The Continuing Adventures of Detective Richard Pound

by Cinor

3. Revelations

Richard Pound
In:
Revelations

“I’m so sorry, Twilight. I don’t know if you can ever forgive me.” Celestia was talking to Twilight, my new friend. We had just arrived at Ponyville, where Celestia gave me a mission to explore the world for her; starting with this small town of course!

“Princess, I don’t know if what you did will ever be ok. I can’t guarantee anything.” Twilight was talking now. She had seemed sad since we arrived. Sometimes she would look at me when she thought I wasn’t looking; I caught her whenever she did though. I wonder why she pays so much attention to me. I hope she doesn’t think I’m taking her spot as apprentice. Celestia is my friend not my teacher.

I decided to speak up, “Twilight, I hope you’ll see me as a friend, not a competitor of Celestia.” Twilight could not hold back the tears. She held her head in her arms, sobbing loudly. Celestia shot me a silencing glance. She went to console Twilight; I hoped she wouldn’t take the news so hard. I decided that it was time for me to explore some of Ponyville, me new home.

The air was fresher, more lovable than it was at the castle. I could imagine living here one day, with Celestia. I was excited to finally leave the castle. This town was full of vibrant and exciting ponies.

“Hello there, Richard. It’s simply been far too long. How are you fairing today?” A pony was talking to me from behind, I turned to face her. She had a pale white coat with a vivid, purple mane. I raised an eyebrow.

“I’m sorry. Do I know you?” She bit her lip. Looking at me from side to side.

“Oh dear, Twilight did mention something about your memory.” She muttered under her breath. Louder, she spoke, “Well my name is Rarity. I’m a good friend of Twilights. You’ve met Twilight, right?” I nodded vigorously.

“Oh yes, I met Twilight. She seems like a very sad pony. Even when I showed up she was crying.” Rarity looked sad at that too. I’d never seen any sad ponies at the castle; it must be a country thing.

“Yes, that will happen for a time, I’m afraid,” said Rarity. “You see she just lost someone close to her and she’s still getting over it.” I nodded slowly. I felt bad for Twilight. I’d never lost anyone close to me; it must have been really tough.

“That’s really sad, Rarity,” I told her, “I hope she gets better with time. I don’t really know what it’s like to lose someone; I’ve only ever had Celestia.” Rarity frowned; she must not be close with anyone.

“Hey Richard, why don’t I show you around to some more of Twilight and my friends? Would you like to do that?”

“I’d love to! I’m researching all about places like this. It would probably do me some good to meet some ponies.” She nodded, biting her lip. She motioned for me to follow her, saying something about going to the local bake shop.

The bake shop wasn’t all that far away. It was called the Sugarcube Corner; it looked to be made of desserts and such; an interesting design. The first pony to greet us on the inside was a light blue pony with a swirly, pink mane.

“Hello there Rarity, who is your friend there?” She asked, motioning to me.

Rarity responded, “Hello, Mrs. Cake. This is Richard, Twilight’s new protégé friend. Is Pinkie here?” Pinkie Pie? The name came with a twinge of familiarity, I brushed it off. I knew next to no pony here. I crash came from inside the kitchen, followed by a sigh from Mrs. Cake.

Yes, she’s here.” Mrs. Cake turned around and went inside the kitchen, a few seconds later a pink pony with frilly, pink hair came out. She didn’t walk so much as bounce.

With an exuberant expression she said, “Hello Rarity! This must be Richard. We’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Hello, Pinkie Pie. Are you a baker here?” She rolled her eyes.

“Well, duh! I’m the greatest baker in all of Ponyville, also the greatest party thrower!”

“What kind of things do you bake? Just desserts and such?” I asked.

“As if there was anything else to bake.” Pinkie responded. She started telling me about her life. Where she lived, what she did. It was quite the lengthy list. Rarity interrupted her ten minutes in.

“I’m so sorry, Pinkie, but I’ve got to get Richard introduced to everyone by tonight, and-” Rarity was saying until Pinkie interrupted her.

“Don’t worry, Rarebear, I’ll take care of it.” Pinkie ran outside the shop.
Rarity turned to me and said, “Oh dear.”
“What’s the matter, Rarity?” She seemed slightly off put.
“It’s nothing, Richard. Come on, let’s go see Rainbow Dash.” She led my by the hoof outside the shop and to the outskirts of Ponyville. What I saw next was shocking.
 
Chapter II

In the sky was a grand sky castle. Waterfalls of rainbows flowed freely from the tower. I wondered how we could possibly get up there. I turned to Rarity to ask her a question, but she silenced me with a hoof.

“Rainbow Dash should be down in a second, Richard. I told her we were coming earlier.” I nodded slowly. From up above I could hear the castle doors open. A blur erupted from the house, arching across the sky until it made a sharp turn; racing towards us. I started to back away; Rarity made no motions to get away. With only a few feet to spare, the blur stopped and I could finally make out what it was. It was a light blue pony with a rainbow mane and tail. The cutie mark showed a lightning bolt, also rainbow colored.

She spoke up, “Hello there, Rarity. You must be Richard. I’m Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in all of Equestria!” She landed, sticking her hoof out to me; I ignored it. Celestia told me not to act as nobly as I had in Canterlot. Normally I would have kissed such an outstretched hoof, but no longer.

I asked, “Hello, Rainbow Dash. How are you?” She gave an apprehended look, taking back the hoof.

Briefly looking at Rarity, she said, “I’m doing great, Richard. Just practicing some tricks that will surely get me noticed by the Wonderbolts. How are you?”

I thought briefly before responding. “I’m doing well too, Rainbow. I’m really enjoying learning everything about Ponyville.” Rarity suddenly cut in.

“Hey Dash, would you care to accompany us to see Applejack and Fluttershy?” She had a strange inflection in her voice. She’s getting at something went a voice in my head. I shook my head, hoping for the thought to fall out; it was rude to think someone lying. Rarity and Rainbow caught the shake, exchanging glances.

