Of Stars Descending

by Taldaer

Ch 8. Accusations and answers

Chapter 8 Accusations and Answers

Make me bother, I dare you,
I’ve got the strength I need,
but I’ll await my darkest moment,
when the guilt doesn’t get to me.

There are times in life where everything seems to turn against you. I am certainly no stranger to such days, or weeks even. We have all been there at some point and such times always greet you with the same feeling of hopelessness. I wish I could give you better answer than to persevere. Unfortunately I can only leave you with this piece advice. Do your best to ride the storm and when it dies down. I urge you to stand, stand in defiance of what threatened to tear you down and start walking.

*~*

I awoke with a groan, a dry metallic taste accompanied an ache throughout my body. It feels as if I had slept on rocks or something. I thought as I opened my eyes to take in my surroundings. I was in a small cell, on the floor of said cell to be precise. Well it wasn’t that surprising that I was here given the reception I had received. It did however not stop my pending questions.

"What the hay is going on here?" I muttered.

Celestia had returned hadn’t she? So why was I being kept here? Where exactly was here, and how long had I been unconscious? The questions continued to circle my mind as I explored the small cell.

The cell itself was a boring affair, no window, four walls, and small cot. There was a heavy iron door on one of the walls, which was very much locked. I wouldn’t get any answers from staring at the walls and since I could hear no activity outside my cell I hoped onto the cot to stare at the ceiling instead.

I don’t know how much time that passed before I finally heard steps outside my cell’s door, but it felt like hours. I had become quite hungry as well. It was still rather manageable though. A series of clicking noises were heard as the door was unlocked and swung open to reveal Applejack, Twilight and Rainbow Dash. They didn’t look happy at all, which in turn made me raise an eyebrow from my lazy position on the cot.

"I knew you couldn’t be trusted!" Rainbow cried out as soon I she saw that I was awake, and
had she not been restrained by Twilight’s magic she would have also been in my face when she did.

I could only sigh in response. They weren’t happy to see me which probably meant I was to blame for something. Or at least they thought I was to blame for something.

"Okay, here’s how this is going to work Cloud. You tell us everything about Grief and Rage’s plans for Equestria and then you tell us what spells you’ve used on princess Celestia!" Twilight all but growled at me.

In the meantime my mind was reeling. Who were Grief and Rage? What do they mean spells used on Celestia? I’m quite sure I established that humans were unable to use magic.

"Uh could we take this from the top? Who are Grief and Rage, furthermore what’s wrong with Celestia?" I asked not really expecting an answer.

"Oh yeah of course you’re playing dumb now. Not so funny anymore when we have you cornered huh?" Rainbow called out with a sneer.

"Okay first off, the only one I would truly fear in this room is Twilight since I have no defense against magic. Secondly, I refuse to argue with someone who has already made up their mind about me." I said, keeping my eyes locked with Rainbow’s.

"Um, don’t ya mean somepony?" Applejack spoke up.

"No, no I don’t. I haven’t lied to you once since I decided to come clean that day in the library, even if you three seem convinced that I somehow can bypass both mind scans and the element of honesty." I said as a sarcastic tone started to creep into my voice.

"Then how do you explain that your masters struck a single day after Celestia’s disappearance?" Rainbow pressed on.

"I don’t know, luck perhaps? They may have felt her leaving Equestria. It’s quite hard to give you answers when I don’t even know what I’m supposed to answer." I said starting to grow frustrated.

Who the hell were these Grief and Rage fellows and why was I being lumped with them? Nothing was making sense and Dash wasn’t helping with her rash accusations. If I was going to get anywhere I would have to rely on logic and honesty to help me through this.

"What’s the matter? Cat got your to-" Dash started again but I held up a hoof to silence her.

"Okay let’s assume that I know exactly what you’re accusing me off and that this was all a devious plan to secure Equestria for whatever forces are currently threatening it." The three elements were listening closely to me now, good.

"Now let’s discuss just how I find this entire argument to be illogical. First off you assume that Celestia being pulled along to my world was intentional. While I have no proof to say otherwise I’m surprised that you haven’t asked Celestia herself about the events that took place while she was gone. That bri-"

"That’s because you used some kind of spell on her to make her believe that you are a good pony." Twilight interjected.

Oh, so that’s why I’m still in a cell. That explains a lot actually but in the end it only gives me more ammo.

"As I was starting to say before I was interrupted, that brings me to the largest flaw in your accusations. If I had managed to spirit away Celestia to a foreign dimension to help whatever attack Equestria has come under, why would I return her here? Furthermore why would I come alone into my enemies stronghold?" I asked while observing their reactions from the cot.

Twilight and Applejack looked confused, what I had said seemed to make sense to them. Rainbow on the other hand was still glaring at me, but then again we had never seen eye to eye since the fight incident at the Ponyville park.

