An Equestrian Rogue

“Magic is... “ He looked to Dusk. He gave a sigh of exasperation. “I’m not going to swear in front of the child, but you both know what I’m thinking. I know it.” Thorne rubbed his temples. The train had screeched to a halt. What had been a snowy landscape that had passed them by--landscape he was welcoming due to the gear they had packed--instead turned into bright meadows and warm breezes.

“You know I told you this,” Silver stated with her nose in the air, a smile of pride on her face.

“Yeah but…!” Thorne tried to protest. “Outside of the magical bubble, it’s a wintery wasteland that threatens everypony. Yet, due to… What was it again?!”

“The magic of love!” Dusk exclaimed, fluttering up in front of Thorne’s face.

“Love. Right. The magic of love. This ‘Crystal Heart’. It sounds… steal-able.” Thorne grunted in response, the snort causing the colt to giggle and float behind the human’s head. He swiftly found two little hind legs going around his neck and a pair of forehooves resting on the sides of his head. A small midnight-blue body was now pressed against the back of his skull.

“You don’t seem the stealing type, Thorne. Besides! They need it!”

“Kid, what are you doing?”

“Carry me!”

“You have wings!”

“But you know I’m a weak flier.”

The pain in Dusk’s voice tore at Thorne’s chest. “Okay, okay! Sheesh. And you don’t know what type I am! I could steal it. But I won’t. Not going to endanger a nation.” ‘Maybe.’

Silver just stared at the two before cracking a smile that turned into a giggle-snort. She just stood there on the platform with the two, ponies now looking at the trio, as she laughed for an extended period.

“It wasn’t that funny, Silvy…” Thorne muttered just loud enough for her to hear.

The mare brought a hoof up and brushed her fetlock under her eye, wiping an earnest tear. “It was for me! You folded so quickly!”

“Bah!” Thorne began to walk, earning another giggle from the mother and the son. The upright stallion gave a sigh. “I have a soft spot for kids, I’ll have you know. That much should be obvious.”

“It was,” Silver stated matter-of-factly with a sagely nod. Dusk mimicked it.

“Children are the future, Nightshade.” His tone got serious. “I didn’t have a childhood. In my line of work, I took mothers and fathers away from children who needed them there.”

Dusk blinked. “Mama! Thorne falosi nume tu adevirte!”

“Ya, Feli, ese biine. Si numaste Damien.” Silver spoke gently to relieve the colt’s worried tone.

Thorne heard his name twice. Once the name he always went by, then the real name. He felt a twang of guilt. “Hmm. That’s right. I never told you, Dusk. I apologize. I try to never lie to children. But just know, my birth name is Damien. But like your mother, I go by something else for… reasons.” There was a quiet ‘oh’ from the muzzle resting in his gray hair.

“So you believe them to be the future and never lie to them, Damien?” Silver questioned.

Thorne went quiet. They had begun to walk into the depths of the Crystal Empire. The warmth and love that radiated from the spires of the palace was intoxicating and invigorating to the soul. It was a beacon, both literal and metaphorical. Surrounding them as they began to tread into the streets were even more beautiful homes and structures made entirely from crystal. It was as if they were grown or summoned up with magic.

Brilliant hues of green, purple, pink, red, blue, violet, and amber all littered the lines of sight. The very ground itself shone with crystal brilliance that was enough to pain the eyes if bright enough light was cast upon the streets. There was no trash. No homeless. It was more pristine than Canterlot. And the citizens that milled about all looked fulfilled and happy--genuinely happy to be there.

The familiar feeling returned to Thorne. Though this time it was sickeningly present and alarming to the senses. He felt his stomach do a back flip. His every hair stood up on end with the fight-or-flight response tickling his brain incessantly. He put his hand to his gut and kept shooting glances everywhere.

Silver picked up on his actions. “You feel it again, don’t you?”