Dash spoke first, “You ok there, Richard?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I told her.

Rarity asked, “Why don’t we get going? We want to get Richard back to the house before night.” She nudged me gently and started to walk away, continuing to walk the outskirts of Ponyville. I followed as Rainbow Dash took the sky.

As we met Applejack, the sun was setting, casting the world in an orange glow. Her farm was a beautiful place, a rich orchard of apple trees. We all sat in her kitchen. Rainbow Dash and Applejack had gotten into a fight over who was superior. Rarity looked slightly bored, clearly not interested. Something Applejack did made me take notice. I could tell that she was embellishing her story.

“Applejack, that can’t be true.” Both she and Dash turned to me.

Turning back to Applejack, Dash exclaimed, “A-ha! I knew it wasn’t true.” Applejack’s face turned sour. Why did they take what I said to be true? Rarity had become excited at hearing my assessment of Applejacks tale; she bolted from her seat.

“I think it’s time we headed back to Twilight’s!” She started to push me towards the door. The other ponies nodded.

“But what about Fluttershy?” I asked her.

“She can wait until tomorrow, Richard. Now come on, let’s go.” All four of us began the walk to Twilight’s.

The sun had nearly set by the time we were at the library. Rarity told me to go in first. I didn’t know why, but it sort of made sense. The house was dark as I opened the door; light barely passed through the window. I took a few steps inside slowly. The door closed behind me. I made a few more tentative steps.

Suddenly the lights were ignited and I could what the darkness had hidden. The room was decorated in streamers and food lined tables along the edges of the room. Ponies from all over town occupied the room, some wearing party hats, others with noise makers. Pinkie Pie was jumping up and down in the middle. A resounding cry of, “Welcome” came from the crowd. Pinkie Pie came up to me, laughing.

“Welcome to Ponyville, Richard!” She said exuberantly.

Stunned, I said, “Thank you, Pinkie. The princess never threw parties explicitly for me.”

“Well I got to throw you two!” Two parties? I’ve only had one. I looked back to her but she was already gone. A few of Ponyville’s residents came up to me, introducing themselves. I didn’t see Celestia or Twilight for the entire party.

It wasn’t until after the party that I saw Twilight. Everyone had left and I saw sitting on the couch, drinking some punch when I saw her walk in.

“Hello, Richard. I’m sorry about earlier.”

“It’s ok, Twilight. I heard about what happened.” She looked shocked.

“Who told you?” Her tone was incriminating.

“Rarity told me you lost someone dear to you.” Her face returned to normal.

“Oh, that’s true. I won’t burden you with the details.” She started towards the stairs to the second level, stopping abruptly at the beginning. “You wouldn’t mind sleeping on the couch for tonight would you? I’ll have a second bed for you tomorrow.” I said it wasn’t a problem.

I couldn’t sleep. The things that happened today kept racing around my head. Pinkie throwing me two parties? Twilight losing someone special? Something inside me wanted them to fit in some obscure way. I had to get the truth. I decided there was one way to do it; I had to get it from Pinkie herself.

The streets of Ponyville were empty as I headed to Sugarcube Corner. Everypony must be tired from the big party. The store had a light on in the back. I knocked on the door tentatively, it opened on the touch. I head to the kitchen, the source of the light. Pinkie Pie was taking freshly baked cookies from the ovens. A few bottles in the trash caught my attention.

“Pinkie Pie, I have to ask you a question.” Pinkie Pie looked up from decorating the cookies.

“What’s up?” I cleared my throat.

“What do you mean you’ve thrown me two parties?”

“Oh, silly. This is the second welcoming party I’ve thrown you.” That made no sense, but I felt she was telling the truth.

“You’ve only thrown me one party. I moved into Ponyville today. How could you have thrown me a second party?” She looked away, thinking quickly.

Quietly she said, “Twilight was right…”

“What do you mean Twilight was right? What’s going on?” She looked back at me.

“Oh, Richard. You need to calm down.”

“How can I calm down? You’re keeping something from me. I want to know what it is. Do I have to ask Twilight?”

“No! Don’t ask Twilight.”

“Why not?”

“She’s lost someone dear to her, silly. She’s very sad right now.” I was tired of that damn answer. I wanted the truth once and for all.

“What do you mean?! Who did she lose?” Pinkie Pie said nothing for a long time.

Finally, she said, “You.”
 
Chapter III

My world was crumbling. Images and voices, thoughts and memories rushed in front of me; my vision cluttered and obscured by the rush of my life filling in.

My detective agency, Twilight, Celestia, Luna, all of my friends, the dreams, Luna’s rise for power, the torture at the hands of Bastion, Twilight and I’s magical rest, the knighting, the missing crown, the wine…

My very being trembled with rage. I was mad now, angrier than I had ever been. My life had been played with as though it were a toy.

With knowledgeable eyes, I once again spotted the bottles in the kitchen. They were the same bottles Celestia had used on me to keep me sedated and in love. I went over and picked one up; it was empty.

“Where did you get this?” I asked her. Pinkie Pie seemed scared, she did not respond.

“Where did you get this?!” I screamed. She flinched back.

“Celestia gave it to me; she said to use it making something for you.” My heart shattered, rage died within me. I turned away from Pinkie Pie, from whatever she was about to say. I went back to the library, my old home.

Twilight wasn’t asleep when I returned.

“Where did you go, Richard? Missing Celestia?” I could tell here last question hurt to ask. I walked up the second floor, standing next to her bed.

“I had to get answers, and I got them. I’m so sorry, Twilight.”

“What are you talking about, Richard?”

“I had no idea what she was doing to me, Twilight.” Her eyes started to water.

“Richard, are you…ok?”

“Twilight, I still love you. I love you more than I ever did. I don’t want to live a lie.” I could feel tears begin to fall down my cheeks. I embraced her tightly; never again did I want to let her go.

