Chapter 19 - Traitor
“I’ll see you soon,” Nyx said as she turned to go.
“Thanks, Nyx,” Flurry said, watching the black mare trot off to take care of some last-minute things before their meeting. The pair had just made their way across the ship to the conference room Flint had reserved, first stopping by Medical to pick up Whammy.
Turning around, she regarded the entrance. It was a solid wood door, marked ‘Conference 2’ in large letters. A small window was set into the door, revealing the dark, unused room beyond.
Flurry breathed a weary sigh as she let herself in. The silence inside was comforting, affording her some respite from the unending bustle that had been her life since the previous morning. Rather than turn the light on, she simply closed the door behind her, taking a seat on a floor cushion near the centre of the large conference table that dominated the room.
The only thing breaking the darkness was the soft shaft of light streaming in from the corridor through the door’s window. It fell upon the polished cedar in a slightly distorted rectangle, directly over where she had placed Whammy.
It occurred to Flurry that this was the first moment she truly had to herself since this whole debacle began. From the time she first heard Nyx’s distress call, she had been pressed by some kind of nonstop urgency or struggle. Now, she simply melted into her seat, finally able to think without the threat of some new disaster happening if she didn’t make a snap decision or put her life at risk.
Flurry’s emotions soon became a tangled mess. The crushing weight of it all pressed heavily onto her heart as events played back in her mind’s eye. How? Why? Did it even matter at this point? A single tear fell onto the table, and she tried hard not to let out a little sob, refusing to give fate the satisfaction of seeing her cry.
The story of my life, she thought to herself. Punished for doing the right thing.
“I don’t know what to do, Whammy,” she said finally, turning her gaze onto the plushie. He wouldn’t want her wallowing in self-pity, but she had never been in this kind of trouble before. She reached out and pulled him close.
“Of course I’m scared,” she admitted, her voice cracking slightly. “Can you imagine what they’ll do to me?”
His worn velvet pressed softly against her chest as she held him.
“I know.” She sniffled wetly and wiped a tear from her eye. “It’s just so hard to believe that right now. I mean, look at me. I’m a wreck. I really thought that once I got to Nyx, everything would be fine.”
Flurry composed herself and placed Whammy back on the table where he was before. “I even gave Twilight a shot at it. Nothing. Can you believe it? Look at these things.” She flexed a wing and regretted it as pain shot through her torn muscles.
The thought of her aunt only served to upset her more. Heartache turned to anger as she sat there, fuming for a long moment before finally thumping a forehoof on the table in frustration. Whammy’s antennae bobbled from the sudden jolt.
She stared at him for a moment as his googly eyes settled down. “If you’ve got something to say, just say it.”
He only sat there, silently judging her.
“No, she doesn’t deserve any slack, Whammy,” she retorted, feeling her irritation rise. “I know she said she’d think of something, but do you really believe it? You know her promises don’t mean shit.”
One of Whammy’s antennae drooped a little as he began to slowly list like a sinking ship.
“You know damn well what I’m talking about. Or have you forgotten?” she hissed. “You know how many died that day. And damn if I’ll forgive her for that.”
Whammy flopped onto his side.
“Oh you’re no help,” she snorted. “You always take their side.” A soft sigh escaped her muzzle. “Of course Nyx trusts her. They’re family.”
She looked away from his passive gaze. “Not to me, Whammy. Not to me.”
As she stared into the darkness, something shifted near the far end of the conference table. It was so faint she had to look at it sideways until her peripheral vision picked up the outline. Someone was there!
“Oh don’t stop on my account,” came Flintlock’s voice as he tapped his holo-brace, causing it to throw just enough light to see him by. He was sporting a compression wrap around his chest from where he had been shot. “If you need some more time…”
“No,” Flurry replied with some annoyance, feeling heat flush into her cheeks. “I think we’re done for now.”
Damn thestrals.
“I came early to enjoy the dark solitude,” he explained. “Sorry for intruding on your… moment.”
Flurry nudged the light switch on the wall, brightening the room just enough to see clearly. “Me too, actually.” She then gave Whammy a brief death glare for letting her think they were alone.
Flint remained silent, and from the look he was giving her, she suspected he might soon be recommending her to the psychiatric ward. Not that Flint was a stranger to her and Whammy—she just knew it worried him more than he’d ever admit.
Looking around, Flurry could now see even more gaudy décor that was scattered around the room. The walls were painted a deep red, with gold filigrees weaving their way around paintings of Merry Weather and prominent members of his family.
She knew a little of his father from her time in the Republic before the war. Lord Fair Weather was one of those middling nobles in the imperial court, though he was still held in high regard. Flurry had to wonder how the stallion could tolerate such a son—though perhaps that was the reason Merry was on Harmony in the first place.
The painting of the old stallion seemed to glare down disapprovingly at all corners of the room. It perhaps showed that Merry held some reverence to his father… or perhaps he simply lacked the spine to remove it.
Flurry guessed the latter.
“So,” Flint began, looking Flurry square in the eye. “Wanna talk about it?”
“Talk about what?”
“You and Twilight,” he said calmly.
“What’s there to say?” she snorted. “When I needed help, she wasn’t there. Simple.”
“Nothing with you is ever simple, Flurry,” Flint replied.
Flurry regarded the thestral for a moment. Their history went way back, even to fighting alongside one another in the trenches of Bloodbriar. She knew he had every reason to want to help. It was just that Flurry preferred to keep this one to herself.
Finally, she let out a sigh and resigned herself to dredging up the details once more.
“What do you know about Pharos?” she began.
“Not a lot,” he replied. “That’s the world the Republic scoured with climate converter bombs, right?”
Flurry felt another headache coming on, from her injuries or from the memory, she wasn’t sure. “My crew and I were there when it happened,” she spoke, her voice haunted with grief. “The hurricane engulfed nearly the entire planet.”
“Damn,” Flint commented, shuddering despite himself. “What happened?”
“We stopped off there to catch our breath after a run-in with an Alliance frigate,” she continued. “Cookie had family there and wanted to check up on them. Heard there was some kind of attack coming.”
