7 - Thorns of Truth

The three friends stared at Shining Armor; for the first time Rainbow Dash and Applejack believed that he was telling them the truth, and for the first time they wished he wasn't. Twilight was just as horrified as her friends, but her horror was offset by the excitement of learning something totally new and quite unexpected. She resolved to get all the facts out of her brother as quickly as possible. “If there are already Rangers in the forest, can't Celestia just send a message to one of them since they're a lot closer to Storm and Cadance then we are? Don't they have dragons?”

“They don't have dragon assistants like Spike, but even if they did, it wouldn't make any difference. The fabrics of magic are different in the forest making the dragons unable to send or receive messages once they’ve crossed the border. We can't use drums or horns or anything like that to communicate either. We tried that a long time ago, but it wasn't long before the terrormongers decoded out messages and began sending out false signals to lead Rangers into traps. For every legitimate message that was sent, ten fake ones were relayed. Many Rangers were led to their deaths by the brilliant forgeries, and the signals that were legitimate were usually ignored by whoever heard them in case they too were frauds. Changing the codes wasn't much help either, because the terrormongers are telepathic and would simply rip the new codes out of whatever Ranger they caught. The only safe way to spread messages is in person. Even so, seeing as how anypony you meet in the forest might well be a changeling, combined with the fact that every Ranger squad keeps its specific routes secret, makes it almost impossible for news to spread quickly. The fastest way to reach Storm and Cadance will be to go ourselves.”

Twilight took the moment’s silence to note Shining Armor's curious language, “You keep on saying 'we' whenever you refer to the Rangers, but you’re with the Royal Guard.”

“I'm both. Membership between the Rangers and the Royal Guard overlaps, far more then you might think.”

“So how do the Changelings and terrormongers get along?” Rainbow asked, for the first time with a note of respect, “Do they fight each other?”

“No; they’re allies. We are unsure of the exact nature of their agreement, but it has something to do with ponies clinging more tightly to each other when they're scared, making the terrormongers desire for fear and the changelings’ desire for love symbiotic. There are also wild beasts: manticores, cockatrice, timber wolves and so on. These, by themselves, are little more than pests to the battle hardened Rangers, but they become tools of death in the claws of a terrormonger. Terrormongers don't seem interested in feeding off the fear of unintelligent creatures, perhaps they're unable able to, but they can still fill their minds with visions of fear, and then use those fears to bend animals to their will. It’s rare to see a terrormonger necromancer without at least a few wild animals acting as an dark honor guard, and waves of predators driven mad by fear will accompany the ghosts conjured by the terrormongers’ dark arts. In battle terrormongers will summon several phantom creatures for every real creature they control making you will think you are beset by scores of wild animals. Only a few of them will be real, but you have no way of telling which are real and which are fakes until you actually hit one, and so you are forced to fight them all, and hope you don't spend your strength fighting an illusion while a real enemy grabs you from behind. Meanwhile the terrormonger will be feasting on your fear and using it to create more phantom monsters.”

The more Shining Armor talked the more uneasy was for Cadance’s chances of getting back safely to Equestria. There had to be some good things about this war—if they were still alive it meant the Rangers had been capable of protecting them so far which meant they must be at least as powerful as the terrormongers. “Are all the Rangers ponies?”

“Most of them are, but we have an alliance with griffons of Gryffindor who send us contingents of soldiers on loan or sell us groups of convicts. There's also a tribe of diamond dogs who initially came to the forest looking for gems, but became warriors when they realized how much was at stake and now maintain a stronghold called Uthraig between the third and fourth dragon walls which serves as the Rangers main base of operations.”

"Dragon walls?" asked Twilight curiously.

Shining Armor froze; "In the middle of the forest." he corrected.

“Earlier you mentioned dragons and ursas being the reason we weren’t already dead. How do the dragons fit in?”

“I'll tell you later, if necessary.”

“You might not get a chance later.”

“Seriously Twily, you do not want to know.”

“B.B..”