“Richard, I missed you so much. When I heard from Celestia, that you weren’t coming back, I-I” She said no more; there was nothing more to say. We had the only things we needed in this world, each other. That was the first night I slept happily.

We were awoken by a knocking at the door. Twilight and I descended the stairs, she using her magic to brush her mane to a presentable degree. A familiar silhouette stood at the door, Celestia.

Twilight saw my rising anger, “It’s ok, Richard. Let’s hear what she has to say.” I sat on the couch while Twilight got the door. Celestia walked in, a smile on her face when she saw me. I knew it was fake, a fake to please the me she had wanted the entire time.

“Good morning, Twilight. Good morning, Richard! How are you doing today? All happy in Ponyville.” It was a struggle to hold my tongue.

“I’m doing just fine, Celestia. Ponyville is a great town.” Twilight said. Celestia came up and nuzzled me, I looked at Twilight; she seemed a little sick.

“I hope you won’t get too attached! The castle is very sad without you.”

“Well isn’t that just great to hear.” I said sarcastically. I couldn’t stop myself from saying it. Celestia caught it; previously I would never have taken that tone.

“Richard! How dare you take that tone with your wife!?” Twilight flinched.

“Celestia, you are not my wife, Twilight is. How can you think I would ever love you?” Celestia’s face turned a mixture of anger and sadness.

“How did you find out? Who told you?” She turned to Twilight. “You traitor!” Her horn glowed and Twilight was thrown against the wall.

“Stop this, Celestia! Leave this house at once!” Her glare turned to me. An invisible force blew me back 10 feet off the couch. I hit the ground hard. I stood up slowly.

“You think you can tell me what to do? I did this to save your little mind from destruction! I only brought you here to heal! You will love me once more, fool.” She exclaimed. She walked outside the house, guards pegasi took to her side as she launched into the air.

I walked over to Twilight. Celestia had knocked her into a bookcase, books had piled on her. I dug her out carefully. She was bruised heavily. I carefully brought her to the couch and laid her down. She had been knocked unconscious. I cried over her body.
 
Chapter IV

We were all in the library; Twilight, A.J., R.D., Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and myself. They told me had happened the day of my return. Celestia had sent Twilight a note proclaiming my return and when Twilight asked for more information, Celestia told her about the drugs. Twilight had no choice but to accept.

Twilight had made sure that someone was outside in case she couldn’t handle the emotions.

“I can’t believe that she could trick me like that.” I said.

“It’s ok, sugar cube. It wasn’t your fault.” Said Applejack.

“There’s got to be some way to get back at her.” I told them, thinking about a plan.

“There’s no way to get her off the throne. A lot of ponies are curious how she even got on it. Even more so about where she came from.” Said Twilight.

“There was one pony that had an idea to get Celestia off the throne.” I said, remembering.

“Who was that?” Asked Rainbow Dash.

“Luna. She had a clever plot to gain infinite powers.” The other ponies became shocked.

“You can’t think that, Richard. She’s better now.” Spoke Twilight.

“I need to try anything to get back at her. You can’t control someone else’s life.” None of the other ponies seemed to agree with me.

“Richard, she’s too powerful to stop.” Fluttershy squeaked. How could none of them see the injustice?

“I will stop her myself then.” I told them. I got off the couch; Twilight tried to stop me, I shook her off. They protested slightly as I left the room; they couldn’t stop me this time, I was tired of being told what to do.

It wasn’t long at all until I found Xavier. His house was near the forest, secluded and lonely. He hadn’t been truly accepted back by everypony and he was untrusting of many; I hoped he could trust me.

I knocked three times on his door. A meek voice came out.

“Go away.” I knocked more. “I said go away.”

Knocking, I said, “I’m not going away, Xavier.” I could hear something dropping beyond the door, and then the door locks sliding free. The door opened. I saw Xavier’s still-scarred face staring at me.

“What do you want?” He asked; his voice full of sorrow and pain.

“I need your help, Xavier.”

“Come on in.” He lead me to his living room; making sure to lock the front door after us. His house appeared quaint; simple furniture and décor. “Now what do you need help with?” he asked after we sat down.

“I need you to restart the Lunar Revolution.” He closed his eyes with a deep sigh. Taking a long time to reopen them, a weary look had replaced the old.

“Richard, I can’t do that. It was the worst thing I ever did.” I understood his point; no good had come from it.

“You don’t understand Celestia. She is a monster.”

“I don’t believe that, Richard. She’s a nice princess.” He was so naïve; they all were. He needed to understand Celestia for who she really was.

“Do you know what she did to me, Xavier?” He said no. “She ruined my life.” He gave a brief smile, thinking that I was joking. I wasn’t.

“What do you mean? How could she have ruined your life?”

“She led me to believe that she needed my help; she didn’t. She used some kind of drug to keep me sedated and in love with her.” He didn’t say anything, taking time to think about what I’d said.

Finally, he said, “Are you sure this is the only way to do it? To get back at her?” It was my turn to take my time. Was this the only way? Surely it was the most powerful way to do it.

“Yes, I’m sure.”

Nodding slowly, he spoke up, “I can’t do it on my own. We’d need Bastion.” That was bad news. Last I’d heard he was locked up in the royal dungeons; Xavier knew this too. “What are we going to do?”

“You, Xavier, are going to get ponies to follow you. I’ll take care of Bastion.”
 
Chapter V

The wind was intense. I was in a scene all too familiar; Rainbow Dash was flying me to Canterlot. I couldn’t have Twilight teleport; I didn’t want her to know that I was going back to Canterlot. We neared the walls to the great city. Rainbow Dash dropped me off past the ramparts.

“You know the plan right?” She nodded, taking off into the sky. I was on my own for now. I took a slow route to the castle; making sure that if the guards were going to be after me, they would see me outside of it. I didn’t want any surprises when I got inside the castle. No one followed me; the coast must be clear.

