Hex

Breeze sat against a large boulder, eating the blueberries he had packed and watching the trees sway in the wind. On the path behind him, Applejack was angrily trudging to his position.

"Breeze, come on back, now. We're sorry we messed up and thought you were tryin' to get rid of us, okay?" Breeze looked at her.

"I have nothing to say to you." He continued walking, Applejack following his every step.

"Don't be like this. Steel Shield's waiting for you. You just gonna leave him? He ain't done nothin' to you. That wouldn't be right." Breeze picked up his pace. Applejack ran forward and stopped in front of him. "You ain't gettin' away. You didn't last time, you ain't this time, so you might as well just come back with me." Breeze tried to walk around her, but she kept blocking his path.

"Steel Shield will understand." Applejack grunted and took his saddlebags. "What are you doing?"

"Y'all will get these back when we're done here. Now..." she turned around. "What are you mad at me for, Breeze?" He sighed.

"You told me all this time that none of you suspected me of anything. That none of you would turn on me. That's exactly what you did."

"In our defense, you were actin' real shifty and such. You coulda' just asked for the book, you know. Twi wouldn't have minded." Breeze growled.

"If I ask, how can I be sure that you will be truthful with me?" Applejack blinked.

"Pardon?" she asked.

"How do I know that you won't lie to me?" he asked again.

"Hold on... What's that got to do with the spell book?" Breeze sighed.

"The first spell." He took out the book and opened it to the bookmarked page once more. "Secrets Unbound. Earlier, you told me you weren't hiding anything from me worth sharing. Well..." He closed the book. "I don't believe you. That's why I was trying to learn it."

"Lemme see that." Applejack took the book from him. She read over the spell, dropping the book. "Well shoot, you didn't need to come all this way to get me to talk. I meant that I didn't have anything to share at that moment." She walked up to him. "I got a question, though. Why'd it bother you so much that we thought you were turnin' on us? Ain't you used to ponies suspecting you? You're a thief, after all." The question caught him off-guard.

"Because..." he began. He stared at her, trying to find the words. Come on! he thought to himself. "I don't mind the others, but..."

"Yeah?" Breeze shook his head.

Say it. Say it now. He stepped forward. "It really upset me that you were one that thought I was out to get you. Why would I do that?" She took a step back.

"... What?"

"You took me in the day we met, you tried your absolute best to help me adjust to this new place... Up until now, you've been nothing but honest with me... I've never met a pony like you; I owe you everything!" he sobbed. "I've tried to keep a clear head around you, I really have, but... I-I can't. I'm constantly worried about what you think of me, I..." He paused. "... I can't stand the thought of losing you in any way. What could I have done to prevent this?" he wondered aloud. Applejack couldn't help but stare, mouth agape, at Breeze's sudden change. "I've revealed more to you than I have to anypony. I trust you completely." A voice in his head interrupted him.

"Do you, now?" Do you really?" it giggled. Breeze only acknowledged the voice for a second before he stomped his hoof, shouting in rage.

"I am Silent Breeze, Thief of Araiyah! I have stolen thousands of bits worth of items all across my nation from citizens and royalty alike, and not once have I been caught! Criminals and spies dream of possessing my levels of stealth and persuasion, and... And you have every reason to hate me..." He looked to the ground, kicking his hoof. "But I don't hate you. I can't thank you enough for all you've done... I'm truly grateful." The same voice reappeared.

"That's all? Aww, you having trouble thinking of what to say? What happened to all that charm you mentioned?" Breeze closed his eyes.

"No, I'm more than grateful! I... I love you!" He confessed, darting forward and pulling her into his chest. "This is my fault... I don't want to leave you! I'm so sorry I haven't been as open with you as I should have! You can forgive me, right?" Applejack kept looking forward, unable to process Breeze's words.

The situation had presented itself so quickly and so intensely that she hadn't had time to prepare. "Please... Forgive me..." he pleaded. A hiss came from the trees that surrounded them.

"Breeze..." He released her. "Look at you, screamin' your heart and soul out in the middle of the Everfree forest... I can't help but feel like I'm to blame. Even so, y'all should already know how I feel about you," she claimed. He squinted.

"How could I?" he asked.

"I ain't proved myself yet? If I ain't, I'm about to..." She stepped towards him once more. "Breeze, you don't gotta worry about that spell. I think now's a good time to share what I've been keepin' from you..." She sighed. "I know it's only been a couple of days since y'all took up a room at the farm, but I see something in you. When y'all left the first morning, I told Twilight that I was gonna keep an eye on you, and that's exactly what I did." She took another step and resumed the embrace. "Oh, Breeze, I know how you feel about us, and I really didn't want you thinkin' we didn't trust you or nothin'. When we saw the other spell, Silent Void or whatever it's called, I couldn't believe that you were planning on usin' it. I came up with as many options as I could, but they all seemed so off..." she revealed to him. "I didn't mean no harm, honest. Please come back, sugarcube. Don't leave us... Don't leave me."

