irritation, wandered over to them, crossing the space between them slowly at first, but soon broke out into jogs. All the others were similarly affected.
"Serath, grab it, now!" cried Luna, using all of her strength to channel her magic about the room. So fierce was this command that even Twilight's horn gave under the shock, both of discovering the Crystal Heart and Luna's animated management. This beginning gave promise to a terrible start of action.
Serath, as discouraged as he was, forced himself to grab onto the Crystal Heart, holding it to his chest as though his life depended on it.
Luna momentarily weighed her anchors, huffed in vague defeat, and produced a blast of visible magic. To everypony else it were merely a bright light, a wall of matte white, which took them over, transported with alarm. In the next instance, while still in a state of worry, they all felt the sunlight shine upon their faces, and the wind followed shortly.
"W-what happened!" cried Fluttershy in a high voice.
It took a few seconds to recollect her thoughts, but Twilight swung round, examining the village, and finally set her sights on the sizable house they had trespassed mere moments ago. It seemed to her something extraordinary, some catastrophe had occurred, and she was partly to blame, for letting her magic down. But to the horror of all, the house gave way under its tall planks; the structure wobbled at first, its windows shattered, heaved back and forth like caught in a small tornado, and at last its walls splintered and spewed out; a heavy smash broke through, and the house tumbled down, directly into the ground, and a wave of debris spread explosively.
"Where is Princess Luna?" murmured Serath, still recovering from the effects of teleportation, of which he was evidently unused to. His arms still kept hold of the Crystal Heart. For its size he found it to be surprisingly light.
"She's gone!" cried Spike in alarmed perplexity, madly pointing a finger at the remains of Grape Vine's house. "Wait, no..." he grew cold, and his lips twitched with fright. "I-I think... I think she left us... I think she left us and stayed under there!"
Yet again surprise caught their breath: random clatters advanced all round them; from behind certain houses, or even within them, came out dozens of the supposed villagers, all with their glares set on the Crystal Heart. Serath realized such mad attention and clutched it even harder than before.
At the end of this Twilight took the bitter pill and ignited her horn, much brighter than she expected, after being suppressed for so long. She did not want to come to terms with this, but the Crystal Heart, as Princess Celestia put it, was far too important. She would be willing to sacrifice herself with the least bit of hesitation for it, but her friends? She couldn't possibly abandon Luna, and the villagers, now overwrought with anger and madness, all sprinted in their direction. The pegasi flew, and the unicorns held knives or pitchforks in their magic grasps.
* * *
Corvo found himself once more in Canterlot castle's foyer, right in front of the main entrance. But this image lent itself to an appearance utterly unnatural: there looked to be brush strokes in every single wall, corner, and object, the grey air filtered all he viewed. His heart, before pounding with intensity, now calmed along with his breathing. He was one detached, barely at the reach to comprehend his surroundings, as though his brain did not allow it. It is that sense of illogical behaviour you experience in a dream, only to realize you were experiencing it after you woke up.
"Any memories resurfacing?" asked Sombra, his eyes fixed with wary sentiment.
Corvo turned upon Sombra, at first to ask questions, but stayed silent.
"Come now, surely you haven't forgotten already?" said Sombra again, though unexpectedly anxious. In fact, he even seemed irritated, shaking his head with apparent shudders and grave annoyance. "Tell me, please do! Unnecessary meetings matter!"
Corvo could not restrain himself, and a cold laugh escaped him; he brought a palm over his face and, at last, sighed, juxtaposed with his current state. "I have come to notice," he replied. "I went on to possess your body, and you... I guess, you attempted to enter my mind. Now, here I stand, halfway into your head, and there you are, in mine. Your magic is clearly more potent than that of my own. A shame indeed."
"Listen closely!" cried Sombra in a shrill voice, continuously switching between a smile and a pained frown. "Back in Canterlot, you, along with the two princesses, were under the influence of my illusion. Easy trick—I set it at the library's doorway, specialized for you all, when you entered, that is—ha, ha! How about we play a game? A brief game! I tell you my greatest fear, and you tell me yours."
"Are we to act in each other's good will?" asked Corvo, crossing his arms.
"No," said Sombra dryly. "But I'm most interested in fear. You know they say fear of the unknown is the strongest type of fear? That applies everywhere. A pony might be scared of a spider, and claim that that isn't fear of the unknown, because they very clearly know it's a spider; but they don't know what the spider'll do to them. Maybe it's a harmless little thing, and maybe it's waiting to inject poison on an unlucky victim."
"I sense that I will be mentioned," said Corvo. "Go on."
"In a minute. You know I was imprisoned in a mountain of ice, after Princess Twilight and her entourage discovered the Crystal Empire. I only ever wanted to escape. Of course I planned to keep the ponies out, going as far as to set a magic trap at the top of the tower, where they found the Crystal Heart. But that wasn't enough. A month or so before then I conducted that magic mirror, since I'm fairly well-versed in the Outsider's whereabouts. This was after your initial visit in Equestria. You failed, of course, so I wished to attract you back for a second time. That involved some organizing of certain ponies I captured under my control, and books, too. I wanted to ensure a future war. But I think you figured most of this out by now. Princess Celestia is only a part of it."
"This lecture is most superfluous. I read quite a lot about you during my second visit."
"It was probably all sheer philosophy and speculation."
"I would be better off skipping this chatter and weaving to it."
"Ah, yes... I saw your fear, Corvo, back in Canterlot," continued Sombra thoughtfully, ignoring the regret which came from his voice. Even Corvo lowered his shoulders, and he stared hard at Sombra. "I saw Dunwall, a better version of Dunwall, your city. Economy was booming, nearly no crime, decent weather, a happy empress, better technological advancements in medicine, and you were missing from the picture. What, did reality forget to paint you in?"
Corvo still did not blame himself for what he heard, and listened to Sombra's words of mockery with only half interest. He grew restless, impatient to an extraordinary degree, even blatantly selfish; yes, he was just that in Sombra's eyes: shamefacedly selfish. It was clear he had begun to consider the whole ordeal a nuisance. A divided sway ensued upon both candidates.
Upon noticing his unwilling expression Sombra burst into a violent, completely insane fit of laughter, stomping his hooves, again and again till cracks appeared on the floor. "You thought about it before! You had your suspicions, Corvo!"
In fact, as Corvo had felt back in Dunwall, he grew to hate the city, wishing to leave to a faraway place, but he could not figure out this out-of-place reasoning. It was all incredibly vain. His business as the Wandering Stranger came back to him at last, in the moment when his hand touched the metal mask he kept close: at first it was a sense of pride, to rid the world of evil; but as the days had motioned, the months gone by, everything was vain; every single day was vain; he once felt tormented at the sight of this mask and his sword, borderline on cognitive dissonance every single moment, the worst psychological suffering imaginable, and yet he could not for the life of him stop killing. He and the Outsider were the only ones who knew about this cover-up, and perhaps King Sombra.
"You believe torturing yourself like this is reasonable?" said Sombra again, false pity in his eyes. "What amount of blood do you carry on you, on your hands, I mean? The post-letter, the one with the riddle, the 'awaiting in a castle' version, the 'residence in Equestria' part, how did you possibly come to the conclusion that Princess Celestia was, in any notion, involved? She was the strongest memory you took back from your visit, where your bungled assassination attempt took place, and now look at you, running back for a return at the slightest calling, almost like you missed this place. Sitting still, by the fire, counting away the years, or weeks, I suppose, with only your mind ever concentrated on that cursed war. A pity it never happened. Ha! Humans are so very talented at rationalizing temptation, or proving to themselves the most irrational conviction to be true, for their own selfish benefit. That's what you did, I'm afraid, I think. So many options, and you come here. Why? Why is that?"
