Seeking A Quiet Afternoon

by Tired Old Man

Ch. 2-5: Dark Discussions

Celestia and the Elements rushed over to the chariot as soon as Mender fell. Whatever he saw must have been startling enough to cause him severe duress, so they turned their attention to the body.

It was a grey and black colored mare, that much was noticeable. However, her eyes were clouded with darkness and her cutie mark was consumed by a dark, pulsing mass.

While the Elements exhibited confusion at the sight, Celestia realized that this was clearly a delivery toward Canterlot's Medical Research Facility. No illness she had seen looked like this before, but if Mender fainted to it after such a fearful look in his eyes...

Celestia concluded that he had to know what it was. Either that, or he was squeamish around dead bodies, which seemed very unlikely in his field of work. No, Celestia had a strong suspicion that Mender knew something about this corpse that she did not.

Considering how long she has lived, this was a surprising revelation to her. She has seen and personally assisted in the curing of every discovered disease in the time of her rule. It has helped her kingdom thrive to this day, and she believed that time has come again.

Her questions on the matter would have to wait. This crash site needed to be cleaned up, and Mender clearly needed a place to recover before he would be able to answer.

"Princess Twilight, take Mender to one of the prepared rooms in the castle so that he may rest. Take the wounded pegasi in as well. I will organize the disposal of the chariot and figure out what to do with the body."

Twilight nodded. She and Rainbow Dash lifted Mender off the ground and began to move him, the other mares following slowly behind carrying the two pegasi. Rarity wanted to complain about the blood trickling down into her brilliant white coat, but that would have been selfish, so she didn't. Fluttershy had just opened the castle door, and when she saw Mender's unmoving yet uninjured body, she felt a small pang of guilt inside her. She held the door open to let her friends inside.

Meanwhile, Celestia had ordered a few of her Sun Guards to start disposing of the chariot pieces. Two guards were instructed to follow Celestia toward the Medical Research Facility while carrying the corpse of the mare in a stretcher. If this spooked Mender, she would treat it with the utmost care.

She briefly wondered if Luna would be alright in the castle, but remembered that Twilight and her friends were there. There was nothing to worry about as far as she knew, so she began her escort of the body towards the facility based just outside the castle gates.

--------------------Several Hours Later--------------------

Nile and the two pegasi she had chosen had landed outside the mine just as the moon began to rise. Immediately she felt a sense of dread as she walked past the burly earth pony guards keeping watch outside. The pegasi, satisfied that their duties were fulfilled, had returned to their usual tasks inside the mine, flying over the guards' heads as they entered. Nile thought she heard sounds of pain, but shrugged them off as sounds of battle from the training grounds below.

She crossed the bridge handing over the center of the mine, but the noises she had heard of fighting and training had stopped for the moment. Odd, there was usually some ponies practicing at every hour...or at least the ones where she had been here instead of doing field work for Locus.

,,,wait, if that was the case, what did she hear as the pegasi flew in?

The thick iron door opened with a grinding noise as Nile made her way into Lord Locus's throne room. She heard sounds of a struggle from inside, yet she showed no concern as the second door opened to reveal Locus choking a recruit to death before disposing of their body down the mineshaft near the throne.

"Ah, I love it when I can get my hooves dirty. Such a wonderful feeling it is!" Locus had stood on his back hooves and raised his forehooves into the air, bearing a wide, cheerful smile on his face.

"Was that the tenth recruit this week, Lord Locus?" Nile asked.

"Twelfth. Those two pegasi that were with you didn't make it far when they returned," Locus corrected.

Nile blinked in shock. "What? Lord Locus, if you keep killing our recruits, how will we have a standing army ready?"

"Oh Nile, Nile, Nile, you misunderstand. I'm weeding out the weaker ponies so that they do not harm our current competent numbers. I want warriors, not mindless grunts that serve only as cannon fodder. I'd rather have one pony bear the strength to kill ten before falling than taking ten ponies to slay one foe."

"Plus...I still have use for the dead yet." The smile grew even wider as Locus said this, and Nile felt a small chill flow down her spine.