It was high noon by the time I reached the gates to the castle. A few guards were in position. I sauntered up to the gate; one of the ponies became alert. He came up to me; blocking my path.

“What is your business?” He asked in an uncaring voice.

“My business is my own. Let me pass.”

“That’s not how this works. You see, you tell me why you want to come in and I tell you ‘no’. Should we skip to the no?”

“I’m here to see someone.” He mimicked me, mocking me.

“Well aren’t we all? I don’t think you can come in. The castle is pretty full right now.”

“You ignorant fool. You have no idea who you are talking to. I am a hero in all the lands of Equestria! Now let me pass.” Realization dawned on his face. He could recognize me now.

“Oh-Oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t know who you were. I’ll tell the princess immediately of your arrival.”

“No, that won’t be necessary. I just need to see someone.” Without another word he let me go. I proceeded down the walkway to the castle doors. I knew the route to the dungeons well.

The guards continued to let me by. You didn’t get this far in without a good reason. I went deep into the dungeons, as deep as the room where the torture was implemented. In the back, there was one small, decrepit pony. I stopped at his cell; he did not acknowledge me.

“Hello, Bastion.” He slowly turned his face to me, face filling with anger.

“Richard… What brings you here? Time to finish me off?” He emitted an abrupt laugh.

“No, Bastion. I need your help.”

“You need my help? Well good luck getting it in here.”

“You want to know why I need you?” I asked.

“Frankly, I don’t care. If you can get me out of here I’ll be grateful,” he said bitterly.

“At midnight, I will come for you. Ok?” He nodded slowly, unsure what to make of it.

I waited outside the castle grounds, not wanting to raise suspicion. The sun had set by the time Rainbow Dash got back. She had completed her part. Now all we had to do was wait, but not for long.

The moon was high when the silent night was pierced by a foul shriek. Dark shapes raced past the roofs and ramparts. Great torches were light on towers and walls to illuminate the sky, but nothing was revealed. I could hear scratching on the tiled roofs. Guards would scream briefly, then forever silenced. The few guards at the gates bunched together; terrified of what the night hid.

Shadows moved beyond the torchlight. The guards moved to a defensive position. It was no use; the creatures of the night were far faster than they could ever be. White and brown clashed with the silver of the guards’ armor. The guards attempted to fight, but were quickly dealt with. With a brief moment of stillness; I saw the creatures for what they were, Griffins.

The Griffins quickly swept back up into the air, readying for more aerial strikes. Rainbow Dash and I quickly moved to the interior of the castle. Whatever ponies remained inside the castle were too busy to deal with us. The dungeons were clear; nopony stopped us on our way to Bastion’s cell. He was surprised to see us.

“I don’t want to know how you managed this.” He said as we approached. I went to the lock, trying to pick it open.

“I don’t know about that, Bastion. It was pretty exciting.” The lock was complicated; maybe too much for the picks I had.

“The Griffins would never attack Canterlot. What have you done?” One of the tumblers released, a few more to go.

“We promised them power.” Bastion scoffed.

“Luna would never grant them power… They’re Griffins!” Another tumbler clicked.

“Well, what they don’t know won’t hurt them.” He sighed heavily as a tumbler clicked, only one more. “Almost got this, Bastion. I hope you are ready to run.”

“I am ready and able.” The last tumbler clicked and the cell opened. He stepped outside the cell. “Richard, what makes you think you can trust me?”

“I just do, I need you to work with me here.” His face remained expressionless.

“Why should I? Once we get out of this dungeon I can just teleport away.”

“I trust you to do what I need you to for once reason. If you don’t I will hunt you down. Simple as that.”

“If I knew less about you, I’d take that as a lie. But I know better. I shall await your return at your Library correct?” We started to make for the dungeon entrance.

“No, don’t go to the library. Go to Xavier’s house.” He raised an eyebrow at that.

“You brought Xavier into this? Poor boy.” I agreed that it was an awful lot of risk for him.

“Indeed, but I needed him to get followers.” We had gotten outside the dungeon. Bastion took a final look at both of us and nodded; with a great flash he was gone. It was time for Rainbow and I to get out now. I’d had her make sure there was a Griffin to carry me back. She couldn’t carry me after a whole day of flying.

In the sky above Canterlot, great bolts of lightning arced across the sky; illuminating the city with a horrible light. Royal unicorns using terrible magic to fight the Griffins. Guards were using siege weapons to shoot giant nets at the swarming Griffins. Rainbow Dash took to the sky to call off the diversion.

I ran to the designated meeting spot for the pick-up. There was no Griffin. I was left behind.
 

Chapter VI

I was in major trouble now. I had no way out of Canterlot and I needed one, fast. Maybe the Griffin hadn’t arrived yet? No, it was far too late to be mere lateness. I feared the worst, capture or death. Above me the Griffins had already begun the retreat. I could think of two ways out of Canterlot now, either the trains or I was going to walk.

The trains would be locked down, most likely. It looked like I was going to have to walk. A two or three day journey through the forests wasn’t very appealing. I started towards the gates to the city, hoping them to be unguarded after the uproar.

I wasn’t so lucky however, as two guards blocked the entrance. I approached cautiously.

They noticed me, one shouted, “Halt citizen, we are in a state of emergency! Return to your home.” I came closer and closer.

“I need to leave the city! The Griffins took my child!” The officer didn’t know what to make of that. Cursing, he raised the gate for me to get through.

“Good luck…” he trailed off.

I started down the road to Canterlot. I was carved into the mountainside, a grand sight. I wasn’t interested in the view now however, I had to get going. The sun was rising by the time I got to the forest’s edge. I had no other choice, I went inside.

Foraging was hard, finding the right path was harder. I had to guess where I was going. At best the sun provided light, at worst it was pitch black. At night the howls and screams of creatures in the dark was unsettling; the noises growing closer and closer. I had no time to sleep or rest. But on the second night, I found salvation.

