Loyalty
24
*Loyalty*
A Shinigami has no obligation to completely explain how to use the Note or the rules which will apply to the pony who owns it unless asked.
Rainbow Dash waited several hours before returning to the base. She curled up atop the highest cloud she could find, shivering violently in the cold. What does a heart attack feel like? she wondered, gasping every time her heart fluttered in agitation. Was that it?! Is this what dying feels like?
By the time Dash’s limbs had stopped shaking enough for her to fly back down, it was nearly midnight. She cleared a small hole in the clouds near the edge of the park and glided the rest of the way to the base, allowing herself to get drenched in the remains of the rain she’d set off. She stomped hard outside the trapdoor, the wet ground allowing her to feel the springy pressure plate beneath her hooves. “Come on, come on!” she grunted, jumping up and down in place.
It was almost a full minute before the trapdoor finally swung open. Rainbow Dash set a new record in her dive down the stairs, and kicked the base’s door open with enough force to rattle the walls on either side. Locket waited for her on the inside, squinting in the darkened room. “Dash!” she exclaimed, taking half a step back. “Where were you? Twilight—”
Rainbow Dash lunged forward and shook Locket’s shoulders, making the earth mare gasp in fright. “Applejack is Kira!”
Locket shrunk down and tried to back away. “W-what?”
“I saw her! She had papers, and...” Dash shook her head. “Where is everypony? Hey, everypony! Wake up!”
“What’s with all the noise?” Twilight Sparkle poked her head into the room, followed by a sleepy-eyed Derpy. She immediately jerked fully awake and rushed forward at the sight of her friend. “Oh my gosh, Rainbow! We were so worried about you!”
“No time, Twilight.” Rainbow Dash rose into the air before the unicorn could get close. “We’ve got problems. Applejack is Kira.”
Twilight stopped short. “Are you sure?” she asked.
“Positive.” Rainbow nodded. “I have proof. I saw her.”
Twilight stood still for a moment, her face frozen as she tried to accept this. At last, she sighed. “We... need to talk to L. I mean... Harpy Chords.” When several seconds passed and nopony moved, she looked around. “Does anypony know where she sleeps?”
Locket shrugged. Derpy shook her head. Rainbow Dash groaned in frustration. “Well, let’s find her! She’s got to be in here somewhere, right?”
The four ponies charged back down the hallway leading to the sleeping quarters. They started by opening every unused door they passed, then paused at the first junction. “This could take forever,” Locket complained. “This wing has to have at least a hundred rooms in it. She might not even be here. Maybe we should just wait until—”
“Wait.” Twilight held up a hoof for silence. “I thought I heard something.” The quartet peered into the darkness around them. At first there was only the faint rumble of Spike’s snoring from somewhere behind them; he’d had to change rooms twice already after the buildup of soot became too much for Bon Bon to deal with. After a few seconds, however, there was a faint magical pop, like a spell being cast. “This way!” Twilight yelled, ignoring both branches and leading the way down the main corridor.
After just a short distance, Twilight came to a halt in front of one of the many unmarked doors. She put her ear against it and heard breathing on the other side. She quickly opened the door, only to be met by a pillow to the face. “Do you know what time it is?” Jazz shouted, wrapped in two layers of blankets on the cot opposite.
Twilight almost glanced down at her watch, but managed to stop herself. “Sorry,” she said sheepishly. “We were looking for Harpy.”
“She’s in the room opposite.” Jazz floated his pillow back towards himself and settled down again, scowling. “Please, try to refrain from making noise. I sleep on a tight schedule.”
Nodding silently, Twilight backed away and shut the door. As she did so she heard the flash of magic again, this time from across the corridor, and a green light could be seen through the crack under the door. Rainbow Dash kicked this open and flew in, instantly shouting. “L! Applejack is Kira. I can prove it!”
L didn’t immediately react. She lay flat on her back on the cot and stared at the ceiling, her eyes wide and expressionless. Her horn illuminated the room in a sickly green glow. The sheets were partly thrown back, covering only her lower half. Bon Bon lay draped over her like a second blanket, smiling contentedly as she nestled her face against her partner’s neck. Catching sight of this, Locket immediately blushed and backed out of the room. “That is news,” L said at length. No part of her moved but her mouth. “And how did you obtain this information?”
“I saw it,” Dash continued breathlessly. “I went to Sweet Apple Acres. I saw her with a bunch of weird papers. The same kind you have.”
L blinked, the first time she had done so since the door had opened. “I see,” she said. “I believe this merits further discussion.” She nudged Bon Bon, who protested sleepily as she started to stir. “Now, don’t complain. This is an emergency. We need drinks, right now.”
---
Derpy sat happily at the kitchen table, occasionally flapping her wings in time with a tune that only she could hear. She thanked Bon Bon as a second glass of warm milk was placed in front of her, then picked it up and guzzled it down in one long gulp. She put the glass down, leaving a few drops hanging from her nose, then delicately burped. “Excuse me,” she said quietly, stifling a giggle.
Rainbow Dash ignored her. She swayed a little as she finished her story, a half-empty glass in front of her. The last dregs of adrenaline were finally leaving her body, and foalish as it might have been, L’s idea of a calming drink was having its intended effect. “I stayed in the air for a while after that,” she concluded, choosing to gloss over the “terrified cowering” part of that tale. “I didn’t know if I was going to drop dead any second. And, you know, I didn’t want to give her a lead back to the base if I was. But once I was pretty sure I wasn’t gonna die, I came right back here as fast as I could.”
Midway through the story, Twilight’s hoof had met the middle of her face and stayed there until her friend was done talking. “Oh, Rainbow,” she groaned.
Slowly, L nodded. She had walked somewhat more stiffly than usual on her way to the kitchen, but once she had some liquid in her she seemed to liven up. "It was a noble decision," she said. "Foolish, but noble. Under the circumstances, you made the right decision."
"Oh, no. No, no, no." Twilight shook her head, letting her hooves fall to the table. "You spied on one of your best friends for this? For nothing?"
"Hey, it wasn't for nothing," Rainbow Dash argued. "I told you, I recognized those papers. Only somepony working for Kira would have those."
"Or somepony looking for Kira," Locket muttered. She looked at L's milk with faint envy, having politely turned down a glass of her own.
"And you saw them from across the room? By candlelight?" Twilight groaned again. "Dash, do I have to remind you how big the Apple family is? They have enough photo albums to fill a whole bookshelf. They even have a couple branches in the Guard. Plus there's all the paperwork she has to go through on a monthly basis, and you can't say she hasn't had a reason to be upset lately. Those papers could have been anything."
"I can tell the difference between a spreadsheet and a prison sheet, Twilight," Dash insisted. "I know what I saw. If she hadn't seen me, I could have gotten a closer look. But I guess that chance is gone now."
"Yes... that." L frowned. "This does complicate our situation somewhat. I believe I specified that subtlety would be key in the coming weeks. Revealing yourself directly to a potential target was not the wisest of decisions."
"This is going to be so awkward." Twilight glared. "And here was me thinking you didn't want to involve Applejack in this. Now even if we explain everything to her, she'll still think we suspect her of being a mass-murdering psycho! For somepony who says she wants to protect her, you've done nothing but drag her further into this mess."
Dash gritted her teeth. She tried to formulate a response, but was distracted when L rose from her seat. "Miss Dash," the detective said. "There's one more thing we need to discuss. Could I speak to you for a minute... alone?"
"...Okay." Rainbow Dash stood as well, and followed L as she walked out of the kitchen. "What's this about?" she asked as soon as she thought they were out of earshot.
Instead of continuing to the base's main chamber, L darted down another corridor towards the cells where they had kept Twilight. Dash followed, tilting her head as their pace increased. "Miss Dash," L said quietly, "do you believe that Applejack trusts you?"
"Yeah. With her life," Rainbow Dash answered instantly. "I feel the same about her. Why?"
"Because if your suspicions are correct, it might not be your friend that we are dealing with any more." L stopped in front of a cell door. “Loyalty is more than a mere concept. It binds ponies together, becoming the catalyst for bonds of trust more powerful than any chain. I believe that you know this better than anypony, Rainbow Dash.”
