This is the second book of "Old Equestria" dilogy. Link to the first one: fanfiction net/s/14067623/1/Around-the-world-through-laziness-and-boredom
Please keep in mind that this is a translation, and some things might sound off due to human factor and untranslateable things.
I highly suggest setting the text width to 1/2, as it was close to how the story was written; might alter the perception otherwise.
Critique is very welcome!
Chapter I: My home - my enemy
— Friendship?! Lost your mind completely..? - some confusing earth pony resented the orange mare - And where are those friends of yours now?
Not that way Sunshine had imagined her visit to Canterlot, and her following interrogation. No, anyone would probably wish to settle on the castle's highest floor, near the throne room, but totally not in a room for torturing. Especially for a few weeks.
Every day, every hour, dour torture awaited everyone inside. First they deprive of sleep, then insult, use magic.. And it all happened while captives stood, without any ability to sit or move. Hooves shackled in chains, and they constantly squeezed and lifted the poor horse. Not giving any way to distract from it.
Naked walls, eternal fire in lamps and soulrending screams from halls and connected rooms constantly disturbed. As if wails perturbed right before the ears - side walls have not reached the ceiling. Obviously, it is another way to torture someone, but that is also a way to dispose of everyone at the same time..
— ..She still has not said a thing? - suddenly, a voice sounded through an opened door.
— N-negative! - the headspony reported - She-
— And the flower?
— No progress either..
However, the presence of the solar pony alone gave no rest to anyone. Too many questions she raised with only her existence. Questions, that she did not wish to answer, and answers for which could not be extracted from this mare's head. Eventually, the flower came useful for her.
— ..We don't know what that is. - punisher excused before the familiar spy - Artefacts are solid, immobile.. But this' a flower! We have nothing abo-
— Remind me, why can't we get into her memories?
— Because it will kill the intruder. And if we act oppositely - remove the organic - it will kill her. Most li-
— How do we know about this?
— ..I am your third assistant. Gasl-
— Enough. - agent's shout immediately silenced every voice and moan around - Too slowly. Tend to her belongings. I will tend to her myself.
Though, because of it, the horse could not move an inch as well. As if this plant controlled the flow of energy, and the orange body received just enough for it to survive. And only the mention of winged mare's equipment was enough to shaken her up:
— W-wait! You-
— Execute it. ..The order, I mean. You haven't searched through the whole bag; it is obvious.
And even that was not for long - the moment when sabre with animate bags left the orange pony's field of view, strength with emotions also left her. No matter how Serendipitous tried to liven up the captive, he failed every time. Only some separate lines, threats and taunts went through the pony's head:
— ..Such insignificant body material. Midget! Ginger scum..! - sounded immediately before a bonerending punch - ..You are unable to listen. You are unable to copy others. Who needs you anyway..? - again, another successful attempt at harming - ..Abomination. We will cleanse you all soon. Answer! Clopburg? Fillydelphia?
Yet she remained silent. No matter how much more it continued, how painful it was, the red-eyed mare mutely gritted her teeth. She did not betray her friend, did not betray her brother and has not told of any meeting with dissenting folk or dragons. And this sadist seemingly wanted that outcome.
He could do as he pleased. The stallion certainly received delight from this fact. Not that anyone could restrict him, but absence of progress gave the inquisitor more time for abuse. Other than that, it seems like the horse guessed about what the mare kept quiet about. Or is it a bluff?
— ..Maybe, Old Equestria? - the villain laughed at the half-dead horse - Don't pretend you misunderstand. I've seen enough of your movements and reactions.. You are predictable. You are too righteous, and your understanding of righteousness is too warped from our reality.
— ..You don't know anything about me!
— No need for that. Soon, everyone will know more about you. Without your involvement.
Despite the expectations, the government cutthroat healed not too serious traumas with spells, and freed the horse. But why? All those weeks, all he did was come and harm her! There must be a reason for this, a purpose. Like with the eastern vizier, or Curiosity at the beginning.
— Audience. - unicorn read another one's confusion - They heard enough of your screams - now want to hear some words. You will stand before the princesses, and will not dare to behave like an uncultured peasant. You will tell them everything you know, and maybe, we will condescend and you'll live in a dungeon, not rot in a cesspit.
And so the pegasus was led into the throne room. Even though it was not that much of a walk, the regalia hall already felt as sizable as a few homes of common folk - the mare simply could not be heard from a distance. And the height of this room, the amount of columns and all the possible decorations said a lot. Vulgarity.
Someone who would actually love nothing but the gold, and artsy sculptures about their own magnificence, surely has many problems and complexes; not only lack of taste. And the stained glass that tells some kind of a story? That is not what Moonrise had taught Sunshine. Only the looks of rulers appeared true.
Two big horses, winged and horned at the same time, embodied two common events that allowed life on Earth to exist in the first place. But what about science? And dragons? Could not be for everything to circle around one planet with ponies, can it? What about other celestial objects? And the shape of Earth itself..?
