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RMC1618 — Path of the Unforgiven 10[2]- Celestia's Truth
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Published: 2016-09-09 20:00:42 +0000 UTC; Views: 2338; Favourites: 2; Downloads: 0
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PONYVILLE“OH... This is not good!”
Twilight came around the side of town hall, where she rallied with the rest of her friends, each of them sharing the same disappointed expression.
“I can’t find no sign of him.” Said Applejack, shaking her head.
Rarity bit her lip, “I can’t believe he just ran off like that! What did he think we were going to do?”
“I don’t know…” Twilight postured to look out over the center of town. “But he blasted a hole through my castle wall to get away, it must have been important.”
Rainbow Dash fidgeted where she hovered, “This is the part where I’m supposed to say ‘I hate to say I told you so’, but I told you so Twilight. He’s trouble.”
“He really didn’t give you any clue what set him off?” Fluttershy asked.
Twilight sunk her head a little lower, “I… really didn’t give him much of a chance to explain himself.”
Bouncing around her friends like hurdles, Pinkie Pie leaped back and forth over Twilight’s back. “Yeah Twilight, a doorless room in your own personal dungeon, probably not the best place for a helpful conversation.”
“It is not! I… I do not have a personal dungeon!” The princess sputtered defensively. “I just.. Needed a place to hold him for a while.”
“So you kidnapped him and imprisoned him in your ‘totally not a dungeon’ room’. I get it.”
Twilight groaned, knowing when to give up trying to argue a point with Pinkie. “Alright, everypony just keep an eye out for him. I’ve still got his saddlebags, he’s bound to come back for them sooner or later.”
The friends parted ways, but Applejack cantered up to Rarity as the seamstress headed back towards her shop.
“Hey Rarity, I wanted to ask ‘ya, have you seen Applebloom anywhere? She was supposed to help me out in the orchard this afternoon. Thought maybe you’d seen the crusaders somewhere.”
Pausing to think, Rarity furrowed her brow, “No actually, I haven’t seen any of the girls since I sent Sweetie Belle to school this morning.”
“We were just all over town, and I didn’t see Scootaloo either.” Applejack’s tone pitched with worry.
“Dear, surely they’re just off on one of their adventures, you know how those fillies are.” Rarity brushed off the concern. More than a few times the girls had come in late from their newest attempt to discover their special talents. She continued to walk on, leaving Applejack in place, some thought rolling around in her head.
“Maybe… But it is one heck of a coincidence that Wanderlust breaks out, and all of a sudden we can’t find the girls.”
Finally Rarity stopped, pondering something disturbing. “No, no you can’t mean to say that he could have anything to do with missing fillies.”
Remembering the moment at breakfast the other day when Sweetie Belle came down, and the aura of simple happiness she saw in him. To think that he might abduct her and the other girls was beyond the pale.
“That is a step too far Applejack.”
“Alright, alright.” The farmer conceded, “But he knew something we don’t, something that got him awful worked up.”
“And we wouldn’t listen when he tried to tell us last night.” Slumping, Rarity tried to imagine what the best course of action could be.
“Let’s you and I ask around then, somepony’s got to have seen them somewhere.”
As the agrarian and the seamstress ventured to find some testimony on their sister’s last whereabouts, a shadow passed over without their notice.
Soaring over the town, Celestia kept high enough to avoid making herself noticeable to the residents below. She came across a few Pegasus who saluted her, to which she waved back with a friendly hoof. At last, she narrowed in on Twilight’s castle, descending in a spiral to come around to the balcony. Noting the jagged opening on the side, she wondered if another of the princesses’ spells hadn’t backfired in some destructive reaction.
She touched down on the terrace, knowing that it allowed entry into one of the halls rather than any private room. Strolling down the gallery, the fact that Twilight had yet to see this wing properly decorated she determined was due more to her voracious study than care for filling the capacious structure with old suits of armor and potted plants.
It really was out of place, Celestia mused. Even in the Canterlot metropolis the mountainside castle went unoccupied for the most part, despite being at the heart of the city. Here, in rural Ponyville such an extravagant palace was of even less usefulness than the humble library it had replaced as Twilight’s home.
But it was early still. While Canterlot had centuries to fill itself out in the epicenter of Equestrian high-culture, Twilight’s castle hadn’t been a year in existence. There was plenty of time for them to give it a presence of its own, and perhaps it would become the beacon of a wonderful new city.
Somewhere downstairs, came the sound of Twilight’s voice echoing off the walls. Celestia craned her neck over a railing to see the young lavender Alicorn talking to Spike, discussing some issue that had her discontented. Moving to the top of the staircase, Celestia waited patently for Twilight to notice her presence.
“…. I just don’t know Spike, Maybe I should take a look in his- gasp”
Twilight gasped at the sight of her mentor, not expecting to see her again so soon after leaving Canterlot.
“Princess Celestia! What are you doing here?”
Cringing under the possibility of reprimand, Twilight was all to conscious of her disobeying the directive to stay away from the Thule Chamber.
Seeing the nervousness, Celestia gave her a warm smile of reassurance. “Don’t worry Twilight, I’m not here to scold you for going back into the hidden room. Quite the opposite actually.”
“Really?” was all Twilight could think to say.
“Mm-hm. But first I have to ask if everything is ok, you seem troubled.”
