Ode to a Monster

by Tekkonair

Chapter 8 - Explanations

Celestia watched as the five ponies from the Order were escorted out, feeling strangely off-balance for the first time in a long while. “Sister?” Celestia looked over to Luna as her whispered voice reached her. “You are unsettled.” Practically invisible to anypony save Luna, Celestia’s normally perfect mask had slipped; a tiny creasing around the eyes, a slight downward curve of the mouth, and a miniscule furrow of her brows.

“Ah, forgive me sister.” Celestia shook her head slightly, her perfect mask settling back into place as she whispered. “I am just unused to seeing a pony so scarred and still so eager to fight.” She looked back to the closing doors, struggling not to frown. “It’s not something that I often encounter in Equestria, certainly not recently.” Luna stared intently at her for a moment, making a humming noise in the back of her throat before looking back to the Element Bearers.

“My little ponies, we have much to discuss.” Luna gracefully stood from her throne and walked down to the six mares, focusing on Rainbow Dash. Celestia and Cadence were not far behind, Major Aurora following behind the Princesses. “Firstly, Rainbow Dash. We cannot begin to express how truly sorry we are for the events that have befallen you. We realise the question may be trite, however we must ask; how are you feeling?” Rainbow blinked, swallowing and looking up at the Princess, slightly surprised by the genuinely sorrowful expression on Luna’s face.

“Um, well…” She rubbed her foreleg nervously, looking back down. “I… I’m still taking it all in. This is just… Way bigger than I expected. Evil alicorns, monster-hunting ponies, ancient Orders. It just… It feels like a Daring Do book, almost. Except, this is real.” She waggled her bandaged leg, wings shifting anxiously behind her. Luna nodded sympathetically.

“Understandable. Do not be afraid to lean on your friends in times like this; We know better than most how damaging an unsettled mind can be.” She gave a rare smile to the mares, looking to the side as Celestia moved next to Luna, matching her smile.

“I already have ponies looking into this for anyway to help you, Rainbow Dash. We will help you however we can.” Rainbow nodded, swallowing, a lump in her throat refusing to disappear.

“Thank you, Princesses.”

“In the meantime,” Luna said, looking at each mare in turn. “There is the matter of this Order, and this Marabas. We are interested in your impressions of these ponies.” She looked to Applejack as she began speaking.

“Well, they’re honest about their jobs at least.” Applejack nodded, thinking about each pony in turn. “They’re dedicated, hard workers, and they’re willin’ to put themselves in harm’s way to protect other ponies, so they can’t be that bad, ah don’t reckon. Spent a little time with Hooves, he’s honest enough and likes to lend a hoof.” The Princesses nodded, looking to Twilight.

“Shield is definitely powerful, and is candid about his ability as a fighter. He’s nice enough, but I get the impression he doesn’t do much socialising; he’s very quiet in large groups. Though, I guess that makes sense given what his job is supposed to be.” She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “He seems to enjoy teaching; he was more than happy to fill me in on some things and answered my questions with more detail than I really expected.”

“Tender Care is super nice!” Pinkie interjected, skipping in place. “She’s really really good with foals! And she’s a nurse so that must mean she loves helping ponies! Oh, oh and she likes to bake cakes! She said she did it all the time when she worked as a paramedic!” Celestia chuckled at Pinkie’s exuberant opinion, nodding to her before looking to Rainbow Dash.

“Cirrus is alright. Good at reading ponies, I think. He’s pretty blunt, but he’s loyal to his friends. I kinda feel like he’s been there the longest other than maybe Shield. He just seems more… Reserved than the rest of them, I guess.” Rainbow shrugged, struggling to find the words for her thoughts. “His cold weather talent is interesting, and from what he was saying he’s good at high altitudes, and they’re not easy to fly in.”

“I think I understand,” said Celestia, smiling encouragingly.

“Desert Skies is… Intense,” Rarity began, looking uncertain as she fiddled with her hooves. “Of all of them, she worries me the most. I’m sure you’ve seen how she moves? It just sets me on edge. And she’s nice enough, certainly, but I definitely get the impression of something… Feral about that mare. The rest of them aren’t nearly as scarred as she is, and none of them act in the same way. When the others spoke about what they did, none of them seemed as… Proud of it.” She glanced nervously at the doors before continuing. “And, I didn’t want to mention this when she was here, but when I was measuring her for clothes, I found some scars under her fur around her neck, rough like a string.” The Princesses’ eyes widened, Luna and Celestia sharing a glance.

