A World Rent Asunder

by NeverEatTheLemonsAlone

Act II, scene ii - A Meeting With The Commander

Okay, so...I have many, many questions.

"How on Equus did Luna persuade you to be my contact? You hate me! I killed Skahaben!" I begin to shake. "I killed a lot...a lot of pegasi, and I still haven't forgiven myself. I can't possibly believe that you did."

She starts, a sorrowful expression on her face, and drops her head, not looking me in the eyes. "I won't lie," she starts slowly, "and it's true, I do hate you. You killed most of the ponies that I've ever loved. But Luna..." Her head snaps up and she looks me dead in the face. "Luna convinced me that any pony deserves another chance, and that if I helped you, you could change the world." She lifts up one of her shaking front hooves, clenching and unclenching it slowly. "So yes, I really do hate you. It's taking a lot of self control to not punch you until you're a bloody pulp, but I made a promise to Luna and, by extension, to you." Her rose-hued eyes glint in sunlight that filters through the open window. "What kind of pony would I be if I broke that, hmm?" [1]

I'm sure it's just a trick of the light, but I could swear that her cutie mark just flickered with light.

---

[1]: This is where I stopped abjectly hating Dash, and started respectfully hating her. That's progress, right?

---

So I guess Dash is going to be rooming with me for a while. My chambers are large and lavish, with quite a few guest rooms, so she has no trouble finding a place to hide her thin, athletic frame should anypony come knocking unexpectedly. I spend a few minutes discussing the army with her before, exhausted by the day and by the utter absurdity of allying with Dash, I collapse into bed, willing myself to sleep.

Upon waking up, I'm greeted by good old Swift Quill. Overcome by a sudden surge of affection for the acerbic old stallion, I smile and hug him tightly. Evidently unsure of what to do, he stands there bewildered and stiff as a board until I release my grip.

"Um..." he trails off, apparently quite confused. I laugh and ruffle his hair, prompting an irritated shake, before he offers me a scroll. "Well, Twilight," he starts, "that was...something. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to." I smile fondly at him as he trots off. It's quite obvious that he has no idea what just happened, and I chuckle briefly before looking down at the letter. Well, what do you know? It's not Celestia. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, this is the personal seal of Firelock, head of the First Battalion. I frown for a moment. That was fast.

"Hey, Dash!" I call softly, "I need to go see somepony important. Don't do anything unusually stupid until I get back!"

She lifts her head from where she's trying to sleep, eyes without humor, and grumbles angrily before slumping back down, curling up like a cat. Sparing a moment to chuckle once more, I step out of the door and, reading the scroll, find it a simple invitation to a meeting, followed by a room number in the barracks.

A few minutes later, I find myself in front of door A-1-1. Barracks A, Battalion 1, Position 1. Commander. Knocking gingerly on the door, I start backwards as I hear quite a young voice from inside.

"Come in!"

Opening the door, I step through. Wow. Firelock is young. Seriously, I think she's only a little more than half my age.

Seeing my surprise, she lets loose a schoolfilly giggle. "Aah, I love it when ponies look like that. Being the youngest to ever become a Commander is certainly a fun ride when you get to tell ponies on the street that you answer directly to the Princess. Anyway," she sticks out an orange hoof, "I'm Firelock, but you probably knew that anyway. It's a pleasure, Miss Twilight."

"Likewise," I respond in a slightly strangled tone. Seriously, this is the foremost pyromancer in the Solar Dominion!? [1]

She giggles again. "You're really not used to meeting with higher-ups other than the Princess, are you? Don't worry about it—"

"You're not."

She appears rather frazzled, clearly not used to being interrupted. "I—I beg your pardon?"

I think I'm recovering from my momentary surprise, and having actual control of a situation for once, however tenuous, is more satisfying than you would believe after the insanity in the Sovereignty. "You're not my superior. I hold the official position of Imperial Battlemage under High Dominion Empress Celestia Solaria Invicta, The Unconquered Sun." It's been a very, very long time since I've had to use the Princess' full royal title, and I relish it more than I should. "Therefore, my only superiors are the High Commander of the Solar Army, and the Princess herself." [2]

Her eyes widen. "W...Um, alright. I guess we're...equals, then?" While not opposed to the idea, she's certainly rather...surprised by it. I nod.

"Yeah, we're equals. Nice to meet you, Commander Firelock." I use her title to show that I mean no offense to her authority before continuing. "So anyway, what did you call me out here for?"

She shrugs. "I heard you got back the Chalice of Tannenwyl. Doctor was kinda ruffled over that." She giggles. "She's been looking for a way to glean the location for going on a decade now, and you just invalidated all of that work. Kinda funny, huh?"