“Cookie, I remember him. Short one with a lisp,” Flint said, rubbing his chin. “Couldn’t shoot to save his life, but the best damn galley chef anywhere.”
“That’s the one.”
Flint’s expression sank. “Did he and his folks make it off in time?”
Flurry nodded. “The pegasi gave the civilians a day to evacuate before unleashing the storm,” she said. “I shoved him on a transport myself. Problem was, there weren’t enough ships. Tens of thousands had been left behind.”
“One day really isn’t enough time to muster an evac,” Flint commented.
“No,” she agreed, shaking her head slightly as she stared through the table. “We managed to scrape up two other transports by calling in some favours. There was a habitable world just over an hour away—suitable enough for evac, at least temporarily. We had them making round trips nonstop for hours. Thing is, they’re not a third as fast as the Dream but can hold a thousand if you cram them in tight enough.”
“So, how does Twilight fit into all this?” Flint asked.
Flurry took a breath, stifling her churning emotions. “Xani and I did the calculations, and there still weren’t enough transports. Pretty early on, I made the call and asked Twilight to rustle up some ships from the Commonwealth to help with the evacuation.”
Flint whistled. “That’s a stretch. Equus doesn’t get involved in colonial conflicts.”
“Oh no, she said she’d help. That wasn’t even the problem. She said she’d have them there in time for the final push. Equus might be neutral, but helping civilians wouldn’t have jeopardised that.”
Flurry recalled that spark of joy she felt when Twilight had agreed to send help—a spark which had since turned to a flame of pure bitterness in her heart.
“What happened, then?” Flint asked.
“Things were tight but going smoothly. Xani and I were coordinating the final effort to get everyone to the launch site when the time came to take another load of refugees in the Dream. I told her it was time to go, but she said she’d stay behind to help with the last of the evacuation and would catch the next transport out.”
“Wait…” Flint interrupted. “Are you saying the ships never came? Is Xani gone?”
Flurry hesitated at the question before pressing on. “I was nearly to the dropoff point, the Dream stuffed with ponies, when I got the Mirrorcomm call. It was Xani. She said she had contacted the transports that were due any time now. One of the captains replied, saying they hadn’t even been given the assignment. No ships were coming.”
Damn it. Flurry wasn’t going to do this, but she could already feel the tears forming in her eyes. The quirky zebra had been a member of her crew for nearly five years. She was a skilled medic and probably the best friend Flurry had during the war.
“The storm was nearly upon them. She said the winds were already picking up and they didn’t have much time. I told her she needed to take shelter. To call around. To find some way out of there. To—”
“There was nothing you could have done, Flurry,” Flint said, softly.
“I tried,” Flurry said through gritted teeth. “Both transports were still unloading. One was spooling up its jump drive to leave, but there was no way they’d get back in time. I dumped my passengers on their tails and shot back to Pharos at best speed for one last haul. Was only twenty minutes away when the storm wiped out the evac site. We were still on comms together when it happened. She… she told me to tell her family she died with honour.”
“I see,” Flint responded, his voice filled with sadness. “And you hold Twilight responsible.”
“Of course! She promised the ships were coming,” Flurry shot back, somewhat irritated that Flint hadn’t grasped the obvious.
“You’ve talked about it with her?”
“I tried to. I’ve never seen her so evasive. She gave some excuse about how the Commonwealth couldn’t risk being seen as escalating their presence in colonial space. That sending ships into warzones would make an ‘accidental skirmish’ too likely.”
Flint bore a puzzled expression on his face. “And what did you say to that?”
“I said she was full of shit,” Flurry spat out. “The Republic guaranteed safe passage for civilian ships.”
“Did she have anything further to add?”
“No. She said that what she told me is all she can say. A cop-out if I ever saw one. Xani was my friend, Flint. Your friend. A part of my crew. Over seven thousand ponies were left to drown on Pharos, and Twilight didn’t even have the guts to tell me why. How can I forgive that?” Flurry’s wings were trembling at her sides.
Flint walked up and sat beside her, placing his wing around her shoulder. She leaned into her old friend, an odd relief flowing through her in waves. It caught her by surprise how it felt getting that burden off her chest.
“I appreciate you sharing that,” Flint said, drawing a deep breath. “And I’m really sorry for what happened to Xani. It helps to know where you’re coming from, and for what it’s worth, I’d like to know what happened as well. But for now, I just need you to play nice with her, okay? It’s been a lot of years and we’ve got pressing matters to deal with.”
Flurry let out a sigh. “Fine. I won’t cause a scene.”
“More than you already have, you mean,” Flint added with a wink.
“Yeah, that. So, where is everyone, anyway? Aren’t we supposed to be having a meeting?”
“We are. And you’re gonna be very interested in what I’ve found,” Flint replied. “Everyone I can trust is coming. Nyx is coordinating so that it doesn’t look suspicious. Oakheart has been caught up in post-op business while trying to keep Downdraft and his cronies off our scent. And Twilight is wrapping up a personal project down by the hangar.”
Flurry rolled her eyes. “I saw. Are you sure she needs to—”
“Flurry…”
“I know, I know. Well, at least Oak is coming.” The thought of him made her smile. “I need to thank him for pulling our asses out of the fire. Jumping the carrier into a gun duel with a cruiser was ballsy.”
Flint let out a chuckle. “His reputation is well deserved.”
“No wonder they’re late,” Flurry added with a grin. “Oak’s probably trapped on an atrium ledge somewhere.”
“I hadn’t thought of that. You might be right.” He winced in pain from laughing with a chest wound.
“You need to take it easy there, you old bat,” Flurry added, gently nudging him in the shoulder.
“Yeah, it’s bad enough I’ll have to explain to Peanut how I ended up getting shot.”
Flurry gulped. “I think I’d rather face the windigo again than face the temper of that mare when she finds out.”
“You know it!” he snarked, though the smile on his face showed he was eager to get back to his love.
“Is she happy with you being Security chief on Harmony?” Flurry asked.
“It was that or me walking the beat on some colony,” he shrugged. “At least here I’m doing something meaningful.”
Flurry considered his words. “Meaningful, huh? You never struck me as an optimist.”