“Well, yeah.” Dash put her head to the side. “What’s this about?”
Instead of answering, L turned to the door and pulled it open, igniting her horn as she did so. Even with her magic helping her, her muscles strained to pull the heavily padded door just halfway open. "These bonds, while powerful, can be broken," she explained, panting slightly. "When they do, a certain kind of energy is released. There's one small test I can do to determine whether this relationship has changed, on either end. We need absolute privacy for this. But on one condition." She leaned against the door. "Rainbow Dash. Do you trust me?"
Dash stared at the detective in thought. "Yeah," she said eventually. "I don't always like you... but I trust you."
L smiled thankfully and nodded. "Then we have nothing to worry about." She motioned to within the cell. "One touch is all it will take."
The pegasus nodded. She walked inside the room confidently. As soon as the tip of her tail passed through the doorway, however, L darted to the side and kicked the door. Despite how heavy she had made it look, it smoothly crashed shut. Interior locks instantly trapped Rainbow Dash inside. "And that was the touch," L said.
"What— Hey!" Rainbow Dash turned around, staring for a moment before glaring at the door. "Hey! You said we were going to talk!"
L didn't answer. She pressed a button beside the handle, then calmly pressed her back against the door and slid down it into her regular slouching sitting position, closing her eyes. Rainbow Dash's voice rose, echoing loudly in the corridor. "Let me out! You can't do this to me! Let me out!" Panic rising, she began to kick at the door, her hooves leaving dents in the padded interior. "L, you traitor! Let me out of here! Let me out!"
"What's going on?" Twilight appeared at the end of the corridor, Derpy and Locket following. "We heard— oh my gosh!" She ran down the corridor, screeching to a halt at L's hooves. "Harpy, what's going on?"
"Wait," L said calmly.
This was enough to make Locket and Derpy stop, but Twilight paused for only a second before charging forward and placing her hooves on the door. "Rainbow, it's okay!" she yelled over her friend's cries from within. She tried the handle, but it held fast. "Talk to me! What happened?"
"Aah!" There was a dull thud as Dash threw herself against the door, managing to bump L forward half an inch. The unicorn simply scooted back and settled down again. "She locked me in here! She said she was going to do a test, and... and..."
"What?" Twilight stared down at the seated detective. "Why did you lock her up?"
"Wait," L repeated.
Around ten seconds passed. Rainbow Dash threw herself against the door time and time again, rattling the exterior, her shouts alternating between panic and outrage. Then a low magical hum began, which Twilight recognized as the white mist that had sealed her inside her own chamber, and when it vanished the noise from within did as well. “That should contain her,” L said briskly, standing up. “Sometimes it takes longer at night.”
A cold dread rising, Twilight tried the handle again. It refused to budge. “Rainbow Dash!” she yelled. “Rainbow!” There was no response. “You can’t keep her in there,” she said, turning back to L. “She gets claustrophobic if she can’t fly. You should know that. How could you do that to her?”
“Quite easily, as it turns out.” L smoothed out the back of her mane lazily. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Statistically, even ponies who implicitly distrust me will fall for that ruse at least one time in three.” She stretched, then turned sharply to the rest of the team. “Now, new rule. From now on, nopony goes near the Apple family. We don’t speak to them, we don’t observe them, we don’t go within earshot of them if we can avoid it. Furthermore, until further notice nopony is to leave this facility without a partner or a camera bug on their person. Is that understood?”
Nopony nodded. “W-what?” Twilight stammered, her head spinning. “What does any of this have to do with Rainbow Dash?”
"Rainbow Dash is lost to us." L started walking again, picking up a fast pace in the direction of the kitchen. "Kira has the power to control ponies subconsciously before killing them, provided she knows their name and face. If the new Kira is a member of the Apple family and has reason to believe that Rainbow Dash is one of the ponies investigating them, which she now does, then your friend could well be under their control right now. Rainbow Dash knows the identities of every other member of this team, barring my own, as well as our current progress into this investigation and the location of this base. Even a fraction of that information would be of enormous value to the new Kira. We cannot allow Rainbow Dash or anypony else to be manipulated into revealing what they know... if she hasn't already."
"What?" Twilight frowned, then found herself groaning in exasperation yet again. "Oh, you can not be serious!" She followed after L, having to break into a trot to keep up with her.
Locket started to walk after the pair, then paused as the remaining pony stayed where she was. "Coming, Derpy?" she asked.
Derpy stood in place, her eyes crossing in deep thought as she stared at the locked door. "I don't get it."
Locket sighed and nodded sympathetically, pulling Derpy's hoof in the direction of the kitchen. "We can't all be clever ponies. Maybe they'll explain it to us." Simultaneously shrugging, the pair hurried after the other two down the corridor.
Twilight struggled to keep up with L, trying to keep track of her arguments and her hooves simultaneously. "First off," she panted, "Rainbow Dash would never sell us out. Kira can only make ponies do things they'd be able to do already, right? Well, Rainbow Dash was named the Element of Loyalty for a reason. She never backs down, not even when any sensible pony would, and she never gives up on the ponies she cares about. She would never betray us, not even if her life depended on it."
"Really?" L remarked. They reached the kitchen and she immediately returned to her chair, Bon Bon waiting for her with more milk and a napkin. "Not even if doing so might save the life of her best friend?"
Twilight couldn't immediately answer this, so she moved to her next point. "That's the other thing," she continued, sitting down. Derpy and Locket entered and silently took their seats as well. "No matter what kind of 'evidence' Rainbow Dash thinks she's found, we still have no reason to suspect that Applejack even is Kira. For one thing, she's honest to a fault. She would never keep something like this from her friends, and she would never do something as dishonorable as killing other farmers to get ahead. She's too stubborn to be obedient, too straightforward to be devious, and perhaps most importantly, way too closely connected to me!"
The room fell silent. L stared, as though expecting Twilight to continue talking. She took a sip of milk, then allowed Bon Bon to swoop in and dab away the resulting moustache with a napkin. Twilight blinked in confusion and went over her last few words again in her head, then froze in realization. "Oh," she said. "Oh. I get it now." She looked at Locket and Derpy in turn, who were staring at her expectantly. "L," she said, "I think I know what you're thinking. Is it okay if I say it out loud?"
L frowned slightly, but her face instantly returned to normal. "You can say whatever you wish," she said.
Twilight sighed. "You think... that despite the test, I never stopped being Kira. Or maybe I did, but that part of me is just hidden, dormant somehow, waiting to wake up. I chose Applejack not because she's a good choice as my successor, but because she's a terrible, easy to find Kira who you can catch easily with my help. That’s why you still haven’t given back my horn. That’s why you’re keeping Fluttershy in a chain. Because once I’ve earned your trust by helping you catch the new Kira, just when you think you’re safe, I'll take my killing power back from her..." She gulped. "And I'll be in the perfect position to kill you myself."
A few seconds passed as the others took this in. Then Derpy snorted. "That's silly," she said.
"Huh?" Twilight looked at her in confusion. "Why?"
"Because you just told us." Derpy sat up brightly in her seat, smiling as if it were the simplest thing in the world. "You can't tell a lie if you tell somepony you're going to tell a lie. It doesn't work. The real Kira wouldn't tell us she's Kira."
Across the table, Locket giggled, then quickly tried to compose herself. This sound, however, was all it took for Twilight to begin laughing as well. "You're right!" she said. "You see, Harpy? If I was just pretending not to be Kira, I wouldn’t tell you this. If I was possessed by Kira but aren’t now, I wouldn’t trust my real self not to tell you this. Therefore, I'm not Kira. Applejack's not Kira. And Rainbow Dash definitely isn't under anypony's control."
L stared at the table. She slid her milk back and forth from one hoof to the other, then pushed it away and stood up. “Twilight,” she said quietly. “Do you believe that some ponies are capable of murder, while others are not?”
Twilight’s smile fell a little. “Of course,” she said. “Some ponies have no problem with killing at all. Others wouldn’t hurt a fly. That’s the way it’s always been.”
