Deadman's Gun

by Nobodyslament

Celestial Thoughts

The tea room of Princess Celestia was considered a holy place by some. It was filled with tapestries made by long-forgotten ponies, rugs from nations that died millennia ago. Today it seemed far to empty for Celestia's liking. She turned towards the guest chair she had put in a few months ago, and almost saw John there. An afterimage of what had become a near-daily occurrence in the past few weeks. John sitting across from her, spouting idle musings about various matters of state and jokes at the nobles expense. She sighed as she moved a sheet over the chair, not wanting to look at it. She moved to her personal cushion, sitting down in a very un-regal position as she summoned a pot of tea from the kitchens. As she waited for her daily drink, she levitated a small unmarked journal from a bag at her side. She opened it, looking over the alien language written in quick, precise strokes. She looked at the language in uncomprehending glances as she tried a translation spell. She watched the spell morph the words into squiggles an lines before they bounced back into their normal shape.

Celestia sighed as she set the book down beside her, trying not to think of what happened, and found herself failing. She knew John would say it wasn't her fault. If the blame lay with anyone it was squarely on Johns' shoulders. He would certainly say so. Probably with some humorous analogy about an ancient myth or historical figure from his home. She moved slightly, adjusting her wings to a more comfortable position as the soft ring announcing her tea's imminent arrival sounded through the room. She watched her tea table as a small tray appeared on it. The simple silver tray held one teapot and two teacups. She stared at the twin cups and took deep breathes, trying to control the flood of emotion that came with it. She kept having subtle reminders that she would be drinking alone, but telling kitchen staff to only send one cup seemed... wrong now. In a few short months, tea had turned into a social occasion. john would come up to Canterlot in order to study, as well as use the previous record keepers archive to finalize his drafts of various minutia the Ponyville filed for. She could still remember the first day he joined her for tea.

***

Celestia wandered into her tea room, sighing in annoyance at the tedium and annoyance that was Day Court. The nobles had been lobbying for less reliance on local farmers due to their prices. This would be fine if they had any idea for alternatives. It's like they expected her to have an innate knowledge of farming that would make changing suppliers instant. Then there was that utter ponce of a noble Tight Lips. He had the absolute idiocy to state that a minotaur naval cruiser had been spotted by his network. In front of the Minotaur ambassador. She was interrupted from her revelry by a chuckling laugh. She turned to face it horn raised, expecting an assassin. Instead, the human from Ponyville was sitting on her couch. He turned the page of a folder and smiled. "Your security suck Princess." She stared in confusion as her tea appeared on the table in front of the human. He calmly poured a glass and moved from her cushion. "Sorry about that, I was curious about how secure your tea room is." He gestured to the balcony. "Honestly, you need a pegasus or something scanning open balconies." Celestia stared before shaking her head and sitting down on her cushion. After a moment she summoned another teacup and gestured towards it. John sat opposite her and poured himself a cup. "Also, I had a few questions about that investigation...

Celestia shook off the miasma of remembrance as she dismissed the second cup. Remaining alone in her tea room. Taking a lone sip she thought back to her investigation. She summoned the reports from the Equestrian Bureau of Investigation. It appears the case against one Blind Leap was only just starting to gain key pieces of evidence. They had matched his Cutie Mark shortly after John's report. However, evidence of his misdeeds was lacking due to his frequent moves and jobs. Celestia looked over his past with a grimace. He had graduated from her school with a focus on Portal magic. He was well known for his ability to create what he called warpgates. Small tunnels from one area of Equestria to another. Of course, there were downsides. They were dangerous if he wasn't familiar with the area the portal was leading to, causing lost limbs in the best scenario, death in the worst. But the dangers had meen mitigated by a few rules he put in place whenever he was hired.

It was easy to see what must have happened. He was experimenting with portals by opening them in the void of space. Distance meant nothing to him, as long as he had a rough area in mind he could place them anywhere. Likely that was how he acquired his fortune. But one misplaced portal in space and suddenly John was here. Then came the bit that Celestia had to use conjecture for. She dug around in the bag beside her and pulled out the photo. John, with his arm hooked around another human. She smiled at it. John sporting a huge smile, while the other one had shrunk under his arm. She could practically taste the friendship at that moment. Like brothers, they were family. She shook her head and re-focused. Michael must have been beside John and sent through the gate. But Michael wasn't here, so where did he go?

