Chapter 13 - The Inquisition (Part 3)
A short time later Flash Sentry enters the room. Walking over to Twilight, he bows before speaking.
“I’ve spoken to Matron Coco Pommel, your highness. She’s agreed to head to the sigil left behind in New Ponyville at once.”
“Very good. How long of a head start did she ask for?”
“Ten minutes, your majesty. However I’d like to point out that I left my office roughly that long ago to make the call.”
Arc chuckles. “She’s probably ready then.”
Calling forth his gauntlet, Arc opens a portal. A few moments later Coco Pommel steps through and approaches them. She smiles at Arc and Twilight warmly.
“Good morning, Arc. Princess Twilight.”
Arc kneels down to give her a hug. “Thank you for coming on such short notice.”
Coco Pommel puts a hoof around his neck. “It’s my pleasure to help if I can. But I’m not fully sure what exactly is needed of me.”
Twilight smiles. “We’re trying to bring Princess Celestia up to speed on past matters.”
“How can I help?”
Arc chuckles. “By answering her questions.”
“Very well. And when would you like to do this?”
Arc points a finger behind the mare. Turning, her eyes grow wide as she spots Celestia flanked by Luna and Cadance. Quickly recomposing herself, Coco Pommel bows nervously.
“Forgive me, your highnesses! I didn’t know you were there!”
Celestia giggles. “It’s fine. After all, it is we whom should be apologizing to you.”
Luna sighs. “We are sorry for the lack of warning before our summons.”
Cadance looks Coco Pommel in the eye. “However we were told that you witnessed the many deeds at the New Beginning’s Orphanage first hoof.”
“That I did, Princess Cadance.”
Arc puts a hand on her shoulder. “While I know it isn’t a pleasant experience, we’d like you to give your account of what happened.”
“Very well. Where should I start?”
Twilight smiles. “The beginning. And don’t worry about the time.”
Luna nods. “Yes, the floor is yours.”
Stepping forward, Coco Pommel takes a deep breath before speaking.
“Princess Celestia… my name is Coco Pommel, and I was sent to live at the orphanage at a very young age. The first thing I remember was thinking when arriving was how quiet it was. At that time I just assumed that everypony was outside, or something. But as soon as I was escorted to the matron’s office I learned the reason for the silence.”
“Matron Tempest?”
“Yes, your highness. She made it very clear at the time that I was just another number on her sheet.”
“So she was verbally abusive?”
“And very physically abusive too. She would hit any foal whom she even perceived to have stepped out of line.”
“That doesn’t sound very nurturing to me.”
“It really wasn’t. But she was a very big believer in competition and games.”
Arc frowns. “Yes, I too saw such ‘games’.”
“They hadn’t changed much over the years, sir.”
Celestia frowns. “Tell us about them.”
“Hoofball was her favorite. Probably because it made us more or less fight one another. The team that won was given a light meal while the losers went without.”
Celestia narrows her eyes. “Went… without?”
“I mean that they weren’t fed.”
Twilight frowns. “How often did this happen?”
“Twice daily. Once for breakfast, the other for supper. There was no such thing as lunch for us.”
Arc nods soberly. “I can confirm that. It was all I could do to keep from strangling her during my own investigation.”
Celestia raises an eyebrow. “Your investigation?”
“Yes, I ordered official papers written up by my secretary declaring my daughter an orphan and to be placed in the matron’s care.”
“And you felt that was the best course of action how?”
Arc sighs. “I didn’t. But Dinky insisted that it was the only way. My only requirements to agreement were that I would stay with her at all times and that she would follow my instructions without question.”
“How did you stay with her?”
Twilight points her horn. “By learning a Matter Compacting Spell.”
Luna chuckles. “I’m told that a very intelligent filly from Ponyville created it.”
“Yes, I read over her notes. Quite a beautiful mind she has.”
Arc holds up a hand and casts the spell on a piece of fruit in a nearby bowl to demonstrate before he speaks.
“Shrinking myself down I was able to hide in her mane while still being able to see what was going on around us.”
Coco Pommel suddenly get a faraway look in her eye. “I remember the guard bringing Dinky to the orphanage. It always gave me a sense of dread to bring them to the matron’s office.”
