Magehold Nights

The smoke of incense drifted through the basement of the munitions storage turned chapel as Guiding Bolt descended towards the priest waiting for her. The unicorn's steps were hesitant as she looked around for some kind of excuse to turn back. Finding none, the brown unicorn paused, taking a deep breath and tapping into a reserve of courage before trotting downstairs.

As she made it to the bottom she was met with an older griffon, bearing a welcoming expression alongside two armor clad knights eying her with suspicion. The Unicorn’s focus fell on the symbols of Arcturius worn by the three griffons, then down on her own. She forced a smile and bowed her head towards the senior priest who was sitting at a table in front of her.

“Please, take a seat dear.” The venerable griffon said, his voice was deep and hoarse with an underlying current of compassion.

Bolt sat down, looking at the holy symbol on the priest’s neck. She’d bring a hoof up to her own, mentally preparing herself to meet the priest’s gaze.

“It takes real courage to face somecreature who some two years ago you were made to try to annihilate, and even more so to do so from a position of relative weakness.” He extended a claw, giving the pony a pat on the shoulder, offering a smile. “The strength given to you by Lord Arcturius shows in this, we only wish to ask you a few questions, and, if possible help you find peace.”

The unicorn tensed at the priest’s touch. Still, she continued forcing a smile, looking up briefly only for her focus to drift back towards the symbol on the griffon’s neck.

“May I ask your name?” the priest asked.

The unicorn replied, speaking quietly, “Guiding Bolt.” Her focus went from the symbol on the priest towards one of the knights; the cold preparedness in his sallet-covered face prompted her to return her focus back to the priest’s neck.

A twinkle of happiness manifested on the griffon’s face, glad to see a ghoul in this cursed city talking, “It’s good to meet you Miss Bolt, you can call me Father Fordwing, or just Father, if you’d like.”

“I am,” the unicorn paused for a moment, tightening her grip on her holy symbol, searching for the right words to say, “I am pleased to meet you, Father Fordwing, I hope that I may be of service.”

“Do you live here in town?”

“Yes, though, I’ve only lived here for the past two years”

“Is there any reason you chose to return to Magehold instead of one of the cities off the peninsula?” the griffon asked, maintaining a calm tone.

“I just figured,” the unicorn released the holy symbol from her grip, looking at the ceiling and tapping her hooves against the table, “I figured that as a ghoul I’d just make everycreature uncomfortable on the mainland.”

Father Fordwing nodded, moving a claw towards his beak and tapping it softly in thought “Arcturius is a god of sacrifice, those who fell during the war honored this. I cannot speak for everygriff, but as a servant of the light, I welcome and embrace chances to overcome discomfort and honor the gift of strength given to us by our lord. The presence of those like yourself in the mainland give us that opportunity and such things should be welcomed, not shunned”

The unicorn looked towards the priest, smiling genuinely this time. “Thank you, father.”

“You’re very welcome dear, how has your time in Magehold been, have you made or reunited with any friends?”

The ghoul’s vision shifted to the details of the table. She squeezed the holy symbol on her neck. Like most creatures, she was uncomfortable to talk about loss. “No, everypony seems preoccupied with holding on to the vestiges of power they had in this city, and most knights only seem interested in keeping me away from scholars.” She sighed “I,” another pause, her gaze darted towards one of the guard’s fierce sallets before returning to the priest, “I never really had many friends, and the one’s I had didn’t make it to the end of the war.” Bolt paused, staring at the table, her voice cracking slightly, “I guess that’s one of the perks about having been an artillerypony.”

The priest nodded, giving the unicorn a moment to compose herself and add anything else. Seeing as she remained quiet, he began to speak, his inflection a tad bit softer than before. “I’m sorry to hear that.” The unicorn looked up towards him with a pained expression, remaining silent. The griffon, noting her silence continued on to the next question. “I understand this is an uncomfortable subject, but, have you eaten recently?”

The unicorn’s sad expression shifted to discomfort as she tapped her hooves on the table again, taking a moment to inspect the ceiling before looking back to the priest. “I, I, eat,” She spoke quietly, her focus shifted towards the armored knights and lingered there.

The priest remained silent, using the lack of a response to prompt elaboration from the unicorn..

“I haven’t eaten for a while. It’s just that I feel guilty,” She paused, rubbing her mane uncomfortably, ”and I’ve heard rumors that rationing is going to be far more stringent on account of,” the unicorn grimaced, “on account of our diet.”

The griffon nodded slowly “I understand, still, for the sake of clarity I’d appreciate it if you’d eat something for the sake of having a clear head tomorrow. We can talk more then. Thank you for your time Miss Bolt.”

The unicorn stood up nodding “Right, I’ll see you tomorrow then.” She’d bow her head and go up the stairs, leaving the chapel before heading out to the streets of Magehold.