“Oh, no.” Waving her hoof to swat away some invisible ‘problem fairy’, Twilight offered her best fake chuckle. “I was just, uh, having a hard time deciding which new sofa to get. Right Spike?”
“Yeah, new sofa.” Spike nodded with extra enthusiasm.
“Oh, well, this place certainly could use a bit more furniture. Come.”
The three of them retreated to one of the few rooms that had been furnished, where they climbed onto a large round couch adorned with square and frilly pillows. As there was enough space for all of them, Celestia leaned against the back while Twilight laid opposite, in the middle Spike reclined onto his friends stomach.
With the rapt fixation of an adorning learner, Twilight watched the tiny muscles activate in Celestia’s face before she began speaking.
“Firstly, I’m very happy to tell you Twilight, that I grant you full access to the Thule antechamber, in fact, I was wondering if you’d like to curate it.”
This really was quite the opposite of what she was expecting, Twilight almost didn’t believe it.
“You… You want me to restore the Thule exhibit?”
“I do. The fact, Twilight, is that I shut it away a long time ago because it reminded me of a grand failure of mine. Of a place and a pony I could not save. So, out of regret I sealed it away, and out of hope do I emancipate it. If you like, I can have the whole collection, every bit of it moved here to better suit you. And of course, fill some of this castle out.”
“That..” Twilight was at a loss for words, the promise of having her very own historical exhibit, the sole assembly of relics from a lost kingdom, was almost euphoric for her.
“That would be amazing! Thank you Princess Celestia!”
“Does this mean our home is gonna turn into a museum?” Spike complained.
Celestia chuckled, “How do you think I’ve felt for the past 500 years?”
Twilight gazed off into a distance beyond the walls of the room, “I could spend years studying those materials.”
“Not too much I hope, and there is another thing I’ve come to tell you.” Celestia nudged a bit closer, draping her left wing over her company and drawing them in closer. “I’ve got a story to tell you. You see, there was a time before Sombra’s madness, that I met with Prince Æclypse.”
A not-to-small gasp escaped Twilight, “Luna doesn’t know does she?”
“No she doesn’t, I’ve never told anyone. He and I are the only ones who ever knew of it. As I’m sure you saw hint of in the room, Æclypse had won fame for himself by defeating a dragon.”
“The one I saw on the tapestry?” Twilight asked, consciously omitting the fact that she knew very well the account of his battle with the Fyre Drake.
“Yes, and word of his heroism didn’t take very long in reaching Canterlot. And before Luna had ever visited him in the dreamscape, I decided I wanted to meet him for myself.”
A cloud of ethereal magic was cast from Celestia’s horn, and formed itself into a window, within which played out in dramatic fashion her story as she retold it.
“As I’m sure my sister has told you already, talk of Æclypse was that of a young, intelligent, noble, and handsome northern prince. Like somepony you might read about in a romance novella. So with word of his great deed and reputation spreading far and wide, I resolved that this was a pony I should know personally.”
In the window, shown the course of many ponies gathered around a crier, listing with fascination. Above them, Celestia overheard the tale, a hoof to her chin in curious interest.
“But I wanted to make sure I got to know him as he truly was, and not some legend passed along by a thousand mouths. So I told my guard that I was going into a reclusion for a few days, and not to be disturbed. Luna, I told something closer to the truth in that I needed a short vacation from the demands of ruling.
With my cover intact, I set out on my journey north.”
In the vision, Celestia donned a hooded grey robe, and flew off into the sky, the sun to her right.
It took me a few days, and some toleration of the more unpleasant elements of the northern climate, but I made it to Thule without revealing myself to anypony.”
He character landed some distance from the main gate to the city, a pair of wooden doors three stories high.
“I had to enter the city on hoof, ‘ere they think that a Pegasus had come to town, which would draw notice. But since fair unicorns were common enough, I slackened the power of my mane to relax it to a light pink, but kept my hood mostly up. I made to sure to arrive after I had set the sun to help protect my guise, and of course the robe concealed my Cutie Mark. Also, I shortened my height a bit, for everything else, being taller than everypony would give me away at a distance.”
Walking among a throng of unicorns dressed in warm and intricately decorated clothes, Celestia took in the local color of taverns, torch-lit streets, and houses constructed of timber beams.
“I hadn’t been to Thule for many years, and was pleased to see that the ponies there were living well. The kings and queens had ruled ably, and the peace brought-on by the treaty between they and the Yak allowed their leisure culture to flourish.”
Approaching a large collection of unicorns gathered around a bonfire, Celestia hung back in the shadows to observe.
“Fortunately, it didn’t take long for me to find the prince. For he along with many other of his fellow warriors were making merry, celebrating by firelight with laughter and drink. Now I had never seen anything like this in Canterlot, as you know I think the annual Gala is an unfailingly boring affair. Here, they celebrated freely with shouts of joy and revelry, dancing to music that resounded with the free spirit and vivacity of a folk not yet tamed by the sophistications of civilization.”
Twilight watched the tiny ponies crowded around a communal fire, their silhouettes dancing rowdily around the blaze.
“For all my status, I envied them. Would it not betray my identity, I would have happily joined them, so much did I yearn to forget my crown and let myself be consumed in the thrill.
