Countermeasures and Double Measures
Pound stumbled to his knees as the world remade itself around him. He was still in Whitetail Woods, but it was an area he hadn’t been to before. Still, between the oaks, pines, and craggy, loamy ground, it was fairly unmistakably the same forest.
Unless he was somewhere on the opposite side of the world that looked exactly the same. That was a possibility.
“What gives, chief?” A shadow wibbled into view, small tufts of fur becoming visible in the dim light. “I thought you were gonna pick up the girl pony.”
“Slight alteration of the plan, Lacer.” Jeuk’s near-featureless form trotted past Pound, grinning from ear to insidious ear. “One that may just make our lives a bit easier. You see, this fellow has a greater connection to Fluttershy.”
Jeuk’s ear tilted down to point at Pound. “Even if the entire relationship can be summed up with ‘Pity.’”
Pound stomped a hoof and ground it into the moss. “Remember the deal. I won’t be used to harm anybody.”
“Pity, pity, pitiful pony pity.” Jeuk’s eye—the one closest to Pound—became black and glossy. “Physical wounds heal. Even death brings an end to pain. No, but emotional scars go a fair bit deeper, pity pitiful pony. They take far longer to heal. If they ever do.”
Pound’s neck hair stood tall, but then, so did his legs. “What do you want, fairy… fairly fairy freak?”
“Already with the pet names!” Jeuk slid a foreleg around Pound’s neck and dragged the colt’s face close to his deadened eye. “My boy, I like you. I think we’ll get along swimmingly, provided you be a good little slave and do as I say.”
“That was the deal.” Pound glanced around and saw more shifting shadowy shapes. He couldn’t make anything out, but he really didn’t need to. His imagination filled in the blanks to showcase unspeakable horrors. “So spill it.”
”As I told your sister,” Jeuk said, licking his suddenly-sharp teeth, “I don’t lie. On general principle. I usually let the ponies do the lying for me. You’re so good at that, what with the whole ‘Free Will’ business you have going on. The things you think up are so much more interesting than reality. Most very amusing.”
“The point, Jeuk.” Pound gritted his teeth. His knees trembled, and his skin crawled at the fairy’s touch. “You had a point.”
Jeuk smirked. His necktie slithered over to wrap itself around Pound’s bruised neck. “Impressive. You’re trembling in your horseshoes, but you still find the unction to disrespect me. Most very, very amusing.”
The tie tightened with a snap. “Listen well then, so that neither of us forget this… conversation. You shall tell Fluttershy that Discord and Pumpkin are dead. Unalive. Deceased. Released from their mortal coils. A tragic occurrence, considering it was her fault. ”
Pound wrinkled his forehead. “I don’t get it. What good does that do?”
Jeuk released the colt. He skipped merrily towards a series of tall bushes, which he parted with a wave of his hoof. “Oh, Pound, you kidder. I believe your sister would have it figured out by now. Such a shame she isn’t here. But then, you get what you pay for. And you were practically free.”
A small fire burned in the midst of the clearing. Displacer beasts reclined around it, licking paws, or munching on snacks, or warming their hideous tentacles by the flame. They kept a wide berth, however, from the one pony in their company. She hovered in midair, her wings folded close to her sides, her eyes blazing white with magic barely kept at bay.
“I’m impressed she’s held it in this long,” Jeuk said. “Most ponies would have simply popped. There’s something special about this mare. Something almost… Elemental, wouldn’t you say?”
Lacer’s face materialized beside Pound’s as he neared the fire pit. “So, like, she’s not gonna blow or anything, right? She’s just gonna hang? You know, until we get to Las P—”
“Unless you want fire ants eating your brains—” Jeuk clamped Lacer’s mouth closed with his tie. “—shut up!”
‘Las Pegasus? Unstable Fluttershy filled with chaos magic? A lie that could end her?’ “Uh oh.”
Jeuk’s head twitched Pound’s way. A slow smile crawled across his jagged mouth. “I see a light of dawning realization. It’s quite the sight on your dull face.”
He pressed his nose against Pound’s, and Pound found himself unable to break away. “You needn’t spill the proverbial beans all at once. Savor it. Let the lie mature like fine wine. Think of the best ways to mislead and misuse Fluttershy’s trust. I’ll let you know when I need you.”
Jeuk turned to Lacer with a growl. “Watch him.”
The fairy vanished in a cloud of dust.
Pound swallowed hard. He tried to look at Lacer, but his eyes kept sliding off of the shadowy fur. “So what’s your part in all this? What’s got you working for the fairies?”
“Cash money, honey.” Lacer shrugged. “Gotta pay the rent somehow, Cuz. Ain’t a lot of places willing to hire displacer beasts around here.”
Lacer slapped Pound on the back, sending him stumbling forward. “So no hard feelin’s when I say we’re probably gonna eat you in the morning.”
“If you eat me, you’re gonna have to answer to Jeuk.” Pound rubbed his wings with a foreleg. He eased himself towards Fluttershy, moving step by cautious step. He nearly fell when he stumbled over a tentacle. He suspected they tried to trip him on purpose.
