Chapter XCII – Our Reasons
Twilight didn’t know when exactly did she wake up. She just knew that it must have been late, if the grogginess in her mind and the stiffness in her joints were to be of any indication.
Also, she found herself unable to remember her dreams. She knew she had had them, she could still feel the residual weariness and confusion, but trying to reach for actual fantasies was beyond her mind’s capability. It might have been for the better, actually, because the state of her bed suggested that she had been tossing and turning quite fiercely. She had actually managed to crumple her comforter so much, apparently having desperately clung to it throughout the day, that she found it hard to make her bed again and spread it properly over it.
The place looking at least decent could help her feel a touch better.
She wasn’t surprised by how her slumber had gone, not entirely. The happenings of last morning seemed like a terrible nightmare to her, but she couldn’t allow herself to think that. It had been real, as real as mortifying, and the repercussions could have been much, much greater. She had escaped intact, if deeply perturbed and scared, and Lord Bright Crescent had given her a certain promise that she just knew he would keep.
But… that was tomorrow, most likely. Tonight was before her, however many hours of it she had already spent on sleep.
Having freshened herself up in the bath pocket, she picked a modest ensemble that wouldn’t remind her of last morning, and then felt the pang of hunger reaching quite bothering levels. There was also the desire to catch some fresh air, actually, especially after such a troubled day. Moving aside one of the curtains, hiding the exit towards the terrace, Twilight reached out to open the window… and nearly jumped away when she spotted a pony outside.
At least this one was, first, apologetic about the fact she startled her, and was also wearing the tabard of a sentinel, which must have meant that she was one of the guardians that the haspadr had chosen to protect this, as it had turned out last morning, unsafe entrance.
“Iae ecuse, hwalba knaze,” the mare’s apology was heard, followed by a nod of her head. “Haspadryi ordoni.”
“The Lord’s orders, right,” Twilight reminded herself, figuring out what the warrior meant, shaking her head. “I just want to let some air in, if that’s alright.”
“Tac, hwalba knaze,” the sentinel replied, moving slightly aside, but still remaining at attention, her golden eyes looking forward from beneath a purple fringe.
Twilight wasn’t feeling entirely comfortable with having a pony simply stationed on the terrace like that, but she would have been much more uncomfortable not having anypony there, especially since the Count Brother’s actions had confirmed that one could gain unauthorized access to the spire that way.
She wondered who had made sure that was possible in the first place. Had Ebony Crescent been preparing certain things so far in advance, or had he actually figured it out at some point and was opportunistic about it?
Regardless, Twilight didn’t feel comfortable asking that particular sentinel about a meal, so she made her way to the proper doorway, opening it… and almost repeating her panicked reaction once again.
However, that time she almost immediately met Midnight Wind’s gaze, as the stallion was standing right next to the door, in his full gear. Only his bandaged wing was an indication that he wasn’t at his best, because otherwise he presented himself like quite the threat, stationed at her door with a grim expression that only grew lighter when he saw her.
“Midnight, have you…? Have you been here for the whole day?” she asked of him, battling her surprise and the lingering anxiety, but also genuine curiosity, of course.
“Some of it,” he admitted with a nod. “Good day to you, Honored Princess. Actually, it was Rowan Berry who took the first watch, then got me after I caught some sleep and rest.”
“But you stood here ever since, in full gear?”
“Is that so surprising?” Midnight told her, with a small, sad smirk. “If I didn’t need a moment of respite, I would have been here the whole time. But I wouldn’t be helpful, standing here with my eyes closing and my side stinging to high Argentee.”
“You told me you weren’t seriously hurt,” Twilight immediately reminded him, squinting, and he nodded again, his eyes not leaving hers even as she grimaced.
“I wasn’t, don’t worry, but I really needed a moment to recuperate. I chose a very… specific way of opening doors last morning,” he admitted, and he would surely smirk if it weren’t for the situation he was referring to having been so serious. “My body wasn’t happy about that choice, even if it performed well enough.”
“I can imagine… But, again, you’ve both kept vigil right here?” Twilight asked again, looking down the stairs.
“Yes, we did. And, yes, there are two sentinels by the front door of the spire already. However…” he paused, shaking his head. “Those two I managed to get through during the day were also from the Lord’s entourage. I suppose that they simply had more loyalty to Ebony Crescent, but I’m not taking any chances, not again,” Midnight remarked, and his voice grew dangerously sharp at the mention of the Count Brother’s name. “I was listening to every murmur from outside and inside.”
Twilight was interested in that, yes. “Have you… heard anything, actually?”
“… I did,” Midnight admitted, sighing and betraying that his day was also not calm even after he had come to Twilight’s rescue. “Creaking, shifting. I was ready to burst in your chamber in fear at first, since those sounds were conjuring most disturbing images in my head… but I quickly realized what must have been causing them. You must have been having a terrible time of slumber.”
“You’re not wrong,” she admitted. Reluctantly, but honestly, for she could still feel it in her bones. However, she was more hungry than anything right now to be bothered by that. “I appreciate the gesture, Midnight Wind. And I already know about the sentinels and that Lord Bright Crescent took the matter into his own hooves. There’s one on my terrace right now.”
“The Honored Lord kept his word, then, that’s most promising,” Midnight remarked, looking past Twilight, into the chamber. “He looked moved. Visibly moved, and that means something. Especially since I know how he is usually acting…”
“You’d be surprised just how much he wanted to help,” she confirmed that, though didn’t feel it prudent to talk about what the Honored Lord had shared with her, of course. However, speaking of sharing, Twilight still asked. “You must have had quite the conversation yourself, with the Honored Countess. We took some time and I cannot imagine you were just standing there, silent the whole time. Or eavesdropping.”
“No, that wasn’t on any of our minds, actually,” Midnight divulged, then pursed his lips, looking very tense for but a second. “Tac, we’ve been talking, alright. You don’t know the half of it.”
“What do you mean?”
“What I mean, first and foremost, is that she was telling the truth when she came by here last day,” the stallion said, checking a strap of his breastplate. “She didn’t know a thing about this soleespalu idea, and was the more remorseful that she didn’t. She knew that the kad was… keen on you…” he explained, pausing for a breath to be sure she wasn’t taking those words badly. Then continued when she withstood being reminded of the Count Brother’s maddened fascination. “But nopony, not even her, expected him to go this far. Being a nuisance, and a persistent one, is one thing, but this… Ivory Crescent’s upset, really upset. And, I take it, she will come around tonight, if you shall receive her.”
“I… will think about it,” Twilight remarked, as she didn’t know if she felt like having such a guest. Not that she was thinking ill about Ivory Crescent due to her twin’s actions, but… such a talk would require quite a lot from her. “For now, I’m starving and I would like some privacy, I think. Or a chat with you two, in a moment. To organize my thoughts.”
“Of course,” Midnight promised. “We’ll get you a meal and we’re at your disposal.”
Twilight was grateful for the readiness, and the promise of something to eat. True to the stallion’s words, the food was delivered to her chamber without delay by local servants, and with careful oversight from both Midnight Wind and Rowan Berry.
The healer made it her priority to take care of Twilight’s state, as well. As they were eating, the lupule was asking some questions that could have been expected. And Twilight was enduring them gallantly, even while trying to focus on sating her hunger.
“Anything unusual that you might be feeling, hwalba knaze? Tightness in the chest, or throat? A lingering headache, maybe?”
“I’m a little, you know… stiff, after a night like this. I had to take care of my wings for a while, they suffered from all the tossing around in the bed,” Twilight admitted, finishing another orange to sate her craving. “Other than that I don’t think I am worse for wear…”
“Well, at least when it comes to your physical state,” Rowan Berry remarked, and not without accuracy. “Maybe the appetite?”
“That I won’t be able to tell you, though I feel like I want to enjoy myself a little more than usual after… all what happened,” Twilight admitted, feeling somewhat apologetic and somewhat anxious still.
“I see. Still, the extract you were fed dispersed within your system without issues I believe. You haven’t shown any lingering effects during your talk with Lord Bright Crescent, right? You were lucid throughout it, and after, when we saw you again. It’s true that those brews usually don’t persist after they run their course, aside from the initial bout of nausea.”
“I actually managed to ‘awaken’ from it quite rapidly, if there was anything unusual about it,” Twilight admitted, which prompted Midnight to chime in.
“I heard you can sober up in such a fashion in specific conditions.”
“That happens when alcohol is considered,” the healer corrected him, but nodded after a moment of consideration. “However, I believe that your Divine Aspect had something to do with that, hwalba knaze,” she made an educated guess. “You say that this lucidity happened when you suddenly felt being… cut off?”
“When I had the luneeit against my horn, yes,” Twilight confirmed, shivering again at the memory of the… emptiness. “I was a unicorn before ascending to alicornhood, so I am still mostly connected to that facet of my nature. Being forcibly removed from the flow of arcane currents, so quickly and so thoroughly, was like a bucket of cold water.”
