The Misfortune of Clover the Clever

"Lady Rhodonite! Lady Rhodonite!" The muffled and confused shouts barely grazing her consciousness as she lay there with nothing but the cold ground for company.

"Ret! Ret!" The voice of her childhood friend, Sirius, pierced deeper than the voices of strangers ever could. It only took a moment of hearing his concern and panic before she found herself clawing her way back to the waking world.

She took in a sharp breath, her body in agony as her starved lungs took in the first gulp of air they had in far too long. A coughing fit followed as she attempted to sit up, her movements being inhibited by a strong taloned claw.

"Please lay still, Lady Rhodonite," said the gruff griffon with a long scar running down the side of his face. "Councilor Sirius hasn't finished yet."

Upon hearing his name, she calmed herself for a moment as her eyes creeped open. A white glow filled her vision, a glow she instantly recognized as belonging to Sirius.

"What happened?" Rhodonite groaned, her strength slowly recovering as the healing magic did its work. She knew that Sirius wasn't the most adept at this form of spellcraft. Whatever happened, it must've been bad enough that there wasn't time to find a proper physician.

Another moment passed before Sirius let up on his spell, the effort seeming to have taken its toll on him. "You were stabbed," he said, catching his breath. "With an anti-magic dagger."

An anti-magic dagger?! Black Crystal? The kind rumored to be used by Elysian assassins? Her memories were still fuzzy, but she sort of remembered having trouble with her magic before blacking out. But if that was the case, how would Sirius have removed it?

Her eyes drifted back to the griffin that had held her down, the bloody dagger still clenched in his other claw. She recognized this bird. He was the old war vet that ran a butcher's shop nearby. Sirius must've gotten him to remove the weapon. That was smart, she thought to herself. His quick thinking probably saved her life.

"Who..." Her voice still felt a bit raw, understandable, given the circumstance. "Who was it?" She really hoped the memory sticking out in her mind wasn't the truth.

Both her rescuers averted their eyes, confirming her fears. If it was simply to spare her feelings, she wished they hadn't bothered. She had a duty to perform, and her feelings had to come second to that.

That didn't make it any less painful when she spotted the young pegasus colt bound and gagged. Even though he fought against his restraints for all he was worth, the blank look in his eyes told a very painful story.

Lady Rhodonite pushed herself up to a standing position, a task that was far from the easiest thing at the moment. No one tried to stop her, instead choosing to help support her as she hobbled her way over to the fallen youth.

She wanted to be wrong, she really did, but as she stood over the child and felt the traces of foreign magic that had invaded his system, all she wanted to do was weep.

She pulled the colt, Jet, into her grasp, ignoring his protests. Protests, she knew, that weren't of his own doing. He had been bewitched, ensorcelled by the most foul of magics ever to come out of the unicorn capital. Reformation they called it, that was a laugh, for it was little more than brainwashing. No matter how hard she had tried to crack the code on what held the spell together, not even she had been able to safely remove it once it had taken hold.

That didn't mean she hadn't learned anything in the course of studying it. Namely, she had gained the tools necessary to make sure that no one who employed such vile magic would escape her judgement.

A red glow wrapped around her horn, and she used it to feel the unfortunate soul in her grasp. She had only grazed the surface, but that was all she needed to get a feel for exactly whose magic had been used to imprison Jet in his own head.

Now that she had that much, Rhodonite pushed her magic into the void, a space just barely outside reality. A world that only vaguely mirrored this one, but a world where magic could be grasped far more fully.

"Discord, give me strength," she said, muttering a quiet prayer before fulling immersing herself into the void.

Even if she hadn't just been on death's door, doing what she did now took a considerable amount of willpower. The void was not a place for sane ponies to tread. Just a single visit tended to change your views on reality, and she had been here a number of times before. It was just far too useful to be able to clearly see and feel the lives, and more importantly, the magic of everyone around her. Especially when she needed to track someone down quickly, and at a great distance.

Fortunately, her quarry hadn't made it very far. Maybe if they had galloped away at full speed, immediately after their foul act, they might have had a chance, but now that she had found them, there was to be no escape.

Like a hawk snatches a mouse, she quickly snared her prey with her magic. Much like the mouse, it instinctively struggled against the sudden, piercing grip, even without knowing what it was that had caught it. Small prey seldom escaped a larger predator, and that was true in this case as well. All the thrashing in the world would do nothing to stop Lady Rhodonite from pulling her target through the void and straight to her side, where she eagerly awaited them.

A loud and rough pop sounded about a dozen paces from her. The pained and labored breathing that followed was a clear sign that the sudden journey had not been easy on whoever she had grabbed. When Lady Rhodonite opened her eyes again, it wasn't quite who she expected to see, even if she should've expected such a treachery.

Ambassador Mint braced the ground, her coat and toga both singed from her expected struggle against the alien force. Her eyes had narrowed into pinpricks, a clear sign of either terror, anger, or perhaps both. Errant sparks flicked off her horn, a sign she had been unsettled enough that she wouldn't be able to cast spells anytime soon.

