Romance and the Fate of Equestria

Chapter Thirty-Six

"Gilda."

"Hmm?"

Gilda, adjusting and cleaning some of the displays in the Golden Thread store, turned her head to see all six pony friends standing behind her, boxing her in.

"I'll get right to the point," Twilight stated. "Three criminals just robbed Canterlot Castle using Golden Thread."

Gilda hunched over anxiously for a brief moment, before brushing it off with a flippant "Yeah?"

"We're all probably going to be under investigation soon," Twilight said. "We need to know where you get it."

Gilda looked around at all the others with distaste. "Et tu, Dash?"

"Et yo," Rainbow said seriously. "This is serious, Gilda."

Gilda pretended to look thoughtful for a moment. "No," she said, turning away from them.

"Hey, dude," Rainbow snapped, forcefully turning Gilda's head. "You go under, you're taking the rest of us down too. Does that not bother you? What's the matter with you?" She shoved Gilda's chest.

"I'm not sharing," Gilda said pleasantly.

Rainbow backed away from Gilda, fuming. "Fluttershy, lean on her," she said.

"W… what?" Fluttershy said blankly.

"Lean on her. You know, tell her you own her, like you did before. That was awesome."

Rainbow pushed Fluttershy toward Gilda. Fluttershy blushed at the griffon's expectant face and said, "Um… hi. I own you."

"What's your point?" Gilda sneered.

"She can make or unmake you, G," said Rainbow.

"Go ahead, withdraw your support—all of you!" Gilda declared. "We've had crazy-ass profits. I can keep the business afloat on my share alone, all by my lonesome. I don't need any of you anymore!"

"Well…" Rainbow mused. "She could take over the entire business and do something incredibly foolish and reckless to make the entire business go down in flames."

Gilda pondered that. "Big deal," she finally said. "I can manage."

"Well, she can—"

"Dash, stop it," Fluttershy said gently. She stepped forward once again. "Gilda… please. We can help you."

Gilda stared at Fluttershy for a few seconds, her entire body quivering and her brow furrowed. Finally, she yelled a single word in Fluttershy's face, bellowing it with all the deafening force of a lion's roar: "FIIIIINE!"

With the ponies having backed away from her in fear, she paced back and forth. "I'll show you. I'll show you! But we're gonna call this a private shareholders' meeting, have we all got that? What I reveal, what we talk about, it doesn't pass beyond the seven of us."

"We can't agree to—" Twilight began.

"You'll agree and you'll SWEAR, or we have no deal!" Gilda roared. "If this gets out, my life is OVER, do you hear me, OVER! Swear!"

"All right, all right!" Twilight said, exasperated. "Fine… I swear, we'll keep this meeting confidential."

Gilda looked her over suspiciously. "Swear on your cutie marks," she hissed.

Nearly all of the ponies gasped. "GILDA!" Twilight cried out. "Never ask a pony to do that! That is not appropriate!"

"Look, I get that you candy-assed beasts of burden expect me to follow your piddly-diddly social mores," Gilda sneered. "I don't care. This is not gonna happen unless you swear on your cutie marks."

Twilight blinked and stared. "Could you give us a moment, please?" she said.

Gilda nodded. "Sure."

The ponies scurried to the other side of the store and got into a loose huddle.

"Social mores, my ass," Applejack whispered. "If you swear on your cutie mark and then go back on your word, your entire life could come crumblin' around you."

"Yeah, it's been known to happen," Twilight said thoughtfully.

"You're not seriously considering it, are you?" Rarity asked, staring in disbelief at Twilight's pondering expression.

"Look at her, girls," Twilight said, nodding toward Gilda. "She's terrified of… something."

"I'm not terrified," Gilda called from across the room.

The ponies turned to her in surprise.

"Eagle hearing," she said apologetically. "I hear everything in this store. Anyway, nothing terrifies me."

"You're terrified," Twilight said simply, walking back toward her. "I don't know what it is about Golden Thread that makes you so scared, but I think what scares you most is the idea of losing us as friends. The least I can do is give you assurance that that won't happen."

She closed her eyes and held her head high. "I, Twilight Sparkle, hereby swear on my cutie mark that I shall not reveal what I learn here today to any being not currently present."

Her cutie mark glowed white, filling the room with deep shadows.

"I swear on my cutie mark," Rainbow said solemnly, "um… what she said."

"I swear the same oath," Applejack said.

"And me," Pinkie said softly.

"And me," said Rarity.

"Me as well," Fluttershy said confidently.

