Xenophilia: Further tales.

Chapters

2: When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead.
3: The fool on the hill - Part One.
4: The fool on the hill - Part Two.
5: Just-a good ol' boys, never meanin' no harm - by DJ-Pon3FTW & The Quiet Man
6: I'd fly above the trees, over the seas, in all degrees.
7: But then my homework was never quite like this.
8: Fingers, toes and tiny noses.
10: Till now I always got by on my own - by PhucknuckL and TheQuietMan.
11: Please, please don't leave me - by VelvetHeart & The Quiet Man
12: The Blank Plague - by SpinelStride
13: So let mercy come and wash away what I’ve done - by warpd & The Quiet Man
14: Way out in the water, see it swimming.
15: When I wake from slumber your shadows disappear.
16: Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song - Part One.
17: Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song - Part Two.
19: You and me we can light up the sky - Part Two.
20: That I wish you saw - by SpinelStride & The Quiet Man.
21: Intervention - by StarSlinger
22: I will see my dream come alive at last, I will touch the sky.
23: Today's The Day - by PhucknuckL
24: Stepping outside she is free.
25: Finally I've found that I belong here.
26: Sting Like A Bee - by SpinelStride
28: What's so amazing that keeps us star gazing?
29: Covered up with a smile I've learned to fear.
30: Anything is possible when you're sowing the seeds of love.
31: Who can take tomorrow, dip it in a dream? (MMC)
32: Breathe out, so I can breathe you in. (MMC)
33: If you follow me we'll put our differences aside (Xenophoolia part 1of6) (MMC)
34: The scars of your love remind me of us. (MMC)
35: I couldn't see what was right there in front of me (Xenophoolia part 6of6) (MMC)
36: Grunts and squeaks and squawks with the animals. (MMC)
37: Never to part, baby of mine. (MMC)
38: Heart and soul, they both know. (MMC)
39: Release me from my dirty cage.
40: Just before she hangs her head to cry I sing to her a lullaby.
41: And let me play among the stars.
42: Sing for the laughter and sing for the tears.
43: No right, no wrong, no rules for me.
44: These are the girls I love the most.
46: Somebody to love.
47: A feast for your eyes to see, an explosion of catastrophe.
48: With smiles and clenching jaws – Part One.
49: With smiles and clenching jaws – Part Two.
50: Falling down on all that I've ever known.
51: Just as the sun sets, it will rise at dawn for ever after.
52: Out along the edges, always where I burn to be.
53: I'll show you love, I'll show you everything
54: You taught me most of what I know.
55: A dtáinig ariamh an ghealach is an ghrian.
56: It’s my turn to fly / Watch as we all fly away.
57: Just gonna have to be a different man.
58: I want to hold you close; soft breasts, beating heart.
59: I close my eyes and I keep seeing things.
60: Look at me standing here on my own again.
61: Is this our last embrace? (Hv)
62: Will you bite the hand that feeds? (Hv)
64: We will stand tall, face it all together. (Hv)
65: Now I can't be sure of anything. (Hv)
66: You're as cold as ice, willing to sacrifice. (Hv)
67: Would you kill the Queen to crush the hive? (Hv)
68: Do you see what we've done? (Hv)
69: Behind the door, should I open it for you? (Hv)
70: In the heat and the rain, with whips and chains.
71: And nobody seems to know where you go.
72: 'Love' is a doing word.
73: No bravery in your eyes anymore.
74: All the colors of the rainbow - by Stitchwolf
76: When The West Wind Moves - by SpinelStride
77: There’s a room where the light won’t find you.
78: December man looks through the snow.
79: Everything where it belongs.
81: Do you want to feel how it feels?
82: Seven apples on a witch's tree.
83: Where time stands still or moves at your will.
84: Home inside but lost for life. (SS)
85: One of these days the sky's gonna break. (SS)
86: I will see things you will never see. (SS)
87: How I wish you were here. (BoME)
88: Instruments of destruction, tools of foul play. (BoME) (SS)
117: The Hoard of The Ancient Keeper - by SpinelStride
80: Like the sun we will live and die.
1: Someday the mountain might get 'em, but the law never will.
9: Falling to the Centre by Special Guest Author Archonix.
18: You and me we can light up the sky - Part One.
27: Ain't misbehavin', savin' my love for you.
45: When We're Living Our Dream - by SpinelStride
63: I can hear you singing to me in my sleep. (Hv)
75: I was lost until you came.

2: When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead.

WHEN LOGIC AND PROPORTION HAVE FALLEN SLOPPY DEAD.
Chapter published 8th Dec 2012

Two things struck Lero as he slowly opened his eyes. Firstly, he had absolutely no idea where he was. Secondly, and slightly more important right at this moment, was that his head felt like someone had just popped its top, filled it full of ice cream and given it all a stir with a two-pound lump hammer. Blinking his eyes, his vision started to clear, but until the work-crew in his head clocked off for the night it wasn’t going to do him much good.

“Guys, seriously, give it a rest. “He mumbled, clamping his hands over his eyes to block out the awful awful light.

The last time he’d awoken like this, disorientated and alone and lying in his back in the grass, it was back when he’d first found himself stranded on the edge of the Everfree forest all those months ago. Back then all he’d felt was confusion and fear; this time all he felt was confusion and at least a grade ten headache. For some reason that his brain didn’t seem to feel the need to share with him he wasn’t afraid, as if he was somehow certain that he was safe and that he’d be seeing his herd again soon. To be honest he’d have given his right arm to have been that confident last time around.

Sitting up he looked around, hoping for some clue as to where he was, which turned out to be one heck of a mistake, so he stopped doing it.

“OK, so make that confusion, a grade ten headache and nausea like a son of a… Ohhh”

After taking a number of deep breaths, counting to twenty and wishing upon every God, Goddess, Deity and corporate mascot that he could remember that Equestria had managed a sudden technological breakthrough and invented Tylenol or paracetamol or something, anything, Lero gingerly sat up again. No wave of nausea struck him this time so he thought he’d chance standing, which worked out better for him than sitting up had done.

Looking around he could see that he was in a large hemispherical cave, easily large enough for a four-story building to fit within. The cave appeared to be well lit but there didn’t seem to be any light sources and the domed top of the cave was sealed with no hint of sky or daylight to be seen. Lero was standing near the outer wall of the cave on the grassed bank of what looked like a small river. Across from him was a similarly grassed bank and what, now that Lero’s headache was starting to subside, he could see was an island. The lone occupant of this island was a large tree, easily reaching a good way toward the ceiling but ultimately more wide than tall. Though he had no idea why, he had a strong urge to make towards the tree.

Taking a few tentative steps Lero found that the soft grass beneath his feet was actually a whole lot softer than it had any right to be. Taking a few steps back and forth he couldn’t shake the feeling that it felt much like walking bare foot around Rainbow’s cloud home. The was a slight bounce to it, the temperature was just right, feeling lovely and cool, but not cold on the soles of his feet. Wiggling his toes he could feel the gentle tickle of each individual blade upon his skin.

It was then he realised he’d lost his shoes.

“Oh boy.” Lero turned around as fast as he dare, casting about for his errant footwear. “Rarity spent ages making those.” And indeed she had; human style shoes weren’t exactly in big demand in a country where almost every sapient creature had hooves

Picking a direction on a whim, he walked along the bank looking for his shoes, looking both in the grass and down into the crystal clear water of the river, which he noticed was flowing in the opposite direction to him. After a short while he came upon a flattened piece of grass in a vaguely human-y, Lero-y shape.

“Back where we began, Lero.” He stated, wondering what to do next. The urge to move towards the tree was still pulling at him and as he looked over at the island he realised that the river had ceased its flow. Walking back the way he had come by a few paces the river started flowing once more, again contra to his own direction of travel making it the opposite way to its previous flow “Really? I’m getting trolled by the scenery?”

The urge to get closer to the tree had become overpowering by now, but there was no way to reach it without going though the water. The river, or moat, or whatever it was, was just too wide to jump and there was nothing Lero could use to float himself over it with. He was just going to have to try to swim it.

Stopping at the water’s edge, he tentatively lifted one foot into the still water, or at least he would have if he hadn’t found his foot stopped by the surface of the river. Pulling his foot back he tried once more and again he found his foot resting on top of the water rather than passing straight through it. Pushing against the water he found that although it had a bit of give in it, and ripples moved away from his foot with every bit of extra pressure, it was fairly solid.

Looking at his foot, then over to the island, then back to his foot, Lero considered his next move. As he stood there a feminine voice drifted towards him from the island, carrying a tone much like a mother gently encouraging a small child. “Just try it, you’ll be fine.“

A quick glance over at the tree showed that it was still the sole occupant of the small island. The part of his brain that had been telling him he was safe and that everything would be alright had by now added the idea of throwing caution to the wind to its repertoire of sage advice, something Lero decide to have a crack at as he moved his other foot over to join the first on the water’s surface.

It held, he was actually standing on a river. It was one of the strangest situations he’d ever found himself in, and after arriving in world populated by magical talking ponies this was saying something. The sensation of standing on water was unreal. The closest thing his mind could come up with was standing on the softest, finest sand imaginable. His feet had sunk into the water by the tiniest amount as he had put his weight on it, but it had supported him just fine while keeping a small amount of give in it. Rainbow had once tried to describe what walking on clouds felt like for those who didn’t need cloud-walking spells, like birds and Pegasus ponies for whom it came naturally. Lero hoped that this was what it was like, as it felt wonderful.

A rebellious part of his brain very soon pointed out that throwing caution to the wind was all well and good, but pushing your luck was almost never a good idea. Therefore ‘standing on water’ was quickly replaced with ‘moving swiftly on water’.

As he reached the opposite bank he could swear he could hear soft laughter coming from all around him. Looking back at the river, a large number of ripples making their way across the surface the only testament to his frantic, and somewhat undignified, dash across its expanse, he was glad that someone had found the whole thing amusing.

Turning from the river and moving towards the tree he was struck by its familiar smell, definitely something from his past even though he couldn’t quite place it. A memory floated into his head, that of an old woman under a tree much like this one. With a tingling sensation in the back of his brain the memory became clearer; she was the old lady that lived a few doors away from Lero’s family when he’d been younger. Come Christmas time she’d take leaves and small branches from the tree and craft them into wreaths to give to the neighbours to put on their front doors. Lero would go then go door to door with her, helping her fix them to the houses of those who couldn’t do it themselves.

“A lovely memory.“ The same disembodied voice from before. “And quite telling about you as a person.”

Lero spun in place, looking around but there was still no other living soul to be seen. He wandered around the tree, looking up into its branches but he was still totally alone on the island.

“I’m glad you could join me.” The voice floated into his ears from every direction and no direction all at once. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you for a while now but this is the first chance we’ve really had.”

Like spotting the one thing you’ve been searching high and low for only to realise it’s been right in front of you the whole time, there she was. Rounding the tree’s trunk was a large snow-white unicorn, though part of Lero’s mind was particularly insistent that not only was the trunk nowhere near wide enough to hide a unicorn of her size, but that she was actually stepping out of the tree trunk itself.

As the entirety of her body came into view it became obvious from the large white wings folded up against her sides that she was an alicorn like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Unlike the princesses she seemed to lack that air of regality that followed the royal sisters wherever they went. Instead she had an air of… comfort and experience that can only be commanded by the very old or the very wise. She wore no regalia; she didn’t need to, her very being spoke of an entity of great power, one that had no interest in standing on ceremony.

Her mane and tail appeared to be made of living fire, though strangely they didn’t seem to radiate any extra light or heat as they danced in the air behind her as flames would dance from a bonfire. Her large blue eyes looked kind with a hint of mischief, but behind it all they looked a bit… harried.

“Come, sit a while, I don’t get many visitors these days.” She lifted a hoof to indicate the space behind Lero. Turning to see what she was pointing at revealed a large table made of a rich dark wood surrounded by a number of circular stools covered in what looked like cream coloured leather.

“It’s usually just the Princesses, maybe the occasional Shaman or Oracle, a few others. That old goat Star Swirl was always a hoot.” A hoof moved to cover her mouth then waved in his direction “By the way, don’t believe half what you read about him.”

She moved closer to the table. “Plus Pinkie drops in whenever she can. Mind you, sometimes it’s that jerk, Discord.” She visibly shuddered. “Urrgh, now that’s a mind I could do without seeing. Never can manage a decent manifestation while he’s around.”

This was all going way over Lero’s rather beleaguered head and the still present throbbing made her offer seem very appealing. He moved to one of the stools and sat down, finding it to be ridiculously comfortable. The alicorn trotted over to a stool across the corner of the table from him and hopped up onto it in a manner that a creature of her size had no business doing. She also had no business sitting on a stool the same size as his and still managing to be at his eye level. On the whole this was all very disconcerting.

“Sorry, it’s been quite a while since I talked to a human so I’m a bit out of practice. I’m pulling as much from your head as I can but you’re not exactly firing on all cylinders at the moment. I’m getting a whole lot of noise here.”

“So where am I” Lero looked around. The tree took the opportunity to wave its leaves around in the breeze. The effect ruined somewhat by the fact that in this apparently sealed cave there was no breeze to speak of.

“What, here, or the real world?” The alicorn smiled serenely but said nothing more.

“Real what?" That work-crew in his head was making a comeback.

“Out in the real world, well as ‘real’ as any of these worlds can be, you, my dear boy, are completely wasted.” The alicorn again gave him that serene smile again.

“…” Lero’s brain wasn’t feeling like playing this game anymore.

“Oh yes.” The smile was getting larger.” Big McIntosh carried you home and Rainbow Dash put you to bed.” The alicorn tilted her head and carried on smiling. Something about those teeth wasn’t quite right; too sharp, they hadn’t been like that a moment ago. “She’d never admit it but she’s got a wonderful heart that one. No wonder she’s one of my favourites.”

“…” Still nothing from the old gray matter.

“You’re going to be sleeping it off for a while, which gives us a little time to talk about what’s troubling you.” She leant forwards and held a glass of water out towards him. “Here, this might help.“

As Lero reached out and took the glass from her hoof he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something wrong with the way she was holding it. She hadn’t been resting it on her hoof as ponies usually did; she’d been holding it as if she had fingers. But that was definitely a hoof, no fingers there.

He looked at his own fingers holding the glass in front of him, then the glass itself. “Will it?”

“Not really. But no-one’s told your brain that so give it a go, see what happens.”

Lero knocked the fluid back in one shot. It felt like water, tasted like water. The sudden cold working its way down his throat was soothing but his headache just laughed at him, told him to try again.

“Better?”

“Not really.”

“Oh well, was worth a try.” She shrugged. Ponies, even alicorns, shouldn’t be shrugging like that. “Well we’ve not got a lot of time so we’d best get a wriggle on.”

“So what’s all this?” He waved the empty glass around to indicate their surroundings. “Where are we?”

“Somewhere we can talk.”

“So if it’s not real, this is what then, inside my head?”

“In a way, yes…” Her mane was flowing out to her left, then it decided to change its mind and started flowing to her right. “Then in another way, no. But as analogies go, it’ll do.”

Lero looked around the cave, at its curved walls and up to its highest point. The handyman in him stared working out approximate distances against the value of pi in order to obtain the volume of the cavern. The alcohol in his bloodstream told him to shut up and just accept that it was massive and leave it at that. “I just thought it’d be a little less… roomy.”

“Well it is bigger on the inside.”

Lero just glared.

“Hey, you’re the one whose mind won’t stay on track. I’m trying my best here, you’re the one with the brain leaking cultural references all over the place.” She turned away, muttering to herself “Seriously, have a hand in creating a whole new reality and still get lip from a blitzed human.”

“Speaking of which, this might help.” She leant towards him again, this time holding out a large mug of what smelt like hot black coffee.

“You sure?” he took the mug from her, noting that once again the way she was holding it looked… off. It was as if part of her hoof was actually through the handle of the mug. It was something no hoof should be able to do; a fact that had always made him wonder why Equestrian mugs even had handles in the first place.

“I’m starting to get the hang of you now so hopefully this should do the trick.”

Lero took a sip. Even if it did no good it tasted damn good. Pony coffee was good, but it just didn’t compare to human coffee. The memory of early mornings and breakfast with his family came to mind.

He looked up at the smiling alicorn. “Two sugars. How’d you know?” She just continued to smile.

Waiting for him to take a few more sips she then started to explain. “All of this.” She waved her head from side to side, using her horn to take in the whole room. “It all comes from you and what you can cope with. There‘s a lot of conditions that have to be met, a number of circumstances that have to align before we can communicate. It helps that there’s something troubling you, I can use that as a grab-hold though your filters. I’d hoped we could talk about it in a setting with a bit more stability.” She shrugged again in a rather human manner, it still looked odd. “But you take what you can get.”

Around them the walls of the cavern seemed to close in, but at the same time the volume of the room didn’t seem to get any smaller, if anything it got larger. The stone walls slowly morphed into what appeared to be miles upon miles of wooden shelving, interspersed by the occasional closed drawer and cupboard door. The shelves were crammed to bursting with books, knickknacks, more books, old childhood toys, tools and all manner of other paraphernalia. Old film reels and videotapes were mixed in with DVD cases and newer technology that Lero only vaguely recognised. The shelves continued up across the curve of the roof, each tapering onto a point to meet with the others like the segments of an orange. The contents of each top shelf soundly gave gravity the finger as they steadfastly refused to fall to the ground far below.

“It’s every piece of literature you’ve ever read, every movie or show you’ve ever seen, every conversation you’ve ever had. It’s a bit disorganized at the moment though. Must be the maid’s day off or something.”

“Look at all the books. “ Lero marveled as he turned in his seat to take them all in “This would make Twilight so...”

“Moist?” She offered.

Lero snorted even though he hadn’t meant to. “No, well yes, but no, not what I meant to say. I meant to say ‘giddy’.”

There was a tingling in his head and the thought of archers dressed in green, wearing felt hats and riding horses though a glen came to mind. As it subsided a book hurtled by his ear and thumped to a stop in the alicorn’s suddenly outstretched hoof, like a baseball into a catchers mitt. She laid the book down on the table with her magic and as she opened the pages the sound of an orchestra seeped out, the music rolling past them on its way around the room, violins and oboes competing in a grand symphony.

“Rossini.” She commented with a smile. “Nice.“

Lero moved to speak but with another tingle he was suddenly struck the by the memory of a muted orange sky and a great swarm of flying machines moving in formation, only their silhouettes visible against the heavens. Another book passed his ear, it’s journey ended like its brethren at the outstretched hoof of the waiting alicorn. This book however, had brought it’s own catchers mitt with it.

Laying the newly arrived book on top of previous arrival, and the mitt next to it on the table, she gently opened the leather bound tome. Again the sounds of a mighty orchestra escaped to prance around their ears, this time with less woodwind than before but with much more brass. The pages of the book flapped about as a bombastic anthem surged from within.

“Wagner” Lero commented, surprised by the sheer amount of force the book was bouncing around the table with.

“Indeed.” She struggled to close the book. “Got some balls to it, hasn’t it?” The music faded as the rather energetic tome finally lost its battle against the alicorn’s magic. “It’s all here, everything about humanity that shaped you as a person, for better or for worse.”

As the alicorn released her magic and relaxed back into her stool the book suddenly bounced in place, flipping itself open as the music within forced its way out, joined this time what Lero assumed must have been one heck of a fat lady. As his companion forced the pages closed again, there was the unmistakable smell of burning petrochemicals and scorched meat left lingering in the air.

Lero waved his hand in front of his face, hoping to push the offending smell away. Soon all he could smell was fresh grass and hot coffee. With a dismissive gesture of the alicorn’s hoof the two books and the catcher’s mitt sped off back to their places on the shelves. Lero watched them go and when he turned back the alicorn was happily sipping from her own mug.

“So it’s all here, even the bad stuff?” Lero asked. The alicorn looked up over the top of her mug as he continued. “To be honest there’s a whole lot about humanity I could quite happily have left behind.“

She stopped sipping “Well I for one am glad you brought this with you.” She took another sip. “Ahhh, Earl Grey. The drink of the gods.” She put the mug down on the table. “But yes, it’s all here. Gotta take the rough with the smooth I’m afraid. But just because it’s all here doesn’t mean you have to relive it all though. Now you’ve been here once it should be easier for you to find what you need later on.” She looked around. “Once you’ve had a bit of a tidy-up that is.“

“So who are you?” Lero closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose hoping it’d help. It didn’t. “Are you real or are you just a figment of my imagination?”

“Yes.” At the roll of her companion’s eyes she carried on. “I’m both real or not depending on your point of view. I’m the stuff of myths and legends. I was there at the start and I’ll be there at the end.” While she was speaking a black cloak had been developing around her, seeming to form out of thin air. Unseen hands pulled the folds of cloth over her head to hide her face, which appeared to become gaunt, her eyes sank back into her skull as her visage slipped away from view. Her body decreased in size until Lero was left sitting opposite what appeared to be a hooded humanoid, its face concealed by shadow.

“I am both ends of the journey, the snake biting it’s own tail.” Her voice came softly from under the cowl, the same gentle feminine voice as before but to Lero it now felt like it was the loudest thing he had ever heard. It was deafening in it softness.

“Many who feel my presence are overcome by fear. They see me as the predator stalking them all through their lives, not the ever-present companion that accompanies them every step of their journey.” White skeletal fingers reached from the cloak’s sleeves and moved towards the hood, developing layers of flesh and skin over the bones as they moved. By the time they started to pull the hood back they were long and delicate and most certainly those of a human woman. “They cannot see that the beginning and the end are both just different pages in the same story book; becoming overwhelmed they let their emotions rule them.”

The hood was down now and the still bone white hands moved away. Sitting across the table was now a young woman with long raven hair and the palest skin Lero had ever seen. Her black lipstick and mascara, a small black symbol etched on the outer corner of her eye, contrasted directly against her alabaster skin. With her un-naturally dark irises she looked like the subject of an old monochrome photograph. She must have been barely old enough to be out of college but something about her seemed just so… old.

At this point Lero decided to keep his mouth shut, just in case he put his foot straight in it.

“Not the best look?” She asked looking down at herself. “Ok, I might have overdone it a bit. Hang on, I’ll try again.”

Lero didn’t see how it happened, but she changed. It wasn’t as if she had one face one minute and a different one the next, it was more like her appearance was suddenly new but at the same time everything about her insisted that she’d always looked this way. It was as if her new look was managing to move in both directions in time at once, slowly rewriting history to match the here and now. Lero’s brain was starting to throb again and he decided that the safest option was just to go with it.

The long unruly black hair had smoothed itself out as well as changing to a deep red, much darker than Lero’s own. The front had shortened itself back to form a fringe just above her eyebrows. Her lips and skin-tone had also taken on a shade much closer to his and her dark cloak had shrunk down into a close-fitting black shirt, sleeves rolled up to the elbows. Leaning to the side he could see the bottom half of the cloak had recreated itself as a pair of dark blue denim jeans, a bare pair of pale pink feet protruding from the ends of the legs.

She looked over at him and smiled. “Better?”

“Yes, thanks.” This was all getting a bit too surreal for this time of... night? “So, what do I call you?”

“Ohh, names, yes, I’ve had a few. More than a few actually.” The way she wavered slightly from side to side in her seat told him that she was swinging her feet under the table. Even though she looked to be in her early thirties the impression of a young girl with too much pent up energy was hard to ignore.

“Many call me ‘The Keeper’, as in the keeper of stories. I rather like that one.” As if to illustrate her point a number of the books on the shelves around them lifted themselves from their perches and floated over their heads before heading back to their allotted spaces. Lero could swear he heard one ‘coo’ like a roosting pigeon as it settled back into place.

“Back in the olden days one particular tribe of ponies called me ‘The Fist’, not sure why though. But they were a particularly efficient bunch, almost ruthlessly so, so they must have had their reasons.” A sip of tea was accompanied by a most un-ladylike slurp.

“Others call me ‘The Mother of Equestria’, though it wasn’t just me, others helped, I just got it going.”

The coffee was doing wonders for Lero’s headache. He opened his mouth to ask a question, but she seemed to be getting into her stride so instead he sat back, content just to just listen.

“There’s an old pony legend that at the dawn of time I escaped the great fire and traveled the heavens as the penultimate of the twenty great sun-flares.” She leant back on her stool, putting one hand on her chest she threw the other hand towards the ceiling as if reciting a great speech from upon a stage “That I used my flame to create Celestia and her sun, from my embers came Luna with her moon and stars and that my core became the world beneath their hooves.”

She rested her arms back on the table, curling her hands around her mug before leaning forward again as if to share a huge secret. “All a bit grandiose if you ask me though.” She whispered.

“So did you?” He took another sip, this coffee was so good.

“What?”

“Forge the world anew?”

“Maybe.”

“Create the Princesses?”

“Might have done.”

“I’m not going to get much in the way of a straight answer am I?” This was getting painful and it wasn’t just due to the throbbing still going on behind his eyes.

“Not ‘till you sober up, no.” She leant back in her seat, giving Lero a warm smile that spread right across her face. “But then if you were sober I couldn’t talk to you. So, bit of a Catch 22 situation isn’t it?”

The smile was getting just a little too large for a human face, its corners fast approaching facial territory that only human ears had a right to be in. The view was unnerving to say the least so he looked away, busied himself studying the rich polished mahogany of the tabletop. He felt a slight tingle in his brain, somewhere under the receding headache.

“Sorry.” She said softly. He looked back and saw the smile had become a bit smaller, more natural, but it hadn’t lost any of its warmth.

A small section of Lero’s brain suddenly caught up with a part of the proceedings that he’d missed first time around. “Whoa, hang on, back up a bit. You said Pinkie Pie comes to visit?”

“Oh yes. She’s so sweet that one, in both senses of the word. She’s a little sweet on you too” The smile changed to something that definitely knew what the word ‘cheeky’ meant. “She visits when she can. She’s one of the few ponies whose brain actually has enough…” She paused as if to think of the right word.

“Holes?” Lero’s mouth provided before his brain knew what was going on.

“Flexibility” A slight giggle. “She’s surprisingly astute that one. Most people can’t handle unfiltered reality like she can, they either go mad or they just completely blank it out. Pinkie’s brain has a certain…” She rolled her hand in front of her. For someone who’d had hooves just a minute ago she certain liked using her hands. “…malleability that means she can handle it. Other ponies seem to think that her problem is that she’s not seeing the world the way they do, instead it’s really the other way around. What Pinkie’s seeing is the world the way that everyone else sees it. ”

“So how’s that a problem?” Lero drained his coffee, letting the last of it slide its way over his tongue. As he lowered the mug he was surprised to see it was actually half full again.

“Well you see the world the way you see it, Rainbow sees the world the way Rainbow sees it, Twilight sees it the way Twilight sees it.” She walked two of her fingers across the table as she spoke.

”Everyone has their own filters on reality, meaning they perceive only a very small part of the whole, just the bit that’s relevant to them. Pinkie, she sees it the way you all see it, all at once, plus however many other ponies she’s picking up on at the time.” She spread her hand wide, all five digits making contact with the table at the same time. “It’s not like she’s seeing directly through your eyes or anything, more like she’s seeing it through your own personal perception filters, layers upon layers of reality that she has to cope with. It can do funny things to a pony, that kind of truth. As I said she’s lucky she’s pliable enough to cope.”

She let out a short laugh “Well, almost. She misfires a lot of the time but it’s all good.”

“The fine line between genius and insanity?” Lero pondered.

“Indeed. Though I wouldn’t go quite that far” She looked down at her steaming beverage, seeming to find the diminished level of her tea fascinating “I do so love her visits, she’s like pure delight in pony form, the very epitome of the Element of Laughter.” She hung a small silver teaspoon from her fingers and let it swing around idly within her mug. Lero was one hundred percent certain it hadn’t been in her hand before. “But I always feel a little sad that I’m the only one who will remember them. I remember all my visits, all my visitors, every single one. I remember them all when they’re gone.”

She looked away as if attempting to hide oncoming tears; it was obvious to Lero that this was not the direction she’d wanted this little chat to go in.

“So when I wake up, am I going to have forgotten all this.” Lero put his mug down and waved his hand around, taking in the entire cave.

“The details, yes. But any feelings you take away with you from this place will stay with you.” She took another sip of her tea, which now seemed to smell of mint. “You have something weighing on your mind so come on, out with it.”

Lero folded his arms over his chest and leant back in his seat. If there was ever a piece of textbook defensive body language, this was it.

“If we’re in my head, shouldn’t you already know what’s bothering me?”

She put down her tea and reached over to pat his arm. “Indeed I do, but it’ll help you more if you come out with it yourself.“

Lero lent forward and glared at the table as if all the answers could be found just under the shine of it’s polished surface. Opening and closing his mouth a few times he finally spoke.

“I can’t hear the music.”

“Go on.” She picked up the tea again and took a sip. Camomile now.

“Ponies, they can hear the music, Whenever there’s that whole song and dance thing going on, they can hear it, even if they don’t know they can, they can. They know their words, they know their moves, it’s all just there.” Arms unfolded, he now scratched at the tabletop with one finger. “Twilight said it’s to do with the way that the magic of harmony is embedded in the fabric of Equestria.”

Another sip of tea. Orange now, maybe a hint of cinnamon.

“I don’t know, it just made me feel like...” He stopped to check the state of his fingernails. A classic stalling technique that wasn’t going to work for long. “It made me realise that no matter how much I try, no matter how long I’m here, I’m never really going to fit in. I’m never really going to belong.”

“Rainbow says it’s no big deal, says it doesn’t change a thing. Maybe she’s right. Heck, Applejack says she’d rather she didn’t keep getting dragged into the whole thing and that she’d give me her parts in a heartbeat if she could. Thing is she’s got a great voice when she stops fretting about the whole thing and lets herself enjoy it.”

He picked up a coaster that hadn’t been there when he’d put down his mug. Pinching it between his thumb and middle finger he used his forefinger to spin it around, something he had yet to see anyone else on Equestria manage to do.

“Thing is, love it or loath it, she’s actually got that option, ya’ know. Not me, I don’t get to play.” Lero knew he was starting to sound like a petulant child but now he’d started he just couldn’t stop.

“Not me, not the hairless monkey.” He flicked the coaster away, letting it skitter across the table. They both sat there for a moment, the only sounds being the sipping of tea and the tapping of a single fingernail on the tabletop before Lero spoke again.

“Twilight wants me to go with her to Canterlot in a couple of weeks, seems the university wants to talk to her about a research fellowship, which is great news. Thing is, she wants me to meet her parents while we’re there and it’s making me nervous. I mean look at me. I’m not exactly what any loving parent expects their little filly to be bringing home am I?”

He looked away as if he was ashamed of what he said next. “Only upside I can see of Rainbow not talking to her parents. At least she doesn’t have to worry about disappointing them when I turn up.”

Silence again.

“Apparently Princess Luna’s had some ideas regarding some really old amniomorphic resonance spells that’s had Twilight all in a tizzy recently. Something about turning me, or parts of me at least, into a pony for a while. Perhaps that’s something we should be looking into. When in Rome and all that. Would make it a heck of a lot easier to blend in.”

The former alicorn put down her mug and rested a hand on top of his. “The truth?” she asked, the look in her eye told him that he might not like what he was going to hear. Lero looked down at the table again before looked back at her and giving a almost imperceptible nod.

“Truthfully, you’re right. You’re never going to completely fit in, not the in way you’re talking about.” She stood up, beckoning Lero to follow as she moved away from the table. Reaching the river’s edge she walked straight out onto its surface. Tentatively Lero tested the water with his toes and, satisfied that it would hold his weight once more, he walked out and joined her in the middle of the river.

Looking down he could see both of their reflections in the water. He looked the way he always looked; maybe a little ragged around the edges but on the whole the same as he had that morning. The person next to him was a different story. While the form standing next to him stayed as a pretty young human female, her reflection seemed to be in state of flux; continually morphing between that of a red-headed human, a snow-white alicorn, a humanoid figure cloaked in black and a column of twisting fire. There were also several other shapes thrown in that his brain insisted it wasn’t yet in any fit state to deal with and probably never would be.

“Imagine this river is Equestria, every pony born here, everything item created here, every bit of magic summoned here, it’s all there within it.” Sitting down on her haunches she plunged her hand under the surface, ripples spreading out from around her wrist and lapping against their toes. Pulling her hand back out she opened it to show half a dozen ice cubes sitting in her palm. “This is them.”

She held out her other hand, resting in its palm was a single ice cube. “This is you.”

She passed it over to Lero who bounced it in his hand a few times before holding it up to his eye. “This isn’t ice.” He stated, “It’s glass made to look like an ice cube.”

“Indeed” She took it back and put it in her other hand with the ice cubes. “Even if Luna teaches Twilight how to turn you into a pony, you won’t really be a pony, you’ll be a human in pony form. It might be better than the best Halloween costume ever, but you have to remember it’s still just a costume” She laid her free hand on his chest above his heart “You were born a human and you’ll die a human. Especially in here. You shouldn’t aspire to be anything else.”

She drew her hand back. “But, you’ll have to accept that you’re not of here, not of the same source, the magic just won’t affect you the same way. It’s not built into your soul like it is theirs.”

“But magic’s been cast on me before.” Lero pointed out. “It doesn’t always work very well, but it still works.“

”Oh yes, it still affects you, but not in the same way. Much like if I were to drop all of these…” She lifted her hand to highlight the six ice cubes and one glass cube in her palm. It was impossible to tell which of them wasn’t the same as the others by sight alone. “The river will eventually destroy every single one of them over time. The ice will melt, the glass will eventually wear away. Different methods, different time scale, same ultimate result.”

Turning her hand over she let the seven cubes slide off of her palm and drop into the water below them. “Hearing the music, it’s what you’d call a…” Lero’s brain tingled and for a moment the images of Orcs and Goblins and mighty battles in dungeons big enough to fit cathedrals came to mind before she continued. “A racial trait, or a passive skill if you like.”

“So I’m out of luck then.”

“Sorry, buddy, can’t re-spec.” She stopped, tapping a finger on her chin in thought “Well, maybe you can a little. Not had a situation like this before. “She stuck out her bottom lip and blew up at her fringe which bounced around in the sudden breeze. “Ooh, not done that for a while.“

“You see, Equestria’s underlying magic doesn’t really know what to make of you. As I said, you’re not from here. You’re like a fly in the ointment, or more like a piece of grit in an oyster. Eventually something could change and it might adapt around you, or adapt you to suit it maybe.” She sighed deeply. “Then again it might do nothing at all and everything will stay as it is. No one knows for sure yet, not even me.”

She clapped a hand on his shoulder as she stood up, moving back towards the table. Lero followed, settling back onto his stool. Picking up his mug he was surprised to find it both full and piping hot. The coffee was still magnificent though the flavour had changed, slightly earthier this time.

The woman now sat opposite him sipped from her own mug. The smell of ginger made it’s way over to Lero’s nose. “Not to say you don’t have an important part to play while you’re here. You’re something that Equestria needs very badly right about now.”

Lero just raised a questioning eyebrow.

“You’re an ‘other’. a true outsider and this means you bring something with you that ponies lack; a whole new point of view. You’re like a mirror that can actually talk back. As they look at you, and in turn see how you look back at them, they’ll see something about themselves that they may have been too blind to see before, things that maybe they haven’t wanted to see.” She took another sip. “And goodness knows that they could do with a good kick in the derriere right about now.”

She pondered her mug a moment before continuing. “Ponies think that their world is so perfect, and in a way it is, maybe a little too perfect. But it’s not going to stay that way forever. Part of the problem is that at their core they’re still herd animals, even after evolution’s done its part.“ She leaned forward again and whispered conspiratorially. “I might have helped it out a bit there though…”

Another sip and she leant back with a smile that made the word ‘smug’ come to mind. “But ultimately they still have a herd mentality. They find it hard the think like the ‘other’, to put themselves in another person’s shoes, so to speak. While it’s not a major issue right now, it could cause problems later on with the likes of the griffins, the dragons, the changelings, that kind of thing.”

“So by dealing with me.“ Lero indicated towards himself. “They’re learning to deal with other non-pony races?”

“Exactly.” Her tone made Lero think he should be expecting a gold star right about now. “It had started already with Spike, but he’s too small, and he’d been raised by ponies anyway, so his impact on society was minimal. Donkeys are enough like ponies that the differences are negligible and although a number of griffins have integrated into society, the griffin race at large still remains a bit of a mystery to the common pony.”

Another sip, ginseng maybe? “But you, my boy. You are, and will continue to be, so radically different that you’ll be able to make an actual difference. Many of them don’t like change so it’s going to take a while for it all to sink in. There are a lot of prejudices and those stuffy traditionalists to get over as well but they’ll get there. Plus, with it being so all up in their faces with figuring they should treat you, they’ll have to think about how they’re treating each other while they’re at it.”

Lero’s brain worked over what she’d been saying. The caffeine in the coffee had been working it’s magic for a while now and the headache had long since passed. A thought occurred. “But wouldn’t they have eventually figured this all out on their own? I mean, They’ve got the princesses to guide them so I’m sure that even if mistakes were made it wouldn’t get too far out of hand.”

“That’s true.” She nodded, it seemed as if she had been waiting for him to start questioning her reasoning. “But look at what’s happened with humanity. You’re all the same species and on the whole you can’t even manage to get along for more than five minutes. Almost every major conflict has been brought on by two groups of people, who from an outside perspective have far more in common than they have differences, fumbling their way though a whole series of mistakes and misunderstandings which eventually escalates into unimaginable bloodshed and cruelty.”

She traced her finger round the rim of her mug, keeping her head lowered as if not wanting to look up at him at that point. “Sure, I could get involved in pony events, even the princesses could take a more ‘hooves on’ authoritative approach, but that kind of defeats the purpose of it all doesn’t it.”

She sighed a sigh that seemed as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders. Which, of course, could actually be the case. “Apart from that, Celestia doesn’t have it within her to be as harsh as she would need to be, especially with what happened with Luna all those years ago. It’d just break her heart all over again. Luna could do it but it’d eventually just drive her back over the edge, and we don’t want a repeat of Nightmare Moon any time soon.”

They sat in silence for a moment, both of them pondering their respective beverages is if the demonstration of Brownian motion demonstrated within held the secrets of the universe. After what seemed like an eternity Lero found the other redhead watching him.

“Did Rainbow ever tell you that Luna held the Element of Loyalty before her?" She asked.

Lero slowly shook his head. “No, she said the sisters had used the elements to take down Discord, but never that they had each held specific elements.”

She nodded. “Celestia had Magic, Kindness and Laughter; fits her to tee really, well when she’s not being all royal and uptight. Luna took Loyalty, Honesty and Generosity…” She moved to wipe her eyes. “I was so proud of her, they’re not the easiest of elements to handle. Not everyone appreciates honesty, especially when it’s not what they want to hear. Generosity isn’t always as clear-cut as it seems; sometimes you have to withhold from someone what they want in order for them to obtain what they really need.”

Another few sips, lapsang. The woman really liked tea it seemed. “Same with Loyalty; it takes the ultimate in loyalty to put your friend before your friendship, even if saving one means losing the other. Rainbow’s wondering why the Element of Loyalty chose her, but she’ll get it eventually, she’s already on the right path to figuring it out for herself. It’s because out of all the current element bearers, she’s the one that’ll make the hard decisions. Did she tell you about the choice Discord gave her?”

Lero nodded. “She said he had her hypnotised and gave her the choice between her friends or the whole of Cloudsdale. She chose Cloudsdale.” He cast his mind back to the uncharacteristically emotional moment in which Rainbow had told him about the whole sorry affair. “I think she’s still pretty cut up about it. She blames herself for leaving her friends out to dry while she ran off to save a bunch of random clouds that didn’t need saving.”

His companion shook her head sadly. “She shouldn’t. Not only did Discord have her hypnotised but he also gave her a no-win situation. The important thing is that she made the call and stuck with it. Lesser mares would have just curled up in ball and cried, or tried to save both and in doing so saved neither. She’ll be OK eventually, she’s tough that one.”

She reached out and put her hand over Lero’s. “Not as tough as she pretends though. You’re good for her, you should remember that.”

A quick pat and she took her hand back. “Look, I’m not going to lie to you. Life’s not going to be all sweetness and roses. Bad shit happens to good people and you’re no exception. Into every life a little rain must fall and all that”

“They don’t have that expression here.” Lero noted.

“I know. Great, isn’t it?” For a moment it looked like the smile was about to head earwards again but luckily it stopped short of looking un-natural.

“And I’m sorry that I can’t tell you why you ended up in Equestria.”

“Can’t or won’t?” Lero took a last slug of his coffee. The mug stayed empty this time.

“Would it matter?” The serene smile was back.

A pause. The bottom of the coffee mug was scrutinised like it never had been before. Literally. “Not really.”

“Good lad.” She looked around them. “But what I can tell you is that you’ve got a lot to be getting on with."

Her hand swept to indicate the shelves, so near but yet so far. A collection of small photo frames suddenly came to Lero’s attention. They hadn’t moved any closer but suddenly Lero could make out their details as if he were holding them in his hands. While there were too many to count a few caught his eye; one of himself and Twilight on a couch, the mare crying in his arms; another of Rainbow Dash saluting Spitfire, both in Wonderbolts flight suits; himself and Lyra Heartstrings being mobbed by the Cutie Mark Crusaders, the three fillies slightly older than they were now and with their cutie-marks proudly displayed on their flanks. While the images looked as static as any other photograph, Lero could swear that they were moving.

“Snapshots of the future. Full of images of sorrow, pictures of delight, the things that go to make up a life.” She held out her hand and one of the frames leapt from its perch and was suddenly in her grasp. “Well, the most likely future as of now anyway. It’s not completely set in stone you know. It’s still yours for the making.”

Passing the single frame over to Lero he gazed down at the happy scene it portrayed. It showed a large gathering outside the main farmhouse over at Sweet Apple Acres. Ponies he was now coming to regard as friends were mixed in with a number that he didn’t know, it was almost as if the whole town was there. There seemed to be a sizeable congregation of stallions, himself included, gathered around the kitchen door. It was easily the easily the largest group of equestrian males that he’d ever seen in one place and it was evident that congratulations were being doled out.

A number of young colts and fillies, none of which he recognised, were running around their ankles like overexcited children playing in a forest. The now teenage Crusaders, well on their way to full marehood, were doing their best to keep them in order, failing miserably Lero noted as a smile crept to his lips. His eyes followed the action on through the myriad of mingling ponies to another group.

Standing near the path leading up to the house a veritable herd of mares were gathered. Looking closer Lero could see almost every mare he knew; from Twilight and Rainbow, their multicoloured manes making them hard to miss; to Mrs Cake and the ever exuberant Pinkie Pie, the twins from the spa, Ditzy Doo (Lero had never felt right using her nickname even though she’d claimed a number of times she actually didn’t mind it) and Dinky, even Mayor Mare was in attendance. In the middle of the group sat Fluttershy, with an aged white rabbit resting in the mane atop her head and a large cloth bundle cradled against her chest. From within the bundle poked the face of a tiny foal, its fur the vibrant orange of a freshly pulled carrot, a small hoof waving from between the cloth as if to greet the excited faces surrounding it.

“There’s a whole lot of living to be doing.” Lero’s companion gently took the frame from his hands and as if flicking away an unwanted playing card spun it away, returning it to its rightful place. “Be a shame to miss it, don’t you agree?”

Lero looked up, ready to agree when suddenly the room became slightly darker, causing him cast about for whatever had caused the change. While there was no visible light sources within view, several of the shelves were now bathed in darkness, as if whatever unseen lamp had been previously illuminating them had been turned off by an equally unseen hand. As his eyes moved around the room a number of other shelves joined them in the shadows.

“Looks like you’ll be waking up soon.” The woman sighed. “Our time together was always going to be short, but there is always so much more to be said.”

“So, any last minute advice before I go?” He glanced about at the darkness slowly encroaching from the edge of the room. All the shelves were indistinct now, their contents hidden from view.

She tipped her head, a movement Lero had taken in this short time he had gotten to know her to mean she was taking the time to ponder her next words. “Sweetie Belle’s debut performance; I’ve always liked ‘What a wonderful world’. It has a certain melancholic happiness, don’t you think? And just because you can’t hear the songs of harmony, doesn’t mean you can’t teach the ponies of Equestria the songs you know.

Lero couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Chatting to a deity, and she tells me to crack out the Louis Armstrong.”

She joined him in his mirth. “What did you expect; the answer to life, the universe…”

“…And everything?” He finished for her. “No, I guess not.“

The darkness was making its way over the river now; the island itself would be next. He looked down at his bare feet, giving his toes a little wiggle in order to get one last feel of the soft springy grass beneath them. “Thank you.” He raised his head and looked her in the eye. “I may not remember all this, but you’ve helped. Really, you have. Letting me get it all off my chest, it’s helped a lot.

That serene smile again “Always a pleasure, never a chore.“

She leant forward, lifting her hand and holding it against Lero’s face, a thumb rubbing under his eye like a mother sweeping away a child’s tears. “One last thing though…” The darkness had encroached across most of his field of vision now and, even though she was still right in front of him, it felt as though she was suddenly much further away. Her hand, still on his cheek, felt unreal, like it was fading out of existence and he somehow knew that this could be the last time he felt another human’s touch as long as he lived.

“Don’t worry.” Her voice sounded like it was coming from deep inside his head rather then flowing from her lips. “Your first child; she’ll have her mother’s eyes.”

And she was gone.

3: The fool on the hill - Part One.

THE FOOL ON THE HILL.

Chapter published 2nd Dec 2012

"This has got to be to be one of the best days ever" Rainbow Dash cried in delight as she allowed herself to flop down onto her back, her limbs landing stretched outwards from her body in the long warm grass of a gentle hill overlooking the outskirts of Sweet Apple Acres. Her gaze lifted towards the evening sky, her eyes taking in the glorious colours of the rapidly approaching sunset. The majority of the sky was still a gentle blue a touch darker than her own fur but the western horizon was already beginning to push forth a multitude of colours, ripe with the promise that within the next hour she would be witness to an overhead display that would put her own prismatic mane to shame.

Lifting a fore-hoof and laying it across her brow she used the shade it created to better appreciate the stunning vista that Celestia’s solar body was laying out before her. A final hurrah for the day before the alicorn goddess of the sun put her heavenly companion away for the night so that her sister’s moon could have the run of the sky. I’d have never cared about the darn sunset six months ago, what’s gotten into me? she thought, idly watching a majestic glow made up of every shade of red known to ponykind gradually work it’s way across a sea of wispy altostratus clouds far out on the horizon.

From her perspective in the grass the patch of sky below the clouds was working it’s way though every cream, yellow and orange imaginable. Behind her she knew that the eastern horizon was releasing a stunning array of darker blues, ready to commence their gradual creep across the sky right above her; their mission to finally seal off the day ready for the night.

And what a day it had been. Both Lero and Rainbow had the day off so they’d woken up late and then enjoyed waking up late some more in that way that only lovers can. Then after a quick shower, followed by a longer shower in which they enjoyed waking up late in that special way all over again, and a finally a breakfast that rightfully should have been called a lunch they finally headed out into town.

After a stop at Sugarcube Corner to pick up a picnic basket that Pinkie already had prepared, and passed over with a suspiciously theatrical wink, they’d headed out to just outside town where Lero had sat under a tree and watched Rainbow put on a ‘one-pony acrobatic air-show’ as he’d taken to calling her more strenuous practice sessions.

After she’d finished her session, Lero had shown her what was in the basket. Pinkie had packed them baked goods aplenty, mainly sandwiches and cupcakes. But what caught Rainbow’s attention most, apart from the partly hidden marshmallows which she thought was an odd thing to include, was the small magically sealed flask. Lero had asked her to close her eyes and once sure that she wasn’t peeking had popped the seal on the flask and held it under her nose.

The first thing to register was the cold, which explained the magic. Twilight must have sealed the flask for him to keep it at a constant temperature until it was opened. The second thing to register was the smell, that glorious magnificent wonderful smell. Rainbow couldn’t help but open her eyes to take a look. She was right. The smell, the colour, oh boy… This was a flask of Big McIntosh’s Special Reserve Ice Cider. This stuff was rarer than earth ponies in Cloudsdale. Big Mac would only lay up a very small number of barrels each year if any at all, most of which went straight to the royal palace once ready, the few remaining being harder to get into than Fort Hocks. And here Lero was giving it to her.

Rainbow would like to say that she’d been suitably grateful and had demonstrated this in the manner of a well-bred young lady. But in reality she’d just stammered for a while until Lero had pointed out that now the cooling magic had dispelled it needed somepony to drink it up, and as he wasn’t overly fond of cider - it seemed to make him go a little green recently - maybe she should tuck in. Rainbow wanted to jump him there and then but he had a point. So she settled back into his arms and while he took time to gently stroke her mane and around her ears, she took great pleasure in enjoying her delicious gift right to the last drop.

Then she jumped him.

A couple of hours later, after they’d both had a nice ‘recovery’ nap under a tree, they’d packed up the basket and headed off to Sweet Apple Acres to return Big Mac’s flask. The human and the earth pony stallion had become good friends over the last few months. Occasionally they’d both disappear off into town for an evening, both claiming it was something called ‘guy time’ and refusing to be drawn on it any more than that. It couldn’t be anything too scandalous as they’d occasionally take Spike or Caramel with them. Twilight said she’d seen Time Turner heading off to meet them once or twice and Pinkie commented that even Mr Cake had gone with them at least once. Rarity suspected that they were just going bowling as their nights out often matched up with her father’s while Applejack (furtively) declared she wasn’t saying anything except that she was glad the boys were getting out of the house more often.

What was meant to be a quick uneventful stop off with the Apple family had turned into a pick-up hoofball game with Rainbow and Lero against Applejack and Big Mac. Lyra and Twilight had arrived late afternoon so Lyra joined Team Apple while Twilight joined Lero and Rainbow, commenting the whole time that, as an academic, she wasn’t actually the fittest pony in Equestria. However, once she’d realized that magic could be an important part of Hoofball she was quickly helping Team Lero rack up the points.

Caramel and Time Turner turned up not long after, supposedly to talk to Big Mac about the planting and harvesting schedules for the rest of the year, but Lero quickly declared it was ‘colts vs fillies’ and after a bit of bluster from both Caramel and Applejack the game was on.

After the ‘colts’ took a sound thrashing at the hoofs of the ‘fillies’ the game was called. Even without magic Lero’s throwing arm and Big Mac’s strength, along with some surprisingly cheeky tactics from Time Turner, had given them a decent chance early on. But going up against the toughest earth mare in town, both the fastest pegasus and the (possibly) most powerful unicorn in Equestria plus a martial arts master meant that they were completely outclassed. That and Caramel kept fumbling the ball whenever he got too close to AJ, which the rest of the guys seemed to find more amusing than frustrating.

After that the rest of the 'colts' had headed off to run though their schedule while Applejack had filled the picnic basket with some apples and other fruits before giving Lero his second theatrical wink of the day and sending them on their way.

Lero lead Rainbow. Lyra and Twilight around the edge of the farm, past Fluttershy’s house and out past the orchards until they’d reached an area that the Apple family used for campfires and family gatherings whenever they wanted to be away from the main house. Firewood had been carefully arranged in the firepit ready for lighting and one of Twilight’s saddlebags, a book on campfires visible though its open flap, was already present answering the question of who’d set this up for them.

A quick zap of what looked like lightening from the end of Twilight’s horn and a small flame erupted in the heart of the campfire which built up into a decent fire within minutes. Lero finished carefully threading some of the fruit onto long sticks that had also been stored in Twilight’s bag.

And so they sat for the next hour on logs positioned around the fire, chatting about nothing and everything while roasting fruit on sticks, or burning them in Twilight’s case, as well as the marshmallows that Pinkie had stuffed in the bottom of the basket. For some reason Lero kept looking nervously at the sugary gooey molten goodness of the roast marshmallows, then to his companion’s hoofs and then back again before turning a bit… green. Rainbow wasn’t sure why and he certainly wasn’t saying.

Once the food was all gone, hoofball built up one hey of an appetite, they’d all just sat back and enjoyed the fire and each other’s company. Twilight had been flicking though her book and Lero had sat behind her and started playing with her mane. Lyra seemed to find the fire fascinating and had wandered off to find some more wood with which to keep it going. Evening had started to creep up on them and Rainbow had this irresistible urge to stretch out on the warm grass and watch the clouds for the rest of the day.

Which led her nicely back to the here and now.

A sharp cry of surprise followed by gentle feminine laughter came from her right. Twisting her head she could see Lero pulling grass out from the neck of his shirt while Lyra pranced gaily away from him, giggling as she went. Rainbow watched her human lover using his fingers to scoop the last of the invading foliage from his clothing then use his hands to ruffle the back of his own hair to dislodge any errant blades, all the while glaring at their mint coloured friend with an expression of mock annoyance.

“Oh, It. Is. On!” he cried before launching himself off of the log he had been sitting upon and sprinting after the unicorn prankster. Lyra squealed like a little filly before cantering away from her pursuer, letting him get close enough to let him feel like he might have a chance of catching her but never actually close enough to touch her.

“He’s got no chance.” Twilight Sparkle commented from where she was sitting on the ground in front of Lero’s recently vacated seat. She’d had that book open in front of her for only Celestia knew how long now, but any pretence of actually reading it had been abandoned once Lero had started playing with her mane. As she turned her head so she could locate her saddlebags a long single braid held together by one of Lero’s hairbands flopped over her neck, the product of her stallion’s recent ministrations. Spotting the bag at the end of the log, Twilight levitated her book into it and stood up, shaking loose some stray grass that had had missed their target entirely and ended up scattered across the unicorn’s flank.

“Yeah, he’s got no way of catching a Still Way master” Rainbow agreed, hoof-shielded eyes still following the cavorting pair as Lyra darted back towards the decent sized semi-circle of logs they’d been previously sitting on. Once Lyra deemed that Lero had gotten quite close enough she skittered around the back of the small campfire within the focal point of the seating area. While out in the open Lyra’s superior speed had held a definite advantage but once they’d ended up back between the logs the taller biped’s extra manoeuvrability put him back on even footing so to speak.

“Oh come on, Lyra.“ Rainbow called out “Now you’re just teasing the poor guy.” Everyone present, including Lero, knew he had no chance of actually catching Lyra if she was being serious. But being serious was about the furthest thought from Lyra’s mind right now; she was in it for the chase. Well, maybe the catching too, but definitely the chase.

She’s been flirting with him something crazy lately. Rainbow thought as she watched them both dance from side to side around the campfire, the unicorn always keeping the fire directly between them until she’d managed to shuffle around to stand next to Twilight. Flicking the lavender pony’s braid with her magic prompted a startled “Hey” from her fellow unicorn, during which time Lero had already rounded the campfire and was almost upon the musician. Just as he was readying himself for his final pounce he found his path blocked by an even more startled librarian that had suddenly been levitated into his path.

“Hey, no fair using magic.” Lero laughed as he pulled himself up short so that he didn’t run into Twilight’s flank. Lyra just stuck out her tongue before trotting off a little up the hill closer to where Rainbow was laying, looking back over her shoulder and using her tongue again to make a noise that well bred young mares, especially those accomplished enough to have positions in the Royal Guard Reserves, were definitely not supposed to make.

“Oh no you didn’t!” Twilight shouted after her before both she and Lero bounded over the log they’d recently been sitting against and charged up the hill in hot pursuit. Rainbow watched two pairs of light green legs canter past her head and further up the slope, her own fore-hoof still held across her brow blocking her view of the rest of Lyra’s body. Then a single pair of legs, bare pink skin from the knee to the ankle, passed by at speed followed shortly by two pairs of light purple legs. All the while she could hear vague threats that something would be happening once a rightful apprehension took place, though what exactly this something was wasn’t being made clear. Rainbow couldn’t help but laugh. If only Lero knew that if he were to promise the right kind of punishment, preferably one that involved his fingers in contact with, well, any part of Lyra’s anatomy really, then his target would gladly cease her attempted escape and turn herself over to his custody in an instant.

The thought made her smile that, even after all these months here in Ponyville, Lero still occasionally had trouble reading, and responding to, pony body language. It was painfully obvious that Lyra was seriously into Lero, so obvious in fact it was now easier to name individuals who hadn’t noticed than those who had. Ha, short list. Probably only got two names on it. Rainbow and Twilight had both agreed to say nothing about it for now believing that, as the two of them had been spending so much time together recently on whatever this secret project they’d been working on was, the two of them would do something about it on their own soon enough.

Turning her gaze back towards the sunset Rainbow vowed that if nothing happened between her stallion and their perspective new herd member soon she’d give one, or both, of them a swift kick in the flank. Metaphorically of course though. Lyra could lay me out flat in like six different ways before I even made contact. And there was no way Rainbow was ever going to do something to harm her human lover. Well, aside from the occasional nibble maybe.

Metaphorically, huh? Yep, something’s totally gotten into me. Even my vocabulary’s improved. Rainbow thought, watching those magnificent reds continue to make their way across the underside of the clouds, vaguely considering if she should check the patrol list back at the office in the morning. That way she could find out whose patch of sky these clouds were in, probably Cloud Kicker’s, and then she could get them to leave them laid out like this tomorrow night and then she could watch the sun set behind them all over again, preferably with Lero by her side. Awesome plan, RD. Gotta see if Twilight wants to come too. As long as she doesn’t get all telescopey though. This view’s for looking at, not talking about and drawing diagrams and being all eggheady over.

Heh. A year ago I’d never have sat here thinking sunsets were pretty and stuff, let alone telling another living soul about it. The sound of Lyra taunting her pursuers drifted over the crest of the hill towards her. And I totally wouldn’t have sat here thinking about how to make some other mare as happy as I am. I’d be over there, chasing everyone about, treating the whole thing like a race and declaring myself to be the winner. She could hear the thunder of four hooves pound down the hill and past her head again followed by the noise of four more hooves and the unmistakable sound of a pair of running shoes.

While Twilight carried on down the hill after Lyra, Lero suddenly veered off towards Rainbow, twisting himself around so that in one fell motion he allowed his feet to slide forward out from under him and then come to a stop by Rainbow’s flank. While doing this he fell forward onto his hands, meaning he ended up with his face a scant hoof width from her face.

“Love you” He declared through a big grin, then leaning forward he planted a quick kiss on Rainbow’s lips before springing back onto his feet and pelting after the pair of unicorns who were currently running circles around the campfire, shouting playful insults at each other the whole time like a pair of overexcited foals.

Aaaand that’s what’s gotten into me. Rainbow grinned, fore-hoof leaving her brow to brush against her lips where Lero had planted his kiss just seconds before. A stallion that loves me, a herd that respects me; maybe that was all I ever really wanted? She moved her fore-hoof back to her brow and turned back to the sunset. Ha, could I have been anymore of a cliché. The badass attitude, the attention seeking, the dare-devil stunts, the awesome flying… Was it all just to cover up just how unwanted I really felt all my life? Rainbow wasn’t really one for soul searching but she couldn’t help but feel she was onto something here.

Life hadn’t been a whole bundle of laughs for her until relatively recently, especially after her mother had abandoned her as a foal. Her father, a surly and distant stallion who in no way could ever claim to be top-grade parenting material, had foisted her upbringing off on any mare that stuck around in his life long enough, though for the most part she’d just plain done it herself. But when she’d started developing the kind of muscle strength that could put your average earth pony to shame the rumours had started that maybe she wasn’t really her sire’s foal after all. Soon after that her standing within the local community had plummeted and she’d been pretty much left to fend for herself. Not that I cared, I was fine on my own. I didn’t need no-pony! She thought, wondering now just how true that had really been.

But flying, now that was something she could excel at, and by being the best it meant that others would praise her, even if only for a little while. The hours spent in the sky meant that she was often alone; no-one to whisper behind her back, no-one to mock her for not being blessed with the graceful curves that the other fillies her age were developing. Just her, the clouds, the sunny skies and the occasional jealous glance from her fellow flyers when she swooped past with a totally mind-blowing maneuver that they could only dream about pulling off. Hehe, yeah, I was pretty awesome. The looks on their faces a couple of years back when I bagged the Young Fliers Award. Priceless. The memory of one of the proudest moments of her life made her grin. I’m not “Rainbow Crash” anymore am I, boys? The momentary sting of recalling her old childhood nickname was quickly wiped away by the thought that those days were now long gone.

Flying was easy, landing not so much so. Flying was solo, just her and the sky. Landing meant coming back to other ponies; ponies who pointed at her and whispered nasty things behind her back. So often before she’d come in for what should have been a textbook landing and instead fear and doubt had struck her at the last second, causing her to lose concentration and screw up, usually in a painful or embarrassing way. Even long after she’d requested a transfer away from Cloudsdale and set up home over Ponyville she would still have the occasion slip up, often ending up with a face-to-ground interface problem that she’d prayed to Celestia that no other pony had witnessed.

Not recently though. Rainbow Crash doesn’t live here anymore. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d fluffed a landing, certainly not since Lero had finally taken her as his mare. Though I did fluff few while I was crushing on him like some silly filly. Especially that time he’d waved up at me from outside the spa in his new uniform. That one hurt for days.

Coming down to land meant so much more to her now, it meant being with those that loved her and accepted her, not those who mocked her and rejected her. She finally had what she had really wanted her whole life. She had true friends, she had a herd, and she had that very special somepony... someone, that made it all… all… just so right. And they all accepted her for who she really was on the inside, not who she tried to be on the outside. It was everything she’d been so afraid she might never have. Everything she’d been even more afraid that she didn’t really deserve, leaving her with the foalish fear that she’d die old and alone and, worst of all, forgotten.

And that’s when it came; the epiphany that hit her like flying into the side of a barn. The realization of what she’d been doing her whole life. She’d been so wrapped up in what other ponies thought of her, spent so much time and effort to make them think she was soooo cool and soooo awesome, that it had defined her. It had all just been just Her, Her, Her, Me, Me, Me. “I” ouch “Am” ouch “Such” ouch “A” ouch “Foal!” ouch. Beating her fore-hoof against her head to punctuate the statement.

This is why she wasn’t having any luck getting any interest from the Wonderbolts. The Wonderbolts were a team, they worked together, as in properly together. They were so perfectly synchronized that they moved like one pony in many bodies. Awesome though her own flying was, and it was radical awesome even if she did say so herself, but it was all solo flying. Whenever she went off practicing some sweet moves she always practiced alone. The concept of asking another pony to fly with her had never even entered her head. You’re just not a team player, Rainbow. That’s why you flunked out of flight school after all. Plus Dad’s birthherd wouldn’t pay for you anymore once they saw your cruddy scores in Applied flight mechanics and Synchronized flying. Heh, bringing Gilda home didn’t help much either, talk about falling in with the wrong crowd.

When she’d first come to Ponyville her concept of teamwork involved the rest of the weather team doing their thing while she took her morning nap. Then, once their work was done, she’d charge about the skies getting her work done in next to no time, spend an extra bit of time showing off about how excellent she was and then head off for her afternoon nap. Eventually she’d been promoted and teamwork was still pretty much the same deal, except now she told everyone what they were supposed to be doing before heading off for her morning nap, getting up to check they’d all done their work, doing her own and then heading off for another nap. Mass amounts of leisure punctuated with brief bouts of intense activity, that about summed up her life and that was the way she’d liked it. Except for the paperwork, by Luna’s moon how she hated the paperwork.

Then she’d become the bearer of the Element of Loyalty. Pfft, only Celestia knows why it picked me. Ironic that someone abandoned so young and then virtually ignored by her kin would end up representing loyalty. Either way, it had made her buck up and actually work in a group for once. To her surprise she actually found she’d enjoyed it. They each had their own strengths and weaknesses, but they worked so well together.

She’d be the first to admit that they drove each other up the wall at times, what friends didn’t? Fluttershy’s meekness could be infuriating at times though she’d never ever, well hardly ever, say it to the kindly pegasi’s face. Rarity’s prissiness and occasion histrionics could be a bit much and Pinkie could go a bit OTT with being… Pinkie; but she loved them like sisters. More than sisters even. Rainbow had half-sisters out there and honestly she felt so much closer to her friends than she ever had to her own family.

But it wasn’t until she’d finally fallen in love that she’d really understood that there could be such a thing as “us”, that there could be anything more important in this life than just herself. To give part of herself to others like she had with Lero, to accept a part of them into herself in return. Something Lero had quoted to Twilight a few weeks ago came to mind. He’d said “The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.” Twilight seemed to have understood what he meant but Rainbow had to admit that she’d been left a bit puzzled by it. But now the epiphany hit her again, like flying into a second barn that had been hiding within the first one.

“You” ouch “bucking” ouch “foal” ouch, stop that! She got it. Love, all love, amongst lovers, herdmates, friends, it wasn’t a competition. They accepted you for what you were and you did the same for them. It wasn’t about looking good and being the best. It was about being like one pony with many bodies, and many ponies with one body. And... and…

And now my brain’s starting to hurt. I’m not smart enough for all this. It felt like something was pushing it’s way forward from the back of her head, winding it’s way around her brain and heading down towards her mouth. Here, Rainbow, try this on for size. Her lips seemed to move of their own accord as she heard her voice softly issue forth a proclamation from the depths of her very own soul to the skies above.

“The most important part of being awesome is to be awesome with others, and to let them be awesome with you.“

Did that just come out of me? Dude, that is so deep.

It was time to let it all go, everything that had been holding her back. Just wave it all goodbye and move on as a better mare. The thought made her feel so much… lighter, it was the only way to describe it. It was like her flight magic had kicked in without her even moving a wing. Like she was now so light that anything more than a stiff breeze could blow her off the hill and down away though the fields never to be seen again. It was like the part of her that had been dragging her around all her life had just made it’s way out of her body and was just floating away.

“So long Rainbow Crash.” She stretched her forehoof out towards the sky as if to wave her old-self a fond farewell. “No hard feelings, but I’m just not you anymore.” Feeling the gentle summer breeze build up and flow around her hoof as if it had made it’s way over just to blow her unwanted ghosts away, she just couldn’t resist a parting shot. “I’m still gunna be bucking awesome though, just you watch.”

A squeal of delight from further down the hill brought her attention back to her friends still gallivanting around her and a soft popping sound told her that Twilight had decided to spice things up by bringing her teleporting into the game. Being suddenly reminded of the lavender unicorn pushed a recent memory back to the forefront of her mind. A few weeks ago Twilight had been struck by what she’d later called, in her own typically Twilighty words, “a bit of an emotional episode” which had left her sobbing like a little filly in Lero’s arms. It had started off as a casual conversation between the two of them the day after they’d all got back from their last trip to Canterlot, and had ended up with Twilight opening the floodgates on what must have been years of pent up fears and doubts and insecurities.

About time too. Rainbow thought Keeping all that bottled up was obviously gunna buck with her head. Rainbow had been in the next room at the time and had overheard most of it, something she still felt slightly guilty about. It’d never occurred to the pegasus just how similar she and her unicorn herd-mate really were. They were both the best at what they did, even if Rainbow was a bit more vocal about it, and to the public both looked like confident and respected young mares. But behind it all they both had childhoods full of isolation and loneliness, churned up by the burning need to prove themselves to others, to show that they were just as good as their peers, even if neither of them had realised it at the time.

“So Crash, if you run into ‘Old Twilight’ up there, give her a hug, she could probably use the company.” She waved her hoof slowly from side to side before dropping it back to her side

Letting the moment pass she looked back towards her friends and was just in time to see Twilight teleport directly into Lyra’s path, making the mint green unicorn rear up on to her hindlegs so that they didn’t collide. Lero saw an opening and took the chance to grab Lyra with what he’d long ago declared to be a ‘rugby tackle’, which to be honest Rainbow thought looked to her too much like a cross between a predator’s attack and some extremely exuberant foreplay to be a legitimate sporting move. Yeah, Lyra totally let him do that. Oooh, have to remember that one for later.

Rainbow laughed to herself as Lero’s momentum took the three of them tumbling down the hill in a tangled ball of limbs for a good few paces before ending up in a sweaty heap. Like she totally wasn’t hoping for that to happen either. You go, marefriend.

The panting pile of bodies had been so wrapped up in their little game that they hadn’t previously noticed Applejack come trotting up the hill towards them. She was carrying some oversized saddlebags stuffed with what looked like her fiddle case and her banjo as well as a few other bulky objects that Rainbow couldn’t identify from where she lay.

The farm pony came to a stop, looking down at the tangle of sweaty bodies laying at her feet she gave all three a suspicious look. “If ah didn’t know better, ah’d swear ah’d be needing to throw a’ bucket a’ water over y’all about now.”

Twilight was the first to speak. “Well, err, you see.” A combination of breathlessness and the embarrassed flush rapidly developing under her fur had apparently decided to abscond with her powers of speech. She looked to the other two. “Help.”

Lyra just gave Applejack a large grin while Lero’s arm lifted from where he lay sprawled across her flank gasping for breath and with a quick “I won” his arm dropped back down.

“Well that’s jus' dandy then” Applejack commented and trotted off towards the campfire where she began unpacking her bags. Glancing back over her shoulder towards Rainbow she called up the hill. “Y’allright there, Sugercube?”

Rainbow sat up, wiping the back of her fore-hoof over her eyes to wipe away any traitorous moisture that might have gathered there. Looking around she saw that her friends were pulling themselves up out of the grass, brushing dirt and grass from each other as they went, all the while Celestia’s beautiful sunset was still making it’s merry way over to the horizon. Facing back towards her earth pony friend a small smile developed on her face, not a wide grin or a giant beam but a gentle smile of pure contentment and happiness. “Yeah, AJ. I’m fine, really. Thanks.”

And she was right. Everything was just fine.

4: The fool on the hill - Part Two.

The fool on the hill - Part Two.
(And nothing else matters)
Chapter published 16th June 2013

Suddenly intrigued by the contents of Applejack’s oversized saddlebags, Rainbow Dash rolled herself off of her back and flipped herself ‘right way up’ before unfurling the wings she’d previously been laying on and taking to the air. Hovering a few feet off of the ground for a few moments to let her feathers shake out any loose bits of dirt and grass that they’d collected she then lazily drifted over to where her earth pony friend was busily unpacking.

“So what’cha up to?” she asked, trying to get a better view of whatever AJ was pulling out of her packs and carefully leaning against the log next to her. The late evening sun may have been getting ready to check out for the day but there was still plenty enough light to see by. The campfire still happily burning away on the other side of the log added an extra source of light that they’d be thankful of soon enough.

“Nothin’” Applejack said evasively, her muzzle scrunching up slightly even as the words left her lips. Rainbow couldn’t help but grin. Element of honesty or not, AJ had always been a lousy liar.

“Uh huh” Rainbow watched her friend lay out her banjo next to her fiddle case and what looked like one of Lyra’s smaller harps in a case. Or is it a lyre? Mare’s got so darn many of them now I can never tell what’s what. Several lanterns and a case that the pegasus didn't recognize were all placed by what looked like a rather old - and very large - six string guitar.

“Handy asked me ta bring y’all up some stuff from th’ farmhouse” After all these months Applejack still insisted on using her old nickname for Lero. Mainly, Rainbow was starting to believe, because the palomino pony knew that it still mildly annoyed her flighty cyan friend.

Once Rainbow’s relationship with the human had become common knowledge the earth pony had taken great delight in teasing her about it - often aided and abetted by Rarity - on a semi regular basis. She’d even started teasing Lero himself about it, which everypony within their circle of friends had taken as a good sign.

AJ was first to admit that she still didn’t really “get” Lero, but she’d always been upfront about it and while they still weren’t ‘bestest friends’ or anything, they’d developed their own strange kind of respectful working friendship anyway.

By now Lero had extracted himself from the pile of bodies a little away from them up the hill and headed over to join them, shaking himself off as he walked. Some rather over-exuberant ‘horse play’ - a strange human expression that Rainbow had to admit had been pretty accurate - had previously left Lero, Lyra and Twilight in a tangled heap in the grass. Lero may have wandered off but the two unicorns he’d left behind seemed happy to just carry on lounging about in the sun where they lay.

“AJ, your timing’s perfect.” He bent down to grab a flask of water from Twilight’s bag sitting at the end of the log. Taking a big swig he gave a deeply satisfied sigh. They’d found out long ago that Lero went through fluids far faster than the average pony so an emergency water flask had become a common addition to most of their friends saddle bags, just in case. “I really can’t thank you enough for doing this.”

“Shucks, Handy” Applejack gave that slightly embarrassed look that generally came about whenever other ponies praised her. Of all of their friends, AJ was definitely the most free with her facial expressions, something Lero had come to appreciate. “Ain’t no big thing. Reckon yer’d do th’ same fer me.”

Lero’s voice dropped down into a uncannily good imitation of the earth pony’s own Appleachian accent. “An’ Ah reckon Ah would, Miss Applejack. Cos’ that’s what we folks do.“

Applejack couldn’t help but laugh and gave him a gentle swipe on the arm with her forehoof before turning her attention back to her bag. Rainbow was glad to see them getting on so well though something occurred to her.

“So, big guy, what’s this favour you’re so grateful for?” She waved her hoof towards Lyra’s harp laid out next to AJ’s banjo. “This something to do with why you and Lyra have been hiding yourselves away the last couple of weeks?” She was very careful not to let her tone imply that he and Lyra had been engaging in anything… frisky, as that would just make him nervous and he’d go all red, which was cute and all but…

Aaah, he’s going red anyway, that’s sooo cute. Buck it, I know I said I was gunna let them work it out themselves but I just can’t resist it.

She leant forward and brought her fore-hoof up to her mouth so she could stage whisper at her lover. “Dude, you know if you wanted to bring another unicorn home you only had to say so. I mean, I may not be into mares myself but just look at those haunches.“

A snort from Applejack had Lero looking back and forth between the two of them before the farmpony picked up her fiddlecase and banjo as she made to move away.

“Sorry, Handy. Yer on yer own fer this one.“

Watching AJ trot off to the other side of the seating area, laughing to herself the whole way, Lero turned back to Rainbow.

“Err, well, you see.” The human stammered.

He was getting so red at this point that Rainbow had to take pity on him. Hilarious, he’s gunna melt in a big puddle any minute now. “Relax, Big guy. It’s cool.”

“Really?” Lero’s head turned to look at back at pair of unicorns sitting on the grass behind him. As Lyra noticed him looking and started to get up Rainbow leant forward and put her forehoof on Lero’s chin, turning his head back to look at her.

“Yeah, really.” She leant forward and laid a gentle kiss on his lips, allowing herself to enjoy the smell of his sweat. She so loved his smell, especially after he’d been exercising, and today had certainly been a day for it. Mmmm. No other stallion could ever smell as good as this. She moved forward slightly, pushing her muzzle along his cheek and towards his ear, rubbing herself against him so his sweat would get onto the short fur around her eyes.

Ponies had a much more sensitive sense of smell than humans and Rainbow had to admit she loved to get his scent onto her fur whenever she could. For her it was at least a hundred times better than those high-class perfumes snobby Canterlot ponies were always wearing. She especially loved to get it on her before she had to report for weather patrol duties, that way it was like he was with her even when they were apart all day.

Plus, if it meant that other ponies could smell his scent on her like some kind of territorial markings then all the better. She had to be careful though, Twilight had been covered in it last time Rainbow had stopped off at the Library and the urge to rub herself all over her herdmate when nopony was looking had been almost irresistible. But sooooo crazy hot.

Pulling away she rested her forehead against that of her lover’s and looked deep into his eyes. “Just, think about it.”

“Think about what?” Lyra asked as she came up beside the pair.

“Nothing.“ Rainbow said quickly, taking the unicorn’s attention upon herself before she could see the state of the human’s delightfully flushed face. “So what’s going’ on anyway? That’s a whole lot’a stuff AJ’s carted all the way up here.”

Waving her hoof at the pile of goodies AJ had left on the ground, the pegasus added. “We having a sing along or something?”

Lyra just smiled, gracing the pegasus with that enigmatic (infuriating more like it) look that always promised to speak volumes while saying nothing at all.

Glancing to the still blushing human and back again the mint green unicorn just gave a small “Maybe” before using her magic to levitate all of the cases, lanterns and other assorted goods - except for the guitar - and then wandered off with them towards the middle of the seating area.

Still watching the unicorn amble away, swaying her hips as she went, Rainbow poked her mate with a forehoof. “Come on big guy, what gives?“ She asked.

Looking away as he sat on the log behind him, Lero just grabbed the guitar from where it lay and pulled in onto his lap, his long fingers fiddling with the tuning pegs. Human body language may not have been exactly the same as it was for ponies but Rainbow knew an attack of nerves when she saw it.

“Well, you remember that night last month when I came home a bit...err, worse for wear.” Lero asked, momentarily glancing up from his instrument, nervousness evident on his face.

While her stallion’s expression was concerning, the memory of Lero’s drunken night made her laugh out loud before she could stop herself.

“Yeah, do I ever.” She put a forehoof over her mouth so Lero wouldn’t think she was laughing at him... though she was. “You were totally passed out on Big Mac’s back and about as responsive as Twi the morning after one of her allnighters of ‘crazy’ studying. It took both me and Mac to get your clothes off and wrestle you into bed.”

Lero paled at the news. “Really? Mac hadn't mention that bit.”

“Yeah. You were soooo wasted. No wonder you’ve been avoiding cider ever since.”

“Yeah, I guess I was. Sorry about that” Lero rubbed at the back of his neck in a manner that his mares by now took to be a gesture of guilty embarrassment. “Anyway, I woke up next morning feeling pretty good about everything, well everything except ever having any more cider I mean, but hardly any hangover either which surprised the life outta me.”

He'd also had the taste of his mom’s coffee in his mouth as well which he still thought was odd. He hadn’t missed human coffee much before that morning but he found that he really missed it now.

“Anyway.” He continued. “You remember how the day before I’d been all mopey about not being able to hear the music of harmony and all that?”

“Yeah, though I keep telling ya, big guy, it’s not a big deal.” Rainbow gently poked him in the arm with a forehoof. “You’re not missing that much anyway. The last time I got a solo it was just one line about jousting. I mean... jousting? It’s cool an’ all but just one line? At least AJ got something to eat out’a her line.”

“True, true.” Lero laughed which Rainbow was glad to hear. “Well anyway, when I got up that morning I had this thought that I just couldn't get out of my head. The night before might have been a bit hazy but I remembered that the Apples have a whole bunch of instruments in storage out in one of their old barns that they aren’t using. So I went to see Mac and when he said I could use any of them I picked this.”

Lero held out the old guitar so Rainbow could better see it. It was obviously ancient, maybe even as old as Ponyville itself. Years of heavy use and loving care had left its wood a deep but pitted red, the area around the sound hole especially showing years of both wear and wood polish in equal measure.

“This was Pa Apple’s. “Lero explained. “Before that it belonged to Ma Apple’s father, his mother before him and her father before her. Now it’s Big Mac’s.” The human let his fingers run along the guitar’s ‘well loved’ surface. “It was real nice of him to let me look after it, must be a whole lot of family history tied up in it.”

More than any other Equestrian race, earth ponies were generally the most adept with music. While their magic wasn’t as flashy as pegasus flight or weather magic, or as outwardly visible as unicorn magic, earth pony magic tended to manifest itself in more subtle ways. Often it was through the toil of farming, the skill of tending animals, the art of cooking and baking or the act of making music. It was no coincidence that most of Equestria’s professional musicians were earth ponies as it was rare to find an earth pony that couldn't at least get something passable out of an instrument if they tried. Even without the nimble dexterity of the pegasi’s wingtips or the delicate control of the unicorn’s telekinesis, they had the other races beat hooves down.

Letting his fingers gently strum across the strings, Lero had the old guitar let loose a pleasing sound - even to Rainbow’s untrained ears - the rumble a lot deeper and bassier than she'd expected.

“I think back home this would have been called a ‘Guitarrón Mexicano’.” Lero commented as his fingers continued to work the strings. “I learnt a bit of guitar in highschool. Like most teenage boys I figured it would help me get girls. Not that it did much good.”

Picking a few more notes, his left hand moved to the fret board as he worked though a the strings.

“I wasn't that good at it, never had the confidence to perform in public anyway, certainly not like my sister could. So not exactly the honey magnet I was hoping for.”

Moving his fingers deftly along the frets, the human played out a few chords. As he did so Rainbow moved around to his side and pushed herself up against him.

“Well it’s certainly working on me.” She laughed as she rubbed her muzzle against his shoulder.

“Thanks, honey.” Lero kissed her forehead.

“So, you still haven't said what your big idea was.” A gentle prod on the ribs told the human that she wasn’t letting him prevaricate much longer.

“Ah, yes. So after I got Mac to lend me his dad’s guitar, I asked Lyra to help me learn to play again. She’s a really good tutor you know, she seems to know just what to say to make it all seem so easy. I couldn't believe how quickly it all came back to me.”

A few more notes, a quick sequence that quickly turned into a full melody that Rainbow really felt sounded familiar. Without the magic of harmony to prompt her it took a few moments for her to recognise the tune but once she had it she found herself compelled to sing along.

When I was young I was too busy to make any friends.

Such silliness did not seem worth the effort it expends.

The words flowed from her lips, the lyrics coming surprisingly easily even though she wasn't being magically assisted as she normally would be.

But my little ponies, you opened up my eyes

And now the truth is crystal clear, as splendid summer skies.

And it's such a wonderful surprise

Rainbow remembered that little number quite well. Not long before Lero first arrived in their lives Twilight had been gifted with that song totally out of the blue. Usually it took a major event or rather special happening for the music of harmony to make itself known but in this case all Twilight had been doing was standing in the middle of the library, surrounded by her friends, as Spike finished up sending one of her friendship reports off to Princess Celestia.

“Twi taught me that one when she was explaining about how the music of harmony worked and why it won’t react with me.” Lero let the instrument fall silent as he pulled his fingers away from the strings. “She said she’d been totally overcome by the need to tell you all about the happiness you've all brought into her life and how of all the songs she’s ever been given that’s the one she likes best.”

A few more notes but no discernible tune this time.

“Ya know, big guy, you're doing a really good job of not telling me what this big idea was.” Another poke in the ribs. Maybe not quite as gentle as the last one but still not enough to hurt. “Come on, spit it out.”

“Okay, you got me. Well, the truth is.“ Lero looked away, a distinct shade of red creeping up his neck. “I want to sing you a song like Twilight did.”

Rainbow just stared, she wasn’t sure what to say to that one. He... really? Oh, wow.

Turning to find his mare’s... odd expression Lero thought he’d better clarify a few things.

“I mean, okay, I know it’s not the music of harmony or anything but where I come from a lot of songs are written to tell other people how we feel about something. We have love songs and protest songs, songs we write to make people happy or sad, others we use to tell stories. Humans have been singing to each other probably as long as we’ve been able to bang two rocks together and I... I dunno, it kinda sounds silly now.”

“No, no, it doesn't sound silly at all, not one little bit.” Rainbow quickly reassured, worried that her stallion might change his mind and give up on whatever it was he had spent all this time working on. “I’d, err, I’d love to hear you sing for me.” She’d never had a stallion go to all this effort to serenade her before so she was a little flustered herself.

Lero laughed. “Well that’s good. I’d hate to have to tell Applejack the whole thing’s off. It took ages for Mac to talk her into playing her mom’s violin for me. You should have heard her, she was all like ‘Ain’t no pony got time for that’” Lero was surprisingly good at mimicking the farmpony’s accent. “But he talked her round eventually, seems he can be quite the negotiator when he wants to be. She’s a really good player too though she keeps denying it.”

“Ah’m better when ah ain’t gotta play all fancy like.” AJ called over from where she was sitting, an old and well cared for violin held under her chin with a forehoof, a bow tucked into the crook of her other ankle. “‘Least with mah own fiddle ah can jus’ use mah teeth.” She complained.

Realising that everypony had been listening in, both human and pegasus stiffened in their seats, Rainbow’s blush quickly matching that of her lover’s.

“I think we’re about all set up here” Lyra added, as much to save the pair any more embarrassment as anything else. Motioning around her with a forehoof she indicated the lanterns which had been set equally around the outer perimeter of campfire as well her own carefully laid out instruments. “And it’ll soon be getting dark so we really should get started quickly if we can.”

Twilight had made herself at home leant against one of the logs, her saddle bags propped up within arm’s length. Looking to her pegasus herdmate while patting the ground next to her with a forehoof she indicated that this was to be the audience’s area.

After giving her stallion a quick kiss on the cheek, Rainbow got up and wandered around to where the lavender unicorn was sitting. As she sat herself down next to her herdmate she eyed up Lyra’s pair of instruments. “So is that a harp or a lyre?” She asked as she got comfortable.

“It’s a clàrsach. So yes, technically it’s a harp.” The unicorn musician answered, offering no more information than she had to, which always seemed to be the way with the enigmatic mare.

“So what’s with the drum?” Rainbow added, raising a forehoof to her forehead to block part of the light from the setting sun streaming into her face from behind the ‘performers area’.

“It’s a Bodhrán.”

“Bodwhat?” Enigmatic my plothole, she’s doing it on purpose now.

“Bodhrán.” Lyra added as her eyes followed the human picking his way carefully around her. “Believe me, you'll know it when you hear it.”

Lyra and AJ had taken up positions on either end of a long log at the very end of the semicircle of logs around the campfire, their instruments laying in the grass next to them. Lero took a seat between them as the two mares checked over their equipment.

Making himself at home, Lero settled his guitar in his lap and checked the tuning pegs, Applejack doing the same with her violin before wiggling her flank on the log, settling herself in all comfortable like. Lyra also finished up checked over her instruments before using her magic to allow just her harp to hover a scant hoofwidth or so in front of her chest.

Satisfied with their preparations, Lero checked his wristwatch before letting his arms fall around his instrument, his hands clasped between his knees in front of it as he started to speak.

“A lot of guys back home have a really hard time talking about how they feel... in here.” He lifted a hand to pat his own chest just above his heart... or at least where Rainbow thought it was. Humans probably kept theirs in a funny place. I really oughta pay more attention to Twi's lectures... They can be just so boring though.

“They’re so worried that by opening up and talking about their feelings they’ll leave themselves vulnerable to ridicule or scorn. You see, it’s not considered very manly to open yourself up like that, to leave yourself bare for other people to see the person inside the man. Every now and then though you’ll get one of these big scary beer-swillin’ hard-talkin’ lady-chasin’ manly men writing something like a song or a poem or even just a few words that just throws that whole idea out of the window and says ‘Hey, here I am and this is how I feel inside’. This is one of those songs and I hope it tells you how I feel right now.”

At that, Lero lifted his instrument into position and readied his fingers over the strings before nodding over to Lyra and then over to Applejack, both of whom nodded back and readied their own instruments.

Looking down, at the ground at his feet, at the fire, at the grass around them even, Lero looked anywhere but at his audience as he began to play, his first few notes bassy, slow and steady.

Closing her eyes. Lyra extended her arms, her forehooves just barely touching her harp. Manipulating the strings with her magic she began to play, the first few notes seemed to chase each other as they made their way across the air in front of her, join the deeper notes from Lero’s guitar.

Slowly drawing back her elbow, Applejack committed herself to the melody, her violin’s longer drawn-out notes underlying the others, working with Lero’s guitar in supporting the quickly fluctuating notes from Lyra’s harp.

For a few moments they just played together like this, Lyra’s part of the melody dancing from her instrument like a child at play, Applejack’s more methodical notes soaring with the grace of a bird’s wings. As the farm pony lifted her bow from the strings, letting her notes float away on the breeze, Lyra’s harp chased Lero’s guitar until he lifted his strumming hand, letting Lyra carry on without him. After a scant few seconds he raised his head, for the first time since the start of the performance catching Rainbow directly in the eyes. As deftly his fingers once again worked the strings he began to sing.

So close no matter how far

Couldn't be much more from the heart

Forever trusting who we are

And nothing else matters

Applejack resumed her playing, closing her own eyes as she did so. As before her violin soared, the notes rolling from her strings, weaving their way around the campfire before making their way to the enraptured audience..

Never opened myself this way

Life is ours, we live it our way

All these words I don't just say

And nothing else matters

Any nervousness Lero may have felt before had obviously long past; the strong fingers of his left hand moving with intent and purpose upon the frets, the long fingers of his right hand nimbly plucking and strumming as he sang.

Wow, this song’s cool. Rainbow found herself pondering the lyrics as Lero continued to play. It did seem like the words applied well to their life together. We do live our lives our own way, no other herd in the whole of Equestria’s like us. And we are staying true to ourselves, no matter what other dumb-ass ponies have to say about it.

Trust I seek and I find in you

Every day for us something new

Open mind for a different view

And nothing else matters

Rainbow had not thought it possible for Applejack to put any more into her playing but now her notes didn’t just soar; they banked and swooped, they dove and they weaved like a bird of prey on the hunt, each one played with strength and conviction.

Never cared for what they do

Never cared for what they know

But I know

I've never trusted any pony the way I trust Lero... or Twilight for that matter. And everyday is so different from everypony else’s. So forget those old fuddy duddy stuck-in-the-muds who can’t be happy for us. It’s their loss if they can't see how great our lives together really are.

Out of the corner of her eye Rainbow could see Lyra’s bodhr... bodre.. drum thing lift from the ground, the unicorn not even opening her eyes as her telekinesis gently moved the cumbersome instrument towards her. As her harp moved away from her chest, her delicate magic still plucking the strings as it floated in front of her, the drum settled under her left elbow. As it tucked itself against her ribs, a small... stick thing.. floated to her right forehoof.

As Lero took a breath ready to impart his next line, Lyra’s beater dealt the drum a glancing blow as her left forehoof moved inside the back of the drum to manipulate the sound. A rich deep sound rolled its way across the campfire, soon followed by many of its brothers and sisters.

So close no matter how far

Couldn't be much more from the heart

Forever trusting who we are

And nothing else matters

Guitar, violin, drum and harp all came together in a wonderful symphony, lifting Lero’s heartfelt singing to new levels.

As Rainbow’s brain swam with the music, her third epiphany of the day hit her like flying into an anvil that had been hiding inside the second barn inside of the first one.

Music is like life and life is like music! Why did I not see that before? We all have our parts to play but in the end we’re all just parts of something bigger than us. Okay, sure the guitar or the violin might still be awesome on their own but without other instruments around them they’re just not as awesome as they could be.

We all have our different parts to play; some of us are fast and darty and attention grabbing like the harp, some of us are slow and steady and happy just being support for others like the drum. But we need to be different and to use our differences to work together to make a good tune.

Family and friends, we’re just the same as the instruments in band. You couldn’t get two mares more different than me and Fluttershy but we’re just as important as each other...

At this point Rainbow’s brain went through what what Twilight would later call a ‘paradigm shift’... probably one of the most earth-shattering outlook-changing moments Rainbow would ever have in her life.

Ponies like Fluttershy.

That might be nothing at all like me.

Are just.

As important.

And special.

And wonderful.

As I am.

Whoa!

While the pegasus’ brain was still recovering a female voice suddenly joined the fray, harmonising beautifully with Lero’s deeper timbre, bringing Rainbow back to the here and now once more. It was all the more impressive (and surprising) in that it wasn't the musically accomplished Lyra who was now singing back-up, but the usually song-shy Applejack who had lent her voice to the performance.

Never cared for what they do

Never cared for what they know

But I know

What other ponies think just doesn’t matter, it’s the love and support from our friends and family that really counts, that makes things like this possible.

Leaning back into his seat, Lero concentrated on his playing, adding variations to the music as he went. As his fingers moved deftly over the strings, he poked the very tip of his tongue out of the side of his mouth. Oh that is soo adorable.

What he must have gone through to get this all set up, the hours he’d must have spent to make sure that, even without the music of harmony to carry him, everything worked out just right.

Looking to Lyra and Applejack, both mares playing their instruments with their eyes closed, bodies rhythmically swaying in time with the music, Rainbow was amazed by that fact they could be so synchronised without magical assistance. A level of synchronisation that a group such as the Wonderbolts would have to practice over and over again to equal.

What must it have been like to have to ask for help from others just to do what comes naturally to the rest of us? To open himself up to them day after day until their actions gelled together in such harmony.

Rainbow was vaguely aware that Twilight had leant away from her by this point and was rummaging in her saddlebags but thought nothing of it, so captivated was she by the performance laid out before her. When a fifth instrument joined the music, the surprised pegasus’ head turned to see Twilight holding a unicorn flute to her lips as she added a few short notes to the mix. The lavender unicorn’s addition wasn’t long, just a dozen notes or so, but it spoke volumes.

Twilight levitated her flute back into her saddle bags from whence it had came before leaning over and planting a gentle kiss on the cheek of her stunned herdmate. After a good few more bars of just the four instruments, Lero began to sing again, smiling at his two herdmates pushed up together on the log opposite him as he did so.

Never opened myself this way

Life is ours, we live it our way

All these words I don't just say

And nothing else matters

As Applejack once again supported Lero’s vocals, Twilight now added her voice, both mares careful to support and not to overpower. This was very much Lero’s song and they were there to compliment his singing, not take attention away from it. Lero’s vocals took on a more emotional edge, more energy and passion being added to his words, words that very much came from the heart.

Trust I seek and I find in you

Every day for us something new

Open mind for a different view

And nothing else matters

As Lero moved into what would be his final verse - his voice cracking and wavering with the amount of emotion he was channeling - Lyra added her voice to the mix, the last few moments of the glorious sunset at their backs crafting a lightshow of impressive proportions. The power of three supporting vocalists, four instruments and the one true love of her life rang in Rainbow’s ears, forcing their way into her head and her heart in a way that the music of harmony had never managed.

It’s the support of friends like Applejack, family like Twilight and those like Lyra - strangers who became friends and maybe still could become even more - that make life so special. My life with Lero has them to help us, and us to help them in return. That’s the magic of friendship, that’s the true music of harmony.

Never cared for what they say

Never cared for games they play

Never cared for what they do

Never cared for what they know

And I know

As Lero’s voice finally gave out with the sheer emotion he was pushing into his last few words, Applejack suddenly stood up on her hind legs, a mighty swing of her head causing her ever present stetson to fall to the floor behind her as she launched into an impromptu do-or-die violin solo. Lero stared up at her, a look of surprise flitting across his features which was soon replaced with a wide smile.

As the notes surged and powered from the farmpony’s strings Lero and Lyra swiftly altered their playing to support her, Lyra’s drum beats buoying the violin’s every peak and crescendo while her harp and Lero’s guitar kept to the background. While they played the sunset behind them let loose it’s final rays of the day before sliding the last little way over the horizon, almost as if the entire thing had been timed out that way right from the start.

How quickly the supporter can become the main player, how swiftly the others change their playing to back her up. Our roles can change but our place in other’s hearts doesn’t falter because of it.

And just as quickly as she had began her solo, it was over and the farm pony lifted her bow from her violin’s strings, allowing her offering to the music to fade away, her instrument hanging at her side as she carefully (and with a measure of embarrassment) re-took her seat.

Letting her drum gently drift to the floor, its part in the performance now over, Lyra’s harp returned to the same gently repeating melody she had started her performance with just a few short minutes before. As the unicorn kept the striking sounds continuing to roll from her instrument, Lero let his guitar sound out its last few notes, each ringing clear before fading away on the breeze.

Gently laying the instrument on the ground next to him, the human made to rise from his seat, intent on making his way over to his lead mare’s side, tears by now streaming down her face as she sat in stunned silence.

But before he was even upright he found himself forced backwards, Rainbow pushing him over the log and onto the soft grass behind it as she rushed to throw herself around him.

As they they both lay in the grass, Rainbow held Lero tightly, wrapping her forehooves around his body as she pushed her muzzle up into his neck. Trite though it was to say it. she’d never felt as close to her stallion as she did at this moment.

“I love you too.” She cried, not caring that the others would be able to see her tears. “I love you and that’s all that matters.”

And she was right, what else really mattered?

******************************

Applejack and Lyra looked down at the two lovebirds from where they still sat perched on their log. As the minty musician let her final notes ring out Twilight came over to join them, standing in silence as they watched the usually ‘outward displays of affection’ shy pegasus kiss her man’s face all over, again and again and again.

Applejack finally broke the silence.

“So, Ah think that went well.”

As Twilight snorted behind her, Lyra couldn't resist teasing the farmpony.

“Yes, Miss ‘ain’t no pony got time for that’. Quite the... exuberant performance you gave there. And here I thought you were so dead set against the violin solo ending.”

AJ just opened and closed her mouth a few times while she struggled to come up with a good retort, finally setting on a simple “Oh, shuddup you.”

With that the three mares turned their attention back to the floor show which by now was getting quite... passionate..

“So, yeah, ya’know, we gots ah family reunion coming up soon.” Applejack added, trying to tear her eyes away from what Rainbow was doing to her stallion’s chest. “Ah think Ah might actually enjoy singin’ this time.”

Twilight patted her on the shoulder, twisting her own head to one side in order to to get a better view.

“I’m sure it'll go great, you’ll see, nothing to worry about.” She assured her friend. “I’ll bet you’ll bring the house down.”

Author's Note

Disclaimer: I didn't write "Nothing Else Matters" (that'd be Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield) and I certainly don't own it. Maybe Metallica... could be Elektra... I just don't know.

I do know that Pepsico own both Doritos and Lays though.

5: Just-a good ol' boys, never meanin' no harm - by DJ-Pon3FTW & The Quiet Man

Just-a good ol' boys, never meanin' no harm by DJ-Pon3FTW & The Quiet Man
Chapter published 2nd August 2013

********************

Big MacIntosh lay in his bed, listening to the silence that permeated his room at Sweet Apple Acres. For not the first time that night he rolled onto his side to take a long hard look at the clock on his bedside table.

Ten minutes to midnight.

Nodding to himself as he slowly rolled out of bed, the large stallion gingerly crossed the room - mindful of the squeaky floorboard third from the left wall - carefully opened his door and ever-so-quietly made his way down the hall to the stairs.

Straining his ears as he passed first Applebloom's room, then Granny Smith's, he clearly heard their loud, undisturbed snores. He couldn’t resist a small smirk as he walked on by though in truth he wasn't terribly worried about getting caught by either the youngest or oldest of the farmhouse’s inhabitants.

As he made his way down the stairs, he paused for a moment at a picture of his Ma and Pa that was hanging on the stairway wall. Their smiles in the old photo seemed to always reach out to the draft pony as he went by, their simple joy at living ‘the good life’ etched on their faces catching at his eye and tugging at his heart with every passing.

Nodding in silent acknowledgement to the image of his long-departed parents, Mac hurried the rest of way down the stairs before crossing the living room and quietly slipping out of the house, gently closing the front door behind him as he left.

Standing alone on the front porch, nothing but a dark night laid out in front of him and a sky full of stars above him, Big Mac smiled. He had a good feeling about tonight.

"Who knows, might just get it right this time!" the large draft-pony mumbled to himself as he trotted away from the house with a spring in his step before disappearing into the tree line.

**************

Crickets chirped a subdued and earthly melody as Applejack trotted swiftly and with care through the trees. The only reason she was even out here, picking her way through her orchards in the dead of night to said midnight melody, was because she was tracking somepony.

Her big galoot of a brother, MacIntosh Apple.

Not ten minutes ago, she had been resting comfortably in her bed, tucked in snug as a bug in a rug under fresh clean sheets, right on the cusp of falling into a blissful sleep, when a sound that had become annoyingly familiar over the last few weeks reached her ears.

The barely perceptible sound of the front door being gently eased open before being quietly closed again.

She’d grimaced as she’d thrown off the sheets she’d been resting under all comfortable like and grabbed her trusty old hat. This was the third week that she had heard this sound in the dead of the night, and she was about to get down to the bottom of why.

At first, she had taken it as nothing more than a few closely spaced “boy’s nights out” with Mister Handy and a few other stallions. The intoxicated state that Mac had come home in a few of those times, as well as finding a hungover human on the couch one morning, had only helped to reinforce that notion.

However, the more she thought about it, the more she figured that there was something off about the whole thing. Normally, Mac would let either her or Granny know when he was going out of an evening instead of just traipsing off into the night. For some reason she couldn’t help but feel like Mac was hiding something even though she couldn't quite put a hoof on what he might have done to make her think that he was... apart from repeatedly sneaking off alone into the night all unannounced that was.

As she’d grabbed one of the old oil lanterns and quietly headed out the door, she’d muttered to herself as she fiddled and fussed with the lamp’s igniter “If’n he gits Mister Handy all plastered again, Ah might jest have ta walk th’ both of ‘em back ta Rainbow jest ta see th’ look on that mare's face.”

Following the winding tracks of her brother’s hoofprints through many of the different parts of the orchard, passing the Fujis, the Golden Delicious, the Granny Smiths, the Galas and even skirting the edge of the Zap Apple grove, Applejack finally came upon a sight that few outside of the Apple family really knew about: “The Titan.”

The tallest and oldest tree anywhere in Sweet Apple Acres’ orchard towered above her head, its branches reaching out so far that it was easy to tell yourself that they might go on forever. When a freak storm had escaped from the Everfree Forest back in Applejack’s great grandpappy's time it had either blown over or badly damaged almost every tree that the fledgling Sweet Apple Acres had painstakingly cultivated up to that point as well as destroying the Apple’s first humble farmhouse.

But amidst the wreckage and destruction had stood ‘Titan’ - as great grandpappy had later named it - the Red Delicious tree standing tall and proud, weathering the worst that the Everfree could throw at it, totally unyielding in its refusal to lay down and die like its ill fated brethren. Titan hadn’t given up that night, and neither did the Apple Clan, whatever life threw their way they’d face it head on just as they always did. They’d regrouped, rebuilt and came back stronger than ever. It was just the Apple Family way.

Even today, all these decades later, the Apple family looked to this tree as a source of inspiration, an unwavering sign of resilience and strength... and also as a great place for a sly afternoon nap.

“Ol’ Titan? Now why would he-” Applejack’s unfinished question was left hanging in the air as she looked down at the base of the tree to find not one, but two sets of hoofprints. Well, only one was technically a set of hoofprints. The other set was unmistakably non-pony footprints.

So, that was one question answered.

“Well, well, well... what are y’all up t’now, Mister Handy?” Applejack asked herself quietly.

“I suppose we’ll both find that out when we find the end of these tracks.” A silvery voice came floating out of the darkness over her right shoulder, causing the cowpony to whirl around and draw her hoof back for a punch she prayed to Celestia she wouldn't need.

However, the sight of the pony who owned said voice calmly walking out of the shadows and into the flickering bowl of light cast from her oil lamp made Applejack freeze.

“Lyra?! What ‘n tarnation are y’all doin’ out here?!” Applejack hissed as she lowered her hoof, suddenly very glad she hadn’t actually taken a swing at the unicorn. The earth pony was under absolutely no illusions about her chances should she ever go up against a Still Way Grandmaster... and spending the rest of the night laid out on her flank in her own darn orchard would just be embarrassing.

Lyra just shrugged and gave Applejack a smirk, her eyes moving away from Applejack and down to the prints at her hooves before following the trail off into the darkness.

“Just out for a walk.”

“In th’ middle of th’ night? C’mon sugarcube, Ah ain’t buyin’ that one lil’ bit.”

At this, Lyra just shrugged again, her almost legendary quirkiness manifesting as she started to follow the two sets of tracks as they headed away from the large apple tree. Applejack just shook her head, falling into step beside the unicorn as they both silently followed the tracks towards the outskirts of the orchards.

For a good while, neither mare said anything as they walked through the gloom. They both knew that if Lero had met up with Big Mac then there were no worries of the human being jumped, attacked or otherwise waylaid in any nefarious manner. That particular concern quelled, Applejack became curious as to why Lyra was following Lero around a dark farm in the middle of the night. Being the up-front mare that she was, Applejack didn't see fit to not satisfy her curiosity.

“So, y’all followed Mister Handy out here?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, Fingers. Yes, pretty much. I was heading back to Bonnie’s place when I just happened to see him sneaking out of his house. Didn’t want him to have to tangle with anypony who thought they might take their chances if they caught him out alone. I wouldn’t want to be the one who’d have to give that news to Rainbow either so I figured I’d keep an eye on him. That... and I’m curious to see what he’s up to at this time of the night.”

Applejack nodded. “Sounds ‘bout right.”

“Yeah, so what about you? Sorry, but you don’t strike me as the type to take long walks in the wee small hours of the night.” Lyra said with a chuckle.

“Ah’m jus’ tryin’ t’ figure out what that fool brother ah mine's up t’ now.”

Lyra just nodded as she kept on following the hoof(and foot)prints, the trail in front of them now illuminated by the glow from both Applejack’s lantern and Lyra’s horn. It was after several more minutes of following the tracks as they crested a small hill that Applejack’s concentration was abruptly broken by Lyra's voice.

“Hey, Applejack, I think we found them.”

Looking over in the direction that Lyra indicated, Applejack could see one of the many old barns that the Apple family didn’t use any more. What’s more, this one had lights coming from inside it.

“Ah’d say y’all’re right. Now, let's see what we got here."

And with that, the two mares started trotting all extra sneaky-like towards the barn and its mysterious goings on.

*******************

Big Mac looked over at Lero as the human held the clear jar in his hands up to the closest lantern, turning it left and right within the feeble light before bringing the container to his nose and giving it a long sniff.

“I don’t know big fella... I feel like there’s something missing from this. I know we haven’t missed any of the steps, at least not from what your Pa’s journal said and from what I remember about distilling back on Earth... but I dunno, I just feel like this could be better.”

“Never satisfied are ya?” Big Mac snorted as he nudged another mason jar under the thin trickle of clear liquid that was coming out of the bubbling still behind his bipedal friend.

Lero gave Big Mac a sidelong glance before bringing the jar to his lips and taking a tentative swig of the contents, swishing the liquid around his mouth before swallowing it. Sucking air in between his teeth he turned around and shook his head, partly in exasperation and partly to shake off the lingering kick he’d just taken to the tastebuds.

“Whew! May not be quite right just yet, but I’ll tell you one thing... this, my friend, is some stout hooch!”

Lero offered the jar over to Mac who in turn took a swig. The draft pony’s face scrunched up into various expressions, many of which would have half the town rolling on the ground laughing their plots off if they could see him now.

“Eeyup! It’s got bite.” He wheezed, one eye twitching as he subconsciously wiggled a single hind leg around in the air behind him. “We get this stuff ‘right’ like ya keep sayin’, an' Ah bet we’d win th’ ‘shine run hooves an’ hands down!”

"Maybe." Lero said, sitting down on a nearby crate as he absently rubbed at the back of his head, causing his lengthy ponytail to flip about as he considered their options. "I still don't know how well it'll come across. After all, I don't know how the elders you told me about will be judging it."

"Well, seemed pretty straight forward in th’ book. They wan' it t' take their breath away an' still be drinkable." Mac said taking another, smaller, swig before continuing. "After all, they say the original moonshine was-"

Anything Mac was about to say next got cut off as the door to the barn was suddenly wrenched open to reveal a rather terse looking Applejack glaring at them from the darkness beyond the doorway. Upon seeing the setup within the barn though, her expression rapidly shifted from terse, to infuriated, to just downright livid.

"Y'all two wanna explain jus' exactly what's a-goin' on here?!" She growled.

Lero had once told Big Mac about the phrase "deer in the headlights" and if the farmpony wasn’t mistaken, that’s exactly how he felt at this particular moment in time. Moving just his eyes - he daren’t move anything else - to take in his partner in crime he wasn’t all surprised to see the startled human in exactly the same state.

While both males stood stock-still and afraid to move - maybe they were hoping that if they didn’t so much as twitch then the scary monster at the door wouldn’t be able to spot them - Lyra walked into the barn as though nothing was amiss.

"Hey Fingers. What's up?"

"Uhh..." Was all Lero got out before Applejack went off on the two of them.

"Oh Ah'll tell ya what's up here, Lyra! These two idjits are makin' moonshine!"

Instead of the reaction Applejack was expecting, which was to say, a reprimand, she heard a short chuckle.

"Moonshine, huh? Last time I heard anything about moonshine was in guard training. My instructor said it was super illegal but that he could tell us, from personal experience, it was unlike anything else you'll ever drink. Apparently it'll put you on your flank faster than you would believe." Lyra said, nonchalantly switching out the mason jar under the still’s slow but steady stream with her magic as she made her way around the setup, appraising every horn-width of the boys’ handiwork with a critical eye.

"Wha- ya know what, never mind! Back t' yew two! MacIntosh Apple, Ah'm disappointed in ya! We done been over this already; moonshinin's all types ah illegal an' th’ run's far an' away too dangerous fer Mister Handy! Speakin' ah which... Ah know mah brother didn't get this fool idea back in his head all by his lonesome now, did he?"

As Applejack continued to give the two stallions in the room the flank-chewing of a lifetime, Lyra couldn't help but giggle a little at their plight. Her attention returning to the spigot, the unicorn noticed that the clear liquid had ceased flowing, leaving an almost half-full jar of illicit hooch.

Glancing back and forth between the forbidden beverage and Applejack for a moment, Lyra shrugged, lifted the glass container with her magic and pulled it towards herself while nopony was watching. Holding it close to her muzzle, she peered into the jar and tentatively took a sniff. She gave a little snort as the vapors burned, but left her curious, as once the burn had resided, there was the faintest hint of-

"Apples...?" She glanced up at Big Mac and gave another short chuckle. "Figures."

With that, she furtively brought the jar to her lips, took a small sip and promptly froze. The taste could only be described as pure fire with hints of apple and grains that danced together to make a flavor unlike anything she'd ever tried before.

And quite honestly, she liked it.

Taking another, more generous sip, Lyra let the moonshine swish and swirl around in her mouth for a bit before swallowing, leaving several more notes and flavors behind. She had to give it to the boys, they were certainly onto something.

She was broken out of her reverie by Applejack, who was still giving the two amateur moonshiners an earful... or three.

"Hay, Ah've got half a mind t'let Lyra bust tha both of ya!"

"Hey Appleja-"

"What with her knowin' th’ two of ya, she may let y'all off easy, but-"

"Applejack!" Lyra tried again, this time with a bit more volume to catch the angry Apple mare's attention. Snapped out of her tirade, Applejack looked over to the mint green unicorn, confusion written on her features.

"Yea, Lyra?"

"You need to try this."

To say that Applejack's jaw nearly hit the floor would be a quaint understatement. She looked at the other mare in a state of shock. The very LAST thing she was expecting to hear from a guard member, auxiliary or not, was that she should try one of the most illegal substances in Equestria.

"Say what?!!" Applejack all but shouted.

Lyra took another sip before replying.

"You need to try this. It's actually pretty good."

Now, Lyra had not only Applejack, but also Lero and Big Mac staring at her with matching expressions of utter shock plastered across their faces.

"Y'all're meanin' to tell me that yer ain't gonna do anythin' about this?"

Lyra cocked her head to the side a bit at Applejack's remark. "Like what? Arrest them? Nah. It would be more trouble than it’s worth. And they’d just get off with a slap on the hoof and a stern warning anyways."

For a while, nopony spoke or moved. Applejack, Big Mac and Lero just traded glances between each other and the mint green unicorn.

Finally, as she let out a defeated sigh, Applejack walked over to Lyra and held out a hoof.

"Alright, let's see what we got here."

Admittedly, Applejack could use a drink right about now anyways.

Taking the glassware from Lyra, the palomino pony scrutinised the moonshine briefly before tipping the jar back and taking a big gulp before anyone could even open their mouth to advise against it.

Applejack's eyes suddenly flew open as the moonshine burned its way down her throat, forcing the mare to fight the urge to cough. It took almost a full minute of wincing, winking and walking around in circles for the cowgirl to regain her composure, and when she eventually managed it, she just stood in the middle of the barn, her attention flicking from the jar to Lyra, to Lero and then back to the jar again.

After a few more seconds of what sounded much like growling, Applejack returned to letting rip with her honest opinion on this darn-foolish attempt at cooking up a batch of the nation’s most infamous liquor as she finally blinked the last of the tears from her eyes.

"Whoo doggie! That's some bad-ass firewater fer sure!"

"Not bad though, is it? Try just sipping it." Lyra said as Lero and Big Mac visibly relaxed, if only a little. They weren’t out of the woods yet but at least the immediate danger of an undesired gelding seemed to have passed.

Taking Lyra's advice, Applejack took a more reserved sip from the jar and seemed to "chew" on the alcohol before she swallowed. Her eyes conveyed her curiosity and bewilderment before she looked back at the pair of fools.

"Ah'll admit, this is some fine hooch. Maybe y'all ain't complete amateurs after all. Still, there ain't no way they'd let Mister Handy run cuz he ain't no pony. An' there's no way Ah'll let either of ya run cuz of how dangerous it is. Hay, Rainbow'd probably agree with me!"

"Actually..." Lero started. "I've been talking to Rainbow about it. She thinks it's a cool idea. And as for the whole 'not being a pony' thing, I don't technically fall foul of any of the prohibitions so I should be able to run."

"Y'all tell'er how dangerous it is?” Applejack asked before another, more troubling thought entered her mind. “Or for that matter, that Honeydew and her bunch might have kinfolk enterin'? Celestia knows if they do an’ they catch wind yer running they'll try t'get one’a 'em t'put yer in th’ hospital... or worse."

Much to Applejack's chagrin, Mac was the next one to speak up. She still wasn’t one hundred percent sure if Mister Handy was a good influence on her kinfolk or a bad one.

"Actually sis, fer th’ next three'r four years, they ain't gonna be there. In fact, there ain’t gonna be many of the Honey clan there at all."

Applejack gave her brother a dead stare over the top of the mason jar before she took another sip, letting the ‘shine roll around her tongue before she asked. "An' jest how the hay do y’all know that?"

"Brae's side of the family still runs. Said last year there was some sorta fight started cuz’a ah griffin bein’ there supportin' his stallion. Seems Honeydew's kinfolks was in on th’ whole thing no less. Elders done banned 'em cuz ah how they all acted. Said that they were a disgrace an’ it jus’ weren’t the Earth pony way. Then they done told them that they weren’t to come back fer a few years and kicked them out’a th’ area."

After setting the jar down, Applejack sighed before facehoofing lightly in frustration,

"Guess tha apple don't fall far from th’ tree with them do it?"

She gave pause for a second before looking up at her brother and Lero.

"Y'all ain't gonna let up, are ya? Y'all got yer fool heads set on runnin'... don'tcha?"

Matching nods came from the boys.

“Nothin’ I say is gunna change yer minds, is it?”

The pair of shaking heads made Applejack deflate slightly. If it was one thing she knew about her brother, it's that he had the same stubborn streak as she did. If any of the Apple siblings set their mind to something then, by Celestia, they did it. It was a trait they all got from their Pa. Sometimes, it wasn’t necessarily a good thing and it looked like Mister Handy was pretty much the same way. Even though he still confused the Apple mare on a few occasions, she would swear up and down that when it came right down to it he had an earth pony's heart in that funny upright chest of his.

Giving one last exasperated sigh, Applejack finally relented.

"Alright... Y'all can try ta enter the run, jus’ don't 'spect me t' be happy about it though! And y'all can be sure ah this...” She fixed the idiot twins with her best ‘Granny style’ stink-eye. “Ah'm comin' with ya!"

Big Mac and Lero both grinned large style. It wasn't until a voice they'd nearly forgotten about chimed in that they remembered the mint green unicorn who was now poking around the still again.

"So, Fingers, is what you've got here the final product?"

Looking over to Lyra, Lero shrugged, just glad so far that he and Mac had come out with both their plans and their distilling equipment - and their manhoods - intact.

"Not exactly... There's something that's just not quite right about it. Can't put my finger on what it is though. Mac says we've about got it, but I don't know..."

"It's like one of the flavors just isn't falling into place, right?"

Lero nodded. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

With that, Lyra picked up a full jar of the moonshine in her magic as she gave the human a mischievous grin.

"What if I told you I knew somepony who could tell you exactly what this needs?"

Big Mac and Applejack gave Lyra the same look Lero did: it was generally known as ‘shocked’ though many were known to refer to it as ‘you what?’.

"I'd say let's ask them as soon as we can!" The human blurted, holding his hands out towards the still floating jar of illicit hooch.

With a chuckle, Lyra levitated the jar over to Lero’s waiting grasp.

"Then let’s go. After all, she should be getting up about now."

As Lyra turned and walked out of the barn, the others trailing along behind her, Applejack, Lero and Big Mac all shared a look of confusion before they simultaneously asked "She?".

******************

"Pinkie Pie? Really?" Lero asked nervously (though he would deny it) as they approached the back door of the town’s premiere bakery, Sugar Cube Corner. Though Pinkie had been nothing but friendly to Lero, her hyper nature had a tendency to leave the human a bit... disoriented.

"Yea! Pinkie's a pretty talented pony. Think about it, first time you tried the cupcakes from Sugar Cube Corner, what did you think of them?"

"That they were the best cupcakes I'd ever had in my life. Why?"

Lyra gave the group a lopsided grin as she stopped by the door.

"Because according to Bon Bon there was a time when they weren't that good. Don't get me wrong, the Cakes are excellent bakers in their own right, always have been, but once Pinkie added a little sprinkle of something or another to their mix... well, those cupcakes became what they are today - Divine. She just knows how to make things like this beyond ‘just good’. Probably some sort of earth pony magic that a unicorn like me could never touch."

"Aww, don't be so sad Lyra! Here, have a cookie!"

"Oh, hey Pinkie." Lyra said nonchalantly as she brought the cookie that mysteriously seemed to have magically appeared in her right hoof up to her mouth.

The reaction Lyra’s three companions all gave to the pink party pony's sudden appearance however was a little less nonchalant and was in reality more akin to nearly jumping out of their respective skins.

"Gah!!"

"Whoa nelly!!"

"What'n'tarnation?!"

Lyra gave the trio an amused grin before she turned her attention back to the bouncing earth pony.

"Hey Pinkie, we've got something for you to try. It's not tasting quite right and we need to-"

"Brown sugar!" Pinkie sniffed, as she peered deep into the mason jar of moonshine. So deep in fact that she seemed to have at least three quarters of her head inside the jar.

Once again, Lero jumped as he quickly looked down to his hand where only moments before, the jar Pinkie was holding in her forehooves had been.

Now, in the jar's place, was a cookie. Large, probably chocolate chip, definitely a cookie.

"How did she..?"

"It's best ya don't ask when it comes t' Pinkie Pie. Nopony knows!" Applejack said as she herself munched on a cookie. Raisin and oatmeal, still warm and just the right texture.

"Yup! Definitely brown sugar! That's what it needs!" Pinkie said, smacking her lips together as she bounced over to Lero and gave him back the jar. “Not too light or it’ll be too subtle and you’ll lose it in the kick, but not too dark either or it’ll overpower the apples.”

Pinkie’s bouncing momentarily ceased as her extraordinarily flexible brain worked through all the possible taste combinations. When it came to choosing the right ingredients, baking (and brewing) was a serious business.

“You could try heating the sugar first to release a bit more of the flavour but careful you don't scorch it or it’ll just taste all ‘blurgh’. You could also try just a touch of cinnamon if you wanted an ‘ummm’, or maybe a dollop of honey if you wanted an ‘aah’... but me, I’d go with a touch of peach for that extra ‘wahwahwah’ taste. Oooh!! When you get done, be sure to bring me some so I can have another taste! That's some tootin’ly good moon-"

Pinkie was cut off as Lyra's horn suddenly lit up, sealing the earth pony’s lips shut.

"Pinkie, you know what this is, right?"

The pink pony nodded quickly.

"Then you know that it's technically illegal, don't you?"

Another nod confirmed that she did indeed understand the highly illegal nature of their conversational topic.

"Good, thing is we need you to keep this a secret. Okay?"

As Lyra relaxed her magical grip, Pinkie nodded... and nodded.. and nodded. Lero was starting to wonder how on Earth she kept her head attached.

"Okie Dokie Lokie! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"

Lero was still stunned but smiled all the same.

"Thanks Pinkie. I owe ya one." He said, reaching over and scratching her behind the ears.

"Hehe, that tickles! Anyways, no problem and good luck at the you-know-where with the you-know-who and the you-know-what!" The stage-whispered support was accompanied by a large and equally theatrical wink.

"Wha-" this time, Lero just stopped and shook his head in bewilderment. "I give up!" Lero said with a chuckle as he took a step back.

"Well, now ya know what it needs. Think we can get it right tomorrow?" Mac asked, glancing at the cookie in his own hoof with slight trepidation. He’d never been overly fond of hazelnuts.

"I think so, especially with the expert advice." Lero said, gesturing towards Pinkie.

"Mind if I join you tomorrow? I'd like to see this myself." Lyra asked with her ever-present air of cryptic humor.

"Sure thing, Horny." Lero said with a chuckle.

"Ah'm comin' too. If'n it winds up bein' better than earlier then y'all'll probably sweep the run! ... If they let y’all run that is."

Lero nodded as he stretched, letting out a big yawn. As he looked at his Wonderbolts watch, his eyes went wide.

“Ay-ay-ay!! How did it get so late... er, early?!”

Lyra chuckled “Well, you did leave your house around midnight... The walk to and from Sweet Apple Acres takes a while and our... activities, shall we say?, did span a good few hours.

As Big Mac yawned as well, everypony else laughed (and yawned) and unanimously decided to head on home and meet up that next day.

As the group parted ways, Lyra followed Lero towards his house on Zweibrücker Street, striking up a conversation with him as they went.

"So, Fingers, what’s got you stuck on this moonshining business?"

Lero looked down at her, giving a small shrug and a goofy grin as he finally started to nibble on the cookie Pinkie had mysteriously given him.

"Well, it's one of those weird parallels with this world and my old one. Moonshine is something of a human tradition too, though its origins are definitely different."

This intrigued Lyra. She had heard from Rainbow and Twilight that there seemed to be a lot of things that were oddly similar between the human world and Equestria. Names, historical events, locations, even some cultural practices in certain regions. It made the human seem more and more interesting to Lyra as she came to know him better.

"So how did moonshining start where you came from?"

"Well, it all really started shortly after America, one of the bigger nations of my world, became its own independent country. The first president, that’s what the US calls its leader, put a heavy tax on alcohol which pissed a lot of people off and sparked a movement called ‘The Whiskey Rebellion’. After that-"

Lyra listened to Lero as they walked as he told her about how settler's families had made their own hooch, despite it being illegal, how it became part of an entire culture for that period, how alcohol was banned entirely during a time called 'prohibition' and how, despite that prohibition being first enforced, then lifted, moonshine stayed alive and illegal. Even how to his last days on his world, there were still people making moonshine despite the increasing opposition to it by the nation's government. It was a tale worthy of the history books from which he had learnt it and an in-depth (though still attention-grabbing) telling worthy of a professional historian.

"So when you heard we ponies had a similar tradition, you figured you'd try your hand at it?" Lyra asked as they reached the front door of his house.

"Pretty much. I guess it still has that old-world outlaw charm to it even though I'm in a completely different time and place." Lero said with a wistful smile.

Smiling back at him, Lyra shook her head slightly. "Just when I think I've got you figured out, Fingers, you surprise me."

"I could say the same about you, Horny. Thanks for not busting us back there." The two of them shared a small laugh before Lero got down on a knee and offered up a fist.

"No problem." Lyra said, bumping the proffered fist with a hoof. "Now, I'm going home to get some sleep. See ya tomorrow. "

"See ya tomorrow... Well, later today I guess." Lero said before he quietly opened his door and slid into his house.

As he was closing the door behind himself, he could have sworn he heard Lyra's fading voice say "Three - two -".

"See ya tomorrow?" a tired, but playful voice suddenly floated out of the darkness on the human’s left hand side.

Whirling around he found his rainbow-maned mate walking towards him from their bedroom, a saucy expression making its way across her face despite her obviously tired eyes and the worst case of bed-mane he’d ever seen.

"H-Hey, Rainbow." He stammered, the slightest hint of worry in his voice.

As she reached him, Rainbow stood on her hind legs and set her forehooves on his shoulders so she could look him straight in the eyes.

"What's going on tomorrow? Got a hot date for us?"

Not hearing any accusations of wrongdoing in her tone, Lero relaxed.

"Ok, you remember how I told you Big Mac and I are planning on entering The Great Apploosian Moonshine Run?"

Rainbow nodded, the oddly playful expression never leaving her face.

"Well, I guess Applejack heard him sneaking out tonight because she and Lyra caught us."

It was at that point that a brief flash of worry crossed her features. She knew Lyra was an auxiliary guard member and that moonshine was definitely illegal.

"Was that why Lyra walked you home? Is she making you do community service or something?"

Lero chuckled as he kissed Dash softly on the forehead.

"Nah, she was just making sure I got here safe. The weirdest thing though, was that Lyra actually liked our moonshine. She's not busting us, far from it actually, she even stopped Applejack halfway through giving Mac and I an earful to make her try it too. Not only that, but she had Pinkie try it so she could give us some advice and I think I know now what we need to get it just right. That's why we're meeting Lyra tomorrow, she wants to try it when we finish the batch. Applejack's coming as well."

"We?" Dash asked as her saucy smile made its way back to her muzzle.

Lero gave her a smirk as he dramatically replied. "Unless you just REALLY don't want to try the TOTALLY AWESOME moonshine Mac and I are going to cook up."

Rainbow snorted and rolled her eyes. "Oh, trust me big guy, I want to." Her expression quickly turned to sultry as she started to slowly trail a hoof down his chest. "I really... really, want t-"

"Rainbow? Lero? What are you two doing out here?" Twilight's sleepy voice called from the darkness, causing the pegasus to jump slightly and release a silent groan at being caught. Lero winked at Rainbow as he peered over her shoulder at their unicorn herdmate yawning and shambling her way out of the shadows.

"Just talking, Twi. We'll be in there in a minute."

Though not entirely placated, Twilight merely nodded and turned to head off to the bedroom, rubbing her eyes as she disappeared from view. Ever the diligent student she had passed out on the couch about an hour before Lero had left due to a long-haul heavy-duty study session. As the last signs of Twilight’s tail melted into the gloom, Rainbow turned back to Lero to ask him a question.

"Should we tell her? After all, Celestia doesn't exactly look kindly on moonshine and all that."

"Yeah, I think we should. She doesn't take being left out of things well and it’s not like we should be keeping secrets from each other. We'll tell her in the morning but we'll just have to ask that she NOT send the Princess a friendship report about it." Lero said with a grin before he yawned. "Now, I don't know about you, my love, but I'm tired and since we’re all off work tomorrow I’m looking forward to having a long lie in."

Rainbow answered with a nod and a yawn of her own before she gave her stallion one of her most lascivious looks... in which she had recently become extremely well practiced.

“But just because we’re havin’ a lie in, big guy, don’t think that means I’m gunna let you sleep in.”

With that, the pair made their way to the bedroom where Twilight had already passed out again and was snoring lightly across the middle of the bed. Snuggling up to her, Lero felt himself and Twilight being covered by Dash's wing as they both drifted into sleep’s comforting embrace.

********************

Princess Luna sat on a large cushion on the balcony of the Royal Observatory of Canterlot Castle, gazing out to the horizon as Celestia's sun was just beginning to make its presence known for the day and the eastern sky was only just being touched with the first hints of red and orange as the dawn grew ever closer.

As she waited for the day to break, she daintily sipped upon a cup of tea. Chamomile with a touch of vanilla and cinnamon, one of her favorites. A nearly perfect way to end the night it seemed, until something caught her attention.

A strange presence in the dreamscape of Equestria.

Setting her tea down, Luna closed her eyes and focused on this oddity within her domain until, after what seemed like a considerably long time, far longer than it had ever taken her to enter one of her subject’s dreams before, the scene finally started to come into focus within her mind’s eye.

As she made her way through what felt like an unusually thick fog, rolling and billowing around her body before finally boiling away into nothingness, she recognized the faces of some of the ponies surrounding her. Two of the bearers of the elements of harmony, Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash, were the first of those surrounding her that she could name, around them were a few others from the town of Ponyville. But they were not in that town, or any other town, instead it was more of a glade or a large clearing, with a treeline all around, not too near though and not too far either.

As was always the case, no-pony would notice her presence in the dreamscape until she willed it, and until then she could move about freely, safe in the knowledge she would draw no more attention from the owner of this dream than any other nondescript background pony.

It wasn't until she saw him that it all made sense. There, standing tall above the rest of the ponies, was a tall, red-maned biped. Bellerophon Michaelides.

So this is the stallion of Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash? Fascinating. Luna thought to herself as she continued to watch the dream. She found herself rather mesmerized at Lero's movements, wondering to herself how he did not fall flat on either his muzzle or haunches... And, she couldn't help but note, the latter of which were rather toned.

Did we really just think that? Luna silently reprimanding herself as she tore her eyes away from the human and looked around. Now she thought about it the sight was somewhat familiar to her, though she couldn't properly place it. While she could see a great plethora of earth ponies the number of pegasi or unicorns was rather lacking.

It was then that she noticed what many of the earth ponies, and even Bellerophon himself, had with them. On every table, in every saddlebag, in many an outstretched hoof as well as in the lone human's hands were jars. Dozens upon dozens of jars.

That was when it clicked for the Alicorn of the Night.

Thou dreams of the ancient earth pony feast in our honour? Our ponies still partake in this, their celebration of our night? Their greatest feast? Their most wondrous festival? Why wouldst thou dream of this? You, who are most alien to this world?

Luna turned back to Lero, a perplexed expression on her face as she tried to figure out why she was seeing this.

But then, something she didn't expect happened. Lero turned, looked straight at her, and smiled.

Walking over to her, he stopped a respectful distance from the nation’s co-regent, and then he just... just... folded. His whole being seemed to bend over in the middle, his head and upper body leaning forward and down towards the ground as one of his hands swept underneath him, seeming to just miss the floor by a scant few hoof-widths before folding back up against his chest while the other was tucked up tight against the small of his back.

Unfolding himself and standing tall once more, the human gave her a large smile, full of warmth and welcome.

"The illustrious Princess Luna, I presume?"

Luna's eyes snapped open, finding herself back on the balcony of the observatory. Her breathing was quickened and she felt a shiver she hadn't felt for the longest time traveling the length of her spine. Looking up to the moon as she steadied her nerves, only one thought permeated her mind.

"He could see us?!"

Author's Note

DJ-Pon3FTW: First of all, this is my first jump into the Xenoverse/Leroverse so I hope you enjoy! A big thanks to TheQuietMan for putting up with my writing shenanigans, and to AnonAuthor and AnonPonyDashie for giving us the story that started it all!

The Quiet Man: For this chapter we're trying something new, not just a guest chapter as such but more of a collaboration. On the whole it was great fun and hopefully we'll be doing this again sometime soon. More than two thirds of what you're reading here is DJ's efforts, the rest is me poking and prodding and adding and subtracting and being a PITA untill we were both happy with it. So any praise for this chapter please send his way, any complaints can come to me...

6: I'd fly above the trees, over the seas, in all degrees.

I'd fly above the trees, over the seas, in all degrees.

Chapter published 10th Feb 2013

***********************************

Seated on a cushion outside Rosehip’s teashop, Rainbow Dash gently massaged a weary hoof while she waited for Twilight Sparkle to return with their drinks. Like any pegasus pony, Rainbow was far more comfortable in the air than she was on the ground and, while she’d been spending an inordinate amount of time on the ground these last few months, she still found her hooves and ankles got tired far faster than that of her unicorn herdmate. Not that she’d ever admit it though.

Spending the majority of their life either airborne or standing on soft springy clouds meant that pegasi hooves rarely built up a toughness comparable to that of a unicorn’s or especially to that of an earth pony’s. Pegasi also found that their hooves generally needed filing or trimming far less often as they grew so much more slowly that of the other pony races.

This little fact was, as far as Rainbow was concerned, a goddess-send as she still hated anyone getting anywhere near her hooves with a file. It was something she was still working on dealing with and by now could allow Lero to work on them for short periods, but even then the creeping fear along her spine would quickly become too much and she’d find herself hiding in the bathroom doing it herself.

Releasing her poor aching hoof as Twilight returned with their beverages, Rainbow took her tall glass of ice tea and took a long pull. Now that was good stuff. Nowhere as good as Lero mixed up for her though but still, it did the trick.

Twilight fussed about with her cushion, getting it just square with her edge of their table before settling herself down. Rainbow waited in silence while her friend took a long sip of her soothing mint tea, a satisfied smile spreading over the purple unicorn’s features as the tasty beverage took hold of her taste buds.

“So, anything else we need to get?” The pegasus asked as she gestured towards the two bulging sets of saddlebags on the ground between them. “We must have been to just about every stall and shop and farm in Ponyville by now.”

Twilight pulled out a weighty scroll and let it roll out across the table. Rainbow groaned as the end of the list unrolled itself over the edge of the table and carried on rolling for a fair way across the ground.

“I think we’re about done.” Twilight mumbled, not looking up from her list, Rainbow’s ears perking up at the prospect of heading home for the evening. “We just need to stop by Roseluck’s stall for some chrysanthemums and then we’re done.”

“I think we might be a bit too late for that” Rainbow noted, waving a hoof across the street where Roseluck herself could be seen pulling her cart homewards for the evening.

“Hey, Roseluck” The pegasus shouted across the street, waving her hoof at the pale yellow mare. “You got any chrisantherwhatsits left?”

“Sorry, all gone.” Roseluck called back. “I’ve been looking for you girls though, I have something I think you might like.”

After rummaging around in her cart for a moment, the earth pony trotted over to their table gently carrying half a dozen large yellow flowers.

After giving the unfamiliar blooms a good once over Rainbow was drawing a blank. “What are they?” she asked.

“I think they’re zucchini flowers.” Twilight supplied. “Or courgette flowers if you want to be fancy.”

“Exactly right.” Roseluck added. “I asked Lero if there were any flowers humans could eat the last time he came by my stall and he wrote me a list of the few he could remember. I asked around and found Golden Harvest has a small crop of these that she let me have. They don’t keep very well though so you’ll have to eat them soon.”

“Oh cool, it’s really great when we can all eat the same stuff.” Rainbow picked up one of the blooms and gave it an experimental sniff. “Not bad. So how much’d we owe ya?”

Roseluck waved a hoof at Twilight as the unicorn made a move towards her purse.

“Nothing, they’re on the house. When Golden found out who they were for she wouldn’t take any of my bits. After all the work Lero did for her on her irrigation tanks last week she said she wouldn’t dream of taking any money for them.”

Twilight tucked her purse back away in her saddlebag. “Oh my, thank you. We’ll be sure to let Lero know how much ponies appreciate his efforts.“

“We sure do, well some of us anyway.” Roseluck’s gaze flicked for a second towards Honeysuckle’s Sugar and Starch across the way. “Oh, and by the way, could you tell Lyra I’ve had word that her neighponese peace blossoms should be here in a couple of days.”

Returning her eyes back to the table all that greeted her were a pair of blank expressions.

“Her what?” Rainbow asked.

“Her neighponese pe…. Oh, you didn’t know did you? Oh, Luna’s teats, I shouldn’t have said anything; I just thought she’d have come to talk to you first. Look, You didn’t hear anything from me, ok.“ The earth pony had started to slowly back from the table, a rather sheepish smile across her face. ”Ok, thanks, bye.” With that she legged it back to her cart and pulled it swiftly away, almost running over a startled Davenport as she went.

Turning an incredulous face back to her herdmate, Rainbow asked. “What’s got her spooked? And what’s a neighponese peace blossom when it’s at home anyway?”

“Erm.” Twilight ran though her prodigious memory to see what she could pull up. Rainbow could easily imagine her eyes spinning over in her head like little egg timers as she did so. After a few seconds she seemed to come up with something.

“Well they’re a rare plant from the far east islands, hardly ever seen in Greater Equestria. I only know about it as there were a lot of books about Neighpon left around the house when I was a little filly. A fascinating culture you know; lots of earth ponies and hardly any pegasi even now, maybe a little too fond of octopi if you ask me but…”

“Twi!” Rainbow interrupted. “Kinda gettin’ off track here. The peace blossoms?”

“Oh, oh yes” Roused from her reminiscences, Twilight cast her mind back to what else she could remember. “Well they’re very rare and generally only found on the slopes of Neighpon’s biggest mountain. They taste foul but are prized as an ingredient in a number of traditional neighponese folk remedies.” Tapping her chin with a forehoof she paused for a moment. “They don’t travel well, first losing their colour with a day or so and dying off completely within two more. But the most striking thing about them is the colour of the petals, which are an absolutely spectacular mint gree… Oh my.“

Both ponies sat for a moment with matching expressions slapped across their faces. Expressions that could only be described as ‘dumbstruck’.

Finally the pegasus’ face broke out into a huge grin.

“Yes.” Rainbow pumped a forehoof skyward in a victory pose. ”About darn time… Looks like AJ’s gunna owe me ten bits.”

Twilight took just a few more seconds to recover.

“Wow.” She said. “This must be why Lyra came to me a few days ago with a large metal flask and asked me to put the most powerful stasis spell I could manage on it. Even so, it would only last a week or so at the most, nowhere near enough time for even the fastest runner to get a peace bloom back to Ponyville by hoof before it perished.”

“That crafty mare, she’s bought herself a relay flight.” Rainbow was looking smug. “I had four of my best endurance flyers all ask to take this week off to go camping together. Cloudchaser, Flitter and Blossomforth I can see going away together but taking Thunderlane with them did seem a bit strange. We got everything well in hoof for this week though so I didn’t see a reason to say no. Lyra must have made them all an offer they couldn’t refuse.”

Twilight just looked confused.

“I’m confused.” She said.

“Don’t sweat it, it’s an old pegasus trick from back in the warring periods.” Rainbow moved their tableware around the tabletop to help illustrate her point. It wasn’t often she got to lecture the town egghead and boy was she ever going to enjoy it.

“I’ll bet Lyra’s given them the flask and they’ve flown out towards Neighpon as a team with three of them stopping along the way at three different relay points. Each of the three sets up water and rest stations between the relay points while the forth goes all the way straight to their destination. When they get there they’ll rest a bit, then they’ll pick up the blooms and seal them in the flask.”

Rainbow moved her forehoof to the cup closest to Twilight, using it as the destination point.

“Then they’ll fly almost non-stop at full speed, grabbing water on the wing as they go, until they reach the first relay point, passing the flask to their replacement while they recover at the relay point’s rest station their replacement set up for them. Same happens at the next two points until the last flyer heads straight here to Ponyville bringing Lyra her blooms all still sealed up fresh as a daisy salad.”

Rainbow then moved her forehoof from cup to spoon to table decoration (already nibbled on when Twi wasn’t looking) until she made her way back to her own partially finished glass of iced tea.

“It’s the fastest way for non-unicorns to move something fairly small across really long distances. Ain’t easy though, and sure as sugar ain’t cheap. Lyra must be pretty serious about this if she’s willing to put her money where her mouth is over it.”

Twilight looked like she was thinking it all over, her brain moving at a hundred thoughts a second at least.

“What do you think Lero will say when she offers him a flower?” She asked, carefully moving all the tableware back to their original positions before taking a sip of her tea.

“Well, yes, I hope.” Rainbow looked taken aback that it would even be a question. “Come on, Twi, you’ve seen how much they’ve been together recently, the way she’s been acting around him the last few weeks. It’s a good thing she’s not in heat or the poor guy’d have no chance. Oh boy, I’d hope she wouldn’t break anything. That’s totally my job.”

A smutty smirk spread across the pegasus’ face. It was a good job it was Lyra they were taking about making a move on their stallion here. Any other mare and Rainbow would have been spitting feathers about now.

“Well, I guess you’re right. They have been spending an awful lot of time together recently.” The unicorn admitted. “And there’s no flowers native to Equestria that match Lyra’s coat quite like the peace bloom, well none that will be ready at this time of year. That she’s going to these lengths shows that she’s neither willing to wait for the seasons to change nor does she believe another flower dyed to match will do. Both show an impressive amount of dedication.”

Twilight stopped for a moment to look over the top of her cup at her herdmate. “So if she comes to see you first what are you going to say?”

Now it was Rainbow’s turn to look confused. “Why would she… oh yeah, lead mare and all that.” The pegasus waved a hoof around, she still wasn’t happy about this lead mare thing. “Well she totally gets my vote. But it’s not really up to me is it. It’s Lero she likes so it’s Lero who should make the call. I know he’s found it hard coming around to the whole polygamy idea thing but I think he’ll go for it.”

Twilight nodded her agreement as she took another sip of her tea. “Maybe, but also remember we are a herd, I know you’re not big on mares but she’d be as much courting you as she would be Lero.”

Rainbow sighed as she lifted her glass. “I know, I know. Look, if Lero wants to invite her into the herd then I’m all for it, anything else can work itself out as we go along. I’m just looking for everypony to be happy, ya’know.”

Both mares sat in silence for a few moments, lost in their individual thoughts as they finished what was left of their tea. Finally Rainbow broke the - slightly stunned - silence.

“Sooo, neighponese peace blooms, eh? Mare sure is pretty serious about this.”

“So it would seem.” Twilight replied, putting down her now empty cup.

“Sweet.” Rainbow added as she put down her glass and made to grab her saddlebags. “I think this herd’s about to get at least twenty percent more awesome.“

7: But then my homework was never quite like this.

But then my homework was never quite like this.
Chapter published 21st Sept 2013

**************

Reaching the address of the last delivery of her working day, Derpy trotted up to entrance to the Golden Oaks public library. Reaching out with a forehoof she rapped a jaunty little series of knocks against the front door, noticing the ‘closed’ sign bouncing against the dark wood with each and every impact.

The library’s opening times had always been erratic, even before Twilight Sparkle had taken over as the town librarian. Not that this had ever unduly worried any of the town’s residents; either they’d let themselves in and leave a note to say what books they’d checked out for themselves, or they’d come back later and try again then. It was just that kind of town.

However, for a few months earlier in the year some of the townsfolk had been either visiting the establishment in groups - usually when they knew others would be around, there was safety in numbers after all - or avoiding the place entirely. The reason for their trepidation? The library had, for the last six or so months at least, been occasionally graced by the presence of a large, scary, pointy-toothed and hook-clawed meat eater... by the unlikely name of Lero Michaelides.

This fear, in Derpy’s opinion at least, was just dumb. Sure, the guy was big, and yeah, he had pointy teeth and the ability to give a pony a nasty bite if he so wished, but that didn’t mean he had the desire to. And yeah, okay, he’d managed to nearly choke the life out of poor Shimmer without even breaking a sweat; but then she, or rather her doofus of a stallion, had started it.

But Derpy didn’t much care about what some other ponies thought. If they thought he was odd and funny looking, so what? Some of those same ponies thought she was odd and funny looking. If she’d ever cared what they thought, she’d be a nervous wreck. And if she went around being some type of nervous wreck, or treating Mister Lero badly because some silly ponies were scared of him, what kind of example would that be for little Dinky? A bad one, that’s what. And there was no way Derpy was going to be a bad example for her young daughter. Na-ah, no way.

Plus, Mister Lero had sometimes given her a muffin if he had one to spare and any pony... person... whatever he was, that gave her muffins was alright in her eyes

Reaching into her mailbag with a wing, she pulled out a ‘special delivery’ parcel, its outer layer emblazoned with the equestrian royal seal. Smoothing the wrapping paper out with a forehoof, she appraised it with with a careful eye... her other eye taking an equally detailed look at the left-hoof sleeve of her postal service uniform.

“Oh poop, lost a button... again.”

Unexpected uniform damage was something the gray pegasus was used to by now. Her boss, Ponyville Postmaster Silver Script, had managed to somehow ‘find’ for her at least two spare uniform jackets as well as a whole box full of small brass buttons. It also helped that Dinky - being the absolute dear that she was and so good with her hooves - was always ready to assist her mother make any repairs needed or sew back on any missing buttons. Which, though Derpy didn’t like to admit to it, meant that Dinky did the sewing and her mother passed her the buttons.

Speaking of Dinky, Derpy remembered that she has meant to ask Twilight if the library had a copy (large print edition if possible) of ‘Young Daring Do and the Legend of the Crystal Saddle’. The series may have been written for young fillies but that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy it herself. In fact, she’d probably enjoyed reading the last one as part of their bedtime ritual together even more than her daughter had, and that sure was saying something.

While she waited for the door to open, the mailmare tried guessing what was in the parcel. It was about the size of a book, weighed about what a book would, smelled like a musty old book, when she squeezed it there was a distinct lack of squeak or squidge to it in much the same way a book wouldn’t, and...

And then she remembered where she was; she was sitting outside the town library, home to the town’s resident bibliophile - a mare that loved reading even more than Derpy liked muffins... It was going to be a book wasn't it? What else could it be?

Looking closer at the package she could see the address had been written with both great care and with resounding flourish; so probably written by horn and by somepony who’d had time to practice getting their curly bits just so. The brown paper was new and of good quality, so whomever had sent it had thought it was important enough not to reuse an old piece, and the string was tight and evenly spaced so again it’d probably been some pony who’d had time to practice.

Pondering the pieces of this particular puzzle, Derpy came to a conclusion. This parcel was most likely an old reference book sent out from the main Canterlot library by one of those (equally) old and stuffy librarian mares. Probably the same ones who always had their manes in buns and went ‘shhhh’ at her whenever she bumped into a bookcase or a table, all the while glaring at her from over those little half moon glasses they all wore. Were the glasses and hair buns standard issue or something? She didn't know, but this was a question for another time.

Feeling quite pleased with her powers of deduction, the mailmare idly lifted a hoof to again knock at the door. Twilight was sure taking a while to open up. The upper windows were all open so she was probably at home. Perhaps she was having a nap? Or maybe she was down in her basement, busy making... stuff again? Either way, Derpy resolved to give her a few more minutes before she’d take the parcel back to the post office and try again tomorrow.

Wondering why the expected ‘thud thud thump’ had not come, and worrying for second that she’d gone temporarily deaf, Derpy looked up to find the library’s front entrance open in front of her, the dark wooden door being held by the tall bipedal figure of the town’s only human.

“Miss Doo. What brings you here?”

Lero knew exactly why the gray pegasus was there. If the navy blue uniform of the Equestrian Postal Service hadn't given it away then the brown paper package in her outstretched wing sure would have. Feigning confusion was just a game they both liked to play whenever she turned up at his door.

“Hello Mister Lero, Sir. I’ve got a parcel for Twilight Sparkle, it’s from the castle.” she leant forward, motioning him closer with a forehoof as she whispered conspiratorially “I think it’s a book!”

“Really?” Lero grinned, taking the parcel in a single large hand and looking it over. “Whatever next?”

Reaching out, Lero patted the delivery mare between the ears.

“Hey, we had Lyra over for dinner last night and she brought a whole box of muffins with her for dessert. We had some left over, would you like one?”

“Oh boy, do I ever!”

Letting the door hang loose behind him, Lero disappeared off into the library for a moment just to return carrying a single golden brown muffin topped with a splodge of yellow frosting and a single slice of caramelised lemon.

Reaching out to take the proffered treat, Derpy gave it a sniff, trying very hard not to let her wings spring in public. Pegasi’s wings were known to suddenly spread due to things such as surprise, excitement or -ahem- that other kind of excitement, and as far as Derpty was concerned an unexpected muffin certainly counted as an exciting surprise.

“Lemon muffin surprise! That’s one of my favourites.” she cried, taking a bite.

Watching the gray pegasus swiftly devour the baked treat made the human smile, though he did make sure to keep his fingers well away from anything dental, just in case.

“We know how much you like them so I made sure to keep one handy.” Giving a small bow - though adding a flourish with one hand, they always seemed to make her smile - Lero stepped back into the library and started to close the door. “See you again, Miss Doo.”

“Thanks, Mister Lero” Derpy returned the gesture with the wave of a wing, flicking the wingtip around in a small circle as her own form of flourish “Bye.”

As she wandered away, happy with a job well done for the day - and no accidents either, hurray - Derpy grinned to herself. He wasn’t so odd once you got to know him, in fact he was really nice.

But she did have to admit, what with his mane all slicked back like that and that nasty tweed jacket that was obviously waaaay too small for him... he did look awful silly.

***********

Making his way up to the small apartment above the library, Lero found Twilight exactly where he’d left her just a few minutes before; namely standing at her dresser with her nose in a magazine. As the purple unicorn poured over the article she pulled on the last of a quartet of white knee high socks.

“Who was it?” she asked, without even looking up from her reading. Once engrossed in reading it was extremely hard to pull her away from the object of her attention, even if the subjects of her studies had been more... variable in recent months.

“Just Miss Doo,” Lero answered, leaning against the the wall at the top of the short flight of stairs “she delivered a book from the castle. I left it next to the ‘books in’ pile downstairs.”

“Already? That was quick. I hadn’t expected that to arrive for a few days yet.” Twi looked up from her article, her eyebrows giving her a ‘suitably impressed’ look, “I really must send the Royal Librarians a note of thanks. Spike only sent that request off a few hours ago before he left for Rarity’s. I’ll ask him to process it when he gets back in the morning.”

As his herdmate talked, Lero walked over to see what her mare had been so engrossed in.

“I never thought we’d need to put in a request for Newt Scarer’s ‘Fantastical Creatures and Where They Like to Hang Out’ but Fluttershy’s been so interested in hippogryphs recently that I...”

Twi trailed off as she noticed her stallion flipping idly through the magazine she’d been reading. Folding it closed so that the cover was on display, an image of a confident, self assured mare looking up at them both from over her shoulder from under the large printed title ‘Cosmarepolitan’.

Lifting a quizzical eyebrow, the human read out some of the delights the magazine promised were held within.

“Playing favourites - 21 ways to keep your stallion interested.”

“Very important.” Twilight nodded sagely.

“Nether gloss - our top ten picks.”

“No comment.”

“How to plan a coup d'état without alerting your alpha female.”

“Ahem, again, no comment.” the stifled grin showed that she wasn't at all serious about that one.

“Putting the bounce back in your haunches in less than a month - we show you how.”

“Well, I could probably do with rounding out a little. I’ve seen how you look at Lyra and-

The lavender mare was cut off as her stallion knelt down and put his arms around her.

“Hey, you.” Lero stroked at the back of the mare’s head as she rested her chin on his shoulder, You don't have to feel threatened by her you know.”

“I know,” Twi admitted “But it’s a potential change to the herd. And you know I don't really like change, not sudden change anyway.”

“I know, love.” Lero soothed “There’s no hurry, we’re not rushing into anything. It’s early days yet, we’re just seeing how it goes. She is courting all of us, after all. You're as much a part of this as the rest of us.”

Letting his mare go, he picked up the magazine and flipped through it again.

“Did you borrow this from Rarity?” he asked, stopping at the cover article, which was an interview with the mare from the cover (surprisingly) - Fleur Dis Lee it seemed she was called - telling the world just how hard it was to be a supermodel. A double page spread showing her surrounded by many many oiled up stallions, sporting more tight muscles and even tighter flanks than the Canterlot Hoofball team, would appear to disagree.

“Yes”

“Figures.” Lero grinned as he handed the magazine back.

“I’m doing research.”

“That figures too.” Lero laughed as he ruffled the front of Twi’s mane, moving her stripes from one side of her horn to the other. While he’d been downstairs she’d separated out the back of her mane into two lengthy bunches held together with matching red ribbons, each one hanging down on either side of her neck. It wasn’t a look he’d seen on her before but he had to admit it was kind of cute.

Resting the magazine back on her dresser, Twi levitated a small red tartan skirt from a pile of clothing next to her and fastened it over her flanks and across her hips. To call it short was probably being generous as in reality it was more of a large fabric belt, barely as wide as the unicorn’s horn was long. As she settled it into place it covered very little, leaving her buttocks, thighs and... other things exposed.

Lero was torn between watching and looking away. Ponies spent most of their lives naked anyway, so why was watching one, his ‘wife to be’ no less, putting on a few items of clothing so... alluring?

“Are you sure this is what human college girls wear?” Twi asked, levitating over one of her plain white dress shirts.

“Oh, yes.” ‘Watching’ was beating out ‘looking away’ hands down. “One hundred percent sure.”

“Well, okay then,” Twi pulled on the shirt, tying the bottom together in a small knot rather than doing up any of the buttons, leaving her belly uncovered and a deep vee of purple fur from her neck down into her chest exposed. “Hmm, it doesn't cover much. Must be for airflow. College girls must get hot and sweaty a lot.”

“Er yeah, something like that.” Lero coughed.

“That must drive them wild, especially around summer break... What, why are you laughing?”

“Nothing, nothing.“ Lero had to turn away before he was overcome. “So, where were we?”

“Well, I was the naughty college filly who hasn't completed her assignment on time, and you're the strict professor who’s going to make sure I finish it.”

Twi nodded over towards her desk, with its towering pile of reference books, a large stack of paper, an inkpot, a spare inkpot, and three quills all lined up ready. On the other side of the room she’d placed a second desk, with a still steaming cup of coffee and a little plaque reading ‘Mr Michaelides’ sitting on it.

Looking back and forth between the two desks, Lero rubbed at his chin.

“Aaah, you're actually going to have me sit there and watch while you write an assignment, aren't you?”

Twi just looked puzzled at the suggestion that this hadn’t actually been her stallion’s first plan of action upon seeing the lay out.

“Well, yes, of course. Doesn’t it sound like fun? And if you could come over and check my work over every few minutes, that would be great.”

The unicorn gave the human a big grin.

“And then, once I’ve finished and you can see that I’ve included all my workings and made proper reference to my sources, including book titles and page numbers, you can decide what my reward is.”

She batted her eyelids at the human lasciviously.

“And remember; firm but fair” she added as she settled herself down in front of her writing tools.

A rosy red apple surrounded in a purple glow floated across the room and settled on ‘Mr Michaelides’ desk. A few seconds later the library’s kitchen timer joined it, the dial preset so the alarm would go off in thirty minutes. All it needed was a push of the button and it would start its countdown.

“So, when can I start?” The eager mare asked.

Lero facepalmed. What was he ever going to do with this girl?

*****************

The sun was just beginning to set as Princess Celestia landed gracefully on the balcony of her sister’s tower. As her hooves touched down, the large double doors from the main chamber opened and Princess Luna stepped out.

“Greetings, my sister” the princess of the night said as she stifled a yawn with a wingtip, “have we missed breakfast?”

“No, my sister.” Celestia replied “I have been awaiting your emergence to enquire if you would like to join me in my chambers for our evening meal?”

“Yes, that would be most pleasant.” It was taking a while for Luna’s grasp of modern Equestrian to become ingrained and for a short while after she first awoke for the evening her language would be all over the place. “Pray tell, has the matter we discussed on yesterday’s eve been handled?”

“Indeed it has. I wrapped, addressed and passed it onto the castle postmaster myself.”

“Splendid.” Luna graced her sister with a smile “How long do you think it will take?”

“Truthfully, I do not know. Young Twilight has grown much these past few years; she has embraced the magic of friendship, risen to every challenge that has presented itself before her and even found love outside of her species. This would have all been impossible for her just a few short years ago. But, even now I fear that she still has much growing to do.”

“Hmm,” Luna nodded in agreement, “We... I am... acquainted with her sire and-”

Her sister’s raised eyebrow and knowing look was all it took to throw the Lunar alicorn off guard.

“Please, my sister, keep thou mind out of the gutter” Luna protested, “We are just friends, that is all.”

“And would alcohol be involved?” The alicorn of the day asked, a teasing tone working its way through her simple question.

“Maybe.” Luna scowled, “Anyway, it would seem that her sire is of the same opinion. He is most proud of his daughter’s growth, but believes that she still has a long way to go. Also, it would appear she has yet to realise that her lineage will lead to her one day inheriting the Duchy of Smaragdvea.”

“Yes, that is true.” Celestia’s face took on an expression that, many centuries ago, would have made her sister’s blood run cold - that of a plan being formed. “Maybe we can help that little revelation along a little? Perhaps a quiet word with her dam?”

Whether it be part of her own plan or not, Celestia’s upper lip curled slightly at the thought of having to talk to that... professor.

“After all, she is well known to ‘drop the occasional bomb-shell’ as it were.” The solar alicorn continued, her face once more slipping back into its mask of perfect serenity “We could use that to our advantage if young Twilight has not stumbled upon that particular insight on her own by the time her twenty fifth birthday approaches.”

“Well, we are in no real hurry.” Luna added “It would be a big change for her, and a decision not to be taken lightly. After all, alicornhood is forever.”

“That is also true, my sister” Celestia agreed, “and in a sense, we have all the time in the world.”

8: Fingers, toes and tiny noses.

Fingers, toes and tiny noses.
Chapter published 30th Jan 2013
******************************************

Lero had been standing idly outside of the home Lyra Heartstrings shared with her best friend Bon Bon for a least three or four minutes now. After taking one last chance to brush any long since cleared dirt from his work shirt and repositioning his tool bag over his shoulder for what must have been the hundredth time he lifted a fist to rap on the front door.

“Hey there, lover boy.” came an amused voice from very, very close behind him.

“Yaargh!” Lero must have jumped a mile at the sudden greeting. Turning he found the aforementioned earth pony standing behind him, wearing both a mischievous grin and a pair of heavily laden saddlebags.

“Long time no see.“ Using a forehoof she playfully poked the human in the leg. “Since you’ve been courting that floozy it’s like you just don’t have any time for little old me any more.”

Pushing the same forehoof against her brow the earth pony pantomimed a swooning motion.

“I’ve just been so neglected. I’m waaaaasting away.“ She whined.

Lero couldn’t help but break into a grin. In the few weeks since he and Lyra had started courting, his new amore’s housemate had warmed to him greatly and he’d been pleasantly surprised to find that the confectioner had one wicked sense of humour.

Dropping to one knee the human threw out one arm theatrically as he played along. ”My fair lady, how could I ever have neglected you so? But fear not, I am here now.”

“Oh, don’t give me that fiddle-faddle you rapscallion.” Bon Bon dramatically threw her nose up in the air. “You’re here to see that hussy and you know it.”

Clutching his hands to his chest as if deeply wounded Lero put on his best ‘begging forgiveness’ expression. “I’m afraid you have me bang to rights, dear maiden. I am indeed here to steal away your fair housemate, would that she deign to have me.”

“Gotcha.” The mare laughed, leaning past the human to open the front door. “Here, come on in. I think she said she’s free all afternoon.”

As the door swung open, Bon Bon’s ears suddenly pricked up and she started nodding her head in time to some otherwise unheard tune. “Oh, this is going to be good.” She grinned

Lero glanced around, straining his hearing as he did so.

“Somebody’s having one of those ‘song and dance’ moments again, aren’t they?” He asked.

“Yep, it’s Lyra. Come on, you don’t want to miss this.” The earth pony was practically bouncing on her hooves at this point.

Lero was kind of conflicted. Sure he was here to see Lyra, but all this singing still seemed a bit weird to him and he wasn’t sure that muscling in on some pony’s musical moment was the done thing.

“I… err, wouldn’t she mind us just going in and interrupting her song. I mean, isn’t that kind of rude?”

Bon Bon blew air through her nose in gesture of exasperation. “Look, you may not be able to hear it but if it was meant to be private I wouldn’t be able to hear it either. So either it’s for every pony within range or we’re supposed to be part of it. Now as I’ve got the sudden urge to get you in there I’m betting we’re both supposed to be part of this in some way. Either way this is going to be priceless, I can just tell.”

Quickly moving around to Lero’s side she pushed at his hip with her forehead, her superior earth pony strength easily forcing the human though the now open door. As they crossed the threshold she started to hum what Lero had to admit was quite a catchy little melody; a little showtune-y maybe, possibly a touch off broadway-ish.

As the human pulled his bag over his head and placed it on the kitchen table the shifting tools inside made a rather loud clatter. Luckily the rather noticeable sound of jaunty hoofsteps emanating from the room above them covered most of the noise.

“Hush, keep it down” Bon Bon hissed, motioning to the stairs. “This way, now shush.”

Cursing not for the first time the fact that ponies didn’t ‘do’ carpets, Lero slowly crept up the stairs. Enthusiastic singing could be heard floating down from the floor above them, while it was certainly a lot louder than he was accustomed to hearing from her, it was definitely that of the unicorn of the house.

The lofty strains of Lyra’s harp could be heard seeping though the almost closed door at the top of the stairs; the same melody that Bon Bon was humming wafted it’s way though the crack in the door. Though Lero was unable to exactly make out all the lyrics there was definitely something about brushing coats and styling manes going on.

Reaching the top of the stairs both pony and human came to a stop outside the door to Lyra’s bedroom. Reaching for the door handle, Lero’s hand was suddenly held back by Bon Bon grabbing his sleeve with her teeth.

“Whoa there, fella. Not quite yet.” The curly maned mare continued to bob her head in time to the music, her humming complementing the music seeping from behind the door. Lyra’s lyrics could be heard quite clearly now.

“Humans don't have wings or magic. They don't need it; they don't care!”

“Ok, now’s our cue”. Bon-bon gently pushed the door open, letting it swing silently inward on its hinges.

Peeking inside Lero was amazed to see the usually calm and composed Lyra prancing around the room on her back hooves; her lyre grasped in her forehooves while her magic plucked at the strings. Totally oblivious to her sudden audience she hopped from hoof to hoof, wiggling her dock in time to the cheerful melody being issued from her instrument.

“All they've got's imagination, new inventions everywhere!”

Leaning back to gather a big ol’ lungful of air, the exuberant unicorn upped her game. Lero had heard her sing a number of times and always been impressed but frankly this was taking it to another level. All she needed now was a hairbrush to sing into and the image would be complete.

”Babies, children, teens and elders, all alike have clothes to wear”

A summer hat laying on Lyra’s dresser suddenly span its way across the room, the unicorn’s magical grasp causing it to bounce up and down atop her mane in time with the music.

“It's so real to me…”

Lyra span herself in a little pirouette on her back hooves, finishing the move with a flurry that left her facing the bedroom door. Opening her eyes she found a snorting earth pony and a pink faced human avidly watching her little one-mare show. The summer hat and lyre both slipped from her magical grasp and dropped to the floor as her soon to be ex-best friend finally succumbed and burst into peals of laughter

As if realising they’d been caught in the act, the music of harmony quickly faded from the minds and ears of both ponies in the room, leaving the usually unflappable unicorn to face her audience alone. Sporting a blush so powerful it turned her mint green cheeks a lovely shade of pink, Lyra sheepishly bowed deeply as she squeaked out her final lyric.

“...anthropology!”

Author's Note

Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure AwkwardMarina wrote "Anthropology". I can tell you for sure though that it wasn't me.

Did you know Pepsico also own SugarPuffs and Lipton Iced Tea? I did not. You learn something new every day.

10: Till now I always got by on my own - by PhucknuckL and TheQuietMan.

Till now I always got by on my own - by PhucknuckL and TheQuietMan.
Chapter published 16th Nov 2014

*************************

Lyra Heartstrings was many things. She was strong, brave, loyal, witty, and - to the few ponies that knew her well - annoyingly enigmatic.

But one thing that she generally wasn’t, was apprehensive.

Today though, today was a different story. A very different story indeed.

Thinking back, she was having a hard time remembering when she’d last felt this... Nervous? Hesitant? Plain old scared out of her wits?

There had been her final few weeks, years ago now, back at the Royal Guard Training Academy... those had been pretty hairy. Yeah, especially that final week-long, live-casting training exercise- that had been nothing short of seven full days of abject apprehension punctuated with short bursts of ‘terrified’ and topped off with liberal sprinkles of ‘please, don’t let me get zapped!”.

That week however had been a walk in the park compared to today. No, no amount of training could ever hope to prepare her for where she was at right now...

...her first solo date with Bellerophon Michaelides.

As the sole member of his species anywhere on the entire planet, the only one of his kind that Equestria had ever known - with no clue as to where he’d come from or how he’d even arrived - he had quickly become a source of fascination for several ponies... and unfortunately an object of fear and concern for many more.

Due to her status as a ‘plain-shod’ guardsmare - and one that was already intimately familiar with the town of Ponyville no less - Lyra had supposedly been assigned the task of conducting surreptitious observation of Lero almost from the moment that Princess Celestia had first been alerted to his presence.

However, unknown to anypony else - quite literally anypony else - Lyra had ‘volunteered’ herself for the job without ever having being asked to do so.

First she had ‘told’ Mayor Mare - though ‘heavily implied to’ would be more accurate - that instructions had been passed down to her from her superiors back at HQ to perform ‘low-key information gathering’, just as a precautionary measure of course.

Then she had informed her commander over in Canterlot that she had received a ‘personal’ request from Ponyville’s Mayor to remain in town - strictly in an unofficial capacity and completely off the books - just in case.

And such was the trust and freedom she enjoyed from both parties that neither one had questioned her words in the slightest, with official paperwork - signed in triplicate no less - to support her new posting arriving from the big city just a few days later.

So from that day on Lyra had stayed in town: watching, observing, studying, conversing, smiling, laughing, hoping, wanting, and ever so slowly falling in...

She couldn't pinpoint when exactly it had happened, but at some point down the line the innocent fascination she had had with the tall, friendly, mostly fur-less ape-looking thing had developed into feeling of deep, honest, true affection.

She could however recall with crystal clarity the moment somepony managed to make her admit her feelings aloud.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A small part of Lyra resented the common perception held by many ponies that meditation had to be conducted alone somewhere - preferably under a tree, with eyes closed and body held rigid whilst one sat as still as a statue, with rear legs crossed and forehooves held outwards whilst chanting ‘oooom’ or some other silly nonsense.

True, she was alone, and she was under a tree, and her eyes were closed... but she was far from sitting still, in fact she wasn't even sitting at all.

Her body undulated with a sublime grace that many professional dancers would have given their rear right hooves for, the soft morning sun dappling through the grove gently caressing her sinuous coat as she completed each of her motions.

“All is ephemera. All fades away.”

Stance to stance, position to position, form to form- each movement was flowing seamlessly from one to the next, each pose held with both fluid precision and utmost professionalism

"Take the brush, write upon the stone. Ink shall fade, stone shall crumble.

Each returns to the source.”

But try as she might to clear her mind her thoughts seemed to be constantly drawn back to the human. He was completely, blissfully unaware of the status he held, but Lero was the living embodiment of Lyra's highest aspiration in life: balance.

“Climb the hill, circle the hill, every path returns to the foot.”

On the whole a quadrupedal existence had little use in pursuing the contemplation of the notion and nature of balance. In situations that required one hoof to be otherwise engaged in holding or carrying, the three remaining appendages would make for a fairly stable platform.

Added to this a pony’s natural and instinctive use of grasping magic that ran almost unnoticed though their hooves, and that their own magical field that continuously affected their centre of gravity, nopony past a year of age would put even a moment’s thought into how the nature of balance affected their day to day life.

“Return to the centre, pass through and return again.”

Beyond normal movement, most ponies could manage only a few seconds unsupported on their hind legs. Grandmasters of many martial arts, as well as scant hoof-full of the most dedicated of athletes, could attain a duration of up to an hour- but this took years of training, immense concentration and finely honed muscle control.

There were rumours floating around certain musical circles that a certain well-known Canterlot cellist-slash-violinist had once managed to perform upright for the better part of an hour, completely unaided. If these rumours were true then Lyra wanted to meet her musical hero now more than ever before.

“River flows to the sea and all is one.

Light burns stone to dust and all is one.”

While The Still Way had taught her that pride in one’s self was a thing to be tempered - that too much could lead to one’s downfall more swiftly than a badly placed hoof ever could - Lyra allowed herself a small feeling of pride in the fact that she could make the task look practically effortless.

Throwing herself wholeheartedly into her training as she had, she had long ago ceased having to consciously control her body in order to remain perpendicular to the ground. To her it felt as natural as breathing- her body flowing instinctively through the forms, allowing her to clear her mind and live solely in the moment.

The mental, physical and spiritual self in perfect harmony.

“Each returns to the centre of all.

Today I forge a new path so that I might once again return.”

Peace.

Serenity.

Balance.

Or at least that’s how it should have been.

Today though... today her mind was anything but clear; instead insisting on filling itself up with wistful images of Lero, vision upon vision of him just being... him.

There was the way he walked- forever falling, with a gait that few creatures on Equestria could ever hope to emulate.

And the way that he could pivot himself about on just one foot, or how he could reach his arms out far from his body in such a way that logic said - screamed almost - that he should surely tumble from that nigh-on alicorn-head-high distance down to the floor.

Then there was the way he lowered himself to a pony’s eye level- folding his considerable height down to match that of his conversational partner, balancing his entire body on naught but the tips of his feet, casually draping his long arms on his knees. Some ponies were extremely uncomfortable when he did this, seeing the action as a predator ready to pounce, Lyra's eyes saw it as something else entirely- a purely harmonious demonstration of the pinnacle of perfect, wondrous, instinctual balance.

And dammit, the fantasies she envisioned involving those long muscular arms did nothing to quell the burgeoning desire within her; the deep, dark longing she could feel wrapping its tendrils around her heart; the insistent, burning heat that slowly crept its way along her...

...yeah, time for a cold shower.

Her morning meditative ritual complete - though it had left her feeling rather frustrated and, to be honest, a little flushed - Lyra was meandering back towards Ponyville, all alone and ruminating over her inner turmoil, when she was chanced upon by Fluttershy.

A briefly awkward silence followed salutations, to be expected whenever dealing with the shy pegasus. Lyra knew not to push the nervous mare for anything more than she was happy to give- instead just giving her time to say what she wanted to say, when she wanted to say it.

Fluttershy was a remarkably perceptive mare, far greater than ponies ever gave her credit for. One of the few benefits to being a wallflower was that, when your mouth is closed, your eyes are open, even when one of them was usually hidden away behind a curtain of pink.

Chronically diffident though she may have been, Fluttershy was also selflessly compassionate- she had noticed Lyra's pensive state immediately and politely queried her about it. Proving once again that it’s always the quiet ones that have to watched out for, it didn’t take long for results of her deductive reasoning to be confirmed.

“Lyra, what’s wrong? You look, um, sad.”

“I’m a little down, yeah.”

“Is that why you’re out here? I like to come here to think, sometimes.”

Fluttershy looked up at the sky and then turned her eyes toward the Everfree Forest.

“It seems all the more peaceful, somehow.”

Lyra didn’t respond, preferring to let the warming sun stroke her body and the cooling breeze stir her coat. They stood like that for some time, not speaking, simply being. Lyra let her thoughts flow and Fluttershy did whatever a Fluttershy might do, until she broke the silence.

“Is it about Lero?”

Lyra’s eyes snapped open. The other mare was watching her intently, almost fiercely, at least as far as could be said for Fluttershy. The combination of adorable shyness and worrying intensity gave Lyra little room to avoid the question. She nodded, barely, and closed her eyes again.

“You mean you-”

“Probably before Rainbow Dash.But I don’t think he noticed. I was waiting to see how things shook out.”

“Oh. Oh m-my, that’s-”

“Life. It’s simply how things are. I’m not going to fight fate.”

So, that was it. That was the first time she had acknowledged her feelings, and ironically it had taken a pony that didn’t like to speak out loud to make her say it.

To admit to the world something that she couldn't deny any more.

To confirm that special feeling- that illusive, wonderful, nauseating, terrifying something she hadn’t felt since she’d been a silly, headstrong, emotional teenager.

She’d fallen... she’d fallen hard and there was nothing she could do about it

She was in love.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Is something the matter, Lyra? You've been staring at your dessert for the last few minutes now."

Lero's hand reached across the table and lightly grasped Lyra's hoof, his thumb tracing small circles on her frog, the intimate connection dragging the unicorn from her introspection.

Blinking, Lyra turned her head to hide the blush, pretending that she was just looking around the restaurant. It was closed, cushions and chairs stacked neatly on tables, blinds pulled down... they were the only ones around.

Thanks to a special deal* that Lero had struck with Crispy and Sky Gem in exchange for introducing the restaurant's most popular new dish, and a promised free massage for Sky Gem, they had exclusive use of the establishment for the entire night.

All around the rest of the room the lights had been lowered, with just a dozen or so small candles placed on the nearest tables lending the restaurant a close and intimate atmosphere.

Lero had used the kitchen to cook up the dish he had taught to Crispy- whole wheat Fettuccine with Alfredo sauce. The pasta had been succulent; the sauce, mouthwatering; the cheese topping, divine, the company...

...entrancing.

"It's nothing, just thinking back."

Lyra turned back to her slowly melting sundae. Keeping her head down, she raised just her eyes, smiling as she surreptitiously - or so she believed - studied the human's face. She had always been good at reading his emotions, a trait that Rainbow Dash had been rather envious of back when she had been unable to do the same.

His eyes radiated nervousness.

Lyra's smile faltered a little, realising that she was the cause of his discomfort.

"Fingers, honestly, it's nothing. I was just remembering the time when I first conceded that I had feelings for you."

Lero's cheeks softened a little and developed a slight shade of crimson but his eyes remained hard.

"You're not having second thoughts about us are you?"

Lero's free hand reached forward and gently moved Lyra's ice cream to the side, then encircled her other hoof and brought the two together. He ran his hands up to her fetlocks and gently caressed the front of her forelegs with his thumbs. He took a deep breath and lowered his gaze as he slowly exhaled.

"Lyra, I'm deeply sorry if I'm failing to be the stallion you need me to be. I'm trying, I really am, I genuinely care for you, but please understand that the whole polygamy thing is still a difficult concept for me to-"

A soft golden glow appeared under his nose and Lero felt his lips being held shut by a pair of phantom fingers. He raised his head to look at Lyra. The corresponding glow surrounded her horn, her eyes were vitreous but she looked like she was about to burst out laughing.

"You, Sir, are an idiot."

"Hmmf."

"Uh uh uh, now shut up for a minute and let me say something."

Lyra tilted her head slightly and lifted the corner of her mouth into a smirk.

"Just nod."

Lero gave a few rapid nods. The gentle touch holding his lips together subsided though Lyra's horn remained active.

"Lero, please. I've been courting your herd for almost two months now, and I've been watching you for far longer than you know."

Lero's eyes widened and his jaw twitched but said nothing.

"Relax, it wasn't a stalker thing. It was my job, remember?"

Lyra's expression softened.

"In that time I have observed nearly every type of social interaction you've had here in Ponyville. I am well aware of your deficiencies when it comes to equestrian culture."

A soft glow enveloped the handle of spoon sticking out of her Ice-cream. Without breaking eye contact, Lyra levitated the well-loaded spoon towards her own mouth, poked her tongue just once into the creamy mixture, then floated the spoon back across the table. Lero opened his mouth to accept the sugary treat as Lyra guided the spoon in, the human’s mouth and eyes closing simultaneously as the spoon ever so slowly slid its way back out from between his lips.

Sweet Celestia, that's hot!.

A small drip landed on Lero's beard. Lyra used the spoon's edge to gently collect it before floating it back across the table where she removed the last of the ice-cream with one thorough, and tantalisingly slow, flick of her tongue.

Sweet Jesus, that's hot!

As Lyra dropped the spoon back into the Ice-cream she felt a warm hand release her forehoof, her eyebrow twitching as she watched it disappear under the table. The unicorn unashamedly flashed a cheesy grin as Lero wriggled in his seat and made a slight adjustment to the front of his jeans.

Well, that lightened the mood. Perhaps tonight will be ‘The Night’ after all.

Lyra's earlier apprehension was dissipating fast as she arrived at the conclusion that poor Lero was just as nervous of screwing this up as she was. The polite yet reserved conversation that had accompanied dinner hadn't been from disinterest- no, it was fear that had been holding his tongue.

"Lero, I completely understand your discomfort. Before I started courting your herd I considered myself rather hoofloose and fancy free, never taking any of my previous... let's just call them trysts, seriously."

Although her smile remained, a dark semblance flashed behind Lyra's eyes.

"Apart from one instance with some upper-crust Canterlot weasel."

Lyra practically spat the words onto the table. As quickly as it had appeared, the look was gone.

"Which I’m sure I will tell you about in the future, but now is not that time."

Lero's hand returned to Lyra's pastern, giving it a comforting squeeze.

“Let’s just say that I wasn’t always the best marefriend in the world. Sometimes I was hurt, other times I did the hurting. Some relationships I wish had lasted longer, others I’m just glad are over. It took me a long time, and a lot of help, to realise that something had to change... and a long longer to realise that that something was me. So, over time I created a skin around myself, hid the old me away, shut her away from the world. I...”

Okay, Lyra. You’re a big girl, keep it together.

“But now, with you, I’m...”

It was there, on the tip of her tongue, just out of reach. She’d practiced this moment over and over again; she had so many words she wanted to say, but right now they all just felt... hollow. Forgetting her speeches, ignoring her plans, she instead resigned herself to just speak from the heart.

“You make me feel like I don’t have to hide anymore. That to keep on hiding everything away isn't right. I want to know all about you, Lero. Everything there is to know; I want to know the good and the bad, I want to know what makes you you, I want to know who you really are... in here.”

Letting Lero’s fingers rest on just one of her pasterns, she lifted her other forehoof across the table, pushing it gently against the human’s chest. She could feel the human’s heart beating deep in his core. It beat so fast, so much faster than a pony’s, pounding away there under her hoof. She was glad that Lero couldn't feel her heartbeat in return- right then it must have been thundering like a freight train.

“And if I don’t offer you the same... then what kind of marefriend would I be?”

Her hoof drifting back across the table, she let it rest, folding it back behind its twin as her eyes fell, looking away.

“I’d be no better than I was before.”

Come on, Lyra. Tonight’s about maring up and being pony you know you can be. Do it!

“And you... you make me want to be better than that.”

This is it. All or nothing!

“So, there it is. I want to give you me, all of me. Both the good and the bad, it’s yours... if you want it?”

Eyes still averted, she couldn't bare to look at him, to see his eyes. What if he rejected her? What if he didn't want to know the old Lyra... the bad Lyra? Could she really blame him?

“I’m sorry. That was probably a bit much, wasn’t it? I... erm... yeah.”

Warm fingers slid, curling tighter around her wrist, soft fingertips pressing against her fur. She was sure he would be able to feel her own heartbeat under the skin, her pulse racing as she allowed herself to hope.

“No. No, Lyra. That wasn’t too much. Not at all.”

Fingers rubbing against her ergot, tracing little circles in the fur; Lero used his other hand to lift Lyra’s chin, bringing her gaze back to his own.

"We all have our histories Lyra. Hey, according to Princess Celestia, I'm extremely fortunate to not remember a big chunk of of mine."

Lyra winced and averted her gaze. She knew Lero didn't like to be reminded that the portion of his life spent between worlds must contain some horrific memories.

"I'm sorry I brought it up."

Lero reached for her chin again, bringing their eyes back into contact.

"Lyra look at me... you've no need to be sorry, you didn't bring anything up, I did. It was just a poorly chosen example that we both have proverbial skeletons in our closets.”

Lyra looked into his eyes- those adorable, delightfully expressive, little eyes.

“You are what you are, and that’s all that you are. And what you are, is a mare that I would very much like to know all about.“

Head held still, afraid she could break whatever spell she was under just by moving, Lyra could feel Lero’s thumb as it ran across her cheek, moving along her muzzle, running back down towards her chin.

“All of you. Everything.”

With just a few words... how could he be so...?

Lero was startled when Lyra quickly withdraw her hooves from his grasp and moved away from the table. He was about to say something when the completely unmistakable look Lyra was giving him froze the words at the back of his throat.

Eyes half lidded, she sensuously stalked her way around the table. For just a moment her horn was enveloped by a bright glow as Lero's chair was pulled away from the table, ending up facing the oncoming unicorn. Anxiety crippled his motor skills as his brain struggled with the sensation of a complete predator/prey role reversal.

Without a word Lyra slowly stood on her hind legs, wrapped her fore legs around his neck and pushed her forehead against Lero's, her horn resting against the top of his head as she gazed into his eyes. Lero bit his bottom lip as Lyra's breath mixed with his own. Her voice emerged as a husky growl

"Let's step this night up a notch shall we?"

Without waiting for a reply she licked her lips and pushed them hard against his.

This wasn't the first time they had kissed; they had been dating for two months after all and had kissed multiple times. But this, this was different. This was the first time they had kissed without either Rainbow Dash or Twilight by their side.

She had never kissed him with so much feverous passion. She was intoxicating, and so similar, yet so different, to both of his other mares. Rainbow kissed with a wild passion, eager and hungry like an uncontrolled flame, while Twilight's kisses were more demure but with a breathless titillation that radiated from the unicorn like she was doing something incredibly naughty.

Lyra's kiss flummoxed him for a split second because he was reminded of all things... His Grandmother... NOT THE KISSING... that would be gross- but a taste he would always associate with her. Her and the all too infrequent visits, and the feeling of being young and safe and cared for that came with it.

The minty unicorn’s kiss was scorchingly hot, yet icily refreshing at the same time. Lero felt rather asinine for failing to come up with a less cliched analogy to use for Lyra but the sensation reminded him of strong peppermint candy. The kind grandparents would dig out each Christmas - offered around in the exact same bowl every year - the kind of sweet that made you want to suck your breath through your teeth even as the fire rolled around inside your cheeks.

All of this flashed through Lero's brain in less than a heartbeat- which, considering his current pulse rate, made for a extremely fleeting conceptualisation.

Hands moving of their own accord, Lero’s arms encircled Lyra's barrel, pulling her into his chest. Lyra's tongue delved into his mouth, running along his teeth in what seemed like a desperate attempt to liberate the words that had earlier frozen in their mouths.

As hands slid down Lyra's back and cupped her light green flanks, she moaned into his mouth as Lero grunted and lifted the unicorn into his lap. The human was suddenly quite grateful that he had taken those few seconds to adjust his jeans as Lyra's hind legs wrapped around his hips.

Lyra mewled uncontrollably as Lero ran his fingernails up her back, raking them through her mane. Breaking the kiss, Lyra arched her neck when Lero found the sweet spot-

Ohhh, that feels sooooo good.

-and gave a little tug. Biting down on her bottom lip, Lyra drew a sharp breath as she felt the sharp teeth of a predator nibble along the length of her neck.

"Oh, Fingers!"

"Oh, Horny!"

Human and unicorn simultaneously halted their ministrations and looked into each others eyes, acutely aware of the double entendre that their respective nicknames suddenly represented. Neither would ever agree to who had started it but both of them almost immediately broke down into fits of laughter.

Forelimbs wrapped around each other for support, tears streamed into mane and hair alike as all the tension that had tainted the evening so far evaporated, leaving behind nothing but aching ribs and, in Lero's case, a short lived bout of hiccups which set them both off again.

Once the giggles had finally subsided the two herdmates just remained as they were; hugging each other, Lyra’s head resting on Lero's shoulder as he gently ran his fingers through her mane. The gesture had transcended from erotically sensual to a purely comforting gesture as they just enjoyed the warmth and closeness of the moment.

Eventually the unicorn’s attention was drawn to her Clàrsach which she had brought with her and had left in the corner by the door.

"As much as I would love to sit here and luxuriate in your arms all night, there is something I want to play for you."

After an affectionate squeeze, Lero reluctantly released his hold on Lyra, the mare placing a rather chaste kiss on his cheek before pushing herself off of his lap.

"You just stay right where you are."

She nuzzled her face into his hip and ran the rest of her body along his leg as she trotted off towards her instrument, turning her head just in time to catch Lero shamefully staring at her retreating flanks. She grinned, poking her tongue out at him as he suddenly found their discarded desserts extremely interesting. With a flirtatious flick of her tail she turned her attention back towards her harp.

“Back when we were practicing that piece you sang for Rainbow, I starting thinking about what you’d said, about how all your music was made by... well, yourselves, I guess. All our lives, we ponies can feel the music of harmony in everything that we see, or do, or feel. We’re touched by it from the day we’re born- it’s there, just like the air we breath, the food we eat, the sun and the moon. Even our greatest lyricists and musicians have never known anything else... which makes me feel a bit like we’ve had it so incredibly easy all this time.”

Channeling her magic, Lyra's horn was encased in a golden glow as she picked up her clàrsach and hovered it over to a small performance space that she had earlier cleared in the middle of the room.

“A lot of ponies might think that you’re missing out on something. Hey, maybe you do too. But me... I don’t think so. You, and every human like you, you’ve had to work hard for your music, and that makes it special... so much more special than anything we’ve ever had.”

Lifting a chair from atop one of the nearby tables, Lyra carried it over to where her harp was waiting, carefully placing the piece of furniture behind her pride and joy.

“So, I wanted to make something for you... no music of harmony, no assistance or magic or... anything.”

Lyra laughed lightly as she hopped up onto the chair, sitting human style, letting her hind legs dangle below her. Levitating her instrument, she let it rest on her gaskins.

“And boy, was it harder than I thought it’d be. But, I’m done, it’s ready. No idea how though. I’m not even sure where some of the words really came from if I’m going to be totally honest about it. Maybe She-”

Lyra waved a hoof vaguely towards the sky.

“-helped me out with a few lines, I don’t know. Part of me’s hoping she did, another part’s hoping she didn’t.”

An elevated spotlight that was usually pointed at the specials board blinked to life as it swiveled around to point instead at the musician; the sharp, radiant light glinting from her golden harp.

Girl, stop procrastinating and just do it!

“So, yeah, here goes.”

Closing her eyes and, with an exaggerated flourish, Lyra plucked free a few notes with her hooves alone. Note after note danced around the room as the unicorn utilised not her horn, but nothing more than low level magic that ran through her limbs.

After a few moments, Lero was in awe as Lyra's horn lit up and the number of notes increased, expanding the performance into a calming and peaceful opus that rolled around the room, touching on tables and chairs and candles and curtains as it span its wonderful web of sound.

Standing up, Lero span his chair so he could straddle it, placing both arms across the back and leaned forward to rest his chin on them. He had only heard her sing a few times before, most recently a jaunty little show-tune-esque number that he and Bon Bon had caught her singing just a few weeks ago. Liquid pooled in his eyes, though he didn’t care one bit, as Lyra wove her angelic voice into the melody.

I will come for you at nighttime

I will raise you from your sleep

I will kiss you in four places

As I go running along your street

I will squeeze the life out of you

You will make me laugh and make me cry

And we will never forget it

You will make me call your name

And I'll shout it to the blue summer sky

And we may never meet again

So shed your skin and let's get started

And you will throw your arms around me

Yeah, you will throw your arms around me

I dreamed of you at nighttime

And I watched you in my sleep

I met you in high places

I touched your head and touched your feet

So if you disappear out of view

You know I will never say goodbye

And if I ever forget it

You will make me call your name

And I'll shout it to the blue summer sky

And we may never meet again

So shed your skin and let's get started

And you will throw your arms around me

Yeah, you will throw your arms around me

Letting her words fade, Lyra continued for another verse using the strings alone, then let the music fade away as well.

As she slowly opened her eyes, lost as she had been in the music, she was startled to find Lero had abandoned his chair and was sitting cross legged on the floor less than a body length in front of her. She blinked at him, waiting for him to say something.

For a good few moments he didn’t say a thing just watched her, his eyes never leaving hers.

As seconds ticked by Lyra started to sag until Lero reached out, placing a single hand on her Clàrsach before dragging it away from Lyra and towards himself.

She sat, transfixed on her chair, as he unfolded himself in that way he did, swung his legs around and shuffled towards her on his knees. Reaching her - close enough that she could feel the heat from his body against her chest - he sat himself upright, resting the seat of his pants on his heels as he took one of her hooves in his hands.

"Lyra, that is the most beautiful thing anyone, pony or human, has ever done for me. I am truly, deeply touched."

Lero's eyes shifted focus as he struggled to find the words he wanted to say.

"When Rainbow Dash first raised the equestrian practice of polygamy, I was certain that that would be one of the hardest cultural difference I would be expected to adapt to, should I choose to-”

His allready pink face tinged a little redder as he remembered his first ‘au naturel’ visit to the spa.

“-not including public nudity of course."

One of Lero's hands unconsciously moved to stroke the blue feather braided into his hair.

"When I first fell in love with Rainbow, we were happy, just the two of us. I never realised it would even be an issue until she made me aware that Twilight Sparkle wanted to court us. Both of us."

Lero's jaw worked as if chewing on something.

"I approached the whole two girlfriends, sorry, marefriends scene with an open mind but also severe trepidation."

He shifted a little in place.

"Then I grew to care for Twilight very deeply, I finally accepted that I can love another without diminishing the love I felt for the one I already had."

Lero averted his gaze as he gently stroked Lyra's hoof. He took a deep breath, straightening his thighs to bring his face level with hers. His hand moved from Dash's feather to cup the side of Lyra's face, gently stroking her ear with his thumb as he looked deep into her eyes.

"Then two months ago a pony I considered one of my very best friends presented me with a neighponese peace blossom."

Lero's thumb abandoned her ear to wipe the tear that was rolling down her cheek.

"You were... No... You are a great friend to me, and I have been seriously evaluating myself and my capacity for love ever since."

Lero swallowed twice in a vain attempt to keep his own tears at bay.

"Up until this night and, to be honest, most of tonight, I still had uncertainties as to whether I could love a third mare with as much loyalty and commitment as I have for Rainbow and Twilight."

Lero gave up all attempts at hiding his tears and just settled for letting them flow freely down his face.

"Lyra Heartstrings, I love you. There is no doubt whatsoever in my mind that I have room in my heart for all three of you. If you feel you can love me in return, I wou-”

The rest of whatever the human was trying to say was lost as he suddenly found himself flat on his back, and blinded by a spotlight, as a sobbing green unicorn pinned him to the floor, hugging him so tightly that she nearly strangled him in the process.

Thighs screaming in protest at the uncomfortable position until he rocked himself from side to side and flicked his lower legs out straight, Lero tried desperately to disentangle Lyra's forelegs so he could take a breath.

"Lyra... Can't... Breathe... Lyra..."

In a last ditch effort to get through to the deranged ‘gonna-kill-me-with-her-love’ unicorn he slapped the floor like a wrestler tapping out. Flinging her hooves wide Lyra rained completely uncoordinated and sloppy kisses over every inch of his face.

"You big doofus, I have been in love with you for ages."

Playfully she punched him in the shoulder before hugging him again, though much more gently this time..

"I have been playing that song every night, trying to pluck up the courage to play it for you."

Lero squinted up at her under the harsh glare from the spotlight.

"Bonnie couldn't take it anymore and told me if I didn't suck it up and just play it for you she was going to use my favourite harp as a toffee slicer."

Putting a hoof on either side of Lero's head, the unicorn stared into his eyes. Her voice emerged as barely a whisper.

"I've known you for a long time, I know you had some reservations about me joining your herd and I completely understood why."

Lyra placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"We've had some pretty frank discussions as friends before I started courting you remember?"

She placed another soft kiss on his left cheek.

"A lot of those little chats were about adapting to polygamy."

A kiss for the right cheek.

"I believed with all my heart, that you would eventually let another mare into yours. If only I could pluck up the courage to ask if it could be me."

Lyra kissed him passionately on the lips, pressing the length of her body against his. Feeling his body respond to her, the growing heat building up in both of them, she broke the kiss, effortlessly dodged Lero's grasping hands as he tried to hug the evasive mare. A sly smile crept across her lips as she gazed upon the flushed human beneath her.

"Now, as much as I'd love to continue this here and now, there’s cleaning work to do."

She gestured towards the table next to theirs, stacked with the dirty dishes of their two pre-dessert courses.

Lifting the back of a hand to his forehead, Lero sighed dramatically.

“Aaah. A stallion’s work is never done.”

“Well, we’d best get started then. I’ll wash, you dry.”

Beneath her, Lero laughed, the rhythmical movement rubbing the human’s shirt against her teats in just the right way to...

Oh Sweet Celestia... Buck the cleaning!

“No, it’s okay. Crispy said I could leave it for when the morning staff arrive, said it was part of our deal. I just gotta put out the candles and lock up.”

Oh really?

Carefully pulling herself up onto her hooves, Lyra lit her horn as her clàrsach floated inches above the still prone and clearly confused Lero. Opening the front door with her magic, she let her instrument float out into the darkness.

"Well then, I'm going to quickly drop this off at home, let Bonnie know not to wait up, and pay her the twenty bits I suppose I now owe her."

Rolling onto his hands and knees, Lero watched as Lyra stopped in the doorway and gave him a large, and rather dirty, grin.

"Be a good boy, get this place locked up, and be back at your house in say, ooooh, ten minutes? With Rainbow and Twilight if they're keen-"

Lyra flicked her tail side to side, suggestively wiggling her eyebrows at him,

That’s it, girl. Screw subtly!

"-and I'll make sure I have some far more enjoyable ‘stallion work’ for you to do."

Without another word Lyra practically skipped out of the restaurant and into the night.

As the door closed behind her with just the jingle of its little bell a clearly flabbergasted - and more than a little frustrated - Lero was left alone, still down on his hands and knees, trying to comprehend what exactly had just happened.

Adjusting the front of his jeans yet again, Lero looked up at the clock on the wall.

"Ten minutes, eh?"

Lero mentally calculated the time needed to complete the required tasks and get back home.

"I think i can manage that."

Omake/Easter Egg/Deleted Scene/Extra Bit At The End:

Lero makes spaghetti... or something.
*************

A few weeks earlier, Lero had just finished replacing a particularly stubborn bit of pipe and had been washing his hands in the now-working sink while watching Crispy make hay spaghetti.

Lero had casually remarked that Rainbow dash had been impressed with the pasta he could make out of just, flour, eggs and salt. Crispy had insisted Lero make the dish for him at once. Lero whipped up the pasta in minutes.

The whole kitchen staff had been utterly mesmerized, stopping what ever tasks they had been doing just to watch Lero's hands and fingers manipulate and knead the dough. Slightly uncomfortable with the amount of scrutiny he was under he hung the finished noodles over the pasta rack-

"Leave them for a few hours before you cook them and they will be perfect."

-and beat a hasty retreat.

Later that day Crispy had cooked up the pasta for all the restaurant staff to sample. They had all been thoroughly impressed with the taste that came from the three simple ingredients. Crispy immediately declared they would be on the menu by the next day. They were an instant hit with every pony that tried them. Patrons loved them but Crispy was silently indignant, for despite using precisely the same ingredients, not one pony in the kitchen could get the noodles as good as Lero did that day.

When Lero had stopped in for lunch one day with Rainbow and Twilight, Crispy had approached Lero to ask if there was any secret they had missed when he was making them. Lero smiled, leaned his elbows on the table and interlaced his fingers under his chin.

"Oh, there's no real secret that you kneed to know, it’s more a ‘rule of thumb’ thing"

Lero pushed his arms forward, inverted his hands and loudly cracked his knuckles. He tapped his index finger on his chin.

"I can't quite put-my-finger-on-it but there must be a way I handled the dough in a way that none of you can."

Rainbow burst out laughing, Twilight hid behind her menu emitting an extremely undignified snort and poor Crispy left the table utterly confused as to what the hay just happened.

Author's Note

Author's Note: PhuckncukL

I'm sorry but there is not enough Lyra love in the Xenoverse.

This chapter came about after hearing Throw your arms around me on the radio and I had an epiphany that it would be just the kind of song Lero would inspire in Lyra. (I read the line about shedding skin as referring to removing his clothes)

A read a comment a few weeks ago, that got a lot of likes, that readers loved the stories that revisit the earlier periods of Lero's time in Equestria and fill in a few of the gaps. There had only been a few examples detailing how Lyra came to be in the herd but they were few and far between. This is just my humble interpretation of how Lero would deal with having another mare in his life.

You have mates

PhucknuckL

Author's Note: TheQuietMan

Wahooo. Collaboration time again! Or, as Mister Torgue would say: COLLABORATION EXPLOSION!! WIDDLY-WIDDLY-WIDDLY-WEEEOOOWN!

**ahem** Yeah. I love these things. Can you tell?

So, a big up for PhucknuckL, cos he’s so much fun to work with. Another for Archonix, cos he let us pinch bits of The Weak Lyre without so much as batting an eyelid. And another for a guy called Mark Seymour for writing ‘You will throw your arms around me’. While I’m at it, how about another for the guys and gals in the forum who wanted more Lyra?

11: Please, please don't leave me - by VelvetHeart & The Quiet Man

Please, please don't leave me by VelvetHeart & The Quiet Man
Chapter published 1st Sept 2013

*********************

Clammy, soaked to the skin and more than a little cold, wet clothing clung to his frame like a second skin, one that squelched and seeped with his every movement. Water followed him into his home, dark droplets staining the rugs and floorboards both like a trail of breadcrumbs, marking a curving path to the bathroom where the tub awaited him; the promise of warming his bones and soothing his aching muscles with a nice long, hot soak spurring him onward.

As he crossed the threshold from hallway to bathroom, he let his sodden shirt slide from his back, the fabric hitting the floor with a resounding ‘splat. He knew that by now his body temperature was beginning to drop, the chill factor of the lake water trapped against his skin more than his own body could compensate for, a surefire path to the sniffles if left untreated much longer.

A shiny tap stood with its twin at the end of the bath ready to dispense a flood of hot water, its polished metal surface gleaming awaiting his touch, his hand already reaching for it - and landing just short. Something was tugging on his other hand. Something insistent.

A pair of eyes, large and shiny, met his as he turned, their surface reflecting twin visions of the tall human back at him. This pair of glimmering globes held relief, agitation, nervousness... and maybe a touch of fear Three of his fingers were caught in the pegasus’ mouth, her lips holding them gently though her grip was still tight against his knuckles.

Seated beside him, looking up at Lero like a betrayed puppy, Rainbow Dash finally let go of his fingers, the biped’s hand falling to his side as his herdmate turned away from him, hiding her eyes from view..

“Don’t leave me again.”

“It’s only a bath. I won’t even...”

Lero stopped, then sighed as he took in the back of his mare’s head, the downcast position of her ears, the barely imperceptible trembling of her shoulders.

“Will it make you feel better if you stay right here?”

After a moment Rainbow Dash nodded, her face still turned away from her stallion.

Taps were turned and clothes fell to the floor, each garment hitting the floor with a somewhat waterlogged splat, and soon the only human in Equestria slid his tired body into the heated water with a groan of relief. Moments later, a familiar pegasus clambered into the extra large tub, standing over the human, the vibrant blue of her coat reflected back at her from the water barely reaching her belly. Lero lay a hand on the side of her barrel, face-to-face with his lover’s intent stare.

“Rainbow, the water’s not going to swallow me or... you’re trembling. Ssshh. Don’t worry. Lay down. You just had a bit of a shock, that’s all. You’re coming down from the adrenaline.”

Slowly, he coaxed her to fold her legs and let herself sink deeper into the bath, resting her head on his chest as his fingers slowly trailed down her spine, avoiding the more sensitive spots.

“Was it really that scary?”

A small nod was the only warning before the tears came. No great drama, no waterfalls, just a short, harsh release of pent-up fear that faded as her stallion’s fingers gently caressed the skin under her mane.

“Better?”

Another nod, followed by a soft ‘thump’ as the mare suddenly rammed her forehead against Lero’s shoulder. There was no real anger behind the contact, the collision causing no pain to either party. But the pegasus wanted her stallion’s attention, wanted him to know how strongly she felt about his actions, how scared she’d been by the possibility of losing him.

“You should’ve told us you could swim! I thought I’d lost you! I... You...”

“Sorry! I’m sorry. Really, I am. I didn’t realise being able to swimming was so uncommon among ponies. It’s pretty much the norm where I come from. Teaching young children the basics of swimming is mandatory in many places. I guess Ponyville wasAHH!”

Interrupted mid-sentence, Lero jerked back against the bathtub’s wall, sending a small wave of water over the edge and onto the floor as Twilight Sparkle’s face suddenly appeared next to him.

“You can learn to swim?”

It was Twilight’s question, but there were two expectant gazes aimed at the startled human.

“Well, yes. I mean, how else do you-”

“Raw, innate talent. Deepwater fishers, pearldivers, rescue ponies, it’s often considered to be part and parcel of a pony’s special talent, but that doesn’t quite fit the numbers. More than a few with completely unrelated talents can swim. Pinkie Pie, for instance. It’s still relatively uncommon among ponies. But, more importantly, humans can learn to swim? From what?”

Twilight Sparkle leaned in further still, forehooves on the edge of the tub. Her expression held the same look of concern that her herdsister had held moments before, but it was also coloured by an edge of excitement. The thrill of discovery, the joy of learning. A chance for further education had presented itself and she was not a mare to let something like this pass her by.

“Other humans, actually. Humans don’t just learn to swim, they can teach it too.”

“So does that meaHmmMmfff!”

“Teach me.”

Rainbow Dash leant her chest further into Lero’s as she made her demand, making sure the stallion’s full attention was on her before she took her hoof out of her herdmate’s mouth.

“I... well, you know. And we could swim together.”

After a moment’s thought, she added,

“Is it possible to have sex while swimming?”

Lero laid his head back on the edge of the tub for a moment, eyes on the ceiling as he pondered the logistics... of both requests.

“We could try. Ehm, the teaching, I mean. I know the basics, and Pinkie Pie could probably show me the major differences between our swimming styles. I’m surprised you don’t have something like this for the little fillies and colts already.”

The pegasus was puzzled. What would schoolkids have to do with this?

“What do you mean, for the little foals? Why would they need to swim? They’re not going to-”

Twilight Sparkle interrupted her herdmate, the unicorn’s ears suddenly flagging.

“Remember Butterball?”

“Oh.”

Lero’s eyes moved from mare to mare, the sadness in their own eyes told him all he needed to know.

“One of the kids get in too deep?”

Rainbow pushed herself back against his chest, her chin resting against the side of his neck.

“Yeah. You know Button? Butterball was his twin. A couple’a years ago they were playing out by one of the dams outside’a town and fell in. When the beavers found them only Button was still breathing and by the time they’d managed to find Fluttershy and bring her all the way to the dam it was just too late.”

Reaching up with one hand, Lero rubbed behind Rainbow’s ear while, with the other, he stroked at the back of Twilight’s mane. The purple unicorn pushed against her stallion’s hand, letting his fingers move behind her ear as she spoke.

“I’d not long arrived from Canterlot myself so I was still just getting to know everyone. I didn't really understand why Fluttershy had locked herself away all of a sudden, I didn’t realise how much she’d blamed herself. She can swim, it’s part of her skill with animals, even waterbound ones, but she’s not very strong you see. She’d convinced herself that if she could have flown there faster, and then swam the last of the way to them more quickly, she could have somehow saved them both.”

Rainbow’s ear suddenly pricked up, her head rising from her stallions neck to look him in the eye.

“You could teach me. I’m totally the fastest flyer in town. If I knew how to swim then if anypony got into trouble I could fly there and save them.”

“You mean like a lifeguard or the maybe the Coast Guard?”

“Coast Guard?”

“Yeah. Doesn’t Equestria have teams of Coast Guard posted along the coasts to help swimmers or sailors that get into trouble.”

“No, not really. Like Twi said, not many of us can swim so trips to the beach don’t usually include a whole lot of swimming. The Border Patrol has a bunch of ponies that can, and any floating cities like Vortex or Hurricane that spend a lot of time out over the ocean have Lifeguards on duty to to escort flocks of visitors.”

“What about the Wonderbolts? Surely they must know how to swim, being on call for rescue missions and stuff?”

“Oh wow. I never thought of that. If I could swim that’d make my application look like twenty... no, thirty percent cooler.”

The pegasus lifted a forehoof and held it aloft, moving it slowly from left to right as if imagining her name in lights on one of Manehatten’s Broadway theatres.

“I can just see it now... ‘Rainbow Dash - Rescue Pony’... that would be so awesome.”

As her herdsister was caught up in visions of her glorious future, with grateful stallions throwing themselves at her hooves and young fillies wishing that they could grow up to be just like their hero, Twilight rejoined the conversation.

“You said humans teach their children how to swim, maybe you could do that here? It’d mean there’d be less chance of young ponies getting into trouble and needing rescuing in the first place.”

Behind the unicorn’s ear, Lero’s fingers ceased their movements as his brain worked though what his mare was suggesting.

“Twi, that’s a great idea. We’d need to get their parents to agree, and get a few adult ponies that can swim to act as assistants or lifeguards, but it could really do the kids a lot of good. Swimming’s fantastic exercise for the whole body, and it’s a lot of fun. Do you think we could make it happen.”

Twilight rubbed at her chin with a forehoof, a habit she’d always had but, as it was also one of her stallion’s habits, she’d found herself doing more and more in recent times.

“Well, if we could get Cheerilee and Mayor Mare on board that’d give the idea more weight. Then if we could get some of the more influential parents like Filthy Rich behind us the others would be easy to convince.”

By this point, Rainbow had lifted herself out of the water, streams of warm liquid running off of her fur and back into the bathwater beneath her.

“Filthy’ll be a pushover. He dotes on that brat of his so all we have to do is convince him it'll be for her own good, throw in some scare stories about how easy it is for young fillies to drown, especially if they’re always wearing silly heavy jewelry, and bang, he’ll sign up straight away.”

Twilight nodded sagely at her herdmate’s suggestion even though she wasn’t too sure about the ‘scare stories’ part.

“That’s true, Rainbow. Plus I’d think that Derpy and Berry Punch will both get behind the idea if we explain it to them. They can both be really quite protective of their girls and anything that can help them stay safe will appeal to their maternal instincts. Button’s mom might be a hard sell though, what with losing one foal already. She wouldn’t let Button out of the house for almost a year after that. But if we could convince her it’d go a long way with the other parents.”

Rainbow tried rubbing her forehoof against her chin. It just didn’t look as impressive when she did it. It also didn't help that the act of pulling a forehoof out of the bathwater had managed to splash both of her herdmates.

“I got a plan for that. Pinkie was telling me about what the kid’s been like whenever he’s at Sugarcube Corner. If we can get both Rarity and Sweetie Belle on board and then send’em over to his mom’s house to talk up the idea, Button will get so overexcited about the whole thing that she’ll probably end up saying yes just to get him out from under her hooves for a while.”

Lero and Twilight - the front of unicorn’s mane still dripping from her sudden soaking - shared a quick glance. Their pegasus herdmate could be quite devious when she wanted to be... and right now, it looked like she really wanted to be.

“And I can work on Applejack while the big guy here works on Big Mac. Between us I reckon we can get the Apples signed up, no problem. I don’t know about Scoot’s mom but if we’ve already got Berry Punch on our side by that point then Quickfix wouldn’t be far behind. And once we’ve got all three Cutie Mark Crusaders they’ll probably find a way to get the rest of the kids involved all on their own.”

Reaching out, Lero took his pegasus herdmate’s hoof in his hand and gently pulled it away from her chin. The ‘long-past-just-devious’ aura she was giving off was starting to weird him out. Give her another twenty minutes and he was worried she’d be putting on a strange accent and start demanding that their herd be kitted out with sharks with laser beams on their heads or something.

“There’s something you’re forgetting, hun. Not only do we not have enough adults that can swim to keep a whole bunch of students safe in the water, but much of the town still doesn’t trust me and certainly wouldn’t trust me with their kids. I’m still that big scary meat eater to a lot of them and that probably won’t change anytime soon.”

While it did knock some of the wind out of Rainbow’s sails, Lero’s (sadly true) comment just made Twilight hop up and down with excitement, which caused her two herdmates to laugh out loud at the sight of a grown mare bouncing up and down like an excited filly.

“No, no, it’s perfect. You can start off by teaching some of the adults that already trust you, like me and Rainbow and the girls, and Lyra, I know she’d be interested, and Lyra’s housemate and your friends like Big Mac and Time Turner-”

“Twi, calm down, you’re running out of air.”

“What? Sorry, yes. What I mean is, if you teach a group of adults first and they see how useful it could be, word will spread to other adults, and then once you teach them too they’ll see how useful it is and tell others. Then from there we move onto the foals and get the adults you’ve already taught to help out. Like all the best ideas, once ponies see how great it is word will spread on its own and, as a side effect, if ponies think that it was all because of you then part of their natural herding instinct will kick in and they’ll start seeing you more as somepony they can trust, especially after what you did for Honeybee today. And then if it all works out for Ponyville we could show Princess Celestia and maybe even get other towns to start doing something similar!”

As her herdsister had been talking up a storm, Rainbow’s jaw had been dropping further and further.

“That. Would. Be. AWESOME!”

Reaching out again, but this time towards his unicorn herdmate, Lero pushed Twilight’s sodden fringe away from her forehead and planted a soft kiss between her eyebrows.

“Twilight, you're a genius.”

At this the librarian’s cheeks flushed. She knew she was smart - it was something she’d worked tirelessly on her whole life after all - but whenever her stallion complimented her on her intelligence then it still made her blush like a teenage schoolfilly with a crush.

“I... erm, thank you. Should I go see if Lyra’s filed her report yet so she can help me can find Pinkie Pie? If we can get their input first then we could probably start talking to other ponies about it after lunoohh.”

As Lero continued to trail soft kisses up across her forehead, each one getting closer and closer to the base of her horn, the unicorn's eyes started to cross as her horn began to glow.

“Or, of coursemmmmmh. Weoohhh, could always wait until tomorraaaahh.”

After pushing the bathroom door closed behind her with a hind leg, Twilight climbed into the large tub with her two herdmates, pushing warm water all over the floor as they moved around each other.

Rainbow was probably going to be late for her meeting with the south sector weather crew, but for some reason she just couldn’t bring herself to care. The rest of the morning was spent attempting to answer the question “can a pony and a human have sex whilst in water?”. And it would seem that the answer was very much in the affirmative. Though that didn’t stop the three of them from testing the results many times.

Many, many times.

Author's Note

The Quiet Man: I do so love a collaboration. This one's only a short one but it sets up a later chapter nicely. Thanks go to VelvetHeart, complaints (as always) come to me.

But the main question is... What is the first rule of Swim Club?

12: The Blank Plague - by SpinelStride

The Blank Plague by special guest author SpinelStride
Chapter published 26th June 2013

**************************

Everything was grey. Dull, listless, as though moondust had settled across Ponyville. Lero couldn't keep his bearings. One minute he was approaching a dreary-looking Sugarcube Corner, the next he was outside town hall. He couldn't tell any ponies apart; they were grey too, and if they still had cutie marks, their grey shades matched their coats and he couldn't make them out. He could make out horns and wings, but nothing more. The ponies who wandered around were as uninspired as their palettes, vaguely drifting from place to place without sign of intent. Finally, he spotted a mane he recognized. Barely. A series of gradations of grey had taken the place of the vibrant colors he loved so much.

"Rainbow!" Lero cried out, and surged through the crowd. She gave him a focus point, something to aim toward; Ponyville seemed to careen around him, but he drew closer to her and swept the now-desaturated pony into his arms. "Rainbow Dash!"

She looked dully into his eyes. "What's a rainbow?" And he couldn't hold her; she slipped away bonelessly, not trying to escape, simply wandering off in disinterest. Lero sank to his knees, eyes wide.

A thundering voice intruded on his shock. "Our apologies for intruding on thy dream, Bellerophon of Ponyville. We fear Our presence has caused this foreboding display."

He turned. A dark-coated alicorn stood there, her hair drifting to the side though no wind moved in the air. He could not muster the energy to say more than, "Princess Luna."

She bowed her head lightly in acknowledgement. Her voice was a roar from all around. "Thou must gather thyself, Bellerophon of Ponyville. This is but a nightmare; thy beloveds are safe. For now. But We must speak with thou, and thou must listen and remember. There is danger in Equestria, and thou and We alone are beyond its reach. And We are not certain of Ourself in that." She gestured around at the grey town with a wing. "This is a warning, Bellerophon of Ponyville. A plague has come to Equestria. It sinks itself into the very magic of those it afflicts. Unicorns fall most easily, and the other magic-strong. Pegasi and griffins and other denizens of the air next. In the end, even earth ponies, minotaurs, and even some of the beasts of the field yield to it."

Lero pushed himself to his feet. The colorless Ponyville seemed to lose distinction around him; he was hazily aware of being somewhere in Ponyville, but not any place in particular. Only Luna's presence was precise. He took a long, deep breath, then another, trying to settle himself. His chest hurt; seeing Rainbow Dash slip away from him like that struck him deeply. "It's only a dream," he muttered to himself, and added another breath. "So... is there a cure?" he asked, when he felt sure of his voice.

Luna's long horn swayed as she shook her head. "Alas, there is not. We have secluded Ourself from all contact in hopes of avoiding this plague, but Our Sister has no such option. She remains with her court, and thus it is all but certain she has already been infected, if not yet stricken. All is not lost. We can raise the sun and the moon as did Our Sister for Our thousand years of exile. The mages of Canterlot have suggested that the plague will break of its own; when a victim's magic has been drained to the last dregs, then the plague dies within them, and they begin to recover. Those with the most easily-accessed magical potential last, those with the most innate magics first."

Lero's eyes widened. "Twilight! I have to warn her!" He turned - but Ponyville had washed out entirely; he stood in a field of gray without so much as a distinct building in view, merely vague suggestions of generic structures.

Luna's wings flared. "Twilight Sparkle is Our friend as well, Bellerophon, yet We speak not of her peril alone!" she snapped.

Lero stopped and turned back to her. There was that note in her voice... "You're really afraid, aren't you?"

She glared at him, and opened her mouth... and then stopped and lifted a hoof to her chest, then moved it out and to the side while exhaling. Her voice was softer when she spoke again. "Th... You are right. Lero. I am sorry. I revert to mine older habits at times. But it is no less true. Twilight Sparkle and every pony in Ponyville will have a terrible time, just as every pony across Equestria - and every other inhabitant. It has already struck Fillydelphia's unicorns, and pegasi there have begun to lose their strength as well. The afflicted are weakened slowly, then wander in a fog, unknowing of themselves, paying no heed to anything else. Their very cutie marks, those who have them, fade as their colors do. In the end, they lose even the power of speech, left as though dumb animals, every drop of magic in their bodies consumed. It takes longer for those with more magic, both the loss and the recovery afterward."

"Then it's going to hit Twilight worse than anyone," Lero said. "But if anyone can find a cure, she can. Let me wake up so I can tell her and get her started." His chest wasn't hurting anymore; even though he knew he was dreaming, his heart was racing instead, needing to run to tell his herd what was going on.

"Thou dost... Ahem. You do not need to do that, Lero. I am not limited to a single dream at a time, when I choose to be. I am spreading the warning across Equestria to prepare. The Blank Plague does not strike all at the same time, nor does it take as long to recover for all. Those who yet have strength must tend to those who have succumbed, and be tended themselves when their turn comes. But there are exceptions."

"Exceptions?" Lero asked cautiously. "Some ponies might... never recover?"

Luna shook her head. Then paused and nodded. "There will be death, Lero. The very weak, those very sick with other maladies already, the very old, some ponies will not be able to tolerate being weakened further. But your friends are strong and healthy; I think they will recover quickly. The exceptions I speak of are three in number. We three. The magics of the sun, the moon, and of love are boundless, or as close to boundless as it matters. I have not the strength to spend all my life alone, raising both the sun and the moon, unable to meet another pony for fear of contracting this plague. I know this of myself. I have not the strength to live like that. But before I may risk myself, I must know that Celestia has recovered. But while she suffers from the plague, any pony who nears her will almost certainly be exposed to her sickness - and if the plague draws from the power of the sun, it may well be strong enough to overcome even a pony who has gained immunity to the normal plague."

Lero put his hand over his face. His thumb pressed to the right of his right eye, his fingers left of his left eye. "So you need the only completely magic-free person in Equestria to nurse the living fury of the sun until she recovers enough to take her job back - and then to tend to you while you go through the same thing?"

Luna nodded. "We are... I am not looking forward to it," she confessed. "But Cadence and Shining Armor are already en route to Canterlot, that you may tend to her as well. I am sorry, Lero. I know the thought of leaving your beloveds behind to do your duty is painful. But you must. You are the only one who can do this."

Lero shook his head. "If I'm going to Canterlot, I'm taking everyone with me. I am not going to leave Rainbow Dash to wander alone in the streets like that. Or anyone else."