"What... What did you do to me?!" She demanded once she saw who was in front of her. "How did you do that?!"

However, Rhodonite wasn't in the mood for answering questions. "Restrain her," she said in a calm yet authoritative voice.

All at once, a collection of hooves, claws, and paws reached for Mint, throwing the ambassador into a fresh panic. That was the thing about a city like Pandemonium. It didn't have a policing force or standing army like other nations typically would. Instead, it was filled with so many creatures who had lost so much they cared about. Creatures like that were more often than not willing to fight to hold onto what they still had left and flock to those that would aid them in that goal, especially if they were powerful. So when the one in charge gave an order, it wasn't a sign for them to get out of the way and let the guards do their job, instead it was a signal to strike, and there were plenty available to do so after being drawn in by the commotion.

Ambassador Mint hit the ground like a sack of bricks, shocked that she had been apprehended so quickly. Although not nearly as shocked when she finally realized her magic wasn't cooperating.

"I'll be the one asking the questions," Lady Rhodonite said as she stood, doing her best to hold the young pegasus still against her chest. "But first, you will show me how to release this child from your magic. Do so, and you may yet live to see another sunrise."

Mint did a double take, and her eyes seemed to come back into focus as if seeing the two of them for the first time. There was little doubt she missed the blood-soaked fur that marred Rhodonite's gray coat, but if it actually surprised her, her face was doing a poor job hiding it.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said quickly, a very poor liar indeed. "I was halfway back to camp when I suddenly found myself back here."

The previously injured unicorn stomped one of her hooves. Not hard, but it was enough of a signal that the griffin with a firm grip on Mint's back slammed her into the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of her.

The Elysian choked and coughed at the sudden abuse. She didn't say anything more, neither to condemn nor defend herself, mostly cause the griffin was still pushing down on her.

"Let her breathe, Clawthorn," she said, at which he begrudgingly lifted his claw. Half a dozen red spots now marred Mint's back, showing where his razor tips had broken the skin. He wouldn't be the first Ret had seen with a grudge against Elysium, and she sincerely doubted it would be the last.

"If you openly refuse to admit your crime," she said, turning her attention back to the bewitched child, "then I will just have to have your victim testify on your behalf."

"What are you..." Mint started, only to have a diamond dog shut her up with a punch to the jaw. They showed a bit more restraint than the griffin and left it at that while their leader went about her task.

Rhodonite really didn't want to do this. Every other time she had, it had been with a full-grown pegasus. It would hurt, and even though she knew it would, they always thanked her for it.

But this was a child, a youth, someone who had barely started living life. The whole situation just felt so very wrong to her. How had the world managed to fall to this point? She may never know the whole truth.

"Please forgive me, Jet," she said as she leaned down to the squirming colt and once again began channeling her magic into the terrible spell.

Same as she had before, she pushed her magic into Jet's body, just barely grazing the threads that held the spell together. But unlike before, this time she pushed a bit deeper, as deep as she dared without accidentally snuffing out his life.

That wasn't to say that what she did didn't cause great pain, but unfortunately such pain was unavoidable as she wrapped her magic around the thicker cords of the spell, freezing them in place. It was a tedious task, one that brought her no joy. She would've gone deeper, would have tried to take the spell completely apart from the inside, but between the safeguards that had been put in place and not knowing enough about how the magic had been developed, this was the most she could do.

Still, it had the desired effect, and Jet's eyes started to come back into focus. It would only last as long as she held onto the threads, so unfortunately, it was a very temporary solution. It wasn't until Jet opened his mouth and began to scream that she knew her work was done.

And scream he did. Not once had any pony she'd subjected to this magic not screamed their lungs out as soon as they were able to, not even seasoned war vets were able to hold their tongues after such a forced silence. She could only imagine the horror of being trapped in your own mind, your body no longer your own as you were forced to bend to the whims of your captor without even the chance to refuse.

Eventually, his screams died down and made way for tears. Jet clutched onto her leg as he sobbed. "I'm... I'm so sorry, Lady Rhodonite," he wailed. "I didn't want to hurt you, but..."

"Shhhh..." She hushed him as she held him close and slowly stroked his mane. "It wasn't your fault. Now tell me what happened."

Jet peeked just over her shoulder, the fear in his eyes and his quivering lip when he looked at the restrained ambassador, making it clear who had hurt him. "I... I wanted to get a closer look," he said. "She saw me... And she... she..."

"Was it before or after she entered the city?" She asked, already drawing a conclusion.

"Before," Jet whimpered.

Lady Rhodonite brought her eyes back up to meet Mint's, venom rich in her words. "Was there any real point to our meeting?" She asked her. "Or was this your plan all along?"

"How did you do that?" Mint's eyes were wide with shock, had been ever since Jet started talking. "Nopony's ever been able to stop a reformation before."

Rhodonite made a tsking sound with her tongue, at which a loud pop followed by a blood piercing scream could be heard come from the despondent unicorn. The result being a lime green pony clutching at a shoulder while gasping for air.