"Irrationality is the most difficult thing to resist," said Corvo with little momentum, gazing vaguely at Sombra. "We all know this, even if it is subconscious, by experience, and even you yourself must know this, Sombra."
"Mhm!" concluded Sombra with all his concern. "No direct words were yet spoken, but no need. I shall, as a promise, reveal my darkest thought, or fear." A long pause passed by before he continued, as though he were struggling from falling asleep. "I'm afraid of death. Common, isn't it? We all are."
"By primal instinct, yes."
"Tell me, Corvo: do you believe in an afterlife?"
"Not particularly."
"Me neither. But, you know, I want to believe in one. Even if it's an afterlife laden with despair and loneliness, anything is more comforting, more rewarding, than not existing."
"But you forget," interjected Corvo, "we all know what it is like to be absent from existence. I am thirty-one years old; thirty-two years ago I did not exist, and billions of years before I did not exist. You feel nothing."
Sombra gave a reluctant nod, in fact, nodding his head sagely at Corvo's every word; but alas, he mumbled something incomprehensible and went on: "Yes, you feel nothing, but now we live, now we bear the experience to which we may compare. Darkness isn't so bad until light sits next to it. What is the point, ambitions, I mean? We're all to die, even the supposed immortals like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. I'm not immortal, makes it more troublesome. Does it bring you anything to think that, one day, you shall stop existing, and unable to feel sadness, or anger, or happiness, or regret about it?"
"Ha, ha, 'we are all going to die'—where have I not heard that one before? So why not believe in an afterlife? Go to a nearby monastery and convert."
"Doesn't work like that, I'm afraid, Corvo, it doesn't. Soon we will perish, unable to feel pride for any sort of legacy we leave behind, because we won't know of it. Our needs? Down the whirlpool. I fear death because I will not be able to fear it anymore, once I perish. You're here to stop me from spreading my smoke to your world. But why should it matter? It's too necessary to matter. Alright, I wish you luck on that."
He burst again into inappropriate laughter, and this so-called illusion came to its inevitable conclusion. Corvo found himself thrown back, now on the roof of Vanhoover's city hall; both their spells had met in equilibrium and ceased. He sprung to his feet, and saw Sombra standing before him, his horn venomous with magic. The fire was still spreading, and the wind settled.
"An awaiting in a castle!" grumbled Sombra in the highest degree of haste. "That still has not happened! Death is such a fascinating concept, so long as you keep your distance."
He ran for it, galloping at incredible speeds towards the edge of the roof. Corvo, still weak on his feet, shot two bolts; one missed, and the other merely scraped Sombra's mane. In a fit of anger he whipped his crossbow onto the ground, now realizing it was too late to take aim again, and broke into a sprint after the unicorn king.
Sombra laughed maniacally, and dark fumes encompassed his body. When he reached the edge of the roof, Corvo shot him with a powerful gust of wind; Sombra flung back, now only a pulp of smoke with pale eyes, and fell with great weight down the building. When Corvo went on to look downwards he saw only the streets touched by flames, ponies scurrying frantically, and the double door entrance, no longer budging, now engulfed in fire.
* * *
Celestia and Discord had, after what felt like an eternity, cleared the area, or rather the district, from danger. She landed on her hooves, evidently exhausted; even Discord looked like he consumed much energy in a short amount of time. This was close to an hour after Corvo's struggle with Sombra. The entire time Celestia had carried this searching expression, ever weary and anticipating Corvo's return.
At last Corvo turned round a building and met them, utterly out of breath, leaning on a carriage for support. To his pleasant understanding the flames had indeed been put out, but the smoke round city hall went on alive, but at least it finally reached a limit and stopped growing. This section of the city was barren, with a horrible smell; the other guards, on Celestia's orders, galloped to put out the rest of the fire.
"Where were you?" called Celestia, folding back her wings.
"Yes, I would very much love to be informed," said Discord in annoyance.
"Sombra... Sombra..." he breathed in fragments, yet to recollect his breath. "He escaped, unfortunately... unfortunately."
"Well, that is a shame," said Discord with a shrug.
Celestia held back her need to vent, upon the realization that their rush here was all for nothing, or so she assumed. She heaved an unsteady sigh and demanded: "What happened here?"
"I cannot be too certain just yet," said Corvo. "Told me he swayed his provokers, convinced them to do his bidding. Set all ablaze."
"What happened to the mayor?" asked Celestia immediately.
Corvo, without a second thought, said: "Burned in the fire. I was too late."
Celestia looked down with sorrowful self-reflection, and groaned in an undertone. "I see," she said.
"Hello!" cried Discord for attention, waving his arms up. "Terribly sorry to say this, but we really must get going. The others should be expecting us, and I have no intention to keep myself in this dump. The guards have it figured out, I'm sure."
"Discord is right," said Corvo. He made his way past Celestia, down the road. "We have to leave. The others are starting to worry me, all things considering. The locomotive is not too far away. We will get on board, stack the coal, and be off."
"I agree," said Celestia, but with an shadow of reluctance. "We need to get back, to the Unicorn Range. It took us a while now, and I hope we get there before they do."
The three of them set off at once. Strange, it was, running back through the main road. It was quiet, completely lifeless, with not much distinguishing it from a a long-forgotten road one finds in a forest. The city was now behind them, left only with dubious trust in the city guards. Celestia found it to be tremendously difficult to leave it all there, without being absolutely sure everypony was safe. Still, it fell upon her the notion of haste, that they all were to leave immediately.
At last they arrived at the train, and much to their surprise, the conductor was nowhere to be found.
"Where did he go?" said Celestia, searching the front room with keen eyes. Indeed, the train was at last empty. "He was here piling the engine not too long ago." A greater air of panic soon followed, only heightened as she surveyed the surrounding area, then back to the city. "This can't be good."
Discord glanced at her alarm-driven countenance, stroking with white beard in thought. "Who knows. Maybe he fled in fear. Sounds like something ponies would do."
Odd, thought Corvo. I would come to guess the guards escorted him out, but he was here under official orders by a princess. Cowardice, perhaps? Possible. I will think on it some other time.
Despite this dreadful alarm, Celestia shook it off, far too concerned with her sister, Twilight, and her friends. She declared at once to both Discord and Corvo: "Nevermind it! We'll come back next time, if there even is a next time. Discord, you start the engine; use your magic if it'll help."
"Of course it will," scoffed Discord with nonchalant confidence. He teleported to the conductor's cart, snapped his claws, and the engine roared with a blue flame. The locomotive in general shook with a magical start, and then it began to screech and move.
Celestia finally felt the weight off her shoulders when she sank into the large seat, casting a final gaze out the window—as well as the city, which blurred by quickly as the train blasted into a quick acceleration—and let loose a genuine sigh of weariness. In the meantime Discord sat in the room, fidgeting with a Rubik's cube, but never letting the engine put itself out. Eventually they were off on the lone track again.
Corvo sat across from Celestia, crossing his legs and resting an elbow on the window sill, which supported his cheek. The very last thing he wished to discuss was his encounter with Sombra, and yet he knew Celestia would soon come to ask. There was no point in avoiding it.
