Chapter 48 - Deterrent (Part 1)
Chapter 48 - Deterrent (Part 1)
In the small, windowless meeting room, Princesses Celestia looked around the circular table she was seated at. To her right was Luna, and seated next to her were the bearers. The rest of the ponies around the table were those generally considered vital to the defense of Equestria.
Everypony became silent and turned to look when the doors opened and Fleetfoot walked in. Still wearing her flight suit, and her mane messy from her recent flight, she saluted all the princesses present before marching over to Commander Whirlwind. Saluting him, she then buried her head into her saddlebag and took out a binder with her mouth. Passing it to the commander, she then turned and left the room with one final salute.
Everypony waited for the Commander to speak as he examined the report.
He looked up after a second. “As you are all aware, Soarin completed a high level overfly of Ponyville a little over an hour ago with magic sensing equipment.” He tapped the folder. “This is the analysis of the data he obtained.” He looked back down. “I’ll read out the main points from the summary. One, there is a high-power magical field around Ponyville, one which is strong enough to stop any pony passing through physically or magically. Two, initial analysis suggest that while the field can be broken, it would require a major magical assault to do so. Which, of course, would eliminate any element of surprise we had. Three, the readings indicate that the field is bleeding off magic constantly and is, therefore, not completely stable. This implies that one, or more, of the hostiles present, are going to be tied up actively maintaining the field at all times. Four, the field appears to be originating from the town hall. Five, there is also a large concentration of individual magical fields also emanating from the town hall. These are assumed to be those of the hostages.”
Shining Armour nodded. “Based on the debrief of the guard they released, that is pretty much where we expected them to be keeping them.”
Commander Whirlwind turned the page. “As a sidenote, the ponies who prepared this report are quite sure that there is a way to get a pony, covertly, past the field. However, it would require a close-up analysis of the field and the time to do so.”
Shining Armour sighed. “Time, the one thing we don’t have.”
Short Notice tapped the table, getting everypony's attention. “Excuse me, we may have a little more than you realize Captain. I, umm, managed to negotiate a twenty-four-hour extension to their original deadline.” He shuffled in his seat as they all turned to look at him. “Err, it is the next article on the agenda, I was just waiting my turn. That’s how meetings work you see…” He looked away at their looks. “Anyway, I sent a messenger to Ponyville to ask for an extension to when we had to turn over Miss Icefang. They agreed to an extra twenty-four hours.”
Luna leaned forward. “While we will be sending ponies to get close to the field, I strongly suspect that will not be enough time to work out a way to bypass it. I also suspect that they know that. However,” -she turned to look at Short Notice- “I will admit that I am intrigued Mister Notice. Just how did you manage to get them to agree to an extension in the first place? The note listing their demands seemed quite... insistent upon us keeping to the schedule stated.”
Short Notice looked down at his hooves. “I, err, I had the messenger inform them that Miss Icefang wasn’t fit to travel right now. That she needed time to be stabilized before she could be safely moved.”
Shining Armour leaned forward, his surprise mirrored by most others in the room. “Why would they believe something like that?”
Short Notice kept his eyes on Shining. Even so, he could feel Princess’s Celestia’s gaze upon him. He swallowed. “I… I have been made privy to certain sensitive information Captain. Information that I needed to know to help arrange some confidential matters within the castle. And based on that information, I believed they would believe it. Which they did, very easily, I was informed.”
Shining went to ask a question but Celestia spoke first, her voice flat and emotionless. “You didn’t tell me you were going to do that Mister Short Notice.”
Short Notice started playing with his hooves. “N-no, but I thought… ”
Celestia suddenly looked away. “Good job Mister Notice. You bought us some badly needed time. I commend both your actions and initiative in this matter.”
Short Notice sagged in relief.
Luna looked over at her thestral major. “Major, I want you to try and get somepony close to the field. See if we can gather any more data about it and what’s going on inside Ponyville itself.”
The major nodded back with a smile. “That’s already been actioned, your highness.” The smile fell as she looked around. “But we desperately need more intel about them and their abilities. Something I feel Miss Icefang can help a lot with. If I may remind all those gathered here, when we do actually go into Ponyville, we will be going in against an unknown number of ponies, in prepared positions, armed with potent magic. That is not a good way to do things.” She glanced over at the bearers. “Especially when our own primary magical assets have been… disabled at the moment.” She looked back at Luna. “And I include both you and your sister in that.”
Leaning back, Luna sighed. “You must admire their timing. Perfect, is it not?" She smiled mirthlessly. "My sister and I are still recovering from the antidote to the poison we were given... and because of that, both our magics are greatly reduced right now. After raising or lowering our respective celestial bodies, we have precious little left. Certainly not enough to engage in open, high-level magical combat.” She pointed over at the bearers “And the Bearers are in little better condition if we are to be honest. They are all still recovering from their little adventure, an adventure which has left all of them exhausted, mentally as well as physically.”
All the bearers looked away, with not even Rainbow trying to object.
Luna continued. “And need I mention that Twilight is currently without magic and Rainbow without the use of her wing. No, I consider risking the Bearers, in their current state, to be extremely unwise and I would not allow it. Not for just one town anyway. No, we need a viable alternative, magic-wise, to confront them with.”
Practical Catalogue, a yellow pegasus mare who was in charge of the castle armory, both mundane and magical, lifted her head up. “Your highness, we’ve pulled out every magical item we have from the armory. Up to, and including, the alicorn amulet. In fact Captain Armour and myself have been trying to get some of our more powerful unicorns to try and master it. Buuut...” -she looked away, her ears drooping- “the side effects start to kick in quite rapidly. And then we have to intervene, also rapidly. With time we might get somepony able to master it without going completely-”
Luna spread her wings, cutting her off. “Yes yes yes! If we had enough time we could wear a mountain down with a feather and all that. But time is the one thing we don’t-” She trailed off into silence.
