Sins of Harmony
Volume 2: Enemies Unbound
Chapter 29: Old meetings, spilt secrets.
March 20th, 1006 ANM
Flying East at speed meant they gained a day, so they arrived on the late 20th, after setting out on the early 18th.
Travelling with little rest, save for a brief stop in Singapaw, and then in Oahoof city in the Hawineeh islands, the Equestrian carriages took the route over the world's largest ocean, dividing the north western continent and Oceania, and the Far East.
Unknown to all, Varkan had dropped by the office and picked up some old tools of his to use. In addition, he'd called up some allies that needed to visit Canterlot anyway, for personal or other reasons.
Late Evening, shortly after nightfall.
Canterlot, royal palace
Throne room
Still acclimatizing to the time change, Luna had slept off the travel in preparation for her night shift in Canterlot. Now that she was back here, she would be awake during the night routine she could sink back into.
Min-Wei had been hauled off to one of the better holding cells, here as a secure guest, and not a prisoner. Yet.
Meanwhile, Varkan had been confronted by Celestia, in spite of her natural fears because of what he did to her before. Luna had told her about him hiding Starswirl being alive, his return, and the events surrounding him and Tul'rok's 'death' 30 years ago now. All this, and the theories Starswirl had been postulating about the Entity, currently active in breaking the world record for fastest volcanic island growth in the Maldives.
After explaining that it was Starswirl's insistence, for his privacy, it seemed less of a problem now.
"So you've been helping him live a quiet life?" Discord was surprised by this greatly.
"After being trapped in a sort of limbo state when he completed the elements, at least as he says, he's earned it. He compared it to eternity and no time at all, seeing and hearing everything and nothing, unable to interact, especially with the voices he heard from the dead, and the yet to be born."
Varkan's description, by Starswirl's own being repeated, sank in with Twilight: "So, I guess Tul'rok took his place accidentally."
Varkan was quiet, but he then said suddenly: "But we're not here for Starswirl. That Eastern Dragon, Min-Wei, is one of Garnet's top agents, even if he doesn't know it fully himself."
He looked at Celestia, who had wandered up the throne yet again, with Luna watching beside her. Discord too looked to Celestia for what she'd say next.
"I do remember meeting a whole group of Eastern Dragons, about 300 years ago. A trade mission to the east. Min-Wei was the Lord's best sorcerer, and captain of the guard."
706 ANM
Khutan nation, south of Pandania Empire's borders.
The cavern city, built into the mountainside of one of the Mihalayan mountains southern side, was a hub of Eastern Dragons, about two hundred in number.
Celestia bowed low to the Lord of the city, an 300 foot long, but slender elder orange and yellow Eastern Dragon. Bowing back, he gestured and introduced each of his close members gathered in the hall, each dwarfing the Equestrian visitors.
His mate, 3 children, and his lead soldiers, led by his top sorcerer and Guard captain.
The White Alicorn and her guards were impressed as Min-Wei displayed a magical orb in his hand, a symbol of salute among magic users. The yellow and jade striped dragon was crisp and efficient, even if he was the equivalent of a young adult for his kind. Like all the guards, and the clan as a whole, honour was his life currency, and very valued. And by serving his Lord this way, Min-Wei was a very wealthy Eastern Dragon as a result, and content with it so.
After the trade mission set up an exchange deal for valuable fabrics in exchange for rare minerals from the dragons, the Equestrian delegation left. They had pressing business in the Indo-Burmese region, acting as a neutral 3rd party trying to stop a Python and Elephant tribe war from breaking out, and threatening other interests in the area they had. The central continent colony empires were allies of Equestria, so on their behalf they would lend a helping hand.
All the while, the Yellow Magic using Eastern Dragon was most prominent in Celestia's mind, the best that clan had to offer.
She was saddened slightly when she heard it fell prey to a rival clan's warfare, and split apart. But she never knew that Min-Wei had disappeared off on his own, the best among his clan in knowledge, combat and survivability.
He would go far, but she doubted she'd ever meet him again.
Present.
Late Evening, shortly after nightfall.
Canterlot, royal palace
Throne room
After more discussion, it was decided. Min-Wei would be interrogated, perhaps swayed to assist them now and possibly in future. His code of honour seemed to give him a moral compass that could be matched with their collective own.
