Peaceful Nights

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV

Prologue

From: Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard

To: The High Council of the Conclave

In fulfillment of the Guard’s duty, under Our Great Rulers, Princesses Celestia and Luna, to protect Equestria from all dangers and threats, I, Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard, request immediate support from the Conclave. I form this inquiry in the face of the latest event that occurred while performing the Guard’s aforementioned task, bearing in mind the seriousness of such an action and accepting all the consequences of it. While I leave the choice of the course of action to the organization, trusting and submitting to the judgment of the High Council, somepony of specific talents deems appropriate to deal with the situation present. Details of the occurrence in need of firm and urgent action I would prefer not to share over letter. I shall patiently await response.

Captain of the Royal Guard

Shining Armor

Shining Armor took some papers from one of his desk’s drawers and put them in front of himself. The silent crackling of the fireplace accompanied the sound of him searching through the sheets. The light of the fire was playfully dancing over the walls, ornamented with coats of arms, maps and portraits of former Royal Guard leaders.

‘We have been tracking some recent activity amongst Canterlot residents, most notably those of the lowest class. There were reports of a figure wandering around, spreading word about inequality amongst the nation, unicorn dominance and a new hope for pegasi and earth ponies,’ the Captain read out from the documents. ‘We have decided to detain the troublemaker.’

Another unicorn, to whom those words were directed turned his gaze away from the chamber window. The night has already silently fallen and the Moon, shining and royal, was slowly raising towards the dark sky, making itself visible through the glass. The pony that was admiring this beautiful phenomenon now looked at the Royal Guard Captain.

‘Sounds like a typical problem of racial hatred, Captain,’ he sighed. ‘Lowly case, if you ask me, not worthy the attention of mine and the organization’s,’ he stated and nonchalantly removed a hair from the collar of his cape.

‘I wouldn’t contact the Conclave if it was just that,’ Shining Armor firmly answered to which the other pony just shrugged. ‘During the interrogation,’ the white stallion checked the papers again, ‘she said that she wants to speak personally to me, since I “will surely understand”,’ he quoted.

‘As much as I admire story tension build-ups, Captain, I would prefer to hear something justifying your decision,’ the caped unicorn cut in, with his gaze once more escaping towards the moonlit sky.

‘Then look at this fact she mentioned,’ the white stallion passed one of the sheets through the wooden desk at which they were both sitting. The other pony, not bothering to look away from the pale circle on the sky, pinned the paper down with his hoof just as it came close enough to read and only then gazed down. There was a visibly underlined quote by the interrogated suspect.

‘Star Swirl the Bearded,’ he read out loud, ‘has returned.’

Shining Armor was observing his guest. Aside from a risen eyebrow, he could not tell if there was another reaction to the fruits of the interrogation. The time that the Conclave’s agent was spending on reading also gave the Captain a chance of having a better look at him. Dark grey coated. Mane black with some white stripes, combed. Pair of silvery eyes, now quickly moving through the document. And a black cape, with a standing collar, covering the flank and cutie mark. It all corresponded nicely with this unicorn’s name.

‘So, how do you find it, agent Moonwarden?’

‘Only to a degree intriguing, I have to say,’ the operative was still skipping through the sentences. ‘Are you absolutely certain about her mental condition, Captain?’

The sound of the fire filled the while that Shining Armor took to answer this question. All this time, a pair of piercing eyes was focused on him and his expression, like judging, checking.

‘She did not appear mad, if that’s what you are asking about.’

‘Appearances are usually deceiving, Captain,’ the grey stallion returned the paper and joint his front hooves on the desk. ‘Did it never occur to you that it is but a delusion that mare is suffering from?’ Moonwarden smiled politely.

‘It did, but her conviction...’ the white unicorn began, but got interrupted.

‘... is boringly typical for such a state. I am afraid you might have summoned the Conclave’s support for naught, Captain,’ the caped pony looked around, like readying to get up and leave.

‘Princess Luna encouraged me to turn to the Conclave whenever I would need assistance in my duty,’ Shining Armor responded.

‘If the Most Revered Lady of the Night,’ the grey stallion bowed his head quite visibly after those words, ‘encouraged you to acquire our services to your liking, I will grant you the necessary assistance, Captain. Still, I fail to capture the essence of your logic.’ Moonwarden gave the other pony a highly inquisitive look.

‘Could you believe that this pegasus troublemaker would spread those rumors, even delusionary, without somepony’s inspiration?’ the white stallion clarified.

‘Considering the information you gathered on her, very unlikely. Most unicorns have no idea about Star Swirl, not to mention ponies not of our kind,’ the agent judged. ‘A mare from the working class, without higher education…’ he murmured to himself, like in a conversation. ‘Delusions are extremely rarely that random,’ he locked himself in thought. ‘You do make a valid point, Captain,’ the grey stallion finally concluded.

‘Then will you aid the Royal Guard in this matter?’ Shining Armor smiled with a relief.

‘Even if this is to be somepony behind the mare, wanting to cause unrest in Canterlot, Captain,’ Moonwarden raised his hoof like wanting to stop this suddenly present enthusiasm and stared firmly at the other pony, ‘the Conclave is to protect the magical balance of Equestria. Mending with political, or even criminal cases is but a secondary role.’

‘I understand that fully,’ the white unicorn nodded. ‘But I requested the assistance also for the sake of you having in your organization ponies capable of... information extraction,’ he hesitated with those last words.

‘As you put it in the letter “specific talents”,’ the grey stallion quoted. ‘Yet the way you formed your last sentence is more intriguing to me then the words you used in your letter. Tell me, Captain, what hides in your mind?’

Moonwarden observed Shining Armor while he was formulating the answer. As the leader of the Royal Guard, the stallion had a pretty impressive physique, but without the muscles making him appear grotesque. He was known for his stout heart, unmovable loyalty, bravery and noble nature. Treats that, even if admired by many ponies, did not really matter for the grey unicorn.

‘I asked for assistance because I don’t wish to force any kind of physical harm for getting the information she might possess,’ Shining Armor looked away from the agent, making the fireplace behind him bring more shade to his, visible for the other stallion, profile.

‘That is not the answer to my question, Captain,’ Moonwarden pointed out. He straightened up on his chair with a firm expression. ‘Hiding it will not work. I can nearly see your distrust...’

The white unicorn looked back at the operative. His face hardened and he had an expression that could be described as a mixture of distaste and yet a dosage of respect.

‘I can’t say that I appreciate your school of magic.’ Shining Armor finally said.

‘But you cannot deny its potential, can you,’ the grey unicorn made it sound more like a statement than a, even hypothetical, question.

‘I know it to be dangerously meddling with the dark arts,’ the white pony said with conviction. ‘And as much as you might try to convince me otherwise, agent Moonwarden, I am not going to change my mind.’

‘I will not waste my words then, Captain,’ the grey stallion’s voice resembled a winter chill right now, even in the warmly lightened chamber that was Shining Armor’s office. ‘I did believe you to be a pony capable of rising above superstitions and pettiness. Sad to see I was mistaken.’

‘Don’t try to insult me, Moonwarden,’ the white unicorn raised from his chair, holding his front hooves on his desk. ‘Feel lucky that the Conclave is already keeping you in check, for I would not hesitate to detain you. Equestria would be better without shady individuals of your kind.’

The grey stallion raised his eyebrow at this display of emotions. He got up, slowly, and stood firmly at the other side of the desk, gazing straight into Shining Armor’s eyes.

‘Those “shady individuals”, as you so truly poetically put it, do not let moral codes stop them from assuring the safety of our land,’ Moonwarden was speaking slowly, not even an ounce of anger in his tone.

‘I expect you to do your job and be gone as fast as possible,’ the Captain put his hooves down on the ground and approached the operative. ‘Am I clear?’ Shining Armor said when he stood right in front of the grey pony in a pose of authority. The other stallion, however, did not move even a muscle in response to that, nor had his expression changed.

‘Naturally, Captain...’

Moonwarden trotted towards the door, his cape swishing, and put his hoof on the knob. He looked back at the white stallion.

‘Expect an envoy contacting you within the next two days,’ he said and afterwards started whispering. ‘Do not make an enemy out of me, Shining Armor... After all, even the Conclave cannot see everything...’

‘Is that a threat, scum?’ the white stallion took a step forward and lowered his head with an angered expression.

‘Of course not, Captain. It is but a sad state of things,’ Moonwarden smiled faintly. ’Even the Conclave cannot protect everypony from... unpredictable misfortunes...’

‘... get out.’ Shining Armor hissed through his exposed teeth.

‘How is your fiancée, Princess Cadance, by the way?’

‘GET OUT!’ the Captain screamed, taking another step forward, to which Moonwarden chuckled silently and exited, the echo of the slamming door lingering in ears like a grim invocation.

‘That concludes my report, honored Council.’ Moonwarden bowed his head down slightly, having described the events that occurred just an hour ago. He, naturally, carefully omitted his confrontation with the guard Captain.

The three ponies in dark blue robes, who were hearing out his words, were seated on three, quite comfortable and ornamented chairs, positioned in equal distance from the center of this semicircle room that served as the Conclave’s High Council seat. The whole room was done in marble, the stained glass in the windows showing important ponies from the magical history of Equestria and their achievements. When the sun was shining through them the place was filled with light and colors. Now, however, in the midst of night, a large chandelier with candles was providing the illumination.

‘How do you find it, Firehoof?’ the greyish-blue unicorn on the center chair turned and asked the maroon mare on his left. She flicked her red-orange mane, its movement visibly imitating raging flames.

‘I am not certain, Stormcoat,’ she responded. ‘Agent, are you vouching for this case being worth of our attention?’ her dark-crimson eyes followed the question pointed at Moonwarden.

‘Councilor, I am intrigued in the situation. As far as my knowledge goes,’ the stallion took a step forward, ‘imaginings of mind have always a visible connection to outer stimuli. Since Star Swirl the Bearded,’ the agent pointed at one of the windows, to the right of the chamber, which shapes were forming into the silhouette of the greatest unicorn magician of the pre-classical era and the founder of the Conclave, ‘is a figure quite enigmatic and overlooked by the society. I see a chance close to impossibility that this suspected mare heard about him coincidentally and developed a mental autosuggestion of him coming back from the dead,’ the unicorn looked at all members of the Council.

Stormcoat was staring at him curiously while stroking his long, whitening beard. Firehoof rested her muzzle on her front right hoof, thinking. Only the light blue mare sitting on the left from Moonwarden didn’t look particularly moved by his statements. She just leaned forward, letting her long, white, combed mane reflect the candlelight.

‘You propose...?’ her voice was calm, like collective, resembling an echo amongst frigid glaciers.

‘Interrogations, Councilor Icemane,’ the agent’s response was straightforward. ‘We use gathered information for the sake of preserving public stability. She might provide us with leads on other ponies trying to cause unrest. As well as helping us find possible reasons for society’s unhappiness,’ the stallion firmly presented his arguments.