Luna regarded him for a long moment. "Dost thou not think that their other friends will tend to them? Applejack and Pinkie Pie are earth ponies; it will not hit them for some time, and they will recover soonest. At least one of the Bearers of the Elements will likely be able to watch the rest. If the Elements themselves do not protect them."

Lero shook his head again. "I won't leave them."

Luna's horn quivered as she looked at him. "I am... unused to being refused. I could give you a royal command. But I have read Twilight's reports, what you have told her of your history. An Amareican, whose people rebelled against your world's mightiest rulers over nothing more than a tax on tea. I hesitate to think what you would do for outright love."

Lero tried not to be sidetracked. "It wasn't that simple. But I will not leave them."

Luna nodded again and turned. "Bring them on the first train to Canterlot, then. You are needed."

***

The train was waiting for Lero and his herd in the morning. Lyra awoke first and was halfway done packing for everyone by the time Lero's eyes opened; Twilight roused herself next, and it took the other three to get Rainbow Dash onto her hooves. A trio of pegasi in the armor of the Royal Guard were hovering outside when they opened the door; the three did not so much as introduce themselves before they set to loudly clearing a path for Lero to the station.

Luna's dream-warning to everyone else had been suffused with her usual level of tact, Lero saw. Ponies were looking at him being escorted by the Royal Guard, and he could already hear the panic growing behind the increasingly-wild rumors that were springing up on the spot.

"It came with him!"

"No, he's immune, they're going to make a cure from him!"

"It's gonna turn us all into humans!"

"It's gonna turn us all into horses!"

"We're all gonna die!"

"Cookies make everything better!"

"Oh, hi, Pinkie!"

Lero didn't think it was physically possible for her to have distributed baked goods that fast, but suddenly everyone in sight was munching on a gingersnap. Lero looked down. The hand that wasn't holding a suitcase had a cookie in it. He tried a bite. He gave serious consideration to turning around, sitting down in Sugarcube Corner, and never leaving again. He kept walking. And chewing.

"Hi, Lyra! Are you and Lero and Twilight and Rainbow Dash going to go get the super-secret SEVENTH Element of Harmony that can only be wielded by a human?" Pinkie cheerfully inquired.

Lyra didn't bat an eye. "If we were, could I tell you?"

Pinkie huhed. "Probably not. Then it'd be a secret and you can't tell secrets so you'd have to tell me something else except then you'd be lying so you wouldn't tell me something else so you'd just try to insinuate it and hint at it like you just did so that's totally what you're doing! Can I come?"

Rainbow Dash yawned and rubbed her face with a hoof. "Pinkie, it is waaay too early in the morning to be this perky, even for you. You got the dream from Princess Luna same as everyone else, didn't you?"

Pinkie bounced in place. "Of course I did, silly! But she didn't say anything about Lero going anywhere on a super-secret spy mission with a whole train to himself and Royal Guards all around and huh I feel funny."

Pinkie stopped bouncing in place. Her eyes blinked several times and her head tilted to the side. "Whaaa... When did everything get so... flat?" She reached out a hoof and waggled it vaguely around. "Hey... Why can't I reach outward? Where'd it go?" Her cutie mark began to ripple on her flank, and her colors began to fade. Twilight gaped, aghast.

The Royal Guards grabbed Lero and raced for the train as fast as their wings could carry them. Rainbow Dash grabbed Twilight and Lyra each in one foreleg and raced after the guards.

***

"I guess it makes sense. Pinkie must have a ton of magic to do all the things she does. I guess it's reacting differently to ponies with strong magic than Luna thought." Twilight was slumped on her side in a bunk; Lero was sitting in a too-low chair. Lyra was keeping Rainbow Dash occupied by showing her how to do constrained-space calisthenics, isometric stretches and exercises in the front of the car.

Lero could reach across the car's width easily. He did, running his hand down Twilight's mane. "How're you feeling?"

Twilight gave a shudder. "I think I can feel it. I feel tired, and my horn feels empty. But maybe Luna was wrong. I do have more magic than a normal pony, a lot more, so maybe it has to go through a lot more before it'll start affecting me. Maybe the Princesses will all be okay already when we get there." She closed her eyes. "It's the scientific hypothesis. Test that first. Makes sense. Pick the best idea and it happens."

Lero felt a sort of reverse-tingle across his fingers as her mane dulled. Tears ran down his cheeks as she trailed off, her eyes losing focus. He brushed at her ears, but she gave no indication she noticed. He stood. "She's caught it," he told the other two mares. "She's... down." Then he dropped to his knees.

Lyra nodded. "Rainbow Dash has a lot of magic in her, too." The grey striations in the other mare's mane were even harder to see than in Lero's dream. Her sleek, muscled flanks were untouched, aside from the loss of color. She was simply standing in place, swaying with the train's motion. Lyra leaned against Lero's side. "I never thought I'd be particularly glad to be a weak caster," she commented. Lero could hear the strain in her voice as she fought to keep herself level in the presence of such an unbearable omen of her own fate.

Lero hugged her and pressed his face against her neck as he cried. Lyra cried back against him. Then Lero jerked back and gasped. "The engineers! What if they come down with it?"

Lyra opened the door at the front end of the car. "You'd better be at the brakes if they do."

***

Lyra was still aqua when they arrived. The engineers were still on their hooves as well. Lero had to drape Rainbow Dash across his back and pick up Twilight to get them off the train. The Royal Guards kept their distance, but cleared the path to the palace. One of them bawled orders at the others, and two pegasi flew off, then eight returned with a chariot. Their helmets didn't cover their nervous expressions, but they didn't bolt when Lero climbed in and set down the two greyed ponies. They didn't dare take to the air, though, not if one of them might lose their magic on the way.

None did; Lyra was still moving steadily when they reached the palace. She pulled Lero down and kissed him firmly. "I'll watch over Twilight and Rainbow," she told him. "You have to go make sure the sun continues to fall."

Lero sometimes thought he should try to learn more about the Still Way's philosophies, if only to understand Lyra's references to falling. She'd loved his description of how the sun and moon worked on his world, his half-remembered high school science classes and the explanations about the moon falling so fast around the Earth that it always fell sideways, never down. He kissed her for now, and held her tightly for a moment, then went with the guards.

Celestia was not grey; the sun upon her flank was as brightly golden as it had ever been. But her hair and mane were a listless pink and her wings were at her sides. A half-finished bowl of soup was on a small, portable table in front of her, and her head was on a pillow at the side of a long divan. The guards fell back as Lero approached. He felt obscenely cheered that her hair had gone first. He couldn't blame her for it, but he just really, really, really, really hated her mane. Even after her spell had eased him of his outright terror in her presence, he couldn't keep from being tense, couldn't keep from remembering that first meeting. He tried to push it aside for the moment.

"Lero," she said. Or mostly said. "Lewo," it came out, and he noticed the pile of handkerchiefs stacked next to the bowl. "Thag gyu bor cubbig." She gestured tiredly with a hoof over toward one wall. A grey pony was slowly meandering between two pillars. "Dudibul Serbice was the lasd pony do ged near, and loog whud habbened do him."

There was a loud sniffle from the other end of the hall as a door closed. "Auntie Celestia? I think I'm starting to come down with it now..."

***

It was a long eight weeks before the disease finally ran its course. Lero ran himself ragged tending to both alicorns along with Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Lyra. The aqua-hued unicorn didn't lose her colors until almost a week after reaching the palace, and was back to herself within two weeks. Rainbow Dash was mindlessly gnawing at grass for almost four days before she started to recover, and wasn't back in the air for five weeks. Twilight Sparkle couldn't speak a word for almost ten days, and hadn't the strength to get out of bed until after even Celestia had recovered. Then Luna came back, and it was another eight weeks of Lero tending to her.

He rather liked the stained-glass window he got out of it, though.

Author's Note

After much back and forth (and maybe a little touch of nagging from me), SpinelStride has continued this fantastic tale which you can find here.

13: So let mercy come and wash away what I’ve done - by warpd & The Quiet Man

So let mercy come and wash away what I’ve done - by warpd & The Quiet Man
Chapter published 10th Aug 2013

**********************

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
- Hamlet (1.5.166-7)

**********************

Stretching his legs out in front of him, Lero tried his best to get comfortable. Hissing to himself as he readjusted his body, for what felt like at least the thousandth time, against the itchy fabric of the couch, all he actually accomplished was to bang his shins on the low table in front of him.

It seemed no matter what world he was on some things never changed, and waiting rooms, no matter how opulent, were not a place anyone was ever supposed to want to spend any length of time.

Glancing across the room he could see that Princess Celestia’s secretary - a pale gray unicorn mare with a deep purple mane so dark that it might as well have been jet black - was momentarily distracted, sitting as she was with her back to him, face first in a planner blanketed in sticky notes.

Seeing his chance the human wiggled his behind on the low couch, desperately trying to bring some kind of life back to his tortured rear end.

These low waiting couches (of a similar design to those found on the Friendship Express though much more ornately decorated) may have been perfect for a lounging pony, but they did next to nothing for the human’s lankier and more upright frame.

“You may see the princesses now.” The perky secretary called out from behind her large walnut writing desk, causing the grateful human to spring out of his seat at the much welcome news.

After stretching his body, cracking a few joints in a poor attempt to alleviate any anxieties, he casually strolled towards the now open door, stopping mid step when he felt something tug at the hem of his shirt.

Lero looked down at the secretary who nervously rubbed her forehooves together.

“May I have a hug?” She asked shyly, not wanting to meet his eyes lest he refuse.

“Sure, Ms Raven.” Lero knelt down as the happy pony enveloped him. His nerves cooled thanks to the gentle embrace.

“I’ve been a secretary for the princess for most of my life. I always try to do anything I can for her.” She released him from the hug and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for helping her when I couldn’t.”

Just a slight blush crossed Lero’s features as the pony went off to collect some more paperwork. He shook his head as he continued on. “Been getting a lot of that recently... from both mares and stallions.”

And to be honest, he rather liked it.

*********

As he entered the large, though surprisingly modest, private office where the two reigning monarchs waited for him, Lero felt a nervous twinge when he first caught sight of Princess Celestia’s ethereal mane. Remembering Lyra’s teachings he breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly, pushing the slight, though insistent, feeling of dread aside. Smiling warmly he pulled his eyes from the multi-hued mane, billowing as it always did in some unseen solar breeze, and nodded a greeting to the large white alicorn, which she returned in kind.

In contrast, Princess Luna smiled brightly when she saw him walk in, rising from the comfort of the pair of large, soft divans on which she and her sister were sitting .

“Bellerophon! We bid you welcome.” The alicorn of the night exclaimed happily as she trotted over to her visitor. Wrapping her wings around him in a warm embrace and pressing the side of her head against his as she did so, soft feathers tickled the back of Lero’s neck as Luna held him close.

The human had found out early on during their extended time alone together just the month before that the princess of the night was quite the hugger once her inhibitions were lowered. He’d also found that the lower her inhibitions dropped, the longer and more... tactile the hugs became.

And as much as his herdmates may have asked further, that was as much as Lero would say on the matter.

After Luna had (with maybe a touch of reluctance) released him, Lero bowed low, once to each sister in turn.

“Thank you for seeing me, princesses. I know how much you have going on right now.”

“Indeed you do. You, more than any mortal pony right now I would say.” Celestia’s calm voice spoke as before her he straightened himself back out and stood up straight again. “Lero, you have our undying gratitude for your tireless work and steadfast bravery in these recently trying times.”

“I do hope the stained glass mural was to your liking.” Luna added, settling herself back onto her divan, briefly fluttering her wings as she made herself comfortable.

“That did surprise me, but it is very nice.” Lero chuckled. “Again, thank you for that.”

From the very edge of the room floated a human style armchair, the deep red of its overstuffed fabric contrasting with the glow of the golden magic that surrounded it.

“I imagine that you will want to sit for this.” Letting the chair’s impressive bulk glide to the ground next to the human, Celestia bid her guest to make himself at home.

As the human stiffly sat down, folding his fingers tightly around each other upon his lap and keeping his knees firmly pressed together, Luna raised an eyebrow.

“Are you uncomfortable?” She asked, reaching out with her own magic for one of the many large cushions that were stored in various places around the room.

“No, no, the seat is fine, thank you.” Lero quickly answered. “It’s just, what I want to talk about has been heavy on my mind for a while now.”

Luna glanced over to her sister and back to the human. “Please tell me, what boon do you beseech of us that has you bothered so? I am afraid I have not yet been informed as to the details of your request.”

“My... request is mostly geared towards your sister.” Lero sucked in his lips, turning to Princess Celestia as he continued. “When I was taking care of you, you said... things. Some... awkward things that I think I would very much like the answers to.”

“In truth, I was afraid of this.” Celestia sighed as her eyes fell to the ground. “And in recognition of your service to us I will answer the best I can, but please, you must be mindful that I will withhold information if I deem it to be too dangerous. You have done much for us these past few months, but be aware that my duty is always to the wellbeing of my subjects as a whole.”

Lifting her gaze from the ground, Celestia caught Lero’s eyes before adding. “And if the answers I give are not those that you seek, please remember; you are also one of my subjects and if I have to withhold the truth from you for your own safety, I will do so with hesitation.”

“That’s understood, princess.” Lero answered, having expected as such even before he had even asked Twilight to put in an official request for an audience on his behalf. “I’d expect no less.”

Looking back and forth between her two companions, Luna was confused.

“So, what is this request? Please, my friend, do not hold back any longer.”

Lero took a deep breath, held it for a moment before letting it out slowly.

“Have you met humans before?” He asked of the alicorn of the day. “Any before me, I mean.”

“No.” was the short, simple response.

Lero tilted his head and blinked in surprise, Luna did the same. Celestia shook her head, her mane falling over one eye as she moved. Rising from her divan, she moved away from her guest to stand by one of the room’s many grand windows.

“What I will tell you can not leave this room.” The pure white alicorn looked back over her shoulder at the bewildered human. “With the exception of your herd-mates of course, for I am well aware that you will hold no secrets from any of them, no other living pony can know of this.”

Lero cracked his fingers as his earlier case of nerves returned. “I understand.”

“Have you heard of ‘The Mother of Equestria’?”

Lero paused as he recalled the lessons on Equestrian history and mythology that Twilight had shared with him, as well as the half recalled memory of a face. A strange and mysterious smile came to mind as well as pale skin and red hair, then a mane of gold and fire. “According to the myths of creation for your world; She created everything, correct?.”

“She is very real. Long ago, when I was chosen to be the caretaker of the sun, I was given much power and She was gracious enough to guide me in its many facets and uses. Some of the powers with which I was gifted allow me to see beyond the veil. A much needed ability, I think you will agree, as creatures not of this world would surely attempt to plunder our home, should it catch their attention.”

“Did humans come here?” Lero asked.

Celestia glanced to Luna. “If your people have ever graced these lands then I am not aware of it, though I highly doubt it. I believe that your kind had... their own problems.

“As a young alicorn, and even before I was turned come to think of it, I was always a very curious soul. As a unicorn filly I could at times see past this world’s boundaries, beyond my own sphere of existence and into the worlds afar. While my mortal form could not control this power, I saw many worlds like yours, many creatures resembling humans, some of which were so similar as to be indistinguishable from your own species.”

“That’s incredible.” Lero leaned back as he rubbed at the short stubble on his chin.

“Indeed. You should be proud; wherever I found humanity they were all incredibly powerful. Twilight has sent me some of the transcripts she has made of your recollections of your world’s myths and legends. For what I can remember of these long since past visions I believe there to be many a grain of truth within your stories, many tales of brave and valiant acts that are more truth than fiction.

“You come from an impressive species, my little human.” Though by now Celestia was looking away from him, her attention directed out through the windowpane, Lero could hear the humour - and maybe an element of admiration - in her voice. “Here you would never see a pony take a dragon as her ride.”

Luna cleared her throat loudly as Celestia rolled her eyes. “Well, except for my sister.” the day princess added quickly.

“I did not witness this, but from what I was told, what made many humans special was that in all of the worlds, of all the races and in all realities, they are the only ones that ever partook of the fruit of the Tree of Life.”

“Tree of Life?” Lero hummed as he rolled the legends around in his head. “There are several stories about that tree. The most famous one is the from the Christian-Judeo religion. That one was also called ‘The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil’.”

Celestia nodded as a calm revelation came over her. “That might explain a few things. The humans I saw were amazingly intelligent and they had insight into such magic that Twilight Sparkle would have frothed at the mouth to learn from them.

“However, this made them targets for a greedy, selfish race of monsters. Despicable beasts that prey on pain and suffering. They did the same to Equestria for a time.” Celestia paused as she quietly exhaled. “Something happened, I know not what, which meant that these creatures concentrated their efforts on humanity, wherever they might find them.”

“In desperation humans called out for help.” Celestia closed her eyes as memories of yesteryear moved through her mind. “A rather bright young lady from a human realm, maybe your own, I do not rightly know, tried to summon me. Time and time again she pleaded for my aid, to join her in defending her beleaguered land, but I refused to assist her for I had to protect my own realm and my own subjects.

“Luna had been just recently turned and...” The statuesque alicorn paused, seeming to internally debate her next words.

“And was much too young to be left alone and similar, though lesser, beings were testing our borders of our world while unknown terrors stalked our lands.”

Again Celestia looked back at Lero, this time with watery eyes. “I am sorry. So very, very sorry. I heard their cries, felt their plight, and still I did nothing. I could not help a race so far away without great risk to my ponies. I made that choice, and I have lived with it ever since and, while I still believe I made the right decision, it has not made living with it any easier.”

Turning back to the window, her enhanced alicorn vision catching view of the cloud city of Maelstrom far in the distance, ever so slowly making its way over the peaks of the mighty Crystal Mountains, Celestia sighed a sigh only heard from those with the weight of the world on their shoulders.

“Then it happened; one night I reached out to check up on her world and that spark of magic was gone, completely taken away, not just from her species, but from her entire world. I believed the worst and, with my sisters’ help I worked to seal our world from theirs, lest whatever force had stolen their world’s magic find its way to ours. For the longest time I believed that they had fallen, that a world could not exist without magic. It seems I was wrong.

“From then on I heard rumors from beyond the veil. Stories of a race without even the slightest touch of magic, that slew their enemies with nowt but metal and blood. Believe me, when I heard word that you, a creature with no innate magic, had stumbled from the depths of the Everfree forest, I was sure that you were something else, that your race had long since passed into nothingness.”

“And your race has done well, it would seem.” Luna rose up from her own divan before moving to stand by her sister’s side. “Charted your world from top to bottom, explored the ocean depths, cured untold diseases, crafted mechanical behemoths.”

As she leaned her body up against that of the taller alicorn, Luna glanced back towards the human still sitting in his armchair. “And walked upon the moon, all through your own endeavours.”

Lero remained silent as his thoughts churned like a hamster on a wheel. “Is that all?”

“Yes.” Celestia’s gaze remained firmly on the distant mountains.

Lero may have been nervous when he walked in, but he had never expected that the Solar Princess and co-ruler of the realm might have had frayed nerves as well.

The human got up and slowly walked over to the alicon of the day. Gently he placed a hand on her withers. There was a time and place for decorum and protocol but right now the human just didn’t care.

“I don’t know it that was my world and I can’t speak for the rest of my kind or for my ancestors, but I forgive you.”

“You say that, but your hand trembles.”

“But I mean every word.”

“I can see why Twilight likes you.” Celestia turned her head from the window, her gaze meeting Lero’s as his words made themselves at home in her heart. “Thank you.”

*****************

After much conversation, Lero had finally given his thanks, made his excuses and departed. Miss Raven would direct him to one of the more secluded of the castle’s exits so that he could dodge any inquisitive reporters who would attempt to waylay the human on his short journey back to his herdmates’ embrace, of this Celestia was certain.

After settling back onto their divans, Celestia and Luna sipped from their respective beverages.

“So, Luna dear.” Celestia’s lips turned slightly upright. “Is that a spark of attraction I see in your eye for our once and perhaps future viceroy?”

“Nice try, my sister, but such banter will not make me lose my drink.” Luna glared past the vapors of her once again piping hot mint tea - having the solar princess as a sister was quite useful for the rewarming of teapots - before she continued.

“I have a question for you though. Do you think he really escaped from their clutches just to arrive here whole and unfettered? That his journey left him unmarked, his mind untainted?”

“How do you mean?”

“We know how they treat their prey and you have heard tales of how their society functions. Is he really like this or has his mind been tampered with to be something softer, more pleasing to our sensibilities, more... socially acceptable?”

“I am hopeful, my sister...” Celestia said as she lifted her teacup to her lips, a concerned expression marring her otherwise elegant features. “that the answer to that question is something that we will never have to find out.”

Author's Note

The Quiet Man: Another collaboration? Why, yes it is. As before, please go thank warpd for the good bits and blame me for the not-quite-so-good bits.

14: Way out in the water, see it swimming.

Way out in the water, see it swimming
Chapter published 28th Dec 2013

***************

August AC1216
Outskirts of Ponyville

One thing parents from all over the universe(s) will tell you is that, during a school week, getting your precious little cherubs out of bed and off to school is not an easy task. In fact, it’s generally located on the list of ‘easy tasks’ somewhere above getting the same little devils into a warm soapy bath for a good cleaning and just below getting them to brush their teeth without either constant supervision, bribery or the intervention of an well armed militia.

But equally true the universe over is that on a weekend, school holiday or indeed any other day where parents would rather they would continue to sleep in, the little buggers are almost guaranteed to be up before the cock crows and be causing untold mischief and mayhem before their parents have even had the slightest chance to locate their first god-sent cup of coffee of the day.

Equestria was no exception to this rule.

And so, early on this bright and sunny saturday morning, parents and guardians from all over Ponyville found themselves beside one of the larger lakes on the outskirts of town.

Bleary of eye and rumpled of mane they gathered around a large fold-out table that Mr and Mrs Cake had set up a good way back from the water’s edge. Steaming cups of coffee were passed out to grateful hooves (at no charge) while a tray piled high with morning muffins sat to the side, the blissfully sugary treats available for just a bit each.

Many of these adults had been practically dragged out of their beds in order to accompany their children so there were a lot of grumbling tummies that needed filling and the Cakes were more than willing to oblige. The extra bits certainly didn’t hurt either.

A number of the more nervous parents were paying close attention to the gathering a short way around the lake while others with a more confident attitude were content to leave their children be. The human had more than proved himself worthy of their trust by now, so it was the least they could do to give him the room to let his plan unfold.

Of course, the small flock of pegasi hovering over the lake coupled with a similar number of unicorns and earth ponies patrolling the water’s edge - all clad in matching vests of brilliant red - helped to allay their nerves and assuage their fears. After all, confidence and trust were one thing, planning ahead against potential mishaps was entirely another.

***************************

Just a few body lengths from the lake’s edge sat two dozen eager foals. Usually when that many kids were gathered together then it was a recipe for disaster just waiting to happen, though today they were all being remarkably well behaved. Even the CMC, who even the most generous of souls would have to admit were usually at the forefront of any foal-based trouble, had one hundred percent of their attention on the large biped standing in front of the group.

It probably helped that this was the most skin that any of the kids - and most of the adults - in Ponyville had ever seen the human display, dressed as he was in just a pair of shorts and a bright red vest which, except for the bright yellow stripe across the middle of the human’s vest, matched those of the pegasi hovering above them.

Most of these kids had never seen this much bare skin in their lives at all and their fascinated eyes followed his legs and arms as he moved, intrigued by the tiny amounts of fur his limbs possesed, limbs that he usually went to great lengths to keep covered up.

Most of the town had never actually seen his toes before and when Twist had asked about them earlier he’d balanced himself up on one leg and wiggled all five toes of the other foot at them in a display that the foals had thought was both totally awesome, really funny, and maybe just the tiniest bit gross. A few of them had even tried standing on one leg themselves - with varying degrees of success - until Miss Cheerilee had brought them all back to order and made them settle down.

After checking off her headcount against her checklist one more time, Miss Cheerilee then took it to Mister Lero who looked over it himself before giving it back to the teacher with a large smile. Not so long ago many of the kids present would have been startled by the show of teeth, those big shiny, pointy, meat-ripping teeth. But now those same teeth, along with his long arms and legs and odd face, seemed reassuring to them.

Once, in the not too distant past some of their parents, and even other children, had said they should keep away from him, that he might steal them away and gobble them up. But then, they’d said that about Nightmare Moon as well and she wasn’t at all like that. Well, not now that she was Princess Luna again. Sure, she could be a bit loud at times, but she always dressed up for them when she came to see them every year on Nightmare Night and then she’d chase them all around the town pretending she was going to eat them. She wasn't scary really, no matter how much they all liked to play make-believe otherwise.

But like Princess Luna, Mister Lero wasn’t really scary, in fact he was really nice. He was always willing to lend a hoof whenever any pony asked him for help and he’d always come around to pony’s houses and fix things when they were all broken or had gone wrong in some way that made their parents say lots of rude words until either the human or Scootaloo’s mom fixed it for them.

And as the Cutie Mark Crusaders had said again and again that princesses had trusted him enough to ask for him to go look after them when they were sick, aaaand that all six of the elements thought he was pretty cool, then that was good enough for the kids of Ponyville to see him as a friend.

As far as they were concerned, he might have been a big funny looking biped, but he was their big funny looking biped, and now that they’d made their minds up no silly adults were going to tell them otherwise.

****************

Handing Cheerilee back her clipboard, Lero turned back to the group of kids gathered around down by his feet. Hunkering down to put himself closer to their eye level - and giving silent thanks to Rarity for designing his shorts in such a way that nothing untoward could be visible as he did so - he made sure that he had every foal’s attention.

Twenty four pairs of young eyes focused on him, which to be honest was more unnerving that having two dozen adults do the same. Adults at least didn't try to run riot if you turned your back on them for too long. Well, Pinkie or the Flower Girls maybe, but generally not the rest of them... Well not that much anyway.

“Hi kids. I’m glad you’re here this morning.” Lero started, trying to make himself loud enough to be heard but not so loud as to sound threatening. “As both myself and Miss Cheerilee told you in class last week, and also when we came to talk to each of your parents, Humans think it’s very important that we make sure our children are as safe as they can be when they’re out playing with their friends. Normally when something happens that you can’t cope with by yourselves you’re supposed to go and find your moms or your dads or another adult, and this is very good advice, but sometimes if you get into trouble around water it can take too long for an adult to reach you. So, what we’re going to teach you over the next few weeks is how to keep yourselves safe in the water.”

Twenty four pairs of eyes were still on him, so he’d managed to keep their attention which was good. He couldn't shake the feeling though that some of them were planning something. They were always planning something, especially those three.

“But it’s not just about keeping safe. Swimming can be a lot of fun too and it’s also fantastic exercise for the whole body, keeps you nice and cool on hot summer days and is a great way to get out and spend lots of time with your friends. But rather than just have me tell you about it how about we show you how cool it can be?”

Looking up, Lero soon found the hovering pegasus he was looking for. Higher than all the red jacketed pegasi was one grey-coated blonde-maned mare who was patiently waiting for her signal. Putting two fingers into his mouth, Lero let loose with three whistles, two short and one really long one, that even without pegasus hearing Miss Doo would have been able to hear a mile away.

After whistling back in reply, the grey mare pulled her wings in close to her sides and let gravity pull her into a long plummet towards the lake surface over a hundred body lengths below.

As Miss Doo fell further and further, faster and faster, tumbling mane over tail as she fell, gaining momentum the whole time, every foal watching expected her to spread her wings and level out - or at least to try to - before she met a wet and messy end. Instead they were amazed when she instead pushed her forehooves out in front of her as she met the surface at high speed, disappearing under the surface leaving nothing but a mass of ripples in her wake.

***********************

Hovering far above the surface of the lake, Derpy could see Lero crouch down in front of the group of foals by the waterfront. Knowing that it wouldn’t be long before he gave her the signal to begin, she reached up to her forehead and pulled her goggles down over her eyes.

These goggles weren’t just ordinary goggles. No, these were the special goggles that Mister Lero, Twilight Sparkle and Dr Chart had made for her. With the lenses fitted with both a special prescription and a powerful enchantment, they allowed the pegasus to focus both of her eyes properly for a short period of time. She knew she’d only have about ten minutes tops before she started to develop a headache, but ten minutes would be more than enough to show them all what she could do.

Hearing the shrill whistles come from far below her, she whistled back before closing her eyes, pulling in her wings and letting herself fall.

*************************

As the first of the waves from Miss Doo’s dive into the lake reached the shore, the grey pegasus still hadn’t resurfaced. Many of the foals started to look towards Dinky to see if the filly was alright, what with her mother disappearing under the waves and all, but all they found was the young unicorn sitting at the edge of the water, watching a point across the lake far across from where her mother had entered. Well, if Dinky wasn’t worried, and Mister Lero didn’t look at all worried either, then it must be part of the show.

As the crowd looked on, the surface of the lake at almost exactly the point where Dinky was staring started to bubble and churn. Suddenly, from the middle of all the bubbles, a grey pegasus burst from under the surface of the lake, water spraying from her coat and wings as she spread them wide, arching up into the air, only to flip over as she reached her peak to dive down under the surface again.

After a few moments another part of the lake started to bubble but this time, instead of a pony bursting from the depths, the mass of bubbles started to move at speed across the surface of the lake, making their way much faster than an earth pony could run, maybe even as fast as a pegasus could fly.

As the bubbles’ path curved towards the group sitting by the lake edge, Miss Doo burst from the water, streaking away from the lake while leaving the spray of water flying from her tail shimmering in the bright morning sun, creating a trail of tiny glittering watery diamonds in her wake.

As the crowd turned to follow the pegasus as she arched back over their heads before heading back towards the lake, they didn’t notice three large coloured rings being levitated from the water’s edge up to a trio of red vested pegasi hovering well above the surface. Each of the three flyers took a ring in their hooves and let it hang below them roughly a dozen body lengths above the surface. With each of the rings held in a line, the crowd watched as Miss Doo powered across the lake, flying directly though all three rings before diving back into the water with a large splash.

Moments later bubbles started to form under the first ring, followed quickly by the grey pegasus bursting from the surface, arcing through the air, through the ring and then back into the water again.

Within seconds the same bubbles formed under the second ring before Miss Doo again burst from the lake and arced her way through the ring but this time performing a quick somersault before disappearing back under the surface.

By the time bubbles began to form under the third ring, the foals by the water side were bouncing up and down to get a better view, shouting encouragement to Dinky’s mother or, in the case of a few, just standing dumbstruck. As the mare once again burst from the water, the joyful shouting from the foals reached an all new high.

***********************

With her forelegs pulled against her side and her hind legs held tightly together, her rear limbs working in unison to act like a ‘tail’ to push her through the water, Derpy powered her way though the lake’s crystal clear depths. With both of her wings partly extended to act as what Mister Lero had called ‘hydroplanes’, she instinctively angled them for a sudden ascent towards the surface.

Mister Lero had said that once under water she moved like a cross between a penguin and a dolphin. Derpy wasn’t too sure what either of those animals looked like, but if they could swim like this all the time then they must be very happy creatures indeed.

Powering though the water she felt more at peace than she had in years. When she’d received her cutie mark all those years ago she’d assumed that the seven bubbles had meant to reflect her natural ability to detect and interact with air currents, and to a degree it seems she’d been right. But she’d also been quite wrong, it wasn't just air currents that she could ‘see’ and ‘feel’ by instinct, but also water currents.

While submerged like this she could sense not just the water that pressed directly against her fur, but also the water further out. She could feel how it moved, could feel how it wanted to move, could sense just what it was that she needed to do to make it her plaything, to take it under her control, to bend it to her will as she swiftly slipped through its embrace.

All these years of thinking that she was a failure as a pegasus because she couldn't fly that well or because she couldn't control the weather the way that other pegasi could. All these years of blaming her earth pony heritage for making her bad pegasus. All these years of thinking she wasn't as good as the others. And now look at her, she could soar and swoop and dive just like the others, she could move and twist and turn at speeds they could only dream of. And even better than that, she could do it in a way that no other pegasus ever could... she could do it under water.

All these years she’d missed something that had been staring her in the face every single day.

Bubbles weren’t just made of air, they were also made of water.

And bubbles were fantastic.

******************

Launching herself from the water, Miss Doo pulled in her wings and tucked herself into a ball as she somersaulted through the third ring. Sliding back into the water smoother than a warm knife through butter she resurfaced again seconds later, double somersaulting her way though the second ring before diving back under the surface. Scant seconds later she reappeared once more, this time triple somersaulting back through the first ring before again disappearing into the depths.

As the three rings were carried away from above the lake by the pegasi that had been holding them aloft, a large trail of bubble started to form on the water’s surface. The trail arced around and around until they formed a large circle, the most active section, the area indicating where Miss Doo must be powering away under the surface right at that moment, gaining speed with every lap until it was easy to see that she was moving in a tight underwater circle faster than most pegasi would be able to fly above it.

Pretty soon, in the middle of the circle of bubbles, a small whirlpool started to form, quickly becoming larger and deeper as the submerged swimmer kept up her performance. Second by second the whirlpool became ever deeper until it reached the point where it was possible for the lifeguard pegasi still hovering overhead to start to make out the lakebed far below them, at which point Miss Doo burst out through the side of the whirlpool and rocketed towards the sky. With nothing to maintain its motion or form, the whirlpool collapsed, tonnes of liquid crashing together at its centre with a mighty splash, sending a large glob of water skyward where the blonde-maned pegasus was waiting for it.

As the watery globe’s ascent reached its peak, Miss Doo dove into its core, spinning herself around with outstretched wings as she did so, causing the large ball to burst into a fine spray which glinted and shone across the sky, thousands of tiny organic lenses shining like miniature suns in the bright morning light, floating in the air for a scant few seconds before gravity finally took hold and it rained back down onto the lake below.

***********************

As a shower of a million watery diamonds rained down upon them, Ponyville’s foals - and quite a large number of adults too - shouted and cheered at Derpy’s display.

Surrounded by their cheers the pegasus of the moment floated down to land at the lakeside, her daughter charging over to greet her, throwing herself bodily around one of her mother’s legs.

“Mommy!” the tiny unicorn cried “you were fantastic, even better than last time.”

“Thanks, muffin.” Derpy replied, lifting her foreleg, and her daughter with it, up towards her face so the child could launch herself into a hug.

From over where the rest of the foals were standing - or bouncing as was the case for many of them - Derpy could hear Mister Lero ask the crowd to give her a round of applause. Turning to face them, she gave a small bow, spreading her wings slightly so she could keep her balance. Though swimming may now come naturally to her, she still had trouble on - or above- dry land, and the last thing she wanted to do right now was take a faceplant straight into the dirt in front of her entire audience.

********************

Watching as Dinky threw herself at her mother, Lero put his palms together and began clapping.

“Okay, kids, let’s make some noise for Miss Doo and her amazing display. Believe me, the last time I saw anything this impressive in the water was at Orlando Seaworld when I was about your age. And that was a looong time ago.”

The kids, and a lot of the nearby adults too, didn’t need to be asked twice... or even at all, as the cheering and stomping made its way around the lakeside.

After a quick bow, Miss Doo used her wingtips to give the youngsters a few waves before heading off to grab a morning muffin (or three) from the Cakes’ breakfast table.

“Okay, kids. Settle down please.” Lero held his hands out in front of himself, palms down, as the kids sat themselves back down in front of him, young Dinky joining them at the back. “There, that’s great, thanks.”

“As you can see, swimming can look really cool, and it can be a lot of fun too. But it requires practice and effort. Humans are kinda lucky in that we find learning to swim to be pretty easy. Some people thought it was because the creatures we evolved from were swimmers so our bodies just have to remember.”

As the gathered foals watched, Lero mimed a human doing the front crawl, showing them just how easy it was for humans to swing their arms around through the water. Lots of the kids giggled and waved their forehooves around in front of them in as close an approximation as their pony physiology would allow.

“I’ve talked to a lot of big ponies about swimming and do you know what most of them told me?” Lero asked the assembled crowd, manes flapping left and right as they shook their heads at him.“Most them told me the exact same thing: either a pony can swim or they can’t and that’s just how it is. Well I can tell you all something right now that will prove them wrong.”

As the human waved a hand off to his side, his three herdmates came over from where they’d been standing next to Miss Cheerilee. Both Rainbow Dash and Lyra had the backs of their manes tied in braids while Twilight had her longer mane stuffed up inside a bright yellow bathing cap. Her herdmates may have been growing their manes out over the last few months, but for now Twilight still had the both of them beat on length.

“Last year, none of these three mares here could swim.” Lero crouched down to put himself back at the foals’ level, spreading both hands out in front of himself and wiggling his fingers like a storyteller telling a scary story, “Well, Miss Sparkle could a little but Miss Dash and Miss Heartstrings would just sink like stones.”

While their stallion was talking, Lyra leant over and whispered into Rainbow’s ear, “Some more than others”, which just caused the pegasus to stick her tongue out at the minty unicorn with a loud ‘pfffft’.

Rolling onto his back Lero gave his best impression of a drowning pony, waving all four limbs in the air as he wiggled his large frame from side to side in the grass.

“Oh no!” Pipsqueak cried as the human made gurgling noises, the tiny colt running forward to grab one of Lero’s arms as if he was going to pull him to safety. Within seconds Lero was covered in half a dozen laughing foals, all trying to pull him to safety, through having not decided before-hoof on which way ‘safety’ was meant that the heavy human was going nowhere fast.

Sitting himself upright, Lero gathered up the two closest foals, which happened to be Twist and Pipsqueak, and stood up, carrying a giggling foal under each arm while Snips and Snails dangled from around his neck.

Returning his two underarm passengers back into the crowd of foals, and letting the third and fourth hop down for themselves, Lero crouched down before them all once more.

“But now all three of them can swim really well. They just had to believe in themselves and try really hard.” Lero turned to his herdmates just in time to catch some friendly bickering between two of his mares which had just reached the point where RD and Lyra were trying to push each other closer and closer to the water’s edge using the age-old childhood method of oneupmareship... the bumping of the cutie marks. All the while their more studious - and less physically active - herdmate rolled her eyes in exasperation and let them get on with it.

“I think...” Lero interjected, “that Miss Dash and Miss Heartstrings would like to give us a demonstration. Okay kids, who’d like to see the pair of them do some laps of the lake... and I mean while they’re in it?”

At this point it would have been easier to say how many of the foals present didn’t have a hoof in the air so fast that they almost fell over.

It was none of them by the way.

“Okay, ladies,” Lero pulled a whistle from his vest pocket and gave it a blow. “Two laps, off you go. Twi, could you go referee them, please? We’ll never hear the end of it if someone doesn't declare a winner.”

As one the two mares turned and raced towards the water’s edge - muttering such things as ‘your fault’ and ‘no, yours’ the entire way - before they both leapt into the lake’s shimmering depths. Once they resurfaced, drenching each other with great scooped hoof-fulls of water the whole time, they then proceeded to swim away from the crowd - Lyra with just a little more elegance than her herdmate - still playfully bickering as they went.

Behind them their more reticent herdmate eased herself into the water with what she’d like to think was a touch of grace but in reality was better described as a series of increasingly comical facial expressions as more and more of her body came into contact with the cold water.

“As I was saying,” Lero said, turning back to the two dozen excited foals at his feet, “none of my herdmates could swim last year but now they can not only swim but it’s great fun and something we can all do together.”

As he nodded to a nearby group of scarlet clad lifeguards, two ponies whose red vests sported a wide yellow stripe which matched that of the human’s stepped forward.

“This is Pinkie Pie,” Lero waved to the pink party pony that every foal in town already knew “and this is Raindrops,” this time he waved to a jasmine coloured pegasus pony that the foals were less familiar with, “and over the next couple of months we’re going to be teaching all of you how to swim. The rest of the red jackets you can see around us will be our lifeguards, they’ll be keeping an eye on you to make sure you don’t get into trouble.

“Some of you will probably find it real easy to learn, and hey, that’s great. But some of you will probably find it a bit harder, and that’s not a problem; We all have to learn at our own speed. And it doesn’t matter if you’re an earth pony, pegasus or unicorn,” reaching out the human ruffled the manes of first Applebloom, then Scootaloo and finally Sweetie Belle, “it’s possible for every type of pony to learn how to swim even if we are all a bit different to each other. But there’s some rules we’re going to have to follow if everypony’s going to be safe. I hope you all read the rule cards I left with your parents so you can repeat them with me now.“

Pulling himself back up to him full height - more for the parents’ benefit than for the foals - Lero paced back and forth in front of the group of kids.

“So, okay kids, say it with me,” Lero said loudly, again more for the gathered parents could hear him than the foals, “what’s the first rule of Swim Club?”

“Everypony is welcome at Swim Club!” two dozen young voices called back to him.

“And what’s the second rule of Swim Club”

“Everypony. Is welcome. At Swim Club.”

Lero laughed as the chorus died away. While no one else on the planet got the joke, at least he still thought it was pretty funny.

“Okay, kids, you know the rest,” the human held up a hand, two fingers already extended, as he counted off the rest of the club’s rules.

“Three: If either myself or any other red vest yells ‘everypony out’, the swim is over; Four: there’s a minimum of two foals to a group, no partner, no swim; Five: if it takes days, weeks or even months to learn, we will help you for as long as it takes.

“And the final and most important rule: if it’s your first time at swim club...” a huge grin spread across the human’s face as he took in the collection of eager youngsters at his feet, “we’re going to make sure you have lots of fun.”

15: When I wake from slumber your shadows disappear.

When I wake from slumber your shadows disappear
Chapter published 15th Sept 2013

**********************

As mist rolled and twisted around her dark blue hooves, Princess Luna walked alone through the corridors of Canterlot Castle. Turning corner after corner she found no pony present; no guards, no staff and certainly no sign of her sister, no matter how hard she looked.

Pushing open a door that she was sure would lead to the throne room, she instead found herself walking into the palace’s main kitchen. Looking around at the deserted room, the large double doors swinging closed behind her, she again found no staff, not a single sign of life. Rushing to the back of the room she pushed open another door, expecting to see a service corridor. But instead found one of the guest bedrooms, its empty four post bed bathed in soft moonlight in sharp contrast to the bright sunlight flooding the kitchen from its large bank of skylights.

Retreating, heading back the way she had come, pushing open the main door the the kitchen to head back into the corridor, she suddenly found herself standing in the middle of the palace’s secondary library.

As she turned back towards the door the room moved from bright daylight to the gloom of night, candles around the edges of the room bursting into flame as the room’s large stained glass windows fell dark. Turning in place again, she found mist pouring in through the doors and from between the towering bookcases all around her.

Catching movement in the corner of her eye, she span in place, the candles extinguishing and daylight returning to the room. There, past the the stacks, between the huge shelves holding tomes of ancient history, was a pegasus stallion.

Briefly catching her eye, he turned, cantering off down the aisle, turning to look back at her over his shoulder for a second before disappearing into the darkness at the edge of the room.

Though she had only seen him for but a moment, Luna was taken by how... gorgeous the stallion had been. A sleek black coat with an elegant sheen, well muscled, not an extra ounce of unnecessary body fat. His wings, what she had seen of them, were were just... just perfect. The very tips of his feathers shining in the light, a glossy black so perfect it was like they crafted from the finest polished black marble. As he’d disappeared into the gloom, she’d caught sight of his short brown tail, ruffled and dashing, much like his matching short tousled brown mane.

But his face... it was the face of... the face of... it just... just.. perfect, it was perfect.

Spurred into action, Luna ran along the aisles, hoping to catch him, needing to catch him.

Occasionally she’d catch a glimpse of his tail, disappearing around a bookstack, but no matter how she pushed herself he was always just that bit too far, just about vanishing from her view at every turn.

Unable to spread her mighty alicorn wings in the cramped space between the shelves, she instead leant forward, breaking into a full gallop. Thundering around the next corner, carelessly smashing into bookcases and leaving a trail of scattered books in her wake, she suddenly found grass below her hooves, lush green pasture and gently sloping hills all around her.

For behind her came a low deep voice, the accent course and guttural though the timbre was full of joy, a sound that made her heart beat with excitement.

“Moonshine. Over here.”

She turned... or maybe she hadn’t... maybe she’d remained motionless and the world had turned around her. She just didn’t know anymore. Either way, she didn’t care, because he was there, standing in front of her. Not running, not moving at all, just standing there, holding out a fine fluted glass filled with a sparkling golden liquid towards her with one of his wings.

She didn’t think, she just moved, or maybe somepony moved her body for her. One of her own wings reached towards him, surprising Luna with the darkness of its colour. She had not been that rich dark shade for what felt like a lifetime now. Her unfamiliar wing took the proffered glass from his own, lifting it to her lips so she could sip at its delightful smelling bounty. She could taste it, feel the liquid moving over her tongue, working its way around her taste buds. The sharpness, the sweetness, a delicate honey mead, chilled to perfection.

As the glass moved away from her lips, she could feel them twist into a smile, could feel the waves of love filling her heart. She didn’t know who this stallion was, even though everything about him seem just so familiar, but she knew, she just knew, what he meant to her.

At this moment, he meant everything.

“I wished to show thee this.” he said, smiling at her over the lip of his own flute. “This doth be the land from which mine family hails.”

Leaning down he let his now empty glass rest in the grass beside him, next to an open picnic basket laying by his hooves, the wicker basket containing several simple sandwiches and few unlabeled bottles of various honey coloured beverages. Lifting his now free wing, he spread it wide, indicating the peaceful vista all around them.

”Over there, to the east, lie the mighty Norfolk Trotters, home to my family for untold generations. One of the few lands that could ever hope to come close the magnificent beauty of your own fine Equestria, I would warrent”

She turned, looking to the east. Dotted across the vast pasture were small copses of trees, many young deer jumping and playing between their trunks. Beyond that could just be seen the tops of a number thatched roofs, smoke pouring from the occasional chimney, evidence of a decent sized town.

“And should we take wing north for but a few hours” he swept a wing northwards, Luna’s eyes following to take in the great rolling hills in that direction “we’d come upon the majestic Shetlands, where my distant ancestors roamed the highlands for many a century.”

Turning back to face her, he graced her with a smile that almost made her dizzy.

“Thou might even have met a number of them, mayhaps, back in the day.”

“Mayhaps we did” she heard her own voice say “if we’d have ever dared dream that one day their line would sire one such as yourself, we would have bestowed upon them a thousand boons in gratitude.”

“My lady” he stepped towards her, reaching out to touch her face with a wingtip, her head moving to allow his feathers to brush against her cheek “Thou do me and mine great honour. If my ancestors had know that you would, these years later, feel fit to grace one such as I with your favour, their cheers would still echo through the mountains high and valleys wide to this very day.”

As she opened her mouth to respond, she coughed, finding her mouth, her nose, all filled with acrid smoke. Blinking to clear the sudden sting from her eyes, what she found around her, instead of lush pasture and rolling hills, was burning houses and a sky obscured by smoke.

Around her lunar pegasi charged about, the surrounding flames reflection from their highly polished armour. Orders were shouted, responses called, plans made. A gathering of guards, almost all mares, their uniforms bearing the symbols of the higher ranks, gathered around a large map that had been spread on the cobblestones before them, broken pieces of masonry holding down the corners.

As she moved towards them, one of the guards, a high ranking stallion, turned from the map and came to her side. Tapping a forehoof against his chestplate he dispelled his armour’s glamour, his regulation uniform gray coat, as well as the purple around the edges of his bat wings, darkened to jet black while his long purple tail contracted into a short ruffled brown mess.

“My Lady. General Twister brings news from beyond the Foal Mountains. It seems that the Baltic Marelands are already lost to us, as she believes the Hollow Shades will be by morning.”

“Pay it no heed.” she again heard her own voice, now hard and without emotion “They are of little importance. We have already pushed the Tyrant Sun’s forces back to the west. We should take the chance to crush her before she moves over the Unicorn Range.”

“But, my Lady, we lost many of our number in that action, we do not have the marepower to immediately press our advantage, not without reinforcements. We should order them to hold position and await the arrival of the third legion.”

“Nonsense,” she shouted, “Order them to press on. Call upon all nearby floating cities, have them send their entire defence forces to the Unicorn Range at once.”

“Art thou mad?” he shouted back. “And what of Maelstrom? The attack earlier this day has already decimated their defences. Without at least the unit of Spartan Stallions that they hold in reserve they will be utterly defenceless. Princess Celestia’s forces will-”

“DO NOT call her that in my presence!” she screamed, her stallion pushed back on his hooves by the very force of her voice, “We care not of one pitiful little city while we have the chance to crush the Tyrant Sun once and for all.“

“And how many will die in the process? How many more lives will thou cast away with thy bloodlust?”

“Silence” she commanded “The moon grows high, and We will not hear any more of your useless prattle about ‘reconciliation’ or ‘compromise’, those words mean nothing to me now. We must move, and we must move now! The moon, and my own powers with it, will soon reach their peak. On this eve We will finally crush my accursed sister, once and for all. This night will go down in history, the night the Princess of the Day was defeated, her last breath trampled from her chest under my very own hooves. The history books shall remember this night, this battle under the moon’s apex, as my... as Equestria’s finest hour.”

Turning to the ponies around her, the soldiers in armour moving with purpose amidst the smoke and burning buildings, she reared up onto her hind legs, kicking her forehooves towards the sky as she roared at her lunar companion.

“For We...” she bellowed, “We are NIGHTMARE MOON.”

******************

Jolting upward from her bed, forehooves reaching to the ceiling, Luna sprang awake.

Covers flew, curtains billowed in the sudden breeze from her unfurled wings, from her bedside table a half empty glass of Sweet Apple ‘Shine fell to the floor, its spilled contents hissing and bubbling against the polished ebony wood floorboards.

As reality slowly returned to her senses, her dreams, her memories flitting away as the truth of her situation flooded her brain. She was in her chambers in Canterlot castle, she was alone. Reaching over to the far side of her bed, she stopped. This bed, this very piece of furniture, now and had always only held one body. One sole, single, solitary form. There had been no other, why would she ever think otherwise?.

For the rest of the day she cried, uncontrollably and without rest, until the time for the night to make its appearance arrived.

And she had no idea why.

Author's Note

I challenged myself to have this 1000 word chapter written, edited and posted from beginning to end in the time it took this concert video to play through once.

I failed, it took just under two play-throughs. It also took almost 2000 words. Oh well, I still think I did okay.

Interestingly the fourth song they play has a bodhran solo and the fifth has a major connection to Spinel’s The Blank Plague.

EDIT: Yes, I know it's full of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. I'll probably catch them on a pass through later in the week.

16: Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song - Part One.

Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song - Part One.
Chapter published 16th August 2013.

**********************

Crouching down on his haunches so he could peer through a small gap in the curtains, Lero nervously glanced out into the main showroom of Carousel Boutique. On the far side of the ‘stage’ sat tonight’s audience, just milling about amongst themselves or engaging in idle chat as they awaited the evening’s grand perfomance.

Letting the curtain fall closed once more, Lero fussed at his shirt for what must must have been at least the hundredth time as Lyra quietly came up behind him, both of them hidden from the crowd’s view by the large red velvet barrier of Rarity’s best runway curtains.

“Hey, Fingers. How are you doing? You okay?” Lyra reached out with a forehoof and used it to gently turn her stallion’s head towards her and away from his shirt buttons. Much more scrutinising and they’d probably burst into flames pretty soon.

“Please, you don't have to be so nervous.” the mint green unicorn reassured, rubbing the soft frog of a forehoof against the human’s face. “We’re all friends here, there’s nothing to be scared of.”

Reaching up with both of his hands, Lero took Lyra’s hoof and held it against against his cheek, the slight tremor in his extremities receding as he wrapped his long fingers around the soft fur coating her ankle.

“I know, i know.” Lero sighed “It’s just a touch of performance anxiety, that’s all. I used to get it all the time at school.” The human pursed his lips and blew out a short whistle. “Boy, that feels like a whole lifetime ago now.”

Releasing his herdmate’s hoof he drew back his grasp and started making these strange movements with his hands, running the fingers of one hand back and forth over the back of the other hand before twisting his hands around each other, the repeating the movement with the fingers of the other hand. Lyra always found her mate’s hand movements fascinating and to her it looked very much like he was rubbing his hands under some kind of imaginary tap or faucet, trying desperately to wash away some unseen dirt or grime.

“Hey, you’ll be fine.” Lyra let her forehoof rest on the human’s shoulder. “Remember, I’m here with you, okay? And I’ll be less than a body-length away at pretty much all times.”

“I know. Thank you again by the way.” Lero leant forward and planted a quick, gentle kiss on the unicorn’s lips. “I appreciate it, really, I do.”

“Jus cos Ah’m helping’ out as well...” Applejack’s country accent came from over Lyra’s shoulder “...don’t mean ya gotta go kissin’ me too.”

The tension broken by the farm mare’s jovial interruption, Lero let loose a small laugh.

“Ooh, I don't know...” Time Turner added from the rear of the small ‘backstage’ area. “I wouldn't mind.’ With that he gave the group a cheeky smile coupled with an equally cheeky wink.

“Watching or receiving?” Lyra asked, one of her infamous sly smiles making its way across her features.

“Either.” The light brown stallion replied as he lifted a forehoof to his mouth to blow Lero a theatrical kiss.

More laughter followed from all four present as whatever tension had remained decided to clock off for the night and left them all to it.

“You see, We’re all friends here,” Lyra smoothed out the front of Lero’s shirt with her magic. “You’ve got nothing to worry about, Everything’s going to be just fine.”

“Ok, you've got me. I'm just being silly.” Lero reached over to rub Lyra’s left ear for a second before turning to Time Turner. “Speaking of which, what on Earth are you wearing? Where’s your usual tie?”

“What, this?” Turner motioned to the strip of dark red fabric around his neck that he’d been working on for the last few minutes. “I’m trying out different types of ties. I’m wearing bow ties this week. Bow ties are cool.”

Lero, Lyra and AJ all shared an amused look before the human gave his friend an encouraging nod.

“Well, if you say so. It’s certainly... something”

As all four of them made the last of their mental preparations, AJ briefly poked her face through the curtain before pulling it back and grabbing her hat from a nearby chair.

“Looks like everypony’s about here.” She settled the hat on her head, taking a second to get it positioned just right. “Ah think it’s time ta get ourselves out there. Well, Handy, Ah’ll see ya out on stage.”

Pushing the edge of the curtain aside with a forehoof, AJ made to step outside but stopped for a second to glance over her shoulder at the human.

‘Yule do fine, Sugarcube, trus’ me.”

And with that she slipped through the curtain and into the main room beyond.

As the curtain swished closed behind the farm pony, the sound of applause making its way through the fabric, Time Turner gave Lero a rakish grin before he pulled a dark red fez seemingly from nowhere and popped it on his head. With a cry of ‘ALLONS-Y’ he was through the cloth barrier and gone.

So now it was just the two herd mates left behind the curtain. As the rhythm of exuberant clopping (the pony equivalent of clapping AND NOTHING ELSE) came through the partition, Lero pulled himself up to his full height and leant back against a wall.

“I can’t believe I’m about to do this. I must be mad. I can't go out in front of this many people.”

“Come on now. Fingers.” Lyra brought herself up onto her hind legs so she could press herself against his broad chest. “You know it’s just friends out there. The big show isn't for another couple of weeks yet so we’ve got plenty of time to iron out the wrinkles.”

“Okay, okay” Lero lifted a hand to stroke his mare’s mane. “You’re right... again.”

“Yes, I am. “ Lyra leant in, pushing her barrel tighter against the human’s chest while using her lips to tickle his ear. “And later on maybe I can-”

Whatever she was about to suggest, promise or generally titillate the human’s senses with was interrupted by Pinkie Pie’s head suddenly appearing through the curtain next to them.

“Hey there you saucy things you. Are you ready? Or should we give you another minute... or twenty?” PInkie’s normal grin was known for being quite large, but the one gracing her face now was starting to approach her ears, for some reason making Lero half expect her mane to burst into flames.

“Ahem, I... we... erm.” Lero stuttered. “Are you ready?”

“Oh, I was born ready... I am ready ready ready.” The pretty pink party pony enthused as she waggled the brass horn hanging from a silk cord across her shoulders. “If I was any readier I wouldn't be a Pinkie Pie, I’d be a Reddie Pie.... Which doesn't sound as good as Pinkie Pie does it? Oooh, Redcurrant Pie? Oh no, my second cousin twice removed has that one already... Or was it my third cousin once misplaced? Or could it be my thirteenth cousin lost in space?”

By this point Pinkie’s head had managed to rotate in a clockwise direction by what looked to be least a full three hundred and sixty degrees. As she scratched her chin, pondering the intricacies of the Pie family's familial connections, her head span back towards its normal position, overshooting slightly and shaking a few times before settling back into normal alignment.

As a professional masseuse Lero had spent a considerable amount of time in the last year studying pony musculature and bone structure and for the life of him he still couldn’t figure out how the heck Pinkie did some of the things she did without making at least half of her body parts fall off.

“The fine line between genius and insanity.” Lero muttered almost silently before he’d even realised what he’d said.

“Yep, that’s me.” Pinkie beamed before she leaned further forward, the rest of her body somehow (and rather improbably) managing to stay outside of the curtain, as she stage whispered “And if I'm really lucky then sometimes all the voices actually start to agree”.

Pursing her lips as if to whistle, Pinkie instead made a loud noise which sounded very much like ‘cuckoo’ before grinning some more.

“Just remember what Granny Pie used to say; ‘If you get nervous, just imagine the audience in their underwear’.”

This particular piece of advice left the human a little stunned.

“But ponies don't wear underwear!” he uttered.

“I know! And that‘s what makes it so funny.” the exuberant earth pony guffawed. “Just try imagining Twilight in a silky purple basque, or Dashie in a wispy see-through camisole... soon any thoughts you had of that big, scary audience will be the last thing on your mind.

“You could even try imagining me if you like.” Pinkie added with a wink.

Seeing that Lero was somewhat distracted by a unrequested (though maybe not unwelcome) selection of mental images, Pinkie leant even further forward and bopped his nose with a forehoof, causing a loud ‘honk’ noise to come from somewhere. Lyra had no idea where it had come from though.

“I think you might not be helping here, Pinkie.” Lyra laughed as she gave up on trying to figure out where the strange noise had originated from. “Looks like you broke him.“

“What? Sorry.” Lero shook himself in an attempt to free himself of these distractingly sexy ideas. “Mmmmmm, yeah, oh. Remind me to talk to Rarity later. I’ve got an idea for a commision. Say, do you ponies know what a corset is or is that just a human thing?”

“See, what did I tell you?’ Pinkie waved her forehooves in a wide arc above her head, which was now somehow back nestled between the rich fabric of the curtain. “Kapow! Your stage fright is no more.”

Lero laughed as he reached out to rub between Pinkie’s ears. “Yeah, you're right, Thanks, Pinkie.”

“Any time.” the earth pony’s eyes started to cross as she looked up at the human’s hand within her poofy mane. “Hey, that tickles. He he.”

As the human pulled his hand back the party pony blew a very wet raspberry at him.

“You’re gonna be super duper, I just know it. Madame Pinkie Pie knows the truth, sees the truth, speaks the truth... and takes both cash and cards. By the way, I favour fluffy pink negligee in candy striping myself. Break a leg, toodles.”

And as quickly as she had appeared, she was gone, leaving Lero and Lyra staring at the edge of the curtain flapping about in the breeze her sudden departure had left behind.

“That was very...” Lero started.

“Pinkie?” Lyra offered,.

“Yes. Very.”

“Well, time to face the music, lover boy.’ Lyra gave her stallion another hug and a quick kiss. “See you on the other side.”

Dropping back onto all four hooves, Lyra stood and faced the curtain, her usual whimsical aura being superseded by that of a strictly professional, no-nonsense musician as she stepped through and into the limelight. As the curtain fell closed behind her, strains of applause came from the other side, the sounds of hoofbeats reaching the human’s ears.

“Okay, Lero, old boy, time to face your public.” he said as he steeled him for what, at that moment in time, felt like it was going to be one of the most nerve wracking few steps of his life. .

“Just try not to imagine any ponies in their underwear. That'd just be weird.”

After taking a deep breath, Lero reached out, pulled back the curtain and walked out onto the stage.

*****************
*****************

Through the streets of Ponyville hurried a gray pegasus mare, her booted hooves disturbing the thin layer of snow that lay on the ground all around her. The first snowflakes of winter had fallen just a few days before and the whole town still held that magical look of peace, tranquility and pristine beauty that only fresh snow could bring,

Riding upon the mare’s back, tucked safe between her mother’s wings, was a young unicorn filly, acting as navigator during their short journey through their hometown’s rapidly darkening streets. They had an important gathering to get to and it wouldn’t do to be late.

Spying their destination, the town’s favourite (even if they generally wouldn't admit it) mailmare broke into a gentle trot, her daughter squealing in delight at the sudden turn of speed. Derpy wasn’t that fast when on solid ground - or when off it for that matter - and they both knew it. That didn’t stop either of them from playing pretend. Dinky loved her mother dearly and, as far as the pale violet filly was concerned, everything she did was just perfect.

*************

As the bell above Carousel Boutique’s door rang for what must have been the twentieth time that evening, Rarity turned to greet this evening’s newest arrival.

“Ditzy, darling... and Miss Dinky. How lovely to see you both.” The unicorn moved to attend to the newest of tonight’s arrivals as Dinky hopped off of her mother’s back.

“I’m so sorry we’re late.” Derpy started to apologise as she struggled to remove her galoshes before their thin covering of snow started to melt all over Rarity’s nice clean floor. “I just don’t know what went wrong.”

“Think nothing of it, my dear.” Rarity replied as she took the damp hoofwear and placed it with the many others like it along the wall next to the door. There was a specially placed rug for them to sit on of course, a shrewd businessmare such as she found it always paid to think ahead. “You’re not late at all. In fact, our star attraction is still getting ready backstage.”

After making sure the boots were positioned just right, Rarity motioned towards a pair of earth ponies, both of which with large silver trays on their backs, making their way around the small crowd of guests gathering around the room.

“Pinkie Pie and Bon Bon have graciously provided refreshments if you’d like a drink or a little something to nibble on.” Leaning in closer to Derpy so that young Dinky couldn’t overhear she added “And Big McIntosh has gifted us with some refreshment with a touch more kick if a little tipple takes your fancy... a seasonal winter warmer if you will.”

Derpy looked over to where Big Mac was sitting at the edge of the room, a selection of Sweet Apple Acre’s labeled bottles and a large silver tureen of what was probably warm winter cider sitting on the table next to him.

“Maybe I’d better not.” Derpy sighed as she looked over at her daughter who by now had wandered off to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders on the other side of the room. “I might start bumping into things... again.”

“Well you know where he is if you change your mind, my dear.” Rarity assured. “And should you find yourself a tiny touch too ‘merry’ then you are more than welcome to stay the night here. Sweetie Belle’s friends will be having a sleepover and I’m sure they’d be more than happy to have Dinky join them.”

Leaning over towards the pegasus, Rarity whispered again. “And just between you and I, the more of Big McIntosh’s stock we can keep from the hooves of either Rainbow Dash or Rumble Oldenberg the better. The last time the two of them engaged in a drinking contest it took four of us to carry the two of them out of Frosty Mug’s bar. Then it took three more days for poor Lero to fix all the damage.”

Following the line of Rarity’s subtle head motions, past the likes of Mayor Mare and her stallion, and Rarity’s parents, Derpy could see the imposing form of Lero’s colleague from the Ponyville Spa on the other side of the room. Flanked by both Aloe and Lotus, the large Neightherlands pony completely dwarfed her much smaller (and more streamlined) employers.

“Oh, please don’t let her appearance fool you.“ Rarity quickly added, not wanting to give the mailmare the wrong idea. “She’s an absolute sweetheart and would never dream of hurting a living soul. It’s just that once she’s had a drink or two she tends to forget her own strength.”

Letting her gaze fall to the floor, Derpy gave a long sigh.

“Yeah.” She muttered, more to herself than to anypony else “I know the feeling.”

**********************

Resting the ladle back in the large bowl of warm cider, Big Mac watched yet another satisfied customer carry their drinks back to their friends or family. Not that the draft pony would have ever dreamed of charging Due Diligence for the two glasses of cider was carrying back to his herdmate, not tonight anyway. And it had nothing to do with Due Diligence being Mayor Mare’s stallion, not one little bit. Big Mac didn’t hold with all that ‘not charging local officials in order to gain favour’ business. It just seemed totally dishonest to him and not at all the Earth pony way. Not one little bit.

No, the reason he was here happily hoofing over Sweet Apple Acre’s stock without charge was that tonight was a big night for his best friend. Lero had been fretting about performing in front of a crowd for a few months now and, when Miss Rarity had suggested holding a smaller pre-show practice event at her shop with just a few friends and colleagues, everypony involved had jumped at the chance to help make the evening a success.

“Errr, hello.’ Came a timid voice from somewhere behind the Apple family stallion.

Turning in place he found Miss Fluttershy doing her best to make herself as small as possible, which she was very good at. Behind the obviously nervous pegasus stood Miss Cheerilee, a mischievous smile (which Big Mac recognised from their time together at Ponyville Elementary all those years ago) plastered across her features and a rather-more-narked-than-usual white rabbit sitting within her two-tone pink mane, glaring daggers at the farm pony from over his fluffy white folded arms.

“Miss Fluttershy” Big Mac rumbled before he remembered to lighten his tone just a touch. “Ah... um... err...”

From behind the pegasus's back, Cheerilee waved a foreleg at the cider bowl and then at Fluttershy before pulling her forehoof back to her face to make a ‘drinky drinky’ motion.

“Can ah get you ah drink?” Big Mac asked quickly. Contrary to popular opinion, the draft pony was actually quite quick on the uptake... when his nerves weren’t doing their best to sabotage his plans at least.

“Um, yes please, If, if that’s okay.” Fluttershy whispered from under her mane, “Could I have a mug of cider, if it’s not a hassle?”

“Ah course not, Miss Fluttershy. Ya’ can have whatever yew like. It’s no problem.” Mac made to pour out some cider into one of the smaller mugs from the table, being extra careful that he didn’t spill any. He tended to get clumsy when he got nervous.

“Umm, thank you, Big Mac, that’s very kind of you.” As Fluttershy took the drink from the stallion’s hoof, she let a touch more of her face peek out from under her mane. “Um, would it be okay for Cheerilee to have one too?”

“Ah, of course.”

As Big Mac moved to pour out a second beverage Cheerilee spoke up, a definitely flirty tone to her voice which made him look up from his task as his childhood friend caught his eye.

“Unless you fancied making me an apple spritzer?” Cheerilee’s eyes moved from Big Mac’s over to Fluttershy and then back to the farm pony. “Or both of us maybe?”

The draft pony almost dropped his ladle into the half filled mug at this point. He’d suspected for a long while now that the schoolteacher was actually attracted to him and had been dropping (not so) subtle hints in his direction that she’d like to take their ‘friendship’ further, but this was the first time she’d been so upfront or public about it.

But then, nopony within earshot would know quite what Cheerilee had meant with that seemingly innocent request. Nopony but the intensely blushing farm pony. Thank Celestia that his fur colouring would keep anyone, especially Miss Fluttershy, from noticing the rapidly reddening state of his cheeks.

“Ah, errr, Ah think Ah’d need some sparklin’ water fer that.” Mac stuttered, casting about the table for anything he could use. Soda water? Lemonade maybe?

“Here you go!” PInkie cried as she dropped a small bottle of sparkling water on the table in front of them before disappearing back into crowd just as quickly as she had arrived.

“Ah think, maybe that can be arranged.” Mac said as he gave Cheerilee a shy smile.

*****************

“So how is everypony over here?” Rarity asked as she made her way to where Twilight Sparkle was sitting on a cushion on the showroom floor. Earlier in the day Lero and Big Mac had moved all of the boutique’s stock, equipment and vast collection of extravagantly and elaborately coutured ponyquins to the workroom out back. While the boys had worked, the master seamstress herself had personally relocated the more delicate or expensive of her works up to the safety of her apartment up above the store.

For almost an hour now the town librarian had been camped out in the same spot - front row, right in the middle, directly in front of the stage. She’d plonked herself down literally seconds after she and Rainbow Dash had arrived and hadn’t moved since, occasionally sending her pegasus herd mate off on excursions for nibbles and other refreshments.

“I’m fantastic.” Twilight gushed, bouncing a little in place. “And I’m very excited... maybe a little bit nervous too.. but mainly excited.” The bouncing ceased as the unicorn suddenly crossed her hind legs under herself. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have had Rainbow bring me all those mugs of cider. But I’m not moving, somepony might steal my place and I can’t have that. I need to be right here where Lero can see me.”

“No pony’s going to ‘steal’ your spot, Twilight dear.” Rarity waved her hoof to indicate the bathroom at the back of the boutique. “But just to be on the safe side, why don’t I... ahh, protect your spot while you attend to your business? We can’t have you having to rush off part way through the performance now, can we?”

“Rarity, you’re such a good friend.” Twi enthused as she daintily rose from her cushion, just to make a mad dash through the crowd and off to the little filles’ room.

While her lavender friend was indisposed. Rarity made herself at home on Twilight’s cushion, giving the occasional wave or nodded greeting to any pony that looked her way. After a few minutes a rather relieved Twilight reappeared and the fashionista rose to relinquish her temporary seat.

“Thanks, Rarity.” Twilight said as she nudged her cushion slightly to the left, then back again, then a horn-width or so further from the stage while pulling her saddlebags just a touch closer. “I don’t know what I’d have done without you.” Stepping onto the cushion she turned clockwise in place a couple of times before settling herself back into her spot.

“Indeed’ Rarity replied dryly as she elegantly settled herself down on a free cushion to her fellow unicorn’s left-hoof-side.

“Thank you for suggesting this.” Twi motioned around the room with her horn. “Lero’s been so nervous recently about performing in front of the whole town that I’ve no idea how Lyra ever talked him into it in the first place. I think this is just what he needed to ease him into it.”

“Think nothing of it, darling.” A twitching at the middle of the curtain at the back of the stage caught Rarity’s eye and she could have sworn that, just for a moment, she could see a glimpse of pink skin and red hair through the gap. “I know how stressful the run up to a successful fashion show can be. A quick run-through beforehoof with friends can work wonders to sooth the butterflies.”

“You’re so right. I was so nervous about my presentation to the university board earlier in the year that I think Lyra knows the finer points of my speech on ‘Polyformulaic Subthaumic Multicasting’ better than I do by now.”

Twi glanced over to the back of the room where the CMC (and Dinky) were ‘helping’ to clear the last of the vol au vents from Bon Bon’s tray... a task they were accomplishing by stuffing as many of the few leftover morsels into their mouths as they could. As the girls picked the tray clean in what must have been record time, it was easy to see the cutie marks on both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo’s flanks, as well as the lack of cutie mark on Sweetie Belle’s own. As she was the oldest of the group, even if only by a matter of months, her lack of cutie mark had become something of a sore point for the young unicorn.

“I'm sorry you had to miss taking Sweetie and the girls to Canterlot for the weekend to watch Princess Luna release the first snowflakes of winter just so you could help Lero set all this up,”

“Pish posh, my dear.” Rarity watched as Pinkie Pie came out of the Boutique’s Kitchen, a brass horn around her neck and a fresh tray of nibbles on her back, creating a whole new source of plunder for the four excited fillies. “Mother and father had a simply fabulous time taking the three of them to the big city for a few days. It was an awfully big adventure for them all and it gave the girls a chance to ‘run riot’ without their big sisters being there to rein them in. There will always be other winters to enjoy together, that’s the beauty of it all.”

As the fashionista took in one more view of the stage, with its four plain wooden stools (three short and one tall) each with a selection of instruments surrounding it, the middle of the stage curtain was pulled open, Applejack stepping partway through the gap before stopping mid stride to look back over her shoulder.

‘Yule do fine, Sugarcube, trus’ me.” the farmpony said to someone behind her before proceeding the rest of the way onto the stage, letting the curtains fall closed behind her.

After making her way to the middle of the stage, the pale orange mare went to give a small bow to the audience but caught herself halfway when she saw the sour expression that Rarity was throwing her way, instead giving a unsteady curtsey that left the white unicorn looking much more satisfied.

As the Apple mare made her way to the stool on the far right of the stage, which had propped up next to it a violin with a pair of bows in one stand and a banjo in another, many of the gathered crowd stomped their forehooves on the ground in applause while those few already seated on the provided cushions clopped their forehooves together.

As Applejack settled onto her seat, a cry of ‘ALLONS-Y’ could be heard coming from between the curtains, followed in swift order by Time Turner bursting onto the stage wearing what was probably the silliest hat Ponyville had ever seen.

“What?” The exuberant stallion asked the crowd as they stamped and clopped in applause at his appearance on the stage, and not at all at the silliness of his headwear. “It’s a fez... I wear fezzes now.”

As he gave a hurried bow (almost losing the silly hat in the attempt) and made his way to his stool on the far left of the stage, which was surrounded by a selection of drums and cymbals, any audience members who had remained standing up until now made their way to any free cushions that they could find. Rainbow flapped her way over the seated crowd to the spot that Twilight had saved her in the front row while, for some strange reason, Cheerilee had managed to maneuver Fluttershy onto a cushion off to one side of the room between the herself and Big Mac.

From out of nowhere Pinkie had managed to bounce her way onto the stage (her own instrument jaggling around on its cord the entire way; how she never hit herself in the face with it was any pony’s guess) and stuck her head through the side of the curtains and into the backstage area.

For a few moments all that could be seen was a pink derriere (with an even pinker tail attached) wiggling around on the edge of the stage. After while a pink poofy mane and associated grin (with a head attached almost as an afterthought) reappeared before Pinkie bounced her way back to the rear of the room. Once there she made herself at home next to a small table covered in more polished brass than Ponyville town hall’s trophy cabinet.

Seconds later, Lyra Heartstrings appeared though the curtain, the unmistakable air of a professional musician radiating from her body the entire time. As she gave a perfect curtsey not a movement was wasted, not a muscle moved too far or not far enough. Silently she made her way to her stool which was positioned next to Applejack’s, her clàrsach and bodhrán waiting for her on the ground nearby. Whether it be as a martial artist or as a musician, once Lyra had her game face on then her every movement, every note, every breath, was perfection itself.

With the stage set and all but their star player present, Rarity reached out with her telekinesis and dimmed the boutique’s lights while next to her Twilight closed her eyes and concentrated on her pyrokinesis.

Around the edges of the room dozens of strategically placed candles burst into life one after the other, the ring of tiny flames encircling the audience as they flickered and flared.

As the assembled guests ‘ooh’ed and ‘aah’ed, the man behind this crisp winter’s night’s performance stepped out from between the curtains to greet his eager audience.

17: Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song - Part Two.

Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song - Part Two.
(And I'll try not to sing out of key)
Chapter published 16th Aug 2013

************

Making his way into the middle of the stage, Lero let the clopping die off before he made to speak, partly so that he wouldn’t have to raise his voice to be heard but also partly because he was scared to death.

Screw that... he was absolutely terrified.

Resisting the urge to start imagining the crowd in their underwear, Lero gave his audience a quick bow before holding his hands out in front of him in a request for quiet. Surprisingly, for a race without hands, every pony present seemed to understand what the motion meant and the room soon fell deadly silent.

Lero wasn’t sure which state had been more nerve-wracking.

“Thank you all for coming.” He began. Might as well start with the classics. “I know it’s cold out and I really appreciate you all being here with me tonight.”

Half turning in place he used a hand to indicate the three ponies behind him.

“Back home it was traditional to introduce the band and even though you all know them I still think it’s important I acknowledge everything they’ve done for me so far.

“Firstly I’d like to thank Applejack, who as we all know doesn’t get huge amounts of time away from the farm and I’m immensely grateful that she was willing to spend whatever time she could over the last few months on my crazy ideas.”

As the audience cheered for the farmpony she used a single forehoof to lift her hat from her head and wave it at the crowd.

“That’s okay, Handy.” She said setting the stetson back in place. “Ah reckon ya’ll ar’ pretty much Apple family by now anyhow, what with everthin’ ya gone done fer me an’ ma kinfolk so far.”

Giving Applejack a small bow, Lero then turned to Time Turner.

“If there’s one thing every band needs, that’s someone they can trust in charge of keeping it all in time. And who better to keep us in time than Ponyville’s very own official time keeper?”

From behind Lero came another bout of cheering though none were as loud as Dinky who had come to see her mother’s ‘friend’ play his drums. She may have been the smallest pony in the room but she could certainly make a lot of noise. As Lero moved away from the brown stallion, Turner gave a little wave towards where Derpy was sitting towards the back of the room, her daughter hopping up and down upon the mailmare’s back. The gray pegasus gave a shy wave back while Dinky unabashedly waved her own forehooves in the air like a pony possessed.

Motioning to Lyra who was still sitting ramrod straight upon her stool, Lero turned to the crowd.

“And my herdmate, who encouraged and supported me all this time and without whom none of this would have been possible...” Lero turned back to the mint coloured unicorn before he continued.

“...How on earth did I let you talk me into this?” He said with a large grin.

As Lyra’s facade cracked for just a second, she quickly stuck out her tongue at him before almost instantly recovering her steely mask of seriousness.

As a wave of laughter spread over both those in the audience and those on the stage alike, Lero turned again, holding out a hand to direct everyone’s attention to the rear of the room.

“And I can’t move on before mentioning Pinkie Pie for everything she’s done to make both this and my upcoming event happen, Rarity for first suggesting and then arranging this little trial-run gathering in such a short space of time, and also my two other herdmates who have put up with Lyra and myself disappearing off into the night on a regular basis and actually falling for the story that we’re just going to band practice.”

As another wave of laughter worked its way around the crowd, Rainbow called out with mock indignation “Just you wait...” which just caused the laughter to increase.

Settling himself onto the last free stool, Lero reached over to the pair of guitars that were each sitting on instrument stands next it it, one a six string, the other a four string. Grabbing the six string he pulled it onto his lap while his bandmates readied their own instruments,

“The world I come from...” he said as he made one last adjustment to his guitar’s tuning pegs “doesn't have any magic. Not anything beyond simple illusions or conjuring tricks anyway. We didn’t have the magic of harmony to guide us, or alicorn princesses to show us the way forward, all we had was each other.”

Lifting a hand he tapped a single forefinger against his head.

“What we did have though was a natural inquisitiveness and a built-in desire to solve problems.”

He held out the same hand in front of himself, spreading his fingers so the audience could see them more easily.

“We also had hands to make those solutions a reality.“

Pulling his hand back he lay it over his heart.

“And we also had love. At first just for our friends and immediate family, then for our tribes and then onto the tribes beyond. But the greatest thing we ever did was that we learned to talk, to exchange ideas, to teach our young and to work through our differences.”

As he moved his thumb to strum against its strings, his guitar let each note resonate clean and clear.

“And with all that came the power of song. Again, with no magic of harmony to guide us we made up our own songs; tribal chants, ballads, sonnets, grand sweeping epics requiring hundred piece orchestras, thrash metal bands formed in a teenager’s garage... all of it...“ Again he tapped a lone forefinger against his own skull. “...came from up here.”

Bringing his hand back to the strings, he began to play a slow melody as he talked, the same few notes repeating after a few seconds, small variations creeping in after a few repetitions.

“But however different each of these compositions may be, they usually have the same similar purpose, be it to tell a story, or to try and import a single idea or maybe to put across a point of view.”

The slow, bassy notes of Lyra’s bodhrán soon joined Lero’s guitar, the sounds of the two instruments mingling and working their way together out into the audience.

“This particular song is written by a guy, who has the same last name as my mom by the way, from a place named Manchester in a country called England, which I gather is roughly analogous to this world’s Albion all the way over in the Bittish Isles. I was a little disappointed to find there’s no town called something like ‘Manechester’ or “Marechaser’ here though.”

At this point Lyra’s clàrsach was also added to the fray, swiftly followed a few seconds later by Applejack’s violin. For a while it sounded as if the two instruments were having a bit of back and forth between themselves before they seemed to settle into a weaving pattern around each other.

“You see, the music of harmony lets you all tell each other how you feel about what’s happening to you, or share the joy in what’s going on around you. Each of you get to share in that in a way I never will. But that doesn’t mean to say that I can’t have a go at doing something similar. I may not be able to share with you the songs of my people in the same way or at the same deep level that you can, but that doesn't mean that I’m not going to try.”

As he closed his eyes, Lero began to sing.

Take the time to make some sense

Of what you want to say

And cast your words away upon the waves

For just a few moments everything faded away except for the AJ’s violin and Lero’s guitar, just to come back in a few moments later

And sail them home with acquiesce

On a ship of hope today

And as they land upon the shore

Tell them not to fear no more

Say it loud, and sing it proud today

Applejack’s violin playing swelled and Lyra’s harp gained in strength and urgency until, as they reached a crescendo, the previously immobile Time Turner raised his forehooves high above his head before bringing them, and his drumsticks, crashing down, his drums joining the performance with a gusto. While the audience were still recovering Pinkie’s horn called back from the rear of the room, her playing sharp and true, every note perfect.

And then dance if you wanna dance

Please brother take a chance

You know they're gonna go

Which way they wanna go

All we know is that we don't

Know how it's gonna be

From behind his drums, Time Turner began to sing, his distinctly masculine tones carrying his backing vocals just underneath Lero’s slightly deeper voice.

Please brother let it be

Life on the other hand

Won't make us understand

We're all part of the masterplan

From where she was sitting in the front of the crowd, Twilight’s horn started to glow as Applejack launched into a solo, the rest of the instruments backing off and Pinkie putting down her horn entirely, to let the lone violin shine though. As Twi’s magical aura enveloped the farm pony’s instrument in its violet glow, the violin’s notes came out distorted but still recognisable. It sounded, well it made it sound kinda magical, or a little spooky maybe, or even like they were hearing the notes in reverse like some somepony playing one of those fancy phonographs backwards.

As both Twilight’s magic and AJ’s violin faded away, Lero once again started to sing as the Lyra and Time Turner’s instruments returned in full force.

Say it loud and sing it proud today

At this point Applejack rejoined them, her violin now lacking any magical amplification or modulation as Lero’s fingers flew across his guitar’s strings.

I'm not saying right is wrong

It's up to us to make

The best of all the things

That come our way

'cause everything that's been has passed

The answer's in the looking glass

There's four and twenty million doors

On life's endless corridor

Say it loud and sing it proud today

As all five band members reached a crescendo, Pinkie’s horn and Time Turner’s backing vocals joined their instruments in the performance once again.

We'll dance if they wanna dance

Please brother take a chance

You know they're gonna go

Which way they wanna go

All we know is that we don't

Know how it's gonna be

Please brother let it be

Life on the other hand

Won't make you understand

We're all part of the masterplan

By now Pinkie was well and truly on top of her game and had slowly made her way to the front of the room where she joined all the other performers on stage as they built up to their final big huzzah.

And their final huzzah did not disappoint. The music swelled, each instrument coming together to form a symphony that the magic of harmony would have a hard time time beating. The five performers worked with each other like the parts of a finely tuned machine, the many hours they’d spent practicing together creating a level of trust and synchronicity that Equestria rarely saw without either magical assistance or months of training.

Once the song’s musical peak had a passed, both Pinkie and Time Turner let their instruments fall silent as Lyra allowed her harp to fade out as it floated slowly to the floor, leaving just her slow melodic drum beats against Lero’s guitar and AJ’s violin. Pretty soon it was just Lero and Applejack but then even the violin faded away to leave just the human playing alone. After a few moments of solo playing, Lero gently placed the palm of his hand over the strings, silencing his guitar,

Opening his eyes for the first time since the song started, Lero was dismayed to find nothing but a room full of silent ponies, almost every face he saw displaying the same expression of shock and incomprehension. In the middle of the front row Rainbow and Twilight were turning about in their seats to try and get a better look at the swath of gob-smacked ponies all around them.

“Yeah, I thought this might be a crappy idea.” The disheartened human muttered to himself. “I never should have tried.”

Suddenly from over to one side of the room Big Mac’s voice could be heard booming out.

“Now that’s whut Ah’m takin’ about!” the large stallion cried as he stood up from his cushion so he could stamp his forehooves on the floor. Still sat on the floor next to him a startled Fluttershy put her forehooves to her mouth and called out with a loud (for her anyway) ‘wahoo’.

From her seat next to Twilight in the front row Rarity started to clop her forehooves together in a most animated, though still ladylike, fashion.

“Oh yes, bravo, bravo. That was absolutely wonderful. I've never heard anything like it.”

Soon cheers and applause were coming from every member of their small audience with many present getting to their hooves so they could stomp their appreciation. Even the foals were jumping up and down, waving their hooves like Dinky’s earlier possession had been contagious.

Leaning over so only Lero could hear her (though with the amount of noise bouncing around the room she needn’t have bothered) Lyra said with a sly smile “See, I told you they’d like it.”

As the noise finally started to die down, Mayor Mare was the first to address Lero directly.

“That was indeed splendid work, most enchanting” The gray maned official said, looking to her herdmate who nodded his agreement. “I believe it may have taken a short while for what you were trying to say to us to sink in. As a whole we’re not accustomed to needing to think too deeply about whatever lyrics we might hear. Maybe it would help if you left a little gap between each song for a moment of reflection. It would give you a chance to converse with your audience, maybe also to answer questions or expand upon any lyrics for which they may not have grasped the underlying meaning upon their first exposure.“

As she looked about the crowd for support, the mayor was greeted by nodding heads and blank faces, in roughly equal number. After a few seconds Rainbow piped up.

“You mean, give them some time to digest?” The polychromatic pegasus asked.

The mayor, and a few others in the crowd, gave a few laughs. Trust Rainbow Dash to cut right through the mayor’s long winded suggestion in eight words or less.

“Yes, I think that’s a good way of putting it. Thank you.”

Rubbing at his chin, Lero considered his first piece of public feedback.

“That’s a good point.” he agreed. “Part of what makes human music what it is is that it’s often vague and open to interpretation, which would make it quite hard for ponies such as yourselves, who’ve been used to the music of harmony your whole life, to get a handle on all the ins and outs. I guess I could have a quick question and answer session between each song. It’d also give ponies a chance to ask a bit more about humanity as there’s a whole load of cultural references tied up in our lyrics, often to the point that one group of humans can’t understand exactly what another group’s harping on about.”

Thinking back to some of the songs that were popular in his last few years on Earth made him smile, especially the big N.W.A reunion tour of ‘21 that his mom had dragged him to. Man, that gig had been a blast... literally.

“To be honest, I didn’t always understand everything that various rappers were singing about half the time, didn’t mean I couldn't enjoy the music though. Part of the magic is in taking what you hear and figuring it out for yourselves, as often people with completely different viewpoints or life experiences will find completely different meanings to the same words. What you as the listener put into the song makes a huge difference to what you get out of it, so I’d have to be careful to let anypony who asks about meanings make up their own minds as to what it’s really about.”

Many of the audience nodded and Lero was glad to see a number of hooves go up into the air. Flicking his eyes over to Miss Cheerilee, he could see the schoolteacher grinning as she looked over the ponies in front of her, putting their hooves up to try and ask a question of someone other than her for once. From all the eager faces and raised hooves laid out before him, Lero chose one almost at random.

“Miss Doo, you have a question for me?”

“Errr, yes.” Derpy was a little thrown. usually when there was ‘choosing’ of any kind going on she’d never be picked first... not for anything good anyway. “Errrm. So what did that song mean?”

“That’s a good question, and there’s a number of answers.” Believing his questioner to be a lot smarter than she was ever given credit for, Lero decided to turn the question around. “What did you think it might have been about or, why I chose to share it with you all?”

Derpy froze, she hated being put on the spot. Usually it wouldn’t end well for her.

“Well, errr. I think the first bit about ‘making sense of what you want to say’ was you trying to tell us about how humans have to write their own songs.... maybe?”

Worried that she might be making herself look a fool, Derpy looked about the crowd and was surprised to see a number of fellow guests nodding in agreement. Feeling emboldened she pressed on with a bit more confidence.

“And then a bit later on you were trying to say that we don't know what will happen to us in the future, or why things have already turned out the way they have, but that we shouldn’t let ourselves get too upset about it.”

Looking up at the stage, the mailmare found the human grinning back at her.

“Miss Doo, I couldn’t have said it better myself.” the human said, causing the pegasus to smile widely. She didn't often receive praise and by Luna she was going to enjoy it when it came her way.

“You see, I spent a long time discussing this same question with my herd and with the performers you see up here tonight and what we came up with was this...’ Lero continued, every pair of eyes, and ears, in the room focused on him.. which was a touch un-nerving. “I’ve no idea why I ended up here in Equestria, and to be honest I doubt I’ll ever know for sure. But I spent a long time thinking about it and in the end I figured I just gotta let it go. I’m here now, I have a life, I have a herd and I have a place in this community with all my friends. I think it’s pretty safe to say that if someone offered to wave a magic wand and send me back right now I wouldn't even let them try.”

Looking around the room at the friendly faces gathered there, each of them looking back at him with levels of interest, trust and love across their features, the human was struck by how much his life in Ponyville had changed since his arrival just over a year and a half ago. Of course, spending almost four months as viceroy to the royal sisters hadn’t hurt.

But now, every pony in this room considered Lero to be a friend, from the mares of his herd, to the mayor and the mailmare, to the kids in his Swim Club... all of them. That they would be here with him tonight, so he could try in his own way to tell them how he felt through the medium of song, it meant a lot to him.

“Now, I’m not a religious man, or a big believer in predestination, but I spent a long time asking, ‘Why am I here? What was I brought here for?’... But now I like to think that I’m here for the exact same reason that all of us are here; to do the very best that we can to be the very best that we can.”

A veritable sea of nodding heads regaled him with their heartfelt agreement.

“Though Rainbow tells me that she’s cracked being the best already and that we need to come up with a whole new goal for her.”

As the nodding turned to laughter, Twilight pushed herself up against Rainbow’s side, the blushing pegasus jovially pushing back while putting on her best (and most adorable, though she was no way doing it on purpose, nah-uh) pout.

“So for me, personally, that’s what the song is about, what it might mean to you is a different matter. And perhaps it’ll mean something else to you in a few years, who knows. But that’s part of what all these human songs are for... about thinking it out for yourself, opening up new avenues of discussion, getting people talking. And if you leave here tonight with a few new songs in your hearts and questions in your heads, then I guess I’ve done my job. ”

*************

After a few more questions, Lero swapped his six string guitar for its four stringed brethren, giving his audience a few seconds to settle back down before he addressed them once more.

“Okay, so for this second song I’m going to try something different, a bit of what humans call ‘audience participation’. There’s two verses that I’ll sing, then the chorus comes up twice with a bit of a gap between them, each chorus being just the same line three times and then the fourth line is the same five words as those previous lines, just in a different order. Then there’s the third verse and then that same chorus twice again and then the last line just repeats until the end. Once any of you think you’ve got the swing of it then please, feel free to join in.”

Lero strummed his thumb over the guitar’s four strings, making a much bassier sound than he had before as he sang two simple words.

It's easy.

The reaction from the crowd was... mixed. Some - like Rainbow and the foals - seemed well up for the idea while others - especially Fluttershy and Miss Doo - looked concerned that without the music of harmony this could all go very, very wrong.

“Don’t worry.” Lero reassured his audience, surprised by how relaxed he felt about the idea now that his initial stage fright had receded. “We’ll wing it We only added this song to the set list yesterday morning so it’s going to be a bit wobbly anyway. Lyra says we should just have fun with it so here goes.”

Twisting in his stool he made eye contact with both Lyra and AJ in turn, each mare giving him nod in return to confirm that they were ready.

“Ladies, if you and Pinkie could start us off please.”

From where she had wandered back to the rear of the room, Pinkie’s horn began to play, the notes sounding stately and official as they swam their way across the shop floor. From up on the stage Lyra and AJ began to sing just a single word, the same word over and over again, their voices, though unassisted by any magic, flowing in perfect harmony.

Love, Love, Love.

As the song began, so too did the soothing sounds of Applejack’s violin, soon followed by Time Turner and Lyra’s drums. Lero’s fingers swept over his guitar’s strings, adding a catchy bass line as he began to sing.

There's nothing you can do that can't be done.

Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.

Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game.

It's easy.

Nothing you can make that can't be made.

No one you can save that can't be saved.

Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time.

It's easy.

As they moved into the chorus, Rainbow and Twilight soon joined in, followed swiftly by Rarity, Big Mac and an incredibly nervous sounding Fluttershy. Lero had taught all of them the chorus that morning in the hopes that once one or two of the audience joined in, the rest would follow suit. Never before had he pinned so much on the power of pony herding instincts.

All you need is love.

After each line, Pinkie added a few notes with her horn, the instrument sounding impossibly jolly as she danced her way around the edges of the room.

All you need is love, love.

Love is all you need.

By the time the end of the first chorus had come to an end, most of the audience looked quite confident that they could pull it off themselves and - after a some impressive violin and horn work from AJ and Pinkie - once the second chorus rolled around almost every pony in the room, adult or otherwise, joined in.

All you need is love.

After each line Pinkie once again added her little musical flourish, suddenly appearing seemingly at random somewhere with the audience each time. From his spot up on stage Lero could see a bemused Due Diligence shrug in that strange way only ponies could and join in himself, his deep - and rather appealing - baritone voice surprising a number of the ponies around him.

All you need is love, love.

Love is all you need.

From behind him, Lero could hear Lyra’s harp join the performance exactly on cue, exactly as he’d come to expect from the most musically inclined of his herdmates. As he rolled into the third verse, the entire audience swaying from side to side in perfect time, Lero had only gotten a few words into his next line when he realised that he wasn’t singling solo. At the back of the room, standing tall upon her father’s back, Sweetie Belle was singing along.

There's nothing you can know that isn't known.

Nothing you can see that isn't shown.

With her eyes closed and horn gently glowing in the same manner that Twilight’s occasionally did in her sleep, the unicorn filly swayed from side to side in time with the music, her light young voice in perfect harmony with Lero’s deeper vocals. The human was so surprised that he forgot the sing the rest of the verse leaving Sweetie Belle to continue singing without him.

Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be.

It's easy.

Oblivious to the world around her, Sweetie span across her father’s back on her hooftips as the song moved into the third iteration of the chorus, the youngster still happily singing along, reciting each lyric with perfection and completely in tune.

As Sweetie had been away in canterlot with her friends for the last few days, and as Lero had only suggested the song to his bandmates the previous morning, how in Equestria could she know the lyrics? Lero turned to Lyra and AJ who both made indications that the whole thing was as much a surprise to them as it was to the bewildered human. Turning back to the audience and catching Rarity’s eye, all he got from the fashionista was confirmation that she also had no idea what was going on.

All you need is love.

All you need is love, love.

Love is all you need.

By now the rest of the audience once again picked up the song, Sweetie leading them through to the final chorus, the notes from Pinkie’s horn and Applejack’s violin chasing each other around the room like they were playing some rough and tumble game the whole time.

All you need is love.

All you need is love, love.

Love is all you need.

As the instruments faded away so did the glow from around Sweetie’s horn and, as she finally opened her eyes and hopped to the floor, she found every pair of eyes in the room waiting for her. Amidst all the shock and open mouths, Rarity was the one to finally break the silence.

“Sweetie, that was absolutely lovely. But how did you know the words?”

Withering somewhat under the attention, the filly dug the toe of a single forehoof into the floor.

“They were just in my head.” She said looking up at her sister, tears forming in her eyes. She didn’t know why but she got the distinct impression that she was in trouble, she just wasn't sure for what as yet. ”I could hear them in my head when Mister Lero was singing. He was singing and they were just there and he did say we should join in when we got the hang of it so I thought that was my cue to sing. Was that not okay?”

Turning to Lero, the filly had tears streaming down her cheeks as she started to apologise to the human.

“I’m sorry Mister Lero. I didn’t mean to spoil your party, really I didn’t.”

Shocked out of his stunned silence by the child’s tearful cry, Lero put down his guitar and made his way over to where the youngster was sitting, her head now buried in her father’s chest.

“Hey. Sweetie.” Lero sat on the floor next to the child, curling his legs up under himself as he did so. “No, that was okay... it was more than okay, really.

A small head poked out from under the shaggy fur on Magnum’s chest.

“Really?”

“Yes, really.” Reaching out the human gently stroked the filly’s mane. “Trust me, it was perfect. Absolutely perfect.”

“And I didn’t spoil your party?”

“No, you didn’t spoil anything.”

“That’s good. I didn’t want to spoil anything.” Sweetie looked over to where Rarity was now sitting just a few flank-widths away. ‘Sometime I make ponies mad when I spoil things. I never mean to though, honest.”

“You didn’t, trust me.” Lero turned to Rarity for confirmation.

“You were perfectly lovely, my dear.” The older sibling offered. “Like a little angel. I’d have to say that I’ve never heard you sing so well.”

Many of the others in the room, especially the rest of the CMC, enthusiastically signalled their agreement,

”So, you could hear the words?” Lero asked. “In your head?”

Sweetie nodded so quickly that it looked like her head was going to fall off.

“The first song too?”

The nodding continued. “Yes, I could hear that too, just not as loudly as the second one, that one was all quiet and I wasn’t sure it was really there. The second song was much louder though, and all the words were there.”

By this time Twilight had made her way to Lero’s side, levitating a notebook and quill that she’d acquired from only Luna knew where in front of her.

“Was it at all like the music of harmony?” The purple pony asked. “In that, did the words arrive in your head as you sang each of them or did they all arrive at once?”

“Errm...” Sweetie looked a touch confused. “Both?”

Twilight tried a different avenue. “So did you feel the normal urge to sing or was it more like remembering the words of a book you’d once read and then choosing to sing along?”

“Yes, like that.” Of this the filly seemed much more sure. “The words were there but it wasn't like I had to sing, just that I knew all the words and how they should sound and what everypony else was supposed to sing and when I should start and stop and everything like that!”

“Fascinating.” Twilight furiously scribbled notes onto her pad. “Spontaneous musical comprehension between a human and a pony. Potential telepathic transference. This is wonderful stuff. We should see if this is a repeatable phenomenon and not just Sweetie Belle repeating something that she’s heard before without consciously realising it. Aristable always said that one should carefully work through every situation using pure logic to-umph”

“What Little Miss Brainiac probably means...” Rainbow Dash said as she extricated her hoof from her herdmate’s mouth “Is that maybe you should try it again, ya’know, make sure it’s not a fluke or anything.”

“You might be onto something.” Lero admitted as he turned back to young Sweetie Belle. “So, would you like to try another song? One that’s definitely never been heard in Equestria before?”

As the filly nodded her agreement, once again looking like she might shake herself apart at any moment, Lero searched the deepest crevices of his brain for a song he would one hundred percent never have sung whilst anywhere on this planet. One came to him quite easily and, should Sweetie get this one right, it would prove once and for all that she wasn’t pulling it from anywhere but his head.

“Okay, I’ve got one. My sister made me practise it with her for weeks back when her high-school drama club was putting on the abridged ‘Pirates of Penzance’ so I should be able to remember it pretty well. It’s so old, and so totally human, that you couldn’t possibly have picked it up from anywhere else. You ready for this?”

Sweetie nodded again and sat herself down directly in front of the human’s crossed legs. As she closed her eyes her horn started to dimly glow once more.

After taking a deep breath and concentrating on the lyrics forming in his head, Lero quickly rattled off the first two lines of a rather fast paced little ditty.

I am the very model of a modern Major-General,

I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral,

Pausing for a second he waited to see if the youngster would pick up on the next line. He didn't have long to wait as almost instantly Sweetie took up the lead.

I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical

From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical;

Her eyes still closed, a rather puzzled look spread across the filly’s face while the glow around her horn steadily grew brighter and brighter as she drew a very deep breath before continuing alone.

I'm very well acquainted, too, with matters mathematical,

I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical,

Looking up from her notes, Twilight opened her mouth to make comment but was cut off before she could speak as Sweetie, after taking a quick breath, rolled her way into another verse, every few seconds the young unicorn’s horn emitting a stray pale green spark or two which would bounce harmlessly off of her brilliant white coat. Everypony in the room was eagerly listening to every word that left the filly’s lips. A pony singing a song from another world without either the music of harmony or prior teaching!? This was an unprecedented event.

About binomial theorem I'm teeming with a lot o' news,

With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse.

As it seemed that Sweetie might be done, Twilight again opened her mouth to speak just to be cut off by the filly taking another breath and launching back into song, her horn glowing even more brightly than before. As Sweetie sang the librarian hurried to take notes. What the hay was binomial theorem? Was it a human name for something Equestria already had or maybe a whole new branch of science. This needed looking into and she was just the mare to do it.

I'm very good at integral and differential calculus;

I know the scientific names of beings animalculous:

Screwing her face up in concentration, Sweetie opened her eyes, her pupils starting to cross both with the effort she was putting into channeling the words in her head but also so she could see the array of sparks being thrown out from her horn. With a small ‘pop’, her magical appendage ceased its sputtering and instead formed a small but substantially powerful ball of magic spinning around its tip.

In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,

I am the very model of a modern Major-General.

As she took another deep breath in preparation for the next verse, Lero reached out and gently put his hands on the filly’s shoulders.

“Whoa there kid.” He said, holding the exhausted youngster steady as she wobbled in his grasp, the magic fading from her horn. “I think you can stop there.”

“How did I do?” The filly asked as her head started to sag, the effort required for a channeling of that extent had really taken it out of her small body.

“You were fantastic.” Lero assured the child. “Completely spot on.”

“Sweetie, darling, look here.” Rarity leant towards her sibling and used a forehoof to draw her younger sister’s attention to her flank. “Your cutie mark, it’s appeared.”

And she was right, proudly displayed on Sweetie Belle’s flank was a cutie mark, so fresh that the glow of its arrival was still fading from the pristine white fur of the filly’s coat. A golden bell caught ready to chime, held aloft on a pink ribbon with an eight pointed star behind it. No, those were two overlapping four-pointed stars, each in one of the colours of Sweetie’s mane.

“Oh, Sweetie.” Rarity gushed. “It’s absolutely stunning.”

Gathering her sister up in her arms, the unicorn mare hugged her little sister with all her heart.

And from all those around them, there was much rejoicing.

******************

Watching the ecstatic sisters so wrapped up in their embrace, Lero sighed happily. While he’d never heard the music of harmony - and by now he’d accepted that he probably never would - it seemed that this world still had some curve balls to throw him. He might not be able to hear what the rest of Equestria could hear, but it looked like one pony, one young, small pony with her whole life still ahead of her... she could hear what he had heard... she could hear the music of humanity.

While the magic of harmony may not have been able to change him so he could better fit into the world, it seemed that it was trying to change some of its own to fit in a little better with him. And that was surely as big a gift as he could ever hope for.

“From a single piece of grit, the oyster brings the pearl.”

“What was that?” Lyra asked as she settled herself down beside her stallion as the rest of the room erupted into a spontaneous (though heavily assisted by Pinkie Pie) celebration around them.

“Oh, nothing.” Lero reached out and wrapped his fingers around his herdmate’s ankle, his thumb idly stroking against the edge of her forehoof. “Just something I think someone once tried to tell me in a dream.”

Author's Note

Disclaimer: "The Masterplan" was written by Noal Gallagher of Oasis and is probably owned by either him, them or Creation Records. Certainly ain't owned by me.

If you really needed me to tell you "All you need is love" is a Beatles song and probably owned by Apple Corp (or maybe by Michael Jackson's estate still?) then you soooo need to get out more.

"Modern Major General" was written by Gilbert and Sullivan and is probably public domain by now... though if the big boys get their way there'll soon be no such thing as a time limit on copyright terms.

Did you know WalMart own ASDA? That certainly explains a few things.

19: You and me we can light up the sky - Part Two.

You and me we can light up the sky - Part Two.
(If you stay by my side we can rule the world)
Chapter published 16 May 2013

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Allowing the memory of the first time she had sought out her sister behind these great doors fade from her mind, Princess Celestia felt herself return to the present. Even now, many years down the road, the memory of that day always brought such mixed emotions.

The royal sisters had met at the observatory again a great number of times since, her sister slowly growing in both size and power, her past becoming clearer to her as time went by.

But Luna’s recollection still wasn't perfect, the remaining gaps and ‘fuzzy spots’ as she called them having no discernible rhyme or reason to them.

She could remember everything that occurred at the last - somewhat strained - formal event the sisters had attended together before the princess of the night had fully embraced her Nightmare Moon ponysona, this being an anniversary of the long since departed Starswirl the Bearded’s birthday. She could even recall that the two-toned red and purple icing on the cake was both cranberry and raspberry flavoured but no matter how she tried she just couldn’t remember a single thing that happened in the year 209 AC. But taking into account the events that had transpired that year, maybe this particular omission was for the best.

There was also a seemingly random selection of ponies from the past that were completely absent from her memories. Sure, she could remember interacting with somepony, even recall entire conversations in excruciating detail, but still not have a single clue about who the pony she was conversing with actually was.

Throwing off these troubling recollections as one would shake off a warm bed sheet, Celestia steeled herself to to open the door in order to meet her sister. She didn’t know how long she’d been standing motionless at the top of the stairs but she had a summons that still needed answering and it would not do to tarry any longer..

But as she let her magic reach for the door handle, instead she found that another memory brought itself forth, pushing at the boundaries of her consciousness and demanding her attention. A memory of a more recent summons to this very tower and, as before, yet another conversation with her troubled sister that the princess of the day would rather not have to face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Canterlot Palace - Royal Observatory

November 2nd, 1213 Anno Celesti
Fifteen months after the return of Princess Luna.

Princess Celestia made her way briskly up the spiral staircase towards the royal observatory, wishing not for the first time that they’d either built the observatory a bit closer to the ground or that over the years she’d restrained herself a touch more and partaken in a few less slices of cake.

Her week had being going so well up until this point; She’d had a wonderful - and a touch tipsy - time with both of the ambassadors from Shetland and the Emerald Isles, the nobles had been (relatively) well behaved for the last week or so and Princess Luna had spent the last few days away visiting with Twilight Sparkle and her friends.

While by all reports it would seem that the lunar princess’ first ever exposure to Ponyville’s Nightmare Night celebrations had not got off to an auspicious start, it had at least ended on a good note and the younger alicorn had elected to stay with her sister’s personal student for another night or two in order to ‘better appreciate the life of the common pony’.

Celestia had been glad to see that her sister was willing to spend some time with her subjects once again. For the last year she’d taken every possible opportunity to hole herself up in the castle’s incredibly well stocked library or to spend the majority of her days with the academics or bureaucrats that might visit the castle.

Other than that she’d spent a lot of time asleep as, after whiling away much of her millennium trapped in the moon roaming the land of dreams, she was apparently finding it a hard habit to break.

On a few rare occasions she would spend some time conversing with the nobles or dignitaries that would visit the court but for the most part she had not seemed at all impressed with either group.

Prince Blueblood especially seemed to have raised her ire, Celestia now having to find ways to keep the two separate lest her sister follow through on her emphatic (and hopefully non-serious) threat to ‘eat the annoying little ponce’.

On the whole the only ponies even remotely approaching what could be called friends were a scant few members of the castle staff and the captain of her pegasi guard, and even those few she kept well at arm’s length.

But for the crowd-shunning princess to actually suggest spending time with the citizens of ponyville had been a huge step forward, one that Celestia had encouraged wholeheartedly.

Plus, it was a good thing that Luna had been away from the castle for a few days as word had just filtered in from the borderlands that THEY, the unspeakable - and unthinkable - ones, had been making noises that Celestia wanted checked out.

While the princess of the day was sure THEY could be handled without issue, Luna had never liked them one little bit (‘detest’ was a much better word) and Celestia would prefer that her rather more volatile younger sister didn’t kick off a small war if it could be avoided.

Luna had been quite vocal recently in her opinion that Celestia had been much too lax with her military preparedness and intelligence gathering. In the end the solar princess had gone as far as to promise that both the royal guard and the Wonderbolts would undergo an extensive expansion project - with increased budgets to match - which had calmed the night princess somewhat, though Celestia believed that even this conciliatory action would not be effective at mollifying her sister for long.

In the meantime, Celestia had hoped that the trip to Ponyville would do her little sister some good and had been overjoyed when word had come back that this had indeed been the case.

This had changed however upon her return to the castle.

At first reports had come from the royal guards that the ruler of the night was acting somewhat erratically on the journey home, a state that had apparently only become worse when she had reached the castle grounds.

Then she had skipped the princesses habitual evening meal together and retreated directly to the tallest tower, banning all guards from venturing in after her.

It had reached a head when the captain of the lunar guards himself had come directly to the princess of the day to express concern over the sudden change in his regent’s mental welfare.

Which is how the princess of the day now found herself standing at the top of a spiral staircase. swearing to herself that from now on there would be a bit more ‘brisk’ in her life and little less cake.

Tentatively pushing open the door to the royal observatory, Princess Celestia poked her head inside, hoping to find her younger sister watching the stars.

Easily catching sight of younger alicorn, she could see instantly that her sister was in a distressed state; her mane and tail were both flaring from her body, the stars within their billowing folds blinking erratically as she paced back and forth from the large map table in the centre of the room to the doors leading out to the balcony.

Glancing around the room Celestia could see that the star charts and proposed designs for new constellations which had long replaced Twilight Sparkle’s drawings and diagrams on the observatory’s walls were being blown about by the waves of power being subconsciously emanated by her perturbed sibling.

“Sister.” Luna cried as she caught sight of the (still) larger while alicorn, her sudden movement causing plans for a spectacular aurora that the royal sisters had spent many an evening together planning out in meticulous detail to fall to the floor, scattering pages haphazardly as it went.

Rushing over to her sister, the princess of the night pushed her face right up in Celestia’s personal space, her eyes displaying an obvious expression of both abject desperation and deep confusion.

“Where is my captain, my shield? I can’t find him anywhere and my guards have no idea where he is. I have searched the castle for him but he is nowhere to be found!”

Consternation flooded Celestia’s mind as she had seen just Captain Spartan Shield minutes before. In fact, he was the very guardsman who had come to her to report of her sister’s worrying behaviour

“Sister, he is at the bottom of the stairs where I left him just moments ago.” Celestia motioned with a wing to the great spiral staircase behind her which lead back down to the base of the tower. “Should I ask him to come up and join us?”

“No, no, not that one...” Luna violently shook her head, backing away from her sister as she did so. “My captain . I mean my shield, my beloved, Sable Shield. Where is he? He should be here. I cannot find him... I need to find him.”

Celestia’s heart dropped. She hadn’t heard that name almost a millennium, hadn’t thought about him in centuries.

In the years before her banishment, Captain Sable Shield had been many things to her sister, both as Princess Luna and as Nightmare Moon. Apart from being the captain of the night princess’s pegasi guards - a feat all the more impressive in an age where stallions were almost unheard of in the armed services - he’d been her best friend, her confidant and above all the love of her life.

Hailing from one of the Bittish Isles’ older and more influential families - one that still held great political pull even a millennia later - Sable Shield’s gruff and unpolished exterior belied his caring and intelligent nature.

He was a rare stallion who was as much at home on the front-lines, standing wing to wing with the mares under his command, as he was in the debating chamber, facing down nobles and politicians alike with his rapier sharp mind and cutting wit.

As a fine measure of a stallion, he’d been one of the few things that had, in Celestia’s eyes at least, been a stabilising influence on her sister during her horrifying descent into madness and corruption.

He had shown no desire for power, no lust for glory, but instead a strong sense of justice and compassion. The very opposite in fact of what Nightmare Moon had become. Without his restrain and steady-hoof, Celestia was of no doubt that her sister would have become far more of a tyrant than even the most terrifying of old mare’s tales had made her out to be.

In her heart, Celestia had been glad that her sister had shown no memory of Sable Shield until now. To recall his fate during those last few terrible years before the Battle of Moon’s Apex would be painful memories that the newly returned princess of the night would have been in no fit state to relive. Even now, more than a year after her release, Celestia just wasn’t sure that her sister would be ready to cope with the truth, not yet anyway.

But unfortunately, the truth is what she’d have to face. Princess Celestia had learnt very soon after her sister’s return that wherever possible she should not even attempt to hide the past, including all it’s nasty little details, from the princess of the night.

Luna always had been good at eventually sniffing out a lie, no matter how well it had been hidden. The element of honesty had chosen well all those years ago.

Catching her pacing sister squarely in the eye, Celestia spoke with what she hoped was her most soothing voice.

“I’m sorry to say that Captain Sable Shield left us a long, long time ago. As captain of the lunar pegasi guards I made sure that he was given a traditional cloud burial with full military honours as is befitting of both a brave warrior of Equestria and a stallion of his station.”

Luna’s motion ceased as she stood stock-still and stared, unbelieving.

“No, no, no. How?” Luna stuttered. “With my dark magicks he should have lived forever. I combined our auras, shared with him my alicorn magic, our lives were entwined. As long as I lived, he should still be alive. He could have shrugged off almost any mortal injury. As long as he found a decently powerful unicorn to regularly provide him with a suitable reinforcement spell he would have survived our thousand year separation easily.”

The princess of the night resumed her pacing, her eyes not even taking in the room around her as she circled the large cartographers table which dominated the middle of the room.

“I used only the strongest of dark magicks, my casting was flawless.” Luna muttered, darting around the room as if she had forgotten that her sister was even there. “For years I had studied spell after spell, gathered every example of dark works that I could find, consulting every practitioner and oracle. The nights I poured over every one of Starswirl’s journals of transmogrification, read everything ever written about the art of chaos. I even had a team working on recreating King Sombra’s work with elemental crystals. I did nothing wrong, I couldn’t have.”

Celestia watched as her sibling moved restlessly from overstacked bookcase to cluttered desk to disorganised pile of star charts and back again.

She knew full well what her sister had done all those years ago, how lengthy exposure to the dark side of the magic of harmony, as well as an unhealthy obsession with prolonging her lover’s life, had led her into a downward spiral. A descent in madness that had years later culminated in a bloody civil war which had raged across the formerly peaceful lands of Equestria and beyond, destroying cities and claiming lives wherever it had spread.

Moving from the door and into the room proper, Celestia tried to catch her sister’s attention.

“My sister, though your intentions may have been noble in the beginning, the dark magicks took a hold of your soul, it twisted you into only the creator knows what.” She said, Luna still seemingly oblivious to her presence.

“Once you were gone I had considered destroying your collection, the power held within was just too dangerous, the chance of corruption too great. But then I realised that once discovered, knowledge always finds a way to be rediscovered. So instead I locked your works away where they could corrupt no other pony. Not even my personal students have had access to the repositories of dark magicks."

Moving forward again the solar princess stressed her words more firmly, hoping that her sister could hear her, that she was not retreating into her own mind as she had done before.

“These are terrible powers that no pony, not even the most powerful of alicorns such as we, should attempt to bend to our wills, lest we find it is our wills that are controlled.

Try as she might, Celestia did not feel she was getting through to her younger sister, that her words were just washing around her like a raging river around a large rock.

“No, he must be in hiding somewhere, just waiting for my return.” Luna carried on talking to herself, nodding enthusiastically as she did so. “I wanted us to rule together forever. I just have to find him."

”Luna, please, look at me.” Celestia moved to one side in an attempt to better place herself in her sister’s path. “I’m afraid Captain Sable Shield did not survive our final battle. As was the case with many of his lunar pegasi brethren, he unfortunately perished at the Battle of Moon’s Apex. I tended to his body and presided over his funeral myself, the finest of my solar pegasi guards acted as honour guard to escort his cloud along its entire final flight to the western sea.”

The dark alicorn stopped, looking her sister in the eye, a touch of mania touching her features. The resemblance between her now and in the early days of Nightmare Moon was uncanny.

“The battle, the battle, I remember, he was there.”

While her words spilled forth seemingly without control from their mistress, Luna's eyes lost their focus as her brain started to spin, jumbled memories flooding her mind one after another.

“You had the six remaining elements, you were going to use them on me. But I had tricked you, you see, I had tricked you. I had you beaten, I was ready to make the final blow, but he was there, he was there. Arggh, why can I not remember.”

Luna stopped to beat her forehooves against the sides of her head, her tiara slipping from her troubled mane as she did so.

“DAMN THIS INFERNAL MEMORY OF MINE!”

The full power of the Royal Canterlot Voice shook the room causing star charts to fall from the walls and ancient books to jump from the many shelves. An ancient abacus toppled to the floor, shattering on impact and sending its brightly coloured beads to the four walls as it did so.

Letting herself collapse to the floor, the lunar princess pulled her forehooves over her face,

“He was my world, my moon and my stars.” She cried. “We were to rule the eternal night together, to bring a reign of peace and prosperity that the mortal ponies could never have imagined even in their wildest dreams.”

Celestia moved towards her distressed sibling, hoping to calm her somehow as the muttering continued unabated.

“We were bound at our very souls, the only thing that could separate our lives was alicorn magic…”

The dark princess’ words trailed off, her forehooves falling from her face and she suddenly stared up at Princess Celestia. A snarl sprang to her lips as in an instant she was off of the floor and moving quickly towards her sister.

“YOU!” Luna shouted, her sister’s mane pushed back by the sheer power of her voice. “What. Did. You. Do!?”

Celestia found herself shying back, away from her sibling. But before the princess of the night could even get within arm’s reach of her sister she clutched her head as if in pain.

“A memory. I see it now.” Luna backed off, a small clutch of stars at the very end of her mane surging in strength as she moved away. “His chest, covered in blood, a hole, a hole in his breastplate. Nothing could have pierced that armour, I crafted it myself, no mortal weapons could pierce it... Nothing could make that hole!”

Dropping her forehooves to the ground, Luna’s eyes once again turned to her sister, eyes filled with rage and pain.

“But an alicorn’s horn charged with magic...” She screamed. “No armour can withstand its attack.”

Celestia could see where her sibling’s battered mind was taking her, could almost be reliving the memories along with her beleaguered sister. She had been dreading this moment ever since her sister’s release from her lunar prison.

“No, you misundersta...” Celestia started, only to be drowned out by her sister.

“You killed him! You killed my love!”

“No, it was an accident.” Was all Celestia could manage to get out.

“YOU! KILLED! HIM!” A glass globe shattered on the tabletop behind the distraught princess of the night as the force of her words thundered through the room, water spraying against the walls as the ornament’s contents were thrown loose.

Luna’s face was incandescent with rage, her ethereal mane flaring around her, streaks of jet black flashing their way across her dark blue coat. Several of the stars in her mane were strobing so strongly that had any mortal pony been present they would have risked being blinded by the intensity of the beams of starlight that she was throwing out.

“The battle was over, I had you defeated, you were downed, but you did something didn’t you?” Luna clutched her head again. “You turned the tide, you came for me, but Sable, he put himself in front of me, he took your horn for me. FOR ME!”

Celestia hung her head. Her sister had taken the situation the wrong way, but maybe it was better this way. Maybe she should just let her sister hate her. Let her rage, let her vent it all out. Her sister’s bouts of anger were legendary, fighting against it once it was in full swing almost impossible. But often they were short lived and Celestia prayed that today this would be the case.

“Then when I went to catch his body, you used the elements on me didn’t you? DIDN’T YOU!?” Luna resumed her pacing, small pieces of glass and other debris crunching under her ornate horseshoes as she moved. “You didn’t even given me chance to catch him, banishing me to the moon before he even hit the ground. How could you, sister? How. Could. You?”

Celestia remembered that moment well. As a shocked Nightmare Moon had momentarily let down her guard, taking her attention from the princess of the sun, turning instead towards the plummeting body of her fallen lover, Celestia had desperately called upon the elements to banish her sister to the moon.

It had been a gambit that she had hoped she would never have to use, the very last of last resorts. But with the loss of Sable Shield’s stabilising influence, and with Nightmare Moon having shown herself to be more than a match for the solar princess in mortal combat, what had earlier seemed to be a desperate move had become her only viable option for victory, pyrrhic or otherwise.

“I’m sorry Luna. That wasn’t how I’d wanted it to end.” Celestia fought the urge to go to her sibling, to take her into her embrace. But she knew her sister, knew she was too volatile right now to get close, too unpredictable to be pushed too far too quickly. “If there was a way to take it all back I would have done it in an instant.”

Luna had turned her back on her sister, her attention now focused out of the balcony doors and towards the evening sky.

“We could have had eternity.” She cried. “But now he’s gone... he’s gone. There’s a huge hole, right here.”

Luna pushed a forehoof against her chest, directly over her aching heart.

“I wish I’d never remembered him now. It feels like I’ve lost him all over again. I was so much happier not knowing, to have no memory of all that I have have lost.”

Her forehoof fell back to the ground, her unrestrained aura that had previously been pushing out her mane and tail lost its power, letting the strands of ethereal hair hang loose about her body as she continued to stare out at the world outside the castle grounds.

“He would have lived forever. We could have outlasted the world itself. We could have witnessed eternity together.”

“But at what cost?” Celestia ventured quietly, sure that her sister could still hear her. “What would you, both of you, have had to sacrifice for this eternity?”

Celestia stepped softly towards her sister, bring herself abreast of the shorter alicorn so they stood side by side facing out of the double doors leading out onto the balcony, panes of glass now cracked and broken. When her sister made no move to acknowledge her presence, the princess of the day pushed on.

“And did he really want that? To live forever? To watch as his friends and family died all around him while he was forced to outlive them all, to watch cities and civilisations rise and fall while he remained ever young. We are immortal; this is both our blessing and our curse. Can we really force this life on others, no matter how much we wish it so?”

Again Luna made no movement, let slip no sound.

“That is the way of mortals, they live and then they die. It is the shortness, the sheer transience of their lives that makes them so precious.

“There is a natural order to things my sister. LIke the sun and moon forever rise and set, mortals are born and then they die, all the while life goes on regardless of what we few immortals want. Our sister could not accept that, and that is why she allowed herself to fall.”

Celestia moved closer to her grieving sister, close enough to see the muscles twitching beneath the skin of the younger alicorn’s face, a testament to the internal fight being waged against her emotions.

“Nightmare Moon could not accept that and that is why she was banished.” Celestia’s voice dropped to barely a whisper. “Please my sister, do not take us down that road again. I could not bear to lose you a second time.”

Turning her attention to the evening sky, Celestia realised that it was now well past the what should have been the proper time for tonight’s sunset, the impatient sun hovering just on the edge of the horizon anxiously awaiting her ministrations.

Without really thinking about what she was doing the day alicorn reached out with her magic and tucked the sun away for the night, letting twilight spread across the land as she did so.

Casting her eye over the now darken sky, Celestia could see that a large number of the stars were being quite erratic in their illumination, some were much brighter than usual while others did not display anything near their usual luster. A small number were twinkling quite furiously, almost as if they were crying out for their mistress’ attention or enquiring after her troubled state of mind.

After a few moments the moon steadily began to rise from the eastern horizon, it’s radiance brighter than on other nights, the vast majority of its light being cast down in the general direction of Canterlot itself in a show of solidarity with her beloved regent.

All the while Luna remained impassive, nary a single sign of emotion making its way to her face.

And in this way the two sisters stood, side by side for a good few minutes until Luna, voice cracking as she finally spoke, broke the silence.

“Thou should leave us now. We should like to be alone for a while.” Luna said, falling back into her old inflections.

Celestia was hesitant to leave, but she knew that it would be best to let her sister be for now. Slowly and with great care she made for the door.

Pausing at the threshold, her magic reaching for the door, she looked back over her shoulder at her sister still standing alone behind her, her attention solely focused on the moon and stars laid out before her.

“If it helps you any, he died instantly. He did not suffer.” Celestia said softly.

“Just go.“ Luna replied just as softly. She did not turn to meet her sister’s eye, she did not move at all. Her voice now held no rage, no anger, just sorrow and sadness. “Please, leave us be.“

With that Celestia stepped out of the room, using her magic to gently pull the doors closed behind her as her sister’s tears began to flow.

As she made her way down the spiral staircase, her sibling’s wracking sobs reaching her ears, Celestia told herself that this was for the best, that it was better to leave her sister alone, that what she needed right now was some time alone to deal with her loss.

Try as she might, she just couldn’t bring herself to believe it.

But in her heart Celestia knew that Luna would eventually remember the truth.

Sable Shield’s life had indeed ended by an alicorn’s horn and another alicorn he had thrown his body across in order to save, to give his own life so that she might live.

But it had not been the princess of the night he was trying to save, nor had it been the princess of the day who had dealt the killing blow.

Luna’s recollections were obviously still clouded. Yes, the battle had been all but over, but it had been Princess Celestia who held a downed Nightmare Moon at her mercy, the princess of the night who had been so soundly defeated.

But then the dark princess had deliberately sacrificed a number of her own guard, killing several of them personally, in order to escape her sister’s hold and put Celestia at a major disadvantage.

Realising that the only way to cease the bloodshed once and for all was to take out this abomination that had supplanted her loving sister, Celestia had finally made up her mind to banish her sister, only to find herself caught immobile in Nightmare Moon’s magic.

Once trapped and unable to even move, the opportunity for escape now gone, Celestia had then found the black alicorn hurtling towards her, a viciously sharp horn point aimed directly for her chest, dark magicks crackling about its length as it came ever closer,

As she resigned herself to her fate, Celestia found her view blocked by a gray pegasus stallion, his bat-like wings beating furiously to put himself between the royal sisters.

As he cried for the night princess to stop her attack, that there must be another way to end the conflict, Nightmare Moon’s magically charged horn had burst through his armour, piercing his heart and killing him instantly.

His body sliding from her sister’s horn, beginning the long fall back to solid ground, Celestia could swear that for an instant that the kindly young alicorn that was Princess Luna had momentarily forced her way free of the monstrosity that was Nightmare Moon, that for an instant her beloved sister was the one who turned her attention from her enemy, reaching for her slain lover as his lifeless form slid away from from her horn, beginning his long fall to the ground far below.

But there was no time, the Nightmare had soon regained control and turned her attention back to her solar foe, but those few scant seconds were all Celestia had needed and the fully unleashed power of the elements of harmony had done the rest.

While it was inevitable that Luna would eventually remember the truth of these events, Celestia could not help but wish that her sister would never know. But she knew it was hopeless, just as night follows day, the truth would one day return to the younger alicorn.

For now a lie was easier to handle, if her sister hated her for killing her one true love then right now, in Celestia's eyes at least, that was better than her knowing the truth and hating herself.

Her sister’s hate was a burden Celestia was willing to bear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The royal sisters had not talked for a number of weeks after that day. Luna had kept herself either tucked away in her observatory or dealing solely with academics at the local university, the historians in particular, throwing herself back into her studies of the thousand years that had turned her long lost home into this modern Equestria.

Celestia had kept guards posted at all the major depositories of magical works - just as a precaution of course - but as far as she had been told Luna had not made any move towards any of them.

Then one day she was back at the supper table, eating her breakfast as if nothing had happened and while she had assured the older sibling that the matter was now dealt with, Celestia could never manage to sooth away the small but persistent knot of concern that had made itself at home in the pit of her stomach.

Shaking herself from her reverie the solar princess realised that in her distraction, much as she had in her memory of that awful day, she had allowed the allotted time for tonight’s sunset to pass her by.

Mortified that her mental wanderings had allowed her to be remiss in her sworn duties she reached out with her magic to make contact with the sun in the sky, only to find that it was not there.

Desperately spreading her magic around the sky like an earth pony grasping about in the darkness for a box of matches after their oil lamp had blown out, she could find no sign of the sun, only the moon languidly making its way across the heavens and a small number of startled stars which had been jostled about by her erratic actions.

Wait just a minute. If the moon was out then that meant...

Casting her magic towards the sun’s nightly resting place she found it safely nestled away, though she did feel the edges of their contact coloured by an element of reproach from her fiery ward over the matter of her dereliction of duty.

Sending her apologies and many, many promises that it wouldn’t happen again, Celestia pulled back her aura and returned her attention to the large double doors to the royal observatory that stood before her.

After steeling herself with a few deep breaths, she gently extended her magic field to slowly push open the grand double doors before her.

Taking a tentative step inside, Celestia felt her heart drop as she spotted her younger sister standing on the balcony of the observatory, her attention focused outwards towards the night sky.

The princess of the night was a majestic sight, but there were subtle differences to her appearance this night, differences that Celestia had spent these last few years watching for, dreading the day that they finally arrived.

Even during their millennia apart every detail about her sister’s appearance had been etched into Celestia’s mind mind the entire time After all, when it was possible to live until the end of time then you and your fellow immortals were the only stability in each other’s lives that you truly had.

Tonight Luna’s coat had finally become a pure black, a black so dark that it seemed that light itself would fall into its clutches never to escape; her mane and tail had each become that bit longer, flowing beautifully as they were in the solar winds, the pools of stars within them that much deeper and distinct than they had ever been for the last millennia, breathtaking nebula drifting majestically along its edges.

To top it all was her size, for only the second time in her long life the princess of the night was exactly the same height as her sister.

But amongst all this, Celestia’s trained eye caught another detail that she was sure no other living being would ever notice; tonight there was an extra star in her sister’s mane.

Moving her eye away from the her sibling, Celestia searched the night sky through the balcony door for the corresponding constellation, the vast arrangement of stars that would match that particular section of her sister’s mane.

There, resting between the stars Enif and Baham, nestled at the very heart of the Pegasus constellation was a new star, brighter than any of the others that surrounded it.

Making her way across the main room, Celestia was careful to move as silently as she could. There was no fooling her sister though.

“I call it ‘Aegis’.” Luna said quietly, a great sadness held in her voice, her attention never wavering from the magnificent spread of stars crowning the night sky. ”It means ‘The greatest of shields’, for it is the star of the protector. The protector who died to save Equestria’s last hope from its biggest ever threat.”

But with the sadness there was something else, an undeniable element of power and majesty that may have even transcended Celestia’s own.

Looking back over her shoulder, Luna locked eyes with her sibling. Not as the younger sister, but finally as equals.

“He protected it from me.”

So the day had finally arrived, the day the solar princess had hoped would never come. Her sister was back at full strength, the full and true powers of an immortal alicorn were hers to control.

And she remembered.

She remembered it all.

20: That I wish you saw - by SpinelStride & The Quiet Man.

That I wish you saw by SpinelStride & The Quiet Man... though for the most part I just drove ’im nuts.
Chapter published 9th Sept 2013

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Canterlot Castle
November AC1216

A Pinkie Pie Party was always an event to be reckoned with.

A Pinkie Pie Birthday Party was always a high point to anypony's year.

But a Pinkie Pie Birthday Party For Future Duchess Twilight Sparkle Held In The Palace With Princess Celestia's Backing? That was the social event of the decade.

Not just because Celestia was sponsoring the entire thing and lending her personal stamp of approval to it. Not just because it was going to be in the palace. No, this was also Twilight Sparkle’s official Ducal Presentation, there to let Equestria's nobility formally introduce themselves (and the services they could ~ahem~ provide) to her.

The ones who could get in, at any rate. Pinkie had that taken care of.

Her original plan was to invite everypony. Literally. Every pony in Equestria. Every. Single. One. But, the frizzy maned mare had been disappointed when her application for an exemption from Canterlot City’s fire code governing ‘indoor gatherings of a significant scale’ (code 13, subsection J) was denied. Almost as disappointed as she was when Princess Celestia - some would say quite wisely - declined to overrule the fire marshal's decision, instead telling the momentarily deflated mare that there must be another way to reach the masses before subtly pointing her in her sister’s direction.

Pinkie’s disappointment level however, had only been rivaled by the surprise her friends had displayed at the fact that, not only had Pinkie actually applied for an exemption in the first place, but she actually knew exactly how best go about it, which forms to fill in, and even which hooves to grease in order to get her request fast tracked through the capital city’s many many layers of bureaucracy and red tape.

But of course she’d applied for an exemption from the fire code! She was, after all, a party pony, no... she was THE party pony, and that included all the bits that weren't so much fun as decorating and baking and more decorating and handing out invitations and even actually having the party. She just didn't normally arrange parties with quite so much advance notice and such a large guest list (or budget). But, in any case, she did her paperwork, and when the request was turned down due to being ludicrously impractical - not to mention likely to make the castle topple over - she had found another solution, just as Princess Celestia had known that she would.

Princess Luna was glad to help of course. Equestria's very first ‘Trans-REM’ party was going to be one hundred percent amazastounding, even for the ponies who couldn't get those elusive tickets and would instead join the party from the comfort of their own beds.

And in the meantime, tickets to the physical party at Canterlot Castle itself were turning into the status symbol of the year. Everypony (or nigh on everypony) in Ponyville was invited automatically, then Twilight’s immediate family, then almost everypony else she knew, then a whole lot of ponies she didn’t know but probably should. Princess Celestia had helped Pinkie narrow down the guest list for the country’s nobles and elite along practical lines - the ones who'd behave themselves, those who could be useful to Twilight's future status as Duchess, and those who would be useful to Celestia's current political machinations immediately.

Prince Blueblood was notably not on any of those lists.

Being an especially special event the Elements of Harmony came back out of the vault to which they had so recently been returned. Rarity had hoofmade brand-new dresses for Twilight, her herdsisters, and all of her closest friends, plus a pair of matching custom-made tuxedos for Spike and Lero - all on the Crown's bit, no less. There were themes to follow of course. Everypony's outfit had to blend with their own colors and fit their personalities.

Applejack's outfit reflected the Apple clan's style, pretty to look at but with none of that dangling fluffery nonsense, which was just the way AJ liked it. Fluttershy's featured leaves and vines, subtle and elegant but with an undertone of strength held within. Rarity's own gown was a marvel of understated sophistication, crafted to draw the eye along the gentle curve of her back and then down across her flanks, promising much but in reality exposing very little, the ‘hidden’ quality designed to make the sight of a well turned ankle even more enticing. Even Pinkie's dress was slightly more subdued than her exuberant Gala number, being a solid blue top with white panels along the skirt, but still an explosion of pink delight everywhere else.

Rainbow Dash's dress was similar to her gala dress and included her trademark multicolored stripes - Rarity knew better than to suggest otherwise, and wouldn’t have dreamed of omitting them in any case - but this time rather than a simple bunch of grapes at her chest, she had a broad golden peytral similar to - though much smaller than - Princess Celestia’s, with the Element of Loyalty prominently standing out in the center with shoulder coverings in flowing lavender silk that flanked it on each side. She wore classical pegasine sandals in shimmering gold on all four legs, the long matching gold laces making their way almost to the top of each limb.

To finish off the outfit, her golden feathers, still the only pieces of jewellery she’d ever bought for herself, were deftly inserted alongside her own. Her every movement caused the shiny metal pieces to glint and shine from between her plumage, accentuating both the gold in her outfit and her own striking blue colouring. Altogether, it was a far more martial look than was usually seen at these kind of events, which suited Rainbow Dash well and was still quite acceptable for a Ducal Presentation. Especially considering the military history attached to many of those of Twilight’s status, a large number of which were in attendance tonight.

Lyra's outfit was, at her request, based loosely on the traditional formalwear of a Neighponese noblemare, with squared-off aqua chest, side, and flank panels, and lavender shoulders. The cut and arrangement of the cloth gave her an air of both severity and elegance, the many folds providing her a number of places to hide... something. What that something might be nopony wanted to ask. While she lacked an Element of Harmony to act as a centerpiece, she instead wore around her neck a miniature harp on a fine gold chain, a complex enchantment upon the custom-made piece allowing her to activate it to play any of a number of her favourite compositions with just the touch of a hoof.

Both Lero and Spike's tuxedo jackets were sparkling white - literally, thanks to crushed diamonds woven into the fabric, each tiny fragment held in place by magically-guided strands of silk. Lavender ruffled undershirts, bow ties, cummerbunds, and cuffs completed the ensemble for Spike. Lero’s outfit added a pair of matching white dress pants with a lavender stripe down the outside of each leg, and a pair of white shoes with a broad top reinforced with a hidden steel plate across the toes. He was going to have to dance with Twilight, after all, and the human liked to plan ahead.

Twilight's own dress was among the simplest in the room. A simple white affair - unruffled, unadorned and unenchanted, sweeping from her shoulders, across her back and into a short simple train which lay on the ground behind her. Tradition demanded that the Duchess-in-Waiting be presented for herself, with minimal decoration. Nopony argued with the tiara atop her head, the Element of Magic being accepted as an integral part of 'herself' despite the normal injunction against jewelry for the celebrant.

The Wonderbolts were performing as well as attending the party itself - and of course Pinkie made sure that Rainbow Dash was joining them as a guest-performer, weaving her rainbows in and out of their smoke trails and providing tonight’s conclusory rainboom.

There was no possible way that even the likes of Applejack, Big Mac, Granny Smith, and Apple Bloom all working together could make enough cider for the entirety of the festivities, but they were able to produce enough for the toasts, which still accounted for a whole heap’a cider. Enough to fuel an entire town of earth ponies according to Big Mac. They also broke out a keg of thirty-year-old Apple Reserve for the head table, though they did make sure to warn all who would be indulging in Sweet Apple Acres’ finest hooch just how potent it could be, something to which Princess Luna could easily (and fondly) attest.

All the preparations had left Spike and Lero with little to do, so they took to keeping out of the way by exploring Canterlot. Spike knew more of the city than Twilight, but his experience was still limited; he was, after all, a baby dragon, and his time outside of Twilight's supervision hadn't been terribly extensive when he had lived there before. The occasional wanderings with friendly guards and the running of errands were still more than Twilight had ever taken though.

Spike was impressed by how friendly all of those snooty Canterlot ponies had become all of a sudden. Previously he'd always been dismissed as a 'pet' at best, a half-tamed menace without a leash at worst, but suddenly it seemed like everypony was a long-lost friend, full of smiles and best wishes.

"Funny how attitudes change when they hear you get to make suggestions on the guest list, isn't it?" Lero had cheerfully noted to his young companion as he returned a wave to a pair of guardsmares that he thought he remembered from his time as nursemaid to the royal sisters.

But, after a whirlwind of activity - at times literal, as Pinkie had drafted Rainbow Dash to lend a hoof decorating the higher parts of the ballroom - the party was finally on.

Fluttershy had retreated to the gardens, trying with more patience this time to make some new little friends; Pinkie was gleefully leading a conga line at least a hundred ponies (and one baby dragon) long; Applejack had her fiddle out in one of the other ballrooms where she was causing a ruckus with some of the more ‘down to earth’ guests while DJ-Pon3 had the main dance hall for a show of a more ‘modern’ nature.

The main banquet hall, however, that belonged to Miss Octavia, where Lyra was taking a turn on stage with the well-respected earth mare’s classical ensemble. Princess Luna was in her own quarters, guiding the non-corporeal element of the event, holding court amid an untold number of revellers enjoying the party from deep within the realm of dreams.

And that left Princess Celestia unusually alone; the ponies in attendance were either noble enough to recognize that making a good impression on Twilight Sparkle was the order of the night, or common enough to shy away from 'bothering' the Princess. She didn't mind; it was in many ways a pleasant change of pace.

***************

The aerial display earlier in the evening had been every bit as spectacular as planned. The Wonderbolts’ display team attending today’s celebration, made up as it was of only their most accomplished members, had split up before the party, spreading themselves at equidistant intervals around Canterlot's city walls.

At the opening signal, they had launched themselves into the city’s airspace in a wide spiral pattern, steadily increasing their speed as they circled the castle, moving higher and higher with every rotation. Rainbow Dash (sans dress at the time) had waited for the six flyers to join up into two wings of three pegasi each, both groups circling the castle at breathtaking speed before launching herself from the roof of Princess Luna’s tower.

As she had powered directly upwards, the two sets of Wonderbolts converged around her, letting her take the lead through a series of loops, spins, and complicated aerial weaves. As the polychromaticly-maned speedstress had streaked through the sky, her trademark rainbow trail coloring the heavens behind her, the Wonderbolts had let loose with their own smoke trails, their spinning flight paths creating a number of helices around their guest performer’s multi-hued core.

Just as the sun began to set, the performance had moved into its finale. The two Wonderbolts who were able changed their trails from plain to lightning-charged smoke, the jolts of energy lighting up their trails from within as all seven flyers then began to orbit a large cloud that had been moved into position a few miles west of the city.

As they had pushed and pulled at the surface of the cloud, all the while weaving in and out of each other at great speed, their guest wrapping the cloud in rainbows the entire time, the cloud’s shape changed. Fluffy edges were gradually replaced with straight lines, gentle curves with sharp angles, until finally all seven performers had converged, flying together in unison so that their combined slipstreams had imparted a gentle spin on the mighty sculpture. As one, the pegasi in flight had sped away from their creation, leaving a building-sized three dimensional replica of the main star from the center of Twilight Sparkle’s cutie mark slowly rotating in the sky behind them, the pure white of the cloud contrasting splendidly with the many colors of the evening sunset on the western horizon far beyond. They even left five wisps of cloud they’d removed in the process scattered behind it.

One after another the six Wonderbolts had peeled away, leaving Rainbow alone in the sky as she arced back towards the main body of the castle. Starting at the very base of the lofty Royal Observatory, she looped around and around the tower, continuously accelerating as she wrapped it in her rainbow trail, getting ever higher until she passed the highest peak and continued on upward before heading up and over the sculpted cloud-star. The lone pegasus disappeared from view as her curved flight path took her behind the geometric creation. Seconds later the spreading ring of color from behind the sculpture had heralded a sonic rainboom, the polychromatic waves emanating from behind it highlighting the still spinning cloud in the sky rather than obliterating it, the backdrop of one of Princess Celestia’s most beautiful sunsets of recent weeks setting the entire display off to a T.

Gently gliding down towards the royal gardens, Rainbow had found the Wonderbolts waiting for her, as well as a large number of guests who’d signaled their appreciation with rapturous applause - exuberant stomping for the most part, with more reserved clopping from those ponies who considered themselves above that sort of thing. The sound had continued to echo in pegasus’s ears as she’d (reluctantly and with many apologies) made her exit and hurried off to get ready for the main party. She had to get dressed, after all.

And horror of horrors, Princess Celestia’s own personal maids were waiting with brushes...

***********

Rarity was helpfully chaperoning Twilight Sparkle through the meeting and greeting of various politically-useful ponies who'd wrangled invitations, keeping conversation light and introductory at all times while firmly but politely fending off those few who overstepped their bounds.

Thankfully the process was going far more smoothly than Twilight’s initial efforts to meet the ponies of Ponyville just a few years before. No sudden soakings, nopony gasping and running away, no flurries of uninterruptible questions about her draconic companion and certainly no insistence on the consumption of a gut-busting amount of apple based products.

At the same time, it was also going much worse. Twilight had no idea who almost any of the ponies she met were, all the faces, names, and titles were turning into a blur. She felt belated sympathy for all of her… well, she couldn’t really call them friends, but all of her acquaintances from her days back at Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. She’d never understood how they could hate studying, how they could ever say all those lovely facts and figures and spells and theories all ran together after a while. But now, she got it. Oh, she soooo got it.

But at least textbooks didn’t make laughably transparent attempts to ask if her herd was looking to expand. At least Rarity had given her a good response for anypony who tried telling her what a ‘classical pegasus figure’ Rainbow Dash had; “Oh yes, she’s such a trendsetter, isn’t she? I’ve heard she’s single-hoofedly redefining pegasi styles. You ought to mention it to her.”

As yet another denizen of high society approached, Rarity subtly tapped her companion on the hoof in order to steer her attention towards her next social challenge.

“Lady Twilight Sparkle of Smaragdvea, Countess Argleblargle of Erblederble,” Rarity said, as far as Twilight’s over-socialized mind could follow. “Countess Argleblargle, Lady Twilight Sparkle, Duchess-in-Waiting.”

The probably-not-named-Argleblargle mare giving Twilight a friendly smile was probably about her parents’ age, though she looked rather good for it, the thin streaks of grey in her mane giving her a rakishly distinguished air. “Hello, my lady,” she said, the casual greeting welcome in Twilight’s ears after the rest of the day’s prim and proper salutations. “It’s so nice to finally meet you again. You might not recall me, but I'm an old friend of your sire's. My line has served the Smaragdveas for centuries from down under the falls, and it’s simply wonderful to know that our next Duchess is already such a heroine in her own right before even taking up the title.”

Twilight pushed a smile onto her face. Rarity had demanded she spend at least an hour a day on it for the last few weeks, and by now it felt like a mask to be slipped on and off as required. She’d heard variations on that greeting so many times already she couldn’t even get self-conscious about it anymore. About the Elements and being Princess Celestia’s personal student, at least.

“I’ve been fortunate to have good friends to stand by me whenever Equestria calls,” she recited. “When the time comes for me to serve Equestria as Duchess, I’m glad to know you’ll stand with me as well.” One of Princess Celestia’s private secretaries, Sharp Retort, had prepared a set of generic responses for her, and drilled her on delivering them until she could make them sound spontaneous.

The older mare laughed and leaned in. Rarity leaned in as well. “Good luck, Twilight,” Lady Argleblargle told her in a lowered tone. “My own Presentation Ball was a blur too, andI wasn’t holding mine at the palace. Chin up, keep breathing, don’t promise a single thing, and remember that everypony here wants you to succeed. Well, most of them. Oh, and lots of water. It’ll help with the hangover. Half the point of all the damnable toasts later is to get you completely smashed so we can see if you’re an angry drunk or not.”

That broke through the haze of society. Twilight laughed. “That may be the most useful advice I’ve had all week,” she said.

The Countess chuckled quietly. “Countess Far Call, of the Underfalls. As I said, we’ve had the honour of serving your line for centuries and, from what I’ve heard so far, I see no reason for that to change. If it pleases you, of course.” She winked. “Now, I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again in the future so I won’t hold you up any further.”

Bowing her head gracefully the Countess backed away, melding into the surrounding crowd with what must have been practised ease.

“You see, Twilight?” Rarity murmured to her. “You’re doing marvelously. How are you feeling?”

“I may be losing sensation in my face, I have no idea who anypony is I’ve talked to in the last hour, and I’m wondering if it might be worth talking Discord into reverting just so we can run out of the party and capture him again*, as long as we’ve already got the Elements on,” Twilight muttered back. “Other than that, just peachy.”

“Oh, Lord Fancy Pants!” Rarity said brightly, causing Twilight’s mask to resurface. “It’s always such a pleasure to see you again. And you know Twilight, of course.”

The white stallion gleamed a smile at the two mares. “Lady Smaragdvea, Lady Rarity, you both look simply enchanting. Rarity, really, what you can do with even a simple Presentation gown is nothing short of stunning.” He held his hoof out horizontally in front of him; Rarity giggled and set a forehoof across his fetlock, her cheeks twitching at the corners of her mouth as he kissed it with a regal flourish. “But, of course, a gown’s truest beauty depends on the mare wearing it, does it not?”

Twilight was extraordinarily grateful for a chance to stay quiet for a few minutes. Letting Rarity take the conversation gave her poor throat a chance to rest, and at least she knew Fancy Pants already so she didn’t have to scramble for his name. He really was very good at navigating the many ins and outs of a high society party, she noted. He kept his barrel aligned toward her even as he spoke to Rarity, giving off a display of intent on the highest-ranking mare (and didn’t that sound odd even in her own head still) regardless of who he was actually conversing with. It took her a second round of double-checking her thoughts just to be sure, but she realized that he was deliberately not talking with her while being in no way obvious about it, and that Rarity was cooperating; they were giving her the moment’s respite intentionally, under the guise of polite flirting.

She thought it was polite flirting, anyhow. That bit about a gown’s truest beauty reminded her of a line Lyra had once pulled out while she was under the influence of a little too much moonshine. But, unlike Lyra, Fancy Pants hadn’t followed it up with “I wonder how it would look on my floor” so it was either an innocent compliment or she hadn’t caught the right implications. Rarity wasn’t blushing, so probably innocent compliment.

After a few more minutes of light banter - and also light flirting - between the two spotlessly-white and more socially-adroit unicorns, the conversation came to a natural close. Fancy Pants gave Twilight a most elaborate bow, not quite as deeply as he would for the Princesses, but not so far off either. “As always, a delight to see you, Lady Smaragdvea,” he said. “I would love to monopolize you for the evening, but it would be most impolite of me to keep you from your own ball, would it not?”

Twilight had a genuine smile for him, if a little lopsided. “Technically, maybe,” she agreed. “It might not be a bad idea, though.”

He laughed and nodded his head to her. “Chin up, my lady.” He leaned in closer and whispered to her, “A small piece of advice to help the more... tedious greetings pass more smoothly? Try to guess what sort of curse everypony you meet would receive should they fall afoul of some Poison Joke. Half of the unicorns here are still too caught up in Canterlot politics to have even heard of the stuff.”

And then he smoothly slipped away leaving Twilight gaping after him. Imagine what effect Poison Joke would have? Not the kind of advice she would have expected from one of the most important ponies on Canterlot’s social scene.

Then it came to her. It was more than a game to stave off tedium; to make a good guess, she’d have to pay more attention to whoever she was talking to, to get a feel for their personality instead of just a list of names and titles. Fancy Pants really was a clever pony.

***************

Once she’d been kitted out in her party frock (as Pinkie insisted on calling it) and returned to the ball, which by then was in full swing, Rainbow Dash had taken the earliest opportunity to spend as much time as ponily possible with her heroes. But it hadn’t taken long for an unusual situation to crop up. Well, two unusual situations.

The first one was fans, which she knew how to deal with, but the unusual part was how many of them were unicorns in fancy frou-frou outfits who kept wanting to talk about classic action figures or something. She figured there was some kind of unicorn custom, or maybe they thought she was already in the Wonderbolts and wanted to get their hooves on a new Rainbow Dash toy before everypony else did. She was totally going to keep the first one off the production line for herself when that happened.

But in the meantime, she had the other unusual situation to deal with, in that she had an actual Wonderbolt champing at the bit to meet her! Healing Touch, the team's medic, hadn’t been part of the opening demonstration. She was, however, the author of a book entitled 'Boomers: Hurricane and Rainbow, A Comparison.' She reminded Rainbow Dash of a grown-up Scootaloo. If Scootaloo was more of a history buff and did a lot more research... and was on the Wonderbolts support staff and a substitute flyer.

"I've interviewed most of your Flight School classmates, and almost all of them agree you were the best flier in the school. Your instructors agree, but your class records don't bear that out. Just what happened, ma'am?" the palomino pegasus asked, her face much like Twilight’s at the arrival of a new shipment of books.

Rainbow Dash thought for a moment about taking off. Even if she was surrounded by Wonderbolts, she could still outpace everypony there. But that'd be ditching Twilight on a really big day for her. It wasn't like she hadn't dealt with fans before, but usually she could sign a few autographs, pose a bit, show off a few tricks, and move on to the next. None of those were options right now, or not good options. Plus, the other Wonderbolts were watching... and she was sure one of them was smirking at her as her ‘new best friend’ leaned in ever closer.

Reluctantly, she answered. "I was bored, okay? I had a really bad habit back then of blowing stuff off, like tests. Or showing off. I left because it wasn't doing me any good, and if the instructors hadn't agreed they could have put up a lot more resistance. It drove me nuts waiting for everypony else to kick one cloud into two ragged bits in the time I could clear the whole sky, but they didn't exactly have a school stunt team."

"So why'd you go to Ponyville?" Healing Touch pressed. She had that shine to her eyes that said the questions weren't ever going to end. "The speculation is that you wanted to go someplace where you wouldn't have much on-site supervisory structure, or that you were looking to take on the challenge of the Everfree Anomaly, or that you were following your friend Fluttershy. Which one was it? Or something else?"

"Personal reasons," Rainbow said. "I don't like to talk about that." It hadn’t been as much following Fluttershy as it was needing a place to stay after she’d left home. Not a lot of towns were looking to take a chance on a pegasus without either a weather-team certification or Flight School diploma. She'd been sure if she could just get an interview she'd show them what she could do, but they wouldn't even give her that much of a chance; not until Flutters had introduced her to the Ponyville weather coordinator. And if she'd ever looked back after that, it was only to wave to her old friend.

"Listen, maybe we can talk history later?" Rainbow suggested, hoping, praying that her new admirer would take the hint. "I mean, yeah, I'm awesome, but I'm supposed to be meeting ponies and stuff. This is Twilight's party and there's all this noble expectations thing I'm supposed to do. Like anypony’s ever going to mistake me for a real noble."

Mercifully, Rapidfire intervened. "Lady Rainbow Dash has a point, Touch," he said. His Wonderbolts uniform was all the dressing up he needed, and Rainbow couldn't deny that the tight outfit did really amazing things to his appearance. Deep deep down in her heart she even admitted to herself that he totally carried the look better than even Lero did. "This is a Ducal Presentation, not a regular show." He flashed Rainbow Dash a teasing smile. "Maybe we'll schedule in a full day of questioning at the next tryout. We'll call it a patience test."

"I'm gonna tell you right up front, patience is so very not my strong suit," Rainbow pointed out.

"Which just means it's that much more important to test you on it, milady,” Rapidfire beamed, swinging one forehoof in front of the other as he gave Rainbow a playful bow, the action leaving the mare unable to decide whether to growl or growl. "You know that being a Wonderbolt isn't all racing and stunt flying, right? We put on the show for a lot of important ponies and then they expect us to stick around to talk. You have to be able to put up with few questions and acting like some kind of trophy for a while, not just sign autographs and pose for pictures."

"Huh." Rainbow Dash had to think about that for a moment. It made sense. Anypony who could get the Wonderbolts to put on a show would want them to hang around and chat to show off how awesome they were, but a lot of the ponies who could get the Wonderbolts to put on a show were rich or powerful and probably not all that interesting themselves. "If I've gotta, then I've gotta. But not tonight, okay? I'm gonna have enough testing of my patience just trying to put up with all this fancy-prancy organised dancing stuff later. And if everypony keeps calling me ‘lady’ then I’m going to sprout a horn or something."

"Oh? So the rumors are true?" Healing Touch eagerly asked. "I heard, but I didn't believe it. You're really all going from herd to full-on marriage? And you're doing a commitment display?"

Rainbow Dash blinked. "Um, yes to the marriage, and probably on the commitment thing? I didn't pay too much attention to what Twilight called it, just what we're supposed to do. It's this unicorn dance and I have to keep my wings down the whole time. Sooooo boring..."

Rapidfire laughed. "Just think of it as a low-altitude formation display," he advised. "You showed tonight that you can stay in formation with a team of experts just fine, and that’s what we were looking for. After all, you've always been a solo flier every time we’ve seen you before."

Rainbow swallowed. "That was a test? Oh crud... I mean... I did totally awesome, right? I didn't mess it up?"

Leaning forward to pat her shoulder with a forehoof, Rapidfire gave her a supportive smile that, had she not already been working her way up to a mild panic, probably would have left her weak at the knees. "I bet you know what I'm going to say next, don't you?"

She looked at him as she shook her head, trying desperately to keep from looking around the ballroom for answers like a filly called up to the teacher. "Um... no?"

He smiled widely. "What, you haven't heard 'passed with flying colors' so often it makes your eyes roll? I'd have thought you'd be sick of it by now."

She laughed. "There's not a lot of tests on a weather team," she pointed out, tension falling from her shoulders.

Rapidfire winked. "Then get used to hearing it until you do get sick of it. Wonderbolts do a lot more performance reviews."

That percolated, and then Rainbow Dash had to keep from squee-ing. "You think I'm gonna make it?"

All around the giddy pegasus, half a dozen Wonderbolts laughed at once.

"Make it? The only pegasus alive who can rainboom, and pull it off at will?" Healing Touch sputtered out.

"With pie-saving reflexes?" Soarin chimed in.

"Married to the Duchess Smaragdvea and the only non-pony honorary Wonderbolt and the only two living viceroys, wearing an Element of Harmony, directly elevated to nobility in her own right, and a personal friend to both Princesses?" Spitfire added.

"Hey! Those have nothing to do with being in the Wonderbolts," Dash insisted, wings bristling as she drew herself up. "I don't want anypony going easy on me because of who I hang with or whatever fancy titles I’ve been given. If I can't get in on my own, I don't deserve to be in at all!"

"Easy, easy," Rapidfire soothed. "There’s more than just athletic talent to being in the Wonderbolts. We already know you’ve got the right moves, and the personal history thing makes a decent case for you having the right attitude as well. Spitfire's just saying you keep impressive company, and you're impressive enough to match up with them, right, Sis?"

Spitfire coughed. "Right. Of course. Nopony gets into the Wonderbolts who can't keep up."

"Nopony?" asked Rainbow Dash, her good mood returning as quickly as it had taken its leave. "How about nohuman?"

"Fastest human in Equestria, isn't he?" Spitfire retorted. "Besides, 'honorary' doesn't count. Unless you've got..." She stopped at the sudden gleam in Rainbow Dash's eyes. "No. Stop that. Even if you have any big ideas on how you can get him involved in a show with you, it’s not happening. He hasn't passed the flight exams."

"Awwww," Rainbow Dash said.

Rapidfire noted the cyan pegasus’ mischievous grin. “Sis, I think you’ve created a monster.”

********

As she settled her clàrsach into its case, nestling it into place just-so with her hooves, Lyra reflected on how the evening had gone so far. She hadn’t touched so much as a single string with her magic all night. There were some compositions she couldn’t play by hoof, true, but none of those had been on tonight’s program, and she felt that it would have been bad form to take the stage next to the Octavia Philharmonica and her highly esteemed earth pony ensemble and then play in the hooves-free unicorn-style. She’d received the impression that Miss Octavia had approved, though they hadn’t had a chance to talk when Lyra had left the stage.

“Lady Heartstrings?” an unfamiliar mare’s voice asked from somewhere off to her left.

Lyra closed the lid of her case. “Just Lyra Heartstrings,” she corrected. “Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash are both ladies. Officially. I’m just a humble musician.” She turned around. A silver-coated unicorn mare with a golden ‘scales of justice’ cutie mark was standing there, with a gold-coated unicorn mare with a black cage-door cutie mark beside her.

The silver mare laughed gently. “Oh, dear, a technicality! You’ll no doubt have a title of your own for the asking once the marriage is formalized.”

The gold-coated mare coughed politely. “And, it might be noted, a viceroy, former or otherwise, can hardly be reduced from the ranks of the nobility without direct order, might it not?”

The silver mare nodded her head. “An excellent point! And so, I repeat, now without the interrogatory, Lady Heartstrings, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Might I introduce my companion, the Lady Sanmerci, of the Second District Court?”

Lady Sanmerci inclined her head as well. “And I in turn should like to introduce mine, the Lady Balanced Scales, of the First District Court.”

“Nice to meet you,” Lyra said. “I’ll stick with just ‘Lyra,’ though. I never did get formally elevated, and there was always at least one Princess on the throne the entire time.”

“Such humility!” Lady Balanced Scales gushed.

“Perhaps you’d accept ‘Grandmaster’ instead?” Lady Sanmerci suggested. “There’s nopony who would question your right to that title.”

“You’ve done your homework,” Lyra commented.

Lady Sanmerci smiled thinly. “I am far from a master, but I do find the Still Way an excellent means of retaining one’s poise on the bench.”

“It does help with sitting,” Lyra agreed.

The two judges laughed, Balanced Scales more vigorously than her gold-coated companion.

“I have been intrigued for some time now, Grandmaster Heartstrings,” Lady Sanmerci said, “Is your own favoured posture for repose an outgrowth of your skills? Or perhaps a habit acquired from your mysterious stallion?”

Lyra laughed. “You’ve really done your homework, haven’t you? No, that’s just me. Some pegasi like to settle into trees instead of clouds, I like to sit with my spine upright instead of laying on my side. If it’s had any effect on me then I’d say it’s been to give me a greater appreciation for balance.”

“Forever falling,” murmured Lady Sanmerci. “Indeed.”

“And you can hardly blame us for paying some attention to a future wife of our future Duchess,” Balanced Scales admitted. “It’s common sense, don’t you think?”

“Scales, shush,” Lady Sanmerci murmured quietly.

“She has a good point,” Lyra noted, waving her hoof. “Personally, I’d rather deal with ponies being upfront about what they want. I grew up in Canterlot, but we’ve already established my lack of nobility. These social games are not my forte.”

“You’ll learn them soon enough, Grandmaster,” Lady Sanmerci said with certainty. “If you should care to discuss the conventions when they begin to involve you, we would be more than happy to provide you any aid we might have to offer.”

“In the meantime, we’ll wander off and let you escape from two social-climbing old biddies,” Balanced Scales cheerfully added, before pecking Sanmerci on the cheek. “Come on, dear, ask for her autograph and we’ll be on our way.”

The gold-coated unicorn’s cheeks flushed. “Ah. Perhaps not how I would have phrased the matter?”

Lyra grinned, hovering a pen out of her bag as she telekinetically snagged an unused napkin from one of the banquet tables across the room. It was cloth, but she used it anyway. ‘To Lady Sanmerci, my biggest fan, Grandmaster Lyra Heartstrings,’ she signed it before passing the finished item to the blushing judge. The two quickly made their farewells and departed.

Lyra settled her harp’s case onto her back, then migrated in the direction of the banquet tables. She might not have been singing tonight, but the lights were bright up on stage and she was feeling the need for some punch.

Then, in front of the banquet table, a pale blue unicorn stallion who had previously had his back to her turned around, and she suddenly felt the need for some kick to go with that punch. He caught sight of her at the same time and sprayed a copious amount of punch out of his mouth. Fortunately nopony had been close enough to have found themselves on the receiving end of an impromptu shower, though the next party guest who fancied to pick from that display of horse d’oeuvres might have to watch their step.

“Harpflank?” he sputtered, quickly depositing his glass on the table so he could wipe the last of his errant refreshment from his chin. “Ah, fancy meeting you here?”

“Sweet Tooth, how... unexpected to see you.” the minty mare said calmly. Nice and calmly, finding her center with practiced ease, letting the raging hurricanes of emotion swirl around her. Old Lyra... Bad Lyra would be caught up in those. Grandmaster Lyra could say things calmly, with poise and elegance. And she would certainly not commit equicide in the middle of the castle’s main banqueting hall.

“I saw you up on stage earlier,” the stallion weakly offered. “So you’re touring with Octavia now? That’s... great... Well done. Things seem to have worked out for you pretty well, all things considered?”

Lyra might have been implying by omission to the judges earlier. Canterlot’s social games weren’t her forte, this was true. Conversational battle however, that was part and parcel of the upper echelons of the Still Way. She considered her options the same way she would consider a physical battle; looking for every possibility, considering every counteraction, planning so many steps ahead that the outcome of the altercation could be predicted with confidence before nary a move had been made. Best, she decided, to let him overextend himself and then decide exactly how to end him when the moment arrived.

“You could say that,” she said, her face still, voice neutral.

“Look… Harpflank… I know it was a completely rotten thing I did,” Sweet Tooth awkwardly said, then fell silent, taking great interest in his cufflinks.

Lyra could do silent too. She waited very well, in fact.

“You have to understand, we were both just dumb foals, right?” the stallion eventually said. “We didn’t know what we were getting into.”

“You certainly did,” Lyra said evenly. “Quite a number of times as I remember.”

His face flushed. “You know what I mean. We weren’t planning on making a life together, just having some fun! So, when…” He trailed off again.

Lyra waited. She’d fantasized a number of times about this event, back before, even back when she was still just starting her journey along the Still Way, about how the many ways this little reunion could go. Letting him talk had never featured in any of those fantasies; various things snapping, popping, or violently breaking off in her bare hooves, those had all been very prominent. But now she knew a better way than before. She wasa better pony than before.

But, she was enjoying watching him squirm.

“Neither of us was ready for a foal. We were barely past being foals ourselves.” He sighed. “How… how did it work out?”

“Just a scare,” she said, then added nothing more. If she’d been devastated to learn that ‘her stallion’ had run off, abandoning her to face utter ruin all alone, to suffer unsupported the slings and arrows of the consequences of their actions… well, he didn’t deserve to know about that.

His head drooped as he let out a sigh of relief years in the making. “Oh thank Celestia. Listen, Harpflank, I know I never told you about this, but… there never could have been anything between us. My father was Lord Sugar Cube. He’d, well, he'd have had my tail pinned to the wall if I’d started a herd with a mare, even a thoroughbred, who wasn’t a good social match. You know how it is?”

“Was?” Lyra asked as she entertained a brief thought of dropping him on the spot anyway, just to see how she’d feel about it. It’d be enjoyable, that was for sure, but somehow not as satisfying as making him do all the talking.

“He died two years ago,” Sweet Tooth said. “So… yes, I am technically Lord Sweet Tooth now, you see? I came into a lot of money.”

“Among other things,” she deadpanned. His face went delightfully red.

“I probably deserved that,” he said with some strain, then swallowed. “Listen. Harpflank. I know I was a terrible pony, but I’ve done a lot of growing up. I’m sure you’ll never forgive and forget, but maybe I might do something to help you out? Introduce you to some of the other ponies of means here in Canterlot, maybe? You might find a patron who wants to take you on full time, perhaps even join his herd some day? You’re really good with your harp, and The Artisan knows far less likely herds form all the time.”

Lyra only kept a straight face by letting her various urges to start laughing hysterically each bounce harmlessly off of one another. “Clàrsach,” she corrected him.

He blinked. “Sorry?”

“It’s a clàrsach,” she said slowly. “Not a harp.”

“I… suppose that would make ‘Harpflank’ not such a good nickname these days, then,” Sweet Tooth said hesitantly. “You never minded it before though. Erm… In that case, what is your real name? When we first met you always called yourself ‘Harpflank’, and after that, well I guess the right moment to ask never really came up.”

“Considering how the majority of our interactions ended up, I suppose you have a point.” Lyra smiled at him. “Well, my students call me ‘Grandmaster’ or ‘Sensei,’ most of the ponies at this party are calling me ‘Lady Heartstrings,’ while my friends generally just stick with ‘Lyra.’ Duchess-in-Waiting Twilight Sparkle, Lady Rainbow Dash, and Viceroy Bellerophon Michaelides, however, refer to me as their wife-to-be.”

The stallion’s eyes were huge and his muscles were frozen in place. Lyra leaned in close and whispered softly in his ear.

“And you’re very right, Sweets. I don’t forgive you, and I probably never will. But Ican forget you, because I have learned to let some things find their moment in the past so they can stop bothering the present.”

Leaning even closer, her lips gently brushed against the male’s ear. To anypony who might have been watching, the looked like nothing more than an affectionate couple. Her whisper was sweet enough to make even Pinkie Pie’s teeth ache.

“But if I hear so much as the smallest rumor that you’ve ever left some other mare to raise your unclaimed foal alone, or that you’ve even so much as thought about cheating on your herd, then I’m going to ask my meat-eating stallion for some tasty testicle recipes and give carnivorism a try.”

With that, she took a fresh glass of punch from the table and casually strolled away. The sound of a small whimper and then the thump of a fainting stallion hitting the ground behind her was sweeter than the crack of bone any day.

Making her way out of the room, ‘Enigmatic Smile Number Three’ freshly settled in place across her features, Lyra headed off in search of the rest of her herd.

*********

Lero sat alone, at least for the moment. A friendly face among the palace staff had given him a rundown of how his evening would most likely progress. At first, he'd be primarily ignored, as the noble ponies demonstrated themselves to their future Duchess; next, a few of the more daring (read: desperate) noble sorts would 'notice' Twilight's stallion and make an overt display of their admiration, in his case also trying to be quick to show how open-minded they were, et cetera, et cetera. Then he'd have a mob of his own wanting to not be left behind, to have him well-disposed toward them, all trying to be that most important of all things in politics: memorable.

But that was yet to come. And so there was an uncomfortable pairing at the head table with Twilight's mentor seated on one side of her empty seat, and her stallion on the other.

Celestia had muted her hair for Lero's sake, planning to let it lay artfully arranged across her shoulders for the entirety of the festivities; pink manes were no doubt due to be a booming fashion in the morning. While he appreciated the gesture, much as she also respected her leadership (most of the time) and honored her as Twilight's teacher, the human still couldn't quite shake either the tight knot in his throat or the uneasy feeling in his chest when he was around her.

"We could hoof-wrestle," Celestia suggested all of a sudden.

Lero blinked. "... What?"

Celestia gave a half-resigned, half-amused quiet chuckle. "I fear I may be running low on ways to reduce the tension, Lero."

Lero looked down at his hands and tried to laugh back. It didn't come out well. "You don't have to do anything, Princess. This is a night for Twilight, and with everything you and your sister have done so far you’ve made it something truly incredible."

The alicorn of the day smiled fondly over at her protege. Not so long ago, the lavender unicorn would have been hiding under the table at just the idea of meeting so many ponies all at once. Now, with Rarity helping, she was making her way through introduction after introduction without so much as frizzing. "I am only helping other ponies take part. Twilight and her friends are making it something truly incredible. They are truly very special ponies."

"That they are, " Lero agreed as he took a sip of his drink. The cider wasn't from the special keg - that'd be for the toasts later - but it was sweet and delicious all the same. Celestia's horn glowed briefly as she topped off his glass for him. He raised an eyebrow, but said "Thank you" all the same.

"I won't stop, you know," Celestia commented. When Lero didn't respond she continued. "I am not in the habit of leaving my wrongs un-righted."

"You did what you felt you had to, for the safety of your subjects," Lero said stiffly. "I understand that, and I have already forgiven you."

To the princess’s ears, the human’s words sounded cold, mechanical. As if he was reading from a script, reciting to her the words that he believed she wanted to hear. She pushed that feeling down. That he could still love anypony after what he had endured was remarkable. That he had more trouble forgiving her was understandable. Still...

Celestia sighed softly; with the music playing, only Lero could hear her. "That may be true. But I was wrong, and I hurt you. I hurt you in a way I could not imagine, and now I fear that I am unable to put that right."

"They say time heals all wounds," was the best Lero could come up with, and their conversation faded back into uncomfortable silence.

When the next song started, the alicorn turned on her large cushion and gestured at her barrel with a wingtip. "Touch my side, Lero. Please, just here. Press through the fur."

Lero rose from his own human-style chair, and then settled himself onto Twilight’s empty seat, his rear sinking into the low armless chair’s opulent cushioning. Leaning over, he did as the princess asked, looking only at her side, not letting himself see her horn, its long spearlike shaft and vicious point.

He'd touched all three of the princesses often enough while he was tending to them during the outbreak of the Blank Plague earlier in the year. He’d cleaned them, brushed them, groomed them, but he’d never thought to check under their coats. Running his fingertips to where Celestia had indicated, he found hard lines across her skin, well hidden by that magnificent alabaster coat. Three parallel lines that, now he knew what to look for, traversed the length of the alicorn’s side from her hip almost to the shoulder, the grain of the hair above them disturbed wherever they travelled. Each one was almost the length of Lero’s entire arm.

"The minotaurs were once our enemies," she said quietly. "But so were the griffins. And when I was still a unicorn, we made common cause with a tribe of minotaurs. They rode on our backs, bearing shields and spears, defending us from the griffins who closed upon us from the sky while we cast our spells at them. We won the day, though brave Moo-Lon who rode upon my back was slain before the battle was even halfway done. But that tribe and mine were never enemies again after that. To do battle together is to forge a different kind of bond than friendship, but a strong one."

"I'm not much of a fighter,' Lero replied, drawing his hand away carefully. "And Equestria's not going to war, is it?"

The princess shook her head, mindfully rotating around her horn rather than swinging it from side to side. "Not unless some new ancient threat returns, and in that case I have every confidence in Twilight Sparkle and her friends."

"If that ever happens," Lero said, turning back to his refreshment, “I should be at her side.”

"I very much know the feeling," the alicorn murmured.

And then an up-and-coming unicorn mare by the name of Charity Ball came by to pay them both her respects, and their moment of privacy was ended.

**************

As the lights faded all around the ballroom every conversation ended on the spot. Princess Celestia stepped out onto the Grand Balcony overlooking the ballroom. The lights had been dimmed, the room below her now filled with darkness and shadows. Up the balcony, sunlight bathed the alicorn, bright light revealing her and her alone, gleaming from every part of her regalia, though the ceiling had no skylights and by this hour the sky outside only held her sister’s moon and stars. Her mane shone in brilliant pink, trailing regally along her back before elegantly draping down across one wing.

A single beam of light shone from the tip of her horn to a large crystal hanging from the center of the ceiling, which in turn lit up and cast a bright white light down towards the western end of the ballroom. A tight pool of light formed around the aquamarine form of Grandmaster Lyra Heartstrings standing alone on the dance floor, the rest of the evening’s guests remaining in the darkness that pervaded the edges of the huge room. The unicorn mare bowed her head gracefully to the Princess, and Celestia regally nodded back.

The next refracted sunbeam brought the bright hues of Lady Rainbow Dash into view on the opposite side of the room, her mane simply but artfully styled, gold shining from between her feathers, the Element of Loyalty proudly highlighted against her chest. As the pegasus turned to look out across the crowd a number of breaths were drawn. Of course everypony had seen her before this evening, and she’d been quite visible throughout the party in that dress, but now, standing in Princess Celestia’s own light, alone? The unicorns of Canterlot would never call her a beauty, but that night they understood why pegasi of old would follow a fine mare like that into the depths of Tartarus and back. In the darkness at the back of the room, lined up in parade formation, every Wonderbolt present saluted.

Another ray came forth from the solar princess’s horn, the ceiling crystal illuminating a third figure. The stallion at the southern end of the room, the last to be presented before the night’s honoree, as age-old tradition demanded. That alien shape, bowing, bending double at the middle with uncanny balance and agility, veritably aglow in his outfit of white and lavender, drew every eye in the room. And then he just... unfolded, as smoothly as an artiste in motion as he rose to his full height. At that moment, and even though his eyes were small, his ears immobile, his tail entirely absent, there wasn’t a pony there who didn’t see the love in the way he looked toward the room’s remaining wall.

And then, at the northern end of the room, the lady of the evening herself, the Duchess-in-Waiting, the Lady Twilight Sparkle, was bathed in bright sunlight direct from the horn of the Princess herself. The Element of Magic glittered and shone atop her head, throwing waves of purple light all around the ballroom. She smiled to her herdmates, her future wives and husband, then knelt toward Celestia.

“Doctor Twilight Amaranth Guinevere Sparkle,” Celestia’s voice rang out across the entire room, warmth and pride in every syllable. “Heiress to the Duchy Smaragdvea, Bearer of the Element of Magic, Lady in your own right, my faithful student, my little pony. You stand here tonight as a mage of great renown, a steadfast companion to those who accept your friendship, beloved of your herd, and a true hero of Equestria. I can think of no pony in all the land better suited than you to be be named as a future Duchess. But to rule is never easy, and never forced upon any pony. So I ask you, Lady Twilight Sparkle, will you accept your sire’s domain when the time comes?”

“I will,” Twilight said, her voice carrying across the otherwise silent room..

“And should it ever come, will you answer the call to govern my little ponies honestly and nobly, as well as you are able, in peace and in danger, in plenty and in want, either for as long as you shall be required or until the end of your days?”

“I will,” Twilight affirmed.

“Is it your desire to rule, Lady Twilight Sparkle?”

That was the one question without a single answer. Duchies had been lost by trying to manipulate a response with half truths, or by full truths which unwittingly revealed an unworthy heart.

“It is not, Princess Celestia,” Twilight said with hesitation “But if it is my duty, I will embrace it and carry it out to the best of my ability.”

Celestia nodded. “Then let it be known in all Equestria! That Lady Twilight Sparkle, on this, the celebration of her twenty-fifth birthday, is accepted and acclaimed as true and worthy heir to the Duchy Smaragdvea. Step forth, Duchess-in-Waiting, and join your herd.”

Each of the four members of herd Bellerophon stepped forward at the same time, their own personal beams of light following as they moved. Twelve hooves and two feet struck sharp clicks from the ballroom floor with every step; Lero’s shoes were reinforced to withstand errant hooves tonight.

They met at the centre of the room, Twilight Sparkle and Lyra bowed their heads, horns not quite touching. Rainbow Dash turned sideways, extending a wing to match. Lero adopted the pegasus form as well, turning sideways and reaching in with an arm.

From up on the balcony, Miss Octavia’s bow drew slowly across the strings of her cello, marking the beginning of the traditional commitment performance. Both Twilight and Lyra’s horns glowed along their entire lengths; dimly at first, then bright as a dawning sun, a lavender orb the size of an apple formed between the two points. Both unicorns slowly lifted their heads, the orb growing to the size of a hoofball as they backed slowly away from each other, circling counterclockwise around their two non-unicorn herdmates in the center to end up directly facing each other from the east and west positions.

As their horned wives-to-be moved around them, Lero and Rainbow Dash stepped in a smaller clockwise circle to take their own places, the pegasus moving to take up the southern position while Lero took the northern, both turning to face the orb directly before stepping backwards to create a single ring around the orb with all four bodies. As if instructed by an voice heard only to them, each herd member simultaneously turned clockwise in place to face the crowd surrounding them from the darkness. The light from Celestia’s horn faded away, leaving the glow from the herd-guarded ball of magic as the only illumination in the room.

The orb ebbed back to the size of an apple, its light dimming almost to nothing before it suddenly swelled, expanding outwards in a dazzling burst of lavender light, encompassing all four herd members as it did so. Once large enough to envelop the herd entirely it stopped growing, just large enough that, as she stretched it out in front of her as far as she could, Rainbow Dash’s wingtip could just brush against it with a single feather, spitting a large shower of magical sparks out into the ballroom around it. Lero’s outstretched hand rested against the other side of the shield, five fingers each tracing an individual shower of their own, the energetic spray of sparks illuminating the edge of the crowd. The particles of light fell to the floor by the hooves of the first rank of onlookers before slowly fading away.

The traditional dance required only a basic ring of light, well within the abilities of any unicorn. Using the rarer shield form had been Princess Celestia’s suggestion, a subtle reminder to certain of her nobleponies. Twilight could have cast that shield in her sleep. The hard part was what came next. A half-turn clockwise so they were once again facing each other, then slow steps sideways, heads held high, eyes directly forward, until they each ended up exactly where they’d started from. Thankfully their timing was perfect and, even though they couldn't turn their heads to check the others’ movements, at no point did they even come close to colliding.

Then came the trickier steps. The new Duchess-in-Waiting was to step back, while her stallion stood in front of her. Had she been Duke-in-Waiting, then it would have been the lead mare across instead, or the first wife if she wasn’t also the lead mare. Lyra and Rainbow Dash stood on either side of Lero, stepping back, as though guarding his flanks while he knelt to his mare, then she back to him.

But that wasn’t the tricky part, that was just the setup. The tricky part was the dance. Four days of practice hadn’t done Twilight a single bit of good, and the Music of Harmony was being very uncooperative about kicking in at the last moment to show her how to move properly. Tradition insisted that letting a dance master guide her steps remotely would be thoroughly unacceptable, but Lero had reminded them all once again just how good humans could be at compensating for their lack of magic, harmonious or otherwise. Plus, his large size and bipedal nature was about to come in very... handy.

As Lero and Twilight stepped towards each other, the purple mare reared up onto her hind legs, resting her forehooves on her stallion’s shoulders as each of his hands came to rest against opposite sides of her ribcage. The crowd’s reaction was mixed. The attendees from Ponyville chuckled knowingly. The Canterlot natives gasped in appreciation of the bold display. Only the most confident, talented couples could balance so well together as to dance upright.

That was where the shoes came in. If Lero had been a pony, Twilight could have put her forehooves right up against his to dance on all fours, but standing upright the audience couldn’t see that the mare’s rear hooves were standing atop the human’s protruding feet. To make it even harder to see that Twilight’s formal horseshoes had settled into place on the hidden plates of her mate’s shoes, Rarity had made sure to cut the train of Twilight’s gown to just the right shape and length to conceal both pairs of feet while leaving them full freedom of movement. Twilight needed only to hold onto her stallion and keep her hindlegs directly under her, and even she could more or less manage that.

And so, slowly and carefully, Lero danced with his wife-to-be at her very own Ducal Presentation ball, their two herd mates dancing along in precise synchronicity out by their sides. The purple unicorn was completely lost within the first four steps as to what was coming next, but she just had to let Lero show her the way, which he did with more than a modicum of style. As they moved, swinging and gliding around the ballroom, the magical shield expanded to encompass the whole room, illuminating the crowd as it moved harmlessly through them out beyond the castle’s walls**.

As the lavender glow passed beyond the ballroom, Princess Celestia’s own light returned. Behind her Miss Octavia subtly nodded to her ensemble, prompting each of her fellow musicians to raise their instruments and join her as the song into the full ‘commitment dance’ phase.

Rainbow Dash and Lyra flowed like silk at Lero’s sides. If the pegasus would have rather raced through a window and filled the sky with a circle of color again, there was no sign of it; her wings stayed at her sides without so much as a flutter and, despite the slow movements, tiny rainbows flickered in her wake like fires set in the air by her mane. On the human’s other side the tip of Lyra’s horn left a similar trail of sparkles in the air behind her as she moved. A very few of the more martial-minded ponies who were watching saw the way those two mares looked at their herdmates, how every turn, every spin was focused and controlled to perfection; and they knew that those ‘guard’ positions in the dance would bode very, very ill for any pony who threatened their stallion - or their mares.

In dreams all across the magical land of Equestria, and even beyond, ponies watched them dance.

Only the three mares on the floor could hear Lero singing quietly, a message of love meant only for them.

Have I told you lately that I love you?

Have I told you lately that there’s no one else above you?

Fill my heart with gladness,

take away all my sadness,

ease my troubles, that’s what you do.

For the morning sun in all its glory

greets the day with hope and comfort too.

You fill my life with laughter,

always you make it better,

ease my troubles, that’s what you do.

There’s a love that’s divine,

and it’s ours all the time,

like the sun,

and at the end of the night,

we’ll have love and delight,

all as one, all as one.

Have I told you lately that I love you?

Have I told you lately that there’s no one else above you?

Fill my heart with gladness,

take away all my sadness,

ease my troubles, that’s what you do.

*It wouldn't have worked anyhow; Discord was having a wonderful time with a section of the dream-ball under his command, and a surprisingly large number of ponies were actually enjoying his creative efforts.

**Except for one unlucky infiltrator in the hallway outside the ballroom posing as a Royal Guard. When the shield went by she’d ended up a nasty green spot on the wall.

Author's Note

The Quiet Man: I thoroughly enjoyed working on this chapter, though I’m sure Spinel will agree that we drove each other nuts almost the entire time. While each of us has drastically different approaches when it comes to our work, I think we’ve come up with something pretty darn special.

SpinelStride: If TQM thinks this was driving him nuts, just wait until we write the six-million-word afterparty clop scene involving every single pony in Equestria except for Prince Blueblood and Honeydew all sharing a wild orgy under the joint direction of Princess Luna and Discord. Oxford commas everywhere and so many discreet hints left to be delicately interpreted... I did mention that was the natural aftermath of this story, right?* But, seriously, yes, this did turn into something quite a bit more meaningful than the original “Celestia shares a secret from her past to try to connect with Lero” one-shot once TQM got involved. :raritywink:

*TQM: What? Well, shiiiiiit. We’d best get writing then. :pinkiehappy:

21: Intervention - by StarSlinger

Intervention - by special guest author StarSlinger
Chapter published 21st May 2013

*************************

Warily, Twilight Sparkle approached the wide double doors of the Apple family’s barn. Spike had been very vague on exactly why Applejack had wanted to see her here. In fact, Twilight was pretty sure that there was some secret that her assistant had been desperately trying to avoid blurting out. The amount of stuttering and sweat from Spike had been quite impressive. However, the small dragon had run off before she could press him further…

“An intervention!?” cried Twilight, has she took in the sight of her fellow Elements and herdmates all gathered together under a banner with “Intervention” sprawled across it in bright pink, glitter-infused, lettering.

In the front of the group was Lero, with a scroll in his hand. Her human stallion looked very much as if he wished he was anywhere but where he currently was.

Lero cleared his throat nervously, “Uhm, yeah, sorry about the banner Twi, we asked for Pinkie’s help in organizing this, but I think she missed the finer details of what an intervention is…” Lero was interrupted at the sound of Applejack tackling a jubilant Pinkie Pie as she about to burst into some sort of dance number. The bigger earth pony quickly shoved a hoof into the pink pony’s mouth, stopping an incoming song.

Pulling her head away and freeing her mouth, Pinkie glared in annoyance Applejack. “Awwwwwww, Applejack, I spent a lot of time on the ‘Your Incredibly-Super-Inconceivable-Awesome Intervention’ number!”

“Aw, nothing!” Applejack replied, exasperated, “you were right there when Lero explained that an intervention ain’t that kind of party! In fact it ain’t a party at all! It’s ta help Twilight face her problem!”

“Wait, problem? WHAT problem!?” Twilight exclaimed.

Lero cleared his throat several times and hesitantly began to read from his scroll, which was obviously a prepared speech.

“Twilight Sparkle…my love… your family and your closest friends have all gathered here today because we are concerned for you. We know you have been feeling unchallenged lately… with your research book being reviewed by your editor and with things here at Ponyville being more ‘quiet’ then we are used to. However, the way you are choosing to challenge yourself… as well as the pace you are doing it… has us… uhm… concerned.”

“More like terrified...” Twilight’s herdmate Rainbow Dash muttered under her breath, just loud enough for the group to hear.

Twilight, for her part, still seemed to be at a loss. “How I am spending my time? What is everypony TALKING about?”

Lero attempted to continue his speech despite the interruptions. “Twilight, we all love you, and we all love that you are curious, always pushing the boundaries of what can be done and what is possible for us all. And believe us when we say that we all appreci…”

“You have to stop with the Lerotech, ok!?” Rainbow Dash interrupted, quickly moving to the front of the group, positioning herself in front of Lero, directly a few inches from Twilight.

Twilight blinked, ‘Lerotech’ was the term her herd had given to the magitech she had been developing based on Lero’s tales of his former world.

“But I have already cut back!” Twilight protested. “I promised everypony after that tiny glitch with the temporary spray-on mane dye.”

“Glitch!? Glitch!?” Now it was Twilight’s friend Rarity who spoke up. “Sure, darling, that infernal spray worked, but everpony that used it got a magical rash all over their coat within three hours! I couldn’t stand show myself in public for days afterwards. DAYS!”

“And let’s not forget the other stuff.” Rainbow continued, cutting off Rarity before the white unicorn really got going with the theatrics. “There was that vibrating bed that made you hurl…”

“And that there pressure cooking thing that darn once blew off the side of this here barn…” interjected Applejack.

“Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh! And the Pop Rocks candy!” squealed Pinkie. “Those were deeeeelish.”

“And finally…” Dash cut in, trying to regain control of the conversation. “Let’s not forget about the whole ‘Mr. Coolly’ fiasco.”

“Now, Rainbow Dash, that is not fair!” Twilight said sternly, finally getting over her initial shock. “I have repeatedly apologized to everypony that was involved in the...” Using her hooves, Twilight quoted the air “…Mr. Coolly incident. And WHY did everypony start using that name, ‘Mr. Coolly’ in the first place!?”

Twilight’s question was answered as, suddenly, a pink blur appeared between the two ponies. “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my GOSH, Twilight!!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “I completely forgot, but I fiiiinaly finished that jingle for Mr. Coolly I was talking to you about!!” Without a pause, the hyper pink pony took a deep breath and broke out into song…

“TA DA TA DA DA DA DA!!! Mr. COOLLY!!!…”

…only to be tackled and again gagged by Applejack.

“Sorry, she gotta away from me for a bit there,” the large mare replied. “Please keep on goin’.”

“Anyway…” Twilight continued, her right eye twitching slightly. “How can you possibly still be upset over that?”

“Because you won’t believe me when I tell you it’s still out there!” Rainbow shouted back. “Yes, there was a magical fire and yes we found the burnt remains of what appeared to be Mr. Coolly… But you said yourself that there were multiple prototypes and spare parts caught in the fire and well! It could of set off the fire itself and used those parts to trick us into believing it was destroyed! It knew I was about to smash it, we were discussing it in the next room!” Rainbow Dash finished her rant, breathing heavily and looking around in a very paranoid manner.

Twilight had, meanwhile, put her hoof to her forehead and sighed heavily before replying. “Rainbow Dash, as I have explained before many, many, many times, Mr. Cool… the Automated Cooler Unit, specifically mark 11 in this case, was not sapient! It only had very rudimentary logic embedded into it so it could be used by anypony without the need for a partner. The logic gave simple conditions for the device’s magic to follow as well as facilitated the execution of the standardized commands that could be given verbally by the owner. The events of the ‘Mr. Coolly incident,’ while unfortunate, was simply a matter of a few bugs in the device’s internal programming.”

“A few bugs!” Rainbow replied. “After you convinced Fluttershy to try your invention that one time she was in heat, we…could...not...get…it…out…of…her!! It took you and Lyra both trying for an hour to drag it out. Heck, given the sheer amount of that specialized ‘cooling gel’ you developed that was involved, I was shocked Flutter didn’t develop hydrotheromia!”

“Hypothermia,” corrected Twilight. “And yes, obviously the routines in charge of the stop commands were not working properly, and I had evidently made the anti-slippage spell a bit too strong, but that does not mean Mr. Coo… grrrr… I mean the ACU mark 11 had developed self awaren…”

“Then how do you explain a month later?” interrupted Dash again. “When Fluttershy was over at our house for lunch? That thing flew all the way from your workshop and managed to get in her again. And she wasn’t even in heat! That time, it took you, Lyra, and Lero to get it out. Heck, I still say we should have offered Fluttershy an invitation to join the herd… at that point it would have basically been a formality!”

“Rainbow, that’s enough,” muttered Lero as he stepped forward and put his arm around the cyan mare. He whispered into her ear, “I think Fluttershy’s face is about to ignite.” He nodded his head over to the other pegasus, who had been sitting quietly amongst the others. Now though, her eyes were downcast and her face was a brilliant shade of red.

“Ooops, sorry Fluttershy, I kinda got carried away there for a sec,” said Dash apologetically.

“That’s…That’s ok Rainbow…” muttered Fluttershy, looking back up. “Thank you for considering me for your herd… though, truth be told, when the time comes I would much rather start one of my own… I…” The yellow pegasus trailed off as she realized all eyes in the room were on her.

“Regardless,” interjected Twilight, more to spare her friend further embarrassment than to continue her argument with Rainbow Dash. “Just because a device shows something like intelligent behavior does not make it sapient. I mean an instance of spontaneous self-awareness in a magical object would be unprecedented!”

“Reeeealy?” Rainbow replied, now sounding somewhat smug. “I guess Decemet doesn’t count?”

“Wait…what?…who?” Twilight asked, perplexed and caught off guard by the sudden change in topic.

“Ya know, Decemet? Decemet Octo? That audio recording do-hicky that is obsessed with Lero and yer brother,” answered Applejack. The orange earth pony’s face took on a puzzled expression. “how’d it come up with its name, anyhow?”

“Probably because ‘Decem-et-octo’ is ancient Equestrian for ‘eight-of-ten’, which makes sense, as it was the eighth mark in a series of ten. I had to rework the internal circuits after that and just decided to start a new iteration...” Twilight distractedly responded. Once again, the purple mare’s mind seem to instinctively switch into lecture mode whenever it became confused. Twilight, shook her head as if to clear it. “Wait, wait, wait… That machine isn’t self-aware!” Twilight exclaimed. “It just managed to sound intelligent due to its randomly-shifting narration parameters. There was no evidence of actual sapience!”

“Is getting not one… or two… but three erotic novellas published count?” A now exasperated Rainbow Dash replied.

Twilight’s mouth started to hang loose in shock. “Novellas, how is it writing novellas?”

Once again, Lero cleared his throat. “Well, Twi, when you last stored it, you placed it right by your auto-notation quill, you know the one you enchanted with the infinite ink spell? Well, ‘Decemet Octo’ as it calls itself, somehow figured out the verbal commands for the quill and we think it has been dictating the stories and then somehow slipping the scrolls in the mail. We didn’t even realize anything was wrong until we started to get the fan mail.”

“Oh yes, darling, they are fascinated reads!” A surprisingly enthusiastic Rarity chimed in. “The second one was a little slow for my taste and the third was a bit lazy with the character development, but the first!” The unicorn mare placed a hoof to her chest and gave a small sigh. “The first was a piece of absolute genius! I mean the sheer emotion displayed by the stallion Duke Gleaming Helmet towards his forbidden love Mero, the prince of the ape-ponies! The sheer passion and romance just radiates off the page!”

“Rarity!” Dash exclaimed, rearing up and shoving her forehooves over her ears. “Not helping!”

“Sorry Rainbow,” apologized Rarity. “ I just tend to appreciate quality when I see it. Besides I am sure that the novellas will not catch on other than in certain circles.”

“Actually, the first novella has been nominated for ‘Best Erotic Stallion-on-Stallion Story ‘ in Ruttime magazine... as well as the Canterlot Herald’s Equinitzer award for best political essay.” Lyra said, speaking up for the first time, a twinkle in her eye. “I saw the announcements while visiting my parents last week.” The mint-green unicorn tilted her head as if in thought. “It seems that the Traditionalists view the work as a scathing political satire on the Crown’s refusal to review or comment on their various petitions regarding inter-species relations. On the other hoof, the Progressives interpret it as a story illustrating how to best break down the restraints and norms of contemporary pony society… or they just think it is hot. You know, it’s actually quite remarkable for an author to be able to reach such a diverse reader-base with one work…”

“Enough!” shrieked Twilight, blushing furiously. “All of that aside, why am I here for an intervention? I swore off all but the occasional Lerotech project weeks ago!”

“It is because of this!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash, producing a well-worn, leather bound notebook.

“Hey!” Exclaimed Twilight, suddenly starting to look nervous. “That looks like my research journal! Why do you have my research journal!? RAINBOW DASH!! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD STEAL MY RESEARCH JOURNAL!!!” The brief flicker of nerves evaporated in an instant as Twilight’s face flushed with anger and her eyes narrowed dangerously. The purple unicorn took a threatening step toward her cyan herdmate. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash instinctively braced herself for a fight.

Lero, for his part, instantly recognized where the situation was headed and quickly stepped in-between his loves before things truly got out of hand. Sure enough, with their stallion placed between them, the two pony’s herd instincts kicked in, causing them to relax, albeit unconsciously.

“In Dash’s defense, we were both looking for the copy of the chestnut soup recipe she lent you for the research book,” said Lyra. The mare had moved up beside Rainbow Dash, joining the rest of her herd.

“What we stumbled upon, however, was this…” Lyra continued, taking the journal from Dash and opening it to a section that had a well-filled and annotated calendar drawn across two pages. She held up the journal so Twilight could see its contents. “It appears to be a development and research plan for about a dozen new Lerotech items. Furthermore, most of these entries are dated only a few days ago, well after you promised us you were taking a quote ‘extremely long break’ from Lerotech.”

Meanwhile, Twilight’s momentary flash of anger had left her as Lyra's words caused her nervousness to return in full force. The mare started to sweat profusely. “Th...Those aren’t Lerotech projects.” she stammered. “They are just regular research ideas!”

Lyra and Dash looked at their herdmate incuriously, reading from the journal, both mares took turns replying:

“Heated mane curlers?”

“Automated vegetable chopper?”

“Self-cleaning toilets?”

“FLANK implants? What the hay!?”

“Those would only be for mares with dangerously-severe self-esteem issues!!” Twilight protested.

The purple unicorn then broke down into tears. “I.. I’m sorry everpony, I ju…just..” Twilight hiccupped and sobbed, covering her teary eyes with her forehooves. After a brief moment, she continued. “It’s just that I love it when Lero talks about his former home. I know that he doesn’t really talk about it with anypony else these days, not even Dash. And I realize it’s a coping mechanism, but I…I just can’t help feeling that it’s a part of what makes him special and that it is slowly slipping away.” Twilight took a deep breath, regaining control of her emotions. “So I make it a point to engage him on his past… and I do love the stories! Very much! They are all soooo fascinating! However, they also inevitably inspire me to try and bring a piece of his world into ours, and once I get an idea in my head, I have to write it down! And once it gets written down, it had to be incorporated into a list somewhere.. so it is organized… and then.. well things just sort of spiral onwards from there…”

Twilight stopped her rant as she felt Lero and the rest of her herd envelope her into and loving group embrace. They all stood there a moment, sharing the in the glow that only a loving herd could provide.

Lero was the first to speak, his voice thick with emotion. “I know Twi, and I love you for it. Look, again, we are not trying to forbid you from inventing, it’s just… we need you to slow down. Having to deal with a Lerotech malfunction every other day is just too much. Let’s… Just come to me first before you start construction, ok? Let me give you the final verdict on if that particular part of my old life needs to be reborn here.”

Twilight sniffed. “Ok,” she replied. Having her herd around her, giving support, had all but completely calmed her nerves. “I can do that, I should have thought of that myself.”

Her herdmates all pulled back giving Twilight big smiles. Meanwhile, the other mares in the room had starting clomping their hooves on the ground in approval.

“Now that we have that all cleared up,” shouted a now-free Pinkie Pie. “Let’s PARTY!” Flipping backwards, the pink party master landed behind her patented party cannon, which she had somehow materialized. Without hesitation, Pinky Pie pulled the firing cord, which caused the barn to temporarily fill with noise and smoke. After everything had cleared, the room had changed. Where before there had been empty tables and chairs, there was now a full spread of drinks and snacks, including a cake. Additional party decorations hung from the barn walls and ceiling and the Intervention banner now had the words “After Party” scribbled underneath it glittery-pink letters.

“Come on guys,” Rainbow Dash said with a wide grin, “let’s go have some cake!”

**********

The “Intervention After Party” had only been in full swing for a dozen or minutes before Lyra spoke up, her concerned voice cutting through the chatter. “Does anypony else hear that? It sounds like yelling.”

The group of ponies and one human rushed to the barn door and flung it open. In the distance they could see the small form of Spike, scrambling toward the barn while weaving and dodging. Something seem to be flying behind him, giving chase. As the group watched, they could hear his voice, distant but clear.

“LERO, TWILIGHT, RARITY, SOMEPONY, HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“What’s that chasing him!?” Exclaimed Rarity.

The group squinted their eyes, trying to catch a clear glance of whatever was chasing Spike.

“Wait… is that?” stated Lyra.

“It can’t be!?” Twilight exclaimed.

“It’s Mr. Coolly!!” exclaimed Pinkie happily, clopping her forehooves together.

Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, had the complete opposite reaction to the Element of Laughter. “Oh, no!! Mr. Coolly’s back and it’s chosen Spike as its next victim!!”

Despite the urgency of the situation Twilight’s mind once again switched into lecture mode, reacting to Dash’s comment.

“It’s not alive Rainbow Dash!” she exclaimed. “Spike’s high internal temperature is probably just confusing its targeting system!”

“Targeting system!” replied Dash. “Why the buck did that thing need a targeting system!”

Both ponies were interrupted as their stallion rushed past them. “Enough guys,” Lero shouted over his shoulder as he ran. “We need to go help Spike right now!”

Jolted into action by the human’s word, the remaining ponies dashed out of the barn. The barn door swung shut behind them, cutting off Applejack’s fading voice.

“Wait a sec, Spike’s a fella! Even if Mr. Coolly caught up to him, where would it…?”

Author's Note

The Mr. Coolly Song (as composed by Pinkie Pie)
(a/n sung to the same music and tune as “Mr. Hanky, The Christmas Poo” from South Park)

MR. COOLLY, THE ACU
HE’S IN ME, HE’S IN YOU
WHETHER YOUR YELLOW, PINK, OR BLUE
YOUR NETHERS HE WILL COOL FOR YOU!

SOMETIMES HE’S CURVY
SOMETIMES HE’S POINTY
SOMETIMES HE’S BIG AND BROWN
BUT NO MATTER WHAT SHAPE YOU LIKE
HE’LL BE SURE TO COOL YOU DOWN!

OH
MR. COOLLY, THE ACU
HE’S IN ME, HE’S IN YOU
WHETHER YOUR YELLOW PINK OR BLUE
YOUR NETHERS HE WILL COOL FOR YOU!**

**Repeat until exhausted!! Or alone!!! Then eat cupcakes!!!!!!!

This story was initially inspired by the Xenophilia: Shotglass Oneshot thread, but it grew a bit too large. TQM graciously offered to host it in his own collection of tales. My thanks to him and all of the other member of the Xenoverse community.

22: I will see my dream come alive at last, I will touch the sky.

I will see my dream come alive at last, I will touch the sky.
Chapter published 28th June 2013

*************************

Late Nov 1216AC

Winter in Ponyville always held its own special brand of magic. The soft crisp snow covered the ground like a blanket of pristine whiteness while the still air carried the bustling sounds of the townsfolk happily going about their business, all wrapped up warm against the seasonal chill.

On the outskirts of town the apple orchards of Sweet Apple Acres stood like towering monuments of white, as if they were standing guard over the immediate area, guarding the local ponies from the untold dangers which might one day venture forth from the nearby Everfree forest.

On the whole it was quiet, peaceful, serene.

Or at least most of it was.

“Come on Scoot. You can give it more than that!” Rainbow Dash yelled at her young protege as the kid’s wings beat furiously, probably more furiously than they’d ever been worked in their lives.

“Come on. Cloud Kicker’s getting away.” The rainbow maned mare screamed in encouragement. “You gunna let her get the better of you? You can catch her, I know you can!”

High over Sweet Apple Acres and just ahead of the young orange pegasus at her tail, Cloud Kicker was flying in an erratic pattern, suddenly jinking to the left or to the right whenever it looked like Scootaloo was starting to get too close. Not far off to her side Blossomforth was acting as her ‘spotter’, calling out warnings and directions to her marefriend whenever it looked like she was in danger of being caught.

In a straight line race Cloud Kicker could still easily outpace the youngster (even though the kid was getting that little bit faster with every passing day) but that wasn't the point of today’s exercise. Rainbow had asked her to continually let Scoot get close enough to almost touch the end of her tail before darting away again to one side.

The boss had said something about young Scoot still needing to work on both her observation and quick direction changes but to be honest Cloud Kicker was just enjoying the game of Tag. Much as she was a mare who liked to do the chasing, sometimes it was just as nice to be the one being chased for once. Life lessons to live by, kiddies.

As Scootaloo darted around the skies in hot pursuit of the older mare, Rainbow Dash was never far behind her young fan, continually shouting out both encouragement and advice in equal measure.

While most of the town’s residents might have written the flighty cyan pegasus off as some dumb jock or big-headed glory hound, for those who’d been paying attention it was easy to see from how she’d helped her young student along over the last year that there was a lot more going on under that chromatic mane than most ponies gave her credit for.

“Kicker...” Blossomforth suddenly shouted from off to Cloud Kicker’s right. “You’re almost out of zone!”

Looking down at the ground far below her, Cloud Kicker could see she was fast approaching the north east orchard’s’ outer fence, which meant she was about to leave the farm’s airspace and lose the game.

“I don’t think so!” The blonde pegasus shouted back, pushing herself with a sudden burst of acceleration before angling her wings for a steep climb.

From her pursuer’s point of view it looked like her quarry had suddenly sped away from her before rapidly climbing up and over the youngster’s head, heading back in the direction she had come from in an amazingly tight half loop.

As Scoot stared up in wonder at the older mare flying over her head and back towards the farmhouse... and upside down as well, Cloud Kicker impetuously poked her tongue out at her pursuer before performing a perfect little half roll to put herself back the right way up, completing a full (and quite stylish) ‘Immelmane turn’ maneuver.

Almost too late Scoot realised she was also about to go out of bounds, which would mean forfeiting the game right in front of her big sister and all-time hero which just wasn’t going to happen.

Not today, no way.

Angling her own wings for a rapid climb, she forced as much power as she could muster into her already complaining appendages. Almost instantly her view of the horizon dropped away and all she could see were clouds, clouds, more clouds, some sky, the hazy winter sun and then the horizon again.

“Oh wow, it’s upside down.” She muttered to herself before realising that the ground wasn't where she needed it to be if she was going to stay in the air. Her wings were still angled to push her ‘upwards’... which wasn’t going to do her any favours right now as her ‘up’ was the rest of Equestria’s ‘down’... and that solid lookin’ ground was coming up to meet her pretty quickly.

“ROLL! ROLL OVER, KID!” Rainbow shouted desperately as her young student started to drop out of the sky. Readying herself for a mid-air interception and pushing her forelimbs forward to grab her young friend if need be, the cyan mare shot forwards. As she came up close to the orange youngster, she could see a look of panic behind Scootaloo’s goggles, though it was quickly replaced by a look of steely determination.

Scoot quickly pushed out with one wing, spinning herself over so she was the right way up before pulling her hooves up tight against her body as she attempted to flatten out her descent.

Bringing herself level just a scant few hoof widths above the snowy field, tendrils of loose snow were pulled from the ground and into the air as she shot across and above the surface, swirling clouds of shimmering snowflakes forming in the disturbed air left spinning in her wake.

Pulling up and away from the field, an anxious Rainbow Dash trailing right behind her, Scootaloo used the speed she had built up in her rapid (though unplanned) descent to fly a few rings around Blossomforth and Cloud Kicker - who had both been hovering nearby in matching states of mild shock - before coming to a stop next to her earlier target.

“Gotcha.” She cried triumphantly as she pushed the base of a forehoof against Kicker’s cutie mark.

Blossomforth burst into laughter as her marefriend just turned to stare at the youngster’s hoof against her flank.

“She’s got a point, Kicker.” Blossom remarked through the tears (of both relief and laughter) in her eyes. “She got you, good and proper. No point arguing. No ma’am.”

Rainbow came to hover next to them, her expression equal parts anxiousness and pride. Seeing her mentor’s arrival, Scoot eagerly rushed to her side.

Many might have said it wasn’t possible to bounce up and down in mid-air with pure excitement but it certainly looked like the young pegasus was eager to prove them wrong today.

“So how did I do, Rainbow Dash?” The irrepressibly exuberant filly cried. “I pulled off that totally sweet move and caught Cloud KIcker! This has got to be like the best practice session ever!”

“Yeah kid, you did great.” RD patted her on the head. Between two humans it might have seemed like a condescending move but for ponies with their more physical and tactile body language it was much more of a congratulatory gesture. “That was a nice recovery you did there. We might wanna work on your rolls and loops a bit more but you did real good.”

As young Scootaloo almost squee’d herself into another dimension at her hard earned praise, Blossomforth put on a playful pout.

“What about us, boss?” She asked, her bottom lip stuck out as far as it would go, the effect even more comical due to the fact that Blossomforth was easily the most serious minded of the three weathermares present.

“Yeah, yeah, you too.” Rainbow laughed. “Your spotting and calls were totally on the money, Bloss’. Plus I was really impressed with how used that lump of cloud as a club earlier. I mean, wow, smack, right in the kisser. Impressive, these days not many pegasi can solidify a cloud by hoof that fast.”

“Yeah, but it was me she hit with it.” Cloud Kicker pointed out. “Not sure what that taught young Scoots here.”

“I dunno.” Rainbow agreed. “Let’s ask her.”

Rainbow turned to Scoot who was still bobbing up and down at this point.

“Hey, squirt.” She asked. “Did you learn anything from Bloss’ hitting Kicker in the face with a cloud earlier?”

Scootaloo gave it a good bit of thought, making a big show of rubbing her chin with a forehoof while arching an eyebrow in the older mares’ direction.

“How about that Cloud Kicker probably shouldn’t have stuck a snowball under her marefriend’s tail when she thought the rest of us weren’t looking?” The young pegasus offered.

At the news that they’d been spotted horsing around earlier, much of the white pegasus’ face heated to a colour similar to the pink stripes in her mane. Rainbow and Cloud Kicker just burst into fits of laughter, both at Blossomforth’s reaction and at the offhoof manner in which Scoot had let them know that the the two lovebirds weren’t nearly as sneaky as they thought they were.

“Okay.” Rainbow added, trying to hold back another batch of giggles. “Apart from that?”

Scoot pondered the question a bit more, sticking the tip of her tongue out of the side of her mouth in that very human manner that she’d picked up from Lero. Rainbow thought it looked darn cute on either of them.

“You have to use what you have to hoof if you want to win?”

“Yep, got it in one.” Rainbow rubbed Scoot’s head again. “Sometimes you gotta think outside the box if you wanna come out on top, kiddo.”

As all four of them floated gently down to the ground where a collection of bags and scarves were hanging from a low tree branch just waiting for their owners to return, Rainbow motioned towards Blossomforth who was trying (and failing) to look calm and composed. “Better watch her, Kicker. I think she’s after your job.”

Cloud Kicker just snorted at the notion.

“What, as your second in command?” Blossom puffed out her chest and spread her wings wide. “Nah, you got that wrong. I’m after your job, boss. I keep telling you, a few years from now and it’ll be my name on the door to your office.”

“Yeah, right.” Rainbow scoffed whilst wiggling her own wings in Blossom’s direction, answering Blossom’s mock territorial display.

This kind of good natured banter between the two wasn’t an uncommon sight recently; Blossom had made absolutly no attempt to hide the fact that she was working towards heading up her own weatherteam and, while she wouldn't admit it, Rainbow was secretly grooming the young mare as her replacement for the inevitable day when the Wonderbolts finally gave her the call to action.

Of course, this didn't mean she couldn’t tease the life out’a the kid in the meantime though.

“You best polish up your moves then, marefriend. With those lame ass wings you couldn’t outpace my pet turtle.”

All four pegasi waited for the almost inevitable ‘TORTOISE’ to come floating over to them on the winter breeze and were all slightly disappointed when it never came.

“Anyway ladies, when you’re both done posturing, me and Bloss’ have to get going.” Kicker pulled her partner close. “My mom’s coming to town today and I said we’d go meet her at the station. She’s bugging us both about ‘finding a good stallion and raising some grandfoals’ for her. Arrrgh. She’s driving me nuts.”

While Cloud KIcker continued to complain about her mom, Blossomforth and Rainbow’s eyes met briefly, a few unsaid words passing between them. When it came to mothers (and the lack of them) the subject was still something of a sore spot for both of them.

“Hey Kicker, you should really cut her some slack, you know.“ Blossom sighed. “She’s still better than having no mom.”

“Bah, you can have her.” Kicker threw her forehooves in the air in exasperation. “She’s pretty much adopted you by now anyway.”

“That’s true.” Blossom agreed even though she still wasn’t completely sure if it was a good thing or not. “Anyway girls, we’d best get going. If we leave Gusty unattended too long she’ll probably try and set us up again with the first poor unlucky guy that walks past. She caught hold of Thunderlane last time and he’s still not letting me forget it.”

As if called forth by their conversation a train whistle could be heard from the direction of the station, the shrill sound carried so clearly by today’s cold, still air that even a non pegasus would be able to hear it right across town.

“And that’s the train, we’d best go meet mom before she grabs the first free stallion she sees.” Cloud Kicker used her wingtips to grab two scarves from the tree, passing one over to her marefriend while throwing the other around her own neck.

“No worries, thanks for helping out, guys.” Rainbow held out Kicker’s satchel so she could slip her head though the loop. “Just keep your mom away from Lero. He’s got three mares already, he doesn’t need you two as well.”

“Ooooh, I don’t know.” Kicker’s face briefly took on that lecherous expression she used to get whenever she was on the prowl back in the days before Blossomforth came into her life. ”I did see him in a pair of rather tight shorts when he started his ‘swim club’ thing for the schoolkids back in the summer. He’s got a really cute butt for a biped.”

Behind her marefriend, Blossomforth just rolled her eyes.

“Speaking of teaching.” Blossom tried to change the subject while Rainbow was still trying to figure out if Kicker was being serious or not. It was just so hard to tell with her. “Hey, Scootaloo, do you want me to teach you how to play Sky Ball in the spring. I’m a pretty good player. They didn’t call me ‘Roof Attack’ back at the orphanage for nothing!”

“Really?” Scoot gushed. “That would be so awesome. Can I, Rainbow Dash? Huh, huh, can I?”

“It’s cool with me kid.” Rainbow nodded. “But it’s your mom you should be checking with. If she’s good with it then I got no complaints. I’m a preeeetty good player myself so we should see if we can get a proper team together. I know Flitter and Stormwalker used to play, and Derpy before she... well, yeah.”

“Oh, this is gunna be so awesome.” Bounce, bounce, bounce... there was much bouncing. Where did the kid get all this energy? “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

After checking their bags and scarves, Blossomforth and Cloud Kicker gave their farewells and headed off back into town. As the pair disappeared over the treeline Rainbow grabbed her own saddlebags, pulling out an energy drink and cupcake each for both her and her eager (and bouncey) student.

The energy drinks were included for obvious reasons and the cupcakes were a good source of extra sugar energy and not as a sneaky reward for her student’s impressive performance.

No, not at all.

And they certainly didn't have extra icing and chocolate sprinkles either.

As they both sat on a log and ate their cupcakes, Rainbow reaching over to wipe some errant sprinkles (that absolutely positively didn’t exist) from Scoot’s face, the older mare motioned in the direction of Fluttershy’s cottage.

“Flutters’ll be here soon. She’s gunna help us out with slow speed maneuvers. No pony can fly as slow as that mare, not even me, I just don’t have the patience.”

“Why do I have to do it then?” Scoot groused. Flying slowly wasn’t exactly on her list of favourite things, one of many things she shared with her mentor. Scootaloo may have been a late bloomer but there was no way she was going to let that hold her back now.

“Cos flying slow and steady is as important as flying fast and awesome... hey, stop laughing.” Rainbow reached over and gently bopped the laughing filly’s nose. “If you’re gunna be as awesome as me you need to know all the different styles, even the ones that ain’t much fun. Look at all the stuff I’ve had to learn to be in with a shot at the Wonderbolts. At the last round of tryouts they said I almost had it in the bag. So if I work on the bits I’m not so fond of then I’m definitely in with a shot when the next bunch of openings come around in the spring.“

Rainbow remembered the day of the tryouts well. Spitfire’s younger brother, Rapidfire, had come over to her as she was packing up and told her he was impressed with her moves.

An actual Wonderbolt... came to find her... and he liked her moves!

Plus he was one of the hottest stallions she’d ever seen. If she wasn’t a soon-to-be-married-mare she’d have probably melted into a little pool of goo there and then with how hot this guy was.

“Rapidfire said if I can get my cooperative flying down tight and do well on the eggheady stuff like the written and oral exams then he’ll write me a personal recommendation. I gotta practice though, awesome just ain’t enough anymore, I wanna be perfect. If Rapidfire’s gunna be talkin’ me up to his sister then there’s no way in Tartarus I’m gunna let the guy down.”

Rainbow had taken Rapidfire’s advice to heart and had been practicing her flying almost religiously ever since. At least twice a week she’d been dragging Thunderlane and Cloudchaser out over Sweet Apple Acres and running through synchronised flying drill after synchronised flying drill until their wings had been about ready to fall off.

A year ago Rainbow would never have even considered practising her moves with another pony, let alone a ‘competitor’ for a place in the Wonderbolts. But that was then and this was now and with all the hours the three of them had been putting in, supporting and encouraging each other as they went, pushing each other just that tiny bit further with every drill, it looked like all three of them were in with a better chance of making it to the academy than before.

“And you know what they say; practice makes awesome... which I totally am.” Rainbow rubbed her forehoof between Scoot’s ears which the younger mare secretly loved even though she was too much like her hero to admit it out loud. “And it’s you too, kiddo. I can’t believe how good you’ve gotten just in the year since Winsome Falls. You’re almost as good as I was at your age.”

“Almost?” Scoot gave an exaggerated pout much like Blossomforth had done earlier.

“Yeah, almost.” Rainbow laughed, giving the kid a playful slap on the back. “Hey kid, you pull off a sonic rainboom an’ then I’ll say you’re as good as I was. But as only me and one other pony, well technically that was me as well, so okay, only me and another me have done any in the last however many hundred years then you’re gunna have to get up preeetty early to beat ol’ Rainbow Dash.”

