An Equestrian Rogue

Thorne, Silver, and Dusk had all been escorted by a small squad of guards to the single room they were now bound to share. Thorne had the passing thought of them believing he was another assassin or if this was them trying to be nice and protect them. Or maybe it was these guards being grumpy that Silver took food from their mouths.

Thorne held the door for the two before stepping in himself. “Well it is certainly glossier than Canterlot. Perhaps even a little better in terms of décor--though everything made of crystal makes me wonder how hard that bed is.”

Dusk took that as a challenge as he went flying onto the sheets and bounced up a few times. “Nice and soft!”

“Oh yeah?” Thorne snickered. He pulled the crossbow from his back and set it by the door. Next came his belt. The entire time, a sly grin was growing on his face. Finally, he jogged over to the bed and flopped down into it. “Look out!”

“Whoa!” Dusk hollered as he went soaring into the air.

Thorne shifted and reached out. “And gotcha!” He caught the small thestral on the return down to the sheets. They both shared a laugh as Silver just watched with a slight smirk. Thorne set the colt down and threw his arms out to the side to melt into the sheets. Dusk flipped onto his back and mimicked the action.

They rested upon a vermillion-coated bed; the sheets, bedding, and pillow cases all had differing darkness to the same hue. All around them outside the bed, a myriad of other colors besieged the room in varying ways. The floors seemed white, yet with each step one could see fractals of the crystalline structure that reflected light in a different hue. The walls themselves had gem-like patterns inlaid into them. Pillars that supported the room had facets like they had been cut to perfection.

Among the room sat traditional furniture, but that too seemed to be made of crystalline rock. Even the bed frame the two males lay lax upon was made of the substance. All of it wasn’t attached to the structure, yet blended seamlessly with it. A sofa sat in a corner with a regal gold cushion resting on the frame. Two chairs and a table sat near the middle of the room, the chairs seat holding the same colored cushion as the sofa. The table even had a vase that held a beautiful single flower; it’s petals in the shapes of tears. It was an aquamarine color, but it too, was crystal.

Thorne sat up and admired it all. “Just how does all this crystal get shaped? Get made? Where does it come from…?”

“This is the Crystal Empire, Thorne.” Silver gave him the obvious answer. An answer that made him crease his lips.

“Fair. Magic. Magic does wonders, apparently. What my people wouldn’t give to have something like this…” He gave a heavy sigh. “So. How do we split this room up? Bathing, changing clothes, sleeping? I don’t mind sleeping on the sofa or the floor. You two can have the bed.”

Silver raised an eyebrow. “Well, changing clothes or undressing doesn’t bother us, Thorne, but I can see how it might bother you.”

There was an audible smack of him facepalming. “Of course. Right. Well I’ve no shame, so,” he shrugged. “Guess that goes for bathing too, just taking turns. So, sleeping?”

Dusk popped his head up. “Bed is big enough for us to have sides!”

Thorne gave a hearty chuckle. “I don’t mind. Silver?” His gaze went from the colt to the colt's mother. She merely shrugged. “Well that was easy.” Thorne got up from his seat and moved to the table, taking a seat and leaning back in it. “So I’m guessing you both want a story, yeah? About what happened before the castle?”

Silver’s ears fell and her tail went limp. She lowered her head. “Only if you wish to speak of it, Damien.” She heard the drumming of fingers on the crystalline table as he mulled it over.

“Sure. Torlak. Apparently that’s his name. Centaur bas--mmm. No swearing.” He caught himself and sighed. “I’ve tried to gamble with my thoughts and actions, and so far I keep winning, so talking about this much should be fine.” Thorne paused, as if waiting for the mark to somehow take his life. Nothing changed.

“I still don’t know what counts as betrayal. But as far as he knows, I’m not betraying him. Nor have I thought about it or taken any action against him. Between him and the magic of this world giving strange visions, everything revolving around me is vague. One reason why I didn’t interfere with that minion of his and wanted you to take care of it, Nightshade.”

Silver perked up. “So that’s why! You put me in such a sudden spot! But…” she rolled her eyes and sighed, “of course you had no choice. If you acted, it may have been betrayal and you would have died.”

There was a sudden gasp as her hackles rose. “Does that mean you have to assist them?! He called out to you for help!” There was a long and drawn-out ‘mhm’ from the upright stallion. “You can’t!”

“Like I have a choice, Nightshade.” Thorne stated bluntly, eyes listless to her protests. Silver stamped a hoof to reiterate her point but it fell on deaf ears. “I know you don’t want me too, but I’m likely going to have to go set the screw-up free. I need to find a way to this group. They’re plotting something big. Something that takes a year to put together.”

“Cadence will know you released him!” Silver tried to restrain her voice from a shout.

Thorne picked up the flower and sniffed it. It smelled of the earth, but a hint of taffy. It confounded Thorne to no end how it smelled like taffy of all things. It sent his sweet tooth craving the substance. He set it back, refusing to acknowledge Silver’s point.

“Maybe she won’t…” Dusk’s gentle voice broke the tenuous silence.

Thorne made a hand motion, nodding his head and raising his eyebrows, silently saying ‘See?’. Silver closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, withdrawing herself from the discussion. “Sorry, Nightshade.” Thorne finally said as she went to the bed to sit.

“It’s fine. Just do it under cover of darkness and don’t get caught, seen, or kill anypony.” Silver stated, golden eyes shooting daggers at him.

