• Published 29th Mar 2014
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Dreams About Friendship Are Magic - Soft Story



Twilight Sparkle wakes from a coma after being cursed. However not everything is as she remembers.

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Chapter 17

Twilight and Spike followed closely behind Gerald as he stormed out of the building, furious stamping of talons echoing off the stone walkways in his wake. The Prime Minister’s expression sent a slight shiver of fear through Twilight every time she caught a glance of it. It also seemed that both pedestrians and guards alike noticed as well, for they promptly averted their eyes, lest they sparked his ire.

She was so distracted by that observation that she didn’t notice Gerald had come to a stop just outside the destination until she walked straight into him. He hardly seemed to acknowledge the accidental bump, eyes glaring at the scene before him. Gathered all around the building were worried looking griffons, all trying to ask questions of their leader.

“Now, now, please!” Gerald called out, trying to get them to quiet down. Reluctantly, the group simmered down at the exasperated tone. “I promise you that everything is under control. Lady Sparkle and I are looking into it,” he said calmly, pointing at Twilight who was still standing behind him.

The crowd flared up again, apparently just noticing the mare, as they shouted questions at him and her. Twilight chuckled nervously as she took a step back, unease causing her fur to raise on ends and her horn to reverberate. “They aren’t going to riot over this, are they?”

Gerald turned to face her with a sigh soft enough that the crowd wouldn’t hear it. Even if they could, their oncoming panic-attacks would’ve blotted out the sound, regardless. “No, but I’m curious as to how they all found out something was going on.” He turned to the messenger guard, eyes glinting in silent command.

The griffon got extremely nervous, anxiously wringing his claws together as he tried to focus on the crowd. “Oh, well, the pony may have, uh... made a scene when we arrested him.” Something resembling a cringe flashed across his beak. “There were a number of witnesses that probably spread the word.”

“Great,” Spike quipped sarcastically from Twilight’s back, though in such a low snarky grumble that only she heard it. “I bet the ponies are also wondering what’s going on.”

The Prime Minister sighed once more as he rubbed his temple with one of his talons. Twilight could very easily see the irritation bubbling in his face as the din of the onlookers increased. “Give me ten minutes here and I’ll have them calmed down. You take Lady Sparkle to see the pony.”

The guard gave a swift salute, looking relieved that he wasn’t in trouble for being the bearer of even more bad news, and to most likely not have to deal with crowd control. “Right away. It’s a short walk, Lady Sparkle.” He turned and gestured off down the road with one of his wings.

Twilight offered a nervous smile to Gerald, who seemed to be quietly clearing his throat in preparation for the tirade of questions about to be dropped on him. “Good luck. I’ll send a guard across the border to see what the situation is like on the Equestria side. We don’t want to cause a rift between our people over this.”

“I don’t think our friendship is so weak that a single incident would break it,” Gerald commented, his expression finally relaxing. He politely shooed her off as he returned his attention to his citizens, answering their questions as fast as he could.

The Countess gave one last look at Gerald as she was led down the road back towards the border, her personal entourage still creating an obvious defensive circle around Twilight. A small building on the edge of the town was their target; it was serving as a guard post and contained several holding cells. Twilight asked one of her pegasi guards to head back across the border and tell the mayor exactly what was going on. The stallion saluted and marched off towards the gate without a word.

The griffon guard opened the door for Twilight and the rest of her escort. Several griffon guards inside the building turned to see what was going on as she walked in. A large female griffon approached her, a friendly smile on her beak. She gave a polite bow as she greeted them. “Lady Sparkle! Welcome. I’m Lieutenant Whipwing.”

“Hello Lieutenant. I’m guessing you know why I am here,” Twilight said passively.

The Lieutenant nodded once. “The pony we arrested. He hasn’t answered our questions, simply saying he wished to be returned to Equestria. Normally we would do so, but this is obviously, a rather serious offense. Is the Prime Minister not with you?”

Twilight smiled out of pity. “I’m afraid he was held up in town. He will be joining us shortly.”

“Very well. We can discuss the current situation more in the meeting room,” she gestured to a nearby door.

“Of course,” Twilight agreed, heading into the indicated room. It was much smaller than the meeting room she and Gerald had been meeting in previously and the walls were covered in shelves and filing cabinets.

Lieutenant Whipwing looked a bit embarrassed as she followed Twilight into the room. “I apologize, this room also doubles as storage. We’re a bit cramped for space at the moment.”

“Don’t worry about it, Lieutenant. My office gets more cluttered than this.” Twilight took a seat near one end of the table, Spike sitting next to her. Two unicorn guards began to enter to flank the inner door, before the Countess quietly rose a hoof. They gave nods of respect, and guarded the exterior with the rest of the escort. Twilight returned her focus to the Lieutenant before her. “Now, tell me about this pony.”

Whipwing sat down across from her, lazily rearranging some documents. “He’s being uncooperative, refusing to answer any of our questions. We haven’t even gotten a name from him yet. He’s a pegasus with a light gray coat, blue mane and tail, and his cutie mark is a lightning bolt. No other identifying marks, and not a soul on either side of the Wall recognize him.”

