Chapter 10- Situational irony prevails throughout the land.
The next morning (or night… whatever. I can never tell the time in this cave), my eyes shot open, greeted by pure darkness. I lied in bed for a few minutes, in that moment when you’re too awake to go back to sleep, but too lazy to get out of bed. I stared at the ceiling, my mind wandering.
My hand felt its way to the cords around my neck, running down along their length before touching something cool and metallic. The keyring. So that wasn’t something I’d dreamed up. Figures. A mixed blend of emotions welled up within me. Part of me wondered which ones were mine and which parts were Nocturne’s. Part of me didn’t care. And another, much more dominant part of me, acknowledged that they were there, a confusing jumble that had to be dealt with.
When there’s a little bit of time, I’ve found that self-reflection can be a useful tool. The thing about the female mind, as I had learned in psychology, was that it wasn’t, by definition, organized. Boys’ minds are like waffles: compartmentalized; they think in one subject at a time, switching to other ‘boxes’ as necessary. Girls’ minds, on the other hand, are more like a bowl of noodles. Our thoughts weave about through many different subjects and it’s not always clear what the connections are; sometimes we talk about more than one thing at a time and get tangled up in other ideas. Sometimes we suddenly stop talking about something and switch to a different or previous topic without warning. In other words, a ‘train of thought’ train wreck waiting to happen.
I’ve always thought that rationality is easier when you reflect upon that noodle-like mess. It’s better to know yourself and your situation than to simply go about like the past doesn’t affect you. I had to rationalize and analyze, or I’d end up making the same stupid mistakes over and over again. Organize myself and my feelings, something I’d been putting off. And so I gathered up my jumbled mess of thoughts, emotions, and memories, and started to sort through them, picking them apart and analyzing them with scrutiny.
I closed my eyes. Solaire. The dealings concerning Solaire stood out the most. There was a lot to go through under that pile. Better to deal with that now. But first… I felt around through my mind, poking around and looking for Nocturne. Somewhere in my head, I felt the familiar presence of the little Shadowborn. Carefully, slowly, I poked him. I reeled back, startled, when I heard a sleepy mumble echo in my head and a distinct yet bizarre feeling of him doing what was like… rolling over in his sleep. I never knew he could be sleeping while I was awake. Satisfied that there was no chance he would be listening in, I sifted though the various memories concerning Solaire.
I figured the keyring gift was a good place to start. I rubbed the keyring between my fingers. I at least have a little bit of defense now. In retrospect, I should have considered further the possibilities of a different spell, or the reconfiguration of the spell to bypass the enchantment on this thing. A critical error in my judgment that must be rectified. I’m supposed to consider possibilities like that. Why didn’t I do that then? I sifted through my memories, trying to focus on the matter at hand. Earlier… before the meeting with Solaire, I was rather high strung, I realized.
A fleeting flash of me acting like a fool, thinking he was a demon and my ever so graceful outburst crossed my mind. I winced internally. I probably offended him. My first encounter with another guy, another human, and I acted like that. Stupid, stupid! I thought, feeling embarrassed and twinge-y inside.
I mentally shook myself and forced myself to cast those thoughts aside. Focus. That’s irrelevant. He seemed to be a nice enough guy; he probably didn’t think much of it. Hopefully.
I reviewed my memories. The deal with Luna crossed my mind, calling up memories of my fear, my uncertainty. My panic when I realized how badly I might have actually botched it. My emotions amplified as I came down from my adrenal rush. Doubt, regret, confusion: it all came back at that moment and swirled about my mind. I took a deep breath, centering myself, before sorting through my emotions. I couldn’t let them overwhelm me. I… did have my doubts as to how thoroughly defended I was by the pact. Or whether, I suppose, I would be viewed as a big enough threat. There’s also Nocturne’s emotional influence to consider, amplifying my own panic and desire for a quick and final solution. I… We were pretty unnerved at the revelation of what the light spell does. I suppose that explains why I jumped upon the first opportunity at immunity. I went over it again, counting up the factors before giving a quick mental nod of affirmation. I would have to be wary of these factors in the future. I turned to other thoughts.
There was the soapstone. Solaire had said, if I recalled correctly, “Use it to write your name in times of need. All nearby may see and come to aid you.” My mind reeled at the possibilities. Allies from beyond this reality, people who could help me if I needed it. I could feel excitement welling up inside me. I paused, uncertainty creeping up inside me. Did I want that, though?
I thought of the entire meeting with Solaire. He was an amicable guy, at least. I had had a nice time talking with him, despite myself, and despite the rather hollow vibe I had gotten from the conversation. But the moment I got what I had wanted… there was something there I wasn’t admitting to myself. A feeling I had gotten amidst the contentment. I dug deeper into myself, searching for a name to the elusive bit of discontentment mixed in with the memory.
In a burst of epiphany, I had it at last. I was… disappointed. I realized. It felt almost too easy. Dissatisfying. I sighed internally. I should have realized it sooner. This was something I’d been struggling with for a long time: my pride, my desire to handle my own problems, figure things out on my own. I didn’t want help, and it was infuriating to have to admit I needed any, much less actually have to ask for it. For some reason, that was different in Nocturne’s case, though. For whatever reason, I hadn’t minded his help. I fleetingly wondered why. No, summoning allies isn’t going to work out for me, I thought with finality. I won’t ask for help. I don’t need it. I’ll handle my own problems.