“I wasn’t entirely wrong then,” Midnight remarked from the opposite side of the table, again without a smirk due to the circumstances, and Rowan Berry respected that.
“Perhaps. I am far from fully grasping the nature of those abilities, but if you said that they are making you feel connected to the world around, Honored Princess, and that link was severed by the presence of the sacred mineral… Yes, I can imagine the shock helping you win against the substance’s influence. But I also see,” Rowan Berry added, with the kind tone of a healer, “that the day did cost you a great deal. I see you in anxiety’s grip, hwalba knaze, you are shuddering, and your gaze is different, much keener. Your ears are flicking more often than usual,” the mare enumerated, though quickly the melody of her voice became even softer than before. “And this is not me pointing out your current weaknesses or anything like that. Such a reaction, after enduring the stress, is more than understandable.”
“Understandable…”
Twilight parroted the mare, almost slumping in her seat as she felt the weight of last day on her once again. It was a most dreadful burden. Mental, yes, but reminding her of a very specific feeling there and then. The weight of a stallion against her. And while she had previously associated the sensation with the warrior opposite her, still gazing at her with worry and fondness, now the actions of the Count Brother brought with themselves the feelings of horror and loathing, ones which had nothing to do with matters concerning hot springs and warm motions...
Twilight shook her head, trying to gather herself and speak up coherently. “Do you know what is ‘understandable’, actually?” she asked, looking towards her two companions. “A most clear and serious matter. That this… should be it from me. What happened should be all.”
She realized that she was being cryptic, but had a strange feeling that both of the batponies were able to easily tell what she had in mind when uttering such sentences.
Midnight confirmed that without delay, but with much shame and clear recognition of the situation’s gravity. “You… are very right, Honored Princess. You come here with a diplomatic mission, and you clearly arrive having not only Equestria’s, but our best interest in mind. What you receive in return is distrust, humiliation and prejudice. And now… this,” he admitted, his eyes meeting hers, but reluctantly. “You receive the worst treatment I can think of not only for an envoy, but for, simply, a pony.”
“Thank you,” Twilight was actually grateful, if in a morose way, that the stallion had the decency to recognize that and say it all out loud. “I don’t even want to get into the whole situation with you two right now,” she clarified, even though she could have added her entourage’s very own secrecy and deception to the list of problems accompanying her mission, “but a lot of what has so far happened in Noctraliya pushes me firmly into a territory I don’t enjoy, and that is putting it very mildly. I could make a scene out of my outrage and my hurt, but would that be productive?”
The question was meant to be rhetorical, naturally, but Rowan Berry found it appropriate to answer it, after all. “Hwalba knaze… I know, painfully so, that even our actions were a great burden to you. That we have added to the plights that our country and our kind inflicted upon you. But if you would… need to let your emotions out, then I think I can speak for both of us, we can be here to take it.”
Midnight nodded. “Yes. Yes, indeed. You have every right to feel mistreated. Bogine knows that we are to blame, too. We can take due punishment for it.”
“Even so, what good would that do?” Twilight presented another question, through which some of the outrage was escaping already. “You’re both intelligent ponies, I don’t have to point out to you both that even but a portion of what happened during my mission would be more than enough for me to demand that I return home, to Equestria. I was threatened with war, I was under surveillance. I still am!” she shouted, pointing at Rowan Berry. Who wanted to say something, but Twilight didn’t want any interruptions. “I know, Rowan Berry, and I have every right to believe that you are trying to balance yourself between sympathy for me and loyalty for Lord Azure Mist. But you are still a spy. I’ve had a spy with me pretty much all the time through my mission!” she additionally pointed out, having in mind Deep Mist and his initial presence in her entourage.
“Yes. That’s all too correct,” Midnight Wind confirmed it, giving her a most ashamed stare.
“Oh, thank you so much for agreeing!” Twilight let a biting comment slip. “Spying eyes on me, political intrigues around me… I, honestly, should have packed my belongings and gone back a long time ago. Maybe try again later, or not at all! Or demand that I receive an envoy from the Covenant in Equestria, where I wouldn’t have to endure a quarter of it all!”
It didn’t look like she would receive a response, at least at first. But then Rowan Berry spoke up, albeit in a very delicate voice. “You’re right. You’re very right, hwalba knaze. To add to that… I still remember that it was you who helped the stars of our ancestors. You broke the curse that held our Bogine…”
“That recognition and possible respect still didn’t stop you from reporting on me, did it, Rowan Berry?” Twilight asked, and even with her neutral tone the accusation ringed around the chamber.
“I was following my orders, believing them fulfilling the Goddess’ vision…” the mare responded. It could have been taken as the weakest of lines of defense, but Twilight wasn’t going to engage in that battle.
“You have received the invitation,” Midnight Wind spoke up too, looking at Twilight intently, “for that sole reason. Otherwise, no sunpony would have their hoof touch our lands, hallowed by Neskaza Lunee…” He paused to lower his head, but wasn’t done. “You weren’t treated like a hero, however, not by the Lords, not by… me,” he pointed out in a self-criticizing tone. “So… Why are you still here?”
That was the question Twilight knew she would hear from them. But did she have an answer, one that would actually strike true?
She didn’t respond at first, and the stallion kept talking, actually. “If you wish to say it out loud, Honored Princess, you can do so, of course. But I think I wouldn’t need to hear it all, actually. I realize the great many reasons why you shouldn’t even be here. All that you have mentioned, all of our prejudice towards those that live beyond our peaks, all of our schemes and intrigues, which create this mess we live in, believing it to be the perfect society. And you’re in the middle of that mess now.”
Whether Midnight Wind truly meant all that he was saying didn’t feel as important as the fact that it had been disclosed in the first place, and by a batpony. Twilight got up from her chair, trotting by the table, feeling just how pensive her expression currently was.
“Yes. Yes, I am,” she admitted, without shame or reluctance. “I almost paid a most terrible price for remaining, too. Some would say that I’m unreasonable. Or even weak, to still think that there is a chance for your country,” she revealed, genuinely interested in seeing what the batponies had to say about putting things like that.
Rowan Berry was the one to react first, though her gaze lingered on Midnight Wind as well. “I… I wouldn’t call myself all-knowing, especially regarding matters of politics and diplomacy, hwalba knaze, but… our country managed to withstand the test of time so far. I know of the matter of old wounds, we all know the shame of the Cruziate, but… you could just leave. This is not me telling you to!” she immediately clarified, waving her hooves about. “But we could keep surviving still, with or without Equestria’s help. Which begs the question, hwalba knaze, why… why do you persist? I don’t think any sunpony would blame you for withdrawing from Noctraliya in these circumstances.”
“You’re asking why I persist, Rowan Berry?” Twilight asked the mare back, her tone taking a slightly venomous aspect, but one that was understandable to everypony, herself included. “I need to make clear the opposite – what might happen should I not persist? War has been made a perfectly clear option for some time now. Your country is clearly ready for that eventuality. So, what am I supposed to do? Return home, if I am allowed to do it? And prepare our defenses? Then see ponies suffering and dying for a cause which definitely requires no more deaths than those that already happened, a millennium ago?” Twilight kept asking those question, feeling her emotions fueling her righteous conviction. “Do you think I forgot the names of the bloodlines that perished during the Solar Holy War? House Iron? House Cavern? Do you think I don’t recall the tale of the Testimony, written so vividly?”
She did. She remembered it perfectly well, down to the descriptions of the skirmishes and the fallen, wounds inflicted upon them, religious rules broken on purpose by Equestrians. And the batponies before her also knew that she hadn’t forgotten. But it was still a matter of making things clear, and painfully so, because those crimes had happened then. And other, terrible things were happening now.
“Let’s say that I stop, indeed, that I go back. So we then clash, as warring nations? Ah, but that surely drives you even further into your isolation into the Mountains. And why do I say that? Well, even if you regain Shades’ Hollow with force, do you think things will stay that way?” she asked the question outright.
Perhaps she wasn’t presenting it to the right ponies, after all, but Twilight decided to treat this outburst as both a source of relief and a form of rehearsal. Yes, she wanted to reach an understanding with the Covenant, but could it be achieved without letting them understand that their vision of conquest and regaining their lands through military might was folly?
And so Twilight continued, her voice impassioned, but leveled and focused. “We, Equestrians, might love peace and tranquility in our lands, seeking cooperation and understanding… but don’t you think that there would be more than enough earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns ready to seek revenge for such actions, to push you out from these lands?” she spoke up, pacing the room in agitation and calculation alike, as she made her approach transparent. “Noctraliya prepares for war, believing that Equestria is weaker, indulgent, and will simply budge. That you can dislodge us, and then aim for our desire for peace to be enough to stop us from retaking the Eastern Woods? Is that the grand plan?”