But through the jubilant throng, I spotted Æclypse surrounded by his comrades. His long mane hung loose and wild, the perfect opposite of his noble peers in the south. In the prime of his youth, hale and strong, he certainly looked the part of all I had heard.”
Celestia gave Twilight an amused smirk, “I never begrudged Luna that she had certainly chosen an exceptional stallion to fall for.”
Both Spike and Twilight blushed slightly.
“So I watched him.” Celestia continued, “And saw that he abstained from excess drink, declined to engage in too flamboyant a dance partner, and even separated two other stallions that had begun to quarrel. But he did enjoy himself, partaking in song and conversation. All the members of his company were Thanes, unicorns who served in the Thulian army and proved themselves worthy in organized scrimmages with Yak warriors.”
“Organized scrimmages?” Twilight asked. “I thought they were at peace?”
“They were, but as both a ritual of their continuing accord, and because they liked battle so much, every year Thule and the Yaks tribes pitted their warriors against each other in contest. A friendly but competitive series of war games.”
Thinking on the matter, Twilight was utterly enthralled by images of unicorns and Yaks in battle. It reminded her of how jousting was a part of the festivities in the Crystal Faire.
Her vision now showed the disguised Celestia sneaking around to get closer to the prince. “All was going well, and I was trying to think of a way to talk to Æclypse without giving myself away. I figured a stallion is a stallion, and it would be a simple matter of flirting with him to draw him aside.”
At this Spike and Twilight recoiled a bit in surprise, rousing a hearty chuckle from Celestia.
“I know I don’t seem like it, but not even I am estranged from the basic nature of mares. I know how to flirt when I want to.
As I was about to approach him, one of those who sat beside him, an older stallion with a degree of white in his braided copper beard, stood to address the crowd. He took a swig from his mug, and began to drunkenly sing the most vulgar song I had ever heard.
O, there were a dozen mares who had come to join the dance,
We took ‘em for some fikkin, but all we got were wanks!
I was startled by the coarse lyrics, but it had only just started before the rest of them added in the chorus.
Oh we the Thulian army, are each a mighty Thane,
We’ll storm your flanks, and ravage your ranks,
And do it all over again!
The prettiest of the mares, she was of the fairest breed,
I told her I had an organ, and where to spread my seed!
Oh we the Thulian army, are each a mighty Thane,
We’ll storm your flanks, and ravage your ranks,
And do it all over again!
The oldest of the mares, O’ she was a rowdy lass,
I showed my mighty Wesson, she showed me a bearded axe!
Oh we the Thulian army, are each a mighty Thane,
We’ll storm your flanks, and ravage your ranks,
And do it all over again!
The fattest of the mares, at first I took her for a horse,
I gave her all me larder, still wanted more!
Oh we the Thulian army, are each a mighty Thane,
We’ll storm your flanks, and ravage your ranks,
And do it all over again!
Her sister was from Canterlot, cost me 20 groats,
She showed me there was more ways, than one to sow me oats!
Oh we the Thulian army, are each a mighty Thane,
We’ll storm your flanks, and ravage your ranks,
And do it all over again!
The mother‘s coat was sable, dark as the midnight hour,
She must have been expired, for all her kisses’ taste were sour!
Oh we the Thulian army, are each a mighty Thane,
We’ll storm your flanks, and ravage your ranks,
And do it all over again!
When the lurid song had ended, the whole bunch of them erupted in cheer and applause, but I stewed in seething offense. Looking back, I think I was just being a little prudish. Canterlot high-society would have blanched and fainted if they ever heard such a song at one of their balls.
Nonetheless, I was quite upset that he would partake in such behavior, and resolved that I would return at a later time to have a long talk with King Rubicon and Queen Eras. But fate was having it’s fun with me that night.
As I turned to leave, I bumped into a stallion that had come-up behind me and walked right into his chest. He was my height, with white fur and a blonde mane that went halfway down his neck. Stepping back, I saw that while he didn’t have Æclypse’s rugged handsomeness, his was a face to rival or surpass any of the Canterlot princes. Giving me a smile and putting a hoof to his chest, he kept his eyes engaged to mine as he bowed slightly.
“Sorry if I’ve startled you, but I noticed you skulking in the shadows. You are more than welcome to join us, Ms.?”
I didn’t realize it at first, but the bump had knocked down my hood, so that now my neck up were exposed.
“Skulking? I wasn’t skulking!” I blurted out.
He seemed amused by my outburst, “Forgive me, but I don’t recall seeing you around here before, and you’re certainly one I would remember.”
I pulled my hood back up and denied him the satisfaction of reciprocating his flirtation. But he wouldn’t be so easily deterred.
“Please, my name is Parsifal, cousin to Prince Æclypse, allow me to welcome you to Thule.”
“I appreciate your hospitality, but I find that I had have quite my fill of Thule for one night.”
“Come now, Do not think that all Thule has to offer is bawdy songs and warm mead. Let me show you some worthy sights, perhaps the castle or the vista that peers out to the Crystal Mountains.”
Inwardly I wanted to accept his offer, but I was too stubbornly devoted to being upset.
“No thank you, and I bid you a good night.”
I saw his face drop a bit, but he made a valiant effort to mask his disappointment.
“This must be a first.” Came a new voice, Both of us turned to see Æclypse coming over to where we were, giving Parsifal a wry grin.
“I do think you are the first I’ve ever seen to resist my cousin’s charm!”
