Author's Note

Edit: Holy shit I wasn't expecting to reach 100k words!

the writing juices are really flowing now, on the odd occasion I can get a good enough flow going that the story can be split up into more parts, this is one of those times.

I'm also trying out something experimental with the mind-link Onaelan and Octavia have, using colour to differentiate the two, for clarification it's Grey for Octavia and Red for Onaelan. let me know what you guys think. does it work? maybe you have your own system for denoting thought that you think works better, let me know

Remnants

As it turned out, the personal quarters of the palace staff, guards included, was located in a rather large seperate building, which looked a bit like a mansion, albeit somewhat spartan in appearance. The entire building was shaped like a three sided box, each side each holding a different aspect of the palace staff; central were guards, which meant us. The left “arm” was for general staff, maids, clerks, servers, those people that announced the arrival of some esteemed individual into the throneroom, and the right arm was for kitchen staff.

Palace staff could access this building via a tunnel, with the entrance to this in the gardens itself under a sheltered walkway stretching to the quarters, lest any maids and such got wet in the rain. Octavia had explained that here the social hierarchy was deeply entrenched, and for even a member of staff as low rung as a palace maid to be seen walking the streets on their way to work among the common rabble was deemed highly improper, so instead the royalty had made steps some 150 years ago to make sure that staff could travel freely between work and home, which was provided as part of the wage, so as to free up room previously occupied by staff lockers.

Right in the middle of all this was a huge communal garden that stretched out for at least an additional length of the accommodation past the building itself, which we were now walking through, and even in the cold of winter I could see ponies and even to my surprise a few other races like griffons and minotaurs milling about. some were simply strolling along the pathways, wrapped up warmly and enjoying some mutual company with a friend, others were tending to flowerbeds and allotments, Octavia explained that everyone was given the offer to take up a plot of flowerbeds or an allotment if they so wished, and that the palace actually put a great deal of emphasis on allowing, if not actively encouraging, staff to undertake extra-vocational activities so as to keep the moral and wellbeing of the staff high. She’d even shot me a very knowing look when she explained that a number of staff were members of a larger engineers club which resided within the city itself.

The whole time Tarn had been kept largely quiet, perched as she was on Octavia’s back, now huddled into a small coat which Octavia had “borrowed” from lost property and shooting me glares which could make anyone guilty...when she wasn’t asking Octavia about where we’d be staying, that was.

“Oh, you’ll be getting your own individual quarters on Monday, I’d assume” Octavia had said when asked by Tarn “but you’re more the welcome to stay with me over the weekend, the guards quarters aren’t exactly cramped” it was at this moment, as we entered what could be described as a foyer for the building, that we practically bumped into Autumn and Alee, in what I recognized as their full armour, albeit now wearing an enchanting brace to change the colors to match the palace guard. I also didn’t miss the faintly glowing collar now clamped around the Autumn’s neck.

“Onælan? Tarn?” Alee asked, as Octavia stopped to stand with them “what are you doing back early?”

“Ask Onælan” Tarn spat “he’s the one who got it in his head to challange a fucking titan on some bullheaded assumption and left me to trudge through the snow” Autumn raised an eyebrow and shot me a shit eating grin.

“Still as joyfully lacking in restraint as ever, I see” she remarked, I didn’t miss her collar’s glow intensifying ever so slightly nor the resultant nudge to the ribs and a whisper in the ear from Alee, resulting in Autumn taking a step back, running through some breathing exercise, then stepping forward again, looking noticeably calmer or at least keeping a lid on any underlying emotions. She looked away as she next spoke, likely she’d had to work through her words beforehand “I’m...sorry for how I was when we last spoke. It was out of order for me, even given the situation” Alee nuzzling Autumn in the neck didn’t escape my gaze, clearly I needed filling in on a few things. I ignored it for the time, wasn’t really important all things considered.

“It’s fine, really” I said, before elaborating “Honestly I wasn’t looking for an apology off you...I’m the one who needs to make things right” at this Alee smirked and lifted a paw to hide a laugh

“Aww, don’t you fret, you’ll have plenty of chance for that, Torch” she said in a teasing tone, hold on...was Autumn blushing as Alee spoke? There was one other detail in her statement that caught my ear.

“Torch?” I asked “Vinyl’s already called me that, is there some inside joke I’ve missed?” Octavia chortled.

“Nothing like that” Octavia said “It’s just a little nickname that some of our number came up with”

“Even you have to admit it flows better than Onælan” Autumn said.

“I’m not totally sure, but I’m not against it?” I ventured “Honestly I need to think on it”

“Whilst this is a riveting discussion, I’m currently freezing my tits off courtesy of our friend Torch” Tarn said, her voice dripping with sarcasm “any chance of us catching up some other time when I’m not about to become an icicle?”