"Hold up there," he said. "Better to hang the towel once this is all over."
"I'm fine," said Celestia. "Nothing better than to live under this constant threat."
"Yes, well, perhaps my falling out with Sombra was not for nothing."
Celestia's ears perked, and she now stared intently at him and with the highest interest.
He continued: "He admitted to having had started the war—the lead to a war, that is. Tricked even the Outsider. Impressive, to put it lightly."
"That doesn't matter anymore. We know the mirror connects your world to mine—"
"Even if it no longer works, and to add, it rests in Canterlot, which is engulfed in Sombra's magic. Everyone there is probably dead by now." But even so, what his smoke does we have guessed on empirical evidence.
"I know," said Celestia, conflicted. "We managed to evacuate Ponyville, and got the message safely about the surrounding communities. And for all that, Equestria could become a new wasteland by next week. It takes a while to evacuate an entire country."
"But this pernicious smoke spreads indefinitely," remarked Corvo. "Running away for that long is impractical."
"I know that. But now our first priority is to find the others. We'll be arriving near the Unicorn Range in a little over half an hour, I would say. We have time to sit and recount what we know. Think up of a couple of strategies even."
Corvo shifted uneasily in his seat, upon his capacity to deduce such truths he went over several times in his head: contemplating on what Sombra told him. Not those philosophical bouts of hogwash regarding an afterlife, that did not concern him; he clung to every word his memory would allow, and considered Celestia's proposition.
"Nothing much of an absorption Sombra told me," he said, biting his nail, "except for a thing or two, here or there. That lunatic mentioned you."
"Oh?"
"He insisted you were a part of his plan."
Celestia gave this statement some dubious contemplation and remained unsatisfied. "What do you mean to say: I'm part of his plan?"
"Not those words exactly," said Corvo more quickly. "He said that you are only a part of it."
"And what do you get by 'it'?"
"Interestingly enough, just before he mentioned you alone in a single sentence he recounted the troubles he had to toil through, almost as if he were venting to me: on and on about the traps he devised in the Crystal castle, his recovery after being defeated for a second time, and so forth. And then you."
"Okay. So what?"
Corvo sighed and gestured with his hand, clearly on the verge of explaining something note-worthy, yet not quite there. "So," he went on peculiarly, "there stands the possibility in which he referred to you as a problem, an obstacle sabotaging his plans. It makes perfect sense, too. You were there to banish him a millennium ago, you were indirectly responsible for his defeat a few years back, and now you do everything in your power to put a stop to him once more. I think I am in the right here."
"Suppose that's true," said Celestia, purposefully striving to contradict him, "it just means he hates me: I'm his sworn enemy. It's nothing new under the sun; everyone knows that."
"But why not mention Princess Luna?"
The expected response Celestia accustomed herself to now got stuck in her throat; she stared at him fixedly, with much skeptical thought, and shook her head, as though disappointment was all she could register. "I see where you're getting to."
Corvo did not take note of this before, but his arm, slumping along the window sill, straightened right away, and he lifted up his head. "I am not too sure you do."
"You think my sister is in cahoots with King Sombra. Is that it?"
Corvo went back and forth on such an inquiry, carefully balancing his options, but decided to play it safe. "I have an idea, perhaps, perhaps not. It is only a hypothesis, an educated guess, if you will."
"Don't be ridiculous, Corvo. Just because you so happened to have picked upon a single comment King Sombra made about me and interpreted it in your own light hardly deserves one's full attention."
"So that is it? Not even worth the smallest fraction of plausibility?" The inclination upon his attitude to Celestia's dismissal, brazenly set as a marked exasperation, remained yet hidden beneath his own mind, for even he was still unconvinced. However, he would never assume, and so kept whatever he could get in his head to think it over for later. The most critical specificities could be found under the most unimpressive details, he believed.
Celestia really made no reply worth mentioning.
"Fine, have it your way," he said again, far too respectfully to be sincere. "It was a mistake on my part to tell you. Obviously your bias for Luna does not allow me much room for a proper discussion. I will have to tell Serath about it, or maybe even Discord. Come now, do you still not trust me?"
Celestia gazed at him like he were an unremarkable piece of furniture, and rolled her eyes with a near-noticeable sarcastic intention.
"No," she said plainly.
"Alright then, I predicted you would say that."
"I think a foal could've predicted that."
Corvo didn't care to reply, and after another minute, blew air from his mouth in boredom, fidgeting with his coat button as he did so. He never thought this would proceed to be so boring so quickly. He cast a rapid glance out the window; they were still a way's off, he assumed, and so decided to keep the conversation floating.
"There stands a whole plethora of things to talk about," he said, "and we are not talking about it. How about a game of chess? Least we have that in common."
"But there are no pieces, nor a board," she countered, lowering an eyebrow.
"Mental chess, or more formally known as blindfold chess," he concluded defiantly. "If you can keep up, that is. Merely maintain a model of an eight-by-eight board, remember each and every piece, and we move based on notation."
"Okay, sounds different. You start as white."
"Finally, a bit of enjoyment," remarked Corvo as he, once more, sat up, and even leaned forward a bit, considering with utter examination Celestia's countenance. "Pawn, B-four."
Celestia smirked faintly, only now letting herself fall into mental relaxation, if only for a moment. She went on to say: "Knight, A-six."
"Better. Pawn, B-five."
* * *
Twilight furiously conjured up a magical force field, first shooting a ray of magic upwards, which sparkled intensely and then spread out like a dome, enclosing everyone in it, leaving off the crazed villages to pile up round the edges like a colony of fire ants. The shield glimmered once, darkened, and the noise of glittering ceased.
"Twilight, hun, this ain't what Ah expected!" remarked Applejack in alarm.
"Likewise," said Serath, rightfully stunned at first.
"While alternate circumstances would spare us far greater worry, at least our dear Serath got hold of the Crystal Heart," put in Rarity, keeping her eyes away from the villagers, unsure of whether to be relieved or terrified. "At least."
"Yeah, great!" grumbled Twilight with a self-evident struggle to keep the shield up; the ponies on the outside were pounding it mad with either basic weapons, their own magic, or bare hooves. "Now we've gotta get out of here! But what's worse is Princess Luna: just what in the world happened to her?"
"I think she didn't have enough magic to get herself out," said Spike, but upon dwelling on this thought, he hung his head and kicked the dirt. It soon came to him a most pessimistic thought. "Can't believe Princess Luna would do that for us. Now... now we have this crazy place to deal with!"
"Can't Twilight just teleport us all outta here?" suggested Pinkie hurriedly.
"Believe me, everypony, if I could teleport us to safety I would!" Twilight struggled to say, as though she were the one receiving all the hits and stabs her shield took, which soon began to wobble and shake.
"Somepony, please get us out of here!" cried Fluttershy, weeping with her face beneath her arms.
Serath took his time to survey the Crystal Heart, observing his brazen reflection upon its frictionless surface; the corners, glossy and seemingly indestructible, split said reflection into a web of incredibly odd angles. He turned it over, and it shone a pale blue with this movement. At last he knocked on it, and a small vibration resounded in response. It was the most magical thing he had set his eyes on thus far.
"This must cost a fortune," he commented. "And yet it holds the power of love required to defeat King Sombra."
"Thanks, captain obvious," said Rainbow Dash sarcastically.
"Oh, forgive my distraction!" said Serath, with flustered signs on his face. "But I believe these ponies want nothing more than to remove the Crystal Heart from my grasp, well, from our recollection of the thing. Maybe if we leave it here, they will leave us be."