Thorne stood and bowed. “Yes, dear.” There was a ‘hmph’ from the mare that only served to make Thorne wince. He shook his head and let a tired sigh. “Wonder if we’ll be invited to dinner or if Cadence will give us a personal visit…” he mused aloud.

“Likely dinner. With a lot of guards.” Silver responded.

We made it to the Crystal Empire. A month ago I arrived in Canterlot. Two weeks before that I was in a desert wasteland. I’ve travelled this land and barely seen any of it. Barely experienced any of it.

It hurts, honestly.

If this is to be the land I die in, I want to see it. I want to experience it. I want to go sight-seeing in Manehatten. I want to go gambling in Las Pegasus. See the pyramid near Somnambula. I want to actually enjoy Canterlot and the Crystal Empire. Even meet some of these griffons, hippogriffs, minotaurs, changelings, yaks, and even dragons.

Most of all? I want to see this ‘home’ in Ponyville. I want to make it a home.

The plot thickens, dear reader. As of writing this, I’ve seen an assassination attempt--a poor one--on Cadence. He claimed that I would help him from one ‘Master Torlak’. So my collar does have an owner's name on it.

I still don’t understand the magic in this world and what it’s trying to signal to me. It’s vague as can be, but everything seems to enjoy being vague. First I witness bloody rain and the world collapsing as I meet Tia and Lulu. And then some type of storm swirling around me but made of the same blood!

With Twilight and her friends, it was all of them as stars. They then stretched out their hooves to me. Or I guess what was me--it was a skeleton in a black cloak. Humans usually take that to mean ‘death’. It held two daggers that were dripping blood. But as they reached out, the skeleton vanished.

With Cadence, Shining Armor, and Flurry Heart… It was more cryptic than ever. This time the skeleton was bare. It stood before the trio--two hearts and one shield. Same as their cutie marks as I could tell. Yet this skeleton had a heart. Each time it stepped toward the three, the heart grew stronger. Then two bats go flying around and the skeleton, which had some fiery looking left arm and hand, decided to shoo them away! That didn’t work and instead they turned into daggers, piercing the still weak heart. Then it just falls over dead. It left a black rose at the foot of Cadence, Flurry, and Shining Armor.

I’ve no idea what any of this means.

What I do know is I’m supposed to seek out these other slaves to the Master. Aid them. Why the idiots tried to assassinate a princess in broad daylight is beyond me. Or maybe that wasn’t the plan. Maybe it was something else. Silver captured him alive so I’m planning on interrogating him tonight.

At least this journal helps with the thought process. It’s becoming rather soothing to write in it.

‘Well someone pick up that phone because she called it. Fuck.’

The trio was invited to dinner and the dining hall was entrenched in guards. Two stationed at each of the three entrances and five on either side of the table. They had not only been invited, but were escorted by a squad of five guards.

It pissed Thorne off. The urge to demand to know why they were so numerous weighed heavily on his mind. One for strategic reasons, but the other was a bit more personal. One he was trying hard not to voice. It was a burning question that he had no right to ask seeing as he was a mercenary himself--he understood the logic of someone wanting so many guards to protect them. Especially when one was a mother with a child. Not only that, but Shining Armor himself was a trained guard.

Still the question of ‘Why aren’t these guards serving the nation?’ burned in the back of his throat. His mind kept telling him that they should be out protecting the citizenry, but then it recoiled, informing him that there was nothing to protect against. Or rather, forces unseen were conspiring, but were slow moving and not a threat to anypony yet.

“Thorne?” The voice of Cadence broke the tension that was growing inside of him.

“Yes, your Majesty?”

“Thank you for coming and agreeing to deal with the problem plaguing residents out in the north.”

Thorne felt the placating tone in her voice. Practiced with years of regality. She had nothing but platitudes to give at the moment out of wanting to break the ice and make small talk over dinner without actually speaking with meaning. It only drove his ire up a notch.

‘Let it go, Thorne. Let it go. They’re serving the nation one way or another. Nothing you say will change it. She’s protecting her and her family with ample guardians. Let. It. Go.’

His eyes had been on the several guards, but now he focused on her and her husband and their daughter. He kept twiddling his fingers on the table as he distractedly tried to get his mind off the topic.

“It’s no problem, Princess,” he replied in a monotone voice.

Predatory eyes befell the light cerise colored alicorn. A pale blue light from her horn exercised control over a fork that speared crisp lettuce. She took a measured bite as if trying not to get a hair of her multicolored mane out of place. Purple eyes refused to acknowledge his stare for the moment.

‘Gold, rose, and violet streaks in mane and tail, yet no ghostly wind blowing through it. I suppose that comes with age in an alicorn.’ Thorne mused to himself as he tried to move his mind away from the previous questions.

He jabbed a small tomato and brought it to his lips. His eyes went to Shining Armor and their daughter. ‘No wings for the prince, however. I wonder if that says something about how males are treated. Though, the brother to Twilight would get bonus points I assume.’ He appraised the white unicorn stallion and his deep blue mane with lighter blue streaks. Even his eyes were a shade of blue. ‘Bulky and likely strong magic. Fit to be a prince. Your body language gives away your training.’

Finally his eyes went to Flurry Heart. The alicorn daughter of the two. A large set of wings and a horn graced her small pinkish body. She had a little lighter coat than her mother. Her mane also took after her mother in terms of streaks, but the palette was different and more controlled; light cerise mulled into grayish violet toward the ends of her curls. She had a playful arctic blue streak running through it. Opal eyes shone bright and stared up at her father as he held her.

