Inferno (No. 54)
Previously on the Hitlist
“Rayleigh Redwood. Previous Captain of the Royal Guard. Earth Pony. Wanted on nearly seven hundred counts of theft, two hundred counts assault, bribery, blackmail, etc., and wanted in nearly twenty different countries.”
“He gave himself up?”
---
“I’m not speaking to anyone but Twilight Sparkle.”
---
“My name is Cloudy Gust. Your brother has sent us to escort you to Canterlot,”
---
“Close to 48 hours ago a bounty was placed on the head of our little princess here. 800 million bits. You’re being hunted.”
---
"You’re the Element of Loyalty. Meet the Element of Deceit. I’ll screw over anypony that gets in my way. And it just so happens that today that pony happens to be you.”
---
“Twilight. Something just feel’s off about her since she got back. And she still hasn’t told us where she went.”
---
“Let me be straight with you. You don’t piss off an alicorn."
---
“For my friends, please help me become stronger.”
“How much stronger do you want to become, princess?”
“As powerful as I can."
Inferno (No. 54)
The sun beat down from above as the Manehattan streets quickly became filled with ponies. The Equestrian Leader Summit was coming up and the Mayor of Manehattan was preparing for his annual trip to Canterlot to visit and converse with other leaders of state, including the princesses. The mayor opened the front door to Hillton Towers, the home of him and his lovely wife and son. Though the mayor lived quite far above the ponies on the street, most couldn’t help but love him. He was a plump stallion with a slicked back hay colored mane and tan coat. The suit he wore definitely represented a pony of his station as he kept a small golden ruby encrusted pin on his lapel, a gift from his wife earlier that year. The paparazzi instantly swarmed him as he approached the steps. “Whew,” he huffed as he passed a hoof over his forehead. “It’s a scorcher today, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Mayor High Horse,” a small secretary pony to his left said.
“Mayor High Horse!” the paparazzi shouted as their cameras flared. One reporter pushed his way to the front. “Mayor High Horse! What kind of things will you be discussing with the princesses at the Summit?”
“Now, now,” the mayor chuckled. “The princesses are just like any other pony. Equestria has had a long streak of good fortune this year, so I doubt we’ll have much to talk about. But I am looking forward to speaking with my constituents.”
The paparazzi immediately seized on the lull at the end of the question and blasted out another wave of them. Two big earth ponies in black suits and sunglasses immediately got between the mayor and them. “The mayor will answer any and all questions the press may have after the summit,” the secretary said as she ushered the mayor into a carriage and closed the door.
“Ow!” the mayor blurted abruptly as one of the guards slammed the door behind him.
“Mist High Horse?” the secretary asked. “Did you clip your hoof?”
“Naw, naw,” the mayor answered with a slight chuckle. “Just a little bee sting is all.”
The secretary pulled his hoof over to her. “Let me take a look at it.” The mayor held out his hoof for the secretary to inspect and both were surprised. “What in the world?”
Dug into his hoof was not a bee’s stinger but instead a miniscule needle with a small almost unnoticeable amber vial attached to it. By all accounts it actually did look like a little bee. “Well whatever it is we should probably get it off,” the mayor said as he flicked his other hoof at it. Suddenly the vial shattered and a bright red flame sprouted from it. The mayor screamed as it spread fast and engulfed his whole leg. The secretary began to scream too as the fire spread even faster in the enclosed spaces and jumped over to her. Finally the guards outside took notice of the sounds and opened the door to the carriage. The mayor stumbled out on his knees, writhing in agony as the orange flames consumed him. For a few moments the ponies present could do nothing as the guards worked to put out the fire on the mayor and the carriage. Then the cameras began to click again. Once again, and accompanying the dying screams of the mayor of Manehattan, the paparazzi did their job.
---
“Good Evening, Sister,” Luna said sleepily as she stretched after got up from her day of rest. Celestia was preparing her speech to the Summit in two days as her younger sister entered her room. She smiled.
“It’s nice to see you up and about so early,” Celestia said cheerfully. “The sun hasn’t even turned red.”
“Yes, I know,” Luna replied with a smile. “I just wanted to talk to you before you went to bed.”
Celestia stopped reading her speech and looked up. “What’s on your mind?”
Luna walked toward her sister and turned her head thoughtfully. “I’ve been hearing rumors about a criminal in the country.”
“Yes,” Celestia replied sadly. “That Pegasus from overseas. Rest assured I’ve already locked him away. He won’t be a harm to anypony from now on.” She paused as she turned to her sister concerned. “I’m sorry, though. If you wanted to be a part of the ruling I can review the case.”
Luna shook her head. “No, please, I trust you, Tia. However the Pegasus is not whom I refer to.”
Celestia set her speech down and now turned to her sister fully. “Oh, and who might you mean?”
Luna looked into her sister’s eyes with a slight frown as Celestia could feel her younger sibling trying to read her. “I speak of this character Rayleigh Redwood. A criminal from my time away.”
Celestia nodded her head with a serious look. “Redwood is a dangerous individual to be sure.”
Luna sat down. “I’ve heard whispers from some of the guards that he appeared for a brief time two days ago. However, there has been no sign of him since then.”
Celestia steepled her hooves and sighed. “Yes, I’ve heard reports of this as well. Redwood is extremely skilled and adaptable. It is why he has evaded our eyes for so very long.”
Luna’s eyes did not break contact with Celestia as she seemed to study every move they made. “Sister, you’re not hiding anything from me, are you?”
Celestia smiled with a chuckle. “Not for the moment. Why?”
Luna frowned again but shook her head and turned away with a laugh. “It’s nothing. I just simply… No, it’s nothing.” She got up to leave but turned back. “There is one more thing though.” Celestia smiled as she waited for her sister’s request. “I’ve been looking to find some more ponies for the Lunar Guard, but not many sign up. I was hoping you could agree to the requisition of some of the newest Academy graduates. I would just feel more comfortable if we had an equal fighting strength for both the day and night. Especially if criminals like this Redwood are around.”
Celestia got up and walked over to embrace her sister. Luna embraced her back. “I know you can be a worrywart, Lulu. But I’ve been holding this place together for a thousand years. And while I think it shines a thousand times brighter with you by my side, you don’t have to worry about hoofing off some responsibilities.” Luna looked up at her sister with a smirk and Celestia rolled her eyes with a laugh. “Alright, I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you, Tia,” Luna smiled as she once again began to leave. “By the way, what crime did this Rayleigh Redwood commit? The records I dug up indicated he was once the Captain of the Guard. What would drive a pony away from that?”
Celestia’s smile fell slightly. “The same thing that drove Shining Armor away… Love.”
Before Luna could reply a page knocked on the open door and bowed his head. “Your majesties, I apologize for my rude interruption but something of urgent matter has come up.” He walked past Luna and hoofed Celestia a sealed scroll before bowing once more and leaving.
Celestia broke the seal and read the contents, her face growing pale. Luna ran to her side. “What is it, sister?”
---
Twilight tossed and turned in her bed. It had been a week since the Mailmare incident. Thankfully with no present threat detected, Shining Armor had agreed to let Twilight go home to Ponyville. Of course it was under the strict supervision of several armed guards but that was a simple price to pay. Still, all the stuff that happened was pretty hard to explain to her friends. In the end, she decided to tell them a half truth and simply say that the guards the incident and her own disappearance were matters that were “above their concern.” Needless to say her friends hadn’t taken it too well.
“What do you mean ‘above our concern’?” Rainbow shouted indignantly. The day after the Mailmare incident the six had convened at Sugarcube Corner. Applejack especially was interested in hearing about what was going on, so she wasn’t entirely pleased when she heard Twilight’s reply.
“Rainbow’s right, Twi,” Applejack said with a frown. “If you’re involved in somethin’ its only right to include us.”
“Believe me, I would,” Twilight replied as she caught a glance of Applejack’s black cast. Thoughts of her own failure bubbled to the surface and she gritted her teeth and lied again. “But… Shining says it’s confidential.” To be specific Shining had told her she could tell her friends about the danger she was in, but he asked her to keep Redwood and CRO a secret.
“What?” the girls all asked in unison.
“What’s going on is… something super secret,” Twilight mumbled through her teeth, “and he only wants me to know about it. I would tell if I could. But… I don’t want to disobey my brother.”
“Oh, well that makes sense,” Pinkie said as she took a sip from her soda.
“Indeed,” Rarity agreed. “I suppose if its Royal business and the captain of the guard is involved then there’s no helping it.”
“Ex-captain,” Applejack corrected her with a look. Twilight could tell that her friend, the Element of Honesty, was not convinced. “Shining Armor gave up his command when he went to the Crystal Empire. Couldn’t you at least tell us what he’s doin’ back here?” She didn’t break eye contact for a moment.
“Actually, he’s more here on more of a consulting basis,” Twilight feigned again as she tried to smile. “In fact you already met the pony who replaced him as Captain of the Guard and is using him for his expertise.”
“Who?” Fluttershy spoke up.
“That Pegasus mare, Cloudy Gust.”
Rainbow spit out her soda in surprise. “What!?”
Twilight wiped the soda from her eyes and frowned at Rainbow before continuing. “Yeah, my brother told me she took over his position after he left.”
Rainbow tried to say something but never finished a thought. “But she… I mean… Well maybe it…”
“Are you okay, darling?” Rarity asked as she put a hoof on her friend’s shoulder.
