The Crescent Pact

by Chromentazol

7 - The Prisoner: Part 2

When Shining Armor came back inside the interrogation room while levitating a glass of water next to him, he was met with a strangely calm Aphelion. The captain of the guard had purposefully revealed Celestia's involvement with Aphelion's preferential treatment just as he allowed for a break in the interrogation, allowing the gray unicorn to process the information. Placing the glass next to him, Shining sat down in front of Aphelion.

"Ready to continue?"

Aphelion attempted to float the glass to his lips but failed to do anything other than creating a few yellow sparks above his head. Grabbing the glass with his hooves instead, he took a sip. Even though Aphelion appeared calm, Shining immediately noticed the glass shaking in the unicorn's hooves. "Yes, I'm ready," he replied after drinking half of the water in one go.

"Good. We were about to talk about your motive behind your infiltration of the royal castle."

"Yes. I'll keep it short. I was tricked into doing it. I know it doesn't justify the stuff I did, but I did not wake up that day expecting to take part in a heist."

"Interesting," Shining said while writing down notes. "How were you tricked?"

"I was supposed to make a trade with those two mares, for my... For my employer. They refused to uphold their part of the deal unless I helped them with their plan."

"What were you trading?"

"I don't know. It was above my paygrade."

"And who's your 'employer'?"

Aphelion knew this question was coming. Sooner or later, his ties to the Crescent Pact would become apparent. There was, of course, the option of deflecting or refusing to answer the question, but that idea didn't sit well with Aphelion. Firstly, he was too exhausted to try and lie, to weave a false story and to keep his answer coherent with that story. Secondly, Aphelion wanted to figure out the truth. No, scratch that: he needed to learn the truth. None of the things he had seen and experienced made sense compared to what he was taught. The loyal part of him also reasoned that this whole series of events was perhaps planned by Lord Comet: maybe he had foreseen that Aphelion would end up captured. Maybe Aphelion was supposed to tell the truth. Why else would Lord Comet have sent him specifically to the capital, on the week of a festival whose existence clashed with the very idea of a tyrannical Celestia?

"I am a member of an organization called 'The Crescent Pact'. Their goal is to overthrow Celestia due to their belief that she is a tyrant."

"I see," Shining replied. His face did not betray any emotion. "You said, 'their goal' and 'their belief'. Are they not yours as well?"

"I... They were my beliefs as well, at least until yesterday. But now, I... I just don't know what to believe," Aphelion looked down.

"The two mares that 'tricked you' into this... Are they part of that organization as well?"

"No, they are not. Sandstorm, the yellow earth pony, told me that their employer was somepony outside the Pact. Though, she refused to tell me more."

During the next few minutes, the only sounds inside the interrogation room were the sound of a quill writing down long sentences on paper. As the captain of the guard was busy putting Aphelion's every word into writing, the gray unicorn took a moment to finish his water. He then broke the silence. "...You said Celestia wanted you to go easy on me. Why?"

Glancing up from his notes, Shining met Aphelion's gaze. "I think it's best if she explains it herself."

"Wait, does that mean she wants to talk to me?!"

"Seems like it. But don't get your hopes up. While you're going to get a lot of good will from us due to the extenuating circumstances, you're still going to be prosecuted for trespassing, espionage and assault against a guard. These are serious crimes, Aphelion."

"Wait, assault? Did I attack a guard? I thought I helped them back in the tunnels?"

"I'm... Talking about Spearhead. The guard you knocked out with that book you've stolen."

"Oh. Right. Though, in my defense, I'm not the one who knocked him out. I hit him twice, but it wasn't enough. It was Misty that finished the job."

"You do understand that this is not helping your case, right?"

Aphelion gulped, then nodded. He could, however, notice a faint smirk on Shining's face. "Uh, yes, you're right. Sorry. I'll shut up now."

"Actually, there's one last question I want to ask. Something that doesn't make sense with your version of the events."

"Really? What's, uh, what's wrong?" Aphelion asked, his face growing slightly worried.

"When you were in the royal library and used that spell to... Go through stone, as you said. Your goal was to end up directly inside the archives, right?"

"Uh, yes. Based on what Sandstorm said, they were supposed to be right underneath."

"And when you used your spell, Misty and you ended up in an abandoned dungeon underneath the castle?"

"Yes. I suppose the archives were further to the sides and we ended up in that dungeon by accident, since it was right under the library."

"Here's the thing, Aphelion. The archives are right under the royal library. If your spell only allowed for vertical movement, you should've ended up there. The dungeon you've discovered is actually the one on the side."

"Huh? What... I don't understand. We went straight down." he replied with a puzzled look.

"That's what we're trying to figure out. Either you're lying to me, which I don't believe is the case, or something else drew you to that dungeon."

Immediately entering a researcher's state of mind, Aphelion began to theorize. "That's weird... Technically, the spell transforms body mass into ephemeral energy that can go through solid matter. We just have to let gravity do its thing. So, if we fell diagonally instead of vertically..."

