//------------------------------// // The betrayal Part III // Story: Forsaken // by Iron_Hooved //------------------------------// Nemo stood agape contemplating the stallion in front of her, trying to properly register what it was that he'd said. She'd watched him gesticulate a determined set of words, some of which had probably bounced off of her the moment he'd uttered them due to the seriousness of what they implicated but, unless she was very much mistaken, the captain had just suggested that the stallion behind this conspiracy was none other than the princesses' nephew: Prince Blue Blood. The captain regarded her in earnest, keeping to his quiet demeanor, in a mix of amusement and mild irritation. "Uhm, that is... yeah, so... what I... huh?" She finally managed with a couple of raised eyebrows. High Tide sighed. He'd been expecting this reaction the very minute he'd decided to talk to the filly, he knew things were about to get slightly annoying as she prepared to pounce him with a hundred different questions, still he figured that he should keep to the story. "It's true," he insisted, "Blue Blood orchestrated the whole coup and used his influence and political power to rein in as many allies as he could find." "But why? Is he not Canterlot Royalty already? Why would he want to go beyond that? What type of reason or ambition could push him to the point of parricide? His own blood!" She emphasized, suddenly looking sick. The stallion felt his mouth give the smallest of twitches, that was something he also hadn't figured out yet. "I can hardly imagine what it is that tempted him to push the boundaries of morality to such an extent. Perhaps it was power itself that corrupted him so, perhaps he was born with the predisposition to be a foul murderer, but from what I gather I think he has some sort of deep grudge against the princesses." "A grudge?" Nemo repeated, tilting her head just a little. "Ask me no more on the subject," the captain replied, shaking his head, "the only thing I know is that every time we spoke I could but detect a slight hint of resentment whenever we talked about the princesses... before, you know, all this..." he said, bringing his right hoof around in a circular motion. A grudge against the princesses... What could the benevolent goddesses have possibly done to upset their own nephew to this point? It all seemed just too unreal and unjustified. Was there a part missing in this whole puzzle? Perhaps something she'd overlooked? Suddenly her mind caught up to her and she remembered precisely where she was and what was going on. "Captain, why have you brought me here? What does all of this have to do with me?" She asked the stallion suspiciously. High Tide gestured towards the sit in front of him once more, an offer that Nemo took, tentatively so. The enormous stallion then drew a deep breath and let out a prolonged sigh. "I told you before that the death of Silver Tongue was my mistake. Initially Blue Blood wanted to involve him in the whole conspiracy, but I knew that old Silver was too uptight and hardheaded to accept such an offer..." Nemo kept a neutral stance. Perhaps those terms better represented the views of a businesspony, but to an attorney and other ponies who dealt with justice on a daily basis such a stance would've been called nothing short of righteous. "Instead of extending the offer to my friend, like it was intended, I managed to convince the prince to keep him in the dark. I basically told him that, while the D.A. was my friend of old and that I could persuade him to accept such an offer, the more ponies we involved the less slices of cake we could divide amongst ourselves. He argued passionately against my perspective of course, saying that getting the D.A.'s office under our hooves would be worth the investment, plotting no doubt to take advantage in the aftermath of the explosion to blackmail guilty consciences and single-hoofedly guide the investigation in his own self-interest..." The attorney felt a chill crawl up her spine. So the Prince had actually considered involving them into the whole plot. It was both fortunate and bad, for they had been spared of what would have essentially been a threat to participate in the attempt, but they had also missed out on the chance to warn the Princess. "In the end however I was able to talk some sense into the Prince and let him know that the risk he was taking was too high, and that the less ponies knew about the conspiracy the better. After all, how could we manage to monitor all of them if the numbers kept growing? Moreover, these were attorneys we were dealing with, even if we had bought the D.A. one of his underlings might have figured things out. No doubt some self-righteous fool would've found out too much and done his utmost to foil the