"I need her able to talk, Max," Rhodonite said to the diamond dog who had just laid his paws on Mint. "Please put her shoulder back in its socket."

Max grumbled, but did as he was told. Another pop later and Mint laid on the ground, still gasping for air, although it was a lot more controlled than it had been a moment ago.

"I'm not going to ask again," she said with an icy lilt to her voice. "Remove the spell you placed on Jet or face the consequences."

"I..." Mint stammered, fear clear in her eyes. "I... can't..." She conceded. "Nopony can."

Lady Rhodonite could feel her rage bubbling up in her chest. How dare this creature come into her city and hurt one of her own! She wanted to tear her limb from limb, crush the life out of her, and make her beg for oblivion. A thousand deaths wouldn't be enough to sate her rage.

"Lady Rhodonite," Jet cried into her chest, pulling her from her violent fantasies. "Please... I don't want to live like this. I don't want to hurt anyone else I care about."

Oh, gods. Please, no...

She tried her best to steel her heart. Every pegasus she granted a small taste of the freedom stolen from them had asked this, but she never would've imagined she'd hear it from someone so young. "Are you sure?" She asked. "Do you know what it is you're asking?"

"I don't want to be forced to live like my parents did," he said, tears still flowing from his eyes. "I couldn't... Please... Give me my Last Rites."

Lady Rhodonite couldn't possibly hate her job more than she did right now. The Last Rites were a custom the pegasi had adopted ever since the start of the war. However, it wasn't until she came around that it had taken on a whole new meaning for the afflicted. While she was glad she could be there for those poor unfortunate souls, not even in her worst nightmares did she ever think she'd have to hear a child ask for them. It made her heart break all over again.

Still, she wouldn't deny him those rights. So despite how much it pained her, she still reached into her robe and slid free the dagger she kept hidden there. She had performed this custom so many times that her body moved automatically as she offered it to him.

Jet reached for the dagger, his tiny legs quivering as he accepted it from her. "Better to die free, than live as a slave," he said, reciting the words she had heard so many times before. Fear clearly reflected in his eyes as he beheld the weapon, his pulse and breath quickening as he positioned it over his chest.

That was as far as he made it before freezing up. Rhodonite had no doubt that he believed he was doing the right thing, and she still wished she had a better solution for him. All she could do now was to offer up some of her own courage where Jet's had faltered.

"Would you like some help," she whispered to him tenderly, like a mother would to her child.

Jet tore his gaze away from the knife and looked up at her with pleading eyes. "Please, Lady Rhodonite," he begged. "I'm afraid."

"I know, Jet. I know," she said as she placed her hoof over his and swiftly plunged the dagger into his chest.

A soft squelch and a soft gasp were the only sounds to come from the small body. Even as blood poured out from the lethal wound, drenching the coats of both ponies, Jet didn't cry out.

Instead, he just looked up at her and mouthed a small "thank you" before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell limp.

Tears flowed freely from Rhodonite's eyes as she felt the strain on her magic lessen, before ceasing altogether. Jet was gone, and there was no point in taxing her magic any longer. She gently laid him down on the ground, like she was doing little more than tucking him into bed, but that was as far as that delusion would go.

She carefully shut his eyelids and was reaching for the dagger to remove it when a disturbance tore her attention away from this somber moment.

Shouts and the sound of a struggle was the first thing she noticed. The second was the flash of a spell and the hate-filled gleam in the eyes of the unicorn who cast it.

"It's seems our little assassin has found herself again," she said coldly as she turned her attention to the blast of magic heading her way.

As vile as it may have been, it had been wise to send a child to kill her. It was a method she never would've expected, and a knife in the dark is far harder to defend against than one brandished in broad daylight. But even mired as she was in her grief, it would not stop her from striking back at a frontal assault.

Lady Rhodonite whipped her magic through the air, as casually as one would swat a fly, and met Mint's attack head on. It didn't stop there, though, for the measure of their abilities were leagues apart. Her magic cut through Mint's like it wasn't even there, the first spell scattering into particles like it was little more than dust on the wind.

It carried onward, striking her opponent with such force that the impact must have been heard, if not felt, from several streets over. And if by chance anyone in the area has missed it, no one could possibly miss the bloodcurdling scream that followed.

Lady Rhodonite spared a brief moment to remove the weapon that had ended Jet's life and clean it off on her foreleg. It was part of the pegasi' custom that she would not neglect. It wasn't until that unfortunate task had been completed that she turned her full attention back to the wailing mare.

Ambassador Mint thrashed about on the ground, fresh spatterings of blood following her movements. It would've been a mercy to just kill her on the spot, but Lady Rhodonite hadn't attained her position by being soft.

She marched over and brought her hoof down on Mint's neck, pinning her to the ground like a cat would a mouse. She didn't balk at the gash across her face or the shattered horn upon her head. It was her punishment for striking out against her before the tears had yet to dry.

"Take her to the square," she ordered without a trace of sympathy. She no longer saw her as just another unicorn. All that remained in front of her was a criminal that needed to be punished.