Parsifal huffed playfully as he and Æclypse interlocked their right fore hooves in greeting.
“More mares have said no to me, than ever said yes to you.”
At this the prince blushed, ever so imperceptivity, his eyes darting in my direction. I was at once put off my sourness by this minute gesture, struck by a shy sweetness.
“You wound me cousin, dread that tales of my romance become as well known as my battles.”
He shot a glance in my direction, but only for a brief second did he dare meet my gaze.
“The lady seems set on her own private evening Parsifal, come, let us-”
Before he could finish his thought, a wicked gust of wind befell us, carrying with it bits of icy debris and a bitter chill. Parsifal was forced to shield his eyes where he stood, while the wind reached under my robe and blew it about my head.
When it has subsided, I hastily refit my clothing and noted thankfully that Parsifal hadn’t noticed. But as I looked sidelong, I could see Æclypse’s mouth hanging agape, staring at me with astonishment. He had seen my Cutie Mark, my wings, he knew who I was.”
“What did he do?” Twilight asked, “Did he bow to you right then and there?”
“No, rather he was too shocked to find me in disguise to do anything more than silently gawk. I had to think of something quickly before he said anything.
“Good prince if it’s not too much trouble, could you escort an unaccompanied mare to her destination? I promise not more than a few minutes of your time.”
I locked eyes with him to make sure he understood what I was trying to say, and he curtly nodded.
“I uh, I would be more than glad to see you safely along.”
Without wasting a further second I walked past him, leaving Parsifal to wonder about the stark turn of events.
“See you tomorrow cousin.” I heard Æclypse say as he took the few hurried paces to catch up to me.
“Well this is a first…” Was the other’s reply as he watched us leave.
For a while Æclypse and I walked in quiet, I suppose he was still taken aback by my appearance. Once we had gotten far from the party, and arrived at a secluded spot where a few rough-hewn benches gave a place to talk. Finally I turned to him and lowered my hood.
Seeing me uncovered, I saw his expression open in wonder, and a fearful tinge to be in my presence.
“Princess Celestia…” he said without finishing.
“Prince Æclypse, thank you for not giving me away. Truthfully, I came here in secret to meet with you.”
“With me?” he almost whispered in disbelief.
“Yes, How could I not want to meet the valiant Prince Æclypse, rider of dragons and future king of Thule?”
He didn’t quite know what to say. I can’t speak to what those in Thule thought of me and my sister, but it seemed that we were held in high regard to say the least.
“I am honored that you would come northward to speak with me your grace, but I cannot fathom why a creature such as yourself would deign to visit on my account.”
I smiled at him, “You are too humble good prince, your tale is spreading to every corner of Equestria, soon the prince of Thule will be the greatest hero in all the land.”
“Not more so than you and Princess Luna, who defeated and imprisoned the chaos demon Discord, liberating the southlands from his demented tyranny.”
“Surely,” Said I, “ Surely there is more courage to be had in a single pony to face and overcome a beast of primordial creation than two Alicorn’s equipped with the Elements of Harmony.”
My compliment while genuine, made him uncomfortable. So, I decided on another course.
“Young prince, I have come to meet such a pony worthy of the great exaltation that has reached Canterlot. I believe that I have found those acclaims to be accurate.”
This settled his nerves, and as I stretched out my wing to rest on his shoulder, he marveled at it for a moment, before giving me a look of hope and joy that I have rarely seen equaled.
“Princess Celestia,” He spoke, and I could tell there was a wellspring of questions and curiosity about to burst forth with all the exuberance of a colt on his birthday.
“I have heard you are well traveled, and knowledgeable in matters of all kinds.”
“I have learned much in my time, yes.” I answered coyly, curious myself to see what he would want to know.
“If it is not too much of a request, if it.. If it is no bother, I would like to show you something, and hear what you would think of it.”
Now this was interesting, and I agreed with a polite nod.
“Come hither.” he said, making to leave. “It is back at our castle.”
A few minutes later, we came up to a side entrance to the fortress, which rested upon a rocky precipice. A single sentry stood guard, and at his prince’s arrival lowered his spear in salute. As we passed, he gave Æclypse a mirthful glance. When we had gotten quietly inside, he turned to me and explained.
“I have never brought a mare into the castle before, and many of my comrades in the guard tease me in the ways stallions do to each other about such things.”
Now certain that my impression of him during the song earlier was wholly inaccurate, I committed to myself that I would be good friends with him going forward.
Keeping our hoof-falls silent, I myself took the time to examine the inside of the castle as I had not been there since the days of his great-grandfather. I saw a portrait of his family painted when he was younger, he, the king and queen, and his brother.
Having either evaded his household guard, or used his status to bypass their interest in me, we came at last to his chambers. Once the door was locked behind us, and there no longer a need for my covering, I disrobed and revealed myself in full.
Again, I saw in him the admiration one might see in a pony encountering something mythical.
“Princess, I have heard tell.. Of your mane..”
“Oh.” Realizing that my mane was still depowered, I shook it out and loosed it to flow naturally.
“Is this what you were expecting?”
“It is profoundly more.”
“You wanted to show me something?”
Jolted out his fixation by my question, he stepped over to the large round table that took up the center of his room. He cleared it of several books and parchments to reveal a split down the center.
“I had this table built custom for me.”