She didn’t believe neither Midnight Wind or Rowan Berry could actually divulge so much, but Twilight didn’t care, continuing in earnest, feeling that she could actually say all of that openly. Was it stupidity caused by the trauma she had endured? Was it silly to be open and honest?
“Will there will be attempts to stop me here, then? Hold me in Noctraliya as some sort of a hostage when push comes to shove? Shall I be a trump card in case of open animosities or a sudden attack? Oh, was Ebony Crescent’s stunt a little test to see whether I could be subdued, overwhelmed?!”
“No,” Midnight Wind gave the immediate response, leaning in and meeting Twilight’s gaze with the intensity of his own. “He acted on his own, and damn him for it.”
“And that is what I could say, every single night! Damn it all!” she shouted, not caring for profanities of any sort. “I’m an alicorn. One that does not reach for the full extent of my power, because I believe it not necessary. Because I seek other ways of dealing with problems and conflicts, like this mission! But I could step away, wave my hoof, turn my back on Noctraliya without anypony being able to stop me!”
She felt those words manifesting within her, as a surge of flame coursed through her veins. Magical and ephemeral, yes, but no less dangerous, for it made her horn flare up and edges of her main to lift up, as if lit on fire, for a split second.
“Because – why do I care?” she then asked the most basic, simple and yet intricate question one could think of. And she had an answer for it, for better and worse. “Well, I do! That’s who I am! And I’m persisting in this mission, because of you! Not some prideful call of my role, not an obsession about spreading the message of Friendship, however important I find this philosophy!” She paused only to take a breath, but it made her next sentence even more profound. “Because, if I stop, I fear for Noctraliya.”
“Fear for it, hwalba knaze?” Rowan Berry asked, almost as if in shock, prompting Twilight to continue with a firm voice, backed by beliefs and conviction.
“Well, why do you think I am here? I’m not here for Equestria’s sake, though I remain a patriot towards my country and my kin, and I wouldn’t mind seeing us benefiting from a new, diplomatic deal. But, right now, I’m here for you, for you all. Regardless of how I am perceived. I’m here, because I am the Princess of Friendship, because it is a universal thing. Because I want to see your country flourish, grow stronger, through a fair connection with the world outside. I don’t know, I think I have made it clear enough already, multiple times, by choices and by declarations, but let me be transparent once more, then!
“And because, Harmony, what does another scenario look like?” she added, looking around, as if to encompass the entirety of the Seven Mountains with her piercing gaze. She felt like she wanted to spot every problem, every issue and challenge she had witnessed and would still endure among those majestic peaks. “Am I to see you remain as you are? Holding onto a grudge, letting it poison you and your thinking to this night? Reliving past glories, in the vague hope that they shall return? Remaining on the verge of a food shortage and, instead of reaching out, tending to your xenophobia?”
That was the least diplomatic language Twilight could think of, but it was truth, and that felt more important than honeyed lies. She reached the side of the chamber now, giving herself distance from the two batponies, but feeling that they were following her with their stares, intently, and taking in every utterance.
“You have a rich culture, a firm and deep spiritual foundation to it, unlike any other nation I have encountered or read about. You’re cunning and resourceful, nopony would doubt that. Your engineering, your connection with your heritage, your organization – it’s all praiseworthy. But it is worthless,” she said, turning her head, witnessing the cold shock from the both ponies, even a sign of affront from Midnight Wind, in accordance to his Family’s values. “All that makes you unique, strong, worthwhile, it’s either locked away, benefiting the few when it could make the whole world better, or it is marred. Marred by Noctraliya’s insistence that the same world is constantly out to ‘get it’. That is exactly why I was spied on, why I was treated like a ‘necessary evil’ to be allowed among your peaks, as a weak and pathetic mare to be manipulated into ceding a part of my own country in the name of repayment of an ancient hurt. Not like this. It won’t happen like this!
“I am here,” Twilight spoke, trotting in her entourage’s direction valiantly, taking a stand right next to the table. She was a leader, she was a royal, she was the bearer of the ‘Divine Aspect’ and she knew it there and then, pushing back all the terrifying things which had happened or nearly happened to her. “I am here, and here I shall remain, because I am not going to give up on you. I could, honest to Harmony, honest to the Immaculate Moon… I could. But I am here. And not only because of some… grand design of the Goddess! I’m here for the likes of siegemaster Avalanche, his openness and enthusiasm, arcemandre Shadebloom and her gentle kindness, Custodian Lichen and his humor and biting tongue, for the likes of little Midnight Veil and her handicapped father. For Lord Consort Kindlefang and the foal she is carrying, and for venerable Fang Shine, proud of her son, Lord Blessed Fang, and for Lord Consort Dusk Flight and her rendered heart. I’m here for all the ponies that showed me the goodness of their hearts, and those that didn’t…
“I’m here for you two, as well,” Twilight drove the nail home, looking towards the two batponies, not caring what she had had to endure from them, too. “I want to see Noctraliya prosper, because I care for ponies. To a fault, maybe. If I leave, if I let this whole matter crumble, either right into war or your further isolation, then everypony loses. The innocent and the not-so. I remember the prophecy, just as Lord Blessed Fang told it. The world you know shall end, if deceit and treason will continue to lurk around your nation, that’s what I understand from it. And even if the future foretold by the grace of the Goddess is unavoidable, let the old world of your nation end, one filled with prejudice and scheming, and let the new one come, a better one.”
There was a pause, a pregnant one, as both of the batponies continued looking at her, processing what had just been said. Twilight had to have a moment for herself, too, as she found herself shuddering in emotions and excitement, feeling adrenaline rushing through her system like a torrential river. She couldn’t quite tell what her entourage felt about all of it, because at least their expressions weren’t betraying if they felt motivated or perturbed by all that she had revealed.
It felt like a couple of minutes before Midnight spoke up, looking at Twilight with the same intensity like before, but entwined with something ephemeral and hard to describe.
“You really think like that… Now, do you feel better having said it out loud?”
She definitely hadn’t expected him to reach out with an almost psychological approach towards her, but it caused her to do a little, instant introspection and realize that her outburst had felt curative, almost.
“I… do, yes. I don’t mind making my intentions clear,” Twilight concluded, actually taking a seat at the table, facing the two of them. “Call me naïve for believing it all, but I truly wish to succeed in this mission, despite all the forces that want to act against me. And, to be crystalline in what I am saying and what I believe in – I will not forget the slights. I might forgive, but forgetting would be foolish.”
Another moment of silence followed, filled only with Twilight’s paced breathing and the two batponies looking either at her, or at each other.
Rowan Berry was the one to finally act, and… a smirk was dancing on her lips. She looked to the side, then back at Twilight. “Speaking of matters to forgive, but not forget, I… am afraid that Honored Lord Azure of Family Mist wouldn’t believe a word of my report were I to put all of that in.”
That remark, as it followed Twilight’s flare-up almost abruptly, made her fight a giggle. Still, the underlying assessment was immediately sobering. “It’s a shame, Rowan Berry. I speak the truth and only truth, and if only the Honored Lord would be willing to accept it, we would have had this matter settled a long time ago.”
“After what I have seen from you, heard from you, I… I believe you. I do believe you, entirely, hwalba knaze,” the healer remarked, shaking her head as if she couldn’t quite grasp that she had reached such a level of faith in Twilight. “You have already shown conviction aplenty. It’s just… Well, it is how it is. When we are expecting the world around to be against us, accepting such statements is hard. We survived all those years on that very, cautious premise, it made us strong, though perhaps in a flawed way. We had to be strong, because beyond the peaks lay a threat, always. Even when there’s a chance at receiving something else, we still see that threat first. We seek deceit and intrigue in the other pony.”
“And when you only see deceit and intrigue, hidden behind a mask of civility and kindness and all of that,” Midnight Wind added, in a somber tone, “when you accept that as the norm, then the other pony… stops being one. They are an opportunity, they are a target, they are a chance, a prey, a tool. Less… or sometimes more, but just not a pony,” he remarked, disgusted by his own words, even as he kept looking at Twilight with chagrin and devotion. “By the Goddess, and, may I say, by her Sister Goddess, we really don’t deserve that chance, do we? The chance that you are bringing with yourself, Honored Princess.”
“But you do. Everypony does, every creature does,” Twilight told him, adamant in that stance. “You are making this… exceedingly difficult, I will admit, and without sugarcoating it. But only your actions can rob you of a bright future. And to achieve said future, you do not have to, I don’t know, abandon your tradition, kick your heritage out the door. Simply add to it, add what the rest of the world can grant you, what Friendship and Harmony can bring…”
“You remain an idealist, Twilight Sparkle,” he responded, wearing a sad smile. “I’ve known that for a long time. And yet the world needs ponies like you. Otherwise… well, it would be like us. Stuck in our ways, with seemingly no way out.” He shook his head, getting up to seemingly stretch his side, the same one he had been holding yesterday. “I’m glad you are feeling better. I know that one outburst like this fixes nothing, and there’s a lot to be fixed. Still, I will allow myself to promise, if you will have it,” he added, looking deep into Twilight’s eyes, “that nopony that you don’t have in mind shall learn of what you have said in your honesty. I think Rowan Berry can promise the same.”
