The Hero of Oaton

by thatguyvex

Chapter 9: Always Darkest...

Chapter 9: Always Darkest...

Raindrops was not comfortable waiting, despite resting on quite the comfortable cloud. She understood why Trixie had given her the task of saying up in the sky, out of sight, however. Raindrops was not a stealthy mare like Cheerilee, or had a way to turn herself invisible like Trixie. Her best asset was her strength and the skill to apply it. Subtlety was not her strong suit. So Trixie needed her to stay hidden and conserve her strength until the time came for Raindrops to do what she did very well. Raindrops understood it...

...but the waiting was torture. It gave her too much time to worry about how Trixie was doing, or if Cheerilee was really okay. Sure the schoolteacher had been acting calm enough and had voiced her support of this whole plan; but it had to be bothering her. Tarnished and Shiny were old friends to Cheerilee, and while Raindrops wouldn’t speak for her friend she knew if that if she were in the same position Cheerilee was she’d be more than a little conflicted over the situation.

Raindrops was sitting in what many would see as a very awkward position with her rear legs crossed under her and her front legs pressed together in front of her barrel, her breaths coming in and out at a slow, steady pace. A bit of meditation to center herself before the inevitable confrontation. At least the night was nice and-

-a distant peal of thunder made the pegasus’ right ear flick and she opened her eyes.

“Really?” she asked as she looked towards the east, where a dark blanket of cloud that looked like an ink stain across the midnight blue sky was rapidly forming, flashing with cracks of lightning that distantly rumbled.

Raindrops knew her weather patterns, even the highly irregular and random ones of the Everfree Forest. Granted this was South Everfree and she’d never been to this region before this whole Oaton escapade, but she doubted the weather could be that much different from the Everfree up by Ponyville. This storm wasn’t natural. It was leagues away from natural. The air hadn’t been right for a forming so much as a nasty headwind, and she would’ve felt the conditions if they’d been present long before something like this could have formed.

To top it off just looking at the oily black clouds of that storm sent a uneasy shudder through her body. Normally she loved a good storm, especially if it promised rain. Looking at this storm gave her none of that usual good vibe.

“Not natural,” she muttered to herself and put her hoof to the silver ear clasp, “Trixie, you there?”

”Busynowwhat?” came the fast, whispered reply.

Raindrops frowned at Trixie’s voice, which sounded strained, “Letting you know we’ve got a storm coming in. I don’t think it’s normal, even by Everfree standards.”

A pause, then “You’ll be okay up there?”

Raindrops looked back at the storm, narrowing her eyes, trying to judge its strength, “I’m not going to want to stay up here for more than another half hour. I’ll need to ground myself when the storm gets here.”

“Right. Do what you have to. Don’t take any risks. Found something interesting. Don’t know if its what we need or not. Can’t risk talking more right now. Be careful.”

Raindrops nodded, “You too.”

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She couldn’t rest. Couldn’t stop moving. Her hooves made a constant erratic and echoing series of clops in the depths of the dry cave. Every now and then she’d hear a soft growl from the shadows deeper in the cave, and every time Tarnished felt just a brief instant of calm before her mind swirled back to a frantic pace. It had begun to rain outside the cave a few minutes ago, but the steady patter of water falling on the soft forest floor outside the cave mouth failed to sooth her like such sounds had in the past. Every now and then there would be a roll of distant thunder, punctuations to her swirling thoughts.

So close! She was so close! Cheerilee was there, with her brother, she knew it! It was taking every shred of willpower Tarnished could dredged up to keep from galloping straight there immediately. The only reason she didn’t was that her friends were telling her it was dangerous to go alone. She should wait, yes, wait until the others arrived, then go in force. Then… then she could knock aside any ponies that dared get between her and Cheerilee. Even the notion of freeing the many poor friends who she was sure at this very moment were being imprisoned in that horrible place was now a secondary concern in comparison to the knowledge that Cheerilee was there.

The very thought ignited painful flares of rage inside her head that complimented the bleak, sucking feeling of emptiness in her gut. She licked a dry tongue over cracked lips; her endless pacing taking her to one of the cavern’s many walls. As always she barely looked at the strange writing that covered the walls, sharp, spidery script that curved in constant spirals along the dark gray stone. She never paid the writing any mind, any more than to what she’d found in the cave’s deepest corner.

She didn’t even see the writing now, she just stared at the wall, mind drifting in a roiling sea of memory, brought to the surface by a chorus of whispers that were such a constant now she barely noticed them. Tarnished was instead only hearing voices from the past as her eyes blankly looked at nothing.

“Who are you!? What are you doing in my garden!?”

Tarnished blinked in wide eyed fear at the gangly looking magenta ruffian that had just hopped over the gate of her family estate’s north garden; an earth pony mare with a wild mane and tail of a two-tone light pink. Tarnished balked at the mare’s dirty coat.

“Shh! Don’t make a fuss, I’m just hiding out from those gentleponies over there. I’ll be out of your mane before you know it,” the mare said with a conspiratorial wink and a gesture with her head at the hedge she was now hiding behind

Tarnished, trepidation filling her, looked through the hedge out into the streets of Hoofington’s upper crust residential district. A pair of pegasi ponies in dark blue vests and carrying batons were floating down one of the cobbled streets, looking around with narrowed eyes.

“City guard? Why are they chasing you? Are you a thief!?” Tarnished asked, fear crawling into her voice as she backed away from the magenta mare before her, glancing towards the three store manor across the garden. Could she risk screaming? If she did what would this crazy pony do to her!?

“Sometimes. Not today though,” the madmare said with coy smile that only made Tarnished feel more scandalized by the situation, “They just don’t like that I smashed one of their own through a table.”

Tarnished’s eyes popped wide.

“What!? Why would you do something so uncouth!?”

The magenta mare laughed; a rich, warm sound that for reasons Tarnished couldn’t quite grasp made her feel... slightly less terrified of her.

“Buck was playing rough with one of my friends. Had to show him the importance of manners. You’re a noble, from that expensive looking dress; you ought to appreciate the need to teach proper manners, right?”

Tarnished looked down at herself; at the spring green dress she wore with the soft white embroidery of vines and birds. It wasn’t even her nicest dress, just a simple thing she liked to wear when in the garden.

“I-I suppose so. Wait, that’s not the issue here!” Tarnished said, recalling she was talking with a ruffian and a criminal, “Get out of my garden! If mother and father see you I’ll be in so much trouble. They’ll ground me for a month!”

“Oh come on, you always do what your parents tell you? If they ground you, just run off!” the thief said with her smile widening as she took an eager step closer to Tarnished.

“I could never do anything so… so brazen!” Tarnished said, but to her own surprise didn’t step away from the mare. Something in that smile. It was warm, and seemed to beam brightly from the corners of the mare’s lips all the way up to her soft green eyes. Eyes Tarnished noted were quite lovely- Gah, what was she thinking about!?

“You think skipping out on being grounded is brazen? Heh, I take it you don’t get out much,” the mare said with that warm laugh that easily made Tarnished forget about the now long gone city guard, or the mare’s intrusion in the first place.

“I get out plenty!” Tarnished said defensively, smoothing out her dress with one hoof idly, “Why, just yesterday my big brother took me to see a play in uptown. Though… I didn’t get to see much of the city. We took a carriage the entire way, and when I saw this interesting place where a lot of ponies were going to dance brother said I couldn’t go because it’d be a bad influence on me.”

Tarnished flinched a bit as the mare looked her over. The mare’s hooves then pounded one into the other, as if coming to a sudden conclusion.

“Right, it’s decided then, you’re coming with me!”

“W-w-what!? You’re going to foalnap me!?” Tarnished cried in a high squeak.

“Foalnap?” the mare waved a hoof as if Tarnished was joking, “It’s not foalnapping if you come willingly! Come on, you want to see the city right? I can see it in your eyes, you’re just dying to get out and stretch those legs. Come with me and I’ll show you a real night on the town, introduce you to all my friends.”

“I can’t do that,” Tarnished said hastily, shaking her head vigorously so her long creme mane bounced around her face “Mother and father, my brother, they’ll be so worried about me!”

“Ah, but you are interested. Don’t worry; I’ll have you back home before anypony even realizes you’re gone.”

Interested? Was she? Tarnished didn’t know what to say. She should have instantly fled this brazen criminal mare! She should have screamed for the city guard. But she hadn’t. As scandalous as the mare’s very presence was, Tarnished was finding herself drawn into the mare’s energy, that smile infectious.

“I…I…”

“Trust me, kid, I’ll look after you, and it’ll be the most fun you’ve had in years, I promise,” the mare said as she held out a hoof, welcoming.

Without even realizing it, Tarnished was smiling, and slowly taking hold of the offered hoof. Tarnished felt her breath quicken a bit at the warm contact of the other pony.

“…o-okay, but only this one time. But please, call me by my name. I’m Tarnished, of the Copper Coin family. It’s, um, a pleasure miss…?”

“Heheh, pleased to meet you too Tarnished. Call me Cheerilee. All of my friends do.”

Tarnished found she was biting her lower lip so hard a little bit of blood was trickling down. She wanted to stop the memories. It hurt to remember what she’d had, and lost. She leaned her forehead against the cold stone wall of the cave, teeth grinding against each other as one hoof slowly, forcefully, started hitting the stone over and over again, as if by doing so she’d shove away the onslaught of memory.

“W-what do you think you’re d-d-doing Tarnished!? Do you have any idea wh-what time of night it is? I know Canterlot lives by night, but in H-H-Hoofington it is not acceptable for a young lady of noble birth to d-drag h-h-h-herself home at three in the morning!”

Tarnished yawned, slowly tilting her head and feeling muscles crack pleasantly from the night’s exertions. Her hooves were dead tired, but it was a good feeling. She clopped along the clean tiled floor of her family manor’s foyer, her brother Shiny marching alongside her. He’d been waiting for her the moment the Houseguard had escorted her through the door; a pair of young unicorns her brother had picked up off the street and introduced to the household.

Tarnished didn’t pay the two guards any mind and fixed her brother with a disarming smile; an expression she’d learned from Cheerilee.

“Chill, brother, I’m quite alright, and can decide for myself what time of day or night I wish to return home.”

Her brother rolled his eyes, letting out an exasperated sigh as he nodded for his two guards to be dismissed before turning to Tarnished with a stern look; or at least what he tried to make a stern look. Shiny wasn’t all that good at trying to look serious, his expression faltering even as he admonished her.

“Chill? N-n-now you’re using s-slang? It’s her again…t-t-t-that mare! She’s t-trouble sister! Mother and father w-w-will hear of this!”

It was now Tarnished’s turn to roll her eyes. Strange, even a few months ago she’d have been too embarrassed to even think of arguing with her brother, and felt terror at the mention of her parents being displeased with her. Now? After the things she’d seen, the things she done, and the things she’d learned from her new friends?

“So what if they do?” Tarnished said curtly, “Soon I’ll be old enough to live on my own if I so wish, to go where I please. I have no intention of remaining in my little garden forever.”

“B-but you… you love y-y-your garden, and the little animals in it!”

That did give Tarnished a moment of pause. Shiny was right, she did love her animal friends from the garden, and hadn’t seen them much lately. But...

“The world is a bigger garden,” she said firmly, “With more fascinating animals occupying it than the squirrels in our backyard. Sorry brother, but Cheerilee and the others have shown me how small our manor home is. It can’t be my whole world forever. You know if you just give her a chance I’m sure you’d find you like Cheerilee. She’s quite friendly.”

Tarnished hid a small smile with her hoof at the way her brother’s face flushed and and looked away.

“I-I…I don’t care for the way she a-acts! Sh-she treats everything like it’s a g-g-g-game! She has not a si-single serious hair in her m-mane, no matter how l-lovely a mane it is!”

“Oh, you think her mane is lovely, brother?” Tarnished asked teasingly. She never knew how much fun it was, but after being on the receiving end of no small amount of teasing from her new friends Tarnished had acquired a taste for it.

“I am m-m-merely making an observation! It’s not as if I’ve been w-w-watching her or anything! Now st-stop changing the subject! This is about y-you and you spending too much time w-with her and her gang!”

And there, in an instant, Tarnished’s good mood dampened. She gave her brother a cross look as they reached the end of the foyer, where a large pair of oaken doors would lead into the dining hall.

“It’s not a ‘gang’ brother; they’re just a bunch of good friends who tend to get into a spot of trouble now and again. They’re my friends now, too. Being with them makes me happy. Shouldn’t that be enough for you brother, me being happy?”

Tarnished kept shaking her head, trying to make the memories stop. She hardly noticed the intensity of the whispering voices through her head now, or the intensity of the storm brewing above the cavern. So long ago, yet every word was a clear echo in her mind, undiminished by the passage of years. After all, how do you forget the time in your life when you were happiest?

“Huff…huff…they still…chasing us…?” Tarnished asked, heart hammering in her chest, as she looked over the small boulder into the dark depths of the thick forest.

“Think we lost them. Ha, out of breath already Tarnished?” quipped a white pegasus with a flashy, tangled orange mane. Beside her the other members of the gang were similarly catching their breaths, though none quite as loudly as Tarnished’s wheezing gasps.

“I’m fine… just… tiny lungs… not good for sprinting,” Tarnished said with a weak, but genuinely content smile, even as the adrenaline started to wear off.

“Heh, our little baroness might need some tea to catch her breath,” said the pegasus mare as she checked her wings, brushing out some twigs that’d gotten tangled up in them.

“Countess, actually,” corrected Tarnished after catching her breath, “My family is moving up in the world.”

“Should we be learning how to curtsey around you now?” said a unicorn mare with a neon pink coat and long equally neon blue mane tied into pig-tails.