In the middle of a moonlit clearing was a hole. The hole went straight down into a dark abyss. I dropped a rock down and a few seconds later came the echo of contact. I could hear the sounds of ravenous beasts behind me. With no other option I leapt into the hole.

The drop was maybe 15 feet. Landing hard I felt pain shoot up my entire body, letting out a cry of agony. I crawled deeper into the underground room with my remaining strength. Sleep overcame me within seconds.

The morning’s sunlight brought light to the mysterious room. The room was carved from stone and circular. I few rooms branched off at some intervals. It must have been 40 feet in diameter. I took a long time standing up, everything was sore. I needed to get to town today, before nightfall. I went back to the entryway to the room, a shaft lead to the clearing. Feeling around for anything hidden I felt a section of the wall move upon my touch. With a low rumble, the ground beneath me began to rise.

Upon reaching the surface, the slab that raised me covered itself in grass, blending in with the ground around it. Carefully I marked the ground around it with some symbols. Judging by the sun, I could guess which way Ponyville was.

The journey took the rest of the day. The sun was nearly setting by the time I got to the outskirts of Ponyville. My walk having declined to nearly a crawl somehow lasted me to the library. Twilight was inside when I arrived. She dropped her book when she saw me.

“Richard!” she exclaimed. With a weary grin I looked at her and collapsed on the floor. She rushed over to me. Franticly asking what was wrong.

“I took a walk. Don’t worry about it.” She ran to the kitchen to grab some water for me, seeing my dehydration. It hurt to drink at all. She used her magic to lift me to the bed. Feeling the familiar comfort put me nearly instantly to sleep.

I got up knowing what had to be done; I had to meet Xavier and Bastion. Twilight slept peacefully next to me. I got out of bed and donned my hat. My body still sore from the fall made the journey a pain, but it had to be done.

I didn’t bother knocking on Xavier’s door, I just walked on through. They were both in the living room discussing plans of some sort. My entrance made them both surprised.

Bastion reacted first, “I thought you died, Richard.” A slight smirk crossed his face, “I was almost happy.”

Xavier shot him a dirty look, “Richard needs our help, Bastion.” Bastion grimaced.

“Then he shall have it. What must we do, oh overlord?” Bastion asked.

“What have you done while I was gone?” Xavier’s gaze turned to the floor. Bastion just sighed. “That bad, eh?”

“Well, I got maybe 20 ponies from Ponyville. It was really hard.” Said Xavier.

“We need hundreds. I’m not sure if the other groups are operating or not. I never told their locations. No matter what they… did to me.” Said Bastion.

“Can you check on that, Bastion?” He nodded. “As soon as possible please.”

“I’ll do it now. By the way, what have you been doing? Haven’t seen you in days.” He asked me.

“I had to walk through the Everfree Forest to get here. My ride was unavailable.” He turned and teleported away. I turned to Xavier.

He spoke first, “We need a place to do this. I assume Bastion has places for the other groups, but we need something here. The old place got burned up.”

“I was just about to say something about that. I found a place in the forest. It’s a few hours walking.” His expression brightened.

“That’s great. I’ll get working on getting everypony here together. If Bastion’s other groups are still okay, we should be good within the week.”

“That’s great news.” It was great news, Celestia’s days were numbered. I would finally have my revenge on her. We said out goodbyes and I left his house. I went back to the library, anxious to talk to Twilight.
 
Chapter VII

Twilight was eating breakfast when I got back. She glared at me angrily when I trotted up to her.

“It feels like you’re never home anymore.” She said.

“I’m sorry, honey. You know how it is.” She got a pained expression.

“No, I don’t, Richard. How is it?! Well?” I took a deep breath, calming myself.

“I had to break Bastion from the dungeons.” She made a few attempts at speaking.

Finally, she asked, “Richard… Are you taking this too far?” How could she not understand what was going on? That Celestia wasn’t a great ruler and had to be taken down.

“Twilight, I need to do this. She almost destroyed this marriage.” Twilight looked hurt.

“I know somepony else how might deliver the final blow.”

“What do you mean?”

“Richard, I don’t know if I can handle you getting into all this danger. It was exciting in the beginning, but now we’re older. We missed three years, Richard! Who knows what else might happen.” I moved to her, trying to get her to feel better. She shrugged me off.

“Honey, Twilight. I promise nothing bad is going to happen to us.”

“Richard, you don’t know that. You can’t promise anything!” Those words cut me like a knife. I turned from her and walked to the door. As I turned the handle I heard, “Sometimes I feel like you don’t love me anymore…” The final blow to my heart. I went outside into the cold, unfeeling world.

A sudden realization hit me. I had no idea what had happened to Rainbow Dash. I took the shortest route I could think of to her sky home. I realized on arrival that I had no way to get up to her. Spotting a few rocks on the ground, I proceeded to throw them at her door. I made several good hits, but there was no sign of Rainbow Dash.

How could it be possible? Could it be possible? Rainbow Dash was the fastest flier around. No way could she have been by a net. If she had been struck by lightning? No, that was impossible. She must have returned with the Griffins for now.

I turned back, wondering where I could go now. I remembered Twilight’s words. She didn’t know me anymore? I was the same pony I always was. Wasn’t I? Surely it was Twilight that had changed. Maybe she couldn’t understand what had to be done, but I did.

I decided that I could stay at Xavier’s for now. Would that be better? No, it wouldn’t; I had to patch it up with Twilight. Xavier and Bastion could last the week without me. Bastion would find me with his news; I would deal with that when it happened. I walked back to the library.

“Richard, you’re back suddenly.” Twilight said with a nasty attitude. I sauntered over to her. She was on one of the couches, reading like usual.

“Twilight, I’ve thought greatly on what you said. I’ve decided that you were right.” She put down her book. She was wearing her reading glasses. I always liked seeing her with them on. I think it made her look studious and a little sexy.