“And that is where we differ.” L started to walk away, still not looking at anypony at the table. “I believe that all ponies are capable of the most horrific of acts. There is no reason why a good pony would not become evil if given the right motivation, in the same way that an evil pony might turn to good. Any pony can be swayed by darkness, Twilight.” She finally looked up at the pony she was talking to, and for a moment Twilight thought she could see a glimmer of emotion behind those blank eyes. “Even somepony as brave and wonderful as you.”
When nopony said anything more, L turned away. “It is very late. We will continue this discussion in the morning.”
Twilight started to protest. “But we can’t just leave Rainbow...” She trailed off as L left the room.
Silence fell. "What just happened?" Derpy asked.
Calmly, Bon Bon began picking up glasses and preparing to clean the table. “I’ve known Harpy for a very long time,” she said, "and there’s something you should understand about her. She’s not always correct in her assumptions, not completely. She’s not above making mistakes. But in all this time, I’ve never once known her to be wrong."
---
Straw Bolt was not easily impressed. It was practically a matter of pride for him; even at times when other ponies around him would gasp in delight or fear, he would take a kind of smug satisfaction in making a show of his own aloofness. On this occasion, however, he made no effort to disguise the size of his eyes or the enjoyment on his face. He would admit it; he was impressed.
The past two days had been, while not necessarily the most uncomfortable the guard captain had experienced, certainly very close to the top of the list. Digging into the rough ground beside the boulder that they sheltered behind had eventually provided enough room for the guards and zebra to sit down without being squashed together, but there was still no room to move or stretch safely. The red glow of the golem surrounded them unwaveringly, keeping the trio constantly on edge. They listened and slept in shifts, eating as little as possible to preserve their dwindling rations.
It was only listening to Zecora that made waiting tolerable. What Straw Bolt had assumed would be a simple fairy tale had blossomed into a story of adventure and intrigue as compelling as any novel he'd ever read. Neither did it come to a halt after a few minutes or even a few hours; even as the sun invisibly rose and set above their heads two full times, the zebra just kept talking. She continued to weave ever more plots and characters into a story that showed no signs of stopping or even slowing down, to the extent that Straw Bolt had a sneaking suspicion that she was making it up as she went along.
But it wasn’t the length of the story that was leaving Bolt stunned and breathless, nor the characters it contained. No, what impressed the guard captain the most was that after all this time, after days of speaking virtually non-stop and telling a story that would leave most pony playwrights breathless, Zecora was still rhyming.
“But sighing, the Quilted Queen shook her pale head. ‘You put far too much faith in your friendship,’ she said. ‘My family rises, while yours cannot stand, and the pain of my love that now spreads through this land will soon sweep up your village and bring it to me. Now stand by my side, or return to the sea.’ But Sibwashie stood tall as the waters rose high—”
For the first time in what felt like far too long, another noise could be heard in the ravine. A dull scraping noise echoed down the chasm, like the sound of stone against stone. In a trancelike state, Zecora kept speaking in a low voice for several seconds more until Straw Bolt and Quicksilver simultaneously nudged her. She quickly finished her rhyme and looked up. A second source of light shone from around the boulder, this one white and flickering. Above the murmur of the stream, two more voices could be heard.
"...all I'm saying."
"But with the claw—"
"Without the claw. That's against the rules. If... hey, number eight’s moved again.”
“Huh. It didn’t knock or anything. Must have seen a bird. Anyway, the claw’s essential. Without it, he’s just an ordinary pony.”
“It’s unrealistic. A real hero shouldn’t need fancy gadgets just to get around. Admit it, when it comes to one on one wings will always beat hooves.”
"All right, fine. I'll concede that in a totally fair, one on one fight without any gadgets or weapons, Daring Do would beat Batmane."
"Thank you. That's all I wanted to hear. Come on, help me lift her."
The voices sounded like those of young stallions, their accents a mix of Canterlot and something the listening ponies didn’t recognize. Quicksilver pushed herself against the boulder and strained to listen as their hoofsteps became heavier. It sounded like they were dragging something. Beside her, Zecora slipped her cloak back around her shoulders. Slowly, Straw Bolt began to spread his wings.
“Okay, this should be flat enough. Sheesh, you’d think they could get one of the golems to do this.”
“Don’t change the subject, dude. I keep telling you, he’s not Batmane without his gadgets.”
“Let it go, man. You lost and you know it. Ah, by the Nightmare she’s heavy.”
“Waste of time, if you ask me.”
“Nopony asked you. If the Dollmaker wants her walking, she walks. End of story.”
“Are you seriously still calling h— Ow!” Close by, there was a thud against the ground. “Oh, come on! She’s like a corpse already!”
“Right, that’s it.” There was another scrape against stone. “Look, we can see you’re awake. Do you want to get better or not? Felt and I are putting the effort in. Maybe you oughta think about that before you start slacking off again. You hear me?” There was a slap.
A roar of wind knocked Zecora and Quicksilver back as Straw Bolt took off. Before they’d even fully registered that he’d moved, a crash echoed through the ravine behind them, followed by a shout. A second crack turned this into a panicked wail, and mere seconds after he’d left Straw Bolt flew back through the mist with a yellow pony dangling from his forelegs. “Run!” he shouted.
The golem turned. In an instant the gentle glow of the ruby on its face turned to a blinding inferno of light that sent fiery illumination through the mist around it. With seemingly impossible speed it reached up and swatted Straw Bolt out of the air as he tried to fly over its shoulder, almost sending him crashing to the ground before catching him by his hind legs with a painful wrench.
“Bolt!” Quicksilver screamed. While Zecora followed the captain’s orders and took off down the ravine, she rose into the air as well and launched herself towards the clay creature. Unfortunately, a lack of coordination after sitting still for so long caused her to miss the golem’s hand and instead collide directly with its face, leaving a deep indentation and slightly shifting the shining gemstone within the clay. She flailed to free herself and escaped with a pop just as two massive hands rose up to smooth the ruby back into place, dropping Straw Bolt in the process. The two pegasi gave each other frantic looks before flying after Zecora. Crashes rang out behind them as the golem began to give chase.
It took just a few seconds for the pegasi to catch up with their zebra companion, who put on a new burst of speed as the guards passed overhead. The darkness in front of them was absolute. They ran and flew blindly, as fast as their stiff limbs would carry them, weaving around boulders and walls as they abruptly loomed up in front of them. The only illumination came from the furious light of the ruby, no longer static but flickering and shaking wildly. Ground-shaking thuds echoed deafeningly behind them, spaced more than a second apart. These would quickly grow louder, then suddenly fall behind; the golem crashed into corners and over stones as it followed on its alien, two-legged gait, unable to match the equines’ nimble movements.
But despite their slim advantage, the trio were quickly beginning to tire. Straw Bolt felt his wings threatening to seize up after the sudden exertion, and an angry tearing in his leg told him that he wouldn’t be running anytime soon. As soon as the river straightened out, they were doomed.
There was only one option. Bolt gulped, glancing down at the filly in his forelegs. Sunny Days hung limply, apparently conscious but immobile, staring upwards in blank incomprehension. The captain gritted his teeth and looked to his right. “Quicksilver!” he shouted. She looked his way and he threw the filly towards her, abandoning the need to be gentle. She gasped and swooped to catch Sunny, wincing as she felt the wind being knocked out of her by the impact. “Up! Up!” Bolt yelled, then dove towards Zecora.
The zebra put up no resistance as a pair of powerful legs wrapped around her torso. She leaped as Straw Bolt lifted, allowing herself to be pulled into the air. She threw back her hood and glanced back in fear; the golem was now in view, and they had lost a lot of momentum. “Quickly, lift us to greater heights,” she hissed, “or this may have been our final night!”
Straw Bolt gaped. “You’re still rhyming!?”
“When an unstoppable evil wishes us dead is the worst possible time to lose our heads!” the zebra yelled back.
The golem thundered closer. Straw Bolt flapped harder, losing more speed in an attempt to gain height. Quicksilver had already faded from view into the mists above. Exhaustion weighed upon him far more heavily than Zecora, slowing their ascent to a crawl as the ruby light came nearer and nearer. He narrowed his eyes. Just a little more...