***

John was seated in the chair Celestia had moved into her tearoom in the past week. He was working in the official Ponyville book. He paused as he looked to the large stack of files before him, and copying down a small bit of information. Without looking up, he waved his pencil at Celestia. "Howdy, your majesty. How went day court?"

she smiled at him as she pulled the cord for tea. "It went well, everypony seemed ready to sit down about your security suggestions."

He shrugged. "Just doing my part, plus denying teleports except for authorized areas is as much safety as security. Can't have some unlucky soul getting split in half because of a moving curtain."

Celestia raised an eyebrow at that. While John had made an academic study of magic, he was far from a true mage. It made sense he wouldn't know about the safety triggers in your average teleport spell. She shrugged it off as she poured two glasses of tea. "But enough of that, what happened in Ponyville this week?" He groaned and covered his face, hiding behind a hand. Celestia giggled, enjoying his annoyance at the excitable little town.

Celestia tensed. That idle thought during their conversation opened up a dangerous outcome. Blind leap had opened the portal, and both John and Michael came through. But only part of Michael. She couldn't imagine the horror. Being dragged from your home with the gory mess of one like your brother raining upon you. Being in a new and alien realm with no warning. It was a terrifying thought. The more she thought about it the more she hoped she was wrong.

But that still left questions. Why had John never mentioned it? Why hadn't he done more to help the investigation? She pulled his notebook out again, trying to drag answers out of whatever script he wrote in that had eluded both her and Twilight's attempt to translate. She stared at it with tears beginning to form in her eyes. She could think of a million ways to solve this problem now that she had more solid information, but time was against her. She couldn't change what happened, and he had apparently decided her own forces couldn't be trusted. She threw the book across the room, making a soft thump as it landed in the covered chair.

She could almost feel his presence behind her. Resting his hand on her back like he did whenever she got stressed. She thought she heard his voice behind her. "You can't change the past, just make things better for the future."

She turned around as quickly as she could. Finding the area behind her empty, but still feeling the phantom hand between her wings. She shook her head and laid down fully. Celestia was a ruler. Rulers were not allowed to weep for every subject under their supervision. But for a friend, the tears fell with a freedom that had seemed dead since the death of her last faithful student. She let out a quiet sob from her pillow before a knock startled her.

The small voice of Twilight Sparkle came from the other side of the door. "Umm, Celestia. I found a letter from John. It's in his writing, but my name is written at the top. Do you want to see it?"

Celestia wiped her tears off on her pillow before flipping it over. She refused to be seen crying. After a moment she nodded her head. "Of course Twilight. I'll summon another teacup." She watched as Twilight walked in awkwardly. As they began speaking she found herself ignoring the conversation. She was distracted by John's advice, as if he had actually said it to her then and there. She was already thinking of several new laws. Ones that would add safety to any future users of Blind Leaps warpgates.

Comments

[FTR2017]

Huh.

Wonder what was in that letter of his. Maybe it was a confession as to why he did that?

[Coretz]

More, please.

[Rainbow slash123]

You ever thou thought of a prequal.

[Kadigan]

Well, that's a well-written story. I especially like how the story is written not in what's presented, but rather - in what is not. Have a like.

[Pete100]

She turned around as quickly as she could. Finding the area behind her empty, but still feeling the phantom hand between her wings. She shook her head and laid down fully. Celestia was a ruler. Rulers were not allowed to weep for every subject under their supervision. But for a friend, the tears fell with a freedom that had seemed dead since the death of her last faithful student. She let out a quiet sob from her pillow before a knock startled her.

Listen Celestia, cry all you want ain’t no one here gonna judge you.

Celestia wiped her tears off on her pillow before flipping it over. She refused to be seen crying. After a moment she nodded her head.

Don’t wipe them tears, if they see they see.

[Teikan]

and he killed the portal creator stupidly out of revenge? asshole

[Teikan]

and he killed the portal creator stupidly out of revenge? asshole