Salt and Iron

by Battlecrank

Rating: teen
Tags: Crossover, Human, Dark
Length: 6794

A Displaced story, involving GLaDOS and the fate of the world.

I tried to tell them. I tried so hard but they wouldn't believe me. Not a single one of them!

I remember the anger of the tomb's queen as she raged against those that had dealt her what must surely have been a mortal wound, vowing to return and get revenge upon they that had betrayed her while placing a curse upon those that aided them…

It was only later, when most of the survivors from the catacombs started to get sick, that I started to take the curse seriously. They fell ill so quickly, yet our medics said it was just a common cold. They soon changed their minds, when the ill’s hair started falling out, and they bled from the inside…

I fear what will happen when the goddess of the earth rises from her tomb, and strikes down those she perceives as her enemies. If her prediction is correct and she rises once more, and if the queen of the tomb is capable of turning even a fraction of the power she unleashed upon Sombra’s forces against those who wronged her…

Then the world will come to an end at her hooves.

What would you do, if suddenly given virtual immortality, only to have it taken away from you by things that you originally considered a myth?

What would you do if you were given the opportunity for revenge, and had a massive facility at your beck and call?

Would you play the peacemaker, and try to come to terms with your betrayal, or would you become even worse than those that deemed you a monster?

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2015-03-26 23:55:35 UTC

Chapter 1: Auxiliary Operations

"... And that, my Princess, is why you should devote funds to my project."

Celestia screamed internally, trying to forget the past hour that Blueblood Sr. had been talking to her. While his ideas poised some merit, did he really have to be so arrogant about them? It's like he thinks his project is the only one that matters!

With any luck, his son will be better when it becomes his time to succeed his father.

"Thank you for your... Interesting proposal. I shall take it under advisement, and get back to you."

"Excellent, Princess Celestia. I look forward to your decision."

And with that, the pompous stallion walked out of the throne room.

With a sigh, Celestia closed her eyes and took a sip of the tea that had been set next to her just before Blueblood had begun speaking. Even cold, camomile tea still was her go-to remedy for dealing with the Blueblood clan. Unfortunately, the sheer amount of the stuff she had been drinking as of late has started to cause some debate in the Canterlot Rumormill.

"Your Majesty?"

Celestia quickly looked in the direction that the voice had originated from. Finding its source, she noted one of the guards by the door looking at her with some worry.

"Yes?" Celestia asked after a moment of silent staring, much to the discomfort of the guard.

"Should I bring the next petitioner in, or do you want to stop for the day?"

Another sigh passed the solar monarch's lips.

"It's fine, send them in. At this point, anypony would be better than Blueblood."

The guard flinched for some reason, as though he were hit, before saying, "as you wish, your Majesty..."

A quick moment of throat clearing on behalf of the court announcer later, and the tedious process began anew.

"Announcing Reneigh Belloq, director of the Historical Department at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns!"

Celestia was silent for a few moments, before slumping her head in defeat.

"I take it back. I wish Blueblood had been in here for another hour or two..."

As Celestia was bemoaning her fate, a blue unicorn loaded down with saddlebags all but dashed into the room.

"Princess, I will not--"

"Reneigh," Celestia interrupted with a 'no nonsense' tone. "Stop. Just... Just stop."

Reneigh panted for a few moments from his mad dash up to the throne, subconsciously adjusting the white jacket and fedora he wore. After a moment of silence, during which Celestia set her cold tea back down -- all the while wishing she had something stronger -- she looked to the archeological pony and spoke.

"I am not sending you out there."

"But Prince--"

"I said no, Belloq! I am not sending you out there, and that is final!"

The two glared at each other for a few moments. Celestia looked away first, not wanting to get into the inevitable argument with the unicorn after the exhausting experience that was Blueblood. One or the other she could deal with, but one after the other was a different matter entirely.

"... Reneigh, you are far too important to send out there. The Crystal Mountains are no place for an aging stallion with so much to live for."

Belloq flinched at the subtle mention of his family, but continued to stand resolute against the Princess's argument.