Just as the pair were almost out of reach, the golem jumped. It was not by any means an impressive leap, barely clearing a foot off the ground at its peak, but it was just enough to allow the golem to snag the tip of Zecora’s cloak with two of its fingers. The zebra cried out as she was yanked downwards, and Straw Bolt had to tighten his grip to keep her from being pulled from his grasp. A second hand reached up towards them as they struggled desperately to get away.
Time seemed to slow down.
No.
A new burst of strength flooded through Straw Bolt just as Zecora undid the clasp of her cloak. The rough material scraped painfully between them as they shot upwards, leaving the golem grasping at fabric and empty air. The light of its gem faded into a dim glow as they cleared the fog, rising high above the twisting ravine before coming to a crashing halt on the tree-studded bank. In the distance, the sun began to rise.
Quicksilver appeared shortly afterwards, running along the edge of the cliff with Sunny Days splayed limply across her back. “Bolt!” she yelled when she saw her captain, who Zecora was examining for injuries. “Oh, thank Celestia!” She ran up and forced herself to come to a halt, stopping just short of embracing him. “I wasn’t sure if you’d made it out.”
Straw Bolt shrugged this off. “Just some torn muscles. I’ll make it back. How’s the girl?”
Quicksilver gulped. She glanced over her shoulder, taking her first good look at their rescuee. Sunny Days blinked back at her. She was pale and trembling weakly, her mouth hanging slightly open. The guards’ complaints about her weight had been unfounded; she was as light as a newborn foal. “Unhurt, but in shock,” Quicksilver reported. “Probably malnourished. I don’t think she’s been drugged, but we won’t know for sure until we get her to a doctor.”
A second later, a low rumble could be heard from the ravine below. Straw Bolt sighed. “Of course, they’re not going to let us just waltz out. Come on, then.” He stretched himself out, wincing as he put weight on his hind legs. “Let’s get out of here before they start getting really angry.”
The flight back to town was uneventful. The pegasi set a slower pace, soaring over the treetops instead of dashing madly, allowing their stiff wings some respite. Zecora rested on Straw Bolt’s back for safety, while Quicksilver cradled Sunny Days in her forelegs. She whispered to the filly as she flew, trying to get any kind of response out of her. “Sunny?” she repeated, minute after minute. “Are you there? Can you hear me?”
After what seemed like far too much prompting, Sunny Days nodded. “Yeah,” she mumbled.
A smile came to Quicksilver’s face. “It’s okay now. We’ve got you. We’re taking you to somewhere safe.”
“‘Kay.”
They didn’t speak any more after that. Quicksilver held Sunny Days close to her chest, not wanting the filly to see her eyes filling with tears. Oh, Celestia, she mourned. What did they do to you?
The quartet landed at the edge of Ponyville without incident, in almost exactly the same place where they’d set off. The town beyond was quiet, just beginning to stir as the morning light hit their windows. Straw Bolt dropped Zecora off and pulled a short flare out from within his armor, tugging at the fuse to ignite it. A mix of magic and fire powder launched high into the air before bursting, sending a bright green flash across the sky. Mission accomplished. Everypony come home.
Nodding to himself, Straw Bolt turned back to Zecora. “I’m afraid we’re going to have to cut this short,” he said. “Sunny Days needs medical attention. If you can give us directions to the nearest hospital, we can—”
“Captain, hold up.” Quicksilver nudged him. “Royals.”
The captain looked up. A pair of gold-plated, stunningly white pegasi were calmly walking across the field towards them, dressed up as if they’d been expecting them. Straw Bolt’s eyes narrowed. To an outsider the pair would have been indistinguishable from any other royal guards (or, for that matter, each other) but after months among their ranks Bolt had learned to tell these two apart from the rest. These weren’t just Celestia’s Royal Guard; they were her personal guards, the ones who pulled her chariot and watched over her during visitations. Seeing the pair on their own filled him with a faint sense of unease.
As the two approached he grudgingly snapped off a salute, which Quicksilver hastily imitated. “Biggs and Wedge of Her Majesty’s Royal Guard,” Straw Bolt growled. “Never thought I’d say this, but you’re exactly the ponies I wanted to see right now.”
Ponies who hadn’t spent much time in either branch of the Guard often didn’t see the point of Biggs and Wedge. Celestia doesn’t need protecting, they argued. She possesses all the undying power of the sun, and the wisdom of thousands of years. If a danger arose that could pose a threat to somepony like her, what use would a pair of even the finest pegasus guards be? However, anypony who attempted to speak to either of the pair, even during their free hours, could soon begin to guess at their true purpose. They didn’t guard Celestia to protect her from danger. They guarded her to protect her from kindness.
The Princess would never leave an engagement of her own accord; there would always be a guard whispering in her ear, gently leading her away from the ponies she was talking to. They charioted her around despite her own love of flight, eliminating any possibility of delay or distraction. It was said that Princess Celestia was a being of absolute love and generosity, and that she would never once let one of her ponies down or turn somepony away. Technically, this was true. If an unauthorized pony attempted to speak with Her Majesty or present her with a gift during her work hours they would be turned away not by the Princess, but by a pair of utterly unmoveable guards with prepared lectures about Celestia’s schedule.
While whether this display was Celestia’s means of governing herself or part of a larger act was up to debate, the simple fact of the matter was that even the Princess needed a little unkindness in her life. In this generation, Biggs and Wedge filled this role with almost admirable antagonism. They were never rude, only stern; they turned down unfair requests that the Princess might otherwise feel compelled to grant, refused well-wishers whom she would waste an afternoon with, gave a reasonable No when a kind Princess might say Yes. Even now, in the wake of a successful rescue operation, the pair stared at the ponies and zebra in front of them with expressions frozen in cold formality.
Legend had it that there were a few ponies who knew the secret to making Biggs and Wedge laugh. Straw Bolt would have traded his pinions to see that happen, if only once.
“Straw Bolt, captain of the Lower Canterlot guard,” Biggs intoned at length, his voice impossibly gruff. “We trust your mission was a success.”
“To the fullest.” Bolt lowered his hoof. He kept his body as straight as possible despite the pain in his legs, trying to remain slightly taller than the pair in front of him. “Sunny Days has been recovered as requested. As soon as she’s been treated, we need to send for reinforcements—.”
“We will take her from here,” Wedge ordered, his voice even deeper than his partner’s. The pair looked sharply towards Quicksilver, who tried and failed not to shrink under their gaze. They gave no further instructions, only waiting expectantly.
Straw Bolt gritted his teeth. He gave a slight shake of his head, stopping Quicksilver as she began to creep forwards. “Our orders are to bring Sunny to a safe location, not leave her with the first uniforms who come our way. If you want to help, you can send the order for a strike team while we take her to the nearest hospital.”
Biggs shook his head as well. “Your orders have been altered. You are to remain in Ponyville until further notice. The rest of your squad may return to Canterlot at their discretion.” He reached back and pulled a well-stuffed pouch from his barding, holding it out. It jingled at his touch. “This allowance has been provided for you. We will escort the pony known as Sunny Days to her destination.”
Wedge walked forward, moving beside Quicksilver. She shivered as he used his wing to scoop Sunny Days from her back, bundling her against his side like a doll. “We assure you, she will be well looked after,” he said in a voice that completely failed to carry any sort of reassurance.
Quicksilver nodded meekly. “It’s okay, Sunny,” she whispered as the filly was carried away. “You can trust them. They’ll look after you.” If Sunny Days heard her, she gave no indication of it.
Straw Bolt regarded the proffered bag of coins with suspicion. Something about this change of plans seemed wrong, terribly wrong, but for the sake of his position he didn’t dare question Celestia’s personal guards. He lowered his head to take the bag, keeping his eyes raised to see if the slightest hint of satisfaction appeared on the face of the pony who held it. It did not. He quickly straightened up and threw the bag over his shoulder, catching it with his wing, then spoke. “That dealt with, we still need to move quickly. When we found Sunny, there were two ponies guarding her, an earth pony and a unicorn. One of them—”
“This will not be necessary.” Biggs and Wedge turned away. “You can submit your report by post through the usual channels.”
