Fallout Equestria: NightWings

It took a few weeks to bring back home the bodies of Lieutenant Soarin, Blaze, FireStreak and Misty Fly.

During this time, Princess Celestia had met with various zebra tribes’ representatives and the Caesar, to try and defuse the diplomatic incident, while the freed hostages were being treated at the Canterlot Royal Hospital.

Princess Luna, on the other hoof, organised the funerals for the fallen heroes with Commander Spitfire and Fleetfoot, the only Wonderbolt survivors.

A day of mourning was declared on the day of the procession. Each Sun and Night Guard accompanied the funeral cortege, each of us wearing a black cloth on our right foreleg.

The sky was heavy with grey clouds, but the weather team made sure no rain would be due today. The curtain of clouds filtered the sun's light to a dull grey, casting all of Canterlot into a sombre tone.

From the main gate of the city to the mausoleum built for the occasion, the procession seemed to stretch for hours. We walked slowly, in total unison, framing the funeral carriages on each side. All flags in the Equestrian Capital were at half mast, in mourning.

Ponies from all classes were gathered on the sidewalks, most of them dressed in black or wearing a black legband on their right foreleg, like us. Some wept, whilst others remained stoic, but all of them were there to give a last tribute for the heroes that gave their lives to save others.

After an eternity of solemn walking, we reached the mausoleum.

It was located in the gardens of the Royal Palace, with a small area of grass and trees around it. The monument itself was made of the purest white stone; even in the grey light of this day, it almost glistened.

It was composed of 4 statues, representing our lost heroes in a defiant pose, their head high and turned to the horizon, as if to keep watch for any sign of danger. The statues were atop a large pyramid-like structure, with the top flattened into a plinth for the sculptures. Four holes were directly in front of the structure, four graves.

A large bronze plaque was fixed on the monument under the statues, detailing the noble deeds of each of the fallen Wonderbolts. A small area before the statue was paved with cobblestone, with a small alley connecting it to the main street. Rows of chairs were disposed on each side of this alley, reserved for families of the fallen and honored guests.

As we entered the park, our lines were divided into two, one on each side of it. By luck, I happened to be right next to the front rows of chairs on the right, next to the guests of honour.

As I stood there stoically, like I was supposed to, ponies came in, going either to the left, or right. There were very few ponies on the right side, the most remarkable of those being obviously the Elements of Harmony and Spike, Twilight Sparkle’s personal assistant. Each of them were dressed in formal black gowns. Two of them showed more sorrow than the others.

Pinkie Pie’s mane, usually known to be frizzy and wild, was deflated and almost straight, her complexion seeming greyer than her usually famous pink. There was no smile on her face, and that was maybe the most disturbing.

But the most heavily affected seemed to be Rainbow Dash. Her eyes were slightly swollen and red, indicating she’d been crying recently, but her expression and clenched teeth only showed anger and resentment.

It was no secret that she held the Wonderbolts in high esteem, and wished to become part of the squadron in the future.

As the last guest and family members took their places, the caskets of each fallen Wonderbolts were slowly brought before the monument and gently placed on the pavement.
Each of the coffins had the Equestrian flag draped atop them.Commander Spitfire and FleetFoot took place on the front left row, which was left completely empty by the families.

Both of them seemed tired, their eyes empty, their face only expressing sorrow and remorse. They wore the usual Wonderbolts uniform, a blue flight suit with yellow bolts, and a black legband on their right foreleg.

After a few minutes, faint hoofsteps echoed, and the Princesses made their entrance. Each of them were wearing black gowns; Her Highness Luna was even wearing a black lace veil, obscuring her face. Any remaining sound was snuffed out by their presence, like a candle suddenly blown out.

Princess Celestia’s horn began to glow, a soft golden glow reminiscent of the Sun. She let out a small sigh, then began speaking :

"My little ponies, we are all gathered here to honour the memory of Lieutenant Soarin, Blaze, FireStreak and Misty Fly. Who gave their lives to save seventeen ponies held hostage by pirates. As they battled the bandits, Captain Spitfire and FleetFoot were able to transport to safety the hostages. Four ponies gave their lives to save many more, but the price is too high even then. These pirates were far more prepared than we believed, and this lack of information on our end caused these losses.

We should have been better. We should have been able to save the hostages and bring every pony home. We failed Soarin, we failed Blaze, we failed FireStreak, we failed Misty Fly. Their families' sorrow is Equestria's sorrow, as today we mourn them. The only thing we can do to make it right going forward is to make sure their sacrifice wasn't in vain.

To make sure nopony has to suffer such a loss ever again."

As she spoke, the Princess’ face was stern and resolute, as if carved from alabaster.
Her expression shifted to hopeful, sorrow and grief still present, as she continued.

“In the last weeks, my sister and I debated what should be our course of action going forward.If mere pirates were able to inflict such heavy losses, We need to change our ways.”

Her face shifted, tears starting to bead at the corner of her eyes. Princess Luna reacted instantly, going closer to her Royal Sister, and went on with the speech in her stead.

“That’s why, My Sister Princess Celestia and I, Princess Luna, have decided to create a new corps : The Equestrian SkyGuard. They shall be more heavily trained than the Wonderbolts and they will become a shield for the innocent and for Equestria.
Recruitment will begin shortly, additional announcements will be made in the near future to explain their missions more clearly.”

Princess Celestia regained her composure, and finished.