They shut their eyes tightly as each of their cutie marks glowed. The room was nothing but pure white for several seconds, until the glowing cutie marks faded back to normal one at a time.

Gilda looked horrified. "I… I… I didn't know that would actually… you know, happen," she stammered. "When… when they say that's the most powerful oath a pony can make I thought it was, like, symbolic." She looked around at them nervously. "Should I, um… release you from your oaths? I can do that, right? Please tell me I can do that. You want me to?"

"Only if it's what you really want," Twilight said. "We've promised, now show us what you've been hiding."

"…Yeah, okay," Gilda agreed. "Come on, it's in the basement." She turned and started to walk away.

"We have a basement?" Rainbow said blankly.

"Just come on."

Gilda led them to the back wall of the store, where there were doors leading to the employee lounge and bathrooms.

"For the life of me, I had no idea there was a basement in this joint," Rainbow muttered.

"If you knew about the basement, you'd want to know what was down there," Gilda said, smirking.

"True dat," Rainbow admitted.

Gilda pulled aside a tapestry, depicting an armored griffon surrounded by tiny white chickens. Behind it was a huge, round door. Gilda inserted a key and pulled the door open with great difficulty.

Beyond the door was a huge, round tunnel going straight down into the earth. There were no stairs.

"How did you build this?" Twilight demanded.

"Investors," Gilda said simply. "Let's go."

Gilda scooped up Twilight and Applejack in her talons and started floating down the tunnel. The air grew hot and stifling as they drifted down into the earth.

The bottom of the tunnel opened into a huge stone chamber. In its center floated a blood-red spherical force field, a large kite-shaped silver shield stuck against the outside of it.

"Hey, Cocoon!" Gilda called. "I brought visitors."

Within the field, floating in a fetal position, was an exact replica of Gilda.

Gilda set Twilight and Applejack gently on the ground. Applejack approached the floating force field in astonishment, while Twilight anxiously kept her distance.

"What the…?" Applejack breathed, as the Gilda in the bubble transformed into her, still curled up and seeming asleep.

Rainbow landed in the chamber, carrying Pinkie, followed by Fluttershy with Rarity. The sleeping figure transformed into each of them in turn.

"Knock it off, Cocoon!" Gilda snarled, rushing forward. She punched the shield violently, and red bolts of lightning struck the figure. It screamed… then it changed into something else entirely.

It was jet-black, with a dull rust-red carapace and skinny legs that were full of holes. It opened its bulging green eyes, with their white, diamond-shaped pupils that stared vacantly into space.

"Hidey-ho," the thing said in a wheezy and bizarrely accented voice. "Cocoon am I."

"Ohh," Twilight gasped in comprehension, still in the back of the crowd. "Of course… It's a changeling!"

And it was indeed, though quite different from any other they had seen. Its mane was purple, thick in the front and tied in a long, skinny rat-tail at the back. Instead of a single horn, it had a pair of them just above its ears, curved and forward-thrust like those of a bull. Its gossamer wings were almost comically large and pale lavender in color, and the holes seemingly punched in them were triangular.

"Darn big one, too," Applejack muttered.

"Darn big one, too," Cocoon repeated, imitating Applejack's voice perfectly. He was indeed big; though the enormous changeling queen would have towered over him, he was somewhere between Luna and Celestia in size, though it was difficult to tell with him still curled up like a baby.

"And here's the big enchilada," Gilda said, gently stroking the shield. Beams of energy surged from the edges of the force field and jolted Cocoon's head. From his nostrils came a steady stream of globular golden material. After a fair amount of it was produced, Gilda stopped touching the shield and the glob fell away from Cocoon's nose. A tiny hole opened, briefly, in the bottom of the force field to let the glob drop out; Gilda caught the wad of gold silk and held it up for the ponies to see.

Applejack cringed. "I've been wearin' horseshoes made outta snot?"

Gilda rolled her eyes. "It isn't snot, it's silk. Like you get from a spider or a caterpillar. You ponies use stuff like that all the time."

Rainbow Dash inspected the silver shield. Red lines down the middle divided it into three sections, each with a different emblem: at the top, a pair of skis and ski poles; on the left, a pawprint; and on the right, four dark red pieces of round candy. "Where'd you get the shield?" Rainbow inquired.

"Some low-down unicorn crook in Vanhoover, guy named Largo," Gilda said. "We'd been working together, and he knew I'd have to keep Cocoon contained, so he made this for me."

"Hidey-ho," said Cocoon. "Cocoon am I."