‘Do you insist on performing those questionings yourself, agent Moonwarden?’ Councilor Stormcoat stopped messing up his beard and addressed the grey pony calmly, even with his eyebrows, connected in a grimace, resembling gathering thunderous clouds.

‘Yes, honored Council,’ the stallion bowed slightly. ‘My sentry assignment is calm right now. My connections in Canterlot have not reported any activity requiring action since the Royal Library incident two months ago,’ the pony reported.

‘Commendable work on this case, agent.’ Firehoof reacted, her mane once more trying to set the chamber ablaze with its mimicry. ‘You saved a lot of precious tomes that night. But those fifteen lost, though...’ her tone changed.

‘If not for Moonwarden,’ Icemane turned to her colleague, ‘we would potentially lose a whole wing of the library. Hundreds of books were endangered.’

‘Did we finally found out the reason for that stallion’s assault?’ Stormcoat addressed the caped unicorn.

‘Unfortunately, no, Councilor. It appears it was a case of stress and mental disorder causing a nervous breakdown, since after I stopped the perpetrator, he fell into a torpor,’ the agent explained. ‘He ended up in the Canterlot hospital, the doctors claim that it still might be a long time before he will be able to give explanations for his maddened actions,’ Moonwarden accentuated the adjective visibly. ‘I still ache over the loss of those precious annals though. Some of them treated about truly wondrous, if dangerous spells,’ the stallion said with sadness in his voice.

‘Considering the forbidden knowledge stored in these tomes, I am somewhat glad they perished,’ the bearded unicorn made himself more comfortable in his chair. 'But that doesn't change the fact they are gone now and you are making assumptions, not giving us answers, Moonwarden.'

'I... understand, Councilor,' the caped unicorn bowed his head, ashamed.

‘A loss of knowledge is a loss of knowledge, it being forbidden or not, Stormcoat, do not be content with it like that.’ Icemane pointed out. Moonwarden nodded to those words, visibly agreeing. 'Yet you make a point. We lost fifteen irreplacable positions,' the mare looked at the agent, but not in a chastising way.

‘Better for it to be gone than used by unwanted individuals,’ Firehoof cut in and the caped pony could swear she said the two last words slightly slower. By just a little manner, yet still.

Stormcoat waved his hoof in irritation.

‘I think we can decide,’ he looked at the other two Council members, who nodded back at him, ‘to grant you this assignment, for the sake of gathering useful information and deciphering this case.’

Moonwarden smiled faintly.

‘But, we shall also grant you another task at the same time,’ the Councilor added. 'As a reprimand.'

‘Councilor?’ the agent looked, puzzled and somewhat shaken, at the oldest Council member.

‘We are issuing you an apprentice, Moonwarden,’ the bearded unicorn stated. ‘We know you prefer working on your own, hence why this time you shall have an initiate as your partner.’

The caped stallion just barely stopped himself from opening his mouth in surprise and protest together. His silvery eyes flickered. He looked down and something of a shudder went through his body, barely noticeable. Then he stared back at Stormcoat, regaining his composure.

‘Honored Council, if I may,’ he took a slow step forward, his voice slightly softer. ‘Interrogations are delicate work, requiring experience and focus. I would not want this tutorship to affect their outcome,’ he bowed his head again.

‘You are not getting out of this one...' Firehoof said firmly. 'But, also, we have every ounce of trust that you can manage it. Your service proves you can work successfully even under extreme pressure, this initiate won’t cause you problems even remotely close to that level,’ the crimson mare said somewhat enthusiastically, although Moonwarden could swear she was mocking him. ‘She is talented an eager to learn.’

‘Even with this being a reprimand, I can think of no better teacher in information acquiring than you, Moonwarden, so do not take it so harshly,’ Icemane was staring right into the agent’s eyes. ‘You are effecient and practical. And your methods...’ she began, but stopped because of the reactions that occurred. Hearing her words, Stormcoat’s expression suddenly hardened even more and Firehoof gave a, quite non-corresponding with her nature, cold look to the other mare and the caped pony. The agent gazed back at each of the Councilors, understanding in a whim the situation.

‘I shall comply, as you wish, honored Council,’ Moonwarden bowed his head humbly, seeing as he should not try to convince them to change their minds and wanting to turn their attention away from this sudden tension. ‘When shall I meet her?’

‘She is just waiting outside,’ Stormcoat said and raised his hoof. ‘Enter!’ he exclaimed.

The chamber’s door opened slowly and the sound of somepony approaching was heard. The caped unicorn turned his head to spot the newcomer. It was a mare, her coat in the color of a cornflower and with two-colored mane, bluish-grey and shell. She appeared quite nervous, giving uncertain looks to both the High Council and Moonwarden. And her trot was just a bit non-firm. She stood right near Moonwarden and was trying to appear calm, without too much of success. But one thing that made the grey stallion raise his eyebrow was the expression on her muzzle. She was constantly smiling and, even with all of her anxiety, that smile was sincere.

‘Agent Moonwarden, meet our most promising initiate,’ Stormcoat pointed at the young mare. ‘Her name is...’

‘Hi!’ the mare that was about to get introduced interrupted the Councilor, most likely out of stress, turning right to the caped stallion. ‘My name is Colgate!’ she had a clear voice, filled with a melodious tone, youthfulness and joy. And her teeth were gleaning brightly. ‘What’s your name?’

Oh... wonderful...

Chapter I

Moonwarden exited the High Council chamber with a firm trot and an expression that was a mosaic of grand irritation and pure anger. Fortunately, the polished staircase of white marble that was leading down to the main Conclave compound was empty. Aside from one of the reasons of the stallions irritation, who was, right now, following him with a friendly smile on her face. Fortunately for both of them, she couldn’t see his grimace.

‘So... what is your name?’ the mare, calling herself “Colgate” asked out of a sudden, breaking the monotonous rhythm of hoofsteps echoing around them.

‘Moonwarden,’ a perfectly calm voice of the caped unicorn was not in a way corresponding with his face, which still twisted with emotions.

‘Oh, that is a very nice name,’ the blue pony stated. ‘I am very excited to have a tutor. I know there is still a lot I need to learn,’ she added in a tone that sounded a bit naïve.

‘I have an unexplainable feeling you are more than correct, initiate,’ the stallion judged coldly, not even bothering to look back at his companion.

‘So, what do we do now?’ Colgate asked, trotting a bit faster, so that she was now going alongside Moonwarden, who managed to, in an instant, change his muzzle into a perfectly emotionless mask.

‘Well, you can start with...’ the stallion tried to say something, but the mare suddenly jumped down a couple of stairs, right in front of his path, making him stop in mid trot, avoiding a nearly inevitable collision.

‘Wait... “Moonwarden”?’ she asked. ‘That Moonwarden!?’ she supported herself on her back legs and brought her muzzle very close to the grey pony’s, making him raise his eyebrow. Weren’t you the one who saved the Royal Library?’ she put her front hooves on his chest to support her balance. This was an invasion deep within the area anypony would call “personal space”. The grey stallion’s expression underwent a twitch for a split second, but quickly returned to neutral. He backed away from Colgate, taking one step upwards, making her return to a normal stance.

‘By the Lady of Dreams!’ the grey stallion hissed in invisible irritation. He make a movement like he was swiping something unpleasant from his chest but then he seemed to have calmed down. ‘And here I thought that our little confraternity has more interesting things to gossip about...’ Moonwarden added, words being heavy with cynicism.

‘Are you kidding? Everyone was talking about it!’ Colgate said with excitement and it seemed like the other pony’s reactions to her recent social rules transgression completely escaped her attention. ‘They were saying how extremely dangerous that pony trying to burn the place down was and how you bested him without a problem! And how you put down the fire before the most important books were damaged! And how you did all of that by yourself!’ she sounded like a filly who just got given a kitty for a pet and was just explaining that she is going to kiss him and hug him and feed him and so forth. ‘Oh, I can’t believe you shall be my tutor!’ she said after finally taking a breath. Moonwarden looked like he was partially amazed and partially disturbed by this mare's enthusiasm. And partially glad, for it seemed that the overall knowledge about the incident this mare mentioned did not include the Council's discontent over those lost tomes.

‘I assure you, the pleasure...’ he began with irony abundantly oozing out of his sentence, but suddenly something changed in him. There was like a slight spark in his eyes after which his muzzle brandished a warm, understanding smile and his voice switched from sarcasm to sincerity. ‘... the pleasure shall be all mine, initiate.’

‘I am ready for everything!’ the mare declared eagerly and her own smiled broadened.

‘That is good,’ a happy expression was now stuck on the stallion’s muzzle. ‘Let us, then, converse about our cooperation,’ he said and trotted a few steps to the nearest window.

The delicate moonlight was pouring in through the crystal glass. The staircase they were taking was going down one of the highest towers in this part of the city. This spire was holding the main Conclave headquarters, with the High Council having their chambers and their official seat on the very top of the building. Below, the district of Canterlot known as the Archives was sprawling. It was this part of the city where various museums, libraries and galleries were situated. The Royal Gardens were to the east, along with the Princesses’ Castle that was firmly ruling over the cityscape. In the fallen night, every single building was shining with the pale light of the Moon.

‘Firstly, initiate,’ Moonwarden began, looking outside the crystal glass at the majestic night with a faint, happy smile, ‘I hope you do not mind working night shifts.’

‘No, not at all,’ Colgate answered with non-faltering eagerness. ‘I am okay with that, if it is necessary,’ she said and approached the other unicorn, joining him by the window.

‘It comes to my... shall we say... personal preference,’ the stallion chuckled faintly and looked further upwards to see the lunar circle. ‘It also shall help our work to remain more discreet. Now, do tell me about your arcane proficiency.’ the grey pony looked at his apprentice briefly before again focusing his stare on the Moon.

‘Well,’ the mare took a moment answer, ‘I know the basics in telekinesis, energy manipulation and projection...’ she started naming the branches of magical arts.

‘We all know these, initiate,’ Moonwarden judged. ‘I am asking about your particular talent. I need to know how crucial your aid can be in our tasks.’ He rubbed his nostrils with his front hoof.

‘Time!’ Colgate exclaimed loudly and with hearable pride.

‘Oh?’ the grey stallion turned his head and stared at the other pony with sudden interest. ‘Chronomancy? How potent are your abilities?’

‘It is nothing to spectacular, you know...’ the mare admitted, yet without reluctance. ‘But I can make ponies move faster, for example. I remember when we were once making cupcakes with Pinkie Pie!’, the mare smiled. ‘We managed to make 74 of them, instead of 60, in the same time it would take!’ she finished laughing.

‘... cupcakes? Ekhm, I mean’ the caped pony sounded bamboozled by the fact that cupcake-making was the greatest example of the initiate’s power, but he quickly restored his previous, friendly tone, ’did you say “Pinkie Pie”? As in the Element of Laughter? Do you know her?’

‘Please, everyone in Ponyville knows Pinkie!’ Colgate’s gleaning smile was very broad.

