124. The Outpost
Radish and Starlight moved cautiously and quietly through the forest. They stopped at a secluded, elevated area, where Radish kept on guard while Starlight prepared her teleportation spell. With a thunderous boom, they reappeared on the far side of the forest.
“Okay,” said Starlight, breathing a sigh of relief. “We’re safe now. No bugbears, and no psychotic mares trying to ruin our lives.”
“Hmm. One can hope.”
“I was really impressed how you defeated those girls so easily back there. How did you know how to do all that?”
“I’ve spent time with them. They’re all pretty set in their idiosyncrasies. Some obvious vulnerabilities came to mind.”
“Then you could beat them again if you had to?”
“No. They’re not going to fall for the same tricks again.”
“But you have other tricks, I bet.”
Radish made a noncommittal grunt and fell silent. Starlight smiled.
They continued traveling north. The air grew cooler and the land grew more arid.
“What brought you all the way out here the first time?” Radish asked, looking around the landscape. “It’s such a remote land.”
“When I started looking for answers to the cutie mark problem, I spent a lot of time digging through old, obscure archives. I pursued lots of myths, legends, and rumors. Most didn’t pan out. But one of them led me here.” She stopped in her tracks. “Right here, to be precise.”
Radish looked around. They were in the middle of a rocky plain.
“Here? There’s nothing here.”
Starlight put her aura on the ground and brushed away dirt and gravel, revealing something resembling a large crystal disc embedded in the ground. She lifted this disc and put it aside, leaving a deep black hole.
“Follow me,” she said, stepping over the edge and dropping into the hole.
“I want him arrested!” demanded Rainbow Dash, slamming her forehooves onto Barrel Roller’s desk.
“I want him court-martialed!” demanded Applejack, slamming her hooves right next to Dash’s.
“I want him sent to his room with no dessert!” demanded Pinkie Pie, shoving herself between the other two and slamming down her hooves extra-hard.
Captain Barrel Roller leaned back in her chair, looking over the report that five members of AG1 had barged into her office to file.
“Now, tell me if I have this right. You’re saying one of my guards- a decorated major, a veteran of the changeling attack, and Princess Luna’s own personal Champion- abandoned his court-ordered community service, traveled deep into remote wilderness, and joined forces with a villainous cult leader?”
“It’s the truth,” said Fluttershy. “The awful, awful truth!”
“And the heinous acts he committed against you were… let’s see… throwing candy around, putting a rope on a rock, and… lying about maggots?”
Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie all traded glances.
“Well! If you want to be reductive about it!” scoffed Rarity.
“And you want me to punish him, even though this all took place in a region outside Equestrian jurisdiction?”
“Uh, hello!? He knocked me out of that sky!” said Rainbow Dash. “Aeronautical assault is a serious crime, no matter where it happens!”
“So, Dash, you’re saying you want an official record to state that you lost a battle with a compass mirror?”
“Uh…”
“Even though the Wonderbolts will be reading it when making a decision about your admission into their ranks?”
“Well…”
“Even though maintaining safe flight while temporarily blinded by a reflection is something even novice fliers are supposed to handle?”
Dash fell silent.
“Oh, I see what’s goin’ on here!” said Applejack. “Yer jus’ protectin’ yer own!”
“It’s cronyism!” accused Pinkie Pie.
“It’s corruption!” denounced Rarity.
“It’s not fair!” upbraided Fluttershy.
“Rest assured, the Royal Guard will be taking this matter very seriously,” the captain said. “We will thoroughly investigate this ‘Starlight Glimmer’, plus any and all of her associates.”
“Yeah, right,” scoffed Rainbow Dash. “Come on, girls, we’re not going to get any help here.”
The girls filed grumpily out of the office. Rainbow Dash looked back before leaving.
“I can’t believe I used to look up to you.”
She left. Saguaro Shade entered immediately after.
“Something up?” he asked.
“Mmm. And guess who’s at the center of it.”
“Somepony other than Root?”
“Good one. Come on, we’re taking a little trip.”
Radish peeked down into the hole. As he reached for his flashlight, Starlight’s aura grabbed his body and yanked him down inside. He landed on a floor that felt smooth, in a room that sounded cavernous. He clicked on his flashlight, lighting up the area in front of him. Starlight chuckled and lit up her horn, fully illuminating the room.
They were in a dome-shaped room. The walls were ornately decorated with abstract, angular, geometric etchings. In the center of the floor was a tile mosaic depicting an earth pony mare in profile. She looked tall and regal, with proportions like Celestia’s.