“Of course, though…” the operative remarked, glancing Twilight’s way, “I think the hwalba knaze wouldn’t mind if some ponies were to learn that her intentions are pure, and that her stance is so strong. Especially after what challenges she had braved.”
Twilight found herself shrugging, as she understood both points that her entourage made. “I just want for things to work out… and for things to stop happening before I lose those last shreds of hope. I’m awaiting for Honored Lord Bright Crescent to make good his promise to give me justice and repayment. Then, we shall see what—”
There was a strong knock on the door right at that moment, echoing up and down the spire. Which meant that it came from below, from the main entrance. Twilight wasn’t expecting that she had just managed to summon the very stallion she had mentioned, but Midnight Wind went to check for that, after all.
As it soon turned out, she wasn’t far off when it came to the leadership of the Crescent Family.
“Honored Princess, hwalba hrabiye Ivory Crescent is asking for a private audience. Humbly, she wanted me to stress,” he reported, his eyes asking the obvious question.
Twilight didn’t answer outright, no. This tide of honesty which had just left her did grant her some strength and reminded her of her own importance, but also left her feeling mentally winded. The pendulum in her mind, one that had swung from anxiety and concern towards conviction and bravery was now returning to the previous territory. Especially since the familial connection with the Count Brother… and even those pear eyes of the Countess that Twilight had endured last day were not going to help her feel safe.
“Could you tell the Honored Countess to come back in an hour or so?” Twilight requested of the warrior, who nodded outright. “I am not against granting her the opportunity, I just need to… to catch my breath and prepare. But keep that to yourself.”
“Of course,” Midnight replied, trotting back down the stairs to convey the message.
Rowan Berry followed him with her gaze, before she turned to Twilight, with a concerned look. “Would it be your wish, hwalba knaze, to be left alone for the moment? We’ve taken quite a lot of your time of leisure and… I do recognize that letting it all out could have been draining, after all.”
“Thank you, Rowan Berry, I think that would work for me, yes,” Twilight told the healer, believing that being the best. She also leaned in the other mare’s direction a second later. “Thank you for the voice of support right now. I can tell you are being honest with it and that… that pleases me to no end, after what we had went through. It brings me joy not as an envoy, but just as a pony.”
“It is that ‘pony’ that matters, yes,” the lupule confirmed, following what Midnight Wind had said. “I know that I am one of the least trustworthy ponies around you, Honored Princess, but I… I’m so sorry.” Twilight wanted to ask for further clarification, but it was coming even without a request. “We’ve done… We’ve been terrible, enough said. Me, Midnight Wind. We, as a nation. I just… I recognize that. My apology means little, as I can only speak for myself, but… Knowing that you care so much, I cannot just stay silent.”
“I think it means more than you think, Rowan Berry,” Twilight pointed out with a smile. “Not that I would ‘grade’ apologies, mind you, but I think hearing something like this from a… remorseful member of an elite group of clandestine ponies, praised for their loyalty and dedication, is very important.”
The healer’s expression beamed, but only briefly, before she nodded to herself and pursed her lips. “I hope it does. I feel in myself a change of heart, and… and I hope you remember those words, hwalba knaze, when the time is right.”
Twilight would have some time to think on that sentence, indeed. She soon after thanked both of her companions for their time, and as the remnants of the meal were taken care of, she focused on getting herself prepared for the meeting. She needed to center herself, stop the said pendulum from causing havoc in her mind. Yes, her day had been terrifying. Simultaneously, what she had just done, by making it abundantly clear, once again, that her intentions were strictly honorable, installed in her some confidence.
All of that was, however, just a seesaw that she was being put through.
Twilight knew. She knew where she was, why was she trying so hard, but no sooner was she left alone than she had to fight the urge to burst into tears. She had been holding onto her strength before the two batponies for long enough to feel absolutely drained. Yes, she was doing it all for them too, but it was… hard. It felt dreadful. It cost and it hurt. And, despite her words, Twilight felt that she was approaching a breaking point, even with her strong declarations.
She hoped she would be resistant enough, or foolish enough, to persevere till the end.
An hour turned out to be far shorter than she had expected it to be, though it soon became clear that the Countess had decided to grant Twilight more time than it had been requested. She arrived closer to two hours later, and again conveyed the request through Midnight Wind, in a most polite manner.
This time, she was received, but only after Twilight had made absolutely sure that she looked the part. And that she felt strong enough to try and hold a conversation without falling into tears or causing other emotions to get the better of her.
Ivory Crescent’s presence and ensemble both spoke of deep humility and shame, actually. The dress she had chosen spoke of almost none of her usual perkiness or energy, instead being closer to something that Lord Consort Midnight Iris could have worn, as a stately and stoic matron. Of course, clothing wasn’t enough to mask a personality, but it served as a reminder of the gravity of the situation, for both mares.
“Honored Princess Sparkle of Twilight…” the Countess began, curtsying right after crossing the threshold and waiting to be told to approach closer.
Twilight would allow that, having taken for herself a spot at the top of the table, and wanting to make this meeting official and, more importantly, controlled.
“Please, Honored Countess, come closer.”
The mare did so with gusto, not once allowing her eyes to look up from the floor. Discomfort was radiating off of her, embarrassment that had a clear source, but also… not. Twilight was fully expecting to see Ivory Crescent again show great disapproval for the actions of her brother, but this seemed deeper and more profound.
“Please, sit,” Twilight encouraged her guest, who took the cue with yet greater amount of respect. She moved the chair and occupied it without delay, and with dexterity which caused almost no sound.
The Countess also wasn’t keen on letting the silence become uncomfortable in the slightest. “Honored Princess… I… I do arrive before you as a disgraced sister, wishing to convey my deepest apologies for what happened. As I have already stated and I want to reinforce – I condemn the actions of my foolish brother, in entirety. A part of me wishes to stop calling him a sibling altogether, though that is beyond me. And for that I am sorry as well.”
“Ivory Crescent,” Twilight spoke up, wishing to address that immediately. “You are not responsible for his actions. I heard your words yesterday, honesty was obvious in them. You didn’t know and so you cannot blame yourself.”
“A bond between twins is strong, Honored Princess, and so my gut should have prompted me to act, when I was already seeing his obsession,” she responded, looking to the side and still not at Twilight. “I have tried to dissuade him in the way I found prudent, through ridicule. I’m a sister, aren’t I?” she pointed out, with a most despondent smile. “But I have failed. And I come before you, Honored Princess, to still offer my apologies. In my name, and… and the others.”
“You’re stance is admirable, Honored Countess. I know that you are preparing yourself to take the esteemed place of a Lord, and by already taking upon yourself the weight of leadership is praiseworthy…” Twilight offered her support, genuinely pleased that Ivory Crescent had such an approach. “I hope that your Lord and uncle will fulfill his promise, and I can leave the Mountain of Crescent without holding a grudge. But also without forgetting what happened.”
“That… That is understandable, Honored Princess,” the mare replied, with humbleness that almost caused her head to touch the table’s surface. “I hope that you shall not take Ebony Crescent’s actions as a testimony of our ways…”
“Ivory Crescent, what he had done is…” Twilight had to stop a shudder, once again that night. “It is hard to accept as something that really happened. But it does not make me pass my judgment upon all the ponies of the Mountain. I have learnt of his illness, and I have also been told… by him, ironically, that there are sometimes situations in which a Crescent can lose themselves to a bout of madness. That shall not make me less—”
“No, Honored Princess,” the Countess interrupted, and the fact that she did was exactly what made her action so successful, as Twilight felt put on her back hoof straight away. “He didn’t suffer from that. That was all him and his pain, and his illness, but it wasn’t something to result in the spatitu farw… That’s not his to suffer.”
There was a certain, grim conviction in the mare’s voice. Actually, there was more than enough of it to spark interest in Twilight. “I… know that you must be aware of your brother’s malady, Ivory Crescent. But you are saying that his actions weren’t overindulgent? Prompted by a certain madness?”
“Not of that sort, no,” the mare told her, remaining very serious. “His was the choice of an obsessed individual, but breaking one of the few lines that some of us observe, zealously. There is a time for seeking pleasure, of pushing boundaries of our society, but some things must be maintained, not to fall into such abandon. One which threatens the very dignity of another pony, and more. Much more.”
The unforgiving seriousness of those sentences was more and more gripping for Twilight, especially since they were coming from this energetic and chirpy pony. She leaned in, squinting her eyes, as if to try and pierce through the Countess’ countenance. That did cause the other mare to lower her gaze further. To the point where becoming even more deferential could only be achieved by abandoning the chair altogether and prostrating oneself onto the ground.