Celestia appears surprised. “Wait a moment. Miss, you brought Dinky to see Matron Tempest?”
Coco Pommel nods. “Yes.”
“Forgive me, but you appear to be well beyond the point of aging out of the orphanage.”
“I am, yes. However I didn’t want to leave the foals there with the matron. So I volunteered to stay on as her assistant.”
Arc clenches a fist. “Unpaid, I might add.”
“That’s correct. My wages were food and board. Nothing more.”
Luna turns to Celestia. “Such things violate a number of labor laws, sister.”
Cadance grits her teeth. “Not to mention common decency.”
Celestia continues. “Agreed. But tell me this, miss. Why did you not report such a thing to the authorities after growing up?”
“I did try, your highness. However Tempest had many powerful friends in the government whom squashed any and all investigations.”
Twilight bows her head. “So you believed that the only way to help was to remain?”
“That I did. The best I could do was to comfort the foals and share my food with them.”
Arc folds his arms over his chest. “And by ‘share’ she means giving them most if not all of it.”
Celestia gasps. “But if that’s true then how did you survive all those years?”
“I… had a flower garden behind the building that I used as a food source. It wasn’t much, but it kept me going until the fall of the matron.”
Arc grins. “By your own hoof I might add.”
Coco Pommel smiles at him. “You certainly softened her up for me, Arc.”
“She was pretty tough.”
Cadance turns to Celestia. “I’d like to point out that any assault by a mare so thoroughly victimized should be recorded as ‘self-defense’.”
Luna nods. “Agreed. I watched the scene unfold from Arc’s memory crystals and see no reason for Miss Coco Pommel to face charges of any kind.”
Coco Pommel appears relieved. “Thank you.”
Arc continues. “After Tempest… melted, more or less, Coco Pommel collapsed. I rushed her to the hospital along with the foals to have her checked out. What the doctors found was not encouraging.”
Celestia grimaces. “Health issues?”
Luna sighs. “She was emaciated beyond imagining.”
Arc nods soberly. “Years of not eating properly can do that. The sight of her body when the doctor pulled back the sheets was… beyond words. Truth be told it’s amazing that she was able to recover at all, as all of her major organs were failing.”
Coco Pommel shudders. “I do remember most of what was said about me back then.”
“Your first questions were about the orphans if I recall correctly. If they were okay.”
“And they were, thanks to you.”
Celestia appears relieved. “That’s good to hear. Whom cared for them with the matron gone though?”
Arc gestures out the window to the south. “I took them back to my base. We had plenty of extra beds and the soldiers I had assigned to me were eager to help their orphan counterparts.”
Twilight sighs. “It was a difficult time for them.”
Arc puts a hand to his forehead. “Yeah. I had to teach them some rather heartbreaking things.”
Celestia looks to Arc. “Such as…?”
“What being full felt like.”
“Full?”
“After eating.”
“A full stomach?!”
Arc nods sadly. “Several foals approached me thinking there was something wrong with them. However the truth of the matter was that none of them had ever had a full belly before.”
“Did you seek medical treatment for them as well?”
“They were all checked out at Ponyville Hospital. Doctor Horse worked with my base’s chef, Saffron, to come up with properly balanced meals to help bring their weights up quickly but safely.”
Coco Pommel sighs. “Sadly I was out of it for the first part of that. By the time I arrived at Arc’s base the foals were beginning to come around. Physically and emotionally.”
Luna turns to Celestia. “I do remember Arc inviting me to his base while they were there. It was very relaxing to watch them run and play.”
Arc chuckles. “That wasn’t all though, Luna.”
Celestia appears confused. “What does he mean by that?”
“Let me just say that I… asked him for a very special favor.”
Arc quickly speaks up. “And I kept that to myself.”
Cadance turns to Luna “If it’s personal…”
“It is. However I’d like to share it now.”
Luna takes a deep breath and sighs before speaking.
“I… I wished to be a filly again.”
Twilight frowns. “A filly?”
“Yes.”
Celestia gestures to Arc. “I’m having difficulty believing Twilight’s... friend here is anywhere near THAT powerful.”
Cadance puts a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. “To alter somepony in such a way would be a form of Chrono Magic!”
Arc nods. “Which I admittedly don’t have.”