Shining Armor observed Aphelion silently, waiting for his deduction. In a way, Aphelion reminded Shining of his sister.

"...There must have been something affecting gravity in that dungeon," Aphelion concluded.

"...Like a magnet?"

"Well, more or less. Whatever may the source be, it doesn't affect physical objects. Otherwise, everyone in the palace would have noticed that objects fell diagonally, at least in the library. I want to say that it was probably more like an arcane anchor, drawing energy towards itself... Did any of the castle's unicorns notice any difficulty with their spells recently?"

After thinking for a moment, Shining remembered something. However, the captain of the guard decided to keep the exact nature of that information for himself: Aphelion was still a prisoner, after all. "...Some ponies noticed something like that, yes."

"How long ago did these difficulties manifest themselves? And does it affect every type of spell, or just specific subsections? Is there a correlation between the strength of the spell and..." Aphelion's ramblings were cut short by Shining Armor loudly clearing his throat.

"Let's go back to the initial question. You were unaware of the dungeon's existence, right?"

"Yes, I hadn't heard of that kind of place under the castle during the planning phase of our escapade. And for what it's worth, Misty seemed just as surprised as me."

"I see. You also found a door with a curse inscribed on it, right?"

"Indeed. Misty described it as 'Dark Magic'. It, uh, was similar to the type of spells used by some of the Crescent Pact's unicorns."

"Alright. We'll have to find a way inside that room to see if there's anything to correlate your claim that you were drawn towards that dungeon."

"Uh... Of course. Just be careful. Whoever created that curse wanted to prevent other ponies from walking inside that room. There's certainly more traps along the way, I reckon."

"Of course. In the meantime, let's end this interrogation. You've given us a lot to work with already and I believe you've been transparent enough."

"Y-Yes. So, what's next for me, then?"

"Right now, you're going to go back to your cell. I'll relay what you've told me to my superior and then we'll see what we'll do with you," Shining said. Immediately, Aphelion wondered who Shining's superior might be. Since he's the captain of the royal guard, his direct superior would be... Celestia herself.

"Oh boy," Aphelion thought. Taking a deep breath, he looked at Shining. "All right. Uhm, one last thing."

"Yes?"

"I know I'm a prisoner and all, and my cell isn't a hotel with room service, but... Do you think I could get some coffee at some point?"

Shining chuckled. "For your SME, right?"

"My what?"

"Severe Magical Exhaustion. You're out of juice and suffering from a sort of magical hangover."

"Y...Yes. How do you know?"

Raising an eyebrow, Shining glanced upwards, at his own horn. "Oh, right, you're a unicorn too," Aphelion mumbled before facehoofing at his own stupidity.

"I'll see what I can do. But you seem to be dealing with it quite well. Personally, whenever I push myself too hard, I'm basically unable to speak the next day."

Something felt odd to Aphelion. The atmosphere in the room had changed, going from tense and stressful to casual. Aphelion wondered if having small talk with prisoners was part of the protocol here, but he went with it nevertheless. "Yes. I often suffer from... SME, so I've learned to live with it. It's not as debilitating when it happens once per week."

"Really? Once per week? What kind of job do you have to end up using that much energy consistently?"

"I... I suffer from something called Thaumic Atrophy. It's a condition causing my inner magical reserve to be underdeveloped. This means that just a few spells per day are enough to cause exhaustion."

"Huh. I've never heard of that. I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's alright. I was born with it, so I suppose it's not that much of a big deal for me. It just means I have to use spells a lot more sparingly and efficiently."

Unsure of what to say, Shining simply nodded. Then, standing up, he began leaving the room. "Alright. I'll have some guards bring you back to your cell. I'll see what I can do for your coffee. I'll see you tomorrow, Aphelion."

Not too long after, two guards brought Aphelion back to the castle's prison. On the way, he noticed that the guards treated him more gently.

---

The next day, Aphelion woke up feeling much better. Shining Armor having been able to provide the ailing unicorn with coffee, the symptoms of Aphelion's severe magical exhaustion having greatly diminished. Sitting down in his cell, he simply waited for whatever would come next. Aphelion wondered if he would have another round of interrogation with Shining Armor, or if he was going to be left there for the day. There was also the possibility of Celestia wanting to speak with him that day, but Aphelion thought that she surely would be too busy for that. Whatever was planned, Aphelion hoped for a calm day, having fully accepted his position as a prisoner. He was afraid to wake up regretting having shared so much information concerning the Crescent Pact, but with a fully rested head, Aphelion discovered that he felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulder.