He found himself face-to-face with the beautiful mare. The chaos inside her caused her coat to glow a soft midday yellow. Her feather shivered as particles of pixely magic flaked away. Her face was pained, worried, concerned. He waved a hoof in her face, and she flinched.
“Wh—who’s there?”
“It’s Pound.” He raised his hoof to touch hers, but stopped when he felt a stinging sensation zap at him—like static electricity, but with a bit more of a burn. “It’s Pound Cake. I just wanted to say we’re safe.” He glanced at the displacer beasts. “Kinda safe. More or less.”
He rubbed the back of his head, pressing down the mussed, chocolaty mane. “I, uh. I wanted to tell you that… You can’t keep the magic bunched up in you like that. It’s just gonna blow you apart, and then a whole lot of ponies will be in danger. You gotta… You gotta give it back to Discord before it kills you.”
“I can’t.” A tear ran down Fluttershy’s cheek. It sizzled and turned into a sugarcube before dissolving into orange steam. “If I give him back the magic, he’ll lose his memory. Of his friends, and family, and me. Sacrificing myself is the only way to help him.”
“Yeah, I know that feeling.” Pound jumped when a toothy tentacle wrapped around his middle. Lacer dragged him backwards, tail-first towards the fire. “Look, I gotta go, but just don’t freak out okay? It’s gonna be okay. I’ve got a plan!”
“A plan, huh?” Lacer growled in his face; a set of fangs surrounded by inky blackness. “You talkin’ to Flutters before you’re due, huh? Sounds to me like Jeuk’s not gonna like what you’re doing.”
Pound’s heart leaped into his throat at the sight. He forced himself to speak around the lump, causing his voice to warble. “W—well, do you w-want Fluttershy to explode right here in camp?”
Lacer’s mouth shut. His eyes blinked as twin stars in the night sky. “Guess not. Watch yourself, colt. Watch yourself.”
He released Pound and was nowhere to be seen. Pound scooted back to Fluttershy side and curled up beside where she was floating. He thought maybe he should grab a cloud to sleep on, but with the present company, it wasn’t gonna be feasible.
Was he gonna do what Jeuk wanted? Heck no. Did he manage to buy a day or so for Pumpkin and Discord? Heck yes. In the meantime, he had to take care of Fluttershy. He had to convince her to give up the magic, or send it away, or something. He’d have to think about that. Was there anything they could do besides give it a new host?
He didn’t sleep much that night.
***
Pumpkin shivered beneath her saddlebags; a poor pony’s excuse for a blanket. The night was long and cold, but dawn had peeked above the horizon. The nocturnal cacophony died down bit by bit as the wild animals returned to their dens.
Pumpkin blinked her eyes open. Discord sat against a tree a few meters away. He was safe. He was well. There was no longer a horrific magic tearing through his innards, removing the very thing that made him Discord. He could live out the rest of his days as a friend.
But…
Pumpkin stretched her legs out, pushing her hooves through the loamy soil. Ribbon Wishes—the plumber-turned-mystic guardian—sat at the edge of their tiny campsite, looking out over the brightening landscape.
“As long as Pound’s bargain holds true,” Ribbon said, “no harm will come to you.”
A haze of light surrounded the fairy. Her wings twinkled with starlight as they covered her body, hiding her excess of eyes from view. Her expression was serene, save for the tightness around her eyes. It was an adult expression, Pumpkin decided. The same one her parents wore around tax season, or when a heavy order came due. The one that surfaced when Mrs. Cheerilee had a meeting with the school board. The one she saw on Celestia’s face in every picture ever taken of her.
Weight.
“So…” Pumpkin tapped her forehooves together, grinding her teeth lightly behind her lips. “So that means we’ve got time to figure out how to save him. We’ve got time to work something out. So what are we going to do?”
The fairy heaved a sigh. “I have been called away. Somewhere you cannot follow.”
“Excuse me?” Pumpkin hopped up and stalked her way to Ribbon’s side. “You just showed up out of the blue to help, got your plot busted, and now you gotta leave again? What was even the point?”
“The point was keeping you away from Jeuk.” Ribbon frowned, looking down at Pumpkin through her pearl-tinted eyes. “The point was to keep him from achieving his goal of tearing you apart. For now, you are safe, and there are other things that require my attention.”
“Those ‘other things’ better include Pound!” Pumpkin stomped a hoof and waited an entire, excruciating half-second for a reply. “Well?”
“To a point.” Ribbon spread a wing to encourage Pumpkin to give her some space. Pumpkin didn’t move. “He, too, is safe at the moment. Jeuk is not one to break his tools until it has performed its purpose, and Pound has now very much made himself a part of the plan.”
She raised a hoof to her heart. “My mission is to help stop Jeuk in any way possible. Right now, that means two things. One, that I will answer whatever questions you have to the best of my abilities. Two, that I must face Jeuk again to still his forward momentum.”
Pumpkin nodded. She pressed her lips together and scraped her hoof against a rock. ‘I don’t like it,’ she thought, ‘but if we can actually get some answers out of this yahoo, then heck if it’s not something.’ “Okay. First question: What the heck are you? And who is Jeuk?”
Discord stirred at last. He propped his arms on his knees, lowering his chin until his beard brushed at his wrists. “This ought to be good.”
