Effigy of Anarchy

In the darkness, the glint of the lantern caught Messerschmitt’s teeth, giving his grin all the more menace as Silent and Cloudchaser stared at the interloper. He took several slow, deliberate steps into the room, then stopped.

“What, nothing to say?” he asked.

Silent evaluated the distance, but gauged he’d be able to run before she could vault the desks and grab him. Instead, she held her position near the front of the room.

“No?” Messerschmitt asked again. He took another slow step forward, prompting Silent to back up and seize the head of the elder behind her.

“That’s close enough. One more step and I snap the old guy’s neck,” she said, clenching his neck with one hoof and his cheek with the other. She heard Cloudchaser suck in her breath, but was more interested in Messerschmitt’s reaction.

“Go ahead. Saves me the trouble of having to clean up this mess. Another murder to add to the pile, right?”

“Roger!” the elder protested, squirming in Silent’s grip, “how dare you! After all we’ve done for you!”

“All you’ve done? My dear Harold, all you’ve done seems to involve telling these two everything about me. Was it pain? Are you afraid of the pain? I can cause you more pain than any other, and still you betray me?”

“You have got some nerve,” the old colt said, suddenly unafraid of Silent’s grip. His strength was puny compared to Silent’s and his struggles were in vain, but he did not stop trying to free himself.

“That’s enough. If you’re not going to kill him, Silent Rivers, I will,” Messerschmitt said.

Now, Cloudchaser could take no more. She marched straight towards Messerschmitt, unafraid of the threats he leveled at the elder.

“Who do you think you are?” she demanded, “What gives you the right?”

Messerschmitt did not even flinch as Chase stormed up to him, and merely continued to smile as she planted herself in front of him.

“I have many ponies who work for me. Some don’t mind killing, and it’s easy enough to make it look like an accident. He’s old, maybe he slipped. Who knows?”

Cloudchaser’s eyes widened and she scowled. “It doesn’t matter if you can get away with it, it’s still wrong! Don’t you feel even a hint of guilt for what you’ve done?”

“Me? I didn’t kill six ponies, you did. That’s what everypony believes, so that’s the reality. Simple as that,” Messerschmitt said, giving a little laugh at the end to punctuate.

Chase wound up and slapped him across the face. His smile didn’t fade even for a moment as he recoiled from the blow.

“Yowch, feisty little pony aren’t you?”

“Silent, are you going to help me here or what?”

“No,” Silent said. She released the grip on the elder and straightened herself. “He’s got a backup plan, look at that grin. That, or he enjoys being slapped.”

“Quite right. The first guess, anyway,” Messerschmitt said, suddenly shoving Chase back. The push caught her off guard, and she tumbled into a desk behind her.

Messerschmitt turned to the side, now facing nothing in particular. His smile vanished in an instant, and he spoke to the wall. “The door will be barred. I will return when you’re done, make no attempt to escape. Kill those three, but leave the black-haired one alive.”

Messerschmitt turned and made for the exit as Cloudchaser swung to a stand. Silent broke off and charged at him as he did so, but as soon as he left, the door slammed shut.

Silent skidded across the floor and bumped into the door to find that it was being held from the other side, despite opening inwards. Before she had time to wonder why, she heard hammers pounding boards over the exit.

“Damn it,” she hissed.

“What? What’s that banging?” Chase asked.

“Boards. It’s a trap, and this door is being boarded up to keep us in it. He set these meetings at night and knew we’d come. We walked right into it.”

“Why can’t we just take the hinges off?” Chase asked.

Silent looked at the door, then at Chase. Her mind was working furiously to process this strange turn of events.

“I’m more worried about whoever it was he was talking to.”

Silent shrugged at Chase and went about examining the door. A few kicks determined that it was solid, with nails securing it to the wall on either side. They’d need time to pull the hinges off to rip it out, and there was no telling if Messerschmitt’s stallions would simply reinforce it as they did.

Chase went over to the fallen Lilac. With a few taps on the cheek and a bit of shaking, she slowly came to. As soon as she opened her eyes, she bolted upright and looked around in terror.

“What happened? Why did I - “ she said, stopping as soon as she saw Silent, who was slowly trying to pry off the hinges of the door.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Chase said, though she could do little to calm her down.

“That was real? This isn’t the ritual, is it?” Lilac asked.