“Then how did he grant such a wish, Luna?”
“By shrinking me down to the size of a filly with the Matter Compacting Spell.”
She closes her eyes and smiles happily before continuing.
“I was able to run and play with the orphans for quite some time. Just like you and I did oh so long ago, sister.”
Celestia sighs. “That time has passed, Luna.”
“It has, yes. But it was very nice to return to a simpler time. If only for a short while. You should try it sometime.”
“Perhaps later.”
Luna mutters under her breath.
“That’s what you said oh so many years ago too.”
Arc puts a hand to his chin. “If memory serves correctly, that was about the time Canterlot Castle was attacked by Trixie.”
Celestia gasps. “That mare led an army?”
Cadance shakes her head. “No. It was just her.”
“I can’t imagine she got very far then.”
Twilight groans. “All the way to the Audience Chamber.”
“What?! HOW?!”
“She had the Alicorn Amulet, sister.”
“But that’s been missing for CENTURIES!”
Arc sighs. “Well it certainly worked.”
Luna turns to Celestia. “You see, I had recently presided over the mare in question’s criminal case and found her guilty.”
“And she wanted revenge?”
Cadance nods sadly. “Fortunately Luna was visiting Arc’s base at the time.”
“And you, my dear?”
“Here in Canterlot Castle, Aunt Celestia.”
“Arc, along with me and my friends, came to help though.”
Arc nods. “Right. We were able to bring her down by stopping her heart with lightning redirected through the Dagger of Eternal Slumber.”
Celestia raises an eyebrow. “An interesting use of the weapon. But why not simply stab her with it?”
“Trixie wasn’t herself when she attacked. It was clear that she was being controlled, or something.”
Luna smirks. “Arc was showing her undeserved mercy. Something he’s done on numerous occasions.”
Arc narrows his eyes as he turns to Celestia. “Right.”
There is a tense silence as the pair stare each other down. Eventually Coco Pommel speaks.
“I can attest to that, your highness. Arc convinced Princess Luna to allow a new facility to be built in Ponyville. That allowed the foals and I to put quite a bit of distance between us and Vanhoover’s New Beginning’s Orphanage.”
Arc nods. “All of you deserved to be free of that place.”
“However you and I had just met, Arc. You didn’t owe us anything, yet you went out of your way to help.”
Celestia frowns. “Very commendable.”
“I have a soft spot for orphans.”
“Why?”
Twilight sighs. “Because he is one.”
“My mother died when I was young and my father wasn’t in the picture, so… you get the idea.”
Luna turns to Celestia. “Arc has also worked to keep them provided for in terms of staffing, funding, and even helped oversee an addition sometime later.”
Coco Pommel nods. “We at the Little Hooves Orphanage are very grateful for that.”
Arc smiles at the mare. “Everything I asked for was needed for you to do your job though.”
“Nevertheless, we appreciate the personal attention.”
Celestia looks her in the eye. “Thank you for coming here to testify, Matron Coco Pommel. Before we end this interview, was there anything you’d like to add?”
“Yes, your highness.”
Coco Pommel clears her throat and begins to speak.
“Your highness… I’m not a political mare. Years of living behind the walls of an orphanage will do that to anypony. However the Little Hooves Orphanage, while easily forgotten, is VITAL to those whom call it home. Should those whom reside within become disgruntled with their care, they cannot simply travel to Canterlot for an audience, or even leave the building unsupervised. They are vulnerable beyond comprehension to those whom would see them used for unspeakable acts. For years I was the only one whom stood up for them… cared for them… loved them.”
She looks Celestia dead in the eye before finishing.
“And, like Arc, I will not let ANY harm befall them. Not now… not ever.”
Cadance nods approvingly. “Very praiseworthy, matron.”
“I meant every word, your highness.”
Celestia sighs. “Thank you for your time, miss. We shan’t keep you any longer.”
Arc opens a portal. Heading toward it, Coco Pommel turns to him.
“I do have one parting piece of advice for you, Arc.”
“What is it?”
“Don’t let anypony, no matter whom they are, push you around or detract you from doing the right thing.”
“I won’t.”
Nodding, Coco Pommel looks to Celestia for a moment before entering the portal and vanishing. Arc closes it as Cadance turns to her aunt.