“She’s precious, isn’t she?”

Thorne went looking to the princess, his staring having been acknowledged. “Mmm.” He responded. He put his eyes on his plate. He stared through it, focusing on the table cloth that covered the crystalline furniture piece. A rich satin stared back at him. He stabbed another piece of his salad, idly chewing it to fill the time.

“Is something wrong, Thorne?”

“You’ve been on edge about my presence and have several guards watching us eat. Nothing wrong with me.” He snarked. He brought his mechanical hand up and rested his cheek against the palm.

“Well,” Cadence seemed to puff up at the accusation, “I did have my family threatened earlier and there seemed to be some collusion.”

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Not only was there an imposter among the guards, but the crystals in the throne dimmed.”

“And?”

“Those in the throne respond to volatile emotions and dark magic.” Cadence informed him. It got his attention as he raised his head up and looked at her. “In fact, a lot of our crystals respond to emotion. But those in the throne, after Sombra, dim when in the presence of dark magic.”

“I see. And this relates to me, how?” Thorne leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “It sounds like we’ve gone from empty small talk to accusing me of being in league with the assassin.”

There was an audible clop of a hoof against a skull on his right. Thorne peered to Silver and shrugged. He got a few choice words in a language he didn’t comprehend.

“And how are you not?” Cadence replied, trying to keep the tone civil.

Thorne brought a hand to his chin. “I know we’re trying not to raise voices and swear and be at each other’s throats right now, but it’s really hard when you throw that in my face, Cadence. For your daughter’s sake, I’m maintaining an air of cool. You should understand that. Do not press this.” He warned sternly. “I am here to kill a bear. Give me the information I require and I’ll be out of here.”

“You’re not here to kill a bear…?” She posed it like a question. “What are you talking about? We need you to help Tempest Shadow get an Ursa Major to retreat from the hunting grounds it’s taken over.”

“You want me to make it… retreat? I’m sorry, repeat that please.” Thorne sat up and leaned forward, his face in disbelief. “It sounds like you don’t want this absolute force of nature to be killed, you want it somehow escorted off property.”

“Yes.”

He squinted at her. “Are you actually simple?”

“Uncalled for!” Shining reprimanded but was swiftly silenced with a wing from his beloved.

Thorne put his face in his palms. “I read up on how massive these things are. And how violent they can actually be. And you want me, in a freezing cold wasteland, with only a handful of ponies, to escort this thing away from hunting grounds. I just…” He gawked at the appalling request. “Of all the arrogant, self-centered, pompous jobs I’ve ever heard…”

The human clenched his fists and started to shake, lowering his hands to the table in order to keep from slamming against it. “This! This would risk many lives. Not only of us, but of other ponies. This thing will come back. It is a bear for all intensive purposes. It may be magical, but it is a bear!” He was desperately trying not to raise his voice. “And you know what? Instead of looking after me with all these guards--the man who basically helped save you--you could have them patrolling the streets. You could have them go with Tempest to deal with this Ursa. You could have them do a myriad of other things, and yet, here they stand, watching us eat because you fear for your life!”

His left arm had begun to tremble. His voice was raised, but wasn’t enough to send the foal crying. It looked as though he was holding everything back, however. Every fiber of his being was shuddering like a wound coil.

Cadence’s tone never faltered. It was stern and insightful. “You want me to whisk my guards away to protect the streets? Protect them from what? What do you know?”

Thorne growled. “Anything! Petty thievery! Break-ins! Something that isn’t them standing here.”

“One of my guards attacked me. They were infiltrated, Thorne. Do you really think I would want them out on the streets when I can’t trust them?” Cadence offered, her eyes going to every single guard in the room. All of them immediately looked down in shame. “I love the Crystal Empire. I would rather have enemies close than terrorizing my ponies.”

Thorne’s face went neutral. He wanted to argue with that, but there was no getting around the logic behind it. “That’s a hit to morale…” he said, choosing to make a petty jab. He put his fingers to his temples and rubbed them. “I want to drink until I’m numb, I swear to the gods…” he uttered to himself.

He re-gathered his thoughts. “So offering smiles and small talk to the enemy in the room, then? Is that the thought process? Here, allow me to inform you what will happen after dinner: I am going to set that prisoner free after interrogating him. And no one here can stop me.”

There was a look of shock on everyone’s face. Cadence rose up, stamping a hoof on the table. “You will do no such thing!”

“Oh but I will. And it is within your best interest to allow it to happen.”

There was a pregnant pause followed by a hesitant and unsure “Why?” from the princess.

“Because. He said a name. And didn’t die. Follow me on this one. You’re a smart pony, right? Dark magic seems to be involved, yeah? He has help within the city. That must be a given. There must be cells of them. All of them involved in this magic. If he goes free because of me, I find a way in. I find them. And then… Things happen! Good things.”

“Vague.”

“Just like everything else I’ve encountered! Again, you’re smart. Figure it out. Or Silver can inform you. I, however, cannot.”

The room’s eyes went to the thestral who shrank back from the sudden attention. She coughed and choked on a piece of her salad before clearing her throat, “I’ll inform you of everything later, your Majesty.”