Ribbon Wishes nodded to Pumpkin’s saddlebags. “Bring me the book. It will help illustrate.”
Still unmoving, Pumpkin reached out with her magic. The book slid from its confines and floated across the campsite to land at Ribbon’s feet. The fairy waved a hoof, and the pages flipped to a picture: One of the Tree of Life. Golden apples dangled from its branches, while draconequui danced around its trunk. On the outskirts, amorphous shapes writhed in the shadows.
“At the dawn of creation, there were three realms. The realm of spirit, the realm of thought, and the realm of matter. Each realm was inhabited by creatures who exemplified their individual characteristics. The fairies were beings of spirit, undying and unchained by the world, but also alienated from it. The draconequus were beings of thought, for whom imagination was the only limit, but whose influence would slip away the instant they were elsewhere. The mortals were at first beings of matter, living only to breed and die, but soon gleaning a connection to thought and spirit.”
Ribbon’s hoof touched the page, tracing the outline of a golden apple near the center of the tree. It was being picked by a draconequus, whose claws were summoning forth the life-giving juice within. “The fairies would guide and guard from madness, sickness, sorrow, and pain. The draconequui controlled the weather, the seasons, the tides, and the landscape. Mortals would caretake the plants and animals, making them all the more fruitful and filling the world.”
Pages flipped until they came to a bleak image. It was shadow and fire and screaming, feeling creatures. The hulking outline of a beast of immeasurable size and might was backed by towering flames, obscuring all save for horns, a spear, and an unforgiving, green glare. “This balance was shattered when the chief of the fairies, the Lord of the Sky, grew jealous. He wished to rule the world, not care for it. He took an army of fairies and waged war on the Garden of Elysium.”
Ribbon licked her lips. Her wings slumped at her sides. “Those who followed him, like Prince Jeuk, were called Unseelie. Those who refused, like myself, formed the Seelie Court. We were unable to stop him, and in the end, they wiped out all draconequui.”
She pointed across the small glade as light poured in from the foliage. “Except for one. All except for Discord.”
“Hold up.” Pumpkin glanced at Discord and noted his furrowed brow. “If you and Jeuk are spirits, how in the heck was he able to almost throttle me? How can you even touch me?”
“You were formed from the earth, Pumpkin Cake,” Ribbon said, “but that does not encompass the whole of you. You mortals are luminous beings bound by flesh, thinking and feeling. Much like Discord can touch the world, despite being a being of thought, you too can touch the spiritual. And likewise, we can help or harm you.”
Pumpkin scratched behind her ear. “I don’t know if that answer actually helped me understand, but whatever. How do we stop Jeuk?”
Ribbon shrugged. “I assume by exhausting his resources until he has no one left to manipulate. Save your brother, rescue Fluttershy, re-imprison Tirek, scatter the displacer beasts, and contain the Rainbow of Darkness.”
“Rainbow—” Discord snaked up, his eyes popping. “So that’s it! That’s how Fluttershy took away my magic! But that’s… that means…”
He gripped Pumpkin by the shoulders. “Fluttershy’s got a metric ton of chaos magic in her body! If we don’t get it out of her right the heck now, she’s not gonna be able to control it! She’ll lose her mind, lose her life, and the life of anypony around her!”
Pumpkin swallowed hard. How would they manage that? Fluttershy ate magic thanks to Jeuk’s trickery, but there was no way for Discord to eat it back, was there? If they can’t eat magic, could they eat—?
“Golden apples!” Pumpkin flipped through the pages until she found one she’d dog-eared. A golden apple, crisp and clear, sat proudly on a table. “It’s what we were hoping would save you, so maybe it’ll keep Fluttershy alive long enough to figure out how to get your magic back!”
“But we’re already at the place where golden apples were supposed to grow!” Discord gestured towards the desolate garden with limp wrists. “It’s just kinda… yeuch.”
“There’s gotta be more!” Pumpkin looked up to Ribbon, her throat tight. “Tell me where there’s more!”
Ribbon Wishes touched the book. She moved to another dog-eared page, a story Pumpkin had planned to go back to. “Did you ever finish ‘The Last Draconequus’?”
Pumpkin lowered her eyebrows. She slid the book closer and took a cursory glance. War between the fairies and draconequui. Softly and Discord’s bet; carve their names in the tree for an apple. Pumpkin slid the unfamiliar writing from her bag.
Jeuk’s story. The Last Draconequus. They had to be the same tale.
Pumpkins head swiveled around to face Discord. Her mouth dipped open as she choked out. “Discord. You were supposed to guard the tree. But… but you weren’t there. So—so Jeuk and his goons swept in and destroyed everything.”
“Mind where your thoughts take you, Pumpkin.” Ribbon touched a hoof to the filly’s shoulder, until Pumpkin jerked away. “Had he been there, he too would have been wiped out.”
“Sure, whatever.” Pumpkin picked the rubbing up in a bubble of magic. She held it under Discord’s nose. “You were away with Softly, or, or whatever her name was. That’s how you survived! But if you were with Softly, I’ll bet you had already given her a golden apple.”
