Five Tales

The present day

2 years After Battle of Canterlot (A.B.C.)

Spike rubbed his eyes as he pulled himself away from the documents. He had dedicated much more of his attention to scouring through the story, considering Rarity’s participation in Operation Crescent. The table had finally been fully sorted of the many papers detailing the liberation of Manehatten.

“What was it like to be in the middle of all of that, Coco?” Spike asked, placing the last of the documents into an organized stack.

Coco Pommel sighed, her hands folded on her lap.

“I don’t think I could find the right words to describe it… All I know is that I’m grateful to be alive. Even after a battle like that, Manehatten is still hanging on. We have a lot of refugees moving in, even though the Consulate hasn’t been able to get enough resources to repair everything yet. The port has been the busiest though, since it’s vital for Alliance activities. The city is a whiles away from being the crown jewel it once was, but it’s slowly being brought back to life every day.”

“What happened to the Cabal?” Spike asked.

“Most of the Cabal and the Elite were captured and are still being detained in the city, but the Cabal in Manehatten were only one unit. The Cabal as a whole are still in other occupied cities, from what I can understand. I think they’ll only be really gone once all of the caribou are defeated. But Manehatten has nothing to fear from them anymore.” Coco explained, a tiny smile of hope appearing across of her snout.

“Well, I guess that mostly good news then… wait, where’s Liberty?” Spike pondered, only now noticing the empty seat in front of him.

Coco Pommel looked to the archive’s entrance. “I don’t know. She just got up and left when we were nearing the very end of the last document. She seemed a little distressed…”

“Hang on.” Spike stood from his chair, “I’m going to go check on her.”

As he departed the archive room and scoured the corridors and rooms of the town hall, Spike found his way over to the main entrance, passing by the few ponies active in the evening hours.

He stepped out into the cool air, quickly spotting Liberty at the bottom of the town hall’s set of steps. She stood alone, pacing slightly while wiping a few tears away from her cheeks.

Spike cautiously approached her.

“Liberty? Are you ok?”

Liberty jumped slightly at his presence, but still smiled, glancing at him.

“I’m fine, I’m ok… I’m… Dammit... I’m an awful liar.”

“What?” Spike asked, confused.

Liberty straightened herself, turning towards Spike.

“In that last bit on Operation Crescent, Rarity spoke to a mare named Ruby…”

Spike’s fan-like ears tilted quizzically. “Oh yeah. She mentioned that you saved her from the Crystal Empire, right? Did she end up joining your Guardians?”

Following his words, Spike noticed a shift in Liberty. She choked up, just barely holding back more tears. Her eyes bore a sadness that he felt he couldn’t understand.

“Yeah. She became my friend. But she’s not around anymore. I… made a mistake. And she died because of it.”

Spike stared at Liberty, his ears folding back. He couldn’t help but feel like she was sharing the same feelings that Rarity had in regards to Meadow. A sense of failure.

“I’m so sorry… Do you want to talk about it?”

Liberty shook her head, her nose sniffling.

“No, I don’t. Let’s get back to Coco Pommel and thank her for her help.”

“Wait,” Spike stopped her, “… We don’t have to talk about that, but… I’m starting to realize that I hardly know anything about you, Liberty. And I feel like I deserve to at least be able to know you better before I can keep working with you.”

Liberty paused, though soon nodded in agreement.

“I understand, Spike. And I’m sorry for not being very open from the start. How about we go to Star Glow tonight to talk. I promise I’ll tell you more about myself.”

“Ok.” Spike smiled, turning as Liberty passed him, returning inside the town hall. He let out his own sigh before following close behind.

As the evening went on, Spike and Liberty left for Star Glow café, bidding goodnight to Coco Pommel. She had been a great help in sifting through Rarity’s story, and her experience from actually being in Manehatten during Operation Crescent gave a much more in-depth analysis to their study. For the night, Coco elected to turn in, having some Consulate business in Haven to attend to in the early morning.

Spike and Liberty arrived at the café, finding it a bit more populous than the last time. They sought out a table further off in one of the cavern’s tucked away corners. The waitress had brought their drinks to them shortly after. Liberty ordered the same Umbran drink that Lightning Dust had the night prior, giving Spike the notion that she wanted to wash away her stress.