“Rainbowshine, give her a break, we’re all pretty tired after a run like that,” said Cheerilee, checking one of her forelegs which had a small bite mark on it. Nothing deep, but blood was welling up, dark on her magenta coat.

“Note to self, next time we try this whole ‘tomb raiders’ thing, let’s avoid ruins infested with Timber Wolves.”

“Yeah, I vote we go back to bar hopping across Equestria. Or maybe the Griffin Kingdoms. We haven’t gone there yet,” piped up a small earthy pony stallion with a bristly dark gray coat and curled yellow mane.

“I like Gin’s idea. I’ve never even met a griffin before,” said the pegasus mare, stretching her wings.

“Hmm, well, let’s see what we can fence these relics for first. Long distance travel ain’t cheap, Sunset. We get enough coin then I’d be pretty interested in checking out the griffin’s myself,” said Cheerilee.

“Sure, you’ve already tired minotaur, why not griffin?”

“I wouldn’t be going there for that reason!” said Cheerilee, but she quickly grinned, “Mostly. I have a healthy interest in other things; what kind of food they got there, what kind of drinks I can get plastered with-“

“What kind of flanks you can bump.”

“Sunset, I’m not that bad!”

“But you had two ponies up in your hotel room last night. I think one of them was a mare,” said Tarnished, looking at the ground and bumping a rock with a hoof, sending it skipping away.

“How could you be so sure one of them was a mare, Tarnished?”

“Um, well…my room is next to yours…and I know what you sound like when…um…and unless one of the stallions had a very high pitched voice…” Tarnished coughed, looking away, hoping Cheerilee didn’t see the heat rising to her cheeks and neck.

“Okay, okay, okay, maybe I am that bad!” laughed Cheerilee, “Can we change the subject please?”

“Oh no, boss, we’re going to relentlessly tease you about this all the way back to Hoofington,” said Sunset with a grin as mirthful as it was ruthless. The unfortunately named peagsus mare was probably the closest Cheerilee’s not-gang had to a second in command, and she enjoyed seeking endless opportunity to tease.

“You guys are the worst,” said Cheerilee, smiling that smile that made Tarnished’s heart feel light as air and bright as the moon.

“That’s why you love us!”

How do you forget the times in your life when you’re happiest? More than that, how do you forget when that happiness is taken away? How do you forget when the life you’re living, and loving every minute of it, is torn out from under you? Her hoof was leaving a red imprint on the stone wall from the number of times she was striking it, but she didn’t even notice. The pain in her body was nothing compared to the pain she was feeling inside.

“Cheerilee, where were you last night? You missed one fantastic party at Smokey Haze’s. Gin n’ Tonic brought in some stallions from Cavallia he met at the train station. I love those accents they have, they’re so cool! Cheerilee… ? What are you doing? What’s with the books?”

Tarnished was rather surprised to see Cheerilee’s room piled with books. Not like it was ever all that clean, but Tarnished couldn’t remember seeing so many texts strewn about her friend’s place before. They all seemed to be pretty random too; textbooks on any subject under the moon. Tarnished gave Cheerilee a questioning look, noticing her friend was sitting at a desk, nose buried in the pages for a second before Cheerilee looked up at her. Her green eyes (such perfect green eyes- no! Can’t tell her!) were tired from lack of sleep, a look Tarnished was used to seeing...but usually because Cheerilee was out partying with her and the others for that night.

“Huh? Oh, sorry Tarnished, mind’s a million miles away. Sounds like you guys had a good time though, sorry I missed it. Just been getting some things sorted out and forgot the party,” Cheerilee said, smile apologetic.

“You? Forget a party?” Tarnished chuckled, hoping it hid her sudden spike of nervousness as she approached the desk and leaned against Cheerilee’s side, “The stars must have aligned with the sun in an ill omen for you to miss out on a night of partying. Or perhaps you found a stallion, or mare, or both to have fun with without us?”

Tarnished liked to tease, but truthfully she hoped it wasn’t another tryst. She didn’t hold it against her friend, her promiscuous nature, but it left Tarnished always feeling... just a smidgen jealous. In the years they’d been friends Tarnished had never mustered the courage to try and make the friendship between her and Cheerilee grow into anything more.

“Heh, nothing so dramatic, or fun, I’m afraid,” Cheerilee said, oblivious to Tarnished’s mental wanderings, “No, I was making a list of study materials, if you’re curious.”

“Hm? Study materials? For what?” Tarnsihed asked, paying more attention to what was on the desk. It looked like a book on... teaching? And there were lists of what looked to be book titles, course names, and livings and tuition costs.

“Well, wasn’t planning on telling any of you this until I had the whole gang together, but I’m going back to school,” Cheerilee said, stretching her forelegs above her head and yawning.

“I don’t understand. You already went to school, didn’t you?” Tarnished didn’t like the sound of this. If Cheerilee went back to school when would they get to see each other?

“Basic education, sure, but I skipped out on most of it. I’m way behind the level of education I need if I’m serious about what I plan to do.”

“I… I’m not quite getting this Cheerilee, what is this all about?”

Cheerilee stood and walked over to the window of her room, opening it to let in some late afternoon summer breeze.

“I want to become a teacher Tarnished. I know this might seem like its coming out of nowhere, but I’ve been thinking about this for awhile,” Cheerilee’s shoulders slumped a bit, “Since the trip to the Griffin Kingdoms, actually. Rainbowshine nearly… one of my friends could have lost her life there.”

Tarnished’s eyes widened, and she followed Cheerilee to the window, looking at her friend with an intense gaze.

“It was an accident! We didn’t know how the laws there worked. And it all turned out okay, right? She’s fine, we’re fine, and it was a lot of fun in the end.”

Cheerilee just shook her head, giving Tarnished a smile, but not the kind that left Tarnished’s heart feeling uplifted. It was a sad smile, one that filled Tarnished with nervous dread.

“Fun… yeah, it was. But a friend of mine nearly got killed because we didn’t have a clue about basic local customs and laws. It just got me thinking, what am I doing with myself? It also made me think; knowledge is a powerful thing. If we knew more, knew better, we would’ve saved ourselves a lot of trouble. It’s not just that incident that’s led me to this decision, there’s a lot on my mind Tarnished. I just realized I want to do something else with my life than party all night, sleep half the day, and get mixed up in whatever trouble comes our way. Teaching, well it has a certain appeal… “

Tarnished backed away, feeling her legs trembling as she stared at her friend. Cheerilee was serious. Completely serious. She was never serious. More to the point, if Cheerilee became a teacher, when would she be able to hang out with the gang!? She’d...

“But, but what about the rest of us!?” Tarnished shouted, panic rising in her chest “You’re our leader Cheerilee! We’re together like we are because you hold us together! If you just, just… just quit on us then what will happen!?”

Tarnished couldn’t think. Cheerilee going away!? No! Everything would fall apart without her!

“Tarnished, relax, it’s not like I’ll stop being friends with everypony just because I want to buckle down and study for becoming a teacher. Yeah, I won’t be able to hang as often, might have to move back home, assuming my parents haven’t disowned me yet. I’ll keep in touch though, and visit when I can. Look, I didn’t want to talk about this until I had everypony else in the room too. Kind of feel bad springing this on you guys but-“

“Kind of feel bad… KIND OF FEEL BAD!?” Tarnished didn’t know where all of this emotion was coming from but it was spilling out of her faster than she could try to rein it in, a tide of panic, fear, and pain at the notion of the best thing that ever happened in her life just... just... going away!

“Did the past three years mean nothing to you!? Because, Cheerilee, they’ve meant everything to me! Everything!”

“Tarnished, what-“

“No! You can’t just break us up like this! My life was so… empty until I met you, Gin, Cartwheel, Sunset, Rainbowshine… you’re more family to me than my own flesh and blood,” Tarnished felt the hot tears on her face, realizing the truth of her own words. She’d barley spoken to her parents in over a year, and her brother... he kept close watch on her and Cheerilee, even seemed to be friends with the magenta mare, but Tarnished herself had lost touch with him. The gang, Cheerilee, they were her family now. The idea that it’d all come apart at the seams...

“Tarnished, you’re overreacting here. I know your parents care a lot about you, and I know for a fact Shiny does! He practically makes me swear an oath by Luna every time we leave Hoofington with you in tow to make sure you come back safe and sound.”

“Ha,” pain was churning into anger in Tarnished’s heart as she sneered, “My parents only want to protect their investment, so I can be a good little noble, marry for some pointless political gambit, and pump out foals to keep the bloodline going! Shiny’s no different! He only cares about our titles, not me!”

“You know that’s not true,” Cheerilee said, stepping towards Tarnished, but the noblemare stepped away, “They’re sending you to that vet school you were talking about, right? If they just wanted to marry you off they wouldn’t be trying to help you get an education!”

“I don’t care about my sun-blasted education! I care about being with my friends! With you!”

Some part of Tarnished wanted to tell Cheerilee the truth; how she really felt. But the words wouldn’t come. They were being swept up in fear and anger at the notion of Cheerilee leaving, for who knew how long, to become a teacher. A teacher who’d not have any time for her friends or the lifestyle they were into.

“You can still do that,” Cheerilee was saying, those too-perfect green eyes staring at Tarnished in equal amounts concern and astonishment, “We can still keep in touch and get together during our breaks. It’s not like I plan on forgetting any of you!”

“Yes you are! You’re… leaving. To be what? Some boring teacher? We laughed at ponies who wasted their lives doing some boring day job like that!”

Tarnished regretted the words the moment they left her mouth. Cheerilee’s eyes narrowed and her stance became stubborn.

“…Well, I’m not laughing at them anymore. I’d rather make my students laugh instead, as I help them learn and grow. This is what I want to do Tarnished, and I’m not changing my mind. I’m sorry. Look, its late, you’re upset, and I shouldn’t have said anything until I had the whole gang here anyway. Just go get some sleep, alright? We’ll talk more about this in the morning.”

“You… you… ARGH! Fine! Do whatever you want! I don’t care anymore! I don’t care about you!”

No words could have been further from the truth.

Tarnished had stopped hitting the wall. Not because she wanted to, but because a warm, thick serpentine tongue had wrapped around her and pulled her away from the wall. She looked back with red, puffy eyes at the visage of a basilisk looking at her. Its eyes weren’t using their petrifying stare; they’d never do that to her, she knew. They were her friends, the male and female pair… one she’d rescued a year ago from the clutches of the Lumber Guild, the male. The female had been her friend years before, when she’d first fled to this forest. The female basilisk looked at her now with its alien reptilian visage. Nopony else would be able to read that face, but Tarnished saw the concern there. The basilisk removed its tongue from around her and sniffed at her, growling in a soft, comforting manner as it nudged her.

Tarnished chuckled, a husk of a sound, devoid of any mirth, as she put one hoof on the basilisk’s snout and petted it.

“I’m pathetic… I couldn’t hold onto her… and now that she’s so close again I don’t know what to do. I’m so… I’m so ANGRY at her! I’m scared. I’m scared of what I’m going to do when I see her again.”

Hurt… hurt… make her suffer… you’ve suffered… her turn… her turn…

The whispering voices echoed through the darkness of the cavern, making Tarnished stiffen, her mane bristling. She clutched her ears with her hooves and curled up into a tight ball while the female basilisk growled loudly, standing over her protectively, though it had nothing to attack. It merely sensed its companions’ pain.

“No. I don’t want to hurt her. I won’t. Cheerilee… I just want to be with her again…” Tarnished whispered back, but the voices were unrelenting, spreading from the air and into her mind like an infection, a fever that burned into her mind.

They deserve pain… all the ponies… your brother… your friend… betrayed you… make them suffer for it… suffer… suffer…

“Stopitstopitstopitstopitstopit,” she was breathing rapidly, pressing her hooves into her ears so hard it hurt, but it did nothing to diminish the cacophony of whispering voices that had no identifiable age or gender, just a black, distorted mass of sound pounding into her skull. It’d never been this bad before. She’d always been able to ignore the voices for the most part, never noticing them when she’d first come to call this forest home. But it was as if over the past year they’d just grown day by day in volume and number, until she wasn’t sure any longer how much of her own thinking was hers anymore.

It's okay… you’re not wrong… have to make the bad ponies pay… they have more of your friends in cages… free them… and punish the bad ponies… punish the ones that hurt you… you’re not wrong… she is… Cheerille is wrong... for choosing other ponies over you…

Tarnished started to breath slower, steadier, as anger began to replace fear. An image in her mind formed crystal clear; the blue unicorn with the silver mane, and the jasmine pegasus with the teal mane. Cheerilee’s new ‘friends’. New friends. Replacements, standing where Tarnished should be standing! Slowly her resistance crumbled, swept aside by a tirade of harsh voices issuing from the darkness of the cave.

“…won’t forgive...”

Don’t forgive…

“…can’t forgive…”

Never forgive…

“They’ll pay…”

Suffer… suffer…

Tarnished slowly stood up, her face an empty mask with only the flickering fire of vengeance to give her glassy eyes any definition. The female basilisk sniffed at her, rumbling in worry, sensing the anger in its friend, and not knowing what to do other than watch as Tarnished started chuckling with a voice that didn’t at all sound like her own.

----------

The glow from the bowl faded and Trixie was still trying to wrap her mind around what she’d just heard. Picturesque and Sawdust were brother and sister? Why hadn’t Sheaf mentioned that!? He had to have known, and it seemed rather like pertinent information! And from the sound of it whatever plan Sawdust had he’d tried to get Picturesque to convince Sheaf to be a part of it. Was that how Sheaf knew about Tarnished? And Sawdust…he knew about Tarnished and it sounded like he was somehow controlling her? For what purpose? He said something about getting rid of the Copper Coins, but it sounded like he was relying on her to do that for him? Had he somehow anticipated her arrival in Oaton to begin with?