‘So I heard, yes...’ Moonwarden stated in a somehow comical, irritated fashion. ‘I see... Time magic then. Rarely practiced extensively, potent if mastered,’ from the looks of it, he had an inside conversation. ‘Potential to quicken mental reactions... could I use it? Probably, yes, yes...’ for a while the mare could swear that the grey stallion completely forgot that there was another pony standing right near him. But, that lasted only a moment. ‘You are full of surprises, initiate.’ Moonwarden finally said to his new apprentice.

‘Thank you, agent,’ Colgate responded with a little bow of her head.

‘ “Tutor”, if you please, initiate,’ the stallion smiled faintly, yet with authority of his recently assigned position.

‘Ah, yes, of course, sorry, ag-I mean, tutor!’ the mare lowered her head even further now, like worried she might have offended the grey unicorn. ‘But, I still don’t know what are we supposed to do together...’ she said after she raised her head.

‘In short, initiate, we will be undertaking a series of interrogations,’ Moonwarden said firmly towards the mare and then looked outside once more, like in a deep thought.

‘I-interrogations?’ Colgate asked, her smile disappearing like a candle blown out by a sudden gust of wind.

‘Yes, initiate,’ the stallion was still gazing outside. ‘As it happens, my talents and education place me within the role of information acquirer within the organization. And the Council desires for you to learn from my work,’ he said and then looked at the mare who now appeared very much different from that excited, smiling initiate Moonwarden saw her as just a minute or two ago.

‘I... I don’t think I am a good pony for this...’ she looked down, visibly saddened by the knowledge she just gained. ‘I mean... I have never even thought of myself as a...’ her voice was filled with doubt and the word she found in her mind didn’t even go through her mouth.

‘Do you find this work of mine repulsing then, initiate?’ the stallion’s question resounded within the staircase, not being answered. ‘I was hoping to finally find someone who would appreciate the amount of benefits I am brining to the cause. Seems I am destined to be... misunderstood,’ there was something of a saddened tone at the end of Moonwarden’s sentence. And that made Colgate react almost immediately.

‘No, no! I...’ she was trying to find the right words. ‘I... I understand why it is sometimes necessary, but... I just... I don’t think I ever thought I would...’ she was keeping her head down while saying this.

‘Initiate, I know it might be a harsh lesson for you, but a necessary one,’ the stallion said slowly, moving slightly closer to Colgate.

‘But... it feels... wrong...’ she nearly whispered.

‘Initiate,’ Moonwarden reached with his hoof to the blue unicorn’s chin. ‘Colgate...’ he said with softness and raised her head, gently, to make her look at him. ‘I understand your hesitation, but what I do is necessary for the sake of Equestria. Besides,’ he smiled softly, ‘I have an unexplainable feeling that you might be somepony to finally understand me for who I am...’

Colgate appeared stunned at first. A bit because of the words. And a bit because of the gesture. Then her face brightened and something of a slight blush came up on her cheeks. She took a step back, abashed a little.

‘Thank you...’ she let out a confused whisper, like she wasn’t sure for what she is really thanking the stallion.

‘Do not mention it, initiate. I am just being honest,’ the caped pony admitted. ‘Now, I will want you to start by contacting the Royal Guard in the morning,’ the tone of his voice became authoritative, yet in a way expected from a teacher. ‘Tell the Captain that I wish to begin tomorrow, after sunset. Then,’ he smiled, ‘go home and rest. See me before the entrance to the Barracks in the evening.’

‘Alright, will do, tutor,’ Colgate, with a gentle smile, acknowledged her instructions and proceeded down the stairs, to the Conclave’s compound. Moonwarden stayed behind, again with his gaze lost in the starry night. But while the mare, touching her cheek, blushed a little and a faint, dreamy expression lurked on her mouth, the unicorn, knowing again nopony could see his grimace, allowed himself to smile smugly.

‘So, when shall the Conclave begin the procedures?’ Shining Armor asked, after greeting Colgate in his office. The morning sun was pouring in through the windows, brightening up the Captain’s chamber. The sunlight was reflecting off the ceremonial breastplate that was positioned in the western side of the room, the one that was being worn on official military occasions. Right now, it was nearly projecting an aura of golden authority, like another source of light.

‘This evening,’ the mare said, after sitting down on the chair offered by the host. She couldn’t help but be nervous, speaking with the Captain of the Royal Guard.

‘I am glad that the Council decided to take immediate action,’ Shining Armor looked pleased to hear those news, but there was something in his expression that made Colgate think like he was expecting bad news to follow. ‘Who shall be conducting the questionings?’

‘My tutor, Captain. I will be accompanying him,’ the blue unicorn answered and spotted that as soon as she finished that the other pony’s face hardened a great deal, as if she had really delivered those bad news.

‘Do you mean that you are Moonwarden’s apprentice?’ he asked and Colgate couldn’t help but notice the tension in his voice, not to mention distaste when he spoke the name of her teacher.

‘Yes, since yesterday,’ she answered according to the truth, trying to observe how the other unicorn shall react. ‘I’m assigned to him for this work,’ the blue pony clarified, her voice more firm than last night when she spoke of the “work” they were to conduct.

‘What do you think of him?’ the Captain gave his guest an inquisitive, if not straightforward intimidating, look.

‘Uhm...’ Colgate was caught by surprise by this question. ‘I... why do you ask, exactly?’ she felt the need to ask for the stallion’s reasoning.

Shining Armor didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he got up and approached the fireplace, now extinguished. It was like he was trying to see a proper answer amongst the grey ashes, ashes that still remembered the events of last night. He finally let out a short sigh and responded to the mare, turning around.

‘I want to know an opinion from inside of the Conclave.’

Colgate expression was betraying that she wasn’t convinced about it being the real reason why he was asking about her teacher.

‘He appears a bit strict, but nice overall. Really friendly,’ the mare gave her sincere impressions.

Shining Armor raised his eyebrow. He looked like he wasn’t sure if his guest understood his question, for she clearly did not have the same pony in mind that he did. Colgate wanted to continue her answer, but the door to the office opened suddenly and a member of the Guard appeared. He stood in attention, saluted and reported.

‘Sir, the platoon is ready for inspection, sir!’

‘Thank you, Sergeant. Dismissed!’ Shining Armor responded. Then, once the soldier closed the door behind him, the Captain turned to the mare. ‘I need to get back to my duties. But, agent, let me ask for a favor,’ the white stallion’s voice became more quiet, like out of worry of being eavesdropped.

‘Oh?’ Colgate’s expression was a mixture of eagerness and slight confusion. ‘Yes, of course... But what kind of, Captain?’ she asked also quietly and with an inquiring stare.

‘Tell your new “teacher” that I will be carefully observing him...’ Shining Armor’s eyes were cold, like plates of steel forming a cuirass. ‘I will not tolerate any more of his vile art than necessary, even if it was me who asked for aid in those interrogations in the first place. Also, I do not take lightly to threats, especially towards ones I care for...’

Colgate’s eyes were getting wider and wider.

‘... so he better be careful. Or else, he can be sure of it, I will be coming for him.’

Chapter II

Colgate was following her tutor through the cave system. Her trot was unsure and her eyes were going left and right, nervously, observing the details of this incredibly unsettling for her place. Countless grottos were naturally forming a sprawling complex and it looked like only a few passages and chambers were artificially carved in the solid, granite inside of the Canterlot mountain to complete the creation of this place. Here and there some amorphous crystals were sticking out of the solid rock. The light of enchanted torches combined with the dancing reflections, mirroring from those spread out formations, was giving the whole place a rather eerie feeling.

'Tutor, may I ask you something?' the blue unicorn whispered faintly to the pony in front of her.

The echo of hoofsteps was bouncing off the walls, combined with an occasional faint voice, cough, grunt. A cacophony of nearly non-hearable sounds, always present, resonating inside Colgate’s head. To top it all, each cave wasn't just an unused, geological wonder, but had at least a couple of doors with barred holes in them acting as peepholes, all locked shut, leading to smaller grottos. And amongst all of this, Colgate, her teacher Moonwarden and Shining Armor, who was leading the two Conclave agents through this grim labyrinth.

'Ask away, initiate,' an answering whisper was finally heard and the caped pony looked behind him, curiously.

'How come this place isn't known of?'

The grey stallion halted and moved to one side of the corridor the group was going through, waiting for the young mare and then, when she was just beside him, started walking again and whispering.

'Let me explain this thoroughly, initiate,' he began. 'You see, petty thieves, pickpockets and many other minor perpetrators are normally kept in incarceration at the local Royal Guard or Nightguard outpost, depending on the region of Equestria...' the stallion was explaining patiently. 'But when a pony of particularly malicious intentions is caught, he or she is sent right here, to the Delves,' the grey pony looked at his companion and Colgate nodded, confirming she is following. 'And since ponies are a naturally gossiping and exaggerating species,' Moonwarden let out a long sigh, 'we do not wish the existence of such a complex to spawn even more outrageous fables about Equestria's criminal deterrence techniques and sentencing philosophy.'

'We have enough of those tales already...' Shining Armor suddenly added and Colgate realized that those were his first words since he greeted the two ponies at the barracks.

'There seems to be a case we agree upon after all, Captain,' the grey stallion admitted. 'If I hear one more rumor about sending somepony to the Moon as a valid punishment in our legal system, I might as well throw my hooves up in the air and admit that our species, aside from the traits I mentioned before is, in addition, naturally prone to idiocy,' Moonwarden's words were a bit harsh, but Colgate was unable to tell whether he was really serious, or himself exaggerating.

'I could think of a pony or two I would like to be gone for such a trip...' the white stallion added silently, yet clearly enough, which made the caped pony roll his eyes.

'As much as I would adore a chance to contemplate the beauty of the Moon up close and personal,' the grey stallion replied sarcastically, 'I am afraid it shall not ever come to being.'

Colgate could swear that a sad blink appeared in her teacher's eyes, but it was gone almost instantly. Shining Armor didn't respond to the agent’s words, instead focusing on finding the correct path in this net of corridors and caves. A couple of minutes later he stopped in front of an entrance to one of the caves. The place had four cells on the opposite wall, with tough wooden doors.

'She is in the first one on the left. Do you wish to take her to the interrogation chamber?' the Captain turned to Moonwarden, but the stallion waved his head in negation.

'Unnecessary for now, Captain. She would feel threatened more than is needed.’

'Here is the key to her cell then,' the white pony handed the mentioned key, firm and iron, to Colgate's teacher. 'I still expect your work to be done in the shortest amount of time,' he said afterwards, harshly.

'It shall be done when it shall be done,' the other stallion responded, calmly and yet immediately.

'You shouldn't try my patience, Moonwarden. The moment you are done our cooperation ends,’ Shining Armor’s voice resounded with irritation.

‘Do not expect me to rush things for the sake of your comfort, Captain,’ Colgate’s teacher gave one of his cold looks to the leader of the Royal Guard. ‘My art is of delicate nature... it shall not suffer because of your superstition.'