“You have? Richard, I’m surprised.”

“Indeed, I’m sorry I was so brash earlier.” She seemed taken aback my apology.

“Richard, well, thank you.” She went back to reading her book, happy to have won me to her side. I hated having to lie to Twilight, but it would only be for a week or so. Would it be so bad?

It was that bad. We were at Rarity’s having tea. It had only been five days since I patched things with Twilight. Bastion still hadn’t gotten back to me. Rarity and Twilight were discussing some small talk; Fluttershy was here too, but she was being quiet. She was keeping her gaze from me; for what reason I had no idea.

“I was thinking about taking a trip to Canterlot soon, would you like to come with us, Rarity?” Twilight was saying. This snapped me from my thoughts. I hadn’t heard anything about us going to Canterlot.

“Twilight, I’d be simply delighted to go to Canterlot! When are you going?” Canterlot might be dangerous for me to go to. Could I tell Twilight that? She had no idea what had happened at Canterlot.

“We are going tomorrow.” Twilight said.

“What brought this up?” I asked. Twilight gave me an exasperated look.

“You know the princess invited us for a day trip.” I must have missed that fact. I felt it was a trap, but I couldn’t say anything; for now at least.
 
Chapter VIII

“Richard, wake up. We have to get going. The chariot is here.” Twilight was pushing me, nudging me closer and closer to consciousness.

“Chariot, what?” I asked tiredly. Then I remembered the trip to Canterlot. I groaned. I got out of the bed; Twilight was quickly brushing her mane. Apparently I’d taken too long for Twilight’s taste.

“Will you hurry up, Richard?” She was hurrying out the door. I followed suit.

Outside the library was a golden chariot pulled by four royal pegasi. Rarity was already on the chariot. Twilight jumped on, I did so too. With a word from Twilight the pegasi began to flap their wings and the chariot began to roll forward, picking up speed rapidly. The ground began to fall away as we rose into the air.

The air was freezing as we reached higher altitudes. Twilight told me that it would take only twenty minutes to get to Canterlot. Both Rarity and Twilight seemed unaffected by the cold winds.

“So the princess invited us to Canterlot?” I asked Twilight.

“Yeah. I thought it was unexpected. She must want to make it up to you now that you’ve calmed down.” She said.

“How does she know I’ve calmed down?” I was nervous. Had she been stalking me? What did they know?

“Silly, I told her in one of my reports.” Twilight, even though I loved her more than anything, could get quite annoying. She may have done something terrible. Hopefully Celestia believed her. I don’t know what Celestia could want now, though.

Canterlot was fast approaching. Throughout the city were signs of destruction and repair. The walls had burns and gashes covered the surfaces. Sections of the great city had burned down from errant casting. The pegasi were bringing us for a landing in the royal gardens. Lower and lower we approached the ground. With a huge lurch the chariot hit ground. The pegasi began a rapid deceleration. As the chariot finally stopped, Celestia could be seen walking towards us. Rarity and Twilight hopped off first, both bowing to Celestia as they disembarked. I stepped off, managing a slight bow to Celestia. A noticeable smirk crossed her face.

“I’m so glad you three could make it to the castle today. We’ve got something big planned,” remarked Celestia.

“It was no problem, Celestia. We love coming to Canterlot. Isn’t that right, Richard?” Twilight nudged me gently.

“It sure is, Twilight. I do love Canterlot,” I said, trying to mask sarcasm. Twilight beamed.

“That’s excellent to hear, my students,” said Celestia. Celestia lead us into the grand dining room. I felt worried just being back in here again. This room had played an integral part of my former brainwashing. Four places were set up at the end of the table. I sat by Twilight, next to Celestia; Rarity sat on the side opposite from us. Waiters brought out fancy salads and placed them in front of us, using magic to fill glasses with wine. White wine.

“I hope you all like lunch. We’ve brought in a new chef,” said Celestia, motioning to start eating. I began to pick at my salad. It was much better than the food had been during my stay here.

Twilight noticed I hadn’t touched the wine. She glared at me.

“Why aren’t you drinking the wine, Richard? It’s ok now.” Twilight muttered under her breath. I looked at her franticly. She didn’t understand what it was like to even be here for me.

“Do you not like the wine, Richard? I can get you a different type,” asked Celestia, having noticed Twilight’s words. She seemed so sincere in her words; it almost made me want to take her up on the offer. I couldn’t trust her though.

“No thanks. I’m not really thirsty.” I told her. She accepted that, not bringing it up again. Twilight didn’t seem quite so convinced. Her gaze lingering on me for a second more before returning to the conversation.

I noticed Rarity hadn’t touched any of her wine either. It seemed odd that she wouldn’t have had any. No one was touching their salads at this point and the waiters began to take them away. No second course arrived.

“I bet you all are wondering what makes today so special. Can anyone guess?” Celestia asked. Twilight immediately went into a student mode.

“Is it because today is an anniversary of one of Starswirl the Bearded’s spells?” Celestia sighed lightly.

“No, Twilight. That isn’t why. The reas-” Before she could finish, Twilight cut in again.

“Is it because of a holiday?”

“No, Twilight. You may have noticed the city was nearly destroyed a few days ago. A great and dangerous criminal was released by the Griffins. You may remember him; his name was Bastion. We have the head of the Griffins, the one who organized the attack which ravaged this great city.” Celestia stopped, prompting a question.

“Who was it?” Asked Rarity.

Celestia resumed, “It was someone I think you know closely.” I made sure I was able to run at a moment’s notice; this whole thing must have been a setup. “Rainbow Dash.” Shock emanated from my very core. Rarity and Twilight gasped.

“What do you mean, Rainbow Dash? She would never do thing,” said Twilight.

“I have to agree. Even though at times she may be brutish, she would never do anything like this.” Rarity chimed in.

“I’m afraid it’s true. She saw we were fighting them back and was ordering a retreat when we knocked her from the sky. She will be executed today.”