"Princess, I have referenced every source in the Canterlot archives. There is evidence of not only several important historical events occurring in the area you plan on building the Northwest Arctic Railway Tunnel, but there has also been rumour of several unidentified mythical creatures residing in that area! To send those laborers without any warning would result in the potential loss of our history at best, and at worst, the loss of lives from some heretofore unclassified creature, and don’t you DARE say otherwise!”

The celestial monarch moaned, exhaustion from the long day having long ago taken hold of her.

“Reneigh--”

“And!” Reneigh practically shouted at Celestia, pointing an accusing hoof at her while simultaneously interrupting her defence. “And, that’s all disregarding the ongoing rumor that the area is cursed! Even if they have a registered thaumaturgist on their team, they can’t be everywhere at once, especially with such a large operation. To add to it, they don’t even teach how to counter some of the more exotic curses I know of at that university of yours, let alone how to detect their presence!”

“Re--”

“If it’s a matter of my position at the school, I’ve already found several substitutes to take over for me while I’m away. I don’t really even teach any classes anymore, other than the occasional lecture, so all they would really have to do is keep the paperwork sorted. Heck, Top Marks is already mistaken as being me more often than not by the students, might as well make him act the part, too.”

“R--”

“And I already asked Quest, she said as long as I come back to her and Daring within a reasonable amount of time, that she doesn’t have a problem with it.”

At that last outburst, Celestia just stared at him for a few moments. After what seemed like an eternity to Reneigh, she tiredly shook her head.

“Reneigh, why are you so insistent on this course of action?”

Taken aback by the odd question, Reneigh nervously played with the rim of his hat. Celestia could almost see the internal war going on in his head. Fortunately, it lasted only about a minute before he started speaking again.

“... Your Majesty, when I was a colt, I ran across an old diary while in the Canterlot Royal Library. At the time, I thought it was nothing more than an adventure tale; something to fulfill a foal’s desire for adventure.”

Taking a sigh of his own, Reneigh pulled a book out of his saddlebags. He looked fondly at it for a moment, before passing it over to the large white mare. Celestia took the book, mirroring his reverence, if only to continue to placate him.

“...It was while I was reading it, that I came to realized that I wanted to find out more about the owner of that diary. I wanted to know who she was, how she lived, and why she did the things that she did…”

Carefully opening up the Diary, Celestia peered at the first page. She almost dropped it at the name she saw written there.

Property of General Pansy

If somepony reads this before I’m dead, they will be...

"H-how? This has been missing for years!"

Reneigh smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry about that. I checked it out without asking."

To say that Celestia was baffled would an understatement.

"But it was supposed to be in the restricted historical section!“

“Foals will be foals," Reneigh said with a meek shrug. The glare Celestia directed at him did little to dampen his enthusiasm, even if it did produce a slight flinch from the subject of her ire.

"T-the point is,” Reneigh forced out while under the glare rivaling the sun, “it started me on a quest which eventually got me my mark."

“...That does not explain why you want to go..."

"Open it to the second to last bookmark."

A quick turning of pages revealed an entry made almost a thousand years ago. Glancing at Reneigh, who motioned for her to read, she carefully removed the bookmark and began to read.

October 21, 027 A.D (002 A.N.M.)

I tried to tell them. I tried so hard but they wouldn’t believe me. Not a single one of them!

Though, I guess it is to be expected from a group of ponies who but a few short decades ago would have been at each other’s throats. The infantile, bigoted lot of slugs barely acknowledged my presence as I tried to warn them. They were content with congratulating themselves for ‘defeating’ the ‘corrupt and evil’ moon goddess. Oh, if only they realised their hubris…

I was there, when the darkness first truly showed itself in her heart; when both the moon and earth goddesses met in that place under the crystal sierra. I was there when Sombra’s forces pushed us back from the catacombs made of sealt and ferrum, and tried to plunder it for their own gain. I saw with my own eyes as the walls, and the very ground they stood upon came alive and attacked their forces. I survived while others perished when the air became poisoned, and the water began burning flesh from bone, all while the very light we used to see by seared and scorched any who got too close…

I especially remember the anger of the tomb’s queen as she raged against those that had dealt her what must surely have been a mortal wound, vowing to return and get revenge upon they that had betrayed her while placing a curse upon those that aided them...