My mind wandered to the talk of inter-dimensional travel. Something was bugging me about it, like an itch that had to be scratched. He spoke of it quite a bit, and I recalled him mentioning wanting to go home. It hadn’t taken me long to realize that it wasn’t impossible, something, I realized, I felt prideful of. I like it when I can sort out details on the spot. If I recall, I also took a book on that from the library- wait. I realized with a start, No, no, no, DAMNIT! I could have asked more about inter-dimensional travel, maybe have opened up an opportunity to get home if I needed to! I cursed in my head.
A mountain of regret, uncertainty, and rage weighed down on me, threatening to crush my entire existence. I winced, fighting back against the sudden tide of raw emotion, to no avail.
That’s what I get for not thinking things through; I just wasted an opportunity. Hatred of myself burned within me.
I should have done more. I should have, but didn’t.
What rationality I had left quickly realized the threat of my emotion, and boxed it all away, shoving it all into the back of my mind, where it festered and boiled, looming.
I ignored it and forced myself to continue thinking, pushing through and beating back my feelings. Not now. Not now. Can’t think about it now. I can figure it out, find a way later.
I took a deep breath, clearing my mind, enveloping myself in a wall of cold, calculating apathy. Onward through the reflection.
On to the other deal. The one with Luna. I had glanced over the matter earlier, but there was still more to root through. Calmly, this time. Rationally.
I knew that I was completely serious about keeping my end of the bargain; all the way down to the spirit of the law rather than the letter of it. Best case scenario, the pony sisters would, in turn, honor the agreement and wouldn’t take any action against me. Perhaps they’d even be willing to help me out a bit. Worst case scenario, they would decide, due to my actions and words, that I was indeed a threat and would take action, or would carefully obey only the letter of the agreement. I was willing to admit I had a rational level of concern about the sisters, considering their power.
I felt a twinge of regret that grew the more I lied there. I felt bad about manipulating someone else like that, even though it was Nocturne who used that power. My conscience screamed at me further, listing off my wrongs: the way I lashed out at the ponies, the fact I was the one who’d played puppeteer with the ponies…
I lashed out at my emotions once again, stuffing them all away. No. This isn’t a problem, I told myself, It was born out of necessity. I had to do the things I did. I had to take the things I took. I lashed out because I did not like their treatment of me. I still don’t like the way they trivialized their mistrust of me. And there was unlikely to be a better opportunity to strike a deal with the sisters than that exact situation. That power is limited anyways, so I may not use it often. I can rely on other powers.
I stopped, then throwing out a few more statements as afterthoughts, Besides, I wasn’t planning to use it or that humanity thing except in emergencies.
But… whined my conscience.
Everything about mind control just seemed inherently wrong. Somewhere inside, I acknowledged that there was a moral line I had crossed somewhere. I ignored it. There were more important things to think about that how far into villain territory I was.
I was already on a thin ice by moral standards, as well as situational standards. Very thin ice. I knew I had to keep my promise. I had several causes for concern. I didn’t like it, didn’t like the ball of stress rising in my throat. I forced it down. Nonono, stop this right now, Gotta stay rational; gotta stay in control…
There was a brief moment before everything I had bottled up, every emotion I had locked away threatened to explode outward all at once.
I hated it, I didn’t want this happening. Not now.
Not now. Not here. Calm down. Just calm down.
Calm. Down.
I could feel my calm demeanor eroding, ready to shatter completely. Almost instinctively, I shot up out of bed, startling Nocturne awake. I had to move, had to get up and do something instead of sit there and wallow in my thoughts.
“All right!” I said aloud, strutting over to a lantern and turning it on. “Welp, I’m ready to start the day. We’ve got a lot to do if we want to try and save your friends, Nocturne. Lotta planning and supplies-getting. Road trip and all, probably gonna need several weeks worth.”
Nocturne shook himself awake. In moments, he was alert and ready. Supplies. Right. We suppose we could steal some from the local vendors. Though that may cause problems…
“Hmm, true,” I agreed, most thoughts of my near emotional breakdown cleared from my mind, “In truth, getting food alone may be much more difficult now, plus there’s the factor of the treaty and how stealing from ponies would be a technical violation of it, in my book.”
So we need to find a way to acquire- what supplies do you suppose the two of us shall need? Food, of course; that is a given.
I chimed in, rambling off a few essentials. “Yeah, plus something to sleep or rest in like a sleeping bag or a tent, though I might be able to substitute with a couple of waterproof blankets, some stakes, and a hammer. Maybe a little money, plenty of water… hmm, some cooking utensils would be nice, couple of matches, a decent pocketknife at the least… Maybe a water purifier… a compass…” I stopped suddenly, sensing a disturbance of some sort.
A noise. An unfamiliar, muffled noise echoed though the empty halls of my cave. I strained my ears, listening. Where was it coming from?
I slipped through the darkness, heading towards the source of the noise with an uncanny sense of direction borne of those who can sense the way the darkness twisted around the mountain. The noise grew louder and louder the further I pushed outward, growing from faint muffled noises to childlike sobs.
Nocturne was the first to say it: There’s a child down here! I felt it before I saw it, My eyes able to pick up on shape and form even in the pitch- black of the cave. A small, tiny, curled-up mass sitting alone in the darkness. Four little hooves and a dirtied mane from lying on the floor weeping.