“I don’t know what it was, but it’s over and you’re safe. Sort of.”

The elder was slowly walking towards Chase, still with his head to the ground. He shook it slowly while muttering to himself, too low to hear. The word ‘sorry’ was the only thing Chase could make out.

“Did you save me?” Lilac asked.

A warm feeling overtook Chase and she smiled without even realizing it. “Yeah, I kinda did.”

“We’re not out of this yet, I bet Messerschmitt’s thugs are going to be waiting for us when I get this open, if not the Royal Guard,” Silent said. As she turned back to see Chase, she stopped trying to open the door.

Chase looked over to see something standing between them. She likewise froze where she was.

It was a pony, of sorts, except the lighting on it was wrong. It was a pure, solid orange color, bright as the day even standing in shadow as it was. The glow of the candle on the desk did nothing to illuminate it, and its edges did not darken as a real object would. If anything, it looked like a projection in a movie, except somehow standing in the middle of the room.

Its head was facing Cloudchaser, though it was impossible to say if it was looking at her or not.

Cloudchaser whispered, as if somehow speaking too loudly might upset the creature. “What is that?”

“Don’t know,” Silent said.

“How’d it get in here?”

“Don’t know.”

“Is it gonna hurt us?”

“Probably.”

Chase gingerly moved towards the desk and picked up the letter opener, figuring it was better than nothing. The orange creature’s head followed her actions as she did so, but did not make a move.

Silent quietly resumed trying to remove the hinges, tugging at the bolts on either side as slowly as was necessary. Only little creaks could be heard as she awkwardly tried to pull them off with just her hooves.

Chase saw Silent’s efforts and had an idea. Aligning herself with a gap in the assembled desks, she kicked the letter opener across the room, letting it slide along the floor. Now with a tool, Silent could get better leverage on the screws and more efficiently wrench them off. Soon, the first of the three hinges was removed.

Cloudchaser blinked, and the creature somehow was now standing right in front of her. She hadn’t seen it move, she hadn’t heard anything either. Silent hadn’t even noticed, but Lilac screamed as soon as she saw it.

The scream triggered something in the creature and it shoved Cloudchaser back, lifting her clean off the ground and sending her into the chalkboard. She slammed into it with her back and the board broke in two, sending both tumbling to the ground. Chase cried out in pain, while Silent redoubled her efforts on the door’s second hinge.

“What’s happening? Who are you?” Lilac shouted, causing the orange creature to now face her. Lilac froze in place.

Chase groaned as she pulled herself up, testing her back gingerly. She had probably sprained something, but the injury wasn’t critical. As soon as she groaned, the orange thing focused on her again.

She shook her head, trying to dispel a soft ringing in her ears. “Oh no, leave me alone,” she muttered at the orange thing.

Silent dropped the letter opener near the door, causing the orange thing to turn to her. She stood up and walked towards it, keeping her eyes trained on it. On the way over, she shoved aside a desk. The rubber grips made a screech as they slid across the floor.

No sooner had the desk let out a sound than the creature shot towards her, too quickly to react. Its body slammed into hers, knocking her down and forcing her to roll into another desk behind her.

Lilac screamed and the creature once again turned to face her. When it did, she stopped, and both she and the elder froze as it glared at them.

Silent stood up, moving her foreleg around to work the pain out of it. A dribbling sensation in her mouth caused her to spit out blood, as she realized her nose had begun bleeding again. A slight cracking noise from her cartilage realigning once again caused the creature to turn towards her. She stopped dead.

“Nopony move,” she said. Chase stayed where she was, and Lilac quietly gripped the elder and held him to her. She did not take her eyes off the creature.

Silent gently pushed the desk nearest her, but this time it didn’t make a sound. The orange creature did not react. Now, she quietly walked towards the various displays on the shelves at the edge of the room.

Most of them were models of trinkets like pots and furniture, no doubt of use to an archaeology student. She searched through a few before finding one of the plastic displays with a small metal faceplate on it. The plate came off without much effort.

Silent now turned to face the creature, which was still looking idly at her. She held up the plate and tossed it towards the door. The creature turned to face the sound of it clattering on the floor as it bounced and rolled.

“Chase, listen to me. Get that bottle of perfume and the candle. Try not to make any sound.”

“Silent, are - “ Chase sputtered.

“Do it.”