“I take the good where I can find it,” he said with a grin.
Just then, the door opened and Nyx stepped through. She acknowledged them both with a nod before taking a seat opposite Flurry.
“Twilight finish her science experiment?” Flurry asked with mild disdain.
“Yes, as far as I can tell. Echo is still immobile, but her life support systems are back up and running.”
“Glad to hear it,” Flint said, giving her an appreciative nod.
“So you knew what she was?” Flurry queried, giving him a frown.
“I wouldn’t be a good security chief if I didn’t know my officers,” Flint replied with a wink.
The next to enter was Oakheart. The stallion greeted Flurry with a tight smile that spoke of his continued displeasure with Pegasus ship design.
A sly grin crept onto Flurry’s muzzle. “Hey, captain. Did you get off the bridge okay?” she prodded.
The earth pony bristled, working his jaw. “I found an elevator.”
Flurry chuckled to herself until Twilight stepped through the door, causing her good mood to sour.
For a moment, there was an uneasy silence in the room as everyone waited for a reaction. Neither of them seemed willing to make the first move.
Twilight looked pensive, her ears flattening. She let out a long sigh and straightened herself.
“I never got a chance before to thank you for saving my daughter,” Twilight said. She looked over to Nyx with a relieved smile. “So, thank you for helping to save her.”
“And your expensive ship,” Flurry added.
“And my expensive ship,” Twilight said with another sigh.
“Director, why don’t you take a seat and we can get started,” Flint offered.
Twilight blinked. “Oh yes, of course.”
Oakheart gently ushered Twilight around the table where the two of them sat at either side of Nyx.
Twilight’s horn lit up briefly and a pulse of thaumatic energy swept forth, encompassing the room.
“There, that should give us some privacy,” Twilight announced. “Now, we can get down to business.”
Flintlock tapped his holo-brace, causing the room to darken while a projector emerged from the centre of the conference table. Soon, a holographic images of the Orion and Glorium appeared, the latter sitting at the zero-coordinate on the display. It was a replay of the battle from the carrier’s perspective.
He gave a couple taps, speeding things up as they watched the events unfold until a massive explosion gutted out the Syndicate cruiser’s underbelly. Here, Flint paused the replay.
“After a daring move by Sabre Lead, the cruiser was disabled, ending the fight. The ship’s reactor overloaded, and her guns remained silent. From here, the Glorium cautiously monitored the situation, waiting for word from the Orion. When ship comms were finally restored, Oakheart dispatched Delta team to board and secure the cruiser, sending in the majority of the blackwing aerie to assist.”
On the display, several marked figures were shown approaching the disabled Syndicate mothership.
“After Captain Nyx and Lieutenant Swan Song brought Flurry to the Glorium for medical treatment, they boarded the cruiser to aid in securing her captain and crew,” Flint concluded.
Nyx cleared her throat, taking her cue to speak. “Swan filled me in on the mission op and overall tactical situation,” she said. “We made our way to the bridge, where we confronted the Syndicate ‘boss’. She surrendered the ship’s data core, which I then passed on to Flint.”
“The boss just gave you the data core?” Twilight asked.
Flurry looked over to Nyx, giving her an approving smile. “She did the Nightmare thing.”
Nyx coughed awkwardly, earning an amused look from Twilight.
Flint tapped the replay forward until a cloud of tug drones could be seen deploying from the Glorium and securing themselves up and down the aft section of all three wings. He then paused just as one of the carrier’s shuttles departed the cruiser.
Oakheart chimed in at this point. “Shipmaster Downdraft advised that we scuttle the cruiser to prevent opportunistic raiding. I thought this was a wise idea, which you can see here.”
The recording then showed the shuttle’s return to the Glorium followed by the cruiser exploding in an enormous fireball, soon fading into nothing more than a debris field.
“Downdraft did something useful? Colour me surprised,” Flurry commented.
“Yes, he became pleasantly cooperative once the tactical situation was resolved,” Oak replied. “He’s currently ‘helping out’ with the Syndicate prisoners, making sure they are kept secure in Storage-A below the hangar deck. Probably wants me to say something nice to Merry on his behalf when we get back.” He rolled his eyes in contempt.
“Sounds like him. I hate the sycophant types,” Flurry grumbled. “I’m not looking forward to being on the losing end of dealing with him in the future.”
“On that front, you can be sure we’re working on getting rid of the Merry problem,” Oak offered.
It was a nice gesture, but Flurry knew it wouldn’t help her dilemma at all. Or Swan’s or anyone else in the aerie.
“You do realise that even if you were able to evict Merry off Harmony, all the blackwings would simply be taken with him,” Flurry pointed out, extending her good wing this time and jiggling her black primaries to underscore her point.
“We are quite aware of that fact, Flurry,” Oak stated. “Why do you think we have been biding our time with him?”
“This is only a first step,” Twilight said. “I’ve just returned from meeting with Emperor Stratos of the Pegasus Republic, trying to make progress on this very issue.”
“How did that go?” Oak asked.
“As expected, he was appalled to hear of Lord Merry Weather’s antics. He assured me that it was never his intention for such a character to be sent to Harmony. Suffice to say, he intends to look into the matter personally,” Twilight said, rattling off her reply with all the passion of a secretary golem.
“Yeah right,” Flurry grumbled.
“The problem is, according to Republic law, Merry Weather has committed no crime. The blackwings sequestered to him are…” her voice hardened, “…his property to do with as he sees fit. Meaning we can’t simply take him into custody while we wait for the Emperor to order him home.”
“Are you surprised?” Flurry snorted in disgust. “That stallion sent a million blackwings to their deaths in the war. Do you think he cares that a few more are being mistreated by some corrupt noble?”
“This is politically awkward for the emperor,” Twilight continued, ignoring her outburst. “He has made very public commitments to the Harmony Initiative. If word of this gets out, it’ll be an embarrassment. Stratos will want this dealt with quietly before it becomes a public scandal.”
“That may be true, but it doesn’t help Flurry’s predicament right now,” Oak pointed out.
“Thank you,” Flurry said with a bit of sassy irritation.
