Act 3 Part 2 - Trust is a Weakness
“Get some sleep?!” Twilight exclaimed, looking at Washington incredulously. “That’s Princess Celestia’s message?!”
The former Freelancer looked at Twilight evenly. “Those are her exact words. See for yourself.”
Twilight took the piece of parchment from Washington’s hands in her magenta aura and levitated it across the central reading table of Golden Oaks library in front of her. Sure enough, after giving a report on the situation in Canterlot, Celestia’s message to Washington was nothing but instructions to the Freelancer on how to proceed; telling him to travel back to Ponyville with Grif and Simmons and await Twilight’s return.
… At whichever point my student returns, tell her to get some sleep. I will try to contact her shortly after she arrives and give her the answers she needs. After that, do whatever you can to aid her in finding the Forerunner site. What’s there should be crucial in stopping Project Freelancer for good.
Sincerely,
Princess Celestia
It didn’t surprise Twilight one bit that Celestia knew about the ancient alien ruins they were seeking. Perhaps Celestia would tell her where they are once she contacted her. Still, Twilight couldn’t help but wonder whether her mentor was stalling for time. It wasn’t clear why the Princess didn’t just send a message with all of the information to her directly.
“Why can’t she ever just give me a straight answer?” Twilight asked no one in particular. “Get some sleep…. Really?”
“Er, well… it’s not terribly bad advice, dear,” Rarity said diplomatically. “After all, you have been running yourself ragged ever since all of this stuff with the humans started. Also…” Rarity leaned in closer to whisper discreetly, “We’ve all noticed that you’ve been having trouble sleeping lately. A good night’s rest might be just the thing you need to tackle whatever Celestia plans to tell you.”
“Yeah,” Church added. “And maybe getting some rest might make you a little less… well, you know.”
Twilight turned to Church and gave him a deadly glare. “No, I don’t know. Make me less what, Church?”
Church merely shifted uncomfortably. “Uh… I was gonna say ‘bitchy,’ but… kinda seems like a bad idea now.”
“Smooth…” Tucker said, nodding sarcastically.
“I just got back from an alien planet where I almost watched my friends die and almost died myself, only to fail at our mission and make the entire trip pointless. I think I’ve earned the right to be a little ‘bitchy,’” Twilight said, air quotes and all.
Church raised his hands defensively. “Alright. That’s fair. I’m just going to stand over by the, uh… hey Rarity, which side of the tree would you say is the least flammable?”
Twilight simply sighed and looked back at the letter floating in her aura. That’s when she remembered another detail Washington told her.
“So, the Director of Project Freelancer is really holding Canterlot hostage?” Twilight asked, her irked tone giving way to a little fear as she looked up at Washington. “Can he really do it?”
“The Mother of Invention is equipped with a Magnetic Accelerator Cannon capable of leveling a city block,” Washington answered. “And considering your capital’s precarious position on the mountainside, it can probably do a lot of damage.”
“No, I meant… would he do it?”
Washington paused, considering the question. “Well, he did do the same thing to a civilian building while the other Freelancers and I were still inside, so I wouldn’t put it past him.”
“Wow. What an asshole,” Tucker stated, his gaze slowly drifting off to the side.
“Why are you looking at me when you say that?” Church asked.
“I don’t know. Guess I’m just used to seeing you whenever the term comes up.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“Why is he doing this?” Twilight asked, ignoring the two Blues.
“According to Celestia, he’s using the city as leverage in exchange for any evidence she may have that could link him to Equestria,” Washington said before shrugging. “Truthfully? I think the Director just doesn’t want the princesses to interfere with his operations while he’s here.”
“No, I mean, why is he doing any of this? What’s Equestria have that he’s so determined to find?”
Washington was quiet for a moment as he thought. “Hmm… don’t know. The Director was never exactly forthcoming with any of his projects. It’s possible he learned that Alpha is here. The only reason I even know about what he did to Alpha is because Epsilon was my A.I. I’ll bet it has something to do with those Forerunner ruins, though. They apparently found some very advanced piece of technology there.”
“Wait, if you were here before, don’t you know where those ruins are?” Church asked.
“No. I never saw them,” Washington answered. “Only the very top Freelancer Agents and those who worked closely with the Director ever saw the ruins, but now most of them are either dead or on his side. Even Tex wasn’t present when they excavated the ruins. Celestia might know, but we can’t be sure until she tells us.”
Of course. It all comes back to Celestia, Twilight thought with a frown. One way or another, she was going to have to wait until her mentor decided to contact her. “It can never just be simple, can it?”
One hour earlier.
The large colorful group of ponies and armored humans finally made it to the path approaching Ponyville. The sun was out, the birds were chirping and several clouds dotted the sky (something that Rainbow Dash noted with annoyance. Evidently, she was going to have a chat with the weather pony filling in for her). It wasn’t long before the big red barn of Sweet Apple Acres came into view, and with it, two familiar Red soldiers.
“Sarge?!” Simmons exclaimed as he and Grif made to meet them. “Hey, you found Donut and Lopez!”
“Actually, I just found Lopez,” Sarge corrected. “I’m not sure how Donut ended up with us, but the world works in mysterious and often inconvenient ways.”
“Oh, it was crazy!” Donut exclaimed. “A bunch of guys penetrated my temple, but Church and his friends made them pull out before it was too late!”
The rest of the large group stared at Donut wide-eyed. Church leaned towards Tucker. “Really? You’re not gonna say anything?”
“Nah, I think I’ll just leave that one alone.”
“Well, I can’t think of a better cue to head back to my library,” Twilight said, gathering Rarity and Church.
“Yep, it’s been great guys, but I think I’d like to go somewhere to quietly reflect on the fact that my whole life never happened,” Church said. “Caboose, Tucker, I feel having you around would be counterintuitive to the ‘quietly reflect’ part, but you wanna come with us anyway?”
