After being introduced to Sophia’s con artist of a little sister, the month went by rather dull with the exception of a couple of dates me and Ange went out on but other than that it was playing video games and clean up around the house. Now with it being the last month of the year, the night of the Gala grew closer and with every moment I began to dread it coming closer as it meant that my birthday would too. While others would be happy to celebrate their birthdays, I loathe it as it reminds me of what I went through as a kid, alone on the streets with nothing but the cold and hunger to keep me company. Everyone in town knows that I spend the first day of the new year alone, thinking to myself of the many possible what ifs. Many of the townsfolk worried whenever the day arrives, somewhat expecting me to do something drastic which I have in the past but that was during a phase I was going through.

I sighed as I stared at the calendar, seeing the last day of month marked with a red circle with the words ‘Gala’ inside it. It was tonight… the event highly anticipated by the group was tonight and it was just a few hours before I had to get ready. I sighed at the thoughts as I grabbed the suit I was going to use and headed out towards Blake’s place. The cold air made me shiver a bit as I walked, the streets were barren today as it was a holiday today. It gave me time to think before I arrived at Blakes place. Many thoughts about the event ran through my mind, none of them being good or encouraging at all and it only made me not want to go but… I promised Ange I would and I have kept my promises so far, I'm not going to start breaking them now. I finally came upon Blake's place, seeing the closed sign on the front door before entering, making the bell ring upon doing so. It was a few moments later when the door opened and Blake peeked out.

“Oh, hey Isaac.” She greeted me. “Here to hang out before the Gala?” I nodded at her as she opened the door. “Well come on, we still have a few hours left.” She headed back in, allowing me to follow suit up the stairs before finally reaching her abode.

“I'm not excited about tonight.” I said with a shake of my head. Blake didn’t say anything as we walked into her living room. The place was smaller than mine and had the simple stuff; TV, couch, some chairs, bookcases, etc. The notable thing is that near her TV was many video games and game consoles.

“Yeah well, I’m on the fence about it.” Blake said as she sat down. I sat down as well after putting the suit neatly on a clean table. The two of us spent the next few minutes in silence. I sat there, with a look of deep thought that garnered Blake's concern. “Thinking about your birthday?” She asked me.

“Yeah… how can I not when it's tomorrow.” I said with a solemn tone. To me my birthday is the worst day of the year. “I just wish I could forget about it entirely and just… move on with my life but no… every year is the same thing.” I said, planting my face into my hands. Again we went into silence, Blake didn’t say anything after what I said. It was a few moments later when she spoke.

“You… want some coffee? Or Tea?” She asked me, wanting the silence to end. I shrugged before answering.

“Coffee would do, I think I might need it.” I said to her with a low tone. She really never liked seeing me like this, I was always the carefree guy people know about. She nodded and stood up to go into her kitchen. It was a few minutes later when Blake handed me a cup of coffee.

“Here.” She said as I took the coffee with a thanks. She sat on the couch beside me and stared up at the roof of the place. It was a few moments later when she spoke. “Our childhoods sucked.” I sighed at that, drinking a bit from the coffee.

“At least you know you have parents.” I said quietly, regretting my words soon after I spoke them. I hate to admit it but I was always envious of Blake, at least she knows she had parents while I'm left clueless. For all I know I could be some sort of experiment in a lab somewhere. I looked over and saw her frowning at what I said.

“I know I have a dad, who I don’t see at all and don’t know what he looks or sounds like, but I don’t know who my mom is. Hell I don’t even know that my dad is my dad.” Blake informed me. I looked down at the steaming mug and sighing a little. “But really we shouldn’t be so down right now!” Blake stated as she pushed forward. “Tonight is the Gala, that means one thing.”

“And what might that be?” I asked her with an arched brow. She turned to me with a grin.

“We're going to mess with a lot of nobles.” She said with a chuckle. I rolled my eyes though a smirk formed before I said.

“We're going to end up on so many people’s shitlist.” I said with a chuckle of my own, this bringing me out of my thoughts of tomorrow. I looked at a nearby clock, seeing that the Gala was still hours away. I frowned but I was quickly surprised when Blake tossed me a controller. I looked down at it before at her, seeing her wave her controller with a smirk.

“Let’s worry about pissing nobles off later, we have a few hours and I got some new games a few days ago.” She stated to me. I laughed at this before she turned on the console and putting in one of the new games in. After that, the time spent was a blur as we clashed against one another before ending it all with a tie. I blinked a little before looking at the time again, seeing that it had been several hours since I got here and it was nearly time. Blake saw the time as well. “Ah hell, didn’t think time would go this fast.” Blake got up quickly and so did I.