Rainbow started and looked back at the group. “No… I mean yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Just kind of… surprised me is all.”
“I’m not surprised,” Pinkie said happily. “I mean she looks pretty strong. Plus she outflew you, Dashie.”
Rainbow spit up her soda once more, to Twilight’s chagrin. “How did you know that?!”
“I have my ways,” Pinkie laughed maniacally. Cupcake walked past the table with a tray.
“We saw you two arrive together,” she said with a smirk. “Sorry, Rainbow.” She left again and paused by the register where her husband was hiding behind the counter shaking. “Oh, grow up, dear.”
Rainbow lowered her head as she bit her lip. Suddenly the group didn’t feel as cheery as before.
Fluttershy began to speak up, “Um, it’s okay if you lost one-” A loud bang suddenly interrupted her.
Applejack lifted her good hoof from the table, everypony now paying attention to her. “Applejack?” Twilight asked. “What is it?”
“Stop gettin’ off topic,” she mumbled. “Why don’t you wanna talk about what happened?!”
Twilight looked down sullenly, not hiding herb feelings very well. “I told you, my brother-”
Applejack pulled away from her seat and got up. “Ah’ve heard enough.”
“Applejack!” Rarity shouted as her friend left for the exit. “Where are you going?”
“Home,” Applejack said without turning around. “To mah family who’d never lie to me.”
“I, um, guess I’ll be going as well,” Rarity said hesitantly as she got up and left the bits for her and Applejack’s drink. “I’ll see you girls soon.”
“Yeah,” Rainbow replied as she too got up. “Be seeing you.” She dropped her bits and flew out the window.
Twilight watched her friends leave and turned to Fluttershy and Pinkie. “Um, I suppose I should head home too,” Fluttershy said and got up, leaving her bits.
Twilight’s head sank as she knew what was coming next. She turned to Pinkie. “I suppose you want to leave now too?”
“I work here,” Pinkie replied with a slight frown as she grabbed the empty soda bottles and placed them on a tray before collecting the bits.
“Oh… right.” Twilight paid her bits and left the store as well.
That scene in the café had been gnawing at her for the past week. She hadn’t really seen her friends since then. Thanks to it she was finding it hard to prepare for the Equestrian Leaders Summit let alone sleep. But no matter what screwy little thing running through her mind, be it her friends, her bounty or even the Summit, she still couldn’t help but think of Redwood. She had met him for a brief moment after the events of last week, and then he just disappeared without saying a word. Didn’t he say he would train her? Or… maybe not in those exact words, but he heavily implied that he would be around. She needed to become stronger. If villains like the Mailmare were going to start coming after her friends then she needed to become as powerful as she possibly could. Twilight let out a sigh as she rolled over in bed one more time.
She heard a knock on her door. Twilight groaned as she sat up. “What is it?”
“Princess Sparkle, your brother is requesting your presence,” a soldier’s voice came from the other side of the door.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “It’s late, tell him I’ll be there in the morning.”
“It’s 10 am, princess,” the soldier replied.
Twilight shot up in bed and pulled the curtains back to reveal a sunny summer day. “Ugh,” she moaned.
---
Shining Armor rubbed his temples as he sat in front of the magical glass cage Redwood was imprisoned in. “You seriously can’t tell me anything?”
“You have the Mailmare’s dragon lighter,” Redwood replied smugly. “I’m sure that’s connected to a wealth of information you could use.”
“It is,” Shining said through hissed teeth. “So much so that we have twenty CRO agents tasked to sift through it all. But I know this would go a lot faster if you told me what you know about the events in Manehattan.”
“Spontaneous combustion,” Redwood said dryly. “An interesting phenomenon. Ancient doctors used to believe the body was composed of two magical resonances, fire and ice. They thought certain swellings meant the resonances were out of balance. Too much fire and you could explode, too much ice and you could freeze entirely.”
Shining glared at Redwood. “Is that your answer?”
He shook his head. “No, but it’s an interesting tidbit don’t you think?”
The two heard a loud knock from behind. A pony at the entrance to the underground warehouse opened the door and let in a green earth pony escorting Twilight.
“Thank you,” Shining said to the Earth pony. “You’re dismissed, Sidq.”
The pony bowed and left leaving Twilight to walk down the stairs. She glared at her brother first but then noticed the large glass box. She kept herself from drawing a sharp breath as she composed herself and walked forward. She raised an eyebrow almost amusingly. “Wow, so you escape the long arm of the law just to get caught again? Shiny, didn’t you say he’s been on the run for over twenty years?”
“I turned myself in again, Miss Sparkle,” Redwood replied. He shrugged, displaying his new thick black shackles. “What can I say, I like to collaborate.”
Twilight’s eyes slightly widened at the enormous size of the shackles Redwood currently had. “Um, Shiny, how much do those weigh?”
“You don’t wanna know,” Shining mumbled and got up to all fours. “Alright, Redwood. Twilight’s here, so give us the information we need.”
“Information?” Twilight asked.
Shining bowed his head and turned to her with a saddened face. “Manehattan’s mayor died yesterday afternoon.”
Twilight gasped. “Oh no.”
“We have reason to believe that this may be murder. If so it could put every official at the Summit in jeopardy. Redwood implies to know a lot of things but now it’s time he puts his bits where his mouth is.”
Redwood laughed. “What makes you so sure it was murder? I hear the mayor of Manehattan was beloved, just who would want to kill him?”
“His secretary was severely burned but she survived long enough to give us a word. ‘Bee.’” Shining was silent as he let the word sink in for Twilight and Redwood, whose face gave nothing away. “Well, does that ring any bells?”
Redwood folded his forelegs, an act that should have been impossible with his enormous shackles. “Well, your right about this being a hit. Might be a little wrong about the motive though.”
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.
Redwood smirked. “Tell me, Miss Sparkle, have you ever read the works of Donte?”
Twilight’s face lit up as a literature question was posed. “The Bitalian poet? Of course! He’s only one of my favorite ancient writers. Subclass fiction writers. Subclass poets. Subclass…” she paused as Shining stare down at her with a frown. “I mean, go on.”
“Then you’re probably familiar with Donte’s Inferno?” Redwood asked.
“Who isn’t?” Twilight asked happily.
“I’m not,” Shining said dryly.
“Oh,” Twilight said. “Well, it’s about this pony that travels to Hell, the realm below Tartarus, and visits the nine circles of Hell.”
“Beautiful work of fiction,” Redwood replied. “Brings me to tears. You know, I actually got to read from a real first edition copy illustrated by Donte himself.”
“Really!?” Twilight shouted.
“Yeah, it was ten or twelve years ago and I had just met this art dealer named Golden Ratio who turned out to be-”
“Enough!” Shining shouted as he slammed his hoof down on the ground hard. The two book lovers quieted immediately. “What does this have to do with anything?”
Redwood uncrossed his hooves and leaned forward in his chair. “I bring it up because the killer you’re looking for goes by the moniker Inferno. Though it’s probably for a different reason than the book.”
“Why?” Shining asked through gritted teeth.
“Because he incinerates his victims,” Redwood replied. “Burns them to a crisp.”
“No, I mean why did he target the mayor of Manehattan?”
Redwood smirked. “Okay, so I didn’t bring up the story for no reason. Inferno is originally from the Romane Empire, Bitaly specifically. There he was indoctrinated at a young age into an order called the Cult of the Sun.”
“The Cult of the Sun?” Shining remarked.
“It’s a religious order that worships the goddess of the sun,” Twilight replied matter-of-factly.
“So they worship Celestia?” Shining asked.
“Actually no,” Redwood replied. “Believe it or not the Cult predates the Sisters. In fact it would probably be from a little before Starswirl’s time. Back then there were no gods walking among us. There was just the ponies and the earth. Since the dawn of time ponies have worshipped that which they couldn’t understand. The sun is a part of that.”
“The goddess they worship is called Solaris,” Twilight finished. “I know it sounds odd, but they’re actually a pretty well respected sect in the Romane Empire.”
“Except for Inferno,” Redwood continued. “Who became a zealot. Killed twelve members of his order before running off and starting a country wide killing spree.”
“Okay, stop,” Shining said as he waved his hooves in front of him. “Now I need to know, how the hay do you know so much about this pony?”
“We’ve… crossed paths,” Redwood replied trying to avoid eye contact. “Once or twice.”
Shining narrowed his eyes and chuckled slightly. “You were supposed to be a victim.”
Redwood rolled his eyes. “He may have tried to kill me, yes. But as you can see the attempt failed. I however made sure to learn everything I could about my foe.”
“Except where to find him,” Twilight finished with a smirk.
“He can be rather elusive, yes,” Redwood replied. “But I tracked his origin by looking backward through the murders. The one before me was a Saddle Arabian warlord. The two before that were high ranking executives in Prance. The two before that were princes in Marelan. So on and so forth.”
Shining rubbed her chin in thought. “So he kills two of the same types of ponies at a time. Why?”
“Who knows?” Redwood shrugged. “Dichotomy of night and day? Representing the rising of the sun and the setting? Or he could just be insane.”
“So how did he kill the mayor?” Shining asked. “Nopony was close enough to throw anything incendiary.”
Redwood was about to reply when the door burst open and the pony called Sidq ran in. “Sir! We might have a lead on the murder weapon.”
Redwood smirked at Shining. “See, don’t sell your own resources short.”