She let the page fall and threw her forelegs out. “But if she ate the apple, there’s not gonna be anything left!”
Discord caught the page before it could fall in the creek. He narrowed his eyes and brought the crayon-etched text closer. “This is my name?”
Pumpkin dug into the story to find it played out exactly like she thought. Discord and Softly became friends. They shared apples and spontaneity. One day, when they were away, the fairies came and destroyed the garden and its inhabitants, leaving him alone.
Just when Pumpkin was starting to wonder how this helped her, she came upon the last lines. “Softly took the seeds from her apple and planted them in her garden. They grew fruitful and produced, and she shared the apples with her family. To this day, it is said that she tends to her trees, with the Last Draconequus by her side.”
“Well, they got that part wrong.” Pumpkin held the book out towards Discord, her heart ready to burst with energy. “But—but maybe there are still trees somewhere else! Or seeds somewhere else! Maybe if we find this Softly person, we can find the fruit. If she’s even still alive…”
Pumpkin’s horn sparked as she spun on Ribbon. “Where is she? Where are the trees?”
“Though many lie in locations far too dangerous for you to go…” Ribbon nibbled her lip, turning her reflective eyes upward. “There is a possibility… Discord, can you read it?”
“Never was no good at book-learnin’, ma’am.” Discord held the paper towards her, showing the name. “I remember what my name looks like, but as far as I know, I’ve never heard of this Softly pony.”
“That is possibly because of a minor mistranslation.” Ribbon Wishes glanced at Pumpkin and took a deep breath. “The name etched upon the tree does indeed mean softly, but in relation to musical instruments. It refers to a piece that is to be played softly. Slowly. At ease.”
Ribbon Wishes lowered her ears. “The name of the pony you seek is Adagio.”
Discord smiled. He giggled. He stuck a talon in his ear and wiggled it around. “I’m sorry. I must have been mistaken. Surely you don’t mean—”
“Adagio Dazzle.” Ribbon Wishes nodded shortly. “Yep.”
Pumpkin blinked. “Who?”
“You gotta be joking!” Discord chuckled, tossing the rubbing over his shoulder. “She’s crazy! Evil! I don’t think she even lives in Equestria anymore! I’m sure I’ve never met her personally—”
“You said yourself that your early life is a blank slate.” Ribbon waved a hoof, and the page floated across the grass to her side. “Bring the words to Twilight Sparkle and she will give you the same translation.”
“So what are we supposed to do?” Discord paced around the campsite, his hoof and claw digging into the dirt with each stomp. “Comb Equestria for this mare? Look beyond the portal? Hunt down every nook and cranny until—”
“She lives in Fillydelphia.” Ribbon pointed towards the sunrise, and a little to the left. “A day’s journey north-east, if you hurry.”
Ribbon looked between Pumpkin and Discord, her wings spreading to their full majestic length. “She will help you. She has no choice in the matter. I will go ahead to tell Twilight Sparkle where you will be. She will arrive at Fillydelphia and lend you aid. You will know what to do by then. Meanwhile, I will slow Jeuk and find out where he intends to let Fluttershy loose. We still have a hoof in the fight. We still have a chance. We still have an advantage over Jeuk.”
Pumpkin Cake gathered the book to her chest. “What advantage?”
“When Jeuk’s followers find out his promises are ashes and dust,” Ribbon said, “they will turn on him like rabid wolves.”
Ribbon lifted herself into the air with a downward stroke. “Do you have further questions?”
“Zillions.” Pumpkin shoved the book into her saddlebags and strapped them on tight. “But I know we’ve gotta hurry.”
She reached up and gripped Discord’s paw with her hoof. “You know we’re gonna rescue Fluttershy, right?”
He looked down and met her eyes. There was that weight again. A bite of the lip. A furrowed brow. A tear collecting in the corner of his eye. “I… I’ll try.”
“Good, because Pound needs us, too.” Pumpkin watched as Ribbon Wishes faded into dust, bit by bit. “Hay, you better not get your butt kicked this time.”
“I’ll do my best.” Ribbon bowed at the neck. “Godspeed.”
Pumpkin looked out over the landscape. Mountains hovered in the distance, covered by dense fog. At the edge of Whitetail Woods, small buildings could be seen, hidden if not for Ribbon Wishes’ direction.
“The next leg of the journey begins,” she said, her voice hushed. “You ready?”
“No.” Discord rubbed his hands together as his tail flicked behind him. “Let’s go.”
They walked forward, their steps in synch. They carried on a ways, easing themselves down hillsides, over boulders, around ponds. The landscape shifted from rocks and cliffs to rolling hills and healthy trees. The moss became grass in places, lending Pumpkin the opportunity to eat.
She munched down on a stalk, hating the taste with every fiber of her being. “Discord?”
“What?”
“I’m sorry.”
Discord rubbed the bridge of his nose. “It’s my fault, Pumpkin. Apparently, it’s been my fault for thousands of years and I never knew it. Just had to go and leave my post, didn’t I?”
“You heard Ribbon.” Pumpkin bumped against his side, speaking words she wasn’t sure she believed. “You woulda just died with the rest of them. Softly—or whatever her name is—probably saved your life.”