Spreading her wings wide she fell forward off of the log and onto all fours, taking a low combat stance as she moved. “And I did one of them carrying Rarity and three sparked out Wonderbolts! Beat that and I will personally crown you ‘Lady Scootaloo, Princess of the Rainbooms’.”

The filly giggled as Rainbow pranced about in the snow, pantomiming a dainty princess receiving her crown, maybe taking a spot of tea as well while she was at it.

“I’ll do one, just you wait and see.” Scoot hopped off of the log to join her hero in the snow. “I’m gunna be totally awesome at it too.” Flapping her wings she ran in circles around her big sis, digging a small trench with her hooves. “And I’m gunna join the Wonderbolts and then you’ll be my captain and we’ll both be totally awesome.”

“Yeah kid, I bet we will.” Rainbow caught the excited filly with her forehooves as she ran past and deftly threw her up in the air, watching as she spiraled back down to the ground again

“Just don’t go doin’ any double rainbooms though. We’re still not totally sure what the hay happened that time I managed to pop a double. Even after Twi got the timeline all snapped back into shape the town still looked pretty messed up. I'm just thankin' Celestia's beard that nothing I broke actually stayed broke.”

Rainbow turned in place, casting her head about as if trying to spot something that might be sneaking up on her unannounced.

“And we still got no idea where the hay that blue thing Pinkie Pie stole went either.”

Satisfied that no... whatever that thing was, was creeping up on her, Rainbow turned back to her student.

“You just gotta belive in yourself, kid. And when you can’t believe in yourself then believe in me, me and your friends, ‘cos we believe in you. And if you do fail...” The cyan pegasus shrugged. “Well, it happens. Just get up and do it again and again and again untill you don't fail.”

Rainbow twisted so she could point a forehoof back in the direction of town, more specifically the direction of the schoolhouse.

“Remember those dumb bullies that told you you’d never fly, well look at you now. They said you’d never get your Cutie Mark and look what you got.”

Scoot twisted her own body to take in her cutie mark; a hoop made up of roaring flames with a golden lightning bolt passing through the middle of it. She’d only had it a few months now and it was still her pride and joy.

When Apple Bloom had received her mark first of all the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had been so sure that the days of the CMC were over and that their earth pony friend would leave them behind.

Their fears had soon turned out to be unwarranted when Apple Bloom had turned up at the clubhouse bright and early the following morning ready for their next great adventure in crusading. That day they’d sworn that no matter what happened in the future, cutie marks or not, the Cutie mark Crusaders were forever.

“It is pretty awesome.” Scoot rubbed at her cutie mark as if to check that it was real, as if one small part of her still couldn’t accept the fact that she finally had a mark of her very own. “I didn’t get it on my own though. Lero helped, I might not have got it at all without him to help me.”

“Well, maybe he did help, but it was you who earned it.” Rainbow poked Scoot’s cutie mark with her own forehoof to help get her point across. “Just like he helped Bloom and Sweetie get their marks too. He’s pretty cool like that.”

“Hey, maybe that’s his special talent, helping other ponies earn their cutie marks.” Scoot’s bouncing had returned with such enthusiasm that she managed to bounce herself clear off the ground permanently and ended up hovering next to Rainbow’s head. “Maybe he doesn’t have a cutie mark because if he did then he’d have like ALL the cutie marks and he just doesn’t have enough room for them all.”

Rainbow laughed at the idea, not because it was silly or childish but because of how great it’d be it that turned out to really be the case.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right kid. Hey, that reminds me, Lero wanted to know if you and your mom fancied coming over this saturday. He’s gunna try teaching Twi how to make that Pasta Carbonara thing with the prawns that you like.”

Scoot clapped her forehooves together at the thought of Lero’s cooking. He always made an effort to include seafood on the menu when he knew she’d be visiting as he knew she didn’t often get it at home.

“Great, I'll ask mom if we can come.” The youngster replied happily. “She doesn't get out much these days, what with all the snow and stuff.”

While the majority of the town’s resident were earth ponies there were a growing number of unicorns and pegasi who’d made Ponyville their home. Scoot’s mother, Quickfix, was one of the town’s number of ‘grounded’ pegasi. She’d arrived in town just over three years ago with her daughter and had soon found her place as the town’s mechanic.

Unfortunately it seemed she’d also found her place as Berry Punch’s main customer.

“So... how’s your mom?” Tact wasn’t exactly Rainbow’s strongpoint so she just came straight out with it. “She still.... er, she still drinkin’?”

“Yeah. But she’s not as bad as she was though.” Scoot kicked at the ground with a forehoof sending a spray of snow quite an impressive distance. “She has good days an’ bad days but she’s getting better. I think you helping me fly’s helpin’. She hates being off the ground, hates flying. She don't want me to see it but it’s pretty obvious. Even when she could get from one side of the workshop to the other with just a couple of flaps she’ll still walk all the way around rather than fly.”

“So, she’s doin’ okay then?” Rainbow wasn’t great at being sympathetic but damn if she wasn't going to give it a go. “You want me to come talk to her or anything? See if she needs anything?”

“Yeah, she’s good, she’s...” Scoot hung her head, not wanting to look her her mentor in the eye.

“No, no she’s not. Since dad died she’s just not been like she was when we lived with the herd. Now she won’t talk to the rest of them and since she moved us both here she won’t even let me see them any more. I think she thinks they don’t like her.”

Scoot shrugged, kicking at the snow some more before lifting her head and catching Rainbow’s eye. Her own eyes held so much pain, so much going on in her life that she didn’t understand or felt utterly powerless to do anything about. It was times like this that Rainbow felt the need to pull the girl into a tight hug.

So she did.

“She’s proud of me though, learning to fly so well in such a short time.” The filly sniffled from within the older mare’s embrace, large blue wings wrapped around her in an attempt to shield her from stark reality of the world, even if only for a few moments. ”She just... she just don’t want to fly herself. I dunno, I think it reminds her of dad too much.”

Scoot had shown Rainbow a picture of her departed father some months ago, a picture she’d had to smuggle out of her house when her mother hadn’t been looking.

Cannonball, for that had been his name, had been a fine figure of a stallion. A tall, lean pegasus with not an extra unnecessary ounce of body fat to his frame, he gave the impression he didn’t even need his wings to outpace even the fastest of Cloudsdale’s flyers and would instead just use his runner’s build to sprint past without even leaving the ground.

Lero had taken one look at his picture, at his sleek build, at his bright yellow coat and silver mane, and declared the guy to look like a “drag strip racer with wings”. Rainbow wasn’t sure what the hay that meant but it certainly sounded about right.

A veteran flyer with the Border Guard, he’d been part way through a tour of duty along the Neighagra Falls some years before when a rather nasty and unplanned storm had touched down along his patrol route.

His patrol partner had spotted an earth pony mare and her foal trapped by the rampaging waters of a swollen river and when they’d tried to pull the pair to safety they’d been taken by surprise by a large amount of debris which had been carried downriver from an accident further upstream.

Both the mare and foal had survived, both scared and shaken but thankfully still in one piece. His partner had lost an eye to a large piece of wood which had essentially ended her career. Unfortunately Cannonball had lost his life.

Not long after the news had made its way back to his herd, Quickfix had packed her bags, grabbed her daughter and left home, eventually ending up here in Ponyville. And as always, Ponyville’s ever active rumour mill had churned out tale after tale, each more scandalous (or just plain dumb) than the last.

One popular story doing the rounds was that the herd’s lead mare had not exactly held Quickfix and her daughter in high regard; another that the herd’s second stallion had ‘inappropriate’ designs on both mother and daughter prompting the mare to flee in the dead of night. Either way, the only thing Quickfix confided in these days was the bottom of a cider mug and the only places she tended to be found were her workshop, Berry Punch’s ‘Good Time Store’ or Frosty Mug’s bar.

Keeping her wings wrapped tight around the young pegasus, Rainbow (not for the first time) felt that there must be more that she could do, that there had to be something she could say, some action she could take, which would help out somehow.

“Hey kid, I know it’s not much but I something that’ll cheer you up.” Rainbow released Scootaloo from her wings and motioned for the youngster to move with her back to their waiting gear.

Patting a log for Scoot to sit on one forehoof while she reached into her saddlebag with the other. “I want you to have these.”

Lifting her hoof from the bag she held out a pair of flight goggles. They were obviously old and well loved, showing signs of both heavy use and great care. The headband was clean and tight, the glass lenses were still crystal clear and undamaged and the gold framework still shone as if they were sitting in a showroom even with the occasional nick and ding in the metalwork.

Scootaloo reached out and gingerly took the proffered eyewear. She wasn't used to being given gifts so was understandably nervous about how to react. Staring in wonder, Scoot turned them over in her forehooves before holding them up to the sky and peering through the lenses.

“Lyra got me a new pair for my birthday, the upgraded model and everything.” The older mare motioned to the goggles currently resting on her forehead. Were it not for the fact they they we obviously newer than the set in her friend’s hooves then they could almost be mistaken for the same pair. “I think she noticed that yours were going to be getting too small for you pretty soon.”

“I bought these with my first coupla’ pay packets when I moved to ponyville.” Rainbow laughed. “Think I might have spent a bit more than I could afford on them actually. Doesn’t matter though, they’ve been good friends to me over the years and now I’d like you to have them.”

“I... Wow, thank you.” Scoot turned the goggles over in her hooves again, the maker’s logo catching the winter sun as she did so.

“Wow.“ she stuttered. “These are Cart-Zeiss. They must have cost a bomb.”

Scoot almost couldn't believe her eyes. When it came to flight goggles then Cart-Zeiss were like the best of the best. She looked up at her mentor, a touch of suspicion in her eyes.

“Just how much is the Weather Bureau paying you anyway?” While she wouldn't come out and say it directly, she wanted Rainbow to know that even a filly as young as her knew how much these would have cost. “And how can I get some of that sweet action?”

Rainbow laughed, she did that a lot around the younger pegasus these days. “Just wow ‘em with ya awesomeness, kid. Worked for me. They ended up just throwing bits at me when they saw how much of a kickass weathermare I was.”

This wasn't strictly true. Rainbow had put herself in debt for those goggles back in the day, to the point where she’d hardly had enough to eat for a couple of months. She’d wanted to prove to herself that she was serious about getting into the Wonderbolts and that she wasn't going to be just a weathermare the rest of her life. ‘Gotta put ya money where ya mouth is’ her dad had always told her. If it hadn’t been for Fluttershy coincidently dropping by on a regular basis with suspiciously large amounts of ‘leftovers’ she’d probably have starved to death within a month.

Lifting her old (and admittedly quite tight) goggles from her head, Scoot slipped her new gift over her ears, letting the frames sit on her nose. It was easy to see that they were too large for her - though not by much - and she grinned like a loon nonetheless.

“Hey, you’ll grow into them.” Rainbow ruffled Scoot’s mane. “You look after them and they’ll look after you.

“I will, sis.” Scoot tilted her head into the larger pegasus’ hoof. “I’ll make you proud of me, just you wait and see.”

“I know you will.” Rainbow moved her forehoof to the filly’s nose and gave it a playful bop. “You got me as a big sister, how could you be anything but awesome?”

If there was one thing Rainbow had learnt from the time she’d been spending with the orange filly over the last year, it was this:

Being a big sister rocked.

“Come on kid, let’s see if we can get a few more of those awesome moves in before Fluttershy gets here.”

*******************

After about half an hour of practicing an astoundingly large number of types of emergency stops (which were totally essential to get the hang of if you didn’t want to spend half your time flying into the side of a library... tree, Rainbow totally meant into the side of a tree) the poly-chromatically maned speedster spotted her stallion making his way across the vast white field, slowly trudging his way towards them through the snow.

Lero was wearing a large woolen greatcoat in olive green with matching gloves that Rarity had insisted on making for him once she had heard that this winter was scheduled to be a harsh one. A thick wooly hat in mint green (horn knitted by Lyra) and long thick denim trousers tucked into a stout pair of walking boots completed the ensemble.

“Hey, it’s Lero.” Waving to grab Scoot’s attention she pointed down towards the ground. Once her young friend had spotted the newcomer, Rainbow put her forehooves up to her mouth.

“Hey, big guy.” She shouted, her call echoing loud enough around the area that it hadn’t needed any help to reach the human’s ears. Pegasi were naturally good at projecting their voices... at a thousand feet up you needed to be.

As he came closer, Lero cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted up at them “Hey, girls. Say, umm, could you both come down here a second, I really need to talk to you.”

At his call the two floated down to the ground, the soft snow crunching under their hooves as they touched down, Scoot pulling off a (rare) perfect landing with each hoof making gentle contact with the ground one after the other. Her hero’s stallion was one heck of a guy and she hated to make any silly mistakes around him if she could help it.

After pulling both of his gloves off and shoving them in a pocket of his coat, the tall human crouched down and put one of his large hands on Scoot’s shoulder. It was only now that Rainbow could see just how upset her stallion looked; the deliberate set of his jaw, the subtle tightening of the skin around his eyes that meant he wasn’t a happy man but was trying his best to hide it.

“Scoot, I've got some bad news. I, err, I just came from Town Hall. Mayor Mare asked me to come find you... there’s been an incident, over by the train station.” Lero said, his voice even and calm, making sure to keep the young pegasus’ eyes on him the whole time. By now he definitely had her full attention though Rainbow could tell that he was struggling with whatever it was he had to say.

“Scoot, it’s your mother, she’s had an accident.”

Taking a deep breath Lero looked like he’d just resigned himself to coming out with what he had to say directly, no more beating around the bush.

“I’m so sorry to have to tell you this, honey, but I’m afraid your mom’s dead.”

In the still of the cold winter’s morn, Rainbow was sure she could actually hear the very moment her young friend’s world fell apart.

23: Today's The Day - by PhucknuckL

Today’s The Day by PhucknuckL (Meddling and interference by TheQuietMan)
Chapter published 23rd Sept 2014

*************

She awoke free from a hangover for the first time in years. The fear she had felt the previous evening that her plans would be discovered in her dreams by Princess Luna seemed to have been for naught.

Drawing back the the curtains she soaked in the sight of the freshly fallen snow that blanketed the sleepy town of Ponyville. The light grey skies and dreary vista - its usual vibrant colours cloaked in a sea of uniform white - could do little to hamper the high spirits of this pony. Turning from the window, she took in the dismal condition of the small bedroom.

Would you look at the state of this place?

Quietly padding over to the door, she exited the room and sought out some cleaning supplies; the search taking longer than expected when she realised she had no idea where even the broom was kept.

How long has it been since I actually cleaned this place?

She was a moment away from waking her daughter to help her find her erstwhile domestic tools when she discovered them hiding in the kitchen pantry. As she gathered them up in crowded hooves, she couldn’t help but notice that their food stocks were shockingly low.

I’m sure I bought more than that for the winter.

She tried to recall what goods she had purchased to see her family through the winter, the recollections failing to surface through the mostly drunken haze that was her memories.

Oh well, one thing at a time, she mused to herself as she set about cleaning the small cottage she shared with her only daughter. Careful not to wake the sleeping filly she cleared out the seemingly endless amount of empty bottles, formerly filled with cheap but potent wine from Berry Punch’s store. She’d never really liked the stuff, but the mental fugue it brought on helped her get past the bitter taste- less bitter than the tears that it had helped to keep at bay at least.

She cleared the house of clutter with barely a chink of glass; then swept, scrubbed and polished every surface. Pretty soon she could stand back and survey the spotless cottage; the house hadn’t ever been this clean since they’d moved in over five years ago.

“A bit early for spring cleaning isn’t it, Mom?” a sleepy voice mumbled from behind the exhausted mare. Startled out of the moment of quiet contentment she spun to face the young filly.

“Ahh… I’m sorry, did I wake you? Can I, ahh… cook you some breakfast?”

The small hoof that was until a second ago rubbing sleep from half closed eyes froze and slowly lowered to the floor. “What?” squeaked the little pony.

“Can I cook you some breakfast?”

A look of confusion flashed across of her daughter’s face as her young, sleep-addled brain tried to comprehend the question she had never, ever heard coming from her mother before.

“I… ahh guess so,” the filly answered hesitantly as she trotted into the kitchen ahead of her mother. Rounding the kitchen bench she grabbed one of the two mismatched stools that were resting upside down on the countertop - a result of the cleaning frenzy that had gripped her mother this morning - and gingerly placed it on the gleaming floor. As she sat herself on the low stool, her mother paced back and forward behind her.

“Mom, what’s going on?” the young filly asked without turning around.

The older mare grimaced to herself. “I don’t know what you like,” she admitted as she checked the mostly empty fridge for the third time.

“Just some toast will be fine” the filly said, knowing full well that that was pretty much the only food her mother would be able to offer.

The mare closed the fridge, opened the freezer and grabbed a frozen loaf of bread. Pulling out two slices she placed them on the counter in a little tent shape before returning the rest of the loaf back to the freezer. Leaving the bread slices to defrost she lit the the stove before clopping around the bench. Placing the other stool onto the kitchen floor, she took a seat. Large violet eyes stared at her from across the table.

“Mom, seriously, what’s going on? Are you drunk already?”

“NO,” the mare snapped back. “I haven’t touched a drink for two days.”

As the teenage filly visibly cringed at her mother’s sharp - and somewhat dubious - reply, the older hung her head, unable to meet the disbelieving yet questioning gaze of her daughter. After a long awkward silence the mare whispered.

“I’m going to see somepony today.”

“Who?”

“Somepony I haven’t seen in a long time.”

“Who?”

The mare smiled as she lifted her face to the younger pony.

“Somepony that made me happy.”

“Do I know them?”

“Yes.”

“Can I come with you?”

“Not yet, my little pony. I’m sure you see them eventually, but not today.”

“Well, who is it?” the filly pleaded in exasperation. Her mother just sat in silence, lowering her head.

“BAH… You’re impossible,” the filly threw her front hooves in the air, noisily shoved her stool out from the bench, and stormed towards the front door. After donning her scarf and beanie from the coat-rack beside the doorway, she spun on the spot, bucked the door open and stomped out into the snow. Placing one rear hoof against the door she called out, “I’M GONNA GO SEE RA-” the rest of her statement was cut off by the slamming door.

For long minutes silence reigned all across the cottage, save for the rhythmic ticking of the small cottage’s only working clock.

“You forgot your breakfast” the mare eventually said to the otherwise deserted kitchen counter, one lonely tear rolling along her muzzle and falling down onto the bench top.

After staring at the single tear until it had evaporated away, she calmly stood up, turned off the stove and pushed her daughter’s stool back against the bench. Rummaging around for some stationary, she pulled some parchment and an unused inkwell from one of the cupboards. Popping the cap she sat down to write a letter.

*************

Screwing up her fifth piece of parchment in frustration and tossing it into the bin, the mare just sat there, staring at her last piece, hoping something inspirational would come to mind.

The silence was marred by the insistent ticking of the old clock on the wall. She glanced up at the intruder to her thoughts and noticed the time. She was going to be late.

After scribbling a single line onto the paper, she folded it once and shoved it into an envelope.

Grabbing the letter in her mouth, she swept the two now limp slices of bread off of the countertop and into the bin with her tail and made for the door. She opened the door and stepped out into the brisk air, pausing briefly before closing the door

“She’ll be fine, she’s a big girl now... a teenager... and she has friends,” she whispered to the empty house.

************

Lero swung the axe with gusto, again and again and again. His muscles burned and his back ached but he felt good.

Twilight could have easily reduced the entire wood pile to tinder in seconds but Lero had argued that he liked the exertion, the feel of the axe striking home, the pieces cartwheeling off in opposite directions. In a land of pastel ponies it made him feel manly.

Judging by the mint green and lavender faces fogging up the window in the library, it must have looked pretty manly too.

Feeling a bit uncomfortable with the amount of heat his muscles were generating, he slipped off his jacket. Steam rose from the broad back and shoulders of his thick shirt as he hung his heavy, olive-green coat on the branch of a small tree just off to his side.

He grabbed another log, placed it on the block and grunted as he took another swing. The small log was split in two.

The window got hazier.

It was probably due to the poor visibility granted by the steamed up window that both of the not-at-all-subtly-ogling mares failed to notice an older mare surreptitiously slip an envelope into one of the pockets of Lero’s coat. As the pegasus turned and swiftly trotted away, the sound of her hoof-falls were silenced by the snow.

*************

The mare broke into to a gallop as she approached the train station. She was not going to be late, she promised herself yesterday she was not going to be late. Her breath puffed out into clouds around her face, the fog rolling away from her eyes as she ran.

*************

Draping his lengthy great-coat across his shoulders, Lero gathered up the wood from around his feet and carried it into the home he shared with his wives. The two mares that were at home watched him drop his offerings next to the fireplace where they formed a decently sized pile. A single loose log bounced across the fireside rug and the human leant down, plucking it from where it had come to rest, before casually tossing it onto the fire in one long, fluid motion.

Under twin lustful gazes Lero walked over to the front door and hung his coat on the hook beside the door, only then did he notice the envelope sticking out of the pocket. Frowning to himself he pulled it out, turning it over in his hands. All it had was ‘Lero / Rainbow Dash’ scrawled across the front.

Dash had left early this morning for an impromptu flight training session with a Scootaloo, taking two of the mares from her weather team with her, and wasn’t due home any time soon. Rather than waiting Lero tore open the envelope and read the letter within.

*************

She was going to be late, the train was almost here and she was going to be late.

She couldn’t be late, she'd promised that she wouldn’t be late.

She did something she hadn’t done for years- she spread her wings and took to the sky.

She was not going to be late, not today.

I’m coming my love. I said I wouldn’t be late.

**************

The squeal of brakes from the midday train could be heard for miles around in the still, crisp air of the cold winter’s day. By the time the engineers had realised what was happening, it had been too late to avoid the inevitable. They had tried - by Celestia how they had tried - but today the fates had not been on their side.

**************

Four words - four little words and nothing more - stared back at Lero from the otherwise blank parchment.

Take care of her.

As the human read and re-read the words over and over and over again, somepony knocked at his door.

Author's Note

PhucknuckL’s notes:
• Now, I'm not a highly educated man. I didn't even finish high school until two years ago, I'm 37
• I live in a small community in outback Northern Australia that has a high rate of alcoholism and a higher than average suicide rate.
• If someone you know that is usually in a state of depression suddenly changes their lifestyle for the better, e.g; gives up drinking, cleans their dwelling and gives away a few possessions. This could be a warning sign they have made the decision to finally end is all.
• They can actually seem quite happy. The knowledge that all their problems will soon be over can really lift their spirits.
• I Lost a very good friend last year (2013), because I didn't recognize these signs, I honestly believed he had finally turned his life around.
• If anyone you know displays these symptoms talk to them, let them know they have mates, let them know it’s not the only way.
• Sorry for the community service announcement but I had to get this off my chest

You have mates, PhucknuckL

TQM’s notes:
PhucknuckL sent me this the other day, asking if it could be a Oneshot. So, I read it, I read it again, I read it a third time.... then I emailed him back and asked if it could be a guest chapter instead. A bit of tweaking later and here it is.
Plus:

24: Stepping outside she is free.

Stepping outside she is free.
Chapter published 28th Sept 2014

******************

Summer 1209AC
Flyby Street Low Cost Housing Park
Outskirts of Cloudsdale

Pushing the small cloud that made up her bed to one side, Rainbow reached into the crack between the once fluffy furniture and the wall, forehoof searching for what she hoped, prayed, was still where she’d left it. After a few seconds of rising panic, the grasping limb caught on the edge of a small wooden box. A couple of frantic pulling motions later and the box flipped free from behind the slab of cloud and out onto the threadbare rug by her knees.

Lifting the box, she ran a forehoof over its surface, reveling in the feel of the ancient wood and its intricate carvings. A small piece of inlaid gold - crafted into a stylised sun with a hoof-full of radiating arms - glinted in what little pre-dawn light came in from the window as she freed the latch and slowly lifted the lid.

Nestled inside the box - just as they had been the last time she had checked, and the time before, and the time before that - were all but one of every primary feather she’d ever lost since reaching adulthood. There were only a few, she was still only seventeen after all, and they barely covered the bottom of the small box, but she counted them anyway, just to be sure. Satisfied they were all present and correct she gently closed the lid, making especially sure that the latch was fastened again properly.

The box was old - a gift from Fluttershy’s mother, which had once belonged to her own mother, and was probably older than both of them combined - and the lid had a habit of popping on on its own if it wasn’t fasten just-so.

Since Morning Glory had given her the box Dash had been careful to save each of her primaries and store them away for prosperity. It was an old tradition, and Dash wasn't even sure why she did it, but for some reason she felt better knowing that these little parts of her, parts that otherwise could be so easily lost, were kept safe and secure.

Well, except that one she’d lost in a last month’s big storm. She’d watched it dart away on a particularly strong gust of wind and, with no way to abandon her post without letting the storm cloud that she was frantically trying to hold back break free, she had had to let it go. It was a shame that it was gone, and she still felt a little tinge of... something... as she thought about it out there somewhere, all alone in the world, but she had the others and that’s what mattered.

Tucking the box into her battered old saddlebags, making sure that it ended up right the way down at the bottom with no way to escape, she cast about the room for anything else she might want to take with her. As her eyes moved over the sparsely furnished room - more of a large closet really, with just its bed, desk and wardrobe, all of which had seen far better days - she sighed at just how sad her little collection of material possessions were.

Her gaze moved from her old and faded Wonderbolts posters, to the ragged old pennant from Cloudsdale’s failed bid to host the Equestria games, then up to the broken old clock high on the wall. The clock’s one remaining hand was telling her that dawn would be coming soon but that if she wanted to know what exact minute past the hour it finally arrived then she was well out of luck. It was ten to the hour, she knew without needing the broken minute hand to tell her that. She’d had plenty of practice judging the time just from the hour hand and had become quite the expert at it.

After stuffing what little paperwork and the few personal letters she had to her name into her bags, she grabbed the only other thing she was bothered about keeping- an old and battered pair of flight goggles that one of her dad’s many ‘marefriends’ had left behind years ago. There was a tiny crack forming at the edge of one lens and the headband had been repaired so often that there was almost nothing of the original band left, but they did the trick and had served her well since she’d managed to snag a job at the weather bureau after dropping out of flight school. Hey, it wasn’t like they were the newest model from Oaktree or Cart Zeiss or anything but they were hers- they’d stuck with her and never let her down and that meant a lot.

Hooking the band around the back of her head she eased the goggles into position across her forehead, quietly sucking air in through her teeth as the metal frames pushed against the tender area around her left eyebrow. At least the bruising around her eye was better than it had been yesterday, she hadn't even been able to get her goggles on at all then, not with the way it had hurt. But the pain was good- it reminded her of what she was doing, and why.

Fastening her near empty saddlebags over her back, she crept out of her room into the main part of the house. Well, to call it a house was being generous... in truth it was more of a dilapidated three room shack. The house was old... really old. Originally put up as temporary housing for construction workers from when the nearby cloud processing plant had first been built, it had been dumped here on Flyby Street, along with others like it, long before Rainbow had been born. For as long as she could remember it had been slowly falling apart, its owner just too bone idle to be that bothered with its upkeep.

Looking around, Rainbow tried to imagine somepony walking in here for the first time, seeing the squalid conditions with fresh eyes. By Celestia, it was a craphole... no wonder mom had turned tail and fled years ago. The outer walls had been badly patched over many times where its cloudy structure had started to decondense, its inner walls stained with years of dirt and scuffs, the floors uneven and troughed from hoof-falls, the ceilings wearing thin in more places than she could count.

Eyes catching on the window in the kitchenette, Rainbow remembered falling out of the small, high opening back when she'd first been learning to fly. One of the many mares that had come and gone over the years had found her at the front door hours later, trying to get back in. What was her name again?

Fancy... Fancy... Fancy Flight, that was it. Of all of Dad’s so called marefriends, she was one of the few that Rainbow had been sorry to see go, one of the few that had actually seemed to care about her, even if it was only a little... and certainly not enough to take her with her when she left.

If only Fancy Flight’d stayed and Dad had gone instead, life would have been so much better all round.

So, yeah... this house was pathetic. Cheaply built, badly maintained... it was so far from awesome that it was a waste of energy to even count the ways.

But Rainbow was going to do better, once she got out of here. She was going to have a huge house... no, a mansion, a massive thing all on its own, away from this cramped little cloud-park.

She was gunna have a huge patch of sky all to herself. It'd be a huge place, cloud-spanning, with more bedrooms than she needed, and they’d all be huge too, with massive windows for all the picture perfect views... and there’d be a waterfall, a rainbow waterfall, no, there’d be two of them. It’d be epic and she’d build it all herself with her own two hoofs.

So, yeah, she’d be the only one to see it but dammit if she was going to spend the rest of her life alone then by heck she was going to do it in comfort.

A grunt came from the couch, an old threadbare thing with exposed springs, that had been dragged home from some streetcorner years ago. Rainbow’s eyes moved to its occupant, brows furrowing in a way that made her eyebrow ache again where her goggles pressed against it.

Her... father, if you could even call him that, rolled over in his sleep, an empty bottle of hard cider falling from his chest and down to the floor where it was reunited with at least half a dozen of its fallen brothers and sisters.

He wasn't going to wake up anytime soon, not with the amount of booze he went through.

Rolling one of the bottles over, Rainbow checked the label. Well, at least he was splashing out on a better brand of poison these days. Nice to see that her hard earned bits weren't being wasted on the cheap stuff.

Spreading his rear legs wide, the sleeping stallion reached down and scratched at his sheath before letting his fore-leg hang off the edge of the dilapidated sofa. A loud fart signaled to the world that he was all done with all this strenuous activity for the next hour or two, the snores sending a follow up report concerning his more immediate plans.

So, there he was... daddy dearest- Storm Front; layabout, scrounger, former construction worker and now stallion of negotiable affection.

Negotiable? ‘Dirt cheap’ more like.

Father? Not likely... this wasn’t a father. If she was an accident, as he’d told her many times, over and over and over again, then this here was the sperm donor, nothing more. And not even a very good one at that, with the amount he’d been putting it about then Rainbow should have had a lot more half brothers and sisters out there than she did. Not that she wanted any more... the ones she had were quite annoying enough as it was.

No, Fluttershy’s dad, now that was a father. Why couldn’t Storm Front have been more like Champagne Supernova? So noble and gentle, polite and caring, patient and smart... not at all like this bucking tail biter.

No, Shy’s dad was a hard worker, even though he had a family fortune and three mares to support him. He still insisted on working hard every day; such a craftsman, so dedicated to his work, so good with cloud structures. The time he’d spent teaching Rainbow - a filly that wasn’t even one of his own herd’s foals - to work clouds the old fashioned way, to create awesome rainbows using just her hooves, to control lightning to the point that she could carve her name in the clouds with it.

And okay, so Rainbow might have developed a bit of a teeny-tiny crush on the guy... but hey, she was a grown mare wasn’t she? Even if nothing was ever going to come of it - of the mature, handsome stallion and his daughter’s ugly friend - but a girl could have idle dreams couldn’t she?

But this guy? This lazy good-for-nothing? All he’d ever taught her was how to fetch another cider from the fridge and - if she’d been really lucky and he was in a bad mood - how to duck the emptys afterwards. And then, for all that he’d wanted her out of the house - always telling her that she’d never amount to anything, always complaining that she was under his hooves all the time even though she was hardly ever there - he’d been notably displeased, even more than usual if that was even possible, when she’d managed to land a trainee job with the local weather bureau.

It wasn't the best job in Equestria, Rainbow'd freely admit that, but it was the best she could get after she’d dropped out of flight school. She’d barely scraped through on the written test but once she’d wowed the interviewer with both her enthusiasm and what she could do with her hooves - thanks to Champagne Supernova no less - they’d agreed to give her a chance, one that she’d grabbed with all four hooves like a mare possessed.

But dad... well, Rainbow doubted that anything short of saving the world would impress him.

He’d taken a liking to all the extra bits coming into the house though, meeting her at the weather office gates every payday so he could relieve her of her wage packet. ‘Back rent’ he’d called it, reeling off a long list of everything he’d had to sacrifice year after year just to keep a roof over her head, all the suffering he’d had to endure, the years he’d invested in her upbringing.

Ha, ‘upbringing’? What upbringing? Every chance he’d got he’d pushed her off on whatever mare was stupid enough to stick around long enough. This ‘roof over her head’? Rainbow could make a better roof than this sorry excuse for a cloud structure in her sleep.

Moving around the couch, using the snores to gauge the chances of her father waking up - fat chance of that - Rainbow pulled a large jar from where it was (badly) hidden under an old stool. Lifting the lid, she was dismayed to find that it was almost empty, nothing at its bottom but a hoof-full of bits.

It couldn’t be! Just two days ago this jar had contained her entire month’s wage packet... he couldn't have spent it all in just two days... could he?

Yes, it looked like he could, especially if the racing slips scattered around the floor were to be believed.

Well, this was it - Rainbow dropped the jar back into its hidey hole - so maybe she was stupid, and ugly, and a freak. And maybe no stallion was ever going to love her, and hold her, and tell her he would be hers for ever... but buck it, she still deserved better than this. If he wanted payment for all his sacrifices, all his suffering and hardships, well-

This.

Was.

It!

Debt repaid!

Moving back around the couch, she walked to the front door, the reassuring half weight of her saddlebacks resting on her back. Grabbing the door handle with a wingtip she pulled, opening the way forward- no more obstacles, no more waiting.

Fluttershy had been writing her for months now, ever since she’d moved to Ponyville, begging Rainbow to come live with her. Rainbow had always refused, saying there was too much in Cloudsdale for her, that she couldn’t leave her job, that she’d never be able to live on the ground like some kind of lame earth pony.

In truth, Rainbow had been telling herself that she had to make a stand, that she had to stick it out... but really she’d just been afraid.. afraid to leave... afraid to be on her own... afraid that her dad might have been right.

But finally - after Fluttershy had gotten her an interview with Ponyville’s weather control supervisor, and with a good word thrown in from her own supervisor - she’d been offered a place away from Cloudsdale... away from here... away from him.

It was only a junior position, and a part time one at that, but it was enough.

She.

Was.

Out.

Of.

Here.

Hooves hesitated at the threshold, even though they were aching to carry her away...

...but she couldn’t move. Not yet.

Stepping away from door, she walked back through the house, coming up short just in front of her father’s room.

With determination she strode into the room, swinging the door closed behind her. Taking a few deep breaths, her back to the door itself, she turned slowly, watching the dirty old riding crop slowly swinging on its hook.

Reaching out, she pulled it down, holding it in her wingtips.

The dirty brown leather felt... greasy against her feathers, almost alive.. like if she held it too long it would turn on her and bite.

Turning in place, holding the crop tightly, she pulled back her wing before flicking it as hard as she could.

The crop sailed out of the bedroom window, out over the edge of Flyby Street and way out into the sky beyond where it could drop down onto the ground far below for all Rainbow cared.

Pulling the bedroom door open again, she strode across the main room and straight out of the open door. Without looking back she spread her wings and took off.

For the first time in her life, she was truly free.

***************

December 1216AC
Clydesdale Lane
Ponyville

Rainbow... Rainbow... RAINBOW?

Eh? Yeah? What?

You okay?

Yeah, Yeah, I’m good, big guy.

You sure?

Yeah, just thinking.

About anything in particular?

What it was like... leaving home.

Oh. Want to talk about it?

Nah, not again, not right now anyway. Thanks though.

No problem, Dashie. Say, could you hold that piece straight out like this? This cloud-weaving spell’s about to die and I’m almost finished on the girls’ new mailbox.

No problems, here you go.

Thanks.

...

There. That’s it: one fully-finished newly-converted cloud-house, all ready for its new herd.

Cool. Looks good.

....

So, you think she’ll be ok?

Hmm, Scoots? Yeah, she’ll be ok. It’ll be tough, no doubt about that, but she’s got her friends-

- her ’herd’ now.

Ha, yeah. That’s gunna take some getting used to. But yeah, she’s got her herd, and her other friends at school, and she’s got us just across the street.

True. Still, you sure about this... giving up your house I mean?

Well, I figured, ‘why not’? Not like I need it anymore.

I know; but it’s... it’s your home, you know. It’s yours, you spent years building it up from nothing.

Yep. Took a long time to get it this awesome. But, it’s just a thing, just a pile of clouds really. I don’t need it anymore ‘cos I got you instead. Home’s, ya know, wherever you are, and that’s where I want to be.

Aaah- you soppy thing.

Yeah, but don’t tell anypony. It’d ruin my reputation.

Secret’s safe with me.

...

....

Big guy?

Yeah?

I love you.

I know, Dash. And I love you too.

Author's Note

Yes, typos etc. Yadda yadda. They happen, get over it.

25: Finally I've found that I belong here.

Finally I've found that I belong here.
Chapter published 24th Nov 2013

*******************

Late December AC 1216

The delicate chime of a fine china cup reuniting with its saucer rang around the small kitchen of Bon Bon’s cottage as the confectioner set down her now empty cup.

“It feels like the end of era, you know?” The cream coloured mare said as she glanced over to her companion.

“Hmm?” the minty unicorn seated beside her replied. Or rather non-replied, in that often annoyingly non-committal way of hers.

“I guess this makes it all official then.” the earth pony continued, taking in the sorry sight of what was left of the small cake they had been sharing. Partaking in tea and cake - what a splendid way to share an afternoon with a friend.

“I guess it does.” Lyra agreed, gently setting her own tea cup down onto its saucer. While her telekinesis would allow her to swing the cup around the room with ease, whenever it was just her and Bon Bon together the unicorn would restrict herself to using only her hooves in deference to her earth pony friend.

“Is that the last of them?” Bon Bon asked, motioning to the set of saddlebags sitting by the front door - the dirty old fabric, its original pink and white colouring now just a faded memory, showed years of extensive use and loving repair. Resting at the side of the ancient baggage sat a trio of harps of various sizes and ages.

“Yes, that’ll be everything moved out.” Lyra was finding it hard to look her friend in the eye, instead staring intently at the tea leaves scattered around the bottom of her cup with an intensity that would make Madame Pinkie proud.

Reaching across the table, Bon Bon placed a single forehoof across her friends pair, crossed as they were at the ankle.

“You couldn’t leave them here forever you know,” the earth pony said gently, “You know where you belong, so it’s time to take the plunge and do it for real. You’ve been pretty much living with your herd full time for months now, it’s time to take the last of your things and make a statement.”

Lyra nodded her agreement, but said nothing for the moment.

“I know, you’re right,” the unicorn said eventually, “I should have cleared out my stuff a long time ago. I mean, I’ve been herding for over a year now. If it wasn’t going to work out we’d have known by now, right? I just liked having some of my stuff still here I guess. It made me feel like, I don’t know, maybe that part of me still lived here.”

Bon Bon patted her friend’s forehoof. “What was it auntie Sakura used to say about crossing rivers?” she asked.

“‘Pony that refuses to put all four hooves on same side of stream never going to get across...’“ the unicorn quoted in response.

“‘...And eventually just fall in’.” Bon Bon finished. “Look, I know when you're nervous. Even now I’m probably the only pony in Ponyville that can tell how you're really feeling.”

Turning to look at her, enigmatic smile number seventeen firmly in place, Lyra caught the earth pony’s eye.

“And don’t try giving me those enigmatic looks, my dear,” Bon Bon added, “how long we been friends now? I know you, Lyra Heartstrings, or as much as any pony can.”

Lyra turned her attention back to her cup, toying with the fine china with her magic. Her enigmatic expression had about as much effect on the crockery as it had on her friend.

“You don’t know everything,” the unicorn sighed, “there’s a lot about me you don’t know. I... erm, there’s some things I never told you. About, well about what happened to me just before we met--”

Before she could say any more, the minty mare found a cream hoof covering her mouth, cutting off her words before they were even formed.

“I know all I need to, and that’s enough.” Bon Bon took her hoof back. “I know that when we first met you were the most lost and alone I’ve ever seen any pony in my life. I’ve never seen a soul as low as you were that day. I said to myself there and then that no pony should ever be that down, especially on their birthday. I don’t need to know what or who you were, I just need to know who you are... and that’s the best friend a girl could have ever asked for.”

Reaching across the table with her other forehoof, Bon Bon took both of Lyra’s hooves in her own and held them tight.

“But what I also mean is; I know you, Lyra. You can plaster on as many masks as you like, and you might even fool the rest of the town, but I know when you're happy, I know when you're sad and I know when you're upset. But most importantly, I know when you're scared, and you’re scared right now. You always cross your ankles in front of you when you’re not sure of yourself. Believe me, you’ve picked the right herd, Lyra... and in return they picked you. It’s the right choice, we both know it.”

“But...” the minty mare started, just to be cut off.

“No. No ‘buts’, Lyra. Do I need to know anymore than to know you’re my friend? To know you're the most wonderful, fantastic, exceptional pony a herd could ask for?” The earth pony gave the unicorn’s hooves a good squeeze, “I have been, and always will be, your friend, Lyra Heartstrings, and it’s been an honour to have been your roommate for all these years.”

“We’ve been through a lot haven’t we, you and I?” Lyra asked, answering Bon Bon’s squeeze with one of her own.

“Of course,” Bon Bon replied, “I mean, you managed to win my old tribalist of a mother over, and I never thought any unicorn would ever do that. Then there was us moving to Canterlot together for all those years. Remember that pokey little apartment we had halfway between the Music Conservatory and the Confectioner’s College? I swear your harps took up more and more space with every passing week that we were there.”

A sly smile spread across the earth pony’s face as a memory from their time in Canterlot came to mind.

“Do you remember that time just after mom died, when that stuck up mare in my maître pâtissier class tried making fun of my voice during my final exams?” she asked, “You Still Way’d her unconscious all the way from the viewing gallery without anypony even seeing you so much as twitch.”

It took a second, but a matching smile soon spread across the unicorn’s face.

“Oh yes, she ended up passed out face-down in a pyramid of choux à la crème. I’d forgotten all about that.” Lyra admitted.

“I’ll never understand your habit of forgetting stuff like that,” Bon Bon laughed, “while the rest of us are there thinking something’s awesome, there’s you treating it like it’s just another day at the office.”

“Well one thing I do remember,” the unicorn added quickly, “is bringing a guy home one day to see if you fancied trying your hoof at courting him too just to find out you were already... well I’m not sure I can call what you two doing ‘courting’... but it certainly was-”

”Hey,” Bon Bon interrupted, “I honestly had no idea you’d gone for the same guy as me, and he’s the one that’d been keeping that particular bit of news to himself. Anyway, I didn’t see you complaining twenty minutes later... well, maybe when we all broke your bed you did, but at the time you certainly didn’t seem to care that much.”

“Okay, fair enough.” Lyra conceded, “Hey, what was his name again?”

“You know,” Bon Bon said after making a big show of scratching her head whilst rolling her eyes about as if searching her memory, “I have absolutely no idea.”

“Liar!” It was now Lyra’s turn to laugh, “You know exactly what his name was. And I’m betting you also know the full story of why he turned up at our door with the biggest bunch of flowers I’ve ever seen and a grovelling apology the day after he broke my heart.”

“Honey, I’m sure I have no idea what you mean.” the confectioner batted her eyelids, trying - and failing miserably - to put on a convincing air of complete innocence.

“Well, thank you anyway.” Lyra leant forward and planted a kiss in the middle of her friend’s forehead. “Even if I don’t remember his name, I do remember that those flowers were delicious.”

The two of them laughed, falling forward into each other’s arms as they hugged each other tightly, neither of them knowing, nor caring, which of them had initiated the move.

“You know,” Lyra finally said as she broke the embrace, “I always thought it’d be just the two of us, growing old disgracefully together in this old house, shouting at the neighbours’ kids from a pair of rocking chairs out on the porch.”

“Ha,” Bon Bon laughed, “speak for yourself. I’ve got my eye on one of the mares from Dusty Joe’s construction crew so I was gunna have to throw you out some day anyway.”

The look on Lyra’s face as her jaw dropped was, in Bon Bon’s opinion anyway, priceless.

“Gotcha!” the earth pony slapped her friend on the shoulder, “but you’ve gotta go someday my girl. You’ve somewhere else you should be now, somewhere else you belong, and it’s not here with me any more.”

For the next few minutes they remained seated at the table, just as they were, holding hooves in comfortable silence like the pair of old friends that they were.

Eventually Bon Bon broke the silence.

“Now come on,” she said, rising from the table and making towards the front door, “I’ll help you carry your stuff.”

“No, that’s okay. I think I should go alone.” The grandmaster looked up from the floor to catch the confectioner’s eye, looking to her friend much like a young filly leaving the safety and security of her family for the first time. “Just... make sure you wave me off, okay?”

After a last hug, Lyra moved to the door, levitating her trusty old saddlebags onto her back while Bon Bon packaged what was left of their cake - the frosting striped mint green and white down one half, blue and pink down the other - before attaching the small box to the one of Lyra’s harps with a piece of brightly coloured ribbon.

As Bon Bon opened the front door, Lyra levitated her trio of harps, carefully floating each of the instruments out of the doorway like some kind of surreal marching band before making her own way outside.

“And Lyra...“ Bon Bon called after her, “Happy birthday.”

“Same to you, Bonnie,“ Lyra said as she threw a rather smug - and not at all enigmatic - smile back over her shoulder, “You're still older than me though.”

“Only by about three hours, and don’t you forget it.” Bon Bon laughed. “Tea and birthday cake again next year?”

Lyra nodded once, then turned and began to make her way down the cobbled street. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world!” she called as she walked away.

The unicorn’s form made it to the end of the street and turned the corner, the earth pony waving at her the whole time, trying without success to stop the tears that were rolling down her cheeks.

For her, this truly was the end of an era and Bonnie was really going to miss that crazy mare.

*********************

As the town library came into view Lyra stopped for a moment to compose herself. Sliding mask after mask into place, the unicorn found it hard the quell the tears that came to her eyes.

For almost a decade now Bonnie had been the one constant which Lyra had charted her own life by, the rock from which she had anchored herself. Her music, her path along the Still Way, her position with the Royal guard - they all paled in comparison against everything the earth pony had meant to her, everything she had been to her, over the years.

But now it was time to take that last step, to finally let go completely, to leave her safety net behind and make her way without her.

Resuming her slow walk down Clydesdale Lane, her instruments bobbing along in the air behind her, she finally reached the library. Pausing to take in strangeness of what it had become over this last month, she was again taken by how much had changed in such a short space of time.

Attached to the west side of the library by a short covered walkway was Lero’s old house, its raised ceilings and higher windows making it stand out against the rest of the nearby buildings.

Attached directly to the opposite side of Lero’s old house was the cottage that had not so long ago belonged to Scootaloo’s mother. Many of the points at which the two buildings now connected had either had walls removed or internal doors installed to convert the pair of buildings into one larger home, fit now for the herd of four which resided within.

The library plus the two-in-one house took up the last three plots on the north side of the western end of Clydesdale Lane. Turning to look across the road at the three final plots on the other side street, she could see what had once been Quickfix’s workshop at the very end of the street. The old workshop’s sign had now been swapped out with a large hoof-painted replacement - courtesy of Lero’s apprentice handymare - which was fastened securely above its large doors, proclaiming it to be the business establishment of one “Mr Handy & Associates”.

To the immediate east of the workshop was the empty lot that the herd kept purposely vacant for whatever endeavours might require a large open space - of which there were surprisingly many.

Finally, in the plot immediately to the east of the empty lot, was what used to be Rainbow Dash’s cloud house. The now permanently grounded amalgam of clouds and wood currently serving as the home of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, or the ‘Crusader Herd’ as they were generally known these days.

It may have taken a whole lot of bending-of-rules, calling-in-of-favours and repeated assurances that two element bearers, a Still Way grandmaster, and a former viceroy would keep a close eye on them, but the three teenagers now had a place of their own. If only they could manage to keep themselves out of trouble for more than five minutes... which, even with all the best will in the world, didn’t seem very likely.

Turning in place, the mint green unicorn took in the view once again. Less than a month ago the only buildings at this end of the lane had been the library and Rosehip’s cottage. But now Rosehip’s home was happily settled into Lero’s old plot in Zweibrucker Street and instead these three new buildings - or four if you still counted the recently enlarged house as two rather than one - clustered around the old treehouse.

“The only real constant is change,” Lyra heard her old sensei say to her from deep within her memories, “You can’t escape it, you can only move with the dance or be crushed underhoof. The choice is yours”.

Shaking herself from her reverie, Lyra reached out with her telekinesis to open the door to the house that Herd Lero called home, knowing full well that there’d be two mares and a stallion waiting for her there - waiting to ask about her day, eager to tell her about theirs, excited to plan the rest of their days together.

There were going to be a lot of days... they’d need a lot of plans.

Stepping inside, she was home.

Author's Note

Currently I've got 20+ unfinished XFT chapters sitting in a queue - some of which are literally 95% complete - and unfortunately life's been such a bitch recently that I've just not been able to do anything with them. So, I challenged myself today to write a whole chapter from start to finish, just to see if i could get back in the saddle as it were. It's not the best thing I've ever written, but at least it's started the ball rolling again.

26: Sting Like A Bee - by SpinelStride

Sting Like A Bee by special guest author SpinelStride
Chapter published 31st July 2013

***********************

Rainbow Dash panted, sprawled out on the grass. Lyra settled herself down companionably beside her.

"Nice sparring with you as always," Lyra said amiably. "I don't think any other pony in town could have kept it going that long."

Rainbow Dash had to take several seconds of wheezing before she could find enough air to reply. "Thirty seconds is long?" she gasped out, finally.

Lyra nodded. "I don't think I've had a round go that long since I was expert-rated. You're getting very good at not being where I'm casting."

Rainbow Dash knew she should take it as a compliment - Grandmaster Lyra Heartstrings sparred with other Grandmasters, after all, and saying Rainbow Dash had outlasted them on the field was no small praise. But... "I never got within fifty feet of you!"

Lyra patted Rainbow Dash's neck. "You dodged fifteen straight spells before I caught your wing, casting at the speed of magic. That's a level of talent, skill, and very close to precognition any pony should be proud of."

Rainbow Dash groaned. "It still ended up with me face-first on the ground. I was sure I'd at least lay a hoof on you this time."

Lyra chuckled and patted Rainbow again, not urging her up yet. "I promise you, as a Grandmaster, those moves would have been enough to get you in reach of most ranking practitioners of the Still Way. That wasn't any style I recognized. What exactly was it?"

Rainbow Dash managed to give a small, proud smile upward. "Totally new thing I came up with. A couple of weeks ago, after we were practicing hoof-throws, and then you showed me some of your horn-throws? I went over to visit Fluttershy, because sitting in a chair and talking quietly was sounding real good right about then. And I saw how she flies around the place and it just came to me. She flies so slow, it's all herky-jerky, you know? But move like that at fighting speed, and it's way harder to hit the right spot." She flexed her wings to the sides and winced. "Felt like the air was made out of rocks, moving like that."

Lyra smiled back. "I strongly suspect that the pegasi in Equestria who could actually manage to do that can be counted on a single hoof."

Rainbow Dash gave a tired but proud smile. "Well, I am awesome like that." Then let her head drop back to the ground. "Still not enough. Gyehh. I mean, I knew you were gonna totally whoop me, and I bet you were holding back as it was, but I thought I'd do better than that."

"So what are you going to call your new technique?" Lyra asked. "It's more than a move, but not so much a new school in and of itself, and it certainly doesn't fit in any of the existing pegasus schools."

Rainbow Dash smiled a little again. "I'm thinking I'll call it the Flutterdash." She groaned. "And if I show it off at a competition sometime, maybe I can get everypony else to sprain their wings trying to copy it."

"Very humble, I'm sure," Lyra commented, and started rubbing carefully at Rainbow Dash's wings. "Hold still, now. I'm no Lero, but I can help with this."

Rainbow Dash blushed anyway. "Careful," she said. But Lyra's massage was helping, so she tried to relax and just enjoy it. "Say, Lyra? You don't think Twilight could take you for thirty seconds?"

Lyra snorted. "If Twilight and I seriously went at it, the fight would be over within two seconds, one way or another. If I had her distracted, surprised, or frantic enough to have her head out of it, I would have about one shot to take her down before she started reacting. If she saw me coming and was thinking clearly, there would be absolutely nothing I could do. She could teleport, put up a shield, turn me into a potted plant, reverse gravity, negate my spells, and grow a mustache on me for good measure. Skill is one thing, but Twilight's magical ability is a thing out of legend. I'd have as much luck trying to spar with the Princesses."

Rainbow Dash flexed her neck, stretching. She stayed on the ground, though. She'd hit down pretty hard. "So... you're not going to teach her unicorn fighting techniques? I kinda wondered if you might. We do run into dangerous stuff sometimes."

Lyra let out a low whistle. "You really want to see how much of Ponyville is left after Twilight Sparkle develops reflexes to use trained, deliberate violence when startled?"

Rainbow Dash considered that. "Iiiiii withdraw the question." She pushed herself to her hooves, then stretched her legs and wings. "Nnnnngh... All right. Ready for round two?"

Lyra lifted an eyebrow at her. "You want to try again? A straight-up spar, standard starting distance?" She smiled and got to her hooves. "You do recall what I said about me taking on Twilight, don't you? It'd be like me trying to spar with the Princesses."

Rainbow Dash gave her a toothy smile. "I guess that's the difference between us, then. I'd love to go wing-to-wing with Princess Luna sometime. I bet Luna knows all sorts of awesome thousand-year-old forgotten fighting techniques and stuff."

Lyra smiled quietly back. "And Princess Celestia?"

Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. "I kinda already did fight Luna that one time, when she was Nightmare Moon, and then she totally pranked me good on Nightmare Night. So that's one thing. I can picture getting in the air against her. I kinda think they'd fight different, anyhow. Luna might like the challenge and stuff and even do the whole draw-it-out-for-honor thing, but I have this feeling that if it was a real fight then Princess Celestia would just blammo me into the ground and walk on by."

Lyra smiled and settled into her stance. "I'm glad to know where I rank. Next to Luna, is it?"

Rainbow Dash gave her that brash smile again. "Remind me who blammoed me into the ground a couple of minutes ago," she said. "Now, ready?"

28: What's so amazing that keeps us star gazing?

What's so amazing that keeps us star gazing?
Chapter published 31st Jan 2013
*********************

As the day drew to a close and the sun once again slowly but surely made its way towards its rendezvous with the horizon, two figures sat on a small grassy hill just outside of Ponyville, watching contentedly what was once again turning out to be one of Princess Celestia’s finest sunsets.

Rainbow Dash sat quietly for once, wings furled against her sides as she leant against her lover, while Lero had a strong arm draped across his wife’s shoulders, the finger of one hand idly rubbing against the tip of one of her ears. The pegasus had slumped sideways, allowing much of her weight to fall against the human’s chest, her head resting against his neck as he let his cheek rest atop her forehead.

Over the last couple of years this hill had become one of their favourite spots for just sitting and watching the world go by. Sometimes they would come alone, sometimes with friends, sometimes in sadness, sometimes in joy. Often they would be joined by members of the Apple family, as was only fair, the small ring of logs around a now empty fire-pit, as well as its associated hill on which they sat, was technically part of Sweet Apple Acres after all.

Both pony and human were hoping that the morning would take its time to come. The pegasus had to report back to Wonderbolts’ Academy early the next morning and, except for a short leave of absence in order to visit with her herd for the last two days, they hadn’t seen each other for the better part of a month.

The results of Rainbow’s aptitude tests and various physical try-outs over the last year had allowed her to move straight into officer training, which was something she was quite rightly proud of. The only downside was that it put her in all of the advanced courses, meaning not only would her training period be much longer than that of the normal inductees, she also had to spend much of it living in barracks with very little in the way of leave.

Even though the Pegasus was kept occupied with her training morning, noon and night - and the human’s many jobs plus his two other wives kept him just as distracted - it was the first time in the years since they had started their relationship that they were faced with spending more than a few days at a time apart and neither was enjoying the enforced separation. Both would have to admit though, the time apart had made seeing each other again all the sweeter… and sweatier.

After a lengthy silence, the kind of comfortable silence so often displayed between true friends and soul mates, and these two were blessed with being both, the human finally broke the silence.

“You know, even after all this time the weather here still gets me.“

“Really? How?” The pegasus asked languidly, careful not to move her head as she did so. She was enjoying the ear rub far too much to risk disturbing it.

“Well, for the first twenty something years of my life the weather was just kind of… there. It was something that just happened; no ponies moved the clouds or brought the rains, no alicorns raised the sun or lowered the moon. It just happened, happily pottering along on it’s own like some huge piece of clockwork.”

Lero paused to think for a moment, the ear rubs ceased for a second much to Rainbow’s dismay, only to start again as he continued to speak.

“Or maybe a really long science experiment; a monumentally big one set in motion millions of years ago and left to its own devices. Humanity kept trying to predict what the weather was going to do next and where it was going to happen but in the end Mother Nature was always holding all the cards.”

Lero gently ran a finger around the outer edge of his lover’s ear, keeping his touch so soft that at times it was almost teasing. Carefully pinching the ear between his thumb and forefinger he used his thumb to slowly push along the back of the pinna, moving slowly along the lay of the fur all the way from the base to the gently pointed tip.

In the far distance a group of pegasi in flight could just be made out, most likely a group of friends returning from a weekend of camping in the White Tail Woods. The light of the evening sun setting behind them left them little more than a gathering of black smudges wavering on the horizon as they made their way towards Ponyville. With luck they’d make it back home before darkness set in.

After a few moments of his gentle and much appreciated ministrations, Lero restarted his verbal wanderings. “She kept them close to her chest that’s for sure; sunny skies could turn to torrential rain in minutes, calm seas into killer waves faster than sailors could deal with. We could have droughts that lasted for years, storms that ravaged entire cities. We tried our best to prepare but every time we thought we had Mother Nature licked she’d just laugh in our faces and send us a twister or something to knock us right back on our asses.”

Lero sighed, his breath causing the top of Rainbow’s mane to bounce around as he exhaled.

“As a species we’re so full of ourselves; we put men on the moon, sent ships to the bottom of the oceans, put up buildings that can pierce the clouds, created machines that can travel at speeds that’d make a pegasus’ head spin. But then all it takes is one hurricane or earthquake or tsunami and it just reminds us just how small and powerless we really are.”

Lero brought his hand to his brow and pinched the top of his nose in a way that Rainbow had seen him do a number of times when he had something big on his mind. It usually seemed to help him, maybe it would help her too on those days when her brain was feeling all fluffy.

“Humans can be really stupid at times. We created weapons of mass destruction that could kill thousands of people in the blink of an eye, forged fanatics so full of hate and fear that they would destroy huge buildings full of innocents just to try and prove a point. Then Mother Nature would just pop up with a show of strength that made us all just look like a bunch of squabbling children. It was like she was telling us to just put our silly little toys back in the toybox and try and play nice. We never listened though.”

Rainbow shivered at the thought of anypony, or anyone come to think of it, actually trying to kill another. Try as she might it was something that she just couldn’t get her head around. Sure pony history had it’s fair share of bloodshed but they’d been so long ago it was almost as if it were some other species’ at war across the pages of her long ignored history books. Either that or they were some type of made-up fictional characters in historical settings, like in the box set of ‘Moon Dancer: Warrior Princess’ books Twilight had given her for her last birthday.

Whichever way, she still didn’t get it. Why would one intelligent being deliberately try to kill another? How far would you have to have to push somepony to get to that point? How scared or threatened would you have to feel to make cold-blooded murder seem OK? These were questions she just didn’t have an answer for and for that she was glad, she hoped she’d never be in a position where she’d have to make that choice.

Letting the conversation lapse, Lero turned his attention back to the sky. The flock of pegasi were much closer now and from the looks of it their flight path would take them over Sweet Apple Acre’s northern fields, an approach which would eventually take them directly into the middle of town.

As their journey angled them away from the where the two observers sat they could see it was four heavily laden flyers and, although he didn’t have his partner’s keen eyesight, Lero could see that one of the flyers was bobbing and weaving slightly under her weighty load, her characteristically uneven flight easily giving away her identity.

The three other flyers were obviously keeping to a safe distance but whenever their friend wavered they were always quick to move in closer in case their assistance might be required.

It was heartening to see the town’s resident mailmare getting out and about with her friends. Lero had heard that she just hadn’t been the same since her unfortunate 'incident' some years before the human’s arrival in Equestria.

While an outsider would think that her clumsy nature and frequent brushes with misfortune would set her apart from her neighbours, in reality she was one of the town’s most favoured residents. Whatever mishaps she may have found herself in the middle of, or whatever minor disasters she may have inadvertently caused, no pony could ever stay mad at her for very long.

Lero watched her for a short while, surrounded by friends who cared deeply for her even if they generally tried to hide it, before he continued.

“You don’t have that kind of uncertainty about the weather here, everything’s planned out and controlled and on the whole pretty safe. Except for the occasional bit of rogue weather or a weather team screw up.”

Rainbow glanced up at him, catching the distracted look in his eyes. “Or that time that totally kicking hailstorm sneaked out of Everfree while I was away taking my entrance exams.” She reminded him, looking around to see what her lover had been watching so intently.

“Totally fouled up my work schedule when I got back.” She added. “Took weeks to get everything back in perfect balance. Totally nailed it though, no one knows the Ponyville weather team like I do. Blossomforth better be treating my girls right or she’d gunna have me to answer to.“

Rainbow puffed out her chest with pride. She may have come down on her old team like a hardass most of the time but they were the best crew south of Canterlot. Best crew north of Canterlot too come to think of it.

“Yeah, that was great, a real old-fashioned bit of surprise weather.” Lero remarked before his expression quickly became pensive “Except for the panic though, that wasn’t great. A lot of Ponyville doesn’t seem to handle the unexpected very well. I think the flower girls, ya know, Rose, Daisy and Lily, they caused almost as much damage as the hail did and that’s saying something; some of those ‘stones were a good few inches across.”

Lero shuddered at the memory. The damage to the town had been severe in places and, while the additional handyman jobs had been good for his finances, he’d had to draft in a lot of extra ponies to get though the extra workload. But on the upside, he’d helped young Apple Bloom gain her cutie-mark that week so they’d at least had a fantastic cause for celebration once the repairs were finished.

“But apart from that, you guys’ got it all covered. Kinda takes some of the fun out of it I think. No dashing about in an unexpected rain, no surprise snowball fights, no creepy lightning storms knocking out the power.” Lero gave a theatrical chuckle and wiggled his fingers out in front of him in what the pegasus had come to realise was the human version of a ‘scary story’ waving of the hooves.

“You know the one bit of the weather I really miss though?” He moved his hand back to Rainbow’s ear and resumed his attentive stroking.

The pegasus slowly shook her head. She tried not to think too much about all the things her lover must have left behind. Even knowing that even if he were ever given the chance he’d never choose to go back, it still hurt to think that there might be something about his life with her that he found lacking.

“Rainbows.” It was a simple reply and though she’d had no idea what he was going to say, that definitely hadn’t been it.

“What, but we got rainbows right here. I’ve got one built into my old cloud house.” Rainbow waved a hoof back in the direction of Ponyville. “I mean, I know I’ve had to shut it off while it’s parked in the yard but it still works. When Scoot’s a bit older and we can move the house back up high again I’ll get it running and you can see it everyday. It’ll be awesome, I’ll even add a second one if you like.”

Lero gave the pegasus a wide smile while he ruffled her mane, causing her to playfully wave a hoof in front of her face in some weak form of mock defiance. He appreciated everything she did to try and help him fit in, to help him feel just touch more at home in a world far from the place of his birth.

"Yeah, I know you have them here, but they’re not like human rainbows. Our rainbows aren’t real, they’re not solid, just an optical illusion. They’re just light reflecting off of water droplets projecting a huge arc of colour across the sky.”

“Eh? Dude, that just sounds weird.” That wasn’t how they made them here in Equestria and Rainbow should know; she’d won a number of awards for her rainbows. Her fans still occasionally came up to her to ask if she’d make them one of her custom jobs to show to their friends, requests she was usually more than happy to fulfill. The more ponies that got to see her amazing hoofiwork, the more ponies’d know just how totally awesome she was.

“Well, they’re kinda like…” Lero paused a moment to think of something similar he could compare them to.

“You know that cool thing you do when it’s really sunny; that one where you zip though the middle of a bunch of clouds so the water vapour gets caught up in your flight magic’s slipstream and then you shake them out when you land so the sunlight makes them coalesce into a mini rainbow above your head?” Lero waved his hands around excitedly as he described his favourite of Rainbow’s many crowd pleasers.

“Yeah, that is pretty awesome” The pegasus could feel herself starting to blush, she liked it when Lero praised her and if it was about her flying then all the better. Just hearing him say something about how wonderful he thought she was or how much he liked her stunts was even better than hearing a whole crowd ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ below her.

“I’m, err, I’m glad you like it. I could do it again sometime if you like.” Making a rainbow by hoof wasn’t easy; in fact there were very few pegasi who could still do it the old fashioned way at all. But then again, radical stuff like rainbows and sonic rainbooms were part of her special talent

Rainbow could still feel the flush spreading under her fur as she pushed the toe of a forehoof into the grass beneath them. How could he still do this to her? How could he make her feel so much like a giggly little school filly with just a few words? Not that it was necessarily a bad thing of course, but by Celestia, she was a married mare now, how could her stallion still do this to her so easily?

“That’d be great.” Lero smiled at her, making the blush move further up her cheeks, threatening all the while to continue its advance up to her ears if she didn’t do something about it soon.

Lero put on a little pout that Rainbow had to admit, though not out loud, was simply adorable. “I hope when you’re a fully fledged Wonderbolt this doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to give me my private shows any more.” He grumped.

“Oh, I’ll always have time to give you a private show.” The pegasus wiggled her eyebrows at him in a suggestive manner. She figured if she was going to be all embarrassed anyway she might as well go for broke, get some smut out there and try to make Lero blush too. No reason she should be the only one to suffer and he just looked so darn cute when his skin changed colour like that.

“You sure you don’t fancy some outside action right now?” She leant over to push her muzzle behind Lero’s ear, using the soft fur around her nose to tickle her stallion’s bare neck. It had taken time but she’d figured out almost all his most sensitive spots by now and boy was it ever worth it.

“Hey, cut that out,” Lero leant back on his hands to get away from the evil tickle attack but Rainbow saw her chance and pushed the human onto his back, wriggling herself on top of him as he fell. Once they were laid belly to belly she tucked her legs up under herself so they rested against Lero’s sides, supporting the majority of own her weight so that she wasn’t pushing unduly on her lover’s ribcage. This had the fortunate - for her at least - side effect of effectively pinning Lero’s torso and legs to the ground while leaving his arms free to play.

Rainbow pulled her lips back in the biggest grin she could manage, which was much wider than a human could ever hope to achieve without damaging something, presenting a set of pearly white teeth that if she had been a carnivore would have been terrifying. Lero threw his hands back above him on the grass in a show of mock horror and terrified submission.

After a couple of wiggles to get herself comfortable, the pegasus let her head rest on the human’s upper chest while he reached over to once more rub at her ear. After a couple of contented sighs Rainbow brought the conversation back on track.

“So, you were telling me about human rainbows.“ She mumbled, trying to sound nonchalant.

“That I was.“ Lero let his hand run though Rainbow’s prismatic mane, spreading his fingers as they moved so they’d act like a large comb. He’d pull his hand away from her head, letting her hair splay out like a fan behind her before falling back to her neck as his fingers reached the end of each strand. Then he’d do it all over again, the brilliant rays from the slowly setting sun making each vividly coloured strand glow brightly, each falling lazily from his fingers like a little spray of colour.

“Generally when we got rainbows back on earth it was after a big storm. The rain would fall and the wind would blow and as the storm died away it’d leave all these water droplets hanging in the air. Then the sun would come out and, if you were standing in just the right place and the sun was at just the right angle in the sky, the water droplets would catch the rays and split them up into their component colours and spread them across the sky.

“Every now and again you’d get a day where the sun was so bright you could get a double rainbow which was one rainbow mirrored around another. They were pretty rare so you’d often see people stop in the street and point them out to each other.”

Lero stopped playing with the pegasus’ mane for moment to tickle her nose.

“Well they were like our own little bit of magic, ya know. This great glorious swath of colour across the sky.” Lero swept his hands wide to take in the heavens above them as he continued. “They didn’t really exist like they do here; you couldn’t touch them or catch them, you couldn’t even get close. If you moved towards them they just seemed to get even further away or just… vanish.” He waved the fingers of one hand out above them as if to push away a wisp of smoke.

Rainbow laid her head across Lero’s chest and closed her eyes. Even if she couldn’t understand every little thing he said she still loved to listen to the sound of her lover’s voice, to feel the soft rumble of his chest as he talked, the slow rise and fall of his ribcage as he breathed. Behind her closed eyelids she tried to imagine a human rainbow, huge and intangible, not a solid object as she was used to. It was amazing to think that something so magical could exist without some pony to make it happen.

After letting his lover get settled Lero waved a hand in a vague westerly direction. “Or I guess a better example would be something like how you can never catch the sunsets here, they just, well, happen relative to where you’re standing, no matter where you are. If we were suddenly shifted twenty miles or so that way, the sunset’d seem to be twenty miles further that way too.”

The memory of Lero explaining to Twilight how his planet had actually moved around its sun, continuously rotating as it did so, brought a smile to Rainbow lips. The unicorn had been stunned silent at the idea that if you flew fast enough you could actually chase the sunset around the planet pretty much forever. The pegasus still wished she’d had Rarity’s camera to hoof as the expression on her herdmate’s face had been completely priceless and well worth sharing with…. Well, everypony she could find really.

The whole process was so different from Equestria where, due to the magic of harmony, the sun and the moon rose and fell for every point on the planet at exactly the same time. The idea that half of the world could be bathed in sunlight for half of the day while the opposite side could be shrouded in darkness just seemed crazy.

Nopony knew for sure where Equestria’s sun and moon went when they weren’t on display, no ponies but the royal sisters at least and they weren’t telling. The most they’d ever revealed on the subject (and they’d been asked, boy had they been asked) was the reassurance that they were being ‘well looked after’, usually accompanied by a pair of enigmatic smiles and a change of subject.

Even the human’s stars were weird, what with them being really reallyfar away and all compared to their pony brethren. They took tens of thousands of years, tens of millions even, to change their relative positions rather than moving about at the will of the lunar princess, not that she’d moved them much recently due to the overwhelming number of complaints from the astronomers guild. After a thousand years of Princess Celestia leaving the stars of Equestria’s night sky in one configuration the guild had become quite protective of them, much to Princess Luna’s chagrin. But at least the human’s stars had the decency to slowly make their way across the sky throughout the year like they were supposed to, so at least there was that small similarity.

On the whole though, Princess Luna been rather enamored of the ‘rotating planet’ concept; even when she had to somewhat sheepishly admit that, had she thought of suggesting something similar a millennia ago, they could have avoided that whole nasty little Nightmare Moon incident and she could have easily skipped out on a thousand years imprisoned on the moon.

Realising her lover had fallen silent Rainbow cracked open an eyelid, just in time for him to start again.

“As humans grow up we’re told fairy tales of magic and adventure, of evil witches and noble princes, of how evils are vanquished and how good will always shine though. We think everything’s going to be so great, that we’re really going to be someone important, that we can somehow make the world a better place. But then we grow up and we realise that that’s not how it all works and that we’re never going to rescue the princess or defeat the dragon or tame the mighty pegasus.”

Lero couldn’t resist moving his hand to quickly run a single finger lightly along Rainbow’s back, catching all the right spots to send shivers of delight shooting along her spine, culminating in a small involuntary twitch of her tail. No one could deny that he’d certainly managed to tame this mighty pegasus.

“It’s nothing like here at all, where you actually get to go off and have these amazing adventures, like when Princess Celestia sent you all up north to save the crystal ponies, or when we had all those Pinkies to round up, or when that crazy mare came to town to pick a fight with Twilight.”

Rainbow blew a small snort of air through her nose at the mention of Trixie’s last visit to Ponyville. This town only had enough room for one mind bogglingly rocking crowd pleaser and she sure wasn’t about to give up that position up to some lameass foal thinking she was hot stuff anytime soon. Once Twilight had pulled herself together it totally hadn’t ended well for the boastful magician; though the pegasus had to admit it had all been worth it just to watch Lero slapping paint all over Big Mac to make the draft pony look like his cowgirl sister.

As a perverted chuckle was making its way to her lips, the pegasus’ trip down memory lane was interrupted as the human started to speak again. And it was just getting to the really good part too.

“There’s been so much happened just since I arrived that it just blows me away every time I stop to think about it. There’s so many thousands of ponies, so many stories to be told. You could spend a lifetime writing them all down and never run out. The folks back on Earth just wouldn’t believe half the stuff that goes on here, it’s just so different to anything we’ve ever seen.”

Lero used his free hand to grab at a few blades of grass from the ground next to him, pulling them free before letting them float away in the breeze. Most of them decided to take up residence across his face or in his mouth so he soon gave up.

“So anyway, the adults make up these stories for the kids and for the most part everyone plays along like some great unspoken agreement not to spoil the surprise untill they're old enough to figure it out themselves. The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, the fairies at the end of the garden, Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, the Easter bunny, Jack Frost, the rabbits that live on the moon.”

Craning his neck so he could look his lover straight in the eye, the human quickly added. “Which is made of cheese by the way. True story.”

Rainbow lifted her head at that one. A whole moon made of cheese? Nah, he had to be winding her up. Even the human moon couldn’t be that freaky.

Swiftly planting a kiss on his confused looking lover’s face, Lero let his head fall back onto the grass.

“But part of us keeps those stories deep inside even when we’ve grown up and sometimes we find ourselves wishing on a star or standing in the street pointing at a rainbow or sat on your ass mesmerised by a sunset. These are things that no matter how long I live here, I don’t think they’ll never really leave me. Of all the things I’ve brought with me, these are the ones I’m most thankful for.”

Lero started to gesture with his free hand as he pressed on, the tips of his fingers tracing lazy circles in the air in front of them.

“You see, the human world is so large and so many terrible things happen, so many things that we’re just too small to do anything about, that we need something to believe in, something to try and even it all out. We just need a little bit of magic in our lives so we take it where we can find it; a falling star or a sunset or a baby’s cry or a lover’s smile. All those things for us to believe in just to make it through the day.”

Rainbow didn’t know what she could say to try and take some of the pain from her lover’s voice. She wasn’t exactly a mare of words; she was a mare of action. If you wanted something technical (or boring) explained the you went to Twilight, if you wanted to talk about the fabric of the universe or the possibly eternal nature of the soul and all that other stuff that the pegasus of the herd just didn’t get then you went to Lyra, if you wanted something actually done then you went to Rainbow.

Besides, her stallion didn’t often like to talk about where he came from anymore. Occasionally he’d discuss obscure scientific principles with Twilight and the princesses or debate philosophy late into the night with Lyra or even spend time teaching Sweetie Belle some strange new human song if she’d cajoled him for long enough.

But over time he’d been less and less forthcoming about anything from his personal history or even about humanity and his old home world in general. If he was ever asked directly he’d make a cryptic off-hand comment and move the topic to something closer to home, closer to his new home anyway, and then move on as if the conversation hadn’t happened.

It was almost as if in accepting that Equestria was now truly his home he’d started to wall away where he had come from, the very place which had made her beautiful, amazing lover everything that he was. For him to open up like this was a rare thing recently and Rainbow wanted to do anything she could to keep him talking. So, she did what she did best; she took action.

Pulling her hooves in tighter against the human’s sides she pushed herself in closer to his chest, all so he could better feel the warmth of her body against his own. She a wanted to remind him that he wasn’t alone, that no matter what she’d be there to share with him her warmth and her love whenever he might need it. Everything she had she would gladly give to him; no questions, no hesitations.

At her movement Lero dropped a hand to her forehead as he used his fingers to idly scratch behind her ears. After a moment of quiet contemplation he continued his wanderings.

“Like a sunset tells us that each day ends so another has a chance to begin, the rainbow is there to tell us that no matter how bad the storm, eventually the sun will come out to dry away the rain. No matter how bad life can get, no matter the ups and downs, ‘this too shall pass.’”

Lero unexpectedly shifted his weight and Rainbow was surprised to find herself suddenly laid out on her side in the cool grass. Her lover had also turned onto his side, gazing deep into her eyes as he reached over to cup her face in his warm hands, his strong fingers resting gently against her soft fur.

“So I guess it’s about hope. Hope that everything will eventually work out ok. That our loved ones will be safe, that our children will be healthy, that our lives will be full of love and laughter and we can live in peace and harmony for the rest of our days.”

Lero moved his face closer to hers, so close that she could feel his breath tickling the end of her nose, the scent of him overpowering everything else in her world.

“But you know what? It is all ok.” Lero moved closer still, so close that she could feel the short hairs of his neatly trimmed facial hair brush tantalisingly against her lips.

“Because no matter what happens, I’ve got my own beautiful private rainbow right here, now and forever.” And with that he gently pressed his lips to hers in a kiss so soft and tender and all encompassing that as far as Rainbow was concerned everything else in the universe, everything but just the two of them, ceased to exist.

“And that’s all the hope I need.”

29: Covered up with a smile I've learned to fear.

Covered up with a smile I've learned to fear.
Chapter published 14th September 2017

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Chestnut Hill.
The outskirts of Fillydelphia, AKA The City of Sisterly Love.
Three hours past nightfall.

It’d happened again.

It was quiet, finally quiet, deathly quiet. No sounds but the slow deep breathing of his herdmates, the occasional creaking of an old house settling down for the night. The window was open to let the heat out, the summer night’s breeze pushing the partly closed curtains into the room, just for them to fall back against the frame, ready for the next breeze to put them back into motion. Somewhere out in the sea of freshly cut lawns and prized gardens, an owl hooted from the rooftops. Would a prospective mate return their call this night, or they spend yet another night in vain?

It’d happened again. She said it wouldn’t. She promised.

He could feel Petunia to his right, her chest slowly, softly rising and falling, the subtle movement rocking the bed an almost imperceptible amount with every breath. Every now and again she’d twitch, as she had for the last hour or so, her one visible ear laying flat against her skull as she spent her night of supposedly restful slumber in much the same mental place as she had spent her evening. As the curtains moved once more, moonlight played across her lilac fur, shadows forming across her neck and back, bringing out the tension in her muscles as she pulled herself into a ball, trying to make herself as small as possible, to take up as little space on the bed as she could.

She always promised, and then it happened again.

To his left, Hot Pocket shifted in her sleep, sighing as she rolled over, throwing a foreleg across his chest. Inwardly he cringed. He didn’t want her to touch him, wanted her leg gone, off of his chest. He could feel his breathing quicken, his heart beating harder as her warmth soaked through his coat and into his skin. Her foreleg tensed, her muscles contracting as if to pull him closer and, for a horrible moment, he thought she was awake, that she was trying to pull him into a hug, as if that could make it all better, as if that could make it all have never happened.

And again, and again.

She relaxed, her dark yellow foreleg going limp across him, a small grunt passing her lips as she started to snore. It wasn’t loud, not a buzzsaw kind of a snore, just a gentle rasp of her breathing. He’d found it cute, all those years ago, thought it was endearing. Now he just saw it as a relief, a respite - proof that she was actually asleep and not just laying there, thinking... whatever it was that went on in that head of hers. Finally he let out a breath that he hadn’t even known he’d been holding.

It wasn’t going to stop. It would never stop.

With a small moan she shifted again, her hoof sliding across his chest and along his ribs. He hissed, catching the breath before he could make too much noise. His dusty red coat was good at hiding the bruises, but it could never do much to mask the pain.

It wasn’t going to stop. Nothing was going to change.

His tongue moved inside his mouth, gently prodding against the inside of his cheek. The swelling had already begun, the soft, puffy flesh beginning to push against his teeth. He’d have to be careful how he ate for the next few days, he already had enough scar tissue inside his cheek from accidentally biting the slowly healing flesh over the years.

Nothing. Never.

How had it been years? When had it begun? Where had it all gone wrong? They’d been so happy, all those years ago. There were so many good times, so much love and happiness. Things had been so bright and free and open to the three of them. Petunia had gotten her horticultural degree, which had meant more money coming in. More money plus his inheritance mean that Hot Pocket could quit her job at Sloppy Joes and open up the pizzeria she’d always dreamed of. And him, he’d split his time between doing up their lovely old townhouse out in the suburbs and whipping up the most heavenly donuts and pastries that Pocket’s customers had ever tasted. Life had been good. It had been hard work, no question about it, but they’d been happy together, as a family, weathering the storms, taking the rough with the smooth.

So when had the rough started to outweigh the smooth? When had it all changed?

It was never going to change.

It had changed. The work was still hard, and the days still long - they’d known that going in, knew running your own business wasn’t going to be easy - but the smiles came less often. The soft lingering touches stopped lingering, then stopped altogether. Long days stretched into long evenings, every little problem piled onto the last, another no doubt on its way. They’d always talked about everything together, worked through everything together, always together. That changed. Pocket withdrew, pulled away, came home late, barely slept, never smiled. Then the habits started. First it was the salt licks, then the gambling, then the... whatever.

And then the foals came. Two tiny bundles of joy. A boy and a girl - Dandelion and Buttercup, oddly named considering that they weren’t Petunia’s. But they made everything alright again, they made them a family again. Oh, it was still hard, no doubt about that. Petunia quit her job to help out at the restaurant, and he took care of the kids. But Pocket, she got better, she was better. She quit her habits, got clean, she was herself again, her old self, the self that they loved.

It didn’t last.

How long is this going to last?

The distance returned, the sullen silences, the long absences. Nopony else saw it, not outside the family, but it was there, it was back, the black dog had returned, and it had brought friends. Recrimination, manipulation, accusation. And then, one day, violence.

But she swore... she swore it would never happen again, that it just wasn’t her, that she wasn’t like that... and like fools they’d believed her. They’d believed her because they loved her. They’d believed her because that just wasn’t the way she was. They believed her because she promised it wouldn’t happen again. And they believed her again and again

...and again. And it was never going to change.

And each time, every time, he’d told himself it had to be his fault, he had to be causing it somehow. She was a good mare, a loving mare, and good mares didn’t hit stallions, that wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. He’d tried to change, to be good for her, to do things right, but it was never enough. He wasn’t good enough, he wasn’t good looking enough, he wasn’t smart enough. He knew he wasn’t much of a stallion, but he’d tried. He tried to make himself look better, for her, to make her happy. It didn’t work. He took interest in what she liked. It didn’t help. He kept the house nice and tidy, and the kids quiet and out of her way when she got home. And then she’d get home, and it would all be good, and then something would go wrong, and then...

It was never going to change.

And all the while Petunia would hide, curl herself up and pretend it wasn’t happening, make herself into a ball that the outside world just couldn’t reach. And Pocket would laugh, call her names, call her a coward, call her useless, call her a pansy, their old foalhood nickname for her, twisted, turned in on itself, a sign of affection turned into a label of scorn.

It was never going to change.

And then it changed. She’d hit one of the kids, hit her hard. Little Buttercup didn’t know what was happening, she was only a filly for Luna’s sake. She didn’t know what all the noise was about, she’d just wanted a glass of water, and the next thing she knew she’d been bounced off of the kitchen wall, one mother screaming at her, the other just screaming, trying to burrow her way under the counter, to be anywhere but there. He’d grabbed her, grabbed her and ran upstairs, back to her brother, back to their room, back to somewhere safe.

They couldn’t live like this. They couldn’t carry on this way.

It had taken ages to calm her down, and her brother too. He had no idea what was going on but his sister was crying so he should be too. It had taken - hours maybe, he had no idea how long - to calm them, to send them off to sleep. He’d told them that everything was fine, that everything was going to be alright, that mommy Pocket wasn’t really angry, it was just a grown up thing, that they should go to sleep and everything would be OK in the morning. And they’d believed him, and they’d settled down, and eventually they’d gone to sleep.

And then she’d come for him.

This had to stop.

This had to stop. They couldn’t live like this.

It’ll never change.

But it would never change, not if he didn’t do something.

Nothing would change.

Nothing would change unless he made it change.

Not unless he made it change.

Quietly, gently, holding his breath the entire time, he lifted her hoof from his chest, wincing at the pain as he rolled himself away from her. Slowly, ever so slowly, he let her hoof rest in front of her face, a few strands of her deep red mane falling over her nose as he moved away, trying to put some distance between them. She stirred, a breath causing her loose hair to tickle her nose. He froze, breath held. A nostril twitched, twitched again. A hoof came up to push the hair away before moving to her mouth, her upper lip enveloping the edge of her toe as she started to chew on it in her sleep, a foalhood habit that had never seemed to fully go away.

He could breath again, but slowly, quietly. She slept, hoof in mouth, the same mouth that, as far as the world was concerned, butter wouldn’t melt in. He moved, bit by bit, inching down the bed, every tiny movement a small victory.

She’ll see, she’ll hear, she’ll wake.

He reached the edge of the bed, the floor, the carpet, the door. The door handle clanged like a falling pot, the hinges roared like rolling thunder, every footstep rumbling like the end of the world. He crossed the landing, moving from memory, praying to Luna, to Celestia, to the Creator herself, that he didn’t stumble in the dark. Their little home office would have what he needed. He went through drawers, pulled out papers, old forms, grabbing what he needed, leaving the rest. His bit bag was in the bottom drawer, the money he was allocated for the weekly shopping, a little petty cash for himself. He pulled a set of saddlebags from their hook on the back of the door, the old set that had seen better days but they could never bring themselves to throw away, stuffed what he needed inside.

A noise, a creak, he stilled, listened, ears on the move, his heart in his mouth. It was the house, just the house, nothing else. Just his imagination, just his nerves.

Back out of the office, across the landing, to the twins’ room. Still quiet, so quiet, needed to be quiet. They were asleep, curled up tight in their beds, Buttercup’s blanket pulled up over her head, thin cotton for a warm summer night, she huddled under it all the same. They woke easily, sleep in the corner of their eyes, they didn’t know what was going on but they kept quiet when he asked, such good kids, always good. Grab some toys, he said, some toys and some books. Yes, Buttercup, Mister Bear could come too. In the saddle bags, strap them on, still quiet, watch out in the dark, don’t worry, daddy’s here.

Were they ready, were they set? Out of the room, across the landing, down the stairs, be careful, mind your sister. Pictures on the wall watched them as they descended, step by silent step. Happy times, happy places. happy ponies, long ago. They reached the hallway, on down to the front door, just a few more lengths to go.

A noise, a noise behind them and his head turned so fast that his neck cracked, the sudden pain ignored as his heart leapt into his throat. The kitchen door was open, light spilling out from within. How had he not seen that before, how could he have been so blind?

A tap ran, water gushing, it stopped. Seconds passed, a chime, the sound of a glass being placed on the draining board. Hoofsteps, the light went out, a figure wandered out from the kitchen, in the dark, heading towards the stairs. Would she see them? She’d have to, the hallway wasn’t that big. Moonlight through a window cast silver stripes along the wallpaper, illuminating lilac fur as the mare ambled, half asleep, plodding towards him, not seeing him, not seeing anything.

And then she saw.

She saw him standing there. She saw him, wearing those old saddlebags, sides bulging to bursting. She saw him standing there, the twins at his hooves, confused, bleary eyed, their own little saddle bags strapped to their backs, Mister Bear half in, half hanging out. She saw him, seeing her, seeing him. Her eyes went wide, realisation, a gasp, a hoof reaching out just to be pulled back again. She looked from him to the top of the stairs and back again. Her mouth moved, opened.

He was frozen. Would she shout? Would she cry out? Was it all over? He reached out, motioned her to come with them, to be together, the four of them, she didn’t have to stay. She could flee, she could join them.

She looked to the top of the stairs, looked back at him.

Come, she should come. Together, they could leave together. She didn’t need to stay, she didn’t have to be Pansy any more, she could leave her behind, walk away, she could be Petunia again.

She shook her head, backed away, back into the shadows. She wouldn’t leave, she wouldn’t run. She knew what would happen. Her hoof moved to her jaw. When the morning comes, she knew what would happen, and it scared her. She was scared, so scared, but even more scared of leaving. Pocket was all she had, all she needed. She’d been told so many times, made to see so many times, that’s why she’d stay, why she’d always stay.

One of the foals whimpered, they didn’t understand what was going on. It was dark, and really late, they wanted to be back in their beds, cosy, safe, normal.

Petunia backed away, further into the shadows, into a corner, back into the slice of darkness between the strands of moonlight. She didn’t cry out, didn’t call, or make a fuss. She wasn’t there, they couldn’t see her, this wasn’t happening, she wasn’t there.

By the time she came back out of the shadows, neither was he.

~~~~~~~~~

West Fillydelphia
Two hours before dawn.

He checked the horndrawn map for the umpteenth time, turning it in his hooves to orient the the paper against the direction of the street sign beside him. Going over the directions again in his head, he folded the old piece of paper and tucked it back into his saddlebags. At the time, he hadn’t known why Sakura had given him the map all those months ago, or why she’d be so insistent he kept it, ‘just in case’, but kept it he had, tucked away in the back of his keepsakes. He didn’t know why he’d kept it hidden, or why he’d never mentioned it to another soul, or what had pulled him to it tonight, but now it was all he had, so he followed it.

They’d walked south-ish for what felt like hours, through neighbourhood after neighbourhood. Affluence had died away with each city block, the townhouses smaller, the stoneworks giving way to brick, then to wood. Front gardens became less ornate, more functional.

What have you done?

They walked on, through the dark, from streetlight to streetlight. Wherever the street lights didn’t reach, the moon lit their way. Whenever he paused to check the map, tuning so the moon was over his shoulder so better to illuminate the hastily scribbled words, the moon seemed to glow that much brighter, much brighter than he remembered it being in years, much fuller in form than it should have any business being this far into its cycle.

What have you done?

His mind raced, a thousand thoughts a minute, all too loud. His thoughts piled up, bubbled and burned, shouting for his attention. But they all boiled down to just one thing...

What have you done?

He walked, hoof after hoof. The kids had tired out long ago, their little legs worn out from the walking. They lay now, across his back, joined at the forehooves, holding onto each other for stability, drifting in and out of sleep.

It’s not too late to go back. You can make this right.

No, he had to go on. Had to keep moving forward.

You should go back. You’ll never make it alone.

No, he had to push on, he had to do it for the kids.

He turned a corner, he must be close, it must be right here.

Empty lots, dilapidated houses. The few that were still standing looked mostly deserted, the living outweighed by the dead. A few wispy pre-dawn clouds rolled over the moon, increasing the gloom all around, the shadows lengthening their reach, expanding their grasp towards him.

What if there was nothing there? What if his destination was nothing but an empty lot?

There’s nothing for you there.

What would he do then? Where would he go, what would he do?

There, that’s the one. Luna, please, let this be the one.

The numbers matched, he read them twice to be sure. A big house, old, the architecture reminding him of the kind of house he’d only ever seen before on a trip to Neigh Orleans. Three floors, balconies ringing the upper two floors, an honest to goodness veranda around the ground floor. It had definitely seen better days, faded pink paint peeling from its walls, patches of barely newer paint marking repairs of various vintages dotted here and there.

The clouds moved on, the moon throwing its light all around him once more. A wash of silver rolled over the house, illuminating the roof, picking out the colours of the huge rainbow painted there, the garish colours bringing life to the otherwise dull surroundings.

This was it, this was the place.

He reached out for the gate, a simple white wooden construction bridging the gap between a low picket fence. The fence itself was faded, weather worn, but the gate was freshly painted, the hinges well oiled. With just a touch, the gate swung open, silent in its motion, opening wide to invite him on in. He stepped inside, one hoof on the path, followed by a second. Kids’ toys littered the freshly cut lawn, shallow flowerbeds lined the path. Petals of red and yellow and blue waved him onwards, up towards the porch.

But what if he was wrong? He’d only heard of this place through a friend. What ifshe had been wrong? What if there was no help for him here? Even if there was, he had nothing he could offer in return. He had no real skills, no real education or training outside of his rather specialised talent. All he had was his body, and he’d let himself go these last few years. He had nothing, he was worth nothing.

Nothing.

But the kids, he had to step up, he had to do it for the kids. He couldn’t go back now, couldn’t tuck his tail between his legs and crawl on back.

He lifted a hoof, hesitated, then steeled himself as he rapped his toe against the door.

Nothing .

Nothing.

The noise had woken Dandelion, who wiggled on his back, wanting to be let down. The motion meant that Buttercup was awake as well, and if Dandy was getting down she wanted down as well.

His kids by his side, he rapped again.

There’s nothing for you here.

He waited, pulling the map from his saddlebags, checking it again. There was noise from within. A light went on, the sound of hooves on stairs. Through the smoked glass by the side of the door he could see movement. Another light came on, closer to the door, the window allowing light out onto the porchway. Voices drifted from the other side of the wood.

They’re not going to help you.

The door opened, light spilling out from within, hurting his eyes. He recoiled, squinting, a hoof coming up to shield him from the light. When he opened them again, he looked up to find the largest stallion he’d ever seen standing in the doorway, an earth pony of epic proportions. Light streamed past him, leaving a glow around the edges of his gleaming white coat. But easily the most striking thing about him was his mane, a six coloured rainbow mane falling around his withers in majestic waves, framing his face and making his pale blue eyes pop with vibrancy.

He’ll send you away.

Words failed him. Lips moved but no words came. He didn’t know what to say. What could he say? What came next? He didn’t know.

Behind the large earth pony, two other stallions appeared. Both looked like they were scared stiff and expecting trouble, one held a rolling pin between his forehooves as the other peeked out from behind his marginally more courageous companion, nerves making his hair curlers bounce around within his mane.

He recognised that look, disguised fear, barely contained terror, he’d seen it in the mirror often enough. He wanted to speak, to explain, to ask, but he couldn’t. Words, they still failed him, all he could do was hold out his scrappy little map, hope that it meant something to whoever this stallion was.

It won’t. He’ll send you away, and then where will you be?

Large forehooves took it, turned it so it could be read. Eyes scanned the scrawled hornwriting, the crude picture of a house with a rainbow roof, the well practised representation of cherry blossoms down in the bottom left hoof corner, recognition flared across those baby blues. Those same eyes turned to him, rainbow mane swaying as he leant forward, looking him over, eyes that seemed to lock onto his jaw, his cheek, his own eye.

He looked down, ashamed, ponies shouldn’t have to look at him like this, he shouldn’t have let it come to this. Beside him. Little Buttercup started to cry, it’s all been too much for her, ruined her nightly routine, pulled her away from her bed.

The stallion looked down, taking in the filly, her brother at her side. Holding out a hoof he ushered them inside, ushered them all inside, into the house. More ponies were there, in doorways, coming down the stairs, coming to see what was going on. At the bottom of the stairs stood a young earth pony mare, not long out of her teens. She was obviously the large stallion’s daughter, with a coat of the same sky blue as his eyes and an identical rainbow coloured mane, though pulled back into a tightly knotted prench braid that ran all the way down the long length of her neck. A young teenage pegasus, a filly of no more than eleven or twelve, peeked out from behind her, a unicorn colt of about the same age hovered part-way up the stairs behind them both.

The rainbow maned mare came forward, cooing to Buttercup, asking if she’s ok, if she’s hungry, if she needed to visit the little filly’s room? The young stallion with the mane curlers, himself not that far into his twenties surely, declared that what they needed was breakfast, ushering the other fillies and colts that started appearing from nowhere off towards what must be the kitchen, fielding requests for pancakes and waffles as he went. The older stallion, the one with the rolling pin, asked Dandy if he wanted to help in the kitchen. The twins looked up at their father, their faces lighting up when he nodded that it was okay to go help out

Soon they were all gone, all the stallions and fillies and colts and young mares, and still his words hadn’t come. His mouth, his throat, his lips, all still failed him, his hind legs soon following, sitting him down on the old carpet with more of a thump than he intended. The rainbow maned stallion was there, talking to him, the words only half sinking in. He felt a foreleg as it wrapped around his withers, body warmth against his coat. Words, softly spoken, floated past his ears, only a few made it into his brain, the rest were just too much for him right now. The words told him that this was a safe place, a place of friends, that he could stay as long as he liked, that he was very brave, that there are others like him here, that they’d like to meet him, but that he wouldn’t have to do anything he didn’t want to, that it’s all up to him, but no matter what they were there for him.

His own words still didn’t come, but the tears did. He’d kept them inside for so long, deep inside, where no other pony could ever see them. But now they came out, pushing past his barriers like a flood. He let them come, let them escape, let them mix with the numbness that swept over him.

We’re out.

They were out, they were... He wasn’t sure what they were, beyond today. He didn’t know where they were going, or how they’d survive, or what would come next. But that was alright, that was okay. Because, for the first time in years, things could finally start to change for the better.

~~~~~~~~~

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, lived three very best friends. Their names were Hot Pocket, Crispy Creame, and Petunia Flourish. They were the bestest freinds that any friends could ever be and when they grew up they were going to get married and own a big fancy restaurant together. Pocket would cook the biggest and best and tastiest meals and Crispy would do the fanciest, most yummiest desserts and Pansy would grow pretty flowers that would hang from baskets all around the walls and in vases on all of the tables and planters under all the windows. Ponies would come from all over Equestria to eat there and even the princess herself would fly over from her big fancy castle just to eat Crispy’s cakes and tell the rest of the world that his cakes were totally the best. And then, when they were even older still, they’d go home to their big fancy house where they would have lots of colts and fillies of their own and live happily ever after for ever and ever. The End.

Author's Note

Someone once told me that stories about ponies are stories about people. Can’t remember who it was, but it’s true.

And yes, that’s XFT’s Rainbow’s real father and sister. Say hello, you’ll be meeting them again later on.

30: Anything is possible when you're sowing the seeds of love.

Anything is possible when you're sowing the seeds of love.
Chapter published 27th August 2013

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Early June AC 1217
Outskirts of Ponyville.

As the late morning sun poured down upon Ponyville and the surrounding areas, the air temperature was already beginning to soar, showing that today would be yet another hot one. Summer had only been officially underway for a couple of weeks now but it was already shaping up to be a particularly warm season.

As they did every year that Princess Celestia let the sun bath the planet in more of its life-giving rays than usual, theories were being bandied around as to the cause, some suggesting that the alicorn of the day was particularly pleased with her subjects this year while others believed it was so that more heat would remain into the evenings, tempting more ponies to stay up to enjoy her sister’s night.

Some brave souls even went as far as to whisper that maybe the alicorn of the day was pregnant and needed the extra solar energy... but then, that rumour seemed to bounced around at least once a decade, no matter whether the summers were particularly hot or not.

Making their way along one of the lanes that lead out of Ponyville and meandered through Sweet Apple Acres were three mares - two unicorns and a pegasus. Both of the unicorns wore a sash over one shoulder and across their backs, each fastened to a symbolic ‘tool of the trade’ as it bounced against their left-hoof cutie mark.

The green unicorn’s sash supported a small harp for she was, amongst many other things, a musician. From the purple unicorn’s sash was slung a large tome for she, like her herdmate, could claim many professions; student, scholar, scientist, librarian... and she believed that the mighty tome rhythmically bouncing against her flank as she walked best signified everything that she was.

The pegasus of the group - who was actually walking for once rather than hovering over her herdsisters - would stop in her tracks every now and again and use a wingtip to flick an almost imperceptible speck of dirt from the lapels of her Wonderbolts service uniform. As she hurried to catch up with her herdmates her uniform’s rank insignia, designating her as an Officer Cadet, gleamed in the morning sun.

“If you fuss over that thing any harder you’ll wear right though it” Lyra offered, her tone more one of amusement than irritation, which was pretty much always the case where the Still Way master was concerned.

“Yeah, yeah” Rainbow scoffed.

“Oh leave her be, Lyra. She’s been dreaming of wearing that uniform for years now, we should let her enjoy showing it off a little.” Twi laughed “And it’s not everyday she actually asks you to comb her mane before we go out.”

“Whatevvvver” RD poked out her tongue at her purple herdmate as she gave her insignia another crafty polish with a wingtip. “Give it a couple more months and this little baby’ll be replaced with a Flight Officer pin, then another year tops and it’ll be Flight Lieutenant, just you watch.”

“Well could you ladies walk and talk please, we’re going to be late at this rate.” Lyra added as she trotted backwards away from her herdmates. Unflappable though she usually was, she hated to be late when they were supposed to be meeting their stallion somewhere.

“Hey, don't be looking at me here.“ Rainbow protested as she trotted to catch up with the musician. “If Little Miss Chief Scientist here hadn’t gotten her nose stuck in that dusty old book for hours we would have left on time.”

“Come on girls, I said I was sorry.” Twilight also broke into a trot in order to not be left behind.“I just can’t believe I’d forgotten all about that old journal of Star Swirl’s that Princess Celestia had sent to me. I’m supposed to be her prize student, I shouldn't have just put it aside like that.”

“So you’re a little behind on starting an assignment. It’s not the end of the world or anything.” Rainbow’s competitive streak had kicked in and she had made sure that she was now in front of Lyra and in the lead.

“Rainbow, the princess sent me that journal two years ago!” Twilight stressed. “Two years is not ‘a little’ behind. This isn’t just tardy, this is like super-mega-tardy with a side order of ‘you’re fired’ to go!”

Her good mood of a few moments ago suddenly gone, Twilight screeched to a halt in the middle of the path, her four locked hooves leaving short skid marks in the dirt behind her. Two years that package had sat in a corner of the library, two years the princess must have been waiting for a report from her so-called ‘star’ student... TWO YEARS! How could she have been so careless? If she hadn't spent part of last night searching for just the right book to wear on her sash today then how long would it have sat there forgotten? How long would the princess have had to wait, getting more and more disappointed in her by the day? How long? HOW LONG?!

“I should go back.” As she turned back towards town, a small portion of her mane decide to forge its own path in life and started to curl away from its brethren. “I know this is a big day for Fluttershy but I’m sure she’ll understand.”

Turning back towards where her herdmates had also stopped, a section of the unicorn’s fringe had realised that the revolution had surely begun and it too started to curl away from its owner’s head.

“She’ll understand, right? I mean, I’m on a mission from a goddess, right?”

Puzzled by Twilight’s sudden change in demeanor, Lyra turned to RD who by now had a hoof in her face.

“Oh, not this again.” The pegasus sighed. “Look, Twi, I know finding that old journal has got you all worked up but this isn’t the time for it. Fluttershy has asked us to be there for her today and by Luna we’re going to be there.”

With a stern expression on her face, Rainbow walked right up to Twilight, bringing herself so close that she was practically pushing their noses together,

“If that book’s been waiting for two whole years then two years and a day isn't going to make a flying feather’s worth of difference. You hearing me?”

As Lyra considered moving to intervene, Twilight just blinked a few times before staring at the ground, her few errant strands of mane deciding today was not in fact a good day to die and falling back into line with the others.

“You’re right, I’m sorry.” The librarian mumbled “I got all worked up again, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did.” Rainbow leant forward and gave her wife a hug. “But at least it wasn't as bad as that time you locked yourself and Owlowiscious in the basement for an entire day. It took both AJ and Pinkie and their earth pony strength almost an hour to prise the poor guy out of your hooves and I don’t think anypony’s been brave enough to get close enough to try rotating him again since!”

“I’ll have you know that the owl based sciences are a grossly underexplored area of study.” Twilight answered indignantly, though still with a measure of embarrassment. She’d never meant to get that engrossed in her experiments, it’s just that hardly any pony ever had a chance to drop any mad science with a real live science owl these days. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

“Lovely though this moment is...” Lyra added. “We still need to get going. Lero, Spike and the girls left hours ago. Apple Bloom was out of the cloudhouse so fast I thought she was going to take off.”

Rainbow let go of Twilight and, after checking that the unicorn was alright, trotted away after Lyra. Twi gave herself a little shake before cantering along after the pair of them.

“No worries, Lyra.” Rainbow said, catching up with the minty unicorn just as they rounded a bend in the lane. “When we get there there’ll still be plenty of...”

Reaching their destination, Rainbow finished her statement with more than an air of disbelief.

“...space?”

Hurrying to catch up with her companions, Twilight got her first look at the small orchard in front of them. As far as she could see it was positively heaving with ponies.

Dozens, and dozens of ponies.

“Woah, just look at em all” Rainbow lifted herself off of the ground to get a better look. “There must be a couple’a hundred ponies here at least.”

Everywhere they looked there were earth ponies, and the occasional pegasus and unicorn... but mainly earth ponies. And all of them carried in some way a ‘tool’ of their trade.

Pinkie could be seen standing with the Cakes, all three of them wearing crisp, clean baker’s toques, though the party pony’s was in candy striped red and white. Next to Pinkie stood her sisters, Inky and Blinky, both with geologist’s hammers hanging from cords around their necks.

Rarity waved over to them from where she and Fancy Pants were standing chatting amiably with Rumble, Aloe and Lotus. All three spa workers were wearing their uniforms while the fashionista was wearing a wide brimmed chapeau with a number of colourfull dressmaker’s pins artfully arranged in the band. She also had a long yellow silk ribbon embroidered in the likeness of a measuring tape woven throughout her rich purple tail. Fancy Pants, as always, looked splendid in his tuxedo tails with matching top hat.

“Hello” came a deep voice from behind the three mares as Mayor Mare’s stallion, Due Diligence, came around them. “I’m glad I made it back in time. Time Turner’s still off on one of his ‘adventures’ so I’m filling in for him as record keeper today.” The humour was easily evident in the large stallion's voice as he indicated the hefty town journal resting against his flank. Due Diligence was often bemused by the town’s official time & record keeper’s sudden disappearances - and just as sudden reappearances - and had fallen into the habit of covering for his younger friend whenever he wasn’t around. This didn't stop the two of them bickering like children at times though.

“Who is everypony?” Twilight asked. “I thought Big Mac had asked for a small gathering.”

“Indeed he did.” Due Diligence agreed. “It would appear that the Apple family has more pull than even they knew. Earth pony clans from all over Equestria have sent representatives. There’s some from Canterlot over there...”

Following the stallion’s pointed hoof, the three mares could see a small gathering of high class ponies of roughly equal numbers unicorn and earth pony, including such names as Octavia Melody (plus her ever present roommate Vinyl Scratch), Fleur de-Lis and Photo Finish. Octavia had a violin bow strapped to a foreleg with a bright two-tone blue ribbon while Vinyl had a pair of jet black headphones with bright pink detailing around her neck. Both Fleur and Photo Finish were more subtle with their ‘tools’, each mare sporting small gold charms in the shape of cameras on fine gold chains around their necks.

“Then there’s the group from Manehatten and the surrounding areas over there, looking a lot less awkward about standing around in a field than the Canterlot bunch, well some of them anyway.”

Swinging his hoof Due Diligence indicted a large gathering of both earth ponies and a few unicorns. In the midst of them members of the Orange clan could be seen chatting away happily with members of Rarity’s family, her father obviously telling a loud and raucous tale to a number of younger stallions who were hanging on his every word while her mother was deep in conversation with a number of mares from the Seed family, all of them happily chatting away like old friends. Many of Rarity’s family had some variation of a spoon or cowbell hanging from their person while the Orange and Seed families generally had something fruit related.

“They all came in on the train via Canterlot early this morning.” The stallion turned to point over to another, even larger, group. “And if you thought that train was full, you should have seen the train from the south. Appleloosa, Dodge City, Cherry Falls... you name it, they all sent some pony. There’s even a few from The Arid Badlands in there.”

From within a large group of mainly earth ponies - though Rainbow was sure she spotted at least one Buffalo in there too - Braeburn Apple suddenly appeared.

“Well, Howdy ladies.“ The gold coloured stallion called in greeting as he trotted over. “It’s great to be here in Ponyville, seeing all the family and all these great folks. Why, it’s almost as great as being back in...”

“Oh crud, cover your ears guys.” Rainbow urged as Braeburn took a deep breath and reared up onto his hind legs.

“APPLELOOSA!” he cried, manes a’flapping all around with the force of his exuberance.

“Yeah, good to see you too, Braeburn.” Rainbow said as behind her Twi and Due Diligence both shook their heads to try and get rid of the ringing in their ears. “Say, what’s with all the ponies here? We thought there’d be a couple’ dozen or so coming in, max. We didn't expect almost every member of the Apple Clan in Equestria to turn up, let alone bring their friends. What gives?”

“What, and miss a petitioning?” Braeburn looked shocked at the suggestion. “There’s no way a self respecting Apple would let a family petitioning go down without at least trying to get here. Why, they're so rare these days that I can't even remember the last time a pegasus or a unicorn came to the Apple family with one.”

“Sixty six years ago.” Twilight offered, still shaking her head. “Pear Cider and Sparkling Apple were the petitioners, they asked for their branch-herd to be renamed ‘Apple-Cider’ and for Pear Cider to be officially inducted into the Apple clan.”

As four pairs of eyes turned to her in wonder at how she knew this nugget of information, Twilight grinned sheepishly. Even after all this time she still couldn’t help chipping in with bits of trivia seemingly from out of nowhere.

“Err, distant relative on my mother’s side.” She added.

“So there you have it.“ Braeburn added with enthusiasm. “When we heard word that cousin Mcintosh has put in a request for a petitioning then there was no way that any Apple worth their salt lick’s gunna miss it.”

“So that explains all the Apple family, but what about all the others?” Lyra asked.

“Well, we’re a big clan.” Braeburn nodded. “Bigger than our name even. Youngsters join herds outside the Apples, Apples take non-Apples into their herds. Next thing you know we’ve got kin in almost every earth pony family going.”

Motioning over towards the group he’d been standing with he pointed out a young orange pegasus mare with a light fuchsia mane as well as over to the Canterlot and Manehatten groups with their decent sized contingent of unicorns.

“We got a lot of kin in non earth pony families too. We Apples may be big on tradition, but that doesn’t make us the purists that we used to be. Well, for the most part anyhow. We leave that kind of nonsense up to the snobby Canterlot unico-” Braeburn’s brain finally caught with his mouth when he saw the matching expressions that suddenly shot across both Lyra and Twilight’s faces. “Err, yeah.”

“Hey, look.” Rainbow threw in before Braeburn started trying to dig himself a hole. “There’s Lero.”

The human must have been crouching down beforehand as, now that he was standing up, he towered over the ponies around him. Next to him could be seen Big Mac, the farm-pony’s impressive size meaning his head and the tops of his withers could also be seen over the rest of the crowd.

“Well, nice to see you Braeburn. We’d best go let our stallion know we’re here.” RD used her wings to gently steer her herdmates away from the plains pony before he could stuff his hoof in his mouth again... or before an irritated unicorn did it for him. “You too, Diligence. Catch you later.”

As the trio made their way towards the front of the crowd, Lero noticed them coming and waved over to them.

“Hey, girls. Over here. We’ve saved you a place.” he called.

As she made her way through the crowd, Rainbow held her wings slightly away from her side to gain them a touch more room as they moved. While it wasn't as rude as spreading her wings to full extension, it was still pretty rude but Rainbow thought it was still better than any pony getting close enough to catch wind of the aura of a rather annoyed Twilight.

By now Lyra had managed to pick up on it anyway and, as they reached the front of the crowd, she leaned over and whispered “remember the way” into her herdmate’s ear. Taking a deep breath, Twi recalled some of the grand-master’s teachings. Letting Braeburn’s ill advised - though accidental - words flow over her until they had all been washed away.

“Hey, big guy. Sorry we’re late. My fault” Rainbow lifted herself into the air to plant a quick kiss on her stallion’s lips before drifting back to the ground.

As his eyes flicked between each of his mares, Lero got the distinct impression that their late arrival probably had very little to do with Rainbow Dash, but thought better of saying anything about it.

“Doesn’t matter, you’re here now.” Leaning down he kissed both of his unicorn mares in turn.

Lero was wearing his ‘handyman’ outfit, though Twilight had adamantly insisted that it be his best (and cleanest) set, with his tool satchel over one shoulder while around his waist was the toolbelt Apple Bloom had made for him (by hoof) as a gift when he had first taken her on as his apprentice. Next to him, Big Mac had exchanged his usual day-to-day yoke for an ancient ceremonial yoke made of polished walnut and covered in intricate carvings.

“So how’s Fluttershy?” Lyra asked as she looked around. “I bet this is a few more ponies than she was expecting. Is she going to be able to cope?”

Lero rubbed at the stubble on his chin as he glanced over to Big Mac, who turned his own gaze in the direction of the distant farmhouse. Those who’d come to know the taciturn stallion well enough could see that he was deeply worried.

“Yeah, I think so.” Lero sighed. “She seemed a bit stressed earlier when she saw how many ponies had arrived from the north. Then when the southern and western trains arrived she had a bit of a panic attack for a while, but AJ and Cheerilee are with her now so hopefully she’ll be okay soon. We’ve pushed the start time back by half an hour to give everyone time to arrive so that should help a bit.”

“Well she’s bound to be a little nervous...er than usual.” Twilight added. “It’s her big day after all. It’s not every day somepony, especially a pegasus, asks to become an Apple.”

**************

Apple Bloom trotted along the front of the crowd towards Mayor Mare. As she moved every step she made had the small chisel and equally small paintbrush hanging around her neck, suspended as they were on a dark pink ribbon in the same shade as those in her mane and at the base of her tail, bounce about. The artist’s paintbrush against her chest matched that which made up part of her cutie mark - that of a bright green apple being painted over in red by said brush. She may have had her cutie mark for the better part of year now but she still liked to emphasise or accessorise it at every opportunity.

What she hadn’t had for the best part of a year though, she thought as she almost tripped on a small mound of earth, was these darn long, gangly, uncooperative, stoopid legs... and they were getting longer almost every day. She’d started to hit a growth spurt just before Uncle Lero’s wedding and it showed no signs of stopping anytime soon.

Darn puberty, being fourteen sucked. Scoot was lucky, she was still thirteen and her growth spurt hadn’t started yet. Plus pegasi hardly ever got as large as earth ponies.

Reaching Mayor Mare’s side, Apple Bloom stretched up on tippy-hoofs and whispered into the adult’s ear before turning and heading back towards the farmhouse. A few months back she’d never have been able to do that at all, not without Mayor Mare having to bend down her head to her level. Maybe being fourteen didn’t totally suck after all.

***********

“Mares and gentlestallions, could I have your attention please?” Mayor Mare called out as she stepped forward so everypony could more easily see her. In the middle of the small cleared space in front of the crowd a large stake had been driven into the ground ready for today’s events and it was beside this stake that the town’s highest ranking official (unless one wanted to get technical and point out that in cases of extreme emergency Twilight Sparkle was authorised by royal decree to overrule her) placed herself.

“Good ponies of Ponyville, visitors from afar. I bid you welcome. I have just been informed that we are about ready to begin so I won't take up much of your time, I promise.”

A slight groan from the assembled ponies told her that many of them, especially those from major cities, very much doubted that an official’s often repeated promise of ‘not taking up much of their time’ was in any way about to come true.

“As one of the oldest earth pony families in Equestria, the Apple family have a long history of fine traditions, and none more sacrosanct to an earth pony than a petitioning, such as we are here to witness today.

“While the tradition hails back throughout time immemorial to even before government as we know it today came into existence, on this fine morning I am honoured to join you as a representative of Equestria's governing bodies in order to handle the legal aspect of today’s proceedings.

“As many of you are aware, not only not only will this petitioning permanently change the petitioner's name and family records, it has been brought to our attention through Miss Sparkle’s ‘assistance’ that, due to some very old legal loopholes, a successful petitioning held within the Ponyville area will also legally reclassify any non earth pony petitioner as an earth pony under Equestrian law.

A number of gasps came from the crowd. While it wasn’t impossible for a pony to obtain tribal-reassignment, it was so rare that there was probably only a few ponies alive today that had been through the process. It was only usually a pegasus or unicorn that had lost their wings or horn through major injury or, even more uncommonly, a member of one tribe whose self-identity and magical makeup disagreed with the body into which they were born. For a pony to be reclassified due to a ‘legal loophole’, well that was just unheard of.

“As you will no doubt agree, this is a major change for any non earth pony to make and I’m sure everypony here will, as I do, understand and appreciate the seriousness of the commitment being shown here today.”

“Darn tootin this is serious business” came a call from the edge of the crowd as Granny Smith slowly made her way to the centre of the clear spot in which Mayor mare was standing. The elderly mare was assisted by Apple Bloom, the teenager careful to only move as fast as her grandmother could handle. Trailing behind them both AJ carried a chair with her for Granny to sit on, which she placed on the ground next to Mayor Mare.

“Thank ya, deary.” Granny settled into the chair, taking the weight off of her aching hooves. “Alright now ya’ll, settle down and gather ‘round. You there, give a girl some space.”

Taking stock of the crowd around her - many of them Apples, many of them not - Granny smiled. It did an old heart good to see so many wonderful ponies out here today to wish her kinfolk well. She may not be long for this world now, but she felt sure that she’d be able to leave it in good hooves.

“So, first up, who joins me on th’ council of three?” She asked

“That would be us.” came the reply as a pair of elderly Earth ponies, one stallion and one mare, stepped from the crowd and out into the middle of the clearing. With surprising deftness the old stallion plucked the hat from his head and held it in front of his chest. “I, Apple Strudel, and my kin, Apple Rose, offer our wisdom and experience.”

“Why, thank ya kindly.” Granny replied, motioning to her left hoof side for her two kinfolk to join her in the clearing before she continued.

“An’ who brings th’ law to this here petitioning, so this might all be nice an’ legal like?”

From where she had retreated back into the face of the crowd, Mayor Mare once more stepped forward.

“That would be us.” She declared as her stallion made his way out fo the crowd to stand by her side. “As representatives of the Equestrian legal and judicial system, both Due Diligence and myself, Mayor Mare, will be here to witness and record these matters for posterity.”

“Th’ Apple family thanks ya.” Granny replied, motioning to her right hoof side for the two officials to join her in the clearing before once again she continued.

“An’ who is th’ pony that petitions inclusion inter th’ Apple family?” Granny was very careful to enunciate clearly, both to minimise her accent (it didn't help), but also so that her teeth didn't fall out at what would surely be an inopportune moment.

“That would be me.” A bold, confident voice came from within the mass gathering of bodies.

Within seconds the crowd had parted and from within stepped Fluttershy, her head held high as she made her way into the middle of the clearing. As she moved those gathered could see that her mane was filled with brightly coloured flowers of many colours, though the most prominent colour was a bright red that matched Big Mac’s coat.

From between the feathers of her wings poked many other kinds of feathers, duck feathers, eagle feathers, chicken feathers, all carefully placed so that with every movement she looked about ready to take flight in a burst of colour. The element of kindness’s special talent, her calling in life, was to care for and tend to the world’s animals, and all of her animal friends had done their best today to make sure that the rest of world knew how much they appreciated it.

The wry smile on Granny’s face spoke volumes. As far as Sweet Apple Acres was concerned Fluttershy had been both family and clan for a long time now and that she would have the fortitude to go through the whole tradition just showed how dedicated to the family she had become.

Fluttershy took another step forward, her usual timidity lacking, today she had poise and confidence.

“That would be me.” She repeated, as if daring those around her to disagree. “Lady Fluttershy, bearer of the element of kindness, mare of herd Macintosh, child of the Glory family, sired by Champagne Supernova, born of Morning Glory. I come before you today to petition inclusion into the Apple family.”

Granny took in the young mare before her. She looked so young, so fragile. But Granny was well aware that appearances could be deceptive and, in this mare’s case, doubly so.

“Do ya realise...” Granny asked “what it is that ya ask, an’ what it is that ya will have to give up ta achieve it if ya’ll ar’ successful?”

“Yes.” Fluttershy met Granny’s eyes as a moment passed between them. “Yes, I do.”

“Good on you.” Granny grinned before she turned back to the crowd. “An’ who stands with this mare.”

A cry of “That would be me” came again from within the crowd as Cheerilee stepped forward, her back covered in a blanket to which were attached dozens of hoofdrawn pictures, each one crafted for her by one of the children in her class. Within her mane sat Angel Bunny clad in a tiny little white tuxedo.

“That is me. Cheerilee, child of the Spritzer family, born as Cherry Spritzer, birthed from Lemon Spritzer and sired by Bucks Fizz, lead mare of herd Macintosh.”

From between them Twilight and Lyra could both hear Rainbow Dash groan. Ever since their public wedding in Canterlot a few months before, and the associated press coverage that had gone with it, the phrase ‘lead mare’ had very much come back into popular fashion, much to the pegasus’ dismay.

“I have never met...” Cheerilee continued. “a pony as dedicated to the ideals of kindness and compassion as my herdsister who stands before you today and I am proud to stand beside her as her second.” From within her mane Angel Bunny nodded his agreement.

“Thank ya, Miss Cheerilee.” Granny motioned for the schoolteacher to stand next to her herdmate on the Apple matriarch’s left-hoof side. “As an earth pony, your word is your bond an’ your bond has done been accepted. Th’ Apple family thanks ya.”

Turning back to the crowd, Granny locked eyes with her grandson, who was trying his best not to hyperventilate as his human friend rubbed at his shoulders. Public speaking made him almost as uneasy as it did Fluttershy.

“An’ which member ah th’ Apple clan asks fer Lady Fluttershy’s inclusion?”

Stepping forward, Big Mac told himself over and over not to blow it.

“Ah do. McIntosh Apple, child ah th’ Apple family, born ah Jubilee Apple, sired by Pippin Apple, stallion ah herd McIntosh.”

Taking a deep breath, the draft pony tried to remember all that he’d written down over the past few weeks just for this day. But try as he might, the words just weren’t there, his speech just wasn’t coming. In a panic he turned to the crowd, catching Lero’s eye. Unable to help, the human just raised his elbows from his sides in a rough impression of a pegasus.

“Okay then.” Big Mac hissed almost silently under his breath. “He’s right, looks like ah’m jus gunna have ta wing it.”

Resolving himself to whatever the magic of harmony had in store for him, Big Mac opened his mouth and spoke from the heart.

“Ah petition fer th’ inclusion ah Lady Fluttershy inter th’ Apple family as Ah have never met any mare, from any tribe, who embodies everythin’ that th’ Apple family stand fer as completely as she does. She is th’ pinnacle ah love, patience, dedication an’, most ah all, kindness. Ah wish fer us ta spend th’ rest ah our days side by side an’, if it’s our fate, ta raise th’ next generation ah Apples, be they earth ponies or pegasi, t’gether, in love an’ harmony within our herd.

The crowd, who had just moments ago (mostly) believed that the large stallion had forgotten his lines, now stamped at the ground beneath their hooves in applause. While it may not have been the speech that he had written, Big Mac thought it had gone quite well, and so did everypony else by the sounds of it. Sometimes it was just best to sit back and go where harmony wanted you to go after all.

From across the clearing, and though her cheeks were positively burning red by this point, Fluttershy smiled at her stallion. While Big Mac wasn't big on talking when he didn't need to, and she knew beyond a doubt how much he loved her, it was always something extra special to hear him use his words to express how he felt.

As the crowd regained their composure, Granny thought it might be a good idea to get the proceedings back underway before her grandson melted into a big red puddle.

“An’ who stands with this stallion.” She asked, knowing full well what was going to happen next.

Lero stepped forward, eliciting some whispers from the crowd. While non earth pony seconds were extremely rare, though not unrecorded, no non-pony had ever stood before an earth pony petitioning before.

“I do.” The human declared as he moved into the middle of the clearing. turning in place so every pony could get a good look at him. “Bellerophon Michealides, child of the Michealides family, born of Katherine Gallagher-Michealides, sired by Aristotle Michealides, stallion of herd Bellerophon, holder of the title ‘honourary earth pony’ as bestowed upon me by the elders of the moon and former viceroy of the royal sisters.” Lifting a hand he motioned to Big Mac. “I have never met a pony as dedicated to friendship, integrity, family values and good, honest hard work as my friend here and I am honoured to stand with him as his second, both today and any other day.”

“Well then, Mister Handy, seein’ as yer earth pony enough fer th’ running ah th’ moon...” Granny’s eyes moved over crowd, seeking out and finding a couple of members of the Council of Elders who each nodded their agreement “...then yer earth pony enough fer th’ Apple family.”

“Any objections?” she added as she gave the crowd the stink eye. No pony said a word... not even one. “Ah thought not. Mister Handy, as an earth pony, or as close to one as what matters, yer word is yer bond and yer bond done been accepted. Th’ Apple family thanks ya.”

Looking around, Granny caught Applejack’s eye and gave the younger Apple mare a nod.

“So here’s the good bit.” Granny said as AJ came around from behind her to pass a large shovel to her brother. “Two ponies, one shovel. Ya’ll gotta show us that yer can work t’gether ta dig a hole, big enough ta put your future in.”

Holding the shovel out to his herdmate, Big Mac held the tool until Fluttershy had grasped it tightly with her teeth. Just as a unicorn would not be allowed to use their magic, the pegasus was forbidden from using her wings, everything had to be done the earth pony way.

Maneuvering the head of the shovel so it would stick in the ground next to the large stake, Fluttershy held the shaft with her teeth while Big Mac used his forehooves and his considerable weight to drive the shovel into the ground. Then between the two of them they dug out a shovelful of earth and deposited it on the ground in front of the stake. After repeating this sequence a couple of times, they soon had a hole big enough to hide a good sized pumpkin in.

“Good work.” Granny declared. “Now, who has the apples?“

Lero reached into his satchel and pulled an apple from its depths while Cheerilee pulled another from the saddlebags underneath her blanket. As they both held their offerings aloft a murmur made its way through the crowd. It had not gone unnoticed - and in a field full of Apple clan it had been highly unlikely that it would have - that the apple Lero was holding was a Pippin while the one Cherrilee held was a Jubilee.

“Now, pass them to th' couple please.” Granny requested, trying her best to hide the tears coming to her eyes.

As Big Mac and Fluttershy both took an apple, they each took a small bite out of the one they were holding before swapping it with each other for its counterpart, taking a small bite from that apple as well.

“Now, as you plant these apples... that their seeds... might grow...” It was at this point, as both Big Mac and Fluttershy gently placed the two part eaten apples in the bottom of the hole they had dug together, Granny lost her composure, leaving Apple Strudel to carry on with the ceremony in her place.

“As you plant these apples, that their seeds might grow into a mighty tree...” He stated. “with many branches bearing fruit for the benefit of the generations to come after you, strong limbs and healthy leaves providing shade and sustenance for your own descendants, we pass onto you our hopes that your relationship will continue to grow and flourish with similar strength.”

As he motioned to both Lero and Cheerilee, the two seconds again reached into their bags, this time each pulling out a pair of trowels. As the two of them bent down by the hole, they joined Fluttershy and Big Mac in pulling the earth that had been previously excavated back into the hole.

“And we must never forget...” Apple Strudel added. “that through it all, our friends, our families and our herds are there to help us when we need it, as we are there to help them in return. To offer assistance gladly to others and to accept it with grace when it is offered. For that is the earth pony way.”

As Lero and Big Mac used the back of the large shovel to pat down the last of the loose earth, Applejack reappeared carrying a watering can which she deposited between Cheerilee and Fluttershy, the two herdsisters then lifting it between them to drench the freshly replaced soil and the seeds now nestled safely beneath it.

Turning to Mayor Mare, Apple Strudel asked “Is that enough?” at which point both town officials nodded back.

“Well...” The elderly stallion said, turning back to the two petitioners. “then by both Apple and earth pony tradition, Lady Fluttershy...” a large smile spread across his face “you are now an Apple mare. Welcome to the family.”

***************

As whoops, hollers, and a whole heap of stomping resonated across the orchard (a surprising amount of which seemed to come from both the Canterlot and Manehatten parts of the crowd) Big Mac pulled Fluttershy into a passionate kiss, neither of them caring that they were surrounded by untold numbers of other ponies. It was only when a chorus of ‘aaaahs’ made its way through almost every mare present (and a large number of the stallions too) that the pair of them came up for air, just to be glomped by an extremely excited Cheerilee who had currently enough ‘boing’ in her bounce to give Pinkie Pie a run for her money.

As the cheers and shouts finally started to die down, Mayor Mare moved to the front of the crowd and called for attention.

“Mares and gentlestallions, I said I wasn't going to take up much of your time, so here goes.” She looked over to her stallion, who had just finished writing the event up in the town journal, for confirmation. “With this I now proclaim that under Equestrian law, Lady Fluttershy will from this day forth be legally known as the earth pony Lady Fluttershy Apple, a full member of the Apple family with all the rights, responsibilities and obligations that this entails. Congratulations.”

And at that the whoops, hollers and whole heap of stomping started all over again.

“Well, ya heard th’ lady.” Granny Smith shouted above the din, her previous tears having been wiped away. “Ya know what this means don’t cha? This means it’s time fer one hellacious shindig.”

Casting around her, she shouted again.

“Pinkie? Where are you, girl?”

“Here!”

Turning back, Granny found the party pony bouncing on her hooves right by her side.

“Well, lookin’ at all these extra ponies, ah reckon we’re gunna need whole heap more supplies than we’ve got back at the farmhouse. Think ya can handle it, ma’girl?

“Can I ever!” Pinkie’s bouncing had by now reached epic proportions as her brain flew over the one hundred and one best ways to party it up post petitioning style. “I’ll have the farmhouse barn ready to rock before you can say ‘Pretty Pink Party Pony Pinkie Pie Promptly Provides Perfect Party Packages Positively Pronto’!”

And with that she was gone with no sign of her remaining but a stripy toque left spinning in the air.

************

As the crowd of ponies made their way over to the Sweet Apples Acres farmhouse for what the Ponyville residents were promising any non-resident that they could find would be the biggest party since Twilight’s combination debutante ball and twenty fifth birthday party the year before, the purple thaumologist in question suddenly had a brainwave.

“‘A mark of one's destiny, singled out alone, fulfilled.’ I think I’ve got it.” She cried.

“Pardon?” Lero asked, shifting his weight so that he could better support Rainbow who was being quite happily carried on his back.

“Star Swirl’s great unfinished masterpiece. I think I’ve just figured out what the main part of the spell’s supposed to do.” The unicorn hopped back and forth between her left and right hooves. “I just need to do a low level cast on it and then run some tests on the results and then-UMPH.”

“Hey, Miss Excity-Pants.” Rainbow said. “Can’t it wait until tonight? Right now we’ve got a party to get to.”

“She’s right.“ Lyra added as she removed her hoof from Twilight’s mouth. “The journal will still be there when we get back. If it’s not too late you can work on it to your heart’s content before we go to bed.”

“Ok, that’s true.” The excited unicorn reluctantly agreed. “But I’m working on it as soon as we get home.”

“Fair enough.” Rainbow laughed as all four of them resumed their journey to the farmhouse and the party of the century. “What’s the worst that can happen?”

31: Who can take tomorrow, dip it in a dream? (MMC)

Who can take tomorrow, dip it in a dream?
Chapter published 9th Feb 2014.

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Bon Bon rose with the dawn just as she always did, though to be truthful it was so much harder this morning than usual...

...darn cider hangover from Tartarus.

But, like any other retailer in this fair town of Ponyville, she had to be up with the dawn if she wanted to catch the crowds. On the upside though, it wasn’t like she had to be up as early as the town’s bakers. The Cakes - and their very own slice of pie - were often falling out of their beds just as many others (especially the likes of the town’s resident party girls: Berry Punch and Cherry Berry) were falling into theirs.

Hopping into the shower she prayed it would do something... anything... to help blast away this gosh-darned headache. Last night’s shin-dig over at Sweet Apple Acres - and boy had it been a doozy - had left her with a head that felt like it had gone six rounds with a taffy puller.

But then it wasn't every day the Apple family let a non-earth pony officially join their clan, maybe more than a hundred years or so if Granny Smith had been on the ball... which admittedly she more often than not wasn’t these days.

As the hot water continued to gush over her beleaguered form, the cottage’s elderly plumbing decide to make its presence known, banging and creaking as the heat made the ancient pipework expand and resettle.

Without thinking about what she was doing, Bon Bon started to bob her head along with the house’s rhythmical groans, her hangover taking the opportunity to remind that she should probably keep sudden movements off of today’s menu unless she wanted to get a second look at last night’s menu... which she didn’t.

“Urrrgh,” the confectioner muttered as she staggered out of the shower and over to the bathroom mirror, a deep throbbing taking up position somewhere behind her eyes, “no more ‘shine for me.”

From behind bleary red eyes she checked her reflection, fussing with her brush so she could get everything just so.

Coat nice and clean? Yep. Two tone mane neatly brushed back and out of the way? Check and check. Horn primed and ready?

Oh yeah, just look at that bad girl shine.

Who’s bad? Oh yeah, you’s bad!

Moving through the house as quietly as she could, an old habit from the days before her musician friend and old roommate had moved out to live with her herd, Bon Bon reminded herself that she really should ask Lero to come check out the state of the house lamps for her. They’d started flickering something manic when she’d gotten home last night and Bon Bon so hated bright flashy lights, they really made her eyes hurt. It had even got to the point where she’d gone searching for a pair of sunglasses but in the end she’d given up and just gone to bed instead.

After a quick breakfast she let herself out of the cottage, standing on the doorstep for a moment to admire the morning. The sun had begun its journey across the sky - all this bright light really wasn’t doing her eyes any good - though she could just about see a cluster of nasty looking rain clouds hanging over the edge of town.

Squinting in the morning sun, Bon Bon thought that even the clouds were looking a bit more ragged than usual this morning. Oh well, the weather team would be all over it soon enough. Their captain could be a bit odd at times but she had those girls trained so well they’d have this sorted out in like ten seconds flat.... once they finally managed to drag themselves out of bed that was. RD was known for sleeping in when she could, and on a morning-after-the-night-before like this the rest of the team would probably be doing the same..

Trotting through town she passed one of the flower girls setting up her stall.

Is that Rose, Daisy or Lily?

Boy, my brain must be an ass-load more mangled than I’d thought.

Best cut right back on the booze, Bonnie,

Whichever one of them it was, it was just too early in the morning to be that chipper.

As she neared the centre of town she could feel the Music of Harmony tugging at the edges of her mind. Now Bon Bon loved a good tune as much as the next mare but there was a time and place for these things and right now was just not it.

Peeking around the corner of Davenport’s sofa store, she could see Twilight Sparkle on the other side of the square, prancing about declaring to all and sundry about how wonderful the world was.

-- Twilight Sparkle --

...that everything is certainly fine

“Urrgh... give it a rest, Sweet Cheeks,” Bon Bon muttered, edging her way carefully around the outside of the town square, hoping against hope that the few extra body lengths of distance would save her from being dragged into this morning’s frivolities.

-- Twilight Sparkle --

There's the Mayor en route to her office

Oh crap, she’s coming this way.

Quick... one step, two step, weave between the cafe tables and we’re home free.

-- Twilight Sparkle --

There's the sofa clerk selling some quills

She’s got Davenport. Run, dude, run!

Oh thank Luna, she’s passing me by.

-- Twilight Sparkle --

My Ponyville is so gentle and still

No nonono no no, she’s coming this way!

Abort! Abort!

-- Twilight Sparkle --

Can things ever go wrong?

I don't think that they will

Oh no girl, get off the table!

Do you have any idea how important cleanliness is for food preparation and presentation?

Holy apple-snacks, Garcon, not you too?!

That’s it. I’m not eating there again until those tables have been cleaned.

-- Twilight Sparkle --

Morning in Ponyville shimmers

Morning in Ponyville shines

No, that’s totally it now, I’m out of here.

The Music of Harmony can go stick all this early morning nonsense right up its plot!

While half the town square was busily prancing off in one direction, Bon Bon ducked out from behind the hedge she'd been using for cover and sidled off down an alleyway.

-- Twilight Sparkle --

And I know for absolute certain...

After a quick dash away from the source of the merriment, the music of harmony faded from the confectioner’s brain leaving just the hangover which, she thought, was still more than enough to be getting on with. The unexpected roll of thunder that chased her down the side street didn't help either.

What on earth are the weather team playing at?

It’s like they’ve never handled a thunder cloud in their lives.

No matter, she was here now, Bon Bon’s Bon Bons, the finest sweet shop in all of Ponyville. Opening the door she let herself in just as the pitter-patter of rain started to beat against the shop’s large display windows. Pausing for a moment to look at the store’s name, painted backwards on the window glass, she was once again glad that she almost exclusively used her cutie name these days rather than her birth name.

I mean, how silly would a sweet shop called ‘Vinyl Scratch’s Bon Bons’ sound anyway?

Taking a deep breath, reveling in the intoxicating smells of sugar and spice and all things nice, Bon Bon’s headache started to lift. Walking into this store always made her feel better, like no matter what happened everything was going to be just fine and dandy as long as she stayed within its four walls.

“Yes indeedy!” Bon Bon‘s magic flipped over the shop’s open sign, “everything’s going to be just fine!”

Author's Note

AN: I’m going to be giving smaller chapters a try for a while. Don’t get me wrong, I like doing the really big chapters but I wanna give smaller and more frequent chapters a go for a while.

32: Breathe out, so I can breathe you in. (MMC)

Breathe out, so I can breathe you in.
Chapter published 4th June 2014
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07.59.55am
07.59.56am
07.59.57am
07.59.58am
07.59.59am
RINGRINGRINGRINGRINGRINGRINGRINGRINGRINGRINGRINGRINGRINGRINGRING

The alarm clock was loud and it was shrill, an urgent screeching filling the air not unlike the cries of an operatic chicken running for its life from an entire leash of hungry foxes. Nearby, an unkempt mound of bedclothes moved and groaned as the pony underneath burrowed her head further and further under the pillows, just to get away from all this Celestia-damned noise.

As if indifferent to its mistress's suffering, the alarm continued to buzz and shriek and jump about on the bedside table like it was never ever evergoing to stop. A swift hoof shooting out from beneath the covers, coming down with full earth pony strength atop the offending instrument of chronographical torture soon put paid to that idea... permanently.

After ‘just a few more minutes’ of glorious peace and quiet, all snuggled up under the blissfully warm covers, Tavi Melody finally poked her head out from under her messy pile of blankets. Bleary eyed and struggling to focus, she reached out, fumbling around on the bedside table, searching amongst the smashed alarm parts for her sunglasses. Small pieces of shattered glass and loose clockwork fell onto the floor, pushing a recollection of the outcome of her early morning altercation with her now mangled alarm clock though her still groggy brain.

Oh rats... I’ll have to buy another one now... again.

Locating her errant eyewear she slipped them on, glad of the welcome reprieve against the cruel sliver of early morning light that forced its way through the tiny gap in the bedroom curtains to stab its way across her bed and into her face.

Carefully opening the drawer in her bedside table, she used a forehoof to sweep the collection of mutilated clock pieces both out of sight and out of mind. With that problem dealt with she propped herself up on her side, using the opportunity to take in the view of her pegasus roommate, still asleep as she was in her own bed on the other side of the room.

When Tavi had found out just last month that her pegasus roommate - the much respected concert violinist Ditzee von Strudlehoffen-Doo, 1st chair violin at Canterlot Philharmonic Orchestra and one of the nation’s most in-demand player of violins and violas - would be travelling to Ponyville to represent House Strudlehoffen-

A pegasus representing one of the most noble of Earth Pony households?

How remarkable! Though Ditzee is a totally remarkable mare.

-Tavi had pulled just about every string she could find - no pun intended - and used the Melody clan’s tenuous connection to the Apples to ensure that they could make the trip together. She’d even managed to arrange a few days here in one of the more modest of the family’s summer homes.

While Tavi would never admit it, the main reason she’d jumped at the chance - argued, pleaded, begged almost - to represent the Melody family at the Apple’s petitioning the day before was that she was well aware that the small cottage that her family kept here in Ponyville only had one bedroom... and even better, only one bed.

This meant that - and this was a totally unfortunate side effect over which she had absolutely no control... none what-so-ever - she would have to share a bed with her... friend.

Unfortunately, once they’d arrived she’d been dismayed to discover - though she’d hidden it well - that the family had at some point replaced the large princess sized bed with two singles. Damn them! But, on the upside, while they might be in separate beds they were at least in the same room, so it still meant that she could listen to her roommate sleep.

There the pegasus lay on the other side of the room, so prim, so proper; laying on her back with her eyes closed, her forehooves daintily holding her blanket against her chest, her usually so-elegantly brushed blonde mane instead fanned out all across the pillow around her head. There were even a couple of strands in her mouth.

Lost in thought, the earth pony watched the slumbering mare - so dignified even as she slept, the gentle rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, the soft wheeze and groan of her almost imperceptible - and ridiculously cute - snores. Even the thin line of drool from her mouth managed to put out an air of sophistication. She was so refined, so cultured... everything that Tavi had left behind all those years ago, back when she'd decided that her own path lay more in the modern than in the classical, much to her mother’s despair.

As if knowing that she was being watched, Ditzee moaned softly in her sleep before turning onto her side, the collection of origami ponies that stood guard over their princess from their positions on her bedside table wavering as the pegasus’ snores pushed and pulled at their tiny papery bodies.

It was a good few minutes later before Tavi realised that she’d just been sitting there, listening to her friend sleep, watching her chest rise and fall with every breath, hanging on every sound like some kind of love sick schoolfilly.

Aaaarrgh, what’s wrong with you, Tavi?

You’re usually so much cooler than this!

Really, what was wrong with her? Usually she was so forthright and would just say whatever was on her mind and hang the consequences. She was a strong, independent, successful mare. Every night she was out there, hundreds of ponies at her hooftips, moving at her every command, jumping and dancing and moving and swaying along with her whims as their beloved DJ Pon-3 threw down the slickest beats in the country, packing out nightclubs across the nation night after night, week after week.

Really, you should just mare up and tell her how you feel!

She’d headlined galas, rocked debutante balls, thrown down at royal weddings, all without so much as a worry, her ever nonchalant grin and her permanently present shades plastered across her face as she made the world sit up and take notice.

So why, ohhh whhhhy, was it that whenever she wanted to tell her high-class friend how she felt about her she was so... sooo... tongue tied? Why did she always get so scared of making a fool of herself and then give up every single time?

Every!

Single!

Time!

But she’d do it today, she’d tell her today for sure...

Definitely...

One hundred percent...

Absolutely...

Probably...

Slipping out of bed, careful not to make too much noise - not that this was really a worry, her roommate could generally sleep through anything short of a sonic rainboom - she padded her way across the room.

As she passed by the sleeping pegasus she caught a whiff of the madly expensive shampoo and that super classy frou-frou night-lotion that Ditzee loved so much. She’d always claimed it kept her hooves supple - making it easier to hold both her violin and its bow for the hours on end that some of her longer performances took - but the earth pony suspected that she just really loved its sweet, sweet smell of blueberries and lemon.

Tavi remembered spending week after week last year tracking down the lotion’s supplier to some fancy little boutique up in Vortex. It had been hard work, and had cost her a hefty pile of bits - and even now just thinking about the cloud walking spell made her a little nauseous - but it was more than worth it just to see the look in her friend’s eyes when she’d opened her Hearths Warming Eve gift to find a twelve month supply of her favourite indulgence staring back at her.

Walking into the bathroom, the earth pony sat herself down in front of the sink before taking a long hard look at herself in the mirror. Dark sunglasses and a chronic case of bed mane stared back at her, just as it always did whenever she was up at this kind of crazy hour.

Maybe she could try ditching the glasses for something more refined? She usually wore them to protect her sensitive eyes, but the last few days she’d been finding that she didn’t need them.

Her eyes moved over the bathroom shelf and soon fell on the large pink ribbon that Ditzee usually wore as a bow in the back of her mane, sitting between yet more of the pegasus’ origami creatures. They’d only been here in Ponyville a few days and already these tiny creations were showing up in the most unlikely of places.

Maybe I could try dressing up nicely? I haven’t done that since I was a filly.

How about a bow tie? Bowties are still cool. right?

Lifting Ditzee’s bow, Tavi held it against her throat, moving her head from side to side to get a better look before carefully putting it back on the shelf.

I might still have that pink one mom gave me for my tenth birthday...

...before I became the family odd-ball.

With just a quick ruffle of her forehooves though her hair, most of her trademark two tone black and charcoal grey spikes sprang back into place. It was a look of wild abandon that she’d carefully crafted since she was young, having served her well all these years since she’d cast aside all her years of training in classical music to pursue her dream to become Canterlot’s number one club DJ.

Oh, how her parents had cried the day she’d told her that she was giving up the cello to work in ‘some seedy bar’ as her sire had put it, though not as much as her dam had cried the day Tavi had first had her long, lustrous mane cut short - its elegant sweep and soft strands replaced with mane-dye, savage spikes and copious amounts of hair gel.

Turning her head so she could better see the back of her neck in the mirror, Tavi pondered growing her mane out again. As a young filly she’d so often been complimented on her long, dark mane, told time after time how it set off her appearance perfectly. Maybe that was why she’d cut it so short once she’d decided to make such a radical change in direction, ‘throwing away’ years of classical training so she could pursue her dreams.

Either way, she’d thought her mother would never forgive her, what with all the melodrama and fainting fits and the sudden installation of chaise-longue in every room of the house. How her mother still wept whenever the subject of her career choice came up. But, on the other hoof, mommy dearest had been so excited to meet Ditzee when the two of them had started rooming, forever dropping subtle comments that somehow the cultured pegasus might ‘rub off’ on her wayward daughter. Maybe mother was right for once, maybe she had rubbed off on her... and if she ever plucked up the courage to tell her how she felt then maybe they could rub off on each other.

Snorting at her own smutty joke, Tavi’s hooves shot to her mouth. Praying that she hadn’t woken up the sleeping beauty in the adjoining room, the earth pony leant over and poked her head around the door frame. There she was, the pegasus still snoring away, the blanket having fallen away from her flank as she’d turned over, her purple treble clef cutie mark no longer hidden away from sight.

Her hooves falling from her mouth, Tavi found her gaze moving down to her own cutie mark, a pair of barred eighth notes, the solid black lines standing out against her own grey coat. The same thought struck her now as had back when the violinist had first walked into the acoustic labs back at the university, carrying that huge cello of hers-

Hang on, she plays violin...

-turning her head as her mane flowed over her back, capturing Tavi and all her fellow undergraduates with her piercing mulberry eyes-

But her eyes are gold...

-before setting up her instrument with all the care and dedication of a mother taking care of her first born foal. Tavi couldn’t even remember what the experiment that Ditzee had been booked to help with had been, but the earth pony did remember that she’d secretly, and deliberately, sabotaged the results not one, not two, but three times just so the department would pay to keep having the cell... violinist back again.

It had taken not a small number of hints - followed up by straight out invites - to talk the pegasus into stopping by at Tavi’s ‘other’ place of work. The earth pony could remember it like yesterday; the way she’d known, just known - even over the pumping bass and the flashing lights - the very second that Ditzee had walked into the club.

She’d looked up, spotting the grey coat and blonde mane all the way from the other side of the dancefloor, the way the colored lights made her coat shine, the way that everything else had faded away leaving the DJ standing, gawping down from her booth as the pegasus had veritably floated her way across the room.

It was at that moment that Tavi had decided that she had to spend as much time as ponily possible with this mare, this picture of beauty and refinement that could light up any room that she walked into in a way that could rival Princess Celestia’s sun for sheer brilliance.

And it wasn’t a one time visit either. Though she knew that it wasn’t Ditzee’s kind of place-

But there was a time when it wasn’t exactly mine either.

-she’d somehow talked the pegasus into coming back a few more times. Somehow, and quite surprisingly, she’d then managed not to screw it all up and scare her new friend away. Even with all their differences they just kept meeting up, time after time, event after event. And then had come that fateful day when they’ve both found themselves apartment hunting at the same time, and she’d thrown out that crazy idea that maybe they could get a place together... and Ditzee hadn’t laughed... instead she’d said yes!

But with all these good times, all these successes, why couldn’t she just say it, why couldn’t she stop hiding behind her glasses and her big goofy grin and just say ‘hey, I like you, as in really like you, why don’t we go out on a proper date, just the two of us?’ How hard could that be?

Boy, I am such a coward!

Come on Tavi, get your teats out of your purse and just ask the girl!

Hang on... what was I just thinking about eye colour?

Ooow, sudden headache. Not cool.

Turning back to the bathroom mirror and picking up one of her roommate’s many mane-brushes - the DJ didn’t own any of her own - the earth pony began to run it through her hair, carefully working out the knots and tangles, clearing the strands of the small amount of product she now used to keep her spikes in place.

Over the years her mane had become accustomed to its ‘tearaway’ mane-style, an arrangement she’d had to meticulously crafted for years until eventually it had started springing up of its own accord without needing much interference from its mistress. Now though, it seemed to have no trouble remembering the way it used to sit, all those years back when she'd been just a child, sitting at the hooves of the best music tutors that bits could buy.

Running the brush through her mane, every hair fell into place, nothing was sticking up, nothing was misbehaving. Smoothing down the last little bit, she pulled her fringe into an elegant sweep across her forehead before setting the brush down.

Slowly she pulled off her shades, laying them down on the shelf between the brush and the origami ponies, all tiny little silver unicorns every one of them. Looking back at her was a totally different mare, one she hadn’t seen in years, though it felt like just days had passed.

Lowering her eyelids just a fraction she lifted her nose slightly, a little turn of the head completing the ‘cool beauty’ look, the ‘untouchable ice queen’, the elegant and aloof ‘mare about town’.

Taking in the poised and confident mare that stared back at her, she imagined herself in a bowtie, a violin and bow held gently in the crook of her ankle. Oh yeah, she could pull it off; she could be refined, she could be cultured, she could be...

...beautiful.

Could she pull it off, could she let her roommate see the mare she was inside? Could she make Ditzee feel the way about her that she did about the pegasus? Would the room still light up when she walked in? Could she play music just for her and make her feel the way that Tavi felt every time Ditzee picked up that violin? Could they ever make such sweet music like that together, as one?

So didn’t know, but she sure was ready to give it a try.

This is it, this is the day!

From the next room came a delicate noise, echoing off of the walls as Ditzee snorted herself awake. Quick as a bunny, Tavi ruffled her mane back into its usual spikes before clamping her shades back over her eyes.

Or, maybe tomorrow..

One step at a time, Octavia... one step at a time.

33: If you follow me we'll put our differences aside (Xenophoolia part 1of6) (MMC)

Xenophoolia - A trilogy in six parts.

Part 1of6 - “If you follow me we'll put our differences aside.”
Part 2of6 - “But I look a little closer and it starts to feel familiar too.”
Part 3of6 - “I'm just like you and you're just like me.”
Part 4of6 - “Everything is turned around, this crazy world is upside-down.”
Part 5of6 - “Helped me to see all the possibilities.”
Part 6of6 - “I couldn't see what was right there in front of me.”

The day was just starting to wind down as Lero finally made his way home for the evening.

Shifting his tool bag from one shoulder to the other, he rubbed a thumb against his brow, hoping against hope that it would do something to drive away some of this killer headache that had been dogging him for days now.

It didn’t.

Business had picked up quite dramatically since Quickfix’s ‘accident’ the winter before last and it was on days like this that Equestria’s sole human really wished he had an assistant or apprentice to help him out with his ‘handyman’ job.

Yeah, an apprentice would be great. Or even a real, honest-to-goodness workshop of his own, somewhere he could work when the weather was bad without taking over either the kitchen table or big chunks of Twilight’s basement laboratory.

Not for the first time Lero pondered buying the now disused mechanic’s workshop on the other side of town and asking RD and Lyra to drag it over beside to his house on Zweibrucker Street. Now that they had four adults living in his little house pretty much full-time they could certainly do with the extra room it would bring, and give him somewhere out of the way in which to work.

As an added bonus it would give him a place to store what was becoming an impressive collection of tools. He still wasn’t sure how Twi had managed to ‘accidently’ enchant one of the screwdrivers he’d idly left on a countertop but even now, months later, it still did weird things to anything not made out of wood. On the other hand though it was miles better at picking locks than a handful of hairpins anyday so he couldn't complain too much.

The space, to be honest, would be something of a godsend. As much as RD insisted - and she did quite regularly - that her cloudhouse was totally safe, both Lero and Lyra repeatedly insisted they’d feel a whole lot better with something a tad more substantial than solidified clouds under their feet... hooves... whatever. Lyra claimed it was an earth pony thing, that as a tribe they just didn’t feel comfortable with any real distance between their hooves and good old dirt and mud, and on this Lero found he had to agree.

And - as if he needed any more incentive at this point - if he did buy Quickfix’s old place then young Scootaloo would benefit from the money from the sale. Even if she couldn’t touch it until she was old enough to leave the orphanage in a few years, it’d easily cover a few years of higher education if she wanted it or even go some way to setting her up with a place of her own.

It was a shame about the kid, really, it was; orphaned at such a young age, still weak when it came to flying and even now, as she approached her fourteenth birthday, still blank on the ol’ flank.

Poor kid, if only there was more we could do for her.

But, not like there’s anything I can do to help anyone get their cutie marks.

“I fell into a burning ring of fire, I went down, down, down as the flames went higher,” Lero sang idly to himself without even realising it as he turned the corner into the town square, “and it burns, burns, burns, the ring of fire, the ring of fire.”

As it had so many times in the last couple of days, the headache hit him again like an unexpected two by four to the skull, rocking him on his feet as he struggled to stay upright.

Between bouts of nausea and shaking vision, Lero spotted an empty table outside a nearby cafe, and quickly — or as quickly as he could manage — shuffled over towards it. Slumping his ass onto the oversized toadstool, he let his toolbag fall to the floor as he leant forward, letting his face fall into his palms, trying to massage the pain away with his fingertips. It didn’t work.

It never bloody works.

Dr Chart over at Ponyville General was at a loss as to what these sudden headaches the human had been suffering could entail, attributing them to stress for want of a better cause, something Lero would readily admit he was having more than his fair share of this week.

It had all started the night after the big party over at Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight had been virtually chomping at the bit all throughout the party to get back to the library, just so she could get her nose back into some ‘priority’ research that she’d accidentally overlooked some time before. Eventually she’d skipped out - both figuratively and literally - well before the end of the party, leaving her herdmates to head on home without her. The next morning however she’d burst into the house, shouting and screaming and getting herself into a complete tizzy about how she’d ‘ruined everything’ and how she ‘had to keep her distance’ and so on before hiding under the bed and refusing to come out.

Their delightful little bookworm had always been a bit... highly strung, but it seemed that everything their herd had tried on that morning to calm her down had only made her worse. Eventually it had got to the point where the lavender unicorn had fled back to the library and barricaded herself inside her lab. Eventually RD had had enough and threatened to drag her fellow unicorn home by the horn, which had almost erupted into a fight. Unfortunately Lero had been too slow - and much too headachey - to do his stallionly duty and step in between the two unicorns, giving Twilight time to telekinetically toss her herdmates out on their ears and magically seal the library’s doors.

Come on, Twi, how can we help you if you won’t even talk to us?

RD, of course, hadn’t taken it at all well, and it looked like her work was starting to suffer because of it. By now it had got to the point where she couldn’t even manage to keep a single raincloud under control for more than five minutes. It was a good thing she’d spent years developing one of the most competent weather crews in all of Equestria as she’d at least been able to temporarily pass the reins over to Cloud Kicker and Blossomforth, promising to attempt not even a single stitch of weather-work until she got her head straight again, for which poor Time Turner and BonBon - and their extremely sunburnt flanks - were eternally grateful.

Lyra had taken it upon herself to try and talk some sense into their erstwhile herdmate, planting herself outside of the library’s front door for hours on end, just trying to get Twilight to come out and talk. Whether it was down to the earth pony’s natural reservoir of patience, or the many years of training in the art of Shattered Stone, no pony knew. Either way, she was probably still there right now.

The only time Lero had ever seen his super-sedate mare lose her cool was during the last few weeks running up to their herd’s public wedding a few months back. That complete di... tool Prince Blueblood had been complaining - yet again - about whatever it was that had put his snout out of joint about the whole thing that particular day. He’d made yet another stupid comment about how two of the nation’s most eligible unicorn bachelorettes were throwing away their heritage by marrying a mere earth pony and a monkey.

If the ‘earth pony’ jibe hadn’t already had Lyra’s jimmies rustled to breaking point then the ‘monkey’ line had pushed her right over the edge, and the only thing that had stopped her from throwing her drink over the arrogant tosser and then giving him the dressing down of his life was the fact that Rare Deluge had beaten her to it.

Prince Blueblood had learnt a valuable lesson that day, mainly that one should never insult earth ponies in front of a unicorn element bearer without first checking which tribe her own father hailed from. While it was true that Lero’s fabulous weathermare wife could accomplish many extraordinary magnificent feats, holding back when some idiot insulted her friends or family just wasn’t one of them.

On the upside, not only did Magnum have a fantastic story to tell about how his daughter had defended the nobility of earth ponies everywhere but the Foal Free Press had also published a full colour picture of the event in that day’s late edition. Word on the street was that it was their best ever selling edition.

Rocking back and forth on the edge of the toadstool table for a moment - and completely oblivious to the nervous looking waiter slowly edging his way closer and closer to the human’s side - Lero was glad to feel the headache subside, even if it was only by a tiny amount. The slightly decreased throbbing wasn’t helped though by a sudden flash of light, and what sounded like an associated crack of thunder, coming from the other side of the town square.

As the human looked up, trying to find the source of the noise - and praying that it wasn’t RD letting loose with another ‘teeny-weeny little light shower’ gone badly wrong... again - Lero was momentarily blinded by another flash and accompanying bang. As he instinctively moved a hand to defend his eyes, blinking to clear the blotches that now danced in his vision, a third flash and bang assailed his senses as a large, fast-moving metal chariot appeared directly above the town square’s large water feature.

Plummeting to the ground and bouncing once, twice, three times, the hurtling carriage slid to a shuddering halt a scant few feet from where Lero sat. In the pair of small trenches the oddly wheelless conveyance had left carved in the ground behind it twin trails of flames flickered. As the human watched, the strips of fire turned into two long clouds of small pink and red butterflies which then flew off into the otherwise clear sky.

Oh no, please, tell me it isn’t...

A head made up of mismatched features came into view as a figure jumped from the chariot, confirming Lero’s worst fears, that HE was here.

Oh crap... It is.

Bounding his way across the dirt towards him - dressed in an odd ensemble of tan labcoat, a bright red Hawaiian shirt, hi-top lace-up basketball sneakers and a pair of wrap-around silver reflective sunglasses - was the one creature in Equestria that Lero would freely admit he didn't like one little bit, the one being that actively annoyed the usually mild-mannered human to the point of irritation.

Discord.

“Lero, my boy!” the chaos god cried, clapping both a paw and a claw onto the human’s weary shoulders, “Good to see you. You're just the fellow biped I was looking for.”

“Oh great, it’s you. It’s been a long time... not long enough though,” Lero sighed. “How have you been? I've been really busy not missing you. You know, after the last time you messed everything up for us... So, nice seeing you, it's been fun. Don't come back.”

Shrugging off Discord’s... hands? Let’s go with ‘appendages,’ shall we? Lero lifted himself from his impromptu chair and started to walk away.

“Oh, come now,” Discord called after him, “surely you can’t still be sore over our last little adventure?”

Lero stopped in his tracks before turning slowly and jabbing a finger in Discord’s direction, which, as the chaos god had floated along the ground after him, meant that the human actually poked him square in the nose. Lero tried to ignore the small honking noise that the finger-on-snout contact caused.

“Sore?” Lero seethed, “You turned me into some kind of super-evolved dog-type werewolfy thing.” He poked Discord in the nose again for good measure, which this time elicited a loud ‘quack’ that in any other situation would have been funny. Today, however, Lero was in no mood for jokes.

“Canis sapien actually. Quite a clever social lesson, I thought.” Discord pulled a rubber duck from his nose, stared at it like somehow it was responsible for Lero’s bad mood and then casually tossed it over his shoulder where it promptly turned into a real duck and flew away.

“Clever?” Lero threw his hands in the air, “I had fur and fangs and claws and... things. I ended up sleeping all day, howling at the moon, chasing chariots and...” awkwardly he used three fingers to scratch a sudden itch behind his left ear, “...stuff. Ponies were terrified of me! The foals were petrified!”

“Really?” Discord raised an eyebrow, which in turn raised its own eyebrow and so on, “I thought the little ones took to you quite well. Must have been some other happily screaming youngsters riding all over town on your big furry back then... hmm? And giving you belly rubs?” Twisting the top of his body, Discord tied his torso in knots as his eyes - literally - roamed all over the town square. They were just in time to catch sight of an eagle flying past carrying a somewhat disappointed-looking duck in its talons.

“By the way, where are those delightful little troublemakers?” Discord asked as a snap of his bear paw fingers turned a smug looking eagle into a startled-looking squirrel which quickly plummeted - fowl-based cargo and all - towards the ground. “I haven’t seen my Cutie Mark Cohorts in aaaaages! We really must catch up.”

“You leave them out of it,” Lero demanded, once again poking the chaos god in the nose, though this time being rather surprised by both the lack of sound effect and the fact that he’d already started to expect one. “They’ve got enough trouble to deal with without you corrupting them as well.”

“Moi?” Batting away Lero’s hand, Discord put on his best display of innocence, which nopony ever ever ever fell for, so one had to wonder why he even tried. “Oh please, I couldn't corrupt those three delightful little chaos-neutrals if I tried. And anyway, you have to admit that once I changed you from a hyper-evolved wolf back to your usual... semi-evolved monkey-”

“I’m an ape!” Lero shouted, really wishing by now that Discord would just... hop off.

“-yes, yes. You just keep telling yourself that, deary,” Discord grinned. “Anyway, ever since I changed you back, I notice you’ve had to deal with a lot less in the way of negative reactions to your tree-climbing, lice-eating, poop-flinging heritage. Why, I bet now that Mister Wolfie’s gone, they’re just as pleased as punch to have stinky old monkey boy back. I was just trying to help, you see.”

With fire in his eyes, Lero stepped up to the draconequus, a feat that not many in their right mind would dare try. Currently though, Lero’s head - and the associated aching which was making a steady comeback - just didn't give two flying figs about how dangerous a riled up chaos god could be.

“You. Gave. Me. Fleas!” the human growled, before turning on his heel and stomping away.

As the human drew level with Discord’s abandoned chariot-

What do Equestria’s nutters have against wheels anyway?

-a mini-Discord draped himself around Lero’s shoulders before settling down for the ride.

“Now, now. Don’t be like that.” Mini-Discord squeaked, “We’re still friends, aren’t we?”

“No, you're probably thinking of some other hairless ape. Last time I checked, the only friend you had was Rainbow.” Lero scowled at his miniscule passenger. “Though as you didn’t even bother to turn up for her petitioning last week, I’m not even taking bets on that still being true either.”

“Rainbow?” Mini-Discord squeaked in puzzlement, “Oh, yes, she’s playing Fluttershy in this world. Many apologies, I’ve been busy. But that’s why I’m here now... You really need to come with me.”

Staring at the tiny chaos god, Lero stopped in his tracks.

“Go with you? I’m not going anywhere with you.” Lero stated, “The only one doing any ‘going’ around here is you, and if you could hurry up about it that’d be wonderful. ‘K, thanks, bye.”

As Lero was talking to the miniscule copy of Discord, the full size version had magicked himself up a metal trashcan from somewhere and had started rummaging through it. In turn he pulled out a number of objects which he scrutinised carefully before tossing each one into the back of his chariot. First out was a kazoo, then a cape that looked suspiciously like it belonged to one of the CMC, after which came a Rubik’s cube, the headset from a games console entangled around a bunch of bananas, a large map that had been folded into a hat and a potato which squeaked at him in a high-pitched voice.

“I’m a potato!” it cried.

“Oh, do be quiet.” Large Discord snapped as he tossed it into the cart.

“I don’t hate you,” came the plaintive response as the lone tuber disappeared under the pile of assorted junk.

Next came a large monkey wrench wrapped in a coil of wire, after that a bright blue apple, a teapot spewing cotton candy clouds, a headband with a pair of cat ears stitched onto it, a safari shirt and pith helmet, a judge’s gavel, a canoe paddle, a DVD, a broken light bulb and a rubber duckie. All were thrown into the back of the cart except for the light bulb, which Discord just dropped to the floor, his tail flicking it across the town square like a batter hoping for a home run. As soon as the bulb hit the ground, it span on its metal cap like a drill, burrowing into the dirt-packed street where, after a few seconds of huffing and puffing, it had quickly grown into a full sized set of traffic lights.

“Aha, just what I need to stop da-brain from going ka-boom,“ Discord triumphantly held aloft a roll of tinfoil which he quickly stuffed into the inside pocket of his brown lab coat. He then stuffed the entire trash can into the same pocket, leaving not a single bulge in the thin coat’s tastefully tailored lining.

“You're not going away are you?” Lero sighed. He held his hand to his face for a moment. “Okay, I’ll bite. What do you want this time?”

“Oh, not much. Just one teeny, tiny little favour.”

Lifting his sunglasses, the full-sized Discord gave a little sheepish expression - with actual ‘baaaing’ noises coming from somewhere, which wasn’t helping his case one bit - as he held out a pair of claws barely a horn’s width apart.

“Which is?”

“To come with me. Things are very very wrong around here, my dear monkey-”

Lero’s eye twitched.

“-and there’s no point just telling you about it, as your poor little brain would, at best, just block out everything I say-”

“What a shame,” the human deadpanned.

“Believe me, you really need to hear this,” Mini-Discord squeaked, “Things have to change... or rather, they have to change back. You can’t carry on like this. You must have felt it by now, you can’t be that clueless, surely?”

“Felt what?” Lero asked.

“The wrongness, dear boy,” Large-Discord added. “The feeling that world isn’t the way it’s supposed to be; the malaise, the being down in the dumps, the doldrums, the despair, disquiet, discomfort, depression-”

“Discord!” the human growled. “Get to the point, I’m in no mood for this.”

“Indeed you aren’t, and that’s part of the problem. Even if you don’t know why, you’ll have been grouchy and aggressive and generally not-at-all yourself these last few days, am I wrong? Look, you need to come with me now or risk being stuck like this forever.”

Lero had to admit that Discord had a point. He’d been in a foul mood these last few days and he’d had absolutely no idea why... apart from the random killer headaches, of course. He’d initially thought that it had to do with Twilight locking herself away in the library, or the way RD’s job hadn’t been going so well the last few days, or the way that he’d been going about his handyman job recently feeling like he was missing a pair of hands.

Whatever it was that was creating this feeling of malaise, it was affecting the whole herd, that was true. Even the ever sardonic and generally unflappable Lyra had been getting a bit rough around the edges these last few days.

“Why?” Lero eyed the chaos god suspiciously, “What’s wrong with me?”

“Nothing. That’s just it.“ Discord hopped from foot to mismatched foot, “It’s not you, not directly. It’s your wives, Lero, something’s got to be done about your wives.”

“My wives? What’s wrong with my wives?”

“Nothing, except for the fact that they’re the wrong ones!”

“What do you mean, the wrong ones?”

“I mean you're supposed to be married to Rainbow and Lyra.”

As Lero watched, Discord recoloured himself a cerulean blue while his mane and tail striped itself with all the colours of the rainbow.

“Rainbow? But she’s Big Mac’s mare.” Lero snorted. Discord had almost had him for second there but this was just ridiculous. “Look, I know they’re mostly polygamous and stuff around here and I can’t say it hasn’t been brought up before, but me and Mac, I know it might be a bit old fashioned or ‘traditional’,” Lero used two fingers on each hand to mime air-quotes in a way that still confused most ponies,“but we’re both kinda one-stallion-to-a-herd guys, thanks very much.”

Pausing for a moment, Lero added, “and hang on a second, I am married to Lyra.”

“No, not that one, the other one...” Discord’s body rippled as the blue faded away to be replaced with aquamarine, his mane fading to the same shade of green but with white stripes, “Lyra Heartstrings, the unicorn.”

“Miss Heartstrings?” Lero laughed. “The mailmare with the bad case of strabismus? She’s cute and all but I’m pretty sure we’re not married. It’s the kind of thing I’d remember.”

“That’s just it, you don't remember.” Discord clapped paw and claw against the human’s shoulders as he reverted to his normal colouration, “Deep down, your brain knows that there’s something wrong and is trying to fight it. But unlike in some other realities it just can’t win this one on its own, not without some help from moi, kindhearted thing that I am.”

A teeny tiny Discord slithered its way out from within one of Lero’s ear canals much to both Lero and Mini-Discord’s surprise.

“Not before it starts to dribble out of your funny-looking ears anyway.” Teeny-Tiny-Discord squealed as Mini-Discord gave it the death-glare to end all death-glares.

“Look, just come with me if you want to live... you know, happily ever after and all that kind of nonsense,“ Large-Discord said, releasing the human’s shoulders and turning to face a freestanding door that had silently appeared in the street behind him.

As the chaos god threw open the door, Lero could see that instead of showing the town square behind it, the door led to what some long suppressed gathering of synapses at the back of his brain were telling him was a dimensional portal.

Unfortunately, the same group of long forgotten neurons were screaming at him that dimensional portals were something any sensible human would get as far away from as soon as possible before something unspeakable tried to pull you through it.

Nonononono... get out of here, Lero, as fast as you can!

CAUTION! ACHTUNG! ABORT! RUN RUN RUN!

“I dunno where that goes,“ Lero started to back away from the doorway, his feet barely managing not to trip over each other in their haste to get away, “but there’s no way I am ever going through one of those ever again.”

“Trust me, “Discord said as he grabbed the human by the arm and threw him through the doorway, “It’s better than what’s in store for you if you don’t.”

As the chaos god followed the human’s rapidly receding screams through the portal, the door closed itself behind him before vanishing from existence.

Other than that, Ponyville was having quite a nice evening.

Author's Note

Where will this lead? LIke Alice, you're just going to have to follow Lero down the rabbit hole to see where it goes.

34: The scars of your love remind me of us. (MMC)

The scars of your love remind me of us
Chapter published 18th January 2014

*******************

June AC 1217

Ponyville, dead of night.

A low fog rolled past the window, making it hard to see even as far as Lero’s workshop on the other side of the street. Unusual, Lyra thought, for this time of year.

Seated as she was at the bedroom window, she idly watched the fog as it floated aimlessly around outside the house, her eyes taking in the sight though her mind was elsewhere.

Behind her she could hear the breathing of two of her herdmates as they slept, neither of them deeply nor soundly. Lero had been out of sorts since his best friend's wedding just a few days ago. He’d been complaining of occasional bouts of nausea and dizziness, but in the last twenty four hours it had been joined by brief, though still distressing, crippling headache attacks and sudden nosebleeds. Doctor Vital Signs had done what he could, but with no other humans to compare against even the nation’s resident expert (by default) in human physiology was drawing a blank. No pun intended.

It hadn’t helped that the nation’s other expert had locked herself away in the library for the past few days, ranting on about how ‘everything’ was her fault and how she’d 'ruined everything’ and that she was just going to make everything worse if she stayed too close. They’d all tried to talk her down, but it was as if Twilight couldn’t even bear to be in the same room as her herd without looking like she was going to throw up. She’d even sung a little song about how she’d made some kind of mistake, though no other pony had any idea what she could be talking about.

RD had reacted badly - unsurprisingly. She’d practically accused Twilight of abandoning them when they needed her most, almost punched her fellow unicorn right in the face before the purple mare had levitated her herd out of the library and sealed the doors behind them. Rare Deluge could be so impulsive at times... and so strong too. Must be the earth pony father; even a thoroughbred earth pony and Shattered Stone Grandmaster like Lyra had a hard job holding her back at times.

A sudden low groan caught Lyra’s attention and she turned her head to her herdmates. Lero was muttering and mumbling in his sleep again. Without waking from her fitful rest, RD pulled him closer against her pure white coat, her shoulder length deep purple mane - free as it was from its ever present stubby-though-functional ponytail - falling over her withers to rest free against her stallion’s chest.

“Dashie...”

Rare hugged the human tighter as Lero called for this ‘Dashie’ once again. Lyra’s heart ached at hearing the name. Whoever this mare was, Lero had been calling for her in his sleep for the last few nights, though try as they might not one of them could fathom who this mystery mare could be.

Neither they, nor any of their friends, knew of a ‘Dash’ or ‘Dashie’. The only pony that even came close was Rainbow Connection, who had been known as Rainbow Dash once upon a time. She hadn't used that name in over a decade now, abandoning it long before she’d ever found poor Lero lost and alone out in the Everfree all those years ago.

Even while asleep the white unicorn was careful not to poke her stallion with her horn as she pushed her mane up against her slumbering companion’s chin. She could be so careful, Lyra thought, so gentle, so different in private from her public persona, that of a brash and outspoken Thunderbolt cadet and the best unicorn weather mare equestria had ever seen. But then she’d had to be confident and self assured in public all these years, she’d never had made it as the first - and still only - unicorn to ever captain her own weather team otherwise.

But brash as she was, she cared deeply about her stallion and her herd... they all did. Even with Twilight’s whole ‘lock yourself away so you don’t make him worse’ thing going on, there was still a lot of love there... more than Lyra had even been a part of before.

Lero had been so unwell since his friend’s wedding, but then again they’d all been out of sorts these past few days. None as much as the bearer of the element of honesty though. Pink Lady Apple had always been a bit... ornery, but since the loss of her ‘brother’ to one of her best friends she’d been what could only be described as downright foul tempered.

Foul tempered?

Foul tempered!

Why did that phrase ring a bell?

Like falling down a deep hole of memories, Lyra found her mind pulling her into a recollection of a moment long ago - almost a decade gone - of a shared apartment in Canterlot, of the night after yet another stallion had broken her heart.

Her best friend Bon Bon had convinced her to move back to Canterlot-

...back to?

-so she could return to her musical studies while the fledgling confectioner finished her own training. While she’d not much cared for structured learning in the musical arts, returning to the city had at least made it easier to be near her sensei as she embarked upon her journey along the path of Shattered Stone. Unfortunately it had also put her closer to her birth herd... not that they’d ever noticed... probably hadn't even noticed she'd ever left.

But her mother lived in Ponyville... had done until the day she died! This didn't make any sense!

Lyra remembered a night of tears; another stallion that had used her, played with her emotions, broken her heart before leaving her broken by the wayside. Sensei had been right, she’d been looking for love in all the wrong places. Why did she never listen? Why did she never see the truth? Not even nineteen yet and already so many mistakes in her life.

How? How could one so young have been hurt so often?

Through these memories she played her part in this little stage production, her arms around Bon Bon’s body as she wept into her friend’s mane, strong hooves running through her own mane, a soft voice telling her that everything would be alright.

But in her mind she now played both roles; the young mare that needed comforting, the equally young mare who stayed strong for her friend.

She had cried, cried so hard into Bon Bon’s shoulders, the white unicorn brushing her mane, cooing soothing words into her ears, but now Lyra saw the scene though Bon Bon’s eyes, could feel the distraught unicorn’s horn push against her neck, could see the strands of green hair as her hooves moved over them.

But she’s not green, and neither’s Bon Bon. Why would she remember a green mane?

In her memories she was playing both parts in this little play, acting as both sides of the coin; hugging, being hugged, doing the hugging.

And there was anger... even as she stroked her friend's mane, kept her voice soft and motherly... such strong, overwhelming anger, welling up from deep within.

She’d known that Piston Broke was a bad boy, that he was just the kind of guy that Lyra would fall for. She knew she should have watched out for her better, kept a closer eye on the little bucker, not let Lyra fall for his horseapples.

The guy was no good, she’d thought Lyra knew that, knew better than to let him get into her heart, the risk would be just too great and he would only break it one day. Bon Bon had just been playing with him to keep him close - as he had undoubtedly been playing with her - but Lyra, she’d left herself open... and he'd hurt her... hurt her badly.

And now Bon Bon was angry... so very very angry.

She remembered sneaking out that night, once Lyra had cried herself to sleep. She’d tracked the guy down, cornered him, given him a few home truths, told him exactly what would happen if he didn’t shape up, the depths of the despair that she would drop him into if he didn’t mend his ways.

Oh she would burn him, burn him like no stallion had ever been burned before. But she wouldn't lay a hoof on him, she wouldn't even touch him. Oh no, no mare should ever lay a hoof on a stallion, it just wasn’t done. But she wouldn't need to touch him because, in the end, after she’d finished with him, she’d leave him wishing that she’d gone with physical punishment instead.

She’d left him there, a huge earth pony stallion, standing alone in an alleyway, weeping like a tiny child. And she’d felt good about it. He’d hurt her friend, he’d hurt Lyra. No pony did that.

No pony!

As she walked away, leaving the weeping behind her, she saw herself reflected in a darkened shop window.

Cream coat, blue and pink mane, an earth pony physique.

If these were these are Bon Bon’s memories, why did she see her own body and not that of the white unicorn. And how did she know any of these things... she wasn’t Bon Bon... was she?

These memories, they did help explain why Bon Bon had laughed so much when Lyra had slammed the door in the guy’s face the next day. Why she’d gleefully opened it again, pulled the flowers out of his hooves and slammed it in his face for the second time.

Well, those these flowers looked expensive, no sense in letting them go to waste.

Other memories came to her, older memories... disinterested parents, jealous taunts about her rapidly blossoming curves from her less-developed peers, the panic that flooded her heart and soul as her first heat came much too early, her young mind not yet ready to deal with such adult concepts, her family not interested in helping and her friends too young and immature to know what to do.

Lyra’s jaw dropped as her memory of the months before her seventeenth birthday came to mind; the stallion, the rooftops, the feelings of despair and worthlessness... the loss, the falling, the emptiness, that sweet whisper of that final fall’s siren song, the promise that it would welcome her with open arms if only she’d take that last step.

This wasn’t right... this wasn’t her life.

Crossing the room, Lyra looked at herself in the full length mirror, bright moonlight taking the opportunity to pierce through the fog outside to illuminate the room. She was as she always was: a cream coloured earth pony... she’d never been anything else.

As she caught her own gaze, the reflection wavered, a mint green unicorn meeting her eyes.

The mailmare... the unicorn mailmare with the odd eyes.

Derpy... Her name was Derpy Heartstrings... wasnt it?

Lifting a hoof she pushed it against the mirror’s surface. An aquamarine hoof pushed back.

Suddenly Lyra’s mind cleared, like a great fog had lifted, though it still felt like it was trying to come back, pushing here and there against the edges of her brain

She wasn't Lyra, that wasn't the cutie name she had chosen for herself, back when she'd rejected the name Sweetie Drops.

No, her cutie name, it was...

It was...

Bon Bon! She was Bon Bon!

Her best friend, that crazy white coated blue-maned unicorn that ran Bon Bon’s Bon-Bons, she wasn’t Bon Bon... she was... was... oh what was her name? Her birth name, the name she’d given up long ago? Vinyl something? How could she not remember after all these years?

But that shop, the confectionary store... that was her shop, her mother had left it to her, not her unicorn housemate. Her mom - bless her even with her tribalist ways - would never in a thousand years have left the shop to a unicorn.

And this house... this home... this herd. This wasn't where she was meant to be!

As she looked towards her sleeping herdmates - the human twitching as if he was in pain, the troubled unicorn hugging him tightly against against her chest - the earth pony’s jaw dropped.

This wasn't her herd, she shouldn't be here, Lyra was supposed to be here.. the real Lyra, not her, this fake Lyra that she had become.

Turning back to the mirror, this time she caught her own earth pony reflection, a lone trickle of blood running from her nose, marring the cream fur around her mouth.

Without another thought the earth pony bolted out of the door. She had to get to the library, had to get there right now, before the fog rolled back into her brain and made everything cloudy again.

Twilight had been right all along... this was all very very wrong.

Bon Bon prayed it wasn’t too late to fix it.

Author's Note

It might be an idea to go back and read the previous chapter 'Seeds of love' AKA, Big Mac's wedding.

35: I couldn't see what was right there in front of me (Xenophoolia part 6of6) (MMC)

Xenophoolia - A trilogy in six parts.

Part 1of6 - “If you follow me we'll put our differences aside.”
Part 2of6 - “But I look a little closer and it starts to feel familiar too.”
Part 3of6 - “I'm just like you and you're just like me.”
Part 4of6 - “Everything is turned around, this crazy world is upside-down.”
Part 5of6 - “Helped me to see all the possibilities.”
Part 6of6 - “I couldn't see what was right there in front of me.”

Lero's world was hazy, especially around the edges. As his mind started to clear, his ears twitched... actually twitched, long-unused muscles on the sides of his head moving his ears an almost imperceptible amount. What could possibly be the sounds of a train clacking its way along old and rickety rails worked its way through his poor befuddled brain.

As his vision slowly started to clear he found himself standing in the middle of what was undoubtedly a train carriage... an honest to goodness human-world train carriage, as ridden by humans, dirty and smelly and noisy as it was.

The printed map next to the grab rail by his head told him he was on the Chicago ‘L’ train while the... smell — oh God, what a smell — told him that it was the middle of summer.

"Rise and shine, Mister Michaelides. Rise. And. Shine."

Standing just in front of him, in the otherwise empty carriage, was a human male. It had been a while since he'd seen one but it was plain as day that this guy was getting on a bit - under his eyes were deep bags and what would have been a full head of jet black hair was now as much salt as it was pepper.

On the whole, a perfectly normal human male in a rather sharp suit... except maybe for the blood red pupils surrounded by bright yellow sclera. Lero couldn’t help but feel he’d seen this guy somewhere before... Off somewhere in space annoying the life out of a frenchman with a distinctly English accent maybe?

Over their heads a loudspeaker crackled into life.

“Welcome,” it squawked out in a voice that Lero could swear was his old high-school chemistry teacher. “Welcome to the city of your dreams. You have chosen, or have been chosen, to tackle the oncoming strife head on. You will, at times, find that even your own brain is fighting against you. So good luck, you’ll need it.”

"Not that I wish to imply,” Discord’s voice came from the creepy man in the suit, but the sounds just didn’t match up with the lip movements, ”that you're not up to the challenge, and after what you've just seen no one would be more deserving of a good long sleep than yourself. But the time has come for you to shine. The right human in the right place can make all the difference in the world. So, wake up, Mister Michaelides. Wake up and smell the pancakes."

***********************

Lifting a hand, Lero held it across his forehead in a particularly vain and pointless attempt to keep some of this dreaded morning sun from forcing its way between his sleep-crusted eyelids. Strong beams of light lanced their way between a crack in the curtains and across the human's face, burning his tender eyeballs with patterns that danced about in his bleary vision.

He’d been dreaming. Of what he’d been dreaming he couldn’t rightly say, but then he’d been like that for days now. Visions of cutie marks danced around in his brain, mixed with images of his own smiling face.... and a spaceship... and a huge seven legged spider? Weird.

At least this time he hadn't woken up feeling overwhelmingly sad or crushingly guilty or just wanting to curl up and cry, like he’d let someone down or cheated on his wives or lost a good friend or something like that. Whatever was going on his his dreams recently, he really wished it would stop.

On the other side of the room the door to the bedroom creaked open as Lyra entered the room, the sweet smell of freshly made pancakes wafting in behind her.

“Good morning, cuddlemonkey,” the earth pony cooed as she crawled onto the bed and laid her head across her stallion’s chest. “Guess who got Twilight to come home for breakfast? I have no idea what I said to her last night, but she’s back... for now, at least.”

“That’s great news,“ Lero agreed, letting his hand fall from his face to rest behind his wife’s ear, rubbing at that sweet spot she loved so much.

“Yeah, we’re having maple syrup pancakes to celebrate.” Lyra moved her head so that Lero’s fingers ended up wrapped in the pink and blue curls of her mane as she rubbed her forehead against his chest. “Dunno why, but I’ve got a real craving for the sweet stuff right now.”

Behind Lero a mound of bedclothes groaned and started to move, the sheets falling away to reveal a disheveled unicorn, her mane free of its usual hairband, left loose to curl into a series of loops where it lay around her neck.

“Urgh,” RD yawned. “You and me both, darling. I’d literally die for a stack about now.”

After planting a quick kiss on her herdsister’s face - and a muuuuch longer one on Lero’s lips - Lyra lept from the bed before bouncing around the room on her hooftips.

“How’s a whole stack covered in syrup, strawberries, blueberries and cinnamon frosting sound?” Lyra beamed, “Sugar and spice and everything nice! It’s like epic pancake time down there. Any more frosting and we’re gunna need another winter wrapup to deal with it all!”

“Sounds good,” Lero gingerly sat up in bed, his body telling him that if he followed his nose to the source of this heavenly smell then he certainly wouldn’t regret it. “But hold the frosting on mine, thanks. That much sugar first thing in the morning would probably put me in a coma.”

“I’ll have his!” Rare’s eyes lit up in that way she had whenever inspiration hit. “Oooooh, i-dea! Lyra, my love, could you add some red-bean ice cream and slices of dill pickle to mine?”

Whatever reaction she was expecting, it certainly wasn’t the pair of odd looks that Lyra and Lero were giving her.

“What?” the unicorn exclaimed, “Is Lyra the only one allowed to have breakfast-time cravings around here?”

“Yeah, but dill pickles and ice cream?” Lero laughed, “that’s just weird. You're not pregnant or something, are you?”

“Oh ha ha, very funny, dear. You know that’s physically impossible.” Rising from the covers, letting the bedclothes fall from her body, Rares began to stalk her way across the rumpled sheets, slowly drawing closer to her stallion. “Unless you sneakily turned into a pony last night when...”

Stretching her hooves out in front of her, she wiggled her rump while arching her spine like a hungry cat preparing to catch a mouse unawares.

“...we...”

Pouncing on her mate she used her weight, and all four of her hooves, to pin him to the bed whilst using the surprisingly soft touch of her magic to tickle the skin along his rib cage hidden away under his clothes.

In the midst of all the laughing - and the blowing on of belly buttons as RD pushed her muzzle under her mate’s sweatshirt - Lero called out to Lyra for help. As she rolled her eyes at them both, their earth pony herdmate just turned on her hooftips and trotted off out of the room, leaving the human completely at her herdsister’s mercy.

“OK, I surrender.” Lero cried out as the tickling finally became too much for him.

“Good.” Rares declared as she released her ‘victim.’ “And now I claim my prize. You can help me get my mane back into a ponytail before it gets completely out of control. I swear, I just can’t do a thing with it. One pass with my brush and whompf, curls everywhere.”

Encased in a pale blue glow, a mane brush levitated its way over from a nearby dresser.

“I don’t know how Rainbow does it,” Rares commented as Lero grabbed the brush from the air before sitting cross-legged on the bed behind his mare. “With a mane that long she must spend hours each day keeping it all under control. I just don’t think I’d ever have the patience.”

“You think maybe her animals help her out?” Lero suggested as he brushed loose a group of tangles, letting the tips of the unicorn’s deep blue mane fall against her withers.

Unlike the multi-coloured mane of her pegasus friend, Rares tended to keep her own mane fairly short, usually cut to just about shoulder length and pulled back out of the way with a pair of vibrant blue hairbands. She claimed that the two hairbands were totally necessary as just one would be nowhere near up to the challenge of keep the sheer amounts of fabulousness her mane possessed under control. In reality though it was just that in her day to day life she was known to lose a hairband here or there to a particularly strong gust of wind or overtly violent thundercloud or even one of her more... enthusiastic Thunderbolts practice sessions.

Rainbow, on the other hoof, seemed to take great pride - one of the few things Lero had ever actually heard her express pride about apart from her animal friends - over the state of her mane. It was long, luxurious and incredibly striking. Odd really, for such a shy and unassuming mare, who spent so much of her life hiding away behind her fringe, to sport and maintain such a vibrant and eye-catching display.

Rainbow's mane had in fact been one of the very first things that Lero had seen upon his arrival on Equestria. A striking rose-colored eye surrounded by pale blue fur had been peeking out from behind these multi-colored tresses as he’d fought through untold waves of pain just so he could open his eyes. Perhaps that was why he’d been seeing her face so often in his dreams recently? That might be it... though it didn’t do anything to explain why he’d been dreaming about her *ahem* rear end just as often these last few days.

So lost was the human in his thoughts that he almost didn't catch that his wife had started talking to him again.

“...that could explain why she’s been looking so uncharacteristically....” Rares considered her next words carefully, “windswept this week. I hear that her animal friends have been somewhat uncooperative these last few days.”

“Ha, ‘uncooperative’ isn’t exactly the word I’d use.” Lero laughed. “Big Mac’s asked me to meet him out at her cottage later today to patch up whatever else they’ve managed to trash since I was there last. Hopefully we won’t find her stuffed in a cooking pot... again.”

Poor Rainbow. Lero been working on building her a new shed for storing animal feed on a few days ago and when he’d nipped into her cottage for a glass of water he’d found a whole bunch of those so-called ‘harmless little critters’ preparing to turn the overwhelmed pegasus into pony stew.

For some reason the thought of pony stew suddenly made the human a whole lot more nauseous that he’d expected and he had to hold back a strong urge to gag. To distract himself - and his stomach - he busied himself with RD’s mane, gently but firmly brushing out the strands along their entire length while letting the ends curl into the loops that Rares usually fought so hard to control.

“There, how does that look?” Lero asked, the pair of hairbands still wrapped around his wrist. As he released his mate’s mane, it fell down over her right shoulder in a short though elegant corkscrew curl.

Levitating a hoof mirror, the unicorn appraised her new ‘do’ with a critical eye, the kind she usually reserved for any particularly troublesome cumulonimbus clouds that came her way.

“I’m not sure,” she growled, turning her head to better see how the blue of her mane contrasted against the white of her coat, “It’s not very practical, is it, darling?”

“True,” Lero admitted, “but it’s very pretty. And it’s not like you need to go to work today so it shouldn’t get in the way of anything.”

“Well, it’s not my normal look, but I will admit there’s a certain increase in the amount of overall fabulosity involved... maybe ten, no, twenty percent even.” Rares nodded at the mirror, watching the way the curl bounced against her shoulder. “Yes, I do believe I’ll give it a try. I can’t promise it’ll stay like this all day though.”

“That’s my girl.” Lero leant forward and kissed his wife behind an ear. “I’ll keep the hairband handy then, just in case you need it.”

Lifting his right hand, he waved it around to display the vibrant blue fabric - the exact same colour as Rare Deluge’s eyes - poking out from the end of his sleeve.

“Ohh, handy, ha ha,” RD giggled, the gentle girlishness of the sound of her laughter always such a surprising contrast to her usual tomboyishness.

Leaning back against the human’s chest, RD rubbed her face against the underside of her lover’s chin. She'd never admit it, but she really loved it whenever she managed to get his scent all over her face. It meant that she could spend the rest of the day with the smell of him never far from her nose.

And if it meant that some of the other girls on the weather team could smell her stallion’s scent on her and maybe get a little jealous of her as they worked... well, that didn’t exactly upset her either.

Noticing something from the corner of her eye, RD turned herself around in order to better take in what the human was wearing.

“Darling, did you sleep in your clothes again?” she asked. “That really isn’t good for them, you know. And is that dear Diamondjack’s idea of pajamas? I know our resident fashionista may have started out as a simple farm girl, but I had no idea that a type of potato could have its own university.”

“Potato?” Lero asked, puzzled by what his marefriend meant.

“You know,” RD replied, “Idaho potatoes. Big things, very yummy baked and with lashings of sour cream. Oooh, I-dea! I could murder a baked potato covered in whipped cream, marshmallows, melted cheese and marigolds right about now.”

As his wife started to drool over the thought of her new culinary invention, Lero looked down at his own body and was surprised to find that he was wearing a black sweatshirt and faded blue jeans. Emblazoned across the chest of the sweatshirt were the words “University of Idaho” in large gold and white varsity lettering. Try as he might he couldn't remember putting these on before he'd come to bed the night before.

Come to think of it... he couldn't remember coming to bed last night at all!

This was really odd... the single set of clothes he’d arrived in Equestria with years ago had long since been declared a total loss and destroyed, and he couldn't remember Diamondjack ever making him another set quite like these.

Hopping from the bed, Lero stumbled over to the full-length mirror by the door to have a better look. Reaching behind his neck he grabbed the sweatshirt's tag and pulled it out so he could see it reflected in the mirror.

There it was, something he hadn't seen in years. Along with the words ‘Machine Washable’ was the phrase ‘Made In The USA’ written in reverse bouncing back at him from the mirror’s polished surface.

Running his hands over the outfit, Lero discovered that both of the back pockets of his jeans held a pair of objects he thought he’d never see again. From his right pocket he pulled a familiar worn and battered leather wallet, from his left the flexible plastic oblong of his long-lost smartphone.

Flipping though the wallet yielded twenty three bucks - honest to goodness American dollars - his driver’s licence, his university ID, his employee discount card and his bank cards. They were his... they were all his. But he'd lost them all years ago, a long long time before he’d ever set foot in this land of magical talking ponies. How on earth could they be back in his possession now?

As he held the wallet open in his hands, something in the mirror caught his eye. Moving closer to his reflection he started to make out what it was that had caught at the edge of his vision... it was a pale blue feather caught up in the braid he wore behind his left ear.

How on earth had that gotten there?

And, more importantly, how come he’d never seen it before?

As his right hand reached to touch it, his finger brushing against the very edges of its vane, the fabric of RD’s similarly coloured hairband rubbing against his chin as he stroked the feather's barbs, he suddenly knew... just knew... that the feather had been there for a very long time, that this was exactly where it was supposed to be.

It meant something to him - something important, something special - the feather and the way it was woven into his braid. But for the life of him he just couldn't remember what.

It had been in his dream, of this he was certain. Someone - not somepony but someone, though he had no idea who - had told him it was important, that it was something he should hold onto.

“Find something to hold onto,” Lero murmured, his fingers curling around the feather, “to believe in, and don't let it go.”

Who, who did it belong to? It came from somepony important, somepony.. some pegasus pony very special to him... probably the most important pegasus in the world.

As he held the feather, he could feel a fog lifting from his brain, like the Red Sea parting or the sudden surge of movement the split second after the starting gun had fired.

Dashie! It came from this ‘Dashie’ I’ve been dreaming about!

He could see her now, in his mind’s eye.

A bold, brave pegasus, a brash attitude and mischievous smirk on her face... rose-colored eyes surrounded by pale blue fur, a multichromatic mane flicking about in the breeze as they both lay in the grass.

She leant in and kissed him... he hadn’t been expecting it and it had left him confused. As she’d watched him, waiting for a reaction, her face had fallen, her confidence had fled. She’d turned away, hiding an expression of shame and sadness behind her mane, his hand coming into view, reaching for her shoulder...

Oh my god! It’s Rainbow! ‘Dashie’ is actually Rainbow Connection!

His hand on her shoulder, she turned back to face him, tears forming at the edges of her eyes. there she was... the love of his life... his Dashie...

Rainbow Dash!

And as quickly as it had departed, the fog swiftly rolled back over his brain, and she was gone.

‘Darling,” RD’s voice from behind him, “are you alright?”

Turning in place, Lero found the love of his life lying there on the edge of the bed, watching him with eyes filled with both love and concern. She’d been so worried about him these last few days. He’d so hated to look into those striking blue eyes and find them so troubled, knowing that he was the cause.

“Yes, I was just thinking.”

“About?” the unicorn asked, patting the sheets next to her with a forehoof, asking him come join her on the bed.

But what had he been thinking about? It was there, at the edge of his brain, on the tip of his tongue, so near but yet so far.

But it was gone now, and nothing he could do would bring it back.

“I’m not sure actually. Can’t be important though. I’m sure it’ll come back to me eventually.”

As his hand fell from the feather hanging against his neck, Lero made his way back to bed, all thoughts of his precious ‘Dashie’ now forgotten.

Author's Note

OK, so it's been a month **mumble** and a bit **mumble** since April Fool's Day so it's time for some notes.

When I originally came up with the idea - back in late Jan'14 I think - for a Leroverse-spanning collaboration between authors I wasn't sure the guys would go for it so I chucked the idea and a vague storyboard out there just to see if anyone'd grab the ball and run with it... Oh boy, did that ball ever get grabbed!

Spinel bashed his chapter out in a couple of days and embarrassed the crap out'a the rest of us with how fast he can work. I'm still ashamed about how slow I am.

Archonix was well up for the idea and was throwing ideas about left, right and centre but then real life bit him on the arse so I took on the Xenophiles Guide chapter (I'd been dying to try doing a script format thing for a while) which I think worked out quite well. But then I provaricated for only god knows how long before working my way though the first, last and forum chapters, only in the reverse order which made the whole thing quite weird to work on. Oh dear.

But MikeTeevee... well let's just say that Mike and his posse of Rikmach and Wolfe Trax didn't just grab the ball but went full on Forrest Gump with it and ran it across the pitch, out of the stadium and halfway to Maine before we about ran out of time. Whatever you've got to say about DR's chapter, you gotta agree with one thing - it's EPIC!

And was it worth it? You bet it was! We ended up with six chapters spanning four different stories plus a meander off though the forums! DR andXFT are now confirmed as AU versions of each other! We got to revisit Gus in Xenophilia:Advanced one more time! We poked more cultural references with a pokey stick that even I can remember plus, and here's the best bit, Discord got to sing!

So here's to all my fellow authors who got together and made all this happen. Remember to go check out their other stuff, leave nice comments (or not so nice ones if you absolutely have to) and generally just be excellent to each other.

36: Grunts and squeaks and squawks with the animals. (MMC)

Grunts and squeaks and squawks with the animals.
Chapter published 12th April 2014

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With his tool satchel over his shoulder and a jaunty tune issuing from his pursed lips, Lero ambled his way along the path leading the last short distance to Rainbow’s cottage.

He’d left home especially early this morning as he had been hoping to catch the pegasus still at home in the house she shared with the rest of Herd Macintosh.

A few months back Big Mac and his sisters had pulled Miss Cheerilee’s cottage from its original plot on Canter Lane all the way over to a new location right out on the edge of town. From its new equidistant position Cheerilee was only a few minutes walk further from the schoolhouse than before but it did make it easier for Big Mac to reach the farm and Rainbow to get back to her old cottage-turned-animal-sanctuary in the mornings than before.

Big Mac had mentioned last night over a cider (or three) that the drains at Rainbow’s old cottage were, for reasons unknown though Lero secretly suspected that reasons both foul and fowl may have been involved, completely blocked. He’d asked if the human would drop by with his tools and take a look at some point, a request that Lero had been more than happy - a little too happy maybe considering what he was probably going to find - to agree to.

But, unfortunately it appeared that while the ‘early bird catches the worm’, the early human was still not prompt enough to catch the pegasus as by the time he had reached the charmingly rustic cottage fit for a herd of three, Cheerilee was the only one who still had yet to leave home for the day.

So, as he made his way down the lane to Fluttershy’s cottage...

Why did I just think of Flutterpie? It’s not her cottage! I don’t think she’s ever lived anywhere other than Sugercube Corner since she moved here from Cloudsdale.

...nursing a sudden attack of what felt like the hangover from hell...

What I wouldn’t do for a bacon sandwich and a really strong cup of coffee right about now.

... where he’d bumped into Miss Heartstrings who was out on her morning rounds.

They’d quite literally bumped into each other; Lero’s eyes had been more on his feet than on the pathway ahead of him which, coupled with the wall eyed mailmare’s habit of colliding with trees or lamp posts if she wasn’t paying enough attention, meant that a collision had been all but inevitable.

Lero had to admit that he’d been glad of the company as having the green unicorn at his side had the happy side effect of making him feel calmer than he’d felt all week and thankfully going some way towards helping dispel this darn headache and the encroaching foul mood he could feel creeping up on him, even if the respite would only be temporarily.

At the moment he’d take anything that would make him feel a bit more like himself... he felt... well he just didn’t feel ‘right’ at all. For the last few days his moods had been all over the place and more than once he’d found himself getting either unbelievably tense or downright annoyed at even the smallest things... things that he would normally just let roll right over him like water off a duck’s back.

But around the mailmare, well he felt at peace... like he’d found a tiny bit of balance in what currently felt like a very topsy-turvy life, though he had no idea what it was that was making him feel so... unsettled.

As they idly walked along together - chatting away about everything and nothing all at once - a deep, definitely male voice floated around his head and between his ears.

“Wake up, Mister Michaelides. Rise and shine.”

Lero stopped in his tracks, turning his head left and right, looking around for a face to go with the voice.

“Did you hear that?” he asked, finding no one else around them.

“Hear what?” Derpy asked, one of her eyes taking in the human while the other searched their immediate surroundings for anypony that might have approached them unnoticed.

Lero turned in place, looking around them both one last time, before shrugging and setting off again.

“Probably nothing. Been getting that a lot recently,” the human shifted his tool bag from one shoulder to the other. “So, you were telling me about little Dinky’s cutie mark.”

“Oh yes, my little muffin received her very own cutie mark last night. and it’s in magic! I’m so proud of her,” the mailmare gushed, “I've never been particularly good at magic, a bit of a disappointment to the family really, but little Dinky’s mark.. it’s soooooo cute! Seven little four pointed stars. they look just like my own mark, all in the same positions and everything! They’re even in the same colour... but, like made of stars. How amazing is that?”

Twisting her body around, the excited mare waved her flanks, and their pair of seven little bubbles at the human, her tail swishing from side to side with excitement.

Almost immediately she realised exactly what it was that she’d just gone and exposed to the human and she turned her proffered plot away again, her cheeks burning bright red under her pale green fur as she did so.

“I’m sure it’s lovely,” Lero laughed, not too sure himself if he was referring to young Dinky’s newly received cutie mark or her mother’s rather curvy flanks... and any *ahem* adjacent areas.

Woah, down boy. Mood swings or not, stop checking out other mares.

You’ve got three wives already, you don’t need any more right now.

Two veeeery passionate unicorns, and an extremely adventurous earth pony with enough stamina in the bedroom to outlast both of her horned herd mates combined, was more than enough for any one human.

Those rumours about earth ponies being boring in bed? Most definitely false.

After a little more walking, and plenty of pleasant conversation as Derpy’s embarrassment slowly faded away, the two of them reached Rainbow’s cottage.

And it looked a complete state.

In the front garden the chickens had practically turned their coop upside down with straw and feed strewn all across the grass. All of the potted plants had been swept from their places on the windowsills and around the base of the cottage’s walls and thrown all over the lawn.

On any other day this same lawn would have been kept meticulously manicured by a family of local goats, who instead were currently doing their best to chew through as much of the cottage’s thatched roof as they could.

Amidst all the mess a ragtag pack of dogs were sitting around an overturned washtub on which they were playing a spirited game of cards. One of them had managed to obtain a dealer’s sun-visor which was perched on her head while another had a huge unlit cigar longer than his own tail chomped between his teeth.

Stepping up to the front door, Lero moved to rap his knuckles on the wood but instead found the door already open, hanging as it was from its single remaining unbroken hinge.

“Rainbow?” the human called as he carefully made his way over the threshold and into the cottage itself, Derpy following along close behind him with more than a note of trepidation, “are you here?”

As their eyes adjusted to the sudden change from the bright morning sun to the relative darkness inside the unlit home, a scene of utter chaos unfolded in front of them. Every item of furniture that the small building possessed had been thrown into a pile in the centre of the room. Around the pile danced a multitude of small woodland creatures. Rabbits, raccoons, squirrels, chipmunks, their bodies daubed in tribal markings made of mud - at least Lero hoped it was mud - hopped from paw to paw as they circled the great wood pile, tossing every single keepsake, book or piece of bric-a-brac they could get their paws on onto the growing heap.

As Lero walked further into the cottage he almost stepped on a group of piglets who scurried underfoot, carrying with them a large turnip held aloft on the end of a long stick. Carved into the turnip was what looked not unlike a rudimentary face, its expression possibly one of horror... though it could just as easily have been gastric distress. Trailing behind the drove of squealing young porcines scrambled a lone overweight piglet wearing a tiny pair of cracked eyeglasses, struggling desperately to keep up lest he be left behind.

Careful picking his way across the room, trying his hardest not to squish any of the rioting animals scurrying around his feet as he went, Lero finally spotted Rainbow Connection. There, on the far side of the room, she was held captive, tied as she was to a large freestanding hatstand.

Well, at least she’s not in a pot this time.

As a small group of raccoons and badgers piled faggots of firewood around the pegasus’ dangling hooves, Harry the bear - wearing a crown of feathers upon his head and a rather fetching skirt made of grasses around his waist - danced around the captive pony. Clasped in the bear’s forepaws was a laughably small flaming torch which a terrified Rainbow Connection was desperately trying, though with very little luck, to blow out.

So, it’s circus time... but where’s the ringmaster?

“ANGEL!’ Lero bellowed, Derpy shying away from the sudden noise as every nearby animal stopped what they were doing to stare at the human, “Angel, get out here right now!”

As the rather pissed looking human pointed at a spot by his own feet, Angel Bunny poked his head out from behind a ransacked dresser. Hopping to the top of the piece of trashed furniture, the lapin crossed his arms, as if daring the human to take him on within his own domain.

“What on earth do you think you're playing at this time?” Lero growled, stabbing a finger at the defiant rabbit, “We turn our backs on you and what do you do? You ungrateful little...”

A tiny white eyebrow was arched in a way that Lero found particularly infuriating. Whatever calm Miss Heartstring had previously brought him had met its match within these last few minutes.

“Do you know what Rainbow goes through so she can look after you all? What she’s given up all these these years so she can afford your feed, your trips to the vets, your housing, bedding, keeping you all entertained? It’s not like she’s got a family fortune to fall back on like Flutterpie!”

Flutterpie? How the heck did she come into all this again?

“No, she works two jobs so she can afford to look after you all, she runs herself ragged for you all, she’s sacrificed years of her life, all for you. And now that she’s finally taken a tiny bit of her life back for herself so she can spend time with her herd, here she is again, still putting up with all your crap!”

From his perch on top of the dresser, Angel Bunny just turned away, pushing his nose into the air in a show of indignation. Kicking at a discarded carrot top that was laying at his feet, it sailed through the air before hitting Rainbow Connection square in the eye. As the last piece of the straw finally broke the camel’s back, the distressed pegasus started to cry.

Oh. That. Is. It!

“Oh, you ungrateful little shit!” Lero roared, animals cowering away from the angry biped as he stormed over to the dresser, the heavy wood shaking as his hands grabbed onto the front of the peice, “Now you listen to me you arrogant little lapin- back on my world I’m an apex-fucking-predator...”

Leaning forward, pushing himself right up in the rabbit’s face, Lero bared his teeth, making sure Angel could get a good look at the light catching on his canines, a finger pointing at his own mouth in a very definite ‘See these? These are for you if you don’t behave” motion.

“...and if you all don't start acting like civilised animals then I’m going to catch you, cook you and fucking eat you.”

Stepping up to the human’s own face, Angel stared back with a ‘you wouldn't dare’ expression.

“Oh, you want to try me?” Lero growled, his lips involuntarily curling up at the edges, “What, you think I’m just gunna run away with my tail between my legs? Maybe get myself a little clown suit, come back and do you all a little dance? I don’t think so, fluff ball. Do you really want to know how I know that rabbit tastes just like chicken? It’s been years since I had a good ol’ meat fest, and trust me, you are all looking pretty tasty about now!”

With his face a scant few hornwidths from an angry human’s mouth, Angel no longer looked as sure of himself as he did just moments before.

“And I’ve still to find a use for those boning knives Gilda sent us as a wedding present,” Lero made sure to press against his opponent's weak spot, taking care to put extra stress on each and every sibilant which made him sound not unlike an angry snake. “Oh yes, she thought it was such a marvelous joke... but do you see me laughing now? Well do you, bunny boy?”

By now the rest of the animals were all just standing around in stunned silence, mouths agape as they watched the angry human front up against their fearless leader... who was now showing a lot more than his fair share of fear.

In the middle of the room a ladle slipped through a squirrel's paws, hitting the floor with a deafening clang that resounded around the otherwise silent cottage. From her spot somewhere in Lero’s shadow, poor Derpy almost jumped out of her skin.

From over by the hatstand, his torch still held out towards their captive pony, Harry started to growl menacingly, but was swiftly silenced by a single glare from the irate human.

“And you can shut up too.” Lero snapped, “Don’t push me, teddy bear. I may not be as big as a you but you’ve come to me for enough deep muscle massages to know how much damage I could do to you if I really wanted to.”

After quickly weighing his options and finding them not to be as good as he’d originally thought, Harry backed down sheepishly. A pair of sheep watching the action from a window bleated at him in an obviously mocking tone.

“Good boy,” Lero pointed at the floor by the bear’s hind paws, “now, sit down and shut up.”

Without hesitation, the huge bear did exactly as he was told. After seeing the expression on Lero’s face, the sheep decided it might be best to keep quiet this time.

“Now, everyone else,” moving away from the dresser, Lero pointed at a spot just in front of his own feet, “line up, right now.”

Within seconds every unrestrained creature in the room was in a perfectly straight line directly in front of him.

“Not you, Miss Heartstrings.”

From where she stood at rigid attention at one end of the line Derpy gave the human a bashful smile, but stayed right where she was anyway.

As he paced up and down the line, Lero eyed every one of them - except Miss Heartstrings - much as a drill sergeant sizing up his newest group of recruits would. His expression showed that found them... lacking.

“Now,” he barked, “you’ve got ten minutes to untie Rainbow, sort yourselves out and put this cottage back exactly as it was last week. And don’t make me go all medieval on your asses, it’s almost dinner time and I know where the Cakes keep the tabasco sauce! Now go!”

Clapping his hands together, Lero dismissed his soldiers to their tasks, each one throwing him a crisp salute before scurrying off as fast as their legs of various shapes and sizes would carry them... including Derpy.

As the cottage erupted into a whirlwind of activity, Lero made his way over to where Rainbow was still tied up. Pulling a craft blade from a pocket he soon made short work of the ropes holding the tightly bound pegasus in place.

As the human helped her to the ground, Rainbow’s face was so pink that it easily overpowered the pale blue of her fur and she was having to work reeeealy hard at keeping her wings from springing from her sides.

“Wow, dude,” she breathed, trying her best not to stammer, “the way you totally took charge and saved me, like Prince Layer Cake coming to Royal Knight Skywalker’s aid, but like, real, and right here, and not in a book... that was so... hot.”

“I’ll say!” agreed Derpy, suddenly appearing between the pegasus and the human, fanning herself with a large feather duster. Quite where she’d magiced that up from - as well as the frilly french maid outfit she was now practically hanging out of - was anyone’s guess. Hiding a girlish giggle behind the oversized duster, she disappeared back into the maelstrom of cleansing as quickly as she had arrived.

Pulling her eyes away from that of her savior - eyes that she was starting to get the creeping feeling that she could get lost in for hours - Rainbow took in the hive of activity buzzing around them. All over the cottage woodland creature were running around with cleaning cloths and feather dusters; the larger animals were moving furniture back to their proper places, a group of weasels - who had somehow followed Miss Heartstring’s lead and kitted themselves out with tiny maids outfits - were busy sweeping out every shelf they could find while goats - now dressed as high-class bus boys - were sweeping the floor clean with their tails.

As she stared incredulously at everything that was going on, the pegasus was surprised to find that she’d pushed herself up against the human’s leg, her head rubbing against his hip. Equally oblivious to what he was doing, Lero had reached down and used a thumb to rub behind one of the multicoloured mare’s ears. Rainbow’s eyes shot open at the oddly familiar feeling of those long, strong fingers against her fur.

Though she was surprised, and a little bit shocked, by the human’s actions, she made no attempt to move away or discourage him... in fact she’d moved a little closer, if this was at all possible by that point, in order to enjoy the contact for a few seconds longer.

Suddenly breaking off the contact, Lero made his way back to the front door where his tool bag from where it had earlier been abandoned leaving a somewhat.. confused mare standing alone in the middle of the room.

Bending over so he could grab the satchel’s strap, he was unaware of the pegasus watching him... or rather his flanks as the fabric of his shorts stretched taut over his thighs and buttocks as he retrieved his bag.

Oooh boy.

He’s really been working out since I first found him lost in the Everfree!

By the time the human had stood himself back up - the muscles of his uncovered biceps flexing, exposed as they were by his sleeveless workshirt, as he slung the bag over a shoulder - the mare in question was having a reeeally hard time keeping a rather unexpected attack of the stiffies under control.

While Rainbow never, ever evvvver dream of cheating on her stallion, not even once in a thousand years...

...but by Luna’s teats, this human’s got my tail twitching something crazy!

And it seemed that she wasn’t alone as, from the corner of her eye, Rainbow could see that not only was Derpy’s gaze locked onto the human’s form as he bent and stretched and shook out any tension left over from his recent standoff, but also that both of her eyes were working in perfect unison for once.

It didn’t last for long though as one of the mailmare’s eyes must have realised that she was being watched, a single golden orb quickly swivelling in its socket to take in the pegasus while the other stayed focused on the human, obviously very much enjoying the show. Pretty soon Rainbow figured...

...what the heck, might as well enjoy it myself...

...and did just that.

As the human turned to face the two mares he was a little surprised to find both of them watching him intently, the mint green one’s normally jovially goofy expression replaced with a slight and reserved smile that brought the word ‘enigmatic’ to mind for some strange reason.

It was, however, the pegasus’s face that made Lero look twice as, just for a second though it was, he could swear he saw an expression flitter across her features that he’d never expected to find her pointing in his direction... Lust.

Pure. Unadulterated. Animalistic. Lust.

“Yeah, so, thanks.” Rainbow’s voice was soft, but with more than a hint of a growl as she slowly made her way towards the human, her hips gently swaying in a manner that even if the human missed the not-so-subtle body language, the unicorn standing right behind her certainly couldn’t.

“It was no trouble, ma’am. anything for a lady,” Lero lifted a hand to his brow as if doffing an imaginary hat, all the while trying his best to sound all official-like and not at all nervous. “Now then, as I meant to say earlier, Big Mac asked if I'd mind coming over and giving your pipes a good seeing to.”

Unfortunately it was at this point, and with an extremely obvious and rather embarrassing ‘poomf’, that Rainbow Connection finally lost her battle against the stiffies.

Author's Note

I've not checked this one for spelling mistakes etc yet so no need to post comments just for that.

37: Never to part, baby of mine. (MMC)

Never to part, baby of mine.
Chapter published 22nd July 2014

***************

As the shop door - painted as it was a quite lovely shade of Oxen-ford blue - closed behind them, cutting off the sound of the jangling door-chimes, Ditzee waited a few seconds before quizzing her companion.

“Are you sure the two of you aren’t in cahoots?” the grey pegasus queried of her earth pony friend, a single eyebrow arching to indicate that no matter the answer she probably wouldn't believe it anyway.

“Pardon?” Tavi responded, distracted with checking that the buckle on her saddlebags was properly fastened. After all the time - and way too many bits - that had been spent on repairing her third alarm clock of the week, she’d hate it if it somehow fell out and got damaged before they could even get it back to the cottage. Not that even then the darn thing would have much chance of surviving long enough to see tomorrow’s breakfast. The poor things had all been meeting some quite nasty and gruesome ends for the last few days.

“You and Time Turner,” checking her reflection in the many segmented shop window, Ditzee fussed with the large pink bow in her mane. “We’ve had to come and buy you a new alarm clock pretty much every morning since we got here. I’m starting to think that Ponyville’s local chronologist has put you up to it.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Well, you’ve seen the way he looks at me everytime we’re here.”

Satisfied that her head dressing was just-so, Ditzee gave Tavi a good long dose of ‘the eye’.

“You must have seen him. He can’t take his eyes off of me from the second we walk through the door. He thinks he’s being all clever, hiding behind his clocks, thinking I can’t see him, peering at me from other side of that big, round workbench thingy in the middle of his shop, waving that silly wand of his at me.”

“Really? Hadn’t noticed.”

Peering back into the shop though the window display - beyond the silly cuckoo clocks and those creepy little clockwork Prench period-piece donkeys - Tavi watched as Time Turner dashed back and forth around around his workbench, picking up tools just to put them right back down again, poking at the odd blinking button here and there as he scurried about.

