To Save our Legacy

I remembered my frequent visits to the Moon Garden. The thestrals of this enclave had built a garden of their own with a striking resemblance to Luna’s own personal sanctuary back at Canterlot Palace, making sure it was identical in every respect, right down to the name. River Lilies, Moonshine Dewdrops, Dusk Mushcaps, Blood Roses, and an endless plethora of various night-attuned flora blanketed it and its surroundings, bathing the area with the gentle shine of a full moon, the only moon shine these thestrals would get now, since the looming trees that held their homes now blocked virtually all light, whether it be day or night, from raining down from the heavens.

From the ever-increasing list, that was one of my most pressing questions. Why such a huge, sudden aversion to the Moon now? The aversion to the Sun I got, obviously, but the Moon?

I hoped my meeting with the Matriarch would shine some light on that one, and many other questions that had been plaguing me since I’d first been admitted to the infirmary. She’d acknowledged my royal heritage through her envoy, which was a little step in the right direction. At least I hoped so, since my heritage carried the weight of a broken country and the blame behind a thousand broken promises on its back. The mother of all stains over what once was a promising career in the field of ruling over a nation.

Some days, it truly felt more like a job than anything else.

Where most other bat ponies had taken this new information with a grain of salt, one thestral wasn't happy with this discovery. Crimson, having finished her short debriefing with the Matriarch, was asked to escort me to the Moon Garden alongside the now-silent Keeper, who hadn't bothered to utter a word to us during the brief trek to the gardens. And I knew them well enough to know she wasn't gonna during the rest of the trip, either.

That meant it was only the Captain and me to fill the awkward silence from dozens of thestrals, who stopped what they were doing to blink owlishly at us, or more precisely at me, as we crossed the town straight through the middle before reaching the outskirts.

“I can't believe it...” Crimson seethed with a bothered frown, the news from her leader hitting her like a speeding cart.

“Told ya I was royalty.” I jabbed without much emotion, not bothering to mask a tinge of pride.

“I can’t believe that a buffoon like you is the long-lost Prince of Knowledge!” She flashed her fangs at me.

“Am I that ugly?” I asked with a healthy amount of theatrics which, obviously, completely blew over Crimson’s fuzzy head.

“It’s not about your looks, you dimwit!!” The mare snapped at me, rearing her wings to clutch her throbbing temples. “It’s just… Argh! I don’t know what to think anymore! It's you! I…” She reached for her saddlebag and grabbed a lumigrape, a post-breakfast snack perhaps, and shoved it in my face. “This! This is you! You made this for us! You rid us of our need to drink blood!”

“Mhm, that I did,” I replied nonchalantly, interpreting her gesture as an invitation and, grabbing the fruit from her demanding hoof, plopped the tangy-yet-sweet treat in my mouth. Not my piece of cake, but I didn't create them for their flavor. “Some witty bioengineering and a couple of magic tricks. Not that anypony had thought about it before.”

“Yes!” Crimson wailed, driving her point further. “But in most of our texts, it’s stated how everything went to Tartarus by the time you disappeared.” Her unmasked suspicions were starting to wear on me. “Half of Equestria revered you while the other half wanted your head for being a traitor. I…” Her ears sagged alongside her drive. “I don’t know what to make of you. And that pisses me off because it’s supposed to be my job if I want to keep everythestral safe!”

“...”

“Say something!” She demanded with a stomp.

Oh, I had a couple of things to say.

“I don’t care what you think of me,” I answered coldly, not lessening my stride as we left behind the last house-bearing trees to reach the end of the village. “I don’t care whether you see me as a friend or a foe. That’s your Matriarch’s call, not yours.” I cast a side-look downwards to the stunned thestral, hurt sparkling in her slitted eyes. Unfeeling of her shock, I pursed my lips and returned my attention forward. “Most likely, we won’t see each other again after I leave, so any image you build around me is pointless. I cannot change what I’ve done, good or bad. You won’t find me losing sleep about it, either.” A humongous lie, my first month’s sleep record as proof. “Once I come clean with your ‘Mother,’ I’ll leave you bats be and continue fixing my mess-up as far as my abilities can carry me. If that isn’t enough for you, then you can go and chip a fang for all I care.”

The fact that I’d used one of their slang terms only sunk the Captain further. Ears drooping alongside her spirits, Crimson uttered no further commentary and simply fell back to her silent role as escort.

I don’t care how cold and insensitive I’d come across to her, I was truly mad at her, and way past getting the blame and having all hooves pointed at me. Nor did I have time to feel sorry and apologize to a bunch of bat ponies who knew little to nothing about the things they were talking about.

