Sisters of Willowbrook

by Starscribe

Chapter 43: Royal Investigator

Firefly should be heading home. It wasn't just the insanity of her mission through the clouds, soaring into an impregnable fortress that few flying ponies could ever hope to see—it was getting dark, and her dad would start to worry.

Assuming he wasn't already beside himself by now.

But just knowing she should be flying back and actually getting herself to do it were two very different things. How could she go home when she had the company of such an interesting pony?

Rainbow Dash led her down to the ground. But even a simple descent was something cool for her, a chance to perform and race. She flew in great loops as she went down, urging Firefly to imitate her.

She couldn't, but she could try, and that was what mattered.

As it turned out, the path they chose wasn't about simple performance, either. Rainbow had a specific route in mind, one that avoided the densest wind and rain. By the time they landed on one of Willowbrook's main roads, she was barely even damp.

Not even that for long—such energetic flying made her wings buzz with magical energy, which rose from her coat like steam. For the first time, she wasn't even the only pony doing it. Rainbow Dash had made a trail all the way to the ground.

"Nice!” she exclaimed, as they finally touched down. "Seriously, Firefly, that was great for a pony your age. I bet you'll be a killer when you're a few years older."

She blushed, looking away at the compliment. "Thanks. I was flying my best! But I felt like there were weights around my wings compared to you."

"Yeah, well, I'm pretty awesome. Don't hold it against yourself, filly. Just keep at it."

They hadn't picked an empty patch of road for their landing. An oversized cart came to rest after a short few meters. Firefly wouldn't have given it a second glance, except that it was pulled by guards. Royal-looking ponies in gold armor, with actual weapons strapped to them.

They might be doing the job of propulsion right now, but their attendance served an obvious dual purpose. This was a royal escort. Buck, who could be that important?

The doors opened, and a purple unicorn emerged from within. She looked towards Rainbow, before gesturing with one hoof. "You've been gone for hours, Rainbow. Is everything okay?"

"Better than okay!" She didn't walk, even the short distance to the open door. Instead she blurred through the air, landing in the gravel and scattering it to all directions. "You won't believe what I just found up there!"

Firefly followed, or got a few steps closer. These were strangers, aside from the pegasus she had just befriended. Equestria was generally quite a safe place to spend time with strangers, but that didn't mean she would be reckless about it.

"I can take a guess," the unicorn said. In seconds, her words transformed to something sounding like an older, female version of Risk, plodding and methodical. The same way he always sounded when she asked him anything. "We're in the Equestrian Central Gyre, which creates a large zone of out-of-control weather patterns and attracts abandoned cloud structures from all over the world. I believe the locals call it the... Cumulus Maze."

Rainbow Dash shrugged her wings. "Yeah, whatever. Lots of old cloud buildings, they were up there. But that's not what I’m talking about. There was a whole bucking castle! Intact magic, all wrapped up in a dome of unmelting glass. I've never seen anything like it, Twilight!"

The unicorn, apparently Twilight, stepped back into the carriage. "Well, get in. You can explain on our way into town. I don't believe it's connected with the reason Celestia called us here."

"Yes please!" called another voice, from inside. It was deep and feminine, a parody of fine Canterlot unicorns. "Darling, you simply must get in. You're letting in the most abominable draft. You know this isn't good for my complexion."

Firefly opened her wings, preparing to take off. This was what she expected—Rainbow would rejoin her friends, then continue with their strange investigation across the city. They would search for... whatever they were searching for... and this awesome pegasus would never look at her again.

Only that wasn't what happened. Rainbow zipped over to her in another blow, taking her by the hoof. "There's something else! Twilight, I met a local filly. She's the fastest little pony I've seen in the air since... a mirror! And she knows things! You know, like—"

Twilight gestured urgently for the carriage. "Get in, then! You don't know who might be listening!"

Should I be doing this? Firefly considered for a few seconds just how dangerous it would be to be close to royal ponies. Lilac always said that the princess wanted them dead, if she could. Nevermind that she'd seen no sign of violence from her actual government in her entire life.

She probably would've flown away, if it wasn't for Rainbow tugging on her hoof. Maybe if she stayed, the mare would give her more flying advice? An hour in the air with her was like weeks of classes!

She hurried up the steps and into the fancy carriage.

It was even finer on the inside. Old polished wood, with little sun markings on everything. It seemed bigger than she expected, with plenty of room on wide benches for them all to have their own, not to mention the several suitcases.

"You're soaking wet!" called a pale unicorn, lounging on one of the upper benches. She was wrapped almost completely in an oversized fluffy robe. She took one look at Rainbow Dash, then pulled it tighter around herself. "Have you no decorum? Bringing a guest while we're sore from traveling all day."