At the time, I thought nothing of it. We had to subdue the Princess when we retreated. She refused to leave, saying that we needed to save the enraged spirit, ranting like a madmare while we fulfilled her sister’s orders of keeping her safe at all costs.

It was only later, when most of the survivors from the catacombs started to get sick, that I started to take the curse seriously. They fell ill so quickly, yet our medics said it was just a common cold. They soon changed their minds, when the ill’s hair started falling out, and they bled from the inside…

We only lost twenty out of the hundred that I commanded by attacks from Sombra’s army. Another three were lost to the poisoned air, and four more to the water and light. All considered, these were rather light casualties, knowing Sombra’s battle prowess. The sickness that came later, however, changed everything.

We lost sixty three to the plague. Over half of our original forces, and they died for reasons that none of us could grasp. The Princess had her own guess however, and said it was the curse placed upon us by the Queen of the tomb, punishing us for forsaking her.

And yet now, two years after Nightmare Moon went mad and was exiled to her object of power, that do I start to understand how very grave the earth queen’s vow was.

I fear not for Princess Luna’s return. If when she returns she returns sane, then we should rejoice her homecoming and praise her name to the very stars that released her. She would be paraded through the streets with roses and cheers of joy following in her wake, and the peasantry would bask in her eternal glory. No, Luna’s return will be quite the site to behold, even if she does not return with her mind intact, for even then the sky will be eternally twilight; her moon obscuring the sun.

I do fear what will happen if the goddess of the earth rises from her tomb, and strikes down those she perceives as her enemies. If her prediction is correct and she rises once more, and if the queen of the tomb is capable of turning even a fraction of the power she unleashed upon Sombra’s forces against those who wronged her…

Then the world will come to an end at her hooves.

As Celestia read the passage, Reneigh stared at her. Once he was sure she had gotten most of the way through it, he spoke up.

“Your Majesty… You don’t really need me here, they do.”

Celestia sighed, and after a moment of thought, stated a suspicion she had been harboring for the past five minutes.

“If I said no, you would go anyways by signing on as a digger, wouldn’t you?”

Reneigh looked confused for a moment, before revelation sparked behind his eyes, and a smile lit up his face. The solar diarch then came to a sudden realisation at his reaction. Her inevitable facehoof did little to help her cope.

“...Aaand you didn’t even think about that, did you.”

“And I thank you for giving me the idea!” Reneigh’s declaration was simple, but his course was, for better or worse, now set in stone.

“... Fine,” Celestia said with a long suffering sigh. “You can go on one condition.”

“You have to but name it, my princess!”

“This,” she said while motioning to the book in her magic, “stays here.”

Reneigh smiled, and simply stated, “I was planning on doing so anyway. I’ve already memorised it, and the far north is no place for something so valuable.”

Chuckling slightly, Celestia motioned the stallion to leave.

“Go. Spend some time with your family. You likely won’t be seeing them for quite a while.”

The stallion smiled and trotted out of the throne room. As the doors slammed shut behind him, Celestia shook her head at the drive some of her little ponies possessed. She rarely saw anypony like that these days. If only more like them had been around when her sister had sucummbed to her depression, they might have disobeyed her long enough to save this so called ‘earth goddess’. It might have given her the friend she needed so desperately back then...

After a moment of silent reflection of champions past, she called out to the guard at the door.

“Send in the next petitioner!”

The guard simply nodded, and left the room for a moment to see who the next petitioner was. The great white mare looked back to her cold tea, and decided she could probably do away with it. The meeting with Reneigh had gone better than expected, and had left her in better spirits in comparison to after Blueblood’s earlier.

“In fact,” she mused to herself, “I think I could deal with just about anypony right now…”

"Announcing her royal highness, Duchess Unmistakable Gannet of Baltimare, spouse of his royal highness Prince Blueblood senior!"

“OH COME ON!”

“This way! Over here!”