“Fortunately, Flint has found something that might speed that along,” Nyx pointed out. “It seems Lord Merry Weather has given us the rope to hang him with. Chief, if you could?”
“That’s right,” Flint said, straightening himself. A hint of pride spread across his face. “I’ve cracked the security on the data core. This is why I brought you all here.”
The holographic ships disappeared and were replaced with a split-screen image of Merry Weather in the middle of a Mirrorcomm discussion with a rather emaciated but otherwise normal-looking civilian pony. It was an earth pony stallion, a flat tan in colour, his face gaunt and ribs showing like he hadn’t eaten in two weeks. Despite his appearance, he did not seem uncomfortable but was speaking with Merry as if in a trance, his eyes distant and unfocused.
“Our… clients will be ready soon,” the earth pony said to Merry in a monotone voice as if he had no opinion whatsoever on the matter. “They expect to deploy within the hour.”
“Yes yes,” Merry confirmed, smiling graciously. “I am transmitting the course and departure time now, as well as the crew compliment.” He rubbed his forehooves together. “This information was not easy to acquire. I trust you have my payment?”
“My associates are most pleased with your cooperation,” the earth pony replied. As he said this, a windigo stepped forward from the shadows into view, towering over the pony. Judging from Merry’s reaction, it was the first time he had seen one. “The funds have been transferred as per our agreement. You are a friend to us, and we do not forget our friends. We may call upon you in the future.”
Merry positively beamed. “Of course! If there is anything else I can do—”
The image disappeared and the room brightened.
“He’s been playing us this whole time!” Flurry fumed, slamming a forehoof on the table. “That smug prick. All the theatrics and stalling. Getting me to… Oooh if I ever…”
“Breathe, Flurry,” Flint said calmly.
“Playing both sides, apparently,” Nyx pointed out, her ears pinned back and her eyes menacing. “I did not expect this.”
“No wonder Downdraft was so insistent on aborting the mission,” Oak added. “Merry would have told him to make sure it failed. The only way I was able to gain control was to blame him for the loss of Flurry Heart in front of Merry once we got back.”
“That figures,” Flurry scoffed. “Merry would have his head if he ended up responsible for losing his lordship’s greatest prize. I guess I really am the most wanted mare in the galaxy.”
“Ironic that Merry’s lust for owning an alicorn was ultimately the reason the rescue succeeded,” Twilight said. “At least we have enough evidence to convict him now.”
“You’re all heart,” Flurry jeered.
“I didn’t— I mean we have him now. There’s no way he is getting away with this,” Twilight responded.
“And we’re sure this is genuine?” Oakheart asked. “We’re dealing with changelings after all.”
“The transmission had Republic military encryption and the same signature as the Glorium,” Flint said. “Merry must have made the call from the carrier, thinking no one would ever see it.”
“You found this on the Syndicate data core?” Flurry asked. “Sounds like the boss was listening in.”
“That and more,” Flint replied. “Seems the windigo shared the signal with the Syndicate at the start, but the boss hacked the signal, keeping it open after Merry was off the call.”
“There’s more? Play it,” Flurry said.
“Trust me, you don’t want to see this,” Flint warned. “That windigo standing behind the pony? It ate him after the call. Its neck split right down the middle and swallowed him whole. Blood everywhere. I’ve never seen anything so horrible.”
“I have…” Flurry muttered. “And no, I’d rather not see it, thanks. Poor guy was just a mouthpiece.” Flurry shook off a cold shiver that ran down her spine.
“So all along, the windigo promised the Syndicate they’d get to keep the Orion.” Nyx stated.
“Then sabotaged her mid-heist,” Flurry added. “Lame.”
“We need to decide what to do with Merry,” Oak interrupted. “The evidence is damning. How do we proceed?”
“I can signal Harmony to have him detained,” Flint suggested. “I’m not the only one in the precinct that is itching to see him taken down.”
“We can’t,” Twilight said with a sigh.
“Why not?”
“The blackwing spell has a failsafe built into it,” she replied. “One command from the keeper of the enchantment and everyone is punished or even killed.”
Flurry shuddered at an unpleasant memory. “Oh… I saw that happen once during the war. It wasn’t pretty.”
“This complicates things,” Oakheart said grimly. “You know he’ll use the lives of his blackwings as leverage if he can. Especially your life, Miss Flurry.”
“We won’t let that happen,” Nyx said, her wings bristling.
“No argument there, captain,” Flint said, giving Flurry a reassuring smile. “But he’s holding a lot of cards at the moment. Maybe we can just shoot him in the head without warning?”
“That’s no good either,” Flurry said. “If he’s killed, the enchantment will auto-activate. You’d be mopping blood off the floor for weeks.”
“This thing is a real bitch of a spell,” Flint grumbled. “I take it you can’t just crack it?”
“Nope,” Flurry said, giving Twilight a pointed look. “How about I just punch him in the head when he's not looking? If nothing else, it’d at least be satisfying.”
Everyone’s silence on that point told Flurry they were all feeling about the same. Flurry’s usual brute force approach had never failed in so many ways in such a short period of time. She felt like flipping the table and storming out of the room, but her eye caught Whammy, still sitting there staring at her.
She looked away with a hiss of frustration. There had to be something they could do that wouldn’t result in having to face Merry every day with this noose around her neck. She looked between Twilight and Nyx, but their concerned frowns only made her feel worse.
“Is there a way to delay the trigger?” Flintlock asked, drawing everyone’s attention. “I don’t understand all this thaumaturgy stuff, but that thing is basically a remote bomb, right?”
“Essentially, yes,” Twilight replied.
“I’ve seen the bomb disposal guys use all sorts of gadgets to interfere with a bomb’s detonator so they can move ’em to somewhere safe. Could we do something similar?”
Twilight’s face lit up. “Yes, of course!” She then focused on Flurry’s body, probing around with intricate energies. “Yes, this could work.”
“Hey, do you mind?” Flurry asked, recoiling from the invasion.
“I might not be able to dispel the enchantment, but I can inhibit what triggers it,” Twilight said as her nerd gears began to turn. “If I can get really close, I can temporarily prevent him from activating punitive signals or the kill command.”