Twilight stared up at Cocoon with apprehension. "Maybe you should start from the beginning," she said to Gilda.

Gilda nodded. "Well, it began up north in Vanhoover. I'd found my way into a little crime family—workin' for Largo. Gambling, loansharking, protection rackets. Mostly my job was being scary. Then one day, on the outskirts of the city, right on Equestria's northern border, I found this guy." She gazed up at Cocoon wistfully. "Helpless, muttering to himself, wounded and sick. He was so cute and pathetic and potentially useful that I just had to take him home with me.

"I tended to his wounds. I marched a couple of loving couples by his sickbed so he could eat, not a lot but at least enough to keep him vital. Then when he was at full health, he tried to kill me. In fact, from then on, whenever he got a little bit of mobility—no matter how far away I was or who else was around, he'd go after me, and try to kill… me, specifically, and only me."

She shivered at the memory. "So we kept him locked up. I mean, why not? He's obviously insane as all hell. Can't even talk, apart from repeating what somepony just said, or saying—"

"Hidey-ho. Cocoon am I."

"Yeah, that."

Twilight nodded, the pieces coming together for her. "So, what brought you… and him… here?"

"Largo found out that some of our fellow crooks were plotting to steal Cocoon," Gilda said. "Only natural. For a number of reasons, we—and the city of Vanhoover—couldn't afford to have that happen. Largo told me to get outta town for my own safety. As a parting gift, he gave me… well, Cocoon himself, for one. Also the magical shield that Largo enchanted himself, projecting this force field so that I can be secure, always knowing where Cocoon is and never having to fear him again." She offhandedly punched the shield, and more bolts of electricity surged into Cocoon, making him cry out in pain.

"And his knowledge," Gilda continued. "Everything he'd found out about the silk Cocoon produces and what it could be used for. Largo is… he's a good guy, really. Honor among thieves personified. He told me to make the best of it, and I immediately thought of all of you. I'd say we've done that, right? Made the best of it? Succeeded beyond my wildest dreams, actually."

Twilight wasn't so sure. "How does he survive?" she demanded.

"Oh, he feeds off the emotions of all the ponies in town, I imagine," Gilda said flippantly. "There's so many ponies and only one of him, I figure he gets his fill without weakening anypony… so no harm done." Her face darkened. "He's strong, though. Real strong. He cannot be allowed to escape. Sure, all he has on his mind is killing me, but after he pulls it off, who knows? Whether he's in Ponyville or Vanhoover, it probably won't be pretty."

Rainbow looked at Gilda sympathetically. "I get now why you wanted all this to stay a secret. If there's an investigation, if any of this goes public…"

"Then sooner or later," Gilda said grimly, "some lame-o—maybe as a prank, maybe 'cause they want the silk for themselves, maybe just because they're high on maintaining the dignity of sentient creatures—but either way they'll want to let him go."

"And when you said your life would be over…" Rainbow mused.

Gilda hung her head, tensing up angrily. "It's my biggest shame, you know? That I've sunk to the level of keeping a fellow being locked up in my friggin' dungeon because I'm not tough enough to get him off my back."

Rainbow gently massaged Gilda's back, just between the wings. "What are you doing?" Gilda muttered.

"What I do to all my friends when they're this upset. Don't you remember?"

"Oh… oh yeah."

"You found him at the northern border?" Twilight cut in. She had been at the back of the group, keeping her distance out of fear, but she was now slowly making her way toward the captive changeling.

"Yep," Gilda said.

"By Vanhoover, in the west?" Twilight pressed.

"Um, yeah?" Gilda said condescendingly.

"That's the direction the queen and her army went when they were blown away," Twilight muttered. "Was this before or after the changelings invaded Canterlot?"

"Um… couple days after," Gilda said. "I remember, 'cause the news had just reached us up there. I mean, that's the only reason we even knew what he was."

Twilight looked up at him. "I wonder what he was doing. How he got hurt…"

"We may never know," Gilda said simply. "Like I said, he ain't talkin'."

Cocoon's white pupils darted down toward Twilight. "YOU!" he squealed.

"Ah!" Twilight jumped back in surprise.

Cocoon lifted his head and straightened his legs, filling almost the entire bubble. "You… know do I!" he hissed at Twilight.

"What?" Twilight breathed.

"You, about all told did Chrysalis Queen," Cocoon said darkly. "Sister are you. Goddess-love… of sister. Goddess-love hates does Chrysalis Queen."

"Uh… what?" Twilight said again, now just confused.