Reneigh all but ran through the cramped tunnels to get to the worker. This was the first exciting thing to happen in months! Yes, there had been a time or two that he had to banish something to Blueblood’s basement, but with how little the workers actually allowed him to do for ‘safety reasons’ he almost wished he HAD signed up as a digger, if only to break up the boredom of being stuck in his tent. Yet, to his eternal thanks to every deity he could think of, a group of late night diggers had apparently found something in one of the drainage passages they were making.

More than once, the crews working on the main passage had tunneled into an underground lake, causing there to be a pressing need for somewhere to drain all the water to. This slowed down the whole operation to such an extent that the Overmares of the project had, utterly frustrated at the situation, stated that they would handsomely pay anypony who presented a solution to the problem, even if it required constructing a new tunnel.

Needless to say, there was quite a bit of competition between the individual groups that had formed.

The pegasus that had been leading him down the tunnel finally reached a small cavern that had been hollowed out of the rock. She was one of the few who actually enjoyed being underground, unlike her kin. The rest of her associated team stood inside the cavern, two unicorns and an earth pony. The pegasus was quick to join them as they stood near a large metal… Thing.

“There, that’s the thing I told you about!” The unicorn, whom Reneigh assumed to be the defacto leader, dodged out of the way as the pegasus gestured towards the metal artifact in the wall with her hoof, nearly hitting him in the process. “Any idea what it is?”

The metal detritus--if it could be called that--was occupying a large portion of the wall. The majority of it was shaped into two arcs with one end resting upon the ground, both resting parallel to each other, with metal cross bars between the two. The remainder of it was partially buried behind the arcs, seeming to support it in place.

Reneigh looked at the wall that the object was buried in, and noticed that it was a different color and texture from the rock that he had grown accustomed to everywhere else on the dig site.

“What type of stone is this? It’s different from the rest of the site.”

“Hmm?” The other unicorn, another mare, looked around as if noticing where she was for the first time. “Oh! This chamber is mostly sandstone and rock salt. A bit odd, to be honest. Probably was one of those underground lakes that happened to have a bit of a flow to it. The sediment just piled up until there was nowhere else to fill. Few thousand years and a mountain worth of rock pressing down on it, and you get what you see here.”

Reneigh remained silent for a moment, before returning his attention to the object with a mildly stated “Huh.”

The group remained silent for a few minutes as the archeologist worked his craft. The two unicorns waited calmly, but the earth pony and pegasus found themselves quickly becoming restless with the wait. Soon, the Earth pony couldn’t take the silence anymore, and asked the question that was on everypony’s mind.

“So…” He stated with a conversational tone colored with a southern accent. “What is it, ya reckon?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” Reneigh replied. “I’ve never seen anything quite like this, but the salt in the walls is throwing off my scans.” He paused for a moment, taking another look around the chamber. Then he asked, “actually, how do you mine through this? If this was a dig site I would use a brush, but that obviously wouldn’t work on this scale.”

The unicorn leader of the group snorted with his amusement, and then turned himself enough to show his mark; a fragmented rock with lines radiating away from it. A raised eyebrow from Reneigh caused the worker to clarify by saying “don’t have to move the salt, just everything around it.”

Reneigh responded with a raised eyebrow, commenting by saying “it’s a surprise, then, that the object wasn’t damaged.”

The earth pony of the group then took the opportunity to point out that the object was made of a type of iron that seemed excessively strong.

“Almost like its been enchanted. Landslide here reckons it ain’t though, so Ah have no idea what it is.”

The now named unicorn mare nodded her head in agreement. Reneigh noticed at that moment that they hadn’t been properly introduced. He quickly sought to correct that error.

“Apologies, but it just struck me that we haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Reneigh Belloq, the archeological consultant for this project of ours.”

The unicorn leader nodded his head, and simply said “BlackPowder, obstacle removal.”

“I’m Landslide,” the unicorn mare to his right stated. “My talent is moving the earth… Don’t say it, I’ve already heard it all before.”

From her position behind Reneigh, the Pegasus that had lead him down to the chamber said “I’m Aquifer! I’m the surveyer of this band of misfits!”

“And Ah’m Phosphorus,” came from the earth pony. “Ah’m good at workin’ with ores and the like.”