“No thanks. Pinkie said she wanted to bake blue and pink cupcakes with me,” Caboose said. “She said I could lick the icing off the spreader.”
Pinkie’s head was a blur as she nodded furiously, a huge goofy grin on her face.
“Ooh! Can I help?” Donut enthusiastically asked. “I love baking, and licking things!”
“Of course, Colonel Croissant!”
“WOO! BAKING PARTY!” Pinkie exclaimed, hopping around the pink and blue privates.
With that, Pinkie Pie bounced toward Sugarcube Corner with Caboose and Donut in tow. She even started an impromptu song about the fact that differences don’t matter when you’re baking with friends. After saying her goodbyes, Twilight headed back to Golden Oaks with Rarity, Church, and Tucker, muttering about how anxious she was to see Spike. As they all left, Sunny turned away from the group and addressed her onboard passenger.
“Hey, Tex? There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”
Tex’s black avatar appeared before her. “It’s okay, Sunny. I already know what you’re going to say, and I understand….”
As they talked, the white guardspony also made to head back to town, leaving only the four remaining Reds—Sarge, Grif, Simmons, and Lopez—standing with Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack.
“Uh, RD? Ya might wanna go to the hospital to get that wing o’ yours properly treated,” Applejack suggested.
Rainbow Dash glanced back at her right wing and frowned when she saw the bandages, remembering Caboose’s little ‘friendly fire’ incident in the desert. “Oh yeah. Hey Fluttershy, you mind if I stay at your place in case I can’t fly up to my house tonight?”
Fluttershy barely heard her. She was holding that metal necklace she picked up back on Repertum and was frowning contemplatively at it. Her eyes darted up to the Reds and she noticeably tensed up. “Oh, um… sure, Rainbow Dash. I just… have to do something first.”
“Cool, I’m goin’ to the hospital now. Catch ya later!” Rainbow Dash spread her wings to take off before suddenly receiving a painful reminder of why she was going to the hospital in the first place. “OW!” Seeing a bit of fresh blood seeping through her bandages, Rainbow sighed and began to trudge towards town with her head hung low, mumbling, “Stupid, team-killing….”
As whatever choice words Rainbow uttered grew fainter, Applejack turned and addressed the group of red clad humans. “I s’pose y’all can stay in the barn while yer here. After all, ya did do Sweet Apple Acres a good service when y’all were here last.” Applejack then gave the Reds a cold hard glare. “Jus’ don’t eat anything from our wares! There’s plenty of food in the farmhouse.”
“Uh, why are you looking at me when you say that?” Grif asked.
“C’mon, do you really have to ask?” Simmons said.
“U-um… excuse me, Grif?” Fluttershy’s tiny voice tried to rise above the others, but already the Red Team’s bickering was gaining too much momentum.
“While I appreciate the offer, l’il lady, I think I’ll find my own, separate place to stay,” Sarge said, tucking his shotgun under his arms as he folded them across his red chestplate. “I don’t generally like sleeping around smelly pigs. And I think the farm animals might make it unpleasant too.”
“Oh, ha ha. Very original, Sarge,” Grif deadpanned. “Maybe since you’re technically a deserter, you can sleep in the chicken coup!”
“It’d still be better than sharin’ quarters with the worst soldier to ever worm his way into a position of leadership. Fuzzy though it is….”
“Dios mio, no tienen una pelea amorosa ahora (God, don’t have a lover’s quarrel now),” Lopez groaned. “Usted nos hacen ver débil frente a los extranjeros (You make us look weak in front of the aliens).”
Right then Applejack remembered the drama that had occurred within the ranks of Red Team before their departure from Equestria. It would seem Sarge was still bitter about how things in his old squad were going.
“For your information, I’m not only the leader of this squad, but the captain of a pony military force here, too!” Grif retorted.
“Oh yeah? Well, if yer in charge of yer own fancy alien horse squad, then where is it? Is it some kinda stealth battalion? Because I sure as hell can’t see it!”
“Um, Grif?”
“Actually, they’re off fighting the war against Project Freelancer in another part of the country, sir,” Simmons reported. “We were both given platoons of pony soldiers to train and lead in combat.”
Frustrated, Sarge made a few unintelligible grunts before returning to his patronizing tone. “Well ooh la la! Yer the commander of an army of adorable little horses? And I suppose they defeat their enemies with the power of fluffy hugs and smiles, a-and… rainbows of kindness,” Sarge suddenly dropped his shoulders and sighed. “Ugh, just sayin’ it sarcastically is makin’ me feel like a wimp. Hold on…” Sarge raised his shotgun and cocked it dramatically. “There. That’s better!”
“Sarge, you better not be insultin’ the brave mares and stallions of Equestria’s army,” Applejack warned, giving Sarge a steady glare.
“Yer right about one thing: they’d have to be pretty brave to follow Grif into battle. They’d also need to lose their sense of smell, and have super strength in case they need to carry him.”
“Um, Grif? Hello…?”
“Sarge, I’ll have you know that not only are my troops total badasses, but they actually won a battle against Project Freelancer under my command,” Grif said folding his arms and giving a satisfied nod at a fuming Sarge. “That’s right: I actually led a successful military operation! Suck it, you old wash-up!”
“Is that right?” Applejack asked, looking at Grif both surprised and impressed.
“Yep. We stopped a Freelancer attack on that research site around the ship that crashed. Probably saved a bunch of lives!” Simmons said. “It was a textbook op. Well… except for when Grif tried to justify his ‘Mr. Miyagi’ training tactics.”
“Hey, it worked didn’t it?”
Applejack looked up at both of the Red soldiers appreciatively. If that was true, these men had come a long way from messing up her farm over a week ago. “Well, if that’s the case, I thank you both for yer service to our country.”
“Service? What useful service could Grif provide that doesn’t involve dying horribly and senselessly?” Sarge said.
“Um, anyone?” The tiny voice went unnoticed.