Her eyes widened as she closed her mouth. Turning her head, she looked at a blank space on the wall for a few seconds.
“She’s awake.”
All the bearers sat up a little straighter, all their attention now focused on Luna.
Luna closed her eyes and then after a second, smiled.
“From what I can tell, my work has had time to set. Her mind has healed enough to be… functional. Somewhat disjointed, but functional.” She opened her eyes. “The seal I put on her memories is holding, but be aware, it is only a temporary thing. It will fail and she will need to be prepared for when it does. I suggest only one of you go right now as to not overwhelm her.” She looked meaningfully over at Fluttershy. “Somepony gentle so no unnecessary strain is placed on the seal. She is still in a fragile state.”
Nodding, Fluttershy stood up before looking over at Pinkie squirming in her chair. “Yes I know you want to come Pinkie, but right now, she needs some peace and quiet.”
Becoming still, Pinkie nodded solemnly.
Fluttershy turned towards the door, deliberately not looking at Celestia. “Now if you’ll all please excuse me everypony. I have a friend that desperately needs some friendship right now.”
***
Sunbeam lay on the bed looking up at the ceiling. Lifting her head, she looked around the room with a puzzled look on her face.
Closing her eyes, she let her head fall back onto the pillow before lifting her forehooves up to her temples and starting to rub them.
“Ugh, my head feels like it’s stuffed full of cotton wool. What the buck was I drinking last night?”
Opening her eyes, she silently looked upwards for a few seconds.
“I’m hungry."
There was a pause, then Sunbeam nodded to herself.
"Yes, I’m hungry. I want some breakfast. Leftover pizza sounds good.” A smile appeared. “Ooo, leftover pizza, that sounds sooo good right now. Leftover pizza topped with… with…”
She frowned.
"With…?"
She closed her eyes and bared her teeth.
“Wiiiiiiith…”
Her fore hoof lifted up before slamming down on the bed.
“Focus! Pizza toppings. A pizza topped with… With… Mushrooms!”
There was another pause before her smile reappeared.
“Mushrooms and onions. Mushrooms, onions, avocado...” She shook her head. “No! Not avocado! But yes to sweet corn, peppers...” -she frowned again- “pineapple?”
With a shrug, her smile grew as she let herself relax back into the bed.
“Close enough. Good to know that the important stuff is still there. It’s all starting to come back now, just needed to burn through the fuzziness.”
She sniggered as she rubbed her chin with a hoof. “Oh I’m definitely going to have to find out what I was drinking last night.”
There was a pause and she lifted her head to look around one more time. “Annnd this definitely isn’t my room. Okay, let’s try and figure this out. I’ve just woken up in a soft bed, somewhere unfamiliar, after what appears to be a good night on the town.” There was a pause before a smirk appeared. “I just hope he was good looking and bought me pizza and beer first." Placing a hoof on her chest, she put on a semi-serious look. "Because a mare's gotta have some standards.”
Grinning, she lifted her hoof up into the air. “But! Before I check the status of my virginity, I need to check on something even more important first. Something even more important than leftover pizza even!”
Her smile faltered as the hoof she’d lifted up in the air starting moving, hesitantly, towards her horn. It stopped an inch away from it and Sunbeam closed her eyes and took a stuttering intake of breath.
"P-please! Please please please."
Her hoof crept forward... and then touched her horn.
With a sigh of relief, Sunbeam slumped back onto the bed, her hoof still touching her horn.
“Oh thank buck for that!”
Moving her hoof up to the tip of her horn, she then started to run it slowly down its length.
“Hah! And I thought I was paranoid before that bastard tried to saw it off. Letting him live like that, I must have been in a rare good mood. Otherwise, I'd of-"
Her hoof found the inhibitor ring around the base of her horn and her smile fell.
With a groan, she let her foreleg fall back onto the bed where it bounced a couple of times before coming to a rest.
“Wonderful! Oh just bucking wonderful. Even if I was drunk off my teats last night, I seriously doubt anypony would be able to talk me into the kinky stuff. Soooo, I think it’s pretty safe to assume I’m somewhere I don’t want to be then.”
She stared up at the ceiling. “So, where the buck am I?" Lifting her head she looked around again. "This isn’t a prison. No prison has beds this soft, or comfortable. So what is the last thing I remember?”
She started tapping her chin. “Castle. Yes, I was in a castle. I was in a throne room of a castle. I was in a throne room of a castle. I was cowering in front of the Day Princess as she started lowering her horn towards…”
Her eyes widened.
***
Fluttershy walked up to Sunbeam’s door.
Two Solar Guards stood at attention outside it looking forward. Neither moved or looked at her as she tapped on the door.
“Sunbeam? It’s me Fluttershy. Is it okay for me to come in?”
There was no response.
With a deep breath, she tried again, a little louder. “Please Sunbeam, I need to come in.”
Still nothing.
She glanced at the guards, both of which just kept looking forward.
Fluttershy took a breath. “I’m sorry Sunbeam, but I have to come in.”
Opening the door, she walked in and her eyebrows rose at the empty room.
“Sunbeam?”
Closing the door behind her, Fluttershy trotted over to the bed. To her eye, it looked like the sheets had been thrown to one side in a hurry.
Fluttershy looked back at the door. “The guards are there, so you couldn’t have left that way. So where are you Sunbeam?”
She took a few steps to the side to look into the ensuite bathroom, which was also empty.
A through crossed her mind and Fluttershy quickly trotted over to the windows. With relief, she found them all still shut and magically locked.
After checking the wardrobe, Fluttershy walked back over to the bed and looked around again. “Where could you be Sunbeam? You must be in here still.” Lifting a hoof, she tapped her chin. “Let’s see, what would I do if I was in your place? Where would I hide-”
Her eyebrows lifted.
Getting down onto her belly, Fluttershy looked under the bed.
She was very still for a couple of seconds before, very slowly, she started reaching a hoof out under it.