“Huh?” Her words brought his attention. “Oh. Yeah. Sorry. I’m sure it’s nothing. What were we talking about…?” He asked, sucking it up and choosing to tough out the pain. “Oh right. Yes. Children are the future and I try not to lie to them. They learn such terrible things from us adults, don’t they? I think if we raised them better, the world would be better.”

“But you took mommies and daddies from kids, didn’t you?”

Dusk’s question made the man wince. “I… I did. I hated it, but I got paid for it. I couldn’t say no in a lot of cases. I had a silly dream where I got out of my business and opened an orphanage as a way to repent for my sins. Children deserve a chance to live and laugh and enjoy their youth. They deserve to not be ostracized. They deserve to have a happy home to call their own.”

“At least you’re sorry, then…” Dusk said, hugging the head he was clinging to a bit tighter.

‘You’ve no idea, kid.’ Thorne’s mental agony rang hard, suppressing the physical pain for the moment. “That… makes me want to ask where your--'' His momentary lapse in the physical returned with fervor. He clutched at his chest and doubled over. He realized it was the curse mark suddenly flaring to life. A bright and hot flash-fire ignited within the confines of his chest, radiating the searing heat throughout his torso.

His doubling over nearly sent Dusk flying from his perch, but he was able to hang on. Both he and Silver cried out for Thorne’s sake only for him to raise his hand in defiance. “I’m fine!” He lied through a gasp of air. “Nightshade, take Dusk and go to the castle. I need to find some place quiet. And don’t lie to your son about this. He is going to be a strong stallion,” Thorne let a cough, “he can take it. I can tell.”

Without hesitation, Silver nodded and flew up, scooping her colt into her arms. Dusk tried to resist but was scolded in their tongue from the mare. Thorne looked to the pair to see them off, though he couldn’t help but focus on the pained expression Silver was giving him. She got an arrogant smirk back in return, trying to tell her it would be fine.

The ponies in the street noticed the strange creature doubled over in some semblance of pain but chose to keep their distance once he stood straight and played it off. He gave a few nods and a polite smile, opting to cut down an alleyway and away from prying eyes. He pulled his hood up, though the thought of ‘What good does that do, I’m still pretty recognizable’ came to the forefront of his mind.

Still the pain burned in his chest. ‘I’m not dead yet so this must be a… summons? A communication? Warning perhaps? Oh gods, did he see me? Hear my thoughts?! Fuck! Okay. Calm down. Think. We can test this. Just need to find a quiet corner…’

He stopped in the alley, a window catching his eye. It was inset in a crystalline home that was auburn in color. It was large enough for a person to fit through. Drab yellow curtains that covered the interior from prying eyes were pulled closed. He couldn’t see any lights through the fabric, but he wondered if anyone was home. Keen eyes scoured left, right, and above. Again the sickening thought of magical scrying came to his mind.

His right slipped behind him, digging into his belt line to pull a small pry bar he had resting in a loop above one of the satchels. ‘First, we take this out and we…’ He rapped the metal against the window pane. He stepped back from the window and hid the piece of breaking-and-entering equipment. Daylight still pierced the sky and drenched the buildings in light, but he was thankful that the shadows grew long in the alley.

‘If the curtains move, then we get their attention. I bet they’ll believe me if I say I’m working with the crown.’

Thorne stood and tried to focus, blocking out the pain. He had endured torture before on several occasions, but this was new. He was thankful that it started at maximum and then simmered to a constant annoyance. While the storm for bodily control raged, his eyes focused on the curtain and gave a count. After a full thirty seconds, he stepped back to the window and prepared himself.

The bar slipped easily under the window and with a bat of his palm against the curvature of the bar, it settled deeply between the sill and the pane with an audible creak. His right hand gripped and began to forcefully yank back while his left sat ready to slip fingers under the window to lift it up. It took several pulls but it finally gave way. With the pane now resting on his fingers, he pushed the bar back into the loop from which it came.

Next came the slow task of checking the surroundings once more and lifting the window up. He was trying not to make any noise that wasn’t above ‘house settling’ ambience. He had already made a few noises that would draw attention, but the curtain remained motionless. Thorne raised the window with his left and daintily gripped the yellow fabric, slowly pulling it enough for him to peek inside the room.