"I'm Twilight Sparkle," the purple one said, taking her seat. "That one up there is Rarity. I'm sure she'll come down if you have anything interesting to say. What's your name?"

"Firefly," she answered, suddenly avoiding her eyes. She took one step towards Rainbow, and the open carriage door. "Nice to meet you. Miss Dash said something about... are you looking for the mine?"

The mare took that opportunity to flick the door closed. Without a word, the guards started pulling them, and soon they were trundling down the road towards Willowbrook.

See, it's fine! I'm just riding home. Dad will understand.

"Miss Dash," Rarity repeated. "You don't hear that one every day."

Rainbow Dash made a face in the unicorn's direction, but only when she wasn't looking. "I didn't tell her to call me that, either. Just Rainbow, remember? I'm no pony’s boss. Maybe one day if you end up in the Wonderbolts, I might be your wing-commander. But this is much less serious."

"It's more serious," Twilight said. She raised one hoof, silencing them all. "Why did you bring in this local, Rainbow? She looks terrified."

"Well, we can't have that." Rarity emerged from her robes a moment later, with a flash of perfect white coat and purple mane. She produced a deep purple towel from nowhere in particular, then levitated it across the room towards her. Before Firefly could protest, she was entirely enveloped, then lifted bodily up onto the bench.

Rarity dropped her there with a thump. "There, sweetheart. Is that better?"

"I'm not five," she finally said. "But thanks. I was... pretty cold."

She let the soft fabric just soak into her coat for a time. Between that and the passive magic, she was soon feeling much warmer.

"She knows about everything," Rainbow said. "The mine, the shady magic, everything. Why wander around poking into dingy old libraries when we can just find somepony to tell us everything we want to know?"

Twilight pawed at the ground between them, looking thoughtful. "What did Rainbow Dash tell you about our reason for being here?"

Firefly hesitated. She could already tell exactly what they were doing here, based on Rainbow asking about the mines. But that wasn't the right thing to say. "That the princess was worried for us? Also that everypony in town are... creepy weirdoes? She's not wrong about that last part. There's a lot of creepy ponies in Willowbrook."

Twilight Sparkle's head snapped to the side, and she glowered at Rainbow. But only for a second—as soon as she noticed Firefly's attention, she forced another smile.

"And you think we can trust her?" she asked. Not to Firefly this time.

Rainbow hopped up into the seat beside her. She leaned against the window, then pulled the shutters down over the opening. "Duh. The flying we did up there... you can learn a lot about a pony from their magic, Twi. You're always saying that Friendship is Magic, aren't you? She must have friendships for days if she flies like that."

The compliments made her blush all over again. It didn't matter if she knew that Rainbow was exaggerating. Some of this conversation was about completing an investigation into the strange ponies of Willowbrook, but that wasn't the whole thing. Part of this was a contest with her friends, with stakes Firefly couldn't properly understand.

Twilight's horn glowed faintly for a moment, then she nodded. "You're right about that. You... did find quite a talent up there." Her smile returned. "I'm sorry, Firefly. I don't mean to sound rude or mistrusting. But there's... dark magic, here in Willowbrook. Do you know what that is?"

Lying was probably the smartest choice. But keeping track of too many of those would quickly get out of control. She nodded instead. "That's the... opposite of normal pony magic? It's a reflection of what unicorns have."

"Not... exactly." The unicorn slid a little closer to her along the bench. "But close enough. But before we can ask you anything else, we need to have your word. Promise to Rainbow Dash that you won't share what we say with anypony."

She squirmed in the wooden bench. Could she promise that? With her best friend out of town for an unknown length of time, it had suddenly gotten much easier. "I won't tell your secrets. Are you looking for the old mine?"

"Not exactly," Rarity said. "We brought the old maps from Canterlot. Cyan Mines are there, along with all the other landmarks. This is more about what happened there, and why. Anything you may've heard, no matter how insignificant, might be useful for tracking it down."

So maybe the one called Rarity was more than just a ball of fluff. Her eyes were intense, flicking from Firefly's face to her ears and tail. She would probably sense the subtle signs if she tried to lie.

"There was an earthquake," she said. "Last night. I dunno what time, exactly. It was still light outside. I heard an explosion too—I think maybe there was some gunpowder involved. You know that... awful, sulfur smelling stuff in big barrels? Boom!"

They shared a look, one Firefly couldn't read. Rarity produced a little notebook and a pencil from somewhere. Had she always been wearing that hat? "That is interesting. Royal records suggest there hasn't been any prospecting activity in Cyan Mines for two generations. The silver is dry, and there are no gemstones to speak of. Why would somepony be blasting?"

"Have you heard of anypony wanting to go down there?" Twilight asked. "Somepony must've been. Somepony... creepy."