“For how long?” Flint asked.
“A few minutes at best—hopefully long enough for us to get him someplace thaumatically insulated,” Twilight replied. “Then I can focus on cracking the enchantment for good.”
“Hold on, you said you’d need weeks,” Flurry objected.
“Yes. Five, maybe six.”
“And what happens after twenty-four hours when the enchantment’s timer expires? If he doesn’t reset it each day, we die.”
Twilight put a hoof to her chin. “Does Merry personally reset everyone’s enchantment? That would take up a lot of his time. Maybe he has a mechanism for it.”
Flurry took a moment to search through the cluttered thoughts swimming around in her head. She then recalled Swan mentioning something about having to all pass through a room after missions.
“I bet it’s that staff,” she said finally.
“There’s a staff?” Twilight asked. “If that’s true, it would greatly increase the odds of breaking it.”
“Yeah, the staff is what makes someone a blackwing. No doubt he keeps it in a safe place.”
“Okay then. We’ll need to lure Merry away from his entourage,” Oakheart said. “Perhaps we can host a private party in his honour?”
“The prick would love that,” Flurry grumbled. “Especially if I’m there.”
“I’ll come too,” Twilight said. “Lord Merry has been upfront with his desire to enjoy time with me.” She gave a shudder, seeming to shake off the putrid thought. “But we can’t try this if he’s got support nearby—even the blackwings, who might come to his aid. There would be no way to get him isolated in time.”
“Great. So we lure him into Oak’s office or something,” Flurry said. “I distract him while Twilight casts the inhibitor spell. Then we whack him on the head and bundle him into a cell?” She knocked her forehooves together for good measure.
“Pretty much,” Oakheart continued. “Meanwhile, Flintlock and security will move to detain Merry’s officers. If we’re swift, the whole sorry operation will come tumbling down all at once.”
Flurry drew a deep breath, considering everything she had just learned. It wasn’t ideal, but it was something. Now, if only the plan didn’t involve Twilight, she might actually feel good about it.
“Well, I’ve heard all I need to hear, I think,” she declared. “I need to get some air.”
After some effort and wincing, she managed to stand while the others watched.
“Flurry?” Nyx asked. “Are you okay?”
Flurry gave her cousin a weak smile. “Just one thing before I go…”
She then hobbled over to the painting of Merry Weather hanging on the wall. She stared at it, imagining all manner of horrible endings for the stallion. Reaching up, she pulled it from the wall and cast it to the ground, stomping a hoof through the canvas.
“There. Much better.”
<=======ooO Ooo=======>
A sad clatter of hooves reverberated down the docking umbilical as the blackwings marched off the Glorium in single file. Some were still wrapped in blood-stained bandages, limping along as best they could. With the mission over, it was now time to return to the status quo of their existence—not even their injuries would grant them reprieve.
It had begun the moment they docked with Harmony Station. An announcement blasted throughout the ship, ordering all blackwings to assemble in Harmony’s squadron hangar so their enchantments could be reset.
Time for their master to tighten his chains for another day.
Flurry walked amongst the procession, following the sorry line as they slowly disembarked from the ship. Meanwhile, Nyx and Oakheart were off coordinating the easing of the Orion into her berth. Twilight was off doing whatever she was doing, and Flint was readying his part of this mad plan. At least Whammy was still with her, sitting on her back between her wings. He was a small but welcome comfort in this depressing march of the damned.
A few officers and guards from the Glorium milled around the corridors to watch the line move forward. Now that the mission was over, these cockroaches had crawled out from under their rocks and were eager to reassert their authority.
“Keep moving, grubs!” one of them jeered, earning laughs from his comrades. “You don’t want to keep his lordship waiting!”
One would normally expect that returning from a dire mission intact would have forged some kind of bond, however small. As it was, Flurry’s opinion of these pretentious scum continued to plummet. She pondered maybe snapping a neck or two just to take the edge off, but she didn’t need Whammy to tell her that was a bad idea. As much as it irked her, there was nothing she could do right now.
She hadn’t seen Swan or any of her aerie since she joined the line. Perhaps the pegasus had gone ahead of the rest in order to give her report to her bloated master.
Merry Weather.
Just the thought of that snake made Flurry’s blood boil. The fact he’d been playing them this whole time only served to piss her off more. It must have been showing in her expression, for none of the officers even dared cross her like they did the others.
Harmony’s hangar bay was still the same spacious array of endless docking platforms and scattered maintenance equipment she had seen when she first arrived, but today, it felt different. Before, Flurry had marched through here with fire in her heart and a mission on her mind, ready to move the galaxy if she had to. Now, it felt like a prison for her along with over two hundred inmates.
Most of them were crew from the Glorium, who kept their distance or gave her dirty looks. Flurry tried to ignore it, focusing instead on finding Swan and her aerie among them. As the blackwings continued to file in, they began sorting themselves into their respective divisions. The blur of bodies and voices made her head spin, not helped by the stench of stale sweat from far too many ponies in desperate need of a shower.
There was no sign of Merry Weather yet, but she expected the worm was lurking somewhere not far off.
As she scanned the crowd, Flurry quickly realised a void was growing around her, a mob surrounding her on all sides. Murmurs and whispers passed through the crowd as her gaze was met with angry glares.
“That’s her!”
“What is she doing here?”
“It’s her fault.”
Flurry let out a sigh. “Are we really doing this now?”
A stallion with a mottled brown coat, a bloodied bandage over his right eye, hobbled forward, his grey overalls speckled with blood stains.
“You’re not welcome here, Last Shadow,” he growled, his wings bristling. “We lost a lot of good ponies in that battle because of you and that damned dirt pony.”
A ripple of agreements went through the crowd as they began to close in around her, ready for a brawl.
“I don’t want to hurt any of you,” Flurry warned.
“You should have thought of that before you dragged us into that fight,” he retorted.
“Merry will kill you, you know that.”
“What's one more dead blackwing if it shows everyone who you really are?” he hissed.