'I won’t repeat myself, Moonwarden,' the Captain’s voice was intimidating to say the least.

'Neither will I, Captain.'

Colgate was quietly observing this exchange. She couldn't tell if the two stallions still remembered that she was nearby and listening to all of it.

'One wrong move, Moonwarden, and you are done for,' Shining Armor said finally, which made Colgate realize she never told her tutor about what the Captain said yesterday about “watching” the grey pony.

'I was expecting nothing less than careful scrutiny of my actions, Captain,' the caped pony was still keeping his tranquility, surprisingly, 'but if you think that your position might give you the right to interfere with my duties and actions now that I am on official assignment, you might be in for a rather unpleasant surprise, Captain,' Moonwarden finished, his sentence sending an unsettling, faint echo that made Colgate shiver a bit.

Shining Armor’s expression was furious. He took a step forward, nearly pressing his muzzle against Moonwarden's. His eyes were filled with fiery anger, while the other pony was like a stoic statue, his face unmoved, his stare frigid.

The mare, while observing this curious stare-down, started thinking extensively. After what she heard from the Captain earlier, her mind had a bit of a rough time, trying to figure this whole situation out. The white unicorn was clearly negative towards her new tutor and he claimed that Moonwarden was dangerous... that he was threatening somepony, that his art was... “vile”... It was like, out of a sudden, Colgate ended up being an apprentice of a dark sorcerer, or something... Moonwarden, though, didn't appear to be an evil pony. Sure, she thought, he could have been seen as enigmatic, maybe slightly intimidating, with his cape and that cold look she spotted on him once or twice. And with that speech pattern, all formal and official. But, to be honest, after talking to him... after that... that touch of his... Oh, she really couldn't gather her thoughts about all of this!

Finally, after a longer while of nearly visible tension, the Captain turned away and stormed past the two agents.

'You have three hours tonight,' he hissed through clenched teeth, then went down the corridor, back from where the group arrived.

When the Captain's silhouette disappeared behind a turn, the grey pony let out a long sigh and sat down slowly, like he was about to faint.

'Tutor, is everything alright?' Colgate asked immediately, concerned, seeing as her teacher got quite pale on his face and started to breath heavily.

'Yes... yes. I just need a moment,' he responded like he was very tired, closing his eyes. 'I do not enjoy situations like that.'

'I can imagine,' the blue pony said in return. 'What's the real thing going between you two, tutor?' she asked a rather upfront question, feeling she needs to really know more.

'The usual,' the stallion answered with a shrug then continued when he spotted the mare's clueless expression. 'I do realize, like I mentioned to you before, initiate, that my line of work is often despised and I myself am treated with ostracism. Yet Shining Armor is particularly vicious in that aspect, inexplicably,' Moonwarden finished with a tone a bit sad and yet a bit not caring.

'He... he did mention that you were threatening somepony earlier and...' Colgate tried to present her conversation with the Captain, deciding that now might be a good moment to for her to get some answers that will help her understand the situation more.

'Yes, I am aware that he misunderstood my safety concerns for veiled threats. I might have used a rather unfortunate figure of speech, I admit,' the caped pony looked down, like ashamed. 'At the same time, I am astounded that he had the daring to discredit me in your eyes.'

'He did not!’ Colgate nearly shouted. ‘I mean... I... I didn't really believe him...' Colgate admitted. ‘It’s just... confusing...’

'Trust me, initiate, it is far more than confusing for me for a long time now...’ a lamentable tone came from her teacher’s mouth. ‘I guess I should mention that our pony kind is also rather... judgmental,’ he sighed with his eyes closed.

‘But I... I don’t judge you...’ the mare didn’t know what to say but this.

‘ It is of no matter now,' Moonwarden raised back to four legs. ‘Back to the task at hand,' the caped pony said with conviction, although there was something of a sad tone in his voice still.

‘Oh... alright...’ Colgate said, lowering her head.

'First rule of a successful interrogation is not making it look like one. We shall attempt to befriend her, make her believe we want to get her out of this misunderstanding,' Moonwarden's voice was fully smooth and stern now. 'That is the goal for today.'

'Alright,' the mare nodded in response, trying to be as focused as he now was. 'What precisely should I do?' she inquired, in her head deciding that she will at least try her best when it comes to the assignment. Although she still was upset inside that she didn’t know how to make her tutor feel better.

'Be yourself, initiate,' the stallion answered, a sudden glimmer of a smile dancing on Moonwarden’s lips.

'I... I am rather good at that,' she responded, perplexed a little.

'Wonderful. Let us proceed then,' the stallion started approaching the door to the correct cell and grabbed the key with his magic. Colgate spotted that the energy was of silver color, like Moonwarden's eyes. It was like he conjured a little cloud of faintly shining mist. 'Oh... And Colgate? Thank you for your...“misjudgment”...' the caped pony suddenly said. Colgate opened her mouth, surprised. She looked straight at her teacher, who turned his head around and winked at her, with a full, thankful smile on his face. She realized what he meant now and grinned back at him, a certain warmth filling her.

After the stallion opened the door with a large clang noise of the lock, both of the ponies ventured in the cell slowly. The little cave was lit dimly by a glowing crystal, positioned usefully above the center of the place. It was sheading its faintly bluish light on a wooden table in need of immediate restoration and some straw gathered at the distant side of the room. On this counterfeit form of a bed, under a dirty piece of rag lied a pony, turned away from the agents, seemingly asleep.

Moonwarden beckoned Colgate to follow him as he started trotting into the cell. The mare followed, carefully observing the prisoner. It was a pegasus, a mare quite possibly. She had a coat colored like a puddle of rainwater on a sunless day, grey-bluish. And her mane, even if now without care and dirty, was the color of clouds bringing a warm downpour. Even though she was sleeping, she was holding the piece of material she was using for cover very firmly. It appeared like she felt the cell being very cold, although the temperature inside the Delves was but a bit lower than outside.

The caped unicorn, once he stood right near the pushed-together fodder and above the prisoner, did a rather loud, theatrical almost, throat-clearing cough. That made the lying pegasus move a bit. She appeared to have woken up, rubbing her eyes with her hooves before turning around to see what was the source of that sudden noise. But once she finally spotted that someone was with her in the cell, her reaction made Colgate quickly back off a step, while Moonwarden raised his eyebrow. The prisoner sat up almost in an eye-blink, turned towards the agents and pressed herself to the wall so tightly she was almost trying to meld into the granite surface. Her eyes, as Colgate saw, the color of sun reflecting in clear lakes, got huge and panicked, while her lower lip was shaking from outright horror. She was looking at one, then at the other unicorn, in a state of shock.

‘Wh-who are you?!’ her voice resounded with fear. Moonwarden reacted in an instant.

‘Forgive us this intrusion...’ he said calmly, bowing his head a little. ‘We mean you no harm-‘

‘Get away from me!’ the mare screamed in response.

‘Please, listen-‘

‘Get away!’ the pegasus voice cracked and she shielded her head in her front legs. Moonwarden closed his eyes for a second, Colgate could swear that out of irritation.

‘Calm down, please...’ he continued with a silent voice. ‘We are backing off... See?’ he took a step backwards and Colgate followed as soon as she spotted his motion.

‘What do you want...?’ the prisoner’s voice was still with a note of panic, her eyes closed tight, her position unchanged.

‘Talk, that is all...’ the grey pony said delicately. ‘We understand you were dragged into an unfortunate set of events and we wish to help you.’

‘Help? No, you do not want to help...’ the pegasus replied with sudden conviction. She looked straight at the caped pony. ‘You want to make me talk.’

‘We do not wish to “make” you talk...’ Moonwarden answered with a soft tone to counter hers. ‘We are hoping you shall aid us in getting you out of this misunderstanding. Isn’t it right, my friend?’ the pony turned to Colgate, who reacted with a little delay, first trying to cope with the way she was addressed.

‘Yes! Yes...’ the unicorn mare said. ‘We don’t think you should be where you are. We will do our best to make you free,’ she realized she didn’t sound as convincing as her mentor, but she was trying to give her all.

‘Of course you do...’ the pegasus muttered under her breath and turned her head away.

‘Give us a chance, at least,’ the caped pony said with a dosage of plea. ‘What is your name?’ he asked, but only silence answered him. His muzzle twitched slightly. ‘Please, I just wish to know your name,’ he queried again, but the same silence occurred. ‘We wish to make it a civilized interaction, but we need your name first...’

‘You know it already,’ the prisoner finally responded, which just made Moonwarden smile faintly.

‘I do, but courtesy is vital in any situation,’ the grey pony stated. ‘Let us give a good example then... My name is Moonwarden and this is Colgate,’ he bowed his head shortly then pointed to the unicorn mare who smiled delicately.

‘I don’t care.’

The grey stallion rolled his eyes and turned his face away from the two mares, but Colgate could swear he looked rightfully irked out of a sudden. She herself felt concerned that the pegasus was so distrustful, at the same time understanding that being imprisoned in a place like this would make it hard for anypony to trust two strangers entering a cell in the middle of the night and trying to appear friendly. Moonwarden turned his head back to face the winged pony, but his eyes, as the blue unicorn spotted, were colder than before.

‘We offer you a chance to work in unison with us,’ he once more spoke to the prisoner. ‘We do not wish to suddenly spawn adversity, do we?’ he added softly, in contradiction to the words.

‘Just leave me alone...’ the pegasus, still not looking at her visitors, whispered with a sorrowful tone. Colgate decided to act.

‘We do not want you to be alone. We want you to have somepony to help you. And we want to be those... uhm... someponies,’ she said and the prisoner stared straight at her, silently. In her eyes the unicorn mare saw something like a... longing.

‘Well, said, my friend,’ the caped pony nodded. ‘But we need you to let us be the aforementioned... “someponies”...’ he made a hearable pause.

The pegasus was for a while observing both the faintly smiling Colgate and the stoically calm Moonwarden. Then she let out a sigh.

‘My name is Summer Rainfall,’ she said. ‘I am the herald of Star Swirl’s will.’

Chapter III

Colgate was gathering her thoughts over the words she just heard, trying to find sense and logic in them, considering the circumstances. A fragile-looking pegasus prisoner, sitting on straw acting as a bed, seconds earlier being on the verge of panic, gave herself a rather prestigiously sounding title. And with a voice clear and sure. That didn’t make too much sense for the unicorn mare. Her tutor, Moonwarden, meanwhile, raised one of his front hooves to his chin in a gesture of concern and deep inside deliberations and remain in that posture for a while before speaking up finally.

‘I see, “herald”...’ he said, accentuating the word the winged pony used to describe herself. ‘And who bestowed upon you this honorary rank?’ the stallion asked with frigid voice, like containing sarcasm lurking just behind the calmness.

‘Star Swirl himself!’ the pegasus exclaimed, in a tone full of excitement. Even though the sentence she said was defying logic.

‘Star Swirl, you say...’ Moonwarden repeated with a completely blank tone. ‘Tell me, Summer Rainfall, how come?’