"What!" exclaimed Applejack. "Did a basket of eggs jus' fall on yer head? Our whole mission was to find that darn thing!"
"Yes, yes, I know that," said Serath, with transparent conviction, as though he were excusing himself. "But we need not leave it here forever, merely make these certifiable lot think we gave it up. It is for our very lives, supposedly."
"Really don't know how we'll pull that off," said Twilight through gritted teeth. The force shield, above her magical capabilities, was now flashing wildly, and growing thinner. "Don't think I can hold this much longer," she added as more of the outdoor ponies joined the fray.
But without warning the clouds grew dark, and the wind instantly picked up, and chilled the area to a horrible degree. It all went silent: the villagers, all in small groups, with mad expressions and apparent aggression, froze in all manner of positions; the sight round the force field was like a jumbled sculpture, with a sparkling blue tint wreathing on all sides. Twilight's magic died out, the shield evaporated before any of them could notice—it did so in a fleeting instance, expanding at first and then nothing but the sky. And once again the oddities spiked: the clouds returned to normal, the winds fell warm, and the surrounding villages tumbled upon one another, over the ground, and the magic residue expanded upwards, before that vanished as well.
In a flash Luna teleported before them, carrying myriad bruises and scratches, albeit minor ones, with a dirtied face, her mane utterly disheveled, but as of yet, according to what Serath observed, nothing too serious. She sighed with gravity and went to them.
"Are you all okay?" she asked wearily.
"Princess Luna!" they cheered with joy, all except for Serath, who stood there, stupefied by what he witnessed. He did, however, clutch at the Heart more firmly now.
"Thank the heavens!" he managed to get out. Now they circled up. "That was incredible!—er, if not a tad petrifying," he ended with a nervous laugh.
"Mind if I ask just what you did exactly, princess?" inquired Spike reluctantly. He poked one of the villagers, and when they twitched, he jumped back.
"They are all incapacitated for the next hour," replied Luna, gazing beyond the houses, trying to seek the road they came from. "We need to leave. Now."
"Wow!" said Rainbow Dash, dumbfounded as she flew upwards. "There're at least twenty—no, thirty villagers here!"
"Spare me the details, please," said Luna in a breath. "I am beyond exhausted, and I need to rest to recover my magic. The trek back to the station shall prove even more tiresome, but all complaints aside, we could have been far worse off."
It took them a bit to recover themselves, but worth the time it was, the company set off adamantly and with such a haste as to even forget about the couple dozen stunned ponies. But they simply could not catch a break, not for themselves or their friends. When they at last arrived at the first signpost by the fence, a herd of villages advanced in several rows, all with that air of authoritative insanity, which causes one to bear a singular goal, no matter the cost.
They were expecting these ponies—and Serath—to try to escape with the Crystal Heart. The other bunch Luna stunned gave the appearance of only a third of the town as a whole.
The ponies huddled up, some back-to-back; Luna gave it her all to light her horn, but only spew of sparks lazily shot out. Twilight managed to hit a few of the villagers with a stun spell—precisely like the one she used in Canterlot during the Changeling invasion—but these villagers, practically self-possessed, showed no concern for one another, and continued to surround them. To everypony's dismay Twilight fell to the ground in an extreme state of fatigue.
Rainbow Dash tackled a mare, but a great many hooves all grabbed at her immediately, and pulled her down. Applejack, much in line with her loyalty, tried to help, but the villagers took hold of her after she broke at least five teeth.
Luna cursed under her breath, regarding once more the plan they had set. But something else entirely, very much out of context with their current situation, gleamed in her eyes, a sort of cold gleam. But this was before the villagers all carried ropes and bags, and before they could resist any longer, the ponies were tied to several metal polls—dimeritium polls, Luna suspected—set into the dirt. Serath, much to his grief, showed absolutely no signs of resistance. He freely gave up the Heart and was taken away as well.
The work lasted five more minutes, that is, it would have taken less time if some had complied and didn't put up such a fight. Unfortunately magic was out of the question, and their wings were bound—for Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy as well—and now the friends were all tied up like trapped-in scapegoats, side by side; Luna was in the middle, and Serath next to her. But to their confusion, instead of taking the Crystal Heart away to somewhere distant and hard to discover, the artifact was placed directly in front of them, a few yards out of reach, measured with a five-ell pole.
* * *
"Ah, it is a check for me," pronounced Corvo assertively. "It also means I take your queen."
Celestia closed her eyes in a state of contemplation, with a specific kind of concentration; it was entirely clear to Corvo that she had not been focusing for the past while now, like she were multi-tasking on more detail-orientated topics. And when he noticed this it was but an advantage at first, yet now, testing the grounds, he had to bring it up:
"Come now, Celestia. I have already checked you twice, took your queen, both your rooks, one bishop, and reminded you eight times where your pieces were placed. I am not in half the trouble you dug up for yourself. I admit, it is difficult to keep track of everything the first few attempts. Is that it? We can stop and play later with a physical set. I value fairness, after all."
"It's not that," she sighed, and took rest against her seat. "Thought it might be fun at the start, but I just can't focus with all these hypothetical situations running through my head. Trouble keeping them out, nothing else. We should play later, yes." And my horn aches like no other!
"Yoo-hoo, Celestia dear!" interposed Discord. He came out from the conductor's room, scratching the back of his head. "We may have a teeny-tiny little problem on our hooves." He raised his arms. "Or paws, or claws... or hands."
Celestia shifted to the edge of her seat, tilting her head in exaggerated concern. "Say again?" she inquired heavily. "What difficulty can you be unable to fix. You need my help?"
"Oh, please," scoffed Discord with a long gesture. "If I needed your help we would all be dead by now."
"Then what is it?" said Corvo, rising from his seat.
"Well..." said Discord, long yet quietly, wandering about the aisle, peeking out every single window. "It's just that I've been to the Unicorn Range before, I know what it looks like, so when we get there, I know we'd be there."
"Discord," pushed Celestia, "what is the problem?"
Discord grinned the kind of grin which suggests all hope is lost; of course, blown out of proportion on his part, but nevertheless worrying. "It's just that we're in the Unicorn Range, passing by it right now," he got out at length, and his face turned sour. "Princess Luna, that Serath fellow, Twilight and her dear friends—turns out they missed the bus. Next stop, I guess."
"I knew this would happen!" said Celestia with a vague descent into anger, even surprised by her own tone. "My sister and her friends are in danger. I'm going."
"Calm down, Celestia," said Discord. "I know work has gotten a little overbooked for you in the past three days, which includes a large amount of stress, but it'd be better if I took to investigating."
"I am inclined to agree," added Corvo heartily. "You better go check Tall Tale, Discord."
"Not like this," she rebutted, sadly shaking her head to herself. "They need me."
"And you must take better care of yourself," replied Corvo at once, solemnly, and with obvious haste. "We cannot risk your safety. Rest easy."
Celestia moaned in defeat, unwilling to say it out loud but admitted to being unfit for the journey. While alicorns are extraordinarily powerful, their magical stamina does not make up for much talent. Like unicorns, they can tire themselves out rather easily, unlike Discord, who's near limitless supply of magic gave him an advantage.
"Alright—go," she sighed. "Just be quick. I'll be waiting here like a... like a sunken anchor."
"Me too," said Corvo unexpectedly.