Flurry took a defensive posture, lowering her head with pinned ears, flaring her wings, at least as much as she could before wincing in pain. There hadn’t been time to recharge, so this would depend on just how enthusiastic these ponies were feeling about their need for revenge.
“That’s enough, all of you!” A familiar voice yelled. Flurry was surprised to see Blitz land in front of her. What’s more, he wasn’t alone—the rest of the pilots had joined him as well. “Flurry Heart fought alongside us for an hour out there while you lot were safe and sound on the carrier. If you want her, you’ll have to go through us!”
Flurry was astonished to see the aerie gathering around her like a shield. Strangely, she couldn’t see Swan among them. Had she asked them to protect her?
“Stay out of this, Blitz,” the stallion warned. “It doesn’t involve you!”
Blitz shook his head. “I get it, you’re angry. We lost friends out there too. But if you want to blame someone, blame those Syndicate assholes that attacked us.”
Flurry bit her tongue, fighting off the urge to mention who was really responsible.
“She brought this on us! We should never have been on that mission.”
“That’s the job!” Blitz retorted. “Your wings are black, so you do what you’re told. Just like me. We don’t turn on each other if we don’t like how it turned out.”
“But she’s not one of us, Blitz!”
“Her wings are the same as ours!” the mare named Cinnamon yelled.
The crowd began to look more uncertain as Blitz and the aerie held their ground.
“Listen, we’re all tired and hurt. How about we settle this later?” Flurry offered.
The stallion looked to his comrades, who were beginning to back off. “Fine. You’ll fit right in with the whores.”
The mob began to break up, giving Flurry a final contemptuous look before returning to their groups.
“Thanks for the save,” Flurry said quietly.
Blitz fluffed his wings. “Hey, I wasn’t lying with what I said. Without you, probably none of us would be here right now. Doesn’t matter what you were before. You’re one of us now, and we look after our own.”
“Did Swan put you up to this?” Flurry asked.
“No, but I know it’s what she would have wanted,” Blitz grinned, placing a hoof on her shoulder and getting warm smiles from the others.
“Thank you,” Flurry said with a smile. “I hope this doesn’t cause trouble for you in the future.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Blitz assured. “Swan would give ’em hell for messing with her aerie.”
“Where is she anyways?” Flurry asked, peering around the group but still not seeing her amongst them.
“Merry wanted a report,” Blitz said with a frown. “But she should have been back by now.”
“Do you know what all of this is about?”
“No idea. We don’t have meetings like this very often.”
“Maybe he’s baked us a cake,” Flurry muttered.
Blitz chuckled, then all eyes suddenly turned to a raised platform that had been hurriedly constructed from bits of hangar scaffolding.
It was Downdraft, raising his voice for all to hear. “Attention everyone! Announcing the arrival of his lordship!”
In unison, the chatter from the crowd was snuffed out, with everyone quickly arranging themselves in neat columns as they saluted with their right wings. Everyone but Flurry.
Instead, she sat down, holding her head high while those around her lowered theirs. She gave Downdraft a snort of disdain as Merry Weather marched to the head of the gathering. He looked as ridiculous as ever, wearing a red sash bedecked in medals that jingled as he walked.
Beside him, a subdued Swan Song walked, clutching the branding staff that she had used earlier under her wing.
“Ah, my crew,” Merry exclaimed. “My dear Swan Song was just informing me of your diligent work.” He glanced to her with a warm smile that made the mare flinch. “And though some of your number have died, it warms my heart that they died in my name. Rejoice! They are one step closer to redemption.”
“Redemption my ass,” Flurry muttered.
“Flurry!” Blitz hissed. “You’ve got to keep your head down. Do you want to get shocked?”
“I’m not showing any reverence to him—not now, not ever,” she replied, glaring at the buffoon grandstanding before his slaves.
“And now, as a reward for your sacrifices, I grant you a two-day reprieve from your burdens,” Merry announced, snatching the staff from Swan’s grasp. “All work details are cancelled for this time, as we have much to celebrate!”
Flurry imagined that Merry would probably foist all the repair work onto the Harmony crew.
A surprised murmur rippled through the crowd at the announcement. Merry then clutched the staff in practiced movements, resetting the entire room’s blackwing enchantment for the day.
Flurry felt dizzy as her strength and senses diminished. Her wings felt leaden at her sides, and a fog formed in her mind, blocking her thaumatic core. Finally, she felt her energy snuffed out, replaced only by a terrible emptiness like she had just lost a limb.
“At ease. Give thanks for your lord’s generosity!” Downdraft announced, stomping a hoof.
The crowd began to stomp their hooves in applause, earning a smile and a wave from their oppressor.
“You may return to your dorms,” Downdraft shouted, after which the crowd started to break up.
Flurry watched as Merry began heading towards her with Swan and Downdraft following behind on either side. She could smell him long before he got close, the gallons of cologne he’d doused himself with making him especially pungent.
“Ah, and there is my treasure!” Merry crooned. “Safe and sound. Oh, I was so worried about you.”
“I bet,” she replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm and her expression filled with contempt.
A frown crossed his face as he examined her. “Wait, what’s this?” His gaze turned to Swan Song. “You didn’t say that my treasure had been bruised!”
“My lord, I—” Swan stammered.
With a gesture from his wing, Swan’s enchantment flared. She cried out, her knees buckling, quickly followed by the rest of her aerie as well.
“Stop! They’ve done nothing but fight valiantly and put their lives on the line. If torturing ponies gets you off, then do it to me,” Flurry challenged, stepping forward. “Haven’t they done enough for you?”
Merry eyed her and relented. “You have a point. I suppose they did help somewhat in the battle.”
Flurry hurried over to Swan Song and helped steady the battered mare.
“To see such care for your fellow blackwings… Ah, it brings a tear to my eye,” he mocked, pointing a wing at Swan. “Especially her. Now you’re two peas in a pod. Friendship is a beautiful thing, yes?”
“As if you have any idea what that word even means,” Flurry growled.
“Such a dirty look from such a beautiful mare,” Merry muttered, licking his lips. “Perhaps you need some instruction before your debut.”
He took a step forward with a predatory grin, pausing when Swan spoke up.