My best friend. We summoned a demon and it almost ate us. The earthquake was my fault too. They were all watching her now, pressure building. What could she say? "Promise you didn't hear this from me?"

At their nods, she continued. "I... there's a weird religion here. There's no way to know what ponies are part of it, and what aren't. But the ones who are sometimes put on weird clothes and go out in the middle of the night. They... sing, and pray, and other stuff. Everypony knows you stay out of their way no matter what."

"Well that sounds dreadful," Rarity said, scribbling all that. "And rather consistent with royal intelligence on the matter, if I recall."

"Yeah," Twilight said. "Doesn't sound like a great place to live”.

Comments

[ponepony]

At their nods, she continued. "I... there's a weird religion here. There's no way to know what ponies are part of it, and what aren't. But the ones who are sometimes put on weird clothes and go out in the middle of the night. They... sing, and pray, and other stuff. Everypony knows you stay out of their way no matter what."

Well there's no death tag yet, so I think noone gets hurt too badly from this information?

[Shpoople96]

Spill the beans, Firefly, Spill the beans!

[Level Dasher]

Hm. Well, she ain't lying, but she's withholding some pretty big stuff, too. Gotta be careful there, Firefly. At least she gained Rainbow's trust early on, that's always a help.

[Raistlin]

11206467

Something tells me Rarity has noticed Firefly isn't telling the whole story. But she may interpret it as fear of retribution from the cult, rather than any personal involvement.

[Mister Morden]

At the very least, Firefly is warning them about the cult. But will it cause problems or not?

[minibox]

Firefly's testing the waters. She doesn't trust the cult but she knows better then to spill everything just in case. She might have told too much information though. The investigation will be here for sometime.

"Yeah, whatever. Lots of old cloud buildings, they were up there. But that's not what I’m talking about. There was a whole bucking castle! Intact magic, all wrapped up in a dome of unmelting glass. I've never seen anything like it, Twilight!"

In the event Celestia really is a murderous tyrant, the castle might have the evidence Firefly needs to get the Elements on her side.

Twilight's horn glowed faintly for a moment, then she nodded. "You're right about that. You... did find quite a talent up there."

Twilight might be putting on her best poker face here. There's a chance she might have seen a supernova instead of a merely brilliant star.

"Yeah," Twilight said. "Doesn't sound like a great place to live”.

Whether there's a government conspiracy or not, Twilight is certainly right.

[Osiris Grandeur]

That's fine
That's probably fine
That's just fine
Everything is fine

[RandomCommentor]

11206448
Key word there, yet

[TheCommunistDog]

11206467
I mean it's not a good idea to tell your secrets to the people that "maybe" want you dead.

[TheCommunistDog]

11206459
Idk that seems like a really dumb decision. Why would you tell your secret to the enemy?

[Rawislon03]

11206757
On the other end of things, the cult is also her enemy. Sidling up towards the Crown Inquiry aligns her with a group that hasn’t had ponies within that group wanting to sacrifice them and dump their corpses back into the void. And we haven’t seen Celestia’s reaction yet, so we don’t know how she’d respond to ponies that a cult believe are reincarnations of Alicorns.

[Alyarin9000]

Huh, seems I missed the last two uploads!
Firefly playing her cards close to her chest, now. Twi's gonna know something is up (that scan is gonna reveal her raw power along with that she has had some exposure to the dark magic of the area) - but will likely appreciate that she didn't attack Rainbow Dash when they were alone. That confirms that Firefly isn't some kind of monster - or that she has other plans...

And my earlier prediction continues to pan out. Lilac Empathy seems to have swallowed the cult's opinion of Equestria hook, line and sinker - while Firefly has not. C'mon Twi, solve this friendship problem and it all unravels.

As far as people wondering if Celestia is murderous / the cult is right - royal intelligence highlighted the cult, so she knew of their presence and didn't go scorched earth on the town. She's fine, and given my broader knowledge of Equestria i'd jump right over to her side. With the knowledge Firefly has? It really depends. If she realizes Twi has been keeping a poker face, eventually she's going to wonder why they haven't gone ahead and executed her (especially if she figures out in days/weeks)

[djthomp]

They shared a look, one Firefly couldn't read. Rarity produced a little notebook and a pencil from somewhere. Had she always been wearing that hat?

Hah!

Definitely going to be hard to tell any consistent lies or half-truths if royal intelligence already knows an unknown amount of detail about the cult and Twilight has that information easily available.

[JustSomeDyslexic]

11206448
Just because the death tag isn't there doesn't mean death isn't in the story. A lot of ponies died summoning the two just for starters

[tsaukpaetra]

Accidentally an espionage. 😎