plan, and murdering public officials could lead us to trouble indeed..." Nemo had found her voice again. Irritated by the captain's insults she stamped her hoof hard on the cobblestone. "Foolishness you call it?! To stand up for your own beliefs and our country's well-being?!" "Hold on, I don't say I don't agree with the thought!" The captain said with haste. "You nobles and businessponies are all alike! Too egotistical and concerned with your own self-interests to give a damn about the well-being of others and even less than that of your country!" She spat with fury. High Tide rubbed the temples on the side of his head, things weren't going how he'd hoped... "I'm not saying I don't understand the sentiment, courage that is..." he began. "Not that I would expect you to. It is certainly difficult to understand a quality which you so greatly lack," she lashed out, causing him to recoil momentarily. "Listen," the captain continued, ignoring the earlier sting from Nemo's tongue, "I think it admirable that somepony would give his life for the cause he believes in, but you have to agree that there are times when one's life is more important than making a mere statement! Sometimes a pony has to do... things, in order to stay alive and fight another day!" Nemo gave the stallion a calculating look, observing him, analyzing him... Just from listening to the way he spoke of his old friend she knew that he wasn't devoid of feeling. Hadn't he said it back then when he held Silver Tongue at gunpoint? "Nothing pains me more for it to have come to this(...). It was sad really, being told that you were poking your nose in affairs that did not concern you. I was ordered to find you and get rid of you." Ordered. From the conversation she'd just had she could gather that the captain had been acting out of fear for his superiors, that her mentor's murder had not been his call to make. The stallion was nothing more than a mere puppet, a coward who could only be but pitied for the unlucky position in which he'd been placed... 'Still!' Spoke a stronger voice in the back of her head, 'doesn't that make him all that more dangerous?! If the stallion was so easily swayed by fear how could he be trusted with anything he said!' To ask the question was to answer it: because despite all that, here he was, coming clean with everything he'd done and, at last, revealing the name of the pony behind this horrendous plot. But for what purpose? The answer became apparent the minute she thought about it. "I see. You're here to ask me to betray my friends, aren't you?" ****** Twilight took a deep breath, inhaling the warm sea breeze as it danced through the sky. She let out a relaxed sigh, focusing on the zephyr pleasantly rushing past her mane. She allowed herself to feel the gentle caress of the wind massaging her tired muscles and relieving her of the heat from the sun's rays. The orb of fire hung high over the sea below her, casting its light over the chain of green hills, blooming with flowers and bushes, where she stood. Truly this was a sight to behold! An entire city had been built along the sea cost, where it stood high above the water on top of these ridiculously enormous hills that somehow connected to the ocean without so much of a hint of sand. A wide strip of pavement, made with white bricks, covered each of the grassy giants, stretching from the top all the way down to the sea where it ended in a stony pier, whose foundations sunk underneath the water. Metal railings had been fit on the very end of it to prevent ponies from falling into the sea below, and business littered the city on either side of the pavement, the majority of which were restaurants. A single line of palm trees adorned the middle of the street to complete the scenario of a perfect sea side town. Eager to get a better view of the ocean, Twilight made her way down the shiny white bricks, carefully dodging the tourists wandering about in search of a good place to eat. She couldn't help but gasp at the unique architecture surrounding her as she laid her eyes upon a two story hut that had been painted pink and decorated with starfish and seashells. She could see the inside of it through several windows that had been made to look like portholes, revealing numerous sets of wooden tables, covered in cloths, on the inside. 