“I… don’t follow, at least I don’t know if I do,” Twilight admitted, trying to connect the dots in her head. “You are condemning your brother, apologizing for him, that is for certain. He crossed the boundaries of morality, but… not the boundaries which you have in mind? Or am I misunderstanding something terribly?”
“I’m here not only as a sister, that much is true. I’m here as a… deferential mare. A mare who knows that there is more to the world around us than our ways. The static and stoic ways, however bent and crossed even in this very Mountain,” Ivory Crescent tried to explain, and was doing so with conviction, at least. “My brother couldn’t recognize you for what you are, for what you could be. He didn’t go through with this wicked plan in entirety, but the sheer fact that he even lifted his hoof against you I…” She pointed at herself with gusto and intention. “… find sacrilegious.”
There was a part of Twilight which was quite happy to hear that the integrity of a mare’s body, and that of a free choice in these matters, was held in such an esteem by the pony opposite. But there was also another thing to consider, the word which had just been used. It seemed truly specific, and Twilight’s mind couldn’t just let it go.
Even if yet another, different thought was voiced by her soon after. Yes, Ivory Crescent hadn’t managed to stop her brother, but she had been trying to do so, Twilight realized.
“When you came to this spire the last time, for a… ‘slumber party’, as you jested, you were looking around my chamber very attentively. Were you actually expecting to find him here? Was that it?”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t that transparent. But I did want to be certain he wasn’t being stupid,” the Countess admitted, sighing profoundly. “He’s not a patient stallion, no. And he has a thing for looking for instant satisfaction. He got that from his little flunkeys, we all figured that out from below his spire, no? But that was just him giving himself a distraction on his way towards you. And I hoped that his absence there and then, when I visited, meant that he wasn’t going to be that idiotic. How wrong I was… and right before you in flesh, Honored Princess.”
“I… thank you for being so cautious, regardless of the outcome. I think I now grasp all of the comments you made that time. Well, almost all,” Twilight admitted, as that previous notion returned to the forefront of her focus. “For you were also very curious about one, other matter, almost as if that was your first and foremost reason for your visit. And you have just used the term ‘sacrilegious’. Do you think you could explain to me this strange connection which I am sensing?”
The mare finally looked up, properly. And that gaze answered quite a lot of Twilight’s curiosity. It carried with itself a certain weight, other than the association she had with Ebony Crescent’s own, pear stare. There was also a fascination in that stare, one which she could recognize. A zeal, an almost fanatic intensity which Twilight had witnessed before, coming towards her from an unfortunate victim of a very specific ‘cage’, if it could be called like this.
And something clicked in Twilight’s mind, the sound being almost audible in her ears, as she recognized why she had received certain questions from Ivory Crescent regarding not only her, but her sister-in-law.
“Wait… You are here, apologizing so profoundly, and looking so mortified ever since you learnt about your brother’s actions, because you are seeing me as…?”
Ivory Crescent waited just a second before nodding to the unfinished question. The gesture was made even more deferential by her unblinking stare, filled again with shame. “I… I can explain, if you will allow me. What my brother did caused ripples through our community, and we wish to make it clear that we would never stoop so low, even in our impassioned pursuits.”
Twilight waved her hooves about, granting an actual gesture to her mounting befuddlement. “Wait, Ivory Crescent, wait. What ‘community’? Honored Lord Bright Crescent made it clear, and achieved an agreement with me, that he wants this matter to be kept as a secret,” Twilight uttered, watching the Countess intently.
“I am not surprised. He wants to protect the Crescents’ reputation and whatever shreds of dignity my foolish twin might still possess. For the same reason, maintaining the Crescent Family’s repute in Noctraliya, we are also kept secret. From him, and from most of our brethren. But, in the light of what happened, I am here to represent us before you, openly,” the mare uttered, controlling her voice’s volume with mastery. “Your arrival filled us with excitement, and even those brief moments of conversation with you, the knowledge you shared, all of it was… euphoric to us, giving us the first, serious chance at actually being in touch with the world around, with its mysteries, with its many colors and pleasures. As such, the attack on you is something we treat very personally. Wild abandon must be balanced, and does need basic rules and restrictions. The very basic, but basic.”
“I… still don’t follow,” Twilight admitted growing more and more confused about all of these information. She instinctively steeled herself, because she just knew that she was going to be granted even more intricate knowledge about the inner workings of Noctraliya.
The other mare recognized that she had piqued Twilight’s curiosity, and spoke in a calm, collected voice. “I’m here, as Ivory Crescent, the Countess of Family Crescent. I’m also before you, Sparkle of Twilight, as the envoy and member of the Unbound.”
“The… the ‘Unbound’,” Twilight repeated the name, as if saying it our loud would grant her some strange insight into what it could have meant. It did, at least a little. “What is this, some form of a secret society, beyond castes and regulations?”
“Yes, indeed,” Ivory Crescent confirmed, a note of pride and satisfaction entering her voice and making it almost chirpy. “We are those who fulfill their desires beyond what our society imposes. We follow the signs of the world around us, exploring ideas and concepts which many of our brethren consider unwanted or even repulsive. We follow the guidelines from the beyond, trusting in the Immaculate Moon… and more. Which is why we see this situation as absolutely dreadful, and wish to voice our support for you in this trying moment, hoping that your anger and righteous vengeance is not directed at us, as well.”
Those last sentences were spoken with conviction and firm belief, like that of a faithful towards a divine power, and Twilight was taken aback quite proficiently. What antas Carnelian had told her, and what she had learnt from Ebony Crescent about certain ponies and their pursuits now seemed somehow incomplete. And the rest of that iceberg was, apparently, right before her eyes, ready to be revealed by the mare opposite.
“What… What does your ‘society’ even do, then? What you have told so far is quite vague, Honored Countess,” Twilight pointed out, causing Ivory Crescent to smirk.
“What don’t we do?” came the cheeky reply, but there wasn’t a shred of disparagement in it. “The Slobedyi is an ancient group, around and in near-perfect secrecy for hundreds of years, almost through the entirety of the Atrlunee. In the uncertainty of the Eclipse, when our priests were tight-lipped, our way of life petrified, and our future uncertain, we have explored, indulged, overstepped and reveled, throwing down an invisible gauntlet to our society. Reaching out to the curious, the courageous, the disagreeable…” The mare paused only to breathe, her eyes burning with a passionate flame. “Looking beyond the constricting chains of customs and paralyzed principles, to embrace emotions and desires in a myriad of forms, always just beyond sight and reach of our kindred… but always letting them hear the sighs and coos coming from us…”
“Wait, so it’s…” Twilight tried to wrap her head around that concept, suddenly reminded of how Ivory Crescent had ‘classified’ Cadance, for example. As a personification of the ideas of love and emotions, and more than that. “You do make it sound like… a pleasure cult?”
“For some. But it is an initiative dedicated to more than just seeking hedonistic joy from life,” the mare explained, taking no offence from Twilight using those words. “It’s a place of discussion, of inquiry and thought, away from the dogma, away from the judgment. We feast on new ideas, we imbibe exciting concepts, from art and willful expression to even something as deceptively dull as politics. A free lodge of the free-thinking... and of the hedonists, too,” she added with a wink.
“And… you’re a part of it, Honored Countess.”
“Yes, that I am, liberally allowed to express myself, discuss what awaits us, familiarize myself with many matters which our society is blind to,” Ivory Crescent admitted, with a smile nonetheless. “I’m an aficionado of Equestrian poetry, for example, and the idea of your wondering warriors of ancient times. That is something which resonates with me. We, as the Unbound, also focus on ponies like you, Sparkle of Twilight, exploring the premise of Divine Aspects and what ponies bearing those could teach us. Yes, the Immaculate Moon… is important to us, but we are intrigued by the Judging Sun, beyond the grim and fiery nature we are shown by our religion. Equestria is not a place of subjugation, a merciless landscape of fearful creatures, basking in the golden fire from above, so… something does not add up there, does it?”
“And… you asked about my sister-in-law—”
“Yes, indeed! Again – a familial relation beyond just the sisterhood of our main deities? How riveting!” Ivory Crescent interrupted out of sheer excitement. “And now you, Sparkle of Twilight, with your curiosity, your understanding, your pursuits of knowledge and talent in matters magical! An entire part of the world that our society sees as undesirable, simply because we lack access to it!”
Twilight leaned back, processing everything she was hearing. And not only because her travels around Noctraliya had already proved that the batponies had their own approach to arcane power, leylines and the prophet chambers in their shrines, without knowing the intricacy of it. But, seemingly more important, yet another, clandestine part of Noctraliya, yet this time dedicated to subverting the very principles of the land, was actually being shown to her?
“But… Those examples of ponies who went too far? That one stallion I saw?”