Better for them to forget I ever came around and to mind their own business until the ponies grew a spine and ventured once again beyond the three settlements to tie up those loose knots. Or not, I couldn't tell anymore.

The mystic, yet homey ambience provided by the thestrals’ tree-settlement slowly gave way to the tranquility of the tamed woods surrounding the town, our eyes quickly adjusting to the encompassing dimming as we left the light from the houses and businesses behind us. Soon after, when the atmosphere threatened to darken as much as the deepest parts of the forest, a faint glow welcomed us, as milky and pale as the moon, just peeking over the arrangement of overgrown bushes which came to a swift end where the borders of the garden began.

The Keeper, caring little to nothing about our scuffle, stopped shy of the garden’s entrance, marked by a plant-grown arch sporting the most beautiful Moonflowers I’d ever seen; they were big and healthy, painting my sight with their milky petals and bluish cores. Beyond the entrance, a figure sat placidly on her haunches in the midst of the phantasmagorical light provided by a thousand-and-one flowers and plants of many kinds, holding what I recognized as my twinblades in her lap, running a careful hoof over the body of the lunar blade.

Crimson remained in the rear, gaze still down while stewing in my harsh dismissiveness of any form of future olive branch her conflicted mind had hoped to offer me. The Keeper turned to me and, with as much business and little spirit as was their custom, proceeded to give me a brief I was already familiar with.

I raised a hand to cut her off rudely. “I shall address the ‘Mother’ with utmost respect. I shall speak only when spoken to, and my words shall remain honest and truthful. I shall take her wisdom and call it my own, for her will is the Moon’s light that protects us from the shadows.” I recited from memory, although I wasn't sure anymore about that last part considering their surprising change of heart.

Needless to say, the Keeper was far from amused, a piercing frown breaking her usually blank front to glare daggers at me.

“Your arrogance will only take you so far.” She spat at me, making sure to showcase her fangs in the gleam of the garden awaiting behind us.

“Tell me about it.” I flipped her the finger and proceeded under the arch, leaving both a pissed thestral and a disappointed one behind to meet with the Matriarch. A few luminescent bugs welcomed my entrance into the garden with a startled dance as they fluttered away, becoming pinpricks as the gloom beyond the gardens swallowed their twinkle away.

Unperturbed by my calm approach, the Matriarch continued with her careful admiration of my weapon, brushing her delicate frog over the never-dulling edge with practiced care.

With a parting hum, she ceased her examination to fix her crimson eyes on me. “A masterfully crafted blade.” The Matriarch congratulated me as I was finishing my approach. “The product of an alicorn’s touch and wisdom. Or perhaps two, if my old eyes don’t deceive me.”

In the new phantasmagorical light from the bed of flowers and glowing mushrooms, I could better discern the traits of thestral mare awaiting me. She wasn’t that old… or at least, not as old as her last comment would hint at. Certainly old enough to wear the first few rebellious wrinkles under her slitted eyes and a few loose gray hairs in her mane, but she was far from getting the jitters in her knees or a weak bladder.

Whilst their attire was accustomed to be more refined and exuberant than their Keeper servants, the Matriarch had opted for a lighter choice of wardrobe for our impromptu meeting. It consisted of an easy moon-dress of a milky gray with numerous silver highlights that rivuleted down her frame. Similar jewelry hugged her fuzzy ears and lined her forehead in a gorgeous tiara, reining in her mane with a waterfall braid behind her. Her wings’ rims were adorned by a silver-silked piece that hugged her bony appendages tight, from which small chains jingled with the moon’s tears hanging from their ends.

It was a ceremonial dress, or at least part of one. As ceremonial as her title, for all who are to become Matriarch must leave everything behind, including their names, to become the guiding light of the thestral enclave they were to watch over. A heavily-charged custom for a historically-troubled race, yet it had kept them alive and thriving for as long as equinekind had inhabited this world.

“Mother.” I bent a fist over my chest and offered a respectful bow, following tradition and temporarily parking my arrogance aside, for leaders are supposed to respect each other, especially in difficult times. Enough trouble awaited us both to start bringing it to each other’s doorsteps.

“I recognize this blade.” The Matriarch continued after softly dipping her head in acknowledgment, extending a wing to offer me a seat beside her.

I took her invitation and carefully lowered my rear, taking care not to squash any of the breathtaking Moonshine Dewdrops surrounding us in our exchange, proving a soothing illumination that, any other day, would put any troubled mind at ease, such was the purpose of the garden, amongst other things. The scent of aromatic flora was empowering, easing my nerves and clearing my mind. A much-welcomed reprieve from the heavy toll I’d been carrying since before leaving home.