---
“What am I looking at?” Shining asked as he, Twilight, Cloudy Gust and several other ponies had gathered around the crystal balls to watch a projection. Sidq settled on an image of a small red fly that had to have been magnified immensely since it was so tiny.
“We found this while sifting through the Mailmare’s resources,” Sidq replied. “Meet the Mareitanian Flare Fly. It’s a species native to the Zebra and Camel countries that’s found in harsh swampy environments.”
Shining squinted his eyes at it. “I guess it looks like a bee. So you think Inferno used one of these things to light the mayor on fire?”
“Not likely,” Sidq replied. “The Flare Fly is very erratic. However its oil is extremely valuable.”
“Oil?” Twilight asked.
“Watch this,” Sidq said with a smile. He began to scroll through the pictures of the Flare Fly as a larger bug approached and attempted to grab it. The fly then expelled an amber liquid that burst into a thin flame the moment it hit the bug.
“That’s interesting but it doesn’t look like the oil would be enough to burn the mayor to a crisp,” Cloudy pointed out.
“True,” Sidq smiled. “If that were all that Flare Fly oil was made out of. What you saw was just fluid. When exposed to the air it combusts, but collect enough of the stuff and store it correctly then you can add this.” He slid his hoof on the crystal again and an image of a chemical formula popped up. “It’s-”
“It’s an accelerant,” Twilight interrupted, her eyes glued to the screen. “This is what he mixes in?”
Sidq sat back in his chair. “Police report doesn’t give us any chemicals in the carriage. However, the secretary is another story. Since not all her skin was burned I had the doctors in Manehattan take a magical tox screen of the affected areas. That’s where I found the accelerant. The Flare Fly stuff was just a bit of luck.”
“So we know who and we know how,” Shining spoke up. “Now we just need to know the murder weapon and the next victim.”
“Sir, if I may speak,” Cloudy asked.
“You don’t need to ask my permission for anything, captain,” Shining replied. “But go ahead.”
“Is it not possible we’re dealing with another pony after Princess Sparkle’s life?”
Shining thought about it for a minute. “It makes sense. I mean you are technically a diplomat like Mayor High Horse was.”
“But I’m also a princess,” Twilight replied. “Shouldn’t he have gone after Luna or Celestia or…” She hesitated in bringing up Cadence’s name.
“The princesses are some of the most protected individuals on the planet, Cadence included. And let’s consider the Summit too. It’s a conference of Equestria’s leaders, and you’re a leader.” Twilight looked her brother in the eye as she suddenly felt the burden on her become even heavier. “Right now I want you quarantined to CRO. I’ll speak with the princesses about maybe taking you off the roster of the Summit as well.”
“What?!” Twilight asked. “I can’t just abandon the Summit.”
“You’re not abandoning anypony,” Shining said as he put his hooves on her shoulders. “In fact, you not being there might just save some lives in case Inferno targets others to get to you.”
Twilight frowned but nodded as she was forced to agree. “Alright, I’ll stay here.”
Shining gave a sigh of relief. “Just to be sure though, I’ll have somepony watching you.” He turned to Sidq. “Sidq, I’m hoping you’re up to the task?”
Sidq fumbled in his chair as he sat upright and saluted. “Sir, yes, sir.”
“With Cadence attending the Summit, I’m going to be needed back at the Crystal Empire. Captain Gust, I’m leaving the security of the event as well as the safety of my wife in your capable hooves.”
Cloudy frowned but saluted. “Sir, yes, sir.”
“As for the rest of you,” he called out to the room. “I want you to scour every scroll, magical recording and photo we have and find what this pony looks like.” He pointed at the screen which simply held the name “Inferno” and a series of unfilled in categories like age, sex, and date of birth. “Coordinate with the dates and names that Redwood gave us. A lot of the ponies this maniac has killed were high profile, there’s got to be a picture of him out there somewhere.”
The room immediately began to move and bustle. Sidq got up from his chair and walked over to Twilight. “So, would you like me to take you to bed, Miss Sparkle? I mean your ROOM, Miss Sparkle. I mean PRINCESS SPARKLE. Whew. Sorry, I’m kind of bad at this.”
Twilight giggled at the green pony’s naivety. “Just Twilight is fine. And it’s a little early for bed how about we take a walk.”
Sidq checked the clock on the wall. “Right,” he said with an awkward smile and wave toward the hall. “Right this way then.”
---
Located between Canterlot and Manehattan is a tunnel. Probably the longest Diamond Dog dug tunnel in Southern Equestria. It runs so deep below the city that nopony is aware of it, even sewer workers. However despite its grand scale, this was a place abandoned by the Diamond Dogs of old. Not because of discovery, but because it had been visited by something far more terrifying than any Diamond Dog. This tunnel was now its home, and most of Equestria would probably like it that way, if they knew of its existence. It was through this tunnel that a tall pony in tattered rags now walked. The area around him bathed completely in darkness, yet every step he took was sure and true.
A menacing gurgle echoed off the walls making the pony stop for a moment. His ears flipped up from under his hood yet his head remained perfectly still. “Qui ductor est ibi?” the pony croaked in a voice rattled with scars. “What was that?
The gurgling returned in number as the sound of slithering accompanied it. This time the ponies head did turn as his eyes followed an unseen moving entity in the darkness. A crooked smile creased his lips as he had a throaty chuckle. “Serpens?”
“Snake?”
The sound of the creature grew louder as its gurgling mouth reared up and high above the pony. He simply looked back up at it. “Magna serpens.”
“Giant Snake.”
The pony slowly reached into his rags as he pulled out a small match to a candle. He lit it just as the giant three jawed worm opened its mouth in front of him to roar. Spittle and mucus flew at the pony, splattering him and his clothes. The pony did not react as he dropped the candle, letting it illuminate the area. He then took off his rags to reveal a body almost devoid of fur, with burn marks emblazoned on his skin in intricate patterns resembling the sun and other celestial bodies. He stood to his full height and cracked his neck before his horn blazed with magic to lift a small crossbow from his rags. The magic also worked to load up a small bolt equipped with a tiny amber vial. The pony grinned as his white eyes seemed to stare past the giant worm. “nunc mortuus es.”
“Now you die.”
The worm roared once more as the pony did as well. The two charging at one another in the deep dark tunnel just as the candle burnt out.
---
Fluttershy decided to go for a walk on the outskirts of town by her house. She too was having a hard time forgetting the fiasco at Sugarcube Corner. Applejack and Rainbow Dash simply hadn’t been the same since that day, Twilight’s Birthday. Applejack had grown distant and refused to talk to one of her best friends while Rainbow Dash simply locked herself away in her room most of the time. Fluttershy was walking down the road when she looked up and saw that she had unconsciously come to Sweet Apple Acres. With a determined face she steeled herself and entered the farm, ready to talk to her friend about whatever was going on.
Big Mac was pulling a plow through the dirt as she approached him. “Hello, Big Mac. Beautiful day isn’t it?” Fluttershy greeted happily.
Big Mac dropped his plow and wiped some sweat from his brow. “Eeyup.”
“Have you seen Applejack anywhere?” Fluttershy asked.
As if in answer the sound of the screen door to the Apple family’s home swung shut as Applejack burst through. “Ah told you Ah’m fine! Ah can buck a hundred apples with one hoof.” She yelled as she descended the porch and headed for the orchard. Granny Smith followed her out with a concerned look.
“Ya can’t balance a buck with one hoof,” she said. “Especially with those trees.”
“Ah’ve been buckin’ these here trees since Ah was this tall,” Applejack retorted by lifting her good hoof to a small height. She slightly lost her balance as she raised it but caught herself before she could fall. “There’s no way, I’m fallin’ behind on mah work.” Granny Smith tried to dissuade her but Applejack was set as she left for the orchard.
Fluttershy walked up beside Granny Smith as they watched her go. “That one’s as stubborn as her mother,” Granny said with a sigh. She turned to Fluttershy. “You’re her pal. Go see if you can’t talk some gosh darn sense into her.”
“Well, I’ll try,” Fluttershy mumbled as she ran off to where Applejack was. Despite her injury, Applejack still moved quite fast. Fluttershy saw her pause before an apple tree as she turned to face away from it, making sure to tighten the straps of her cast. Applejack took a deep breath and planted her one good hoof into the ground before rearing back with her cannons. However just as Granny Smith said, the balance was off and she tilted to the left of the tree. Applejack flailed as her kick instead broke off a chunk of the tree’s side as she fell down on her bad leg.
“Darn it,” she hissed as she tried to get back up. Fluttershy rushed over and grabbed her shoulders.
“Here,” she said softly as she set Applejack up and began to look at her hoof. “You’re really not taking it easy.”
Applejack chuckled with a wince. “What gave you that idea?”
“Maybe the fact that this cast should have come off days ago,” Fluttershy said with a sweet smile. “You heal pretty fast, everypony knows it.”
Applejack breathed in as Fluttershy set the cast once more. She looked down at it and sighed. “Maybe it’s not the injury on the outside that’s hurtin’.” Fluttershy chuckled softly. “What’s so funny?”
“I just never expected to hear something profound like that from you.” The two looked at each other before sharing a laugh. Fluttershy finished off fixing the cast and pulled back. “So why are you mad at Twilight?”
Applejack sighed again as she looked down. “It’s just… Ah saw somethin’… that day.” Fluttershy tilted her head thoughtfully indicating her to speak on. “Ah saw Twilight when she came, when she saved us.”
