Mirror: Book I - Mind

Through the broken ceiling of the old castle the early streaks of morning light danced and illuminated the shaded halls of the library. Not a visitor was to be heard nor seen, for the two occupants of the chamber were long gone. Their mission said and done, the boy and the unicorn quickly and quietly made their trek back to the Castle of Friendship.

“For a pony so new to Ponyville, you seem to know an oddly large number of hiding spots.” David commented, shuffling beneath the brush with his unicorn.

“I…took a little self-tour.” Starlight chuckled nervously. “Promise not to tell anypony, okay?”

“I don’t think they’d be surprised.”

Starlight withered and turned back to the objective. “Look, we’re almost there. Just keep your head down and we’ll make it back in no time.”

David did exactly as the mare told him, and proceeded to push his head down in an effort to be made unseen. Unfortunately for him, the old, iron spear strapped to his back swung up and around, most certainly not going unseen as it came back around and nearly knocked Starlight in the face. She gripped the end with her magic and growled frustratingly.

“Why didn’t you leave this at the ruins?”

“Starlight, it’s a spear.”

“Yeah, I can see that.”

“What kind of cruel, heartless creature would leave it there all alone?” He eyed the rusty artifact as though it were his first-born son. “Surely a female such as yourself simply wouldn’t understand.”

The pony groaned again. “If you wanna play your little boy games that’s fine by me. Just keep it out of Twilight’s sight, she’ll tear us new ones if she ever found out we went into the Everfree.”

David took one last look at the spear before giving a deep sigh and tossing it into a nearby bush only a skip and a trot away from the main castle grounds. Starlight passed something between a quick nod and a shrug, gestured for the boy to get a move on, and the two made their final track across the field heading for the castle in the distance.

The echo seemed all the more quieter in the mornings, when the light of the sun passed through the windows and illuminated the crystal walls both inside and out with a mysterious, ethereal glow. It provided for a feeling of invitation, of warmth, and a new beginning to each and everyday. Though the evenings were just as such, the feeling was more for that of a fleeting light, one of urgency and loss, and it was these evenings that the Princess of Friendship seemed to dread the most.

Currently, the Alicorn in question laid her head against the flat crystal and glass of the map table’s surface, slumbering away in a quiet, patient stir. “…twenty-two inches and a quarter…” She mumbled in her sleep. “…cast iron, stone-fire grade…”

Without warning, the map room’s double doors swung apart and hit the walls with a loud, metallic bang, sending Twilight into a spasm of who’s, what’s, when’s and where’s until she finally rose up from behind the table, cross-eyed and wild-maned.

“NON-STICK PANS~!”

Twilight paused, looking around to make sure no one had heard her, only until her eyes landed upon a strange image on the other end of the table. What the young Princess saw at first seemed like that of a mirage, dream-like almost, as a faint, wispy, blue glow encapsulated the figure of a human. On top of it all, a pair of tiny, golden eyes floated in mid-air, gazing upon the purple pony with a shocked, fixed stare. Twilight blinked once, twice for extra measure and rubbed her eyes for good measure. The phenomenon did not cease. Then, it clicked in her mind.

“Starlight…?” She squinted.

“Dammit!” The unicorn hissed, unveiling her invisibility spell. “What went wrong?”

“I-I don’t know.” David looked around. “Maybe she picked up your heat signature?”

“You moron, you were supposed to close your eyes!”

“How was I supposed to know?” He splayed.

“What is this all about?” Twilight made herself known.

Starlight looked to David, and David to Starlight. The two stared at one another expectantly, until the unicorn finally decided to flare her horn and push the boy forward with her magic. His wrapped foot skidded nicely upon the crystalline floors, and without another second to spare the sorceress gave a mighty salute in his honor.

“She’s all yours.” And leaned in closely. “You know what to do.”

With a blue blast of magical sparkles the unicorn was gone, leaving the room to the only human and pony present. David slowly turned back to the Alicorn sitting on her respective throne, mouth agape and eyes dancing around his form as her mind wandered to a million places at once, wondering where the boy had been and what he had been doing to end up in the state he was in now.

Silence enveloped the chamber for a long, uncomfortable while, the echo increased all the more in its longevity as the hushed moments went by. Twilight allowed herself once again to look over the boy with care and concern. The rough, tired look about his eyes and complexion, the dirt matting his clothes, the wrapping about his foot and the scrapes along his legs and arms. It was all a tell tale sign of an adventure untold, but more so it laid itself reminiscent of when she had first encountered him in the Everfree Ruins, when she had saved him from the timber wolves. In that very moment, the itch returned to David’s chest, and with that he ignored the call to scratch it and moved forward with raised shoulders and a confident stride. Twilight remained sitting before him, staring him up and down, awaiting his words.

“Twilight.” He began, breathing shakily. “There’s something I need to say.”

“I’m listening.” She nodded.

“I never should have treated you the way I did.” He said. “Never should have said to you what I had said. I’ve taken the time to reflect over my recent behavior, and I realize now that I was in the wrong. I acted cruel, selfish, and immature. And for that…I deserve punishment.”

Twilight blinked, surprised. “What?”

