Six new ponies (and one Griffon) rise up to protect Equestria after a new enemy brings an old threat.
It has been 18 years since Celestia and Luna departed from this world for the next, leaving Twilight Sparkle in charge of Equestria. An old threat has reared it's ugly head, and now she must rise up to stop it.
The problem? She can't. She hates to admit it, Scratch, the Eternal Warden of Tartarus, is right. The Elements of Harmony have left her and her friends, and are ready to pass on to new blood. But who?
Meanwhile, Twilight's niece, Flurry Heart, has been sent to a little town called Ponyville to "Do herself some good" they said. On the train she meets a rather lazy colt who starts to show her around town.
Ponies have been getting more and more violent... They'll jump more quickly to anger than they used to...
The storm began to close around the three tribes, their mistrust growing with every gale. Harmony looked upon this and wept. She sent her foals to find a new land in the shadow of a great mountain. Thus, the Exodus began.
--- The Book of Harmony, Chapter 16, Verses 35-40
Paper Clip stared at his cubicle wall. He had been staring at his cubicle wall for the past eighteen years.
He never liked it. Never liked his surroundings. Never liked his job. He never liked the people he worked with. This was strange, yesterday he thought he was perfectly happy. Today however was different. Today his wife and son didn't make up for any annoyances at work. Today it didn't matter how hard the boss was trying to be nice to the employees, even if he lost his temper sometimes. Today he wasn't happy with all of the organizing he got to do, even if this was the perfect position for a stickler for detail. Today he never loved his job. Today he never loved his family.
Today he didn't care.
This was concerning. The morning started out perfectly decently. His wife made him a very nice breakfast. His son had wished him a happy birthday and gave him a card. And, despite a slight unseasonable chill in the air, it was a perfectly decent summer day.
But in the cab ride over to work he had done some deep thinking. This was not normal for Paper Clip.
Six million ponies live in Manehattan, he thought. You are one of them. You eat. You sleep. You go to work. If you are very lucky, you might have sex. You do this day in and day out. Your only reward is the means to keep doing it. Over and over. A constant cycle of futility ultimately leading to nothing.
This wasn't like him. In fact, it didn't SOUND like him at all.
And this is the funny part, he kept thinking. One day, we are all going to die. We live. We die. We are forgotten. That is the way of the world and that is how it's going to remain. No matter what we do, we all end up in the ground. The same destination. All roads lead back to Tartarus. But we have these things... Inhibitions. They stop us from doing what we want when we want it, and for what? So ponies won't think poorly of us? So we don't get yelled at? Screw'em! This is your life, and you should be aloud to enjoy it.
He started to listen to the voice in his head. By then he was about halfway to work.
We're going to change that, the voice continued. Screw your work. Screw the risks. Screw all of it. You entered this world bloody and screaming. You're going to leave the same way. Why not have some fun in the in between?
When the cab had pulled up the thoughts had turned darker. The voice had started saying much more cruel things.
I've got some ideas... it continued with sick glee. You could get some use out of that letter opener your wife got you for Hearth's Warming on somepony's neck... Maybe the brat back home...
Paper Clip stopped dead in the doorway. Did he just wish death on his own son? No. This was wrong. Something was wrong. Even during the worst of times, even when Chip was being an absolute horror he never, ever wanted that. He loved his son. Loved his family. Whoever this voice was, was lying.
Okay! Sorry! the voice said quickly. I get it. Baby steps... Let's start with your boss...
"Who are you?" Paper Clip whispered to the voice.
Well... I'm you. The voice answered. To be fair, I'm everyone. At least partially.
"You're not any part of me," Paper whispered harshly. "I don't want to hurt anyone."
Yeah you do, the voice said frankly. But like I said, baby steps. Now make your way to the elevator. The receptionist is giving you a weird look.
Paper Clip hurried across the lobby and made it into the elevator. Much to his chagrin, he made it to the elevator alone. It was just him and the voice now. And the more it talked, the more tempting it sounded.
Every day he walks in with some new assignment with that same grin on his smug, preening, face, the voice continued. And every time he does, you can feel yourself clenching. Well, today I want you to unclench. Use every ounce of that resentment you have in those brief few seconds and make sure none of it is wasted.
Because trust me, this is going to be a bad week.
And now he was here. Staring at the gray felt covered wall. Feeling nothing. Accomplishing nothing. Hating everything.
That's when Mr. Novella walked in.
"Hey," he said. "You okay, Paper? You seem out of it?"
Paper Clip hesitated for a moment. "I...," he started. "Yeah... Sorry Mr. Novella, it's just... been a weird morning."
"I understand," the boss smiled. "And we've discussed this before, you can call me Paperback."
Paper Clip didn't respond. He just kept staring at the wall.
"Listen," Novella continued. "I know I've kind of been loading you up with work lately, I'm sorry about that. With the merger coming up, I've been really trying to make sure you all kept your jobs, and it's been a nightmare. The good news is, it worked! Not a single layoff in this department! But I know you've had a busy week... But I also know something else..."
There was a huge noise behind him as the rest of this department came with a large cake with great big letters reading "Happy Birthdsy, Paper Clip!" There was a round of applause as Paper turned around to see them. He was stunned.
"Happy Birthday!" Novella smiled. "You have really helped me save everyone in this department, you have worked so hard, nd I don't want you to think it's unappreciated. For Twi's sake, take the rest of the week off, you've earned it."
The applause continued. Paper Clip stared at the cake for what seemed like an eternity. And then...
It would be wrong to say it happened all at once, because to Paper Clip it didn't happen at all. It was like a needle skipped on the record and everything had jumped forward. He didn't know why his hand and throat were suddenly sore. He didn't know why the cake was on the ground. He didn't know why all his co-workers looked shocked and horrified. More than anything else, he didn't know why Mr. Novella was on the ground with a broken nose.
Wow... the voice spoke up one last time. I just wanted you to tell him off... Nice work!
"Luckily," Applejack said looking right at Twilight. "The boss seems to be one of the most understanding ponies on the planet. so he ain't pressin' charges. But that's not the issue..."
Twilight closed her eyes and took in the information. If this had happened once she would think that a Pony lost his temper due to severe stress. But this wasn't the first time a pony had turned violent for seemingly no reason. Twice in Fillydelphia, once in Canterlot, and now once in Manehattan. Something was at work. And she had to figure out what.
She looked around the table at her friends. They were always there for her, ever since Celestia and Luna... took their leave, and left the throne to Twilight and Cadence. Fluttershy was always there with the right thing to say to calm her down. Applejack was always there to cut through the politics and give it to her in the frankest way possible. Rainbow Dash would put her body between Twilight and the armies of Tartarus if she felt it would help the kingdom. Pinkie Pie could pull her out of the deepest depression, and most of the measurable improvements to Equestria's lifestyle could be attributed to Rarity's sense of style and generous nature.
They were her High Lunar Council. It was still stressful, there were things they couldn't know, but without them there would be no kingdom.
She let out a deep sigh. "Ponies are turning violent without explanation." She turned to Applejack. "Has anyone been killed?"
"Not yet," AJ responded. "But maybe soon. It's happenin' more and more often, and it's gettin' worse and worse each time. If we don't do somethin'..."
"I know..." Twilight said heavily. "I know that... but at this moment I'm not sure if we can do anything. This could all still be coincidence."
"Darling," Rarity said. "Do you really believe that's still a possibility?"
"No," Twilight said frankly. "But at this point it's the only concrete thing we can call these incidents. Until I do a little more research, we're in the dark. For now, I think we should move on to other business."
Applejack sat back. "You're right... I mean... unless anypony's got a solution..."
"Oh! Oh! I know!" Pinkie Pie said excitedly. "One night out of every year we can get rid of all the laws! Once a year there are no laws and everyone can go out and work off their needless aggression and ponies wouldn't hurt ponies the rest of the year!"
The rest of the table looked at Pinkie with looks of confusion and bewilderment.
"No wait, that's stupid," Pinkie said frankly. "Why would giving in to the worst of you make the worst of you go away? And for that matter why would all violence just suddenly stop? Anger doesn't wait for a specific day, and if it did do that, that would make it like A KAJILLION times worse!! You know what... Forget I said anything." Pinkie sat back...
"Any... other... business?" said Twilight, still confused as to where that came from.
"Yeah," said Rainbow Dash eager to change the subject. "The weather."
"I've been meaning to ask," Twilight straightened up. "What's the problem? Why haven't you guys managed to push it to summer heat yet? We're a month and a half in at this point!"
"That's the thing," Dash sighed. "We don't know..."
"We're doing everything we can," Fluttershy said softly. "But we can't fight back the cold... It's getting to the point where the animals won't move back up north..."
"It's not the weather," Dash said frankly. "If it was, we'd be able to get a handle on it... If you ask me, I'd say something magical was going on..."
"Well of course not!" Rarity scoffed. "If that was the case Twilight would have already known about it, right? Perhaps there is some sort of industrial pollution making it harder to warm us up for summer?"
"Don't think so," Applejack said. "Normally that has the opposite effect, and so far we've kept a good lid on it. Rainbow, you're sure the other Pegasi have tried everythin'?"
"Yes," Dash rolled her eyes. "You know, I really can do my job, Applejack."
"I ain't sayin' you can't!" Applejack said defensively. "I'm just..."
There was a casual laugh that seemed to echo all around the room. Twilight recognized it, and she shuddered.
"So... The Pegasi are blaming the unicorns, the Unicorns are blaming the Earth Ponies, and the Earth Ponies are blaming the Pegasi. All the while, it's getting colder, and ponies across the nation are acting violent. Call me crazy, but I think I've heard this before."
It was stressful. There were things they couldn't know. Scratch was all of them.
Twilight only found out about the Warden of Tartarus about a year before she took charge of the Moon. Every month he would come to Canterlot Palace, give a brief, but scarily detailed report on how things were going in what he called his "Wheelhouse." He would then play Twilight in a game of chess. When Celestia passed, the only clear instruction she gave Twilight was that she had to play chess with Scratch. No matter what else was going on, no matter how dire the situation, she had to play chess with Scratch. And, what's more, she had to get to a point, quickly as possible, where she was consistently winning against him.
"Seriously," Scratch continued as he stepped out of the darkness. "This doesn't sound familiar to anypony else? Random spurts of bitter hatred and mistrust... Unseasonable cold... Not ringing any bells for anypony?"
