The Storm: Part 2
Starlight, Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash strolled through the encampment, each taking a look around. As one pony would perform a task, another would look jealously at them. The smile would be ever-present, but their teeth were always clenched tight. They saw the same thing from several different groups, until, finally, Starlight deigned to approach some, tapping on a mare’s shoulder. “Excuse me.”
The mare jumped, turning to face her. “Yes? Oh! You’re one of our guests! What do you need?”
“Why are you glaring at your friend?” Starlight asked, looking over at a sculpting stallion.
“What? Glaring? I’m not glaring!” The mare pointed a hoof at her own face. “See the smile? I’m not glaring at all!”
“Yeah… I see the smile, but my friend, here…” she pointed to Pinkie, who waved happily. “... is an expert on smiles.”
“AND YOURS ARE ALL WEIRD!” Pinkie exclaimed.
“Yeah, that.” Starlight continued. “So, again, why are you glaring at him?”
The mare looked nervously between the six ponies, letting her smile tense up. “I… I always wanted to sculpt!” She blurted out. “I’ve been fascinated by stone and the art that comes from it for years, but my Cutie Mark ended up being for mining work!” She lifted her cloak, revealing a pickaxe Cutie Mark. “How can I be a sculptor when all I’m meant to do is dig?!”
“Well, why don’t you ask your friend?” Fluttershy suggested. “I’m sure he’d be happy to teach you.”
The mare shook her head in utter defiance. “Oh, heavens, no! That would be rude!”
“Rude?” Rainbow repeated.
Rarity nodded, looking from Rainbow to the nervous mare. “Yes, I’m not sure I understand how asking for help is ‘rude’.”
“Oh, yes! Terribly rude!” she confirmed, looking back at the sculptor. “We don’t do much with one another. Besides, why would I need to ask him when Lord Paradigm teaches us all we need?”
“Wait, what?” Applejack started, tilting her head with confusion. “How can just one pony teach y’all everything you need? Nopony can do everything!”
The maneless mare giggled to herself. “Clearly, you haven’t met Lord Paradigm! Every day, he teaches us so many wonderful things to anypony who is interested! He has so many special talents… I wonder if he might be the most special pony in Equestria! And all we have to do is whatever he asks in return! This is actually one of the few days where we get free time! And it’s all because of your arrival! It’s not very often that a Princess takes notice of our little gathering! Why, she might even join us! Wouldn’t that be wonderful?” she put her hooves to her cheeks, devolving into giddy laughter.
Starlight smiled weakly at the mare, letting out a nervous chuckle. “Yeah… wonderful.”
“Who knows? She might be in initiation right now!” she noted, glancing at Paradigm’s tent.
The six mares exchanged curious and concerned looks, following the mare’s gaze. “Initiation? What happens for that?”
“Nopony knows!” Another pony stated, joining the mare. “It’s different for everypony that joins us. But Lord Paradigm sees to it himself every time, and it always takes at least three weeks.”
The mare nodded in agreement, lighting up with a thought. “Those two ponies have been in there for a while, now! Maybe they’ve already begun?”
“What?!” Starlight screamed, her face twisting to panic. “But they never said anything about joining!”
“Nopony ever does!” the new pony informed her, motioning his hoof to the smiling encampment. “But Lord Paradigm is quite convincing! And look at us, now! Three hundred strong and growing!”
Starlight’s horn flared to life in an instant, casting her most frequently-used spell and appearing inside the enormous tent. “Twilight! Bolt! Don’t…” she looked around, finding her friends passed out on the floor with spilled cider goblets next to them. “Oh, no…”
A white magical field surrounded the pink Unicorn, lifting her into the air. “Oh, yes…” Paradigm replied, his voice dripping with venom as he turned her to face him. His horn was wrapped not only in his magic, but a current of blue electricity, his silver cloak flying up to reveal his Cutie Mark. The lightning around the mirror was crackling, a reflection of Twilight’s Cutie Mark showing in the surface. The chamber’s entrance opened, the five remaining Element-bearers making their entrance only to be caught in the stallion’s magic as well. The mares all squirmed in his grip, Starlight making an attempt to light her horn. As the blue aura started up, the white one proceeded to absorb it with a wide grin.. “Eight initiates in a single day… with a Princess and Boltsinger among them? Serendipitous, indeed!” He flicked his head to the side, sending an impact to their heads as everything went black.
