Chapter Seven: The Plan
I think it might be time for me to go and retune my nexus uplinks; they still seem to work, more or less, but they are starting to get a bit out of sync.
Of course, it doesn’t bother me in the slightest. So as it can take me from point A to point B, I can’t complain. Honestly, I wouldn’t have even noticed the issue if Dual hadn’t so kindly pointed it out to me. Still, it’s a matter of common courtesy to keep my magic in check.
That and it helps prevent certain awkward situations.
For example, today I was rudely awoken by a certain Earth Pony when he was ejected from the end point of the nexus which shot him out at a wall and caused him to fall on top of me. After a brief and inconclusive argument about whose fault it really was he informed me that he had some news.
Some very important news that he only felt comfortable discussing in his private study.
Well that and apparently the unbound magic permeating the air in my home was starting to give him a headache…
Either way the two of us went back through the nexus and, after I extricated Dual from a nearby tree, I found myself with him in his study.
The room, for the first time since we started this investigation together, was completely spotless. All the papers, books, and folders were neatly tucked away into filing cabinets or sealed in boxes and stacked neatly in the corner of the room. Really, except for the missing table, the place looked good as new.
It surprised me.
By then I was used to the study being in a state of absolute Chaos, with papers and books strewn every which way and with the walls covered in diagrams and leads that pointed in seemingly random directions. For the first time in months the place was had a sort of defined Order to it; the change gave the room a distinct air of anticipation and a grim seriousness hung down, it clung to everything it touched.
“Alright, what’s this about?” I asked Dual bluntly, this obviously wasn’t time to play games. I could tell that this was a time to get answers, straight and to the point.
Dual simply walked over to the table in the center of the room and sat down, reaching under the tabletop and opening a drawer in front of him. A few moments later he pulled out two different file folders, each of them clearly marked and labeled, and set them on the table in front of him.
Two reports were laid out on the table. One of them was a carefully constructed analysis on my escape and “re-containment” while the other was a fraud, a blatant lie that insulted me with its very existence. Just looking at it was enough to make my blood boil, however I tempered myself if only to satiate my curiosity.
Dual sighed and stepped away from the table before he started pacing back and forth across the room.
“Honestly, I was at my wits end with this entire investigation. I tackled it from every angle I could think of; no matter how hard I tried and no matter how through I was I ultimately reached the conclusion time and time again, a dead end.”
He spoke with a sort of grim determination as he walked back and forth across the room. The entire time he kept a perfect posture, eyes forward, chin up, chest out and shoulders squared. Still there was the occasional slip in his voice; I could tell he desperately wanted to tell me something but that the time wasn’t quite right.
My anticipation was building but I kept it locked up tight in my gut, I had waited this long.
He sighed and continued.
“For a while I seriously contemplated giving up and abandoning the case.” He paused for a moment and stopped dead in his tracks, his mouth was moving but no sound was coming out. I couldn’t help but smile to myself as I wondered how many times he had had this conversation before, figuring out the exact delivery to cultivate a more “manageable” response from his client.
“However, I happened to notice something odd when I was cleaning up after a certain little incident. I was looking at the report, the fake one anyway, and the seal managed to catch my eye.” He stopped his incessant pacing as suddenly as he started and moved back over to the table, propping himself up by his hooves and bringing himself closer to eye level. He stared down at the folders with intent, carefully maneuvering himself while he took the reports out of the folders.
“I noticed, well more remembered, something that I thought was inconsequential before.” He shook his head. “At first I didn’t think it would amount to anything to check it out so I ignored it, but I didn’t have any other leads so I decided that it couldn’t hurt to give it a shot.”
Dual squared his shoulders and raised himself up the few extra inches it took to look me dead in the eyes.
“Discord, I may have found our culprit.”
It took a few moments for the words to really sink in and for the reality of it to really hit me. Of course I expected it, there were signs, but seeing it coming and hearing it from the horse’s mouth were two different things entirely. Still, I recovered and burst into action.
“Congratulations!” I exclaimed as I popped in behind Dual with a burst of confetti and a complementary shoulder rub, “I knew you had it in you, chum!” I felt the tension drain out of me as I really started to process the situation, it was as if I was caring a large boulder on my back and I suddenly decided to throw it out of a second story window. The sense of relief was euphoric; for a moment I was worried that Dual had called me there to tell me that he was giving up the case, after all, the poor stallion was working on this for weeks with no real progress.