Thorne took a deep breath. ‘I keep gambling…’ He sipped at his provided water from the chalice it rested in. “So. That is cleared up. And you want this Ursa… moved. Any more details?”

Cadence finally sat back down, a heavy sigh escaping her muzzle. “A map to the little shack that Tempest and Glitter Drops inhabit will be provided. It isn’t a long trek. I take it you’ve got enchanted cloaks for the weather.” There was a nod from Thorne. “Good. Then should be set. They’ve got food and water at the outpost. We’ll take care of Dusk like he was our own.”

Thorne looked to Silver to see if that was acceptable. When she nodded, he nodded. “Then I think that covers everything. And as far as that crystal dimming, if it reacts to emotions, then maybe it picked up on something in the room.” He shrugged. He knew the truth as to why it might have reacted, but he wasn’t about to admit that the magic on his person was the culprit. “Let’s just try to enjoy the rest of the meal, shall we?” He offered, trying to broker a peace.

“Indeed.” Cadence hummed in acceptance.

“That was your plan?” Silver growled out, her accent coming in thick.

They had finished dinner and now Thorne was assembling his gear back in their room. His face still held a scowl of displeasure after the ordeal, but Silver was steadily wearing it down to an apathetic expression.

“You just… tell her what you were going to do? You accuse her of being ‘simple’?! And to top it all off, I need to go speak with her now!”

Thorne looked to Dusk who sat on the bed watching the two. His face was telling. The type of face that read ‘please don’t fight’. It sent a pang of guilt into Thorne’s being.

‘I’m being stubborn. This is my fault. I should have let it go. I shouldn’t have pinned this on Silver. It was petty. They had good reason to have that many guards. You’re the enemy at the gates and she knows. Of course she knows. And of course she has the same mentality of Celestia, she’s practically blood related. I hurt Silver and I hurt Dusk. I will continue to hurt them.’

Thorne let a sigh. “I’m sorry. I got annoyed at just how many guards she surrounded herself with and I shouldn’t have. It brought back a disgust I should let go of. She had every right and every reason to have that many around herself.”

“And instead you thought they should be protecting the ponies.”

Those golden human eyes fell on Silver. “Yes. But again, she was right; I don’t know what they should be protected from. She has every reason to believe I’m her enemy and even more so now.” He tightened his belt a notch and unsheathed his daggers, inspecting them. “And in that moment, I figured I would tell her the plan so maybe she’d not think of me as the enemy. In doing so, I made a problem for you.”

Silver sighed. “The most fool-hearty and stubborn stallion I’ve ever met…” she uttered just loud enough to be heard.

It made Thorne smile and give a singular ‘heh’ from his throat. He let it go and walked over to Dusk, kneeling before the colt. The little thestral was suddenly wrapped in a hug. “Don’t go looking at us like we’re fighting, alright? Just a mild reprimanding from your mother that I deserve. Please look your absolute cutest and say sweet things about me so she forgets, yeah?” Thorne pulled away and ruffled the colt’s mane, making the boy laugh and nod.

“That’s just unfair, Thorne.” Silver called from behind him. “You know I am weak against his cute face.”

Thorne pulled away and stood. “Mwah-ha-ha!” He gave the fakest evil laugh he could. “I know. For I am evil. And I use those weaknesses to my gain.” A cocky smirk filled his face and in a single step he closed the distance between Silver and himself. “Now then,” he continued past her, walking toward the door. His right hand went down and brushed along her cheek and neck as he strode by, “I am going to go release an idiot. Don’t wait up too late for me.”

With that, he was out of the room before she could huff and protest against the touch.

Night had settled like a blanket over the empire. The unnatural spring-time warmth hung in the air, adding a cozy factor to all the inhabitants. It served to make the guards sleepy and wish for their beds. Though they had recently just exchanged shifts, several were groggy and wanting to return to sleep.

Thorne shared their wants, a yawn escaping him as he skulked in the darkness. He had stuck to the shadows of the corridors, evading every light and horn-lit unicorn that prowled about. He had made a promise to do as little damage as possible and not to take any lives, but it was proving difficult. A part of him despised himself for thinking how easy it would be to snuff the flame of life from the guards and be done with it.

‘Cadence must have informed her guards what I was going to do. The question is, are they willing to go along with it or will they resist? And if they choose to go along, will they at least put up a show?’

The largest problem at present was the lack of knowledge of where the dungeon was. He kicked himself for not simply going the direct route through the princess but he had assumed the worst. At best, their relationship was rocky. She would no doubt be against this, though he figured she must have seen the merit. Then there was the danger it presented to her daughter, her husband, and herself. Shining would have been against it entirely.

He let a long and hot sigh into the mask that now covered the lower half of his face. He didn’t want to waste his time trying to skirt around patrols on a goose chase for something that might not have even been within the castle.He pressed himself against a wall, listening to clopping of hooves against the crystalline floor that filled the hall.

‘I’ll need to take a guard and interrogate them. Knock them out afterwards. But again, that will just keep me in poor standing with the Princess of Love.’ He groaned internally. ‘Come on, think. Think, think, think. Genius brain, let’s go. Can’t take a guard hostage. Can’t waste time sitting here. Can’t waste time searching.’ He closed his eyes and tried to breathe. ‘And of course, when I get there, he’s going to be guarded. How would I get him out? Fucking! Motherfucker!’

“Lost?” A gentle voice whispered in his ear.

