Faust's Commandment

With a creak of the barn door, sunlight spilled into the musky barn and illuminated the dust hanging in the air. It made Pinkie Pie blink and wince on her cot. Her eyes had been heavy and saggy for the last day from a lack of sleep and a surplus of tears.

“Everyone,” came her closest friend’s voice, and Pinkie perked, managing to sit up straight.

Indeed, there she was, illuminated in the waning sunlight like a descending angel, and dressed like one too, with the sunlight reflecting off her violet armor. Twilight’s eyes were cast around the barn, focusing on the other ponies lying on their cots. Rainbow, bandaged around her ribs, only grunted, not sitting up. Rarity was still unconscious, hooked up to an IV beside her bed to compensate for the blood loss from her missing breast, prominently missing from her softly rising chest. So, being the only other one, Pinkie waved in greeting; she couldn’t do much else because of the bandages around her lower face, and if she smiled, she’d hurt the stitches in her lips.

Pinkie’s action only seemed to darken Twilight’s expression, however. It confused Pinkie for a second before realizing that seeing her in this condition would make Twilight even angrier at the Prophet.

“Mmm hmm mm mm-hmm, Iwi,” Pinkie muffled in consolation; it was the best she could do.

Twilight’s lips peeled with grief, and she rushed to Pinkie and embraced her. It made Pinkie yelp– her back was still sore.

“He did this,” Twilight whispered into Pinkie’s shoulder. “That bastard, that monster! Not even Tirek…”

“Where’d he go?” Rainbow demanded, hoarser than usual. “Twilight, did you see him?”

Twilight took a few moments before removing herself from Pinkie and turning to the prone Rainbow. “Yeah,” she darkly said. “He’s not sorry.”

“Figures,” Rainbow sighed. “Twilight, I promise, I tried to stop him, but he… He’s just…” The words in her mouth seemed to hurt Rainbow more than her ribs. “...Too… strong. Gnaaah, I hate it!”

“There’s no shame in that loss, Rainbow,” Twilight reassured. “After all, he was using…” And she stopped in her tracks.

“What?” Rainbow asked.

“Magic,” Twilight said. “Wait, hold on. That doesn’t make any sense, they can’t…” And her face creased in confusion. “How did he get it? Prophets, is that like a warlock? Or is he being brainwashed, or…”

“You’re mumbling,” Rainbow observed.

Twilight groaned. “Yeah. I am. Sorry, I’m just… This changes everything. How come I never thought of it before? Maybe this is more complex than I thought.”

“What are you talking about?”

Twilight whirled around back to the barn doors. “Sorry, Rainbow. I promise I’ll explain everything when we’re all in a condition to contribute.” She raised her voice to the outside. “Captain! I’ll take these ponies in the barn to Canterlot myself. You start organizing efforts to take the rest. These ones need advanced medical treatment, and they’re my friends. Once they’re all safe, I’ll join you.”

Peter awoke, and squeezed his eyes shut. He hissed and slithered on his back, pulling up Zecora’s blanket to his face. A blinding, wavering white light reflected everywhere on the smooth black walls of the Cave of Harmony.

“Flashbang,” he muttered, curling up under the blanket. The blanket didn’t help that much, but it was something.

“It’s just me,” his mother’s voice said. It was echoey from the cave.

Peter sighed and paused. “All right,” he relented. “Gimme a sec.”

“One.”

“Come on,” he groaned, sitting up and stabilizing himself with his hands. He squinted up at the Tree of Harmony only ten feet away; it was rippling with white fire again, all over its branches and trunk. The vivid colors of the Elements of Harmony embedded within were swallowed up in the light of God.

“Arise and leave this place,” Faust instructed, her deep words washing over him like water.

Peter knew the day would come eventually. But… “Where should I go, Faust? To Canterlot?”

“Manehattan.”

“Manehattan?” Peter repeated with confusion. After some thought and hesitation, he sighed and threw the blankets off him. “Faust, I, er, will go to Manehattan, or wherever else you need me to go, but… but what about the princesses? Shouldn’t I start from the top down? If I influence them to pass decrees that outlaw this stuff, it'll fix all our problems.”

“If you do that, Equestria will rebel. And if you destroy the princesses, Equestria will splinter into tribes and factions. No, Peter, there's something else in mind.”