Boltsinger’s eyes slowly opened, hearing muffled voices around him as a brown blur encompassed his vision. After a moment, the words cleared up. “... --on’t you touch him! You’ve done more than enough! I can’t believe you… lying about being his friend!” It was Twilight’s voice. His eyes widened as his vision followed his hearing, clearing up to see Paradigm sitting happily in front of him. He searched the room, finding all of his friends with every extremity they had shackled to a brick wall in another of the tent’s chambers.
“Oh, I never lied, Princess.” Paradigm retorted, standing up and strutting over to her. He brought his hoof up to her chin, staring into her eyes. “He really did help me get my Cutie Mark. And that was all he did… After that, he just flew away. And when he left, so did all of my friendships!”
Twilight recoiled, looking between the two stallions. “I don’t understand… How can his leaving take away all of your friends?”
“I spent the vast majority of my young life alone, a talentless blank flank.” he explained. “I wanted nothing more than a talent to call my own, that I might appeal to the other foals! I desperately needed a push, and in a flash of lightning, that pony appeared!” He jutted his hoof towards Boltsinger. “The electricity that surged from within… That Cutie Mark! Even as a colt, I could tell he was the epitome of talent! So I asked him for his help. I wanted him to teach me what he could do, which he did.”
“So he taught you to sing, then?” Starlight guessed.
“He did, indeed! And I was good. At the very least, I was as good as he was!” he continued, pumping his hoof confidently. “It drew the attention of all of the other foals! I realized that if I just kept doing what he did, I could make it in this world… And that’s when my flank ceased to be blank! I dare say it was a shocking experience… But as quickly as he’d come, he was gone…”
Twilight leaned in as much as she could manage, genuine curiosity taking hold. “But you still had the skills that he taught you, didn’t you?”
Paradigm shook his head. “I’m afraid not. I tried to do what Bolt taught me, but all that came out were horrid shrieks… I scared away the other foals just by trying to do what I’d always done!” He revealed his Cutie Mark once more, the mirror’s crackling catching Boltsinger’s eye. “If you were to see a Cutie Mark of a mirror, what kind of talent would you expect it to represent?”
Rarity perked up, nearly forgetting her imprisonment. “Why, that would tell me that you were a model! Somepony who always looks good when they see themselves in a mirror!”
Paradigm gave Rarity an appreciative nod, letting his attention drift between the lot of them. “That’s a good guess. But no. Now I ask you... What do mirrors do?”
“They… reflect…” Boltsinger pointed out, slowly raising his head.
“Exactly!” Paradigm confirmed, raising an excited hoof. “And my mirror can reflect that which is the source of your talents!” His horn crackled with electricity once more. “Your Cutie Mark... “ In his Cutie Mark, a reversed image of Boltsinger’s Cutie Mark appeared, causing a pair of magical wings to erupt from his back. “It used to be that I had to be within a few feet of whoever I ‘channeled’, but now I can take the talents of anypony within three miles, utilizing their Cutie Mark talents, along with everything that comes with it!” The wings on his back began flapping, sanding arcs of lightning into the floor below. “I don’t even need to touch them! As long as they're in range, I can reflect their skills no matter what.” The wings dissipated as his mark returned to normal. “You can imagine the sudden plethora of skills got me a following, so I worked with it. And now I have all the friends I could ever want!” He strutted back over to Twilight, the hunger in his eyes evident as he put his hoof on her chin. “So that leaves you with two choices. You’ll either become my friends, or you’ll stay back here, and I can make use of your…” He licked his lips, inching closer to her. “... exceptional qualities… either way!”