There was a set of tall double doors to one side of the room- they were closed. Scattered around were remains of ancient furniture- a bed, a desk, and other pieces no longer recognizable.
“What is all this? Ruins? The remains of some cave-dwelling civilization?”
“Look again. We’re not in a cave, we’re in a building. A building made entirely of crystal. It’s just been around so long, it’s been entirely buried by the earth.”
Radish examined the floor, then walked over to the walls to take a look at them. He looked up. The disc Starlight had uncapped had been the centerpiece to a transparent crystal ceiling which, in a previous age, had given a clear view of the sky. Now layers of dirt were stacked against its panes.
“I’m surprised this place has held up over so much time,” he said.
“It’s very strong. Whoever built this place was quite advanced. But they’re long gone, it seems.”
Radish ran his hoof along the wall. “They were long gone. But they’re back now. This is Crystal Empire architecture.”
“I’ve never been. But isn’t this too far south for the Crystal Empire?”
“I guess if it was really an empire, there had to have been more than just the capital city. This must have been some kind of outpost. Maybe for trade, or research.” Radish took in the room and sighed. “This would be a huge archeological discovery for us, if we weren’t outlaws.”
Starlight scoffed. “Pfft. Once we save the world from cutie marks, we’ll be hailed as heroes. Equestria’s real history will begin.”
“You aim high.”
“If you don’t aim high, you’ll spend a lifetime scrabbling in the dirt.”
“And I've done my share of that. So, where’s this power to remove cutie marks you promised me?”
Starlight opened the double doors with her magic, revealing a dark corridor. She projected flares down its length, illuminating it. The hall terminated at a staircase curving down and out of sight.
“In the heart of the building. Come with me.”
Twilight Sparkle slowly walked the halls of Canterlot Castle with her eyes cast down at the floor and her wings drooping.
“Twilight!” called a familiar voice. Twilight turned to see Princess Cadance walking up to her.
“Cadance? What are you doing here?”
“Celestia needed my opinion on something. But I felt your despair clear across the castle. I’m guessing this isn’t a ‘sunshine, sunshine’ kind of meeting, is it?”
“No, Cadance, it’s not. But I’m glad you’re here. There’s something I need to speak with all three of you princesses about.”
“I’m afraid Celestia isn’t available for the time being. She’s occupied with something important. And Luna’s asleep right now.”
“Oh…”
“What is it, Twilight? Your heart feels so… oh. It’s something to do with Radish, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Twilight said, glumly looking aside.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Radish and I… well, to put it succinctly, we had a fight. It was ugly. We both said things. And I…” She winced and threw her hooves around Cadance. “Oh, Cadance! I’ve failed as his friend. I’ve failed as the Princess of Friendship.”
Cadance stroked Twilight’s mane. “There, there, Twilight. Friends fight. And friends forgive. The two of you have such a strong bond, I know you can get past whatever’s happened.” She lifted Twilight’s chin and smiled at her. “And the first step to mending any relationship is just a little communication.”
Twilight looked down. “A little communication? A little communication…” Her ears perked up. “A little communication! Of course!”
She broke the hug and smiled determinedly. “Cadance, I need you to come with me.”
Radish and Starlight descended several flights of crystal stairs, then followed another crystal corridor. They passed many more closed crystal doors. The door at the end of the hallway was thick and heavy, and Starlight needed Radish’s help to push it open. They entered a crystal rotunda supported by a ring of large crystal columns. In its center was a crystal throne.
“Ta da!” said Starlight. “It’s the throne room.”
“A throne room for an outpost? I just had a desk chair at mine.”
“Whoever ran this place must have thought highly of themselves,” Starlight said. “Now, watch this.”
She sat on the throne and cast a spell. The throne lit with a soft purple glow, which spread across the floor, then flowed partway up the columns and walls. After a moment, the glow subsided.
“This is how we’re going to remove your cutie marks, Radish.”
“How?”
“This crystal is similar to the kind the Cutie Mark Vault was made of, but denser. It should be able to pull off your cutie marks from osmotic force alone!”
“Like how a sugar cube sucks up a drop of coffee?”
“Uh, sure. Just like that.”
“And, what, my cutie mark will just be part of the building from then on?”
“Yours and everypony else’s! This is the answer to your question about capacity. These walls, ceilings, and floors can store every cutie mark in Equestria!”
Radish walked up to one of the crystal columns and pressed his flank to it. Nothing happened.
“Nothing happened,” he said.
“Yes, there’s still one hurdle to get over.”
She cast another spell. The throne and the room lit up again. The glow was brighter and spread further this time, but still subsided like the last time.