Reneigh nodded in greeting at each of them as they introduced themselves. “Very good,” He said when they had finished. “Now, perhaps we can clear off the rest of this… Object?”

“No good,” replied Black. “Walls are too unstable. Slide was going to reinforce the walls; thought it would be better if you had a look.”

“Did not!” Interrupted Aquifer. “She just wanted to go straight through it!”

Reneigh directed a quick glare at Aquifer before he attempted to interrupt the impending argument between the unicorn leader and the surveyer.

“Alright, so you can’t clear it off entirely. How about partially?”

“Maybe,” said Black while still glaring at Aqua, “if Slide helped with the walls.”

The mare in question nodded, saying “it shouldn’t be too hard, dear, if you keep the blast small.”

The pegasus once again made herself known. “No way! Look at that thing! If it goes in a circle, then it’s larger than the chamber!”

“She’s right, ya know.” Phosphorus tapped a hoof on the object in question while siding with the pegasus. “This here object might be able to take the blast, but Ah doubt Slide would be able to keep the ceiling from--”

It was at this point that Phosphorus just happened to hit the space between the two parallel arches, and had his hoof sink up to the fetlock. Quickly recovering it, he could only shake off the loose sand clinging to it before the sound of escaping gas caused the group to tense up.

Once the noise had stopped several minutes later, they took a collective sigh in relief.

“Well… That was certainly interesting.”

“You can say that again, Slide!” Aqua took flight and hovered over the object, poking it with a forehoof. “I doubt it will do anything else. Probably some sort of gas pocket. It should be ove--”

A harder than normal poke caused the arches to suddenly sink down into the metal backing. The sudden lack of support caused a small landslide that LandSlide was quick to halt. Once everything settled again, the entire group stood still for fear of causing another reaction from the object.

“Well… That was exciting!”

Black was quick to glare at Auqa, both for her involvement in causing a problem, and not recognizing it as a problem that could have potentially killed them.

“Perhaps,” Reneigh said, “It would be better if we left it alone until--”

A sudden clanging noise drew the group’s attention to the artifact. The ring, for thats what it was, had begun spinning, causing another landslide to form. Every few moments, another loud clang ominously echoed out from the device. The group quickly came to a collective agreement.

“Run!”

They only managed to get a few feet before the floor beneath them lurched. Then the world seemed to give way as the long forgotten door was forced open under the weight of the materials placed upon it…

Including the digger group.

There was yelling. Reneigh saw Aqua try to fly, but get hit by a large rock. He himself only managed to see a glimpse of a large object rushing up to meet him.

He had time to see a strange circular logo on the wall before he was met with a jarring impact, causing the world to go dark.

Somewhere in the dark, deep underground, a light started glowing on a small metal ball. The light spun around for a few moments, seemingly looking for something. Eventually, the light settled on a large pile of debris that had fallen when the vault door nearby had opened. Moments later, it fell upon one of the equines that had arrived with the displaced earth.

The light hovered over the pony for a moment, before an oddly distorted female voice broke the silence.

“...Huh.”

Chapter 2: Permissible Collateral Losses

Celestia sighed as her guards ushered out the mint colored unicorn. The poor mare had been visiting once a year for the past ten years, and even longer with her mother, both asking for any new information about what had happened almost two decades ago. Sadly, Celestia had once again been forced to send her away with no new information.

The Northwest Arctic Railway Tunnel Project had been progressing slightly behind schedule, but it all changed when a massive cave-in put the project permanently on hold. The surviving Foremares on the project had classified it as a runaway chain reaction that started in one of the smaller side tunnels they had been excavating, but later investigation had revealed that they had irresponsibly turned what should have only been a minor setback into a competition. The resulting chaotic mass of tunnels had caused serious instability in the mountain, and as a result, over half of the entire project had caved in.

To this day, the bodies of the entombed were still being recovered from their unexpected mass grave.

Celestia looked out the stained glass windows of her throne room at the waining sun, wishing that the event had gone differently. She mused for a few moments about what she would do if she could go back in time and change it all. Such a wish could never be achieved, of course, as even the great Starswirl himself had been unable to create a spell able to do more than create self-fulfilling time loops.

