The Carnivore Council

by CreativeOverflow

Chapter 20

“I can’t believe you didn’t say anything!” said Faolan, pacing back and forth and grumbling like an angry mother duck.

Remedy rolled her eyes.

“It’s just a scratch. It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine,” he continued, “and if I ever find that tiger...” he trailed off into a bare toothed growl.

“Faolan, stop being dramatic. I even hiked all the way through the forest to get here afterwards.”

She moved to stand but winced as pain lanced through her leg. Faolan quickly marched over and pushed her back onto her side again with a firm paw.

“I’m not being dramatic, and stop trying to get up. Help will be here soon.”

“I don’t need help,” Remedy groaned in frustration. She let her head fall back onto the grass and snorted, sending a few loose blades tumbling away. “Besides, I need a doctor, not whatever a ‘butcher’ is.”

Faolan shrugged, close enough. He won’t be long. Keegan may be young and reckless, but she’s swift.”

Remedy pondered for a moment through her mental catalogue of wolves. “That’s the one I hit with the branch when you chased me, right? I don’t think I’ve spoken to her. I should probably apologise.”

“Yes, that’s her,” – Faolan chuckled – “but it was a worthy lesson. Looks are deceiving and overconfidence is dangerous. Speaking of naivety – timberwolves. You didn’t answer me. You actually willingly attacked them?”

“They were going to steal the gift, so I had to do something. How was I to know the tiger could have handled them easily on his own,” Remedy sulked.

Faolan circled around behind to inspect the troublesome box still strapped to her back.

“If you touch it, you’ll get a numb muzzle,” she warned.

Faolan pulled up short, took a couple of careful sniffs and furrowed his brow.

“Well?” said Remedy, staring at him eagerly over her shoulder.

Faolan cocked his head. ”Well what?”

“What is it?”

Faolan raised an eyebrow, “You don’t know?”

“No, I haven’t seen it yet. I only know it’s not fit for ponies… I-It’s not meat is it?”

Faolan shook his head. “No, definitely not meat, I would know that. But it is... familiar, I just can’t put my nose on what.”

Remedy sighed with relief. “Well, I’m glad I haven’t been carrying around a coffin.”

Faolan slumped onto the grass beside her, deep in thought.

A squeal of laughter echoed around the clearing as the pups bolted across the grass. Sunny galloped behind in fierce pursuit. They split as she closed the distance, causing her to hesitate for a second as she chose her victim. She growled and picked one pup to pursue, eliciting a further delighted squeal from her prey. She flapped her wings and soared across the glade with a frighteningly vengeful glee.

The pup swerved and dodged like a gazelle, but Sunny snapped her wings and banked like a swallow in pursuit.

“Here comes the tickle-monster,” she taunted, in a delighted sing-song growl. The pup squealed and bolted for the cover of a nearby bush.

Without the element of surprise on their side, and her power of flight unhindered, the pups found themselves entwined in an unexpected reversal. Now they were the prey. Sunny’s own endless vigour, more than a match for their youthful stamina.

“Does meat taste good?” Remedy blurted out, breaking the silence.

Faolan blinked. “Pardon?”

Remedy’s voice quietened, ashamed of her own question. “M-meat. Does it actually taste good?”

Faolan shifted uncomfortably. “I-uh, don’t really know how to answer that…”

Remedy pinched her eyes shut. “Do you love the taste of the creatures you eat?”

Faolan furrowed his brow. “Why do you want to know?”

“You’re avoiding the question,” Remedy scowled.

“Yes, I am,” he complained bitterly, “I don’t know what answer you’re seeking and I don’t want to start another fight.”

Remedy sighed. “It’s just, when we fought the timberwolves I kind of, well, ate it. I bit down and ended up swallowing its core, its fruit. I was desperate. And well… it was delicious, ridiculously actually. I have never tasted a fruit so sweet”

She touched a hoof to her lips. “Even now the sweetness lingers, and I’m ashamed, but I kind of want more.”

“I keep thinking about it, thinking of ways they could be grown, like, without the timberwolf part and I can’t get it out of my head.”

Remedy let her head flop to the ground, closed her eyes and exhaled. “I just wondered if it was like that for all predators; you know, since I’m one now.”

Faolan snorted, then laughed. “Predator, you!? That’s a bit of a stretch, don't you think?”

“Well I did attack and eat it,” Remedy pouted, unsure if she should be offended or relieved.

Faolan wiped away a tear. “Sure, but you didn’t attack it to eat it. You didn’t prey upon it.”

Remedy pondered that thought.

“I guess you’re right. That was silly. I’m sorry, that tiger got in my head.”

Remedy laid her head back down on the grass in a melancholy silence, somehow disappointed by the answer, though she wasn’t sure why.

“Faolan,” Remedy asked in a quiet, sombre tone, “what does pony taste like?"

“Ah - I beg your pardon?” Faolan stammered, stepping back and looking around to check the question hadn’t come from somewhere else.

“No, I’m serious,” insisted Remedy, lifting her head to look him in the eyes. You’re the only predator, as far as I’m aware, that has actually tasted a pony.”

“I still don’t think… I don’t know what you… what you…“ Faolan stuttered.

He stopped, shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut to stop the frantic panic in his brain. He took a deep breath before continuing.

“What I mean is, I don’t want you to hate me and this is a very touchy subject, isn’t it?”

Remedy frowned then sat up a little, wincing as her hind leg complained at the motion.

“I know, but I want to know. If we’re going to have any shot of peace, then we need to understand each other, right? I killed a Timberwolf today. Sure it was attacking us, and it would have killed us too. So self-defence, right? I’m not a predator, fine. But, that Tiger,” she trailed off for a moment, “he enjoyed it. Like, he really enjoyed it. Is it the same for you, do you get that same feeling?”

“Well, for starters, not all carnivores are the same, and there are many styles of hunting, but even then the cats can be a bit weird about it, so no, probably not like him. But I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a thrill in the hunt.”

