Peaceful Nights

by Gulheru

Chapter III

Colgate was gathering her thoughts over the words she just heard, trying to find sense and logic in them, considering the circumstances. A fragile-looking pegasus prisoner, sitting on straw acting as a bed, seconds earlier being on the verge of panic, gave herself a rather prestigiously sounding title. And with a voice clear and sure. That didn’t make too much sense for the unicorn mare. Her tutor, Moonwarden, meanwhile, raised one of his front hooves to his chin in a gesture of concern and deep inside deliberations and remain in that posture for a while before speaking up finally.

‘I see, “herald”...’ he said, accentuating the word the winged pony used to describe herself. ‘And who bestowed upon you this honorary rank?’ the stallion asked with frigid voice, like containing sarcasm lurking just behind the calmness.

‘Star Swirl himself!’ the pegasus exclaimed, in a tone full of excitement. Even though the sentence she said was defying logic.

‘Star Swirl, you say...’ Moonwarden repeated with a completely blank tone. ‘Tell me, Summer Rainfall, how come?’

‘He came back from the dead!’ the prisoner zealously shouted. ‘And he wants to bring us equality at last!’ she was not getting quieter.

‘You meant to tell me that he has resurrected himself, or that somepony brought him back to life?’ the caped stallion asked in a tone one normally uses when asking guests about their preferences when it comes to drinks.

‘Well, he... he... He is back, that is important!’ the winged mare hesitated a bit, but then stood up, not losing that sudden strength in her voice that appeared after she presented herself as the “herald” of the greatest pony magician in known history.

‘And now that he is miraculously back, what does he desire again?’ Moonwarden was continuing the conversation.

‘Justice and equal chances for everypony!’ Summer Rainfall was stellar about her words.

‘So... let me gather what we just learned, what do you say, my friend?’ Colgate spotted her tutor turned to her, but she just nodded, as the pegasus’ conviction was still causing her to ponder about it inside her head. ‘A unicorn wizard comes back after centuries of being soundly confirmed dead... preaches about equality between species even though he lived before the Exodus, in times of vast adversities amongst the ancient pony kinds... and instead of using his legendary fame, he goes into hiding to form a cult amongst the lower classes...’ the unicorn stallion was trotting left and right while delivering his arguments. ‘Should I continue?’ he threw a question towards the winged pony.

‘I... I...’ the pegasus looked confused for a moment, but then her stern voice sounded again. ‘I will not fall to your lies! Star Swirl the Bearded himself warned us about the likes of you! The ones who would silence the voices demanding justice! There cannot be Equestria without equality!’ her shouts resounded amongst her cell and a faint echo went down the corridors of the Delves.

‘The likes of us?’ Colgate finally decided to contribute further to the interrogation. ‘What do you mean?’

‘You would want to silence us! You, who should use magic to serve and yet you view it as justifying your tyranny!’ the prisoner pointed a hoof at the agents.

‘Tyranny? What tyranny?!’ the unicorn mare didn’t believe her ears. What was that winged pony talking about?

‘No use asking, dear friend. Our... host... here is clearly not in touch her own mind...’ Colgate’s teacher cut in.

‘I am the herald of Star Swirl and I speak for myself!’ the pegasus protested.

‘I heard you, “herald”. Now I want to hear Summer Rainfall, if you please,’ Moonwarden said extremely calmly.

‘What...!?’ the winged mare began, but she didn’t manage to say anything more than that. She suddenly gasped in pain, grabbed her head with her front hooves and collapsed on the straw she was standing on. Both of the agents were close by her momentarily.

‘What is happening to her?’ Colgate asked with panic in her voice and she wasn’t even trying to hide it.

‘I am not sure, but I have my assumptions-’ the caped pony began to elaborate, but the moment he kneeled down by the suffering mare, who was breathing heavily and letting out small gasps of pain now and then, she flung her hooves frantically and hit Moonwarden squarely in the chin, nearly in an uppercut fashion. The stallion looked stunned for an eye blink, but he quickly restored his focused expression, whilst holding his jaw with his front-left hoof.