“Has he said anything to clue in on?” Twilight asked.

The Lieutenant sighed. “Not really. He’s just asked to go back to Equestria. I don’t even think he understands the smuggling charges we arrested him on.”

“The messenger that came to get us said he was trying to bring twenty kilos in, yes?”

A nod. “He was pulling a large cart. The border checkpoint asked him what he was doing with the cart and he replied that it was a shipment of goods to a farm. He had proper paperwork about the import tax being paid in advance from the buyer. One of my guards took a quick look in the cart and on the surface it appeared to be some tools and seeds. The Kalki seeds were mixed in with everything else in the cart; it was pure luck that the guard managed to spot them.”

Twilight turned to Spike. “We’ve passed through the border several times, and the check for illegal goods doesn’t seem to be that active nor thorough.”

“It’s mostly a deterrent,” the Lieutenant explained. “The smugglers are less likely to attempt to get through if we check everyone, even if the checks are quick.”

“Do we know anything else about him?” Twilight asked.

Lieutenant Whipwing shook her head, her voice taking on a softer tone. “No, he’s refused to answer our questions. A full interrogation would usually be conducted once he was transferred to a proper facility. But we’d really appreciate it if you would talk to him, try to get him to answer our questions now.”

“Oh, I intend to,” Twilight replied. “But we should wait for the Prime Minister to arrive. He should be present if I’m questioning someone arrested under your law.”

The griffon nodded. “Right, of course. While we wait, can I get you anything to drink?”

Gerald showed up less than half an hour later, in a markedly better mood. Of course, by better mood, it was more a transition from ‘bloodlust-rage’ to ‘extreme-irritability’ than anything too cheery. He had calmed down while he explained the situation and answered questions from the worried griffons in town, though. Twilight and Spike sat in the meeting room, each with a cup of tea, as he walked in. “Everything settled?” Twilight asked, pouring him a cup of tea with magic.

He slumped down into a chair, muttering bitterly to himself. A few seconds passed before he seemed to realize what Twilight said. “Yes, thankfully. Some of the nearby farms were hit hard by Kalki and any mention of that cursed plant gets them nervous.” A talon was reapplied to his temple as he accepted the proffered cup from Twilight. “What’s the news with our smuggler?”

“Nothing,” Twilight replied. “He won’t talk to the griffons. Lieutenant Whipwing has asked me to meet with him. She thinks that perhaps he’ll be more willing to talk with me than with griffon guards.”

Gerald nodded in agreement. “That sounds like a good plan. Have you gone to see him yet?”

“We were waiting on you,” Twilight answered with a smile.

Just at that perfect moment, Lieutenant Whipwing stuck her head into the meeting room. “How did you want that again, Lady—” When she saw the Prime Minister, her asking died on her beak as she stood at attention. “Prime Minister Windswept! Welcome.”

He smiled at her. “Lieutenant. Thank you for watching over my guests here,” he nodded to Twilight and Spike.

“My pleasure, sir,” she answered, refusing to drop from her rigid pose. “The pony is ready to see you now, Lady Sparkle.”

Twilight stood up, grinning. “Excellent. Please lead the way, Lieutenant.” Spike and Gerald followed her and the Lieutenant down the halls to an interrogation room. On the other side of a large window sat a gray pegasus, just as Lieutenant Whipwing described, quivering in terror as he sat in front of a small table. “Spike, take notes,” Twilight said as she confidently headed for the door leading through to the other room.

She opened it with her magic and walked in calmly, shutting the door behind her. The stallion looked surprised at his new visitor, quickly bowing his head in recognition. “L-L-Lady Sparkle!”

Twilight smiled as she took the seat across the room from him. “Good evening. As I understand it, you’re in quite some trouble, Mister…” She hesitated, hinting for his name.

“B-B-Bolt, ma’am!” The stallion stammered out nervously.

“Bolt? Well, Mister Bolt, have the griffons explained to you what you were charged with?” Bolt simply nodded once. “And are you aware that the seeds you were attempting to bring into the country could cause the collapse of their entire farming industry?” He shook his head no several times, eyes dilating in revelation and dread.

The Countess cleared her throat, taking on the tone she used when she was lecturing less-intelligent ponies. “You see, the seeds you were attempting to bring across the border would grow into a very dangerous crop. Your cart had enough seeds to easily cover more than half of all the farmland in the entire country. It would then kill off all the crops and the griffons would be left attempting to stop the plant from spreading even further. They would be forced to import food from other countries, raising the price of food, and damaging their economy. And seeing as Kalki seeds are very commonly used in Equestria, it would make us look suspicious and put a strain on our international relations.”

She pressed on, leaning forward as she spoke. “You don’t seem like the sort of stallion who wants to do that to me.” A challenging glint arose in her eyes. “Or am I mistaken?”