Remedy studied Faolan for a moment, her expression lying somewhere between curious and contempt. She closed her eyes and sighed.

“Ok, fine. So it’s exciting. I suppose that’s not unexpected. Then back to my first question. What do ponies taste like?”

Faolan hesitated again.

“Come on, I promise I won’t be mad. I asked the question.”

“This isn’t exactly easy for me either you know,” Faolan complained, “it’s not everyday your prey asks you so many questions about how I would eat them. It’s unsettling.”

“Ha, you said your prey, so you do think of ponies as your prey,” she teased.

“That’s not what I meant,” Faolan stuttered, “I meant a prey species, ah-no I mean, herbivore or something.”

A smirk tugged at the corners of Remedy’s mouth, but she maintained her carefully calculated scowl.

“Fine, I’ll forgive your transgression, but stop stalling. Answer my question.”

“I don’t know, I wasn’t exactly thinking about eating at the time. I was trying to escape! I didn’t have time to stop and savour the local cuisine”

Remedy frowned.

“It’s the truth!” Faolan insisted, “I could have just as easily been tasting my own blood.”

Remedy frowned harder. “Fine, then taste me.”

Faolan’s head jerked back, “ok, now you’re just being weird for the sake of it.”

“I’m serious!” said Remedy, “I don’t mean bite me, but here,” she rolled the back of her foreleg gently against her wounded hind leg, wincing as she wicked some of the seeping blood onto her fur and held it out to him.

Faolan recoiled.

Remedy raised an eyebrow. “If you don’t, I’ll tell Abidah what happened in the capital,” she said sweetly.

Faolan’s eyes narrowed. “You wouldn’t dare.”

She grinned wickedly and waggled her blood soaked hoof at him.

Faolan glared for a moment, then hung his head with a heavy sigh, “fine, you win.”

He stepped forward but hesitated. “Are you absolutely sure?”

“Please,” said Remedy, all pretexts of her original threat gone in a single sincere moment.

Faolan looked at her outstretched hoof, then took a large lick of the blood soaked fur.

Remedy shivered involuntarily at the sensation.

Faolan licked his lips and contemplated the flavour.

“Well?” asked Remedy

Faolan thought for a moment, then shrugged, “It tastes like blood.”

“That’s it?”

Faolan reconsidered, “maybe something bitter like herbs?”

“Oh, that’s probably the salve, sorry. But seriously, just blood”

Faolan cocked his head, “I mean, what did you expect?”

Remedy blinked, then burst into laughter, covering her face as a sudden wave of embarrassment rolled over her.

“Oh Celestia, what did I just do?”

Giggling, she peeked out from under her foreleg at Faolan, “I’m sorry Faolan, I am being strange, aren’t I.”

Faolan smiled with relief, then started to chuckle, “Yes, very.”

Remedy buried her face under her hooves and laughed as the tension released.

It was infectious and Foalan couldn’t help but laugh as well.

“Wait, wait,” he said through his own fits of laughter, “don’t tell me you actually thought…”

“No, no, don't say it!” Remedy wheezed

”That you tasted like Strawberries?”

Remedy squealed laughter under her hooves to hide her shame.

Faolan threw his head back and laughed loudly

They were still laughing when Keegan came bounding up the hill with a lumpy brown-furred animal riding on her back. A weasel stood, surveying the den from above her head. Its paws planted between her ears and as comfortable as a captain on his ship.

“Remedy, this is Quinney. He helps us when we get hurt,” said Faolan as she pulled up alongside.

“Woah ho ho. Check out the rags on these nags,” Quinney heckled from his lupine transport. “Is that the mother of all silk!?”

Remedy gave a disgruntled whinny and mumbled under her breath. “I am no nag.”

“So this is the pony I’ve heard so much about.” Quinney jumped off Keegan’s back, landing with a heavy thud. His body weighed down by a large furry bundle strapped to his back. He let the bag sink to the ground and twisted out of its leather straps.

“Yes. Quinney, this is Remedy. She’s a friend of the council,” said Faolan.

“You know – I didn’t believe the rumours until ‘stumbles’ here came to get me,” said Quinney pointing a thumb over his shoulder, at Keegan who responded with an annoyed whine.

Faolan chuckled. “Well as you can see, she is very real.”

Quinney walked over and inspected the mare suspiciously. He poked Remedy in the belly, as if still unsure she was real.

Remedy gave a small squeak and hastily covered her belly with her forelegs. She scowled at the rude creature but he didn’t give her a second look. Instead he crouched, then hopped up onto her barrel eliciting another squeak from her.

“So, what’s the damage here?” He said walking her length and inspecting her like he was shopping for a new couch. The ornately crafted box on her back caught his eye and he leaned over it, stroking his chin.

“She was attacked by timber wolves. Her leg was hurt badly,” said Faolan, nodding to her hind leg.

“Uh huh, I see, I see.” Quinney poked the box. Then, with a loud snap of static, he performed three full rotations in the air before landing with a heavy thud on the grass a few feet away.

Quinney blinked up at the brilliant blue hues of an open sky, bright stars of green and pink skittered away into the periphery of his vision.

“Woah! What a rush!” he said.

“Quinney! Are you ok?” a muffled voice asked. A fuzzy wolf head occluded the sky and looked down at him.

Quinney sat up and twitched. “What in Tartarus was that?”

“Sorry. The box is locked with a magical spell. Are you ok?” asked Faolan.

Quinney looked past him at the pink mare who was obviously, desperately suppressing a pleased smirk.

He narrowed a glare at her; she looked away innocently.

He pushed away Faolan’s helping paw.

“Ha ha,” he chuckled dryly. “No worries, just a little jolt. No harm meant, I’m sure.”

He staggered over to his bag and dragged the ugly sack right in front of Remedy’s face. He grinned.

Remedy recoiled as she realised the fur on the bag was still attached to its hide and the shoulder straps were the desiccated boneless legs of what was once a large rat.