“Oh-ho, Luna had her doubts about you but I never doubted that you would pull through for a second! I-” Dual curtailed my celebration by unceremoniously shrugging me off of him, he even swatted off his party hat.
“Enough, Discord,” he said, still as serious as before his announcement, “I said that I may have found our culprit, but I am not entirely convinced yet; I brought you here to discuss my findings and to get a second opinion on my evidence.” He quickly regained my attention, as well as my curiosity.
“Evidence,” I thought to myself. “Alright, Dual, I’m sorry I flew off the handle prematurely. You know I can be serious if I have to be,” I said with a winning smile and continued, “now what exactly is this “evidence” you wanted me to look over?” I was barely containing my excitement; I just wanted this ordeal to be over. He motioned to the documents of him and I looked over his shoulder at the two reports.
“Now,” he began officiously, “like I said, I was cleaning up when I came across this report.” He pointed his hoof at the thinner stack of papers on his left and continued. “My eye was drawn to Celestia’s Royal Seal.” He began rummaging through the area under the table again while he continued speaking. “Now most officials in Equestria use a “Two Seal” system,” he popped back up with two stampers and a sheet of paper and placed them on the table, “this is because it became apparent that it was easy for nobles to forge official seals to falsify documents.” To punctuate his point he stamped both seals onto the paper leaving two intricate patterns on the page. “With two it’s harder to replicate, of course it’s still possible; in fact I had these two made to prove that point in a case a few years ago; these are an exact replica of House Galaxy’s seals. However, Unicorns, and by extension Alicorns, have access to a different system.
“They use an “Augmented Seal” system. Essentially, instead of having two separate seals, they only have one seal; when they press the stamp onto their documents they impart some of their magical energy to it.” He pointed at the report’s seals. “This creates a sort of energy signature that is totally unique to the seal holder, it’s a more secure and convenient system than carrying two seals. Of course they can still be forged, but it’s much more difficult; that’s how I established the original baseline for the amount of resources that a potential perpetrator should have access to.” I nodded; we had been through all of this before. I waited patiently for his conclusion and I furrowed my brow at the report in front of me.
“When I saw the seal again, I had a disturbing thought; it was an absurd idea really. I wanted to prove to myself that I was wrong, so I brought these two reports and my discontinuation of service papers from The Princess to a local “expert” on such enchantments.” He looked up at me seriously. “The only thing she asked for in return for her services was anonymity, so I apologize that I can’t tell you who they are; but trust me when I say she is an utmost authority on the subject.” I swallowed my pride a bit feeling a bit betrayed, but I allowed him to continue regardless. He quickly bowed under the table again and pulled out another stack of papers, setting them on the table.
“I had her analyze the two reports, using my dismissal papers as a verified baseline. I specifically asked search for any difference in Princess Celestia’s magical signature.” He stopped and grabbed up the stacks of paper, passing them to me, I was confused at this gesture until he elaborated. “For obvious reasons,” he tapped his forehead with a hoof, “I can’t verify her findings personally; however, you're considered a mage au-dessus excellence and you should have no trouble comparing the signatures for yourself.
On cue I raised the papers in question up into the air in front of me. As I methodically isolated Celestia’s signature from my own power I had a bit of dead time to think about things. I wondered just exactly where Dual was going with all of this; even if I could spot the difference between the signatures I could not identify who created the forgery, at least without a sample of their own magic to compare it to. Regardless, my trust in Dual’s deductive prowess far outweighed my skepticism.
Eventually I managed to cut through the energy surrounding me and lock on to the faint magical signatures emanating from the three seals. It would have normally taken me a very long time to perform such a delicate task due to the fact that my own magical energy has a bad habit of overpowering the natural field surrounding me; however, in this case I had a few unique advantages that expedited the process. The power in the seals was stronger than it would normally be, probably due to Celestia’s own power.
It also helped that I have become somewhat familiar with Celestia over the years.
Of course, I rarely meet with her personally. I’m simply too busy to engage myself in idle pleasantries and I except Celestia feels more or less the same. I believe that we have a nice, silent, agreement to stay out of each other’s way unless absolutely necessary, barring the occasional bit of fun at her expense of course.
Still, I know her well enough that I can at least recognize her magic at a glance. I used that familiarity to hone in on her signature. Eventually I could clearly see the magic impressed in each of the seals in my mind’s eye.
