• Published 30th Dec 2011
  • 3,032 Views, 219 Comments

Eris's Riddle - hahatimeforponies



Three days, two thousand years, and one angry pony. What does it all make? [Harmony's Wrath sequel, OLD STORY]

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Diplomatic Immunity

The chariot thudded to the ground and fell apart, leaving three pegasi to collapse from exhaustion as soon as their hooves hit terra firma, and their cautious passengers to fall in a heap behind them. With most of the train tracks out of Trottingham scuppered, the group had to rely on other means to transport themselves back to friendly territory, and a hike through the forests of Mareseyside would just take too long. Pegasus-drawn chariots weren't ideal either - the bipedal form had rendered most horse-drawn transportation impractical - but it wouldn't advertise them like a balloon would. Fluttershy passed out almost upon landing, and Derpy just lay on her back, panting. Rainbow Dash had the stamina to pick herself up and stumble a few lengths ahead, but soon succumbed to exertion, and sat down at the side of the road.

They were at the foot of the mountain that Canterlot was built into; it was the nearest urban centre to their south, and it only made sense to stop where they were due to deliver their answer in the morning. It was a cloudless night, and the horizon over the Dragon Mountains to the west still held licks of orange and mauve from the recently set sun. The reconstruction efforts were going well from what they could see; the walls had been the first things to go up, and the spires of the new palace were already towering into the sky. Based on the style, they seemed to be recreating Canterlot as it was - and Twilight couldn't fault them for that. Though something that did strike her as odd was the translucent dome enclosing the city, barely visible, but definitely something she could sense. Additionally, a few tents had been set up outside the gates. She wasn't entirely sure what that was about.

"Stay here girls, I'll... see what's going on up ahead." The gates themselves were totally missing; the shield wall seemed to serve as a selective barrier. Behind, two guards were standing watch. The tents around the gate were housing some of the injured from Trottingham. She was suspicious, but tried to play it cool. "Excuse me, my friends and I were looking to get into Canterlot, and..."

"We'll need to see some identity. City's on lockdown," one of the guards replied, blunt, but respectful in tone.

"I..." She rubbed her forehead, and attacked the more general topic. "Lockdown? Why?"

"We don't know. Orders is orders."

"I'm going to guess that your orders passed through one Captain Shining Armor at some point?"

"Possibly, why?"

"I don't suppose I could take this up with my brother?" She folded her arms, and flicked her castigating look between the two guards. It took a moment for one of them to make the connection and recognise her.

"Oh! You're... you're Twilight Sparkle! I-I'll fetch him right away!" They seemed to be just as skittish as the ones in Trottingham, doing little to reassure her after their abysmal defence of the city. Moments later, he returned alone. "He says he'll meet you on... the ramparts?" The guard seemed a trifle confused, but she knew exactly what he was getting at. Without another word, she bowed her head, and disappeared in a burst of purple light.

On a precarious beam jutting out from the walls, at the highest possible point one could sit over the surrounding landscape, she reappeared, just outside the shield wall. She stumbled a little, but quickly caught her balance and sat down, straddling the beam. Heights didn't really concern her anymore; she'd grown rather confident in her teleportation spell in recent months, and was finding increasingly creative ways to use it. She could see a white unicorn pop his head out from the stairs on the far side and look around; when he spotted Twilight, sat casually over a two-hundred length drop, his face lit up.

"Twilie!" He bounded up the last few steps and rushed to the edge of the shield. He was mostly in his civvies, but still wearing a single pauldron, emblazoned with his cutie mark.

"Shining!" She leaned forward instinctively and attempted to hug him, but just ended up sprawled over the shield. He just stood there and chuckled.

"Come a long way from 'sunshine, sunshine', eh?" Another voice chimed in. Twilight peeled herself off the barrier to get a better look, and nearly jumped for joy when she did.

"Cadence? What are you doing here?" Shining put his arm around the smiling pink unicorn with a little knowing smirk and an aside glance.

"Oh, I just thought you might like to meet my, fiancée..." He did his best to contain his grin, practically puckering his mouth and watching his sister's reaction out of the corner of his eye. At first she blinked incredulously, and her mouth hung open. She looked to Cadence, and received a subtle nod. Then, she swung back in her excitement, and plunged off the back of the beam.

"Twilight!" Shining and Cadence rushed up to the edge of the shield. With another pamf, she quickly repositioned herself to fall back on to the beam, sitting in exactly the same place as before. The wood creaked a little, but it held.

"Sorry!" She giggled, and fixed her hair. "Got a little carried away there. But yeah! That's great! How long has this been... this?"

"Actually we were engaged a few months ago, we sent you a letter, but..."

"Oh." Twilight's humour drained like water in a sieve. "That might be why I didn't hear about it. I've had a lot of letters in the last few months, not all of them welcome, so it probably got a bit lost..."

"I can imagine..." Cadence rolled her eyes. "You think Blueblood is tough to deal with professionally, try having him for a brother."

"Ouch..." Creak. Twilight blinked, and scooched up closer to the shield wall again to reduce the effect of her weight on the beam. "Anyway. What's with the lockdown?" She gave the barrier a knock for effect. Shining Armor sighed.

"News about Trottingham spread fast. All the towns freaked - there were still refugees arriving when we got separate declarations of secession from Ponyville and Cloudsdale. We're expecting attack on multiple fronts, which is why they have me doing this..." He waved his hand in a circle, generally gesturing to the translucent dome around them. "Just as well, I... wouldn't bet on us in a fight." You said it.