Quinney pulled out a thin curved splinter of bone pinning the belly of the bag shut. He let the skin unfurl into a flat leather sheet disgorging an array of crude and wicked tools.

He picked up a small dried gourd and pulled out its cork, then took a large swig of its contents and drank in the disgust on Remedy’s face. He wiped his chin and recorked the makeshift bottle then selected one of his tools; a thin, smooth stick with a razor sharp piece of broken obsidian tied to the end. He locked eyes with Remedy and smirked. ”Now don’t you worry dear, we’ll take good care of you.”

---

Tradewind sat on his haunches, his torso completely coiled in rope. A small dark cloud simmered over his head, and his expression could single handedly introduce winter.

Provender sat opposite him, next to the window. A grim but determined expression weathered his face.

Outside the window, more colourful mares approached the black zeppelin. The craft sat imposing and formidable, silhouetted against the dying light of day, and would seem most inhospitable if it weren’t for the swinging bass line and colourful lights pouring out the portholes.

The young mares knocked on the doors and they swung open. Bright light and music spilled out onto the ground and Ki jovially greeted the newcomers, welcoming them inside with a polite bow and open hoofed gesture. The doors closed and the encroaching dim of twilight flooded the front yard once more.

Trade’s simmering reached a critical peak and his little brooding thunder cloud burst with a plink like cracking glass and puff of light like a flash bulb.

“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU LET HER GO!” Trade shouted, heralding another tirade.

“Not again,” Provender groaned.

“You were devastated the last time she went into the forest, now you’re practically packing the bags for her!?”

Provender, drained the last bitter remnants of his patience. “Trade please. We’ve been through this. It was her decision. I didn’t like it either, but it made a kind of sense. She’s doing this for you, for all of us.”

“YOU SENT HER INTO THE FOREST! WHAT IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO HER?!”

Provender stomped his hooves and paced. “YOU DON’T THINK I UNDERSTAND THAT! That I might have sent my own daughter to her death!? I’m terrified.”

“And Sunny? I can’t imagine she was happy with this decision? Do you have her tied up in the back somewhere too?”

Provender stopped in his tracks, stunned by the thought. He shook his head and paced back across the living room. “No, she never turned up for work. Lucky too.”

Trade cocked an eyebrow. “And you don’t think that’s strange? What if she found Remedy before she could get into the forest?”

Provender stopped short again.

Trade groaned, “You didn’t think of that? Oh Great. Now we have two mares lost in the forest.”

Provender snorted, dismissively. “I’m sure Remedy would have told her to go home.”

Trade rolled his eyes angrily. “Have you ever met Sunny? There’s no way under Celestia’s sun would she have let Remedy go in there alone.”

Provender dragged a worried hoof through his mane. “Well Remedy’s a smart girl. She wouldn’t have taken Sunny if she thought Sunny would be in danger.”

“Then why am I tied up?” Trade growled.

Provender snorted again. “Remedy told me you’d be like this. Ready to run off into the forest on some damned fool mission to save a damsel not in distress. And then I’d have to answer to her when you get yourself killed. No thanks, I like those odds even less.”

Trade huffed, “I’m not going to die. I’m just going to meet up with her. If Sunny can go, why not me.”

“Ok, wise guy, and how would you even find her? She’s somewhere in a million acres of forest under a thick jungle canopy. You’d have no chance. Just like you couldn't find her before.

“At least I wouldn’t be abandoning her.”

Provender hefted Trade off the ground by his girdle of ropes with a single work-hardened hoof and growled low through his teeth. “That girl is my LIFE! I searched for three days in that Celestia forsaken forest. Amongst the branches, and the thorns and the monsters. Fearing the worst, daring not to hope, and now after only just getting her back, I’ve let her return to that place because she thought it was for the best. Don’t preach to me.”

Trade stared fiercely for a moment, then looked away. Cowed by his own rising shame at the cheap jab.

Provender dropped the pegasus like a sack of flour and walked away to the window. He stared out into the evening, barely registering the hedonistic revelry blaring in his front yard.

Trade tried to worm his way into a more comfortable position, then quickly gave up.

“Then why did you let her?” he said with a much quieter and softer tone. “Did you even see this gift that was supposed to pacify a forest of hungry carnivores?”

“No, it wasn’t fit for display.”

Trade sighed. “Maybe I can talk to this Peridot. I’ve had experience negotiating with greedy stubborn merchants. I’m sure I could at least get some more information about this crazy scheme.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you’d love to get into that party. Guests have been arriving for the last hour, not a single colt among them.”

Tradewind frowned. “Mr Bale, I am no playpony. I am in love with your Daughter, and have no interests elsewhere.”

Provender sighed. “If I untie you, are you going to try and fly off?”

Trade thinks for a moment. “You won’t untie me unless I promise not to, will you?”

Provender smiled weakly. “You wouldn’t get away anyway, so save me the effort.”

…

“OW!” Remedy whimpered.

Quinney sighed. “If you keep jumping and twitching, this is going to take longer, and I’m losing daylight here.”

“Well if you had something sharper than a pencil, maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much.” Remedy hissed.

“I’ll have you know I get no such complaints from all my other patients.” Quinney shook a slender curved bone needle at her. Possibly a rib of the the same rat that became the butcher’s bag. “Honestly, Faolan. How do you put up with her incessant whining. “

“You get used to it,” Faolan smirked.

Remedy half-glared, half-winced at him as she felt the stinging tug of the surgeon's sinewy stitch slip through the fresh punctures in her skin.

Faolan smiled sympathetically.

Remedy grit her teeth and whimpered, burying her head in her hooves as Quinney pierced her hide once more. Her leg muscles trembled from the sting. Quinney mumbled something unprofessional about the constitution of ponies under his breath.

Faolan looked at Remedy’s clenched eyes and frowned.

“Hey Quinney, did you know Remedy’s a predator now?” he said mockingly.

Remedy glared up at him, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. “Really! Now?”

Faolan gave her an apologetic smile.