Squinting so she could better see through the glass, Tavi got the impression that the obviously overworked stallion was muttering to himself, or to the strange glass column towering up from the middle of his bench. He was an odd lad, that was for sure, but quite cute in a gangly kind of way. Maybe he’d be up for a threes-

“Ahem!” The eye was still in full effect, even though Tavi hadn’t had the decency to even notice. “If this is some kind of elaborate pre-courting ritual and you're both hoping that I’ll ask him out then you’re going completely the wrong way about it.”

Ditzee gave up on wrestling the truth from her companion with optic power alone. It didn't seem to be working anyway.

“Which is a shame as he’s rather good looking, even if he is daft as a brush.”

As the DJ watched through the window - the stallion pulling one of those gummy sugary treats he seemed so fond of from a paper bag, blowing off some fluff before chewing the end of it - she was struck by a strange thought.

Trotting over to the corner of the small emporium - where a large sign proclaimed that those within would attempt to ‘fix anything timey-wimey’, plus that they should ‘pull to enter’, even though the front door obviously opened inwards - she peered down the alleyway, along the side wall and all the way to where the shop ended and the empty lot behind it began. Then she moved back to the front window and peered into the clock store again.

No, she was right, it really did seem so much bigger on the inside than it had any business to. Maybe there was some kind of trick to it... an optical illusion maybe?

Wanting to share her observations about this so-called ‘Clockwork Clinic’ with her pegasus friend, Tavi turned to find that she was now standing all alone.

Looking about, she spotted Ditzee already half way across the market square, heading at quite a clip towards Sugarcube Corner, nose high in air as she followed the heavenly scent of freshly baked goods.

*************

Patting crumbs from the corner of her mouth, Ditzee patiently waited outside of Sugarcube Corner as Tavi settled the bill for their post-breakfast, pre-lunch, mid-morning repast.

As she waited, she watched the many happy ponies as they went about their business; noon was fast approaching and many of the more successful market traders were beginning to pack up for the day; the occasional small group of foals ran through the square on their way to only-Luna-knew-where to get up to only-Celestia-knew-what; while courting couples or trios or more walked the streets, browsed the stores or took time to rest and recover on communal benches or outside the local cafes.

Reflecting its beginnings as a humble earth pony settlement, those without either horn or wing were still more heavily represented than the other two tribes. Even so, though there were still more than enough unicorns and pegasi to stop the town from allowing any single tribe to have a definite majority.

A small nugget of information rolled up from the back of her mind, something from an article she remembered having read a long time ago now - almost decade back now if memory served - about how, after Baltimare and Fillydelphia, Ponyville had proportionally more single mothers than anywhere else in Equestria, especially those with foals of another tribe to themselves.

According to the article; with its liberal tribal mix and reputation for tolerance, Ponyville had become one of the havens that herdless mares who, for whatever reason, found themselves ‘in the family way’ would gravitate towards.

Of course, all these unattached mares and their foals joining the town’s population meant that over the years the ratio of mares to stallions had slipped even more towards being female heavy than was usual, something like nine to one instead of the more usual four to one. This tended to make for either larger herds, lazy stallions or a lot of lonely mares.

Breathing in the air - so much fresher, cleaner than the air back in Canterlot - Ditzee felt satisfied, comfortable... like... maybe she belonged here.

It’s nice here. Maybe I should think about staying?

Clean air, friendly ponies. Lots of earth ponies, a few pegasi like me...

Ditzee’s eyes followed a pair of unicorn mares who chatted happily as they strolled past; one a orange coated blonde with a spanner for a cutie mark while her friend had a pink coat and a two tone purple mane with a purple four-leaf clover on her flank.

...and the few unicorns here are all quite pleasant, which is a nice change.

It wasn't that Ditzee disliked unicorns, far from it. In fact she’d always been in awe of their magic, the way so many of them could affect the world around them in any number of delicate ways without even having to move a muscle. It was more that she often got the feeling that there were some unicorns back in Canterlot that didn’t like her at all... not one little bit.

“I quite like it here,” she commented idly as Tavi came out of the shop and stood by her side. “The longer we’re here, the more reluctant I am to head back to Canterlot. It’s as if this town has something I’m missing.”

“Like what?” Tavi asked, peering over the top of her sunglasses in search of this magical ‘something’ that her friend was on about. All she saw was some hick town out in the sticks... the complete flank-end of nowhere. The eye candy wasn’t bad though, and plenty to choose from.

“I don't know!” the pegasus huffed, her nose scrunching up in that way that Tavi found adorable, “I just feel that there’s something here for me... something I’m overlooking. It’s right on the tip of my tongue.”

As Ditzee poked her tongue out, crossing her eyes so she could stare accusingly at the end of it, Tavi’s attention was caught by... well, she was having a hard time figuring out what the heck it was... going on on the other side of the square.

“Something I must have missed, something not in the plans.” Ditzee mumbled around her tongue, totally unaware that Tavi had wandered off, “I don’t know.”

Standing at one corner of the square, standing with a hand raised in the air, waving like a fool, was the town’s resident alien.

As Tavi came closer she could see what the human was waving at. All the way down at the other end of Petticoat Lane - standing just outside of her boutique, waving back at the biped with matching enthusiasm - was DiamondJack, the town’s premier (according to her anyway) fashionista and clothing designer.

If what the human was wearing was any indication of what the town’s best and most successful fashion house could come up with, then Tavi wept for the runners up.

Dropping his arm, the human turned to resume his walk through the market. As he moved, his clothing caught the sun, though Tavi really wished that it hadn’t. Silently she whispered a thank you to the quality workmareship that meant that her sunglasses blocked out the worst of it.

If she had to describe it, and she’d really have rather not, she’d had started thus:

Yellow pants with black pinstripes, held up with red question mark suspenders against a white shirt with more question marks on the collar, and red gingham trim on the barrel cuffs. A massive silk handkerchief hung from the white shirt’s collar in lieu of a necktie; white polka dots on a red background. Over the top of this shirt; a red and white checker-plaid vest, which had watch chains in the pockets.

But most striking of all was the extremely multicolored patchwork overcoat, like an explosion in a rainbow factory. Red tartan, purple felt, green felt, red felt, pink felt, peach wool, a checked collar and yellow over-dyed cuffs. The overcoat sported extra-long lapels - one yellow, one pink. An enamel cat brooch was pinned to the pink lapel.

“See, I told you that Ponyville must be the most open and tolerating place in all of Equestria” Ditzee commented as she came to Tavi’s side.

“Because they let a human stay here?” Tavi asked.

“No, because they let that outfit stay here.” Ditzee snorted. “If he tried wearing that back home he’d get lynched for crimes against fashion.”

“Well he sure likes it.” Tavi laughed, wondering if the guy was colour-blind or something..

“Well she sure doesn’t!” Ditze pointed to an irate looking earth pony who was stomping her way across the square.

Rapidly closing in on the human, a lime green mare was shouting up a storm; alternating between questioning the extent of the human’s path down his species’ branch of the evolutionary tree, suggesting that he might like to find a nice tree to climb somewhere away from town, pondering the question of whether he could possibly be interested in indulging in a banana while he was up there, and postulating that the town clown had been relieved of every last one of her comedy outfits.

“Well, not everypony can be as enlightened as us, Ditz,” Tavi sighed.

Catching the attention of a random passerby - the grouchy earth pony mare from the local apple farm, the one whose brother’s joining ceremony was the whole reason they were in town in the first place, Pink Lady wasn’t it? - Tavi waved a hoof at the loud and obnoxious light green mare whose face was starting to turn a very complimentary shade of red.

“So, the shouty one, what’s her problem?”

“Her?” Pink Lady plonked herself down on the cobbles next to the DJ, “Nothin’ complicated about ol’ Honeydew. She’s just a bitch.”

As Tavi watched, the pink pony pulled a package of freshly popped popcorn from somewhere deep within her dull, flat mane.

“Used ta be that she was just ya average, run-of-the-mill tribalist bigot, but then when her sister darn near drowned ‘bout year or so back she got even worse... now she’s a total biter.” After offering Tavi some of the popcorn, she tossed a couple of pieces into her own mouth. “Confrontations like this happen all the time, it’s nothin’ ta worry yaself about, honey.”

“But isn’t anyone going to help him?”

“Help? Him? Ha! Heck no.” Pink Lady snacked on a few more pieces of popcorn as she pointed at a white unicorn who’d arrived on the scene. “Just watch, it’s about to get fun.”

As the popcorn was offered again, Ditzee took a few pieces and held them with her wingtips, nibbling on them as she watched a white unicorn, the one with the short, curly indigo ponytail, step up to the larger - and by now positively incandescent - earth pony.

Ditzee’s eye caught the subtle movements from the unicorn as she casually positioned herself into one of the more unobtrusive opening stances of the Drunken Hoof style. The grey pegasus smiled to herself, feeling quite pleased that even after all this time she could still pick up the subtle clues and tells she had learnt from her own granddam so many years ago

The common pony wouldn’t have recognised the unicorn’s movements- the way she had rolled her shoulder and positioned her forehoof just so. The earth pony martial art style of Drunken Hoof was notoriously hard for either unicorns or pegasi to master, based as it was around the concept of using earth pony magic to affect an opponent's blood-sugar levels and oxygen content via hoof to coat contact.

But its rarity amongst non-earth ponies wasn’t the main reason it was so easy to overlook.

One of the defining elements of the style was that many of its establishing moves appeared, to the uninitiated observer, to be nothing but random and innocuous body movements, or, if the practitioner was a true pro, the full on wobbling and staggers of a complete drunkard.

What looked to most like a hoof placed just a little too far to the left, or shoulders that were swaying just a little too much, or the twitching of a hip that would normally signal that the owner was a little ‘worse for wear’, were in fact a master’s carefully placed preparations for an attack that their target would not only never see coming, but would often not even realise had even occurred until it was all over.

As she watched the unicorn, the alabaster mare’s multitude of tiny movements going completely unobserved by her opponent, Ditzee smiled to herself again as she finished her last piece of popcorn. By this point she was sure that, much like herself, this unicorn, this Rare Deluge, had more than a touch of earth pony to her bloodline. Even with the larger earth pony’s impressive size and aggressive nature, there was no way she would win against a unicorn using the gifts and skills passed down from her own earth pony ancestors, especially if she was defending her stallion.

The antagonistic earth pony however, had not realised any of this and, after a few choice words from the unicorn - so, she was also a master of the unicorn martial art of The Cutting Word - the infuriated mare launched herself towards her smaller opponent.

The unicorn, for her part, gave the impression of being completely unphased by the mighty, meaty mass of the massive and malevolent mare that was hurtling in her direction like a lime green freight train packed brimfull of fury. In fact, she even took the time to check the edge of her hoof for cracks, a snub that stoked the enraged earth pony’s fire even further.

As the melon flanked mare thundered close enough to reach out and pound the unicorn into the ground she just... well, she just wasn’t there any more. A loud crash and an equally loud shout of surprise had every pony that had stopped by to watch turn their head towards a spot at least a dozen body-lengths across the market square.

From under a cluster of overturned tables and piles of cushions, this ‘Honeydew’ clambered back into view, tossing soft furnishings aside as she stomped away from the cafe, leaving its now demolished outside seating area and a rather annoyed maitre’d in her wake.

While she was still just as furious as she was before, maybe even more so, her ire was now directed away from her previous target and now towards another pony... the pony that had facilitated both her brief pegasus impression and subsequent crash landing.

A cream coloured earth pony mare with a curly mane of blue and pink was now standing exactly where Honeydew had been when she’d been launched into the air... just standing there, casually glancing around as if she was checking the weather, maybe trying to decide where they should think about taking lunch. It was a nice day after all, maybe they could dine al fresco?

Honeydew was getting even more annoyed. With a sly, enigmatic smile, the cream coloured mare lifted a single forehoof. Holding it out towards the lime green mare, she rotated it frog-upwards before, with little flick of her ankle, challenging her opponent to ‘come get some’.

Well Honeydew didn’t need asking twice, and with with a mighty roar she bounded across the cobbled ground, her sturdy shoes thundering as she charged.

Unfortunately for her it would take a lot more than just hot air and heavy hoof-falls to win a battle with a grandmaster like Lyra. Before the melon seller could even react the curly maned mare had stepped forward, planted three carefully placed hoof-hits in places that most well-to-do mares didn't even like to talk about in polite company, and stepped back again before ninety percent of the crowd had realised that she had even moved at all.

Before she even had time to figure out what was going on, Honeydew’s chin had hit the floor, her own momentum causing her to slide along the cobbles on her belly, finally coming to a stop at least half a dozen body-lengths past her target.

To give Honeydew her due - no pun intended - she wasn’t one to give up, even with as obviously foolish the idea of going for a third attempt was.

As she staggered to her hooves, one of the local shopkeepers stuck her head out of her confectionery store and in no uncertain terms suggested that at this point the earth pony might prefer to return to her domicile and tend to both her wounded pride and her possibly tattered sobriety rather than make herself look even more of a fool than she already had.

Whether she decided to heed this fine piece of advice. or just didn’t fancy taking another hoof to any other part of her anatomy that she was particularly fond of, the melon seller slinked away, the sounds of laughter and the occasional jeer following her as she left.

“See, what did I tell ya?“ Pink Lady shook her now much-depleted popcorn bag over her wide-open mouth, the last few crumbs falling onto her tongue. “With all the scary-flank mares that dude’s got in his herd, he don’t need savin’ from no bigoted idiots. More like it’s the idiots that need warnin’ about pickin’ on him!”

Rolling the empty bag into a ball, Pink Lady tossed it into the air before flicking it across the market square with her tail, the paper projectile ricocheting off of a tree, then a lamp-post and a park bench, before dropping into a nearby trash can.

Wandering away, the dull pink earth pony nodded a greeting towards the human and his herd before heading off back towards her family’s apple stand. The gaily attired human in turn waved to the farmpony before he and his two mares also drifted away into the rapidly diminishing crowd.

Pretty soon the immediate surroundings had returned to normal and the most pressing concern Ditzee now faced was that her stomach was telling her that it was time to start thinking about her post-pre-lunch, post-breakfast, late-morning, pre-lunch snack.

“So, where to?”

“Hmmm, what?”

Finding her companion to be somewhat distracted, Ditzee followed the earth pony’s gaze to where it fell on the unicorn confectioner from before. The blue maned mare was still standing outside of her store, talking to a bunch of local foals, all three of them wearing matching capes.

The unicorn had tossed the small towel she’d been holding over her neck where the two ends hung loose about her shoulders. Some of the icing sugar she’d been cleaning up had gotten into her mane, making any loose strands that had fallen out of her hairband stick up in a series of two toned spikes wherever it had become sticky.

Some food colouring had dribbled down her flanks, partially covering the three wrapped sweets with a pair of long dark streaks with blobby smears at the lower ends. Tavi’s eyes, Ditzee noticed, was glued to the white unicorn’s shapely flanks.

“See something you like?” the pegasi teased.

“Wha..?” the earth pony spluttered. “No...“

“Are you sure?” Ditzee raised an eyebrow. That denial was just a little too quick in coming to be believed.

“Yes, I’m sure. It’s just... I don’t know... There’s just something about her that’s...”

“Sexy?”

“No.” Tavi huffed. “No. It’s just... I dunno. But I was not checking out her plot.”

“If. You. Say. So,” Ditzee sang as she skipped away.

****************

Trotting through town towards home, chatting away to Tavi about what they could possibly eat next, Ditzee spotted the town mailmare - Heartsomething wasn’t it? - out on her afternoon rounds.

Apparently she preferred the name ‘Derpy’, or so they had heard. Ditzee didn't have the faintest clue what on Equestra a ‘Derp’ was, or how the minty mare could possibly be one- but she liked the name anyhow, It sounded like something fun. The word had a great sound to it, rolling off the tongue with a big, round ‘Duuuurrr’ and ending up with a lovely lip-popping ‘peee’.

“Hey, watch out for the-”

**Dong**

-lamppost”

Ditzee cringed as her warning shout was just too late to stop the minty mare from walking headlong into the street furniture.

Shaking herself off, Derpy greeted Ditzee with a smile, one of the unicorn’s pupils still spinning slightly from the collision.

“Thanks for trying, Miss Strudelhoffen. It’s a real mean old lamppost, that one. It’s already jumped out at me three times this week.”

After giving Ditzee a wave, Derpy straightened her mailbag around her neck and headed off towards her next destination.

“Must be tough” Tavi commented.

“Hmm?”

“Having wonky eyes an’ all. Disability like that must play havoc with depth perception and stuff.”

“I would think that it does,” Ditzee agreed. “but it’s not something that I would think she lets get the better of her. We all make the best of what we have, Tavi. One is only truly ‘disabled’ if you let other ponies tell you that you are. I prefer the term ‘differently abled’ myself.”

Tavi rolled her eyes at her friend's rather twee expression, but she wasn’t going to disagree. Life probably wasn’t easy for the town mailmare, but it wouldn’t be helped any by the two of them feeling sorry for her or treating her at all differently to anypony else.

Continuing their journey home, they didn’t get far before those three blank-flanked foals from earlier, the caped ones from outside the confectioner’s shop, charged past them on some kind of scooter and cart combination, almost bowling poor Ditzee over in their hurry to get past.

“Hey, watch it, kids!” Tavi shouted after them, though they were too far away by then to hear her, not that they’d have stopped even if they had.

Turning back to her pegasus companion, she found the grey mare starting intently after the rapidly receding troublesome trio, her eyes glazed over as she mumbled the same few words to herself, over and over.

Moving closer, Tavi tried to make out what her friend was trying to say.

It sounded like a lullaby.

*********************

She could see herself, small and blurry, her grey coat and blonde mane. If was hard to focus but it was definitely her, from when she was young, as seen from her mother’s point of view.

A forehoof reached out, stroking the filly’s mane, her own eyes looking back up at her mother. She was warm, and she was safe- her mother was singing her a song, a pretty song, a simple song.

But how did it go?

Little one, never alone,

my heart will always be your home

Sun will shine and moon will rise

but you're the brightest in my eyes

Mom? Singing? To me? When did this ever happen?

She was always so strict with me, so cold.

The only thing I ever got from her was her disappointment, so annoyed by my clumsiness.

The gentle hoof stroked her mane again and again. A mane brush moved back and forth. The child was so happy, she looked up at her mother, she smiled, such a big smile, such a happy face, such a happy child.

Little one, never you fear,

mama will always be near

Clouds will soar and birds will fly

but you're the highest in my eyes

The details became clearer, the pattern on the back of the manebrush, a picture of a tiny gecko, a popular childhood character. The adult put the mane brush down on the dresser, leaning forward she picked the child up, lifting the filly closer, their faces pushed together, the child’s horn rubbed against her cheek. The soft lullaby pushed at the child’s hair, the long strands tickling at her nose as her horn pushed again mother’s cheek.

Horn? Who’s got a horn? I never had a horn!

The adult moved the child onto her own back, between her wings, before turning towards the old, careworn dresser, the large mirror above it reflecting both mother and child. They looked so much alike, except that the adult’s long blonde mane was a mess and one of her golden eyes was misaligned.

Little one, my darling foal

to you belongs your mama's soul

Rest your head, and realize

that you are perfect in my eyes.

The song... it wasn’t her mother singing! No, it wasn’t mother, it her, Ditzee, she was the one singing the lullaby! And she was singing to... she was singing to her own daughter!

What’s her name? I can’t remember her name!

Deee, Dooo, Diiii... Stinky, Pinky, Blinky...

Other images flashed through her mind, mostly blurry, indistinct. The little filly, her little girl, she was always in the middle of her vision, always crystal clear. Shimmering mane and vibrant eyes, both of beautiful gold; a violet coat so pale that it could easily be mistaken for her own grey.

I can’t remember her name!

I can’t remember my little muffin’s name!

The images faded away, the tiny filly fled from her mind, Ditzee reached for her, begging her not to go, not to leave mommy behind.

Reality returned, and with it a view of a grey earth pony rubbing at her face.

***************

“Ow, that hurt.” Tavi wiped the dirt from Ditzee’s still outstretched hoof from her own eye. While she’d been hoping that her unresponsive friend would respond to her pleas, she certainly hadn’t been expecting a hoof to the face.

Blinking away the last of the muck, she asked.

“Ditz, are you okay? here...” pulling a ‘purloined’ napkin from her saddle bags, not noticing that in her haste she’d also pulled out her recently repaired alarm clock which fell to the ground with a resounding crunch, she dabbed it carefully against the pegasus’s face. “...hold still, your nose is bleeding.”

As the earth pony patted at her nose, Ditzee’s left eye twitched, then her right, both pupils contracting down to twin pinpricks of black within the gold.

“My muffin! I need to find my muffin!”

“But... gah... hold still. We already had breakfast. I’m sure we can stop back at Sugarcube Corner if you like. Grab some muffins for the road?”

“No!” Ditzee pulled away, “I’ve gotta go, she needs me!”

“Who?” Tavi shouted over the sudden breeze as Ditzee spread her wings and shot off into the sky faster than the earth pony had ever seen her fly before. “Who needs you?”

But she didn’t get an answer. Instead, all she could hear was Ditzee’s cries as she sped away above the rooftops.

“Muffin! Where are you?”

“I’m coming!”

“Mommy’s coming!”

************

Concentrating hard, Derpy forced her eyes to focus on the unfolded letter held in her forehoof for the third time in as many minutes.

Down around the rest of her hooves, Dinky darted back and forth, never straying too far as mommy had told her again and again that the train station platform could be a very dangerous place is she wasn't paying attention. The filly was super excited, jumping up and down on her tippy-hooves as she tried her best to peer over the horizon. The train from Canterlot would be here soon and she wanted be the first to spot it.

Derpy turned the letter over and over, checking the back just in case there was something she had previously missed. Nope, still blank.

Stuffing the letter back into her mailbag, the minty mare scratched at her chin. So, Dinky’s older herd-sister was coming into town... and this was a good thing... probably. The youngster was beside herself with excitement at the prospect of seeing Sparkler, though her mother wasn't quite as overjoyed.

No, confused with be a closer description of what Derpy Heartstrings was feeling at this point.

No matter how she tried, she couldn't remember being on good terms with any unicorn ‘family’ back in Canterlot. In fact, the more she thought about it the more she could remember it being made quite obvious that she was a disappointment to the family, that she had let them down, brought shame upon them all... though right now the reasons for their ire was muddy, clouded, incoherent.

It was like she had two sets of memories rolling around in her head, so similar yet so different. Different dams, different sires, many many herdsisters- all so angry, so disappointed.

One thing was constant though, they had all been happy to see her go, hadn't even come to see her off at the station, didn’t even bother to say goodbye.

She remembered moving away, coming to Ponyville to get away from the city, to start over. She found ponies here that cared for her, for her daughter, they didn't care what had happened to her before Ponyville, they made it plain that if she didn't want to talk about it then they wouldn't push her on it.

In her mind’s eye, she saw fleeting glimpse of a cream coloured mare, with flashes of pink and blue... but just as quickly the image was replaced with that of her daughter, of the day she was born, how tiny and precious and beautiful she was. She remembered the first light of morning seeping in through the hospital window, piercing the side of the incubator to touch the newborn filly’s mane, the still damp strands of hair so crisp and golden like a freshly baked muffin.

So she wasn't exactly welcome back in Canterlot... well, who cared? She had everything she needed right here in town; dancing around her hooves, squealing in excitement as the first puffs of smoke and steam appeared on the horizon. Pretty soon the clouds of smoke were followed by the pastel shades and cheerful whistle of the Friendship Express as it chugged its way into town.

Well, there had been one member of the family who’d kept in touch. Dinky’s half-sister, Sparkler - barely a teenager when Derpy had left town - had written to her every month for years. It had taken a long, long time before Derpy had built up the courage to write back. But she was glad she had. Monthly letters soon became weekly, letters had soon became short visits, short visits had soon become longer and longer, and Dinky had received an older sister in her life.

“MOMMY! There she is! I can’t wait to show her my new cutie mark!”

Dinky’s shout brought the mailmare back to her senses as, at the far end of the station platform, a pink unicorn mare stepped down from the recently arrived train and waved in their direction. After looking up towards her mother for permission to leave the safety of her side, Derpy nodding that it was safe to do so, Dinky shot off across the wooden boards, her hooves making far more noise than a filly of her tiny build had any business to.

As the sisters hugged out their greeting, the younger taking great delight in waving her recently branded flank about while the elder made such a fuss over it, Derpy gave them some time together before she too made her way over.

“Hey, lil’ sis. I’ve missed you so much.” Sparkler cooed as she pulled her much smaller sibling into another big hug. “Oh my word, isn’t your cutie mark just the best! And so much like your mommy’s too. I’m so pleased for you.”

Putting Dinky down, Sparkler cast her gaze about the platform, a frown coming to her brow.

“So, where’s your mom? She never usually lets you come to the station on your own.”

“She’s right here, you silly filly,” Dinky waved a hoof up at Derpy who smiled a greeting to her daughter’s sister. “See?”

“Where?” Sparkler asked, peering around the minty mare to see if anypony was hiding behind her. “Only pony I can see is Miss Heartstrings.”

Turning her attention to her fellow unicorn, Sparkler’s eyes caught on the mailbag around her neck, the slightly disheveled mane, the carefree grin.

“Hi Lyra. Are you here with Dinky? Did Ditzy ask you to come with her?” She asked, her brain trying to tell her that there was something just a little bit off with Miss Heartstrings... was it the eyes? It was the eyes, wasn’t it? When did Lyra come down with a case of strabismus?

“Who?” Derpy asked.

“Ditzy... Ditzy Doo?” Sparkler responded slowly, there was definitely something not right here. “You know, Dinky’s mom?”

“I’m her mom.“ Derpy’s eye twitched as she answered curtly, all emotion draining from her voice.

“Haha, nice one, Lyra.” Sparkler attempted to laugh the obvious prank off, eyes casting about for any sign of a blonde pegasus hiding anywhere nearby. “So, where’s her mom. Is she back at the cottage?”

Derpy’s eye twitched again, harder this time. The pupil that hadn’t been previously focusing on Sparkler swiveled around to lock onto the younger unicorn. She spoke again, her tone held an edge of anger that Sparkler had never heard before, even during the rare times that they’d talked about Dinky’s - and her own - father.

“I’m. Her. Mother!”

“Ahh, hehe, yeah...” Sparkler was starting to get worried, and maybe even a little scared. Turning her head she looked about for...

Amongst soft pink fur her own eye twitched, black pupils within purple irises contracted down to twin pinpricks. A forehoof moved to her brow as the headache hit, almost knocking her off of her hooves. The pain was overwhelming, and onslaught of confusion crushing and pushing and pulling at her brain...

...and then it was gone.

“Yes, of course you are. Haha, silly me. You're Derpy... Derpy Heartstrings. Always have been, always will be. Hmmm, let’s...erm, yes...”

The forehoof moved away from her brow, the headache nothing more that just a fleeting memory.

“What was I saying? Oh, have you been baking? Shall we go? I can practically taste your muffins already.”

As a smile returned to her face, Derpy used her magic to lift Sparkler’s bags onto her own back As the three unicorns - two mares and one tiny little filly - walked away, a small spot of blood soaked its way into the wooden boards of the platform floor, the pink mare totally unaware that the liquid had even left her nose.

********************

Hovering a good few feet above the Friendship Express’s footplate, the train’s conductor used his bear paw to lift his hat from his head, giving his scalp a good scratch with his other clawed hand.

As he watched the three females disappear into the crowd he idly tossed the hat into the train’s smoke stack where it instantly exploded into a column of bubbles, turning the massive steam engine into one huge bubble blower.

With a click of his fingers, he vanished in a flash of light, disappearing from the station as if he had never been there in the first place. Whatever he’d been thinking before his departure, he hadn’t looked happy about it. No, not one little bit.

Author's Note

AN: Derpy's lullaby was written by SpinelStride (cos he's good at it and my own poetry sucks balls), and the description of Lero’s outfit by MikeTeevee. Please go and show them both some love.

38: Heart and soul, they both know. (MMC)

A/N: Yes, it’s a Magical Mystery Cure chapter. For those of you who aren't fond of the ‘Vinyl Scratch stuck in Bon Bon’s life’ episodes... well, there’s always next time.

Heart and soul, they both know.
Chapter published 10th October 2015.
***************

Bon Bon was not having a good day.

Heck, she hadn’t even been having a good week.

With a barely contained curse word - or three - she tossed yet another scorched saucepan into the already overwhelmed sink. The burnt mess coating pan number five - or was it six - was stuck fast to the sides, an acrid smelling glob of absolute ickyness, rapidly hardening into something more like an ugly brown rock than the gaily coloured confectionery that it was meant to have become.

In a fit of pique Bon Bon kicked a discarded whisk across the room - the utensil bouncing from hanging pot to dangling pan with a pair of loud ‘bongs’ before sticking fast to the far wall, held in place with what was supposed to be sugar frosting in baby pink but had instead turned into something more akin to industrial strength tile grout in mottled grey.

“Celestia, dammit. I can’t cook for horseapples,” the thoroughly annoyed unicorn snorted, “but hey, if you want a bathroom retiled, I’m your mare. Aaargh! So mad right now!”

Grabbing a hoofcloth with her magic, Bon Bon used it to wipe her face and neck free(ish) of powdered sugar as she stomped her way out of the kitchen and onto the sales floor of Bon Bon’s Bon-Bons. The time when she'd have to reopen the store for the afternoon was fast approaching and in the last two hours she hadn’t managed to make a single sellable item.

Not one candy.

Not one toffee.

Not a single, solitary, lonely little jelly bean.

Not.

One.

Thing!

Well, that wasn’t strictly true. Technically she’d made a huge mess of the kitchen, a couple of piles of yuck that she was sure she should be wearing a hazchem suit to handle safely, three unexpected fires, two small explosions, and a depressingly large empty space in her ingredient stores. And, after all that, she’d been left with nothing that she could sell for money... cold hard cash... filthy bits... phat stacks of cheddar. Well not without being prosecuted under the public safety act of 1199AC anyway - subsections 14C, D, E and F especially.

Making her way around the counter, she eyed up the tray of what was supposed to have been jelly beans but had instead turned out to be small, colourful (the only two descriptives for them that could be used in a positive sense) sugar-filled chewy-as-hell teeth-stickying-together blobs of...

Sigh.

Honestly, she had no idea what they were. If it hadn’t been for Time Turner declaring them to have being the ‘most fantastic thing’ he’d ever seen - that boy really was an odd one - and stuffing his saddlebags with as many of the misshapen little lumps as he could carry, then she’d have just thrown the entire batch in the trash and called it a day. She’d always known the guy was a bit touched in the head - but, hay, if she could make a few bits out of him in exchange for a tray of garbage-can-bait then who was she to argue.

As she got closer to the front door - the sign still flipped to ‘closed’, and if she had her way it’d stay like that the rest of the day - she could hear shouting from the square outside. Glad of any excuse not to have to go back into her kitchen of confectional horrors, the unicorn opened the door and stuck her head outside...

...just in time to catch that great oaf, Honeydew, getting her flank handed to her - not once, but twice - by the confectioner’s former housemate.

“Cool!”

By Luna, hadn’t that dumb-flank mare figured out not to mess with the town’s resident human and his trio of merry mares by now.

Dude, what a bucking idiot.

“Go home, Honeydew, you’re drunk!” Bon Bon shouted from the doorway. “Seriously, do yourself a flavour - just toddle off home and lick your wounded pride before you make even more of a foal of yourself. Capeesh?”

After pulling herself up from the undignified heap that Lyra had left her in, Honeydew glared at the accidently-sugar-frosted shop-owner before dusting herself down and slinking off out of sight, all the while trying to make out to anypony within earshot that she was in no way making a strategic retreat.

“Proper idjit” Bon Bon muttered as she watched the lime green mare disappear off around a corner. Turning back to her grandmaster earth pony friend, standing over yonder with two of her herdmates, she meant to give her a friendly wave before heading back into her shop... but instead he got herself her first eyeful of Lero’s outfit.

“By Luna, what is he wearing? Dude looks a proper sight!” she blurted out to a passerby before she’d even realised that her mouth had moved, let alone spoken aloud. “Looks like somepony’s eaten twenty pounds of yesterday’s jelly beans then thrown up all over him. Maybe that’s what had set Honeydew off? Don’t get me wrong - having the fashion sense of a colour-blind cave troll hardly warrants a physical attack... but maaaare, that’s nasty.”

While she was pondering what-on-Equestria could have possessed the boy to be seen in public in such a state - maybe he’d lost a bet? It was about the best excuse she could come up so far - the Cutie Mark Crusaders appeared as if from nowhere. It was her own fault, really... she'd had the sweet shop’s front door open for more than sixty seconds now so they probably figured that made it fair game to flash mob her sweet ass.

Luckily the terrible trio didn’t hang around too long - just a quick chat about their plans for the afternoon before they sped off across town, all three happily assured that yes, the store would be open when they got back and no, BonBon was highly unlikely to have sold out of that stuff that was supposed to be taffy but most certainly wasn’t. Heck, she was having a hard time even giving it away - especially after yesterday lunchtime when it had tried to eat Cranky’s hairpiece - and if the three of them wanted it then they were welcome to take as much as they could carry. To be honest, BonBon didn’t even want to know what they had planned for it, but she was fairly sure that they weren’t going to eat it. Not even they could be that crazy.

Could they?

Pretty soon the three little hooligans had hopped back into their cart and powered off into the distance. They were good kids. A little rambunctious at times, yeah, but who hadn’t been at their age? Well, the boring kids maybe, but BonBon sure hadn’t been one of those. Back in her teenage years, when she’d first moved to Ponyville from the big bad city, she might have been a bit worried that the quaint little country town would have nothing to offer a city girl like her. But then she’d met Lyra - fellow thrill seeker, prankster extraordinaire, and all-round cool cat - and the two of them had hit it off like a house on fire. There’d never a dull moment when the two of them had been together... heck, they even still had the matching restraining orders to prove it.

But, was it me that lived in Canterlot, or Lyra?

Dude, that whole period’s a bit hazy.

Most of it was just one crazy sugar rush after another.

He he, yep - good times.

Either way, they’d made quite the pair, the two of them. Looking back, they’d been just what the other had needed, and had somehow managed to keep each other out of as much trouble as they’d ever managed to get into it.

Well, almost

Catching sight of herself reflected in her shop’s windows, BonBon was pulled out of her reverie by quite what a state she was looking.

Oh shoot, I’m a mess.

And she wasn’t wrong - she did look a mess. Her mane was a state, her coat was covered in patches of icing sugar, big smears of food colouring, and globs of escaped... well, Luna only knew what. Somehow she’d even managed to get a pair of black smears over one of her cutie marks, covering up her three colourfully wrapped sweets with what looked more like a large, smudged number eleven.

Taking a longer look at herself in the makeshift mirror, the confectioner levitated a hoof-towel from inside the store and tried using it smarten herself up a bit. It was while she was trying to clean some of the gunk from her mane that she noticed somepony else reflected in the window - this somepony being a light-gray earth pony mare with a short, spiky black and grey mane.

Whoah! That mare’s gorgeous, and those sunglasses are so cool.

Holla! Is she checking me out?

Subtlety - and if there was one thing Bon Bon was known for it was being subtle... not - she turned her body slightly, making out that she was having a tinsy bit of trouble wiping her coat clean, all the while watching her admirer’s reflection in the window. Sure enough, as BonBon moved her flank from side to side, so the mare’s gaze followed it.

Oh yeah! She’s totally checking me out. Bonnie, ya still got it goin’ on.

Hey, she’s the DJ from Canterlot. DJ Tav1 or something, ain’t she? Sweet!

Bon Bon may have been having a bad day so far but having a successful - and seriously hot - city mare checking her out was doing wonders for her mood. Yeah, it might be shallow, and probably nothing would come of it, but it still made her feel good and right now she’d take all the ‘feel good’ she could get.

That’s it girl, take a good look.

Baby, you could spin my platters any day.

Draping her towel across her shoulders, the unicorn gave her rump a seductive little wiggle - totally accidently of course - as she watched a reflection of a blonde maned pegasus walk up to the stunner of a earth pony and say something that Bon Bon couldn't quite hear. Whatever it was, it obviously had the earth pony all flustered, turning her reflection a shade of pink that the confectioner thought was totally cute.

As the pegasi wandered away, the hottest earth pony in town trailing in her wake, Bon Bon had a feeling they’d be seeing each other again. That DJ did look reeeally familiar, and not just in a ‘Hey, I saw you a few days back over at the Apple place’ way either.

Yeah, I’ll be seeing you again, honey. You can count on that.

Oh well, break’s over, back to work.

As she made to step back into the store, she took one last look at herself in the window. Even with the her towel thrown over her neck, the odd spike here and there of two tone blue mane sticking out of her headband, she was looking pretty fine.

As she took in the sight, she couldn’t help but think that the towel around her neck looked a little like a pair of oversized headphones. The thought brought back an old memory, something vague.

For a moment she could swear that she heard a bassline thumping away in the back of her brain... a packed nightclub, in Canterlot maybe? Perhaps that’s where she’d seen that DJ before, back when she and Lyra used to check out the big city’s nightlife. Yeah, that must have been it.

But, just a quickly as it had arrived, the memory was gone, and the only thumping in the unicorn’s head was a swiftly forming headache. Wandering back into her store, she locked the front door behind her before grabbing a bright yellow hazmat suit and gas mask from a hook behind the counter. It always paid to be safe and, with what she’d been cooking up so far this morning, this was the kinda day for being doubly safe.

**********************************

Bon Bon hadn’t had the store open for the afternoon for very long when Lero dropped into see her.

Looking up from where she was busily wiping the area around the cash register clean, Bon Bon gave the human - or, more truthfully, that travesty of a suit that he was still wearing - a good once over with a critical, and unimpressed, eye.

Ahhh man, it’s even worse up close.

“What can I get you? Sorry, babe, no sex. I just cleaned the counter.”

As Lero leant on the counter in question, laying an arm across the polished wood with a casual air, BonBon was starting to wonder what exactly it was she’d done to warrant him inflicting this kind of punishment on her poor ol’ eyeballs.

“Though if it gets you out of that goddess-awful outfit I might make an exception.”

“What, you no likey?” Lero stood away from the counter and opened the front of the jacket, displaying the full nausea-inducing splendor of the waistcoat underneath in all its mis-matched glory, though BonBon really wished he hadn’t. “Jackie made it especially for me.”

“Yeah, well. Who else would she have made it for?” Covering her eyes with a fore-hoof, the unicorn waved the other one at the human in a semi-jokey ‘go away’ motion. “Sorry, hun, me no likey. What I’d really like is some sunglasses before it gives me a migraine.”

Dropping the ‘dazzled’ act, she went back to cleaning the jars by the till. “Seriously though, what in the sweet, sweet world of Equestria are you wearing it for? You lose a bet or something?”

Lero laughed, letting his jacket fall closed as he leant back on the counter. “Okay, so it’s not exactly DJ’s best work but, hey, it’s the thought that counts, right? I’ll agree though, it’s all bit ‘Sixth Doctor’ for Ponyville, isn’t it?”

“Who?” Bon Bon asked.

“Sixth Doctor.” Lero kinda explained, but not. “Not really my era, the Colin Baker years. My mom thought he was seriously hot. But then, she was a teenager in eighties England, and everything was a bit weird back then, so I guess she had an excuse.”

Doctor what? Colin the Baker who?

Seriously, what’s he on about?

“I was more of an Ecclestone fan myself, but then he was my first Doctor and everyone remembers their first.”

“Seriously, dude,” Bob Bon held up a forehoof in the hope that the human would take a break to breathe, “what the hayseed are you babbling on about?"

Horseapples! He’s still going!

“Still, no one beats the thirteenth Doctor though. Gillian Anderson - now she was sexy! First non-Brit to play the role too. That rustled a few jimmies, let me tell you. And I still can’t believe she was almost fifty when she took the role on. Oh. My. God - she was so hot. I’d have been her companion any day. She had this real mature allure thing going on with her Doctor, didn’t take crap from anyone either, could be a real devious bitch when she needed to be. Just what they needed after Capaldi.”

Taking what Bon Bon thought had to be his first breath since he’d started his little verbal whirlwind, Lero pursed his lips and whistled, launching back into his trip down memory lane before the befuddled pony had even the slightest chance to interject.

“And putting her up against Benedict Cumberbatch as The Master? Now that, my friend, was a stroke of genius. No wonder people thought Gatiss was some kind of god.”

“Are you ever going to shut up?” Bon Bon finally managed to squeeze a word in sideways. It didn't help.

“I mean, some people were worried when he took over from Moffat, but I think he did some great stuff. I still wonder who ended up being the fourteenth Doctor. My money was on Idris Elba, but what with him already being tied up playing James Bond after Daniel Craig gave it up it was a bit of a long shot.

No! Please! No more! I can’t take it.

“Arrrgh, Lero! I have absolutely no idea what you’re saying,” Bon Bon cried, throwing her forehooves into the air. “You're doing it on purpose now, aren't you?”

“Yes,” Lero grinned, “is it working?”

“Well between your yapping and that monstrosity of a suit I’m about to raise the white flag and give you whatever the hay you want as long as you’ll go away and leave my poor beleaguered senses in peace. So, if that’s your plan, then yeah, well done. You win.”

“Result!” Lero clapped his hands together. “Got any pop rocks?”

Bon Bon visibly deflated, tossing her cleaning cloth to one side before ducking down under the counter.

“Pop Rocks... don’t talk to me about Pop Rocks. You know what it’s usually like with the Pop Rocks - they’ve got so popular with unicorns recently that I’ve had to start keeping them under the counter so the kids don’t try ‘sampling’ them. For a while I thought they’d be about the only thing that went right for me this week... but then this happened.”

Reappearing from back under the counter, Bon Bon veeeery carefully placed a large, glass dish on the worksurface. Nestled within the dish were a whole crop of small, translucent crystals shards, all tinted a striking sky blue that seemed to glow as the daylight danced its way through their crystalline structure.

Lero whistled in appreciation. “Now that,” he said, ”is a lovely shade of blue.”

“Ain't it just,” the unicorn agreed, slapping the human’s hand with a forehoof as he went to pick up a small piece. “Carefull though, they’re a bit... unstable.“

From the edge of the dish, a tiny crystal floated into the air, held aloft in the unicorn’s magic.

“Watch this.”

With a quick flick of her horn, Bon Bon tossed the tiny shard onto the floor, where it exploded with an equally tiny ‘crack’.

“These were about the only decent thing I’ve managed to make the last couple’a days. When they first came out they were so pure that just one tiny piece would make your teeth ache. I mean, dude, these things were practically addictive. Trouble was that after a few hours of cooling they all went blue and started exploding whenever they got hit, or dropped... or even looked at funny.” One of the unicorn’s hooves rubbed at her jaw. “By Luna’s teats, don’t try chewing them. I darn near lost three teeth before I managed to wean myself off of them.”

Another, slightly larger, piece floated out of the dish and into the air in front of Lero. He had to admit, it really was a lovely shade of light sky blue.

“Could be worse though, “ Bon Bon added, “ you do not want to see my reject bin.”

Tossing the floating piece though the open door into the kitchen, it landed in a large metal trash can with a decent sized ‘crack’, the detonation setting off other pieces of previously rejected confectionery. After a few seconds the bin started jumping and jiving its way around the kitchen as a chain reaction of explosions created a cacophony of snaps, crackles and pops, not unlike a string of firecrackers tossed into an echo chamber.

With a sigh Bon Bon leant against the counter’s edge, propping her chin up with her forehooves.

“Dude, I have sooo lost my mojo. This is like the week from Tartarus so far. My pantry’s about out of ingredients, my noodle’s about out of ideas, and my air vents are about out of cash. Another week of this and I am gonna be well and truly buggered.”

“Sorry?” Lero looked up from the piece of crystal that he was debating whether to lick or not, “you’re hiding what in your where?”

“What? No, nothing. Never mind that.” Bon Bon grabbed her cloth and starting giving her counter another really good clean. “Look, it’s just that if I can’t cook up something pretty darn special pretty darn quick then I’m gonna be out of business by the end of the month.”

“Oh, sorry,” Lero thought better of the piece of Pop Rock in his fingers and very carefully placed it back in its dish. “Anything I can do to help? I could come back by later to help out if you like. Mom always said cooking was was as much a science as an art, and I was pretty good at chemistry in high-school. Cooking up candy couldn’t be that different, right? I could ask Lyra too, she’s been aaaaall about the sweet stuff this week.“

To say that this was the best offer Bon Bon had received all week would not have been an understatement.

“Oh, by Celestia’s mane, yes, yes, please. I could really do with the help.”

Leaning over the counter, the unicorn grabbed one of Lero’s hands with her forehooves and gave his fingers a little wiggle.

“I’ll take all the help I can get, and a helping hoof, or hand, would be perfect right about now. Could I ask just one more little favour though?”

“Of course. Ask away”

“Could you leave the suit at home? I’m worried it’ll curdle the milk.”

*********************************

It was a few hours later before Lero returned to the store, thankfully sans suit. Twist had arrived for her afternoon shop-filly shift so Bon Bon was free to hustle the human into the kitchen out back of the shop.

“Hey! Hands!”

Lero looked up from the tray of... well, he wasn’t sure what it was that Bon Bon had cooling on the counter top. It was... brown, was about the best he could say about it. If he had to make a call on it he’d have guessed that someone had tried to make butterscotch with nothing but a cement mixer, a flame-thrower, and a ‘can do’ attitude..

Holding his hands up in front of him like some kind of high-respected astrophysicist who’d just spotted an incoming badass, he backed away from the table.

“Whoa, I got ’em up. Don’t shoot.”

“Wash ‘em, fool!” Bon Bon laughed as Lero snapped off a mock salute.

“Yes, Mom.“

A quick wash up at the kitchen sink with soap and water had Lero’s mitts fresh as a daisy - the flower, not the easily startled bloom-seller - in just a few moments.

“Geez, you're starting to sound like Lyra. Dunno what’s gotten into her lately but she’s gone on a real cleaning bender the last few days. My house has never been so shiny.”

Hands all clean, Lero grabbed a cloth to dry himself off.

“Shame she couldn’t come with me. She sends her apologies by the way, but she was prebooked this afternoon.”

“It’s cool. I know she’s been busy this week, “ Bon Bon checked over Lero’s hands with a critical eye before sending him back to the sink for a second round, “and she’s right: cleanliness is next to goddessliness. Get right under those nails, Doctor Handyberg. We’ve gotta be clean enough to operate”

Finally approved for action, Lero picked up the tray of... brown that he’d been inspecting just moments before.

“So, hey, what’s this? Looks like a tray of milk tea gone solid.”

He gave it an experimental sniff - though not without trepidation.

“Smells a bit like tea, too... maybe... if you hold it at this angle, scrunch up your nose just-so, and only use your left nostril.”

“Oh, haha, Mister Funnybones.“ The tray was snatched from his hands, the pale pink of the unicorn’s magic banging the metal against a nearby counter as she tried to shake its creator cursed contents loose. “Was trying for caramels, I think, or it might have been butterscotch toffee. Look, I dunno.”

The solid sheet of brown finally shattered and fell into a lump pile on the counter.

“Heck, I’m not even sure what I was trying to make, though sure-as-sugar I can tell you it weren’t this.”

Crouched down to bring his eye-level in line with the countertop, Lero gingerly poked a small piece of the brown. Satisfied it wasn’t doing anything worrying - like vibrating, ticking or slowly counting down to his demise - he picked a small piece up and brought it closer to his face for an experimental sniff.

“Dude,” Bon Bon shuddered, “you’re a braver mare than I.”

“Well, it smells okay, “Lero stated, still giving the lump the evil-eye.

“No offense, hun, but we both know your nose is-aah, nah, bro, don’t do that!”

“Actually,” Lero stated, rolling the piece around his mouth, “It doesn’t taste that bad.”

“You crappin’ me, boy?” Bon Bon asked, picking up a small piece herself. “If I find out you’re joshing me just so I’ll try a bit and then have it taste like a dead dog’s butthole, I will hang you up by your spuds. Just so you know.”

Holding her piece of brown out towards the human, what she really hadn't expected was that her new assistant would pluck it from her hoof and stuff it in her mouth before she could utter another word. The shock alone was enough to make her tongue wrap around the foreign object, preparing to flick the so-called ‘confection’ across the room before her taste buds could tell her just how minging it was.

Unfortunately it was too late, the oddly coloured lump had made contact and the signals flying from her buds to her brain were faster than the signals from her brain to her tongue, and she was suddenly overwhelmed by waves of taste and-

“Holy Moly, this is actually pretty good!” she cried, rolling the piece around her mouth as she let the competing flavours soak her senses.

“Yeah, “ Lero agreed, “once it gets all warm and wet it’s actually quite nice, still quite hard and pokey though.”

Bon-Bon tried not to laugh at the unfortunately phrased comment, the stifled giggle forcing the sweet’s sweet smell up into her nose.

“Smells better, too,” she commented,

“You know,” Lero let his slowly dissolving lump click against the back of his teeth, “I think you might have just made Equestria’s first ever batch of Werther's Originals.”

“Werther’s whats?”

“‘Werther’s Originals.’ Sucky sweets from back home. And that’s ‘sucky’ in a good way.”

Bon Bon had no idea what Lero was on about, but, to be honest, these sweets weren’t as bad as she’d feared. Maybe she could even sell a few, make back a bit of cash. Perhaps some kind of advertising spin would help - perhaps she could even get some of the townsfolk to try them, get some word of mouth out there. Might need to try bribing them at first, though.

The ‘ding’ of the shop door bell caught her attention, but unfortunately it wasn't a customer, just Twist brushing her floor-sweepings out of the front door.

As her young cousin (once removed) bustled her way around the store, Bon Bon watched her through the kitchen hatch as she had an idea. Not the best idea she’d ever had, mind, but an idea none the less - and right now she was willing to try anything.

Kids. Cute Kids. Stick ‘em on an advert and ponies’ll buy anything.

Yeah, that’d do it. Maybe rope Gramma Tang in as well. Make out it was something grannies gave the little ‘uns when they’d been good. The kids’d think it was great ‘cos grannie was giving them a treat, and the old dears’d think it was something the kiddies loved. Play the two off against each other and ding, profit!

Kerching, baby.

Hang on, is she my Gramma, or Twist’s?

Nah, don’t feel like mine, must be the kid’s.

Pushing the question of how best to shift a whole heap of questionable merchandise onto the unsuspecting public - and whose nanna Gramma Tang actually was - Bon Bon ushered her bipedal partner in crime into the back of the kitchen. They had cooking to do and, by Luna, with Lero’s - hopefully - mad chemistry skills they were going to cook like they'd never cooked before.

Possibly.

Maybe.

Look, right now she’d settle for a batch of decent jelly beans and a tray of peanut brittle that wouldn’t lead to expensive dental treatment. Was that too much to ask?

Leaning back out of the doorway, she snagged her hazmat suit with her magic and whisked it into the kitchen behind her, just in case.

******************

Bon Bon was having a really good afternoon. Finally!

Trays of slowly cooling confections crowded the countertops, while all three of her ovens were stuffed to the gills with yet more tasty treats just waiting for their time to shine.

Cranking a clockwork kitchen timer ‘round to seventeen minutes exactly, she set it down on the window ledge between two of its already active brethren.

Taking a deep breath, she took in the smells wafting all around. Sugar, spice, everything nice - and not a single gag inducing wiff of badly burnt sugar or run-away chemical reactions to be found

To her left sat a tray or cinder-toffee, every single lump browned to golden perfection - half of them coated in a generous layer of milk chocolate. She hadn't been sure about the combination at first but Lero had insisted and, by Luna, she was glad she’d agreed to try it - the rich milky sweetness of the chocolate coating complementing the crunchy, slightly bitter honeycomb core perfectly. Oh yes, she was saved!

To her right sat a large bowl of something Lero was calling ‘Milk Duds’. Again, she’d not been too sure about covering her misshapen lumps of reject caramel in milk chocolate, but once the human had figured out what the enrobing machine did and how to work it he’d been so pleased with himself that he’d probably have enrobed her in chocolate if she’d stayed still too long.

After all he’s done for me today, if I was into stallions, I’d probably have let him.

Heck, still might.

Actually, why do I have so many earth pony utensils in here, anyway?

Right in front of her was another tray, full of these little, long, skinny wafer biscuits all also covered in chocolate - no surprise, that man was a chocolate-covering machine once he got going - and stuck together in pairs. Lero said they were called ‘Kit Cats’, she had no idea why - there was no way she’d let any cats in here, all shedding everywhere and forever licking their own bits! Blurgh.

And then there was these things, these little balls of solid chocolate that they’d thrown in a dragée pan and covered in a brightly coloured candy shell. She’d had no idea what an ‘Emm and Emm” was, but they were fantastic, and so simple. How had no pony ever thought of doing this before? Oh, yes - she was saved, saved. saved.

With nothing left to do now but wait for the next oven-load of goodies to be ready, Bon Bon finally had a few moments to relax. Leaning against the wall she let her plot slide to the floor, letting out a breath that seemed to take with it all of the worries and concerns that had been building up inside her all week.

Closing her eyes she let her mind clear, clearing her brain of everything but the trio of timers - all happily ticking and tocking and ticking and tocking. Three sets of mechanical heartbeats were all she could hear, banging away between themselves at one hundred and eighty beats per minute.

On the other side of the kitchen, Lero - taking the chance to grab himself a glass of water and a quick sit down - idly started drumming his fingers on the base of an empty, upturned saucepan left drying next to the sink.

Without thinking too much about it, Bon Bon lifted a wooden spoon with her magic, tapping it against a nearby glass jar, her head nodding along in time.

Putting down his glass, still drumming away with one hand, Lero picked up a small, half filled jar of hazelnuts, shaking it to the rhythm building up in the room, its regular ‘ssh ssh ssh’ sliding across the room between the drum beats.

Getting to her hooves, Bon Bon searched the room for more utensils she could bang, clang, ding, or even dong. Pretty soon the entire kitchen was full to the brim with the sounds of the pair’s impromptu jam session.

Lero had found a pallet knife and was ‘twonging’ it on the end of a counter like a school-filly with a ruler, while Bon Bon’s magic was bashing on pots and pans and swinging jars of jelly beans around like maracas while both of them kicked out at cupboard doors, ingredient bins, and anything else unfortunate enough to get within kicking distance.

In less than a minute the’d built themselves up a nice little rhythm, both of them moving from improvised instrument to improvised instrument. Spoons against jugs, shaking big jars then little then big again, working up and down the pans, trash cans and cupboard doors thumping in time - ‘ssh ssh’, ‘ding ding’, ‘bang ding-da-ding bang bang’, Through it all the timers kept time, the steady beat that threaded through it all.

At the far end of the kitchen, the door to the shop floor inched open, Twist’s young face poking into the room, herself and several of the customers trying to figure out what on Equestria was going on back there - what with all this rhythmical banging and crashing echoing all around the place and not a sniff of the music of harmony anywhere to be found..

Lero had found rolling pin and was banging it against some of the bigger pans, Bon Bon’s magic bouncing wooden spoons off of the smaller pans all around him. The mare herself had found that running the tines of a fork along a box grater made this marvelous distorted ‘prong’ noise that she just loved, especially when mixed with the thunderish rumbles coming from her hind leg kicking the garbage can behind her, the last of the pop rocks adding the occasional pièce de résistance to the mix.

Neither of them knew who had spotted it first, but spotted it they had. A large, huge, massive cauldron sitting in the corner, the one only used for Nightmare Night. Bon Bon grinned like a loon - the idea was just too good to resist.

She looked to Lero - yes, he’d spotted it too, surely he knew what they had to do.

He was grinning, nodding - yes, he was in.

Moving over towards the cauldron - the utensils held in her magic still banging and crashing their way around the room - Bon Bon positioned her hind legs just right. She looked to the human, he held his hand out towards her, all five fingers spread. Grinning like a fool, he folded one in towards his palm, a second later he folded down another. Bon Bon knew what was coming next.

Silence reigned around the room as all banging, crashing, dinging, and donging ceased. She didn’t know why, but a single word pushed its way up her throat and out of her mouth, screaming its way around the room as she wound up a hind leg for the most powerful buck she’d ever bucked in her whole darn bucking life.

“DROP!”

A deep, powerful ‘BOOOONG’ rebounded its way around the kitchen. Windows rattled, pans fell from the shelves, glass jars bounced and jerked. The huge, low frequency wave of sound powered its way across the room, tingling their ribcages, vibrating the very air in their lungs.

Winding her hind leg, Bon Bon bucked the cauldron again and again and again. The never ending bass rumble filling the room with sound, overpowering the beat of the saucepan drums, the ‘ssh ssh ssh’ of the jelly bean jars, the rampant ‘tickticktick’ of the kitchen timers, the wobbly ‘twong’ of the pallette knives, the distorted ‘prong’ of the box grater. Again and again she kicked, like her life depended on it.

Outside, all around the sales floor, ponies hopped up and down, customers calling others into the store to listen, watching the performance through the kitchen hatch, Twist holding the door open so everypony could hear.

One of the kitchen timers went off and, with one last ‘BOOOOONG’, the performance came to an end.

Both Lero and Bon Bon were exhausted, sweat dripping from their faces, both breathing heavily. The unicorn reached up, running a hoof through her mane, sweat and powdered sugar leaving it sticking up all over the place.

“So,” she asked between shuddering breaths, “was it good for you, too?”

Behind her, out in the shop proper, ponies burst into applause - hooves stomping and clopping, mouths whistling and shouting - generally just creating a racket. Their appreciation caught Bon Bon unaware - she’d been so caught up in the music that she hadn't even noticed that they were all out there.

She stood, staring, her mouth open, taking in the adoration flowing over her. It felt good, it felt familiar. She wanted more.

Turning, she beamed at Lero.

“Dude, I think we’re in the wrong professio-”

Midword, the unicorn went rigid, immobile. With limbs locked and mouth left hanging open, her eyes glazed over.

In that instant, she was miles away - somewhere else, somewhere not here.

The audience go wild, their voices echoing from the club’s walls as they chant her name, over and over and over and over. The lights dim, the dance floor falling dark, her deck light the only illumination in the room, the light coat of sweat on her sheer white coat making her glow in the otherwise all pervading darkness. The beats fade away, the brief silence holding them all in her thrall. She waits, just a split second more, the timing’s gotta be right - gotta let them want it, gotta let them beg for it. They can feel it - building, boiling, burning from within. The ache, it’s real.

Oh yeah, it’s time...

D R O P !

An unbelievable wave of bass rolled around the room; thundering its way across the crowded floor; crashing its way from wall to wall, ear to ear, ribcage to ribcage. The crowd goes wild, even wilder than before. Hooves hit the floor in unison, hearts and minds and bodies meet, the room shakes with the music, the seismic force of hundreds of bodies, all moving together, all moving to her will. Stage-lights strobe, her audience caught in immobile in fleeting glimpses of movement, life in stop-motion. Horns glow, floor lights pulse, the crowd moves in time, as one huge gestalt entity. She cranks up the bass, even higher, higher, higher. It makes her ribs hurt - but it’s a good hurt, it makes her feel alive.

This is where she belongs - up here, behind the decks, a benevolent queen of sound bringing joy to her loyal and willing subjects. Bringing meaning to living, bringing rapture to the masses.

She didn't just bring the music... she was the music.

She was home.

She’s back, back in Canterlot, years ago now. She’s just a filly, at her big brother’s high-school, standing on his back, watching the parade, trying to get a better look.

She’s staring up at the group of dorky looking teenage stallions hoping around on their float. A colt-band, not a particularly good one at that, but they're giving it their all.

There’s a white unicorn stallion in an old military drummer’s uniform - he’s got battle paint across his snout, screaming tunelessly into the crowd, something about how much he loves pretty pink princess ponies, especially the ones with stripy manes.

The beat is loud, she’s engrossed in the sound, in the beat. The beat, the beat, the beat - it surrounds her, fills her, lifts her up. Unicorns all around her are lighting the tips of their horns, hundreds of magical fireflies lighting up the crowd.

She scrunches up her nose, gathering up as much of her magic as she can. The tip of her own horn lights up, pulsing with the beat. She jumps, dances, screams out in time with the music, her mane flipping around her ears as she violently rocks her head back and forth . Her flank feels warm, like it’s on fire, like a thousand hugs from a million fiery bugs.

She looks back, there’s a mark there... her mark. Her mark’s arrived, finally.

She feels so alive, this is her life, and her cutie mark proves it.

But it’s not three wrapped sweets, not Bon Bon’s cutie mark. It’s a barred note..

It’s her mark...

Hers...

Vinyl Scratch's.

Vinyl Scratch, the DJ.

Vinyl Scratch, the best DJ in the whole of Canterlot.

No... Vinyl Scratch, the best DJ in the whole darn world.

Bon Bon... no, Vinyl’s eyes unglazed. She blinked, looking around the kitchen, staring bewildered at all the pots and pans as if seeing them for the first time . She could feel her nose starting to itch. It itched, oh, it itched so bad... and her brain hurt.

Her eyes roamed the room, finally fixating on the human in front of her. Her lips moved, words half forming. She had something to say, she had to say it, she had to push it out.

“I’m not Bon Bon... I’m not her, I never was!”

No, she wasn’t Bon Bon, she’d never taken that name, she was still Vinyl Scratch, but she had another name, yes. No, not Bon Bon... a different name, a bigger name, something a darn sight sexier.

Pon... Pon-eee... Pon-Pa-pon-pon-pon...

No wonder she’d managed to completely stuff everything up all week... she wasn’t a confectioner! The only mixing she knew anything about was on the decks! The only things she should be dropping were waves of sonical bliss. No, she was a DJ...

Pon? Pon what?

No, still not quite right, she wasn’t just a DJ... she was the DJ.

PON3, motttther-bucker! You’d best represent!

She was DJ-PON3!

“Dude! I mean it! I’m really in the wrong profession. I’m DJ-PON3... I shouldn't even be here!”

Her nose was itching soooo bad, the sudden headache knocking her for six as a single drop of blood hit the otherwise spotless tiles beneath her hooves. Without warning she was pulled back into the past. Struggling to remain standing, all she could do was try and hold on for the ride.

Canterlot University, the audio-acoustic labs. Their new musical test-subject was coming in today - some fancy-flanked, and downright expensive - cellist from the philharmonic orchestra. Apparently she was really good, hopefully worth the money. She needed to be - these royal grants didn’t last forever.

The door opened behind her, the hinges making that same old ‘squeak’. Her colleague left the room to greet their guest, help her with setting up her things. Vinyl just needed to finish with these hook-ups.

Grrr, the secondary hi-gain cable was all caught-up again.

There, all done.

Vinyl wiggled her way out from under the desk, got to her hooves, grabbed her *ahem* coffee and clipboard, glancing through the mixing room’s large glass window, catching sight of... her.

By Luna... she was the most amazing mare Vinyl had ever laid eyes on. The elegant gray coat, the gentle curve of her back, the way her long powerful neck is accentuated by the cutest little pinkbowtie ever, the way her long charcoal mane flows along her spine, her fringe brushed delicately over her forehead, the way her eyelashes curl so gently at the tips, the way her carefully maintained eyebrows furrow as she concentrates on tuning her cello.

Oh. My. Goddess... the ankles!

Vinyl’s 'coffee' slipped from her grasp, hitting the mixing desk, sparks flying, spinning, leaving smouldering patches in her coat as the beverage soaked its way into the board. She doesn’t care, doesn’t even notice.

She’s found her, she’s found the one... the mare that will make her life complete. She’s there, right now, right in front of her, nothing between them but a thick sheet of glass.

She’d found her. She’d found her, and nothing else mattered anymore.

She was back, back in the here, back in the now. Back in the kitchen, back in the world, back to being stared at by a confused human...

...and the mare she loved was wandering around out there with some other girl!

“Dude, I gotta go!”

39: Release me from my dirty cage.

A/N: The 'Swap' arc isn't finished yet so this chapter jumps forward a good few months. Once more 'Swap' chapters are completed they'll be dropped into the right places in chapter list.

Release me from my dirty cage.
Chapter published 12th Sept’13

****************

July 1217AC

With her back pressed against the wall, Lyra‘s eyes darted around the darkened, unfamiliar room, her own heartbeat thundering in her ears as she checked every shadow filled corner, every gloomy doorway leading out to dark corridors that seemed to go on forever. Very little light came through the magically darkened windows, the bright light of the afternoon sun outside reduced to little more than that of a winter’s twilight, nowhere near enough to illuminate the bare, desolate room around her.

With great care not to make any noise, she inched away from the door, slowly, painfully slowly, making her way towards the similar door on the other side of the room. A hornwrap around her horn was more than enough to counter any attempts at magic that she might make and the fabric coverings on her four limbs, while padding her hooves to the point where her punches would lose much of their hard edge, also deadened any sounds her hooves might make against the bare floor.

For the other side of the wall she could briefly hear movement, the sound ceasing as quickly as it had begun. The predator had found her, he knew where she was. He was on her, she knew it, her pursuer had stalked her throughout the building, toying with her, cornering her at every turn. He was smart, she’d give him that; she was being herded, forced to go where he wanted her to go, giving her no real control over her destination.

A confrontation was coming, she knew it, and it would be on his terms, not hers. He’d catch her soon, she didn’t have long left now, he’d come out of the dark, with those sharp teeth and predator’s eyes. He’d catch her and then he’d have her.

She had to keep moving. Her herdsisters were both at their respective jobs, both occupied for the rest of the day, they wouldn't be able to help her. It was just her and him. she had to move, he'd be on her soon if she stayed still too long.

Peering in the darkness of the next room, she could see boxes here and there, a large sofa with cover and no cushions, various other pieces of furniture stacked against the far wall waiting to be moved or assembled, but no signs of life. Making her way slowly across the room, moving around the sofa as she tiptoed for the front door, she didn't see the hand reach out from behind the sofa until it was too late.

She would have screamed, but there just wasn’t the time. In an instant an arm was around her neck, a hand over her mouth to stifle any sound she might make. A voice, low and seductive, came from close behind her, hot breath against her ear. He was so close, close enough she could feel the heat from his skin against her neck.

“Hello, Harpflank. I’ve been waiting for you.”

Turning her head as much as she dared, she could just make out his face in the dim light, a scant few rays glinting from pointed teeth and the whites of his sharp searching eyes. From deep at the back of her brain the ancient instincts of a prey species flooded her conscious mind, kicking her adrenaline levels into overdrive, telling her that there would be no ‘fight or flight’ when faced with an apex predator of this nature, instead just ‘flee or die’.

The hand moved from her mouth, trailing down the side of her neck to where the arm still held her tight, locking her in against his broad chest. The pressure, constant pressure, the crook of the elbow holding her immobile. The fingers were firm against the side of her neck, trailing back up to her mane. She could still breath, but the pressure was there, he had her, like a cat that had caught a mouse, she was his now, his toy. She had to do something.

“I’ve got you.” the voice came to her ear once more, syrupy smooth, “You can't run, you know. There’s no distance you can go that I can’t find you. I can hunt you down, no matter where you go, I’ll be there. We’re going to have a lot of fun together, you and I.”

As his hand moved, traveling upward so he could stroke her mane, she took her chance. Twisting her body she pulled her legs in towards her barrel, pushing them back away from herself to force him away from her. It worked, she broke free.

As she fell to the floor he lunged after her, long arms gave him superior reach, fingers catching on her mane, pulling her head back as she fell into a pile of boxes, their contents spilling out over the floor.

“No,” she cried, “please, no, let me go.”

The plea seemed to catch her captor off guard, his expression changing for an instant, as if he was suddenly unsure of his actions. But then it was gone, swiftly replaced by puzzlement which itself was soon supplanted by a vicious smirk.

“Never, Harpflank.” He leant down, the fingers of one hand still holding onto her mane, his voice low, almost a growl that made her heart beat all the harder in her chest, “I’m with you forever, you’ll never lose me, no matter how hard you try to throw me off.”

Throw him off? Of course, she might not have access to her magic but...

Grabbing the closest thing to hoof, which seemed to be a cushion meant for the sofa, she swung it two-hoofed, catching her assailant square in the chest. The impact wasn’t hard, but it was enough to throw him off balance. As he fell, she pushed herself away, pulling her mane from his fingers and scattering the rest of the boxes as she fled.

Her covered hooves could gain no traction and she found herself colliding with the door frame as she ran back into the corridor, bouncing off of the walls until she found herself in the kitchen, the last room at the end of the long hallway.

Looking around, she saw a door leading out onto a balcony. Grabbing the handle in both forehooves she twisted and pulled, finding it locked. the thick magically smoked glass door steadfastly refusing to budge.

Behind her she could hear a drumming noise, the predator was coming down the corridor after her, his fingers tapping out a disjointed rhythm on the bare walls as he came closer.

“Little Harpflank, come out to play” came mockingly from beyond the open door.

Backed into a corner, there was nothing in the bare room that could help her, no implements to assist her, the room was stripped clean, just as it was the day it was abandoned by its previous inhabitants.

“I know you, Harpflank, I know what you've done.”

He was in the doorway, blocking it with his greater size. She went to bolt past him, to use pure speed to break through, but the coverings on her hooves made her slide, landing in a crumpled heap at his feet.

“I’m all around you, and I’m never letting you go. You're mine now, and I don't let what’s mine go without a fight.”

Hooves skidding on the floor as she tried to rise, he leant down and wrapped himself around her, his long powerful arms enveloping her, pinning her forelegs to her barrel, her forehooves against her teats. As he leant back, lifting her bodily from the floor her hind legs kicked out uselessly in front of her.

“Please,” she cried, “Please, no more.”

“Oh no, you don’t get off easy.” he carried her across the dimly lit kitchen as if she weighed next to nothing, ”I know you, I know what a bad girl you've been, all your dirty little secrets. I know you, inside and out.”

Reaching the large island table in the middle of the sizable kitchen, he threw her forward onto it, the impact pushing air from her lungs as her trapped forelegs pushed against her ribs, her hind legs hanging over the side of table where they could just barely reach the floor.

“Say it,” he growled, “Tell me what a bad girl you’ve been.”

“No,“ she coughed.

A large hand spread across her back kept her pinned to the countertop, her forelegs still trapped beneath her body, he stepped up behind her. Using his feet he pushed her rear hooves apart while pushing her as far forward as she would go, her stifles pushed up against the table edge. Involuntarily her tail twitched and she willed it to stay still, forcing her muscles to pull it close against her marehood, tucking it between her legs.

“Tell me. You're a bad girl, aren't you, Harpflank?”

“No” she protested.

“Yes you are. You're a bad girl.”

Turning her head, she could see that her captor had pulled back his free hand, fingers splayed. she knew what was coming next. The whistle of the hand moving through the air came a split second before the ‘thwack’ of the impact. The sting came almost instantly, radiating from her rump, the pain feeling so... real, the shock of the strike flooding her system with even more adrenaline.

“What are you?” The confident growl, always so confident.

“I’m a bad girl.” she whispered.

A second slap followed. the pain spreading across her rump like the first.

“I can't hear you!”

“I’m a bad girl.”

“Good, good,” the free hand stroked at her mane, “and what does this bad girl need?”

“To be punished” she whispered.

He leant forward, his hips pressing against her rump, his free hand pulled at the back of his mane as he whispered in her ear

“I can’t hear you “

“I need to be punished,” she cried, “I’ve been a bad bad girl and I need it. I need to be punished.”

Another pull on the mane, stronger, more insistent, caused her head to jerk back, her eyes to the front and her neck bent back, leaving her unable to look behind her, to see her assailant.

“Please.” she panted, “Please, punish this bad girl.”

“Well, if you insist.”

Another slap, then another, then another, each with enough of a gap between them that they didn't blend into each other, the sting of one impact just beginning to fade before the next arrived, the intervals between them of random length so she couldn't brace herself. These slaps would most likely leave marks on her behind for all to see. What would they think of her, the ponies she would meet, of the bad girl with the red rump?

As the pain of the... she didn’t even know what number it was now... as the pain faded away, she waited for the next slap, but it didn't come. She waited, tensed, agonised by the delay. She was usually so good at waiting, but this, this was torture.

Shifting his balance from one leg to the other, she could feel him moving behind her, pressed up against her as he was. Switching the hands which pinned her down, his right hand now against her spine with his left hand entwined in her mane, he pulled her head back again.

“Don’t want to leave you all uneven now, do we?”

The sudden sting from her left side came quickly, the contact hard but the gaps random, just as before... He was teasing her, how could he? He knew how much it drove her crazy.

The slapping continued though the exact number escaped her, she was too intent on the feeling of being overwhelmed, powerless, controlled. To let someone else take her burden, the pressing weight of controlling her life, controlling her urges, even if it was only for a short while.

After a short while they stopped, the hand that held her down was lifted from her spine, allowing her to pull her forelegs free if she so desired.

She didn’t move them an inch.

His lips were against her ear again, his voice so low, so soft.

“Now, what do you say?”

“Thank you” she breathed, a small puddle of drool dripping from her bottom lip onto the table top.

Another tug of the mane, sharp but with no real strength.

“Thank you.” She cried “It’s what I deserve for being a bad girl.”

His balance shifted again, his hips still pressed up against her rump told her he was twisting around. She turned her head so she could see him, could see he was reaching behind himself, reaching for something in his back pocket. He was going to use it... by Celestia he was going to use it. She knew how it would feel, her body yearned for it, the pain, the realness of it all. How long would he make her wait, shivering in anticipation? Would she have to beg? She would, if that’s what it took, by the creator she would.

Suddenly a mare’s voice came from the doorway, loud, angry, maybe a touch of fear.

“WHO’S THERE?”

The ceiling lights flickered on, illuminating the room, revealing the sight of Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash. Both mares were stood in the doorway to the hallway outside the kitchen, the unicorn’s horn charged with magic while the pegasus had dropped into a low combat stance.

“What the hay?” Twilight cried, “I thought you guys said you were going to unpack? This place is a mess, there's moving boxes split open all over the floor, none of the furniture’s moved from where the movers left it and it looks like somepony had a fight in the living room!"

Motioning around her with a hoof, the purple unicorn swept a hoof over herd Bellerophon's nice new Canterlot apartment, with it’s noticeably ‘un-unpacked’ packing crates and piles of cardboard boxes everywhere. With a distinct scowl gracing her features she turned back to her stallion and their fellow herd mate, the mint green unicorn still bent over the kitchen table while Lero brushed some imaginary dust from his mare’s derriere.

By now, Twilight was in full swing.

“And why are you wearing my socks... and where did you get my hornwrap from? What the hay’s going on around here?”

“We, ah, we found your bag of ‘toys’ while we were unpacking.” Lero admitted, trying very hard not to giggle at the surrealism of the situation. It didn’t help that, from behind their remonstrating herdmate, Rainbow was pulling a series of silly faces and making rude gestures with her hooves. Though a genius she may be in all matters magical, Twi was never the fastest mare on the uptake what it came to... matters like these.

“That still doesn't explain what you... oooooooh” Twi’s face flushed as she finally realised what had been going on while her two herdmates had been home alone, allegedly unpacking and putting away the herd’s belongings.

“Ohhh,” Lyra pouted, “and we were just getting to the good part.”

“Hey, no breaking character without the safeword.” Lero gave his wife’s rear a playful slap, though careful to avoid either of the areas that were starting to already turn a distinct shade of red, even under the bold green of her fur.

Sticking out her tongue and blowing her husband a raspberry in return, Lyra grinned at him. “‘Pomegranate’... Happy now?”

“Very. Thanks.” Lero reached over and started to tidy up the unicorn’s mussed up mane, smoothing any loose wayward strands down with his fingers. “You know it helps me keep the start and end of our little role-playing games nicely defined.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t realise what you were...” Twi stuttered, glancing back and forth between the two as Rainbow fell into fits of laughter on the floor behind her, “Ah, we should let you get back to it... Unless, err, unless you want some help that is.”

Leaning over, Lero kissed Lyra gently, letting the short riding crop he had previously had stashed in the back pocket of his jeans fall onto the countertop. It looked like they weren't going to be able to use it today after all.

“You even found that?!” Twilight gasped, “Oh my.”

“What happened to picking us all up food on the way back from work?” Lyra asked once Lero had broken off the kiss, though not before she’d pulled him back towards her for a quick reprise. “We thought you two weren't going to home for ages yet.”

“Yeah, well,” Rainbow called from her spot on the hallway floor. “I got out early so I went and talked Little Miss Studious here into us all going out to eat instead.” Catching Lyra’s eyes she wiggled her eyebrows, a sure sign that she was about say something smutty, “But it looks like maybe I shouldn't have... seems you two’ got plans to eat out of your own.”

As Lyra and lero groaned at the incredibly lame pun, Twi still just flushing redder than her herdsister’s backside, the pegasus flipped herself back onto her hooves.

“So...” she smirked, “How many rooms you managed so far?”

“None...” Lyra lamented, though she quickly added “Yet.”

“Well I claim the bathroom!” Rainbow cried, starting off down the hallway in that direction, “I love doing it in the bath. Grrr, wet skin. Yum.”

********************

Lero flumped down onto the sofa, next to Lyra who was busy removing Twilight’s favourite ‘bedtime’ socks. All around them were still unopened boxes and crates which the two of them were under strict orders to at least put into reasonable order before Twi and Rainbow returned with their evening meal. The general consensus was that Lyra would need to wear a dress of some kind if she wanted to show her rear in public for the next day or so and, as none of them had any idea where that particular set of boxes currently were, they’d decided on take-out for tonight.

“So, was I creepy enough?” Lero asked, still rubbing his left hand to try and get rid of the last of the tingling sensation.

“Ha, yeah,” Lyra laughed, “You’ve about got it. Still not as bad as some of the creeps I used to date though but I know how much you hate it, so thanks for doing it.”

“I worry you know, about hurting you.” Boy, was that hand ever interesting.

“You could be a little rougher actually.” She leaned over and nudged him with her shoulder, “I'm not going to break.”

“Ha, yeah, I know. I’m more worried about me in that regard. Last time we did something like this you bucked one of the legs right off the bed.” Lero moved onto his other hand, “No, I mean... well, with the words.”

“Oh you!” The unicorn leaned over again, this time throwing her hooves around her stallion, “You’re so good to me. I love you, you know that?”

They sat like that together for a while. it was... nice... comforting... safe.

“You remember I said that long time ago I used to... date ponies who I thought loved me,” Lyra said quietly “I thought they were being truthful with me, I thought they wouldn’t hurt me. But I was wrong. But you... you and the girls... I don't think you love me, I know it.”

Pushing herself closer against him, she could feel his breath on her ear, the warmth of his skin on her neck.

“Do you think I’m strange?” she asked.

“Of course,“ Lero said, reaching over to stroke her mane, “Delightfully so. And that’s why I love you.

And she knew he meant it. And that he’d always be there with her, that if something ever took her away from him he’d hunt them down to the other side of the world and bring her back and, no matter who she used to be, he loved her with all his heart.

Of all this she was sure.

And she was right.

Author's Note

So, the working title for this chapter was originally ‘Fifty shades of green’.

Yes, it’s a deliberately awful rip off... I know - bad me, bad bad me. :rainbowwild:

40: Just before she hangs her head to cry I sing to her a lullaby.

Just before she hangs her head to cry I sing to her a lullaby.
Chapter published 14th December 2013

October 1218 AC

As the first rays of the early morning sun began to spread their light across the rooves and parapets of the fair city of Canterlot, a lone figure made his way along a quiet cobbled street.

Passing the darkened windows of shops and cafes, he would occasion spot a fleeting sign of life within. Passing a bakery he spotted a baker hard at work setting out her goods behind the glass while at a breakfast bistro he spied some annoyingly sprightly staff preparing tables ready for their first customers of the day.

Every now and then he’d catch sight of a lone Lunar Pegasus of the Night Guard passing overhead, but for the most part the city was his own private stage, the gentle clicking of his heels against the cobbles echoing back at him with every step, the street singing its own song of life with the sounds of his feet.

After reaching the end of the street he passed through a park, stopping for a while to listen to a particularly vocal group of birds as they serenaded him with tweets from the tree tops. Lero didn’t know how to speak bird - that was Fluttershy’s domain - but he could easily gather the basic message behind this dawn chorus all the same. These tiny impresarios were full of the joys of spring, and really wanted to tell him all about it. It was just a shame that it was autumn, Lero thought, though he didn't have the heart to tell them so.

As he stood listening, a strong breeze ran over the park, blowing loose leaves from the trees which span and danced before fluttering to the ground around his feet. Raising a hand he caught a seed pod as it fell from the tree, arresting its fall with his palm as it helicoptered its way down towards him.

Years ago, a lifetime away now it seemed, he and his friends had played with seed pods like these back in his carefree youth. A time when ‘tweeting’ had held such a different meaning in his day to day life.

Tugging at the thick strap across his chest, which in turn pulled the large bag on his back tighter to his body, Lero tore himself away from the chirps and warbles of the miniature choir and continued his journey towards the centre of the city.

Canterlot Castle in all its glory loomed over him as he approached, all ivory white and vibrant gold, the occasional highlight of mauve or purple poking through in places. According to his unicorn herdmates, who were both born in or around the city, the few purple elements of the city had been gaining in boldness these last few years, perhaps to signify the growing importance of the Princess of the Night. Be this as it may, the city was still primarily adorned in white and gold, colours associated solely with the Alicorn of the Day rather than her younger sister, and this fact showed no signs of changing any time soon.

It occurred to the human, as it had a number of times before, that the Princess of the Night was as much a ‘stranger in a strange land’ as he was; he a creature from another world, she a princess from another time. Over the last few years they’d both had to become accustomed to this brave new world, so different to the worlds they had known before, so alien to the lives they’d left behind.

A thousand years had changed this world, of that there was no doubt - even this noble and ancient castle’s age could ‘only’ be measured in centuries. Not as much as the human’s homeland could change given a thousand years, this was true, but the changes were still there. Lero could see, perhaps better than any other mortal on the planet, how this land would appear to the ebony princess’s eyes, being as initially unfamiliar with the ‘norms’ of modern Equestrian society as she.

At times, Lero could see the concern, the worry and doubt, behind the mighty alicorn’s smile, the fear behind her eyes. She came from a different time, a time of uneasy alliances and civil wars, of instability and disharmony. To her all this ‘peace’ and ‘friendship’ seemed like nothing more than a fragile veneer, painted thinly over the world she had once known. At times it was as if Luna was worried that this peace would not last, that it was some kind of cruel and elaborate joke being played on her, that the curtain would eventually be whipped away to reveal that nothing had really changed.

A thousand years apart had given her a different perspective to that of her sister, a different way of looking at the world, different eyes with which to watch over their shared realm. To Princess Luna’s mind, her sister had become soft and complacent, her resolved weakened, her edge dulled from centuries of peace and opulence... and a few too many slices of cake.

As the castle gates came into view, a pair of Night Guards standing proud at their station, Lero considered his own relationship with the Alicorn of the Night. They certainly made a strange pair of friends, the alien and the princess. Maybe it was their mutual strangeness that had brought them together. That and their shared interest in the Running of the Moon Festival, though they were interested for different reasons. If there ever was an ‘odd couple’ to be found, then it was them. But friends they had become and, Lero hoped, friends they would remain.

She had come to him in his dream last night, not so many hours ago now. In her dream form she’d been so small in stature; little more than a foal, much less than a mare. He had only ever seen her like this once before, when the two of them had held their first dream vigil in the Field of Foals. Together they had guided many a young soul lost to the blank plague, remaining with them as they took their final journey to the great beyond, watching over them as they left the land of the living far behind them.

For her to have come to him in this tiny, much diminished form, he knew she must be feeling down to visualise herself as such even within her own realm. It had been an awkward conversation, the unusually reserved alicorn had asked him to come to the castle when he awoke, and then departed from his dream just as quickly and as quietly as she had arrived.

As he reached the gatehouse the guards waved him though without challenge - after all, who’d need to double-check the identity of the only human on the planet - both stallions saluting the human as he passed them by with a nod. He’d met a large number of the guards over the years - mares and stallions, both in and out of uniform - and he was still embarrassed to say that he could not for the life of him tell them apart whilst their armour’s enchants were still in place.

Passing through the courtyard and into the castle itself, doors were opened for him as he walked and he returned nods and waves from the occasional guard or member of staff, every now and again receiving a friendly greeting all along the lines of ‘Good morning, Master Lero, Sir’.

The human had long since gotten over his dislike of that particular honorific, which was probably a good thing as it seemed to be catching on all across the castle. He’d been offered the newly created title of “Master of the Realm” a few years ago - and also a number of times since - and had turned it down every time. Princess Luna however would still refer to him in public as ‘Master Lero’ and the title had caught on with both the Royal Guard and the Wonderbolts - both organisations that considered Lero to be ‘one of theirs’, honourary member or not - before spreading to the rest of the castle.

It was ironic, Lero thought as he reached the spiral stairs at the base of Luna’s tower, pausing outside of the dark wooden door of her ground floor reception room, that the castle and its denizens had become so used to him over these last few years - and he to them - but that even now the same could not be confidently stated of the nation’s ‘other’ princess.

Taking the stairs he soon passed the night princess’s private office on the first floor, its own dark wood door standing in sharp contrast to the white walls and marble pedestal standing alone on the landing opposite to the door, the golden vase positioned alone on its pristine top holding a vibrant display of bright purple moon lilies.

Moving swiftly up the next flight he reached the second landing, the door to the princess’s private chamber guarded by a huge Night Guard earth pony as well as the Captain of the Lunar Pegasi himself, Captain Spartan Shield.

“She awaits within,“ Captain Shield rumbled before stepping aside so Lero could approach the large ebony wood door.

As the human reached for the door knob, the imposing pegasus leant closer.

“You will not be disturbed, Sir.”

Saying no more, the captain turned and moved to the top of the stairs while the his fellow guard moved to the other side of the landing to watch for any pony who would try to enter the princess’s tower via the Royal Observatory at the top of the stairs, both positioning themselves so that no-pony could hope to get past their impressively large forms.

Letting himself into the princess’s private chambers, Lero quietly closed the door behind him.

Finding the Princess standing with her back to him, gazing as she was through the chamber’s largest window, taking in the view as the sun began its slow daily journey across the sky, Lero gave her a moment.

Glancing around the room, he was always taken by how... cozy it always felt in here. Cozy and homely. Unlike her sister’s rooms, Luna’s private chambers were modestly furnished with dark wood paneling along the walls and a few simple but sturdy items of furniture scattered around.

Ebony wood was the most common material to be found, the near black of its grain most evident in the floorboards, but there was a fair amount of the reddy-browns of mahogany and rosewood all across the room with the occasional glimpse to be had of the deep purple of Amaranth.

A small modest table by the door held the royal accoutrements, the glittering platinum and brushed titanium of her current set so different from the smaller, darker set she had worn just a few short years ago.

Luna’s only real call to decadence to be found was a large and intricately detailed bed, probably one of the largest and most ornately appointed beds in the whole of Equestria. And Lero knew exactly how much care and attention had gone into its creation, he and his apprentice had hand (and hoof) built it themselves.

As happened every time he was here, Lero’s eyes were drawn to small patch on the floorboards by the bed. It still looked to him as if someone had dropped something like paint-stripper or varnish-remover on the floor which had then tarnished the finish. He’d offered before to see if he could refinish the affected boards but Luna had always insisted that the blemish be allowed to remain.

From within the fireplace a burning log shifted, the sudden rearrangement of the victims of the roaring blaze’s affections causing one of the pieces of wood to let loose a sudden ‘pop’. Turning her head towards the fire, Luna caught sight of her guest with the corner of her eye.

“Lero,” she hurriedly turned to face the human, “We are sorry to have left you standing there ungreeted, we... I did not hear you come in.”

“It’s not a problem,“ Lero assured as he moved over to the fireplace, dropping his carry case onto an overstuffed armchair on the way. Plucking an old cast iron poker from its hook he used it to prod at the fire. For some reason keeping this fire going always gave him a feeling of comfort, like indulging in an old habit or going over and over an old, familiar task.

Selecting two pieces of wood from the nearby scuttle he tossed them into the fire with a deft flick of the wrist that only could only have come from many hours of practice. Satisfied that his offerings had landed exactly where he’d wanted them to, he replaced the poker and turned back to the princess.

Watching her closely as she paced the length of her private chambers, Lero could easily tell that the princess of the night was deeply upset. He'd seen her like this a few times before - not many but more than enough - and deep inside he had a feeling he might be the only mortal alive today that ever had.

Sitting himself down on the arm of an ancient leather sofa - real leather too, a fact that would shock many among the population if it ever got out - Lero waited for her to speak her mind, knowing full well that pushing her too far or too fast would cause her to retreat back into herself.

“We... I have a favour to ask,“ she began after a short moment of awkward silence.

“I find recently I have been unable to sleep.” She turned to him with a crooked smile, as much emotional unease as embarrassed humour. “Odd is it not, that I who is in charge shepherding the dreams of so many cannot herself gain peaceful sleep? I guide so many others through the dreamtime, protect them, defend them... but who supports me?... who comes to my aid?”

Luna ceased her pacing for a moment, pausing to run a wingtip over the the back of the ancient deep red sofa, possibly considering the rich history held in such an old - and macabre - piece of furniture.

“Feel free to refuse, it will be a strange request I know.”

“What is it you want me to do?”

“I... would like you to sing for me.”

“You want me to sing to you?”

Luna shook her head slowly.

“No, not to me, though I will admit that I would like that as well. You sang to me before if you remember, that night when we- well... You reminded me that although at times I must shoulder a heavy burden, that there is no shame to be found in tears shed for others, that to reveal my inner self is not to lessen myself. But most importantly you helped me to see that it is not a weakness to request assistance from my...”

‘Shy’ was not a word that could often be used to describe the usually bombastic princess of the night, but as she looked away from him, it was the only word that would come to Lero’s mind.

“...friends.”

As she moved away, back to the window, Lero could easily see the myriad of glimmering stars in her mane, the great nebula that swam around the edges, contrasting beautifully against the deep, glossy black of her coat.

“That was the first time in over a thousand years that I have been sung to... I alone I mean. But no, today I would ask that you would sing for me, to sing in my place, to be my guide as I enter the world of my dreams, to delve into my very own dream time. She says you would be able to.”

Turning away from the window, Luna came to Lero and faced him head on.

“Oh it sounds so silly and I feel such a foal for asking this of you but...” the mighty princess of the night took a deep breath, “Mother says that I should ask you to sing me to sleep. There, I have said it. You may laugh now if you wish.”

Turning her head as if to look away, Lero couldn’t help but notice that Luna kept flicking a large cyan eye back to take him in as her ears started to droop.

“No, I wouldn’t laugh,” Lero reached out and turned his friend's head back to face him, “and it’s not silly, it’s quite...”

Don’t say ‘cute’... Whatever you say next, don’t say ‘cute’.

“...an honour. I’m touched that you’d ask, really.”

“So thou doth consent?” Luna asked, her ears springing back to a happier position.

“Of course, why would I ever say otherwise?” Reaching across to the nearby armchair, Lero pulled over his luggage and began to undo its straps. “But what should I sing?”

Luna’s ears drooped once more.

“In truth I do not know. She says you will somehow know, She was quite insistent on this.”

Fingers worked deftly with pull-ties and drawstrings as the guitar that she had last night requested he bring with him was produced from its carry case.

“Perhaps you could tell me some of what troubles you? Then we can see if anything pops up?”

Luna nodded, there was logic in his words.

“With each passing day ever more of my memories are returning to me and as time passes I learn more of my love. But with every precious moment of our time together that I recover it is yet more I learn that I have lost.

“I.. I have lost much, and each memory regained is yet another element of him that I will never have the untold pleasure to experience again. Oh, what I would give to see him again, to tell him all the ways in which I miss him, for I do miss him so.

“As I treasure each returning memory, they also bring home to me just how much I threw away in my madness; every fleeting moment of joy returned just to remind me that he is gone, taken by my own hooves. The separation that I so feared, the very fear that gave birth to the Nightmare, I brought upon myself."

Luna sighed, a sigh available only to those who have seen more, experienced more, than any single mare should.

“One downside of my great longevity is that I know it will be an eternity before I can join him within the source. That is the truth that only now, after more than a thousand years on which to ponder my actions, am I finally beginning to accept.”

Bringing herself to her full height, standing tall and proud, her ethereal mane billowed around her head, the morning sun pouring in through the window catching her coat and her wings, making them shine. This was the Princess that the world knew, this was how she was to be seen, in all her radiant glory and majesty.

“We all have our place, my friend, our place and our time, and now is not my time to be by his side. That is my punishment, and my curse, and I will accept it gladly, as that is the way of things.

“So I would like you to sing to him, in my stead, to speak aloud the words that I would dearly love to say but find I cannot, for they elude me. I would like to sleep, perchance to dream of him again. For in that sleep that so escapes me, what dreams may come?”

As he took in the sight of one of the most powerful beings in all of Equestria, Lero could feel a small... tingling in the back of his mind as a flash of inspiration worked its way to the surface of his subconsciousness.

“I think,” he said as a small smile made its way to his lips, “that I know exactly what will do the trick.”

As the human pulled a chair over to the side of the princess’s large bed, the princess herself settled down on top of the layers of deep purple sheets - her head towards her human friend - and levitated pair of cushions over from by the headboard before laying them in front of her.

Seating himself comfortably at her bedside, Lero positioned his instrument on his knees, letting his fingers rest easily on the strings. Once he was sure that all was in place he let his fingers fly. As the confident yet mellow notes swam their way around the room, Luna crossed her hooves on top of the pillows and let her head rest upon them.

As the princess of the night listened, Lero began to sing.

Stars shining bright above you;

Night breezes seem to whisper 'I love you'.

Birds singing in the sycamore tree.

Dream a little dream of me.

Eyelids drooped and breathing slowed as the words made their way to her ears, the soothing sounds lulling her towards sleep, the land of dreams opening the way for her to enter.

Say nighty-night and kiss me;

Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me.

While I'm alone, blue as can be,

Dream a little dream of me.

As sleep took her, a contented smile graced the alicorn’s face, her mane settling around her neck and back, the infinite number of stars within cradling their dark mistress in their embrace.

Stars fading but I linger on, dear -

Still craving your kiss.

I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear,

Just saying this...

As the princess slept, creeping shadows and a chill air began to pervade the room despite the early morning sun streaming from the window. All the while Lero continued to sing and to play.

Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you -

Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you.

But in your dreams, whatever they be,

Dream a little dream of me.

Lifting his fingers from the strings, Lero listen to her breathing, slow and steady. He knew that she didn't need to breathe per se, it was just a hangover from days long past when she was still mortal, an old habit of the flesh that she would never truly be rid of, even if she wanted to be.

As the room grew colder Lero’s breath began to come in small clouds. Luna continued to sleep deeply. At the back of his brain, the human felt another small, fleeting tingle, and strangely the glorious scent of a faraway cup of his mother’s coffee in his nose.

Putting down his guitar, Lero rose from his chair to sit on the edge of the bed. Gently he stroked the princess’s mane as he sang for her once more.

Someday I want to run away

To the world of midnight

Where the darkness fill the air

Where it's icy cold

Where nobody has a name

Where living is not a game

There, I can hide my broken heart

Dying to survive

There, no one can see me cry

The tears of my lonely soul

I'll find peace of mind

In the dark and cold world of midnight

His friend had many demons to work through, this was for sure - centuries of nightmares would take many years to chase away - and she had to work through those demons herself, that was just the way of things. But he’d help where he could, they all would. She wasn’t alone... no one should be alone.

After quietly packing his guitar back into its case and securing it to his back, Lero closed the curtains before pulling a large blanket over the princess’s sleeping form.

“Good night, my princess,” leaning over he planted a soft kiss upon her forehead, “and sweet dreams.”

Letting himself out of the room, he carefully pulled the door closed behind him, cutting off a small low-laying roll of fog that had followed him out, letting it dissipate silently around his feet.

As he made his way to the top of the stairs to begin his descent, he nodded to Captain Shield, the Guardstallion still standing tall and alert in the exact spot that Lero had left him in.

As the human came abreast of the captain, a wingtip caught his sleeve, the expression on the usually stoic stallion's face somewhat akin to that of a concerned father worried for his beloved child’s welfare.

“Thank you,” the stallion rumbled, releasing the human’s arm.

Lero nodded again.

“Any time,“ he replied as he took the first step on his journey homewards, “after all, what are friends for?”

Author's Note

Dream a little dream of me was written in 1931 by Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt. You’d think being over 80 years old would mean it’s out of copyright by now... but with the way things are going I wouldn't be surprised if they find a way to even get Hamlet back into copyright!

World of Midnight was written by Minako Obata and was used in the anime Black Lagoon.
Spoiler: Its inclusion here has less to do with the twins and more to do with the other BL character for which it’s used as a theme; ie, young Balalaika - another insanely powerful woman who started off as a wide eyed innocent and ended up as a dangerous (and scarred) lady of war.

BTW, a lot of references are made in this chapter to events that took place during the The Blank Plague, which was written by SpinelStride and can be found within the Xenophila HQ archives.

41: And let me play among the stars.

And let me play among the stars.
Chapter published 31st Dec 2013

*****************************

December 1218 AC

As she slowly circled over the sleeping city of Canterlot, her mighty black wings outstretched as she allowed nothing but air currents to keep her aloft, Princess Luna took in the sights below her.

Yes, it was true that the city lacked the hustle and bustle in these wee small hours that it displayed during the day time, and yes, the streets were almost deserted, but that wasn't to say that there was no life to be found.

A thousand years ago a lazy midnight flight above any town or village would have revealed nothing but empty streets, all the nation’s citizens tucked away in their beds awaiting the return of her sister’s sun and the dawn it would bring with it.

But now, there was still life here; guards patrolled the cobbled street, keeping her subjects safe from harm; all-night eating establishments catered to those in need of their services, those either late to bed or early to rise; delivery ponies moved with purpose, carrying letters and parcels from sorting offices to distribution depots; late night revellers unsteadily made their way home, either to their own domiciles or to the homes of whatever new friend - or friends - they’d made this night.

As her meandering flight took her over the western quarter of the city, Luna spied a figure she knew quite well. Huddled on a large flat roof, swaddled as he was in a thick blanket, sat the nation’s only human.

Angling her wings for descent, the lunar princess silently cut through the city’s sky, her own ebony coat leaving her almost invisible against the black of the night.

Though she weighed much more than even the heaviest stallion, her touchdown made not a sound as her hooves came to rest on the roof just a few body-lengths behind her bipedal friend.

For a few moments she just stood there, observing the strange being before her; he had obviously pulled his long legs up in front of himself, wrapping the blanket around his entire form to make a lumpy fabric cone from the top of which only his head was poking out. He was just sitting there, his gaze wandering from the rooftops of the surrounding city to the moon high above them and onto the stars spread all across the sky.

After a few moments a hand reached out from within the mound of thick cloth, snagging a large hooch jar and lifting it to his face. As the human took a sip, the princess recognised the jar, it had been a gift from the Dodge family, as a gesture of appreciation for an assistance he had rendered to one of their own stallions some years ago.

“Greetings my friend,” she said softly, trying not the startle the human as he sat so close to the edge, “may I join you?”

As he turned towards his guest, recognition spread across his features and a smile came to his lips. Letting the jug rest on the roof, Lero patted the spot next to the edge of his blanket, inviting Luna to sit with him.

He did not stand for her as she joined him, she did not expect him to, they’d ignored such formalities for a few years now. Lifting the jug, he held it out to her, offering to share what he had in a gesture universal across almost all species.

“I don’t mind if I do,” Luna said as she slipped off a royal shoe so she could better grip the jug with a single forehoof - ‘tipping’ a jug of ‘shine with either magic or wingtips was not the done thing when your drinking partner could not do the same.

As it came closer to her face, she could see down into the jug’s neck, could gauge its weight. More than a third of the bottle was empty and with what she knew of the strength of Sweet Apple Shine - and she knew more about this subject than most - she was impressed that the human was still sitting upright.

As she put it to her lips, Luna’s alicorn senses could detect the faint warmth still residing around the jug’s mouth, sensing the lingering heat in much the same way that her sister would react to even the most feeble ray of light.

Her nose and her tongue were greeted by a number of subtle fragrances, cinnamon and nutmeg being the two that danced most for her attention. but the underlying taste was...

“Honey?” she asked, letting the liquid fire burn its way down her throat, smooth yet vicious all at the same time.

“Yep,” Lero confirmed, taking back the jug and taking a sip himself, “Honeysuckle left a barrel of it sitting just inside my workshop door a few months back. But by the time I’d turned around to see what the noise was all I could see was her tail disappearing off down the street.”

After taking another small sip he passed the jug over once more.

“She’s still not good at talking to me, but her and her sister leave little gifts at the ‘shop every now and again. I think it’s their way of trying to make amends.”

“Amends are good,” Luna nodded as she took another sip, savouring the taste, enjoying the sensation as it caused a single breath of night air to feel like flames around her tongue. “Even if the two of them cannot move forward, it at least shows that they are determined not to move backwards.”

For a few minutes the two of them sat in silence, swapping the jug back and forth between them while on the quiet streets beneath them the few denizens of city still going about their business at this late hour passed them by, completely unaware of the princess and the human sitting far above their heads.

“So,” Lero broke the comfortable silence, “no night court tonight?”

Luna sighed.

“No. Even now we still only receive enough petitioners to fill two sessions a week, three at the most. I have spent many hours this night playing cards with the court guards and I find I grow weary of working on the nation’s legal and tax reforms, no matter how overdue they are.”

Taking a much longer sip than before - a decent sized gulp almost - the night princess scowled at the city below them.

“So tell me, what keeps you up at this hour?” Luna asked as the ‘shine reaaally started to hit the spot. “Most of my subjects are fast asleep by this hour.“

“Can’t sleep,” Lero shrugged, “got a lot on my mind. Thought I'd come out and look at the stars. It’s a human thing, used to do it all the time back home. Even in your capital they’re much easier to see here that almost any human city - light pollution and all that.

“A lot of your stars are pretty similar to those back home.” Lifting a hand to the night sky he listed off some of those that he recognised, “Cassiopeia, Andromeda, Perseus. There might be a lot of constellations that don't match up but a whole lot of them are still the same. Pegasus for instance, all the same stars, except for Aegis. So I’ve been been sitting here, having a drink with Aegis. He’s my favorite - nice and bright, doesn’t ever twinkle and waver like the others do.”

“No, he didn't,” Luna agreed, a tinge of sadness to her voice, “he never wavered, never faltered.”

And he hadn’t, not even at the end. It was one of the things she’d loved about him.

Turning his head from the stars, Lero could see the pain of loss on his friend's face, the open wound in her heart that might never truly heal

“No, I bet he didn’t,” he agreed, turning back to the brightest star in his field of vision, “Here’s to ya, buddy, wherever you are.”

Lifting the jug he first held it aloft towards the stars then took a large swig, pulling air in around clenched teeth as the burn hit him, overwhelming his taste buds.

From where she sat, Luna smiled. A small melancholy smile but a smile none the less. What would her love have thought of her new friend? Would they have become friends themselves? She liked to think that they would have.

How different history could have been, had her life been touched by more like these two stallions - so different and yet so similar - all the way back then. Had she had just a few more good friends in her life, then the last thousand years could have been so different... for everyone.

“My dad taught me all the constellations when I was a kid.” Lero continued, as much to himself as to his companion, “He used to be in the navy before he met my mom so he knew them all. We used to go stargazing when I was younger, just me and him. We couldn’t really afford to go far or to buy much stuff but we still went. When I was small we’d go as far as dad’s shitty old truck could cover in a long weekend. When I was older, the summer before I went away for college, we travelled around europe together - backpacked for most of it. The two of us used to lay in fields in the middle of nowhere, sleeping under the stars; lush hillsides in the south of France, olive groves in northern Italy, listening to the Atlantic lapping against the great sandy beaches of Portugal. Just me and him, the stars and the moon; going nowhere and everywhere all at once.”

Taking another swig, the human pondered the half-full jug, wondering where most of his newest batch of shine had disappeared to when he hadn’t been looking.

“Heh, about the only thing we were missing was some zen and a motorcycle to tinker with.”

For a few moments silence reigned once more, the princess content to just listen whenever the human felt the need to speak. With his chin resting on top of his knees Lero’s eyes drifted to the moon, hanging proudly in the sky, emanating an air of steadfast majesty as it cast its silvery moonlight down upon the planet over which it eternally kept its nightly watch.

“Look at her,” he murmured quietly, “so similar yet so different... just as beautiful as her counterpart back home.”

Quiet or not, Luna’s enhanced hearing could pick up every word that he uttered. Whether it was the alcohol speaking she did not know, but she impulsively decided to make the human an offer.

“Would you like to go to the moon?” she said suddenly, “I could take you right now if you would like.”

Lero’s brain was taking a few seconds to catch up with that one. It sounded like the princess had just offered to...

“Really?” He asked, several parts of his brain reporting in to confirm that yes, that is what she’d just offered. “You can do really that?” Other, more sensible parts of his brain started to report in as well, “Won’t I suffocate?”

“Yes, yes and no.” Luna replied, “I am the embodiment of the moon after all so in a sense you're sitting a scant flankwidth from her right now. I can relocate my physical form there at any time, with some concentration I could take you along with me, if you wish. And she has a limited atmosphere, enough for you to breath as long as you do not stray too far.”

Lero was having trouble with all that, but he got the general jist of it, which was that Luna could take him and he wouldn’t die a cold and nasty death... which was good.

“Yes,” he said quickly, “yes, I’d like that a lot.”

Beckoning him to stand up, Luna elegantly rose to a standing position, the human doing the same though with an element of alcohol induced wobble to his stance destroying even the remotest chance of his movements being called graceful, his thick blanket falling around his feet.

“Close your eyes,” the princess requested, the human complying, doing his very best not to waver.

Moving around behind him, Luna spread her wings, curling them around in front of her to rest just the wingtips across the human’s eyes. As feathers brushed against his nose and forehead, Lero suddenly felt reeeeally nauseous, his stomach stirring as if he’d just been dropped unawares from the tallest roller coaster eeeeever. As he was wondering if he should lay the blame the whole thing on the jug of shine dangling from his fingers the disorientation and queesyness vanished, though he did still have a fair bit of that wobble going on.

Pulling her wings away from the human’s face, Luna leant forward and whispered into his ear. “You can look now, my friend.”

Slowly opening his eyes, the sheer magnitude of the view awaiting him caused the jug to slip from his fingers, landing upright with a gentle ‘pomf’ in the soft dust by his feet.

As far as he could see was a vista of glittering silver and shimmering grey - rocky crags and immense lunar plains, huge towering peaks and breathtaking craters, their sizes far surpassing anything that his brain - semi-sozzled as it was - could easily process.

While his eyes and brain struggled to take everything in, two things struck him like a hammer to the head. Firstly, that the crater he was standing at the edge of was bigger than the biggest sports stadium he’d ever seen. Secondly, compared to the some of the craters he could see in the far distance - the curvature of the horizon visible as it sloped away from him - this crater was one of the small ones.

Also in the far distance he could see that the moon itself was glowing, moonbeams continuously shooting from the surface and out into space. As he moved his head he could see that the beams were converging on something, something behind him.

Turning slowly in place - half expecting to find an abandoned lunar module or a huge black monolith waiting for him - he finally saw it, hanging there in space, just waiting for him to realise what it was that he was seeing.

This was no pale blue dot.

And it was so much more than a blue marble.

It was a planet.

A huge, awe inspiring planet, all stunning blues and vibrant greens with pristine white clouds dotted all over.

From where he stood Lero could make out the Icy wastes of the Crystal Empire and the Great Frozen North, the oranges and browns of the Arid Badlands and there between them the lush green of the land of Equestria. On the lower east coast he could even make out the great curved ‘C’ of Horse Shoe Bay... from this angle it really lived up to its name.

Closing one eye he held a hand up in front of his face, using it to block out his view of the planet. As he slowly moved his outstretched hand downward it looked like Equestria was gradually rising from behind his fingers.

Duuuuuuurn, duuuuuuurn, duuuuuuurn, DUN DUN! Bom bom bom bom bom bom bom!

From beside the loudly humming human came a distinctly non-regal giggle.

“It kinda looks like Earth.” Lero dropped his arm, content to just watch the planet as it ever-so-slowly turned on its axis... but also didn’t at the same time. He wondered for a second why they would be directly above Canterlot when it was essentially midnight the entire planet over. Surely they should be directly above every part of the planet at once.

Briefly he considered asking the question but rejected the idea just as quickly. The princess would probably just give him that sly smile and declare that it was all done with ‘magic, as per usual. On some subjects she could be surprisingly open while on others there seemed to be no way to pry any useful information out of her, and celestial mechanics was one of the subjects on which she would not be drawn

“It is Earth, in a way.” Luna stated, before quickly quantifying, “the ancient name for our planet was ‘Earth’, and from which were named the earth ponies. It is still called so on rare occasions, or even less often as ‘Terra’, the most ancient of names. But now the planet as a whole is most commonly known just as ‘Equestria’ in both custom and practice, after its oldest and most prosperous nation.”

“I always wondered why the word ‘Equestria’ can mean either the nation, the country or the entire planet,” Lero admitted.

“Yes, confusing is it not?” Luna asked.

“Tell me about it,” the human agreed.

Folding his arms across his chest, Lero stood and admired the view. The lunar landscape all around him, the planet hanging above them, the countless number of stars surrounding it all.

While he knew logically that the stars were much closer to Equestria than those surrounding his homeworld, the appearance of distance being created by some of the most ancient and complicated magic in this universe - so complex that Luna had admitted as much to him years ago that even she was not totally sure how it worked - it did nothing to quell the feeling of wonder, the childish joy he felt at just being there.

“I never in a million years” he said “thought that I’d ever get to see something like this. Standing on the moon, looking down at the planet... any planet. Only a few humans ever walked on our moon, got to see a sight like this with their own two eyes, got to stand on the surface on their two feet. No video feeds or television screens, no internets or simulations. This is the real deal, this is what we’d spent all those years working towards.”

Turning towards her, Lero gave the princess a wide grin.

“If only we’d known we could’a hitched a ride with a friendly princess.”

As the human gave an amused laugh, Luna was struck by a question she’d meant to ask a number of times before. She often came here when she needed time to think. One would think that after a thousand years of being trapped here, and nothing but time to think, she’d be sick of it. But in truth, she found it relaxing. From here she could take in the entire planet knowing that as she watched her moonshine was pouring down on the entire planet, bathing in her silvery light every mare and stallion, every filly and colt, every pony, every dragon, every griffin, every living thing on the planet.

And recently she had found herself wondering...

“Why did you do it?” she asked.“Humans, I mean. You had no magic, no innate powers of flight. from what you’ve told me it was many tens of millions of body-lengths from your planet’s surface, but also you tell me that there was nothing there. Why would you want to spend all that time and effort and expense travelling to an empty rock?”

Lero laughed again, just as amused as before.

“Because it was there.”

It would appear that non-answers were not just the realm of alicorns and enigmatic grandmasters.

“I do not understand your race,” Luna admitted.

“No, me neither,” Lero agreed. “But one day we decided we were going, so we did. We’re just stubborn like that. Truthfully there’s more to it than that but in a nutshell that about sums it up. Pure bloodyminded stubbornness... in more ways than one.”

Stepping forward, Lero raised his arms before him, encompassing the planet, the moon and stars, all that he could see.

“‘We come in peace for all mankind’.”

“You used that phrase before,” Luna noted, “when we together walked upon your own moon in one of your dreams, the night I made you my viceroy.”

“If you believed they put a man on the moon, man on the moon...”

Lero grinned as he let his voice float away on the non-existent breeze.

“Yes, I guess we did, didn’t we. It’s a nice phrase, one that I wish that I could honestly say we’d actually stuck to while we were on the Earth and not just off of it. But when it came to space at least, no matter how heated things got on Earth, one thing we at least all agreed on was that the moon wasn’t ours to squabble over, that it was either everyone’s or no one’s. No matter how much we fought amongst ourselves, no one wanted to take our wars to the stars.”

“I may not understand your species,” the alicorn offered quietly, “but I am growing to like them.”

Turning to her, Lero gave Luna a smile and a slow bow. “I can say the same.”

With a matching smile, Luna returned the bow.

“You know, we didn’t even give our moon a name, not really.” Lero turned around to take in the crater behind him, returning to the first sight he had seen upon their arrival.

“We all just called it ‘The Moon’, like it was the only one, the definite article you might say... Some called her ‘Luna’, especially a long long time ago, some still do I guess.” Lero rubbed his chin, the hairs of his goatee bristling against his fingers. “Funny coincidence, right? Come to think of it we also had a roman goddess, the embodiment of the moon, she was called Luna as well. I wonder why I’d never thought much about that before.”

Luna just raised an eyebrow. One thing she had learnt over her long life was that there were coincidences and then there were coincidences.

“And all that time the moon was always there up in the sky, since before humanity even crawled out of the oceans or dropped down from the trees.” Lero continued absently, “We made up stories about her, as she was watching over us, filling our nights with pure radiant light, her glow obscuring her eons worth of battle scars,” pointing a finger upwards he moved it around in a circular fashion, “forever orbiting our world, taking the knocks year after year, century after century, never complaining, often overlooked. We’d have been pretty screwed without her.”

Now there was a celestial body with which the alicorn of the night could sympathise.

As she watched, the human crouched down in front of her. Reaching out he ran his hand across the moon’s surface, grains of super-fine moondust rolling over his fingers like water.

“I know you're not my moon,” he said softly to the ground beneath his feet, ”but thank you anyway.”

Deep within her soul, Luna felt the display of affection, felt the the hand moving gently through the regolith as if it was physically brushing against her own cutie mark.

It made her feel... good.

Filled with the need to share something, to give something in return for this gesture that touched the very core of her being - even if the human could not have know what he had done - Luna opened her mouth to speak.

“Her true name is ‘Selene’,” she said awkwardly, “as her brother, the sun, is ‘Helios’.”

“Really?” The human’s eyebrows couldn’t have reached any higher if they’d tried... and they were trying. “We had a Greek god and goddess called Helios and Selene, they were the embodiment of the sun and moon as well.”

“Well then,” Luna mentally filed these new coincidences away for a later time, “once again, it seems we are not so different, our two worlds.”

“Hang on,” the human’s hand lifted from the surface, dust reluctantly drifting from his fingertips, “you said that you embodied the moon, but she also has a name of her own? So, is she you?”

“Yes, but also not.” Luna replied, knowing any reply she could give would be insufficient, “as surely as you are you, I am her as she is me.”

“...and we are all together.”

Luna smiled again, she did that a lot when she was with him. The human didn’t always make much sense at times, especially when he’d break into random fragments of song much as he had just done. Maybe it was his very own brand of the magic of harmony... though usually he was just enjoying a joke that only he knew the punchline to.

“In a way, yes, that would be true, we are indeed all together.” Luna said, inwardly regretting the fact that any spoken language would be woefully inadequate to explain her true nature. “Though I am afraid I would not be able to explain the essence of embodiment to a mortal who did not have the same frame of reference.”

“So the only way to explain it to me would be if I was an embodiment of something as well?”

“Unfortunately so. Only my sisters can truly understand what it means to be me. In time maybe Princess Cadance as well, but that has yet to be seen.”

Sisters? Lero thought... As in plural?

Retrieving his previously forgotten jug from the dust by his feet, Lero made to pose the question that was pushing its way to his lips, though he was thwarted as Luna suddenly turned her head away, her gaze drawn to the planet behind them

“Oh dear. Please, give me a second. Duty calls.”

As she closed her eyes in concentration her horn began to glow. After a few seconds the usual blue glow of her magical aura was replaced with a brilliant white as from her horn the princess launched what looked like a large white phosphorus flare. As the human watched, the ball of white fire hurtled away from them towards Equestria, growing in size and intensity as it traveled.

Reaching the planet’s atmosphere in less than a minute - Luna’s eyes remaining closed for the entire time - the shooting star entered Equestrian airspace somewhere over the San Palomino Desert. In the scant few moments it took for Lero to follow the fiery and explosive end of its short life it had made it as far as Appleloosa, leaving in its wake a streaming tail of fire that spanned the sky for many miles before fading away as if it had never been.

As the lunar princess opened her eyes, Lero could see moisture in their corners, moisture quickly wiped away by a large black wingtip.

“I’m afraid that time has just caught up with one of my subjects. It catches them all in the end.” Lero could hear sadness in the alicorn’s words, and maybe a touch of longing. “It is a sad duty but one that I am both proud and honoured to perform, to honour their last mortal request to be remembered, to mark their passing with a sign.”

“How do you know?” the human asked, his previous question being pushed from his brain, “that it is their last wish I mean.”

“Because I do.” Luna answered matter-of-factly, “how do you know when it is time to awaken?”

“Is this another frame of reference thing again?”

“Yes. But let us not dwell. The time has come," the princess said, "to talk of happier things:”

“Of shoes and ships and sealing-wax, of cabbages and kings?” Lero asked, grinning like a fool as he raised his jug of hooch, or what was left of it anyway. Luna returned the expression as she took the jar from the human’s outstretched hand.

“If you wish, yes.” The princess raised the jug towards the planet and its recently departed before taking a sip.

“So, tell me of your travels.” she requested as she returned the moonshine.

And the princess of the night listened as Lero told her of his travels, of the wonders of his world that he had seen; of an ancient henge made of stone, of a tower that leaned, of ancient temples and coliseums that had long ago fallen to the ravages of time, of fields of poppies that stretched as far as the eye could see.

Humans really did seem to like old and imperfect things... whatever would they make of her she wondered. Maybe she’d ask him one day, but not tonight, this was a question for another time.

For the rest of the night she was content just to sit and listen to the contented snoring of a good friend, curled up against her side as he was, her wing gently laid over his soundly sleeping form, her body heat keeping him warm in his slumber.

Time would catch up with all of her friends one day, that was just the way of things. But for now, she would just enjoy what time they had, before it was gone.

42: Sing for the laughter and sing for the tears.

Sing for the laughter and sing for the tears
Chapter published 12th Jan 2014.

*******************

January 1219 AC

In the crisp cold air of an Equestrian winter, Lero was glad of the localised warming spell which enveloped the rooftop of his herd’s Canterlot apartment. Even so, he was still wrapped up warm against the remaining chill in a thick long-sleeved shirt, a pair of dark jeans and stout boots.

From across the snow covered roofs he could hear a bell ring out as the witching hour finally arrived. The prescribed hour had been reached, she would be here soon. She was nothing if not punctual.

Shifting in his chair - a hand-built oak affair that he had carried up from the apartment's kitchen - he idly flipped through the sheets of paper in his hands. Satisfied that all were in order, and in order, he placed them back into their manilla folder and carefully placed it at his feet.

After checking for the umpteenth time that he had remembered to bring everything - the old and much loved guitar on its stand, the two glass tankards of mulled cider in their protective stasis bubbles - he glanced upwards just in time to catch sight of his guest’s arrival.

Wings flared to arrest her descent, the princess of the night’s hooves touched down mere body-lengths from where her friend sat waiting.

“Luna,” Lero smiled in greeting as the ebony alicorn folded her immense wings, stowing the elegant plumage away against her sides “I’m glad you could make it“.

As the human made to rise from his seat, one of the princess’s wings unfurled, waving him back into his seat with a wingtip.

“How could I not?” Luna replied, “unlike her sister, it is not every day that the princess of the night receives a hoof, well, hand-made invitation to a private concert. How could we ever refuse such a request?”

Curling a wingtip behind her peytral, Luna pulled forth a piece of stiff paper. Holding it out towards the human he could easily see the handmade nature of the off-white cardstock, the curl and flourish of the ornate quillwork, the subtle watermark running through its surface. He didn't need to see it to know what it said, he had created it, after all.

Turning the invitation back to herself - a pair of horn rimmed reading glasses magically appearing on her snout - Luna read the details aloud:

Master Bellerophon Michaelides

Requests the honor of your presence at a private concert to be held for the sole benefit of

H.R.H Princess Luna ‘Moonshine’ Selene Nocturne Equestria.

Music, merriment and light refreshments will be provided.

“As requested,” Luna tucked the card back away behind her peytral, her eyeglasses returned to the æther from which she had summoned them, “We have arrived, at midnight of the first full moon of this new year.”

A sly smile pulled at the edges of the alicorn’s mouth

“And after you used most of my full name too.” By now Lero was one of the few to be privy to the princess’s entire name and title, ”Though you need not be so formal, my friend.”

“Well, I couldn’t fit the whole thing on there,” the human smiled back as he gestured to the large velvet cushion laid out in front of him, “I had tried putting your titles on there as well but they just wouldn’t fit.”

“Indeed,” Luna agreed as she made herself comfortable, “they do go on a bit, do they not?”

Not long after Herd Bellerophon had moved into their residence in the city, they had asked Lady Rarity to create a very large, very plush cushion of the deepest of midnight blues for whenever the princess of the night would come calling. Of all the places she had visited - and all of the seats, chairs, thrones and cushions she had been offered - this was her favourite.

“To what do I owe this intriguing invitation?” Luna asked as Lero handed her a tankard wrapped in protective magic. As she lifted the drink to her lips, the bubble popped, releasing the sweet smell of warm apples mixed with other heady fragrances such as cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins... and maybe just the tiniest hint of peppercorn.

“I was thinking about what you’d said,” Lero ran a thumb around the rim of his own tankard in order to release its stasis bubble, “a few months ago when you asked me to come to the castle. About how no one had sung to you for many years.”

Over the top of her drink, Luna arched one regal eyebrow.

“The more I thought about it, the more I realised that I just couldn’t let this be,” Lero said softly, his hands wrapped around his mug, his thumbs running over its smooth surface. “So, I’d like to sing to you now... or with you, if you’ll join me?”

Hidden behind her glass, Luna felt giddy, No one had offered her a song for so long now, certainly no mortal, and not even the music of harmony itself, had graced her with such a consideration for what felt like an eternity.

“I thought of a few you might like to hear.” Leaning forward, Lero let his mug rest on the rooftop so he could pick up the simple brown folder from by his feet. “I... I’ve written out some lyrics to some of them, if you want to, ya’know, if you wanted to sing along with me.”

Flipping open the folder he showed the princess the many pages held within. There certainly were a few to choose from.

“I kept trying to think of what you might like, ended up with quite a few in the end.” From the back of the pile he pulled a single sheet. “But in the end I always ended up coming back to this one. It’s a real oldie that my grandmother used to like.”

As the page lay on the human’s lap, Luna couldn’t read the words due to the angle, but she could easily see that compared to the other sheets of paper, this one had obviously been handled the most.

“Would this be your dam’s mother? The one who taught you the song about the chariots of fire?” the princess asked, “what was her name again... Granny Gally?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.” Lero laughed, it was a sound Luna liked to hear. “Nausi gave her the name when she was tiny, way before I was even born, it just kinda stuck I guess. I didn’t even realise it wasn't really her name ‘till I was old enough to go to school.”

Luna just nodded, not wanting to push the human any further. While he would happily talk to the princess for hours on end, he could at times be uncharacteristically reticent when it came to matters of his human kin.

After sitting in silence for a few moments, the human lost in his thoughts, Luna decided to steer the conversation in another direction.

“I was somewhat moved by what I heard of that song,” she said softly, “I was touched by its strong imagery; the bow of gold, the arrows of desire. They invoked very powerful emotions and memories of times long past.”

“Yes, I know.” Lero’s eyes refocused, as if woken from a daydream. “It was her favourite. Maybe it’s why I kept coming back to this other one. She really liked this one too.”

Closing the folder, Lero tucked it between his leg and the arm of the chair before lifting his guitar onto his lap. After flexing his fingers he began to pick a few notes.

“We may not have always agreed on everything,” the human gave a soft snort, “or on almost anything actually, but she had a faith I kinda envied. It wasn’t for me, wasn’t the way I saw the world, but it worked for her. It got her through the day, gave her strength to carry on through everything that life threw at her, and I guess that’s what really mattered.

“Ironic isn’t it,” Lero looked up from the strings, flashing Luna a grin, “here I am talking about old arguments about religious belief with a magical princess who may well be the daughter of creation herself.” The grin curled up one side of his face as it became wider. “Even if she and her sister are keeping the great earth-shattering revelations about the nature of reality and whether there really is an afterlife to themselves.”

Luna just smiled... one of her more gentle smiles. She knew the human was just teasing her. He, more than any other of their subjects, knew exactly why the princesses were sworn to secrecy, about what could happen to a race that suddenly had answers to questions they were not ready for laid out before them.

She had actually offered once to tell him at some point in the future - when he was ready to know the truth - about how the universe really worked, of the underpinnings that kept this reality from collapsing in on itself. He had turned her down, stating that he’d rather avoid ‘spoilers’ where he could, and of this she was glad.

Returning his fingers to the strings, Lero plucked free a few more notes which floated away across the rooftop and off into the city beyond.

“I remember her singing this to me, back when I was a child.”

By now the tune had cycled around, Luna picking out the highs and lows, the refrains being repeated, she could tell where one line would end and the next would begin.

“I never really thought about the words until I heard it again, in a videogame of all places, when I was a teenager... about the same time she was told she had... well. She wasn’t with us for much longer.

“We sang it together, as a family, not long after. Whether I agreed with her or not, it made me feel better, like she wasn’t so far away. It made me realise that, in those times together as we say our farewells, we’re not just singing for those who have left us, but also for those who are left behind. We sang it for her then, and for each other as well, and now I’d like to sing it with you, if I may. It helped me, I hope it’ll help you too.”

Luna reached out with a forehoof, any last fragments of decorum or protocol that may have lingered between them had long gone as she gently rested a royal horseshoe on the human’s right knee.

“I’d like that.”

Closing his eyes, Lero began to sing.

There are loved ones in the glory

Whose dear forms you often miss.

When you close your earthly story,

Will you join them in their bliss?

Will the circle be unbroken

By and by, by and by?

Is a better home awaiting

In the sky, in the sky?

As Lero sang to her, Luna remembered the sheet of paper still tucked between the human’s leg and the chair. Never mind, it did not matter. She was enjoying the performance and would not dream of interrupting it for the world. The song was important to her friend and, as she listened to the lyrics, the words rolling around her ears as the human’s baritone voice eased its way into her head, she found that it was also working its way into her heart.

You can picture happy gath'rings

Round the fireside long ago,

And you think of tearful partings

When they left you here below.

Touching a wingtip to an eye, Luna was surprised to find moisture forming around its edge, a single trail of tears making its way down one cheek. Quickly she wiped it away.

Will the circle be unbroken

By and by, by and by?

Is a better home awaiting

In the sky, in the sky?

As Lero repeated what she’d thought was the second verse, Luna correctly surmised that it was instead the chorus. Having committed every word so far to memory she resolved to join her friend when the chorus came around again. She would not need the lyric sheet, she’d had plenty of practice at remembering over the last few years... at times she’d had nothing but memories to cling to.

One by one their seats were emptied.

One by one they went away.

Now the family is parted.

Will it be complete one day?

As Lero began to repeat the chorus for the third time, Luna closed her eyes, opened her mouth, and sang along. If the human was surprised then he gave no indication. Together they sang - a baritone human and an alicorn that could best be described as a flawless soprano - their voices entwined as the words made their winding way out into the night. On the streets below them and in apartments all around, ponies stopped what they were doing, turning their ears towards the sky.

Will the circle be unbroken

By and by, by and by?

Deep within Luna’s mind it was if a choir had joined them; no instruments, no great orchestras or soaring melodies, just a great swell of voices... dozens, hundreds, thousands even, each one of a mortal that she had once known, a life that had been lived in years long past, each used to its fullest until a natural end had claimed them.

Is a better home awaiting

In the sky, in the sky?

Her lips continued to move, the chorus drawing to an end, when Luna felt a gentle pushing at the edge of her mind, like a whisper within her soul. It smelt like mint tea and spring breezes... it felt like...

...like mother.

Lero’s fingers continued to play what would have been the last few notes, the human ready to lift his fingers from the strings to let the few final chords fade away, when Luna let her heart take charge, words still falling from between her lips. As the song came forth, still flowing freely from the alicorn’s mouth, Lero kept on playing.

And we’ll remain here, ever waiting

Holding vigil ‘til that day

Ever laughing, ever learning

Until we join them on their way

Two forms, two beings, so different from each other, so different from those around them. But it didn’t matter, it just didn’t matter at all... that they came from different worlds, different times... not now. As the chorus came around again, the human joined her, their two distinct voices flowing as one.

As they sat together, sang together, their voices blending, harmonizing, for just this moment Luna felt both the music of harmony and the music of humanity flowing through her

Will the circle be unbroken

By and by, by and by?

Is a better home awaiting

In the sky, in the sky?

But there was more, one last push, the song not yet finished. With eyes still closed and heart racing, Luna carried on alone, her voice swimming, soaring across the night sky. Around her head her ethereal mane billowed, vast brightly coloured nebula glowed like clouds of light while the beams of great fields of stars twinkled and flashed from deep within.

So we greet each new day with rapture

Knowing not what fate will send

And we’ll spend these days ever after

Filled with love, amongst our friends

While the music of harmony faded from Luna’s mind, the choir of voices slowly drifting away until none were left, together as one the human and the alicorn carried the last chorus to conclusion. .

Will the circle be unbroken

By and by, by and by?

Is a better home awaiting

In the sky, in the sky?

For the first time ever, Luna had heard the music of humanity and, with an undeniable conviction that pained her heart, she knew that she would never hear it again.

As strong yet gentle fingers lifted from the strings, the last few notes cast away on the night’s equally gentle breeze, Luna leant forward, wrapping Lero in her wings, her chin resting upon his shoulder as she pulled him close. Lero could feel moisture on his neck as the alicorn buried her face in his hair.

“Thank you, my friend,” the princess whispered, “thank you.”

***************

From the stairs at the edge of the roof, six moist eyes watched from under three vibrantly coloured manes.

The owner of one of the manes started to move, as if to make her way up the stairs, but was held back by the gentle hoof of one of the other two.

Turning back, the first found the third slowly shaking her head from side to side, indicating with her own hoof that the three of them should instead head back inside.

After glancing back to the two forms on the rooftop, the first nodded her agreement.

The three of them then slowly and quietly made their way, one after the other, back inside their nice warm apartment, leaving their stallion and their friend to their privacy.

Author's Note

And now I think it's time to give Lero and Luna some time to themselves. I'm going to have the next few chapters spending some time with Lyra (and maybe Derpy).

43: No right, no wrong, no rules for me.

No right, no wrong, no rules for me.
Chapter published 8th Feb 2014.

******************************

Let it go, let it go

And I'll rise like the break of dawn

Let it go, let it go

That perfect girl is gone

Here I stand

In the light of day

Let the storm rage on...

“Stop! Stop this, right now!”

On the huge TV in front of them the image froze in place, the camera ceasing its pull-back from the stunning crystal castle positioned halfway up a snow covered mountain.

Lowering the remote, Lero turned to Princess Luna, his companion during this latest of their regular dreamtime movie-nights. After putting both the TV remote and the large bowl of popcorn he was cradling down on the floor Lero turned to face the princess of the night.

Currently they were both settled onto a large, beaten and somewhat care-worn, couch located - as sofas generally weren’t - in the middle of a large crater on the moon. Behind them sat the Eagle lunar lander and in front of them was a massive - at least fifty-plus inches Lero estimated - flat screen TV with its own PS5 acting as a high-definition video player.

“What’s wrong?” the human asked, trying his best to project an air of total innocence, “I thought you’d love this movie.”

“Before we proceed,” Luna stated, pulling herself up to her full height, which would have been more impressive if she hadn’t been sat with her hind legs curled underneath herself whilst holding a large velvet cushion against her chest, “I must know, does this tale end well?”

Lero said nothing, just cocking his head, a sedate smile on his lips.

“The sisters, do they fight?” Luna continued, waving a single forehoof towards the screen, “There was much love there, when they were young, before the isolation and misunderstanding. I have been in this situation myself. In my case it lead to war, many died, many more suffered, all because of jealousy and fear and misunderstanding. If this is how this tale will end then I am sorry but I am not sure we should continue.”

“Really... so you see much of yourself in Queen Elsa?” Lero asked, grinning slightly to himself. He’d chosen tonight’s film on purpose, though he wasn't going to admit it.

“Yes, how could I not?” Luna admitted, closing her eyes. “There is much of me in this queen, from back when I first became the Nightmare; the new found freedom from expectations, the affinity for the cold of winter while others crave the warmth of the sun, the symbolic changing of appearance and accoutrements.”

As she spoke her coat changed from its usual jet black to the midnight blue of the ‘teenage’ form she had worn just a few years ago, when Lero had tended both her and her sister through their time with the blank plague. As her own colouration changed so did her titanium & platinum crown and peytral, shrinking into the form of her smaller black tiara and torc that she had worn in years past.

As Lero watched on, her coat again darkened to black, this time so dark that it seemed to suck the colour out of everything around it. The tiara and torc again morphed and melded, the headware melting and flowing back over Luna’s head as it formed into Nightmare Moon’s dazzling silver-blue battle armour.

As her ethereal mane billowed from around her head, the smell of recently struck matches and scorched steel assailed the human’s nose. As her eyes opened Lero could see bright cyan cat-like irises while her smile revealed rows of razor sharp teeth, a pair of wickedly cruel fangs catching his eye as they pushed their way into view.

Entranced as he was by the transformation, Lero’s attention was soon grabbed by the rumbling coming from beneath their seat. All around them the surface of the moon started to change; dust gathered and solidified as great towers and spires forced their way out of the ground.

The Eagle lander was lifted into the air as a newly formed wall tossed it out of the way, an immense and gothically appointed castle forming around them, created from the very substance of the moon itself.

Starlight pierced through vast silica windows which glimmered with refracted light while the walls radiated moonshine in all directions, illuminating both the human and the alicorn in crystal sharp brilliance.

“When I first came into my powers I danced and sang as this queen did.” Luna’s voice rolled around the room, her tone deeper and more commanding than she had used in many a year, “I marvelled... revelled in what I could do, I thought myself a goddess, untouchable and above all reproach. Drunk on my own power I let it overwhelm me, unleashing untold cruelty and arrogance from the hidden depths of my soul, corrupting my personality into a barely recognisable mockery of everything I held dear.”

Closing her eyes, the cat like irises once again hidden from view, Luna bowed her head.

“I drove a wedge between my dear sister and I, created a rift that even now I fear will never truly heal. And my subjects? After what I became, could they ever forgive and forget? As much as I wish otherwise, I doubt it will ever come to pass. All things considered, maybe it would be best if they do not. So yes, you are correct. I am worried that the same would be the fate of this Queen Elsa should she follow me down my trail of destruction.”

Shifting in his seat, Lero reached out, running his fingers across the princess’s face, rubbing a single thumb under a closed eye as he cupped her cheek. Luna didn’t pull away as he had feared she might, instead pushing back into his hand though she kept her eyes tightly sealed.

“Maybe you're right, maybe some things should not be forgotten,” he said softly, feeling her head droop almost imperceptibly beneath his touch “you said yourself before, the past is not to be hidden away, mistakes are not to be buried. And yes, you made those mistakes, but you served your time and returned to your subjects and were reborn. The pony that you were, that Nightmare, that pony is long gone now. This pony, this Princess Luna, she’s got a very long life ahead of her. Perhaps it’s time to let it go?”

Much like ice left out in the sun, NIghtmare Moon’s armour melted away, the battle tarnished metal turning to vapour and floating away on the non-existent breeze. No crown or peytral reformed in their place, even the armoured horseshoes had evaporated away, leaving the princess as bare and unadorned as the day she was turned.

Jet black eyelids flickered open, perfectly normal eyes peeking out from underneath. A gentle smile revealed no points and no fangs.

“Have you told Princess Celestia about how you feel?” Lero slowly pulled back his hand “That even after all these years you still feel this way?”

“No, I would not.” Luna suddenly found her own hooves to be of particular interest, “She is so happy that I have returned, that I am once again the sister she so missed. I do not wish to worry her unnecessarily.”

“Hey, don’t be silly.” Lero crossed his arms across his chest, a movement that those ponies who knew him well recognised as his ‘I’m serious about this’ gesture, “I don’t think she’d even for a second consider that being concerned about you is something unnecessary. Talk to her, please. That’s how this whole movie got to where it is now, with young Elsa not talking to her sister. Isn’t that how the whole Nightmare Moon thing got started as well? You should do the same; talk to her, tell her everything, she can’t help you if you don’t open up to her.”

“But what-” Luna was quickly silenced by a single finger held against her lips.

“Trust me, Luna... you're sisters... family. Familles care about each other, familles forgive each other, families love each other.”

Again Lero removed his hand, but not before rubbing the princess’s cheek again.

”Very well. I will talk to her the next time the opportunity arises.”

Lero give her ‘the look’... Fluttershy was turning into quite the teacher it would seem.

“Very well, Master Lero. I will talk to her over our next evening meal. Art thou satisfied?”

With a grin, Lero rubbed the princess behind the ear, unencumbered as it was without her crown.

“Yes. very.”

Pulling his hand away yet again, Lero leant forward and retrieved the TV remote and bowl of popcorn from the floor. Even with the princess’s impromptu home improvements most of the salty treats were still within the bowl though it was a shame the same couldn’t be said of Luna’s similar though sugary confection. As the princess considered her now empty bowl and the carpet of spilt popcorn surrounding it, Lero held his still partly filled snack out to her.

“But I do not trust this prince fellow.” Luna declared, levitating a hoof-full of popcorn out of the bowl as she waved at the TV screen with a forehoof, “the engagement was too short and this Princess Anna is too impulsive, much as my own dear sister was in her youth. Smitten though I was with Sable Shield, our love initially took much time to develop... after a somewhat rocky start. This though, this is just unbridled infatuation stemming from a deep-seated desire to be loved. And look at him, thirteenth in line to the throne, I smell a plot here, this princess would do well to be wary of his advances.”

“Perhaps you're right, so let’s watch and see if they get to live happily ever after,“ lifting the remote, Lero restarted the movie.

The cold never bothered me anyway!

Author's Note

I know I said I was giving Luna and Lero a break but I challenged myself to write something in 2 hours and this is what came out.

Let It Go's owned by Disney.

EDIT: Thanks go to LunaEpona for posting this link in the comments below.

44: These are the girls I love the most.

These are the girls I love the most
Chapter published 27th Dec 2013

*******************

Sept 1219 AC

With a snort Pinkie Pie awoke from her mid-afternoon power-nap.

Oh boy, power-naps were like one of the greatest things ever; they had dreams and stuff... and dreams about stuff and... stuff. Oh yeah, she’d had a totally fantasadoubly great dream, but it was getting away from her, she had to act fast, real fast, like ‘now’ fast. What had it been about? Ooohh, there’d been smiling, lots of smiling, and ideas and plans and singing, and a mare, no, a woman, no, a mare... and she’d asked her asked to do something... something important... it was a big something, it’d needed lots of other ponies to help her. But what was it? Oh yeah, that was it.

“So, I’m going to need instruments and the girls and lots of space... ohh this is going to be the most superest surprise thingie ever.”

Grabbing her mid-level-emergency bugle as she jumped out of bed, the pink blur that was Pinkie Pie was out of her room, down the stairs and away from Sugarcube Corner before her bedsheets had even managed to settle. By the time she was halfway across Ponyville she’d completely forgotten the details of her dream, but she did remember that she’d made a promise, and whenever Pinkie made a promise it was forever.

For-ev-er.

************

Gripping what had, until just a few years ago now, been his sleeping basket in his claws Spike carefully made his way down the stairs from his loft apartment and into the main hall of the Golden Oaks public library.

Pulling books from the basket, he placed each one carefully in the ‘to be reshelved’ stack and tossed the basket itself under the main desk. He hadn’t cleaned the books out from under his bed for a while - an embarrassingly long while if was to be truthful about it. The fact that he’d found some confetti from his sixteenth birthday all those months ago between some of the pages told him he’d been slacking in his duties. He’d been trying to fool himself that the confetti had been from Scoot’s sixteenth from last week, but no matter how he tried he just wasn’t falling for it.

What would Twilight think if she’d seen it? He was now the town’s Chief Librarian after all - even if old Dusty Tomes had been brought out of retirement to help him out two or three times a week - so he had to set a better example than this. Twilight may now only spend about half of her time in Ponyville these days but she still came to check up on how things were going at her old home whenever she could and as she’d been the one to put him forward for the job he’d hate to disappoint her.

His old basket had rolled back out from under the counter (how had he ever fitted in it?) so he picked it back up and placed it gently on the countertop. Too small for it’s original purpose it may now be, but it was still a precious gift from his sister, he’d have to remember to take more care of it.

Turning slowly, he checked around the room to see if there was anything else that needed tidying up, putting away or just generally taking care of. This library was his very own hoard, and it was the greatest hoard a dragon could ever ask for. Unlike other hoards, it didn’t diminish whenever part of it was taken away from him. All those words, all that knowledge, all stored safely within the covers of these books. With each one checked out his hoard only increased in size as the knowledge within them was absorbed into the hearts and minds of the many ponies of the fair town of Ponyville.

From claw to hoof and back again, his hoard was passed around, read aloud, absorbed, enjoyed, multiplied, expanded. And then, when each volume came back to him, the vessel of this shared enlightenment, he felt a warm glow inside that the pony in question had grown within them a tiny addition to his hoard, his own personal treasure expanding with each passing day.

Or perhaps the warm feeling was just gas? Cheese before bed still did that to him sometimes.

But, Spike reminded himself, you couldn't just give each pony just any old book... oh no, no, no. You had to get to know each and every potential reader personally, figure out what would appeal to them, which tome or volume or textbook could help them in whatever personal quest of self advancement had brought them to his door. Is was a job he was proud to have, a task he was proud to have been entrusted. And due to his long life ahead of him, we was sure he would continue to be proud to serve for as long as the town wanted him to.

Picking up his feather duster he started to beaver away with the daily cleaning, standing on tippy-claws to reach the higher shelves - he wasn’t quite tall enough to reach the topmost tomes without using a stepladder quite yet. As he neared the front door he could hear shouting from the empty lot across the street... it sounded like Pinkie Pie.

“Rainbow, Lyra... stop sparring and follow me,” yep, that was definitely Pinkie Pie, “this is super duper important, no time to lose.”

Dragon-sense a-tingling, Spike moved back from the front door a split second before it flew open as PInkie burst in to the library.

“Spike, we’ve got a job to do.” Pinkie found Spike waiting by the door, a claw held to his forehead like a new recruit awaiting orders. “Get to the market and grab Applejack. Fluttershy should be there as well so grab her too. Market should be finishing up soon so they’ll both be there helping Big Mac. Get ‘Bloom to take care of the kids if need be but do it quickity-quick and meet me at town hall as soon as you can.”

“Yes, ma'am,“ Spike respond quickly before tossing his duster onto a shelf behind him and running off out of the door.

“So what’s up?” Rainbow asked from where she was hovering just outside the doorway, pulling herself out of the way as a pink blur shot past her and off towards the home of Herd Lero.

Shrugging to her herdmate - Lyra just responding with the same though without the slightly exasperated expression - Rainbow flapped over to the herd’s front door which Pinkie had left open when she’d barreled her way into the house.

“Twilight, where are you?” the earth pony called as her head disappeared through doorways, leaving her derriere with its great mass of tail wiggling about in the corridor as its owner went room to room.

Twilight’s head poked out from an upstairs doorway that Pinkie had yet to check, a pair of reading glasses perched upon her nose.

“What’s up?” the purple mare shouted, pulling the eyeglasses from her nose and teleporting them away before anypony could notice she was wearing them. “You’re making enough noise to wake the dead!”

As if she herself had teleported - which would have been an astoundingly impressive feat for a normal earth pony, but was just par for the course for the town’s resident party pony - Pinkie was right up in Twilight’s face in less than a millisecond, the brass instrument around her neck bouncing around on its velvet cord.

“We need to get to the town hall STAT!” hearing the two other mares of the herd coming up the stairs behind her, Pinkie zipped over to the top step. “Lyra, grab a harp and your drum thingy; Twilight, bring your flute; Rainbow, shake that plot over to Carousel Boutique and grab Rarity as fast as you can.”

Clopping her forehooves together the earth pony danced in place before making ‘hurry up motions’ towards the front door. “Let’s go, ponies, we’ve got a number to put on.”

In a split second she was down the stairs and halfway out of the house, stopping at the threshold to take in the three rather puzzled mares behind her. Well, two rather puzzled mares and one enigmatically amused unicorn who was beginning to bob her head to a rhythm only she could hear.

“Ooh, and when the music of harmony kicks in, you gotta resist for as long as you can!” Pinkie urged waving a hoof at the minty unicorn.

“But Pinkie,” Twilight objected, “when the music of harmony calls then everypony knows resistance is futile. No pony’s ever stopped it before, it just does its own thing, that’s how Equestria works.”

“Then we’ll just have to resist like we’ve never resisted before,” Pinkie rolled her eyes as if it was the most obvious answer in the world, “Come on girls, let’s get hopping.”

With a ‘whoosh’ and a pink blur, she was gone.

****************

The main hall of Ponyville’s town hall had been designed with acoustics very much in mind, the curved walls and ceiling crafted in such a way that no matter where the audience were standing - be it in the stalls, on a balcony or out on the main floor - they’d be able to hear perfectly whatever was happening up on the stage. As such, Doctor Scratch of Canterlot University and Miss Melody from the Royal Canterlot Conservatorium had found it to be the ideal place to conduct their studies whilst here in Ponyville.

But as the glow faded from her horn just as the last few notes faded from her mind, Sweetie Belle wasn’t thinking of any of this, instead she was trying hard not to let her heart beat its way right out of her chest.

“I think we got it,” Vinyl Scratch called from where she was sitting behind a large pile of incredibly complicated equipment that she’d ‘borrowed’ from the audio-acoustic labs back at the university.

All around her great tangles of printouts were forming, vast lengths of paper spewing from the machines, the dozens of quills on little arms twitching away as their scribbles recorded what only two beings on the entire planet could hear for themselves.

For the last ten minutes they’d been busily scrawling down note after note, cadence and melody, rhythm and hue, each quill recording the sounds of a different instrument, each combining to create a piece of music that no pony on the planet had ever heard themselves.

No pony but one - the young mare who was currently basking in the afterglow of the experience, breathing deeply with heart all a-flutter. With each immersion into the music of humanity she fell a little more in love with it every single time. If this was what it was like to go without the music of harmony, well she knew by now which of the two she’d choose.

Octavia Melody looked up from where she was pouring over page of page of notations, mentally turning the stark and impersonal markings on the paper into a soaring symphony in her head.

“This is...” the earth pony started, “Oh my, I don’t even know how to describe this one. It’s just so... so... big! Look at the way the strings work together here... and then the brass comes in with.... and then... I thought Ride of the Valkyries was something, but this?...”

The usually prim and proper mare waved the paper around her head, her mouth opening and closing as she struggled for words. In the end she just gave up and threw the reams of paper into the air as she giggled like a school filly.

“Think what Octy’s trying to say,” Vinyl added as her *ahem* friend rolled around on the floor, occasionally kicking her rear hooves in excitement, “is that this is going to be Epic! What’s this piece called again?”

“Ode to Joy” Lero replied from where he was sitting next to Sweetie Belle, his pen scribbling against a notepad as he hurried to finish his own task before the last of Sweetie’s channeling faded from his mind, “seems quite apt, considering this is the happiest I’ve ever seen her.”

“Me too,” Vinyl added, “well except for that time last spring when I... well, yeah.” Pulling her ever present sunglasses down her snout, the unicorn wiggled her eyebrows at the human in a way that reminded him of his pegasus herdmate when she was getting a bit... excited.

“Well, just wait until we do Rhapsody in Blue, she’ll be all over you!” Lero laughed as he casually tossed the notepad towards the unicorn, her magic plucking it effortlessly from the air, “I think this more than makes up for last month. If I’d known Adagio for Strings was going to make her burst into tears like that I’d have never have suggested it.”

“She wasn’t the only one,” Sweetie added as she unbuckled a high-tech sensor collar from around her neck and placed it on the floor beside her, “I think I cried for almost an hour the night after we tried channeling the choral version.”

“Oh, Sweetie, I’m sorry.” Lero reached over and gently pulled the youngster against his chest, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, his hands absently stroking at her mane as he had done when she was younger, though these days she was a whole lot bigger than she used to be and her mane was much much longer.

“I really should have warned you all more strongly than I did.” As he rested his chin on the young mare’s forehead, the human couldn't see just how red the already flushed unicorn's face was becoming. “There’s a lot of emotional baggage goes with that piece and I guess it must have come through with the music. All whole lot of humans thought it was one of the saddest pieces of music we’d ever made... and that’s saying something.”

“It’s all good,” Vinyl said, “Gotta take the happy with the sad. Just makes the good times that much better, ya’know. You should have seen Octy the next day, she was like a mare possessed, she’s been working on the arrangement with the orchestra almost every day since then.”

“Wait... the orchestra?” As Lero’s hand stopped in mid stroke, the DJ noticed the flicker of disappointment on the younger unicorn’s face but decided to say nothing.

“Yeah,” Vinyl grinned, “The Royal Canterlot Philharmonic. Bunch of stuffy old mares most of ‘em but they got some cool cats too. I think it’s going to be huge. I recorded some of their practice sessions, did a coupl’a remixes on em, gave it a bit more punch, cranked up the bass, slipped it a bit more jive, turned it into something uplifting, know what I’m sayin’? I think the kids in the clubs are going to go nuts for it.”

Still grinning, the DJ lifted Lero’s notepad up so she could hide behind it while the human took a few more seconds to get his brain around the concept of the nation’s greatest orchestra performing something that was just a few weeks ago still locked away in his head.

Lowering the pad, Vinyl could see the human still working the idea through. He was quite cute when he was all gawpy like that. In a small-eyed flat-faced kinda way, yeah, but still cute. Hey’d where’d the pad gone?

“So,” Octavia asked as she scanned the notepad she’d just pulled from her friend’s magical field, also doing her best not to look embarrassed about her earlier roll on the floor, “these lyrics, they’re in Germane?”

“German, yeah, so pretty much the same thing.” Lero nodded as Sweetie shyly moved away from his chest. “You really need to hear it with a full choir to get the best effect, humans were known to sing it with hundreds, even thousands.”

“Thousands?” Sweetie asked, the idea of that many humans signing along together, all without the music of harmony to help them, was just astounding.

Peering over Octavia’s shoulder at the words on the pad, Vinyl added, “We know a couple of mares from the Stuttcart State Orchestra who’ve been dying to get in on some of this stuff.”

Now it was Lero’s turn to be astounded. “Really?”

“Absolutely,” Octavia looked up from lyrics, “I don't think you realise just how big a stir your ‘human music’ is making in musical circles all around the globe, and not just classical either. The conservatory's had contact from musicians from just about every musical genre and discipline, asking if there’s any way in which they can get involved.”

“Yeah,” Vinyl added, “this is pretty much the biggest thing to happen to the Equestrian music scene since the dark ages.”

“Oh,” was about the best Lero could manage.

“Yes, indeed.” Octavia added, “and did you know that Princess Luna has recently been overheard singing a few of them around the castle.” The earth pony waved a hoof at her companion, “That one she especially likes, what was it?”

“Which one?” Vinyl asked, playfully batting at her friend’s idly waved hoof with her own. “Dream a little dream of me or Fly me to the moon?”

“Both, I think,” Octavia playfully batted a hoof back before remembering that they were in company. “Ahem, yes. Sapphire Shores herself is eager to record them both for inclusion on her next album.”

“Luna’s been what?” Lero rested his head in his hand, this was all a bit much for one day. “Oh my word. Thank god she’s not been singing Queen of the Night.”

As Lero looked up again, Vinyl leant forward so she could see the human’s expression up close and personal.

“She has.“ she told him, laughing heartily as his head dropped back into his palm.

“Oh dear.”

For a second the human glanced up to the sky.

“I’m sorry, Whitney.”

“Err, guys,“ Sweetie suddenly added, urgency coloring her tone, “We have to go outside.”

As Lero turned to take her in, he could see a faint pink glow around her horn that suddenly started to spark and fizz. The glow around her horn fluctuating between pink and purple rather than the static pale green of her usual magical aura meant that she was channeling the music of humanity... But they weren’t channeling anything right now so how could it be doing that?

“Seriously, we have to go outside, like right now.” Getting to her feet, the generous curls of her lengthy mane spilling over her shoulders, reaching well past the tops of her long legs as she started for the door. But before she could get far Pinkie burst into the hall.

“Lero!” the earth pony shouted, “come outside, quickly. Bring your guitar.”

By now Lero had learnt to just do as he was told in situations like this so after grabbing his instrument he hopped off the stage and made for the door.

“Doctor Scratch, hi!” Pinkie grabbed Vinyl, lifted her up in the air and put her back down again so that the unicorn was facing the hall’s instrument store which was usually, though not today, hidden behind a curtain. “Could you grab that piano and levitate it outside? We’re going to need it. Tavi, hi, rockin’ the bow tie as always.”

****************

As Lero made his way outside he found a huge gathering of mares from all around town milling about outside the town hall. Many of the earth ponies had instruments of some kind and all of them seemed to be shifting uncomfortably on their hooves. To Lero’s eyes it looked like half the town’s population were dying to go to the toilet all at the same time, which was something he really didn't want to think about.

Every now again again one of the mares carrying instruments would raise it to their mouths or their hooves would move as if preparing to let loose a note or two, only to be stopped by whatever ponies were closest to them.

Over by the town’s ornate water fountain Lero could see Spike, Big Mac and Time Turner rushing to set up Turner’s drum kit while a visibly sweating Rainbow hovered overheard, shouting encouragement to the collection of ponies gathered below her.

“Okay, just a few seconds longer, hold out as long as you can, you know you can do it.”

“What’s going on?” Lero asked of any pony close enough to hear him.

“It’s the music of harmony,” Twilight stepped out of the crowd, noticeably sweating herself, “It seems to be having some trouble with timing, started too early, we’re trying to delay it as much as we can, but this is a biggie.”

“What’s a biggie?” Lero asked as an upright piano floated past his head.

“Okay, Vinyl, piano over there,” Pinkie directed the weighty instrument into place next to Time Turner’s drums. “Spikey boy, get on it, we’re ready to go.”

As the teenage dragon’s claws danced across the piano’s keys a large number of ponies could be heard breathing an even larger sigh of relief. As they lifted their own instruments en-masse and began to play it struck Lero that with the music of harmony they didn't actually need any instruments, that they could all hear the music in their heads. The instruments they were carrying, the music they were playing, it was purely for him.

After a few seconds, another realisation hit him

“Hey, I know this tune,” he said as Pinkie bounced up to him, “it came out when I was just a kid.”

“Yepperonie,” the earth pony grinned, “so grab your guitar and play along. Ooh, now’s my part.”

Strong hooves grabbed him from behind and Lero found himself being lifted into the air by Big Mac, just to be put down again between Spike at the piano and Time Turner on the drums. All around them the mares of ponyville danced and played their instruments, most of them actually in time.

Bouncing her way into the middle of the town square Pinkie began to sing and dance.

--Pinkie Pie--

There is a place

Where the grass is what's for dinner

She was soon joined by the rest of the element bearers as they all danced in unison... a remarkably clumsy unison but still a unison none the less.

--Pinkie Pie--

Charmed, fun, and wild

There must be something in the water

--Applejack--

Sippin' rainbow juice

--Rarity--

Talking Elements of Harmony

--Twilight--

Our bronies

As the element bearers all swung their forehooves towards the guys, Big Mac and Spike sang their lines.

--Big Mac & Spike--

Hang out too

--Rainbow Dash--

'Cause they know we're awesome fillies

From the edge of the crowd, Lyra, Sweetie, Vinyl, and Octavia trotted onto the impromptu dance stage, joining the element bearers to create a chorus line ten ponies long.

--Sweetie Belle--

You could travel the world

--Vinyl & Octavia--

But no one can groove like the girls with the hooves

--Pinkie Pie--

Once you party with ponies

--Rainbow Dash--

You'll be seeing Rainbooms!

--Fluttershy--

O-oh o-oh o-ooh!

Lero was nearly deafened as the entire crowd joined in, dozens of mares all singing together.

--Crowd--

Equestria girls

--Twilight, Rarity, Vinyl & Lyra--

We're kinda magical

--Applejack--

Boots on hooves, bikinis on top

--Rarity--

Furry coats, so cute

--Pinkie Pie--

We'll blow your mind

--Fluttershy--

Aoaoah oh, aoaoaoh!

--Crowd--

Equestria girls

--Rarity & Sweetie Belle--

We're pony-fabulous

--Rainbow Dash, Applejack & Lyra --

Fast, fine, fierce, we trot till we drop

--Twilight--

Cutie marks represent

--Applejack--

Now put your hooves up

--Futtershy--

Aoaoah oh, aoaoaoh!

As the song came to an end, ponies all around him jumping up and down and hugging each other, Lero let his guitar dangle from his fingers. After an untold number of waves and smiles in his direction the town square slowly started to empty out, the town’s residents drifted away to get back to their day’s doings.

Waving a maniacally grinning Pinkie over to his side, Lero crouched down next to her.

“What on earth was all that about?” he asked in wonder, “how did an old human song end up all mixed in with the magic of harmony?”

“I don’t know.” Pinkie admitted, though it didn't stop the grinning, “Well, I did know, but now I don’t. I’m not sure what happened really, not anymore, but I think it’s Equestria’s way of saying thank you or at least that might be what She meant. I’m not too sure about some of the lyrics and the choreography needed more work but we were in a reaaally big rush ‘cos it was only a power nap so we only had a few minutes.”

“Thanking me?” Lero asked, “what for?”

“For being you, you silly billy, and for being our friend.”

As Pinkie continued to grin at him in that extra wide beamy way she had, for just a second the pink of her mane darkened dramatically while the colour of her coat bleached away. At the edges of her mane and tail a few burning embers glowed as they floated away from her to dance in the breeze.

“For being true of heart and strong of mind,” Pinkie said in a voice which Lero heard not with his ears but rather felt echoing around his mind, “for protecting my little ponies, for teaching my little ponies, and for loving my little ponies. For this, and for what is still to come, I thank you.”

Shaking her head, Pinkie’s mane and coat were suddenly back to their normal colours... and just like that the magic was gone.

But it wasn’t, for the magic was never truly gone.

The magic was forever.

46: Somebody to love.

Somebody to love.
Chapter published 6th July 2014

**************

It was a pleasant morning in the fair town of Ponyville. Midday was fast approaching as the summer sun shone down on the townsfolk as they went about their business. The air filled with the sounds of the hustle and bustle of the market as Lero and Lyra lazily made their way across the town square. Unfortunately, once one particular market trader spotted the nation’s lone human, the air was filled with more than just offers of the chance to buy the nation’s finest wares and enticements to part with hard earned bits.

“HEY! MONKEY! Your owners let you out on you’s own again? Shouldn’t you be back in your shed so good honest pony folk like us dunt have to look at you!”

Without saying a word, Lyra moved around to Lero’s other side, making sure that Honeydew could now see her. While the sudden sight of the Still Way grandmaster momentarily brought an end to the melon seller's ranting, it was only temporary and she soon started up again. Whether her confidence was bolstered by either the presence of her two sisters - who were helping today with the running of her stall - or the effects of the half drained ‘shine jug she was swinging in one badly-managed forehoof, no pony could rightly say, though most just wished that she’d shut her foolish mouth and leave the poor guy alone.

“What, I’m jus’ tellin’ it like it is. You think I’m gunna shut up jus’ cos you got ‘Captain Stompy Hooves’ with ya? Nah, I ain’t ‘fraid of you.”

A few weeks back Lero had introduced the town to the concept of using a funnel and cork to make ‘vodka watermelons’ - or rather ‘shine watermelons’ in Equestria’s case - and the idea had taken off over these hot summer months.

While Honeydew, the holder of the town’s monopoly on watermelons - though next year could well be a different story as both Carrot Top and Maroon Harvest were already planning to diversify their crops - was making a fortune by cornering the market, it didn’t seem to do anything to sweeten her permanently sour mood. If anything, it just seemed to have made it worse recently, as if the fact that her new found wealth was mostly due to the human’s ‘invention’ was something that her bigoted pride just couldn't swallow.

So instead, she spent a whole of time as of late swallowing something else... moonshine.

And to say that the town’s resident curmudgeon had been on a downward spiral recently was a bit of an understatement

“Yeah, yeah. Jus’ carry on walkin’ the pair’a ya.”

Though she waved her jug around, the large ‘over-tired’ earth pony made no move away from her stall, which was probably for the best as a number of her fellow traders - most vocally the members of the Apple clan - had made it plain that, if push came to shove, the elder Honey sister would find herself on the bucking end of more hooves than she knew how to count... which at the moment was probably not higher than four.

Behind the melon stall, Honeysuckle looked like she’d like nothing more than to climb under the wooden boards that made up their tabletop and hide herself away. At her side, her pegasus sister, Honeybee, was also trying her best to pretend that she wasn’t involved in the whole thing, though the way she was glaring at her bigger sister made quite plain that her feelings of embarrassment were soon to be outpaced by an ever increasing amount of annoyance.

So, for now, the general public left the Honey sisters well alone - while Honeydew did nothing more dangerous than rant and ramble at least. In turn, the two younger Honey siblings made sure that they didn’t stray too far from their sister’s side, just in case she decided to actually do something more dangerous than just make herself look like a total feedbag in public.

“Hey, if yous ask Maroon she can probably find ya’ a marrow or somethin’... anythin’ with a bit of” *snort* “girth... show those silly little girls of yours the kinda size they’ve been missing.”

After stopping off for supplies at Roselucks’s flower stall and the Apple clan’s apple stand, Lero and Lyra next needed to head over to Carrot Top’s stall, which meant passing right by the melon stand.

As the human came close to the ‘over-emotional’ earth pony, just about every pair of eyes in the square were following him, many of the surrounding ponies holding their breath without realising it as he stopped right by the melon stand.

After nodding a slight greeting to the two younger Honey sisters, Lero turned to the large - and surly - earth pony.

“So, Honeybadger, business looks good. How’s the hoof?” he asked, his eyes moving over the few remaining melons still set out for sale.

With the human standing his ground less than a body-length from her, Honeydew was at a loss about what to do next. Even if Lyra hadn’t been standing right next to him - pretending to be giving the melons the once over but in actuality watching the earth pony like a hawk from the corner of her eye - there was still about two dozen other mares watching her every move and some - most notably Applejack - were making it no secret they were just itching for a chance to come over and give her a piece of their mind.

Turning to face her sisters, she found Honeybee glaring back at her, a very slow shake of the head and a silently whispered ‘no’ told her that there’d be no help coming there.

Honeydew may not have been the smartest mare in town, but she also wasn't dumb and she knew well enough not to start anything physical while the odds were so badly stacked against her. The problem was that her mouth, encouraged as it was by enough ‘shine to spice up at least half a dozen melons - which is what the shine had been ‘obtained’ for in the first place, oh well - had yet to be informed of the general game-plan and happily blundered its way off into dangerous territory anyway.

“Hey, you dumb monkey-”

“Ape.”

“-whatever! What’s it with you and the names? I’m not a ‘honey badger’. Or a ‘honey-drizzler’. Or a ‘honeypot’. And I have absolutely no idea what the heck a ‘honey boo-boo’ is but I sure as Hearts Warmin’ ain’t one of those either! It’s ‘Honeydew’... Hun-eee-due... like the melons.”

“Yeah - big, round, thick-skulled and full of booze.” came a masculine shout from out in their audience. On the edge of the crowd, Jim Beam and Rivet snickered and clopped hooves, delighted at their quick thinking. It probably wasn’t the funniest joke in the world but the sudden release of tension sent a wave of guffaws around the crowd. Honeydew just fumed more than she had before, an impressive feat in its own right.

“I really thought we’d seen the last of yous when you pissed off to Canterlot, but no, here you are, still all up in my face.”

Dropping her now empty ‘shine jug onto the countertop, Honeydew sat herself down on her haunches and folded her forelimbs across her chest. “Look, just take what you want and leave me alone, alright?.”

At her stallion’s side, Lyra glanced up at Lero, who in turn shrugged his shoulders at his mate’s questioning look. In all the time they’d known the ornery earth pony, they’d never seen her quite so... dejected.

“Code Double-B?” Lyra asked.

Stroking his chin while pondering the melon seller - who was now staring in the other direction, pretending the targets of her previous ire were no longer present - Lero nodded in agreement.

“Oh yeah, this is totally a Code Double-B.”

Putting two fingers into his mouth, Lero let loose with three shrill whistles - two short and one long. It took less than three whole seconds before a grey shape fell from the sky and landed less than a few feet from the human’s side.

“Code Double-B, Mister Lero?” Derpy asked as she threw out a crisp salute.

“Code Double-B, Miss Doo,“ Lero confirmed as he returned the salute. From out of nowhere Pinkie Pie appeared at Derpy’s side, a large cardboard box with two smiling bumblebees drawn on the side resting on her back.

“That was quick,” Lero commented as he took the box, “Pinkie sense?”

“Yeperroonie,” PInkie grinned, “a double rear-right hoof quiver, three sneezes and both ears tingling, all at once. Must be a least a Double-B I thought so I brought the entire box just to be sure.”

“Spot on, as always,” Lero tickled Pinkie behind the ears as the pink mare pulled a selection of musical instruments from the box. Passing a trumpet to Derpy, she kept one for herself, a harmonica went to Lyra while Lero took a small microphone with a built in amplification enchant.

More instruments were pulled from the box, which totally did not look big enough to hold them all - tambourines, tiny saxophones, the smallest double bass in the world, and teeny-tiny drum set were all passed around to a small collection of ponies who had just arrived on the scene. Every pony with an instrument also received a single sheet of music which they each pored over intently. After a few seconds of intense discussion they all nodded at Pinkie who counted off...

“Okay everypony, one, two, one, two, three, four,”

...then put her trumpet to her mouth and started to play. The rest soon followed suit.

Within seconds a crowd had started to form around the impromptu band, many called over by the sweet sound of ponies playing their instruments, others fascinated by the fact that there was music playing but the the magic of harmony was nowhere to be heard. There was still plenty of room left around the group though, which meant that Lero could shake himself off and hop about for a few seconds as he readied himself for what came next.

Turning to his audience, he lifted the microphone to his mouth and addressed the crowd.

--Lero--

I’m so glad to see so many of you lovely ponies here today, and we would especially like to thank the Honey sisters who have chosen to join us here in Ponyville’s market square at this time.

We do sincerely hope you'll all enjoy the song, and please remember people, that no matter who you are, and what you do to live, thrive and survive, there are still some things that make us all the same. You, me, them, everybody, everybody.

As he swept his hand across the crowd, ending with the Honey sisters, he began to sing. Behind him, the band started to move in time with the music, taking two steps left, then two steps right, then back again, each change of direction signalled with a little kick of a hind hoof.

--Lero--

Everybody needs somebody

Everybody needs somebody to love

--Lyra--

Someone to love

--Lero--

Sweetheart to miss

--Lyra--

Sweetheart to miss

--Lero--

Sugar to kiss

--Lyra--

Sugar to kiss

--Lero & Lyra--

I need you you you

--Lyra--

I need you you you

--Lero--

In the morning

--Lyra--

I need you you you

--Lero--

When my soul's on fire

As Lero dropped to his knees in the middle of the market square, Lyra lifted her harmonica to her mouth. Cupping it to her lips with her forehooves she let it wail.

--Lero--

Sometimes I feel, I feel a little sad inside,

when the world mistreats me, but the sadness never lasts when you’re all by my side.

Jumping to his feet, Lero danced his way out into the crowd, clapping his hands and encouraging the audience to clop along. Within seconds they were all clopping and stomping and dancing along with him. Running back to where Lyra was still wailing on that mouth harp, Lero again dropped to his knees as his lover draped herself against his back.

--Lero--

Sometimes I feel, I feel a little sad inside,

when the world mistreats me, but the sadness never lasts when you’re all by my side.

--Lero & Band--

I need you you you

Lifting his hands to the sky, Lero called on the audience to join them in their song...

They happily obliged.

--Lero & Band & Crowd--

I need you you you

Getting back to his feet, Lero danced his way back into the crowd, waving his arms and pointing at random townsfolk. Their song echoed back at them from the walls of the nearby buildings, making a few dozen ponies sound more like hundreds.

--Lero & Band & Crowd--

I need you you you

Overhead Derpy flew above the crowd, flipping little loop-the-loops as she worked her trumpet. Give her an instrument to keep her mind occupied and her flying would improve no end.

As the crowd continued to chant, the band leading the way while Lero waved his hands in encouragement whenever they started to falter, he once again addressed the crowd.

--Lero--

You know people, when you do find that special somepony

Hold that stallion, hold that mare

Love them, please them, squeeze them, please them,

Hold, squeeze and please that pony, give 'em all your love

Signify your feelings with every gentle caress

Because it's so important to have that special somepony

to hold, kiss, miss, squeeze and please

With the audience’s chanting in their ears, Lero and Lyra pranced their way around the market square, Lyra’s harmonica weaving its way around Lero’s lyrics. Pinkie and her band were by now bouncing their way all around the crowd as, up above them all, Derpy and her trumpet span in excited little circles.

--Lero--

Everybody needs somebody

Everybody needs somebody to love

Someone to love

Sweetheart to miss

Sugar to kiss

I need you you you

--Crowd--

I need you you you

--Lero--

In the morning

--Crowd--

I need you you you

--Lero--

When my soul's on fire

--Band & Crowd--

I need you you you

Lifting his arms into the air, Lero brought the song to its crescendo. Pinkie, reining the band in, ended the song just as Lero’s arms dropped.

**************

As the last notes, and the crowd’s chanting, faded away, the audience jumped and shouted and clopped and stomped and just generally made about as much noise as they could.

On the other side of the square, Mayor Mare, who’d come out of her office to see what all the ruckus was about, just rolled her eyes before heading back up the stairs into town hall.

Panting slightly, Lero crouched down in front of a... stunned was the only word for it, Honeydew.

“You know,” he said as he ran a single finger under the gob-smacked pony’s chin, using the digit to close her mouth, “if you listened to your sisters, cleaned up your act a bit, and stopped being Little-Miss-Angry-Pants all the time, you might find yourself your own special somepony to love. Could be just what you need, no?”

Gently, he bopped her on the end of her nose with his finger before standing himself back up..

“Anyway,” he added, “just a thought. Have a nice day.”

Wandering away, the human dropped his microphone back into the box from whence it had come before picking up his shopping bag and heading off towards Carrot Top’s stall as if nothing at all untoward had just happened.

With the last of the instruments packed away, Pinkie lifted the bulging cardboard crate onto her back, gave Honeydew a wink, and wandered off herself back towards Sugercube corner.

All around them, the townsfolk drifted away, returning to whatever it was they were doing before all some random music-of-harmonyless musical pandemonium had broken out.

Less than a minute after it had ended, it was impossible to tell anything out of the ordinary had even occurred, leaving Honeydew to peer suspiciously into her ‘shine jug, wondering if it was maybe time to cut down on the booze now that it was giving her full-on hallucinations.

“I... err...” Honeybee’s voice came from behind the melon stall, “I think I got somepony I need to go see. I’ll, aaah, catch you both later.”

Spreading her wings, the pegasus took flight, flapping her way across the market square and away.

“Actually,” came the soft voice of the youngest Honey sibling, “me too. Sorry sis. I’ll be back to help pack up later, but I... I gotta go.”

Pulling her apron over her head, Honeysuckle dropped it onto the countertop and wandered off, vaguely in the direction of Bon Bon’s BonBons, leaving Honeydew alone with her thoughts and her melons.

Author's Note

"Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" was written by Bert Berns, Solomon Burke and Jerry Wexler way back in 1964 but it's probably best remembered from the Blues Brothers movie... the ONLY Blues Brothers movie.

And it still rocks.

47: A feast for your eyes to see, an explosion of catastrophe.

A feast for your eyes to see, an explosion of catastrophe.
Chapter published 31st Oct 2014
*****************

It was a dark and stormy night.

No, really, it was.

It was the night... the night that young fillies and colts whispered about in playgrounds and schoolyards; the night that the adults talked about in hushed tones when they thought that the children could not hear them; the night that those in charge tried oh-so-hard to wrap in a veil of secrecy, to keep the details hidden from young eyes and ears.

Tonight - the night - the night of nights.

The young gathered all together, staying in groups for safety, crowding around the older children, the teenagers who had been tasked with keeping the younger ones safe, to shepherd them out of harm’s way until the night was over.

This was the night... the night that she would return. They all knew it, every single filly and colt, no matter how the adults had tried to hide it from them. They knew what was coming.

Time was almost up, the wait almost over, and soon, soon she, Nightmare Moon herself, would return.

For tonight was Nightmare Night.

***********************

The adults of Ponyville were ready. They’d spaced themselves out around town exactly as the plan dictated.

The earth ponies had spent the afternoon moving the heavier tools and equipment into position whilst the unicorns had spent their time setting up protective barriers and charms. All the while the pegasi had been working the skies; charging and relocating clouds, setting up weather banks and surreptitiously keeping a watchful eye on the town below them, and especially on the youngsters.

Soon, soon she would be here... and the town of ponyville would be ready for her.

Plans had been made, blueprints drawn up, outfits and uniforms created. They had set up barricades, created bottlenecks. They all had their roles, their positions, their responsibilities. They’d even brought in help from the big city. They’ve been told, time and again, that they’d hired the best- and so far they hadn’t been disappointed.

The stage was set, and they were ready.

She was coming, and they were ready.

The time had come, and they were ready.

The mistress of the night was approaching. They knew what she wanted to happen, how she expected this night to play out, and they knew just how to deal with it.

Tonight was the night, tonight was the night they had spent weeks preparing for, tonight was the night it all happened.

For tonight was Nightmare Night.

********************

Thunder rolled and lightning flashed.

Silver armour glinted in the moonlight as her ethereal mane flowed around her head and back. Cat like eyes of brilliant teal flashed as wickedly sharp teeth glinted, shining brightly against her jet black coat..

All around her, her guards gathered- a sea of bat wings and fur-tipped ears.

All across town her minions had scattered, moving out according to carefully laid out plans, taking their pre-planned positions with military precision.

Oh, how the children would run, how they would cry out in fright. How they would scamper and wail, as they were chased and contained, ushered and herded, right up until they were exactly where she wanted them.

Oh, yes. Right. Where. She. Wanted. Them.

All of them... every single filly and colt. This would be a night that none of them would ever forget. The night to end all nights.

This night... this night was going to be perfect.

For tonight was Nightmare Night.

******************

Between the buildings they ran, brilliant shafts of moonlight peeking between the structures lighting their way. Tiny hooves thundered down the twisting alleyways, foals pressed close together as they ran. Some of the older unicorn foals created small balls of light around their horns, trying to add what little extra light they could to their procession.

At the head of the group was one of their leaders, one of the original three, her white coat and purple and pink curls tinted with the pale green of the shimmering ball of magic she was projected around her own horn.

Way out in front was the second of the original three, her orange wings beating, holding her aloft as she peered around the next corner, checking that it was safe for the rest of them to proceed across the small crossways where two sets of alleyways met. Confident that the coast was clear she motioned for the rest to follow.

Scuttling from shadow to shadow to shadow, the group moved a few at a time from behind one building to the next, each foal dashing across the narrow gap between the two structures.

With only a few left to make the short but exposed distance, a groaning suddenly came from the side alley as a lumbering figure - an earth pony mare with glassy eyes and a washed out grey coat - lurched out of the shadows.

At the sight of the colourless - and cutie-markless figure - one of the smaller colts screamed, a high pitched girly scream. As the rest of the group turned to glare at him, silently scolding him for giving away their position, he pointed at the nearest filly, attempting to pass the blame. Nopony was fooled, even for a second.

But it was too late, the figure was onto them and with a second mindless groan it turned and shuffled towards them. From the far end of the alleyway they could hear others of its ilk answer its call with similar grunts and groans.

As the alleyway behind them was blocked by similar slowly shuffling, washed out figures, the third of the original three picked up the last few stragglers, Tossing the them onto her back she used her earth pony stamina to carry them off down the alleyway after the rest of the rapidly fleeing group.

With their pursuers still slowly shuffling along behind them, the gaggle of foals continued their flight for freedom through the backstreets. Every so often their pegasus guide would urge them to stop while she checked out up ahead, either calling them to join her or urging them back so they could try another route, all the while making sure that they remained undetected.

Anytime any of the younger pegasi try to take to the air, the ominous sounds of bat wings flapping overhead could be heard, causing them to drop to the ground once again. Should any foal think to try one of the back doors to the buildings that they passed they’d find it either locked up tight, or the darkened house beyond would be full of nothing more than mindless, groaning adults.

The original three, their older caretakers, had said that they were heading towards the town square, though the journey had taken them all about town rather than down anything like a direct route. Every shortcut that they’d tried had been blocked, either by a shuffling figure here, a bat winged night-pegasus there, or a glint of tooth or claw wherever they’d tried to dart or dash.

Eventually they came to alleyway behind Bon-Bon’s Bon Bons, which meant that the town square was just ahead. Her back pressed against the wall, the purple haired leader crept forward, just far enough that she could peer into the square itself. Seeing nothing between their hidden alleyway and The Clockwork Clinic directly opposite - the slowly swaying sign hanging in the darkened window declaring that the Doctor was not in - the pegasus motioned for the group to follow her out across the cobbles.

One at a time, foal by foal, the youngsters moved out of the safety of the shadows, clumping together not far from Rosehip’s Tea Shoppe. Slowly, as a group, they crept their way across the town square, darting from oversized toadstool tables of Garcon’s Cafe to the cover of the town square’s central fountain as fast as they could without the clatter of their hooves against the cobblestones giving them away.

This was it, they were home free... they’d almost made it.

Almost.

Form all around them maniacal laughter boomed, the sound filling the square, rattling both teeth and shop windows.

From the darkness of the alleys, from the cover of the doorways, from behind chimney stacks and from under thatched eaves they came.

The minions of Nightmare moon, the followers of mistress of darkness, the children of the night.

From the shadows came the Zomponies; their grey, washed out coats leaving them virtually indistinguishable from each other as they shuffled about the square.

Silently touching down on the rooftops of the nearby building came the Vamponies; their glowing eyes and sharp fangs glinted in the darkness.

Rhythmical clopping rang across the square as the Headless Ponies came next; their rusty horseshoes ringing out like bells whenever they hit the hard, cobbled ground.

Behind them came more Headless Ponies, this time riding upon the backs of other Headless Ponies. The riders clopped their forehooves together, the metal on metal action sending a clanging all around the square. They didn't need either heads or faces to make it plain that they were laughing. And not the nice kind of laughing either... no, the evil kind.

All around the edges of square, the air shimmered as the Night-Mages released their invisibility spells, robe clad unicorn after robe clad unicorn popping into existence with a tiny flash accompanied by the smell of ozone. Tiny arcs of lightning danced around their eyes as each came into view, the same harsh sparks dancing across their teeth as they smiled their disquieting smiles at their captives.

Hoping from rooftop to rooftop came the Marewolves; their shaggy tails swishing from side to side as they threw back their equally shaggy heads and howled to the moon, celebrating their mistress’s certain victory.

And above them all flew the Thestrals, the Night-Pegasi; their sharp fangs and silver armour catching the moon’s rays and reflecting them down into the square like some kind of twisted disco ball.

From its rightful place high in the night sky, the moon steadied its gaze, focusing just a small portion of its power, merging moonbeam after moonbeam into one huge beam, pushing it downwards, illuminating the very heart of Ponyville with a biggest spotlight the nation had ever seen.

All the while, the maniacal laughter continued, echoing through streets and alleyways, bouncing down cobbled avenues and leafy lanes, around the trees it carried far and wide on the breeze.

The sound of wings beating against the cool night air broke the laughter, an immense shape moving across the moon. These huge, glossy wings spread wide, casting a huge silhouette on the ground below, clearly defined from one side of the square to the other.

The figure descended, slowly, ever so slowly. Without a single sound four gleaming silver horseshoes touched down as wings folded inwards, tucked against their owner’s sides.

Stepping forwards, into the middle of the square, the mistress of the night grinned, moonlight reflected from her bared fangs dancing around the crowd.

As one, her minions bowed to her, their heads - those that had still them - held low, eyes averted from their majesty’s radiance.

Throwing her head back, Nightmare Moon laughed, long and loud.

The time had come, the time long foretold, the time long planned and prepared for... the time was now.

For this was Nightmare Night.

********************

“So, we meet again, my young friends,“ NIghtmare grinned as she towered over the gathering of tiny fillies and colts in front of her, their innocent young faces staring back up at her, the silver moonlight reflected back at her from the whites of their eyes. “I have you now, my tasty little morsels. You and your little appetizers too!”

As the children huddled around their trio of caretakers, the pegasi of the three took a step forward.

“You’ll never win, Nightmare Moon,” Scootaloo stated with confidence, her wings flared and chest pushed out in an attempt to make the teenager look as large as she possibly could. It was a valiant attempt, but against a full grown alicorn she had no chance of looking anything other than tiny.

“You really think so, young Toodle-oo?” NIghtmare snorted. “Nice try, but I don’t think so.”

Sweeping a wing, the alicorn of the night took in the entire square around them, full as it was of her creatures of the night.

“Do you not see what you're up against.”

Dissolving herself into a glittering silver cloud, Nightmare rolled all across the cobbled ground before reforming into a foal sized version of herself in the middle of the crowd of similarly sized foals.

“I am here.”

She dissolved again, a young teenage version reforming right next to Applebloom.

“I am there.”

She reached out and tweaked the nose of one of the fillies still carried on the earth pony’s back before melting away again, just to reform as a late-teenage-version of herself at Sweetie Belle’s side. Resting the elbows of her forelimbs on the young unicorn’s back, a tall glass of chocolate milkshake with two straws appeared in the alicorn’s hooves.

“I am everywhere.”

Taking a long pull on her milkshake, the alicorn winked an eye, winking herself out of existence just seconds later.

“You think you can defeat the night? You know nothing! I. Am. The. NIght.”

As the alicorn’s disembodied voice echoed around the square. Sweetie Belle stepped forward to stand at her young herdmate’s side.

“You don’t scare us, Nightmare Moon, “ the unicorn stated to empty air.

“Yeah,” Applebloom added, one of the fillies on her back waving a tiny hoof in agreement.

“Really?” came the disembodied reply. “In which case, my dear little Apple Blossom, you haven't truly grasped what you're up against.”

From the darkest and shadows of every corner of the town square burst hundreds of tiny black shapes, each fluttering and flapping on their own tiny pair of black wings. Within seconds each of the itsy-bitsy forms had converged on a single section of the square, where a large stage had been set up. The bats flapped their way into the center of the stage where they they formed a cloud, which itself burst into a puff of smoke which blew away to leave the alicorn of the night standing alone in front of a huge pair of closed, dark blue velvet curtains.

“I think it’s about time,” huge black wings spread wide as the moon itself narrowed its gaze down upon the stage, illuminating the mare of the moment, “that I took you kids back to school.“

Behind Nightmare Moon, the stage curtains whisked open, revealing a full orchestra of drooling, glassy eyed earth pony musicians. Each of the mares and stallions stood stiffly, a sea of light grey coats and dark grey manes, their instruments held tightly against their bodies, crumpled sheets of music lay on stands before each and every one of them.

From the wings strode a single earth pony mare, her usual grey on grey colouration dyed just for tonight into shades of brilliant crimson and scarlet with a large black panda-like blotch around each of her eyes. Reaching the conductor's podium, she bowed to the mistress of the night before turning and picking up her baton. Tapping the baton against her music stand, she let out a small cough... then a bigger cough... then an even bigger hacking, spluttering cough.

Turning to face her audience, Dead-tavia held out her forehoof so the colts and fillies could see what she had coughed up.

“Sorry, just had a frog in my throat,” she quipped. The large green frog sitting on her hoof just rolled its eyes and hopped away as, from the rear of the stage, a trombonist dropped in a quick wah-wah-wah-wah-waaaah.

“Maestro,“ Nightmare interrupted, feigning annoyance, “if you would? We don’t have all night you know.”

Putting a hoof to her chin, the alicorn made a big show of pondering her own words before grinning widely at the audience.

“Actually... We Do!” She cried, “For The Night. Shall Be. Eternal! Bwahahahaha!”

As the band struck up their tune, Nightmare hopped off of the stage and danced her way over to her captive audience. All around the edges of the square, the minions of the night swayed from side to side as they joined in with the Nightmare’s song.

Dancing and twirling around the square, Nightmare’s magic flashed as she repeatedly disappeared here, just to reappear there. Zomponies lurched from shadow to shadow whilst Thestrals fluttered overhead. From the rooftops Marewolves howled and Vamponies hissed as the orchestra of the undead played their song.

--Nightmare Moon--

Fillies and colts all over town

Don’t you know what’s going down

Deep in your bones you can feel the chill

As I sweep through the town of Ponyville

--Minions--

This is Nightmare Night, this is Nightmare Night

--Nightmare Moon--

Your cries and screams are my delight

--Minions--

This is Nightmare Night, little foals all filled with fright

--Nightmare Moon--

My minions chasing every youngster in sight

--Minions--

Into your town, into your dreams

--Nightmare Moon--

I’ll slither and I’ll crawl and I’ll make you scream

--Nightmare Moon--

I am the one whispering inside your head

Invading your dreams while you’re lying in bed

I am the mistress of the shadows at night

Pushing and pulling and overpowering the light

--Minions--

This is Nightmare Night, this is Nightmare Night.

Nightmare Night! Nightmare Night! Nightmare Night! Nightmare Night!

--Nightmare Moon--

In this town you call home

--Minions--

Everypony listen to the NIghtmare’s song

Your fear and fright, don't we love it now

Every monster yearning for your screams and cries

--Vamponies and Thestrals--

Way up high, Vamponies and the Thestrals fly

Waiting for our chance to carry you high

--Zomponies--

Zomponies make your stomach churn

--Marewolves--

Marewolves to our kind you’ll turn

--Zomponies and Marewolves--

Once we get our teeth on you

--Headless Ponies--

Still not scared

--Headless Ponies Riding On Other Headless Ponies--

It won’t last

--Night Mages--

Once our evil magic gets a hold of you

--Nightmare Moon--

I can’t wait to start the endless night.

Colts and fillies all fleeing in fright.

It’s gonna be such an awesome sight

--Minions--

Everypony scream, cower in the light

--Nightmare Moon--

On this, my night of Nightmare Night

--Minions--

Zomponies moaning that they never die

Vamponies hunting you from the sky

Olden Ponies searching for their rusty horse shoe

And the NIght Mages are coming, and they’re coming for you

--Nightmare Moon--

I watched you all from the moon at night

Plotting my escape from my prison so tight

--Minions--

This is Nightmare Night, this is Nightmare Night

Nightmare Night! Nightmare Night! Nightmare Night! Nightmare Night!

Nightmare Night! Nightmare Night!

--Minions--

Shivering little foals running everywhere

Life's no fun without a good scare

--Nightmare Moon--

It’s my pleasure to fill you with fright.

On this my night of Nightmare NIght.

--Minions--

This is Nightmare Night, this is Nightmare Night.

Nightmare Night! Nightmare Night! Nightmare Night! Nightmare Night!

As the minion’s chant died away, Nightmare Moon returned to her position in the middle of the stage. Behind her the orchestra took a slow - and creaky - bow as they downed their instruments.

“So, my lovely, tasty little colts and fillies...” Nightmare eyed the crowd, giving her wings a quick flap just for the flourish, “do you see what you're up against? There’s no way you can win again my army of the night!”

Once again, Sweetie Belle stepped forward.

“You’ll never win, Nightmare Moon,” she declared, “Princess Celestia will save us.“

“Bwahahaahaha,” the alicorn of the night laughed in response, “oh, my dear little Sweetie Bot...”

With a quick flash of Nightmare’s horn, Sweetie Belle was suddenly covered in a full body wrap of what looked like baking foil, giving her the appearance of some kind of... cyberpony.

“...you still don’t get it, do you? I’m afraid that my sister can’t help you now, especially now that your Precious Princess Prissy Plot has been banished forever... TO THE SUN!”

At each side of the stage, large spotlights flared into life, spinning in place before settling on a spot on Ponyville Town Hall’s topmost balcony. A collective gasp came from the audience as they saw what was awaiting their gaze.

Mounted up on the roof was a huge... massive... gi-nor-mouse even, cardboard cut out of the sun, covered in gold foil with golden streamers flapping from the disc’s edge like sunbeams.

But what made the crowd really gasp was what was poking from a hole in the centre of the cardboard moon... Princess Celestia’s head.

Fixing her younger sister with a stern gaze, with just the front of her ethereal mane flowing with the sun-beam streamers, the alicorn of the day uttered three little words.

“Princess. Prissy. Plot?”

“Quiet, prisoner!” Nightmare cried, “Stick to the script.“

Trying her best not to laugh - and not doing a very good job of it - Celestia recited her lines.

“Oh noes! Mine all powerful and absolutely lovely-eth little sister hast defeated me-eth. Whatever are we to do-eth?”

“Do?” Nightmare called back from her spot down at centre-stage. “You shall do... eth nothing but watch, fool, as l bring forth night eternal. Guards! Guards!”

Pacing back and forth across the stage, Nightmare glared theatrically into the wings.

“Where is my Captain of the Guards?” she cried.

From the wings came Captain Shield- though rather than sporting his usual Night Guard uniform enchantment he was all dressed up in a hoof-made Thestral costume. It was very impressive, it had to be said, even if one of his fluffy ears was starting to come a bit loose at the edges.

“My. Lady.” Captain Shield said slowly, his words stilted with nervousness. Give him a spear and something to poke and he’d be fine... stick him on stage in front of dozens of youngsters and... well... he was a little less fine. “My. Lady. Your. Captains. Have. Arrived.”

“Very good, Private Shield.” Nightmare replied, emphasising her subordinate’s rank, “Bring them forward.”

As Private Shield shuffled awkwardly to one side, Captain Hide - also in a hoof-made Thestral costume, though he carried it off with a lot more fabulousness than his tongue-tied colleague - stepped out of the wings, escorting this evening’s two guest Captains.

With Captain Hide guiding them to centre of the stage, Captains Pipsqueak and Dinky took up their positions on the pieces of coloured tape that had been marked out for them. Like the older guards, Pip was wearing a hoof-made Thestral costume - and looking rather dashing in it as many of his fellow teenagers had already noticed - while Dinky was clad in a thestral glamour of her own creation.

The teenage filly’s horn sputtered occasionally as she struggled to maintain the spell, the bulk of the armour flickering in and out of existence or her own coloration momentarily showing though just to be covered up again just as quickly. Nightmare was impressed- a glamour of this nature, especially without any kind of external enchantment to assist, usually took months to perfect... and young Dinky had managed to hold it for this long, and at this age, without help. This girl was one to keep an eye on.

Head held high and chest puffed out, Captain Pip announced their arrival.

“My liege!” He darn-near shouted, “I, Captain Pip, am at your service!”

“Very good,” Nightmare acknowledged, checking her ears, “and your colleague?”

“Captain Dinky, your highness.”

“Good, very good.” Nightmare walked around behind and then between them, spreading her wings wide so she could rest them on her young Captains’ backs and usher them closer to the front of the stage.

“So, what do you think we should do with these...” the alicorn grinned again, flashing her teeth at the crowd, many of whom responded by shaking their forehooves at the evil princess, “...interlopers, hmmm? These jackanapes? These fiddle-faddlers? Should we bring out the iron-maiden? The stocks? The rack?”

“The comfy chairs?” Private Hide stage whispered from his place at the edge of the stage.

“The soft cushions?” Private Shield stage whispered back.

“Be quiet, my lowliest of minions!” Nightmare shut the both of them down with a glare, “or it’s five years dungeon for both of you... again,” she shrieked.

“Yes, boss.”

“So, my dear Captains,” Nightmare bent her neck down to bring her head level with her two guests as she continued in a conspiratorial manner, “what dastardly punishments should we inflict on these foolish children that believe they can stand up to me, the mighty and quite frankly magnificent Nightmare Moon!”

With a determined nod, Pip made his choice.

“The spiders!” he said.

“The spiders?” Nightmare asked.

“Oh no, not the spiders!” Dinky cried.

“Yes!” Pip declared. “The spiders!”

“Bwahahahaha!“ Nightmare laughed as she held a single forehoof daintily to her lips, “The spiders! I like the way you think, young Captain Pip.”

Spreading her wings wide, Nightmare made her declaration to the skies above Ponyville.

“Bring forth... THE SPIDERS!”

From all around the edges of the town square, up at roof height, dozens of small dark clouds appeared from where they had been hidden, each pushed into place by a single black clad pegasus.

“NOW, DROP, MY PRETTIES!”

From the bottom of each of the clouds dropped a large black papier-mache spider on a string, each hanging just low enough to be just a few feet from the ground. As each spider dingled and dangled, bobbing around on its string, the pegasi above pushed the clouds around the town square, chasing the crowds of children as they ran about letting out screams and shouts... and quite a bit of giggling too.

“Okay, gang!” Applebloom shouted as the pair of fillies still on her back hoofed over foam baseball bats to every eager child that wanted one, Sweetie-bot and Scootaloo passing out the rest, “let’s show these nasty spiders who’s boss.”

As what occurred next involved dozens of poor defenseless papier-mache spiders against just as many over-excited children wielding foam baseball bats... Well, the outcome was pretty much a given from the start, especially once the kids discovered that each spider was stuffed full of brightly wrapped sweets, courtesy of Bon-Bon’s Bon-Bons - proud co-sponsor of this year’s Nightmare Night festivities.

From the back of the stage, Dead-tavia waved her baton frantically as the orchestra played a fast-paced little number, one most suitable for the confectionery based carnage that was erupting all around them.

It didn’t take long for the kids to track down each and every spider and batter its little sugary brains out. Even the spiders whose cloud-wranglers had thought themselves particularly clever by hiding their spiders behind the bushes or on top of window frames, as no matter where they hid the kids proved - once again - that wherever parents hid any snacky sweets, tasty treats or even the whole cookie jar, kids always knew where they were like they had some kind of glucose based radar.

As the children ran around the town square, searching for any plump and tasty victims that may have escaped their clutches, that one last sweetie laden prize that even now could be shivering on the end of its bit of string, a plaintive wail came from the stage.

“STOOOOOOOP!”

With one last blast from an over enthusiastic tuba, the orchestra ceased their playing as Nightmare stomped her way to the very front of the stage.

“You may have defeated my spiders, but you will never defeat... My Minions!”

Spreading her wings wide, Nightmare called forth her minions from where they’d been hanging out all around the edges of the square. Zomponies moaned as they shuffled and lurched forwards, Marewolves howled as they hopped from rooftop to rooftop while Night Mages conjured balls of flames on upturned forehooves.

“Prepare to face your doom!” Nightmare threw back her head and laughed her maniacal laugh as her minions moved ever closer to her audience, growling and hissing as they slowly shambled their way across the cobblestones.

Pretty soon the foals had been backed into a group in the middle of the square and all was looking grim.

But then, from the rooftops came a shout, a cry of salvation.

“NOT SO FAST, NIGHTMARE MOON!”

As one, the foals turned to find their saviors watching over them. The six mares that would save them from the dark princess of darkness and stuff.

Standing on the rooftop balcony of Sugarcube Corner were two unicorns and two earth ponies while hovering above them were two pegasi mares.

Across each of their backs was a short, brightly coloured cape which conveniently matched their brightly coloured boots and nicely accentuated their equally brightly coloured short pleated skirts.

Around five necks lay five of the elements of harmony while the sixth sat in a golden tiara atop one of the unicorns’ heads.

All six struck heroic poses that really managed to show off their heroic outfits, all while the orchestra played for them a short symphony suitable for a heroic entrance. On the whole it was pretty heroic.

The four non-pegasi hopped down from the roof and into the centre of the square, one of the earth ponies managing to snaffle some escapee spider guts on the way before stuffing it into her mouth. The two pegasi flapped their way down to join them as all six soon formed a line facing the stage, the crowd of foals between them and Nightmare Moon.

As hidden pegasi off at one end of the square flapped their wings to create a stiff breeze, the short brightly coloured capes draped across each of the six mares’ backs fluttering in the wind, the group’s leader stepped forward to face down the evil princess, her striped mane flapping in a gosh-darn heroic manner.

“You’ll never triumph, Nightmare Moon,” the purple unicorn declared, “not while we - I can’t believe I’m saying this - the Pretty Pretty Princess Luna Guardian Scouts have anything to say about it!”

“And me!” came a shout from behind her as a green scaly biped about the size of a tall earth pony stepped out of the darkness of an alleyway. He was wearing a tastefully tailored black suit with matching top hat and tails with a white dress shirt and gloves. He was also wearing a black mask covering his eyes to protect his true identity but, to be honest, he could have been wearing a full body potato sack and everypony in town would still have known who it was.

“Don’t forget me - Tuxedo Dragon!”

“Yes, and him,“ the purple unicorn agreed.

“So, who are you seven supposed to be?” Nightmare asked with a sneer, “I didn’t think the circus would be in town for at least another week.”

“Circus? Where?” One of the earth pony guardian scouts asked as she bounced all over the place searching for the aforementioned source of entertainment. The unicorn scout that wasn’t currently glaring down the alicorn of the night had to grab her and pull her back into line before she managed to bounce her way right out of town.

“Well Ah’m the Element’a Honesty, yer royal snootyness, an’ Ah’m here ta put yer right back in ya’ box,” the orange earth pony scout said.

“I’m the Element of Kindness,” the pink pegasi scout next to her added, “and, erm... have you tried being not evil? I’m sure if we all just sat down and talked about it you’d find that being nice is much more fun than being all meany mean-pants. How about a nice cup of tea? I have carrot cake if you’d like some.”

“Oh, that sounds divine, my dear,” the white unicorn of the group added. “I’m the Element of Generosity and I must say, Nightmare darling, though I positively love the black and silver look you have going on here, I do feel it may be a bit severe for this time of year. Have you considered maybe a nice deep blue instead? It'd be very striking while a touch less... fierce. Or a few dabs less with the eyeshadow perhaps?”

“SILENCE, FOOL!”

“Well, it was just a suggestion. Maybe next time?“

With just a quick flap of her wings, the sky blue pegasi of the group shot over the heads of the crowd and thrust herself all up in Nightmare’s face.

“Hi. I’m the Element of Awesomeness, and you don’t scare me.”

“Rainbow!”

“Oh come on Twi, can’t a girl ad-lib a bit?”

“NO!”

“Phooey. Okay, so I’m the Element of Loyalty, yadda yadda yadda, and if you don’t cease and desist I’m gunna have to get all sonic rainboom-y on your flank. So quit it, you got that?”

“YEAH!” came a shout from smack-dab in the middle of the crowd as a pink head with a equally pink poofey mane appeared from the depths of a sack of candy much, much smaller than she was, “I’mTheElementOfLaughterAndWeveComeToMagicOfFriendshipYouUpYouBEEEYATCumphhh”.

With a sky blue hoof stuffed in her mouth, the hyperactive pink pony found herself being carried back to the join the others.

“Sorry,” the Element of Loyalty added sheepishly, “she’s had a teeny bit too much sugar.”

“...umfNEVER! There’s No Such Thing!”

Shaking her head, the purple unicorn moved back to the front of the group.

“And I’m the Element of Magic, and I demand that you cease this act of evil, you evil-doing doer of evilest evil, or in the name of the true mistress of the moon we will punish you!”

“Really?” Nightmare asked, a crafty smirk gracing her lips.

“Really!” her unicorn nemesis confirmed.

“So, quite what do you six silly fillies-”

“And me!” Spik... err, Tuxedo Dragon added.

“-expect to do, hmm?”

“OH WE’RE GUNNA GO ALL DARK AGES ON YOUR FLummph” the pretty pink earth pony scout started before her white unicorn friend managed to subdue her.

Really putting her back into it, Nightmare leaned back, head to the sky, and laughed her most maniacal laugh so far. Thunder and lightning crashed all around her from several of the small dark clouds overhead as her black-clad pegasi helpers worked their magic, which mainly involved jumping up and down on their own particular clouds.

“BWAHAHAHAHA!”

She was really starting to enjoy this.

“Oh, you're not going to do anything to me, especially you, Twilight Sprinkles! And yes, I do know your secret identity... not like it was much of a secret.”

Nightmare swept out a single forehoof towards the back of the stage, where a loud squeaking could be heard from the walkways far above the orchestra.

“...for behold, I have captured your beloved coltfriend!”

From the lighting gantry above the stage was slowly lowered a struggling figure, wiggling and thrashing against the ropes around his torso that held him tightly bound, his dangling feet coming to a stop just a scant few horn-widths from the stage.

A gasp of shock moved through the crowd. They knew the Guardian Scouts were really in a bind now - no pun intended - as the evil Nightmare Moon had the coltfriend of two of the scouts in her clutches. Whatever would they do next?

Moving over to the human’s side, Nightmare ran a forehoof down the human’s chest, all the while giving the Element of Magic the ol’ stink eye.

“Oh, look. I have your man, however did that happen? Now, I’ll just deal with you six-”

“Seven!”

“-quickly so I can take him back to my moon castle and do all kinds of... mmmm... naughty things to him.”

As the alicorn ran her forehooves all over the human’s chest - more licking of lips going on than anyone had expected - Lero lent as close to his captor’s ear as he could and whispered, “you know, Luna, I think you might be starting to enjoy this a bit too much.”

“Hush, you,” the alicorn whispered back as the chest rubbing diminished... not one bit.

Pushing her captive away so that he was left swinging slowly back and forth - and feeling not just a little bit seasick - Nightmare walked back into the centre of the stage, making sure that her fore-hooves ended up exactly on the correct tape marks on the floorboards.

“Oh yes, you will lose, you silly fillies,” the alicorn mocked, “and I will have... IT ALL! Bwahahahha.”

There was a long pause, after which Nightmare turned to glare up at the large dark cloud hovered over the stage behind her,

“AHEM!! And I Will Have It ALL!”

Thunder rolled around the square as lightning flashed and shot out of the cloud, scorching the stage in several places. Better late than never. From the pegasi atop of the cloud, small tufts of blonde mane poking out of her outfit, came an apologetic, “Sorry! I got this!”

Stamping a hoof on the cobblestones, Nightmare’s nemesis brought everypony’s attention back to her.

“Oh, it won’t be me stopping you, Nightmare Moon. The power of friendship is within every pony. You may have foalnapped my stallion, but you still cannot defeat us!”

As the Element of Kindness and the Element of Aweso... Loyalty moved to opposite sides of the crowd, the Elements of Honesty and Generosity started gathering the foals around them

“Come on in, kids, gather ‘round. Git in nice an’ close now.“

As the foals gathered around the adult mare’s hooves, the pink scout bounced her way around the crowd.

“OH YEAH! LET’S GET READY TO BLAST THIS BITC-umph”

“No more sugar for you, darling.”

“-uurghNOOOOOO!”

“It’s too late, Sprinkles. I’ve won... nopony will be saved from my minions’ clutches.”

As if to emphasise the point, the various Zomponies, Vamponies and the like gave out a collective “yaaargh”, just to remind everypony that they were still there.

“Never! Together we’ll save everypony. Even you!”

“Ha!” Nightmare laughed. “And why would I need saving?”

“Because you need it more than anypony here, so that’s what we’re going to do!”

“Yeah” the Element of Loyalty added from the edge of the crowd where she was making sure that every pony was in place, “take this, Nightmare Moon.”

As if on cue - which it actually was - a rainbow ring of light formed around the group of foals, spinning faster and brighter with every passing second.

“Come on, kids. You gotta believe in the magic of friendship!”

From the back of the stage, the orchestra struck up a hopeful tune, one of soaring violins and powerful brass. As the rainbow ring span faster and faster, its colours shining brighter and brighter, the music became louder, the tempo increasing, becoming ever more confident.

Faster and faster the ring span, harmless but impressively sparkly offshoots of magic flying off and bouncing off of walls, doors, windows, anything that got in its way.

Where the magic hit any of Nightmare’s minions they’d shimmer and shine before flashing out of existence. In less than a minute every monster, mage or member of the undead had been banished back to whence they had came.

“Nooooo! My minions!”

Without warning the ring exploded outwards, its waves of colour washing outwards over the town. Caught in its wake, Nightmare screamed.

“Nooooo! I’m melting!”

With a loud bang and a flash, a vast column of smoke enveloped Nightmare Moon, reaching into the sky, obscuring her from view, just as the orchestra came to their crescendo, the music suddenly cutting off as both silence and darkness fell over the town.

Silence continued to reign, even as a single spotlight came to life, lacing out from the lighting gantry to fall on the column of smoke as it finally began to drift away on the cool night breeze.

As the haze cleared, all that was left on the stage was a single, small, light blue alicorn, her even lighter blue mane blowing around her head. Gone were Nightmare Moon’s silver battle armour, replaced instead by Princess Luna’s jet black tiara and torc.

“Luna!”

A second spotlight flared into life, illuminating the cardboard sun at the top of the town hall. Next to it stood Princess Celestia, her mane and wings both spread out freely behind her.

“Celestia!” the smaller alicorn called back.

Princess Celestia had really been looking forward to this bit.

Leaping from the balcony - the spotlight caressing her pure white wings, bouncing the light back all over the square - the alicorn of the day used her mighty wingspan to glide gently down onto the stage where the two sisters rushed to each other and embraced deeply.

The crowd cheered, many of the foals jumped up and down, several hugged and danced and hoped and skipped in little circles in delight. Hidden in alleyways or peeking out from behind nearby buildings, many of the adult ponies did the same... though their monster make-up made it quite the sight to be seen.

“My dearest little sister.” Celestia said, letting her younger sibling go after the cheering had died down a little. “It has been a thousand years since I have seen you and I have missed you so. Will you put our differences aside and rule with me, side by side, in the true spirit of friendship?”

“My beloved older sister.” Luna answered, “I am so sorry for the things that I have done. If you can forgive me, I will stand by your side, as together we lead this land into a future of health and happiness.”

“Then so it shall be,” Celestia nodded as the crowd went wild... again.

Moving to the edge of the stage, the true princess of the night addressed her young audience.

“My beloved subjects. It is I, Princess Luna. Through the power of friendship you have saved me from the corruption of the evilness of Nightmare Moon, and brought peace back to the magical land of Equestria!”

Behind her, her captains - permanent and temporary - wheeled out four of the largest party cannons the town had ever seen.

“Now, my friends, in honour of Nightmare Night... Candy. For. All!”

As one, the four cannons went off, shooting hundreds of gaily wrapped sweets up into the air, each floating back down to earth on its own tiny little parachute.

“OH YEAH! MAKE IT RAIN!” a particularly passionate pink party pony yelled as she leapt from rooftop to rooftop, catching candies on her tongue left and right.

So, yeah, all told this year had been a pretty good Nightmare Night.

Author's Note

This is Halloween is by Danny Elfman.
Any lyrics that aren't in the original are mine, except for:

"I can’t wait to start the endless night.
Colts and fillies all fleeing in fright.
It’s gonna be such an awesome sight"

which are by RainbowDoubleDash (yes, the author behind the Lunaverse) and are used with permission.

48: With smiles and clenching jaws – Part One.

WITH SMILES AND CLENCHING JAWS – PART ONE

Chapter published 6th Jan 2013

April 1223AC

The Wonderbolts were lauded throughout Equestria, and probably far into the Griffin Kingdom and Changeling Territories as well, as the world’s greatest collection of stunt fliers and aerobatic daredevils. It was a reputation quite rightly deserved, as they had no equal, neither within Equestria nor without.

While most ponies assumed that the Wonderbolts would have their headquarters located somewhere airborne like Cloudsdale or near the Wonderbolt Academy, what most didn’t know was that the Wonderbolts HQ was actually housed in a rather non-descript three-floor building deep in the Clerical Quarter of Canterlot.

The reason for its rather low-key location was simple; the powers that be wanted them nearby and ever ready to respond to the call to action, whether it be to dazzle the crowds with feats of aerobatic finesse astonishing enough to make the very birds weep, or protect the population from disaster be it naturally caused or otherwise.

But there was also another reason why the Wonderbolts were so close to the nation’s seat of power, a reason known to only the tiniest percentage of the population at large. Those ‘in the know’ were well aware that there was more to the most public arm of the Royal Equestrian Air Force than met the eye.

Sandwiched between the barracks on the HQ’s ground floor and the prep area and briefing rooms on the top floor, the middle floor housed the support staff and their admin offices. Located at the rear of this floor was a long corridor, with five doors spaced evenly down one side, these being the offices of the Wonderbolt’s team captains.

The first door in the corridor belonged to Spitfire, the overall captain of the Wonderbolts; her name, position and the Wonderbolts logo proudly displayed on the large glass window in the top half of the door.

The second door belonged to Modesty Blaze, the oldest serving member of the Wonderbolts and long-time Captain of the Wonderbolts Academy. Like Spitfire, her name and position were proudly emblazoned across the door’s glass window but this time painted underneath was a large red hexagon with three pegasus in flight silhouetted across it in white.

Next up was the office of Soarin, Spitfire’s long-time second in command and Captain of Team Gold, or the ‘Fighting Falcons’ as they’d come to be known. Under his name and position was a stylised blue pegasus as if seen from above, a red circle with a large white star in the centre spread across its back.

The penultimate office belonged to Fleetfoot, Captain of Team Red. Under her name and position a large blue ring with a simplified version of Celestia’s crown sitting atop of it adorned her window, nine small red Pegasus painted flying in formation within the ring.

At the end of the corridor was a large framed image, barely a year old, mounted on the far wall and stretching almost from the ceiling to the floor where all who walked down the corridor would see it. It displayed a large image of four of the five current captains returning to Canterlot, flying towards the viewer in a ‘Vee’ formation with each of them leaving their own distinctive trail of colour behind them.

Any astute observer would notice almost instantly that a flyer was missing from the formation, an obvious gap left open between Spitfire at the front of the vee and Fleetfoot on her right, an opening where a fifth flyer would normally be positioned.

The same astute observer would also find their eye drawn upwards along a faint trail of prismatic colour and towards the top of the image where the fifth and newest captain could be seen, having peeled away from the formation and heading out at speed towards the stratosphere.

An understated and uncluttered plaque above the image held just two words and two dates. It simply said “For Rapidfire”; the two dates just twenty-seven years apart.

The owner of the final door would stop and look at the image every time she would reach the entrance to her own office. Often she would reach out and almost tenderly touch a fore-hoof against the glass, many a time muttering a quiet apology before letting herself in and gently closing the door behind her.

Today though would prove to be an exception to the previously established order of things. No, today the owner of this last office was storming down the corridor as if she was taking on the world itself. With the sheer amount of fury she was radiating it looked like she might well win.

Giving the image nary a glance she kicked her office door so hard with a front hoof that the lock gave way, sending splinters of wood ricocheting around the office beyond as she stormed over the threshold.

Once inside she gave the door a good hard buck, slamming it shut with so much force that it instantly created a crack running up from the bottom of the glass window. The crack carried on though the image of a blue and yellow shield with its white cloud and four blue flyers painted upon pane, continuing on up across the text that declared her as the Captain of Team Blue, making its way along her name and only finishing its run when it ran out of glass through which to travel.

The occupant of the office noticed none of this as she angrily kicked at her desk a few times before pulling off her sunglasses and throwing them across the room in a fit of temper. Two-hundred-bit aviators suddenly, and at speed, met the edge of a fifty-bit steel filing cabinet. Once again proving that a higher price doesn’t always equate to greater sturdiness they shattered into a dozen pieces that showered the room with small pieces of bent metal and mirrored glass.

As a small fragment of glass fell out of her mane, bouncing from her nose to the carpet below, the Captain was suddenly struck by the realisation that the rather expensive eyewear she had just destroyed had in fact been a present from her stallion, given to her years before for graduating from the Wonderbolts academy at the top of her class.

As conflicting emotions flared within her, suddenly she felt like everything that she’d been bottling up inside her recently, all the worries and doubts and fears that had been packed down so tightly, had finally reached boiling point deep inside her. With her knees threatening to give out beneath her she grabbed her desk chair and slumped down into it, letting her body fall forward until her face impacted the desktop with a quite audible ‘thump’.

For the first time in a very, very long time, Rainbow Dash began to cry.

Rainbow quickly jerked her head up from where it had laid on her desk, a small trail of snot and tears and what was probably drool hung from her face as she looked around. Her eyes stang something awful and she wasn’t even going to start on what was going on with her tongue.

A gentle knocking came from the door, reminding her of what it was that had startled her out of her… What did Twilight call them? ‘Emotional moments’ was it? She had no idea how long she’d been facedown on the desk but she was willing to bet she looked like crap which sure as hay wasn’t the way for any decent captain to be seen.

“Go away.” She shouted at the door, praying that whoever it was out there was nopony who outranked her. “I’m off duty, come back tomorrow.”

“Really? Well that’s even better then.” A somewhat cultured voice drifted from the other side of the door. “That means I’ve got you all to myself.”

The door slowly swung open on it’s recently abused hinges to reveal a pony that Rainbow had never in a thousand years expected to see pitching up outside her office door; the pony in question being Twilight Sparkle’s mother, lecturer at the prestigious Canterlot University and eminent hippopologist, Professor Star Sparkle.

“Permission to come aboard?” Lifting her forehoof from where it was still held out in front of her after pushing the door open, the older mare lifted it to her head in a mock salute, her trademark haughty smirk (and this was a mare who never smiled when one could smirk) of equal parts mischief and condescension gracing her face.

“Uurgh.” Rainbow let her head fall back onto the desk. “That’s the Navy, we’re with the Air Force.” Looking up again she threw out what she hoped was still a semi-decent glare, though she doubted her face was currently in any state to properly pull one off “And we haven’t even had a navy for like, what, couple’a hundred years maybe? You of any pony should know that.“

“Indeed you are correct, my dear. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not polite to ask.” Star Sparkle motioned at the doorway. “So, might I come in?”

Rainbow closed her eyes and used the soft underside of her hoof to pinch at her brow as she’d seen Lero do when he was stressed. He said it helped but it must have been a human thing, as it was doing absolutely nothing for her.

There was a long list of ponies that she really could do without seeing right now and their “mother-in-law”, as her stallion had taken to referring to her as, was most definitely in the top ten. Sure, over the last few years she’d come to… love, or was it tolerate, the mare like a mother. But then, compared to how she felt about her real mother, that wasn’t really saying much and it certainly didn’t mean that the old coot couldn’t drive her totally crazy at times. Maybe she should just have security come up here and…

“Wait, how did you get in here?” Rainbow decided brow-pinching was useless, worse than useless even, so decided to back to glaring instead. “This is a restricted building. Even Twilight can’t get in without a pass.”

Star Sparkle reached into her elegantly tailored jacket with her magic and pulled out a visitor’s pass, the gold and black stripe along its top denoting that it had come direct from the office of the Princesses and therefore entitled her access to all areas.

“Shoot.” Rainbow muttered, Star had quickly been promoted into the top five on her list and now it looked like there was no easy way of getting rid of her either. Accepting the inevitable she gestured to the pair of seats on the far side of her desk. “Best come in and sit down then.”

Closing the door behind her as best she could, Star approached the closest chair and, after giving it a cursory brush over with her tail, lowered herself into it. Once settled she glanced around the office, taking in the pictures on the walls and the small number of mementos dotted about the room. “It’s a nice office.” she remarked, sounding like she didn’t mean it in the slightest. “Large windows, a decent amount of room, almost as big as my office even.” She looked Rainbow directly in the eye and gave that same grin-that-wasn’t that her daughter used when she was being snitty. “Almost”.