Cocoon pressed himself against the force field, getting his body as close to Twilight as he could. "Goddess-love of sister, listen," he said eagerly. "Canterlot in, lost we… after, scout to I sent did Chrysalis Queen. Honored was I. End to, queen mine serve would I!"

He backed away, looking thoughtful. "Hrmmm. Failed did I. Back report never to me leaving, I captured did griffon-filth." He shot an angry look at Gilda, then stared off into space. "Forever trapped am I now. Again… Chrysalis Queen see… never will I."

Cocoon sighed deeply. The room was completely silent for a few long moments, apart from the humming of the force field.

Soon, Cocoon curled back up. "Hidey-ho," he said. "Cocoon am I."

"What the hell was that?" Gilda demanded.

"Hidey-ho. Cocoon am I."

Rainbow Dash looked around at the others. "Did anypony understand a word he said?"

"I think so," Twilight said. "Let's, uh… get back upstairs, shall we? It's really hot and muggy down here."

Rainbow nodded and picked up Twilight, heading back up the tunnel and setting her down on the floor of the Golden Thread shop. The others followed, and Gilda quickly set to work shutting the heavy door and replacing the tapestry.

"'Goddess of love', that's Cadance," Twilight said. "And 'Chrysalis Queen'… I assume that's the queen of the changelings? She got blasted clean out of Equestria, right over the northwestern border. It's fair to assume that a day or so later, she sent Cocoon to scout for information."

"He wasn't at the siege of Canterlot, was he?" Rarity said, frowning. "Somepony would have noticed a soldier that was so much bigger than all the others."

"Maybe, maybe not," Twilight said. "But clearly the queen wanted to make a return of some sort… and told her scout to watch out for me, apparently, as well as Cadance."

"That kind of corks it, don't it?" Applejack said. "If he's gonna report back to old Cheeselegs, we're better off keepin' him in the bubble. Not just for Gilda's sake or Ponyville's sake, but for the safety of Equestria."

"Are we sure we should keep him secret?" Fluttershy said anxiously. "What if the queen comes looking for him?"

"That… strikes me as unlikely," Twilight said. "I get the vibe that she's more the type to just send another scout… and another and another and as many as it takes, one after another. But I've been wrong before. Maybe she's into minion-sacrificing tactics, but maybe she actually has some sentiment toward our guy down there. Either way, we ought to keep an eye out for her."

Pinkie nervously twisted her hair, which was still straight and sleek. "Changelings," she cursed.

"Yep," Rainbow agreed. "Talk about your paranoia fuel…"

"Gilda, we'll uphold our oaths," Twilight said. "That means if anypony comes looking for your secret… well, it's our secret too, and we'll protect it at any cost. If I have to tell the princesses themselves to get off your back, I will."

Gilda blinked at her. "…Really?"

"They'll understand," Twilight said brightly. "I swore on my cutie mark."

Gilda continued staring at Twilight with her piercing raptor eyes. "I… thanks," she said reluctantly.

The six ponies walked out of the store and looked around into the streets of Ponyville. Their familiar home suddenly felt quite different.

"It just doesn't feel right," Fluttershy said. "Leaving a living creature trapped like that."

"He's an enemy, Fluttershy," Twilight said. "I don't like it either, but look at it this way: he needs to be imprisoned, and what Gilda has is probably the best we'll ever get."

"Yeah, okay," Fluttershy said bitterly. "You're right, of course."

As the friends started walking down the street, Pinkie made an effort to fluff up her mane. "So now what?" she asked.

"As we agreed, life goes on," Twilight said.

"Yep!" Rainbow said boisterously. "Just gotta take it one day at a time, right up until the day that Pinkie Pie goes all Cupcakes on our asses."

"Huh?" Pinkie said blankly.

Applejack convulsed violently. "Gaa-aa-aah," she shuddered. "You've, uh, seen that movie, then?"

"Nah, I read the book," Rainbow said. "Think I'll pass on the movie."

"There's a book?" Applejack said with revulsion.

"I've seen both, much to the displeasure of the parts of my brain that don't enjoy nightmares," Twilight said cheerfully. "Or numb tingling in all my extremities…"

"What are you guys talkin' about?" Pinkie said curiously.

"Uh, nothing, Pinkie," Rainbow said hastily. "Twi, go back to what you were saying before."

"Right—we keep moving forward… all of us together," Twilight said, looking toward the late-afternoon sun. "Yeah," she said, with more confidence. "Moving forward together. Let's do it."

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END OF PART ONE