Applejack rounded on the man in red. “What is yer problem, Sarge? Sure, Grif can be lazy and a bit annoyin’, but now he says he’d actually done somethin’ good. You can’t at least give him a little ‘good job’?”
It was strange, usually she got along just fine with the human sergeant. Understanding each other’s countryisms and a mutual hatred of Grif kept them on good terms with each other, but now Sarge was starting to take insulting the orange layabout to a whole new level. It was one thing to dislike him for being a lazy slacker. It was quite another to continue insulting him even when he proved himself capable.
“Yeah, what’s wrong with admitting I’m just a little bit awesome?” Grif asked.
“Because yer not! Yer the exact opposite of awesome: negawesome!” Sarge yelled. “How in the hell is it that you get everything I’ve been working towards by doing nothing? The fact that someone as useless as you gets everything while those of us who actually work to get where we are is exactly what’s wrong with this generation!”
Grif’s hand curled into a fist, and Applejack heard his knuckles cracking. She couldn’t blame him for being angry after everything Sarge was saying, but even she wasn’t prepared for what he said next.
“Well, maybe I got everything you wanted because you’re a terrible leader! You ever fuckin’ think of that?!” Whatever Sarge was about to say next halted in its tracks as Grif continued his assault. “Maybe being in charge of a shitty backwater base is all you’ll ever amount to because you’re just an incompetent, irrelevant old man with nothing to offer anyone!”
The very air around the group was silent. Even the birds in the distance stopped chirping as the pure venom in Grif’s voice seemed to suck the life out of everything around him. Unfortunately, one of the members of the little group took the awkward silence as an opportunity to finally be heard. It didn’t occur to her just how big a mistake it would be until she opened her mouth.
“Um, Grif?” Fluttershy asked, idly fidgeting with the necklace around her neck. “I’m sorry for interrupting, but… there’s something I need to give you….”
Sarge took one glance in Fluttershy’s direction before rounding back on Grif. “Oh yeah? Well at least I don’t have a sister who’s both a little tramp and dead!”
“Oh yeah?! W… wait, what?”
“That’s right: we found her corpse when we went back to Blood Gulch,” Sarge continued while Grif just stood in silence. “She’s suckin’ the big dick in the sky now. She’s havin’ angel bukkake. She’s takin’ it in the rear from….”
Sarge was suddenly cut off as something hit him hard enough to knock him off his feet and send him falling into the dirt. He looked up to find Applejack standing over him, glaring down at him with a face red with fury.
“Now you listen an’ you listen good, Sarge,” Applejack warned in a dangerous low voice. “I don’t care how lazy, how rude, or how bad at farmwork a fella is…” Applejack put a hoof on Sarge and bent down, glaring straight through his visor, and despite how hard she tried to stop it, there were tears in her eyes. “Never… ever use family against someone! Especially family that’s bein’ mourned!”
Applejack’s look just dared Sarge to say something else, but the man held his tongue. Everything was silent once again.
“Screw you guys, I’m gonna find a tree to sleep under until Sarge stops being more of an asshole than usual,” Grif said, turning to leave.
It was some time after Grif left before Simmons finally spoke up. “Okay, I like seeing Grif suffer as much as the next guy, but I gotta admit, that was low even for you, sir.”
“Ugh…” Twilight groaned again as she stood in a vortex of books levitating in her magical aura, all of them being pulled from their shelves. “Where’s Spike when you need him?”
“Everything alright, dear?” Rarity asked. Twilight turned to see the other unicorn descending the stairs from the library’s second floor. She was dressed in her full sleeping attire: a fluffy pink bathrobe with matching slippers and a sleeping mask on her forehead.
“Yeah, you’ve been huffing and puffing so much up here I thought a train was going through!” Church exclaimed. The man in cobalt armor emerged from the basement. Since Tucker wasn’t with him, it was likely he was already asleep. Washington was up top, insistantly keeping watch.
“I’m fine, it’s just…” Twilight paused to take another several books from their shelves and put different ones in their place. “It looks like someone completely reorganized the library while I was gone. If there’s any kind of filing system in place, I can’t figure out what it is.”
“Huh. Wonder who could’ve done that?” Church glanced over at the table. “What about those?”
Twilight followed his gaze to the central reading table, where several books were stacked.
“Oh, those were there when we got back. Probably a new delivery. Though, I don’t recall placing an order recently,” Twilight explained as she reshelved more books from her own collection. “The only reason I haven’t looked at them yet is because I’ve been too busy reshelving everything. Doesn’t make much sense to file them when the whole library is in a disarray!”
Considering everything under control, Church quietly wandered off to another part of the library. That was fine with Twilight, who returned to her sorting. Her eyelids kept trying to close themselves, but she forced them open. She knew she should rest soon, but she couldn’t. Not while her library remained so disorganized!
“Have you had anything to eat yet?” Rarity asked. Twilight thought she’d gone back to bed.
“I’m good. I made a sandwich,” Twilight barely looked at her. Her eyes were focused on the swarm of books flying from shelf to shelf in her magical aura.
“Okay. So… how much longer do you think you’ll stay up?” Rarity asked.
“I’ll just finish this section. I’ll probably go to bed when I’m done.” Of course, that’s what Twilight had said while she was organizing the last section… and the section before that. Each time she kept herself going with the thought, Maybe Celestia will contact me.
“It’s just… it’s after midnight,” Rarity said with a yawn. “You really ought to get some sleep.”
Get some sleep. Twilight slowly levitated all of the books in her aura into neat little piles on the floor against the shelves. She suddenly found herself unable to concentrate on her reorganizing anymore.
“I don’t know…” she sighed, finally turning to face Rarity. The fashionista returned her look uncomfortably. I must look like a mess, Twilight thought before continuing, “I know I should, but… I can’t.”
“Something on your mind?”
Twilight nodded. “I’m just... worried.”
Rarity sat in front of her and gave her a comforting rub on the shoulder, silently urging Twilight to continue.