“It is now time to pay the last tributes to our fallen”

On these words, me and seven other guards, four from the Sun Guard, began to walk to the caskets. Each coffin was tended by a Sun Guard and a Night Guard, we grabbed the edge of the flags draping each coffin and began the ritual folding of the flag that we repeated each day of the past weeks. After a few moments, the four flags were tightly folded in a rectangle, the sun and moon of the Equestrian flag on top.

SpitFire and FleeFoot stood up and came toward us. Each of the guards that folded the flags stood at attention, one hoof presenting the flags to them, the other at our temple.
The two Wonderbolts repeated the same ritual four times: They saluted us, then both of them took the flag solemnly, and brought it to the next of kin of the deceased. When this was finished, each of us returned to our previous station.

Princess Luna and Celestia spoke in Old Equestrian.At the same time they slowly took the caskets in their magics, lifting them gently off the ground and guiding them toward the graves. I could not understand a single word, but it seemed like a prayer for the deceased.

One by one, the coffins were gently placed in their respective grave and covered by dirt.
Once this was done, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia crossed their horns and cast a spell to let flowers grow on top of them.

As the ceremony finished, Spitfire and Fleetfoot went to talk to the families. A rainbow flash caught the corner of my eye, the last thing I would see of Rainbow Dash for the day.

The other Elements of Harmony were seemingly leaving, and the rest of the guards eased their posture. I began to walk to the monument of my fallen heroes, to pay a last homage.

The monument was only a few steps away, but for me, it felt like forever. My throat was tightening as I went closer and closer, tears pearling at my eyes, until I finally reached my destination.

Taking off my helmet, a cold feeling overcame me, both from my sweat-covered coat and my heart. Slowly I bowed my head towards the statues, my helmet close to my chest, as tears dripped silently whilst I fought to not break down.

Hoofsteps came toward me, a single pony by the sound of it.
Silently, I wiped the tears from my face and put my helmet back on before the pony reached me.

“Did you know them?” asked a soft weary voice.Facing the pony at my side, I realized it was Spitfire. Her eyes looked soulless, the bags under them clearly indicating she did not sleep recently. After a moment, I shook my head.

“No Ma'am, I can’t say I had the honour of knowing them personally. The Wonderbolts were always my heroes, growing up I always looked up to them. It’s just-I wanted to pay homage to their memory”.
The corners of my vision began to blur again.

A small smile crept on her face, illuminating her whole face. She sighed.

“Soarin would have liked that. He wanted to join the Wonderbolts to help others, even if by example. By the sound of it, I think he did inspire a lot of ponies like you to go for their dreams.”

Her voice cracked as she asked : ”I’m sorry, but could you leave me alone with them?”
I hastily nodded, and left her to mourn on her own while I joined the rest of my unit.

“You should ask your mommy about your inheritance”
I jumped to the left, as a greyish-pink mare suddenly appeared on my right. Pinkie Pie.

“I don't understand, what do you mean?”

She let a small laugh before replying “Don’t worry about it, silly, just ask her. Bye now, friend, I gotta join the others”.

What was that about? Before I could open my mouth, she hurried toward the rest of the Elements of Harmony.

After that, our squad walked silently toward the barracks, the city so quiet we could hear the gentle breeze. None of us dared to speak.

As we reached the barracks, the afternoon was well underway. The words of Pinkie Pie were still vivid in my head. What did she mean by “inheritance”?

The others were starting to chat, but I wasn’t listening. Still focused on the words of the Element of Laughter, I split up with the others to search for our officer. After a few minutes, I found him while he was getting out of the armory. The lieutenant looked troubled, I wondered quickly what could concern him this much before remembering why I was looking for him.

As he saw me, his scarred face adopted a puzzled look.
“Is there a problem, soldier?”

“Sir, is it possible for me to have the rest of the day off? Unless we have some assignments tonight?”

His muzzle contorted as his expression changed from puzzled to surprised. He narrowed his eyes.

“No assignments scheduled for your squad, son. Is there a reason for this sudden request, soldier?” Hearing the authority laced with the seemingly innocent question, I came to attention unconsciously.

“Not much, Sir. I just wanted to go to the orphanage, to help with the repairs and see my family, Sir”.

The response wasn’t exactly a lie, I wanted to see my family, but it wasn’t the whole truth either, and I didn't really want to tell him about the cryptic words of Pinkie Pie.

The Lieutenant never stopped staring straight at me, his golden eyes piercing, searching for a trace of lie on my face. He sighed, letting his mask go for a second, his face suddenly looking weary.

“I see. In time like these, I can understand why you would want to go see your family. Come, I’ll write you an authorization”.

Without waiting, he trotted off towards the barracks. I hurried behind him and followed him to an unfamiliar part of the barracks.

He stopped before a door, unlocked it and invited me inside. As I entered, I realized this was his office. As he took place behind his desk and sounds of shuffling papers arose, I looked around and saw several old photos on the walls.

One of them caught my eyes. It showed a young batpony, looking a lot like the Lieutenant, same eyes, same coat and same mane, the only difference being the bat-like wings.

“Ah, there it is! Come, you’ll have to sign that and you are free to go. I’ll finish the form and sign it on my own.”

Taking off my helmet, I motionned to the picture, unable to stop myself from asking
“Is that your son, sir? He looks exactly like you”.

He glanced at the picture I was pointing at, and laughed.

“This is me, before I joined the Sun Guard. Never had any family of my own, apart from my fellow guards”.

I froze, stopping from taking the pen as I suddenly understood why both his flanks bore huge scars. My horrified mind raced forward, imagining what life would be like if I lost my wings. I shuddered at the simple thought of it.