“The hay I will.” Straw Bolt lunged forward, catching the pair by their shoulders before they could move away. Fire shot up his right flank as he put all his weight on his hind legs, but he tried his best not to flinch. “Listen, they’re still there, and they might not be for long. Two of their guards are incapacitated, and the one golem guard will be preoccupied. This is our chance to catch those Nightmare-lovers before they try a stunt like this again. I’m not combat-ready, but if we move now I can lead a team right to the entrance to their base. What do you say?”
Biggs and Wedge glanced at one another. Bolt was certain that they practiced this in their free time, just to make it as infuriating as possible. “Your orders are to remain in Ponyville until further notice,” Biggs repeated. “There are no plans for any further actions to be taken. That is all.”
Almost imperceptibly, Wedge wrinkled his nose. “You smell,” he added.
Straw Bolt sighed. “I’ve spent the past fifty hours in a stakeout with three bodies behind one boulder. Believe me, the less said about that, the better.” He shook his head and refocused. “Look, just listen to me. This could be our one chance to bring the ponies responsible for this crime to justice. Does that mean nothing to you?”
“That will be all, Captain Straw Bolt,” Biggs barked gruffly. Both guards shook his hooves off their shoulders. “Kindly do not impede us in our own duties any longer.”
Straw Bolt lowered his head, a growl building in his throat. I could have been your captain, you buffoons. “All right,” he said in a low voice, making sure restrained anger was visible on his face. “But you tell Celestia this. There’s somepony, or something out there called the Dollmaker. It’s what took Sunny Days, it has any number of golems under its command, and very soon it’s going to know that the ones who just threw off its plans came from Ponyville. You tell her that. Then we’ll see whether you’ll be interested in justice!”
The captain had to shout the last part of this, as Biggs and Wedge had begun to walk away, carrying Sunny Days across the field at an unhurried pace. Zecora watched from nearby, glaring after them with disapproval. “Why can our guards be civil, when the brightest can not?” she muttered. “Perhaps you do things differently in Canterlot.”
Straw Bolt snorted. “I assure you, that was not normal,” he said. “I will definitely be including this in my report.” He turned back to Zecora, his expression softening a little. “I’m sorry about your cloak.”
Zecora shrugged, smiling faintly. “I carried nothing in it I could not stand to lose. I would keep my life over it, given reason to choose.” She pondered this for a moment, then sighed. “Sadly, its contents will soon point to myself. Going back to my home may be poor for my health.”
“Good thing you’ve got us to protect you, right?” Quicksilver made a show of brightening up, though she still cast frequent glances towards the retreating royal guards. “As long as we’re in town, we can keep an eye out for you until this thing blows over.”
Straw Bolt nodded. He wasn’t certain whether the order to remain in Ponyville had referred to them both or only to him, but he chose not to bring this up. “First things first. We continue to send up flares every hour until the rest of the team returns. Then we can focus on finding somewhere to stay.”
Zecora smiled. “An excellent plan, my fine pony friends,” she said. Already, another trio of iron-plated guards was emerging from the trees behind them. “Now, if you recall, my tale has not yet reached its end...”
---
Work turned out to be impossible. After rising late and trying (and subsequently failing) to talk L into releasing Rainbow Dash again, Twilight tried to devote what energy she had to studying Kira’s actions. It didn’t work. Even with Jazz doing his best to assist her, even the simplest forms of data analysis seemed temporarily beyond her grasp. Every time she felt like she was starting to get a handle on what she was looking at, her eyes would shift inevitably back to L.
The detective was multitasking as only she could, crossing her way through a thick stack of names (of which the “A” section took up nearly half) while keeping an eye on three screens simultaneously. The first showed local news, set to mute. The second was one of the cameras from Rainbow Dash’s room. After ripping the padding away from the cell door to reveal unmoving steel beyond, she’d curled up in the furthest corner of the room and barely moved since. The third screen showed rapidly shifting sky, the view from Derpy out on her mail route. Hiding a crystallized louse in her mane had been proven impractical, as the camera rarely pointed at anything useful and most sounds were drowned out by the wind and Derpy’s own heartbeat, but L seemed content to watch the resulting images nonetheless.
It was around mid-afternoon when a loud belch rang out from the direction of the kitchen. A minute later, Spike emerged with a fresh scroll in his claws. He'd been surprisingly calm after learning about Rainbow Dash's detainment; after Twilight had told him, he'd simply said "Again?" and tried to go back to sleep. "Mail's here!" he called, passing the note to the nearest pony before heading back to the kitchen.
Jazz looked apologetically to Twilight. "We're going to have to suspend our activities for a while so we can take in the new data. If you like, we can put that off until you're finished here."
"No, it's fine. We weren't getting anything done anyway." Twilight pushed away a jumble of mostly meaningless notes and stood up, grudgingly walking to get L. Bon Bon had arrived with a bowl of cherry-topped ice cream and was attempting to feed her. Locket sat down in Twilight's vacated seat, unrolling the still-warm scroll. "Death report for Monday," she read. "Total thirteen deaths, four different cities, from estimated midnight to nine-thirty at night..."
Twilight arrived by L's side, looking over her shoulder cautiously. "Anything interesting?" she asked.
"Nothing we haven't already discussed," L replied calmly. She accepted another mouthful of ice cream before glancing up, then quickly swallowed and leaned forward. "Oh. Now that's strange."
"What is?"
"The mail's here."
Derpy's screen turned to reds and browns, then a loud knock echoed through the chamber. After L gave her an expectant look, Twilight ran to open the trapdoor. Derpy bounded downstairs with her mailbags on, holding a letter in her mouth. "Express letter for Rainbow Dash!" she announced proudly, holding it up.
L spun around. "From who? Addressed to here?"
"Nuh-uh." Derpy shook her head. "To her house. But I know she's here instead. I dunno who it's from. Hi, Locket!" She waved.
Locket absently waved back. "Frozen Fronds, F-R-O-Z-E-N, F-R-O-N-D-S. Vanhoover East Prison. Estimated time of death, lunchtime..."
L stretched out a hoof. "Give that here." With only a moment's hesitation, Derpy trotted over and gave the letter to L. The detective immediately flipped the letter over once, examining the writing on the front before tearing it open with her teeth. She pulled out the page within and squinted at the first line. "It's from Applejack."
Twilight gasped. She leaned over and tried to read it, almost unsettling L in her chair. "What's it say?"
L quickly scanned the page, then passed it to Bon Bon and pulled her ice cream closer to herself. Bon Bon held the letter close, coughed once, then slipped into an almost pitch-perfect imitation of Applejack's voice as she started to read. "Dear Rainbow Dash," she said, to the listening ponies' amazement. "Ah tried shouting out your window for almost an hour, but either you ain't there or you're hiding from me. Ah can understand either, but the fact is we need to talk. What you did last night was scary as all heck, and running from me is only gonna make me worry about you more. Remember, sugarcube, Ah'm your friend. Don't think there's anything you need to hide from me."
Bon Bon frowned as she got to the important part. "Ah don't know when exactly you'll get this. If you can, meet me for lunch at my place tomorrow. Ah don't want us to have any secrets from each other, especially not now. Ah care about you, Dash. Ah just want everything to be okay. Your friend, Applejack." Bon Bon coughed again before returning to her normal speaking voice. "This is written very neatly, as well. A lot of time went into this."
There was a stunned pause. Then Derpy clapped. "That was amazing!" she cheered.
Bon Bon blushed. L took the letter back from her, folding it carefully. "Bon Bon's wasted beneath the hood, you know," she said softly. "She can do so many voices..." She smiled wistfully, then returned to seriousness when she looked at Twilight. "Obviously, this has several implications. I believe you can name the first off the top of your head."
"Uh..." Twilight thought for a second, then smiled. "Of course! This means Rainbow Dash isn't being controlled! If Applejack was already inside her head, she wouldn't need to send a letter asking her to meet up."
"This is true." L tapped her chin. "Then again, it could be a ruse to make us think she's not being controlled."
"No, I don't think so," Twilight argued. "The letter was sent to her house, right?" Derpy nodded. "If Kira was trying to trick us, it would require her to know that Rainbow Dash is being detained here, and that Derpy works for us and is aware of this. If she knew that much already, why would she need to write this letter?"