He was met with a darkened room that had light pouring in from under the door on the opposite side. Thorne didn’t hear any immediate movement or talking, nor did he see the light flickering or dancing. “Sunlight,” he whispered to himself as he shifted the curtain more to reveal the entirety of the room to the alley. A bed was next to the window, empty of its occupant, but was made and tidy. Wooden tiles that were freshly swept rested along the floor, all of it stained and polished. The same coloring was applied to the dresser that sat along the right of the wall. It paralleled the bed on the left.

A small, simple bedroom. He wasted no time in climbing inside after making sure he could get away with stepping inside. The wood gave gentle noises under his boots, but not enough to raise alarms. Once inside, Thorne idly drug his left hand over the gold metal frame of the bed before turning to eye the room some more. A table with an empty pitcher and a mug sat on an end table that was hugged by the bed and the corner of the room. An unlit candle that had mostly been burned also rested there.

The walls were decorated with posters here and there. Happy smiling faces with cheerful slogans. Wonderbolts and pictures of the royal guard; even the princesses were included. Thorne had a passing thought of wondering if all pony rooms were decorated this way. The walls themselves were a gentle white, making those curtains rather tasteful in color. His eyes went to the dresser. Make-up and mane-ties were sitting out in the open. The dresser itself held a small mirror on a stand while a full-body mirror sat next to it on the side all its own.

He stood with the bed on his left, dresser on his right, his eyes now going forward to the opposite wall to the window. A gold closet handle stuck out like a sore thumb, the frame between several posters. The math went quickly in his head as he stepped lightly to the dresser, gripping the mirror and tugging it with him. Next he went to the closet and vanished inside of it. Thorne felt the clothes surround him, but it was quiet and dark. He couldn’t see what this pony had for clothing, but whatever the design, they had good taste in fabric. It was soft against the back of his head.

Thorne knelt on one knee and brought his hand to his chest, touching over the spot where the mark was. He didn’t know of any chant or magical word to bring it to focus. He merely was told to touch it--and he wasn’t about to disrobe in order to fully grasp it.

Luck was on his side as that didn’t need to happen. Instead, a sickly green flame popped into existence over his heart. In that instant, all the pain subsided. He still had that gut wrenching feeling in his bowels, but at least the annoying bit was dealt with. The flame then leapt from his chest to the mirror in the darkness. The glass superheated itself for a split moment, turning blinding in the darkness and making him look away. It ended in a second. Next the flame soaked into the glass and began to swirl as if going down a drain. Finally the image of the Master appeared.

“Minion!” His voice boomed only for Thorne to suddenly raise his hand and ‘shh!’ the centaur. “Oh,” he corrected and lowered to a slight whisper, “on the job?”

“Kind of. I thought I wasn’t going to be contacted, I’d be the one contacting you!... Master.” He caught his anger, hitching it in his throat, and remembered to honor the one who held his life in their magical grasp.

‘Time to test: Can you read these thoughts you arrogant old fuck? Huh?! You should know you’re a worthless excuse for a summoner!’

“I know I said I’d let you contact me, but things change,” the Master said without skipping a beat. He didn’t hear Thorne’s thoughts, it seemed. Or he was good at blocking them out. And that was a thought that gave Thorne even more pause. “Things are in motion that cannot be undone and my allies worry that you would be a liability.”

“Allies? So you aren’t just some old hermit…”

“Astute as always.”

“Wait. Things in motion..? Is that why I keep feeling uneasy within the cities with the princesses?” Thorne pressed in a worried whisper.

“That… Ah. The magic of this world is growing around you then. Good, good. Maybe you’ll figure some way to use it to your favor. But yes. We have agents in those cities. In fact, you may be able to assist them. Where are you now?” The Master brought a hand to his beard, stroking it, as his eyes appraised the shadowed human.