“It was a well-known blade in my time.” I slipped, tentatively testing the waters. I shouldn’t have been surprised how at least some evidence had endured regarding it, especially considering the thestrals' well-known thirst for recorded knowledge.

“Your time…” She hung the last note in the air, her searching eyes returning once again to the moon-themed guard, a twinge of worn-out conflict shimmering in her blood-red pearls. “A time of friendship and many promises, but only a few of them coming to fruition.”

I steeled my nerves and waited in silence. I had to remain cool and collected. Better to let her take the lead for now and follow carefully, not wishing to anger her or offend her.

A few moments of silence separated us before she continued, brushing the lunar-blade’s fuller once again with equal parts of admiration and pain. “Seven centuries is a long time to remain hidden, although your gift would allow you to do so unchallenged, Prince of Equestria.”

Oh, that mare knew very well who she was talking to, that I quickly realized.

She continued in her gentle, melodic tone. “Up to this day, my children continue to enjoy the gifts you bestowed upon us, just as our forefathers have done in our long hiding. And for that, we have an unpayable debt to you.” Dipping her head in deference, Binary came to balance on her stretched forehooves, being offered back to me in what I hoped was a sign of trust and respect.

Adhering to protocol, I repeated the gesture in kind. “I did what anypony else would've done.”

A gentle laugh, fresh as the breeze that ruffled the leaves above us.

“Oh, but that's just the thing, isn't it?” The Matriarch chirped with a juvenile twinkle over the fetlock politely covering her muzzle. “Almost nopony tried. They barely cared at all. It's always easier to push your problems under the roots of your home and look somewhere else.” With a tint of merriment, the thestral mare nudged my knee with her adorned hoof. “That's what you brought with you, Empyrean. Change. Perspective. A philosophy Equestria had never adhered to before... It was not ready for it.” She lamented with a deflated shake of her head, bringing down the momentary rise in the mood.

“Perhaps…” I processed her words for a moment. “But Equestria’s problems ran deeper than me, hidden under its paradisiac façade, poisoning it way before my arrival. I fear my intervention only accelerated things and brought a worse outcome.”

A calm silence befell us. The Matriarch took a second to scrutinize me. Her years told her that something was eating at me, and waited patiently as I searched for the words.

My thumb came to brush against the moon-themed guard, treating it with as much care as the thestral had. A sigil which should've decorated every armor set, every public building, every house even, of this enclave, such was its importance for thestralkind.

“Why?” I couldn't think of a better way than spitting it out plainly, but the wise thestral needed a little more to catch up with my inquiry.

“Not by my hoof, it wasn't” Her eyes shone with visions of the past. “My ancestors didn't take the Mistress' departure kindly. That, summed up to ponykind's renewed hate and distrust for everycreature that didn't share their ‘harmony’, our separation from Equestria became absolute.”

I had a hard time believing it. “Luna would’ve never abandoned you. You were virtually her children. She cared for you as much as she cared for her ponies.”

With a long sigh, the Matriarch dipped her head, clawing, but coming without a clear answer to give me. “Our texts tell us of raising urgency and a danger to the far west. That's where the Goddesses of the Sun and Moon went, trusting in the judgment of the Princess of Friendship to completely oversee Equestria after your… departure.”

Of all the things that she could’ve told me…

That was some very concerning news, yet ages had blurred its significance as well as its apparent urgency. I mean, we were all there, very much alive and breathing. However, Luna's ‘abandonment’ of thestralkind meant that wherever she and her sister had gone, they hadn’t returned, or at least didn't do so before the fall.

So many unanswered questions plagued me still, piling one atop another until they'd buried me. I remembered then. Their armor sets were missing from the royals-only wing of the Armory, meaning wherever they had gone, they were expecting some noise.

Had they resolved whatever drew them away from Equestria? If not, would it return to bite us in the ass now? During such a delicate time? Was that the threat Harmony had warned me about, the one preserved in Twilight's own broken message?

Was that my task? To face something that had bested the alicorn sisters of Equestria? Was that the actual reason behind Sunny’s alicorn powers?

As if hearing my stormy thoughts, the Matriarch resumed. “We know nothing else beyond the personal thoughts of our previous ‘Mothers’. Betrayal carved a heavy wound on us all, ponykind's rebellion only worsening the breach. We cut all our ties with Equestria. We embraced our way of living and severed all connections with the outer world.” A thankful yet pained gaze brought my full attention away from my flurry of questions and back to the modestly-aged mare. “Thanks to your gift, we were able to embrace our independence. We have waited in silence since then, becoming one with the forest. That's all my children care for now.”