Shining Armor sighed, “About two centuries ago, Celestia came upon an unusual egg, abandoned and uncared for. She took it back to the palace and the egg hatched into a baby girl dragon of a breed she'd never seen before. She raised it as a companion, but one day the dragon suddenly changed and became ravenously greedy. The greedier it got the larger it got, and the larger it got the more it could grab, the more it grabbed the greedier it got, so by the end of the day Celestia's gorgeous little pet had become a monster.

In order to protect Canterlot, Celestia had the beast restrained and released deep within the Everfree Forest. The dragon established a horde of gems, which are common in the forest, and began protecting it. Unexpectedly, the terrormongers began avoiding that part of the woods for fear of the dragon, allowing the Rangers who once protected that sector to move elsewhere. In time; the dragon mated with a dragon native to the forest, (which was extremely rare at the time), and laid two eggs, which she left unattended as though she cared nothing for their survival. Two Rangers, who were about to retire, decided to take the eggs back to Equestria. The dragon eggs hatched, and the Rangers took great delight in their small companions, but eventually what happened to Celestia's dragon happened to these two as well; almost overnight they turned from cute little assistants into raging monsters. These too were cast into the Everfree Forest, where they built their own hoards, and again the terrormongers and changelings steered clear of those parts of the woods. At this point, the Rangers started to realize what dragons could mean for the defense of Equestria.

The Rangers started collecting every dragon egg they could find, and sent them in batches to Celestia who gave them to her school for gifted unicorns. Each student was given one egg to care for. The dragons proved themselves to be great study partners; and in later generations we were even able to breed in the ability for the dragons to function as teleporters for small objects like scrolls, allowing Celestia to keep in touch with her students over long distances. But every dragon is micro-chipped during their early days at the school; when they mature, the microchip lets off a beacon, and a specially trained Ranger is dispatched with a portgem that leads to a pre-prepared hoard inside the Everfree Forest. So long as the hoard they're given is too big for them to easily carry; they will not try to move or leave it, so they're easy for us to position where we want them. We form them into great chains called dragon walls that stretch out over the length of forest, each just far enough from the next so they don't fight over territory.

The dragons guard their territories from both Rangers and terrormongers, and will not retreat from a fight, even if they know that they cannot win. The only way to pass them is either with a force large enough to defeat a dragon or in groups too small to attract their attention, no more than ten at the most. This forces both sides to break their armies into dozens of small squads which fight innumerable skirmishes across the breadth of the entire forest, which is advantageous to the smaller army—us. I'm sorry Twilight, but that's the truth. Training gifted unicorns is only one of the purposes of Celestia's school for gifted unicorns, the other, more important purpose, is weapons production.”

For Twilight, learning about the terrormongers was like cold water being dumped on her face, but this? This was like a dagger to the heart. Her eyes blurred, and she thought of sweet, innocent little Spike, who was at that moment making food for her. She had only been away from him for an hour, and she missed him already. How could Celestia have kept this from her!? She told Celestia everything she learned about friendship and magic, but it looked like Celestia thought it perfectly all right not to tell her that the entire purpose of her education was a lie! “It can't be true. Please tell me that it’s not true.”

“It is true, but don't make it sound like it’s that bad. If the dragons were born in the wild they would spend their childhood alone, mature, gather a hoard and protect it for the rest of their lives. With our involvement they spend their childhood loved and cared for by Celestia’s students as they assist in training the future leaders and magic professors of Equestria. Then, when they mature, they are given an already started hoard which they are happy to protect, and in doing so protect Equestria. I know it’s hard to accept; but this takes nothing away from their quality of life, it adds to it, meanwhile the benefits to Equestria can hardly be measured.”

“But it's all a lie! The whole school is a lie!”

“No it’s not. The school was training unicorns long before it started training dragons. Adding an extra purpose to the school has not diminished its original function; it has only expanded it.”

“It won't happen to Spike!” insisted Twilight desperately, “Spike already matured once; he got big, but came to his senses and turned back into a baby dragon. He can fight it, he doesn’t have to change.”