The Lieutenant caught my moment of realization and smiled faintly.
“It has been a long time since then, I learned how to live without them. Not that I had any choice, seeing how that hydra mangled my body.”

I quickly snapped back to reality and apologized profusely for being rude.

He dismissed my apologies with a hoof.
“No need to apologize. You didn’t know, and you were bound to learn about it sooner or later. Now, sign quickly, I’ve got a meeting with Princess Luna in less than an hour, and I'd like to grab a bite at the mess before going”.

Apologizing again, I quickly took the pen, and scribbled “Galzra” on the form. Before I left the room, the Lieutenant stopped me.
“Be there tomorrow before 10 o’clock, soldier. Don’t be late.”
His voice was calm and composed, yet there could be no mistake, this was an order.
I did a quick salute and left.

*******

Midway through my flight to the orphanage , I realized I still had my armor on me and grumbled as I felt the added weight on the flight muscles crossing my chest.

I stopped flapping my wings, spreading them as far and wide as possible to minimize the strain on my muscles and started gliding. That should be enough to prevent too much soreness tomorrow.

After a few minutes, the crescent moon on the roof of the orphanage was visible, and I began my descent, carefully angling my body to descend gently toward the ground. The roof looked good as new, the repairs seemed to be completed.

As I approached the street, several ponies were gathered close to the orphanage. Landing near the main door of the building, I began to raise my hoof to knock on the door, before somepony shouted behind me.
“Hey, you are a guard, right?”

Puzzled, I turned around, to see that the group was just before the stairs leading to the door. A dozen of them at least, all of them looked angry and tense. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. This did not look good.

“So? You a guard or no? You some kind of mute?”. Not the same voice i first heard. I couldn't figure where it came from

I swallowed my saliva, and carefully answered : “I’m indeed a member of the Night Guard. Is there a problem, everypony?”

Murmurs ran through the whole gathering.
Unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies alike, all of them with anger in their eyes and a frown on their face. An unstable powder keg of emotions.

I had a bad feeling about all this. One wrong move could tick them off, and who knows what they would do?

“EXCELLENT! Now, you can take away the zebra that lives in this run-down orphanage and the one that hurried inside to avoid us! Throw them in the dungeon or something!” The same voice that first hailed me.

This time, I managed to catch which pony talked. A green unicorn stallion, with blue mane and mauve eyes. He looked like the leader of this whole mob, but avoided carefully to be on the front row.

I narrowed my eyes, anger beginning to stir inside.
As I began to answer, I tried to instill as much authority as possible in my voice.
“Sir, I don’t see why I should do that. Did they do anything wrong? I know for a fact the zebra living here is an innocent colt, what do you blame him for? I’m not going to arrest somepony who is innocent”

The green unicorn face crumpled like he bit into something sour.

“They are enemies of Equestria! Their kind caused the death of four Wonderbolts!”
“Yeah! If you don't do your job, we will do it in your stead.”
“Out with the striped! Equestria for the ponies”

The whole mob was beginning to shout. Several of the front row ponies began to shake makeshift clubs menacingly.

I tried one last time to appease the crowd, even though my anger was starting to make my heart beat like a drum. The roaring sound of my blood racing in my ears began to drown the cacophony.

One pony, braver or dumber than the rest, began to climb the flight of stairs toward me.
I took one step toward him, standing as tall as I could, and I screamed at the interloper with all my might, my vision turning red as I ordered him to stay back.

He stopped, uncertainty and a sliver of fear filling his eyes.
The whole mob stopped shouting.

Suddenly, I heard a small click at the door behind me. Turning around abruptly, I saw Zimaha in the small opening, terror in his eyes. I could hear Bronco shouting and swearing somewhere inside.

As soon as they saw him, the mob started throwing rocks. The first one crashed near Zimaha’s head, his frightened jump causing the second one to miss him as well.

I didn’t pause to think, I grabbed the colt and wrapped my wings around Zimaha’s body to protect him, turning my back toward the crowd. He hugged me with all his strength, shivering in terror.

Small metallic sounds echoed when stones hit my armor. I suddenly felt something like a sting on my right ear and on my body, where it wasn’t covered by my armor

The rocks stopped falling as I heard a gallop near me and right after that the sound of a hoof connecting with somepony

“All of ya better get the fuck away, or Celestia helps me, I’ll beat all o’ ya with my bare hooves and use you snivelling fucks to wipe the floor!”

I raised my head slightly and warily opened an eye. Bronco was at the foot of the stairs, his hoof on the neck of the green unicorn, his back turned toward me. I could hear the unbridled anger and rage in his voice, his sides heaving like the bellow of a forge.

A small whimper came from the green unicorn, his muzzle bloody and most likely broken.

Suddenly,with a gust of wind, two dozen pegasi guards in golden armor swooped in. Some remained in the air above the crowd, whilst the rest landed around them with thunderous clatter of armour.

“EVERYPONY STAND DOWN! We’ll use force if necessary! You are all under arrest for Disturbing the peace, assaulting a member of their majesties' guard and racially motivated harassment! You have the right to remain silent, everything you say can and will be used against you….”

As the guards were reading their rights to the rioters, I started to unwrap my wings from around Zimaha. The little colt looked relieved, but his eyes were still full of fear.

A pegasus landed near me, his golden armor masking his cutie mark, his coat a bright white. I never understood why Sun Guards accepted to have their armor change their appearance...