However, as morning passed by slowly in silence, Aphelion became increasingly anxious. While he didn't regret being transparent about his affiliation with the Crescent Pact or with his involvement with the heist, Aphelion still feared the judgment he would have to face. Whatever his sentence might be, it would be twofold as he knew that the Pact didn't treat traitors and whistleblowers kindly. He would certainly face retribution from both Celestia and Lord Comet. Eventually, a guard came around noon to bring Aphelion some food: plain bread, a glass of water and some coffee. With a thankful nod towards the guard, Aphelion began eating after noticing that he had been starving. Being used to snacking at random and ludicrous hours, Aphelion quickly became famished after being forced into a more regular schedule. As he ate his lunch, Aphelion noticed that the guard stood still in front of his cell, seemingly waiting for him to finish eating.

"Uhh... Want a bite?" Aphelion asked while offering a bit of his bread.

"No. Once you're done, I need to take you to one of the balconies. You have a meeting with Princess Celestia."

Aphelion gulped. "O-Oh... That's... Great? Or bad? Should I be worried?"

The guard remained silent. "I'll take that as a 'maybe', then," Aphelion answered his own question.

Finishing up his meal, the guard quickly unlocked Aphelion's cell and began leading him back inside the palace, towards Celestia. Aphelion could hear his heart beating furiously as he stepped through the many castle hallways and rooms.

---

Far up north, deep within the frozen wastes above the polar circle, a group of ponies walked on the sea ice, facing the elements while pulling a large sled filled to the brim with various rations, survival gear and research tools. The members of the expedition team were bickering among themselves, debating whether they would reach their destination in time.

"I'm telling you; we won't make it until it's too late," said a unicorn.

"Not with that attitude, we won't," replied a pegasus.

"Can you guys just... Shut up already?!" yelled an earth pony. "If I hear one more complaint, I'm turning back and going home."

"I'd like to see you try walking back without supplies."

"Yeah, just try and leave us, you bucking assh-" the group's conversation came to a sudden stop as a bright flash of purple light blinded all three of them. Seemingly out of nowhere, an old earth pony had appeared a few feet in front of them, with a purple coat and a white mane, wearing a small pouch on his left side. The old pony cleared his throat and took a few steps towards the expedition team, struggling to walk as his legs shook with every step. Immediately, the members of the expedition team stopped their bickering and kneeled in front of the purple earth pony.

"L-Lord Comet! We didn't expect to see you here..."

"Sir?! I thought you had work to do back in Equestria?"

"I swear I was just joking about running away!"

All three ponies spoke at the same time, rendering their sentences impossible to understand. They all spoke with fear in their voice, as if death itself manifested in front of them. Lord Purple Comet chuckled at the sight of the groveling expedition team, before glaring at each of them. "My dear little ponies," he said with a tired voice. "It would seem you are trailing behind in your task... That won't do, I am afraid."

Terrified by their master's tone, the expedition team was frozen in fear, each member too afraid to speak up as they began sweating bullets. With a sigh, Purple Comet continued. "And to think you three were supposed to be the best ponies for this job... I am thoroughly disappointed."

"W... We'll do it! We're going to reach our destination on time, we swear! Please give us a chance!" yelped the unicorn.

"Yes! We'll run if we have to, non-stop!" added the pegasus.

"We won't sleep until it's done! You can count on us, sir!" yelled the earth pony.

Shaking his head side to side, Comet closed his eyes. "No, I'm afraid you've already proven yourselves to be unreliable. Do you know what I do, with unreliable ponies?"

None dared to answer, afraid of what the answer might be.

"I'll tell you what I do with that sort of ponies... I give them a chance," Comet smiled. The groveling ponies looked up, then at each other in confusion.

"So... You won't punish us?" asked the earth pony.

"Only if you disappoint me any further. But do not worry, my dear little ponies... I did not come just to scold you. I brought you three a gift."

Unfastening the pouch on his side with his teeth, Comet threw it in front of the expedition team. The pouch's contents spilled in front of them, revealing three vials filled with a black liquid. The three ponies stared in horror at the vials.

"B... but Lord Comet... This is..."

"As I said, I wish to give you a chance. Do not worry, my little ponies. If you make me proud, you will be given the antidote... After the task is done, of course. I hope I needn't to remind you three that upon intake, you will have three days before the effects are irreversible... But it should also give you the strength to succeed. You can still make me proud despite your failings. Am I not a magnanimous leader?"

The members of the expedition team sheepishly nodded. They each slowly reached for the vials, drinking the contents in one gulp. Immediately, they all dropped to the ground, their bodies contorting in pain as the effects of the potions appeared. With a satisfied smile, a glow of purple energy appeared around Purple Comet, his form beginning to vanish as the old earth pony began to teleport away. Before disappearing for good, he left the expedition team with a few more words of encouragement.

"I must also add that there are only two antidotes available, for the two most deserving members of your group. Be on your best behavior if you do not wish the effects to become permanent."

As fear filled the agonizing ponies' eyes, Lord Purple Comet disappeared in a flash of purple light.

Comments

[f0st3r21]

Our guy is going to be in danger if they ever let him out.