One Month Later...
Sitting back in the comfortable luxurious chair of her study, Princess Celestia let out a slow sigh, allowing the stresses of the long day to seep out of her like a slowly deflating balloon. Her study was dimly lit, the only source of light at this late hour coming from the hearth nestled between bookcases. It was a comforting reminder that despite how dark things have gotten and will likely get in the future, there was always light somewhere.
“Princess,” a male voice greeted from the door behind her. She briefly glanced over her shoulder to see a gray stallion with a blonde and blue mane and tail standing in the doorway being watched closely by one of her guards. “I trust your meeting with the Chairman went well?”
“Yes.” Chairman Malcolm Hargrove of the UNSC Oversight Sub-Committee had been extremely forgiving and accommodating during their talk… almost suspiciously so. “And that’s exactly what has me concerned.”
“Well, it’s true politicians like him are mostly self-serving, but good relations between Equestria and the UNSC can only benefit him,” said the figure standing in her doorframe. “Besides, we have our own trump cards in case Hargrove tries anything like Project Freelancer did.”
“You’re right,” Celestia said, allowing herself a little cautious optimism for the future. That optimism slowly slipped away like more air from a balloon as her gaze fell upon the contents of her desk.
A pile of books and papers stared back at her, each one of them filled with information regarding alien relics—remnants of the enigmatic Forerunners. On nearly every piece of research, additional notes and theories had been scribbled in, all by one pony: The late Arcane Star. It had been months since the research had been recovered from the researcher’s wife at the height of the Project Freelancer conflict. Celestia had sent select excerpts of the information to Twilight so that she could find the Forerunner site in the Frozen North. For all the good that ended up doing.
The rest of it she had elected to hold onto. There was no reason Twilight, and by extension all of Equestria, needed to know about some of the other theories in Arcane Star’s findings—or how close to the truth some of them really are. It seems no matter what, I will always be doomed to keep secrets from those I protect.
But the sight of the accumulated research reminded Celestia of the other significant revelation their acquisition had brought. With expertly concealed anxiety, Celestia reached into her desk and pulled out the report she had received the other day from the director of the EBI and carefully reread them.
“You’re still worried about the ponies that attacked Arcane Star’s wife and daughter that day, aren’t you?” the person behind her asked gravely. “If you don’t mind my asking, just who are they?”
Celestia wondered just how much she should tell him. “They call themselves ‘the Disciples’.” It wasn’t their full name, but it would do for this discussion. “They’ve been a thorn in my side for as long as the founding of Equestria. I’ve done everything I could to put an end to their organization throughout the centuries, but it always seems to rise again.” Like a cockroach that refuses to be crushed.
“And what do they want?”
“They’ve sworn to guard the secrets of the Forerunners… by any means necessary,” Celestia answered.
The stallion “hmmed” and said, “The implications of that are… unsettling.”
“So are their beliefs of pony superiority. More specifically, the belief that ponykind are the true inheritors of something called ‘the Mantle’.”
“Well if they’re really surfacing again now, the timing couldn’t be worse,” the gray stallion said, and Celestia agreed. It was all too likely they would do something to sabotage future relations with humankind. “What do we do about them?”
Celestia glanced back down at the EBI report. The Disciples hadn’t surfaced again since their assault on Golden Heart and Moon Dancer. Maybe they no longer believed taking out Arcane Star’s family was worth it now that Golden Heart no longer had his research. Maybe they knew the EBI was watching Ms. Heart and her family and didn’t want to reveal themselves prematurely. Likely it was a mix of both.
“We can do nothing for now but be vigilant.”
The stallion gave a single nod and suppressed a yawn. “As you wish. Now, if there’s nothing else, Princess, I believe it’s time for me to retire.”
Celestia was about to dismiss him when a thought occurred to her. One that she had been considering for some time now.
“I could tell her, you know,” she said, and the gray stallion paused. “Twilight, I mean. She might like to know that you’re alive.”
“I… do not think that would be wise,” he said with clear trepidation.
“She’ll have to know sooner or later,” Celestia countered. “Once she fulfills her destiny, there will be many secrets she’ll have to bear.” It comes with the territory of being a Princess of Equestria.
“Yes, but for now I would prefer it if she didn’t know about me. I… I’m not sure I’m ready to face her again,” he said, turning to leave. “Not yet anyway.”
“So be it. Goodnight…” Celestia almost called him by his old callsign just then, but stopped herself. It wouldn’t do to give away his existence to anypony who would know the name he once used. So instead, she used the name he had given her to call him.
“Goodnight, David.”