“Yes, I’m afraid we do have somewhat more pressing matters to attend to” Octavia said “we need to get Tarn undressed and warmed up” Alee grinned at that

“Hmm, sounds like lewd times ahead to be had by all of you, I wish I could join you three” Alee said with a cheeky grin “sadly we’re on afternoon guard duty, so we should be making tracks ourselves” that reminded me.

“Oh! Speaking of, Vinyl needs one of you two in the throne room” I said “they’re kind of a guard short right now, two in return likely won’t go amis”

“Ayy! we’ll get on that” Alee said, a genuine smile lighting up her face “Thanks, mate!” and with that the two of them continued on their way, heading out the doors behind us and striking up their own conversion between themselves that was quickly blocked out by the doors

“Why do I feel like we need filling in on a few things that happened whilst we were gone” I ventured, speeding up to keep pace with Octavia as she now lead us through the central wing of the accommodation, cautiously placing a hand on Tarn’s shoulder and slowly forcing some of my own thermal powers into my hand to warm her up. She squealed in pleasant surprise at my touch and grabbed my hand, clutching it to her chest. I had to try and not think about the fact she was holding my hand to her breasts

“Oooh, you could have done this 5 minutes ago” she chided “still not happy with you” all the same a smile began working its way onto her face.

“You know I didn’t mean for you to be stuck trudging through the snow, right?” I asked “Like, yes I know I kind of disappeared on you, but did Glück not offer to help you?”

“Truthfully I didn’t give her all that much chance to offer to help” Tarn said, looking away “looks like we’ve both got issues with impulsiveness to work through”

“Which I’m more than happy to help the both of you with” Octavia spoke up “that’s what I’m here for, and to answer your question, Onælan, Alee and Autumn are a couple now, not least to try and help Autumn keep a lid on, what was it you called it?”

“Hordika?” I offered.

“Yes! To try and keep a lid on her Hordika side” she said “for the most part it’s worked, alongside that collar of hers”

“I had wondered about that” Tarn said “it’s nothing-” she trailed off, but Octavia clearly caught the Kobald’s meaning as she ducked her head in shock

“Oh, certainly not!” Octavia responded, sounding aghast at the notion “it’s just a little something of Twilight Sparkle’s design that monitors her heart rate and stress levels and gives her little prompts, worst case it’ll painlessly knock her out if she flies into a rage. Autumn can remove it whenever she wants, so it’s entirely voluntary on her part”

“When did Twilight Sparkle come to learn of Autumn’s affliction?” Tarn asked

“I had a little talk with Celestia when she dropped by following Luna’s little...shall we say outburst, and in return Celestia had a little chat with Autumn” Octavia said “About a week later it showed up in a parcel addressed to Autumn, along with an invitation for her to travel down when she had time to try and work on at least studying what caused the mutation to try and create something that could suppress it”

“How’s she been handling it?” I asked, and was met with a smile from Octavia

“I dare say it’s saved her from spending the foreseeable future in a cell” she said, before stopping and turning to face a door “Aha! Here we are!” she raised a hoof and a small brass key floated out from behind her armour surrounded by a hazy purple glow, and with a push of the hoof the key found its way into the keyhole, the door opening with a click.

“That’s some party trick” I muttered as Octavia made her way inside, I followed and hung my coat and bag up on one of the provided hooks, though at the height it was mounted my coat was practically touching the floor. Octavia gently placed Tarn down and pulled her into a quick hug before letting her go sit on the sofa. It was now that I got a good look at the place and was taken aback at how extravagant the flat was, it was comparable to a 5 star hotel on earth. The living room that we were stood in was lavishly furnished with very comfy looking sofa and armchair occupying the room

“I’ve had a grasp on my powers for a while, but I’ve never really had a reason to put them into practice beside fighting, maybe it was my stubbornness as an earth pony to do things by hoof” Octavia explained, deftly turning on a wireless that sat in the corner with the flick of a hoof and then pottering around, performing a quick tidy up and giving a full demonstration of her quasi-telekinetic powers “but eventually I thought, why not use it like magic? My powers haven’t gotten much stronger, but they have become a lot more precise, I dare say I could give Twilight Sparkle a run for her money in a dead lift....Onælan, dear, why don’t you get a fire going whilst I get the bath ready, I think all three of us deserve a little relaxation together, don’t you?”

“Wait,all three of us together?” I asked, surprised. I’d assumed that Tarn was going to be left in peace to warm up. Octavia rolled her eyes and shot me a look.

“Darling, there’s no need to be modest” she said “I shan’t speak for you, Tarn but I know that Onælan and I have certainly gone far enough to dispense with any semblance of modesty. No doubt the two of you have at least made steps in that direction, either way there’s nothing wrong with a little joint relaxation” from the sofa she was sat on, Tarn tapped her claws together bashfully.