Boltsinger glared at Paradigm with a fire he didn’t even know he had. He struggled against the chains that bound him,trying to reach the object of his aggression. “Don’t you touch her!” He let out a fierce growl, intensifying his glare. “I swear, when I get out of here I’m gonna--”
“What? Give me a stern talking to?” he countered, stomping up to him and meeting his glare in kind.
The Pegasus gritted his teeth. “You have no idea…”
A smile crept back onto his face as a dark laugh sounded. “You’re not in much of a position to do anything, now, are you?” He began his exit, giving one final glance back at them. “Well, I’m off to announce your ‘initiate’ status. Don’t have too much fun without me!” He gave another gleeful guffaw as he turned around, floating a carrot into each of their mouths.
As the Unicorn began his exit, Twilight closed her eyes, feeling a light shock coming from her pendant. Her eyes shot open, fixated on Paradigm. “Wait! Before you go, I have something to say!”
Paradigm stopped, casting an intrigued look in the Alicorn’s direction. “Oh? And what’s that?”
“I… We’d like to take you up on your offer to join willingly!” she announced, drawing the attention of her companions. She looked back at all of them, putting on a confident face.
“And why should I believe you?” the Unicorn wondered, turning to face her with a side-eyed glare. “I’ve drugged you, imprisoned you, and given you no reason to listen to me outright!”
“He’s right about that one. I ain’t got much reason ta trust ‘im.” Applejack confirmed.
“But we don’t have much of a choice, either.” the Princess countered. “If we’re going to be here, we might as well be able to move around and meet everypony. Plus…” she looked to her husband. “I don’t want you to ruin your friendship after such a long time apart. To renewed friendships…” She sent Boltsinger a wink. “... right?”
Boltsinger looked between the two of them, spotting an earnestness in Twilight’s face that he couldn’t bring himself to deny. “Right.” He nodded at Paradigm, letting his lips turn upward. “To renewed friendship!”
Paradigm stood at the front of a stage, looking out on the gathered crowd. His ‘friends’ came together like this several times every day to learn from him, and he reveled in it. He lit his horn for an instant, drawing upon the talent he needed as he inhaled deeply. “My friends! My troupe! I have wonderful news! We have gained not just one, but eight new initiates this day!” He brought up a triumphant hoof, emphasizing his victory. “They have taken to our ways rather quickly, and I’d like to introduce them to you! Would you like to meet them?” The crowd cheered in their affirmation, bringing a smirk to the stallion’s face. “Very well!, allow me to introduce them!” He gestured below the stage, where Twilight, Applejack, Starlight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Boltsinger emerged, the same kind of smiles on their faces as the crowd before them. “All of these ponies are wonderfully talented, and are willing to share these talents with all of Equestria! But, if I am to be so bold, I’m most excited for these two!” he pointed at the pendant-bearing ponies with a wide smile, lighting up horn to pull them forward. “The very pony that helped me obtain my own Cutie Mark and set me on my path… my old friend, Boltsinger!” He put his hoof around Boltsinger, pulling him close and raising his free foreleg triumphantly. His hungry eyes wandered, landing on Twilight once more. “And, of course, who can forget Princess Twilight herself? We have a Princess joining our troupe! Can you imagine how fast word of us will spread?!” The crowd burst into cheers, throwing comments all around, ranging from offering Boltsinger their thanks to the merits of each of the ponies gathered, all the way to sheer amazement at the presence of the Princess.
Boltsinger smiled back at his fellow stallion, clearing his throat and flapping his wings. “Yes, we’re all quite happy to be here! But… I admit we’re all a little curious.”
Paradigm recoiled, turning his attention to the orange pony. “Yes, I’m... happy to answer any questions you might have!” He put his muzzle next to the Pegasus’ ear, quieting his tone. “You’d best not try anything funny… I can still use your little wifey’s talent to put you all back there…”
Boltsinger smirked, keeping his breeze going. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Actually, the question was mine.” Starlight pointed out, stepping up to their host. “My friends and I have been talking with some of these ponies, and we can’t help but wonder… Why do you all hide your Cutie Marks?”