"Hmm you’ve given us a bit to think about Cloud. Come on girls we need to discuss this with Princess Luna." Twilight said as she started to head toward the door, the two others following her closely.

Before they could exit the cell I raised my voice once more for a question.

"May I ask who started the accusations you now turn against me?"

Twilight turned to answer me.

"It was a unicorn named-"

"Don’t tell him that!" Rainbow interrupted.

Twilight gave her a sheepish smile before nodding. With that they left my cell, leaving me to my raging thoughts once more. Who the hay was this mysterious unicorn? What agenda did they have toward me? As I wracked my brain for potential answers I started pacing back and forth in my small cell.

Then it struck me, why hadn’t I thought of it before. It had to be Swiftmend who had started the accusations toward me, but why and for what purpose? Was he in league with these entities called Grief and Rage? Whatever he sought to gain from this I could not discern. Was he just another cliché bad guy blinded by a promise of power or was he somehow the mastermind behind it all?

The more I thought about it the more convinced I grew, Swiftmend had to be a part in all this. I couldn’t recall any other unicorns that I had crossed paths with during my time in Equestria. Well not counting Twilight and Rarity but they were clearly fooled by whatever game was being played here in Canterlot.

I was pulled from my thoughts as the cell door was opened and a unicorn guard entered with a tray containing some bread, hay and a pitcher with water. The guard kept his eyes on me the whole time but didn’t say a word until he left. Sighing to myself I moved over to the tray he had left behind. The bread was rather stale and so was the hay but I was hungry so I paid little mind to it.

After I had eaten I returned to the cot. Having nothing better to do I stared up at the ceiling lazily counting the many tiles that made it up, there were 274. This was getting old really fast so in my boredom I decided to check the weird hammer space pockets I had found during my first visit. Much to my surprise I pulled out most of the belongings I had on me when Celestia had cast her spell. My wallet had once more been converted into a bag of bits, but the interesting thing was my phone. It had not changed form at all and neither had the small headset. Was it due to there being no equivalent object for it in this world? Or was technology not subject to magic? Tapping the screen quickly revealed the phone to be working and in what seemed to be a constant charge cycle. Had the transfer had an effect on the phone after all or was it due to magical background radiation? If I had a chance I would love to look deeper into this but for now I was happy that I had found something to pass the time.

Headset in place I cycled through the many songs contained on the phone. Before I finally shrugged my wings and set the phone on shuffle. As the music washed over my ears I idly wondered why I had been allowed to keep my belongings, especially something alien such as the phone.

*~*

I don’t know how much time had passed but eventually I heard the door being unlocked once more. I hurriedly pulled the headset of my ears and stuffed them inside the hammer space pocket alongside the phone. I’m guessing that it’s time for round two in the accusations department. I thought to myself.

The door swung open to reveal the pony I least expected to see given the circumstances. There in the doorway stood Dreamcatcher, the somewhat narcoleptic unicorn from my first visit, looking at me with a tired smile.

"Hello Stormcloud, I thought I’d drop by to have a little chat." She said while she stepped inside the cell, closing the door behind her.

I just stared at her, what was she doing here? Well it’s only natural that all the ponies in Ponyville were evacuated here. My brain pointed out.

"So how did you end up in this cell?" Dreamcatcher asked sounding genuinely curious.

This was the first friendly conversation I had had all day. It was only natural that I would explain what had happened to me during the arrival at the castle and the following hours. I didn’t care if it sounded crazy to her. Right now she was the only pony willing to listen in my eyes. However when I started to elaborate on my theories about Swiftmend having sold me out for some reason Dreamcatcher started laughing. I stared at the grey unicorn mare as she shook from laughter.

"I’m sorry did I say something funny?" I asked feeling a bit frustrated that she was laughing in my face.

"Oh no, it’s just that for such a bright human you are horribly blind in some aspects."

A shiver ran down my spine. How did she know that?

"Not going to comment?" she mocked, the persona she had been showing mere minutes ago was gone leaving this enigma of a mare.

"How did you know that I was human?" I growled, not at all amused by this turn of events.

"Oh please, did you really think that all this was a coincidence? That you fell through a rift in reality just by pure chance? No this is part of a trap years in the making, centuries even. Ever since we banished Tempest Cloud into the world humanity, we’ve waited for this day. We knew that she’d eventually take a mate in her new form and plant the seeds for the perfect vessel." she said with a smirk.

My mind was calling the mare in front of me a bloody liar, but deep inside a cold feeling had asserted itself.

"But that’s not possible! The time distortion would not allow that to happen. You say you sent some old Storm Paragon back to my world only to have her intermingle with humanity. While my family name may be Cloud there’s not enough time for your plan have worked as you say it did, we’ve held the name Cloud for centuries. She can’t possibly fit into a plan spanning centuries when the worlds time flow differently." I objected.

"Oh but it is descendant! You see there wasn’t always a distortion between our worlds. That is something that has come into existence over the many long years." she countered.