“It’s very nice.” I told him. “But you didn’t bring a princess here to show her a table did you?”
“Of course not!” he said with building excitement, “What’s inside is entirely my own creation.”
The two halves of the tables surface folded open at the handling of his magic. What was uncovered, took even my breath away.
Before me, laid out in the cavity, was the most detailed map of Equestria and the known world I had ever seen, carved into the wood and enhanced by the addition of topographical accents. Where mountains were, he had them, where rivers ran, he painted them in cerulean. It was very much like your map downstairs, only hoof-made.
He went on to eagerly tell me of it’s construction. “Using every map or reference I could assemble to my collection, I started out with the flat surface, sketching out the terrain and landmarks. Then, once all was laid out, I began crafting the elevated features of the highlands and peaks.”
“It is very impressive.” I said, examining the craftwork that would befit any royal court. It’s center was Canterlot, which he represented by a small depiction of the castle on the mountainside. Elsewhere were all the notable places and terrain I was aware of, going so far south as the Forbidden Jungle, and as far north as the Frozen Sea.
I saw the Crystal Empire, to it’s west was Thule, and further on was something peculiar that caught my attention.
“What’s that up there?” I pointed to a collection of figures to the north-west of Thule, where a series of peninsulas on the coast curved inward to the sea, to create a series of bays
“Ah!” he shouted, “This is what I wanted to show you the most! I have grand ideas for Thule and Equestria. You see here the bay of Alfdale, and the bay of Alfwin, the former of which freezes over for half the year. But for the other half, both are as open and useful as any in the south. Once I am crowned king, my great work will be turning them into Thule’s own seaports.”
This stunned me, Thule installing a seaport this far north would change the face of Equestrian commerce.
“A set of harbors?”
“Yes! Yes! From here I will commission two fleets of ships to sail out and establish trade relations with cities far and wide. I’m going to break Thule’s ageless isolation and bring prosperity to the north that it has never seen!”
His scheme was grand indeed, a gigantic undertaking for a far-flung prince.
“A fine ambition, but have you thought of the massive logistics involved?”
“Oh I have given it great thought!” Æclypse sounded as if I had walked into his trap, and he went about producing a small library of letter parchments from a cupboard under the table.
“Ever since I was made Principate of the Kingdom, I set about on a number of correspondences with potential partners.”
He began to list them off while throwing down one scroll after another.
“Saddle Arabia, GriffinStone, Trottingham, the Ponesian Empire! Are but a few.”
It looked at the letters, and more than surprised, I was disturbed that such relations had taken place without my slightest notice.
“But what exactly do you plan to trade with, you and your one and a half ports?”
“Therein lies our great product, the one resource we can trade in perpetuity, the ice! My plan for which is two-fold.”
He ducked down to retrieve a set of small wooden ships, and a new castle, placing them at the edge of the coast.
“During the part of the year that Alfdale is frozen, we will collect the ice in blocks, and ship them to buyers, the ships returning with goods from far away.”
“Ship ice to Saddle Arabia?” I was more than a bit incredulous, sending ice to the desert. “How?”
“Yak hair!”
“Yak hair?”
“Yak hair! It’s the best insulate one can find, and the yaks have agreed to a regular supply of it for their own access to the trade route. Plus, it can be woven into many useful fabrics. The yaks are poised to make a substantial profit from their excess locks.”
Indeed I could begin to see his plan taking shape, a trade circuit that went everywhere but Canterlot. Equestria’s capitol is landlocked by many leagues, and little but the fact that myself and Luna reside there sustain it as a place ponies want to live. Other than that, the Equestrian countryside would be as rurally populated as it ever was. His idea was grand, certainly workable, but I began to realize what this could mean for the rest of us. With the citizens still recovering from the reign of Discord, Canterlot was the only beacon of hope and stability they had. If Thule were to rise, Equestria would not have the strength or unity to survive it.
“There’s a second part?” I asked him, a growing fear gnawing at my heart.
“The second part,” Æclypse continued, moving a few of the other pieces into place, to form a new ridgeline starting at the bay of Alfdale and moving eastward. “Is for my greater spectacle of the two. Using the ice blocks as bricks, I will build a connected series of palaces where the climate will keep them frozen. The blocks will be infused with color, and be like the aurora borealis. From the Alfdale port, and stretching halfway back to Thule, I will create a new landmark, a glimmering light from the north. And it will be a new city unto itself, with ponies living, working, and making communities within it’s glorious protective walls.
I will outshine the Crystal Empire.”
As I looked over his map, where his grandiose plan was laid out, and I saw Thule rising amidst a brilliant light. I also saw Canterlot, the heart of Equestria growing dimmer and dimmer until it was overshadowed completely and left to wither on the mountain.”
“Luna said that she never knew why you didn’t like Æclypse, why you didn’t want them together.” Twilight looked away from her mentor, putting the pieces together. “It’s not that you didn’t like him, it’s what you knew he was going to do.”
“Yes.” Celestia paused, wetting her lips before continuing. “And once I learned of the depth of the relationship between Luna and he, I could hear the clock ticking for the fall of Equestria”
“What do you think?” He asked me, “Princess?” I realized I had been staring, and when I looked at him, I saw that he was waiting for my opinion, to see if I would approve. He was so hopeful, so honest, and I genuinely think he was motivated by the best of intentions. But having the experience of my long years, I saw past his innocent dream and played-out the course of events in my mind.