The smile then left Locus's face as his eyes narrowed and his mouth formed into a small frown. "But enough about that. Tell me Nile, have you recovered the mare's body like I asked you to?"

Nile bit her lip. "No, Lord Locus. I could not. The pegasi pulling the chariot were faster than expected."

"Expected?" Locus tilted his head to the side in a small confusion. "Did you not pick the two fastest pegasi for this assignment?"

"I...did not," Nile admitted. "I had planned on ambushing the chariot as it neared Canterlot, but they had taken a different path than was anticipated."

"Did they now?" Locus was unconvinced, but let Nile continue.

"Yes, and I had to give chase. I had struck them with a beam from my horn, but they had entered Canterlot and crashed into the castle gardens."

Locus gritted his teeth. "So you couldn't recover the body. Did you at least have the good sense to destroy it?"

Nile smiled. "Of course, Lord Locus. I had set the chariot on fire before it crashed. I imagine it left quite the blaze in its wake."

Locus's tone turned angry in an instant. "You 'imagine' it left quite the blaze? Nile, I'll ask again. Did the body burn to ashes or not?"

Nile took a step back as her face reflected fear. "I...I...couldn't see. Luna had put up a barrier which I destroyed with my beam, but as I lit the chariot on fire the barrier had repaired itself."

Her admission to the truth did nothing to dissuade Locus's furious look. "So you're telling me that you didn't fly through that barrier to ensure the body was destroyed?! Nile, it landed in the castle gardens. That means guards and probably even the Princesses would step in to control the fire you set. While I do not doubt your ability to burn things well, I doubt they would sustain long enough to outpace a Princess and her guards putting them out!"

"I-I'm sorry Lord Locu-"

"DO. NOT. APOLOGIZE." Locus's voice boomed and echoed inside the room. "You do not have the privilege of doing so, Nile. You have failed me yet again. It is only by your own dignity, or is it stupidity...in that you have come back to humbly accept your punishment."

"....yes, Lord Locus. I...am ready to accept your punishment." Nile hung her head low, awaiting whatever Locus had in store for her.

Locus stepped forward and tilted her head up, forcing her to stare into his eyes. His spiteful, burning eyes. Her heart was pounding, screaming for her to run, but she would not.

Suddenly, Locus smiled. "Nile, Nile, Nile, I believe you did everything you could considering the circumstances. Well...not everything, but mostly everything. While normally I would impose death on such a grievous blunder, I have already killed enough ponies for today. However, that is NOT why you live this evening."

Nile was shocked, and found herself asking out loud, "Why?"

A wicked smile formed on Locus's face. "I...will simply say that new information has come to light that has saved you from my wrath today. As to how long this information shall keep you alive, that will be determined at a later date as I have it verified by my informants. You are dismissed...for now."

Nile stepped back and bowed deeply before she quickly turned to trot for the door. Just what information could Locus have possibly learned that made her life valuable enough to not lose it just now?!

"Oh, and Nile? Deliver the bodies of the pegasi here. You'll not walk away without some kind of punishment. I believe carrying the corpses of your cohorts for your bungled task to the shaft will suffice for the time being."

Nile shuddered as she closed the iron door leading to Locus's throne room before stepping out to the mineshaft. She looked down below and the bodies of the pegasi she picked sat at the bottom of the torchlit mineshaft. She would have to walk all the way down and drag the body all the way up back to his throne room twice over before her punishment was completed. Nile grit her teeth as she began the long descent down.

-----------------Canterlot Castle, Exterior Gardens------------------

Celestia had returned from dropping off the corpse at the Research Facility, and she had left her escorting guards at the entrance gate to help bolster security for the evening. Luna had just raised the moon as Celestia lowered the sun to usher in nighttime.

The ground was still charred around the crash site as she approached the castle door. It clashed with the natural beauty of the garden for now, but it would grow back in time. She shook her head and opened the door. Hopefully Mender was awake by now.

Just as she opened the door however, she heard buzzing. Instinct took hold as she stood in a combat stance, ears swiveling to pinpoint where she had heard the sound.

Another buzzing noise. This one came from inside the castle. Then another noise from outside.