— Princess Celestia, princess Luna.. - the agent deeply bowed - ..This is the pony that disrespects your laws and teachings. Calls herself Sunshine, and-
— Don't you see that we are talking? - white alicorn have not even turned towards their servants - What of it for us? Why should we care, why can't this wait?
— Disturbances in the north and centre of Equestria appeared because of her. She might know something about-
— Oh, I see.. Alright. - finally, the big sun pony turned her head towards the captive - She shall speak now.
The rulers behave quite oddly for their titles. On thrones they lied, not sat; etiquette they shone, not followed; respect they held for no one, even their loyal lackeys.. Would the ancestors of the house of Sunrise somehow tell not all the truth and details? How much worse can it be?
If the princesses expected some kind of respect and excuses, from the one who was followed by the secret services, then they were deeply wrong. Just as audacious as they settled on their tall seats, the little pony stood forward and condemned the horses out loud, without formalities nor fear:
— Why don't you watch over things in Equestria?
— Watch? Pfft, we bring them in order. - ranted the many-maned horse - Stability everywhere, nothing happens and nobody disturbs us. Everything went according to plan, until you showed up.
— What stability?! What about Dome? There-
— How dare you raise your voice on us?! - the princess angered, not expecting such bravery - Dome itself is fine. Got burnt a bit, so what? They'll rebuild it anyway. Hundreds died, but we - are safe. Oh, and your demonism and intervention shaken up the folk enough. We don't like it. We don't like you.
How could such mighty creatures think only about themselves? They are immortal, and certainly have enough skills and knowledge; have all the pony races' features, after all! They wear platinum necklaces! And with all this power, those two mares do nothing at all! Even more so - encourage this inaction. Before the case relates to them.
— And what about the legends? You came from the nightly sky to help us!
— Of course. And we help - don't let you all murder each other. We are keeping the important population here, in Canterlot. We know what's best. Who are you to teach us?
— I am..! - winged pony shut her mouth in time, perfectly realising what this revelation might cost her - And who you are? Who is this Luna? Why is she so quiet, and almost not a word said about her anywhere? Is she not ashamed to sit where you do?
— ..Do I really have to speak, during day, with some coloured trifle?
Indeed, depicted like from legends, with all the embellishment in appearance. However, the personalities seemingly left forgotten. Alicorns have not behaved like this neither in early stories, nor in new ones! Not that anything was said about them other than eternal praises.. But what about other tales? Trouble as well?
— ..And elements of harmony? - orange one continued - Is this harmony? You-
— You going to believe each and every story now, inside and out? - laughed the snowwhite horse - Harmony means balance, and balance means presence of evil. We don't want any evil - only the good. We are doing the go-
— You! - winged mare stomped her hooves on marble - You are doing evil! You are nothing but bandits and usurpers in the eyes of others! Look from their pers-
— Who are you anyway to tell us-?
— Shut up! - screamed Sunshine - You will not dare to speak to me like this! You are unworthy to be called princesses! Cling to shiny metal, embrace the lying flattery; disgraceful! Maybe you even organise public orgies now?!
The governers glanced at each other and looked at the audacious pony in such a way, as if she guessed everything. Or they simply have not seen anything bad in all she pointed out; maybe all at once. However, the reaction to this provocation, as well as common pony's courage, is more important than answers.
Sunshine appeared almost as the incarnate of complaints, of every creature's discontent. If anyone else would stand in her place in such a minute, with the same thoughts in mind, they would hardly put any word about it. Who were not led by coin - were led by fear. But those like this pony, were led by unyielding principles.
It would seem that all the brave dissenters were disposed of through those two hundred years. However, this pony now appeared, and she dares to say what is on her mind! No titles, ranks or privileges defended anyone from facts. Facts, that demonstrated the imperfection of their system. Facts, that current rulers undoubtedly disliked.
— ..You heard this? - Luna could not believe her ears - Serendipitous Gaslighter! Why didn't you deal with her? Why do we have to hear inconvenient and awkward questions? Why aren't you silencing her when she dares to yell some rubbish? - she squinted, not moving her eyes away from the guilty agent - ..And why are you displeased? What, your duty isn't satisfying, your privileges aren't enough?
— No, I.. - the unicorn visibly disgusted when he was called by his full name - I thought, that-
— He thought, look at him. - Celestia spitefully snorted - Have we asked you to think? We asked for results. We are not concerned by your troubles. We gave you everything, both for work and pleasures, and you dare to make us worry?! Useless! ..I will simply do it all myself.
— No! - the spy suddenly yelled.
It is probably hard to learn something, when there are almost no educational facilities, with lots of bans on public studies. And to think of it, should appear very clear for demigods, that magic is a serious matter. Very obvious, that the loyal unicorn tried to protect the rulers this way! But, probably, not for them..
— What was that?!