She was distracted from her thoughts but Raindrops getting in touch with her about the approaching storm. That had Trixie concerned for a few reasons, not the least of which was that it seemed highly suspect that such a storm would suddenly form out of nowhere when the weather had been nothing but mild the past few days. Maybe one could chalk it up to coincidence, the Everfree being the Everfree, but after hearing those unpleasant whispers inside that forest… well… Trixie wouldn’t be shocked if this storm was somehow connected.

As she watched Sawdust had moved from the bowl he’d been using to communicate with Picturesque and had opened up a drawer on the desk, pulling out a thick book, an inkwell, and a quill pen. Trixie watched with interest as the Lumber Guild leader opened the book and using his magic to float around the quill, dipping it in the inkwell, began to write while muttering to himself. She couldn’t make anything out, but since he was distracted with his writing she took the chance to very carefully try opening the door wide enough for her to slip inside the room.

Sawdust didn’t seem to notice her as she closed the door quietly behind her. Trixie licked her lips, smiling to herself.

Now then, let’s see what you’re hiding, besides an interesting family connection.

Trixie had a great deal of confidence in her stealth. Well, in her invisibility and sound dampening spell anyway. That counted as stealth, right? In any case she was quite sure of herself as she approached Sawdust and poked her head over his shoulder to see what he was writing. It looked like a journal.

It seems my sister’s conviction is beginning to falter. I can hardly blame her I suppose. Her love for Sheaf has always been stronger than her own sense of self-worth. She doesn’t see the bigger picture as I do. I’m not just doing this for her; I’m doing it for her foals, so they may have a future beyond farming. It’s funny, Oaton. Those villagers follow their traditions so stubbornly, yet I wonder if they’d be so set in their ways if they knew the origins of those traditions?

Tarnished is complicating matters. She’s become all but unmanageable since the Element Bearers arrived. Her mental state has been gradually degrading since I met her, but it’s become particularly bad with the arrival of Trixie and her friends. I know Tarnished is being influenced, and I know what it is that’s affect her. I even know how it may be countered, but I have no means to acquire the spell from the Canterlot University Archives. I’m just plain out of time. The chances of her making a move tonight are quite high. If only I had another day or so I might be able to strengthen my mind warding spell to buy her another week or two, but I’m not even sure she’s allow me to at this point. She nearly set her ‘friend’ on me last time I went to her personally. I’d prefer not to lose her, yet I’m absolutely at my wits end on what to do about her.

I may have to put my faith in something I rather detest; an unknown variable. Three of them, actually. I must admit I never imagined three bearers of the Elements of Harmony to become involved in this affair, one of them the very mare who was so integral to putting my father behind bars. It is strange, seeing Trixie Lulamoon again. She’s quite a different mare while sober. Less prone to shouting and throwing things. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the look on my father’s face when she smacked him in the head with the very package I told Baron Flouting to have delivered. There’s no way she could have known what was in that package. I wonder if she thinks herself responsible for the fire that came after? Tarnished and her both, those mares made that night turn from a near disaster into exactly what I needed. A fair lesson to me in being more careful in how I plan things.

Ha, but this time is just as unpredictable as then. Too many unknown variables coming into the mix, throwing my plans into such disarray. Well, nopony ever said that pursuing an ambition would be easy. I truly hope Picturesque comes to understand why I do this. She’ll understand in time. She has to. I need to rest. If Tarnished comes tonight, I’ll need to be at my best to deal with matters...

Sawdust ceased writing at that last sentence, staring at the page for a few long seconds with a faint frown on his otherwise calm features before he set aside the quill, leaving the last of the journal entry unfinished.

Trixie quietly scooted back as Sawdust turned and, removing his bowler cap and hanging it on one of the posts of his bed, stretched with a yawn and flopped onto the bed. Trixie waited several minutes until she heard the quiet, rhythmic breathing of a sleeping pony before turning her attention to the desk. She could hear the distant, muffled peals of thunder from the approaching storm Raindrops had mentioned.

So not what we need right now. Alright, let’s snatch what we can, then get ready for when the crazy monster controlling mare shows up.

Her first instinct was to grab the journal. She could only imagine what more she might find that Sawdust had written down in there. It’d also take time to sift through all those entries. It was a rather thick journal, after all. She let it be for now and proceeded to check the rest of the desks drawers. The first thing she came across was a picture frame.

The picture showed three ponies, all of them ones Trixie recognized. Sheaf and Picturesque were both much younger than how she knew them now, perhaps of an age with her, and were standing in a lovely looking park, leaning against one another contentedly. Sitting on Picturesque’s back, one hoof wrapped around her neck, and the other hoof waving at the camera, with a similar sleepy eyed look as he had as an adult, was a colt version of Sawdust.

Wait… I recognize this park. That’s Canterlot University’s courtyard.

Trixie recalled Picturesque’s Canterlot accent. So Sheaf met her at university? But how had he come to be there? Everything she’d learned of Oaton suggested they were isolationist by tradition. Unless Sheaf openly defied that tradition? Was that why he seemed to lack conviction when he spoke of Oaton staying unregistered?

Judging off the ages here, this picture was taken a little over ten years ago, but there should be a date… ah, on the back… eleven years ago. eleven…

Bushel was eleven years old. Trixie grimaced.

Well, I think I can see what happened here. Hormones strike again. This is why I lock myself in my home when, ugh, ‘that time’ comes. *sigh* I shouldn’t jump to conclusions but it seems pretty clear our university going lovebirds got a little too into the spirit of the spring season. Still, fascinating as that is, it’s not exactly what I’m looking for here…

Setting the picture back where she found it Trixie moved on to the next drawer, only briefly glancing towards the ceiling as she began to hear the thick sheets of rain start to pelt the building. The storm was arriving, with a crash of thunder echoing even through the thick wood walls. Trixie moved quickly, opening the remaining desk drawers all at the same time with her magic and sifting through the contents, expanding her sound dampening spell as best she could to keep the noise her rooting around muffled.

Her eyes flicked across papers and scrolls, seeking anything that could give her an idea of what Sawdust was up to. At the same time she wondered just how deeply involved Picturesque was. From the sound of what she’d heard of that conversation Sawdust was trying to get her to convince Sheaf to cooperate with something. Perhaps abandon farming and assist the Lumber Guild with logging as a livelihood?

This would be so much simpler if it were just a few greedy ponies trying to take advantage of Oaton, but instead it seems like everypony involved in this, even the ponies I’m trying to help, have secrets and agendas. If I bust Sawdust for whatever he’s planning, does that mean Picturesque goes down with him? Can I do that to Bushel, something that may take her mother away from her? And just after I… gah, worry about it later, Trixie. Find evidence first, have moral conundrum second.

It didn’t take her long to pick out some unusual things among the papers tucked away in Sawdust’s desk. There was a large scroll that, when she unfurled it, turned out to be a very unusual map. Trixie recognized the topography as being Oaton and the surrounding region. At first she thought it might have been the same map Cheerilee had found that had been missing from the map room Trixie had checked earlier, but the markings on this map were… quite different.

These buildings aren’t supposed to be here. Neither is that quarry… no, quarries. There’s four of them, three of them in the forest. Or where the forest is supposed to be. It’s a third of the size from what it is now in this map. Extra streets, and an actual switching station for the trains… this isn’t a map for the region, its construction plans for a city. This is… wow, somepony is filled with big ambitions. I’m almost impressed.

The detail on the city plans was rather exceptional, though Trixie wondered if it was at all feasible. Was there enough natural resources for such an ambitious project in this area? Sawdust seemed to think so. The plans would call for incredible amounts of ponylabour, the kind of thing that would take a decade or more to come to fruition even under ideal conditions. But if the city in this map ever came to be, well, Trixie was no expert but it seemed to her that it would rival Hoofington for the largest of the province.

The city plans didn’t seem to neglect the rich farmland either, with much of the land to the west and south being dedicated to large fields that the small hamlet of Oaton didn’t currently touch.

It’d be impossible to build a city like this with Oaton how it is now though. The village would be swallowed up entirely by the number of ponies you’d have to bring in to begin a project of this scale… and you certainly couldn’t do anything like this if the noble family that owns the province didn’t approve of it…

Sifting through more of the papers she came across several scrolls that showed more detailed construction plans, but what caught her eye was a notebook with numerous colored tabs set into it. Flipping through it she recognized it as a research book. It contained numerous notes referencing subjects from economics and architecture to… historical notes and archeological studies?

He has lists of sites where archeological digs have taken place from practically every corner of Equestria. Why would he… wait, his first entry mentioned research to help with whatever is influencing Tarnished. Is this what these notes are? There are dates for each site. They’re all ancient, thousands of years old, but all within about a century of each other. These notes are so obtuse, can barely make any sense of this. Still, he mentioned the CU Archives. Must have… ah here we are, he at least clearly mentions what he wanted from there. What do we have here… ? Looks like a half completed Abjuration spell, missing a lot of fragments to it. Maybe he thinks the complete spell is in the Archives?

Finding nothing else of interest amid the papers she returned them to the drawers and took a brief glance at Sawdust to ensure he was still sleeping. He was still laying on his bed, breathing deep and regular. Trixie was surprised he hadn’t awoken, even with the sound of rain, wind, and thunder getting louder. It sent an odd shiver down Trixie’s spine and she felt her heart rate increasing. She wasn’t sure why.

I hope Raindrops found a better spot. She may like the rain, but that wind sounds atrocious. Time to see what’s in this journal…

She opened the first page and began to quickly scan the entries, eyes darting over the words for anything that looked key. Trixie found it a little irritating Sawdust apparently didn’t put any actual dates in the journal. Made it hard to get a grasp on just when certain entries were being made. The journal was clearly quite old, as the first entries she skimmed were talking about the kind of things a colt might; being bored in school, or getting into fights with bullies. It wasn’t until about a third of the way through that she first noted Sheaf being mentioned.

… Sister came home today and was acting quite odd. She practically was bouncing around the kitchen while I was trying to get dinner ready, and humming to herself. She’d been so down because of that upcoming calc test it was kind of disturbing seeing her grinning like a foal who’s had too much candy. When I asked her what was up she just giggled at me and said she made a new friend today, somepony named Sheaf. I’m glad she’s finally opening up a bit to make some friends, but seriously, from that smile you’d think she’d just won some sort of lottery…

Trixie skipped forward a few entries, eyes flicking over the words as another nearby roll of thunder rattled the door frame behind her, causing her to jump a little. Glancing up at the ceiling she could imagine the dark, oppressive storm clouds above. Again that odd shiver in her spine, making her mane feel like it wanted to stand on end. Trixie shook herself; wondering why her nerves suddenly felt so on edge just because of a little thunder and rain? She resumed reading.

…Sheaf’s a nice fellow. I was leery at first of how close he and sister are, but given how much happier she’s been this past month I can’t find it in me to dislike him. If he makes Picturesque smile like that he can hang out at our apartment as much as he likes, far as I’m concerned. Interesting pony too, he comes from a tiny village I’ve never even heard off; Oaton. He said he was a runaway, here in Canterlot against his parent’s wishes. Worked odd jobs through his teens to earn coin to enter university. Apparently he befriended one of the professors to get a letter of recommendation. Impressive. He’s going in for a business major, so he shares a lot of sis’ classes, even though business is just her minor. Talks a lot about going home to Oaton and turning it into some big prosperous town, rather than a no-name "village". It’s a nice dream, I’ll admit. I’m planning on going into business myself; take over for father when I’m old enough so Picturesque can focus on her photography. Sheaf doesn’t treat me like a kid, he actually talks to me seriously and we get to talking about economics and how to turn rural areas like where Oaton is into commercial and industrial centers, like what you have in Manehattan. I asked him once about why Oaton isn’t even registered with the Night Court’s municipal branch but he got real evasive. Oh well, anyway tonight for dinner we had…

So Sheaf wanted to turn Oaton into a larger town as well? Trixie thought while suppressing a groan as she read on through further entries, Hmm, well let’s see if my guess as to what happened next is correct.

A few entries further in she found one where the writing was in a far more erratic and hard pressed script than the neat and orderly writing of earlier entries.

Don’t believe this! Idiots! Both of them! What were they- and right next- For the love of Luna’s stars was this why Sheaf wanted me to teach him that sound dampening spell!? I just thought they wanted peace and quiet while they studied! To think- they did- I was no more than ten feet away while they were doing…okay, calm, calm, don’t break quill-----

-----Right, so my sister is pregnant.

I can’t write that without feeling a need to break something. Oh, no no, I’m fine, I’m happy, it’s great, always thought she’d make a great mother.

JUST NOT NOW!

Less calm than I thought. I think I’m more angry at Sheaf than her. It’s the stallions’ job to remember to take protective measures isn’t it? I really like him. He’d make a great brother in law. Five years from now. Or ten. Couldn’t they have held onto their hormones until after college at least? Father will not accept this, but Sheaf is already talking marriage like it’s a given. He doesn’t understand how mindlessly stubborn father is or how he holds a grudge. Sister understands and at least has the presence of mind to look scared.

I don’t know how I’m going to fix this either. There’s no question she’s keeping the foal. She’s also going to marry Sheaf. Father won’t allow it. He’ll disown her. I know him. He will. There’s nothing I can do to stop this.

Right now it’s all just… damage control.

Wonder what they’ll name the foal?

Moon’s tears I’m tired. Can’t think straight. Going to sleep, figure out a plan in the morning. Has to be some way to fix this.

Trixie sighed. So her suspicions had been correct. Still, as sad and sordid as this affair between Sheaf, Picturesque, and Sawdust was, it didn’t explain what happened last year, or what was happening now. It certainly wasn’t anything she could use as evidence to bring to the authorities yet. She began to skip forward by larger amounts, flipping through pages rapidly.