“A predator you say.” Quinney chuckled. “I can’t imagine Princess here has the gall for that.”

“Well, when I said ‘she was attacked by Timberwolves’, I really should have said, ‘She attacked some timberwolves’ ”

Quinney paused and quirked an eyebrow. “Now why ever would you do that?”

Faolan smirked, “Seems she has developed a taste for them.”

“I have not!” Remedy squawked in protest.

“Next thing you know, there will be timberwolf farms. Can you imagine that?”

Quinney gave a morbid chuckle. “Honestly, I have no problems believing they’d try.”

He gave Remedy a curious glance. “I bet the thought crossed your mind.”

Remedy stuttered in a spectrum of offense and indignation, but couldn’t assemble the words to deny the accusation.

“Ponies have a strange prejudice.” Quinney continued, unabated. “Based around cuteness. You’re cute, you can get away with literal murder. Quick to forgive with a pretty speech or diminutive manner, they are also quick to send any creature not to their aesthetic straight to the gates of Tartarus. Not what you see on the tourist brochures for sure. Don’t let their pretty colours and big eyes fool you.”

“Excuse me, we are not like that.”

“No? I’ve been to pony lands you know. No trouble whatsoever.” He twisted his head to peer at her over his shoulder and curled his paws to his cheek in an infuratingly meek manner. Large eyes and cute little nose twitching, though the effect was somewhat spoiled by the blood soaking his paws.

Remedy glared. “Faolan went as well, and he was fine – mostly.”

“Bah,” Quinney retorted. “Faolan’s cute for a wolf. Big blue eyes, bright coat.” He pointed the bloody end of the needle at Faolan. “You sure you weren’t a pony in a past life? I think you would do well in pony land – as long as you like carrots.”

He turned back to his work, pulling the chord tight with gentle tugs, knitting the seams of Remedy’s hide over her wound.

“Marrok, on the other paw, would have drawn all manner of unwanted attention as soon as he entered the city limits. Black shaggy fur, scary yellow eyes and a sour disposition. Screams villain. Damn ponies would kill a spider without a second thought but invite parasprites into their home. Mark my words Faolan, they’re not as innocent as they seem.”

“I think that’s a very unfair judgement.” Remedy grumbled.

“All done,” said Quinney, cutting the tail of the knotted cord with his obsidian blade.

“Already?” Remedy blinked. She slowly flexed her leg. It felt sore, and tight. But the fiery stinging the cut was giving her had mostly subsided into a sharp ache.

Quinney poured a healthy splash of the stinging liquid he’d been drinking over the cut to wash away some of the surrounding blood. He reached into his bag and pulled out a crude woollen pad and – moistening it with the same fluid – began strapping it over the wound.

“You got my payment ready, Faolan?”

“Yes, but do you mind if we deliver it later?” Faolan cringed slightly.

“It’s alright, Faolan,” said Remedy. “ I assume you’re paying him with carnivore food.”

“Yessir, a nice fatty piece of meat. But also I need intestines,” Quinney chirped merrily.

“Intestines!” Remedy choked back a violent retch. “You eat intestines?”

“And why not? They make for excellent sausage casing. But no, actually. I need them for catgut. What did you think those stitches in your flank are made from?”

Remedy’s face contorted into horror. “They’re made from? What’s wrong with silk!”

“Oh, silk is ok, but intestines aren't? You know the grubs of silk moths have to be killed to make your silk right?” I’ve seen those silk factories. Ah, but silkworm grubs are not cute, so it doesn’t matter. Am I right?”

“Well, I…” Remedy trailed off and frowned.

“Food for thought, eh” said the weasel.

---

A collection of expensive looking gem crafting tools lay scattered over a solid wooden work table. Peridot peered through a magnifying glass as a metal tool held in his mouth scribed the last sections of a complicated magic circle into a large ruby. A long metal case lay open in front of him. Pillows of padded silk formed pockets to hold more precious stones. Six green pyramidal gems, and four purple oblong gems. A large hexagonal shaped pocket sat empty in the center of the case, clearly meant for the freshly cut ruby.

Peridot carefully placed the stone into the case with his hooves.

A loud thump followed by muffled raucous laughter intruded the space from upstairs.

He groaned in distaste and closed the lid of the case, fastening its metal clasps. Peridot levitated a metal disk off his desk. Its face was an intricate and tightly knitted pattern of thin jagged slivers of brass. Without so much as a second thought he unwound the slivers of metal to reveal a watch face. The floating fragments of metal lined up and mirrored the clock’s hands and hour markings. It would soon be midnight. He knitted the metal fragments together with equal ease, forming a tight dome cover over the clock face.

Peridot sighed and stood up, stretching out a hind leg that had fallen asleep. Another thump and more raucous screeching came from above. The stallion rolled his eyes and squeezed out of his overcrowded study. The recently acquired crate of uncut stones shoved just inside the door, a pile of scrolls and trinkets pushed aside to make room. Peridot closed the door behind him.

---

Predators from far and wide were still trickling in. News of Remedy’s return had spread, but the short notice didn’t allow for much coordination.

Remedy paced back and forth along the grass muttering to herself. Faolan gave her a sidelong glance.

“Are you sure you’re ok? “ he asked.

Remedy snapped to attention with a manic wide-eyed grin. “Hahaha, I’m great, why wouldn’t I be!”

Faolan leaned away from the crazy eyes.

“It’s not like the fate of countless lives hangs in the balance, and I’m the only pony who can save them. Erk, I think I’m going to throw up.”

Faolan placed a paw on Remedy’s shoulder. “Hey, hey, calm down. Spirits, you’re making me nervous. Look, you need to stop worrying. You have friends here, we wouldn’t have gathered a council meeting if we didn’t believe in you.”

“That’s easy for you to say. You don’t have the balance of the forest sitting in your hooves. I mean how can one measly box like this hold enough of a gift to calm a coalition of hungry carnivores.”