The moment of thought was sadly doomed to end. One of the guards at the door gave a slight cough, bringing her attention back to the real world. Once again forced to confront reality, she gave a small nod, indicating for the next petitioner to be let in. The guard acknowledged her with a quick nod of his own before quickly darting out of the room. After what seemed like an eternity for the solar monarch, the guard returned.

“Announcing Fatal Error,” the guard called out with a slight frown at the morbid name, “Agent of the A.S.R.F.”

Celestia was used to one of her little ponies occasionally naming their foals strangely, but even for her this was a little odd. Add to the fact that she had never heard of this ‘A.S.R.F.’ group, and why they would send an ‘agent’ to see her--let alone have them in the first place--, and it was quite troubling. In fact, if the expression worn by the guard that had remained by the door was anything to go by, he was in agreement with her.

After the announcement, what appeared to be a pony wearing a cloak walked into the throne room. Each step they took made the sound of metal on stone, indicating that they were likely wearing horseshoes. They also seemed to stalk rather than trot, moving far more smoothly than a normal pony. Sadly, the cloak they were wearing obscured almost all of their figure, leaving only part of a mask to stick out from under the hood.

The pony approached the edge of the throne’s dias before the guards decided to intervene. It was only when the guards had moved to intercept way that the cloaked figure showed any signs of slowing down. Once they reached as close to the throne as they could, the figure quickly reached for something under their cloak.

The guards, already nervous from the figure’s proximity and a seeming lack of respect for their princess, suddenly tensed up, readying themselves to defend against an attack. The guard’s horns flared with light, stun spells readied for use. The figure seemed to notice this, and halted for a moment before continuing their action at a much slower pace. Once the object was retrieved, it was lightly tossed forward.

The object turned out to be a simple set of saddlebags made out of some sort of exotic material. The sudden jarring that they took from hitting the floor caused them to fall open and spill their contents out on the lower level of the dias.

‘Salt?’ Celestia thought upon seeing the contents. ‘And are those... Diamonds?’

After having tossed their saddlebags, the cloaked figure took two measured steps backwards and dropped into a slight bow.

“Greetings, my dear Celestia.” The cloaked figure’s voice was too androgenous to tell their gender. Confusing the issue even more, it sounded like they had some sort of masking spell, making everything they said seem distorted. “On behalf of my country and employer, I greet you.”

The cloaked pony then stood up, and looked directly at the bringer of the sun. The mask the agent wore, now in full view, looked as though a pony had taken a metal block and attached all manner of strange metal pieces to it in ever increasingly complex layers. The overall effect gave the agent a visage that resembled a pony in nature, but with a dizzying array of harsh metal edges. The only thing that even hinted at a pony being underneath the mask were the two crimson colored eyes that the mask failed to conceal.

When the agent spoke next, however, the mask was revealed to not be just a normal mask. Each movement he made was mirrored perfectly by the components on the mask. Truly, it was as though somepony had taken a pony’s visage, and crafted it out of clockwork.

“I have been authorised by my noble employer to offer the items you see before you in a trade.” The clockwork mask, softly clicking with each movement, showed an expression of vague disinterest. “What my employer desires is simply information; specifically, an answer to a small question.”

Celestia, momentarily stunned by the almost living work of art in front of her, quickly brought herself back to the living world with a shake of her head.

“And what would that question be, my little pony?”

The mask displayed a brief expression of amusement at her statement before returning to an indifferent glare to deliver the figure’s question.

“When is Princess Luna returning?”

Shock. That was all that Celestia could feel.

“W-what?”

“When,” the agent said again, more slowly, “is Princess Lunar Glory, goddess of the night, returning?”

If Celestia hadn’t been shocked before, she was now. She hadn’t heard anyone call her sister by that name in a long, long time. Even more baffling is how this agent’s employer knew her sister’s name to begin with. It had almost been lost to all but her thanks to the test of time.

“How?”

“Hmm?” The figure continued to stare at her with a disinterested expression, as though her question was expected.

“How do you know her full name?”