— She has an artefact, it's-
— Are you thinking that I can't deal with it?
..Otherwise, how could one ignore such threats like this? How could one not know about artefacts and their unpredictability? Canterlot has many libraries with forbidden books - and those two have not read themselves the volumes, they hid from foreign eyes?
— With all due respect - yes! She is from Ol-
— I don't even want to hear it. Out, take her away from our eyes. Do whatever you want with her - interrogate, pluck her feathers, plough for decades, but not here. And don't you dare bother us with this anymore. Oh, and kill her in the end. Likes of her should not live in the same world with us.
— ..With pleasure.
Blue-haired stallion could not do anything, but obey and prepare mentally for passing some kind of sentence. Even though the horse completely disliked the princesses' act, like he behaved towards every other creature, he quickly regained his mood back.
Though, not for long. Should the pair return to the torture hall and walk away from the alicorn room, when something scared the unicorn. One of the torturing chambers suddenly opened, and a disfigured body fell out of it. A body of that same mare torturer.
Unicorn understood who this inside-out carcass belonged to, only because he knew the punisher himself. Strange thing is, she was not just lying on the door - she was seemingly placed on it in such a way, that the dead pony would open the chamber in a needed moment. To distract.
Immediately, the moment when the agent hesitated, Gambit jumped from a room opposite of the stallion, with the sabre in fangs. The changeling kicked the door at lightning speed and pierced the neck with the weapon. And the bug continued to advance, spitting out a hidden smoke bomb into the muzzle!
— Sun, window behind corner! Move!
Not only did the plated insect cut any visibility for the villain, but he brought even more harm by forcefully wringing out the weapon from the horse's neck. Blood poured down quite audibly, even through many other sounds, but that did not stop the unicorn. Albeit he saw nothing, he still heard another pony's clops. Even through his own bloodfall.
Whiskered bug ran around, creating any and every inconceivable sound he might think of, trying to guide further magical projectiles away from his companion. However, the fanged creature misjudged a bit - he made noises everywhere, but not near his friend. Thoughtful inquisitor decided to aim where odd rumbling was not present. And he hit something!
..Something marble, that chipped off and sharply flew into Sunshine's leg, the moment she turned around the corner. The same very leg, that a month prior was shot and hit by enemies many times, accidents and not! And it would suffice if it was a simple bruise..
But the magical slobber appeared to be not that simple. All this time, Serendipitous tried to freeze the fugitive and her hidden ally. The pony already barely walked without this trouble, and now the ice almost stopped the little one by quickly growing on her body.
..When suddenly, it stopped sprouting on about half her figure. If the horned stallion would hit her, an icicle would certainly come out of the window instead of a pony. Not without shapeshifter's help, the horse climbed outside and almost slipped down from the smooth stone. How nice of a smooth friend to be nearby!
Though, he actually slid off of marble. However, the plated insect somehow hovered in the air, carried the heavy horse and has not forgotten about the sabre. Everything happened so quickly and luckily, that the bug did not even notice in which direction he flew away.
— ..How did you guess? How did you-
— Shave your shtrength! - fanged bug shut the big-eared horse - Don't shay anything, don't move, zhust hold me.
And so the insect flew around the fortress. How nice, that the lilac insect blended in with white stone, that the Canterlot castle was made of! Even though the solar pony, with shining legs of hers, did stand out on such an empty background, nobody paid attention to the escapees.
But the enemy still gained the score - the bug could not handle such a heavy burden, and he was constantly pulled down. And if he could hold the pony alone, along with her belongings, this grown ice made everything much more difficult. When suddenly, the winged mare moved her legs.
Gambit immediately remembered how the water is made. The Sun heated the mountain and Equestria's capital strongly enough, and the bright castle reflected that same light a second time. And this light with heat might be enough to realise the insect's thought!
— ..You're not thinking about it, do you?
— I do. - plated bug moved the pony towards the star - But is good, You will not turn into flood yourself.
White changeling tried to stay at one place, while his friend literally melted on his back. The moment when she could move all her limbs in every way, puzzled citizens already examined the sky. As very weird things happened above, for a capital.
First, "rain" poured down with not a single cloud nor announcement, and then they saw a changeling! Only thing this surrealism lacked is weapons falling from the sky.. And it also happened, while the shapeshifter explained himself to the little one! The panic quickly swarmed the closest Canterlot boroughs.
Thankfully, the insect got close enough to the ground while he executed his idea. Covering the tracks and hiding appeared easy for the friends, but continuing in the same way.. It is probably very hard to stay quiet near sharp bushes, not to mention unpleasant and light-reflective flowers!
— Why didn't you make your wings bigger? Or your win-
— It would reveal us faster.
The bug quietly shut the exhausted mare's mouth and moved his antennas. Not even five seconds had passed, when a whole detachment of guards came out of another archway, thoroughly looking for troublemakers. Friends understood each other from half a word. More exact, from half an action.