“Why would you want something that represents a talent you don’t like on display?” he deflected, casting his gaze at the crowd. “Not a very accurate reflection of you ask me.”
Rarity put her hoof to her chin, pondering the brown stallion’s answer. “‘Reflection’... Interesting word choice, wouldn’t you say, Twilight?”
“I think so, too.” The Alicorn agreed, stepping forward. “Is that why you’re the only one teaching them new skills?”
“It helps to foster a sense of equality amongst them!” he replied, retreating his hoof from Boltsinger and putting his hoof down. His eyes narrowed as his voice began to lower. “You’d best quit while you can… I’ve half a mind to put you back in shackles…”
“Shackles?” a pony in the crowd repeated.
“He had them shackled? But why?!” another pony asked.
Paradigm’s ears twitched, his head snapping back at his followers’ shocked faces. “What are you talking about? I didn’t say that!”
“Oh yes you did!” Boltsinger declared. “They heard you loud and clear!”
“How could they possibly have heard me?” he queried, hunching over as his horn began sparking. His eyes pointed at the still-flapping wings. “I get it… This is your doing!”
“Hey, I’m just flapping my wings.” he stated, shrugging his shoulders. “My flight coach told me it makes for good exercise.” He looked behind him, raising his hoof to his muzzle. “Isn't that right, Rainbow Dash?”
“That’s right!” the Wonderbolt confirmed, taking off. “With the right level of wingpower, you can do stuff like this!” She dove down, rocketing past the cloaked Unicorn and grabbing his cloak. With a loud ripping noise, Paradigm’s garment was gone, revealing his crackling Cutie Mark, reflecting Boltsinger’s Cutie Mark inside it, to the masses.
“What do you think you’re doing?!” he spat, lighting his horn and tugging on the cloth in Rainbow’s grip. “Give that back to me this instant!”
“That’s Lord Paradigm’s Cutie Mark?!” a mare asked, pointing at their leader. “But why does it show his friend’s Cutie Mark, too?”
Twilight turned to the audience, spreading her wings. “This pony has been deceiving you!” she announced, pointing her hoof at the Unicorn. “He’s been telling you that you can only truly learn from him, when everything he does is a reflection of all of you! There’s nothing he can give you that all of you don’t already have inside!”
Pinkie and Applejack looked at each other, giving a nod and stepping forward. “She’s right! Pinkie Pie ‘n me both love bakin’ stuff! But neither of us have a Cutie Mark for it!”
“Instead, we learned from each other and other bakers we know, and now we make some of the tastiest treats in the whole world!” Pinkie finished, rearing up and kicking the air in front of her.
“And I wouldn’t be half the flyer I am without the lessons my brother and Rainbow Dash gave me!” Boltsinger added.
“And then Boltsinger and Rainbow Dash helped me to fly as well!” Fluttershy noted, spreading her wings confidently. “We all have things we can teach each other! There’s no reason to rely on just one pony for everything!”
“So he’s just a fraud? We’ve been spending our time here for nothing?!” another pony wondered.
“Not at all!” Twilight corrected, putting her hoof over her heart. “You have an honest desire to learn, and I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that!” She spread her wings regally, gesturing her hoof out to them. “If you want a place to learn, I implore you give my School of Friendship a chance! You can learn from all of us, and from one another as well!”
“And you really think they’ll be happy with that?” Paradigm spat, charging his horn as his mirror began reflecting Twilight’s Cutie Mark. “You think they’ll function without a leader? Without somepony to bring them together?” He lit his horn, a dome of white magic spreading out of him. Everypony in the vicinity found themselves completely frozen, many of them struggling and squirming to break free of the magic that held them. “Your little ‘school’ might hold their interest for a while, but they’ll never last! Not without somepony to tell them what to do! Without me!” He stomped menacingly towards the mare, a pair of magical white Alicorn wings sprouted out of him as he brought his head low, power flaring in his horn.