“For what?” Discord plucked a dandelion and munched on the head. “I think I know why the draconequui took care of the garden. It’s because without golden apples, we just… implode, after a few years. I went crazy before, and I’ll go crazy again.”
“But you don’t have the magic anymore.” Pumpkin reached up to tug on his tail. “You’re free.”
“The magic has to go somewhere,” Discord said. “And that somewhere can’t be Fluttershy.”
“We’ll find another place for it.” Pumpkin nodded to herself, pulling ahead of Discord. “We gotta find another place.”
‘Because,’ she thought, ‘I’m not letting this whole thing be pointless!’
***
Twilight Sparkle stood within the darkest, dampest bowels of Tartarus. Today, she had the unavoidable pleasure of going toe-to-toe with a living suit of armor by the name of Terra Nort.
Metal slid against metal as the sapient suit circled around her. Purple magic glowed between the seams, shining the brightest from the two eye-slits in the mask. “Thou art a fool, Princess! The return of the Crystal Empire is nigh, and Sombra’s darkness shall envelope the land!”
Twilight threw her head back, feeling the stress of several days of constant fighting collect right between her shoulder blades. “Ugh! The Crystal Empire’s been back for ten years, now, and Sombra was defeated. Can we please come to the part where you yield?”
Large chunks of the armor detached and reformed themselves into twin blades, carried aloft by Nort’s magic. They circled around him in the lamest shield Twilight had ever seen. “Come, open your heart!” Terra Nort said. “Embrace the darkness!”
The blades spun in an inscrutable pattern, striking high, low, everywhere in between. Laughter issued from the dark helmet, a howl of triumph at a foe vanquished.
Twilight Sparkle yawned from behind her shield barrier. She blinked tired eyes at the magical abomination. “Sorry. I just can’t get into the whole ‘fight to the death’ thing today. I just got done returning the Mutanic Masticator to its eternal slumber. Yesterday it was the Girded Golem and his army of Golemites. And don’t get me started on the thirty-five variations on the whole ‘Living Armor’ theme I’ve fought leading up to you. So, would it be alright if I just sorta… skipped you?”
The helmet tilted. The swords lowered ever-so-slightly. “I don’t under—”
Twilight spoke before his response could fully form. “Yeah, okay, thanks.” Her horn charged with magic until it glowed pure white.
The purple eye-slits widened. “Come guardia—!”
The spell struck with the kinetic force of a freight train. It drove Terra Nort deep into the rock wall, leaving a slightly pony-shaped impression in its wake.
The helmet rolled out, a smoking shard of metal. A weak voice hissed from the face-plate. “Nothing… is… eternal…”
Twilight sighed and slumped to the ground. Dozens and dozens of prisoners returned to their cells, and still there were more. The Royal Guardsponies came in shifts, always able to go back to their families at the end of a battle well fought. But the princesses didn’t have shifts. Just long, long hours spent underground.
Centurion Stonewall flew up behind her with a fresh troop of guardsponies. She surveyed the battlefield and let out a low whistle. “Looks like we arrived just in time.”
Twilight could do nothing but groan.
“Biggs, Wedge, clean up the armor and stick it in confinement.” Stonewall marched up to Twilight’s side, removed her helmet, and stood at attention. “This quadrant of the prison looks to be mostly cleaned up. Princess Luna just sent word that the grue has been contained in the light cell, and the eye-bats are generally getting stuck in the fly-traps we set along the corridors.”
“Good.” Twilight Sparkle laid her head sideways, getting dust all over her cheek. “With any luck, we’ll have the riot contained… sometime next year.”
“It… is still summer, Your Highness.”
“Early next year, then.” Twilight rubbed the gemstone necklace she always wore. It shimmered faint purple as she spoke. “Unless the fights are all as easy as this one was. Which I doubt.”
Stonewall eyed the deep, deep indent in the wall. “You call that easy, huh?”
“I call it pent-up emotions.” Twilight Sparkle stood and brushed herself off. “I’m taking lunch. If he moves, tell him I know where he lives.”
Terra Nort whimpered.
Twilight walked down the long, dark hall. She’d long since lost track of the day-night cycle, and just sort of went with whatever her body told her it needed. At the moment, it needed a good daisy sandwich and some cheese. Pepper jack, to give her a little pep, perhaps.
“Ha,” she said. “Pep, pep, pepper jack.”
She wasn’t the only pony looking for a meal, it appeared. Princess Luna turned at the sound of the door opening and waved from across the makeshift mess hall. “Twilight! I saved you a seat!”
Twilight glanced around at the otherwise empty room, taking note of the countless empty chairs. She giggled. “I’m truly touched, Luna. I’ll be right there.”
A quick sandwich building session later, she took the chair opposite Luna. “How are you? I hear you caught the grue.”
“Aye.” Luna slurped up spaghetti, both with and without the help of her fork. “I merely entered a dark room I knew it to be inhabiting, and blinded it with the light of my horn. It shall be a long while before it ever again sees pony flesh as appetizing.”
“Good.” Twilight covered her eyes with her fetlocks, leaning heavily on her knees. “I’m so tired.”