“I think it’ll work.” I told him. “I think it will work.” For a few moments we stood there on opposite sides of the table, Æclypse filled with faith for the future, myself with conflict.
Shortly after that I left, again in disguise I set off from his private balcony. The whole flight back my mind was filled with how to handle the situation, what could be done to alter things so that Equestria become a part of these new arrangements.
So for a while, I set about my own affairs to reach deals with the parties I was aware of. It took a long time, but I was making progress, until…”
“Until King Sombra attacked the Crystal Empire.” Finally appreciating the scope of the matters that drove events, Twilight had to process things.
“Fighting tyrants and monsters is one thing Twilight, running a country is quite another. I can’t just blast problems away, I can’t just send them to Tartarus.”
But you do have a habit of banishing them. Twilight thought.
Celestia, Twilight, and Spike continued the conversation into the evening, the senior Alicorn doing her best to answer questions. It gave Celestia a sense of contentment to resume the role of mentor. She’d been a maternal figure to Twilight and Cadence for these many years that it soothed the anxieties that had troubled her these past few days. The burden of the secrets that she had kept to herself for a thousand years were lifted off her shoulders. And it felt good.
Today was a good day.
Elsewhere in Ponyville, Rarity, AppleJack, and Pinkie Pie came to rest beside the fountain in the center of town.
“Are you sure you saw them come this way?” Rarity asked Pinkie.
“Pretty sure.” Pinkie propped herself on the ledge of the fountain for a better vantage around. “They came through Sugar Cube Corner chasing after that other colt, but he disappeared. After that they left and headed this way.”
Applejack lifted her face to the sky, “You see anything up there Rainbow Dash?!” she yelled.
Above the square, Rainbow Dash took another quick scan of the area before shaking her head.
“Nothing yet!” she yelled back. “No sign of ‘em!”
Hearing the lack of progress confirmed, Rarity anxiously tapped her hooves on the ground.
“Oh I just don’t understand how they can disappear like this, where could they have gone?”
Pinkie had the tip of her tongue curled onto her upper lip, trying to think of some new lead for them to follow. Searching through the extensive files in her basement had come-up empty for information about the unknown colt, which surprised Pinkie because she had inches of information on everypony in Ponyville.
Without any warning, she felt a shiver travel down from the tip of her tail, into her rump, and down to her hooves.
“Oh, Twitchy-thitch-a-twitch!” she said, the tremors moving up her neck and shaking her face like a maraca.
For a second she paused, waiting for an indication of what her Pinkie-sense was alerting her to. Wide-eyed, she shot her face to the left and caught sight of the wanted colt as he was darting from one house to another.
“There!” She cried, pointing with her hoof to get the others attention.
The colt froze where he stood, totally surprised that he had been discovered. But as all eyes drew down on him, with a small shriek he took off running.
“Come back here! Please!” Rarity called out, she, Applejack, and Pinkie sprinting after him.
Much like before, the colt wanted to lose his pursuers by using the environment to put obstacles and distance between them, but to his dismay, fate had sent him down an unencumbered alley. If he could just get to the end however, he could give them the slip.
Just a few strides from making the sharp turn that would save him, a multi-colored blur came down in the middle of the pathway.
“WHERE YOU GOING?!” Rainbow Dash barked, using her wings to block him. He stumbled backwards in fright until he collided into Applejack’s chest.
In his stark shock, the colt was immolated in green fire that burned away his masquerade and revealed the junior changeling that he was.
“Bahh!” Applejack screamed.
“Ahh!” The changeling cried,
“Ahh!” Rarity squealed.
“Ahh!” The changeling yelled… again.
“Ahh! Hahahahah!” Pinkie blurted out, laughing hysterically.
The changeling fell to the ground, terrified, and made to protect himself from the ponies that now surrounded him. It was not lost on Rainbow Dash that this was the very colt that Wanderlust had captured last night, until of course she tackled him. Now she understood.
“Alright Changeling!” Rainbow Dash growled with accusation, “Talk! Where are those fillies!”
“Please…” he begged, “If I tell you, they’ll do things to me! Horrible things! They’ll feed me to the snap-dragon!”
Still fearful of the adolescent creature, Rarity nonetheless remembered what was at stake.
“If you tell us where the girls are, we’ll keep you safe, we can protect you.”
The changeling wailed, “Ooooh! No you don’t understand! You can’t protect me!”
He gave them a pitiful scowl, “You can’t even protect yourselves!”
SOME YEARS AGO
As the train pulled out of the Baltimare station, Wanderlust leaned back in his seat, allowing his back and legs some rest. He set his saddle bags down in front of him, where they hit the floor with a THUMP.
“Uggggg…” With a groan of relaxation, he stretched his shoulders, and settled into the backrest to get comfortable.
Just as he was about to close his eyes, he felt the motion of another sitting down next to him, her mane brushing against him.
“You getting tired in your old age?” Trixie nudged him in the side, but Wanderlust merely turned his sleepy face to hers. She had grown from a filly to a beautiful young mare before his eyes, and as she settled in her seat, it hit home for him that she wasn’t the same poor little thing he’d taken off the streets of Fillydelphia.
“I’m just glad to get out of here.” He said with exhaustion, remembering how their most recent stay in the city had treated them.