So Twilight did. “I’m worried about Spike. I’m worried about my parents... well, I’m worried about everyone in Canterlot, really.”
“I know. The whole situation there is rather frightening, but it’s nothing we can’t deal with,” Rarity gave her a comforting smile. “At least, not without a good night’s rest. That’s why I think it’s best that you put aside this little organizational project for now and get some sleep like Princess Celestia suggested.”
Twilight just looked down where she was nervously scuffing her hoof along the floor. “That’s the other thing I’m worried about.”
Rarity frowned. “Celestia?”
With a nod, Twilight looked back up at her, and right away Rarity noticed the mare looked lost. “I… all my life Princess Celestia has been this… pillar of strength to me. I used to think that she always had the answer to everything. But she’s been so distant and… secretive lately that now… I… I don’t…” Twilight swallowed. She seemed to know what she wanted to say, but the words wouldn’t come until she forced them out all at once. “I don’t know if I can trust her anymore!”
The room was silent for a long couple of seconds.
“Twilight… this is Princess Celestia we’re talking about!” Rarity’s eyes then narrowed. “It’s because of what CT said, isn’t it?”
“Twilight, you know that guy’s just a paranoid, delusional douche,” Church said. The two unicorns looked over to see the man leaning against the far wall, idly flipping through a book. “Why’re you letting the shit he said get to you?”
“Because it just makes too much sense,” Twilight said, her face contorting into a glower. “Princess Celestia’s been acting weird ever since this all started. She clearly knows more about everything that’s going on, but she won’t even tell me, her own student. The pony she practically raised!” Twilight closed her eyes, and all of the anger was gone, leaving nothing but sad acceptance. “What else could she be hiding, if not her involvement with the Director’s experiments?”
As Rarity just stared at her in silent disbelief, Twilight came to the realization she’d felt this exact way about someone very recently. She was reminded of her time with Tex back on Repertum. It was hard to believe that the very pony she once looked to like a second mother she now distrusted just as much as the enigmatic A.I. Even after revealing what Church really is, Tex still won’t tell us what she really is, Twilight thought bitterly.
A knock at the door pulled Twilight from her darkening thoughts, and she tried to put on a smile as she approached to answer it.
“Now who could be calling at this hour?” Rarity asked.
Twilight’s heart fluttered when she thought for a moment it might be a messenger from Canterlot, and that she’d finally get the answers she so desperately needed. Instead, a familiar white mare (but not the one on her mind) stood out on the dark street when Twilight opened the door. Well, speak of the devil.
“Tex?” Church said, stepping up behind Twilight.
“No, just me,” Sunny Side said with an awkward smile. “Tex is gone.”
“Wait, define ‘gone.’”
“Tex and I came to an agreement,” Sunny looked at Twilight. “Actually, we kinda have you and Fluttershy to thank for it. Both of you said something at some point during our travels that made us think… it’s probably for the best that I no longer accompany you.”
“Oh.” Twilight remembered talking to Tex while they were camped out one night. She had still been a little mad at the A.I. turned M.I. and may have harshly suggested that she was knowingly taking advantage of Sunny’s fragile mental state. She wondered if Sunny had a similar conversation with Fluttershy at some point.
“Something you said to her must have stuck, because when Rarity told that Innie Leader not to sink to Project Freelancer’s level, I could swear I felt Tex’s thoughts turn to me.” At the strange looks the three figures in the library gave her, Sunny gave a nervous chuckle. “Yeah, it was pretty weird sharing a mind with another person. But somehow, it’s even weirder not to have her there anymore. Guess I kinda got used to it.”
Sunny then cleared her throat and fought to maintain level eye contact with everyone present. “Also… I want to apologize if I was a little harsh with everyone before. You have to understand, I was going through some… some rough times. Kinda still am, but… I’m trying to move past it. It’s what Tex would have wanted.”
“Yeah, so where is Tex now, anyway?” Church asked.
“Oh, don’t worry. She’s still around. Said she wanted to hang out in the background for now, but she also said she’ll drop in to help in case… and I quote: ‘You idiots botch things again.’” Sunny then looked down at the dog tags around her neck, and slowly removed them. “Also, she wanted you to have these, Church.”
Sunny held out the metal tags and Church tentatively took them. “Her dog tags? What does she want me to do with these?”
“Don’t know,” Sunny said with a shrug. “She just said they should give you the rest of the answers you’re looking for.”
“Well, on behalf of all of us, I must thank you for all the help you’ve given,” Rarity said. “I hope you can show up to Pinkie Pie’s next town-wide party. I’m sure the others would really appreciate it.”
“Yeah, I’d like that,” Sunny said with the first true smile any of them had seen from her in a while. “Now, I should probably head back to my aunt and uncle’s place. They’re probably worried sick about me since… well, I didn’t exactly say goodbye before leaving. Not sure if you know this about me, but I’m not a huge fan of goodbyes.”
“Makes sense,” Church said.
So without saying anything more, Sunny gave a simple nod before turning to walk down the street. Twilight closed the front door and found herself facing the piles of books stacked on the floor. Seeing this, Rarity turned to Twilight and wasted no time in returning to the previous topic.
“Look, you have every right to be suspicious of Celestia right now, but… you always said she was like a second mother to you, and has she not in turn loved you like her own daughter?” When Twilight nodded, Rarity held her chin up. “So don’t you think you owe her at least a little of your trust? She did promise you answers after all.”
Answers…. Twilight looked over at Church, who held Tex’s dog tags in one hand. She promised the same thing, but all she gave Church was a couple of military ID tags. They’re not giving us answers. Just riddles. Suddenly, Twilight recalled an exchange between Church and Tex the night before they returned to Repertum.
“Hey Church, didn’t Tex say she didn’t wear dog tags?”
Without saying a word, Church held up the dog tags and took a closer look at them. They were grimy and covered in ash, apparently not having been cleaned since Tex’s ship crashed in Dodge. Church wiped the gunk away, and when he saw what was written on the tags he gave a slight gasp.