"Then why? What is your purpose for doing all this?!" I shouted, getting more and more agitated by her claims.

"I’ve stated the purpose already. But I will oblige you again; it was to trap one of the celestial sisters in your world so that my masters could easily sweep away Equestria’s defences." she said with a smug grin.

"Uhuh, and who are these masters then?" I asked glaring at the pony in front of me.

"You really are quite dense at times aren’t you?" Dreamcatcher taunted before continuing.

"Why it is Lord Rage and mistress Grief of course, the last of the grand stars!"

"So you’re the one behind all that’s been happening recently and the one who started the accusations against me."

"Ding! Finally the bit drops, took you long enough to get there." she continued to taunt.

"Now you’ll answer a question for me descendant, how did you escape the trap along with the sun goddess?"

"You think that I’ll just answer your questions after what you’ve just told me? Yeah, I don’t think so, now leave my cell before you regret overstaying your welcome." I said through gritted teeth. She was worse than a snake in my eyes at this point.

"Too bad, I was truly curious about that fact. Well then, see you never descendant. I hope you enjoy your cell ‘cause it will be the last thing you see." She declared before teleporting out of my cell.

I heard her lock the door once more from the outside, leaving me with a new storm of warring thoughts. What she had said couldn’t possibly be true could it? Was I just a piece in some grand game? Was I really related to this world? Sure I had read the book in Twilights library but I had just pushed it aside as coincidence.

To say that I was confused was an understatement. What did all this mean for me if it was true? There were still many questions unanswered, and who said that what Dreamcatcher had said was true. With a frustrated growl I hoped back onto the cot to stare into the wall it was attached to.

*~*

I woke up to the rumble of thunder. I had apparently fallen asleep sometime during my very interesting stay in the cell. I could not tell what time of the day it was but there was a new tray with food on the floor of the cell. I grumbled to myself as I slipped of the cot and moved over to the tray to eat the boring serving of hay and bread. Not that I had expected prison food to be any kind of gourmet, but would it have killed them to add at least a bit of butter?

When I had finished my meal I sat with my back against one of the walls to listen to the storm that was brewing outside. There was something inside me that called out to the storm, to search for the windiest spot, to soar through the rain and dance with the lightning. I closed my eyes and focused on the increasing sounds of heavy rain and the occasional rumble from thunder. I guess there was some truth to Dreamcatcher’s statements after all… I thought with a sigh.

That’s when the screaming began. First I thought it was the howling of the wind but soon I realized that the wind couldn’t possibly make sounds like that. My ears flicked as they tried to home in on the directions of the screams. It almost sounds like it’s coming from the wall I’m leaning against. I thought before said wall exploded in a heat wave and a shower of scorched bricks.

With fools luck I had not sustained any major damage, that didn’t stop me from groaning though as I crawled out from beneath the bricks. Rain pelted my coat from the massive hole where there had once been a secure wall. From my new window I could see Canterlot in total chaos ponies were running back and forth while a horde of creatures made up of constellations attacked guards and civilians alike when they crossed their path. Far in the back I could see an enormous constellation dragon firing off fireballs.

"I am Lord Rage, and Canterlot will bow or I will see it burned!" the dragon bellowed before continuing its assault.

I swallowed as I watched the display of power. The only viable option to counter this threat seemed to be the elements of harmony. No doubt they were already on their way to try and deal with the dragon. I thought before the screaming citizens brought me back.

I took a deep breath before jumping into the storming skies. I was not some damn puppet you could just play with and toss aside. I was going to fight with every fiber of my being!

Author's Note:

I know that this chapter is a fair bit shorter than my my normal ones but I didn't feel like I could stretch it any further. The next chapter will be a busy one and I can tell you that it will contain the last cliffhanger for a while, and I do believe you'll hate me for this one.

Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter despite its length so don't forget to vote and comment.

See ya next time when... whoops no spoilers!

Comments

[Ariel Schnee]

{ ‘Please just let me think a bit.’ I replied a bit absently. }

This is a mistake I have noticed all throughout the fic.

The above should be this :

{ "Please just let me think a bit." I replied a bit absently. }

" " are for speach. ' ' are for thoughts.

[Taldaer]

2401315

I'm aware of this but currently I do not have the time to do a complete overhaul of the story. The later chapters have been written in the same style to keep it consistent, once the story is finished I will consider going through it fixing stuff like this but not before that.

[ViktornovaMk2]

every bad guys worst flaw, monologuing.
"Let's all just tell the protagonist our back story, evil plan, and everything else in between. Piss them off even more. And let them live to wreak righteous fury upon us."

[VinylScratch420]

2401315 actually either quote could be used for speech

[VinylScratch420]

and this story got real tense quick as fuck

[Jack-Pony]

5387317 Actually, no. Nightgazer is partially correct, quotation marks are the only acceptable form for dialogue. Apostrophes are only for denoting contractions and possessive case - but not for internal thoughts.