“That was pretty amazing,” Fluttershy said. “My forest friends told me that none of the animals were hurt either. Apparently Twilight sent them all off to an isolated part of the forest.”
“But that’s just it,” Applejack said. “Have ya ever seen Twilight use that kind of power?”
Fluttershy shrugged. “Well, maybe not that much. But Twilight is a princess now. I wouldn’t be surprised if she has powers she’s just discovering.”
Applejack nodded. “But… she did lie to us.”
“Only because she had to,” Fluttershy said.
“And what if that’s another lie?” Applejack retorted indignantly. She calmed down and turned away. “Sorry.”
Fluttershy closed her eyes and smiled peacefully. “I don’t have an ability like you, Applejack. I can’t tell when somepony is lying. But I do have something that I’ve never told anypony.”
Applejack’s ears perked up. “What’s that?”
“I can tell when somepony is acting out of kindness,” Fluttershy smiled. “And I can assure you. Whatever Twilight is doing, whatever… strange things you believe may or may not be real. She is doing it out of the kindness of her heart.”
Fluttershy’s words fell on Applejack like a ton of bricks. Maybe she had acted too hastily. After all, this was her friend. No matter what she was part of, she should be able to trust her judgment. Just like Twilight could trust hers. A smile crept over Applejack’s face as she turned back to Fluttershy. “Y’know you should really talk more often cause you got some pretty nice things to say.” Fluttershy chuckled as she helped her friend up and they walked back to the house.
---
Twilight had been walking with Sidq through the streets of Canterlot for a while. The sun had already set and the streetlights had begun to blaze to life. After leaving the Academy, Sidq and Twilight had engaged in some nice conversation. Apparently the green earth pony enjoyed academics just like her. They talked began by talking about astrophysics and then eased their way into pre-hearthian era literature. “Fascinating,” Sidq said. “So this pony was raised in complete seclusion. The poem was even probably the only thing he could read.”
“I know,” Twilight agreed as they talked about the criminal they now faced. “The Cult of the Sun is very secretive. Not much is known about it.”
“For good reason,” Sidq nodded. “Their compound is considered taboo for anypony both within and without the Romane Empire to enter. Only those of the cult.”
Twilight smiled a little bit at the pony’s knowledge. Sidq was a bit thin for a pony his age, but he had certain determination in his eyes that Twilight saw in most of the members of CRO. His mane was short and black with a small hole through his right ear that indicated he used to have a piercing. She glanced at his hind quarters for a moment as they walked but his red uniform obscured what she was looking for. “Um, I don’t mean to be rude but…” she murmured as she nodded to his flank.
“Oh! No problem at all,” Sidq replied. He lifted the flap of his uniform to reveal a picture of a parchment and magnifying glass over it.
Twilight smiled. “It’s a lovely cutie mark. What does it mean?”
Sidq sighed as he aimed his face toward the sky with embarrassment. “You’re going to laugh,” he chuckled nervously.
“I wouldn’t do that,” Twilight assured him.
Sidq smiled. “I’m exceptionally good at finding flaws. Inconsistencies. Errors. Stuff like that. Back in Fillydelphia I worked in a courthouse basement organizing the litigations and backstock of cases. There was a judge there whom I’d known since foalhood that saw my skill and got me an interview with the Academy. Two years later, I’m being inducted into CRO.”
Twilight nodded her head as she listened. “So you’re from Fillydelphia? I kind of assumed with the name that…”
Sidq waved a dismissive hoof. “It’s alright. I get it all the time. Actually I was born in Saddle Arabia. My parents immigrated here when I was only a few months old.”
“And what does your name mean?”
“Well, in full it’s Bahit Sidq,” he laughed. “Seriously don’t try to pronounce it. Even I have trouble sometimes. It means Seeking Truth. So if you want you can refer to me as Seek.”
“Seek,” Twilight repeated. “Alright.” She suddenly noticed that the moon had risen in the sky. “Well, it was very nice meeting you Seek. But I should probably head in.”
“Right,” Seek replied as they turned a corner and began their way back to the Academy. They were silent for a moment as Twilight pondered another question.
“So you’ve been with the CRO for a little while, right?” she asked.
“Yup,” Seek replied. “Maybe a couple months before Mr. Redwood showed up.”
“So did you know Captain Gust?” Twilight asked.
Seek frowned as he tried to think of an answer. “Not particularly. Though she works with CRO she’s technically not a part of it.”
Twilight frowned. “What do you mean?”
Seek turned to her with a confused expression. “CRO is a cell of the Royal Guard under the direct control of Princess Celestia. Captain Gust only has jurisdiction over the Guard.”
Twilight’s eyes widened. “I… didn’t know that.”
Seek raised an eyebrow. “Pardon my interest, but why do you ask?”
Twilight shook her head to dispel any thoughts she was having. “She’s just such a quiet character I wanted to find out more about her.”
“Well I know one thing about her,” Seek said. “She admires the hay out of your brother.”
---
Cloudy stood on the balcony of the royal banquet hall overlooking all of Canterlot. She watched from above as the train holding Shining Armor sped away toward the kingdom he now called home. The previous captain’s words hanging in the air around her like a rain cloud. “I’m leaving the security of the event as well as the safety of my wife in your capable hooves.”
In a few short hours this hall would be packed with delegates from all across Equestria. Gust had been captain for close to a year now, yet she had never undertaken security for an event this big. If she was feeling as nervous as this then she dreaded how she would feel preparing for the Grand Galloping Gala. A flash of an image shot through her mind. Fire. Ponies screaming. A hoof draped around her as the ceiling collapses. A face appearing from the wreckage. A face she knew all too well. Then she realized she was a filly in these images. She took a shaky breath and blew out, regaining her focus in this moment. “Get it together, Cloudy,” she mumbled to herself. “No more failures.” The fire flashes through her mind again before disappearing at last. “No more weaknesses.”
“Captain Gust,” a strong feminine voice spoke up as Cloudy regained her composure. She spun around to face the persona of one of her diarchs. Princess Luna stood before the doors to the hall as she stepped into the light of the moon on the balcony. “It is good to see you are preparing for the Summit tomorrow.”
“Yes, princess,” Cloudy replied in her military monotone. “Simply proceeding with my rounds. Can’t be too cautious.”
“Indeed,” Luna replied as Cloudy began to walk past her. “Especially if there is a criminal about.”
Cloudy stopped and turned to the Luna. “Rest assured, your majesty. Nopony will disturb this Summit.”
Luna smiled at Cloudy. “I don’t doubt it, captain.” Cloudy turned to leave again before Luna held up a hoof. “Wait, there is something I wanted to discuss with you.”
Cloudy stopped and bowed to Luna once more. “Your majesty?”
Luna lowered her head as she struggled to voice her concerns. “This… debacle with the mayor of Manehattan has me perplexed and afraid. Afraid for the wellbeing of the delegates. I do not know exactly how this horrible fate came about Mayor High Horse, but I can’t help but feel a dark presence at work. Please keep an extra set of eyes and ears open at all times.”
Cloudy nodded. A part of her wished she could tell Princess Luna of the threat, but her orders came from Celestia. She had an oath to her patron goddess and she would rather die than break it. “I will, princess.”
Luna smiled and waved a hoof in dismissal. “Continue with your duties then. I will wish you a good night.”
“You as well, princess,” she responded with a bow as Luna spread her wings and took off into the night sky.
---
“Dashie?” Pinkie asked as she knocked on her friend’s door. “DASHIE!” She began to knock even harder.
Rainbow flung the door open with her nightgown still on. She glared at her bubbly pink friend. “Pinkie! It’s two in the morning! What could you possibly want?” Suddenly a thought occurred to Dash and she looked down at the ground thirty hooves below her house. “Wait, how did you…”
“Never mind that,” Pinkie interrupted as she barged in. “I was sleeping having this amazing stupendous dream about chocolate rain when I remembered!”
Rainbow shut her door and rubbed her eyes wearily as she walked back to the foyer where her friend hat sat herself down. “Remembered what?”
“That we didn’t have a party to thank that Gust pony for saving you!” Pinkie replied happily.
Rainbow’s expression soured. “Is that what this is about? Why would you throw her a party?”
“Because she rescued you,” Pinkie said matter-of-factly.
“She did not rescue me!” Rainbow shouted angrily. “I could have gotten out of there any time I wanted. I was… just playing with that psycho! Yeah!”
Pinkie cocked her head quizzically. “Okay, well we should still plan a party. Now I’m thinking balloons and streamers and-”
“Shut up!” Rainbow shouted as she screwed her eyes shut in anger. “Shut up, Pinkie! I’ve had enough of your bullshit tonight! Just go home!” Rainbow breathed heavily before opening her eyes in shock at her own words. She looked up at her friend whose lips now began to quiver and eyes mist over. “Wait, Pinkie, I didn’t mean that…”
Pinkie shot out of her seat and ran past Dash and to the door before disappearing behind it. Rainbow rushed over to the door but when she pulled it open Pinkie was nowhere in sight, both on ground and in the air. Rainbow scanned the surroundings one more time before slamming her hoof into her wall. “Damn,” she muttered before shouting it a bit more angrily. “Damn!” She swung the door shut with a slam. Just below her house nestled against the underside of the cloud it sat on was a small assortment of balloons with a basket attached. It’s only occupant, a crying pink pony.