'A restaurant no doubt', she noted to herself as she made past it. Suddenly a scream pierced the air causing her to stop in her tracks. The filly turned her attention to a growing cloud of dust climbing its way up the slope towards her. She watched with apprehension as a crowd of terrified ponies scrambled their way up the stony path, screaming and yelling as they went along. Twilight stood rooted to the spot, watching them as they ran past her, wondering what they were running from. The answer soon became apparent with the sound of a rumbling noise that seemed to be growing in intensity. The filly turned her eyes towards the horizon and felt her heart skip a beat as she saw the sea come towards her in a single fluid motion. The once calm waters were now trembling with agitation as a solid wall of deep blue precipitated itself towards the city. The very ground trembled as a gigantic wave reached the shore and crashed against the pier below, tearing it to pieces. The enormous force of the impact was translated into a salty drizzle from the resulting splash, bathing the unicorn entirely. Shaking herself dry Twilight inspected her surroundings to assess the damage that the tidal wave had done to the place. She didn't have too long to look, for a speeding mass of blue caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. Petrified by fear she noted a second wave, even bigger than the first, hastily approaching the coast. It was as if the sea itself had taken a life of its own, the wall of water stood ten stories high as it violently rushed towards the city. "Sea quake!" Listening to the frightened warning of a nearby pony, Twilight took refuge in an alleyway next to her and steeled herself as the wave crashed and dissolved itself against the ground, drowning out the terrified screams of the ponies around her. The ground shook once more, sending her tumbling to the floor. The sound of a hundreds hooves thundered through the pavement and into her ear while she tried to blink herself conscious once more. She watched while an ever growing crowd of ponies raced their way up the hills and out of harm's way as yet another wave began swelling itself in the distance. Scrambling to her hooves, Twilight started galloping at full speed after them, only to find herself falling farther and farther behind. She cast a look behind her and saw, with a twinge of panic, that the incoming wave stood even twice as high as the previous one. She kicked the ground harder than before, trying to put as much distance as possible between her and the sea but discovered, to her despair, that she was barely moving an inch from where she stood. It was as if her entire body had been submerged under water: her legs felt abnormally unresponsive, moving in slow motion rather than as she commanded them to. Fear gripping her, she turned around and saw the sea engulf half the city as the giant wave crashed right behind her, drenching her from head to tail. Realizing the impossibility of escape, she stumbled to her hooves and sought refuge into the restaurant she'd seen earlier. She ran towards a couple of western doors, suspended two feet above the ground, and tackled her way through them, catching out of the corner of her eyes a fourth wave swelling to an unbelievable size in the horizon. She quickly scanned her surroundings for a safe location and found one behind a counter that stood against one of the walls. The ground shook once more as the sea inched its way closer towards her, prompting her to dive behind the furniture in search of protection. The impact of the wave shook the structure down to its very foundations, sending splashing water filtering through the roof made of hay and into the building. Refusing to leave her place in fear of drowning Twilight covered her head protectively with her forelegs while the waves kept on coming, crashing themselves again and again against the hut. The wood around her creaked ominously as a fifth wave impact upon it; she knew, sooner or later, the sea would sweep her sanctuary like a spec of dust, but she couldn't summon the strength to flee for her life, regardless. She would be swept and drowned by the ever raging sea.... "Dive!" The suddenness of the voice startled her, causing her to bump her head against the edge of the counter where she was currently hiding. The unicorn looked around in bewilderment in search of the whoever had spoken. Even if she couldn't see anypony, somehow she still knew that everyone had already evacuated and the whole city was now deserted. "Dive!" Spoke the voice for the second time. Twilight scanned her surroundings once more in search of the disembodied voice. For some reason it sounded so... familiar. "Don't run!" It said yet again in a stronger tone. "Face it! Whatever you do, don't let it intimidate you!" Slowly, not entirely sure why, Twilight got to her hooves and found herself crashing through the front window and out into the streets again. Turning around to face the sea she inspected the horizon once more. She could make it out in the distance, the single greatest wave she had seen so far. The gargantuan monster stood over a mile high and precipitated ominously towards the city, threatening to engulf it completely. Her eyes filled with fire, her heart beating with