“You should get some rest.” Luna reached across the table with a wingtip and brushed the feathers across Twilight’s cheek. “You do yourself no favors if you are dead on your hooves. I’d rather you be very much alive, thank you kindly.”
She said all of this with her cheeks bulging with pasta. Twilight held back a snort. “Thanks. I appreciate the thought. I guess some of it is physical tiredness, but there’s also… I’m worried about Fluttershy.”
“She is with Discord,” Luna said, probably to remind herself of the situation. “I would be worried, if I did not think the buffoon was capable of handling any untoward situation. I think that if they were in any sort of danger, we would have heard of it by now, audibly, as the earth was shattered in twain.”
“But that’s what worries me.” Twilight Sparkle mulled over her thoughts and munched a bite of sandwich. “We haven’t heard anything from them. Spike said he was gonna keep me posted, but there hasn’t been anything from his end.”
She muttered as she slid a crumb of cheese back and forth in her mouth. “No news is good news, but it’s also no use.”
Luna swallowed and said nothing. She looked across the table at Twilight Sparkle, a small smile on the side of her mouth.
Twilight leaned to one side and tapped her plate. “What’s that look for?”
Luna rolled her eyes. “I am just enjoying your company, that is all. We rarely have time to spend merely hanging out, since the little adventure we had last year.”
“One that I’d like to forget.”
“There were parts that were less awful.” Luna twirled her fork like some ancient, magical weapon. “Working alongside each other, battling for a single cause, solving problems and taking names! There were difficulties, yes, but I shall cherish the moments where you pulled me from the mire.”
She folded her hooves atop the table and gave Twilight a curt nod. “And despite the tiresome nature of this ordeal, there are few others I would rather face it with.”
Twilight lifted the sandwich in a telekinetic bubble. She tore a piece free and floated it to her mouth. “One of those others being Celestia?”
“Well, yes.” Luna traced circles on the tabletop with her hoof. “She has not been the same since her injury. Despite efforts to rebuild, we are all still very much hurting from that.”
She furrowed her brow, granting her remaining spaghetti greater scrutiny than merited. “But you above all else give me hope for a better tomorrow.”
Twilight would have replied to that, but her words were forgotten in a rush as Luna tore her from her seat with a strong magic grasp. The table flew across the room and clattered against the wall as Luna stood tall, her wings flared, her horn shimmering with fractals of ice. “Who are you and what business do you have in Tartarus?”
Twilight righted herself with a steeling breath. The tension returned to her muscles in an instant; specifically, she felt strain just beneath her horn. She readied herself for another full-power blast, aimed right at the center of the new arrival.
The thing was almost, but not quite, a pony. It shimmered with light from every hair on its body. Its six wings flapped in tandem, but far too slowly to generate lift. Pearls covered its body at irregular intervals.
Those pearls seemed to be looking at her.
“Do not be afraid!” the apparition said, raising a sparkling hoof. “I mean you no harm, but your friend Fluttershy is in grave danger!”
“You have one chance to save yourself!” Luna shouted at the top of her lungs. “Who are you, and what is your business here?”
“I am a fairy.”
The breath hitched in Luna’s throat. Her voice lowered to a dark, dangerous level. “This does not necessarily help your case.”
“I am a Fae of the Seelie Court.” The fairy touched down to the ground and lay low, spreading her wings out flat to show that she hid nothing among her feathers. “I am a friend of Equestria, and I seek to save the life of Fluttershy.”
A twinkle of familiar magic touched Twilight’s ear. A trail of smoke, guided by dragonfire, swirled before her eyes. While Luna kept watch on the fairy, she touched a hoof to the ash and let it reform into a scroll, sealed with Spike’s signature claw mark.
“A letter from Ponyville,” the fairy said. “Then they’ve realized it as well.”
“Your name, fairy spirit.” Luna towered over the both of them, her mane sucking up the light in the room and replacing it with star-swirled darkness. “Give me your name.”
“I am Ribbon Wishes, of the Three Wishes.” The pearls swiveled towards Twilight and narrowed. “Read Spike’s letter, Princess Sparkle. It will show you the urgency of the situation.”
Twilight sucked in a breath and glanced at Luna. When the elder alicorn said nothing, she broke the seal and unscrolled the letter.
Twilight,
Fluttershy and Discord are missing, along with Pound and Pumpkin Cake. There has been no contact for several days, and the search parties have found nothing. I know you’re busy with the whole Tartarus riot, but I really think we need your help.
Okay, I was wrong. The search parties found a burnt-out campsite and several fallen trees. I think they’re in real trouble. Reply ASAP.
Spike
Luna’s breath carried fog as the air chilled around her. “What does it say, Twilight?”
“The fairy is right.” Twilight lowered the letter, rolling it along her hoof. She stuffed it in a small bag slung over her shoulder, alongside several writing utensils. “Fluttershy’s in trouble. And that’s just the start.”
Luna bobbed her head as light and warmth returned to the room. “You have earned the right to speak, Ribbon Wishes of the Seelie Court. Choose your words wisely, for time is short.”
She grimaced, turning her sight from Twilight. “Far, far too short.”