Bolt was looking extremely nervous now. “I… I just took a job, ma’am! I promise, that was it! I didn’t know it was going to be anything like that!”

“Who did you take the job from?”

“S-some unicorn in Woodsdale. ‘Said if I took the cart across the border and gave it to a red Earth Pony, they’d give me two hundred bits,” Bolt explained hastily. “‘No contract, no strings, no hassle’, they said.”

Twilight frowned. “Did this unicorn have a name? What was their cutie mark? Stallion or mare?”

Bolt shook his head. “Didn’t give a name, and they was in a hooded coat so I didn’t get a look at their cutie mark or face. I ain’t even sure if it was a guy. White coat though. That’s all I can tell you.” Twilight was silent, staring off into space. “Am I going to be able to go back, Countess?”

That brought Twilight back to her senses. “That will be up to the griffons, Mister Bolt. It is their country that you threatened, even if you did not know you were doing so.” She stood up. “Please cooperate with the griffons; it will certainly help your situation to do so.”

He nodded several times. “I-I will, Countess. Thank you...”

Twilight left the room, magically shutting and locking the door behind her. Gerald, Spike, and Lieutenant Whipwing were all waiting for her. “I don’t believe he knew what he was transporting,” Twilight said confidently. “It sounds like this unicorn was behind it.”

“I have to agree. Guy seemed too naive,” Spike reflected. “The unicorn’s probably a member of one of the anti-Griffon or anti-Countess groups that are popping up over Equestria.”

Gerald snorted. “Even if this unicorn was real, we have no way of finding out if it’s true. We can’t go searching Equestria for him, because I sincerely doubt that unicorn is still in Woodsdale.” A tone of finality entered his voice. “Mister Bolt will have to face the charges, as he was the one to cross the border.”

Twilight frowned. “We will launch an investigation into his story. If we can find the pony who set up this job, I hope that you will be willing to release Bolt.”

Gerald actually looked insulted by that. “Of course; we would never hold someone innocent captive. But seeing as we have no evidence of this imaginary unicorn, we will continue on with putting Bolt on trial.” An unsettling silence hovered over the group, with both the Countess and the Prime Minister giving sour looks towards the ground. Eventually, Gerald sighed. “I am sorry, but our law on Kalki seeds is very strict.”

“I know, Prime Minister.” Twilight said neutrally. “Spike, do you have the notes?” He nodded. “Then we will depart for the day.” She put on a smile and said her farewells to both griffons before leaving with her guards. The guard she had set back across the border was waiting for her with nothing unusual to report. It seemed no ponies even bared witness to the arrest.

Twilight retired to her room and dictated a letter to Celestia detailing the Prime Minister’s plan as well as the Kalki seeds incident. Spike sent it off right away, though he said they probably wouldn’t get a reply right away. Unlike in her dream, Spike’s fire breath sent the messages to Celestia’s desk, not straight to her. She was going to have some choice words about the inefficiency of that to Celestia later.

In the meantime, a bottle of wine with a note was sitting in her room. Gerald had sent it earlier in the day, with a brief letter about drinking to the future success of his town merging plan. Twilight wasn’t a big drinker. She had only had wine once before at a function in Canterlot before her move to Ponyville. Applejack had shared some hard cider once as well, but Twilight only had a few sips.

After the stress of her day, Twilight decided that a glass of wine to help her relax would be a good thing. After Spike went to bed, she popped the cork and poured a glass. Like magic of its own, the tension in her body faded. Half an hour later, she was pouring out her sixth glass and was feeling completely unable to function like a normal pony. She sat next to an open window, looking up at the night sky as she tried using the fresh air to right her psyche. The stars seemed to swirl around randomly, though a part of her knew it was simply caused by her drunken state.

“Well now, sugarcube. Aren’t you lookin’ a bit tipsy?” Twilight looked down at the street below. Three blurry forms of Applejack was looking back up at her, their faces in amusement. Twilight blinked, but the Applejacks remained. “Well, we all need to relax—you ‘specially—so I can’t blame ya.”

“What are you doing here?” Twilight attempted to ask. The slurred mess that left her mouth sounded vaguely like what she was attempting to say. A sad smile arose on the now singular mare in the street, and what looked like a faint shimmer appeared around her. Twilight’s magic wavered and she dropped her wine glass, causing some wine to spill out on the floor. She looked down at the mess she made, frowning at her lack of control. When she groggily looked back out the window, Applejack was gone.

Twilight continued to stare out the window for another minute, looking around for the cowpony. Eventually, she decided that she was just imagining things. She put away the mostly-empty wine bottle and crawled into bed. Applejack was not real, and she had no reason to be out at the griffon border if she was. It had to just be a drunken hallucination.

She was sure of it.

...Right?

Author's Note:

Well now, what was that? First Dash, now Applejack? I wonder what's up with that.

Anyway, this little plot deviation has taken a rather interesting turn. I really love the griffons and I'm glad I found a way to include them in the story.
-- Soft Story