"That is also true." L scooped up the cherry on her ice cream and popped it into her mouth. She swirled it around in her mouth, swiftly knotted the stem with her tongue, then spat it back into the bowl. "Although I would not put it past Kira to attempt such a complex bluff, it is more likely at this point that she is not aware of Rainbow Dash's position." She smiled. "Which presents us with yet another valuable opportunity."
"Locket!" Jazz barked, snapping the mare's attention away from the discussion in the corner.
Locket blushed deeply and continued to read. "T-I-M-B-E-R, G-R-E-Y. ‘The Block,’ Stalliongrad. Estimated time of death, between six and seven in the morning..."
Putting her ice cream aside, L rose up from her chair. "New new plan. Since this Kira has decided to play defensively, we will do the opposite. From this point forth, all four members of the Apple family in Ponyville will be under direct investigation." She flicked off the middle of the screens behind her. "Bon Bon, collect Rainbow Dash."
Barely a minute after Bon Bon had left the chamber, Rainbow Dash burst back in with unsurprising speed. She charged back across the room with her wings spread, snorting fury from her mouth. "L!" she yelled. "I'm gonna make you pay for this!"
"Rainbow, wait!" Twilight quickly leaped in front of the detective and waved desperately. Rainbow Dash failed to stop in time, and the three of them fell into a tumble that ended up sliding under the nearest desk before colliding with the wall. "It was just a test," Twilight wheezed as soon as her breath came back to her, carefully holding her struggling friend's forehooves in place. "We just had to make sure you weren't being controlled."
By the time the trio had managed to disentangle themselves and climb out from under the desk, Twilight had managed to rapidly explain the situation and calm Rainbow Dash down enough that she could stand on her own without needing to be restrained. “I get it,” she said at length, glowering at L. “But you didn’t have to trick me. You could have just asked.”
L shrugged. “It was the most efficient method. I couldn’t be certain that you would be cooperative.”
Twilight frowned. “It was still a mean trick.”
“Yes, I suppose.” To Twilight’s surprise, L looked directly at her and bowed her head apologetically. “I’m sorry for being harsh in my treatment of your friend. There was no need for me to deceive her in that way.”
Twilight lowered her own head. “I’m not the one you should be apologizing to,” she said quietly.
Locket coughed loudly; this time it was Jazz who was staring distractedly at the corner. She let out a satisfied chuckle as the older pony snapped back to attention, then looked down again at the report. “Written Scr—”
Locket froze, but not fast enough. Her sharp intake of breath caused every eye in the room to lock on her. A bead on the abacus rattled expectantly, waiting to fall into place, then stopped. Slowly, Locket turned away from Jazz until she locked eyes with Derpy. The pegasus was staring at her wide-eyed, breath held, as if waiting for the other shoe to drop. Twilight and Rainbow Dash simultaneously looked from one pony to another, unconsciously trying not to breathe as well. They weren’t certain what had just happened, and neither particularly cared to guess.
After an uncomfortably long silence, Derpy finally spoke in a very small, quiet voice. “Muffin?”
Locket gulped. Jazz stepped forward and gently tried to take the report from her, but she held on to it fast. “Written Script,” she repeated. Her body trembled, but her voice was strong. “W-R-I-T-T-E-N, S-C-R-I-P-T. ‘The Block,’ Stalliongrad. Estimated time of death... between one and three in the morning.” Her voice became softer. “He died in his sleep. He didn’t suffer.”
Derpy’s eyes were filling with tears. She folded and unfolded her wings, making as if she was going to move and then stopping, still looking like she wasn’t certain of what she was hearing. She spoke again, a tremor now evident in her voice. “Muffin?”
“C-cause of death: heart attack. No unusual symptoms.” Locket lowered the scroll. “Derpy, I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
Rainbow Dash started to creep forward. “Derpy?” she asked. “What happened?” Twilight, having long since come to her own conclusions, shook her head and desperately motioned for Dash to step back. The pegasus ignored her. “Who was that guy?”
Derpy didn’t speak. She choked, still frozen, apparently struggling to breathe. “He was her fiancé,” Locket answered for her, casting her eyes at the ground. “Dinky’s father.”
Dash couldn’t keep herself from gasping. “You mean—” She clamped her mouth shut as a sob finally escaped from Derpy’s lips. The grey mare seemed to fold up into herself, shrinking down against the stone floor. “Hey,” Dash said with as much sincerity as she could muster, “it’s gonna be okay. We’re here for you.” She reached out a hoof comfortingly. “We’re gonna get through—”
“Noooooo!” The instant a hoof touched her mane, Derpy shot up and shoved Rainbow Dash with enough force to knock her onto her back. One of her saddlebags sprung open, scattering letters around her hooves, but Derpy didn’t seem to notice. She made a noise that was half snarl and half wail, one eye narrowed in fury, the other wide in fear. “Don’t touch— I can’t— Muffin!” She tried to cry out again before breaking down into a horrendous coughing fit, sending spasms across her whole body.
Twilight glanced at L, who remained placid as ever, before rushing to her friend’s aid. Locket darted forward a second later. They reached Derpy at almost the same time, trying to look comforting while keeping their distance. “Derpy—” Twilight tried.
“Go ‘way!” Derpy whirled away, shaking her head back and forth. She scattered more letters in her wake. “Stop being so nice to me!”
Before anypony present could process this, Derpy stormed over to the iron doors and threw them open, vanishing up the stairs in a flash of grey. There was a thud as she collided with the trapdoor above, then another as she cracked it open through sheer force and sped away into the sky outside.
Rainbow Dash allowed Twilight to help her back to her hooves, still looking stunned. “Wait, let me get this straight,” she said. “Are you seriously saying that the fiancé of Derpy, who couldn’t pull off a crime if she flew headfirst into one, is a criminal?”
“Was,” Locket snapped. She looked down at the death report again. “It says he was arrested for smuggling contraband into the colonies... it doesn’t specify what kind. Possible endangerment of a minor. Minimum five year sentence, recently reduced to three for good behavior. He... he would have gotten out in a few months.” She sniffed, maintaining her posture. “Should we go after her?”
“No need,” L called from the corner, tapping a screen behind her. A violently shaking view of the sky appeared on it. “Her louse is still active. I can monitor her whereabouts from here.”
Slowly, the group turned to glare at L. “She meant to see if she’s okay,” Twilight said coldly. “Are you really going on about that possession and betrayal stuff now?”
L tutted. “Derpy has friends and family for support. We are merely her coworkers. There are other matters which presently need us more. What I meant is that if she finds herself lost or in danger in her state, we will be the first to know.” She twisted her face into what on any other pony would have been a hurt expression. “Why must you always assume the worst of me, Twilight?”
Twilight paused, then sighed. "Sorry," she muttered. "It's just now, of all times... I think we've all made some mistakes in the past few days." She paused. Rainbow Dash was staring at her with a familiar, expectant expression. Her resolve hardened. "You know what? Emergency friendship circle. Right now."
It took longer than usual to explain the concept. Spike and Bon Bon brought snacks when they emerged from the kitchen, and eventually even Jazz was led away from his abacus and made to join the circle seated on the floor. They held hooves and listened to Twilight as she spoke. "Okay, everypony," she began. "Let's face it. We're kind of a mess right now."
She looked around at the faces in the group. Not one contradicted her. "Do you know why that is? Because we don't trust each other. Ever since this game began, Kira's been trying to tear our team apart. She makes us fear that any one of us could be possessed, that at any point any one of us who's been exposed to her could turn around and stab everypony else in the back. Harpy, you said that when Kira revealed her true nature to us, she was trying to frighten us. Well, it's working, but it's not her we're scared of. It's each other."
To her left, Spike shivered. Twilight wrapped her hoof around his claw a little tighter. "Well, no more," Twilight said firmly. "I'm putting a stop to this right now. We're not going to play by her rules any more. If we do, we'll die. Because when the cards come down, we have something that Kira can never have. While Kira has to steal souls to do her work, we have each other. We have teamwork. We have the magic of friendship. And if we let her take that away from us, then we might as well give up right now.
"From now on, we're not going to have any secrets. We're going to look out for each other, not because we're afraid, but because we care about each other. And above all else, we're going to trust each other."