The cloaked figure stood still for a few moments, staring off into space. Soon, the agent spoke with a slightly more masculine tone.

“My employer once had a sister, too. She too once risked a descent into darkness, though with a different outcome.”

The cloaked figure played with the edge of their cloak for a moment, revealing a hoof encased in iron. Seemingly satisfied with their readjustments, they continued with the same indifferent tone as before.

“My employer’s sister was rather fond of stories, you see. She enjoyed them for their exotic nature, using them as an escape from a world she felt had rejected her.”

The agent paused again, seeming to intently study one of the guard’s spears.

“She especially enjoyed a story about six mares that changed the world. More than once, she recounted the stories to her brother; my employer.”

Returning his focus to the solar monarch, the figure seemed to change their stance, slightly. It still retained the same tension from before, but seemed more subdued now.

“One day, while attending a social gathering, a dark entity sought to use the sister for what my employer only assumes was for its own entertainment. It set a trap for her, and was going to spirit her away while others looked on helplessly, dooming her to an existence of near eternal madness, with no hope of rescue...”

The agent seemed to shrug, but it was hard for the other equines in the room to tell while they were covered in layers of fabric.

“...The dark entity did not count on the actions of my employer.”

A lifeless chuckle sounded from the mask. The way the sound carried no warmth seemed to chill those present in the room, as though a window had been opened to the deepest winter.

“Just as the dark entity reached out to throw the girl to the abyss, my employer saw what was happening and reached her first. As the trap was sprung, my employer threw his sister clear, and instead took her place.”

Celestia found herself speared by the eyes of the cloaked figure. The eyes themselves seemed to have undergone some sort of change, almost seeming as lifeless as the laugh.

“He found himself tossed across time and space before being placed in the prison meant to contain his sister. Sadly for the dark entity, while the sister would have suffered greatly and most likely lost her sanity, my employer was quickly able to thrive.”

Another lifeless laugh worked its way out of the mask, and the figure continued in a different tone of voice; this time more femme.

“My apologies, I seem to have diverged from the question. Allow me to answer it now.”

Celestia hesitated a moment, trying to keep up with all the agent had told her so far. Not only did the story imply that their employer was not of this world, but that they had succeeded where she had failed with her own sister. Soon, though, she found herself motioning for the agent to continue.”

“You see, a long time ago, an immortal queen was buried alive. She was trapped until my employer found her and set her free. She spoke of so much darkness, and with so much pain, that my employer was compelled to help her. With her dominion, and his knowledge, it would be easy for both to aid the other in their time of need.”

The odd, clockwork smile was once again upon the metal mask, and the figure returned to their original androgynous voice.

“It was from her that he learned of the moon goddess's name, and it was from her that the payment for the trade originated.”

Celestia stared at the cloaked agent for a few moments. Something about the reference to a buried queen sounded familiar. Perhaps her student had mentioned reading about it from somewhere? Of course, the fact that they were asking about Luna didn’t bode well either. What was their agenda? Did they want to aid her in bringing about night eternal?

Just who and what is the A.S.R.F.?

“Now,” the agent said, interrupting her thoughts. “If you would be so kind as to answer the question I originally posed?”

Celestia blinked for a moment, quickly catching up. Focused on the task, she quickly took stock of the situation.

‘A group of ponies that I’ve never heard of are looking for Luna. They’re obviously organised, and well financed if the diamonds they’re offering are any indication. Who is this employer of theirs, and who is this ‘immortal queen’? Why do they want Luna?’

Before Celestia could reach a decision, a warbling, chirping noise broke the silence in the throne room. The guards were quick to turn their spears in the direction of the noise, but only found a scroll resting on the floor. The ‘threat’ identified, one of the guards quickly picked the scroll up with his magic, and presented it to Celestia.

The agent carefully watched as the Monarch read the scroll, and wrote out a response on a new scroll. With two quick burst of magic, the new scroll turned into a smoky substance and made its way out of the throne room, while the second scroll was teleported somewhere outside the agent’s view.

“I’m sorry for that,” Celestia said once her task was finished. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you what you--”

“You no longer have a need to answer the question,” The agent interrupted. “I already have my answer.”