Twilight always assumed that Scratch could look like whatever he chose to look like, but when she broached the subject at one of their monthly games, (in a futile attempt to distract him) Scratch bitterly informed her that this was the form he was stuck with. His coat was a deep reddish brown, a lot like rust on an iron chain. His mane was bright yellow and shaved very close to his head, almost to the level of being peach fuzz. He normally appeared in a very dapper suit. Black jacket, white shirt, bright red tie. He often topped it off with a black Derby that cast a shadow over his eyes.
This was a good thing. Because his eyes were the most terrifying thing about him.
His eyes were pitch black. Every so often there would be a faint orange glimmer, as if a fire was burning just beneath Scratch's skin and this was the only way to catch a glimpse of it. Twilight didn't like to look Scratch in the eye for very long. The eyes are the windows to the soul, and it was terrible to look through that window only to find the room vacant.
"See... I thought you guys had pattern recognition," Scratch laughed. "Damn, was I wrong. Then again, if anypony had any pattern recognition the world wouldn't exist as it does today, would it?"
"Who the hoof is this guy?" Rainbow snorted.
"Aw, she hasn't told you about me?" Scratch said sadly. "I guess that's fair, I am a fairly awkward topic of conversation, aren't I?"
"Who are you?" Rarity insisted.
"I'm... no, hold on." Scratch turned to Twilight. "Say my name. Please."
"Our chess game isn't until next week, Scratch," Twilight said through gritted teeth. "Now get out of my castle."
"That's not the name I was thinking of...," Scratch smiled. "But it'll do for now. Yes, you girls can call me Scratch. I am the humble prison warden for the rotting stinking pit you throw most of your equine refuse into."
"Your the guy in charge of Tartarus," Rainbow Dash reasoned.
"Wow, you six are pretty smart!" Scratch said brightly. "I could have easily been talking about Cloudsdale."
Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth and made straight to bury a hoof in Scratch's jaw, but Twilight raised a hoof to stop her.
"Don't," she said frankly. "That's what he wants."
"Too true," Scratch sighed. "And I could get it whenever I need to from you six, trust me. But no... today I'm here for a different reason. Today, I'm here to help."
"What could you possibly help us with?" Rarity spat at Scratch.
"You think you have two problems," Scratch smiled. "Actually, you have one. That's both good news, and bad news, The good news is that there is one less problem to solve, the bad news is that that problem... hoo... It's a whopper, let me tell you."
"What are you talking about?" Fluttershy asked cautiously.
"Pony's start to hate and mistrust each other... And then everything starts to get colder," Scratch sighed. "Please tell me the six of you aren't so stupid that I have to spell it out for you?"
A horrible realization dawned on Twilight. "Windigos."
An evil grin split across Scratch's face. "Give the mare a cigar."
"But we haven't seen the Windigos in over a thousand years!" Applejack protested. "Why would they bother to come runnin' back now?"
"It's the incidents...," Twilight said slowly. "The hate that keeps revealing itself in the hearts of the ponies tat live here... It's drawing them back... It's letting them find us..."
"And boy oh boy, how they've missed you," Scratch laughed. "Back in the good old days there was a good amount of hate and fear for them to suck on. But then this whole 'friendship' fad started..."
"But why?" Applejack asked. "Why is this happening? I mean, all the ponies here were nice before... Why are they all--"
"Oh I have an idea..." Twilight said through gritted teeth. "You see Scratch has a way with words. He likes to talk to ponies. Console them about their problems. And in return..."
"In return," Scratch smiled. "I offer them a bit of release. They get a sense of who they really are. And it should be noted, most ponies are horrible horrible equines. It's really amazing. But I'm afraid all the evidence points to you barking up the wrong tree. You know what I want, Twily."
"Don't. Call me that," Twilight hissed through gritted teeth. Scratch always managed to find a way to get under her skin.
"What do you want?" Fluttershy asked.
"Out," Scratch said shortly, his calm vernier cracking under the weight of his desire. "I have been stuck in a hot hole in the ground filled with monsters and the worst ponies imaginable for I have lost count at this point. To be honest, it's cramped, and loud, and to be perfectly honest, dull. I would like to move. But I can't do that, because there is a huge wrought iron gate magically sealed to keep me in.
"If you think that I'm going to let you out if you help us with the Windigos, you can forget it!" Twilight shouted. "You were put down there for a reason, Scratch."
"And you can live out your immortality until the Universe collapses and you will never understand exactly what that reason is," Scratch spat. "But I hadn't considered asking you an option. That being said, only an Alicorn can open the gate. There are only three left in Equestria, so if something were to happen to them, like say... All of them freezing to death, I would be in quite the predicament."
"So how do we stop it?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Only one way you can stop it," Scratch shrugged. "The Elements of Harmony. I doubt they'll burn like they did last time though. You may have to stow them somewhere."
Twilight looked down at the ground after Scratch mentioned the Elements. Her heart sank when Applejack finally spoke up.
"What're we waitin' for? Let's saddle up and get out there!"
Scratch let out another slimy, evil grin. "Twily?" he said sweetly. "Do you want to tell them why that won't work, or should I?"
A bolt of hate passed through Twilight Sparkle before she calmed herself down, and said what she needed to say for months. "We're not the Element Bearers anymore." she said heavily. "They've passed on."
The reaction from her friends was not what she was expecting. She was expecting shock, a sense of abandonment, confusion, anger. What she got were a lot of crushed looks, and closed eyes. Like they had heard a truth that they had known for ages, but never ever wanted to admit to themselves. A few silent tears were shed, but no voice raised, no questions, no denial. It was over.
Their job as the spirits of the Elements was at long last over.
After quite a long pause, Rarity spoke up. "So what are we supposed to do? I mean we can't just sit here."
"Sure you can," Scratch said happily. "It's not your problem anymore. Just sit back, relax, and let the new Element bearers take the job on. Of course... You'll need to find out who they are... That might be a problem. But then again. who knows? Twily may know where to start."
Something clicked in Twilight Sparkle's head. All the sorrow quickly turned to rage as the fog around the situation began to lift. ALl at once she understood everything. Everything except his endgame.
She marched right up to Scratch and looked him straight in the dead, burning eyes. "Do you honestly think I'm that stupid?!" Twilight shouted. "Do you honestly think I wouldn't guess that you're behind this?! And more than anything, do you honestly think that I am letting you anywhere near my family?!"
Scratch stood silently for a moment, honestly shocked at Twilight's brazenness. Then his smile came back to his face, this time more twisted and evil than Twilight had ever seen it. "The following things are true. The Windigos are coming back to find you. Unless you get your hands on the new Element Bearers, they won't be stopped. If they aren't stopped there's no where you can run anymore. The world is mapped. They follow you. Finally, you know how to find the next Element Bearers. What you need to do, and who you need to send. If you don't everypony in Equestria is going to freeze to death. I wasn't lying when I said I don't want that to happen.
"So the question isn't 'Am I behind it?' or 'What is he planning?' The question you need to ask yourself is, 'With a scenario this dire, what other choice do I have?"
Then Scratch started to laugh. This laugh wasn't maniacal, but casual. Normal. Like he had remembered something funny that someone had told him a few weeks ago. You could hear that laugh from anyone, and the fact that it was coming from someone like him made it bonechilling.
In a blink of an eye, Scratch was gone. But that laugh would stay with Twilight and her friends for the rest of their lives.
The coach landed in Canterlot with a procession waiting outside. She rolled her eyes. This wasn't the first time she had come to visit. As a matter of fact she had been coming here every week fot the past month. So why did she have to suffer the loud trumpeting of fanfare every time she arrived in the city.
She took a full blast of it from both sides as she stepped out of the buggy.
"Jeez! Will you guys stow it!" Flurry Heart said, her ears recovering. "I know, alright? I'm here.
Harmony looked upon her new creations and spoke. "Each of you have been created from me, without you around me, my power would be naught. You are my companions, my friends. Pieces of my being. Elements of Harmony.
--- The Book of Harmony, Chapter 3 Verses 5-8
It's not that Flurry Heart minded the attention. She didn't, at least, not really. she minded very few things about being a princess. She had never really done a days work in her life, which was fine with her, it sounded boring. She always had anything she needed when she needed it, and that applied to almost anything she could ever want. She was spoiled, and she knew it. And when she really looked inside herself, she didn't care.
However, that fact always bothered her. She should have cared. She should have had some discontent about having what was a very privileged, sheltered existence. She had very few friends. As a matter of fact there were a select few Ponies that she thought she was all that close to. There was her mom and dad, and it wasn't hard to be close to them. She couldn't ask for more understanding parents. There were a few family friends. Like Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity, but she didn't get to see them more than once or twice a year.
And then there was Aunt Twi. Wonderful, funny, scatterbrained, logical, Aunt Twi.
To say that Flurry and Twilight Sparkle were close would be an Understatement. Flurry had never had any siblings, but her aunt filled the big sister role nicely. This was a Mare who was entrusted by the late Princess Luna as guardian of Night and the Moon and she still found time to give Flurry Heart personal magic lessons! Ever since she was ten years old she had made the journey from The Crystal Empire down to Canterlot every month to receive a private tutoring session. It was her favorite part of any month.
She had managed to have quite a quiet walk up to Canterlot Castle. As she approached, one of the servants wanted to announce her arrival, but she waved him off, she wanted to surprise Twilight. However, when she got to the door, she was stopped by one of Twilight's favored guards.
"Sorry kiddo," said Flash Sentry. "No entry. At least not yet."
"Aw, come on, Flash!" Flurry whined. "I came all this way!"
"And you can wait five more minutes," Flash said frankly. "She's in a meeting with the High Lunar Council."
"The girls are here?!" Flurry asked happily. "Cool! I haven't seen them in months!"
"Just a little longer, Princess," Flash smiled. "You can wait out here."
Flurry pouted a little. "Daddy gives you your job, and this is how you treat his daughter?" she joked.
Flash simply smiled. This had the banter between them ever since they had first met. Good old, reliable, Captain Flash.
Flurry rolled her eyes. "Alright," she sighed. "How's Aunt Twi been?"
Flash thought hard about how to answer that question. "Worried," he said finally. "She's doing weird things. Keeping secrets. She doesn't usually do that. But something seems to be worrying her. It's been like this since about a month ago. About a week after you left, I walked in on her and she was cr-"
Finally the doors to the chamber swung open and out poured palpable tension. Like her mother, Flurry heart had a knack for sensing emotions. That's where most of her magic was focused, empathy. So when the doors opened she felt so many things all at once. Sadness. Longing. Loss.... And fear. Fear more than anything. And it wasn't everyday fear. This is the kind of fear that came when you had a very small amount of time to figure out how not to die.