Thorne grabbed his blades and whipped into a defensive stance, his eyes snapping open. His heart had leapt into his throat upon being discovered. A wild golden frenzy took hold of his ocular faculties in an attempt to analyze, understand, and regain control of the situation.

He had never heard the figure approach. Even in his distracted state, he should have heard their hooves. He should have also felt their presence for being so close. Yet here stood a unicorn--one as tall as Celestia--that was invading his personal space with a polite smile. She appeared translucent but was somehow making her entire body glow like a weak firefly.

“Follow me. I’ll take you the way you want to go.”

‘I’m sorry, the hell is this?’

The unicorn took a few steps past him, walking toward the end of the hallway he had been occupying. The guards at the end of the hallway had stopped and had their backs turned from the mysterious figure. They were conversing over something called a ‘flugelhorn’. Again, Thorne questioned what was happening.

His line of questioning got longer the moment the tall unicorn went through a closed door that led into a room.

‘Okay. Okay! Can we fucking not? Ghosts now? Okay. Yep. Sure. Fuck you world.’

Thorne had little time to mull over the apparitions words. He sprinted from his cover with silent and practiced steps. Like a sentient shadow, he made for the door. He found it locked. He went to pull his lock pick tools from the hidden sleeve in his vambrace, but heard the lock click by itself. He checked to see the guards still conversing at the end of the hall before shuffling inside and stuffing the tools away.

He was greeted to an empty room and the spirit just warmly eyeing him from across the room near a bookcase. Thorne finally got a good look at the unicorn. “You look like you could be Cadence’s mother…”

There was a contained chortle from the unicorn. She turned and lit her horn, pulling a book. It clicked and the bookshelf swung inward. “I appreciate that, Thorne. But I’m more likely a very distant relative.” She turned her head back swiftly, swinging those long curls at the end of her raspberry mane back over the other shoulder. Brilliant amber eyes looked to the man and then did the universal swivel of ‘come along’.

An audible grunt of protest came from Thorne’s throat. “So you know my name,” he stated as he stepped forward. The unicorn smiled and nodded, taking the lead down the tunnel.

“I’ve been aware of your presence since you arrived in Equestria.”

“Ah, a spectral stalker.” Thorne noticed a torch hanging from a wall holder as he went past, it only illuminated in the darkness by the glow of the apparition. He quickly snatched it and pulled a match from a pouch to light it up. Once the darkened hallway was lit, his eyes went scanning the figure once again. He had to lean to one side to better see her cutie mark. A strange crystal snowflake that looked as though it sat in a glass chalice or in some horseshoe. He couldn’t tell which. It rested on a ghostly pale vermillion coat. Just as strange as the mark was her style in ‘clothing’--or lack thereof. What amounted to blue string went around her chest and withers. He had seen an amber heart design on her chest. The same design went around her legs just above the hoof and below the knee. She even had a ringlet of the fabric on her head under the long and flowing hair; it connected below her horn with another amber heart that jingled silently as she led him down the tunnel.

There were no words after his accusation. They came to an off-shoot where the spectre paused. “When you return to this castle, come back to that room and come back to this tunnel. Then take this right.” The apparition motioned with her neck to the right where another tunnel connected. “You’ll find what you need there. But for now, this is where I leave you. Continue down this path until you come to the blocked exit. A switch will be noticeable and you’ll be in the dungeon.”

“So you know I’m going to return. Okay. And apparently I’ll be ‘finding what I need’ in this other room. Why should I trust any of this?” Thorne had an apprehensive, borderline disbelieving look on his face.

The unicorn turned. She stood tall and unflinching as the wayward human seemed doubtful to her claims. It reminded him of Cadence. “Do you have a choice?”

The words made his blood boil. He took a sharp breath and let the anger go with his exhale. “I suppose I do not. Without your aid, I’d still be bumbling about worrying about knocking out Cadence’s guards. Though this fool likely has guards watching him. And I still don’t know how to get him out.”

The spectral unicorn tittered with amusement. “I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.” With that, she began walking down the right-leading path.

Thorne opened his mouth to speak against it, but instead chose to snap his jaw shut with an audible click of teeth. ‘Yeah sure, just appear, help me, and then piss off. If I look up the definition of ‘deus ex machina’ going to find your pale ass plastered right next to it. Why?! Why help me?!’

Every fiber of his being wanted to chase after her as she twinkled out of existence down the darkened tunnel. A breeze went drafting through the corridor, sending his torch flickering. He grunted in annoyance and chose to continue on the path. Several questions were coming to a head, but he wasn’t going to be stopped from his task.

It took another few minutes of walking. He came to the blockage his ghastly assistant had mentioned and there was a stand-out switch. With a click of it, the door slid with a grinding sound. Thorne put the torch out as the door moved; knowing the sound would give him away and he’d need to use the shadows in order to hide. He drew his blades and prepared.

What greeted him instead were two crystal ponies in their crystal armor and spears in hand. And they stood at parade rest like they expected him.

“Don’t you dare fucking tell me you’re in on that fuckers plans.” Thorne spoke with a venomous tongue as he emerged from the darkness. The two noted the look in his eyes was that of anger and violence.

“No, sir. We’re under orders from the Princess--!”

“Just. Fucking. Fantastic. Okay. Good, this works out in my favor since she actually listened to me. Take me to him. And you then leave the room. I don’t care what you hear, if you come into my sight again, I’ll kill you.”

