Chapter 44
“Are you absolutely positive about this? Are you certain? The last thing we need right now is to be stirring up a hornet’s nest and potentially creating new enemies.” Celestia’s face was an impartial mask but her insides burbled in turmoil while she looked down at one of her most trusted of ponies, Fox Populi.
“Most Radiant One, we have irrefutable evidence of Dire Dark’s misdeeds. A Warden pulled both his face and his voice from out of the memories of one of Mister Mariner’s co-conspirators. Payment was given. Physical payment was given in the form of exotic alchemy ingredients that we know for certain are tied to necromancy and lichdom.”
Raven began hissing like an angry teakettle and just before the whistle indicating that she had boiled over came to be, she blurted out, “This is treason! Treason!”
Overcome with feeling, almost undone by emotion, Celestia closed her eyes and began to count backwards from one-hundred. Mister Populi’s words were ominous and the summation of her worst fears. The Darks, though crazy, had always been loyal. They had remained true through the Civil War and could always be counted on in times of crisis—except for now, when Equestria was gripped by crisis, the Darks had turned like milk left out too long.
Pained beyond what words could express, Celestia’s thoughts drifted back through the centuries and she thought of one of her most faithful of students, Sinister Dark. Fierce, full of questions, possessing a temper the likes of which Celestia had not seen since, little Sinister was a club-footed terror that held a fanatical zeal for her country. How far the Darks had fallen.
Opening her eyes, her backwards count disrupted, Celestia asked, “Mister Fox, what do you recommend?”
“I suggest that we do nothing yet. Inspector Pasteur Le Feu is cautiously forming a plan. Whatever we do, we should not try to arrest him at home, in the Dark Spire. That would not go well… for any of us or potentially all of Canterlot. When we do catch him, we should do so when he goes to visit his munitions factories or shipyards. I would suggest we take a century of Immortal Solars and half as many Wardens. If he decides to resist arrest, there will be catastrophic loses. We’ll have to try to take him in an area that isn’t populated. We know he travels by airship.”
Shaking her head while listening to her most trusted assistant’s grumbling, Celestia wondered if this was worth it. Sure, it had to be done, but the cost of doing so might be too dear to bear at a time when everything was so precarious. Dire Dark—once properly subdued—might know the whereabouts of Mister Mariner. Or, it was just as likely that he might have scrambled his own memories for protection. The Darks were just that paranoid—and powerful.
She thought of Luna’s troubling dreams and portents about rats…
“Raven!” Celestia barked the word.
“Yes?” Raven, eager, stood armed with her pen and a determined, overzealous scowl.
“Enact Operation Lightswitch.” Fox was a curious little pony, Celestia saw it on his face, and she made a split second decision to include him in the plan that went beyond Top Secret. He was trustworthy—and capable. “The Darks dump their unwanted foals that don’t meet their standards into orphanages, Mister Populi. We must now go through the trouble of finding each and every one of them so that we can determine if any of them are sleeper agents that might act in retaliation—”
“You prepared for this?” Fox paused, mortified by his own interruption, and his ears dropped in apology.
“I try to prepare for everything,” was Celestia’s response to the embarrassed, still-apologetic, still-cringing Mister Populi.
A dangerous game was now in its opening moves, and Celestia knew, she knew that the opening moves determined the outcome of the game. Heart heavy, she thought of Sinister, and knew that her once-student would never stand for this. In fact, Celestia was certain that she would have had to have held Sinister back from disemboweling her family. Sinister’s fanaticism was a powerful asset, but also a detrimental weakness that Celestia had tried so hard to temper.
Sinister was a Dark that had worshipped the Sun.
Sighing, Celestia dragged herself back into the present. “Where is Inspector Pasteur Le Feu right now?”
Bowing his head, Fox Populi replied, “He is with Prince Blueblood and they are mobilising the Crypteia. As far as I know, nopony is being told specifics, only that we are in crisis. Preparations are beginning.”