determination, she took off towards the wave breathing heavily. The buildings around zoomed past her as she printed her hooves upon the ground, inching closer and closer towards the body of water. The enormous tidal wave, of absurdly gigantic proportions roared angrily as it stretched to impossible heights well past her range of view. Unabashed Twilight put in an extra burst of speed and precipitated towards it to meet its challenge. "That's it! You can do it!" Her ears filled with encouragement from the disembodied voice, she reached the crippled pier at the edge of the sea and steeled herself with resolve, watching the monstrous wave rush towards her. She silently watched it approach, and waited for it to be within her range.... "Dive!" Yelled the voice one last time, and this time Twilight recognized it as her own: the very voice of her subconscious. Without a moment's pause she arched her back and leap past the rails, brazenly diving towards the rushing monster. She felt the water surround and envelop her, carelessly sweeping her without effort. The filly felt impotent against the enormous force dragging and twisting her. She felt herself losing consciousness and regretted her folly in challenging such a force beyond her understanding, when all of a sudden the wave itself broke and dissolved into thin air. Coughing slightly, Twilight opened her eyes to find herself floating in a shallow pond of water. She got to her hooves and lifted her head to observe the sea once more and discovered, with satisfaction, that it had completely retreated, leaving nothing but a shallow lake in its place. She was trying to make sense of such an anomaly when she heard thunderous applause around her. Startled, she turned around to find herself partially surrounded by an ever growing crowd of ponies, cheering for her and chanting her name. Her heart gave a leap of joy and her lips curled into a smile that stretched from ear to ear. She had done it. She had defeated the sea itself and restored peace for the ponies in the city. "Never give up! No matter how big the problem or how great the obstacle, keep your faith until the very end!" An icy sensation wrapped her body like a blanket, and her limbs seemed to scream in pain as the world around her dissolved. Her head swimming badly, Twilight opened her eyes and coughed violently, tasting a hint of vomit in the back of her throat. "Rise and shine Miss Sparkle!" Jeered an unpleasant voice, "we still haven't finished our little chat." The unicorn looked around in a daze and saw no trace of the hills where she had been standing moments ago, nor any indication of the sea, yet somehow she was drenched in water. Understanding the confused look in her face, Brigadier Clean Shot held up a bucket of water so that she could see it. "Well Ah'm sorry if Ah woke ya up, but it just seemed awful rude of ya ta pass out in the middle of our conversation," he explained. "Wh-what's going on? Where am I?" She stammered, trying to take in her surroundings. "Well, it seems Ah owe ya some apologies Miss Sparkle," said the stallion, slowly approaching her, "'pparently mah boys don't know how ta take it easy with the ladies, so they might've taken things a little overboard. Though in all due fairness, we're new ta this waterboardin' business so we didn't know ponies could suffocate and pass out. Ah hope y'all can forgive us for that little slip." Twilight shivered unpleasantly. That's right! She was being interrogated for the location of Silver's records, and the brigadier had already subjected her to more than a couple of torture devices. Clean Shot rubbed his chin in mockery, pretending to be deep in thought. "Now, Ah just don't know how ta appeal to ya Miss Sparkle! Ah've already taken ya out ta see most of the main attractions, but ya refuse ta loosen yer pretty lips! And that's bad for mah reputation, 'cause Ah've been known ta always get tongue on mah first date. So what shall we do ta remedy the situation?" Twilight couldn't help but respond with a look of utmost misery, she desperately hoped that the stallion would take pity on her and let her leave for now, but she knew to ask for such a thing was impossible. "Aww don't look so sad mah little filly," the brigadier shot in return. "Ah, know!" He suddenly spoke, his eyes glowing with inspiration, "why don't we make this a double date! Heck, rather why not make it a group date instead!" A sudden sense of dread invaded her. She didn't know what the stallion was planning but whatever it was it couldn't be good. "Oy! Bring them in boys!" Twilight felt her stomach fall as she watched her friends file into the dusty dungeon accompanied by a dozen guards flanking them on each side. "Raaargh!" Catching a glimpse of her friend, broken and disheveled upon the table, Rainbow Dash pushed past