‘Can you help her?’ the blue unicorn asked with voice filled with concern, so fixated on the prisoner, she didn’t even spot the strike at first.

‘I am fine, thank you for your concern,’ the caped pony said sarcastically. ‘Can you try keeping her still?’ he asked then, for the pegasus began rolling on the floor left and right, her head firmly clutched in between her front legs, her wings going wild. Colgate went behind her, kneeled down, and began attempting to restrain her movement, which wasn’t too easy. After a while of struggle, Colgate managed to lock down the other mare’s hooves with her own, pinning the winged pony to the ground with her body mass. All that while Moonwarden was still staring straight at the prisoner’s closed eyes.

‘Look at me,’ he said with a commanding voice. ‘Look at me!’ he repeated more firmly, when he had no response from the mare, struggling to release herself from underneath the other unicorn. The pegasus’ eyelids were tightly shut still and she was keeping her forehead pressed to the floor. ‘Look at me, “herald”!’ the caped stallion nearly shouted, but managed to get the prisoner’s attention. The moment the winged pony looked up and opened her eyes, Colgate glanced at her tutor.

The second Summer Rainfall made eye contact, the caped unicorn’s horn lit up. With a faint, dim, silver aura. But that illumination didn’t last for too long, quickly moving right into the unicorn’s eyes. The pupils, already light grey in color, shined more firmly. Colgate found it hard to describe, but the closest analogy that came to the mare was that they became the color of full moon coated in liquid, shining metal. A lunar circle surrounding pitch black void of the irises, which became smaller, focused on the pegasus’ own eyes. It was a stare piercing, penetrating, giving Moonwarden an angered, intimidating, nearly psychotic expression. But, instead of scaring the prisoner, it caused a quite opposite reaction.

Summer Rainfall stopped struggling nearly in an instant. Colgate didn’t really need to pin her down anymore, it looked for her like the other mare went nearly absolutely limp.

‘... you can stop restraining her...’ the caped stallion said after a while, still keeping eye contact with the winged pony. His voice was stern, but a bit distant, his attention focused on keeping the spell.

Colgate stood up slowly. The pegasus didn’t react at all to the fact she could move freely again. The blue mare carefully went around the lying pony, beside her teacher and could now see clearly the prisoner’s face. Summer Rainfall was staring right into Moonwarden’s eyes. Her pupils, light blue with yellow accents, appeared like behind a veil. The blue unicorn could swear that almost a fog has fallen upon the mare’s sight, with a platinum, faint shine. The pegasus’ expression was completely blank. Her mouth was slightly open, twitching lightly ever so often.

‘What are you...?’ Colgate wanted to ask.

‘... not now, give me a moment...’ Moonwarden silenced her with the same voice tone as before, not looking away. The unicorn mare complied, observing both her tutor, who was as still and focused as one can be and the prisoner, who was now deep entranced by the caped pony’s magic. Finally, Summer Rainfall’s eyelids fluttered and closed, while the stallion let out a long breath and relaxed.

‘Crisis averted...’ he whispered. ‘I came prepared for a lot, but what just occurred was slightly out of range of my calculations...’ he stated, rubbing his forehead.

‘What just happened?’ Colgate was confused about what occurred. ‘Is she alright?’ she asked, looking at the pegasus lying motionlessly on the floor, breathing deeply.

‘She is just asleep. She should awake in a while,’ Moonwarden answered. ‘It should help the mind reach back its equilibrium.’

‘But what was that?’

‘I do presume, initiate, that it was a feedback effect,’ the caped pony presented his theory.

‘A “feedback”?’ the young unicorn did not understand.