-----
Dawn came right on schedule as the duties of the royal sisters shifted. Celestia yawned and stretched as she got up from bed and walked to her bedroom mirror. She silently brushed her flowing mane as she considered what needed to be done today. Luna should have returned by now and was in her room. Luckily her sister hadn’t shown a specific interest in attending the Summit. That meant that if anything should happen then she should probably be asleep and away from the action. Still, it made her nervous to think that a killer was still at large and targeting her constituents.
Before Shining Armor left, he made sure to send out a scouting party around Canterlot. The wide net should have been enough to deter or even catch a killer like Inferno, but something was still gnawing at the back of her mind.
She finished brushing her hair and went to her balcony. With a flare of her horn the solar princess commanded the sun to rise and it obeyed. Celestia gave a nod of satisfaction and began her walk to the dining room for breakfast.
She was surprised to find the doors to the dining room already open. Normally nopony would be up this early. She opened the door to peer in and cocked her head in surprise. “Luna?”
Luna looked up from a small steaming cup of coffee and smiled at her older sister. “Glad to see you are up, Tia.”
Celestia walked over to the grandiosely long table and sat down. “What are you still doing up?”
Luna set her coffee down, never breaking her smile. “I’ve decided to attend the Summit.”
Celestia’s eyes widened in surprise but she regained her composure. “Oh, you really don’t need to do that,” she chuckled.
“No,” Luna replied bluntly. “I think it’s only right that both of us be present.” She got up from her seat and walking over to place her coffee cup in front of Celestia. “Besides, I don’t want you to feel overloaded.”
Celestia levitated the cup and brought it to her lips before replying. “We already talked about this, Lulu. You don’t have to worry about me, I’ve handled bigger things on my own before.”
Luna nodded. “Right, well I still think it would look best if I was there.”
Celestia sighed internally as she saw that there was no dissuading her sister. “Very well. But I can assure you it will be boring.”
“I can handle politics,” Luna replied with a laugh before exiting the dining room. Celestia stayed behind as she steepled her hooves on the table in thought. Now she really hoped nothing bad would happen.
---
Once again, Twilight had a bad night sleeping at CRO. Though the room prepared for her this time had not been as bad as the cell before, she still couldn’t sleep. Once again a pony was after her and others were in the crossfire, even if they were ponies she hardly knew. She sighed as she poured herself some coffee from a table prepared in the main room of CRO.
It didn’t surprise her that so many ponies were still working even at such an early hour. Most probably even worked through the night. A pony passed by her and she waved him over. “Excuse me, has there been any news on Inferno?”
The pony shook her head. “Afraid not, ma’am.” Twilight nodded despondently and let the mare go.
“Glad to see your up,” came a familiar voice. Twilight looked to one of the many desks lining the room. Seek was sitting at one inspecting a crystal ball. She walked over to him and smiled as he did back.
“I couldn’t sleep, looks like you couldn’t either.” The earth pony had bags under his eyes and he looked as if he had been in front of the crystal ball all night.
Seek sighed. “Scouting sweep around Canterlot picked up nothing last night and delegates have already begun to arrive. Either we warded him off, or he’s planning to pop out somewhere we can’t imagine.”
Twilight looked at the crystal ball which had several pictures relating to the Cult of the Sun on it. One that intrigued her was a painting of a beautiful unicorn seemingly strung up to what appeared to be a pyre. Twilight narrowed her eyes and pointed to the picture making it enlarge. “What’s this?”
Seek looked and shrugged. “I thought I might find something by researching the history of the Cult. Found a couple scrolls pertaining to traditions and rules, but nothing that could help us. So then, on a hunch, I started looking up religious artwork. Turns out the Cult has some pretty bizarre history.” He pulled out a scroll that he had stashed beneath his desk and unrolled it before handing it to her. “Meet Glow D’Arc. A Prench warrior princess that was persecuted and executed by the Cult.”
Twilight frowned. “Why?”
Seek shrugged again. “Don’t know. Apparently she was pretty well revered in Prance. Some even equated her unearthly glow to being like the sun. From all records she was a just and proper ruler.”
Twilight’s frown deepened. She looked back at the picture in the crystal. Something about it just seemed… odd. Familiar even. Then she pictured the burning unicorn with wings. Her eyes widened. “Oh no!”
Seek sat up in surprise. “What?”
Twilight turned and began to run up the stairs to the door. “Inferno isn’t after me or anypony else in the Summit,” she shouted and stopped at the door to look back at Seek. “He’s after the host!”
---
Cloudy stood at attention as guest after guest filed into the grand hall of the Canterlot palace. Ponies of all shapes and sizes came, even a zebra surprisingly. Inside, Princess Celestia as well as Princess Luna greeted each and every one of them. When the final delegate had arrive Cloudy let out a short sigh of relief. So far, so good.
A unicorn of the Royal Guard approached her. “Captain, we may have a problem.”
Cloudy cursed under her breath. “What is it?” The unicorn pointed out towards the city. A small plume of smoke billowed out. Cloudy growled as she looked between the smoke and the summit inside. She turned back to the unicorn. “Keep your squadron on the delegates at all times.” She turned to another group of armored guards. “You, come with me.” The guards obeyed and Cloudy began to leave but a feminine voice from behind stopped her.
“Is everything alright, Captain?” Princess Cadence asked as she exited the grand hall.
Cloudy steeled herself before turning around. “Everything is fine, your highness. It’s probably just a false alarm.”
“Alright,” Cadence replied. “But be careful.”
“I will, ma’am,” Cloudy replied and took off flying to the scene of the smoke.
About five blocks down from the castle Cloudy and her squadron of pegasi could see the blaze. A small shop had been overtaken by flames. Luckily the fire wasn’t spreading. She wordlessly commanded a couple pegasi to go fetch some rain clouds and began her descent. Her eyes widened and she increased her speed as she noticed a small figure obscured by a collapsed beam of wood in the street. She landed with a thud and grabbed the beam, lifting and throwing it with a grunt. A small older earth pony with glasses struggled to get back to his feet. A guard rushed up to help him.
Cloudy approached the pony and began to question him. “Did you see how this fire started?”
The pony looked around hysterically as he trembled, his glasses cracked and a lens falling out. “I-I-I don’t know w-what happened? One minute I’m stocking the shelves for the morning, then I hear this loud noise from the b-basement. I g-go over to the hatch but… Next thing I know I’m being hurled out the window by a wall of fire!”
Cloudy listened to the story and slowly moved back to examine the scene. The pegasi still hadn’t arrived with the rain yet, but a new picture was coming into view. The building was a small store with a display window, and that window had been ripped open from the inside. No… more like blasted open. A pit began to form in Cloudy’s gut.
“Captain Gust!” a familiar voice shouted. Cloudy looked up to see none other than Twilight Sparkle flying down to the street, out of breath. She stopped and surveyed the scene as well. “No, no, no!”
Cloudy’s bad feeling grew even more and she yelled at her. “Princess, you were given specific orders to remain in CRO. You are in danger!”
Twilight turned to her and shook her head frantically. “No! It’s not me he’s after. The Princess! Princess Celestia! You have to save Princess Celestia!”
Cloudy’s eyes widened and she grit her teeth as she took off into the air.
---
After Cloudy left the Summit, a pony in the shadows used this as his chance to move. With the last of the delegates having entered the Royal Guard was about to close the gates but a strong pale hoof stopped them. A guard stepped up to the cloaked figure. “Sir, I’m going to need you to step back.”
“Leave,”
“Exite,” the pony sneered and a burst of fire shot from his horn, throwing the guard back. The delegates all turned in shock as the doors were then blasted open throwing the rest of the guards into the walls and knocking them out. A pony in a tattered cloak entered the hall and began to chuckle menacingly.
“Oh no,” Cadence whispered.
“Who are you?” Luna shouted angrily. “How dare you interrupt this royal meeting!”
“Royals?” “I see no royals here. Only impostors.”
“Regium?” the pony chuckled again. “I videbimus regium hic. Tantum seductores.”
“W-What is he saying?” the delegate from Fillydelphia cried.
“It is Ancient Romane,” Luna said disbelievingly. “But who still speaks the old language?”
“No more unwanted guests.”
“St!” the pony hissed, quieting the crowd and drawing the attention of the room. “Hospites non grata.” He turned toward the blown apart door and pulled a bag of powder from his saddle bag. He blew the powder toward the threshold as it caught fire and billowed into towering flames that encircled the whole castle. The pony turned back to the crowd and lowered his hood. All gasped as they saw a nearly furless pony with milky white eyes and burn scars over his face. He grinned with a mouthful of decaying teeth.
Celestia lowered her head to Luna’s side and whispered. “Take care of the delegates, I have a plan.” Luna looked up at her with concern but nodded.
---
Cloudy and Twilight stopped in midair as they saw a tower of flame begin to encircle and surround the castle. “Damn it, no!” Cloudy shouted as she flew to intercept the flame. It grew as fast as she could fly as she circled the castle trying to find an opening. Finally the fire finished its circle and a blast of heat shot Cloudy backward. Twilight caught her in midair as she tumbled.
“This is bad,” Twilight said shakily.
“You think?” Cloudy shouted back. She caught Twilight’s look and tried to compose herself. “Alright, so what if we just plow our way through.”
“I wouldn’t do tha-” Twilight began but Cloudy was not listening and dive bombed straight toward a window. Right before she could crash through, the flames somehow moved and formed a giant dragon head. Twilight had to pull Cloudy out of the way as the head lunged out and snapped its ethereal jaws at them. “I was going to say that it looks like enchanted fire.”