“Hey Twilight, c’mere!”
Twilight approached Church, and Rarity followed beside her. Church held out the metal tags, and the two mares got a good look at the name on them.
Agent Connecticut
“Who’s Connecticut? Another Freelancer?” Twilight asked, but then she looked at the name again, and she figured it out even before Church said it out loud.
“CT….”
“These are CT’s dog tags?” Rarity asked, astonished. “What was Tex doing with them?”
“They’re the original CT’s dog tags: the one who was working as a mole within Project Freelancer. The one Tex killed years ago!” Church realized.
Twilight tried to think of everything Tex had told the Insurrection Leader. If I only knew then what I know now, I wouldn’t have done what I did. It’s because of her that I know what I really am.
Church figured it out before Twilight could even say anything. Dangling the chain in front of him, Church gripped the bottom of one of the metal tags and pulled. It came off, and what was concealed within was now in Church’s hand.
“It’s a data chip!” he exclaimed, and right then Twilight knew Church was holding the answers he was promised. But there was just one problem.
“Don’t you need a computer to be able to access the information on there?” Twilight asked. She had computers in her basement, but she didn’t think they would exactly work with human technology.
“Nah, I can probably figure out a way to enter the thing myself. Looks like Tex is finally ready to come clean,” Church said, raising his gaze from the chip in his hand to the unicorn in front of him. “See, Twilight? Sometimes you just need to have faith.”
“Yeah…” Twilight looked away and found her gaze resting on the stacks of books she still needed to sort. Except she didn’t really feel like doing that right now. Instead, she just felt tired. After all, she should probably be rested for whenever Celestia decided to contact her. After all, Tex was finally proving she could be trusted. And if I can trust Tex, I can trust my own mentor.
“Where are you going, Twilight?” Rarity asked as Twilight started heading for the stairs.
Twilight looked back and gave her a tired smile. “To get some sleep.”
Finally, Fluttershy found Grif resting beneath a tree within the vast orchard of Sweet Apple Acres. Celestia’s sun was starting to go down and as she approached the napping man in orange, Fluttershy couldn’t help but be reminded of the first time they met.
When she first saw him amongst the other Reds the day Twilight returned, she thought he was just another crass human like the rest of them. While she was mostly right in her initial assessment, after forcing herself to talk to him for her bunnies’ sakes, she discovered that there was a certain… gentleness in him as well. Talking to him, Fluttershy could tell this was a person who had experience taking care of others. Whatever was left of that side of him had been long since buried though, and Fluttershy could take a guess why.
It was for the same reason she was seeking him out now. The same reason she carried the yellow soldier’s dog tags all the way back from Blood Gulch. The same reason she figured he really needed a friend right now.
“Um… hello, Grif?” she hazarded, taking a cautious step toward his resting form.
Grif immediately jolted upright, looking around in a sudden panic. “Hmm wha-what? I wasn’t sleeping! I was just… securing the area under this tree, and lying down is the most effective way to decrease visibility!” He then noticed who was talking to him, and his posture noticeably relaxed. “Oh, it’s just you. Hey, Fluttershy. How was your trip to our planet?”
“Oh. It was… nice. A little scary though.”
“You wanna see scary? You should try eating one of Sarge’s MREs!” Grif gave an exaggerated shudder. “Euugh-he-heulgh!”
Fluttershy gave a puzzled tilt of her head. She was sure Grif would be more upset after learning that his sister was dead. Instead, he seemed to be acting the same as he always did.
“So, um… how are you holding up?”
“Fine. Don’t mind Sarge. He usually gets this way whenever I actually manage to do something better than him,” Grif sighed. “One of the perks of being in this squad.”
Fluttershy swallowed. She was going to have to go right to the heart of the matter. “So, um… I’m sorry about your sister, Grif.”
Somehow, this only seemed to confuse him. “What are you… ohhh.” His tone took a turn for the bitter. “Don’t listen to anything Sarge says. This isn’t the first time that asshole told me my sister was dead just to get under my skin. Last time he told me that, she was just giving a guy a striptease in Blue Base or something. And don’t even get me started on the time she fell under the ice when we were kids….”
Oh no. He still didn’t believe it. She was going to have to tell him. Her gaze fell to the ground and her lip started to tremble as she tried to figure out just what to say.
“Hey. Uh, you okay?” Grif asked, standing to move closer to Fluttershy.
“I’m sorry, Grif. Sarge wasn’t lying,” Fluttershy said gently before glancing away with a subtle look of annoyance. “He was insensitive and should really apologize, but he wasn’t lying.”
Grif froze. “What?”
Fluttershy looked up at him with big, sad sincere eyes. “Your sister wore yellow armor, right?”
Grif nodded. “Yeah, kinda like you.”
“I… I found her. I saw her with my own eyes."
Trying not to tremble, Fluttershy pulled the chain holding the dog tags over her head. Be brave, Fluttershy. He needs you to be strong right now. She held the metal tags up toward him and did her best to keep her voice even. She was only partly successful.
“I-I’m so sorry, Grif….”
Grif took the tags from her outstretched hoof and said nothing. He just looked at the name on the tags and stood in place. There was no way he could have missed the faded red stains on it. At that moment, Fluttershy was glad Grif was wearing a helmet. She wouldn’t have been able to hold it together if she could see his face.
“This… this makes no sense,” Grif said numbly, letting himself fall to his knees as he stared at the trembling tags in his hand.
“I know, this must be hard to accept,” Fluttershy said sympathetically, gently rubbing his knee. “I-if you want to talk about it….”
“It’s my fault….”
“Now Grif, you know that’s not true. She’s...” Fluttershy remembered Tex’s words She’s just another casualty of war. She couldn’t say that to him, though. “She died on another planet far away. It wasn’t your fault Grif, you weren’t even….”