The changelings were already here?! Her horn glowed in preparation for a fight as her eyes darted around between the door and the immediate area. The buzzing seemed to intensify as she did so.

She saw a dark figure make a move between the two columns, lit up against Luna's moonlight. She took aim at the figure and fired.

The shot had struck true, dropping what she now confirmed to be a changeling down to the ground.

Buzzing was all around her now as the sound of rapidly flapping wings filled her ears. Her horn glowed again as she prepared herself for the swarm of changelings creeping out from the doorway and behind the columns.

She fired off another shot at the swarm in the doorway, intent on escaping inside the castle to alert everypony she could find to their presence.

-------------------Canterlot Castle. Interior Guest Room--------------------

"Tell him, Mender. Tell that dependent little prisoner in there that nopony is coming for him." A shadowy stallion garbed in a general's uniform spoke.

"What? NO! That will kill him! You've seen how needy he is! He's already told us everything he knows!" Mender pleaded.

"That he has. However, now is the time to BREAK him. It's time to see what this curious little disease you found is capable of, Mender. It's already shown us so much, but I must know if it is lethal."

"General, please, he doesn't have to die!"

"My order is FINAL, Mender. Break what little hope he is holding onto. Do it NOW."

--------------------

"NO! I WON'T!" Mender woke up from his nightmare screaming these words.

This startled everypony in the guest bedroom, who had all jumped up a few feet at his scream. Pinkie was a few feet higher than the others.

Fear was still in Mender's eyes as they took in the scenery around him. He was in a bed in a rather large, ornate room. Twilight and her friends were lying on the floor, while Rainbow Dash was still flying in the air with a panicked look on her face. It was about that time that Mender realized he spooked them all with his scream, and sighed.

Twilight was the first to raise to her hooves, so she approached the bed first.

'Evening, Mender."

"Evening, Twilight. Sorry for the scare. Had another bad dream again."

Twilight blinked, then asked him a question. "Was...was it related to that body you saw?"

Mender groaned. Tonight was NOT a night he wanted to spend answering a ton of questions. Tomorrow he would but for now...

"Yeah, nah. I'm going back to bed. Somepony wake me when Twilight isn't grilling me with questions like she always does."

"Mender!"

"You know she won't leave you alone, sugar cube," Applejack said as she approached.

...Sugar cube? "Okay, don't call me that, AJ. I'm nowhere close to being that sweet. Seriously though, I still refuse to answer. No more questions for tonight."

Before Twilight or Applejack could respond, Pinkie shot up between them and the bed. "Girls, I think Mendy needs his space."

Mender slowly peeked his head out from under the covers. Pinkie standing up for him by respecting his need for peace and privacy? When did THAT happen?

Twilight sighed, and Applejack rolled her eyes as they gave up their questioning session...for now. Mender knew they would ask him later, but right now he needed a clear head.

"Well, you heard the Energizer Pony. I need my space. Don't worry, once I get things sorted out in my noggin, I'll come out and start explaining things to you all...and Princess Celestia."

They all nodded, and began to leave the room. Fluttershy was second to last, still looking at Mender with guilt-stricken eyes. She was having a hard time letting that incident at the train station go. Mender grumbled, he would need to talk to her about that later when he wasn't in a foul mood.

Pinkie was last, probably to ensure the other ponies would leave first, Mender had reasoned. Before she left, however, Mender had to ask her something.

"Pinkie?"

She zipped over to the bed in an instant. "Yeah, Mendy?"

"I'm confused. You of all ponies stood up for me while Twilight was busy pestering me with a question I didn't want to answer. Why?"

Pinkie smiled, but it wasn't her usual wide grin. No, this was a softer smile. It threw Mender off-guard. "I know when ponies need personal space, Mendy. I learned that while I was trying to make friends with a donkey that was crankier than you were."

"Was he so cranky that his name was Cranky?" Mender chuckled.

"Cranky Doodle Donkey was his name." Pinkie confirmed. Mender blinked. There was seriously a donkey called Cranky?

"I kept being persistent with him because it was foreign to me at the time that somepony out there didn't want to be friends with me. It was only after he told me his story of how he came to Ponyville that I realized he was somepony that valued his time alone."

