The First Standoff

by bookhorse125

Chapter 9

“Canterlot.”

“Yup.”

“As in, the capital of Equestria.”

“Uh, huh.”

“As in, I was living right outside Grogar’s palace for half my life so my brother could go work for him and I had no idea because he can apparently do magic.”

“Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.”

Gusty hesitated a split second too long, and her mind erupted in questions, which her mouth began to spill. “How? How have I gone my whole life without knowing? How is there a magic shield around it? How did we even get there, anyway? Why does my brother want to be close to Canterlot, of all places? That’s where Grogar is! I thought he wanted me to stay away from that monstrous goat? How am I supposed to do that when I’m living on his literal front doorstep?”

Maggie shrugged and turned the page in her book. “All good questions. Unfortunately, there’s only one pony with the answers, so…”

Gusty groaned and flopped on the couch. “Is anything he told me true?” she whispered, barely audible. “Did he… did he lie about caring about me, too?” Her voice broke, and she turned away before Maggie could see the pain in her eyes.

The red unicorn closed her book and stood up. “I’m not your brother,” she began, “so I don’t know. But I do know that you are the best friend I’ve had in a while, you’re better at magic than anypony I know, and you care about other ponies in a way I’ve never seen before, so if it turns out that your brother is really nothing more than a massive, ill-tempered jerk, just know that there are other ponies who do care about you.”

Gusty lifted her head and smiled. “Thanks. I needed that.” She stood and stretched. “Well, today’s my last day before I start training. What do you say we do some book shopping?”

A huge grin spread across Maggie’s face. “Yes, yes, let’s go!” she squealed.

Ten minutes later, the two unicorns were walking down the streets of Manehattan with a small bag of gold - Maggie had advised her to leave the bulk of it at home. Gusty had been planning to go straight to the book cart across from Rex’s tent - from what she’d heard from Maggie, the pony in charge had both fair price and a good selection.

But as they walked, Maggie would point out a shop or cart that Gusty just absolutely had to try, and Gusty would give in, because most everything was marked in price by silver, which, according to Maggie, was only worth one tenth of a gold coin, so Gusty would leave each shop stocked with whatever they claimed was the absolute best.

They were attracting a lot of attention as they walked, which was making her uncomfortable, so she suggested in a low voice to Maggie, “How about we hurry up just a bit?”

All it took was one look around before Maggie said, “Yeah, you’re right, we should go.”

The position of the sun had changed significantly by the time the two unicorns made it back home, and Gusty felt like they couldn’t get there fast enough. One of her books was about all the new magic spells that had been invented, and she couldn't wait to try some of them - especially since she knew she wouldn’t get the chance in the days ahead.

Thinking about the Equestrian army, and how she would play a role in it taking down Grogar, was the only thing exciting enough to distract her from her new books. Every time she thought about burning Grogar’s throne and freeing the land, her heart leapt with joy.

Not much longer, she kept telling herself. I promise that, as long as the sun and moon are in the sky, that I will fight for what is right. I will fight for freedom, and I will fight for friendship.

That night, Gusty dreamt of Grogar again, but this time, she had Whistle’s advice burned into her mind, and the ram quickly vanished. Gusty sighed with relief when he was gone. Even though she knew it was just a dream, the sight of the emperor was enough to make her heart thump faster.

Whistle’s voice spoke up in her head: You’re getting better at that.

“Thanks,” Gusty said with a burst of pride. She grinned into the darkness, hoping that, wherever Whistle was, she could see her. “All thanks to you.”

I’m not sure this is safe, Gusty, Ocean Breeze said fretfully. I don’t think-

“To Tartarus what you think,” Gusty muttered under her breath. She tuned him out and went back to her conversation with Whistle, switching to mental words. What happened to you? she asked, genuinely curious. Was it really Grogar who… who…

Yes, Whistle said miserably, it was. And yes, she added, sensing Gusty’s unspoken question, I am truly gone. I am not coming back. I’m sorry.

Then how are you here? Gusty asked, desperate for information. After so many years of her brother hiding things from her, she wanted to know everything, so she would never have to rely on anypony for knowledge again.