Cloudy breathed heavily as Twilight held her once more. “Okay, alright. I… I can still handle this.”
“I don’t see how that’s possible,” Twilight disagreed. “We can’t see inside. We have no idea if the delegates are still alive. And the princess is…”
“Quiet!” Cloudy ordered. “I’m thinking.” They were silent for a minute as some screams could be heard from inside over the roar of the fire. Images of the past began to flash through her head. Cloudy grabbed the sides of her head and moaned. “Graaaah! I need an opening!” She turned to Twilight. “Do you think you can hold the fire at bay for a few moments?”
Twilight looked at the vicious blaze and gulped. “I… can try.” She took a deep breath and focused on the fire. Twilight’s eyes began to glow as her power was concentrated. The flames began to disperse but it wasn’t enough. Cloudy encouraged her on.
“Just a little further,” she beckoned.
Twilight furrowed her brow as she began to lose her concentration. “I… I can’t.” She exhaled as the light faded and the fire returned to normal.
Cloudy turned on her. “What was that?!”
Twilight frowned and grit her teeth. “His magic is more powerful than I expected.”
Cloudy got in her face. “If you can’t be of use then go back to CRO, your dead weight out here!”
Twilight was taken aback by those words but she knew them to be true. She just wasn’t strong enough. But she knew somepony who could make her that.
Twilight left the area and a couple of pegasi flew up to Cloudy. “What do we do now, Captain?”
Cloudy looked back at the castle and steeled herself. “Wait for any word from inside. In the meantime I want everypony we’ve got searching the streets for any unicorn with extensive experience with fire magic. Go!”
---
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Seek asked as he and Twilight reached the door at the end of the hallway.
“I’m sure,” Twilight replied. “Open it.”
Seek pulled out a key and inserted it. The door swung open to reveal a familiar large warehouse room with a glass box cell in the center. Redwood sat in his chair staring at the door as if he was waiting for her. “Come for your first lesson?” he asked.
---
“What are your demands?” Celestia said calmly to the criminal across from her. Inferno had taken u a station on the far side of the grand hall while every other pony stood or sat on the opposite side.
“Do not speak, witch,” “You defile what you represent.”
“Non loqui, malefica,” Inferno shouted in his gritty voice. “Ne polluatis quid repraesentant.”
Celestia’s eyes widened. “You think me a defiler? Why?”
“The Sun is sacred! You control what you have no right to!”
“Solis sacrum! Movere tuum non est praecipere!”
Celestia raised an eyebrow. “The sun is my responsibility. It is my duty to make it rise.”
“Liar! It is under your enchantment.”
“Mendacium! Est sub pedibus vestris augurium.”
Celestia could see there was no reasoning with this pony. Whatever Inferno had been through in foalhood had led to him becoming a psychopathic stallion now. There was no room for leniency here. She would have to put a stop to this before any more lives were lost.
---
Cloudy tapped her hoof impatiently as she stood in front of the raging fire wall. Several of her own unicorn squadrons had attempted to enter but not even twenty unicorns were enough to take out the flames. Suddenly an earth pony guard ran up to her. “Captain!”
“What is it?” she answered.
“We’ve found somepony who might be able to help.” A tall pale unicorn in with glasses and buck teeth walked up from behind him. Cloudy raised an eyebrow.
“You’re an expert in fire magic?” she asked skeptically.
“Uh, no,” the unicorn answered hesitantly. “But I may have a scientific answer to your problem.”
Cloudy narrowed her eyes at him. “What do you mean?”
The unicorn straightened his glasses as he felt kind of tense and put on the spot. “Um, well, fire feeds off of oxygen in the air. The magic may help form it but without the oxygen it will dissipate. We simply need to form a protective shield around the castle that protects even from air. The fire will eat up the remaining oxygen and voila!” The geeky unicorn waited for a confirmation of what he said but none came and he simply coughed into his hoof.
“Are you insane?!” Cloudy shouted. “That would be the same as cutting off the air of everypony inside!”
“I didn’t say it was a perfect plan,” the unicorn muttered.
Cloudy drew in a deep breath to keep herself from decking the pony upside the head. She turned back to the wall of flames and grimaced. Was that really their only option? More importantly was she really considering it? Perhaps the princesses could survive, but the delegates? That could mean tens of ponies dead or harmed. On the other hoof, if they didn’t act now who knew what could happen inside? “Captain?” the guard asked.
Clouudy let out a sigh. “How many unicorns do we have that can perform barrier spells?”
“Quite a few,” the guard replied. “Captain Armor taught most of his men the technique before he retired.”
Cloudy nodded. “Round them up. We’re going to need them all.”
---
Most of the members of CRO looked baffled as Princess Twilight walked past them all with Rayleigh Redwood. The gray maned pony simply looked at them all with a friendly smirk. “Lovely day for a walk, wouldn’t you say fellas?” They came to the front doors of the academy but Rayleigh shut them before Twilight could fully open them. “Let’s try a little lesson right now. I don’t want to be seen coming out of the Royal Academy. If anypony saw it it could cause some… confusion.”
“You mean you don’t want anypony to know that you’re working with the Princess?” Twilight asked with a smirk.
“Please, Twilight,” Redwood groaned. “Do not say that.”
“Fine, so what do you want?”
Redwood nodded out to the street. “Teleport us to the problem.” Twilight was about to complain but she remembered that she had accomplished it before. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Redwood put a hoof on her shoulder as light began to fill her eyes and they vanished, reappearing a few blocks away from the palace. Redwood smiled as he looked around. “There, now was that so hard?” Twilight glowered at him as she tried to catch her breath.
---
“Am I to understand that you are only after me?” Celestia asked Inferno. The insane pyro nodded. “Alright. Why don’t we let the others leave while you and I settle things then?”
“Quiet!” “No one leaves. All will burn.”
“Tace!” Inferno bellowed. “Nemo folia. Omnes ardebit.”
Behind Celestia in the group of delegates, somepony began to move positioning themselves to attack.
---
Twilight and Redwood rushed to edge of the Royal plaza but stopped short as they saw a crowd gathering. Redwood hid behind a wall. “I don’t think I have to remind you that I’d rather not be seen with you.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Fine, but at least tell me how to stop the fire.” Redwood was about to respond but the voice of Cloudy shouted out.
“Okay all unicorns line up around the castle perimeter!” Twilight raised an eyebrow and floated a little above the crowd to see what Cloudy was doing. She had lined up a couple dozen unicorns around the outskirts of the castle. Cloudy lifted her hoof as they waited for her to give the signal. “Now!”
Twilight looked on in bewilderment as the unicorns each created a barrier that fed into the one next to them. Soon the barriers interlaced until they had fully encapsulated the castle. Twilight frowned, unsure what the Royal Guard wished to accomplish with this. Until the flames began to grow smaller. Twilight’s eyes widened and she gasped. “They’re starving the flame!”
Redwood nodded in appreciation. “I actually like their plan.” Twilight turned on him and glowered again.
“It could kill everypony in there!” she hissed.
He waved a hoof. “Alright, I know. Believe it or not, I’m just as worried as you are. I mean, I have somepony in there too.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “You do?”
---
Celestia sighed as she resigned herself to what would have to happen. “If you will not listen to reason. Then you will listen to force.”
“As it should be.”
Inferno gave a toothy grin. “Qualis esse debeat.” He drew his head back and blew a spout of orange flames from his mouth. Celestia countered with her own wall of bright yellow flames. But as the two clashed they were surprised to see their own spells dwindling.
“What’s this?” Celestia asked Inferno. The scarred pony merely glared at her hatefully and roared before falling to a knee and breathing hard. Celestia turned around and saw that the delegates had begun to breathe hard as well.
“Tia?” Luna said as she tried to hold one of the ponies up.
“Enough of this,”
“Satis hoc,” Inferno coughed as he pulled out a crossbow and aimed it at Celestia’s head. “Sic semper tyrannis.”
“No!” Luna shouted but the bolt had already fired. Suddenly a blur of white and black zipped by her and Celestia as it jumped in the air, doing a flip and grabbing the bolt midair before slamming it into the ground under one hoof and immediately snuffing out any flames that burst. Celestia and Luna looked on in surprise as a zebra mare stood up and cracked her neck. She wore a simple black jacket with earrings and the stripes around her flank resembled the shape of a leaf. While the other ponies were breathing heavily, this zebra seemed fine.
“Who are you?” Celestia asked in disbelief. The zebra turned to her and smiled. Inferno roared with rage and attempted to stumble at the mare but the zebra simply raised a back leg before driving it into the pony’s gut. Inferno crumpled to the floor and began to mumble incoherent curses.
---
Twilight pushed her way past the crowd to Cloudy. “Captain, you’ve got to stop this!”
Cloudy turned to Twilight with a conflicted expression. “It’s the only way in. We have no idea what’s going on in there.” The flames finally faded into the ground and Cloudy gave a sigh of relief. “Alright, drop the barrier.” All the unicorns’ horns lost their glow and dropped to the ground exhausted. However to Cloudy’s surprise the barrier was still up. “I said drop the barrier!”
“We… We did, ma’am!” a unicorn replied.
Twilight looked up at the glowing barrier still holding. “It must be feeding off the excess magic dispelled from the fire.”
Cloudy looked pale. “Well somepony break it down!”