I peered at my own reflection carved in the lunar blade, shining dimly under the glow from the flora surrounding us. This was the thestral’s way of life now. It hurt me, for I had seen potential in their kind as well as the rest of the nightborn. My knowledge would've filled in the ditches that hundreds of years of mistrust and barely-tolerated co-existence had dug in between their respective tribes.

Now, my attempts had won them centuries worth of silence and isolation, limiting their progress and evolution as far as their protective forest allowed them to.

My acts had indeed reached beyond the ponies that once trusted me, and had dragged them all down with them.

“... I understand.”

I barely recognized the face looking back at me from the reflection. My time at Maretime Bay had been some of the best times of my life, yet nothing, nothing could mask the damage I had caused.

“I only wish to fix what I broke,” I swore in a whisper, honesty lining my every word.

“And I trust you, Empyrean of Ponykind.” The Matriarch nodded in acceptance and smiled knowingly at my frowning self. “That is why you're out here, alone, away from your new family, is it not?” The thestral’s eyes lidded playfully, calling my goal in these dangerous lands like a seasoned ruler could only understand.

I saw no reason to hide my intentions from her, especially after being called out so easily. “An old foe who I thought I’d defeated for good,” I explained in short, not bothering to mess with details nor hide my rage for the Changeling Queen and all the pain and trouble she and her kind had brought to our doorsteps, until the changelings' reformation and her ultimate defeat. “It's high time we settled our differences. There is no way I'm letting that monster get anywhere close to my family.” Although, I was ashamed to admit that nothing had prevented her from doing so. She had sent me a text message of all things! Meaning she’d managed to acquire a phone from somewhere, meaning she’d already infiltrated at least one of the three settlements, or all of them for all I knew!

“And your pony family is to be spared of the outcome of this… differences settlement?” The thestral mare wondered with a dip of her head, although I could tell she already knew the answer.

I took a deep breath and tried to go around the nature of my foe, although I had little hope of fooling this seasoned pony, even if it was to avoid unnecessary alarm.

“The… particularities of this foe would've made my family’s presence both a dangerous risk and an exploitable liability to force my hand, so…”

“Ah.” The Matriarch nodded in understanding. “A changeling then, of the old type before their change of heart and allegiance.”

I sighed deeply, feeling an embarrassed grin paint my mouth “Why do I even bother to go in circles around you?” I asked rhetorically with a hearty chuckle.

The Matriarch offered another in kind. “It is my job to know, if I'm to prevent the errors of the past to haunt us and keep my children safe, after all.” She reached again to place a reassuring hoof on my knee. “It is not my intention to hinder your mission in any way. I only ask that you don't bring the darkness you chase back to us. I'll instruct my children to help you with anything you might need as well as provide and replenish anything you might need for yuor journey ahead. But, our relations with Equestria and whoever might inhabit its empty lands now ended long ago, and I intend to keep them that way… at least, for the time being.”

Her wing stretched from under her moon dress, coming to brush against the fluorescent flora around us with a mother's own love and care. “My children and I felt the return of magic, and the news you bring about the return of harmony and friendship amongst our cousins fills my heart with joy…”

“... But?” I quirked an eyebrow.

Another soulful sigh left her nostrils, her tongue coming to lick her fangs before laying it down. “But the wounds run long and deep in our tribe. My children are happy with our hidden coven and shy, if not fear, of any possible interaction with those who in the past denied us, and even hunted us like freaks of nature. They feel coming out into the open would only rekindle the spark of hate and conflict between our tribes.” Her scarlet orbs hardened with determination. “It is my goal to break them out of their shell, or at least lay the first stones for our inevitable reunification with the lands and people of beyond. But it will be a slow and troublesome process.”

I could only smile in sympathy, for her goal and mine were two of a kind. “As slow and troublesome as my end of things, no doubt.” I dipped my head in appreciation. “I thank you for your help, both in this current venue and those the future has in store for us.”

Feeling our exchange coming to an end, the Matriarch offered her blessings in the traditional way. Holstering herself up from her resting pose fully onto her haunches, the mare beckoned me forward. Keeping my head low in respectful deference, I rested Binary at my side and inched my way closer. The Matriarch bit on her lower lip with a sharp fang; age had not dulled them in the slightest, for they're perhaps the best representation of a thestral's sense of pride. A small rivulet of crimson, life-giving fluid dripped down her chin, leaving an imprint on my forehead where the Matriarch pressed her lips in a gesture of trust and goodwill. Blood had always held special significance in their culture, and even now while their thirst had been sated by my hand, they still held onto their deepest traditions… moon worshiping aside, of course.