“Yeah, we’ve had better runs haven’t we?” Taking off her hat, she tossed it atop his saddle bags, and pulled her cape over her shoulder in preparation for a little nap.
There was one thing however, that Wanderlust thought had been a good development.
“You know…” he began “I might have stayed a little longer if you had taken those young stallions up on their offer.”
Trixie huffed, “What? Go to some party with boys I don’t even know?”
I wasn’t the response he was hoping for, but maybe she could be brought around. “They seemed alright to me, and I know how to spot a scoundrel or two. I think you would have enjoyed yourself.”
She gave a contented sigh, snuggling closer to him. “I think they would have been terribly boring. I’d much rather spend my night on the town with you.”
He was usually greatly thankful for the fact that she was stubbornly loyal, but right now it was taking on a troubling dimension.
“Come on Trixie, you really should make friends with ponies your own age. You can’t hang out with me all the time, I’m old enough to be your father.”
He could feel her shifting uncomfortably, “So what? I don’t care. I don’t have anything in common with those silly boys. Besides, you’re nothing like my father. You’re all the friend I need.”
And there it was, confirmation of something he’d been worrying about developing. It had danced in the back of his mind ever since she joined-up with him, though he had hoped otherwise. It was Trixie’s relationship with her parents that caused her to run away from home in the first place, and now she’d become too attached to him. It wasn’t healthy, and it wasn’t right that he allow this to continue.
Something would have to change, even it meant having to assert some distance between them. But as he craned his neck to look down at her, watching her face twitch and muzzle wriggle, he couldn’t help but think of how far she’d come, and he had to admit she’d filled a void in his life that he never thought could be done. So together they had grown, a part of each other’s story. And now it was time to turn the page.
[Metallica "Turn the Page " for montage]
In his memories, Wanderlust’s mind flashed with images of their time traveling across the land.
Walking down a deserted road in the evening sun, Wanderlust looks to his right to see Trixie sauntering up to his side. For a while they continue like this, the sun setting behind them in the west. He puts a forelimb around her shoulders and she lets herself lean into him.
Somewhere else, in a hotel room with the curtains drawn across the window, Wanderlust pours over a book, crossing out one line after another, his face growing with discontent and frustration. Finally he flings the quill away, and puts his forehead in his hooves. Sleeping on one of the two beds, Trixie, sees his state of infuriation, she gestures to the book, but Wanderlust closes it, shaking his head before throwing his hooves up to end the conversation.
Another town, another year, and Trixie in playing to a crowd. Glancing at her as he passes by a window, Wanderlust grants himself a smile. But then something changes in his mind, and he resumes a search of a darkened museum storage room. Using his horn for illumination, he checks in a box, but shoves it away in consternation.
Entering a diner together, Wanderlust and Trixie shake the snow from their coats, and hang their knitted caps on the hat rack. Trixie fusses with her coat, while Wanderlust glances around to see a few of the other patrons giving them a curious once-over. He doesn’t quite know what to make of it at first, but when Trixie finishes and gives him a peck on the cheek before she goes to the booth, he gets the picture. What they must be thinking grates on him, but he swallows the urge to start a fight and simply follows her to their seating.
Trixie never paid much mind to the looks others gave her, but Wanderlust picks-up on them easily. He sees their side-long stares, he sees them leaning over to whisper to one-another. They wonder what a pretty young thing like her is doing with a road varmint like him. ‘is she his daughter? Is she his mare friend? What kind of ponies can they be?’ . He’d like to get up yelling, asking what they were looking at, but it would just cause a scene.
Years before, when she’s still little, Trixie climbs onto Wanderlust’s back. It’s early morning on the long stretch of country road, and she’s still sleepy. Despite the dawn, she settles into the groove between his withers and goes back to sleep. He glances back with a smile, happy for the small things in life.
Now on another day, when she’s older, she comes down off a stage where ponies are booing and jeering her. Wanderlust tries to offer a comforting embrace, but she pushes him away, tears in her eyes, leaving him to watch her walk off.
Stage lights burst on in a flash, illuminating Trixie on another stage in another city. Tonight she’s in the zone, and every one of her acts is going off without a hitch. Her confidence translates into energy, and now she’s got the crowd cheering. She’s doing great, and she knows it.
Watching in the back of the crowd, Wanderlust looks on with pride. Though seeing her like this, such an advancement from the little show where he discovered her, it tugs at his heart that she is no longer the same filly.
Looking at himself in the bathroom mirror, he sees the reflection of Trixie laying on her bed behind him, the blankets of his own hanging half-off to the floor. Wanderlust is thinking of the life that he’s led her on. She never got to settle down, plant her own roots in a community, make her own friends. He had been her mentor, teacher, companion, and virtually her father. She’s never called him that but she loved him like one. She loved him.
In some store, he looked on as she twirled about in front of a mirror, her eyes filled with delight at seeing how she looked in the new dress. She had been telling him how she dreamed of going to the Grand Galloping Gala in Canterlot, and were passing by the dress shop when she caught sight of the gown. He could buy it for her easily, he’d love to give her this. But he couldn’t go to Canterlot with her, too risky, far too risky.
He didn’t think for a second however, that she would part with him long enough to make the trip to attend. When she spun around to face him, face full of hope, he knew he’d end-up disappointing her.