“Crystal Empire. I’ve got one of Luna’s bats placed on me for surveillance. But she won’t be a problem.” Thorne responded, trying to make the words sound venomous. In truth, he quite enjoyed the mare and her son. “She merely needs to be kept around and in the dark.”

“Good, good. It figures she would be wary of you. She always was the untrusting one. But the assistance is crucial. That is why I contacted you.”

“I ask that you don’t do it again, Master,” Thorne pleaded, “that spell hurts and can break my focus. If I was in dire combat, I would have lost.”

“That isn’t my problem,” the Master responded coldly.

‘Fuck you too, asshole.’ “Of course, my Master. What is it you wish of this servant?” Thorne bowed his head.

“Go and seek out my other slaves within the Crystal Empire. They will tell you what they need.”

Thorne raised his head and nodded. “It will be done.” ‘Vague as ever.’ “I should go before the occupants of this home return.”

“Of course.” With that, the image faded and the mirror returned to its normal state.

Thorne let a soft sigh and pressed his ear to the door, waiting to hear any signs of life. When he heard none, he quickly abandoned his hiding spot, put the mirror back as best he could, and darted out the window, shutting it behind him.

‘Magic of the world, huh? Something tells me his other servants are the reason why I get this feeling,’ Thorne thought as he briskly walked away from the scene. ‘Also the reason the alicorns and I keep getting those visions presented to us. Good to know I’m not the only slave working toward their goal. And also good to know there is a collective. Now what to do, what to do…’

Silver flew away from Thorne, looking back a few times with a painful expression. Her son was in her arms, the little colt being hugged tightly by her forehooves to hold him against her chest. The main thoroughfare led right up to the Crystal Palace. A statue of a small dragon holding a heart shape in outstretched claws was in the plaza before the entrance to the castle. She landed herself on the tail-side of the statue so that they could be away from the ponies that walked the busy street.

Ahead of them a short distance away was the entrance to the castle and two guards flanked the doorway in crystal-like armor. Silver set her son down and sighed out. “We will sit here until Thorne returns,” she spoke in their tongue to the colt. “It would be strange to show up without him when they expect all of us, no?”

The colt nodded. “Mom, what’s wrong with him?”

“What isn’t wrong with that stallion…” Silver rolled her eyes behind the goggles. “But right now, he’s dealing with a curse.” There was a tiny gasp. “Yes, that’s right. A curse. I don’t fully understand it and we shouldn’t pry, but whoever brought him to Equestria cursed him. And he’s already lived a rather cursed life.”

“What do you mean?” There was a tilt of Dusk’s head in confusion.

“I pried a little too much into his journal--” Silver was interrupted by a “Mom! How could you?!” She waved her hoof. “I know, I know. I shouldn’t have. He’s already reprimanded me for it. But his youth was troubled. Not much has changed. But it explains why he’s so kind to children. He doesn’t want anyone to end up like him.”

Dusk stood, “Then we should go find him and help him!” A hoof went pulling him into an embrace.

“We will, my little Dusk. We will help him. But we need to do it slowly. If we push too hard, he may just turn his back to us. You understand, don’t you?” Silver looked down to her son, letting him pull from the hug slightly.

“Why would he turn his back on us? He’s a good pony, isn’t he? He saved me!” The colt's voice was starting to wane and slip into despair. His expressive eyes looked as though they might shed tears and those tall, fluffy ears went drooping down.

“Thorne has a lot of issues with trust.” Silver stated flatly. “And is very paranoid.”

“Then how do we help slowly?”

“By being there for him when he needs us. Showing him that the world isn’t out to get him. And by being friends.” She gave a motherly smile.

Her son nodded and gave a gentle smile back. It faded quickly, however, as more questions entered his mind. “We will find a way to fix his curse, right Mom?” He got a nod with a ‘mhm’. “And then will he… return home?” “No idea.” “Will we stay with him if he stays?” “Maybe. We’ll definitely be around.” “I think he was going to ask about dad…”

That last question made Silver’s face twist in surprise and then morph to sorrow. “When--Oh. Right… He was about to ask something when that pain overtook him…” She reached out and ruffled her son’s mane, “Look at my little Dusk paying so much attention. Now if only you’d do that in school.” The colt snickered which made his mother sigh. “He probably was. He mentioned it, but he has a point; we’ve barely spoken about personal lives. He isn’t a very open person. And I suppose without being prompted, we've not talked about ourselves.”