To help with the interrogation, visitors came from the Oceanic Alliance to assist them. It was Varkan's 'help', one of them at least was on good terms with Celestia. Two in fact.
"Its good to see you again, Charge Bolt." Celestia smiled warmly at her former pupil, and now reconciled ally. The grey and brown maned stallion visibly grimaced at the name, and said with no hiding his irritation:
"If it were anyone else, I'd be more annoyed they called me my old name." His form was shifted to normal Unicorn form, with his 'cutie mark' still visibly burnt around it in rejection of it. After Tul'rok's old Hephaestus group tortured him, testing his horn for its magical properties and how it worked, he was unable to do much magic.
The only reason Varkan had decided to use the data Tul'rok gathered from this unwarranted testing back then, for the experiment that switched Tul'rok and Starswirl's situations, was that they had that opportunity to all but instantly bring many more Wyverns to life. He'd at least done all he could to make it up to Charge Bolt/Ohmen, by giving him the magnetism telekinesis and changeling shapeshifting to compensate.
Slithering beside Ohmen, as always, Caarim bowed his hooded head at the 3 present Princesses, but a slightly smaller bow for Discord afterwards.
Luna turned to Celestia, this being the last thing her day sister would attend to before the night shift: "Sister, about what I told you about before this meeting."
Suddenly turning more sombre, Celestia looked between Discord and Twilight, before calling to the door guards: "Send them in."
"Send who in?" Caarim turned. Varkan and Ohmen looked at the doors, seeing them suddenly open.
Prince Blueblood strode in, followed by a dozen day and night guards, the Prince stopping just short of the Oceanic Alliance trio with a suspicious glare in his eye.
"What is this?" Varkan said, his voice low.
"Luna told me you found something about Min-Wei. We asked what you knew, and you said nothing. So, we want to remind you of your deal to keep the peace with this nation. Openness, and communication." Celestia said.
Twilight regretted being a part of this trick, but it was needed so no tricks were being held from allies: "Varkan. Please, we need to know what you found that was so bad about Min-Wei that you barely contained yourself on the flight."
"You didn't think I was blind to your anger at what you read, did you?" Luna asked rhetorically. Discord simply teleported behind Varkan, tapping a foot on the floor as he wagged a finger at the Wyvern:
"Its not very nice to keep secrets from people, and if you want our help than letting us in on your information is vital."
Varkan snarled at Discord, but he ended up laughing as he saw Varkan's teeth. Or at least, the 2 he was missing now.
Discord looked at Luna as he laughed, who sheepishly looked away. Behind Discord, Ohmen and Caarim shared an amused look. They'd seen the video on the internet, along with a third of the internet using world by now, or frankly any mass media capable civilisation.
Varkan said bitterly: " I was going to use it against Min-Wei, use it to test his honour, or hold it hostage to bend him to our side if he proves less than cooperative. Dragon honour is easily exploited with things they've done that generate guilt in their souls."
Twilight said, hesitating as she spoke: "Just tell us, or we'll go public with what we saw when Kynok led us into the Wyvern city ruins, the murders of the robbers you did over the years there. Before he fled from us."
Varkan whipped to Twilight, glaring right at her hard. Blueblood stood by, his normally snooty behaviour cast aside when an ally he didn't trust was concerned.
"Wyvern, cooperate, and we won't be forced to take you prisoner, for assaulting a princess also, two cases in fact." Blueblood said haughtily, gesturing to Luna and Twilight each.
"Flashbang grenades, hardly dangerous." Varkan said offhandedly. Ohmen looked around, urging him: "Varkan, please."
He turned, looking at the two sisters at the throne room's end. Celestia, then Luna, each looking regretful that they had to resort to this.
Varkan's smile shocked them all, as he said with some surprise: "Well played. Alright, but I'll still be using it against Min-Wei in interrogation."
"Just tell us what it is." Discord said.
Needless to say that Discord was angry at the news. Min-Wei was the one who released the virus that Garnet had engineered, the dragon rabies super strain, the one that drove him to commit atrocious acts, and nearly to Celestia herself on that mountainside.
"But he was deceived himself? He thought the virus would only affect the clan alone?" Twilight asked. Varkan nodded, while Luna looked to Celestia and asked "In light of this, should we still try to make an ally of him?"
"He's more valuable to us as an ally than imprisoned or dead." Ohmen said.
