Chapter 70: Sympathetic
The next few hours passed in a blur for Firefly. In many ways, visiting here was a luxury unlike anything she had experienced before. How many ponies would get a chance to visit the royal palace? Of those, how many thought they would spend their lives as fugitives in Equestria, ready to be executed the instant that Celestia discovered them?
A lifetime she spent in fear, a lifetime for nothing. Princess Celestia was a harsh ruler, one who probably would have killed them if she thought they were a danger to Equestria.
Firefly wasn’t. She passed—she was welcome to stay. Thinking that still seemed hard for her to believe, and she expected somepony to come around and disabuse her of that belief at any moment. Celestia would reappear, announce that she had reevaluated the judgment, and that Firefly was an unwelcome intruder in the realm.
There could be no complete joy for her and Lilac Empathy, not yet. If only Lilac had postponed her scrying attempt a few more weeks—but then none of this would’ve happened.
The Lightless Star still had the power to strike against them from afar. Just as frightening, Celestia was not done evaluating Lilac yet. Whatever she decided to do to the mare, Firefly would insist she suffer too.
They weren’t out of the woods yet.
At least Celestia was taking the first threat to them seriously, the one posed by the cult. She didn’t remain behind to deal with it herself, but soon enough the unicorn she promised appeared in the tower. She explained the situation privately, then vanished off to whatever it was the ruler of a planet did when she wasn’t interrogating intruders.
Twilight Sparkle stopped in the doorway, surveying the room. By then all four ponies were awake, sitting together by the couch. Septum still looked like Velvet, though Firefly suspected that Celestia knew exactly what was underneath.
Twilight might not, so that was the third item for her list of dangers. The unicorn made her slow way inside, eyes settling first on her. “Firefly. I’m not sure what I should feel about seeing you again. My friends and I came to Willowbrook, and we trusted what you told us.”
“I never lied,” Firefly insisted. “I told you about every danger I could! Doesn’t that count for something, even if I... wasn’t brave enough to defy the Lightless Star?”
Twilight made her slow way into the otherwise empty room, looming over her. “Nopony would expect a filly to stand up against the Lightless Star, particularly when they had so many weapons to use against you. But you should’ve told me about your friend.”
Her eyes settled on Lilac, expression unreadable. “If I met her sooner, I could’ve started helping her back then. At least one pony has been hurt thanks to her. A tutor, Keen Focus. She was with her on one of the Vale airships. Is she responsible for the murder, too? Amaranth Vale... her father.”
Her friend withered at those words. Twilight Sparkle might not be threatening her with death the way Celestia had, but she was no less hostile.
“She didn’t!” Firefly said, confidently. “I was there, I can tell you about it. But Twilight—we’re in danger. Even in your castle, the Lightless Star can hurt us. If you want us to last long enough for your questions...”
She whimpered, unable to look directly at the unicorn anymore. Her best friend was in even worse shape, though—somepony had to stick up for her, and that pony was Firefly. Her friend would do the same for her if she could.
Celestia didn’t accept her. That has to hurt.
Twilight pawed at the ground. “Right. There are defenses we can make against sympathetic magic. They will take time to put in place. But not in Princess Celestia’s tower. Follow me, all of you. Unless your friends aren’t in danger.”
To her surprise, Velvet spoke up, hopping down from the bed. “Firefly is in the most danger, they already tried to kill her once. Then me, if they think I’m still alive. Lilac they will want to take alive, I know what the Watcher wants to do with her. Little Risk isn’t in danger—he’s too young to swear his first oath yet. The Watcher doesn’t have any of his blood. These two would be safe, if they weren’t... the ancient gods we called.”
Twilight rounded on her with renewed intensity. “You don’t look older than he is. Why are you in danger, and not him?”
Firefly closed her eyes, mouthing one last desperate, silent plea for the changeling to stay quiet. Septum ignored her, and changed... into Dusty. Twilight gasped. At least she didn’t blast him into paste.