As Cloudchaser stalked towards the trinkets on the desk, Silent made her way over to the orange creature. She held a hoof up, just in front of it, yet the creature did not react. It kept its head focused on the door where the metal had landed, oblivious to Silent.

As Chase took the bottle of perfume off the table, she saw Silent reaching up to touch the thing and gasped. At the sound, the creature spun to see her, knocking Silent backwards.

Silent recovered without falling over. She turned to Chase and shook her head. The message was clear: no loud sounds.

The weight of the creature had been incredible. Even without trying to hit her, it had knocked her over. Chase very carefully made her way over and passed the perfume to Silent, before returning to the desk to retrieve the candle.

Silent softly uncorked the perfume and held it up in front of the beast. It took no note of her, still focusing on Cloudchaser as she gingerly fetched the candle.

Silent poured the perfume on its back and spread it along its body. The liquid vaporized on contact, spreading to every inch of the creature’s orange-tinged flesh. Silent finished off the perfume atop the creature’s head, and it gave her no hint that it had noticed.

As Cloudchaser walked over with the candle, she didn’t need any prompting. She took a look at Silent, who nodded, and then held the candle up to the creature’s face.

It caught fire and the flame quickly spread all over its body, running along the rivulets of rapidly vaporizing perfume. Silent and Chase took a step back as the heat began to increase and the light of the burning creature lit up the room in glorious yellow and orange. Even as it was engulfed in flame, the beast did not move from its spot.

Silent sidled up to Chase and kept her voice low to avoid enraging the creature. “The door.”

“Right,” Chase said, and the two slowly went to the door.

Silent pried off the remains of the second hinge as the flames from the creature burned brighter. She did not know if that would kill it, disable it, or merely lend flame to its blows, but she hoped that the ignition would at least keep it from hearing them. Still, she made as little sound as possible.

The hinge came free after a little more effort, and threatened to slip out of her hooves from the remnants of the slick perfume on them. She brought both hooves together to keep it stable, avoiding any noise it would make if it were dropped on the floor.

“Let me stand on your back for the last one,” Silent said.

“Give me the letter opener, I’ll get it off.”

Silent passed the letter opener over and let Chase do it. She was surprisingly nimble, hovering in place to remove the last hinge without letting her wings graze the walls as she did so. Silent turned her attention back towards the burning beast as Lilac and the elder were making their way towards them. Silent merely held up a hoof, and the two nodded in understanding. Quiet was key.

As Chase pulled off the last hinge, she deftly caught the metal and placed it safely on a nearby desk. Now, all that needed to be done was the removal of the door itself, which was held in place by nails on the opposite side.

Chase started pulling on the knob, and Silent joined in a moment later. With their combined strength, the satisfying groan of the nails giving way on the other side could be heard. The wood around the nails began to deform and the resistance decreased.

Then, without time to prepare, the nails gave and the door flew back, revealing a row of crudely hammered boards blocking their path. The door proved too unwieldy for Chase to secure, and she lost her grip, letting it clatter to the ground.

All four ponies spun towards the orange creature. It had turned and looked as if it was about to run, but as it did its legs gave way and it collapsed. The creature fell to the ground, its body turning to liquid from the heat, and splashed orange flame along the wooden desks. Over a dozen fires had started in the span of a few seconds.

“The boards!” Silent shouted.

Cloudchaser and Silent both began bucking at the boards with all their strength, working together to smash an escape route. As the first one buckled, a commotion could be heard on the other side. Lilac stepped in and helped as they kicked out the second board, and the third board broke within seconds from the combined assault.

Silent burst through the door first, with smoke beginning to leak out above her. Six unicorn colts were all standing wide-eyed on the other side. All six were levitating some sort of stick in front of them which hummed softly in the night.

“Woah,” one said.

“She made it out,” another said.

“What do we do?”

“Get her!”

Somehow, all six of the unicorns failed to move, each one looking nervously at the others. Chase now stepped through and sized up the ponies.

“Yeah!” Chase shouted, “You should be scared! Run, or we’ll take you down too!”

One of the colts gave a half-hearted retort. “H-hey! There’s six of us!”

Silent took a step forward, and the colts backed up, forming a semi-circle around the door. She took another step towards the colt located closest to the wall on her right, causing the others to back up again.

“Help!” he shouted. Silent charged.