"That doesn't make sense," Spike said nervously. "If any one of us could be controlled by Kira, then how can we trust each other?"
“Because from what we’ve seen so far, Kira can’t control her subjects like puppets. She can only whisper in their ears. If it were anything stronger than that, I don’t think any of us would be alive right now. And I think that’s important.” Twilight looked around the circle again, this time smiling. "I know some of us haven't known each other for that long. Given the choice, there's some of you that I probably wouldn't have chosen to work with on this mission." She avoided looking at anypony in particular for this part.
"But after we’ve lived and struggled through so much together, after we’ve put aside our differences for this one mission and included each other in our problems, we’re not just coworkers now. The bonds between us are stronger than the ones Kira’s trying to slip round our necks. This goes for Derpy too, and Colgate and Fluttershy, and everypony else who’s come across our path. Even if I can’t explain it, I know, deep in my heart, that none of you will ever betray me. Because all of you...” Twilight’s smile widened, and a familiar warmth began to flow through her. Spike. Locket. Rainbow Dash. Jazz. Bon Bon. Even you, Harpy Chords. “Are my friends.”
Not everyone reacted in the same way. Spike and Rainbow Dash beamed with pride, and Bon Bon looked delighted. Jazz, however, seemed shocked at this announcement, and Locket appeared frightened. The biggest change, however, came over L. Her eyes widened, first in horror, then realization, and finally foal-like joy. A warm smile spread down through her face, which never completely vanished until the following morning.
Twilight beamed. "From now on, we're not just a random gathering of ponies with a common purpose,” she continued. “We're a team. A team of friends, friends who know how to work together, friends who would give up their lives to keep each other safe. That's why we'll win, and Kira will lose. Because together, we're so much more than the sum of our parts. We are..." She lifted her head proudly. "The Coalition of Justice."
Rainbow Dash snorted in amusement. "The CoJ?"
Twilight blushed. "Hey, it's... the best I could think of mid-speech."
"I like it," L murmured. "Very goal-oriented. Very righteous." She straightened up. “However, this philosophy may not be well-suited to our methods. Applejack is included amongst your friends, after all, and we cannot presently afford her the same unconditional trust.”
“I know,” Twilight sighed. “Like I said, we’ve all made some mistakes in the past few days. It’s time to correct some of them. Starting with my own.” She let go of Spike’s claw and turned to her right, facing Rainbow Dash directly. “I’m sorry I doubted you earlier,” she said. “I know you can tell a spreadsheet from a prison sheet. If Applejack has something that might have to do with Kira but hasn’t tried to tell us about it, that’s reason enough to suspect she’s up to something. If it’s the worst-case scenario and she is under Kira’s control, then it means Kira’s found a way of getting to her that’s stronger than a subconscious link. You had every right to worry about her being in danger, and I was wrong to brush you off like that.”
Dash sort of smiled. “Thanks... I think,” she said. “I’m confused, though. Do you suspect Applejack now or not?”
“I don’t think it’s as simple as a yes or no. The reason we’re struggling so much is that we still know next to nothing about what we’re dealing with. We don’t know Kira’s true nature, if she even has one, or the extent of her powers, if they even are unique to her. Which means that you were right, Harpy.” Twilight looked at L. “I understand why you use such extreme methods now. As long as Kira has this kind of advantage over us, we can’t afford to hold back. Doubt is what somepony as clever as her can use to slip through the cracks. If we’re going to make a decision, we’re going to commit to it one hundred percent.”
“I’m glad.” L’s smile widened again, this time with visible excitement. “Then you are comfortable with a close observation of your friend?”
“Of course not. But as long as there’s a chance she’s in danger, it’s a gamble we’ll have to take. The same goes for her family.” Twilight looked at others in the circle. “Here's the plan. Spike, you talk to Cheerilee and see if you can watch Apple Bloom at the schoolhouse. Nopony will think it's unusual if you're spotted around there." Spike seemed nervous, but nodded. Twilight started to speak again, but hesitated. She looked at L. “I’m not stepping on your hooves, am I?”
“No, continue,” L said. “I would have made the same recommendation myself.”
Relieved, Twilight kept going. “Tomorrow should be Big Macintosh's turn to sell the latest apple harvest in town. Locket, Bon Bon, you keep an eye on him and see if he does anything suspicious. He’s got pretty sharp eyes, so you’ll need to work together to avoid detection.”
As the two earth mares nodded to each other, Locket with some reluctance, Rainbow Dash began to squirm in place. “What about me?” she asked. “You’re not gonna lock me up again, are you?”
“No, Dash. There’s a test we can do to see if you’ve been controlled. A real one this time.” She turned to face her friend, putting on her most serious expression. “All you have to do is look at me. Dash, just look me in the eyes and tell me that you didn’t tell Applejack or anypony else about us.”
Without hesitation, Rainbow Dash locked eyes with Twilight. “I didn’t tell Applejack or anypony else about you. I promised I wouldn’t.”
Slowly, Twilight smiled. “Unless Kira’s somehow made you not the second-worst liar in Equestria, that’s all the evidence I need. Your time has come, Rainbow Dash. Tomorrow at noon, we’re going to need you more than ever.” Twilight looked at L again. “Harpy, earlier you said that Applejack’s letter was an opportunity. You were going to say that Rainbow Dash should meet with her, aren’t you?”
“Indeed I was.” L leaned forward, still smiling. “If Applejack were intending to share any secrets with you, she would have expressed that sentiment more specifically in her letter. No, any meeting will be an interrogation of you, Rainbow Dash, to see if you are a threat. It seems that it was your friendship that saved you after all. She wishes to know for certain what side you take before she takes any potentially fatal actions.”
“Wait, what?” Rainbow Dash paled. “You mean if she thinks I’m working for you, she’ll kill me?”
“For real this time, yes.” L nodded. “But with the right preparation, I do not think it will come to that.”
“Dash, think about this,” Twilight said as her friend began to panic. “Kira or not, she’s still your friend. She wouldn’t lay a hoof on you unless she had absolutely no other choice. Besides, if you recall, Applejack isn’t the best liar on the block either. If she has something to hide, you’ll know right away.”
“Oh, I get it!” Spike exclaimed. A sly look came to his eye. “So the interrogator... has become the interrogate...ee? Is that a word?”
“Yes, that’s a word,” Twilight reassured him. She turned to the unicorn on Spike’s left. “Jazz. If Rainbow takes a pouch of woodlice in with her, how quickly can you have them set up for one room?”
Jazz considered this. “If you can provide a sufficiently detailed layout of the building beforehand, and your friend makes the drop in the same room where she and Applejack will talk, I can have at least one working camera in place in a matter of minutes.”
“Just enough time, if we’re careful.” She turned back to Dash. “If something goes wrong, we’ll know enough to bust you out, and maybe have some evidence to bargain with as well. What do you say?”
Dash fidgeted. “I dunno,” she said. “I mean, I’m not scared or anything, but...” She kicked at the ground. “I’ll think about it.”
“You had best decide soon,” L said. “We have a deadline. And if you do not go, you may have one as well.” She released Bon Bon’s hoof and tapped her chin thoughtfully as Dash trembled again. “Of course, this is overlooking a fairly significant problem. We still need a convincing reason for Rainbow Dash to have been seen outside her friend’s window that will not lead to further suspicion.”
Locket, who looked as though she’d been sitting on a bug throughout this exchange, snorted. “Isn’t it obvious?” she snapped. Irritation turned to doubt as the others stared at her. Her voice dropped back to meekness. “Well... I mean... isn’t it?”
---
Everything is terrible. Derpy can only run.
Everything was going so good. Twilight wasn’t Kira and Fluttershy wasn’t Kira and Applejack was Kira but not really and they were going to catch Kira for real and make things okay. Everypony was being nice to Derpy and the words were coming so easy and everything was going to be okay. But now nothing is okay. Everything is terrible because Big Muffin is dead and now nothing can ever be okay ever, ever again.
Derpy runs. She runs and runs until she can’t run any more, and when she can’t run any more she stops running and cries. She cries and cries and it’s like swimming in an ocean of crying, and when she can’t cry any more she tries to keep crying because she has more sadness inside of her than tears. Then she looks around and realizes that she doesn’t know where she is.