When Aunt Twilight and the others saw her, that fear was slightly abated, replaced by a sort of familiar comfort. "Well, if that don't beat all!" Applejack smiled as she saw her. "Look at you! Look at how much you've grown since the last time I saw you!" AJ ran over and hugged her. tightly. "Oh where did all that time go! You look like a grown mare."
"It's good to see you too, Applejack!" she hugged back a little tighter.
"I see we are still refusing to wear our tiara in public?" Rarity said incredulously.
"We find it to be too cumbersome and uncomfortable," Flurry said back. "We also refuse to call ourselves 'we,' no matter how 'royal' it's supposed to be."
It didn't take long for the straight face to break, and they both laughed and embraced each other. In between them appeared Pinkie Pie. "Diiiiid you get the birthday gift I sent ya?!" Pinkie said excitedly.
"Yeah," Flurry said after thinking for bit. "The giant pink canon. I sorta... have no idea what it's for, or how it works."
"Cheese's canon works fine for the both of us now, so I feel that mine should go to you!" Pinkie squeaked. "But you have to promise me that you will never. Use. It's powers. For evil!!!!"
Pinkie was directly in Flurry's face now, staring directly into her soul. "I promise," Flurry smiled, utterly baffled.. "I shall use it's great and powerful magics only for good."
One confetti filled hug later, Flurry caught the worried gaze of Fluttershy. "You look skinny," she said softly. "re you getting enough to eat?"
"Yes!!" Flurry answered as quickly is possible. "Fluttershy, thank you for your concern, but trust me I'm fine! I swear!!"
Too late. "I'll send you some snacks." There it was. The guarantee that in the mail in the next week would arrive food. Too much food. Veggies. Hummus. And the most insanely huge cheese basket ever created, courtesy of Fluttershy and Big Mac. It's not like she wouldn't eat it, but Flurry did have what passed for a decent figure, and she'd have liked to keep it that way.
"Hey kid!" Rainbow Dash called over. "Are you practicing those tricks I taught you?"
"Every day!" Flurry jumped in the air and soared over to Rainbow, somersaulting as she approached, landing on one hoof right next to her.
"That's my girl!" Dash put Flurry in a headlock and gave her little noogie.
"Ahem," came a stern regal voice from the back, and the room fell silent. Twilight Sparkle stood tall, looking down at all of the rest of them with her best "royal teacher" look. "Flurry Heart! Who were the first two ponies to sprout from the Tree of Harmony."
Pop quiz time. She had this. "The Goddess Harmony, and her brother, Entropy," Flurry answered.
"And what became of Entropy?" Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"He was cast out when he tried to kill his sister for attempting to bring what he called an 'unnatural order' to all life on Equis," Flurry recalled quickly. "Saying, as he was thrown into the pit 'In the beginning there was the seed, but in the end there shall only be entropy.'"
"And who was the first pony to ascend to become an Alicorn?" Twilight fired at Flurry.
"Seraphim Glare," Flurry said smugly. "He earned that rank after the three tribes were unified, as such he passed his rank to his daughters, Celestia and Luna, shortly after their birth. Unfortunately, the death of his wife, Queen Platinum, caused him to lose any sanity or control he may have had, causing him to start a genocide that would only end thanks to the sacrifices of too many ponies."
"Until he tried to start trouble a little while ago," Dash said, smugly looking at her hoof. "But he wasn't prepared for how awesome we were."
"Twilight, come on!" Applejack protested. "How much are you gonna grill the poor filly before you even say hello?"
Twilight gave a soft smile. "Just one more," she said softly. "Ten years ago, Celestia, Luna, and Discord all... moved on from here. What did each of them say s they departed from the realm beyond."
Flurry closed her eyes. She was very young, but she could still remember this, very vividly. She was there. "Celestia spoke to the new guardian of the Daylight, saying that of all the students she had, she was the most caring, loving and compassionate. The Sun was in better hooves than it had ever been."
"Better words were never said about Princess Cadence," Rarity said. It was true. Flurry's mother was the kindest pony she knew. And their was a never anypony better to raise the sun."
"Luna turned to her successor and told her," Flurry had to choke back tears as she looked at her aunt. "The night has been abused, by myself and others. I trust you will not make the same mistake. You're the only one I can trust, Twilight."
A tear dropped from Twilight and she smiled. "And then Discord ruined the whole thing by showing up with a huge inflatable duck around his waist. 'I've been waiting my immortal life for this occasion, so can we stow the sentiment?'"
Flurry burst into laughing, and ran up to hug her aunt. "I got here early," Flurry squeaked. "Sorry. I didn't want to wait."
Twilight smiled softly and looked up at her friends. "We'll table the discussion we had today for later," she said. "Tomorrow we'll talk bout the arrangements for the Summer Sun Celebration."
The Council said their farewells and left.
"So? What's the lesson for today?" Flurry asked happily. "Transmutation? Working on my Empathy? Something a little stronger?"
"I have something very special planned for the next few days, actually," Twilight said slyly. "But first, I want to hear how you're doing? How are your parents? I never manage to get over there as much as I like."
Flurry stalled. She really didn't want to talk about home. It wasn't as if anything was wrong, it's just that something had happened. Something that no one was making very big deal about, but it reminded Flurry Heart of a horrible prospect. "Well," Flurry started hesitantly. "Mom's been spending way to much time worrying about the Summer Sun Celebration. She keeps wanting to 'practice' but there's no really good way of doing that, considering."
"She's been doing this for ten years," Twilight laughed. "You'd think she'd have confidence in her Daybreaking abilities by now..."
"And Daddy...," Flurry started. This was it. Once she said this out loud it was official. It was starting. Nothing she could do to stop it. "Daddy found his first grey hair last night," she tried to say lightly.
"Oh, my," Twilight giggled. "He must be insufferable. I remember him working on that mane for ages when he was in school! He used... to..."
Twilight stopped. Tears were pouring down Flurry's face.
It slowly dawned on Twilight what was upsetting Flurry. "Oh sweet Celestia," Twilight whispered. "Is that why...?"
"It's not fair," Flurry said bitterly. "It's not fair. I get to stick around forever, and Daddy has to..." she trailed off. She couldn't say the next word. "It's not fair."
"And it's not time! Oh, sweetie come here!" Flurry ran to Twilight and buried her face in her shoulder, sobbing. "It's not time for that yet. It's not even close to time yet. I promise. Your Dad has so many good years ahead of him."
Flurry stifled a sob into Twilight's shoulder.
"Listen," Twilight said softly. "You've been given a long life and I know it may not seem like it, but it's a gift. You have so much time to do so much good. Meet so many people, make so many friends. And I know it seems cruel, but you can't just shut yourself down because tie has to march on. Just because you may outlive them doesn't mean you should stop loving them."
Flurry slowly managed to compose herself. She had very few friends. She was close to very few people. Considering the nature of existence, she wanted to avoid it if she could. She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes as he looked at her aunt. "Well," he said quickly, trying her hardest to change the subject. "Are we going to get to the lesson? Or am I just here to visit?"
Twilight smiled. "Yes, your lesson," she said firmly. "Today's lesson is a milestone and I know you'll be very excited. I think it's time you saw the First Edition."
Flurry's jaw hit the floor. She couldn't believe it. She had read copies for her studies, but this?! She was finally about to take a look at the original. The actual original. Penned by Honesty himself and enchanted to keep writing long after he passed on. The first book that detailed the story of Equestria. From the birth of Harmony, all the way to the passing of Celestia and Luna.
She was going to be able to read the original Book of Harmony.
Twilight led her into a little back room that was accessed to a door behind a curtain in the Throne Room. It was hardly a secret passage, but you would miss it if you weren't looking. In the room were two small bookshelves crammed with very very important books. This was Twilight Sparkle's private collection. The oldest and most powerful spellbooks, ancient maps, diaries, all of it was here or reference when she needed it. And there, sitting on a small lectern that sat at the front of the room, was the Book itself.
It was much smaller than Flurry Heart had imagined. Far less grand. Flurry imagined a huge, jewel encrusted tome. So heavy it required four strong stallions to lift it. However, that wasn't the case. It was leatherbound, was closed with a leather clasp, and while larger in dimensions then an average book, it hardly looked abnormally large. Looking at it you would be forgiven for mistaking it or a diary or travel journal. It didn't even look all that thick. Flurry heart reason that, like in all of the copies that she had seen, there were multiple columns of text on each page. There wouldn't be enough room otherwise. The cover was almost blank, except for a golden H that rested in the center. Flurry wondered if that stood for "Harmony" the book's subject, or Honesty, the books author. Flurry wasn't necessarily disappointed, but it was certainly a surprise.
Twilight and Flurry walked up to the book, Flurry walking a bit slower, not wanting to upset the book somehow. Twilight calmly opened the book and began to flip through it. "Truth be told, I wasn't planning on showing the original copy to you until much later. However, certain... events. Have transpired that make me think that now is the time. First and foremost," Twilight flipped to the very end. "This."
Flurry was awestruck.
So far there had been twenty-two chapter of the Book. Each of these chapters took you from one hugely major event in Equestria's history to the next, with every significant event in between. As time passed, more and more chapters added themselves to the book. The last chapter thus far had began with a little unicorn being taken in as a princess's pupil and ended with two alicorns and a Draconequus ascending to the realm beyond.
So what appeared on one of the final pages of the book shocked Flurry to her core.
23
The rest of the page was blank.
"A new chapter?!" Flurry gawked. "But... It's been ten years! This usually takes longer doesn't it?"
Twilight nodded. "It was nearly a Millennium before what I hesitate to call my chapter started," Twilight sighed. "We are on the precipice of something of great importance. As for what it is? To be honest, I'm afraid to find out."
Something hit Flurry's empathy hard. It was that fear again. The same fear that hit her when she first walked into the room. She was keeping her composure, just like she always did, but for some reason, Twilight was terrified. "Aunt Twi, what's wrong?" Flurry asked. "What are you not telling me?"
Twilight looked right into Flurry Heart's eyes, and Flurry felt a mix of the nameless fear, but also longing, and genuine parental worry. "Come back to the throne room with me," she sighed. "What your sensing, I have to deal with on my own. You don't need to worry about it, at least not yet. Besides, I have something for you! Your very first field assignment!"
