Part 2
Chapter 8: Meeting Accomplices
The week was over, and I trusted Matilda's judgment. I got up on the final day, wondering how frantic life was about to turn. Twilight lay peacefully in bed, so I took that as a good sign that things would always be okay while she's around. I got up and went to check on my armory.
As I went down stairs I wondered what is was like the last time I'd been home. I was by myself, working my garden and forging whatever I could with all the ores in the mountain.
I found myself outside, only remembering myself heading down the stairs. I walked around my house and looked deep in my forge. It was burning brightly. This was so because of two reasons first, it was electric heating as well as coal, and second, my forge never once went out when I didn't have electrical heating, it was raining, and there had been a stream going right inside. I took my well used trail towards the mountain side, to the right of my house. I had been hallowing out the side for a very long time. I had gotten over a thousand pounds of iron, and some other materials.
Next, I headed away from my house, down my trail to my garden. It was fenced in and was cut off from the animals who liked to snack on it. I grabbed the bucket I used to water my garden. I used the hot spring water and it worked specially on the plants. They grew healthier and bigger than they were normally supposed to. They also tasted fresher and stayed that way longer. I left my plants and went to my armory.
I jumped into my forge, which was bigger than most, especially on the inside. I used my small amount of magic to levitate the burning debris as I open the trapdoor and stepped inside. My flames lit up the walls, stones smelted together to make sure the dirt didn't come caving in. The floor was nothing special, dirt packed down from tons of use. This tunnel led straight for around fifty meters of darkness, unless you had flames like mine. Once I made it to the end, I looked around. The square room looked just as I remember: stone walls, dirt floor, weapons and armor piled everywhere. Some of it had even been enchanted. I found it hard enchanting, but most of the tools I've enchanted were compasses, maps and the likes, not really weapons or armor. I grabbed an enchanted pack and through it over my shoulders. I enchanted it so it could carry almost an endless amount of things without having the bag gain any more weight than it's own. It carried anything that could fit inside without bulging in the least. I thought it was pretty convenient, but when I made it a was out cold for two days. I also grabbed a small scabbard with a large combat knife. For some reason this knife was important to me, it had just always been there. The blade was a foot long, and made of titanium. The blacksmith who made this could only be the master of masters. The handle was carved, the details of the small flames more accurate than seemingly possible, as if the only way they could be more real would be if they were dancing. It wasn't bloody and didn't have a scratch on it, so I figured it had never been used. I kept searching for stuff to bring.
Finding nothing more than weapons and armor that I had created, I went back down my tunnel, and up the hatch. I went back up to my room to see Twilight starting to wake. She had a tendency to roll over on her back before waking (not to mention hitting me in the face). I crept downstairs to start making breakfast. I threw the ingredients together, and put them on a pan on the stove, and waited. Two minutes later Twilight came down the stairs with a hoof rubbing her eyes, "I ... I smell...," she put her hoof down and stared in shock at my creation, "PANCAKES!" She rushed over to me and hugged me so tightly I felt a couple of my muscles would pop. "Ohboyohboyohboy!" She picked up a plate and summoned the pancake onto it. Jumping to the table she dumped syrup and a little butter on it. Then she ate like a maniac - no chewing or cutting up, just swallowing. I watched her in fascination having never seen a pony eat like that before. When she was done she looked up at me and giggled, "Oops, sorry..." She rushed off to the bathroom to wipe her face. I smiled to myself as I sat down to eat my own pancake.
A few minutes later Twilight came down saying she was sorry. "It's all right," I told her, "I thought it was kind of cute. Besides the licking plate." She turned bright red, "Still, I've been a rude guest. I need to make up for it." "Oh yeah?" "Yeah." She pulled me over to the couch, and told me to stay. I sat down and watched her bring my stereo over and placed it on the end table next to the couch. She pressed on and put in a cd that was in her pack. Soft music started playing and she got on the couch next to me. She cuddled under my arm, and rested her head on my shoulder. I let my arm fall down on her and I felt unimaginable happiness. I had never felt love for anything. Now, I felt it for somepony, not only that but somepony who would love me back. We just sat there, figuring if Matilda wanted us gone today then she would come make it happen. We were right.
Not too long after, Matilda came rolling towards my house. I invited her inside and we all sat at the table. "What are we supposed to do?" I asked.
"You are supposed to figure out why Celestia has done was she has," was Matilda's response.
"I mean how do we do this?"
"You must enter Canterlot through the sewers, then sneak around to the castle. You must enter the castle secretly and corner the Princess. Then you must figure out what you need to know and leave."
"What about Luna?" Twilight asked.
"I don't know, she may be good or evil. I'll hope for the best. It is time you go now, to prevent any further delay. I know you two enjoy staying here together, and if you stay here too long you will not want to ever leave."