“Executed?!” I shouted. Celestia looked at me searchingly.

“Yes, Richard, executed. Unless there was someone else willing to take her place. Revealing that perhaps they were the leader of such a plot.” How could she have been captured? She was far too fast for anyone to get her.

“Can I talk to her one last time?” Celestia looked at me accusingly. “We were very close.”

“Yes, Richard. You may talk to her.” 
Chapter IX

“I’m sorry I got caught, Richard.” Rainbow Dash was in a cell. Her wings shackled to her body. The guards had brought me here and left at my request. There was no way I could get her out of here.

“Rainbow Dash… I’m sorry I got you into this.”

“It’s ok, Richard. I was a little slow. I should have seen it coming.” I smashed my hoof into the bars.

“No, it isn’t. You shouldn’t have been there. This is all my fault.” How could I have let this happen? I could feel tears welling up within me.

“Well, there’s nothing that can be done about it now.” She wiped a tear from her eye.

“No, it can’t happen. There’s got to be something I can do,” I told her. She just shook her head.

“Richard, you can’t do anything about it.” She said bleakly. Her face betrayed her resolve. She was terrified. “You should probably go now, Richard.” Sensing her tone, finality, I decided it was time to go. Celestia stood outside the dungeons with Twilight and Rarity. A group of five guards entered the dungeon behind me.

“What are they doing?” I asked.

“They are going to get the prisoner for the execution,” said Celestia. “Let’s get going.” Celestia led us to the royal gardens. Gallows had been set up. A crowd of hundreds had been gathered. Behind the gallows stood tens of Griffins with their wings bound.

Behind us came the group of guards accompanying Rainbow Dash. They lead her up to the platform. A singular noose hung.

“As princess of the realm of Equestria. I, princess Celestia, hereby declare you to die for crimes against the crown.” One of the guards slipped the noose around Dash’s neck and tightened it. The crowd was cheering.

“Do you have any last words before you die?” Asked Celestia. I couldn’t let this happen. There was no way.

“I can only say that I’m sorry. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.” Dash said solemnly.

A viewer spoke up, “Tell that to my wife!” He hurled a rock, hitting Dash in the flank. The crowd cheered at the impact.

Celestia motioned for silence. “Then, I Hereby,” She was going to go through with it. “Declare that,” I had to stop it. “Rainbow Dash shall be,” Who was I to let her die?

“Wait!” The crowd looked at me.

“Hold! My fair knight wishes to say something.” Celestia peered down at me, presumptuous. Twilight and Rarity were both crying on each other’s shoulders.

“Rainbow Dash was not the one who organized the attack.” The crowd gasped; Murmuring and whispering.

“Richard, are you saying you know the true culprit here?” asked Celestia.

“Yes, I do.” My body was shaking. “I caused the attack on Canterlot. It was me.” The crowd erupted in uproar, unsure of how to take the news.

“Guards take this fool to the gallows. I mean, why take them down?” The guards threw a lasso over my neck; I tried to buck them off, but to no avail. There were twenty around me in seconds. As I was led to the gallows, they let the noose off of Dash’s neck and dragged her off the stage.

They pushed me on to the trapdoor and slipped the noose around my neck, tightening it.

“As princess of the realm of Equestria. I, princess Celestia, hereby sentence you to die for crimes against the crown.” I could see Twilight next to Celestia. I wish she didn’t have to be here. “Do you have any last words?”

“I have one thing to say. I’m sorry, Twilight. I really am.” The crowd hissed.

“Traitor!” They cried. Celestia silenced them.

“By royal decree, hang this pony.” The guard reached for the lever, but he never touched it. A dark pillar pierced the sky. It looked to originate from Ponyville. Another, from over the mountains in the west. More and more of the darkness crawled into the sky. Everyone’s attention was on the sky. The pillar came from Canterlot itself. 
Chapter X

“Where the hell is Richard? It’s been days.” Xavier was coming down the elevator. He’d finally got the last of Ponyville’s group here.

“I’m sure he’s just busy, Bastion.”

“How could he be so busy he has no time for his plan?” Xavier was a fool. So was Richard! “We might as well get started.”

“Wait, Bastion. Are you sure everypony is ready in the other cities?” I sighed. Xavier had no faith in me!

“Of course they are.” All of Ponyville’s ‘rebels’ sat in circles in the underground rooms Richard had found.

“Could you just check? I’ll get started here.” Xavier trotted to the center of the circle. Sitting down, he began to chant. I turned to the elevator and boarded it. It slowly rose to the surface. Xavier said misuse of magic in the room during incantations might ruin it. I knew better but decided against ruining his superstitions. I stepped off the lift.

It would be best to save Canterlot for last, lest we raise too much suspicion. With a thought and a word I felt my magic tingle across my body. Every use was incredible. That cell had blocked my magic for years. I felt myself warp through space. I arrived at the Manehattan cultist meeting room. Everyone was there, as I had suspected. They had begun first. I nodded to the leader. He was too busy in summoning to acknowledge me. I sneered at him disdainfully.

Another warp and I was at Dodge. This room was small and dusty. Only ten ponies here followed us, mostly cherry workers. They were sitting around, sipping some of the local beverage. I believe they called it sarsaparilla.

I called to the leader. “Summer Berry, why haven’t you begun?” A light brown pony poked her head up.

“I’m sorry, Bastion. We got to talking and then we took a break.” Curse this infernal mare. I couldn’t wait to not have to deal with these idiotic ponies.

“How soon can you start?” It was so hard to handle the contempt in my voice. She thought painfully slow.

“We can start, uh, maybe an hour.” I rolled my eyes.

“Why do you need an hour? I need you to start now.” She bit her bottom lip. The other ponies were kicking their hoofs, giving awkward glances. “Oh don’t tell me.”

“Well, we kinda don’t know the ritual.” My anger was spiking.