“He's delayed maturation but hasn’t canceled it. One day he will leave; it’s natural. All I can say is cherish every moment you have with him, because you won't know what day with him will be your last.” Shining Armor leaned over to stroke his sister’s mane with his horn but she recoiled. Shining Armor knew from experience that too much information at once could be burdensome. He needed to make her think of something else, “The ursas are native to the forest;” He said gently, “Dragons are useful for turning away moderate assaults, but sometimes the horrorlords of the terrormongers will gather an army, capable of cutting through our dragon walls. When that happens, we need an Ursa to stop them. We’ve never been able to tame ursas; as we are barely insects in comparison to them. But long ago we learned that large teams of Rangers, working together, could create music, lights, and smells that would lure them where we want. It's the most difficult craft a Ranger can learn and also the most important.

Ursas do not engage in the fighting, if they did they would probably destroy both armies, but if we can get one onto the field, their presence changes everything. The mind of an ursa major is centuries old, but contains nothing but basic animal instincts. Their minds are too large to be deceived or corrupted by even the most powerful of necromancer spells, but simple enough that they can be read easily. The Rangers have developed a spell, which one unicorn can use on a large group of Rangers, which will telepathically piggyback their minds onto that of the ursa. Those under the influence of the spell will see and feel the same as the ursa does. Their minds become immune to the terrormonger illusions and, as ursas typically regard our battles with little more than curious amusement, and the fear of the Rangers will dissipate; starving the terrormongers of useful energies and leaving them powerless. In short, if the terrormongers and changelings mass in the thousands, an ursa major is our only way of stopping them.”

Shining Armor surveyed each of the three mares sitting around him. All of them looked very uneasy with the information they had received, they weren't cowering like frightened foals. Overall, they were taking it better than many soldiers did, and even Twilight was rapidly recovering from sudden shock of realizing Spike's true purpose in 'her' education. Finally Shining Armor's eyes rested on Rainbow Dash, “We need to go, Rainbow Dash. I have done as you demanded, and told you and your friends everything about your mission. Now, in the name of the Princess, I command you to ready the Wonderbolts and help me find Cadance and Storm.”

“You’re going?” Twilight sounded surprised.

“I am, and as Captain of the Royal Guard, I'm assuming command of the mission.”

“But you just got here, and are still weak from keeping the shield up for so long.” Twilight reminded him, “The Princess sent you here to rest; there's no way you can go on this mission in your condition.”

“My fiancé, my friend, and my body are out there in that forest. I won't rest until I know they're safe and I couldn't rest now even if I tried.”

“The Wonderbolts will travel faster without having to wait for earthbound ponies.” Dash said confidently, “The whole point of us coming is to cover a lot of ground quickly, and you won't be of much help there.”

“Ten miles in the right direction is better than a hundred in the wrong direction. Really, do you have any idea where to start looking? I know the general area where Storm lives, but if I'm off within ten miles, which could be caused by just an eight degree failure with plotting our course, that would leave more than three hundred square miles of dense forest to search, for something which is going to be hidden. I'm coming and that’s final.”

“Then I'm coming too.” said Twilight, “The Princess told me to watch you and make sure you were OK. That would be hard to do from Ponyville if you’re in the forest.”

Shining Armor looked at his sister, not surprised by her audacity, but worried for her safety, “You took self-defense at Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns, correct?”

“Top of my class,” smiled Twilight proudly, “As usual.”

“Did you read those books I sent you on magical combat techniques?”

“Yes.”

“Did you practice them?”

“Along with the bonus materials referenced in the back, and I got a ninety-eight percent on the written test.”

Shining Armor smiled, “That's my sister. You can come, but remember this won't be a book; this will be real, do or die situations. If you come, you will do exactly as I tell you, or you may not get back alive.”

“Agreed,” promised Twilight.

“I'm coming too!” Ever since Shining Armor first mentioned the Rangers, Applejack had been so quiet the others had almost forgotten she was there. They were surprised to hear her speak up so suddenly and with so much certainty.

“That's OK, Applejack,” said Twilight moved by her friend’s loyalty, “You don't have to go, the three of us and the Wonderbolts can find Cadance and Silent Storm.”

“Not on your life!” yelped Applejack, “Ain't no way that you’re leaving me behind on this one; there ain't no way!”

“You will stay,” said Shining Armor with equal resolution, “This does not concern you.”