“Shhh. It’s okay, it’s okay…”
***
Quick Blade stood at attention in front of the mayor’s desk at which Sharp Fang was seated. His gaze was fixed on a point somewhere over his superior’s head.
“Sir, we have finished relocating the camp to Ponyville and have secured the perimeter. We have two ponies on rotation keeping the field up. We have one more guarding the hostages and two on patrol around the town. I decided that it would be best to keep Scrolls separate from the rest of the hostages so he's parked round the back of the town hall. I have put some more wards on his cage as we don't have enough ponies left to guard him, as well.”
Sharp Fang finished making a note before he looked up. He let the silence continued for several seconds before speaking.
“You disapprove of my actions, Mister Quick Blade.”
The dark blue unicorn didn’t answer.
“You may speak freely.”
Quick Blade drew himself up. “Sir, I believe you have exceeded your orders. By taking over Ponyville, you will have alerted the Princesses to our existence. And once she knows some of us survived her purges she will start actively looking for us once again. Sir, by your actions, I believe you have placed every single Snake in jeopardy. Sir.”
Sharp Fang tilted his head. “Yet you continue to assist in the securing of Ponyville.”
“Sir, by the time I got here, you had already taken over Ponyville and had secured the hostages. The damage had already been done. As there are only seven of us now, by not assisting I would have only increased the risk for everypony. Sir, may I also add that we cannot hope to hold Ponyville for any length of time, not with our current forces. And worse sir, we are spread far too thin. We could lose ponies and not know anything about it. Not until it was too late, anyway. Sir.”
Sharp Fang lifted an eyebrow.
Quick Blade took a breath. “Sir. I wish to state that this is against standing orders and as such, I would like to formally request that you step down from command.”
Sharp Fang smiled. “Request?” He looked back down at the desk and started writing again. “Mister Blade, if you had the support of the rest of my team, you wouldn’t need to ask me to step down."
Quick Blade tried not to grind his teeth. “Of course, all the other ponies here are behind you.”
‘They have all become fixated on getting Icefang back, just like you. You have -infected- them with that desire. They are all lost.’
He drew himself up. “Sir, when we get back, I will be lodging an official complaint. But until then, I am under your command. I will do nothing to jeopardize this mission or the safety of the clan.”
Sharp Fang nodded. “Good. I have the rotation of duties here. I want my ponies well rested as possible as we’ll all be staying here for twenty-four hours longer than expected.” He looked up as he hoofed them over to Quick Blade. “Is that understood?”
Quick Blade saluted. “Sir, while I may not agree with your course of action, I will continue to follow my orders of my superior to the best of my abilities. Sir.”
Sharp Fang nodded. “Very good. Dismissed.”
***
Sunbeam lay lengthways on the stone bench in the royal gardens, straddling it with both sets of legs. Her head lay on its side on the bench, looking away from Fluttershy as Fluttershy herself stood next to her with her wing draped over her back.
Standing a little distance away, but in plain sight, were the two guards that had been outside her door.
Without lifting her head, Sunbeam suddenly spoke up.
"I was looking for something.”
Fluttershy tilted her head at her. “I’m sorry?”
Sunbeam, keeping the side of her head resting on the stone bench kept looking away from her. “I was... looking for something. I dropped it and it rolled under the bed. That was why I was under there. I... I was looking for something. I… I was looking... for something."
Fluttershy’s wing held her a little tighter and smiled down at her. “Do you know what helps me relax? Petting a cute little furry friend. Perhaps if I could find-” Looking around, Fluttershy frowned at the lack of wildlife. Normally the palace gardens would be teeming with life, but right now, the garden seemed particularly empty.
Her ears fell as a memory from a certain Gala night came back. Fluttershy sighed quietly as she stood with her wing over Sunbeam. Looking around at the empty garden again, she took a breath. "Sunbeam, I'm sorry-"
There was a flash of white behind a large bush.
Without taking her eyes off the bush, Fluttershy tilted her head towards Sunbeam.
“Sunbeam, will you be okay for a moment? I promise I won't be far and I’ll be right back.”
Without lifting her head, Sunbeam waved a hoof in the approximate direction of her two guards. “Not going anywhere.”
Retracting her wing, Fluttershy walked around the bush and looked up.
Celestia looked down at her.
“How is she Miss Fluttershy?”
“She’s… she’s as well as can be expected. And thank you for hiding from her. I don’t think seeing you would be good for her.”
Celestia nodded. “If there is anything I can do..."
“Hiding from her is enough.” Fluttershy looked around. “Although I do wish some of the wildlife would come see her.” Her ears fell. “She never thought I’d notice, but I’ve seen how she scares all my little friends. They can sense…” She shook her head. “Even Harry is more protective when she’s around. Normally I could bring one to her, and as long as I stay close to her, it’s okay. But here, here they’re avoiding-” her head fell slightly “-us.”
“Miss Fluttershy, I-”
Fluttershy, still looking away, nodded. “Did what you felt you had to do. I understand that. We all do. And don’t worry, we’re not going to tell anypony.”
Celestia's eyebrows rose.
Fluttershy turned to look at her. “We all agreed, what good will telling anypony do? You’ve done so much good Princess and everypony looks up to you. All we’d do is hurt that. We'd hurt all the good you’ve done, and in turn, hurt Equestria in the process. Besides, nopony would believe us anyway. Nopony would want to believe us.” Closing her eyes, she shook her head. “And whatever else, we still need you. Equestria still needs you. You raise the sun every morning, the world still needs you.” Fluttershy’s voice quavered as she looked away. “And so many ponies would say: ‘what's one, damaged, pony compared to all that?”
“Miss Fluttershy-”
Fluttershy took a breath and looked up at her. “So we all agreed, that for the good of Equestria, for the world even, not telling anypony is the best thing to do.” She looked away. “Maybe even for Sunbeam herself.” Fluttershy’s voice quavered. “And I willingly agreed to that.”