“It’s our job to open him up, right?”

“It is. So we’ll probably have to speak to him about a lot. But first we’ve got a lot to take care of.” There was a nod from her son. “And you should know all of this remains between the three of us, right?” Another nod. “Good.”

Dusk yawned out after a solid minute of silence, “It is odd being awake during the day…”

Silver gave a soft giggle and nodded, “It is. But thanks to these goggles Thorne made for us, at least we’re not being harmed.”

“But it’s so hot, mom!” Dusk protested, flapping his wings to create a draft around him in an effort to cool off.

“It is very warm, yes. We’re much better suited to the cold and the dark nights.” She shifted and stood before him, opening her leathery wings up and flapping them a few times to help cool her son off. “At least the temperature around here is spring instead of Canterlot’s summer.”

Silver’s ears flicked as she heard heavy footfalls approaching. She paused her motions and looked around the statue. Thorne approached, though his mind seemed riddled with questions. His eyes were down on the ground, his hands in his pockets, his brow knotted in thought. “Thorne’s back,” she said to Dusk.

The colt shot to attention and began looking around. Finally he saw the human who hadn’t seen them. Dusk flapped his wings hard and took to the air. There was a large inhale that made Silver flinch, knowing what her son was about to do. “Thorne!” The boy shouted, snapping Thorne’s attention to the source.

The man’s expression softened and he came around the statue to the waving son and waiting mother. “Sorry to make you two wait,” he said as he drew close. He took his hands from his pockets and put them behind his head. “I’m fine now, though. Dusk, did your mother explain everything?”

“You say that like I wouldn’t!” Silver huffed, her accent coming in thick after speaking so long in her tongue.

“You’re going to be okay, Thorne! We’re going to help you!” Dusk’s tone, though full of that same accent, was also full of resolve. He fluttered toward Thorne’s face. “And yes, momma explained!”

“Glad to hear it,” Thorne responded with a half smile. “I thought you’d be sad or upset, but instead, you seem resolute in aiding me.” He reached out and rubbed the colt’s head. “Sorry to cut the piggy-back ride short. I’ll make it up to you. We’ll have a night of ice cream and games. And that’s a promise.”

“Really?!” The colt’s voice almost squeaked from the excited pitch.

Thorne’s smile grew wider. “Really, really. Now come on. We’ve likely kept royalty waiting for long enough.”

The castle was oddly designed, inside and out. To Thorne, it reminded him of the Eiffel Tower. It stood on four legs of crystal that embedded deeply into the earth and four staircases led up into the castle proper on each leg. Each leg had a door and at each door two guards in crystal-like armor stared out at the opposite corner. These guards and the inside-facing openings all looked out into the half-moon shape of space the tower left below the first floor. In this space there sat the Crystal Heart, it magically floating between two crystalline pillars that jutted out--one from below the ground and one from the ceiling that would have been the castle’s first floor.

The entire design was confusing, though Thorne applauded them on having easily defended choke points. Not that choke points mattered when fighting a force that could either fly or use magic. A part of his mind went dark at that thought, wondering if earth ponies suffered the most casualties in times of war.

The trio had been expected and welcomed in by the guardians. Dusk was preoccupied by childlike wonder as he darted back and forth looking at the tapestries and paintings that decorated the main hall. Silver had tried to rein him in only for Thorne to tell her to let him enjoy it. She reluctantly settled on ‘keep within sight’, which Dusk happily agreed on. Thorne was sharing Dusk’s appreciation for the art but with more inward emotion than outward. Golden eyes traced over the art as they approached another set of stairs.