“Please, Princess.” He leveled himself to one knee, looking down. “You have to understand that my actions cannot go unchecked. If I fail to seek justice for my misplaced behavior, then that means I fail as your Equerry, and I’m not going to allow that to happen.”

Clearly, it was another act, albeit a step in the right direction in Twilight’s eyes. Yet, something felt oddly offputing about her own position over the whole situation, something which made the mare feel as though the boy was putting himself at her mercy. Not because of his blatant choices of vocabulary and self-acclimations, but rather it was the faint reminder for Twilight that she had in fact bestowed the boy with the title and power of the Royal Equerry. Immediately, the pony rose from her throne, a sick feeling overwhelming her senses as she sat within it whilst the boy knelt himself before her hooves, and thus the mare sought to approach him calmly and lift his head with a gentle wing tip.

“I’m not going to punish you.” She stated clearly.

“But-”

“Trust me, I know exactly how you feel.” Twilight told him. “There was a time before this castle had even existed, a time when I was only a simple unicorn. I had once cast a spell that caused the whole town to devolve into madness over a stuffed doll I had when I was a filly. It got so out of control that Princess Celestia herself showed up to neutralize the spell, and proceeded to lecture me in the library soon after. My actions were wrong, of course. She told me that if it were a far more dire situation, the results could have been devastating.” She took a pause, seeing that the boy was listening intently, and continued. “In the end, it was because of my friends that the Princess decided not to punish me, all on the condition that each of us write our own friendship reports to her. I realized that what she wanted was for us to learn, and punishment would not bring about such affirmations. Only when one is given the chance to correct themselves do they truly see the error of their ways. That is what I was led to believe.”

David stared up at the Alicorn with a blinking, confused gaze, yet a tinge of acceptance and understanding shined within. The pony let herself on to stare deeply into those amber-gold eyes if only for a moment, if only to witness the good and potential in this young creature before her. There was a brain behind those set of eyes, a working, widely intelligent and sentient mind. Twilight knew it, she felt it. It moved her so.

“I don’t think I’ve been completely compliant to your needs.” Twilight began.

“No, that’s not it.” The boy argued, shaking his head. “I don’t need to be coddled and I’m done playing the victim. I want to be over this, Twilight. I want to be…” He mustered up his speech. “…useful. Worthy. An example of what a true Equerry ought to be.”

“Then understand, this isn’t just a chance I’m giving you. You deserve this, you have deserved this.” She said, slowly floating a peculiar item into his view. “I’ve told you that I used to write letters to the Princess. Well, I think that now’s the time for your words to reach her.”

It was a scroll, frayed on the edges and bound by a fine, red ribbon. Using her magic she undid the seal and opened the parchment to a clean slate, a canvas awaiting the imprints of one’s thoughts, from the mind and to the quill, to which she placed neatly upon the paper along with a small bottle of ink at the ready. Something deep down told David that she had been planning this. But for what? He wondered.

“You can write anything that comes to mind and the Princess will read it, we have the means to do so.” Twilight confirmed. “Just be sure to address her accordingly.”

“Twilight, this…” The boy wavered, looking back between her and the scroll. “This is all so sudden, I don’t even know how to begin this letter. What am I supposed to say?”

“If you don’t feel ready then I understand, your willingness to give it some thought is a sign that you care.” She took another pause. “I want you to know that I care too. About you, I mean.” Twilight finished, and internally winced over the odd delivery of her line, only hoping that it might not put the mood off balance.

“What if I don’t believe I deserve this?” He questioned. “What if there’s nothing that can convince me that I can do this?”

“Trust me, there will be something.” Twilight reassured with a smile. “Besides, I already have evidence.”

David was not let another word out as the pony levitated yet another item into his view, the sight making his eyes blink wide and blearily. There in her magical grasp lay the book, the very same tome that she had given to him weeks ago, the very same one he had thrown down upon the ground in front of her only just yesterday. Slowly, the book floated downwards out of the mare’s field and landed in the boy’s hands, resting in his palms like an ancient artifact of vast importance, yet a gift from a cherished and loved friend.

“I want you to know that I accept your apology, but that’s not why I’m giving this book back to you. I know that you’ll need it.” Her smile grew bigger and brighter. “How come you never told me that you were such a talented artist?”

“I-I, uh…hehe.” He scratched his scalp, looking anywhere but her eyes. “I…don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Please, don’t doubt yourself.” Twilight began to walk away. “Sometimes, I wish I could trade my talents for ones like yours.”

The boy looked up with a far more confident and reassured gaze as he stood and held the book close to his chest, reminiscing over all the times he had drawing in it throughout his adventures in this town thus far. Quietly, he placed the book back inside his pocket and resumed to the parchment laying upon the table, but was soon after interrupted. Not even before Twilight was able to make it out of the chamber had the double doors swung back open with an abrupt bang. It was Spike, the little dragon panting wildly and out of breath.

“Spike?” Twilight rushed over to him. “What’s wrong?”

“Red. Paint. Words. Castle. Everywhere. Come see!” His speech hastened.

“Slow it down, take a breath first.”

“I think what he means is…” Starlight trotted into view. “You might want to come and see the beautiful piece of art somepony painted above our front door.”