He swung his stick with his telekinesis as Silent bore down on him. She easily sidestepped it in mid-stride and sidled up next to him, positioning herself for a buck into the back of his head. The blow knocked his head forward and he lost control of his stick, which landed on the ground next to him.

Without missing a beat, Silent picked up the stick and jammed the glowing end into his back. As she expected, a powerful electric current discharged into his spine, causing him to scream in jitters as thousands of volts coursed through his body.

Once the stick ran out of power, the hum died off and Silent discarded it. She looked flatly at the awestruck colts, and said, “It doesn’t matter how many of you there are.”

“A-A-Attack together!” one of the colts shouted, and all five of the colts ran towards Silent. Before she could prepare a counter attack, the colts broke off as Cloudchaser’s smoke bomb exploded before her.

The smoke expanded, mixing with the smoke pouring out of the classroom and covering the entire hallway in seconds. From out of the smoke, Cloudchaser shouted, “Run!”

Lilac burst through the fumes past Silent, followed by Cloudchaser. Everypony was now coughing and Chase’s eyes were watering from the fumes, but her body language announced she was not ready to leave.

“Come on!” Silent shouted.

“What about the elder?” Chase shouted back.

“Leave him, Messerschmitt will take care of him.”

Even with her eyes half opened and watering in the smoke, Chase’s scowl was unmistakable. She turned and disappeared into the cloud.

Silent waited for only a few seconds before she turned and likewise ran, stopping at the corner near the door they had broken open. The fire alarm had sounded now, and no doubt the authorities were bearing down on the building. She’d easily be able to escape by herself, but still she waited for Chase.

One of the colts, now without his shock-stick, barreled out of the smoke. Upon seeing her, he spun around and ran back in, only to be shoved aside as Cloudchaser came out. On her back was the unconscious elder, slowing her down with his weight. Silent darted forward and lifted his legs to help reduce the load, and the two limped towards the exit.

Lilac was nowhere to be seen, but her safety was no longer their concern. Silent kicked the door they had entered from, swinging it open and sending a blast of freezing air into their faces. With a bit of effort, Chase managed to fly despite the extra load of the elder, and they slowly ascended into the night sky as fireponies and guards arrived in the front of the building. In the shouting and confusion, Silent and Chase easily slipped into the dark night.

An hour later, Silent and Cloudchaser perched themselves on the roof of a squat furniture store opposite the Trottingham train station. Elder Harold remained unconscious for twenty minutes after landing, and once he woke, found two mares standing over him. Neither had spoken a word, they had just sat and waited.

Chase sat on one corner of the snowy rooftop, ignoring the chill of the air. There was something far colder on the roof, as far as she was concerned. She glared at Silent, who returned the look.

The elder, now shivering, finally broke the silence. “If you don’t mind, can I go yet?”

Chase shot him a sidelong glance. “You got kids somewhere?”

“Yes, my son lives in Hoofington.”

“Good, I’ll buy you a ticket in a bit.”

Silent shook her head. “Waste of time.”

This prompted Chase to angrily march over to Silent. “Why? You were just gonna leave him, why do you care if I make sure he doesn’t wind up another one of Messerschmitt’s victims?”

“He’s one of them. The bad guys. He got sold out, but he’s still a bad guy.”

Chase thrust her head mere inches from Silent’s muzzle. That damned stony glare was all that was returned, she did not flinch. “Bad guy? Are you kidding me? You’re one to talk!”

“What’s this about?”

“You’re a murderer! You admitted it!”

Silent cocked her head sideways. “And?”

Cloudchaser stomped a hoof, struggling to keep herself from shouting and alerting somepony below. Instead, she hissed out her reply, “And I didn’t know that when I started this!”

“Does it matter? We’re doing good right now, why does it matter what I did in the past? Focus on the present.”

“But you were going to let them kill him!”

“Not really. I just wasn’t going back for him.”

“Same thing!”

“Excuse me,” the elder said.

“Shut up!” Chase snarled. Elder Harold recoiled at the sudden outburst.

“Chase, calm yourself. Let’s finish up with the elder before we get into a shouting match.”

Cloudchaser bit down and let the rage cool off a bit, as Silent did her usual flat expression to match. “Damn it, stop being right. This isn’t over.”

“Of course not,” Silent said, “You. Harold. What do you know about Messerschmitt that you’ve not told us yet.”