“Exactly! I wasn’t there! I was never there when she needed me!” Grif suddenly yelled, and Fluttershy couldn’t help but shrink back fearfully. “I wanted to be there for her, but then mom left and I had to support us by myself and then I got drafted… a one man draft! Can you believe that bullshit?!”
Fluttershy remained quiet as Grif’s breaths came faster as he kept going, the words suddenly and uncontrollably pouring forth.
“She was so damn shy and nervous all the time, I just wanted her to be happy! I didn’t think she’d turn out like… that. He was my friend, and he was her age.... they got along pretty well, so I thought I’d get ‘em together. And they were doin’ well for awhile… she was happy! She was confident! But then he started getting her mixed up with his fuckin’ junkie pals, and suddenly she’s a fuckin’ addict! Fuckin’ asshole leaves her as soon as he gets bored screwing her so she finds comfort with another guy who’s just as bad, then another guy, then another guy and before I know it she’s addicted to that too! Then I got drafted and I had to leave her all alone and….”
Grif’s hands were shaking. His breaths were uneven, and he was suddenly sniffing a lot. Fluttershy couldn’t say anything. She was at a loss for words.
“This… this makes no sense,” Grif said again, his voice breaking. His final words were a tiny whimper. “I lost her years ago… so why the fuck does it hurt so much now?”
Fluttershy’s words continued to fail her, but in that moment she didn’t need them. She didn’t think twice before lunging forward and wrapping her hooves around Grif. Since meeting him, Fluttershy could always tell that Grif saw someone else in her, but at that moment, Fluttershy saw someone else in him. She too had a sibling that she loved dearly, before failure and disappointment with the direction of his life turned him into a deadbeat with no drive to better himself. Still, Fluttershy had always been there to comfort her little brother Zephyr when he needed it. Thus, Fluttershy finally found the words she was looking for.
“Because she was still your sister,” Fluttershy answered. “And even though she changed… she still loved you.”
Grif hesitated only for a few seconds before he wrapped his arms around the little butter-yellow pegasus and held on, finally letting it all out completely. He held her so tightly, afraid that if he let go, he’d lose her too. Fluttershy then realized exactly what was happening as she remembered their past conversation:
Fluttershy tilted her head inquisitively. “Oh, do you have a little sister, Grif?”
“Yeah. As a matter of fact, she used to be a lot like you!”
Grif was not holding Fluttershy in that moment. He was holding his sister again one last time.
It didn’t take long for Church to find what he was looking for once he entered the world of the data chip. It seemed that already he was getting better at navigating digital spaces. After browsing through several files on Project Freelancer and its various plans and protocols, he came to the folder labeled “A.I. Experimentation.”
There, he sifted through all of the data on himself and the other A.I. fragments until he found the one he was looking for. Under the files for fragment “Beta” was a ton of information regarding a familiar blonde woman in military fatigues. After digging a little deeper, Church found what appeared to be a news article. Right away his eyes were drawn to a name within the digital words, and Church smiled.
“Hello, Allison….”
Twilight awoke to the sound of her parents’ voices downstairs. She was in her bedroom in the main tower of Sparkle Manor. Toys, small furniture and filly’s books were all around her. The towers of Canterlot stretched past her window and reached towards the night sky. Twilight gave a few tired blinks and a yawn, stretching a pair of tiny little forelegs. Realizing she was quite thirsty, the little unicorn filly climbed out of her soft bed and walked to her bedroom door on stubby legs.
She took the stairs one at a time until she reached the main floor. She entered the kitchen and opened the fridge, the light from within illuminating the otherwise dark room. She used her magic to levitate a carton of milk out and pour herself a glass with relative ease.
Her parents had always been impressed with just how potent her magic was. Twilight was already studying very hard, and her mom and dad said they were going to try to enroll her into Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Who knows? Maybe she’d even get her cutie mark soon! The entrance exam was the next morning, and as much as little Twilight wanted to keep studying for it, she knew she needed to rest. Get some sleep, her parents had told her.
It was strange: As far as Twilight knew, magic didn’t exactly run strong in her family. Neither of her parents were especially strong casters. Her big brother was good at shield spells, but even he was quite limited in what else he could do. At that moment, the little filly didn’t care. She finished her glass of milk, placed it down gently on the counter, and exited the kitchen. The voices of her parents drew her towards the living room, and suddenly Twilight remembered what happened next, and wished that she’d just gone back to bed that night.
“Tomorrow’s going to be a big day for her already, we can’t drop that on her as well!”
“Not so loud, Night, I don’t want to wake her.”
Slowly, Twilight crept forward on tiny hooves until she was able to peek into the room. Her mother and father were sitting beside each other on the luxurious red couch. The hearth was lit in front of them, and on its mantle were dozens of framed photos of all of them. Her mom, her dad, her big brother, and young Twilight herself. Her parents each held a glass of wine in their magical auras and were speaking in hushed tones.
“I’m just worried about what will happen tomorrow. If we’re right, she could do a lot of damage if things don’t go well,” her dad said quietly.
Her mom gave him a stern look. “Night, you know how I feel about that theory.”
“Vel, you have to admit the circumstances were strange,” her dad said seriously. “I don’t think anypony’s ever gotten a Royal Blessing for something like this before.”
Her mom’s eyes drifted over to the photos on the mantle, and she took a sip of her wine before giving a sad sigh. “Don’t you think we ought to tell her, Night?”
“Of course not! She’s still way too young, Velvet. She won’t understand.”
“She’s a smart filly,” her mom said, glancing up at the ceiling where she assumed her baby was sleeping upstairs. “If we don’t tell her soon she’ll probably figure it out herself!”
“I hope not,” her dad said, taking a sip of his drink and staring ahead at the flames in the hearth. “Honestly, I hope she never finds out she’s adopted.”
The breath caught in Twilight’s chest and her heart started to race. What…? Twilight slowly backed into the hallway, trembling. She kept going until she bumped into the wall.