“I guess I’ll start with the most obvious thing,” She said, “Liberty isn’t my real name. It’s Chorus.”

“Really? Chorus isn’t such a bad name. Why don’t you use it?”

“… When the Fall came around, things… happened. I was in Canterlot that day, and I had managed to hide away thanks to a friend of mine… who… I…”

Chorus trailed off, becoming more visibly stressed.

“Listen, I don’t want to go into details right now, if that’s ok. Short story is, I hid in Canterlot. Years later I managed to get out, and somewhere along the way I decided that I wanted to dedicate myself to the one thing which was needed; Liberty. It sounded a lot less cheesy in my head.”

Spike waved his hand. “I don’t think it’s cheesy at all. And that’s ok, I don’t need the whole story, just whatever you’re comfortable with talking about.”

Chorus seemed to relax from Spike’s words, taking a deep breath.

“Alright, thank you. Well, after I had given myself that name, I soon came into Haven and met Princess Luna. I was actually with her when she went to destroy the Crystal Heart in the Empire up north. In the time from then until the battle for Canterlot, I spent here in Haven. I got to know Marshal Mjolna, Nurse Redheart, and even Rarity and her sister.”

Spike leaned forward. “So you knew Rarity then? Was… was she like she was in Manehatten?”

Chorus paused to take a drink. “She was still the same generous mare, though in Haven she spent more time making clothing for ponies than practicing subterfuge. She actually made the cloak I wear with my armor, which came from a Summer Sun Celebration banner.”

Spike smiled, moving his eyes to his glass. He was glad to know Rarity was still the pony he remembered. Though his mind shifted to another question.

“Could you tell me about Canterlot? I haven’t heard the whole story of the battle that Luna led…”

Chorus paused, though this time she didn’t take a sip. She only stared at her glass. Spike intently looked on, waiting for her words.

“… The Battle of Canterlot was the most intense battle Equestria had seen in a long, long time. Though it was a great victory, it did come at a cost. Many lost their lives, the most remembered being Luna’s Seven Sentinels. I knew them, one especially.”

Chorus frowned.

“And… well. Celestia… Celestia’s death wasn’t a casualty of that battle. It was a murder…”

Spike listened further. “A murder? I thought Princess Luna couldn’t save her.”

Chorus shook her head. A flash of rage emerged.

“No. Luna promised she would try to save her. She said that at the Treaty of Haven, and promised us that even as we got to Canterlot. I was there when she… When she killed Celestia. I saw it! It was no ‘mercy killing’. Luna knew exactly what she wanted to do when she walked into that chamber, she…”

Chorus stopped, noticing that she was gripping the edges of the table. She panted for the next few seconds, shutting everything out.

Spike only sat there, helpless as he watched Chorus release her grip and calm herself down with a deep breath.

“I’m sorry. You need to understand… I looked up to Celestia. She was… She’s still my idol. She was why I joined the royal guard in the first place. That’s why I’ll never forgive Luna for what she did. I don’t care if no one else cares… I’ll never forgive her.”

A brief moment of silence followed. By now, Chorus had become relaxed, though Spike couldn’t help but remain worried and stunned at Chorus’ true feelings. He couldn’t blame her, either.

Despite trying to prevent himself from asking any more of Chorus, a question circled in Spike’s thoughts.

“Lib-, er, Chorus. I needed to ask you about-,”

Spike stopped as the waitress came by.

“Sorry, Ms. Liberty. We’re closing early tonight. Sorry for kicking you out like this.”

“It’s alright,” Chorus replied, “Thank you, Bubbly.”

Liberty and Spike left their table in the care of the waitress, proceeding to the exit as the few other café workers began to clean up.

“What were you saying before, Spike?”

Spike sighed. “… Never mind. It wasn’t important.”

“If you say so. Let’s go get some rest. The next delivery of documents should be coming tomorrow morning.”