“Miss Fluttershy I can assure you-”
Fluttershy stood up and smiled at her.
“It’s okay Princess. If I think of it as natural selection, I find it so much easier. She’s a predator herself, but she happened to encounter a more dangerous predator.” Still smiling, Fluttershy turned and started walking back to Sunbeam. “And so she was indeed fortunate to survive that encounter with only a few more scars.”
Not moving, Celestia watched Fluttershy walk away.
Looking around at the gardens, empty of wildlife, Celestia's eyes narrowed. Lifting her head, her ears pricked up as a determined expression set in. Turning, she set off towards her private quarters, a personal favor to ask.
***
Sunbeam grunted as she felt something land heavily on her back.
There was a startled “oh my” from Fluttershy.
Frowning, she lifted her head to look around to see just what had landed on her back.
Philomena lifted a wing and started to preen herself under it.
Fluttershy, smiling, took a step back.
Sunbeam felt Philomena’s talons grasp her back and flinched. In response to the flinch, Philomena spread her wings to keep her balance before casting a baleful eye at Sunbeam. Once satisfied that her perch wasn’t moving anymore, she resumed preening.
Sunbeam silently watched Philomena without expression and remaining unmoving. Her back had started to ache already where Philomena was perched and she could also feel her talons digging in. Not enough to draw blood, but she could feel them flexing and...
She tilted her head. Where Philomena was standing on her, she could feel a soothing heat and the flexing of talons was quickly becoming relaxing.
The ache lessened.
Turning her head, Sunbeam lay back down on the bench.
At the sound of approaching hoof steps, her undamaged ear swiveled towards the sound but otherwise, she remained still.
“Excuse me, Miss.”
Lifting her head, she turned it to look at one of her guards that were now stood right next to her.
The guard, Mace Swing, gestured at Philomena. “If Philomena is bothering you, I can shoo her away.”
He lifted a hoof to do so... and blinked.
Sunbeam was holding his hoof, firmly, with one of hers and she was smiling at him.
Mace Swing blinked again. It was definitely a smile on her face. The corners of her mouth were turned up and he could see her teeth. It was definitely a smile.
Yet, for some reason, it was causing his hackles to rise as he looked at it.
Her voice was calm and pleasant when she spoke. “If you disturb that bird-" A sharp tug on his hoof made him stumble forward, his head dropping to her level as he did so, enabling Sunbeam to lean forward and whisper directly into his ear. “-I will break every single bone in your body. And what’s more, mister guard-"
Mace Swing felt the hairs on the inside of his ear move as she spoke.
"-I’ll smile the entire time I’m doing it.”
***
Diligent Practice watched as his fellow guard, Mace Swing, walked stiffly back towards him.
He looked at him and then back at Sunbeam. “Is she okay with Philomena perched on her back like that? She can sink her talons in at times. Trust me, I know.”
Mace Swing gave a brief nod before standing rigidly at attention. Diligent Practice noticed his partner was holding his spear very tightly.
“You okay?”
Mace Swing's voice seemed an octave or two higher pitch than usual.
“I’m fine! She’s fine! Everypony's fine!”
***
Fluttershy walked alongside Sunbeam down the corridor that had big arched windows to their right. A long red carpet lay along the entire length of the corridor, muffling their hoofsteps. Side tables with vases on them were lined along the inner wall while in between the windows were well-tended potted ferns.
As they walked, Philomena was perched on Sunbeam’s back, looking around and seemingly enjoying the free ride.
Behind them, Sunbeam’s two guards followed.
About halfway down the corridor, there was a set of open double doors on the left, the doors themselves were hooked to loops on the wall keeping them open.
Fluttershy gently tugged Sunbeam towards the entrance as they reached it. “This is the way to the meeting room.”
Sunbeam let herself be guided down the hallway, deeper into the castle, as light from crystals on the walls replaced the natural light. She took a breath as she inclined her head towards Fluttershy. “I guess they want me at this meeting for all the intel I can give. Sensible, I suppose."
Turning her head, Fluttershy smiled at her as they approached another set of double doors. This set was closed and had two guards standing outside.
Sunbeam let her head drop slightly as they approached the doors. “Oh, I’m not looking forward to this. This is gonna be nothing short of a full-on interrogation, is it? Buuut if it means helping Ponyville, I’ll do it.” She forced a smile. “I’ll do it. So who's gonna be there? All the bigwigs-”
Sunbeam stopped dead, making Philomena spread her wings for balance.
Fluttershy turned to look at her. “Sunbeam are you-?” She tilted her head as she looked at her. “Sunbeam?”
Sunbeam’s eyes were wide, and as Fluttershy watched she could see Sunbeam’s pupils shrink. She took a step towards her. “Sunbeam? Are you okay?"
Her eyes never leaving the door, Sunbeam took a step back as her ears pinned themselves back. “S-she's going to be in there, isn’t she? The Day Princess, s-s-she’s gonna be in there!”
Fluttershy nodded slowly. “I’m sorry, I thought you’d know. As it’s a matter of national importance, Princess Celestia has to be-”
Sunbeam spun round, making Philomena jump up into the air with a squawk, and started walking away from the doors. “No! I’m not going in there! No way in Tartarus am I going in there if she’s in there!”
Fluttershy chased after her as Philomena circled above. “Sunbeam, please-”
Sunbeam’s two guards stepped close together, one noticeably more hesitantly than the other, to block her escape.
Stopping in front of them Sunbeam’s eyes narrowed. “If you two don’t get outta my way I swear I’ll-”
Fluttershy caught up and put her hoof on her shoulders. “Please Sunbeam. Please. Ponyville needs your help. All your friends are in danger. Please, you can help them.”
Sunbeam didn’t look away from her guards. “No!”
Lifting a hoof, she pointed it at the guards. “Look, I’m gonna be nice here. I’m gonna give you a chance. Get outta my way or I will bucking hurt you!”