Flurry hopped her way into the throne room, too excited to merely walk. "Ohmigosh, ohmigosh, ohmigosh!!!" Flurry squeaked. "Where am I going? Griffonstone? Minos? Dragonlands?!"
"Ponyville," Twilight said smugly.
Flurry stopped hopping. "Ponyville," she said lightly. "Huh. Uhh... Listen, I know I'm going to seem like kind of a jerk saying this, but isn't Ponyville kind of... podunky?"
"That 'podunk'," Twilight said dryly. "Was my home for ten long years. young lady!"
"Bad word," Flurry said quickly. "Quaint?"
"Better," Twilight smiled. "Yes, it may be a little... quaint, but I learned some of the most important lessons of my life in that town. I think you could do the same. The Summer Sun Celebration is the day after tomorrow. I want you to oversee it's organization."
"Yes, that's what we want," Flurry said dryly. "Me organizing things."
"I figure that there would be enough ponies round to prevent anything from catching fire," Twilight giggled. "In all seriousness, me and your mother are swamped, I'm busy doing this and a thousand other things, we could really use the help."
Flurry rolled her eyes. "Alright," she went in to hug her aunt. "Anything for you, Aunt Twi."
"Thanks," Twilight said, hugging her niece. "Meet with the ponies running the celebration. The list is here." She handed Flurry a small list of names. "You're also going to have to meet up with Starlight Glimmer, she's the curator at the Museum."
"Your first student?" Flurry asked. "Cool!"
Twilight nodded. "She and her husband are hosting the event," Twilight explained. "Be excited! You get to meet your Crystaler. Also, and I can't stress this enough, this is important..." Twilight held Flurry's shoulders. "Make some friends."
"I've heard that before," Flurry said dryly.
"Hey!" Twilight laughed. "At least when I tell you that, the fate of Equestria doesn't depend on it!"
"You wouldn't tell me if it was!" Flurry protested. "The friendships had to be genuine in order for the magic to work."
"You're right!" Twilight said happily. "So guess you should treat that instruction as if it both is and isn't a matter of life and death!"
"Aunt Twi-"
"Look," Twilight interrupted. "I know you find it hard to get close to people. Until today, I never really understood why. I know it's hard that time with friends might one day come to an end, but you can't let that hold you back. You have to put yourself out there and spend the time you have wisely. And it isn't wise to spend it alone. Trust me, it's worth the time you get. I promise."
Flurry smiled.
Flash Sentry opened the door behind them and walked in. "Sorry to interrupt your respective Majesties," Flash said. "But a letter has come in for Princess Twilight."
"Thank you, Flash," Twilight said. "Who from?"
"Don't know," Flash shrugged.
"Well who put it in the drop box?" Twilight asked.
"I don't know," Flash said. "One of my men handed this to me, I was doing my job, AKA standing outside this door."
Twilight nodded slowly. "Sharp as a tack, as always."
"Thank you madam," Flash said sarcastically. "I try. Sheesh."
Flurry giggled as Flash left the room. She knew what this was. "'The time you get is worth it'," she repeated. "So why don't the two of you quit flirting and get on with it?"
"I," Twilight lied. "Have no idea what you're talking about. If I did, it would be none of your business regard--"
Twilight trailed off, and the wave of emotion that hit Flurry nearly cased her to stagger. The fear was back in full force, but it soon subsided into a searing, white hot, barely contained rage. She had never felt anything like this. Flurry was terrified of what her aunt might do in this state.
"Aunt Twi, what's wrong?" Flurry asked.
"Your train leaves in a few hours," Twilight said staying remarkably composed. "I've had your bags sent, you should get ready..."
"But wait, Aunt Twi!" Flurry called as Twilight hurried out of the room.
"Like I said," Twilight called back. "I don't want you to worry about it, at least not yet!"
Flurry was left in the throne room, alone. She wasn't so sure it wasn't the time for her to worry.
He sat quietly in her room, and waited for her. She'd be there, and sooner rather than later..
The plan was complicated. Perhaps over complicated. A lot of things depended on factors he had no control over. A lot of it relied on pure dumb luck. Part of the plan was actively counterproductive to the end goal. He didn't regret that part though. If the plan failed that way, he would at least have the knowledge that he stuck it to his sister. He liked that. She could watch from up above and weep a her philosophy crumbled around her. But he didn't expect that to happen. His sister was almost as cunning as he was. The plan wouldn't fail that way. This was the only plan left.
The plan wouldn't fail. He had to keep reminding himself of that. Over and over again repeating it in his mind. The truth was there were a thousand and one ways this plan could fail. All things said, this was an insane gamble. A risk he didn't like to take. If it didn't go his way, that's it. It was over. Trapped forever, no chance of escape.
He looked down at his rusty cursed skin and growled. It was so stifling. He just wanted out. To be contained like this. To be trapped in that stinking hole with that insufferable dog and Equestria knows how many damned souls. Countless years with nothing but the sound of screaming damned souls. Not that he was disturbed by it mind you, it was the boredom that was getting to him.
"Only the willful actions of an Alicorn could open the gate" his sister said. He remembered that. Unfortunately Alicorns had proven damn near impossible to tempt, so he had to use... other means of coercion.
He sat in the room and waited for the Alicron to enter.
The door soon burst open to reveal an angry Twilight Sparkle. She met Scratch's eyes and snorted. "You."
"Let's face it," Scratch said frankly. "I'm not the scariest thing you've ever had in this bedroom.
"Where are they?!" Twilight screamed.
Scratch raised an eyebrow. "Where're who?"
"Don't try to get cute with me!" Twilight said through gritted teeth. "You have my friends and I want them back."
Scratch shrugged. "I don't have your friends."
"I- What?!" Twilight managed. "But the note-"
"Said 'If you ever want to see your friends alive again, come to your bedroom. Alone,'" Scratch recited. "I know. I wrote it. And it's absolutely true. If you didn't come here alone you'd send guards, and that would make things complicated for when I do manage to kidnap your friends. Things might get messy. But, since you did, in fact, come alone, I can nab you too. And you're all going to the same place! So you'll be able to catch up!"
Twilight turned quickly towards the door to call for help.
"Before we fly off the handle," Scratch said calmly. "You know my predilection for being in two places at once, while simultaneously being nowhere. I am, as we speak, having similar conversations with your friends. If this one doesn't go smoothly, those conversations might turn lethal. I'll be nice to them, if you're nice to me."
Twilight stopped dead, her eyes darted around the room as if she was desperate to find a way out. She closed her eyes when she couldn't find one. He had her. There was no way out for her now. A huge grin split across Scratch's face.
"One question," Scratch said quietly. "Why don't you use my real name. Scratch isn't my name. It's what a few Hillfillies callded a silver-tongued monster that lived in the swamp. It would be hard for other ponies to accept, but you know my real name. You can call me by my real name. Celestia always called me by my real name. We've sat down for chess so many times, but you still won't call me by my real name. Say my real name. Please. It's important to me that you do."
"No," Twilight said immediately. "That is your real name now. You're simply not that pony anymore. Any right you had to wield the name the Tree gave you was lost when you were cast out. You're a shell now. Just a pathetic, useless, dying old animal who can do nothing but scratch at the gate."
Scratch laughed his common, casual laugh. "You know, you're right!" he said brightly. "There is a certain poetry to that. Thank you."
"I've already put the wheels in motion," Twilight said defiantly. "I've put a plan in motion to stop you, and the Windigos."
"Oh, I know," Scratch grinned. "And I really want to, from the bottom of my heart..." He leaned in right next to Twilight's ear.
Worry was a new emotion for Flurry Heart. And she didn't like it.
Oh, she had felt others worry. Her empathy had allowed her that much. That's how she knew what the word even meant. Because, all things considered, she had little to worry about. She grew up in a literal palace, surrounded by a loving family, and she had anything she ever asked for. When she pondered the prospect of her Immortality, watching every single mortal pony friend of hers die when she couldn't, it made her afraid, more than a little sad, but never worried.
This was different than that. This was different than any worry she had felt off of anyone else. This worry came from being sure something horrible would happen, but totally in the dark as to what.
The worry followed her as she climbed on the train. The first civilian train she'd ever gotten on. She had resolved to enter Ponyville incognito. She would cover her wings with her saddlebag, which was packed with a few books for the train ride. True, they were very large books, and it seemed like the bag would break her back at any moment, but she felt the disguise was worth the discomfort. She would introduce herself only as "Flurry" and she would only describe herself as a "Canterlot Official" sent to oversee the preparations for the Summer Sun celebration. As much as she liked the attention, she felt an urge to keep under the radar. She felt she was in danger.
She walked with her worry and sat down on a free bench. The train car was mercifully uncrowded and quiet. So she could sit, and worry, and work out the things she was worried about.
Aunt Twilight has never been that angry before, she thought. At least, not as long as I've known her, And she's one of the nicest ponies I know! She's friendly with everypony, so who can she hate as much as that?
"SNOOOORKOOKOKOKOK--neigh..."
A-And then there was that note, Flurry scrambled back to her train of thought after that sudden burst of random noise. What was on it? Why did it make Aunt Twi so upset? No, this doesn't make any sense. Tirek has been gone for ages, we've just reopened trading with the Changeling Hive, so who? Who's scaring my Aunt?
"SNOOOOKKKKKokokokok... neigh..."
It wasn't just her, either, Flurry managed to somehow think through gritted teeth. Her friends were also feeling off. Like they wer certain that they were going to die. Or maybe that part of them already had... So what could possibly--
"SNRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRK--"
Okay, what in Tartrus is that freaking noise?!
It wasn't long before she found the answer. There was a stallion lying on his stomach in the seat opposite hers, curled up and fast asleep. She didn't notice him when she sat down, and she wondered how. This pony was hardly small. He was quite a well built Pegasus. Large, and quite muscular. He had a beige coat, and a brown mane that matched the color of his hooves. His mane was quite curly, and came up to a large fringe that pointed upward and to the back of his head. His face... With his face it was hard to tell. When a pony is snoring with his mouth opened that wide, very few other things can enter your mind.
Flurry pondered about six different ways to kill this pony before fate intervened. A large bump in the tracks caused the train car to jostle hard, waking the stallion rather violently.
"I didn't do it!" he screamed groggily as he snapped his head upwards, looking around frantically. "It was Pumpkin! The two of you can't prove a damn thing!"