“Do you know who insignificant this little group here is? It doesn’t even matter at all.” She took a step back. She looked hurt.

“Uh-er, you said we were all important when we joined you.” I sighed heavily.

“Listen, Summer Berry. I lied. The only important ponies are the ones who can perform. If you cannot perform then I do not need you.”

“But sir, you told me personally…” Summer started to cry.

“I told you a lot of things. Can you perform or can you not?” Panicking she roused the rest of the group into a circle.

“Come on, guys. We can do this.” They began to chant softly. I walked outside the tiny room. The bright Dodge sun blinded me briefly. I regretted having to elect Summer Berry the leader. There had been no other choice. The previous leader had been… deceived. It was of no matter; he had been successfully replaced. On to more important matters.

The Trottingham group was running successfully. Our second biggest group to Manehattan; it had hundreds of members among splinter groups. I had to check five other groups; all of them working just fine. It was onto the most dangerous group, Canterlot. I teleported there immediately.

The room was empty. Nopony was there.

“What the hell. Where is everypony?”

A small voice came from another room, “They are at the event, sir.” It was Herald, leader of the Canterlot group.

“What event, Herald?” He walked in meekly.

“The execution, sir.” Execution? There had never been an execution in all of Equestrian history.

“Who is being executed, Herald?”

“Rainbow Dash, sir.” Rainbow Dash! That was one of Richard’s friends. I had to see this with my own eyes. “I believe, Richard is there too.” Richard! That blasted stallion. I had to see this now. I summoned a bit of my magic and cast a simple spell. I was in Richard’s point of view. He was busy looking at some gallows. Interesting. Rainbow Dash was being led up to the noose.

‘Uh-oh,’ I thought. I could feel Richard’s inner thoughts working. He was going to do something crazy. I turned back to the cult room.

“Herald, we have to do this. Chant with me.” Herald sprung to attention. Standing in the center of the room, we began to chant the magic words. I could feel myself join the hundreds of other who were casting as well. I joined the immersive consciousness. The power was rising to the desired levels. The magic was becoming almost too hard to contain.

It was my job to focus the combined magic of all the ponies in Equestria who were helping us. I remembered the last time I used this. The spell seemed to be only focusable on one pony, Luna. Spending time had prison had given me time to review it over and over and I knew how to change the target. I turned it to the one pony who would know how to use this… Richard.
 
Chapter XI

The dark beams blasted into the sky, seeming to coincide at one location. The entire crowd was stunned, not sure what was going on.

“What is going on?!” roared Celestia. The beams dissipated. The focal point growing larger and larger; then disappearing with a flash. A dark bolt emanated from the sky, striking me. Great things moved within me, changing me. I could feel immense power welling up within me, yearning to be free.

“Drop him!” ordered Celestia. The guard pushed the lever, unlocking the trapdoor. I fell through; the noose holding my neck. Intense agony shot through me. The power yearned for only a little thought, for me to give it something. I pictured the rope snapping. It exploded with a gigantic blast of fire. I fell to the ground beneath the stage, air once again returning to my lungs. Guards rushed to me, surrounding the gallows. The crowd screaming and running away.

“Let me go.” I said through gasping breaths. The words knocked the guards back, leaving a clear path. I got on my legs and started down it. Celestia leapt to the end.

“Stop right there, Richard. You know not what you mess with.” She was getting on my nerves for the last time. I decided it was time to take my revenge.

“No, Celestia. You have no idea.” It would only take one thought. One little thought of her getting injured, but nothing came. Whenever Celestia entered my mind, Twilight quickly leapt in, forcing me to abandon the thought.

“You don’t understand, Richard.” Celestia said, sadly. Why did she have to make everything so hard every time?

“I’m tired of you manipulating me! You can’t control me.” It was time for me to go. I couldn’t concentrate on her right now. I thought instead of the Everfree forest’s secret room. I imagined myself being there, and then I was.

“Richard! You’re back!” Xavier was speaking, excited to see me once more.

“Yes, Xavier. The spell worked. I have immense power now! It’s amazing.” A bright light erupted from behind us. Bastion had teleported in after me.

“It’s about time, Richard. I was worried about you.” He said, concerned. Looking me up and down.

“I’m fine, Bastion. The spell worked wonderfully. I think I can finally take down Celestia!” Bastion didn’t seem so impressed.

“Do you even know how to use your magic, Richard?” Truthfully, I didn’t.

“No, I don’t. Do you?”

“Let me enter your mind, see if I can help you.” I could feel his magic coming to me. I put down my defenses. He entered deeply into my mind. With a twist, the warm strength of his magic turned into a cold pain.

“What are you doing?” I cried out.

“Taking what’s mine!” As suddenly as the power had come, it was leaving. Bastion’s magic left me.

“Why, Bastion?” He smirked.

“Did you honestly think I’d help you? I made sure you didn’t die. The power is mine now.” He began to laugh manically.

“No, I don’t think it is.” Celestia was standing behind him, emerging from one of the side rooms.

Bastion turned around, stunned, “What are you doing here?”

“Something years in the making.” Her horn and eyes glowed bright white. Bastion’s body becoming covered in the bright light. A faint trail of the light connected Bastion’s and Celestia’s horns. Slowly the energy covering Bastion’s body travelled through the trail into Celestia.

“What have you done?” Asked an astounded Bastion.

“I’ve taken the power from you.” Said Celestia. “It’s time for your punishment, Bastion.” With a great outpouring of light, Bastion’s body began to fade to gray. She was turning him to stone. His struggling was of no help. After the grim task, she turned to me. Still on the floor from the ordeal.

“Years in the making?” I asked, struggling for breath.

“Yes, Richard. Now I must apologize to you, and I realize that maybe this isn’t the best time,” she said, beating around the bush.

“Apologize for what? The drugs? The cults?” She shook her head.

“No Richard. For taking you from Earth.”
The End