“My lord, we must hurry if we’re going to be ready for the celebration in time,” she said softly, still on her knees.
Celebration? Has Twilight already contacted him? Flurry pondered. If Swan was also invited, that would complicate matters.
“Hmmm? Oh yes, of course!” Merry exclaimed, clapping his hooves. “My guests will be arriving soon; we must be on our way.”
Guests… This wasn’t good.
Just then, two mares fluttered in from his entourage to join them. One was pink, and the other a gaudy magenta—probably not her natural colour. Their manes were extravagantly styled with matching braids, while their ears and necks were adorned in jewelry. They both reeked of perfume, and their faces were covered in thick eyeshadow and cosmetics, making them seem more like dolls than living ponies.
“Make sure she is perfect for her debut,” Merry ordered, his nose wrinkling. “And give both her and my Swan a proper bath. I won’t have them ruining my party with their stench.”
Of course he has a pair of attack stylists, Flurry groused. She opened her mouth to protest but quickly closed it as she noticed the dried changeling blood crusting her fetlocks.
“At once, my lord,” one of the mares said, her accent thick, possibly Ravadian.
“Now, I must go and prepare myself,” Merry announced, positively beaming before his eyes fell on Whammy. “And get rid of that ridiculous foal’s toy. It’s embarrassing.”
With that, Merry walked away with Downdraft in tow, quickly disappearing into the shadows.
“Are you okay?” Flurry asked.
“Yes,” Swan panted, letting out a groan as she struggled to her hooves. “How are the others?”
“We’re good, Swan,” Blitz assured.
“Okay, so what’s this party he’s talking about?” Flurry asked, feigning ignorance.
“Oh, it is your debut of course!” The mare with the magenta coat answered with a joyful smile. “Members of the Navigator’s Guild and even the Alliance will be there. They’ll hear how you came to be in our lord’s service. We don’t have a moment to lose!”
Flurry blinked. Oh, this isn’t good. So much for getting Merry alone.
“Absolutely! We must prepare a bath at once,” the mare’s companion fussed, moving behind them both and shuffling them towards the exit. “Come along, we’ll have you both stunning in no time!”
“Blitz, help the others back to the barracks, okay?” Swan called.
“Sure thing, Swan!” He shouted back.
“Hey Blitz, take care of Whammy for me,” Flurry said, levitating the plushie off her back and gently tossing him to Blitz. It was depressing how much effort even that took in her shackled state.
“Just ignore anything he says about me. He loves spinning tales.” Flurry continued, giving him a wink.
Blitz caught Whammy and examined him carefully, a confused frown crossing his brow. “Um, yeah, sure.”
“Thanks.”
As they were herded away from the aerie, Flurry looked to Swan, who was focused on the path ahead.
“Thanks for the save back there,” she whispered.
“You shouldn’t act out against him,” Swan said, her ears flattening. “The more you fight him, the worse it gets.”
The pain in Swan’s eyes and the way her body tensed told Flurry this wasn’t just an idle warning. How long had this mare endured that monster’s attentions?
Flurry wished she could tell Swan of their plan, to give the mare a glimmer of hope, but she held her tongue. There was no way to tell how the pegasus would react if she found out Merry had sent them all out to die in a conflict that was his doing.
“Come along, you two!” one of the stylists called. “We’ve got so much to do and so little time!”
Being eaten alive by a windigo was starting to look more appealing by the minute.
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The more I see and hear of Merry Weather the more I despise him. I hope you have something suitable planned for him.
Man, if Merry Weather doesn’t get shot in the face by the end of this I’m gunna be pissed. That I am strangling looking forward to Flurry getting prettied I like a proper princess lol. I know it’s for a terrible reason but that’s just too funny to me.
Funnily, I just finished reading empty horizon in the time between these two chapters which also has a main character called Flintlock. So it was funny having to remind myself which Flint I was reading here. Lol
Can’t wait to see how there plans works out, and I’m Hoping Flurry and Twilight can mend their relationship even just a little.
It says a lot that, in a story featuring feral changelings and a pony-eating windigo, the most repulsive villain is an average pony. Merry is a well-written and utterly despicable character. The way you’ve written the plot keeps me on my toes - I keep changing my guesses on whether he’ll face justice or not. Flurry’s prospects for survival seem a little better now, at least.
Having recently finished Past Sins and some of its sequels, I can appreciate Nyx & her relationship with Twilight even more now. She’s come a long way from being pushed around by crazed cultists. Plus, it shows that Twilight meant it when she thanked Flurry for saving Nyx. She truly loves her daughter, even as the years have passed by.
So glad for this update! I look forward to these updates. I really like your version of Flurry Heart and Nyx as well. This whole world you've created is just so interesting.
10602833
Merry was pretty confident none of this could be traced back to him. The Windigo have a very Don't F* with them reputation in the galaxy, though very few really know anything about them. For him, it was a pretty safe bet nobody would find out. And even when Flurry came asking for help, Merry had the perfect cover to refuse, as it's simply not in his contract. But that alicorn booty though...
he just couldn't resist the opportunity to actually own an alicorn. And the most infamous alicorn in the region at that. The uncatchable Last Shadow. Can you imagine the bragging rights he'd have for the rest of his life, pulling this off? It's little wonder he allowed himself to get sloppy, still thinking he could simply ensure the mission failed and counting on Flurry's survivability skills to make sure she comes back to him.
Downdraft was not as confident, which allowed Oakheart to turn the screws on him. But even with the Carrier support, the chances of winning vs the windigo in person were pretty slim once they were onboard the Orion.
Oh Merry. The noose has been placed around your neck and is being snugged up, and you haven't even noticed.
10603184
I'm certainly not sure how things like "diplomatic immunity" work, but I've seen it in shows and movies where an ambassador seems to think they can get away with things not allowed in the country because they have this magical thing called diplomatic immunity. Something about extending the laws of the ambassador's homeland into his embassy... or something. If you know, I'd be interested in finding out how this works. But for what it's worth, I think at least Merry believes he has this protection.
You... are on to something. Very observant. There is something more than meets the eye going on in this regard, but I'll leave it there for now. Will probably bring this up in the discussion forum as it won't be revealed (much if at all) in FiT.