“We’ve, uh, spent most night together” she said “but not actually slept together” Octavia regarded Tarn with a look for a solid moment, and I could tell that she was thinking something intently as she studied the Kobald, but then almost as soon as the expression appeared it was gone, and Octavia simply shrugged.

“Fair enough, I’ll go get the bath running” she said before disappearing through one of the doors, then added in a singsing voice “don’t do anything without me” I let out a soft chuckle as I crouched down by the fire. As I called forth my fire powers I felt Octavia’s presence in my mind.

‘Make it look like you’re just tending to the fire...but tell me honestly, how far have you gone with her?’

‘Honestly, We’ve just cuddled, shared the occasional kiss. We’ve certainly never had sex if that’s what you’re trying to find out’

‘Has she ever come across as distant? Have you ever tried anything and been rejected?’

I had to stop myself from sighing, I could tell what she was trying to find out and already knew the answer.

‘Octavia, you weren’t there when I found her. If you were, you wouldn’t be dropping so many hints...fuck. This doesn’t leave our minds, but she was in the middle of being raped when I found her. I physically dropped in on the guy and killed him there and then. It’s never been a question for me because I saw her in captivity and saw what she would have been going through day in day out for years.

‘Celestia, Onælan, I’m sorry, I didn’t…’

‘It’s fine, it’s not your fault. Honestly, it’s been something that I’ve tried not to touch, and hoped that she’d open up of her own accord, and when she hasn’t I’ve respected that. I’m no genius, but I’m smart enough to know when to leave something well alone...knowing my track record I’d try to help and just make her worse...shit, I won’t say she’s all I’ve got, because there’s you too, but if I tried to help her and ended up making things worse...I don’t want to think about it’

‘Come monday I’ll ask around about therapy...for both of you, because by my reckoning there’s stuff you haven't let go of either. Until then, just follow my lead’

“Onælan, do you think you can help me with this?” it was Tarn’s voice that cut through my thoughts, and I felt Octavia retract from my mind somewhat, keeping tabs but reducing her level of communication from coherent thought to emotions and suggestions. Turning around I was met with the Kobald stood behind me, gesturing to her sodden dress “between wearing a sodden dress and going bare, I know what i’d prefer...besides, Octavia said we’d be getting a bath, might as well get this over with now” I shifted back from the fire and adjusted to sit crossed legs, patting my thigh to bid her to sit in my lap. A moment later and the petite Kobald was sat in my lap facing the fire, and she tugged at the hem of her dress, pulling it up slightly, and which point I took over and carefully pulled it off in one deft motion, laying the dress out in front of the fire to dry and exposing her bare back and the multitude of scars which criss crossed her skin. They were definitely well on the way to healed but they would never truely go away, and this fact left an ache in my chest.

“Honestly, Tarn, how do you cope with this?” I asked as I gently placed my right palm on her back, this was treacherous territory for me, and I was worried about putting my hand in the wrong place. Tarn initially tensed at my touch, but then she sighed and leant into my hand all the same.

“Honestly...I cope much as I did whilst I was a slave” she said “I just live my life one day at a time, makes it easier if you aren’t thinking you’ve got the rest of your life ahead of you where you aren’t some broken former plaything” almost immediately, Octavia entered my mind again, her words hushed and careful.

‘I know you want to shy away from it, but don’t, the worst thing you can do is to leave her with that mindset, you need to refute what she’s saying in a positive way’

“Well, I don’t see you that way” I said, at this Tarns ears perked up, a look of genuine surprise on her face.

“Oh?” she asked “well then, what do you see?”

“Hmm, well, back home there was this race of people who had a tradition called Kintsugi” I said, my voice turning softer as I started to gently trace my finger along the scars “it’s the practice of taking a broken pottery, such as a bowl or jar, and repairing it with gold inlaid into the cracks, the idea being that by embracing all the flaws, all the imperfections, you end up with something far more beautiful. That’s what I see when I look at you; someone who’s been through so much, something no one should ever have to experience, and I see someone who is so much more beautiful and stronger as a result” by now Tarn had turned to look at me, her eyes wide and on the verge of tears.

“Do...do you really mean that?” she asked “this isn't just some positivity bullshit? You actually believe that?” I nodded

“I do” I said “Ponies might ask me, ‘who’s your inspiration? Who’s your reason to keep going?’ and I’d tell them it was you, the person I wake up next to every day” at this Tarn let out a sniffle, tears starting to run down her cheeks before she buried her head in my chest, I didn’t say anything, instead I pulled her closer to me and let the tears run their course, soaking into my shirt as I gently rubber her back. I looked up to see Octavia sat in the doorway, but making sure she wasn’t obvious, watching us with a sad smile on her face.

‘I dare say I couldn’t have done better myself in the situation’

‘Those scars are never going to fade, only thing I can do is try to help her live with them’

‘Well, bath’s waiting when you’re ready’ and with that she disappeared towards the bathroom, letting us have our little moment together.