‘Yes. I call in that way the occurrence of a mind suddenly and violently trying to break outside control,’ after the word “violent” Moonwarden checked his chin once more. ‘From what I would assume out of Rainfall’s reaction,’ the agent pointed at the pegasus in slumber, ‘I would assume it was a planted suggestion rather than a dominative alter-character, although the reaction was quite grandeur. Perhaps the spells defensive weave was deeply embroidered within sub-consciousness, maybe based on a powerful emotion, trauma... Pardon me for my enigmatic rambling, mental magic is rather complicated...’ the caped pony looked at his apprentice, who was trying to grasp all what he was talking about, with limited success.

‘To be honest, tutor, it sounds rather fascinating,’ Colgate answered in accordance to how she was feeling inside.

‘That is very kind of you, initiate,’ the caped stallion bowed his head. ‘More simply, what I meant is that she was under a spell. Which could explain her panicked reaction suddenly changing to stern once she referred to herself as she did. What she was saying afterwards was likely planted in her brain artificially. And I do believe that the word “herald” was a keyword,’ Moonwarden was trying his best to be basic about the situation, ‘which in a way “activated” the suggestion. I must have unknowingly caused her mind to lash out whilst we were talking, causing the “feedback”.’

‘So... when you referred to her as both herself and this... “herald”... she suddenly snapped out of the spell?’ Colgate asked, trying to follow her teacher’s logic.

‘That appears correct,’ he nodded. ‘There might have been other causes also, maybe the amount of stress, maybe physical and mental fatigue... Everything together might have been enough to weaken the mind-binds.’

‘So, is she back herself?’ the unicorn mare kneeled down by the pegasus.

‘I do believe so. I did not want to enter her mind, especially in the feedback circumstances, so I cannot be sure. But the mental shock not breaking control is extremely rare, ’ the caped stallion looked at the prisoner. ‘I managed to calm her though, hence why she is asleep.’

‘So we wait for now?’ Colgate turned back to her tutor.

‘The best course of action for the moment, her mind must have a while to reinstate full control’ Moonwarden concluded, trotted next to the table in the cell and sat down. ‘But this situation concerns me.’

‘Tutor?’ the blue unicorn joined the other agent and sat at the opposite side of the table from him.

‘Somepony casting a spell on the pegasus,’ he pointed at Summer Rainfall with the motion of his head, ‘means there is somepony with knowledge of arts playing on racial hatred. Or at least trying to. Focused on creating unrest, for the sake of personal gain, revenge, chaos, or the like...’

‘Posing as Star Swirl, you think?’

‘Quite possible,’ the stallion answered his apprentice’s question. ‘And I hope we will get a name soon. I do not have to tell you that an unchecked individual tinkering with mind control is only going to cause problems.’ Moonwarden finished, concerned.

‘How come exactly?’ Colgate pressed the topic. ‘Is this magic really that dangerous as Shining Armor says?’

‘Mental magic brings with itself a lot of temptations. It offers a certain appeal of having dominion over others. And for a cost rather simple to pay,’ the grey unicorn realigned his cape so that it was perfectly smoothly flowing down his back. ‘It is tremendously easy to forget about the dire consequences of misusage. As well as lose a certain sense of morality, once you can shape others without trouble.’

‘I see...’ the blue mare pondered. ‘The Captain accuses you of just that.’

‘Precisely. And not exactly at the same time. You see, magic itself cannot be described as “good” or “evil”. “Light” or “dark”. Magic is not a sentient being, capable of making choices that would align it to one of those concepts. It is the way it is used that matters. Hence, Shining Armor’s accusations about my art being straightforwardly a corrupted one are, at best, based on misconceptions. At worst, on narrow-mindedness,’ Moonwarden concluded and gave a quick look at the pegasus, yet she was still asleep.

‘I think he is just concerned about the good of Equestria. I can’t blame him for being careful,’ Colgate pointed out. ‘Maybe for being slightly paranoid, tutor,’ she added, which caused her teacher to smirk.

‘Well, if he is paranoid about malice lurking behind every corner, ready to strike when we least expect it, he might not be suited for his position. Besides, it is wise to always leave a lot of place in between the extremities of virtue and vice,’ the stallion judged.

‘I guess we end up in this area a lot, workwise,’ the mare sighed.