“Are you alright? It looks like you got several cuts. Let me treat that”. He took some cotton out of his saddlebags, and began to wipe the blood from my ear. My ear flickered as a painful sting irradiated from the wound.

“Hmm,the rest is nothing to worry about, small scratches, but that one on your ear? You might keep a scar. The stone cut the skin pretty deep. Still, it won't be a problem if you keep it clean”
He bandaged the cut quickly, telling me how to disinfect it and clean it if needed.

All the while, Bronco was stating the events to another pegasus, which was intently writing everything down. The green unicorn was still firmly held on the ground by Bronco, despite his best effort to try and escape.

The medical pegasus finished examining me, then smiled at Zimaha and offered him a lollipop.
“It must have been scary, here, take it. I planned to keep it for myself, but you deserve it more than me for being a brave little colt”.

Zimaha hesitated, unsure of what to do. I nudged him gently toward the pegasus. A smile crept on the little zebra face and he took the lollipop while thanking the guard.

Bronco turned back toward us, lifting his hoof from the injured unicorn so that the guards may arrest and heal him.

As he joined us, Bronco spat on the ground, a disgusted look on his face.
“Pah, those bleedin’ idiots! Racist twats! Had the guards not arrived, i’d have beat ‘em to a bloody pulp!”

I smiled at his colourful swearing. His face became concerned.
“How you doin’ lad? Did they hurt you? and the colt?”

I shook my head. My right ear felt hot.
“Not really, just a cut on the ear. Are you alright Zimaha?”

The colt, already enjoying his lollipop, stopped just long enough to confirm everything was alright.

“Let’s go inside, lads.”

Bronco locked the door behind us, Zimaha following me closely.

A zebra appeared in the hallway of the entrance.
“What happened outside? The clamour seemed to subside.”

Before I could answer, Bronco reassured the visitor.
“Everything’s alright, the dobbers got arrested by the guards, good riddance. You’d better stay here tonight at least, to recover from the shock. We have plenty of empty rooms and beds”.

Bowing graciously, the zebra replied.
“Your hospitality is welcome, and I'll gladly accept to spend the night at your home. I did not plan to stay in this city for long, but alas, it seems fate decided my stay I should prolong”.

He turned toward me.
“Sir Guard, I thank you for your intervention. Had you not been there, this little one would have become the target of that insurrection.”

Our visitor looked like he had difficulty searching his words. His accent and intonation clearly indicated he did not grow up with our language. He had several golden rings adorning his ears, each of his hindlegs bearing a single golden bracelet. I could not decipher his cutie mark.

I smiled toward him, ruffling the mane of Zimaha at the same time.
“You don’t need to thank me, this colt is like a little brother to me. And you can call me Galzra, I'm off-duty so no need to be that formal.”

The zebra smiled largely, extending his right hoof.
“Ah, how rude of me. You can call me Imani. A pleasure to meet you, really”

I shook his hoof.
“The pleasure is all mine, Imani.”

The sound of the front door opening violently cut me off, a gallop of hooves following it.
Auntie appeared, her mane disheveled, her face full of motherly anguish.

“Zimaha, my little one, are you alright? Did they hurt you? I’ve been worried sick! Why did you open the door? The guard in the street filled me in.”

The little zebra began to stammer, struggling to find his words. Finally, he managed to blurt out that he heard me screaming at the top of my lungs and opened the door to let me in. Guilt gripped my heart, it was my fault if Zimaha put himself in danger.

Auntie hugged him tightly, apologizing from scaring him and finally realised I was there, along with Imani.

“Oh, I’m deeply sorry, I've been so worried that I have all but forgot my manners, please accept my apologies Mr?”

Imani bowed deeply, his chin almost touching his chest.
“There is no reason for you to apologize, Madam. Your concerns for this little one are understandably a higher importance than I am. I’m called Imani, what would your name be?”

She nodded to him.
“I’m Auntie Cookie, the owner of that orphanage. I’m truly sorry for my fellow ponies’ actions, I hope you’ll stay tonight at least, to make up for that?”

“Ah already proposed him t’stay the night. Knew it wouldn’t be trouble for ya, Ma’am”
Bronco intervened.

Auntie smiled largely, and nodded approvingly toward him. She then turned to me.
“So, my little one, is there a reason why you came tonight? Or did you somehow sense you’d be needed here?”

******

After I told the reasons for my presence, Auntie decided to wait after dinner and Zimaha bedtime for our talk.

Imani insisted on helping Bronco prepare dinner, and it was revealed he traveled with a wide array of spices both mild and strong to enhance the flavor of any dish.
Strangely, there were no foals except Zimaha, which sparked my curiosity about the situation. Auntie explained all of them found new families in the last few weeks, most of the paperworks already being made before the Wonderbolts’ Tragedy.

After dinner, Imani and Bronco went to the kitchen to discuss cooking and spices, while I read stories to Zimaha until he fell asleep on the couch.
I carefully lifted him on my back, and put him to bed, his room being next to mine.
As I went back to the living room, Auntie motioned toward her office and we went there to speak quietly.

“So, my little one, you said you came here because the Element of Laughter asked you to?”

I shifted in my seat, the reason felt awfully silly now that it was said out loud.

Scratching my neck with my hoof, I tried to recall what Pinkie Pie said exactly earlier today.

“Well, yes, said like that it seems really strange and all. Her exact words were “You should ask your mommy about your inheritance”. I know it seems silly, but I heard rumors that she always knows more than she lets on, and it felt awfully specific.”