Peter began folding his blanket without looking at the tree. “And I assume you won’t tell me the whole picture because that’ll lead to me not doing what you need me to?”

“Some things can only be learned from experience. This much I will say: there’s a radio station centered in Manehattan that broadcasts all across Equestria.”

And it dawned on Peter just like that. Of course! With that at his disposal, he could get his message to everyone who happened to be listening at the time. Manehattan, the urban center of Equestria if Canterlot wasn’t. It would be there that his message would at least gain traction.

“And you’re sure that this is what’s best?” Peter asked, making the final fold in the blanket.

“Oh, Peter,” Faust said, and there was a wistfulness in her voice. “I always do what’s best. But it’s hard for my children to see in the moment. I wish I could help them more than that, but some things just have to work out that way.”

Peter frowned at that. “Have to? So, wait… You mean all things are all going according to your own whims?”

“Don’t use that word,” Faust sighed, and the fiery tree died down slightly. “My decisions are hardly based on a whim.”

“...Yeah, all right,” Peter allowed, plopping down on his blanket-seat. He was facing away from Faust.

“Peter,” Faust probed. “I sense doubt in you.”

“Yeah, well, what of it?” Peter wearily said.

“It’s a good thing to have,” Faust observed.

That made Peter turn around and regard the Tree of Harmony with a startled expression.

“Without doubt, there is no faith,” Faust taught. “It always needs to decrease, of course, but don’t feel down just because you have questions. I love questions. That’s how I speak to my children. Rebellion, however…”

“I’m not planning on that, if that’s what you’re insinuating,” Peter made known. “I just… I don’t know, man. I feel like I don’t have any say in this, that’s all.”

On one of the branches of the tree, a vaguely humanoid woman formed out of the white fire and stood still, gazing down upon Peter. Peter, upon noticing it, gazed up with uncertainty.

“Peter Damascus Browning,” Faust said, reaching out an arm. “There is no one in this world whose word I trust and honor more than yours. I am tied to you, and I wish only the best for you. I love you, as I would a son. I allow you enormous freedom in actually carrying out my will, but my will must be yours.”

Peter twisted his lips and broke his gaze. A dozen conflicting thoughts were running through his brain. There was silence as he thought of how to respond, save for the soft ripple of flames.

“...Yeah,” Peter eventually decided. All the other thoughts had to wait; he needed to do something he at least knew. “All right, thanks. Let’s, uh, do it, then. Come on.”

And he hoisted himself up and started for the cave entrance, leaving Zecora’s folded blanket behind.

Peter got to the dark mouth of the cave and stopped, turning back to the Tree of Harmony. There was a soft blush on his face. “Er, Faust, I… Is it left or right?”

A ball of white flame broke off from the Tree and bobbed over to the cave entrance as if floating in water. Peter gave the peculiar orb plenty of berth as it came out and began going for the steps leading out of the ravine. Sensing a case of Deja Vu, Peter followed closely into the morning light.

The pale white and turquoise interior of Canterlot’s main hospital was crowded with recovering patients. The worst-injured residents of Ponyville had been taken in and were attended to by a slew of nurses. Initially, the nurses had all been dressed scantily, but after a few serious operations and accidents, they reluctantly began to wear coats that actually covered their bodies.

Rainbow Dash had been discharged after two days, requiring only a minor setting of the ribs and wing. Pinkie Pie, after more permanent stitches were put in, was released soon after. It was Rarity, however, which required a week for proper recovery. Even then, she wasn’t actually discharged just yet; she was still lying down in her hospital bed when the rest of her friends assembled together one slow afternoon. The rest of the ward was asleep or preoccupied, and only a few nurses at the other end of the large room were bustling about.

Rainbow and Fluttershy were sitting on little stools on Rarity's left side. Pinkie and Applejack were on the right. And Twilight, carrying an assortment of files and papers close to her chest, was at the foot, giving Rarity's missing right breast a pained expression.

“How’s it doing?” Twilight whispered.

Rarity’s face pulled with discomfort. “It hurts less than it used to. It’s the, er, weight displacement that’s truly odd.”