I looked at Twilight. Matilda was right, I did want to stay here with Twilight and just lazily be with her. I also didn't want anypony like her to get hurt so I decided then and there. "We will go now. I am packed and ready to leave," I said. Then I turned to Twilight, "Are you ready?" "I'm always ready to follow you," she said, filling me with warmth.
We started coming up with our plan on the way. First, we needed to head to Ponyville and apologize to Twilight's friends. Then we needed to get supplies. As far as we knew we were supposed to raid Canterlot and arrest Celestia, and that alone was an impossible task, unless we were physco changelings bent on taking over the world.
I went straight to my garden and harvested all my plants that were ready. Throwing them in my pack, Twilight and I headed out. Nora waved at us as we left. We were walking down the mountain when Twilight suddenly stopped. I turned, and she wasn't looking at me. She was looking past me, at I was hoping an distinct spot in space. My hopes were crushed when I turned to see that there were two guards coming up the path towards us. I nodded my head towards them and Twilight followed me down to them.
Once they were about twenty meters away they noticed us. They stopped, shocked. We kept walking towards them. The elder one, maybe a veteran, asked me, "Flare? Black Flare Smith?" I looked at Twilight, then back at him, "Yes, and you are?" "I'm... my name is... Cole Black. I... you don't remember me?" "No, I'm sorry. I've never met any royal guards to begin with, so..." "What in Equestria could you mean?" "Could you be mistaking me with my father?" "Your father? Wait, how old are you?" "I'm 19. Why?" The old stallion seemed to be calculating the possibilities of something, "Yes... I suppose that makes sense... if... . Flare, are you named after your father?" "I believe so, yes. You see, he was murdered at my birth." "Oh, yes that makes sense... I'll have you know, your father was my best friend! Yes, he led me and my team through many harsh battles. My coat used to be white, but after the battles that we went through it changed as dark as yours. I was luckily spared from execution because I had fled for five years, and when I was found they didn't recognize me. For some reason they were looking for your father's team, to kill them. So anyway, here I am, serving the Princess like nothing ever happened." "We need to talk."
They started walking with us, the younger one still silent. "So," I asked, "What brings you down here?" "Princess Celestia informed the whole royal guard that there was a threat up in these mountains, so we've come to stop it," the veteran said cheerfully. " I looked at Twilight, with a 'I wonder what he's talking about' face. She returned it. "Okay. There is something you need to know, Celestia killed my father." He let this sink in. "Oh, I... um, I'm sorry to hear that. Wait, what? The Princess killed him? Why would she do that? It would explain why she wanted his team dead... . So where might you be going?" I looked at Twilight, who was waiting for the answer too. "I can't say just yet, I don't know if I can trust you." "Oh yes, well I may be the only other pony who can tell you where your father's secret armory is." "That would earn my trust, yes." He leaned right over into my ear and spoke very softly, "Under his forge, it is. But it's impossible for me to get there, as I'm sure you know why." He leaned back and winked at me. "okay, I now trust you, but not him." The pony accompanying Cole was eyeing me dangerously, as if he might strike. "Okay, I will tell you some truth. The threat, as your buddy there has clearly figured out, would be us." "I understand, if Celestia really killed your father, you would be a threat to her, even if we don't know the reason. You don't know the reason right?" "No, I don't. It doesn't make sense to me why Celestia would kill my father. So Twilight," I said motioning to Twilight, "and I are going to figure it out." "So, don't mind my absent mindedness, but are you two married?" We blushed, deeply. "No, we are not married. We are just going together to figure out a problem that isn't quite mutual, however both out of vengeance." "I can see Celestia has it coming for her. I will head back to Canterlot, telling her that there had indeed been a threat, and that we had dealt with it. I'll tell her that the threat was... um, a mugger, um, planning on attacking a special delivery to Ponyville, yes. Then I will help you with whatever you need, if it be what's going on in Canterlot, where the Princess will be heading. I'll be your inside guy! I suppose your father didn't have any time to teach you his ..., wait, you don't have a horn. Never mind only unicorns can do it." "I used to have a horn, but it burned off. Don't point out that I'm fireproof, I already know. It burned off before I was fireproof." "Ouch. Uhh, yeah, okay can you perform magic, then?" "See this bag?" I said showing them my pack, "The biggest piece of magic I've ever performed was on this bag. To make it hold endless stuff." "That's quite the piece of work, that is. Mighty handy." "Only thing is it put me out cold for two days afterwords." "So do you think you could perform a spell that's considerably easier than that?" "Yeah, I hope so." "Okay, when I use it on you, your mind should put together how to use it on your own. Are you ready?" "I'm ready." "Here goes nothin'" His horn lit up and I heard his voice in my mind, "Can ya hear me young fella?" He was right, my mind was putting the pieces of a puzzle together to figure out the spell. "I... I can..., hear you," I mentally sent back, the effort not all that easy. I opened my eyes to see Twilight staring at me, concern written on her face. "it's okay, everything's okay." I felt good, having performed magic with out hurting myself in any way. "Very good," he told me, "Your first try was a success."
