Meta Gamer in Equestria: Champion's Folly

by reflective vagrant

Duet of the Damned. (Pennance, Part 2)

Days after the brief Astral Judgement, I was declared stable again and Princess Celestia summoned me to her personal study.

I sat there as my arm moved on its own, as if possessed by another. Dreading the action it was about to take, I found myself gulping down the vile poison the princesses called unsweetened jasmine tea.

Princess Celestia looked at me as I reveled in disgust. "And that is why you do not make jasmine tea with hot water when you do not know the first thing about tea, Moss."

Finally released from the compulsion I wasn't even able to resist, I looked at the alternate beverage presented to me, and happily found myself swishing it around my mouth to rinse the flavor.

"That was horrifying. No wonder Discord doesn't want anypony knowing his prior true name. That kind of control is potent."

Princess Celestia promptly took the kettle she had ordered me to brew tea with and asked for some proper tea to be made, notably something as unlike the prior tea as possible.

"And addicting for the user, especially when used on a powerful entity such as Discord. Thus why a native true name was appealing enough to him to permanently harm himself for it. As you are aware, there are magics that can compel one to say their true name, but now he can simply answer with his native true name instead. No creature can force his original true name from him now and he is far to cautious about it to ever let it slip by accident."

I nodded. "And, don't correct me if I'm wrong, but I can presume just about every alicorn princess in the royal family and General Prince Shining Armor have been told mine to keep me in line if they have to, among a hand... frog full of other ponies."

Celestia gave me that same masked smile I had come to recognize, neither nodded nor shook her head, and responded, "Due to her age, Flurry Heart would not remember it even if we did tell her, and I don't think it would be wise to allow a child such capacity. Nor is it wise to call it aloud, even if one believes themselves alone with the subject. Thus why I only whispered it into your ear a moment ago. If we ever did have to call it aloud, we pretty much would be forced to tell you to kill yourself to keep any that heard from using it after, given the power of your magics they would then have at their beck and call. We could have broken your bewitchment with enough effort, but even Discord recognized the need for the secrecy."

"And no level of magical resistance can help you fight off the effect of a true name being called?"

Princess Celestia shook her head. "No, because it is not magic, at least not exactly. The forces that allow for this are far older than conventional magic. From what we have extracted on them, they are passive and everywhere, rarely coming into play even in the ancient times when the worlds were young."

"So is this another reason why there isn't much traffic with other worlds?"

She took my drink I used to wash out the bad taste when I finished and placed it on a tray.

"If I were to travel to a nearby world on the scale of inter dimensional travel, I would have some disadvantage of others knowing my true name, but the effect would be minor enough to not be noticed by all but the sharpest minds. The danger arises when one is in worlds with great distances from their home world such as Discord's original home world or your own."

She gave me a look akin to a teacher giving bad news to a student, needing to say it but not taking any pleasure in the act.

"But whatever degree you are affected by it, it is impossible to nullify or weaken. At best one can resist, if only for a time, depending on how 'close' one still is to their home world. Beyond that, there is no suppressing the effect once one's true name has been spoken."

A servant brought a tea pot with properly made tea from the kitchen and Celestia thanked them in her usual, regal, yet 'not higher than you' courtesy. I couldn't help but feel the look of happiness on the servant's faces in the castle weren't faked or forced in any way. There was the occasional scowl or other less than positive look, but they were allowed to carry it without question and they still weren't generally miserable. The large majority of the staff seemed to genuinely enjoy working there under her.

Pouring tea that actually looked and smelled nice for the two of us, she continued.

"Bypassing the bewitchment to tell my sister your true name was unbelievably reckless, and hopefully now you know why we never pressed you for it once we learned of the safety measure placed on you. Now that you have granted your true name to us of your own volition, we have indeed secured it as a safeguard as you wished us to. Even so, we have only made the absolute minimum sized web of ponies needed to ensure there is a safety net. Even a single leak of your true name to untrustworthy ears could prove disastrous."

---

Tempest and I were sitting in the castle court yard, "Are you sure you don't want to see her? Once you start translating for his defense, you won't be allowed near any of us again."

"No. I have to get a few more things done first. Let her know I do want to see her. I actually need to see her eventually. I just can't, not yet."

Tempest looked down at the papers she had transcribed for me as a substitute to my formal testimony. This was the real sacrifice I'd be doing when I started translating for him. The moment I started hearing anything of his defense, I would not be able to assist the prosecution anymore. In fact, I'd just about be stuck with Dalock all day, practically joined at the hip. All day, every day with the one being that had taken two of my closest friends from me in front of my own eyes. Previously I'd have been shocked, appalled and furious, but now? Now I saw it as an opportunity. It was too perfect.