A pony. It was a little pony kid. A little foal, a pegasus colt, crying to itself in the absolute darkness, and clinging to a dying flashlight like it was his last comfort in the world. Deep within the mountain but not deep enough to find my little hideout, yet still deep enough to be utterly and completely lost.
Nocturne’s rage welled up at the sight, then, suddenly, subsided. Pity took its place. Who knew he had a soft spot for kids?
I knew I did. “No, no, noooooooo.” I moaned almost inaudibly to myself. Why did it have to be a kid? Why did it have to be those big, weeping eyes that would pull on even the coldest of heartstrings? Why? I already said I wanted to have as little as possible to do with the ponies! Why must you taunt me with this?
I saw the pony’s ears flick upward. I gasped and clamped my hand over my mouth. The colt sat up, looking around, alert. “Wh-Who’s there?” he choked out, his voice trembling, his little wings flared up to make himself seem bigger and trying oh so hard to put on a brave face.
I’d been caught. “Damn me and my bleeding heart,” I hissed under my breath. The colt’s ears flicked towards me. I hid in the shadows and cleared my voice. “I believe it is, rather, my right to ask who you are, and what precisely you are doing in here, kid.” As I spoke, my words echoed about the corridors, seeming to come from everywhere yet nowhere at once. The colt looked confused and terrified as he shined his flashlight frantically all about the cavern.
“I-I-I-I…” He gulped, trembling. “I’m A-Ardent V-V-Voice… I-I’m lost d-down here.” He started sniveling again, cringing. “P-Please d-don’t eat me, Miss monster, m-ma’am…”
I laughed, my laughter coming from the walls themselves, startling the little colt, making him shrink, trembling in fear. “Eat you? Why would I want to do that? Ponies don’t look all too appetizing, if you ask me.” I reached out of the shadows and poked him on his back, causing him to give out a little squeak of surprise. I was back in the shadows before his flashlight beam washed over me. “Though a monster, am I?” I made a little ‘hmm’ noise. “Well, I suppose that’s not entirely untrue. I can be pretty scary. But there are far worse monsters than me. Kinda the reason I like it here; it’s safe since it’s nearly impossible to find your way in or out.”
The kid broke down and started crying again. Immediately my heart sank in regret. Damn. Looks like I said exactly the wrong thing. I didn’t mean to make him cry again. “Hey, be quiet- shut up!” I yelled in frustration, trying to get him to quit crying. “I never said it was impossible, did I? Or are you just crying to make me mad?”
He immediately clamped his hooves over his mouth, shaking his head quickly from side to side. Apparently making me mad was scarier to him that being lost forever. Who’d have guessed?
“Now… There are actually plenty of ways out of this cave, and I know every last one of them.” I continued, “As a matter of fact, I was just headed outside…” I trailed off, lying. That got his attention.
“C-can you take me with you?” he asked, wiping his eyes and standing up. “Pretty please?” He looked around with those pleading puppy-dog eyes that every kid has when they want something. Oh good lord, if they were any bigger, I think my heart would explode.
Okay, honestly, I was I was offering to help this Ardent Voice kid out in my own roundabout and indirect way. If anyone had asked me at that point, I would have denied that I was helping him just because. I would have written it off as any number of reasons: trying to score brownie points with the princesses, it would stink the place up if he died in here and I’d have to deal with his crying in the meantime, or even that I didn’t want him in here and was just shooing him away.
But that wouldn’t be the whole truth. That wasn’t even on my mind at the time. What really got me was, well, he was a kid. A helpless kid in way over his head, and some part of me longed to help him out. Pitied and sympathized with him, wanted to make those tears dry up. Even if he was a completely different species.
He almost reminded me of the elementary-age children I used to work with in an after-school program as part of my required volunteering back in high school. I know. Me working with a bunch of loud, rowdy, hyperactive kids? Most people who knew me would say that was a recipe for disaster, but it actually worked out surprisingly well. For whatever reason, I had a lot more patience with kids, for the most part.
I made another ‘hmm’ noise and paused, pretending to be thinking. “Well… You did ask so very nicely…” I said, drawing it out as long as I could, “I suppose I could take you to one of the entrances…” Despite the fact I had already decided to get this kid out, I hadn’t quite figured out all of the details as to how, and was trying to buy time while my mind worked in a frenzy. If I just grabbed Ardent’s hand- hoof, I mean, stupid species differences- he’d most likely shine his little flashlight on me, which could cause a whole host of problems. Problems including, but not limited to: Ardent somehow recognizing me or telling someone about how I looked to someone who had seen me, thus leading to him revealing my little hiding place, him being unable to keep up with me due to not being able to see, or him taking one look at my face and deciding to scream and run away. I had serious doubts as to whether I was making a huge mistake or not.
“However…” I continued, “You’re going to have to turn off that flashlight of yours first.”
Ardent glanced at his flashlight, hesitation crossing his face. “But… I need it to see. And I don’t like it in the dark.”
I half expected this, and had prepared for it. Kind of. I had at least a vague idea of what to say. “Well, it makes it a lot harder for me to see,” I half-lied. True, the less shadow there was, the less I was able to sense the way it folded about the cavern, but what I really wanted was to make sure he didn’t see me. “And since I’m the one who has to navigate, it’s more important for me to be able to see, right?”
“But… What if there’s something scary in here? What if I get lost, what if I can’t find you?” He asked, on the verge of tears. Oh jeez, please don’t cry again.