“The crystals need to be awakened to their new purpose,” she explained. “But I haven’t found the right spell to do it yet.”
“Well, this place was built by crystal ponies. And crystal ponies are a type of earth pony.”
“So?”
“So, earth ponies don’t sit on thrones, casting spells.” He approached the area in front of the throne, then brushed aside dust on the floor tiles, uncovering four indentations in the shape of hoofprints. “Earth ponies do their work through their hooves.”
He placed his hooves in the indentations and closed his eyes. He reached out with his senses. The floor suddenly didn’t feel like cold hard crystal, but warm, soft earth. The building felt alive and responsive to his earth pony nature, like a garden.
“Whoa!” called Starlight.
Radish opened his eyes. The entire room was glowing, floor-to-ceiling. Starlight was off the throne and wandering around the room, gazing about in amazement.
“I’ve never seen it do this!” she said excitedly.
“The building recognizes me as an earth pony,” said Radish. “It’s giving me control. It’s letting me tune the crystal to make your idea work.”
The glow shifted to a warmer shade, making the room seem like it was bathed in sunlight. Radish smiled.
“This is what I was missing!” said Starlight. “I was missing you, Radish. Come on, it’s time to lose your cutie marks at last.”
Radish stepped off the indentations. The room still glowed. He approached the throne and stopped just short of it. He felt Starlight’s hoof on his shoulder.
“Don’t be scared now,” she said encouragingly. “You’ve come this far.”
Radish nodded. He sat down on the throne. It flickered. Radish felt a pull on his flanks, just as when Starlight used the Staff of Sameness on him.
“Ah. It’s… got a hold on them already. A really strong hold on them.”
He squirmed. The pull was getting stronger. It was getting painful.
“Gah!”
“Don’t fight it! Let them go!” called Starlight.
“Aaahg!”
Radish felt his hips pulling apart. He struggled. He heard a loud ripping. A bright flash filled the room, forcing Starlight to shut her eyes and turn away. She heard the thud of Radish’s body hitting the floor.
The captain and the commander of the Royal Guard sat at an outdoor picnic table in the middle of Our Town, questioning some of the locals regarding the events of the past few days.
“...and then they left. But there’s still plenty of cupcakes, if you’d like some!” said Party Favor.
“No thanks,” said Barrel Roller.
“I’d like one,” said Saguaro Shade.
“And you have no idea where Starlight Glimmer could have gone off to?” asked Barrel Roller. “Maybe a hometown, or a place she’d feel safe retreating to?”
“Well, no. I guess there was a lot about Starlight we didn’t know,” said Sugar Belle, setting a plate of cupcakes down on the table. Saguaro Shade took one.
“And that was her house?” he asked, nodding to the two-story house at the end of the street. “Did you find anything of interest among her personal effects?”
“Oh, nopony’s been in there since she left,” said Double Diamond. “The old Glimmer place just kind of gives us all the willies, you know?”
Barrel Roller made a dissatisfied grunt and left the table. Saguaro Shade excused himself and followed her.
“I’ll take the second floor and attic, you take the first floor and basement,” she said.
“Aye, captain.”
“And be mindful of booby traps.”
“Always am.”
The front door was unlocked. They entered, carefully looking around. Barrel Roller took the stairs up while Saguaro Shade entered a door at the back of the foyer.
He found himself in what had apparently been Starlight Glimmer’s office. It was largely bare, containing a desk with empty drawers and a wastepaper basket full of ashes.
“Oh Starlight!” called a sing-songy voice in a sing-songy tone from the foyer. “We’ve come to collect our hard-earned fee!”
The office door swung open. Flim and Flam barged in, followed by an earth mare- the mother who had brought public indecency charges against Radish.
“Now where, oh, where, could that mare have gone?” asked Flim rhetorically.
“She should know better than to con her cons,” rhymed Flam melodically.
“Would you two shut up? I’ve had it with your showtunes,” the mare said angrily. “I just want to get what Starlight owes me and get out of this ugly little town.”
The door slammed shut behind them. They turned to see Saguaro Shade with his hoof on the hilt of his sword.
“Glimmer’s not here. But why don’t you tell me all about your dealings with her?”
Barrel Roller shoved open the hatch leading up into the house’s attic. There were no windows, leaving it pitch black except for the meek light that followed her up from the second floor.
A rustling of fabric and a clanking of metal emanated from a corner. Barrel Roller felt around for a light switch, but didn’t find one.
“Hello? Anypony up here?”
She heard another noise- closer, yet quieter, as if its source was trying to sneak up to her.