“Honestly, I don’t think it matters. Remedy, if we weren’t interested in a possible peaceful coexistence then we wouldn’t have agreed to receive any gifts. Abidah can be strict, but he is wise. He won’t just throw away an opportunity for peace out of spite. Remember, it was the carnivores that first sought peace. So I don’t think the gift really matters. It’s the thought that counts.”

Two wolf cubs darted through the gathered throng of wolves and dove between Faolan and Remedy. Each picking a patron to petition.

“Please, you’ve got to save us,” the first pleaded to Remedy.

“She’s relentless!” the other cried to Faolan.

“I’m sorry I called you a fat deer. Please, just hide us.“

“She’s a monster, she won’t stop!”

“We can’t take it anymore,” they cried in unison.

With a yelp the two cubs instinctively dove for cover behind Remedy.

The thump of hooves on damp earth landed behind Faolan accompanied by a flurry of wind. Sunny prowled around, her eyes searching hungrily. “Here little puppies… I’m going to find you… you can’t run forever.”

Sunny’s eyes locked onto Remedy with a comical yet unnerving predatory focus. She stalked closer. Remedy dared a peek over her shoulder to the two cubs cowering under her tail.

“Ah, Hi Sunny. What are you doing?” She asked nervously.

“Oh I’m just playing a little game of hide’n’seek. I’ve got two cheeky wolf cubs due a good tickling. Have you seen them?”

“Um, ah, no? ‘fraid not. They must have uh, gone somewhere else.”

Sunny’s eyes narrowed on Remedy. “Somewhere else? Like specifically, anywhere not here?”

Sunny stalked closer to Remedy, her head low, sniffing the ground, trying to peek behind her as if merely being opaque was a confession of guilt.

“Ah, look!” Shouted Faolan, “There they go, through that bush!
Sunny spun around and with a growl dove through the undergrowth.

The two cubs peeked out from behind Remedy.

Remedy smiled at them. “Go on now, scram. You best hide before she gets back. I won’t save your backsides a second time.”

The pair shared a concerned look, then quickly scrambled away. No doubt seeking the refuge of their now considerably more appreciated mother.

Remedy smirked at Faolan. “Thanks for the save. I never could get away with a lie to her.”

Faolan puffed himself up with a haughty grin. “Not a problem, theatrics is a part of being a predator.”

Remedy smirked again. “Well in any case, it’s good practice. You’re going to need it for your own litter soon enough.”

Faolan blushed. Remedy laughed.

As if on cue, Kerena walked up to them. Her lithe and graceful gait belying the burden she carried. “Remedy we’re ready for you now. But Abidah has asked for a moment to speak with you first.”

Remedy took a deep breath. Faolan placed his reassuring paw on her back.

Remedy exhaled and grinned nervously. “Well, now or never.”
Remedy descended into the natural amphitheatre towards the huddle of ancient guardians gathered below. Kerena joined beside Faolan and watched her go.

---

A cluster of gleeful mares laughed loudly at an animated tale being told by another. The room, large though it was, was crowded and buzzing with the clink of champagne glasses and raucous revelry. A lively jazz piece filled in the gaps, breeding a thick, intoxicating atmosphere. Everywhere except for one gloomy corner. Near the black wrought iron staircase, a pair of brooding dark green eyes peered disapprovingly at the scene. Peridot’s calculating eyes scanned the room, as if it were a spider’s den.

Ki sat at the piano playing an upbeat soulful jazz piece while two mares swooned over him. Peridot clicked his tongue at the glistening ice filled cocktail glasses that sat on the polished wood. Beads of condensation running down their sides and collecting on the precious timber at their base.

Over in the center of the room, the sunken lounge had been transformed into a jacuzzi. Lazuli soaked in the foaming water, his outstretched wings fondly caressing two mares as he spun a dangerous and daring tale. A third mare wriggled out of her dress, preparing to join the watery fun.

Four more “guests” sat at the bar behind, one young apple-green mare espoused the delights of apples to another who seemed only mildly interested, while the other two laughed and talked with Jack Rose as he shared gossip with the tipsy girls. A steel cocktail shaker held tight between his hooves as he prepared another round of intoxicating beverages; expertly crafted to raise the spirits and lower inhibitions.

Peridot scowled at the display. He had to tolerate his colleagues' tastes in entertainment, but that didn’t mean he had to share in it. Such distractions were a waste of time.

Cautiously, he crept up the stairs and slunk towards the piano.

He levitated a stack of coasters sitting on the piano, previously prepared for this very reason but dutifully ignored by the revellers. He absently placed a coaster under each of the attendant’s drinks as he whispered to the enraptured pianist. “Ki, it’s time.“

Ki awakened from his music induced trance, and blinked at Peridot.

“It’s time,” Peridot repeated.

The two mares draped over the piano immediately protested as the music cut short. “Awww, where are you going? That was beautiful, I want to hear more.”

“It’s only for a little while. He will be back shortly.” Peridot said politely through gritted teeth.

Further protest fell on deaf ears as Peridot wormed through the rest of the party with as little involvement as possible.

He stepped up to the Jacuzzi.

A freshly disrobed mare stepped into the water but stumbled on the hidden steps and landed in the tub with a great splash. A wave of water sloshed around, spilling over the side and drenching the carpet.

Shrieks of laughter peeled from the other occupants as they raised their glasses away from the tiny tsunami.

One of the other mares laughed and shouted, “see, it’s not as easy as it looks.”

The new mare emerged from the foamy water and Zephyr’s lap where she had landed. She blushed, and he grinned.

“Lazuli, it’s time…” said Peridot, standing at the rim of the tub.

The mares turned and faced the new arrival. Immediately the grin vanished from Zephyr’s face, and his ears flicked back threateningly.

“Can’t you see I’m a little busy here?”

Peridot’s expression darkened and his voice lowered in timbre. “Lazuli, now.”

The three mares let out a synchronised “Oooh”. Excited to see who the real boss was here.