“That sounds worryingly like a ligature scar.” Looking at the confused faces on the Bearers, Luna continued. “The kind of scar one would get from being hanged by the neck.” The six of them recoiled in horror, each of them feeling uncomfortably around their necks. “We do wonder how she acquired a scar like that…”

“They’re all dangerous…” Fluttershy said quietly. “I-in their own ways. I-I think Desert Skies and Shield might be the most dangerous, though. Shield is very dedicated, and I think he’d hurt ponies to do what he thinks is right. And Skies… She’s a predator. Ponies shouldn’t be like that…” She shivered, Rainbow pulling her into a hug. Fluttershy whimpered before clinging to Rainbow as Celestia and Luna shared a look.

“I see.” Celestia said thoughtfully. “Thank you, all of you. You’ve all earnt some time to rest; I’ll have a room prepared. Now, Rainbow.” The mare blinked, looking at Celestia. “I imagine your family is worried about you. We’ll tell them you’ve been found. However, beyond that is up to you. If you wish to see them, or take some more time to process events, that is your decision..”

“I… I’ll need to think about it. I think I need a little more time…” Fluttershy gave her a comforting squeeze as Rainbow’s head dropped again.

“I understand.” Celestia nodded, smiling reassuringly. “In the meantime, I imagine you must be hungry? I’ll have breakfast sent to the room. These guards will show you there.” A pair of guards entered the room via a side passage. “We will talk more later, but only once you are ready.” As the Element Bearers filed out, Luna turned to Celestia, opening her mouth to speak once the door closed.

“Sister, you seem to have forgotten yourself,” she said with a slight frown. “You say you are no longer used to ponies similar to these Order ponies, but We very clearly remember a time when we both commanded entire armies of such ponies.”

“Luna, that was a thousand years ago. Equestria has changed; we no longer need soldiers like that.” Celestia sighed, her wings and head slumping as she turned to Luna.

“And yet every word they spoke was truth. The Changeling invasion has revealed failings within our guard, and our neighbours grow more and more powerful. Perhaps it is time to address the matter of our soldiers, a reform is long overdue.” Celestia mulled over Luna's words, before conceding the point with a nod.

“I suppose. You always had a better head for military matters, Luna.” Celestia smiled.

“You’ll have a hard time convincing the old duffers,” Major Aurora chimed in with the East Trottingham accent common to batponies. “Getting them to do anything differently is a challenge,” he added, distaste clear in his voice.

“Be that as it may, We will not sit idle and let our defenders decline further,” Luna replied. “Captain, Major. We expect reports on the rank structure and systems of promotion for our neighbouring nations by the end of the week. We also expect readiness and equipment reports from each regiment as soon as possible. It is long past time for some changes.”

---

The guest chambers were just as grand as any other room in the palace, save for perhaps the throne room itself. A large white-walled room formed the majority, with a number of side rooms with beds. To one side sat a large, dark wood table with chairs arranged around it, at which the Element Bearers ate breakfast. As the other Bearers contentedly munched away at the breakfast spread provided by the castle’s kitchens, Rainbow sat staring at her new claw, having removed the bandage as it was beginning to cramp, watching the light play across her new, shiny scales. “Y’aint hungry, Dash?” Rainbow blinked, looking to Applejack as the farmer’s voice dragged her out of her daydreaming.

“Sorry, just… Distracted I guess.” Frowning, she gently tried picking up a slice of toast with her claws, fumbling slightly. “This is weird, not having a hoof…” She eventually got a good grip, and started munching thoughtfully on the toast.

“I must admit, I am curious as to what the Princesses have planned for Skies and her group,” Rarity said, sipping her tea and hoping to distract Dash again. “Twilight? You’re the closest to Princess Celestia of us all. Any ideas, dear?” Twilight frowned, setting her tea down as her brow furrowed in thought.

