Lieutenant Swift Guile struggled not to let out a snort of frustration as he led his small company of two dozen soldiers through the winding dirt roads of the valley.

The early morning fog had blanketed the rolling hills in a thick shroud of mist. It would have been easy for most to lose orientation in the low visibility but Guile was an experienced navigator and directed his troops with the utmost surety. They maintained a steady trot as rapidly as they could sustain without becoming overly fatigued.

However, even with commendable swiftness and endurance from his soldiers, they were still days behind schedule. The veritable monsoon that had swept through the valley a week ago had turned the once verdant plains and pastures into almost impassable marshlands.

The luxurious, ornate and heavy carriage that a quartet of his largest earth ponies drew behind them compounded the problem exponentially. Its wheels sunk into the soft ground with almost every step taken and they spent almost as much time each day pulling the damn thing out of the mud as they did marching. His otherwise lightly equipped and lean company, composed of forward-reconnaissance scouts and skirmishers, had their march reduced to a near grinding halt.

Their travel had improved significantly as the soil dried out in the following days but that didn't stop the lieutenant from silently seething with every new delay. Speed was critical in his tasked mission and every day that passed carried the ever-increasing likelihood of failure.

Had Lord-Duke Pale Scepter heeded Guile's recommendation that they bring one of the Guard's all-terrain transport wagons, then they might have reached their destination in half the time. However, his Lord was committed to recruiting this supposedly savant Mage at all costs and that meant sparing no expense in transportation to bring her back.

The “negotiator” that his boss had sent to accompany them currently occupied the carriage and Lieutenant Guile certainly had some strong opinions on the pony's ability to convince the Mage to see things their way. Hiring a powerful and potentially reluctant mercenary was a completely different beast from wining and dining a rival noble or brokering a merchant contract.

Their emissary's ‘ballroom-suave’ wouldn't work here, Guile was fairly sure of it. Luckily, the Lieutenant didn't plan to leave Starry Night's cooperation to chance. Even without knowing exactly what Pale Scepter's exact end goal was, it was evident to the officer that his Lord was desperate for this scheme to work. The golden opportunity that he had been waiting for his entire career had arrived and he didn't plan to let it slip by him.

Cresting over a hill that marked the final obstacle to their destination, he was able to see what lay ahead through the receding mist. In the distance, nestled near the side of the valley between two tall hills, was a large town. Almost big enough to be considered a small city.

Guile had heard from travellers that apparently Valley Dale was considered a beautiful town with its vibrant colours, paints, dyes and textiles. Perhaps a month ago, it was a beautiful town, but now the settlement was reduced to a hollowed-out husk. The stone walls that once ringed the city had collapsed in multiple places. Entire districts had been reduced to cinder and many more partially damaged or at least scorched.

One of the newer recruits, an amber-coated unicorn mare, gasped at the destruction but Guile remained unfazed. Any squeamishness that he might have once possessed was thoroughly suppressed by his participation in the Eastern Wastes Campaign a decade ago.

Instead, the Lieutenant adopted a pondering expression before a sly grin broke out across his face. A plan was beginning to form in his mind about how to deal with Starry Night. He just needed to make sure that the “negotiator ” didn't get in his way.

Windy used to think that she hated her mother.

Why wouldn't she despise the pony that had trapped her in a life that she never wanted and kept her firmly leashed to a destiny that wasn't of her own choosing?

Every moment of Windy's life had been decided for her in advance from the moment that she had been born. She had been raised by a rolling cast of nurses, governesses and tutors whose sole duty was to groom her into the perfect little mayor to perpetuate her family's ‘dynasty’, just like her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother before her.

Windy knew that many would look upon her situation with envy. She was the ultimate product of nepotism and was destined for the sort of power and wealth seldom seen outside of the ranks of nobility to be thrust into her hooves the moment she was old enough to grasp it. However, a gilded cage was still a cage and a velvet leash was still a leash.

When she was young, Windy dreamed of the world beyond the confinement of Valley Dale's four walls. She spent her days reading about the odysseys of great adventures, tales of distant lands recounted by legendary explorers and impossible feats accomplished by fearless adventurers.

Her home and her life seemed so very small in comparison. A few times, she toyed with the idea of running away but could never bring herself to actually do it. She yearned for escape but none ever came and her dreams seemed to fade further into the horizon with each passing day.

Then one day, everything changed.

The most extraordinary pony that she had ever met wandered into Valley Dale, as if out of the blue. No warning, no fanfare, she just walked through the front gate.

The arrival of a Legacy Mage was no small event in a town like Valley Dale. They had supposedly become very rare since the collapse of the College of Sorcery but that had done nothing to diminish their reputation for the immense power that they wielded.

Windy's mother and the gaggle of opportunistic vultures that made up the town's “elite” were quick to try to woo and ingratiate themselves with the Mage. The young pegasus normally thought herself above petty politics and games of influence.

However, when Windy first laid eyes upon Starry Night, it gave her pause. She had always possessed something of a gift for reading ponies. A sort of sixth sense for their character and intentions. When she saw Starry, she felt instantly connected to her, like a long-lost kindred sprint.

It was a difficult feeling for Windy to try to describe with words. It felt like destiny. The moment that she had been waiting for her whole life had arrived and she had every intention of seizing it with both hooves.

