Mending Light

by Kiromancer

40 - The Storm Before the Storm

We departed Ponyville at dawn without fanfare. It wasn't like our secret trip to Myrtail Beach, nor like the organized rush out to Fillydelphia. There was a ticking clock to be sure, but the journey was going to be as dangerous as the destination. Once we crossed the threshold into the barren, broken Badlands, we were all on guard.

Starshadow took point, leading us along an ill-defined path of dried earth, winding through rocky outcroppings and sandy hills. She maintained a strict march, keeping us moving as quickly as we could without exhausting ourselves.

The trip was already taking some toll on Dusky. She wore her worry like she wore her scarf. While Starshadow kept her eyes forward, Dusky's eyes scanned side to side, seeking out any threat that may be coming. She was prepared and vigilant, carrying a pack filled with everything I could imagine us needing for the trip. It made me self-conscious over just how ill-prepared I was, but I think had I asked, Dusky would have wished that we'd all had more time.

Our path followed parallel to a distant cliffside, the flat land making for relatively easy travel. Even better, there was some relief in the weather, as the proximity to the cliffs cut the wind off, and the temperature was definitely dropping down. Still, there was something that bothered me about the path. It was an almost familiar feeling and I could have sworn there was a distant buzz in the air. My ears twitched to find the source, but there didn't seem to be any noise.

Dusky flinched as a sudden gust of wind cut across the path, throwing a blast of sand against us. She lowered her head to endure the gale, but it refused to end.

"Wait." I brought a wing up to block my eyes, feeling the dirt try to find purchase in my feathers. I shifted in the direction of the wind as the pieces fell into place. The low buzz, the temperature change, it was a shift in the air pressure and temperature inversion which, in this climate, could only be bad. I yelled ahead to the others. "This is storm weather!"

On the horizon, the sky was swiftly growing darker. A swirling gray-brown cloud moving towards us with frightening speed, and it seemed to be growing larger by the second.

"Sandstorm! A Badlands Sandstorm!" Star yelled as she turned back towards us, glancing towards the cliff. "We have about ninety seconds to find cover! Our best chance is to backtrack! Get moving!"

Dusky cursed, turning to run. Her head remained arced towards the cliff, her head shifting about as if she were searching for something. She broke off, leading directly towards the cliff. "This way!"

I followed, keeping my head down and trying my best to keep my eyes open. The storm was getting closer, I could feel it breathing against the back of my neck. Ahead, Dusky led on, aiming for a small cave carved out into the mountainside. Hopefully the cave was deep enough to escape the sand billowing around us.

Dusky nearly tripped in front of me, and I prepared to lunge to stop her as she instinctively flexed her wings. Taking flight in this weather would be risky at best, more likely suicide. If the storm caught up, the winds would give no mercy. Thankfully, Dusky caught herself in time, clamping her wings closed and pushing forward.

It must have only have been a couple minutes, but the rush into the cave felt like it took a lifetime. Dusky ducked inside first, then turned back to ensure Star and I made it inside. There was terror in her eyes as she looked behind us. Her voice was barely audible beneath the growing roar of the storm. "Hurry! It's almost here!"

Inside, the cave curved away from the entrance enough to ensure we were out of harm's way, if just barely. It wasn't deep, or even large, but it was protection. We huddled up close in the rear of the cave, which was large enough to hold all three of us, but little else.

Sometimes weather went wrong, but even ill-placed storms and bad planning could only cause so much damage. This was no pony-crafted storm. Only the Everfree Forest had ever been so ferocious, the sudden storms and vicious gusts that almost seemed to have a will of their own.

Dusky twitched restlessly, and I could see the impatience in her wings. She was pushing back the urge to rush back out and fight the storm. It was something a lot of rookie pegasi struggled with when they first started dealing with weather. We have a lot of control in the sky, and facing something outside our ability to deal with, something which denied us something that so defined us was never a comfortable feeling.

I'd dealt with the Everfree's tantrums during the Ponyville night shift often enough to know what I could and could not do. This storm was beyond anything I'd ever seen. Even the worst renegade weather from the Everfree had only been a fraction as bad.

"Hey, Star." Dusky turned her attention from the cave entrance to our friend. "Are you doing okay?"

I turned from my thoughts on the storm to glance at Starshadow. She paced in the back, her eyes cast down, and her mouth creased into a frown.

She slowed down as she gazed towards us, taking a few breaths to steady herself. "I am... fine. It is just the storm."

Dusky was focused on Star, and seemed to relax as she started the conversation. Whether she was talking to put Star at ease, or herself, I couldn't say. A change of topic was a welcome distraction for all of us. "So, is there anything more you can tell us about Ostfriesen? We know so little and any given detail could make the search go faster."

That once more piqued Bellerophon's interest, as he cast his thoughts forward. ...I am curious as well. How did Ostfriesen fare in my absence?

"Err... Bellerophon agrees." I glanced at Dusky apologetically. "He wants to know what happened after he, um… left."

Starshadow took a moment to gather her thoughts, closing her eyes. "Very well. Since Bellerophon's time, Queen Tapioca did much for the country. She ruled fairly, and established many laws to prevent her descendants from abusing their power. She created the knights to defend her people from the harshness of the land, and began to teach her people to cultivate and grow. The land prospered, and the ponies prospered, rather than wasting their energy on war."