She stopped when she caught sight of Tarnished’s name in one of the entries and leaned over the journal intently. The writing was in a somewhat jittery format, as if written in haste.

This has been a difficult time to say the least. Father has gone beyond too far. Was cutting sister off from the family not good enough for him!? He now wants to destroy what happiness she still has by trying to choke the life out of her new home!? Oh, he makes it sound as if this is all coincidence, that his hare-brained smuggling scheme just happens to need this section of the Everfree as a transit route to Hoofington, but I don’t believe for an instant he’s not motivated purely by some asinine need to punish Picturesque for defying him. I won’t have it. Words won’t reach him, but that is fine. We are well beyond words at this point.

The plan I have formed entails a great deal of risk, but I have all the proper angles covered I believe. Encountering Tarnished was a boon I did not expect, but it makes this plan far more feasible than my original one. She’s an odd mare, erratic in temperament, but remarkably skilled with the local fauna. Gaining her trust was not easy, but she’s eager to free her ‘animal friends’ from father’s scheme. That eagerness I think pushes aside her doubts concerning my motivations.

Of course just freeing my father’s ‘cargo’ isn’t enough. I need an investigation to result from this, one where I can ensure the right evidence is found to incriminate my father, but protect the Guild as a whole. This must be made to look accidental, with no anonymous tips for the authorities to wonder over. I have an idea, but it requires a package to be delivered to my father, and a suitably unconnected courier to do the delivery. Baron Flouting owes me a favor, I’ll use him.

So far this matched up with the entry she’d watched Sawdust write. Baron Flouting sending her to deliver that package had been Sawdust’s orders. Still no mention of what was in said package, but Trixie could surmise it had to do with how that fire got started. She may have been the catalyst, but Sawdust was the responsible party for getting the ball rolling, and she didn’t doubt Tarnished played her part in that night’s chaos.

She wondered at the details of that night, but the next series of entries were after the fire and only went into detail concerning Sawdust’s work to recoup the Lumber Guild’s losses from the legal investigation into their logging without permits and smuggling protected animals. He had provided all manner of ledgers and logs to indicate the operation was entirely his father’s planning and that the majority of the Guild was ignorant of Sawblade’s actions. Trixie found that a little hard to swallow; as there had to have been some ponies in the Guild to help with smuggling animals of any kind, but apparently Sawdust did a remarkable job of minimizing the number of ponies in the Guild who were incriminated to those crimes. As a whole the Guild took a financial hit, but most of its members avoided personal fines or jail time.

And of course Sawdust filled the void of leadership his father left behind when Sawblade went to jail.

Trixie rubbed her forehead beneath her horn, feeling a bit of building pressure. Invisibility and sound dampening were second nature to her but she’d been maintaining both spells for some time now and the first hints of strain were starting to make themselves unpleasantly known. She wasn’t that surprised, she’d pushed herself to exhaustion yesterday, and despite getting some decent sleep she’d started her day by using a de-petrification spell she’d just learned in a way it wasn’t originally designed to be used. Bearer to the Element of Magic she may have been, but that didn’t confer an increased supply of magic or anything special of that sort.

Let’s try learning from our mistakes and not push ourselves to exhaustion. Going to be hard enough to try copying Tarnished’s animal control spell even if I was fully rested.

Trixie eyed the journal, considering taking it. She didn’t doubt it still contained important information, but she felt she was out of time to mine through Sawdust’s entries. The only risk was that if Sawdust knew somepony had stolen his journal there was no real telling how he’d react. It was the closest thing she had so far to evidence of Sawdust’s involvement in this whole affair though, so she was loath to leave it behind.

Pursing her lips only briefly in debate she snatched up the journal and turned for the door-

-to find Sawdust standing between her and the door, quite awake, and looking right at her. No, at the desk, with the floating journal. Trixie mentally slapped herself. She was invisible, the journal wasn’t. She corrected that issue, which caused Sawdust to raise an eyebrow.

Sawdust had a perfectly deadpan, calm expression on his half-lidded features, his voice the epitome of dry sarcasm.

“I am going to deduce, given that I know Count Shiny’s pet unicorn guard has already tried breaking into my room once and did not use invisibility in that attempt, and that neither Sheaf nor Tarnished would have the temperament for subtly, that the pony I’m speaking to is none other than you; Miss Trixie Lulamoon?”

Trixie didn’t respond, instead moving slowly in a circling arc that would take her around Sawdust and to the door.

Sawdust hung his head, sighing. His horn lit up with a keen steel gray aura, the door becoming enveloped in an identical hue. When Trixie tried the door she found it being firmly held closed.

“Surely you understand I’d prefer you didn’t leave this room with something as personal as my journal. Please, Miss Trixie, I only wish to speak with you.”

Trixie frowned, looking over the door and the aura of magic holding it closed. There was a chance she could push through Sawdust’s aura with her own magic, but not while maintaining her invisibility and sound dampening. It’d be easier just to break his concentration by smacking his horn with something. As she cast about to find something she could levitate to give Sawdust’s horn a whack the Lumber Guild unicorn spoke again.

“I don’t know how much of my journal you’ve read, but certainly it must have been clear I have nothing to do with Count Shiny’s decision to use my Guild to pursue his own agenda.”

Trixie paused just as she was considering levitating the bowl Sawdust had been using earlier to communicate with Picturesque and she gave Sawdust a critical look. The urge to just smash the bowl over his head and make a break for it was strong. In fact why use the bowl? She could use the whole desk! Just crush him entirely for having the audacity to bar her path and-… and why was she suddenly feeling so aggressive? Trixie shook her head. The moment she became self-aware of its presence the aggression receded, but she could still feel it like an unpleasant itch in her mane. An itch that said bludgeoning the other unicorn in the room with a six foot long wooden desk was a fantastic idea.

“Can I assume that you’re feeling the effects of the storm?” Sawdust said, nodding his head at the table.

Trixie glanced over, and cursed under her breath as she dispelled her telekinesis. She had taken hold of the table without realizing it. What was happening?

“It’s worse for you I imagine,” Sawdust went on, “Because you’re not used to the influence. Not like the villagers of Oaton. Tarnished might have built an immunity herself, had she not made her home right on top of the epicenter. Miss Trixie, I can help you, but I need you to trust me. Or, if not trust, be confident that merely speaking with me will not put you in no further danger.”

Trixie snorted, but dropped her invisibility and sound dampening spells, fixing Sawdust with a focused glare.

“For the record; I don’t trust you. Start explaining. What’s affecting me?”

“The negative energy contained in this storm, I imagine,” said Sawdust with a nonchalant wave of his hoof at the room’s only window as another crash of thunder sounded outside, “I can’t be sure, as my research is far from complete, but the storm is likely a byproduct of the shrine reacting to Tarnished’s degrading mental state.”

“Really? Fascinating,” Trixie said, tone dry as she ran a hoof through her mane, and touching the silver ear clasp, “Do continue, Sawdust, I’d love to hear what this shrine is, and what, if anything, this has to do with your plans.”

Trixie?, Raindrop’s voice sounded strained through the enchantment of the ear clasp.

Sounds like she’s having a chat with Lumber Guild’s leader, Cheerilee replied, though her voice was little more than a soft whisper.

This isn’t part of the plan is it? Because last I checked the plan was for her to sneak in, get evidence, then hide until whacky-basilisk-mare shows up. Now she’s chatting the guy up? Raindrops’ said with heat in her tone, but she quieted down as Sawdust continued to speak.

“It’s a complicated matter, but then so has this whole affair, so no surprise there,” Sawdust said with a small, dry chuckle, “The short version is that the shrine is a leftover from the kingdom that existed before the Princesses took it upon themselves to champion, then lead, ponykind.”

Trixie titled her head, thinking back on her own admittedly limited historical knowledge. She couldn’t recall just what had existed in place of Equestria before Princess Luna and Corona established their rule over the Three Tribes.

Cheerilee took in a sharp intake of breath.

If he’s talking about pre-Princess history, then the list of possible bad things you could link a shrine to is pretty short. None of the options are pleasant, though.

Well that’s remarkably reassuring, Raindrops said, sounding miffed. Trixie wondered how the storm was affecting her. Raindrops usually liked this kind of weather, but that was when it wasn’t charged with some odd negative energy that induced smashy-smashy feelings.

“Can you be more specific?” Trixie asked Sawdust.

“No, unfortunately. I don’t know what force the shrine is meant to honor, only that it is one of the dark beings that pre-date the Princess’ rule, and that the shrine was built by the original settlers of this area; the forebears of Oaton’s residents.”

Trixie’s eyes widened slightly, “That’s ridiculous, that would make Oaton-“

“An ancient settlement, with a populace descended to the modern day through at least twenty generations. Probably more. Definitely more, actually. The residents are unaware of this, given the long span of time that has passed since the village’s founding. All that remains is their tradition of isolation from Equestria, a tradition that is little more than a cultural mutation of the original founders’ desire to stay hidden from the Princesses so they could continue to worship… whatever it was that ruled this land in ancient times.”

“What is the shrine though? How can it make something like this storm?” Trixie’s voice was strained, one eye twitching slightly. She remembered the strange whispering voices she’d heard in the forest. More than ever she wished her hat’s enchantment was intact, because this, this right here; this was the kind of thing she could excuse herself for calling in the Princess of the Night for.

But the hat was broken, and Trixie had to deal with things herself.

“I’ve seen it only once,” Sawdust said in response to her questions, “When I first met Tarnished. She was far more lucid back then. Honestly I’m not sure why the shrine has become so active since then, its as if something… flipped a lever and charged it with negative forces.”

“That’s what I’m not understanding!” Trixie near shouted, anger flaring, “How does some shrine do things like this? What is it exactly? Sorry but ‘shrine’ isn’t exactly all that descriptive to begin with. What are we dealing with exactly, do you even know?”

“I merely use the term ‘shrine’ because that’s what it resembles, though I suppose reliquary would also be accurate. Keep in mind Miss Trixie, that when I first saw it I had no idea what it was and paid it no mind. I only began to try researching it recently, after I noticed how badly Tarnished’s mental state has degraded this past year and I came to suspect the shrine was somehow responsible. I haven’t had time to learn many details, and I’ve been more focused on finding ways to counter its influence. The shrine is permeated by negative magic, magic that has been growing gradually for centuries with every negative event that’s taken place in this area for that entire span of time.”

“So you’re saying this is some kind of magical ‘bad feelings’ sponge that just soaking up everypony’s negativity?” Trixie said, tone reflecting a certain disbelief that she’d just uttered such a nonsensical sentence.

“More like a ‘bad feelings’ amplifier. It not only feeds off of negative emotion, it magnifies it. Reacts to it. If I were a betting stallion, which as it happens I am, I’d say this storm is a reaction to Tarnished’s emotional state.”

“If this shrine has been here since Oaton’s founding, why haven’t the residents gone loopy like Tarnished? Why didn’t anything like this happen last year?” Trixie asked, still trying to get her head wrapped around this.

“I think the shrine was dormant for the vast majority of those centuries, with only a little negative energy sneaking out, giving the forest a certain… vibe to it, but otherwise harmless. Until something activated it last year. My guess is that our mutual escapade into arson combined with Tarnished herself making her home right on top of the shrine’s location all combined to serve as a tasty good morning breakfast of negative emotions for the shrine to wake up with.”

“Mutual escapade? Oh, let’s pause our shrine-talk here and tangent, because I very much would like to know exactly what happened that night,” said Trixie, taking half a threatening step forward before she realized what she was doing and with a slightly embarrassed look stepped back.

Sawdust’s half-lidded eyes opened slightly, “If the storm is affecting you that badly I can offer a mental warding spell if you like. Abjuration is something of a specialty of mine.”

Trixie frowned, shaking her head, “It's fine. I’m not going to turn violent because a little mood rain is trying to tweak my mental state. I’m not that weak willed.”

She paused then, recalling what Raindrops had told her earlier about the enchanted glasses not being able to see anything in Sawdust’s mind. Was this the reason?

“Are you using this spell on yourself?”

Sawdust nodded, “Yes, since I realized the shrine was affecting Tarnished. I’ve been casting the spell on her, myself, and as many of my own ponies as I’ve been able to, under the pretext of it being a ‘stress-relieving’ spell.”

“On second thought, I think I’d like to have it,” said Trixie.

Trixie, you can’t trust this guy to cast a spell on you! Raindrops said, concern clear in her tone.

Trixie couldn’t respond without giving away that the conversation had some extra listeners, but she hoped Raindrops would trust her on this. She didn’t trust Sawdust at all, despite his seemingly cordial and helpful manner. She fully intended to keep a close watch on what manner of spell he was casting. In fact that was the point. Being able to see, and potentially learn, a mind-warding spell was too valuable a chance to pass up. Especially if there was some kind of evil...influencey...shrine...thing, involved in all this.

Sawdust had a small, almost-smile on his face as he tilted his head towards her, “Its a very simple spell actually, modified somewhat from a ‘protection from chaos’ ward.”

Trixie watched carefully with her magic sight as his horn flowed with magic and he wove the spell. She was not up on her Abjuration magic, but she recognized the forms the threads of magic took as belonging to that school. He wasn’t trying to pull an enchantment on her, as far as she could tell. She tensed slightly as the spell settled on her and relaxed as she felt the aggressive itch in her mind fade away. Seems it really had been a mind-warding spell.

And now she’d seen the spell performed she was certain she could manage to do it herself with a little practice.

“Well, thank you for that,” she said, “Now, the fire last year. Explain.”

“Not much to explain, really. I asked an acquaintance in the Night Court who owed me a favor to have somepony deliver a package to my father. The package contained a bottle filled with a pheromone that incites certain behavior in a particular species; Badlands Fire Drakes to be precise.”