He calmed down when he met Flurry's eyes.
"I was snoring, wasn't I?" asked the stallion.
"Little bit," Flurry said dryly.
The stallion brushed the sleep out of his eyes, Flurry felt a little guilty. She didn't need to be an empath to see how embarrassed the poor guy was. "I'm sorry," his said in a deep sullen voice. "I'll find another bench..."
Flurry was feeling incredibly guilty now. "Oh," she said. "There's no need to do that. My stop can't be more than a few minutes away, at this point."
The stallion raised an eyebrow. "You going to Ponyville?" he asked incredulously.
"Yes," Flurry said, with a slight reluctance.
"Hey!" The Stallion's mood brightened up immensely. "That's my home town! Looks like we're going to the same place, I'm just heading home. I had to drop off someone at Manehattan, and pick up a few orders for my Parents. I'm assuming you're coming to Ponyville for the Summer Sun Celebration."
Flurry Heart considered the question. "In a manner of speaking."
The Stallion nodded. "It was either that, or the Crystal Tree Museum. Not much else happens in Ponyville. My name is Pound Cake by the way."
The name "Cake" rang a bell for Flurry Heart, she dove into her bag and pulled out the list of names Aunt Twilight had given her, and sure enough... "You wouldn't happen to know a 'Cup Cake' or a 'Carrot Cake' would you?"
"I should," Pound Cake smiled. "They're my parents."
"That's fantastic!" Flurry smiled. "That means I can get my work done early and get back home. My name is Flurry H-" She caught herself before she managed to say her full name. "My name is Flurry. I'm an official sent by Canterlot to oversee preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration."
Pound raised an Eyebrow. "Flurry, huh?" Flurry felt a range of emotions come from the young stallion. It started with suspicion, then when his eyes travelled down to her saddlebag there came the smugness that only came with confirmation. After that bewilderment, followed by resignation. "You need to see my Parents about the catering, right?"
"Exactly!" Flurry said, thankful that she seemed to be able to talk with this pony with out much awkwardness. Her disguise was working! Even if the saddlebag was getting more than a little heavy... and starting to chafe her wings.
"Well, I could easily introduce you," Pound Cake smiled. "And it's more than likely I know everypony on that list. When we get there I'll show you around town. Introduce you to the beautiful insane asylum that is Ponyville. Speaking of which..."
Flurry felt the train slow and finally pull to a stop. They had arrived in Ponyville. The town which had housed the Elements of Harmony for goodness knows how long. The town founded by earth ponies, and then became the seat of the princess of friendship for over ten years. The arena that hosted the final battles with Discord, Nightmare Moon, and Lord Tirek! Even after she called the town a Podunk, looking out the window now, Flurry Heart was a little intimidated.
"Wow," Flurry said, wheezing a little from the weight of the saddlebag as she got up. "The town is actually... kinda pretty."
Flurry felt a growing concern coming from Pound Cake. "Let me carry those bags for you," he said weakly. "There really is no need to carry those the whole time."
"No," Flurry said, desperately trying to pass off the effort of lifting the saddlebag as nothing at all. "It's fine! Really!"
Flurry felt Pound's concern mix with a growing exasperation. "Princess," he said quietly. "I understand you're wanting to keep a low profile, but I promise you, there is no need for that here. We won't treat you in any other way then how you want to be treated. We're kind of unflappable like that. If you want to stay on the low key, that's fine, but the saddlebag over the wings isn't fooling anypony. And it looks like it hurts. So please let me carry your bags before you pull something."
Flurry's jaw was on the floor. "You knew?" she gaped. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"You didn't want to tell me," Pound said frankly. "I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."
Fluttershy had started by walking back to her room at Caterlot Castle. It took her about a minute to break into a gallop.
Something was wrong. She could feel it. Something had happened. Big Mac or Apple Tree were in trouble. Her family was getting hurt. As a mother, she just felt all of the subtle wrongness in the air. Ever since Scratch had crashed the Council meeting, everyone she new was in danger.
She threw open the door, expecting to see her family hurt, or dead.
What she found may have arguably been a little bit worse.
Scratch was sitting in the middle of the room, in her husband's rocking chair. In one hoof was a long knife held over a sleeping Big Mac on the bed. Crooked in the other foreleg, sleeping soundly, was her daughter.
"Hey now," Scratch said loudly. "A little quieter. You don't wanna wake the poor kid, do you?"
Fluttershy immediately turned to wake Mac.
"Don't try it," Scratch sighed. "The second he tries to get up, the knife goes down. Red coat though, at least it wont stain."
Fluttershy stopped dead. She didn't know what to do. She had faced gods of chaos, dragons, hydras, vengeful kings, and she could honestly say that she had never been this afraid. "I'll do whatever you want," Fluttershy said, as tears began to well up in her eyes. "Just please... Please put my baby down... Please..."
"Oh, come on, Flutters, don't get so emotional," Scratch said. "It's not like I'm going to ask you to kill anybody. No, no. You're just going to come with me. They're going to stay here, and they're going to stay as safe as they can until this is all over."
Fluttershy didn't want to think about what that meant. "Okay," Fluttershy sobbed. "I'll do it. I'll go wherever. Just... Just please... Pleae put Apple Tree down... Please put away the knife..."
Scratch slowly got up and put baby Apple Tree down in her crib. He put the knife aside so he could tuck her in. Fluttershy wanted to duck for the knife, but not when Scratch was this close to her daughter. She almost panicked when she saw that Apple Tree was stirring. "Shh, shh, shh, it's okay kiddo," Scratch said softly. "You're fine for now. You're fine." The foal slowly went back to sleep.
Fluttershy was horrified, but she had to ask. She had to ask the question. For peace of mind.
"Cute kid," Scratch gave a friendly smile to Flutterhy. It may have been pleasant coming from any pony other than him. "Your hubby's hilarious, by the way. I think he would have stayed out of it if I had brought a brass band in here. Sheesh."
"Why are you doing this?" Fluttershy sobbed. "What do you want?!"
Scratch looked confused by the question. "Out," he said frankly. "Didn't I give you this whole spiel?"
"You are out of Tartarus!" Fluttershy protested. "You're here. You're out. Just go and leave us alone."
"Aha," Scratch nodded. "That must be confusing. Please, allow me to demonstrate."
With that, Scratch removed his suit jacket, removed his left cuff link, and rolled up his sleeve, revealing his rust-colored foreleg. "Watch carefully, now," he said. He then picked up the knife.
To Fluttershy's horror, Scratch attempted to plunge the knife into his foreleg, but the blade only bounced off with a sharp TING! And then he tried again. And then again. Each time with the same result. By the end of the grim exercise the knife had been rendered totally useless, it's blade curled back toward the handle. The only sign that anything had happened to Scratch was a few flakes of red rust on the carpet.
"Hmph," Scratch scoffed. He rolled his sleeve back down, cuffed it, and put his jacket on. "About what I expected. Still, it's worth a shot. And hey! At least I know it scared the damn dog. That's a nice bonus."
Fluttershy was stunned. What was this pony?
Scratch briskly walked over to Fluttershy, standing right next to her.
"I want out, Fluttershy," he sighed. "I'm suffocating in here." Scratch and Fluttershy vanished from the room.
Five minutes later, a foal woke up crying for her mother.
The walk to the bakery was quite awkward for Flurry Heart.
Pound Cake was more than a little amused at her plan to enter Ponyville incognito. Not just at the ineptitude of the plan, but the pointlessness of it. Ponyville would only make a big deal out of visiting royalty, if said royalty made it a big deal. They were quite happy to ignore Flurry heart and make their own preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. The town was caught up in the frenzy. There was quite a lot of shopping and commotion on the streets.
Everything looked normal, with the exception of two things. One was the Crystal Tree Palace, now known as the Crystal Tree Museum, at the end of the main road. Flurry was awestruck by it. She had heard Twilight describe the great crystalline oak before, but to see it in person was a little too much for Flurry to handle. She decided that she would make her stop there last.
The second thing that struck Flurry as odd was the bakery itself.
"Sugarcube Corner," Pound said proudly. "Home, sweet home."
Pinkie Pie did not make one thing up. Flurry Heart thought that Pinkie said all of these things to make her laugh, but there it was, large as life. A building that seemed to be made of wafer cookie, with a gingerbread roof and a spire made of cupcakes. Flurry was afraid to go in there. She might find a witch. Nevertheless, she had to press forward.
Pound walked up to the door and was about to open it, only to find that the sign on the door had been flipped to "Closed" "Huh," he said. "That's weird. Mom and dad must be out. Light's are still on, though..."
"A burglar?" asked Flurry, still terrified of the preposterous building.
"Worse," Pound said, grimly. "My sister."
Pound pulled out some keys from under his wing, and he and Flurry entered.
"Alright, you pathetic excuse for cookery!" came a commanding female voice from the back room.
"Oh, for the love of..." You didn't need to be an empath to feel the exasperation coming off of Pound Cake at this point.
"Should we go help?" Flurry asked.
"No," Pound sighed. "It's too late for any of us now..."
"I may have you stacked in a way that defies all laws of physics!" the voice said loudly. "I may have used spells banned for eons getting you to stay still! I've made pacts with demons! I'm the most fearsome Unicorn you will ever meet! So that means, if you know whats good for you, when I drop my levitation, you'll stay put! Is that perfectly clear?! Okay? Okay... now."
Flurry heard the slight tinkle of a spell deactivating. Then nothing. "Five," Pound sighed. "Four, three, two..."
"There!" the voice said triumphantly. "At least you understand who's boss aroun-"
"One."
There was a thundering crash and then a cacophony of noise as pots and pans came flying out of the kitchen. Along with them was a mare, about the same age as Pound Cake. She had a yellow coat and an orange mane, which was rather curly, and tied into a ponytail by a blue polka-dotted bow. She slammed onto the floor, half buried under the tidal wave of cookware.
There was a moments pause as Flurry tried to grasp what just happened.
"Hey sis," Pound said brightly. "I brought company."
"Welcome," the mare said weakly. "My name is Cake Pumpkin. Here at Cornercube Sugar we always love to make new friends..."
Pound rolled his eyes. "Are you alright."
"Oh, I'm fine," Pumpkin grumbled. "It only hurts in my everything."
Pound Cake walked over and helped his sister up. "What the hoof were you even trying to do?"