‘More than you think, Colgate,’ the grey pony said calmly. ‘Yet, we cannot allow it to define us. Each and every one of us is unique,’ he continued philosophically. ‘Some ponies more than others...’ after those words he winked at the other unicorn and a blush on the mare’s face soon followed. ‘You are doing good so far, initiate. Keep this up and we shall be done with this assignment in no time,’ the caped stallion finally concluded.

‘Thank you, tutor,’ Colgate bowed her head and smiled. ‘I am doing my best.’

‘It shows, trust me,’ her teacher smiled back at her. ‘Now, I do believe Summer Rainfall shall be waking up any second now. Let us be near her when that happens. Kneel by her, she will get an impression we were close all the time,’ Moonwarden gave commands and then stood up, followed closely by the other unicorn.

‘Will do, tutor,’ Colgate acknowledged and then positioned herself near the prisoner.

Not a minute later, the pegasus moved a bit, the way like ponies move in their sleep sometimes. Her eyelids start to go up slightly, but in a lazy fashion, the remnants of the hypnotic spell control still present. She moved one of her hooves over her eyes, rubbing them, while she tried to speak up.

‘Wha... what happened?’

‘Welcome back to us, Summer Rainfall,’ Moonwarden greeted her. ‘How are you feeling?’

‘Good, thank you... I... Where am I?’ she was looking around the cell.

‘In incarceration, but you are safe, do not worry,’ the stallion answered her, reassuring her the moment he spotted her eyes getting panicked again after he mentioned her being in a cell.

‘I... Yes, I remember now,’ the pegasus tried to stand up. Colgate aided her as soon as she spotted that. ‘Thanks,’ the prisoner thanked her. ‘You came to ask me about Star Swirl.’

‘That is correct. What do you remember afterwards?’ the caped unicorn pursued the topic.

‘I told you my name... and then... I... not sure,’ confusion was blatant on her face.

‘It is alright, Summer Rainfall. You were under a spell, you broke free.’ Moonwarden explained the situation as briefly as possible.

‘A spell? Yes. Yes, there was something...’ the pegasus looked still a bit unsure of what is happening in general. ‘Like a feeling... like a net... I... cannot really explain,’ she looked saddened by her inability to express it more clearly.

‘It’s alright now, we got you out of it,’ Colgate smiled at the other mare, who smiled back.

‘I am grateful,’ the prisoner bowed her head. ‘But, do you mean I got... brainwashed?’ she asked in a quite naïve fashion.

‘You could express it like that, yes,’ Moonwarden nodded, yet the look on his face was showing, at least to the blue unicorn, that he despised the expression used. ‘And that is why we are here, Summer Rainfall. We want to help you,’ the stallion said once he once again brought up the calm on his face.

‘I... I can’t believe they would do that... I... I thought they meant well...’ it looked like the winged mare wasn’t listening to him anymore, instead began walking around the cell. Colgate thought about stopping her, but a discreet hoofsign from her teacher stopped her before she decided to take action. ‘She said we were doing the good work... that we shall help Equestria.’

‘She?’ Moonwarden asked, his eyes carefully following the mares movement.

‘Yes... a green pegasus... what... what was her name...? Sweet Celestia... I can’t remember! I don’t know!’ the prisoner’s voice began to be slightly panicked.

‘Calm down, please...’ the stallion approached her. ‘Your mind is still shaken by the spell and your struggle. You might experience memory lapses, those are common, Summer Rainfall.’

‘Call me “Rainfall”, alright?’ the pegasus looked at first, than the second unicorn.

‘As you wish, Rainfall,’ the caped pony nodded. ‘As I said, fear not. Even if you are unable to recall details of the past, it is a passing thing. For now, focus on what you can remember clearly, can you do that for me?’

‘Yes... yes, of course... uhm...’ the winged mare started thinking excessively, while Moonwarden lead her to sit at the table. Colgate joined the two other ponies and while her teacher sat across from the prisoner, she spotted him giving her a subtle sign with his eyes for her to sit near the pegasus. She followed the hidden instructions.