Whistle was silent for a moment, thinking. I’m not sure, she finally admitted.

“That doesn’t help at all,” Gusty growled. “How can you not know how you got somewhere?”

The last thing I remember, Whistle said, to her credit, very calmly, was Grogar stealing my magic. Then it was like I fell asleep, because the next thing I knew, I could see you facing off that Chimera, and I couldn’t just sit back and let you get burned to a crisp.

“It must have been a lot to process all at once,” Gusty said ruefully.

Once you’ve been with a unicorn for over half your life, you tend to stop asking questions and simply accept things as they are.

Gusty sat down. Talking to Whistle made her feel like she had found a friend that she had lost, but didn’t know she had. It was a stark contrast to how she felt about Ocean Breeze - with him, it was like there was somepony in her head who wasn’t supposed to be. Every word he said seemed… wrong. She couldn’t really explain it. But Whistle seemed right, and comforting.

As if on cue, Ocean Breeze’s voice filled her head, and Gusty gave a little shudder at the wrongness of it.

You shouldn’t be doing this, Gusty.

What? She rolled her eyes in annoyance. Talking to my own mother? Is that illegal now?

Joining the army, he told her, though having mental conversations with dead ponies isn’t good, either, Gusty. Please think about this. You’re the only little sister I’ve ever had. I just want you to be safe because I care about you-

Care about her? Care about her? Gusty was startled to heat the change in Whistle’s voice, which had changed into a ferocious snarl that made the presence of her brother recede in her head a little bit. All Gusty could think at that moment was that she was glad that she wasn’t on the receiving end of the anger, and she was surprised to find that she felt a small pang of pity for Ocean Breeze.

Well, he is still my brother, she thought to herself.

Meanwhile, Whistle was still radiating so much fury that Gusty felt herself getting angry. Ocean Breeze tried to defend himself by saying, I… I only meant…

Spare me, Whistle snapped. Believe it or not, you can discover a lot in a day, such as how your own son, whom you never thought of as even capable of such evil things, has been lying, and is greedy, selfish, and cruel! YOU ARE A LITERAL TRAITOR, OCEAN BREEZE!!! I don’t care what excuses you come up with, nothing is changing my mind!

Whistle took a deep breath, and Ocean took this opportunity to try and defend himself.

I was only doing what I thought I needed to do to protect her! he protested. The world we live in isn’t the same one you remember - now, the only way to survive is-

To only care about yourself? Whistle suggested in a dry voice.

Yes! It’s everypony for themselves now! Ocean Breeze directed his attention at Gusty and said, You know what I’m talking about, right? Gusty? You’ve seen it, I know you have.

“Um…”

This is what I mean! Ocean said triumphantly. You can’t care about anypony else, or else you’re not going to make it-

Like your own sister, I presume?

Ocean Breeze fell silent at Whistle’s comment. I-it’s not like that, he stammered. I meant-

You lied to her, Whistle said in a low, dangerous voice. You deceived her, you kept her away from the world, you abandoned her for something as petty and pointless as money and power!!! I can’t believe I trusted you to keep her safe!

Is it really my fault? he snapped, his calm and caring demeanor suddenly dissolving. You’re the one who left me alone to care for everything on my own! When I was SEVEN! If you hadn’t tried to face off Grogar like an idiot, maybe we wouldn’t be here! Maybe everything would be fine! But you were gone, and this was the only way I could find to survive!

Gusty was startled by her brother’s rant. Despite how angry she was at her brother, she had never considered how hard things must have been for him. Still, there were probably better ways than being a traitorous spy for Grogar.

They’re still your choices, Whistle said gently, her anger burned away. You could have chosen to make a change, to take a stand like your sister. Gusty blushed when Whistle said, I’m so proud of you, Gusty. You aren’t going to turn out like your brother.

Ocean Breeze was silent. Then he said, in a low voice, There will come a time when not even friendship can save you. And when that time comes, you’re going to be very sorry you didn’t stick with me… and Grogar.

Author's Note:

Don't know about you guys, but it is HOT where I'm at right now. Any tips on how to beat the heat?

Constructive criticism is appreciated. Thank you for reading!