“Give me a minute.” Rainbow got up from her desk and trotted swiftly into the small washroom attached to her office. Star had just made it into the top three and this weary pegasus really needed to clean her face - or whatever - before she said something she’d probably regret.

“Of course, dear.” Star’s voice followed her through the door as she reached to undo the buttons of her service uniform. “But please don’t feel you have to change on my account. You know how much I love a mare in uniform.”

Shrugging out of her jacket Rainbow carefully placed it back on its hanger on the washroom wall, wishing for not the first time that a organisation made up purely of pegasi didn’t have a uniform jacket with so many fasteners that any non-unicorn found them a total nightmare to get on and off. “So what are you doing here?” she called back, struggling with her tie.

“Hmmm.” Came the annoyingly vague response as she finally got the damn thing off and hooked it over a second hanger.

“Here, what brings you here?” Wrestling her way out of her shirt she placed it with the tie on the hanger, lifting the whole thing up onto the wall where it hung next to her jacket. “The Uni’s right over on the other side of the city and Wonderbolt HQ is more than a little out of your way.”

“I’ve come to see what’s wrong, my dear.”

This gave Rainbow pause. She looked herself over in the small mirror above her sink. By Luna, she really did look like crap.

“There’s nothing wrong.” She called out. “Why would there be anything wrong?”

There was a momentary silence and Rainbow could hear the professor shifting about in her seat, probably trying to get comfortable. The bean-counters over in the accounts department weren’t known for splashing out on decent chairs when they could get at least two cheap and nasty ones for the same price.

Finally Star gave up with her seat. “Dear, I get a summons from the princess telling me that you need someone to talk to ASAP. I then have a VIP card shoved in my face and find myself escorted post-haste by two royal guards to an unmarked building in the dock end of Canterlot. Obviously somepony thinks something is wrong.”

Rainbow took a moment to run some water into her sink and after splashing it on her face wiped herself off with a handy towel. “No disrespect here, Star, but I don’t think this is something you can help me with.”

“Princess Celestia seems to think otherwise.” Came the somewhat distracted reply. “She said something about me being the ear you needed, even if I wasn’t the ear you wanted.”

Rainbow stared at herself in the mirror. At least now she was starting to look a little more like herself again. “Yeah, that sounds like the sort of vague wiff-waff she usually comes out with. So what else did the princess say?

“That you stormed out of a rather terse meeting with the captain of the Wonderbolts a few hours ago looking like you wanted to kill somepony.“

“Oh.”

“Oh indeed.”

Rainbow ran a hoof through the front of her mane to smooth it out before ruffling it up again into her trademark multi-coloured mess. Much better, now she was back in play.

Trotting out of the washroom and taking her seat behind her desk, she found Star idly gazing around her office.

“But before we get down to any of that there’s the most important question I need to ask.“ Star leant over the desk with what Rainbow had long ago learnt was her most conspiratorial smirk. ”What have you got to drink in this place? It looks like we’ve both had long and rather stressful days and if that doesn’t call for a drink then I don’t know what does.”

Rainbow opened her hooves wide to take in the office as a whole. “Wonderbolts HQ, no hooch allowed. Sorry.” She wasn’t sorry in the slightest and they both knew it.

“Which is exactly why you have some hidden, and don’t tell me you don’t.“ Star’s smirk just got a bit wider. Rainbow hated it when she did that. “What are you worried about, that I’m going to get you drunk and try and take advantage of your inner filly-fooler.”

Rainbow just glared at her across the desk.

“Very well, I promise to behave myself this time.” Star held up her right hoof while folding the left one across her heart ”No repeats of last year’s Hearts Warming Eve, I swear.”

The glare hadn’t lessened in the slightest.

“And no repeats of Nightmare Night from the year before last either.” Star stopped to think. “Or your friend’s wedding… Can’t for the life of me remember which one though.”

The glare subsided and the pegasus moved towards her filing cabinet.

“Oh come now, dear, the good stuff. Not the weak little decoy bottles you keep in the filing cabinet for when you get found out.” Star admonished. “I mean the decent stuff you have cunningly hidden somewhere else.”

Rainbow’s glare made a triumphant return. “What makes you think I have more?”

“Darling, you don’t have a office at Canterlot University for as long as I have without knowing all the tricks. Now come on, break out the good stuff, there’s a good girl.” She swiveled in her chair to indicate the entrance behind her. “I’d lock the door” she waved a hoof at the sorry looking door with its broken lock “But it looks like you’ve been burgled.” Looking back at Rainbow she gave an exasperated look that indicated she knew exactly what had happened to the door. After all, after herding with Lucent for forty years, this wasn't the first badly damaged door she'd ever seen. “The crime rate in this city’s just shocking these days.”

Levitating the second visitor’s chair from its place by the desk she jammed it under the door handle, wedging the door closed. “That’ll have to do.” She declared and turned back to Rainbow, making expectant ‘shooing’ motions with her forehooves.

Opening the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet, Rainbow took out two glasses each containing a few ice cubes in magical stasis fields and placed them on the desk. Then she lifted a replica Commander Hurricane helmet from off of its bust on top of the same cabinet and placed it on the floor. Lifting the bust down to the desk she carefully unscrewed the top of the fake pony’s head to reveal a hidden compartment within, containing two squat and somewhat sizable bottles.

“This…” She said as she passed over a clear unmarked glass bottle. “Is pure prize winning Appleloosian moonshine. Every shot’ll take the plaque off your teeth and at least three IQ points off of your brain. Rarer than alicorn feathers so just don’t ask where I got it. Don’t get it on the furniture either, it’ll take the varnish straight off.”

Star used her magic to roll the bottle in the air in front of her. While this would undoubtedly get her young friend to open up about what was troubling her, it didn’t sound like it’d make for a particularly lengthy conversation.

“And this” Rainbow pulled out the other glass bottle and passed it over. The dark blue bottle, also unmarked, joined its clear sister in Star’s magic field “This is literal moonshine. Distilled by the Princess of the Night herself. Even rarer than the other stuff and much more dangerous to the furniture.”

The princess had a quirky sense of humour it seemed. Traditionally a bottle of this shade of dark blue was meant to warn the user that the container held the most potent of poisons. Legend had it that Luna’s moonshine would loosen lips and lower inhibitions without unduly affecting mental capacity. Until one had consumed enough to kill a donkey that was, once that point was reached it got you as drunk as a skunk faster than anything the Appleloosians had ever managed to come up with. Hopefully these were facts of which Rainbow would not be aware and as long as they kept their imbibing slow and steady, Star decided, this should do the job nicely.

“Oh now you’re talking, my dear.” Star could almost feel herself starting to salivate. Lucent had returned home with a small bottle a few months ago and, after swearing both Star Sparkle and Twilight Velvet to secrecy, had introduced them both to what was quite literally the drink of the goddesses. She’d felt like they’d ascended together to the Elysian Fields that night, but then she’d also woken up alone and sporting a black eye, the creation of which she had no memory of, so on the whole it all seemed to even out in the end.

After placing the clear bottle back into its hidey hole, Rainbow carefully poured them each a generous measure of Luna’s moonshine, a small ‘pop’ being issued from each glass as the potent liquid disturbed the stasis fields around the ice cubes, leaving them free to float about as nature had intended.

Rainbow lifted her glass with her hooves and, though perfectly able to lift hers with magic, Star did the same with her own. After carefully clinking their glasses together in a silent toast Star held her glass under her nose for a moment, savouring the heavenly smell before the anticipation overcame her and she took her first sip.

It was hard to describe either the smell or the taste of pure moonshine, mortal words not being anywhere near grand enough to do it justice. Each pony would describe it differently but the smell always reminded Star of the final few moments before dawn on a chilly spring morning; the taste of a crisp winter’s evening where, with every drawn breath, the very taste of oncoming snow could be felt on the tongue.

For a blissful moment she was taken back to a memory from her youth; her first expedition to Zebrica, only the bravest and boldest rays of sunlight heralding the rapidly approaching dawn, teasing the distant horizon as she, much too excited for sleep, lay in the back of a ratty old cart as it carried its passengers to the last known location of the elusive Gwali tribe.

A sudden cough from across the desk told her that Rainbow had skipped the niceties and attempted to take her first shot too quickly. Distilled moonshine could be a harsh mistress for those who did not pay it the respect it so richly deserved, as her companion had just discovered.

Gingerly the pegasus took a second sip and Star was gladdened to see that, from the look of pleasure that momentarily spread across her face, she too had been transported back to a happier time.

Each mare sat in silence for a while, enjoying both the soothing elixir and the moment of peace and quiet in, what had been for both of them so far, a rather stressful day. Star took the chance to look around the office again, this time just taking in the sights rather than searching for anywhere Rainbow might have hidden her stash.

Behind her on the eastern wall was the door and a large pin-board covered with maps, weather charts and an untold number of mouth-scribbled diagrams of what were either the maneuvers for some breathtaking aerial displays or some kind of audacious hoofball strategy, or maybe both.

Opposite her, behind Rainbow’s desk were, the westerly facing windows. In the far distance one could just make out Unicorn Range and the beginnings of the Smokey Mountains far on the horizon.

On the south wall was the door to the private washroom as well as a number of pictures of life in the Wonderbolts while on the north wall were pictures of days spent with her herd and extended family. Rainbow dutifully kept the two parts of her life very separate; the width of the room making the distance between the two sets of images a testament to this fact. Dotted around the bottom of all four walls were random piles of reports, none lower than knee high. Rainbow wasn’t big on filing, or even paperwork in general.

Star stood up and, leaving her glass of ‘shine on the desk, ambled over towards the southern wall. Letting her gaze wander over the many images Star took in a number of individuals she recognised as well as a greater number that she didn’t. Amongst myriad pictures of parades and graduations was an image of newly promoted Captain Dash saluting Spitfire, both pegasus mares in pristine Wonderbolts flight suits.

Next to that picture was another of a very young, and obviously star-struck, Rainbow standing next to a… ‘mature’ would be the best way to describe her, butter yellow pegasus with a long dark pink mane wearing an outdated Wonderbolts dress uniform.

“Just look at you.” Star smirked over her shoulder at the now full-grown blue pegasus. “Weren’t you a cutie at that age. So who’s this fine mare beside you?”

Rainbow looked up from her glass. “That’s Blazing Glory, my friend Fluttershy’s grandmother.” She returned her attention back to her drink. “She was my hero when I was a kid… still is I guess, I wanted to be just like her. Long before I was born she was the first ever unsupported solo flyer to pull off the ‘Spinning Moon Dance’ manoeuvre.” After knocking back a sip of ‘shine she continued. “She was so awesome, still wowing the crowds even when I was old enough to go to the shows on my own. She taught me so much growing up. I created my Buccaneer Blaze for her. Wanted to make her proud of me, ya’know?”

“And this one?” Star motioned towards another image. This time showing Rainbow in a Wonderbolts cadet uniform standing next to flight suit bedecked white pegasus. The older mare sported a stunningly blue mane so dark it may as well have been jet black and stern look so severe it could probably wilt flowers from the other side of the room.

“That’s Modesty Blaze. Toughest flight instructor the Wonderbolts has ever seen. Can make a grown mare cry without even opening her mouth.” Rainbow laughed, took a sip of her moonshine. “Still scares the life out of Spitfire. Seems to have a bit of a thing for Soarin though. She’s totally cool once you get to know her, just don’t say anything about her age.” With that comment Rainbow used the frog of her hoof to rub her jawline as if struck by a phantom pain. “Seriously, not a word about the age thing.”

A single picture was conspicuously missing from the wall; an empty space and a lone nail advertising its absence. Looking around Star could see a picture frame resting face down on top of a pile of discarded reports. Turning it over she could see the image of a rather fine pegasus stallion in an extremely dirty flight suit standing on a runway while ruffling the mane of an equally dressed and dishevelled Rainbow Dash. Around both of their waists were rescue belts and on the floor at their hooves were large coils of rope.

From what could be seen exposed though the gaps in his flightsuit he had fur like yellow gold and a mane of fiery orange. The tightness of his suit did a wonderful job of accentuating the firmness of his muscular body and his wings, even covered in what looked like a layer of soot, were proud and majestic. The large grin on his face as he messed with his victim’s hair spoke of a pegasi that knew how to have fun. In short, he was exactly the type of stallion that could really blow Star Sparkle’s whistle.

“And who is this delightful hunk of manliness.” She held up the frame so Rainbow could see it. “He could rescue me any day of the week. An old flame maybe?”

Rainbow didn’t answer straight away. Instead she took a sip of her drink and leant back in her chair. It looked like she was considering whether to reply at all. She and her ‘wife’s’ mother had talked a lot over the years and they’d found that they had a surprising amount in common.

They’d made for a odd friendship over the last few years, the haughty and cantankerous unicorn and the brash and outgoing younger pegasus. But strangely they’d found that Rainbow had much more in common with Star than with her own mother, a fact that seemed to annoy the unicorn’s own daughter no end.

Even so, was this something she wanted to discuss? Should she just give a name and move on? Star had gone back to looking at the fine looking stallion in the picture. Rainbow had to admit he really had been one fine looking stallion who, outside of her mate, had probably been her closest ever male friend.

Rainbow’s brain was screaming at her to keep her mouth shut up and move on, but her heart was insistent that she needed to say something. He deserved more than to be just passed over as a footnote in history, a picture on a wall, a name on a plaque.

An internal battle raged within her until her heart decided to step up its game and pumped an extra large portion of the alcohol in her bloodstream straight up to her brain. With that her brain conceded the fight and let her heart lead the way.

“That’s Rapidfire, Spitfire’s brother. He was the captain of Team Blue before me. Still would be if I hadn’t totally screwed up.” Rainbow tipped her glass and knocked back the rest of the contents. Grabbing the dark blue bottle from her desk she poured herself another glassful. “Remember that mountain rescue gone bad last year?”

Star Sparkle just nodded. She wasn’t exactly known for being a mare of tact, but sometimes even she knew when it was best to keep quiet and let the conversation play out unimpeded.

Rainbow lifted her glass and rolled it between her hooves. “A rogue blizzard hit Dead Mare’s Peak, the local weather team couldn’t get it under control, damn fools just made it worse. We got word that some earth-pony family had gone weekend camping out there and nopony could reach them so most of Team Blue were scrambled. Rapid always was hot on search and rescue, ran us through every bit of training he could find, put us through drill after drill ‘til we collapsed. Then he’d just drag us in the next day and we’d do it all over again. That’s why they call Team Blue ‘The Angels’. If someone’s stuck out there, we’ll bring ‘em back.”

Rainbow said nothing for a moment, just continued to roll her glass between her hooves. Star kept quiet, this was obviously not her time to speak.

“We spilt so we could search in teams, Rapid, Thunderlane and I took the eastern peaks. Took us three hours but we found them, pair of herd-sisters and their three foals, all huddled together in one small tent. It was all they had left, their gear was long gone and the tent wasn’t going to last much longer.” Rainbow took a sip of her drink but in reality she didn’t seem to notice it was even there, her mind had taken her back to the night of the storm.

“One of the mares was injured real bad, she couldn’t move and we needed at least two pegasi to carry her back down. The three of us couldn’t take her, her sister and the children. We’d have to leave her behind and try and come back with more gear.” The pegasus went back to rolling her glass, tears were forming in her eyes and it was obvious that she was fighting them. She’d had quite enough of crying for one day.

“Thunderlane was sure he could carry all three kids himself and I volunteered to stay with the injured mare while Rapid took her sister. But he pulled rank, said he’d be the one to stay. I protested but he wasn’t taking neigh for answer. Always was stubborn as a mule that one.”

Rainbow stopped talking and went back to considering her glass, gently rocking the liquid from side to side, letting the ice-cubes clink against the sides. Both mares stayed silent and for a few minutes it looked like the conversation might be over. Suddenly she started speaking again.

“So we did what he said; took the mare and the kids back to the base of the mountain, met up with the rest of team and headed back with a stretcher and the med gear.” She took a small sip, again not seeming to notice what she was doing. “But the storm didn’t want to play our game. Dumbasses on the weather team had really screwed up and the blizzard was much worse by that point. Thunderlane and I were the only two strong enough to stay in the air but the cruddy visibility meant I could barely even see him. After an hour of trying to reach them we had to go back. Ice was forming over our wings and our goggles and we’d almost dropped out of the sky more times than I could count. Spent the next few hours trying to get the storm under control instead. Ended up having to pull in weather teams from two other regions to get a handle on it. I’ve never missed the girls from the Ponyville team as much as I did that night.”

She lifted the glass to her mouth but stopped as it reached her lips. Inspecting it as if she’d only just realised it was there she put it back on the desk, the liquid untouched.

“Wasn’t until dawn that we managed to get the rest of the team back to the campsite. Had to dig the damn tent out of the snow, stupid thing had collapsed in the storm. When we finally got inside we… we...”

Her voice hitched. She wasn’t going to cry, Rainbow Dash didn’t cry, she never cried, not anymore.

“He’d wrapped himself around her. Covered them both in all the blankets he could find, popped all his heat packs and wrapped himself around her like they were just settling down for a nap together, they looked so damn cosy. He’d kept her alive though the night using his own body heat…”

NO! She was not going to cry. Not today, not anymore.

“We tried everything we could. Healing Touch, the team medic, she tried everything in the book, tried a couple of things that weren’t as well.” Rainbow leant back and gave a short laugh. It wasn’t a happy sound. “Heck, I even suggested dragging over a lightning cloud and giving him a blast. Healing said it was too late though.”

Rainbow fell silent again. Her mind wasn’t in the office; instead she was in a place both long ago and far away.

“So while the rest of the team strapped the injured mare onto a back-board and flew her back to base camp, Thunderlane and I stayed with Rapid until the Royal Guard arrived with a doctor from the city to make it all official. Not sure why I stayed though, not like I’d done much for him the night before.”

At this Star locked eyes with the younger mare, holding sadness in her eyes but no pity. Rainbow didn’t need her pity and certainly wouldn’t want it. “My dear, it sounds like you did plenty. Twilight told me how bad the frost damage to your wings was, how it had you in hospital for days, and we both know how bad the cold has to be to affect a pegasus.”

“But I left him” Rainbow roared. She reared up on her back legs and lent over the desk towards Star Sparkle. ”He was my friend and I left him there to die. It should have been me. Now his mares are without their stallion because of ME.” She hammered her forehoof down on the desk to punctuate her point. ”His foals will grow up with no father because of ME.” A second stamp on the desktop, the rapidly weakening wood wouldn’t be able to take much more of this punishment.

“And then when we were coming back for him, I ran away!“ Another stamp, splinters flew from around Rainbow’s hoof and her glass fell to the floor. “I could have carried on, could have pushed myself further, but I put my tail between my legs and I. RAN. AWAY!” With a final assault on the desktop she slumped back into her chair, suddenly looking to Star like a small and broken mare. “A good stallion died because I ran away.” She repeated in a quiet voice. “It should have been me.”

Rainbow closed her eyes and slowly let herself fall face first onto the desktop for the second time that day. Slowly and quietly, Star made her way back to her chair. Laying the picture frame facedown on the corner of the desk she hesitantly rested a forehoof on the back of her young friend’s head as it lay nestled between her front hooves on the desktop. Rainbow may have been crying but she’d be damned if she was going to let anypony see it.

“Is that what he would have wanted? He sent you back while he stayed because he trusted you to do the right thing.” Star gently, if a little awkwardly stroked Rainbow’s mane. This kind of thing didn’t come naturally to her but she knew Rainbow needed the reassurance. A short sniffle came from underneath the colourful mess of hair on the desk in front of her. “And he was right, even if you don’t believe it right now you did do the right thing. If the storm was that bad then you had to turn back, if you’d carried on you and your colleague would most likely have been lost as well. Yes, one stallion was lost, but you know you couldn’t risk making it two.”

A muffled voice came from the desktop. “They called us heroes.” Another sniffle. “When I got out of the hospital they pinned medals on our chests and called us heroes. They made me a bucking captain, gave me his team, asked me to take his place in the Fallen Flyer Formation and then they stick that damn picture right outside my office.” More sniffles. “Everyone that walks in here sees a memorial to a great guy. But you know what I see?”

Rainbow looked up from the desk, looking the older mare straight in the eyes. Star could see the tears and mucus streaming down her nose and around her muzzle, the puffiness around her eyes, the bloodshot sclera. She shook her head slowly before the distraught pegasus continued.

“I stand out there and I look and all I see is a failure, a fraud, a coward.“ She spat each word with a level of bile and venom that Star had not seen from anypony in years. “They made me captain because they felt sorry for me and now they’re finally getting rid of me.”

“Getting rid of you?” Star pulled her hoof back. “Is this what the meeting with Miss Spitfire was about? Are they letting you go?”

Lifting her head from the desk Rainbow stood up. Her puffy eyes were quickly joined by a fierce scowl. It was a combination that really didn’t suit her face. “Worse, they’re transferring me to the academy, they’re pulling me off Team Blue and dumping me in with the bucking tutors.” She raged as she paced around the office. “The bucking academy... buck me, that’s were flyers go when their career is over and they just don’t know it yet.”

She kicked her desk again, knocking a small hole in the side. She didn’t care; it wouldn’t be her desk for much longer anyway. “Spitfire must really hate me to dump me out like this.”

Star quickly gave up turning in her chair to follow the agitated pegasus as she paced around the room, instead she returned to her drink, at least that was staying still. “Come now dear, does she really blame you, or is it more that you blame yourself.”

“I know she says she doesn’t blame me, but how can she not?” Pacing back and forth the troubled pegasus carried on talking, her words coming free faster and faster. “Her brother’s dead because of me.” Wings previously pressed up tightly against her ribs were now twitching and ruffling.

“They don’t want to just out and out boot me you see, not after all the medals an’ all. It’d cause too much of a stink, Element of Loyalty being kicked to the kerb. No, that wouldn’t do.” Wings flared out in anger before being stowed back against her sides. “So they’re getting me out of the way, putting me away where nopony will miss me ‘til it’s too late.”

Rainbow wasn’t talking to anyone but herself by this point, the words spilling from her mouth in a mad rush to be free from her head.

“They’re hoping if they hide me away from the action I’ll just up and quit, that way they don’t have to get their hooves dirty. Well maybe I will, It’s not like I don’t have options you know. I could tell Luna I’ve changed my mind about her Special Aero-tactical Squad offer and just get the buck out of here.”

Star let her pace, filing that little bit of information about the princess away for later. Taking another sip of her drink she set it down on the desk. She’d finally had enough of Rainbow’s rambling. Now it was time for some tough love and she was just the mare to dish it out.

The unicorn fixed the pegasus with a stern gaze and took a deep breath. “Lady Rainbow Miriam Dash.” She barked loudly, following it up with an even sterner gaze that declared to the world that its owner was not best pleased.

Startled out of her growing hysteria, Rainbow cringed at the use of her full name. If her middle name wasn’t bad enough, she especially hated the ceremonial title that had been bestowed upon all the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Coupled with the withering look she was receiving it made her feel quite small.

Once Star was assured that she had one hundred percent of the younger mare’s attention she continued.

“I can see now why the Princess sent me here and not one of your friends, or even your husband come to that. So listen careful to what I’m about to say, as it’s something you need to hear and I’m only going to say it once.”

Rainbow could feel herself rooted in place as Star’s glare only intensified.

“You, my child, are being a complete bucking idiot.”

If Rainbow’s jaw could have hit the floor it would have done. Star Sparkle may have been many things, but a casual user of foul language she was not.

The unicorn wasn’t finished yet. “So stop getting yourself all in a flap, sit down and shut the buck up for a minute while we talk about this like adults.”

Head bowed, Rainbow made her way back to her chair and gingerly sat down. Whether she’d like to admit it or not, being rebuked by an older female, especially one who held a somewhat motherly position in her subconscious, no matter how tenuous, had triggered an instinctual reaction deep within her that was making her react like a scolded foal.

Star leant forward over the desk, pushing her forehooves together, maintaining her glare the whole time as, using the years of experience gleaned from her University career, she dominated the room. So successful was she that Rainbow was suddenly overcome by the impression that her office, and everything within it, now belonged to the older mare and that she herself was just the visitor.

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, very uncomfortable from Rainbow’s point of view, Star spoke, gently this time, like a parent to a recently chastised foal.

“Rainbow, believe me when I say you are not a failure, your superiors are not out to get you and you are not being sent to the academy as a punishment.” She paused to let her words sink in.

“Firstly, have you talked to anyone about what happened with your old captain? About how you feel about what happened?”

The pegaus just stared at the floor for a while; she may even have petulantly kicked a back hoof against the carpet. Star waited patiently until she spoke.

“I talked to Lero a bit. Maybe Twilight too.”

“Did you tell them about how you feel?” Star kept her voice gentle as she posed the question. Her usual haughtiness carefully tucked away. “About what you’ve told me today?”

“A little.” Rainbow looked up, catching Star’s eye for the first time since she’d sat down. “It’s hard to... I don’t want them to... well, ya’know.“

Star let it hang for a moment. “I know it can be hard to talk to those closest to us about some things. Especially if it’s about something that was particularly traumatic. Have you tried talking to somepony else about this? Someone professional maybe?”

Rainbow’s head shot up at the suggestion. “What? No, no. It’s not... No.” Her head sank back down again. The carpet under her desk was suddenly very interesting it would seem. “Spitfire suggested it a couple of times but no.”

Star let the silence hang again for a moment before she pressed on. “Look, Rainbow dear, losing this stallion has obviously hit you very hard if you’re still reacting like this a year later. We both know that you’re the type to bottle things up until you explode and talking to someone would help with that. There’s no shame in it you know, asking for a bit of help.”

She laid her forelegs out across the desktop, hooves towards the fellow mare opposite her.

“We also know that you’re one of the most loyal ponies out there, the Elements wouldn’t have picked you if you weren’t, but sometimes your loyalty to the stallions around you can be quite strong, stronger than you even can handle. You even show extraordinary loyalty to non-pony males like Spike and your husband, but sometimes this loyalty can be hard to bear, especially if you take it too far. I mean, look at what happened back when those silly mares started spreading lies about your husband’s friend, accusing him of herding with his own sisters.”

Rainbow reached up to rub her hoof over her eyes. “So you heard about that then?” She’d been living in hope that that sorry little incident hadn’t become public knowledge.

Star had to smile. “About you spending the night in the cells while Twilight rushed around pulling every string she could think of to get you released? Yes, that little tidbit has already done the rounds I’m afraid. Whom do you think one of those strings was anyway?”

Rainbow groaned. “Look, they had it coming, even if I didn’t mean it to go that far, If you’d just seen how distraught Big Mac was you’d have agreed with me. That kind of scandalous bull-crap could have ruined the Apple family.” She leant over and grabbed her glass from the carpet. Shaking it out she grabbed the bottle and poured herself another shot of ‘shine. Star floated her own glass over to be refilled.

“Well better me than AJ.” Rainbow jammed the cork back into the bottle once she’d filled the second glass. “If she’d found ‘em first then Twilight could have pulled every damn string on Lyra’s harp and still not gotten her out of jail after what she’d have done to them. Mare looked about ready to kill.”

“Indeed, but there were other ways to deal with the problem.” Star hovered her glass under her nose and enjoyed the gentle aroma for a moment. “I think we can agree you let your emotions get the better of you that night, yes?”

“Maybe.”

“Well that’s a start.“ Levitating over a scrap of paper and a quill from the other side of the room, Star wrote a short note and physically pushed it across the desk to where Rainbow could reach it. “This is the name and address of an old friend of mine, we both studied at Cavalbridge before we went our separate ways. Her name’s Soothing Words and she’s a very good listener.”

Rainbow leant forward and plucked the paper off of the desk. Star took this as a good sign.

“She mainly deals with herds with problems, but she also specialises in Royal Guards and the like, those who’ve seen the kind of things that the public should never have to bear witness to. I really can’t go into details but she’s seen a number of Wonderbolts as well in her time.”

The pegasus stared at the piece of paper for a long time before she carefully folded it in half and placed it in the top drawer of her desk. “I’ll think about it.” She said before picking up her glass again and taking a long sip.

Star just smiled at her, not a smirk this time but an actual smile. Rainbow was struck by how strange it looked on her face, though the look wasn’t unbecoming. Then the older mare softly uttered two words that the pegasus was sure she’d never heard issued from those lips before.

“Thank You.”

While Rainbow sat there stunned for a few moments, Star just took a sip of her drink before she spoke again.

“So, back to the transfer. If Miss Spitfire really were trying to have you removed, she would not have waited a full year to do it. Also, she would certainly have not approved you for the position of team captain in the first place.” She fixed Rainbow with a glare that clearly carried the message that she thought the pegasus very much had the wrong end of the stick on this matter.

“While I admit I do not know her as well as you, I have to say that from the few times we have met she has never come across as a mare who would use such underhoof methods to get her point across. I’d even go so far as to say that if she says she does not blame you for her brother’s death then that is the truth. The fact that she’s tried to get you to seek help over the matter speaks more of a concerned friend than an angry superior wouldn’t you say?”

Star spent a few moments alternating between sipping and pondering. Putting down her glass she spoke again. “Rainbow, how many years experience do flyers usually need before they move onto teaching at the academy?”

“At least a decade or so, some had much more. Blazing Glory was over forty before she wound up there and I’m still only thirty.”

“And how long since you joined the Wonderbolts?”

“I got in late so only six years, you know this, you were at my graduation. We all got completely wasted afterwards and you tried to make off with Misty Fly.”

“Ahem, indeed, yes. So how long as a team captain?”

“Just under a year.”

Star waved her glass in front of her as if she was about to prove a major point. “So after five years of hard flying and even harder training, plus another year as a team leader, the Wonderbolts feel that you’re ready to show the next generation of flyers how it’s done. That seems to me to show an awful amount of confidence in you, that they’re willing to let you mould the nation’s finest flyers in your own image. Are you trying to tell me that they’re wrong? Do you really believe that you’re not up to the challenge?”

Rainbow’s pride reached her mouth long before her brain could catch up. “Of course I can do it. It’s just…”

“Yes?” An amused arch of the eyebrow. Rainbow hated it when Star did that. Not as much as the professor’s students did though; they knew it meant she’d pulled something over on them and that they probably wouldn’t know what it was until it was too late.

The pegasus took a deep breath, held it and blew it out. “Do I look like a bucking teacher?”

“Do I?” Damn, it was that full blown smirk back again. “My dear, you seem to hold these academy tutors in some kind of disdain yet you have pictures of at least two of them up on your wall here.”

Rainbow said nothing but she did once again have the look about her of a young filly being told off as Star pressed on with her questioning.

“I trust you’re not one of these brainless ponies who ascribes to the silly notion of those that can, do…” She left the old adage unfinished.

“While those who can’t, teach.’” Rainbow finished. “No disrespect but I just don’t think I’m the teaching type. Besides, I’m not sure I’d know what to do.”

“Nonsense, darling, you’re surrounded by tutors everyday, I myself teach between expeditions, though I will admit the gap between trips has been getting ever longer as the years go by.“ A wistful look briefly passed over Star’s features but as quickly as it arrived it was gone again.

“My own dear Lucent often holds lectures, rather popular ones I must say though I personally have no idea what he’s blathering on about. My daughter has become one of Equestria’s eminent lecturers in the field of advanced thaumatology. I do believe her paper on high-level cross-discipline multicasting is now required reading in our schools of magical higher learning.” Star allowed her self a smug smile at that one.

“Has your own husband not spent much of his time in recent years schooling scholars and artists alike in the arts and skills he has brought with him from his homeland? Even your wife Loopy…”

“Lyra.” Rainbow quickly interjected. It still annoyed her immensely when anypony referred to either Lero or Lyra in a derogatory fashion.

“Yes, her...” Star grinned. Nopony was ever quite sure if she got these names wrong on purpose, which was the way she liked it. “She’s become quite the mentor to Twilight Velvet’s daughter. Guiding Light simply gushes about her teachings in the art of the Still Way. So you see, each of us teaches in our own way, we just needed to find our hooves, just as I’m sure you will too.”

“I guess I could go play ‘Drill Sergeant Nasty’ for a while.“ Rainbow had perked up a bit by this point. I could teach all those newbies some of my most awesome moves. Scoot’s got pretty much all of them down perfect so now I’ll get to show a whole new bunch of ponies how it’s done!”

“That’s the spirit, my girl.” Star was glad Rainbow finally seemed to be coming around to the idea, maybe if she intimated that it wasn’t permanent it’d go down even better. “I take it that the transfer’s not forever? Surely you could request a transfer back to your team after a year or so.”

“That’s true.” Rainbow’s gaze had moved back over to the pictures on the south wall, the images of Modesty Blaze and Blazing Glory in particular. “But if I’m going to do this I want to do it properly. Stay with at least one intake class from start to finish so that’s six months right there. Then there’s all the refresher courses to teach, disaster training for the nation’s weather teams, some of the border guard are back in for retraining soon too, that’d all take the rest of the year at least.”

“Ohmygosh.” “Rainbow’s ears suddenly perked right up. “The academy’s much closer to Ponyville than Canterlot. Think of all the extra time I can spend with the girls.” A smile spread over her face they she just couldn’t contain.

At the sight of her young friend actually looking happy for the first time since she’d arrived, Star just couldn’t help but let a little portion of ‘smug’ back into her smirk. “So, do you still think this temporary posting is some kind of punishment?”

“OK, maybe not.” Rainbow admitted.

“So, could it be possible that your colleagues are concerned about you and believe a bit of time away from the front lines might do you some good?”

“Could be.”

“And that maybe they think that when it comes to schooling these youngsters in the art of being…” Star looked like she was struggling for her next word.

“Awesome?” Rainbow supplied, her chest puffing out and wings ruffling proudly.

“Yes, ‘awesome’, thank you. Perhaps they think that if these youngsters need schooling in the art of being awesome, then you’re just the mare for the job?”

“Hell yeah.”

Rainbow’s newly positive attitude and improved outlook, combined with the effects of the ‘shine, were certainly infectious.

“Well there you go then.” Star held her glass out over the desk. “I for one think that deserves a toast.”

Rainbow also held out her glass. “To being awesome.“ She declared and clinked her glass against that of her friend’s, maybe a little harder than she’d planned but what the hay. With that they both knocked back what was left of the contents, letting the glorious elixir gently tickle it’s way down their throats, before settling back in their seats.

Turning towards the window they watched the slowly setting sun as, far behind them in Canterlot Castle, Princesses Celestia helped the mighty celestial body make its merry way towards the horizon. The close of the day was coming soon and hopefully it wouldn’t end as badly as both of them had feared.

Star used her magic to pull both the bottle and Rainbow’s empty glass across the desk. Pouring them both yet another generous measure of ‘shine she raised her glass, a satisfied smirk spreading across her face.

“Now that, my dear, is something I can drink to.”

WITH SMILES AND CLENCHING JAWS - END OF PART ONE

49: With smiles and clenching jaws – Part Two.

WITH SMILES AND CLENCHING JAWS – PART TWO
(Baby, life's what you make it, can't escape it.)

Chapter published 6th Jan 2013

*************************

Late April 1223 AC

Enjoying the view from the second floor of the Wonderbolts’ HQ, Captain Rainbow Dash and her friend Professor Star Sparkle, took a moment to sit and relax in contemplative silence. Both were warmed by a lingering glow felt deep within their chests, a glow fueled by only Celestia knew how many shots of the finest, and most potent, moonshine known to ponykind.

There was less than a hour of daylight left and pretty soon the sky would begin to work its colourful magic, creating a glorious sunset as unique as the day that had preceded it.

Star knew that this was Rainbow’s favourite time of the day. Not that they had ever discussed it but she had heard many a time from her daughter that, as evening fell, the young pegasus was apt to occasional disappearances only to be found sitting alone on the roof of their Ponyville home, or out on a balcony of their Canterlot apartment.

After a while Star felt it was safe to broach another question, one she’d been considering letting pass them by for the last few minutes. “There’s something else that’s bothering you isn’t there?” She asked, her voice carefully casual.

“What makes you think that?” As Rainbow took another sip of ‘shine she didn’t look at her companion, her attention instead focused through the window to the world outside

“The princess seemed to think there was more. She said you’ve been more… What’s the word she used? Ah, more ‘confrontational’ than usual the last few weeks and when she means you, my dear, that’s saying something. Something else is bothering you, something quite major and I think it’s something that’s come to a head rather recently, am I right?”

Star let silence fill the room again. Her young friend had been quite open with her today, whether it was just the moonshine at work she couldn’t say, but she didn’t want to push too far lest the pegasus clam up on her.

After slowly rocking her chair from side to side for a while, Rainbow swiveled herself around to take in the collection of family pictures on her wall, her gaze soon settling on a picture of her herd’s public wedding a few years before. The happy herd were sitting together on a bench in the palace gardens, an archway of flowers curved gracefully above them as they smiled broadly for the camera, a look of contented joy gracing all four faces.

By this point in the day family and friends had been greeted, blessings had been given, vows had been spoken (or sung in Lyra’s case) and many a tear had been shed. The four of them were now pressed close together just enjoying the afterglow. Twilight was lounging against Lero’s right hip, curled lazily around him so that her forehooves rested on her stallion’s lap. Lyra lay on Lero’s far left, a forehoof haphazardly draped over her favourite harp, the same harp she’d used not forty minutes beforehand... beforehoof… to serenade the gathered crowd with her vows. Rainbow herself was perched between Lero and Lyra, her wings spread wide to as if to gather her herd into a protective embrace.

Fitted snuggly around the base of each of the unicorn’s horns were matching gold bands, a much smaller duplicate proudly displayed on the middle finger of the human’s right hand. A larger version of the same design could be seen on the pegasi’s left forehoof as she held it out towards the camera, making sure that the light of the setting sun glanced from it’s beautifully polished surface.

Rainbow put down her glass and rubbed at her left forehoof, her ankle bare, the wedding band now resting safely at home. She hated not wearing it during the day but the life of a Wonderbolt could be dangerous and she couldn’t risk something happening to it. Lero had insisted on crafting all four bands himself, stating that a symbol of eternal unity such as this had to be something personal. There would be no commissioning an artisan to create them and certainly no magical assistance, just two strong hands and a lot of hard work. It meant the world to her… He meant the world to her.

Taking a deep breath, Rainbow gathered herself for what she was about to say. Maybe it was the ‘shine, maybe it was the need to just let it all out, either way she’d said more than enough so far but it seemed to be the day for it so what could another little revelation hurt?

“I guess Twilight’s told you that we’re trying to have foals… With Lero I mean.” Rainbow wasn’t sure exactly how the older mare would take the news. She could be stubbornly old-fashioned at times and the concept of breeding with a non-pony was an issue that seemed to divide a lot of opinions.

“Of course, dear. Though I knew about it long before she told me.” Star surprised the pegasus with her almost cheerful response. “There’s not much that gets past me these days.”

“Oh.” Was all Rainbow could say. “And you’re not… mad or anything? Not going to start on about how ponies should be with ponies or preserving bloodline purity or anything?”

The professor looked somewhat aghast which surprised Rainbow even more.

“I’m shocked, that you should lump me in with those racist idiots.” Star had to take a quick drink to calm her nerves. The very insinuation… “I may be many things, young lady, but I am not one to stand in the way of my daughter’s happiness.” A look that could only be described as ‘shifty’ quickly graced her features. “Unless of course she’s being a complete fool, in which case all bets are off.“

Calmed now she took a longer sip. “I know that Twilight’s been quietly working with Princess Luna the last few years on some very complex transmogrification spells. None of it’s been made public yet but it looks like some of the side benefits of their work could have far reaching effects in the fields of magical medicine; slowing aging, rectifying the effects of major injuries, that kind of thing.”

Rainbow was astounded, Twilight’s work had been declared top secret by non-other than the princesses themselves. “How do you know all this?”

Star just looked at the younger mare like she’d just grown an extra head. Which taking Twilight’s recent discoveries into account could be more than possible by now.

“Really, my dear? There’s very little I’m not privy to these days, just think about who my children are. My son; the ex-captain of the Royal Guard, co-ruler of the Crystal Empire, married to a princess turned empress. My daughter; the personal protégé of Princess Celestia, hotly tipped to be Equestria’s next arch-mage and married to the only human Equestria has ever seen.” Oh crud, it was that smug smirk again. “To top it all, my dear Lucent is rather friendly with the Princess of the Night, but best not to mention that too much.”

Simply stunned, Rainbow had to ask. “How friendly?”

The unicorn leant forward over the desk as her voice dropped a couple of octaves. “Very.”

After letting the implications sink in she carried on. “Between them, I have access to the ear of all three alicorns. Plus I have my own rather extensive information network in place. Decades of traveling the globe has left me with more contacts and favours than I could count, should I care to. I dare say there’s not a university left in Equestria without somepony on its faculty, somepony important that is, that doesn’t owe me something.”

“Yeah, well, remind me not to piss you off then.” Rainbow remarked, though a slight hint of nervousness may have sneaked its way into her voice. “So it’d taken years but it looked like Twilight was about as ready as she’d ever be. The original idea was for her to cast this heat spell she’s made on the three of us so we didn’t have to wait ‘til it rolled around again on its own, then we change Lero into a pony for a while and then lock ourselves away for a week of …” She paused as if she’d just remembered who she was talking to “Err, you know, stuff that comes naturally. We figured that hopefully by the end of it at least one of us would be with foal.”

Rainbow paused again, Star could definitely feel a ‘but’ coming up soon.

“But…” There it was. “Turns out it’s not that easy. I won’t go into it now, mainly because most of it’s way over my head but it seems like, without the transformation spell being cast on him almost constantly, Lero’s body just keeps snapping back into its original shape. Not too big a deal we thought, we’ve got two unicorns after all. Lyra had picked up the basic reinforcement spells far faster that Twi ever thought she would. Seems her special talent helps her to ‘flow with the fabric of the universe’ or some such guff.”

The pegasus waved her glass around as it to demonstrate quite what she thought of the mint green unicorn’s occasional metaphysical ramblings.

“The bigger problem is that without regular magical attention any pony embryo created using his sperm tries to tear itself into two separate halves, one part pony, one part human… Neither half survives.”

“Oh.” This time it was Star’s turn to be stuck for something to say. She didn’t want to ask how many times they’d gone through the motions before they’d figured out that particular pitfall, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer.

“Yep, tell me about it.” Rainbow’s eyes held such sadness but they then quickly took on a dreamy appearance. “Oh, but you should see him as a pony. He’s so handsome, tall like a draft pony and his fur’s so soft, just like a foal’s, you just want to grab him and hold him all day. He’s not quite the same colour each time either, sometimes he’s tan or orange, others he’s more of a light grey.” Her face went past dreamy and into awestruck territory.

“And always such a beautiful tail, all burnt oranges and flaming reds with the occasional strand of fiery gold running all the way through it, just slightly curly at the end. When it catches the breeze it looks like living fire.” The redness of her face caused by the copious amounts of alcohol in her system was at this point totally outclassed by the blush that graced her cheeks. “Ohhh, his hooves, such strong hooves, you just want to feel them all over your body. Still not a patch on his fingers though.”

Leaning over the desk like some kind of school-filly sharing a secret she whispered into Star’s ear. “Hung like an earth pony too.”

“Ahem, according to Lyra anyway. Not that I’d know.” Leaving Star to cope with that mental image, probably one involving her own daughter, Rainbow leant her chair back as far as it would go and rested her rear hooves on the edge of her desk before she continued. “Seems it’s easiest for Twi to go for as close to earth pony physiology as possible, making him a unicorn or pegasus just doesn’t seem to work at all.”

“So plan A was out but Twi’s gotten really good at changing just bits of him since then, the bits that matter anyway. Each time she can do a bit more of him or hold it for a bit longer and she reckoned we’re about as ready for plan B as we’re ever gunna be.”

Rainbow tapped the edge of her hoof against her glass; it made a surprisingly loud noise in the otherwise silent office.

“So once an embryo’s formed the mother’d need regular magical boosters from a separate unicorn for most of the pregnancy. She’d have to take it real easy with her own magic too as it’d probably disturb the baby’s development.”

The pegasus stopped tapping her glass; she could see it was making Star’s left ear flick and, while they’d usually delight in finding new and interesting way to drive each other nuts, this wasn’t the time for it.

“Twilight was insistent she be the first to try it, said she wouldn’t risk spells being cast on anypony else if she wasn’t prepared to go through it herself first. But then Luna said I’d be the best match, what with me being part earth-pony while Twi’ and Lyra are both thoroughbreds. Something about Lero’s pony form being almost an earth pony meant a lower chance of birth defects, less long-term complications, loads of other big words I didn’t understand.”

Rainbow’s wings ruffled against the back of the chair. “They told me I’d have to cut right down on my flying, just couldn’t risk my pegasus magic clashing with spell. I wouldn’t be able to be far from Twi for too long either. But, I figured, what the hay, except for work and stuff I’m grounded much of the time now anyway.

“So it was looking good; the magic was ready, the stallion was ready, time to get the mare ready.” She took another sip of her drink, pulling a face as the next memory hit home. “They put me on a special diet, ran millions of tests, Twi and the princess sat me through more magical scans than any pony should ever have to go though.”

Rainbow placed a forehoof over her eyes; this was the part she really didn’t want to talk about. “And then it all went downhill. Turns out that this mare...” she swept the hoof from her neck to her flank “Is barren. Ain’t no seed taking purchase in this pony’s field.” For the final statement her voice sounded remarkably like Applejack, accent and all.

Star was momentarily stunned. If there was a pony she had never expected to hear this news from, it was the young mare in front of her. “Could Twilight or the princesses not do anything?” She asked.

“’Fraid not. They tried, oh how they tried, but seems like there’s a whole bunch of things come together meaning I can’t have kids, magically assisted or otherwise. You know what Twi’s like when she’s got her egghead hat on.”

Rainbow snorted. “I mean literally got her egghead hat on. Lyra made her put her graduation cap on once while she was explaining something big and it kinda stuck. Now she always puts it on when she’s explaining the really heavy stuff at home. None of us have the heart to tell her how silly she looks.”

The forehoof returned to rubbing the pegasi’s brow. “So anyway, she’s all ‘magical resonance’ this and ‘nucleotide cross stabilisation’ that. I only got as far as ‘benign neoplasm’ and I knew it was hopeless. I didn’t need to follow most of it, I just looked at Lero, he knew what she was going on about and the look on his face told me everything I needed to know. ”

Rainbow let her glass rest on her belly while she contemplated what to say next.

“So, basic upshot of it for the non-brainiacs in the family is that my pegasus magic’s been like, uber-charged by my earth pony heritage, makes me more powerful than other pegasi. Always said I was at least twenty percent more awesome than your average mare, seems I was right.” She let loose a short joyless laugh. She seemed to be doing that a lot today. “Ironic isn’t it, bearer of the element of loyalty gets a whole bunch of her power from being the product of a disloyal mare. But it also seems that the thing that makes me such a totally kickass flyer is also what means I can’t have any kids.“

Pulling her legs from atop the desktop, she curled them back underneath herself. Resting her head on a forehoof she stared vacantly out of the window. Only half aware she watched a pair of birds resting on the outside ledge. The birds chirped at each other briefly before flying away, probably in search of a place to roost for the night.

“Twi’s been looking into pulling out some of my eggs, adding Lero’s contribution and then using herself as a surrogate. But Luna’s worried there’s just too much that could go wrong, too many variables, too much chance of rejection.” She almost spat the final word, as if it was leaving a sour taste in her mouth.

”Rejection… Story of my childhood right there.” She took a large sip, as if to clear a foul taste from her mouth. “Anyway, apart from all that, the huge amount of constant magic needed to keep it all stable for eleven months would just be too much for any unicorn, even one as powerful as Twi.“

Both sat pondering their drinks for the moment, the only sounds being the occasional sip and the steady ticking of the office clock. The admin staff on the rest of the floor had long vacated the building.

Star finally broke the silence. “You’re worried it makes you less of a mare don’t you? That, in their eyes, you’re somewhat less than you were before.”

Rainbow’s head jerked around to her companion, she looked shocked, either at the suggestion itself or that just maybe Star might have hit the nail on the head. “No, no, I… Well, a little, maybe.” She turned away, as if to hide her eyes.

“It’s nothing to feel ashamed of.” Star reached out and hesitantly patted one of Rainbow’s forehooves with her own. “We had this with Crinkle, poor thing was absolutely terrified that she’d be cast out of the herd. It took both Lucent and Velvet months to talk her down. That’s why I reconnected with Soothing again, I thought she might be able to help. She did, it took a long time but…”

Her recollection trailed off, not sure how best to continue. Her herd-sister had overcome her breakdown with time, and with help, but the toll had been heavy and even now she could still be a bit twitchy about the subject.

The pegasus pulled her hoof away and moved towards the bottle again. “Well, perhaps it’s for the best, I’d probably be a shit mother.” Star arched an eyebrow at the unfamiliar curse word but Rainbow pressed on.

“I mean, look at my own mother. Cheated on my dad, got herself knocked up by an earth pony and as soon as I was old enough to look after myself she hot-tailed it off out the door as fast as her wings would carry her.” She made a flittering motion toward the damaged door with her forehoof.

“You hear about mares that just don’t get motherhood, that’s her, probably be me as well.” The remainder of her glass was tossed down her throat and another measure was swiftly poured to replace it. “Well, doesn’t matter now. It’s not going to happen so no use moping over it.”

But Rainbow could feel her emotions gathering up again, fighting for her attention. No, goddess damn it, she still had more to say on the subject. She was on a roll and nothing was going to stop her now. A good slug of her ‘shine and she slammed her glass down, startling her companion in the process.

“It just makes me so angry. I’d never really considered it before, being a mother I mean. Some of my herd-sisters weren’t exactly nice when I was growing up, telling me I was worthless and that I’d never amount to anything. So I’d grown up thinking no herd would ever take me and as I didn’t dig mares I was pretty much resigned to winding up old, alone and unloved.”

Rainbow’s words slipped free faster now, the glass forgotten as she gesticulated grandly with her forehooves. “Then Lero came along and opened my eyes, showed me I could actually be part of a herd, like somepony like me could actually deserve to be happy. So, we were a herd, the two of us, then pretty soon Twilight made three and before you know it we’ve got Lyra as well and we’re a proper little family.”

“I love them and they love me and it’s everything I’d ever really wanted, even if I hadn’t known it. Then I got into the Wonderbolts and it was all like a dream come true. I kinda felt wanting any more than that was just greedy, that I’d gotten more than I deserved already.” A forehoof dug into the desktop. “Then Twi started on all serious about these old transformation spells and I thought, yeah, it’s possible, ya’know, it could happen. Didn’t take it as serious as her at the time though.”

Rainbow idly span her glass on the desktop. The recent urgency to get her words out was subsiding and she started to relax into her chair again

“But then Rarity’s first foal came along and she’s showing off little Diamond Dust and I started thinking, really thinking this time, about what it’d be like to be a mother. Then Fluttershy started talking about how she and Big Mac were trying for foals and I figured, yeah, why not me? I mean, Twilight says it’s doable so why the buck not? I could take a few years off from the Wonderbolts, raise a foal and come back fighting. Blazing Glory did it, twice even.”

Letting her glass settle she angrily flicked away some of the loose splinters from her earlier outburst that still littered her desktop. “But not me, not now, not ever. Looks like I can’t even do that right.”

Rainbow slumped forward again, letting her chin land on her hooves. Star just stared at the glass sitting in front of her, her ears had drooped uncharacteristically low, as if they didn’t even have the energy to remain standing, Finally she spoke for the first time in minutes, though to her it felt like years.

“When it comes to our major life plans, Rainbow dear, reality doesn’t always go the way we want it to, especially when it comes to having children.” Star sighed sadly.

“Oh, what do you know? You had your kids.” Rainbow snapped, rising out of her chair. “Two fine upstanding offspring of your very own. All off saving the world, making you proud and shit.”

“But I didn’t want them.” Star snapped back, also rising from her chair. As if realising what she’d just said she sat back down again just as quickly. Momentarily glancing up she swiftly looked away again, she couldn’t stand to see the look of shock on the pegasi’s face.

“It’s true you know, I didn’t want them. I didn’t want to be a mother at all, that was to be Velvet’s job.” She took a long pull of her ‘shine. “I had so much I wanted to do with my life, so many places I wanted to see, I was going to do such great things. A foal would have just tied me down, shackled me to one place.”

The shocked expression was not fading from Rainbow’s face. She slowly sat back down as Star carried on, her words slowly coming forth like a long held confession.

“I wanted to be famous adventurer like my great uncle Pear Cider. He was a unicorn but his mother had been an earth pony you see, hence the name. There was so much more of a stigma back then about marrying outside of your tribe and uncle Cider said he never felt comfortable around other unicorns, so he’d travel instead. Claimed he’d make more of a difference that way.”

Star let forth a short laugh. ”Took an Apple family girl as his lead mare in the end. If you think unicorns back then could be stuffy about mating with non-unicorns, you should have seen the scandal an Apple mare caused by running off with a unicorn, especially a Cavalbridge unicorn. A real bunch of tribal purists they were back in the day.”

The weary unicorn pondered her drink for a moment, the younger pegasus did the same. Like Star, Rainbow wasn’t known for being a mare of great tact, but also like Star, she had learned the hard way when to shut her muzzle and let a troubled pony get something off their chest.

“So they travelled the world together for years and years. They lead the first successful team to explore the land of Neighpon back since it had begun its self-imposed isolation. The Apple-Cider expedition they called it. They had a real hoof in re-establishing communications between the two nations, set up many of the early trade routes as well. He just wanted to make a difference, I guess I did too.”

Star gave a deep sigh. Was she ready to get back on topic or should she carry on down this conversational avenue for a while yet?

“A fascinating culture, the Neighponese, I’ve been there many times now. A little too fond of octopi if you ask me though. Used to be there wasn’t a single pegasi there, which was a shame. Mainly just earth pony farmers, some warriors too, plus a small ruling class made up almost entirely of unicorns. You’d never believe how they control the weather…”

She looked up at Rainbow, whose shocked expression had long since faded, to be replaced by one of astonishment… And maybe also a touch of impatience.

“Sorry, I’m getting off topic.” Star’s glass was placed gently on the desktop as her tale found itself back on track once more.

“Shining wasn’t planned you see, I was on an expedition to Boarundi when I discovered that I was with foal. Velvet turned us around and brought us both straight back home again. I felt like my whole life, everything I’d studied for, everything I’d planned, everything I’d spent years of my life building had just collapsed around me. I kept telling myself that when the baby was born it’d all be ok, but when he came I just didn’t know what to do at all. I’d look at him, so small and pale and needy, and I just didn’t have a clue. I just couldn’t connect with him, and the worst part was, in my heart I didn’t even know if I really wanted to.”

Tears were making their way to her eyes now. Nopony outside of her immediate family had ever seen the great Star Sparkle cry before, always so self-assured, positively radiating confidence at all times. She’d always been so sure that nopony would ever see though it all, the shell she’d carefully built up over the years.

“I was such an awful mother. If it weren’t for Velvet the poor boy would have starved in his crib. She took to motherhood like a natural. I tell you, I swear the boy couldn’t tell us apart most of the time so I let her take over and as soon as I was able to I took a position on a overseas expedition to Mericka and I… I ran away.”

Raising her head She looked deep into Rainbow’s eyes, the unicorn’s tears beginning their journey down her cheeks just as the pegasi’s had earlier.

“You want to see a real coward, or one of these mares you hear of that just don’t understand motherhood? Well, Rainbow dear, here I am, my foal not even a year old and I ran away. Spent the next few years running too. Oh I’d come home for a few months here and there but then I’d get the itch and I’d be off again. You think your mother was bad; she’s not a patch on me. At least she only left you once; I ‘hot-tailed’ it out of the door time and time again.”

Star grabbed her glass with her magic and brought it to her lips. A long, slow sip was taken as her mind pushed her once again though a past she’d rather not have to face.

“Then a few years later, I had been home for only a few weeks and the heat took me by surprise. All my time away had left me out of sync and we were still so young and impulsive. Next thing I knew I was with foal once more. I thought my life was over all over again; I had so many accolades under my belt, so many projects that needed my attention and the last thing I wanted was another foal. So when my little filly was born I just dumped her on Velvet and ran away again. I hadn’t even given her a name yet, just up and ran. I didn’t even know she was called Twilight Sparkle until Lucent tracked me down in southern Prance.”

Tears were freely streaming down her face by this point. Feelings of guilt and shame that Star had thought contained for so long finally burst their banks, building momentum as they searched for release.

“Velvet didn’t speak to me for almost a year, hardly speaks to me even now. Not the way she used to. We were like sisters once, not any more. Can’t say I blame her though. I was so concerned about losing my freedom that I stole hers out from under her. She’d tried for years, tried so hard for a foal of her own and instead I saddled her with two of mine.”

Rainbow was at a loss for words. This wasn’t the Star Sparkle that she knew; the confident mare who could dominate a room with a single look, the respected professor who terrorised her students like a bunch of tiny fillies afraid of the boogiemare. The unquestionable haughtiness that defined her very being had fled the scene, tail tucked between its legs.

Star pulled a small hoofkerchief from the outside pocket of her jacket and, with her magic, used it to dab at her eyes. Once satisfied she was presentable again she continued her tale.

“Years passed and the next thing I know my little ponies have all grown up and left the nest. Shining had joined the guard like Velvet’s older brother and Twilight had gone on to become the new royal protégé. Then Velvet had a foal of her own and suddenly there I was, a middle-aged mare sitting alone in a dig site halfway across Equestria. So I packed up my things and came home but by then it was just too late. By the time I’d decided to pay attention they were all grown up and didn’t need me any more.”

Rainbow’s mind ran back to conversations she’d had with Twilight over the years; long talks about friends and family, what they hoped for their future, what they’d learnt from their pasts. But when it came to how she felt her birth-mother, the purple unicorn had kept those thoughts very much to her self. In fact, Lero was the only one she’d ever really open up to about it and even then the human had quietly stated later that he felt it was something best kept between the two of them. Rainbow had let it drop after that; she knew well how painful a topic family could be.

Star paused to magically refold her hoofie before gently tucking it away back in its pocket. Using her hoof to smooth out the line of her jacket she pressed on, an uncharacteristic tinge of regret colouring her speech.

“I know I’m not a very nice pony, Rainbow, I know I’ve made some bad decisions in my life. I’ve been an awful friend and an absolutely terrible mother and I doubt my children will ever truly love me. We talk and we’re friendly, but I know the connection’s not really there, not like it is between them and Velvet. These are the things that I’ve got to live with.”

She looked Rainbow in the eye, holding her gaze. “But you, you’ve got it all still ahead of you. Your chance at motherhood hasn’t passed you by yet.”

Rainbow waved her glass around, spilling some of her ‘shine on the desktop where, with a gentle ‘hiss’ and a small waft of smoke, it seeped its way into the exposed surface. The desk was too damaged for the pegasus to even care in the slightest at this point. Even if it wasn’t the alcohol in her system had quashed any concerns she may have had for her employer’s office equipment long ago.

“Well unless Twilight can pull off some kind of miracle or the princesses can magic me up a whole new reproductive system then I think it’s safe to assume I’m never gunna be nopony’s mother.“

The two of them sat in silence for a moment until Star used her magic to lift a frame from amongst the family pictures on the wall and floated it over to the desk. It was an image taken just the year before at Scootaloo’s graduation from advanced flight school.

The teenage pegasus was standing proudly in her immaculate flight suit, her mane for once carefully brushed and tamed, an old and battered pair of goggles sitting atop her head, peeking out from her purple tresses. Next to her stood Rainbow Dash in her Wonderbolt’s dress uniform, a forehoof casually laid over the younger mare’s shoulders. It was hard to tell which of the two had the larger grin plastered across their muzzles.

Star floated the image in front of Rainbow’s face. “Where’s Scootaloo’s mother in this image?” She asked bluntly.

Rainbow just snorted. “You know as well as I do her mother’s dead.” She grabbed the frame and pulled it out of the magic field that had been holding it aloft. “Damn drunk flew herself in front of a train years ago. Fool just couldn’t live without her stallion. If the train hadn’t killed her the drink soon would’ve.” She tenderly ran her hoof across the image. “The idiot was so wrapped up in her own problems that she couldn’t see how much her daughter needed her.”

“No, you’re not listening to me.” Star leant - or more like half-slumped - forward and tapped the frame with a hoof “In this image… As far as young Scootaloo is concerned, where is her mother? Who was it that was there for her when she needed her, took her in to her own home, raised her, treated her like family for the better part of a decade even though there was no reason she should?”

The pegasus said nothing as she stared at the image of the young mare that over the years she’d come to see as a younger sister, or maybe more than a sister. All the time they’d spent together, the things they’d done, the places they’d been. She didn’t care how the dictionary defined it, as far as she was concerned they were family. Slowly a lone tear rolled down her cheek, soon to be joined by many more. It didn’t matter to her now that she was with company, Rainbow just let them fall, feeling no shame at her display of emotion.

Star put her hoof gently on her young friend’s shoulder. “You’ve been a mother for a long time now, Rainbow Dash, a mother and a teacher. You just didn’t know it. You’re as much a mother to that girl as Velvet’s been to my Twilight. More than her real mother was and much, much more than I could ever manage.”

Star settled back in her chair and magically lifted her glass is if in salute. “Just because a child doesn’t come out of you, doesn’t mean that you’re not their mother. ”She leant back and threw up her hooves. “So you’re not going to be birthing them yourself… big deal. Just think of all the things you’re not going to have to put up with… morning sickness for one. Oh Celestia knows how much I hated that. I mean literally, she knows. I caught her after your wedding and made sure to let her know all about what us poor old mortals have to put up with. No reason why she should be the only one not having to go through it all. Virgin princess my dock…” Whatever Star said next was lost as she muttered into her drink.

Rainbow couldn’t help but snort as the image of an irate Star Sparkle berating the Co-ruler of all Equestria - Defender of the realm and Goddess of the Sun - about bouts of nausea from ancient history sprang to mind.

Undeterred Star carried on. “Then there’s your figure going completely to seed…” She poked herself in the stomach with a forehoof. “Do you know how long it took to get back into shape each time. Plus young Shining almost destroyed my teats when he was suckling. That boy’s got quite a mouth on him. I almost feel sorry for poor Cadence.” Letting her glass move away in the grasp of her magic field she waved a hoof vaguely in Rainbow’s direction. ”Although I’m sure she’s found a number of good uses for it by now.”

Rainbow snorted again at the completely inappropriate image that flashed though her mind, an image involving the regents of the Crystal Empire and what they may, or may not, get up to in the bedroom. For some reason the image also involved strawberry jelly so maybe she’d had quite enough ‘shine for one day. Quickly she moved to hang the picture back on the wall in order to hide her embarrassment.

“Most importantly, you won’t have to take time way from your flight practice… Which means you can keep that delightfully tight tush of yours just the way it is.” Star’s forehoof moved quicker than that of a mare of her age had any right to, landing a rather loud slap across Rainbow’s flank which made her jump.

“Hey, you promised to behave.” The pegasus scowled, though there was no real anger behind it.

“I’m sorry, but you go waving that delightfully tasty morsel in my face after…ahhh… two, I think, glasses of Moonshine.” Star waved the glass around before staring at it suspiciously. Somehow it was empty again. ”And you expect me not to cop a feel. You poor deluded girl.”

Sighing deeply, Rainbow decided the time had come to cut the older mare off, pulling the empty glass out of Star’s magic field and placing it on her own side of the desk with the now virtually empty bottle. “Come on, I think it’s about time we got out of here. I’m feeling much happier now see…” She motioned to her face where she pulled the corners of her mouth up into a large grin. “So you can tell the princesses that your mission has been more than accomplished.

“Hmph. Well, if you say so.” The older mare sounded much like a disappointed foal as she begrudgingly, and rather slowly, pulled herself up out of her chair.

Packing her bottles of illicit hooch back into their hiding place and dropping the glasses back into the bottom of the filing cabinet, Rainbow ushered her reluctant friend out of her office and into the corridor. “So, what now?” She asked as she pulled the door closed behind her, ignoring the fact it no longer had any means of being secured.

“Well in the long term I do hope you’ll go and see Soothing Words.” Star put her hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder and looked her in the eye. “It’d do you the world of good you know. Apart from that though, it’s all up to you, it’s your life after all. But as far as I’m concerned nothing said today leaves this office.”

Her hoof briefly, and painfully, dug into the pegasi’s shoulder. “Seriously, if anypony finds out that I can actually be kind and considerate and caring and all that sort of nonsense I’ll deny every word of it.”

Rainbow had to let out a short laugh. “Your secret’s safe with me. Not that anypony’d ever believe me anyway,”

“That’s what I like about you, my dear. You know better than to mess with me.” Star’s usual confident smirk was well and truly back in it’s rightful place. “But seriously, think about what we’ve talked about. These kinds of problems won’t go away overnight. But with time, and a bit of help, it will get better.”

Star took her hoof back and used her magic to straighten her jacket. “Well, it’s been a long day and right now I think we could both do with something to eat.” Her ears perked as if she’d just had the most fabulous of ideas. “My dear, I’ve just had the most fabulous idea. There’s this delightful little Neighponese place down by the embassies that I really must take you to. My treat.”

She was right, it had been a long day, and much wordier than Rainbow would have liked. Food would be really good right about now, if only to soak up some of the alcohol.

“They can do some simply wonderful things with rice and they have a surprisingly large number of these tiny little fish dishes which makes it rather popular with Princess Luna’s pegasi guards.” Star gushed. “And they have a plentiful stock of this rather cheeky little rice wine that I’m just dying to introduce you to.”

“Aha.” Rainbow gave her suspicious look. “So the fact it’s popular with pegasi has nothing to do with why you suddenly want to go there then?”

Star’s eyes took on a somewhat dreamy look before she quickly put on an air of innocence that wouldn’t fool a blind mare... Or even a dead one for that matter. “My dear, I have absolutely no idea what you could mean.”

With that the older mare trotted off down the corridor towards the stairwell, her usual haughty spring back in her now slightly wobbly step.

The pegasus took a moment to compose herself before she turned back to the picture gracing the wall by her door. Running her hoof gently over the glass she offered a quick farewell to her old captain before she too trotted off after her friend.

While Rainbow was always up for some free food she wasn’t going to be staying out late tonight. After all, she had to be up early in the morning; firstly she needed to go and apologise to Spitfire, then she needed to head off across town to try and find Star’s old friend. She had a few things, a few personal things, which she suddenly felt the need to talk about.

They might not be able to fix her world in a day, but it would be a start.

WITH SMILES AND CLENCHING JAWS – CHAPTER END

50: Falling down on all that I've ever known.

Falling down on all that I've ever known.
Chapter published 24th Sept 2013

************

November AC1223

Lifting a forehoof to her face, Lyra pushed a few wayward strands of her mane out of her eyes. Though the city of Canterlot was well into the winter season by now, this morning wasn’t as windy as it had been in recent days. Even so, it was more than enough to push her mane around, flapping against her ears and face as the whims of the wind commanded. Her lofty position, seated as she was on the large flat roof of herd Lero’s apartment, meant the wind was stronger than it would have been had she been down at street level all those many body lengths below.

The chill wind pushed at her coat, attempting to steal any precious heat that it could from the skin beneath her fur, but she didn’t care. She’d dealt with far worse conditions over the years.

Catching sight of a number of ponies far below, casually making their way to their jobs or off to meet with friends or family, she found herself being hit with a strong sense of deja vu. Memories of years long past came to her, each jostling for her undivided attention.

Had it really been so long now? It seemed like an entire lifetime ago that she had last taken in this lonely view.