her captors and flung herself towards the brigadier with a battle cry. Before she could reach him however, one of the brigadier's personal escorts tackled her and pinned her to the ground. "What have you done to her?! I'll break you for this, you hear me?! I'll break you!!!" Bellowed the irate pegasus. "Well, ain't that touchin'?" The stallion taunted her. "Now..." he said, turning towards Twilight once more, "Ah've been a patient pony and so Ah've waited, out of the goodness of mah heart, ta hear ya sing. But so far ya have refused ta let me hear yer pretty little voice, so Ah've decided it's time ta let somepony else have a turn." At this Twilight started trashing around violently, "No! Please! You can't! Don't hurt them!" She pleaded with him. "But what's a pony ta do then?" He asked unconcerned. "Ah know! How 'bout this? Let's play a little game! Ah'll ask ya some questions and for every time y'all refuse to give me an answer Ah'll hurt one of yer friends." Twilight struggled even more desperately, trying to free herself from the straps that bound her to the table she was laying on. "No! Don't touch them!" "But just ta make things interestin' we'll do the followin': after every five turns Ah'll let ya pick somepony at random and then Ah'll finish her off. If y'all refuse ta pick anypony then Ah'll just pick for ya..." Twilight's insides froze. Her heart stopped as she stared intently into the stallion's eyes. "Y-you wouldn't," she managed, her brow sweating profusely. "Ah will," he replied with a smile, his voice filled with menace. ****** "Betrayal is a strong word my dear Nemo," replied the captain, "I prefer the term tactical retreat." "You're asking me to run away and leave my friends behind?!" Asked the filly outraged. "Never!" "Listen," began the stallion, trying to reason with the attorney, "I've been asked to get the location of the files out of you by any means necessary. Do you know what it took me to convince Blueblood and the military that you could be turned? To include you in our team?" "I don't care!" She fumed, "you expect me to shun my friends and leave them here to die, just to save my hide?!" "Friends you barely met but less than a week ago and which you've only known for days!" Pointed out the captain, his temper rising to match Nemo's. "But friends nonetheless! Friends who stood next to me and risked their lives to save me when you tried unloading your gun one me! Friends who stuck by me when you turned us into criminals by blaming us for Silver Tongue's death! Friends who did their utmost to keep me safe when a whole forest came crashing down upon us, ablaze in flames! Friends who would give their lives many times over rather than betray me!" She retorted, her eyes nearly popping out of her skull. "Don't be a foal!" High Tide all but yelled, "you would go down with them just for the sake of loyalty even though it won't accomplish a thing?! Use your brain! If you get out of here then there's might still be hope to fight this! But all of that, all of it, will be nothing more than a mere dream if you just let yourself get killed for the sake of ridiculous, intangible, imaginary concepts like bravery or loyalty!" "This country was founded upon 'ridiculous', 'intangible', 'imaginary' ideals such as those! And through them it flourished to become the most prosperous nation in the World until you lot came along to ruin it!" She reminded him. "Nemo!!" the stallion insisted hoarsely, "if I can't manage to convince you they'll torture you and kill you! Please! I don't want any more blood on my hooves, just listen-to-me!" He pleaded with her, putting his hooves together in a praying motion. The attorney closed her eyes and reflected briefly upon the stallion's offer. True, she alone could flee this place and find a way to bring down the Prince. She could, somehow, restore order to Equestria and seek revenge for her fallen friends. Dying in here would accomplish absolutely nothing, like the captain said. A disturbing image crossed her mind as she pictured herself laying flowers at Twilight's grave. She shuddered, trying to shake that image away from her head. She wouldn't have it. She wasn't going to abandon her friends and carry on the burden of their deaths for the rest of her life, forever made to ponder over the irreplaceable gaps of their absence. "No deal High Tide. I'm staying here and finding a way of saving Twilight on my own." The captain sighed in defeat. "If you're resolved to see things through to the end then I can't stop you my dear filly... It would seem you're every bit as stubborn as old Silver," he lamented. "Very well, if I can't change your mind then I'll guess we'll have to resort to plan B. I just hope things work out like he said they would. I shudder to think what will happen to us if we fail...."