I returned the gesture, wincing when my own, sadly underdeveloped fang in comparison breached my lower lip. With our tenets of friendship and goodwill exchanged, our meeting was at an end. A satisfactory result on both parts and a promise of future cooperation when crazy times had turned mellower.

“May Luna's light guide your way.” The Matriarch bowed respectfully one last time.

“May the cover of the night shelter you, and lead astray those who'd hurt the nightborn.”

With our farewells exchanged, I stood up on my feet, using Binary as support since my legs had gone to jelly after being seated cross-legged for a while. With a vigorous shake, I followed the Matriarch’s gaze as she also stood up. Looking past me, she addressed the Keeper who, alongside Crimson, remained waiting patiently for this meeting between rulers to end.

“Miantra.” The seasoned mare called for the Keeper, who lost her statuesque demeanor to bow in acknowledgment, taking a few steps into the Moon Garden. “Accompany our esteemed guest back into the village and tend to his every need.” Her eyes fixed on me one last time, a placid smile grazing her fanged lips. “He has a long journey ahead of him.”

“Mother.” With a parting reverence, the Keeper beckoned me to follow her. I stepped in line with the mare who, after acknowledging her leader, was already trotting to the garden’s entrance.

Sending my eyes back one last time, I too bent my torso in a parting bow.

“Matriarch.”

“Empyrean.” She answered back curtly, her attention quickly returning to the flowers surrounding them, her soothing voice cooing at her marvelous garden as she tended to it like a mother hen to her chicks.

The Keeper’s steady gaze denoted her urgency for us to return to the village so they could tend to my needs before I departed back into the wild. There was one clingy issue preventing me from simply stepping in line with her. A mopey-looking thestral, ears drooped and sight cast dejectedly downwards, waiting on her haunches for me to continue so she could take the rear behind us.

I mentally debated myself as to how to approach her, the urgency of my mission tugging at me to ignore her and hurry up. I had told her all I needed to say to her.

…

…

…

No, I had been an ass-hat.

‘Ugh, curse these ponies, giving me a bleeding-heart…’

Sticking Binary into her mossy dirt, I knelt in front of the pouting mare, my approach bringing her out of her gloomy stupor to peer quizzically at me.

“W-What?” She stuttered momentarily, hurt present in her voice. “Is his Royal Majesty finally done with his meeting? Huh? Is his Lustrous Magnificence ready to bolt out without batting an eye? Oh, I just know he’d be itching to get away from us freaks of nature. Does he need me to escort his royal flank to the border before double-buckin' it hard?!”

“I’m mad at you.”

My short revelation was a cold punch in her gut, cutting her hurtful ranting short to gaze at me with incredulous eyes.

Her muzzle opened and closed like a fish several times before she could formulate the words. And some words she had to give.

“You?!” She half-asked-half-snapped. “You are mad at me?!!”

“Yes,” I responded in brief, burning the mare’s fuse down to dangerous levels.

Her left eye began twitching dangerously. “I am mad at you!!” She jabbed a hoof in my chest, wings flaring out in anger, fur standing on end like a pissed-off cat.

“You have a son, Crimson.” I ignored her heated demand and proceeded to lay out the reason for my animosity towards the Captain. “And a very charming one too, congrats on that.”

“W-Wha-?”

“What you and your team did at the forest when facing me was foalish, reckless, and unbecoming of an armored force such as the guard.”

As her fish-muzzled puzzlement wouldn’t diminish, erasing all traces of rage towards me, I voiced my thoughts, coming clean with the mare.

“I understand that you guys are used to dealing with mindless beasts running too close to your borders and that I happened to be the first non-thestral being to talk back to you in a long while.” I began, bending my knees to sit cross-legged in front of the stunned bat pony. “And I promise you I’m usually not that big of a flank-mouthed prick when meeting new ponies, weapons pointed at me or otherwise.”

I returned the jab to her fuzzy chest, lidding my eyes as I scolded her like Shining would've scolded one of the guards under his command.

“But, I was having a very rough day, and you should’ve known better than to fall for my bullshit and become so riled up with this accursed blade.” I waved a hand towards Binary, her eyes following it for a brief moment before shakily returning to me. “And, you shouldn’t have allowed those under your command to grow cocky and treat our scuffle as a walk in the park. I may look lanky and defenseless, but by Faust, I swear to you I was moments away from slicing you all to pieces.” My imposing gaze hardened to a glare. “If I hadn't done this long enough to keep myself in check, I promise that you wouldn't have walked out of there alive. And I don’t happen to see a father around, am I wrong?”