Harold straightened his glasses and mumbled something. Silent trotted over to him, at which point he snapped to attention.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “It’s been a long night. It’s not every day you watch your life’s work crumble around you. I just can’t believe Roger would do that.”

“Believe it,” Silent said, thrusting a hoof at the elder, “I’ve got a good reason to believe you’re not the first bump he’s flattened.”

“I suppose it’s not hard to believe anyway,” Harold said. He dropped his head again. “Slide went the same way, but at least he got to retire.”

“Slide?”

“Another one of the elders, Roger took his place. He was getting on in years, but it was Roger who started the motion of no-confidence.”

Cloudchaser took her turn to ask questions. “What’s that mean?”

“No-confidence means that if enough ponies vote one way, an elder is fired, or at least steps down. Slide wasn’t too popular either, but I had no idea so many felt he should go.”

“And then,” Chase said, “I assume Messerschmitt was elected to take his place?”

“Yes, but the elders selected him. I voted for him myself, I thought he was a good candidate.”

“Why?”

“Connections, money. He brought in a lot of money and new members. He was our ticket to the big time.”

“Where’d he get the money?” Silent asked.

Harold shook his head. “I knew better than to ask.”

“A whole lot of nothing, then. Guy comes on the scene rich, gets some power, and nopony knows who he is a minute before that.”

The elder looked up as Silent finished her sentence. “Well that’s not true. At least, I think it isn’t.”

Silent leaned in closer. “Yes?”

“It’s just a rumour, you know how the young colts get. They get ideas in their heads and then you can’t get them out again.”

Cloudchaser put her hoof on the elder’s shoulder. “Come on, tell us. Rumours are all we have right now.”

“Well, the rumour was he used to be an academic. Professor of something, but I don’t know what or where.”

“Archaeology,” Silent said.

Chase shot her a look. “Really? Just because he used their building?”

“That might be a coincidence, or not. But there’s two ways to use magic. One is with unicorns. The other one is with artifacts.”

Chase smiled. “Hey, you’re right! I’ve heard about that! You think that’s how he did all this weird stuff?”

Silent shrugged. “I’ve never heard of an artifact that lets you summon orange ponies that follow high-pitched sounds, but it’s better than nothing. I’ll look into it.”

“No, we will look into it. You’re not leaving me out of this.”

“Suit yourself.”

Chase almost let her exuberance get ahead of her, before she remembered her quarrel with Silent. Still, she’d finish this job and then be done with it. Silent may be a jerk, but Messerschmitt was a bigger jerk, and needed to be stopped.

“Can I go now? It’s freezing up here,” Harold asked.

“Sure sure. I’ll get you a ticket. Your son will let you stay with him, right?”

“Yes, of course. I’d hate to impose, but I don’t think the alternative is any better. What are you going to do?”

“Stop Messerschmitt,” Silent replied. “It’s best if you lay low until then.”

“Thank you,” Harold said, “I wish you the best of luck. I hope you can undo all the damage he’s done to the Sons.”

“Hey!” Chase interjected, “You’re not getting off that easily! I’ve got a few bones to pick with your agenda! What’s this about traditional values, huh? Are mares somehow inferior? Where do you get off - “

“Inferior?” Harold asked, rubbing his ears. “Where did you get that idea?”

“Frankly, it’s hard not to get that idea,” Silent said.

“What rubbish! What poppycock! This is exactly the kind of filth that those whippersnappers Roger brought in would spout! The Sons of Equestria demand devotion from both mares and colts, not subservience!”

“Huh,” Chase spat, “That’s awful convenient.”

“This is my fault, I admit,” Harold said apologetically, “Roger said it would be good for recruitment, and he was right. But I always preached that love and union were the most important, regardless of gender. I just… didn’t have the courage to stop him. I didn’t want to lose all we had gained.”

“Seems you gained something you weren’t expecting,” Silent said.

Harold nodded, but could not find the words to reply.

With Harold on a late train to Hoofington, Silent and Cloudchaser rested atop another roof some ways away, wary in case somepony had recognized them at the train station. Whether or not Messerschmitt would try to pin the fire on them was anypony’s guess, but it did not matter now. They had a lead, a good one, and that was what they needed.