A couple of earth ponies charged the shield and tried to buck it but were blasted back for their troubles. Cloudy began to breathe heavily as she called to more soldiers. Twilight took this moment to rush back to the place she’d left Redwood. The older pony now sat on top of a dumpster watching the sight. “This certainly doesn’t look good,” he tutted.
“Red! Tell me what to do. Now!” she shouted at him. Redwood looked at her and shrugged before slapping her across the face.
Twilight looked surprised but wasn’t able to respond before he grabbed her and pointed her to the barrier. “First of all, calm down. Second, breathe. And third, picture this like any other problem. It’s magic, yes. But you don’t cast magic. You control it. Concentrate on the magic. Feel it in the air.” Twilight closed her eyes and reached out with her other senses. “You see the barrier’s spell, right?”
Twilight nodded. “Yes.”
“Good.” He leaned closer and whispered in her ear. “Now, dismantle it.”
Twilight wanted to ask what that meant since she had never heard of dismantling a spell, yet something in her very being told her she needn’t ask. She simply knew. Twilight opened her eyes as light rushed out and she rose into the air. As light poured from her, many ponies began to turn their attention away from the crisis and towards Twilight. They looked up in awe as the princess of friendship seemed to irradiate the area with unearthly light. Even Cloudy looked up, though she had to shield her eyes. Twilight raised one hoof toward the castle and the spell shattered into pieces. Everypony in the plaza was left dumbfounded.
---
“While I appreciate your assistance,” Celestia said to the zebra mare. “I believe we are still in trouble.”
Luna nodded. “Indeed. It looks like the Guard has erected a barrier to cut off the flames.” She looked at the delegates who were now lying on the ground barely breathing.
Cadence tended to the older mares and stallions. “Why hasn’t the barrier lowered?”
Celestia frowned. “I’m not sure, but I will do it myself.” She walked toward the door but had to stop as a blast of light engulfed her and the entire room. Everypony within shielded their eyes except for the princesses who looked on in astonishment. Twilight floated in the middle of the plaza, light streaming from seemingly every pore on her body. When the barrier shattered and her ex-student floated to the ground, Celestia rushed out to Twilight and wrapped her up in a telekinetic grip before she could hit the ground. She pulled her in close and frowned. “This is not good,” she muttered.
Slowly the delegates began to stumble and make their way out of the castle. Soldiers were there to help support them with Cadence giving orders for those that needed special treatment. Cloudy watched Cadence from afar as she commanded her troops, biting her lip enough to make it draw blood.
Luna rushed out to Celestia. “Sister!” Celestia turned to her, still cradling Twilight. “The mare is gone!”
Celestia scanned the crowd for any signs of the mysterious mare but found nothing. Just as well, she was pretty sure she knew just who the mare worked for anyway. “That doesn’t matter. Make sure that Inferno is secure and hand him to Captain Gust.”
Luna raised an eyebrow at her sister, but only for a moment. “Yes, Tia.”
---
Twilight awoke the next morning, returned to the safety of CRO. Cadence sat above her. “Cadence!” Twilight shouted in surprise and shot up in bed only for her head to begin throbbing. Cadence set the young alicorn down with a smile.
“Easy there,” she said. “You used a lot of magic today.”
Twilight nodded. “I know, but I had to do something.” She suddenly noticed where she was. “Wait, how are you here, Cadence?”
Cadence smiled. “Shining Armor and I have no secrets from each other. When Celestia handed you over to the guards I told Captain Gust to allow me to follow you.” She smirked as she looked around the room. “I have to say that this was not what I was expecting when I heard about a secret cell of the Royal Guard.”
“Subterfuge and small rooms?” Twilight asked jokingly. The two sisters shared a laugh. Twilight smiled. “So I take it that Inferno was defeated?”
Cadence looked at her puzzled but then chuckled. “Is that what he was called? Appropriate, I suppose. They took him here as well and locked him away somewhere below.”
Twilight remembered somepony else who was supposed to be locked below. “And did Red turn himself in again?” Cadence gave her another look. “I mean… did they bring in somepony else… You know about Redwood too, don’t you?”
Cadence chuckled again. “Yup. I have to say I was a little concerned when I first heard about him. But even Shining’s angry tirades about him don’t paint him as all that bad.”
Twilight smiled. “No, I guess he’s not.”
There was a knock on the door and the two turned to see Seek enter. “Princess Twilight? Shining Armor is about to interrogate the suspect. Just thought I’d let you know.”
Twilight nodded and got up from bed. Cadence put a hoof on her shoulder. “You can’t go, you’re way too weak.”
Twilight shook her head. “No, I want to see this.” She might learn a few things about being tough by watching her brother work.
They reached a hallway with two doors either side. Seek told them to enter the door on the left. Twilight opened it to surprisingly find Redwood. “Glad to see your up.” She glanced down at his legs and saw that they were in shackles again.
“Glad to see you’re still in chains,” she smirked and leaned in close to whisper. “You know if my brother found out you hit me it’d probably be over for you.”
Redwood merely smirked and pointed to the window in the room. Twilight looked and to her surprise once more found Shining Armor on the other side of the glass in the opposite room. Tied to a chair was a pony she only seen for the first time, yet instantly recognized. His plethora of scars giving him away. His face however gave nothing.
“We cleared out that shop,” Shining said. “We found the tunnel in the cellar. I sent some ponies down there to scout and find the other end but they haven’t even come back yet.” He put his hooves on the table in front of the criminal. “So here’s what I’m thinking. I think that’s a tunnel that leads directly between Canterlot and Manehattn, probably built hundreds, thousands of years ago even. Thing is… this is the first time anypony in Equestria has even heard of such a tunnel. So how in the hay did a pony like you from across the ocean hear about it?” Inferno gave no reply, but merely sneered. Shining lifted his hooves. “Fine. I understand. Loyal to the end.” Inferno’s nonexistent eyebrow raised slightly. “You’re a loyal dog following his master’s commands. That is who gave you that information, right? Your master.”
“I am no one’s slave! I serve only the sun.”
Inferno pulled his body forward until the restraints caught him. “I sum nemo servus! I illi soli servies solis!”
“Then you owe them nothing.”
Shining smirked and leaned back in. “Tunc debes ei quod postulat mutuum.” Twilight was shocked to hear her brother speaking Ancient Romane. But it did the trick as Inferno leaned back in his seat and began to giggle delightedly.
“You are clever,”
“Estis ingeniosi,” he chuckled and nodded for Shining to move a little closer. Shining leaned his head down and Inferno spat in his ear. Shining grimaced and wiped his ear, sending Inferno into a fit of laughter again.
Shining walked out of the room an entered the room the three were in. “Anything you can get from him?” he asked Redwood.
“Not unless you let me do the talking,” Redwood replied.
Shining scowled at him. “I do that and I’m basically giving you up as an asset. If he escapes he’ll go to somepony else and tell them that you’re working with us.”
Redwood smiled. “Then I guess you have to have a little faith in your own organization’s abilities.”
Shining growled as he turned to Cadence and Twilight. “We’ve been at this for hours with no luck. I’m beginning to think this might be a wild goose chase.”
“What’s this about a tunnel?” asked Twilight. Shining frowned and picked up a photo of the torched store Twilight had seen previously.
“We found a huge hole in the bottom of the store Inferno entered from. Turns out the thing is the size of a small city and possibly spans the length of Equestria.” Twilight looked at a photo of the hole that led underground in the store’s basement. “There’s no geological evidence or research that noticed it, yet our specialists place it at close to hundreds or thousands of years old.”
Cadence nodded with concern. “I can see why you would want to learn how he knew about that.”
“Imagine if Equestria has any other weaknesses that can be exploited,” Shining mused. “We need to know his source.”
Twilight nodded and turned to Redwood. “Let him in.”
Shining’s jaw dropped. “What?!”
“Let him interrogate him,” Twilight said.
“But I just said…”
“Red is right, Shiny,” Twilight cut him off. “Put some faith in your own abilities. Then we can have faith in you too.”
Redwood shrugged at Shining. He turned to his wife who also gave him a shrug. He groaned as he slapped a hoof across his face. “I can’t believe I’m about to do this.”
---
Redwood walked into the small room rubbing his hooves, small red markings still slightly visible under his black coat. Inferno’s ears perked up and he growled as he entered. “So you remember me,” Redwood smirked. “I’m flattered.”
“What is this?”
“Quid hoc est?” Inferno sneered.
“Just a simple interrogation,” Redwood said as he sat down opposite him. “And let’s drop the old speak, I really barely passed Ancient History in school.” Inferno growled at him. “I know you understand me, so talk.” His voice became low and serious.
Inferno’s growling stopped and he cocked his head. Twilight thought she actually saw a little bit of confusion in the pony’s eyes. “What do you want?” he croaked.
“Information,” Redwood replied. “Mr. Armor asked you about that tunnel, I want to know too.”
Inferno chuckled. “Interesting. I did not think everything I was told would be true.”
Redwood narrowed his eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“You,” Inferno gurgled. “That you would be here.”
Redwood leaned forward in his chair. “Who told you I would be here?”
Inferno giggled. “I know you well, Rayleigh Redwood. I know all those who must die well. But I will never know you as well as they.”
“Who’s they?” Redwood asked.
Inferno threw his head back and began to bob back and forth happily chanting a word “Romane! Romane! Romane!” Twilight saw the pony’s tongue flick his tooth and it fell out to reveal a small amber vial.