Spike hadn’t realized how tired he was until he threw off the sheets from his bed as morning came. After a loud, toothy yawn and a long stretch, the young dragon got to his feet and dressed for the day, using the sets of clothes given to him by some of the staff workers of the town hall. It was as simple as clothing could get, but warm and with plenty of cover. It reminded Spike about what Rarity surmised in her documents of Manehatten. It could be a while before clothing becomes as much of an art as it used to be.

Beyond the guest rooms, Spike found his way to the entrance hall, meeting Chorus there. The Guardian leader quickly took note of his exhausted look.

“Good morning. You look tired.” She said.

“Yeah, I feel worn out. But I’m ready for today’s work. Are the documents here yet?”

Before Spike’s question could be answered, a small rattling reached his feet. The wooden floors rumbled with heavy steps, as though a giant was approaching from the front of the town hall.

Spike became alerted, but calmed down as he noticed neither Chorus nor any of the other ponies around him were alarmed.

As the small tremors stopped, Spike heard a voice from the other side of the front doors.

“Wait down in front, Blackstone. Thank you.”

The doors opened to reveal a unicorn mare donned with hardened fabric-armor and various equipment belts and pouches. A pale purple cape flowed from her shoulders as the doors closed behind her.

As she brought herself inside, the mare carried a proud air. She was a battlemage, mostly evident by the combat-oriented mage’s staff slung on her back. The long staff’s upper head held a deep blue gem, while sporting a polished blade on the other end.

She stopped before Spike and Chorus.

“I am here for the Commander of the Guardians of the Sun, Liberty!” She boomed, her voice commanding despite her lesser authority.

Chorus stepped forward. “That would be me. You must be…”

“My name is Trixie. I’ve been tasked with delivering the documents of Pinkamena Diane Pie on Project Pinkerton for your recording efforts.” She said. The show mare was hardly anything resembling a stage-appropriate appearance. Scars from beatings and dangerous trials made her look like she went through Tartarus and back.

Spike scratched the scales on the back of his head. “Trixie? Huh. Whatever happened to your third-person thing?”

Trixie crossed her arms, raising her head high. A scowl appeared from beneath the rim of her spellcaster’s hat.

“I don’t think I need to remind you how much has changed, dragon.”

Chorus stepped in to interrupt.

“If you have the documents from Pinkamena’s Project Pinkerton, we can head over to the archives now.”

As her scowl disappeared, Trixie promptly unhooked a cylinder parcel from her waist belt, handing it off to Chorus. “Here is everything you need. Though I won’t be joining you. I have business here in Haven that I need to attend to.”

“I understand. Thank you for the delivery, Trixie.” Chorus said.

Trixie gave a small nod in reply before swiftly turning back the way she came. Spike was glad she wouldn’t be sticking around.

With the cylinder of documents in hand, Chorus and Spike made their way back to the archives. Processing their recent encounter as he went, Spike turned to Chorus as they stopped before the door.

“Did you feel that rumbling right before we met Trixie? What was that?”

“That was a Pinkerton. You’ll learn more about them once we get into the project documents here. It might get pretty strange, but I’ll fill you in as we go.”

“You had mentioned Pinkie Pie before. Or, at least her full name. She was in charge of the project?”

“That’s right. She’s a lot different, from what I’ve heard.”

“Just like everyone else, I guess…”

As Chorus reached for the doorknob, Spike stopped her.

“Wait, before we start,” Spike said, catching Chorus’ attention, “I need to ask you something important. About our reading of Operation Crescent.”

“What is it?”

“In the reports of Operation Crescent, just after Rarity completed her mission in the Palace in Manehatten, she went into the sewers and found a mare. A purple collared mare. Do you remember? That mare mentioned someone named Lavender…” Spike spoke, his tone suddenly lowering.

Chorus froze as she heard the name. She remained silent.

“Is… Lavender… Is she Twilight?”

Chorus’ eyes darted to the floor. The silence remained, until she looked back up to Spike, staring him in the eyes.

“No. The pony who calls herself Lavender is not Twilight Sparkle.”

“How do you know for sure?” Spike asked.

“…Because I’ve met Lavender. She was…"

Spike listened intently, though Chorus turned away, facing the door.

"... I'm sorry... that’s a story for another time. C’mon. We've got documents to read.”