It takes Derpy a long time to walk back to town, longer than the time for running and the time for crying put together. The sky is dark now. As she walks she tries to use the words that big ponies use when they want her to feel better, and those words are At Least. At Least Derpy is still okay. At Least Big Muffin wasn’t sad when he died. At Least Little Muffin is still okay. Thinking about Little Muffin makes Derpy’s head hurt so she tries to stop but she can’t stop because she loves Little Muffin so much. Then she realizes that she will have to tell Little Muffin that Big Muffin is dead and she has to stop where she is and cry again.
This is the worst part, because Little Muffin will never see her Daddy again. They will never have any more snacks again or play any more games again and never go on any more train rides again and the thought hurts Derpy so much that she wants to cry and cry and never stop. Because Big Muffin is perfect and Little Muffin will always love Daddy more than a silly pony like Mommy and nothing will be okay for Little Muffin ever again.
Now the sky is really really dark and Derpy keeps walking because she has to keep walking. One of her bags is empty and Mr. Brown will be really angry and maybe yell at her but all she can think about is seeing Little Muffin again. And as she walks she stops being Derpy Hooves, who was a brave pony who had lots of friends and was going to make everything okay, and goes back to being plain old Ditzy Doo.
Best Friend’s lights are on when Ditzy gets to Best Friend’s house, and Ditzy sits and looks and them and does not say anything. She walks up to the door and she hears voices, and when she hears voices she stops again and listens because she can hear Best Friend talking. “I’m going to arrive at the border in a few days,” Best Friend says in the voice that she uses when she’s reading. “There aren’t many post stations up ahead, so I might not be able to write to you for a while. I think this border will be easier to cross than the ones before, because this one is run by warthogs. Warthogs are nice because they eat a lot, so they will be extra friendly to anyone who shares their food with them. They are also very smelly, but never tell one that if you ever meet one.”
Little Muffin giggles, and Ditzy Doo’s heart feels like it is made from one great big rock. She moves closer to the door and then stops. She wants to walk in and smile at Best Friend and hold Little Muffin under her wings one more time, but then they will know something is wrong and she will have to tell Little Muffin that Daddy is dead. She wants to go in so badly, but she is not a brave pony like Derpy Hooves any more. She is only Ditzy Doo, and Ditzy Doo is a bad mommy who tells lies to her little filly.
Best Friend tells Little Muffin that it is time for bed. Ditzy listens and she can hear Little Muffin brush her teeth, and she can hear Best Friend tucking her up in bed. She can even hear a little noise as Best Friend gives Little Muffin a goodnight kiss just like a good mommy should. “Goodnight, Dinky,” Best Friend says.
“Goodnight, Auntie Top,” Little Muffin says.
Then the lights go out and Ditzy is staring at only darkness, and the darkness hurts her eyes. She stares at the darkness for a long time and then she turns around and walks away, and now she is walking even slower than before.
There’s a house right next to the Post Office that Ditzy has never been to. She knocks on the door really quietly, and then she knocks really loudly and almost runs away but doesn’t because even if she isn’t a brave pony like Derpy Hooves any more she is still a little bit brave. The door opens and then Mr. Brown is looking at her. He starts to look angry, and then he stops and he looks sad. “Kid?” he says so quiet that Ditzy can almost not hear him. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m sorry,” Ditzy says, then sniffs because her face is still full of tears. “I didn’t know where to go.”
Mr. Brown looks at her for a long time. Then he steps back and holds his door open for her. “You’d better come inside,” he says. Ditzy steps into Mr. Brown’s house, but she doesn’t look at him or say thank you because she is a bad pony. Mr. Brown puts his head out the door and looks both ways as if he is about to cross the street, and then shuts the door.
---
Dear Princess Celestia,
Do you think that some ponies are capable of murder, while others are not?
It’s a question that’s been bothering me ever since L brought it up. I used to think that some ponies are inherently good, and that that goodness can never be taken away from them. Now, I’m not so sure any more.
I know my friends aren’t Kira. I know I’m not Kira. I know I’m not Kira. But no matter how strongly I want to believe in goodness, these thoughts keep filling up my brain. What if I was Kira? Would that even be possible? I know I would never kill. I believe that everypony, even the worst of ponies, deserves the chance to be forgiven. But if I had the power of Kira, to kill whoever I wanted, however I wanted, with nopony ever knowing it was me... would I still be such a good pony?
Please respond.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.
Next episode: Tarts! (Of the fruity kind.)
Stats
Page generated in 0.029 seconds
Total duration
994 users online
1,486,388 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
So many feels with the Derpy part at the end...the change in tensing/style really emphasized the mood.
I eagerly await the next chapter! I'm trying to figure out some of the characters still. I know RD is Matsuda, but I can't tell if Colgate or Derpy is Aizawa. I'm also really interested in the golem sidestory.
Good work, I can hardly wait to read more!
Poor Derpy.
You say Biggs and Wedge and I think of Final Fantasy.
Remind me not to check Fimfiction right before I'm about to go to bed.
An awesome chapter, as usual. Really enjoying the departures from the source material, you've done a great job in making this much more than just 'Death Note but with ponies'. The moral dilemmas Twilight is having are especially sad when you consider that she knowingly killed Pinkie and Rarity, and that Evil!Twilight is still in the background, just waiting for her to regain her memories.
Keep up the good work, can't wait for the next one.
i'm just saying i am kinda pissed about killing pinkie but understand that it was necessary however, if you kill dash i will back trace your IP address and END YOU
other than that, love the story so far
1602431 If you've seen Death Note, and the author stays pretty true, then you know how this will end...
...btw, to the author, this story is nearly as enthralling as the REAL Death Note. I started reading this afternoon, and couldn't stop til I caught up. You have such a wonderful way with words, your narrative fits the tone of Death Note PERFECTLY, yet you can deviate from the base storyline to incorporate more MLP-based themes. I truly can not wait to read more.
1603450
only saw the beginning of deathnote
1602431
i just realized i was not paying attention to narrative causality when i wrote that, so sorry for the rant in a sleep deprived state. i can probably guess dash will die i can only hope it is spectacular and meaningful
biggs and wedge -- that is star wars actually...
23874
Actually, I haven't read more than about two pages of Death Note, but I still understand this, you explain it well. You need more of Byk, but other than that you have a golden story. I think the reason more people don't read it is the doom and gloom this story emits.
25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mbg4l6W8wN1rd1qi0o2_500.gif
That is all.
This golem/Sunny thing is really picking up now.
1600557
So I'm not the only one then?
1605211
This
So many feels when I found out Big Muffin was killed. I'm still feeling that. If my Big Muffin was killed, I don't know exactly what I'd do either.
last chapter to read on my favorites list...MUST FIND MORE FAVORITES
Oh, Derpy... Damn. I knew a long time ago this would happen, but oy...
And uh... I don't have much more to say this time, lol. Though I miss Fluttershy--but then again, we haven't seen her or Colgate since returning Flutter to her cottage, and I think that was just a chapter ago. So eh.
And I like how it seems that that bit in Twilight's letter about forgiveness seems it may possibly be suggesting that at the end of all this, she gets found out and people are disgusted and such, but in some way or another is forgiven. By some ponies, anyway. That would be, like... the ULTIMATE power-of-friendship moment--Twilight being forgiven and maybe redeemed.
I by no means expect that--I'm just biased towards my lovely ponies not being permanently corrupted--but boy, would I enjoy that.
Keep it up, bro.
1744619 Actually it's final fantasy. In ff7 they're members of AVALANCHE, I don't know about their counterparts in any other of the games.
If there the Biggs and wedge I'm thinking of you fucking rock
poor Derpy...
That Derpy part is very sad, idk but sadder than anything I've read in this story, it just gets 2 me
Why do I get the feeling that Derpy's boss is going to do something very immoral to Derpy? That last line did nothing to help ease my suspicions... And she's going to think that she deserves every moment of it, while in her depression, and L is going to be the only other one privy to the events of that night...
that seems... unlikely. at least, without twisting the meaning of those words into a fucking pretzel.