“I am Captain Roller of the Equestrian Royal Guard. I-”
“Captain… Roller?” questioned a voice from the darkness. It was dry, raspy, and full of cold fury. It was somewhat female and also somewhat familiar, though Barrel Roller couldn’t place it.
“Yes, of the Equestrian Royal Guard. Starlight Glimmer has been removed from power as the leader of this town. We are-”
“Removed from power!?”
A blur of dirty white cloth and dirty yellow hair rushed out from the shadows toward Barrel Roller, then snapped to a stop in the middle of the room. It was Light Fantastic, wrapped in a straightjacket and chained to the wall.
“WHERE. IS. THAT. BITCH!?”
Starlight looked up. The throne room had gone dark again. She lit her horn and found Radish sprawled out on the floor. She cautiously approached, walking around him with her eyes on his flank.
It was blank.
Radish groaned, shakingly lifting his head to look at himself. A gray equal sign appeared on his fur.
He and Starlight turned their attention to a new light in the room. A small panel of the wall was shining bright, like a movie screen in a darkened theater. A colorful blur appeared upon it, then sharpened into focus.
It was Radish’s cutie mark.
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RIP Celestia, I guess?
I normally always only say nice on updates. But I feel like I have to speak about something. This shit is getting crazy and I hate how long I have to wait to find out what is going to happen. Feed me more updates you monster
Anyways. Nice
Oh, they actually did it. Holy Shi--
Huh, so we now know what happened to Light Fantastic, she was captured and held captive by Starlight, my guess so that she couldn’t blab about the whole cutie mark removal even though she was doing it for Radiash. Now we know that she didn’t run away cause of the marriage proposal but cause she was being held captive, so that is nice to know.
And as for Radish, his marks are gone but now we must see what happened to Celestia cause when they barely moved last time ol Sunbutt was pretty much comatose, how bad is the damage this time?
11902092
Don't forget twilight and cadence are near celestia this time. Both might see what happens and feel the bond breaking
I'm happy for radish
too bad starlight's actually evil
Is it unreasonable to hope it stays off?
I was hoping that radish would have a truly blank flank. No equals sign. Also that blurring and coming into focus on the crystal wall is worrying. I wonder if the equals mark could begin to fade the longer radish has his mark off. It would be justice for him to be able to get a new mark or at least not have the debuff from the equals mark
...Kinky. But where did Starlight get a straitjacket of all things, in the middle of nowhere? Did she hit up an asylum on a whim?
Lets see how this effects Radish as if it goes based on the show then he'll lose his determination and creative problem solving and probably became some lame ass farmer or something
Or nothing will happen but I highly doubt that
Ruh roh. Welp, everything in this chapter will have some mighty repercussions. I hope Flim, Flam and that bitch that walked in with them get some serious jail time. Starlight is also most likely in deep shit. I'm scared to find out how this affected Celestia.
But most of all, I want to know what is going through Radish's mind right now. How deeply was he connected to his cutie mark? Will he want it back without knowing how it affected Celestia?
Next few chapters are going to be quite impactful.
This author does a marvelous job smashing every preconceived notion we have and always keeping us on our toes.
It makes me laugh when readers go, “Nope, I’m quitting, I’m out.” Because just when you think things are getting weird?
It’s always been a way of throwing us off our game and keeping us in suspense. There’s real genius behind this author’s words.
Wish I could put in that GIF of the guy eating popcorn with a big grin on his face…
This story is cliffhanger simulator I swear to god. Its a drug, giving you just enough to get addicted and want more, then it cuts out immediately and you fall into a pit.
Cant wait for more hahaha
Haha Starlight is looking proper villainous now. I wonder if she's doing a power grab and there's something about Radish's mark in particular she wants or if she truly is only wholeheartedly committed to de-marking Equestria and removing his was the best proof of her ideals she could possibly find. Also an important reminder for Twilight, you haven't really failed until you stop trying.
I feel that Radish is going to learn that his freedom has a price - Celestia's well-being. And will choose to take up his cross once more, rather than let her suffer. But to what end?
Light may not have run away to avoid his proposal, but her meeting with Celestia and her journey into Arton makes clear that she can't deal with the marks' interference and influence on him anymore. Will his mark become their dealbreaker after all? And what kind of life could they have together when it's now pretty much public knowledge that all anyone has to do to fuck him over is destroy his pants in public? Could Light and Radish ever even have foals of their own, or could anyone with a grudge just accuse him of being a groomer and a pedophile? After all, he DOES have a criminal record now. Unjustly, unfairly, illegally, but.... he's a convicted felon, something Celestia seems unable to overturn, override, or pardon.