Gone was the practiced noble tone that he tried to treat the ponies to. Instead his voice rattled like death and was as cold as the grave.

The two saluted him out of panic and went trotting off. Thorne looked back to the wall. It began to slide back. He sighed in frustration. All of it had been building yet again and he wanted an outlet. And he was about to have it. The sound of an orchestra started to play in his head-- climatic music that pounded the noggin. It gave him a sense of purpose.

The two led him to a single small cell. It could have been considered a jail rather than a dungeon from the lack of usual equipment a dungeon would have, though Thorne wondered if unicorn magic counted as a torture device. His eyes drilled into the velvet green earth pony that the two guards had stopped at. There were other ponies--not many, a total of three that Thorne counted as he passed by--but none drew his ire like the one before him.

“Open the door.” He instructed coldly as he drew a vial from a pouch. A cork popped loudly and a red liquid went drizzling over one dagger. It pooled on the metal as he stuck the empty vial back and gripped the other blade, making the thin mixture go trailing from one blade to the next in a steady line. They did as instructed. There was a quick, “Leave us,” from Thorne as he stepped into the cell. Thorne waited as the two guards went scurrying away as fast as they could.

The stallion sighed out. “No need to look so threatening any longer--!”

It was a blur of motion as the human had tossed one dagger to his left, leaving his right hand free. He lunged and grabbed the stallion by the windpipe, pinning him against the back wall. The two daggers in his left now threatened to slice into the exposed and soft underbelly.

“I should fucking lop your nuts off right now. Make you into a mare!”

“What?! I thought--!” The stallion was interrupted again as daggers lightly cut. A sudden burning scream erupted from his mouth as the poison set in.

“Fucking hurts, doesn’t it?! It won’t kill you, but it will burn like all hell! You know what I had to deal with just to get here this evening? With no blood on my hands? With no fucking army breathing down my neck?! You thought! You thought wrong, shit-stain! Every. Single. Gods. Damn. Thought. You’ve had. Is fucking. Wrong.”

Thorne was practically screaming in anger as the stallion kicked, trying to get free. The more he fought, the more the human cut into him.

“You managed to say the Master’s name without dying while attempting assassination. So you either don’t have the curse mark, or I’m vastly overestimating what the power of that thing is. Sheer fact that you failed and still live speaks utter volumes. So spill it!” Thorne demanded. “You don’t walk out of here until I get what I want!”

The stallion finally realized his weak thrashing wasn’t harming the monster that was dead set on ripping secrets from his flesh. “Torlak sent us to get her blood! We needed the blood of Cadence in order to taint the Crystal Heart! My curse mark doesn’t belong to him!”

Thorne growled. “Liar!”

“It’s t-the t-truth! I s-swear!” The male began to whimper, tears streaming down his face as Thorne pressed a dagger’s edge to his family jewels.

“Then who controls it?” He squinted.

“A b-black unicorn stallion! He c-called himself t-the Herald! He came to t-the Empire and-and promised a b-better world!” The stallion's voice started to regain composure as Thorne pulled the daggers away. “He got us to volunteer! He tricked us! He threatened our families!”

There was an audible ‘tch’ and a click of a tongue as the stallion was dropped. Thorne backed away and sheathed his blades. The wall, however, got the rest of his ire. He punched it hard with a scream of ‘fuck’ at the top of his lungs. His eyes went back to the prisoner. “Nothing else, then?”

The green earth pony scrambled from the floor and got to his haunches. “He had two mares with him. One called ‘Justice’ and the other ‘Faith’. Once we were cursed, they showed us how to speak to Torlak. And Torlak said you’d appear to help us if we did as we were told.”

Thorne let a sigh. “Lie back on that bed, legs up.” He reached into his pouch again and fished out a set of vials. He pulled a blue powder while shoving the other deadly mixtures back. The stallion was hesitant but after an angry glare from the human, did as commanded.

The cork popped and he went about spreading the powder onto the wounds he had made. “There. It’ll stop the pain and it’ll heal fine.” His voice had all the rage drained from it. Instead it was replaced with exhaustion. He corked the vial once it was empty and placed it back. “Torlak said I needed to help you all. So I assumed there was a cabal of you. And here I thought you were doing it willingly or that somehow he had tricked you all into it. Now I find out he has ponies doing that for him. And with terribly cliché names.”

He backed away and let the stallion sit back up. Thorne started to pace. “Still, that was the stupidest thing. You tried to assault the princess in broad daylight. Who exactly gave you that idea? And why did you think I’d help you?”

“It was all my idea. I thought maybe if I could do it all myself, no one else would need to suffer. You were mentioned in our last conversation with Master Torlak. And I thought you would just… assist.”

Thorne rubbed his chin. “Of course. Naïve, but makes sense I suppose.” His fingers went to his temples. “You know, I came in here with a whole speech in my head how I was going to hunt and kill your friends and family because killing you would count as betrayal. And I wouldn’t betray my master. But that kind of… petered out. Pissed all over the flame of rage in my heart.”

“Were you actually?!” “Oh absolutely I would,” Thorne replied without skipping a beat. “I live to serve and that’s quite literal right now so any means to get results must be taken. I’ve got a while before my time is up. How about yourself?”

“I… don’t know…”

“Not good, but maybe not bad.” Thorne shrugged. “I’ll get your name and everyone else's later. But for now, lie low. I’m getting you out of here. No more stupid stunts. We’ll… figure something out.”