Oh my, was that what they were trying to smuggle back then? Cheerilee’s voice was still at whisper level, That better not be what they’re trying to smuggle this time too. Fire Drakes are incredibly volatile. There’d be no way to guarantee safe transport, and every pony in the camp would be at risk if they got loose.

“Now I’d intended for my father to not open the bottle until later that evening, after I’d had a chance to have Tarnished in place to keep the Drakes under control. However your… enthusiasm for championing Oaton caused a premature release.”

Hate it when that happens, said Cheerilee.

“Cheerilee!”

Cheerilee!

What? Oh, right. Sorry.

Trixie noticed Sawdust giving her an odd look and hastily said, heat flashing through her cheeks, “So, what did I do that night? Specifics, please.”

Sawdust still had a bemused look, but said “You marched into camp, got into a shouting match with my father, then proceeded to smack him in the head with the package,” said Sawdust with a deadpan expression.

“Breaking the bottle of pheromones I’m guessing?” asked Trixie, “Just what were these pheromones anyway?”

“The same kind a female Fire Drake produces during the mating season. The Fire Drakes we were smuggling were all male, and heavily sedated. Even Tarnished’s magic couldn’t control them to rouse from sleep while they were in that condition. The pheromone was the only thing strong enough to wake them, though that also would put them in a horribly violent and territorial mood. As I said, I was counting on Tarnished to control them and prevent anypony from getting hurt.”

“That was still a ridiculous risk to take, you foal! You put dozens of ponies lives at risk just to get back at your father!?” Trixie snapped.

Sawdust took her shouting in stride, his shoulders rolling in a small shrug, “Paying my father back for what he did to my sister was just the icing. The cake was, and still is, Oaton. I’m playing this for the long game, Miss Trixie, and yes, I’m willing to risk lives to achieve my goals. I took precautions, but how could I prepare for a drunken mare being my courier, one with an ego so large she decides to declare herself the hero of Oaton and randomly assault my father with the very parcel she was supposed to just hoof over to him? Some things you simply can’t prepare for.”

Trixie shook her head with a small groan, then waved a hoof dismissively, “Mind warding spell or not you’re making it very hard not to want to resume my original plan to hit you with a table-”

I’ll help, offered Raindrops, eagerness dripping in her tone.

“-but my curiosity is still the stronger factor. What happened after the pheromones got released?”

“The Fire Drakes awoke, went berserk, and broke free of their cages. Chaos followed as the camp began to go up in flames. The problem was that Tarnished wasn’t there yet to control them. My father panicked and was all but useless, so I had to take control and organize the evacuation. The Fire Drakes may have injured or killed any number of ponies, but they were distracted by a certain insane and drunk mare who took it upon herself to, let me see if I remember this correct ‘demonstrate the awesome might of the Great and Powerful Trixie to the foul beasts of Tartarus’. As it happens Fire Drakes are attracted to bright lights and loud noises, which you were producing in spades.”

Trixie blinked, “So I kept the Drakes occupied?”

“Long enough for me to clear out most of the camp, and for Tarnished to show up. She was able to get control over two of the Drakes, but one remained focused on you. You led it to the dam, fireworks going off the entire time. If it were a normal fire that Fire Drakes produced things may not have become so dire, but their flames burn red with magic and the moisture of the dam was insufficient to keep it intact. I saw you dive off the dam into the reservoir just as the Drakes flames fully engulfed the dam. The dam broke apart, and I had to work with Sheaf to keep the resulting flood from consuming Oaton. Tarnished got the last Fire Drake under her control and led the beasts away into the forest. By the end of it all most of my lumber ponies had no real idea what had happened, some of them having seen you, others Tarnished, their stories getting mixed up as rumor spread. Ultimately things worked out as I wanted. You confronted my father back in Oaton and showed the entire village, and the local Sheriff, that the permits he had were false. The authorities investigated in the wake of the fire and got full disclosure on the smuggling my father had started-”

“Which you had plenty of prepared evidence to show it was Sawblade’s doing, with few among the Guild being aware of what he was doing. This protected the Lumber Guild from much of the fallout of the investigation,” concluded Trixie, “In the aftermath you took over the Guild. I read this in the journal. Now you’re back here, the same smuggling scheme in full swing.”

“That’s Count Shiny’s doing, not mine,” said Sawdust with a small frown, “I didn’t intend to return to Oaton for some time. I wanted to take it slow, bringing Sheaf around to my way of thinking. But Shiny has forced me to up my time table. His family bought out the stocks on my Guild and forced us back here. He wants his sister back, and thinks he can clear his family debts with the bits he’ll make off the smuggling.”

I really wish I could get him to understand all the many ways that illegal animal smuggling is a bad way to secure family finances, muttered Cheerilee.

“Fine, so the Copper Coins have put you in a bad position,” Trixie said, not quite believing that part of the story, as something about the entire setup was bothering her, “but what is your plan exactly? What do you need Picturesque’s help with that you have to keep that fact that you’re talking to her hidden, to the point where you felt you had to transmute an innocent pair of ponies into stone?”

Sawdust’s calm poker face returned, “I want Sheaf’s cooperation in reconstructing Oaton. I might be able to do this without Oaton’s consent, but that would cause undue stress to the ponies I’m trying to help with this whole endeavor. Unfortunately Sheaf won’t listen to me. However he will listen to my sister, given time. The problem is if he discovers that she and I have been speaking with each other behind his back, then he won’t trust her and I’ll never gain his cooperation.”

“Yes, its amazing how going behind a pony’s back and turning those under his charge to stone can damage trust,” drawled Trixie with a flat look on her face.

Seriously. Even without this mood rain making me want to start breaking things I’d find this guy’s logic irritating, said Raindrops, You don’t build trust on deceit. Kind of defeats the purpose.

“Perhaps, Miss Trixie,” said Sawdust, tone slightly defensive, “But I saw the Thresher’s knowledge as an issue and sought to prevent them from spreading it to the rest of Oaton. Fortunately while Transmutation isn’t my forte, a certain old friend of mine was quite good at it, and I learned from him a the spell to harmlessly transmute flesh to stone.”

“Harmless? The Thresher’s looked to me as if they were in pain,” said Trixie with a flash of anger, mind shield or no. She keenly remembered the looks on the petrified ponies in question, and nothing about those expressions had suggested the process of being turned to stone had been pleasant.

“Well, I may not have perfected my friend’s spell. There may have been some discomfort experienced by the targets. Regardless, they are not unduly harmed, and I can change them back, once I’ve ensured their memories of events are altered,” Sawdust said casually, as if discussing a matter akin to doing one's taxes.

“I’m starting to see why Sheaf isn’t keen on working with you,” Trixie said, bringing magic into her horn slowly in preparation to cast a series of spells. She used a localized invisibility spell first, covering the outlying portions of her horn to hide the tell-tale glow of magic, a difficult trick she’d never tried before. Fortunately it seemed to work, so she could cast her other spells without Sawdust being any the wiser, unless he used magic sight on her.

She could feel this conversation reaching an impasse quickly, and as polite as Sawdust was being she suspected he wasn’t going to allow her to simply leave without ensuring she wasn’t a threat to his plans. Since Trixie wasn’t keen on joining the lawn-ornament brigade she decided to take some precautions for the inevitable breakdown of negotiations. What she had in mind would task her magic reserves, but she’d be even more useless if turned to stone.

“Not now,” Sawdust said with a polite, even inviting smile, ”But I’m confident in my sister’s persuasive qualities. At the moment I’m more interested in whether or not you might be willing to work with me.”

Sawdust had a calm exterior, not showing any tension, yet Trixie noted he was standing entirely too still for her liking. She’d seen Raindrops practice enough Iron Hoof during their workout sessions to grasp that when a pony went that still it was only when preparing to act.

“Ultimately I’ve not lied to you Miss Trixie, neither now nor when we first met. I only have Oaton’s best interests at heart, albeit for entirely personal and some may claim ‘selfish’ reasons. But really that’s all a matter of perspective, is it not? Some may look at my designs and methods and call me a villain. Others would see the prosperous future I wish to bring to Oaton, all for love of my sister, and call that heroic.”

“Are you really doing this for your sister?” asked Trixie, “The city plans I’ve read are ambitious for a pony who claims to just want to improve the quality of life for his sister..”

Sawdust laughed, a rich dark sound like wind billowing thick curtains.

“Oh, I don’t deny I’m also doing this to satisfy my own desires. Oaton is a stepping stone to grander things. Things you can be a part of, Miss Trixie. Surely you have desires as well? Desires to be more than a mere Representative of the Night Court, or a falsely celebrated folk hero? I think we’re both ponies with large ambitions in our hearts, Miss Trixie. Help me with mine, and I’ll be more than willing to help you with yours.”

“Don’t presume that you know anything about me,” Trixie said, heatedly, “Or what I want. Besides, who says my heroism is false? Granted I’m still on a learning curve here, and made some mistakes. Boasted when I shouldn’t have. I still don’t know if... if I’m the right pony to bear the Element of Magic, let alone claim to be anypony’s hero. But none of that matters, Sawdust. This stopped being about me awhile ago. This is about Oaton. Those ponies don’t deserve to have their lives turned upside down just because you and Count Shiny can’t conceive of how to help your siblings without putting others in harm’s way. I’d stay putting a stop to both of you is a nice, solid step towards earning that ‘hero’ title.”

“I thought you said this wasn’t about you?”

“Oh, well,” said Trixie, adjusting her pointed magician’s hat, “It’s mostly not about me.”

Sawdust cocked his head to the side, genuine confusion on his young features, “You are a very confusing mare, Miss Trixie, but I suppose I can ignore that for now. I wish to see the Copper Coin family removed as an issue and their smuggling attempt exposed, preferably in a way that exonerates my Guild of any responsibility in the affair. From there I will convince Sheaf and the citizens of Oaton to acquiesce to a long term effort to build this region into a prosperous town, and in time, a city. I’d very much like your cooperation in this goal, that and your fellow Elements of Harmony.”

“Yeah, you can ‘very much like’ that all you want. Its not happening. Too many ponies get the shaft in your little scenario. I may be ambitious, as you say, but I not to the point where I don’t care what happens to those around me. Not anymore.”

Sawdust waved a dismissive hoof, “Only Count Shiny ‘gets the shaft’, as you so put it, in my plan. Tarnished I would prefer to see saved, but she cannot be revealed to the authorities either. Not until she is mentally well and I’ve had time to... convince her of the value of returning to society. Shiny is inconsequential and expendable.”

Trixie winced at the low growl in her ear from Cheerilee. The ear clasps reduced the volume of what was transmitted through them but Trixie could taste the anger in her friend at that last statement. Trixie imagined the storm wasn’t helping.

“So I can assume then you want Tarnished for something down the road? Why would you be interested in her...?” Trixie trailed off as she thought over her own question, “If Shiny were imprisoned for smuggling that would leave the inheritance of the family title to the next youngest child. That would be Tarnished, were she not officially missing.”

Sawdust nodded, his smiling becoming knowing and confident, “But if she were to return, then she’d become the house scion. Of course anypony who happened to then, say, marry her would then enter into the nobility at a decent social rank.”

Trixie blanched as another piece of Sawdust’s plan became obvious, making an ‘eww’ face and licking her lips as if to get out a bad taste, “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“How? I mean, she’s crazy. And violent. Violent crazy. What part of that combination suggests you can put the moves on her?”

“Well I did conceive of this plan back when she was far more lucid and compliant pony. However I’m confident I can restore her mind, and with a year or of interaction can, as you worded it, ‘put the moves on her’. Really I can be quite charming when I apply myself.”

I can’t believe this guy. He wants to use marriage to a mentally sick pony as a stepping stone to become a noble? That’s... Trixie can I have a shot at this guy soon?

Normally I’m not one for violence, but he’s talking about destroying one friend’s life and taking advantage of my other friend’s trauma to suit his own ends. I’m with Raindrops on this one, the time for talky-talk is getting close to over Trixie, said Cheerilee.

Trixie couldn’t really respond to her friend’s comments, keeping her expression calm. She wasn’t done mining Sawdust for information, and she wanted to take advantage of his eagerness to gain her cooperation to learn as much as she could and confirm her final suspicion about one part of his story that didn’t add up.

“You’ve been planning this since last year. You know turning Oaton into the city you want would be hard as long as the Copper Coin family was in control of the province, but rather than seek to destroy them, you want to subvert and gain control of them. You need Shiny out of the way though. You see that’s one thing that’s been bugging me about all of this, Sawdust. How could Count Shiny have the connections to set up the exact same smuggling ring your father did? Surely whatever ponies were connected to that wouldn’t approach Count Shiny openly, and he wouldn’t have the knowledge to approach them himself. So who was the bridge between them? Who would know how to connect Shiny to the smugglers, and have motivation to do so?”

Trixie’s eyes narrowed, “It was you. You made it possible for Shiny to start this whole smuggling scheme to begin with.”

Sawdust was silent, his smile slowly vanishing like a glacier moving over a lake.

“I told you Miss Trixie, Count Shiny forced my Guild here. The smuggling scheme is his own.”

“Oh, I’m sure he thinks it is. I don’t doubt you didn’t do this all directly. I imagine you convinced your connections among those in charge of this smuggling that Shiny was a potential new middle-pony. An expandable front pony, just like your father was. Why give up on smuggling through this area, after all, when the very nobles who own the province might be wrangled into supporting it? Of course you didn’t have to do anything personally, just make the suggestion and let Shiny do the rest. Play the part of the suffering Guild leader, only trying to the make the best of a bad situation. History repeats itself, the smuggling ring is exposed, Shiny is ruined, and you get away clean. Afterward all you need to do is present Tarnished to her family all ‘reformed’ and ready to become the scion. You marry her, become the new Count Copper Coin, and then you’re free to do with Oaton and this area as you please. Nopony could stop you at that point, and likely you’d be counting your sister to have convinced Sheaf to be cooperative.”