"I don't think any prison could hold him easily." Celestia guessed.
"And that's why I'll use that fact as blackmail, with some tweaking. He values his honour, and like I said, I can hold it hostage this way." Varkan finished.
"No. We should take the friendly approach, get him on our-wait. Tweaking?" Celestia eyed up Varkan, while all the others viewed him suspiciously again.
"Tweaking in how we'd go public with the information. I've done it before, I can make the crimes someone has done seem worse, unless they join us. A last resort tactic, I promise." Varkan swore, bowing to back it up.
"Besides, with me here, I can check if he's lying." Caarim backed up Varkan now, the King Cobra's purpose for being here apparent now.
Uneasy looks were shared, until Celestia stood from her throne: "Alright. But I insist we have an Equestrian interrogating whenever you go in with Min-Wei."
"Let me Princess." Discord said.
"No Discord. You were affected by the virus, your interrogation and friendly outreach may be biased because of it. And I was thinking, that when it comes to friendly outreaching-" Celestia looked at Princess Twilight approvingly: "That Twilight is best suited to it."
"Thank you Princess Celestia." Twilight nodded in reply, while the Sun Princess announced: "I'll turn in for the night now. Luna, the night is yours."
With that, the meeting was dismissed.
"So, Prince Blueblood. I last saw you a few months back, how have you been?" Ohmen asked.
"Well, thank you." Blueblood said, his curt attitude dropping slightly. The blond maned, white Unicorn prince looked at Caarim and Varkan warily as they passed, asking Ohmen:
"Charge."
Ohmen's eye twitched slightly, but he said nothing.
"You know I don't fully trust Varkan right? So, one pony to another, or born a pony at least. Can he be trusted?" The Prince asked.
Thinking for a moment, Ohmen said with all honesty: "He is stubborn, ruthless, and manipulative, when it serves his needs. And here, and in most other things, his views mirror that of Equestria. I figure he can be."
"Forgive me if I doubt that. Especially in light of the murders he did in his home city ruins. Graverobbers or not, from what I heard, nopony deserves such a fate as he dealt to those he killed when they were in the city as he was." Blueblood's comments were stinging, but justifiable.
"Please Charge, we knew each other enough, respected each other. I'm urging you, be careful with him. Wyverns are ruthless and calculating by their nature it seems, I saw enough of that as a leader in the war of the 960s. Be careful that you're not loyal to someone who would cast you aside as soon as it was useful for him to do so."
Prince Blueblood left Ohmen at the doors to the throne room, the disguised Unicorn silently replying to his comments as the Prince left him behind:
"Blueblood, 30 years is a long time since my torture, 26 of which I've worked for the New Hephaestus group as an agent. I stayed that long by keeping on my hoof tips. Believe me, if he sees it useful to be rid of me, I'll be aware of it before he is."
The Unicorn/Changeling hybrid walked off to his temporary quarters in the castle.
2 hours later
Night
Canterlot, Royal Prison
Interrogation wing
The Eastern Dragon sat in the centre of the cell, shrunken in form for comfort. He was coiled up, equivalent of a sitting pose. In front of him, protected by an unseen magic forcefield and 3 guards standing ready, Twilight and Varkan were pleased, and surprised with Min-Wei's attitude here.
They wished the same could be said about any knowledge of Garnet.
"No image, no location, nothing?" Varkan asked.
"Just a call tracer, but its never happened before. He made the call from the Hundian Ocean, by what the traced call revealed. The Maldive islands."
Varkan mused over it, while Twilight looked at Varkan, saying low: "Its the island again, the new one. Do you think the Entity is connected to it?"
"If the Entity is there, maybe. Maybe Garnet is working with it somehow, because his plan with the Migration served to distract while that Entity was created, or given a form to use and change." Varkan theorised.
"Its speculation right now. But, lets focus on the here and now." Twilight decided to take charge in the interrogation/outreach. Seeing the progress, Varkan stepped back. He had the most respect for Twilight among the 4 princesses, viewing her as an intelligent, fresh perspective injected into the royalty of Equestria, similar but more recent than Cadance.
Even if his relations had cooled with Celestia, and boosted slightly with Luna, Twilight was still top in his mind. Discord however, was still the biggest risk in his mind.
Twilight flexed her wings to calm herself, a habit she'd developed, and Min-Wei calmly asked the Princess: "Is there an agreement then? For my freedom?"