“Mind I use your bathroom to get changed?” I asked her, grabbing my suit as I did. She nodded as she ran into her room, slamming the door behind her. I was quick to go into the bathroom and change attire but the changing part proved to be a little difficult on account of having never put on a suit. When I finally finished up and setting the bowtie, I looked at myself in the mirror, seeing a well dressed me. A bit of my tattoos were visible on the back of my hand but I didn't care much to cover them. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, telling myself that this will go by quickly over and over again.

I believe that this wouldn’t go by quickly as I now stood in the Gala with Ange beside me. Blake was right, there were nobles… a lot of nobles. Just seeing them made my stomach turn, nevermind hearing them speak in their posh accents.

“Ugh… I hate this already.” I said in a whisper while my shoulders sagged.

“Well… let’s just… enjoy it as much as we can…” Ange said, a little bit clinging onto me. The others already went off, Rachael already off to see the Blue Angels while Jacqueline was setting up to see her apple pastries. Sophia was off to talk to the nobles, something won’t change about her, and Dianne… was being Dianne. Blake went over to see what food they had made for such an event. I looked down at Ange as she held my arm with hers.

“So… what do you want to do?” I asked her, not really knowing what I'm going to do to pass the time here. Ange thought about it for a few moments.

“Umm… walk around for a bit?” She suggested. I nodded before we began our walk around the palace yards, passing by some wondering nobles that glared at the sight of us. I did my best to ignore them but Ange began to tremble a bit at the unwanted attention. When we came up on the palace gardens, we found a bench and sat down before I comforted her with soothing whispers and gentle kisses. She smiled at me for this, pulling herself closer to me. “Thanks…” She whispered softly.

“Anything to make you smile, Ange.” I said to her, placing a hand on her as I did. “To be honest, I wasn't really looking forward for the Gala, dreading it even but… as long as I'm with you I'm happy.” I admitted. It was the truth, these past two months the source of my happiness was Ange and her smile. She blushed at this as the two of us sat there for some time.

“Hey… should we grab something to eat?” She asked me. I smiled and stood up before holding a hand out for her to take. Once she grabbed my hand, I gently pulled her up before we headed back to the courtyard, where the event is being held. It wasn't far but it was a short walk, enough time for us to enjoy the company of one another. Upon reaching the courtyard, we spotted Blake by the food table, sampling whatever laid on a platter. We walked up to her hand in hand.

“Hey Blake.” I said, gaining her attention. She turned with food in her mouth before swallowing.

“Hey you two, how goes?” Blake asked the two of us. Ange and I smiled her, glancing at one another afterwards.

“I mean, the event so far has been boring but we're pulling through.” I said to Blake while Aneg rested her head on the shoulder of my suit, a blissful sigh escaping her lips. “So how about you?” I asked her.

“Eh, you know; walking around, getting glared at by nobles, normal stuff.” Blake answered with a laugh, gaining a laugh from me and Ange as well. Suddenly the sounds of trumpets greeted our ears and our attention was brought towards the main gate, a spotlight pointing down at someone.

“Now introducing Lady Camilla Nicolette Whitlock, the Fire Magi of Canterlot!” Said a man with a posh accent as a round of applause showered the woman that walked through the gate. The woman walked out in a red and bronze dress and her hair done back with red and gold spirals. She walked out with her head held high and the same look of a noble would have. But I felt that there was something… different.

I saw that as she walked in she had a guard but he was about five feet back… actually everyone was giving her a wide berth. It made me questioning it but I kept to myself and I glanced down at Ange before at Blake. Blake simply stared at the woman, blinking a few times.

“You know… I would say she's really hot but… that's a bit on the nose…” She said out loud.

“What was that?” I said, pretending not to have heard it the first time. Blake frowned at me and rolled her eyes.

“She's hot.” Blake repeated before crossing her arms and looking away, I caught a faint blush when she did.

“She's seems… lonely.” Ange spoke up, gaining mine and Blake's attention as soon as she did.

“What do you mean?” I asked her curiously. Ange looked at us before back at the woman.

“She just… looks lonely.” Ange explained. I looked back to see her walk through the crowd, said crowd moved away from her as if she was some sort of plague. I glanced at Blake, seeing her eyes drawn towards the woman with a faint blush. I nudged her a bit my elbow.

“Go talk to her.” I said to her with a smirk. She looked at me with shock.

‘What? Right now?!” She asked me. I rolled my eyes and frowned.