"Huh?" Celestia looked upon him. "I hope you go with Discord. He can use your set of skills if the situation goes awry."
"What do I look to you?" said Corvo, frowning. "In the same way you feel I am also worn out. At best I can slow time, maybe thrown off a couple of burns, a gust of wind or three. After that, my two weapons. I am better off drying my boots for now. What makes me so special compared to Discord? He will have control of the situation."
"Corvo, that's..." began Celestia, softly, taken aback by what he said. "That's surprisingly humble of you to say."
"Did you not find me humble two years ago?"
"You were—with your memories stripped, and even then given a deceptive semblance."
"In case you two decide to keep chatting," said Discord, tapping his foot crossly, "I plan on going. Who knows what happened to them: perhaps some filthy monsters ambushed them, or they actually found the Crystal Heart?"
Corvo registered this possibility for a moment, raised a finger to speak, but stopped and paused again; soon after he jumped up, tiding his coat. "Brilliant point!" he proclaimed. "Crystal Heart might be there, and if I am not present, surely it is in the wrong hands. Teleport me with you."
"Nevermind on my humble comment," said Celestia with a contemptuous chuckle.
"Wait, I thought you were tired?" said Discord dubiously.
"Bah, that was all balderdash! Come, what Celestia just remarked is my cue to go."
Discord shrugged and snapped his paws. A white flash later transported the two at once to a field: a dry tundra it looked to be, though with a dark-green hedge along the outskirts of the hills. The area, rocky and pale, jagging off into outcrops every few hundred meters, went on for a way's up to a broad dale, where it met the trees and split off to a forest. Beyond that, alongside the hedge, in the distance, a bundle of what looked to be shanty houses, albeit with a neater overcoat, spread out until it stopped at a single acre.
"Tall Tale—is that it?" inquired Corvo, but exhaled heavily afterwards, realizing he was indeed worn out.
"Looks different last time I was here," said Discord, using his own fingers for binoculars. He was about to teleport them once more, but ceased abruptly, and took to humming in thought. He examined the area, then back to the village. "Can't see much there, but my magic doesn't feel as strong here. That's odd. Let me get us a closer look."
He snapped a paw, flashing them at the end of the dale, where the forest's entrance stood open; but when they reappeared he landed on his legs, in shocked but disdainful surprise, blinking his eyes at Corvo as though he could not believe his senses. "What's this? My magic is even weaker now? Hmm..."
"My magic remains at full capacity," remarked Corvo once he lit his Mark as a test, and could not sense any sort of weakening surge. "That is to say, 'full capacity' relative to the train ride. If only I came here rather than Vanhoover, but alas."
"Yes, yes, no need to brag!" said Discord with a roll of his eyes. "It feels strangely heavy when I float. Oh dear, will I actually have to walk!"
"I reckon this distance is nearly a kilometer," said Corvo as he began to walk ahead. "That is nothing at all. Come, we better find out what happened to our frie—er, your f—well, the ponies."
Halfway past the dale from their starting point, Discord only remarked: "Hmm, feels like dimeritium. Lots of it."
"Dimer... what?"
"Eh, nothing. On we go!"
* * *
"Don't make this difficult for yourselves," said Air Hoof. He bent down to be at eye level with Luna, staring at her like she were some new discovery. In fact, the villagers managed to entirely forget the physical presence of eight tied-up travelers; they now went on about their day, in the inn, casually talking to one another, working at certain stands, et cetera—most even wandered by the ponies. Disturbingly enough, the many ponies Luna stunned down got up when the magic wore off and walked back to their daily routines as if absolutely nothing had ever happened; some of the after-effects included headaches or cramps, and while many villagers displayed evident signs of immense pain, they really just ignored it. There only remained a select few to keep watch.
"Why are you working against King Sombra?" he asked for what felt like the tenth time.
"Release us at once!" reproached Luna in extreme contempt. "You are nothing but a fool to bind a princess and her friends here, and let King Sombra kill countless more ponies. You will pay for this!"
Air Hoof nodded, with great interest, like he were taking mental notes on a topic which fascinated him. Next he moved onto Serath: "I've never seen this thing before. You confuse me."
"Much the same to you, sir," said Serath with faint smile. "This is terribly inconvenient for us, but I see you are unwilling to let us go. To pass the time, may I introduce you to a game of mental chess, more formally recognized as blindfold chess?" he asked with stutters in between his pronunciations; this was, in any attempt, a way to stall for time.
I forgot to mention: these "select few" who kept watch were sharpening their blades, or testing blunt objects on the ground, scarily indicative that they had plans for our band of heroes. Fluttershy was in tears, along with Spike and Rarity; Applejack tapped her hooves on the ground, to pass the time, anxious beyond concern; Rainbow Dash was equally anxious. Pinkie Pie was nervous as well, perhaps more so than the rest. She absolutely did not want to die like this.
Air Hoof remained there, staring, then rose up and backed away until all the company stood in his peripherals.
"King Sombra warned us!" he declared. "He came to us, showed our good ponyfolk his true nature. You're all the bad ponies! And now we must make sure that this stays here—that this is the last time anypony lays hoof on the Crystal Heart again. Come now, my friends, ready the farming tools. Yes, those ones. Start from left to right, then bury the bodies."
A piercing scream of panic broke out from all the ponies, all struggling desperately to snap the binds, all except Luna, who was in a state of complete seriousness; a grey shadow cast upon her face, with such scorn, it even justified her exaggerated solemnity. And yet again there was the unusual gleam to her eyes.
Serath grew deathly pale, quite literally. His mouth quivered from his rapid breaths, and he too began to devise a way to subtly snap the ropes above him. But it was to no avail.
* * *
"Dear goodness! They've got our less-impressive team captured!" cried Discord, unable to keep his eyes off the scene. Indeed, both he and Corvo were behind a conveniently tall boulder, a mere twenty meters off from the east side of the fence, and maybe another sixty till the signpost.
"Fifty seven villagers," said Corvo.
"What?" Discord raised a dubious eyebrow.
"I count fifty seven villagers," repeated Corvo with an analytical face.
"Hold on, how could you possibly count the total number of those creeps from this angle!"
"I can see through walls, Discord, in the dark, too," replied Corvo without turning, though an odd smile flashed onto his lips. "I checked four separate times—there are indeed fifty seven villagers. I count fast."
Discord huffed in indifference and gazed back at the ponies bound, the alarm now returning to his senses. "Come on, we can't just wait here. We need—I don't know—a plan or something?"
"No time," said Corvo. He rose from his spot and checked his crossbow, testing the small levers, rotating its metal ring round the barrel, and stabilizing its razor-ended wings. I have sixteen bolts at the ready, plus two spare cartridges of twenty, total of fifty six. Hmm, wonder who shall be the lucky contestant.
"What do you mean, 'no time'?" reproached Discord with genuine worry. "I've been told you're great at planning!"
"Only plan when the odds are stacked against you, or they are even," said Corvo, adding a final click to his crossbow. "Majority of the villagers are unarmed, completely off-guard. Several are in pain, oddly enough. Injured, I would wager. Perhaps a fight broke out recently. In any case, they are clearly dangerous. I see no surprises."
"So what's your improvisation then?" said Discord with his arms crossed.
"Go in, close your eyes, chant your prayers, and hope you were right." He began to walk off, but halted momentarily to add: "That second part was for you, by the way. You might not wish to see this, but we really are running out of time. Efficiency can be found in the mud when you least expect it." And he was off, leaving Discord to watch worryingly.