Auntie put a hoof to her chin, slowly tapping it.
“Yes, I understand why you’d want to be sure, this seems too specific to be a joke.”
She sighed
“I’m terribly sorry, my dear, but unfortunately, I have no “inheritance” in your name. I have to admit I never even found your biological parents, in case you’d ever wonder where you were coming from”.

She suddenly perked up, her face going slightly whiter.

“Although, there is a strange package that arrived here yesterday. It seemed to have been lost in transit, it was supposed to be delivered on your 20th birthday last month. The poor mailmare, she was so flustered about it, she apologized several times for the delay. Apparently, her daughter was sick last month, and since the package was wrongly sent to her office of Ponyville instead of here, she was only able to finish catching up recently. When she realized the package was late and destined for Canterlot, she decided to deliver it herself instead of putting it through the postal processes again.”

She shook her head sympathetically.
“There are not a lot of ponies with that kind of dedication to their job, as I told her. I gave her some bits for her trouble, she was not obligated to deliver the package herself. I’ve put the package in your room, I thought it was some sort of gift from one of your friends you made at the guard, so I did not open it”.

We went to my room together.
The package was on my bed, a big box wrapped in a tough paper wrapper, closed tightly by strings secured by a still intact wax seal. The seal bore a logo of a gavel on top of a picture of Canterlot, and after turning the package, I found the sender’s address : “Canterlot Sun and Moon Notary, Business District, Canterlot”

I lifted an eyebrow in confusion, before using one of my wings spikes to carefully cut the strings.
Unwrapping the strings and paper wrapper, a solid wooden box was revealed underneath, with a typed letter attached on top of it.

I carefully picked up the letter, which had barely a few sentences.

“Sir,

Per our contract 1XR4T11, our firm was instructed to deliver this to you when you’d reach the age of 20 year old by the original client that hired us.
As the requirements are met, we now send to you this package that was left in our care over 20 years ago.
Per our agreement with the original client, you are to become the de-facto client of our firm concerning that particular contract.
We understand that all of this may cause a great deal of confusion and questions, and as such, I assure you that our firm and myself will be more than happy to oblige and guide you on these matters.
Feel free to contact us by sending us a mail or dropping by our Canterlot office, at your discretion.
Sincerely,
Mr Heart”

It took me several readings of the letter to fully understand it, and yet I couldn't quite grasp it.
It meant that somehow, somepony before I was even born left instructions concerning myself, tracking me until I was 20 to deliver this specific package.

“You should ask your mommy about your inheritance”
The voice of Pinkie Pie echoed in my head, and it finally clicked: this was what she was talking about.

Somehow, she knew. Was she a psychic? I always dismissed the accounts of some ponies being able to see the future, but I may have to reconsider my stance on that, it seemed.

“What is it, dear?”
I didn’t respond, but pushed the letter toward Auntie. A few minutes of silence as she read.

“Oh, dear. This is real. I had contacts with this firm in the past, for some other foals I managed at the time, they are well implanted and they were founded well before I knew how to read. This is an old and respectable firm, not one to indulge a joke, even if ordered to do so by the Princesses”
She handed me the letter back.
“This is something very private, I'll leave you alone. If you need me, I’ll be in my office for a few hours, or we can discuss tomorrow morning before you return to your station.”

My head was spinning.
“Thank you Auntie, I’ll have to wake up early tomorrow, I have to be at the barracks by 10 o’clock but I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow morning”.

She hugged me tight and kissed me on the cheek, like she did when I was a foal, before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

The dim light of the moon rising at the window clearly indicated the night was coming along, I'd better get on with it to get some sleep.

I struggled a moment with the lid of the box, until a satisfying “pop” echoed in the room.
The inside of the box was lined with some kind of green velvet, and nested in this velvet was two items : a wood-binded book or notebook, with a brass system to keep it closed and a smaller box.

Carefully taking each of them out of the big box, I was disappointed to find there was nothing else in it. I slowly tapped the inside of the box with my hoof, in case there was a double bottom, but nothing.

Turning my attention back towards the items, I dutifully examined the smaller box. It was wood, almost as red as blood with black veins and polished until it reflected the light. I could not get it open, and I did not want to get too rough on it and break it, so I put it back.

The book cover was made from the same wood, for all I knew. It looked very similar at least.
It did not take long to find how to open the “lock” as it was meant to keep the book closed, not locked tight.

The first thing that popped was the elegance of the calligraphy. Each word, each letter looked like art in my eyes.

I never managed to do better than write legibly, but this looked like something you would find in old books.

Before reading, I flipped through the pages, not trying to read, but just figuring out how long it was. Small notes and drawings were in the margins of some pages, but I flipped through too fast to really catch what was depicted.

All in all, that looked like something that took a lot of time and care. Realizing I would not sleep much that night, considering the sheer volume of pages, I sighed.

I went back to the first page, and started reading. My blood went cold, and my heart stopped while I began

“Hello, Galzra.
My name is Emerald Velvet, I'm an Earth pony, and I’m your mother.
It feels bizarre to write this down like this, and pretty awkward.
If you are reading this, it sadly means I never got to know you and vice-versa. I made dispositions with a law firm well-known for their professionalism and care toward their clients to have this book and a small box delivered to you on your 20th birthday, you’ll have to see them yourself for the rest.

I should talk a bit about me, to give you a bit of context concerning this whole situation.
I am an ethnologist and historian attached to the Canterlot Museum (well, technically was, since you are reading this in the future, this is really confusing).

Three years ago, I travelled around Equestria to search for more information about the settling of our country.