The human opened the cell door. He looked back to the stallion. “And sorry.” He looked away, not wanting to see the stallions face as he apologized. “I shouldn’t have gotten worked up like I did. Now come on. Before anyone changes their minds.”

Silver put a hoof to her cheek as Thorne stepped out of the room to go about his business. She sighed and looked back, giving him a last glance as he disappeared around the corner. Dusk had lifted up off the bed and drifted to the doorway on wing power. She looked up and saw him staring down at her. “Something wrong?”

“He looked hurt and upset.” The colt hung his head as if it was his fault.

“He has had that look on him since we’ve arrived.” Silver responded, using her own wings to float up into the air. “Don’t think it’s something you did. I think he was just telling you to not look at us like parents fighting, which I agree with.”

“You looked like you were fighting that way, though…”

“What?” She gave a disbelieving look. “Why would you think that?” She got a shrug at her question. It made her shake her head and sigh. “I don’t like what you’re insinuating, Dusk. I know he means a lot to you since the incident, but he’s just…” she trailed off. She mentally cursed herself for using his words. “He’s just soldiering on. He’s doing his best and it’s our job to help him. Okay? And sometimes, in order to help someone, you need to stand against them. Push against them and offer insight from the other perspective. Got it?”

The colt nodded. “Yes, momma.”

“Good. Now come on. Think you can fly long enough to go meet with the Princess? We need to speak with her.”

There was an enthusiastic nod with a bright smile. It warmed Silver’s heart after the exchange she had with Thorne. She took the lead, heading out of the room and down the hallway corridor. She went slow and made sure to go at the colt’s pace. It wasn’t a long flight for the two, even if it went against the guard’s modus operandi of palace safety. Most seemed used to the aerial transgressors after having dealt with two alicorns in the palace--one a particularly rowdy one who loved using her wings.

The two thestrals came into a sitting room that was just down a hall that led from the dining room. They were shown in by the guards and were met with the scene of a mother and father in the midst of playing with their daughter. Flurry Heart was eagerly shifting blocks about as Shining and Cadence helped her construct a miniature fortress fit for a princess under a war-time siege.

“We’re not interrupting, are we?” Silver asked with a hesitant step into the room.

“Not at all, come in,” Cadence offered a smile--one that seemed more genuine than anything she had offered Thorne. In the back of Silver’s mind, that somewhat ticked her off. She had her own problems against the man, but what of the princess?

Silver shook that off. ‘He’s still an assassin. He still has that mark.’ She told herself mentally. A hoof motioned Dusk go meet and properly see Flurry Heart finally. The colt nodded and took to gliding over. He was welcomed with a happy noise from the alicorn. The thestral mare approached the prince and princess and bowed. “Thank you for seeing me at such a late hour.”

“Night’s still young. And given what Thorne said earlier, plenty of time for him to get up to no good.” Shining Armor chuckled softly while it only made Cadence sigh and shake her head.

“That is why I am here, yes. To be as blunt as my ward: you should help him in letting that prisoner go.” Silver stood still and resolute, not letting her conviction waiver.

“Why?” Cadence asked flatly. “He’s an assassin. And if Auntie Luna is to be believed, so is Thorne.”

“Thorne is.” Silver responded just as flatly. “But he has been cursed with a dark mark--one I’ve seen. He has no choice in the matter.”

Cadence flung her wings open in amazement at the bold statement. It was quickly replaced with healthy skepticism. “How do you know he had no choice?”

“With all due respect, Princess… He’s… a bipedal hairless monkey. He even admitted to being pulled here through a portal! He knows nothing of what our world is and seems distrustful of even the most basic of magic.”

“If he is marked, why didn’t you kill him? Isn’t it your job?” Cadence raised an eyebrow. Below them, Dusk winced and looked up. His dull gold eyes were only seen by Shining who sympathized with the expression. Cadence was too caught up staring at the mare.

Silver took a step back. “It… it is, Princess.” She looked down. “But he isn’t just some mindless killing machine. He isn’t doing it willingly.” Her eyes came up, protesting against Cadence’s words. “He even came forward with his plan, of his own free will, because he understands there is something more at hoof here. He spoke to you candidly, showing he isn’t afraid of the consequences of speaking truth to power. He knows the position he is in, he knows what awaits him if he fails, but he still chooses to act in the interest of ponies.”

“And what happens when the interest of ponies and his do not line up?” Shining was the one who brought the question to bear. “What if he is merely trying to play the waiting game? And what if he is merely acting to further pony goals because it’s easier for him?”

“I…” Silver started but stopped, the words ringing deeply. “He is capable of this. But I do not think he will. While I think there is a depth there that is untapped and unseen, both in combat and in mental prowess, I still trust him. If my trust is betrayed, then… I will do what I must to make sure harmony of the land is maintained.”

“It’s basically you vouching for him, though. And personal feelings do not hold much weight. No matter if you back them up with duty-bound promises.”

Silver looked offended at ‘personal feelings’ but let her face go back to neutral. “Of course. I’m merely asking you to give it a chance.”

The two looked at each other. Cadence called one of their guards over and whispered something to them. They saluted and took flight, heading out of the room in a bolt. “There. I’ll see to it that he has his wish. I’m putting faith in you both. It is unfair of me to judge him so harshly. It’s just that Celestia’s and Luna’s letters were… harrowing. But, we often try to build on friendship, and friendships start with trust.”