My mind whirred. “What if…” I said, “I carried you to the exit after you turn it off? That way you wouldn’t get lost. And if we do run into something bad, I’ll fight it for you. I promise.”
He stared at his dying flashlight, weighing his options. Then, finally he nodded, and put his hoof against the switch. The dull, yellowish beam vanished in an instant, and the shadow rushed forth to fill the void it left behind. He stuffed the flashlight in his mouth. Immediately, I leapt out of the shadows. As an afterthought, I tucked my sun and moon pendant, keyring and all, under my t-shirt. If that “humanity” thing actually worked, I didn’t want to take my chances with accidentally turning Ardent human.
I strode over to him and knelt down, my arms behind me and my back towards the colt. “I’m right in front of you. Climb up on my back, okay?” I instructed, my voice gentle.
Ardent stuck his hoof out, blindly feeling about the space before him. His hoof brushed against my back, a look of relief crossing his face as it did. He felt around for a hoofhold until his hooves found my neck, and his forelegs wrapped around it, clinging tightly. I supported his legs with my arms. I glanced back. “Ready?” I asked. Oh jeez, what if he’s heavy? What if he’s really heavy? Crap, I didn’t think about that.
“M-hmph,” he replied, his voice muffled through the flashlight. He stuck his hoof to the flashlight, removing it from his mouth before draping it back around my neck. “Ready.”
I pushed against the floor and stood up, surprised to find he was lighter than I expected. His wings flared up in surprise at the sudden change in altitude, beating a little to maintain balance. “And we’re off,” I announced, beginning my trek, “You live in Canterlot, right?”
“Yeah,” he replied. He was kind of quiet, unusually so.
I walked on, the silence between us bothering me more and more, until I decided to speak up again. “Hey, you like stories? I know a few stories.”
Ardent’s ears perked up in curiosity. “Like what?” he asked, interested.
I smiled. I had told a bunch of stories to the elementary-grade kids back in high school. A lot of times I would just read to them, but there were other, special times when a particularly interesting idea would come into my head. There were times when I would make up stories with cool heroes, which the kids loved, because they could help progress the story with their ideas. One of my personal favorites was…
“Well, how about I tell you one about the super-heroine known only as… The Mockingbird!” I announced with dramatic emphasis, “…And her super-sidekick Drama Queen!” I smirked. “Or ‘Drama’ to her friends.”
Ah, the Mockingbird. Of all the stories those kids and I made up, those were by far the coolest. I loved all the crazy shenanigans they would get into, which were always completely ridiculous and off-the wall stories that always made me grin.
Ardent giggled. I smiled. “I’ll take that as a ‘Yes!’ Okay then. I call this one: The Mockingbird: When Walter Walrus Would play Waltz! (And other musical genres)” I began with unusual cheerfulness. “This story begins in a town known as Drolesville, the place where the Mockingbird lived. It all started when a silly, sluggish walrus, (whose name was Walter, by the way) found himself a saxophone. But what no one expected was that it was an enchanted saxophone.”
Ardent giggled. “What did it do?” he asked.
“Well, that’s just what I was about to tell you. Now, you have to understand, walruses didn’t normally talk there, so bear that in mind. So! Walter picked up the saxophone and started to play it. Because it was enchanted, he was able to play it rather remarkably well, though I’m willing to bet he was already pretty talented to begin with. He was very talented with that magic saxophone.”
“Did he show everypony his talent? He should take it and show it to everypony!” Ardent cut in. He seemed to be getting into the story already.
I smiled. “Ah, but he did!” My voice dropped menacingly, but not too menacingly. “But little did he realize that the enchantment did more than make him super good at playing it. There was a curse on it! A curse that made everybo- everypony get hypnotized when they listened to it!”
Ardent gasped. “Oh no!”
“Poor Walter. He didn’t know; he just wanted to make ponies happy with his music.”
“Somepony must have put it there!” Ardent added, “Somepony must have known and used Walter for their own evil scheme.”
I nodded. That was a good idea. “That’s right. You’re pretty sharp. There was somepony, waiting in their lair for enough of the ponies to be hypnotized by Walter the Walrus’s musical might. Luckily, there was someone else watching over the city. As Walter paraded down the streets, someone was listening without hearing, someone who figured out the true nature of the saxophone.”
“The Mockingbird?”
“Close, but no. It was actually someone named Mainframe, a part of the super-secret technology called the Cerberus network that helped send Superheroes off to the places that needed them. Mainframe analyzed the music and discovered its hypno-harmonic frequencies, and rushed to deliver the news to the Mockingbird before it was too late…"
And so I mashed together a story as I navigated through the tunnels, Ardent adding in his own bits here and there. The more I talked, the more relaxed Ardent seemed to become. I had just finished the story when I took notice of a light in the distance marking the exit. It wasn’t the usual exit I took to Canterlot, mind you, since that would be a dumb thing to do, but it was relatively close to it and not all too hard to find your way to the city. Especially since Ardent was a Pegasus.
I set Ardent down on the cave floor. I was still deep enough in the cave that someone would have to strain to be able to see me, and I wasn’t going to take my chances by going any farther. “You see that light all the way over there?” I asked. Ardent squinted into the distance before nodding vigorously, relief crossing his face.