“You never gave us a chance!” a pony shouted.
“We never wanted to join in the first place! You just… convinced us… somehow! Treating us like we were your friends and making us hate each other! All you’ve ever done is lie!” Another pony concurred.
Paradigm growled back at the crowd turned mob, turning his aim back at Twilight. “You didn’t have to come here… Didn’t have to destroy my friends’ faith in me… But you did! What sort of ‘Princess of Friendship’ does that sort of thing?” More power built up in his horn, nearly overflowing as his false wings spread wide. “No matter… There’s not going to be a Princess of Friendship for much longer…” He closed his eyes, taking on a relaxed expression as he let loose the stored up magic, sending a beam of white and grey at the frozen Alicorn.
“NNOPE!” a loud baritone sounded. Between Paradigm and Twilight was an electrified orange wing, quickly slapping the beam with a concentration of lightning covering his feathers. The magic acted like a tennis ball, bouncing off of the discharge and flying harmlessly into the distance. Boltsinger stood firm, his wings flared aggressively while he panted in place. “You aren’t going anywhere near her with a look like that!”
Paradigm gave Boltsinger a narrow-eyed glare, examining from head to hoof. All over his body were scratches, bruises, and other signs of strain. “Quite the bluff you’ve played, Bolt. From the looks of it, breaking out seems to have done quite a number on you! Why, you’re barely able to stay on your hooves!”
Another spark of lightning flared out, this time in a shade of magenta, shattering the white field around the lilac mare. “He wasn’t bluffing!” Twilight stated, taking flight. “You can copy my talent all you want, but you can’t simply copy the thing that gives me more power than any Cutie Mark talent ever could!” She narrowed her eyes in an expression that Boltsinger could only describe as fiercely confident. “My friends!” She ignited her horn and flapped her wings, sending a discharge from the magical protrusion into the remaining magical fields.
With his magic, Paradigm heard the sound of a shattering glass in his mind. His magical wings dissipated, looking up at her with panic in his eyes. “How is it you have that lightning? Am I not the only pony he spread it to?”
“Paradigm, you have no idea just how many ponies I’ve helped in my life.” Boltsinger informed him, his legs finally giving out under him. “And… you know, your talent could be used to help a lot of ponies to, if you wanted to learn how.”
Twilight landed next to her husband, offering her hoof. “He’s right. My offer to come to the school stands, even for you.”
Paradigm looked questioningly at the extended hoof and the smiling faces, wondering why they would be so accommodating after a display like this. “What ‘talent’ would that be?” The reflection in his Cutie Mark switched to one of Applejack’s. “This one?” It switched again, showing Pinkie’s Mark. “Or this?” Next came Rarity’s. “How about this?” He slapped the hoof away, his gaze turning cold. “Spare me your pity! You know as well as I do that I’m as talentless as I was the day we first met!” He turned around in a huff, reflecting Starlight’s Cutie Mark in his own and vanishing in a flash of white.
Twilight and Boltsinger looked at each other, both letting out a sigh. “Is this how it goes with every villain you face?” he asked.
“More or less…” she answered, letting him see a weak smile. “But, we’ve got a pretty good track record with ponies like him.”
“Um… Excuse me, Princess Twilight?” the mare from the earlier presentation began, tapping the Alicorn on her shoulder.
Twilight’s face perked up, turning her attention to her. “Yes? What do you need?”
“Are you serious about offering us all a place at your school?” she queried, a hopeful look in her eyes. “Because the other ponies and I have been talking, and… We’d like to take you up on it!”
A smile formed on Twilight’s face that Boltsinger hadn’t seen since asking her if Ponyville had a library. Her eyes were bright and her cheeks were so tight from her upturned dimples that the stallion was certain she’d be sore for weeks. “Of course I’m serious!” She put her wing around the mare, walking with her to the back of the stage as a familiar chime sounded from a number of flanks. “Let me fill you in on all you’ll need to know!”