In spite of any progress they had made that night, Chase could not shake the revulsion she had for Silent. In school, the disinterested attitude had made her a fascinating pony, albeit a distant one. Chase had never managed to follow her home, and had barely ever struck up a conversation, but she had still considered her a friend. When she needed a group for a group assignment, Chase had always volunteered Flitter and herself, even when nopony else had. When she needed somepony to hold the rings during flight practice, Chase would be the first one to suggest it.

But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that it was entirely one-sided. It had never been Silent who asked, she merely accepted. If there was a way to do it alone, she did it alone.

“Silent, we’re having this out, right now,” she said.

Silent blinked once. “There’s not much to discuss. What happened, happened.”

“No, no. That’s not how this works,” Cloudchaser said, looking down at the snow on the roof. “I looked up to you. I kinda even wanted to be like you, except a little more polite.”

“Is that what this is about? Was I a role model?”

Chase shook her head. “Not like that, I just wanted to be better than I was. Now I see the price is too high.”

“There is no price involved. I kill when I have to, and not otherwise.”

“Damn it!” Chase shouted, stamping her hoof to emphasize, “You still don’t get it! It doesn’t matter what you did or why you did it, what matters is that you hate it and hate yourself for doing it! I’ve heard excuses and admissions from you, but nothing that tells me that you’re anything but hollow on the inside.”

Silent cocked her head again, prompting Chase to hold her tongue. Silent was looking at her in the same way she had before on the train. That same earnest curiosity that only appeared when Chase spoke about emotion. In that moment, Chase realized why.

“Oh, oh no,” she muttered.

“You have come to a realization. I told you it was pointless to explain, you would not have believed me.”

“But - no. You’re really like that?”

“Cloudchaser, you are not the first pony to struggle with this, and that is something I find tiring.”

Chase had to fight her instinct to snap at Silent. She felt her neck jerk, preparing for another tirade, but it would be a waste of breath, knowing what she knew now.

“Fine,” Chase said, “but answer me a few questions. How did it happen? Don’t you feel a shred of guilt? And - am I your friend? Is anypony?”

Silent assumed her old stony glare, and Cloudchaser realized she had broken some inscrutable rule that Silent never bothered to tell her.

“I was born this way, at least to my knowledge. My parents showed the same level of disbelief you do, and to this day remain adamant that their daughter is not like they know her to be. Fortunately, I am long rid of them.”

“I suppose that answers the first two questions.”

Silent frowned. “Then no, you are not my friend. If you were to die tomorrow, it would not perturb me, except that I would need to replace you with somepony else. Ideally, one who spoke considerably less.”

To her surprise, the sting of finally hearing these words was far milder than Chase had expected. Perhaps, deep down, some part of her had already come to this conclusion. Though painful, it was at least enlightening.

“But then, why did you come when I wrote to you? If I’m not your friend, then what is it? Money?”

“I don’t need your money,” Silent said.

“Then what?”

“I had no other cases open, and thought it might be a challenge. This case has been fairly interesting so far, and if my suspicions are correct, it will become more interesting soon.”

“So, then, why did you want me to help you? You said you needed me when clearly you don’t, by your own admission. Why me, if I’m not a friend?”

“Now that you know - only because I have flat out told you - you are not capable of coming to that conclusion? What do you possess that I do not? Or are you just thick-headed?”

Chase scowled. “I’m not thick!”

“Then think, for once.”

Cloudchaser knew already, and as before, had simply refused to believe the answer. Money would have been simpler and easier, and it meant she could bid Silent farewell and never look back. The other possibilities, if remote, had likewise similar outcomes. The outcome she dreaded most, however, was the one that was now a certainty.

“I’m not broken like you are.”

Cloudchaser had hoped her terminology might incite something in Silent. She was disappointed.

“Quite.”

“But everypony is like that, so that doesn’t really answer my question.”

“You’re replaceable, so it does. You’ve proven yourself useful on occasion, and you can advise me on right from wrong. That’s why you’re here.”

“Wait,” Chase said, suddenly confused, “Advise you?”

“That is what I said.”

“I thought you said you didn’t care.”

“I don’t. As I said, I had no other cases and wanted a challenge. I intend to win, even if you are not around to see it.”

“Morality is not something you win at, Silent.”

Silent grunted. “We’ll see.”

“Princess Celestia, are you there?”

Twilight crept into her teacher’s private quarters, quietly, in case her mentor was asleep. It was not strictly forbidden, not for one such as her, though it was still frowned upon. The Princess had always insisted upon such times of isolation, and had refused to discuss them any further.