We walked on, chatting. Twilight had joined in, and she asked if he could teach her too. He said it was up to me to teach her, and that it was a secret to be passed on to certain ponies. I had decided that in the morning I would try to teach her. We finally stopped walking when it the sun wasn't visible on the horizon. We found a nice spot to stay and sleep the night. I pulled out a blanket from my pack, the same blanket Twilight and I had been using the whole time. We had left her pack at my house though. We all layed down, and Twilight was asleep in no time. I was restless though.
It didn't take as long as I thought it would. Cole's companion quietly got up. He was out of my vision, and I could scarcely see him through my peripherals. He was debating whether or not to do something. It became clear he had decided what he was intending to do, because I heard a sword slide out of a scabbard, then hoof steps towards me. I rolled over, away from Twilight and stood up quickly. "What are you doing?" I asked calmly. He was surprised, and he was losing his confidence. He still lunged at me though. I stepped to the side, feeling a battle strategy forming in my mind, instincts telling me where to move and what to do. He swung, I ducked, then brought my hoof up into his jaw. His sword cluttered out of his hoof and onto some rocks, and he looked at me with a hoof on his jaw. I casually walked over to my pack and pulled out my knife, wondering what in Equestria could I possibly be doing. My instincts were leading me stronger than my will. Although he didn't make any noise, I sensed he was getting his sword. My hoof found my knife and I pulled it out, letting the scabbard fall to the ground. Cole had stirred when the sword had fallen, but was now still again, breathing peacefully. "Cole!" I yelled. Instincts telling me that if there were no witnesses, they might think that I had attacked him. Cole woke, just as his companion's sword came hurtling towards me. I turned, swinging my arm around and parrying the sword out of the air. I struck the ground, burying itself a foot in before stopping. I reared back and kicked the side of the blade, bending it ninety degrees, preventing any further use of it. When I turned around he had gone, disappeared. My first thought was that he had sprinted away, but my instincts told me that he was hiding. "What... what's going on?" Cole asked, his voice shaking. "Your buddy attempted to kill me, and now he's run away. I woke you so you wouldn't think I was trying to murder him," was my response. He wasn't too far away, hiding and shaking behind a big rock. I hauled him over to our spot, and set him on the ground. He was in the fetus position, the trauma of what he had committed or tried to commit, had affected him big-time. I layed back down, knowing full well that he wasn't going to try anything more.
The morning came fast, even though I didn't sleep. Twilight woke early, saying she had had the most restful sleep ever. Cole's companion was sleeping right where I had put him down, wrapped in a ball with his legs up to his chest. "What's wrong with him?" she had asked. I told her the story, and she was shocked. She didn't comment on it, and I told her that I trusted him not to do anything else. As I was finishing he was waking, so I added a little part on top of what I was saying, to let it sink in to him, "He wouldn't want to kill me now, as the trauma inside him would surely kill him." He shuddered at that and I knew I was right. It wouldn't really kill him but it would make him not be able to live with himself, and he would probably end up killing himself. "Cole, I trust your nameless companion, so I think you can take him back, because I'm sure he doesn't want anything to do with me anymore. He will not utter my name, describe me, or even acknowledge my existence. I trust him completely, so I don't feel he is a threat to me anymore. Twilight and I will be heading over soon, I hope. Good luck to you," I said. Cole nodded, "It's been an honor meeting you, Flare. I believe you will be as great as your father, or better, and I'd be willing to bet he's watching you right now." I packed up, and we went our separate ways, Cole and his buddy heading back around the mountain to Canterlot, and Twilight and I heading towards the Everfree Forest.
(The main six ponies in MLP are aged between 17-20 years old. Twilight Sparkle has been a determined age of 18 years old.)
(Cole Black is a real man, a veteran, who served in the Vietnam War, from 1961-1975. He was the Captain of the Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron. Just thought I'd let you guys know.)
Ok guys, being you. Yes, I'm talking to you here. I am in need of some suggestions for a conflict in Ponyville. I wouldn't want you to get bored reading about how Twilight just goes to Ponyville and meets her buddies. I need bad stuff to happen! So if you've got any good ideas that you wouldn't mind sharing I've got a couple of ears that wouldn't mind hearing. Yeah, I know that was lame. Whatever. Thanks for reading, thanks for sharing, see you around chapter 9.
Your Fellow Brony - Abridged