"So...did you leave him alone?" Mender asked.

"Nope! I found his special somepony and became friends with him that way!" Pinkie cheered.

Mender gave her a vacant stare. "...Pinkie, I hope you know that since I'm already your friend, I don't want you going around looking for a hookup for me so that I get to be more of a friend to you."

Pinkie giggled. 'Silly filly, I don't need to do that! You've already got a special somepony!"

Mender blinked. "What in Equestria do you mean by that?!"

Pinkie merely smiled. "You'll see, Mendy. Now, I know you need your space, so I'll just go now."

Before Mender could gather his thoughts and ask Pinkie about a dozen or so questions about what in Tartarus just came out of her mouth, she had zoomed out and shut the door to the room.

"Sheesh, one moment I think I figure that pony out, the next she goes off and says something that throws it all for a loop."

Mender sighed. "Don't bother trying to solve the mystery of Pinkie's personality, Young. You may have explained how she does things, but you'll NEVER figure out why."

"Hah, is that a challenge, Mender?"

"No, it's a warning, and it's one I suggest you take seriously before your head explodes."

"Sheesh, fine. Twilight's a more interesting one to listen to, anyway."

"The bookworm? What about her?"

"She's very...inquisitive."

"Where I come from, I call it intrusive."

"Says the subject of her pointed questions when you're awake. I've listened to her speaking to Nurse Redheart in the hospital, you know."

"What? How? I thought the band didn't work unless it was on my horn. "

"Mender, I stated that your horn acts as a signal booster. Have you not considered that the band wouldn't work just by itself in a local area like Ponyville?"

Mender actually hadn't considered that...but if so, that meant Young had heard much while Mender was recovering in the hospital.

"Anyway, Twilight has asked various...interesting questions, Mender. Medical questions, to be precise.

"Medical? I thought she was already some magical prodigy, what with her being an alicorn and all."

"One would think so, and yet she's been asking questions anyway. I'd even venture to guess she would be reading whatever medical textbooks she has in her library as well."

Mender pondered what this meant until it hit him as hard as a sack of bricks.

"She's learning how to cast healing magic, Young."

"I agree. I also know when and why she started asking such questions. Do you?"

Mender had to think about this for a minute. What would cause Twilight to suddenly take up such a vested interest in healing? It certainly wouldn't be due to just him, would it?

...just him? That's when it came to Mender.

"...it was when Rainbow Dash and I were attacked by Knife Point. That's why she's learning healing magic, in case one of her friends gets harmed again."

"Right on the bits, Mender. You know what that means, don't you?"

This wasn't good. Mender didn't care if she was a magic prodigy, or even that she was an alicorn. Magical healing takes months to mend even small cuts and scrapes, and years to learn how to mend broken bones, heal large exterior cuts and burns, and fix internal organ damage.

But what worried him more was the penultimate in healing magic that he had attempted and failed once before: Revival. Bringing a pony back from the dead, or ponies whose wounds were immensely severe and mortal, yet they still lived for a short time. Mender was only aware of one pony who had mastered that specific spell, and the legends had spoke of them taking over a hundred years to do so. The name of that pony escaped him, but that length of time for mastery did not.

There was also the problem that the magic had been banned by Princess Celestia. Mender didn't need to think to see why. Reviving ponies was a dangerous spell that not only put severe magical strain on the user, as he had experienced firsthoof, but there was also the simple fact that it could be used to resurrect very dangerous creatures that could easily threaten the peace Celestia has kept during her rule.

If Twilight was pursuing this forbidden magic in case one of her friends' lives were threatened...!

Mender shot out of bed as soon as that thought crossed his mind. He shoved the door open as he began his frantic search for the purple alicorn that evening.

He would find something else instead as a scream for help echoed in the castle halls.

It came from Celestia.

Author's Note:

Hiya folks! Old Man here.

Damn, there's so much happening this evening, it's making my head spin.

Yeesh, and Mender's worst day still isn't over yet. I almost feel bad for him now. Almost.

I expected the changelings to attack much later, though. Hrmm...this might change things a bit. We'll see.

Comments

[Vrilix]

3769233 Right, thanks.