Fluttershy hugged her tighter. “Please Sunbeam. All of Ponyville needs your help. You can help them. The ponies that have taken over Ponyville, they… They said they’d do terrible things to the hostages. They said-”
She was cut off as Sunbeam gently put a hoof over her mouth. “Don’t! I can guess. I know what I’d do.” Sunbeam’s head fell. “And it's what they'd do as well. Terrible doesn't begin to...” There was a moment's silence before she spoke through clenched teeth. “Y-you’ll be there the entire time Flutters? The entire time I’m in there, you’ll be there by my side? Promise me that Flutters. Promise me that you won’t let her near me.”
Fluttershy hugged Sunbeam as tight as possible. “I’ll be there the entire time. We won’t let her near you again.”
Philomena landed on Diligent Practice’s back and tilted her head as she looked on.
Slipping out of the hug, Sunbeam turned around and buried the side of her head against Fluttershy’s neck.
“Promise me Flutters! Promise me that you won’t leave me alone with her. Say it! P-promise me!”
Fluttershy rested her head on Sunbeam’s neck. “I promise.”
***
The door to the meeting room opened and everypony turned to look.
Fluttershy walked in, her wing that was draped over Sunbeam was also holding her tight to her side. Sunbeam herself looked only at the floor, her ears flat against her skull and her every step was slow and mechanical.
Holding Sunbeam tight to herself, Fluttershy could feel Sunbeam’s rapid heartbeat. Glancing up at Celestia seated on the other side of the table, she guided Sunbeam toward the two vacant seats between her friends.
Sunbeam’s two guards walked in as well and took up position behind her against the wall. Philomena, still riding on the back of Diligent Practice, watched Sunbeam intently. Nopony noticed Diligent Practice wince every now and again.
Pinkie had managed to seat herself next to Sunbeam's chair and as Sunbeam sat down, Pinkie leaned against her, pinning her between herself and Fluttershy.
Pinkie’s hoof came up and started brushing Sunbeam's mane.
Sunbeam lifted her head to look at Pinkie. “I’m not a foal you know. You don’t have to-”
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a pristine white coat across the table.
With a whimper, she quickly looked back down at the ground again.
Pinkie just continued to stroke her mane.
***
Luna had glanced at Celestia as Fluttershy had entered with Sunbeam.
Celestia held her head high the entire time, even as Sunbeam and Fluttershy had taken their chairs.
Even as Pinkie had started stroking Sunbeam’s mane.
Luna put her wing around her sister.
She could feel the tiny trembles in Celestia that her sister wasn’t letting anypony else see.
***
Sunbeam had sat there, looking down at the floor, as the situation was summarized and questions asked of her. She’d answered those questions to the best of her ability, never once looking up.
All the time she’d felt the comforting pressure of Pinkie and Fluttershy against her sides.
When Fluttershy had moved her wing Philomena, much to the relief of Diligent Practice, had flown over and resumed her perch on her back. As she sat there, her talons had started to gently massage Sunbeam’s back once again.
It was distracting in a good way. As long as Sunbeam didn’t look at a certain part of the table, she almost felt calm.
She'd remained impassive when the pony they'd killed was mentioned. She'd winced though, when Pinkie had mournfully whispered the pony’s name and how many days it would have been to her birthday party.
Sunbeam’s ears perked up when the alicorn amulet was mentioned. She'd listened as they talked about their lack of progress in trying to master it but as no questions had been addressed to her, she’d said nothing.
Then the question came. The question she’d been expecting. The question that they were all waiting for her to answer right now.
She stared down at the map that had been, helpfully pushed in front of her.
Sunbeam could feel everypony’s eyes on her. Philomena’s claws increased their pressure as she felt Sunbeam’s back tense up.
Her eyes on the map, Sunbeam lifted a hoof.
Everypony watched as the hoof descend and landed with a click on the map.
The hoof didn't feel like it was hers. Closing her eyes her, she spoke. “Here! Here is where the snakes are based. It looks like a normal village, but it’s not. From here they, covertly, control everything.”
Unnoticed by Sunbeam, Applejack nodded to the surrounding ponies.
Commander Whirlwind flexed his wings. “I’ll start mobilizing-”
Short Notice cut in as he made a note on a parchment. “We’ll need to speak to their ambassador first Commander. We can’t just start moving troops into a neighbouring country. There's a word for that. Let me speak to the ambassador and try and get permission for-”
Sunbeam snorted before looking up at Short Notice. "Didn’t you hear me? I said they control everything from there. While the Snakes may not actually run the country, they have enough ponies in their pockets to ensure their influence is through every level of government.” She leaned forward toward him. “Go through formal channels and they will find out what you’re up to, way before you get a chance to do it."
Short Notice tilted his head as he looked back at her. “So what do you suggest we do then, Miss Sunbeam?”
Shrugging, she looked away. “What do I know? I just kill things for a living, that’s your problem, not mine.”
Short Notice placed his hooves on the table and leaned forward himself. “So you’re nothing but a killer then. You don’t care about how many ponies die because you don't want to get involved. I bet you don’t even care how many ponies in Ponyville will die because-”
Sunbeam turned her head to look back at him.
Taking his hooves off the table, Short Notice shrunk back into his chair and tried to make himself look as small as possible.
Sunbeam returned to looking at the crack in one of the floor tiles as the rest of the ponies started offering suggestions.
‘If I -didn’t- care I wouldn’t have come to Canterlot in the first place now, would I, you needle-headed moron! And I especially wouldn’t be sitting in the same damn room as the Day Princess out of choice if I didn’t care-'
Her eyebrows rose.
After a moment, Sunbeam rubbed her eyes with a hoof. ‘Oh buck that’s not good! That’s sooo not good. I care! That’s incredibly bad-’
Her chain of thought was broken by Pinkie hugging her even more tightly. Looking up, Sunbeam found everypony looking at her again and Pinkie pointing across the table at Shining Armour.
