What Remains II: After the Fall

by Bateman66

Know Your Role

Explaining the situation had been more difficult than getting the young human properly equipped for it. As Shale wordlessly tightened and loosened the several straps of the tactical jacket Alistair now wore, she couldn’t help but fret over the smallest of details.

“Canterlot,” he remarked simply among the narrow equipment room walls. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am,” she said with a gruff yank on one of the straps, the force causing Alistair to wince lowly.

“But, there must be some other way to acquire it?” Alistair insisted studiously. “A spare copy lying among the ruins of a forgotten tomb? Or perhaps a rudimentary manuscript within a library of…lesser notoriety?

Shale sighed. “Unfortunately, there’s not. There’s our degraded copy, and the original tome, nothing else.”

“Is stealing the original the best course of action then, prancing right into the most fortified structure in all of Equestria with the intention of stealing an article of such importance, we’re practically swiping it off Celestia’s nightstand.”

Shale stepped back and eyed him wearily. “Would you want to take this up with Master Eclipse then? I’m sure he’d like to hear your critiques.”

“As if I could change that stallion’s mind!” he snorted musingly, not quite picking up on Shale’s dropped sarcasm. “The authority that’s been placed in his hoof something that I understand is flattering, but he could it least keep his mind open to suggestion.”

She sighed. “The fact still remains that the tome needs to acquired, and he's assigned us to it.”

Alistair pursed his lips tightly and sent her a returning nod. “Yes, that’s uh, that’s what we must do.”

Shale raised an interrogating eyebrow. “Are you all right?”

“Yes,” he said quicker than one would normally answer. “I was—I was just thinking of something.”

Leaning in closer to him, Shale placed a reassuring hoof to his shoulder. “Alistair, you are a strong and valuable member of the Order. I went through the same doubtful experience when a stallion named Blackletter was my superior. And although I despised him on all accounts of him as pony, I cannot escape the fact that he trained me well, as I hope to do with you.”

She sighed. “It’s not my intention to make you feel uncomfortable, to thrust you into situations you’re not ready for. I like you Alistair, I really do. And I think you’re more than ready to commit yourself to the first real task the Night Lords and Luna have bestowed upon you.”

He looked up at her with a small smile. “Thank you Shale, it means a lot.”

“Don’t mention it; we all need a little encouragement every now and again.”

Shale casually reached into her one of her jacket’s side pockets and brought out a small glass container into the light. “Take this,” she ordered softly, handing him the bright crystal strip. “It will calm your nerves.”

Eyeing the substance in his palm, he promptly uncapped the vial and downed the contents in one fell swing without another thought to the contrary. Marching over to the room’s exit with a new found energy, he sent her a reassuring beam.

“Shall we go then?”

Inspecting him slowly from head to toe with a queried glance, Shale hesitantly nodded in return. “Let’s get moving we have a long journey ahead of us.”

----------

“Thank you for meeting with me at such short notice, Princess,” Twilight Sparkle said as she leaned carefully against the balcony railing, the silver crescent moon just grazing over the rooftops of Canterlot.

Standing next to her, as well admiring the view that she alone commanded under her unquestionable power, was the Princess of the Night herself, Luna. Turning over to Twilight with her translucent and mysterious gaze, she slowly nodded.

“I am always willing to assist, young Twilight Sparkle. It is my duty to help those in need after all.”

“And I’m very thankful for it,” Twilight said with a slight bow of her head. “I’ve been a bit…troubled these past few days and I was hoping you could offer me some solution.”

Luna’s eyes widened in compassion. “What is the matter, my friend?”

Twilight wistfully grimaced. “It’s Alistair, the human, the one that’s been missing since last month.”

“Oh, yes,” Luna said with vague recognition while rubbing the edge of her chin. “My sister has been doing the bulk of managing the investigation. And it appears that many details have surfaced concerning the boy’s whereabouts…”

“There’s more to it, though,” Twilight continued bleakly. “I was able to sense something when initially searching his room just a few days after the report went through. There was something present reaching out through my magic, something that felt a bit too close to dark magic.”