“You’ve made some rather large leaps of logic there, Miss Trixie, and more importantly, you lack any real proof,” said Sawdust, who had put back on his calm mask, “Even my journal speaks nothing of what you say, except for my intentions to build Oaton into a proper city. Merely being ambitious is not a crime.”

“No, but framing ponies for other crimes is, not to mention using banned transmutation spells on ponies. Sawdust, I will tell you this,” Trixie said, weaving the last touches of her invisible spell, then taking several firm steps towards him until they were nearly nose-to-nose, “I don’t care about this utterly ludicrous web of schemes, ambitions, half-truths, and conflicting goals you and the Copper Coins have woven around yourselves. What I do care about is keeping a promise I’ve made to a certain young filly; and that promise was to save her town.”

“And how will you do that, Miss Trixie? If I go down then there is a strong chance that Picturesque will go down with me as an accomplice. Will you tear a mother from her foals to save the rest of the town?”

Trixie frowned, “You say you’re doing all this for her, but you’d ensure she’d be jailed as your accomplice?”

“No, I won’t say anything against her; but the only evidence you have is my journal, which makes her involvement clear. Unless you alter the journal yourself, taking me down means taking Picturesque down as well. What will my niece think of you then, I wonder?”

Trixie’s eyes flicked over the to journal, “I might be able to pull a string with the Princess to get Picturesque exonerated. I may have boasted about my influence with her in the past but that doesn’t mean I have no influence at all. I can’t see her wanting to see family’s get torn apart, which really, is kind of my whole issue here with you. I don’t like Count Shiny, and his sister has done nothing to endear me to her-”

Trixie, they’re not bad ponies... Cheerilee’s quiet voice said in Trixie’s ear.

“-but the idea of letting you set up the Count to go to jail so you can worm your way into his family through marrying his mentally unwell sister... yeah, that’s not going to happen. I’m certainly not going to help you do it, whatever benefits you think you can bring to Oaton. No, the Irate and Fed-Up Trixie very sick and tired of these plots and schemes and its ending now!”

Sawdust let a small sigh out, shaking his head, blue mane temporarily obscuring his eyes, “Then our discussion is at and end. I was very much hoping we could work together, Miss Trixie, but-” he didn’t finish his sentence, instead snapping his head down and aiming his horn at her. A thin, smokey trail of magic curled from his horn and hit her... and went right through the illusion.

Sawdust’s eyes widened as the illusionary Trixie grinned at him and stuck her tongue out. The very next second the water bowl, encased in a blue magic aura Trixie wasn’t bothering to hide, flew at Sawdust’s head and bounced off his horn. He growled out a sharp curse as his broken concentration caused the ward around his room’s door to fade and the invisible Trixie made a dash for it, flinging the door open with her own magic and galloping out into the hallway beyond.

Sawdust’s face became frostily calm as he went out into the hallway at a more measured pace and with his horn alight formed two magical barriers, blocking either ends of the hallway.

“This is pointless Miss Trixie,” he said, eyes sharply looking around the hallway for any sign of the invisible mare, “You have nothing on me that you can prove, and ultimately Count Shiny and Tarnished are greater problems for Oaton than I am. You’re only real choice to serve the ponies you claim you wish to be a hero to is to-”

A hoof smacked his horn and his two wards popped out of existence with a snap of magic and his grunted, “Stop doing that! I’m trying to be gentle with you, but if you insist...”

His eyes narrowed, “I’ll cease being a gentlecolt.”

Sawdust’s horn flashed. No steady glow of magic or moment of build up for the spell as he created a small disc of force that he then inverted and sent it down the corridor. As the disc went the magic expanded to fill the entire hallway as it rippled along at great speed.

There was a feminine yelp and a thud as the disc of force slammed into the far wall and Trixie appeared up against the wall, pressed there firmly with her face mushed up between the wood wall and the magical disc of force, her hat having fallen off her head and landed on the ground outside the disc.

Trixie had been feeling rather impressed with herself up to that point. She’d molded a perfect illusionary copy of herself and even Sawdust’s journal while she’d been speaking to him. She’d then woven an invisibility spell around herself as her illusion had stepped forward and gotten in Sawdust’s face, allowing her to maneuver herself close to the door and wait for Sawdust to eventually try something. She hadn’t specifically identified the wispy spell he’d tried to use on her initially, but she caught the Transmutation threads in it. Probably the flesh to stone spell he’d used on the Threshers. Trixie had indeed been getting a nice smug vibe smacking Sawdust’s horn around and making a break from, invisible journal in tow...

...that was until the harsh introduction between her face and the wall.

“Oh my,” Sawdust was shaking his head as he approached her, wincing slightly, “I don’t think my horn is used to such strenuous casting. I’m afraid I’m no battlemage, Miss Trixie. I lack the finesse to do this without injuring you. I would suggest just giving up so I-.”

Abruptly Trixie’s hat flew off the ground where it had landed, surrounded in a glow of her own magic, and stuffed itself over Sawdust’s face, causing the stallion to falter and stumble about and loose concentration on his spell. The disc of force vanished and Trixie got to her hooves. She aimed an awkward buck at the stumbling Sawdust’s legs. While she did managed to trip him up she ended up toppling over herself. How did Raindrops make this unarmed stuff look so easy!? Oh, right, training and practice. And being built like a boulder.

Trixie, what’s going on!? We stopped hearing anything from your end, said Raindrops, voice strained.

That was because Trixie had needed to take her hoof off the ear clasp when she had run for it, and didn’t have time to do so now that she was scrambling away from Sawdust, pulling her hat off of him with her magic and setting it back on her head. No way she was leaving behind her hat!

“Really? A hat is your best defense? I confess that I too am now wondering as to your eligibility for being the bearer of the Element of Magic.”

Trixie had gotten about halfway down another hallway, recalling this way led to the stairs down to the ground floor, when another barrier of magic snapped into place in front of her. She snorted and turned to face Sawdust who was advancing towards her.

“Not seeing a great variety of tricks from you either,” she spat, thinking over her options. Unfortunately she needed to conserve her magic for Tarnished. She did think of a possibility, but she didn’t like it. Still, it was better than letting Sawdust turn her into a statue. An awe inspiring statue, certainly, but if there were to be any Trixie statues around she intended them to be of the purely stone variety; built as a monument to how thoroughly heroic she’d become.

“Few unicorns can master spells outside their specialty,” Sawdust said, gesturing at his cutie mark. Trixie hadn’t paid it any mind before, mainly because the brief looks she caught of it she had no idea what it was. A gold...triangle...thing. What was that supposed to mean? Was it a cheese wedge? Or maybe a pyramid? Maybe it represented his talent for being terribly obtuse and hard to understand? Oh, Sawdust was still talking.

“-but I’m sure you’ll agree it was worth the... Miss Trixie have you been listening to me?”

“...No.”

A cold glare entered his eyes as he aimed his horn at her, “Goodbye Miss Trixie. I promise I’ll alter your memories to recall a pleasant but uneventful trip to Oaton.”

Trixie braced herself, took a deep breath, and used her secret weapon.

“GUARDS!”

Sawdust winced at the sheer volume and amazing shrillness of Trixie’s shout, his mane blowing back a bit from the force of it.

“What in the world are you-!?”

“GUAAARDS!” Trixie hadn’t put her lungs to this amount of use since her Canterlot days, but when Trixie Lulamoon wanted to be heard, she could raise half the castle. Luna had put a stop to that kind of hijinks early on in Trixie’s apprenticeship, but Trixie never forgot just how good her pipes where when she put them to use.

Sawdust growled, recalling what he was about to do, and aimed his horn at her once again, but it was too late. From either end of the hallway ponies in the livery of the Copper Coin family appeared, one of them the broad shouldered and brown coated form of Bootheel.

“Whoa whoa whoa, what’s going on here!? Sawdust and...heeeeey,” a wide smile and a lick of his lips indicated Bootheel’s instant mental delve into the gutter as he saw Trixie, “Now what are you doing here you completely delectable blue cupcake? Thought the Count told you to skip town? Not that I’m terribly disappointed you didn’t.”

Before Sawdust could speak Trixie jumped in, mouth running a mile a minute, “Broke in. You’d better arrest me. Yes. Arrest me and put me under guard. Heavy guard. Because I broke in. Which is bad.”

She was staring at Sawdust, just in case he tried to cast his spell anyway. But he couldn’t, and they both knew it. If he turned her to stone now, in full view of the Count’s guards, that’d raise a lot of questions that Sawdust wouldn’t want to answer. She could see Sawdust relax his stance and his face shifting to a polite smile as he looked to the guards, dropping the shield he’d cast over the hallway.

“Ah, if it isn’t the gallant ponies of our the Count. Good of you to come. This pony is a thief, who has stolen property of mine,” Sawdust said nodding at his journal.

Bootheel approached with a casual gait, the other guards trotting up with a great deal more tension as most of them loosened blades in their sheaths and eyed both Trixie and Sawdust.

“Weird,” said Bootheel, “Could’ve swore it was her that called us. Do thieves usually call for the guards, or did I miss a memo? I missed a memo didn’t I?”

The earth pony came up next to Trixie and eyed her up and down, left and right, with his gaze lingering far too long on her cutie mark... yes, Trixie preferred to assume he was examining her cutie mark. His smile made her suddenly desire a bath.

“So is it true? You being a naughty filly, breaking into the building, stealing... what is this anyway?”

“Personal,” said Sawdust.

“His journal,” said Trixie, “You should read it. Fascinating material.”

Sawdust kept his polite smile but his eyes were sharp as he tugged the journal out of her magic and into his own, floating it over to him while Bootheel eyed it curiously.

“My personal affairs may well be fascinating Miss Trixie, but no business of the Count or his guards. Now my good... Bootheel was it? Would you mind terribly escorting this thief off the premises?”

Bootheel snorted, “Its up to the Lord Shiny to decide what to do with her.”

“But surely-”

“Look buddy,” Bootheel cut Sawdust off with a furrow in his brow and his upper lip peeling back in a small snarl, “Last time I checked it was three red fish on my tabard. That means I take orders from one pony; Count Shiny Copper Count. How about you head on back to your room and enjoy some personal time with yourself, yeah?”

Trixie had to bite back a snicker at Sawdust’s look. She could practically hear the teeth grinding. Still, she was more than a little nervous. All the Copper Coin guards were tense, and not looking at her with friendly eyes. Bootheel was also bristling, and she could only imagine the storm was affecting them. While her little ploy was buying her time for Tarnished to show up she hadn’t really put herself in a better position in the meantime.

“It was my property that was taken. At the very least I should be present for any questioning that takes place,” said Sawdust.

Bootheel huffed out a sight, “Look, I was enjoying watching that Cheerilee mare’s flanks, fantasizing about her, me, a bottle of grape jelly, and no inhibitions. But, I heard the desperate cry of a female, which is probably the only thing under Luna’s moon that’d get me away from Bootheel Happy Time, so let’s just simplify this and go find Count Shiny-”

There was a distant shake, a vibration through the floorboards of the entire building.

Bootheel and his fellow guards exchanged looks with each other. Trixie looked at the floor, feeling another shake.

“Did anypony hear any thunder? Because I didn’t hear any thunder,” said Bootheel.

Trixie put her hoof to her ear, brushing the clasp, “Raindrops?”

Trixie! What happened? We stopped hearing you-

“Nevermind that, do you see anything out there?”

“Who are you talking to?” asked Bootheel.

“Her friends. That ear clasp of her’s is an enchanted item,” said Sawdust knowingly, then added “A poorly hidden one.”

Trixie blew a raspberry at him. She was too tired to be an adult about this. Sawdust just rolled his eyes.

Hold on, getting some height... storm’s isn’t making flight easy. Let’ see, not seeing anything yet... oh.

“Oh?” asked Trixie.

Yes, oh? echoed Cheeirlee.

You remember the bit in Sawdust’s story about the Fire Drakes?

“Yes,” said Trixie with a sinking feeling. Bootheel was giving her a frowning look.

“Hey, remember us? Guards arresting you? Stop talking on your sexy ear clasp thing!”

Trixie just waved him off, turning her back on him and flicking her tail at him in irritation, “Raindrops, what are you seeing?”

The ground shook again, harder this time.

I think Tarnished made friendsies with them. In fact I think its safe to say she’s made friendsies with...some fiery local fauna.

Before Trixie could respond there was a wracking crash, accompanied with a wince inducing sound of wood splitting. Soon the yells of ponies filled the air, alongside a peal of thunder. Trixie, ignoring Bootheel’s protests and Sawdust’s searching eyes, walked over to the nearest window and looked out.

The outside was a thick torrent of rain underneath a black sky being periodically cut apart by forks of lightning. Amid one such flash of lightning it was clear to see the front gate of the Lumber Guild’s camp had been smashed down, the palisade now so much wet kindling. Standing amid that rubble was the familiar shape of a basilisk, but not the one Trixie and her friends had faced in Oaton. This was the significantly larger specimen she’d spied in Tarnished’s cave, the creature’s head taller than the palisade it’d just stamped into so much broken wood.

Tarnished stood perched on the basilisk's head, balanced and not bothering to hide herself, ragged creme mane whipping about in the wind of the storm. Trixie could make out the silvery glow of magic around her horn. When Tarnished spoke, her voice was echoing through clear magic amplification.

“Cherilee, I know you’re here! Get out here, or I’ll start tearing this place into burning shreds!!”

Bootheel’s face appeared in the window next to Trixie's.