She looked over at him. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t listening.”
Shining looked back at her and narrowed his eyes. “I’ll repeat the question then, Miss Sunbeam. Just why do the Snakes want you back so badly? Just why would they do all this, threaten an entire town, just to get you back? Just why are you so important to them?”
Sunbeam looked back down and was silent.
Shining tilted his head slightly. “Miss Sunbeam?”
She held up a hoof. After a second she took a breath. “Because they view me as family, Mister Armour.”
Shining kept his head tilted, but said nothing.
Sunbeam closed her eyes. “The only family we have is each other. We’re the only ones that accept each other for what we are. I’m family in their eyes, and as such, they want me back. To come back to the fold and all that.” She snorted, her shoulders bouncing as she did so. “To them, Mister Armour, this is nothing but a rescue mission. They are trying to save a family member. It's what families do.”
Sitting back, Shining rubbed his eyes. “Oh horseapples, that makes them even more dangerous than I originally thought.”
Opening her eyes and staring blankly forward, Sunbeam slowly nodded. “You have no idea.” With a blink, she focused back on him. “However, to do anything like this, so openly, is unheard of. Right under the Day Princess's nose where she can’t fail to miss it?” Sunbeam shook her head. “They’re either extremely desperate or their commander has gone completely nuts.”
Shining sighed. “Neither of which reason lessens how dangerous they are. But still, I feel we are missing something here, Miss Sunbeam. All this for just one pony? Even a family member. Is there any other reason why they might want you back quite so badly?”
Sunbeam let her head drop back down. ‘Way too insightful you little bucker. Lie you stupid bitch! Lie like you’ve never lied before! Lie and-’
She glanced over at Applejack, who just looked back at her with a raised eyebrow.
Her ears dropped. ‘Oh buck you.’
Sunbeam glanced around the table, even for a second at Celestia, before looking down.
'Horseapples.’
Sunbeam lifted a hoof to rub her eyes. ‘Oh horseapples! Did you really think you could meet the Day Princess and -just- walk away? What were you thinking you stupid bitch! That you wanted to try and play the hero? Well you’ve gone and royally bucked yourself now, haven't you! You brought this on yourself, you stupid, stupid...’
On her back, Philomena’s talons started massaging her back as heavily as she dared without drawing blood.
Sunbeam glanced around the table again.
Everypony was looking expectantly at her. She looked back down.
‘Buck! If I tell them I’m sooo bucked. Buuuut if I don’t tell them, the Day Princess will simply rip it from my mind, and -then- I’ll be bucked anyway. And once they know, they’ll want my horn once they know! Oh buck, what was I thinking? I should have left Ponyville to its fate. I should have just left. I could've just left! Why didn't I-’
Commander Whirlwind impatiently tapped the table. “Miss Sunbeam? We are all waiting for your answer.”
Looking up, Sunbeam flashed her teeth at him. ‘Buck you, you overgrown chicken! Buck all of you with your oh-so-confident smiles on your faces. You think I 'm so helpless right now. You think that you've cornered me, that I'll do anything you say now? You really think I'll be your good little fil-'
Placing her fore-hooves on the table, she scraped their tips slowly towards her. 'Buck you all! I'll wipe those smiles off your faces. I'll show them just why you should fear me.’
There was another fraction-of-a-second glance at Celestia before she returned to looking down at the floor. ‘And I really wanna hurt you! I wanna wipe that calm-and-poised look off your face most of all. I wanna see your expression when you realize just what I could have done here!’
Sunbeam became still and a half-smile formed on her face.
“Oh yes, I wanna see your expression when you realize just how much -I- could have hurt you. I wanna see the look on your face when you realize what could have happened here... and that you wouldn’t have been able to stop it. Oh yes, I'm sooo doing this!’
Sunbeam carefully placed both forehooves flat on the table before lifting her head and smiling pleasantly at Shining Armor. “Sure! I’ll tell you just why they want me back so badly. But first,’ -she held up a hoof- ‘if you’ll indulge me, I want to give you all a little background, just to help you understand the context here. Always helps to understand your opponent, right?”
Shining Armor nodded and gestured for her to continue. Sunbeam politely nodded back at him. “Thank you.”
Sitting up straight, she smiled broadly before speaking. “First off, you have to understand that we’re all terrified of her. The Day Princess that is. Your precious Princess Celestia, we’re all utterly terrified of her. Shocking I know.”
Shining Armor’s head pulled back, both eyebrows rising.
Sunbeam leaned forward slightly, her eyes narrowing. “And that’s because we remember the hate. Even after a thousand years, we still remember the unrelenting, unstoppable, burning hatred she had for us. The hate that drove her to hunt us for centuries. The hate that made it a far better option to kill yourself rather than letting yourself be taken alive by her. A much better option.”
Celestia's looked away as Luna put her wing around her, while Shining Armor just frowned at Sunbeam.
Sunbeam's hoof drew invisible patterns on the table. “So they hid. For a thousand years, they hid from her.” Her eyes flicked up. “A thousand years Mister Armor, each day terrified that today would be the day that the Day Princess finds them.” She grinned at Shining Armor’s now clearly annoyed expression. “Well, that sorta thing could have an effect on a ponies perspective doncha think? Might make a pony... desperate even. Desperate enough that they’d be willing to do anything to survive. Think about that word for a second Mister Armor, I mean it in the literal sense when I say it. Annnnything!”
Shining Armor tilted his head, then his eyebrows rose slowly, a hint of worry creeping onto his face. He wasn't alone in wearing that expression
Leaning back, Sunbeam smiled. “Getting a clue now are we? Don’t get me wrong, they were never exactly helpless. They had plenty of plans of what they could try if the Day Princess ever found them. Buuuuut realistically, they all knew what would happen in the end.”