"We had a long talk before we came to this cell to speak to you, the Princesses, myself and others. You were deceived by Garnet, we want to help. You've been nothing but truthful."
Min-Wei smiled, but Varkan then came forwards: "Now, I'll confess. If you hadn't cooperated, how easy do you think it would be for the information regarding you releasing the migration virus to be leaked, and altered slightly, to the mass media. Tweaked to say that, for example, that you were fully aware of the virus and its capability and purpose."
Hissing, Min-Wei glared at Varkan. The guard Unicorns charged their horns, but Varkan said quickly: "BUT! But, you've been gracious, helpful. So, a different thing could happen."
Twilight continued, even though she knew this was technically not honest, though she wasn't the element of Honesty herself anyway: "The information can be released to say the virus was, to you, some sort of medicine for a plague in that first clan infected. That Garnet fooled you completely, and so landing blame solely on him, and clearing your name. What little honour you'd lose by lying about how deceived you were would be outweighed by increasing the need to bring in Garnet, more dishonourable than you'd ever be."
The Eastern Dragon settled, understanding perfectly the offer being made. He stood up, his current size much like Discord's a head above Varkan's or a bit more, and triple the height of Twilight.
The golden and jade striped, serpentine shaped dragon bowed low on his form: "It will be a privilege, to work for those with more decency than many I've worked, or taken out."
"Don't forget, that as a sort of probation, the threat of incriminating you with more blame for the migration stands. Once you've proven yourself trustworthy, the blame for you will disappear." Twilight said, somewhat regretful of that condition still being there to guarantee his help.
"You need not worry, and shall not need to lay blame on me." Min-Wei said graciously.
"It doesn't feel right, lying whether or not he makes it up to Equestria and others for working for Garnet, or we have to bring him down." Twilight commented. She walked out of the Royal Prison with Varkan, nearing the entrance.
"Something you'll learn as a leader, is that manipulation is necessary. However manipulation can do good, rather than just bad things alone. Here we're simply upping the drive to find Garnet, who is pretty much the most guilty anyway."
"True." Twilight agreed. The purple Alicorn had to admit that, when not against them, Varkan was a stern, un-amicable yet useful ally.
Before they left the Royal prison, Twilight asked suddenly:
"Um, Varkan. About Starswirl, just so I know, how is he?"
Stopping, Varkan remembered something Starswirl had said about 2 years ago.
"Actually, and don't tell anyone just yet, but he'd like to meet you in person whenever you're available. No hurry or anything. He says he wants to meet the Unicorn, or Alicorn now, who finished his unfinished spell."
Twilight remembered that spell, the mischief it caused, until she finished it.
"From one to another, another to one. A mark of one's destiny singled out alone, fulfilled."
Reciting it, but not using any magic thankfully, Twilight remembered the words. She then asked: "Did he ever tell you why he never finished it, when he asked to meet me?"
"He said it was a complicated spell, but not the most important, and he had to prioritise creating the Elements anyway so long ago."
"So that's why he never finished it? Not because he didn't have the talent, but because he had to finish the Elements?" Twilight seemed disappointed.
"He gave his body to finish the Elements when his magic input wasn't enough. Ho could he finish it?" Varkan asked.
"I know, I was just expecting a reason a bit more, well, meaningful. I thought I did it because I had talent he didn't." The princess said, her impression of her accomplishment dashed.
"If that weren't the case, why would he ask to meet you?" The Wyvern finished, shaking his head at the Princess's mild disappointment.
Smiling a bit, at least Twilight had something to look forwards to in future, when the time was right. Meeting one of her idols she thought she'd never meet in person, due to him being presumed dead.
It had been sort of true, but still.
The protagonist viewpoints have moved back to Equestria for the time being, and the antagonist storyline will develop in coming chapters.
I thought about the Magical Mystery Cure, in relation to the in-Universe explanation for Starswirl's disappearance. What was more important? Getting a cutie mark switching spell working? Or, getting 6 magic supercharging artefacts up and running for the worthy and true of heart to use amidst a magical civil war? [Discord and Celestia/Luna duo were each part of 2 different factions among many at the time]
Given the complicated spell for less payoff in the long run, its easy to see where a wizard's priorities would go to in such a situation. I sure as hell would do such prioritising.
As usual, please review/critique as one would.