‘He came back from the dead!’ the prisoner zealously shouted. ‘And he wants to bring us equality at last!’ she was not getting quieter.

‘You meant to tell me that he has resurrected himself, or that somepony brought him back to life?’ the caped stallion asked in a tone one normally uses when asking guests about their preferences when it comes to drinks.

‘Well, he... he... He is back, that is important!’ the winged mare hesitated a bit, but then stood up, not losing that sudden strength in her voice that appeared after she presented herself as the “herald” of the greatest pony magician in known history.

‘And now that he is miraculously back, what does he desire again?’ Moonwarden was continuing the conversation.

‘Justice and equal chances for everypony!’ Summer Rainfall was stellar about her words.

‘So... let me gather what we just learned, what do you say, my friend?’ Colgate spotted her tutor turned to her, but she just nodded, as the pegasus’ conviction was still causing her to ponder about it inside her head. ‘A unicorn wizard comes back after centuries of being soundly confirmed dead... preaches about equality between species even though he lived before the Exodus, in times of vast adversities amongst the ancient pony kinds... and instead of using his legendary fame, he goes into hiding to form a cult amongst the lower classes...’ the unicorn stallion was trotting left and right while delivering his arguments. ‘Should I continue?’ he threw a question towards the winged pony.

‘I... I...’ the pegasus looked confused for a moment, but then her stern voice sounded again. ‘I will not fall to your lies! Star Swirl the Bearded himself warned us about the likes of you! The ones who would silence the voices demanding justice! There cannot be Equestria without equality!’ her shouts resounded amongst her cell and a faint echo went down the corridors of the Delves.

‘The likes of us?’ Colgate finally decided to contribute further to the interrogation. ‘What do you mean?’

‘You would want to silence us! You, who should use magic to serve and yet you view it as justifying your tyranny!’ the prisoner pointed a hoof at the agents.

‘Tyranny? What tyranny?!’ the unicorn mare didn’t believe her ears. What was that winged pony talking about?

‘No use asking, dear friend. Our... host... here is clearly not in touch her own mind...’ Colgate’s teacher cut in.

‘I am the herald of Star Swirl and I speak for myself!’ the pegasus protested.

‘I heard you, “herald”. Now I want to hear Summer Rainfall, if you please,’ Moonwarden said extremely calmly.

‘What...!?’ the winged mare began, but she didn’t manage to say anything more than that. She suddenly gasped in pain, grabbed her head with her front hooves and collapsed on the straw she was standing on. Both of the agents were close by her momentarily.

‘What is happening to her?’ Colgate asked with panic in her voice and she wasn’t even trying to hide it.

‘I am not sure, but I have my assumptions-’ the caped pony began to elaborate, but the moment he kneeled down by the suffering mare, who was breathing heavily and letting out small gasps of pain now and then, she flung her hooves frantically and hit Moonwarden squarely in the chin, nearly in an uppercut fashion. The stallion looked stunned for an eye blink, but he quickly restored his focused expression, whilst holding his jaw with his front-left hoof.

‘Can you help her?’ the blue unicorn asked with voice filled with concern, so fixated on the prisoner, she didn’t even spot the strike at first.

‘I am fine, thank you for your concern,’ the caped pony said sarcastically. ‘Can you try keeping her still?’ he asked then, for the pegasus began rolling on the floor left and right, her head firmly clutched in between her front legs, her wings going wild. Colgate went behind her, kneeled down, and began attempting to restrain her movement, which wasn’t too easy. After a while of struggle, Colgate managed to lock down the other mare’s hooves with her own, pinning the winged pony to the ground with her body mass. All that while Moonwarden was still staring straight at the prisoner’s closed eyes.

‘Look at me,’ he said with a commanding voice. ‘Look at me!’ he repeated more firmly, when he had no response from the mare, struggling to release herself from underneath the other unicorn. The pegasus’ eyelids were tightly shut still and she was keeping her forehead pressed to the floor. ‘Look at me, “herald”!’ the caped stallion nearly shouted, but managed to get the prisoner’s attention. The moment the winged pony looked up and opened her eyes, Colgate glanced at her tutor.

The second Summer Rainfall made eye contact, the caped unicorn’s horn lit up. With a faint, dim, silver aura. But that illumination didn’t last for too long, quickly moving right into the unicorn’s eyes. The pupils, already light grey in color, shined more firmly. Colgate found it hard to describe, but the closest analogy that came to the mare was that they became the color of full moon coated in liquid, shining metal. A lunar circle surrounding pitch black void of the irises, which became smaller, focused on the pegasus’ own eyes. It was a stare piercing, penetrating, giving Moonwarden an angered, intimidating, nearly psychotic expression. But, instead of scaring the prisoner, it caused a quite opposite reaction.

Summer Rainfall stopped struggling nearly in an instant. Colgate didn’t really need to pin her down anymore, it looked for her like the other mare went nearly absolutely limp.

‘... you can stop restraining her...’ the caped stallion said after a while, still keeping eye contact with the winged pony. His voice was stern, but a bit distant, his attention focused on keeping the spell.

Colgate stood up slowly. The pegasus didn’t react at all to the fact she could move freely again. The blue mare carefully went around the lying pony, beside her teacher and could now see clearly the prisoner’s face. Summer Rainfall was staring right into Moonwarden’s eyes. Her pupils, light blue with yellow accents, appeared like behind a veil. The blue unicorn could swear that almost a fog has fallen upon the mare’s sight, with a platinum, faint shine. The pegasus’ expression was completely blank. Her mouth was slightly open, twitching lightly ever so often.

‘What are you...?’ Colgate wanted to ask.

‘... not now, give me a moment...’ Moonwarden silenced her with the same voice tone as before, not looking away. The unicorn mare complied, observing both her tutor, who was as still and focused as one can be and the prisoner, who was now deep entranced by the caped pony’s magic. Finally, Summer Rainfall’s eyelids fluttered and closed, while the stallion let out a long breath and relaxed.

‘Crisis averted...’ he whispered. ‘I came prepared for a lot, but what just occurred was slightly out of range of my calculations...’ he stated, rubbing his forehead.

‘What just happened?’ Colgate was confused about what occurred. ‘Is she alright?’ she asked, looking at the pegasus lying motionlessly on the floor, breathing deeply.

‘She is just asleep. She should awake in a while,’ Moonwarden answered. ‘It should help the mind reach back its equilibrium.’

‘But what was that?’

‘I do presume, initiate, that it was a feedback effect,’ the caped pony presented his theory.

‘A “feedback”?’ the young unicorn did not understand.

‘Yes. I call in that way the occurrence of a mind suddenly and violently trying to break outside control,’ after the word “violent” Moonwarden checked his chin once more. ‘From what I would assume out of Rainfall’s reaction,’ the agent pointed at the pegasus in slumber, ‘I would assume it was a planted suggestion rather than a dominative alter-character, although the reaction was quite grandeur. Perhaps the spells defensive weave was deeply embroidered within sub-consciousness, maybe based on a powerful emotion, trauma... Pardon me for my enigmatic rambling, mental magic is rather complicated...’ the caped pony looked at his apprentice, who was trying to grasp all what he was talking about, with limited success.

‘To be honest, tutor, it sounds rather fascinating,’ Colgate answered in accordance to how she was feeling inside.

‘That is very kind of you, initiate,’ the caped stallion bowed his head. ‘More simply, what I meant is that she was under a spell. Which could explain her panicked reaction suddenly changing to stern once she referred to herself as she did. What she was saying afterwards was likely planted in her brain artificially. And I do believe that the word “herald” was a keyword,’ Moonwarden was trying his best to be basic about the situation, ‘which in a way “activated” the suggestion. I must have unknowingly caused her mind to lash out whilst we were talking, causing the “feedback”.’

‘So... when you referred to her as both herself and this... “herald”... she suddenly snapped out of the spell?’ Colgate asked, trying to follow her teacher’s logic.

‘That appears correct,’ he nodded. ‘There might have been other causes also, maybe the amount of stress, maybe physical and mental fatigue... Everything together might have been enough to weaken the mind-binds.’

‘So, is she back herself?’ the unicorn mare kneeled down by the pegasus.

‘I do believe so. I did not want to enter her mind, especially in the feedback circumstances, so I cannot be sure. But the mental shock not breaking control is extremely rare, ’ the caped stallion looked at the prisoner. ‘I managed to calm her though, hence why she is asleep.’

‘So we wait for now?’ Colgate turned back to her tutor.

‘The best course of action for the moment, her mind must have a while to reinstate full control’ Moonwarden concluded, trotted next to the table in the cell and sat down. ‘But this situation concerns me.’

‘Tutor?’ the blue unicorn joined the other agent and sat at the opposite side of the table from him.

‘Somepony casting a spell on the pegasus,’ he pointed at Summer Rainfall with the motion of his head, ‘means there is somepony with knowledge of arts playing on racial hatred. Or at least trying to. Focused on creating unrest, for the sake of personal gain, revenge, chaos, or the like...’

‘Posing as Star Swirl, you think?’

‘Quite possible,’ the stallion answered his apprentice’s question. ‘And I hope we will get a name soon. I do not have to tell you that an unchecked individual tinkering with mind control is only going to cause problems.’ Moonwarden finished, concerned.

‘How come exactly?’ Colgate pressed the topic. ‘Is this magic really that dangerous as Shining Armor says?’

‘Mental magic brings with itself a lot of temptations. It offers a certain appeal of having dominion over others. And for a cost rather simple to pay,’ the grey unicorn realigned his cape so that it was perfectly smoothly flowing down his back. ‘It is tremendously easy to forget about the dire consequences of misusage. As well as lose a certain sense of morality, once you can shape others without trouble.’

‘I see...’ the blue mare pondered. ‘The Captain accuses you of just that.’

‘Precisely. And not exactly at the same time. You see, magic itself cannot be described as “good” or “evil”. “Light” or “dark”. Magic is not a sentient being, capable of making choices that would align it to one of those concepts. It is the way it is used that matters. Hence, Shining Armor’s accusations about my art being straightforwardly a corrupted one are, at best, based on misconceptions. At worst, on narrow-mindedness,’ Moonwarden concluded and gave a quick look at the pegasus, yet she was still asleep.

‘I think he is just concerned about the good of Equestria. I can’t blame him for being careful,’ Colgate pointed out. ‘Maybe for being slightly paranoid, tutor,’ she added, which caused her teacher to smirk.

‘Well, if he is paranoid about malice lurking behind every corner, ready to strike when we least expect it, he might not be suited for his position. Besides, it is wise to always leave a lot of place in between the extremities of virtue and vice,’ the stallion judged.

‘I guess we end up in this area a lot, workwise,’ the mare sighed.

‘More than you think, Colgate,’ the grey pony said calmly. ‘Yet, we cannot allow it to define us. Each and every one of us is unique,’ he continued philosophically. ‘Some ponies more than others...’ after those words he winked at the other unicorn and a blush on the mare’s face soon followed. ‘You are doing good so far, initiate. Keep this up and we shall be done with this assignment in no time,’ the caped stallion finally concluded.