Boltsinger lifted his wing and checked his Cutie Mark. The telltale glow had shined anew, smaller versions of the Mark flying into the main one as if to signify a mission complete. He smiled softly at it, then moved his attention back to the spot Paradigm had vanished from. Mission complete… But, did we really help everyone?
The Friendship Express rolled into the Ponyville train station, the eight occupants disembarking with a tired stretch. Applejack headed straight for the farm, waving a fond farewell while Rainbow Dash simply said a quick goodbye while she flew away. Pinkie excitedly babbled about how tired she was from the trip and the mission and the long train ride back, bounding away to Sugar Cube Corner. Rarity and Fluttershy left together, the fashionista saying something about a much-needed spa treatment, leaving Twilight, Starlight, and Boltsinger to begin their walk towards the castle. Twilight and Starlight talked at length about the things they had seen, wondering about the properties of Paradigm’s lightning, while Boltsinger kept his gaze fixed on his home, his mouth refusing to open with a slight downward curl in the corners of his mouth.
“So, what’s wrong, Bolt?” Starlight inquired, putting her hoof in front of his eyes.
Boltsinger’s hoof dug into the dirt as he stopped, recoiling at the sudden obstacle. “Wrong? Nothing’s wrong! Why would anything be wrong? We stopped a pony from manipulating other ponies’ idea of friendship into something dark and twisted and wrong! I’m great! Nothing wrong here!”
“Except that you’ve got that look on your face that says there’s more on your mind than you’re willing to say.” the Unicorn deadpanned. “Isn’t that right, Twilight?”
Twilight took the cue to bring herself close, examining the stallion’s face thoroughly. “Let’s see… Worry lines around your eyes… Perpetual frown… And…” She looked into his pupils, finding them darting away at the slightest eye contact. She tried several times more, each time meeting the same result. “... you’re refusing to make eye contact. You’re worried about something. So, what is it?”
Boltsinger gave her a defeated sigh, starting his walk again. “Okay, fine… It’s about Paradigm.”
“Were you intrigued by his lightning too?” Twilight guessed, taking a look at her husband’s flank. “I wonder what kind of effects it would have on other ponies… It could result in some very interesting and unique talents! If we ever find him again, we should definitely stud--”
“It’s not that.” he informed them, plodding faster. “It’s his circumstance that worries me. I’m certain that I helped him when we were foals. The lightning on his flank proved that. But… Look at what happened to him! He was so convinced that having a fancy talent was the key to friendship that he basically formed a cult just to get more of them! But I don’t actually remember helping him… Who else could I have supposedly helped only to make their lives miserable in the long run?”
Twilight smiled, planting a kiss on her spouse’s cheek as she pulled him close. “There’s no way we can know for sure, but I’m certain you’ve done a lot more good than anything else.” As they approached the castle, she opened the door on auto-pilot, still looking at her favorite stallion. “Besides, I can think of somepony who needs your help more than anypony else in Equestria!”
“Yeah… no kidding…” he confirmed, looking straight ahead. The castle foyer was a mess of mashed carrots, wrapping paper littering the floor, and the faint residue of magical lightning sparking from the pillars and walls. “I… think we may need to talk with Celestia…”
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heehee what did Nova do while mama and papa were gone?
Pretty good premeire!
I felt some serious Our Town vibes though, especially from the cult ponies
9076333
I got that vibe, too. But there wasn't much I was able to do to take away from that. I feel like it's just different enough to spark a season of its own, even if it did bring back some regrettable memories for Starlight.
Welp, we all called this one.
Huh. ...I wasn't expecting it to end up like Starlight's village, I was thinking maybe mind control. Overall it was very intriguing, I always like a stallion protecting his mare!
I kinda wanna see twilight beat the snot outta the bad guy,and bolt become seriously injured,cause of PLOT