Did ponies come long before we began to call this land Equestria, or was Equestria an old nation that ponykind slowly appropriated, by trading over time or by war?

It may surprise you to learn this, but ponykind, as long as it may be, seems to have had some kind of wars long ago, though it seems like it was before the reign of the Princesses.

But I digress, the point is, I travelled all around Equestria, hoping to find old myths and legends passed down from generations, or archaeological sites to help me understand the past.

After a year and a half of travels, I was still no closer to having the littlest clues.
As I reached the Vanhoover area, locals told me about interesting legends and myths.
According to them, when the area was first settled, long before the reign of Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon, there were already ponies living there.

Well, to be accurate, they said that several batpony tribes lived there. Apparently, those tribes still existed to this day, continuing to live as they did back then.
There was a lot of nonsense in the tale that the locals told me. For once, I knew for sure that batponies don't kidnap foals and they surely do not indulge in cannibalism or anything that barbaric.

Separating relevant informations from baseless legends and crazy stories, I managed to learn than those tribes left the land to the settlers, on the condition that the settlers would let them live in peace in what is now known the Vanhoover Mountains or Unicorn Range, but was once called “Dragon’s Ridge”, due to to the whole mountain range looking like the back of a dragon.

The entire mountain range is as wild as the Everfree, weather as chaotic and as capricious as in this forest, filled with dangerous creatures, ranging from manticores and hydras to cockatrices.

But, the goal of my life was within reach. These years of searching were finally paying off!
I bought equipment for the dangerous hike, prepared rations and took plenty of canteens filled with purified water. As I did not know the area, better safe than sorry and take more than enough just in case, that was my thought.

With all the preparations complete, I took off and began the long hike in the mountains. The maps I had were not that accurate, as ponies did not go for hikes in those heavily forested mountains, but I figured that If i went and planned a route near the peaks, under the snow but above the canopy, i’d easily find water and signs of camps.
I started from the northernmost tip of the mountains range, and followed the mountains as they curved toward the south-west.

After more than a month of hiking, I had learned to replenish my water canteen as often as possible. As well as pick the comestible plants and mushrooms from survival books.

Then, two month in, I started hearing and seeing things. Rocks sliding where there was no wind to destabilize them, murmurs in the winds when they changed directions, strange smells floating around.

After a few days of these occurrences, I began to feel observed.
You know, the feeling you get in the back of your head when somepony is watching you and you feel the need to scratch the spot? That feeling.

I decided to set camp a bit more permanently in the area. I had seen plenty of berry bushes ripe for picking in the wood a few hundred meters away. There was even a small mountain stream nearby where I could replenish my water without trouble.

The first night I camped there, there was no wind as I closed my tent for the night, yet strange and brief gusts of winds buffeted my tent every now and then, stopping as quick as they began, with strange sounds, like a cloak clacking in the wind.

The second evening, after I had eaten, I left a plate with some leftovers, enough berries for a pony to eat and my last bread.

As soon as I went to bed, a gust of wind went and shook my tent, but this time, the moon was up and bright, and I saw the figure of a pony silhouetted by it on my tent.
As slowly and silently as possible, I got up and crawled toward the opening of the tent.
Opening it just enough to stick my eye on it, I saw a pony curiously sniffing the plate I had left, especially the bread.

The silver light of the moon was bright enough to see what this batpony looked like.
Taller than me, slender, with a bark colored coat, and a silver mane, with a braid tied close to his neck. His wings were bigger than those of the other batponies i had seen around.
Equestria. His cutie mark looked like a round white stone, with a blue streak across it.
He had tufts of hair on his ears and his eyes were the color of light seen through honey, golden and warm, with a cat-like slit. Oh and he was a stallion. And a well-built one at that too.

He had a necklace, made from a sort of red and blue string, with a pendant with the same kind of stone as his cutiemark, white but with blue hues where the light was reflected.

As he tried to nibble on the bread, his back turned toward me, I chose to reveal myself. I silently opened the tent enough for me to wiggle my way through.

I stifled a laugh at the situation, the batpony stalking me being stalked by me. This was some grand irony.

I cleared my throat loudly. The poor stallion yelped, and rolled face first, stumbling away from me while spilling the content of the plate on the ground, while simultaneously managing to half open his wings.

Landing on his back, I took a few steps and put my face above him, his eyes darting left and right trying to determine where to flee.
Note: (I’ve tried to transcribe what was said as precisely as possible, but there might be some forgotten parts, sorry about that).

“Hi, I’m Emerald Velvet. I’m an historian. What’s your name?”

“Ha, hmm, huuu”

“What’s the matter? Manticores got your tongue?”

“Am not supposed to talk to non-batponies.”

“Ah so you do talk! I’ve been searching for months in these mountains for batponies. I got a lot of questions for you, mister!”
I do admit, my own passion for history was spearheading the rolling barrage of questions I launched at that poor batpony.

His frown became more and more desperate, his eyes almost pleading.

“Hum, you know, lady, i’m not supposed to talk to you. We live peacefully here, ponies live peacefully out of the mountains, you ponies are supposed to not come here. The Goddess of the Night was supposed to keep you out and prevent you from settling here. It’s dangerous for ponies like you here.”
He talked as fast as he could, as if talking faster would prevent me from questioning him!

“Wait, the Goddess of the Night? Princess Luna?”
He nodded vehemently, shaking his head up and down.

“You do know that there is only Princess Celestia, right? Princess Luna was banished to the moon almost a thousand years ago, give or take a few years.”
He stopped moving, his eyes wide with shock.