She kept her head down and her steps silent as she trod closer to the bed dominating the center of the room. It was a grand brass bed with finely appointed mauve sheets, surrounded by elaborate drapes sewn centuries ago by the most talented of artisans. Yet, it soon became clear that there was nopony within the bed, and Twilight’s attention instead wandered to the balcony across the way.

A breeze had entered the room, chilling it to subzero temperatures, through the opened portal. Beyond it, through the curtains flapping in the wind, Twilight could now make out the silhouette of Princess Celestia.

Even though she had seen her thousands of times over the course of her studies, spent countless hours talking and joking with her, and more than a little time arguing and resenting her, Twilight had never seen her quite like this.

Her body was at a peace that was never present during the day, not even when she would rest on a body pillow to give Twilight lectures. Here, she sat on a tuft of snow and gazed upwards at the full moon above her.

The stare remained unbroken for as long as Twilight cared to look. While she had come to deliver a message whose urgency had been impressed upon her, to disturb the stillness of the scene suddenly took the greater priority. Only Celestia’s mane dared to be animated, pulsating in time to the curtains behind her.

But, as with anything, it had to end. Twilight could not stand here for eternity, and the cold air was quickly wearing at her resolve. She stepped forward now, purposefully letting her hoofstep make a clattering.

Celestia spun and looked in alarm at the interruption, but relaxed when the familiar form of her most faithful student could be seen against the dim light.

“Twilight? Is something the matter?” she asked.

“I’m sorry, Princess. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“No no, not at all. Please, come here,” Celestia said, beckoning Twilight forth.

Twilight obediently took her place at Celestia’s side, and automatically felt her eyes drawn upwards. The moon, a great silver saucer in the night sky, shone down upon the whitened landscape before them in far greater a splendor than the sun could on any day.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Celestia asked.

Twilight, though she wanted to answer, felt that no words could do it justice.

“Tell me, Twilight, for I tend to forget things in my age. When is your birthday?”

“December third.”

“Ah, yes. How could I forget, given it’s so close to the solstice? And, what age will you be this December?”

“Seventeen.”

“Of course,” Celestia said, making it quite clear that she had not forgotten her student’s age.

“Why do you ask?”

“I’m just reminding myself of something. It feels good to talk to somepony else about it. This may surprise you, Twilight, but I don’t have that many friends.”

Twilight cocked her head. “You don’t?”

“Yes, I have many acquaintances, but there are few I would truly confide in.”

A sudden swell of pride overtook Twilight’s chest, but she fought back the feeling as best she could. Theirs was merely a professional relationship, and it had grown to a friendly one over time.

“What does my birthday matter? It’s just a day, like any other.”

Celestia chuckled to herself. “Other than getting presents?”

Twilight felt herself chuckle as well. “Yes, but presents are for fillies. I’m going to be seventeen!”

“You’re not grown yet. But, that’s a conversation for another time. I have an assignment for you, if you’re up to it.”

“Oh? Do tell!” Twilight asked eagerly. Nothing made her heart jump quite like the promise of a new task.

“I’d like you to research this for me,” Celestia said, waving her hoof into the air.

“Uh, what, specifically?”

“Do you see those black markings on the moon’s surface, the craters that run all along it? They have a long history, many legends and stories surround them. I’d like you to prepare a report on ‘The Mare in the Moon’ for me. Everything, from antiquity to present, is fair game.”

“Certainly!” Twilight gasped out. Even questioning this sudden choice of topic never passed the front of her mind for a moment, such was the exuberance at the opportunity to make a study list and pore over dusty volumes in the palace library.

“Now, before I admonish you, I take it you’re in my room at this hour for a reason?”

“Oh!” Twilight shouted, “I almost forgot! That stallion from Trottingham is here!”

“Ah, good,” Celestia said, “I was hoping he would make it tonight. Please go tell him I’ll be right with him.”

“Right away, Princess.”

Twilight gave her obligatory bow and trotted off to go find their visitor. Each step she took was lightened by the joy of a fresh, new assignment, far better than any birthday gift could hope to be.

Celestia, for a few moments more, continued to rest her gaze on the moon. Once she was certain her student had gone from sight, she allowed a single tear to roll down her cheek, and wiped it away lest it freeze.