“... Motherbucker.” Crimose swore in a whisper under my raised eyebrow.

“Thought as much.” I rose back on my feet and dusted the clingy dust and dirt off my butt.

Her ears drooped and her posture sagged. I had changed one, positively mad Crimson into a mopey one. That wasn't a desirable outcome either.

Sighing loudly, I recalled Binary to my hand. “Look.” I addressed the mare once again, ignoring the Keeper silently eye-rolling at my continued stalling. “I’m just asking for you to act like the Captain you claim to be, and take your son’s well-being into consideration when you go out there. I know you do it for him, but coming back in pieces doesn't do him any favors either.”

I scratched my growing beard, something I’d hoped to take care of quickly back at the infirmary before departing, I mulled whether to tread over the second thing or leave it be. A second of reflection later, I reasoned it was better to let it all out.

“And, regarding the ‘I care little whether we meet again or not’...” I continued, earning the smallest twitch of her fuzzy ears, letting me know she was listening under her crumbling façade. “Look, My pony family aside, I don’t really have that many friends. True friends. I don’t believe myself deserving of them, just as I believe, deep down, that I’m not deserving of your help, much less your friendship.”

The thestral’s head dipped aside slightly, breaking out of her shell momentarily to peer at me with curiosity, a sniff betraying the few tears she had actually shed during my scolding.

“You don’t?”

“No, Crimson. I truly don’t.” It was my time to cast my sight somewhere else, unable to meet her crimson eyes any longer. “Look, let's just head back so I can grab my things so I can say goodbye to the little fella. I gotta survive the first trip. Then we can talk about stretching hooves, okay?” I attempted to get out of our exchange before my tongue got the better of me. There were more urgent things to take care of than a heart-to-heart.

I was gonna survive the trip, though. Wasn't that the point of turning me into what I was?

Perhaps not the outcome she’d wished for, but Crimson would take what she could salvage from our talk, knowing well there was truth behind my words. Wiping her eyes clean from the last traitorous tears, she grunted in affirmation and stepped behind me, professionalism hardening her features once again.

I didn't like coming off as an unfriendly jerk-face like that, but something told me it was better that way. I felt I had an unpayable debt to them, just as they claimed to have with me. A cowardly corner of my mind reasoned it was better to not tighten any knots with them and to keep going forward. Less of a headache now and heartache later. Where were all the lessons I’d learned with the girls back during our adventures? Where was all the friendship and trust-building between ponies the gang had drilled into my mind after years of living among them?

Would Twilight be proud of me?

‘She’s dead, Alexander.” I had to slap myself with a cold dose of reality as I followed the Keeper back toward the village.

‘Her lessons are not mine to teach nor are they mine to follow anymore.’

If I had to use a word to describe the mood around the fortress, it would be tense.

Not because I’d screwed something up, no. Well, at least not in a while. With Opaline’s imposed home arrest after my last failure, there’d been little chance for me to mess things up. Funnily enough, she’d told me to bring her that dragon or not bother coming back. Now, after my hasty retreat from that saloon, I wasn't allowed to head out anymore at all.

Not for a while at least. Best to lay low for a time and let those brainwashed, harmony-loving fools forget about little ol’ me before heading back and snatching that baby drake for her from under the sheriff’s snout.

I was still planning how to do that without getting that accursed pegasus on my tail the moment I stepped a hoof back into Maretime Bay. She’d been this close to sniffing me out; if it hadn't been for Alex’s last-minute intervention, I would’ve been rumbled! I should buy him a smoothie for that the next time I see him, assuming Opaline had forgotten about the rule of not getting close to him.

While I racked my brains trying to come up with a way to ‘acquire’ that dragon for Opaline, and make her proud of me while I was at it, she had me doing menial jobs around the fortress, helping her with her… experiments, I guess? I’m not sure how to label them, only that it entailed a back-crunching number of books to be carried from the library to her study (on the top floor of the HIGHEST tower in ALL the fortress), and some weird-smelling ingredients she liked to mix into that magic pool of hers.

If only I had magic…

Oh, and laughing too. Lots of evil laughing. It was fun to join her every once in a while, but it grew tiresome while trying to nap… not that she’d let me nap.

Autumn had arrived, and our home wasn't exactly as furnished as the brighthouse. Our centuries-old furniture kept itself together, much less for having that wonderful invention ponies called ‘central heating’. Opaline had little magic to spare, and it took her a lot of time to gather it, either naturally or through some… well, unorthodox methods, to waste it in heating this place. She’s a fire alicorn. It's not like she was gonna feel the cold that had begun to creep down our walls and freeze the plants surrounding our fortress in the mornings.