“Well… I doubt she’s going to be happy about the Order. A largely unknown organisation with access to arcane secrets and training ponies to such an extent that they can take on monsters like the one that attacked Ponyville?” She shook her head. “Then again, they are, apparently, Equestrian citizens so they aren’t strictly here illegally. So they can’t be deported, but what if she exiles them? She could exile the entire Order but I doubt that would stop them continuing to hunt monsters within Equestria, plus how would you tell Order ponies from normal ones?” She looked at the others. “Except for Skies, would you really be able to tell any of them apart from normal ponies if you didn’t know?” Not waiting for a response, she looked back down at her hooves as she shuffled them on the table. “She might imprison them until they tell us more. That might be the most sensible thing…” She jumped a little as Applejack leant over to nudge her, turning to look at the farmer.

“You were ramblin’ there, Twi’,” she said with a smile.

“Sorry, sorry. I’m just… This Order, there’s so much we could learn from them! Imagine if they have a complete history from the founding of the Order!” Twilight clapped her hooves together in excitement, grinning at the prospect of a complete history of early Equestria and what came before it. “I mean, I understand why Princess Celestia omitted Nightmare Moon from the history books, but actually learning about what happened!”

“Alright partner, we get the idea.” Applejack tried to get Twilight to calm down with a pat on the shoulder. “We still don’t know if they’re willin’ to share, though.” Twilight opened her mouth to reply, before closing it and deflating slightly.

“You’re right. And if Princess Celestia imprisons them then they probably won’t share.” She pouted slightly, fiddling with her hooves again before jumping as Pinkie gasped.

“Wait but if they’re in prison then they can’t help Dashie!” She shouted, looking at the former pegasus. “We can’t let the Princesses lock them away!”

“That’s… Actually quite a good point.” Rarity nodded in support of Pinkie. “They very well could refuse to help us if those five are imprisoned. Is there anything we can do to prevent that?”

“We could talk to the Princesses, that’s the most we can really do.” Twilight sighed. “Besides, I’m sure they’ve considered that possibility already.” Twilight looked at Rainbow, offering an encouraging smile as Rainbow deflated further. “Rainbow, it’s going to be ok. We promise, right girls?” The others nodded eagerly, each smiling at Rainbow Dash.

“Thanks girls…”

“Come on, let’s finish breakfast and go find the Princesses!” Pinkie was interrupted by the door opening, Princess Celestia walking in with a smile.

“Hello my little ponies.” The Bearers stood to greet her, all of them returning her warm smile. “I see breakfast went down well.”

“Yea, the castle kitchen’s as good as I remember.” Rainbow managed a grin.

“I’m very glad to hear it. Now, if we’re all ready, I’d like to address some possible concerns.” She sat at the table, pouring herself a cup of tea as the Bearers sat down again. “Firstly, despite my reservations regarding the Order of the Broken Crown, I will not be making a judgement on the group yet, nor will I be imprisoning the five ponies known to be part of this Order. It’s clear that we need to learn more about them before we decide how to proceed. To that end, I would like you all to befriend them and find out what you can about them.”

“Of course, Princess!” Twilight chirped happily, smiling broadly. The other mares nodded with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

“Thank you, my little ponies. I know this may not be the ideal time for all of this, however if even half of what they have said is true then we need to know more.” She paused to take another sip of her tea, letting the mares absorb what she’d said. “Now, I was going to start with Miss Desert Skies, the doctors should have a report ready. Mister Shield is also in the infirmary. Would any of you like to accompany me?” The Bearers glanced between one another, frowning.

“Ah think ah’d like to go talk to Hooves and Cirrus,” said Applejack. “Not sure ah can help with those two.”

“I think Fluttershy and I will speak with Tender Care,” Rarity chimed in, moving closer to Fluttershy. The pegasus smiled gratefully at Rarity.

“Oh oh, I want to share recipes with Tender!” Pinkie bounced in place.

“Guess Twi’ and I will see Skies and Shield?” Rainbow looked at Twilight, the unicorn nodding back with a smile.

“In that case, the three Order ponies not in the infirmary are in another set of guest quarters, the guards will show you there.” A pair of guards entered the room, standing to attention. Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie followed the two guards out, leaving Celestia, Rainbow and Twilight alone in the room. “So, shall we?” The two mares nodded, standing to follow her, Rainbow wrapping the bandages around her claw again.