And now Corvo was at the signpost, staring at it doubtfully. Aged, it was, must have been there for a number of years. He gazed ahead where the houses started to pile side-by-side. The villagers noticed him, and as he entered Tall Tale, one in particular approached.
"What might you be here for, stranger?" he inquired, struggling against his own insistence. He did, however, notice Corvo staring far back at the nine confined trespassers. "You look just like that one fellow. Such wonder!"
"I am here for them," said Corvo with hidden vigour. "Why are they tied up?"
"Oh no!" proclaimed the villager whom Corvo addressed. "Intruder! Intruder!" he cried at the top of his lungs, galloping down the path, right before he fell stiff from a honed bolt to the back of the head.
Corvo stretched his shoulders, now ready to take aim, and walked with strict speed along the road, right into the village. Several more townsponies took heed, and approached him. In a blitz of marksmanship he shot, one after the one, most in between their eyes, some at the necks, yet all collapsed in a single instance.
A wooden door to his right broke down, and another villager, with intense hostility, charged at him with relentless ferocity. And again he was killed by a single pull of the trigger. Exclamations began at once, absolutely everywhere discernible.
Whenever Corvo caught sight of a pony, a bolt connected the air between them, and said pony would fall. The rate at which he fired grew in frequency, gradually, until he was jogging uniformly, spinning every which way to put down another.
Two bolts launched: two ponies from within the inn slain. A third peered out the window, and was met with the same fate.
The massacre ensued without warning, with no pause in between the actions. The whole village began to charge. Corvo kept firing, and such was his quickness it might as well have been an automatic firearm he utilized; the ponies were dropping like stiff logs, in piles. At last he reloaded, accompanied by a bend of time, and resumed.
Eventually he approached the sight where Luna and the rest were kept. They all threw their attention to him, without understanding at first, and called to him for help. However, they very quickly went silent when Corvo flung Air Hoof back with yet another bolt.
But he didn't respond: Corvo swooped past them to the other ones, sending them crashing as well.
A small army charged. Corvo snapped his fingers, a cacophony of wind detonated and whipped at least half of the remaining villages with spine-shattering force in all directions, mostly through sturdy houses or along the trees, essentially dismantling the fray.
Corvo stood there, unmoving, in a mechanical mode of lining his aim with the head of a crazed townspony, firing a shot, and repeating, with blinding velocity.
The bound ponies themselves could not move away—even if they wanted to—and glared with vibrating eyes, muted by a psychological shock like no other. Corvo was just putting them down. All of them, incessantly, and without much struggle. For a second time we switched up a package of projectiles and resumed his assault, moving forth as he did so.
At last he missed, not entirely: the bolt struck one of the pony's legs, who fell in pain. Corvo sighed, swiveled his wrist, and shot a second to the pony's head.
Two to spare now, he thought, and as he did so kicked down a door.
Inside the villagers, now very clearly in fright, took cover behind the counter or tipped-over tables. One side of Corvo's mouth frowned, hinting at a sneer; he teleported to their locations, blasting more bolts to their faces. A final one within the house managed to escape through an open window. Corvo followed shortly, watched as the pony ran away, and proceeded to strike him down as well.
The remaining kills put up more of a struggle, for they desperately tried to escape. With expert precision he snapped the rest of his bolts, onto each and every one of them, and finally his crossbow clanged and steamed.
He dropped the firearm and took out his sword, its pale gleam making itself known. A unicorn mare revealed herself from hiding, stared hard at him, and picked up the closest thing she could find. Corvo heard this, spun round to witness a blazing spear coming his way. He slowed time, teleported, sectioned her head clean off—all, from the perspective of the ponies, in an unnoticeable juncture. A spray of blood painted the ground beneath her.
The last was a stallion earth pony. He, much like the rest, galloped mindlessly at Corvo, way out of his mind. But Corvo now stood entirely fatigued, pressing his back to a nearby wall, ready to pass out from sheer exhaustion any moment. He gazed at the approaching villager, lifting his sword's edge against his chest in a fighting stance.
The stallion jumped, Corvo rolled under, jabbing his sword through the poor fellow's heart, and the latter slid against the floor, motionless.
Corvo first took a minute to recollect himself, and then precariously wandered over to the rest bound to the metal poles, all of whom still could not shake off just what exactly had taken place. But Luna was the first to get her word out: "Y-you... you slaughtered them. Every single one!"
"Sorry about that," said Corvo, taking a second to swallow his breath, and expelled another one. "I realize my courteous aspirations still stand for improvement, but that does not matter. At all, in fact. Here, let me untie you all."
"Unbelievable!" proclaimed Serath with extreme resentment. "You killed all of them, spared not one. Even the ones who fought for their lives in fear—you k-killed them, Corvo."
"Spare me your lecture about morals," said Corvo, beginning to slice through the tough knots round the beams. "My record was high enough in Dunwall—you know this. These townsfolk were already in a state of delirium, Sombra must have done that to them. He was waiting, knew all concerning such a case in the end. And you, Serath—we are to talk, in private, once we board the train. Come now!" He finished up freeing the ponies.
Twilight looked upon the field of bodies, nearly expecting to vomit from the sight, her eyes simply unused to such atrocities. She looked back upon Corvo, almost with reluctance, her expression heavy with that of recent events.
"Was it all really necessary, all this?" she inquired solemnly.
"They were ready to stick pitchforks up your throats," said Corvo, storing away his sword. He took his time to consider the rest of the ponies, even his friend: some's heads were bowed, some still with darkened faces. A wave of contrived guilt crept up in the back of his head; and as such, he sighed indignantly and announced:
"I... I know what you are all thinking. I know this must be hard to see, it is tough to sit through. This is not the sort of ordeal I would label as ordinary. I truly am sorry. Did my best is all, so as to save as many of you as possible. It turned out successfully, but I insist that you turn it back and remember that Sombra is still out there. Save your tears for later; and if you wish to lecture me, at least wait until it is all over and done."
He noticed the Crystal Heart resting a distance away and whistled. "My, looks like we have found it. Certain it to be legitimate, not a cheap imitation?"
"Yes—we... ahem, we are," replied Rarity.
"Let's just get out of here," said Luna with resentment. The rest were inclined to agree.
"There you are!" cried Discord, running up the ones standing with haste. "I saw that, Corvo. All of it! You are..." he tapped a claw to his chin. "Well, how do I put it? Ferocious!"
"I needed the practice, is all."
"What did you feel?" asked Spike, looking from the ground to Corvo like he were struggling to decide on something. "I mean, what did you feel when you, um, you know, shot those ponies."
Corvo shrugged. "Recoil."
* * *
The walk back to the train went on with few words, but perhaps that was for the best, leading to even fewer distractions. The company was completely exhausted from this morning, with the exception of Discord. Once enough distance gathered between them and the downtrodden village, the dimeritium upshots wore off and their magic returned. Fortunately Discord managed to teleport them the rest of the way, accompanied by some joke or other no one paid attention to.
They entered the locomotive without knocking, making themselves known at last to, in fact, still be alive. Celestia shot out of her seat and, with a hopeful air, gaited past the aisle to the front where the ponies arrived.
"I'm so happy to see you all here!" she said in a choking voice. "Luna, dear sister! Twilight, Spike, you all—I was beyond worry."
"It's alright, princess," assured Twilight wearily. "We're all safe now."