Silver bowed deeply. “Thank you for this kindness, Princess Cadence. And thank you for watching over my colt as we go about dealing with the Ursa Major.”

Shining in particular looked away at that. Cadence just nodded, “Of course. It’s the least we can do while you’re away on business. We owe it to you for everything that Blue Nebula did for us.”

A tremor ran through Silver as the name was mentioned. Shining gave a visible twitch. Dusk hung his head which upset Flurry. Cadence’s eyes went down and noticed the reaction in the colt and her daughter. She swiftly went back to ‘mother’ as she picked up her foal to calm her. “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to--”

Silver held a hoof up. “It is fine, Princess. Dusk and I just miss him and even two years later, his presence is still missed. Dusk, please say sorry for upsetting their daughter.”

Dusk looked back to his mother who gave him a ‘go on’ hoof motion. He wanted to protest but stood and bowed. “Apologies to you all. I should better control my emotions.”

“It’s fine, really…” Cadence said, bouncing her daughter to help soothe her. She seemed almost awkward now that she was being offered an apology.

Shining Armor had picked up on the awkwardness, his own shifting down as he went into ‘damage control’. “It’s getting late. We should all get some rest, don’t you think?”

Silver smiled appreciatively at the gesture and nodded. “It is. We should get out of your mane. Come along, Dusk.” The mare gave a final bow and turned, making sure her son followed right beside her.

The doors were shut and they walked in silence down the hall back toward their room. Out of earshot from the guards, Dusk huffed. “Shouldn’t need to apologize…”

“I know.” Silver sighed. “But they’re royalty. Better to treat them with the respect they deserve than be rude.”

“They didn’t need to bring up dad…”

“Princess Cadence was just being polite. She didn’t know it would upset you.”

The colt kicked at the floor. “She’s the princess of love, she should know better.”

Silver actually gave a little chortle. “Mai Feli, she is the princess of love, not the princess of emotions in general.” That made the colt laugh and buck up. Silver leaned down and nuzzled him. “Good. It still hurts, but we’re stronger than the day ponies, ya? He joined the stars. We must cherish the memories we made while he was here.” A nod came from her son. Silver smiled in return. “Come on. Let us rest. I’m sure Thorne will be back soon.”

It was late in the night. Thorne regretted lingering for as long as he did. It would make the trek into the cold even worse. He assumed it was getting close to two in the morning, though he couldn’t tell the time. For all he knew he was wrong.

He crept back into the room, tugging at straps that held his armor. A part of him just wanted to sleep in it rather than take it all off only to put it back on again, but he wanted some semblance of comfort. His companions had told him they could share the bed and he intended to enjoy it for a little bit of time before they were sent off into a frigid landscape.

He had shut the door as quietly as he could and was tip-toeing to avoid making any noise. Though his leathers and armor made gentle sounds as he carefully pulled piece by piece off until he could slip it all off. He was just about finished when he heard something shuffle from the bed.

“Thorne…?” The supple accented voice of Silver was soft and groggy, but soon enough cat-like golden eyes were opened. They gleamed in the low-light and made the man freeze. Not with fear, but instead it froze him in an enthralled stare.

“Sorry to wake you, Silver.” The man replied in a whisper. He finished taking his ensemble off and tugged his shirt off. He wanted to remove the rest, but since the bed was shared, he figured he could suffer pants while he slept.

“Always apologizing. You were right, you say that a lot to me…” she whispered back. “I--” she yawned, “I was awake.”

“You don’t sound awake,” Thorne teased. Bare feet snuck around to the opposite side of the bed. Silver and Dusk had taken up the right side of the bed, Silver laying with her back to the left and Dusk pressed against her barrel as they cuddled.

Even in the low light, Thorne could see the touching scene. A soft pain went through his chest as he thought how it must have felt. To have a mother that cares as much as Silver did for her colt. That pain doubled as he realized how she was managing without a stallion.

He sat on the edge of the bed and ran his fingers over his face. ‘I never once asked about it. And Dusk must be missing a lot of schooling.’ He turned slightly, looking at the two. ‘Cherish her, Dusk. And cherish him, Nightshade.’

Those eyes had found him again. Silver craned her neck to look back at Thorne, feeling his eyes on her back. He finally noticed she was without the vest she usually wore. His mind tried to distract itself from her looking at him with a question of how she was laying with wings, but her voice cut into his thoughts.

“A lot on your mind?”

“Yeah.” He replied softly.

“Want to talk about it?” She offered.

“I don’t want to wake Dusk.”

“Then come here. Whisper quieter. I will hear you.”

Thorne blinked at that. “He’d hear it just as well, Nightshade. We’ll talk in the morning.”

She laid her head back down. “Very well.” She replied, her tone sounding disappointed.

‘Why did that feel like an invitation to spoon? No. Do not. Shut up brain. That was just her wanting to lend an ear.’

He looked out the window into the night. He sighed and brought a palm to his forehead, quietly beating and berating himself.

‘No. You know what. Fuck it. Fuck this day. Fuck everything that happened.’

Thorne inched himself more toward their side and climbed under the sheets. Silver felt an arm go around her and Dusk and suddenly a fleshy chest against her back. She opened her eyes and looked back.

“Like I said, we’ll talk in the morning.” He said in a barely audible and mildly nervous-of-breaking-boundaries breath.

Silver gave a soft nod and a smile. The two laid their heads down for the final time and found rest.