‘Thank you, tutor,’ Colgate bowed her head and smiled. ‘I am doing my best.’

‘It shows, trust me,’ her teacher smiled back at her. ‘Now, I do believe Summer Rainfall shall be waking up any second now. Let us be near her when that happens. Kneel by her, she will get an impression we were close all the time,’ Moonwarden gave commands and then stood up, followed closely by the other unicorn.

‘Will do, tutor,’ Colgate acknowledged and then positioned herself near the prisoner.

Not a minute later, the pegasus moved a bit, the way like ponies move in their sleep sometimes. Her eyelids start to go up slightly, but in a lazy fashion, the remnants of the hypnotic spell control still present. She moved one of her hooves over her eyes, rubbing them, while she tried to speak up.

‘Wha... what happened?’

‘Welcome back to us, Summer Rainfall,’ Moonwarden greeted her. ‘How are you feeling?’

‘Good, thank you... I... Where am I?’ she was looking around the cell.

‘In incarceration, but you are safe, do not worry,’ the stallion answered her, reassuring her the moment he spotted her eyes getting panicked again after he mentioned her being in a cell.

‘I... Yes, I remember now,’ the pegasus tried to stand up. Colgate aided her as soon as she spotted that. ‘Thanks,’ the prisoner thanked her. ‘You came to ask me about Star Swirl.’

‘That is correct. What do you remember afterwards?’ the caped unicorn pursued the topic.

‘I told you my name... and then... I... not sure,’ confusion was blatant on her face.

‘It is alright, Summer Rainfall. You were under a spell, you broke free.’ Moonwarden explained the situation as briefly as possible.

‘A spell? Yes. Yes, there was something...’ the pegasus looked still a bit unsure of what is happening in general. ‘Like a feeling... like a net... I... cannot really explain,’ she looked saddened by her inability to express it more clearly.

‘It’s alright now, we got you out of it,’ Colgate smiled at the other mare, who smiled back.

‘I am grateful,’ the prisoner bowed her head. ‘But, do you mean I got... brainwashed?’ she asked in a quite naïve fashion.

‘You could express it like that, yes,’ Moonwarden nodded, yet the look on his face was showing, at least to the blue unicorn, that he despised the expression used. ‘And that is why we are here, Summer Rainfall. We want to help you,’ the stallion said once he once again brought up the calm on his face.

‘I... I can’t believe they would do that... I... I thought they meant well...’ it looked like the winged mare wasn’t listening to him anymore, instead began walking around the cell. Colgate thought about stopping her, but a discreet hoofsign from her teacher stopped her before she decided to take action. ‘She said we were doing the good work... that we shall help Equestria.’

‘She?’ Moonwarden asked, his eyes carefully following the mares movement.

‘Yes... a green pegasus... what... what was her name...? Sweet Celestia... I can’t remember! I don’t know!’ the prisoner’s voice began to be slightly panicked.

‘Calm down, please...’ the stallion approached her. ‘Your mind is still shaken by the spell and your struggle. You might experience memory lapses, those are common, Summer Rainfall.’

‘Call me “Rainfall”, alright?’ the pegasus looked at first, than the second unicorn.

‘As you wish, Rainfall,’ the caped pony nodded. ‘As I said, fear not. Even if you are unable to recall details of the past, it is a passing thing. For now, focus on what you can remember clearly, can you do that for me?’

‘Yes... yes, of course... uhm...’ the winged mare started thinking excessively, while Moonwarden lead her to sit at the table. Colgate joined the two other ponies and while her teacher sat across from the prisoner, she spotted him giving her a subtle sign with his eyes for her to sit near the pegasus. She followed the hidden instructions.

‘You have all the time you need, Rainfall,’ the stallion said and once more realigned his cape, so that it was smooth and unwrinkled.

‘I... I am trying... this is all so confusing!’

‘Don’t worry, we will aid you as much as possible.’ Colgate reassured her, afterwards spotting a short smirk and acknowledging nod from her tutor. The winged pony had the expression of great focus on her face.

‘A meeting... couple of ponies, earth ones, pegasi. A figure comes, with a hat and beard. Says he is Star Swirl... I do not know what happens next...’ she began talking.

‘It is fine, continue, please...’ Moonwarden nodded and encouraged her, whilst giving a stern look to Colgate. She understood, she was already trying to pay attention to every word.

‘A green pegasus... She says: balance, equality... mission. Her name... F... Fa... not sure...’ she took a while before continuing. ‘Me, going somewhere... a plaza in Canterlot. Then nothing. Then the Royal Guard. I am somewhere, Shining Armor talking with me... it is all a blur!’ she gave a little shout and started weeping. Colgate decided to put her hoof on her back, trying to reassure her.

‘Please, Rainfall, calm down...’ she whispered to her, whilst her teacher stood up and went around the table.

‘The “blur” is natural, I assure you. My abilities might help with that, thought risking memory restoration so shortly after a feedback can be possibly devastating,’ he began explaining, but Summer Rainfall’s expression was betraying her being clueless. ‘We might wait for the lapses to go away naturally, yet it can take a while, so we might be forced to resolve to that after all...’ the tone he said it in made Colgate look at him with surprise. For her, it sounded like a veiled threat.

‘I... I do want to tell you... I really do!’ the pegasus exclaimed with a bit of fear.

‘And we see that.’ Moonwarden admitted. ‘Our hoof is stretched towards you in an act of friendship, we see you want to take it. What you need right now, is rest. And some... more hospitable conditions,’ the stallion looked around the cell. ‘I want to propose a deal, Rainfall.’

‘A... deal? What do you mean?’ the winged pony asked and both her and Colgate were now staring at the grey stallion.

‘Your memory should be fully restored in a few hours, but for you to regain full recollection of details you need a few days. So, I propose we postpone our next meeting. We will come here in three days and ask you the questions about your unfortunate involvement in this case,’ the stallion was speaking slowly and clearly. ‘In the meantime, I will make sure you are given better quality sustainment and a chance to clean yourself up properly. And if you will give us the information we are looking for, then under this circumstances and taking into consideration the fact of you acting under a spell, we will make sure you are to be let go freely,’ Moonwarden finished presenting the proposal and was now waiting for the reaction.

‘I... I...’ the pegasus was trying to find words. ‘I will gladly help. I feel tricked and... and... deceived... and...’ she suddenly burst into tears, which made Colgate embrace her to comfort her. The stallion, however, didn’t show any emotion, minus a risen eyebrow betraying curiosity.

‘That is why we are here... to help you,’ the blue mare said, repeating the sentence that was said this night quite a lot.

‘And help you we shall,’ the stallion added.

‘Thank you... thank you...’ Rainfall still had tears going down her face whilst her voice was sad and yet filled with hope.

‘Let us not take more of your time tonight. As I said, we shall return in three days, after sunfall,’ Moonwarden bowed her head and let a small smile appear on his lips, whilst beckoning to Colgate that they are bound to leave.

‘If you say so... I cannot tell day and night here...’ the pegasus whispered quietly, while the other mare stood up and joined the caped unicorn.

‘Have faith that it shall change soon,’ the stallion bowed his head in a farewell. ‘Thank you for your time and cooperation,’ he said and then turned around, approaching the door. Colgate also bowed her head, but was observing the pegasus until she had to finally turn around. Summer Rainfall was sitting still by the table. She was staring constantly at one spot, her eyes filled with tears, occasional droplets going down her face. Even with the promise made by Colgate’s teacher, the winged mare was an icon of sadness. And that made Colgate ponder if this interrogation unearthed everything it should have...

Once Moonwarden closed the cell door behind them and the two agents went away from the cell to the other end of the cave, Colgate turned to her teacher.

‘What do we do now, tutor?’

‘First, I need to congratulate you. With this being your first assignment in information acquiring, I am obliged to grade your performance as highly satisfactory,’ Moonwarden sounded official, but he had a smile on his face.

‘Thank you, I just tried my best, really... I didn’t do anything spectacular...’ the mare felt a bit uncomfortable, receiving praise from the caped stallion, but not in a negative way to be honest.

‘Oh, trust me on this, initiate, do not be spectacular. Be like you are right now,’ the grey unicorn stated. ‘You are very natural and empathic. You sometimes want to act on emotions too quickly, but this is not a bad thing if kept under check. You are a valuable aid.’

‘Thank you, tutor,’ Colgate bowed her head.

‘Do not mention it. Now, the matter at hand. I believe we can end this assignment soon. If Rainfall shall be willing to fully cooperate, we will have the ponies responsible for this plight quickly,’ Moonwarden stated. ‘But I have a feeling there is something lurking in your mind,’ he added, observing his apprentice’s face.

‘Yes, tutor. I wonder if she is telling us everything,’ the mare nearly whispered, like she was worried than the pegasus would hear them in such a distance from the cell’s door.

‘I do believe so, but speak up if you have your doubts, initiate.’

‘There is just something... I don’t know. Something doesn’t feel right,’ Colgate couldn’t express it any better. ‘I can’t really say what exactly though...’

‘Hmmm... Intuition is an important weapon in our arsenal, even if sometimes faulty. Do not let yourself driven by it, but always take its voice into consideration,’ Moonwarden commented. ‘I will keep in mind your observations,’ the stallion said, to which Colgate nodded. ‘In the meantime, I will have to uphold our end of the bargain. I will see if we can get her some higher quality food, perhaps we can get a medic to check her up. The better she shall be feeling, the more co-operative she will be,’ the grey pony concluded.

‘Was it necessary to scare her beforehand though?’ the mare asked. ‘You wouldn’t try to get into her mind after all, tutor...’ there was a bit of accusation in the blue unicorn’s voice and she wasn’t trying to hide it too well.

‘I know it, you know it, she does not have to, initiate,’ the caped pony commented. ‘I merely said what I said to create a greater contrast when it comes to loss and gain. That will make it easier for her to choose the wise course of action,’ Moonwarden pointed out.

Colgate didn’t respond. She was not agreeing with that particular technique, but part of her accepted the stallion’s logic as it was quite sound. After all, this first interrogation went better than she thought it would go. She would have to admit that her imagination was presenting to her a far more unpleasant and upsetting way this evening might look like... but at the same time she felt that her teacher wasn’t going to follow the scenarios that her mind showed her before tonight...

‘So, are we done for the night, tutor?’ the mare queried.

‘Pretty much, although I would wait for Shining Armor to appear here. I do not wish to start trotting around the Delves without him, lest he shall suspect us of performing some, dripping with darkest of magical arts, torture extravaganza...’ Moonwarden said with such a wondrously non-serious tone, Colgate giggled uncontrollably.

‘Would that make me the stereotypical, more intelligent sidekick of the grim villain?’ she asked, still chuckling, which in return made the stallion smile.