“No, next year. Of course now!” I exclaimed to her. Ange stood by me nodding as well. As Blake stared at us trying to get her nerve or something, I noticed that all the nobles that were around us were gone. The answer to this was that the woman was standing beside us, getting food. Oddly enough she was frowning at the sizes. I nudged Blake a little forward. She glared at me before clearing her throat, making the fire Magi jump in surprise. Up close she was tanned skinned with teal coloured eyes which stared at us in shock.

“O-oh… hello…” She greeted us. From looking at her she was putting up that noble front but she still looked surprised. Blake stood there, blinking a few times at a lost list of words. I rolled my eyes and spoke to the woman.

“Hello, ma'am. Sorry for the sudden surprise, didn't mean to spook you there.” I said to her while Blake stuttered about trying to regain her composure but failing. Her blush was now more noticeable than before. This didn't go unnoticed by her as her teal eyes dart over to Blake.

“It's… fine. I'm just not used to people… well, being so close to me.“ She said with a blush of her own. I nodded a little as she stared at us. “Wait… aren't you… yes, you're the ones that helped defeat Nightmare Moon and rescue Princess Luna.” I blinked at this, remembering the event clearly and the injury that followed.

“Yeah…” I said a little awkwardly, absentmindedly rubbing the arm that broke months ago. At this point Blake seemed to have collected herself to speak.

“Yeah… there was a lot of… hurt that night.” Blake said, rubbing her own arms a bit which, if look closely, there were still scars.

“Oh… you’re feeling better?” Lady Camilla asked Blake, who stared at her.

“Err… yeah, I’m fine.” Blake said, her blush was still there, but less so than before. “Sorry about that. So you’re a noble magi? I would have guessed that from the guy who announced you.” The Fire Magi chuckled a little.

“Yeah… I’m a noble magi…” She stated half-heartedly.

“Right, anyway I'm Isaac, that's Blake…” I said gesturing towards Blake who sheepishly smiled at the magi. “And this is Angelina.” I said, introducing the skyborn holding my hand. She smiled and waved at the magi noble.

“Hello there…” She said before looking around at the others. The Magi frowned at this before sighing. “I’m not going to burn the place down, everyone really needs to chill…” She stated sadly. We all looked at her curiously when she said this.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked, breaking the silence. She sighed as she looked at us.

“I… no, it’s nothing you need to worry about.” She said before taking a few cubed cheeses. “You all enjoy the rest of your night.” Without a word she walked away from us, munching on the cheeses as she walked. We watch her leave, the nobles were quick to get out of the way from her as her guard was trailing her.

“Well… that sucks…” Blake said, hanging her head a bit.

“You alright there?” I asked Blake, seeing her shoulders sag just second after she hung her head.

“I couldn’t say a word… at all! I sucked.” She answered.

“I wonder why she’s like this?” Ange asked as the nobles that were away from us slowly moved back in. I shrugged at this, not knowing what to answer. I glanced back at Blake, who watched as the magi walked away and the crowd formed again, she was looking sadly before sighing. “Maybe we find Lydia and ask her? Since… you know, she used to live in Canterlot?” Ange suggested before adding. “If that’s alright with you two.” Blake looked at me, a little hope in her eyes when Ange said this before I shrugged and said.

“Sure, beats just standing around.” I said jokingly to lighten the mood. The three of us soon went off to find Lydia, which only took about a few minutes since she was standing beside Princess Celestia who was greeting ever noble that came to talk to her. It’s a long, long, long, line up. We decided to skip the line up, earning glares from the nobles, and came up to the two.

“Oh… hello Blake, Angelina… Isaac.” the Princess said after a pause when it came to my name. Lydia turned and smiled at us and waved. “What can I help you with?”

“We came to ask about Camilla Nicolette Whitlock.” I said, glancing at Blake when I did.

“Oh? What about her do you want to know?” The Princess asked before getting some angry complaints from the nobles. She made a pained smile at them before saying. “Uhh, Lydia mind doing the explaining.”

“Of course Princess.” Lydia said before giving her a bow. She turned back to us and mouthed the words ‘Thank you’ to us. We walked a few steps away from the princess and the nobles before Lydia spoke. “So… what do you want to know?”

“Who’s Camilla?” Blake asked, earning an arch brown from the Magi and me. She blushed a little.

“Well… Camilla, or the Fire Magi from the South is one of four Magi that completely mastery over Fire magic.” Lydia explained. “From a young age she showed signs of strong ties to fire magic that she draw the eyes of both the Princess, and the last Magi of the South. The Magi took Camilla under his wing as an apprentice and well, fast forward to today and Camilla is the new Fire Magi of the South.” Lydia added informatively. Blake let out a whistle at this.