“I see.” She sighed, tone exasperated. “I see I’m over my head and completely uninformed. Fantastic. Everypony stand next to me, then. You can explain this entire mess to my friends and I once you’re safe.”
She spared one last look for Dusty as he approached. “If you try any invasion stuff, I’ll blast you out the window.”
Firefly scampered over to him, standing protectively beside Dusty. “He won’t! If it wasn’t for him, the Lightless Star would’ve killed me! He loves me, and I love him.”
“I didn’t know a changeling could do that.” There was another flash, and they were somewhere else. Judging by the fine stone and expensive wood paneling, it was probably somewhere else in the castle. Instead of a well-furnished tower, this was completely devoid of furniture, with a floor of gray slate. At least it had plenty of windows, out into a beautiful Canterlot under the setting sun.
There was so much out there to see and do—she could probably spend weeks here exploring it, and barely scratch the surface of what the city offered. Once we’re safe and the cult is gone, maybe I can stay for a while. I don’t have a home to go back to anywhere else.
Twilight’s horn flashed again, and a heavy case appeared on the ground next to her. It unzipped in her magic, revealing a spellcasting kit not too different from the one Lilac carried. There were a dozen different colors of chalk, measuring tools, a length of twine, and stranger things Firefly had no names for.
“Alright everypony, don’t leave this room. This is a complicated spell, I want you right here when it’s finished. Don’t step on anything I draw. Lilac Empathy, how about you step outside, find a guard, and ask them to get a cook’s assistant in here. I assume everypony wants some food. Except the changeling—I guess you don’t have to get anything.”
She levitated several pieces of black charcoal out of the bag at once, and started drawing with each of them, recreating in moments what Lilac would’ve slaved over.
Her friend hesitated near the door, eyes wide. “You’re sending me? I thought Celestia didn’t trust me. Thinks I’m d-dangerous.”
Twilight shrugged, but didn’t look up. “When I took my magical kindergarten admissions exam, I turned my parents into plants. Dangerous doesn’t mean bad, it means you need somepony to teach you.”
She set the charcoal down, looking up. “You looked beyond the Outer Gates. But you put yourself between the monster and your town. That’s not what a bad pony does, it’s what a mare does who’s gotten in over her head. You’re more than your mistakes, Lilac. We’ll get you through this, if you can learn.”
She whimpered, then started crying again. They’d been doing that a lot lately. “C-can I... can Firefly come with me?”
Twilight shook her head sharply. “The changeling thinks she’s the most in danger, I trust the spy. Take your other friend. Don’t get lost, the castle is bigger than it looks from the outside.”
Lilac shot Firefly a pleading look, but Risk hurried over, nudging her. They left together, wandering out into a richly carpeted hall.
For a few minutes Twilight drew in silence. Her father found a place to sit near the wall, watching. Firefly thought about joining him, but her curiosity was too great.
She found somewhere just beside where Twilight was working, and sat down to watch. She could make no sense of the spell itself, not the way Lilac could read runes and diagrams like a second language. This was like watching a master artist in her craft, working quickly but not slowing to sacrifice the quality of her masterpiece.
“I was going to visit you,” Twilight said, without looking up. “It’s not many ponies who keep a journal in First Tongue. Can you read the language, or did you just make a phonetic key for the symbols?”
“It’s an alphabet, so it’s already phonetic,” she said. “I didn’t make the key, I grew up speaking it. It’s definitely not the first language ever—I think maybe that’s B—” She coughed, struggling to get the word out. She was ultimately unsuccessful, and just shook her head.
Most ponies didn’t notice when she ran into one of her mental roadblocks. Twilight Sparkle stopped her spellcasting completely, turning her horn on Firefly. “What just happened to you? When you were saying that word.”
Firefly’s usual “headache” excuse bubbled to the top of her mind, and she dismissed it just as quickly. If she were anywhere else, speaking to anypony else, she probably would’ve used it.
Twilight might be one of the few ponies in Equestria who actually knows what’s happening to me, and how to cure it!