‘More intelligent, bah!’ the grey pony swooshed his cape in a dramatic fashion. ‘More beautiful, yes...’ he added with a soft, serious tone, which caused the mare to let out a silent “oh” sound. He then continued, watching the blue unicorn getting more and more red on her face. ‘Since we need to wait until we can continue our work... and hoping you have a free evening tomorrow... tell me, Colgate, do you enjoy classical concerts?’

Chapter IV

‘My, my... You are wearing this gown really well, initiate,’ a silent voice sounded from behind Colgate, startling her. She was already more than nervous, standing right near the entrance to the Royal Canterlot Hall, the most grand and known of concert halls in the whole country. This building was nearly a landmark for the Equestrian elite. To be able to truthfully say that one was going to see a performance in this establishment, a place that even the Royal Sisters were visiting on somewhat regular basis, was a mark of status and wealth. And Colgate was feeling completely out of place for that very reason. What’s more, now, when she turned around nearly immediately, she faced Moonwarden standing right in front of her, like appearing out of thin air.

‘... thank you...’ the mare answered after a while to the stallion’s compliment. The reason for her hesitation was simple. Her tutor was looking astonishing, wearing clothes that were putting him equal with Canterlotian nobility. Or maybe even surpassing it.

‘Do not mention it, it is a deserved praise. One more proof that simplicity can never be undervalued,’ the stallion commented and the began slowly circling the mare, giving her a careful look, with sparks of... something in his eyes, but Colgate was unable to tell what that was. ‘Dress cream, plain, reaching with its length to rear hooves, without fancy detailing or intricate weave, silk, I do believe,’ Moonwarden was thinking out loud and at this point he stroke the mare’s back delicately, which sent a sudden shiver through her body. The stallion continued without even changing his pace. ‘Yes, I was correct. Delicate hoofshoes of matching color, a pair of earrings with petit crystals, nearly invisible make-up... Most of the dames in Canterlot should learn from you, initiate,’ the stallion finished expressing his opinion and once more was standing right in front of the blue pony.

‘I... thank you... but... well... I feel rather... out of place still,’ the mare admitted, yet having her mind focused on that brief touch she experienced. Then she looked away. ‘A lot of the nobles were giving me unpleasant looks and I don’t think I want to...’

‘Why would you be worried by that, initiate?’ Moonwarden interrupted her. ‘I told you once already – be yourself. Be unique. Nopony has the right to judge you for that,’ he smiled. ‘Not to mention that criticizing, looking down upon others and trying to show superiority are this “nobility’s” favorite pastimes. Truth be told, most of the local crème de la crème is, at best,’ the grey unicorn gave the crowd of snobbish ponies entering the Hall a long look, ‘curdled milk...’

Colgate couldn’t help but snicker at those words, which made her feel a lot better about the fact that she was going to go to a concert with all of those nobleponies and with her Conclave superior.

‘I never heard it put quite like that before...’ she admitted. ‘Let me just tell you, tutor, you look very smart yourself,’ she said, feeling her face turning red.

‘Thank you kindly,’ Moonwarden bowed, with a swoosh of his cape. And what a cape that was! Made out of black material, slightly reflective, with silver threads around the rigid collar. It was reaching all the way to half of the stallion’s tail, smooth as it went, without even one wrinkle on it. To match it, the unicorn was wearing a grey vest, which looked like it was made especially for him and an elegant bowtie the color of mist. On top of that set, Colgate spotted that the grey pony’s black and white mane and tail looked carefully and meticulously combed.

‘It is a... deserved praise,’ the mare said, mimicking her teacher, who gave her a smile back. Then he reached inside one of his vest’s pockets and pulled out a dark silver watch, murmuring something about “It being nearly time.” The lid of the timepiece was engraved, having some plant motives and a full moon on it, with a description of some sort, all done in black, with some jewels embedded into it, it seemed. It was, without a doubt, extremely valuable. But before she could try to see more of its details, Moonwarden hid the watch and turned to her.

‘The concert begins in five minutes. Shall we take our seats?’ the stallion said in a gallant way with a blink in his eye and extended his front leg to take the mare inside.

‘Lead on, tutor,’ the blue pony blushed vividly, but complied without hesitation.

‘Please, for tonight, let us leave work behind and be but two ponies enjoying a good evening together. Call me Moonwarden.’

Colgate wasn’t expecting anything that she was experiencing from the moment they entered. She had never even been to the Royal Canterlot Hall before. And this evening, she was not only in it, she was in one of the most exclusive lodges, to which her tutor lead her, with majority of Canterlot’s nobility sitting on the ground floor. And the pieces played from the very start were some of the most beautiful Equestrian classical compositions. But the weirdest part? It wasn’t an assignment. It wasn’t a Conclave’s mission. No sabotage, no espionage, nothing. Just her and a stallion she, really, barely knew.

‘How are you enjoying it so far?’ Moonwarden, who was sitting right near her, turned to her at one point, whispering.

‘It is wonderful,’ she answered quietly, in accordance to the truth. ‘The whole orchestra plays magically. But I love the cello the most, I think...’ the mare expressed her taste, although she had to bite her tongue slightly, for she would not stop herself from saying “tutor” otherwise.

‘Do you? You have a great ear then, Colgate. That is none other than Octavia playing it,’ the stallion commented, after giving a brief look towards the stage.

‘Octavia? Isn’t she a performer of the ensemble playing at the Royal Castle? Like when the Grand Galloping Gala is being held?’ the mare queried, looking through small, provided binoculars at the mentioned pony.

‘That is correct...’ Moonwarden said and then frowned. ‘Oh, what a dreadful experience, that was... I am glad to see it did not break her career,’ he whispered even more silently than before, once more looking at the cellist.

‘Do you mean the last Gala? Where you attending it?’ the blue unicorn looked curiously at her companion.

‘Alas...’ he replied after a meaningful, if barely hearable, sigh. ‘Additional assignment from the High Council. But I never thought this monumental occasion shall be turned into utter chaos...’

‘I heard some things, yes,’ Colgate smiled faintly.

‘Save it, I beg you...’ the stallion looked like an icon of misery, which caused the mare to giggle. Quietly, of course.

‘You weren’t trampled by the Royal Garden animals, were you?’ she pursued the topic with visible amusement.

‘No, although a column landed fairly close,’ Moonwarden answered with irritation, rolling his eyes. ‘I tell you, Colgate, if not for the fact that Princess Celestia’s protégé and the Element-bearers were involved...’ he wanted to continue his rant, but the orchestra came to a halt and the Hall was filled with the sounds of the pianist’s solo. The stallion immediately fell silent. He closed his eyes, sitting more comfortably on the chair and focusing on nothing else but the melody. And Colgate could tell why.

The music that was now flowing through the air was nothing but enchanting. The mare could not tell whether it was caused by the beauty of the composition, or by the prowess of the player. But that wasn’t important right now. What mattered was the melody. The rhythm. The volume. Telling a great story of sadness and longing. Of hope and loss of hope. Emotions encased in notes. Striking tones that made the soul tremble. Colgate couldn’t help but be affected by those wondrous sounds. And from what she could spot, Moonwarden looked even more moved. The performer played his solo for a couple of minutes, before the whole orchestra sounded in unison again.

‘Ah, Frederick... He never ceases to amaze me,’ the caped stallion whispered after a while, still keeping his eyes closed.

‘The pianist?’

‘Yes. Frederick Horseshoepin, another performer of the royal ensemble. A true virtuoso, if I ever heard one,’ the grey unicorn looked down at the stage.

‘He plays really... magically,’ Colgate commented, still feeling amazed by the prowess of the pianist. Moonwarden let out a rather loud sigh.

‘Yes, he does. I have to say, I feel envy...’ he appeared saddened and somewhat ashamed.

‘Oh? Envy?’ the mare asked, keeping her voice low.

‘There are those times when a pony is tired of his way of life. And I like to think that if I could change my talent to another...’ the stallion began, but stopped himself from saying more. ‘That is irrelevant though...’ he finished with yet another sigh.

‘But, Moonwarden, we already have an excellent pianist,’ Colgate said, making the caped pony look at her quizzically. ‘And we do not need another. But we need somepony who knows how to deal with misbehaving ponies,’ she smiled at the grey unicorn. ‘I guess what I am saying is that, well... each of us is unique. In their own way,’ the mare finished, using her teacher’s own words. He, in response nodded and smiled, looking at her with a dose of positive surprise.

‘Yes, each of us is unique. Some ponies more than others...’ the stallion now quoted himself from not so long ago. But this time, instead of a blush from the mare, he received a giggle.

‘Some of us are so unique, they spawn a lot of attention,’ Colgate remarked and then discreetly pointed to a couple of places within the Hall. Moonwarden followed with his eyes, spotting some of the ponies actually looking straight at him, rather than enjoying the concert. Aside from a couple of nobles looking daggers at the caped stallion, there were at least a couple of mares that were carefully observing him, some of whom had dreamy-eyed expressions stuck on their faces. Colgate couldn’t stop herself from snickering constantly, observing her tutor slowly realizing he is as much of an attraction as the concert itself.

‘Oh, for the love of Princess Luna...’ he commented finally and facehoofed discreetly, which made the blue unicorn nearly burst out in laughter, which would be quite inappropriate.

‘I didn’t know you are so popular, Moonwarden,’ she managed to said without the words being interrupted by her constant giggling.

‘Gah... I am aware that I have reserved the whole lodge for my personal use, which is the direct cause for the “nobles” to plot my demise, I see...’ the stallion looked down upon the vast crowd of Canterlot’s elite, causing a few pairs of jealous eyes to turn away, in fear of being recognized. ‘But those mares are just... tiresome...’ the caped pony realigned his cape with a fluid move and then checked his hair, inadvertently causing sighs from nearby lodges. ‘Like they never saw a stallion before,’ he concluded, all that happening while Colgate was desperately trying to stop herself from falling off her chair over her companion’s exaggerated and quite pompous behavior.

‘I doubt they often see a stallion looking like a mysterious hero from a romantic novel,’ she commented after she managed to calm herself down a bit and then reenacted her teacher’s moves.

‘Oh? Is that who I am reduced to then?’ the grey unicorn gave Colgate a long look, quite unimpressed by her friendly mockery.

‘Oh no...,’ she responded, smiling brightly. ‘Certainly not for me...’

‘Am I not a lucky stallion?’ Moonwarden asked rhetorically, his eyes, locked on the mare, joyfully lighting up.

The concert wasn’t the only thing the caped pony had in mind for this night. After a wonderful performance, ending with the orchestra being forced to come back on stage three times be applause, the grey unicorn lead her to a nearby restaurant. Which caused yet another tide of consternation to wash over the mare’s mind.

‘I can’t really get it...’ Colgate said after they had finished the main course and once more this evening looked around the place they were both sitting in. To say that this establishment was anything less than prestigious would be an outright offensive lie. The blue unicorn had a hard time realizing how is she capable of even being in a place like that... Then again, she was in one incredible place this evening already, so was there really a reason for continuing with this constant astonishment?