At the top, a stallion guard met them. Silver exchanged words with him, though the stallion seemed well informed as to who was coming. He asked the trio to wait for a few minutes as the prince and princess needed a few more minutes before meeting them in the throne room. It gave Thorne a brief moment to prepare himself and to speak to the two thestrals in his company.

“So, you two should be aware, since you’ve not been around as this phenomenon happens… Magic is bound to happen when I meet this alicorn. It will be metaphorical in some way, or perhaps esoteric, or maybe some type of warning. I don’t know.”

The two looked at him and raised an eyebrow in unison. Thorne simply shrugged and looked back toward the large ornate door. It was another minute of awkward silence before the guard returned, motioning the three forward to the door. Thankful for the reprieve, Thorne stepped forward, flanked by the two batponies.

The door opened to a rainbow of shimmering crystals that glowed with power. It radiated brightly from the seat of the throne where two regal ponies sat. There was no announcing their presence; Thorne would have been embarrassed should they have gotten a regal welcome and he was shielding his eyes from the light. As they approached the throne behind the guard, it got dimmer. Something that made the bright pink alicorn rise to three hooves with a bundled blanket in her fetlocks. Her alarm made Thorne put his hands to his daggers.

“Stop right there!” The alicorn demanded. “Come no further!”

There was a confused, “Cadence?”, from the white unicorn stallion beside her.

Thorne obliged the command and ceased, but drew his daggers and crouched slightly, readying to fight.

From beside him, the same confused tone rang out. “Thorne, what are you doing?!”

Thorne’s eyes trained on the alicorn a moment, each of them staring each other down. But his eyes saw movement ahead of him still. “Silver! The guard!” Thorne commanded with a booming voice. Silver’s eyes looked to him and then to the guard who hadn’t obeyed the command. Her eyes went wide as sudden adrenaline spiked and her heart went into her throat.

The moment Thorne called attention to it, Cadence looked to see the guard and flinched in horror that her suspicions were wrong. “Shining!” She shouted.

In that same instant that the guard was ousted, he turned his head to reach back into a hidden pocket on his armor and pulled a dagger with his teeth. The earth pony guard stallion then lurched forward, a crazed look in their burgundy eyes.

Shining lit his horn, a barrier forming around the pair. The other guards in the room all leapt into action, drawing their weapons. “Assassin!” Shouts rang out, echoing off the crystal halls. The pony assassin crashed against the pink barrier that shielded the royals. Thorne heard the distinct cry of a filly from the blankets in Cadence’s arms and it sent his blood boiling.

Instead of acting on the urge to kill, he knelt down. “Dusk, come here! Stay behind me!” He felt the tiny thestral go ducking behind him.

Silver took a leap into the air and shot up, using the tall room to her advantage. At the apex, she flipped. In that time, the assailant backed away from the now erected barrier. He turned away from the pair and looked to Thorne with desperate eyes. A shaggy velvet green coat was shabbily covered by the armor the fake guard wore. His head went back and forth, seeing that he was surrounded by steadily encroaching guards.

“You! Master Torlak said you’d--!” There was a sudden loud ‘clang’ as hooves from a speeding thestral careened into the back of the would-be assassin’s cranium. There was a whistle that escaped Thorne as she managed not only to smash into the back of the target’s head, but also was able to stop so quickly.

The earth pony went tumbling down the stairs that led to the throne. They were swiftly surrounded by pointing spears. The command to arrest and take the guilty party away was issued from a slightly shaken prince. The alicorn, however, stood resolute.

“Wow Silvy, you knocked him clear into next week… Here I was thinking you’d just kill him.” Thorne’s voice expressed how impressive he had found the feat. He stood up, sheathing his daggers. “You okay, Dusk?” There was a soft ‘ya’ as Dusk emerged from behind the human.

Silver trotted back to Thorne’s side like she had just won a prize. Head held high and lifting her hooves up a little more. There was even a little swagger in her steps and a wiggle in her tail. “I do not need to kill in order to subdue a target. Besides, how else does one extract information if not from a living pony?”