“Okay, just follow that light and you’ll be out of here. This is where we’re going to have to part ways. I have… stuff to do elsewhere.” He nodded in enthusiasm and began to trot towards the exit.
As I watched, sinking into the shadows once more, a thought crossed my mind, the slightest flash of a notion. Heeding it, I shot my hand out of the shadows, firmly clenching one of the young colt’s rear hooves. He yelped in surprise, his wings flaring up again.
“Wait,” I commanded. He gulped and nodded.
“I’m afraid… I don’t do favors, kid. I led you out and told you a story to boot, and I’m going to expect something in return.” What? I’m not stupid; I was going to take advantage of whatever opportunities I could get.
Ardent whimpered. Meanwhile, I was frantically racking my brain for the right thing to ask for. Something about equal, something a kid could manage to do or give away. Food? Money? Nocturne, help me, please, I need ideas here!
Nocturne’s mind spun with ideas as well. Uhhh… well, I think it would be good to try to put in a good word with the princesses.
No, they might ask where he found me. If I were in a more physical state, I would have been tapping my foot on the floor. Ah… we were talking about how we needed something before, I remember… what was it, what was it..?
I felt a sensation almost like someone snapping their fingers in my brain. Supplies! For travel! Ask for that! Ask for that! He said excitedly, before stopping short. No, it must be something a child would be able to grant us. Still, such things must be acquired somehow. There must be some way this child can help us do so.
Right, right, right. Uhh… It’s not like we can ask him to steal them… Uhh… Thinkthinkthink… uhhh… ask friends? No. Borrow them? Who would have all that survival/camping equipment?
Maybe he was from a rich family. I needed to check. “Hey, kid, By any chance does your family or anyone you know have a bunch of camping supplies?”
“N-No…” Ardent replied uncertainly.
Damn. Didn’t think so.
Wait! Back to the princesses thing! Nocturne exclaimed.
I already said, that would be a waste of a favor, and we need those supplies more badly than a good word!
No, no, hear us out, hear us out! The princesses are loaded. Ask the kid to write a message to the princesses asking for supplies…
…and have the kid deliver the message somehow! Nocturne you’re brilliant! I exclaimed with enthusiasm and excitement. Nocturne settled back, absolutely radiating a sense of prideful smugness. I could hear fanfare going off in my head. I had a sinking feeling he was gonna milk this for all it was worth and then some later on.
Meanwhile, I was abuzz with consideration of his idea.This could work. Or would it? What if they refused? I could try writing it off as diplomatic reasons… Maybe if I…
It was then that I noticed Ardent was looking freaked out again. “Relax, kid, It’s not like I’m going to ask you to do anything wrong. I just need a message delivered to a couple of ponies, is all, plus a small package. You can do that much for me, right?” He looked relaxed and relieved at that, and I took the opportunity to release his hoof.
Ardent got this uncomfortable look on his face as I released his hoof, glancing at the exit like he was briefly considering making a break for it. Thankfully, he gave a accepting sigh, deciding against trying to bolt.
“Okay, good. Pay attention, ‘cause when you get outta here, you’re gonna have to remember all of this, ‘kay?" Ardent nodded fully attentive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A bluish magic aura engulfed the quill pen, expertly dipping it in an inkwell before inscribing more words on the parchment. The pen moved gracefully, in swooping lines that formed elegant letterings, befitting of the pen's wielder. Finally, after much work, Luna set the pen down, reviewing the final letter to the former element bearers.
The thing about reviewing something you’ve written is that you almost always find something wrong with what you’ve put on the page. Sometimes a spelling or grammatical error, something you should have said but did not, or something that was best left out. Yet, as Luna looked over the page, she found no errors to speak of, yet the entire page seemed to be off. Wrong somehow. She looked over it again. No, the grammar, structure, and spelling were all perfect. What was wrong, then?
The message itself, she realized. The message itself, the act of writing it and the plan behind it was what felt wrong. She was having doubts as to whether or not she should actually send them at all. She had a sinking feeling nothing good would come of them at all.
It was about then that her sister Celestia walked in. “You look troubled, Luna. What’s wrong?”
“I…” Luna started, trying to find the words. “I do not believe that we should send these letters to the former element bearers to draw Discord’s attention upon Abyss,” she stated with finality.
Celestia regarded her with a look of curiosity, waiting for her to continue. And continue she did, “This… show of mistrust we have devised. Call it what you may, but I cannot help but see a reflection of my past within it. How I and my night were spurned for their dark nature. And how, were others more accepting of my night, things might have been… different.” She looked straight into Celestia’s eyes, deep uncertainty and conflicted emotions within her own. “Might it be better to attempt to make her a further ally rather than draw her ire?”
Celestia glossed over the letters on the desk with a small hum. “While I did originally come up with this plan in response to your doubts at Abyss’ trustworthiness, it is we, together, who decide what must be done. If you believe that we must continue with this plan, so be it, but if you believe we should wait, if you believe that you may have a better idea, I will listen. Remember, Luna, we rule over Equestria together, and I trust your ability to handle things, to see ways to resolve problems that I cannot. Just as you have trust in me,” she said with a smile.
Luna glanced between the letters and her sister, conflicted. She sighed in defeat. “Even after all this time since my release, I still find myself deferring to your judgment in fear of what mine own will bring,” she said, gazing into the distance, her head hung low, “In fear I shall fail you and our ponies when it matters most.”