‘Oh? Pray tell, what it is that you “cannot get”?,’ the caped unicorn raised a crystal glass of most exquisite grape juice and took a slow, dignified sip.

‘Well, all of it! I am sitting in one of the most exclusive and expensive restaurants in Canterlot, after a concert in the Royal Hall and with you!’ the mare answered her tutor, looking constantly at all the ornaments, expensive furniture and all of the waiters in proper attire present in the main dining hall.

‘I wonder which one of this evening’s details causes the most confusion in your mind...’ Moonwarden smiled smugly, putting down his drink. Colgate went red on the face. ‘I have my answer,’ the stallion laughed. ‘We are working together, you are a beautiful mare and I enjoy your company. And I think you need to be able to spend time in places like the Hall, or “Acquarellion”,’ he looked around the restaurant, visibly satisfied. ‘Do I need a better reason to spend an evening with you? Do I need any reason at all, really?’ the caped pony made himself more comfortable on the cushioned chair.

‘Well, I don’t think an enigmatic Trottingham noble with a... particular line of work... goes out with every mare he is working with,’ the blue unicorn said out of a sudden with a stern tone, which caught the stallion by surprise. ‘Even if his family’s fortune would allow him to do so quite often,’ she added, seeing as her companion was stuck there with a risen eyebrow.

‘Well, what do you know, somepony was busy,’ Moonwarden commented, his eyes lighting up. ‘Did you scavenge through some intriguing books to reach that piece of information? Lineage records, by any chance?’ he joined his front hooves on the table.

‘Moon family. A local Trottingham house. Bankers and economists,’ Colgate cited from a tome she found earlier that day, treating about unicorn nobility.

‘Guilty as charged,’ her partner commented, picking up his glass again and bringing up a faint smile on his muzzle.

‘So, what can you tell me about yourself, Moonwarden?’ the blue pony asked.

Silence followed her question. Her tutor was looking at her curiously, one of his eyes staring through his grape juice drink, making the iris appear light pink. It appeared like he began thinking deeply for some time, like there was a conversation going on in his mind. Finally, he took another sip of his drink and put the glass down on the table once more.

‘Why do you wish to possess that knowledge?’ the stallion asked finally, focusing his stare on the mare, but he spoke in a rather cold manner. And that worried Colgate a bit.

‘Well... if we are working together, it is nice to know more about one another, you know...’ she wasn’t sure if he really “knew”, as he did not appear as such.

‘I assure you, my background is not really that interesting. And sharing such information is insignificant to our line of work,’ Moonwarden looked away from the mare.

‘But I would like to know you better. Become better friends,’ she said plainly, causing the stallion to give her a look that she would describe as slightly cynical.

‘Ah. Well...’ he let out a sigh after a longer while. ‘I do suppose I can share a bit. If you would wish to tell me a bit about yourself, Colgate,’ he smiled finally after those words, which was a huge relief to the blue mare.

‘Are we bargaining?’ she asked with a slight laugh.

‘In a way, I presume,’ he answered.

‘Deal, then! You go first,’ Colgate seized the initiative.

‘Oh!’ Moonwarden scowled comically. ‘Very well. I am a noblepony from Trottingham, from the Moon family, but that does not really mean a lot to me. I take pride in my lineage, but not really in the ponies that were forming it, if you know what I mean,’ he began, sitting more comfortably on the chair.

‘Family problems?’ Colgate inquired, to which the stallion nodded.

‘Let me put it bluntly – my parents were not the best of ponies. Enough to tell that they did not view me as being... how to say it nicely...’ the caped pony pondered a while. ‘Worthy? Appropriate of being their son? I guess that would be the closest that I can put it,’ he found his words, his tone as indifferent about it as possible. It sounded like he just commented on the weather, rather than said that he did not found acceptance from his mother and father. Colgate raised her hoof to her mouth in a gesture of astonished disbelief.

‘Oh my... I am so sorry, Moonwarden...’ she tried comforting him.

‘Why?’ he raised his eyebrow. ‘It is not your fault, nor do I need your pity, Colgate,’ the stallion responded coldly and began playing with his glass, making it twirl slowly with his magic. ‘Not that I do not appreciate it, no,’ he added immediately after he spotted a frown on the other unicorn’s face.

‘But... how could they?’ the mare pushed the topic further, sounding genuinely concerned.

‘How? Exactly how they did. But I do not cast blame, it would be pointless. Stupidity and ignorance are two very common plagues touching our society, my parents were not exceptional in that matter,’ the caped pony continued without even a blink of an eye showing his emotions, while staring at one spot on the table.

‘That’s... a harsh statement,’ the mare commented on Moonwarden’s words, observing carefully her tutor’s frozen expression.

‘That is a true statement,’ he responded, not moving his eyes. ‘And you know it yourself, my dear. Enough to tell I had to muster my own strength and shape my fate without any aid. And I did,’ the stallion’s words were as calm as before, but Colgate spotted that the glass he was levitating with his magic became covered in delicate rime.

‘Uhm... but there must have been somepony... you know...’ the mare tried to take his attention away from the topic of his parents specifically. She also swept her hoof through her side of the table, appearing like she was getting rid of tablecloth wrinkles, but in reality trying to break Moonwarden’s petrified stare. She succeeded as he looked at her.

‘Oh, yes, of course. You see, I ended up being homeschooled and my teacher allowed my talents to blossom. I have to give him credit for that,’ the stallion said slowly. ‘For my dearest mother and father were planning an extremely contrasting future for me,’ he shrugged. At the same time the grape juice in his glass turned to ice.

‘Ah,’ Colgate was able to only express her thoughts in that manner, her stare focused on the stallion’s drink. He followed her gaze, only now realizing what he was doing to his glass. He made it thaw and put it down on the table. All of it with a somewhat embarrassed look on his face.

‘Pardon,’ he mumbled.

‘It’s alright. I understand,’ the blue unicorn extended her hoof and touched Moonwarden’s, who smiled faintly in response to this gesture. ‘And how did you end up working where we do?’ Colgate accentuated the question.

‘After I reached adulthood I decided to take the part of the family fortune that lawfully belonged to me and move to Canterlot,’ the stallion began to answer. ‘As much as I prefer my beloved Trottingham, my relocation here was granting me more opportunities to refine my art. I began scavenging through the vast libraries for intriguing titles, while investing my assets in banks and companies. I guess my heritage caught up with me a bit,’ he laughed, but blankly. ‘Those actions allowed me to focus fully on my self-teaching, without any worry over money. And, well, I guess I caught attention of certain ponies, being a young stallion looking for various tomes treating specifically and thoroughly about mental magic. And so, here I am,’ Moonwarden concluded, spreading his hooves. ‘Ta-da!’ he added comically, which made Colgate laugh.

‘Quite a story,’ she commented. ‘Mine is less interesting, I am afraid.’

‘A deal is a deal,’ the stallion winked at her. ‘Spill the beans, dear.’

‘I know, I will,’ she sighed jokingly. ‘Well, I am from Canterlot, even though I live in Ponyville now. I bumped into a pony who was, as I later learned, an operative, when I was doing some shopping. I used my magic to quickly gather all the stuff that fell from his bag. You know, I sped myself up and I guessed that was it. I was contacted about a month later.’

‘No doubt you were observed during that time. And a talent in chronomancy is rare, as I mentioned to you once. No wonder you were given that chance,’ Colgate’s tutor judged, taking a sip of the grape juice that was a block of ice not so long ago. ‘But what is your motivation?’

‘I guess... I want to make a difference. I want to help Equestria. And I want to prove myself,’ the mare took a while to answer, but after she did, her tutor nodded. ‘What about you, Moonwarden?’ she asked.

‘Me? I can freely use my talent for the good of the land,’ the stallion responded, showing a tiny bit of enthusiasm. ‘Now, another thing interests me, if I might ask...’

‘Yes?’ the mare was waiting for his question.

‘Your other talent. As your name suggests, you might be, in reality, a rather skilled torturer yourself...’ Moonwarden said and gave the mare a mocking look. She burst into laughter.

‘Being a daughter of two specialists in stomatology...’ she began to explain.

‘Sins of our fathers... Sins of our fathers...’ the stallion cut in philosophically, nodding slowly in a paternal fashion and causing yet another laugh from the mare. And again a little bit of rime on the glass.

When the two unicorn finally left the restaurant, the Moon was firmly up in the sky, marking midnight. Most of Canterlot was already asleep, making the city resound with hoofsteps in the overwhelming silence.

‘I have to say, I needed an evening like that for some time now,’ Moonwarden was leading Colgate down the main promenade of the capital. He was smiling widely and it was, as the mare spotted, quite likely the first time she saw him like that.

‘I enjoyed it a lot,’ the mare answered, allowing herself to keep relatively close to the caped pony.

‘I am not too often blessed by the presence of such a wonderful mare, I have to say. Shame, but at the same time, it makes such rare occurrences even more incredible,’ the stallion said like to himself, following it with a nod. To say that Colgate began to glow after those words wasn’t an understatement.

‘I, well...’ she gathered her thoughts, staring at the cloudless, star-filled sky. ‘I feel lucky to have met such a pony. You’re a really weird individual,’ she said, putting an emphasis on the adjective.

‘Weird?’ Moonwarden looked at her smiling and yet with some confusion. They were just passing through a wide, moonlit plaza. ‘In what way, “weird”?’

‘In the best way,’ the mare answered, giving her tutor a gleeful grin. He laughed and trotted in front of the mare, so that he was facing her. They were now standing in the shadow of a statue representing Princess Celestia.

‘So, where are you heading, my dear? Where is your locum in Canterlot?’ the stallion asked out of a sudden.

‘Oh, I have a flat in the Archives district, thanks to the Council. Nothing much, but...’ she answered, shrugging.

‘I might have a proposition, Colgate...’ the stallion said somewhat silently, speaking the mare’s name with surprising softness.

‘Oh?’ the mare did not understand what he meant.

‘The night is still young... how about we spend the rest of it together... at my place?’ Moonwarden nearly whispered the end of the question, with a focused stare.

Colgate heard what he said clearly. But it took her mind a good while to understand and realize what her ears just registered. Her mouth automatically opened up in astonishment. The stallion’s words were a complete surprise to her.

‘I... I mean...’

Moonwarden was still just looking at her. He has risen his eyebrow slightly and he had a nearly invisible smile dancing on his lips. His eyes, in the delicate shade, were shining mysteriously.

‘I... I...’ Colgate couldn’t gather her thoughts, her mind overtaken with a sudden torrent of extreme feelings. There was doubt, fear, anxiety... but also... fascination. The stallion didn’t say anything bluntly, but... her mind was putting together a rather... intriguing scenario. Not entirely... unwanted, the mare didn’t lie to herself... but at the same time... well... a scenario feeling... somehow rushed... All of those thoughts, those emotions, were creating a grand mosaic in her brain. And holding this mosaic together, like two frames, was a pair of silvery eyes, staring right into Colgate’s mind.