10602838
Your right, let’s just hope Flurry’s plan works out
10603313
lol exactly.
And yeah, her meeting with Stratos was no doubt neck deep in all of these inter-factional treaties and so on... Stuff too dull to actually go into in the story, but Twilight did mention in this chapter that Stratos was going to do something about Merry since it was a political embarrassment. He put his reputation on the line by endorsing the Harmony Initiative, and if Merry is going to go making a mockery of it, that looks bad for the emperor.
Regardless, as Twilight said in the meeting... they've got him on criminal charges now. It's just a matter of seeing what maneuvers he has left to play, if any, and how smooth the takedown will go... I'm sure you can about guess.
I really cant wait for flurry to tear that absolute anus smear of a pony apart
Little late to read and comment this time, but that's the holidays for you.
It really wouldn't surprise me. It is nobility tactics 101 for problem children such as this--send them as far away from you as possible and let them be somebody else's problem until they either learn their lesson, or manage to otherwise cease being a problem.
Probably going to have to resort to the latter option for Merry's case.
Yeah, and we have eighteen other chapters of story to prove it.
I'm sort of inclined to agree. I'm sure Twilight has some explanation for all of this that certainly left her hooves tied on the matter and that for whatever reason she really feels like she can't give the full story...but with the evidence presently given, it'll always make for a poor excuse for what happened, and worse still, it almost certainly had to do with politics, and in my opinion, when it comes to innocent lives, politics is never a good excuse or justification for lack of action in things like this. It could've been prevented, should've been prevented, and they all knew it--but it didn't. And the fact Twilight won't even explain why is just salt in the wound, no matter how good a reason she might have for it.
So I wouldn't say I'm as angry at Twilight as Flurry is...but I am rather disappointed in her at the moment.
And hasn't yet gathered the nerve to ask someone with wings to give him a lift, because I remember how he'd reacted when Flurry last helped him out on that.
....eventually, he means.
Just for that, then, I'd deliberately say something bad about him to Merry once back at Harmony.
Well then! Making sure the mission succeeded instead should make for a good step one towards getting even with Merry then.
The subsequent steps as currently envisioned get increasingly bad for Merry after that. 
Oh c'mon, Flurry--you were going to do that to him anyway.
I know Flurry would hate even suggesting it, and I'm admittedly sort of detested in myself for even considering it...but tell Merry that part of the proposed "party" would have Flurry doing some sort of "performance" for his enjoyment. Bet good money right there that'd get ol' Merry to throw caution to the wind and come galloping right in.
If.
That's the worrying word here.
Oh yes, the painting's resale value just skyrocketed now that Merry's face has been removed from it.
Yes, I've been upgrading the plans for his untimely demise accordingly for that in my head.
Especially since you all might just be singing a different song by then if this crazy plan of the gang's actually works.
Considering this story's been built on nothing but crazy plans all one after another though, and that's worked out actually better than expected thus far, I think they've got a good fighting chance of that, at the very least.
We'll see though. Merry's no military genius, but he is still a slippery slimeball.
Again, Flurry's continued well being is not the thing you need to be worrying about, Merry.
Over Flurry's cold dead body.
Ah, but even Merry will have a line he wouldn't want to cross to try and subdue Flurry, and you can bet Flurry's going to find it, and then exploit it for all its worth.
Heck, in some ways she already has. Merry isn't exactly a hard pony to figure out.
Concurred.
...why do I still feel like Merry's just as much a pawn in all of this as everybody else?
10606146
I'm getting that feeling that Merry Weather is a pawn as well. I hope to God that MAYBE he gets his own staff rammed up his hindquarters - poetic justice, in a way.
10607782
Oh, I'm hoping for a lot of somethings to happen to him myself...but he can probably only die once, so...can't actually do all of them, sadly.
I might not be as blood thirsty as some of the other readers but all the same I eagerly await Merry Weather’s downfall. I hope things proceed without too much of a hiccup, but I know somethings gotta go slightly wrong to make it more engaging. But it’ll make the victory sweeter anyway.
Again, really great chapter! I’m happy to finally get some context on Flurry’s grudge against Twilight, even if it’s just one of the angles so far. I’m still on Twilight’s side(and so is Whammy so I feel rather confident). But I totally understand Flurry’s anger and pain.
I really liked the meeting scene where everyone’s bouncing off each other and constructing the plan, super satisfying.
10607971
Suffice to say, I think very few people, if any, are going to predict what we've got in store until the final chapter is released.
10608641
Woo! The verbal choreography paid off. Always nice to hear the work was worth it!
Means something when the plushie's rationale is the one the readers trust.
Yeesh, that's a measure and a half. Still can't help but be curious how exactly those would work.
I certainly can't blame Flurry for being as angry with Twilight as she is, but at the same time I have to wonder what's really going on. For Twilight to promise help, then fail to follow up a) without letting Flurry know as soon as possible that she couldn't help, b) without offering to try to source non-official transports (if that's even a thing she can do), and c) apparently without an apology (?) strikes me as rather odd (though to be fair we're only hearing one side of the story).
I'm also curious whether
was reasoning explicitly given by Twilight when first offering help, or whether it's why Flurry requested help from Twilight in the first place.
This brings up some interesting questions. Might the windigos have been involved in getting Merry assigned to Harmony Station, so he could then get the information they want? Or was this just the right (wrong?) pony in the right place at the right time? Were there other redundancies in place? Just how many resources do they have?
That's a very... interesting capability. Feels ripe for abuse, at least. Or was the windigo just too lazy to turn off the transmission?
Actually makes me wonder; if Merry is just knocked out, not killed, would the enchantment activate? That sounds like it could be potentially counterproductive (if you're in a battle alongside your blackwings, you wouldn't want an enemy knocking you out to also take out the rest of your fighting force), albeit risky (don't want to punch too hard).
It's like Merry is doing everything he can to not be alone.
I'm half expecting that conference room to have been bugged.
I can't wait to hear their rendition of events.
10607971
Not necessarily! That's where necromancy comes in... so you can do all of it.