"They wanted ID from me at the gate, I'm guessing this is related?"

"On account of the secessions, they're restricting entry to Canterlot citizens. That camp outside is all ponies that couldn't produce identification."

"Shining, this is insane! What are you d-"

"These are all Blueblood's ideas!"

"You're the captain of the guard, you should be able to stop this!"

"And then what?" he snapped. "If I go against orders, they'll just appoint somepony else who will, and throw me in the dungeons or worse. So that solves nothing. And what's more, that leaves Canterlot without this shield, which is the only thing standing between the ponies in here and oblivion." Twilight frowned, and lowered her gaze. "I don't want to leave those ponies out in the cold, but there's nothing I can do."

"Can't I at least get in? Try and talk some sense into Blueblood?"

"Pff." Cadence waved a hand dismissively. "Not even I can get through to him at this stage. He's gone mad with power."

"Not only that, but he's got you on a list of traitors to the realm."

"Wh-... what?"

"Did I mention he's paranoid too?" Cadence continued. "Get this. Ponyville threw out all its Canterlot asylum seekers earlier, right? When Fancy Pants made his way back here he was arrested at the gates for that little stunt yesterday. I think his reason for having you on the list is that your arbitration makes you a defector or something? I don't know. His logic is kinda flimsy."

"So, you understand why I can't be seen letting you in." Shining Armor took a step back, arms folded.

"Just a guess - Blueblood would have both our heads on a pike. Right?" He nodded grimly.

"Even talking to you like this is taking a risk."

"Hmm..." Twilight rubbed her chin. "I'll see what I can do. I'd best go before this beam breaks, or you two get caught."

"Right."

"Oh! And..." Shining reached a hand out, distracting Twilight from winding up her teleport. "Love you, Twilie." As angry as he was a moment ago, his smile was earnest and forgiving. She couldn't help but grin, and return the sendoff in the corniest way she knew how.

"Love you too, B.B.B.F.F." She could just about see his faint blush and Cadence's stifled giggle, before the purple aura filled her vision, and deposited her by the dark roadside. Fluttershy was still out cold, Derpy was sitting up, and Applebloom was trying her best to put their chariot back together.

"So what's goin' on up there?" Applejack hopped over, still a little mindful of her injuries.

"The place is locked up like a bank vault, we're gonna be camping out."

"Unless..." Rainbow Dash piped up, gazing up thoughtfully.

"The storm drains are caved in, Rainbow."

"Aw..."

"Well ain't this just peachy. We can't get in, we ain't got the apple, we're about to be caught up in a warzone and we ain't no closer to solving Discord's consarned riddle!" Applejack tossed her hat on the ground with frustration. Twilight started pacing, mulling over the riddle again. She'd been so absorbed in trying to procure the apple that riddle had slipped her mind. That said, it left her with a comparatively fresh take on it, and looking up at the soft glow of the shield over Canterlot, an idea struck.

"Actually, I think we might be a little closer."

"I'm sure this shocking revelation will turn the game on its head..." Rarity didn't even look up from tending to her nails. Twilight glared at her for a moment, before continuing.

"Prince Blueblood."

"Could have told you that one at the Gala last year."

"Ahem... At first, I thought it could be anypony at the summit in Ponyville yesterday. Blueblood, Jetstream and the mayor were at it hammer and tongs in front of the whole town. But, only one of them resorted to violence. Furthermore, he had Fancy Pants arrested earlier today."

"What?" The whole (conscious) group was visibly surprised, but Rarity vocally so.

"Ponyville and Cloudsdale formally seceded after hearing about Trottingham, and threw out their non-citizens. I don't know how they're defining that, but evidently Fancy Pants was among those expelled. And to top all that, it looks like Canterlot is preparing for a war it's unlikely to win."

"This is crazy!" Applejack yelled. "We can't just sit on our butts out here while this is goin' on!"

"I know!" Twilight matched her tone, but quickly dropped off to keep them calm. "But we don't have a way in."

"Can't teleport in or something?"

"Shield wall bounces the targeting. It would dump me somewhere over Whitetail."

"Should we, uh... start pickin' rocks outta the drains?" Dash offered.

"We'd get about eight feet in by sunrise, and there's no guarantee we won't hit the shield wall anyway." The unicorn sighed, and resumed pacing pensively. "Keep suggesting things, we'll hit on something eventually..." Three days, two thousand years, and Prince Blueblood... what does it mean though? Ugh, this is a stupid riddle. It's more of a guessing game than a logical puzzle...

Lower down on the hill, a pony struggled up the slope, pulling a voluminous and rather heavy cart. A cycle element attached to the front had made most of the journey here a breeze, but this slope was steep enough that it had to be walked. She was used to being her own roadie in her early years, but this was just ridiculous...

By the remains of the chariot, a filly popped her head up, having heard the grunts and curses further down. It took her a moment to recognise the purple shades perched on her horn and the electric blue bangs, ruffled from exertion, but when she did, she remembered them fondly.

"Hi Mrs. Scratch!" Sweetie Belle jumped up and waved enthusiastically. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash froze. Did they really just hear that? Is that the pony they think it is?

"Oh, hey Sweetie Belle, fancy meeting you here..."

"What."