"I told Mom I'd take care of the washing while she dropped off the food at the Crystal Tree," Pumpkin explained. "And I swear to all things good, the cupboards shrink when you try to put things back in there!"
"Either that or the Pony putting them back has no spacial awareness," Pound sighed. "Mom and Dad are at the Crystal Tree?"
"That's right," Pumpkin said manically. "We're all alone here. No one will notice if I shove you in the oven."
"The first thing you've ever successfully baked," Pound giggled. "I'll clean up. You get acquainted with my witness."
Pumpkin slumped over in a sort of defeated gratitude. "Thanks."
"Not a problem," Pound said happily as he got to cleaning.
Pumpkin turned to Flurry and smiled. "Hi," she smiled. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Pumpkin Cake. What you just saw isn't normal for me, I'm not usually that much of a klutz."
"That's a filthy lie," Pound called from the kitchen.
"Alright, yes," Pumpkin admitted. "I am usually that much of a Klutz. But hey, I find it charming."
"It's very nice to meet you," Flurry said doing her best to be kind to this rather odd pair of Ponies. "My name is Flurry."
"She's Princess Flurry Heart," Pound called from the kitchen again. "But, y'know, don't tell anypony."
"Oh," Pumpkin nodded, seemingly impressed. "You didn't kidnap her did you?" she called back to Pound.
"Yes," Pound called back.
"I'm just sayin'," Pumpkin answered. "I'm not going to jail for you!"
Once again, the reaction to her royal status was negligible. On the one hoof, this was a very, very good thing. Whatever Twilight was worried about was still out there. She still felt as if she was in the worst kind of danger. On the other hoof, however, she was a princess! Some fuss should have been made over that. A little bow? Attempted fanfare? Something!
"Uh," Pumpkin asked. "Not actually sure how I'm supposed to talk to you... Your Majesty?"
That was a little better. "Flurry will be fine," she reassured Pumpkin. "My role here is very low key. I just need to make sure the preparations are underway for the Summer Sun Celebration."
"Aha," Pumpkin smiled. "Well, like I said, Mom and Dad should be at the Crystal Tree dropping off the food. Pound could probably see you there right now."
"No that's fine," Flurry said quickly. "I'll just handle the other items on the list first. , Financing, Floral Arrangements, and... Music. I'm sorry, are you aware of a group called 'Primitive Hobbyhorse'?"
"Ha!" Pumpkin laughed. "That's my BF's and Brother's rock-"
In a split second Flurry felt a violent emotion come from the kitchen. A kind of all consuming rage that seemed to threaten to burn the building down. It was so sudden and violent that flurry jumped slightly before the loud crash that came from where Pound Cake was working. After the noise ended, the rage was replaced by regret and a deep shame.
Pound walked out of the kitchen, calm as ever. "Where's the broom?" he sighed. "I broke a casserole dish."
"Why?" Pumpkin asked calmly. "Why did you break a casserole dish?"
"I just drop-" Pound stopped himself, more shame. "I... I haven't talked to Beat since he told me you guys were together."
"What?!" Pumpkin said. "He told me you took it great!"
"Yeah," Pound sighed. "Probably because he knew you would kill me if I told you my actual reaction."
"Pound," Pumpkin said worriedly. "You didn't..."
"Almost," Pound said, burying his face in his hooves. "I didn't actually do it, but I came closer than I have in a good nine years."
Pumpkin rolled her eyes and paced a quick circle around the room. "What the hoof happened to the Ten-Count?"
"Didn't occur to me to hit the Ten-Count at the time, Pumpkin," Pound said, getting irritated. "My best friend just told me that he'd been dating my sister for the past three months. I was a little in shock."
"Why does that bother you?!" Pumpkin shouted back.
"Because it's Down Beat!" Pound shouted. "He's like a brother to me, but honestly. What about that irresponsible, lazy, perpetually brash, loud, insane pony screams 'boyfriend material' to you?!"
"I love him," Pumpkin said immediately. "And he loves me. And you know that. You lso know that means head drop himself on a land mine for me, if I asked him. You know that he'd do that for his marefriend because he did it for his best friend, who, not one hour earlier, almost beat him to a bloody pulp."
Pound hesitated. His position was weakening. "W-Well, why did it take him three weeks to-"
"He had this insane idea that you were going to overreact," Pumpkin answered. "I told him that you were past that. Matter of fact, I told him that he helped move you past that. Was I wrong?"
Pound hesitated. Now more ashamed then ever. "No," Pound sighed as he buried his face into his hooves. "No you weren't. I honestly don't know where I'd be right now if it weren't for Beat. I'm sorry... Pumpkin I am so sorry."
Pumpkin was worried, and somewhat pitying. "No," she said as she went to go hug her brother. "I should have been the one to tell you. And I should have done it right away. It's my fault."
"No it isn't," Pound said firmly, looking at his sister. "It's my fault. My reactions are always my responsibility. Knowing that is how I learned to control them. I can't blame anyone else."
Flurry felt a bit awkward in the room. Whatever was going on was clearly none of her business.
"I'm sorry you had to see that," Pound smiled at Flurry.
"It's fine," Flurry Heart said, maybe a little too cheerfully.
"You my have to see a little more of it," Pound said as he got up. "If you want music for the Celebration, I need to patch things up with Beat. I can drop you off at the Crystal Tree and we can meet up again..."
"If you don't mind, no," Flurry sighed. "I'd like to have everything set before I go to the Tree, if you don't mind..."
"Of course not," Pound smiled. "We should get going..."
"Oh, brother dearest?" Pumpkin said sweetly as they were leaving.
Looking at Pumpkin was a bit startling. She was looking lovingly at a steel Rolling Pin. She had a very pleasant smile on her face, but she was also very very angry.
"Please tell Beat to stop by and see me later?" she smiled. She then brought the rolling pin hard on the counter. "We need to have a serious talk about how honesty builds trust in a loving relationship."
Pinkie soon realized that there was nothing quite so unsettling as a balloon you could swear is there, but isn't
She had noticed the red balloon behind her some time ago. She caught it out of the corner of her eye, but when she turned to look it was gone. She disregarded it as her imagination, but it kept happening. Over and over again it would appear, and every time she tried to look at it it would be gone. This was happening the entire walk from the throne room to her quarters. Considering who she met back at the meeting, she felt it wise to find a guard. She went looking for one...
And she found the red balloon. She let out a scream.
On the balloon was printed an image. It was a pony in armor, screaming, surrounded by fire and evil looking creatures. Pinkie frantically looked up and down the hall. Tied to each column was another balloon, each with a similar grizzly image.
"They're not hurt," came a casual voice from behind her. "They're perfectly safe as long as you cooperate."
Pinkie whipped around to see him. There he was, standing there bold as brass. His suit was blue now, different from the more formal black one he had worn at the meeting. His hat matched, and it was now pulled low over his eyes. He was holding a red balloon.
"What did you do to them?!" Pinkie demanded.
"Like I said," Scratch answered. "Nothing yet. The deal is that either you can come with me, or they can. Entirely up to you. But I guarantee, as unpleasant as this trip will be for you, they will find it far far worse."
Pinkie considered it... "No," Pinkie said defiantly. "You told us that you were that little voice in our heads that told us to do mean things! So I shouldn't trust anything you say! You can only do what you do if I listen to you. So I won't! How do I know that these ponies will even get hurt! They could just be pictures on Balloons!"
Scratch smiled. "That could very well be true," he said. "It could very well be that I'm totally bluffing. I have nothing on you, and nothing I can do to you. The question is..." He handed Pinkie the balloon he was holding. "How badly do you want to risk that?"
The image on the balloon was of her friends, her husband and her sons. All burning. All menaced by monsters.
Tears began to stream down Pinkie's face. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She had to. She had no choice anymore, she had to go with him.
"I'm going to take that uncharacteristic silence as a hearty 'yes.'" Scratch let an evil grin split across his face.
Scratch tore open a fiery portal in front of her, and Pinkie calmly stepped through without protest into the frigid cold.
As the portal closed behind her, she could very clearly hear scratch say. "The best part about all this? I was bluffing. Oh, come on Pinks, Don't be like that. You don't find that just a little funny?"
Pound Cake was getting hard to walk with at this point.
What he had done had weighed heavily on him, and that regret was radiating off him, along with a desperate urge to make things right. Flurry was beginning to question why she had decided to go with him. This was a major downer.
But she cared. For some inexplicable reason. She cared about Pound Cake, and Pumpkin, and whoever this "Beat" was. She wondered if it was just some voyeuristic urge, just wanting to see drama for the sake of seeing drama. But... no, that wasn't it. She wanted to see things turn out okay. Pumpkin was in love with Beat. Genuinely. That was really rare to see in someone as young as they were. But it was there, it was real. That wonderful mix of happiness, worry, serenity, frustration, joy, and a little pain. Flurry had only felt it one other place before. It was whenever her parents got to talking about each other.
She wanted to see this have a happy ending. She was proud of herself for that. It was a trait she picked up from her mother.
But she quickly began to worry. Pound described Beat as "Irresponsible," what if he wasn't as serious as Pumpkin was... She would have to see.
The two Ponies approached the town square. In the middle was constructed a large soundstage, and many rows of seats. On the stage sat a drum set, and a guitar on a stand. There was some kind of logo on the bass drum, but Flurry heart couldn't make it out from this distance.
What interested her more was the stallion standing near the edge of the audience seating. He looked about her age, maybe a year older. He had a red mane and tail with what looked like blue highlights spiking the hair at strategic points. This did not look natural in the slightest, it was a die job. The mane was rather long for a stallion as well, falling down his shoulders (though it was tied back with a couple of rubber bands), and being generally bushy. His coat was eggshell white, except for directly under his right eye. Where there was painted, or possibly tattooed, a small design that looked like half of a black lightning bolt. He wore a black legband on his left foreleg.
As much as Flurry wanted to giggle at this rather ridiculous looking pony, she didn't. There were two reasons for this. The first being that, whoever this pony was, he carried himself as if he was quite serious about everything he was doing. He looked as if dressing like this was part of his job, and he was going to carry himself off as a professional. And somehow he did. Flurry didn't want to laugh at it because whatever this pony thought he was doing, it was very serious business.
She also didn't want to make his day harder than it already was. Because for some reason, this pony was desperately trying to build up courage to do or say something very unpleasant.
"Beat," Pound Cake called to the strange pony.
The pony turned to see Pound and Flurry. "Pound!" A wave of both relief and worry washed over him.