‘You have all the time you need, Rainfall,’ the stallion said and once more realigned his cape, so that it was smooth and unwrinkled.

‘I... I am trying... this is all so confusing!’

‘Don’t worry, we will aid you as much as possible.’ Colgate reassured her, afterwards spotting a short smirk and acknowledging nod from her tutor. The winged pony had the expression of great focus on her face.

‘A meeting... couple of ponies, earth ones, pegasi. A figure comes, with a hat and beard. Says he is Star Swirl... I do not know what happens next...’ she began talking.

‘It is fine, continue, please...’ Moonwarden nodded and encouraged her, whilst giving a stern look to Colgate. She understood, she was already trying to pay attention to every word.

‘A green pegasus... She says: balance, equality... mission. Her name... F... Fa... not sure...’ she took a while before continuing. ‘Me, going somewhere... a plaza in Canterlot. Then nothing. Then the Royal Guard. I am somewhere, Shining Armor talking with me... it is all a blur!’ she gave a little shout and started weeping. Colgate decided to put her hoof on her back, trying to reassure her.

‘Please, Rainfall, calm down...’ she whispered to her, whilst her teacher stood up and went around the table.

‘The “blur” is natural, I assure you. My abilities might help with that, thought risking memory restoration so shortly after a feedback can be possibly devastating,’ he began explaining, but Summer Rainfall’s expression was betraying her being clueless. ‘We might wait for the lapses to go away naturally, yet it can take a while, so we might be forced to resolve to that after all...’ the tone he said it in made Colgate look at him with surprise. For her, it sounded like a veiled threat.

‘I... I do want to tell you... I really do!’ the pegasus exclaimed with a bit of fear.

‘And we see that.’ Moonwarden admitted. ‘Our hoof is stretched towards you in an act of friendship, we see you want to take it. What you need right now, is rest. And some... more hospitable conditions,’ the stallion looked around the cell. ‘I want to propose a deal, Rainfall.’

‘A... deal? What do you mean?’ the winged pony asked and both her and Colgate were now staring at the grey stallion.

‘Your memory should be fully restored in a few hours, but for you to regain full recollection of details you need a few days. So, I propose we postpone our next meeting. We will come here in three days and ask you the questions about your unfortunate involvement in this case,’ the stallion was speaking slowly and clearly. ‘In the meantime, I will make sure you are given better quality sustainment and a chance to clean yourself up properly. And if you will give us the information we are looking for, then under this circumstances and taking into consideration the fact of you acting under a spell, we will make sure you are to be let go freely,’ Moonwarden finished presenting the proposal and was now waiting for the reaction.

‘I... I...’ the pegasus was trying to find words. ‘I will gladly help. I feel tricked and... and... deceived... and...’ she suddenly burst into tears, which made Colgate embrace her to comfort her. The stallion, however, didn’t show any emotion, minus a risen eyebrow betraying curiosity.

‘That is why we are here... to help you,’ the blue mare said, repeating the sentence that was said this night quite a lot.

‘And help you we shall,’ the stallion added.

‘Thank you... thank you...’ Rainfall still had tears going down her face whilst her voice was sad and yet filled with hope.

‘Let us not take more of your time tonight. As I said, we shall return in three days, after sunfall,’ Moonwarden bowed her head and let a small smile appear on his lips, whilst beckoning to Colgate that they are bound to leave.

‘If you say so... I cannot tell day and night here...’ the pegasus whispered quietly, while the other mare stood up and joined the caped unicorn.

‘Have faith that it shall change soon,’ the stallion bowed his head in a farewell. ‘Thank you for your time and cooperation,’ he said and then turned around, approaching the door. Colgate also bowed her head, but was observing the pegasus until she had to finally turn around. Summer Rainfall was sitting still by the table. She was staring constantly at one spot, her eyes filled with tears, occasional droplets going down her face. Even with the promise made by Colgate’s teacher, the winged mare was an icon of sadness. And that made Colgate ponder if this interrogation unearthed everything it should have...