Even explaining took careful concentration from her, with her head always on the edge of another pounding headache. This was an obstacle course she had navigated many times, but usually with Lilac. “It’s been this way since I got to Equestria. I... can’t say some words. Places and names from my home, mostly. Talking too specifically about how I got here, or where I came from... hurts me. If I try to force through it, the pain is... awful.”
Twilight brushed her mane with a hoof, then lifted her head upward. “Can you try for me? Try to say one of those words, but don’t push too hard. Let me see it happen.”
Her horn started glowing, and soon that glow spread to Firefly’s entire body. The thought of fighting against her compulsion was enough to turn her stomach, her mind conjuring all the memories of her previous attempts.
She tried anyway. “The place I come from is a planet called E—” Her body shook, and the word died on her lips. She dropped to one knee, covering her mouth with the other, and fighting back vomiting. She held her stomach in, though it was a near thing.
“That’s enough.” The glow stopped, and Twilight looked up. “Somepony put a foal under a Geas.” She turned back to her work, muttering to herself. “That entire town is rotten. Houses burning down, a murdered constable, dark magic used on little fillies. That’s evil.”
Firefly took a few moments to recover. She wiped the sweat from her brow, then stood again, still feeling weak. “Can you fix it?”
The unicorn nodded. “We have bigger problems right now. Whatever pony can cast a spell like that without turning your brain into a pile of slime—can definitely attack you with sympathetic magic. If they have a piece of you, something from your mane or—”
Dusty started screaming. Firefly spun, forgetting her pain. Dusty reached for her, his hooves shaking. His pony illusion vanished, replaced with the bug she’d seen lost in the clouds above Willowbrook.
Only this one collapsed to the ground, convulsing. He tried to speak, but nothing approaching language made it out of his mouth. He said I was the one most in danger, but he’s wrong! The Watcher didn’t just want to kill me, he wanted to use my death to make Lilac into a real Alicorn!
Firefly flew to his side in a flash, taking one of his legs with both of hers. There was nothing she could do.
He’s going to die right in front of me.
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I wonder what it is that Septum knew the cult wanted to do with Lilac. But we might not be able to find out. Let's hope he survives this somehow.
No not the bug! I hope twilight is able to step in...
Oh geez. They could have any piece of him from any of his transformations, and that's probably enough. Finding him would be a snap. Hopefully something can be—and is—done about this…
Not bug daddy!
Oh no! not the lovebug
Hopefully Twilight can stop what is going on with Septum and thend estroy whoever is responsible.
Septum's in the best hooves possible. Hope Twilight will be able to stop the kill spell in time.
Can't say Keen Focus didn't have it coming but explaining Amaranth will be complicated. Doesn't look like Iris will be joining our team. Twilight sure won't let that happen.
Wonder how much Twilight was kept up to speed with the knowledge of reality. She could have known from the beginning. The sisters would certainly benefit learning the truth right there.
Given how Firefly was sidelined from the beginning, it makes sense she was not a priority to the cult. Don't know if they want to empower Lilac, though. The Watcher could just as easily claim both their powers for himself. And unless they worship "Derek" as well, an alicorn with a demon attached to her seems like a bad idea.
Yep. Character in Starscribe's story starts envisioning a future. Knew something bad was about to happen.
Good thing whatever started happening at the end of the chapter (I assume some sympathetic death magic) started happening right in front of Twilight, she might be able to stop it.
Yeah, that's the thing. Celestia would love to do more to address this sort of thing directly, but she kind of has a country to run.
"Of course I am. The princess asked me to take care of something for her. Why am I even surprised?"
I really like this Twilight. Excellent blend of snark, empathy and competence. (Though the changeling has a name, Purplesmart.)
Oh boy. Speaking of whom... Well, we'll see what Twilight can do on even shorter notice than she thought. To say nothing of whether or not the cult's managed to get anypony on the castle staff.
He may... If you weren't in front of Twilight Sparkle. Never underestimate that mare when it comes to magic, the Watcher's gonna be in for a surprise...
Took them long enough.
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