Flurry Heart's eyes widened. This... This ridiculous, and yet all at the same time very serious pony, was Down Beat.
"Dude," Beat said quickly. "Listen, we need to talk. I'm sorry, I should have told you about me and Pumpkin sooner-"
"Are you serious about this?" Pound asked quickly.
Beat stumbled a bit. "What?"
"Are you serious about my sister?" Pound asked frankly. "She's convinced you're in love with her, but I want to hear that from you. Are you going to actually try to make this work? Or is this another thing you're going to forget about a month down the line when you get bored?"
"I don't do that with Ponies," Beat said, a little offended. "You know that."
"In most cases, yeah, I do," Pound said firmly. "I just wanna hear you say it."
Beat paused, considering what to say. "I'm serious about her," he said finally. "And if I ever treat her badly, please, come and deal with me. No Ten-Count, no pulling your punches. I'll deserve it if I'm stupid enough to waste this."
"He's telling the truth," Flurry accidentally said out loud.
Pound looked at Flurry, and then back at Beat. "Well," he sighed. "If a princess is vouching for you, what the hell do I have to object to?" Pound and beat wrapped each other in a brotherly hug. "Just... look after her, alright? I worry."
"I will Pound," Beat smiled. "It's good to have you back..."
Flurry couldn't help but smile. These two were obviously very close. Beat caught sight of Flurry's warm smile, and quickly broke off the hug before he lost any more man points.
"So," he said quickly. "Princess?"
"Yeah," Pound said. "But you know... Don't tell anybody."
Beat smiled and offered a little bow. "Majesty." Flurry couldn't help but blush just a little.
"That's really not necessary," Flurry giggled.
"It most certainly is," Beat said as he rose with a little flourish. "After all, Primitive Hobbyhorse is here to perform our National Anthem. We're going to show as much Patriotism as we can. Right Pound?"
"What?" Pound said, having somehow procured a doughnut since they had last turned in his direction. "Oh yeah! Totally."
"You didn't bow did you?" Beat asked dryly.
"She was trying to stay undercover for some reason!" Pound protested, spraying crumbs out of his mouth. "The hoof was I supposed to do, blow a freakin' bugle when I woke up on the train?"
"Oh she got to see you sleeping, did she?" Beat asked sarcastically. "Maybe she, me, and Pumpkin can all check into the same trauma clinic..."
"Oh yeah," Pound remembered. "Pumpkin said you and her needed to have a talk."
"Why?" Beat asked, suddenly panicking.
"Excuse me?" Flurry interrupted, now sporting a growing migraine. "I don't mean to intrude, but I am here to check on the music..."
"Oh, right!" Pound said. "Come on over to the stage, we'll do our set for you." Pound and Flurry hurried over to the stage.
"Uh...," Beat said, running to catch up with them. "We may have a slight problem there..."
"What did you break this time?" Pound sighed.
"Who says I broke- The amps." Beat said looking down at the floor.
"Again?" Pound scolded. "I told you not to turn them up that high!"
"It goes to eleven!" Beat protested.
"I don't care!" Pound argued back. "It was never meant to be turned up that high!"
"Then why does it go to eleven?!" Beat asked triumphantly.
"For the love of all things hooved and holy," Pound muttered. "Alright, let me check it out."
When they got to the stage, Flurry took a look around. She was surprised to see many pulleys and levers around the edges of the stage. They each seemed to activate a new backdrop or prop for the show. It was rather impressive.
"Neat, huh?" Beat said as soon as Pound was out of earshot. "Honestly, I don't know where Pound finds the time to do all of this stuff..."
"Pound Cake did all this?" Flurry asked, somewhat surprised.
"Oh yeah," Beat smiled. "He's a wizard on the drums because he's good with his Hooves in general. Anything. Plumbing, Wiring. Carpentry. That would kind of be wasting his talents though. I don't think we'd get paid for any live show we did, if it weren't for his set design. I really owe a lot to him."
"It feels like he owes a lot to you too," Flurry smiled.
"He really doesn't," Beat smiled. "Just don't tell him that."
"How did you two meet?" Flurry asked.
"He used to beat me up after class," Beat said rather frankly.
Before Flurry Heart could recover from the extreme mental whiplash, Pound returned from backstage. "It's fixed," Pound said. "Just don't do that again. For all of our sakes."
"But it goes to eleven...," Beat sighed.
"And ten is more than enough to kill everyone in the first three rows," Pound said sternly. "Should we get started?"
Flurry was suddenly very, very nervous. The one thing that the musical entertainment had to sing was the Equestrian National Anthem. It was a very somber tune. Very dignified. This band seemed a bit... Harsher than was called for. Flurry looked at the bass drum. She could see the logo now. It was a fiery pony skull on a stick. "Primitive Hobbyhorse." She got it now. She braced herself for the coming screech.
But then beat began to sing. Obviously in the voice of a rocker, but with the quiet dignity the song needed.
Dawn breaks through the darkened skies, We lift our heads and dry our eyes, When day is done we're doubly blessed, With starry sky and moon for rest, No longer bound to hopelessness We dance as one with nature now, The Sun and Moon will show us how.
Flurry was moved. There was a sincerity to his singing that seemed to pierce through any cynicism the song was every sung with. This song had been mumbled by schoolfoals every assembly that they ever had... It took someone like Down Beat to remind you that the song really meant something. Flurry didn't think she was going to tear up...
And then Pound Cake joined in.
Restless was the world we knew, Cheerless were the days, Colors ran together, In an endless mirror maze, And then two sisters brought us out of Discord's Dark Caprice And gave us lights to guide us into Harmony and Peace.'
Without thinking Flurry joined in on the last line. Her voice cracking. Everyone who ever played for royalty had always said it was an honor. These two meant it. They felt real honor in singing this song for the crowd, showing a little pride for their kingdom... It was nice feeling. This sincerity coming from what Flurry had never thought to call "her subjects" made her feel a little better about her future somehow.
"That was wonderful," Flurry sniffed. "That will do very nicely. I have to admit, judging by appearance I thought you were the kind of band that... Never mind..."
"Majesty," Down Beat went to pick up his guitar. "Let me assure you..."
He then began a solo that Flurry would later learn from Beat was described as "facemelting." His hooves moved so fast across the frets it all came off as a blur. The guitar made sounds that she didn't think were possible for any musical instrument. He struck a hard note to end his performance and then stood there, carrying himself like he was the sexiest pony alive. To many, Flurry was sure he would have been.
"We are exactly that kind of band," Beat smirked. "But credit us with some sense of occasion."
Flurry didn't really know how to respond to that. "Right," she came up with after a moment. "This has been lovely, but I really should attend to the rest of this list."
"Sure thing," Pound Cake smiled. "Who's next on the docket?"
"Financing," Flurry read aloud. "Gildisen Accounting and Loan."
A wave of exasperation and anger washed over the two stallions. "You are kidding me!" Beat exclaimed. "Leon?! Leon is paying for this whole damn thing?!"
"I can't believe this. I can't believe he is pulling this horsehockey again. I-" Pound Cake caught his breath. "One, two, three, four, five..."
"No!" Beat protested. "No ten-count! Go to his office and beat the feathers off him!"
"No, no," Pound Cake said, keeping his composure. "I'll just have a talk with him. It'll be fine."
Flurry was hopelessly confused. "I'm sorry, I don't understand the reaction," she said quietly. "This seems like a rather generous gesture."
"Oho," Beat gave a little forced laugh. "I'm sure it was."
Rainbow Dash had collapsed on the ground, wheezing. Every muscle in her body was aching. When her wings stopped working, she had to start running. But he was always ahead of her. He was always waiting. No matter how long he ran...
Scratch was just too fast.
"There's a book I like," Scratch said very matter-of-factly. "You wouldn't know it. It wasn't written here. It's about this boring little world. It's run by a Government that goes out of its way to make it as drab and boring as possible. No interesting words... No interesting thoughts... Nothing is done without nine layers of paperwork and the government is always watching.
"And in this drab, gray, boring, oppressive environment... Boy meets girl.
"They fall in love, and suddenly their eyes are opened! Everything is interesting now! With each other they feel alive! Spitting in the face of their society they think, talk and love freely! They act like untamed souls free from the prying eye of the system.
"And then the system sees them... And shows them what happens to interesting people.
"The guy goes through hell. He's tortured for a really long time... And then they're gonna kill them in a really... Hoo... Really inspiring way. Seriously, I wish I had the imagination this guy had... And he sees what they're about to do to him... And he sells her out! Almost immediately he just sells her out! And that's not even the kicker! After their brains are scrambled and they meet again, turns out she sold him out too!! Seriously, funniest damn book I've ever read."
Scratch bent down next to Dash's ear. "You're never going to catch me saying 'loyalty is cheap,'" he whispered. "It's not. It takes effort. It takes time. It takes patience and resolve. Loyalty is one of the more costly traits ponies possess. And like all other luxuries it's one of the first things over the side of the boat when times get too rough."
"Shut up," Rainbow Dash spat. "Just shut up! I don't care what you have to say about my element, so stow it!"
That evil grin split across Scratch's face again. "Fair enough," he said, straightening up. "Anyway, there's a flaw in the book. The author wanted to sell that distopia as this hideous, monolithic, unstoppable force. Never bought it. I give it ten more years tops. That kind of fiefdom never lasts. Just because our leads knew when to quit, most people wouldn't. They'd keep thinking and talking, and eventually it would all just collapse. Life tends toward freedom. As long as you leave one of them alive, they have hope.
"Luckily..." Scratch let out another all too casual laugh. "I won't be making that mistake."
Flurry finally had to ask Pound Cake the source of his irritation. "Leon," he said frankly. "Leon is a really good guy. He is. But he can be... Difficult. Simply put the guy is stubborn, and when it comes to money..."
Pound trailed off and was unable to finish the sentence. Seeming to not want to get started. Flurry felt the anger well up inside him. She remembered something that Down Beat had told her. "Pound Cake, may I ask you a question?" she asked.
"Of course," Pound said.
"It's very personal," Flurry said. "If you don't want to answer I understand... but I need to ask. Down Beat told me how you guys met and..."
Down Beat stopped dead in the middle of the road. He looked down at the dirt, incredibly ashamed. "Yeah..."
"If you don't want to answer that's fine," Flurry said quickly. "It just... It seems so out of character for you..."