I stepped back a bit, and sat down, and filled him in the last thousand years or so of history.
It took most of the night, and I took the opportunity to present myself again, explaining why I was there, why I wanted to meet the batpony tribes and such.

He introduced himself, explaining that he was scouting for food when he first noticed me 2 weeks ago, and that he started following me, first from far away and then closer, as wild beasts lived near, which explained why I noticed his presence.

Strangely, when he gave me his name, he did not say “My name is MoonShine”. He said “My name in your tongue is MoonShine”.

He led me to his tribe, which was not far by wings but took me several days to reach on hooves.

The settlement was amazing, built around the trees and rocks of the rough terrain. The bigger trees were hollow, with strangely shaped houses built inside, while many smaller trees supported the weights of other houses. Catwalks made from rope and wood connected each of them and I even noticed rope ladders reinforced and rolled up.

While Moonshine went toward the biggest trees of the small town, I sat up and drew the village on the notebook I was carrying at the time. (I added a copy on the next page for you).”

Indeed, the next page represented the village, the dense canopy of trees almost blocking the sun, a complex arrangement of catwalks and bridges forming an interconnected web.

I continued to read.

“It took a while before Moonshine came back, the light of sun significantly dimmed, telling me the afternoon was almost finished.

He didn’t speak much, only stating that the elders of the tribe wanted to talk with me.
It took me a while to climb the ladders, as it swayed back and forth a bit.

After I reached the top, I was surprised by the solidity and stability of the catwalks while Moonshine led me to the elders.

Two were indeed worthy of being called elders, their wrinkled faces making them look like old grandfathers, while the last one looked not much older than my teachers. The three of them seated in seats carved out of the wood from the very tree we were in.

Their expression was the same : a mask of stern and resolute disapproval. I realised they were not happy to see a pony from outside the tribe.

The oldest of them, a venerable batpony with a coat entirely greyed by the age and eyes as white as clouds, said something while standing up. I couldn’t understand a word of what he said. Still the tone clearly indicated a question, spoken with the authority of a ruler.

Moonshine took place beside me, and began translating. I was asked why I came to the mountains as the old agreement between batponies and the rest of ponykind clearly stated we were never to come settle here.

I began explaining the reasons for my presence in the Unicorn Range, stating my work and life goal to understand more about the older days of Equestria, reassuring them I was not there to settle or cause any trouble to them, as I was only a seeker of knowledge.

MoonShine translated my whole speech. The language was completely different from the equestrian language, even though I caught some old equestrian words mixed in.

The oldest elder sat back down, a satisfied look on his face. He smiled slightly, and nodded toward me, in approval.

Another one stood up, and asked, always in their language, what were my intentions concerning what I would learn and if I planned to disclose the hidden location of their tribe to the rest of Equestria. His khaki coat was quivering, as if he was angry.

Once again, I explained that my goal was only to gather legends, myths and their records of History. My work would only contain those and only those. No mention of their location would be ever added, apart from the already common knowledge that the batpony tribes lived in the Unicorn Range.

It took a few hours to answer every elders’ questions, and the sunlight had died down when we finished.

The oldest batpony stood up one last time, and said something toward MoonShine, who quickly translated that the elders were satisfied with my answers. They would allow me to live here as long as I needed, on the condition that I would not include the location of the tribe in my research and that I would keep an open mind concerning their traditions and customs.

As I agreed, the elders tapped their front hooves two times on their seats, before standing up and exiting the room.

Moonshine shook my hoof, stating that the elders gave him the responsibility to be my guide and that he was to help me as much as possible in my research.

I lived in the tribe for almost two years, recording each and every fairy tale, legends and myths. I learned their language enough to be able to understand them without needing a translator every minute at my side.

Their way of recording history was remarkable, strictly oral. Every foal learned from his parents, which in turn were schooled by their parents before that.
Their records spanned thousands of years, way before the official founding of Equestria, one of the oldest even speaking of the coronation of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, an event known only partially to this day.

During my stay with the tribe, I began to grow closer and closer with MoonShine. At first, our relations went from acquaintances working together to friends and then, it became more than that.

He showed me their art of refining moonstones and sunstones, and how they used them in their rituals.

It seems that batponies worship both the sun and moon, for the land cannot live and thrive without both. After a while, the tribe trusted me enough to reveal that the mountains did not provide everything in terms of food. In truth, they needed to hunt and eat meat to avoid anemia and other related health problems.”

I stopped my reading, shocked. A taste of bile rose in my mouth. I forced saliva down my throat, swallowing the bile with it, and resumed my readings

“It was as shocking for me as it must be for you, when first learning this, I have to admit that I threw up. The elders of the tribe explained to me that in the mountains, the soil was not rich enough to permit the growth of most foods the rest of ponykind takes for granted. Thus, to avoid malnutritions, the first batponies learned to hunt, and began to eat flesh.

Strict rules were enforced to avoid any unnecessary killing :
Each part of the killed animal must be eaten, used or respectfully buried.
The kills must be as quick and efficient as possible, to avoid as much suffering as possible.
The killing of young animals, expectant animals or mothers was not tolerated.
And most important of all : All of the animals must be non-sentient and must be unable to understand language.
As such, when hunting, batponies hide in the canopy of the trees, speaking and asking the animal if they understand them, and warning them that they were being hunted.
If an animal flees, he is considered intelligent enough to understand language and thus not to be hunted further.