A lifetime? Yes, but not her lifetime... more somepony else’s life, a different pony. Certainly not her life. Not anymore.

~~~~~~~~~~~

December AC1207

The Canterlot city drunk tank was not a nice place to be.

For starters, the smell was appalling. The sour stink of sweat and bile and... various other bodily secretions permeated the air. The second reason was the lack of either heating or cooling, meaning it baked in summer and froze in winter. The small solitary window at the end of the main corridor was in no way sufficient to allow enough breeze though to counter the summer heat, but still let in enough of the freezing winter chill to pervade the farthest corners of every single cell or pen. It didn’t help that the smell meant that there was no time of the year during which the window could be closed.

But then, it wasn’t meant to be a nice place. By design it was supposed to put ponies off of the idea of ever ending up here again. And for the most part, it worked; the threat of a return trip usually more than enough to dissuade all the but the most antisocial - or inebriated - of Canterlot’s denizens.

Some ponies, however, seemed to end up here a lot more often than they should.

The ‘tank’ itself - created from an old repurposed guard barracks on the outskirts of the city - was made up of a number of individual brick-walled cells along one side of a long corridor with an equal number of large, open-topped wooden pens along the other side. The pens, with their water troughs and straw bedding, were for those who were inebriated-into-oblivion to sleep off the nasty side-effects of their frivolities. The cells however, were for the more troublesome of the tank’s ‘guests’ - usually those who’d either been caught fighting or could be considered a danger to either the rest of the city’s populace, the city guards or even to themselves.

Slowly making her way down the corridor, obviously in no real hurry, was a single royal guard. With her armour in place, its inbuilt enchantment still running, she looked just like any other royal guardsmare, with the regulation bone white coat and horn and with both her mane and tail in striped two tone blue.

Passing empty cell after empty cell, she finally reached the last, the one closest to the open window. Inside was the tank’s only remaining resident for the night. A particularly troublesome young mare who been here often enough to know exactly how the system worked by now.

The guardsmare watched the figure within the cell for a moment, their guest curled up in a ball on the thin and (deliberately) uncomfortable bed hanging from the wall. The cell’s inhabitant made no sound, no indication that she knew she had a visitor, instead making a half-decent job of feigning sleep.

Reaching out with a single armour clad forehoof, the guard kicked at the metal bars of the cell door, a resounding ‘clang’ echoing around the large and otherwise deserted corridor.

“So, Heartstrings,” she called through the door. “Back again I see.”

She waited for a response, but none was forthcoming. Their guest didn't move, didn't turn to look who was there. The only indication that she was even alive was a tiny twitch of a single mint-green ear.

Coupling a specially coded spell from her own horn with the identification spell woven into her armour, the guardsmare unlocked the cell door, letting it swing slowly out into the corridor with an (also deliberate) annoyingly loud squeal of metal grinding on metal .

“Time’s up, Heartstrings. You’re free to go,”

The incumbent made no move to move. If anything she just curled herself into a tighter ball.

Sighing, the guard walked into the middle of the cell, leaving the door open behind her.

As she came close to the other unicorn’s side, the guest lifted her head, revealing quite an impressive black eye with the eyelids swollen shut and a large circle of dark puffiness already well developed around the socket. Around her mouth were a number of traces of dried blood with tracks of the same leaving matted patches in the fur around her neck.

Around her horn was a guard-issue horn wrap, effectively keeping her magic locked away. Even though her hooves were free, the wrap couldn't be removed by force until an authorised guard dispelled its seal. Not without ripping away the outer layer of alicorn at least, the act of which would probably be painful enough to knock out all but the most powerful and/or insane unicorn.

The guardsmare let loose a low whistle. Somepony had certainly been in the wars today.

“Girl, you look like crap.”

The mint green unicorn just responded - if it could even be called that - with a look of resigned disinterest.

“Humph, you shoulda seen the other mare,” she muttered, resting her chin gingerly back on her crossed forehooves.

“I did,” the guard responded “We let her go about an hour ago. Hobbled off outta here with her tail between her legs. You’re both real lucky this isn’t being taken any further.”

The young unicorn closed her eyes, making no indication that she was at all interested in embracing her newfound freedom. Her attempt to return to her rest was short-lived however as an armoured foot collided with the bed. Opening one eye she found the guard making ‘shoo’ing motions with a forehoof. But, and this was the surprising part, she wasn't being ‘shoo’d towards the open cell door, but away from it, towards the far wall.

“Come on, budge up, kid. I’ve been on shift since sunrise and my old hooves hurt like crazy.”

Surprised by the sudden (and strangely worded) request - and though she might not have liked to admit it, her natural instincts to obey an older mare of established authority were kicking in - the young mare shuffled along the bed, attempting to make enough room for a the older unicorn to sit down. But the bed was small, by design only big enough for one pony; there’d be no way a second would ever fit.

After taking her helmet off and resting it on the floor, the guardsmare turned around, pushing the back of her hind legs against the edge of the bed before hopping backwards onto the end of the lumpy mattress. With a loud ‘clang,’ the spine of her armour hit the wall as she shuffled herself backwards into place, her hind legs dangling over the edge of the bed as she sat, spine rigidly upright, the back of her head resting against the wall.

The guest just stared at her, baffled by the sheer absurdity of the action. Who in their right mind would ever sit like that? Back upright, rump straight down, legs out front? It looked so... so.. uncomfortable.

The younger unicorn watched as the guard tapped at the front of her chestplate with a forehoof, the chestplate in return releasing its enchantment, the bulky armour relaxing around its wearer’s frame as straps and catches sagged and loosened, ready to be unbuckled.

“Aahh, that’s better. This stuff can get a bit tight when you’ve been wearing it for two shifts straight.”

As the armour’s glamour was broken, the great swathes of stark white fur making up her coat and the blue of her mane and tail were gradually replaced by two tone pink. Around her head and the ends of her legs were dark pink, fading to a much lighter shade as the further one’s eye moved towards the centre of her barrel. Her mane was also a deep pink at the front, fading to almost white - much as her coat had - the further it progressed down her crest towards her withers, while her tail also faded from dark to light as it approached her dock.

As the last of the glamour faded it was easy to see the patterning of a pony with a strong Neighponese heritage displayed quite clearly now that her regulation royal guard colouration had been removed. From the many strands of gray in her mane and the now visible dark marks around her eyes, it was also easy to see that this guard was getting on a bit in years.

“So,” the guard started, wiggling her rear in search of the least lumpy spot on the world’s crappiest mattress. “What’s your story then, Heartstrings? Door’s open and you're still here. Nowhere to go?”

Momentarily entranced though she was by both her visitor's strange posture and her distinctive patterning, the younger unicorn was brought back to earth by the sudden question, and the implication that came with it.

“Not Heartstrings, don’t call me Heartstrings,” she said, turning her head away “I'm not her anymore. Haven’t been for a long time.”

“Really?” The guard arched an eyebrow at this particular piece of news. “So who are you then? You this ‘Harpflank’ I’ve been pulling in these past few years? The teenage tearaway we’ve busted time and again for shoplifting, brawling, vandalism, public indecency? Are you her instead?”

“Yes, no.. I don’t know any more.” The young mare threw her forehooves up in a display of... Was it exasperation? Was it frustration? “I don’t think I want to be her anymore either.”

The guard spent a few moments polishing a small dent on the front of her armour with a forehoof, leaving silence hanging in the air before she spoke again.

“So, what should I call you then?”

“Does it matter?” the guest snapped, resting her head back on her refolded forehooves, glaring at her inquisitor, though the effect was lost somewhat, what with only currently having one good eye with which to glare with.

“Yes.” The guard made sure to catch her squarely in the eyes... eye. “Your file has Heartstrings as your birth name, but you don’t go by that, do you? So what’s your cutie name? I’m betting it’s not Harpflank. So who are you, really? Deep inside?”

The mint green unicorn looked like she wasn’t even going to entertain the idea of answering, her expression stubbornly defiant. But after a few moments that changed, the lopsided scowl slowly replaced with an expression generally only seen on those who were completely sick and tired of the world and wish it would all just buck off and leave them alone.

“It’s Lyra.” She said quietly “Just.. just Lyra.”

“‘Lyra’, huh? Good name, I like it. Kinda poetic.” The guard rubbed a forehoof idly against her chin “I’m Sakura. Sergeant Sakura Hanami to be all official. But you already knew that, didn’t you? Gramps always did insist on calling me Yozakura though.”

Leaning over, Sgt Sakura held out a forehoof towards Lyra, leaving it hanging in the air between them. After staring at it for a while, as if to check it wasn’t going to bite her, Lyra extended a forehoof of her own, bumping the two together in the common Equestrian greeting.

“Nice to meet you, Lyra.” The guard grinned, the wideness of her smile displaying her old but well kept set of pearly white teeth, but also making it just about possible to notice that she was missing a single tooth at the back left. “So, what’s been happening with you?”

“Went dri... out, got into a fight, got busted, ended up here.” Lyra was tired, too tired to argue, too tired to keep secrets. By now she wanted, needed, somepony to talk to, so why not her?. She’d been bottling everything up for far too long now. Why not talk? After all, it couldn’t get any worse, could it?.

“Ah-ha. And nopony’s come to get you out?”

“We both know I’d have been out of here hours ago if that had happened. So, no, nopony came for me.”

“Friends?”

“Nope.”

“Family? Parents?”

“Heck no.”

“Ah.”

With her chin back on her forehooves, Lyra closed her eye, blocking out the world, even if only from just one of her senses.

“They won’t come for me. They say I’ve brought shame upon the herd. Perhaps they’re right.”

Pushing her chin from side to side against the back of her hooves, Lyra could feel the mixture of dirt, sweat, blood and tears mingling with her fur. She felt dirty, unclean. A long shower would really hit the spot about now. But would it be enough? Would she ever feel clean again?

“If I were them, I sure wouldn’t want a daughter like me, ‘specially when they’ve got so many perfect little fillies already, and their oooooh so precious little colt. Why would they want me? Some stupid, ugly little marechild who just hangs out at parties or gets into fights or has to be bailed out’a the drunk tank or lets some complete son of a burro...”

Like a mare on the edge of a cliff who’d realised she was about to drop, she pulled back, clamping her jaw closed before she went any further. Opening her eye and looking back over her shoulder, she found the guard looking her way, no discernible expression gracing her tired old face save a single raised eyebrow.

“Well, you know the kind of things I’ve done, the ponies I hang with, you've had the pleasure of my company often enough.”

“That’s true.” Sgt Sakura nodded, “We’ve got a special shelf for casefiles like yours, kid - right near the booking office door, easy to get at. No point even filing them away as they’ll just be needed again soon enough. I've been through your file time and again. I probably know the bones of you better than I do some of my own family by now.”

The guardspony reached over and tapped the younger mare on the shoulder. It wasn’t a pat or a stroke or a familial gesture, but it was contact all the same.

“Between you and me,” she said, the raised eyebrow replaced by a conspiratorial smirk, “if Private Armour ever finds out you were the one who took a leak in his helmet last spring... Well let's just say he wouldn't be at all pleased, so we’d best keep that one to ourselves, hmm?”

Unbidden, a flush came to Lyra’s cheeks.

“You knew that was me?”

The smirk only got smirkier.

“I do now.”

Reaching into her armour with her telekinesis, Sgt Sakura pulled out a battered pack of salt sticks. Shaking one loose she stuck it in her mouth, holding it between her lips as she began to suck on it. Levitating the pack over to her companion, she shook out a second stick and offered it to Lyra, who gingerly took it with her hooves and rested it between her own lips.

“It’s bad habit, I know,” the older mare winked, “just don’t tell anypony, okay?”

Lyra just nodded before the two of them settled down for a few welcome moments of peace and quiet. No more words passed between them in the otherwise deserted cellblock, leaving the regular ticking of the clock on the wall outside the cell and the distant bustle of the city seeping in from the small window below it as the only sounds to be heard. Closing her eye, Lyra tried to imagine what was going on outside these walls, out on the streets of the sleeping city.

After a few minutes the older mare reached down to rub at her rear hooves, which the youngster took as an opportunity to break the silence.

“It’s true you know, I’m no good. I just let everypony down. I’ve fallen... I’ve fallen and I can’t get back up.”

Silence reigned once more and it looked like the conversation may have petered out again. After a while Sakura spoke, her voice soft like she was imparting some great secret..

“We all fall, Lyra, and there’s often nothing we can do about that. But sometimes falling isn’t so bad, it means you’re still moving, still living. You can be both absolutely still and yet you're moving at the same time. It’s when you stop falling, stop moving, that’s when it’s all over. If you could fall forever, to learn to control your descent, to choose your own path, then you’d be fine.”

Lyra opened her good eye, just a crack, to find Sakura had closed hers, her head leant back against the cold cell wall behind her. To be honest, most of that had just gone over the minty unicorn’s head and just sounded like some kind of philosophical claptrap. But, at least the guard was trying to help, and it wasn't like she had any other place to be right now, no urgent appointments to keep, no pony waiting up for her to come home.

“I just can't control my temper,” the young unicorn said, closing her eye again as she let the end of the salt stick roll about between her lips, “These... urges, these instincts just kick in. I just ending hurting ponies... or hurting myself. I spend a lot of time trying to forget that they’re there, to keep them quiet by... going out and doing... stuff.”

“Instincts help us, Lyra, there's nothing wrong with having them,” the guardsmare offered. “But they have to work for us, not us for them. You have to tame those instincts, control them, rule them. Doing so is what separates ponies from horses. Without control we're nothing but wild animals; eating, sleeping, fighting, rutting, all like mindless beasts.”

“Mindless beasts! Ha” Lyra snorted “I know that feeling. What a foal I was. ‘Noblesse oblige’ my plot.”

At the sudden change of tone Sakura cracked an eye, just to find the younger mare quietly seething. Anger, no... rage, pure unadulterated unbridled rage covered the unicorn’s face. Between her hooves her partially sucked salt stick lay where it had fallen from her mouth. The older mare easily recognised a desire to hurt, to extract some kind of twisted revenge. It was written bold as day all across what could otherwise be an extremely pretty face, were it not for the bruising and swollen eye of course.

“Something’s changed, hasn't it?” Sakura asked, before adding “Something that caught you off guard, left you scared.”

At the way the minty unicorn’s eye shot to hers, the amount of anger she was displaying, from the flicking of her ears to the curling of her upper lip, Sakura was worried for a second that the kid would lash out, that she’d allow her instincts to push her into making a rash decision.

The sergeant could handle herself, that was no problem. The kid was a decent street brawler, that was for sure, but she had nothing on decades of training and experience. Sakura prepared to charge her horn to channel a defence spell anyway - it never paid to be overconfident no matter your opponent.

But, it looked like the kid had been listening after all and, after a few tense moments, the youngster just closed her eye and let her head droop back onto her hooves.

For the next few minutes they sat together in silence, neither mare either moving or speaking. Sakura could hear the other unicorn breathing in the otherwise empty room, evidently trying to control her temper, to keep her breathing slow and steady. The sergeant had to give it to her, the kid was a fast learner.

Eventually, Lyra was the one to break the silence.

“I was pregnant.”

Sakura waited, leaving the younger mare to say more, if she wanted to that was. But when it looked like nothing more would be forthcoming she risked a single-word question.

“Was?”

“It’s gone now. I lost it.” the youngster pushed her face behind her folded forehooves.

“Oh.”

“Or maybe it was never there. I... I don’t know any more.”

“Oh?”

“I tried every testing spell I could find, they all came up positive. I even tried some of those dumb folk remedy tests that earth ponies use, they came up positive too.”

“But?”

“But... when I told my... stallion he, well, let’s just say he didn’t take it that well.” Lyra rubbed at the side of her face, as if trying to scratch an itch that just wouldn’t go away. “I’d rather not talk about that though.”

“Fair enough. So what happened next. What did the rest of your herd do?”

“We... we weren’t in a herd.”

“Oh, so, just the two of you then?”

“Ha! Apparently not even that. Seems I was just his bit of fun. Some dumb filly he could just use and throw away when... when...” Lyra threw her forehooves in the air as she cried “oh, I was such a bucking idiot. I should have known, I should have seen it coming. But I loved him, I loved him so much... and I thought, I really thought he loved me.”

Refolding her forelegs and pushing her face back beneath them, all that could be heard for the next few moments was mutterings of “Idiot, such an idiot” between the occasional thump of hoof meeting skull

“You gunna try hurting yourself there, Lyra?”

A darkly amused laugh came from beneath the green fur of those crossed forehooves.

“Nah, don’t think so. I’m too busy telling myself what an idiot I’ve been.”

“Good. Cos if you did then I’d have to do something about it and I really do not want to be pulling a triple shift tonight, thank you very much.”

“No, we’re good. Thanks.” The forehooves parted by a scant few hornwidths and a single golden eye could just be seen peeking through the gap. “So, you're not going to call me an idiot too? Tell me how stupid I was to carry on having sex with him even when my last heat came? Point out how dumb it was to get pregnant without even being in a proper herd?”

“Nope.”

“Oh.” The forehooves fell away to reveal a puzzled face. “Why?”

“Why?” The guardsmare gave a short, sharp laugh. “Cos you're a big girl, Lyra. You’ve gained your mark, grown into your curves, obviously had more than a few heats as well. In ancient times that’d have been enough for your birth herd to have kicked you out to make your own way in the world. Thankfully times have changed, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t take responsibility for your own actions.”

“Maybe,” a scowl started to creep across the minty young unicorn’s face again, “I can think of some other pony who could do with taking some responsibility.”

“Anyway,” Sakura thought it best to get the topic of conversation back on path, and fast. “So what happened next?”

“What happened next?” The scowl lessened none. “So, I was out the door. Wasn’t like I could go home though so I just crashed at some friends’ places; slept on sofas, floors, that kind of thing. Or at least for a while. Thing was, pretty soon it seemed like my ‘friends’ just didn't want me around anymore, and all the good times we’d been having, they just went away. Or maybe I just couldn't find them any more, like nothing really mattered. No matter where I turned, there was nothing there for me, nothing that I wanted to be part of anyway.”

“Sometimes our world view can suddenly change like that. It’s a shock, but it happens.” Sakura lifted what was left of her salt stick from her lips and waved it around as it could somehow reveal the mysteries of the universe. “And sometimes the ponies we think of as friends are nothing of the sort. Just ‘good time companions’, only friendly for as long as the good times roll.”

“Yeah, I’m starting to see that now.” Lyra lifted her own discarded salt stick back between her lips before laying her chin once again on her crossed ankles. “I just wanted... I’m not even sure what I wanted any more. But I thought I’d found it, I’d thought I was happy, thought I had friends who cared, a stallion that loved me, a...”

She trailed off, her eyes flicking around the room, searching for only Celestia knew what.

”Well, I was wrong. Looks like I was wrong about a lot of things, maybe everything. It’s like I was up on stage, performing my way through my own life, and then suddenly everyone else was just... gone, and it was just me left on my own again.

“I’ve spent a lot of time, this past week, sitting on up on roofs around the city, just looking down at the ground, the tiny little ponies and their insignificant little lives, just...“

“Thinking about jumping?” Sakura asked quietly, though her tone made clear that the question was deadly serious.

“No, no, I’d never...” The very suggestion brought the minty mare’s head around, looking the guard directly in the eye before turning away again in shame. “I don’t know. I might have, a little bit. Mainly I kept wondering what it’d be like to be a pegasus, to be able to just fly away like a bird... or a butterfly. Go somewhere else...”

A mint green head returned to its hiding place under the hooves.

“...be somepony else. I... I don’t want to be a bad girl any more.”

“Not such a great life, you know, being a butterfly. not a lot of strength to it.” A deep pink hoof came gently to rest on top of a green and white mane. “Not so great being a bad girl either, not much future to it.”

The single hoof moved slowly back and forth in a gentle stroking motion.

“You ever heard of the Still Way?” the older mare asked after a few moments.

Lyra lifted her head from under her hooves, the pink hoof back at the guard’s side as if it had never moved.

“That far eastern ‘everything is connected’ meditation thingy” The young unicorn waved her hooves around as it to demonstrate quite what she thought of the aforementioned martial art’s metaphysical mumbo jumbo.

“Yeah,” Sakura laughed. Her voice had an unusually nice quality to it, one the average pony on the street didn’t often get to hear. “You should give it a try. Yeah it’s got more than its fair share of philosophy and meditation, but there’s a lot of physicality to it too. Part of finding the balance is in finding that connection between the mind, the heart and the body.

“I've seen you in action, kid. You're a good brawler, rough and undisciplined yeah, but underneath it all you got the flow of a martial artist, and your casting’s pretty quick. Your repertoire’s rather simple though and your channelling’s got no real strength or stability to it but with some practice that’d change. The Still Way has a lot of offensive and defensive spells to it as well as just moving your body.”

Lyra looked up, much more interested now.

“So it’s about learning to beat ponies up too?”

“Yeah, kinda.” Sakura laughed again. It was a sound that Lyra thought she could come to like. “But there’s more than that, much much more. Once you learn about how your spells and all your physical moves work together, how best to deal with a situation before it gets out of hoof and how to plan everything out well ahead, well, you’ll find there’s all these options available to you that don't end up with some pony getting hurt. Often it’s about figuring out the best way to resolve a situation before the first move's even been made.”

Noticing that she’d sucked her salt stick down to the last little nubbin, Sakura pulled it from between her lips, opened her mouth and tossed it between her back teeth.

“I was like you once,” she said from between a couple of swift crunches and a swallow, “‘til I met somepony who helped me turn it around. They helped me find my centre, to see the balance. I’d spent so long feeling like an outsider that I started expecting it to happen, and once I’d got to that state I just ended up making it happen. And it’s a lonely place, you know, being on the outside.”

“On the outside?” Lyra asked, puzzled by the reference.

“Yeah,’ the guard waved a hoof over her patterning, the graduation of her colouring marked out her heritage as being non-native to these shores, “My sire weren’t exactly from around these parts.”

“Oh, yeah. I noticed.” The green unicorn just shrugged. Those kinds of things had never really meant much to her. To some other Canterlot unicorns, yeah, but not to her.

“Being different isn't so bad, once you get a handle on it.” The pink and white unicorn waved a forehoof in Lyra’s direction. “If you can take all those differences and then find the centre between them, you can find yourself a balance. Took me a long time to find that balance.”

Sakura spread her forehooves wide out in front of herself, as if seeing the radiant glory of their alicorn princess for the very first time.

“'I once was lost, but now am found'.”

Lyra couldn’t help but note that subtle note of sarcasm creeping in.

“So,“ the younger unicorn laughed mirthlessly, “is this the part where you try giving me some horseapples about letting the creator into my heart, or how this ‘Still Way’ can save my soul or something?”

Sakura’s forehooves dropped, turning to face Lyra with a grin somewhere between ‘smug’ and ‘mischievous’.

“Buck no, kid. What or who you let into your heart is your own concern, and you need to figure that out for yourself. Seems to me that that’s been part of your problem so far - figuring out who to let in and who to keep out. Looking for love in all the wrong places, no?”

Levitating her stashed packet of salt sticks from beneath her armour, the guard thought better of it and returned them to their hiding place.

“But The Still Way?” she continued, “I suggest you try it, or something like it. If it doesn't work, then try something else ‘til you find that thing that’s right for you. We’re all different, my girl. What works for one might not work for another. But in one important way we’re all the same - we all need something inside us that can keep our hooves on the ground.

“But, if there's one thing that The Way has taught me it’s that, even in my line of work, there's no truly bad ponies, no great evils, no insurmountable mistakes; just ordinary ponies, lost and confused, who've made inappropriate choices and don’t know how to move on from them.

“We need our flaws, Lyra, but we need to keep them under control, managed, owned. Our flaws are what make us interesting. And our pasts? We need those too, for better or worse, they help teach us what to do next, where to go with our lives. Anyway, all those happy happy ponies out there, the ones who’ve had perfect lives right from the start? They have no stories, Lyra, no interesting ones at least.

“But still, you’ve got to ask yourself, kid, what are you looking for, who is it you want to save you? If you're looking to anypony but yourself for salvation, well, then you're just wasting your time. And you gotta learn to love yourself, and I mean really love yourself - not just that tolerate crap, before you can even start to think about sharing that love with others.”

Rubbing at her hind legs with her forehooves, Sakura rocked forward on her rump.

“It’s a long journey you know, to being a better pony, and it’s one you’ve got to want to take. And it’s true, the first step’s the hardest, but the next few, they’re pretty hard too. And the ones after that? Well, I ain’t gunna lie to ya, kid.”

Sucking in sharply between her teeth, the guardsmare shuffled forward and hopped off of the bed.

“But,” she said, pops and clicks coming from her joints as she stretched out her limbs. “I'll make you an offer. It’s a one time thing, so think carefully before you answer.”

Lyra nodded, the older mare had her full attention.

“My cousin’s kid’s staying with me at the moment, training to be a confectioner at some fancy-flanked place up in the heart of the city.” Sakura levitated her helmet onto her head as she finished her stretches. “Come new year she’ll be headin’ home for a few months and I want you to go with her, spend some time away from here. Bonnie's mom owes me a favour so she'll put you up. Oh, Cherry Drops will complain about it, she always does, but she’ll take you in all the same. You'll like it there, it’s a sleepy little earth pony town out by the Everfree.”

Making her way towards the open cell door, the guard glanced back over her shoulder.

“It’ll be perfect for you, nothing ever happens there.”

Reaching the door, she stopped.

“By the way, kid, it’s past midnight, it’s tomorrow already,” she nodded to the clock above the corridor’s sole window. “So, happy birthday, Lyra, you’re seventeen now. Consider today a new start, a chance to say goodbye to the old you and move on as somepony new... a new and better you. A new life’s there for the taking.”

And with that she walked out of the door, her voice echoing down the hall as she walked away.

“But only if you want it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

November AC1223

The sudden crunching sound from behind her of a small piece of stone or errant gravel being caught under a shoe brought Lyra out of her reminiscence. Twisting to look behind herself she found her stallion standing there, his arms folded against his chest, hands rubbing against his biceps to warm them up under his thin cotton shirt.

Motioning to the space next to her, she bid him to sit with her. Needing no second invitation the human sat beside her, his legs dangling, as hers already did, over the edge of the roof towards the balcony below.

For a few minutes that sat in silence, just watching the world go by on the streets far beneath them.

“Penny for them?” the human finally asked.

“What?” Lyra asked, the strange question leaving her puzzled, a situation she didn’t often find herself in.

“It’s an old human phrase, I seem to remember you offered me something similar once.” Lero explained “You were miles away in your thoughts, so I'm offering you a little piece of currency that you might share them. I think it's the same as your phrase in that it’s a way of letting people know that we want to help, that we think someone’s worth us giving them something of our ours if it might help them, even if it’s just time and an ear. Or, at least I think that’s what it means. It’s been a while since I could go google this kind of stuff.”

“Oh.” Lyra nodded “It’s just some old memories, I don't think I could ever give these a price.”

The unicorn passed to her herdmate a single piece of paper that she had been holding onto, gripping it in the breeze as if her life as depended on it. Lero read what it had to say, noting the that the headed paper displayed an address for a hospital in Fillydelphia, the City of Sisterly Love.

“It’s from an old friend of mine.” Lyra pressed her forehooves together, watching the fur around her ankles shift back and forth with the wind. “My very first sensei actually. You might remember her from the wedding. She’s... ill. Very ill. She asked if I'd go see her.”

“Are you going to go?” Lero asked, looking up from the letter, catching the expression of worry on his wife’s face. An expression the mint green unicorn had hardly ever worn in all the time he’d known her.

“Of course. I owe her a lot. Some might say I owe her my life. She knows that if she ever needs me then I’ll be there.”

Reaching over, Lero wrapped his fingers around one of Lyra’s ankles, squeezing gently so she could feel the warmth of his fingers through her fur.

“Would you like me to come with you?” he asked.

Moving her other forehoof, Lyra gently placed it over the human’s hand.

“Yes, I’d like that,” she said “I’d like that a lot. Thank you.”

Removing her forehoof, she used it to slowly rub at her belly, the gentle swelling of her pregnancy just starting to show.

“Besides, I've got somepony I’d like her to meet.”

51: Just as the sun sets, it will rise at dawn for ever after.

Just as the sun sets, it will rise at dawn for ever after.

Chapter published 15th Feb 2013

***********************************

Nov 1223 AC

She watched. She watched and she waited.

Patiently, almost reverently, she looked to the sky as one would gaze upon a much loved old friend.

The sun had long since set and the last of its rays were making their way over the horizon. As she had so many times before, Princess Celestia had outdone herself again this evening and the sunset had been simply breathtaking.

The spectacular performance of tonight’s lightshow was certainly not lost on this awestruck fan. She knew now that here were some things in life that you just didn’t want to hurry. It had taken her years to learn this hard lesson, years of pain and damaged friendships and the occasional failure.

But she knew now. Some things you just couldn’t rush. She was better now; stronger, smarter, wiser. Acceptance took time, healing even longer. But she had friends, family, ponies who cared. She’d be OK. No, she’d be better than just OK. She’d be magnificently OK.

A hand settled behind her head, smoothing along her mane, her lover’s fingers occasionally rubbing against her ear in the way she found just soooo soothing. They hadn’t spoken, not for a long time now, they didn’t need to.

She’d always loved the sunset. Growing up it had told her that she’d made it though another day, that the torment was over and she could rest. That she could sleep and use her dreams to escape. Now it told her that another fine day would be along in the morning, that there would be a whole new day for her to enjoy… for them to enjoy.

A new day would come for her to follow her dreams, to turn them into reality. And follow them she had, but for while it had seemed that her dreams had turned sour, but not now, now they were getting better and the only way was up.

The sun had set and twilight now held the sky as dusk swiftly approached. The first stars of the night were beginning to make their appearance meaning it would soon be time to go back inside where her lover would be warm and the rest of her herd would be waiting. But not yet, not quite yet. Not while she had ears that needed rubbing.

So together they watched. They watched and they waited.

It was her favourite time of the day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She watched. She watched and she waited.

Comforted by familiarity, she turned her attention to the sky as one would look upon an old and trusted companion

The moon was high in the sky and the clear, still night air made the stars shine so much brighter tonight. There was a small meteor shower due along soon and she didn’t want to miss it.

Huddling under a blanket, pushing herself against the body heat radiating from her stallion next to her, she levitated a steaming cup of hot chocolate to her lips, using its comforting warmth to hold off the winter chill.

She so loved the night, all the way from those first few moments between sunset and dusk to the last short stretch between dawn and sunrise, those wonderful, almost magical moments after which she was named. Even as a young filly the majesty of the night sky had held her in its sway, the night stars had been her friends though times of doubt and solitude, the moon a much loved confidant.

Then later, in her teenage years, she had convinced a surprisingly reluctant Princess Celestia to re-open and re-equip the dusty old royal observatory nestled high in the spires of Canterlot Castle. The hours she would spend there, just her, the great telescope and library book after library book.

It was there - more than a decade ago now she realised - she had found an ancient book of prophecy, the book from which she had learnt about the predicted return of Nightmare Moon and unknowingly setting up a chain of events that would lead her to where she was today.

Without this long neglected tome, abandoned and forgotten behind an ancient bookcase, she would never have ended up in Ponyville, she would never have met the other bearers of the elements of harmony and she would never have found love with her mysterious traveller.

She had much to thank that book for; the book that now held pride of place on the largest bookcase in her office back at the university.

But tonight she sat, just her and her stallion, enjoying the comfortable silence as they took in the quite spectacular view. Her herd-sisters were already asleep; both now early risers though one would still spend her first few waking moments of the day trying desperately to claim ‘just five more minutes’. Some things never changed and of that she was glad. If there was one thing she liked in her life it was consistency and order, though she was in no way as compulsive about it as her herdmates liked to claim she was.

The night sky had been fairly static for almost as far back as the written word, but since Princess Luna’s return she had been far more free and expressive with the positioning of her stars. Over the last few years the princess of the night had rearranged some of the constellations and had even added a number of new stars to the sky, ending the thousand years of status quo which Princess Celestia had so rigidly upheld.

While most reactions to the changes were positive, and at least half of the Astronomer’s guild had been enthralled with each new alteration, the other half had repeatedly threatened to... What had Lero called it? Oh yes, ‘ragequit’ at even the slightest hint of change.

But the pony and her human mate didn’t care about any of this. Not tonight, the stars were too beautiful, the near silence of the sleeping town too restful, for any of that to matter. The meteor shower was starting soon and word was it would be a good one.

They’d been out here on the balcony since dusk, the first one, not the other two. Not many ponies knew that there was more than one dusk. But she knew, her friends the books had told her long ago.

They had sat tonight though the civil dusk, then the nautical dusk, then the astronomical dusk. Then, finally, came the true darkness, the best time for the stars, the stars ignored by so many as they went about their business. But she loved them.

She loved the peace and quiet of the night. The chance for solitude and quiet reflection. The chance to get away from the pressures of the university and the hustle and bustle of the royal court. The petty academics and the pompous nobles and the stuffy bureaucrats; none of them were here tonight, just herself, her lover and the stars.

So together they watched. They watched and they waited.

It was her favourite time of the day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She watched. She watched and she waited.

Allowing the world in all its forms to flow over her like a wave, she looked to the early morning sky as one would sit at the feet of a wise and trusted mentor.

Often she would rise with the dawn, venturing out during the waning twilight hours to catch the sunrise. Each new day brought hope and promise, it spoke of a day to come so full of excitement and adventure.

It was as if the very music of harmony sang to her though those first rays of light. Each ray of light a different note, each note streaking its way across the sky, twisting and turning and merging together deep in her soul to create a soaring melody, melody building upon melody, rolling and crashing and ebbing and flowing as it played for her the grand symphony of life.

“River flows to the sea and all is one. Light burns stone to dust and all is one. Each returns to the centre of all. Today I forge a new path so that I might once again return.”

Repeating the mantra once more she took in a deep breath, holding it for a moment before slowly letting it out. Allowing herself to fall into a deeply relaxed state she searched for her centre. Finding it she used it to find the tipping point and from there the balance. From there she found the song, letting it flow though her, touching every part of her being until it finally came to rest with the child growing within her.

She could feel her stallion’s hand on her belly, rubbing slowly against the gentle swelling that held the new life within. His touch was warm, his movements reassuring. Lero had joined her out on grassy slopes of the Saddles as he did most mornings now. He had said he wanted to try meditating with her, but she suspected it was more so that she had someone to hold her mane back when she needed to run off to the bushes to be violently sick.

Suddenly a bout of nausea loomed on the edge of her awareness. Morning sickness her lover called it. Oh by all the sweet spirits she could do without the morning sickness. The morning sickness and the odd food cravings. Why did she always end up eating fish? She didn’t even like fish and it had certainly never agreed with her. And why could she not talk to Daisy Jo the cow for more than five minutes without salivating these days? And why were the pigs over at Sweet Apple Acres looking so... tempting?

Quickly pushing these thoughts aside before her stomach decided it would either need filling or emptying she returned to her meditations.

“All is ephemera. All fades away. Take the brush, write upon the stone. Ink shall fade, stone shall crumble. Each returns to the source.”

She loved the morning, the new day bringing new promise and new hope. Whatever happened yesterday was gone now; whatever tomorrow may bring was unknown. The sunrise cleared all baggage and banished all ills, the dawn making way for the endless possibilities laid out before them.

The new day had come and it was theirs for the taking. And take it they would, together as one, fellow travellers, trailblazers and pioneers on this glorious journey called life.

So together they watched. They watched and they waited.

It was her favourite time of the day.

52: Out along the edges, always where I burn to be.

Out along the edges, always where I burn to be.

Chapter published 3rd Feb 2013

*******************************************

May 1224 AC

Slipping her sunglasses onto her face, Captain Rainbow Dash of the Royal Equestrian Air Force, Flight instructor at Wonderbolts Academy (and hotly tipped as the next Academy Commandant) trotted across the runway to meet her newest team of recruits.

They were the best of the best; of all the air force inductees only the finest made it into either officer training or the Wonderbolts program. To make it directly into both at the same time was rare, a maximum of twelve cadets a year (usually less) ever managed this double honour and of those not all would make it though to be a Wonderbolts officer.

Of those who withdrew, or were rejected along the way, many returned back to the standard air force training programs – often later joining specialist groups such as VIP escort duty or the Border Patrol - but just as many dropped out entirely and returned to civilian life.

Rainbow eyeballed this year’s ‘dirty dozen’ as she made her way across the runway to where they stood at attention, awaiting her arrival. They’d all made it though the first month of REAF training so she knew they couldn’t have had any problems so far.

She’d repeatedly read over their dossiers, poured over every performance review and test result. She’d contacted flight schools and traveled to see each candidate’s sponsor in person. She knew these ponies, knew each one’s file intimately, especially their strengths and their weaknesses; but they didn’t need to know that

As she closed on the dozen shock still students she could hear Spitfire and Iron Eagle chatting quietly and comparing notes as they followed along behind her. Reaching the limits of the cadet’s earshot all conversation ceased, the three Wonderbolts forcing impassive expressions to their faces, their eyes obscured behind three matching sets of dark - and expensive - aviator sunglasses.

Coming to a stop in front of the parade line, Rainbow stood in silence for a second just watching the cadet’s faces to see what would happen next. While a couple of them let their eyes flick momentarily to take in their recently arrived superiors, most kept their faces impressively static, eyes fixed firmly forward.

Captain Dash took a moment to smooth out the jacket of her service uniform, her many ribbons firmly attached to her chest, her rank insignia catching the sun’s rays making her shoulders glint in the early morning light.

After glancing back to check her two colleagues were ready, she began to slowly pace up and down in front of the assembled inductees. This had to be one of her favourite parts of the job, playing Drill Sergeant Nasty could be so much fun.

“Well lookie what we got here. Betcha'll think you're Wonderbolt material, don't ya?” she barked as she paced.

“Ma'am. Yes ma'am!” All twelve Cadets quickly and clearly responded in unison.

Looking over to Iron Eagle she could see him mark a tick on his clipboard. Satisfied, she continued.

“This….” Rainbow stopped her pacing and pointed a hoof at Spitfire. “Is Flight Commander Spitfire, Captain of the Wonderbolts. This…” She moved her hoof to indicate Iron Eagle. “Is Master Chief Iron Eagle. They are both here to oversee your transfer into my care.”

Resuming her pacing Rainbow carried on, her volume only increasing, “And I, am Captain Rainbow Dash, And for the next three months until you are released back into the delightful Commandant Blaze’s ever loving care…” Coming back to the start of the row she pushed her muzzle just inches from the closest cadets face “You little fillies are all mine!”

Iron Eagle ticked off another box on his clipboard.

To say that at that moment most of the cadets were trying their best not to give away their nerves would be an understatement and at least half of them were just managing a barely passable job of it. In the time Captain Dash had been teaching at the academy she’d built herself quite the fearsome reputation.

But as terrifying as she may be not only did she get results, she was also known for being able to outclass almost any cadet in pretty much any task she set for them. While ‘firm but fair’ was one phrase that had been used to describe her, ‘fierce but fair’ was the phrase you’d hear uttered much more often.

Graduating top of her class of Wonderbolt officers, Captain Dash rivaled Spitfire and her brother as one of the youngest captains of all time, the youngest ever full time flight instructor the academy had ever seen, a decorated hero, the first pony in centuries to perform a sonic rainboom - even then she’d only been a foal first time she’d accomplished the feat. She was the subject of admiration and adulation for many a young pegasus, her image adorning posters loving stuck to the walls of many a youngster’s bedroom, her face plastered across even more merchandise than Spitfire or Soarin.

And added to all that she was the bearer of an element of harmony, married to another, lead-mare in one the most famous herds in the country, a good friend of Princess Luna and to top it all had been up close and personal in the battle against ‘Nightmare Moon’ herself.

To be honest most of these cadets were awestruck just to have her shouting at them, let alone talking to them.

Reaching the end of the line Rainbow lowered her shoulders and spread her wings wide to take on an aggressive stance. “So, you pansies think you got what it takes to be an elite flyer?”

“Ma’am, Yes Ma’am.” Came the unified reply.

“Well then.” Rainbow returned to her well-practiced speech. Spitfire had used something similar on her, Modesty Blaze had used it on Spitfire, now it was these newbies’ turn. “Let me be the first to tell you... You don't! If you had what it took to be an elite flyer, you'd already be a Wonderbolt! You still think you're something special?

“Ma’am, No Ma’am.” Good, they were getting it.

“Well let me tell you something about the Wonderbolts. You think you can just waltz in here and bust a few moves for the crowds and call yourself an elite flyer then you’re sorely mistaken.”

Rainbow knew well and good that every one of these cadets was deadly serious about the Wonderbolts, that they’d give their all, even their lives if necessary, for the cause. Hay, she’d been in their horseshoes herself not so many years ago so she knew what they’d had to do just to get where they were today. But she couldn’t let them know that, they had to feel the need to prove to her that they were totally devoted to the Wonderbolts one hundred percent.

But then, it also helped that somewhere down the years a rumour had started that, as the bearer of the element of loyalty, she could sniff out anypony who wasn’t totally committed – and it didn’t matter what to - from a dozen body-lengths away. A rumour that she’d carefully done nothing to disprove.

“The life of a Wonderbolt is hard and it is dangerous. If you don’t give one hundred percent at all times it will chew you up and blow you out like a bubble. If you mess up, even for a second, somepony could end up seriously hurt... Or worse.”

Rainbow continued pacing down the line, ensuring she made eye contact with every cadet as she did so. Satisfied her message was sinking in she continued, confident the Master Chief was taking notes as she went.

“But it is the best life you will ever know. Every meal will taste like a banquet, every flight will feel like a parade. There is no finer life than that of a Wonderbolt in this mare’s air force.“

A small squeak came from one of the two stallions in the middle of the line up. Rainbow’s head snapped around to take in the pair, the sudden movement making the small braid behind her left ear bounce against her neck.

“You got a cough there, son?”

After a tiny, almost imperceptible, shake of the head from the slightly panicking stallion on the right she moved on. The lad had at least made a noise, even if he hadn’t backed it all the way up; but it was a start.

Reaching the second to last recruit in the row, she fixed the tall white mare with a Fluttershy grade stare, the kind the butter-yellow pegasus saved for use on particularly grumpy creatures like large bears or manticores.

The many shades of blue in the cadet’s striped mane bounced about as the youngster shied back ever so slightly before she recovered quickly and pulled herself back up to her full height. By Celestia, they all looked so damn young these days.

“So who are you?” Rainbow barked. She already knew the answer but the cadet didn’t need to know that.

“Ma’am, Blue Fire, Ma’am.”

“Aha, so you’re the one Coach Snowflake reckons is pretty hot stuff, huh?” Rainbow’s glare hadn’t lessened in the slightest. “So are you pretty hot stuff then? I may have trained with the Coach back in the day but to be honest I‘m not seeing it! You look more like you’d quit after the first day, Is that what you’re gunna do? Are you going to quit on the first day and make my buddy look like some kind of fool?”

“No Ma'am! I'd never quit, Ma'am!” The white mare fired back, Iron Eagle making busy with his clipboard yet again.

“Glad to hear it.“ Rainbow made to move away, waiting for the cadet to release some small part of her tension before pushing herself back into the younger mare’s personal space. “I’ll be watching you.” She stated. No anger, no malice, just a pure statement of fact; even if it was done at quite a volume.

Rainbow knew full well who Blue Fire was; Snowflake had arrived at her door a number of weeks ago to deliver his recommendation personally. While he wasn’t exactly known for his public speaking, the muscular stallion had brought with him one of the most eloquently written letters Rainbow had ever read. And read it she had, with the author – or ‘The Brick’ as he was now more commonly known – waiting patiently for her to finish before he even said a word.

Snowflake may have been rejected from the Royal Equestrian Air Force years before but he’d not let it get him down. After making a name for himself around Ponyville as a highly successful personal trainer he’d returned to his hometown of Cloudsdale where he’d become a coach for the Cloudsdale Flyers, Equestria’s only professional hoofball team made up entirely of pegasi.

The nickname had come from both his flying style and his favoured method of offensive tackle. While he was the first to admit that while in the air he was about as graceful and aerodynamic as a brick, as soon as he made contact the target of his attack was usually left wondering which particularly solid wall it was that they’d mistakenly ploughed into.

Under his tutelage, the Flyers had won the All-Equestria Hoofball Championship an unparalleled three years on the trot, and looked to be in with a shot at making it four. To make their record all the more impressive was the fact that, while the feat would have been incredible even for a mixed team, the Flyers had managed it with no earth ponies for heavy weight attacks and without the magical reach or throw of any unicorns, even when the rules stated that only a small number of their pegasi players could be in the air at any one time.

Blue Fire had been one of his rising stars and had all the makings of great hoofball player though both Snowflake and her parents had believed she could be so much more. For all her skill on the field, it seemed she had quickly become bored of the game, feeling she had so much more to offer than just charging around a field after a ball. Snowflake believed that she required more of a challenge in order to keep pushing herself and, if the impressive figures on her aptitude tests were anything to go by, it looked like the Wonderbolts was just the place for her to excel.

Turning from Blue Fire, Rainbow cast her eye to the last cadet in the row. Where Blue Fire was tall, this young mare was short even for a pegasus, her bright orange fur coupled with her light fuchsia mane and eyes made her look so much like a cross between Scootaloo and Fluttershy’s eldest.

“And you, you don’t even look old enough to be out of kiddy school, let alone flight school. What’s your name?”

The young mare stiffened, it looked like Rainbow had hit a nerve.

“Ma’am, Dodge Charger, Ma’am.” There was more than hint of an Appleosian twang in her voice, something that was almost never heard coming from the mouth of anything but an earth pony. Rainbow was suddenly reminded of Applejack; she really must go see her later this month, they hadn’t had a good meet up for a few weeks now and her farm-pony friend always appreciated an excuse to get away from the stompy-stompy twins.

Dash ran her trained eye over the younger pegasus. Tight flanks, nicely toned flight muscles, a strong confident poise. This girl certainly worked out and her rear legs showed the distinct muscular build that could only come from years of something like apple bucking. But there was more to it than that, something so familiar about the build and the… That was it, this girl was no thoroughbred, she was part earth pony and of that Rainbow was totally sure. After all, she mused, it takes one to know one.

Looking closer she could see the girl may be young, but once up close it was easy to tell she wasn’t as young as she first appeared. So, a part earth pony pegasus, probably raised around earth ponies on an orchard of some kind, a somewhat youthful appearance and an unusual accent. If Rainbow was a betting mare – and she was – she’d wager this filly had a problem with not being taken seriously. Time to test the theory.

“Well then, sweet thang” Rainbow’s accent suddenly dropped into an impressive imitation of AJ’s southern twang, an act that had proved so convincing over the years that even Granny Smith – may the creator keep her spirit – had been fooled a number of times. “What’s some pretty littl' farm girl like y’all doin’ out these parts?”

She deliberately pushed her muzzle right up into the kid’s face. “Why, Ah bet ya could’n even fly ‘round th' perimeter of th' academy without gettin' winded.”

The orange mare’s right eye twitched, just enough for Rainbow to see she’d been right on the money. Behind her she could hear Iron Eagle mark off on his clipboard again.

Wait for it…

“Try me, Ma’am.“ Dodge’s accent strong, her tone flat, but the hint of a challenge in her voice was unmistakable

Dash let a smug smirk spread over her face as she turned her head to catch Spitfire’s eye. The older captain was trying her best not to laugh but the cyan pegasus could see it in her friend’s eyes. Knowing what was going to happen next, the flame-maned captain subtlety reached into her uniform jacket and pulled out a stopwatch.

Rainbow pushed her face back into the young mare’s personal space, watching for any sign of discomfort or fear in the cadet’s eyes. It was there, just a touch, but not enough to stop her from standing up for herself. Rainbow liked this kid; she’d go far. Dash had already decided to put Dodge and Blue Fire together as a team as, from what she could gather from the files and from the look in her eyes. Dodge wanted to prove herself and her competitive streak would be just what Blue Fire needed to make her push herself to her limits so she wouldn’t be left behind.

“What's that there, sugercube?” Rainbow drawled.

“Let me show you what I've got, ma'am.” The kid’s face had tightened up, not a flinch or a glimmer of doubt sneaked though. She had one heck of a set of brass teats on her, that was for sure.

“So y’all are thinkin' ya want ah chance ta prove yourself, that right? Ah chance ta take on ol’ Rainbow Dash?” By now the cowpony accent couldn’t get any thicker. AJ would have been so proud; either that or she’d hoof her old friend upside the head, one or the other.

“Yes ma'am!“ Dodge’s eyes were locked onto the older mare.

“Well then, this here’s yer chance. Twice around the perimeter… All of you, NOW!” Rainbow swung the whistle up from around her neck and gave it a blast possibly loud enough to be heard all the way over in Cloudsdale.

By the time the shrill sound had faded Dodge had already shot away, Blue Fire close on her tail. Captain Dash fixed the remaining cadets with a death glare that held a warning of dire consequences should they not also be in the air within the next three seconds. Taking the hint all ten scrambled to take flight and shot after the pair of mares swiftly making their way into the distance.

Rainbow slowly took off her sunglasses and pulled her whistle over her head, tossing them both to Spitfire as she prepared herself for a sharp take off. While some of these cadets looked like they could possibly give her a run for her money, she was about to show them what it really meant to be the best of the best.

Manes blown back and clipboard fluttering in the sudden gust of wind from Rainbow’s wings, Spitfire and Iron Eagle watched as the instructor took flight, quickly outpacing the slowest half-dozen of her students like they were standing still.

Glancing over the top of her own sunglasses at her stopwatch, Spitfire smiled. By the looks of things they may be looking at a new academy record sometime today, and if any instructor was going to bring it about, it was Rainbow Dash. Iron Eagle tapped her on the shoulder and held his clipboard where she could see it; every box from their little game of ‘Drill Sergeant Cliché’ ticked and accounted for.

Horseapples, it looked like she owed Rainbow ten bits.

********************

Already more than a mile out from their takeoff point and having already passed the first ten cadets, Rainbow was now close on Dodge and Blue Fire’s tails, the two cadets a scant few dozen body lengths ahead of her, both tied neck and neck for the lead. As the gap between all three steadily decreased second by second a wide grin worked it’s way across her face and a jubilant cry escaped from her lips.

“Sweet Celestia, I love this job!”

53: I'll show you love, I'll show you everything

I'll show you love, I'll show you everything
Chapter published 21st May 2014

****************

Although visiting hours had long since passed, this didn’t mean that there wasn’t plenty of hustle and bustle around the corridors of Candy Cane Hospital’s maternity wing. Doctors and nurses made the rounds; moving from room to room, reassuring expectant mothers, checking up on those with newborns, filling out pile after pile of dreaded paperwork.

Even at this late hour the ward was still all a-buzz. After all, it wasn’t every day that the hospital was graced with a visit from a royal princess, let alone two of them in a single day.

Several of the new mothers - as well those more established repeat customers - were still awake. Many took the opportunity to recover from their recent ordeals, to let the life changing events that had taken place sink in. Others tried to spend what may well have been their first few moments of the day alone to bond with their foals.

Most though just took the chance to get some sleep as, by Celestia, they had earned it.

At the end of the ward’s main corridor, a door opened, the gap barely more than a crack, just enough for a rose coloured eye to peer out at the goings-on outside the private room. Apart from a single royal guard, positioned just a scant few body-lengths away from the door - positioned thus to keep watch for any over-eager journalists who might try and blag their way onto the ward - no pony was anywhere nearby. Any straggling well-wishers or late visitors had long since been ushered away from the room by the medical staff, determined that both mother and foal should be allowed to get some needed rest.

Carefully closing the door, Rainbow Dash, still clad in her Wonderbolts workout uniform from earlier in the day, took a moment to let her eyes readjust to the darkness of the room. The light crystals were dimmed, almost to the point of being extinguished, and the long, floor length curtains covering the glass door to the balcony were closed, though a small gap in the fabric let enough moonlight into the room for the pegasus to see well enough.

While rest of herd Bellerophon, and many of its closest friends, were either flumped out in a large guest room on the floor above or headed back to their homes where they could share this momentous news with the rest of their own friends and families, Rainbow had decided to take a chance and pay a little private visit to the herd’s newest arrival.

In the middle of the room was a single hospital bed - all fresh, crisp white sheets and hospital corners - on which slept an exhausted Lyra Heartstrings. Due to the summer heat, the unicorn slept on top of the sheets rather than under them, the familiar sight of her swollen belly now replaced by that of a stomach almost as taut as it had been before her pregnancy. Were it not for her swollen teats it would be nigh-on impossible to tell that she had given birth just a few short hours before - much to the chagrin of many of the members of the medical staff who had previously given birth themselves.

At the bedside, nestled in the space between the bed and the curtains, sat a low cot. Carefully, and ever-so-quietly, Rainbow made her way around the room, moving very gently on her tippy-hooves so as not to wake either the sleeping mother or her slumbering child.

Settling her rump down on the tiled floor, again careful not to make nary a sound, the pegasus reached into the cot so she could gently run a hoof tip though short red curls of the child held within.

“Hey kid,” she whispered, “sorry we didn't really get a chance to talk much earlier. It was all bit hectic, ya’know.”.

As Rainbow brushed an errant curl away from the child’s face, the sleeping foal cooed before rolling onto her side. Letting loose with a yawn that had to be waaaay to big for a child that small, she exposed a set of almost fully erupted baby teeth, with four surprisingly sharp little points, one on either side of the mouth, both top and bottom.

“Oh yeah,” Rainbow laughed softly, “Mommy Lyra’s gunna luuurve those bad girls. Let’s hope you're not a biter, right?”

As if in response, the newborn squeaked in her sleep before kicking off her small, yellow blanket with all four of her gangly legs. Reaching further into the cot, Rainbow pulled the covering back over the child, tucking it up under her forelimbs before touching a forehoof against the world’s cutest, tiniest nose with a gentle ‘bop’.

“So, how you doing so far? You liking the place?“

The pegasus glanced about the darkened room; taking in Lyra’s still slumbering form, making sure that the door to the corridor outside still closed as is the door to the balcony.

“Okay, so it’s probably not so great so far. Just wait ‘till we get outside though, lots more to see out there.”

Lyra snorted in her sleep, causing Rainbow to sit shock still for a moment, listening intently until she heard her herdmate’s soft breathing fall back into a steady rhythm.

“But hey,” the pegasus chuckled as her herdmate snored ever-so gently in that way that she always denied ever happened, “at least you’ve got lunch on tap right there.”

Stroking the kid’s mane again, Rainbow marveled at the little bundle of cuteness laying curled up before her; the soft cream fur, much softer than that of any foal she’d ever held before, the short little nose, the luscious curls of red and orange, and what surely must have been the longest legs on any foal ever. To top it off, under those tightly closed eyelids were hidden a pair of the most vividly golden eyes that the pegasus had ever seen

“But you, you little cutie, aren’t you just the most awesome thing ever?”

Soft as a feather, a hooftip brushed across the sleeping child’s chin.

“There’s so much we can do out there, so much we can show you. Mommy Lyra’s gunna show you how to be all badflank and enigmatic and stuff; Mommy Twilight’s gunna show you how to be all eggheady and magicy; Daddy’s gunna show you how to build things and be all smart, and I’m gunna show you how to be totally awesome while you're doin’ it.

As Rainbow toyed with the end of the foal’s fringe, the child cracked open her eyes, the golden hue of her much-smaller-than-pony-normal irises glinting in the dim light. Catching sight of a pale blue hoof dangling just in front of her face, she reached out, catching the tip of the adult mare’s limb between two tiny forehooves.

“Hey there, you,” the pegasus beamed, “We’re going to have a great time, especially once you meet everypony else. You think you you’ve seen a lot of ponies already, you will not believe how many aunts and uncles and cousins you’ve got out there. Okay, so they’re not all blood-related or anything, but who cares, they're gunna love you like crazy anyway. Everypony will, I guarantee it.”

Rocking herself from side to side, the child swang Rainbow’s hoof along with her own body. She sure was strong for her age, measurable as it still was in hours.

“Your mommies and your daddy love you allready. Yeah, that’s right, you’d best believe it. Especially Lyra, she loves you the most. You’re her special little gift.”

Pushing part of the tiny filly’s mane behind an equally tiny and delicately rounded ear, Rainbow’s chin came to rest on the side of the cot.

“You should have been mine, you know...” Rainbow sighed. “You were so nearly mine. If only I wasn’t made so... wrong.“

Pushing at the huge forehoof in front of her with all four of her much smaller hooves, the foal paused, cooing at at the adult, wanting to be played with again.

Closing her eyes, Rainbow sniffed. There wasn't any moisture forming around the edge of her eyes, not at all.

“Why wasn’t it me? Why did I have to be this way? What did I do wrong?”

From the darkness behind the emotional pegasus came her answer.

“You're not ‘wrong’, Rainbow,” Lyra said softly from where she still lay on her hospital bed, “don’t ever think of yourself that way. Nopony else does.”

Wiping at her eyes with the forehoof that didn’t have a tiny foal hanging from it, the pegasus turned her head, finding a pair of golden eyes reflecting back at her in the moonlight. As the unicorn shuffled closer across the sheets, the moonlight momentarily hit her wedding band, sending a flash of golden rays around the otherwise dimly illuminated room.

“We’ve never thought of you as anything but perfect... absolutely perfect just the way you are.”

Reaching out from the bed, the unicorn lay a hoof on her herdmate’s shoulder.

“And she is yours... just as much as she’s mine. She’s ours, Rainbow, all of ours, and she always will be.”

Pulling back her forehoof, Lyra patted the middle of the bed.

“Please, bring her here.”

Reaching into the cot with her forehooves, Rainbow wrapped the child in her little blanket before using her wingtips to lift the bundle free, momentarily holding it against her chest before gently laying it down in the empty space between Lyra’s waiting hooves

As the pegasus backed away, Lyra shuffled her body towards the opposite edge of the bed before once again patting at the covers, inviting her herdmate to join mother and daughter on the single bed.

“I’m not sure there’s room,” Rainbow said.

Lyra just smiled.

“Silly filly, there’ll always be room for you.”

Wiping at her eyes with a wing tip - still no moisture there, no sirree - Rainbow climbed up onto the bed, positioning herself as a mirror image of her herdmate, the wriggling bundle of intense babyness encircled in a fortress of legs and barrels, nested with walls made up of parents that loved her dearly.

As Rainbow watched, Lyra leant forward towards her foal, extended her tongue and began to lick at side of the child’s face.

“Hey, “ Rainbow laughed, “I think she’s plenty clean by now.”

“I know,” Lyra admitted between tongue-y strokes, “but newborns need a lot of grooming,” *lick* “and love,” *lick* “and attention.” *lick “It’s a bonding thing.” *lick* “I’d hate to think what’d happen,” *lick* “to any poor filly,” *lick* ”whose mother wouldn’t clean them properly.” *lick* “Here, give it a try.”

“Yuck!” the pegasus stuck out her own tongue. “Na-ha, No way. I know where she’s been.”

“Really? And I thought you’d finally started to like where she’d been?” Lyra teased.

“Please,” Rainbow blushed as she laid her hooves over the damp little foal’s even damper littler ears, “Not in front of the children.”

Using a hoof to hold one of the filly’s ears down to expose the soft fur behind, Rainbow motioned downwards with her head.

“You missed a spot.”

Running her tongue from her child’s ear, all the way along Rainbow's arm, up her neck and across her face, Lyra finished up by planting a soft kiss on the very end of her herdmate’s nose.

“Eeeeww, gross!” the pegasus play-whined

“You love it. Mommy Rainbow.” Lyra grinned as she laid her head down on the single pillow.

“Yeah, fine,” Rainbow admitted as she also laid her head down - her nose almost, but not quite, touching Lyra’s. “You're right, I do.”

******************

In a darkened room, two grown mares dozed, nestled together as they were on a single bed. Between their entwined hooves lay a slumbering child, wrapped up warm in a soft, yellow blanket.

Across from the bed, a door opened silently, staying open just long enough for a figure to slip into the room before closing again just as quietly. Stealthily the newcomer moved across the room, making sure that the three females curled up together on the bed did not awaken.

Standing by the bedside, long arms reached out, lifting the child from between its two mothers. Strong yet gentle hands cupped the foals tiny form, careful not to jostle her incase she awoke and just as careful not to wake her mothers in the process. Wrapping the filly up in her blanket, the tall figure held the child close against his chest.

Crossing the room in just a couple of strides, he opened the glass door to the balcony and stepped outside.

******************

Staring up at the night sky, Lero held his daughter close to his chest as he searched the heavens for a particular star. While the sky was relatively clear of clouds there were still a few wisps hovering about over the city of Canterlot, left in place by a late night weather crew preparing for the summer shower scheduled for just after the rapidly approaching dawn.

“Dad always said,“ Lero shifted the bundle against his chest, bringing the by-now-awake filly’s head closer to his face so she could better hear his voice, “that if I ever got lost, or needed to find my way home, that I should look for Polaris, that it’d show me how to get home.”

As if on cue, the clouds parted, the stars beyond free to shine their silvery light down onto the fair city far below.

“There it is.” Lero turned his body, so the swaddled baby cradled against his chest could see the stars. As he pointed at the Pole Star, the filly cooed and burbled her appreciation of all the bright, sparkly lights, her small golden eyes blinking as she tried to take it all in. As if it was aware of its role as the centre of the observer's attention - and mayhaps it was - Polaris brightened, bolstered in his brilliance by his closest companions.

“I doubt he thought I’d ever be lost on a completely different planet though.”

As the human peeled part of the blanket away from his daughter’s head, a warm summer’s night breeze caught at her hair, much as it also caught at his own. Strands of red and orange fluttered in the breeze before settling back into place.

“Mom. Dad. Hi. I thought you might like to meet someone. This is Sweet Jennifer Cassandra Nausicaa Spirit Michaelides, the first child of herd Bellerophon. She’s your granddaughter.”

Lifting the tiny foal just a touch higher up his chest, Lero whispered into her ear, “Say 'Hi', Sweetie.”

After loosening more of the blanket, he carefully held one of his daughter’s forelimbs between two fingers, waving the tiny cream hoof towards the stars. It might have been just his imagination, or wishful thinking, but for a second it seemed to the human like Polaris pulsed that bit brighter in return.

Idly rubbing a thumb against the soft fur of the filly’s ankle, Lero continued his one sided conversation with the night sky.

“I have no idea how long it’s been for you all since I, err, left... but, well, she’s probably your only granddaughter, unless Nausi’s changed her mind about the whole thing, finally found herself some nice girl and settled down.”

As the moonlight glinted off of Lero’s wedding band, Sweet Spirit reached out and grabbed at it, succeeding only at clapping both forehooves around her father’s hand. Turning his hand over so his palm was facing the sky, Lero watched as the filly toyed with his fingers, curling each one in towards his palm before moving onto the next one.

“I didn’t see me as a daddy before, still can’t believe it’s actually happened to be honest.”

Now that each of his fingers were curled, his hand now held as a loose fist, Sweetie got to work curling each finger back out again.

“But here she is.”

As he run a fingertip down from just below the happily squeaking child’s stubby little horn, between her eyes and all the way to the tip of her nose, Sweetie’s hooves grabbed at his hand again, this time holding his fingers fast as an eager mouth latched around them.

“Hey you. No milk there, I’m afraid.” Lero laughed as his daughter tried, unsuccessfully, to suckle at his fingers. “I’ll take you back to mommy in a minute, Sweetie, I promise.”

The filly just growled before she settled on chewing at the tip of her father’s index finger.

“Owww, Hey you. You, young lady, you’ve got sharp little teeth, don’t ya? Yes you do. Promise not to bite mommy’s teats again and I’ll take you back in. Deal?”

Spitting out the world’s least bountiful teat, Sweetie pushed her father’s hand away, replacing it with the tip of her own hoof. Wiping baby drool from his fingers and onto his shirt, Lero looked back to the stars.

“I tell you what, I hate to admit it but I never thought I’d see anything of me in her. I mean, we’re not even the same species. Heck, we’re not even sure what species she is yet. Twi says she’ll probably get a whole new taxonomic designation all to herself.”

Remembering how it had felt for him, when he had first arrived in Equestria, the only one of his kind the whole planet over, Lero’s face fell for a second.

“That might be kinda lonely though.”

Pushing the thought aside, he turned his body so Sweetie could again see the stars as he bounced her gently against his chest. As she grinned and giggled in that nonsensical way that only children can, her short little golden mane bounced and fluttered in the breeze.

“But yeah, look at her. She’s got mom’s hair... almost... and these cute little ears, and this tiny little nose, and check out these teeth, she’s got some proper little noshers in here... much to Lyra’s ‘delight’. Ooh, take a look at these...”

Taking one of his daughter’s forehooves in his fingers, he gently held it outstretched, a small protuberance clearly visible on the back of her cream coloured ankle.

“Just look at this, she’s got thumbs. Well, not really thumbs, they’re more like little nubbins really. But she can properly move them, see?”

Using just a fingertip, he pushed at one of the ‘nubbins’ by just the tiniest amount. Almost instantly the child pushed back and pretty soon father and child engaging in an unannounced ‘wiggle war’. Sweetie thought it was the best thing ever... for all of about thirty seconds, and then she got bored and gave up. Pulling the child up under his chin, Lero let his beard rest against her mane, leaving it hard to tell where the tiny filly ended and the grown man began.

“She’s perfect.“

Slowly, turning his body just at the waist, Lero rocked his child from side to side.

“Just think of everything you could be. Will you take after your mothers? You could be a great scientist, or a musician, or an athlete. You could even work with your hands like me.”

From her position against her father’s chest, little Sweetie waved her hooves at the stars.

“Haha, okay, hooves then. Or you could be something completely different, something nopony expects. All these things you could be, whatever you want, it’s all yours for the taking.”

“Whatever will be, will be, the future’s not ours to see, que sera, sera.”

As her father’s singing floated off into the night sky, Sweetie giggled, waving her hooves even more frantically than before.

“But whatever happens,” Lero turned his attention back to the stars, “whatever she wants to be, she’s proof I was here, someone to carry on when I’m gone, someone to show that I made a difference, to make sure that our line doesn’t end with me.”

Shifting hands, Lero tickled at the filly’s nose, inciting even more giggles. One thing was for sure - this was one happy baby.

“No, it doesn’t end with me... it begins with her.”

Holding the child out so he could take a good look at her in all her giggly, wavey, drooly, happy glory, Lero leaned forward and kissed her gently on the forehead.

“Welcome to this crazy world of magical, talking, pastel-coloured ponies, kid. You're going to love it here.”

54: You taught me most of what I know.

You taught me most of what I know.
Chapter published 21st July 2015
******************

Late Summer 1224 AC
Maternity Wing, Candy Cane Hospital
The day after Sweet Spirit’s birth.

Amidst the usual hustle and bustle of a busy maternity ward, Bon Bon’s hooves clicked sharply against the hard, tiled floor. As she weaved her way down the corridor, she passed a number of different herds just hanging around; either waiting attentively outside of particular rooms, pacing back and forth with barely contained worry, or just crashed out wherever they could find space.

Stopping for a second, the confectioner scooped a small plushie duck from the floor, glancing about for its owners, before gently tucking it between a pair of sleeping stallions, curled up together as they were in a two pony dog-pile on one of the world’s most uncomfortable waiting benches.

This was Bon Bon’s third visit to her old house-mate’s bedside in the last twenty four hours and she could swear that, in all that time, these two first-time herd-fathers had yet to move from their spot outside of their herd-mate’s doorway. Leaning closer, Bon Bon could just make out three... no, four different feminine voices coming from the other side of the closest door - all coo-ing over what was most likely the herd’s first foal.

After a few seconds, the foal in question must have decided that it’d had enough of all the coo-ing and what he or she reeeeally wanted was a good feeding and, by Celestia, he or she was going to make the best use they could of these brand new lungs to let everypony know alllll about it.

Outside of the door, the two sleeping stallions both jerked awake, the unicorn of the pair accidently poking his partner in the neck as the sudden cries of their child made him jump. Blinking and bleary eyed, the duo looked around, reality reasserting itself in their foggy minds. She knew she shouldn't, but the sight made Bon Bon laugh out loud.

Wishing the boys well, Bon Bon carried on making her way down the corridor towards the last door in the hallway. Nodding to the pair of royal guards who flanked the door, waiting for the few seconds it took while they ran a quick horn-scan over her body, Bon Bon knocked a forehoof against the door, letting herself in once she heard the occupant beckon her inside.

The room looked much different from the last time she had visited. For one, Lyra and her child were alone - or at least they would have been if not for the gently snoring Wonderbolt Captain curled up asleep in the corner of the room.

All around the room - perched on every available surface - were more cards of congratulations and salutations, brightly coloured balloons, small stuffed toys, overflowing bowls of fruit, and bouquets of mouth-wateringly tempting flowers than Bon Bon had ever seen all in once place. The strong morning sun flooded the room though the wide open curtains, letting the many bright and bold colours of the veritable sea of gifts pop pleasingly to the eye.

In the middle of it all sat Lyra Heartstrings, propped up in her hospital bed, cradling her day-old daughter against her chest. Looking up from her child, a wide smile spread across a mint green face, golden eyes lighting up as the unicorn found her oldest friend standing across the room.

“Bonnie! Back for more, then?”

Shrugging off her saddlebags, Bon Bon made her way around the bed so she could take a seat by Lyra’s side.

“Of course. There’s no way I’d ever get enough of this little cutie.”

As Lyra turned her body, moving her daughter closer to the bedside, Bon Bon reached out and planted the most gentle of ‘boop’s on the tiny filly’s noseicle. Cream coloured eyelids flickered open for second revealing the most vibrant golden irises that the world had ever seen. A huge yawn swiftly followed, the child flashing her quartet of tiny canine teeth to the world before burbling herself straight back to sleep.

“Well, sorry, Bonnie. Looks like that’s all you're getting today.”

Bon Bon laughed. The kid was exhausted... and so was her mother. Bonnie had never seen her old friend quite so worn out before. But then, she’d never, ever seen her quite this happy either.

“Well, if that’s all I’m getting, I’ll take it.”

The two talked for a spell, mainly about everything that had happened in the whole nine or ten hours since Bon Bon’s last visit, Lyra occasionally flagging, her eyes drooping as her body tried - and failed - to catch up with everything that had happened.

The royal sisters, it turned out, had come to visit, in disguise this time - the ward’s head nurse having quietly yet firmly admonished both of them for causing quite the stir the day before, something the stern old mare was insistent that the collection of convalescing young mothers under her care could do without.

Rainbow had stayed the night, curled up on the bed with mother and baby, something that Bon Bon was glad to hear. Very few ponies - really only the herd’s most closest of friends or those with definite need-to-know - were aware that Rainbow would most likely never bear a foal herself. Some of them, though they’d never have admitted it out loud, had worried that the pegasus of the herd would find it difficult or distressing to be around the herd’s first-born, but now that the little one had arrived Rainbow was showing all the signs to taking to her role as a new herd-mother like a duck to water.

A number of Lero’s ‘guy’ friends had also dropped by - most notably Captains Hide and Shield, stopping by at the end of their shift, both of them carrying saddle bags stuffed to the brim with cards and gifts from what must have been every branch of the royal guards as well as possibly every department of the castle staff.

Lyra spent a few minutes reeling off a list of who had sent which cards, or bowl of fruit, or bunch of flowers - unsurprisingly most of the balloons had come from Pinkie - before remembering that even more had arrived that morning just before breakfast and had been left, unopened, on the bedside table.

Passing a sleeping Sweetie into Bon Bon’s eager arms - the earth pony coo-ing like a fool as the child slept soundly through the entire maneuver - Lyra pulled the small pile of envelopes over to herself, her magic still a bit wobbly and unstable after months of hardly being used.

“Hey, look. This one’s from my old guard captain, ‘Sour’ Grapes. Haven’t seen him since that bar fight.“

“Really? You should drop in, see how the girls are doing.”

“Maybe. Not sure he’s forgotten about all the property damage yet, though. Oh, this one’s from Octavia and the girls in the Philharmonic orchestra. Ha, have a look at this. Even their cards are classy.”

As the second card was levitated to sit next to the first amongst the many, many others scattered around the room, Lyra tore open a third envelope, the plethora of smiley cartoon faces on the card inside making her smile in response. As she flipped the card open and read the message inside, the smile remained but, to Bon Bon’s eyes, the grin just looked... wrong.

“So, who’s it from?”

No response. The smile wasn’t going away and to any pony off of the street Lyra would have looked just like the happiest pony alive. Bon Bon, of course, knew better.

“Lyra... you okay?”

“Huh? Yeah, never better. It’s... ah, from my sisters.”

“Sooo. What’s it say?”

“The usual.”

“Ah. Want me to take it?”

“Please.”

Taking the card, Bon Bon tucked it under her rump for dealing with later. Turning her attention to the last two envelopes, Lyra tore into the first.

“Oh, hey, it’s from my students. Look, they’ve all signed it, even Short Stroke. I bet Guiding Light had to put him in a choke hold and jam the pencil in his mouth herself.”

After showing Bon Bon the card with all its signatures - some more legible than others - Lyra moved onto the last envelope.

“Funny address on this one. it says Lyra, just Lyra.”

“What, just one word? Lucky it found you, then.”

“No, that’s what it actually says. ‘Lyra, just Lyra’, three words.”

As Lyra pulled open the envelope, it wasn’t a card that fell out onto the bed covers, rather a small but ornately engraved golden key on a long filigree chain. Lyra’s magic wrapped around the unexpected bounty, lifting it aloft so that the sun could catch the finely detailed work, bouncing reflected light-spots all around the room.

“Wow, it’s so pretty.”

“So, who’s it from?”

Lyra let the key drift down on the bedsheets as she checked inside what was left of the envelope. In it she found a single piece of folded note paper, which she carefully unfolded.

“It’s from Aunt Sakura.”

Lyra turned the page slightly so that Bon Bon could see the logo of The New Princess Hospital up in West Fillydelphia stamped across the top of the obviously purloined sheet of note-paper.

“Oh, cool. What’s the old biddy got to say?”

“It says.. ahem. ‘My dearest Kouhai. By the time you read this letter I will no doubt be at peace. Though my time grows short’... oh.”

The unicorn’s voice trailed away, though her lips continued to move. Though, from the glance Bon Bon had seen, the letter was not long, Lyra stared at the piece of paper for what felt like an eternity. After what in reality was probably less than a minute Lyra held the paper out for Bon Bon to take, holding it aloft in her magic so that her hooves were free to take back her daughter.

As Bon Bon passed young Sweet Spirit back to her mother, she could see the tears begin to form around the edges of her friend’s eyes. When it came to wearing her own face like a mask, Lyra may have been a grand-master, but Bon Bon could read her like a book. Whatever Auntike Sakura had written in her letter, it had hit Lyra hard.

Taking the letter, Bon Bon read its words in a respectful silence

My dearest Kouhai.

By the time you read this letter I will no doubt be at peace. Though my time grows short, I find that I am ready to face whatever comes next with a smile, safe in the knowledge that I have lived a good life, surrounded by those who love me, as well as those I have loved.

And, as I write of love, I find it important to tell you, in plain and direct words and without any of my usual vagueries, misdirection, or, as you so eloquently used to put it, ‘metaphysical mumbo jumbo’, something of which I am sure you already well aware, though I may never have let it be known before in so succinct a fashion.

You, Lyra, just Lyra, I love with all my heart. You have been, almost from the moment we first met, the daughter I never had.

Over those first few years I saw you grow from a scared, lost, and angry young thing, so full of doubt and self-loathing, into the most radiant, confident, and wonderful mare it has ever been my privilege to have known. I am so very happy that you were part of my life, for without you it would have been so much less of a life.

You are a beautiful pony, Lyra Heartstrings, with a beautiful soul, and you have filled my heart with nothing but joy and pride all these years. You are an amazing individual, and you will be an amazing mother, of this I have no doubt.

Please don’t be sad that we are parting, or that I will no longer be in your life. Has our time together not been a magnificent adventure, our relationship the most bountiful of journeys? If so, then I ask, do not lament that it is over, instead applaud as I take my final bow, and wave me adieu as I exit, stage left. It has been a good show, the best even, but only one of the many. We will do this again, some day, of this I also have no doubt.

If I have but one regret, it is that I will not get to meet your daughter in person. For this, I do hope you can forgive me. But, if somepony is to take my place on this spellbinding carousel of wonder that we call life, then I am glad it will be her.

Just remember, that as one door closes, another opens. Though this transience, this ever-lasting circle of death and rebirth, is the way of all things, I want you to remember that through the Way I will be forever by your side.

おさきにしつれいします

Your loving Sempai.

Sakura Hanami.

Bon Bon had to dab at her eyes a few times. She’d known that Sakura wasn’t long for this world, and that her aunt had made her preparations, and her peace, but to read what was essentially her final goodbyes made the whole thing... well, just so undeniably real. Even when Bon Bon had travelled to Fillydelphia just the previous week the whole thing - the whole concept that this may well be the last time that they would ever meet - had been filled with this air of not-quite-realness about it, like it was something that was never going to actually happen.

Rubbing an eye, Bon Bon held out the page so Lyra could see it.

“What does this bit say? The bit in Neighponese?”

Lyra didn’t turn to look, instead her attention was on her daughter. Slowly she rocked the child back and forth, brushing at the soft golden curls of the filly’s mane with a gentle forehoof. It took almost a full minute before any response was forthcoming.

“Osaki ni shiturei shimasu”

“Oh.”

Bon Bon pondered the strange lettering again, wishing she'd paid more attention in class, letting the whole... whatever this... thing she was feeling sink in.

“But what does it mean?”

Sweet Spirit opened her eyes, giggling at the first thing that she saw, which was her mother scrunching up her face and crossing her large golden eyes before poking out her tongue. Bon Bon had almost given up on getting anything even remotely resembling an answer when Lyra’s softly spoken words made their way across the room.

“It means... it means that she’s really gone.”

“Oh.”

So that was it, then; she was gone... really gone. If Lyra said she was... then she was. Bon Bon had learnt long ago that if Lyra was this sure about something, then she was generally right. She had no idea how it worked but, like Pinkie Sense, it was something one just accepted and got on with.

Bon Bon wished she had more to say... but she didn’t. Instead she just sat there, staring out of the window, looking but not seeing, letting it all wash over her.

In the next room over a baby started to cry, whether in need of food or cleaning or just crying for attention Bon Bon just didn’t know. Outside of the door the guards carried on guarding while up and down the corridor beyond them the visitors, doctors and nurses went about their business. In the city outside the hospital walls the traffic ebbed and flowed, the streets singing the songs of big city life, the background noise of all the hustle and bustle beating the steady beat of the nation’s heart.

And, all over the land of Equestria, life went on.

55: A dtáinig ariamh an ghealach is an ghrian.

A dtáinig ariamh an ghealach is an ghrian
Chapter published 27th Jan 2014

***************

Crabapple Cove - Mainland Equestria’s most easterly point.
Early Autumn 1224 AC

A long sandy beach, the sun has long set, dusk quickly follows it on its way, darkness falls. Muted stars and a tiny sliver of a low waning moon hanging just over the horizon offer little in the way of light.

On the beach, not far from the water’s edge, a wrapped body lies atop a pyre. Large logs stacked in such a way as to create a tower reaching towards the sky.

Lyra and Lero stand alone by the pyre.

“I thought there’d be more ponies here with us.”

“They have each been here already, their respects have been paid. We will be the last to see her on her way.”

The night deepens, pitch dark except for the flaming torches forming a loose circle around the pyre.

Lyra lights her horn, a crisp white glow. Along the beach, to the north, another horn alights, illuminating a pegasus and a unicorn. To the south another horn glows, a unicorn standing there, a pair of earth ponies standing close by. They huddle together, their silhouettes become one.

In the fields behind them more horns come to life, each unicorn flanked by more ponies; unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies, all watch in respectful silence. Students, masters, family and friends; each have come to bear witness, to be present as this tale long told draws to a close.

A ripple of light moving outwards, more horns alight, like fireflies awakening for the evening, each group further away than the last. Within minutes there are more than a hundred glowling horns, out in the fields, along the coastline, upon hill and dale. They stretch as far as Lero's eyes can see.

From the furthest of these pinpricks of light, bright beams lance out, connecting the individual points into lines. From one to another the connections bounce, from horn to horn, creating a vast web of light. Within minutes the web of magic connects to a single horn... Lyra’s.

“From the first embers to the last, from stardust to starfall, from the source we came and to the source we will return. With arcane fire we return our sister to that from which we all came. We will not grieve for her, for we will meet again one day.”

From Lyra’s horn a bolt of energy surges forward, powered by a hundred others. The light strikes the wrapped body, engulfing it in magic, encasing the still form in a ball of roaring blue flames, dancing and writhing in the rapidly cooling night air.

“As night falls, so day dawns. As fire dies, so does it shine forth. As we end, so we begin; in silence, and in darkness, and the embrace of all things.”

Wherever it touches, the ball of flame does its work, pulling apart the recently departed at the thaumic level. Flesh and blood breaks down into molecules which in turn break down into their component elements. Solids dissolve into liquids or sublimate into gasses, liquids become vapours before dissipating into the air. The vast potential energy stored within the mortal vessel is freed from its bonds, the magic once held in the deceased mare's core now free to spread to the four corners of the globe.

“River flows to the sea and all is one. Light burns stone to dust and all is one. Tonight our sister returns to the centre of all. Tomorrow we will forge a new path so that we might once again reunite.”

After just a few seconds of blinding light, the body is no more, just echoes and whispers of what was once a great and noble unicorn floating away on the cool night breeze.

Across the night air comes a song of farewell, words that have no need of meaning carried by more than a hundred voices. A symphony of joy, and of honour, to have had their world graced by such a pony. A celebration of hearts touched by a long life well lived.

In time the voices fade away, the song has been sung, the past is left to be just that.

And the rest is silence.

Author's Note

I’ve been trying to write a sub-1000 word chapter in less than an hour (I'm a reeeeally slow writer) for a while now. Finally managed it - though Archonix did add a few lines for me.

56: It’s my turn to fly / Watch as we all fly away.

It’s my turn to fly / Watch as we all fly away.
Chapter published 11th Dec’14

***************

August 1224
Wonderbolts Academy
Final Test Flight - Advanced Course

August 1217
Wonderbolts Academy
Final Test Flight - Advanced Course

Tucking a pencil behind his ear, Master Chief Iron Eagle readied his clipboard. Carefully smoothing out the pages with a forehoof he ran through his mental checklist one more time.

By now, what with all the years he’d held the rank of ‘Chief of the Flight’, it felt like he’d run through this same list at least a few hundred times now. But, to him, it didn’t matter if today was the first time, the third time or the thousandth time- each item would be checked, doubled checked and triple checked without fail; every tally would be confirmed, every reponse would be acknowledged, every ‘i’ would be dotted, every ‘t’ would be crossed.

Every single mare and stallion that passed through his hooves was his responsibility, every single one of them owed a duty of care. Each one would be afforded exactly the same level of professionalism and dedication as the next, and the next, and the next. All of them. No deviations, no exceptions- until the day finally came for that one last student to pass before his watchful eyes.

He’d worked hard to get where he was today. Years of hard graft and even harder flying. Years of blood, sweat and tears... most of it his own. He was hard, but he was fair. He accepted no mistakes, brooked no excuses, suffered no fools. He expected every pony in his care to give him one hundred percent dedication, and he believed that they deserved one hundred percent perfection in return... and by the creator that’s what they were going to get.

Sunglasses lowered, eyes cast to the sky, Iron Eagle took one last chance to check on his NSOs - his 'Non-Soaring-Officials' - confirming that they were all in position, ready and waiting for today’s test flight to begin.

Every one of his team were professionals, every one of them ready to perform to his exacting standards. From their identical uniforms of vertical black and white striped flight jackets, to their equally identical expressions filled with both concentration and confidence, to the skills and abilities he knew that each of them possessed- he expected the best, and they had never failed to deliver.

Timekeepers? Check and check.

Linesmares? Ready for action.

Spotters? Reporting in.

Air-Marshalls? In the pipe... five by five.

Today’s candidate trainee?

Up on the starting cloud, a young mare was poised and ready, chomping at the figurative bit for the moment she was allowed over that line. Head down, hooves spread, shoulders squared- her wings flared, furled, then flared again. From where he hovered Iron Eagle could make out the muscles tensing under her coat, the sheer determination in her eyes. She wanted to go... needed to go, to fly, the soar, to show them all what she was made of. A bundle of pure energy and boundless potential all tied up in a cage of flesh and feathers.

After checking the timepiece around his neck, the Chief motioned to his senior NSO, letting her know that she was cleared to start the test whenever she was ready.

Nodding back, the NSO lifted a wing as she carefully placed her whistle between her lips.

At the raised wing, the trainee buckled down; nostrils flaring, eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

First came the first whistle- short and sharp. Hooves dug their way into the cloud as leg muscles tensed and knees bent. Condensed flight magic ran along the candidate’s body, causing fur all along her barrel to stand on end while numerous hairs in her mane and tail began to rise and curl.

Next came the second shortwhistle. Limbs stretched, barrel pushed backwards, wings twitching with anticipation. Had anypony been foolhardy enough to get close enough they may well have heard a low hum coming from the young mare’s body as she pulsed wave upon wave of magic into her flight muscles.

Then the third, longer, whistle... and she was gone.

******************

Before the third blast had even had time to fade away, Rainbow Dash
was more than a dozen body-lengths away, powering fast towards the
first checkpoint. The first part of the test was the five mile horizontal
sprint- a distance designed to burn off any candidate’s initial burst of
energy and leave them at the mercy of the more... ‘troublesome’
maneuvers soon to follow. Five miles? Ha! She was Rainbow Dash!
Five miles was nothing.

Banking hard, Scootaloo shot past the five mile marker, angling herself
towards the next section of the test. Up next was the high speed
three-dimensional slalom. By this point most trainees would have burned
a big chunk of their energy and sloughed off at least some of their initial burst
of speed, but not Scootaloo- years of training with her big sis meant that a
five mile sprint was nothing but a warm up, something to get the heart
pumping and the magic flowing.

Wings spread wide, Rainbow trimmed her left wing ready for a roll.
Arcing around the first slalom marker, she was already in the optimum
position for the second and was swiftly on her way to setting
herself up for the third.

Tipped up on one wing, zigzagging between the closely spaced
fourth, fifth and sixth markers, Scoot brought herself back into level flight
before pulling both wings in tight against her body, letting gravity take hold
of her. Using just her momentum to carry her forward, she released the last of
her flight magic. With her body no longer negating most of her weight,
she dropped like a stone through the ring shaped seventh marker.

Wings spread wide once more, Rainbow arrested her downward fall,
her control feathers coupled with the positioning of her body turning most
of the downward momentum into horizontal velocity. Most trainees would
have performed some kind of loop in order to be able to pull off the sudden
change from flying horizontally to powering straight downwards - wasting
precious seconds in the process - but not Rainbow. She’d perfected
that little trick years ago.

Gritting her teeth, Scoot set herself up for the next part of the course.
Rainbow’s ‘cannonball’ trick had got her through the vertical drop but now
came the tricky part. The next half dozen marker rings weren't stationary,
but instead floated around in a seemingly random pattern. But she’d been
watching them from the corner of her eye. Like Auntie Twilight always said,
patterns were everywhere if only you knew where to look.

Twilight was right, these things were spinning in a pattern, Rainbow just
had to know where to look. Picking an approach path, she put herself into
a slow spin, like an arrow shot from a bow. Choosing her moment carefully,
she committed herself to passing though the first ring, clearing it just in time
for the second to roll into position directly in front of her.

Through the third ring, twisting herself so she flowed through the fourth
like water through a spout, the fifth came into view.

The sixth ring presented itself slightly left of where she’d expected it to be but,
by pulling her wings and legs tight against her body, Rainbow hurtled through
it without incident or contact.

That was it, she was through! Now it was just the obstacle course to clear
and the first part the test would be over.

*****************

Reports from his NSOs were coming in thick and fast. The spotters were relaying their scores, the linesmares were all reporting no collision or contact issues. All was looking good so far.

While there had been some concern that this particular trainee’s... connections may have given rise to some kind of favourable view in the grading of their performance, Iron Eagle was confident that this was not the case. Not only were his team too well trained for any personal bias to slip through but, from what he knew of the mare herself, he was sure she’d be offended by even the slightest suggestion that she hadn’t earned every merit that came her way with her own two wings. Heck, she'd probably insist on doing the whole course again just to prove a point.

Over the top of his clipboard, the Chief took the chance to watch for himself as the candidate dove directly into the obstacle course. She was a sight to behold as she fearlessly ducked and weaved her way around everything that the course threw at her.

Lightning clouds flashed, letting loose great bolts of electricity that could down even the most hardy of flyers - but she jinked her way around each one like a pro.

Localised gale force winds battered her again and again, pulling at her goggles, pushing at her wings - but she powered through without so much as a wobble.

Hailstones the size of a pony’s eye filled the skies, each packing enough of a punch to knock a pegasus right out of the sky - but they found no target to hit.

Specially prepared stormclouds dropped their payloads, unleashing in less than a minute a unstopable deluge comprised of more water than a decent sized village could use up in a whole week - and all the while the lone flyer pressed on, her path never wavering.

Signals came to him from the left and from the right- she’d made it past each obstacle without even a minor penalty to be reported.

Suppressing a smile, Iron Eagle made the relevant notes on his paperwork.

********************

Shaking water from her body, the pegasus began to climb, letting the warm midday sun beat
down on her wings, the bracing wind drying her mane and tail.

Next came the required maneuvers. She had twelve to choose from, and
she only needed to perform six of them to pass.

But, heck, she was Rainbow Dash, the greatest flyer in Equestria-

She was Scootaloo, the world’s best stunt-mare! She was going to-

-do all twelve. Yeah, she was gunna rock this thing!

So she dove-

-and rolled-

-and soared-

-and span-

-from Tailslide to Imma-mane Turn-

-from Barrel Roll to Hesitation Roll-

-from Hammerhead Stall Turn to Reverse Half Cuba-mane Eight-

-across the sky she soared, banking and rolling and diving-

-and through it all, she revelled in the fact-

-that she was having-

-the time of her life!

**********************

The reports just kept on coming. Turns taken without a hitch, rolls performed to perfection, dives taken with perfect form. As pencil moved across paper, the smile was becoming harder and harder to suppress. So, today’s candidate'd done the full dozen, and without a single penalty too. That wasn't something you saw everyday.

Up next was the freestyle, the last section of the test. This was where they separated the mares from the fillies, this was where reputations were made or lost. It was time for the kid to show them the difference between being great, and being the greatest

As the NSOs watched, the testee pulled into a hard ascent, pushing herself higher and higher. Wings beating, lungs and muscles screaming. Mile after mile she ascended. Pretty soon the Air-Marshalls had to break off their pursuit, the trainee pushing on so far above them that she was well above their operational ceiling.

Even with pegasus vision, all the NSOs could see was a speck high above them, still pushing herself harder and faster. By the looks of it, the kid was going for an ‘Icarus Sun Salutation’, one of the most difficult of maneuvers to perform unaided. If she managed to pull it off... well, this would be one for the books.

*******************

Further, higher, ever upwards. The air was so thin, so hard to-

-breathe. As she pushed further and further from the ground, even the planet’s magical field-

-loosened its grip. Gravity itself became weaker. Just a-

-few more body-lengths- two more, one more-

-and there it was- the prize-

-the sweet spot, the lofty heights-

-where few brave souls would ever reach...

...The edge of the world!

For that moment - those scant few seconds where her remaining upward momentum exactly matched gravity’s waning pull, that beautiful moment of perfect equilibrium - she let herself float.

Wings held still, eyes closed, she let herself tumble, ever so slowly, end over end. With mane and tail splayed out around her, limbs left loose, she slowly rolled herself into a ball, enjoying the momentary feeling of weightlessness.

For those few seconds, there was no test, no worries, no quest for greatness, no desire to impress. In that moment she felt no burning fire of ambition- no cares, no worries, no troubles at all. Up there - the point where the magical world of Equestria met the eternity of the heavens - there were neither lovers nor liars, herds nor hierarchy, shame nor glory.

No future.

No past.

Nothing at all.

Just peace.

***********************

Far, far below the slowly spinning figure, even the most professional of NSOs were left with jaws hanging loose as they watched. Up at the very outermost reaches of Equestria’s atmosphere, the young mare floated, curled into a ball like a sleeping foal, her mane flowing freely in the near vacuum all around her.

A lone flyer, completely unaided, touching the edge of forever.

Up high, far out, far beyond the planet’s boundaries, watching over the world as it had since time immemorial, the sun itself laid witness to one of its children’s salutations.

It saw that this child was good, and just, and honest. And that this child was worthy.

At the beckoning of its mistress, the fiery ball responded to this lone mare’s greeting, letting rip with a mighty solar flare, tendrils of flaming gasses rolling out from the celestial body’s immense surface.

Through the vacuum of space the solar winds ran and span and jostled and raced as they sped towards the planet far below.

The first waves hit the upper atmosphere, ionised particles bathing the pegasus pony with raw energy which rippled and writhed and bounced all around her, causing a halo of light to spread across the sky, with her at its centre. Brightly coloured aurora radiated away in all directions from this tiny ball of flesh and bone, spreading out from the slowly spinning form, like ripples in a pond.

With wave after wave of solar energy gently pushing at her body - nudging her back towards the world below - gravity reasserted its claim on its recent escapee. The mare began to fall, slowly at first but quickly gathering speed, leaving waves of greens and pinks and blues spread throughout the sky behind her.

As the pony plummeted away - downwards, ever downwards - vast swathes of atmosphere's upper reaches lit up like the mane of the solar princess herself.

*************

Gravity pulling her downwards, she opened her wings, focusing all of her magic into her
flight muscles, pushing herself towards the ground, gaining speed with every second that passed-
the wind pushing at her face, pulling at her wings, ripping at her feathers.

For all those that had believed in her, to all those that had doubted her.

She pushed back, forehooves thrust out in front of her, a bow wave forming around her hooftips.
With teeth clenched, the wind whistling in her ears, she forced every last ounce of energy
she possessed into her wings.

For the mother that had left her behind, for the father she had hardly known.

Down and down, faster and faster- the pressure on her wings was almost
unbearable, but there was no way she was going to give up now.

For the friends and family that she had found, that had taken her in.

Magic arced along the leading edge of her wings, friction from the pressing wind
charging each arc, adding more and more energy to her last few remaining strains of magic.

For all those who had supported her and loved her, even when all seemed at its worst.

Pushing herself further, just that bit further, small sparks of orange and gold started to form around her wings, numerous tiny flames winding their way around her feathers. Reaching deep inside, pulling everything she had, she reached the limit... reached it and pushed right through it.

Pushing herself further, just that bit further, small multi-coloured sparks started to form around her wings, compressed rainbows winding their way around her feathers. Reaching deep inside, pulling everything she had, she reached the limit... reached it and pushed right through it.

For those that had made it okay to believe in herself, to follow her dreams wherever they might take her.

All around her, roaring flames formed all over her body before exploding outwards, a rolling ring of fire expanding away from her, filling the sky with a Sonic Fireboom, rolling its way across the land. From its core shot a figure completely encased in fire, leveling out less than a mile from the ground before arcing back up and over the academy, a trail of smoke and flame left hanging in the air behind her.

All around her, rainbow fragments formed all over her body before exploding outwards, a multicoloured ring of every colour imaginable expanding away from her, filling the sky with a Sonic Rainboom, rolling its way across the land. From its core shot a glowing figure, leveling out less than a mile from the ground before arcing back up and over the academy, a vibrant rainbow trail left hanging in the air behind her.

This was for them... this was for all of them.

***********************

Still checking, double-checking and triple-checking his notes as he touched down, Iron Eagle passed through the large double doors into the Academy’s main administrative block. Doors were held open for him as he walked, respectful salutes snapped off left and right as he passed by.

Reaching the Academy Commandant’s office he rapped on the door, waiting for permission to enter before letting himself in.

Stepping into the office, he found Commander Spitfire seated behind the large and imposing desk. At her side stood a nervous Captain, staring out of window, trying their best not to let their nerves show through. Anxiety about their protege’s results aside, the captain really believed in this kid, that was for sure.

“Come on, dude!”

Captain Rainbow Dash hopped from hoof to hoof before catching herself, trying (and failing miserably) to throw up a last minute facade of professionalism.

Yeah, she wasn't fooling anypony.

From behind her desk, Spitfire tried to stifle the grin brought on by the bitter-sweet pang of deja-vu that washed over her. Some things never changed.

“So, how did she do? She ace it or what?”

“So?”

Captain Rapidfire turned from the window, fixing the Master Chief with a level gaze.

To the uninitiated he would have appeared completely calm and collected- only those who knew him well would see the anxiety and excitement in his eyes.

Unfortunately every pony in the room did know him extremely well.

“Don’t keep it your yourself, man. How did she do?”

Taking the time to carefully remove his sunglasses, Iron Eagle let the captain stew for a few extra seconds as he hooked one arm of his eyewear over the collar of his flightsuit.

Okay, that was long enough.

“It’s official. She’s done it- a perfect score.”

Holding out his clipboard, turning it so that the results could be clearly seen, he graced the room with one of his rare beaming smiles. If ever there was a time to let his facade slip, just a little, this was it. The kid, she certainly had what it took. She was going to make a fine Wonderbolt.

“She’s in.“

57: Just gonna have to be a different man.

Just gonna have to be a different man.
Chapter published 2nd June 2013

**********************************

Late Oct 1224 AC

Taking up the entire top floor of a fairly expensive residential block nestled in a fashionable part of Canterlot’s western quarter was, what seemed form the outside at least, a fairly nondescript family apartment.

All four exterior walls were made of thick glass from ceiling to floor, enchanted so from the outside they just looked like sheets of obsidian polished to a mirror finish. One long continuous balcony formed a ring around the entire apartment with a set of steps on both the north and south sides leading up onto the large flat roof.

What any outward observer who hadn’t been deterred by this point wouldn’t know was that currently gathered in the lounge of this ordinary looking home was no ordinary group of Canterlot denizens. Inside its walls were two of the six bearers of the elements of harmony, a Still Way grandmaster, the sole living human on the entire planet, the only human/pony hybrid foal known to exist and last but not least their current house guest, an alicorn princess

The reason for this Canterlot city apartment to hold this odd collection of individuals: This was the second home of herd Bellerophon, probably the most famous herd of recent years in all of Equestria.

“So, what are we doin’ anyway?” Rainbow Dash asked as she moved the last of the dining chairs out of the way and up against the wall of the modestly decorated lounge, next to where Twilight had previously levitated the dining table.

Twilight turned from where she was moving one of the sofas closer to the opposite walls in order to open up a decent sized bit of space in the middle of the already largish room. It didn't seem to matter to her that Lyra had been sitting on the sofa with her daughter at the time and the musician & foal had found themselves levitated across the room with both ponies still in their seats.

Taking It all in her stride, Sweet Spirit just climbed about over her mother’s neck, trying to make her way up the adult’s mane to get to her favourite watching place between her mother’s ears. The kid sure liked climbing and had developed an obsession with high places recently, her father's shoulders or the crown of her mother’s head being the most common places to find her once she decided to go adventuring.

Still pondering the positioning of the sofa, incumbents and all, Twi replied over her shoulder.

“Well, you remember that we found that as Lero’s pony form was pretty close to an earth pony we could make his transformation more stable by using an earth pony stallion like Big Mac as a template during the casting period?”

The purple unicorn moved the sofa a single flank width to the left, only to shift in back again a few seconds later.

“Well, now Princess Luna and I have had more time to go over Star Swirl’s notes we’re pretty sure that if we increase the amount of power we channel though to the spell and use a non-thoroughbred pegasus like yourself as a template then we should be able to push Lero into changing into a pretty good approximation of a pegasus pony. Or at least that’s the theory.”

The sofa went back to the left and it looked like it might actually stay there this time as Rainbow threw herself onto it, putting herself directly in the middle of her herdmate’s field of view as she did so.

“What?” She asked. “Whoa, cool. You mean he’d be able to fly? That'd be awesome!”

“Well, no, not at first.” Twilight replied. “Unfortunately, even if we made him a pegasus genetically, he still wouldn’t be an actual pegasus so he wouldn’t have access to any flight magic, much like how he hasn't had any noticeable earth pony powers whenever we’ve changed him before now. Unfortunately an individual’s magic’s not something you can just create from nowhere, there’s things like the law of equivalent exchange to account for after all.”

“Oh.“ Rainbow was crestfallen at this news. If it was possible for any pony (other than Pinkie Pie) to visibly deflate then she would have done so.

“Fear not my young friend.” Princess Luna clapped a forehoof on the pegasus’ shoulder. “I do believe that were I to utilise one of my rather old... and somewhat forbidden... spells I will be able to temporarily infuse your stallion with a very small portion of my own alicorn magic, meaning he will be able to wield pegasus flight magic for but a short while. It will be brief, but if we are successful it would give him the opportunity to at least get his feet, or hooves as they will be at the time, off of the ground.”

Rainbow’s ears perked up again at this particular piece of news. If it was also possible for a pony (other than Pinkie Pie) to visibly re-inflate then she’d have done that too.

“Yes, but we have to be careful about different types of magic reacting badly together.” Twilight interjected, not wanting to get her herdmate’s hopes up too far just in case. “While your earth pony heritage compliments your dominant pegasus nature, making your flight magic more powerful than that of any standard pegasi, you also occasionally get other mixed heritage ponies like Derpy whose earth pony magic is dominant over her pegasus nature, making both her flight and weather control somewhat unpredictable.”

“That’s true, does make her a damn good baker though.” Rainbow’s eyes took on a faraway look as some of the apology treats that the unfortunate mailmare was often bringing around town came to mind. “Her muffins are totally awesome and her cherry cupcakes are almost as good as Pinkie’s and the Pies are like full-on earth pony all the way back to the dark ages!”

“Indeed.” Twilight noted, waving a forehoof in front of her friend’s drooling face.”But we’re not one hundred percent sure how Lero’s body will react once we throw Luna’s alicorn magic into the mix. As alicorn magic is itself a balance between unicorn, pegasus and earth pony magic we’re hopeful it will have a profoundly stabilising influence on proceedings... Maybe.”

Lero wandered back from where he’d been moving the coffee table. “Aha, ‘hopeful’, yeah. I love the way we’re talking about giving me the big ol’ magical whammo whilst using phrases like ‘hopeful’ and ‘if’ and ‘approximation’. Really fills a boy with confidence, ya know.”

With a big goofy grin on his face he reached over and tussled Twilight’s fringe.

“I hope this isn’t going to end up like that time your niece had one of her magic surges and accidently changed poor Fluttershy into a tree. It took us at least an hour and three hairbrushes to get all the bits of bark out of her mane.”

Twilight grimaced at the reminder of that particular mishap.

“Well that was an accident.” More than a touch of indignation tainted the unicorn’s response. ”She didn’t mean it and it wasn’t like Fluttershy minded. Anyway, looking back I did far worse as a child. Apparently I once teleported Cadance a few hundred body lengths away just because she jumped out at me while we were playing hide and seek.”

“Well that’s not so bad.” Rainbow added, trying to be supportive of her herdmate who was suddenly looking bit down. But instead of looking encouraged as the pegasus had been hoping, the unicorn hung her head.

“It was a couple of hundred body lengths straight up.” Twi said meekly.

“Ooh. Yeah” Without meaning to Rainbow sucked air in through her teeth. Even for a trained stunt flyer like herself a sudden unexpected fall could be deadly. “Ouch. Good job she’s got wings then.”

“Yes, very.” The unicorn admitted, though the slightly... shifty expression that she wasn’t quick enough to hide was leaving the others wondering quite how much of the incident had really been an ‘accident’.

“Taught her not to yell ‘boo’ at a jumpy foal though.” Twilight added quickly. Rainbow and Lero, the only two beings in the room without horns on their foreheads, just glanced at each other. How unicorns could forever be so blasé about magic was beyond either of them.

“Ah well, let’s give it a whirl.“ Lero clapped his hands together to break up the awkward atmosphere. “Worst that can probably happen is I lose my shirt. Speaking of which, I’m going to go change into a towel. First time we tried this with me still dressed it destroyed my favourite pair of cargo pants and the last thing I want to be doing about now is exposing myself to a princess of the realm.”

As the tall biped left the room a vague muttering came from Luna’s direction which sounded shockingly like “Tis a pity” though no pony was brave enough to pry any further.

As the three non-alicorn adults in the room stood in stunned silence, young Sweet Spirit decided that at this point mommy’s left ear looked to be about the tastiest thing she’d ever seen and started to give give it a good chew.

Any pony who knew the mint green unicorn at all well would know that the sudden wideness of her eyes and barely perceptible hiss that escaped her lips meant that her daughter's surprisingly pointy teeth had found a particularly sensitive patch of skin.

“Whoa there, girly girl. “ Lyra said softly, a gentle glow enveloped her horn as the hungry foal was wrapped in her mother’s magic and gently lifted from within her mane. “I think someone needs a feeding and then bed.”

Hanging in the air just a scant horn’s width from mommy’s face, the foal’s stubby little ears suddenly sprang up at the mention of a feeding.

For a pony of such a young age, and who had yet to even speak her first word, she had an astounding grasp of language. This was especially true for words she really liked such as ‘food’, ‘playtime’ and her most totally-favouritist ever words (they surely must have been just due to the amount of times she’d heard them by now) ‘get down from there!’ & ‘how in Equestria did you manage that?’.

“Come on then, say goodnight to your mommies and auntie Luna and I’ll read you your favourite book about the little princess on the moon.” Lyra levitated her child over towards Twilight, knowing full well that otherwise Sweetie would have headed straight towards either the pegasus or the alicorn first, always leaving the lavender mare until last. Children could be so fickle at times.

After repeated nuzzles from her mothers and an extra long nuzzle from ‘Auntie Luna’ (extra long because Sweetie had learnt by now how to cling rather tightly onto her favourite aunt’s muzzle with all four limbs in a manner which prompted her father refer to her as - what every pony assumed was a cute little name - ‘facehugger’) the happy little child was carried off to her room where her mother was quite likely to get her teats nibbled to pieces if she wasn’t careful.

Watching the pair leave the room, the child still giggling and gyrating in her mother’s magic, Luna sighed deeply.

“To be honest with you, I’m a little worried about what will happen when she finds out that her favourite bedtime tale is about me. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to live up to her expectations.”

Turning back the the room’s two remaining occupants the lunar princess was surprised to find find Rainbow giving Twilight quite the suspicious glare.

“Ok, so this is all great and all but spill it, why all this effort?” The pegasus started, her tone making plain that she would take no wiff-waff from either of them today. “I doubt you’ve gone to all this trouble just so me and Lero have have a little fly about. What are you two really up to?”

Luna just turned towards Twilight, who was looking everywhere but at her herdmate, the expression on her face somewhat... guilty?.

“Well, erm, you see.” The unicorn began. “We had this idea that if we can trick lero’s DNA into thinking he’s a pegasus pony, then we could collect some of his... err, sperm and err...”

She trailed off, the position of the previously unmoved sofa suddenly taking up a surprising amount of her attention.

“Yes, and..?” Rainbow’s attention span had absolutely no intention of getting distracted by the furniture.

“Well, we could combine then it with one of your eggs and…” Twilight trailed off again, rubbing her right forehoof with her left and oh boy, the bookcase certainly looked like it could do with its weekly reorganising already.

“Yes, go on.” The pegasus was starting to get impatient, a forehoof tapping on the wooden floor an obvious testament to this. She may not have been the smartest mare in the room but she’d totally figured out where the herd’s little miss brainiac was heading by now.

Under Rainbow’s gaze Twi just mumbled, which in turn caused the pegasus to glare at her that bit harder.

Watching them both intently, Luna couldn't help but be a tad surprised. She’d planned on a number of different reactions from the young pegasus but she’d not expected any of them to be so... negative. Exasperated by the quickly developing vicious cycle developing in front of her, the lunar princess decided it was time to get involved. Seriously, there were some times that her friends really needed a royal hoof right in the derriere.

“Oh, by my sister’s beard.” The princess snapped, she wouldn’t even need the Royal Canterlot Voice for this. “Twilight Sparkle believes that she can combine your stallion’s seed with one of your own eggs and implant it within herself and were Master Lero to be a pegasus stallion at the point of his supplying his offering then the chances of the foal being a pegasus would be quite high.”

At the alicorn’s sudden statement (all thrown out in a single breath, not needing to breathe really had its advantages at times) Rainbow Dash just stood and stared. Yep, that was pretty much what she’d suspected but to have Luna lay it out as bluntly as that had still thrown her off track.

“But we’ve talked about this before.“ The pegasus stammered as her herdsister still refused to meet her eyes. “It’s way too dangerous, Twi. The amount of magic you needed just to keep Sweetie safe was astronomical. I can't even count the number of nosebleeds and migraines and stuff you gave yourself trying to channel enough of your magic into Lyra just to keep her stable for eleven months.”

As Rainbow continued her plea, her volume increasing as she did so, Luna looked back and forth between the two herdmates, surprised that the unicorn hadn’t talked this through with her wife long before today.

“You both said before that a surrogate pregnancy on top of all that other stuff would require the mother to have a massive amount of magic reserves, much more than even you have to hoof and buckets more than Lyra could pump into you without blowing her horn out.”

At this point both Twilight and Luna opened their mouths to speak but a wave of the pegasus’ forehoof cut them both off.

“Look, I think I know what you're trying to do and I appreciate the effort, I really do, but I can’t let you do this. There seems to be this crazy idea floating around that I’d be feeling left out if there’s no little pegasi kiddies for me to play with but that’s totally not true. Look Twi, I’d love our kids no matter that race they were, I don't care if they’ve got wings or horns or even fingers. Family's family, ya know, their shape doesn't really matter to me.”

Turning to pace back and forth - a nervous habit she’d been trying for a while now to get rid of - through the clear space that they’d made in the middle of the room, Rainbow pressed on with her point.

“Please, don't put yourself at risk over this. It’s not that important.” She said, her voice now carrying more concern than anger. “I just want everyone to be safe so I’m not having anyone else putting themselves in danger for me, that’s just not how the Dash rolls, you should both know that by now.”

At this point Lero re-entered the lounge, naked except for a large towel he had wrapped around his waist. Glancing about the room he was surprised to find one wife hiding her face, another pacing the floor (which her therapist had said before was a bad sign) and a slightly confused looking princess.

“Girls, what’s all this about? I could hear you down the hall in Sweetie’s room.”

Taking a perch on the arm of a sofa, careful to make sure that his towel retained his dignity, Lero motioned both of his wives over to him.

Ceasing her pacing, though still dithering slightly, Rainbow came and stood by one of her stallion’s knees while Twilight, gaze still averted and head slightly bowed, stood by the other. Keeping himself squarely between them both (years of living in Equestria had taught him much about herd dynamics) and ensuring that he didn’t show favour to one over the other, he slowly reached out with each hand to rub their heads, letting his fingers run through their manes as he did so. He’d found a long time ago that a soft word and a well placed touch was often the best method of keeping the peace in this place.

Turning to his pegasus mate, but careful to keep his physical contact equal between both wives, he spoke in a soft, reassuring tone.

“Rainbow, I know the idea of Twilight hurting herself with her magic still scares you.” Rainbow bristled at the very suggestion but they both knew it was true. “Believe me, I know how you felt having to watch Twi push herself all through Lyra’s pregnancy and knowing there was very little we could do to help her. Really, I know the feeling all too well. But you know she’s only trying to help.”

Turning to face Twilight, he let his hand move under her chin, lifting her head so he could look the unicorn in the eye.

“And we both know what scientists are like; they love to try out new spells to see if they work even if they’re not actually going to go all the way through with them.” He ran his thumb across his wife’s cheek in the way she always found so reassuring. “I doubt that Twi’s going to trying any really dangerous spells without giving them a proper test first.”

The human’s hands moved around to rub one of his wive’s ears each.

“Especially after the cutie mark incident.” He added.

A slight redness came to the cheeks of both mares as they were reminded of the consequences of one of Twilight’s previous attempts at casting a major spell without properly doing her homework first. They’d all learned a few things that week, none more so than the lavender unicorn.

But Rainbow and Twilight weren’t the only ones to find themselves blushing at the memories, or at least the few fragmented memories everyone but Twilight still had of that period in their lives. On the whole it was an incident that they’d all just as soon forget and unfortunately Lero just hadn’t been able to look either Rarity or Bon Bon in the eyes for weeks even after the whole thing had been fixed.

Of course, it didn't help that even now Rarity still occasionally insisted (just jokingly, she claimed) that Lero call her ‘Mistress’. It also hadn't helped that a mysterious package from Fancy Pants had arrived in the mail a week later, containing nothing but a riding crop, a set of reins and a drawing of a big smiley face.

“Anyway.” Lero shuddered slightly, bringing himself back to the present as he did so. “Why don’t we at least give it a go, eh, Rainbow? Twi and Princess Luna have obviously put a lot of time into this so it'd be a shame to let it go to waste. And even if nothing comes of it there might be other uses for the spell, hmm?”

While he spoke, Luna’s eyes were following the movements of Lero’s exposed shoulders as he stroked his mare’s manes, the way his muscles moved under the surface of his pink furless skin, the way his chest moved with every breath. Why was it that a creature that wore clothing so much of the time could be so fascinating once he started to take them off? Hang on, it looked like he was talking to her.

“Princess? Princess?” Lero called, a flicker of concern evident in his eyes.

“Oh, yes, pardon me.” Luna started, embarrassed by her lapse in concentration. “Yes, you are right Master Lero.”

Biting her lip, the alicorn hoped that was the right response for the situation. As the human soon turned his attention back to his pegasus wife with a smile on his face then it would appear that it was.

“You see.“ He said. “Even the princess thinks we should at least give the transformation spell a try. If it works then great, if not then no great loss. All that’ll happen is that Twi and Luna will then spend the next few hours cooped in the study trying to figure out what went wrong while you can help me in the kitchen. How’s that sound?”

Rainbow nodded her agreement. She obviously still had concerns but the power of logic coupled with a few minutes of ear-rubs had won her over.

“Besides, I’m curious to see what I look like with wings.” Leaning forward, Lero planted a soft kiss on the pegasus’ nose. “If they’re anything like yours then I’m betting they’ll be magnificent. If we get time you can even show me how to preen them if you like.”

“OK, big guy, you’ve won me over.” Rainbow pushed her face against her lover’s hand one more time before moving away to the middle of the room. “So let’s do this thing. Where do I need to be?”

“Just there will be fine.” Luna waved a hoof roughly where Rainbow was already standing. “As long as Master Lero and yourself stay fairly close together, say less than a body length apart, then we should be good to go.”

“Never been a problem before.” Rainbow smirked, her usual rebellious twinkle returning to her eye. “We could get even closer if you like.“

“Erm, yes.” Luna responded, easily picking up on where Rainbow was planning to take this, with or without the eyebrows being wiggled in her direction, and hoping to head it off at the pass. “I doubt we’ll need you to be quite that close.”

While his one wife and the princess bantered, Lero turned to his other herdmate.

“She’ll be ok.” He said quietly. “She doesn’t like to admit it but she was really scared for you before and knowing that as a pegasus there was nothing she could do for you drove her crazy.”

“I’m sorry.” Twi said, her voice sounding so small. “I should have told her what we were doing beforehoof. Then she probably wouldn’t have reacted so badly.”

“Maybe” Lero agreed with a sigh. Why were ponies so bad at communication? But then, it’s not like his species was really any better. “But it’s done now so no point fretting. Instead let’s show her what you can do. Give her an eyeful of ‘Lero the Mighty Pegasus’ and she’ll get over it in no time.”

Planting a soft kiss on the unicorn’s nose, the human rose from the sofa and moved to join the others in the middle of the room. As he came abreast of the princess, he reached out and rubbed the alicorn between the ears in a decidedly friendly gesture.

Though by now he may have had years of exposure to pony body language, he still managed to miss the way Luna’s ears pricked up that little bit further as his hand moved through her ethereal mane, causing a couple of her smaller stars to bounce and swirl as his fingers passed them by.

“I’m sorry you had to see that” the human said as he drew his hand back, not seeing the disappointment in the princess’ eyes as he broke contact. Hardly anypony except for her sister dared to touch her in such a casual manner the way Lero did in... by the source, it had been so long. “We really do appreciate everything you’ve done for us. I just wanted you to know that. So, thanks.”

“Thou should think nowt of it.“ Luna said, the part of her brain that dealt with modern speech taking a few seconds to catch up to the rest of her. “We art honoured that thou would allow us to join you in these private moments.”

Aaaand, there it was, her brain was back in play again. “Ahem, yes, indeed. That you should allow one such as I into your lives like this, as a family friend rather than as an untouchable ruler kept upon her pedestal. it is a true kindness that my sister and I do not often receive.”

“Well, our thanks anyway.” And with that Lero moved to a spot next to Rainbow Dash, deliberately letting the back of his hand rub against her shoulder as he took his place.

Crouching down in the middle of the room - shapeshifting often made him dizzy and if we was going to fall he'd rather not fall the whole six feet - the human took a deep breath to steady his nerves.

“Ok, let’s do this.“ Rainbow declared, spreading her wings and taking a low combat stance. She didn't need to, it just made her feel a bit more confident, especially in situations where she felt she had little control over the outcome.

Plus it looked wicked cool which was always a bonus.

After checking that Luna was also ready, Twilight closed her eyes and began the slow process of building up enough concentrated magic for a transformation spell of the magnitude needed to change a large biped into a smaller winged quadruped.

Reaching out with both her mind and her magic, she could feel Luna’s almost terrifyingly large magical aura from just beside her as well as Rainbow’s much smaller aura just in front of her. Focusing on the spot between them where logically she knew Lero was crouched she searched for his essence.

Trying to get a magical lock on the human was always difficult as, due to him not being a born & bred part of the fabric of equestria, the magic of harmony tended to flow around him rather than through him. Lero often jokingly claimed he was using ‘stealth technology’ but after all these years she had figured out a few ways of snagging her man... both magically and otherwise.

Most times it was easiest to look for the magical ‘hole’ in her surroundings, the spot that the magic was avoiding. Pushing at the magical cold spot she found her mate, his strange aura registering as erratically against her own magic as it usually did. Wrapping him in her magical field the lavender unicorn began to weave the underpinnings of the transformation spell around him, checking, double-checking and triple-checking each small part before she moved on to the next.

Satisfied that everything was proceeding to plan Twilight opened one eye, glancing over at Princess Luna who was awaiting the signal to begin her own part of the spell.

“Ready for assistance.” Twilight immediately closed her eye again, confident that Luna would proceed as she should. Her confidence was not misplaced as within seconds - far faster than any other spellcaster (except Lyra) that Twilight had ever met could manage - she felt strong reinforcement magic flowing around and into her horn.

“OK, that’s good.” She concentrated on pushing the extra magic at her disposal into Lero’s body, feeling his form resisting as her magic started to take him apart at the thaumic level. “His body’s fighting me, give me about twenty percent again of what you're currently giving me please.”

Luna leaned forward, funneling an additional tiny amount of her alicorn magic into her reinforcement spell. The difficulty right now wasn't in supplying extra magic for spell, but in only supplying as much at any time as the caster could handle. Twilight may be the most magically gifted unicorn since Star Swirl himself, but she was still just a unicorn and it would be all too easy to overload her horn with raw alicorn magic at this point.

“That’s good, hold just there please.” Twilight's breathing levelled out as she overcame the last bit of resistance that Lero’s body was putting up, his human form finally becoming pliable under her magic’s control.

This bit always freaked Rainbow out and today was no exception. With a normal pony a transformation was fairly instantaneous. Twi would point her horn at them and then ZAP - a big flash, the smell of ozone and ‘voila’ suddenly it was butterfly wings or a new mane-do or a comedy moustache. Sometimes you’d get a pot plant instead but to be fair Twi hadn’t done that in years.

With Lero though, he was a totally different story. For starters the spell could take a good few minutes from start to finish. Plus there was also the fact that sometimes different parts would transform at totally different speeds and that was only if they decided to transform at all.

Much as she loved her man, there was something kinda creepy about a human from the waist up stuck on a pony’s body at the neck. Luckily today was running as smooth as a well trained stunt team. Twi was controlling her magic like a pro - which she totally was - and Lero was reforming nicely.

Eyes expanded, ears moved upwards and facial features repositioned, his mane growing and flowing over his shoulders, red and golds catching the light from Twilight’s spell like flickering flames. Fingers and toes pulled back into his limbs, hooves forming over the ends as soft brown fur flowed up his legs.

“Mmmm, chocolate. “ Rainbow uttered, clamping her forehooves over her mouth as she realised that she’d spoken out loud. Fearing she’d disturbed her unicorn herdmate’s casting she glanced over at Twi, relieved to see that her verbal slip seemed to have passed unnoticed.

Rainbow took the chance to just let her eyes flow over her stallion in his (always magnificent) pony form. His strong shoulders, his flowing mane and noble face, his mighty flanks sadly covered today by that damn towel. Face wise he always ended up with almost the same features with each transformation and there was something always just so recognisably... 'Lero' about his expressions.

Taking in the view even though she knew this was anything but the time and place for it, she couldn't resist imagining what illicit acts they could get up to in the short time that his body would hold this shape.

If the pegasus didn’t know better she’d swear Twilight was sculpting a few of his features into her ideal stallion even though the unicorn repeatedly insisted that there was no way she could control the transformation with the level of finesse. Heck, Rainbow hadn't even been sure what ‘finesse’ meant until Lyra had explained it to her but she still thought Twilight was talking through her saddle with her denials.

“OK, ready for template.” Twi’s words shook the pegasus out of her short but enjoyable fantasy (and it had just been getting good too) as Rainbow found herself enveloped in the caster’s second magical field.

“Mapping template.” Twi grunted as her spell caused the trapped pegasus to glow green, a grid of magical lines moving back and forth over her subject’s body. “Luna, I’m going to need a tiny bit more power here, yes that’s it, thank you.”

“Copying attributes.” Twilight’s magic lifted both Rainbow and Lero from the ground as she moved her attention back and forth between them both. “Compressing target down to pegasus size, wing formation initialised.”

Lero could feel himself being squeezed from all sides, much like he’d had the few times he’d ever been scuba diving as a teen. As quickly as it had began the sensation ceased only to be replaced with a sudden... weight on his back as a pair of large blue wings sprouted from behind his shoulder blades. As he felt them unfurl, their impressive wingspan spreading away from his body, ripples of brown worked their way along each of his strange new appendages, replacing the blue as they went.

Twi slowly opened her eyes, careful to maintain her casting lest the spell collapse in on itself.

“Well I think we can call that a success, don’t you Luna?” The unicorn asked as she turned to her alicorn friend.

“Oh yes, I wholeheartedly concour.” Luna agreed. “Now, if you could maintain both fields for a few moments longer I can infuse Master Lero with my alicorn magic whilst you weave it into place throughout his new form. If you are confident you can embed it within him correctly without using Lady Dash as a template then feel free to release her but I would not recommend it on your first attempt.”

Twi turned back to face Lero, eyes moving from her stallion to her herd mate and back again.

“No, I think you’re right. It would make stabilising the flight magic easier.” She said. “Alright then, I’m ready when you are, Princess.”

“Splendid.” Luna nodded, turning her attention to the rather impressive pegasus stallion stood before her.

So now it was the lunar princess’ turn to close her eyes as she prepared to cast her ancient spell. She had not used magic of this nature in over a thousand years now, though to her it felt like just yesterday.

The last time she had imparted a portion of her own alicorn magic into another had been when she gifted her own, now long departed, stallion with a portion of her essence. Though the spell she would use today was far simpler and the amount of magic being moved much smaller, the similarities between the situations was still enough to remind her of those long past heady days of her love.

Pushing the memories to the back of her mind, she narrowed her attention, focusing just on what lay before her. Releasing a very small portion of her raw alicorn magic, Luna compressed and refined it before slowly feeding it into Twilight's horn. Feeling the unicorn begin to separate the offered magic into it’s component pegasus, unicorn and earth pony parts and guide only the pegasus element towards Lero, Luna started to siphon the unnecessary parts back into her own core.

As she concentrated on the task at hand she was vaguely aware of a noise behind her... No, she should pay it no mind, it was just Lyra returning to the room.

But the noise continued.. and there was a tugging sensation coming from her tail... and her leg... something was climbing up her leg!

Allowing a portion of her attention to divert from her casting, Luna realised that what was climbing up the back of her leg was in fact Sweet Spirit. The child must have escaped from her room and wanted to rejoin the adults.

“Young lady.“ Lyra cried as she darted into the room, spotting her errant foal swiftly ascending towards the lunar princess’ royal backside. “Get down from there. Princess Luna is doing something very difficult and doesn’t need you climbing up her tush.”

By this point the adventurous child had reached the back of Luna’s thigh, the little ‘nubbins’ on the backs of each of her ankles making the ascent easier for her than it would have done for any other non-hybrid foal. Not that any other foal would have dared use the co-ruler of Equestria as their own personal climbing frame.

“Princess, I‘m sorry.” Lyra apologised as she moved towards her offspring, who by now was very much on the naughty list. “She’s just figured out who the heroine of her bedtime story really is.”

It was at this point that Sweet Spirit decided to surprise everyone in the room with her first ever words.

“Woona!” She cried at the top of her little lungs, grasping tightly against her favourite aunt’s leg. “Woona Lonely!”

Five sets of eyes turned to the noisy foal, shouting her first words as if they meant the difference between life and death... and to her young mind they may as well have done.

Their surprise was short lived however as Lero’s body decided to take this opportunity to start rejecting Twilight’s spell, his new wings pulling back into his sides with a pronounced ‘slurp’ noise.

“Oh, horseapples.” Twilight rushed to modify her casting before any more rejection could take place, catching the spell before it managed to turn into an unstoppable cascade failure.

As Luna turned the royal derriere (and its unexpected passenger) towards the worried mother, Lyra moved to grab Sweetie with her telekinesis.

“Come on Sweetie, back to bed.”

“NO!” The foal shouted as she was enveloped by her mother’s magic. “LOVE WOONA!”

As her four small hooves were peeled away from her perilous perch, the child used the last method she could think of to keep herself latched to her ‘Woona’... her teeth.

A little known fact about alicorns was that, as a combination of the three pony races, they had the erogenous zones of all three... and they were really quite sensitive, especially where all three races had zones that overlapped... like the inner thigh.

So as far as Luna was concerned, being bitten in the surprisingly soft skin on the back of her thigh by a screaming child didn’t just hurt... it hurt a lot.

And when the small child’s sharp canine teeth broke the skin it hurt even more... a lot more.

“BY MY TEATS THAT HURTS!.”

Never had the rather common equestrian curse been so close to the truth. Both literally and geographically.

As the Royal Canterlot Voice echoed around the room, a rather surprised Sweet Spirit let go of her aunt's leg, the sudden lack of resistance to her mother’s telekinesis catapulting her across the room past the mint green unicorn who desperately dived to catch her child.

Unfortunately the unexpected pain had (understandably) disrupted Luna’s concentration and rather more raw alicorn magic than she had been prepared to share was suddenly forced into Twilight’s horn.

A magical prodigy though she may have been, there was a limit to what the purple thaumologist could handle and while she did manage to harmlessly vent off an impressive amount of her unwanted payload, a sizeable amount still found itself being channeled back out through her horn and into her transformation spell.

The effect was almost instantaneous. In less than a second Lero’s formerly chocolate brown coat had strobed through every colour of the rainbow before settling on jet black, a black as dark as Princess Luna’s own coat, his mane and tail each reforming into a short ruffled brown mess. Spreading wide as they erupted from his back his pegasus wings returned while his face contorted, his features becoming that of a stallion that in no way could be mistaken for the former human.

“Sable?!” Luna gasped, an expression of distress coming to her own features. “No, you’re gone, you can’t be here! I saw you die!”

The Lero that wasn’t opened his mouth as if to cry out but no sound could be heard. Instead his entire form burst into flame, the flames moving about his body before suddenly receding from his coat until they were concentrated in just his mane and tail. As the flames left his body they exposed a coat and wings of bone white, a white so pure it would make Princess Celestia’s pristine coat look positively drab. As Lero’s feature’s rearranged themselves once more a large unicorn horn erupted from his forehead.

“Terra!” Luna’s face contorted in rage, her irises constricting to slits, great anger echoed in her voice. “No, you left us, you have no place here! Unhoof this stallion right now, you cannot have him, I will not allow it!”.

As the flaming mane flared out around its head, the being that wasn’t Lero again opened its mouth as if to speak, but before any sound could come forth it stopped dead, turning to stare in confusion directly at Twilight.

“Luna!” The unicorn shouted, sparks jumping from her drastically overloaded horn. “I’m getting a lot of feedback here! My transformation spell’s completely out of control and I’ve no idea how much longer I can hold it together!”

Just as quickly as he had moved through his unexpected changes just moments before, Lero was unceremoniously returned to a more familiar chocolate brown earth pony form, his blinking eyes still focused on his unicorn herdmate.

“I’m fine, I’m okay. Not sure what happened there but I’m back to normal.” He called, glancing down at his hooves. “Well, pony normal anyway.”

Unfortunately their troubles were far from over as Twilight still had a huge amount of magic running through what was left of her tattered transformation spell. Screwing her eyes tight she concentrated on gathering all the errant magic she could find and compressing it into a ball at the end of her horn.

”OK, everypony, get out of the way!” She cried, praying that she could control the imminent magical explosion. “I’ve got to dissipate this magic and you DO NOT want to be in front of it when it pops.”

The next thing Lero felt was Rainbow Dash ramming into his side, pushing him across the dining table and away to safety, then a sudden flash followed by an immense boom.

And then there was nothing but silence.

As the haze cleared Luna did what royalty does best; she took charge of the situation.

“Everypony.” She called into the smoke, the smell of ozone mixed with rotten eggs and burnt sugar making her nose twitch.

“We command thee to sound off. We wish to know thou are all in one piece.” The fall back into her old speech patterns betrayed her concern that one or more of her friends might be injured... or worse. She had never seen a spell backfire in such a spectacular fashion before and, for a being of both her age and her exposure to the early years of unicorn magic, that was saying something

Twilight staggered out of the smoke, her horn blackened and smouldering around the tip. Much of her fringe was burnt away and the rest of her mane was heavily singed around the edges.

“I’m here. Got the biggest headache of my life though and the ringing in my ears is... Sweetie!” The unicorn cast about the room anxiously. “Where’s Sweetie?”

From the other side of the room Lyra’s disembodied voice floated through the fog

“She’s down here.”

A mint green head poked up from behind a lightly smoking sofa before ducking back down again just to reappear seconds later with a giggling foal in her teeth. The youngster seemed to think the whole thing was a splendid game and could she have another go?

Twilight breathed a heavy sigh of relief at the sight of the wriggling child.

“Phew, ok, so four down, where’s the other two?”

Calling for the last two members of herd Bellaphon, the three adults were unspeakably glad to hear Lero’s voice from the far end of the room.

“I’m over here. Back to being human and I still seem to have all my bits attached as well which is good.”

The biped pulled open one of the apartment windows, letting the smoke start to billow its way out of the room. As the air started to clear around him they could see that his normally smooth pink skin appeared to be rippling, stripes of short brown fur weaving their way over his body, though he had somehow managed to keep his towel in place... much to Luna’s chagrin.

After a scant few seconds the furry markings dissipated in much the same way as when a transformation spell would wear off his annoyingly 'transmogrification-magic-resistant' body, leaving just his tanned skin with a swath of paler pink across his chest where he usually wore a shirt.

Suddenly there was a cough and then Rainbow’s voice came from another part of the room, behind an overturned table where the force of the magical explosion had thrown her after she’d jumped between Lero and the magical detonation.

“Ahh man, why’s it so *cough* cold in here?” She complained. “Did that kick-ass bang make it winter in here or something? If there’s snowballs I am soooo *cough* on Lyra’s side.”

Expecting the pegasus to shake herself off and make herself known, the others started to become concerned when all that came from behind the toppled table for the next few seconds were a series of thumps and frustrated grunts.

“Err, guys.” Rainbow’s voice had more than just a touch of panic to it. “I’m having some trouble here. My legs aren’t doing what I’m telling them... HOLY CRAP where’s my fur gone?!”

Quickly pulling the table away, Lero exposed a very confused Rainbow who was flailing her limbs around as she tried to stand. As she moved, furry stripes of pale blue moved across her body, fading away much like Lero’s had moments before to leave nothing but pale pink skin behind.

Pushing her forelimbs out in front of her she could see her forehooves had been replaced with hands sporting long slender fingers, much slimmer than those of her stallion. Cyan eyebrows reached for the heavens as her - still rose coloured, though much smaller than before - eyes took in the sight of these weird alien appendages at the ends of her arms, flexing and curling at her every command.

Looking down she could see the rest of her body was the same colour of Lero’s untanned parts, though she was much slimmer that he was and for some reason she seemed to have these two fleshy bits that... jiggled, right on her chest where Lero’s nipples were. The ends of her rainbow hued mane fell forward over her shoulders and if anything it seemed longer than before.

Moving further down she could see a belly button like Lero’s, then a small patch of cyan fur with thankfully no penis hidden under it (praise be to Celestia for small mercies) and these long, long legs that seemed to go on forever.

Looking up to find her three startled herdmates, with an exuberantly grinning child and a gob-smacked princess all staring back at her, a wave of panic, easily evident even with a whole new face to deal with, started to make its merry way over her features.

“WHAT THE BUCK?!” cried a very suprised human woman.

Lero just stood, slack jawed and staring. A twitching under his towel wordlessly communicating exactly what the rest of his body was trying to say even though both his mouth and his brain appeared to have clocked off for the day.

“My god!” He finally stuttered. “Human you is so fucking hot!”

58: I want to hold you close; soft breasts, beating heart.

I want to hold you close; soft breasts, beating heart.
Chapter published 09th Jun 2013

*********

To say the immediate reactions to Rainbow Dash’s sudden transformation were mixed would be an understatement.

Twilight and Luna went at it like scientists, approaching the event with clinical detachment (or as much as they could manage, this whole situation was still well and truly gasting both of their flabbers) and trying to figure out quite what on Equestria had gone wrong with the unicorn’s spell to result in this profound of a change.

Lyra and Sweetie took it all in their stride; Lyra because, well, she was Lyra, nothing ever fazed that mare; Sweetie because she wasn’t even a year old so as far as she was concerned everything in her world was new and strange and fun... and probably edible. Just wait until she figured out quite what birthdays were, then you’d see what an over excited child really looks like.

Rainbow herself also took to it with surprising ease. But then years in the Wonderbolts coupled with being lead mare (sigh) of what had to be the strangest herd in the land as well as being an element bearer had made her ready for anything. Or almost anything. This was still hella weird no matter what.

Lero on the other hand, he just stood and gawked, his mouth occasionally moving as if he wanted to say more but then it would just snap shut again, the best he could manage was the odd ‘whoa’.

While the former pegasus stayed sat on the floor, wiggling her new fingers in the face of an enraptured foal, Twilight pulled Luna away from the group and off into a corner of the room.

“Princess, are you thinking what I’m thinking?” The unicorn whispered, careful to make sure that the rest of the herd didn't overhear her.

Luna gave Twilight a strange and unreadable look before replying in an equally hushed tone.

“About overthrowing my sister and taking over Equestria? No, I ceased with all that years ago. Why?”

TILT! Twilight just stared back, her brain trying to handle too many pieces of earthshaking information all at once.

“What?!” Was all she managed.

“Oh, I’m sorry." The alicorn replied with a not-quite-convincing nonchalant attitude. “I was attempting to lighten the mood. It would seem that my timing still requires work. Please, continue.”

“Yeaaah." Twilight grimaced. “Anyway, I was thinking that if Rainbow’s transformation is a complete one and that if this body’s....ahh, fully functional, then if we could keep her in this form for eleven, no sorry, nine months for humans, then she could possibly have a child of her own.”

The unicorn glanced back to see if anypony was listening but it it would appear a pair of whispering ponies had nothing on a human female when it came to being at all interesting, or at least as far as the rest of her herd was concerned that was.

“Even if it doesn’t work with Rainbow, it might still work on others.” Twi continued, the excitement of a major magical project quickly taking over her brain. “We could introduce a new and viable breeding species to Equestria. Give it twenty years or so and we could have a whole generation of humans being born naturally. Just think, a whole race of humans born into the magic of harmony! What would that even be like?”

Twi leaned forward into Luna’s personal space, pushing a forehoof against the alicorn’s chest for emphasis. “Plus, Lero wouldn't have to spend the rest of his life as the last of his kind.”

“Not the last of his kind, but the first.” She added, determination blazing in her eyes.

As the excited unicorn’s words sank in, Twi could see Luna thinking it over, her large blue eyes moving back and forth between Lero and Rainbow Dash, currently the only two humans on the entire planet, and one of those only temporarily... probably.

“Yes, I see, that could be a possibility worth looking into.” Luna replied, caution colouring her tone. Introducing a new species to any ecosystem could be dangerous and was fraught with unexpected consequences. Even now, all these centuries later, Princess Celestia wouldn't let her sister forget the whole ‘minotaur’ debacle.

“You may not want to rush into anything this time.” Luna continued to watch the group, Lero still standing stiff (in both senses of the word) while Sweetie climbed all over the most colourful of her mommies. New form or not, Mommy Rainbow was still Mommy Rainbow, it just meant she was now taller, less furry and much more of a challenge to hang on to.

“And make sure you talk everything, and I mean everything, over with your herd before you even think about testing anything out.”

Twilight just nodded, feeling suitably chastised.

Conversation over they both moved back towards the others just in time to see Rainbow grab Sweetie with both hands and hold her up high in the air.

“Hey look.“ The brightly maned, no, brightly haired human laughed “Opposable thumbs are the bomb! Whad’ya think kiddo?”

Just by wiggling her phalanges about she tickled the child’s tummy like it was going out of fashion before resting the giggling foal on top of her head like she usually did. It seemed the child had done all her talking for one day but she still had plenty of squeaks and giggles stored up that she could use.

“I have to admit I’m a touch jealous.” Lyra remarked. “Those fingers are just fascinating. Look, they’re even thinner than Lero’s. Just think how well I could play my harp with fingers like that. I’d bet I could even play a guitar as well, I would love to do that, just once, no magical field or anything else between me and the music. If we ever need a unicorn template to accidentally turn into a human I’ll volunteer for that in a heartbeat.”

“It’s not all fun and games ya’know.” Rainbow interjected. “Either Sweetie’s a flank-load heavier than I remember or my neck’s wimping out on me.” Lifting the still chortling child back off of her head she held the foal out to her mother. “Here Lyra, you can have her back.”

The minty unicorn quickly levitated her daughter over to a spot on top of her own head with Rainbow used her new hands to rub at the back of her neck.

“Oh that feels good.” The human sighed. “My skin’s so much more sensitive without all my fur in the way... Oh, I can't wait to get a massage in this form. That would be so totally cool.”

Turning to Lero, his mouth still just opening and closing, she waved her hands in his direction io get his attention.

“Hey, big guy. You still with us?”

Pulling her hands back she caught sight of something on the backs of her arms.

“Man, it’s cold in here though. Hey, look, I’m getting all these bumps coming up on my arms like Lero does.”

As if he’d woken up from a deep sleep, the stallion of the herd suddenly jerked to attention.

"Oh, yeah, err, those are goosebumps.” He said, reaching down to rub his still-naked wife’s arms. “Humans notice the chill a lot more than pegasi do so they’re one of your body’s ways of telling you it’s cold. So, yeah, clothes, clothes would be a good idea right about now.”

Looking down at his own body he finally remembered he was in a state of almost complete undress himself.

“For both of us I think. Hang on a sec.”

And with that he made off towards the side room where he kept his wardrobe. As only one in four of the adults in the herd wore clothing on a daily basis he hadn't seen the need to keep his clothes in the bedroom like most humans did, instead using a small room off of the apartment’s main corridor for dressing himself and doing his laundry.

As he left the room something MAJOR occurred to Rainbow. Something she couldn't believe she hadn’t thought of before.

“Hey, some pony get me a mirror.” She cried. “I bet I look awesome!”

Not wanting to wait another second, Rainbow tried to stand, her new legs and arms taking a number of tries to get the hang of, her center of balance not quite being where she’d left it.

After couple of false starts she had it sussed and was stood on two feet, arms held out to either side to help keep balance. Compared to some of the trickier maneuvers she’d had to learn back in Wonderbolts training, this was a walk in the park.

Even so, Lyra’s magic gently flickered around the former pegasus’ limbs assisting in maintaining her balance much as she’d done with Sweet Spirit when the foal had been first learning to walk. With a nod from Rainbow the magic fading away leaving the new human standing unaided.

“Ok, standing, not so hard.” A sudden wobble almost took the human over sideways. “I meant to do that. Right, so, not as easy as it looks.” A few more wobbles followed, thankfully each smaller than the last. “Oh boy, how’s the big guy do this for hours and not fall over?”

Lyra laughed.”Wait until you try to walk. For humans that’s just controlled falling over. Only having half the legs takes it to a whole new level.”

Sweetie struggled in the magic field between Lyra’s ears. The foal thought this all looked like the most fun EVER and it was really unfair that she wasn't in the middle of it.

“Okay then.“ Rainbow said through gritted teeth. “Let’s give walking a try.”

Arms out straight like a tightrope walker - though the resemblance was lost on the ponies (and ex-ponies) present - she lifted her right foot to take a step, quickly placing it down in front of her. After she had stabilised herself she tried lifting her trailing foot and taking a second step, then a third, each hesitant step taking her closer and closer to the large mirror that they kept by the apartment’s front door.

“See, this ain’t soWOAH.” Rainbow stumbled just as she was about to successfully (and with more than a modecum of style) reach her destination, Lyra’s magic just about catching her before she toppled over completely. Grabbing the small set of shelves by the door that they used for keeping their rain boots and Lero’s shoes on to steady herself, the human gave thanks for her herdmate’s quick reflexes.

Pulling herself back to her feet before stepping gingerly to one side so she could see herself in the full length mirror, careful to keep a hand on the shelves to steady herself as she did so, Rainbow took her first good look at her all-new appearance.

While she didn’t know much about how the females of the species were supposed to look, the former pegasus was fairly pleased with her new human appearance.

Taking in the face that stared back at her from the mirror, the newest addition to the race Heme sapiens advena (or Homo Sapiens Sapiens as Lero still half-jokingly insisted he should be classified) was struck by how familiarshe still looked.

She’d expected to see some stranger... some alien staring back at her but this woman, this human was just so her. The rose red eyes filled with confident mischief, the strongly arched eyebrows above them that same shade of blue that had until minutes before coated her entire body. The now much smaller nose was odd, but at the same time looked just right. The mouth below it already curling up at one side in her trademark smirk.

Pulling back her dark pink lips she was not at all surprised to see a whole array of small pearly white teeth, a number of which sported (to her eyes anyway) quite sharp points. Not quite as pointy as either Lero’s or Sweetie’s, but they still looked quite vicious compared to her old, flat grinding teeth.

If asked later what had prompted her to her next action she’d have had no idea what had struck her, but impetuously she poked her tongue out as far as it would go, shocked by how short it had become. Try as she might - and she tried quite hard - she just could not get the stumpy organ to reach the end of her nose... an attempt she soon gave up on after it had elicited more than a few laughs from her herdmates.

Turning her attention back to the mirror she could see that her chromatic mane was still in its full glory, the parts that had fallen forward over shoulders now hanging down almost to her belly button. Ha, ‘belly button’, what a funny sounding name for such a funny looking hole right in the middle of her barrel. Or, was it even still called a barrel? Abdomen maybe?

Looking further down, careful not to topple forward, she could see her toes which scrunched up as soon as she commanded. Above that were a pair of long, smooth pink legs which seemed to make up at least half of her height.

Was she tall? She had no idea, She knew human females were supposed to be shorter than the males but she looked to be only a hoof width or so shorter than her stallion. Was that normal? Everyone else in the room except for Luna seemed so impossibly short to her now. Was this how the world looked through Lero’s eyes?

Turning her body to one side she checked on her dock but found no tail awaiting her there. Her brain sent a message to her missing appendage but received no response, not even a twitching in her flanks.

“Well, I don’t have my tail anymore which feels really weird. Hey! Where’s my cutie mark?!”.

Hands dropping to her hips she franticly patted the skin where her brain was telling her that her familiar cloud and lightning bolt cutie mark should be.

“NONONONO... It’s gotta be here, I can’t have lost it!”

Rainbow was getting desperate, panic creeping its way up her throat as she searched all over her left hip for her missing mark. The last time she’d lost her mark, her pride and joy, she’d almost ended as the filling in an earth pony sandwich. She twisted her body around so she could see her other hip.

Hurray, there it was. Her cutie mark was present and correct and exactly the same size and shape and colours as before... and thankfully no bloody butterflies this time.

“Oh thank Celestia.” She sighed. “Don’t worry, found it. It’s on the other side.”

Two unicorns and an alicorn all leaned in to get a better look at Rainbow’s cutie mark which was displayed as patches of brightly coloured skin amongst the pink of her right hip

“I wonder why you only have the one.” Twilight noted as she leaned in closer than the others. Years of slaving over ancient tomes in less than optimal lighting had started to affect her eyes and she always managed to ‘forget’ her reading glasses, usually muttering something about them making her look like her mother. Perhaps it really was time to look into those old ophthalmic spells again.

As the lavender mare moved her attention to her herdmate’s other hip she breathed out in a huff, the proximity of her nose to Rainbow’s crotch causing the sudden exhalation to tickle the small amount of fur around the former pegasus’ groinal area.

“Hey, that tickles!” Dash exclaimed, stuffing both her hands between her legs which just caused her to giggle all the more.

All three remaining adult ponies in the room leant in just a tad closer, curious to know what the genitalia of a human female looked like.

Twi and Lyra (and Luna though second hand information) knew that Lero’s *ahem* equipment was compatible with that of his wives’ even though it had a substantial amount of differences to the standard issue male pony. So what would a human woman’s look like? Would everything be in the same place? Would there be any major difference in form or function? Inquiring minds needed to know!

“Err, girls.” Rainbow motioned her head towards Princess Luna and then towards Sweetie still perched between Lyra’s ears. “I think I’ll check those bits out later if you don’t mind.”

“Oh, my apologies.” Luna stammered, swiftly pulling her head back as a flush made its way to her cheeks, displaying her embarrassment at both her eagerness and proximity.

“No worries.“ The human replied, releasing her hands from between her well toned thighs and moving them up to her upper chest where she used her long fingers to gently squeeze the two strange lumps of flesh that had made their home there. In the cold of the apartment her nipples had become quite erect.

“So what the hell are these for?” She asked as she let them go, causing them to spring back to their former shape. “Lero has a set of really firm muscles here but I’m all... bouncy! What’s that about?”

“They're your mammary glands.” Twilight gave them a little poke with her magic which caused them to sway slightly. “Most female primates have them up here. They can be quite pronounced even when the female isn’t expecting a child though they can still swell during pregnancy. Apart from their obvious uses for the suckling of their young, they also seem to use them to as part of their courtship displays in order to attract mates.”

Another little poke, this time a touch stronger which caused some increased jiggle in return.

“And yes, they do appear to be quite bouncy.”

At this point the stallion of the herd walked back into the room carrying a small bundle of clothing, just in time to find two of his wives (and a princess) playing with his third wife’s new breasts.

“Here’s some- Whoa there.” Lero ground to a halt, clothes dangling forgotten from his fingers as he took in the scene.

While Rainbow’s rack wasn’t huge, or even particularly large, it was definitely quite a sight to behold and unarguably perfectly formed. The distractingly naked woman before him definitely had the build of an athlete; taut stomach muscles, well defined thighs and biceps but all still wrapped up in a number of alluring curves.

It would seem certain elements of Rainbow’s pony form had translated over to her new body and while certainly not ‘voluptuous’, she was pleasingly ‘athletic’... Very, very ‘athletic’.

“Err, could you not all do that please. Not in front of Sweetie anyway.” Lero stuttered. He had always been shy around human women and it seemed that this vision of loveliness - even though underneath it all was actually his wife of many years - was no exception.

Damn hormones, conspiring with his brain and plotting his downfall. Grrr.

Rainbow turned to take in her lover’s flustered expression. “Do what?” She asked, her own expression very much not flustered, more knowingly teasing.

“Err, squeeze your... ahh... yeah.” The poor embarrassed male coughed. “Well, it’s definitely cold in here, you should put these on.”

He held out the pile of clothes but his mate made no move to take them. She was enjoying watching the skin around her mate’s face and neck change colour and was in no hurry to cover up.

“Yeah, sure. So, how do I look?” She asked. “As a human I mean. I’m not like a musclebound freak or anything am I? Everything’s where it supposed to be, right? When it comes to human women I’ve got no idea. Boy, I hope I’m hot. Am I hot?”

Rainbow turned back around for another look in the mirror.

“Oh yeah, I’m hot.”

“Ah, yes, very.“ Lero added, his eyes alternating between not knowing where to look and knowing exactly where to look. “Very hot. So very, very hot.”

His wife just grinned at him over her shoulder, the same cheeky, self confident dazzler of a grin she always sported when she was feeling particularly impressive. Even now her smaller mouth and unfamiliar teeth couldn’t keep that grin down.

“Aaah, you're just saying that.” She teased, though a small amount of worry started to creep into her voice. “I bet my flanks are too flat. They’re too flat aren’t they?”

Even after all these years of being one of the most ‘winningest’ ponies in Equestria - Wonderbolt captain, lead mare of the most kickass herd in town and generally just all kinds of awesome - occasionally Rainbow’s old body issues would suddenly surface, just for her herd to squash them down again just as quickly.

“No, no I’m not. And trust me, they’re not too flat, they’re just right.” Lero was quick to add. “Humans can have a whole lot of variation in our bodies and still look great. You’re what we’d call an athletic build which believe me a lot of human women would kill for.”

Reaching out he ran his fingers through his wife’s chromatic hair, enjoying the feeling of familiarity even though the strands were a touch softer than usual.

“You see, a lot of women get unhappy with themselves and their appearance because much of human society tells them they should look a certain way or buy particular clothes or weigh less than a set amount. But as long as they’re happy and healthy then what does it really matter? Both men and women come in all different shapes; hips, breasts, waists, shoulders. We’re all odd shapes really, there’s not one definitive human ‘template’ as such.”

Letting Rainbow’s hair fall back against her chest, Lero moved his hand to behind her ear, glad to the see that ear rubs still had the same affect on her no matter her shape.

“Life’s so much easier for you ponies as there’s a hell of a lot less variation within the tribes, or even between them for that matter. Which is why it can be so hard for humans to find clothes that fit us even back home. Plus very few of us could ever afford a tailor as good as Rarity or Dapper Dan”

Holding up the bundle he was carrying, Lero separated them out to show that it was a simple pair of blue jeans and plain white t-shirt set that Rarity had recently made for him. The amount of time it had taken him to convince the dressmaker that ‘less was more’ and that she really didn't need to add any patterns or embroidery to the design had been astounding though eventually she’d capitulated.

The perfectionist unicorn had insisted on at least stitching Boutique Magnifique’s logo into one of the pair of jean’s back pockets but that was a compromise Lero was more than happy to make. Rarity’s newest venture with her current business partner Dapper Dan was swiftly becoming one of Canterlot’s most talked about success stories.

Under the motto of creating ‘fabulous clothes for both mares and stallions’ and taking influence from as far as Saddle Arabia, Neighpon, Zebrica and the Bittish Isle, Boutique Magnifique was in high demand amongst the nation’s high society and Lero was proud to show his support by displaying their maker’s mark on his clothes somewhere... even if it was on his butt.

“Here, stick these on.” Lero dropped the t-shirt and held out the pair of denim pants. “You’ll have to go commando but it’s still warmer than wandering about naked.”

“Commando?” Twilight cocked her head at the unfamiliar phrase. Even after all this time Lero still came out with the occasional puzzler.

“Without underwear.” Lero grinned. “Rarity might have made me one heck of a wardrobe but even I don't happen to have any bra and panty sets to hand... That I’m admitting to anyway.”

Rainbow was still trying to figure how to get the trousers on. “Bra and what-whats now?”

“Female underwear, kinda like... actually, never mind.” Crouching down in front of his wife he rolled up one of the pant’s legs and held them out between the two of them like he would for a human child just learning to dress themselves. “Here, stick your left foot through here.”

With Rainbow holding onto his shoulder to steady herself, Lero waited for her to step through one leg of the trousers before rolling up the other leg and holding it out for her other foot. At least that was his plan, but when your wife’s abs and ass are as tight as an olympic volleyball player’s, it can get distracting.

“Ok, now through here with the other leg.” Lero was having trouble concentrating. “My god, I so want to bite your ass about now.”

Rainbow grinned down at her lover kneeling before her. “What’s that?” She asked, knowing full well what he’d said. Her ears may not have been as good as they had been before but she could still hear pretty damn well.

“Err, nothing.” Lero denied as Rainbow wiggled her feet into place. “Here, that’s good.”

After pulling the jeans up to her waist, Lero fastened the fly and buckled the belt to hold them in place. Then he grabbed the t-shirt from the floor and stood up in one sweeping movement that even now still enthralled Lyra every time he did it.

”Ok, now arms up in the air like this.”

As Lero lifted his arms in the air Rainbow did the same, causing her breasts to bounce and her already pert nipples to present themselves for inspection. At this the stallion just squeaked - whether he'd actually meant to or not he would later refuse to confirm - and swiftly pulled the shirt over the woman’s head and arms, tugging it into place around her waist.

“Okay Lero, don't get distracted.” He muttered to himself. “There’s children present. Holy crap, there’s royalty present. Oh god oh god oh god.”

As her husband took a step back in order to get a better look, Rainbow turned to regard herself in the mirror. The way the pants bunched up around her feet, the t-shirt hanging off of her body, slipping down to reveal one shoulder. She was not impressed

“Hmm, way too baggy but it’ll do.” Lero remarked.

“It’ll do?” The ex-pegasus protested. “Dude, seriously. I may know jack about human fashion but even I know this look is totally not awesome.”

Lifting a foot from the floor, the hem of the oversized jeans slipped down over her toes and ended up hanging down by a good few horn widths.

“I think I can temporarily resize those for you.” Twilight offered. "The ‘stretch and skew’ spell Rarity had me create for her line of expanding maternity gowns should do the trick if I run it in reverse.”

Before anypony could say anything the master spellcrafter screwed up her eyes and pointed her still scorched horn at her herdmate’s ill-fitting outfit. For some strange reason the rest of her herd (and Princess Luna) slowly started to edge away from the former pegasus. After a few seconds of intense concentration all the unicorn’s horn managed to emit was a barely audible ‘pop’ and a small curl of smoke from its blackened tip.

As her eyes opened, Twilight crossed her pupils to take in her malfunctioning magical protuberance.

“Or, maybe not.” She was slightly embarrassed to admit. “It looks like it’s going to take a while for my horn to recover enough to start casting again.”

At this Princess Luna stepped forward.

“Maybe I can be of some assistance.” The alicorn turned her own horn towards the human female and her unfortunate crime against fashion. “Master Lero, please inform me when the clothing has reached the desired size and fit.”

As Luna’s horn began to give off its faint magical glow, Rainbow’s clothes start to shrink, her natural form becoming more evident as the garments contracted to fit more snugly against her skin.

Once they reach the point where they were as tight on the smaller female as they usually were on Lero, Luna looked to the human male to see if she should stop.

“Maybe just a touch tighter.” Lero nodded at Luna, the alicorn just raising a quizzical eyebrow before allowing the spell to continue.

As the shrinkage progressed, the lower hem of the t-shirt moved higher, exposing the patch of skin between the human’s navel and her belt buckle, while the upper half of the covering contracted around her chest, pulling in tight against her skin and emphasising her natural curves.

While all this was happening both legs of the jeans shortened, allowing a pair of pale feet to be seen poking out of the bottom as the rest of the garment contracted against their new wearer’s thighs and posterior.

Rainbow’s hands suddenly moved to between her legs as the glow of Luna’s spell faded away, eyes opening wide at the sudden pressure against her... ahem, undercarriage.

“Whoa there big guy.” She asked, more than a note of surprise in her voice. “Are they really supposed to be this tight around the... flanks?”

“Yeah, totally spot on.” Lero just grinned in response as he pulled his wife close. “You look great.”

*****************

Twilight and Luna spent the next twenty minutes or so running the new human though a series of tests and scans. During this time Rainbow was pleased to find that her clothing had started to mold itself to accommodate her new form and was now much easier to move around in, especially as Sweetie had decided that going to bed now would be no fun at all and had insisted on climbing back and forth between the rainbow haired human and her own mint green maned mother for the entire time.

“I think we’re done.” The scientist of the herd finally announced, much to everyone else’s relief. “We’ll need to check you again every few hours until we get you back to normal, just to make sure nothing changes over time, but for now that’s about all we can do with what we’ve got to hoof.”

“Oh praise be to Luna, I thought you’d never let me go try these things out.” With surprising fluidity Rainbow hopped off of the table she’d been sat on. If there was anypony who’d manage to make controlling a completely alien body look like childs play it was her.

“You’re welcome.” Luna replied by instinct before she realised it was just a turn of phrase.

Enjoying her new found freedom, the human tottered around on her toes through the middle of the room, partly testing out what she could do now that she was free to move as she pleased and partly just showing off.

Hey, she was still Rainbow Dash after all and there was no point being this awesome if you couldn’t make a big thing about it every once in a while.

As the former pegasus managed a slightly shaky pirouette, Lyra’s head started to bob in time to some unheard tune, swiftly followed - in perfect harmony - by Sweet Spirit’s.

Catching her stallion’s eye from where she was sat on the sofa, the unicorn gave her lover a large smile.

“You’re going to love this.” She said, her child’s fire coloured mane swishing up and down against her chest as the foal sat clutched in her mother’s forearms

“Love what?” Lero asked before he twigged what the bobbing meant. “Oh, great, it’s another song isn’t it?”

Lyra just nodded as she started to hum along to the tune in her head, the tune that only the stallion in the room couldn’t hear. Over the years it had become a habit of the herd and its friends that whenever the music of harmony presented itself, some pony would hum along so that Lero would at least be able to keep up with the rhythm.

As Rainbow finished her spin she raised her right hand towards the ceiling as she began to sing.

--Rainbow Dash--

My forehoof’s got five fingers, it’s really freakin’ strange.

I took a shock right up the dock and now my body’s rearranged.

My wings were really awesome but these hands are pretty cool.

Hey big guy, get your flank right here, I’m gunna try these out on you.

Turning to face her stallion, Rainbow dropped her hand until it was held out level in front of her, all but her forefinger curled into her palm to point at her lover.

“Yeah baby, tickle attack!! Let’s see how you like it”

With that she sprang with surprising speed and agility across the room towards the startled male.

--Twilight Sparkle & Princess Luna--

This wasn’t what we planned, wasn’t what we meant to do.

We had no idea this outcome, was what’s in store for you.

It wasn’t our objective, we’re sure that it won’t stick.

We’ll get you back to pony form and we’ll do it double quick.

Looking up from where she already had Lero pinned to the other sofa, both hands thrust up under his shirt, Rainbow called back to the pair of singers before they could move onto the next verse.

“What? Yeah, no hurry girls... Hey, big guy, no fair fighting back!”

--Twilight Sparkle & Princess Luna--

This wasn’t in our predictions, it wasn't in our plans.

--Rainbow Dash--

It wasn't what they were aiming for but now I’ve got two...

Pulling her fingers from under Lero’s shirt, Rainbow moved them to his face and cupped them around his cheeks, her rose coloured eyes looking at him expectantly

“Err, hands?” Lero offered. The large kiss he received told him that he had chosen wisely.

--Twilight Sparkle & Princess Luna--

No, this wasn’t in our predictions, it just was not our aim.

Leaning back from her lover, Rainbow hooked a finger against the neck of her t-shirt, pulling it away from her skin as she peered down the gap.

--Rainbow Dash--

How’d human girls control these things, they really are a pain.

“No seriously, they’re starting to feel really weird around the...”

A strange smile crept across her face as the fabric of her top rubbed against just the right spot.

“Ooooh, yeah, ignore what I just said.”

--Rainbow Dash--

This body’s kinda awkward, nothing’s where it meant to be.

But it’s really kinda crazy that I still feel just like me.

But some parts are really tingly and the urge is really strong.

To drag Lero to the bedroom and ride him all night long.

“No change there then.” Lyra added as she placed both of her forehooves over her innocent young child’s stubby little ears.

--Twilight Sparkle & Princess Luna--

We’re sure that we can fix it, you won’t stay in this state

--Rainbow Dash--

No worries girls, I’ve got some plans so I’m sure that it can wait.

--Twilight Sparkle & Princess Luna--

We’ll have you back to normal, we’ll correct this with all haste.

Grabbing Lero by the front of his shirt, Rainbow showed that her new thinner form still held an astonishing amount of strength as she bodily pulled him from the sofa and pushed him into the master bedroom before literally skipping in after him.

--Rainbow Dash--

So, big guy, get your pants off, we’ve got no time to waste!

As the brief musical interlude music faded from the scene, Rainbow stuck her head back out of the doorway.

“Now unless anypony wants to join us, we’ll see you in a few hours.”

And with that the door closed behind her, leaving Twilight, Lyra and Princess Luna standing dumbstruck outside while plenty of... amourous noises could be heard from the other side.

After a few seconds of silence Luna sighed.

‘Give her here then.’ She said, holding out a hoof towards Lyra.

“Thanks Luna” Twilight trilled happily, giving the alicorn a quick peck on the cheek. “You’re the best.”

“I always said you were my favourite princess.” Lyra added, levitating Sweetie onto the princess’ waiting hoof before both unicorns let themselves into the master bedroom, closing the door behind them with a definite ‘click’.

As the tall black alicorn princess regarded the small cream hybrid foal, Sweetie just giggled and held out her hooves for a hug.

“Very well, come along little one.”

Luna wandered away from the bedroom, levitating her ‘niece’ up to a spot within her ethereal mane and between her own ears as she walked.

“I’ll show you the best way to properly mess up your mothers’ sock drawers.”

59: I close my eyes and I keep seeing things.

I close my eyes and I keep seeing things.
Chapter published 17th July 2014

************************

Tonight’s dream was not exactly going the way Lero had expected.

Dry leaves and small twigs crunched and snapped underfoot as the human made his way through the trees. Having absolutely no idea where, or when, he was he’d just picked a direction and stuck with it. He was unlikely - he reasoned - to die of starvation or exposure in his own mind, so he might as well just head in any random direction until he ran across someone... or something.

He was supposed to have met Luna by now for one of their DVD nights, but instead of drifting off and ending up standing in the dreamtime’s version of the princess’s ‘Fortress of Solitude’ up on Selene’s surface as he usually did, he instead had found himself deep within a forest... a forest he’d not seen in a long, long time.

Above his head, mighty redwoods towered over him by hundreds of feet, their lofty branches blocking out much of the daylight, though allowing just enough through to let beam after beam illuminate the light fog that drifted between the trees. Down around his feet, and often up to his waist, verdant green ferns grew unchecked, forcing him to move with caution at times as his feet temporarily disappeared from view again and again.

While he’d been looking forward to anime night - his viewing companion had developed a real taste for Sailor Moon lately - he instead found himself enthralled by this unexpected visit to a long lost piece of his childhood. Running a hand across the surface of the closest tree, his fingers caught a loose piece of bark, the soft, fibrous material coming loose and falling to the ground below. His eye caught the dark red of the freshly exposed unweathered bark, his nose crinkling as it picked up the woody scent of the raw material.

Closing his eyes, Lero held out his arms, stretched them out wide from his sides. As he took a deep breath, taking in the unmistakable scent of the pacific coast, long forgotten memories sprang forth from the bowels of his brain.

He could hear the sounds of children playing; running, chasing, playing tag. Friends ran with him, ferns pushed aside as they charged through the undergrowth. The trees were so big and they were so small. You could hide half the class behind a single trunk.

His father called to him from by the fire, asking for more wood. He gathered what he could find, his young body wobbling from side to side as he half carried, half dragged the huge pile back to camp. Boy, it was a lot further to get back than he remembered.

A finger held against the trigger as he lined up on his target. Breath held, let out, drawn in, let out. He watched through the scope as the magnificent creature looked about, sniffing at the air, its ears twitching as it listened for predators. His aim was good, his quarry dead in the middle of his sights, all that was left was to... His finger relaxed, scope lowered, the rifle returned to its owner. He didn’t want to play this game.

His father came to a stop, fingers curled tightly around the head of his walking staff. He paused to wipe at his eyes. He did not often speak of his years in the forces, and even then only out here, in the peace and tranquility of their long walks together. Often he would stop talking mid-sentence; to think, to recover, to relive what he had.... Sometimes he would continue from where he left off, just as often he would change the subject. Lero never pushed him for more than he was ready to give. Sometimes respecting the silence was more important than hearing the words. .

The sun beat down on his face, warming his body as he counted down from fifty. Around him the children ran; playing, running, chasing. They were so small and the trees were so large. Half the class had managed to hide behind a single trunk. He smiled as he watched the small ones run around, their glee, their unbridled joy, at being out here with nature, not just watching it from behind a TV or monitor. Kids never changed, and hopefully they never would.

His mother had once told him that a human being’s sense of smell had a direct link to their memory, that revisiting scents could could bring back long forgotten events in a way that no other sense could. If anyone would know about something like that, it would have been his mom. After all, the university hadn’t been paying her all that time just for her dancing skills.

Opening his eyes, the memories faded, the shouts of the young replaced by the whispered sounds of the wind through the trees, the rustle of the leaves. In the distance an animal could be heard through the fog, its cry carried by the unhurried breeze. A mother calling for her own little ones perhaps? Dropping his arms, he continued his slow trek through the bush.

Before long he came to a clearing, the trees and ferns giving way to packed dirt with a large open pool of water just beyond. Skirting the edge of the crystal clear water he came to a short waterfall, no more than fifteen foot in height, which fed into the pool.

Moving closer, he could feel the spray from the waterfall misting against his face, tiny droplets of water forming on his beard. Holding out a hand towards the waterfall he watched as dry skin quickly became damp, rivlets forming as the water collected itself together and ran down his arm towards his elbow.

The wind picked up, branches and boughs moving out of the way to let the sun streak down, a colourful rainbow forming in the spray before him. The optical illusion hovered tantalisingly close, less than a dozen inches from his fingertips it seemed, remaining just out of reach no matter how much he stretched.

From behind him, a woman’s voice drifted from between the trees, the soft tones catching him by surprise, almost causing him to fall into the water.

Day before yesterday I saw a rabbit.

As he swung his arms for balance, spinning himself around to look back toward the treeline, his eyes caught sight of a small brown rabbit. He watched the rabbit and in turn the rabbit watched him, before turning and scampering off, its fluffy white tail disappearing between the trees in just a few seconds.

And yesterday a deer.

His gaze still on the spot where the rabbit had disappeared from view, Lero saw a young stag, its horns still in early growth, step out from behind a tree. As the rabbit had before, the deer watched the human, tilting its head as if to ask a question. Then, like the rabbit again, it turned and disappeared off into the forest.

And today, you.

A strong gust pushed at the trees, moving the beam of light from the waterfall and onto Lero himself. More wind came, pushing and pulling at the leaves and branches. The mist filled spotlight moved from the human and onto the packed dirt by the water’s edge. From there it moved towards the treeline, its path erratic, jinking from left to right like a free-falling leaf on the breeze.

Moving after the light, Lero could see that it did not stop at the tree line, instead dancing its way along the forest floor and across the undergrowth. It was too fast for him to chase, but none-the-less he had seen the direction it was heading in and made his way after it as swiftly as he could.

It didn't take long before he had lost sight of the light, his target now indistinguishable from the rest of the shafts of light making their way through the tree tops to the ground below.

Resting for a moment, a hand against the side of a tree, he reached deep for breath. He had not been this tired after a quick run since he had first arrived in Equestria. As he caught his breath, the voice came to him again.

Lero, Lero, can you hear me?

He knew that voice... he was sure he knew that voice. He hadn’t heard it in so long, but he’d missed it so much.

“HELLO?” he shouted towards the trees, towards the fog and the empty air between his silent wooden audience.

The voice came again, just a bit stronger, just a bit closer.

Lero, can you hear me?

Resting no more, Lero stumbled towards the voice, staggering as he feet caught on fallen branches and tangled growth. He had to follow the voice, had to find her, had to see if he was right.

Over and over the voice came, always the same five words.

Lero, can you hear me?

It came from the left, it came from the right, but always it came from ahead of him.

Lero, can you hear me?

Gasping for air, he burst from the forest’s edge, the trees giving way to a large, flat grass verge. Slowing to a jog before stopping entirely, bent over, hands grasping his knees as his lungs screamed for oxygen, he found himself staring at the badly weathered asphalt at his feet.

Standing upright, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand, he found himself at the side of a wide, paved road. A large, official metal sign to his right declared that ‘Springfield’ was just twenty miles ahead, while a smaller sign painted onto a piece of ragged plywood ziptied to the signpost added that ‘Pop’s Diner’ was just five miles away.

Turning away from the signs, Lero peered back down the road as far as he could. The fog rolling in from the treeline meaning that it wasn’t that far, even though the road itself was straight as an arrow. Lifting a finger to point down the road away from the town of Springfield, he spoke, as much to break the creepy, unnatural silence as anything else.

“Old man Peabody’s place should be just down there.”

In the distance, just on the limits of visibility, he could see the break in the trees where the trail to the old farm fed out onto the road. The mist rolled around the large, hand-painted sign showing just the farm’s name and a picture of a single pine tree. As he watched, the fog enveloped even that, leaving nothing but trees.

Movement off to his side made him turn, a shadow creeping its way from the trees on the other side of the road, the darkness devouring the grass verge as it moved closer and closer to the pavement. Lero held a hand across his forehead, shading his eyes, as if it would make it any easier to see what was coming.

From within the shadow a shape took form; tall, thin... bipedal. It came closer, the hazy shape becoming clearer, more solid, more distinct. The shadow retreated, leaving the figure walking freely across the grass. As boots met asphalt, a sound reached Lero’s ear that he hadn’t heard coming from anyone else in quite some time... human footsteps.

Lero’s hand dropped from his brow as his brain tried to comprehend, to confirm what he was seeing. He hadn’t seen her in so long now.

Walking towards him - with that cocky, self assured stride she always had, that sway of the hips, that figure that had made girls wet and boys cry, or was it the other way around - was his older sister.

“Nausi!”

Logically he knew he was dreaming, knew that she could not be here... but it had been so long now, so very long. In all the years he had been gone, been here instead of there, she’d never visited his dreams before, never shown her face, never spoken his name.

Staggering forward, his feet not wanting to move, he reach out a hand towards her. She in turn, lifted her hands towards him, her fingers cupping his face as they met in the middle of the empty road.

She was exactly as he remembered; almost as tall as him, dark olive skin, green cat-like eyes, hair so much darker than his own but still with that tint of red when it caught the sun just so. She was wearing her rigging clothes; denim jeans and a close-fit flannel shirt, what she had called her ‘Lero clothes’ back when she’d first started working at the theatre. A handful of carabiners, a scattering of small tools and a pair of fingerless climbing gloves swung from her belt, she’d obviously not had time to go home and change.

Hands gripped at the side of his face as she pulled him closer, staring into one of his eyes, then the other. Her fingers, they felt so cold, slid under his chin and pressed against his neck, as if checking for a pulse.

“Lero...” she sounded worried, “Ronnie, can you hear me?”

Lero smiled. No one but her had ever called him that. When he was much, much younger he’d had trouble learning to pronounce his own name, usually ending up with something more like ‘Belly-Ear-Oh-Fa-Ron’ instead, and boy had his big sister never let him forget it. Everyone else had just settled for ‘Lero’, Nausi of course had to go with ‘Ronnie’, usually accompanied with a stuck-out tongue or a poke in the ribs.

“Ronnie, come on. Can you hear me?”

Lifting his hands, Lero curled his fingers around his sister’s wrists, as if to reassure her that he knew she was there.

“Yes, I can hear you, Nausi. You're right here with me.”

Blinking as if she’d just been given the most surprising news in the world, Nausi tilted her head quizzically.

“Here? Where is ‘here’?”

Turning his head, his sister’s hands falling from his neck, Lero motioned around them.

“Here. This ‘here’. Here ‘here’.”

Nausica stepped back, rocking on the heel of her boot.

“No, no. You’re not ‘here’, Lero, not this ‘here’, you're still in the hospital. All of this,” waving her hands in that way she always had, she indicated the road and the forest behind her, “and all that,” she turned her waving towards the treeline that Lero had come out from, ”that ‘Equestria’ bullshit, it’s not real. It’s not real at all, none of it, it’s just in your head. Please, come back to us.”

Ahhh, that was what he loved about his sister. She was so no-nonsense, direct and straight to the point, no candy-coating it, no-siree. No wonder Applejack had always reminded him of her... though, to be honest, Applejack swore a whole lot less. But that was Nausi all over; face of an angel, mouth of a sailor. She’d always tried to say it came with being the daughter of a navy man, but as dad hardly ever raised his voice, let alone used harsh language, the whole thi...

Hang on, what had she been saying about a hospital?

It took a couple of tries but finally Lero managed a...

“What?”

“What ‘what’?”

“‘Hospital’ what.”

“Yes, hospital. As in ‘hospital’ hospital. Ambulances, bright lights, doctors yelling ‘STAT’ a lot.”

“What?”

“Jesus, Lero!”

Grabbing his shirt, Nausi pulled him closer.

“Look, you've been in a coma for months now. Please, wake up. We miss you.”

She was so close now that Lero could feel her breath on his face. He hadn’t smelt Wrigley’s Spearmint in years.

“This life that you think you're living, it’s all made up, it’s make believe. It’s not real, just mental ramblings, wish fulfillment, wistful stories of a better life. There are no magical talking ponies, no dragons and griffins and fairies and all that shit. It’s all in your head. You really think you're the hero of this story? The centre of a harem of powerful, asskicking horsey women who’ve all thrown themselves at your feet? Come on, Ronnie, I know you're a nice guy - ya know, funny and smart and polite and all that - but really? You? That's just silly, Romeo.”

As she let go of his shirt, Lero felt himself sag slightly as his sister took a step back. Nausi hadn’t been able to lift him upwards since they were children.

“To be honest, I’m a little worried about you fantasising about sticking your dick in a bunch of farm animals, but I’m chalking that one up to how bounced around your brain got.”

“Bounced around?” Lero only managed to get that out because Nausi finally took a pause for breath. Some things never changed

“When the car hit you,” a pair of slender fingertips mimed something tumbling through the air. “You went right through their windshield, messed you up real good. Took the doctors fucking ages to get your arms stitched back together. Where do you think all the scars came from?”

Grabbing his wrists, Nausi lifted her brother’s arms so that he could see the the series of nasty looking scars that went all the way from his wrists to his elbows.

“That...“ Lero stuttered, those scars had healed a long time ago, and they hardly ever showed up whenever Twilight had changed him into a pony and his body managed to snap itself back into a previous form. How could they have come back now? “That was a workshop accident, years ago now.”

“And the burns?”

Nausi let go of Lero’s wrists and lifted a hand to behind his left ear. Lero’s hand followed, his fingertips running over freshly burnt skin, what little hair that was left on the left side of his head was curled and frazzled, his braid and its feather missing, burnt away. The smell of scorched hair and fur filled his nose.

“Another workshop accident. Applebloom took a while to get the hang of welding.”

Pulling Lero’s hands to her face, Nausi clasped her own around them, letting her forehead rest on top of their fingers.

“Please, Lero, listen to yourself for fuck’s sake. You're a grown man, you shouldn't be making up escapist fantasies about shagging unicorns and singing fucking songs and saving princesses and all that kind of childish shit.”

Some part of the back of Lero’s mind thought that maybe now was the time to bring up a few extra questions.

“Wait, how do you know all these things?”

Stepping back once more, Nausi threw up her hands, shouting to the sky with exasperation.

“Because I’m not fucking real either... I’m just your subconscious trying to tell you that all this, this life that you think is so important, is just make believe, that it’s all just some dream. I know what you know because right now I’m just in your head... same as all this.”

Stepping closer, she let the palms of her hands rest against Lero’s chest, her head fell forward, her forehead gently coming to rest against his own.

“Please, little brother, come home. We miss you, we just want you back.”

As Lero made to put his arms around his sister, to tell her... he wasn’t even sure what he was going to tell her... Nausicaa suddenly turned her head towards the forest, her brow furrowed, an expression of intense annoyance sweeping across her face.

“Oh great, she’s coming. Look, I’ve got to go. Just promise me one thing, okay, Ronnie. Think about what I’ve said. Look at your world and ask yourself what’s more likely; that you really are some kind of hero, living in a magical world of talking fucking ponies where they treat you like some kind of sex god, like some kind of fucking Gary Stu; or that you're just an ordinary guy, lying in a hospital somewhere, and all this is just a fantasy built around you.”

Before Lero could say anything, Nausi hugged him tightly - so tight that he could feel her heart beating against his chest, her face pressed against his neck chilling his skin - before pulling away.

“Come back to us. Please.”

Kissing his forehead, she turned and ran back towards the forest’s edge. As she reached the treeline it looked like the shadows from between the trees reached out and grabbed her, pulling her into the darkness. Without a sound she vanished from view.

********************

As Lero stood at the edge of the road, staring at the forest just a few dozen feet away, a voice came from behind him.

“Lero, are you alright?”

A wingtip of the darkest indigo brushed against the human’s arm.

“I had quite the time breaking into your dreamscape this night. It was giving me such trouble. Are you troubled by something.”

Turning slowly, Lero found a six foot - not including the horn - alicorn standing in the middle of the road. She was wearing a pair of wicked looking sunglasses, made up of two large triangles of orange glass that seem to enjoy giving the laws of physics the middle finger as they balanced on her nose. Hanging from her shoulders was a large red cape sporting the image of a stylised blazing skull wearing it’s own pair of ludicrously awesome sunglasses, the cape’s ragged hem decorated with what looked like orange flames.

“No, I’m... I’m fine, thanks.” Lero stammered, “I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”

Watching him carefully, Luna tilted her head. The glasses somehow stayed perched exactly where they were, gravity be damned.

“Anything you would like to to talk about?”

“No, not right now. But thanks.”

“Think nothing of it.” Luna smiled, a proper one, not a royal etiquette one. She always looked so much better when she smiled. “Know this, if you ever need me... to talk, or to listen, you know where to find me.”

“I know,” Lero returned the smile.

Turning back towards the forest, he took a good, long last look at the spot where Nausicaa had disappeared.

“But can I say the same about myself?”

60: Look at me standing here on my own again.

Look at me standing here on my own again (up straight in the sunshine).
Chapter published 14th June 2013

*************************************

July 1225 AC

Slumped across her sleeping father's chest, Sweet Spirit dozed fitfully. Every few minutes the young foal would twitch, her short tail swishing in agitation or her tiny legs kicking out as if fleeing an unseen threat.

She had always been a sensitive child but for the last few weeks she had been especially on edge, unable to sleep for any length of time anywhere but within arm’s reach of one of her parents.

Occasionally a more sudden or vigorous of her sub-unconscious movements would wake her sire from his equally fretful slumber, his large warm hands soon stroking her fiery mane while his soothing voice lulled her back into the land of dreams.

Fields. There were fields of gold spread before her as far as she could see. Not that that was very far. She was only a little pony after all though daddy said she'd definitely be a big pony someday. Maybe even as big as Auntie Woona.

All around her were plants, tall thin golden plants much taller than she was and with bobbly bits on top. One of Auntie Applejack’s friends grew these plants in fields way way way outside of town. Sweetie had seen them before from that train thing as they went past the window.

Wheat! Auntie called them wheat.

Looking about she couldn't see daddy anywhere. Or mommy. Or any of her other mommies!

Desperately Sweetie span around on the spot, trying to catch sight of anyone she knew. Maybe one of her Aunties or Uncles. Uncle Mac - he was the biggest pony she’d ever seen in the fields outside Ponyville. Surely she’d be able to see him if she hopped up and down.

There was a scarecow over there, maybe she could climb it? She was really good at climbing and Mommy Twilight wasn’t here to tell her to stop it or to get down.

Yes, she’d climb the scarecrow and have a look for someone she knew. It wasn’t that she was scared, ‘cos she wasn’t scared. Whenever she’d end up somewhere she didn’t know all on her own Auntie Woona would soon arrive and then she wouldn’t be alone any more. If she was really lucky then sometimes they’d have adventures before Auntie would take her home and then she’d find herself in her bed and mommy would be there.

Standing at the base of the scarecrow, she hoped Woona would come soon. No sign of her yet, but she’d come soon, she always did.

Then from beyond the wall of wheat the young child could hear singing. It wasn’t the music of harmony though as she could hear it in her ears but not in her head. This was more like when mommy or daddy sang for her all those times she couldn’t sleep. It was a nice voice and it sounded a bit like mommy but it wasn’t mommy.

“When I was just a little girl, I asked my mother, What will I be?”

Quickly she scrambled her way up the scarecrow, hoping that from all the way up there she could find out who was singing.

Not far away she could see a tall strange creature, nearly as big as daddy, standing upright on two legs like he did. It was... was it dancing? It was spinning around, its hands stretched out, letting the tops of the wheat rub against its palms.

“Will I be pretty? Will I be rich? Here's what she said to me.”

Squinting against the bright sunlight Sweetie could see that it was smiling, a huge grin across its face. It was very much like daddy, perhaps it was a hooman like him? Maybe it knew him? It certainly had a nice smile, perhaps it was nice and it would help her find Auntie Woona?

Dropping down from her perch, Sweetie scampered through the crops in the direction where the hooman should be.

Breaking through the plants she found herself in a small area where the crops had been flattened into a small circle by the big thing’s dancing.

Looking up she could see she was right. It was just like daddy so it must be a hooman!

“Que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be, the future's not ours to see.”

But daddy didn’t have a tail and this hooman had a tail. The creature had its back to the tiny foal and as it moved the filly could see a long red and orange tail that almost came down to the floor which swished with the large thing’s swaying movements. Sweetie hoped her stubby little tail would look like that when she was a big pony.

Daddy didn’t have hooves either, he had feet. But this creature had hooves... big pony hooves. And it had cream coloured fur on its legs where daddy just had pink skin with these funny little bits of hair on them.

The furry legs went up to a pair of brown shorts like daddy wore but much smaller. Above them was furless skin like his though it was the same colour as the fur on its legs. Swaying against the big thing’s back was a huge flowing mane the same colour as its tail. No, hair. It was just called hair when hoomans had it on their heads ‘cos it didn’t attach to their necks like it did for ponies.

“Que sera, sera, what will be, will be.”

The big thing slowly turned around, its arm still outstretched. Sweetie could see that above her shorts she had one of those funny belly bubbins like daddy and then a small tight tshirt thingy like Mommy Rainbow liked to wear whenever Mommy Twilight had been playing with her magic and made Mommy Rainbow into a hooman.

The tight top made it easy to see that the big thing had those funny lumps on its chest like hooman Mommy Rainbow so it must be a girl.

Sweetie was very pleased at her use of logic. Plus she found it easier to deal with girls. Boys were hard to understand and some of them were yucky.

The big girl had her eyes closed as she sang so she hadn’t seen Sweetie yet. Looking up the filly could see that the hooman was pretty. Not that she had much to go on as she’d only seen a few but she still felt that this one was pretty. She wasn’t pink like the ones she’d seen though. Her skin was the same colour all over as her furry legs were.

As the wind caught the girl’s mane... hair, making the gold strands between the red and orange look like fire, Sweetie could see that her ears were all pointy like her mommies’ and not rounded like daddy’s.

Maybe Sweetie should say hello? But she was enjoying the song, it sounded very nice.

“When I grew up and fell in love.”

Suddenly the hooman opened its eyes and looked down, catching sight of the foal for the first time.

“Oh, hello there.” She said. “I’m sorry, i didn’t see you down there.”

Pulling herself up to her full height, which made her look even more like a giant to her tiny observer, the hooman glanced all around her.

“Are you lost?” She said, turning back to the small foal. “Where’s the others?”

“I’m looking for Auntie Woona. Can you help me?” Sweetie asked in reply.

“Of course I can, I’m sure she’s not far away.” The hooman smiled wide, lots of flat white teeth on display. “But what did daddy tell you about strange creatures?”

Sweetie looked down at her small forehoof as she dug it into the dirt. She’d been caught out.

“He said I shouldn’t talk to strange creatures until I’m told that they're safe.” She repeated from memory. Daddy had been very definite about this.

“Indeed he did.” The hooman nodded.

Sweetie suddenly had a very big thought.

“But if we tell each other who we are then we won’t be strangers any more and then I can talk to you.” She declared, feeling very pleased with herself.

The hooman just laughed. “That’s very logical of you my dear. Mommy Twilight would be proud of you.”

Crouching down in the dirt the hooman brought herself closer to the little filly’s eye level.

“So what’s your name, little one?” She asked.

“I’m Sweet Spirit.” Sweetie grinned before adding. “But everyone calls me ‘Sweetie’.”

“That's a very nice name, Sweetie. Where did you get that from?”

“Mommy says I’m named after Auntie Bon Bon.” Sweetie looked puzzled. “But I don’t get it. Her name’s not ‘Sweetie’.”

The hooman laughed again. She had a nice laugh.

“Yes, that threw me for a while too.” The hooman wiped at an eye with one of her long fingers. “Not every pony uses their birth name when they get big like me. When Auntie Bon Bon was a little pony just like you she used to be called Sweetie Drops.”

Sweetie just looked more puzzled. “Oh. Why is she Bon Bon then?”

The hooman used her hand to ruffle Sweetie’s mane just like daddy did. Almost by instinct the foal waved a forehoof at her in response.

“Sometimes when a pony gets their cutie mark they decide to choose a name that suits them better. Auntie Pinkie used to be ‘Pinkamina’. She still is at times I suppose. Sorry, that was a bad example.”

The girl tapped a finger nail against her teeth a few times as she pondered other examples.

“Ooh, mommy. Your mommy used to be just called ‘Heartstrings’. After she got her cutie mark she added the Lyra bit to her name.”

“So getting your cutie mark means you can change your name?” Sweetie wasn’t so sure about this. She liked her name just the way it was.

“No... yes... well, maybe.“

The hooman seemed flustered. Sweetie had thought it seemed such a simple question but it looked like it was bigger than she’d thought.

“So will I get a cutie mark?” Sweetie asked. “Some big ponies say I’m not normal so I might not get one but I really really want one of my own.”

The hooman’s hand had moved down to her right hip, her fingers rubbing against the fabric of her shorts. For a moment the big girl looked so sad that Sweetie just wanted to give her a hug.

Before the foal even had a chance to move towards her, the hooman was suddenly happy again. But even a child could see that her smile wasn’t quite right.

“Yes, I think you will.” The hooman took her hand from her hip and put it on the ground before her in order to better keep her balance. “All proper ponies get a cutie mark, and no matter what any mean old meanie pants says, you’re definitely a proper pony.”

“Oh, so what about you?” Sweetie asked.

“Me? I’ve had a lot of names, mainly because no pony could ever get it right. They kept getting the last bit wrong which drove one of my mothers nuts. So now I just go by ‘Hope’.”

Sweetie giggled. “No, silly. I meant do you have a cutie mark?”

“Oh. Sorry, silly me. No, I’m afraid I don’t.”

The hooman looked so sad again. But before the big girl had a chance to put on that odd smile Sweetie stood up on her hind legs so she could give her a hug.

Though slightly startled at first, Hope soon leant into the embrace, stroking at Sweetie’s mane before letting the filly go.

“But it’s ok.” She said. “My father doesn’t have one either so it’s not like it’s the end of the world or anything.”

Sweetie nodded. “My daddy doesn’t have one as well. But this one time Mommy Rainbow drawed one on his bum with a pen. That was really funny.”

Hope laughed at the thought. “Oh my. I’d forgotten all about that. Yes, she did, didn’t she?”

At that Sweetie put a forehoof on the big girl’s elbow... no, knee, they were still called knees on hoomans.

“So are we friends now?” She asked.

“Yes, I guess we are. “ The sudden display of white teeth from Hope’s face was quite surprising. “Thank you.”

Sweetie had another go at being puzzled again, she was doing that a lot today. “What for?”

“For being my friend. It’s nice to have friends. Trust me, if you grow up different enough then making friends can be tough.”

“Oh. why?”

“Well not every pony is as good as your mommies and your aunties and all the rest of your family’s friends at getting along with people that are different to them. It makes them afraid and ponies aren’t always very nice when they’re afraid.”

“That’s not good.”

“No, no it’s not. But you get used to to.”

Which led to a lull in the conversation where even the usually exuberant foal didn't quite know what to say next. But it wasn’t long before a topic came to her on the breeze.

“So what were you singing?” Sweetie asked. “It sounded like a nice song. I really liked it.”

“Oh, that?” Hope looked a little embarrassed at having been overheard. “It was a very old song my father used to sing to me when I was about your age. He taught me a whole lot of old songs.

“Really, my daddy sings to me too. What was it about?”

“Well, I guess it’s about how the future isn’t set. That it’s something that we have to make for ourselves.” Hope’s face lit up as she spoke. “All of us have something different ahead of us and no two futures are the same; for you, for me, for everybody. So we just have to do everything we can to make it the best that we can.”

And just as quickly her face fell as if she’d just heard some bad news.

“But I can tell you this. Something’s going to happen soon that you won't like and it’ll be scary and you won’t see daddy or your mommies for a while. But it’ll soon be over, trust me on this. You just have to be big girl for daddy when he asks, okay? You have to promise to be brave, can you do that for me, Sweetie?

Sweetie didn’t really understand but she nodded anyway.

“I know you will.”

Hope ruffled the filly’s mane again but this time Sweetie was happy to just let her do it.

“You know, in another time and another world, it could have all been so different. I could have been so different.”

As the wind picked up again Hope craned her neck to get a better look around the field, her greater size meaning she could see over the crops even though she was still crouched down.

Using her fingers to tuck a few errant strands of her vibrant hair behind a gently pointed ear she turned back to her young friend.

“Auntie Luna will be here soon.” She said. “That’ll be good, won’t it?”

“Yeah. “ Sweetie agreed, nodding profusely. “I love Auntie Woona.”

“Of course you do.” Hope cheered up again, this time the smile actually looked real. “We all did.”

Folding her legs underneath her in the dirt and trampled wheat, Hope sat herself in the dirt next to young Sweetie, her hooves tucked up under her thighs.

“She’ll be here soon, I’m sure. Until then, do you want to sing with me?”

The foal nodded, excitement evident across her feature. She loved to sing. On her own was good but with others was much better.

“Do you remember what I was singing before?”

Sweetie nodded again. She had a really good memory for songs and could sing them all on her own after only hearing them one or maybe two times.

“Of course you do. So let’s sing together.”

And sing they did - two strange creatures, both the only ones of their kind in the whole of the magical land of Equestria, sitting together in a field of gold as Princess Celestia’s glorious sun beat down upon them.

“When I was just a little girl, I asked my mother, what will I be?

Will I be pretty, will I be rich? Here's what she said to me.

Que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be, the future's not ours to see.

Que sera, sera, what will be, will be.“

When Princess Luna found her a little while later Sweet Spirit was all alone, happily singing to herself in the warm summer breeze.

All alone but still smiling.

Author's Note

Disclaimer: So, it turns out that "Que Sera, Sera" was written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans back in '56. I wasn't born for a few decades yet so it certainly weren't me.

So Limited Brands owns both Victoria's Secrets and Bath & Body Works? I can see how that would work.

61: Is this our last embrace? (Hv)

IS THIS OUR LAST EMBRACE?
Chapter published 26th Jan 2013

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Oct 1225 AC

Trying desperately not to lose his footing on the slick floor, Lero ran after the rapidly receding form of Rainbow Dash up ahead of him. The faint bioluminescent glow emanating from small pools of what Lero could only describe as ‘mucus’ cast a slickly green sheen over everything in sight, the dim light only making it a dozen or so feet before it was swallowed by the gloom.

Strapped to his chest by means of an impromptu sling created from torn sheets was a young filly, Lero’s left arm pulling her close against him with every unsteady step he took. This was one of the few times in the years since his arrival in Equestria that he’d cursed his biped nature. Rainbow up ahead of him and Lyra behind seemed to have a lot less trouble maintaining a good footing, what with having four solid hooves to put on the ground compared to his two shoe clad feet.

With his feet momentarily losing their grip on the slimy and uneven floor, both his arms shot out to brace himself against the sides of tunnel, the makeshift club in his right hand colliding with the wall with a resounding ‘crack’ that echoed off into the darkness.

Though he had remained upright, it still took him a few seconds to regain his balance. He glanced down to check that his precious passenger was safe to find a small, scared face looking back up at him.

“You OK there, Sweetie?” He asked in what he hoped was a confident and reassuring tone. The last thing he wanted right now was for his daughter to realise just how much danger they were in.

Sweet Spirit nodded back up at him before burrowing her face into the front of his shirt, spreading her small forehooves to clutch onto the sides of his chest.

“That’s a good girl, Sweetie.” Lero pulled his left hand away from the wall, wiped it free of any gunk it had collected and then used it to gently stroke the filly’s mane. “You keep your eyes closed and hold on tight and we’ll be out of here soon, OK?” His large hands smoothing down her hair as well as catching both of her ears in the same motion, ears that were much more rounded at the tip than that of your average pony’s.

At this point Lero felt Lyra’s tail push up against the his buttocks and one of her rear hooves against the back of his legs, the unicorn having been trotting backwards behind him covering their retreat. Glancing over her shoulder she took in the scene.

“Where’s Rainbow?” She cried in alarm, quickly turning back to glare into the gloom behind them as a clattering screech erupted from the darkness. The screech was soon followed by one of their pursuers, which flung itself at them from the shadows not ten feet away.

Lyra’s horn flared almost instantly, her magic illuminating the tunnel far more brightly than the dim glow from the slimy walls and floor. Suddenly the creature found itself suspended in the air mid-pounce, its gossamer wings buzzing helplessly as it fought against the unicorn’s magic.

The last thing it saw with its pupil-less golden eyes was Lero surging towards it, the human’s club hurtling towards its head in a vicious one-handed swing. Even in these tight confines Lero’s aim was true and as the club connected with their assailant’s leathery face Lyra released her magic, letting the force of her stallion’s swing spin the creature back down the tunnel, shards of broken carapace ricocheting from the walls as it went,

“Home run, asshole!“ Lero shouted down the tunnel, though his victim was in no fit state to hear him. Their victory was short lived as a cry of surprise from further up the tunnel reminded them that Rainbow appeared to have pushed on ahead, probably not realising that her herdmates had been delayed.

Rushing to catch up with their headstrong pegasus partner, Lyra still bringing up the rear, Lero soon caught up with his lover at a junction in the tunnels. He was dismayed to find her facing off against three of their pursuers, two in front of her and one slinking its way around her in order to attack from the rear.

Though it looked like the pegasus hadn’t noticed the flanking maneuver, Lero know his lead-mare better than that. Rearing up on her back legs, Rainbow feinted a forehoof punch to one of the creatures in front of her and as it moved back she allowed herself to fall forward onto her forehooves.

Using the forward momentum to allow her front legs to compress, the angry mare spread her wings with a strong back-wing motion which, coupled with a powerful push with her front legs, suddenly sprang her backwards. Kicking out with her back legs as she moved she caught the creature behind her with a buck so unstoppable that it rammed her would be attacker into the tunnel wall, crushing its head and chest to a messy pulp.

With their comrade’s rather sudden demise taking the odds from three against one to two against three Lero was expecting the enemy to retreat but instead only found their resolve to have become stronger. The creature closest to Lero charged towards him, leaving his fellow to take on Rainbow Dash.

As Lero’s attacker leapt into the air towards him the telltale glow of Lyra’s magic once again flared in the gloom, her telekinesis catching her a second captive in as many minutes. Lero ducked and let Lyra’s pull plus the creature’s forward momentum take it over the his head and into a crash landing behind him where the mint green unicorn was waiting.

With a swift kick to the head the creature was rendered unconscious – or maybe more - and then with another solid kick it was punted away into the darkness. As no more sound was forthcoming from that direction Lyra seemed satisfied that the threat had been dealt with and turned back to assist her herdmates.

Rushing to Rainbow’s side she found the pegasus hovering above the unmoving body of a second defeated creature, this one almost as much a shiny brown and gooey green mess as the one before it, which was now slowly sliding its way down the tunnel wall. Squishy globs of… stuff... dripped from all four of the cyan mare’s hooves.

Flapping her way a few feet into the side tunnel she violently shook her hooves, trying desperately to get whatever it was coating them off. Once satisfied she’d at last got most of the… whatever… off Rainbow rejoined her family as they continued their flight for freedom.

After much running the tunnel eventually opened up into small cavern, just barely large enough to fit a small house inside. A few shafts of daylight streamed in from a hole in the ceiling, allowing them to finally see each other without the green tint of the tunnels colouring their vision.

Lyra held back by the cave’s entrance, watching for any pursuers who may have followed them while Lero moved about the cavern, checking for another exit but finding nothing but dank walls and a small puddle in the middle of the floor. A slow drizzle of ground water fell from the edges of their pitiful skylight, the sound of the irregular drips echoing around the cave as they hit the puddle causing ripples to flow across it’s dark surface and throwing jerky reflections of the scant sunlight around the cave.

“Oh sweet, we must be close to the surface!” Rainbow exclaimed flapping her way up to the hole. After knocking some errant undergrowth out of the way with her forehooves she stuck her upper body out of the hole, wiggling slightly as she did so to make sure her wings could get though without becoming snagged on the edges.

All she could see once out of the cave was an untamed forest as far as the eye could see and, like birds, pegasi could see a heck of long way. Like most birds, pegasi also had the natural ability to be able to navigate without a compass, a skill essential to both flying and weather control. Turning in a slow circle to take in her surrounding, Rainbow could see in the middle distance a snow-covered mountain range in what her own highly honed skills were telling her was due north. While she couldn’t be one hundred per cent sure, the chill in the air and the smell of ice and snow on the southwesterly breeze led her to believe they were the Crystal Mountains.

Checking around until she was confident that she was alone in the forest, Rainbow landed and stuck her head back though the hole.

“Not sure exactly where we are but we’re pretty far from home.” The pegasus called back into the darkness of the cave. “I think Canterlot’s quite a way to the south east.”

Slowly dropping back though the hole and down to the cave floor she found Lero had dropped his makeshift bat to the ground and was lifting the crude sling off over his head, cradling his frightened child as he did so.

Kneeling down and motioning Rainbow over to him, he gently slipped the sling over her head, letting the back of her neck take the weight. He then took her left forehoof and lifted it so that he could pull it though one of the loops of the sling, then doing the same with her right hoof before pulling the cloth tight to let the bundle lay tightly against the pegasus’ chest.

“Great idea, big guy. I fly us out one at a time and…” Rainbow’s voice trailed off. She may not have been the smartest pony in the world but she could see from the grim determination on Lero’s face what he was planning and she didn’t like what she saw, not one little bit. If they were all going to get out that hole Lero would insist that he or Lyra were carried up first, then Rainbow would bring up Sweet Spirit, pass her off to the parent up top and go back for the other one. Then they’d figure out what to do next. If he was binding the filly to her chest now then that meant…

"Dude, whoa, whadya think you're doing?" Lero continued to tighten the sling around the pegasus' body as she tried to pull back away from him.

"No, dude, big guy, no, not happening." Praying with all her might that she was wrong, that their stallion wasn’t about to ask her to do the unthinkable, Rainbow's eyes flicked from the hole above them to Lyra then back to Lero. She’d only caught the unicorn’s eyes for a second but even from that brief glance she could see that her herdmate was going to side with the human. They must have been discussing the plan while she was scouting off ahead; they knew she’d have shot them down in an instant if she’d overheard.

"It’s the only way, love." Lero gently put out a hand towards her face but she pulled away sharply. a distressed squeak came from the bundle slung from her neck. "Lyra and I will go back for Twilight while you take Sweetie and go for help. You have to get back to Canterlot and find Princess Luna, she'll know what to do."

"No, I’m not leaving!" Rainbow shouted as she pranced back and forth, repeatedly getting just within Lero’s reach before darting away again, the sling around her neck bouncing with each movement, bumping the filly against her chest. "I'm not running and leaving you behind. It’s not happening!"

"Guys, I think you might have just given our position away." Lyra hissed from her watch-point by the mouth of the tunnel. Animalistic cries could be heard bouncing off the tunnel walls; from the sounds of it they were getting closer.

Seeing his chance while she was momentarily distracted, Lero managed to grab the back of Rainbow’s head with one hand, pulling her closer. He cupped his other hand against her cheek, letting his fingers meet deep within his lover’s mane. With both thumbs he gently caressed the soft fur just below each of her ears and. as he know it would, the old familiar gesture coupled with his strong hands around her head holding her head immobile calmed his mate greatly, though it didn’t stop her from hopping from hoof to hoof in a uncharacteristic mixture of nerves and fear.

Pushing his nose up against that of the frightened pegasus', Lero pressed on in his most soothing tone. "Rainbow, I know you don’t want to leave us, but you know it’s the only way. There’s just too many of them for us to take them all on. Someone has to go for help, and that someone has to be you."

Pushing his cheek against hers so he could rub their faces together, he could feel moisture against his skin, damp fur sliding against his own stubble. From deep with the distressed mare’s throat came a high pitched sound that he’d never heard her make before and it took a moment for him to realise that she was keening.

After what had happened to his proud, wonderful lover a few years before, an unfortunate incident where she had lost a good friend on a Wonderbolts mission gone bad, she’d spent a long time blaming herself for his death, believing that though her own cowardice she’d abandoned him, leaving him to his death.

Lero know that his request was about the most distressing thing he could be asking of her. Years of stress and anger - and a heck of a lot of therapy - had let her finally put the event behind her but here he was, asking of her something that was almost guaranteed to push open her old wounds.

As he felt his lover trembling beneath his fingers he knew that the conflict between her brain and her heart must be tearing her apart. He wished with every ounce of his being that there was some other way, but he knew that at this moment that there were just no other options available to them.

He also knew that, no matter how painful she found it, no matter how much her heart desired her to stay, in the end Rainbow would make the right decision. After all, it was her ability to make the tough choices that had lead the element of loyalty to pick her as its bearer. A position that now seemed as much a curse as it was a blessing.

"Please, Rainbow, you’re the fastest one here and someone needs to warn the Princesses." Lero kept his voice calm and level. It didn’t really much matter now what he actually said, he just had to keep Rainbow calm while she thought it all over. "Lyra has to go back for Twilight, what with Twi's condition they can’t be apart for too much longer, and I'm going with her. If I came with you I’d only hold you back and we both know it."

The pegasus struggled to pull away again but Lero held her close. The keening had died way and they both knew that if she really wanted to she could overpower him with ease, but as she wriggled in his grasp he held firm, not letting her out of his grasp.

“Let me go.” She cried. “I’m not leaving. I’m not running away, not again. I can’t... I…”

With a sniff she pulled back enough away for Lero to see her face; tears were streaming down her cheeks, leaving shiny trails in her dirt covered fur. Lero pulled her close again, pulling her back into his embrace.

“Please.” She wept into his shoulder. “Please, don’t make me go.” Rainbow wasn’t a mare to beg, except for occasionally in the bedroom, but if begging would help, would allow her to stay, would stop her lover from asking her to leave him behind, then begging is what she would do. “I can’t…”

Beside the occasional drip of water and the random unintelligible cries from a way down the tunnel, the cave was otherwise silent. Lero could hear Rainbow breathing hard in his ear, could sense her trying to control her breathing. He could feel her exhaling against his neck, each breath making the short plait behind his left ear bounce in time, each exhalation becoming slower and slower as she brought her rising panic under control. Through the tears she pushed her face against his and whispered in his ear, voice cracking as she spoke.

“Promise me you’ll be here when I get back. I need to know you’ll be OK.“

Stroking her head Lero pushed their noses together again so they could look into each other’s eyes. He could see that she needed assurance that he’d be safe until her return. Even if it wasn’t exactly the truth she still needed to hear the words from his lips.

“I’ll be here, I promise.” He looked deep into her eyes as he spoke, his gaze unwavering. “They seem to want us alive.” It was a bold faced lie and they both knew it. These creatures obviously wanted Twilight, they wanted her and they wanted Sweet Spirit, but as far as they could tell the rest of the herd seemed to be expendable. Now they knew that Twilight could hardly risk using her magic right now they probably saw her as less of a threat and much too valuable to damage. The rest of them though would still be pretty high on their hit list.

“But someone needs to get Sweetie away from here and get help so you have to go.” Lero pressed on. “Please, for me, for our daughter, get help. We’ll hold them off ‘till you get back, I promise.”

“But we’ve no clue where this is!” Rainbow started trying to pull away again. “It could take days to get help back here.”

“Hush. Hush, love.” Lero pushed his fingers though Rainbow’s mane, making sure to keep eye contact the whole time. He wanted her attention on him, to stop her mind from wandering away to the any number of ‘what ifs’ that could befall him before her return “Don’t worry, we’ll still be here when you get back, but you need to get Sweetie out of here now.”

Closing her eyes tightly the pegasus reluctantly nodded her agreement, chewing on her bottom lip as she did so. Relaxing his fingers Lero let go of her head, slowly withdrawing his fingers from her mane. Freed from his hold, Rainbow stood where she was, making no move to back away from him again.

Leaning back in his crouch, Lero reach down to finish tightening the sling around Rainbow’s chest. As he did so, he found a wide pair of eyes watching him intently.

“Hey, baby girl.” Lero coo’d “How you doin’ down there?”

“I’m not a baby” Sweet Spirit pouted. The look in her eyes was just like her mother’s when she was trying to pretend to be annoyed. But, like her mother before her, it never lasted long.

“I know, Sweetie, I know. You all strapped in nice and tight there? Mommy Rainbow’s going to take you to see Auntie Luna. Won’t that be great?”

The young filly’s eye’s lit up at mention of her favourite ‘aunt’, the pout quickly disappeared to be replaced with a toothy grin that only childish exuberance (and Pinkie Pie) could manage. The foal’s small lips had lifted to reveal her teeth, exposing the gentle points of some very un-pony like canines. The sheer undiluted cuteness of what her father called her ‘little fangs’ was immediately heartwarming and Lero couldn’t help but reach in and ruffle her permanently wild mane, something he knew his daughter both loved and hated in equal proportions.

“Daaaaad.” The filly complained, batting at him with her forehooves, the toe of one hoof catching him on a knuckle with a resounding ‘clonk’. Lero was glad to hear a short snort coming from Rainbow as he was bested by his own child.

Leaving her mane, Lero moved a finger to the end of his daughter's nose. “Now you’ve got to stay inside the sling and hold on tight, Mommy Rainbow’s going to be going really, really fast. And no wriggling either. Can you do that for me?”

Sweetie’s head bobbed up and down as she nodded, the reds and oranges of her mane flapping around over her eyes as the occasional strand of gold glinted in the shaft of sunlight coming from the hole above.

“Good girl. Daddy’s so proud of you.” Lero started to pull the hammock part of the sling that the young pony was resting in tighter around her, wrapping it so that she wouldn’t fall out while airborne. A small hoof caught his hand.

“Is daddy not coming?” Young eyes looked up at him with concern; eyes that were again so like her mother’s whenever she’d seen right though his words. Dammit, she’d always been smart beyond her years this one.

“Not yet, honey.” Lero stroked her mane again, hoping to reassure her. “Mommy Lyra and I are going to go get Mommy Twilight and then we’ll come meet you later. We won’t be long, I promise.”

“You won’t let the bad things hurt her?” Dammit again, so smart. So very, very smart.

“No, honey, we won’t let the bad things hurt her. Then we’ll be there soon, I promise.”

“Pinkie promise?”

Lero looked up to Rainbow he found that she’d turned her head away, deliberately hiding her face. Looking to Lyra he found her intently staring into the gloom of the tunnel. Neither mare would meet his eye it seemed. Like Rainbow, his daughter wanted, needed, a promise of reassurance that she’d see him again soon, Unlike Rainbow, the young filly didn’t know this promise may never be kept.

Sensing his hesitation, Sweet Spirit reached out a small hoof to her father.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly.” Lero moved his hand across his chest, first one way and then the other. As he moved his hand up towards his face his daughter moved her forehoof to her own face.

“Stick a cupcake in my eye.“ They finished together.

“See, now you know I’m defin…” Lero was suddenly interrupted by a burst of Lyra’s magic illuminating the tunnel.

“Got ya now.” The mint unicorn cried as she used her telekinesis to drag her victim out of the tunnel and dangle it in the air in front of her. ”For a species so good at blending in you’re really bad at not getting caught.”

Lero shifted his body so that Sweet Spirit couldn’t see what came next. As one of her parents used her magic to repeatedly smash her captive against the cave wall the human kept their daughter’s attention on him, giving her one last kiss on the nose before he finished tightening the sling around Rainbow’s body.

Lyra’s victim was obviously unconscious, or worse, by the time he’d finished his task as, with a toss of her magic, she flung the body into the shadows at the back of the cave. Lero was glad Sweetie hadn’t seen any of the rather one-sided conflict. In his mind no child should ever have to witness a parent resort to such brutal methods, even if it was done to protect the herd.

“Rainbow, you look after our girl there, you hear me” Lyra called to her herdmate as she trotted over from the cave entrance. “And if you aren’t back by morning with at least a dozen of the hunkiest studs that Luna’s pegasus guard has to offer I’m going to be somewhat disappointed.”

Rainbow snorted at the unicorn’s bravado. But then, if there was anyone who had a chance of taking on a whole hive and coming out alive it was the Still Way master in front of her.

“Yeah, well, just try and leave some standing for when I get back, alright?“ Rainbow threw back, wiping over her face with a forehoof as she did so. Her previous expressions of distress and fear had now passed, replaced by a scowl made purely of equal parts confidence and anger. “Don’t want you hogging all the fun.”

Lyra threw her forehooves around her wife’s shoulders, drawing her close. They stood shock still for a moment, just enjoying what could well be their last moments together, Lero keeping guard over the tunnel mouth as they did so.

Rainbow lifted a forehoof and ran it though Lyra’s mane, pushing aside a small braid as she did so in order to push her lips up against the unicorn’s ear. “You look after the big guy, you hear. I’m trusting you to watch his back, OK? “ She whispered, “He thinks he’s all ‘Babe Hoof’ with that bat but any of these damn bugs gets near him you give them hell, you got it?”

Leaning forward into the hug, Lyra pushed her nose up against a matching small green braid in Rainbow’s mane and whispered her own reply. “You got that right, Dashie. Any of them tries to get up close and personal and it’s ‘squishy squishy squish’ time.”

Leaning away again, Lyra gently pushed at Rainbow’s shoulders. “Now you gotta get going, OK?“ Turning her attention to the precious cargo strapped to the pegasus' chest she said her final goodbyes.

“Mommy’ll see you soon, Sweetie. You be good for Mommy Rainbow ‘till I get there, OK?” After gently planting a soft kiss on the young filly’s forehead, she raised her head and planted another on Rainbow’s muzzle before backing away.

As the unicorn retook her position guarding the entrance to the tunnel, Lero moved back to Rainbow’s side. Kneeling to put them at eye level, he once again took her head in his strong hands as he kissed her with a passion, the kind of passion that only comes with the bone-chilling realisation that this kiss could well be the last.

Breaking the kiss he pushed their foreheads together. “I love you, I want you to know that. And I’ll still be here when you get back. So go, and don’t look back. Please.” They both knew the odds, but the words needed to be said, as much to reassure the human as the pegasus he was sending on her way.

Holding back more tears, afraid that if she dared let them past her eyes she’d never be able to leave, Rainbow nodded silently, the action of moving her head letting her lover’s fingers rub against her ears. As Lero released her from his grasp, she turned on the spot and crouched slightly, spreading her glorious blue wings in preparation for flight.

With just a few strong flaps she was off the ground, swiftly ascending to the cave roof. Wiggling herself slightly from side to side to get though the hole unimpeded, she was safely through, with just a deserted forest below her hooves and clear skies laying open before her. Leaning forward and stretching her hooves out in front and behind, she was ready. Flight magic primed and wings angled for the best acceleration she could muster, all of her strength was forced into her wings as the pegasus sped away from the ground.

During the long flight that followed Rainbow Dash didn’t look back, not even once.

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Lero stood in the middle of the cave floor, watching in silence as the last glimpse of his lover’s polychromatic tail disappeared through the hole before turning back to his lone companion. As he stooped to grab his makeshift bat from the ground the muffled boom of a pegasus breaking the sound barrier could just be heard, much of the sound deadened by the thick walls of the cave.

Meeting Lyra at the cave entrance he placed a hand on the back of her head, letting his thumb rub the back of her right ear in that special place she loved so much.

The unicorn turned her gaze from the tunnel to catch Lero’s eyes, a soft glow radiating from her eyes advertising the presence of the night vision spell she was using to cut though the gloom.

“So, what do you think of our chances of still being alive when she gets back?” Her tone was delightfully upbeat despite the grim subject. Even in the face of near unimaginable odds it was almost impossible to keep this unicorn down. Pinkie would be proud.

Lero scratched his chin with his free hand in an effort to look thoughtful. As the act almost caused the human to hit himself in the nose with his weapon some of the effect was lost. The two of them shared a grin at the unexpected outcome.

“Truthfully? Slim to none I reckon.” Lero’s tone was also upbeat; his lover’s attitude must have been contagious. It was almost as if he was just lamenting a bad night out bowling with the boys.

Lyra couldn’t help raise her eyebrows to go with her wide grin. “Ha, that good, eh?”

Lero ruffled the unicorn’s mane before running his fingers though it a few times. At some point during their escape the small white braid behind her ear had started to come loose so Lero set down his club and spent a moment tidying it up before pulling its band back into place.

“Doesn’t mean I’m not going to try.” He said as he smoothed out the last of the mess from Lyra’s mane, letting the white and green stripes lay separate once more. ”I did make a pinkie promise after all. And if I had a choice between taking on this whole hive or one angry Pinkie, I know which one I’d go for.” With that he gave his lover a little wink, which solicited a small giggle.

Crouching down as he’d done for Rainbow just minutes before, he pulled Lyra into a tight hug. As he held her he felt her forehooves reach around his waist, her weight resting on his hips as she returned the embrace.

“Whatever happens I want you to know I love you.” Lero pulled the unicorn’s chest to his own, his arms tight around her back pulling her up against him.

“I know, I love you too.” Lyra’s voice took on a somewhat mischievous tone. “But when we get out of here you could always take some time out to show me.” With that she nibbled lightly at his ear.

“Hey, down girl. Not really the time or place for that, young lady.” Lero laughed, his mood light though his tone held a note of reproach that they both knew couldn’t have been any more fake. “You’re incorrigible, you know that?“

“And that’s why you love me.“ If she’d been trying to lighten the situation then it had certainly worked.

“Indeed it is.” Lero lent back, giving him room to take her head in his hands. “That and you’re a great kisser.”

With that he gently kissed her; not a kiss of urgency or desperate passion as he had with Rainbow just moments before, but a long, soft lingering kiss of love and trust. A kiss that told his lover that if this was the day it all ended then they would face it together. Win or lose, pass or fail, they would face it as one, right to the end.

As the kiss ended he used his forefingers to tenderly rub behind her ears one last time before reluctantly releasing her. Hefting his weapon he stood, turning to face the tunnel from which distant screeches echoed, unintelligible cries and guttural growls drawing ever closer were cast forth from the darkness to bounce around the cave.

“Now, let’s go find our wife.“

62: Will you bite the hand that feeds? (Hv)

Will you bite the hand that feeds?
Chapter published 26th November 2013

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Consciousness and Twilight Sparkle were not the best of friends right now.

The purple unicorn had no idea how long the two of them had been in a state of undeclared hostilities, but she rather wished it’d stop pretty soon so she could figure out just what the buck was going on.

And also why the word ‘gas’ kept pushing its way around her foggy, groggy, soggy, boggy brain.

She’d been floating in and out of something approaching lucidity for a while now, catching glimpses of her surroundings that seemed to jump about, though some part of her mind kept trying to tell her that they weren’t jumping around, more that she was only awake for a few seconds at a time and that it was she that was being physically moved around, and not her surroundings.

She remembered the train, yes, they were on a train. Then sky, lots of sky, and ground and trees far below. Then tunnels, tunnels that glowed, some green, some orange, mostly orange.

Then she could remember Rainbow hanging from a ceiling like a piñata at a cute-ceañera, the pegasus shouting her head off at... something.

Memories were coming faster now, the mare’s brain being more cooperative as the sleeping gas wore off.

Sleeping gas! That’s why the word ‘gas’ had been stuck in her head. They’d been on a train, making their way back to Ponyville from Horseshoe Bay where they’d gone to wave Sweetie Belle and Spike off on their research trip.

A small wave of annoyance came over Twilight as she remembered that her mother, Star Sparkle, had also been there, being as irritating as ever. This was swiftly replaced by a small wave of relief as the memory of her mother also being on the departing ship came to mind.

Yes, it was a research trip, wasn’t it? Sweetie and Spike were spending six months in Neighpon with Star Sparkle. It was a shame they’d miss the birth of Twilight’s first child but to be honest, missing major family events was about par for the course with Star Spar...

Hang on... First child? Twilight was pregnant? Twilight was pregnant! How could she have forgotten that she was pregnant? What kind of mother forgets that she’s pregnant?

As her eyes shot open, Twilight cried out...

“I’m pregnant.”

“Why, yes. Yes you are” came a response from somewhere behind her.

While Twilight couldn’t see who it was that had spoken to her - and the general gloom in the room was giving her tired eyes a hard time in adapting - she already knew all that she needed to in order to pinpoint the speaker’s species. The haughty tone, the reverb in the voice, the flittering buzz of insect wings.

“Changeling!” Twilight stated to the shadows surrounding her.

“Why, yes. Yes I am,” the voice came again, getting closer until it was right behind her “Well done for stating the obvious, you're quite good at that, it would seem. Would you like to try for three for three?”

“You won’t get away with this, changeling.”

“Oh dear, and you were doing so well.”

As Twilight’s eyes finally started to adjust to the dimness of the room, she could barely make out a changeling standing to her side. Now that she could get a half decent look at her she had to assume that this was a changeling queen, both from her size and from her general bearing.

While Twilight would admit that she had only ever seen one other changeling queen in the flesh before, this being before her looked to be almost the spitting image of Queen Chrysalis. The only major differences she could see being where Chrysalis was black with a dark blue mane and green eyes, this queen was a deep brown with a dark orange mane and yellow eyes.

“So who are you? And what do you want?” Twilight asked.

“Aahh, getting straight down to business. I like that,” the queen walked slowly around Twilight, causing the unicorn to - unsuccessfully - attempt to turn her head as she was being circled. “I am Queen Auriela, and this is my hive.”

Coming full circle to stand in front of Twilight once more, Queen Auriela swept a foreleg around her, motioning around the room as a number of large orbs placed here and there came to life, bathing the areas around them in a sickly yellow glow.

“And I bid you welcome.”

The queen’s smirk, the thin lips, the sharp fangs, all did very little to make Twilight feel even the tiniest bit welcome.

Twisting about as best she could - her body responding as well as could be expected as it fought to clear the sedatives from her system, which wasn’t that well at all - Twilight took in the vast room that she was laying in.

Room? No, cave would be more like it. A huge, vast cave with a domed ceiling so high and walls so far in the distance she had trouble making it out in the feeble light.

Dotted around the cavern were what could only be described as ‘orbs’ if the speaker was feeling particularly generous - and as ‘oozing lumps of... yuck’ if they weren’t - that gave off sickly orange or yellow light, occasionally dimming down to almost nothingness before regaining what little flickering illumination they had provided before.

Spaced around the walls at several intervals were what looked to have once been huge and ornately detailed stained glass windows that would most likely have been lit from behind to throw colours and shapes across the room’s interior. Now they were just dim shadows of their former selves, whatever illumination lay behind them now just barely fading in and out of life, leaving the ornate glass-work dark and oppressive.

At each of the two entrances to the room, the only two that Twilight could see anyway, stood a pair of changeling guards. While superficially they were much like those that had invaded Canterlot all those years ago - except for the brown and orange colouring compared to the black and blue of Queen Chrysalis’ minions - they didn't seem to stand as straight and tall as those Twilight had seen before.

From the fluctuating lights to the mucus dripping from the ceilings to the few guards spaced sparsely around the room, every about her surroundings gave the unicorn the uneasy feeling of a world filled with sickness and decay. Twilight felt physically ill just being there, though the sleeping gas slowly working its way out of her body didn’t help in that regard either.

“Where’s my herd, what have you done with them?” the unicorn demanded as she struggled to her hooves.

“I assure you,” the queen replied as she walked around Twilight and back out of her field of vision, “they’re quite safe, for now.”

Twilight didn’t believe her, not one little bit.

“You don’t believe me?” the queen asked, reappearing at Twilight’s other side.

“No, why should I?” Twilight asked, wishing the queen would just stay still while her poor head was still taking more of a pounding that the drum kit Pinkie had given Pound Cake for his last birthday.

“Because I have no need to hurt them,” Queen Auriela disappeared from Twilight’s vision yet again, just to appear out of the darkness not even a full body length from the unicorn’s left hoof side, “not yet anyway. Whether that changes depends solely on you, my dear.”

“So why am I here? What do you want with me?”

“We have need of you.”

“To do what? To help you take over Equestria? It’ll never work you know. We’ll stop you, just as we stopped Queen Chrysalis before you.”

“Take over Equestria? What a silly idea.” The queen’s laugh was not pleasant, bringing to mind both Nightmare Moon and Discord in their worst moments; A large dash of arrogance, a dollop of malevolence and more than a touch of madness. “But then, my sister never was particularly smart. No, we have need of you, or rather what you have already proven can be done.”

From out of the darkness came a small bundle of newspapers, falling right at the still swaying unicorn’s hooves. By instinct Twilight tried to levitate them towards her but found that her magic wasn’t responding.

Reaching up to the front of her mane with a forehoof she found what seemed to be an old but still functional horn wrap enveloping her horn. Well, that explained the lack of magic at least.

Pulling the small stack of papers towards herself with a forehoof, she held each one up in turn so she could read the headlines in the dim light from the closest ‘orb’.

“HUMAN/PONY HYBRID BORN“ claimed the Canterlot Free Press; “BREAKTHROUGH IN THE THAUMOLOGICAL SCIENCES” trumpeted the Foal Street Journal; “PALACE WELCOMES NEW HYBRID RACE” proclaimed Equestria Daily, while the Daily Fail - ever the bastion of fair and unbiased reporting that it was - went with “MAD SCIENTIST CREATES SICK ABOMINATION”.

Twi recognised each of these headlines; she had copies of each of these publications - with the exception of the Daily Fail, she’d burnt that one - back in her office along with many more, all ready for the day that the herd’s first born was old enough to understand them.

“You want Sweetie?” she asked, a level of venom creeping into her voice that would freeze the blood of lesser mortals.

“Oh no no no,” came from the shadows to Twilight’s right, the Queen appearing from her left a split second later. “But I do want what made her. Holding the child itself is just a means of persuading you that it would be in your best interests to do as I require.”

Twilight hated to ask, but she couldn’t see where else she was going to go.

“But why?”

The fangs again. The smile just brought forth more lip, more teeth, an ever increasing feeling of dread on Twilight’s part.

“My subjects are dying, my hive is sick.”

As the unicorn turned to her left to follow the voice, the queen appeared on her right.

“Our pupae are withering on the vine. As it is we have less than a year left before the hive is no longer viable.”

“And what’s that got to do with Sweetie?” Twilight asked, deciding to give up on trying to keep her ‘host’ within her field of vision and instead pinched her brow with forehoof. It didn’t help in the slightest.

“Do you know how we feed, Ms Sparkle?”

“You attack ponies and suck out their love.” Twi snorted, as if the answer was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Oh dear, my sister really did leave a bad taste in your mouth did she not?.” The smile may have vanished into the darkness, but the giggle it left behind was probably even worse in Twilight’s opinion. “No, that’s not how we feed. It is a possible method I grant you, and true, it is a little extreme I agree, but a possibility, yes.”

As if realising that Twilight was making no attempt to even look at her, the queen stepped out of the darkness, this time placing herself squarely in front of her ‘guest’, using her own forehoof to lift the unicorn’s chin, to look her captive in the eye.

“No, we feed by taking pony form and inserting ourselves somewhere there’s a lot of love floating around, and then we just-” the changeling spread her ragged gossamer wings wide, showing a wingspan that would Princess Celestia to shame “-open ourselves up and soak it all in.”

Pulling her wings back against her sides, the queen span on her hooftips like a giddy schoolfilly, her little dance taking her a few body lengths away towards the darkness.

“Oh you should have seen it, back in the day. Our scouting parties would come back practically drunk with offerings. A particularly good haul, something like Hearts and Hooves day or Heartswarming Eve maybe, could feed this hive for months. Forager drones could go out, find a village, pass themselves off for a while as a pony from out of town and then come back to us when they were full. No pony got hurt, no feelings were distorted, everyone came away winners.”

Nice though this little tale sounded, Twilight couldn’t help but get the feeling this might not be the whole truth. She didn’t know why, or how, but something wasn't quite ringing true here.

“So what changed?” the unicorn asked bluntly.

Broken from her reverie, the queen stopped her spinning, instead launching herself towards her captive.

“You did,” the changeling hissed, pushing her nose up against Twilight’s, the unicorn trying her best not to cower, “you did, you ponies. Or rather, your feelings changed.”

“How so?” Twilight asked, hoping the waver in her voice was just in her own mind.

The queen tilted her head, focusing first on one of Twilight’s eyes, then the other.

“Once my sister had made our existence public to the world, what do you think is the main emotion that you ponies now feel towards us?”

“Fear, I would imagine.” Twilight didn’t have to do a lot of imagining right now.

“Yes, indeed. Fear, hate, loathing, disgust. And for passive feeders such as us, what do you think this does to our only source of sustenance?”

“I don’t know.” Though the unicorn was starting to have a vague idea where this line of thought was leading, and she didn’t like it one bit.

For a moment it looked like queen was pondering her next move and, after what felt to Twilight like a lifetime, the changeling backed away, disappearing back into the shadows again.

“I hear that you ponies often add spices to your food, do you not?”

“Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?” Twilight replied to the darkness.

“And these spices, though tiny in quantity, can influence the meal in both subtle and major ways, correct?.

“Yes, that’s true. But what does this hav-”

“And if one of these spices is something to which your body reacts negatively? Something that in small doses isn’t too much of a problem at first, but once it has built up in your system can have disastrous effects?”

“Well, that’s not a good thing.”

“Fear, hate , loathing, disgust. We can see all of these emotions as a spice in small enough doses, but once they build up. Well, the results have not been pretty.” The queen reappeared, this time at the unicorn’s side, her mouth close enough the mare’s ear that she could whisper into it. “I will not let my people die, Ms Sparkle. We will not go quietly, we will not fade away into the pages of history without a fight, not while I have a breath left in my body.”

“And what would you have me do?” Twilight turned to find the queen already gone. “You can’t change the way an entire nation feels about your kind. Plus foalnapping me and my herd and dragging us here against our will certainly isn't changing the way I feel about you either.”

“Oh you’re not here to change your little ponies.” That giggle was definitely worse than the smile. “No no no my dear, you have a much more noble task ahead of you. You’re here to change us. Or rather, to change our younglings. Your job is to make us less dependent on love, more resistant to hate. We are changelings, in order to survive we change ourselves all the time. This would just be a little more... extreme. Yes?”

“And why would I do what you want?” Twilight protested, un-nerved as she was by the edge of mania that had crept into the queen’s voice. “Why would I help you by taking away one of your weaknesses? Changelings are amongst the biggest threats Equestria has ever seen. Why would I help you?”

Without warning, the queen stepped out of the darkness once more, close enough to stroke the unicorn’s mane with a wingtip.

“Really, if that’s so then why had you never heard of us until just a few short years ago,” she asked. “If not for that damn fool Chrysalis you’d still be none the wiser about our existence.”

Twilight knew what she was doing, all this appearing and disappearing. The throwing of the voice, the hoofsteps that could only be heard when the queen wanted them to be. She was trying to keep her ‘guest’ on edge, trying to keep her disoriented, to keep her from gaining her bearings. And by Luna it was working. But now Twilight was just starting to get annoyed with the whole Celestia-damned performance.

“If we are doomed, if we have nothing to lose, then what's to stop us becoming the very thing that my sister wanted, the very thing that you ponies fear us to be.” Once again, the queen positioned herself directly in front of her captive audience. “You treat us like the boogiemare, like vile creatures that kidnap foals in the night and suck their emotions dry. Well if that is what it takes, if that is the only option left to me, then do not doubt for an instant that I will not do it. You think us monsters, Ms Sparkle? You have seen nothing yet.”

“You cannot be serious.” Twilight responded, both the shock and disbelief obvious in her voice.

“Oh yes, I am. Dissapoint me and you will find out just how serious I really am.”

As the two of them, the Changeling Queen and the pregnant unicorn, glared at each other, it was eventually the changeling that turned away first.

Once released from the Queen’s gaze, from the depth of her stare, Twilight finally realised quite how much she was shaking. Was it rage? Was it fear? Was it both? Twilight didn’t know, all she knew was that she couldn’t stop shaking.

As the Queen made her way to one of the huge stained glass windows, the illumination behind it gained in strength, making the the previously indistinct image within the glass just that little bit clearer. In the centre of the frame was a flame-haired changeling queen, standing in the middle of a forest, surrounded by an untold number of her drones. The window must have been beautiful once upon a time, but now, neglect and the ravages of time had just left it a sad shell of its former glory.

As the Queen stood, her back to her ‘guest’, her attention focused solely on the ancient window before her, Twilight could just about hear instruments begin to play around them. As the sounds grew louder within her head, a sure indication that this was the music of harmony at work, she could hear... were those marching drums?, a snare maybe?... there were definitely bagpipes in there as well, possibly a trumpet or two.

The music swelled, its tone slow and sober. The last time the unicorn had heard anything of its ilk was at the state funeral held for Rainbow Dash’s old captain many years ago. Whatever it was, it was a sound that Twilight was in no hurry to ever hear again.

Still with her back turned, and with a controlled and sombre tone, Queen Auriela began to sing.

--Queen Auriela--

For you all the future’s bright

While my kind keeps ourselves tucked out of sight

A little here, a little there

We feed from ponies who have no cares

While other queens had bigger dreams

We lived here quietly within our means.

But now my sister’s mindless grasp for power

Has left for us our food turned sour

Now as you ponies frolic and play

My children starve and waste away

Our very sustenance turned to poison

As day by day our prospects worsen

Soon our hive will be no more

The future to us has closed its doors

But for my children I will dare to fight

We will not go gentle into that good night

Although my hive it is now dying

It will not be for the want of trying

Before our kind are dead and gone

I will do what must be done

If I must make ponykind my enemy

Then that is the way that it will have to be

We will not wither nor fade away

Within this world we wish to stay

When the day is past and the battle is won

When my hooves are bloodied from what must be done

My children will thrive and flourish and live

With the last gift that I can give

And from the ashes you will hear them say

That our hive will live another day

As the music faded away, the Queen turned from the window, the light behind it fading away, the image it had previously revealed again disappearing into the darkness.

Twilight shivered as the changeling’s face came back into view. The determination, the anger, all of this was enough to send tremors up the unicorn’s spine, but it was the sheer depth of the underlying desperation... desperation and madness etched across the Queen’s face that really scared her. If there was one thing that Twilight had learned over the years, one fact that held true no matter the species, it was that a mother fighting for her children was the most dangerous creature in the world. A mother fighting for a whole hive of children? The very idea made her blood run cold.

Pushing herself to her full height, making sure that none of the emotions fighting their way out of her brain, or her gut, made their way to her features, Twilight faced up to the Queen.

“And you think that I’ll agree to this?” the purple mare forced out.

The queen smiled, all fangs and lips. It was not a kind smile, more the kind a hungry snake would give a slow, plump mouse just before the inevitable happened.

“Why, yes, I do. Because if you don't, now that you know what’s at stake, now that you realise how many will die if you fail, now that you know about how dangerous a species with no hope, no future can become... you’ll have shown yourself to be a bigger monster than you could ever accuse me of being.”

Turning, the queen motioned to a pair of drones by the doorway who quickly came forth and physically lifted the unicorn from the ground..

“Take some time to think on it, Ms Sparkle. Just don’t take too long... for both our family's sakes.”

64: We will stand tall, face it all together. (Hv)

We will stand tall, face it all together.
Chapter published 29th November 2013

***************************

At just ten body lengths above the treetops, twelve figures flew at speed above the Forest of Yore.

From below they looked like nothing more than a disturbance in the early morning sky, a barely perceptible shimmer disturbing the light of the last remaining stars and distorting the view of the occasional wisp of cloud.

From above it would be almost impossible to tell them apart from the rustle of the leaves or the wind whistling through the furthest reaching branches.

By the time you saw them, they were already gone.

But these were no wisps, no ghosts, no trick of the light or flights of fancy.

They were The Shadowbolts.

***********************

Ten minutes out from their objective, the twelve flyers split into two teams, one team banking left to approach the objective from the west, the other banking right to approach from the east.

As their target grew ever closer, the first rays of the sun rising behind them casting the days first few rays over the treetops and the far distant crystal mountains, the youngest member of Bronco Team readied herself for what was to come.

They had all trained for this day, trained over and over, for the day that the members of Princess Luna’s Special Aero-tactical Squad would be called into action for real, the day when the call would come and it would not be a drill, not an exercise, not even a run-though. No, this night, for the first time, the last ditch option that was the Shadowbolts Initiative had been fired in anger.

And they were ready.

Scootaloo - Shadowbolts service number thirteen - cast her eyes across her five squad-mates, all six ponies flying together in a delta formation, the five others ahead of her as the young pegasus herself brought up the rear. She had spent months - or years in the case of two of her team-mates- training with these ponies. If there were any other individuals out there that she would rather be flying with tonight, she knew not of who they would be.

Directly ahead of her was her was the team captain and squad leader, Shadowbolts service number twenty.

To the captain’s left were the squad’s two ‘kitbashers’ - service numbers seven and ten - they hauled the squad’s heavy equipment and provided the muscle for their team.

To the captain’s right were the team’s two scouts - service numbers one and two - providing the team’s reconnaissance and fast strike capabilities.

One of the kitbashers she’d known since childhood, though back then he hadn’t been known as ‘The Brick’. To the untrained eye he looked like an unintelligent - and unintelligible - wall of muscle; but to those who knew him, they saw instead a stallion of great honour, compassion and intelligence. He may not have been one for long speeches, but when he had something to say then by Luna you shut your cake-hole and you listened to every word.

The other kitbasher - a surly and unapproachable pale green mare only known by the codename ‘Snake Eye’ - she’d only known this last year. Apparently she’d been a border guard back in the day, before being dishonourably discharged from the service. After that her history got kind of hazy, right up until Princess Luna herself had brought her into the Shadowbolts Initiative in a move that had caused no small amount of friction in the upper ranks of the organisation.

The princess had eventually declared that a pony must be given a chance to redeem themselves of past misdeeds and that, if this were not the case, then surely if her time as Nightmare Moon was to be taken into account, she herself should never have been given the chance to retake her throne.

Even when the kerfuffle had died down, Rainbow Dash had made it quite plain that Scoot was to keep well away from the older mare when they weren’t on the job, and the young pegasus was sure that a similar conversation had been had with Snake, though possibly using both smaller and louder words.

The first scout, and indeed the mare with the honour and distinction of being the first ever Shadowbolt to be awarded her commission, was possibly the fastest pegasus Scootaloo had ever seen. Well, maybe the second fastest. A petite bright-orange pegasus by the name of Dodge Charger, she hailed from an earth pony family and had shown herself to be both as tough and as strong as earth ponies far larger than herself, and to be as fast on the ground as she was in the air. If you needed to out run ‘em, out fly ‘em, out buck ‘em or out sass ‘em then Dodge was your go-to girl.

Next to her flew the team’s tall - supermodel tall even - second scout, who was as different to her fellow scout as night was to day. While Dodge was all about speed and power - ‘buck first and ask questions later’ was her motto - Blue Fire was, without question, the brains of this little duo. This wasn’t to say that she was without speed or power herself, far from it. No, Blue Fire had the body of a highly trained athlete, it was just that she used this body primarily as both a means to move around the mind of a brilliant tactician and strategist, and a tool with which to put her deviously laid out plans into action.

Strangely, these two totally disparate ponies were so in-sync that more often than not they even finished each other’s sentences. Left together for any length of time, this unlikely duo would soon become the terror of wherever they were to be found; which was unfortunate for the Wonderbolts as both of them had, as their ‘day jobs’, positions in Captain Soarin’s ‘Fighting Falcons’ squad.

With a slight tingle at her neck, the voice of squad leader come to her ears via her personal Scratch Crystal which was embedded in the collar fastened tightly around her throat. Scoot wasn’t one hundred percent sure how Scratch Crystals worked - Auntie Twilight using big words like “Application of Acoustic Resonance” and “Thaumic Entanglement” whenever she asked hadn’t helped - but she did know that it used her own skeleton to make it seem as if somepony was actually talking to her from within her own ears. The fact that no other pony could actually hear any of it all just made the whole thing extra cool, and spooky... and then extra cool again.

If only the average pony knew just how many of the new high-tech toys hitting the market were the unclassified offshoots of the output of the Shadowbolt Initiative's equipment labs - or the Scratch Labs as they’d come to be informally known around HQ. From the goggles and outfits they all wore to the collars and belts around their bodies to the tools and gadgets the kitbashers carried in their packs.

Some of the nation’s greatest - and weirdest - minds were hard at work churning out some of the greatest - and weirdest - stuff this planet had ever seen... though admittedly a large portion of it was either inspired by, or based squarely upon, the human-tech that Uncle Lero had brought with him tied up in his brain.

“We’re coming in for landing, ETA three minutes,” came her captain’s voice, “You all know the drill, I ran you all through it back at the academy enough times that even your ancestors should remember how it goes by now. Let’s do this quickly and cleanly. Scoot, you're on tail; Fire and Dodge, secure the breach, we’ll be sixty seconds behind you.“

Without another word, the two scouts peeled away and accelerated towards the target. Their objective was a small hole in the forest floor which would take them into the changeling’s hive. Their job was to silently drop into the small cavern directly beneath the opening, neutralise any targets they found within and then signal back when they had secured the room ready for the Captain and the Kitbashers to follow them in.

As the four remaining members of Bronco team silently circled above the opening, the pair of scouts disappeared into the darkness of the cavern below them. After a tense sixty seconds, Fire’s voice could be heard over each of their crystals informing them that the infiltration zone was secure.

As Scoot remained hovering above the hole, just above treetop level as the team’s eye in the sky, first their captain dropped through the hole, followed by Snake and Brick.

Taking one last look around the forest before she too dropped through the hole, Scoot could see how this hive had gone undiscovered for so long, as far as it was from civilisation, totally blending in with the rest of the forest, residing deep underground, safe under the feet of the forest’s unsuspecting animal population.

But now these changelings, they’d kicked the hornet’s nest and they had no idea what kind of beast they’d awakened. They’d taken her friends, hurt her family, foal-napped her niece. But that was about to change, the Shadowbolts were here now and they’d put a stop to whatever plans, whatever schemes these creatures were hatching. There was no way that they’d get away with this, not while there was breath left in her body.

She just prayed it wasn’t too late.

And not just for her family’s sake, but for the changeling's sake as well.

*************************

As her last team mate dropped through the hole in the cavern’s roof and silently touched down behind her, the squad leader lifted a forehoof to her collar, the second scratch crystal mounted within connecting her to the leader of the other team.

“Apple Team, this is Bronco Team leader,” she hissed, “We are in. Repeat, we are in.”

As she waited for a response she reached up and adjusted her goggles, re-setting them for low-light use. As the world around her shifted from dim colour to brighter black and white, the voice of Commander Spitfire echoed in her ears as the camouflage enchant on her uniform dissipated, letting the outfit revert to plain black all over.

“Bronco Team, this is Apple Team leader. We are also in. Repeat: we are also in. Proceed to point B, Apple team will proceed to point A. Repeat: proceed to point B, Apple Team will proceed to point A. Report any enemy action or any sightings of Objectives Purple, Red or Green immediately. Apple Team Leader out.”

After acknowledging the command, the squad leader cut the connection and turned to her team mates.

“Okay, ladies,” she said quietly. “We’re going straight to target point B, so no sight-seeing. Fire and Dodge, grab your clubs from the kit bags and take point. Stealth is the name of the game so keep it nice and quiet, if even one of these bugs spots us then the whole sun-damned hive’ll know we’re here in like five seconds flat.”

The two scouts nodded before using their wingtips to grab a single club from each of the two packs of kit, giving both of them a pair of short, sturdy weapons, one held in each curled wing.

“We found that,” Fire motioned towards the mangled body of a changeling laying towards the back of the cavern, an expression of mild disgust on the white pegasus’ face, “looks like it’s been dead a good few hours.”

“Yeah,” the captain remarked, barely looking at the body of their fallen foe. “Objective Green dealt with that particular changeling during my escape. Nasty stuff. Ignore it, let’s keep our minds on the here and now.”

With the scouts moving to cover the doorway, the captain turned to the rest of her squad,

“Brick, you're with me,” she said, “Snake and Scoot, take tail.”

Snake started to move towards the younger pegasus but the captain caught the larger mare by the sleeve of her uniform.

“Don’t buck this up again,“ she hissed at the pale-green pegasus before taking Brick and moving after the scouts.

As the two point-mares disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel, the captain’s goggles giving off a soft magical whine as they compensated to cope with the diminished light the further she moved from the cavern’s breach, she turned and addressed the dead air of the cave.

“I told you I’d be back.”

And with that, Captain Rainbow Dash, Squad Leader of the Shadowbolts’ Bronco Team, headed back into the hive.

65: Now I can't be sure of anything. (Hv)

Now I can't be sure of anything, (black is white and cold is heat).
Chapter published 6th December 2013

*************************

Deep within the labyrinthine corridors of Canterlot Castle, two alicorn princesses moved with purpose.

Upon the back of the younger alicorn, tucked between her slightly raised jet-black wings, slept a small foal. The alicorn was most careful to keep her movements smooth and controlled as she walked, lest she wake her sleeping passenger. It had taken a number of hours, and an even larger number of rejected resting places, before the foal had finally drifted off to sleep, fitful and disturbed though it was.

“How is she?” the older of the two alicorns asked as she held the door to the castle’s next wing open so they could both pass through.

“Upset. Very upset.” Princess Luna answered curtly, “She is concerned for her parents, and quite rightly so. Part of me is with her now, but I find that even with my presence I cannot soothe her fears. She dreams of monsters and of darkness, so great that even her ‘Auntie Woona’ cannot protect her from them. I... I... ”

It was not often that the princess of the night was at a loss for words.

Using her magic to quietly close the door behind them, Princess Celestia spread one pure-white wing wide, laying it gently over her sister’s back, wrapping both her sibling and the small child that she carried in her embrace.

“She will be alright. As long as she knows that you are with her she will be alright.“ Taking back the wing, she beckoned her sister to join her as they continued to walk. “Lady Dash will return with her herdmates soon enough, of this I am sure.”

“I pray you are right, my sister,” the princess of the night sighed as she followed in her sibling’s hoofsteps. “I have been informed that Lady Heartstring’s parents are unavailable at present so I instead sent a pair of guards to rouse Lady Sparkle’s sire from his slumber. I am told that he and Twilight Velvet will be here shortly to tend to young Sweet Spirit’s physical form. When they arrive I will join you back in the war room. Then we can-”

“It is an observatory,” Princess Celestia interjected, “not a war room. Those words belong in days long past. We are not at war and I will not accept anypony, not even you, declaring otherwise.”

“Not at war?” Luna retorted incredulously, catching her own rising tone and reining it in before it disturbed her slumbering ward. “These... creatures have attacked our subjects, they dared lay hoof on five of the most important individuals in this nation today, individuals you and I are sworn to protect, and you say we are not at war?”

“Yes, I do.” Coming to a stop, Celestia turned to face her headstrong sibling. “Lady Rarity already awaits us in the royal observatory and the three remaining element bearers will arrive shortly. Once they join us I will have the elements themselves brought up from the vaults. Then, and only then, will we plan our next move.”

“Our next move?” Luna hissed, “I can tell you what our ‘next move’ should be here and now. We must do what must be done, and we must do it quickly before our chance is lost.”

“No.” Celestia replied sternly. “I know what you would have us do and I will let you know right now that I will not allow it. I will not wipe them out, and there is nothing you can say to make me change my mind.”

“They are abominations,” Luna protested, bringing her muzzle right up into her sister’s personal space, a task so much easier now than in years past when she had still been so much shorter. “They should never have been created, they were not part of Her plans.”

“Abominations you say?” Celestia again extended a single wing, but this time she used it to draw the younger alicorn’s attention to the slumbering foal on her back rather than to cover them both as she had before. “Should this innocent child also be stricken from our planet? Should her father be banished from this plane? I think not.”

Luna’s gaze moved back and forth between the child’s sleeping face and that of her sister’s, so full of determination and resolve. It held an expression that the lunar princess had not seen since before her banishment, an expression that told her that the alicorn of the day could not be swayed in her opinion, and that there could well be a fight between siblings coming if the younger sister did not back down.

“Mother did what she could until she felt it was time to release control of of the reins.” Celestia’s features softened as she brushed a wingtip against her troubled sibling’s cheek. “Once she had let go it was up to others to bring to the world what they will. We are only here to help - to help and to guide, to protect and to serve. We are not gods, my sister, no matter what some mortals may think. We are guides, nothing more, and we would do well to keep that in mind.”

*********************

Many many miles away, deep within the depths of Queen Auriela’s hive, two changeling guards had no idea what was about to hit them... literally.

As the pair stood at attention outside of a large doorway, they almost missed the pair of shimmering, blurry shapes coming at them down the hall. The shimmering shapes however, certainly didn’t miss their targets. With a pair of matching ‘thumps’, short wooden clubs met chitin covered skulls with more than enough force to knock the two guards instantly unconscious.

As the guards slumped towards the floor, both were caught midway by the shimmering, and vaguely pony-like, shapes which lowered silently them the rest of the way to the ground.

With a gentle ‘buzz’ of a dispelling enchant, the right hoof shape faded back into view, revealing a grinning Dodge Charger.

“Boink!” she cried, or would have had she not had to whisper lest she defeat the point of a stealthy attack, “Oh, look at that. That’s beautiful stuff.”

To the side of her came another soft ‘buzz, followed by the form of Blue Fire also fading back into view.

“Girl, we are like a force a’nature,” the taller scout proclaimed (quietly) as she planted a soft kiss on one of her weapons, “these ‘Sandmare’ enchants work like a charm.”

“Yeah, yeah,” came their captain’s voice as the mare herself appeared from the the gloom further down the tunnel. “Quit lookin’ so smug and start dragging these guards out of sight. We need to keep moving.”

After slipping their weapons into pairs of holsters hanging from each of their belts, the two scouts grabbed the two unconscious forms with their wings before hauling them through the archway into whatever room or cavern or whatever they hay it was that the duo of unfortunate changelings had been guarding.

After a few seconds, Blue Fire’s head poked back out of the room, followed by a forehoof which was desperately trying to get Rainbow’s attention.

“Ma'am,“ she said, “I really think you should come have a look at this.”

“Not our objective, Fire,“ Rainbow insisted, ”we just needed this pair of clowns out of the picture so we could get past them and onto point B. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Understood, ma’am,” Fire acknowledged, “but they’re first changelings we’ve come across and they were guarding something, I think we should at least take a look, ma’am.”

“Kid’s got a point, ma’am...” Snake added. Rainbow could easily hear the sarcasm in the older mare’s voice - she seemed incapable of using a rank or title these days without it. “All the action this place’s obviously seen since you got out and this room’s still important enough to warrant two guards.”

Flicking her eyes from Scoot, who had taken up position just ahead of them up the corridor and Brick, who was now covering their rear, Rainbow took both their comments under consideration.

“Okay. Fire, you got three minutes,” she stated, “Scoot, guard the door; I want to know if there’s so much as a squeak from out here.”

As the younger mare took up position by the entrance, the rest of the team made their way into the cavern, where the first thing they were hit by was a sudden and dramatic rise in air temperature.

“Girl, it’s hot’n here,” Dodge whistled as she poked at one of the walls, the slick mucus-like gunk lining the stone underneath softer and less hardened with time than any they’d seen so far. As she pulled back a forehoof to smell the goo that had collected on her hoof-tip, a large piece of loose slime fell from the ceiling and coated her nose with a loud, wet ‘slap’.

“Errghh, yuck, get it off’a me,” the small pegasus cried, desperately shaking her head, spraying the unwanted gunk across both the nearby wall and her fellow scout.

“Yeah, but at least it’s a dry heat.” Blue Fire laughed, wiping her face on her sleeve.

“Will you two knock it off!” Snake hissed as she walked past them and on towards the centre of the large cavern.

“But why is it so hot?” Blue Fire wondered out loud, “If this was an insect den I’d suspect this might be a... oooh.”

As they made it to the middle of the huge chamber the pegasus’ words trailed away as her eyes took in pod after pod - each one looking not unlike a large slime-covered egg - lining the walls all around them. While a few scattered around the room were lit from within by sickly orange glow, most of them appeared to be dead, several having detached from the wall entirely and fallen to the ground.

Attempting to peer through the semi-transparent skin of one of the still glowing pods, Dodge couldn’t make out details of what might lie within. Lifting a forehoof, she wiped at the pod surface and, though it made hardly any difference, she could just about make out what lay inside.

“Boss, look,” she called softly to the captain, who joined her at her side, both mares using the pale light from within the pod to check out its contents.

“It’s a tiny changeling, not much bigger than a ten year old foal,“ Rainbow stated, “we must be in the egg chamber or nursery or something.”

Glancing around the room, Rainbow made a quick mental tally; of the nearly one hundred eggs that she could see, only a dozen or so gave off any glow or other signs of life.

“I think you should see this,” Snake called out from by the downed egg that she and Brick were standing around.

As the captain came closer, she could see what her kitbashers had been inspecting. As the pod had hit the floor it had burst open, its contents spilled out onto the rocky ground. Laying at their hooves was a small, half formed drone. If it had still been alive when its pod had detached from the wall, or the fall hadn’t killed it, it obviously wouldn't have survived for long out of its pod anyway.

Reaching out with a forehoof, Snake pushed her hoof-tip into the slime surrounding the deceased drone. As she pulled it away again, a small amount of the goo came with it, creating a string of mucus that dribbled from her hoof and hung in the air.

“It’s still congealing,” the pale green pegasus said as she brought the gunk covered forehoof up to her good eye, “this must have happened recently.”

By now Fire and Dodge had joined them, the taller scout looking over her team-mates’ shoulders while the shorter one peered between their bodies.

“By Luna...” Dodge muttered.

“...just what’s going on around here?” Fire finished for her.

“They’re dying,” came a deep gravely voice from off to the side.

Turning towards their team-mate, the four mares waited to see if the sole stallion continue. He might not have been one for big speeches, but when he decided to speak then by Celestia you listened. As they watched he reached forward with a forehoof and used his considerable strength to pull a large piece of flexible shell loose from the fallen pod.

“I know bodies... I know healthy bodies... it’s my special talent. Whatever these are, well, they may not be ponies but I know healthy wherever I see it and these...”

He gently placed the piece of pod skin over the fallen drone, covering most of its body from view.

“... these are not healthy at all.”

Stepping back, Rainbow turned and started towards the door.

“Come on,” she said, “we’ve still got a job to do. Jail’s this way.”

*************************

“BUCK!” Rainbow shouted, kicking a horn wrap across the room and into one of the many vacant cells. Scattered across the floor were the restraints that had just a few hours ago held her own wings tight against her sides, the coils of rope that had previously bound her hooves and suspended her from the ceiling laying with them.

Nowhere within the makeshift cellblock was any sign of her herdmates though, as the room looked to be in much worse shape than the last time she had been here, she was in two minds as to whether this was a good sign or not.

“Ma’am, I’ve found blood over here,” Fire called from by one of the cell doors, “it’s red, so it’s not changeling, and I’m sure this is a hand print. Were these here when you left?”

Rainbow moved to where Blue Fire, goggles on forehead, was standing by the opening to the largest cell in the room, the only one they hadn’t forced the door off of during their escape. Behind its bars she could see a foul looking old mattress on the floor and what looked like an upturned fruitbowl, what was left of its contents smeared into the cave floor.

In the next cell, the cell that her stallion had previously been held in, the body of the guard that Lero had... subdued had been dragged away, a trail of green leading out of the cell and towards the door.

Rainbow was glad it was gone, she didn’t want to have to look at it again, to be reminded of what her stallion had had to do to it so they could break free - the memory of the whole thing would probably haunt her for the rest of her life as it was.

As Fire motioned to her discovery, a small patch on the floor at the base of the cell’s bars, Rainbow could see a definite bloody hand print next to it, as well as another on one of the actual bars.

“If human blood dries at the same rate as ours then this is only a few hours old,” the blue-maned scout stated, dabbing at the dark red mess with a hoof-tip.

“Sis,” Scoot called from the other side of the room,“there’s hoofprints here. I think they’re Lyra’s!”

Moving to her sister’s side, Rainbow put her own hoof up next to one of the bloody hoofprints on the stone floor.

“Yeah,” she said, “that’s Lyra’s, I’d know those big ol’ hoofprints anywhere. Me and Twi have almost the same sized hooves but Lyra’s are much bigger. Plus, look here, that looks like that big-ass scar she’s got on her rear left frog from when she was a teenager.”

“She’s limping,” Scoot moved her own forehoof to where the hoofprints moved through the trail of green goo from where the guard’s body had been removed.

“Yeah, looks like she is.” Rainbow agreed as she studied the myriad of scuffs, smears and markings scattered across the floor, “Seems she and Lero made it back here under their own power. From the state of that cell I’d say Twi was here when they arrived. Can’t say when the dead guard was removed but I’d bet at least two ponies and two changelings were in here after that.”

“There’s ah couple’a human shoe prints in th’ goo over here.” Dodge added from where she was standing by the door, the two kitbashers behind her guarding the entrance, “th’ wider bit’s closer to th’ door so that means he’s goin’ out rather than comin’ in, right?”

As the captain opened her mouth to respond, a tingling at her neck told her that Spitfire was calling her. Putting a forehoof to her collar she triggered a response.

“Bronco Team, this is Apple Team,” Spitfire’s voice echoed in her head, “Point A’s deserted. Repeat, point A’s deserted. What’s your status?”

“Apple Team, this is Bronco Team,“ Rainbow replied. “Point B is a bust. Repeat, point B is a bust.”

“Damn. Point A is dead as they come, as is everywhere else we’ve been so far. Looks like somepony shook this place up pretty bad before we got here.”

“Agreed, so far we’ve only had to deal with a hoof-full of guards, nowhere near what we were expecting.”

“We’re seeing lots of scorch marks from minor offensive magic on the walls, and a whole bucket-load of scuffing from brute force fighting, but oddly no bodies,” Spitfire responded. “Plenty of this green goo all over the place though so it looks like some pony bagged at least some of your bad guys.”

“Yeah, we’re seeing the same, looks like they’re dragging away their fallen whenever they find them.” RD sighed, trying hard not to think about how many mysterious patches of green they’d come across on their way in here. “I say we all head to the middle of the hive, see if they’ve holed up in the most defensible chamber. According to Princess Luna’s intel that’d be the throne room.”

“Acknowledged. I’ll contact you again when we find the right door to go knocking on.”

”Just don’t start popping the party favours without me; I got a few things to say to whoever’s in charge around here.” Rainbow cast an eye around the jail with its busted cell-doors and trashed furniture, “For a start, their room service stinks.”

“I hear you. Apple Team out.”

“Bronco Team out.” Rainbow replied before letting her hoof drop away from her collar and turning to her teammates.

“Okay ladies,” she said, “time to saddle up. Looks like we’re taking our complaints straight to the management.”

*************************

As they rounded a corner, the scouts of Bronco Team found themselves at the entrance to a large chamber, one with a huge domed roof and a number of weakly glowing orbs dotted around its edges.

Casting their eyes around the room they could see that the centre of room was open, no furniture or fittings to be seen. In the very centre of the cavern was what appeared to be a huge stone carving of what may, once upon a time, have been some kind of large, winged, four-legged creature - but what kind was anypony’s guess. Spaced around the statue in concentric circles was a large number of mounds, each covered with some kind of cloth or tarpaulin.

As the scouts moved around the room, the rest of the team followed them in, checking shadows and crevices all around the edges of the room for any unwanted surprises, thankfully finding none. Once they were satisfied the room was secure, Brick and Scoot returned to the entrance and took up guard positions.

“Okay,“ Rainbow said as she pulled a magically-created copy of a hoof-drawn map (she hadn’t wanted to ask why the hoof-writing seemed so shaky) from the front of her uniform, “the next chamber after this one should be directly above the throne room.”

Behind her, Snake had lifted one of the sheets to reveal what was underneath.

“Well,” the green mare stated matter-of-factly, “this answers the question of where they’ve been draggin’ the bodies off to.”

Throwing back the cover from the next mound in the circle she revealed yet another final resting place.

“There must be dozens in here,” she added, “looks like your monk... husband’s been a busy boy.”

Rainbow was about to take issue with Snake’s choice of words when Blue Fire motioned to her from one of the mounds laid out from closer to the statue. As the captain joined her, the scout lifted the cover she was holding higher into the air so Rainbow could better see what was underneath it.

“Unless these guys decompose reeeeally quickly,” the scout noted, “this drone’s been dead for weeks, months even. Looks like they’ve been laying their dead to rest in here for quite a while now.”

“Uggh, creepy, who’d want to keep their stiffs around?” came from Snake as she dropped the corner of the blanket she was holding. “Least it doesn’t smell as bad as it cou- hey, check this out, this bug’s using a My Tiny Gecko bedsheet. I had one of these when I was a kid”

Insensitivity aside, the mare was right. Each of the bodies was covered with either a bed sheet or an ancient rug or a ratty old wall hanging, no two sporting the same death shroud. It was as if they’d each been covered over with whatever items could be stolen or scrounged from pony society over the years, each blanket or sheet becoming more threadbare the further from the statue they were located, and therefore presumably more freshly laid out.

While the three of them had been checking over their somewhat morbid discovery, Dodge had been using her goggle’s various settings to investigate some markings on the cavern’s walls that haad caught her eye.

“Guys,” she called softly, “come an’ have ah look at this.”

As the three other mares joined her, she pulled her goggles up onto her forehead, motioning for the others to do the same, and tapped a forehoof against a crystal fastened onto the front of her uniform. Instantly the crystal gave off a brilliant beam of focused white light.

“It’s hard ta see with th’ glow from these orbs but th’ crystal should make it easier. Look here,“ the petite pegasus swung the crystal’s beam to a point on the wall well above her head, “there’s murals all over these walls, Ah think it’s some kind’a record of this hive’s history.”

“Good to see that all that time with the smart-ass here’s been rubbing off on you then,” Snake interjected whilst motioning towards Blue Fire.

“Shut it, Snake,” Rainbow ordered before flicking her own torch into life, the two beams of white now overpowering the sickly yellow glow from the room’s orbs. “Go on, Dodge, what you got so far?”

“Well if we look at this main picture here,” Dodge continued, ignoring the team’s resident pain-in-the-ass, “these three large ponies, see th’ horns an’ wings? Ah think these are th’ three great alicorns.”

“Three alicorns?” Snake asked, ignoring the glares from both Rainbow and Blue Fire.

“Yeah, it’s ah old earth pony belief.” Dodge moved her torch over the image, illuminating first a pink alicorn, then a white alicorn, and finally a dark blue alicorn. “My ma’s brother an’ his herd still believe in it. They reckon that there was ah third alicorn sister who was even older than Princess Celestia, an’ that she was th’ first alicorn, created by th’ creator herself in her own image. This would’a been way back when ponies were still mindless beasts, eating grass straight from th’ ground an’ living free out on th’ great plains wit’ th’ horses.”

“So these two alicorns behind the white alicorn, they’re Princess Celestia and Princess Luna then?” Blue Fire asked. “Their manes and their bodies are pink and blue rather than the white and black of today, but they do match up with how they’re portrayed in the old story books. Look, there’s a sun behind the pink one and a crescent moon behind the blue one, so I’d say that’s definitely them.”

Illuminating her own crystal, Blue Fire played it over the picture, stopping at the image of the third alicorn.

“So this other alicorn here, the white one with the red and orange mane, who’s this?” Rainbow asked, even though she already had a vague idea of the answer. Too many drunken nights with Luna had given her a deeper knowledge of Ancient Equestrian History than a lot of history majors who had paid good bits for theirs. “There’s a oak tree behind her, maybe it’s her cutie mark?”

“That’s Terra.” Dodge supplied.

“Who now?” Snake asked.

“Her name, it’s Terra, the alicorn of th’ earth.” Dodge replied tersely. “Some earth ponies say that th’ creator made th’ three alicorns to serve as her companions, that it can be pretty lonely when none of th’ ponies around ya can even talk yet. Others say that it was part of th’ creator plans ta help ponies evolve, that she wanted us ta have alicorn role models t’ look up ta. Some even say that th’ creator herself looks like ah bone white alicorn with a mane an’ tail made’a roarin’ flames, while others say she’s somethin’ else entirely, somethin’ crazy like ah twistin’ pillar’a fire or ah tall red-maned biped like Master Lero.”

Moving sideways, Dodge shuffled along the wall to the next picture, the other three mares following along behind her. Playing her light across this new image, Dodge revealed again the three alicorns. but this time the blue and pink one had their backs to the white one who in turn had her wings spread wide as they lifted her into the sky.

“The story goes,” Dodge continued, “that Terra an’ her sisters had ah fallin’ out. No pony knows fer sure why she left them but all th’ stories say she then spent decades, maybe centuries even, travelin’ th’ globe, checkin’ out all th’ emergin’ civilisations, never settlin’ anywhere fer too long. While the legends say that Celestia was originally ah unicorn an’ Luna was ah pegasus, they also say that Terra was originally ah earth pony an’ that after she’d left she spent most’a her time with any earth pony tribes that would welcome her. An’ believe me, there were ah lot’a tribes that were more than happy t’ see her. You should see how many ah our oldest legends have her in there somewhere.”

“Our legends?” Snake interjected. “Whad’ya mean ‘our’? You're a pegasus ain’t ya?”

Fixing the larger mare with a death glare, the petite pegasus looked plainly pissed off.

“My parents’a earth ponies,” she growled, “my brother an’ sisters’a earth ponies, my whole darn family’s earth ponies. As far as Ah’m concerned Ah’m ah earth pony. Ah just happen to have wings, that’s all.”

Before the situation could deteriorate any further, Blue Fire put herself between the two. Her partner always hated it when anypony brought up that little quirk of genetics (and any possible playing outside of the herd on her mother’s part) that had birthed a pegasus to what was otherwise a purely earth pony family.

“Anyway,’ she added quickly, “so what happened to Terra?”

“Well,” Dodge continued, still glaring daggers at Snake who took this as a good time to go see if Brick fancied trading positions, “she jus’ kept on wanderin’, always disappearin’ int’a th’ crowds an’ blending int’a th’ herds. Many ah th’ early earth pony stories tell ah her appearin’ out’a nowhere ta help ponies in need before fadin’ back int’a th’ crowd like she was never there.”

“What, as in vanishing?” Rainbow asked.

“Yeah, at times. Other tales tell ah random ponies who’d suddenly turn int’a her, save somepony’s flank, an’ then either run away or jus’ disappear. Then, when that pony was found again later on they’d have no knowledge ah what had happened. Plus witnesses’d put them elsewhere, like it had been some other pony disguised as them the whole time.”

“So,” Blue Fire pondered, “she was like an early changeling?”

“Yeah, I guess. Here, look at these next pictures.”

As they moved further along the wall each of the subsequent pictures that they found had Terra surrounded by smaller copies of herself. With each image the number of copies would increase though they also become darker in colour until they were all almost black.

By the time they reached the last image there were twelve almost entirely black ponies, each with a vibrantly coloured mane and tail, no two with exactly the same colour. Each of the ponies also had both horns and wings which would have given the appearance of a dozen small alicorns if it had not been for the fact that the horns were curved and twisted, and the wings looked more like insect wings than the feathered wings of an alicorn. Of Terra herself there was no sign.

Reaching up, Blue Fire tapped a hoof against one of painted ponies that smiled back at her from the wall.

“So these are the first changelings then?” she said, as much as a statement as it was a question.

“So, do these changelings think that they all... spawned? ...evolved maybe? ...from this third alicorn?” Rainbow asked, pondering the implications. What if... what if these changelings, these so called ‘mindless drones’ that she’d been so intent on smearing across the walls during her escape, what if they were not that different from her? ...or her herdsisters? ...or Sweetie?

“Well, true or not.” Blue Fire motioned to the statue in the centre of the room, which with what they’d just seen, could now be made out to be an extremely ancient and time-worn representation of the alicorn of the earth, “they certainly seem to think so.”

**************

Removing her forehoof from her collar, Rainbow let her connection to Commander Spitfire die away. This was finally it, crunch time. No turning back now... not that there’d ever been any chance of that, not since these bucking bugs had jumped them back on that train to Canterlot not even a full day before. She had to keep telling herself that, however this whole situation ended up, it was the changelings that had started it, though by Celestia she was going to end it.

Turning her attention back to the mission at hoof, she peered over Blue Fire’s shoulder, taking in some of the fuzzy images being displayed on the tiny screen in front of them. As the blue-maned scout fiddled with a series of tiny dials and switches, the coloured blobs and flashing triangles on the scanning device’s screen were occasional accompanied by a soft ‘ping’ or a series of rapid clicks.

“Got anything?” the captain asked.

“I think...” Fire said, nodding towards where Dodge sat a few body-lengths away at the controls of an identical machine, “that we’ve figured out where in the throne room your herd currently are. I’m also picking up a lot of changelings right below us, and I think-” flicking a switch made one of the larger blobs change colour, “that we’ve picked out which one’s the Queen. She keeps moving around like a dog in heat though which isn’t making this any easier.”

“Well if it was easy, kiddo,“ Rainbow clapped a forehoof on Fire’s shoulder, “they wouldn’t be paying us those big bags of bits.”

Twisting her head to look her boss squarely in the eye, “they’re not,” Fire deadpanned.

“Ha, then you need a better agent, kid.” With a quick ruffle of Fire’s mane, Rainbow was away.

In the middle of the room, Scootaloo was putting the finishes touches to her part of of their plan. What could, in other circumstances, have been mistaken for cupcake sized balls of cookie dough had been squashed into the chamber floor marking out a large circle on the rock surface. A length of thin cord ran between each ‘dough ball’ before terminating in a small flat box roughly the size of a thick slice of toast.

“How’s it going with the home improvement plans?” Rainbow asked, watching with interest as her protege squashed the last piece of ‘dough’ into place.

Pushing her goggles up onto her forehead, Scoot used a forehoof to pinch at her brow in an action that always reminded Rainbow of her stallion.

“Well now we know where Lero, Lyra and Twilight are I’m feeling a whole lot better about this.” Scoot rubbed at the back of her head with a forehoof, an old filly-hood habit that resurfaced whenever she was particularly nervous or worried. “I’m just praying they don’t move about though - if I’m gunna be dropping a house on anyone I’m hoping it’ll just be the Wicked Witch of the West down there.”

Rainbow smiled. Even now this old human story was one of Scoot’s favourites and whenever the herd was back in Ponyville she’d always take the time to stop by and read yet another chapter to her ever adoring niece.

Throwing an arm around the youngster, Rainbow pulled her close.

“You’ll do great kid.” she said with confidence. “And then we’re just gunna get in there, grab the family, and then click our heels right out the door before they even know what’s hit them.”

Scoot leaned into the hug. After all, nopony was ever too old for hugs.

“No place like home, right, sis?”