The trio walked to the castle infirmary, shadowed by guardsponies. The castle was notably absent of visitors; typically, petitioners, guests, or simply ponies loitering around the castle to make themselves look more important could be found around the corridors, but today save for the guards and a few staff, the hallways were empty. The trio soon arrived outside the infirmary. “We’ll be meeting with Doctor Strings first. The infirmary should have completed their initial checks,” Celestia told Twilight and Rainbow as they walked into the infirmary. A unicorn stallion with a light blue coat and a yellow mane met them, a stethoscope around his neck. “Twilight, Rainbow, meet Doctor Strings.”

“Princess Celestia.” He nodded deeply to her. “Twilight, Rainbow. Welcome to the infirmary.” He gestured around at the sterile, white walls. “Am I to assume Twilight and Rainbow have clearance for this?” At Celestia’s nod, he nodded and continued. “Now, regarding the two ‘special interest’ ponies, I think it would be best to discuss in my office. Shall we?” He gestured with a hoof, turning to lead the three of them. Doctor Strings’ office was fairly simply, a placard on the door read ‘Dr Tense Strings, MD’, and beyond the door the office featured a wide desk, chairs for visitors, a few framed, official-looking scrolls on the walls, and a few filing cabinets. “My apologies, Princess, I’m not sure I have a chair suitable for you.”

“It’s quite alright; I spend most of my day sitting. I don’t mind standing from time to time.” She chuckled. Strings nodded gratefully back, gesturing for the other two to sit as Strings went around his desk and picked up a pair of folders in his magic.

“These are the notes on Desert Skies and Shield.” He set one folder back down, opening the second. “Starting with Shield.” He cleared his throat and began to read out the contents of the folder. “Unicorn stallion, thirty years of age. Displaying symptoms of magical fatigue, largely recovered. Physical injuries; minor burns, moderate contusions, multiple lacerations, severe puncture wounds to the left shoulder and chest, a fracture in the right tibia. Three fractured ribs, one break, and some internal bleeding. All in all, he’s lucky that somepony was on hand to tend to his injuries shortly after receiving them. The more severe injuries have been tended to; stitches, signs of magical healing, and the bandages. As for anything else, I haven’t been able to find any records on Mister Shield, so I have no idea about his history, blood type, or pre-existing conditions.” He set the file down.

“It appears that ‘Shield’ is an alias, or a new name. In any case, it’s not the name he was assigned at birth.” Said Celestia.

“That would explain it.” He nodded, picking up the other folder. “Now, as for Miss Skies, we were able to find her records. Pegasus mare, twenty three years of age.” Twilight and Dash blinked, surprised at her young age. “Born to Cloudy Skies, a pegasus mare, the father is unknown. Physical injuries; multiple lacerations, extensive contusions, sprained shoulders, sprained wing muscles. Pre-existing injuries of note are her missing eye and missing wing, along with numerous wounds that have healed. The eye socket itself is almost totally destroyed, and the wing has been replaced with an advanced prosthetic. We’re not sure how it works, or the metal it’s made of, but we know it works off magic, and that the wing shoulder has been reinforced with the same metal, presumably to ensure the wing doesn’t come free. She’s currently unconscious; she fell asleep shortly after pain relief was administered.”

“Thank you, Doctor. Your thoughts?” Strings looked at Celestia, thinking deeply as he tapped his hooves together.

“Both of them are physically strong, and clearly used to fighting. Shield has a very large magical reserve, and based on the reports you made available, Princess, he is adept with high-level combat magic. We haven’t gotten a reading on Desert Skies yet thanks to her injuries. As for her past injuries, some of them are potential causes for alarm. Most of them are likely to have been caused by animal attacks or by collisions, however some of them are almost certainly the result of magical attacks and weaponry. In addition there are the scars around her neck, which I have confirmed to be ligature scars. Based on these scars, Miss Skies has been involved in numerous violent confrontations with other ponies or other sentient beings. Unfortunately, that’s all I can tell you about either pony at this time. We haven’t had time for full-body scans, and the only reason I can legally say any of this is because of your authority, Princess. To reveal anything more would require a royal warrant to be issued, otherwise doctor-patient confidentiality prevents me from going further.”

“I understand, thank you Doctor.” Celestia nodded with a smile.