“I was quite sure what to make of this, but I still had one more lead that could possibly point me in the right direction. An old friend of his back in Ponyville explained it to me. He said that Alistair had been carrying feelings of desperation and hate for the months succeeding my coronation. If what the young colt said is true…”

A shadow of doubt crossed Luna’s face. “Are you quite sure of this? I recall being in the human’s presence prior and not once did I ever detect such an essence.”

“What else could it be then?” Twilight said irately. “If what I felt and what his friend said didn’t match up, then where does that leave us in actually finding him?”

Luna nodded once more in understanding. “I see what you are outlining, Twilight Sparkle. This may be the only way to find him, wherever he might be. Is this why you came to me?”

Twilight sighed in destitution. “That, and to speak with somepony else about all this. I’ve been thinking about it non stop since the moment I was informed, and I just want to get some of these thought out of my head.”

Luna placed a reassuring hoof upon Twilight’s shoulder. “What troubles you then? I am most certain I can provide adequate council.”

Twilight turned away with a small smile and walked toward the opposite end of the balcony, the side facing directly towards the distant glowing lights of Canterlot. A light breeze pushed past her face, bristling the ends of her violet mane.

“I think this may be my fault,” she called to Luna as she stared out over the city. “In fact, I’m certain of it.”

Luna approached softly with an eyebrow rose in query. “How did you come to such a conclusion?”

“Because I could’ve have picked up on this before he left Ponyville, could’ve have read his emotions when he started acting odd around me. I could’ve have spent more time with him, I could’ve just asked what I was doing wrong. I could’ve done a lot of things to help, but I didn’t.”

“Where you as well expected to foresee what would come of this?” Luna remarked pointedly. “Was that too one of your responsibilities?”

“No…” Twilight said hesitantly. “But that doesn’t take away the fact that I should have caught this before it became what it is now. I made a promise to protect him, and I failed.”

“You do realize he is a living being, Twilight Sparkle. Not an object that may break if unattended, nor an animal that must be shielded from its own ignorance. Alistair is a living, thinking creature just as you and I are. And although he may look utterly different, his mental faculties could not be closer to that of a pony.”

“He still feels envy as much as he does acceptance, still feels betrayal as much as he does loyalty. It is with these emotions, this ability to think at a higher level, that he becomes something more complex then what you believe your responsibilities should entail. He is his own person, free to make whatever decision he sees fit. And no matter how much one picks, probes, or protects, he will still do what he feels is necessary.”

Twilight looked back to Luna with weakened eyes, her disposition beginning to teeter. “Did he see leaving without a word to anypony as ‘necessary’, off to Celestia-knows- where doing Celestia-knows-what?”

Luna sighed. “This is not easy for me to say, Twilight Sparkle. But if he truly left upon his own power,” she paused uneasily, “I would believe so.”

A dark cloud seemed to descend over Twilight as the words floated through the air. Giving the cityscape one last glance, she wordlessly began towards the balcony’s exit.

“Thank you for the honesty, Luna,” she called back in a voice that was not her own. “Applejack would approve.”

And without another word, Twilight slipped away from Luna’s pull, something uneasy beginning to churn as she departed. Luna didn’t want to believe, but she too began to sense a dark presence somewhere close.

Comments

[Bateman66]

5141631 Thanks! This entry is actually the first part in a sequel series for the four installments I made prior. He makes reference to it at certain points earlier on, but it's in Alistair IV: The Griffon and Her Dweeb that the entire topic is explored.

[Shadow-Dancer]

Well reading the previous series now I know that detail and like him even more.

[Bateman66]

5166866 Thank you very much! I've never gotten confirmation over how much people actually read of the stories I've put forward, so I must say it is very encouraging to see your very kind feedback of it. So far, I'm planning on making Children of the Night a three parter, but progress on my end really does need to speed up. Either way, thank you very much for reading!

[Shadow-Dancer]

Good luck with it and have fun