Me, on the other hoof…

“O-O-Opaline?” I called through quivering teeth, my body trembling from the tip of my snout to the end of my tail, trying in vain to summon some semblance of heat which quickly drained down into my hooves, all four of which were making contact with the bone-chilling floor. Bothersome pegasus detective or not, I was itching to return to Maretime Bay, even if only to buy one of those… what had Izzy called them? Flippers? Sloppers? Whatever, they looked warm and fuzzy, something I was in urgent need of.

“Come in.” came her muffled response from beyond the door to her study. She had spent most of her time there, bored from spying on the ponies of the Bay and the human. She had grown impatient with me and, whilst still insisting on using the dragon as a catalyst to jumpstart her alicorn magic, she’d buried herself in the scarcely-preserved books of our library in search of other options, with me as her unpaid assistant of course.

Can you believe it? Ponies get paid for doing stuff in Maretime Bay. I even got a few bits from a nice mare after I helped her move some boxes down the harbor.

Using a quivering hoof, to nudge the door open, I took a peek inside, finding the alicorn right where I’d left her. Lying comfortably over an overly-fluffy carpet right beside the arch-like window that faced the steep cliff upon where the fortress was located, Opaline scanned over yet another tome, a growing pile of discarded choices resting nearby. She was using her hoof to pass the pages, not chancing it by wasting but a sliver of magic since she had so much trouble regaining it. Her eyes were drunk in the contents hidden within the pages, not even acknowledging my presence as I trotted to her side.

“I-I found t-the book you r-r-requested, Opaline.”

My trembling message earned a flick of her ears, followed by an uninterested hum as she flicked to the next page, taking a moment to jot something down on a long piece of parchment. She must’ve found something interesting and added it to a boring list of… well, words and strange symbols, I guess. I couldn't make heads nor tails of its contents, only that it had taken a back-wrenching amount of research to fill around half of it.

Seeing how I wasn't gonna make any sense of it by my brief peeking, I grabbed the tome from my back and dropped it by her side, nosing it closer for her to notice.

Still, no reaction from Opaline, leaving me to wait still like the statues of the lower corridors, although statutes usually don’t tremble like a limp noodle from the freezing temperatures that befell our home. They grew ice-stalactites under their snouts sometimes during the dead of winter. I wondered if I was gonna get any too.

The tapping of my quivering hooves against the stony floor combined with the chattering of my teeth poorly concealed behind my lips drained Opaline’s patience quickly, ripping her from her silent self-lecture with a pursed lip which ten out of ten times meant she was being annoyed by something, most of the time me, and would get rid of the thing bothering her with some well-placed yelling, or simply punting me out of the room if she wasn't in the mood for words.

Her deep-ocean eyes fixed on me, earning a tiny whimper as I averted my sight. I awaited the second before she yelled at me to fetch something else for her or get lost for a few hours. Instead, my ears caught a deep sigh, bringing me out of the ball I’d shrunk into to find her gaze fixed back onto the tome, but with her right wing, the one facing me, stretched open in what I could only guess was an invitation.

The gears in my head shattered and my train of thought derailed, for such an alien gesture was missing from my extensive catalog of verbal abuses and degrading comments.

“Uh…”

“Do you need it on parchment?” Opaline sneered lightly, a side look telling me she wasn’t gonna hold the invitation if I remained rooted in place.

Scrambling over my hooves, I crossed the distance between us and loafed myself at her side, feeling her huge wing drape itself around me like a feathery blanket which… was exactly what it was. I guess. It was a new one for me.

A new one, but far from unwelcome. The striking difference was like day and night. Her coat was warm against mine, the feathers acting as an insulating barrier over me while the fluffy texture of the carpet kept the worst of the chilling floor away. I understood then why this was her favorite spot, alongside her throne and her private jacuzzi…

Yeah, she had one in her room. She let me try it once for my birthday a couple of years ago. The best day of my life!

Not knowing for the life of me what to do under her warm embrace, whether to thank her or remain as still as stone, I opted for the latter and snuggled deeper into her, careful not to overstep myself and make her become uncomfortable.

Opaline showed no signs of displeasure. Her calm breathing and the warmth that only a fire alicorn such as herself could boast about quickly chipped at my barriers, seeking to lull me into sleep. I assumed by her invitation she had no further tasks for me, at least for the time being. The fluffiness of the carpet was calling to me with its sweet melody. I fell into its trap, letting my chin bury itself into the silky fabric.