Ribbon Wishes bowed at the neck and stood up. “What I have to say is for your ears alone, for every turn holds a servant of the Unseelie Court…”
***
Tirek followed the floating green arrow, his hooves making soft little shushing sounds in the mossy ground. It was a welcome change of page from the unavoidable clippity-clop of rocky ground. He felt the slightest bit stealthier, the slightest bit more prepared to take his opponents by surprise.
Then there was Munchy. “Munchy tired. Can Munchy please pretty please ride on Tirek’s back?”
Tirek felt a flash of annoyance, one that could very well end with Munchy trampled to a pulp beneath his hooves. It was the third such flash that hour. “You didn’t have to come.”
“Yes Munchy did!” Munchy raised a gnarled hand, coated with white hair in a single, repulsive patch. “Munchy indebted to you for forever! Munchy always your servant!”
“Then serve me,” Tirek snarled, “by being silent!”
He shoved a finger beneath Munchy’s face, the ungroomed nail inches from the morlock’s throat. “You wish to eat those pitiful little pony children, do you not?”
“Munchy’s only dream!” Munchy nodded his round, lumpy little head, grinning wide with sharpened fangs.
Tirek nodded in an understanding sort of way. “If they hear us coming…”
His hand reached out to grip Munchy around the neck. He shook the little creature violently, until he could almost feel the morlock’s meager brains rattling inside its skull. “Then they’ll run away!”
He let Munchy slump to the ground, and resumed his trot behind the strange floating arrow. “Now hurry. We may catch up with them before the sun sets.”
He crossed the stream with a small hop, his eye catching a glint of gold at the bottom. The green arrow hovered above the vein, tracing it like a child might trace a drawing. Tirek sniffed the air. The trees were old in this area of Whitetail Woods. Ancient. If they were not large enough to sustain themselves through any storm, then they were long dead and rotting. The stench of mud and foliage assailed him all at once, even as forest gave way to sheer stone walls and craggy outcroppings.
Before long, the arrow led him to a crevasse, just wide enough for a pony to slip through. For him, it was more of an ordeal. He turned his upper half sideways, walking hoof-over-hoof, his flank leaning against the stone for support and balance. A new scent touched his nostrils; that of discharged magic. A magic he had tasted at one point in his life. Spicy and exciting, yet bitter and harsh. Chaos.
When he emerged from the far side, he beheld an overgrown, decayed set of trees, all vying for sunlight, yet never receiving enough for all. Several trees were felled, but the breakage was not natural. The wood was still green, leaking sap in a sticky mess all along the stony floor.
He swiveled his ears. No sign of life.
Tirek raised his head as the green arrow came to a stop above a hollow stump at the center of the grove. It pointed downward, bobbed twice, then vanished in a shower of dust.
He approached the stump with caution. No monsters lurked in the shadows save for his dimwitted companion. No magic stung his horns. No voices reached his ears. He reached out to touch the deadwood, fingers outstretched to grasp whatever lay within.
An ant skittered its way out of the bark. Another followed, and another, and then many others. The stump practically exploded with ants, all red, all biting, all eating.
As one, the ants burst into flames.
Tirek squealed and backpedaled as fast as his four legs were able.
“Marvelous creatures, fire ants. Are they not?” Jeuk was beside Tirek with no preamble. He looked up at the centaur with an utterly unremarkable, generic smile. “On their own, their bite causes one of the greatest itching sensations known to the animal kingdom. In a group, their sting can kill.”
Tirek swiped at Jeuk, but his fist made no contact. Jeuk was elsewhere, sitting atop a nearby tree branch. “Their innards are flammable with the slightest exposure to oxygen. Crack the shell, and you get a conflagration fit to fell any mortal foe. You, of course, survived this once.”
Jeuk giggled lightly, resting his cheek against the tree’s trunk. “Can you survive it again, I wonder?”
“What do you want, Chicken Farmer?” Tirek extended a finger, focusing his rage upon the fairy. “Why have you lead me to this place?”
“This place? Oh, no, I never needed you to come here.” Jeuk tapped his hooves together. “I needed you to chase Fluttershy and Discord here. And you did. So thank you.”
Tirek climbed a nearby fallen log as the ants crept close to his feet. “What do you want with me? If you wanted me dead, you’d have done more than attack me with insects!”
“Smart guy.” Jeuk walked through the swarm of burning ants, allowing them to crawl across his legs. “I wish for you to continue your pursuit of Fluttershy, of course. We can’t have loose ends running around the forest. And here’s something to sweeten the deal…”
He lifted an ant to his snout and let it sit between his eyes. “If you do slay Fluttershy, I’ll allow you to keep the Rainbow of Darkness, free of charge. It’ll be yours forever and ever. And I’ll leave you be, free to live out the rest of your miserable days.”
Tirek clenched his fists and kicked at the approaching army. “That would have been much easier if you’d let me keep the Rainbow in the first place!”
“But then you’d have less reason to wish Fluttershy dead.” Jeuk clicked his tongue, shaking a hoof. “Did you even know her name before our little encounter? You see, there’s so much going on that you’re just not privy to.”