“That’s something… I heard the Big Four are some of the most powerful Magi, even on par as the Princess.” Blake said, sounding impressed. “But… why is everyone treating Camilla like she’s the plague?” She asked, crossing her arms. Lydia looked around to see that no one was around before getting closer.

“You didn’t hear this from me but… there’s something odd about her fire magic.” Lydia started to explain. “It said that her magic is more… intense than others, a low powered fire spell could destroy a whole barn if she’s not careful. So everyone avoids her just in case something… happens.”

“That’s stupid.” Blake said with a frown.

“I guess now we know why she looked lonely.” I said, looking down at Ange, who nodded sadly at me when I did. “Still though, it's stupid to think people would avoid her because of it.” I said, a little agitated at what the nobles do whenever the fire magi is around. Blake shook her head before walking off. I knew enough about her that when she’s angry, she would rather be alone. I feel bad for anyone who wanted to deal with an angry Blake.

“Well there’s other things about her that maybe interesting for you Isaac.” Lydia said to me. I arched a brow at this curiously. “From what I heard, her father was once a great inventor, said to be one of the few that worked on Clockwork machines. You can still see his work in Canterlot; Grandfather clocks, wind up toys, anything that deals with gears he has his hand in it.” I blinked at this, having always been interested in clockwork stuff but never really had the time to learn much about it.

“Cool.” I said with a little smile. Lydia smiled at this.

“Yeah, honestly she’s a really interesting person… sad that due to her conditions she is treated with both respect and fear…” Lydia sighed before turning away. “If there’s any more questions then say them now, or let me get back… standing around… doing nothing.” Me and Ange looked at Lydia oddly when she said that but stayed silent before the three of us headed back, ignoring the quiet insults and glares from waiting nobles. Upon coming back to the courtyard, Blake looked around in hopes to spot Camilla. Her hopes were dashed as she couldn’t see her.

“Aww man…” Blake groaned. Ange giggled a little as she leaned against me.

“Well… while you go searching for that fire magi, me and Ange will be nearby so just holler if you need us.” I said to Blake with a smile. Blake looked over at me and Ange after I said this. She shrugged and went off again, leaving the two of us alone. We walked over and sat on a bench, Ange resting her head on my shoulder as we watch the night sky. We sat in silence, further away from the event, nearly bordering the gardens. It was peaceful really, so much so that Ange had managed to fall asleep on my shoulder while I simply looked up at the night sky.

“Enjoying the fresh air?” A voice asked me. I turned and saw Princess Celestia walking over to me. Why was she out here?

“Yeah… it's quite calming…” I said in a quiet tone, hearing Ange’s adorable snored greet my ears every now and again. The princess walked over to where I was and looked up at the night sky.

“I used to come out here late in the night and walk around in the gardens before, it’s quite soothing.” The Princess said to me before looking over. “If I may ask, care to join me?” I looked down at Ange.

“Alright but I want to keep her in my line of sight, I can never be too careful.” I said to Celestia as I carefully stood up while holding Ange upright and once fully up, I gently laid her down on the bench, using my suit jacket as a pillow. As I finished I soon felt a warm air blow past me, which made Ange shift a bit and smile. I looked back to see the Princess lowering her hand a bit.

“Just to keep her warm.” She said with a warm smile of her own before moving a little. “Now… shall we?” I nodded and followed the royal celestial. The two of us walked down into the gardens, which were empty than the two of us. The flowers were closed up and all I saw was dark greens and purples.

“Got to ask, is it a good idea to simply leave the Gala like that?” I asked her, which earned me a chuckle from her.

“You believe how many times I simply… ‘Sneak out’ from royal events.” She said with a smirk on her face. “I care for my subjects dearly but even I lose patience from time to time.” I arch a brow at this as she simply chuckled. After a few minutes of walking, and a few times I turned around to see if I could see Ange, which I was able to, the royal Celestia sighed. “I… I want to thank you again, for bringing my sister back to me… I thought I lost her.” I looked at her as there was a moment of sadness on her face.

“Uhh, you’re welcome you’re-”

“Please, call me Celestia…” She said, cutting me off. “When I’m here I try not to think about my duties as a princess.”

“Err, okay? You’re welcome Celestia.” I said to her, earning a smile that seemed to warm the air with it. She looked out at the gardens with a happy sigh.

“I love these gardens, always full of life and smells. They always seemed to brighten my mood when I’m out here.” She stated as she ran her hands over a few flowers, making them bloom from the simple touch of her hand.