"Good," Pound laughed, brightening up a little. "That means it's working... It's kind of hard for me to talk about, but I used to have a lot of trouble controlling my temper. I was bigger than a lot of foals my age... and I... I took advantage of that... Way too much. Then one day I almost hurt somepony I really care about and I knew I had to stop. That's why I count to ten. It gives my mind a break so I can calm down..."
Flurry listened... That was really hard for him to talk about, and it wasn't the whole story. She knew that. She knew that and Pound had a right to know how. "Pound, I'm an Empath."
"Beg your pardon?" Pound said, confused.
"I have the ability to read ponies' emotions," Flurry explained. "It's not something I can help, it just sort of happens. For a few seconds I feel what they're feeling... I'm sorry but... Back at Sugarcube Corner I felt that anger... I'm really sorry, I know I shouldn't be prying but I can't help it."
Pound's jaw was on the floor. "That...," he started cautiously "Is awesome!"
Flurry's eyes narrowed. Usually Ponies were uncomfortable around her when she told them that, but Pound was taking the news like he had just found out the Power Ponies were real.
"So can you tell when somepony's lying to you?" Pound seemed to be bouncing with each word. "Do you prefer to be around happy people or is it too noisy? Do emotions make noise? I have... I have like a thousand questions!"
"Uh..." Flurry was getting scared now. "You don't mind?"
"Mind?!" Pound said happily. "No way! Heck, you can probably tell when I'm getting angry before I do! There are a billion and one uses I could have for that power! Oh, but now I feel bad taking you to meet Leon. See all you're going to feel is mild irritation at everything. Speaking of which, I think we're here..."
They were standing in front of a drab little grey building. The sign read "Gildisen Accounting and Loan." There were two little windows that looked in on a dark little room. A single candle burned inside, illuminating a little desk that had piles of rolls of parchment at it. Flurry could see tiny rapid motion coming from behind them. She finally worked out that somepony was furiously working with a quill."
When they walked in the door Flurry saw the griffon. He had a frill of light grey feathers on his head and neck that could almost be mistaken for the top of rather unkempt lions mane. His long yellow beak held up a pair of reading glasses that helped his yellow eyes peer at the numerous documents he was working on. He used one of his yellow talons to adjust them, while the other reinked the quill, which seemed to be made from one of his own long black feathers that moved down his back to his panther like legs and tail. He could have been quite an intimidating figure, had he not been so entrenched in his paperwork.
Pound walked behind the young Griffon slowly leaned right next to his ear. The Griffon didn't seem to notice a thing.
Pound took a deep breath. "LEON!!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.
Leon leaped in shock, banging his knees against the desk and nearly spilling the inkwell. He took a few deep breaths and then composed himself. "Hey, Pound Cake," he said, in a rather calm and casual voice. "How's it hangin'?"
"By a thin thread if this keeps up," Pound sighed. "Leon, what the heck are you doing?"
"My job," the Griffon sneered. "At least I was before you walked in and started shouting. Who's the mare?"
Flurry was a little offended at that. "'The Mare' is Flurry Heart!" she said, with a bit of regal pomp. "And she would like to be addressed as such. If not simply addressed directly!"
Leon raised his talons. "A fair point, my apologies," he sighed. "For some reason I've just become rather irritable."
"Yes, 'for some reason,'" Pound scowled. "It's a day ending in 'Y'..."
"Is there, like, a reason you've shown up here?" Leon said flatly. "Or is this merely another step in your never ending quest to make this constant buzzing noise in my life?"
"Flurry Heart here," Pound explained in a tone that indicated that Leon should very well know what he was talking about. "To talk about the Summer Sun Celebration... And specifically financing."
"Oh, that!" Leon brought out a document from the pile. "Everything is set up... It's going to come to arouuund... 200k? Should cover most of the expenses right?"
"Two-hundred thou--" Pound put his hoof to his forehead and paced around the small office. "One, two, three, four, five..."
"I'm not sure how you manage to sleep at night telling me what to do with my damn money," Leon said dryly. "I made it. I'm gonna spend it however I want."
"Yes, you made the money," Pound huffed. "It's how that bothers me!"
Flurry stopped cold. "Now Mr. Gildisen," Flurry said, trying out her "royal official" voice. "The Equestrian Government cannot accept any elicit funds from any source."
"It's all legit," Leon assured her.
"Of course it is!" Pound yelled from the background. "All money that springs forth from the magic hat is entirely above board! At least I assume that's where it keeps coming fro-"
"Don't you have someone else you can bother?" Leon scowled. "A couple of pots to bang together?"
'Look," Pound said firmly. "I don't want to get nasty, but this makes no sense... And I'm guessing this isn't even under the pretense of a loan. This is just a donation. This place has been booming for three years now. You should be hemorrhaging money. Where does it keep coming from? If you're in trouble, if you're dipping too deep, for Harmony's sake, Leon, if you're dying on me... Tell me. Let me help..."
Flurry was expecting to feel more irritation, but instead she felt a warm feeling coming from the griffon. He was genuinely touched. "Thanks, Pound," he smiled. "I mean that, thank you. You are owed an explanation, and you'll get it. Eventually. Right now that has to stay my little secret. For now, I need you to trust me. I know what I'm doing, and I'm in no danger. Okay?"
Pound thought for a moment, then slumped. "Okay, man," Pound said defeated. "I'm going to trust you here. I shouldn't, but I do. Good luck."
"You too, bro," Leon smiled. "Hey Princess, quick question..."
Flurry looked up.
"Do you know what my deal is?" he smirked.
Flurry was wholly puzzled by the question. He was the only one who could answer that question, so why was he asking her. He seemed to be putting his talons in the water. Trying to read Flurry. He was testing her. Flurry quickly failed that test with simple blank look.
Leon nodded, relieved but oddly a little hurt. "Makes sense," he smiled. "Sheesh, I mean you... Heck, we both... doesn't matter. There should also be a corporate sponsor for this thing right? For the radio broadcast?"
Flurry had to recover from the odd question to check her list. Surprisingly she saw the last name she expected to see when she heard "Corporate Sponsor."
"Sweet Apple Acres?" she said incredulously.
"Hey!" Leon and Pound said happily.
"Don't let Bloom hear you say 'corporate'," Pound laughed. "She'll skin you alive."
"Make sure that it's Bloom's idea," Leon said, raising an eyebrow. "And it's not Creame going off the reservation again."
"I will," Pound nodded. "If she did, Apple Bloom is gonna lose it, and her aunt is going to..."
"Let's..." Leon raised a claw to stop Pound. "Let's not discuss what Diamond Tiara might eventually do. I want to sleep tonight. Just make sure Creame Rich isn't nailed to the floor or ceiling."
"You got it," Pound nodded. "Good luck, Leon."
"Whatever," the griffon sighed. He looked back down at his work as the two ponies left the office.
"You know Applejack right?" Pound asked. "Wait until you meet her sister. Runs a small business, parent company be damned, founded the Cutie Mark Crusaders, makes the time to both look after the farm and be Stable Mother to the Ponyville chapter... She's kind of amazing that way. Her assistant slash farmhand tries to be the same way but... She lacks experience."
Flurry nodded, barely paying attention. Her mind was still on Leon. What was he talking bout back there? Why would she know, anyting bout him? There was something itching at the back of her brain.
Something bout the name "Glidisen."
Rarity quietly mixed the drink. Making sure it was as palatable as it could be. Every ingredient was there. She turned around to face him, babying the glass. She wasn't surprised to see him at all. She simply smiled and talked before he could. "Am I the last one you need?"
Scratch raised an eyebrow. His pitch black eyes looking oddly impressed with Rarity's presence of mind. "Fifth, actually," he said casually. "Still need one more."
Rarity shrugged. "I am sorry to hear that," Rarity looked down at the glass. "Please, girls, I know I'm leaving you in danger... Understand that I have to do this..."
Scratch seemed to wait for someone to cut in before he did himself. "Okay, you got me," Scratch sighed. "Do what?"
Rarity smiled and raised the glass. "Do you know what's in here?" Rarity smiled. "A few of the finer liquors... A few teaspoons of pineapple juice... This nice little cherry... And enough cyanide to drop a bull elephant."
Scratch's jaw dropped. "You're kidding," he said, seeming amused.
"I'm most certainly not," Rarity smiled. "Whatever you're planning requires all of us. Seemingly, all of us alive. Otherwise I don't think I would need this drink... It's a shame really. I quite like living... However I've done more of it then I care to admit. There are too many foals in Equestria who haven't even gotten a chance. I will do what I have to."
"Ha ha ha!!" Scratch clutched the side of his head in amazed disbelief. "Wow... Just... I mean wow! That is some damn way to live up to your element, Rarity! The Element of Generosity, willing to give her life to let the ponies of Equestria keep there's! Jeez Loui- Have you done it yet?"
"No," Rarity smiled. "I felt a nice final image would be your face as your plan crumbles beneath you."
"There's that vindictive streak!" Scratch said, pointing his hoof rapidly at Rarity. "I like you! You're the one I like! You're right by the way, I would be hosed if you were to drop dead right now! I mean it! I would be completely screwed! But here's the thing, though, you don't get what you want either!"
The glass stopped as it was a breath away from Rarity's lips.
"See, the Windigos are still coming," Scratch reminded Rarity. "And when they get here they're going to put Equestria into a deep freeze that would make the first Hearthswarming, look like a ninety minute school delay. So, you've got two options. Live and help me, or die and screw me. One way I win. One way I lose. Either way, everypony dies."
Scratch sat in front of Rarity like he was in the front row of a theater. "Go."
Billions of thoughts raced through Rarity's mind. She tried to think of something else, a plan B. All she ended up doing was slowly putting down the glass.
Scratch began to slowly clap. "Generosity," he said loudly. "Give with a free and open heart... As long as the rewards are worth it."
Rarity silently gritted her teeth. The strange stallion knew exactly what to say to get under her skin.
The next thing scratch did was walk right up to the poisoned shot and down it without blinking. "Damn, that's smooth," he exhaled. "It's not like I'm criticizing. The world is a giant marketplace. Every day a new deal. It'd be stupid to bid to high. Knew a guy once... Said he'd give his own skin to make the best Gentlecolt's attire in history. Then someone tries to take him up on the offer, and he start's bellyaching. 'Ooh, that's not how I meant that!' Crybaby."
"What is your endgame?!" Rarity insisted. "What are you trying to do?!"
"Answer for an answer!" Scratch said, adjusting his necktie. "Me first."