“Point taken little miss show mare…” Thorne chuckled. He shook his head and looked back to the three on the throne. “And here I was expecting magic to explode all around us--”

Just as he spoke the words, the door shut, signaling that they were without the offender within the throne room. The crystals in the room still simmered with dim light but then all suddenly went black. It was a tidal wave that poured out from beneath Thorne’s feet, the darkness encroaching on everything and everyone.

A brilliant pink heart ignited from above Princess Cadence. The heart was joined by a shield of brilliant white, then a blue heart that had snow dancing around it. Each heart radiated love that held no bounds. The shield held a promise of protection and of safe days. It would take whatever beating it had too to ensure the hearts kept beating.

Next to enter the projection was a bare skeleton. However, in place of the left arm, there was a black fire that burned in the shape of an arm. The fingers instead were claw-like. From its eyes there poured a strange purple smoke. In its chest beat a small heart. It was weak and sickly, but each step the skeleton took, the heart grew a little bigger and beat a little stronger.

Finally two bats entered into the picture. They swirled around the skeleton as it tried to ward them away. It wasn’t threatening them, but it kept trying to make distance by swinging that dark arm at them. They were not dissuaded. Instead, they shifted into daggers and pierced the heart. The scene concluded as the skeleton fell to its knees and produced a black rose. It placed it before the shield and the hearts then vanished.

“The irony isn’t lost on me. This world has very comedic timing,” Thorne stated. In truth, he was covering up the chill he could feel in his marrow.

“What just happened?” Shining Armor had lowered the barrier finally, giving an exhaustive sigh.

“A better question is why these crystals are still dimmed.” Cadence sat back down, rocking the baby in her arms in an attempt to quiet the worried sounds she was making.

“Well. I want to laugh at the obvious knight in shining armor joke there, but I’m sure it’s been made to death. That, Prince Shining Armor, was something the world chooses to do for some reason when I am in the presence of an alicorn for the first time! It may happen again, or never again! I don’t know. And the meanings are always… convoluted.”

Thorne bowed slightly. “I am Thorne, this is Silver, and her son Dusk. As I’m sure you’re well aware. And Princess Cadence! I do not know why the crystals are so dull and listless, though the three of us thank whatever magic causes it, due to how sensitive our eyes are too bright lights.”

“Wait, your eyes are sensitive to light? But you can walk in the daylight!” Dusk exclaimed.

“I’ve had time to grow accustomed to it. I wouldn’t recommend you two try it because I’m pretty sure your eyes are meant for low light. My sensitivity merely came from a birth defect.” Thorne turned and gave a cheeky grin to the youngster before turning back. “But that’s getting off topic.”

“Indeed.” Cadence sighed out. “Sorry, Thorne. This is likely some type of strange magic at work, but I can’t help but feel worried.”

“That is your job, princess. You worry for your subjects. Even when they just tried to assault you. The princess of love, after all.”

“And I thank you, Silver, for defending us. You shouldn’t have had too, but I’m glad you were here.”

Shining stood up and cleared his throat. “But what was he talking about? Torlak? He was looking at you, wasn’t he Thorne?”

‘There’s the question I was hoping to avoid.’ “In truth…? No idea. I’ve not the faintest idea who he was talking about.” Thorne gave a shrug, his face refusing to offer a trace of the lie. His mind had already started to rapidly connect dots.

Cadence gave Thorne a wary look. Her gaze went to her child. “I need to take care of Flurry Heart. We’ve a room waiting for you three--just the one, sorry. We can discuss what all this mission entails later,” Cadence let the stoic façade fall, shifting from princess to mother.

Thorne went to kneeling, his fist on the ground. He bowed his head. “Of course, Princess Cadence. We appreciate your generosity.” Silver and Dusk looked to him but followed the motion, bowing and slightly kneeling.

The princess gave a soft smile and waved a hoof. “Excuse us.” She looked to her husband. With a nod they both arose and went off to another part of the castle.

‘Dimming crystals, a broad-daylight assassination attempt, and a personal call from Master Torlak. Oh it can only go up from here!’