The young pegasus had been gleeful when her mother had asked her to chaperone the enigmatic unicorn. It was an opportunity so perfect that it almost felt as if divine providence had laid it before her hooves. Yet, it had fallen apart practically immediately.

Years of pent-up frustration, ambition and desperation had caused her to emotionally collapse in front of Starry.

It was all too much…

Yet, the Mage did not reject her. In fact, she gave Windy a lifeline, a path forward to achieve the freedom she so craved. Starry had even gone a step further and spoken to her mother.

Windy didn't know what was said between them but not only did Wind Chill support her decision to become an apprentice to the unicorn, but she had been so much warmer and more considerate towards Windy in the days after. For once the young pegasus felt as though her voice and opinions had actual meaning when she spoke to her mother.

Where once she only dreaded a future filled with misery, now she saw a glimmer of hope. After only two years of training and mending ties with her mother, she would become the apprentice of a powerful Mage who would explore the world with her and teach her how to wield her magic in ways she never thought possible. Her destiny had never looked so bright.

Then everything collapsed…

She thought that she had seen the worst Las Pegasus had to offer when they attacked several weeks ago. However, it was nothing compared to the devastation of their second raid.

The fires, the bodies, the blood…

It was like an apocalypse.

Her mother had told her to run and, without thinking, she complied. Windy almost didn't escape the town but the heavy rain masked her flight and the raiders were too busy putting Valley Dale to the torch to notice her.

She didn't have a plan when she set out into the night beyond the vague stratagem of finding help. It was so dark and her mind was clouded by panic, she couldn’t focus on anything other than the will to keep flying and the hope that some trace of civilization would reveal itself against the inky backdrop of the dark, stormy night.

The rest of the evening was a hazy blur.

…the euphoria of finding Starry's trailer…

…the horror and rage at seeing mother held at swordpoint…

…the hopelessness at witnessing Starry collapse to the ground after being shot…

…the utter despair as the light in her mother's eyes faded and Windy clutched her cooling body…

Windy clutched her knees close to her chest as the barrage of unbidden memories and emotions forced their way to the forefront of her mind, causing the young pegasus to choke back a sob.

Starry had managed to save the day but in the end, the damage had already been done and the Mage nearly lost her life in the process. For a few terrible days afterwards Windy thought that had lost everything.

Her mother, Starry, everything…

When the enigmatic unicorn eventually awoke, Windy was ecstatic. Not all had been lost. However, the melancholic malaise that had consumed Windy didn't lift, at least not completely. Too much had been lost for celebration to truly take hold of her mood.

She never thought that she would one day mourn the death of her mother. Indeed, she had very few fond memories of her to reminisce over.

‘We were making amends though! She could have finally been a mother to me!’ Windy seethed balefully.

The thought of the future that had been robbed from her, the notion of what could have been, was somehow more painful than anything she had physically lost.

In a perverse irony, Windy had attained everything she thought she wanted. Her mother is permanently out of her life, the opportunity to leave Valley Dale to explore the world and a powerful mentor to unlock her full potential.

She had heard tales and stories of trickster gods or spirits that would grant the wishes of ponies but in the cruellest possible way and at great personal cost. Had the gods heard her pleas and chosen to spitefully grant her wish?

Was this the exacted cost of fulfilling her future destiny? The complete destruction of her past?

She didn't know. Perhaps fate or the will of the gods had nothing to do with it at all and it was simple bad luck or unfortunate circumstances that had torn through her life like a hurricane.

Doubts, regrets and questions swirled in Windy's mind. However, one that she was certain of was that she wasn't going to allow the opportunity that destiny had laid before her to slip by. She would claim a place by Starry's side. She would carve out her place in this world. And one day when she was strong enough, she would seek out Las Pegasus and repay them for all the misfortune that they had inflicted upon her.

Knock
Knock
Knock

The rapping of a hoof on the door stirred Windy from her lamentations.

“Wind Scale?” The soft voice of Nurse Loving Care called out. “It's almost time for the funeral, do you need help getting ready?”

The young filly's already dour mood soured even further at the reminder of the grim procession that would take place later that day.

“N-no, I'm a-alright.” Her shaking voice replied unconvincingly. Taking a moment to collect herself, she forced out a much more firm and clear answer. “I'll be fine, I don't need any help.”

The nurse didn't reply for a moment but Windy could almost feel the pity that radiated from the older mare. She hated it.

“Okay, just let me know if you need anything, sweetie.” She replied in a concerned voice before walking away.

Author's Note

Sorry for the extremely long wait. I've been going through a lot and lost the motivation for writing for a while.

This was also a tough chapter to write. I've made it no secret that I screwed up Luna’s relationship with Windy by rushing through the Valley Dale chapter so quickly without giving the characters a chance to bond and deepen their relationship.

I had to retroactively give justification for all of Windy's previous decisions as well as lay the foundation for all of her future character development. Not an easy balance to walk and it took me absolute ages before I was happy with the foundations I have laid for Windy's character.

I've created a Discord. I'll be posting updates there about this story and any future projects, as well as justing chatting and hanging out with all of you.

https://discord.gg/QhnsC8zNNz

I love reading your comments and hearing your opinions. As well as interacting with you guys. Leave your thoughts down below.