Not long after, he was proven correct. With the dress in her possession, she pleaded with him incessantly to go to Canterlot. At every turn he gave her his blessing, but was adamant that he himself would not go. This she would not bear, and after a long argument, she threw her dress across the hotel room and stormed out.
Another time, he was helping to focus her attention as she fired a series of fireworks. He spoke a few quiet words into her ear, and with the next set, she watched as they spun-out together in a spiral. She shrieked with joy. The memory transformed into an earlier one, where she had gotten a scrape on her leg, and he knelt down to clean it off with a rag as she wiped a tear from her eye.
Then it was during a thunderstorm, and they were both sheltered under a tree. Trixie was just big enough to huddle under his forelimbs, and when a flash of lightning preceded a sonorous boom, she shut her eyes and shivered in his protection.
Stepping gently through a dark bedroom, the mansion of a very wealthy pony, Wanderlust and Trixie approached a jewel box atop a dresser. As she looked over her shoulder to where the sleeping owner lay, Wanderlust used his magic to open the box. He extracted an elegant, and heavily inlaid necklace of gems and gold. But rather than be glad, he frowned and let it drop back into the box.
While on a boat, Wanderlust leans over a railing, his face downcast to the water. Coming behind him, Trixie’s initial smile is replace by concern. She can tell he’s sad about something, but there’s much of his past he hasn’t told her about, and she assumes it’s for a good reason. So she simply walks up beside him, puts her own fore hooves over the rail.
Trixie and Wanderlust stroll side-by-side one another, on a desert road, down a dirt path, along a paved highway, and through a forest trail. Through summer, the fall, winter, and spring they stay together, only the road ahead of them. The sun rises and falls, the moon glows and dims. The clouds fill the sky, and the stars illuminate an otherwise pitch night. On and on, there they go.
Sitting in his seat in the present, Wanderlust stared out the window of the train. It’s a rainy night and the droplets pitter-patter against the glass. Leaning his cheek to the window, he can feel the chill of the night air whipping by. Beside him, Trixie slumbers peacefully, murmuring something every now and then. So far tonight no nightmares, no unconscious mumbles of pleading with her father.
She can’t live like this forever, he thinks. She deserves better than this. With a final sigh, he closed his eyes.
PONYVILLE
TODAY
Walking through the spacious halls of Twilight’s castle, Spike kept his attention in the book that he held in front of him. The cover had a silhouette of a stallion wearing a top hat and a bowtie, underneath, the title read: ‘Proper Dress for High Society’.
“Hmmm….” he murmured, taking mental note of some factoid. He flipped the page as he passed into a new room, tilting his head at a graphic.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
Literally jumping at the sound of the banging at the doors, Spike let the book fall from his grip as he sped over to the door. Twilight had been upstairs for the last few hours with the door closed, going over the books that Celestia had given her a crash course in reading.
He leapt up to reach the doorknob, and turned it as he fell back down. Rushing in, Applejack and Rarity seemed exhausted from running.
“SPIKE!” Applejack exclaimed, “It’s an emergency, but you have to keep your voice down.”
“What?!” The little dragon asked, putting his claw to his mouth in trepidation. “What is it?”
“It’s the whole town Spike! It’s the whole town!”
Walking behind Spike, Rarity stooped down to pick up the book from the floor in her magic, giving it a cursory look over.
His terror growing, Spike’s eyes grew wide, “What about the town? Is it flooded? Is it on fire? Is it [gasp] gone?”
“Worse than that Spike.” Said Rarity standing just behind him, her voice startlingly calm.
Just as he turned to look at her, she swung the book and clobbered him upside the head with it, eliciting a sharp grunt and knocking him out cold.
“It’s crawling with ponies.”
Looming over his insensible form, Applejack and Rarity consumed themselves in green fire, revealing two adult Changelings in their place. One nodded to the other, and grabbed Spike in its perforated hooves, it transformed into Button Mash’s mother and carried him out through the door. For a moment it paused on the threshold, looking back to its partner, “Good luck.’
Just as the one left was pushing the front door closed, a voice rang out from the upstairs.
“Spike, what’s all that commotion down there?”
Peeking her head over the banister of the second floor, Twilight looked down to see Spike standing in the middle of the room, flipping through a book.
“Oh nothing Twilight, just the new book I ordered.” he said with a compressed smile.
“Huh… you must’ve been really glad to get it, I heard you yelling all the way up here.”
“You know me Twilight, sometimes I just can’t contain myself.”
“Allllright then.” She cantered down the steps, a scroll bound in a red ribbon floating next to her head.
“Before you get into your reading, I need you to send this letter to Princess Cadence for me.”
“Sure thing.”
The faux Spike held out his claw, and took the scroll. Holding it vertical, he inhaled, and blew a wash of pale green fire over the parchment. The scroll vanished in the magical flame, turning to ash that wafted away through a window.
Elsewhere, in a lightless chamber, the scroll reappeared out of thin air. It fell to the stone floor and bounced end-over-end before toppling over and rolling a few paces to a stop.
It lay there a moment before a set of large eyes opened in the darkness. The orbs were a light teal, and the iris a gradient of dark teal to light green. But it was the second iris ring, of dark green that contained the pupil. The narrow slits shifted to stare down at the message, and a soft feminine chuckle of delight filled the shadows.