“Matron Coco Pommel… is fearless.”
Arc nods. “If you had lived through what she did you’d be too.”
Luna sighs. “Were we all so fortunate to be formed by such galvanizing events.”
Twilight speaks up. “Or one might look at it the other way.”
Celestia nods. “How lucky we are to have NOT gone through what she did.”
Arc folds his arms over his chest. “Agreed. I’ve seen many kids go down the wrong path simply because they didn’t have parental guidance to tell them otherwise.”
Celestia looks to Twilight out of the corner of her eye before addressing Arc.
“I must say that the more I hear the more I don’t understand.”
“Princess Celestia?”
“There has to be more to the issue at hoof.”
Luna frowns. “You wish to move on, sister?”
“Yes. Tell me, whom shall we hear from next?”
Twilight puts a hoof to her chin nervously. “I was thinking my friends should give their testimony next. Arc?”
“Honestly, there’s someone else I’d like to speak now.”
“Who?”
Arc leans in close and whispers in Twilight’s ear. She grimaces.
“Are you… sure that’s a good idea?”
“No. But Princess Celestia needs to hear their story.”
Twilight sighs and stands. “Very well. I’ll go get her.”
“Actually I’d like to do that.”
“Oh… uh… very well.”
Getting up, Arc heads for the door. As he leaves Celestia turns to Luna.
“Going to fetch another friend. This human is certainly… interesting.”
“He is so much more, sister.”
“That has yet to be seen.”
Cadance clears her throat loudly before turning to Luna and speaking. “Whom do you think Arc is fetching?”
“I have an idea.”
Celestia raises an eyebrow. “Then share it.”
“No.”
“Luna?”
“Celestia… needs to hear this from Arc and his friends. Not the Princess of the Night.”
Meanwhile, Brightwing stops stirring and looks at the mixture before her. Frowning, she pulls the stick out and picks up the vessel in her claws and peers into it angrily.
“Why you not mix! Don’t you want to be magic?!”
Grunting, she puts the flask down and taps her chin thoughtfully.
“Moss not want to mix! But Brightwing wants to mix it! Brightwing NEEDS to mix it! How can Brightwing make it mix?!”
Gasping happily, the little creature does a backflip and takes flight. Heading for the door she flies into it. Shaking her head to clear it, Brightwing Blinks through.
“Brightwing needs more tools!”
Making her way down the corridor, she sings a little tune to herself.
“It's gonna work! I know it's gonna work! It's gonna work out just fine, trust Brightwing!”
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I beginning to wonder how praises in arc name can she hear before she gets through her head he isn't the bad and she has behave more like one than him. He been kind where she has been selfish.
Have to be careful pushing praises even if its demanded, as going against thoughts can squeeze them, increasing the contrast ever greate, until something breaks. There are many ways for a mind to break in the face of conflicting information and beliefs, and very few of them leave the person, and those surrounding them, reasonably intact or even recoverable.
i think i need to read this thru a view more times 1-3
in this chapter doubt's seem to fester in celestia's mind
but she is still way too dismissive, oh how she will react to auriel
all the progress will be shatter'd at first
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wow heavy
Oh, shit is going down in the next chapter, and Arc really should take the opportunity to bitch slap a pretty pretty princess when she loses her shit just from seeing our special guest.
11373700
I've seen that happen quite a few times in games. Final Fantasy 10, Grandia 2, Oblivion, Fuga, Halo, Resident Evil, Ryse, etcetera. The characters are presented with or experience firsthand irrefutable proof that what they held to be true was indeed a lie. However in the above examples they were able to use such knowledge as a reason to push forward and try to right the wrongs created by their actions or the actions of others they held in high regard.
11373712
Think of it like building a legal case. You can't just use one piece of major evidence to prove guilt. It takes a mountain of small pieces, that are mostly useless alone, to create a mountain that proves what you're saying is the truth.
And right now that mountain is getting pretty tall.
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Several times in the past a gauntlet to Celestia's face was most likely in order.
11374395
imagin that picture: celestia just standing there with her head in a hole.
the mane six all standing around bewildert and fluttershy trying to calm down the angry gofer
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Combine that with the 'this is fine' meme.
great chapter