Lifting a hoof, and still smiling, Sunbeam slowly drew it across her throat. “So to avoid that rather unfortunate outcome, they kept to the shadows. A thousand years hiding, all the time trying to find something, anything, that could stop an alicorn. You’ll be surprised, perhaps not, at just how few things there are in the world that can stop an enraged alicorn Mister Armor. But no matter, they looked.”
Sunbeam looked down at her hooves, her voice becoming quiet.
“Then one day they came across a little filly with an affinity for ice magic.”
Closing her eyes, Sunbeam let the massaging claws of Philomena on her back do their work for a moment.
“While unusual, such a thing was not unheard of. And while she would be quite the asset for them, she wouldn’t be the game-changer they were all looking for.”
She rolled her shoulders while keeping her eyes shut. "Not by herself anyway.”
Sunbeam took a breath before opening her eyes.
“You see, at the same time as that little filly was being brought in, another pony was on the lookout for a unicorn.” She lifted a hoof back up into the air. “But not just any unicorn would do mind you, he wanted, he needed, a powerful one to cast the spell he’d been working on. A spell he’d been working on for decades. And, unfortunately for him, he’d been looking for months and still hadn’t found a unicorn that met his requirements. By all accounts, he was getting quite desperate.”
Sunbeam’s eyes glazed over. “Fortunately for him though, it turns out a unicorn with an affinity could work just well as a powerful unicorn. It would require work, years of work it turns out, but if he were to tailor the spell that unicorn’s specific magic, hoof-crafted the spell to make use of her affinity, he could trade raw power for efficiency.”
Lifting a hoof, Sunbeam pressed her amulet against her chest as she gazed off into the distance.
‘Of course, the spell would still need an amulet to achieve it’s -full- potential no matter what. Oh the tantrum he threw when he found out my amulet didn’t work. All those years, wasted. Oh, the rage when he found out that I’d passed the right-of-passage test as well. It meant I was a member now. That I was a Snake. That I should be treated as family now. That I was no longer -his-. Oh the rage-’
With a shake of her head, Sunbeam blinked before looking at Shining Armor and forcing a smile. “Annnnyway, while they still needed to solve one little problem concerning the spell's final output, one they were sure they could fix if given time, they suddenly found themselves with a weapon that could take the fight to the Day Princess.”
There was a low growl from Shining Armor.
Sunbeam waved her hoof at him. “Oh don’t look at me like that. I’m not talking about attacking your precious Princess herself. They lost everypony the last time tried that. Besides, the spell was never intended as a direct attack platform on the Day Princess.”
Leaning forward over the table, she looked Shining in the eye.
“The spell was intended to be used on soft targets you see.”
Sunbeam’s half-ear swiveled towards Celestia’s sudden intake of breath.
Leaning back, she kept her eyes on Shining. “To show the Day Princes what we could do, to show her what we would do if she ever attacked us, a ‘demonstration of ability’ was planned. So at the earliest opportunity, I was to proceed to the designed target, successfully penetrate whatever security there was there and cast that spell.”
Sunbeam started to turn her head towards Celestia but stopped before looking at her.
‘Look at her! Look at her when you say it. You gotta look if you wanna see her expression when you say it. Look at her if you wanna see!’
Sunbeam made eye contact with Celestia. She shivered as the Princess raised her eyebrows. “C-Canterlot City was the target! The plan was for me to go to Canterlot city and in the span of fifteen minutes-” She leaned forward, trying to keep eye contact with the princess.
“-kill every single pony in Canterlot. Every single stallion, mare, and foal, there!”
There was silence.
Sunbeam leaned back, keeping her eyes now on Celestia. “And as that bastard destroyed all his records in the hope they'd keep him alive, I’m the only pony on the face of the planet that both knows the spell and can cast it. I’m the only weapon they have against the Day Princess... and that is the reason they want me back so badly Mister Armor.”
Still looking at Celestia, and shivering, Sunbeam placed her hoof on her amulet.
Suddenly grinning, she leaned forward again. “Oh, fun fact, the only reason every pony in Canterlot isn’t a block of ice right now is because a mentally unstable little filly, in a state of shock, happened to choose the one item, in a room full of stuff, that happened to be incompatible with an unrelated spell. That spell malfunctioned, which started a chain of events with led us all to here, having this pleasant chat. Quite the thought isn’t it, Celestia, that everypony in Canterlot is still alive simply because I chose the wrong thing."
The silence returned.
It was Applejack’s monotone voice that broke it. “She ain’t lying. None of it, she ain’t. She- She ain’t...”
Sunbeam kept her eyes on Celestia as the Princesses expression slowly changed.
Sunbeam quickly looked back down at the floor, at the cracked floor tile again.
‘Funny, that didn’t give me ‘the happy’ I was expecting. I hurt her, I hurt the Day Princess but it didn't feel good. It feels-'
Slowly, she placed a hoof on her chest. ‘It feels… I feel… I… Huh, I wonder just how that crack got into that floor tile in the first place? Did somepony drop something heavy? I wonder what they dropped? I wonder if was valuable? I wonder… I wonder why my chest hurts so -bucking- much?!’
Sunbeam kept looking down and ignored all the shouting, mostly directed at her, that had started as she held her chest.
Her half-ear flicked. ‘And just why are Pinkie and Fluttershy holding me so tight? It's not like I’m going to run. I’ve got nowhere to run to! So just -why- are they both holding me quite so tightly?’
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IT'S ALIVE!!! I'm so glad to see this story getting an update again.
Wasn't expecting this, but it was a nice surprise.
I wonder how everyone is going to react to that.
Cool, an update! I like using exclamation marks!
Congrats on making it to the featurebox tody
I'm mashing the upvote button, but I think it broke after the first time. Why won't it work again?!
Sunbeam's terrified, broken personality is something so rarely done well. I think, as was pointed out at a Bronycon panel, it's because not many authors pay enough attention to the small details of persistent emotion/personality problems. Additionally, it's even harder to do it without things becoming tedious.