“You got that right kid - there’s no place like home.” After tousling her friend’s mane, Rainbow let her go again. “And we’ll all be back there soon enough.”

*******************

“Okay, scouts, front and centre.”

In front of their captain, Blue Fire and Dodge Charger formed up as a pair, Dodge’s wings clenching and unclenching around her pair of short clubs while Fire let her wingtips rest on the handles of her own weapons where they poked out of their holsters.

“So, the throne room’s directly below us,” Rainbow stated, making sure to look each of her scouts in the eye one after the other, checking for any last minute nerves and finding none. “You both know the game plan?”

“Oh yeah; Scoot blows’a hole in th’ floor, then me an’ Blue here get in there faster’n bats out’a Tartarus-” Dodge began.

“-and if we find anypony that isn’t either unicorn, pegasus or human then we put them down faster than the Sandmare and her bag full of sand. Then, if they look like they’re even thinking about getting back up-” Fire added

“-we make sure they stay down.” Dodge finished for them both.

“Good girls.” Reaching out, Rainbow pulled both of her scouts into a close hug. “Keep it tight in there though - the rest of us’ll be right behind you. Just make sure you watch out for each other, alright? This isn’t some pie-flinging scrap, this is the real deal.”

As the pair were released, the both gave their captain a crisp salute.

“Okay then,” Rainbow turned to Scootaloo and asked, “you about ready, Scoots?”

Scoot held up what looked not unlike a short carrot, a soft green light flashing from where the leaves would have been growing. Somepony, it seemed, had a strange sense of humour.

“Just give the word, sis,” the orange pegasus grinned back.

“Make me proud, kid.” Finally the captain turned her attention to the last two members of their team, “Brick, Snake... You both done stashing that gear yet?”

“Just gotta kick this invisibility enchant into shape and set the timer on the disintegrator just in case and-” with a swift kick, a crunch and a soft melody of beeps from the pair of bags jammed into a crevice by her hooves, which then both flickered and faded out of view, Snake was done. “-yeah, we’re ready to go.”

Rainbow watched the green pegasus as she then set about fastening a pair of sturdy shoes to the soles of her hooves. In the last few minutes the usually sullen mare had changed in her demeanor quite dramatically, looking more and more like a school-filly who’d just been given a huge bag of bits and let loose in Bon Bon’s Bon-Bons with every passing second.

“Okay you two, you go in right after the scouts, look for the heavy hitters. I want to see hooves meeting faces, you got me? Get those brass horseshoes on, we’re done with being stealthy.”

Both kitbashers nodded their acknowledgment - Brick somewhat stoically while Snake looked more like her head was about to drop off. She, on the whole, was waaay too happy about the idea of crackin’ some skulls.

“Right then, ladies. Scoot, on my say-so, you're on.”

Reaching up to her throat, Rainbow touched a forehoof against her collar, sending a signal to Commander Spitfire’s matching scratch crystal.

“Apple Team, this is Bronco Team, are we a go?”

As her team gathered around her, several of them sharing what might be their last embrace, Rainbow occasionally nodded her head in response to a conversation only she and Spitfire could hear.

“Acknowledged. Tell your demo-mare to tie into Scoot’s signal.”

Scoot held out her detonator’s ‘wand’ and, after a tense few seconds, the light on its top changed from green to blue and then back to green.

“Apple team, we have captured your signal. Repeat, we have captured your signal. I hope you’re all dressed to impress over there ‘cos this party’s about to go off with a bang. We’ll meet you at the punch bowl, last one there buys the drinks. Bronco Team out.”

After waiting for Alpha Team’s acknowledgement, Rainbow lifted her hoof from her neck and pulled her goggles back down over her eyes.

“Okay then. Scoot, it’s over to you.” After giving her explosives technician the nod, Rainbow backed away to a safe....ish distance. “Let’s see if our ‘great and powerful’ pyrotechnics expert’s fancy little toys are really worth all the bits we’ve been throwing at her.”

“Okay, team, sing it with me; Three... Two... One...” Scoot grinned wildly as hoof met detonator, “Let’s Rock!”

66: You're as cold as ice, willing to sacrifice. (Hv)

You're as cold as ice, willing to sacrifice.
Chapter published 27th April 2014

**********************

Lero was tired. Really, really tired.

Over the last - what, day or so? - he’d been gassed, kidnapped, dumped in a cell, forced to... well, do something he really didn’t want to think about in order to escape, sent his child away with one of his wives, then fought his way back into the hive along with his second wife before finally passing out against the bars of his third wife’s cell.

On the whole, it had been a pretty crappy weekend so far.

When he’d finally come to for the second time that day he’d found that he’d been moved, along with Twilight and Lyra, to some place that was certainly in the running for the most decrepit, dilapidated and just downright dangerous throne room he’d ever seen.

In the running? Ha, it was winning hands down.

The large domed room? ...cavern? Heck, hole was about the only way to describe it... Whatever it was, it was lit by a small number of dimly glowing orbs mounted around the curved walls, bathing the room with a sickly orange glow that slowly ebbed and pulsed over time.

Scattered around the room were clusters of mismatched furniture, some in half decent condition while most were battered and unfit for purpose. While he knew it certainly wasn't the time or the place for it, some small part of the human’s brain had been studying each piece to see if it would be worth trying to repair them. In most cases, he’d decided it’d be easier, safer and kinder to just burn them and start again.

At every entrance to the room stood groups of changelings while many more patrolled its dimly lit walls in groups of twos and three. They were playing a waiting game, that was obvious, but they couldn’t wait forever..

From beside him came a pained cough, drawing Lero’s attention back to his two wives.

Laying next to him on the cold stone floor, Twilight was propped up against a large throne... if it could even still be called that. Whatever resin or stone it had originally been crafted from had long since started to deteriorate, leaving more of a misshapen mound that once upon a time must have been an breathtaking display of regality, but was now heading its way to becoming not much more than a pile of rubble.

By Twilight’s side, Lyra was doing her best to tend to her herdmate, using what small amount of magic she still had left to ease her discomfort. The almost constant casting of the last few hours had drained her to near exhaustion and, while she was easily one of fastest casters Equestria had ever seen, unfortunately she wasn’t particularly swift when it came to recharging her own magical battery.

When he had first come around, Lyra had filled Lero in on what had happened while he’d been out, about how she’d spent the last of her magic to tend to his wounds whilst also trying her best to free their trapped herdmate from her cell, neither endeavour being particularly successful.

Once the changeling army had finally tracked down their two escapees - they really hadn't expected escaped prisoners to be fighting their way back into a jail - they’d unceremoniously carried all three of them here to this ‘throne room’ and deposited them at the feet of their queen.

Not long after that the Queen had recalled what Lyra estimated to be almost all of her remaining drones back into the throne room, sealing the doors behind them so they were all trapped in here together. Quite what the Queen was expecting to happen next was a mystery, but either way it certainly didn’t bode well for anyone involved.

“How is she?” Lero whispered to Lyra, the minty unicorn's horn glowing erratically as she quickly used up what little amount of magic she'd managed to recharge since her last ministrations. Valiant though the effort was, it didn't seem to help with her fellow unicorn’s discomfort.

“Well, at least she’s stopped getting worse,” Lyra hissed back, her tone coloured with equal measures of desperation, exasperation and anger, “and sadly that’s about the best I can say right now.”

Since their relocation, Twilight had been having trouble and was obviously in some distress. Her breathing was laboured and she was wracked by abdominal pains which came and went in waves. Something was troubling the child within her, causing the tiny filly to kick and wriggle in fits and spurts. Lyra was doing what she could to help but, without Princess Luna to provide her with a top-up of magical energy or to share her thaumalogical expertise, the unicorn was quickly running out of options.

Reaching out with his good hand, Lero stroked at his seething mare’s minty mane.

Since their recapture, Lyra had been like a precariously balanced boulder, teetering on the edge of a cliff, ready to trigger a deadly and unpredictable rockslide at any moment. In all the years he’d known her, the human had never seen his herdmate as... angry as he had this day, though taking the situation into account it probably shouldn't have been all that surprising..

But it hadn't been just anger, and that’s what had him worried about her. In the midst of the fighting he’d seen something in her eyes he’d never seen outside of her more... energetic sparring sessions with either Rainbow or Luna... she had actually been enjoying the battle.

At times, through the cracking of skulls and bucking of flanks, he’d even thought that she might have been enjoying causing these creatures pain a little too much to be healthy. Not that he could say much himself - he wasn’t a fighter by nature, but by god smashing some of these... bug things.. in their stupid ugly faces had been sooo satisfying deep down in places he didn’t like to think too much about.

But Lyra... the look in her eyes as she’d swung her foes around with her magic or trampled them with her hooves... he’d thought at first that she had just been letting off steam, allowing some of the pent up emotions that she usually kept so tightly locked away to bubble to the surface, but pretty soon it had obviously become more than that.

No, it was more like she was releasing her inner demons upon her enemies, wringing from their bodies some kind of revenge, extracting some kind of payment from her victims in the shape of their defeat. More than once he’d had to stop her from outright killing any drones that she’d already knocked unconscious or left incapacitated in some other particularly gooey fashion.

At any other time the look in her eyes would have scared the life out of him. Today, he was just glad she was on his side.

If that’s what fighting these changelings had done to the most composed and self-possessed mare in Canterlot, what would it have done to the rank and file troops, the young mares and stallions of the Royal Guard? Lero was reminded of his college years, the parts of his studies of human history that had covered times of war, the young soldiers of his own race, often going away to war as little more than children, many coming back as broken men and women, empty shells of their former selves just going through the motions of as normal a life as they could manage, and that was only if they came back at all.

Lero knew that Lyra had some kind of history with changelings, back from when some other changeling queen had invaded Canterlot many years ago, months before Lero had even arrived in Equestria. From what she had told him about it - and he didn’t push her on it as it was one of the things in her life she was reluctant to discuss - she’d been part of the small group of ponies who had been directly mind-controlled by Queen Chrysalis, forced to play the role of the imposter princess's happy little bridesmaid, even go so far as to attempt to attack Twilight herself, an event that obviously still troubled her deeply.

Regarding this particular hive, Twilight had filled them in on what she’d learned as best she could. The general gist of it though was that these changelings were dying, their only source of sustenance had become tainted and was slowly killing them from within. Lero wasn’t sure what to make of all this - Lyra had already expressed her opinions and they hadn’t exactly been conciliatory - but one thing was for sure... this was a hive swiftly coming to the end of its life. Those that hadn’t been struck down already, either due to the general decay and disease pervading the hive, or to meeting the wrong end of a makeshift baseball bat, were certainly on there way there anyway.

Opinion between his two present wives was torn as to what they should do next. Lyra was still for biding their time until an opportunity arose, then fighting their way out, preferably causing as much damage as possible on the way out. Twilight was more for waiting for help to arrive and then trying to negotiate some kind of accord with the queen. Currently Lero’s own thoughts were more on their short term survival. What happened after that would be another matter.

One thing was for sure though; this would not end well, not if it didn't end here, today.

Looking about, the human soon spotting just the thing he was looking for. Shuffling himself sideways on his bottom, away from his herdmates, he pulled himself abreast of an old table wooden table. It had obviously seen better days as two of the legs had come off, leaving one end of the tabletop sitting directly on the stone floor. Grabbing the closest of the detached table legs - not as meaty as the leg he’d earlier been using as a weapon but up to the task ahead of it nonetheless - Lero used it for support as he carefully and painfully dragged himself to his feet.

Leaning heavily on his makeshift cane with his good hand, he slowly limped towards the changeling queen, several of her guards watching him closely but making no movement against him until he was a scant few body lengths away. The Queen stood with her back turned, her attention fixed on a darkened stained glass window in front of her. If she was aware of his presence she made no acknowledgment of such.

While the two closest drones watched him carefully, neither of them made a move to stop him as he came closer to their queen. He was almost close enough to reach out and touch her before one of the guards growled at him, an unmistakable warning that he should not try to get any closer.

“It’s not too late you know,” Lero said, “you could just let us go, clear out the hive and make a run for it.”

He lifted his left hand - his aching shoulder complaining the entire time - to gesture around the room at the few dozen changelings that surrounded them. The movement was pointless, the queen could not see the gesture, her back still turned to him as it was.

“You really think you can take on the might of Equestria with this bunch?” Lero let his left hand fall on top of his right, both hands gripping the top of his cane as it held him upright. “If this is all you’ve got left then, to be honest, you couldn’t even take on a Little League squad.”

“Quiet, fool!” the queen snapped, still not turning to face the human. “Every one of my subjects would fight to the death for this hive.“

“You know, when my wife gets back, that’s kinda what I’m afraid of.” Lero sighed, “please, just end this now. I know you're desperate but this course you're on, the only place it’s going to take you is to a disaster.”

“Desperate?” the queen span in place, her face coming down so it was mere inches from Lero’s, the scent of her breath filling the human’s nose as she hissed at him, the smell reminding him of trash cans in summer, “What do you know of desperation? In your comfy homes with your loving families? With your bellies full and your children’s futures secured?”

The queen eyed the human carefully before turning her attention back to her portrait of glass.

“You speak of desperation... you know nothing,” she said, “you know nothing of us, nothing of being hated just for who, or what, you are.”

Stepping back, Lero leant on an ancient high-backed chair in order to keep his balance. Lyra had done what she could about his exhaustion, his blood-loss and his dislocated shoulder but she was almost completely out of magic and what energy she could spare was going in Twilight. Only time and rest would help him now, and neither of those were in plentiful supply right now.

“Do I look like a pony to you?” Lero countered, “I wasn't born here, on this world. I wasn’t exactly ‘Mister Popularity’ when I first got here. And believe me, the world I came from wasn't as nice as this one. Oh yeah, we had our own share of problems.”

After testing the arm of the chair to see if it would take his weight, Lero sat back on it, stretching his legs out in front of him and letting his hands rest on his repurposed table leg between them.

“We had wars, disasters, intolerance, murder, corruption.” Lero continued, not sure that the queen was even listening but letting the words roll on out anyway, “I’ve seen desperation at work, I’ve seen what it can do to otherwise good people. Hell, the world I come from makes this place looks like some sort of saturday morning kiddie’s cartoon. Before I was even two years old I lost my uncle to the biggest act of terrorism our planet had ever seen. Over two and a half thousand humans died in a single morning.”

The queen turned her head, eyeing the human carefully, looking for signs that would give away the fact that the human was just making all this up. Using these outlandish claims to try and sway her opinion. Two and a half thousand people? Even in it’s heyday the population of her own hive had never reached even close to that number. To lose that many would be like losing one of the largest hives, the kind not seen on this world for many centuries now.

As she watched the strange biped as he sat there, his attention on his own hands as he held onto that stick thing that he seemed to need to walk about, she was surprised when he lifted his head to catch her own gaze. he didn’t look like he was lying, he just looked... tired.

“All gone, just like that,“ the human said, “and if you carry on like this, that’s what’ll happen to you. If you push these ponies too far, they’ll lash out in return. If I’ve learnt anything about herd creatures, it’s that threatening them as a group is not a good idea. In small numbers they’ll panic and scatter, but get enough of them together and they’ll crush you underfoot. You can’t win, not like this. This road you’re on only leads to ruin, trust me on this.”

Letting himself sag, Lero leant his right shoulder against the back of the chair, the side of his head against a number of intricate carvings now hidden under layer upon layer of encrusted dirt.

“But, maybe you never meant to win.” Lero’s eyes never left that of the queen. “I may not have been able to pick up the musical accompaniment to that little song and dance you did for us a while back, but I know a funeral dirge when I hear one. Maybe what you’re really wishing for is just an end to your suffering, any end. Better to go out in blaze of glory that just fade away, eh? Better than just dying in a gutter somewhere? Better than just slipping away unnoticed and unremembered? Is that it? Is that what you were looking for?”

“NO!” The queen shouted as she moved towards the impertinent human, stamping a imperious forehoof against the rocky floor, “We WILL live, we WILL fight, we WILL survive! I don’t care of the cost! I will do WHATEVER it takes!”

“Whatever it takes, eh? And ‘whatever it takes’ means starting a war?” Lero responded, not flinching, not moving at all as the queen came closer, “did you think to ask for help? Did you even consider coming forward, stepping out of the shadows, explaining what’s happened to you and just asking for a helping hand?

“A queen does not ask!” Queen Auriela snarled as she pulled herself up to her full height in an effort to belittle the silly biped, “A queen does not beg! She takes!”

“DID YOU EVEN TRY?” came the bellowed reply from the angry human.

Shocked by man’s sudden increase in both volume and ferocity, the queen stepped back, her brain struggling to comprehend what had just happened. She’d never had her actions questioned before, and certainly not like this, by an angry biped, and a male at that... and she’d most definitely never been shouted at by one before.

“You say you will do whatever it takes?” Lero pressed on while the queen was on the backhoof, lifting his head from the chairback, leaning forward as best he could, resting his weight on his cane. “You want to know what to do for your people? Well if you have to beg and bow, if you have to put your face to the floor and throw yourself at their mercy, if that’s what it takes to save her people then that’s what a queen should do.

“But I know you, you and your kind. My people have had many leaders like you. Rulers, dictators, kings and queens, all like you, claiming to be working in the best interest of their people... but when it comes down to it it’s lies, it’s all lies. I know your kind, it’s all about power and control. Inside their hearts they’re just black and they’re hollow and they’re cold.”

Lero was running out of strength, all this shouting was taking it out of him, He had to save what he had left.

“Don’t be like that, be better than that.” Leaning back, his head once more against the chair back, he closed his eyes. “Twilight told me about your sister. I heard what she tried to do in Canterlot years ago. It didn’t work... what makes you think this, any of this, will go down any better?

“You sit here in your hive and you look out at the world and all you see is what you want to see. Your sister looked at all the little ponies and she saw a nation to be enslaved, you look and you see a future to be stolen, to be cajoled, to be blackmailed. Both of you, all your eyes see is something to take. You look and you see and you want... you have to look with better eyes than that.”

Though Lero couldn’t see it through closed eyes, the queen was conflicted. None had questioned ever her before, none had ever suggested that there might be a different way, an opinion that mattered other than her’s. The path had always seemed so clear, so plainly laid out before her. But no, she was on a course, there was no turning away from it now. Best to see it through to the bitter end.

“No, you seek to confuse me, to test my resolve,” the queen stated, “but my choice has been made and I will not waver from it, we will see it out to its conclusion and that is final.”

Even though he barely had the energy to open his eyes Lero made to speak again, but before he could the queen turned her back on him, marking the end of the conversation.

“So speak no more foolish human, for your words fall on deaf ears. Close your mouth before I close it for you... permanently.”

“Then we’ve failed... both of us.” Lero whispered, not caring if his words reached her or not. He was tired. so tired. Maybe a nap would help. It couldn’t hurt, could it? “There are none so blind as those who will not see, and none so deaf as those who will not listen. I think we’re done here.“

And they were, they were done. Whatever transpired next was out of his hands. At least Sweetie was safe. He’d made sure long ago that if anything were ever to happen to the herd then Big Mac, Cheerilee and Fluttershy would take Sweetie in and raise her as their own. Plus, Princess Luna would move heaven and earth to keep her safe, of this she had promised, hoof over heart, and when the princess of the night made a solemn oath then not even a pinkie promise held more weight.

So, the changeling queen had made her choice, the die was cast, the fate of her hive inevitable. For right or for wrong she had done what she thought was best for her children, as he had done the same for his.

As he could feel the soft warmth of unconsciousness start to take him, to wrap his very being like a blanket, Lero’s ears twitched, actually twitched. He could swear.. yes, it was faint, but at the very edge of his hearing he could swear he had heard Scootaloo’s voice.

Let’s Roccccck!

Before he knew what was happening there was a pair of deafening roars, the twin booms, so close together they blended into one, were so immense that the shockwaves alone threw him from his seat.

As he lay in a dazed heap behind what was until very recently an antique chair, his ears ringing from what had to be an explosion, his lungs filling with dust as it billowed in clouds around him, he could hear his sister calling for him, telling him to get out of bed or he’d be late for school.

“Move, move, move!” Nausicaa shouted as Lero’s right arm, still clutching at his table-leg cane, waved in the general direction of his bedroom door, letting her know he’d be up in just five more minutes... maybe ten.

But wait, that wasn’t Nausi... that was...

...that was Rainbow! Rainbow was here... and Scoot! Scoot was here too!

Pushing himself upright Lero found that the throne room had erupted into some kind of chaos. On opposite sides of the room were two large holes in what used to be the domed ceiling, through which was pouring a number of black clad pegasus ponies.

All hell was breaking loose as the ponies sprang from the hole, either tackling any of the confused changeling guards they could get their hooves on or taking up defensive positions behind whatever large pieces of furniture or piles of rock and rubble they could find.

Clouds of dust and dirt filled the air as Lero clambered to his feet, mixed with the chittering cries of panicked changelings and barked shouts of angry ponies. As the queen moved away from him, calling orders to what remained of her guards left and right, the human saw an opening... so he took it.

“Hey, bug queen!“ He yelled at the changeling monarch, her attention drawn away from him as it was by the ruckus. “I’m still here.”

As Queen Auriela turned back to face him, Lero curled his fingers around his cane, sweeping it in an arc behind him before hefting it in a mighty one handed swing directly into his captor’s face. Caught unawares the queen had no time to move, the long lump of wood catching her square in the mouth, twisting her head upon her neck and sending her reeling.

Spitting out green blood, and a single dislodged fang, she turned back to her attacker.

“YOU FOAL! HOW DARE Y-”

The queen’s cry was short lived as Lero charged towards her like a man possessed, his actions fueled by desperate hope and pure adrenaline, his body pulling from reserves of both that he had long though depleted.

Reactions dulled by the pain from her missing fang, the queen wasn't fast enough to move out of the way as the human suddenly dropped the club, using his now free right hand to grab at her neck.

But he wasn't trying to actually grab her, instead he wrapped his right arm around her neck and ran past her, using his momentum to swing himself around her and up onto her back. Once there he wrapped his legs around her barrel and latched the fingertips of his right hand under one of the natural armour plates in her chitinous skin, using it as a handhold as the queen tried her best to throw off her unwanted rider as he pulled and twisted at her neck.

“You fool,” the queen shouted, “you have not the strength to kill me.”

“Oh, I'm not trying to break your neck,” Lero responded, his head tucked under the changeling's chin so she couldn’t see what it was that he was doing with his free hand.

Queen Auriela felt a sudden sharp pain. Craning her neck as much as she could just see the human’s hand against her throat, his fingertips having pried up one of her neck plates. Between the edges of her natural armour, at a point at which two pieces of chitin would move over each other so that she could rotate her head, the human had forced a long piece of coloured glass, obviously taken from the ancient stained glass portrait she had been looking at earlier, before the invader’s shockwave had broken it into a thousand shards.

Whatever colour the glass may have been minutes before, it was now stained red with the human’s own blood, seeping from his fingers as he pushed the shard ever deeper into her flesh. Rivlets of human blood ran down the razor sharp edge of his weapon, mixing with the green of the queen’s own as it oozed up from beneath her plates.

“I’m not the world’s greatest expert on changeling physiology, “ the human admitted, “but I'm willing to bet that another inch or so and I’ll start cutting through something you’re pretty fond of, like a major artery or your windpipe or whatever, so I’d think about staying very still if I were you.”

“You wouldn’t!” the queen hissed.

“Oh, you think so?” the human laughed, “you kidnap my family, threaten my child, threaten my wives, threaten the whole of Equestria and you think I won’t kill you?”

“You’d die too! Even if you could kill me, I’d condemn you with my last breath. My guards would have you dead before my body even hit the floor.”

“You think I don’t know that? You think that even matters to me now? You’ve made this fight of yours an obsession, you’ve let it consume you and it’s never going to end if I don’t do something about you now I’ve got the chance. You wanted to follow this to the bitter end, well this is the end that your actions brought about. You want to know what obsessions bring, well this is it, this is what it brings. It brings you nothing... nothing but heartache and death.”

Letting his face rub upwards and against the side of the queen’s head, Lero pushed his lips up to the changeling's ear. As he spoke she could feel his breath against her skin, each word brushing against her almost seductively.

“So to the last will I grapple with thee.”

Pulling his legs tighter around her barrel, Lero squeezed her tight between his thighs.

“From hell’s heart I will stab at thee.”

Pushing at the exposed end of the glass, the blade digging deeper into his own flesh, Lero moved the tip deeper into his quarry’s neck.

“And for hate’s sake I will spit my last breath at thee.”

His lips brushed against the soft edge of her ear, gentle as a lover’s touch. If this was how they were going out, then they were going out together.

“You can’t be serious?” the queen stammered, her voice betraying real unadulterated fear as it oozed from her body along with her very own precious life blood.

Her helpless captive turned overwhelming captor just whispered into her ear, his words as soft as silk on skin.

“Try me!”

67: Would you kill the Queen to crush the hive? (Hv)

Would you kill the Queen to crush the hive?
Chapter published 13th May 2014

************

“Okay, team, sing it with me; Three... Two... One...” Scoot grinned wildly as hoof met detonator.

“Let’s Rock!”

Even from a safe... ish distance - and with the sound deadening enchants in the ear sections of her uniform kicking in momentarily as soon as the detonator was pressed - Rainbow still wasn’t truly prepared for the sheer teeth-rattlingly loud boom that followed.

Within seconds of Scoot’s carefully controlled detonation vast clouds of dust and particles of debris filled the entire chamber, covering the team and leaving the formerly black fabric of their Shadowbolt outfits as more of a muted grey. With the noise of the explosion still echoing its way around the vast network of caverns, all six squad members beat their wings in order to clear as much of the dusty haze from the chamber as they could. As the smoke cleared and visibility improved, self cleaning enchants in their clothing kicked in, shrugging off the dirt and grime, leaving each uniform as spotlessly clean and dark as it had been minutes before.

With the air cleared, Rainbow was glad to see that Trixie’s little toys had done their job just as well as she had promised, if not better. One heck of a egotistical braggart the unicorn show-mare may have been, but she sure knew her stuff when it came to making things go ‘snap’, ‘crackle’ or ‘pop’. The spells built into her ‘blow-dough’ had channeled virtually all of the explosive force downwards into the rock and had carved a surprisinglyneat hole into the chamber floor, more than big enough for a pegasus to fly through into the room below... which was a good thing as that was exactly what they were about to do with it.

“OK, scouts, time to do your stuff!” RD bellowed, “Everypony else, let’s do it by the numbers. Move! Move! Move!”

Before she had even finished shouting, Blue Fire and Dodge Charger were through the hole and gone, their tails disappearing in the badly lit gloom of the throne room itself. With twin cries of “YEAH! LET’S DO THIS!”, Snake and Brick dove into the hole after their team mates, Snake almost bowling the larger stallion over in her eagerness to start bucking flanks and taking names.

Pausing only to check that Scoot was right behind her, Rainbow dropped through the hole and into the immense chamber below.

To say what she found there was organised bedlam would have been giving it too much credit.

Coming to land behind a large pile of rubble - the result of Scoot’s remodeling of the ceiling above - Rainbow flattened herself against the huge piece of rock and poked her head out. Up ahead of her she could see Dodge and Fire darting their way around the room, ducking and diving behind any decrepit old furniture or scattered piles of debris they could find, popping out into view only long enough to clout any unfortunate changelings that stumbled into hooves-reach with their clubs. As the pair worked their magic, Rainbow knew it would only be a matter of seconds before the banter started.

“Oh, horseapples!” *crack* “We’re gunna die.”

Yep, there it was. RD could hear Dodge shouting to her partner above the noise, as much to keep her mind off of her nerves as it was to let Fire know exactly where her more diminutive friend was at any given time.

“We're not gonna die.” Blue Fire shouted back between club-swings, “we can't die, Dodge. And you know why? Because we are so...” *thump* “very...” *crack* “pretty. We are just too pretty for the creator to let us die.” *thump* “Look at this flank, huh? You ever seen booty this fine anywhere else?”

Changeling bodies flew through the air - one still semi conscious, though not for long as landing near Fire’s hindlegs earned it a swift introduction to both a well placed hoof and the land of dreams - as Snake’s mighty form charged between her two much smaller team-mates.

“HAVE IT!” the cyclopic pegasus cried as she grabbed the closest pair of changelings, tossed one to her partner and headbutted the other into oblivion. A swift face/shoe interface on Brick’s part quickly sent his own changeling off to meet his partner’s victim somewhere in lala-land before both kitbashers jumped back off into the fray.

Brick and Snake were obviously taking more of a ‘shock and awe’ approach than their teammates; the two of them barreling through the middle of the room together, making as much noise as ponily possible, the sandmare enchants in their armoured horseshoes taking down targets as quickly and as surely as the scout’s clubs.

While Bronco Team were making definite in-roads into enemy territory, the changelings were putting up a good fight - for every drone that the team took down at least one more seemed to pop up from nowhere.

“Less yapping, more slapping, ladies!” Rainbow shouted as she grabbed two drones and cracked their heads together, “pick your targets, make them count. Scoot, stick with me.”

“Sweet mother of Celestia,” Scoot whistled, uppercutting an unfortunate assailant that had mistakenly thought her a tasty target, “it’s like they’re coming out of the walls.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow paused in her bout of hoofycuffs just long enough to survey the scene, confident her ‘little sis’ could handle herself for the moment, “but so are we! Check it out.”

On the other side of the room, streaming from a hole much the same as the one Bronco Team had sprung from seconds before, were the six pegasi of Apple Team. Squad leader Spitfire barked orders from up high as her own squad spread out across the room, all kicking flank like they were fresh out’a bubblegum and not all happy about it.

While Bronco team were playing an offensive game on the ground, Apple team were gunning for aerial dominance, and one thing they weren’t about to take was ‘no’ for an answer.

With Spitfire and her second-in-command, Sweet Pea, keeping the rest of their team in order - calling orders, warnings and words of encouragement from their positions high in the cavern’s domed roof - the remaining four had split into pairs and were tag-teaming their way across the room, taking down any changeling that took to the air within seconds and generally owning the skies like they’d found it in a bargin bin.

“There!” Scoot shouted from where she was hovering a few body lengths above Rainbow’s head, ducking as a dazed changeling plummeted past her to meet a sudden - and inevitable - full-stop on the wall behind them, “I can see Twilight and Lyra; they’re over there, middle of the room. On that central dias whatsit by the big throne thingy.”

“Good spot,” with just a few beat of her wings, RD was also in the air, soon spying her herdmates on the other side of the room just as Scoot had described, “let’s get over there.”

Keeping low to the ground, their hooves barely a body-length above the floor, the two of them weaved their way across the cavern, greeting any changelings that came their way with the traditional Shadowbolt greeting of a hoof to the face (admittedly it was early days but this was one tradition that was already well on its way to becoming firmly established) they soon reached the centre of the room.

A plainly exhausted Lyra, still standing guard over her fellow unicorn though she could barely stand herself, was waiting for them as they landed.

“Twi!” Rainbow called to her herdmate, alarmed by the way the unicorn was lying on her side, eyes closed and breathing heavily, “you ok?”

Lifting her head, Twilight opened and eye and gave her wife a weak, pained smile. It may not have been the most reassuring smile in the world, but it was still a smile and Rainbow took that as a good sign.

“I’ve been better.” Twilight grimaced before a sudden wave of pain overwhelmed her, forcing her eyes as she tried to will the pain away..

“Okay, Scoot’s going to look you over,” Rainbow moved out of the way so her teammate could get closer to the distressed unicorn, “that okay with you?”

Eyes still closed, Twilight nodded slowly which Scoot took as permission to start checking her over. As Rainbow pulled a reluctant Lyra away from their herdmate, the younger pegasus went to work, checking Twilight’s vitals and asking questions about her condition.

“Hiya, Horny,” Rainbow pulled a shaky Lyra into a hug, “I told you I’d be back.”

“You took your sweet time,“ on any other day Lyra’s return hug would have cracked Rainbow’s spine, “I see you brought the kiddies with you.”

“Yeah, well, they fancied a day out and I didn’t have the heart to leave them at home.” Rainbow let Lyra go, the pegasi both surprised by how weak the grandmaster was, and as impressed as heck that she was even managing to stay upright without help, “Where’s Lero?”

“Over there,” Lyra tossed her head over towards the cavern’s west wall, it was about all the movement she could manage right then. Turning to face the direction that Lyra had indicated, Rainbow couldn’t believe what she saw.

“Mother of Celestia!” she cried, “has he got her in a headlock?”

“Certainly looks like it.”

“Wow. Shame he didn’t do that to Honeydew back when he had the chance.” Rainbow’s eyes went wide as the writhing queen turned, bringing her neck into view and revealing Lero’s hand as it was held against her throat. “Whoah, horseapples, he’s got a blade. I’d better go help him.”

As Rainbow went to move away, a feeble hoof pulled at her hindleg. Turning she found that it was Twilight that was holding her back.

“Don’t let him hurt her.” The unicorn cried weakly, her voice barely audible over the noise of ongoing battle that still surrounded them.

“What?” A wide-eyed Lyra responded with a grunt of shock. “No no no! Rainbow, feel free to hurt her. I’m all for that.”

“No,” Twilight shook her head, opening her eyes to look up at Rainbow, “she’s confused, desperate. They’re sick, she needs our help. Don’t hurt her... help her. Please.”

“NO,” Lyra shouted, as if she was unable to believe what she was hearing, ”strike now, while we have the advantage. Play to win, that’s what sensei taught us. Remove the head and you remove the threat.”

“No,” Twilight’s breathing became heavier, “she’s just trying to save her young.”

“NO!” Lyra feebly stamped a hoof in a way that would have cracked stone had she been at full power, “Then that’s all the more reason to take her out now! There’s nothing more dangerous than a threatened mother, you never know what they’ll do.”

Lyra was angry, really really angry. Rainbow could see it in her eyes. She’d never seen the usually unflappable grandmaster as furious and as determined as she was right now.

And to be honest, it was a bit scary.

“She’s weakened, we have her.” Lyra turned her gaze to Rainbow, her eyes changing from angry to pleading, “she had her chance... she made her move and she lost. We should put her down for good, now, while we still can.”

“No, we can’t.” Twilight pulled her hoof back from Rainbow’s leg and held it against her own chest as she coughed. “She’s crazy, yes, but I don’t think she’s evil. She needs our help, really needs it... she just doesn’t know how to ask for it.”

“Don’t trust them,” Lyra grabbed Rainbow by the shoulders, “you can never trust them. I learnt that that hard way, when they invaded Canterlot. I was on to them, I had her sussed, but they caught me, used me, turned me... turned me into a puppet. They took away from me what was mine, the only thing that was still mine...”

Releasing her herdmate’s shoulder, Lyra tapped a forehoof against her head, as if she was trying to knock an idea loose and failing miserably.

“I spent years getting my head, my life, back under my own control... and then she took it all away from me again, the one thing that was mine! Just like that! They twisted me into some kind of brainwashed drone. We can’t trust them, any of them... ever! I’ll never forgive them for what they did to me, what they made me do. We have to deal with them now, all of them. Before it’s too late!”

Rainbow turned to see what how Lero was doing. The human was still wrapped around the changeling queen, clinging tightly with his legs clamped around her barrel and an arm around her neck. She was standing very very still, but she was still alive though the expression on her face transcended species... she was obviously terrified.

Turning back to Lyra, Rainbow paused for a second before responding to her herdmate’s plea.

“You know why I was given the element of loyalty?” the pegasi asked. “Because sometimes it’s about making the hard decisions, the unpopular choices that no mare should have to make. Sometimes you’ve gotta make that call, cos nopony else will... or should ever have to. And then you’ve gotta have the strength to stand by that decision, no matter what happens next.”

Pulling Lyra towards her, Rainbow hugged her wife tightly, knowing that what she was about to say would ruffle a few feathers.

“So here’s my decision.”

The pegasus let her unicorn herdmate go, but not without making sure that Lyra could see the look in her eyes, the expression that said the choice was made and there’d be no arguments about it.

“We’re saving them, all of them. No one dies today, not on my watch, not if I can help it.”

Lyra opened her mouth to speak but said nothing. Instead she rocked back and forth on weary hooves, her agitation plastered across her features as an internal battle raged deep within her.

From the floor behind her came Twilight’s voice, her words shaky and forced through laboured breathing as Scootaloo busied around her.

“Lyra, you know she’s right,” the pregnant mare said, her words not much more than a hoarse whisper. “We’re not monsters... and I don’t think that they are either. We’re scared and desperate, all of us... but we can still fix this.”

As Twilight’s words sank in, Lyra hung her head, her body visibly sagging as anger and frustration and pent-up energy fled from her form.

“Go,” she said quietly, “do what you want.”

“Good girl,“ Rainbow pulled the minty unicorn into another hug, ”it’ll work out, I promise.”

Ending the hug, Rainbow lifted Lyra’s head with a forehoof and placed a quick kiss on her forehead, just below her horn. Lyra tried to give her a small smile in return, but her heart just wasn’t in it.

Reaching down to where Scootaloo was still checking Twilight’s form over, Rainbow cast an eye over the proceedings and was satisfied that there was nothing immediately life threatening about her herdmate’s condition.

“Scoot, do what you can for Twi, I’m gunna go help Lero. I’ll be back in a minute, I promise.”

After giving Twilight what she hoped was her most confident grin, Rainbow turned and made her way across the bedlam that was the throne room, hoping that by now her stallion hadn’t done anything that they couldn’t fix.

As Rainbow drew closer to where Lero and the Queen struggled, the human must have said something to the queen as she suddenly started writhing and twisting and generally doing her best to throw the human from her back again.

Once she came to with a scant few body-lengths of the tussling pair, the pegasus could just about make out the hissed conversation between the two of them.

“You can't be serious?” the queen asked, her voice wavering, fear spread thickly through her otherwise raspy and guttural tones.

“Try me,” the human whispered into her ear as his hand pushed whatever it was he was using as a blade further into the queen’s neck, her eyes opening wider as the cutting edge pushed its way deeper into her flesh.

With his attention focused solely on his unwilling steed, his teeth clenched and brow furrowed with both a deep determination and something else that Rainbow had never seen before. So intent was he on his... well, ‘prey’ was the only word that came to mind... that the human didn’t notice his wife standing just a few feet away from him.

“Hey, big guy,” Rainbow called softly, hoping that she wouldn’t spook him. Making him jump right now could end really badly for his captive and, much as she knew Lyra wouldn't mind, negotiations didn’t usually end well when one party was dead.

Quickly? Yes. Favourably? No.

The way her stallion’s bloodied hand remained wrapped around his makeshift blade while the other curled its fingers against his victim’s neck...

The way that his teeth were clenched so hard that blood was now mixing with the spittle around the edges of his mouth...

The way his eyes shifted almost imperceptibly from the side of the terrified queen’s face to her own...

The way he sized her up, just for a second...

...and she knew, just knew, that in that split second, in some some small, deeply buried part of her lover’s brain, his predator’s instincts had been sizing her up as a potential target.

Rainbow had never, ever been scared of her stallion before today, but in that brief moment, as ancient prey species instincts kicked into life deep in her own brain, she’d never been so truly frightened in her life.

“Hey, Lero,“ Rainbow said softly, pushing any fear she might be feeling aside, “think maybe you could let go of her for me?”

His eyes never leaving hers, Lero shook his head by just the tiniest amount, a barely perceptible movement that she wouldn't have seen had she not been looking right at him.

“Not happening,” he growled through clenched teeth, “you might be one of these changeling things. How do I know this isn’t a trick?”

The human’s hand gripped even tighter at the changeling’s neck, causing her to gasp for breath. Queen Aurelia’s eyes, the only thing she dare move right now, flicked back and forth between her captor and the only thing right now that seemed to be delaying her death.

“Good point, you’ve got me there,“ Rainbow agreed, the queen squeaking in dismay as the rest of her life flashed before her eyes- it was distressingly short.

“Hey, how about something a changeling wouldn’t know about us?“ Rainbow asked.

“Go on,” Lero grunted, still not taking his eyes off of the pegasus.

“Okay, so you know I’m the element of loyalty...”

“Oh, come on! Even the changelings know that.” Lero snapped, pulling the queen’s head closer to his face. “You knew that, right?”

Grimacing in pain, the queen nodded very slowly and very, very carefully.

“Yes...” she sputtered, “we knew that.”

“See”, Lero grinned, the blood on his teeth was not an attractive look, “they knew that.”

“Well, yeah.” Rainbow agreed, quickly adding while she still had her stallion’s attention, “But here’s the thing, big guy, I’m the element of loyalty for a reason. Like Luna said, it’s not just about being true to your friends, but also about being true to yourself, and encouraging others to do the same. What was it you said, years ago? Back when we let Rainbow Connection go for good? ‘To this above all...’?”

Letting her words hang in the air, Rainbow prayed that, even in this deranged and irrational state, Lero would be able to remember that day all those years ago. When they’d laid to rest a mare who’d been a good friend to him... and had been even more than that to Rainbow herself. In truth, who could be closer to you than another version of yourself?

She didn’t have to wait long for Lero to respond, her words floating back to her. As the words passed his lips his fingers loosened around the queen’s neck, the changeling at least now free to breathe even though he still held her quite tightly...

’To this above all, to thine own self be true.‘

“Yes,” Rainbow almost shouted with relief, “we should be true to ourselves, and you should be true to you, always! And this? This isn't you.”

With a sweep of one wing, Rainbow took in Lero and the Queen, his fingers on her throat, his hand against the oozing wound on her neck.

“You’re a lover, not a fighter, big guy. A father and a teacher and a provider and all those other great things... but you're not a killer, this isn’t you.”

Stepping closer, a single wing outstretched, the pegasus gently brushed a wingtip against her mate’s face.

“Come down from there, please, before you do something we can’t undo.”

With his lover’s wing against his cheek, Lero looked around the cavern for the first time since he’d seen his chance and made his desperate move.

From his wife’s face his eyes roamed around the room, taking in the the few remaining changing guards still standing as they were herded into small groups, to the Shadowbolts doing the herding, from the piles of debris and broken furniture that littered to room to where he could make out the green of Lyra’s coat and the purple of Scootaloo’s mane as they tended to Twilight as she lay against the remains of the queen’s throne.

It was over... it really was over.

Releasing his hold on the queen’s neck, Lero lifted a leg as if to get off of his captive’s barrel, though his rapidly fleeing strength meant that he more slid from her back and into his wife’s waiting hooves. With the queen all but forgotten, the two embraced like their lives depended on it, the tired, battered and bloody human pulling the smaller mare against his chest with every ounce of what little strength he had left.

“You came back!“ the human cried into Rainbow’s shoulder as she returned the hug.

“Of course.” Rainbow stroked at her mate’s hair as he collapsed into her, the human falling to his knees as if all of his bones had suddenly been turned into rubber and were no longer strong enough to hold him up. “Didn’t I say I would? Dashie always delivers, you know that.”

While the two recently reunited lovebirds were... busy - Lero was reeeally glad to be rescued, and it seemed RD was just as glad that he was still alive to be rescued - Blue Fire and Dodge Charger arrived on the scene.

The pair of scouts quickly took up guard positions on either side of the changeling queen, making it quite obvious to the defeated monarch that she was to stay exactly where she was. They also made it plain that if she didn't do as she was told then not only would they make sure that she wouldn’t make it far but they’d be sure to do it with a smile on their faces. Dodge was very emphatic about this point.

After giving their squad leader a few more precious seconds with her husband, Fire cleared her throat in order to get Rainbow’s attention.

“Hey, boss,” she asked, “what you want done with Queeny here?”

“Err, what? Nothing.” Rainbow self consciously pushed an errant portion of her mane back out of her face “That’s for the princesses to decide. Just make sure she doesn’t try anything until they can get here.”

“Yes, ma’am. Already on it, ma’am.” Fire smirked as her fearless leader wiped at her face with a forehoof. Kissing a sweaty, bloody, dirt-covered human had left marks all over the mouth part of her uniform that she was only managing to smear around rather than clean off.

“Ahem, yeah, carry on then.” Rainbow gave up on cleaning her outfit when she noticed that whatever Lero had jammed into the Queen’s throat was not only still in there but that it was also obviously causing her a not inconsiderable amount of discomfort.

“And see if you can get one of Apple Team’s medics over here to get whatever’s in her neck out without hurting her,” she added.

“It changes nothing, little pony,” the queen muttered sadly, “we’re still done for. If we do not die today, we will still die some other day.”

“Hey lady, don’t give up so easy!” leaning forward, Rainbow poked the large changeling in the chest with the forehoof that wasn't holding her stallion up, “you're not dead yet, so there’s still hope. The show’s not over ‘till the fat griffin sings.”

“The fat...?” Queen Aurelia tilted her head, wincing as the movement caused the edge of Lero’s blade to dig further into her flesh, “what does an overweight griffin have do with anything?”

As she smiled down at Lero, one of his arms slung around her shoulders as he sagged against her side, Rainbow pulled the human into another hug.

“Never mind, “ she said, “I’m sure Lero will have a great time explaining that one to you some other time. Right now let’s just-”

“Hey! Sis!”

Scoot’s frantic shout drew everyone's attention. “You’d better get over here. This doesn't look- urgh!”

“What is it?” Rainbow called back, finding turning in place harder to do while propping up a large, semi-collapsed human. When she did manage to to get a good look at her young teammate she found that the orange pegasus’ uniform was soaking wet and the front of her mane was plastered to her face and dripping with something that definitely wasn't water.

“Oh by Luna, this doesn’t look good.” Lyra called out, wiping at Scoot’s face as the younger mare started pulling medical supplies from within the many pouches on her belt. “Twi’s waters just broke. We’re foaling over here!”

“What, now?” Even with a human in tow, Rainbow was at her herdmate’s side within seconds.

“But she’s not due for months!” she stammered as she dropped Lero off by Twilight’s head before joining Scootaloo and Lyra down by the unicorn’s tail.

“Tell that to the baby!” Scoot grinned wildly as she slathered copious amounts of hoof-cleanser all over her forelimbs, “Okay ladies, best clean yourselves up because ready or not, I think the newest member of the family’s about to arrive.”

Author's Note

So, neither spell checked nor sense checked... I just wanted to get this chapter out there while I've got a teeny-tiny gap in my real life to do something with it.

The hive arc's only got 2 chapters left now, then I can get back to the more light-hearted stuff. Yay!

68: Do you see what we've done? (Hv)

Do you see what we've done?
Chapter published 19 May 2014

*************************

It was over.

They had lost.

She had planned, she had schemed, she had made her move.

She had failed.

Seated as she was, alone but for her guard of a duo of wingtip happy pegasi, Queen Aurelia surveyed the consequences of her actions.

On her left hoof side, the remaining few of her guard still standing were being held, corralled like the griffins held their cattle. She knew that they had fought well- they had made her proud, each and every one of them. She had known that every single guard, every last drone would have fought until they were unable to go on, that they would have spilt their last drop of blood, breathed their last breath for her. And looking around the room, at the immobile forms strew around floor, the twisted limbs, the torn gossamer wings, the green stains splashed around the room, staining the intruder’s uniforms. She knew that this was what she had wrought. All this, it was on her head.

Turning to her right, she watched her former prisoners. They swarmed around the purple one, the one with the rainbow mane talking to her, not seeming to need to stop for breath. The biped cradled the pregnant one’s head, held it in his... lap? He was rocking back and forth, as she had once seen a small, scared pony child do, so many years ago when she had found it lost in the forest. The pregnant one writhed, turning this way and that as pain coursed through her body.

The one with the orange wings and the purple mane, she seemed to be in charge, but even the queen could see that she was in over her head. Even without opening herself to their emotions she could feel the rising panic radiating from the young pony’s form.

The green unicorn - what was her name? It all seemed so clear to her not so long ago. Now it was as if the last few days? weeks even? They were drowned in a haze, like a fog was rolling over her memories - the unicorn, she was talking to the orange pegasus. She was angry, this was clear, but it was an anger born of fear, not of malice. She was scared.

“Do something!” the green one shouted.

“I’m trying!” the orange one replied, “I trained as a medic, not a midwife. Our training’s more for combat injuries than... this. They expected us to be patching up holes, not pulling babies out of them.”

As the purple one squirmed and cried out in pain, the orange one had to duck to avoid a hind hoof to the face. Chaos begat more chaos as more voices joined the fray.

“Crap, she’s red-bagging, we need to get it out right now.”

“What?”

“The embryo sack, it’s red... see. The child’s gunna suffocate if we don’t get her out of there.”

“Oh shit!”

“Ok, I got her, I’m gunna give her a pull”

“Twi! Stay with me... stay with me honey.”

“She’s not coming hooves first... horseapples, the cord’s tangled, it’s choking her.”

“Strangulation, choking’s internal.”

“Whatever, shut up and help me out here.”

“TWILIGHT! No, no, come on, stay with me!”

Queen Aurelia turned her head away, back to her own children. Most of them, the ones still conscious at least, were huddled together, taking comfort in each other’s closeness. The closest to her lifted its head, catching the queen’s eye. Glowing yellow eyes stared back at her, not letting her gaze go. There was no recrimination there, no blame. She had taken them down this route, and they had followed her, for better or worse. That was the way it was, the way it should be, and they wouldn't have had it any other way..

“By the allmother,“ Aurelia whispered, too quietly for her two pegasi guards to hear, “what have we become?”

Turning her head once more, she moved her gaze back towards the throne, and the desperate family gathered at its base, a family fighting for their foal’s survival. A battle that they were losing.

“I tried to run from death, to turn it into a fighting chance to live,” she muttered, “but all I found was more death.”

The child was going to die, of this the queen was sure. Opening up her senses she could feel the emotions of the group wash over her almost instantly, buffeting at her mind much as the human’s had just minutes before.

Desperation was the main emotion that crashed upon her shores, desperation and fear... But there, though it was fading fast, was a tiny dot of hope. Closing her eyes so that she could concentrate, forcing her emotional senses down onto a single entity, she focused on the tiny foal. She could feel life there, but it was ebbing away, like the tiniest of candles that was burning itself out, the flame of life flickering its last before it had even had a chance to roar.

As the foal faded, past the point where even her finely tuned senses could pick it out of the background emotions, the human glowed so brightly in her mind’s eye. The emotions coming from this strange creature are so clean and clear that it was almost untrue. As his desperation and anger had earlier overpowered her, instilling her with crippling waves of fear - fear she found she couldn’t overcome even with her mental shields raised - but now his love and concern ran through her veins, bringing back to life an emotion she thought already dead... hope.

“This is all my fault,“ Queen Aurelia opened her eyes, “so it’s up to me to make it right.”

*********************

”There’s got to be more we can do!” Rainbow cried, “Think, Scoot, what else did they teach you?”

“Look, I’m about fresh out’a ideas here.” Scootaloo’s eyes searched the cavern, as if there was even the slightest chance that a fully trained medical team had teleported in while she'd been otherwise engaged. “This is totally out of my league. Brick, Rocket, you guys got any ideas?”

Next to Lyra, the large stallion shook his head sadly. Up by Twilight’s head, the Apple team medic looked up from her own patient only long enough to do the same.“

“Crap.” Scoot pulled at her mane, smearing hoof-cleanser through hair already well drenched with amniotic fluid. “We’ve been giving birth naturally for thousands of years. It’s supposed to be easy; a bit of grunting, a big splat and, hey presto, a baby. It’s not supposed to go wrong.”

Cradling the still form of a newborn baby in her forehooves, all gooey and hairless, Lyra held the child closer to her chest. Such skinny long legs and a short little muzzle, with totally naked, hairless skin and soft little hooves split in two at the front. She was such a gangly thing... even less like a ‘normal’ foal than her own daughter had been at birth.

But it didn’t matter, she was still such an adorable little thing.

So small.

So beautiful.

So devoid of life.

“She never had a chance.” Lyra cried, tears streaming down her cheeks, dripping one after the other onto the newborn’s immobile form.“That’s all she needs, she just needs a chance.”

Craning her neck as best she could, the unicorn began to lick at the child’s pale lilac skin.

****************

“You, the taller one. I should like to speak to the biped... the human. Take me to him.”

Eyeing the queen, wishing that they could just knock her out and get it over with, Blue Fire pulled herself to her full height.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea right now, Queeny.”

Pulling herself up to her own full height - which was almost as tall as a full grown alicorn - Queen Aurelia used the sheer magnificence of her full, regal stature to look down at the blue maned pegasus.

“I can help his child,” she stated imperiously.

Despite her imposing presence, the queen did not receive the response she was looking for, In fact, she received no response at all. Unless the ‘pffft’ from the smaller, bright orange guard could be considered a response.

Considering her options, Aurelia relaxed, bringing her head down to her blue-maned guard’s level.

“Please?” she asked.

Considering the options, Blue Fire glanced from the Queen, over to the human and his herd, and back again. Whatever the queen had planned, she doubted it could make the situation over there any worse. And if there was even the slightest chance that the changeling was telling the truth...

“I’ll ask him,” Fire grunted, “I’m not promising anything though. He says ‘no’ then it’s a ‘no’, capital ‘N’.”

Motioning to one of the two members of Apple team who were patrolling above, Fire waved her black maned colleague down to the ground, waiting to be relieved before she turned and walked away.

As her freshly appointed replacement guard pulled a lollipop from one of her belt pouches and popped it into her mouth, the queen watched the blue-maned one as she got the human’s attention, the purple one’s head propped on his knees, his hand stroking at her mane even as he talked. Turning to the guard who had remained by her side, she asked quietly.

“This human, is he a good... man?”

The short guard snorted, as if the answer was as plain as day.

“Yeah, one ah th’ best. Helped my idiot brother outt’a some bother years ago. Didn’t have ta, would’a been in his best interests not ta. Did it anyway.”

At this news, the queen’s head drooped, her eyes to the floor.

”What have I done?” she asked.

Turning so she could cast a critical eye over the queen, Dodge decided to go for brutal honesty. It had anyways served her well in the past. Sometimes. Well, not that often really. Buck it.

“Somethin’ downright stupid Ah reckon.”

“Yes,” the queen slowly shook her head, “I’m afraid you may be right.”

A pair of black clad hooves moved into her field of vision as Blue Fire returned.

“He’ll see you,” the pegasus stated, her tone revealing that she was as surprised about this as any other pony, before adding “but you only get a few seconds. And you try anything funny, I’ll put you down in a heartbeat. You understand?”

After nodding silently, the queen rose to her feet and made her way over to the center of the room. Fire and Dodge were all over her flank like an inappropriate cutie mark the entire way there.

As the queen came abreast of her ruined throne, she watched as the human leaned forward, kissed the purple unicorn on the forehead before passing her over to the rainbow maned one. Rising to his feet, he walked the short way over to the queen.

“What is your name, human?” the queen asked.

“I, what, er,” the human wiped at his face with what was left of his sleeve, all it did was move the dirt around. “Lero, Lero Michaelides. Bellerophon Michaelides if you like... and I’m a bit busy right now. What do you want?”

“Well, Bellerophon Michaelides, you have won, and I have lost. To the victor go the spoils. This hive is yours, and everything in it as well.”

“Yeah, great.” Lero started to turn away, to head back to his family.

“You should have this,” reaching out with a forehoof, the queen snagged a pair of protuberances on her throne with a pair of matching holes on her leg, “it can help you.”

Twisting her forehoof and then pulling at the side of the throne, the queen caused a panel to fall away, revealing that the rear of the throne was hollow. Inside were several shelves, all empty save for one.

On that single shelf was a shallow box, about the size of a large baking tray, lined with red velvet and divided into twelve compartments.

Nestled on the tray were twelve glass jars, each about the size of a honey jar, each sealed with a golden lid.

Eleven were empty, relieved completely of their contents many moons before. Just one still held anything inside, and even that only held the tiniest amount, barely the depth of a human fingertip.

But for what small amount it help, it glowed and shone like a roaring flame, illuminating the entire compartment, its amber glow bathing those who looked upon it with a radiance that took their breath away.

Reaching in, Auriela carefully lifted out the jar before offering it ever-so-carefully to the human.

“This should help your young one, if it is not too late. Take it, please. It is all I have to give.”

“What is it?” Lero asked as he took the jar, feeling a gentle, though consistent, warmth seeping through the glass and into his fingers.

“It is love. Pure, filtered, untainted love,” the queen replied, “the very last of our treasure. With it, your child may live to see another day.”

“It’ll save her?”

“Maybe,” the queen reached out with her forehooves to push the human away, towards his herd, “it is love... pure and untarnished. It is said that love, and time, heals all wounds. It cannot raise the dead, but it can help the living, so use it quickly.”

“I... errr... thank you.”

With this, Lero turned and hurried back to his wives, cradling his precious cargo against his chest lest it slip and fall. As she watched him scurry away, the queen closed her eyes, feeling the new, ever stronger waves of hope emanate from his form.

“Please, forgive me.”

**************

Spinning the lid from the jar, Lero stuck his fingers inside, coating just the tips in what feelt just like warm olive oil. As it seeped into his skin he could feel the warmth spreading, followed by a tingling sensation. Lifting his hand in front of his face he could watch the tips of his fingers glowing brightly.

“Lyra,” crouching down beside his wife, he showed her his fingertips, let the waves of light wash over her, “here, let me try something.”

Lyra pulled the child closer to her chest, suspicious eyes taking in the jar in her husband’s hands, the changeling queen still standing over by the throne behind him.

“Can we trust her?” she hissed.

“Right now, can it hurt to try?”

Still eyeing the queen, Lyra held out the child, the amber glow from the human’s fingers reflected by the child’s still damp skin as they moved closer. A single drop fell from his finger and onto the lifeless foal’s face.

*************

Just on the very edge of a ponies range of hearing, an almost imperceptible buzz came from the darkness at the edge of the room. To the Shadowbolts present it was virtually indistinguishable from background noise.

Seated by her now empty throne, the queen listened to the buzzing for a few seconds before responding in kind.

Yes, Flitter. I know that was the last of our supply. But we are done, this hive’s time is at an end... I was just too... I was... It matters not now. We have been vanquished, this child needs it more than us.

More buzzing, the queen listened for a few more second before she cut them off with her reply.

No, Suncloak, our fate is sealed, our passing inevitable. Hers is not. I could not save my children, but perhaps I can save this one, the last child that this hive will see born within its depths. And with my final act as queen, I have chosen my successor... should she survive.

More buzzing, and once again the queen listened. But she was not the only one. By her side, Blue Fire rotated her ears to better pick up on a sound that had been putting her teeth on edge for last few minutes.

Really? Then there is still hope for us yet. You did well my children. Now, you are both released from your bonds. You must flee, leave this hive far behind and join them. I will remain here. I made my choices freely, it’s time I took responsibility for them.

“Hey, Queeny, don’t think you're off the hook just yet.” Blue Fire barked, her wingtips moving towards the clubs at her belt, “I don’t know what you’re saying but I know you're saying something. Keep it Equestrian or keep quiet.”

“Very well,” the queen responded in her usual raspy tones, meeting the pony’s gaze before turning her attention elsewhere.

As Fire watched the queen for any more movement, she felt a hoof nudge her in the back. Turning she found Dodge facing off against a changeling guard that had in no way been standing there a second ago.

Wingtips curling around the handle of their clubs, both pegasi expected a sudden attack... an attack that never came. Instead, a second guard stepped out of a shadow less than a body length from its fellow. a shadow that had not existed more than a heartbeat before.

Playing a waiting game, the two Shadowbolts watched the two guards carefully, waiting to see if they would make one last attempt to free their captive queen.

The two changeling guards watched the two ponies in return, their glowing, unblinking eyes waiting to see if the two black clad pegasi would attack them first in a pre-emptive strike.

When it became evident that neither side was to make the first move, the two guards did something that neither pegasus had been expecting... they surrendered.

Sitting themselves down on the rock floor, chitin covered backs ramrod straight and heads held high, they both chittered away in unison.

“If that is your final decision then I have no choice but to accept it,“ the queen replied proudly. “Very well then, whatever happens next I will... appreciate having you both by my side. For what is a queen, even a defeated one, without her most loyal subjects.”

69: Behind the door, should I open it for you? (Hv)

Behind the door, should I open it for you?
Chapter published 26th May 2014

**************

Escorted not only by her own two honour-guard, but also by four of the pony princess’s most intimidating royal guards - two pegasi and two unicorns - Queen Aurelia made her way down the lengthy castle corridor. As she walked her hooves clicked against the immaculately polished pale grey marble floor, the dark brown of her skin reflected back up her from below as a insubstantial doppelganger that came and went with every hoofstep.

At each of her flanks, her changeling guards walked in lockstep, heads held high, glowing eyes always set directly forwards, venturing no further from her side than they had ever since they had left their hive far behind earlier that same day. Imprisoned though they may be, and though they both had already been released from her service, they had made it plain that, no matter what lay ahead,they would remain at her side to the bitter end.

The mid-afternoon sun glinted through the brightly coloured stained-glass windows that lined the unnecessarily lengthy corridor. Vibrant blues, pinks, reds, all lanced across the hallway, bouncing back and forth between the spotlessly gleaming white walls, tinting the occasional piece of gold and purple accenting with slivers of gaily coloured light.

Every so often, a particularly intense sunbeam would hit the queen’s dark, dull skin, flashing a momentary tableau of colour - focused and tinted by a single still frame made of glass - across her large form. But all too soon these projected images were lost in time as her stride took her away from its field of projection.

After so much time underground this topside world was now foreign to the queen. How long was in now, months? Years maybe? Tucked away in their own little subterranean world, surrounded by nothing more than the dark and the gloom, the whispers and the moans, the deep seated feelings of distrust and despair, the incessant words of darkness that had slipped unbidden into her mind. In contrast to all that she’d recently become accustomed to, the light here was almost blinding.

As they walked, Queen Auriela took in the huge works of glass-based art that flanked their journey. It was hard to believe that they were, at their core, not so different from the vast and breath taking displays that had once adorned her own throne room.

While her own ornamental vistas had been crafted from darker colours, these spectacular pieces of art were comprised of a much wider palette - to be illuminated by the full power of either the sun or the moon themselves, while her own were lit by nothing more than a pale imitation of the same - it struck her how similar they really were.

Both were designed to remind the observer of great deeds performed, as well as great trials overcome, so often by the few in the name of the many. They told tales of heroes to be celebrated, remembered for the parts that they played in shaping history, and also of lessons learnt in times long ago. But so often these lessons were taught only at great expense... prices laid out that should never be forgotten, debts shouldered that could never be repaid.

As the tightly sealed entrance to what Aurelia assumed to be the princess’s throne room loomed ever closer, she observed the two windows closest to the door.

The window on the right hoof side was of six brightly coloured mares - two of each of the major pony races - as they faced off against a large, dark, evil looking alicorn. Cruel eyes shone and wicked fangs were bared, huge wings outstretched while the moon shone down from high in the sky behind her. But the six mares remained proud and defiant in the face of her oppression, five jewels at their throats as well as single jewel on one of the unicorn’s heads, bursting with radiant power as they stood their ground.

Turning her head to the left, she found the image of a red haired human towering above her. His arms were outstretched before him, a tiny pale grey alicorn cradled in the cupped palms of his huge hands, its eyes closed as if in the deepest of slumbers. Laid out at his feet, curled up like tiny foals, a trio of ponies - a unicorn, a pegasus and an earth pony - slept as soundly as the alicorn above them. Over his right shoulder hung the sun, its untempered rays beating down upon his back and arm, scorching his clothing, while the moon rose over the other, the deep chill of night leaving flecks of frost in his hair and across his chest.

As the unlikely procession finally reached the huge door, the two unicorn guards that were guarding it stepped forward, their spears rapping against the hard marble floor before being crossed, blocking the group’s path.

From between the two guards came an elderly unicorn stallion, the pale grey of his coat, as well as the darker grey of his moustache, contrasting heavily against the bright red formal jacket he wore. Golden buttons on his chest gleamed and glinted in the brightness of the corridor, an equally shiney sceptre topped with a horse’s head carved out of pure gold hovering next to him.

As the elderly stallion motioned the two door guards to move their spears aside, Aurelia looked down at her own pair of weaponless, and uniformless, guards - standing tall and proud, their dark chitinous skin, their glowing yellow eyes and dirty orange gossamer wings. While she watched, Flitter turned his head ever so slightly, taking in the white marble walls and expensive vases, the guards in their regalia covered uniforms. The subtle movement of his eye-ridge, coupled with the almost imperceptible wrinkling of his nose, almost made the queen laugh out loud.

Her children, it would appear, were not even the slightest bit impressed with all this... opulence.

The door guards now out of the way, the elderly unicorn stallion lifted his scepter and rapped it loudly once, twice, three times against the massive white door in front of them. As he stepped back from the door, the two guards activated their horns, the doors swinging open agonisingly slowly under their command.

Even more light than before, if that was at all possible, flooded out of the corridor, momentarily blinding the changeling queen. As her vision cleared she saw a long, thin, cavernous room before her, more brightly coloured windows filling both of the long sides of the room. A long, blood red carpet led the way to the far end of the hall, to where her appointment with destiny lay in wait.

So this was it, time to face the music. Maybe even literally.

As the elderly stallion strode into the room, the rest of the group of three changelings and four royal guards followed suit.

Under her hooves, Queen Aurelia found the carpet to be soft, probably the softest thing she had felt in a long, long time, maybe ever. But she had no time to appreciate the luxury as their immediate destination filled her attention.

At the far end of the room, at the top of a short flight of steps, was the biggest, shiniest, plushest throne that the queen had ever imagined. It was easily as wide as she was tall and at least three times that in height. Behind it hung two immense banners that reached from the distant ceiling all the way to the floor; one in yellows, golds and oranges to represent the power and radiance of the sun; the other in blues, purples and silvers to portray the strength and grace of the moon. On either side of the throne stood an alicorn, the two regal creatures locked into an intense discussion, neither having noticed their ‘guests’ arrival.

At the base of the throne’s dias stood two mares that the queen recognised as her former prisoners, specifically the green maned unicorn and the rainbow maned pegasus. Between them stood the human, the one that had defeated her. None of them looked at all pleased to see her, not that she’d expected them to.

A good half dozen body lengths from the base of the dias, the elderly stallion stopped, the procession coming to halt just behind him. After a second to clear his throat, he lifted his staff into the air and announced-

“Queen Aurelia, and her honour guard.”

His job done, the stallion lowered his horse’s head sceptre and moved off to the side of the carpet.

Up on the dias, their ‘discussion’ suddenly dropped, the pair of alicorns both turned their attention to the changeling queen.

Princess Luna was the first to make address, and she did so rather loudly.

“Thou dare to sully our court with thy foul visage?”

The alicorn of the night’s voice thundered around the room as she stormed down the short flight of steps. As she moved, her mane billowed out behind her, all nearby heat being pulled into its length leaving a sudden chill in the air.

“In truth thou art not fit to lie beneath our hooves!”

Reaching the final step, the stars in Luna’s mane flashed while nebula swirled in her agitation. A pair of wicked sharp fangs started to creep their way down behind her top lip as teal irises contorted to form a pair of cat-like pupils. An already jet black coat darkened so much that it began to suck the very colour out of her immediate surroundings as she continued to approach the queen.

“Thou shall pay dearly for the chaos thou hast wrought!”

As she reared up on her hind legs, reading herself to let loose with a follow up barrage, the alicorn of the night found a hand held against her chest. Though it would not have had the strength behind it to hold her back should she wish to push past, the fact it was even there was enough to stop the furious co-regent in her tracks, her forehooves falling back to the floor..

“Master Lero! What madness is this?” she demanded of the human, his palm not moving from where it lay, “have thou lost sight of the wrong she has inflicted upon your family? In the name of my subjects, I demand satisfaction!”

“Princess, please.” Lero replied softly, his hand still not moving, not even an inch, “they lost, we won, it’s over.”

“After all that she has done, you say that it is over?”

“Yes, I do. She surrendered. It’s over,” lifting his hand, Lero moved it to the alicorn’s face. “please, Luna. For me?”

The human’s hand still against her cheek, Luna’s eyes flicked from him, to the queen, and then back again. With a sigh she let her mane fall, her eyes clear and her fangs retreat.

“For you, Lero, not for her.”

With one last withering glance, Luna turned her back on the changeling monarch.

“Think yourself lucky, queen...” the princess almost spat the title over her shoulder, “you appear to have have gained yourself a champion, an influential one at that. See to it that you do not waste his favour, for it is far more than you deserve.”

As Luna stalked away, Lero at her side, Princess Celestia stepped forward, taking her sister's place.

“A powerful champion indeed,” the alicorn of the day motioned with her head to the retreating human as he returned to his wives, those that were present at least. “More merciful than most, I would wager.”

As the princess appraised the queen with a careful eye, Aurelia was dismayed to see that the pure white alicorn did not appear to be angry, or disgusted, even mildly annoyed. No, she held an expression that the changeling queen found to be so much worse, an expression that cut her deeper than she thought another ever could - the alicorn princess was disappointed.

Lowered her head, the queen bowed deeply, leaving the back of her neck exposed, open to attack by the princess’ wickedly sharp horn. The two changelings at her side did the same.

“Queen Aurelia, please, raise your head,” Celestia requested.

But the queen did not raise her head, in fact she bowed lower still, both her nose and the tip of her horn touching the soft carpet at their hooves.

“Please, Queen Aurelia, be upstanding before our court, you have nothing to fear from us,” Celestia insisted, stepping closer.

“No, Princess,” shaking her head, Aurelia’s horn brushed against the soft pile of the carpet, “I have done wrong. My actions were reprehensible and unpardonable. I let pride and foolishness keep me from the right path, and it almost took the death of an innocent child to remind me of what I should have done all along. If I must bow my head in your presence, if I must scrape and plead at your hooves, if I must throw myself at your mercy, then that is what I will do.”

Craning her neck so that she could look up at the alicorn of the day, but still keeping head low to the ground, the changeling did something that she would not have thought to try just a few short days before... she begged.

“Please, help us. Whatever punishment you deem worthy for my actions I will take gladly upon my shoulders. But please, I beg of you, help my children.”

Princess Celestia had expected that this meeting could go many ways, and she had arranged many responses accordingly. What she had not expected, was the changeling queen’s heartfelt act of contrition. While her sister had made quite plain what retribution she felt was appropriate for the queen’s actions, Celestia herself was unwilling to take the harsh line that the alicorn of the night had so passionately espoused.

Casting her eyes around those gathered, her sister with her back still turned, her subjects awaiting her response to the queen’s plea, her gaze fell upon the nation’s sole human. Locking eyes, the human held her gaze, his face a mask of calm, his expression still impossible to read even after all these years. After what felt like forever passing between the two of them, the human closed his eyes and nodded, just the tiniest of movements.

Decision made, Celestia turned back to the changeling queen, brow furrowed and expression stern.

“You come before us now, after all you have done, and you ask for our help?”

At the alicorn’s hooves, the queen lowered her face again, her nose against the floor once more. A wave of calm came over her as she closed her eyes. Patiently she awaited her judgement, her punishment, ready to accept whatever came her way.

“Well if our help is what you need,” the alicorn of the day continued, “then our help is what you shall have.”

The queen felt a pressure against her chin, something soft firmly and insistantly lifting her face from the floor. Opening her eyes she found a large, white wingtip held under her jaw, bidding her to rise, to lift her face to the light.

“Please, Queen Auriela, lift your head,” Celestias’ expression had softened, the disappointment replaced by something kinder, more understanding. “We have heard your plea, now it is time to talk.”

At the princess’s insistence, Aurelia rose to her full height, her head almost coming level with that of the alicorn before her.

Taking her wing back, Celestia did not stow it against her side, instead she used it to motion back to towards the room’s main entrance. Aurelia’s eyes followed it, finding the four royal guards who had escorted her to the room standing to the side of the carpet as the door slowly opened.

“Will you not join me outside, in the royal gardens.” Stepping around the changeling monarch, Celestia kept her wing out from her body, using it to beckon the queen to walk with her. “We have much to discuss.”

“The terms of our surrender?” Aurelia asked, unable to believe what she was hearing.

The alicorn smiled serenely, shaking her head.

“No,” she replied, “the breadth of our assistance. You have asked, and we shall provide. Is that not the way of harmony? Come, I find a stroll amongst the wonders of nature does marvelous things for the spirit, does it not?”

Not knowing how to respond, what words could ever come close to expressing how she was feeling, the changeling queen instead put one hoof in front of the other and joined the princess as she walked from the room and out towards the royal gardens.

*************

As Princess Celestia and Queen Aurelia left the room - a pair of changling drones directly behind them with two pairs of royal guards flanking the entire group - those that remained in the throne room watched them leave.

“Thank you, Kibitz,” Luna addressed the elderly stallion in the bright red jacket who had been standing patiently at the side of the room, “you may leave us now.”

After bowing deeply to the princess, the royal appointment keeper closed the large double door behind him, leaving the room’s occupants with their privacy.

Turning to her human friend, Princess Luna eyed him quizzically.

“Are you sure about this?” she asked, “really and truly?”

Blowing air through his lips, Lero just shrugged... which was not the response that the alicorn of the night had been looking for.

“No,” the human admitted, “but sometimes you’ve got to take a chance on someone, don’t you. If we always expect the worst from people, how will they ever give us anything but? People can rise to your expectations, but then they can also drop to them too. If we don’t give her people a chance, how how would it make them feel. I’ve been there - feared and hated for what others think I might be or do, not what I actually am.”

Reaching out, Lero put his hand on Luna’s shoulder.

“We’ve both been there... and neither of us was happy about it. I may not like her, in fact right now I still want to punch her in the face, but I think she needs a chance, and what she needs is more important than what I want. Especially after what she did for our daughter.”

Considering these words, letting them roll around in her mind, Luna nodded.

“There is truth in what you say,” the princess said, “and though I do not completely approve of or agree with your choice - and certainly I would not have been as forgiving as you - I will abide by it... for now.”

Turning to one side, Luna took in Lyra Heartstrings, standing by her stallion’s side.

“And you...” the princess said, “I gather you were initially against assisting the changelings, but now you support this plan. How so?”

Under Luna’s gaze, Lyra hung her head.

"I’m not the world’s greatest forgiver,“ she admitted. “I’ve been hurt too many times for that. But a great pony once told me that there’s really no great evils out there, just people who’ve made wrong decisions and don’t know how to get past them. In my anger I lost sight of that lesson. I’m ashamed to say I let my emotions, and my own past dealings with her kind, control me. Because of that we almost missed our one chance to save our daughter.”

As Luna pondered Lyra’s confession, Rainbow Dash leant over and pushed herself closer to her herd-sister, the unicorn reciprocating the contact, letting the pegasus rub her neck against her own in a display of solidarity and comfort.

“And what say you?” Luna asked of the pegasus.

Resting her chin on the minty mare’s neck, Rainbow took her time in answering. Speeches weren’t her strong point but that didn't mean that she didn't have something to say.

“Twilight seems to think that we should help her. Lero reckons we should at least give her a chance. Lyra, now she’s had a chance to calm down, says we should look beyond our emotions and do what’s right. If they’re all willing to give her the benefit of the doubt then that’s good enough for me.”

Luna opened her mouth to speak but Rainbow held up a hoof, indicating that she hadn’t finished speaking. If it was any other pony treating a princess of the realm as such they would have been in trouble, but by now this herd had earned more than a few... considerations.

“Much as I’d like to believe that in her shoes I’d have done things differently, I’m starting to think that we’re really not that different, us and them. So honestly, though I can’t really understand why she did what she did, I don’t know what I’d have done in her place. After all that, I can't honestly find it in my heart to go about crushing her underhoof. At least, not today.”

Cracking a smile for the first time in days, Luna placed a hoof on the pegasus’ shoulder.

“You’ve mellowed with age, my flighty friend,” she said, her smile taking on a sly edge.

Rainbow wasn’t sure if she should be pleased or offended by that statement.

“I prefer to think of it as evolved,” Rainbow snorted, “or distilled, or triple filtered like ninety percent proof awesomesauce, matured till it kicks some serious flank. Don’t tell anypony I said it, but we all have to grow up sometime. I’m still the most awesome thing you’ll ever see though.”

“Indeed you are,” Luna laughed, “indeed you are.”

“And Lero,“ Luna moved closer to the human, so close their noses almost touched, “know this - though you are my most trusted friend, we will speak later about you interrupting me in front of the changelings. You made me appear...” her expression was unreadable, though ‘put out’ seemed to be the closest description. “...cock-whipped.”

Off to the side, both Lyra and RD did their best not to laugh.

“But enough of this.” Luna clopped her forehooves together. “Come, let us depart to the hospital. I am informed that my newest niece has stabilised nicely and will shortly be ready for visitors. As such, I believe it is high time that I paid my respects.”

Not waiting for the others, Luna started for the rear of the room.

“So, what is she to be called?” she called over her shoulder as Lero and his wives hustled to catch up with the princess. “Something long winded and overly encumbered with superfluous middle names I would wager if my beloved Lucent has had anything to say about it.”

“Star Song,” Lero replied as he came abreast of the alicorn, “and just that, for now. I’m sure she’ll end up with as many extra names as Sweetie by the end of the week.”

Slowing in her stride, Luna raised a suspicious eyebrow.

“‘Star Song’ eh?” she remarked. “Hmmm ‘SS’. I wager Star Sparkle will be just thrilled to bits when she hears that her granddaughter also bears part of her name. I would love to be present when she is told. The look on her nigh-on permanently smug face will be no doubt priceless. I can imagine her already, her features akin to that of a bulldog chewing on a particularly sour lemon.”

Had any royal guards been present to see the the princess of the night pulling a particularly inelegant impression of Canterlot University’s erstwhile Dean of Archeology’s face as she was being given what she would consider extremely bad news, they would probably have ended up thinking less of both mares. The fact that the impression was also uncannily accurate only made it all the funnier to all those present.

Ducking behind a banner, Princess Luna hurried into one of the castle’s many hidden service corridors, eschewing the usual route of royal passage as she plotted the fastest route to the city’s finest hospital.

Diving in behind her, Rainbow laughed as she responded.

“You know, princess, if you can figure out a way to teleport us all the way to Neighpon, you can tell her yourself.”

Luna’s hearty laugh echoed along the cramped corridor, along with the loud ‘clop’ of two forehooves colliding to seal the bargain.

“You, Lady Dash, have a deal.”

70: In the heat and the rain, with whips and chains.

In the heat and the rain, with whips and chains
Chapter published 18th May 2014

**************

she runs, runs in fear, through the darkness, through the cold. the cold, the dark, it shouldn’t bother her but it does. she runs, through the dirt and the slime, through pitch black tunnels and gloom darkened caves. other creatures, all around, creatures of every size and shape and colour, some watch mindlessly as she flees, others reach for her, limbs reach for her. they cry out, screams of pain, of madness, of insanity, shouts of anger and frustration, cries of terror. she slips, catching herself just in time, a hand outstretched, pale pink under layers of dirt, sharp pain, tears on her palms and her fingers leak blood, smears on the ground. it’s hers, her hand. no time to wonder, to ask how, must run, now, must flee. she runs, no time to think, just run, they were coming after her. both legs trembling, shaking as she runs, heart beating in her chest, about ready to explode, pulling breath into her lungs, it won’t come without a fight. the worn rubber soles of her tattered shoes slip again and again, she wipes sweat from her face, fingers pulling dirt from her eyes, matted tangled hair from her face. she runs, she doesn’t look back, voices cry for help, for release, for liberty or death. she runs anyway, leaves them behind, she can’t help them, not now, not without being caught herself, dragged back into the pits, to a fate worse than death, a fate that would have been unimaginable if only she had not already seen it firsthand so many times before. so she runs, through tunnels and chambers, halls and caverns, out through undergrowth, heading only god knew where, anywhere, anywhere but here. limbs, lungs, senses, all screaming, an opening, a clearing, up ahead, an ethereal glow, a swirling mass, a tunnel of light, swirling pink and green and blue and purple, twisting and rolling as if blown by a strong wind. she feared those twisting ribbons of colour, feared them like nothing else. but it was better than going back, anything was better than going back, even death would be a better choice. without another thought she throws herself into the swirling maelstrom, screaming, flailing, arms and legs swinging wildly as she’s pulled, sucked into the vortex, accelerating, flying, falling through the air, the ground coming closer, ever closer, so fast. branches, brambles, thorns, ripping into her skin, pain, so much pain. the world turning, spinning, sky, ground, sky ground, sky, ground. it’d stopped. no, she’d stopped. sky, pale blue sky, wispy white clouds. the sun, heat on her face. how long had it been since she had seen such a sight, felt such a feeling. trees towering above, leaves blowing in the breeze. no noise, no cries, no screams, save that of the wind through the trees, no smells but that of springtime, fallen leaves, flowers in bloom. for the first time in forever she doesn’t want to gag with every breath, doesn’t want to scream, to cry out, to close her eyes and wish it all away. she’s out, she’s free. it was over, she was free. tiredness comes, waves washing over her, so tired. she can’t keep her eyes open. sleep, sleep comes. no, had to keep moving, can’t sleep. couldn’t, shouldn't, mustn’t. should move, keep moving. distance, need distance. but, just for a minute, eyes close, eyes, just for a minute. sweet sleep, sweet sleep comes and takes her away, takes her aw...

******************

Princess Luna, Guardian of the Dreamtime, Alicorn of the Night, Defender of the Realm, Co-regent of the land of Equestria, and one of the most powerful beings in existence... opened her mouth and screamed.

She screamed like a tiny filly terrified of the boogiemare... she screamed like a mother whose only child had just been brutally murdered right in front of her... she screamed like a mortally wounded soldier breathing her last on the fields of battle... she screamed like her very life depended on it.

Around her, glass shattered; stained glass windows becoming nothing more than coloured piles of glass on the floor, glasses of juice spraying their contents across the breakfast table, vases dumping water and freshly cut flowers from their pedestals and onto the floor below.

Fine china exploded; earl grey, chamomile, mint, all enjoyed newfound freedom as it soaked its merry way into the tablecloth; plates shattered, razor sharp ceramic shards piercing buttered toast and morning muffins alike.

The princess screamed with such might that guards patrolling nearby corridors covered their ears, those few unfortunate enough to have been guarding the door to the royal breakfast room writhed in agony on the floor.

...and she did not stop screaming until large, warm, pure white wings wrapped themselves around her body, pulling her into a powerful embrace.
.
As reality returned, Luna found herself held against her sister’s chest, the elder sibling looking down at her, eyes full of concern... and fear.

“My sister, what happened?” Celestia asked frantically, “What affected you so?”

Luna shivered, blinking away tears as they came to her eyes but making no attempt to push away, to free herself from her sister’s embrace.

“I... I do not know,” she stuttered. “Where was I? Just now? Have I left this room these last few minutes?”

Resting her chin against her younger sibling’s forehead, Celestia pulled her even closer than before, if such a thing was even possible.

“No, you were right here the entire time.” The alicorn of the day gently rocked her little sister, just as she had done on the very day that the former pegasus had first been turned so many centuries before. “You have not left my sight since dawn. Just a few moments ago you stopped talking, mid sentence, becoming motionless, just staring into space. Then, after a few minutes of silence, you started screaming. It was only when I held you thus that you woke up.”

Tears running down her cheeks, and feeling incredibly small, Luna pushed herself into Celestia’s chest, taking comfort in the warmth of her sister’s body, the steady beating of her heart in her chest, the safety to be found within the cocoon of her wings.

“I believe... that I may have just been pulled into one of Master Lero’s nightmares.” Luna closed her eyes, letting her mind relive some of the images, the emotions, that she had so recently been witness to. “Though I pray that I am wrong, I would deduce that the first of his memories regarding his time before Equestria are now starting to force their way back to the surface of his mind.”

“That is indeed the gravest of news.” Celestia opened her wings, releasing the younger alicorn, though keeping her just as close as before. “Then you should go to him, my sister. No pony knows more the pain of reliving the ordeals of past than you, and he will need a friend by his side, now more than ever.”

“Yes,” Luna agreed, though as before, she made no attempt to move away, “I will go to him now. As you say, he will most likely...”

Her voice trailing away, fresh tears fell down the princess’s cheeks as her eyes fell to the floor.

“Would you like to stay here a few minutes longer?” Celestia asked softly

Without looking up, Luna nodded, a single forehoof pushing across the soft fur under her eyes.

”Yes.”

Wrapping her wings around the younger alicorn once again, Celestia pulled her sister back into her embrace.

71: And nobody seems to know where you go.

And nobody seems to know where you go.
Chapter published 27th Dec 2014

****************

Accidents happen. This is a fact of life.

No matter how technologically advanced the civilisation.

No matter how prepared the authorities.

No matter how careful the citizens.

Accidents happen, that’s just the way it is.

To expect otherwise would be nothing more than mere folly- some kind of wishful thinking coupled with the worst kind of self delusion. Nature, time, destiny; all these care not for the individual. Fate itself is neither good, nor bad- it just is. The ultimate in impersonal. No mortal can know what fate has in store, what random combination of occurrences can whisk one away to their final end, what perfect storm of initially unconnected events can lead one to take their final fateful step.

Accidents happen. This is a fact of life.

But it’s still one hell of a surprise when they happen right in front of your eyes.

*******************

Shifting the sling that had been so recently haphazardly placed around her neck, Lyra Heartstrings shuffled sideways, ushering the young filly at her hooves further along the pavement. Held against her chest, the youngest child of herd Bellerophon slept- the tiny, slumbering foal totally disconnected from the big strange world all around her; totally unaware of the unfortunate series of events that had unfolded - and were unfolding still - just across the street.

Down by their mother’s hooves, Star Song’s older sister watched with abject fascination as her father and one of her mothers sped away from them, the filly shifting left and right as her mother did her best to both shuffle the three of them down the road and to surreptitiously block her daughter’s view of what was going on. Sweet Spirit, however, was having none of it. She may not have understood every aspect what was happening just a dozen or so body-lengths away, but she knew it was something big.

The first thing they had heard, the very first thing that had let everypony know that something strange or odd was about to happen, had been the screams.

The next signal that things were ‘amiss’ had been the driver-less passenger carriage hurtling its way past them at breakneck speed.

After that had come the biggest, most discordant, cacophony of sound ever as the runaway cart had careened headlong through a set of safety barriers and into the base of a large set of construction scaffolding that cocooned one of the Canterlot Castle’s older towers.

Whether the scaffolding had been poorly secured, or was still in the process of being constructed, was unclear. But what was clear was that the impact against its lower supports had caused it to collapse almost instantly, taking more than three storeys worth of metal and wood on a short and unexpected trip straight down... express tickets all ‘round- no stopping, no sightseeing.

Luckily, and against all odds, no workmares had been working out on the affected sections of scaffolding as it had collapsed. Instead they stood on what little remained standing, both tools and jaws left dangling as the rest of the structure collapsed before their very eyes.

The fates had smiled upon them that day. It was just a shame that the same couldn't be said of whomever had been riding in that runaway cab at the time.

No pony had known what was happening until it was too late, confusion and shock reigning supreme in the seconds immediately after... but that hadn’t stopped Rainbow Dash from shooting off towards the trapped cart, and the wreckage that covered it, before the dust had even a chance to settle.

After pulling Star Song’s sling over his head and passing it over to Lyra, Lero had ran after his pegasus wife, leaving Lyra standing alone with their two young fillies.

So, there she was- left holding the baby... literally.

Shifting the sling again, moving it to a more natural position while being super careful not to wake their youngest child (though generally nothing short of a marching band could wake little Song once she finally got her head down), Lyra could feel something pulling at her leg.

Looking down, she found her daughter looking back up at her, with that oh-so familiar expression that told her questions (plural) were coming. The filly had that look of slight befuddlement going on, coupled with something that looked not unlike Lero’s ‘I’m thinking’ face with the added bonus of Twilight’s ‘my brain’s about to go ding’ twitchy eye.

At any other time Lyra would have taken a small amount of pleasure at waiting for Sweetie to work through her mental processes - often imagining a small egg-timer or spinning beach-ball whirring away in the filly’s brain - and usually welcomed her daughter’s questions in spite of - or maybe because of - the fact that Sweetie was one of the few ponies she couldn't just confound with riddles or enigmatic half phrases. Right now though, and considering what she was most likely to be asked, she really wished Twi was here so she could pass these queries over to her.

“Mommy?” and so it began, not that Lyra would have it any other way, “why’s Mommy Rainbow going that way-” Sweetie pointed towards the twisted remains further down the street, before moving her hoof to indicate in the other direction, “-while every other pony’s going that way?”

“Well,” Lyra began, wondering how best to phrase what could easily end up becoming quite the in-depth discussion if she wasn’t careful, “Mommy Rainbow’s a rescue pony, and some pony over there might need rescuing. That’s the thing about Rainbow, if there’s something dangerous going on you can usually count on her to be running into it rather than away from it like everypony else. And even if she wasn’t a rescue pony, she’d probably still go and try to help. That’s just the kind of mare she is. If all Tartarus itself broke loose I wager she’d fly right into the eye of the storm like it was no big thing.”

Sweetie nodded and, even as she watched her daughter's curly mane bounce about with the movement, Lyra could almost imagine her young brain working over what she had been told, piecing it together with what she already knew, working the problem through peice by peice like a huge mental jigsaw.

“But Daddy’s not a rescue pony, is he?”

“No, he’s not,” Lyra agreed, a wistful smile on her lips even though this wasn't really the time for mirth, “he’s just spent too much time around Mommy Rainbow, that’s all. Crazy. Absolutely crazy, the pair of them.”

She could see them both now- trying their hardest, doing what they could, hoping against hope that it would be enough. Within seconds they’d taken control of the scene, using ponies’ natural herding instincts to their advantage: Rainbow was barking orders at any nearby pegasi, sending them off to either summon help or instructing them to use their wings to blow away the billowing clouds of dust and dirt; Lero organizing a hoof-full of unicorns to use their magic to secure the wreckage, carefully pulling away plank and pole alike, as they cleared a path to the carriage trapped beneath.

As soon as there was a big enough gap in the jumbled pile of chaos, Lero folded himself over in that way that still enthralled Lyra every time she saw it, pushing his body in between metal and wood. For all of his superior size he was far more adept at weaving his way between the wreckage than any pony would ever be, his form evolved from creatures more at home up in the treetops than out on the open plains. Bending and twisting, using his long legs and gangly arms to push and pull himself through, the human made his way slowly towards his goal.

Lyra sighed, pulling Star Song’s sling closer to the warmth of her chest, checking that the filly’s little wooly hat was still in place.

Yes, that was just the way that her herdmates were, and she loved them both for it. At the first sign of a pony in trouble, or in need, and they’d both go charging off to help in whatever way that they could, often leaving Lyra holding the baby... quite literally in this case. Not that she minded. They had this well in hoof without her, and somepony had to watch over the kids.

Lero had almost battled his way to the twisted carriage - making slow progress as any loose scaffolding was lifted from his path by either unicorn magic or the hooves of carefully hovering pegasi - when a burly stallion came barreling down the street towards the wreckage. His yellow jacket and hat, both with black and white chequered trim, marked him as a taxi driver- his distraught cries and calls for help making it plain that he was also this particular taxi’s driver.

As he came close enough to see what had happened to his cart, he collapsed to his knees, wailing not for the state of his carriage, the source of his livelihood, but for the possible fate of his passenger. One of the larger earth pony workmares from the construction crew moved to his side, letting the taxi-driver cling to her withers as the distraught stallion wept and wailed into her neck like some kind of wounded beast.

Against the backdrop of shouts and cries being passed back and forth, and the bustling activity that they accompanied, Lyra couldn't help but notice that several of the ponies not directly involved in the rescue attempt had taken it upon themselves to make sure that, once removed, the recovered scaffolding was being stacked neatly off to the side of the street. Such was the desire to help, possibly brought on by the sight of so many others working together towards a common goal, that these peripheral individuals had felt the need to do something, almost anything, to aid in some way.

Turning back to the cart, Lyra’s eyes pierced the tangle as best they could, catching glimpses of her husband’s face as he finally reached the side of the carriage and looked inside for the first time. Even after all these years, many ponies had a hard time reading his expressions, what with his immobile ears, small mouth and even smaller eyes. But Lyra was an expert in any expressions that might grace his features... and right now the many emotions that flickered across his face in quick succession told her everything that she needed to know.

As he reached a hand into the cab, his other hand gripping the window frame tightly for balance, Lyra could tell that he was checking for a pulse, something his long, sensitive fingers should have no problem finding beneath the soft fur that coated a pony’s neck. As she watched from the other side of the street, her eyes could easily see those of her stallion’s as they tightened, the subtle knitting of his eyebrows speaking volumes.

They had been too late. Whomever the pony had been that had stepped into that cab earlier in the day, they were gone now.

At the edges of the crowd, members of the Royal Guard were arriving, summoned by the pegasi that Rainbow Dash had sent for help just moments before. Quickly taking stock of the scene, the highest ranking guard obviously recognising both Rainbow and Lero - the Wonderbolt Captain and the Royal Princesses’ own former Viceroy - he immediately deferred authority to them both, putting both himself and his team under their command.

The lead guard made a beeline for Rainbow Dash, seeking both information and orders. Rainbow in turn looked to her stallion for what would hopefully be good news, but instead only found downcast eyes and a slow shaking of the head.

For a second the human and the pegasi locked eyes. No words were spoken; none were needed. They had been together long enough now to know all that needed to say, or not. A few seconds, that’s all they had, before Rainbow turned back to the guard and gave him her preliminary report.

Leaning his upper body into the cab, reaching further than before, Lyra could see the human reach out towards the occupant's face. Though her view was partly obstructed by twisted metal, she could still make out a hand as it was placed over the dead pony’s eyes, could see his lips move as whispered to the recently departed mare.

Whatever it was he said, she could not hear, and she doubted that anyone alive was even meant to. But she knew what he would be saying. It would be an apology - of this she had no doubt - an apology for not being there sooner, for not being able to stop the accident before it had occurred, for not saving their life.

That he could not have saved them was not his fault, Lyra knew that. Heck, everypony present knew that. Even Lero himself knew it. But he still apologised all the same. That was just the way he was.

Bowing her head, Lyra closed her eyes, mentally reciting an ancient mantra, taught to her many years ago by a great mare now long gone. A few words for the lost, that was all. It wasn’t much, she knew that, but right now it was all that she could give.

As night falls, so day dawns. As fire dies, so does it shine forth.
As we end, so we begin; in silence, and in darkness, and the embrace of all things.

“Mommy?”

A tug at her leg prompted the unicorn to open her eyes, finding her daughter, with her bright golden eyes, looking back up at her.

“Yes, little one?”

“Who’s that?”

The young filly was pointing a forehoof towards a spot slightly off to the side of the crumpled carriage but, try as she might, Lyra couldn’t see anypony there, only a tangled pile of untouched scaffolding.

“Hmm? Who, dear?”

“Who’s the glowy alicorn? Is she Auntie Woona and Auntie Celly’s sister?”

“Alicorn? What alicorn? I can’t see any alicorns, Sweetie.”

“Over there, by Daddy. She’s helping that pony out of the smashed up cart. She must be real good with magic as she’s made that other pony all incop... in cop.... all not solid and see-though like.”

“Do you mean ‘Incorporeal’?”

“‘In-cor-por-eal’. Yeah, thanks, Mom. She’s made that other pony in-cor-por-eal so she can help her out of the cart without hurting her.”

Lyra looked again to where her daughter was pointing, but couldn’t see any alicorn no matter how she tried, nor any other pony getting out of the carriage. But no pony was going to be getting out of that carriage any time soon. With the speed that it had crashed, it would have been a miracle if the passenger had gotten out alive... a miracle that they just hadn't received. But that was the thing about miracles- they just didn't happen every time you needed one. That was what made the ones that did happen ‘miracles’.

Still sitting by the cart’s side side was her husband, eyes closed and head bowed. Rainbow was still out by the crowd, talking to a pair of royal guards. Other guards were taking statements or cordoning off the area for safety, ready for later investigation. A pegasi paramedic was attending to the visibly inconsolable taxi driver, checking his pulse as he breathed deeply into a large paper bag. The rest of the recently arrived medical team were unfurling a large stretcher, the waterproof kind that came with a zippable cover.

“I’m sorry, Sweetie. I still can’t see any alicorn, honey. What does she look like?”

“Well, she’s big, and white, like Auntie Celly used to be when I was really little. And she’s got a long red mane, like big-sis Applebloom.”

“Really?”.

Lyra could feel her heart start to catch in her chest. Could the old tales be true? Lyra had learnt a long time ago that just because you couldn't see something with your own eyes, couldn’t measure it with your own hooves or replicate it with your own magic, it didn’t mean that it wasn’t real.

“Does she have a cutie mark?”

“Yeah, it’s a feather...” Sweetie squinted, tilting her head sideways as if she was trying to make out some hard-to-see detail, “No, it’s a quill, like the ones on Mommy Twilight’s desk, those ‘specially special’ ones that I’m not allowed to go near. Yeah, a big black quill, in a big black inkpot.”

If Sweetie was at all surprised when her mother’s forehooves wrapped around her small form and pulled her closer, she didn’t show it.

“Can you still see her?”

“Yeah. She’s so pretty. I wish I could be like her when I grow up.”

“And can she see you?”

“Yeah, and she’s waving back. See.”

“No, honey, I’m afraid I can’t see her. But that’s not one of Auntie Luna’s sisters.”

No matter how much she tried, Lyra couldn’t see the pony that Sweetie described- but that didn’t stop her daughter from waving at them anyway.

“She’s not an alicorn at all. She’s something much bigger than that. She’s much bigger than all of us. After all, she created us.”

*************

Sherbert Dabble had not been having a particularly good day so far.

First there’d been the waking up late. Like, reeeeally late. Yeah, that’d kinda set the tone for the rest of the day. If she’d been one to believe in bad omens, then at that point she probably would have just written the day off and gone back to bed.

Then, rushing about to try and at least make it to work without being so late that Old Mare Skinflint would fire her rather than just docking her wages, she’d almost choked to death on her toast. Not a good start to the day.

Losing her first cab to some snotty uptight noble-mare prick? Yeah, that hadn’t helped. Totally should have been reading the signs by that point.

After finally managing catch a second cab, it had broken loose from its driver and shot off down the the hill with her stuck inside. Celestia-dammit!. Why her? Why? Had she been cruel to puppies in a previous generation or something?

And then, to top it all, just when she’d thought her day couldn’t get any worse, fate had given her one last kick in the teats by serving her up a particularly sudden and completely unexpected death.

Yeah, that’s right.

Dead.

As a doornail.

D. E. A. D.

Dead!

Oh, Horseapples!

Okay, I get it: today sucks!

Can I just go back to bed now, please?

Peering back into the twisted cab, not really wondering how she could be standing here, on top of a piles of planks and poles, looking back into a cab that just seconds ago she’d been screaming to be let out of, Sherbert took in the body before her.

Hanging from the cab’s window was a pale green hoof, the exact colour she’d seen every single day of her life. Reaching out, she tried to lift it, to maybe comfort the body as it lay still, unmoving, immobile, amidst the bustle of activity that was exploding around them. But her hoof passed right through... well, her hoof. No more able to affect it than a mare could catch a shadow.

So... dead then? Proper dead. As in... ‘dead’ dead.

Not so far away, ponies were working together, moving wood and metal, yelling back and forth. But Sherbert didn’t notice any of that. Instead, there was one thing that came to mind. And she had no idea where it had come from.

Oh, nuts. I’ve still got a library book to return!

But the absurdity of the randomness of her thoughts was not lost on her, a short, strangled laugh coming to her lips. Not the dead ones of course... they weren't going to be laughing any time soon.

Moving around the carriage - again, not wondering about how she could balance so precariously on a pile of wreckage that right now needed nothing more than the smallest of movements to trigger it collapsing in on itself - she took in her own face.

By Luna... I look so stupid!

Glassy eyes, a faint look of surprise, neck twisted at an unnatural angle, a blood-covered scaffold pole pushed all the way through the upper chest.

Well, there’d been worse looking corpses, that was true. As dead bodies go, it could have been worse.

At least it was pretty painless. Thank the maker for small mercies.

As she stood watching, staring, not really focusing, a hand-

A hand? What’s a hand doing here?

-reached into the carriage, the strange, long, finger-thingys pressing against... her neck.

Oh, hey. It’s Mister Lero. Wow. The princesses’ viceroy’s here.

I’d always wanted to say hello, maybe thank him for the stuff he did during the plague.

Guess it’s a bit late now, huh?

As she looked on, the human moved his hand to her face, placing his fingers over her eyes. He said a few words, but whatever they were she couldn't hear them. When he took his hand away, her body’s eyes were closed... which was nice. At least she didn’t look so dumb anymore.

Oh, he looks so sad.

I’m sorry, Mister Lero, sir. I didn’t mean to die. Really, I didn’t.

Reaching out to the human, not really thinking about what she was doing, Sherbert’s hoof passed right through her would-be rescuer’s face. As if she’d been hit with an electric shock, she pulled her hoof back, her incorporeality just another reminder that she was no more.

No, she’d passed on, ceased to be. Bereft of life she was now to rest in peace. She’d kicked the bucket, shuffled off her mortal coil, would soon be pushing up the daisies.

Yeah, she’d bucking snuffed it!

Oooh, hey, what’s that?

Woah, so cool! It’s Captain Dash. She’s here- I wonder why...

Oh...

Dammit! Why does it have to be the day I can’t get her autograph?

The girls at work would be so jealous!

It was so surreal. There she was, dead... dead as dead gets, with her own body rapidly cooling, there, right in front of her. And all she could do was just stand here... giggling like a little schoolfilly about missing out on her chance of an autograph.

It wasn’t real.

It couldn’t be.

Could it?

“So, t-this is it then?”

She hadn’t really expected an answer, but when one came it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

“Yes, I’m rather afraid that it is.”

Turning, Sherbert found another mare standing there, right next to her. She shouldn’t be able to stand perched on the rubble like that, should she? Had she been there a second ago? Yeah, she had, she must have been... right? She’d always been there, the last few minutes, the last few years... always, she’d always been there, for as long as Sherbert could remember. Always nearby. Always.

“Who are y-you?”

The mare smiled down at her. A kind smile, a smile that made her feel safe, that told her there was no need to worry, that everything would be alright. Sherbert knew she should be panicking, that she should be scared out of her mind, completely filled with dread and totally unable to speak...

...but she wasn’t. She wasn't the happiest mare in the world, this was true, but just looking at the mare next to her, just by being close to her... it made her feel better. Like she had when she was just a child, and her mom had still been around to gather her up in her arms and hold her close, to tell her that everything was going to be just fine. Back in the days when she believed.

The smile was so pretty, spread across a face of pure white... a white so pure it may as well be glowing. What was definitely glowing though was the mare’s - no, the alicorn’s - mane. Like her tail her mane floated around her, caught in the same ethereal breeze that graced the royal sisters with its touch, pushing the billowing mass of living fire back and forth at its whims.

Embers and small flames leapt and danced as they pulled themselves loose and floated free, some falling onto Sherbert’s own coat. But wherever these escapees touched her, they did not burn her coat, nor scorch her skin. Instead she felt an... essence touching her ever so gently, just as one would feel the gentle touch of a true friend.

“I think you know, my child.”

The mare continued to smile as she spoke. It was a nice smile, a warm smile. Literally, physically, not just figuratively. Warm, so warm. Sherbert could feel the it washing over her, coursing through her, banishing the cold that she felt creeping in around the edges of her soul.

“I am both Design and Dispatch.

I am Delivery and Departure.

I am the Discovery and I am the Doorway.

I was with you when you began your journey,

and I am beside you as it ends.”

Sherbert nodded. That made sense...

...even if it doesn’t.

Well, not who I’d been expecting.

Not exactly sure what I’d been expecting actually.

So... could be worse, I guess

“So, w-was that it? T-twenty three years? It didn’t s-seem very long.”

“Ah, but it was.

You got less than some, that is no lie, but more than others, this is also true.

But, at the end of the day, you got exactly the same as everypony else-”

A gentle forehoof came to rest on Sherbert’s withers, pushing back at the numbness that she hadn't even realised had been creeping its way across her body. The alicorn’s smile was still in place, but now it was one of a kindly parent, or teacher, passing on one of the greatest truths that one’s life could ever impart.

“-you got a lifetime’s worth.”

For a moment the two of them stood in silence as Sherbert let the words sink in.

“So, tell me- what did you like best?”

Such an odd question... and one that the young mare wasn’t sure how to answer. Was it a trick question? It wasn’t the kind of thing that was asked everyday, though the answer was so blindingly obvious.

“Apart from my f-familly?“

The alicorn nodded, her sedate smile returning with a vengeance, as if both the quick response and the way that Sherbert had been so sure of the answer had pleased her greatly.

“Hmmmm. I think... strawberry ice-cream.”

Before her lips had even finished forming the words, the sweet smell of strawberries came to her nose, her tongue tingling as the scent brought about so many happy memories- her childhood, her herd, her...

“An excellent choice."

...but what was it she was missing? What could she not remember? There was something important... something so very, very important.

“So, w-what’s next? Where do w-we go now?”

“What would you like to be next?

Where would you like to go?”

“W-well, somewhere nice... I h-hope.”

From the alicorn’s smile came a feeling of safety and warmth, of love and comfort. Memories of past events she hadn’t thought about in years washed over her, feelings she she hadn't let herself touch upon since she had been a filly... since her own mother had-

“My mom! Will m-my mom there?”

“Would you like her to be?”

“Y-yes. V-very much so.”

“Then so it shall be.”

Thoughts of her long departed mother filled her mind, memories she had pushed away for so long came to her, racing from memory to memory, place to place, all the happy moments of her fillyhood, long before-

Her alicorn companion had turned away, a large white forehoof waving at somepony over on the other side of the road. Standing at the hooves of a mint green unicorn, Sherbert could see a small, cream coloured filly with a huge, toothy grin and a bouncy mane of orange and gold, waving at them. Without thinking about what she was doing, Sherbert lifted a hoof and waved back.

Whomever this kid was - and she was a odd looking kid, though very cute in slightly exotic way - she must have been able to see them both as her waving only increased in enthusiasm. The adult mare - her mother surely, if the way that their bright, golden eyes matched so perfectly was anything to go by - pulled her daughter close and-

Cherry Fountain! How could I have forgotten about her?

In a panic, Sherbert caught the alicorn’s hoof with her own, demanding her attention.

“My d-d-daughter. Will she b-be okay? She’s only little. She w-won’t understand.”

As the alicorn took back her hoof, she used it to pull Sherbert closer, the warmth emanating from their contact seeping through the young mare’s skin, bringing with it waves of calm and reassurance.

“In time she will.

Not today, nor tomorrow, but eventually it will all work out for her.

Cherry Fountain is a fine young filly, and your herdmates are all good ponies.

You chose well, they’ll do you proud.

I promise you- it will not be as hard for her as it was for you.

And you will see her again some day, though not for a long, long time.

Of that you should be glad.

Now, come. We must go.”

“G-go? Where?”

All around them the edges of the world started to fade away.

It began in the distance, with the towers and the streets and the buildings. Then the shops and outdoor cafes, with their shoppers and onlookers both... they just faded away, as if a fog had rolled over them, obscuring them from view before it rolled away again, leaving nothing in behind in their place.

As the effect came closer each of the bystanders gradually ceased to be, losing both colour and form, like a picture being un-painted, a vibrant world being un-made, eventually a blank canvas being all that remained.

Soon the collapsed scaffolding and the many ponies that bustled about it were gone, the cart following it within seconds- the lifeless body and the human that watched over it disappearing from view.

“Somewhere nice, my child.

Somewhere very nice.”

In the end just Sherbert Dabble and her alicorn companion remained, standing side by side, alone in a world filled with nothing but all-encompassing white.

And then they too were gone.

72: 'Love' is a doing word.

'Love' is a doing word
Chapter published 06th April 2015

***********************

Princess Luna didn’t need an alarm clock. She was thousands of years old, the physical embodiment of a celestial entity, co-ruler of a nation, protector of an entire species, queen of the dream realm... and, mother dammit, she was a big girl and did not need an alarm clock.

This distinct, total and absolute lack of need might even go some way towards explaining why yet another of the sister-forsaken things had just bounced its way off of the wall of her bedchamber and into the waste bin - its crumpled carcass landing with an audible ‘sproing’ atop many, many of its similarly mutilated brethren.

Ten minutes later - maybe fifteen, could be twenty - the alicorn of the night poked her head out from under her bedcovers - bleary eyes and wavering magic searching for her favourite flask. Locating the required item - exactly where she’d left it the morning before, which was exactly where she left it every morning - both she and it disappeared back under the sheets.

Seconds later, a loud ‘sluuuuurp’ was followed by an equally loud ‘aaahhhh’, both noises signifying to any intrepid soul that might be present that the lunar princess had partaken of her first harmony-blessed shot of coffee of the day and it would now be safe to approach the royal bedstead... or at least, not as life-threateningly dangerous as it would have been just five minutes ago.

After a few more slurps, a midnight blue hoof poked its way out from under the bedspread, depositing the now empty flask on a nearby bedside table - almost knocking a battered and well-read proofing copy of The Old Mare and the Sea(1.0) to the floor in the process - before retreating back under the covers.

A few minutes more passed without any sign of movement from the pile of blankets until, reluctantly, Luna pushed the covers aside and rolled out of bed and onto her hooves.

Wandering her way over to the large picture window that dominated one side of her personal chamber, she pulled back the curtains, letting the late evening sun bathe her in its glorious light, leaving her blinking for the split second it took for her eyes to adjust. Unlike her sister, the princess of the night was naturally nocturnal, her eyes more accustomed to the shadows and silver of the night, and it took a just a moment for her to take in the world outside her window.

The sun was low in the sky, though it still being late summer meant that it would not need to be put to rest for a good while yet. All across the city the sun’s rays played across the roof tops as well as the streets below - casting long, lazy shadows, into which the capital’s citizens would disappear, just to reappear again seconds later, as they went about their business.

Yes, it was a lovely evening, but it’d be much better once shift change rolled around and she could really get her horn stuck into it all.

A pair of Lunar Guards flew into view, followed by a second pair, all four making their descent without any undue haste into the courtyard below her tower. Night fall would come soon enough, bringing with it the changing of the guards. For all that her Lunar Guard had a slightly more ‘rough and ready’ reputation that her sister’s Solar Guard, Luna knew that, even though to an outside observer they may have looked like they were in no hurry, every one of them would be exactly where they needed to be, exactly when they needed to be there.(2.0)

Leaving the window, Luna trotted barehoof across the room to the small, low table that held her royal accoutrements. After inspecting each piece intently, using a soft cloth to polish the titanium and platinum to a spellbinding shine wherever it needed it - no matter how much the castle staff insisted otherwise, Luna still insisted on looking after her own vestments - she slipped into her four shimmering horseshoes, hung her glistening torc around her neck, and settled her sparkling tiara into place between her ears.

Taking a good, long look at herself in a large mirror by the door, she liked what she saw. She liked it a lot.

Her ethereal mane billowed around her head regally, her coat shone a bluish black so glossy that it quite possibly pulled the late evening light out of the very air, and her eyes... well, the quite lovely shade of eyeshadow set off the teal of her magnificent irises perfectly.

Yes, she was, sleek, magnificent, stunning, breath-taking, fierce... and not at all like the frumpy, dumpy, slightly podgy, and eminently unremarkable pegasus filly that she’d left behind so many centuries ago. Thank the maker for passive alicorn magic, and the physique that came with it.

Ready to face the evening, Luna opened the door and let herself out of her personal chambers, striding out onto the landing, greeting her door guards in the incredibly regal and reserved manner that the castle had come to expect from their most delicate and demure princess of the night.

“Good evening, boys,“ she boomed. “Once again, one was not accosted whilst one slept. You’ve done a most marvelous job, as always. Hurrah!”

As their princess clapped one of her guards on the back with a forehoof, his twin - literally, Side Wind and Sun Stalker were brothers - across the way rolled his eyes. Their lady and mistress was always like this first thing in the evening. They weren’t sure what exactly was in that flask of coffee that the princess kept by her bed(3.0) but, while it certainly got her out of bed of a night time, it did leave her a touch... exuberant, for the next half an hour or so. Luckily this was usually just long enough to get her down to the royal tea room for breakfast and a nice, soothing camomile.

Either way, once they got her through those doors she was her sister’s problem, not theirs.

**********************

With the large double doors to the royal tea room flung wide, Luna strode - or, more accurately, swaggered - into the room.

“Good evening, sister of... oh”

Save for the breakfast table - with its soft cushions, fine china, and a pleasingly well-stocked buffet table sitting slightly off to the side - the room was completely empty.

Prancing across the room, Luna checked the balcony.

No Celestia.

Prancing back again, she had a peek back out into the corridor, the pair of Solar Guards attending the outside of the door watching her intently as she peered from left to right, the pair of Lunar Guards that had accompanied her here trying their best to ignore whatever erratic behavior she might be displaying until the effects of her so-called ‘coffee’ wore off.

Nope, still no Celestia.

She even had a look under the breakfast table... just in case.

No Celestia under there.

“Well, that’s no fun.”

Leaving their lunar diarch to whatever games she was playing, the pair of solar guards discreetly pulled the tea room doors closed. The soft ‘click’ of the door latch brought home to the alicorn of the night that she was well and truly alone. Just her... and a fully laden breakfast buffet.

Too bad, so sad.

“Well, hello, my little darlings,” Luna lowered her head as she stalked her way across the room towards a particularly alluring plate of Prench pastries. “it seems that it’s just you, me, and a very large pot of strawberry conserve. Have at me, you scoundrels!”

*************************

The War of the Breakfast Pastries had been hard fought, with numerous bold moves and tactical maneuvers on both sides, but within minutes the victor was blindingly obvious.

“Well fought, Madame Croissant. I salute you,” Luna remarked as she popped the last piece of jam-smothered(4.0) flakey pastry into her mouth. “And you certainly put up a cleaner fight than dastardly Captain Grapefruit over there.”

Glaring across the table, Luna gave a half eaten piece of fruit the stink eye... from the same eye that the aforementioned breakfast item had managed to squirt some of its juice into not five minutes beforehoof.

“Cheater! Just you wait for tomorrow.”

*************************

By the time that Luna had read all three of the evening newspapers that had been left out for her - accompanied by not one but two cups of a particularly delightful chamomile blend - there was still no sign of her sister... which was more than a little odd as sunset had been scheduled for exactly nine and half minutes ago.

Folding the third and final newspaper before returning it to its place at the edge of the table, Luna decided to give it the full ten minutes before checking up on her errant sibling.

From under the newspapers, a manila folder called for her attention. She ignored it. She knew what would be in it, but she made a point of not checking through the day’s paperwork until the moon had replaced the sun in the sky, at which point she would be officially ‘on the clock’.

Fifty seven hippopotomi...

Fifty eight hippopotomi...

Fifty nine hippopotomi...

Right, that was ten minutes, surely. Tia was now well and truly behind schedule and Luna wanted to know why.

Closing her eyes, she pushed herself beyond her corporeal form, reaching out towards the heavens. Finding Helios, she let the very edges of their essences touch, reminding him that she was there, enquiring as to his - and her sister's, for essentially they were one and the same - wellbeing.

Through their contact, Luna could feel a wealth of emotions roll over her, washing over her with their jumbled intensity.

First there was recognition, and love - truly, always the first things she felt whenever their embodiments touched. But today, trailing behind them were two other feelings that her sister did not often let slip... surprise and embarrassment. And, even further behind all that, there was the tiniest of hints of several other emotions that the princess of the sun did not easily display. A touch of guilt, a sliver of concern, and a rapidly growing pool of contentment.

The two of them did not communicate with words.. no, it didn't work like that. But Luna knew that her sister was safe, and that she was happy, both of which gave the princess of the night all the answers she needed. Luna pushed back a feeling of concern, coupled with a desire to support, almost instantly accepting a response of reassurance mixed with gratitude in return.

Through their contact, Luna could feel her sister’s aura push - in a non physical sense - control of Helios towards the younger sibling, the elder’s intent clear.

So, whatever it was that had delayed her sister, Celestia was in no danger but tied up enough that she would be appreciative if her sister could lower the sun without her. An unusual request, Luna thought, and one that her sister hardly ever asked of her, but one that she was happy to fulfill.

Wrapping her own aura around Helios, Luna could feel Celestia pull away, leaving control of the sun solely in the younger sibling’s hooves... metaphorically speaking, of course. As she bid her sister’s charge to begin his descent, she could feel a fair few emotions emanating from him, completely disconnected from that of her sister’s physical mind. Primarily it manifested as a crashing wave of amusement, followed up by a smattering of gratification, all topped off with more than a sizable dash of smugness.

As the sun slowly began to move its way down towards the horizon - behind schedule they may be, but there was no need to completely rush it - Luna’s ears picked up the traditional call and response(5.0) from the two pairs of guards just outside of the breakfast room’s door. As per royal protocol, once the sun had commenced its final journey for the day, the ceremonial ‘Changing of the Guards’ had begun.

"Solar Guard, we are ready to relieve you."

"Lunar Guard, we are ready to be relieved."

Usually, whenever Luna had either a sunset or sunrise all to herself, she’d delight in taking the time to craft a spellbinding display guaranteed to make poets weep and painters curse their sorely inadequate palettes. That wasn't to say that her sister was bad at them, per se, but she... she was just so much better. But tonight... well, they unfortunately were already running late as it was and the populous could be so twitchy about these things. That didn’t mean, however, she couldn't take a moment or two to leave her own hoofprints on the event.

Far beyond the planet’s atmosphere, Helios dipped below horizon, the golden hue of the late evening sunset deepening as the sky darkened, shimmering gold and the deepest of pinks making way for the most regal of purples and the darkest of blues to envelop the land. As Selene rose above the rapidly fading horizon, civil twilight made way for nautical twilight, which too made way for the astronomical twilight. One by one, thousands of stars made their presence known, a blanket of brilliant pinpricks covering the heavens, guarding the night, safekeeping those who would sleep far below them, standing ever vigilant until the dawn.

"Solar Guard, we relieve you."

“We stand relieved. Attention all hooves, the Lunar Guard has the door."

As the hoof-falls of the Solar Guard retiring for the night reached her ears, Luna took a moment to just watch the stars. They were looking especially lively tonight. Whatever it was that her sister - and, by association, Helios too - was feeling, it was certainly contagious.

*************************

Flipping to the next page of paperwork in her file, Luna levitated her second piece of toast to her lips. Taking an absent minded bite, she floated the almost blackened(6.0) slice of bread back to its plate as she paused in her perusing to double check her current report against the previous.

“Something doesn’t quite add up here,” she muttered to herself, only breaking away from her reading as her sister hurried into the room.

“Dear sister, I apologise for the lateness of my arrival.”

Lifting her (completely unnecessary) reading glasses from her snout, Luna regarded her elder sister as she settled herself down at the opposite side of the breakfast table. Something about Tia’s appearance piqued her interest, and she wasn't sure why. To the uninitiated she looked no different than she would on any other day, but to Luna’s alicorn senses something just seemed... off. The pink of her coat - just a little too pink. The billowing of her ethereal mane - just a little too... billowy.

“Not to worry, sister of mine.” Luna closed her folder, laying her eyeglasses on top of it on the table. “Though, I must admit, I am a little surprised by your - what’s the word that frightens Twilight so? - ah, yes: ‘tardiness’. It is so unlike you to be tardy.”

“Again, my apologies,” Celestia offered as she levitated two slices of gently toasted bread(7.0) from the toast rack. “I was a little... tied up. Could you pass the butter, please.”

“Really?” Luna crossed her forehooves at the ankle, letting them rest on the table as she passed the butter, “I was under the impression that the day court was to be finishing up early today. Did something unexpectedly pop up that required your undivided attention?”

“You could say that, yes.” Celestia returned the butter and reached for the strawberry jam. The jar was empty. This was not good - all that was left was the cranberry. “But not to worry, the matter at hoof has been delicately handled and thoroughly put to bed.. err, laid to rest.”

The usual evening chit chat followed, with Luna attempting to traverse the occasional inroad, verbally poking and prodding, trying to find out what it was that had her sister so unsettled. Celestia, for her part, was a grandmaster of the conversational arts and managed to head each attempt off at the pass.

Luna wasn’t going to let this one go, though. She watched her sister closely for clues - noting the slightly pinker areas around her sibling’s barrel, the way certain patches of her fur are laying against the grain, how some of the feathers on her left wing were ever-so-slightly ruffled, how her crown wasn’t quite straight, the way she occasionally shifted on her pillow, how the smell of lavender on the summer breeze was ever so slightly stronger than usual, how underneath was the subtle hint of....

Luna gasped.

The penny had dropped.

“You’ve been plowed!”

Celestia froze, her back ramrod straight, eyes wide. For a moment she could have been a statue carved from the glossiest of marble, were it not for a blob of jam dropping from her toast and falling to the floor spoiling the illusion,

“I am quite sure I have no idea what you could mean.”

“Don’t deny it.”

The grin that spread across Luna’s lips could only have been seen as being any more predatory if the Nightmare herself had returned and brought her sharp, pointy teeth with her.

“It may have been a while, sister of mine, but you can’t hide these things from me. Your mane, your coat, your...” the princess of the night leant in closer, taking a deep sniff of her sister’s coat, “smell. If anypony should know how sensitive an alicorn’s nose can be it should be you. The extra perfume was a good idea, but not good enough, I’m afraid.”

“Well, I am not sure what business it is of yours,” Celestia took a laughably dainty bite from her toast before placing it back on its plate, “but, yes - a certain somepony, whom I have been courting as of late, and I have recently moved our relationship on to the next level.”

“The next level?” Luna laughed out loud. “What nonsense. Someone’s had a good plucking, and about time too. Well done, Tia. I’m very happy for you. I didn’t think you still had it in you... though apparently you recently have.”

Celestia didn’t scowl very often, but that crude and utterly inappropriate comment certainly deserved one. Not that Luna noticed. No, she was too busy rubbing her forehooves together in glee.

“So, who’s the lucky stallion, then?. And yes, I know it’s a stallion. I know full well what delightfully masculine scents, and... secretions, a particularly virile partner can leave behind, no matter how hard you’ve tried to cover it up. Unlike you, I am no prude when it comes to matters of physical love.”

Celestia's already pink coat was rapidly becoming even pinker, no matter how much its owner wished that it wasn’t. She was well aware of her younger sister’s predilections... she’d crowed about them over the breakfast quite often enough. By mother, Celestia had always thought that she only did it to embarrass her... and now it seemed that she’d been right all along.

Delighting in her sister’s increased levels of unease, Luna reached over the table and cupped her sister’s cheeks in her forehooves. By mother, she loved to tease her sister, especially about anything sexual, and today was like all her Hearths Warming Eves had come at once.

“Ooooh, look at you. Soooo cute when you’re all flustered like this. So, out with it, who is it?”

“I would rather not say,” Celestia said defensively as she gently but firmly pushed her sister away.

”Why?” Luna tented her forehooves on the table and propped her chin on them, putting on the very best ‘innocent’ expression that she could manage. It wasn’t very convincing. “You know I’ll just.. sniff him out, whomever he is, eventually. Why not just tell me now and get it over and done with. Unless of course it’s somepony you shouldn’t be...”

Luna gasped again, pulling back and hiding her mouth behind a raised forehoof in a mock display of shock and horror.

“Oh, no. It’s not Lero, is it? Nibbling from your faithful student’s plate on the sly. So naughty of you. And so bold.”

Dropping her forehoof, Luna poked out her tongue, waiting for her sister to respond. This should be good.

“No, it is not Master Lero. I know better than to tread on your hooves.” Celestia retorted, poking out her own tongue in return. “No, it is just that the stallion is question would rather keep our relationship rather low key for now. He is concerned that it could unduly affect his reputation and standing here in the castle.”

“Oh, so it’s somepony in the castle then? One of the diplomats, maybe?” Luna eyed her sister carefully but found no help there. Her sister had one of the best poker faces in the nation... neigh, the world. “No, you would not go there, for fear of being accused of losing your impartiality. A noble maybe? No, those pompous, grasping foals would never ask to keep something like this quiet. The possible bragging rights alone would blow most of their tiny little minds.”

Luna tapped her chin as her mind ran through the possibilities. They were running short allready.

“So that leaves either the staff or the guards. There’s a number of fine looking attendants in our employ, and I know there’s at least two chefs in the kitchens that are just your type. Hmmmm. No, it’s not a staff member, is it, my sister? No, you’ve always had more of a thing for stallions with backbone, boys with bark, you’re not so far from myself in that respect...”

Try as she might to do otherwise, Celestia was starting to look quite shifty. Heck, by now even her mane was starting to look shifty. Conversely, if Luna’s toothsome grin had gotten any bigger it would have met her ears.

“It’s one of the royal guards, isn’t it?”

Lifting a steaming cup of jasmine tea to her lips, Celestia took a small, unhurried sip.

“No comment.”

That was it... ears and lips met in the grandest unison of the ages. Well, at least since her sister’s grand unison of earlier in the day.

“And that’s all the answer I need, dear sister.” Luna’s expression shifted from one of pure glee to stonefaced professionalism so quickly that, had she not been an alicorn, whiplash could have been a very real problem. “Very well, I can see why he’d be wanting to keep it quiet, especially if he’s...”

Celestia swallowed, and it had nothing to do with a mouthful of hot tea. No, the grin was back. And it had reinforcements

“Oh my! It’s one of your Solar Guards, isn’t it.” If Luna’s eyes had sparkled any harder she’d have needed ruby quartz glasses so she wouldn’t dazzle the masses. “Well, well, well. One of your own bodyguards. Talk about playing close to home. Well, it’s been a few millennia but it wouldn’t be the first time you’ve been caught with your hooves in the cookie jar.”

Putting down her teacup, Celestia cleared her throat - which still ached a little if she was to be one hundred percent honest - and fixed her sister with one of her ‘I’m dead serious’ expressions. She’d admit that maybe... just maybe.. Luna was entitled to indulge in some familial teasing, but she was going to have to nip this line of enquiry in the bud before it got any further out of hoof.

“What I and one of the Royal Guards may, or may not, be doing in our own time is no pony’s concern but our own. And yes, he asked if we could keep our... interactions a private matter for now, a request I am happy to honour.”

Thankfully, Luna nodded her understanding of the present need for tact and diplomacy - and the real stuff, not what she usually took for ‘tact’ - in this case, though the sparkle didn't completely leave her eyes.

“Well, I for one am glad you're finally taking some time to enjoy yourself. I know you have this strange aversion to finding yourself a herd-”

Celestia opened her mouth to speak but Luna held up a hoof.

“-Yes, I know. ‘Our subjects are more important than your needs’, blah-blah-blah. But even so, for the life of me I still don’t see why you didn’t just gather yourself a harem, just as we did in olden days. Yes, I agree, times may have changed, but I still doubt that they’ve changed so much that the nation would begrudge you a stallion or three here or there. The role of royal consort was a highly saught-after position - if one will pardon the pun - once upon a time and I honestly see no reason why it could not be again. If you enjoy this stallion of yours so much, why not re-establish the tradition. I would heartily support you if the nobles were to decide to make a scene...” a pair of forehooves met with an audible ‘crack’. “Actually, especially if the nobles were to make a scene.”

Finishing her last piece of toast, Luna rose from the table, brushing non-existent crumbs from her coat as she gathered up the day’s paperwork and tucked it under a wing.

“Alas, duty calls and I must depart. The national tax bureau have some interesting new proposals regarding the closing of yet more loopholes in the foreign trading laws that they wish to discuss. Those greedy nobles - you’d think they’d be happy with what they already have. Their nests are feathered quite enough without them engaging in these under-hoofed offshore tax avoidance schemes. Oh well. I shall see you in the morning, dear sister, at which time I hope to hear all about your new beau.”

Opening the double doors with her magic, Luna strode past the pair of Lunar Guards standing guard and out into the corridor.

“Captain Shield, let us depart.”

“Yes, ma’am,” came the reply... but not from the particular captain that she had been expecting.

“Captain Hide, what are you doing here? I was under the impression that today was your day off?”

“Last minute trade with Captain Shield, Ma’am.”

Well, this was unusual. In all the years that Captain Shield had served her, he had taken neither any unplanned vacation days nor engaged in any sick leave. In fact, more than a few times over the years she’d had to order him to take a week off here or there or he’d never use up his paid leave.

“Really, why?” Luna asked, actually concerned for her errant captain's welfare. “Is he unwell?”

“No, ma’am, not really. He’s just spending the rest of the day in bed. He’ll be fine by tomorrow. He’s not at all ill, ma’am - he’s just a little...”

As Captain Hide’s eye’s moved from his princess to the the gap between the rapidly closing double doors, his mouth twitched, obviously torn between trying not to laugh and figuring out what he could say without dropping his colleague squarely in the doo-doo.

“Well, out with it,” Luna snapped. To her, the wellbeing of her guards was of paramount importance and she did not like being left out of the loop. No, not one little bit.

“...exhausted, ma’am.”

Luna turned, following Captain Hide’s eyes. The last thing she could see as the doors to the breakfast room slowly but surely sealed themselves shut was the grin on her sister’s face. A grin so large and toothsome that she hadn’t seen its like on her sister’s face in centuries.

Faced with nothing but a pair of pure white doors, her alicorn hearing picking up a soft chuckle from the other side, Luna’s head dropped.

“Mother-dammit, Tia,” she growled, “not again.”

1.0: The only copy in the nation at that point. While publishing house Random Stable had made repeated requests of ever increasing urgency for their proofing manuscript to be returned, the crown had ‘mysteriously’ misplaced(1.1) it at least three times now.

1.1:By this point Random Stable’s fellow - and slightly more pragmatic - publishing house Pangolin Imprint had already given up on the idea of Princess Celestia ever returning their own proofing copy of ‘Charlotte’s Web’ and had instead created a second copy to take its place.

2.0: And she was right. While the Lunar Guard had a reputation for being a lot less rigid than the Solar Guard - to the point where many joked that their motto should be ”Laboris gloria Ludi”(2.1) - they took their duty incredibly seriously.

2.1: It was actually “Nox Noctis est Nostri" - The Night is Ours. While their ‘unofficial’ motto was obviously more fun, most agreed that the official version held just the right balance between a statement of fact, a declaration of intent, and an unspoken threat. It didn’t hurt that, when it came to the annual intra-guard-service war games, they had not only beaten(2.2)the Solar Guard hooves down in every category for the last three years, but also the Crystal Guard, the Regular Royals and the Border Patrol. The bottom line was - no one messed with the Lunar Guard.

2.2: Neither the Wonderbolts nor the Shadowbolts were allowed to compete. The Wonderbolts because they were not technically classified as ‘guards’, and the Shadowbolts as they didn't officially exist.

3.0: Previous chemical analysis from Canterlot University had come back with an envelope stuffed full of hazchem stickers and a rather curt report which simply stated: “Extremely Toxic! Do. Not. Touch!”

4.0: Contrary to popular opinion, Luna hated cranberry and had no idea as to why it kept turning up on the breakfast table no matter where she went. Celestia, on the other hoof, knew exactly why the castle staff, and any other places that her sister might visit for that matter, made sure to always have a large pot of her sister’s ‘most favourite of jams’ take pride of place on the breakfast table.

5.0: Upon Luna’s return to power, the Royal Guard had commissioned an archeological expedition to hunt down every book of ancient protocol and ceremonial tradition that could be found. Within less than a week, the long disbanded Lunar Guard had been recreated and fully staffed(5.1), and by the time that the Princess of the Night was ready to resume royal duties every single castle guard was well drilled in over a dozen ceremonial traditions from over a thousand years before.

5.1: A surprising(5.2) number of royal guards - from all three tribes - had requested a transfer to the Lunar Guard. Once the Thestrals had decided to step out of the shadows and rejoin mainstream pony society - most of which volunteering their own services to the Princess of the Night - Luna actually had more guards at her personal disposal than her sister did.

5.2: Well, not that surprising really, once it was taken into consideration just how cute Princess Luna had been immediately after her return.

6.0: As far as Luna was concerned, if the bread hadn’t been on fire at some point then it couldn’t truly be counted as toast.

7.0: Both slices having been barely tickled by the toaster, browned just enough to tip them from being called ‘bread’ to being called ‘toast’... unlike the scarcely recognisable charred and smouldering mess that her sister called breakfast.

Author's Note

Still got writer's block. Dammit. :twilightangry2:

73: No bravery in your eyes anymore.

No bravery in your eyes anymore (only sadness).
Chapter published 13 Oct 2014

***************

Trying desperately not to lose his footing on the slick floor, he runs, through darkened tunnels that close in on him with every step, feet slipping and sliding on the mucus covered floor, stumbling as traction is lost and found time and time again.

He’s back there; back in the tunnels, back in the hive. The glowing walls, the dripping slime, the squelchy underfoot... whatever it was. There’s the occasional bout of silence amidst the otherwise indecipherable background noise; part mindless buzzing, part a language he can't understand.

He turns a corner, and another, takes a side tunnel, veers left at a fork... he should have crossed back over his own path by now, surely? Left hand on the wall, keep turning left, turning left, turning left.

The glow recedes, the tunnel up ahead is pitch dark, just a slight glimmer in the far distance... the light at the end of the tunnel maybe? Steeling himself, he pushes into the darkness, concentrating on the distant light, eyes on the prize.

He’s almost through the patch of darkness when his foot catches on he knows not what.. momentum pitching him forward onto his knees.

Turning, trying to rise, he finds his foot is caught, something snagged on his shoe.

In a panic he jerks and kicks, trying to wrench himself free, all the while scooting back on his behind, fingers grabbing what purchase they can on the slick uneven floor.

Foot finally freed, he pushes himself back, his spine presses up against the tunnel wall.

He can see what it was that had snagged him.

Lifeless eyes stare back at him from the other side of the tunnel, eyes that had previously glowed a dull yellow, now just dull. The drone lay, lifeless, thorax crushed by bucking hooves, the body slumped and immobile.

Lifeless or not, he can feel the corpse’s gaze on him, eyes on eyes.

As he rises, desperate to put as much distance between him and this... reminder as he can, the drone’s face twitches. It starts at the eye, just a twitch, followed by a tiny movement around the ear. Then... nothing.

Backing away slowly, he stops, frozen in place as the drone’s lips start to move. He expects... he doesn't know what he expects... a screech maybe... unintelligible chittering perhaps?

What he doesn't expect is a soft whisper, in perfect Equestrian.

One word, the same single word over and over.

Why?

Turning, he runs, down the tunnel, to anywhere but here. Slipping, sliding, grabbing whatever handholds he can as he flees. Any idea of sticking to a single direction is abandoned as he runs.

Slumped against tunnel walls, half hidden in the darkness of the side tunnels, more corpses stare at him from behind dull, lifeless eyes, waiting for him to pass them by.

None move, none twitch, nothing at all, except for their lips... their lips move, pushing forth the same one word question, the words dogging his heels, wrapping around him as he runs..

Why?

The smell... by God the smell. It drifts along on the non-existent breeze, becoming stronger by the second, as if it’s fuelled by the words following him. Spoiled food, rotting fish, well aged manure, trash heaps on long hot summer days... the smell owes much to each of these aromas, but it is more, much more than these.

If death has a smell, then this is it.

Turning a bend, he can see that the next section of passage is empty, and for this he is momentarily grateful. But it doesn’t last.

From darkened offshoots, drones shuffle forth... heads hang loosely on uneven shoulders, limbs drag on stone floors. They move slowly, jerking from step to step, like the classically undead.

Many... most... damn near all are injured- deformed bodies wrapped around twisted skeletons.

As they shuffle closer, their one word question preceding them, he can see patches of chitinous skin peeling away, revealing not the green flesh and blood he had expected, but patches of pastel coloured coats of fur.

Why?

A flank here, a crest there... the occasional pegasus wing pokes through from a partly peeled barrel, a horn from a fractured forehead, a sprout of tail here, an eruption of mane there.

As one drone continuously bumps its head into a wall he can make out a cutie mark peeking from between shattered chitin... a pair of dolphins, chasing each other's tails. On another drone he catches sight of a golden trumpet.

Why?

A single drone moves directly into his path, blocking his escape. Its face is a mess, all around its eyes and down its cheeks are smeared with congealed green blood, the skin around its eye sockets twisted and pushed inwards.

But the worst thing... the eyes themselves are gone, just blank, bottomless holes of pure darkness.

From deep within the blackness two orbs form; rose colored irises around large soulful pupils. Green liquid spills and falls from around the eyes like tears, rolling down cheeks and falling to the floor.

LIps quiver, skin flaking loose to reveal pale blue beneath. The mouth moves, muscles pulling as more dark brown skin falls away. A soft voice flows... Rainbow’s voice.

Why?

He holds his hands up in front of him, to fend off the drone as more and more skin falls away, dark brown giving way to sky blue. The same green goo that covers this... Not-Rainbow’s face covers his hands. Turning his palms towards his face, he can see that they’re coated... drenched, the liquid slowly seeping down from his thumbs, across his palms, and down past his wrists.

Backing away, flicking as much he can from his hands, he turns, runs, blindly away, down any tunnel that presents itself to him. Hole-filled hooves reach for him from the darkness, staggering figures stumble into view, just to fade away back out of sight again. Chitin cracks, skin flakes away, sloughs to the floor. Colours become more numerous- pinks, yellows, blues and greens. Their single-minded question following him wherever he fled.

Why?

But the eyes... the eyes remain the same... always dead, dull, devoid of life.

He runs, and runs, and runs. Slipping and sliding, rough rock tears at the skin of his hands and knees. Stumbling, staggering, moving wherever the tunnels take him.

The tunnel ends, finally... thankfully.

He bursts into an open space.. still enclosed but much larger than the tunnels.

It is just as he remembers- the high arching roof far overhead, the sickly orange glow of the wall mounted orbs, the dark and destitute displays of stained glass, the remains of a once impressive throne now rotting away at the cavern’s core.

The stench had beaten him there, lain in wait for his arrival. As had the bodies. But in this case, they are immobile, lifeless, strewn as they are around the room, scattered about here and there.

Off to one side is a huge pile of corpses, all thrown together haphazardly- legs, heads, bodies, all mix and meld, making it impossible to tell where one drone ends and the next begins. The colours mix and merge- blues and whites and creams and oranges. One thing that they all have in common is the smell- the smell of death... death and decay.

At least they are silent, their lips still and unmoving. Thank heaven for small mercies, no? If there was indeed anything to be thankful for in this hideous nightmare of a sight.

From the edge of the room, off to his side, there is movement. He turns, finding the changeling queen sitting in front of one of the glass displays, its large panel dark, its imagery hidden from view.

She stands, turning towards him. Her eyes glow, much brighter than the orbs across the walls, brighter than anything else he has seen in the hive so far.

She moves, stiffly at first, staggering towards him. Her mane is limp, hanging lifelessly from her head. One of her fangs is missing, the side of her mouth twisted and puffy from the impact that had knocked it free. A large gash on her neck leaks green blood, copious amounts of the life giving fluid rolling down her chest and legs before dripping to the floor.

Why?

Around the gash on her neck, skin starts to peel- small flakes at first, quickly followed larger chunks, then full blown sheets of chitin fall to the floor as she moves. Brown gives way to gleaming white, pristine fur shining through as all across the left side of her body becomes uncovered, exposed from foreleg to flank.

From the side of her barrel the largest wing that he has ever seen unfurls... an alicorn wing, easily dwarfing that of the alicorn princesses.

The side of her face sags, skin dropping away, revealing more dazzling white fur from forehead to chin. The front of a single glowing yellow eye falls free like a massive tinted contact lens, leaving a single stunning iris of the most vibrant of greens in its place. At the eye’s centre the jet black pupil pulls at his gaze- hinting, whispering, promising that the secrets of the universe are held within its endless depths.

Behind the was-once-a-changeling-queen the strands of her tail fall to the floor, as at the same time her mane falls from her scalp- both piles of hair losing their colour, the previously vibrant orange fading away to grey as soon as they touch the floor. From their previous homes, coils of fire erupt, waving and weaving their way through the air before forming into an ethereal mane.

My children... Why would you do this to them?

She, this unholy gestalt of changling and alicorn, advances towards him, stepping over her own abandoned skin. He can feel the heat from her mane, pushing against his own skin, curling his eyelashes, tearing into his hair.

He holds out his hands in front of him, as if they would protect him. The heat scorches his skin, baking the blood that covers his palms, the liquid boiling dry before burning away, taking exposed skin and flesh with it. The pain was excruciating... but meant nothing to him right now.

Why, human? How could you?

Even with the flames around her, his burning skin and bubbling flesh... she didn’t seem angry, the thermal onslaught born of neither great vengeance nor furious anger. No, she was more... she wanted to know... needed to know.

They just wanted to live! How could it come to this?

But nothing came to mind. No reasons, or explanations or excuses. Nothing he could say could make it okay, could ease a mother's pain, could make the hurt go away.

There was nothing he could say... but he said it anyway.

I’m sorry. I’m so very, very sorry.

*********************

The return to reality was a sudden one.

Lifting an arm, Lero let it drape over his face, blocking the single shaft of moonlight that poked in through the crack in the curtains.

In the darkness of the main bedroom of his herd’s Canterlot apartment, the human’s eyes adjusted to the lack of light. The edge of the ceiling, where it met the far wall, drifted into focus, his eyes moving down to the ornate frame of the large mirror on the wall across from the bed.

From beside him, Lyra’s gentle snores broke the silence. For a pony so adamant that she didn't snore, she sure did a lot of it. Still, at least she was a whole lot quieter than Rainbow-. that girl snored like a buzzsaw in heat. But, as their pegasus herdmate was out in charge of the Wonderbolt’s night watch this week that left Lyra in charge of nocturnal noisy-times until Sunday.

Technically it hadn't been Rainbow’s turn to take the graveyard shift but, as Soarin’s herd had come into heat last weekend, the poor guy had been so worn out that by Tuesday she’d given him the rest of week off and taken on his shift herself. But, what with Rainbow being Rainbow, she’d made sure to tease the life out of him about it first.

Letting his hand drop, Lero reached for the other mare that would, or should, be sharing his bed this night.. and found nothing but empty sheets.

Doing his best not to disturb Captain Snorey Hooves, Lero turned to where he had expected to find Twilight. Finding the unicorn’s spot empty he patted the sheets, finding no residual body warmth.

Shuffling himself along the bed, again careful not to wake his sleeping wife, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and got up. He needed to take a leak anyway so he might as well see where Twilight had wandered off to. Either checking up on the kids or passed out in her study he’d wager.

Leaving the bedroom, he wandered down the hall, not really thinking about where he was going, letting his feet carry him to the bathroom. His feet conveyed him to where he needed to go, his body going through the motions without him, his mind elsewhere until the job was done.

Back into hallway he came to the door to Twilight’s study, finding the door ajar, no light coming from within. Pushing the door, he found the room empty, books strewn all across the floor and desks just as their owner had left them. An entire wall painted with blackboard paint held equations he didn’t comprehend, diagrams he couldn’t understand.

For the first time in... God only knew how long now, he thought of his father. Was this what it was like when he’d wandered into his own wife’s study- indecipherable scribblings hanging from the walls, tomes piled up in every corner, far too many books to fit onto the shelves.

Leaving the room, Lero moved down the hall to the nursery. Pushing the door open he found his prize, his lavender coated wife. She was asleep on the floor, her legs tucked up underneath her, her head slumped against the side of their daughter’s cot, her chest slowly moving in and out with every breath.

Smiling to himself, Lero retrieved a blanket from a pile by the door, unfolded it, and tucked it around his herdmate’s sleeping form. It wasn't that chilly tonight but Twilight did seem to feel the cold more than the rest of them, especially since little Star Song had come along.

Using a finger, he wiped a small patch of drool from his wife’s chin, wiping it on the blanket before leaning down and kissing her on the forehead.

Peering into the cot, he found his daughter laying on her side, fast asleep with one tiny forehoof stuffed into her mouth. Her own blanket was tucked lightly around her but she’d managed to dislodge her little wooly hat at some point since Twilight had come to check on her.

Reaching down, Lero gently lifted Star Song’s head, pulling her hat back into place, making sure that both of her ears were poking out of the earholes. As he let her head down again, carefully sliding his fingers free, his daughter burbled in her sleep before returning to chewing and sucking at her forehoof.

After watching for a few moments, his daughter showing no signs of stirring, he carefully backed out of the room and into the hall.

The next door down was Sweet Spirit’s room and, as always, she’d left the door wide open.

Poking his head around the door he found his eldest daughter fast asleep in her bed, all sprawled out on her back with her covers twisted around her legs. Lero knew better than to try rearranging her blankets as she’d only kick them off again within minutes. Rainbow swore blind the girl was part pegasus as she never seemed to get cold, no matter the season.

Grasped in the young - though by no means small - filly’s hooves were a pair of dolls- though Rainbow also swore blind that they were ‘action figures’ and not ‘dolls’. In one hoof she had a Commander Spitfire doll, a ‘Fully Poseable Captain Rainbow Dash Action Figure’ in the other... both with ‘real wing flapping action’, or so the manufacturers had promised.

From up on the walls the face of ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie’ stared down, watching ever vigilantly from the huge hoof-signed poster that took up a huge chunk of wall-space. On the opposite wall Wonderbolts posters had to share valuable real-estate with the gawping faces of the latest colt-band sensation that Lero was sure his daughter was way too young to be this fascinated by.

Again, from out of nowhere he was struck by the memory of his dad. Was this scene just the same as had happened time and again in a world so far away? Was Lero replaying the acts of his own father as he watched his children sleep, safe in the knowledge that the things he'd done, the things he'd seen, even the actions that he wasn’t particularly proud of, had all been so his children could live in a better, safer world.

Had there been nights when Aristotle had awoken from bad dreams, just to find solace by watching his children sleep the sleep of the innocent.

Was history so cyclical that the same scene played out again and again and again.

Would his children, and their children, and their children beyond that, go through these same actions over and over.

Pulling Sweetie’s door at least partway closed behind him, Lero wandered off down the hall and into the kitchen. Absently snagging an empty glass from a countertop and filling it from the tap at the sink he gulped down the cool water, answering a thirst that, if he was to be honest, hadn't even been there in the first place.

Leaving the glass by the sink, he wandered over to the huge family size refrigerator in the corner of the room. Pulling the door open, he was greeted by a multitude of items that he had absolutely no intention of eating.

Holding the door open, he let the bright light from within the massive ice-box bathe his face, leaving a huge bipedal silhouette on the otherwise dark wall behind him.

Leaning forward, his forehead met the top lip of the doorway, the magically cooled air rolling out of the refrigerator to nip at his skin all the way from his chin to his toes.

How long he stood like this, he had no idea.

Had this been what it had been like for his father? Nightmares? Flashbacks? Nightmares mixed with flashbacks?

Even as a kid, Lero hadn't been stupid. He’d seen how dad had reacted to any mention of the first Gulf War, or his later service with the United Nations forces around the east African coast, how they’d both brought memories the older man had long buried back to the surface.

Then, as he’d gotten older, and his dad had been more forthcoming about the things he’d seen and done in a distant life long before his son had even been born, Lero had understood, at least a little, about why his father had been so dismayed when what eventually had been known as The Dustbowl War had flared up back in twenty sixteen, the twenty four hour news channels unceasingly beaming the action to ears and eyes all around the globe.

The look Lero had seen on his father’s face as he’d relived the past, this same look had been echoed on the faces of the soldiers - some barely older than Lero himself - coming home, back to their homes and families, over the following years. He’d heard the phrase ‘the thousand yard stare’ many times in his life... but these brave men and women, many seemed to be staring even further than that, maybe as far as the ends of the Earth.

Forehead still against the edge of the fridge, pinpricks of frost poking at his skin, Lero was startled, brought back to the here and now by a sound... a gentle knock at the kitchen window.

Closing the refrigerator, the sudden absence of the interior light dropping the kitchen back into darkness, Lero’s eyes struggled to adjust as he gazed out of the floor to ceiling windows. He could make out a large shape standing the balcony, waiting for him to answer. He didn’t need to see the fine details to know who it was- few ponies would knock on their kitchen door, and only one at this time of night.

Opening the door, he found - as expected - a large black form standing there, nebulous mane billowing in the ethereal winds, concern etched across teal coloured eyes.

A jet black wingtip reached out towards him, coming to rest on his shoulder.

Do you want to talk about it?

And he did... he very much did.

74: All the colors of the rainbow - by Stitchwolf

All the colors of the rainbow - by Stitchwolf
Chapter published 15th July 2014
**********************

A calm breeze wafted past Lero’s face as he strode toward the Carousel Boutique, a garment bag slung over his left shoulder. He briefly glanced up toward the afternoon sky, satisfied that the few clouds the weather team had stationed above Ponyville didn’t pose a risk of meeting an errant Everfree cloud and beginning an unexpected downpour later that evening.

Thoughts of Rainbow, Twilight and Lyra had been forefront in his mind for the last few weeks, tensions rising at first imperceptibly and then growing day by day as this year’s Grand Galloping Gala approached. The previous few years had been easy enough, the herd had simply decided not to attend the event. Lero had heard tales of the disastrous first time Twilight, Rainbow and their friends had attended, and having himself never seen the appeal of grandiose balls, he’d simply suggested they skip it in favor of a nice evening meal out. But this year, after Twilight’s elevation to the rank of Duchess, Celestia had none-too-subtly suggested they should all attend this year’s Gala.

Thus began the stress that had been slowly building the past few weeks. Twilight had launched herself into research on proper royal decorum and protocol, and had then insisted on impressing such information onto Lyra and Rainbow, lest they, as Twilight had put in, accidentally use the wrong hoof to carry a glass of wine and in so doing somehow cause the fall of Equestria itself.

After their last session it had taken several hours of soothing words and mane combing before Twilight’s eye would stop twitching and hairs in her mane would stop springing out of place.

While Lyra -- having grown up in Canterlot -- wasn’t unfamiliar with it all, he and Rainbow seemed to be at wits end trying to keep up with the etiquette lessons, which Rainbow had universally declared to be ridiculous, outdated and completely not awesome.

Pushing his way past the front door to the boutique and listening to the chimes signal his arrival, Lero reflected that perhaps he’d gotten lucky in that regard. As a male, if not a stallion, his duties at the Gala would consist of standing by his herd, maintaining polite conversation with any mares or stallions who approached, and essentially trying his best to look what they considered to be ‘as respectable and handsome as a proper stallion should’; a nebulous concept amongst ponies which he barely understood even now.

Lero was greeted by the muffled sounds of a rather irate unicorn and pegasus duo emanating from the other side of the closed door to Rarity’s inspiration room. Rainbow had been stressed all week, the additional etiquette lessons for the herd compounding her already sizable workload. He had known from that morning when she set off to have a new dress made that Rarity and Dash would end up coming to at the very least verbal, and he hoped not physical, blows.

Recalling his duty as stallion of a herd to help calm things down, Lero strode cautiously to the closed door and hesitantly taking in a deep breath, raised his clenched hand for a solid knock.

“Rainbow, is everything okay in there? Rarity, I’m here for my appointment.”

The muffled arguments suddenly ceased, and an aura of light blue magic enveloped the door before it swung open. His pegasus herdmate stood on a dais on one side of the room, glaring at the unicorn on the other as though her gaze might will Rarity to spontaneously combust. Rarity herself looked little better, her jaw clenched and her tail twitching before she shook her head slightly and turned to the door, a smile beginning to replace the grimace which had seemed moments before etched on her face.

“Lero! Oh, I’m so sorry to keep you waiting. I didn’t hear you come in and Rainbow and I were just… discussing options for her new dress. Yes, just a simple discussion, and I was so caught up in the moment that I simply didn’t hear the door chime. My apologies.”

Lero glanced between Rarity and Rainbow, and remembering that sometimes discretion is the better part of valor, simply shrugged it off. “Of course. So should I come back later? I thought Rainbow would be done here an hour ago.”

“So did I!” The polychromatic pegasus muttered, trotting over to her human and nuzzling under his hand. Rainbow then glared over at Rarity. “So? Are we done? Can I finally go?”

Rarity sighed, shaking her head a little. “Of course, darling, of course. But I’ll need to see you again in a couple of days once I’ve put together a suitable replacement design. As it is I’ll need to figure out a way to break it to poor Twilight. She was so looking forward to seeing you in the initial design.”

“Not cool, Rarity. Not cool.” Rainbow stated and glanced up nervously at Lero. “Fine, whatever. Good luck with her, Big Guy. You’ll need it. I’ll see you at home later tonight.”

With a quick few flaps of her wings and a gust of wind Rainbow was out the door and into the sky. Rarity for her part simply sighed and stared up at the human before her. “Honestly Lero, sometimes I just don’t know how you put up with that mare. I love her dearly, but every now and then she just makes me want to scream.”

“Don’t be too hard on her, Rarity. She’s been having a tough few weeks,” Lero said, making a mental note to devote a good deal of time tonight to comforting the pegasus. “Twilight’s just as stressed, if not more so. Only Lyra seems to be mostly unaffected.”

Something about the waters of a calm stream wearing away even the roughest of boulders, Lero recalled her saying.

“Well, she is in a herd with a Duchess now. Responsibilities such as the Gala are bound to become more and more common.” Rarity shuddered slightly at her mention of the Gala before igniting her horn and swiftly levitating the garment bag from Lero’s shoulder, quickly peeling it away to reveal the suit she’d designed for him shortly after he’d first arrived in Equestria. “At least she has you, Twilight and Lyra to help her through it. Still, you might want to remind her that I’m only trying to help, and yelling at me isn’t necessarily conducive to my muse.”

“I take it that’s why she was still here just now? What was she so upset about?”

Rarity glanced to a pile of fabric on the floor before shrugging it off and focusing on the suit suspended by her magic. “It’s… nothing, darling, just a minor design disagreement. At least she finally agreed that it was time for me to design her a new dress. If it was up to Rainbow she’d probably wear something outdated like her old Gala dress, or the one she wore at Cadence’s wedding, both of which are horribly out of fashion now.”

“But those were just a couple of years ago…” Lero stated, idly wondering how fast Equestrian fashion changed. He’d never paid much attention to it, or even Earth fashion from back home for that matter. What was the old line? Fashion is a form of ugliness so absolutely unbearable that we have to alter it every six months? Probably best not to mention that to Rarity.

Rarity, grinning, raised both forelegs off the ground in a quick clap of her hooves. “Exactly! A couple of years ago Pegasopolis traditional was in fashion! Now it’s all new Prench Rose! And just look at this suit, Lero! Now don’t get me wrong, it looks fabulous on you, but the cuffs are much too wide and the lapels are far, far too skinny for today’s fashion. These days the style is to emphasize not just the breadth of your chest but it’s depth as well! And sweet Celestia, what was I thinking with this button stance?”

Lero blinked and stared at the suit as it floated in the middle of the room, completely at a loss for words. “Okay…. But you can fix all of that, right? Or make another in time for the Gala? Somehow I doubt Twilight would forgive me if I told her I had to go in my work casuals.”

“Oh, of course, my dear. You’re a stallion, so you’re easy, design-wise. Emphasize your chest and natural coloration, perhaps take in a little fabric in the pants to draw some… but not too much… attention to your flanks, and voila,” exclaimed the unicorn happily. “Now given your herd and your importance as a Duchess’ stallion, I’ll at least have to work in some of Twilight’s coloration into your suit, perhaps around the cuffs in the tie, but that should be more than doable.”

“What about Dash and Lyra’s?” Lero queried, concerned about maintaining equity. He’d learned very quickly that developing jealousy in a herd was something he wanted to make sure to avoid.

Rarity tilted her head and stared at the suit, considering her options. “Well, given that it is the Gala and Twilight’s first as Duchess, her coloration will need to take precedence. Perhaps I can work together a purple tie with aquamarine patterning of some form. But with Rainbow… well, if you plan to display her feather in your hair then perhaps trying to work it into the suit isn’t needed?”

“That sounds fine. I’m sure whatever you come up with will work. You haven’t let us down yet, after all.”

Rarity beamed at the praise, her telekinesis quickly placing the suit back in its bag and gathering up a tape measure and quill to replace it. “Of course, of course. Now, why don’t you head into the changing room over there and remove as much clothing as you feel comfortable with. I’ll just take a few new measurements and get right to work.”

Lero nodded and headed to the changing room, careful to avoid knocking his head on the low arched entrance. He was glad that Rarity had remembered he didn’t like removing his undergarments in front of anyone outside of his herd. When he’d refused the first time she’d misunderstood his nervousness for belligerence and had nearly torn them from him in exasperation. That had resulted in an awkward conversation he was glad he wasn’t required to bring up again.

While quickly removing his jeans and shirt, Lero thought back to the muffled yelling he’d heard earlier. He normally wasn’t one to meddle, and he knew that even with as notorious a gossip as Rarity could be, she rarely did so about her clientele, but he also knew he’d need to help calm Rainbow down later that evening, and it would be far easier if he knew what they were arguing about and could plan his response to it ahead. Gathering up his loose clothing, he called out to the alabaster unicorn in the other room. “Mind telling me what it was you and Rainbow were arguing about? I don’t mean to pry, but I’m the one that has to live with her after all. I take it she didn’t like a design idea?”

An exasperated huff could be heard as Lero exited the changing room, Rarity already motioning for him to take his place upon the platform for measurement. “She didn’t so much have an issue with the idea so much as the… hmm, how I can put this… the direction. You know that both Rainbow and Twilight have never much been one for fashion. And while I understand why and where it comes from, I’ve been trying to broaden their horizons as it were, especially now that Twilight has been elevated. Twilight seems to understand, but Rainbow simply won’t budge.”

“Well, maybe I can help convince her if it’s that important to you. What is she taking issue with?” While knowing Rainbow wasn’t one for dressing up in general, something she had slowly begun to change when going on their herd date nights, Lero wondered what Rarity could have come up with that had gotten Rainbow that riled up.

“Well, I know this might sound a little far out there, design-wise, but…” The designer mumbled, seemingly a little unsure of herself. Suddenly she steeled herself and raised her head high. “Simply put, rather than Rainbow’s rather traditional ‘my dress has to be predominantly rainbow striped like my mane’ style, I suggested we do something rather different. Something Bold. Something Daring...”

Lero cracked a bit of a grin and nodded. Perhaps whatever Rarity’s plan was, if introduced appropriately by someone she trusted it might be something Rainbow would like.

“I want to make her a dress that’s predominantly a single color, namely a dark blue, with hints of black!”

Lero blinked, his mind suddenly blank. “Wait, that’s what the argument I interrupted was about? That’s why Rainbow was here for three hours?”

“Unfortunately, yes. Now, don’t misunderstand me, I can certainly make her a dress of another color if it really comes to that, but the importance of this opportunity cannot be overstated. She’ll be present right next to Twilight and Lyra at the Grand Galloping Gala! All of the nobility will see her in this dress when Twilight is presented by Celestia. Even Princess Luna will be in attendance, if the rumors I’ve heard are true. I simply must convince her to wear my dress idea. You understand, don’t you?”

Rarity had begun pacing as she continued her diatribe, her hooves pounding the floor as she exclaimed each point with a pound.

Lero tried to think back through the conversation, trying to discern why this had made Rainbow Dash so irate, or why Rarity seemed so wound up about the prospect. Perhaps it was just his male human heritage echoing down through generations, but the only thought which crossed his mind was ‘It’s a blue dress. Who cares? Why are they arguing over it?’

Cautiously, and mindful of the fact that he was facing a unicorn who could control the hundreds of clothes pins in the immediate area with deadly precision, Lero took in a breathe. “Well, I suppose I could talk to her about how important this is to you. Maybe she might come around then?”

“Oh, would you? Please? Please. Please! Please! Lero! Please, do it for me!” the fashionista exclaimed, dropping down onto her haunches to beg theatrically. “It would mean so much!”

Baffled, Lero simply nodded in agreement. He didn’t really understand why this was so important to her, but on the other hand, Rarity had worked wonders before for all of them.
“I can’t make any promises, but your designs haven’t let us down before, so I’ll give it my best shot.”

Rarity quickly lifted herself off the ground and smiled broadly. “Excellent! I know you won’t fail me, you brave stallion, you. Now, let’s get these measurements taken care of and off you go!”

“Rainbow! Twilight! Lyra! I’m home,” Lero announced as he stepped through the entrance and into the Golden Oaks Library.

A magical pop sounded through the main room as Twilight Sparkle suddenly teleported in before launching herself at her husband and wrapping her forelimbs around him. “Lero! I take it you’re back from Rarity’s? I hope things went better than they did with Rainbow. She was in a pretty bad mood when she got home and Lyra dragged her out to go sparring to calm her down. Spike went with to watch, as he put it, ‘a kick-flank’ martial arts battle.”

“Oh boy. Any idea when they’ll be back? Rarity wanted me to talk to Rainbow about her dress for some reason.”

Twilight considered his words for a moment before sighing dejectedly. “Honestly, no idea. It could be a few minutes, but given how irate Rainbow was, I would expect her and Lyra to go at it for a while until she calms down.”

Lero frowned a little before leaning over and giving her a quick kiss, gently running his fingers through her mane. “Well at least you seem to be a little less stressed than yesterday. Anything happen I should know about?”

“Well, I sent a letter to Celestia telling her about the three books I’d read on etiquette, four on intertribal diplomacy and three on emergency hostage negotiation tactics and asking if there was anything else she could suggest I brush up on for the Gala,” Twilight exclaimed with a touch of mirth. “And she replied and told me to, and I quote ‘calm down, relax, and remember that the Grand Galloping Gala just a tedious, boring party’.”

Lero chuckled as he sat down on one of the reading cushions scattered about the library, pulling Twilight down to rest her head in his lap. “Well I hope you’re a little less worried about it now. So does that mean no etiquette lessons tonight?”

“Nope, still gotta do those! You still forget to stare into a stallion’s eyes when bowing but not to when bowing to a mare after all!”

“I still don’t understand why that matters, Twi,” the human said as he shook his head. “It seems like a rather superfluous distinction.”

Twilight chuckled, her chest rumbling in Lero’s lap. She blushed a little and stared up at him. “Well, traditionally if you stare into a stallion’s eyes when you bow, you’re showing a fellow stallion respect and that you’re paying attention to him. If you do it to a mare, then as a stallion you’re either challenging her position over you or…. Umm… suggesting she should try to assert more authority over you… usually sexually.”

Lero coughed and his eyes widened, staring down at her. “Oh, hmmm, maybe we better go over that one a few more times then, no? Just… just to be sure.”

“Now you see why these lessons are so important? Sure, they’re old fashioned, but they do have certain connotations the nobility still follow.”

Lero nodded rather more enthusiastically before running his hands down Twilight’s sides. “Since you’ve done so much research on this, maybe you can help me understand something else. Why is Rarity so intent on Rainbow wearing a dark blue dress? And why did Rainbow get so angry about it? It’s just a dress, after all.”

Lero suddenly found his lap vacant as Twilight lept up. “Just a dress? Lero, it’s not just a dress! Rarity is putting her life’s work up for all of the nobility to see in a venue where it can’t be ignored. It’s going to be my first time attending the Grand Galloping Gala as not only a Duchess, but as a member of a herd. We’re all going to be wearing Rarity’s outfits. The rest of the nobility will be taking note. You know I’m really not into fashion but even I’m sure they will be. It’s important that Rainbow wear that dress.”

More than a little taken aback by the vehemence of her declaration, Lero cocked his head to the side. “Okay, so you’ll all be wearing Rarity’s dresses, and I’ll be wearing her suit. I’m sure this’ll be great for her business and all, but if Rainbow doesn’t want to wear dark blue, why can’t Rarity just make the dress another color? Why was she begging me to try to change Rainbow’s mind?”

“Lero, color is important. It’s culture! It’s tradition! It’s… it’s validation!” Twilight nearly cried out.

“Validation? For Rarity? Why does she need it? She’s already one of the most sought-after designers in all Equestria. She did Cadence’s wedding dress! How much more validation does she needed? Is it really worth making Rainbow upset for?” While Lero had promised Rarity he would talk to Rainbow about changing her mind, and he still would, he was becoming less and less convinced of its merit.

“For Rarity? This isn’t for Rarity! This is for me! Validation for me! And for Rainbow! And for thousands of other ponies! If anything Rarity is risking her career making this dress!” Twilight almost snarled, before suddenly seeming to realize who she was yelling at. She let out a whimper and hung her head. “I’m sorry, Lero, I didn’t mean to get angry with you. I just got worked up. Forgive me?”

“Wait, what? How is this about your validation? Or Rainbow’s? Or other ponies’? I mean, of course I forgive you, but can you please explain to your dumb old human why you and Rarity are so smitten with this dress, and why Rainbow hates it so much? Because frankly I’m just confused at this point.”

“It’s not the dress I care about, Lero! It’s the symbolism behind it!” Twilight explained as she slowly moved to sit back down next to Lero, folding her hooves beneath her and nosing his hand gently. “I was hoping to avoid having to talk to you about this. Rainbow practically begged me not to. But this is important, and you deserve to understand. Tell me, Lero, do you think I’m pretty?”

“Of course I do!” the human exclaimed without hesitation. “You’re beautiful. You, Rainbow, and Lyra, you’re all beautiful. Why would you even ask that? You know I’ve told you that many times before.”

The purple unicorn smiled up at him and gently pressed her muzzle into his palm. “Now tell me, Lero, honestly, which one of us is prettier?”

Lero was taken aback by the question but quickly shook his head. “You’re all equally beautiful, Twi. You know I couldn’t pick between the three of you.”

“And I know you really mean that, which is one of the reasons I love you so much. It’s one of the reasons we all do. But it’s also not true. At least it might be to you, but if you ask other ponies, be they male or female, they can answer that in a second. Between the three of us, Lyra’s prettiest. Empirically she’s not even all that attractive, but of the three of us she’s top.” Twilight explained, almost as though reciting facts from a textbook.

“That’s crap, Twilight, and you know it.”

The unicorn bit her lower lip, her soft chuckles trailing off in a sigh. “You’re the love of my life, Lero, but you can be so obtuse sometimes it’s infuriating.” She bumped her nose against his hand again. “You’re thinking like a human about this and not a pony. To understand this I need you to start thinking like a pony.”

Twilight closed her eyes and stretched. When she spoke again, he could clearly tell by her tone she was slipping into lecture mode. “And it’s not crap, Lero, it’s fact. Now think; haven’t fewer stallions told you to find better mares since she joined? I know Chuckwagon did. I bet he’s not the only one. Tell me honestly. I promise won’t be offended.”

Lero thought back for a while, recalling his confrontation with Chuckwagon and his herd, of some of the guards’ statements during the blank plague… he knew that some idiotic ponies didn’t find Rainbow or Twilight all that attractive, but to him it had never mattered what they thought. He loved them, plain and simple. He found them attractive. Even so, he had to admit he had heard a few comments of ‘hey, congrats Lero, it’s about time you got a good looking mare in your herd’ from more than a few stallions when Lyra had joined them. “Just a few comments from idiots, Twi, nothing that matters. I know you’re pretty. You all are.”

“Then tell me this; ignoring Lyra, Rainbow and I, who amongst our friends is prettiest?” Twilight queried, her posture and voice clearly indicating this was important and he had better be paying attention. “Pinkie? Rarity? Applejack? Fluttershy? Who do you think, empirically, that is, is most attractive. And think like a pony on this.”

Lero began to recall his first kiss with Rainbow Dash, and how she’d convinced herself she was an ugly freak, a notion he had worked hard for her to shed. She’d told him she thought she was ugly because of the smaller size of flank and rump. So which of their friends had the biggest rump? Well, Applejack was clearly one of the largest in that respect, but most of that was muscle and Rainbow had also mentioned she considered herself an over-muscled freak. So maybe it was Pinkie? Working at a bakery had certainly left her with quite a bit of pudge in several areas. Maybe Rarity? Given her frequent trips to the spa she clearly put a lot of effort into her appearance. “Honestly Twi, I don’t know. I’ve never really looked at any of our friends like that. At a guess… maybe Rarity? Maybe?”

“Rarity’s a good choice, but she’d probably be number two or three. No, the most attractive of our friends is Fluttershy, without a doubt. She was even considered so beautiful she pretty much had a modeling career temporarily forced on her.” Twilight chuckled in remembrance. “Now, knowing the answer is Fluttershy, can you tell me why?”

Lero considered the bizarreness of this request, but understood that this was clearly something important to Twilight. He couldn’t even imagine a human woman being his girlfriend and then suddenly pointing to someone else and saying ‘She’s hotter than me. Tell me why?’ in a way that didn’t end up in some form of a trap requiring a lot of chocolates and flowers to make up for.

Still, he also couldn’t imagine Twilight leading him into that kind of relationship minefield and so he pressed on. “The length of her mane, maybe? And tail? Those seem to be longer than most other ponies.”

“Good, that’s one factor. Now, what else? What about her coloration?”

“Well, she’s yellow, obviously, with a pink mane and tail. Why? They wanted her to be a model because she’s yellow and pink? Is that a rare color combination or something?”

Twilight shook her head and smiled. “A little rare, but not significantly. No, she’s the prettiest of our friends because she has the complete package. She’s got wide hips and flanks without too much muscle, a long mane and tail in one of the preferred colors, a body coloration in another preferred color, and her wings are generally immaculate because she preens a lot and rarely actually uses her wings strenuously. For a pegasus mare it really doesn’t get much better, unless she’d been born white with a yellow mane rather than yellow with a pink mane.”

Lero considered what he’d just been told for a moment. The wide hips he understood, at least. With women wider hips were usually a sign of physical maturity and birthing potential, like larger breasts. But the rest made little sense to him and he said as much. “White is considered more attractive than yellow? And pink is attractive too? And a pegasus who barely used her wings is more appealing that one who does? Who came up with these rules? And what does this have to do with Rainbow and Rarity’s dress?”

A chuckle resounded through the room as Twilight considered how best to explain all of this to her stallion. “Lero, maybe I better start by answering your last question first. No single pony came up with these rules, they’re sort of a cultural evolution. Though it can be argued if you want one pony who’s responsible more than most, it would be Princess Celestia.”

“Wait, so Princess Celestia decided that Fluttershy was the hottest, and that you and Rainbow aren’t? That doesn’t sound like something she would do.”

“Well, it’s not something she did consciously, and it took centuries to happen. I think by the time she realized what had happened it was too late to turn it around easily. I suppose I ought to explain this from the beginning. You remember the tale of Nightmare Moon, right? Of Luna’s fall and Celestia sealing her up in the moon? That event can probably most easily be seen as the catalyst for it all. You see, before Nightmare Moon, ponies of every color were generally considered equally attractive. Some with brighter coats, or manes and tails, were more likely to attract a stallion, but also more likely to attract predators, so there was a bit of a balance, evolutionarily. Stallions found bright mares more eye-catching, but it was the darker colorations who were less likely to be seen by predators and bring them down on the herd. Even the diarchy was equal in that respect. You had the light, bright coloration of Celestia, balanced by the darker, more somber coloration of Luna.

“Nightmare Moon, though, was the beginning of that change. Her cultural influence would be compounded in time by others, all lending an association of evil and corruption to those of darker colors. You have King sombra, a jet black unicorn stallion who enslaved the Crystal Empire. Then you have Tirek, or the changelings. Even magic done with evil intent was simply referred to as ‘Dark’ magic. But Nightmare Moon was the one that really started it all. Ponies began to shift their perspectives, but not directly because of her, but rather because of Celestia.”

Twilight took a long breath and sighed, staring up at her lover before continuing. “Princess Celestia once told me her greatest regret was the banishment of her sister. She acted in haste, and she considers her actions a failure. She’d lost her sister for a thousand years. But even in her grief she had to soldier on and govern for the good of Equestria. She tried to govern fairly with equality to all, but soon some of the nobility noticed a trend forming. They found she seemed to be favoring her time and her decisions to ponies with lighter colorations, such as white, yellow, orange and pink, and seemed to be more reluctant to even see those with darker colorations; blues, purples, and blacks in particular. The nobility and upper classes took this to imply that perhaps those with darker colors were somehow worse ponies, or perhaps more likely to be aligned with evils like Sombra and Nightmare Moon.”

“So Princess Celestia became some sort of color racist after Nightmare Moon? Or color tribalist? White supremacist? I don’t even know what the proper term for that is here...”

Twilight shook her head a little and chuckled. “Some believe that. I once asked her if it was true and she admitted to me she might have subconsciously favored lighter colored ponies, but not for reasons the nobility thought. It wasn’t a matter of her thinking ponies with darker coloration were evil or corrupted or anything like that. Blues, purples and blacks are the colors most associated with the night and Princess Luna, and thus by extension became the colors most associated with Nightmare Moon. It was simply that those were the colors which reminded her of her sister, and thus her greatest failure. Those ponies were, to her, subconscious reminders that her sister was no longer at her side and it was all her fault. It wasn’t about hate or prejudice at all, it was about grief.

“No one knew that at the time, of course. From the perspective of the nobility, all they cared about was the fact that if Princess Celestia preferred lighter colors, then they had better get with the program. Fashion, a luxury at the time meant to set the nobility and upper class apart from the rest began to favor colors and designs which emphasized whites, yellows, oranges, anything that could make you look more like Princess Celestia and less like Princess Luna. In order to increase a noble family’s chances of having a lighter colored son or daughter, mares and stallions with lighter colored coats became favored as marriage prospects. And as with everything, these views eventually trickled down to the general populous. A thousand years of that and you have the world today.”

Lero considered everything his herdmate had just told him. On one hand it seemed ridiculous, that a yellow pony was considered more attractive than a blue one, but on the other hand it made a certain amount of sense from a historical point of view. Was humanity all that different after all? Women still wore high-heeled pointed shoes after all, even though they were terrible for your feet, because hundreds of years ago Catherine De Medici was insecure about her height.

“But surely Celestia must have realized what was going on a long time ago…”

“She did, but only after many years and only after she was able to begin moving past the betrayal and loss of her sister. Given that she had to raise her sister’s moon, with Nightmare’s face emblazoned on it every night, that took a long time. Remember, it’s not like the nobility announced they were trying to curry her favor like this. Not to mention that she was rather busy dealing with other higher priority issues, like putting a stop to the culling of the thestrals some ponies had begun to engage in due to their close ties to Princess Luna. There were rebellions, gryphon and minotaur invasions, and a lot else going on because when the diarchy was reduced to a monarchy many of Equestria’s enemies tried to take advantage of the weakened crown. What the nobility had decided to wear wasn’t exactly something Celestia considered a priority.”

Twilight rose from her seated position and began to pace, her tail swinging back and forth in a rhythm Lero had begun to recognize as symbolic of her irritation. “There are, of course, other aspects to what ponies consider attractive. While wider hips on a mare are more attractive for ease of birthing, and a broad chest and firm, muscled rump for stallions imply they’re strong enough to work the fields and help protect their foals, there are also tribe specific factors. Large wings are considered attractive on a pegasus, be they male or female. But strong, muscular wings are considered attractive for males only. It symbolizes they could carry their foals with them if they ever needed to escape danger. For a long time muscular female pegasi was also considered attractive back in the old pegasi warrior days, but now a lithe, lower-muscle form is considered more attractive, since it means their herd is stable enough that they don’t need to fly hard or escape danger and thus are more suitable for a stallion to safely raise his foals with.”

“That’s why Fluttershy’s consider so attractive. The complete package, right? She has one of Celestia’s favored coloration, wide hips and flies so little she barely has much muscle at all, at least compared to Rainbow for instance, right?” Lero asked, finally beginning to sense where this was going.

“Exactly, but even more than that, her long mane and tail harken back to Celestia’s own ethereal mane and tail. For all intents and purposes she might as well be the pegasus version of Celestia. And frankly, to most stallions -- especially pegasi stallions -- that’s as good as it gets.”

Lero considered for a moment, glancing at Twilight as she continued to move about the room. “So I take it there are similar standards for unicorns and earth ponies?”

“Yes to both. For both unicorn and earth ponies, a broad chest and rump is attractive for stallions, but there are differences for mares. Earth pony mares are expected to be stronger and more muscled, but not excessively so, so they can pick up any slack should the farm need it. Even if they aren’t farmers themselves, it’s expected earth pony mares will be stronger than their unicorn counterparts. Unicorn mares, on the other hoof, are expected to be taller, even lither and less muscled than their pegasi counterparts, since their magic is supposed to replace earth pony strength for most of their day-to-day activities. A thin unicorn mare is a magically powerful unicorn mare, or so the old saying goes. And by the same token, unicorns, both stallion or mare, consider a longer, more pointed horn to be more appealing, since it implies a more magically powerful unicorn, even if statistically that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

‘You know what they say about guys with big feet, or in this case mares with long horns…’ Lero’s mind sudden filled in. Then of course, remembering the near foot-long spike on Celestia’s head when he’d first met her and its intimidation factor certainly enabled him to figure out where that cultural notion had come from.

“That’s also why Prince Blueblood is considered the most eligible bachelor in Equestria five years running,” Twilight continued, making sure Lero was still paying attention. “White coat, broad chest, long, flowing yellow mane and tail, a horn second only to the princesses… there are mares who would give anything for a stallion like that.”

Twilight suddenly caught herself and blushed. “Not… not that I noticed, mind you. I mean, maybe, just maybe, I might once have had a crush on him when I was just a filly and still studying under Princess Celestia in Canterlot…”

Lero smirked, trying hard to hold in a laugh as he pictured an awkward adolescent Twilight Sparkle curled up in a library, reading book after book about how to seduce Prince Blueblood. “Of course, Twilight, of course. You’d never stoop to noticing such a thing.”

“I’m glad we understand each other,” Twilight chuckled in response. Then, seemingly remembering what spawned this conversation, became serious again and continued. “That’s also why Rarity would be number two or three on the list. She’s got a gorgeous white coat, large hips, little muscle, and a rather full, plump rump. All assets. Her hair -- purple -- is a detriment. That’s why she takes so much care to style it, in order to take the focus off the color and onto the design, trying to mimic Celestia’s flowing mane. I think that’s why Spike had such a crush on her for so long. Celestia raised Spike until I was old enough to take care of him, and I think for the longest time he had a bit of an Oedipal complex. Rarity simply reminded him of the mare who raised him so much that it was only natural. Thankfully he grew out of that stage.”

Lero suddenly wondered if Rarity’s treatment of Spike over the years implied she knew about that or not.

“So that’s a primer on pony attractiveness.” Twilight suddenly stopped pacing, facing away from Lero and refusing to even look in his direction. She took a deep breath and then asked, “Now given everything I’ve just told you, how attractive are Rainbow and I?”

Lero ran his hand over his chin and considered her question. He still thought all of his mares were beautiful, and sexy in their own right, but that wasn’t what his purple unicorn wanted to hear right now. She was referring to culturally, and according to pony culture and society, the results weren’t good. Rainbow Dash was the opposite of what pegasus society told her to be. She didn’t have terribly wide hips and that was only emphasized by her lean, low-fat athletic body. Her wings, rather than being dainty and with little-used perfect-conditioned feathers were strong and often ragged due to the high performance stunts she liked. She preened, of course, and pegasi feathers were notably resilient, but it was clear to anyone looking who used their feathers more when comparing Rainbow to Fluttershy. Rainbow was also blue, and even if it was a light blue maybe that was enough to lump her into the less desired color group? And her mane and tail, while not particularly short, also wasn’t overly long by any stretch of the imagination, and did clash, as she’d pointed out to him.

And then there was Twilight, whom Lero now realized would be considered even worse off. Purple, with a dark blue-purple mane and tail, she definitely fell into the more Nightmare Moon-like side of the color palette. While enormously magically gifted, her horn had never been particularly long, and her diet and sedentary lifestyle of studying and reading left little chance for her to maintain a lithe physique. Lero’s eyes suddenly widened in realization; according to pony cultural standards, his mate, his beautiful little sparkle, would be considered… ugly, or at best unattractive. Some stallions he’d met had told him so, usually to their detriment, but now he began to truly understand why.

Twilight had turned back and now looked down at her seated human stallion, seeming to sense the change in his demeanor. “Now do you understand, Lero? Rainbow and I… we both know how other ponies see us, both stallions and mares. We’ve both had to sacrifice a lot for our dreams. I wanted to become the most magically talented unicorn ever, and some might say I did, but it came at the cost of a lifestyle and diet that might have at least helped give me a figure to offset my coloration, height and horn length. Rainbow chose to pursue becoming a Wonderbolt and in so doing took on a physique more in line with a pegasus stallion than a mare. In the end we both made those choices and don’t regret them, doubly so since you entered our lives. But there’s one choice we never made, one that society made for us, and that’s to tell us that our colorations aren’t attractive. That our colorations aren’t good enough.“

Twilight took a deep breath and a look of steely determination overtook her. “And that’s something we’re finally in a position to change.”

Suddenly it all began to make sense. The dark blue dress. It all came back to that.

He’d known, from their first awkward kiss years ago, that Rainbow hid her true feelings about how she viewed herself from everyone. While she was always happy to revel in any attention derived from her flying skills or heroics, she was never comfortable with others viewing her only as a mare. And now, here was Twilight and Rarity, using Twilight’s new position as a Duchess to push for a social change, and dragging Rainbow along with it, putting her on display for all to see as part of that.

That demonstration, that… celebration of what she was, was the key to the whole thing. Twilight wouldn’t make the same mistake Celestia did in her grief; she wouldn’t favor one color pony over another. She’d decided to set an example by forcing herself to be proud of her coloration, to embrace it and clothe herself in it for all to see. For that she was going to need the support of her whole herd, of everyone that loved her.

“That’s why you and Rarity want Rainbow to wear a dark colored dress at the Gala with you. The new Duchess, her stallion, and her herd all wearing what most would consider unattractive colors. You want the rest of the nobility to notice, and in so doing it will trickle down to everyone else. You’re hoping to help restore the balance…”

Pausing for a moment, Lero considered her plans. “So I take it Lyra will be wearing something dark as well?”

“Yup, it’ll be quite the fashion statement, if you’ll pardon the pun. The five of us in dark but otherwise beautifully fashionable formal wear. Even Princess Luna has agreed to be there, just to help drive it all home. I bet by this time next year well over half of the Canterlot elite will be wearing something purple, black or blue!”

“So Rarity isn’t doing this for the fame, she’s doing to it for the statement,” Lero realized, quickly making a mental note to offer her several free massages at the spa.

“Yeah. It was actually her idea. For the longest time I just accepted that I was ugly and after a while I just didn’t care. Why care what you look like when your brother and foalsitter are your only friends and you spend all day in the library, right? But when we freed Luna from Nightmare Moon, Rarity told me that we were all heroes now and could use our fame to inspire those around us. She’s been convincing me to be proud of my darker coloration rather than hide it since the first Grand Galloping Gala. When Rarity realized my elevation to Duchess could act as a major springboard for it, she enlisted me again immediately. She’s putting her reputation as a designer on the line for this,” Twilight confirmed. “Her cutie mark is about bringing out hidden beauty, and -- as she so tactfully put it to me -- she’s ‘willing to risk everything to make sure ponies see the beauty right in front of their faces, even if society’s been too stupid to see it before.’”

“No wonder she was so passionate about it this morning,” Lero chuckled. Suddenly the full implications of that passion hit Lero and the smile fell from his lips. “Now I see why she fought Rainbow on this for a solid three hours.”

Twilight’s deep lavender eyes were studying him, hoping that he was drawing the right conclusions. “We need Rainbow for this, Lero. We have to show a united front.” Her gaze slid over to the blue feather braided in his hair, a look she ensured he wouldn’t miss. “I may be a Duchess now, but she’s the head of this herd. Without her involvement it could be seen as me trying to usurp her due to my new position. Now we might be able to carry this on our own, but I can’t be certain. Rarity isn’t. She’s convinced that without Dash, without all of us, they’ll dismiss the whole thing out of hoof using every negative stereotype we’re trying to combat, and tarnishing all our reputations in the process.”

He sighed deeply, his gaze leaving Twilight’s as he slowly rubbed his hand over his face. Gears spun in his head as he tried to figure out what he could possibly tell Rainbow to make her understand what he just realized, to make her accept that this was a risk she had to take.

Twilight walked over quietly and nuzzled over his cheek. “This isn’t just some ball, Lero, this is --“

“I get it… I get it, Twilight,” he said softly, cutting her off. He pushed her back enough to be able to look her in the face again, though kept his fingers entwined with her mane. “It absolutely breaks my heart, but maybe for the first time, I finally get it.” He saw what his words did to her and leaned forward to pull her into a kiss.

“Twilight Sparkle, my wonderful sparkle.” He gave her nose a brush with his lips. He thought of Rainbow Dash, the words she said to him when she first confessed her love for him, and wished that she could be here to hear what he was going to say. They would be the exact same either way so he’d just have to repeat it for her. “I thought you were pretty when I first met you. And you were beautiful when I fell in love with you. And it breaks my heart to know that it took someone from a completely alien culture for you to ever hear those words.”

There were tears in her eyes as she whispered his name and planted another long, loving kiss on his lips. When they broke it was so she could wrap her forelegs around him and bury her face in his shoulder, blotting the tears that still flowed.

Lero gently stroked the purple coat of that shivering leg and nuzzled at her neck. “When Rainbow gets home, don’t say anything about this. Leave her to me.”

It was still several hours before Lero and Twilight heard the front door swing open. Removing his apron, Lero left Twilight by the stove and swiftly walked out of the kitchen, smiling to his two returning herd members and his effectively-adopted son Spike.

“Mmmmm, something smells good, Big guy,” Rainbow exclaimed after drawing in a breath through her nose, her fur and mane matted with sweat.

The human stallion smirked and pointed a thumb back toward the kitchen. “Spaghetti Carbonara, your favorite. Shrimp for us two, no shrimp for Lyra and Twi. Gems for Spike. I figured the two of you could use a hearty meal after your workout. Speaking of, how’d that go?”

“I kicked flank!” Rainbow exclaimed, hovering for a moment before wincing and landing back down on the library floor. “Not that Lyra didn’t put up a good fight…”

The mint green unicorn simply smirked and took a seat by the couch. Lyra, looking substantially less matted and disheveled than her pegasus herdmate, peered at her for a moment before smiling broadly “Unfortunately the flank she kicked was Cranky Doodles’.”

Spike tried to hold it in but a raucous laugh soon echoed through the tree as he lost it completely.

“Hey, he got in the way after you redirected me!” Rainbow frumped as Lero wandered over and began to massage her aching wing.

“So did the tree, and the bush…” Lyra smirked.

“And Applejack’s cart, and Applejack, and Pinkie Pie…” Spike continued.

Rainbow glared a moment at her herdmate. “Hey, at least Pinkie bounces! And I did land a couple of good hits on you, if you recall!”

“I think I recall a couple in those brief moments when you weren’t laying on your back or face,” Spike considered, stroking his chin.

Suddenly Lyra rose from the couch and made her way to the stairs. “Anyway, I’m going to grab a shower. Consider it this way, Rainbow: at least this time I broke a sweat!”

“Bah!” Rainbow growled as Lyra began to trot upstairs, “One day, Horny, one day….”

Lero gestured briefly to the dragon and grinned. “Hey Spike, can you go help Twilight finish off dinner? It should be nearly done and you know how much of a risk it can be to leave Twilight cooking by herself.”

As soon as Lyra had passed him, Lero quickly rounded on Rainbow and pulled her into a solid hug, sparing no attention to the perspiration that began to seep into his clothing. Dash’s eyes widened in surprise as she wrapped her wings around him. She opened her mouth to question, though not complain, about the suddenness of his affections when his hands came up and pulled her into a deep kiss, cutting off any chance of protest.

Minutes passed as Rainbow melted into his embrace before he finally broke the kiss and pulled his head back.

“Wow. What was that for, big guy?” Rainbow asked, her lips pulling up into a smile. She ran a hoof along Lero’s arm. “Not that I mind…”

His hands didn’t let go of her head, instead continuing to slowly work his fingers over the base of her ears and his thumbs over her cheeks. Her rose colored eyes shone as he gazed into them. “Because we have to talk and you might not like what I have to say.”

He was expecting her to try and pull away and held her in his grip ever so slightly. It wasn’t enough to hurt and certainly wasn’t enough to stop her if she really wanted to get back, but it was just enough to let her know what he wanted. Her eyes flicked back and forth across his face but she was thankfully quick to notice the seriousness in his gaze.

“What… what are you talking about, Lero? ‘Cause you know I was just kidding around with Lyra, and there were no actual property damages…”

“Dash, I had a long talk with both Twilight and Rarity today.” He gave her another gentle squeeze, cutting off her inevitable protest when her frown suddenly became a grimace. “Now before you say anything else, I want you to answer a single question for me. What price would you pay so that no other pegasi colt or filly has to grow up thinking they’re ugly?”

Author's Note

TQM: Ooooh, guest chapter! I love guest chapters. I especially love how Stichwolf's taken a big ol' jump into some of the hows and whys of pony culture. That and Twilight using her new found status as a member of nobility to give some stuffy old traditions and out-moded conventions a swift kick up the arse.

76: When The West Wind Moves - by SpinelStride

When The West Wind Moves. (Words, lyrics and poetry by SpinelStride. Original scenario, meddling and interference by The Quiet Man.)
Chapter published 26th Jan 2014

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Spring 1226AC

Plow Puller had always been what the city ponies called ‘traditional.’ When they weren’t using words like ‘backward,’ ‘oppressed,’ or ‘archaic.’ He’d grown up that way. His parents had been in a ‘traditional’ herd themselves, and their parents before them, as far back as anypony could remember. As far as Plow Puller knew, anyhow. One stallion to tend the fields, do the heavy work, and every so often plow three other fields when that time came along. Three mares to do everything else.

City ponies didn’t like that sort of thing. That’s what Plow Puller’s mares told him. He wouldn’t know. He’d never been more than a few miles off the farm at most. It wasn’t much, but it was home, and there was always plenty of work to do to keep the place running. Barley didn’t grow on its own. And his cutie mark was a plow, and pulling a plow was what he was good at. He didn’t mind if city ponies thought he should do something else with his time. They’d probably never pulled a plow and felt the honest pleasure of feeling the soil splitting from nothing more than their own solid effort.

It wasn’t going so well today, though. The plow’d gone off. He spent long hours hitched to that big metal instrument, and he knew when it had something wrong just like a musician might know when her fiddle was about to lose its tune. He finished the row, then stopped and unhitched himself. Sure enough, there was the problem. Some pegasus had lost a feather, and the thing had got itself stuck on the leading edge of his plow. He untangled it and gave it a look.

Pegasi were always mighty proud of their feathers, but this one had got a mite rumpled. He smoothed it out. The thing was a deep, dark black, and even smudged with dirt it was still glossy enough to shine some. He’d talked a bit with some of the weather pegasi in the area, and thought he knew all of them at least by sight. There weren’t any black-winged pegasi around that he could recollect, though. He scratched the back of his head, then shrugged and tucked the feather into the collar of his yoke. He’d give it to the mares, let them take it on into town. Maybe some pegasus’d be glad to have it back.

Plow Puller hitched himself back up and got back to work with a smile. To his surprise, he felt a touch of music come his way. He’d only felt that a time or two before, but everypony knew that when Harmony called, you sang along. So he sang as he pulled, and felt the music pulling with him.

Will you remember me when I’m long gone by,
and the fields are filled with clover?
When the sun looks down, and she calls to me,
and there’s nothing but a memory?

For a plow may rust, and a farm may fail,
and fields can fill with clover,
but love will last, long beyond the days,
when we’re nothing but a memory.

So we’ll live our days and our peaceful nights
and let one field to clover,
and we’ll thank the ones who came before
who are nothing but a memory.

The years will pass, and we’ll lie at last
beneath a field of clover,
but the foals will laugh, and they’ll play and run,
when we’re nothing but a memory,
and the sun will smile, and remember us,
when we’re nothing but a memory,
and the moon will sing us a final song,
when we’re nothing but a memory.

***********************

Propriety stepped into Town Hall and nodded to Mayor Neighs. The ol’ stick-in-the-mud had always been suspicious of change even among their little rural community, but she knew how to uphold traditions like anypony, and that was enough to win elections. So she ought to know what to do with a stray pegasus feather, too.

Sure enough, Mayor Neighs knew the protocol for that just fine. She took the feather over to the local office for the Weather Service. Their little town didn’t rate a full-time Weather Coordinator; they didn’t even rate full-time weather coverage, just a stop-by every week or so by a roving team to make sure they were getting about what they needed. So the feather sat there for six days until Thin Haze stopped by to check for special requests.

Thin Haze didn’t recognize the feather either. Nice shiny black one like that, she’d have spotted a pegasus with that sort of coat in the area. Stallion feather too, unless it was some real overbuilt mare. And a stallion pegasus in these parts was going to be a hot commodity, even if he was just passing through. So she took it with her back to the Weather Coordinator’s office in Hayanne.

Doc Roan ended up with the feather in Hayanne, in the general hope she might have some sort of medical records that could match a feather like that. As it so happened, she recognized some telltale signs that said she definitely didn’t have any records for the feather’s owner, not unless her files had suddenly extended back a few centuries. The basic structure of feathers hadn’t changed in a long time, and her textbooks had used Princess Celestia’s own feathers to demonstrate that they were just about indistinguishable from modern feathers, but she knew it had been a long, long time since pegasi trimmed their feathers like this one. Cutting a feather took work, after all. Nowadays, even the Royal Guard didn’t trim their feathers to fit their armor better. But whoever had grown this feather, they’d thought a perfect armor fit was worth the effort. She sent it along to Canterlot University.

***********************

Princess Luna sat at her sister’s side in the early morning light. They were taking a modest picnic together in the garden- or as modest as the palace staff would allow. The two alicorns had been very insistent on not being waited on while they ate, but couldn’t dissuade their faithful ponies from having everything laid out for them when they arrived, and the cake was far too much either for Luna’s dessert or Celestia’s breakfast. They managed to make it a private time for themselves, at least, sitting there in the shadow of the statue of the Unknown Soldier, a noble pegasus warrior in millennium-old armor.

“You chose your servants well, my sister” Luna commented, resting against Celestia’s flank. Had anypony else been there to see, she would have kept a regal distance, but when it was just the two of them… well, sometimes it was nice to have Tia’s large, warm body to relax against, when she’d stayed up late into the morning and was tired and full.

Celestia smiled and sipped from her teacup. “You approve of their performance?”

Luna raised a small, impish smile to her. “Of course. They do not let you near the kitchen. Thus they serve Equestria well.”

Celestia laughed and waggled the teacup at Luna. “I make a point of cooking my own dinner once a century. The lesson tends to stick.”

Luna laughed back, then smiled up at the statue over them. “Did you spend the time to master the skill, I do not doubt you could be a passablechef. I would not have credited anypony who told me you could learn to sculpt, once.” Her horn glowed a deep blue as she lifted away a stray grass trimming that had ended up on the statue’s foot. “You captured him well.”

Celestia looked up into the unblinking gaze of the larger-than-life pegasus. “It took more than two centuries and a score of attempts before I could do him justice,” she admitted. “Which… actually brings me to our purpose here today. Beyond a moment to ourselves.”

Luna tilted her head. “Our times alone are rare enough without added purpose,” she said cautiously. “Is there aught amiss? Matters of state so sensitive you would not let your own guards attend the telling of them?”

Celestia shook her head, her mane swaying in the early morning light. “No, Luna, nothing amiss. There is a tradition - old as our little ponies would call it, and one I thought had run its course, begun and ended in your absence.” She bowed her head, touching her horn gently to Luna’s. “Try to rest tomorrow night. I will awaken early and join you. We will fly together and bring about the morning far from here.”

Luna looked curiously at her. “Then until the evening, sister mine.”

Celestia smiled. “And the morning beyond.”

**********************

The pre-dawn air was crisp through Luna’s feathers as she flew beside her sister. A long, long time ago she had been in the habit of literally flying rings around Celestia as they flew; for all that Celestia had worn her wings far longer than any living pegasus, she had never shown the joy of flight that little Moonshine had known from birth. But that had been long ago and far away, and Luna flew smoothly at her side instead.

The landscape was unfamiliar to her eye, though something kept dancing at the edge of recognition. Celestia had ordered the guards to remain in Canterlot, so it was just the two of them. It had been a long time since Luna had seen Celestia carrying her own bags. Luna had not been above letting her guards (or, from time to time, an appealing stallion) be her porters, but she had found it convenient to bear her own burdens sometimes as well. As long as she knew there were ponies who would help her when she needed them.

Celestia began to circle down, stately and smooth in her flight as ever. Luna followed easily, and looked down at the field that was evidently their target. It looked like an old farm of sorts, mostly flat, gone to clover, with some colorful plants dotting the area.

Their hooves alit on the soft ground and Celestia looked around. “It has been a long time since I came here,” she said, her voice a whisper in the stillness. “Do you know where we are, Luna?”

Luna looked around. The field did not seem so memorable a place. It was no ruin of an ancient city that only the two alicorns would remember, no temple or locus of magical power. It was just some long-ago farmer’s work let run to nature. “I confess, Tia, I do not.”

Celestia brushed the dark alicorn’s side with a wingtip. “Walk with me,” she asked.

Luna did.

“They called me the Tyrant Sun for a time, and they may have had the right of it,” Celestia said, and gestured. “We were both in the grip of madness, and I am not so sure I had truly escaped my own even when we faced each other in that final battle.”

Luna looked down curiously as they neared one of the colorful plants. Not vegetable matter at all, it seemed. It was a worn stone block the height of a pony’s leg with a single pegasus feather set in it, a golden feather, armor-cut. Luna sighed softly as recognition came. “This is that site, then. Where we made our destinies.” Her hoof reached out to touch that feather. “And where fought and died so many others as well.”

“Yes,” said Celestia, and closed her eyes. “When the battle was over, the bodies were… a terrible thing to behold. I could not leave them laid out there for the elements to assault.”

“Aye,” said Luna softly. “And because you are you, you sent them on their way with fire.”

“I did,” the Princess of the Sun agreed. “The survivors gathered all the bodies and I set the flame myself.”

Luna stroked the golden feather in its stone block. There was a mark on one side, but the weather had left it unrecognizable. “Fire destroys even pegasus feathers, though.”

“Fire cleanses, too,” Celestia said. “And Equestria was much in need of cleansing. But feathers from that battle were scattered in the air. For years thereafter, ponies found them and knew where they came from. They sent them to me.” She looked at the golden feather next to them. “Morning Glory. She brought us tea when we met to do our duty together, for a time.”

Luna stood still, remembering her. Gold with streaks of red along her flanks, who had been so proud to share those moments with her Princesses. Joyful, laughing. A mother of three. The mark on the stone, then, had been hers, a proud purple flower with a purple-and-white star at its heart. “For whom did she fight?” she asked hesitantly.

“For her family,” Celestia answered.

Luna frowned. “That is not what I meant.”

“It is the only truth that matters,” Celestia said quietly. “Every pony who fought and died for us was doing her best to make Equestria safe from a mad ruler. If they disagreed on which one that was, they were no less our brave and noble little ponies, all of them. Even stone forgets, but we do not.”

Luna had no response to that. They stood and looked at the long-fallen pegasus’ feather, and then at the same moment looked up. They didn’t say a word as their horns lit, Celestia guiding the sun to rise, Luna drawing the moon to its rest. They let the orbs share the horizon this time, both in view at once for a moment, instead of pulling one down and then lifting the other.

Celestia looked up at the sun for several seconds. Then she moved on. Luna followed.

Celestia passed by several other pedestals, pausing at each to say a name. “Deep Seas. Rising Star. Thunderstroke. Boneset. Full Belly.” A sea of waving feathers around them went unnamed, though as Luna looked she knew many of them. Not enough of them. They stopped in front of a another simple pedestal, this one with no feather in it. Golden light surrounded Celestia’s horn as she opened her bag and drew out a simple wooden box. She laid it in front of Luna.

“There was one exception,” she said.

Luna blinked, and then her eyes went wide as she realized who Celestia meant. Her deep, deep indigo hoof shook as she reached out to lift the lid.

The glossy black feather lay nestled atop a padding of cloud, laid into the box with pegasus magic. The breath caught in Luna’s throat. She reached out, with her hoof, not her magic, and lifted the soft pinion to her face. She inhaled, then began to weep.

“I remember, Tia, I remember him, I feel him, I smell him...”

Then the dark alicorn set the feather reverently down into the box and returned her gaze to the Princess of the Sun, eyes wide in incomprehension.

“Sister, hast thou kept this these thousand years? What event hath compelled thee to now return to me this token?” Her speech reverted in her shock.

Celestia shook her head and stretched a wing across Luna’s back. “It lay hidden in the earth all this time. The mages who scryed it for me say it followed the wind for centuries before it landed and was buried. A farmer unearthed it with his plow. It came to Canterlot University, where I have orders for any such discoveries to be sent to me.” She smiled gently. “If I had found it sooner, I think I would have kept it for you in any case. He would have wanted you to hold him last.”

Tears ran down Luna’s cheeks as she clutched the box to her chest.

“Sable…”

Celestia sat there, holding her sister while she wept.

"It is a lonely memorial," Luna finally said, not to her sister but to the wind. Her eyes moved from one feather to the next. Some few of them she remembered, still remembered. Others stirred vague recollections. Most were simply feathers. "They died with honor and with glory. The shame of our battles is ours alone. Our subjects should know this place and give the fallen their due."

"You may be right, sister," Celestia somberly conceded. "It was my thought that for their short days of strife on our behalf, they have bought all the peace I can bring them."

Luna brushed Sable’s feather and bowed her head, then said, "One day we shall ask them."

Celestia shook her head. "One day we shall hear their answer."

Luna nodded softly and lowered her head to smell the black feather again. “One day. But until then, sister, I would see them have their due.”

Celestia bowed her head. “Then so be it.”

Luna nuzzled the feather again, then set it atop the waiting pedestal. She lowered her horn, and the stone flowed like clay, wrapping about the base of the feather’s shaft. The outline of a white-crosshatched shield formed against the side of the stone. She touched it one last time, then stepped back.

*******************

“Auntie?” the gleaming white unicorn asked cautiously, looking around. “Why exactly are we here?” The chariots had been left behind at the edge of the field; the invited guests had followed the subdued alicorns to the center, where a single black feather stood in a stone pedestal, like the sea of others around but with sharp, fresh, unworn corners. “Is this some sort of… artistic installation?”

“No, Prince of the Unicorns, it is not,” said Celestia, not turning to him. “This place is a memorial.”

Prince Blueblood swallowed, and took a step back away from the stone pillar, looking at the ground. “I say, it’s… erm… impressive? But I don’t understand what it’s a memorial for.”

“The ponies who fought and died for their Princess a thousand years gone,” Celestia responded. “And for reminding today’s ponies never to let such a thing happen again.”

She turned, raising herself to her full height, looking down at Blueblood, and at Spitfire next to him, and to Minister Ballot Box beside them both. “The three of you are the presumptive Triumvirate. Yours is the power to declare the end of the Diarchy and restore the Unification Pact as the supreme law of the land with yourselves as the leaders of your tribes, Prince of the Unicorns, Commander of the Pegasi, and Chancellor of the Earth Ponies. And if ever my sister and I go to war again, I expect you to do so. No ponies will die for us. Never again.”

The three leaders of the tribes took another step back.

“And that’s why you wanted us to come,” said Twilight Sparkle. She watched Princess Celestia, not the feathers.

Rainbow Dash watched the feathers. They were waving at her in the breeze. This place… it didn’t scare her. She was a Wonderbolt. Wonderbolts didn’t get scared. Therefore she wasn’t scared. She’d been herding with Twilight long enough to pick up on formal logic like that. No, this was… discomfort. As far as her sharp eyes could see, there were feathers. She didn’t even consider flying, not even just a few feet. This was a place for walking. If she didn’t like to be in a place of the dead, it was still important to respect them. They’d died doing what they thought was right. Trying to stay loyal to a country turned against itself.

“Yes, Twilight,” Princess Celestia said. “If we go to war again, the Triumvirate must keep our little ponies from becoming involved. But you and your friends will be the ones who have to stop us.”

Fluttershy swallowed, and took a step back, edging her rear behind Big Mac as though to hide. Cheerilee nudged her side encouragingly. “It’s not going to happen, ‘Shy,” the teacher told her herdmate. “But we all have faith in you if it did.” Fluttershy swallowed, but gave Cheerilee a tremulous smile.

Spitfire took off her cap and held it against her chest, looking around, then bowed her head without a word. The Earth Pony politician next to her did the same. Belatedly, Blueblood joined them. Rarity did the same with her beret. Pinkie put a hoof over her chest.

“I have asked Master Michaelides to speak,” Princess Luna said. Her voice rang out across the stillness, where the others spoke in a hush. “His sire knew war. His people knew war. He knows the ways of mourning as no pony alive knows them. Even my sister and I have never mourned as other ponies do, for we expect to live beyond our beloved subjects. So, Master Lero, please. Begin.”

Lero cleared his throat. He’d worn a simple dark suit, with a poppy pinned to the left lapel. “I was never a soldier,” he said, looking at the newest monument. “My father was. He fought, he came home, he loved his family. Those we remember here today would have done the same if they could. So would every soldier who has ever borne arms. But it is the nature of war that many do not.

“About a century before I left that world, there was a war involving many of the most powerful nations of the day. They called it the Great War, the War To End All Wars. It was not. We later called it World War One. Millions of humans died in that war. Many on the battlefields, many more because soldiers cannot plant fields while they fight, cannot be carpenters and doctors and everything else a society needs to support its citizens.

“There is a field there where some are buried, and where poppies grow. I traveled when I was younger, and I visited that field, Flanders Field. There is a poem to remember them. I memorized the poem, In Flanders Fields, that day, and I have not forgotten it. I do not pretend that I could write something of such beauty myself, but I have adapted it as best I can for the brave ponies who died here so long ago.

In Feathered Field the lilies grow

between the columns, row on row

that mark our falling from the sky

where kin, still bravely singing, fly

and raise our newly-orphaned foals.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Feathered Field.

Give up our quarrel and our foe;

'tis better now, we too late know,

to let be the quarrels of the high.

If ye ever loved us who died

let us be the last to go

in Feathered Field.

Applejack listened to Lero. She’d never quite warmed up to him the way some part of her said she ought to. He’d helped around the farm, he was Big Mac’s friend, he’d caught Rainbow Dash and Twilight by the heartstrings, she’d never heard him lie in her life. And yet. He read his poem with passion, with care, and she was sure he meant every last word… but something about him she just couldn’t read, couldn’t bring herself to truly trust. But she could see that other ponies accepted him more. Dash had her eyes closed and her head lifted as though listening to hear the feathers calling to her. Fluttershy had her face pressed to Big Mac’s neck. And Princess Luna…

Applejack felt a tremor go through her. Princess Luna was standing there, still and strong, with tears pouring down her cheeks. Applejack had carried Luna’s guilt for just a few weeks, way back when, but she knew how it felt. Hearing a plea voiced from ponies who died for her… The apple farmer had tried to get herself killed just because she didn’t think she was running the farm well enough. This… She couldn’t leave Luna alone.

She didn’t know whether Harmony came to her or if she somehow demanded it herself, but Applejack sang. The others, all but Lero, Luna and Celestia, joined in.

Long ago, this field knew war,
and here did red rivers run,
for the love we have for you,
do you know what you’ve done?

Luna and Celestia’s voices rose to respond, their heads still looking at Sable’s monument.

Of course we do, how could we not,

we loved them just the same,

and we failed them in the end,

our pride reduced to shame.

Long ago, you went to war,
and your passion ponies burned,
for the love they had for you,
do you know what you’ve learned?

Of course we do, how could we not,

the horrors we have known,

never more shall sun nor moon

seek to rule alone.

Long ago, you went to war,
and Equestria was riven,
for the love we have for you,
do you know you’re forgiven?

Of course we do, how could we not,

our ponies teach us every day,

that their hearts surpass our own,

in each and every way.

Long ago, you went to war,
and lately have discovered,
all the love your sister has,
do you forgive each other?

Of course we do, how could we not,

no more shall we contend,

but be a family as we ought,

until the very end.

Long ago, you went to war,
and since then nobly you’ve lived,
by the love we give to you,
do you yourself forgive?

We wish we could, how could we not,

but our crimes weigh heavy yet,

the guilt we bear will carry on,

that we never forget.

Long ago, you went to war,
and it darkens still your days,
by the love they had for you,
would they want you to mourn always?

The ponies turned as one. Rainbow Dash and Lyra nudged Lero to come with them. He and Twilight Sparkle were the only ones to look back.

When they stood alone in the field, Celestia asked her sister, “Is a thousand years long enough?”

Luna bowed her head. “If you say it is, Tia, then I will believe you. Perhaps in a thousand sane years, I will know myself.”

Celestia pressed her flank to her sister’s and spread her wing over her back, blanketing her with the warmth of the sun. She did not so much push as guide her sister to step forward. Luna acquiesced, and touched her forehead to Sable’s feather. Tears ran down her face again.

Luna opened her mouth. Celestia spoke first.

Long ago, we went to war,
and he died by his own free will
by the love he had for you,
would he demand that you mourn still?

Luna shuddered on her hooves, eyes pressed shut.

I remember you, who are long gone by,
in this field now filled with clover.
A thousand years, you have waited here,
so much more than a memory,

But you loved me once, and I loved you back,
in fields soft and rich with clover,
and if our love was true, as I know it was,
I must let you be a memory...

“All right, Celestia,” Luna said thickly. “I shall do my best. We should… let the dead lie.”

“I’ll be with you,” Celestia promised.

They left, walking back to the chariots, where their living friends awaited them.

Thousands of feathers waved them goodbye.

Author's Note

SpinelStride: TQM sent a message one day asking if I’d be willing to write a story and laying out the idea for me. All day after that, I kept thinking back to “In Flanders Fields” and had to accept. First song inspired by “Fields of Gold”, second song more loosely by “Where Have All The Flowers Gone.” Many thanks to TQM for the invitation, for his trust, and for XFT in general.

TQM: I had the bones of this chapter banging around in my head and on scraps of paper for months. Every time I came back to it I found my brain kept pushing me away from it and finding 101 other things to do. Eventually, after what felt like forever, I just had to throw my hands in the air and do something I’m really not all that good at... I had to ask for help. One SOS later and Spinel graciously agreed to take my disjointed ramblings and carry this chapter to where it was supposed to be. For that I am truly grateful.

77: There’s a room where the light won’t find you.

There’s a room where the light won’t find you.
Chapter published 6th July 2014

******************************

as her face hit the floor she wasn’t sure which was worse - the smell or the pain? she could feel the rough edges of stone floor ripping into her cheek, her teeth smashing together as her short flight through the air ended just as quickly as was it lacking in grace. the smell hadn’t changed much since she had been pulled from this cell last, still the same stink of stale sweat, stale blood, stale human effluent... stale death - except now it was joined by the smell of fresh sweat and even fresher blood. painfully rolling onto her side, she spat, a single blood covered tooth spinning across the floor, coming to rest just a few feet from the still open door. looking up at her captors, struggling to focus with the one eye that still worked, she watched them, as they watched her. both sides waited, her guards made no move towards her, she made none towards them. even if she had wanted to, the broken leg and twisted ankles meant she wouldn’t have gotten very far anyway, not before one of them would come into the cell and stamp her either into submission or oblivion. watching their soulless eyes as they gazed back at her, she wished, not for the first time, that they would show her at least some kind of emotion. no matter what she did, no matter how they reacted, the guards always displayed no recognisable emotion what-so-ever, going about their often brutal duties with a clinical detachment that the best emergency room team on earth would killed for. after all this time she’d take anything - hate, disgust, pity... anything but these blank stares and cold indifference that she’d suffered this last... how long had it been now anyway? fighting for breath, the gaping wound in her chest leaving her lying in a rapidly spreading pool of her own blood, she rolled onto her front, turning her back on her guards, turning her face from their cruel beauty. reaching out with her unbroken arm, she used it to pull herself slowly across the floor, away from the door. blood covered fingers, those few that she still possessed at least, grabbed onto what purchase that she could find, pulling her through the pool of her own blood. her legs dragged behind her until they too reached the pool, the liquid making it easier from them to slide their way across the stone floor. reaching the rear wall of her small cell, this hovel that she’d called home for only god knew how long now, she pulled herself up against it, leaning, pushing, pulling, until she could slump herself semi upright against it, her broken arm laying across her chest, her broken leg still laying at an awkward angle. after being broken and mangled and maimed and destroyed as many times as she had, she’d like to think that the pain got easier to handle with time, easier to ignore, easier to live with...

it didn’t.

.
.
.

consciousness returned, though without any source of light it was impossible for her to tell if her eyelids were even open or closed. in the pitch black she lifted a hand to her mouth. pushing a finger inside she did a quick count... yep, all her teeth were back. taking her hand back out of her mouth she placed it against her cheek and pushed against the soft flesh with each finger in turn. one, two, three, four, five... yep, all five fingers present and accounted for. lifting her previously broken arm she did the same with the five other fingers before touching her nose with her middle digit. no pain, easy movement. pinwheeling both legs, she mimed riding an invisible upside-down bicycle. well, she was still alive, and all her broken bits were working again... all she could do now was wait. waiting was fairly bad, not as bad as the pits, that was for sure, but it was still its own kind of torture none-the-less. when presented with no sound, no light, no external stimuli, when freed of its need to sleep or to eat, the human brain would start doing weird things to itself pretty quickly. but then, they knew that, they knew that all too well. for a while, when she’d first arrived, she’d tried scratching tallymarks into the walls, trying to keep count of how long she’d been held in this living hell. she’d stopped soon enough, once she’d discovered that her captors were adding and subtracting tallymarks, sometime erasing every single one, resetting the room to a much earlier state, much as they would restore her body as and when they saw fit. she’d found out quite early on just how absolute her tormentor’s control over life and death was, how tight their overview, how cruel their ministrations. she’d once spent what felt like weeks, and for all she knew it may well have been, with a gaping chest wound that let her insides betray their name and escape from their bodily confinement, a ragged rip though one of her lungs leaving every pained breath as nothing more than a bloody, bubbling gasp of white hot agony, seconds, minutes, hours, all ticking away as she wished for the sweet embrace of death just to take away the pain. how long she'd spent like that she had no idea, only that she was being taught a lesson; that no one, and no thing, in this realm would die until they allowed it. She’d learned that lesson well that day, but that didn’t stop them from feeling the need to teach her again and again, often without reason or warning. but today, if ‘today’ still had any meaning in a realm where the days were as long or as short or as meaningless as their whims dictated, she didn’t have to wait long before the door opened up again. light flooded the room, burning her eyes, forcing her to lift a hand to her brow. blood from the ‘night’ before had dried on her fingers and her face, small flakes of which fell into her eyes as she blinked in the cruel ‘morning’ light. the guards motioned for her to rise, so she did so - refusing wouldn’t make them angry, she’d learned this, along with the rest of her lessons, many... months? years? decades ago.. but refusal would still lead to swift and agonising punishment. she knew that once she stepped out in the the corridor she’d be lead back to the armoury, if it could be even called that, and then back out to the pits, once more to meet her fate.

well, no rest for the wicked.

.
.
.

blood sprayed and coated the ground as ravaged skin met rough stone floor, her body tumbling back into her cell, her short journey reaching its conclusion just a few feet from the back wall. using her good arm - if losing most of her hand and all but two fingers could still be counted as good - she slowly lifted the other, still fully fingered, hand from her lap, lifting the useless arm so that her guards could see the remaining digits. wincing through the pain screaming through her body, she curled three fingers and a thumb, lifting her hand that bit higher, giving her captors the single digit gesture of defiance known to humans everywhere. watching the single door slowly close, what little light there was disappearing as it was sealed shut, leaving her in complete darkness, she laughed, heartily and and uncontrollably, feeling rivulets of what was either blood or spittle gush from her mouth, down through her beard and across her neck where it fell and splattered on the floor. they hadn’t beaten her, not yet, not today anyway, she’d lasted another day...

a big part of her wished that she hadn’t.

**************

The Estate of the Duchy Smaragdvea
Emerald Reach
North-eastern Equestria.

In the darkness of her stately room at Emerald Reach Manor, Queen Aurelia re-entered the waking world. As the certainly of what was real and what was not reasserted itself in her mind, her heart refused to believe what it was being told, beating as it was so hard that it felt like it would rip its way out of her chest any second now. Her surrounds came into focus - the large wood-panelled bedroom, the queen sized four-poster bed, the moonlight creeping from between the crack in the thick velvet curtains - they chased away the images that had until just moments before overwhelmed her mind.

As so often happened whenever Master Lero accompanied Lady Sparkle on one of her regular visits to the nation’s only pony-ling colony, the changeling queen would find that, once night fell and the human retired to bed, his dreams would find their way into the edge of her mind, poking and prodding at a mental connection she once held exclusively with her children.

Many times now she had been shown fleeting glimpses of a world so foreign to her, filled with strange naked-skinned bipeds and their astounding world of concrete and steel, of ponyless carriges and flying metal dragons. She would find herself dropped into his world, seeing just tiny moments of time though the human male’s eyes, moments she barely had a change to grasp before being thrown either into a different time, a different situation, or back out of his mind entirely, leaving her gasping in the cool night air as she tried to comprehend what she had seen and felt.

Usually he dreamt of the day to day actions of a life long ago, of tedious classes and boring professors, of girls he had known and girls he would like to have known better. Often he dreamt of his mother and his father; the joyous and wickedly intelligent woman and her dependable but taciturn husband, the two beings who had been such an important part of his life for so long, but now just fading memories, slowly making their home in the backmost reaches of his brain. Sometimes he dreamt of his sister.

But this night was different, this dream that she was pulled into, it was vivid and complete in ways that it had never been before. For that thankfully short time she had been him, as clearly and as surely as she was now herself again... she had felt as he had felt, she had known what he had known, feared what he had feared... and it had scared her in a way she had never felt before. If that was what the human had lived though, if that was the life he had known before Equestria, then she had been a fool to ever doubt him, to belittle him, and his words, back when they had first met.

As the last connections to the human’s subconscious mind faded, Aurelia felt her usual connection to her children reassert itself, waves of fear and unease washing against her consciousness, her subjects strong emotions crashing upon her mental shores. The sheer power and depth of her immersion into the human’s nightmares must have overwhelmed her own mental barriers, broadcasting the experience to every connected soul within range. She could feel her children’s reactions to the sights they had seen, the emotions they, just like her, had felt. The thoughts and feelings and emotions that they in turn were projecting back to their queen were joined by other emotions; concern, relief, anger, all came rushing back into to her like a tsunami before she managed to push them down, cut them off.

She hated to do it, to disconnect her subjects from their queen in their time of unease, but if she had not, they would have worn her down, left her unable to think, to function, to even breath. She should go to them, reassure them that everything would be alright, that the stuff of nightmares was just that... nIghtmares.

But it would be a lie, she knew this all too well. What she had seen was not a dream but a memory, struggling to work its way free from the depths of the human’s brain, to make its way back into the light. The Princesses had warned her as much, though if this was just a fraction of what others had already seen, of what Master Lero had been through, then she shuddered to think of what it meant that the memories were becoming clearer, bolder and more frequent.

Though it made her shudder, she thought back over what she had seen; the slick walls, the lack of daylight, the unmistakable shape and scent of an underground dwelling... how similar to her old hive the human’s nightmares were. What her actions must have put him though as, even if it was buried deep within his subconscious, imprisoning him in her subterranean world must have been like being dragged back to that place, to that time that he had buried for so long.

The dark rough-hewn walls, the cold chill and stale edge to the air well below ground; the echos of the unknown bouncing from solid rock wall to solid rock wall. How much like his once-upon-a -time prison her own secret queendom - no, her own prison - must have been to his eyes. To her, her hive had been a home, a fortress; to him, it must have been a torture. How he had not killed her when he had the chance, cut her down in order to escape, she did not know.

While she knew that, despite his claims to the contrary, he would probably never forgive her for what she had done to him and his herd, that he could even stand to be around her now, to look at her without recoiling in horror, or to assault her with his hate and his anger, showed that he was a better being than she could ever hope to be. Even then, so soon after his rescue, despite all that she had done to him and his own, he had still vouched for her before the nation’s twin regents, stood his ground against an enraged alicorn, all in her defence.

Princess Luna had been right - she did not deserve his favour.

For the next few minutes, enough for the queen’s heart rate to return to something resembling normality, Aurelia remained in her bed, her bedsheets still twisted around her where she had writhed in her sleep.

To calm herself she listened to the many noises floating around the old manor house. The building was old, centuries old even. Through the memories passed down to her from the previous queen - who had herself received them from her predecessor, and her predecessor before her - she could remember this land from times before it was built upon. She remembered the fields, the families of ponies that lived here, how the huts and cottages became farm houses and barns, the fields becoming more organised, better planned, better worked. She remembered in her bequeathed memories how this manor came to be, how its construction was still underway when her hive had cut all ties to the ponies of the light, how her sisters had fled to the forests and the caves, the mountains and deserts, so many centuries before.

And now, after all this time, they were back - this hive at least - amongst the common pony, trying their best to integrate into a society that they had spent so long moving amongst unseen, hiding from the world at large the very fact of their existence. Ironic really, that for centuries they had made stealth and subterfuge the cornerstone of their survival, only to find now that it had become the foundation of their downfall.

If the human had not awoken her from her madness, jolted her confused and clouded mind free from the whispered grasp that had wrapped its tendrils around it? If the alicorn of the day had not offered the hoof of friendship when all seemed lost? She shuddered to think what would have become of her children in that had been the case.

Amongst the creaks and groans of the old building’s nightly symphony, the queen could hear evidence of life. Distant floorboards squeaked, the swift movement of hooves against wood further down the manor’s residential wing, joined by the distinctive buzz of gossamer wings, making obvious that a number of her subjects were now moving at speed towards her private chambers.

Rising from her bed, she made for the door that lead to the hallway to the main part of the manor, not even making it halfway across the room before she heard chittering voices from directly outside. Before she could even reach out with her magic, the door was flung open, her two most loyal guards bursting into the room.

Suncloak entered first, his glowing eyes scanning the room for any signs of danger, slivers of moonlight glancing from his chitinous skin as he darted about the room. Just behind him was Flitter, her own eyes flicking over the room just as her mate’s had done. Once satisfied that the queen was alone she made her way over to her ruler.

Unlike her partner, Flitter was in pony form - as she had been for many months now - and her movements were not as swift as Suncloak’s, though being heavily pregnant gave more than ample reason for her lack of speed. The moonlight illuminated her orange coat and dark red mane and, were it not for the gentle yellow glow behind her pupils and the lack of a cutie mark, she would have been virtually indistinguishable from any of Canterlot’s many native unicorn mares.

From where he was checking through the gaps in the curtains, scrutinizing the expansive grounds beyond the ancient glass window panes for any sign of intruders, Suncloak chittered his findings, that there were no signs of any activity that he could see.

“My Queen?” Flitter’s voice held, along with the gentle buzzing subharmonics that all of the changeling queen’s converted subjects now carried - more than a little concern mixed in with her usually unflappable professionalism. “Are you unharmed? Was anything in here with you? We felt your distress through the hive’s mind link. We are deeply sorry that we were not here sooner.”

“Please, be calm, my most loyal of guards,” Aurelia laid a reassuring hoof on her guard’s shoulder, feeling the mare-ling’s own fearful tremors beneath the soft fur that had long replaced her smooth chitinous skin, “I am sorry that you all felt as I did. I have never felt a mental force such as this before, the strength of the human’s memoires overpowered my barriers. If I had been stronger, if I could have kept it within myself so that the rest of you did not suffer it as well, I would have done so in a heartbeat.”

Again, Suncloak chittered from his position by the window, his more ‘traditional’ form, and the arrangement of the vocal chords that went with it, making it impossible for a non-changeling to understand his words.

“I know, Suncloak,” the queen smiled as the usually taciturn guard tried his best to reassure his monarch. He wasn’t big on speeches, usually letting Flitter do the talking, but he could be such a sweetheart when he tried. “I thank you for saying so,” she added, “but it is events like these that I should be shielding my subjects, especially the younglings, from. To have allowed these visions to have overcome me is again proof that my mental fortitude is not what it should be. If I were stronger then maybe I would not have fallen to corruption and disquiet as I did.”

“Should we check on Master Lero?” Flitter asked, motioning with a hoof towards where their guests - though it was still strange to refer to them as such when Lady Sparkle owned this entire estate - were sleeping a few rooms over.

Closing her eyes, the queen allowed her mind to reopen to the world around her. The first minds she could feel were those of her children, both the converted and the untouched, spread throughout the building around her.

She could feel their unease and concern, their own minds reaching back to her as she did her best to calm their nerves. Nestled deep within a scant few, like Flitter, she could feel strange, tiny, unformed minds, so much like those of her changeling children, but also so similar to the minds of young ponykind.

Past those she could feel the minds of the few ponies that were on the premises; the custodial staff, that had remained in service when the manor had been repurposed; the medical staff, who had been working here at the princesses’ behest these past few months; Ladies Sparkle and Heartstrings, asleep as they were in their room down the hall.

Beyond them all, shining like the brightest of beacons, she found Master Lero. His mind was calm, peaceful, serene. The emotions emanating from him now were more akin to the still waters of a deep, crystal clear lake, so different from the crashing waves of torment that his troubled mind had thrown against her mental shores just a few minutes ago.

“No,“ Aurelia ceased her searching, letting her mental connections fall to a background level, “he sleeps once more, we should let him be for now. I shall discretely enquire as to his mental state over breakfast. If he does not recall these night terrors then there will be no need for us to risk stirring them up again unnecessarily.”

Lifting her forehoof, she removed it from Flitter’s shoulder, moving it back to the floor as she gave her official commands.

“I have a task for you, loyal subject. Send a messenger to the princesses, I would request an audience. Make sure that you stress the urgency, for we have much to discuss and it will not all be pleasant, or welcomed.”

From his position by the window, Suncloak chittered again.

“Yes, it is as we feared,” the queen agreed, moving across the room to join her other bodyguard, ”those that the All-mother warned us about, the ones whose names must not be spoken, must not be even allowed to cross the mind, even for an instant, lest it give them the opening that they so deeply desire.”

Pulling back the curtains, she let the full power and majesty of the moon illuminate the room. Gazing out upon the ground she looked upon the manicured lawns and carefully crafted ornamental hedgerows, the long gravel path that traversed the full length of the gardens and out into the vast, untamed forest behind the sizeable estate.

“But even now it may be too late, for if I am right, then THEY are already out there.”

78: December man looks through the snow.

December man looks through the snow.
Chapter published 10th Feb 2015
****************

January 1228AC

Lifting his feet as he walked, slowly making his way through the deep snow, Lero trudged his way to the top of the hill. The semi-circle of logs around the campfire were completely covered, only the trio of tall lantern hooks sticking up out of the otherwise virgin expanse of pure white let him know that he was in the right spot. Hands deep in his pockets, his wooly hat pulled down over his ears, his collar turned up against the cold, he turned to gaze over acre after acre of Apple family land. Apple trees stood tall as far as the eye could see, covered in layers of white, sticking up from the snow covered orchards like so many taffy apples coated in thick layers of icing sugar. Far away in the distance he could just make out the edge of Whitetail Woods to the west, slightly north of which lay the start of the Smokey Mountain range. If he let himself forget where he was for a second he could almost imagine himself to be standing on a hill in Alaska or Canada, the resemblance was that uncanny. From the south a pair of pegasi flew into view, disrupting the illusion. Spotting him, a smudge of dark green on an otherwise pristine hill, they waved. Lifting a thickly gloved hand, he waved back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

February 1228AC

The word was in, the new farmer’s almanacs were out, the planting schedules had been released and, oooh yeah, Winter Wrap Up was coming. If there was one thing about this time of year that he really loved it was Winter Wrap Up. It wasn’t just that he’d had enough of being cooped up inside for the last few months, nor that the food supplies were starting to get a bit... repetitive? bland? predictable?, though, yeah, that did factor into it a bit. But no, it was mainly because, for one of the few times of the year, the Music of Harmony would be taking the whole town out on a extended song and dance routine and for once he actually knew most of the words in advance. Yes! And, to make it even better, the Crown - in association with the Weather Bureau, the Earth Pony Council, and the Royal Agricultural Society - had moved the whole thing forward by two weeks this year. He needed to check with Twi, make sure that they were going to be in town that day and that they didn't need to be over in Canterlot for anything like last year. This was going to be awesome!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

March 1228AC

The finish line was just ahead, there wasn’t far to go now. Mud covered his body, coating his clothing, invading just about every part of him that it could reach. His bones ached, his muscles screamed, he was cold and he was wet and he was almost there. Almost! Just a few more yards... Forty... Thirty... The cheering from the finish line was getting louder, a dusty red face appearing in his peripheral vision explained why. Dodge Ram gave him a wink as he galloped past, stopping just short of the finish line so he could turn and blow the human a smug kiss before hopping over the line to victory. Twenty... Ten... He raised his fist, waved it at his rival stallion, shouted a few humorous insults as he staggered the last few yards over the line. The Dodge family might have beaten them this year, but there was always next year. Plus, Team Apple had quite soundly beaten them the last three years on the trot, so letting them win once or twice wasn’t the end of the world. Three... Two... One... Yes, finally, over the line. As pony after pony either congratulated him on his performance or commiserated over his position, Big Mac pulled him close. Amidst the shouts and cheers there was a whispered conversation- guy to guy. So, the big secret that Mac had been grinning about all morning was out - not only did his herdmates have an incredibly large bucket of warm soapy water with his name on it waiting for him back at their tent, but they’d also brought with them his favourite scrubbing-girl outfits and were kinda hoping that he’d be joining them just as soon as he could... as in right now. Ohhh yeah, shine-running ruled!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

April 1228AC

The simple ‘thwack’ of ball against glove sounded out again and again and again. Each time he’d take the ball and toss it across the yard Sweetie would catch it in her magic and toss it back to him. There was no goal, no winners or losers, no objective to be achieved, just a ball, back and forth, back and forth. They’d been out here for almost an hour now, tossing the ol’ baseball about. They were enjoying their time together, chatting about nothing and everything. Just a guy and his daughter, hanging out in the yard on this cool spring evening, having some ‘us’ time. Kids grew up so fast, and his were growing up so much faster than most, so it was important to catch whatever moments they could, whenever they could. One day soon moments like these would be nothing but cherished memories, something to look back on fondly and wonder where the years went. But for now there was always a ball to toss, bugs to catch, lakes to swim in. One more throw and they’d go in... or maybe after the one after that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

May 1228AC

Carefully taking the swaddled young thing into his arms, cradling the bundle in the crook of one elbow, he rearranged the blanket’s edge so that he could see the newborn’s eyes. Two tiny orbs stared back at him, with the same pale yellow glow that his daughter had sported for her own first few days of life. So, this tiny thing, this cute little baby girl, she was the first of her kind... hopefully the first of many. ‘Songbird’... such a pretty name for such a cute young thing. From where she lay, an exhausted new mother smiled up at him, her tired eyes expressing thanks for everything that he’d done for her kind, helping desperate dreams become a beautiful reality.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

June 1228AC

From the main balcony of the Crystal Castle, Princesses Celestia and Luna used their magic to levitate themselves up into the sky, ribbons of magic criss-crossing their bodies as their pale pink and midnight blue colourings gave way to their now mainly ceremonial coats of pristine white and glossy black. Way out east, far beyond the dazzling orange glow radiating from the distant horizon, the sun peeked out from behind the Crystal Mountains. As the immense ball of light and fire was slowly lifted into the sky, the silvery disc of the moon made a dignified descent down towards the western horizon, slipping behind the distant skyline of the Great Frozen North, leaving the heavens vacant for its sibling to take pride of place in the sky. As the sun reached its apex - flooding the empire with its light, sunbeams bouncing from one crystal structure to another, washing the entire city in a dazzling glow - the royal sisters’ ethereal manes unfurled. Luna’s nebulous mane glimmered with the light of a million stars, a veritable sea of brilliant pinpricks that swirled and swam in a blanket of night; while Celestia’s many shades of vibrant pink were replaced with her ever shifting stripes of blue, pink, purple and green, each washing around her as if she was adrift in a sea of colour. As the crowd cheered for their visiting di-archs, the nation’s lone human slipped away from the festivities. While the sight of Celestia’s multi-hued mane may no longer instill him with quite the sense of fear and loathing that it used to, it still made him incredibly uneasy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

July 1228AC

As a sound from the hallway made him look up, Rainbow called to him, asking him to come check on something. Placing his book down on the coffee table, he made his way over to the closed bedroom door. Twi had just left that room, throwing him a cheeky wink as she walked away, swaying her hips as she wandered down the hallway and into her study- why Rainbow hadn’t called for her instead of him was beyond him. Opening the bedroom door, he made to step inside, but was stopped in his tracks as a pair of pale pink hands grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him off of his feet and over the threshold. Laying on his back on the bed, he found his rainbow haired wife closing the door behind him, leaning against it as she ran her hands with by now well practiced ease over her lithe, athletic, ohhh so beautifully toned body, letting her digits run tantalizingly over the skin-tight shorts and sports bra she was so very fond of. Reaching behind her back, she produced a short riding crop. Using her free hand, she ran her fingers up and down its length before giving it a good ‘whack’ against her palm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

August 1228AC

Free swim was always best swim as far as kids were concerned. Though the names and faces might have changed as the years went by, the CMC were always the same - always ready to cause mischief and have fun, usually massive amounts of both. He caught sight of Sweet Spirit’s horn glowing - the exact same shimmering gold as her mother’s magical field - out of the corner of his eye. Less than a second later another foal shot across his field of vision and out into the water. He was pretty sure it was one of the Apple twins - didn’t matter which one though, the other one would surely be following in just a minu... ahh, there she went. Oooh, that one got plenty of air, Sweetie was getting really good at this. Seconds later a pair of wet faces burst through the lake’s surface - yep, Candy Apple and Toffee Apple - both beaming like loons as they splashed their way back towards dry land. Over on the lakeside, catching some rays with her herdsisters - the herd’s youngest fast asleep on her tummy - Lyra peered at him from over the top of her sunglasses, occasionally nudging Rainbow whenever there was something particularly good to see. Seriously, he could swear that his wives only came down the lake to ogle him splashing about. Not that he minded of course, though he did have a sneaking suspicion that some pony - and he had at least one prime suspect in mind - had been gradually shrinking his swimming shorts when he wasn’t looking. They definitely hadn’t been this tight last week. Well, if the girls were here for the view, maybe he’d wander over and give them a better look.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

September 1228AC

The newspaper rustled as he turned the page. Not much going on this week. A fence had been knocked down over on Sidesaddle Street, a pair of pies had gone missing from a windowsill on Juniper Avenue, Bon Bon’s Bon-Bons were having a post-harvest season sale on- oooh, coupons. As he turned another page, his head jerked to the side, dragged down by a tug on the braid by his left ear. Peering down by his feet, he found his youngest daughter, her horn aglow as she used her quickly flourishing magic to push and pull at her father’s hair. Putting down his paper, he lifted her up and onto his lap. Turning his head so that she could see the braid better, he explained how it was woven together from three separate sections of hair and how it was held tightly at its end with a tiny hair band. Pulling the band loose, he undid the braid before using his nimble fingers - and years of practice - to do it back up again. Then he asked if she’d like to have a go braiding his hair. Twenty minutes, three new hair bands, and twelve braids of varying quality later, part of him was starting to wish he’d kept his big mouth shut.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

October 1228AC

Autumn leaves crunched underfoot, the early evening wind catching at the collar of his old coat. Softly placing his hand on his friend’s shoulder, his long fingers rubbing against the dark red of the farm stallion’s coat, he motioned back in the direction of the farmhouse, suggesting maybe it was time to head back. His friend said nothing, just nodded. Turning as one, they walked away, leaving the four apples on the ground where they had been placed, each one sitting in front of a carefully cleaned gravestone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

November 1228AC

Cider bottle in hand, the human leant back in his chair, one arm around Big Mac’s withers to help steady himself. The two friends laughed heartily as the Stalwart Hide came to the climax of his tall tale. Brightly coloured poker chips jumped about the place, many scattering to the floor as a pair of hooves beat against the tabletop, punctuating the punchline of this boisterously imparted recollection. Fancy Pants and Donut Joe returned from the kitchen with the last of the unclaimed Nightmare Night snacks, wondering what it was that they’d missed, just as Spartan Shield plucked a pair of chips from the felt and threw them - as well as a few good natured insults - at his fellow guard’s face. That meandering mess of contradictions was certainly not the way he remembered it happening and by Luna everypony should just shut up and listen because this is how it had really gone down...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

December 1228AC

The curtains swished opened, the actors having taken their places for the final act. The windigos had been beaten back, the three tribes had been united, and friendship had prevailed - just as it did every year. With a furry chin resting on the top of his head, he could easily hear Scootaloo’s contented sigh. Shifting slightly, he moved her weight just a touch to the left, making it a little easier to carry her on his back for the long haul. She hadn’t wanted to be carried at first, proclaiming herself to be too old for that kind of thing, that as a grown mare - a fully-fledged Wonderbolt at that - it would be embarrassing to be seen being carried, especially by some other mare’s stallion. It hadn’t taken much to convince her though; just an offhand comment about how much he used to enjoy carrying her and her friends around when they’d been young, and how much he missed it now they’d all grown up, and how she’d practically be doing him a favour... making the old man feel useful an’ all, just for old time’s sake. Now that she was up there he could tell she was enjoying it; the way she wrapped her forehooves around his neck, how she let her hind legs rest against the crook of his elbows, just as she had when she’d been a kid. The element bearers sang their carol, the crowd joining them, hundreds of voices washing over the stage and out across the city beyond. Scoot snuggled closer, soaking in what warmth she could from the human’s broad back, basking in the the feeling of having a parental figure so close by. He knew how it felt to miss one’s mother and father, especially at this time of year.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

January 1229AC

Laying on his back, nestled in the depths of a foot deep snow angel, the creeping chill was just starting to make its way through the many, many layers he wore. So, another year gone, another birthday celebrated, another new calendar pinned to the wall. So much had happened this past year, but there was so much still to come, so much to be getting on with, so many people to meet, so many places to be. Overhead a pair of pegasi from the weather team flew by, gliding for the most part, their wings beating only infrequently in the crisp winter air. Pulling a hand free of the toasty warm confines of its glove, he stuck two fingers into his mouth, letting loose a shrill whistle that pierced through the otherwise unworldly silence. Searching for the source of the sudden noise, the two flyers spotted the human waving up at them, waving back themselves before banking off back towards town. Lifting himself out of the hole, shaking as much snow loose from his clothing as he could, Lero stomped through the snow, heading for home. Rainbow had promised one of her amazingly tasty - though sadly rarely seen - carrot and chestnut soups for lunch and he didn’t want to be late.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

79: Everything where it belongs.

Everything where it belongs.
Chapter published 26th August 2015
*******************

Fluorescent lights flickered overhead, the droning electrical buzz filling his ears as the twin chemical smells of antiseptic and floor cleaner clawed at his nose. At the far end of the stark white corridor, one of the ancient bulbs finally died, leaving a small patch of wall in partly lit gloom compared to the rest of the brightly illuminated, clinically appointed hospital ward.

With outstretched fingers running along the closest wall, Lero stumbled forward, his battered old Chuck Taylors squeaking against the worn and over-polished floor tiles. The mottled white paint was rough under his fingertips - old, worn, still dirty here and there even after years of repeated washing.

It all felt so real, smelt so real. He breathed in, deeply, holding the breath in for as long as he could. Heck, it even tasted real.

He was alone, walking the halls of the deserted hospital - corridor after corridor, hallway after hallway. Every room he came to was empty, every bed unoccupied, every chair left vacant. The silence was deafening. He called out, receiving no reply but his own voice echoing from wall to wall and back again.

His right hand felt strange, as if someone was holding it, squeezing his palm, massaging the back of his hand with their fingers. He held it up before him, fingers spread. He could could still feel it - a deep chill against his palm, an insistent pressure. Within seconds it was gone, normalcy returned, for whatever that meant.

He wandered. passing abandoned medical equipment along the way: heart monitors, portable scanners, blood oxygen multi-meters with attached pressure cuffs hanging loose, so many other devices that he couldn’t even begin to fathom their uses.

Most were left up against walls, their displays dark, obviously parked out of the way, waiting to be wheeled into action. Others were left haphazardly in the middle of rooms, blocking doorways, pushed up against bedsides, some still with power flowing through their circuits. Every so often one would beep at him as he passed - their displays registering a disconnected state, the occasional LED flashing as they waited for either input or interaction that would never come.

Something caught his eye, in the mirrored glass installed in the glass of a private room’s door. Moving closer, a hand moving to his chin, he checked out his own reflection. He looked... well, he looked like crap. His beard was gone, his fingers roaming over at least two days of stubble that graced his features in its place.

His long hair was gone as well, replaced with a much shorter style, the likes of which he hadn’t sported since college. The strands looked greasy, unwashed, sticking up in short spikes here and there, flattened against his skull on one side as if he’d recently been sleeping on it. His braid was gone, Rainbow’s feather nowhere to be seen.

He looked awful... but so young as well. Late teens maybe? Very early twenties? Either way, he could do with more sleep, and definitely a good feed. His face looked gaunt, his eyes sunken, dark rings beneath them made him look like Deadpool drawn in washed out grey and mottled pink.

His clothes looked just as bad - a rumpled red and black checked flannel shirt with a plain white t-shirt underneath. Neither looked fresh. His pinched the t-shirt’s collar between two fingers and gave it a sniff. Neither smelt fresh, either. He wasn’t even going to consider trying it with the dirty-blue Levis or grubby Converse.

A sudden ‘click’ made him turn. A thermostat somewhere in the vicinity registering a drop in temperature had triggered the building’s air-conditioning system, pushing cold air down towards him from a nearby ceiling unit with a definite ‘whoosh’.

He backed away, causing a clatter as he pushed ass-first through a thin pair of double doors that separated this new section of corridor from the last. The doors swang closed behind him, blocking off the noise of the AC, covering it with their own ‘slap, slap, slap’ as they finally came to a rest.

Wandering again, he came to a nurses station. PIles of clothing lay all around - a pile of pale blue here, piles of light green there and there, a pile of dusty pink across one of the chairs by the work station. By or beneath each pile was pair of identical plain-white comfortable-looking running shoes, all the same make and style. An old name made its way up from the back of Lero’s brain... ‘Adidas Air Force One’, prison white, all clean and cared for though all obviously well used. Maybe the hospital had gotten themselves a discount for buying them in bulk.

He leant down, scooping up a stethoscope from where it lay atop the closest pile of cloth. The owner had written their name on it with a black Sharpie. ‘Dr Anne Mitchell’. Nudging the cloth pile with his foot, Lero found a small name tag that gave the same name.

From somewhere behind the nurses’ station came a soft, yet insistent, electronic tone. Taking a few seconds to recall the meaning attached to the sound, Lero remembered it was a standard Microsoft Windows notification noise, specifically an ‘awaiting confirmation’ beep.

Moving around the station, Lero found all but one of the large touchscreen monitors behind it displaying their screensavers - the Dell logo bouncing back and forth across the otherwise plain black screens. The one screen still showing its desktop had a multitude of open windows on display, the most prominent blinking a message that it too would go into screensaver mode if an authorised user did not touch the screen in twelve, eleven, ten, nine, eight...

Reaching out, Lero pressed a fingertip against the screen, feeling the slight give in the display’s touch-sensitive outer layer. The screen acknowledged his screen-tap with a soft ‘beep’, but then almost immediately flashed up a message declaring that his fingerprint had not been recognised and asking if he’d care to try again. The question soon became moot though as the countdown reached zero and the desktop faded away, just to be replaced with the manufacturer’s bouncing logo.

A clattering by his feet caught his attention. Looking down, he found a cheap ballpoint pen laying by his right foot. He must have knocked it off of the nurse's desk when he’d been playing with the display.

Bending down, he picked it up, feeling its smooth plastic shaft between his fingers. He hadn't touched anything made of plastic in years, and it felt so... strange - so light, and smooth like glass, but not cold, but slightly greasy maybe. He held it up, running his thumb along its bright yellow barrel, his nail catching against the tiny raised lettering of the BIC logo.

Tossing the pen back onto the desk - the implement rolling awkwardly across the polished surface before coming to a stop between a mostly drained Starbucks skinny latte, belonging to a ‘Karole’ if the scrawl was to be believed, and a half finished Twinkie - Lero’s eyes had been caught by the colourful mural painted on the opposite wall.

Rounding the nurse’s station, it only took a few steps for lero to reach the mural, the vibrant greens and blues and browns holding more colour on a single ten by six patch of wall that he’d seen across the rest of the hospital combined.

The images were obviously designed by children, but painted onto the wall by a professional. The forms were childish in design, yes, but the paintwork too precise, the edges too deliberate, the joins too neat to have been laid down by young hands. A smaller, simpler. poster-paint on construction-paper version of the mural stapled to the wall nearby confirmed Lero’s assumption, a piece of legal stapled underneath it gave the name of several children from the hospital’s in-house day care program that had contributed to its design.

Beneath a sky of cerulean blue and atop a grass of turquoise green, a single bunny rabbit chewed on an oversized carrot of brilliant orange while a lone deer daintily nibbled a low hanging leave from a single tiny apple tree. From one top corner a bright yellow sun smiled a wide, toothy smile as it cast forth wave after wave of sunbeams while, in the other high corner, a dull, gray moon sat and pouted. From behind a flimsy white picket fence a gaily painted peacock pranced, proudly puffing out its pride and joy. From within the painted tail, a thousand staring eyes gazed deep into Lero’s soul and he had to look away, a distinct feeling of unease washing over him.

Moving off down the corridor, swiftly leaving the mural behind him, he found a large noticeboard, full of flyers and posters, notices and reminders, all hanging from its surface.

A large, full colour poster extolled the importance of using the handwash bottle provided to prevent the spread of infection - together they could make the world a cleaner place.

Aah, self-help group news. The Tuesday night Chemical Dependency group was now in room three thirteen - donuts and coffee were still provided as well as low calorie alternatives - Remaining Men Together was now on Thursdays, Blood Parasites was now first and third Wednesdays swapping with Alcoholics Anonymous.

Had he remembered his holiday vaccinations? - Ebola was on the rise in South East Asia as well as making a resurgence in West Africa.

Oooh, a charity swap meet and BBQ this coming Sunday at Lincoln Park Community Church - apparently he should bring the kids for fun and games on the bouncy castle.

Reaching out, he took the edge of one of the posters between a forefinger and thumb, rubbing the paper between his digits. It felt so smooth, so glossy - not at all like the rougher, more natural paper of Equestria. There was a small whiteboard stuck up on the wall next to the notice board. pushing a finger hard against it, he pulled downwards, a shrill squeak echoing around the corridor as his digit slid down its shiny face.

Moving on, moving on. More corridors; all empty, all devoid of life.

In the middle of a corridor he found an empty gurney, turned sideways, blocking his way. A hospital gown poked out from beneath a single rumpled sheet, the loose circle of a RFID wristband teetering on the bed’s edge, ready to fall to the ground at the slightest disturbance.

At the side of the bed, two piles of doctor’s greens lay heaped atop pairs of the hospital issue running shoes, an expensive looking Omega Seamaster sitting between the two piles. The nametag on one pile read “Dr J Miller, Cardiologist”, the other “Dr T B Armstrong, Pulmonologist.” Not far away the pink silicone ring of a breast cancer charity bracelet lay on the tiled floor, its short lived roll of freedom thwarted by the corridor’s wall.

On the edge of the gurney sat a digital clipboard, the display still active, its screensaver not yet active. Lero picked it up, finding it still displaying the medical records of whomever the mobile bed’s previous occupant had been. ‘Jessica’... her name had been Jessica.

Jessica Johnson, aged seventy two. Cause of death: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Date and time of death: March the twenty second in the year two thousand and twenty four, fourteen fifty two hours.

Turning the tablet over, placing it face down on the gurney, Lero left the bed where it was, untouched, unmoved. There had been a ‘T’ intersection not so far back, he could always try going the other way around. It wasn’t like he knew where he was going anyway.

Through the halls he wandered, past empty rooms, crossing deserted junctions. Machines beeped, lights buzzed, the AC whooshed, his Chucks squeaked... and it took some time for him to realise what was missing. Windows, there had been no windows. Surely by now he should have seen a window to the outside world.

And even with no windows, surely, unless the building was underground, he should still be hearing some noise from the outside. No matter how sturdily a building was constructed, how thick the walls, some noise should still have seeped in. If the building had doors, someway for the public to get in and out, sound must be getting in, no? The steady rumble of heavy traffic? The roar of planes overhead? The ever present background drone of the internal combustion engine that humans seemed so good at tuning out? But no, there was nothing.

A dead end had him doubling back, trying another side route. Up ahead he spotted something he hadn’t seen in a long, long time - its bold red and white livery and large curly script a blast from the past.

Standing alone against a wall - save for recycling bin sat next it, patiently waiting for the emptys - was a Coke machine, its glass front showing that it was fully stocked with all of Lero’s favourites. Five different types of Coke, two of Sprite, six flavours of Powerade... Lero hadn’t tasted any of them in years.

The machine beeped, a digital message scrolling across its clear glass front in nice, big, friendly letters, reminding him to take his purchase. He looked down... there was a can sitting in the purchase slot, just waiting to be picked up.

Reaching down, he plucked the still cold can from the machine... Urgh, Dr Pepper! Why did it have to be the one thing in the machine that he couldn’t stand. Thanking him for his purchase, the machine snapped the collection window closed, whirring away happily to itself as the selection arm rolled back into its standby position.

At the foot of the machine lay a pile of pink and black lycra, abandoned between a pair of purple and grey Nike jogging shoes. Also at the foot of the machine was an iRun wristband as well as what was probably its associated iPhone. Whoever this jogger had been, she must have been part way through using her phone to pay for a soda when... whatever had happened to her - and everyone else - had happened.

After staring at the top of the can for what felt like forever, Lero remembered that you had to hook a fingertip under the tab and pull upwards, the can’s seal breaking with a satisfying ‘pssst’ as he did so. Carefully, he took a swig, the effervescent nature of the carbonated beverage tickling the end of his nose as the bubbly liquid did the same to his tongue.

Yep, still tasted like fourteen special flavours of blurgh.

Lero

He turned at the sound of his voice, his name echoing off of the walls, the soda can hanging from his fingers, dangling forgotten.

Lero

There it was again... a woman’s voice. A women he hadn’t heard from in years.

Leaving the still full can on top of the vending machine, Lero started down the corridor after the voice, calling back, but the response didn’t change.

Lero

Around corner after corner he followed the voice, down deserted halls and empty junctions. Eventually he came to a dimly lit corridor, the overhead lighting subdued, each of the doors that lead to private rooms on each side were closed, their observation windows dark. At the far end of the dead-end hallway, a single door was open, just a crack, a small sliver of light lancing out across the shadows.

He made his way closer down the corridor, the slow steady beep of machinery coming from that barely open door just up ahead. He reached the door, last on the left, as the voice came again. It was definitely coming from in there, he was sure of it. But whose room?

The wipe-board net to the door told him what he didn’t want to know, but had been starting to suspect for a while now. In big blue letters, the bold handwriting and large capital letters daring him to prove it wrong, it read: ‘Bellerophon Michaelides.”

Pushing the door, the hinges moving almost silently, he peered inside, finding a dimly lit hospital room, laid out just like so many of the others he’d seen this night. The overhead lights were out, leaving the room lit only by a small positionable lamp attached to the bedhead. What made this room different from the others, however, was what was in the bed, and next to it. This room was not unoccupied, no, far from it. After so many empty rooms, this one was occupied, and not just by one person, but by two.

At the side of the bed, a heart monitor beeped softly, the dull green of its screen pervading throughout the room, the occasional status light flickering at regular intervals. Wires trail from its side to the body lying immobile on the bed. He could see an arm, wrapped in bandages from wrist to bicep, a hospital gown covering the chest, a head of patchy hair up top. Orangey brown hair, stubbly in places, longer in others, obviously shaved for surgery at different points in time and just starting to grow back, different lengths denoting different trips to the surgical theatre.

But the face... the face was so familiar, even clean shaven and asleep. His own face - restful, peaceful, completely unresponsive and unaware.

Lero’s hand moved to his own face, rubbing against the short layer of growth across his chin. His fingers rasped against his jawline before moving to behind his left ear, finding the small patch of burnt tissue that had long since healed, leaving nothing but a patch of rough skin by his hairline.

Across the bed from him - slumped in a visitor's chair, upper body leaning forward onto the bed - sat a thin figure. Long dark hair spilled from a messy ponytail, leaving tendrils across her back, laying limp over the side of her neck and down past her throat. Head resting on a bare arm, the other arm reaching across the bed, fingers curled tight around the incumbent's hand, Lero couldn’t see her face. Even so, he didn't have to - he’d know this woman anywhere.

Taking a deep breath, Lero stepped into the room as quietly as he could, doing everything in his power not to wake the seemingly sleeping woman. He froze, mid-step, as a soft voice came from beneath the hair.

“I know you're here, Ronnie. I know you can hear me.”

He stepped forward, a hand outstretched towards her.

“I know you're still in there, fighting. But it’s getting harder, little brother. It’s getting harder to keep on...”

The woman sat up slowly, masses of unruly hair still covering her face. The hand not holding on to that of her prone sibling’s wiped at her eyes, pushing her fringe out of her face. She still had yet to notice the room’s most recent visitor.

“I don’t want to stop believing, Ronnie, but it’s so hard. Please, let us know you're coming back. Something? Anything?”

“I’m still here, Nausii.”

The woman turned her head to face him, pushing the last of the hair from her face as she took him in. What little make-up she wore had run, dark streaks of mascara drying onto her cheeks. She looked tired, worn, drained. She looked at him, seeing but not seeing, as if she’s looking straight through him.

“Where’s here, Ronnie? Where are you?”

“I... I don’t understand.” Lero stepped closer, his outstretched hands turned palm up, begging the question, “I don't know what you mean.”

“Where are you, Ronnie? Are you here,” she held up the comatose patient’s hand before letting it drop back onto the bed, “or are you here,” she waved vaguely in Lero’s direction, ”which is it, really?”

“What? I...”

Pushing away from the bed, she stood, turning, placing her hands on Lero’s cheeks. Her touch chilled him, her fingers were so cold. He reached for her, his hands coming to rest on her bare shoulders where he could feel her cold skin start to leech the heat from his palms. Even wearing just a dark green spaghetti top with thin blue jeans, she couldn't have been that cold... surely?

“Are you here, really here?” Her hands held him in place, her eyes searching his, studying him, looking for something. He could feel her gaze boring into him, making him squirm. “Or are you still stuck in your little fantasy world, with all your magical fucking adventures and your pretty, pretty little ponies. Are you coming back to us, or are you just going to hide in here,” her hands pressed harder against his cheeks, her touch no longer gentle, “slowly wasting away in this safe little fucking dreamworld you’ve made for yourself. Please, Ronnie, look at yourself.”

His jaw still in her grasp, she turned his head towards the bed, towards his unconscious doppleganger.

“You’re wasting away, slipping further and further from us every day. Please, don’t die on us, not like this, not all alone...”

Her voice broke as she released him, turning her back, looking away, a hand raised to cover her eyes.

“Not alone, not while we’re all here for you.”

Lero’s hands held her shoulders, her back still to him. She was still so cold, still pulling heat from his hands. He held her from behind, wrapping his arms around her, one across her collarbone, the other around her waist, his cheek against her ear. He held her close, hoping that at least some of his warmth would reach her.

“I don’t understand, “ he said, keeping his voice low, using the soothing tone that worked so well on his wives. ”It’s been years, I’ve a family now, two wonderful children. I’ve made a life for myself.”

She shrugged him off, a single step taking her out of his reach. She turned to face him, anger burning in her eyes.

“‘Made a life’? Ha,” she barked, “Fuck, no. What you’ve made is a fantasy. A fantasy leading nowhere but to a long, drawn out death. A death that’s already begun.”

Stepping back, curling her fingers into a fist, she slammed it into the wall beside her, the impact sending a long, jagged crack along the plaster. Even after the sound of the impact had faded, the crack continued to spread, creeping across the walls, becoming longer and longer until it spanned the entire room.

In places the crack widened dramatically, bright light flooded into the room through the gaps, bringing with it the sounds of happy music mixed with the noises of small town life interspersed with children playing.

The woman slammed her fist into the wall for a second time, then a third. Large, jagged pieces of the wall fall to the floor like shards of glass from a broken window. Through each of the holes streamed shafts of light of different colours and intensities, each gap revealing a view into a different scene of everyday life in Equestria.

One hole showed a bright summer day in Ponyville’s bustling market square, another showed early evening revelers on the city streets of Canterlot, yet another providing a view of the adventurers on the edge of the Everfree Forest under a night sky. Each of the other gaps holding a scene of their own, each revealing ponies going about their business totally unaware that they were being observed.

“Soon you’ll you have to make a choice, Ronnie”

Lero took a step back as his sister turned on him, stabbing a finger into his chest, poking him over and over as she made her point. She was angry at him... really angry. He’d never seen her this angry before. Not even when they were kids and he’d accidently dropped her prized Millennium Falcon model in the street and it’d been run over by a car.

“Where do you belong?”

He backed up, his legs hitting the bed, the comatose Lero within still giving no response as the bed rocked from the impact.

“Is it here, or is it there?”

The room began to fade out all around him, darkness overtaking his vision. Deceptively strong fingers grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer.

“One way or the other, you're going to have to make a choice.”

As the last of the light faded away, all he could see was a pair of eyes, catching whatever tiny slivers of light was left in the encroaching darkness.

”But will you be strong enough to make the right one?”

Then, as quickly as it had begun, the dream was over.

81: Do you want to feel how it feels?

Do you want to fe el how it feels?
Chapter published 7th Feb 2015

************

a crack of light, from where, who knew, spearing her eye, blinding her. she threw a forearm across her brow, hoping to block out the evil light, it didn’t help. it was time, they beckoned her to stand, to follow, she obeyed. leaving her cell, she let herself be lead, down twisting corridors, slick caves, ragged shoes slipping on the slime and dirt. they came the the armoury, the gaping maw into the vast room lay open before her. she stepped inside, didn’t wait to be pushed. procrastination, reluctance, delaying tactics, none would help her here. trunk after trunk, locker after locker, they all sat before her, their lids closed, their doors shut tight. only one glowed green, ready to be opened. it was the one she really hated, and right now she hated a lot of these damn things. fingers curling around the edges, she pulled the casket open, the lid swinging free, showing her what was within. nestled within a dozen partitions sat eleven spears, the twelfth partition, mocking her with its emptiness, told her which weapon she would facing soon enough. eleven remained, eleven from which she could choose. her hand moved, almost of its own accord, fingers curling around the same spear that she would pick every time. her fingers ran along the spear’s wooden shaft, tracing every bump and notch, each as familiar as the back of her own hand. four fifths of the way along the spear’s total length the wood was fused to the material that made up its point. well over a foot’s worth of the slick, spiraled material jutted out from the wooden shaft, thirteen, fourteen maybe, inches of what she could only think of as some kind of animal horn or tusk. straight and true as an arrow, much like those from a huge arctic narwhal or mystical unicorn. running fingers along its length, she was reminded of the smoothest of ivory, the slickest of polished granite, the sharpest of steel. the point at the end was lethal, she knew that all too well, had been a victim to it, and its siblings, more times that she’d like to remember. she ran her hands all along the horn-spear’s length once again, tracing the spiral patterning with her fingertips. it had become something of a ritual over the years, always this one spear from among the many others. always the same horn of darkest blue, so dark it might as well have been black. always the same gouges and nicks in the horn’s surface. always the same small tuft of midnight blue skin and fur hanging loose at the point where the horn was bonded to the spear’s wooden shaft, a gruesome momento from whatever mighty beast had sported this magnificent appendage before it had been wrenched free from their corpse, turned into some kind of macabre trophy. leaving the casket open, she rose, her guards ready to escort her to the arena. once again, in this distant land, it was time to meet her fate. and, once again, she would meet it head on...

...what else could she do.

.
.

so, they were going for the classics today. a large circular arena, sand beneath her feet, the crowd watching, observing, critiquing from high above. all the trappings of a roman amphitheatre, such as those where brave gladiators, soldiers, slaves and prisoners alike would meet their gruesome ends. today, and for as long as she could remember, she had been all of the above. a prisoner, a slave, a soldier. today she was to be a gladiator. the fingers of her right hand curled tight around her spear, she threw the left across her brow, blocking out as much of the blinding light as she could. silence reigned, the lack of sound deafening in its own way, her senses overpowered, vision flooded in white. her eyes cleared, her opponent approached, pads against sand, claws digging into the ground beneath him with every step. she recognised him, sort of. one of the hunde menschliche, they always brought werewolves to mind, with their hairy bodies and upright stance, their long snouts and sharp teeth. she’d seen this one around, faced him before, she knew that fur pattern, his gait, the slight limp, the way his ears moved, one then the other. yes, she’d seen him around, many a time, best not to get too close though, don’t pal up, it just made it hurt more in the end. he was swift, strong, decisive this one, but honourable. no games, no dirty tricks. while he fought to win, he did not play with his opponents as so many others did, desperate to please their overlords, to curry favour through their own actions. his movements were considered, his strikes un-pulled, his movements never wasteful, his attacks everything they needed to be, stopping well short of anything unnecessary to take his target down. she was going to lose, no doubt about it, but at least it would be quick. thank heaven for small mercies. and considered the weapon held in his hands, she’d take any mercy that she could get. a spear, much like her own. but where her weapon of choice was dark, almost black, his shone and gleamed, light reflecting from its pale wood shaft and pristine spike of purest white. almost a foot and a half of sharp, spiral horn was awaiting her, just a few dozen yards away. so, here they were, white versus black, weapons almost identical except for their colour, like the ebony and ivory of an old time chess set. but there was no gambits or mates or queening or rooking to be going on here, just stabbing, slashing, puncturing, volleys of blood and guts and tears and death...

...and so the games began.

.
.

she had held her own for as long as she could, but she had been outmatched right from the start. every block, every parry, every desperate duck and dive, every weave and bob, not one of them had been enough. blood loss was slowing her down, her rapidly weakening limbs slowly but surely going numb from the extremities inwards. she had lost an eye in the first attack, an ear in the second, and it had gone downhill from there. hands slick against her spear’s shaft, she was desperate now, lashing out any way that she could, swinging wildly in an arc. her opponent stayed in her blindspot, circling her like a shark, darting in close to attack whenever he saw an opening, inflicting small wounds, one after the other, none lethal by themselves, but deadly en masse. so, they had decreed that today was to be a death by a thousand cuts. not a way she liked to go, but there were worse, she’d found that out long ago. a tendon here, a hamstring there, she fell to a knee, unable to stand. she turned her spear, thrust it into the ground as best she could. she could end it now, cast away her spear, admit defeat, but she would not, would not give them that victory. if they wanted her down, crawling in the sand, breathing her last, then they they could have that with just a word, but they would never have her defeated. leaning against the spear, she held herself upright as best she could, her cheek pressed against the wooden shaft, the slickness of her own blood making it hard not to slip against it, to slide to the floor. the attacks ceased, the pure white spear, marred by blood running free along its spiral groove, no longer stabbed and pierced and penetrated her being. her opponent stepped into her field of vision, standing not five feet away, his weapon pointed away from her, towards the stone roof so far above. he waited, just as she did the same, both knowing that orders from upon high would soon be forthcoming. soon enough her fate would be sealed, but until then they waited...

...what else could they do.

.
.

It didn’t take long, or maybe it had, she just didn’t know anymore. the cold numbness was taking her, pulling her away, calling her to places far away, promising that soon, soon it would all be over. he moved, her opponent, he moved. it had not been much, but it had been enough, enough to bring her back to the here and the now. she opened her remaining eye, finding him watching her. their eyes met, and there she found compassion, and sorrow, and regret. she did not envy him his position, she had been in it enough times herself. his eyes asked a question, one she had asked often enough herself. she responded with all the movement that she could manage, granting the forgiveness.that her opponent craved. a moment passed between them, one that only those in their positions could experience. she closed her eye, praying the moment would be swift, that her opponent did not falter, that if their positions were reversed that she could do the same for him. his arm was strong, his attack was swift, but, for all his best efforts, today his aim was not true. she felt the spear force its way into her chest, time slowing to a crawl as its point pushed its way through skin and muscle, working its way between her ribs, through a lung as it made its way towards her heart. but the wound was not fatal, not instantly. her grip faltered, her arm leaving her spear, her body sagged, falling backwards onto the ground below. agony screamed through her body, pain receptors and nerve endings doing their jobs just as they should. her brain was flooded with messages from all over her body, just to be drowned out by those coming from the gaping wound in her chest. she gasped for breath, her lungs filling with her own blood, her life flowing from her, soaking its way into the sand beneath her. time stood still, each breath lasting for minutes, hours maybe, and, with the powers that her captors could wield with a whim, this could well enough be true. the world faded from her vision, darkness creeping in from the edges. she could just make out her opponent crouching over her, could feel the warmth of his fur as a paw cradled her head, another as it stroked at her hair, the smell of his breath as he leant over her, the fading whisper from his lips as he lamented her fate. random parts of her mind recognised his words as being in German, even as synapses deep within her brain were misfiring with pain. the words were unknown, high-school language classes being so far away as to be another lifetime, but the meaning was clear. he was wishing her a quick death, an easy death, an escape from this life of torture, a journey to a better place. how sweet it was of him to try...