Closing her eyes again, Celestia began counting backwards from one-hundred once more. Agencies like the Crypteia were lost past their heyday, their halcyon days when they were functional. When Equestria was a nation of thousands, the Crypteia were at their most powerful. As Equestria grew into the hundreds of thousands, the Crypteia had been defanged, and so had the Wardens. And when the population had exploded into the millions… the Crypteia and the Wardens had become anachronisms. Now, they were little more than a curious vestigial organ, like the appendix.
“Most Beautiful, Most Resplendent Dawn—”
“What, Fox?” Celestia’s eyes fluttered open and she looked at the squirming orange unicorn who stood in supplication before her.
“Majesty, Mister Mariner’s co-conspirator that was interrogated by the Warden—”
“Just spit it out, Fox!”
“There was a tremendous amount of interest in Sumac Apple. Many discussions were had between Dire Dark and Mister Mariner’s chosen agent. Mister Mariner was shopping for capable mercenaries to seize the young sorcerer.”
Just behind her eyes, the beginnings of a headache began its dreadful tapping, and Celestia nodded, fearing the lurking beast that would soon spring upon her. “This complicates things.”
“Most Beloved Majesty, what is to be done with the prisoner after he is interrogated? Our prisons are not safe, as the Great Enemy has shown. He knows too much and should he be recovered by the wrong sorts… it could hurt us.”
Once more, Celestia’s eyes fluttered open, and the light stung. Sitting on her throne, she took as long as she felt she needed to think about this, because there was so much to think about. Such a valuable prize might be used as bait, but that would also put many lives at risk, and there was the risk of things not working out. With a heavy heart, she reached but one conclusion.
“Kill him, Fox, ‘tis treason after all.” The words left a bitter, unpleasant flavour on Celestia’s tongue and she wished that she hadn’t said them. “I want you to do it. Erase as much of his existence as you can and leave his current whereabouts dubious. Maybe we can confound the Great Enemy if they go on a futile search for him.”
Bowing his head, Fox replied, “By your command, Golden Light.”
“Reduce his body to ash,” she added, almost shivering in disgust from her own command. “We don’t want the Great Enemy reviving his corpse for information retrieval. Burn him to ash and then burn the ashes. Scatter whatever is left on the wind.”
With a jaunty clicking of his hooves, Fox Populi snapped to attention, and then ran off to do as he was bid. Celestia watched him go, annoyed by his fanatical, blind devotion, but also grateful for it as well. Fox could be trusted with anything—she would trust him with Gosling’s life even—and he was a good and faithful servant. When he was gone and the door shut behind him, Celestia turned to her assistant, who stood grinding her teeth.
“Double the number of Solars in Ponyville and make certain that Twilight does not find out about it. Use whatever methods are deemed necessary. Twilight is canny and capable, but I want Sumac kept safe at all costs. Send a private communication to Mister Teakettle and keep him informed of the situation as it develops, if it develops.
“Mister Teakettle hates mooks—”
“Raven, he doesn’t hate them… he’s just offended by their very existence and takes exception to the fact that they continue to breathe the same air as him. Prepare a legal defense for Mister Teakettle under the new I.E.A. provisions. Might be time to give the program a dry run. Whatever you do, do not tell Mister Teakettle that he is well-protected and immune from prosecution.”
“Why not?” Raven asked.
“Because,” Celestia replied with a sniff, “he makes such messes if he thinks he can get away with it, and faithful, darling Twilight does not deserve such messes…”
No morning report. A break in routine was never a good sign and Gosling knew it. The only thing that would draw Blueblood away from the routine was a crisis of some sort, and an exceptional one at that. Canterlot Castle was a place of strict routine and deviation was frowned upon. He hadn’t had enough sleep and to make matters worse, he felt a little dehydrated, almost hungover even, even though he hadn’t been drinking the night before.