"Applejack, I-" He was cut off by the hiss resurfacing, only much louder. From the trees ahead, a giant snake emerged. Both ponies backed away in terror as it slithered towards them. Coming upright, it looked between the two. Breeze's expression changed to determination as he spread his wings in front of Applejack, blocking her. "No matter what happens, stay back," he commanded.

"We're in this together," she declared. The snake hissed once more.

"I will protect you. Do not interfere," he restated. All of a sudden, the snake began to fade into the shadows. Those shadows, without warning, encircled Applejack and Breeze. "Keep close." The darkness spiraled into the sky before striking the ground in front of them, sending a gust of wind out upon impact which staggered the two ponies. When the wind died down and they recovered, they looked forward to see an alicorn standing before them. The giant snake from before was now much smaller, sitting peacefully at her hooves. The alicorn was dark grey, with black-tipped wings. She wore a silver crown, which rested slightly above a diamond marking on her forehead. This mark seemed to glow all different shades of blue, along with the ends of her flowing dark blue mane and tail. Applejack and Breeze looked into her eyes; she had no pupils. Breeze gasped and bowed. Applejack stood still, looking at the alicorn, then to Breeze. "Queen Arcanis, your majesty..."

"You may rise, Silent Breeze." Her voice seemed to echo.

"Hold on a minute... You're the queen of Araiyah, correct?" Applejack asked. Arcanis laughed.

"The crown wasn't enough proof, I assume," she teased.

"Yeah, so if you're here, then that must mean..." Arcanis rose her hoof, her shadow distorting upon doing so.

"Yes, my dear. You are nearing the edge of Araiyah. What brings you here, young traveler?" She jumped in excitement upon hearing Arcanis's words.

"Yeehaw! I knew we'd make it! Breeze, you stay right here. Let me go grab the others real quick!" Applejack returned his saddlebags and hurried down the path, leaving Breeze with the Araiyan queen.

"She and two others accompanied me on this journey, your highness." Arcanis smiled.

"If I am remembering correctly, you fled to the lands of Equestria, yes?"

"That's right. I've returned to find the pony that cursed me."

"Well then, I wish you the best of luck." She looked around, then past Breeze before crouching down to his level. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation..." He laughed nervously.

"O-Oh... You heard that, huh?" he asked sheepishly. She nodded, reaching out and stroking his cheek.

"I hadn't taken you for the kind of pony to fall in love so soon, Silent Breeze. Especially given your... skill set."

"Right down this here path, y'all!" Applejack could be heard leading Twilight and Steel Shield to them in the distance. As Twilight stepped into view, she jumped a little at the sight of Arcanis."You see? I told y'all we were getting close!"

"... Queen Arcanis, correct?" Twilight asked.

"The one and only. I am the guardian of Araiyah's borders." Twilight nodded, taking note of her words.

"Surely, you have enough power to reverse his curse yourself," she mentioned.

"I'm afraid the Crimson Butterfly Hex doesn't work that way..."

"Hold on, you know about my curse?" Breeze questioned. The snake at her hooves looked up and hissed.

"Once one learns of its effects, it becomes fairly easy to recognize." She looked down to the snake. Frowning, she looked behind her. A tower could be seen in the distance. A shadow passed over the snake, which disappeared upon the shadow's departure. Arcanis spread her wings; the black tips were spreading throughout the rest. "I'm afraid I am needed elsewhere. You may continue to Teneventus, the capital; that is where many of the residents currently live. Farewell." The darkness spread past her wings and to the rest of her, leaving only the diamond marking untouched. As the last of the grey was taken over by the black, a shadow was cast over the area, engulfing the others in darkness. As the darkness faded, the ponies could no longer see the Araiyan queen.

"That tower... We should head over to there first," Steel Shield suggested.

"Center circle's a little beyond that; the tower most likely has a few guards inside. I don't think we really need to stop there." Breeze walked forward. "We're here; now we just need to find a white unicorn mare with purple streaks in her mane and tail." As Applejack came closer, Twilight stopped her.

"What is it, Twi? Everything alright?" she asked.

"That mark... The mark on the queen's forehead. Did it look familiar to you?" Applejack thought for a moment.

"Come to think of it, that test spell you did on Breeze showed us the real him... Ain't he have a marking like that, too?"

"That's what I was thinking. His was only one shade of blue, though. On top of that, he's know throughout this land as a thief, yet Queen Arcanis never tried to charge him for these crimes. Strange... Maybe we'll find out when the curse is undone."

"Yo, y'all coming?" Breeze questioned. Twilight returned her attention to Applejack, who shrugged and briskly walked to catch up with the others. She looked into the shadows, unable to shake her thoughts. It seemed to her that Silent Breeze was still holding back.