"Yes," said Luna, side-glancing at Corvo with minor trepidation. "We sure are safe now."
"Leave me out of this, please," remarked Corvo, arcing his back, and then stretching his arms. "It is not even noon yet—this morning has been most dreadful. And I am starving, too. Should anyone wish to have a word with me I will be in the back."
"Right behind you... mate," said Serath quietly, nearly beside himself. "Princess Celestia, we are to return to the Crystal Empire, correct? How long do you suspect us to take?"
"It may not look the part, but this locomotive has quite a lot of horsepower," said Celestia.
"And with my added magic, it should take us no time whatsoever!" said Discord, grinning, residing back to the conductor's room.
"Oh, maybe I could join you?" said Fluttershy, smiling.
"Excellent idea!" sang Discord, and the two vanished behind the door. "I'll spruce up the cucumber sandwiches!"
Meanwhile Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and Spike sat in the two two seats which faced each other, now entering a weighty discussion of the cause behind the hold up, as well as the tragic incident in Vanhoover, what had occurred there. The rest were in a perpendicular, conversing as well, doing all they could to lighten up the mood, in a sense.
Corvo and Serath sat in the neighboring cart, deep in thought, and across from each other as well. Their hard looks did nothing to harmonize their suffering expressions or keen smiles, smiles of calamity, that is. And both were evidently anxious to start a conversation, yet an insignificant resistance hung in the atmosphere; such was their complexions which appeared to have taken on the colour of the fog outside.
"How were things on your end?" inquired Serath with refined attention, despite his sleepy eyes.
"Terribly intrusive," replied Corvo in contrast to Serath's expressive outlook. "It would've done me some good to have waited for the dribble to subside."
"Ah, not much luck with the chores. I understand, tell me what happened."
"Vanhoover was caught in a colossal wildfire. See, Sombra had taken refuge there this morning, perhaps still under the veil of night. I managed to reach city hall, tracked him to the roof."
"Oh dear, a wildfire upon a whole city!" exclaimed Serath in an undertone. "Horrifying, really. And the ponies, they were caught in it, too? Hmm, and what of King Sombra?"
"I took the diplomatic approach," said Corvo casually. "Needless to say, ah, he escaped. I have no idea how, or where to, but he managed alright."
Corvo, however, blinked hard, readily aiming to remember once more Sombra's exact words, while Serath waited anxiously to see what there was to say, that is, before initiating his side of the coin.
"Sombra and I talked, about some stuff or other," went on Corvo, but his tone was off its mark, as though he were making this up as he went along.
"Stuff or other? Corvo, please, you are rarely this vague."
"Apologies," he said in a low voice. "He hissed on with his plans, explaining to me the courses of action he took upon to get to where we are now. Most I already knew. He—oh, right, I must inform you: he told me his past failings: his first defeat a thousand years ago, his second in the Crystal Empire... of that sort! He mentioned Celestia, stated she was a part of it, presumably his plan, or going off of context, his troubles. Alluded to the others, too. Never about Luna. What do you make of that?"
Serath suddenly paused his thought process at this question, and appeared to gaze at Corvo from a new point of view. He was entirely aware of his good-natured instincts to defend those he respected, and put this partiality aside.
"I don't know," he said admittedly. "Sounds just like any other theory."
"Not just any other theory," said Corvo with a gesturing finger.
"Did he mention me?" rebutted Serath, taking in the drift of Corvo's remark. "Princess Luna and I could not be further apart in status: she is well familiar with Equestria, has dealt with King Sombra previously, accompanies the other princess...."
Corvo cast his attention to a point of dubious precautions, right at his friend in a piercing process of observation. Not because he found himself stuck, unable to respond, but on the contrary, he wanted to see everything Serath could let out on the topic.
"It is entirely possible he forgot, too," finished Serath, leaning back on his seat.
"You bring up a false equivalence, Serath," said Corvo with decision. "Sombra acted as if you did not exist, yet he expresses clear interest in the magic mirror which made your visit possible."
"So what you mean to imply is that I was thrown without a target?" said Serath, putting a fist under his chin for support.
"Not entirely," responded Corvo in a way one does when far off in a conversation; these two were used to moments similar to these. "The worst mistake a detective can commit is overseeing all possible variables with superfluous necessity, equal in its underachieving accomplishments. I mean this, and only this: your arrival might have been an accident."
"You seem confident in this assertion," said Serath with his arms now crossed. "That magic mirror, it activated in the most 'convenient' of times, to attract the two of us. But coincidences are like dense ores: common yet beneath our sights. Do you at last understand why it sucked us into Equestria?"
"I do not," said Corvo disappointingly; "however, that does not, in any probable circumstance, means it will remain like that. I am particularly interested in this form of magic, Sombra's dark magic, what I remain ignorant on, and what powers the mirror. If it were truly in his intention to bring you along with me, he would have done so earlier, for he has been to Dunwall before."
"Let us entertain the thought that, incidentally, to us, that is, he used this mirror to travel between these worlds. After all, it is the only possible method, relative to Equestrian magic, according to what Princess Celestia told me."
"Yes, yes," Corvo began to conclude, yet ever with that searching gaze. "Not even the Outsider knew of it. Therefore—"
"We can deduce he did not use this Outsider's direct control."
"Meaning it was his own, originating from Equestria. Only a specific kind of magic must accomplish such a feat."
"And you recounted, back in the castle, that Sombra took advantage of the opportunity to escape two years back." The excitement in the air, now a product of this back-and-forth commotion, animated Serath greatly, and his investment moved to align Corvo's effort with that of his own.
"I see it in a dim light now," continued Corvo. "He remained in our world for two whole years; clearly wasn't in a hurry. That mirror was meant to be long-lasting, with his own magic." He took a pause to array his considerations. "Did Sombra make a mistake? When I came back, hardly scratching a day's time, the mirror's magic was practically radiating. It was almost like a systemic chemical reaction, the sort Arbmos taught in one of his university lectures. The mirror reacted close to the Outsider's sort of magic—or my Mark, that is to say."
"Half a minute!" halted Serath. "Is it possible that he was aware of this, but perhaps only planned for your return?"
"I have my doubts," said Corvo, "so no, I do not think so. Well, maybe. If it took this long, I think one thing is certain: Sombra does not realize another human is in Equestria, that being you."
"Corvo, much like how different substances react with varied results in water—whether explosively like caesium, or not in the slightest like copper—do you believe there are different types of magics—"
"Which assume different roles in reactive states to one another? Of course!" put in Corvo before he could finish. "That is one of the few helpful facts I managed to learn during my dubious stay in Equestria."
"Then why did the Outsider not suspect Sombra's appearance in Dunwall?" pressed Serath with inherent cogitation.
"Either your copper analogy may speak for itself, or..." Corvo began to tap his boot down without realizing it; and even then he sat there, sort of wrapped in a hopeless process of elimination. "Or maybe an acid-base neutralization analogy would work best."
"How about we summarize, quickly," said Serath with a yawn, quite ready to lose himself among so many ideas and details.
"Where to start?" sighed Corvo. "The reaction of my magic set him free from his second defeat; he abused this juncture to come within our own borders, set up a way to remain there, until he felt, I suppose, satisfied, sent me the letter, and went back, now ready to take revenge on Celestia." Revenge solves everything, I might assume.
"And of that part about Princess Luna? Still suspect her of anything?"