"This is looking pretty solid now. I don't think we have much else we can add to it."

I looked up at the tree in the court yard, recognizing the perfect spot Archimedes would be perching while we did our thing, but I hadn't seen him in months. Not since I ran away to the cave.

"How is Archimedes? Is he still alive after..."

Tempest looked at me as I paused in reflection.

"After sicking him on Zecora? yes. He wasn't hurt, just netted by Plasma Wave and myself. He's been very inert, though. He'll eat and be responsive to sound, but not much else. He hasn't been active, nor have we gotten him to communicate with us when we ask what's wrong. We can tell he will still listen when we just talk, but short of threatening to move him by force, he doesn't leave his nest for anything but food."

I closed my eyes and held back a tear. "It's because of what I did to him. I betrayed our bond as partners and ordered him as nothing more than my familiar, my servant. If you could, please let him know I am sorry for doing it, but I can't undo my order just yet."

Tempest, being the pragmatic, multi tasking leader of the squad she was, put her notes away as I made my request. With a whistle she called Scraps, who had been playing fetch with one of the off duty guards of the castle.

"Is this for the same reasons you can't see Fluttershy yet?"

I had to resist the urge to use my portent to hide my reflex to her name and did my best to keep myself from stiffening up the normal way. Tempest had become familiar with my tell tale sign of using my portent. She'd expect a bit of stiffness from hearing her name, but she'd outright be suspicious of me using my portent to control my response.

I couldn't let any of them know of my plan. As much as they might like the plan and agree with me, they would be morally obligated to try to stop it. They had helped me so much in the past, but this mission was one I had to do alone, no matter how scared I was to do so. Keeping them in the dark and being shunned or ostracized for my actions when it was over was a cross I would just have to bear. If I wanted to guarantee their safety, then there was no other way.

"...Basically. About a ninety percent overlap?"

Tempest checked Scraps' bauble bag as he dumped it out for her in habit. She rummaged for a few seconds through it to see if anything needed returned. With a smile, she gave him a nod and he put every last item back in happily. Turning back to me, she responded.

"I'll relay the messages to them. I'll see you again when you're freed up from the defense. Hopefully it will only be a couple months."

With this, the lawyer assigned to Dalock came off of the bench on the far side of the court yard and approached us.

"Are we certain we are wrapped up then? I won't be accused of pulling you away before you're finished."

Scraps waved goodbye to me as he and Tempest walked off, not fully understanding how long I'd be gone.

I waved back and responded to him. "Yes. I've done every kind of preparation for this I could. I'm ready to go."

---

When I finally saw Dalock, I was surprised at the ingenuity they took to capture him. Only the front part of his skull and jaw were exposed to the open air. On one side of his face, I could see a dark, almost organic piece of rock wedged between his skull and the stone.

I had heard of the process they used to imprison him, but seeing it made it all come together better. Once the magic nullifying shards were stuck to him, Princess Cadence couldn't use her magic to encase him in crystal again. So instead the servants used the reverse side of the same spell I had used on Zecora to turn the basalt stone into mud. As soon as he was submerged into it, the magic in the mud was absorbed by the shards and they resumed their stone like form. It was like a giant, solidified bowl of pudding with how the stone was displaced around him.

I could even see the remnants of the rod they used to force him down beveled down flush with the stone. There was no forcing his way out physically and with the shards his magic wasn't an option. The lawyer had mentioned he would have to be chiseled out if he won his court hearing.

I payed his snark little mind as I had come to expect it from him.

It was all business during the lawyer sessions we had to build his case, which was as much lies and bull shit as I had expected it to be, but I was a little irritated with the guards constantly hovering near while we were alone.

"Its not like I'd do anything to you." I called to Dalock. "All it would do is free you from the one place within the world of the living I trust you to not hurt anypony."

"They still aren't going to take any chances with Mr necessary evil."

I had lost how many degrading nick names he had called me, sometimes even when the layer was present. But it wasn't long before he tried to play me in more twisted ways. It wasn't bad at first, but I knew he was warming up for the slam dunk.

"So, do you know how many times that monster slaughtered me before they put me in here? I lost track. One thing I noted, though, was that they were waiting for me right off the bat, even though I killed the one that could have told them."

I knew what he was going for, but I still knew it was going to sting.

"You brought her back, didn't you? That's how they caught me. Tell me, my lesser half, what was it like? Having that kind of power if only for a moment?"

I knew I was going to have to play his game.

"..."

"Was it exhilarating? Having the power of a god? Proving definitively you were better than they were?"

"Shut up."

His tone shifted manipulatively akin to a stick being shoved into a wound. "Or was it something else? Were you disgusted with yourself Mr hypocrite?"