It seems like they eat the strict minimum of meat required to keep them healthy, and that their main prey is roe deers. After killing their prey, they cut the head right where it was killed, and bury it there, its eyes facing the sky to guide its spirit towards it.

Before returning, they take the guts out and leave them on the ground, to avoid attracting predators back to their village. They then cut and process the rest of the body so that every usable part isn't wasted. It took me a while to be accustomed to it, but if I’m honest, I admit meat didn’t taste that bad. A bit salty, like when you bite your tongue and it bleeds.

After a year, even though I had recorded everything I needed for my research, my love for Moonshine kept me at the tribe for several more months, as I was reluctant to leave him behind to return to Canterlot.

Everything was so much simpler, so much easier there in the mountains and yet so exhilarating.

After a while, I began to settle in that life. Even though I lacked wings, I made a point to work as much as any other ponies there. Time passed like a dream, but every dream, no matter how blissful, must come to an end.

One night, I awoke to the sound of ruffled papers in the house I shared with Moonshine. Half asleep, I looked around and saw him go through my notebooks and paintings. Now fully awake, I slowly got out of bed and asked him what he was doing. He froze, a notebook still in his hooves and began stammering, trying to justify what he was doing.

My blood boiled yet I remained motionless while he explained. The elders gave him one task he did not tell me about : He was supposed to follow me, not only to translate but also to spy on me and report to the elders about what I did, what I recorded...

He began crying, asking for forgiveness, saying that although he loved me, he could not let me go back to Equestria and inform them of the customs of his kind.

That other ponies would never understand as I understood and that they would try to force the tribe out of their home or worse.

I coldly asked if everything was a lie. Our relationship, our complicity. If everything was the way it was because it was easier to keep an eye on me, and prevent me from going back and fulfilling my life’s work.

As he tried justifying his actions again, trying to convince me he never lied, I smacked him hard on the nose, quickly packed my things and ran away, taking with me a bag of pigment I used to paint. I managed to reach the nearest ladder and begin my descent before Moonshine could react, and once I was on the ladder, he did not try to stop me, afraid that I would fall.

He tried speaking and pleading, but my blood was beating in my ears and blocked his words.
Once I reached the ground, he landed in front of me, and began to try pleading again. I sharply threw the bag of pigments in his eyes, and he collapsed on his butt, coughing and rubbing his eyes to try to remove the fine powder.

I ran. I never ran that fast and that long before or ever since, I ran all night and all morning downhill, only to collapse of exhaustion when I reached the edge of the forest. I took refuge under the stump of a fallen tree, concealing my tent with moss and dirt. It used the last of my strength to pull myself inside and fall to the floor, my whole body protesting from the ordeal.

While I rested, I heard Moonshine calling me in the distance, coming closer and closer. He was not alone, as I heard several others calling each other out above me.

Despite their efforts, I managed to stay hidden that day and the following night, my limbs still aching from the run. In the middle of the night, I heard several voices above me again, too far to understand their words, but I recognized the sound of Moonshine’s voice, sniffling and sobbing.

I was tempted to get out of hiding, but I reminded myself of what he did. He tried to take my research away from me, the research I spent almost 5 years working on. Angry again, I steeled my heart and kept quiet.

In the morning, they were gone. After packing quickly, I continued to walk downhill, at a resolute pace. It took me two weeks to reach the foot of the mountains, and two more days before reaching the nearest train station on the line between Vanhoover and Canterlot.

When I arrived in Canterlot, I went to my home to unpack and compile my research, carefully selecting what to present and what to keep hidden.

Even if the tribe and Moonshine lied to me and tried to prevent me from sharing my research, I still held my end of our bargain, keeping their location and their secrets hidden.

The Canterlot Museum employees were all surprised to see me again. After almost two years with no contact, they figured I made a new life elsewhere. It took a few weeks but I managed to get my old job back, and began presenting my findings and theories about Ancient Equestria.

As time went by, I gradually became very sick. I could not keep down most foods, yet I steadily gained weight.

It took months before my colleagues managed to convince me to consult a doctor.
As my symptoms looked very concerning, he did a whole battery of tests to see if I had contracted any serious illness during my years of travelling.

It turned out that I wasn’t sick, but pregnant. The doctor called a colleague of his, a psychologist. When he arrived, both of them broke the news to me : I was pregnant, around 4 or 6 months along, far too advanced for abortion.

The psychologist insisted I needed to consult, as such a denial of pregnancy, to the point where I did not realize my state, had to be caused by a traumatic event. The news was shocking to me, so I accepted his offer. I see him every week since then, though I did not tell him all the truth, it helped me understand and accept my pregnancy through these last two months.

During an echography earlier this week, I found out I have several internal malformations. None of them are life-threatening right now, but they will potentially cause lethal complications during childbirth.

This is why I’m writing all of this, I can’t go back to Moonshine in my current state, and he’ll likely never learn what happened to me or even know you exist.

I did everything to ensure you eventually learn your roots. You are not even born but I love you so much, I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there for you or watch you grow up.

The small box sent with this book contains a lock of my mane. I ask you to please keep it closed, until you can one day travel to the Unicorn range and find the second half of your roots, if you so choose. Until then, please keep it safe.

The rest of this book contains everything I learned from the tribe, including what I did not share with my colleagues. I hope it inspires you to go and experience it by yourself.

With love, your Mom”

The sound of tears hitting the wooden floor echoed.

Plic

Plic

Plic

New Perk : Roots (level 1) - The unknowns of your past has been partially revealed. New locations are marked on your map and new dialogue interactions are now unlocked.