The two glared at each other for a moment. Lazuli let out a little snort and closed his eyes. He turned back to his companions. “Sorry ladies, duty calls.”

The three mares made mournful sounds as he got up to leave. One enterprising mare seeing an opportunity clambered after him. “Wait, let me dry you off before you go.”

She clumsily knocked her cocktail glass into the tub in her haste to claim her prize.

Peridot growled in frustration. With a flick of magic, he quickly grabbed the sinking glass, and placed it back on the tub’s edge. The other two mares laughed and jeered at the greedy mare. Apparently her behaviour was unsporting.

With a second violent sweep of magic, Peridot screeded all the moisture from Zephyr’s coat in one rough heavy sheet. Zephyr whinnied, startled by the offending magic as it violated his personal space.

“There, dry. Can we go now, please?” he said, straining to smile through a clenched jaw.

Zephyr glared at Peridot before turning back to the giggling tub of mares, “you ladies behave, now. I won’t be long, I just have to quickly save the day.

He winked at them. They waved back with boozy half lidded eyes.

Turning to the bar he called across to Jack Rose: Keep the girls company while we’re out.

Jack Rose placed the top on a metal shaker, giving it a vigorous shake.

"Well you know me sir. I’ll be here doing what I do best."

Zephyr laughed with a dark smirk, "Well save some for us."

Peridot was already standing by the doors, waiting with Ki.

“With the quantities of alcohol you’ve bought, I’m sure you won’t go wanting,” he said.

Zephyr strode past the unicorn. “I wasn’t talking about the drinks, Scrub.”

Peridot glared, but quietly suffered his compatriots attitude.

…

Remedy descended into the amphitheatre. She hoisted the magic clad box onto the stone dais in the center, using Aleena’s robes to shield her from the spell.

The entire council had gathered, along with a significant number of other carnivores. No doubt news of her offer had spread, and plenty of curious faces had turned up to see this rumoured gift, not to mention the silken robes she was wearing. That alone was a sight only heard of in legend.

A hush descended on the crowd, Remedy could just see their faces flickering in the torchlight.

“Wow, sure is a killer crowd tonight,” said Remedy

Amused chuckling, groans and eye-rolls swept through the crowd. Faolan whined and placed a paw over his eyes.

Remedy laughed nervously at her own joke, “ha ha, yeah, That was pretty bad.”

Remedy took a deep breath

“Only a few short months ago I was chased into the forest by Faolan and his kin. What followed was what I can only describe as a life altering encounter. I was terrified. Many times that day I thought this was it, this is when and how I die. And I hated all carnivores with every fibre of my being.”

An awkward hush descended on the crowd before Remedy continued.

“That day I met many carnivores, and though I was at times shown kindness, I could only see the death you brought, and I couldn’t imagine how we could ever be friends.

“To be honest, to this day, I still can’t reconcile killing for food.”

An awkward cough broke the silence.

“And yet, thanks to carnivores I have learned much. When I was just a filly, someone very dear to me was taken by carnivores. I learned what hate feels like, and sorrow and grief. And for all my childhood I carried that with me.

“But then I learned the fate of those who hold onto bitterness in their hearts, and how it affects not just you but your friends and family around you. And I learned of love, and its greatest expression - Sacrifice.

“Grief, Sorrow, Hate, Forgiveness. Love, Sacrifice, Betrayal.

If you’d asked me 3 months ago, what do Ponies have in common with Carnivores. I would have said nothing.

When I was first chased into the forest I carried with me a lot of hurt and hate. But as I was forced to spend time here. I learned that Carnivores weren’t so different from us. You have families, you fall in love, you laugh, you cry. I think if we learn to focus on our similarities instead of our differences we stand a very good chance of finding a working compromise.

Both Ponies and Carnivores alike value a virtuous soul, and today we are surrounded by no less than six guardians. Family, Courage, Wisdom, Patience, and Love.

You would be hard pressed to find any Pony who would not hold these in high regard.

Karena leant over and whispered to Faolan, “She’s changed, hasn’t she.”

“Huh, what?” muttered Faolan, enraptured by Remedy’s speech.

“Remedy. She’s changed. Different from when we first met her.

Faolan watched Remedy. Behind her, a faint green glow grew from the box. The bubble of light swelled, and burst in a shower of tiny motes of light. A few lingering magical sparks earthed themselves against the stone plinth.

Remedy glanced back at the box, “Well, enough banter from me, it looks like we’re ready to find out what the gift is.”

A cat from somewhere in the dim gallery called out, “You don’t already know?”

Remedy chuckled, “Actually, no. It’s as much a surprise to me as it is to you.”

“Well c’mon, show us already. We’re dying of curiosity over here.”

Remedy laughed, and wondered if carnivores had similar proverbs as ponies,

“Ok, ok,” she said as she walked around behind the dias, removing the large gold key from around her neck.

“She’s I dunno, more mature?, more whole? More… radiant,” Kerena continued

“Radiant?” Faolan pondered, furrowing his brow.

“Without further ado, I present this gift so that we might once again seek a common peace. I hope it's everything you ever wanted, or at least something nice to start a friendship with.”

Faolan squeezed his eyes shut, the itch in his nose now unlocked flashes of recognition; a smell, a place, a shop of glittering glass and acrid scents. The magic store! Radiant! Salt of Radiance!!

The keyhole on the box was surrounded in small golden concentric rings, engraved with intricate markings. Remedy pushed the key into the hole and turned it. Gears meshed to the key's barrel turned the rings in counter rotating directions and with a satisfying mechanical click, the key found its home, the rings now aligned turned the intricate markings into completed glyphs, which hummed with magic and glowed a vibrant gold.

Faolan's heart sank, a deep dread ballooned in his chest as his fur bristled with fear. He burst forward from the crowd and shouted out, “REMEDY! THAT SCENT, IT’S SALT OF RADIANCE.”

But the rest of the crowd stood stupified at the spectacle as wind began to swirl and brightly coloured motes of magic were drawn from the air and consumed into the glow now surrounding the box.