Well... they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and I plan on using this chapter for pointers for a chapter I'm working on. Hopefully I can curtail my detail-orientation in as good a way.
Here's hoping Sunbeam gets all the hugs. Yes, even one very tense and awkward one from Celestia in the distant future.
Squee! I haven't read it yet, but I'm so happy to see an update.
If only there was a good happy song that could express my elated feelings.
Its back, you're back!
I missed this
Well, shoot, that was great.
Happy to See an update! Made my day.
glad to see Icefang back at it again, or sunbeam, the two seem to be mixing agent and filly, making her very unstable, I wonder how Celestia will react to that.
It's been some time since your last update, but the quality of the chapter really makes up for it!
You managed to portrait sunbema/Icefang fears and slightly fractured mind beautifully.
Great work, keep it up!
???
I also will admit that I lost track of Philomena at one point in the story. And, I'm actually kind of shocked most of the other animals would avoid her considering the power radiating from Luna and Celestia I would have assumed that part of their instinctual survival mechanism might have become background noise.
AN UPDATE!
Thank you so much for updating this!
This little line confused me. It seemed like it should've been hinted at earlier, but I can't remember it.
Thank you for the update. I enjoyed reading it. Here's to hoping that Sunbeams mental issues are at least mostly help able.
Love this story so much!
Woo-Hoo! Update!
PS: Fuck Celestia
8163979
She's obliquely referring to her amplifier amulet, which had a pre-existing magical charge on it which was incompatible with the amulet-enchanting spell. That was a large part of how & why she fled the snakes.
LUNA YOU MONSTER WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER
8164770
I did wonder if anyone would comment on that.
8163612
*held.
Thank you corrected.
8164816
At least it wasn't sardines, those were banned by the Geeneighvah Conference back in 852AN.
Yes "mentally unstable" is good word here. Sunbeam needs a psychologist so much (I mean it in a good sense, I like her).
Also,(because my imagination can be lethal) I officially invite invite miss Sunbeam into S.P.E.L.L. inc
Glory glory it has updated, oh Sunbeam you are deliciously messed up as ever. Also finally we get to the oh shit the snakes have virtues talk.
8164838
You're welcome. I'm glad I could help. And, I want to thank you again for clearing that up. I enjoy your story very much.
Finally!! I was so starved for a new chapter to tha story! This is just getting even more awesome!!!
8163979 Probably because Applejack is wrong and this is a lie. Both her story this chapter and the memory last chapter contradict the actual events which we saw in the prologue. The book seller Mr.Sable sabotaged Scrolls' plans when he prevented her from failing her right-of-passage test by killing himself.
She didn't pick it at random, it was a fucking bookstore, it was the only damn piece of jewelry there. Furthermore he clearly told her to take his necklace, likely knowing it was a resoultan crystal and wouldn't work. He showed a lot of knowledge about the Snakes' inner workings.
She never said that when we were watching the events unfold in the beginning(as shown below) and she can't be remembering wrong because magical memory suppression preserves the memories. How is he now stepping towards her with the knife when he was close enough to touch her before he even picked up the knife? Yet again, how did he hop towards her on three legs when he was already 'towering over her'? For that matter how did she see him supposedly stumble after he told her to close her eyes... which some how vanished from this magically preserved memory.
The finally damning bit of evidence against this 'accidental death by tripping then randomly choosing the one thing to fuck up the ritual' thing that has popped up out of nowhere the last two chapters is Sable's thoughts that clearly show he was expecting to die that night. She obviously couldn't bring herself to kill him and the escorts clearly showed to intention of doing so when she failed, meaning the only reason he would die is if he killed himself.
8167712 That very last bit sounds more like Mr. Sable did something to her memory.
8167736 Except that the entire point of Celestia invading her mind was to locate and break through anything like that... and that memory didn't have a magical signature. Plus I'm pretty sure Sable wasn't a unicorn... otherwise he wouldn't have had to bend down to pick up the knife or hop on three legs to carry it, he'd have had levitation. More likely he told her to close her eyes so she wouldn't see it, soften the blow a bit.
eagerly awaiting more
Is it weird to salivate at the prospect of a new chapter?
i was gonna track this story, i really like it. but now i see it only updates once every 5 months. :C
8169995 Track it anyway because it actually updates every 5 months.
Hol-y sheet.
I've ran out of chapters.
Send help.
I need chapters.
I NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED MOARRRRRRRRR!
:P
------------------
Till next time,
May the wolves guide thine steps, and the owl impart its wisdom into thee.
~ Eric Longtooth
Editor, Artist, Procrastinator.
IT'S ALIVE!
Nice work, didnt take long to read it all either.
Shining Armor tilted his head, then his eyebrows rose slowly, a hint of worry creeping onto his face. We wasn't alone in wearing that expression.
Make that He and add a period. That's all I noticed. Great chapter.
8170772
that's what i said....
8239048
You made it sound as if you weren't going to track it due to its slow updates. I suggested tracking it because it actually updates (unlike some other stories). So, no, not quite what you said. Similar wording but different meaning
8239271
it's just that, i am going to forget every thing by the time the next chapter come's out.
8239483
I usually just re read the entire fic, every time a new chapter comes out. Its more than worth it.
I am one of the lucky ones that is rather new to this fic. I've pretty much bingeing it to this point, now it's slowly dawned on me that like every great fic, the delay between chapters is half a year....
*Sigh*
Having finally gotten around to reading the latest chapter, I have to say, I'm not really that upset about Celestia mind-reading of Ice Fang. The choice she made was one that was most likely to save the largest amount of people based on the information she had at the time. The only thing that really annoys me about what Celestia did is the hypocritical way she went about justifying it.
Holy crap, this fic is good. Great world building, great characters.
ME LIKE! MOAR!