“Not my business? How can my family not be my business?” Applejack's voice sounded like nothing Twilight had ever heard, and she thought she saw her blinking tears out of her eyes. “I won't be left behind again. I won't!”

Twilight looked at her friend in confusion, “We've always taken you on our adventures, when did we ever leave you behind?”

Applejack looked down between her hooves, “You didn't.”

“Then who did?” asked Rainbow, who was just as confused at Applejack's sudden surge of emotion as Twilight.

Applejack looked between her friends and then answered in a voice full of hurt, “My papa.”

Twilight was stunned, “You’ve never said anything about your parents before, not ever.”

“Well that's cause you never asked! It’s not something we really talk about.”

Shining Armor regarded her solemnly, “Who was your papa?”

Applejack fought for a minute to get her feelings under control, “His name was Lasso Mac—even had a lasso for a cutie mark. He was the best darn rodeo king ever to set hoof inside the ring. He was amazing, Twilight, you should have seen him; he’d fill his lasso with dozens of little whistles, so he could play them like an instrument, or he would weave little bottles into it, that would open when they spun at different speeds and release different colored smokes.”

Twilight looked on in amazement as her friend poured out things she had never heard her talk about before, things she may have never told anypony. So far these sounded like they should be happy memories, but the way AJ was saying them; it was like a dam full of hurt and frustration had suddenly burst and wouldn't stop flowing until it was emptied. “Traveled all around Equestria he did, winnin’ medals and trophies until he met mamma and settled down at the farm. I remember growing up with Big Macintosh, how we wanted to be just like him. When I was a filly he got me my first lasso and taught me to throw it. He was great at the farm too; he had a special connection to the apple trees that kept them healthy and I don't reckon I've ever tasted apples as sweet as when he was growing ‘em. When it was time for apple harvest, he would get out his lasso with the whistles and make just the right sound that made the tree stems vibrate, and all the ripe apples would fall right off, without him even touchin’ the tree.

Us and mamma adored him, but he never stayed! HE NEVER STAYED! He would just disappear, for weeks at the time, and he never told us where he went! When we asked him where he went, he'd say he didn't want there to be any lies between us, but that he couldn't tell us the truth. Tore mamma up inside being treated like that, tore the rest of us up too, but she was the one I heard cryin at night for him ta come home.

I started practicing with my lasso as much as I could, hopin’ maybe if I was as good as he was, maybe he'd want to stay home more; but no matter how good I got it didn’t seem to matter. We never knew when he'd be home or when he'd leave. Sometimes he'd bring strangers home for dinner, sometimes he'd take a wagon of apples away and not come back with any money, but quite often he'd have money that we didn't know where he got it from. But he'd NEVER tell us what was really goin on.

Then one night right after Apple Bloom was born, he just disappeared and never came back. Mamma couldn't take the secrets anymore so she decided to go out lookin’ for him. She followed his tracks into the Everfree Forest and she never came back either. Poor Big Macintosh cried for weeks, and eventually got so wrapped up that he never wanted to deal with anypony again. Apple Bloom never knew either of her parents; Granny Smith was too old and too upset to help much with the farm or Apple Bloom, so I raised Apple Bloom like I was her mother and kept the farm running! Now you’re tellin’ me about these secret Rangers livin’ in the woods, fightin’ against these terrormonger and changelings and who knows what else. What if my daddy was one of you?! The answers could be in that forest. If you know the deep forest, and you’re goin’ in, then I'm comin’ with you!”

Applejack stood squarely and faced Shining Armor down, turning almost as red as he was, but whether from anger or shame at realizing what she had said, Twilight couldn't tell. In all the time Twilight had known AJ, she had never acted like this. Twilight was scared; a few hours ago she thought she knew what the world was like, but now it seemed she knew absolutely nothing about a forest that was practically on her doorstep, or about the truth behind her education, or her brother, or even her closest friends. At the same time she felt compassion welling up inside her for the entire Apple family and couldn't believe her ears when she heard her brother’s response. “No,” he said firmly, “You are not coming.”

“Yes I am!” insisted Applejack, “I won't take no for an answer.”