“If she makes it into Celestia’s school, we won’t have as much time with her,” her mother kept talking, and Twilight realized that neither of her parents - neither of those other ponies knew she was there. “If not now, when?”
“There’ll be another time, Vel,” her fath... the stallion in her living room said reassuringly. “We’ll tell her when she’s ready.”
Twilight looked up at the walls around her, where more pictures of her family hung. Except they’re not my family, the filly thought. Suddenly the loving smiles in the photos seemed to be mocking her, like it was all a big joke that she was the butt of. They were nothing but lies. Tears filling her eyes, Twilight quickly and quietly ran up the stairs back to her room. She climbed into bed and pulled the covers over her head as the tears uncontrollably poured forth. The little unicorn filly couldn’t stop crying.
It’s just a dream, she tried to tell herself. It’s just a bad dream. Tomorrow morning I’ll wake up and take my entrance exam. I’ll go to Celestia’s School and forget all about this nightmare!
Twilight wasn’t sure how long she lay under the covers crying before she heard the voice call out to her. “Twilight?” It was a mare’s voice, but it did not belong to her mother. “Twilight Sparkle?” Something was wrong. This didn’t happen last time.
Someone pulled away the covers concealing her, and Twilight turned over and looked up through teary eyes to see a tall dark alicorn with a mane and tail like the night standing over her.
“P-Princess Luna?” Twilight sputtered, wiping the tears away from her eyes with a grown mare’s hoof.
“Yes,” Luna said, looking at her with sympathy. “I humbly apologize if I’m intruding on something private.”
“I-it’s okay,” Twilight managed, looking around at her surroundings. She was still in her old bedroom within Sparkle Manor, but now she could tell that something was off. The details of her room were fuzzy and exaggerated. Additionally, Twilight now stood at her full height as an adult unicorn mare. “So… this is all just a dream?”
Luna gave a single stoic nod. “Yes.”
Twilight gave a relieved sigh. “Oh good. For a moment there I was afraid I was actually adopted!”
Luna frowned. “But take heed: even if what has just occurred was not real, such dreams can often be... revealing. Dreams are a manifestation of our subconscious, Twilight Sparkle. You would not be having such dreams if you were not concerned about the possibility they present. Even unconsciously.”
“So… it’s possible that my parents aren’t really my parents?”
“It may be that you subconsciously think your parents are hiding something from you, but ‘tis not my place to say,” Luna said, her face a stone mask. “Regardless, I did not come to you this night to discuss your family. As no doubt you’re aware, there is a crisis of national security.”
Twilight suddenly remembered all of her problems in the waking world, and in that moment her surroundings grew more vague and undefined as Luna continued. “Indeed, I am only here because somepony needs to speak with you. Come. Let me take you to her own dream.”
The fuzzy vagueness resembling Twilight’s fillyhood bedroom suddenly split open, and a path of stars carved its way through. Luna stepped onto the path and with some hesitation, Twilight followed. The pair ventured through the dreamscape past many floating orbs, each a window into another pony’s subconscious. Fascinated, Twilight tried to take in as much as she could; no mortal ponies save for the legends like Starswirl the Bearded knew the art of dreamwalking. The seemingly infinite amount of time it took to cross the nether realm of dreams passed in the blink of an eye, and Twilight and Luna arrived at the orb belonging to the pony they were going to meet. Whoever it was, their orb was darker than the rest, seeming to absorb all of the light around it.
“I must warn you; her mind has been plagued by nightmares of late,” Luna said as she split the orb and opened a path for them to enter. “Try as I might, I am unable to save her from them. Ridding the irrational fears from a filly’s mind is one thing. It’s significantly harder to help a grown pony with very well-founded fears.”
Twilight took a step into the darkness and turned to look at Luna, who merely stood back and watched.
“Aren’t you coming too?” Twilight asked.
Luna shook her head. “I’m sorry, Twilight Sparkle. She wishes to speak with you alone. I wish you luck, and…” Luna gave her a warm smile, “it is good to know you are back safe and sound… again.”
Returning Luna’s smile, Twilight turned and entered the dark orb. What she saw when she entered made her heart fall through a dark pit in her stomach. The sky was dark and overcast, black ash filling the very air around her. A tall, familiar mountain rose before her, but the ivory towers of Canterlot were not perched upon it.
Instead, the city lay in a broken heap at the foot of the mountain. Windows were shattered, towers lay snapped in half like twigs, and Twilight saw a Smarty Pants doll with half its face burned off. Then Twilight saw the owner of this dream. A tall white alicorn sat amidst the wreckage of her castle, cradling something in her forelegs. Her coat was charred here and there, and her once brilliant flowing mane hung limply around her.
“Princess Celestia!” Twilight exclaimed, running to her. The princess’s ears flicked, and she looked over her shoulder at Twilight as she approached.
“Hello, my faithful student,” Celestia said, gently setting down the object in her forelegs.
It was a pony, Twilight realized, and when she looked closer, she saw a familiar shade of purple and magenta. She balked at the sight of her own body, and to Twilight’s horror, her doppelganger was still breathing. Her blank, uncomprehending eyes were wide open, looking with unfathomable fear at everything around her. They locked eyes for a single unsettling moment before a white, feathery wing suddenly obscured Twilight’s vision from the macabre sight before her.
“Please, pay no attention to anything you see here. You must understand: recent events have taken a toll on me,” Celestia said, her usually confident and regal voice taking a melancholic tone. “I am so sorry I had to contact you like this, but with Project Freelancer monitoring our every move, this was the only way to do so without them knowing.”
Celestia’s message suddenly rang through Twilight’s mind. Get some sleep. Of course! That’s what she meant! It was then that what her mentor had just said caught up with her.
“Wait, what did you mean when you said they’re monitoring you?”