Perhaps some great plot had been uncovered at the gala last night, some grand conspiracy with the aim to make the sun set on Equestria. One simply did not break up the routine. Yawning, Gosling knew that he needed tea, or maybe coffee, it didn’t matter what he drank so long as it revived his kludgy brain.
“Beans… Toast… are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Oi, I can’t be certain, but I’m not sure you have what it takes to be an exotic underwear model,” Beans replied, and his sister, Toast, began snickering.
“Why I oughta…” The corners of Gosling’s mouth pulled down into a frown and he cast a scornful sidelong glance at his assistants. “I was thinking about having a second breakfast and something to drink.”
“To the kitchens?” Toast looked at Gosling, then at her brother.
“Indeed.” Beans offered a pert nod.
“Good, this gives us a chance to talk about Rauchtänzer—” Gosling was cut off by Toast’s sudden squeal and his ears weren’t ready for the auditory assault. Ears pinned back, he retreated from the squealing filly that seemed to be losing her mind. And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, it ended, and Gosling stood blinking in shock.
“Oi, he’s so dark and edgy looking,” Toast gushed while batting her long, mascaraed eyelashes. “All dark and smokey. He’s practically villainous—”
“Sis, Gosling too, is dark.” Beans made his interjection while rolling his eyes.
“Yeah, but Gosling just kind of looks harmless… and Rauchtänzer has that marvellous name!”
All the signs were there—all of them, and Gosling was left feeling both hopeful and disgusted by seeing them. Toast had a crush and it seemed to have simmered a bit overnight. She looked to be almost swooning at the moment, making moony-eyes and prancing about. All of her seeming maturity, all of her composure, all of her seeming adultness was lost, and she was now acting her age.
“What is it with fillies and dark and edgy stallions?” Beans asked while looking Gosling right in the eye. “I don’t get it. Why can’t a filly look at a nice, steady, dependable sort and think to herself, ‘Oi, I know, I’ll go after him. He looks trustworthy and reliable, and won’t take dangerous liberties with my gaskins.’ Seriously, what is it with fillies? One look at a dangerous colt and they’re undone.”
In response, Gosling shrugged. As far as he knew, he was a nice guy, the steady, dependable sort. Thinking of this, he began to wonder what Celestia saw in him, and after a few seconds of being lost in distraction, his stomach gurgled to remind him that he had pressing needs that could not be ignored. There was no way that Gosling could be seen as the dangerous type, his mother had seen to that, and sympathising with Beans’ angst, Gosling sighed.
“Why is being wholesome such a turnoff?” Beans turned, looked at his lovesick, swoony sibling, and then turned away, snorting in disgust.
For Gosling, it was odd to see his assistant acting his age, and it made him think of his own age. Gosling didn’t exactly act his age—but mostly because he had so many duties and responsibilities. “Something else to talk about while we have our second breakfast,” Gosling muttered while turning about so that he could begin the long walk to the kitchens.
Celestia had reason for everything she did and knowing this, Gosling had reason to believe that she had ‘arranged’ for him to have ponies just about his own age in the form of his two posh assistants. All of Gosling’s other friends were older, from Seville, who was an adult, Hotspur and Hush, who could be called middle-aged, and Luna, who was… indeterminable. There were times when, surrounded by nothing but adults, Gosling felt troubled. Even Seville, whom Gosling loved like a brother, had the maturity of age.
As for Luna, who had a chronological age—and, as Gosling was beginning to suspect—a current physical age, which she may or may not being lying about. There was a growing feeling that he did not know Luna, that he hadn’t actually met the real ‘her.’ He was convinced that all of her that he had seen so far had been dreams and illusions, which bothered him more than he would ever admit.
Sullen, hunched over the table, Gosling ate some of the castle staff’s pick-me-up food, which he found delicious and filling. Raw oats were soaked in creamy, fruity, tart yogurt overnight; then come morning, they were oh-so-very chewy, satisfying, and according to the castle staff, perfect when most of the yogurt had been absorbed. For now, it was a treat, but he was tempted to demand this for breakfast every morning just because of how filling it was, as well as energising. It was strange requiring such a high caloric intake when Gosling felt that he did so very little these days.