‘Mmmmm… I gotta convince Opaline to get me one for my room…’

“I understand that it’s hard, Misty.”

Just as I was balancing on the edge of slumber, the sound of Opaline’s voice kickstarted my slurry brain into gear, giving the alicorn my full attention.

Her sight had drifted to the side, where a group of darkened vines grew over and into the walls of her study, born from the tree that took up half the space of the throne room, one which had also won her attention lately, although the exact reason for it she’d kept to herself, just like she had with the origins of said tree.

“Trying your hardest, feeling that your plans are foalproof, tasting victory on the tip of your tongue.” Her gaze hardened, making me flinch. “Yet feel as if you had the goddess’ stinky eye looming over you every, single, time.”

Oh, if she only knew…

“Yours is the plight of every single creature that sought to antagonize her.” Her wing twitched over me, drawing me closer to her side. “I tried to cheat the odds and beat Her at her own game.” Her sight returned to me, burning with animosity. “But I failed.”

Although I felt it wasn't directed towards me for once, my body automatically curled itself into a ball, trying to hide as much of myself as I could under her wing.

“And now, we’re on the wrong side of the chessboard.” Her anger dissipated as quickly as it had landed, her tranquil demeanor, an oddity for Opaline as far as my experience went, saw her return to her books, this time picking the one I’d brought her, while the last of her strange musings ran their course.

“Um…” I fumbled with my hooves, the meaning of her cryptic words eluding me. She had mentioned a ‘she’. I could only draw out a name belonging to a mare who Opaline hated more than a wet mane. “Are you referring to what happened with Twilight Sparkle?”

I was walking over shattered glass with that inquiry, for nothing angered her more than a reminder of her defeat against the Princess of Equestria. This time, however, her fury manifested itself with a simple flick of her hoof to turn the page. This newfound calm demeanor was unnerving me. It felt wrong coming from her.

“No.” She answered in short, her sight coming with another figment of information she dimmed interesting, a twinkle in her eyes revealing it was a juicy one. “Twilight Sparkle is but a puppet, a mere consequence. Her game was short but infuriatingly effective.”

I was under the spotlight again, gulping loudly when Opaline finished her scribbling to fully address me, unfurling her wing so she could completely peer at me. “We play a longer game. We are smarter, we are patient.” An evil smile stitched her lips. “But, we can only wait so long, my dear.”

“I-I g-guess?” I stuttered pathetically.

I swallowed down a sigh of relief once her attention was drawn somewhere else.

“That we do. And that’s why, once we’re done here, you’ll be resuming your incursions into Maretime Bay.”

“I-I am?” I squeaked out, torn between relief for finally being able to leave the fortress and see more of the outside world of the ponies, and dread for said outside world rushing to meet me in the shape of that pain in the flank that was Miss Princess Deadeye Zipp, who no doubt would assault me with a barrage of question before and after convincing the Sheriff to put me behind bars.

“Mhm.” Opaline hummed in affirmation. “Keep the drake on your mind, but his capture won't be your first priority for the time being.”

“It won’t?” I dipped my head to the side in puzzlement. I had already debriefed her on everything I’d learned about the ponies and the town they lived in, and there was no way I was gonna snatch the Unity Crystals away without their guardians noticing.

Opaline answered me with a question of her own.

“Remember how I told you to stay well away from the human?”

“Uh-huh…” I nodded jerkily, yet no further words were offered. The silence dragged on into a single outcome. “You want me to do the opposite?”

“It’s a risky move,” Opaline confirmed my assumption. “But, Alexander seems to trust you, from what you’ve told me.” She explained with a side smirk. “He has a weak spot for ponies like you, and more than once that has worked against him. This time won’t be any different.”

I was unsure whether to take it as a compliment or not, so I decided to park it for later.

“O-Okay.”

“Good…” She closed the book I’d brought her, something else requiring her attention for the moment. As she stood up and stretched her numb legs, I read again the title of the now discarded tome: Seven Theories on Bending Time. A peculiar title.

“... But not yet. I need you to do some research work for me while I continue with the preparations.”

“Of course!” I chirped as I too stood up, happy to be of help. “Anything you need!”

“Head back to the library and search for Star Blazer’s Almanac for All Artifacts Magic.” She instructed over her shoulder, already trotting on her way towards a packed desk full of trinkets and objects whose purpose eluded me as much as the words written on the piece of parchment floating beside her.

“What should I look for?” I asked, eager to start, making a mental note to stop by my room first to grab a blanket. It sure beat carrying things around like a pack mule.

“See if you can find any references to an artifact called the Dragonstone...”