Celestia draped her wing over Luna’s shoulder. “It is natural to feel uncertain at times, especially with such a weight as we bear. But you have faced your own mistakes and learned from them. You, in such a short time, have adapted to the changes in society during your absence, and I have had the pleasure of watching you grow as a pony and as a ruler. No matter what, I will always be proud to call you my wonderful little sister,” she said, gently lifting Luna’s head with her wingtip.
Luna glanced about before her eyes hardened with certainty. “I do not believe these letters are the best course of action. I… believe it would be best to stay our hooves and see what may come. She has not caused any truly major disturbances, and has already come to us seeking peaceful resolution,” Luna scowled a little, “…albeit in a rather perplexing and crass manner.”
Celestia nodded. “Very well. I trust your judgment.” She turned and made her way to the door, turning to look at her sister expectantly. “Shall we be off? I believe the chef has prepared your favorite dish tonight.”
Luna hurried after, leaving the letters sitting on the desk, intending to dispose of them later. They were long gone from the room when a servant made her way into the room, intending to clean up any messes left behind. Imagine her surprise when she found five letters marked as semi-urgent sitting on the desk, completed and ready for sending. This wouldn’t do at all, such important letters just left sitting there.
She took the liberty of binding up the letters and sending them off to their respective recipients. After all, it was part of her job to try and make the princesses’ lives a little easier, wasn’t it?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“… And sign it as: ‘Abyss, Official Ambassador of Humans and Shadowborn.’ Think you can remember all that?” I asked.
Ardent appeared to list off the basics of the message in his head before nodding in affirmation. “Yeah, I think I can. Who do you want to send this message to, again?” he asked sincerely.
“Princess Luna and Princess Celestia,” I deadpanned.
“The Princesses?” he exclaimed in shock, taken utterly aback. “How do you know the Princesses?”
“Doesn’t everybody around here?” I retorted. Ardent looked like he was about to say something, but stopped. He didn’t have an answer for that.
I cleared my throat. “Anyways, I just need you to write what I said down and deliver it to them.”
“How?” asked Ardent.
That was a good question. Hm. “I… don’t really care. Deliver it in whatever way you think will work. Without getting you into trouble, of course. And don’t forget to keep your mouth shut about where I am, okay?”
With that, he nodded, turned, and made for the cave exit. Then, he stopped, and looked back in my general direction, and smiled. “Thank you.” he said, before turning and galloping out of the cave.
Damn. I think my heart melted.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ardent Voice had just finished up the letter, writing it to the closest he could remember. He looked over it again to make sure he got everything. Yep, it was all there.
Ardent had taken a long while to make sure he got everything, as well as make everything eloquent enough to be a letter to a princess. It was pretty well-written, if he did say so himself. This was a favor for the creature that had saved him from the caves after all…
Oh, man, had his mother freaked out when she found out he had been playing in the mines, and he'd been lectured thoroughly. He hadn’t told her how he’d gotten lost, or by extension, how he’d gotten out. He had promised, after all.
He glanced out the window. Now how was he going to deliver the letter and the package, he wondered..?
He couldn’t just hand it to the princesses, he thought, his eyes falling on a guardspony, stoic and unyielding. The guards would never let him past the gates. And they probably wouldn’t deliver the message for him either. They never reacted to anything. They never moved, at least not when he'd been watching. He bet you could tar and feather them and they still wouldn’t move.
A piece of paper flew through the streets, carried by the wind, smacking the guard in the face and catching on his snout. Ardent giggled softly, watching the guard stand unmoving as the wayward piece of paper fluttered in his face. As he watched, an idea began to form in his head. His face broke into a wide, mischievous grin befitting of a colt his age. He jumped to his hooves, scrambling through the window. Spreading his wings wide, he leapt from the windowsill, gliding safely down to the streets below. The instant his hooves touched the ground, he took off galloping, his mind bursting with ideas. He was going to need a bunch of help to pull this off, and a lot of paper.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sometimes, being a princess is hard when you’re expected to keep up decorum. Especially since that means that, unless you are in private, you’re normally expected to take things with a degree of seriousness. Ergo, a princess must restrain her laughter when doing so would most likely insult somepony or someone else, or would be otherwise inappropriate. Which was hard, very, very hard at times.
Like at that very moment, when Celestia and Luna were met with the very bizarre sight of every guardspony whose shifts had ended coming back from their stations in the city and on the outskirts of the castle. Every last one of them had a… well, they were pieces of paper, it seemed, plastered on nearly every inch of every guardspony, making them each look like monochrome piñatas. Many were seated, picking off the pieces of paper off one by one and muttering to themselves.
One guard strode up to the princesses, still visibly wet with glue. Celestia had to look away and put her hoof to her muzzle, lest her laughter overcome her, and a strained look crossed Luna’s face. “Please, Your Highnesses, you don’t have to restrain yourselves on our behalves. We are all fully aware of how ridiculous this may seem,” he remarked.
Luna was the first to burst out laughing. Celestia chuckled softly to herself. The guard dumped a large stack of papers in front of the princesses, and looked at them expectantly. “I believe these are meant for the two of you.”
Celestia and Luna levitated the pages before their faces, reading the childish scrawl upon it and realizing they were, in fact, messages addressed to them:
Dear Your Royal Highnesses,
How are the two of you? I hope you are well.