“One of us, yes, though he said nothing about our existence,” Ivory Crescent admitted, nodding with pride at the dedication. “Our exploits are sometimes excessive, yes, but also presented in a much worse light by the local priesthood. I don’t blame them, actually, we are wastrels and irresponsible libertines from their perspective, and that’s alright. The threat of persecution keeps us vigilant!”
“And… you are telling me this, because…?” Twilight still tried to get to the bottom of the matter, as she didn’t think that expression of sympathy was the only reason a group like that would allow itself to be revealed, and to a foreign dignitary. Even if said dignitary could be considered to possess some divine qualities.
“Because we also want to let you know, Sparkle of Twilight, that we are sympathetic to your cause of peace and openness between our nations,” Ivory Crescent revealed, with a most kind expression on her muzzle. “Our reach isn’t grand, for the sake of secrecy, but we are more than willing to advocate for this quest, especially if things would take a different turn. As I understand from what you have just said, my dear uncle is making sure you do not leave the Mountain feeling unsatisfied… Something we know a lot about,” the mare pointed out with a grin that, nevertheless, melted away a second later. “I… didn’t want to make it sound—”
Twilight raised her hoof. “I understand the context, yes. I take it that such a society would like to benefit from being able to reach beyond Noctraliya, explore Equestrian concepts and find inspirations in our culture?”
“Definitely. Though, as to assuage any fears, we are not aiming to extend our reach like some form of a clandestine cult. But what we do want, is freedom, is access and exploration of the world, of knowledge. We want to feel a connection beyond our peaks,” the mare told her, her gaze venturing somewhere beyond. “We want to know what more we could be, while still being us.”
Maybe it was the last few nights, but Twilight wasn’t sure how to reply to that. The desire to fulfill one’s destiny was a noble one, but there was a note of worrying contumacy in the mare’s tone.
“And… you will soon be a Lord of the Family, Honored Countess,” Twilight uttered, almost on a whim.
Ivory Crescent nodded. “Yes, but I will not aim at changing the way that things are done, not drastically. I think you know why, too, despite providence which you wish to grant our lands. To change one heart is an achievement, but to expect a whole society, in willful isolation, to suddenly open up, to embrace a new idea? Oh, that takes time.”
“Don’t I know it, yes…” Twilight admitted, having in mind all of her attempts and her openness, the exact one which sometimes had gotten her in trouble. “But… Could I expect you to be interested in the ideas of Friendship, then, Honored Countess?”
“You bring those. An alicorn, and showing remarkable qualities about herself, too. That makes me most intrigued by such teachings,” the mare spoke, lowering her tone to a whisper. “To have a caring Mother, a just Judge, an amorous Lover and a compassionate Teacher? That sounds like quite a set of valuable, godly examples to follow, with intent.”
“I’ve already told you, Honored Countess, I’m not sure if divinity is wh—”
“Ideas are divine,” Ivory Crescent told her back, her pear eyes sparkling with joy. “How we go about it is our thing, but care, justice, passion, community – those are all ‘deities’ in their own right. Perhaps in our world there are simply paragons, symbols of these godly concepts, one of whom I have the honor of sitting in front of… but that’s just one idea which we are exploring as the Unbound, Sparkle of Twilight.” The Countess straightened herself in her seat, assuming the countenance of a stoic matron. Even if she was anything but, Twilight knew that her words were genuine. “Once again, I want to condemn my brother, and the circumstances he had forced upon you, Sparkle of Twilight. And I want you to know that there are batponies who hold you in great esteem, and wish you well in your quest. We’re looking forward to a wondrous end of your mission.”
“Thank you…” Twilight uttered, though she wasn’t sure just how encouraged she was. Knowing that she had hidden support in the lands of Noctraliya was nice, but the same support seemed to venture in a quite unseen territory, at least for her unaccustomed eyes. “Would it be… uhm… insulting if I were to say that I’m still unsure whether anything you’re telling me is true? Or whether you are not hiding something from me about your… Unbound?”
“No, that’s the mark of a piercing intellect,” Ivory Crescent replied, quite pleased with those questions. “Well, first it means that you likely won’t share anything of what I told you. Uncertainty makes for a good shield. Second, what I might be hiding is exactly what we are hiding from the rest of our brethren. A certain, balanced disregard for our traditional ways. Not contempt for them, no, we know why they are in place, and where did they come from. We just see ourselves as beyond them, in a healthy way… or a bit unhealthy, because there’s nothing quite as rejuvenating as when a passionate exchange on matters intellectual becomes… less intellectual and much more primal. Though, I do allow myself not to say more, in respect to what you had to endure. I understand if it would be not to your liking, Sparkle of Twilight.”
She wasn’t wrong, no, and the few notes in her voice were already giving away that this strange society seemed rather keen on some manner of deliberate trespassing, also in matters amatory. And that was something that Twilight was not interested in at the moment.
Well, perhaps there was some curiosity in her, especially regarding what the mare had proposed regarding Cadance’s role in their vision of the world, but even that interest was marred by the recent happenings.
And to think that the mare opposite was a part of a quite indescribable society of free-thinkers and sensualists? No, that wasn’t something that Twilight was willing to explore further. She would instead focus on the focal point of Ivory Crescent’s appearance and leave worrying about the rest for a little later.
“I… Well, I am grateful for your visit and for the promise of support. I… I think it’s important that I am reminded of some ponies around actually appreciating my efforts and wishing to see them fruitful,” she told the Countess, in accordance with the truth.
“Of course, that is why I am here,” the mare agreed, with another kind smile. “Your task is monumental, and can only grow in difficulty and complexity if you think that you are alone with it. But a divine idea is never alone. It grows, it feasts on those who support it. It echoes with their hopes and their dreams and answers accordingly...”
So Ivory Crescent claimed, and for some reason those words hit Twilight stronger than her previous declarations, though she had no idea why. Again, she would focus on that later.
The Countess must have spotted that Twilight was getting more thoughtful by the minute, and nodded her head. “I believe I have taken more than enough of your precious time, Sparkle of Twilight. The Unbound send their kindest regards. I would even extend you an invitation to one of our meetings, but right now you need calmness and serenity in your life. Though we would be honored to host you in our reckless abandonment,” the mare commented, sounding genuinely welcoming.
“It’s very kind, but, you are right, I do… require more control over what is happening around me at the moment,” Twilight admitted, wondering if it wasn’t something a bit too ‘mortal’ too claim, although she wasn’t sure if she had properly grasped the mare opposite’s approach.
The said pony didn’t seem to mind, being altogether most understanding. “Naturally. As I said, I won’t bother you anymore tonight… Honored Princess,” she spoke, invoking Twilight’s title as a sure sign that she was no longer a part of any secret organizations whatsoever. “Rest well. And if you would need me for anything, do not hesitate to ask.”
“Thank you, Honored Countess.”
Ivory Crescent left soon, and Twilight was now on her lonesome, considering what she had just learnt about. She, apparently, needed to make room in her head, in between the frantic thoughts, for even more forces at play, however small and secretive. She was ruminating so hard that she didn’t at first realize that the Countess leaving didn’t mean that she was completely alone in her spire.
She suddenly spotted Midnight’s muzzle in the doorway, as he looked in to check on her before ever closing the door after the Countess.
“Oh… Yes, Midnight Wind, what is it?”
“No, Honored Princess, don’t worry. I was just wondering if… everything’s alright, and whether you might need something,” he offered, trying to sound both dutiful and mindful alike. “You look a bit… perturbed? I hope that the Countess—”
“No, no, don’t worry about her, the meeting went fine,” Twilight claimed, as it was better than getting into the nuances of it. Besides, all in all, she had received positive reinforcement throughout this audience. Simply with a lot of strange, unforeseen insights as well. “It’s just… all of it.”
“All of it…” the stallion repeated, as if to try and discern all of the meanings behind her words.
“Yes… All of it,” she repeated herself, feeling the weight of the expression. Still, she stood up, stretching her neck a little. “I don’t think I would mind some food again. And then just… I don’t know, I’ll figure it out.”
“Of course, I’ll ask Rowan Berry to help out with that,” Midnight promised, nodding with warrior’s grace. “Still, I…” he began, but didn’t finish whatever sentence he had in mind.
“Yes? What is it?” Twilight asked, on instinct. Truth be told, she didn’t feel like exploring any more matters at the moment, but her words were faster than her reasoning.
“I know that you have been through a lot, and… and perhaps my presence is the last thing you desire right now, but I would like to have a moment with you. On our own. On your terms, whenever you shall feel like it, but I need to speak with you.”
Twilight recognized the tone he was using. It denoted that he definitely had something important to share with her, though there was also a new note in it. Something that caught her attention, even subconsciously. And though she was torn by her previous issues with the stallion’s behavior and, more importantly, the still fresh anxiety over last day, she didn’t mind granting that request.
In due time, of course. Not right now. She couldn’t handle more right now, and something told her that whatever Midnight Wind wanted to discuss was another critical matter to occupy her attention.