“Soooo... ex-marefriend of Cheerilee? Sounds like a scorned ex-marefriend. Is Cheerilee into mares? Because it’s totally cool if she is. Wait, are you?”

Trixie didn’t dignify the one-track minded stallion with a response.

Sawdust’s face appeared on her other side, frowning out the window at the spectacle by the now ruined gate.

“Well, at least its just one basilisk. That’s not too bad.”

Wreathed in red flames trailing along their necks and backs like crests, three more reptilian creatures crawled over the broken palisade alongside the basilisk. The resembled dragons in a base fashion, though none had wings, and their heads seemed disproportionately large to their bodies. Most notably the deluge of rain barely made the red fire flowing off their bodies do more than flicker and hiss.

Trixie gave Sawdust a withering look. He looked at her, jumped back a bit at the stare, then composed himself with a defensive snort, “They would’ve been there even if I hadn’t said anything.”

“Sawdust, get your ponies out of here.”

“Our business is far from concluded Miss Trixie, but you’re right, I must organize an evacuation. I trust you and your friends will be dealing with-”

“CHEERILEE!”

“-...that?”

Trixie didn’t bother answering his question, instead touching her ear clasp again.

“Cheerilee, you have a visitor.”

I heard her. Meet you outside?

Aren't you still under guard? asked Raindrops.

Yes, replied Cheerilee, and Trixie could hear the grin in it.

“We’re still go for Plan A” Trixie said, “We capture Tarnished, I take control of the basilisk. We’ll have to improvise with the Fire Drakes.”

“Hello? You’re not going anywhere lean-flanks,” said Bootheel, “You’re coming with-”

Trixie turned invisible.

“-me...” Bootheel frowned at the spot the illusionist had been standing a second ago and muttered, "Even not knowing she could do that I really should've seen that one coming."

The brown coated stallion then looked at Sawdust, “Well? How about some magic shield action before she gets away!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I thought I was supposed to be in my room enjoying personal time? As it happens, I actually have a camp to evacuate so nopony gets injured by the small army of monsters outside. Why don’t you go find your Count and see what he wants you to do; since you answer only to him after all?” said Sawdust as he walked passed the Copper Coin guards.

Bootheel hung his head, “Should’ve just kept watching teacher tight-flanks..”

----------

Cheerilee took her hoof off the ear clasp, which she’d been making it look like she’d simply been resting her hoof against her head while she lay on the bed. She’d kept her voice to no more than a whisper. Lock n’ Key hadn’t heard anything Cheerilee had said between herself, Trixie, and Raindrops. The young stallion had relieved his sister in guarding Cheerilee about ten minutes ago alongside his partner Bootheel. Lock n’ Key and had been polite but quiet, doing little more than uncomfortably shift on his hooves by the door. He kept casting glances at the door, then at her, and jumped a little at every roll of thunder. Nervous.

Bootheel had unabashedly flirted and admired Cheerilee’s more feminine qualities with all the shame of a drunk frat-colt. He had, however, seemed to oddly respect Cheerilee’s lack of interest in conversation and had mentally retreated into a glazed eyed fantasy that Cheerilee could easily guess the contents of. Then they’d all heard Trixie’s high pitched scream for guards and Bootheel, like an eager puppy, had charged off. That left her alone with the still nervous and fidgety Lock n’ Key.

Cheerilee didn’t blame him. She wasn’t in a great mood either. Granted apparently that had something to do with some nebulous negative energy in the storm that was roaring outside, but it wasn’t as if Cheerilee’s day had been going anywhere upbeat to begin with.

Tarnished was here. Cheerilee wished she could say she knew what she had to do.

Knowing every minute was another minute her old friend’s actions could end up harming ponies Cheerilee smoothly rolled off the bed and stretched. She slipped on her saddlebags and started heading for the door.

Lock n’ Key immediately looked up, stepping between Cheerilee and the door.

“Ma’am, please lay back down,” the unicorn said, horn lighting up, “I can’t let you leave.”

“You heard the same thing I did,” said Cheerilee, “She’s here for me. I don’t go out there, she’ll start tearing this place apart.”

“Lord Shiny has given me orders to ensure you stay here. That trust will not be betrayed. Now please, take off the saddlebags, and back away from the door. I,” he gulped, widening his stance, “don’t want to use force.”

Cheerilee looked Lock n’ Key over, nodded, and said “I can respect that.”

A few seconds later the quiet of the hallway was shattered when Lock n’ Key crashed through the door, hitting the opposite wall with a thud and groan.

Cheerilee strode out of the now splintered door, giving Lock n’ Key an apologetic cringe as she said, “Sorry, I’m, uh, feeling a little aggressive? Didn’t mean to hit that hard. I didn’t break anything did I?”

“Uuuughh...”

“I’ll take that to mean you’re okay. Gotta run. Again, sorry.”

Cheerilee heard the sound of hoof beats down the hallway. She imagined it was more guards. She also heard confused shouts from outside amid the sound of rain and thunder from outside. Before Lock n’ Key could get back up or more guards could show up Cheerilee quickly galloped off, not bothering with stealth at this point.

When she reached the ground floor she saw the doors to the outside were already open. Just as Cheerilee reached it she saw a shimmer and the form of Trixie appearing before her. The two mares exchanged nods as they met, and both headed outside into the dark torrent of rain.

Across the long distance of the camp the cherry red flames of the Fire Drakes were casting a wash of light in an otherwise pitch black night. The light of those flames also flickered off the massive form of the female basilisk as took long, shaking strides down the path between the camp’s cabins.

Cheerilee couldn’t see her clearly through the rain, but the horn glow was distinct. Tarnished hadn’t spotted them yet, the basilisk's head turning left and right as Cheerilee’s old friend shouting her name into the howling wind.

“CHEERILEE!”

Hearing Tarnished’s voice again after so long, but gnarled with such pain and rage it burned the ears, Cheerilee took a step back. Had she really hurt Tarnished that badly? Had leaving to pursue her own life truly caused such a wound in her friend that she had become... this?

She felt a hoof on her shoulder, and looked over to see Trixie’s violet eyes meeting hers.

“We’ll find a way to help her, but we have to stop her first. You ready?”

In a splash hefty splash of water Raindrops suddenly landed heavily on Cheerilee’s other side, wings spread, face determined.

“I am.”

Cheerilee looked between her friends, then across the camp at friend from so long ago. She took in a deep breath, then let it out.

“As am I. Let’s just try not to hurt her.”

“Not to drizzle on the optimism, but she’s controlling a basilisk larger than the one we fought in Oaton, which we barely were able to fend off. Oh, plus three more reptiles that, while half the size, are on fire. You’re worried about us hurting her?” asked Raindrops.

Cheerilee gave a bare nod, looking up at the oppressive storm above, “Odds are not in our favor, but that just means the chances of somepony being hurt are higher. That includes Tarnished.”

Trixie looked pensively about, even as the Fire Drakes spread out into the camp; one crawling on top of a nearby cabin while the other two stalked down the main thoroughfare. Only the thick rain kept the creatures crimson flames from spreading beyond their own bodies. Behind them the massive form of the female basilisk stomped forward with ground shaking steps. Cheerilee noted that if one compared them side-by-side the huge lizard was of a size with the Ursa Minor that had rampaged into Ponyville during the whole Twilight Sparkle incident.

“If you’re concerned about the storm, I think I can copy a mind-warding spell I watched Sawdust perform,” offered Trixie.

“You’re better off conserving your magic as much as you can,” said Cheeirlee, shaking herself and a hard look entering her eyes, “I can keep myself under control.”

“I could use something to help, personally,” admitted Raindrops, her wings tense as she scuffed the ground with a hoof, “But Cheerilee’s right, we can keep our heads cool on our own. Would usually be loving this rain, but all its doing is making me want to break something. Especially Sawdust. Can’t believe that guy.”

“We’ll deal with him when the time comes,” promised Trixie, then turned her attention back to the camp and the advancing basilisk and Fire Drakes, frowning, “I figured Count Shiny would be enacting whatever plan he had by now. I was hoping that’d work as a distraction so you could just fly up and snatch Tarnished away from the basilisk.”

Raindrops’ eyes narrowed, looking towards some of crevices between the cabins closer to the center of camp, her wings flapping slowly at her sides in anticipation, “Think he’s waiting for her to get further in.”

Cheerilee looked towards where Raindrops’ had and caught sight of what the pegasus had seen. There were unicorns in the livery of the Copper Coin family hiding amongst the cabins, at least four of them. Cheerilee recognized one of them as Cut n’ Dry. Each unicorn was carrying a long metal rod, each one no more than a hoof’s length in size, in their mouths as they waited hunched up against the cabin walls, apparently waiting for their quarry to advanced deeper into the camp. Cheerilee blinked, noticing among them an odd stallion; a zebra of all things. He wore several bandoliers strapped over his stripped body that were lined with bulky pockets and dangling vials. Who in the world was that? She didn’t see where Shiny was, but she didn’t doubt he was out here, somewhere.

A number of ponies were poking their heads out of the rows of cabins, others wandering out at the commotion. These Lumber Guild ponies shaking off sleep and shock in equal measure at the racket. Most, upon seeing the one giant lizard and three slightly smaller but very much on fire lizards, decided that fleeing in panic was the order of the day. Before things could turn into a completely chaotic mess though, with ponies running every which way, Sawdust was among them. How the Lumber Guild leader had suddenly gotten outside Cheerilee didn’t know, but one moment the lumber ponies were a herd on the verge of panic,the next they were being quickly organized into a cohesive group that wasn’t stampeding over itself thanks to the directive efforts of Sawdust.

Whatever else Cheerilee may have thought of Sawdust, and she thought little enough of him for what he was planning to do to her friends, she at least gave him credit for trying to personally lead his ponies to safety, and apparently pulling it off.

She put him out of her mind and focused ahead on Tarnished. The lack of light plus the thick sheets of rain was likely the only reason her old friend hadn’t spotted her, Trixie, or Raindrops yet. They had only a minute or two at most, though, before Tarnished got deep enough into the camp that Shiny and his ponies would spring their own trap.

“Trixie, Raindrops, do me a favor?” she asked, and her two friends both looked at her, Trixie with pensive curiosity, and Raindrops with barely contained eagerness to get the fight started.

Cheerilee took in a deep breath and let it out slow, “Let me try talking her down.”

“Cheerilee, no offense, but she isn’t exuding the chit-chatty vibes,” Raindrops said, “In fact I’m getting more of smash-crush-destroy feel off of her.”

“She’s after you specifically Cheerilee,” Trixie said, ears flattening against her water soaked mane as rivulets of rain flowed off the brim of her hat like waterfalls, “And not in that warm fuzzy feeling reunion sort of way. What’s going to stop her from hurting you before you even get out so much as a ‘hey, Tarnished, long time no see, how about this weather?’.”

“Nothing. No guarantees at all she’ll listen to anything I have to say,” Cheerilee’s voice was strained, a far cry from its usual energetic tone, “But I have to try. I have to try to get through to her.”

Trixie’s expression spoke volumes of how much she didn’t like this idea, but she nodded in understanding, “Do what you feel you have to do. Raindrops and I will be ready, though, for when... if, things go bad.”

“Plan A, I know,” Cheerilee said, “Thanks for letting me try Plan B first.”

“For the record, I think we need new names for these plans,” said Raindrops, “In fact I think we need to make plans, before we give names to plans. Plans usually involve actual, you know, planning. We’ve been winging this since we got off the train.”

“Hey!” Trixie said, looking scandalized, “I planed! I planned things! Plans were made! By me! Not my fault we never stick to my brilliant and well thought through plans.”

“Oh, reminds me real quick,” Cheerilee said even as she was trotting forward to meet Tarnished and the advancing basilisk, “Don’t know if they’ll help, but don’t want them getting smashed.”

She took off her saddle bags, pulling out the enchanted glasses from them and tossing them to Raindrops. The jasmine pegasus caught them but held them at hoof’s length with a grimace of distaste.

“You dropped them before,” said Cheerilee.

“Wasn’t all that upset about losing them,” said Raindrops, hoofing them towards Trixie.

“They take an hour to re-attune to a new user, remember?” said Trixie, “Right now you’re still the only mare they’ll work for. Just hold onto them.”

“Why? We’re kinda past the investigation/cross-examination portion of things!”

“Just keep them, you never know!” said the stagemare stubbornly.

“Fine! I’m not wearing them though! They make me look...weird.”

“You look perfectly presentable with them, I don’t know why you- ugh, why are we talking about this now!? Cheerilee you... uh, Cheerilee?”

The schoolteacher in question had kept on going, cantering along the thick soupy mud the main thoroughfare of the camp had become. She noticed out of the corner of her eyes the hiding Copper Coin unicorns spotting her passing them by and one of them hastily waving at her to back away; the rust colored Cut n’ Dry who had wide eyes fixed on Cheerilee. Cheerilee ignored them.

In front of her the harsh flickering red light of the Fire Drakes formed a pool of crimson in an otherwise dark world; punctuated only by the white flashes of lightning from above. The Lumber Guild ponies had already fled to the sides of the camp, and though the Fire Drakes looked at the fleeing groups of ponies with angry hisses, something held them back from pursuing. That something was probably Tarnished. It wasn’t much, but it was at least a small hope that Tarnished wasn’t utterly lost that she was holding her creatures back from attacking the lumber ponies. Cheerilee held that small hope close to her heart as she walked into the pool of light in full view of the Fire Drakes, the towering form of the basilisk... and the sky blue unicorn mare standing perched upon the crown of the basilisk's head.

“Tarnished!” Cheerilee shouted, “You came looking for me? Here I am!”