A shadow crossed Corvo's expression, rather suddenly, too. His intent posture, now leaning forward, proved his already anxious paranoia. Still, he had to get this out, to spin these thoughts in the air with someone as capable as Serath, to reach a definite resolution. The singular weighing complication, in Corvo's reflection, was whether or not what he expected to be true seriously turned out to be the truth. And so he went on with it:
"You already know this, but allow me to provide a brief run-through: I met with the princesses in the library, they were reading this grey book, with a black 'one' etched on its cover, numerical number. Sombra revealed he set up an illusion-based trap right at the start. It was midday—the sun, directly above me—no more to the east than it sloped west. Celestia insisted we were there for hours! After all, it was deep in dusk by the time we awoke. It just doesn't add up."
"Why not?"
"Sombra waited this long to strike? Why not release the smoke during our trance? He could have been in preparation, you may argue, or merely wished to toy with our vain attempts and struggles."
"Corvo, Serath!" called Spike from the opened doorway.
Both men shifted back straight on their seats, momentarily surprised, yet when they noticed Spike, they agreed without words the case was clear. But worst of all: why would the case need to be cleared in the first place? Serath thought he was among friends, even the ponies.
"Yes?" he said.
"We've got some grub at the ready," said Spike excitedly. "Found several storage boxes beneath the seats, for emergencies. And you wouldn't believe it! Discord used the engine's heat to cook up vegetables and mashed potatoes. Come get 'em while they're hot!"
"As might be expected," said Corvo. Rising up, as well as Serath, they joined the rest to the front cart. On the way, however, Corvo asked: "By the way, what of your side of the coin?"
"We were captured, as you saw," said Serath. "The villagers you slew—shame, it turned out—were mad, daft! They hid the Crystal Heart in a chest under ground. Used a specialized alloy called dimeritium to adsorb magic."
"So that's what Discord meant."
* * *
"Ah, that hit the spot!" chirped Pinkie with a wide grin. They had piled their plates into a single plastic bag, kept off on a separate seat. "Can't believe we went that long without food. Can you believe it?"
"Agreed, wholeheartedly," put in Rarity, swiping her muzzle with a napkin.
"Not so shabby," said Corvo, being the last to finish, for he consumed the most.
"By the way"— Celestia shot him a serious glance —"I was informed on what happened in Tall Tale."
The rest froze, needlessly nervous, rapidly switching their focus back and forth between Corvo and Celestia, waiting for who would say what in perturbation.
"And?" said Corvo, seemingly unconcerned
Celestia raised a dubious eyebrow. "Well, what was that all about?" she asked in a straight manner.
"It was about saving these ponies in this very room," replied Corvo. "And Spike. And Serath. Their magic remained suppressed. Mine—low on energy. What else was I to do? Perform a stand-up of poetry and hope they go along?"
"We're supposed to save as many ponies as possible," reproached Celestia with an inherent voice for command.
"And you avoided my question," said Corvo again. "I apologize for what fell, but it is fallen, and sometimes, Princess Celestia, we much choose between a greater and lesser evil. Boundaries are blurred, if you must know."
It was the first time in years he ever referred to her as "princess."
"How about we retain this potential argument for after we relocate the Crystal Heart under the primary castle," interposed Luna with a degree of haste. "It will do us some good to trust one another."
"I agree," said Serath at length.
As to not raise any suspicion, for their own good, Corvo and Serath had decided to stay put in the same cart, engaging in friendly chatter with the ponies; but after a certain while Corvo incontrovertibly kept to himself, next to Serath, giving an occasional nod or uh-huh, but ultimately found himself more concerned with his own array of thoughts. It helped time move by more quickly, contrary to popular belief.
He even managed to keep count of the time halfway into the second hour when the locomotive the reached the snow-laden tracks, now entering the territory of the Crystal Empire. They had yet to enter a mountain-pass before the Crystal Empire came into view in all its glimmering glory.
"Hey, Serath?" said Twilight, catching the man's attention. He looked to her, confused at first, but soon noticed her questioning gaze and reflected a friendly smile.
"Yes, Twilight?" he said.
"Maybe this isn't the best time to ask, considering what's on our minds right now, but do you believe that Sombra knew we would steal back the Crystal Heart?"
"I would not put my heart on it," replied Serath, scratching the back of his head. "Remember, those villagers stood mere seconds from tossing us in the dumps. There were even those dimeritium poles placed, as to ensure no magical intervention could occur; and Tall Tale is a way's off from Vanhoover. I believe he had almost everything figured out, and by the luck of displacement Corvo turned up." He gave his friend from across a sympathetic side-stare. "As much as I disapprove of his methods, he did save us. He could have waited and told Princess Celestia he arrived too late, but didn't, and risked his life."
"Yeah," she sighed with folded ears, though that look of sadness lingered still upon her features.
"What is the matter?" said Serath. "A bit out of the loop, huh? Several things I can recommend for that."
"No, not that," she chuckled at last, realizing her over-expression. "It's just that I thought I had everything figured out, but as it turns, I was way off my mark. Just an annoying feeling, really."
"Well, we do learn from our mistakes."
"I guess so."
There was an awkward pause.
"Hey," she said again.
"Hmm," he looked back to her.
"Princess Celestia told me you have a family. Even carry a photograph with you. How, um, how are they?"
"Better off than myself!" he laughed with levity. "Sorry, but yes, they're alright, you can say. I have a boy, six years only, and my wife ended her oh-so-woeful—as she loves to remark—pregnancy last year. Took off four weeks from work to support her, but it was worth every second."
"Oh..." Twilight, much to Serath's lack of understanding, looked at her hooves pointlessly, still thinking on what he said. "You must be worried, right? Here you are, in complete danger, helping us, when your family is back there in your world."
"I will never hear the end of it when I get back, but they're safe. My health comes last. Ironic, isn't it, coming from a doctor?"
"But I know what it's like to worry about your family, especially now. Oh, I mean, I'm not married, obviously not!" she nearly raised her voice, and then smiled sheepishly. "I just love my family, like you love yours, I'm sure."
"Naturally."
"You know, I really like you, Serath." But upon witnessing Serath's staggered expression she sat up and waved her hooves about, blushing furiously. "Oh, no, no, no, no! Not what I meant! So not what I meant! I like you, uh, as a friend! Yeah, you're really... nice, and all," she ended steadily.
"Thanks, I guess," said Serath, slowly nodding his head. "You are nice to talk with, too. Making new friends is always a pleasure. And a true friend is the greatest of all blessings."
"By the way," began Twilight, smiling, "mind if I see that photo? It'd be nice, you know, probably bring my spirits up."
"Oh... okay then." But Before Serath could even begin to search his pocket, the locomotive swept past the mountain range, shining a pale light through the windows. A scattered snow-fall swept up the area, but nothing too limiting.
"We're here!" announced Luna, catching everyone's attention, which was, suffice to say, what stopped Serath from searching his inner-pocket. They all stared hurriedly through several windows.
"Spike, get the Crystal Heart," went on Luna. "Once we arrive at the station, it's to the castle at once. Sombra's smoke still spreads, but at this rate, given the distance, it should be till nighttime before it reaches us. And... we—wait a minute..." She squinted her eyes to the distance, getting a better view of the Empire itself. However, when the snow passed and the clouds parted, the Empire was no longer present.
Only a wall of pitch-dark smoke, as wide as the mountain range surrounding them, rapidly approaching. They were too late. Sombra's magic had engulfed the north.
Corvo saw this, and remarked: "Could we not have arrived but an hour earlier!"