Now that that’s out of the way, I’m going away for a while, an excursion if you will, and need a few things if you’d be so generous. Consider it a charitable donation to the “Get Me Out of Your Hair fund.” Among the things I need are survival/camping necessities. They include:
Something to sleep in: a tent and/or sleeping bag perhaps, though I can make do with a few waterproof, flame-resistant blankets, some stakes, extendable poles and a hammer.
Plenty of water, of course, as well as food, about a month’s worth. A water purifier would be nice.
A compass. Don’t want to get lost.
A decent pocket knife. I assure you, I have little intention to use it for weaponry purposes.
Some fire-starting tool(s).
And some money and cooking utensils would be appreciated, if you can spare them.
If you can, I would like them delivered at the train station. At night. Make no mistake, these are requests, not demands, and I don’t have anything to offer you beyond some information that you might find pretty useful. You probably recall the books and trinkets I borrowed, one of which was the soapstone which I return to you now. I was able to discover the function behind it: it acts as an anchor for inter-planar travel, as well as a way to summon help or allies if you need it. Just write your name with it, apparently, maybe outright saying you need help might help. Poof, instant ally.
I think you were worried about defense? Someone was. Well here ya go. Might come in handy for you; I know I don’t really want it. Heaven knows, you might need it more than I will.
Regards,
Abyss, Official Ambassador
of Humans and Shadowborn.
At the bottom there was another line scrawled in: “I’d like it if you could help her, she seems really nice since she helped me and all,” a message written in a childish hoofwriting. Celestia looked up from the note, while Luna stifled a giggle.
“Am I to presume that this entire stunt was pulled off by a foal?” Luna asked with a bemused smile as the guard handed her a package.
“Actually, if the others are to be believed, this was pulled off by a group of kids in a number of ways. No pony had the heart to fuss at them, since it was just a harmless prank at first. Until we read the papers.” The guard replied as Luna unwrapped the package, revealing the soapstone within. Celestia smiled. This might prove useful.
“And with that, I will take my leave. There’s a dozen more of Paper-Mache ponies who need help peeling the paper off their fur,” he stated, turning and leaving.
“All right. Take care,” Celestia replied, turning to retire to her own chambers with Luna following close behind.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Luna gave an excited whisper, “You see? Waiting seems to have been the perfect course of action; she is becoming an ally already! She has given us a further means of defense, rather than keep it for her own.”
“Yes, but we were the ones who owned it in the first place. Recall, she stole it from us,” Celestia reminded her.
“True… But she returned it as soon as she learned how to use it, something we were never able to discover ourselves,” She bounced happily, and then grew serious. “We must deal with this matter of supplying her, however. I truly want to believe she means no ill. Do we have the means to do so?”
“I believe we can arrange to accommodate her,” Celestia replied, turning the corner into the room where Luna had been working earlier. “It should not be much trouble. But first, we must deal with those letters…”
Celestia grew suddenly silent, her gaze fixated on something. Luna followed her gaze to the desk she had been working on earlier, where she had left all of the letters. It was surprisingly devoid of letters.
Silence pervaded the entire room.
“Didn’t you leave those letters right there?” asked Celestia.
“I did,” replied Luna, “They should still be there. Unless…”
“What?”
“I might have marked them as semi-urgent, and somepony might have gotten the wrong idea…”
Silence.
“…Well, buck,” said Celestia.
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I really really hope this causes a huge mess and results In a lot of consequences directed towards the ponies.
I can't wait for Abyss to be harassed by Discord and all the fallout that will arise from said incident.
*orders a truckload of popcorn 'cuz dis gon b gud*
Well I'm going to say it anyways!
Le Gasp! The glue is made out of ponies!
hmmmm innnnnteresting. Hopefully we'll see what Luna's letters say next time, and have some mane six perspective.
I'm all excited and intrigued and stuff! I'm looking forward to the next installment.
discord appears in front of abyss. abyss lets out the highest of screams and discords head explodes
the end
Well. Points for the Princesses in recognizing their plan was rather dickish, but they changed their minds just a little bit too late it seems. Buck indeed.
Personally, I'm still hoping that Discord and Abyss hit it off immediately and become the best of friends. I would pay money to see the look of sheer horror on Tia's face when she finds out about that!
4482183
He likely tasted the chaos, as one would a fine cognac, as soon as the letters were first veiwed, or really at any point of this story, this hasn't exactly been the least entropic story since she showed up.
Sorry for the large quote, but I find
offensive and sexist. Not that I'm a psychologist, but I think this untrue; one's psychology, after all, isn't as black-and-white as you describe. For example, my mind is nothing like a waffle, even though I'm a guy. If you wanted a good analogy for mine, it would be like interlocking, branching tree limbs. More like the noodles, but not related to food. If you showed me a link to your source of information, I may be inclined to consider this less as offensive and more like uninformed. Not that you have to do it or not, but it would give me a better opinion of you.
In other news, I like the story pretty well so far.
4484445 That would be interesting, but I have a feeling it won't work out like that. While he tends to be silly about it, Discord often brings up how he and Fluttershy are good friends, and right now I don't think Fluttershy is Abyss' favorite pony.
Her first interaction with a pony was Fluttershy screaming in her face after assuring her that everything is okay. And then she finds Fluttershy talking to Twilight about her, with Twilight acting like she's a monster that might need to be hunted down. And while Fluttershy's reaction to Abyss' appearance is understandable, and she did chastise Twilight for her actions later, there's no changing that she is at least indirectly responsible for what Abyss has gone through.