“I can see why, it’s really… calming here.” I said to her as she looked at me. She stared at me before the two of us continued walking until we came to another bench which she sat down and I sat next to her. The sounds of the party was distant from us but I could still see the sleeping form of Ange on the bench where I left her. My gaze then move down onto the ground, my thoughts of tomorrow filling my mind and it only drove a sigh out of me.

“Is there something the matter?” Celestia asked me, concern in her voice.

“It's nothing… it's stupid really.” I said admittedly with a low tone.

“If it something that get you mind's attention, then it’s not stupid.” The Royal Celestial said to me. “It’s also better to not hold something that’s bothering you to yourself.” She added with a tone of concern.

“Well… tomorrow is my birthday or at least I think it is… I was found on the doorstep of the orphanage I grew up in on the first day of the new year, so I can only guess.” I said with a shrug, getting off track and catching myself doing so before shaking my head. “Anyway, on the first day of every year, I'm always reminded of the one thing the kid in me never had… Some part of me still wishes for it sometimes and I just can't move on even if it were to save my life…” I said, sighing as my gaze went up to the stars above. Celestia was silent at this, seeing if I would continue before speaking.

“And… what is this wish?” She asked, her voice taking on a more sad tone than before. I chuckled a little at how stupid this would sound.

“Parents.” I said simply with a shrug. “Yeah… kinda childish and dumb but… that's what the kid me always wanted.” I said with a sigh. Celestia didn’t say anything about this. I looked over and saw something that shocked me; tears running down her face as she took a shuddering breath.

“I’m… I-I’m sorry… I’m s-so sorry…” She sobbed. I looked at her with growing concern.

“Prin- Celestia, what are you apologizing for?” I asked her curiously.

“Because she’s been keeping a secret.” Another voice said. I turned to see Wisp sitting in front of me. Wait, why was Wisp here? She licked her paw a bit before looking at me with her ember eyes. “Do you remember who I am Isaac? Why I’m always with you?” She asked me. I looked at the fiery feline questioningly.

“No… not really, I kinda always thought you were my guardian or something… Some mystical force that looks after me.” I said with a shrug, not really knowing what was going on.

“You’re right, I was, and still am, looking after you but I was sent by one person… your mother.” Wisp told me, shocking me. “In fact, she’s still around… waiting for the right moment to show herself, even though the ‘Right’ moment may not ever come.”

“My… mom?” I said, the word itself sounding foreign even as I say it.

“Yes, you see you must understand that what she did is for you safety, sending you away and having me look after you, to be her eyes and ears.” Wisp said before hopping up onto my lap. “I still remember that day, trying to convince her to do it was… well… let’s just say I felt what a sun is like when it goes supernova.”

“Then… Why didn't you ever tell me?” I asked Wisp as laid herself on my lap.

“Because I was told not to until you were ready… but it’s really until she was ready.” Wisp answered me, glancing up at me as she spoke. “But as your guardian, I believe it’s really time for you to know who she is… even if she thinks otherwise.” I thought about this, my answer right there in front of me and all I can do is ask.

“Who is… who is she? Who's my mother?” I asked after a full two minutes of silence. My mind was on overdrive, I couldn't think straight. Wisp hummed at this before turning her head at me.

“Your mother…” She said, before looking away. “Is sitting right beside you.”

The answer sucked the sounds around me. I stared at Wisp for a few moments before I slowly turned my head to see the Princess crying her eyes out. Slowly but surely, the sounds of her sobbing greeted my ears while I was left staring in absolute shock.

“I… I didn’t want to…” She sobbed. “I’m… I’m sorry.” Was all I could hear from her. I felt myself go numb and my mind go blank, I felt like my whole world came crashing down on me.

End of XIII

Author's Note

Yup: still a thing. G'day.

List
Twilight Sparkle: Lydia Aurora
Spike: Drake
Pinkie Pie: Dianne Pye
Rarity: Sophia Belmont
Sweetie Belle: Lucille Belmont
Fluttershy: Angelina Calliope
Rainbow Dash: Rachael Dawn Wind (Wind is a real surname, it's Finnish)
Applejack: Jacqueline Smith
Applebloom: Samantha Smith
Scootaloo: Skyler Hawk
Prince Blueblood: Wilhelm Nordman LeBleu
Gilda: Ferea Griffin
Trixie: Selina Crescent
Snip: Titus
Snails: Ralph
Zecora: Kamkhwala (Kam for short)
Vinal Scratch: Sofía Aquino
Octavia Melody: Carole Langstone
Sunset Shimmer: Lady Camilla Nicolette Whitlock