They all were, she felt.
“I… Fine, Midnight Wind. We can have a talk, just… not right now, if it is possible?” she asked, trying her best not to sound annoyed. She wasn’t, at least not at the stallion. “I need to still gather myself and I think I need to be alone for that,” she admitted.
To his credit, the warrior didn’t look insulted by her choice, understanding shining in his gaze, instead. “Tac, tac, I understand. I know I’m asking at the worst moment, I just… Remember that I asked already, alright?”
“I won’t forget, no,” Twilight told him, though she didn’t enjoy such insistence.
Still, having this sort of an exchange with him, instead of a shouting match or another scuffle, she would count as an improvement. After all, despite the best efforts of some part of her, she couldn’t quite forget that she was carrying certain feelings for the stallion.
It didn’t look like he had, himself, forgotten, and maybe that was exactly what was pushing them both onward, too.
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This whole speech of Twilight's crystallized a feeling I've had about her for a while. Really, when it comes down to it, she's not a diplomat; like she said, if she was, she'd almost certainly have left by now. She's not an operative in the political arena like Azure Mist (debatably) or Midnight Eye, one for whom compromise, control of information, and practical matters of food and ponies take center stage; she's an actor on the metaphysical stage, an operative in the arena that allows the political arena to exist at all. She does take part in the political arena, and appears to possess some good instincts there, but she is beyond it, as Gandalf was beyond Denethor. Ultimately, her purpose isn't to give Noctraliya a treaty that Equestria would be willing to live with, it's "to set the earth on fire" (Luke 12:49), igniting the Fire of Friendship among all those she meets and burning away whatever remains of the Windigo's chill. She isn't a politician, she's a prophetess, "A voice of one crying out in the desert, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths'" (Matthew 3:3). Her political agenda, such as it is, is about preparing the way for Friendship and Harmony, making straight the paths in Noctraliya that have gone crooked. Her talk with Ivory Crescent further supports this religious character, though I'm not going to lie, like Twilight I think I was a bit too exhausted at that point to really grapple with the existence of the Unbound. There are only so many secrets and revelations one can take in at a time.
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I think that's putting things very well, actually.
Another good chapter. This one does a good job in dealing with the fall out of the last two and lets us see more about who this Twilight is at her core.
It's nice to see Twilight take a long rest and finally roll a Natural 20 Perception Check on everything currently around her. It's a bit grandiose and verbose; I struggle to see Twilight yell "Damn it all!" even in the worst of circumstances. Oh yeah, they want to go to war. It's...interesting to see her come to these conclusions now, as if she always noticed them but never truly articulated them. Perhaps I missed hints along the way, but she's come off as oblivious for a long, long while. Still didn't quite make it to "Midnight is also super-spying on me," must've failed the bonus roll. Takes the wind out of Midnight's reassurances with Rowan a bit.
So, Twilight is the Not-Kwisatz Haderach for a branch of secretive bat ponies who have realized their religion (which states that Luna/the Immaculate Moon gave all ponies magic) way be a little off the mark of reality. Good on them for realizing they're living in a Theocracy and brutal caste system right next to Equestria. Also a bit odd that they didn't make more of an effort to seek her out until now, but I suppose it hasn't been too long in-story time since her arrival. Bit of a poor time to try and recruit her as well, especially since Ivory has had private talks with Twilight before about the nature of alicorns while also trying to warn her about Ebony (which Twilight didn't really notice, rolled a Natural 1.)
Poor Midnight. I see Twilight's not going to find out from him. No need to telegraph the "remember forgiveness" and "remember that I wanted to talk" so hard if that wasn't the case. I'm not really a fan of the blame-shifting here when this powder keg finally blows, and it's a little hilarious for Twilight to deliver a grand summation of everything she's been through (what she remembers since Rowan also drugged her) but not manage to connect that last dot that maybe the batpony that agreed to her interviews is in on it. I await the breakdown and pray to the Immaculate Moon it will be glorious.
what a great chapter xD
I do not understand how they can treat Twilight like that.
She should be treated as a quite literally divine hero for
freeing Luna from the Nightmare.
And she could devastate all of noctralia on her own if she
so desired, simply by casting a very strong light spell and
walking it across their lands. She would simply blind the
entire population one by one or at least those that try to
stop her.
Also, if it came to War, Luna would most likely not fight
on the bat pony side of things but on the equestrian side.
And if any of what happened makes it back to Celestia or
even Cadance and Shining Armor, maybe even Discord,
then there would be nothing that could save the entire
Country of Noctralia from their justified wrath . .
While the existence of yet another secret group in Noctraliya is far from surprising (who wants to bet $50 that next chapter will reveal a secret organization that knows of the Unbound and acts against them?
), it's nice to know that Twilight does have some support. That could prove to be useful later.
I have to wonder a bit about Ivory Crescent though. She's a member of the Unbound, one of the Eyes of Noctraliya, a future Lord representing the Crescents, and who knows what else. Can't help but wonder how she'd fulfill these various roles without some conflict of interest arising.
It's looking promising that the long-awaited discussion between Midnight Wind and Twilight Sparkle may happen soon. Maintaining a shred of doubt until it does though. And hopefully
ifwhen it occurs, things between the two don't become irreparable. I still believe Rowan Berry was right about how Twilight would react.More intrigue. Secrets on top of secrets. I guess being a paranoid, isolated society will do that. There was a lot to unpack there and glad Twilight got to vent. Oh, that is so very important when under stress. Plus, it made for good practice when next she meets with the other Lords.
Yes, a rather "specific" method.
Heh, about that...
Well this is a bit of a surprise addition, and one that I did not at all see coming.
I am very, very happy that Midnight is finally, finally going to tell Twilight everything. Alas, the chapter has run out, though I do look forward to the end of March, when I hope this story next updates.
11834820
Glad you enjoyed it.
11834869
Perhaps that is what I am setting up. But, who knows me, right?
11834908
Thank you.
11834926
It's a problem of perspective. Happens, when one spends their entire life in the shadows.
11834930
Hey, Ivory Crescent is a talented mare, right?
11835020
Indeed. I think she really needed that venting after all this time and all those issues.
11835033
End of March? No, I'm not going to wait that long if I can help it.
Basically it is, Twilight, it is. Covenant opted for - "everything ingenious is simple" , but we all know that nothing ever goes according to plan.
It was noted lots of times in the comments, nut Noctralia's warplans have more holes then their own mountains. I don't presume to consider myself a military expert, of course not. But many are able to see that the local command: a) underestimates the enemy. b) does not have a plan "B" (at least "in the frame" it has never been mentioned what they will do if either Celestia values the lives of hundreds and thousands of her little ponies above the safety of Twilight (who can take care of herself) or if the Luna does not support them. They also do not take into account international allies - there are griffins who love gold and who can be hired. There are dragons that have the same story. There are yaks who love to smash and love Pinkie Pie. Hippogriffs, which chronologically are not in the plot, but are still allies with Equestria. Am I missing anything? Most likely - I do.
Midnight Eye asked Twilight why she is so afraid of war. And I agree with her answer - why he is not? Equestria hasn't seen a war in a thousand years, that's right. But what about her small but proud mountain neighbor? Did they see it? Their warriors are more trained, yes, but it's still just a training session. And "wars" between families don't count either - they don't strike to death there.
A lot more depressive comment that was originally planned. Some surprising or not so revelations from Ivory. At least she is not trying to groom Twilight
That would be too much!
11835150
I think you've asked a very, very important question here. Maybe more important than many believe.
11835143
Oof, what a chapter.
11835150
they also only invited Twilight because she saved Luna, but only after she was turned into an Alicorn and even then they waited for a long time before inviting her.
and they thought so highly of themself that they thought she had accepted their invitation because they invited her.
but in reality she accepted it because she got the green light from Luna to go.
they say they a doing Luna's bidding, but are planing around her and keeping secrets from her, and while they see her as their god, the fakt that it feels like non of the leaders of the mountains has visited Equastia or Luna but only send soldiars to "protect" her, i feel that speaks volumes that pony's like Azure Mist knows she is not doing the works of Luna but rather doing it all for a selfies goal, but she has lied so much that she doesn't even realie's it.
also it seems like they have not tried to invite Luna to the mountains, that most likely comes down to them seeing her as a god, but i also feels like it is quite telling that they are afraid of what she would she about their society.
11835242
Glad it hit the spot.
Ivory Crescent's revelation of the Unbound was interesting. Twilight's explanation for why she continues with her journey are vey much in-character and show that the Council has underestimated her adn that they overestimate their own capabilities. Rowan Berry's comment about always looking for deceit in others shows light on one of Noctraliya's biggest flaws.
It seems that Midnight wants to reveal his own nature as an operative to Twilight soon which is good.
11835302
Depends on how that will go. It might not be the smoothest talk ever.