“I’m sure Washington has told you about Project Freelancer’s threat against Canterlot. The truth is much worse. Their forces are with us even now, inside the castle itself,” Celestia reported grimly. “Their commander - a Freelancer Agent called Wyoming - has a radio channel open with the Mother of Invention at all times. If he so much as fails to check in at regular intervals, Canterlot will fall.”
Twilight swallowed. She remembered him alright, and the idea of the fate of everyone in Canterlot being in the hands of that maniac sent a chill down her spine.
“But, you have Spike with you. Can’t you send messages via dragonfire?”
“No. As you may recall, I installed a spell matrix throughout the castle that would allow me to monitor all of the goings-on within its walls. Somehow, Project Freelancer’s agents have gained access to that spell. They’re watching our every move this way. If I use dragonfire, the spell will detect it and they’ll know.” Seeing her distress, Celestia then gave Twilight a reassuring smile. “But don’t worry about Spike. He’s doing fine.”
That bit of news was a relief at least. Still, Twilight remembered when Celestia had told her about the special spell matrix. She had it set up in the wake of the events of the Royal Wedding as a means to ensure nothing else would be able to infiltrate the castle as easily as the Changeling Queen had. It was apparently an especially advanced spell matrix, which was particularly odd for one reason.
“But… from what I’ve learned, humans can’t use magic. To hijack a spell like that, they would need….”
“A unicorn,” Celestia answered for her. “One who is not only an incredibly skilled magic user, but also intimately familiar with the spellwork of the castle.”
Twilight knew exactly where her mentor was taking this. “You know who it is, don’t you?”
“The only one who would possess that kind of knowledge and level of magic aside from myself and my highest ranking guards is the pony who created that spell network in the first place. It was one of the many things my former student conceived that I disagreed with at the time. However, the events of the wedding forced me to change that.” Celestia gave a rueful chuckle. “Now though? I wish I’d stood by my principles.”
“Your former student?”
“Yes. You’ll learn all about her in our coming conversation. As it happens, she is as much the reason for all of this as I am,” Celestia then took a step closer to Twilight and lowered her head to look her student right in the eye. “First, I owe you an apology, Twilight. I should have told you everything as soon as that ship first crashed. Now, it’s time for me to correct that error.”
Celestia rose to her full height again. “Let me start from the beginning. From the day I first met the Director of Project Freelancer: Doctor Leonard Church.”
I know I've been saying it for a while, but...
Next time: Celestia comes clean
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Trust is a Weakness (Lyric from 'Pray' by Jeff Williams feat. Lamar Hall, Red Rapper and Sandy Casey) - Twilight questions her trust in Princess Celestia
GREAT GUSTAVO! WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!?!
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.
6006484
Relevant OST link? You are doing God's work, son.
And curse OP for teasing us! Who knows if it's true or not thanks to Luna reminding us it's just a dream and might not have happened. It might be a repressed memory though, so Twilight's failures to remember it earlier would make sense. Though the actual secret probably ties in some way with Project Freelancer. My shot-in-the-dark guess is her parents volunteered her for genetic modification by one of the Director's projects to enhance her magical ability.
Damn, you weren't lying about the feels coming right at us, as if shot from a Particle Accelerator Cannon! Them feels (poor Grif
)
And everything is coming together now. I'm guessing that Celestia rejected Project Freelancer after learning of its methods, since she would never aprove of them... But Sunset did.
I'm slightly annoyed that Twilight didn't view adopted families as real families in the dream, but I'll just chalk that up to suddenness, surprise, & dream shenanigans.
6008397 Also, remember that Twilight in the dream was only a little filly, and still doesn't know a lot about the world. Finding out you're adopted at any age is probably very jarring and emotional (I wouldn't know, of course, but I can imagine), but finding out unintentionally when you're just a little kid would really screw up you up. Not only that, but we know from the show that Twilight is a person who is quick to fall down that slippery slope of irrational fear, and that's when she's an adult. As a kid? Yeah, she's definitely gonna have problems coming to terms with the idea. Assuming, of course, that it's even true, and not her subconscious creating a scenario based on something else...
Something funny. So far we haven't even heard a word about Carolina. We know that she survived in the regular timeline, why wouldn't she appear in this story?
The whole quote thing ending with "I hope she never finds out she's adopted", after being teased for a while, seems like something RvB would do. So, I have no idea if that dream is right.
So I'm 12 chapters in, and I can't bring myself to read this anymore. I wanted a hilarious romp with Twilight's status as the straight man slowly being worn down into madness as she acclimated to the Blood Gultch crews, not... this. I realize RvB has a cool plot under its zany exterior, but I wanted something a bit more lighthearted. I wanted Twilight to be the main character, not just another member of an ensemble cast.
Having said that, you did capture all of the characters quite well. I'd just prefer experiencing the more serious side of RvB through RvB, not through a setup that's not as hilarious as I was hoping it'd be.
Seeing Grif cry made me cry as well.
Good job!
6018281 Fair enough, thanks for giving it a chance!
6019026 You don't think I did...?
Well Celestia, if you'd stop watching Terminator 2 before bed, maybe you wouldn't dream this stuff...
Soon, everything will be revealed, and things will never be the same...
Come on, that is way too easy. LOL!!!
67.media.tumblr.com/a28a3a426e8ad8898fd49c2129c5d1bf/tumblr_o84tdzTCqk1upqwy7o1_500.jpg
Just in case you want to edit your Author's Note, even after a full year. By the way, since I'm commenting anyway, I've really enjoyed your fanfiction. I mean, I might disagree slightly with the way a couple characters are portrayed, but that's more nitpicking then actually critique, so I'll keep it to myself. In any case thank you for writing this, and I hope the ending is spectacular.
7268866 I'll admit, I was a little confused about what you meant until I actually looked at the author's note. Thanks for that. I was already going through and fixing a few broken image links throughout the story, so I might as well fix this too!
He was holding his sister again one last time.
Please don't. The chest pressure is uncomfortable. I don't like it. Stop. Stop crying damnit. Shit.