Twilight nodded, eyes downcast. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help. Between the other patients and my research, I just couldn’t…”

“There wasn’t much to be done anyway,” Rarity assured her, waving a pale hand. “If the breast had immediately been put in ice, it might have been saved, but… Well, it just wouldn't the same afterward anyway.” She aimlessly toggled her remaining breast like a game controller. “Now I suppose I know how those Diamond Dogs felt.”

“What about magic?” Rainbow blurted out, leaning forward on her stool. “Twilight, you’re sure that magic couldn’t have helped, I dunno, regenerate it?”

“Part of my research was trying to figure that out,” Twilight admitted, coming over to Rarity’s bedside table. “I haven’t had to deal with regenerating limbs before now. And nothing I found said anything about that anyway. If I could, I would have, I promise. It’s just…”

Somber silence came over the entire group.

“Ah’ve seen fillies come over with smoke inhalation,” Applejack eventually said, twisting the bottom of her red plaid shirt. “You were right ta help them out first, Twilight. It hurts, hearin’ them coughin’ an’ wheezin’. Apple Bloom made it out all right– an’ so did Sweetie Belle, Rarity, don’ worry. If Ah could live in a world where we didn’t have to hear them again, it’ll all be worth it.”

“Which means taking care of the… Prophet,” Pinkie darkly declared.

Fluttershy whimpered and began shivering in place. She only had on a small tank top and jean shorts, which could have contributed, but everyone knew it was trepidation, not cold, that had that effect.

“So here's what we know about this human,” Twilight declared, plopping the documents down on Rarity’s bedside table. “He’s from a different dimension. He’s not afraid to kill or destroy to achieve his goals. And those goals are to enforce our collective sexuality into a limited state.”

“Likely so he can seize control over the population,” Rarity sourly noted. “Why else would he do it?”

“The Prophet didn’t seem like a dictator,” Twilight slowly observed. She began sifting the documents and photographs. “He wasn’t trying to rule, he was trying to destroy. And besides, as a prophet, he’s only a messenger for someone else. He’s doing this in the name of Faust. Could it be that he's an indentured servant?”

“Fine, then God wants to rule Equestria. Or the world. Not if I have anything to say about it!” Rarity vowed, swishing a hand.

“If he is indentured, he did a good job of hiding it,” Pinkie muttered. She folded her arms and pouted. “He was laughing when I called him a party pooper! He wasn't ashamed!”

“We can’t rule out magical possession,” Twilight observed, gesturing at Pinkie. “Remember Trixie and her amulet? The Prophet might be the same way.”

Applejack rapped the table with a fist in thought. “That… don’t sound too far-fetched, Ah’ll admit.”

“Especially because humans ordinarily can't even use magic in the first place,” Twilight clarified.

“How do you know that?” Rainbow wondered, then shook her head. “No, wait a second. This is what you learned from the Princesses, right?”

“Yes.”

“How did the Princesses know, then?”

“There's been humans in Equestria before,” Twilight revealed, sifting the documents some more before landing on the right page. “Six of them before this one, to be precise.”

“Does that include the human Pinkie and Applejack ran into a few weeks back?” Fluttershy asked Twilight, twisting an end of her long pink hair.

“That one? Maybe. But… no, I doubt it. Celestia couldn't have known.”

“So wait!” Rarity gasped, hands to her mouth. “So this human you two ran into… he could be the Prophet?”

Applejack and Pinkie squirmed in place.

After some tense silence, Rainbow erupted from her seat and started flapping in the air, her wing still askew. “You mean you couldn’t have prevented this? Taken him in and tamed him before he turned into a monster?!”

“How were we supposed to know? We'd never seen a human before!” Applejack defended.

“Yeah!” Pinkie exclaimed. “My Pinkie Sense didn't say anything about him! He was just odd, that's all!”

“We don’t know-” Twilight began.

“Yeah, well, what’s the price for it now? Ponyville’s a cinder!”

“You can only say that with hindsight!” Rarity denounced.

“We don’t know that the Prophet was that human!” Twilight burst out, and her friends fell into silence. “He might be, he might not be. Nopony knew, and what’s done is done. We can’t change what happened, but we can change what we do now.”

“So what do we do about this human?” Fluttershy meeped, folding her arms around her exposed waist.

“Well, we can’t force him to do anything,” Twilight ruled out, picking up a scroll. “He can take whatever we throw at him, short of the Elements of Harmony. But the Prophet was far more willing to discuss things when we approached him first. We could lure him into a trap, but if he can perceive our true intentions, that’ll be tricky.”