Jeuk laughed in the back of his throat. He stepped back, retreating towards the stump. “You will find Fluttershy and the Rainbow of Darkness in Las Pegasus. If you hurry, you may be able to beat her. The choice is yours. Regain your lost power…”
Jeuk’s smile turned jagged, his face splitting apart as horrific teeth jutted from his jaw. “Or die in obscurity!”
The Fae and the ants vanished without a trace.
Munchy popped out from behind a bush. He grasped for Tirek’s hind leg, his eyes wide and his breath coming in short bursts. “Bad idea. Bad, bad, bad idea! Bad!”
Tirek kicked him off. He glared at the misshapen little stump across the small clearing at the center of the grove. “Of course it is. Of course it is.”
He growled deep in his throat, picking Munchy up by the scruff and setting the morlock on his back. “But a fairy always keeps its promises.”
Munchy leaped up and grabbed Tirek’s horns. “It’s a trap! A trap!”
“Indeed you are correct.” Tirek drummed his fingers together, squinting his eyes at the clouds overhead. “But is it a trap for me, or for Fluttershy?”
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For both, Tirek. It's for both.
Thanks for the new chapter, it would appear the situation is not as grim as I had thought.
I do have to wonder, what exactly would the unseelie gain from blowing up Los Pegasus? Is there anything there of significant importance there that will aid their cause?
I find the concept of three types of beings of mind, spirit, and body interesting. I think humans are and always have been a combination, but there's no reason that would have to apply to Equestria.
Also, hold the phone! Adagio Dazzle was there at the Garden of Eden expy? Why would she start using the siren pendants if she's always had the apples and thus had easy access to immortality? Where did the other sirens come from? If she's working with the unseelie, why would she not have a choice but to help hinder their cause? So many questions!
Thanks for the chapter, I'd probably make more comments on what this chapter does for the tone and plot if I weren't sick at the moment. Sorry.
P.S. I did catch the various Star Wars references. Thanks for those.
I see Pound has the most basic amount of cunning required to operate under Jeuk's thumb, and the most basic amount of... courage? It's not the word I want, though. Defiance maybe. We can only hope it's not something Jeuk counted on, Pound actually not being crushed with despair immediately, and not secretly part of his plan.
It is a little surprising he would mouth off, though. He didn't seem to have it to much in him.
Did Jeuk make sure to specify physical pain with the agreement? Because emotional pain is in fact still hurting someone so... lying to Fluttershy in order to hurt her would seem to violate the agreement.
Also he really does have a closer relationship to Fluttershy. Because they both took a long term sacrificial route for thier friend. But Fluttershy doesn't know that Pound did that...and she was already sorta being uh... I don't wanna say irrational or unreasonable. Hostile? Unfair toward Pound, and this was before she accepted a power that is going to drive her nuts and apparently lost Discord.
Tartausa? Is that like a Spanish Tartarus?
Also, it's good to see the members of Rogue Squadron are still getting work after blowing up the Death Star!
Oooh, looks like the plot is closing in on our girls in two stories! Can't believe I didn't guess "Softly." I wonder if this means Merry and Silver are decedents of Adagio.
I wonder how Jeuk stacks up compared to Ahiuzotl. Is Azzy an unseelie count, or something stranger?
Or they steal away your little brother and try to turn him into a monster. Now Jeuk reminds me a bit of Jareth the Goblin King.
I get that Fluttershy is blind. Is she aware she's been kidnapped? Has she been kidnapped? If not, how do Jeuk and his friends plan to transport her when she's so dangerous to touch?
Would Fluttershy just firing bolts of magic into the air help release some pressure?
Well I guess we know who the chosen one is, then.
It's a start. I would add "find some cold iron and forge a mighty blade," but I suppose it's a bit much to ask that of a filly.
This is so awesome! If Discord was slipping away with Softly back in the day, does that mean he and Adagio used to date? Either way, I'm sure she will add a lot to the party.
Oh no, the terrible might of a dozen displacer beasts, what will the lowly Jeuk do?
Luna's kind of a dork.
Oh my Goodness, Munchy is Tirek's Number 1 Assistant!
Now I hope he meets Spike someday and they compare notes.
Clearly it's a trap for both, but Tirek is actually good news. If there's anyone who could absorb all of Fluttershy's magic and then explode himself as an unwitting sacrifice, it's Tirek. Heck, if Tirek can absorb the magic of a draconequus, I see no reason why he can't absorb the magic of a fae... Pound is going to have a great new plan soon!
7929118
I considered bringing it up but yeah, I suspect (hope, really) her attitude of "Pumpkin is important, Pound is of secondary concern, mostly for pragmatic rather than because his well-being is paramount reasons" comes back to bite her in the ass, if only to be proven very wrong somehow. (The asymmetry that Pound must prove his worth to Ribbon but Pumpkin must not might sorta make him proving to be useful, sorta hollow, though.)
Probably another caveat is that we don't understand what the whole Pumpkin being chosen thing actually entails, though. For all we know she might be chosen as a sacrifice and must be protected until then.
7929772 Chosen One of the Faeries isn't automatically a heroic licence. I referenced Labyrinth earlier; it was the brother of the hero who was the chosen one of the goblin king, when your sibling is chosen by fate it's up to you to save them from an awful fate.