That was our dream, she and I. Bellerophon sounded as if he were whispering, even with the howl of the sand outside I could still hear him clearly. When we first met, we were bitter enemies. We were too alike and it made us terrible rivals, but the more I spoke to her, the more I realized how deeply she cared for everypony. Neither of us wanted our people to die in needless battle, and so we turned our energies towards working together.

I swallowed, feeling his emotion more than usual. "That... Bellerophon says that sounds right. She cared. Apparently she cared, a lot. They didn't want anypony to die on their behalf, which is what drove them together."

Something about that had caught Starshadow's attention. She shot a worried glance at Dusky before turning her attention back to me. "Then, what drove them apart? May I ask, what happened?"

I turned to Dusky and frowned. Every time Bellerophon answered questions, every time he slipped in, I could see how much it hurt her, and that was the last thing I ever wanted to do. "Maybe... I shouldn't..."

Dusky sighed. "Don’t hold back on my account. It’s your body. If you’re okay with it, I’ll support your decision."

I took a deep breath and faced Star, giving her a nod in consent.

Starshadow paused, considering carefully. "Very well, then. Lord Bellerophon, you have spoken of betrayal, but our history calls you the greatest warrior to ever breathe. You knelt before Tapioca, the final warlord to do so, and the only one to do so without a single battle fought. You are a legend, a hero, but you speak of Queen Tapioca with such disdain."

I slipped out of my body again, disturbing how common that feeling had become.

Bellerophon seemed tense, and I could practically sense him tempering his emotions. "Over the course of our negotiations, we tried to find the greatest way to create the peace she dreamed of. In time, we complicated the matters beyond the needs of our people. Tapioca's spirit burned like a fire, fierce and unquenchable, and I found in her a pony every bit my equal. My superior in more ways than I wished to admit. Opposition turned to passion, and we became lovers."

Starshadow seemed to grow quiet, nodding slowly. "This makes sense, of course. Then, what was the betrayal? Surely, you must have known?"

He grated his teeth, anger rising once again, though for his credit he pushed it aside. "I learned the news from one of the nobles. They all knew it before I did. She had announced that she was to be married. She turned her back on... on what we had... I could no longer bear to look upon her."

"Then... you did not know. I... see." Star cleared her throat, looking down at the ground. "Tapioca's suitor was a pony to whom her hoof had been promised when she was very young. He was the heir to an influential family within Ostfriesen, a family which formed the core of her army when she had begun her campaign to unify the nation."

Bellerophon raised his eyebrow. "A political marriage? Then why was it so rushed? Why was it kept so secret, even from me? Especially from me!" His anger continued to swell, but behind it all I could sense a seed of confusion.

"Because, the Queen could not risk anypony knowing the truth. A truth that has been handed down only among the Royal Family—to her direct heirs. Queen Tapioca was pregnant. The marriage needed to be done quickly, so that the heirs would be valid, and that the promises she had made would not spark a new war."

The seed blossomed from confusion and quickly grew into revelation. I could sense it as Bellerophon released one burden in exchange for another. The hate, the betrayal, the sense of pain slowly lifted, only to have a new feeling of guilt take root.

"Tapioca, she..." He slumped forward, barely able to lift his eyes towards Starshadow. "You, are my heir?"

Starshadow nodded. "The firstborn daughters of Tapioca were twins, the Princesses Spirit Dancer, and Mirthful Heart. They never took the title of Queen, instead choosing to rule together after their mother died. Since then, twins have always been revered in Ostfriesen as lucky. Queen Papaya can directly trace her lineage back to them. Many other Ostfriesen nobles and knights can claim some link to Tapioca, and in turn, to you."

He sat still, the revelation had clearly shaken him, and his thoughts turned against him. I was wrong. Everything I believed, everything I did, all wrong. All of the pain I have caused was not because of some betrayal, but because of my own pride. I was too blind to see.

Y-you couldn't have known. I called out, but it seemed any attempt to comfort him fell on deaf ears.

Bellerophon turned his eyes away from his descendant, sitting silently as he stared at the wall. "Tapioca. Why didn't I let you speak. I am—I was a father... Gods, I am such a fool."

I think, had he been able to disappear, to fade into the nothingness where he drifted outside my body, he would have. His grief in that moment was overwhelming, a thousand years wasted on misplaced hate. I found myself back in my body without even realizing it, and Bellerophon's sorrow sat like an open wound in the back of my mind.

Bellerophon was terrifying, he was a force to be reckoned with, a powerful warrior of old kept alive by magic I could not comprehend. Yet, in that moment, I could only pity him. I felt tears, and as I looked up at Starshadow and Dusky, I couldn't be sure if they were his, or mine. "I... I think he wants to be alone."

Relief had washed over Dusky's face as it became obvious I was in control again. The moment hung in the air. The sand whistled outside, the storm still raging, but in our makeshift camp we sat quietly, taking in what we’d all just learned.

Starshadow slumped, breaking the silence. "I did not think that would hurt him so."

Dusky moved closer in the cramped confines of the cave, nosing through my mane before she looked up at Star, keeping her tone low. "The truth isn't always easy, but I think he needed to hear that."

Starshadow didn't respond immediately, lost in her own thoughts. "Perhaps it is time we rest. If we cannot move forward, then it is best we save up energy for when we are able to continue. I can keep first watch."

Comments

[Yami Vizzini]

Not entirely a surprise, but that doesn't mean it isn't a bombshell.