Remedy held up a hoof against the sudden gust, and peeked through glaring light, shooting a confused look at Faolan, “Salt of Radiance!? But that’s used for…” she muttered to herself

The box lid burst open violently wracking its hinges and a pillar of light pierced the sky. Colourful neon magic circles rose up the column and expanded out like ripples, spanning acres above the forest canopy.

Remedy squinted her eyes enough to peer into the bright glowing energy pouring from the box. Inside it was filled with large thick packets of brilliant salt of radiance. Nestled in the center, a single ruby gem covered in runes glowed and trembled angrily.

Her eyes opened wide as a trembling whisper squeaked out, “Oh Celestia, it’s a bomb.”

Panic and terror flooded her body with adrenaline. The ripples of magic in the air reversed and started to cascade quickly into the box with a growing rhythmic bassey “whomp, whomp, whomp” accompanied by a high pitched whine that grew into a banshee's scream, causing tribe members to whimper in pain.

“IT’S A BOMB!” Remedy screamed in panic.

The guardians reacted quickly, pulling their families in behind them and drawing as much magic as they could muster. Each one in a mere moment rose a desperate barrier. Ulrica twisted the very trees around her. Faolan tried to run towards Remedy, but Ulrica swiftly scooped him back with a massive paw.

Remedy stared into the box glowing with all its blooming white-hot devastation. “What have I done?”

The energy crashed back into the box in a crescendo of blinding white light, punctuated by a single heartbeat of deafening silence.

---

Peridot stood in a military lean-to off the main strategic command tent. A set of folding tables and chairs were neatly setup around him. This lean-to formed the main staging area where orders and intel were distributed to the officers of the currently occupying E.U.P. Currently the main tent flaps had been pulled back, offering an impressive vista over the everfree forest. Either side of him stood Lazuli and Ki. Ki waited patiently, but Lazuli was growing increasingly bored and irritable and was already maximally insufferable.

“Just how long until this little plan of yours actually bears fruit? I’m missing some quality “appetisers” right about now. And knowing Jack, they’ll all be spent by the time I get back at this rate,” Lazuli complained.

Peridot continued to gaze out of the lean-to over the everfree forest, allowing a small smile to grow on his face

“It won’t be long now. I am nothing if not precise.”

As if to emphasise his point, he took out his fancy pocket watch, performing the same magical disassembly trick to reveal its face and the time.

“In fact, it should be just about ready…”

“Excuse me, Sir?”, an apologetic voice belonging to a soldier, interrupted, ”I have a Mr Bale here, insists on seeing you.”

The EUP Soldier stood aside to let Provender into the tent.

Peridot let out a sigh

“So much for not being interrupted,” he thought to himself.

Peridot stepped forward to greet the farmer

“Ah, Mr. Bale. Your timing, inadvertently precise, carries a melody of destiny.”

Provender blinked at the strange unicorn.

“Er, yes? Thank you, I think?” he said.

“Pity, the notes that follow play no favourites. No matter, come in,” said Peridot cryptically, turning to lead Provender into the tent.

A peaceful grin crept onto Peridot’s face as he marched him in.

It took Provender a moment to follow, then remembering said, “oh, and this is Tradewind, he’s a close friend of Remedy’s”

Peridot stopped in the center of the tent, turning back as Trade slipped into the tent behind Provender.

Trade cleared his throat. “Ahem, It’s nice to meet you. As Mr Bale has introduced, I am Tradewind, a concerned party to Remedy’s safety, and I have some questions about this plan of yours."

Peridot turned back to face the treeline his voice calm and cool.

“Mr Bale, I thought it was clear that under no circumstances were you to divulge details of our operation to anypony. The details of which were a generous privilege granted to you for your familial ties to the operative”

“Operative? You mean Remedy? Look, this is different. Besides - Tradewind is basically family, and he’s very dear to Remedy.”

Still staring at the distant horizon, a touch of ice entered Peridot’s voice.

“Despite the fact that such a choice was never yours to make, its impact, oddly enough, matters very little now.”

“Look, I just want to make sure that Remedy is safe, or else I’m going out there to look for her myself,” said Tradewind with a little heat of his own. The attitude of this bureaucrat was getting under his skin.

“Oh, I don’t think that would be in your best interests at all,” Peridot drawled with insincere concern.

Tradewinds nose wrinkled in anger, “Then how about you….”

Peridot gasped, leaning forward, a wide grin breaking onto his face and he silenced the agitated pegasus with a dismissive wave.

“Hush, all your answers are forthcoming, look.”

Tradewind and Provender halted their protest long enough to look out across the landscape into the moonlit night.

In the distance, somewhere deep in the forest just beyond the horizon, a faint glow warmed the treetops. Brightly coloured motes spawned like tiny stars in the air and were sucked towards the glow.

“W-What’s that, what’s happening?” said Trade, clear concern tinging his voice.

Peridot, grinning with glee, looked down and marked a position on a map in a notebook with a floating pencil.

“That would be Remedy making her presentation to the Carnivores I presume,” he replied, then he smiled darkly and mumbled under his breath, “or at least, even without her they’ve figured out how to open the box”

Tradewind perked up ”Remedy! Then she’s ok. I can go get her”

“Indeed, she has performed quite admirably. A diligent and dependable operative.”

Trade and Provender stepped up to the edge of the tent. The light bloomed, and the swirling motes coalesced on the source.

“I’ll go now, I can be there in minutes, I’ll…”

Suddenly a great pillar of light split the night air, piercing the sky and scattering the clouds. The tree canopy bathed in a brilliant blue-white light. Magical circles rose from the base and spread out like ripples.

“WHA!? WHAT IS HAPPENING?” shouted Tradewind, hysteria rising in his voice as he shielded his eyes from the light.

Peridot grinned maniacally, his eyes wide and wild. “A magic show like they’ll never forget.”

Before Tradewind could object, the ripples of magic collapsed, sucked back into the column of light which flickered and went out. A heart beat of eerie silence.