Then there's also the way Rainbow and Twilight treated her. Rainbow was insulting and abrasive, though not much else and Abyss seemed to respect her suspicion. Twilight, on the other hand, treated her like a monster because a book said she's evil, threatened her with petrification because of how she talked after Twilight paralyzed her, and then there was the stuff about looking after her and maybe getting her to help protect Equestria. While we know that dark, evil creatures are normal in their world, as well as what the Elements are and Twilight sincerely meaning to help her, Abyss knows nothing of My Little Pony. To her, Twilight was almost threatening to kill her because a book said to, and was also threatened with a horrifying and disproportionate punishment for having a bad mouth. In modern media and many historical examples, having your actions watched and restrained is often a pretense to slavery, or at least having one's freedoms restricted, and without context of who or what the Elements are Twilight's comment sounds a lot like conscription into military service.
I realize that Abyss probably doesn't see it quite that way, but my point is that the ponies' actions can be interpreted pretty badly. While it would be fun for Abyss and Discord to get along, between her distrust of ponies, one of Discord's typically loud and surprising entrances in the middle of her safe haven, and Nocturne's tendency to overreact, I think what's actually going to happen is that the shit is going to hit the fan with the force of a potato cannon.
...Abyss should totally build a potato cannon. It would be a reliable form of non-lethal defense that doesn't depend on her shadow powers, and it would be hilarious to see a Pegasus soldier get beaned with a potato.
4486213
Nothing almost about it, that's exactly what it was. Twilight might not see it that way, think of it as letting her prove herself, but when you strip away the bullshit, that's what it is. There's no other way to interpret it when in a single breath you mention close observation and a subsequent "helping with defense". Coming on the heels of very pointed mentions of petrification and millennium-long banishments, no less.
No. Nocturne may have wound up Kate's emotional state a bit, but her response was justified by the facts alone, as far as I'm concerned. Twilight fucked up royally, pardon the pun. (So did RD, but that's pretty much par for the course.)
Yes, but Abyss has so far been pretty fair-minded for such a self-proclaimed cynic. I doubt she blames Fluttershy for simply screaming, given how terrifying she looks now, and aside from Rainbow Dumbass and Twilight, they haven't really done anything to her. She doesn't trust them, and for good reason, but she doesn't really bear them any ill will beyond that. She even refused to steal from them, even when she was in serious need and the city above was filled to the brim with opulence.
And she really has no reason to transfer her distrust of ponies to someone who's very much not a pony. Of course, his... flamboyant style might irritate the hell out of her, too, but I think she'll take him on his own merits.
What I don't know (not having seen the show yet to the point of Discord's redemption) is how much of a problem it's going to be from his end. Will he have a problem with the fact that Abyss is not exactly the greatest pony-lover in the land? My gut says no, I can't imagine he's too fond of, oh, the Princesses for example, redemption or no (especially once he figures out they used him for a catspaw). But it can go either way. The fecal matter hitting the rotary air impeller should be interesting, too.
ALL OF MY YES. ALL OF IT.
Except pelt at least one unicorn with it, too. Instant potato skewer!
This is why you don't mess with other people's biz. It leads to a lot of shit hitting a tiny fan.
The Cerberus Network! Le Gasp! The Illusive Man is at it again!
I hope one other person gets this, or I'm going to look like a bloody idiot.
4485358 My Wellness class, a specialized instructor came in and taught us that.
4491758 Mass effect?
4492005
Just shows you how much people in teaching/'expert' positions can be wrong (or unquestioning in relation to what they learned).
Glue is made from the sap of the bacon tree. Mmmmmm, bacon bark.
4492013 Bingo
Discord + Kate + Nocturne = a lot of trolling.
ing the story by the way. Also, hoof-bump to Ardent Voice. 
/)
That looks kinda out of place
Le Gasp! The glue is made out of ponies!
Le Gasp! Soylent green is people!
You know, I feel like Empress Celestia Guilt tripped Luna in this chapter.
4485358
You yourself stated you are not a psychologist.
Even if you were, you can not self diagnose.
This is a piece of fiction, the author creates the rules of this reality, so it is true in this world.
4493804
...so an expert in that specialized field can be wrong, because someone with no training or knowledge of said field (you) disagrees with them?
That brings to mind being told you have cancer by a Doctor only to look on WebMD instead because you can't possibly have cancer.
Now, I'm not saying the expert was one hundred percent correct, I'm saying that you should seek out the opinions of other experts before immediately declaring them to be wrong.
Which will lead to one of two otcomes. You receive proper evidence to support your claim, or you learn that while you may not like it, it is a true statement.
I think I might know why: you hold kids to a lower standard - they don't know what's what yet; it's not that they haven't made their choices - they couldn't have made them, too little real experience. Adults are fair game, they really should know better and any-and-all ignorance is on their heads... but not kids; if anything, it's the fault of their parents.
Also, not-so-evil monsters tend to find friends in kids - and generally those with limited to no preconceptions. If someone you think is evil can make friends with a child (not a baby, perhaps, but a 10yo maybe), then you might want to consider if it's you being the problem, because the main and by far biggest difference between you and the kid is your prejudices.
9006032
... though in fledgling fields like psychology, you may find an unhappy middle ground of "everyone agrees... to disagree". :D
... and of course this is near the end of all she wrote...