“As for Shield, he is currently awake if you wish to speak with him?” At the nodding of the three mares, Strings stood to lead them. “He’s in one of the private rooms, currently.” He led them out of his office and into the infirmary proper, walking to one of the doors along the left side of the room and opening the door. Shield’s room was a typical hospital room; sterile and cold, with a machine beeping away in the corner. The unicorn in question was lying in a bed with fresh bandages and an IV drip. He looked up as the door opened.

“Princess, Twilight, Rainbow.” He gave them a small smile. “I take it this isn’t just a social visit?”

“I am afraid not, though it is good to see you are being well cared for. How are you feeling?”

“Itchy, but this bed is comfortable, thank you. So, how can I help you?”

“I believe Miss Skies has already made your position on revealing anything more very clear, but the fact of the matter remains that there is a hostile alicorn loose within Equestria, and a largely unknown paramilitary group operating across national borders. I cannot simply ignore that. As such, I would like to request a meeting with your leader at the earliest opportunity.” Shield frowned, tapping his chin with a hoof.

“Hmm… I can certainly talk to him. I can’t guarantee he’ll meet you, however. We haven’t had official contact with any rulers in… Well, ever, as far as I know.” Celestia nodded. “How’s Skies? I didn’t see the stunt she pulled, but I heard the booms. She hasn’t seriously hurt herself, has she?” The ponies in the room turned to Doctor Strings.

“She’ll be fine. A few sprains, strains, and bruises are, surprisingly, the worst of it. Nothing some rest won’t fix.” Shield nodded gratefully, before looking to Celestia as she spoke again.

“In recognition of your actions in Ponyville, rescuing Rainbow Dash in the Everfree, and your cooperation with us, my sister and I have decided not to arrest you or your companions. However, your equipment will not be returned to you just yet, and we will need to assign escorts. You will have, more or less, free movement within Canterlot and the surrounding area, but you will be accompanied by guards.”

“I guess that’s fair, I’d do the same in your position,” Shield said, relaxing back into the pillows. Celestia nodded.

“I’m glad you agree. In that case, I must take my leave. The nobles are going to be furious that I’ve postponed Court this long.” She left the room, followed shortly by Doctor Strings, leaving Shield alone with Twilight and Rainbow Dash.

“So um, Shield?” Twilight started. Shield looked at her, raising an eyebrow. “I was wondering… This ‘Order of the Broken Crown’? Well, I’ve been studying this ancient book, translating it really, and the book includes the phrase ‘Broken Crown’ a few times.” Shield frowned at that information.

“Does the book have a name?” Twilight nodded, levitating a parchment out of her saddlebags.

“I haven’t been able to translate the name yet, but this is a copy of the text on the front cover and the spine.” Shield looked over the parchment, his frown deepening, eyes narrowing slightly.

“Well, looks like you’ve found a book of Old World history. Congratulations.” Master is definitely going to want to look at that…

“You recognise the title?!” Twilight squee’d happily, clapping her hooves. “How old is it?! Who’s the author?!” Shield recoiled as Twilight got right in his face.

“Ok, I don’t know that much about it. I know the language is Fallian, but that’s about it.” Twilight tilted her head, confused.

“Fallian?”

“The language of one of the Old World kingdoms. As Skies said, none of us five are historians, so we can’t tell you much more than that.” Twilight nodded, deflating in disappointment.

“I suppose I can understand that… I was just hoping for a breakthrough…” Shield chuckled.

“Hey, chin up. The fact that you’ve actually managed to translate some of it means you’re making a lot more progress than a lot of ponies could.” He smiled at her. “So, where are the others?”

“They’re talking to Hooves, Tender and Cirrus.” Shield chuckled at that, imagining Cirrus trying to deal with Pinkie.

“And how’re you holding up, Rainbow Dash?” He turned to look at Rainbow, catching her off-guard.

“Still… Processing. I’m just trying not to think about it too much.”

“Fair enough,” Shield said, before yawning and blinking. “These pain killers really knock you out, wow. I don’t mean to be rude, but I think I’m about to fall asleep. You should go to your friends before Cirrus causes a scene.” He chuckled, closing his eyes. Twilight and Rainbow shared a look before leaving the room, closing the door quietly.

“Come on Dash, we should meet back up with the girls.”

“Yeah, right behind you…”

Author's Note:

Chapter 8, and we're starting to learn a little more about the Order!