Scrutinizing her face, I find her sincere. Well, color me surprised. She seems like a decent enough pony, barely more than a filly though she may be. Such a shame that we have to be enemies; if I knew her before I'd gone to the Lunar lands, we might have been...well, not friends, but at least close acquaintances. [3]

There's a brief period of uncomfortable silence before she speaks again, coughing slightly. "So...ahem...Imperial Battlemage, hmm? Quite the illustrious position. What element of magic do you learn under the Princess' tutelage?" My mind hops back towards the poor pegasus filly's torment and I wince privately.

"She doesn't teach any particular element of magic. I'm uniquely gifted, so she can teach me to use pure arcane magic." [4]

She gapes for a moment, trying to find some way to fill the void of the conversation. Honestly, I almost feel sorry for her. I can't blame her. If I were here, I would try to ingratiate myself to Celestia's student too.

"Well, uh, Twilight," she begins awkwardly once more, "I must say, that dragon of yours has proved most useful on the front lines."

Now it's my turn to be confused. What dragon—

My breath halts.

No. She couldn't have.

Oh sweet Sky, she did.

Okay, backstory time. When I was first learning magic under Celestia, one of my most difficult tests was hatching a dragon egg. I did so, but she claimed that the magic from the surge that I was having at the time killed the baby dragon instantly and whisked it away to be "buried."

If she did what I think she did...

"What dragon, Commander?" I ask calmly, disarmingly. No hint of the fury that bubbles under the surface of my mind. She looks at me oddly.

"The Princess told us that you managed to hatch a dragon, then aged it magically and gave it to us for use in combat. She said that you were sorry, but you didn't have time or room to raise a dragon. I just wanted the best for those under my command, so I want to thank you, that's all."

I nod stiffly, face set in a frozen smile. "Well, Firelock, it's been an...enlightening meeting. I must be going now, but I hope to see you again soon." Walking out of her office, I catch one last look at her mildly-distressed face before slamming the door and, moving jerkily, like a puppet, make my way back to my chambers.

---

[1]: As I'll learn before too long, age is a very nebulous way to judge somepony's magical potency and talent.
[2]: Though I'm technically not allowed to pull rank in a situation like this, who's going to stop me?
[3]: Pretty much all I had before this whole mess started...
[4]: Magic dissertation time!

Alright, so there are three main schools of magic: You have commoditas magic, which are the light spells and telekinesis, utilitarian spells; the basic spells that any unicorn knows, at least on a basic level. Then, there's forma magic, which is all devoted to changing and shaping things. A really good forma mage can change anything into almost anything else. Finally, there's inimicus magic, which is all offensive. Collectively, it's referred to as battle magic, and those that wield it battlemages. Now, inside of the inimicus magical tree, there are eight different Foci. Each Focus is a calling one's destiny chooses for their magic. After that, everything is aligned to that element. The Foci are Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Light, Darkness, Ice and Energy. However, few know that there's one more Focus, very, VERY rarely seen, and the one I possess. The Arcane focus, which allows one to use all of these different elements, as well as constructs of pure magic.

There's your lesson for today. You're welcome.

---

I slam open my door with my hooves, too furious to even think to open it with magic. It rotates past where it should and slams into the wall, hinges bent on the wall. I'll fix them later. At the smashing sound, Dash leaps up, alarmed.

"Whoa, Sparkle! Calm down! What happened?"

I'm not going to calm down. No way. I'm too angry. "That...that witch!" I rant, "That terrible, awful excuse for a pony! That worse excuse for a monarch! How dare she?"

"Seriously, Sparkle! I've never seen you like this, not even on the battlefield! What in Tartarus happened out there?"

Jumping down from where she sits, she grabs me and shakes me like a rag, and my rage-muddled head allows her words to seep through. Grinding my teeth together and spitting out each word like a curse, I explain exactly what happened and Dash's face rapidly darkens into a glower similar to mine. "Wow," she growls, "that's a new low, even for Celestia."

Now that I've shared my little nugget of news, I'm a bit less likely to march up to Celestia and buck her in the face, which would end rather...poorly, I assure you. So really, it's a very, very good thing that Dash is here. Calming myself with a few deeeeep breaths, I sigh. "Well, at the very least, we have more intel for Luna now. Celestia has a dragon."

We're quiet for a few minutes before Dash speaks again. "Hey, uh, Sparkle? I have something to say to you." She turns away from me, trotting over to the nearest window and looking out across the Citadel, towards the west. "As I was trailing you back over the Canterlot mountains, I got to thinking about what you'd done to Skahaben, and what caused it. Don't get me wrong, I still hate you and I'm only working with you until this whole madness is over. Even so, though..." she turns back to me, "I'm sorry I pulled you and whatever-her-name-is out of what you were doing. It was a pretty uncool move, and honestly, if I hadn't done that, Skahaben would still be around. It's pretty much my fau—"

Before she can finish that sentence, my hoof smacks into her face. I didn't punch her hard enough to really hurt, but there's rage written all over my face and it cuts her off well enough for me to cut in.