Rainbow groaned with exasperation and pulled at her cheeks. “Come on, Twilight! I know you’re not as bloodthirsty as he is, but we need to match it if we’re gonna succeed!”

“Even if we could, I’m not sure if that’s the best option,” Twilight mused. “I visited him with anger, but what I found was a man with endless power and no desire to fight. He could have easily ended my life– or any of yours! But he chose to either incapacitate or run. He’s not mindless, he isn’t mad with bloodthirst.”

“Yeah,” Fluttershy piped up, rubbing her arm in thought. “He did say that he would kill Zecora all over again, but he also said he was sorry for… for k-killing Angel. Twilight, does that mean he’s being forced to kill us?”

“Humans can’t use magic,” Rarity repeated in thought, putting a hand to her chin and sitting up a little straighter. “So he’s not the real problem here. He’s acting on behalf of Faust, so he needs to be freed from her influence! Perhaps he made a bad deal, or was coerced into it. If it’s true that he is a victim, then we can free him. I would certainly make a better mistress than God.”

“The Prophet still needs to pay for what he did,” Rainbow laid down, jabbing a finger into the table. “I’m not gonna have a debate with him as he tries to destroy the world! That’s not what we did with Chrysalis, or Discord, or whoever the hell else tried to ruin our lives!”

“I know, Rainbow,” Twilight sighed. “He deserves to be punished, and I really hope he does, but… In that moment, watching him disappear into the forest… He seemed unsure. Perhaps it was instead regret, or exhaustion. Perhaps it was even a plea for help. But something tells me we should try to reason with him before we kill him.”

Applejack’s eyes bulged. “Twi… Outta anypony here, you oughta be the most against ‘im. He was even more personal than Tirek. An’ Tirek was awfully violent and unyielding too, but you had no regrets ‘bout beatin’ the shit outta him.”

“This is different,” Twilight maintained, pointing at Applejack. “The Prophet has values, things that he earnestly believes are right. That’s worse than Tirek– he had nothing except hunger and deviousness. Tirek was just a force of nature. A wild dog to be put down. Even Nightmare Moon was driven by something– she felt abandoned by her people and her sister. And she could be reformed. Perhaps this Prophet can too– he’s no use to us dead.”

The ponies reluctantly digested it.

“We can be the bigger ponies,” Fluttershy eventually said. “Show him how to properly deal with our differences. Then Faust won’t have her prophet any more, and this whole thing will finally be over!”

“Once he actually pops back up again, that is,” Rarity dourly noted. “He disappeared, didn’t he?”

“It won’t be hard to figure out where he is next,” Applejack pointed out. “Jus’ follow th’ smoke, right?”

Rainbow gave a side-eye at Twilight. “I know that the Prophet was super tough, but you really just let him escape into the Everfree?”

“In there, he had cover and initiative,” Twilight laid out. “I wasn’t about to lose my life for nothing.”

Applejack, upon hearing this, smiled softly.

The door nearest to Rarity’s bed opened, and in came a light grey nurse with a firm white cap, pushing a small food cart that squeaked on one wheel. “It’s time for her meal,” the nurse explained.

“Gotcha,” Pinkie emotionlessly reported, and stood up. “Come on.”

Pinkie was the first out of the ward. Sharing dumbfounded looks because of Pinkie’s behavior, Applejack and Rainbow Dash followed. Fluttershy looked torn between staying and leaving, but upon seeing Twilight shoo with her eyes, she shuffled out. Twilight gathered all her unused documents up with a flurry of magic, and as they all came together in a pile in her arms, her eyes landed on the records of the Marriage Equality Act on the very top.

Twilight’s eyes narrowed. What if the current Prophet found out about Trent, the first active Equestrian prophet? He could step in and finish what Trent had started.

As Twilight turned around to leave, she heard Rarity’s horn chime to life, and the radio on her bedside table came to life. She tuned to the right channel by the time Twilight left the room and began to walk away. Twilight could still hear the radio’s words, though.

“-very unfortunate news, with the nationwide efforts to pitch in all going nowhere. At times like these, we must come together and unite against our common enemy. Just like we did here in Manehattan so long ago…”