Once Moonwarden closed the cell door behind them and the two agents went away from the cell to the other end of the cave, Colgate turned to her teacher.

‘What do we do now, tutor?’

‘First, I need to congratulate you. With this being your first assignment in information acquiring, I am obliged to grade your performance as highly satisfactory,’ Moonwarden sounded official, but he had a smile on his face.

‘Thank you, I just tried my best, really... I didn’t do anything spectacular...’ the mare felt a bit uncomfortable, receiving praise from the caped stallion, but not in a negative way to be honest.

‘Oh, trust me on this, initiate, do not be spectacular. Be like you are right now,’ the grey unicorn stated. ‘You are very natural and empathic. You sometimes want to act on emotions too quickly, but this is not a bad thing if kept under check. You are a valuable aid.’

‘Thank you, tutor,’ Colgate bowed her head.

‘Do not mention it. Now, the matter at hand. I believe we can end this assignment soon. If Rainfall shall be willing to fully cooperate, we will have the ponies responsible for this plight quickly,’ Moonwarden stated. ‘But I have a feeling there is something lurking in your mind,’ he added, observing his apprentice’s face.

‘Yes, tutor. I wonder if she is telling us everything,’ the mare nearly whispered, like she was worried than the pegasus would hear them in such a distance from the cell’s door.

‘I do believe so, but speak up if you have your doubts, initiate.’

‘There is just something... I don’t know. Something doesn’t feel right,’ Colgate couldn’t express it any better. ‘I can’t really say what exactly though...’

‘Hmmm... Intuition is an important weapon in our arsenal, even if sometimes faulty. Do not let yourself driven by it, but always take its voice into consideration,’ Moonwarden commented. ‘I will keep in mind your observations,’ the stallion said, to which Colgate nodded. ‘In the meantime, I will have to uphold our end of the bargain. I will see if we can get her some higher quality food, perhaps we can get a medic to check her up. The better she shall be feeling, the more co-operative she will be,’ the grey pony concluded.

‘Was it necessary to scare her beforehand though?’ the mare asked. ‘You wouldn’t try to get into her mind after all, tutor...’ there was a bit of accusation in the blue unicorn’s voice and she wasn’t trying to hide it too well.

‘I know it, you know it, she does not have to, initiate,’ the caped pony commented. ‘I merely said what I said to create a greater contrast when it comes to loss and gain. That will make it easier for her to choose the wise course of action,’ Moonwarden pointed out.

Colgate didn’t respond. She was not agreeing with that particular technique, but part of her accepted the stallion’s logic as it was quite sound. After all, this first interrogation went better than she thought it would go. She would have to admit that her imagination was presenting to her a far more unpleasant and upsetting way this evening might look like... but at the same time she felt that her teacher wasn’t going to follow the scenarios that her mind showed her before tonight...

‘So, are we done for the night, tutor?’ the mare queried.

‘Pretty much, although I would wait for Shining Armor to appear here. I do not wish to start trotting around the Delves without him, lest he shall suspect us of performing some, dripping with darkest of magical arts, torture extravaganza...’ Moonwarden said with such a wondrously non-serious tone, Colgate giggled uncontrollably.

‘Would that make me the stereotypical, more intelligent sidekick of the grim villain?’ she asked, still chuckling, which in return made the stallion smile.

‘More intelligent, bah!’ the grey pony swooshed his cape in a dramatic fashion. ‘More beautiful, yes...’ he added with a soft, serious tone, which caused the mare to let out a silent “oh” sound. He then continued, watching the blue unicorn getting more and more red on her face. ‘Since we need to wait until we can continue our work... and hoping you have a free evening tomorrow... tell me, Colgate, do you enjoy classical concerts?’

Comments

[Puzzle Reader]

Ooh, pretty interesting. I wonder what Rainfall's hiding.

[Gulheru]

3506952

You can count on our duo to unearth it, whatever that is.