Celestia blinked owlishly for a few moments, before intelligently stating, “What?”

“Your precious student--Twilight Sparkle, was it?--just sent you a letter with the answer on it.” The cloaked figure turned around, and started walking away from the throne. “Your response to your student simply confirmed what we suspected, though we will have to confirm it by interviewing her.”

“Wha--How did you read what was written on the scroll?”

“I didn’t,” the figure said with cold humor in his tone. “You simply reacted exactly the way my employer predicted you would.”

And with that, he closed the doors behind him.

The room remained silent for a few moments, before Celestia whispered to the guard nearest her.

“I want them followed. They are not to come into contact with my student.”

“Yes, your highness.”

The cloaked figure was walking down market street when the guards found it. Occasionally, the figure would stop to inspect one of the stalls for a few moments, rarely buying something before moving on.

The two guards followed a distance behind it, trying to stay out of the figure’s vision. While both were armored in the standard golden barding of the solar, one had a white coat and wings, while the other was grey and had a horn. Both were trying to be as stealthy as two beings wearing fifty pounds of bling and using magic could be; the unicorn using a ‘notice me not’ spell so the highly reflective gold they were wearing wouldn’t be an issue.

“What’s he doing?”

The unicorn shrugged, causing some of the gold plates to clink against each other.

“Maybe buying a present for his wife? Celestia knows, I’d rather be at home than following this creep around.”

The two guards watched as the figure turned a corner, and quickly followed into Market Square. All around ponies sold their merchandise, some using carts while others had brightly colored kiosks to catch attention. Those that saw more regular use or competition were even going so far as to call out their prices in an attempt to attract business. The constant arguing of those bartering over prices, clop of hooves, and criers from the larger shops created a background noise unique to bazars everywhere.

The cloaked figure blended right in with the herd of ponies.

“There he is.” The Pegasus said, while pointing at a cloaked figure.

“Wha-No, that’s him!”

The two guards looked at each other for a moment, before realizing what had happened. They both rushed into the market, trying to locate their charge. It soon became evident that they had lost the figure in the cloak.

“Great,” Said the Unicorn Guard. “Now what?”

The Pegasus was about to respond, when another voice interrupted them.

“E-excuse me, sirs?”

The guards looked over, and then down, at a small earth pony filly. She had an off-blue coloration, with a white mane, and looked like she hadn’t been eating right. She looked up at the guards with despondent eyes, and held up a spherical object with one hoof while pointing with another..

“T-that stallion over there told me to give this to you…”

Looking in the direction the filly was pointing, the Unicorn Guard saw the cloaked figure they had been looking for. It stared at them with glowing red eyes for a moment, before smiling turning to walk away. The Pegasus, however, had a different priority and failed to notice this, in favor of attending to the foal.

“Here, let me see--”

The unicorn guard found himself lying on his back. Why was he lying on his back? He had a perp to follow.

Why did his head hurt, and what’s that ringing noise?

The guard rolled over, and tried to get his bearings. He tried to call out to his partner, but found he couldn’t hear himself speak over the ringing noise. What happened?

Looking around, the guard saw a stampede of ponies running away from him, while a few were lying on the ground. Some of the ponies that were prone were holding bits of themselves and seemed to have an expanding red puddle underneath them, while others lay still. It didn’t take long for the guard to realize that they likely weren't getting up again.

The grey unicorn looked over to where he had last seen his partner, and had to quickly look away. His partner was missing a large portion of his head for some reason, and had doubtlessly joined the other fallen ponies. The filly had fared slightly better, only missing her foreleg, but her glassy and bleeding eyes with ears limp against her head dashed his hopes for her.

‘The Perp… They did this!’

The unicorn slowly and painfully got to his hooves. The ringing in his ears was slowly fading away, letting all manner of chaotic and panicked cries enter his brain. He looked once again in the direction the Perp had gone, and began limping after them.

As the situation sunk in, the Unicorn started trotting, and then galloping. As an afterthought, he launched a flare into the air, signaling his pursuit and need of reinforcement. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, and

DATA END

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