Of course they weren’t identical, not to me at least.
Magic, at any level and in any form, is heavily influenced by the user’s subconscious predispositions as well as their current emotional state. Celestia, of course, would have a refined air of impartiality and she would be a master in the art of emotional control, when you rule a nation for as long as she has it’s just something that you pick up out of necessity. However, I can say, without boast, that my mastery of the subconscious and emotional realms is completely unparalleled by any being on Equis. So when I looked at these signatures I saw the mind of a Pony in three wildly different states of mind.
In the dismissal form, I saw what one would expect from The Great Princess Celestia. There was a calm, cool, indifference displayed proudly in her magic. There was a kind of self-assurance that comes from over a thousand years of leadership and the assumption that one would live to see a thousand more.
There was also a slight undertone of relief.
“Curious.” I thought to myself as I moved on to the next.
In the official report, the real one, on my release was painted an entirely different picture. I saw fear and undiluted paranoia etched into the magic permeating the page. I also noticed that there was a strong, but tightly controlled, sense of regret laced in as well. Given the very nature of the report I expected the fear, I wasn’t exactly harmless, but the regret confused me.
What bothered me the most is the sense of anticipation, I would expect that there would be some sort of calm or a sort of relief woven into the magic here but I could find none. It’s almost like the part of the signature on this document and the dismissal form had been switched; however, that would be as impossible as it sounds.
Then the final report continued one of the most perplexing cocktail of emotions I had ever seen. I expected some sort of pride or smug satisfaction, the culprit patting themselves on the back for a job well done. At the very least I would expect some sort of nervous tension, the expectation that the forgery might be discovered.
Instead I found guilt, self-loathing, and something else that I couldn’t seem to pin down.
Something strange.
“Very curious indeed.” I said as I checked through them to verify my findings.
Dual looked between me and the papers, perplexed. “What do you mean, what’s curious?” This time it was my turn to hold up a talon and ask for a moment of silence while I worked. He obliged, although I could tell it was slightly begrudgingly.
Despite the nearly contradictory mindsets it was very much clear to me that each of these signatures came from the same Pony and it was obvious to me that that Pony could only be Princess Celestia. I decided to keep my own findings close to my chest.
“I’m sorry,” I said, shaking my head, but I don’t see anything that would indicate that any of these seals are fraudulent.” Of course I would never lie to Dual, but he has his secrets and I have mine. “As far as I can tell all of them contain Celestia’s energy signature.” He turned to face me; I idly wondered just how long I had taken inspecting the reports. It wouldn’t have been the first time I had kept him waiting for hours for a response, time gets away from me sometimes. His response caught me off guard.
“Exactly,” he said with confidence, “my informant told me the exact same thing.”
He got up and snatched the papers out of the air before he continued. “A forgery that good could only be attempted by one of the premier mages of Equestria, and even so it would have taken them months to make it; this leaves us with only one possible suspect who could do it in the previously established time frame.” He returned the papers to the table in front of him, staring intently at them as if willing them to reveal their secrets. I frowned and I tried to understand exactly what he was getting at. He didn’t give me any ground, he knew Equestria better than I did at this point, I couldn’t figure out exactly what he was implying.
He sat down and sighed, running a hoof through his mane before scratching the back of his head.
Then he finally gave me my answer.
“I only wish I could understand why she did it.”
It was at that moment that it all clicked.
The Pony I spend over a year trying to find had been right in plain sight the whole time. I couldn’t understand how I could have been so blind; I still can’t understand it honestly, it was obvious but I never even considered the possibility that it could be her all along.
“Celestia.” Her name slipped out of my lips like an angry cobra, tensed to strike and poised to kill. As I said it I could feel a shiver straight down my spine, it was the answer I had been searching for but not the one I wanted. Instead of giving me closure it only gave me more questions.
How could the fiery, young, mare that I met all those years ago be capable of something so…
Dishonest?
Deceptive?
Cold
Dual allowed me a moment to wonder before he nodded and continued. “From a legal standpoint The Princesses are absolutely untouchable, they have every protection the law affords to anypony and they even have the power to change those laws whenever they see fit; their decisions have even been held retroactively in some cases.” I looked over to him to see him sitting, staring blankly at the far wall as he spoke. “Unfortunately that means direct confrontation is a no-go situation here. Even if we brought a case against her she could simply dismiss it and she would never even have to acknowledge our claims.” He looked back at me giving me a sullen and defeated look. “I am afraid that I have absolutely no idea how to go forward from here.” He shook his head and sighed, as he looked at me I could see the defeat etched in his expression.