“This is an urgent rescue mission for two missing ponies. We do not have time to help you run down a personal family vendetta. If you ran off by yourself past the first dragon wall, you would be dead within a day, and I will not have that on my hooves.”

“I won't run off, I'll help with the rescue, but in exchange, on the way back, I want you to point me to where I can find somepony who can tell me if my papa really was a Ranger.”

“Let her come B.B. I've seen what she can do, she will - ”

“Stay out of this Twily!” Shining Armor was sounding more and more like a military officer and Twilight didn’t like it, “I said no, and that's my final answer. Stay here and mind your apples, apple mare. Rainbow Dash, get the Wonderbolts. Twily, come with me.”

What happened next seemed to happen in slow motion. Shining Armor turned to leave, but before he could take a step Applejack raced around, blocking his path. Shining Armor moved to push her aside but she lunged forward with a kick, barely missing his head. Before Twilight could do anything, her friend and brother were both rearing and kicking fiercely. Twilight tried desperately to leap forth and pull Shining Armor and Applejack away from each other but found she could no longer move.

Shining Armor flipped AJ, who tumbled onto her back. Lowering his horn, Shining Armor ran forward as if to hold his horn to her throat; but before he could get close enough, AJ's hind hoofs kicked powerfully into his chest. Shining Armor staggered, and AJ leaped to her hooves in a single splendid movement. Grabbing another coil of rope from another tree, AJ lassoed his front-right hoof and pulled, trying to drag him to the ground. Shining Armor began to fall forwards but stomped his front-left hoof onto the rope, canceling the pressure. Ducking his head, Shining Armor plunged his horn through the rope and into the ground; then, flicking his head back up, he sprayed Applejack's face with loose bits of dirt and gravel. Strangely, thought Twilight, Shining Armor wasn't using any of his magic. His horn was glowing brightly, but she could see that it wasn’t having any effect. She tried again to move, but still seemed to be paralyzed.

AJ retreated to a nearby apple tree, one kick summoned a cascade of falling fruit, another kick sent two apples directly toward Shining Armor's face. He ducked just in time and rolled; then picked himself up and charged full speed. Applejack stood her ground until the last second and then leaped to one side, letting Shining Armor barrel harmlessly past.

Shining Armor cantered around a tree before wheeling back to face Applejack; but instead of trying to charge her again, he slowed to a trot and then a walk, “You’re not bad for a farm girl” he said smiling, “Not bad at all.”

“I've wrestled with Big Macintosh enough, and I'll finish you yet!” Applejack shouted as she charging toward Shining Armor. But suddenly she was lifted off the ground, with her legs running helplessly in the air.

“Enough,” said Shining Armor.

“I ain’t letting you go without me!” Even powerlessly dangling in the air, Applejack still had the nerve to make demands.

“All right, you can come,” with that Shining Armor’s horn died down and Applejack fell a few feet to the ground. Twilight gasped as she suddenly realized she could now move as well.

“Do you mean it?” asked Applejack slowly; wondering if this was some sort of trick.

“First of all” said Shining Armor, “I needed to know if you could fight, and you do, at least enough not to be a liability. You were highly emotional, but you didn't let that block your thinking, as demonstrated by the tactics you used. Second, I can't be sure, but I think the name Lasso Mac sounds vaguely familiar, and if your father practiced making different sounds and spreading different smells over a wide area with his lasso, that could have easily been used to help lure an ursa. Third, there are archives and graves that are maintained between the first and second dragon walls. After, and only after, we find Storm and Cadance I will show you where they are, and you can search for your father there. However, if you come on this mission you will accept my command. I am the only one with experience in the deep forest, and I meant it when I said that if you ran off by yourself, you wouldn't last one day. Do you accept?”

Applejack blinked a few times trying to process everything had happened then broke out into a smile, “Yes sir.”

“Good.” Turning back to Rainbow Dash, Shining Armor asked one final question, “When will the Wonderbolts be ready for departure?”

Rainbow looked down at Applejack's lasso still coiled around her waist, “As soon as one of you unties me from this tree!”

Chapter eight >>> Choices