“Wait!” Twilight shouted and slammed against the glass.
“You will accompany me to Hell!”
“Veni mecum ad infernum!” Inferno shouted as he bit down on the vial. Redwood had already noticed and prepared by ducking beneath the table. Instantly Inferno’s head burst into flames as they began to spread to his whole body. Cries of pain and anguish laced with hints of laughter echoed through the rooms and the hallway as Shining rushed into the burning room to pull out Redwood. As Cadence rushed outside to help Shining, Twilight was simply glued to the spot as she watched Inferno burn. She felt like vomiting yet nothing came out. She sank to her knees as the sight was ingrained in her memory.
“Damn it!” Shining shouted. “We got nothing!” Redwood coughed as he got to his hooves. “You said you could help, but all he did was kill himself.”
“He said something before though,” Cadence interjected. “About the Romane Empire?”
“He’s from the Romane Empire,” Shining replied. “He was probably just shouting the name of his home before killing himself.
Redwood stared at the burning room with an odd look before nodding his head. “Yeah.”
Shining growled. “Well I suppose I shouldn’t say we learned nothing. We learned somepony knows you’re here.”
---
Two guards escorted Redwood back to his cell. However on the way they made a stop in the letter room of CRO. They undid his shackles and let him loose. “Thirty seconds, Mr. Redwood,” one said.
He nodded and grabbed a parchment and pen, writing a letter. When he was finished he walked over to the soldiers. “You brought it?”
The other soldier pulled out the dragon lighter from the Mailmare incident. “Right here, sir.”
“Thank you, Cutter, Scabbard. Tell your parents I said hello.” He clicked the lighter on and the scroll went up in flames.
The soldiers reshackled him and glanced at each other awkwardly. “If we may ask, sir. What did you just send?”
Redwood sighed as he walked. “A name.”
---
Twilight had never felt so tired or drained in her whole life. Not only had she just performed an enormous amount of magic, but she had also witnessed her first death. She couldn’t help but remember every gruesome detail.
She hadn’t felt like flying so Shining Armor offered her a chariot. It placed her down just outside her home as the sun was beginning to set. Twilight nodded to the driver and he bowed back before leaving. She turned and saw Applejack standing by her door. The pony looked like she’d been there a while. She was fiddling with her cast as she noticed Twilight approach. The cowpony’s ears perked up and she smiled as she saw her land. “Glad to see ya, Twi!” she said. “Had no idea when you’d be back so Ah just hung around a little.”
Twilight walked toward her castle, her face not giving anything away. “Ah kind of wanted to talk to ya,” Applejack continued. “Ah wanted to apologize about last week.” Twilight’s path to her door veered off and she headed straight for the orange pony. “Twi?” Twilight threw her arms around her friend and hugged her close. Applejack could feel the princess of friendship’s body begin to heave as it was followed by tears and heavy sobbing. Applejack hugged her back and cradled Twilight until she fell asleep.
---
Celestia gave a long sigh. The weight of the events today had taken a toll on her mentally and she was ready for bed. Just a few minutes ago she was informed of Inferno’s death. Tragic and wasteful. The spells that pony knew could have aided magic so much and yet he dedicated his life to a ridiculously archaic cause. She dispelled her regrets as she opened the door to her room and summoned the candles on the walls to ignite. A blue figure appeared from the darkness in the middle of her room. “Hello, Tia.”
Celestia placed a hoof to her heart when she saw her sister. “Lulu, what are you doing in here? In the dark? Shouldn’t you have left by now?”
Luna’s face was serious and she gave no signs of sisterly camaraderie. “I need to know what you knew.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Pardon?”
Luna took a step forward and glared up at her. “You knew.”
Celestia’s face did not give anything away. “Lulu I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Luna looked away and placed her hoof to her mouth, her eyes narrowed. “His name. How did you know that pony’s name?”
Celestia thought back and cursed herself. She had spilled that pony’s name to Luna. A reckless mistake. “Lulu I… Yes.” She hung her head and bit her lip. “I knew.” Luna glared back at her and lifted a hoof about to say something but Celestia interrupted. “I knew, but I had the situation under control.”
“Oh did you?” Luna shouted. “Six ponies are in the hospital! Many more will probably never be the same.” She lifted her hoof and pointed at Celestia again. “But I’m not mad about that, Tia. I’m not even mad that you knew about this threat and still allowed the Summit to continue. No, what I’m mad about is that you lied. You lied. To me!” Tears began to form in her eyes. Celestia sighed and moved forward to hug her sister, but Luna pulled back. “And you know the worst part? I know you’re still lying. There are still things you are not telling me.”
Celestia frowned and looked her sister in the eye. “Lulu, believe me when I say that the things I keep from you, I do for a good cause. You’re still new to this world. Equestria has changed. The world has changed! If I’m lying to you it’s so I don’t see you get involved in things you can’t possibly imagine.”
“I can imagine evil,” Luna seethed. “In case you’ve forgotten.”
Celestia drew her head back and shook it reluctantly. “No, I’ve not forgotten. Just like you I live with that day in my mind always.”
Luna took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “I’ve experienced firsthoof what secrets can do to somepony. Believe ME when I say this, Tia. I will not let it happen to you.” She walked to the door and turned back before shutting it completely. “If you won’t tell me what’s going on. Then I will find out on my own.”
She shut the door and left Celestia in her room alone. The princess’ face became a tangle of emotions as she floor around her began to shimmer with heat. She took a deep breath and expelled the power letting the heat disperse through the room, the wind blowing out the candles and leaving her in the dark.
---
One and a half weeks earlier. Just after the Mailmare Incident…
Redwood reappeared in a flash of light in a dirty alley way. He shook his extremities and regained any feeling he might have lost after translocation. “Damn, I hate teleporting,” he mumbled. He walked to the edge of the alley and looked across the street. A street clock read 5:30. Behind it was his destination, the Delamare Symphony Opera House. “What do you know, Mr. Mailmare? Turns out you could buy a decent translocation coin, after all. And I have enough time to make a pitstop.”
He walked down the street to a post office and grabbed a pen and quill. He wrote what he wanted and sealed the letter before handing it to the clerk at the desk. “Writing home?” the pony asked.
“Actually, calling a friend,” Redwood replied. He left the post office and headed back to the Opera House.
He walked over to the doors. A lone ticket taker standing out front. “Almost missed the show, sir,” he smiled.
“Wouldn’t want that, would we?” he joked. He gave his ticket over and walked inside. He walked up the stairs and headed straight for a box seat by the stage. He took off his coat and threw it over his side as well as his hat before entering the curtained off area. A big pony in sunglasses stopped him.
“This is a private booth,” the pony said. Redwood held up his tickets.
“I know, and I’m one of those who need privacy,” he retorted. The pony checked the ticket and nodded he directed him to the front of the box.
“Here you are, sir.”
“Thank you,” Redwood said as he sat down. The pony on his left turned to him with a frown.
“You were serious? I thought when you said you’d be visiting that you’d be sending a liaison or a body double, but…”
“What’s the matter, Fancy? Miss my adorable face?” Fancypants glared at him from behind his monocle. The rich white unicorn rubbed his hooves nervously together.
“You know I heard there was a buzz around Canterlot today,” he said. “But nothing specific. Was that you?”
“You’ll also be hearing some talk about Ponyville in the days to come,” Redwood replied. “That will probably be me too.”
The lights began to dim and the crowd applauded as the curtain rose. Fancy hoofed a small program to him. “You’re reading material for the evening.”
Redwood looked over the paper before looking over the orchestra on stage. A little note had been added to the program stating that there were some substitutes taking the place of original orchestra members tonight. He groaned. “I hate understudies.”
Fancy smirked. “Yes, they’re never as good as the original.”
The music began to play, though the two whispered between themselves. “Ask it.”
Fancy rolled his eyes. “So why are you here? Why risk everything we’ve worked for? And don’t say it’s about Twilight Sparkle.”
“I haven’t thanked you for getting in close with her friend, have I?” Redwood replied.
Fancy frowned. “That happened by complete chance, don’t even try to say you were to blame for that.”
“Of course not,” Redwood replied with a grin. “But in answer to your question. Let’s just say, Miss Sparkle is an integral part of why I’m here. But she’s not the whole picture.”
Fancy raised an eyebrow. “Is she… a part of the plan?”
Redwood turned to him. “Don’t worry yourself about that. As long as we’re on schedule, that’s what matters.”
Fancy leaned back in his chair and focused his attention on the beautiful music. “Yes, it’s on schedule. Though this whole fiasco with Miss Sparkle is making the others nervous. Are you sure you have this handled?”
Redwood clicked his tongue as he pretended to listen to the music. “I sent a letter today. An associate should be arriving soon. She’ll examine the details of the bounty from the outside, I’ll handle the inside.”
“You think Miss Sparkle has been targeted by one of her own?” Fancypants asked.
“I don’t know what to think yet,” Redwood replied. “Too many variables.”
Redwood got up from his chair. “You’re not going to stay?” Fancy asked.
“I didn’t come for second best,” he muttered and threw the program onto Fancy’s lap. “Thank you for your patronage.” Fancy’s own name was first and foremost on the list of donations to the Opera House. He smirked as Redwood left the box.
“No problem, old friend.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.028 seconds
Total duration
648 users online
1,384,290 hits today, 2,139,894 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Ah. Fancypants. Truly an underused character.
I am pleased there's no Keen. Don't turn Twilight into Keen.