I fell over and fessed up. "I was no better than you when I did that, and it will haunt me to the end of my days."

He laughed, thinking he broke me. He would have been right, had I not already broken myself first. But continue to play my part, I did. For months, I translated faithfully, and regularly suggested he just confess for a lesser sentence. They just dismissed me every time, of course, and let him chew me out and taunt me when the lawyer wasn't around, and waited for the day to come.

Over time, I made a point to show my admiration for the show he played on, never mentioning anything about knowing his name. It was annoying, playing the part of a Stockholm syndrome victim. We went back and forth about how I was a man of faith and he would dog me on it, breaking me until I was submissive, speaking meekly in my responses.

---

Months later, in the cool autumn, Dalock's entire stone block was painstakingly dragged to the court room. I watched carefully, waiting for my moment. Sunburst sat at the prosecution table as their legal assistant while another pony I didn't know approached Dalock's lawyer. It was then, while the lawyer was distracted in the hustle and bustle of the court room settling down I finally made my move.

Moving up to his ear, I meekly whispered to Dalock in the same broken voice I had practiced for so long, "I say this for the sake of your immortal soul, Leeroy Peterson. During the trial, just confess to any crimes you've actually committed. Tell them the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about your crimes and I will pray for you."

He didn't move for a moment as he processed what I said. Finally, he quietly laughed and said, "Bitch, I don't even believe in that bible thumping bullshit of yours. I don't need your pity or your sissy boy catholic preacher cock sucking prayers! Just shut up and do your damn job so I can get out of this rock already!"

Soon enough, the hearing started. The judge was called and all the formalities were performed properly.

Finally, I was tasked to translate the words of the court to Dalock.

"You stand accused of plotting to overthrow the crown, resisting arrest, terrorism, the murder of twenty two military officers as well as thirty five civilians and crimes against sentience in causing the pandemic of this spring. How do you plead?"

The lawyer started to stand, all expecting him to say not guilty, or a mixture of pleas, but Dalock cut him off, yelling firmly and loudly.

"Guilty on all accounts!"

Sunburst spat out the water from the defense table he had been sipping as the court room went alight with gasps.

Dalock's jaw bone was slack at what he just said.

"You fucking punk ass bitch! What did you do!?"

The lawyer turned to me and demanded the same.

"All I did was translate. You all heard me. I mean, sure, I have been telling him he should just plea guilty for a reduced sentence. That wasn't a secret, but it doesn't invalidate it if he takes the advice just because I gave it! He's in an anti magic trap. By your own words I couldn't have done anything! If I could have, you wouldn't have needed me."

Looking out in the audience, I saw Moon Beam hidden in the audience. It was definitely Princess Luna in her Moon Beam form and not Guiding Star because she look at me with shock at first, but then in realization and finally disgust. She finally put it together what I really needed the Astral Judgement for back then.

"Order! Order in the court!"

The judge looked around. "The theatrics do not invalidate the plea of guilt. The restraints would indeed make any form of magical manipulation impossible as Moss stated. But on the chance that foul play is the case, I will make an exception and allow the defendant to appeal this with Astral Judgement through the Dream Walkers Guild in spite of the odd circumstances if they so desire. One month will be granted to make this decision. Otherwise, the sentence is the destruction of Dalock's Phylactery, and subsequent execution."

I looked over at Dalock with the same level of submissiveness as I had done so for so long.

Pulling my eyes forward, I held my same posture and kept playing my part. I had managed to get them to not let him off. The Astral Judgement would make it clear, of course, and I was sure the lawyer would urge it, and I could live with it if they did.

My only remorse was that I couldn't take Astral Judgement back to earth, though that might still have been for the best. If I were doing it for personal vendetta, I'd feel completely sick with myself. Instead, I just felt dirty. I was careful to word my command to where he would only plead guilty if he actually knew he was guilty, not force a false confession. Therefore an Astral Judgement won't reverse that unless he was actually innocent on some bizarre grounds he hadn't thought of and they saw the horrors that was a human being before releasing a silver tongued monster. I might have possibly damned myself to execution too, but that was a price I was willing to pay to make sure they were safe. It had a chance of mutually assured destruction for both me and him, but now he was going to be neutralized whether I was punished or not.

Checkmate.

Author's Note:

And P.S. To Golden Reflection, you may now post this image or an equivalent in the comments:

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[Golden_Reflection]

Moving up to his ear, I meekly whispered to Dalock in the same broken voice I had practiced for so long, "I say this for the sake of your immortal soul, Leeroy Peterson. During the trial, just confess to any crimes you've actually committed. Tell them the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about your crimes and I will pray for you."