Tradewind opened his mouth to speak, but then the sky erupted in fire. Where before the cold white of pure arcana had split the sky, now the land was bathed in the white hot fury of the sun. Too blinding to look at, even Peridot was forced to shelter his eyes. Smoke rose from treetops moments before the expanding shockwave tore them from the ground, roots and all. All in a haunting hateful silence.

Trade and Provender stared, paralysed by the scene. Seconds later the shockwave hit. A deep boom shook the foundations, muffled by the distance and forest. Yet the world trembled underhoof, reverberating in the souls of every living thing.

As the bass notes rolled away like thunder, a harsh ear splitting noise emerged.

Provender was screaming. Screaming with horrific primal agony. He spun on his hooves, still screaming while tears boiled from his blood shot eyes.

He charged Peridot with the hopeless broken fury of a childless father. The EUP soldier instinctively stepped in to block his charge, but was hit by an upended table before he could even speak. Tables and chairs crumpled and scattered before the wrath of the bereaved workhorse, his cry venting all his heartbreak and despair in a single act of pyrrhic wrath.

Ki moved quickly, silent and graceful like flowing water, intercepting the stallions charge. Provender rose up on his powerful hind legs, intent on baring all his force down on the diminutive pony in his way, but it was in vain. Ki twisted at the last moment, deftly dodging the earth cracking blow, then he leapt into the air, twirling like a gymnast before delivering a mind numbing kick to the back of Provenders head.

Provender crumpled, unconscious, his work hardened body slumping to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

Tradewind stood trembling, his brain desperately trying and failing to process the scene. The sounds of Provenders screaming, still ringing numbly in his ears. Only the heavy slump of the stallions body jolted him from his stupor.

With tears in his wide eyes and voice trembling, he turned to look at Peridot and his lackeys.

“Wha.. What have you done?”

Peridot ignored him, staring calmly at the rising pillar of smoke and ember. "And now, phase 2," he whispered under his breath.

Under the glow of moonlight and forest fire, a squad of pegasi streaked across the sky, circling the rising column of smoke. One by one, they dove to the tree line and dropped something that glowed with bright light, like a flare, in a perimeter surrounding the devastated area before quickly flying away. Peridot looked back down to his notebook and scribbled some more.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!” Tradewind yelled.

A translucent golden dome swept up from the forest perimeter like a soap bubble and enclosed the scene, cutting the smoke column neatly in two. The remaining smoke trapped, pooled at the top of the dome only to rain back down inside obscuring the interior in an ugly opaque haze, a hellish snow globe of ash and ember.

Peridot snapped the book closed and looked at Trade.

“With this, the threat from carnivores should be finished once and for all. You will of course be suitably compensated for your loss.”

Tradewind’s words stumbled out in an incoherent stutter “C..C..C..Compensated!? YOU MONSTER!”

Tradewind snapped his wings in a powerful thrust shooting back a gust of wind and he rocketed into the air, charging the unicorn in a blast of speed.

Peridot didn’t move, he stared down the charging pegasus. But the instant before impact a massive sideways blow from Zephyr intercepted him, and Tradewind, thrown off his trajectory, crashed into a row of tables sending chairs and broken wood flying. Before he could right himself, a follow up blow to the gut by Zephyr winded him, and then the blue pegasus pressed his foreleg against his throat.

Zephyr grinned menacingly, ”Now now, there’s no need for that.”

Trade tried to speak but could only manage a strangled cry from his collapsing windpipe. He thrashed and bucked against the weight of his aggressor and a lucky flailing hoof caught Zephyr across the side of his head.

Zephyr growled angrily at Tradewind. He delivered a powerful hind leg stomp right into Tradewinds groin.

What little breath Tradewind had, quickly abandoned him as he doubled over in pain.

Zephyr curled a dextrous wing drawing out a slender dagger and drove it right through Trade’s wing, pinning it to the table.

Tradewind’s head reeled and his eyes rolled back into his skull, a pitiful groan of agony wheezing from his breathless lungs.

Both Peridot and Ki winced as Zephyr climbed off the disabled pegasus and dusted himself lightly.

Peridot regarded him with distaste, “Was that really necessary?”

Zephyr looked at his gawking comrades like they’d each grown a second head.

“What? He hit me!”

Peridot levitated some chairs off the recovering EUP guard.

“Organise a detail to tend to these two’s injuries and then lock them up until I say so.

The guard groggily climbed to his hooves and gave a shakey salute. ”Yessir.”

Ki and Zephyr exited the tent, but Peridot paused to look back at the bleeding pegasus, and slumped farm pony.

“Her sacrifice was unfortunate but necessary. With it we will avoid any further conflict,” he said stoicly

He paused for a moment as if waiting for a reply, or perhaps if he could muster something more comforting. But nothing came. So he left.

Trade twitched, his head lolling about as pain wracked his body. Provender laid motionless, deeply unconscious, and his face was devoid of any expression save for the constant stream of tears that trickled from his closed eyes.

Author's Note:

Though fears we fight, and monsters slay, yet in the mirror of our wrath, a deeper terror lingers; the horror within our hearts.

Comments

[Alondro]

Sooooo, everybody's dead and the baddies win!

That's what those stupid carnivores get for being nice to PREY! The dragons won't be so foalish! They'll gulp down ponies by the MILLIONS!!!

[tererdrone]

glad the story is back keep up the good work

[CreativeOverflow]

11635108
Thanks. I really appreciate the encouragement. This is still my first work, inspired by the show to try my hand at writing. I never would have imagined I could write something that is over 100 thousand words and counting. Let alone others find it interesting, even if only for vicious critique

I began writing this story well before the episode "She talks to angel" came out, so I was delighted when Fluttershy was trying to teach a wolf to eat only carrots.

The next chapters will be irregular in timing, and chatGPT isn't exactly a great proof reader - but don't worry the words are my own still :D

[Dr Freaky]

Wow I never saw that coming jebus