The basilisk's head snapped down towards her, faster than anything that size should be able to move, and its blazing yellow eyes stared right at the magenta mare. Cheerilee gulped, not looking into those eyes, but instead into the brown eyes of Tarnished... eyes no less piercing than those of the creature she rode. Tarnished looked beyond haggard, her mane an absolute frazzled and tangled mess, so dirty its creme color was almost brown. Her sky blue coat was little better, dirt and mud caking it to the point where even her cutie mark was almost covered; but Cheerilee could still make out the wreath of ivy. Cheerilee choked back a sob. She'd been there when Tarnished had earned that cutie mark.

Tarnished, despite the unnatural fire burning in her eyes, broke into a smile. It was not a pleasant smile.

“Cheerilee... I’ve been looking just everywhere for you. How’s the teaching gig going?”

“Tarnished, listen to me, please,” Cheerilee said, “You’re not well. There’s a shrine that’s-”

“Because, you know, you were so focused on becoming a teacher I figured I’d never see you again; let alone that you’d ever have time to make more friends. But, funny thing, you seem to have some new ones. Its almost like you just, I don’t, abandoned your old friends, kinda sorta like we no longer existed to you, and just made some new ones. Just like that. A pony that cared might feel, well...hurt by that.”

A loud roll of thunder punctuated that last sentence, and Cheerilee readied herself, leg muscles coiling with tension even as she spoke with the calm, kind, but firmness she’d cultivated over years of loving to teach her students.

“I know, Tarnished. I know now that my leaving hurt you. I never intended to cause you pain. You were... you are my friend! That’s why I need you to listen to me, so you don’t get hurt-”

Tarnished scoffed coldly at that, interrupting with a sweeping gesture at the Fire Drakes, two of which had now moved to flank Cheerilee while the third remained crouched on top of one of the cabin roofs, “Me get hurt? Look around Cheerilee, I have plenty of new friends who won’t let me get hurt. No, I’d say I’m perfectly safe. Can’t say the same for anypony else here though. Which reminds me, where are those new pals of yours? The arrogant little blue look-a-like and the pegasus ruffian? I do so want to get to know them.”

Cheerilee felt her teeth grinding as her anger rose, and she knew part of it was the storm, pushing away thoughts of wanting to help Tarnished with a growing desire to buck her in the face for the implied threat to her friends. Cheerilee forced the feeling away, keeping her tone calm.

“You can meet them, when you’ve calmed down. That’s what I want Tarnished, for us to just put a stop to this madness and try to patch things up, between you and me, and you and Shiny. He’s worried about you, more than anypony.”

“Is he now? Is he really? Funny, he didn’t seem too worried when he set my own family’s guards on me! He doesn’t seem so worried now that he’s imprisoning my new friends in cages! I don’t care about Shiny anymore, or my so-called family! I have a new family now, new friends, “ she patted an affectionate hoof on the basilisk’s head, then glared at Cheerilee, “Friends who won’t leave me behind, who won’t ever hurt me.”

“I’m sorry for hurting you Tarnished, but this isn’t going to fix anything! This is only going to make things worse! If you stop now, we can get you the help you need, but if you end up hurting anypony here I don’t know if we can protect you from the consequences!”

Tarnished’s face twisted into a snarl, “STOP IT! Stop pretending like you care! If you cared so much about me-” the basilisk reared up and a single huge claw rose into the air, “-then you should never have left!”

The claw slammed down, but Cheerilee wasn’t where she’d been standing a second ago. She’d rolled to the side and was nimbly back to her hooves, a sad, resigned look on her face, and some of the water dripping across her face no longer just the rain.

“I’m not pretending Tarnished, but if you don’t believe that, then there’s only one thing I can do.”

She narrowed her eyes, their green depths filling with resolve.

“Make you believe it.”

Tarnished choked out a laugh that was without any mirth, but instead was only pain, anger, and... for just an instant, regretful. The Fire Drakes filled the air with a choir of enraged hisses, and the basilisk opened its maw to let out an ear jarring roar. Over it all, Tarnished’s voice still reached Cheerilee.

“Good luck.”

Author's Note:

I'd say this chapter has been a good lesson in learning that eventually, no matter how many times you try to re-write certain scenes, you just gotta accept you can't make things perfect. This chapter hopefully is an interesting enough lead into what will be an action-packed epic finale (theoretically, at least). We're in the home stretch folks! Thanks for sticking with it so far and by all means let me know what you guys think.

Comments

[Blackbelt]

ah shit son, it just got REAL.

[CrowMagnon]

2272346 It's so real, it's like walking down the hall of a Carnival cruise ship!

[Thegodhand]

So this is all the work of an old god! No one ever expects Cthulhu!

[Spammy Pie]

So...Wendigos huh.

[Whiteeyes]

2274509 Nah, looks more like Nyarlonthotep's work than Cthulu.

[Nothing Productive]

This is so gloriously convoluted. I think I need a piece of paper to keep track of all the scheming.

The Hero of Oaten is shaping up to be easily the finest Lunaverse story I've ever read.

[RainbowDoubleDash]

Trixie and her glorious plans take the cake for me, personally.

Ooh...fight scene soon.

[Fizzy Orange]

Holy crap holy crap holy crap this is INTENSE man! Just incredible! And Sawdust is an eel! Get him petrified by the basilisk! Just for a little while!

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Ho, damn this is gonna be good! Great setup for what comes next. Also, calling it now. It's a shrine to Discord.

[Undertone]

Zomg.

[yayme]

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2284918

I dont think it's Discord, but that would be AWESOME!
Some of the other fimfics would make a vague remark about things Luna and the tyrant fought back in the day.
So it has to be one of them. Does an Anarchy Deity count as Discord?

Anyhow, this was an awesome chapter! I like the way Sawdust manages to lay all the blame onto others. And he's only doing it for their own good. Granted, there *may* be some small reward for him...Bad guy 101.

Either way, looks like they're running into The Big Bad.
(well as close as they can get without actual access to Spike from Buffy.)
cdnbakmi.kaltura.com/p/695492/sp/69549200/thumbnail/entry_id/0_pvln0ymj/width/634/height/484

[Spammy Pie]

2284918

Storms and seemingly feeding off negative emotions, while also exacerbating them? If it's not a Windigo, I'll eat my shoes.

[fortressofballitude]

I think this is probably the best adventure story in the Lunaverse. I'd say best story period, but you can't really compare it to something like Family Matters. It would be kind of an apples and oranges thing.

[vazak]

This chapter, no this whole fic has been utterly brilliant, epic and many other complimentary words, I honestly can't summarize it, there's just to much I love! Seriously, you've done such a good job, of building the setting, the characterts, the motives and the plans behind it all, so many plans and gambits all piling up, so many ponies trying to do so much and an ancient artifact either connected to Discord or Wendigoes, personally i'm pulling for Wendigoes, though the warding spell implies differently, but Discord may not be the only chaos creature and the storm/rage imply Wendigoes. and Sawdust and the overall plan was brilliantly done, that entire journal section, the discussion with Trixie may have been my favorite part of this chapter, he's a brilliant villain/character and his plan while vile is exceedingly brilliant if likely overreaching (though I do feel he's a bit overpower, specifically being able to overwrite memories seems to be high level magic, the likes of Alicorns and Discord, but that's just me) and that is but a tiny flake of dust in comparison to everything else that was brilliant, everyone is so understandable/relatable yet complicated and awesome! oh and I loved Trixie calling for the guards, that was great thinking on her part and that entire scene was great as well actually!
I cannot wait for the next chapter, best of luck!

[Walabio]

I understand why I had to wait so long for this update. This chapter is longer than most stories. I require time for digesting this chapter.

[Lev the Lurker]

This took me far too long to get around to reading, but gods was it worth the wait

Btw, I love Bootheel. We need more of him. I have ideas, but I want to see how this all turns out first, because this is AMAZING.

[Emeral Bookwise]

I'm afraid I owe you a giant apology. Somehow or another I let this chapter get lost in the shuffle of thing and only just now got around to reading it. Wow though! This was this ever one doozy of a chapter.

Anyway...

Tarnished's flashbacks to meeting Cheerilee makes for an interesting case study in just how much difference perspective can make. I mean seriously, she meets a strange pony trespassing on her property and who is hiding form the town guard. This pony then convinces her to start going out late at night without parental approval, and to hang out with a gang of thrill-seeking hoodlums. If it weren't for the fact that this is Cheerilee and so we the audience already know she's a well-intentioned (if recklessly rebellious) pony, this would be a very different story.

As I read this part of the story, I couldn't help but think of Morinth from Mass Effect 2 (probably in part because I just recently replayed that game) and the way she coaxes her victims to join her in living on the wild side, before bringing them to an untimely end to sate her own predatory needs.

Not saying the two are anything alike, but it still all comes back to that whole difference that perspective and expectations can make in how we judge a character.

...

As for the rest of the chapter; as usual there is just so much going on, so many new revelations, that, I'm just not sure what to comment on. Not that I'm complaining or anything, I absolutely love every convoluted twist of this ever increasingly dense narrative.

Oh, and then Sawblade while talking with Trixie explicitly invokes the perspective principle to justify his own actions.

[nightelf37]

So the chapters get progressively longer, huh?

[thatguyvex]

2641900
Yeah, and to think when I first started this story I figured it'd only take about 50,000 words to get to the end. Well, at least we're in the home stretch, though this last chapter is proving to be quite the monumental task for me. I really don't want to break it into two chapters, but there's just a lot of stuff to get to, even with planning for an epilogue to do the actual wrap-up portion.

[the other sans]

had given her the task of saying up in the sky
Sure, you’ve already tired minotaur, why not griffin
Now words could have been further from the truth
Tarnished started to breath slower
but I’m not even sure she’s allow me to at this point
just how good her pipes where when she put them to use
but all its doing is

1. Staying.
2. Tried.
3. No.
4. Breathe.
5. She'd.
6. Were.
7. It's.

[Alchemystudent]

2306688
2296432
2284918
2283570
2272346

What everbody above me just said X1000. I mean, here I thought the one I was going to look forward to reading to the most was either Crisis on Two Equestrias or Carrot top season. But this...oh sweet Celestia I want to do this one so badly!

Let me put it this way, if this was not part of the Lunaverse, (Don't misunderstand, I put the Lunaverse on a different catagory than my top 12 list) it would most likely be close to hitting my top 12 fanfics of all time. If this were an episode on tv, I think it would be seen by the fanbase as one of the Lunaverse's best. The mystery, the twists and turns, the OCs with some well one backstories, and all else make this awesome.

Why isn't Trixie and the other girl's stand in crowning moments of awesome?(The rain wass a nice touch, it called for awesome music to play)

We see more of who Cheerile is, what Trixie can do.

Heck, I don't even care about the chapter length, (Wich, if I did it all in one sitting would take me two hours...worth it) I just find this to be one of the more entertaining and awesome eps of the whole DANG SHOW!

If I have one complaint so far...the other three need to be here. Carrot, Ditzy, and Lyra are getting left out here. Then again...They already hav had some awesome eps, so maybe that was part of the point

[BIOS-Pherecydes]

Minor nitpick:

There was a feminine yelp and a thud as the disc of force slammed into the far wall and Trixie appeared up against the wall, pressed there firmly with her face mushed up between the wood wall and the magical disc of force, her hat having fallen off her head and landed on the ground outside the disc.

Abruptly Trixie’s hat flew off her head in a glow of her own magic and stuffed itself over Sawdust’s face, causing the stallion to falter and stumble about. Trixie got to her hooves and aimed an awkward buck at the stumbling Sawdust’s legs.

Contradictory statement.

[Alchemystudent]

I am tryingmy best to think of what else to add that my previous comment didn't, and all I can think of is to talk about the 'villian' of the piece. I love it. He seems evil, but there are some good resons for it. I love a good villian like that.

[SWEETOLEBOB18]

“Right. Do what you have to. Don’t take any risks. Found something interesting. Don’t know if its what we need or not. Can’t risk talking more right now. Be careful.”

need apostrophe it is = it's

“Sure, you’ve already tired (tried) minotaur, why not griffin?”

“Yeah, you can ‘very much like’ that all you want. Its not happening. Too many ponies get the shaft in your little scenario. I may be ambitious, as you say, but I ....am.... not to the point where I don’t care what happens to those around me. Not anymore.”

or "but not to the point" with no "I"

“Oh, I’m sure he thinks it is. I don’t doubt you didn’t do this all directly. I imagine you convinced your connections among those in charge of this smuggling that Shiny was a potential new middle-pony. An expandable (expendable) front pony, just like your father was. Why give up on smuggling through this area, after all, when the very nobles who own the province might be wrangled into supporting it? Of course you didn’t have to do anything personally, just make the suggestion and let Shiny do the rest. Play the part of the suffering Guild leader, only trying to the make the best of a bad situation. History repeats itself, the smuggling ring is exposed, Shiny is ruined, and you get away clean. Afterward all you need to do is present Tarnished to her family all ‘reformed’ and ready to become the scion. You marry her, become the new Count Copper Coin, and then you’re free to do with Oaton and this area as you please. Nopony could stop you at that point, and likely you’d be counting your sister to have convinced Sheaf to be cooperative.”

Trixie’s eyes flicked over the to journal, “I might be able to pull a string with the Princess to get Picturesque exonerated. I may have boasted about my influence with her in the past but that doesn’t mean I have no influence at all. I can’t see her wanting to see family’s (families) get torn apart, which really, is kind of my whole issue here with you. I don’t like Count Shiny, and his sister has done nothing to endear me to her-”

“Cherilee, (Cheerilee) I know you’re here! Get out here, or I’ll start tearing this place into burning shreds!!”

“You’re better off conserving your magic as much as you can,” said Cheeirlee, (Cheerilee) shaking herself and a hard look entering her eyes, “I can keep myself under control.”