“It’s disgusting, seeing how my sister is.”
“Oi, stick a hoof in your gob!”
“My sister has gone off her trolley—”
“Naff off, ponce!”
Sensing disaster, Gosling felt as though he had to intervene. “Will the two of you not act your age?”
Consummate professionals and adolescents, the twins went silent, but glared at one another. Gosling ate another bite of yogurt-soaked oats and chewed in thoughtful silence. Toast broke off her angry glare, turned away, and within seconds she had become moony-eyed once more. She had a crush, or maybe was even infatuated, only Cadance would know for sure.
Cadance would know.
Recoiling as if he had been slapped, a course of action slammed into Gosling’s brain like a runaway locomotive and he knew what he needed to do. Cadance would know. Princess Busybody managed Luna’s therapy plan and no doubt, had just the sort of information that Gosling needed. If not Cadance, then his own therapist, Lumina Loveletter might know… and even better, if she wanted to be tight lipped, Lumina could be… intimidated. Gosling hated even thinking about it, and he knew his mother would be disappointed, but damnit, he was owed some answers. His therapist also worked with Celestia and Luna, so Lumina was bound to have relevant information relating to Luna and her care.
No sense stepping on hooves if he didn’t have to. First, he would go to Cadance and just flat-out ask. Cadance had said that it was important to ask, and to confront things directly so he wouldn’t end up overstressed again, because that was sheer misery, and Gosling was feeling a bit worked up about this. Chewing his oats, Gosling knew it was time to face Cadance about this directly.
He now had a course of action.
Stats
Page generated in 0.04 seconds
Total duration
967 users online
1,940,438 hits today, 2,073,628 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.®
Dammit, this part almost made me laugh myself sick.
Toast is all burnt over Smoking Dancers (Rauchtänzer)
i1.wp.com/media.giphy.com/media/14J6KkrpF0LgQ/source.gif?ssl=1
There is only one thing that I need to say here: I've got a bad feeling about this.
Ooh, shit's going to get real soon. I've been looking forward to the coming conflicts for some time.
8766176
Celestia, Celestia, you silly twat don't you know that Twilight will find out regardless and it will be the last mistake that old demon will ever make.
8766236
None of this makes any sense.
8766241
My comment was a reply just hold your cursor over the Name next to the arrow and you should get it.
If the foreshadowing isn't a bait and switch, you might not want to know, Gosling. I'm not yet sure how it might change things aside from hurt her privacy.
8766274
Demon? Grogar? Last mistake?
No sense.
Oh hey, that's Chartreuse's father who is doing the investigation. Nice reference.
8766282
Just how...you of all people should know what happens when some asshole goes after some one Twilight cares about.
8766315
I am having an off today today. Your sentence was jumbled to me.
Is it wrong that I've seen this story many times over and only now did I notice the cutie mark of the pony in the picture?
8766315
Exactly the problem, I suspect. Having a scheming villein in your grand designs isn't very useful if they're mired neck deep in the Equestrian Legal System fighting against a useful pawn like Mister Teakettle.
Lightbulb
Remind me: Is "Mister Teakettle" Tarnished's codename in top secret operations or is Celestia teasing him again (I recall that either her or Luna's living-avatar-being kept referring to him as Teakettle despite his protests)?
8767411
Teasing.
The Fall of House Dark: Prologue
8768239
Though some would argue that the fall happened long before, and this is simply gravity being made aware of the fact.
Fox!
Sometimes the multiple time settings can make a reader rather dizzy.
Oh, you may not have found all of her yet... but - if one hides their face behind masks too long, the masks become one's true face. Not a single of them, and not something beneath them, but the entire set. There's no singular 'true you' with the rest being fakes. All of them are just parts that comprise the true you.