"Don't. You. Dare. That was my fault, it's my burden to bear. I swear, Dash, if you decide to start feeling bad about me surging and killing your city, I'm going to hit you three times as hard next time."

She's silent for a moment before she speaks again, voice slightly choked. "It's Rainbow."

I'm startled for a moment. Seems rather off-topic, hmm? "What?"

"My name. It's not just Dash, it's Rainbow Dash. I...tend not to tell ponies, because ponies don't take a Valkyrie named Rainbow as seriously as they do one named Dash, y'know?" [1]

I'm silent, and a few seconds later, she sighs. "I'm the first to admit that I'm not the smartest pony out there, but I do think about what I've done in the past, and what I did to you was just cruel. I still despise you, but...less so. You did what anypony would've, after all..." She trails off, looking out the window again. "...So no matter what you say, I am partially at fault. You can beat yourself up, but don't take all the blame." With that, she trots off into the next room over. I'm left standing there on my own, head spinning by how much has happened in the past hour or so. Firelock, dragon, Rainbow Dash, they're all whirling around in my head. I don't know if I'm cut out for intelligence work; I can barely keep anything straight.

I hang around resting up and readjusting to the sunlight for a few more days before Swift Quill brings me another scroll, eyeing me warily and levitating the thing over, staying well out of hug range. Despite myself, I chuckle. Poor guy. Looking over the scroll brings a frown to my face. I haven't gotten any mail in years that I haven't recognized, but this seal is completely alien to me. There's only one thing written on the scroll:

Come to the Cicada pub in the Tin District [2] in exactly four hours. Bring your "roommate." We have a lot to talk about.

-- A Friend

Well damn if that isn't suspicious.

"Hey, Dash!" I call accusingly, "Have you left my chambers since you've been here?"

She calls back from another room, "Hmm? No, I haven't. Why?"

Huh.

---

[1]: So as far as I can tell, nobody that I met in the entirety of the Sovereignty goes by their actual name and it's infuriating. Pinkie/Mena has two of them, for crying out loud!
[2]: The Citadel is organized into five districts. Each one is slightly more wealthy and influential than the first, and the Tin District is at the bottom of the barrel. It's followed by the Silver District, the Bronze District, the Brass District, and finally, the Gold District, which is the actual citadel that Celestia lives in.

---

I'm not quite used to exactly how poor the Tin District is. I've only ever been there once before. Small wooden shacks line the narrow, dirty street. It's more of a shantytown than anything else, really. There are very few buildings that aren't made of rickety planks, and those that are tend to be broken-down, cracked and filthy. Ponies, missing eyes, legs, and other assorted body parts, leer at me from their misshapen doors. I'm out of place here, among these thieves, vagabonds and outlaws. Dash is following me, and to her chagrin, I wouldn't let her come out of my chambers without dying her coat and mane green and light brown, respectively. Now she looks just as typical as any other pony. She's wearing a simple cloak to disguise her cutie mark.

At last, we arrive at the Cicada pub. Predictably enough, the best source of alcohol in the Tin District is also the most put-together of all of its buildings. It has a reasonably intact stone exterior and a fairly well-kept wooden planking interior, and it's packed to the brim. Looking around, I'm sure I look like I have no idea what I'm doing. [1] Finally, I spot a single table in the back corner, poorly lit, at which sits a single figure, clad in a black cloak with a deep cowl. Unobtrusively (at least I like to think so), I beckon Dash and make my way over, holding the scroll in front of the figure.

"This yours?"

A chuckle comes from under the hood and I jump. No way...It can't be. That voice...

Then she tosses her head back, knocking the hood from her crown, and I leap back like I've been burned. Grinning at me from beneath a silvery mane is a blue unicorn, her purple eyes gazing into mine.

"So, Twilight," Trixie laughs, "have you missed me?"

---

[1]: Psst...That's because I don't.

Comments

[Lost_Marbles]

Bum-bum-bum! Another familiar face appears! Could she be from the other side? I was expecting Rarity of all ponies to be the one who sent the letter. Curious-er and Curious-er.

I was a bit hesitant at first to jump on board the Luna wagon, but now that we've seen a bit more about the secret actions of Celestia, I'm more inclined to go against my favorite princess. However - I want to see more before I concrete my alliances.

And damn, Twilight just burned a fire mage.

[NeverEatTheLemonsAlone]

And damn, Twilight just burned a fire mage.

...I see what you did there.

[Lost_Marbles]

6660331
Oh snap! How did I miss that!?

[Misty Spell]

"Luna convinced me that any pony deserves another chance, and that if I helped you, you could change the world."

I really, really wish I didn't enjoy the other aspects of the story half as much as I do.