11835245
I think Lords probably didn't invite Luna, because they see her as all-seeing and all powerful goddes. Why bother with informing if she already knows, they think. How would they knew her plans? This is where blinding zeal and unhealthy high self-esteem step in, I believe.
11835332
true true
looking forward to reading the next chapter with Luna, and to hear what Twilight will report back to Celestia and Luna
11835338
'Dear Princess Luna, your "children" are self-righteous, distrustful zealots who detest friendship... But they had the most tasty grapes and oranges!'
Fantistic chapter. As always, I'm looking forward to the next!
11835821
Thank you. I'll make sure to deliver.
Oh gosh poor Twilight, how will she deal with this cult of free-thinkers and sensualists? Wow now I understand why Ivory seemed so interested in Princess Cadance.
11836064
Everypony has an agenda. Everypony.
11835429
all the letter is missing is just a P.S. at the end of it
P.S. i nearly got raped, nothing major
11836091
I think that most Noctrali actually have more than one agenda.
11836296
Very fair point.
11835142
Well hey, as long as you're not planning to reveal that Midnight Eye "sanctioned" the date as an alternative to war where Twilight and Midnight Wind form an official relationship and Noctraliya gets everything they want without fighting for it. Because that would mean that Midnight didn't tell Twilight he was 'ordered' to pursue the relationship when they had their little date. And it would mean that Princess Twilight Sparkle lost her virginity to a spy under orders. And he's either far too much of a coward to admit that or think it doesn't matter because he loves her. And Midnight Eye was too stupid to try and officially set that up with Twilight directly because "Bats gotta scheme."
Good thing he was speaking metaphorically and there wasn't another layer to this, or it would be way, way worse. The long arc of emotional manipulation was already pretty bad. Poor Twilight permanently maimed a guy in a staged fight and Midnight's declarations afterwards launched the proper romance.
Bad enough that her feelings blossomed because of a totally fake moment. And then there's stuff like:
Turns out it's fine to endlessly hide things from your beloved as long as you are properly sad about it
to distract them and never say anything.At the very, very least, Midnight Wind wasn't given the 'mission' to be with Twilight and never disclosed it to the love of his life.11836393
Now that seems like at least a few, unnecessarily extra steps.
11836401
Huh, I dunno. I did just learn there was an underground religious cult operating in the shadows of the shadows of the shadows. That sounds about on-par with the current degree of intrigues. Forget it, Twilight. It's Noctraliya. Midnight Wind and Midnight Eye did talk just before the date, and there's that suspicious dialogue during the chapter itself. Plus there's stuff like:
He definitely gave his 'blessing' to the relationship, why not try to make it official as an alternative to the pretty idiotic war plan? The only snag is that Twilight isn't in the loop if that's the case. She should be to help sell the "filthy Sunpony now loves the Immaculate Moon" narrative so Noctraliya won't explode. Forget 4D Chess, we're in 9D Chutes & Ladders territory if we're dropping secret alicorn cult reveals a million words in.
Maybe the whole ruse to get Twilight to come there was a plot to bring back their real goddess the Nightmare and possess Twilight? Maybe that's why they refuse to give her any actual respect? And why they unperson early history and play very, very loose with facts in their religious dogma. Haven't seen those Paladins or the
Witcher LeshenLesy in a while...Or we could be boring again with more forced relationship drama.
11836439
Hey, I never claimed that this story is not boring. I just said it was mine, and that it was more of a telenovela than anything else.
So there is a cult of ponies who seek to learn outside of what is normally permitted. I just keep getting the feeling that if war does break out, things are going to be even more messy than previously though
Excellent as always
11836457
It would complicate things even more, wouldn't it?
Thank you kindly.
Yes, more scenes of bat ponies reckoning with their unmasked society and culture please.
...Whereupon shenanigans get in the way for the next few chapters
11836897
What, were you expecting things to be simple and straightforward after so many words already?
Read your new chapter a few nights ago, and soon afterwords that night I had a yearning to write a poem. Just last night I formed the poem, this morning I spiffed it up a bit. I'm not an amazing poet, but there isn't a point in not trying.
I'm admitting to not knowing how to make em dashes on Fimfiction, English keyboard does not come with a punctuation mark that is part of our grammar, why? I just put three short dashes.
Unbound
The Countess of Crescents sedated on a particular portico,
A-gasp within the prism of moonlight afterglow,
Whispered becalmed a dreadful, distressful radio.
The foreigner strode askance, capriciously in allegro.
Sprung from his metronomic discord,
granted the entrance of the bookshelf's ebullient accord.
In the paperback song birthed thoughts as the strange cord,
of memories seldom construed on this illusionary magnificent fjord.
Roots shoot off them, re-birthing roots in-strangle her,
She sees his cathedral and museum ---Within it's light
Barricaded by malignant bedrock.
She spoke assertion to he:
I am Unbound with an alien.
I am Unbound with a ship,
Sailing calmly until the invaders snap the bobstay.
I am Unbound with a train,
Cruising dreamily seeking through glass to the outer terrain.
I am Unbound with a stranger,
fleeing into an elopement voided by the eye of the estranger.
I am Unbound...
I am Unbound to his will...
His will said onto her this:
Learn of the lighthouse,
What it brights it lights.
It lights isn't yours,
Knotted in your malignant Bedrock,
In which the rock carves labyrinth pillars for Desdinova
This witch called little miss supernova.
Come to bring bandage to the light bringer,
To receive the knowledge of miracle ginger.
Come to me as my bound love,
And burn the unblessed ways away in the flight of our dove.
Read onto me, I read onto you.
Allow the flight of ourselves,
Not of our institution,
Scare them with our discrete constitution,
Written in desire and curiosity.
Tell them we're bound.
Bound with an alien,
Bound with a friend and lover,
Bound with I in a ship,
The countess dreaded the invaders,
One snap resonated, and the bowspirit flung under the wish of dictators.
Bound with I in a train,
The countess sought through glass of the astronomy warning,
Shining the star-forms of lust mourning.
Bound with I ---a living being,
The countess cried aloud clearly seeing:
Bound to thee.
For this I am sentenced.
On August 24th, judged incongruously,
The love of the foreigner and native.
The clergy excommunicated the surreptitious heretic,
And dissipating fog removed trace of the alien,
The Grushenka and Karamazov familiar's offensive anomie suppressed,
Laid waste to this remnant peculation.
"My Bogine have mercy," prayed the inquisitor,
"Forgive the sins of our sensualists,
And bless the quintessence of our farmer fundamentalists."
Snow brought a harsh winter that year,
And brought a rebellious tear.
The few have heard of their story,
And spread it in an unknown mezzanine,
An unknown origin oratory,
For the Unbound Vaccine.
And they say onto thee:
Bound to passion,
Bound to freedom.
Unbound to hate,
Unbound to repression.
Bound to our demons,
And likewise Unbound.
We'll prance to the nature,
We rhapsodize the nurture.
In silence night-spells,
In the halls of the Crescent,
In the respite and vindictiveness of our nation,
once again came their quiet gestation.
Bound with a friend,
Bound with a lover,
Bound with a ship,
Bound with a train,
Bound with an undiscovered life,
Blessed be all and the ideas,
Bound to diversity forbidden.
The poem is a made-up origin to the Unbound Cult, not my story obviously, about an unknown romance and friendship destroyed by the clergy which brought the founding of the Unbound by unknown individuals. I like cult stories, and my favorite band Blue Oyster Cult also inspires this interest. I don't join cults though; In fact, many are very sad stories and should by used as a lesson to not follow evil people blindly. On the other hand, there are cults that aren't violent or insane. They may have more fun and are borderline just advertised as cults rather than an actual cult. I don't got a PhD in cults, but I read multiple stories in past news and fiction. Just take my knowledge on anything at a novice level.
edit --- capricely into capriciously. Capricely not a word. Added comma before capriciously
I converted "One snap the bobstay flung under the wish of dictators" into "One snap resonated, and the bowspirit flung under the wish of dictators".
This is the final product. The confusions that remain are for anyone to interpret, analyze, or criticize.
11837972
My friend, that is a fantastic gift to the world! I am more than honored that I have brought you inspiration so meandering, and lyrical, and flattering! Thank you so much for sharing!
So imma avoid commenting on much of this for now, because I'd like to see how things pan out...
But what I will say, is that Cadance needs to know there is a Cult she has to lead.
Reason for editing: I cannot into words.
11838171
I don't suppose she has to, however. She might have the same, free choice as they all do.
Did Twilight break her verpryiseg by revealing something she learned at Kezpont? Unless I'm misremembering, I thought the prophecy was being withheld by the haspadri from the general population since the priests originally hadn't "finally discerned what it actually means" before Twilight arrived in Noctraliya, and the haspadri were still debating the exact meaning by the time it was told to Twilight.
11838400
Yes! Fantastic catch, my friend!