A few friends can do wonders, but even if he mends bridges with AG1, can they counterbalance an entire city's worth of hate and scorn after that trial? You know every last court official and juror is going to talk and gossip their heads off - will Radish even be able to stay in Canterlot or will he become a bigger target than before? I can't imagine the nobles of Canterlot passing up any opportunity to knock Radish down after he engineered the downfall of one of their own.
The crystal pony building and rumors we heard earlier about Sombra make me think he had this building set up at some point
Starlight playing chess master...so she's the one that orchestrated his arrest in the first place. But the question of how she knew what his cutie marks were when they were usually hidden still stands.
EDIT: Re-read a bit, missed implications. My bad.
11902141
I severely douht Starlight has plans any deeper than a single-minded obsession with removing cutie marks and getting revenge on AG1. Not her style.
11902084
I wanted to write this EXACT Comment!
11902160
It's pretty common knowledge that Root has a 'lewd' cutie mark, just not what it was specifically. He was famous for it IIRC.
Multiple times a day I've been waiting for the new chapters to drop; it's not a cliffhanger, it's a hangnail ;-;
So, wanna bet that:
A.) they will force the Mark back on radish
and
2.) Despite irrefuteable evidence, Celestia will still not let him mount her?
Now the million dollar question, what was this building actually contained for, and what effects will the root mark have on that building, and of course on the root itself.
11902130
I don't think so, his brand never influenced him in anything other than feeling love for Celestia, now, he's lost that, but everything else remains the same
Starlight planned taking his marks from the start. Now the benefit of Celestia being out of commission makes it easier for her to take over Equestria and remove all cutie marks. Radish will have to take his marks back after it all and it will further his depression of them. FUN FUN.
Well done Radish, you've finally smashed destiny itself. Nice job breaking it, hero.
11902160
She probably learned from Light Fantastic, he got arrested after she had been gone for a week so Starlight must have put her plan together in that time.
Pretty sad that everyone is assuming Starlight is behind it all. Why not the Canterlot mare? She could be using Starlight as well as Flim and Flam.
As of now, Destiny will be taking a different path since his Marks have been removed. That is all!
I'm happy for Radish, but terrified at the implications. I'll probably have more to comment after I re-read after work, but I'm excited to see if there will be long term repercussions to this!
11902415
Pretty fair assumption though, seeing as at this point in the timeline, Starlight is still an unrepentant, power-mad bitch, with an incredible amount of arcane knowledge and the ruthlessness to use it, no matter who gets destroyed along the way.
It's not until the whole timeline hopping debacle that she'll realise how much damage she is actually doing, and another season of Friendship Lessons before she gets properly redeemed.
11902551
She didn't even know Twilight was an alicorn princess, yet everyone seems to think she knew about Radish and targeted him. It's nonsense.
11902564
Light's been locked up in her attic for however many weeks now though, which I believe is how most have figured she would know what she does about Radish. I'm guessing Light would have been forthcoming with info initially, until she figured out the scam.
Plus, the other Ranger would likely have had a few stories too.
11902307
This is the problem that I have with this story. No matter what course Radish takes, he doesn’t win.
If he removes his cutie marks, it will possibly lead to the demise of a person, nation, world, or all of the above.
If he keeps his cutie marks, then his quality of life will suffer.
If he is permitted to act on his cutie marks, then he gets momentary sexual pleasure. How does a few minutes of genital contact erase the pain one has endured over the course of years; especially when said contact is with a person that has colossally contributed to said pain? Basically, decades of suffering in exchange for a sexual encounter (or encounters) is not a fair or worthwhile tradeoff.
The story arch is reaching it's climax.
Very exciting
Finally, an answer to Radish's destiny. I wonder if this "outpost" is actually a secret layer for Sombra. Do we ever see him with a cutie mark? I bet this resurrects him.
RIP Celly.
Okay, you're throwing a LOT at me here.
This starlight arc is pretty dark
Damn Cliffhangers! Great story! 10/10 would read again.
11902127
No you see she clearly broke OUT of an asylum.
11907356
That's certainly an explanation, but considering that anti-magic field spells and magic-inhibiting horn rings are both canon, she would've had to have gotten help escaping and I don't think anyone in Our Town fits the bill for a former asylum warden.
11907695
You are assuming it was a pony run one.
11907704
No, what I'm assuming is that any asylum that would intern a unicorn would have the right equipment.
I’v been slowly reading this entire fan fiction over the past couple weeks. The feeling to make it to the current chapter only to see this cliffhanger. Just my luck
. Safe to say I really been enjoying this story and I’m excited to read more of it!