“We are in uncharted waters sailing on stormy seas my friend.”
I nodded, thinking about the obvious predicament. The whole point of this was to bypass Celestia and get my answers myself, but that wasn’t an option anymore.
Dual had done well, but his expertise would only take him so far.
But now, thanks to him, I had everything I needed. It was finally my time to shine.
“Actually, I think that direct confrontation is the only way forward from here. Though, as you said before, we can’t rely on the law to abide us anymore.” I turned away from him and looked over at the calendar pinned on the wall; nothing was marked so I continued without hesitation.
“No, I think that this calls for a much more personal approach.” I turned back around and looked down at Dual. He looked up at me and cocked his head slightly, obviously curious about where I was going with this. “Dual,” I asked, “how quickly do you think you can have that instability report that I told you about ready if I gave you my research material? I need it drafted and ready to present to Celestia as soon as possible.”
“Uh, it would take me about three weeks to verify everything and to construct the full report.” He eyed me warily. “Discord, what are you-”
“Good,” I said, cutting him off, “in that case I will return I a month; I expect the job to be done by then. In the meantime I have a few things that I need to take care of.” I quickly manipulated my nexus in order to make an expedient exit, but before I left I added a bit of advice. “Take the extra time to relax; you look like you have been through Tartarus, don’t strain yourself any more than you already have alright?”
Of course I didn’t wait for a response; I had far too much to do and precious little time to do it. So I stepped through the nexus and immediately started planning my next move.
Mark my words when I say that I am going to enjoy this.
Celestia, you’re in my realm now.
The russet colored Earth Pony decided not to question it when The Lord of Chaos and Spirit of Disharmony suddenly vanished. He did not question the absolute the complete and utter role reversal that had taken place just moments ago. He learned months ago that such questions did not bode well for his sanity.
Instead he stood up and thought carefully about the events that had occurred in the last few minutes.
Then he thought about how much had happened in the last few months, he sighed and promptly decided on his next course of action.
“I need a drink…”
Stats
Page generated in 0.032 seconds
Total duration
1,010 users online
1,403,637 hits today, 2,004,447 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.®
Chapter Seven Comment
When I planed this chapter in my head I thought it would be like five-hundred words long...
Then I wrote this...
Though to be fair I thought this whole fic would only take like five chapters anyway...
Regardless of my complete disregard for my own premeditation, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Cheers, Null
Well well well, finally Celestia is revealed.
3652649 I take it you're ready for the exciting conclusion of this fic?
3652771 My current plan is to finish the story and then go through and do some final editing and revision to it (nothing to major on the revision front, just sentence flow and stuff where applicable). After all that is said and done I will submit it; as far as I am aware if you have ANY grammatical errors they immediately disregard your work.
Why? Are you implying that they would accept it?
Oh, ho, ho
Celestia is going to get it now..
I have to say I'm glad I chose to read this. I noticed this on the recently updated and the first chapter hooked me. I like the head canon that comes with this story, even if I suspected Celestia from the beginning. Now I just want to know the why and what Discord is going to do :)
3652983
Thanks! As far as I'm concerned if I can write a story where you know how it ends and enjoy each chapter, then I have done my job. Thanks for the support and the fave!
Cheers, Null
3652683
Next chapter huh? Hope I get it for Christmas.
Hopefully the romance tag will actually come into it.
3669667 If someone does something great for you, like giving you eden, you tend to want to make sure they are treated well and you tell everyone else to treat them well including your children and their children. Skip ahead a few generations and you have ponies treating Discord like the prodigal son without any idea why, history is lost and assumptions are made.
Of course like I have said before, Discord may or may not be the worlds most honest being.
3669712
I already explained the whole Elements thing in the story as I see it anyway, at least as well as I need to explain it in the confines of the story.
As for the whole not knowing the about the brothers thing. Immagine being held against your will for about a thousand years absolutely unable to hear, see, or even move whatsoever, just you and your ever growing insanity to keep you company; I'm pretty sure that there are ordinances against that sort of thing on Earth, though on pre-renaissance Equis it was probably a matter or conscious.
Cheers, Null
P.S. Thanks for the fave and comments, much appreciated.