...even though they both knew that it was not to be.

.
.

consciousness faded in and out, moments of excruciating pain mixed with blessed bouts of nothingness. how long had she lain there, in her own blood, the precious fluids draining from her body into the sand below. she wouldn't die, not yet, they wouldn't let her, they’d never let her die. suffer, yes, die, no. the fight itself, that had just been the first part of their fun, the appetiser before the feast. the suffering, the crying, the begging, that was the real spectacle, the suffering of those that could die, the only ones that were truly alive. they liked it when you cried, when you wept and railed, called out for salvation, called out for loved ones, called out for death. she’d seen bigger, stronger, stranger creatures than her break under the pressure, fall into the pain, lose control of their bodily functions as they’d breathed what they’d wished had been their last. she wasn’t ashamed to admit she’d cried out herself, she’d called for her father, screamed for her mother, for someone to come for her, to take her away. she’d once bled out for, she didn't even know how long it had been, days or weeks, until they’d killed her, had her run through with a sword, her head cleaved in two with an axe. how dismayed she’d been to wake up the next morning, back in her cell, her injuries healed, her body restored. her body had been ripped asunder countless times since then, rendered and restored, rendered and restored, over and over. but her mind, her mind was still her own. they would not break her, never have the pleasure of the only thing they had left to take from her, she wouldn’t let them. one day she’d get out of this hell hole...

...one day she’d escape, one day she’d be free.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The beating of feathers against her face brought Princess Luna back to the waking world. Eyelids fluttered open revealing her large cyan eyes, tears running from red tinged corners, down her cheeks and onto her ancient writing desk.

The flapping ceased, Luna’s pet raven stowing his wings as he backed away, perching himself on a nearby lamp, far enough away to give his mistress some space but close enough to be of aid if required.

More tears fell, staining the half-filled parchment resting on the desk’s surface, recently formed words losing legibility as previously dried ink became moist once more.

The raven tucked his beak under a wing, preening a father that had no need of it. His mistress needed time, so time she would get. But not too much.

Princess Luna took a moment to wipe her eyes before returning the quill that had at some point fallen from her grasp and onto the floor to its proper place in its inkwell. She took another moment to compose herself, just a moment, that was all.

“CAW!”

Luna turned, facing her pet. He watched her for a few seconds, before tilting his head, as if in question.

“I am fine, Nethermour, but thank you for asking.“

The bird tilted his head again, this time in the other direction.

“CAW?”

“Really, I am. But I appreciate your concern.”

“CAW!”

“Yes, you are right. They are becoming more frequent.”

With a single beat of his wings, Nethermour swooped from his spot on the lamp, across his mistress’s office, before alighting on the edge of the desk and shuffling his way over to stand on the now ruined correspondence. Lifting a forehoof, Luna carefully stroked the bird, letting her touch run from the top of his head to the tip of his tail. The raven did not often let her stroke him, but when he did she was ever-so gentle.

“It was the spears again. The ones made of alicorn horns. He took the one with my horn... the one he always takes.”

Luna closed her eyes, remembering the long, dark horn. She remembered the way it felt under as she’d ran her fingers along its length, the notches and dings, the slight imperfections in its spiral groove. She knew that spiral well, she saw it in the mirror every day.

“So many cases, so many trunks. How many alicorn horns are stored there, how many versions of me have fallen throughout the years? How many alicorns of the night, how many alicorns of the day? How many times have I fallen, how many times has my sister...?”

Raising a forehoof to her chest, she pushed it against her fur, rubbing at the skin beneath, just above her heart.

“I know now what it must have felt like for my love, to have died at my own horn. My sister claims it would have been instantaneous, that he would have felt no pain. I know this now to be a lie... but I cannot bring myself to hate her for telling it. Some lies are not told to conceal a falsehood, but because, deep down, we wish that they could be true.”

With eyes closed, the alicorn of the night began to hum- a slow, sad melody, faltering at times. In less than a minute it ended, the princess opening her eyes to find her companion settled back at the far edge of the desk, watching her intently.

“I heard a song, in old Germane. A gift, as I... as he, lay dying. Would you like to hear it?”

“Caw.”

The princess smiled, for the first time in many an hour.

“I will take that as a ‘yes’, then.”

And so a princess of Equestria sang to her faithful companion an ancient song from a distant land.

Komm, süßer Tod, komm selge Ruh!

Komm führe mich in Friede,

weil ich der Welt bin müde,

ach komm! ich wart auf dich,

komm bald und führe mich,

drück mir die Augen zu.

Komm, selge Ruh!

82: Seven apples on a witch's tree.

Seven apples on a witch's tree.
Chapter published 28th Sept 2014

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June 1230AC

Deep within the Everfree Forest, unexpected occurrences were not to be... unexpected. What was about to occur, however, was a little more unexpected than most.

The darkness of the early morning hours was rudely interrupted, prismatically spilt, as a single tiny point of light suddenly appeared many body-lengths above the ground. Leaves on the nearmost tree branches were alternately pulled towards, then pushed away from, this point of light as it grew, slowly at first, then popping out to form a ring of light almost two body-lengths across.

Licks of magical energy arced from the ring, scorching any leaves that came too close, igniting any that somehow survived the scorching and ended up any closer. Ribbons of coloured energy - writhing bands of cerulean and turquoise, cobalt blue and pale heliotrope - weaved their way around the edge of the ring, twisting and turning around each other. Bright colours played their way across the dull browns and greens of the forest as each of the ribbons fought for dominance.

The air inside the ring shimmered, turning at first cloudy, then more akin to the surface of a large pan of bubbling water.

The power output of the ring increased, arcs of magical energy flying free from the maelstrom, touching down far from their point of origin. Wherever the arcs ended their short yet tumultuous journeys foliage popped and burned, flash fried by the sheer amount of thaumic energy bleeding off into whatever it touched, converted into light and sound and heat as it dissipated across the surface of Equestria.

From the bubbling mass held in the eye of the ring, a large object erupted, travelling at speed, arcing through the air of this warm summer night. The object, a figure, hit the ground hard, rolling through the undergrowth for quite a ways before coming to rest against the base of a old, gnarled oak tree.

Within seconds of depositing its payload, the ring had lost its ribbons of colour, compressing itself back down to a single point of light again before winking out of existence. After less than a minute since it had first appeared, all that was left to betray the fact that the ring had ever existed were several scorched patches of forest and a waft of ash smoke that floated away on the gentle night breeze.

Well, that and the naked figure still laying underneath a tree.

Seconds passed, followed by minutes, before the figure stirred.

An eye opened, followed by another. Golden eyes took in the surroundings.

Fingers grasped at rough bark and low hanging branches as the newcomer pulled herself to her feet.

With the ring gone, all that was left to bring light to the undergrowth was what few rays the full moon pushed down between the forest’s branches. It was not much, but still more than enough; she had lived in darker environs than this.

Lifting her face to the sky, what sky she could see, long auburn hair swept across her back, playing across naked skin the colour of sun burnt sand. She sniffed at the air, turning her head to better catch the breeze.

In this form her nose wasn’t as good as it could be, but it would do. There was civilisation far to the north east, nothing but more forest in the other directions... no, there was something to the south.

Not now, maybe later.

As she considered the scents and smells, her eyes watched the stars, watched them as they moved, movement so imperceptibly slow that most would never see the way that they danced, could not pierce the curtain hiding the underlying magic behind their being, seeing the naked truth with their own orbs. Normal eyes could not see what she saw, could not hear what she heard, could not sense what she sensed... but she was anything but normal.

Dawn was only a few hours away, she should move.

Slowly she headed north, unsteady on her feet at first but quickly becoming more stable. A shuffle became a walk, a walk became a stride, a stride became a run.

Dawn approached; the moon falling, the stars trailing in its wake like the needy children that they were. The sun arose; claiming the sky, bringing the day.

Fingers curled, compressed, retreated, reformed. Toes pulled back inside hooves, sand coloured fur flowed its way over sand coloured skin. Ears moved, teeth flattened, eyes widened. Terminology changed just as the form did the same. Shoulders to withers, feet and hands to hooves. Biped to quadruped.

From within the darkness of the treeline the pony burst her way out onto rolling pastures, low grasses brushing around her ankles as her movements came to a halt.

Sniffing the air at her leisure, watching the sun as it carried on with its merry dance, completely unaware of her presence, she chose her destination

At no more than a casual trot, she set off towards the nearest town.

83: Where time stands still or moves at your will.

Where time stands still or moves at your will.
Chapter published 4th Sept 2015

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left, right, left, right, left, right, step after step she walks, head bowed, eyes down, hands held out before her, crossed at the wrist. in front and behind her, others walk as she does. feet, hooves, claws, whatever the hell those things over there are, they all shuffle forward, lead down the same dingy stone passageway. the creature two ahead of her, some kind of large headed parody of a equine that she hadn’t seen before, stumbles, falling flat on its face. the satyr-esque being directly between it and her doesn’t notice until it’s too late, the two ending up in a messy pile of hooves and hands. she stops, doesn’t want to end up joining them down on the rocky floor, the being directly behind her almost pushing her over anyway, bumping into her back like that. as her two fallen, would companions be the right word, struggled to get themselves back on their, whatever they had, she could hear those behind moaning, the urge to get moving again getting stronger by the second. she could feel it herself, the growing feeling of dread, the rising desire to hop over the fallen, abandon them, scurry away after the those that had already left them behind. she did not like to be kept waiting, tardiness being one of the most common causes for punishment around these parts. one of the many, many causes anyway. the two are up again, hurrying forward, moving swiftly to catch up with the rest. she can feel claws against her back, urging her forwards, to make up for lost time. she hurries, breaking into a short painful jog, just to catch up. within minutes they are all back together, leaving the cloying gloom of the dimly lit passageway behind for the brightly lit opulence of the great hall. no, no no no, it’s true, she is here. she feels the pain, the dread, the nausea. she has to look down, scrunch up her eyes, cracking them only so she can see her own feet so she doesn't trip. they take their places, all of them, in a semicircle around the throne. she takes to one knee, just as she knows the other bipeds in the little party are doing. some of the quadrupeds do something similar but with twice as many knees, others go even further, pressing their bodies to the floor like a fearful hound at its master’s feet. ha, how apt. that thing over there, it doesn’t even have legs, it just kind of squashes itself, the ooze that makes up its body spreading wider across the glossy stone floor. the feeling of dread grows, stronger than before. she almost vomits, the fear is so strong. bowing her head further, she puts both hands on her knee to steady herself. just in time too, a wave of dizziness washes over her as she starts to speak.

she can move... she can move her head, she can open her eyes. the dread is still there, but it has lessened. the pain in her skull has not gone away but it’s not as overwhelming as before. she looks around, at the grand hall with its stark white polished floors, up along its towering pillars of polished dark green granite, across its high arched roof far above. she can hear words being spoken, but they are not as compelling as they were seconds before. she turns to face the speaker, but the pain is back, lancing through her brain. she instinctively jerks her head away. she had only caught a glimpse... before she had needed to look away, but it had been enough. it was her. a blinding light encasing a bipedal form, obviously female, wrapped in ever rippling ribbons of cerulean and turquoise, cobalt blue and pale heliotrope - no wonder he had been so afraid of her. he? who’s he? she’s having a hard time remembering this he was. but why was she here? she had been... She had been in her castle, it had been late, she had been called, beyond the void. She had left her body, stepped across the border and... now she was here... but where was she? ...and when? ...and who?

She lifted a hand from her knee, stared at it, took in its details. Human, most likely male, hairy, dirty. Yes, a human male, one that she knew. She knew this hand, even under the dirt, she could recognise the colour of her skin... no, his skin, his skin. This was not her hand, it was his... it was Lero’s.

"and when the time comes you will remember me, since it is to me before all others that you owe your lives."

As the words float to her ears, the fleeting moment of freedom of movement she had enjoyed is gone as she feels her lips move, words falling from her mouth that she has no control over, a chorus of voices all around echoing the same statement. methodically. robotically. emotionlessly.

"we will never fail to worship you all the rest of our days. for it was you, our lady, who gave us back our lives."

she tries... tried to move, willing her head to respond, her face to lift. she manages a small movement, just enough to bring that horrible, horrible form back into view. the glow is so strong, the ribbons of colour so vivid, the pain in her brain stabbing and slicing at her thoughts as they tried to sort themselves into some small semblance of order. She can hear a chuckle, an evil sound, not one of beauty but of spite.

“well, well, well. it would appear that we have a visitor. a lilliputian hitcher in our midst.”

she steps closer, the pain in her head increasing with the proximity, already burning away at the edges of her mind, threatening to take the rest with it soon enough.

“perhap this would make it easier for you, gentle visitor.”

the glow decreases, the pain subsides, but not entirely. she looks up, finds a woman, human in shape, standing before her. she is clad from neck to toe in a flowing silk, of what colour she can’t tell, her mind is still too confuddled for that right now. not an inch of skin below the chin on display, the face though, the only skin on show, glows too brightly to make out. while definitely human, she could be of any race, any colour. her features too indistinct, too overwhelmed by the cursed glow to make out. she may not even have had facial features at all. What she did have, however, was a cloud of hair that floated around her head, flowing behind her like a cloud of spun gold caught in a summer breeze. from between the strands, a million eyes watched the visitor, boring into her soul, judging her, controlling her, owning her. the urge to vomit returned.

“still too much? perhaps this will help?”

The non-existent breeze ceased non-existing, instead becoming non-non-existent. Billowing hair fell, losing its golden glow and turning a deep red as it settled around her shoulders, the front shortening and falling into a straight fringe just above eye level. The face below the bangs lost its own glow, pale pink skin with eyes of blue forming in a face that she knew all too well.

Fear gave way to both anger and indignation in equal amounts as she willed her host body to stand, to move forwards. After a moment of resistance, she felt herself move, un-sticking from her host, her alicorn form unfolding, expanding, de-compressing as it emerged from the human’s smaller form. Her four long legs carried her just a few steps, the sounds of her hoof-falls echoing around the chamber.

“How dare you think even for a second that you can defile her appearance like this,” the alicorn fairly spat, a rarely seen righteous fury overpowering her usually pleasant tones.

The target of her ire, however, merely clapped her silk-clad hands together, an expression of girlish glee swimming across her features.

“my, my, my. princess celestia. how delightful to see you.”

The woman pinched at the edges of her full-length blood-red silk gown, pulling it away from her hips as she executed a playful curtsy.

“you know, at first i had expected it to be your sister that was dipping her toes into my personal pool, but you... you're just as much a sight for sore eyes. you know how much I love a good...” her eyes moved from her visitor to the supplicant figures still crouched all around her throne, “...guest. so, to what what do i owe the pleasure?”

“I’m warning you,” Celestia hissed, wings spread, ethereal mane lashing all around her head.

“Oh, tia,” she pouted, “still so hung up on appearances.”

If anypony back in Canterlot had ever been on the receiving end of a scowl, the like of which the alicorn of the day was currently throwing out, they probably would have spontaneously self-combusted in either crippling embarrassment or unbridled fear - or maybe both. The current target of her scorn, however, just couldn't give a shit.

“ohh, look at miss grumpy face,” gloved hands reached out, fingers pushing against Celestia’s cheeks, manually manipulating the princess's mouth into a smile. “that’s better. why. so. serious?”

With a girlish giggle, she span away, lifting her hands above her head, sparkles floating from her fingertips as she danced around the hall, spinning and twirling in ways that would put a prima ballerina to shame.

“you’re in my world now, princess prissy plot,” she laughed, and it was not a nice sound, “and you're such a very small fish in a very, veerrry big pond.”

With nary another word nor sound she vanished... just vanished, no flash, no pop, no crack, just gone... only to reappear again, using the still crouched form of Bellerophon Michaelides as a handy leaning-stool. Battered and bruised as the human may be, her lovely little subject made such a handy little seat.

“and piggybacking on the mind of my little wandering ulysses here...” silk covered fingers patted her chair’s head, ruffling his hair life a small child, before grabbing a handful and yanking his head back, eliciting a small grunt of pain from her otherwise unresponsive ‘guest’. “so beneath you, i feel...”

Celestia continued to glare daggers at her ‘hostess’, fully aware that there she wielded little in the way of power in this realm but still unwilling to back down.

“oh, tia, still so sensitive. oh well, as you wish.”

Raising her hands above her head, she began to spin a little rhyme - one familiar to almost every human within her realm.

“mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?”

Ribbons of light formed around her body, blues and greens and purple, covering her form, obscuring her from view before vanishing just as swiftly as they had arrived. After they had disappeared, she still remained, though the transformation was startling. The dark red hair and pale pink skin had been replaced by flowing ethereal locks striped in pink and green, purple and blue. and skin so pale as to be almost white. The gown of blood-red silk had also been ousted, replaced instead with a long, full skirted ball gown of shimmering gold; slit high to expose a long, well toned toned leg shod with a golden three inch stiletto heel; the neck cut well off the shoulder and low in the front to expose a cleavage that one could drown in, should one be lucky enough.

The most striking element of her new appearance though, was the face... or rather, whose it was. Beneath strong yet gently arched eyebrows, amidst the darkest of lashes, sat a pair of eyes in the most striking of light magenta. These eyes spoke of depths of knowledge, wisdom, grace, and kindness, eyes so caring and reassuring that they left anyone on which they gazed filled with a sense of calm, wrapped up tightly in a blanket of peace.

Unfortunately, whatever spell these most graceful of features had cast was lost almost instantly as lips of the darkest of pinks twisted into a cruel smirk, any kindness these windows to the soul may have possessed lost as a wave of cruel humour washed over them.

“happy now?”

While Celestia was not at all happy about seeing what was undoubtedly her own features in human form on her face, it was at least better than the mockery she had made of mother’s appearance.

“so, never mind all that; how have you been? i so did enjoy our last meeting. how are things with you? i hear you have your sister back. how lovely that two such desperate souls should have found each other again. ahhh, it almost brings a tear to one’s eye.”

With an over emphasised pout, she pushed herself off of her perch, her fleeting expression of sadness instantly replaced with one of barely contained glee.

“ahh, little lulu. she was so much fun to corrupt. it’s always the proud ones, those who think themselves so strong, that are the most satisfying to bend to my will. your little sisterly tiff was just so. much. fun. But, you know how it is when siblings fight - it all gets so... personal.”

Skipping over to her alicorn guest, a now bare hand trailed along the underside of the princess’s chin.

“poor lulu, so easy to twist, so much pride, and so much bottled up resentment for always being kept in her sister’s shadow... quite literally, too. we really must do all that again some day. I’ll bring the wine.”

A gentle finger worked its way along Celestia’s jawline, working its way up towards an ear. The contact made her skin crawl, the desire to jerk her head away fair near unbearable, but she held firm, would never give her the satisfaction.

“but, you? you were almost a worthy adversary, so much harder to influence, such a strong will and steady heart. what a tasty little challenge you were, and so much more satisfying when you finally fell.”

“You never had me.” Celestia growled in response.

“oh, if it helps you sleep any better then you just keep telling yourself that.” fingers moved back to her own chin, a deep look of consideration across what could be otherwise be a beautiful face, if not for who was currently behind it. “and how is your delightfully hunky little somby-womby, by the way? still hates your guts with all the passion of a burning sun i take it? oooh, that must really choke you up inside. especially with what you two had goi-”

“Enough!” Celestia shouted, stomped a forehoof into the ground with enough strength to leave a small crater in the otherwise flawless granite surface.

“I know of your probings, your excursions upon our borders. do not think to dare cross me, queen,” the alicorn almost spat the title. “We will defeat you, just as we did before. So many times you have tried your luck and so many times you have failed.”

Waving Celestia’s words away with a disinterested hand, she smiled, the edges of her lips leaving dimples in her cheeks. “minor inconveniences, nothing more. unlike you, and your so called ‘immortality’, we truly are forever. long after your piddling little reality has faded away, after all the toys have been packed away and forgotten, we will still be here, doing what we do. while there are minds to twist, while there are souls to corrupt, we will be there to do the corrupting. you cannot stop us, like entropy itself we are a force of nature. as long as there is existence, we will continue to exist.”

With an air of encroaching boredom, she made a show of checking the state of her nails, conjuring up a small emery board to work on a troublesome cuticle.

“ah, but you were so fun to play with, and you will be again. but, for now, it seems you have taken yet more of my playthings from me.” happy with her work, she flicked the the emery board over her shoulder, “those foolish bughorses were so much to push and pull, to convince and coerce. a cruel whisper here, a doubting word there. oh i will miss them,” a small sigh escaped her lips, “actually, no, i won’t. never mind, there’ll always be more bughorses, or the squawky ones, or the big, ugly lizard-things. there’s always more.”

She pouted and, by now, Celestia was getting really rather tired of seeing what should be her own face, even a human version of it, being abused in such a why.

“but, there is a hole in my collection. do you know why, my dear celestia?” she span her way across the room with gay abandon until she came once more to the still crouched Lero “a little birdy tells me that you’re the one selfishly holding onto one of my possessions, my little wandering star, and now my poor bereft toybox weeps for its return.” again she ran her fingers through the static human’s hair, “and i do not share.” she grabbed a handful of his hair, dragging him across the chamber behind her as she stomped her way over to the princess before throwing his unprotesting form down at the alicorn’s hooves. “return it to me, or we shall have to... balance the books, shall we not?”

Princess Celestia arched a single eyebrow, standing defiantly firm in the face of the petulant form before her.

“Never. He, and any others that might come before me, are under under my protection. I would no more let him suffer under your... care than I would any of my own subjects”

“your protection? why? why defend it?” she grabbed the human again, lifting him from the ground with a single hand, hefting his form as effortlessly as if he was made of nothing but papier mâché, “it is not one of yours,” she shook him in Celestia’s face, her grip on his neck making her toy’s eyes bulge out, “it is not a child of your world. it is a target, a vulnerability, a weakness that begets nothing but more weaknesses.” wrapping her other hand around his skull, she ripped his head from his neck, blood spraying all around as she tossed the limp body off to one side, “this... human is nothing more than a man of constant sorrow, and he will bring you nothing but the same.”

With the disembodied head thrust in her face, great gouts of blood running down her arm as she pushed the gruesome remains upwards into the alicorn’s face, Celestia stepped back, sickened by the wanton display of violence. It wasn't just the callous and uncalled for cruelty of it that made her want to vomit, but the carefree manner of it all. She’d ripped poor this Lero’s head off as easily as if she had done no more than open an envelope, or blow out a candle, or close a door - spending no more care or consideration on his murder than she would have done on any of those other tasks.

“tia, tia, tia,” the corpse’s head was tossed to the side, rolling across the chamber floor before coming to rest against its body. As she advanced, Celestia had to force herself not to back away as the crimson-splattered figure came so close that she could smell the iron in her victim’s blood.

“eventually the circle will be unbroken once more. you may think you can fight it, fight us, but by and by it will reform with time, every time.” Holding out her bloody hands, she used her pointer fingers to sketch out a circle in the air, finishing with her fingertips pushed together, signifying the closing of the circle. “and then, you will not keep from me what is mine, silly rabbit. i will have my tithe.” a shimmering circle formed in the air exactly where her fingertips had passed, solidifying into a large golden ring. It hung in the air for a second before she pushed a bloody hand through its core, the ring contracting in size until it fit around her wrist like a bangle. With a hiss, the impromptu piece of jewellery’s outer edge began to smoke for just a second as letters etched themselves into its surface. Celestia had seen these letters before; Lero’s full name, written in the language of his father’s people.

“You will not get away with this, La--”

Before she could say any more, Celestia was silenced by a bloody finger held against her lips.

“shush, shush, my dear tiny tia. even here, here in the intangible, words and names still hold great power, you know that.” She smiled smugly, in that way that Celestia was now well beyond just hating and now truly detested. “even now, there are thousands of eyes watching us, beyond their black mirrors, behind walls of fire, taking in our every move, reading into our every word. you do not want to introduce my true name to their minds, do you? lest it give me even more power, power i could quite easily use against you.”

Removing her hand, she gave the alicorn a wink. “you can have that one for free, though i will not be helping you out again.”

Turning, she stalked away, hips swaying as she made her way back to her throne. Absently brushing at her clothing as she eased into her most regal of seats, the shimmering golden ball-gown peeled away, the fabric burning, vaporising into nothing, revealing another full-body covering ensemble of blood-red silk beneath. The pink and purple stripes faded from her hair, leaving just the blue and green to mix and merge, a thousand eyes staring out from within the roiling cloud of hair billowing about her head.

“you have built your walls well, and you guard them diligently. but all walls fall with time, my dear tia. in the end, they all come tumbling down. and we will wait, and watch, and when they fall... oh yes, when they fall. even if you were to plug the hole with your equestrian dead we will still surge through the breach like a swarm.”

Crossing her legs, the deep red silk flowed around her thighs and calfs just as the blood had from her hands just minutes before.

“so scurry on home, my darling tia, and guard your borders from betwixt fearful brows, for someday we will come a-knock-knock-knocking at your door, and by the time you hear us we will already be within. farewell for now, princess of the ponies, we will see each other again soon enough.”

From her position of power, she raised a hand, wiggling her fingers in farewell. Caught on the cusp of a biting retort, Celestia’s consciousness was gripped, twisted, thrown back out from beyond the void. Reality reasserted itself in her mind, pushing its way back into each of her senses, easing her return from the places beyond the here and now and back into her physical form.

Even as the familiar sights and smells of her private chambers were still solidifying themselves around her, Celestia was already summoning her guards. Giving each of them a list of several ponies, and non-ponies, that they should gather together post-haste she sent them on their way, their ears still ringing with the urgency of her instructions. As her most steadfast of servants sped away to perform their royal duties, she set out herself for her sister’s bed chambers. There was much to discuss, and much to prepare, and Luna would undoubtedly want to be at the forefront of whatever was to come.

Author's Note

Well, that’s a bunch of the darker chapters out of the way, hopefully now I can start on getting some of the lighter ones caught up on as well.

And for those who haven’t figured it out yet - yes, the tense changes and pervading usages of lower case were on purpose.

84: Home inside but lost for life. (SS)

Home inside but lost for life.
Chapter published 21st July 2015
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The air is still, quiet, even the chirping of the birds and the sounds of wildlife seem muted today. The wind rustles the soft grass all around, carrying with it the smell of early autumn as it wends its way across the outer fields of Sweet Apple Acres to join us.

Should I care to take a glance behind us I would be able to just make out the top of Fluttershy’s cottage as it recedes into the distance. The children of herd Macintosh play in its shadow, faint traces of their voices floating along behind us as we walk. On any other day, I would be there with them - running, chasing, just enjoying the freedom of being young. Today though... today we walk in silence. We all know where we are headed, we’ve been there before.

My elder sister walks at my side, her head bowed in thought. Our younger sister is carried in our father’s arm. She is too young to really understand where we are going, or why. Just as I was the first time I came to this place.

In time we reach the edge of the Everfree Forest, stopping at a small clearing that my father knows all too well. Many years ago now he was found at this very spot, by a butter yellow pegasus who had no idea who, or what, he was. As far as my father is concerned, this is the spot where his life here in Equestria first began.

Before us, each sitting proud and well maintained, stand eighteen spherical stone markers. Before each one is planted a small but brightly coloured flower, the vibrant colours contrasting wildly against the sombre grey of the stone behind it.

Each marker is hand-crafted from separate boulder, none standing more than one foot high. Carved into each and every marker is a single word.

Eighteen markers, eighteen names. The names of those who came before us.

Sweet Spirit and I stand to the side as father steps forward, crouches down, and runs a hand over one of the stones. I know the names inscribed on each by heart. Even without looking I know how the strange letters carved into the rock should be pronounced, just as I know the meaning each name held for the humans that created them so long ago.

Abigail, Beatrice, Charlotte, Delilah, Elizabeth, Felicity, Gayna, Hanako, Ingenue, Jessica, Katarina, Lillian, Miranda, Nadiah, Ozlem, Penelope, Querida, Rebecca. Eighteen sisters that we’ll never know. Eighteen lives that never came to be.

But without them before us, we would not have came to be. Without them there would be no Sweet Spirit, no Star Song, and no Seraphina Skywalker. The magic of harmony may not have ever graced them with a name, as it had for us, but instead father had given a name to every one of his lost children, determined that each should be honoured and remembered in their own right.

Settling himself down on the short grass - crossing his legs beneath him so that Sky can rest comfortably in his lap, his strong yet gentle hands stroking her polychromatic mane - father begins to tell his youngest child all about her sisters.

In all likelihood she is too small right now to remember what he is saying - the sounds, the meanings, the message behind his words being more than her young mind can handle yet.

But I will remember them. I will remember them, always.

85: One of these days the sky's gonna break. (SS)

One of these days the sky's gonna break.
Chapter published 29th July 2017

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Spring - 1243AC (Three decades since Lero’s arrival in EQ)
The grounds of Canterlot Castle

*********

My father can move remarkably swiftly when he wants to.

With my elder sister at my flank, I spur myself forward, pushing myself as hard as I can to keep up with his longer strides. I may be the youngest person in our little group, but, I am ashamed to say, my lifestyle is certainly the most sedentary of us all. Big-sis Scootaloo is at father’s side, her rapidly beating wings easily keeping her pace equal to his.

Through the castle’s many corridors we race, Father’s long legs pumping away as he gallops, or sprints as it is known when he does it.There are few times in my life when have seen father run full pelt, but today is one of them, and I am in danger of being left behind. Scoot turns, sees me struggling to keep up, turns her attention back to Father and calls out.

"Hey, Pops! I know you’re like, really spooked, but I’m not as young as I used to be. Can we slow it down a tick?"

As we round a corner, my front hooves loose traction, my forelegs threatening to slip out from under me as my barrel collides with the wall, my momentum carrying me far enough down the hallway that I can regain my footing without falling. Father glances back, checking that I am allright. I motion him onwards, we don’t have the time to slow down. If he needs to go on without me then I wouldn’t hold it against him, even though I know in my heart that he never would.

A large set of double doors leading out to a courtyard looms closer, Father doesn’t even slow down, instead pushing a shoulder forward and barreling through them, the large slabs yielding to his sizable mass, the wooden panels crashing against the corridor walls. Before they can even begin to swing back inwards my sister has caught them with her magic, her careless push very nearly ripping them from their frames as we steam past.

Out into the courtyard we run.

Finally, Father slows, his hands coming up to his head as he stares up at the sky above us, utter disbelief etched across his features. Disbelief and something else... something I’ve never seen from him before... fear.

Pure, unadulterated fear.

All across the heavens it is as if the clouds are boiling - twisting and bubbling and churning as they are. Impossible colours streak across the sky, ribbons of pink and green and purple and blue winding and twisting around each other like a barrel full of angry eels. I can only imagine that this is what the world would look like should Princess Celestia’s mane decide to turn evil and attempt to take over the world.

Lightning flashes across the horizon in huge, jagged arcs- but no thunder rumbles in its wake, no clouds are illuminated by its passing. Where the lightning hits the castle’s towers it spreads across the building’s structure, creeping and crawling along the gleaming stonework like a living, breathing entity, oozing malevolence as it disappears from view wherever it can find a gap in a window or doorway.

From above us comes a scream, the blood curdling sound cut off just as quickly as it begins.

A few seconds later a body hits the ground not far from where we stand. It’s a royal guard, his armour scorched and steaming, his smoking corpse crumpled on the cobbles of the courtyard, the balcony far above now bereft of its guard.

The lightning comes again, the lack of rubble making the unnatural arc of light all the more unnerving. A pair of pegasi do their best to dart out of its way; one makes it, the other is not so lucky. I doubt that there’ll be enough of her left for her family to identify... if they’re lucky.

As if powered by the lightning, the coloured ribbons are growing in brightness, gathering together, coalescing if you will. They twist and turn, weaving around each other much as my family’s customary mane braids do. One end of the gathered ribbons moves across the sky as if pulled by an unseen hand. It’s heading towards the throne room, where we are to meet the princesses and the element bearers. Our mothers, their friends, they all await us, await Father. What we will find when we arrive, I do not know.

We have to hurry.

"No, It can’t be!"

Father stops, dead in his tracks, the words still on his lips, his hands against the sides of his head. He looks like he needs to throw up, needs it as much as he needs to breath. I worry that he is in physical pain. My medical training spurs me forward, my magic reaching out towards him, ready to check for any injuries, my mental triage checklist kicking in like second nature. I find no wounds, no external trauma, but his breathing is erratic, his heart-rate skyrocketing. I busy myself measuring his pulse, though I can’t help but notice that my own is on the wrong side of concerning.

Father staggers, coming to rest against an ornamental sundial, one hand blindly grasping at it for support. I move closer, my magic braced against him,.taking some of his weight. His eyes search the sky, pupils flicking from side to side, heavily dilated. He’s sweating heavily, but I can't tell if that’s from the running or just another symptom of the oncoming state of shock.

"No, No, NO!"

He grits his teeth, hissing between them. He turns, looks directly at me, his eyes meeting mine for a moment before they fall out of focus, the muscles in his face slackening as his jaw drops. He looks, but he doesn’t see. His gaze passes through me as his breathing slows, his pulse rate dropping.

He stays that way for almost a minute, his breathing and heart rate leveling about at around where they’d be during REM sleep. I can hear Sweet Spirit asking me if he’s alright, can see Scoot at the edge of my vision torn between checking on him and helping the guards that are falling all around us.

Another body hits the floor, barely missing me as I hold my father, keeping him from falling, the hands of my magic pushing away a fallen tree branch as the wind whips it towards us.

All that matters is him.

After what feels like a lifetime, he blinks, eyes meeting mine again. I see fear, concern, apprehension. His eyes flick from me to my sister and back again. I see love in those eyes... love followed by anger, anger followed by fury.

"Pops. You ok?"

Father turns to face Scoots, the anger in his eyes causing her to recoil, to pull back the hoof she had been holding out to him. She’s probably never seen him so angry. I know I certainly haven’t. I turn to my sister, but she looks just as scared as I. To affect father like this...? Just what in Equestria have we stepped into? It feels like a dream... a bad dream... one I wish I could wake up for, one I wish Luna could come and take me away from and tell me everything’s going to be alright.

Father stands, unaided, looking around him. He takes in the bodies strewn about, charred and smoking; he takes in the coils of animalistic lightning as they jump from wall to wall, roof to roof, swallowing up any poor soul that gets in their way; he takes in the large pair of double doors across the courtway from us now, so near and yet so far.

He reaches out, beckons Scoots closer, catching the lapel of her battered old flight jacket and pulling her closer, her slowly beating wings keeping their heads level.

"Scoot, listen to me, this is important. I need you to take the girls and run. Go back to Ponyville, find Lyra and Sky, gather up as many of the youngsters as you can find and just get as far away as you can. I want you all on the next train out of country. Pull rank if you have to, use my name, use Rainbow’s or Twi’s. Heck, use Luna’s if it comes to it. Just go, no arguing, just do it. Now. before it’s too late."

"Where? Should we go to the Crystal Empire? Or the Emerald City? Queen Aurelia would help us-"

Father’s hands move to Scoot’s withers, bodily turning her so that she’s looking straight at him.

"NO! Don’t tell me, don’t let me know. I don’t care where you go just as long as it’s as far from here as you can get. But whatever you do, do not tell me where you're going. Don’t leave me a message, don’t leave clues, no notes, nothing Just get as far as you can and stay away."

"But.. why?"

"Because it’s the only way to be safe. Walls mean nothing to these things, Scoot, they won’t stop them, won’t hold them back. You need to hide... go as far as you can and hide. Don’t look for me, don’t even speak of me, or of them, ever. It’s the only thing that’ll work. Please, Scoot, trust me now. Now and never again. Go, please."

Scoot turns her head, taking in the scene: the boiling sky, the grimly littered courtyard, the screaming walls. She leans in closer to Father, her voice barely a whisper.

"She’s here, isn’t she?"

It’s as much a statement as a question. What else could it be. This is real... this is really happening. A thousand and one nightmares, all become real.

Father pulls her closer, the side of her face against his chin, his lips against her ear. He speaks to her softly, words just for her to hear. I can tell she’s blinking back tears as he pulls away, just enough that he can plant a soft kiss on her eyebrow, right on the jagged scar that runs all the way up her forehead and out across her ear. Their eyes meet, she nods, wiping her eyes with a hoof. She pulls away from him, her wings carrying her back, giving him space.

He comes to me, wrapping a strong arm around my neck, pulling me closer. I feel him pull my sister in with his other arm, the two of us held against his chest just as he did when we were children. I can hear his heart through his chest, my ear pressed as it is against his breast. He’s warm, and strong, but holding us so tenderly.

Waves of nostalgia flow over me, moments of my youth flooding my mind. We’re in the middle of a warzone and I want nothing more than to stay right here, deep in my father’s embrace.

"Stick with Scoot, you hear? She’ll keep you safe."

He kisses my forehead, before doing the same to my sister.

"Let Sky and the others know how much I love you all. And I’ll see you all again soon, ok?"

He lets us go as he stands tall. He reaches out, patting Scoot on the withers. A look passes between them before he turns from us, towards the other side of the courtyard. Breaking into a run, he bounds across the cobbles, reaching the double doors in seconds. Pushing through the doors, he passes into the shadows of the corridor beyond, and is gone.

"Come on, girls. you heard the man. Let’s go."

Scoot turns, wings taking her back the way we came. I stand, motionless, eyes still fixed on the now closed doors.

I’d heard the words, you see. I wasn’t supposed to, but I’d heard. My diagnostic spell had still been running; the minutiae of his heart, his breathing, still running through my ears. I’d heard what he’d said to Scootaloo. I’d heard the words, the tone, the message he’d hoped to convey. He’d left us in her care, trusting her to do what was right, to do what it took to keep us safe.

And then he’d said goodbye. Not in the way of family parting ways for just a little while, or an old friend going on a journey, but in the way of a man who knows he may never return, that these few words may well be the last that they share.

And I’m terrified he may be right.

Author's Note

Well, I'm back... kinda.

86: I will see things you will never see. (SS)

A/N: Watch out - there's a bit of a time skip here.

I will see things you will never see.
Chapter published 14th Aug 2015

*************

December 30th 1290AC
Main House, Estate of Herd Bellerophon, Outskirts of Ponyville

It’s over.

It is. It’s over. I know it, everyone here knows it. And, in a tiny way, one that I don’t want to admit... some small part of me... some little part of me tucked away that I’ll never, ever speak of... is... glad.

How could I?

Without a word, Father reaches over the bed, his palm resting on Mother’s forehead. Slowly, gently, with great love and affection, he moves his hand down towards the tip of her muzzle. When he takes it away her eyes are closed, never to reopen.

Those eyes... eyes that had been so full of joy and laughter, eyes that had cast so many enigmatic glances, eyes that had held the world in all its glory.

They’d seen so much, those eyes. They’d beheld a world from long before my birth, a land so different to the Equestria of today. It had changed, grown, evolved... for better or for worse... and she had seen it all.

And now she wouldn’t ever see it again.

Such beautiful eyes, so alive, always shining with the sparkle of wit and wisdom, the same sparkle that I had seen in my sister’s eyes. Identical pools of black and gold, a gift of hereditary mimicry that, in my younger days, I had wished could have been passed onto me, genetically impossible though it was.

And now, that sparkle, that light that we held so dear, is gone... and with its absence we know that which we had long feared was coming but wanted not to admit.

It was over.

I don’t know why, but a stupid old lyric comes to mind, from one of the human songs that father brought with him. It was from an old story, one of the many that big sis Belle had published over the years. Something about a herd of rabbits searching for a new warren. The song had always made me cry as a child. But now I am an adult, and an elderly one at that, silly stories about fluffy bunnies were long ago... but the feeling in my chest is just the same as it was then, the tightness around my eyes, the pressure in my head...

Breathe, Star, breathe. In through your nose, hold it, out through your mouth - just as Mother Twilight taught us.

My eyes flick over to the clock on the bedside table, years of practice mentally jotting down the time. Almost five decades as a doctor, most of them as a trauma surgeon, had my mind running through a long in-grained check-list of what happens next. Coming up on fifty years in service meant that I’d signed more than a few death certificates in my time, but it’d be a cold day in hell before I signed that of my own herd-mother. No, Twinkle Time would be back soon enough, one of the doctors from Ponyville general in tow. They could play the part of attending physician tonight.

She was a good girl, Twinkle Time. My eldest, long since past the days where I could call her ‘girl’ to her face. A good girl, solid, dependable, a good mother- no, a great mother... something I wish I could have been for her.

She’d be back soon enough.

The room was going to get cramped, or was it already? The bedroom wasn't small, usually home to a herd of four with room to spare, but there were many of us here tonight. Too many, really - too close, too cramped, squeezing, closing in, bearing down. Too many, too many bodies.

Mother Rainbow is clinging to father, her wings wrapped around him as she bawls her eyes out. She and Mother Lyra had been so tight over the years, closer than sisters, much closer to each other than to their own blood siblings or birth herds. Some small part of my brain comments that she’s come so far from the days of my childhood. Back then she would rather have been seen dead than as she is now - snot running down her chin, face awash with tears, her eyes screwed up as she weeps unabashedly into father’s neck like some kind of traumatised school filly.

Father, for his part, has his arm around his wife’s neck, pulling her in close, letting, encouraging her to cry. Just by being there he’s doing all he can for her... just as he’s always done for the rest of us.

Mother Twilight sits at Father’s side, doing that thing she does when her brain’s shut down - her mouth moving through the same motions over and over again, opening as if to speak before closing again without saying a word, her facial muscles looping through the same group of actions over and over again, waiting for her conscious mind to finish its soft reboot.

It wasn't a shock, or a surprise. We’d known it was coming, known for quite some time... but perhaps that just made it worse.

The room is too small, much too small, and it’s about to get smaller.

I have to get out, get away - not too far, just not here, right here.

I rise from the bedside, almost stepping on Sky’s tail as I shuffle my way out of the door. Pushing past the family members that have gathered out on the landing, weaving between the bodies that line the stairs, barely registering their presence as I make my way down the corridor of this old patchwork house.

Father had talked for years about knocking the old place down and starting again but, every time the place needed expanding, the herd’d always end up just buying another old house and bolting it on wherever it’d fit like some kind of residential Frankenstein’s monster. One thing was for sure, it certainly made for some interesting corridors - corridors that I now wandered through purely on autopilot.

I hear voices, I know I’m not alone, but I can’t answer them right now. Questions, questions, so many questions. They want to know, they want to hear - about their grand-herdmother, or great-grandherdmother, or aunt, or great-aunt, or sensei, or friend or whatever the hell she is... was to them. But I can’t tell them, not right now, not any of them... I can’t tell them a thing. Not now, maybe later... not right now.

I stumble into the kitchen, dropping onto my rump in front of the large oak table, not even bothering with a chair, or a cushion, or...

My eyes fall in and out of focus, the old hand-carved detailing around the edge of the huge oak table swimming in and out of view, my chin meeting the warm, old wood of the table top. Time slips away from me, the sounds around me meaning nothing. I’m sure some of them voices, I’m vaguely aware of my name being called, but there’s just not enough of my brain working right now for me to respond.

I feel a prodding at the edge of my mind - my children, blood and not, enquiring, wondering. I ignore them too. Not now... not right now.

I should be detached... I’m trained to be detached. I’ve seen death many times - though not in the way that my sister, creator keep her, could - and I’ve always managed to hold my emotions in check. I fall back on my years in the field, decades of experience, to try and push back my emotional self... to push what I’m feeling away, to pack it down, compartmentalise it, store it for later...

But I can’t.

My mother is dead.

Not my birth mother... no, she’s upstairs, flapping her gums while my mother’s body slowly cools, heading its way off to room temperature, the earliest stages of decay well on their way to setting in.

Twilight tried, by the great keeper we all know she tried, but we all know just as well that Lyra was the one that really raised the three of us. She was always the one we’d run to if we’d had a bad day. She was the one we sought out if we were injured, or scared. She was the one we’d call on when we had trouble with boys, or our herds, or our kids, or our jobs. To us, Lyra was... she... she was home. She was the one we ran to, she was the one we really wanted to be most proud of us, to make smile, to hear calling out our names as...

But she’s gone.

The kitchen clock ticks away, high on the wall above the doorway to the main dining room. It ticks its steady beat, just like the one on the bedside table - tick follows tock follows tick follows tock. Onward it beats, forever onward, beat after beat after beat, a steady rhythm, the heartbeat of its mechanical life.

As the world turns, so do the hands of the clock, minute after minute. My eyes watch the polished brass of the minute hand, but my mind only recalls the memory of its twin upstairs, just a few feet above my head.

Twelve-oh-one-ay-em.

Double-naught-oh-one.

One minute past midnight.

A single minute into the new day, a single minute amongst many, seconds passing in an otherwise ordinary day. A life ending exactly a hundred years after it had begun... a mortal coil shuffled off after a full century. A life long lived, then suddenly over. Almost thirty seven thousand days, over three billion seconds... and for what? All gone... just like that.

Detached. I need to stay detached... I can’t deal with this right now.

My nose twitches, a shape moves before my eyes, across my field of vision. My chin still rests on the table top, the bone-line of my lower jaw pushing against the hard surface, the pressure reminding me that the world... the real world, still exists all around me.

A soft thump, something placed on the table in front of me. My nose tells me what it is, the unmistakable scent of hot sweet tea flooding my nostrils. My forehooves reach out, unbidden, moving of their own volition. They circle the stout old mug, pulling it closer, the heat from the scalding liquid within seeping through the thick ceramic and into my hooves.

I sit, for a while, the heat from the mug warming me, pushing its way up my arms, bringing me back to the here and now. Funny, I hadn't realised how cold my body had become. The word ‘shock’ floats up from the back of my mind. Ha, so even if my brain’s stopped functioning properly at least it’s still got the decency to let me know why.

But will it always... will it always be there for me, or will it leave me high and dry towards the end... just as it did for...

When I finally cease to function, when my brain winds down for good, when it’s time for me to... Will it be like this? Will my family be by my side? Will my last mortal view be of my blood as they gather around? Will my final thoughts be shared with my children, both near and far? Will they feel me slip away as I go? Will I go out with a smile, just as Mother did?

What more could one ask for?

The tea’s good. Warm, sweet, just what the doctor ordered. Well, not really, but it’s working now at least. Helping rather than hindering.

I can feel, or sense more like, someone settling down next to me. Whomever it was that had given me the tea, no doubt.

They lean closer, wrapping themselves around me. I can feel their warmth, smell their scent. I know it's Father, come to check on me, come to console me. I lean into his chest, his arms wrapping me tight. Well into my seventh decade on this planet and all I want right now is for my father to hold me, and rock me, and stroke my hair, and tell me that everything is going to be alright.

And he does; he holds me and rocks me and tells me what I so desperately want to hear... and I feel nothing. Because it won’t... it won’t ever be alright again.

My mother’s gone, and she’s never coming back.

Author's Note

Someone asked me once if everyone would make to the end of the story alive. When you think about it - do any of us?

87: How I wish you were here. (BoME)

How I wish you were here.
Chapter published 29th March 2015

*****************

Spring 1296 AC
Five miles north of the south-eastern Equestrian border.

“All is ephemera. All fades away.”

On a hill sat a lone figure.

"Take the brush, write upon the stone.

Ink shall fade, stone shall crumble.

They all return to the source.”

All around sat, stood, or wandered no others. No one saw him, sat there as he was - legs crossed, eyes closed, shoulders relaxed, hands resting on his knees. No one came near. No one even knew where he was.

“Climb the hill, circle the hill, every path returns to the foot.”

But he was also alone in other ways. The nation... no, the world over, he was the only one of his kind. He had come into this world alone and - all though there had occasionally been others like him, others that could be considered similar in nature, their presence on this sphere had been fleeting - he was still alone. Most likely he would always be so.

“Return to the centre, pass through and return again.”

In the pre-dawn light he sat. He sat, and he waited, and he listened, and he was.

“River flows to the sea and all is one. Light burns stone to dust and all is one.”

Only his lips moved as he spoke, words so similar to those that he had heard many times throughout his life. Words that she had spoken, morning after morning, day after day.

“Each returns to the centre of all.”

When she had no longer been able to say the words, he had spoken them for her. And now that she was gone, he spoke them still.

“Today I forge a new path so that they might once again return to us.”

As the last of his words flittered their way across the moonlit grass, his eyes opened, taking in the dimly lit valley lay out before him. As if timed to perfection, the sun took that moment to peek its way over the far distant horizon. Dawn was here, and with it a new day. Far behind him, Selene slipped down behind distant mountains, disappearing out of view, leaving the sky in her sibling’s care.

Helios took his time moving up and over the eastern skyline. The dark of the night sky was slowly overtaken by the colours of a new dawn. Dark blues and regal purples gave way to soft peach and tender apricot hues. Pale vanilla yellow and vibrant rose pink flooded the sky, pushing their way across the heavens before themselves fading away, making way for the vast sea of flawless azure that followed.

Old eyes watched the show. Old eyes set in a deceptively young face. Though a few crinkles and crow's feet had made their homes around their edges, he still didn't look a day over thirty five.

“Looks like Tia’s surpassed herself today,“ he said out loud, the words meant for no one present, meant instead for one now beyond his reach.

“Well, it’s taken a while, but it looks like Luna’s finally up for some real competition. You’d love this - the colours are just so... astounding.”

Long fingers picked at the grass by his knees, pulling loose a few strands before letting them drift away in the morning breeze, the rich green of their blades contrasting against the fresh blue of the sky above.

“I still miss you, you know? Every morning, when I wake up, I reach out and you're not there. But first those first few seconds, just for an instant, I forget that you're gone, that you might just be in another room instead, or down in the kitchen, or out meditating. For those first few seconds, you're not ‘gone’ gone, you’re just ‘not there’... It’s silly, I know, to be such a fool. But sometimes, it’s nice to be fooled, even if just for a minute. Those few seconds, when you're not really ‘gone’... they’re the best part of my day.”

Far above, the sun moved ever so slowly through the sky, its almost imperceptible movement banishing the shadows from the valley below. Second by second, more of the world was brought forth from the darkness and thrust into the light.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared. But, as you always used to say- bravery isn't about the absence of fear, but the ability to push through it and carry on regardless.”

Deep in the valley below, life came to the vast open fields. Row upon row of tent disgorged their occupants; some off to queue for the latrines, others off to the river for a morning wash, many more in search of sustenance, or at least a cup off coffee. The Logistics Corp had been up for hours; checking supplies, allocating equipment, preparing breakfast. They had so many mouths to feed and very little time to do it in. No army ever marched on an empty stomach. Well, no successful army at least.

“The girls’ll be here soon. You’d be so proud of them. They think they’ve got me fooled, but they’re both terrified. Even so; they’re still pushing forward, getting it done. Star’s been really good, totally stepped up to the plate, even at her age. I kept telling her she should let one of the younger ones take over but you know what she can be like. Don’t know where she gets that from... ha, must be her grandmother. I gotta admit it though, I doubt even Twi could have arranged things quite as well as she has.

“Sky’s been great too. Star may be great at organising but Sky’s the one that’s really made it all happen. She’s still pissed about being left behind though, too much like her mom that one, but I can't have her coming with us. She’s not best pleased about it, but I think she understands. We've lost one daughter already, I can't risk another.”

Another handful of grass caught the breeze, this time spinning in a lazy circle before falling from the sky.

“I’ll get her back, love. I’ll bring our baby back. I don't know how long it’ll take, but I’m not letting her go, I’m bringing her home, you can count on that.”

For the next few moments, silence reigned. The wind had picked up, all sounds from further down in the valley were whisked away into the early morning sky long before they could reach him. For a good few minutes it was just him, the grass, the sky, and the wind.

This moment of solitude was not to last, however, and soon enough he heard a series of steady hoof-falls coming from off to one side. He didn’t turn to look - he knew who it would be. He’d known that his empty cot wouldn’t remain undiscovered for long, and once it was found, there was one pony here today who’d be the first to come looking

Sure enough, within seconds a familiar bright red mane and its accompanying pair of yellow ears came into view, followed by the rest of his Mare at Arms(1.0). He could tell by the set of her brow that, though the mare wasn’t best pleased by his moonlight flit, it wasn’t so much that he’d gone for an unplanned wander that had annoyed her, but more that he hadn't at least told her where he was going.

“So,” Sherbert Fountain came to a stop a respectful distance away, her body settling by habit into a easy parade rest, “here you are, Master Michaelides. Your tent was empty, Sir, you had me worried. I was starting to wonder where you’d gone.”

Lero laughed. He wasn’t sure why, but he laughed anyway.

“Panic over, Sherby,” out of the corner of his eye he saw Sherbert’s eye twitch at her foal-hood nickname even though her face betrayed no other emotion, she was way too professional a soldier for that. “You found me, I haven’t run away or anything.”

Clapping his hands together, he shook off any last of the blades of grass.

“So, what’s the news?”

“Lady Star Song and her convey have arrived,” Sherbert stated in her clipped and clear, regimental Canterlot tones. “She’s currently laying out the last of your equipment in your tent, awaiting your arrival.”

“So...” he asked, “she still not happy with me?”

Sherbert paused, her mind running through her decades of training and experience for a suitable reply.

“She’s looked... happier, sir.”

Lero patted the ground next to him, requesting that his old friend sit with him a moment. Sherbert cocked an eyebrow, considering whether the motion was a request or an order. It didn’t really matter either way.

After using her tail to sweep clear any loose grass, she sat down - remaining close enough to be companionable but far away enough to be respectful.

Neither party had anything to say for a moment, both content enough to watch the camp far below as it continued in its preparations for the day to come. The last of the overnight ground convoys were reporting in - caravans, carts and carriages all making their way to the holding area set up to the east. Cargo carrying pegasi flowed back and forth through the camp’s immediate airspace, all following predetermined routes from pickup to drop off and back again.

Far above it all a single pegasi kept it all in order, her distinctly larger than average size, huge wingspan, and polychromatic mane and tail making her easy to spot even for the uninitiated. Even at this distance, Lero could hear his youngest daughter - barking out orders, shouting out words of encouragement, watching for problems and correcting them before they caused even the slightest bit of trouble. For such a kind and gentle thing, she could channel her mother like a champ when she needed to.

Taking it all in, Lero rubbed his chin as he turned to his long-time liaison.

“Big day, Sherby. Big Day. So, don’t suppose you fancy being in charge for a while?”

Her head turning only a fraction of a degree, Sherbert gave her boss ‘that’ look... the same one that her sire(2.0) used to use whenever he was trying to figure out if his old friend and eponym was being serious or not.

“I... appreciate the vote of confidence, Sir, but we all have our fates, and to lead is not mine. No, Sir, on this day, that honour, and that burden, is yours.”

Blowing air through his lips, the human stood, brushing grass from his clothes as he did so.

“Well, can’t blame a guy for trying, can you?”

“So I hear, Sir.”

As Sherbet got to her hooves, Lero took a moment to roll up his sleeves, his nimble fingers making short work of the task. .

“So, “ he said, done with his task, “it’s once more unto the breach, dear friend, once more.”

“Sir?” Sherbet asked. She’d certainly heard a number of human’s expression over the years but that was a new one. Even after all these decades he still had a few surprises up his sleeves... freshly rolled or not.

“Old human saying, one I thought would never come ‘round again. Never mind, you’ll find out soon enough. Come on, Sherby, let’s head back down. Can’t put it off any longer.”

As the human made to move away, a soft, yellow glow encircled his wrist, holding him back. He turned, facing his companion once more. He'd known Sherbert since she was just a filly and right now, in this moment - her head turned away, one forehoof rubbing at the other - she looked more like the tiny foal that he had first met almost forty years ago than she had in many, many years.

“Sir, erm. Uncle Lero? Before we go back down... I... I just want you to know, whatever happens... if this all goes pear shaped...”

Reaching out, Lero lay a hand between the mare’s ears, gently ruffling her mane. If he’d tried doing the same in public she’d have been mortified - and would probably have strung him up by his ankles - but right now she leaned into it. For a moment the two of them stood, just as they were, enjoying a moment from their shared past, from years now long passed..

“I know, Sherby, I know. And the honour is all mine.”

Lifting his hand, he flicked at the tip of one of her ears with his fingers, just as she’d had when she’d still been young. A ear flicked back in a long ingrained response, nostrils snorting in mock irritation.

“Come on,” he said, striding away, his long legs carrying him off down the hill ahead of her. “Big day, big day. Star’ll never let me hear the end of it if I’m late.“.

And, with that, Master Bellerophon Michaelides, General of the Six Armies, made his way back to camp, his Mare at Arms trailing in his wake.

1.0: Mare at Arms: An ancient title only recently re-established. It is outside of the usual rank and hierarchy. In olden times a General was assigned a Mare at Arms - usually a daughter(1.1) or other close family member - who would act as the General’s assistant and liaison. While a Mare at Arms had no rank of her own, any orders she gave were to be treated as if they came directly from her General(1.2) and were to be followed accordingly. Should her General fall in battle, it fell to the Mare at Arms to decide if retreat was an option or if the fight would be continued to the last mare standing.

1.1: When Lero had refused to take either of his remaining daughters, or any of their daughters, as his Mare at Arms - for fear that exposing his bloodline to danger would play into her hands - there was no shortage of mares from herds considered ‘friends of the family’ volunteering for the position. Sherbert Fountain had won the position the hard way, though she’d lost a tooth, and almost an eye as well, doing it. But that is a story for another time.

1.2: Which generally they did. Any Mare at Arms caught abusing her position would usually find herself on the receiving end of a court martial followed by a summary dismissal from service and - more often than not - permanent exile. Consequently the position was taken extremely seriously.

2.0 Wonderbolt Captain Bellerophon Breeze(2.1), a lifelong friend of the man he’d called ‘The Original’ for over half a century.

2.1 Himself the son of Dandelion Daydream, the former Chief of Canterlot Constabulary’s 12th Precinct. Incidentally, Sherbert’s mother, a unicorn by the name of Cherry Fountain(2.1.1), had been the first female Captain of the Royal Guard.

2.1.1. Herself the daughter of one Sherbert Dabble. Fate, it seemed, was not without its coincidences.

Author's Note

Well, guess who's got a nasty case of writer's block. Hopefully April will work out better than March did. *le sigh*

88: Instruments of destruction, tools of foul play. (BoME) (SS)

Instruments of destruction, tools of foul play.
Chapter published 29th Aug’14

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Ducking my head, I follow my father into the tent, his hand aloft, holding the rough canvas aside until my entire body is inside before he lets the flap fall closed behind us.

Turning his back to me, he starts to unpack the large trunk that I had brought him from the city. I watch as he lifts out each item, inspecting each one with a craftsman's eye before laying them carefully upon his makeshift table.

I watch, not moving, saying nothing, as my father lifts piece after piece, finding I must turn my eyes away as he reaches the last few contents down at the bottom of the plain, unassumingly appointed crate, pulling forth items that I’d hoped never to see again. Products of cruel beauty created for a dark and ugly purpose, a purpose that chilled me to the bone.

The old planks of wood thrown almost haphazardly across a pair of rickety stands creak as more and more weight is loaded onto them, items arranged and rearranged until the trunk could produce no more.

Casting but one more glance into the now empty box, Father closes it down slowly, the thick, heavy lid settling into place with just the tiniest whisper of wood upon wood.

I move forward to my father’s side, my eyes taking in the wares he has carefully spread across his table.

A sea of dull grey is the pervading sight, sheets of deliberately unpolished metal, many bound with rivets, joins, and seams.

Next to that lay cold-worked iron, nestled side-by-side with forge-worked steel, as well as alloys of a more magical nature.

The smell of oil and fire and death assaults my nostrils, pushing their way into my throat and down into my lungs.

“You don’t have to be here, Star.”

He uses the unused part of my name, the part I have always pushed away, railed against, rejected, refused to answer to. Even before my granddam, the mare for whom I am named, left this world, I had treated that part of my name with distaste. Even now, with her passing so far behind me, I find I can still no longer take up that mantle, preferring to to be just ‘Song’... plain, simple, ‘Song’.

But he still uses that name, as he always has. And as always I can never think badly of him when he does, the only one I had ever allowed to do so. To him I am his ‘Star’, I always have been and, no matter what happens, I always will be.

And I am glad of that.

His voice is soft, as gentle as it was when I was a child, taking my first few faltering steps. He knows that I would rather be elsewhere, as far from this place as could be possible. His words are few, but his meaning is clear. He would not think less of me were I to flee right now, to head back to the city leaving my task incomplete.

My sister would take up the role without pause or hesitation.

Heck, there were a dozen mares - maybe more, undoubtedly more - within shouting distance of this tent who would gladly drop whatever they were doing to come to my sire’s aid. They would see it as an honour, to be allowed to offer their assistance, to play their part, even just to get close to the man of the moment.

But this task... this task is mine. It is my honour... and my burden.

I move to his side, using my magic to lift one of the pieces, large and heavy as it is. This is my answer, I need say no more.

As I check over the buckles and straps, my father doing the same to the similarly sized piece he holds in his hands, no words need to be spoken.

I will be leaving soon, heading back to the city. But it will not be until my job is done. Though I may not be joining my father in what is to come, I will not run, tail between my legs... not until I have played my part.

I remember the tales of the olden days, told to me in my youth as I lay at Luna’s knee, warmed only by the roar of the fireside. Detailed retellings of a time so many generations ago, grand events involving players long since passed, names and places now consigned to the annuls of history. Luna would speak of many these events as if they were just a few years gone, as for her a fair few of them were just that.

Often, my grandmother would join us by the fire, though for a great many years I did not understand why.

I did not realise that the reason she would insist on joining us during these formative years of mine had very little to do with her learning anything new from her more long-lived herdmate.

No, it took a long time - too long, and by then, too late - for me to comprehend that the reason she was there was that she wanted to spend time with me; to watch me grow, and learn, and experience everything for the first time. She had missed out on so much of my own mother’s childhood that she wished to be present for a least a small part of mine. To see the world through my eyes as I grew, to watch her grandchild change from an awkward and sickly young foal to a statuesque and confident young mare.

It took years for me to be able to pierce the hard outer shell she had put up around herself, the walls she used to keep others away, though I will admit that she raised, purposefully or not, less of a defense to me than to others. My Grandsire once told me that her sardonic wit and sarcastic tongue had been her primary form of defence... and that she had firmly believed that the best defense was a good offense. And by Celestia, if there was one thing my Granddam could be, it was offensive. But he also told me that when it came to me, she was always that little bit more... accommodating, her tongue just that little bit less barbed, her time just that little bit more easily shared.

The tales that came back to me now, that she and Luna had laid out for me in graphic detail, were that of the unadulterated reality of the darkest of times, the days when good mares went to war.

Back then, to me at least, it had been just that; tales of times long past, of traditions and protocols that had long since fallen out of favour. But now many of these old traditions had made such resurgences, like the great whales, the kings of the sea, as they regularly surfaced for air.

Right now, all across this glorious nation, many other mares, both old and young, had or were performing the same rights that I found myself tasked with.

The act of ‘dressing for war’.

Oh, the tradition might vary from tribe to tribe, from clan to clan, and house to house; but at its core it remained the same. When the time came that a family was called to war, it fell to the eldest daughter of the herd to make sure that the warriors of their herd was properly appointed for the task.

Armour would be cleaned, polished to a gleaming shine; spears, axes and wingswords would be sharpened, honed to their deadliest potential; amulets, crystals and the like would be checked for imperfections, buffed, recharged, and readied for use.

But then came the final act, the one that I was dreading the most... ‘Tacking up’.

How I wished my elder sister were here, that she, rather than I, were saddled with this... ‘honour’. I have wished for her return many, many times in the past, but never more so than today. But she is not here, and will not be here, no matter how hard the wishing and the wanting. And so it falls to me, and I will play my part, putting aside personal opinion on the matter to perform my duties as the dutiful daughter should.

Historically, the last job that fell to the eldest daughter was to make sure that their herdmothers were properly dressed, that their equipment and armour and weaponry was properly fitted and securely fastened. But times had changed - and it was not just the mares, the mothers and daughters of the herds, that were heeding the call and answering the cry - for it fell to me now to prepare for battle the man that many were calling ‘the most powerful stallion in history’.

I stand here, holding this heavy piece of creator-damned armour, watching their so-called ‘most powerful stallion’, but try as I might I cannot see a great leader, a figurehead, a beacon of hope. Instead I see my father, the man who raised me, the grandfather to my own children, and the great-grandfather of theirs.

Logically, I know that world has changed since my youth, and I know that in no small way this is down to the influence of my herd parents, their challenging of social mores, their steadfast refusal to bow to peer pressure. I know that the times soon to come requires us to send our males into danger, and to stand side by side with those we had formerly seen as antagonists. I know that our enemy knows nothing of gender or species or tribe. All are equally worthless to the eyes of the oncoming storm.

I know that nothing I can say, or could ever say, or have ever said, can change my father’s mind. Once his mind is made up he is the most stubborn thing I have ever met, and he says the same about me. He blames my stubbornness on my namesake, but I know it is not her that I inherited that trait from.

But all that means nothing to me now. I have a job to do, and I must complete it as best as I am able. Anything less would be an insult, an insult to those who came before me, and to the good man who stands before me now...

I busy myself with checking straps and buckles, making sure that stitches and seams are tight, that there are no imperfections or damage from transit. I cannot bring myself to look further down the bench, past my father’s form, to the weapons that lay at the edge of my vision.

I find myself watching my sire, my task forgotten as I stand transfixed, watching his hands as they move.

My earliest memories are of those hands; how they held, soothed, cradled, supported. Hands that had eventually let me go, to embark on my own faltering path, to make my way in the world under my own steam. Such memories - well, the memories that are my own anyway, not the ones that were bequeathed to me by queens long dead - fill my mind as I gaze upon those hands for what might be the last time.

He stands immobile, the loose chestplate of his very own armour held effortlessly in one hand, the fingertips of the other brushing against the metal where it would cover his left breast.

His touch is gentle, soft, almost a caress. Under his fingers is a small painted symbol, barely the size of his palm, marked out in jet black and pure white against the dull grey. I know this symbol well. Variations of it grace my flanks, and those of my sisters. It is known by many names; the taijitu, yin and yang, the symbol of ultimate harmony... to name but a few.

Mother Lyra always said it symbolised the finding of balance, that it was gifted to the three of us to remind us that we were products of this balance, the meeting of different worlds, the ability of the disparate to co-exist. None had ever displayed it so simply as my older sister, the simple black and white pattern adorning her soft cream-coloured coat, just as it now adorned our father’s armour, positioned as it would be so close his heart.

Would that she... that both of them... could see us now.

Mother Lyra had always said that balance was everything in life, that the good needed the bad to even it out, that without one there could not truly be the other. Without the bad times for contrast there could be no appreciation of the good times. Without the possibility of hate there could be no true love, without the slim chance of conflict there could be no such thing as lasting peace. The hard part, the trick, she said, was in finding that balance, the knack of falling to the centre, so that everyone could be happy.

As I think about Mother Lyra, it occurs to me, as I look at my father now... would she still recognise what he has become? Is he still the same man that she pledged the rest of her life to back in those heady days, long before I was even born? How much has he changed through the decades? Or even just in the last few years?

He still has a full head of hair in that glorious burnt orange that fill my childhood memories, though long gone now are his long, lustrous locks, the ponytail that so often held it in place now just a thing of the past. Their place had been taken years ago by a short crop, the strands standing on end most of the time, but especially when he ran his hands through it, a subconscious gesture of exasperation he had developed years ago. The occasional strand of grey has crept its way in around the temples as well as sneaking in around the edges of his smartly trimmed goatee.

It is a good look for him, I feel.

One thing that has never changed though, is the braid he keeps behind his left ear. How I can remember now, the times I spent in my youth, practicing my magic on that one short bundle of hair. The nights we would sit, the two of us, often for hours at a time, as I used my fledgling magic to weave those strands over and over and over again, until the day finally came where I could finish the job in just seconds rather than minutes.

Never had he complained, or lost his patience when I had faltered or miscast, not a word had passed his lips as I had tried over and over again to be that little bit faster, that little bit better, that little bit more efficient than before. Every time he would appraise my work in his small, handheld mirror, praising me with gentle acknowledgment of a job well done, then use his fingers to unravel the strands so I could start over again.

I still believe that, even taking into account the magical giants that I had as my tutors, it is ultimately down to his seemingly bottomless well of patience that my casting skills have been honed to the fine point that they now possess. Without his care and attention to detail, his willingness to go the extra mile time and again, I would be so much less than I am.

In my lifetime, I have seen children flock to him to be lifted aloft in his hands, to run with him in fields of gold. Kings and queens alike have sought his wise counsel, enemies have become friends through his acceptance, nations have grown prosperous under his watchful gaze.

And now he would throw it all away on this... crusade of his.

My whole life I have known him as others could not, we are as close as any father and child could ever be, but when it comes to this, I do not understand him at all.

We have argued, yes of course, we have argued. Both of us are willing to bend at times, to compromise, to see the view from another’s perspective, but neither of us are willing to back down when it comes to what we truly believe in.

So, for today, we agree to disagree. As I said; we are both too stubborn. We really are too alike.

Catching me watching him, he turns to me and smiles. It is not a happy smile, more one brought about by the unexpected remembrance of better times, moments lost to us forever. His eyes crinkle at the edges, just enough that just a few beings, only those especially close to him, would be able to notice the lines. He still has a youthful face.

He claims that he looks young for his age. Well, his estimated age at least. Without other humans to compare him against, I could not say how true this is though I am more than willing to believe him.

He has said many times that most humans are dead long before they reach his age, that all those humans he knew and loved and left behind must, by now, be long gone. We’ve long come to accept that the unpredictable nature of his lifespan is one of Equestria’s great unknowns, that he could essentially live forever or die peacefully in his sleep within the next few years.

Deep down, I think he likes the uncertainty, the heavy duality of both a blessing and a curse. ‘A double-edged sword,’ he calls it, an apt expression considering where he’s going.

Looking away, I focus instead on the backplate of his armour, checking for the fifth time today that the small, twin magnetic enchants designed to hold a pair of weapons in place against his upper back are functioning properly. I check the primary spell weave, then the secondary, then the tertiary. Mother always stressed the importance of taking the time and effort to build redundancy into my spellcrafting, a lesson I took to heart from a young age.

Next I move to the arm pieces, from the spaulders down to the vambraces. Laying them out at either side of the backplate. It is easy to tell the left from the right; the right-side pieces have a stripe, blood red bordered on both sides by pure thin white, running from the shoulder all the way to the wrist. Father insisted it be marked in exactly this way even though the paint would decrease the effectiveness of the exposed iron skin. He stated it was to symbolise the iron of his blood, the bottomless depths of his determination, the burning fire of his resolve.

The gauntlets come next; a gift from the gryphon nation. My nose crinkles at the smell as I lift them from the table. The feel of the underlying leather against my magic, the skin of a slain creature, makes me feel physically sick. The glove part, covered as it is in these little plates of curved iron, is crafted - if I can even used the word ‘craft’ when referring to a process so barbaric - of real leather, from real cows.

My mind races away from me and I reign it in. I block any thoughts of what may have happen to the leather’s previous... owners. I pray that they died of old age, or an unexpected mishap, though there is some small part at the back of my brain that cannot deny the truth of its source.

I put aside the knowledge that members of my family have partaken in the flesh of living beings. I ignore the fact that my father must consume animal protein in order to survive. I try to forget for a moment that the gryphons are still a race of carnivores and hunters at heart, even though most of them have now turned to farm-raised mindless cattle for their dietary needs. I know that these cattle are not intelligent, that they are as related to the cows I know - and especially those I consider friends - as the horses of the wild plains are to my mother, or Zebrican monkeys are to my father, but the comparison does not help me right now...

I even push way back to the farthest reaches of my mind that, due to my hybrid nature, there are times when I, much as I am ashamed to admit it, have suffered the creeping urge to join my sire when he is enjoying something called ‘bacon’. It is an urge I have always managed to resist, even if the smell, though logically disgusting, is so unbelievably heavenly and mouth-wateringly inviting.

I place the gauntlets down, their many metal parts clinking as I do so. The iron plates are designed to overlap, to allow my sire’s fingers to flex and curl. There are small, sharp metal spikes on each of the knuckles, capable of turning strong hands in vicious weapons. With dismay, I reflect that such beautiful fingers could be covered in such reprehensible things, that the tools of his trade could so easily become instruments of war, of anger, that hands which in years gone by had stroked stroked my mane and wiped away my tears could now be used to inflict so much pain.

As Mother Lyra had said; yin and yang, life and death, the good and the bad.

The leg coverings are next; curved plates covering from hip to ankle, all with straps and buckles to hold them securely in place while still allowing freedom of movement. Tall, tough leather boots with strong iron toecaps, also a gift from the gryphons, make up the set.

While I still find the boots distasteful and repugnant and repelling, they have nothing on the gauntlets. They are made of the same leather, thicker actually than the gloves, yet I find they upset me less. The ridiculousness of the situation is not lost on me.

As I have been checking his armour, Father has been giving his weapons one last inspection. I know that this is also technically part of my duty, and one that I, though reluctant, was willing to do myself... but I also know that he has purposefully done this task for me so I do not have to.

Even now, he is still considerate to a daughter’s feelings.

Pulling off his clothes, kicking off his shoes, Father strips down to his underwear as I ready the fabric bodysuit that will serve as his under-armour. As I hold up the clothing towards him he pauses before simply shrugging and pulling off his underwear, dropping them onto the pile of discarded clothing.

Though he’s been surrounded by ponies, and their... our lack of a nakedness taboo, for decades now, he still gets uncharacteristically - and adorably - shy whenever he has to strip down. Part of me is glad that he’s never embraced the pony way of going sans clothing as, in a way, it’s always made my own strange habit of wearing at least a vest at all time that bit more acceptable.

Why I still insist on wearing a barrel covering is something I’ve never truly figured out. I may have needed to wear something to keep me warm back when I was young and sickly, but once I reached adulthood, and my body could better regulate my internal temperature, I still insisted on wearing some kind of clothing. While it was not uncommon for ponies to wear barrel coverings at times, my insistance of wearing one at all times, be it a sweater vest, a blouse, a vest or a jacket, was certainly seen as unusual.

Maybe I was trying to emulate my father, or my granddam and her ever-present jacket?

Maybe it was my way of acknowledging my hybrid bloodline and that I was not fully ‘normal’... as the common pony saw normal anyway?

Or maybe I just like wearing clothing?

Let’s just call it a kink and leave it at that.

Stepping into his bodysuit, feet pushing their way along the legs and out of the holes at the bottom, cloth stirrups holding the ends in place, Father helps me maneuver the sleeves so that he can thread his hands and then his arms through them. Wiggling himself into the most comfortable arrangement, he lets me zip up the front, lifting his chin as I reach the suit’s high neck so I did not let it catch any of his beard.

For a moment, one that feels like a lifetime, we just stand as we are, neither wanting to move, the armour that is to follow left ignored and forgotten on the tabletop. My head drops, my eyes fall to the floor, pink feet on a floor made of old boards is all I can see, all I allow myself to focus on the for the moment.

Seconds roll by. I have no idea how many. I do not move.

I feel something between my ears, a hand, sitting upon my head, the reassuring weight, the warmth of skin though my hair. We stay like that for... again, I have no idea how long. Eventually I nod, answering the question that, even without looking up, I know my father’s eyes are asking.

His hand lifts away and I move over to the table, back to work.

We start with thick socks, then the boots, before working our way up. Shins, calves, thighs and hips are covered, shielded by armour. A short torso-covering hauberk of enchanted mithril follows which is itself covered by the chest and back plates. The arms are next, spaulders and vambraces strapped into place like their lower siblings. The gauntlets remain on the bench, waiting their turn, we will get to them in due course.

Stepping back, I take the sight of him in. With all the armour in place, and even with the enchants running to compensate for the weight, what he is wearing still weighs more than my twins had at birth. With only his hands and head free, the high protective neck of the chestplate blocking the view of his throat, the shape of his body was still easy to make out as he shifted from side to side, presenting him to the world as some kind of mobile iron man.

Reaching into a pocket on my vest, I pull out a small velvet pouch. I had carried this last piece close to my heart, not daring to let it leave my side ever since I left Canterlot. Father takes it from me, untying the drawstring with his nimble fingers before lifting out an ancient custom-made pendant. A miniature harp made of gold dangles on the end of a long chain, light catching on its surface as its gentle pendulum motion gradually comes to a stop.

Handing me back the pouch, Father rubs a thumb against the tiny instrument, causing aging enchantments to spring into life. The strains of a much beloved composition floating like a beautiful butterfly around these stark and purely functional canvas walls, the notes as sure and as true as the day they had been first inscribed into the metal.

A second touch silences the music, the tent once again filled only with the sounds of the preparations that are taking place outside these four temporary walls.

He wraps the chain around his left wrist, once, twice, again and again until it is secure. He holds it out towards me and I use my magic to fasten the clasp, checking it not once but twice to make sure that it is secure. As much as he could not bear to leave it behind, father could not bear to see it lost either.

Without warning - it never was her way - my younger sister pokes her head through the flap, rainbow mane falling down over her rose-coloured eyes as she pushes the canvas aside. She has that determined look in her eyes, the expression that says that she is ready, no matter what comes next. In this moment she looks so much like her mother that it takes my breath away.

“Dad, everyone’s reported in. It’s time.”

Releasing the edges of my mind, I let my consciousness flow, reaching out beyond my physical form. At the edge of my reach, I can feel them nearby, I can feel the children of the hive, even more strongly than I could ever feel my own children.

I send out a brief wave of encouragement, and another of gratitude to the many who have come to our side, before I pull my mind back, into my corporeal body once more. I refocus, finding my father with his eyes closed, his hands gripping the edge of the planks that serve as his makeshift table.

He pushes away, opening his eyes, turning towards my sibling and I. There is fire and resolve in those eyes. He nods to my sister, acknowledging her message has been received and understood. She nods back in return. No more is said between them, no more needs to be. She turns to me and a look passes between us - no more, no less. Pulling her head from the tent, she is gone and we are alone again.

We get back to work, moving with purpose but without words, both focused on our immediate tasks. Each small goal working towards fulfilling the job as a whole.

In the past, not so long ago, I had pleaded with him, begged, cajoled, argued, ranted even, implored him to choose another path, to look again for another way. But not today. Today isn’t a day for arguments. We both have our roles to play and once we leave this tent then our ways will part, our destinies taking us in opposite directions.

I will be heading back to Canterlot along with my sister to take charge of keeping the supply lines running. My methodical - or ‘uptight,’ as many are known to mutter behind my back - nature makes me a natural choice for the task while my sister will be coordinating the airlifts, both of the supplies to the frontline as well as carrying back the many injured that we well know will be coming.

Moving to the weapons at the end of the bench, I see that Father has them all neatly arranged, lined up in the order that he would like them to be attached to his armour. I stand and stare at them, not really seeing them as my eyes fall out of focus, not wanting to think too much about what they will be used for.

The strange thing is, as pieces of art, macabre though they are, or as examples of the pinnacle of a weaponsmith’s craft, I can appreciate their beauty; the time and skill that must have been used to create them, to turn a lump of ore into a painstakingly crafted piece, the care and experience that is beaten and forged and bonded into their very being.

Though there is an undeniable beauty to their existence, it is a dark and cruel beauty, the kind that can stab and slash and slice, the kind that still makes me sick to my stomach whenever I am in its presence.

I am not the only one to feel this way. Fair or not, I know that of the noble artisans - the hardy work-ponies who were tasked with crafting the weapons and armour for the times to come - many of them have been shunned, excluded from polite company, even as their tasks were taking them away from their herds, their loved ones. Their orders now took them away from their blacksmith's shops or their work as farriers and ironmongers, their creator given talents instead used in the creation of the tools of war.

Their new mission, their dark task, was just as noble now as it had been before, but so many common ponies, those who had known nothing but lives of peace and plenty, now turned their heads away, so uneasy, many still in denial that the world was changing around them.

In a way these weapons remind me of Nightmare Moon, with that air of danger and strength, the knowledge that at peak efficiency, honed to perfection, both could cut you to the bone without a second’s thought. And, like Nightmare Moon, they are a necessary evil, even I can admit that, though I would much rather not. I would so deeply prefer to live in a world where this was not the case.

I have always maintained that violence is not the answer, that there is always another way, a second or third or fourth option, should one look hard enough. But I am not blind to the fact that sometimes... just sometimes... violence is the only real option available. That eventually fire must be fought with fire, that strength can only be met with strength.

To have the yin, you must accept the yang, the good with the bad. Behind the blissful peace often lurks the possibility of wanton violence. As Luna herself has said many times over - Si vis pacem, para bellum... If you wish for peace, you must be prepared for war.

I lift the first, and arguably the oldest piece, from the table. It is an ancient weapon sent to us from the nation of Neighpon. The ‘Kusanagi’ they call it - the ‘Grass Cutter’ in standard Equestrian. Father refers to it as a ‘wakizashi’ - a ‘short sword’, and I guess to him it would look somewhat short.

I turn the short sword - held tightly in its scabbard as it is - over in my magic. For a moment I admire the glossy shine of the laqueur that covers the scabbard - or ‘Saya’ as the Neighponese call it - the intricate floral pattern carved into the wood beneath the many layers of varnish. I know that if I were to pull the sword free of its sheath and expose the blade, I would see similar patterns etched into the blade... but I cannot.

Father turns away from me and I offer the Kusanagi up to the backplate of his armour, attaching it to the small of his back with a short sling, custom made just for this purpose. The sword’s hilt - the ‘Tsuka,’ as it is known - is to his right hand side, ready for him to pull it free in a short, sharp motion. He reaches back, his fingers curling around the grip, experimentally pulling it free from its saya by just a few hornwidths before pushing it back into place.

Next comes a long, curved scimitar, a gift from Saddle Arabia - the ‘Jasmine Sword’ they called it. Unlike the lacquered wood of the Kusanagi’s saya, the sabre’s scabbard is coated in ornately carved gold, as is the hilt. Like the Neighponese sword, I know that were I to pull it from its sheath the blade would be covered in carving just as ornate as the Kusanagi’s, and the edge just as deadly.

I hold the Jasmine Sword up against father’s right shoulder blade, the tip of the scabbard overlapping the Kusanagi, hanging down past his waist. As I move it into position, I hear the faint click of the scabbard contacting the armour’s magnetic enchant, the sword instantly becoming firmly attached to father’s back. As the sword is tested to make sure that it will pull free when needed, I move onto the next piece.

The Zweihander takes some lifting, being almost five foot long, made of dark iron and weighing in at more than a freshly weaned foal. This too was a gift, this time from the last of the original Germane tribes. Unlike the Kusanagi and Jasmine, this is more of a bludgeoning weapon than one designed for stabbing or slashing. That wasn't to say that it wasn't sharp, far from it. But the biggest danger from this beast of a sword was that, with a good swing behind it, it could crush armour and break bones just through sheer momentum alone.

Carefully, I lift the mighty sword into place against father’s left shoulder-blade - its huge apple-shaped pommel higher than the top of his head while its uncovered tip reached down almost to the back of his knees - a soft click telling me that the armour’s enchantments had kicked in. Even with the dual-layered mass-reducing charms in place, father still sags slightly to the side as he takes its weight, though he quickly straightens up again as he grows accustomed to its bulk.

Next comes the Vorpal Blade, a boon presented to my father by the Elementals. I lift this most carefully, making sure that my own magical field does not come into contact with the deeply entrenched magic that the blade’s holster keeps well contained. I have seen what it can do to the unwitting, and the unworthy, and I have no intention of letting the same happen to me.

Father turns to face me, reaching out to take the blade from my magic, his own non-equestrian body perfectly safe from its powers... well, as long as he keeps well away from the large knife’s sharp edge at least. Holding the sheath carefully, he pulls the blade from its constraints, a soft ‘snick’ sound being released as it is finally freed.

The blade, looking at first glance to be nothing more than a large kitchen knife, glows a pale blue... and it sings. A gentle hum coupled with a soft yet high-pitched note fill the tent. As it moves through the air, the blue glow along the blade’s length can be made out to form the shapes of floral carvings that ripple their way across the metal, moving as if they are alive.

Pushing the blade back into its covering, the hum cut off as the metal disappears back into the leather with a soft ‘snack’, Father releases the hilt, the ornate brass carving around the otherwise plain wooden grip glowing blue for a second as he breaks contact, before fading back into lifelessness. As with those before, the weapon is attached to his armour, this time at the left hip, handle down, ready to be called upon in an instant.

For what feels like forever now we have worked together without words. But like all things, the silence cannot last, and father is the first to break it.

“When I was a young boy, there were tales of a great leader... perhaps the greatest of leaders. He was wise and he was noble and he was compassionate. But he didn't want to be a leader, or a warrior, or a soldier. No, like me, he wanted to be a simple historian, a keeper of the past; a teacher or a scholar, passing on the wisdom of the ancients to the young, to help them to see that for every trial and tribulation that the future may bring, the strength and wisdom needed to get past them could be found in the past.”

He moves to the bench, to the last of his weapons. A trio of identical daggers lay side by side, the black of their dark iron skins casting no reflected light.

“But fate had other plans for him. He ended up caught in the midst a battle not of his making. Soon enough he found himself surrounded by those who would follow him, eventually being pushed to the head of his side’s forces, time forging him into the tip of his allies’ spear.”

The first of the three thin iron daggers, more of a stiletto really, is lifted from the table, held tightly between strong fingers as it is clipped into place at his right hip..

“He would die for his followers and they would do the same for him, without hesitation. And he knew that they would. But he never took it for granted, never saw those around him as pawns, or statistics, or numbers. Even surrounded by the ruthless calculus of war, they were all still people to him, every one of them... even his enemies.”

The second blade is lifted, the penultimate blade is slipped into place. With this only the third is left and once that last blade is stowed then our task will be complete, our time together will be up. How I wish it was not so.

“The fates had much in store for him, pulling him hither and forth. After the longest time, he ended up in a land that was not his own, trapped first by circumstance on this world far from the his own, then staying on, making it his home through his own choice. He took the people of that world under his wing, protected them as if they were his own kin because, to him, they were people too, just as worthy of his love and protection as any other. When he looked at them, at us, he could see such potential, such untapped greatness, so much depth of possibility. He knew that when he looked at us, at the human race, that there was so much more to us than met the eye.”

The last dagger is plucked from the bench. Father holds it tight against his palm, rubbing his thumb against the blade, checking the sharpness. I can hear the blade scrape against the rough skin, calloused by many years of noble toll, of working with his hands. He had continued his ‘handy-work’ even though he had not needed to for many decades now. His fame and his standing had made it unnecessary, more of a habit or a hobby than anything else, but he did it anyway. He said it kept his feet on the ground. Funny, really, for a being that couldn’t fly to have that as a concern.

“Through it all he was well aware that when fighting fire with fire, of repaying violence with violence... he was always conscious of the fact that when you fight monsters, you must be wary that you don’t become one yourself. He knew that if you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.”

His eyes leave the blade, the sharp edge still held against his thumb, so tight I can see the metal pushing at his skin, deforming it, threatening to break through to the flesh and blood beneath. His eyes meet mine, I try to see what he sees with those eyes... for a second it is as if I can see that abyss held in those deceptively youthful orbs.

“But he had a belief, a purpose to his life that was held in eight simple words, eight words that he believed in so strongly that he would rather die than betray them. And die he did, many times over... only to be reborn again each time, like the phoenix from the flames. I have kept those words with me, as they are the most important lesson a free man can ever learn, can ever hold dear, for it is the antithesis of everything that THEY...”

His teeth grit together at reference to our foe, clenched so tightly that I can hear them grind against each other.

“...represent. THEY do not understand us, or what makes us what we are. They take, and they twist, and they corrupt, and they enslave. They kill from the inside out, they hollow you out and....”

Blade still in hand, he turns from me, leaning against the edge of the table.

“They did it me... and they’re doing it to her, and so many others like her.”

He grips the table so hard that his knuckles turn white. As I come around to his side, I can see that his eyes shine with unshed tears - the tears of a soldier, always under the surface, always kept deep within - a sight I find more distressing than if he had openly wept, or raged, or railed against the heavens with raised fist. Outside this tent, in so many other like it. So many mares... mares and stallions, would be fighting back those same tears. So many soldiers afraid that they would not be returning to their loved ones, but going anyway. So many sons and daughters spending their last moments with their parent knowing they may never meet again. I am no fool, and neither are the many others. No matter the outcome, so many will not be coming home. So many lives... gone, over, finished... just like that.

“It was said, back on Earth, that all it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing. I cannot do nothing, cannot let evil flourish. Not and still be able to look at myself in the mirror in the morning.”

As he pushes away from the bench, the simple wooden construct rocking with the force of his departure, I ask him, what is it that makes him this strong, what is it that fuels the fire that burns in his soul, that he can throw himself back into these flames of which he speaks.

“Eight simple words - my precious Hoshi No Koe, my very own Song of the Stars - the most important words that you will ever hear.”

Clipping the last dagger into place, our time coming to an end, he told to me those eight little words, enunciating each clearly, as if each collection of syllables was a full statement of intent, a rousing speech, a declaration of his resolve. As I ponder their meaning, he grabs his gauntlets, pulling them onto his hands with a speed born of deft practice.

“Today is the day we make those words true again, today is the day we make them mean something.”

He reaches out, reaches up, his heavy hand clad now in leather and iron, falls between my ears. Even with this extra weight, these many layers, I can still feel how gentle he is inside it all - the most caring, dedicated, loving father a mare could ever ask for. He is still the same man he always was, even encased by such tools of foul play.

As his fingers move down the side of my face, cupping my cheek, a thumb wipes away a single tear from my eye, a tear threatening to betray how I feel in this moment. I will not say the words I long to say, I will be strong for my father, I will not make his parting any harder for him than it already is.

He turns, pulling the canvas flap wide, stepping forth into the world beyond its veil. The canvas falls back behind him and, with that instant, my father is gone, and in his place are left eight little words.

Words that roll around in my head.

Words that I will remember for the rest of my days.

Words that my father believes in.

Words to live by.

Words to die for.

“Freedom is the right of all sentient beings.“

And I know now why he must go.

Author's Note

In the depths of a palatial bathroom, a shower-curtain pulls back, revealing Discord, clad only in a large, fluffy pink towel. The walls of the bathroom fall away to reveal Ponyville's town square.

DISCORD: Ladies, how are you? Admiring my most godly of physiques I would wager. And so you should, for this is what a true chaos god looks like. I join you today to grace your eyeballs not just my magnificence - magnificent though it is, and you're reading this in John DeLancie's voice aren't you? How lovely - and not just a new chapter from one of my many, many minions, but also a sneak preview from one of my more verbose peons. Those fools, they still haven't figured out that I swapped their avatars around last month, silly humans. Now, look down... now back to me...

DISCORD: Do you see that seek peek? That is what your fan-fiction could look like, were it not all about crossovers with post world war three landscapes from PS3 games or stuffed full of thinly veiled self inserts and Mary Sues. Quick, what's in my hand...

Discord snaps his fingers and a large gold many-sided box with six keyholes appears in his palm. It hinges open to reveal two tickets labelled "Equestria Girls 2: Rainbow Rocks".

DISCORD: Oh my, it's two tickets to that thing half of you are going to love while the other half stamp their feet as they bitch and whine about the franchise being ruined forever. Now, quick, back to the sneek peek... now back to me...

Discord is now on a beach, wearing a polo shirt and sitting backwards on the back of a very disgruntled looking Celestia.

DISCORD: This is what your fan fiction could look like if you let the one true god into your heart. That one true god being me! I'm on a Horse!

Discord rides off into the sunset as a jaunty little tune plays. For some reason you feel the need for a ice cold shower.

DIVIDED RAINBOW - SNEAK PEEK

“Come here, foxy human!” yelled Scrounger as he leapt from the balcony. Scrounger easily grabbed a hanging chain and slid down until he landed in the dirt below. His joints popped loudly and more pus oozed from his many boils. His slacked face was curled once again in excitement. The terrified look on the human’s face was absolutely priceless.

“We go now,” said Scrounger. “Go below to have fun!”

Scrounger grabbed Lero by the ankles and began to drag him out of his hiding spot and towards one of the holes. The human, who had become completely panicked at this point, began to ineffectively fight back, using his encased fists to first pound at Scrounger’s paws. When that failed to produce any results, Lero desperately tried to crawl in the opposite direction. Once again the obsidian encasings proved no use aside from forming twin ditches in the bare earth behind him.

“Hey, where in Tartarus do you think you’re going?!” Scrounger turned and looked at the source of the loathsome noise. It was the bossy pony dressed as a cheerleader.

“You said Scrounger could fiddle with the foxy human,” he said. “Fiddle and diddle. So Scrounger is going to fiddle-diddle in quiet.”

“Not without me there to watch!” screeched Honeydew. “You’re staying right here until I finish with these bonobo-loving nags!”

“Graaagh! Bossy pony is too noisy! Ponies are too noisy! Scrounger can’t fiddle-diddle with all these noises! So Scrounger takes it under!”

Lero had seized the opportunity to try and fight again, this time landing a blow on the Diamond Dog’s knee. Scrounger yelped at the pain, then growled menacingly. He grabbed Lero’s head, wrapping the human’s face with a meaty, bleeding paw, and slammed it down into the ground. There was a resounding crack and Lero went limp.

Scrounger picked up the human by the ankles again and dragged him back to the hole.

“No! Get back here you canine freak of nature! You aren’t doing anything until I say so!” Her words did nothing to dissuade the walking collection of diseases, as Scrounger simply threw the unconscious human over his shoulder and hopped into one of the holes.

“DAMN YOU! GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW OR I’LL THROW INTO ONE OF THESE GRINDERS AND SPRAY YOU WORTHLESS MEAT ALL OVER THE QUARRY!!” Honeydew’s fury had been stroked to a raging inferno. She couldn’t lose, not like this, not when she was so close to ridding the world of that demonic ape! She had to be there! She had to be there to watch him suffer, to have him know that that it was her, not Exit Wound, her that was the architect of his demise!

She couldn’t risk having him face his punishment without her to witness it or worse, have him escape! What if he got away? What if he made it to the surface?! Then everything she had done, all the things she had sacrificed would have been for NOTHING!

It was then, she spotted two Sicklefin goons out of the corner of her eye. “You two!” she screamed, causing the pair of stallions to come to a halt. “Get your worthless plots down there and bring that disgusting ape back up here NOW!”

The two gangsters looked first to freshly dug hole, then to each other. “Eh,” muttered one of them, “I don’t think-”

“Of course you don’t think, you half-brained special school rejects! You do what I say, or I’m going to have Exit Wound skin your useless hides and wear them as a cape! Now get down there and bring him back up here! Alive! I want to be there to witness his moment of ultimate shame! And I want those worthless, monkey-loving nags to watch it happen!”

Honeydew had the two lackeys at the mention of Exit Wound. They cantered to the rim of the hole and gave it a wary look before they dove into the darkness.

THE QUIET MAN: Discord! Get out of my Author's Notes box! And stop antagonising the readers! And stop pinching Mike's stuff!

117: The Hoard of The Ancient Keeper - by SpinelStride

The Hoard of The Ancient Keeper - by special guest author SpinelStride
Chapter published 23rd Sept 2013

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Sixteen small, sharp claws clicked against the stone floor. The little dragon barely heard his own footsteps. He wasn't crying anymore; it was his own panting that was making the bulk of his noise. He wasn't sure exactly where he was anymore. He'd found the cave entrance and smelled gems, so he'd gone inside. There was a big cavern inside, and huge tunnels that went down into the mountain. The smell of the gems came from the tunnels, so he'd followed.

The tunnel was long; it looped around several times, and it was very dark inside. Even dragon eyes need a little light to work with, and he couldn't keep a flame going long enough to show him everything. He'd long since figured out that he should have brought a branch or something from outside to use as a torch. But it was okay. As long as he went around on all fours and didn't move too fast, he'd be able to stop himself if there was a big hole or something, and he could follow the smell of gems just fine without light. The floor felt nice and smooth, so he guessed this used to be an old mine or something.

The air was warm, but he knew about geothermal energy. If he was down underground, it should be hot. Maybe they'd abandoned the mine when they hit a lava tube, and by now it had had time to cool down. That made sense. There would be plenty of gems left after something like that, and a nice warm cave system he could make into a lair. Then he'd live here forever and...

... and never have to go back. That'd show her. She didn't even want him anyway. She wanted a real assistant, not a baby dragon who wanted to waste time playing instead of taking her notes and cleaning her lab and making her meals. Now she could go get one and he could be a dragon all by himself.

A sweet scent hit his nostrils and his eyes widened in the darkness, bitterness vanishing as quickly as it had re-emerged. That couldn't be. He couldn't be so lucky. A fire ruby? He'd only ever had a sliver of one before, and that was a special birthday treat! But this smelled like a lot more than just a shard. But if there was a lava flow, then that'd make sense that a fire ruby might have grown in the aftermath. He skittered faster. There probably weren't any pits and holes in the ground between him and that ruby.

There was, however, a wall. He ran smack into it, headfirst, when the smell of the ruby was so close as to be downright maddening. He dropped onto his rear and rubbed his skull. his eyes watered, but he kept from crying. He'd cried enough today and he was a wild dragon now, all on his own, so he shouldn't cry. He should look for his prize instead. He sniffed. The ruby was... off to the right, very close. He put a claw on the wall and followed it, scenting after it in the dark. Closer, closer, closer... there!

He reached up and found the ruby embedded in the wall. Perfect! It was held in place, stuck to the rock, so he had to tug at it. It was really in there solidly. He got both foreclaws on it, then pulled so hard he lifted himself right off the ground, and still it wouldn't come loose! Finally, he wedged the tips of his claws underneath the top edge of the ruby and pried at it. With a resounding CRACK! the stone snapped apart and fell free from the wall. The little dragon fell on top of the pieces.

A burst of flame lit the cavern, and a series of lamps hundreds of feet up on the walls flickered to life. The little dragon looked up, eyes squinting in the sudden light. There was another dragon there. The other dragon was big. Really, really big. The baby dragon was smaller than one of the smaller teeth of the big dragon. He was purple, with sharp green spikes atop his head. A long, long golden chain was around his neck, connecting to the ends of a tiny little necklace with a blue diamond shape in the center.

Wordlessly, the little dragon rolled over and held up the pieces of the ruby. His mind was completely blank. He was about to die and his only possible chance of survival for a few extra seconds would be the time it would take for the big dragon to take those bits of ruby and then eat him.

The enormous claw lowered. It picked him up with surprising precision and delicacy, lifting him up to one of those gigantic eyes. He was smaller than the big dragon's eye. He was too terrified to even wet himself. The ruby chunk were still in his claws.

"What's your name, son?"

It was like the mountain itself was speaking. That voice. It was vast. Deep, rich, powerful. Layered. There was so much being asked there. One thing being asked directly, but the little dragon couldn't help but answer the rest.

"My name's Clawed. I'm running away. I didn't know this was yours. I'm sorry."

"Yes. You are," the voice said. It was gentle the same way a weathered mountain is gentle, soft curves over enormous power. "What are you sorry for?"

He tried to hang his head, but being held up like that it made him sway, so he looked into that giant eye instead. "I'm sorry I took something that wasn't mine, and I'm sorry I broke it," he said, and swallowed.

"It's broken before, and I've given it away before," the big dragon said. "Perhaps the time has come again."

"If you gave it away, why do you have it?" Clawed asked, looking at the pieces, still holding them up.

"Do you know the secret of dragons?" the voice asked him. Honest curiousity was there, and rumbles of anticipation. A secret that wanted to be shared.

Fortunately, Clawed knew lots of secrets. "That we live for thousands of years and we're fireproof and about the Noble Dragon Code and about the Ancient Keeper?" he answered,
hoping one of those was the right one.

"Tell me about the Ancient Keeper," the voice rolled out.

"He's the strongest, most powerful dragon ever, who created the Noble Dragon Code, and he lived all the way back in the First Golden Age, and..." Clawed trailed off, then squeaked, "And I just broke one of his gems?"

"That seems to be the case," the Ancient Keeper agreed. "How long have I slept?"

“Long enough…” Clawed whispered. “... Long enough only the Princesses remember you? And I met a dragon who said his grandfather met you but I didn’t believe him.”

“A long time, then,” the giant dragon said quietly. Even with that voice, the words barely disturbed the air. He gestured at the cavern with a claw, and set Clawed down. “Time to start anew once more.”

Clawed looked. He looked up. And up. And up. He could see the golden fitting where he’d torn the fire ruby free. Over it, carved into the stone of the mountain’s roots, the profiles of a dozen ponies and two dragonesses were sculpted in such detail they seemed to move in the light of the fires. Another wall showed eight mares - Celestia and Luna in back, looking exactly as they did today, and six mares, two of each tribe, in front of them. One was the same as the leftmost mare on the wall over the fire ruby’s spot, and that unicorn was wearing the same necklace as hung about the Ancient Keeper’s neck.

The wall across from that one had just three mares on it, with a strange bipedal creature in the middle and a baby dragon at their feet. Two of the mares in that one, one of the unicorns and a pegasus, were also in the one with Celestia and Luna. The creature looked like some sort of de-horned, skinny, flat-faced minotaur with huge hands and really weird feet.

“My family,” the Ancient Keeper said. “The first one. The ones who raised me when I was your age.”

Clawed fell onto his rear, staring. “Ponies? You… the Ancient Keeper was raised by ponies?” Tears welled in his eyes. “But you’re the dragoniest dragon there ever was! You can’t be raised by ponies!”

“And why is that, Clawed?” the voice asked him.

“Because… because then dragons aren’t just dragons! Then dragons are… dragons come from ponies too,” Clawed sobbed. “How can a dragon raised by ponies… how can he be a dragon? It’s not fair!”

Those massive eyes looked down at him. Clawed hung his head now.

“I can smell your mother on you.”

“She’s not my mother!” Clawed screamed. “She’s my boss! She was my boss! She didn’t want me! She just wants me so she can make me do her work and have all the fun she wants!” Then he gasped. “But now you can come back and show her, right? Then if you tell her she has to do all the work she’ll have to, right?”

“And why would I do that, Clawed?”

“Because you’re the Ancient Keeper! You’re the dragon who stands up for other dragons and makes sure nobody goes around stealing hoards or anything. You’ve got to! If you tell Glimpse she has to let me go, she’ll have to do it!”

“Tell me about her.” The Ancient Keeper looked up at the wall with the three mares and the strange biped.

“She’s bossy, and mean, and she never lets me have any fun!” Clawed said bitterly. “We never have enough gems and she always stays up all night and I have to stay up with her so I don’t get to meet anybody and she likes her telescope more than she likes me anyway.”

“She’s Luna’s student, isn’t she?” he asked.

Clawed stared up at him. “You… you know her? She… yeah, she is. She… she hatched me. At the entrance exam for Princess Luna’s School of the Mystic Arts. There hadn’t been a pony-hatched dragon in over four thousand years.” Then he drooped again. “And Princess Luna likes her better than me, too. They always send each other letters, but I never get any. I just burp them up. I might as well just be a mailbox for all they care.”

“She’s heading this way,” the Ancient Keeper told him. “She’s done something very clever. I haven’t seen starlight used to swing from before, but there’s a silver unicorn doing just that.”

“I’m not going back! I’m gonna be a dragon, not her flunky!” Clawed said, voice cracking. “You won’t let her take me, will you?”

“She’s crying,” he said.

“I don’t care!” Clawed yelled. “She should cry! She should know what she did!”

“That’s not very noble,” the Ancient Keeper commented.

Clawed started to speak, then looked up. If anyone had the right to say what was noble, it was the dragon who wrote the Noble Dragon Code.

“I’m not… I mean… It’s hard.”

“It’s meant to be. If it wasn’t hard, it wouldn’t mean as much.”

“I still don’t want to go back with her.”

“You have some time. It’s going to take her a while to get here, and then she’ll have to come down the tunnel. Unless we meet her outside.”

“No,” Clawed said firmly, and turned his back on the entryway. “Maybe I can’t stop her from coming, and maybe it’s not noble of me to be glad she’s unhappy she lost her flunky, but I am anyway and I’m not going back to her, even a little way.”

“Do you know the name ‘Twilight Sparkle?’” the Ancient Keeper asked, and gestured at the unicorn just beneath Celestia. “She hatched me. I ran away from her once.”

Clawed looked up at the massive stone carving. “She made you come back?”

“She saved me, and she apologized to me, and I apologized to her, and we straightened things out,” he said.

“Why did you run away? She was making you do all the work too?” Clawed asked, then scowled. “Lazy ponies always want dragons to do all the hard stuff, right?”

One enormous claw touched under Clawed’s chin, then withdrew. “I was jealous. She took on a second assistant to help her, and I took it to mean she didn’t want me anymore.”

Clawed stared. “... You ran away because you had to do less work?”

The great purple dragon laughed. “It wasn’t usually work to me. It was sharing time with Twilight. I loved her. I loved helping her. Sometimes I did want more time for myself, and sometimes we argued, even fought. But in the end, she was my mother, and she was sharing with me what she loved.”

“What… happened to her?” Clawed asked.

“It’s been a long, long time,” the Ancient Keeper said softly. “Long enough that generations of dragons have lived while I slept, just now, and I was old before I slept. I’ve had many friends and even families of my own since then. But you never forget the ones you love, no matter how many of them there are.” He raised a claw and brushed it delicately across the wall with the mares and dragonesses. “No matter how long it’s been.”

“Are… are you… lonely?” asked Clawed, and swallowed. He looked down at the broken ruby, still in his claws, and offered it up again.

“Loneliness comes and goes. A friend told me, when I was about your size, never to be lonely too long, because you can always find more friends to be with. It’s being alone that you have to watch out for.”

“Isn’t loneliness the same as being alone?”

“No. Being alone means there’s no one to be with. Being lonely means you aren’t with anyone. I’ll never be alone.”

Clawed looked at the three enormous carvings in the walls. “You always have your memories?”

The Ancient Keeper laughed, louder this time, booming against the walls. “No, those keep me from being lonely. I’ll never be alone because I’ll always have at least two friends.” He gestured at Celestia and Luna again. “The princesses are older than me. Celestia helped raise me, when I was a new-hatched whelp and Twilight wasn’t old enough to take care of me herself. They’ll outlive me, too. But I’ve lived long enough now that the difference in our ages isn’t that much, relatively. We’ve had each other. They know if they need me, they can wake me.”

“How have you lived so long? Dragons live a lot longer than ponies, but you’re a lot older than even that.”

The Ancient Keeper touched a claw to his necklace. “Do you know about the Elements of Harmony?”

Clawed shook his head.

“They’re magical artifacts. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna found them when they defeated Discord, near the earliest days of their reign. They represent some of the fundamental virtues of ponykind. And not just ponykind. Equestria. Those who wear them live greatly extended lives.”

Clawed stared up at the necklace. “So… if you took that off… would you crumble into dust?”

The Ancient Keeper laughed again. “No. I would begin to age normally. And I am not a young dragon, even taking into account the Element of Generosity’s effect.”

Clawed blinked. Several times. “What is a dragon doing with something that represents generosity? Isn’t that…” he waved a claw. “Undragonly? Or… did someone give it to you?”

The Ancient Keeper looked down at him. “It is dragonly to hoard. It is the way of a Noble Dragon to know when, and how, and why.”

Clawed looked back up. Then at the carving of the mares and dragonesses. Then down at the ruby. “You gave this to them. To the ones you loved. And they gave it back when you outlived them. And you hoarded it because it was a memory of them.”

“And I gave it away when I met someone who deserved it,” he agreed.

“I’m sorry,” Clawed whispered again. “I didn’t know. It smelled so good.”

“It always has. It’s always been there, since I was very small. It’s always been something to give, not something to be taken.”

“But… I took it,” Clawed said, and swallowed. He rushed to the spot on the wall and tried to fit the heart-shaped ruby back into its place, but the two pieces fell back into his claws.

“Take it,” that voice told him. “It’s meant to be given, but I can’t give it the way I mean it anymore. You can give it a different way.”

“I don’t understand,” Clawed said.

“I think you will. Soon. Glimpse has found the entryway.”

“Don’t let her in! I don’t want to see her anymore.”

“You’ll have a very long time to not see her, Clawed.” Two sharp clawtips lifted him again, and those age-worn eyes looked at him together. “You will see her grow old and die. You will see her name lost to the world save for your heart. You will find ways to remember her, then. Make the most of each day as it comes.” He shifted his grip, holding Clawed in his palm.

Clawed stared back into those eyes. For the first time, he thought about what being a dragon meant. What it really meant. He thought about Starlit Glimpse as an old, old pony. He thought about standing in front of a stone with ‘Starlit Glimpse’ written on it. He began to cry.

“Being a Noble Dragon means being worthy of all those lives you’ll touch, Clawed,” the Ancient Keeper said softly. “Your life is their monument. What they teach you, what they give you, what you keep of them, that is your true hoard. Things are just things. That is the secret of dragons.”

Clawed was still crying in the Ancient Keeper’s palm when the clatter of hooves announced the arrival of a silver-coated unicorn into the cavern. Her eyes went huge at the sight of the massive dragon holding her Favorite Flunky. He’d been gone when she woke up that evening, and she’d been wracking her brains as she chased after him, trying to figure out what was wrong.

“L… let him go… please?” she squeaked. It had come out much more bravely in her head.

To her vast surprise, the Ancient Keeper lowered the baby dragon to her. Clawed grabbed her neck and hugged her with all his strength, burying his face in her mane.

“A baby dragon needs more sleep than a grown pony,” the massive dragon rumbled gently to her. “And Princess Luna once herself fell prey to being lonely in the night.”

“I’m… I’m sorry…” whispered Starlit Glimpse. “I… I’m sorry, Clawed. I didn’t know, I didn’t know, I thought you liked stargazing with me…”

The little dragon was crying too hard to speak back, and soon Starlit Glimpse was too.

When they left, the Ancient Keeper wrote a letter to his friends to tell them of his waking, and to invite them to visit, his bulk making it impractical for him to come to them.

That night, Clawed gave Starlit Glimpse half of Spike’s Heart.

Author's Note

TQM: Ooooh, another guest chapter. Many thanks to Spinel.

80: Like the sun we will live and die.

Like the sun we will live and die.
Chapter published 4th Jan 2015

***************

Mid October.
Two hundred and twenty years after the unification of Equestria.
Eight years since the fall of Princess Luna’s New Lunar Republic.

Sodden ground squelched beneath heavy hooves; mud was pushed and pulled, indents forming with every hoof-fall, remaining in place after every lift. Soft sucking noises accompanied every step as a lone figure wandered the land, the ground itself pulling at her horseshoes with each step she took, threatening to hold them fast even as their owner carried on her slow plodding pace, not at all caring what she might leave behind.

Eventually a horseshoe came free, the suction from the boggy ground stronger than its owner’s will to retain her hoofware. Not even noticing its absence, nor that of the two lost before it, the large pony wandered away, the tarnished golden horseshoe left abandoned in the mud behind her.

With her next step, her unshod hoof touched the ground, sinking into the mire. But the mud could find no purchase, could not stick to the gleaming white fur that pushed against it. As the hoof was lifted away - its owner continuing her journey, focusing on nothing but her next step - any muck that had managed to cling on and be lifted with it immediately dried, flaked and fell back to the ground.

In the pony’s wake was left a trail of hoofprints, each baked solid by the supernatural warmth of her skin. In time, the falling rain would soften each print, the shape becoming indistinct, eventually merging back into the surrounding mud. In time there would be no visible sign that this traveller was any different from any other that had walked these trails in recent years.

Through wind and rain, howling gales and hammering sleet, she walked, ever onwards, as she had done for days now. She had no destination in mind, no predefined goal nor solid destination, but she knew where she’d end up anyway. It was where she always ended up, the one place that called to her whenever she need to think, whenever she need time alone, whenever she just needed time itself.

Her hooves moved on, ever moving, one after the other. She had not slept for days, had not eaten... she had no real need of either, her gift, if one could call it so, had made sure of that long, long ago.

In time she came to the hill... her hill. For the first time in - who knew how long? - she lifted her head, weary eyes taking in the world around her. The rain still fell from the grey, overcast skies, as it had for weeks now... but still for less than a heartbeat in the grand scheme of things. When you thought in years, decades, centuries even; what did a few days here or there really matter?

Stretching out before her - the far distance obscured by the rainfall, fading into obscurity - lay the place of her birth. She’d come here countless times over just as countless a number of years. Over the many centuries since she had been turned, she’d found that returning here gave her peace, reminded her of a time when she had been so small, and the world so large, and yet so simple at the same time.

And how simple it had been; she had been born, and grown, and played and loved. Her life had been easy, her path so clear. She would prove her worth to the tribe, win a mate, find a herd, then raise a family and watch over it until she went to meet the maker. That was it; simple, straightforward, uncomplicated.

But, what fate had had in store for her, it had been far from a ‘normal’ life. Destiny, it had seemed, had been nurturing other plans for her future, a quiet death at a grand old age surrounded by her family not being an option that would be open to her. Oh yes, meet the maker she had, but not in the way she had expected, or could ever have dreamed, even with the strange and often confusing glimpses beyond the veil that had occasionally interrupted her life ever since her youth.

Her youth, those formative years spent here, not far from this very spot. It all looked so different now, the open plains that were previously dotted lightly here and there by the occasional willow tree were now encroached upon by other trees and bushes, the mostly untamed valley invaded by the telltale signs of modern agriculture.

How different it had been back in the day, when she would run with gay abandon amongst the hills and dales. Steadfast would be by her side, the wind through their manes as they galloped free, without a single care between them- hearts and legs pounding, the sun bathing their faces with its bountiful grace.

If only she had known, back then, that she would never feel the wind or sun in that way ever again, that her mane would become one with the wind itself, that the sun would become as her skin - as much a part of her being as was her heart or her mind - rather than that majestic, untouchable, enigmatic orb in the sky

Even the touch of the falling rain, an annoyance back in her youth, was something she missed. She missed the chill she had felt as the rains had soaked her to the skin, she missed the times she had stopped to wipe herself dry, or the times another had done it for her. She missed the simple act of brushing out her mane; separating sodden strands, teasing out the knots and tangles, pulling free any leaves or small twigs that she might find.

But now, she was permanently warm to the touch; rain would not soak her skin, always evaporating away before it could gain any hold on her coat. With less than a thought her mane would rearrange itself into any form that she wished, rain and dirt falling straight through the ethereal mass that made up its shape, unable to find purchase in the depths of its incorporeal form.

Those days, those ancient heady days, they were gone now. Long gone, forgotten by all but herself. The ancient village of Lachrymose had long fallen, lost to the passage of years. The willows that had surrounded the small but vibrant settlement were thinning, soon enough the last of them would wither and die. The world had changed around them - year by year, decade by decade - and they had no longer found this valley to their liking.

She was starting to feel the same way.

Time changed, life was transient, this was the way of things... of most things. But not her? Oh, why not her?

She was alone, and would continue to be so. She alone, for the rest of time.

Her sisters were gone; one by her own free will, the other not. It did not matter how, or why, just that they were gone, and she was not.

And now Starswirl was gone, her last true friend. Her last connection to the world gone by, he last reminder of how it had been before it had all fallen down around her... before she had brought it all down around her own hooves.

She should know better, she should be stronger, she should... She was immortal, all these things, all this pain... it was nothing but an illusion, it should mean nothing to her.

But it wasn’t nothing... it was everything; pressing and pushing and pulling at her. And it was getting bigger, and it was getting heavier, and it was stealing more and more of her soul with every passing day.

She was angry, sad, inconsolable, insensible... inconsistent. Her subjects, they did not deserve this... this mess that she had become. They deserved better, they needed better, and she could not give it to them.

Grasping her crown, she lifted it from her head, holding it out in front of her eyes, glaring at it, daring it to take this one last chance to give her the answers, to reveal the trick, the secret, to being what she knew she could no longer be.

But it was just a crown, just a lump of metal. Tarnished gold, dull and lifeless, its skin covered in a sheen of fine scratches brought on by years of neglect and mistreatment. The closer one looked, the more evident that it was that she had not cared for it the way that she should have, that her promises had not been kept.

As the crown, so are the subjects.

She hadn't asked for this crown, or the responsibility that had come with it, but she had taken it, worn it, become it. She had made a vow that she would live up to everything that it stood for.

She had failed.

With a simple flick of her magic the crown soared into the sky, hurtling through the clouds above her, disappearing from view within seconds, with only a sonic boom to mark its passing. Just like that... gone.

Where it would land she didn’t know, nor care

Lifting a single muddy hoof, she reached for the horseshoe she expected to find there, only slightly surprised when it was not to be found. Checking her other three hooves she found just one mud covered piece of metallic apparel still remained. With a flick of her magic that last, lone shoe took to the skies just as the item of headwear had before it.

Crownless and shoeless, she grasped the last piece of her royal vestments - her large golden peytral - from around her neck. As it moved, an acorn fell from where it had been trapped between the chest-plate and her coat. Idly she watched the seed fall to the ground, immediately sticking fast to its impact point in the muddy earth. She’d been vaguely aware that something had been wedged there since - where, the Baltic Marelands maybe? - but hadn’t been bothered enough by it’s presence to remove it.

For a second she considered it- its form, its function; so small, tiny even, but poisonous to the common pony if ingested in large enough quantities. It had bumped against her chest for days now, to the point where she’d become so accustomed to it that she’d forgotten that it was even there, had no longer noticed its presence. But, now it was gone, she felt so much better for it. So strange.

Hefting the peytral, she moved to toss it away as she had its fellows... but she didn’t. It was heavy, substantial, able to do some real damage if it came down on somepony, or something, or someone.

Changing her mind, she let it drop to the ground, the large piece of metal landing on the acorn, squashing it into the mud.

The actual mass of the royal accoutrements had been no burden to a being of her stature and power, but the weight she felt released from her body was indescribable. Heavy may have hung the head that wore the crown, but now that it was gone her head was held high, her eyes to the horizon.

Her choice was made, the path ahead waiting for her first step, liberating in its unfathomable nature.

Terra had been right: the age of alicorns was over. Her sisters were gone, and soon she would join them in their absence. If carrying on as she had been was to forever live with this pain that gnawed at her heart, then she would not stay. If her body was holding her back, then she would not let it.

Though she had started out as a unicorn; glamours and transformations had never been her style, these falling more into her younger sister’s area of expertise. While she had always been more about bowling the opposition over with shock and awe tactics, the use of more... under-hoof strategies - deception, subterfuge, sabotage - had always been Lulu’s area- and even more Nightmare Moon’s, which had made her the most treacherous of enemies.

Even from an early age she had always relied on the fact that a loud and flashy opening attack would often cause the enemy to lose the will to fight. And if they didn’t? Well, a second attack with even more volume and aggression usually sorted out that small problem. Subtlety hadn’t been exactly her strong suit back then, and she’d been more than fine with that.

This wasn’t to say that she had not picked up a few tricks here and there- at her age she could not have done otherwise. But this though? This was so much more than a simple glamour, or even one of the higher level transformations. No, this was something so much bigger, so much more fundamental, so much more... permanent.

Searching deep within her soul, she scoured the depths of her own being for something, somepony, that she had not thought about in years. Finding it - finding her - she pulled, pushed, delving down into herself as far as she could go. She felt the tiniest beat, the weakest of glimmers, as it began to grow and unfold, letting it envelope her as she pushed herself deep within its embrace.

Letting the power from deep within take her over, her vibrant spectral mane and tail faded away, its folds no longer catching the ethereal wind. In its place single-toned stands of dark unfurled, flowing from her crest to fall over her withers. Her wings, stowed against her sides as they had been for days - or even weeks - melted away, merging back into her barrel, the pristine white fur of which darkened to a soft pink, three long-healed parallel scars marring the otherwise unblemished coat.

With the process almost complete, she opened her eyes. Looking down, she found the ground coming closer as she shrank in height, down to the size of a more average grown mare.

Willing her wings to open, she found they were no long there. Pushing magic though her body and down to her hooves, she found the wet, sodden ground beneath no longer responded to her touch. Water ran down her barrel, collecting on the underside before falling to the earth below. The wind picked up all around her, pushing at her wet coat, imparting a chill that she felt all the way to her core.

With this she was Alicorn of the Day no more, Princess no more, Celestia no more. All of that life was to be left behind. Here and now, in this body, in this life, she was just a plain, ordinary, unicorn mare, subject to all that came with it.

Turning away, leaving the expansive view behind her - the unceasing rain plastering her mane against her neck as she picked a direction... any direction - Sunny Skies began her long walk to freedom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sometime in August
Thirty two years after the banishment of Princess Luna.
Twenty four years since the disappearance of Princess Celestia

Stumbling from step to step, the unicorn moved onwards, one hoof in front of the other. One more step, always one more step.

The sun beat down, mercilessly, relentlessly. The summer had been so hot, hotter than living memory could remember. Not her living memory though- much of her life was a blank, her own history a blur.

The unicorn nobles claimed the sun’s erratic behaviour was only temporary, that they were doing all that they could, that they would have it under control soon enough. But one couldn’t drink words, nor could one water fields with promises.

Ever forwards she stumbled, across parched grass and dusty earth. There was a tree up ahead, still green even in the blistering summer heat. If she could just make it that far...

Forwards she stumbled, hoof before hoof, step after step. Her mane was a mess, her hooves chipped and flaking. She had not eaten in so long now, her muscles weak and tired, her bons stiff and sore.

The tree was close now, a young oak tree, not much taller than a two level cottage. Oak.. she shouldn't, it was poisonous, it would make her ill. But what did it matter, it was better than nothing. Long term health came second to short term survival.

Reaching the tree, staggering into its shade, she lifted her head, lips reaching for the closest leaf. She stumbled, a forehoof catching on an exposed root. Pitching forwards, she fell, directly onto her face. The impact rattled her skull, unconsciousness taking its chance to come for her, its tendrils twisted around her being, pulling her, taking her away.

Consciousness returned in time- gradually, grudgingly. She had no idea how long she had lain there, in the shadows. Colours swam before her eyes, details remaining indistinct, normality stubbornly just out of reach..

Perhaps this was it? Perhaps this was the end? Was this what she had been chasing all these years? She had no idea how long she’d been walking, wandering, never staying anywhere too long, always onwards. She didn’t even remember where she’d been, or why... right now she was just hoping that some pony would come and carry her away to whatever came next.

Ha, she’d not even managed to do that right. Here she still was.

How long... how long had she lain in the dirt, the dry grass tickling her nose with every laboured breath? How long would she continue...

...waiting?

...wanting?

...searching?

...hoping?

A voice, she could hear a voice, she hadn’t heard the voice of another in so long.

A mare’s voice, coming closer, the accent foreign and guttural. The lilt and lift of the words fell oddly on her ears, sounding both course and melodical at the same time.

The voice again; closer, softer, like a mother. She could feel her head being lifted, cool water running over her dry, cracked lips.

A call, louder now, calling to somepony else. Another voice came back, a stallion this time, the same strange accent, both soft and harsh, coming closer.

The words, the language, were the same as hers, just twisted enough that she couldn’t make them out, not in the state she was in. They were... arguing? There was urgency, much back and forth between the two. Back and forth, back and forth. She couldn't tell who was winning, much too tired to make it out, too tired to move.

She passed out again, just for moment.

Sunlight broke through her eyelids, she was being moved.

She felt magic wrapping itself around her body, taking her weight, lifting her from the ground.

She could feel a warm body beneath her, pressure on her ribs as she was settled onto a wide, sturdy back.

Breath was pushed from her lungs with every bounce, her own weight - not that there was much left of it - pushing against her ribs.

They were moving. She knew not where to... she didn’t really care.

She passed out again, and this time for much longer than before.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Early September.
One hundred and five years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon.
Ninety seven years since the abdication of Princess Celestia.

The tree didn’t look much different than she remembered. It was taller, yes, that was true. A few more branches, also true. A lot more leaves... a whole lot more... so many more.

Okay, so as trees went, it wasn’t much different than she remembered. Trees were trees were trees were trees. She’d leave pointing out the finer differences in their growth to the earth ponies in the herd.

So, this was where they’d found her, so many decades ago.

A mare with no history, no past, no family, nothing to her name but her name. A name and four badly worn hooves. Her hooves had told a tale of travel, and lots of it, their rich but secret history marked out in every one of their cracks and gouges. But they had healed, regrown, evened out over decades that followed.

They’d worked so hard, these hooves; tilling the land, harvesting the crops, raising the foals. But now it was time for these old hooves to travel again. Her herdmates had passed on many years ago. The children of the herd were now all grown up, with children and grandchildren of their own.

Turning, looking back down the hill - she could see way, way out over the fields - she caught sight of the patriarch of the herd. He was such an odd one, that boy- a stallion at the head of large and prosperous herd in a female oriented society? Who’d ever have thought it just a few years ago. But even with his position at the top of the biggest herd around, he was still out there; working the fields, pulling the plough, keeping the farm-holding running. Yes, with Strongblood at the reins, everything would work out for them.

Her eyes leaving the fields, they moved over to the farmhouse, much bigger now than the rickety old wooden structure she’d woken up in back in the day. No, that rustic old log cabin had long gone, supplanted years ago by a modest two level farmhouse made of stone.

She remembered how the herd had worked together to build it, the unicorns with their magic, the earth ponies with their sheer strength. Even the young ones had played their part, running around the adult’s hooves, carrying buckets, relaying messages, bringing food. A real family affair.

Today the young ones were at play; running and jumping, playing hide and seek amongst the crops. Each generation thought they were the first to discover such fun, then growing up to watch their own children run and play just as they had, the new young-uns also thinking that they were the first at everything.

Emerald Reach Farm itself had grown over the years; pushing back the treeline, absorbing the small lake to the east and the rivers that fed into it. The family had grown as well, gladly welcoming new members from nearby herds, sorrowfully parting ways with those who’d boldly set off to make their fortune out in the big wide world. She heard from them and theirs from time to time, passing pegasi occasionally dropping off a letter or parcel, the postal service that had so badly fallen apart back when the three tribes had fractured years ago getting back on its wings as time went by.

Yes, it'd been a good life... what she could remember of it anyway. And what she could remember was all that mattered. It was what made her ‘her’.

She could remember being found, no more aware of her past than her saviors had been. Having nowhere to go they’d asked her to stay, just for a few day at first, just long enough to get back on her hooves.

Days had become weeks, weeks had become months. Her hosts had become friends, friends had become lovers, lovers had become family. More than seventy years had passed since that day, since she’d finally found a place to call home... and she didn’t regret a single second of it.

But now... it was time to go.

She wasn’t getting any younger, that was for certain. Her mane was no longer pink but grey, her coat well on its way to matching it. Her muscles grew weary, her old bones stiff and sore. Her hooves may be itchy, but that had nothing to do with age. She had been called, that was for sure. For weeks now, the road had called to her, as it had when she was young. She had to go.

But where to?

To the south, out through the Baltic Marelands? That was as good a direction as any for her final journey. Yes, that would do nicely.

Word had been filtering up to them from the nearby towns and villages for a while now about how the unicorns were building a new city, somewhere down by the old Canterhorn mines. Maybe she should go check it out? It’d take some time, yes, it would, a journey of that length, travelling by hoof all the way.

But she had time... probably.

It wasn’t as if she’d be late for anything, even if she took the time to meander. Apparently the unicorn nobles were pinning their hopes on this sparkly new city of theirs bringing the some alicorn princess back to them. Some vague prophecy from some fluffy-headed mare had told them that if they built it, she would come. A silly hope, and a huge waste of resources, as far as she was concerned.

If this ‘princess’, whoever she was, even still existed - which she sorely doubted - then she’d walked out on them all a long, long time ago... what kind of princess did that? A useless one, that’s what. No, even if this elusive ‘princess’ did come back, they were better off without her.

But what did she care? Her end was coming, she knew that in her heart. ‘Time and tide waited for no mare’, as it was said, and her final tide was drawing near.

So, it was time for one last journey, one last wander. The road was calling to her, pulling her south. She knew she had to get going- to go where she might go, to see what she might see, to find what she might find... whatever that might be.

Shifting her saddlebags, Sunny Skies set off on her last adventure.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

April 1201 AC
Nine hundred and eighty nine years after the sealing of The Mare In The Moon.
Eight hundred and eighty three years since the return of Princess Celestia.

From beneath a thousand year old oak tree, an even older being surveyed the valley below her.

A lot had changed over the years... but so much had stayed the same. The stately manor house, the largest building here in Emerald Reach, had grown so much over the years. The ancient farm buildings were long gone, swallowed up years ago as the ancestral home of the Duchy of Smaragdvea had grown ever larger and more imposing.

What had once been known just as ‘Top Field’ was now a large, well maintained series of gardens. Trees and bushes, carefully crafted into the shapes of birds and woodland animals, lined the edges of long gravel paths that split great swaths of lawn into quadrants larger than hoofball pitches. Large flower beds were dotted around the grounds, plentifully stocked with vibrant blooms from distant lands sharing space with more domestic breeds, each bed with its own signature colour

For all the pretension and overbearing pomposity of the manor’s late gothic architecture, children still played here, caring not for the gravitas of the manor’s carefully crafted - and expensive - sombre facade.

A pair of stallions, both heading into their teenage years, tossed a hoofball back and forth across one of the grassy quadrants. The blue-maned, white-coated young stallion of the pair was obviously the more athletic of the two, dashing about the grounds like a march hare while his less physically gifted green-maned and pale-blue-coated ‘playmate’ would slouch his way with little effort from here to there whenever he missed his catch.

Far beyond them, a pair of young fillies - a unicorn and an earth pony sporting almost identical colorschemes - played in a flowerbed, a small bucket and spade passed back and forth between them as they dug their way into the dirt over and over again, leaving abandoned hole after abandoned hole all around them. Spying an elderly donkey slowly ambling his way towards them, the two fillies gathered their tools and scampered off towards the safety of the bushes, quickly disappearing into the foliage and out of sight.

Gaze moving across the grounds and back towards the manor, Celestia watched a trio of adults - two mares and a stallion - as they exited from the house and out onto the patio. One of the mares was using her magic to carry a glass filled with ice, topping it up from large bottle of alcohol that bobbed along at her side.

Just as her alicorn vision meant that, even from this great distance, Celestia could easily read the label on the bottle of Leafeater gin as easily as if it was right in front of her, her hearing could also perform a similar trick, making listening in on the trio’s conversation an incredibly simple task if she so wished. She didn't though, as that would just be rude... and from the animated waving of hooves, baring of teeth and flattening of ears, this conversation was obviously a private matter.

As the other mare, the one without a drink, was trying to make some kind of point - one that involved enough volume and hard consonants that Celestia could follow the general gist of it even without alicorn hearing - a young unicorn filly, who must have been all of eight or nine years of age, darted out of the house, weaving her way between the adults’ hooves before shooting off into garden.

Leaving behind the arguing adults, Celestia found her gaze being pulled along by the young unicorn as she ran across the grass, tiny hooves pumping just as fast as they could under the weight of the huge tome that her magic was holding aloft above her head.

Taking shelter under a the languid branches of the estate’s only weeping willow, the filly settled herself down in the shade, making herself - and the small cloth doll that she had been holding tight against the spine of her precious literary cargo - comfortable against the tree’s ancient trunk.

Looking back towards the adults, Celestia could see that argument between the two mares had moved from single-sided to two-sided; the mare with the drink biting back, her retorts as sharp as knives if the reaction of the other mare was to be believed.

These adults were not at all interesting, with their petty squabbles and short term thinking. They were so focused on what they didn’t have, or things that they didn’t like, that they were missing what was going on around them. The youngster under the tree? Much more interesting.

Opening the book, the huge tome almost as wide as she was tall, the filly began to read. Occasionally she’d stop to confer with the tiny doll propped up against her stomach; explaining the words, discussing their meanings.

Celestia’s eyes were pulled back to the three adults, to the filly’s parents, to the cutie marks on their flanks. The two mares - one the filly’s biological dam, the other her true mother; and it hadn’t taken alicorn senses to figure that one out - both sported a trio of stars. Different arrangements, yes, but three stars graced both pairs of flanks.

The cutie marks so similar, the mares so close and yet so distant... it was if they could be sisters. Even the bickering, the disagreements... so much like sisters.

Between their cutie marks, they held six stars, just as ‘the six’ were prophesied to aid in her escape. Even the arrangements were similar, laid out just as those on the ancient scrollworks were- the same six stars that graced the sky each night, the most vocal of her sister’s many supporters. They taunted her each evening, when she came to raise her sister’s prison into the heavens once more, a cruel reminder of everything that she had lost.

Celestia’s eyes were drawn to the mare’s stallion, this young filly’s sire. His own flank sporting not one moon but two- the two crescents facing each other, presenting mirrored faces, just as her sister had two sides, two faces that she presented; one being the brave and loving Princess Luna, the other the evil and corrupt Nightmare Moon.

Finally, the words that Moonbeam the Messenger had left to her, written over and over, so many times in so many journals... they made sense to her now.

As Celestia continued to watch, the child continued to read, tucked away their under her tree. She did nothing special, she said nothing special- but she was special.

This girl, this tiny underdeveloped foal, she was the one, of this Celestia was sure. She didn't know how... she didn’t know why... but she’d never been so sure of anything in her life.

She was the one, the one that the prophecy described, the one that would do what no other could. She would be the force to bridge the gap, to bring balance between the night and the day, to bring the elements together, to bring her sister home.

Between night and day, between day and night... she was the twilight.

Eyes turning back to the parents, Celestia watched them for a moment. The two mares were still arguing, the more... abrasive one dropped a particularly cutting comment, looking very pleased with herself as she waved her drink around. The other, the more passive-aggressive one, she turned to their stallion, obviously looking to him for support.

As for the stallion himself... any other outside observer it would be forgiven for thinking that he was doing nothing, just letting the two mares go at it while just calmly waiting for the outcome. Celestia however had the advantage of both superior eyesight and centuries of experience in pony-watching. She could make out each of his subtle movements, how his body language was affecting both of his mares’ actions in ever-so-subtle ways, how he was defusing the worst of the confrontation before it even happened.

But, even with his own years of experience, there was only so much buffering one lone stallion could provide. He was good, Celestia would give him that, but he wasn’t perfect, and whatever conflict was currently reaching a head down there had obviously been brewing for a long, long time.

Her glass - and bottle - now empty, the more acerbic mare stomped away, back into the house as the remaining mare turned to her stallion, burying her face in his coat as he wrapped a hoof around her neck, holding her close.

This family, the alicorn of the day noted with a sigh, didn’t just have issues... they had issues. From the stallion’s practiced and controlled movements - obviously born from many years of playing peacekeeper to two willful mares - she could tell that there were points of contention at play that had been bubbling away for long enough to have become too deeply entrenched to be resolved anytime soon.

But, perhaps she could help in some way, provide some manner of assistance in relieving their burdens maybe? She should give this prophesied filly a bit of a helping hoof, steer her in the right direction. Yes, there was much she could do, and many ways in which she could go about it. But what would be best?

Life may have been so much easier back in her youth, when most problems could be solved by punching it in the face- but one didn’t rule a nation as long as she had without learning how to make a few plans, or how to pull a few strings, or how to whisper a few words in the correct ears. It may have taken more years that she’d care to count, but it would not be far from the truth to say that subtlety - along with several other less prosaic descriptions - could now be considered her middle name.

So, the first step would be to head back to Canterlot and pay a visit to Headmaster Steady Course. Yes, a few well placed words, strictly off the record of course, that would be a most excellent start. A suggestion here, a comment there, and an invitation from Princess Celestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns would soon be on its way to this young filly’s household. Perhaps with an offer of scholarship or the possibility of boarding at the castle itself if it would seal the deal.

This young filly, this aptly named Twilight Sparkle... she had quite the destiny calling for her, and Princess Celestia would make sure that she had every possible assistance available to her every step of the way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

August 1229 AC
Seventeen years since the return of Princess Luna.
Three years after the signing of what had become known as ‘The Northern Hive Treaty’.

Children played, as children should. Across the grass they scampered and tumbled, the evening sun throwing a orange glow across everything in sight as the young darted between bushes, wove their way between their parents legs, and generally got up to mischief.

It’s what children did, it’s what they always did. Hopefully that would never change.

Far above it all, seated on her hill, Celestia watched. It’s what she did.

Spread out before her lay the grounds of what was once the location of the unicorn village of Lachrymose. Long after the village had been forgotten, its name lost to history, the land had become the home of Emerald Reach Farm. Before long it too had been swallowed up by the unstoppable march of progress, eventually becoming known just as Emerald Reach, itself just a small part of the Duchy of Smaragdvea.

In just the last few years it had gained yet another new name, one that the alicorn seated high above it hoped would remain for a good few years yet. Now it was becoming known as ‘The Emerald Hive’.

The estate itself hadn’t changed much, the manor house still sporting its overly sombre - or ‘depressing’ as some would describe it - appearance. But now it was in the middle of gaining a new wing, one that the current duchess had been very insistent should be more influenced by the semi-organic sweeps and curves of changeling architecture than the more staid appointments that graced the rest of the grounds.

Above ground, the new wing was quite small, not much more than a decent sized reception building and an equally decently sized function hall nestled just behind it. No, most of the new wing was underground- changelings, even those of a hybrid nature, being more at home in subterranean dwellings than above ground.

From where she sat, Celestia enjoyed the effect that this balmy late summer’s day’s last few rays had as it played across row after row of the expansive windows that lined the manor’s west-facing side. As the brilliant orange of this evening’s sunset spread across the horizon, glass panel after glass panel reflected the sun’s form back out at the world. The green of the gardens took on a slightly surreal glow as it was washed in amber and gold from two directions at once.

When she’d first left this land, so many centuries again now, the valley had looked so different. So different... but so the same. The streams still ran through the middle of the valley, trees still covered the slopes with a few encroaching their way onto the flats, the sun still washed over the entire length of the valley with every sunset

Most of all, the young still played here, as they had so often in the past, even before her own birth. Once it had been just unicorns that had made their home here, then later on ponies from other tribes as well as settlers from distant lands. And now it was the turn of the changelings, both hybrid and traditional in nature, to make their home here, to settle down and raise their young in peace. They’d used the land well. There was hope here now. Hope for a better tomorrow - of long lives and bright futures - something that they hadn’t had just a few years ago.

Darting from between her mother’s legs came the oldest of the hybrid changelings- or ‘ponylings’ as many had taken to calling them. Her mother - Flitter - called out to her, admonishing the filly-ling for employing a touch more ‘rough’ than the ‘rough and tumble’ she was enjoying with her younger cousins really required. After promising her mother that she’d been good, young Songbird leapt back into the fray with no less enthusiasm that she had shown before.

Across the short, well-kept grass the tiny - and first - pony-ling ran, her younger cousins all around her. Songbird, Star Spinner, Meadow Song, Polaris, Melody Maker, Twinkledown, Starbright, and so many more- Celestia knew the names of every one of them, having made a point of being present when each had first been presented to their future queen. They all had long, beautiful lives ahead of them, a future that was theirs for the taking- and Celestia be there to watch over them, for as long as they needed her. This was her promise... her promise and her pleasure.

Raising from her seat amongst the grass, way up on the hill overlooking the manor’s grounds, Celestia stepped out from her customary spot in the shade of the ancient oak tree. For a moment she regarded the tree as if for the first time- its huge reach and sprawling branches, the many exposed roots that snaked their way across the ground, radiating away from its huge trunk. This old tree was ancient, older than every other living thing in the valley... except one. But even the most ancient of trees will eventually come to the end of its life, and soon enough it too would be gone. It was a shame, but that was the way of things.

Off to one side, a short way from the ancient tree’s side, not much more than a dozen body lengths away, something caught the alicorn’s eye, something that had not been present the last time she had been here.

From between the long blades of grass, party covered by fallen leaves, grew a tiny sapling, not much more than a few horn-widths tall. It was tiny, yes, but it was trying. Its fragile stem was pushing its way upwards, a few tiny green buds ready to unfurl and reveal its first few leaves.

On a whim, Celestia closed her eyes, concentrating on her alicorn magic. Pulling forth just the tiniest portion of her own magic, she separated it into its component parts, letting only the earth pony magic make its way down to the ends of her legs. Stepping out of her gilded horseshoes, she luxuriated in the feel of grass and packed earth directly beneath her hooves, letting her magic lazily flow its way out of her body and down into the ground.

Even with her eyes closed, she could feel her magic flowing through the sapling, its stem strengthening, lengthening, reaching up towards the sky. Leaves pushed themselves free of their buds, uncurling, unfurling, being joined by other fresh buds which too unfurled, greeting the world with newly exposed foliage of vibrant green.

By the time Celestia opened her eyes, the previously tiny sapling was as tall as a ten year old foal, the glow of her magic just fading from its leaves. Stepping back into her horseshoes, she spread her wings and, with just a few unhurried beats of their immense span, she was away.

From its home amongst the grasses, the sapling waved in the gentle breeze of her departure, as if bidding a farewell.

At least, until next time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ponies sometimes ask me if I dream.

"Of course I dream", I tell them. "Everypony dreams".

"But what do you dream about?", they will ask.

"The same thing everypony dreams about", I tell them. "I dream about where I have been, where I am going, about those who have travelled by my side, and who will be waiting for me when I get there."

"But you're not going anywhere”, they say, “you’ll always be here, you’re going to live forever.”

But that is not true.

My journey is the same as yours, the same as anyone’s. It has taken me so many years, so many of your lifetimes, and at last I know where I am going. Where I... where we have always been going.

Home. The long way around.

H.R.H Princess Celestia Helios Sol-Invictus Equestria.

Alicorn of the Day, Defender of the Realm, Daughter of Equestria.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Major spoilers ahead!

Many, many millennia after The Battle of Magic’s End.
Almost one thousand years since Moonfall.

As the dry wind blew across parched lands, little more than long baked foliage and motes of dust moving in the hot air, Celestia sat on her hill - even now she still thought of it as hers - as she had for so long now.

Old eyes gazed across the valley- or at least, what was left of it. Time itself plays the ultimate long game- carving out its changes over decades, centuries, eons even. Rain, wind, heat, frost- all had played their parts. What little grass that remained was brown now, patchy, burnt away; the bare earth beneath exposed to the elements. The valley was desolate, just barely clinging on to life- the rivers and streams were long dry, what few trees had not fallen to old age years before would be joining their fellows soon enough.

Hanging just over the horizon, the dim sun - a pale shell of the celestial body it once was - shone as best it could, bathing the world in perpetual dusk.

Far in the distance the grey curve of the moon could be just made out through the haze, the millions of tonnes of rock laying immobile in its final resting place, never to move from dry, dusty expanse of what was once known as Horseshoe Bay. The few of the sun’s rays that reached it caressed its long lifeless surface, washing it in an unchanging hue of dull yellow, casting indistinct shadows across long untouched craters.

Celestia sat... she sat, and she waited, and she watched. She watched over the land, she watched over the sky, she watched over Equestria. That’s what she did, that’s all she did. For so long now; alone, watching, waiting.

A noise came from behind her, something she had not heard in so many years. The steady, careful beat of hooves upon the ground... and they weren’t hers. Soft, slow, but not unexpected.

So, it was time. And time, like the tide, did not like to wait for any mare.

Neck muscles - stiff from lack of movement - tensed, contracted, old bones moving, skin flexing under silver-white fur. Celestia’s head turned slowly, in no real hurry, as she gave greeting to her companion, a small smile gracing her ancient features after so many years of absence.

“Hello, mother. I knew it would be you.”

1: Someday the mountain might get 'em, but the law never will.

Someday the mountain might get 'em, but the law never will.
Chapter published 1st April 2013

****************************

Applejack was not currently a happy mare.

Tonight Big Mac was ‘out with the boys’ and, what with Applebloom and Granny both bein’ settled in early for the night, the cowgirl had been plannin’ on a nice long hot bath, maybe an hour or so of workin’ on her writings, then an early night under soft clean sheets.

Instead she was out here in the cold and wet and dark, traipsing across one of Sweet Apple Acres fallow fields towards an old disused barn.

Turning her head to check behind her she could just make out a cowering butter yellow pegasus at her heels in the dim light cast by the firefly lantern the farm pony held in her teeth.

“’Shy darlin’, You sure it was this barn your critters saw them suspicious folk in?” AJ asked of her shivering friend.

Fluttershy said nothing, her attention darting back and forth between the myriad of noises coming from the nearby tree line and the wavering shadows cast all around the two ponies by the single feeble lantern.

Poking out from the pegasus’ mane stood Angel Bunny, a small stick clasped in his front paws like a club. The combination of furious squeaking and frantic nodding of the rabbit’s head told AJ they were on the right track.

“Well if ya say so.” The cowpony resumed her trek through the night, her companions pushed up so close against her flank she may as well have been carrying them.

As they neared the barn in question, a dim light could just be made seeping through the cracks in the structure’s ancient wooden construction. Getting closer still they could just about hear movement and at least two male voices comin’ from within.

“Well it looks like yer varmint’s mite a’bin right after all.” AJ passed Fluttershy the lantern before moving to swing open the barn door. “This best not be Snips an' Snails gawkin' over fancy fashion magazines again. Let’s just get this open…”

The pegasus watched as her friend used her considerable earth pony strength to near effortlessly wrestle the old door wide open and, while she was unable to see what was going on inside the barn herself, she could easily see the look of surprise that quickly spread across the farmer’s face.

“What'n tarnation are you two doin’ in here?” The farm pony strode into the barn. “This place ain’t been used since Ah were Applebloom’s age.”

Poking her head around the door Fluttershy could just make out in the dim light from a couple of waning lanterns a pair of stallions sitting on some old crates in the middle of the barn.

Technically one of them wasn’t a stallion, but they were both fully paid up members of the Y-chromosome club so they didn’t really seem to care about the details. This might have had something to do with the decent sized jug of Special Reserve Ice Cider they were passing between themselves.

“Miss Applejack.” The smaller of the two males cried, a large grin spreading across his face, a grin which made his already prominent (to a pony’s eyes anyway) incisor teeth glint in what little light there was. “Good to see you, we were just talking about you.”

The human reached out with the hand that was holding the jug of hooch, obviously offering the newcomer the next shot.

“Evening, Mister Handy.” AJ nodded civilly towards Equestria’s lone human though she made no move to take the proffered jug. Instead she turned her gaze to her older brother who was at this point doing his best to hide his considerable mass behind the smaller male.

“McIntosh Apple, ya mind tellin’ me why you two’re sittin' out here in th' cold, drinkin' our stock and makin' all this here mess?”

AJ swept her hoof to indicate the piles of what could only be described as ‘junk’ liberally scattered around the barn floor. There were piles of what appeared to be large copper containers, huge coils of piping, more glass jars than she could count (which she hated to admit wasn’t as high as her brother could), several old musical instruments as well as boxes packed to the brim with books, flyers and posters.

“We’re checkin’ out all this stuff.” Lero declared happily, taking another sip from the jug before passing it back towards the other stallion, seemingly oblivious to the large draft pony’s attempts to avoid his sister’s scrutiny. “Just look at it all, and check out all these ribbons.”

Grabbing a pile of prize ribbons from atop the crate next to him he held them up to the light. While there were a lot of reds, yellows and whites there was also a large number of first place blue ribbons. “Your dad was awesome, just look at all these blues!”

Realising that there was nothing to fear inside the barn, Fluttershy moved away from the door and stepped into the building proper to get a better look at the ribbons.

Noticing the pegasus’ presence for the first time a rather pinker than normal Lero flashed her a large grin. “Miss Fluttershy! Hello!” He said, maybe a little louder than he meant to.

While the timid pegasus didn’t shy away at the noise as the human was afraid she might, Angel Bunny did use the opportunity to wave his impromptu club in Lero’s direction and state in no uncertain terms quite how unimpressed he was with the evening’s proceedings.

Seeing Fluttershy joining them, Big Mac struggled – swaying the whole time – to his feet, dragging the smaller male with him as he rose. After all, it was only proper for a true gentlecolt to stand when a lady entered the room.

AJ glared at the boys, slightly miffed at the fact that apparently she didn’t count.

Fluttershy lifted a hoof to pat the rampaging rabbit that was raging within her mane, gently soothing the savage beast as she spoke. “Now, now, Angel Bunny. Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll invite you next time there’s some male bonding going on.”

Angel still wasn’t impressed, as the sudden silent treatment, folded arms and turned back demonstrated quite clearly.

“Oh.” Lero’s eyes moved from the silently fuming rabbit the to almost empty jug and back again. “Does he want some? I could put some in a bottle cap or something.”

Fluttershy waved her forehooves in front of her. “Oh no, he doesn’t dri…” Angel however had other ideas and had leapt from her head and was quickly making his way up the human’s trouser leg.

Pushing a forehoof against her face the pegasus let out a resigned sigh. “Ok, just a little though. I don’t want him to have too much. He can be a bit… cranky if he wakes up with a hangover.”

A shudder made its way across her delicate frame as she remembered the last time she’d slipped up and Angel had gotten into her supply of medicinal alcohol. Not only had she had a black eye for a week, her chickens had refused to come out of their coop for three days and at least one of her squirrels still had the occasional flashback.

Oblivious to the undercurrent of the conversation, Lero made his way over to one of the nearby crates, an eager rabbit perched on his shoulder, leaving Big Mac to face his sister alone.

“So, spit it out, boy.” AJ’s expression was about as far as a pony could get from ‘impressed’ as was possible with pony physiology.

“Errr.” Big Mac rubbed his forehooves together. “Well, ya see…”

A sudden crash came from behind him as Lero overstretched himself and toppled over into a crate of equipment, surfacing a moment later triumphantly holding aloft a small jigger. Angel practically snatched the measure from his hand and shot off towards the jug Lero and Big Mac had earlier been sharing.

Momentarily glad of the small distraction, Big Mac was dismayed to realise that his sister’s attention hadn’t left him for a second. Feeling himself turning even redder than usual he tried again.

“Well, what it is, ya see, we were thinkin' we could maybe…” He wasn’t having much luck.

Lero staggered up behind him, clapping a hand on the draft pony’s shoulder. “We’re gunna enter the great Appleosian moonshine run!” he cried. “How great is that?”

If Applejack’s glare had the capability to set ponies on fire, her brother would have been done to a turn and ready to serve in five seconds flat.

“You’re. Gunna. Whut?” She growled, teeth grinding in barely restrained fury the whole time.

“We’re gunna make moonshine!” Lero continued, the copious amount of alcohol running through his system teaming up with his lack of instinctual understanding of pony body language meant that much of AJ’s reaction was lost on him.

“Big Mac was telling me about how Sweet Apple Acres has been trading in apples and apple related goods since before this town ever really existed and then we were looking through all these old books on family history and the settling of Ponyville ‘cos I’m big on history you know, studied it at university and all that, and the we came across all this… stuff... and then were thinking about how great it would be if we could start up a still and make some ‘shine and then enter a Sweet Apple Acres team into the next great ‘shine run and win a bunch of medals like your pa did.”

Lero finally stopped to take a breath which gave Angel the chance to grab his sleeve and start pulling the human towards the rather large and heavy jug that the desperate rabbit had just realised he couldn’t pour by himself.

“NO!” AJ shouted, stamping a hoof to punctuate her point. “No, no, no! Ah’ll not allow it!”

Everyone in the barn turned at the noise to see the cowgirl pushing her face up right into her big brother’s muzzle

“McIntosh Apple, If ya’ll think ah’m about ta let you pair of foals go off ‘shine runnin’ then Ah reckon ya’ll been touched in th' head.”

AJ’s face was almost incandescent with rage at this point and it was all Big Mac could do to keep from crawling behind the nearest crate and raising the white flag. But, as fools are known to rush in where angels fear to tread, Lero (in his rather sizzled state) continued to press the issue.

“Why not?” The human asked as he poured just a tiny amount – much to Fluttershy’s relief – of alcohol into the jigger and passed it to an increasingly anxious rabbit. “From what Big Mac said the moonshine run’s a solid family tradition for the whole Apple clan and you’re one of the few branches of the family that’s not been entering the last decade or so. Seems a shame after your dad won so many ribbons.”

“That’s right.” Big Mac added, his confidence bolstered by Lero’s (ill-advised) stand against the headstrong Apple mare. ”We wouldn’t even be standin’ here if it weren’t ah big part a' Apple family history. If Pa hadn’t caught Ma’s eye at ah runner’s shindig all those years ago they’da never gotten together.”

Fluttershy’s ear’s pricked up at this tidbit of information. In all the years she’d known Applejack, she’d never known the cowpony to ever talk about her parents. All the pegasus and her friends knew was that both Ma and Pa Apple were long since passed away and that no amount of ‘carefully moving the conversation in the right direction’ as Rarity called it could ever get even the tiniest morsel of gossip out of what was surely the most stubborn earth pony in Equestria’s history.

“Excuse me.” Raising her hoof, the usually timid pegasus asked. “If it’s ok, could I ask what moonshine running is?”

Seeing Applejack’s death glare swiftly redirected at her, Fluttershy quickly pulled her hoof back against her body, cowering slightly as she did so.

“That’s if it’s not too much trouble of course. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

Seeing her friend shy away from her, Applejack sighed. She may have been angry at her great galoot of a brother but that was no reason to be terrifying her good friend. Talking about Ma and Pa was a touchy subject up at Sweet Apple Acres but seeing as her (usually) taciturn brother was willing to bring the subject up in company then she figured that maybe it was OK to talk about it today… just a little anyway.

“Th' Great Moonshine Run’s ah earth pony competition held once ah year over'in th' Appleosian mountains.” The cowpony explained. “Ya’see, way back when, before Princess Luna went and got herself banished to th' moon, there was ah lot of earth ponies were right serious about worshippin' her as th' goddess of th' night and they’d hold these big ol' great midnight feasts and festivals in 'er name.“

“On th' night ah th' winter solstice, th' night that th' moon holds th' most power an’ th' sun is at it’s weakest, Princess Luna herself would preside over th' Winter Moon Celebration an' join her subjects in th'… err, carousing that went on.” AJ had to stop for a moment to think of a polite word to skirt around the occasional bouts of debauchery that were rumored to have taken place.

“Well after Princess Luna done got herself banished, Princess Celestia weren’t th' happiest ah ponies an' banned all midnight feasts an' festivals an' especially th' Winter Moon Celebrations. But some earth ponies carried on anyway an' let’s just say that Princess Celestia didn’t like it none an' done told her guards ta hunt down an' break up any nighttime celebrations they could find. They were still using jails back then so a lot’a ah ponies ended up behind bars an' after ah while th' feasts jus' kinda died off.”

“So when Princess Celestia up an' disappeared fer generations on her self-imposed exile an' th' dark ages came about ‘lot of ponies realised that there weren’t nothing ta stop them havin' night feasts again but what with Princess Luna still bein' banished an' probably never comin' back they just kinda, well, died out again jus' as quickly as they'd begun an' that looked to be the end a'that.”

“Errm.” Fluttershy asked, trying to keep Angel from pestering Lero into pouring him another jigger of booze. “So where does the moonshine come into it?”

Applejack thought for a second before she continued. “Well one of things that Princess Luna used ta do at th' Winter Moon Celebrations was to take th' light of th' moon on th' night when it was most powerful and then use her alicorn magic ta compress it into ah hooch so powerful that they say it can knock out ah full grown dragon with ah single mouthful. Seem a lot of ponies thought her ‘moonshine’ was th' best part of th' whole celebrations an' after she’d been banished they’d try an' cook up th' most potent booze they could by themselves an' then bring it along ta their illicit gatherings in her honour.”

“Turned into ah bit of ah competition over th' years ta see who could come up with th' most whiz-bang fake moonshine they manage. Eventually Princess Celestia got wind of what they were up ta so she banned all ‘shine, real an' fake. Legend has it that one particularly stubborn ol’ moonshiner spent amost three weeks bein' pursued across th' Appleosian Mountains by ah whole platoon’a the royal guard. Let’s just say when they finally caught him it weren’t pretty.”

“So anyhow, after the feasts restarted an' faded away ag'in, th' moonshinin’ stayed around an’ turned into this kinda… well, sport really. Been goin’ on fer hundred’s a’ years now. The ‘Running of the Moon Festival’ it used ta be called, earth ponies'd come from all over ta praise the moon an' ta take part in th' runnin'. Lot of stallions used ta use it as ah excuse to get out ah th' fields fer ah while, hang out with other guys an' get crazy drunk.”

“Every year all these teams of runners take their homemade hooch up into th' mountains an' spend ah whole day an' ah night bein' chased from one end ah th' forest ta th’ other by teams’a volunteers pretending t’be guards. Then whatever teams manage ta make it across th' line by noon th' next day without gettin’ captured an' with their jugs still in one piece have their ‘shine judged by a whole bunch of elders an' then one team’s declared th' winner.”

“Really it’s just a excuse fer ah bunch ah stallions to get together, roll around in th' mud an' then finish up with a big ol’ shindig where they all get out ah their minds on ‘shine an' do ah lot of dancin’ an' hollerin’.”

“So is there a lot of this rolling around in the mud then?” Fluttershy asked as the mental images the question was bringing to mind caused a mighty blush to spread across her features. Images of Big Mac, wet mud dripping from his well muscled barrel, his majestic mane plastered against the sinews of his finely crafted neck... No, bad Fluttershy, bad girl.

Applejack was brought out of her explainin’ frame of mind by the glow spreading across her friend’s face… a phenomena she was shocked to see mirrored on her brother’s face. Plus she couldn’t completely persuade herself – try as she might - that Big Mac’s flush was more to do with the amount of alcohol he’d been drinking than the close proximity of the pretty young pegasus that the farmgirl was uncomfortably suspicious that her sibling had a crush on.

“So, ahem, was this how your parents met then? As moonshine runners, first competing against each other as rivals then finding love in each other’s arms?” Fluttershy asked, trying – and failing – to contain her embarrassment at where her traitorous brain had just taken her.

“Ma? A runner?” AJ laughed bitterly. “’Fraid not. Mares ain’t allowed ta be runners, it’s just fer th' boys ta blow off some steam. They all gets t’gether, run around the forest gettin’ all muddy fer’a few days an' then get stoopid drunk. Then they all just come on home an' pretend it never happened fer another year.”

The mention of the mud sent Fluttershy off into her own little world again for a few seconds but she soon shook it off as Applejack continued.

“But Ma, she’d go along anyways ta support her cousins an’ that like ah lot of mares do, took her fiddle wit' her ta do ah bit ah singing at th' party afterward, always perked th' boys right up accordin’ ta Granny it did. ‘Jukebox Jubilee’ they called her, best singer this side ah th' Appleosian mountains Pa always said.”

The scowl that had long ago left AJs face briefly returned. Her mother had been such a great singer that it had left the cowpony somewhat sensitive about her own talent... or lack of it... in that area. No matter what anyone told her, AJ just couldn’t believe that she was actually any good at it, always comparing herself unfavorably to her mother’s unarguably superior talent.

“Anyway, Pa was originally Apple family too. Distant cousins mind, don’t yer go gettin’ no funny ideas now. We’ll have none of that inbred talk ‘round these parts.” AJ gave a smug little nod. “Anyway, every pony knows that kinda stuff’s fer th' unicorns.”

As short snort came from Big Mac, AJ’s head snapped around to take him in with what must have been the fastest reappearing glare of doom in Ponyville history. It seemed the elder Apple sibling still had a long way to go before he could even think of being let off the hook.

“An' you.” She snapped. “Ah don’t know what’s gotten in'ta that head of yours, tryin' ta drag Mister Handy into this harebrained idea ah yours.” A hoof was waved vaguely in Lero’s direction where he was currently playing tug of war over what was left of Big Mac’s Special Reserve with a surprisingly ferocious - and quite intoxicated – rabbit. “Ya know if anythin' happened ta him Rainbow’d toss ya straight off ah cliff. An’ that’s only if Twi didn’t teleport ya off ah one first. An’ ya know what, Ah’d probably help ‘em too. Damn fool.”

A smile quickly spread across the Apple mare’s features, the kind of smile that Big Mac recognised as only ever making an appearance when his sister had outsmarted him, which didn’t happen every often.

“Ya do know that even if Ah did let ya enter, which Ah ain’t, they’re never gunna let ah human be ah runner now don’t ya? If they don’t let mares run then there’s no way he’d even git within ah mile ah th' start line.” AJ leant back and folded her arms (yes, the fore limbs of any four limbed mammal are technically called ‘arms’) turning the smug ‘I got you beat’ grin up to eleven.

A crash came from her left where Lero had suddenly let go of the jug of hotly contested hooch, letting Angel Bunny roll backwards off of the crate to end up into a small pile of fur at Fluttershy’s hooves.

“No, we checked see.” Lero quickly searched through a small pile of books on the floor by his feet before unsteadily wobbling his way over towards AJ.

As the obviously inebriated human collided with two crates, one support beam and Big Mac’s flank before reaching his destination, AJ stage-whispered to her brother.

“How much did he actually have?” She asked as Lero spent a moment flicking pages back and forth to find the section he was looking for.

“Not much.” The draft pony replied, suddenly finding his own hooves to be incredibly interesting.

“Aaaha.“ AJ drawled, looking her brother straight in the eye. “Element'a honesty, remember?”

Big Mac glanced around the barn for a while; probably looking for a way to escape, not that there was anywhere he could actually escape to. “About ah quarter'a th' jug maybe.” He finally mumbled.

“What?!” The base of AJ’s forehoof suddenly found it’s way to her face. “Landsakes, that much’d take out ah pony twice his size. How’s he even still walkin?”

“Ah have no idea.” Big Mac admitted. “He seemed right depressed when we was talkin' earlier. Looks like he got somethin' big on his mind. Got mighty interested all of a sudden when Ah started telling him about how Ponyville came about, said history was something he was good at. So ah brought him down here to show him these books, figured it might take his mind off what was troublin' him.”

“And th' hooch?” The cowgirl asked, her forehoof still pressed against her face.

“Well Ah might’a brought that along to help him loosen up a bit.” Big Mac shrugged. “Seems that whatever’s dun troublin' him needed a bit more liquid forgettin' than Ah thought.“

Lero suddenly thrust the open book under AJ’s nose, a long finger tapping a particular paragraph.

“Found it.” The human proclaimed as AJ started to read. Fluttershy extricated herself from her inebriated rabbit and made her way closer to get a better look.

“See here, the rules clearly say ‘no horns, no wings, no claws, no cooARRGH.” A quick elbow to the ribs from Big Mac swiftly broke Lero’s train of thought. The draft pony might have forgotten to mention that that particular piece of ancient slang was not to uttered in mixed company, especially not in the presence of those of Miss Fluttershy’s gentle disposition.

“So anyway.“ Big Mac took the book from Lero’s grasp, closing it before Fluttershy could read what it said. “He’s not ah unicorn, ah pegasus, ah dragon, ah griffin or ah female so th' rules say he can participate.”

Fluttershy still looked confused. “Did I miss something? Why aren’t mares allowed to compete?” She asked.

It was AJ’s turn to look embarrassed now. “It’s the fourth pro-hib-ition.” She stated. “No horns, wings, claws or…” She leant over and whispered the last part into her friend’s ear.

“Oh my.“ The pegasus stuttered, pushing her hind legs together as she did so. “That’s fairly… definite then.”

Now it was Big Mac’s turn to look smug, though the effect was diminished somewhat when Lero’s legs decided that they’re had enough of this standing-up business and the biped suddenly fell over. Luckily he landed slumped against his fellow stallion’s side and soon found himself propped up back on top of the crate they’d earlier been sitting on.

After making sure that his friend was comfortable, and not going to topple face first to the floor, Big Mac realised he’d have to face the rest of this ‘discussion’ on his own as the copious amounts of booze Lero had ingested had finally got the better of him.

The light snoring was a bit of a giveaway.

Turning to face his sister, the draft pony took a deep breath as he gathered his thoughts.

“Now look, AJ, Ah know ya don’t like th’ idea but Sweet Apple Shine was winnin' awards since before our parents were born an’ it’d be ah real shame if we were jus' ta let it fade away. Lero’s got some real good ideas on brewin' an' distillin' an' th' like and Ah know some ah th' guys around town would be up for th' idea.”

His sister’s glare wasn’t lessening, but then it also wasn’t getting any worse, which Big Mac took as good sign.

“An' if we still need help we can always go ask Uncle Magnum fer advice. He was as much part of th' Sweet Apple Acres team as Pa was.” He added. “Have to make sure Auntie Pearl didn’t find out though.”

“Um.“ Fluttershy raised her hoof again. “Uncle Magnum? As in Rarity’s father? I didn’t think you even knew him.”

Applejack sighed. “Yeah, it’s not exactly public knowledge. Ma an' Rarity’s dad were best friends right th' way from even before they went ta school. Every pony figured they were gunna start ah herd together someday but turned out Uncle Magnum saw Ma as more of ah sister than he did his own sister. When Ma an' Pa got hitched he still spent most ah his time with them, ‘Juke’s boys’ they used ta call them both but then Big Mac finally came along and Magnum started hankerin’ fer foals ah his own. Then he met Auntie Pearl while he was off travelin' one summer an' she asked him ta join her herd an’ after that he an' Ma just kinda floated apart.”

“Oh, that’s so sad.” Fluttershy said. “But why’s it such a secret?”

“Long story.“ The urge to clam up again was hitting AJ pretty hard but as she’d already started she figured she might as well finish. If any pony could be trusted to keep this all to themselves it was Fluttershy. Apart from that Big Mac was here with her and… what was he doing rummaging around in that crate?

Ignoring her fool of a brother for the moment, AJ returned to her story.

“Ya see, Uncle Magnum’s family’s from ‘round these parts, His sister lived in town an' ran Carousel Couture before Rarity took it over and made it into th' fancy-smancy boutique it is now. Magnum had moved up north permanently when his first foal was born, that’d be Rarity by th' way, so they could all be with Pearl’s herd.”

“But soon as he heard Pa had died and Ma was havin' ta work ‘round the farm wit’ her belly gettin' all big account of Applebloom coming along, he upped sticks an' headed straight back here ta' Ponyville. Ah was only ah lil’ pony myself at th' time an' Big Mac here was still in school. We did what we could ta help out but much as Ah hate to say it, we jus' weren’t enough and we really needed his help.”

“He done brought Rarity with him too, seems she hadn’t taken well ta havin' ah lil’ sister suddenly turn up in her life. Ah wish ya’ll coulda’ seen her face when she got off th’ train, must’a been the first time that filly ever saw real mud in her life. Hoo-boy, what ah sight.”

“So Rarity’s not a ponyville native.” Fluttershy asked, hesitant to upset AJ’s flow.

“Nah, gosh no.” AJ rubbed her chin. “Apart from you and Rainbow bein' from Cloudsdale an' Twi from Canterlot, Pinkie’s folks are from over other side ah Rambling Rock Ridge. Ah’m th' only one of th' elements actually born here in Ponyville.”

Rubbing her chin a bit more, AJ suddenly remembered something else that Fluttershy probably didn’t know.

“An' that accent a’ her’s… Faker than ah Flim-Flam brother’s promise. Rare’s been puttin' it on so long now Ah doubt even she knows what she really sounds like no more.”

Big Mac had finally ceased his rummaging and was making his way back to where Fluttershy and his sister were now sitting while holding a framed photo in his mouth. Settling himself on the ground next to them he passed the picture over.

Taking it in her forehooves AJ held it out to her friend could see it. The image showed a much younger Magnum, still recognizable even without his now trademark mustache, seated in a bright orange wagon with a mare and stallion of similar ages.

All three of them were wearing brand new stetsons, the one on the so-far unnamed stallion’s head looking remarkably like a newer and much less battered version of the same hat currently seated on Applejack’s crown.

“That’s Pa Apple.” AJ said, indicating the stallion who looked much like a slightly less burly version of Big Mac, even down to the colouring and the single stalk of wheat hanging out of his mouth. “Name was Pippin Apple or jus' Pee-Aye ta his friends but most folks jus' ended up callin' him Pa, especially after Big Mac here was born.”

Moving her hoof over to indicate the grinning mare sat between the two stallions with a forehoof around each of their necks, AJ continued.

“That’s Jubilee Apple, that’s mah ma.” AJ paused to wipe a forehoof against her eyes. “There’s ain’t ah day goes by Ah don’t think of her. Ah wish Applebloom could’a gotten to know her. Ah jus’ know she’d've loved her jus’ as much as Ah do.”

AJ felt her hat being lifted from her head and her brother’s chin come to rest upon her mane.

“Granny said she died from comp-li-cations durin' childbirth but Ah know th' truth. Ah know she died of ah broken heart.” AJ sniffed as Fluttershy leant in against her side. “When pa died it was like somethin' inside her just broke down an' didn’t work no more.”

Big Mac took a short breath before adding his own thoughts to the pot.

“As her belly got bigger an’ bigger there jus' seemed ta be less an' less ah her left up here.” He tapped his forehoof against his head. “Ah’d head out ta th' fields an' find her jus’ standin' starin' up at th’ sky. Sometimes she’d stand there fer hours, not movin' ah muscle. Eventually Granny sent word ter Uncle Magnum, see if he could come talk t'her. Next thing we knew he was at th’ station wit’ nothin' but his bags an' his daughter.”

AJ gave a short laugh. “Turns out th’ bags weren’t even his, they were Rarity’s. He was makin' ta head half way 'cross Equestria with nothin' but th' shirt on his back, but Rarity took it as ah way ta escape her mother’s herd. She’d had her bags packed fer months jus’ lookin’ for ah chance ta get away. When she heard her father was comin' back here she told her mother she was gunna stay with her aunt an' then jus’ followed her dad ter the station. Don’t think she’s ever been back since.”

The three of them sat looking at the picture in silence for a few moments.

Fluttershy couldn’t help but see an almost uncanny resemblance between her friend and her mother. The face was almost exactly the same, the strong earth pony build that looked like she could buck a tree right out of the ground if she really wanted to, the same simple hairstyle held back with a single hair band. Were it not for the fact that Ma Apple had the same colours as young Applebloom then it would be easy think the picture was of Applejack and her brother rather than of their parents.

“Auntie Pearl didn’t take it very well.” Big Mac noted, breaking the silence.

“Yer can say that again.” Applejack added. “Uncle Magnum pretty much took over runnin' th' farm while Ma got more and more... distant. Eventually Applebloom was born an' Ma passed away an' he made no move ter leave so Pearl came down by train ta give him an ul-ti-matum. Basically he could go back home ta her herd an' help raise Sweetie Belle, or he could stay here fer good. Then she got right back on that train an' left, gave him ah week ta think about it.”

“By th' time he got back ta th' farm Granny had packed his stuff an' told him it was time ta go home.” Big Mac said. “Much as th' Apples appreciated everythin' he’d done fer us, there was no way she’d let him lose his herd over it.”

Applejack turned to take in her brother’s face.

“Ah never heard that.” She said. “Ah thought he’d chosen to go back himself. Not that Ah’d ever blamed him.”

Turning back to the picture she carried on with her tellings.

“Granny had got some of th' other Apples to come stay over an' help out in shifts after he left. Ah’m ashamed to say Ah left myself no much later. Went up to Manehatten to live with pa’s brother an’ his herd fer ah while. Did’n much like it though so came right on back pretty quick like, swore Ah’d never leave again.”

Big Mac took up the tale at this point. “Ah few years later Uncle Magnum’s sister passed away so he an' Auntie Pearl moved back here ta be near Miss Rarity, brought young Sweetie Belle with them. Looks like Pearl knew how much Magnum had missed bein' here an' felt bad that she’d made him choose between them. Then Miss Rarity moved in'ta th' boutique full time an' both families agreed ta not ever speak ah th' whole thing again... especially th' stuff that he an' Pa used to get up to.”

“Why that specifically?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well, th' thing about moonshine runnin' is… Well... Ahh…” Big Mac looked like he was stumbling over what to say next so AJ finished for him.

“Well ya see, it’s kinda illegal.” AJ added.

“Really?” Fluttershy gasped. “As in ‘dragged off to the Royal Court’ illegal?”

“Well… yes and no.“ AJ said, not sounding entirely convinced herself. “Thing is, when Princess Celestia banned ‘shine she made all sorts ah laws ta make it illegal ta own, make, sell… heck, ya probably can’t even look at it without breakin' ah whole bunch ah laws. Then when she came back from her seclusion an' was busy tryin' ta get th' dark ages up an' finished, she never actually got rid ah any of them laws she made. Well th' ‘shiners weren’t gunna stop jus’ ‘cos th' princess was back so they kept on runnin' but kept it on th' down low. Didn’t take th' princess long ta figure out what was goin' on but as she was pretty busy tryin’ ta get th; country back in order she jus; pretended she didn’t know nothin' an' it’s been that way ever since. That’s why ya won’t find it in any stores or anything; what’s made fer th' runnin’s all there is an' it’s about as rare as pegasus scales on th' breeze. You just can’t buy it for love nor money an' it looks like that’s th' way the princess wants it ta stay.”

“Oh.“ Fluttershy said, still looking a tad confused. “So if it’s illegal, but the princess isn’t going to do anything about it, why are you still so set against your brother making some of his own moonshine for the competition?”

“Cos it’s pretty darn dangerous.” AJ reached over and grabbed her brother’s neck as she literally growled out her statement, fixing him with a glare something evil. “Those mountains may have taken mah Pa but Ah’ll be damned ter Tartarus if Ah’m gunna let it get this fool as well.“

She waved her free hoof towards the gently snoring human asleep on the crate behind them. “Or that one neither, it jus’ ain’t worth th' heartache.” Her voice still held a touch of anger, but it also carried a level of worry and hurt. Worry that her brother could end get up gettin’ seriously injured - or worse - and hurt that he’d even think to put himself in such a position without thinking of what it’d do to his family.

A sudden snort from behind them told them that Lero was awake again while the rather lengthy groan that followed told them that his body was not enjoying the side effects of waaaay too much hard liquor one little bit.

After wiping her eyes with a forehoof and passing the picture back to her brother, AJ turned to face the rather bedraggled looking human as he tried - unsuccessfully - to focus on her face.

“OK, Handy, it’s time fer you ta head on home now, Rainbow’s probably worried sick about now an' Ah don’t want th' earache when she finds out what happened ta ya.”

“Really? It’s only... “ Lero looked down Rainbow’s battered old Wonderbolts anklewatch that he’d recently taken to wearing on his wrist. “Ay Carumba! Is that the time?”

“Yes, that is the time.” AJ deadpanned. “Now, Big Mac, you brush him off an' help him home. He ain’t in no fit state ter be wandering th' streets on his own. An’ Ah don’t care if he thinks he can look after himself, Ah don’t want no pony seein' him out on his lonesome an' thinkin' they can take their chances. Ah done seen th' way those Honey sisters have been lookin’ at him recently an’ Ah don’t like it one little bit.”

The farm pony fixed her brother with one last death glare before her features softened.

“Ah’m gunna walk Fluttershy home and then Ah’ll see you back at th’ farm. Ah think we got to be having some words.”

With that she picked up her lantern from where Fluttershy had left it by the barn door and walked purposefully out of the barn. After pausing for just a moment, the pegasus give them both a small bow of the head before picking up a comatose Angel Bunny (still clinging to his empty jigger) in her teeth and hurrying off into the night.

*********************

After a few minutes of watching AJ’s lantern make its way across the dark field towards Fluttershy’s cottage, Lero pulled himself up from his impromptu crate bed and stood up, leaning on his friend for support as he did so.

“I think she likes you.” He said.

“Hmmm.“ was all the response he received.

“Don’t give me that.” Lero continued, trying hard to figure out if he should sit back down again or not. “You should just tell her that you like her. If you carry on with all this waiting and playing coy she’ll never get the message.”

“Hmmm.”

“Yes, I know you’re worried about scaring her off.” Lero wasn’t going to let this one go. “Look, if she likes you back then I don’t think something like your…errr... size is going to be that big a problem.” Big Mac turned his head to look Lero in the eye. “OK, sorry, poor choice of words.“

“Hmmm.”

“And don’t go all strong and silent type on me now, you were positively chatty earlier.” Lero patted the draft pony’s shoulder. “Look man, love finds a way, that’s how it works. Look at me, I’m the only human on the planet and I’ve still managed to find the one for me… Well, two of them actually.”

“Ah guess yer right.“ Big Mac mumbled.

“You know I’m right. And you know that teacher chick digs you so you’re obviously not as big and scary as you think you are.” Lero decided on sitting back down again. It seemed the safest option at the time.

“Maybe. But she is ah earth pony, pegasi are ah lot smaller an'...”

“Dude, stop worrying and ask her out. And don’t start with that ‘it’s not how we do it’ stuff again.” Lero took a few deep breaths and stood back up. “Now come on, Long Dong Silver, that rot-gut of yours sure packs a punch so you might end up having to carry me home.”

Picking up a lantern each, the two stallions slowly made their way to the door, Lero finding it much easier if he just threw an arm around Big Mac’s neck and allowed the quadruped to lead the way.

Closing the barn door behind them, the farm pony started to lead the way towards the path back to town. After a few minutes of walking in comfortable silence, Big Mac finally spoke.

“Thanks, fer not lettin' them know that Ah’d wanted ta talk to ya about mares an' stuff tonight.”

“No problems, man.” Lero grinned. “That’s what friends are for.”

“Well, thanks anyway, Ah appreciate it.” Big Mac stopped walking, waiting the second or two it took for Lero to notice they weren’t moving anymore. ”D’ya want me ta carry you home, y'know, on my back.”

The look that crossed Lero’s face was very much like Big Mac assumed Pinkie Pie would sport if she’d just been told that she’d been made Princess Celestia‘s official cake tester and she was booked to start right this instant.

“Man, I thought you’d never ask.”

And with that Lero clambered onto his friend’s back with all the poise and skill that a human full of enough booze to floor a large donkey could be expected to. Which was badly... very, very badly.

When he was finally in place, clinging onto Big Mac’s neck like his life depended on it, the two made their way slowly back into town.

9: Falling to the Centre by Special Guest Author Archonix.

Falling to the Centre by Special Guest Author Archonix.
Chapter published 4th Jan 2015

*****************

The hills were silent, or nearly so, the only sound that of the grass as it waved and flowed in a light breeze, golden stalks bobbing and swaying to a rhythm all of their own. From hilltop to hilltop the cloudless sky arched, deep and bright and the heady stink of sun-baked loam filled the air, sweet and bitter all at once.

It was a strange place. A touched place, Lyra thought, and wondered where that thought had come from. Yet she'd always found it relaxing in a way that she could never quite define, a way that had called to her heart the first time she'd set hoof in it. That first time had been just a day or two after her arrival in Ponyville, when she'd gone out to visit the place where the human had been discovered. She'd found something there, a small part of whatever she'd sought her entire life.

"Peace."

Lyra's train of thought crashed to a halt as Lero flopped unceremoniously down next to her in the long grass. He plucked at the greenery, idly tearing a few stalks from the ground with his fingers and generally fiddling with the plantlife. Another stalk was jammed firmly between his jaws like he was some hayseed on a break. He grinned at her around it, all scary teeth and good spirits.

"Peace?"

"The feeling I get around here. It's very peaceful."

"That's why I come here," she said, not for the first time wondering just what she'd gotten herself into. Just three dates and a lot of encouragement from Bon Bon, of all ponies, and she'd already moved a few personal items into Lero's place. Mostly books, granted; between them, Lero and Twilight seemed determined to read her entire library before the end of the season. Not that she'd complain about shared interests, but she was worried that either they or she would start to feel rushed at some point.

Lero spat out his grass stalk and set about selecting another fat specimen from near his booted feet.

"I don't think I've been out this way for months. Not since Rainbow Dash..." his voice trailed off in another grin and a shake of his head. He put his hands behind his neck and abruptly fell backwards into the grass. "The strange part is, even back then it was peaceful. I felt good up here. Even with that damn– that crazy forest looming over everything."

He rolled onto his side, propping his head up with one arm whilst the other toyed with the grass once again, leaving Lyra to wonder just how he could fling his body about with such careless abandon.

"So, why are we up here now?"

"I wanted to show you something. All of you." Lyra peered over her shoulder at the distant forms of Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle, the latter trotting up the hill and the former looping through the air around her. A snatch of Rainbow's unmistakable laughter flitted across the meadow.

"Something special, huh?"

"I'd say, more personal," she replied as she turned back to look at their eventual destination. A tree-stuffed thicket, straddling a brook, its trunks leaning haphazardly away from its centre. Lero's gaze followed hers and, beneath a light frown, settled on the tiny clump of trees.

"Not even a hint?"

A lop-sided grin spread on Lyra's face as the others finally crested the hill. Twilight, panting a little from the exertion, flopped down between the pair and let out a heartfelt sigh.

"You'd think," the unicorn gasped, "with all the running I do, I'd- I'd be in better shape. Maybe I'll just- wait here."

Rainbow Dash dropped to the ground on the other side of Lero and tucked her head over his arm. He instinctively wrapped it around to caress her ear while she leered down at her herdmate. "Guess that cupcake you have every morning has nothing to do with it huh? Gotta burn off all that sugar if you want to keep up!"

"I'll have you know, Rainbow Dash, that reading requires a lot of energy. I'm just not built for long-distance travel."

"Everypony knows unicorns are natural sprinters," Lyra put in.

"I thought I was the sprinter in this herd!"

Lyra stuck her tongue out at Rainbow Dash and then leaned forward to tentatively nuzzle Twilight's ear. The other unicorn smiled at the gentle touch and turned her head, brushing her lips against Lyra's for just a moment.

"Oh, I could certainly get used to this."

Rainbow Dash poked Lero's side. "You gonna let her have all the fun, big guy?"

"Twilight, or Lyra?" He laughed at Rainbow's scrunched up frown and playfully tweaked her ear. "Plenty of time for that later, love. Right now I want to find out what sort of big secret we're supposed to be seeing."

"You're really building it up into something more than it is," Lyra replied, still gently nuzzling around Twilight's head and mane. She bared her teeth and let them draw along the unicorn's ear, eliciting a delighted shiver from her herdmate. Lyra pulled herself away from Twilight and stepped over to nuzzle Lero's neck. It was just a shame she couldn't do the same for Rainbow, but the pegasus had made her feelings on the subject abundantly clear.

"I like buildup."

"So I gathered," she whispered, drawing an amused snort from Rainbow Dash. Lyra rolled her eyes. "What, too fast for you, Dash?"

"She doesn't know the meaning of the phrase," Lero replied, idly stroking Rainbow's head and cheek with his free hand. She murmured something under her breath and stuck her tongue out at Lyra as if that would win whatever argument they might have had. For her part Lyra just smiled and drew herself away, pausing just for a moment to press her lips against Lero's mouth. He returned the kiss with just the hint of a smile.

"Well, I'm no stranger to waiting for things," she said, and quickly bounced a few steps away from the trio before turning to look at them again. Of the three only Lero seemed anywhere near alert. Rainbow was leaning against his side, a sleepy grin plastered on her face as he stroked her neck, while Twilight looked as if she'd fallen asleep in the warm sunlight. "Aw, come on! I didn't bring you all this way just so you could take a nap!"

"S'too warm to do stuff," Rainbow retorted. She eyed Twilight for a moment and then rolled onto her back and spread her wings wide. "I think I'm gonna stick with Twilight for a while."

"Fingers?"

The human raised his arm in mock defeat and levered himself upright. "Sure, let's leave these two sleeping beauties alone."

It took only a few moments for his lope to carry Lero down the hill. The pair set off toward the copse at a brisk pace; at least, brisk for Lyra. She'd yet to get used to Lero's long stride, but since he obviously knew where they were going she was content to let him draw ahead a little. It allowed her the opportunity to watch his odd, swaying walk again, the way he flexed and folded and seemed to be always on the verge of falling without ever doing so. The sight was something she hoped she'd never be able to take for granted.

He slowed as they reached the trees and Lyra slowed too, taking a moment to glance over her shoulder at the others. Rainbow Dash and Twilight had rolled together and seemed to be talking about something, and just at that very moment they both turned to look at her. Lyra's face flushed at the knowing look they'd given her. She turned away just as Twilight hauled herself to her hooves and tried to concentrate on Lero instead.

Up close the copse appeared more open than it had from a distance. Tufts of greenish grass surrounded it, threading along the brook that ran out and away down the valley. Beyond the outer body of trees a short and wide path lead to a sun-dappled glade. Lyra paused next to Lero and looked up at him.

"You can go in, you know."

"Oh. Sure. It just felt sort of like I should ask permission first." He shrugged, peeking this way and that into the dim light of the trees.

"If it makes you feel better." Lyra pushed past the human and danced into the shade. She turned to face him again. "Come into my parlour."

"Said the spider to the fly."

"Scared I'll have you all tied up, Fingers?"

"Twilight and Rainbow Dash already took care of that one," Lero replied, his expression and voice so sober that Lyra couldn't help laughing. She bounced and cantered further into the glen, leading the human on in a hesitant race to the centre of her domain. His caution faded as he moved inward, the sights and smells working at his mind. He stopped to grasp a low-hanging leaf, rubbing it between finger and thumb, a contented smile creeping to his lips. "You're right, this is a nice place. How did you find it?"

"I have no idea. I could go all mystic and say I was drawn to its indefinable peace and tranquillity, but the truth is I just ended up here one day. It was hot and the shade seemed nice."

"It is much cooler than out there."

"The waterfall," Lyra said, pointing across the glade, where the brook cascaded down the face of a shallow cliff, little more than a scooped-out boulder, and onto a pile of smooth stones. Lero smiled again as he approached the fall, carefully circling the hoof-beaten bare earth of Lyra's 'meditation bowl' – she'd never thought of a better name for it. He leaned a hand against the rock face and stared at the water for a few minutes.

"Nice place for a picnic," he said eventually, turning from the brook. Again he made his way around the bare earth, seemingly reluctant to cross the centre of it, and sat himself at the foot of one of the larger trees. "It's so quiet in here."

He watched her and she watched him across the dell. After some moments of this contemplation he patted the ground next to his tree and smiled invitingly. There was a gleam in his eye that Lyra hadn't seen before. She trotted across and sat down next to him, carefully leaning her chin across his shoulder.

"It's not quiet at all. Not really," she said, keeping her voice low. "The trees bend and their leaves shake in the wind. The river flows. There's always something happening, though I've yet to hear an insect or a bird. They seem to stay outside." Lyra closed her eyes and breathed deeply, relishing the scent of Lero's body. After a moment his arm slipped up around her shoulders, his widespread fingers infiltrating her mane and rubbing at her scalp just shy of her horn, skirting close but never quite touching. She could tilt her head just a little... Lyra bit her lip and forced herself to keep talking. "I can't meditate in absolute silence. It's not natural."

"Oh you meditate up here?"

"Mmhmm. Every few days I come up for a nice stretch, balance out the old hapsis points. I've been a little lax about it the last week or so. For some reason."

Lero grinned and tweaked her ear. "Well I'm sorry if I've been taking up so much of your time."

"I think it's worth it. Oh, hey, you want a demo?"

"You want to show me how you meditate?"

"Sure!" Lyra shrugged off Lero's arm and bounced away from the tree with a quick kick of her legs. Nervous energy and excitement mingled in her until she found herself bouncing up and down on the spot; she suppressed the feeling with an awkward grin. "So, you wanna?"

"Isn't it a sort of private thing? I wouldn't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

"Personal," Lyra replied. She stretched out her back legs one after the other and moved toward the edge of her bowl – she'd definitely have to think of a better name for it now. "Intimate, even."

"I like the sound of that." Lero cocked a grin. "I'd been meaning to ask about this sort of thing anyway. What's usually involved?"

"Given the name, a surprising amount of movement," Lyra replied, with another grin over her shoulder. She took her first stance, spreading her forelegs and lowering her head level with her shoulders. "The goal is to reach a point of absolute mental and physical stillness, or so say the ancient texts."

A simple sideways step gained a surprisingly appreciative noise from Lero. She raised one hindleg, moved it around in a circle and carefully planted it on the ground.

"In reality it's all designed to free up the flow of a unicorn's magic by aligning her hapsis."

"You mentioned that before," Lero said in that tone of voice Lyra had quickly come to recognise as 'aroused academic'. She considered wiggling her rear at him, but decided it would probably ruin the mood. Not to mention her stance.

"The hapsis is the great arc of energy in the unicorn body that we imagine as a series of points on the spine and limbs. Incorrect alignment brought about by everyday movement..." she lifted her right foreleg and walked her rear legs around to the left, slowly turning her front to follow. "Interrupts the flow of magic."

"So all of this is meant to align these hapsis things and make you stronger?"

Lyra's hoof thudded into the dirt. She raised the other and reversed the movement. "Strength is illusory when you lack unity and balance."

"Uh-huh."

"I know, it sounds all kinds of mystic mumbo-jumbo when you hear it like that." Lyra paused in her motions and turned to look at Lero again. Judging by his appraising stare, any latent discomfort he might have felt for being attracted to another species was a distant memory. She felt her tail twitch and quickly fought to suppress it, but just as quickly found herself wondering why. The position she was in he was bound to have seen even the slightest motion; even if he hadn't she wasn't able to turn away without ruining the exercise.

"You okay Lyra?"

"Just... thinking of a way to explain myself." She continued her motions around the pit, but her heart wasn't really in them now. Not that Lero seemed to mind. "Okay, it works like this. You have a pool inside you, like water. That's your magical strength. The way it gets out is through your hapsis, which is like a series of tubes."

She paused as Lero chuckled and turned to look at him again. The human shook his head and waved her off.

"Ignore me, old joke from home."

"Okay... well the analogy isn't brilliant but it works for now. So, if you want to exercise your magic you have to move it through the points of your hapsis." Lyra lifted her forehoof in a long arc, keeping the toe extended for the entire motion and ignoring the twang of tendons in her foreleg. She really need to do this more often. "Through careful exercise of these stances each point can be aligned so that, to extend the analogy, all the tubes are pointing in the same direction and the most water can flow with the least effort. There's more after that about controlling the flow of individual tubes and so on but you'd end up talking about valves and pipework and it all gets really silly."

"Best call a plumber," Lero replied with another quiet chuckle, likely remembering the repairs he'd made to Bon Bon's pipework.

"The point of all that," Lyra continued, swapping forelegs in what she hoped was a smooth and graceful hop, "is to allow a unicorn more control over her abilities. Most unicorns understand this at some instinctive level but only those who practice the Still Way are consciously aware of how to manipulate it."

"And if you can't manipulate it?"

"Imagine those tubes again. A unicorn in her everyday life will be constantly twisting and moving her hapsis out of line with itself. It's just how life works, but the result is that those metaphorical tubes end up tangled and twisted around one another, making it harder for a unicorn to push her magic through them. So much of her power is wasted just forcing her magic out of her horn." She paused in her motion as she sought for an example. Of course there could only be one. "I mean, look at Twilight. She's got so much raw power in her that she can usually overcome any blockages, but even she sometimes breaks a sweat performing very simple magic."

"And you?"

Lyra stopped and lowered her head. She took a breath, held it and let it out again, then grinned at Lero. "Weak as a foal. I've never been a strong mage. That actually gave me an advantage over a lot of unicorns because I wasn't relying on innate strength to overcome my other weaknesses."

"I've seen you use your magic a few times, you're hardly weak."

"I'm not nearly as strong as I appear, especially compared to a pony like Twilight. On the other hand..." Lyra closed her eyes and spread her forelegs just a fraction before she spoke again. Her voice lowered close to a whisper. "She can't do this."

Lyra's horn flashed with a brief glow of her aura and there was a soft, almost organic sound around Lero's clothing. When he looked down, every button on his shirt was undone. He hummed appreciatively and fingered the open hem.

"Okay, that's creepy but impressive."

"There's a lot more I can do, too," she said, advancing slowly toward Lero, keeping her head low. Another barely-visible flash of her magic pulled his shirt back, revealing his chest and for a moment she faltered at the sight of his mostly bare skin. Snorting at her own timidity, Lyra pushed forward, pressing her head against Lero's neck and nibbling at his ear. His arm reached up and around her back, his fingers working into the locks of her mane and sending a brief hot shiver down her spine.

"Lyra..."

"They'll be here when they need to be," she whispered, closing her eyes and pressing herself still closer. Lero's body tensed beneath her. Too fast. "You know what?"

"W-what?"

Lyra reluctantly pulled away, her lips lingering on his neck for just a moment longer. She glanced over her shoulder at the river. "I could use a shower."

Without waiting for a response, Lyra bounced away from their comfortable spot beneath the tree and cantered toward the waterfall, pausing to look back when she reached the water's edge. Lero was watching her carefully, a confused smile tugging at his lips.

"Never had a dip in the river before?" She dabbled her hoof into the stream and splashed a little water about. Lero didn't reply, but instead paced the short distance between them until he was level with the edge of the water. He folded his arms and looked down at the water.

"Looks cold."

"When you get hot you need a little cooling off."

"Oh you think I'm hot, do you?" Lero pulled off his shirt and tossed it to one side, then sat down to pull off his shoes. He paused then, tilting his head. "Are you okay?"

"Splashy splashy first, introspection later."

"If you say so."

He was down to his underwear now and seemed reluctant to go further, but Lyra didn't mind. She'd yet to have a chance to really appreciate the human's form without his clothing - even the tight clothing he wore to work kept so much of it hidden. She'd coaxed a general overview out of Twilight and a more entertainingly detailed description from Rainbow Dash, but seeing his flesh in itself was very different.

Far more pleasing, she decided.

Lyra took a step back and then plunged forward into the shallow pool beneath the waterfall, whooping with the shock of the cool water against her flesh before settling herself into a shallow spot on the back of a large rock. Lying on her belly the water came up to just below her shoulder, leaving her back dry and warm in the sun. Lero followed a moment later, wading into centre of the pool up to his knees. He turned around once or twice and then carefully sat down.

"I guess it must catch a lot of sun, it's not as cold as I thought it would be," he mused, splashing his arms back and forth through the water. Lero eyed the little waterfall again, then lunged toward the torrent and thrust his head under it with a shuddering yelp. Just as quickly he pulled back and fell backwards, landing on his rump in the shallows. "Oh I spoke too soon!"

Laughter filled the glade as they fell together in the water, splashing about until both had worked off the chill. Lero settled back against a sun-warmed rock and sighed, while Lyra returned to her own shallow spot and settled on her belly. The sun shone down on them through a small break in the trees above, dappling the surface of the pool and warming their skin.

"You do this a lot?"

"First time ever," Lyra replied. "I don't know why I never thought of it before."

"Perhaps you just didn't have the right incentive," Lero replied, glancing over her head. His face brightened and he lifted his hand to wave. "Hello, ladies! Care to join us?"

Lyra turned to watch as Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle wandered into the clearing, both also carefully avoiding the beaten earth of her meditation bowl. This herd she'd found herself in had some odd ways of thinking alike, she decided.

A brief look of panic flashed across Twilight's face when she saw Lero in the water, but it passed almost as soon as it appeared. She turned to Rainbow Dash, grinning. "This doesn't count, surely?"

Rainbow Dash snorted. "I said he'd get her wet by the time we got there, I didn't say how."

"You need to be more careful with your language," Twilight replied as she wandered past and into the pool, tail swishing jauntily and just happening to flash in Rainbow's face. She splashed around behind Lyra and settled down into the water with a contented sigh. "What a wonderful idea. I should do this sort of thing more often."

"Maybe we should get Rarity to try it," Lyra said, nuzzling at Twilight's neck.

"As if she'd want to bathe in river water," Rainbow replied with another snort. "It'd need, like, a hundred kinds of herbs and things before she'd even go near it!"

The pegasus crawled down to the edge of the water and dipped a cautious hoof into it.

"Kinda cold, too."

"I thought you didn't feel the cold," Lero countered. Rainbow stuck her tongue at at him and then recoiled, laughing, as Lero splashed water over her head.

"It is so on," she growled.

"Worried I'll mess up your mane, Dash?"

"No way!" Rainbow Dash bounded into the middle of the pool and with a single, powerful thrust of her wings sent a cascade of water over the trio. Twilight took a gasping breath and shrieked her shock at the pegasus while Lyra just lay where she was, giggling as the water ran down her back and neck.

Lero tilted his head and cocked an eyebrow at Rainbow. "You sure you want to play this game, love?"

"Any time, any place big guy."

"You are such a cliché," Lero countered, lunging toward the pegasus. He swept his arms in a broad circle through the water, lifting two great shimmering waves into the air and right over Rainbow's body. The water cascaded across withers and she gasped, shuddering as the unexpected cold hit her.

The fight was on. There were no sides, no real goal as three ponies and their human flailed and splashed around the pool. Rainbow managed to land another strike with her wings, sending a wave that all but knocked Lyra from her perch in the shallows but she was quickly countered by a barrage of spray from Twilight and a flying tackle from Lero that flipped her onto her back. The human wagged a finger back and forth in front of her face and stuck his tongue out at her, then stole a quick kiss.

He was smiling as he turned away but something about the way he moved caught in Lyra's mind. His eyes locked onto hers and suddenly the game, Lero and everything else was gone, replaced with the chilling gaze of the predator. Lyra felt her gut plunge as his all-encompassing arms twitched away from Rainbow and his body slowly uncoiled.

The moment ended, leaving Lyra panting with confusion and terror and excitement all at once. Lero's eyes twinkled beneath the slightest of amused frowns as if he knew what had just gone through her mind, but anything he might have had to say about it was drowned in the ball of water that broke across his face.

Twilight splashed across the shallows, a half dozen globes of water orbiting her head like so many crystal balls. She stuck her tongue between her teeth as she contemplated the pair. A malicious grin spread across her face and she glanced at Lyra with triumphant glee.

"Think we can take them?"

In answer Lyra brought forth her own collection of watery weapons. She dropped a casual wink toward Twilight before turning her attention to the still-entangled pair at the far side of the water.

"What is it with you unicorns," Rainbow grumbled as she slunk around the edge of the pool. Her wings were dripping wet and hung heavily at her side and her mane was plastered to her face. "Always ganging up on everypony like you own the place."

"Gotta pick the winning–" was all Twilight managed before a well-aimed ball of water crashed into her snout. She could only stare in mock horror at Lyra, who whistled and looked the other way as another three orbs circled her head.

Rainbow's triumphant cheer was cut short by another volley from Lyra. The fight resumed in earnest, all four combatants crashing toward the centre of the pool as they fought for supremacy. Though their magic might have appeared to grant the two unicorns an advantage it was more than offset by the concentration required to maintain their arsenals. Lyra soon found herself abandoning the floating orbs and resorting to casting an ephemeral scoop through the water, mimicking Lero's broad hands and replacing precision with overwhelming volume.

Despite her strength it was Twilight who bowed out first, the unicorn declaring herself exhausted and needing a place to dry out as she flopped onto a broad, sun-soaked stone on the far side of the pool. Lyra could almost feel Lero's knowing grin at the back of her head as the trio resumed their combat, as water flew and shouts echoed around the quiet glen. Soon after it was Rainbow's turn to retreat to the sidelines. Snickering to herself, she took a moment to pause beside Twilight and thoroughly shake out her wings, leaving the poor unicorn soaked and gasping in shock as Rainbow bounced away to a safe spot in another part of the glade. She shook her wings again and started to preen, occasionally running a foreleg across her feathers to smooth them out, but never quite taking her eyes from the pool.

"Just you and me now, fingers," Lyra panted.

Her human – for there was really no other way to look at him now – merely smiled and flopped back into the water on the far side of the pool. He seemed strangely at home there, soaking in the shallows with his arms floating at his sides, almost as if he were meant to be in the water. It was something she'd have to ask Twilight about one day.

She kicked at the water's surface and grinned. "So you're admitting defeat?"

"Oh I'm bushed," Lero replied. He raised his hands behind his head before leaning back against the impromptu cushion they formed. "I yield to the great and undefeated champion."

"Yes!" Lyra bounced on the spot. "Queen of the rock pool!"

With a triumphant grin she turned toward Twilight, but all the other unicorn had for her was a knowing smirk. Lyra had seen that smile once before, when Twilight had been about to win a game of cards and she was just about to observe that her new lover had a terrible poker face when she felt the hands that came to rest on her hips.

"Or perhaps I just made a tactical retreat," Lero's voice said close to her ear. Lyra's heart thudded violently as she realised her mistake. The warmth of his breath on her ear was a pleasant change, and the heat of his body, so achingly close to her own, put the thought into Lyra's head that maybe, just maybe there was no way to lose the game they played.

"So now waahoooo–!"

She flew. Lero's hands tugged and lifted her, flipping Lyra's body onto its back and she instinctively tucked her forelegs to her chest just as she plunged into the pond. Leverage. A vague memory of elementary physics popped into her head: give me a lever large enough and I can move the world. With just a tweak of his arms, with his body as a fulcrum, he could move her without even seeming to try.

But it took two to tussle. She cast a rope of magic about his shoulders, pulling Lero's body down toward her own while another flash of power bounced them both through a glittering crest of water toward a nice soft spot on the bank. He landed atop her with a grunt and this time she didn't hesitate, nosing greedily about his face, wordlessly voicing her desire until her lips found his. He didn't resist as she pulled him closer and pressed as much of herself against his form as was physically possible.

And then things started to get a little warmer and a little louder, especially when Twilight joined in. But that was good, she liked to hear a pony enjoying herself.

Though some earplugs might come in useful in future, Lyra decided.

And in the meantime she might see about getting a little more time with just herself and those hands.

Some time later found the four sprawled comfortably in the long grass just beyond the copse, basking in the warm sun and enjoying the heat of their snug little pile. Lero's arms were wrapped around all three mares, encompassing them in a world-spanning hug. His hand rested on the side of Lyra's face; her head was pressed against Twilight's neck. Not even Rainbow's quiet snoring could ruin the moment.

All around, the hills were silent.

Author's Note

TQM: I've always been a big fan of what Arch' does with Lyra, and I'm really pleased that he's agreed for this chapter to be dropped into XFT. Please, go give the man some love.

18: You and me we can light up the sky - Part One.

You and me we can light up the sky - Part One.
Chapter published 14th May 2013

****************************

Deep within the walls of Canterlot Castle’s tallest tower, Princess Celestia slowly - almost reluctantly - made her way up the ornate spiral staircase that led to the very top of the lofty structure. Her destination: The Royal Observatory.

Not long beforehoof she had received word that her sister, Princess Luna, co-regent of the nation and ruler of the night, had asked to meet her there. While no set time for their rendezvous had been given, the formal nature of the request - an ornately hoof-crafted note on ancient parchment bearing the royal seal carried to her upon a silver platter by a single royal guard - had prompted Celestia to immediately dismiss what little had remained of the day court in order to head directly to her sister’s side.

The sisters had met at the Royal Observatory a great number of times in the years since Luna’s return, often making a point of being there together twice daily at what they jovially called their ‘shift change’, though today’s meeting was not something she was looking forward to.

Over the past few weeks her sister had been distant, troubled… depressed even. Some might say that she had not seemed so down for over a thousand years; but then no pony who knew her before her banishment was still alive to make the observance, no pony save for her sister and this recent development was a thought that the princess of the sun was doing her best to push back down into her own troubled heart.

But today Luna had called for her, and when called by her sibling, Celestia would be there. They were sisters after all and at the end of the day, each other was all they really had.

Finally reaching the top of the great spiral staircase, the solar princess found the grand double doors closed, though not locked. Hesitating for just a moment, she prepared to extend her magic to push open the doors so she could step inside. But for some reason she stopped, a small voice at the back of her mind asking her to wait. A recent memory - recent for somepony of her great age anyway - worked its way to the forefront of her consciousness; a memory of the very first time she had ever traversed these very stairs in order to find her sister.

Memories she would just as soon forget.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Canterlot Palace - Royal Observatory

June 24th, 1212 Anno Celesti
Three days after the defeat of Nightmare Moon and return of Princess Luna.

Standing at the top of the stairs that lead to the royal observatory, Princess Celestia took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before gently extending her magic outwards to push open the grand double doors before her.

Taking a tentative step inside, Celestia felt her heart lift as she spotted her younger sister across the room, standing on the balcony on the outside of the observatory, the younger alicorn’s attention focused outwards towards the glorious evening sky. After spending a thousand years apart, Celestia now found herself becoming increasingly anxious these last few days whenever she did not know exactly where her sibling was but now that her sibling was back within her sight she could feel the knot in her stomach (that she hadn't even realised was there) relaxing.

Princess Luna still sported her smaller appearance just as she had when she was first released from Nightmare Moon’s corruption just days before, much as she had during her ‘teenage’ years all those millennia ago. Her light blue mane lay across her shoulders, her coat a just slightly darker shade of blue that was still much, much lighter than the midnight cerulean of her full adult form. Her mane and tail contained no stars, having yet to regain their beautiful ethereal forms, though they would surely return with time.

Making her way across the main room of what - until just recently - had been almost exclusively the domain of her latest student, Celestia was careful to move as silently as she could, something her subjects were always surprised that a pony of her size could pull off so shockingly well. There was no fooling her sister though.

“Hail thee well, sister of mine.” Luna said quietly, keeping her attention devoted to the sky as she spoke.

“Hello Luna.“ Celestia stopped just short of the door the balcony. “How are you tonight?”

Luna seemed to pause for thought before glancing over her shoulder at her sister.

“One is in fine fettle this eve. Though we are sure that this comes as no surprise.”

Luna turned her attention back to the stars, the edges of her mane and tail occasionally ruffled by the evening breeze..

“One has the most distinct impression that we are under almost constant observance, a situation that, were we to be blunt, is swiftly becoming most vexing.” Luna’s tone spoke of mild irritation, as one would grouse at an overprotective sibling, which in this case was not a hundred miles from the truth.

“Oh.” Celestia bowed her head at her sister’s comment. “Sorry.“

Celestia had instructed both her royal guard and castle staff to keep a surreptitious – and she had stressed the ‘surreptitious’ part quite strongly – watch on her sister during the first few weeks of her return. She had told them, and herself, that it was just a precaution (and there was nothing to worry about) as well as to make sure that anything and everything that could be done to help Luna reintegrate into modern society was being handled quickly and efficiently.

In reality it was more that Celestia just could not stand the thought of letting her sister out of her sight again after all these years.

“There is no need for apologies, my sister. One is essentially an unknown variable brought within your castle at this time. Your diligence is prudent and we would have done the same in your place.” Luna’s tone lightened. “We accept that we have been... gone for some time. There is much to learn about this brave new world now spread before us.”

Luna swept a hoof across the vista spread before them, taking in the panoramic view stretching from the Smokey Mountains, across the Everfree Forest and on over towards the distant city of Baltimare. Her hoof fell as she cast her mind back to some of the changes she had already discovered in the scant few days since her return.

“We were saddened to observe what has become of our old home. The years have not been kind to it, its majesty now much diminished, walls toppled by centuries of encroachment on the part of the Everfree forest. One almost did not recognise it at first observance.”

She turned in place on the balcony to take in the full glory of Canterlot Castle.

“But we are gladdened to see that this mighty new castle of yours has the finest of rooms solely devoted to my heavens.”

Celestia thought it might not be the best idea to admit to her sister right now that the royal observatory had been sealed off for the last few hundred years. It had taken a lot of convincing on the part of the most recent of Celestia’s faithful students for the solar monarch (now diarch, it would be hard to get used to the idea again after all this time) to restore and reopen it.

Even after its grand re-opening, Twilight Sparkle was one of the few that used the room, spending on-the-whole way too much of her youth cooped up in here alone, as the cramped kitchenette and small camping bed pressed up against one wall could attest to. Even the princess of the day rarely came up here, and then only when invited, instead content to let Twilight have her own private place somewhere in the castle that she could claim as her own.

Glancing around the large room, Celestia took note of the sheer number of pictures and diagrams pinned to its walls, the piles of books and star-charts spread all over every available surface. The room’s previous occupant had certainly left her mark all over the place.

Letting herself reflect in the happy memories the observatory held for a moment, the solar princess turned back to her sister.

“You wished to see me, dear Luna?” Celestia asked. “But why all the way up here particularly?”

Luna looked away, fidgeting nervously as she responded, uncharacteristically hesitant as she did so. Her natural nature around those ponies she was comfortable with could best be described as ‘bombastic’ but since her return she had been anything but.

“We find it brings back memories of the war room in the old castle. It makes one feel… calm.”

Casting her eyes back though the balcony doors and into the surprisingly large room, Luna’s gaze lifted towards the ornately painted ceiling, where for hundreds of years an artificial starscape had graced the elderly and time-worn plaster.

“And one likes the decor, we find it nostalgic.”

Celestia had to smile at Luna’s wistful expression. Her sister could be so adorable when she was embarrassed. By the creator, she’d missed moments like this.

Luna turned her attention back to the slowly setting sun, the flaming globe already beginning to dip below the horizon.

“The evening breeze is most enjoyable. It has been so long since we have felt its like against our face.”

Celestia felt a sudden sense of guilt seep over her. For a thousand years Luna had been without breeze, without company, without food or drink. While ‘true’ immortal alicorns needed none of these to survive, the toll of a thousand years alone without conversation or distraction would surely have done untold amounts of damage to her sister’s psyche.

Looking back over her shoulder to find her older sibling lost in her thoughts, Luna motioned with a single wing for her sister to come out onto the balcony.

“Would thou like to join us?” she asked, indicating a spot at the railing next to her.

When the balcony was originally constructed no living mortal pony remembered that the royal sisters weighed in at quite a bit more than that of the average pony, even more than the greatest (or most corpulent) of stallions had ever managed. Celestia had quietly had the balcony reinforced in the centuries since but she was still somewhat concerned about the detrimental effect the combined mass of two alicorns could have upon its supports. Engaging a small portion of her flight magic in order to negate at least some of her apparent weight she gingerly stepped out onto the deck.

“Are you ready for the moon’s rising?“ Celestia asked as she reached her sister’s side, noting as she did so that there had been a lot less creaking from the structural supports than she’d feared. “It is almost time. You mentioned that you wished to take control of moving her again tonight.”

Luna looked put out, a small pout making its way to her lips.

“One is ashamed to admit that this endeavour has not been going well for us thus far.” A scowl formed over her features as nodded her head toward the eastern horizon where the moon awaited its call to position. “It would appear that she is not speaking to me.”

Luna sighed deeply, the very end of her forelock lifting from her forehead as she did so.

“We were alone together for a millenia. For almost a thousand years she tried to talk us down, to sooth our mind, but we were so consumed by anger and hate that we would not listen to her pleas. Now that we are finally apart she is… one does not know. Perhaps she is angry with us?”

Celestia turned her attention from her sister and followed her gaze to the eastern horizon, where the moon was making absolutely no attempt to answer her sister’s call to come forth.

“I doubt it is anger.” The solar princess reached out her magic towards the moon, feeling the celestial body resist her touch for a brief second before it recognised which sister had come calling, at which point it let down its guard and returned the magical contact.

“She seems more… sad. Maybe a touch disappointed.“ Celestia relaxed, letting her brief connection with the moon fade back into the background.

“Thou may be correct.” Luna admitted, letting loose another sigh “But nether-the-less, our interaction is not progressing smoothly. One fears we may be in need of assistance this night. We are... saddened to say that there is just not enough power in this weakened body of mine to force her to acquiesce to one’s wishes.”

Celestia stepped forward and wrapped a wing over her sibling, pulling them closer as she did so.

“It has been a while, Luna, you don’t have the power you once had right now, but it will come back with time. Let’s rest here a moment. The moon can wait few minutes.”

“That is very true, my sister.” Luna pushed herself up against her sister’s barrel. “Thank you for your kind words.”

The two alicorns spent a few moments in quiet contemplation, both enjoying the simple pleasure of just being in each other’s company again after such a long time. The last time they had stood together like this they had been almost the same size, the princess of the night just a scant few horn-widths shorter than her older sibling.

Eventually Luna broke the silence.

“One noticed the whole time we were gone that thou barely made any attempt to move our stars. Whenever thou tried thou would always end up moving them back a few days later. May we ask why?”

The solar diarch’s spirits dipped, unbidden memories taking her back to the Battle of Moon’s Apex, the final deciding confrontation between Celestia and Nightmare Moon, and the last time the stars had been moved en-masse.

“I found could not bring myself to do it.” Celestia uttered, her words barely more than a whisper. “I just did not have the heart for it.”

Luna looked up at her, her eyes posing a question that her lips had no need to speak out loud.

Celestia looked away, she couldn’t bear to look at her sister as untold memories of their last battle forced their way back into her mind.

“When you were gone the stars were all I had left of you; the you from before the Nightmare I mean.”

Luna rubbed her muzzle against her sister’s chest, as if to reassure her elder sibling with her very presence.

“You always had such a way with the stars, a touch of art that I just couldn’t match.” Celestia continued. “If you remember, I never had your subtlety when it came to placing the stars. My constellations always looked like… well even I did not know what they were meant to be half of the time.“

The sisters shared a small but much appreciated laugh at Celestia’s admittance. It was true, she never had been very good at arranging constellations, or art, or baking, or even subtlety in general, though the centuries since had given her plenty of time to practice. Though by now she had become a master of subtlety, she was still terrible at anything remotely creative.

Together they lapsed into a soothing silence once more and, after a few moments, Luna was again the one to break it.

“Sister, thou have told us that as we regain our strength, so too will we regain our true and illustrious form of years long past.”

“This is true. In time you will again be as you were before.” Celestia stated with confidence, hoping to raise her sister’s flagging spirits.

Luna did not seem to find solace in her sister’s words. “One finds that while there is much to learn about how Equestria has fared in this last millennia, there are also parts of one’s life before our… departure that we are having trouble bringing to mind. Will these memories also return to us?”

“Yes, my sister.” Celestia rubbed her cheek against her sister’s mane. “Over time you will regain all of your memories. They are an intrinsic part of an alicorn’s essence and with one will return the other. “

Luna bowed her head. “Then one is most concerned. While recall of one’s last few years on Equestria is... foggy to say the least, it is painfully obvious that one was not always of sound mind. What if the recovery of our memories bring with them the return of the Nightmare that one so tragically became? What if one once again becomes a danger to our subjects?”

Obvious signs of distress made their way to the lunar diarch’s face as she raised a forehoof to her face.

“The details are lost to me now, but one knows that the blood of many will forever stain our hooves, that entire armies were laid to waste under our orders. This is a situation that must never be allowed to come to pass ever again.”

Celestia pulled her sister closer to her chest, resting her chin upon her younger sibling’s head as she wrapped her mighty white wings tighter around them both like a huge feathery blanket.

“Luna, please believe me, that will not happen.” Celestia held her sister tighter still. “I lost you once before, I will not lose you a second time. I was too self absorbed back then, I let the signs of your discontent slip me by, told myself all too often that it was nothing to worry about, but I promise you that will not happen again.”

“Thank you, my sister.” Luna reluctantly pulled herself away from Celestia’s embrace, pushing a forehoof across her eyes as she did so. “We know we can trust in thee to do what thou must in order to protect our subjects.”

As Luna steeled herself, Celestia pushed a smile to her face, hoping that it would lighten the mood.

“So, perhaps I can fill in some of your missing memories with good news.” She asked. “Are there any gaps in your recollections you would like me to fill in. Some moments of happier times that you can still recall?”

Luna thought for a moment, the gentle evening wind pushing at her mane. Unlike Celestia’s striped mane it currently did not move in the solar winds but instead was affected by much more earthly weather. As Luna regained her powers then her form, mane included, would transcend such mortal concerns and regain its former glory, a mane full of stars and all.

As Luna continued to search her somewhat spotty memory, Celestia was pleasantly surprised to see a solitary tiny star trying its very best to shine from behind her sister’s ear. As she continued to watch, the single star became just the slightest bit brighter.

“Snowdrop!” Luna cried, startling her sister from her ruminations. “Whatever happened to my old student? The last we can remember of her was the day she finally retired as the head of winter weather control. Pray tell, what happened to her after that?”

The solar princess was slightly taken aback. To be honest, this was one of the questions she’d hoped wouldn’t come up for quite a while yet.

“Well, she lived a very, very long and happy life and died surrounded by her family who loved her very much.” Celestia said which, though it was technically the truth, left a lot of details untouched, details that her sister really did not need to hear right now.

Snowdrop had lived a long a happy life, this much was true. As to dying surrounded by her family, this was also true. What Celestia did not want to mention quite yet was that, due to dealing with increasing tensions in the Crystal Empire, Luna had missed her chance to see her much beloved friend in her last few weeks. By the time the royal sisters had returned from the frozen north Snowdrop had long since been buried, earth pony style as she had requested, in the ground where her beloved snowflakes fell.

In some small way Celestia was glad these were moments that her sister was currently spared from being able to recall. But then, the knowledge that the fateful day these memories would eventually return to Luna’s battered and beleaguered mind would be the day she was forced to relive each and every moment, second by tortuous second filled the elder sister with a layer of dread that she dared not admit to a living soul.

But for the solar monar... diarch herself, the memory still loomed large in her mind. The image of her sister beating at the earth around her friend’s grave with her hooves, cursing the creator for making the lives of mortals so fleeting while she was forced to endure their passing generation after generation, was a sight that would stay with the solar princess for the rest of her very long life.

Looking back on it now, with over a thousand years of hindsight to assist her, Celestia often held the uncomfortable feeling that this may well have been the very moment that an embryonic Nightmare Moon first gained a hoof-hold on her sister’s heart. The day that untold years of grief and remorse bound tightly within her sister’s chest had slowly but surely begun its terrible transformation into a force of unimaginable hate and rage.

For centuries now Celestia had tortured herself with the thought that if she had just done something, indeed anything, differently then maybe the whole conflict could have been avoided. Luna wouldn’t have ended up on the moon, Celestia wouldn’t have been alone for all these centuries and Equestria wouldn’t have had to go through some of the darkest times that ponykind could even imagine.

But this kind of thinking could drive a pony crazy. Now that she cast her mind back on the early days of Nightmare Moon, she could see that it certainly was this kind of thinking that had driven her little sister over the edge.

Quickly, Celestia pushed these thoughts away, locking them in a part of her mind where they could remain untouched… for now at least.

A happier thought suddenly popped into Celestia’s head and she blessed the creator for the assistance. Not that she could guarantee that it was her hoofywork, but it was the kind of thing she liked to do from time to time.

“We still have a small stock of her hoof-crafted snowflakes stored in the weather tower.” Celestia motioned to a large spire located on the other side of the castle. “There’s not many left after all this time but she made sure we had as many as she could manage before she passed on.”

Luna turned her head so she could see the tower Celestia was indicating. She felt her heart lift as her eyes took in a stained glass window set into the side of the tower, her old friend’s cutie mark proudly displayed there for the world to see as the day’s last rays of sunlight passed through the glass, projecting its ghostly echo-y image across the nearby buildings.

“When the time comes…” Celestia moved closer to her sister. “Would you like to be the one to use them to signal the beginning of the winter snow fall as I have these past years?”

As Luna pushed herself back against Celestia’s chest, gently nodding her agreement as she moved, the solar diarch could see a second star faintly pulsing in her sister’s mane, this time in the very front of her forelock. Though much weaker than the first, it gave her hope that for her sister’s long road to recovery. Though it would be a long journey, it had now begun. And at this moment she swore to their heavens, her sister would not walk this road alone.

Resting her chin against Luna’s head, Celestia let the moment flow, not wanting to disturb their time together. But time and tide waits for no pony as they say (which, though she’d never tell any pony lest it spoil their worldview, wasn’t actually true) the sun was making it quite plain that its job was done for the day and, as it’s presence was no longer required, it required safely putting away for the night.

“I have a proposition for you, my sister.“ A smile made its way to Celestia’s lips. “If you help me put away the sun, I’ll help you bring out the moon, just for tonight. How does that sound?”

Luna huffed slightly, her breath (which she didn’t actually need to breathe to survive) tickled against her sister’s chest.

“While one sincerely doubts that, after a thousand years of solo operations thou would really require our assistance to set away the sun and bring forth the moon, we find your offer to be… acceptable.”

The princess of the night bowed her head slightly, giving that wonderfully adorkable look that Celestia loved so much, as she nervously added. “And we thank thee.“

Pushing her consciousness forth, Celestia could feel her solar magic meeting and then intertwining with her sister’s lunar magic before reaching out to make contact with the sun. The sun’s own essence twitched slightly at the unfamiliar aura mixed in with that of its mistress but quickly settled as it soon recognised the lunar monarch.

Celestia had been a little concerned that there may have been some lingering animosity felt towards her sister, who admittedly had threatened to permanently banish the sun not so long ago – in celestial terms anyway – but the sun, as a reflection of her mistress, had forgiven Luna long, long ago.

Almost effortlessly the sun responded to their combined call and slid the last little way below the horizon before moving off to its resting place for the night, bringing twilight to the entire planet as it went.

With the sun settled, Celestia refocused her attention towards the moon, letting her sister’s aura move to the forefront of their entwined power as she did so. As their magic came into contact with the moon, Celestia was dismayed to feel the moon buck against them, their call for movement going unheeded.

For a thousand years, Celestia had never had trouble from either the sun or the moon. Well, OK, maybe the moon had given her some small grief for a few months after Luna had first been banished... and maybe there’d been that period following her self imposed exile when neither of them had held the princess in their good books for a few… years.

Plus, if she were to be completely honest, several of the stars had never truly accepted the solar princess as their new mistress and had done everything they could to aid their former ruler in her escape, no matter what form she took.

But either way, this wasn’t the response that Celestia had been hoping for from the moon and she wasn’t going to let it mar her sister’s long awaited return.

As Luna, a sense of dejection flowing freely from her, began to pull her aura back towards herself, Celestia grabbed it within her own and dragged it back towards the moon. Fixing the huge rock with the magical equivalent of a stern and uncompromising stare, Celestia pushed her power around the moon, wrapping it firmly in their combined magic before allowing her own aura to retreat ever so slightly.

Nervousness evident on her sister’s face as well as in her magic, Celestia could feel the moon struggle for a few scant seconds more before it finally gave in and relaxed into Luna’s embrace. As the moon began to move, the solar diarch slowly drew back her aura completely, leaving her sister to guide her previously reticent ward into position all on her own.

Waiting until the glow had fully faded from Luna’s horn, Celestia let a single wing rest across her sister’s back. In this way they stood together in silence for a few moments, the stars gracing the night sky seeming to twinkle extra hard this night to welcome back their one true mistress.

Celestia turned her head to take in western sky, looking for the point of light that corresponded with the star shining quite boldly now from from behind her sister’s ear. Once located, she could see that it was indeed pulsing brightly in the sky, a little stronger, a touch more confident and proud it would seem, than it had for any night in the last millennia.

“Welcome back, Princess Luna, guardian of the night.“ Celestia whispered, confident her sister could hear her.

With her composure cracking, tears made their way down Luna’s face as she buried herself under her big sister’s wing.

“We’re sorry. “ She cried. “We’re so, so sorry.“

Though Luna had spent much time these last few days apologising over and over again, Celestia knew this time was not for her. Instead these heartfelt words were for the moon that the princess of the night felt she had abandoned, the stars she had not shepherded, the night sky she had not governed and the dreams she had not guarded. All this blame she placed squarely on her own shoulders and would undoubtedly do so for a long time yet to come.

Time passed, seconds into minutes (but what does time really matter to the immortal?) as Celestia just held her sister, letting the warmth of their bodies move between their regal forms.

After a time, Luna’s tears - and apologies - ceased and finally a quiet question came from under the pure white alicorn’s wing.

“What ever happened to Snowdrop’s family? Did they fare well under your rule?” Luna asked.

Celestia inwardly grimaced. As always she wanted to tell the truth but, as before, it might need just a touch of prudent tweaking.

“Unfortunately I‘m not sure what became of them. With all that occurred after your… departure, I lost track of them after a decade or so.” Celestia hoped that alone would be enough of an answer.

“How so?” Luna peeked out from under Celestia’s wing, her bloodshot eyes still glimmering with tears.

With her sister looking up at her from under her wing, Celestia couldn’t help but be transported back through the mists of time to the day a young pegasus had first been turned; when she had been so small and gangly, so unaccustomed to the huge horn suddenly attached to her head as well as the overabundance of alicorn power now running through her small body.

Celestia had only been turned for a (relatively) few years herself when it happened and while going from unicorn to alicorn had been enough of a transition - even after all this time flying gracefully still did not come naturally to her - to suddenly find herself as the big sister was, to her eyes at least, an even more daunting change.

The sudden onslaught of memory was so overwhelming that in the few moments it took for her brain to recover, Celestia found she had unwittingly blurted out the absolute, unadulterated truth.

“I’m ashamed to admit that a few years after you were banished I… I lost the plot somewhat.”

The solar princess’s cheeks flushed suddenly as she realised the enormity of what she had just let slip. Luna pushed her way out from under her sister’s wing, turning to face her sibling as she moved..

“Come again?” She asked, her previous state of sorrow suddenly forgotten as an incredulous look gracing her face. If there was ever a royal sister who would have been odds-on favourite to ‘lose the plot’ as it were, never in a million years would it have been Celestia who was the bookies’ favourite.

“I… erm, abdicatedthethroneandspentmostofthenextcenturywanderingtheglobe.“ Celestia admitted, unable to look her sister in the eye as the words tumbled swiftly from her mouth.

“Thou. Didst. WHAT?” Luna pranced around her sister’s body, putting herself soundly back into the taller alicorn’s field of vision as as the Royal Canterlot Voice made a surprise reappearance.

Celestia cringed at the verbal onslaught she knew was to come. If there was one thing Luna had always taken very seriously it was the stance that royalty was absolute, both in the privilege it bestowed as well as the responsibilities and demands it placed on its wielder.

“Thou would abandon our subjects and... leave?”

Verily Luna spat out the words with distaste, making sure she remained directly in her sister’s field of vision as she worked up a rage.

“It took years of corruption from the darkest of magics before we became a threat to our subjects! Had we been in our right mind we would never have forsaken those we are sworn to protect!”

Luna’s ranting was well into mid-to-high-range ‘Royal Canterlot Voice’ levels by this point and the volume showed no signs of coming back down anytime soon.

“Pray tell what exactly caused thou to abandon our throne to only the creator knows what could have swept in and attacked our little ponies?”

Finding herself backed against a wall, Celestia’s ears flattened against her head and even her ethereal mane deflated under her sister’s verbal attack.

“Yes, I’ll admit.” The solar princess found herself shouting back as she quickly cast a sound-deadening spell around the area surrounding the observatory. “In the years following your banishment I did some things I’m not proud of, things that made me a bad queen. I just couldn’t stand the enormity of my actions, the constant reminders of everything I had done, the guilt made me lash out at times.”

Celestia looked up to catch her sister’s eye but all she saw there was an anger she’d not seen since the days of Nightmare Moon, an anger that chilled her to the bone. Ducking her head again she pressed on.

“But, like you, I wasn’t in my right mind. In less than three hundred years we’d taken control of Equestria, we’d barely survived our conflicts with the likes of Discord and King Sombra, we’d lost the Crystal Empire and to top it all I’d lost both of my sisters. I was all that was left... me, me alone. I felt that the time of alicorns was over, that it would be best if we just faded away. So, I left, I gave it all up and I walked away.”

A look of great distaste spread across Luna’s face. Even before her banishment, they had not spoken of their elder sibling in centuries and had honestly expected never to speak of her again.

Withering under her sister’s gaze, Celestia felt her legs give way. Letting her flank slide down the wall, her dock hit the balcony floor hard, the woodwork creaking and complaining in protest.

“I was so scared… so alone.” She cried, tears flowing freely from her eyes. “One sister walked out on me and then I had to banish the other one to the moon, probably forever. How do you think I felt? In the years directly after you were gone I did some things I’m not proud of, I made a lot of mistakes… I wasn’t a very good ruler. After a few years I abandoned my ponies, left them so I could wallow in my grief, hoping to forget. All I wanted was to return to the source, to be reabsorbed as our sister had before me.”

Celestia wiped at her face with a forehoof while Luna just stood incredulous, stunned, flabbergasted even. In the untold years together before her banishment, she’d never seen her sister like this. Even after Terra had abandoned them, Celestia had always been the strong one; so confident, so self-assured. Little had Luna known that much of Celestia’s bravado was just that; a brave face put on just for show, to keep the youngest alicorn from realising just how dire some of the situations they’d found themselves in actually were.

“But our memories are part of our power and our power part of our memories.” Celestia continued through her tears. “As I wandered aimlessly I let my memories slip away, let myself forget and all the while the sun grew ever dimmer while one by one the stars refused to shine. With no alicorns left to bring them forth, the unicorns had to take back guiding the sun and the moon. They tried to keep the government and judicial systems and all the other things that prop up a society working but over time the pegasi lost interest and started to break away and the earth ponies followed not long after.”

Celestia’s words hurried forth, her sister making no move to stop her. Centuries of guilt weighing heavily on both the solar princess’s heart and mind pushed her confession swiftly from her lips.

“Things didn’t go well for Equestria during the years I was gone. The dragons and griffins took advantage of my absence to start raiding the outlying villages, creatures started roaming forth from the wild forests, treaties with other species were left neglected. Without alicorns to remind them that the races could co-exist the pony tribes started to fragment; sister fought against sister, stallions found themselves oppressed, treated as property, hoarded and coveted by desperate herds.“

Celestia again wiped at her face, both her tears and her memories flowing free now like an ancient dam had finally collapsed and the previously restrained torrent was now flowing free.

“All the while I just faded further and further into the background, living out the rest of a mortal life, just another perfectly ordinary unicorn amongst many, having no recollection that plain old Sunny Skies was once one of the great alicorn sisters that the elders still sometimes spoke of in hushed tones when they thought nopony was listening.

“But it came to head almost a hundred years after you had been banished. The dragons launched a lengthy assault on the Everfree castle and destroyed what little was left of the old rule. The unicorns panicked but one young mage claimed she had heard the words of Starswirl the Bearded come to her in a dream, telling her take the unicorns to the safety of the old crystal mines of Canterlot Mountain.

“Once there she claimed he had spoken to her again, telling her to build this castle on top of the mines. She said he had told her that if they built it together then peace would return to Equestria and she spent many years convincing the others to help her. The unicorns started work and soon enlisted the earth ponies, together they convinced the pegasi to help. I was living in what is now the city of Baltimare and by chance I heard what was going on so I travelled over to help.”

Celestia gave a sad laugh. Glancing upwards she found her sister staring at her with an unreadable expression.

“Not that I’d have been able to do much.” The solar princess carried on. “By this time I was quite elderly, my strength faltering, my time left for this world was drawing short. By the time the first few towers were finally finished and the throne room complete I was on my last legs. That’s when She came to me, showed herself to me in our sister’s form, she likes doing that you know. Even now she sometimes comes to me in my dreams. Such bittersweet encounters.”

Trailing off, Celestia just sat and stared at her forehooves for a moment, Luna standing silently next to her, making neither movement nor sound.

“So I thought that my time was up, that the creator had come for me, to carry me off into her embrace. I was right, but not in the way that I thought. Seems I had a choice, I could join her, as our sister had done centuries before, or I could retake my place on the throne. Then she pulled me out of my body and dragged me all over the city to show me everything the ponies were doing to try and bring me back, how much effort and expense and love they were pouring onto the project, the hopes and prayers they were pinning on my return, the dreams they had for the future. I realised then not only who I really was, but everything I’d done, every single way I’d let them down.”

Confidence slowly returned to Celestia’s voice.

“I swore there and then never to abandon my little ponies ever again. I would be the best ruler possible, the ruler that they wanted, that they needed, that they deserved. I would be just and I would be fair and most importantly I would not fail them again.”

Celestia made a move to stand, but soon abandoned the action. She hadn’t found herself sat bare-rumped on the floor for a great many years and seeing as she was down here she might as well stay for a while. There was still more to get off her chest and the floor was as good a place for it as any.

“I’m not saying it was easy. My dereliction of duty had long reaching repercussions. But once the dragons realised I could do them some serious amount damage should I so wish they took the long view and left our subjects alone. The griffins however took a much longer time to come around to peacefully co-existing… to a fashion at least.

“But unfortunately the changelings have completely vanished, though that was to be expected. If we could find them that easily then they wouldn’t be particularly good changelings. Both the flutter ponies and the sea ponies have hardly been seen since my return to power. If it were not for the efforts of a few particularly tenacious hippolologists then they’d have disappeared into the mists of legend completely by now.”

An expression briefly passed over Celestia features that anypony - anypony except her sister that was - would find completely unreadable, the look having not graced the royal features in a very long time. The Lunar princess however recognised it for what it really was, which was mild annoyance.

“There’s one particular scholar who just won’t give it up no matter how much I have tried to derail her work. Eventually I found that occasionally distracting her with some ‘serendipitous discovery’ in far-flung lands or the odd well-turned pegasus tail or two was far more effective.”

For the first time in what had seemed to Celestia like a century, Luna finally spoke. Thankfully the hard edge that had tinged her voice before had mostly gone, to be replaced by more of a quiet resignation. While the lunar princess may be quick to anger, that anger was equally quick to pass, unlike Celestia who could (and indeed did) hold grudges for millennia.

“So you let them disappear into the footnotes of history, as you let us, your own sister, do the same?“ She asked.

The solar princess hung her head. The look on her sister’s face was no longer of anger, but of disappointment, something Celestia found wounded her heart even more than her sister’s angry words.

“Yes, like you did.” She said with heartfelt shame in her words. “And it was as much my doing as it was that of the public at large. I thought it was better for you to fade away. Maybe I had also hoped that even a sliver of my own shame would pass with time. Over the centuries Nightmare Moon became nothing more than old mare’s tale. The word ‘nightmare’ itself came to be primarily associated with bad dreams and naughty young foals were told that if they didn’t behave then Nightmare Moon herself would come down from the night sky to gobble them up in their sleep. I had hoped public recollection of what had really happened to you, to us, would fade away with time.

“I guess to a degree it did, many came to see Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon as separate entities, they believed that the Nightmare had possessed your body and locked you away in your own mind. Others said that she had killed you outright and usurped your throne. I just couldn’t bring myself to tell them that the evil tyrant that scared them so was one and the same mare as the Princess of the Night that they still loved so much.”

A sad little chuckle made its way to Celestia lips as a memory, no, many memories of young foal after young foal came to her mind, each tucked into their respective beds, all waiting patiently for a tall tale of action and adventure to help send them on their way to the land of sweet dreams.

“There’s a lovely little bedtime story for the children that’s all about you, I’ve told it so many times over the years, to so many little colts and fillies, who in turn told it to their own little colts and fillies. It’s about a brave young lunar princess trapped on the moon, where she makes friends with bat-ponies and sea-ponies and changelings and together they defeat the evil filly Nightmare Moon.”

Leaving time for her sister to speak, Celestia was saddened when the silence was met by only more silence. After taking a moment to gather her thoughts she soldiered on.

“Many of the earth ponies still celebrated your traditional feasts long after your banishment and, though I may have gone a little bit overboard stamping them out whilst I was not, erm, in my best frame of mind, elements of the festivities have remained. They still hold a number of sporting festivals in your honour and Nightmare Night is terribly popular with the foals.

“For the longest time after my return I knew all about their secret festivals and the celebrations and what-not but I just didn’t know what to do about them. I was so conflicted, on the one hoof they were such bitter reminder of the wrong that I had done, but on the other there were some small way of keeping the spirit of the Princess of the Night alive in our pony’s hearts. So in the end I just turned a blind eye and left them to it. For centuries now I’ve pretended I don’t know what they’re up to and in turn they pretend that I don’t know what they’re doing. It’s gone quite well for us all so far”

Luna had still not spoken a word and, as her sister's words floated away on the night breeze, she found herself drawn back towards the balcony. Turning her back on her sister she let her chin rest on the railing, her eyes taking in the myriad of stars filling the night sky, all competing for her attention. As she stood silently, lost in her thoughts, a scant few strands of her mane lifted from her neck to gently float around in the ethereal winds.

As she let out a deep sigh, Luna’s mane once again fell against her coat, the few previously errant strands settling back in against their many brothers and sisters. Looking back over her shoulder at her seemingly deflated sibling she spoke softly, her words uncharacteristically soft and gentle.

“We believe it is said that ‘ponies who reside in domiciles constructed of glass would be ill-advised to cast the first projectile’. We were not there for you over the last one thousand years, so it would be churlish of us to tell thee that what thou did in our absence was either right or wrong.”

As a small glimmer of hope spread through her heart, Celestia dared to lift her head to glance towards her sister, only to find the lunar princess was glaring back at her, an expression of great reproach across her face.

“Though we believe thou now know our opinion on the matter.” The scowl fell from Luna’s face, to be replaced with a much more reconciliatory expression. “But we should speak of this no more this night. Our separation has been both long and hard for each of us and we would be ill-advised to squander this precious time so soon after our reunion.”

Making her way back across the balcony, Luna lowered herself to the floor and gently settled herself against her sister's barrel, their sides pressed against each other to share warmth in the rapidly cooling evening air. Lifting a single small wing, the lunar princess let it lay across the much larger alicorn’s back in a light but meaningful embrace.

Letting her primary feathers stroke against Celestia’s spine in a soothing motion - something that between lovers would have been seen as a piece of particularly intimate contact but between these two ancient sisters was more of a familial gesture - Luna turned the conversation to other matters.

“So, tell me.“ She asked, keeping her tone deliberately light. ”Whatever became of this wise unicorn of which you spoke? The one that saved the unicorns from the dragon's attack.”

Shifting her position ever so slightly so the smaller alicorn’s wing could reach further across her back, Celestia closed her eyes and relaxed into her sister’s touch.

“You mean Moonbeam?” She asked, closing her eyes as she let her body relax. “She became my student, my first in this new post-classical era as it is now called. This whole tower was her domain. Many a night she would spend on this balcony just staring at the stars like a pony possessed, which many thought was actually the case. ‘Moonbeam the Messenger’ they called her. She would have many more visions until the day she died, all meticulously written down in sealed journals that she hid all around the castle and its grounds. So many she left us, and so well she hid them, that we’re still finding them even now. After she died I closed the observatory as she requested, just waiting for the right pony to come along.

“She prophesied your return many times throughout her life as well as a large number of other happenings that have all come to fruition. She also spoke of the return of Discord, the crystal empire and many, many other events that have yet to pass, some of which I pray we will never see. She also spoke of the next generation of alicorns who are to follow us.”

Celestia could feel her sister stiffen beside her. The night alicorn had always been somewhat disappointed with the prospect that she would spend the rest of forever as the eternal youngest of the alicorn race.

“Really?” Luna asked, both surprise and excitement tinging her words.

“Yes, one has been turned already, a young pegasus like yourself, by the name of Cadance.” Celestia cracked open a single eye to take in her sister’s face. “It seems the creator has much in store for her in the next few years. But there may well be yet another soon to join us and her you have already met.”

“Who, sister?” Luna asked, unbridled eagerness causing her to push her face closer and closer to that of her sister.

“The previous mistress of this observatory.“ Celestia replied, her heart lifted by the sight of the honest smile making its way across her sister’s face. She hadn’t seen the younger alicorn sibling this excited since... well, it had been a very long time. “I speak of my latest and most favourite student; Twilight Sparkle.”

If it had been possible for Luna’s ears to have stood any more upright at this point they would have done so.

“Twilight Sparkle?” She gasped, the surprise obvious in her voice. “The lavender unicorn that stripped from us our dark corruption? The bearer of the element of magic?”

Celestia nodded. “Yes, she is young and has much to learn but I do believe she is destined to be the next fine pony gifted with alicornhood.”

At this point Luna’s flabber was still well and truly gasted.

“Art thou sure?” She asked. “By the maker, she is but a child. Did you not send her to Ponyville because you were concerned about her lack of maturity?”

The white alicorn nodded again, rubbing her chin against her sister’s head as she did so.

“I agree, my sister. Twilight Sparkle still has much to learn, but then, were we any different when we were first turned? But in this case she has us to guide and advise her and more importantly it will be her choice to make, the choice we were never given. Whether to take this blessing, and this curse, will be something she will have to decide upon for herself.”

“Well then.“ Luna pondered out loud as once more she pushed herself yet closer against her sister’s side. “This time we’ll both be there for her. As thou were there for me.”

The princess of the night tapped her hoof against her chin, momentarily lost in her thoughts before a devious smile began to sneak its way across her features.

“Mayhaps it is finally our turn to be the big sister. We shall have to make plans.” The grin gracing the dark alicorn’s face transformed into something that make mortal mares quiver in their horseshoes, a look that would be all the more fear-inducing if it was taken into account that the rest of Luna’s appearance was still that of an adolescent alicorn. “Yes, yes, there is much to do. Plans, oh yes, plans. Hahahaouch.”

“Now now, Lulu.” Celestia lifted her hoof from her sister’s head, the younger alicorn rubbing at the spot where her elder sibling had given her a playful ‘bop’. “We shall have to wait and see what the fates have in store for my young student.”

Leaning forward, Celestia gently nuzzled against her sister’s (not at all) bruised head.

“But you are right." The princess of the day stated with confidence. " We will be there for her, both of us, together. And I believe that with the two of us by her side, everything is going to be just fine.”

End of part one.

27: Ain't misbehavin', savin' my love for you.

Ain't misbehavin', savin' my love for you.

Chapter published 9th Feb 2013

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Canterlot Palace - Royal Botanical Gardens
Early April 1217 AC
‘round about teatime.

If there was one unarguable truth, one fact that always held true no matter where or when you found yourself in the land of Equestria, it was that the earth pony known as Pinkie Pie hosted the best parties. Today was no less true than ever before. To say that the wedding of Equestria’s only human to his three pony brides had gone off without a hitch would be a… slight untruth. But once the pretty party pony had kicked off her reception banquet, any and all issues, political or personal, had been forgotten. Well, for now at least.

A fabulous feast had been consumed, both wine and song had been enjoyed (except by those underage for the wine), games had been played, dancing had been partaken in and a great time had been had by all.

At an almost deserted table at the outskirts of the dance floor sat fashion designer and businessmare extraordinaire Lady Rarity of Ponyville. She was absent mindedly swirling an almost empty champagne flute in her magic whilst quietly watching the throng of revelers happily singing and dancing in front of her.

As she drained the last of her drink, her eyes wandered around the scene, casually looking for the recently wed foursome. Rainbow and Twilight were dancing in the middle of the crowd, the unicorn’s front hooves waving in the air like that of an over excited filly. Even after all these years, once Twilight got overexcited her dancing would lose any sense of style or rhythm and would descend rapidly into exuberant flailing and bouncing.

The manically gyrating unicorn’s pegasus bondmate was bouncing around in front of her, carefully keeping just out of reach of her wife’s flailing limbs whilst staying close enough to occasionally touch hooves or rub noses when she thought hardly anypony was watching. That the daredevil flyer, who would usually rather be caught dead than make overt displays of affection in public, was willing to do so now showed just how much she was enjoying herself. Rarity felt her heart lift, to see her friends happy like this was simply a joy.

Moving her gaze away from the dance floor, Rarity spotted Lyra and Lero off by the buffet table. The human and his bride were in the midst of being mobbed by the Cutie Mark Crusaders, or just the ‘Crusaders’ as they were now known, the three fillies proudly displaying their cutie marks on their flanks for the world to see.

Luckily the Crusaders had taken off their flower-filly outfits before the post wedding festivities had begun. It was a good thing too, Rarity had singlehoofedly created all three ensembles - as well as the bridal dresses and the tuxedos for the groom and best man - and if there had been a patch of dirt or mud anywhere within a hundred body lengths of the wedding then it would be a foregone conclusion that at least one of the fillies would have managed to find a way into it.

The fashion designer’s eye caught on her sister’s cutie mark and unbidden a slightly envious sigh escaped the older sister’s lips. In Rarity’s considered opinion, Sweetie Belle’s cutie mark was easily one of the most beautiful she had ever seen.

The symbol of her young sister’s very soul was comprised of two main parts, the first being a gorgeous silver bell hanging from a delicate pink ribbon while the second was what looked like an eight pointed star partially hidden behind it. The bell was caught in mid swing, it’s clapper held partway though its upswing while the star was made up of large four pointed light mulberry star with a slightly smaller rose pink star, also four pointed, directly behind it, rotated so that its points were at forty five degrees to the larger star.

Unlike her own cutie mark, whose meaning had been cryptic and had taken her many years to fathom out, Sweetie’s mark was more open in its meaning.

The bell held many meanings such as clarity and truth and that music would play a large part in her life. But more than that it also hinted that Sweetie had a message to bring to the world and that it would be heard far and it would be heard wide.

The star could symbolize a number of things; many a unicorn had some variation of stars somewhere within their cutie mark linked to their inherent magic but the fact that, like Twilight Sparkle, Sweetie Belle had more than just a single star was indicative of great power and that she also had one star behind another pointed towards great skill in its use.

Rarity watched as Applebloom drew herself up onto her back legs in order to rest her forehooves against the human’s stomach, chatting away animatedly the whole time. Luckily the brides and groom had also changed out of their wedding outfits earlier in the day, as dirty hoofmarks were a nightmare to clean.

Puberty would be upon the girls all too soon and within a few short years all three young fillies would be able to stand and reach Lero’s shoulders with their forehooves. The young farm pony was already a horn width or so taller than her friends, a sign that her earth pony heritage would eventually leave her much bigger and stronger than her two best friends.

Not to be left out, young Scootaloo confidently flapped her wings, easily lifting herself up to the level of Lero’s shoulders. In the time since their trip to Whitetail Woods, where Rainbow Dash had first taken her new ‘sister’ under her wing both literally and figuratively, the young pegasus’ flying skill had progressed in leaps and bounds. It seemed that their polychromatic friend could be quite the tutor when she wanted to be; though some of the more ill-advised ‘leaps and bounds’ had been out of tall buildings and off of the edges of cliffs.

Rarity let out another sigh. So young; such promising, exciting marvelous lives still to come.

Casting her mind back to the cold winter’s day at the Carousel Boutique where Lero had played a huge part in Sweetie gaining her marchio dell’anca, a smile made it’s way across Rarity’s face. That a man from a species, no, from an entire world, that did not have cutie marks could be so instrumental in helping all three of the Cutie Mark Crusaders gain theirs. That all three had discovered that their lives would have so much to do with bringing joy to others and that they were shown this by a being that so many ponies had been so fearful of when he first arrived. Oh, what delicious irony.

Letting her gaze wander once more, Rarity took in the dance floor and the large number of couples gathered there. So many ponies, so much happiness to be found in the hooves of another. Would that there was a stallion out there for her. Not that she was worried about ending up an old mare, being as popular as she was kept her terribly busy, but she was the oldest of her little circle of friends and even their youngest, Applejack, now had her very own very special somepony. Even if he could be, as the farm pony herself put it, a bit of a ‘goof’ at times.

The majority of the stallions the fashionista met around Canterlot were either useless fops, hangers on or status grabbers, most of which were either repelled by her recent and rather public spat with Prince Blueblood or attracted to her just for her title alone. If only there were a stallion with honour, with poise and grace. A stallion of manners and morals and the confidence to blaze his own trail rather than being content to just run with the herd. But the only stallion that fit those traits, the only stallion who seemed to like her for being her and that she was interested in was…

“Your drink, my lady” came a cultured but gentle voice from her right. A full champagne flute floated over to her, bobbing a short distance between herself and Fancy Pants, a matching glass also held by his own chest in his magic field.

Rarity carefully took the proffered glass with her own magic and raised it towards him in a toast. Allowing their magic fields to just barely touch, a crystal clear ‘clink’ emanated from the glasses as their edges chimed against each other. After taking a small sip from his glass Fancy Pants took a seat next to the seamstress.

“I apologise for my delay in returning with your beverage, my dear. “ He began. “I was waylaid by the delightful Miss Pie who insisted I sample some of her celebratory muffins. I must say, they were rather good.”

Leaning closer so that he wouldn’t be overheard, not that there was anypony nearby to eavesdrop, Fancy Pants whispered conspiratorially. “Before we leave I really must find out if Miss Pie would sell me the recipe. They’d go down a storm in this lovely little Pâtisserie that I co-own with Donut Joe. You must promise to keep it hush-hush though, Joe does so hate to be associated with anything remotely ‘frou-frou’.“

Satisfied once he’d coaxed a small ladylike giggle from his friend, Fancy Pants settled himself back into his chair to enjoy the rest of the evening.

“I feel I must apologise for some of my friends.” Rarity gestured over to the bandstand where it would appear that a fiddle wielding Applejack had bet the cello player that she would be unable to keep up when it came to a ‘good ol’ fashioned hoedown tune’ as the farm pony insisted on calling it.

Rarity had met Miss Octavia a number of times and if there was one thing that could be said about the earth pony musician – and her rather odd friendship with the blue-maned unicorn mare over in the DJ’s booth – it was that she was incredibly competent and surprisingly well versed in many styles of music.

As the merry song reached its crescendo, cello and fiddle neck and neck, note for note, the two earth pony mares swaying from the sustained effort, the band reached their triumphant final note. Spontaneous applause broke out from the dance floor, the surrounding tables and, if Rarity’s eyes did not deceive her, one of the royal guards who quickly stopped again under the reproachful glare of one of his colleagues.

Rarity turned back to her guest. “Much as I love my friends, they can at times be rather…”

A loud crash came from behind her, it would seem that a rather exhausted Applejack had overextended her bow to the audience and had toppled forward, taking a terribly surprised Miss Octavia into the crowd with her.

“…uncouth.” Rarity finished, trying not to grimace. “Not that I would change them for the world of course.”

Fancy Pants smiled and raised his glass again. “Well I for one find them simply charming and much more entertaining then those stuffed shirts you and I have to deal with every day, are they not? After all, they are just being themselves and living their lives to the fullest and is that not what every good pony should aspire to?”

Lifting her glass and letting it ring against her companion’s once more, Rarity returned the smile.

“Yes, I concede your point, Thank you for being so understanding.”

“Think nothing of it, my dear.” Fancy Pants waved a forehoof in a good-natured dismissal of Rarity’s concerns. “I must thank you again for asking me to be your ‘plus one’ for this little soiree. I must say I’m having a wonderful time.”

Rarity could feel a blush coming to her cheeks, something that she knew her glorious white coat would be unable to hide.

“It was my pleasure, my dear Fancy Pants. Dispite what some of those tittle-tattle tabloids say, I enjoy your company for no other reason then your company itself.”

For the merest of moments a scowl flittered over Fancy Pant’s handsome features before disappearing as quickly as it had arrived. A number of so-called upper class ponies had been extraordinarily mean over Rarity’s recent inclusion into Canterlot’s elite with that useless oaf Prince Blueblood being particularity outspoken on the subject. In fact, he’d also gone so far as to petition the royal court last year in protest over the symbolic titles that Princess Celestia had decreed would be bestowed upon each of the bearers of the elements of harmony.

Pushing the royal pain from his mind, Fancy Pants once again raised his glass.

“And I yours, my lady.”

Up on the bandstand Princess Cadance – she still disliked being referred to as ‘Empress’ – had commandeered a microphone and was leading the crowd in a rendition of the same song that Twilight Sparkle had performed at the Princess’s wedding to Twilight’s brother a few years before. The lyrics had required a small amount of tweaking to cope with the multiple number of brides, but the audience were loving it all the same.

As Rarity and Fancy Pants drank their champagne and enjoyed the festivities, a pair of young mares – one a unicorn and the other an earth pony, both from Twilight’s family the fashionista believed - wandered past their table chatting excitedly. The unicorn of the two was holding Lyra’s wedding bouquet in her magic and it would seem that she was the lucky mare who had caught it when the mint green bride had haphazardly flung it out into the crowd.

Rarity’s right eye twitched ever so slightly. Three bouquets and she hadn’t caught any of them, even when she may have cheated just the tiniest bit by using her magic. Both Rainbow and Twilight’s bouquets seem to have been thrown out with specific targets in their wielders minds, their aim just a little too true for either to have been accidents.

Both Applejack and Princess Luna had needed to react quickly in order not to be hit square in their faces by bunches of flowers traveling at astonishingly high velocities; the princess gracefully catching her bunch in her forehooves while the farm pony had caught the second bunch with her teeth.

As if reading her mind Fancy pants passed comment as the two excited mares passed them by.

“Your friend Rainbow Dash has quite excellent aim. Though I would think that is to be expected from a Wonderbolts trainer.”

Rarity's blush deepened. While Fancy Pants was too much of a gentlecolt to ever mention her previous… itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny lie in public, in private he was never going to let her live it down.

“Though I would not be surprised were she to actually make it as an instructor at the academy one day.” He raised his glass to his mouth to hide an uncharacteristically mischievous smile. “After all, stranger things have happened.”

Rarity nodded, hiding her face behind her own glass. Hopefully her blush would subside soon enough.

Turning to reach behind himself, Fancy Pants brought out a small wooden box and laid it on the table in front of them, a box Rarity recognised as one her companion had left in the safe keeping of a royal guard upon their arrival at the wedding earlier in the day.

“It may not be a bouquet, my dear, but I pray this would suffice.” He said as he opened the box, displaying its contents for all to see.

Nestled in the right-hoof-side of the box and surrounded by a fine blood red silk was a beautiful white flower, its five long petals positively gleaming with the purity their of colour, just their very tips tinted with a vibrant blue.

“An elemental moon lily?” Rarity gasped. Elemental moon lilys were notoriously hard to find and to find one with coloured tips was even rarer, meaning their price was extortionately high.

While Rarity held her forehooves to her face, shocked at the magnitude of the gift, Fancy Pants used his magic to lift the bloom from where it was nestled and held it out to his companion. As she looked from the flower to his face, he turned his head so that she could get a good look behind his right ear for the first time since he had returned with their drinks.

Tucked into the side of his mane was a matching moon lily. No, looking closer she could see that the tips of the gleaming white petals were a darker shade of blue, almost exactly matching the distinct hue her of own mane.

“Oh my.“ Rarity couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “Oh my, oh my. But Fancy Pants, my dear, does this mean what I think it means?”

Fancy Pants just nodded, enjoying the look of outright astonishment on his friend’s face.

“Oh my, how scandalous.” Rarity gave a little laugh as she waved a forehoof in front of her face in order to fan herself. “A stallion to be chasing a mare. How naughty of you. Whatever will they say?”

A wide smile spread across Fancy Pant’s face, a smile he had been trying - and failing miserably - to keep in check for the last couple of minutes. “I prefer to think of it as ‘progressive’, my dear Lady Rarity. Despite the restrictive nature of my station I have always prided myself on being among the most progressive of stallions.”

Struggling for words but finding her mind a blank, Rarity simply turned her head, moving her ear towards the suspended bloom in order to give Fancy Pants better access with which to position the flower in her mane. She could feel his magic levitating the lily into place, gently smoothing down her hair and brushing against her ear as he did so.

Fancy Pants raised a hoof to Rarity’s chin… No, to his mare’s chin.

“If we are to be scandalous, I can think of no finer mare to be scandalous with.” He said, leaning in to quickly nuzzle against her face before pulling away again. Rarity was a lady after all and it would just not do for them to be seen doing anything too improper in public.

Waving a forehoof in front of her face again and doing her best to keep her heart from beating its way out of her chest, Rarity did her best to fight the blush making its way down her neck. This was a dream come true. Her very own prince charming, so thoughtful, so bold, so well mannered… and so devilishly handsome. It was everything she’d ever wanted.

If only…

Rarity hung her head, a lone tear forcing its way from her eye.

“Oh, Fancy. I love you, I really do. But you do know that while I may have the title of ‘Lady’, it is not hereditary. I will never be able to pass it onto my children.” Rarity fought back more tears, tears of shame and doubt. Would he still want her? She might as well get this out now. If it was to be a problem then best to get it over with as soon as possible and lessen the disappointment for both parties. “You must know I am not of good stock. I am no thoroughbred; my father is an earth pony meaning my foals may not be unicorns.”

“And what a fine earth pony he is.” Fancy Pants gently laid a hoof on his mare’s shoulder as she looked up at him in surprise.

“….Eh?” Was all that came from her lips.

“We’ve met, your father and I. If you remember, I was in Ponyville when young Miss Pie created all those clones of herself. I headed back to your boutique a few hours after our meeting to ensure that you were unharmed and once there I happened upon your father. “

This was certainly a surprise. Rarity’s father had never mentioned to her about meeting Fancy Pants. She was sure he would have, this was exactly the kind of thing he would love to tease her about.

“A delightful stallion if ever there was one and a loving father too.” Fancy Pants continued. “He took time out from his afternoon to tell me all about you. It would seem he is very proud of you for taking over his sister’s failing business at such a young age and singlehoofedly making it a great success. Besides, any stallion who can maintain such an impressive moustache is the kind of stallion to which I can relate.”

Moving his hoof from her shoulder to back under her chin, turning her head so she could see his face clearly, Fancy Pants looked deeply into the mare’s eyes.

“My dearest Rarity, when the day finally comes that I should leave this world to make my peace with the great artisan, I do not want to say that such trivialities as title and status held me back from love.”

A smile forced it’s way to the distraught designer’s face as she wiped at her tears with the hem of her dress. A crime against fashion the action may have been but this was an emergency.

“Oh you charmer. You say the sweetest things.”

“I don’t just say them my dear, I mean them.”

With that he leant forward and placed a soft kiss on his mare’s lips. In a situation like this, maybe a little impropriety was called for.

“I’m not at all worried about your pedigree.” He whispered into Rarity’s ear. “After all, Fleur’s grandmother is a Pegasus pony.”

Rarity felt her jaw drop. The ever prim and proper unicorn model? The terribly aloof ‘Madam Haughty’ herself, she was part pegasus? How could this be?

The mention of Fleur brought another issue bubbling to the surface of Rarity’s mind. Fancy Pants already had a herd, and his herd already had a lead mare.

“And what does Fleur think of all this? Would she take kindly to you bringing another mare into your herd?”

Rarity was worried her question could be problematic but the confident look that quickly crossed her suitor’s face put her at ease again.

“My dear, she encouraged it. She may not come across as the friendliest of mares, but it would appear that she’s somewhat taken with you. The moon lily was her idea, she may seem aloof at times but she is really quite sweet once she opens up. My lovely little bundle of nerves is not really the type to be a lead mare and I do believe that she’s hoping you may one day assume the position.”

“Oh my gosh.”

“Indeed.” Fancy leant back, giving Rarity some space. “So I take it you are open to the idea of joining Fleur and I in our little herd?”

“Well seeing as you asked so nicely, it would be terribly rude of me to refuse.“ Rarity answered playfully, her confidence quickly returning.

Lowering her voice so that Fancy Pants could barely hear her, the alabaster mare leant forward, bringing their muzzles so close that the stallion could feel the heat radiating from her skin, the warmth further fuelled by the remainder of her earlier blush. “So, if we're resigned to being scandalous together, only one question remains…"

Fancy Pants pondered her words as Rarity lent further forward, pushing her mouth up against the stallion’s ear as she whispered salaciously.

"Your place or mine?"

45: When We're Living Our Dream - by SpinelStride

When We're Living Our Dream - by special guest author SpinelStride
Chapter published 9th Feb 2014

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"Erm... Verily, we knowest not what mishap hast befallen yon village," Princess Luna said, staring at the shattered pieces of Ponyville. The top of Town Hall snapped and fell off, crashing to the ground.

"I dunno, Miss Princess," the mare with the mismatched eyes said. "I never know either."

"Oh, hello!" Luna said brightly. "It is Miss Hooves now, is it not? You have borne us messages afore, and the tale of your maternal spirit amidst the Blank Plague is yet a minor legend."

Derpy smiled at the jet black alicorn. "Nothing takes me away from my Dinky, Miss Princess. Nothing ever."

Princess Celestia smiled. "Then I take it your beloved foal is safe?"

Derpy nodded. "Oh, yeah, Princess Celestia! As soon as the sirens went off, all the foals went right to the schoolhouse like they've been taught. It's super-reinforced, see?" She pointed a hoof. Sure enough, the little schoolhouse was standing intact and unscarred, though certainly smoke-smudged. And several trees had fallen across the doorway.

"Wouldst thou care to hazard a guess as to the cause of this calamity, good Miss Hooves?" Luna asked, gazing around. The ponies of Ponyville were in remarkably high spirits, considering the widespread destruction of their hometown.

"Probably something we get to use the Twilight Sparkle Fund for, Miss Princess!" Derpy said happily. "Everything's always so shiny and new after these things."

Celestia facehoofed. "Twilight, there are times when I'm dearly tempted to make you face the Royal Accountants yourself to explain these things," she muttered.

"Oh! Look! Here comes Sweetie! And Lero! They must have something in mind!" Derpy exclaimed. "Come on, Princesses, let's go say hi!"

Luna shook her head sharply, and recalled her efforts at modern language. "Sister, are all the ponies beyond Canterlot so... familiar?"

"Ponyville is a very special place, Luna," Celestia said, her good humor returning as promptly as it always did. "And, for that matter, Miss Hooves is a very special mare. Let's see what's going on."

A thoroughly smoke-smudged Twilight Sparkle was directing two earth ponies in setting up a pair of oversized speakers, while Vinyl Scratch fussed over getting Sweetie's microphone hooked up to her sound systems. Lero and Sweetie waved to the two alicorns.

"Princess Celestia!" the lavender unicorn cried out happily, and abandoned her supervisory duties to come hug her mentor. She left a large sooty mark on Celestia's pristine fur, but the soot fell away as soon as the sun's light played across Celestia's coat. "You're just in time!"

"It's good as always to see you, Twilight, but what in Equestria is going on here?" Celestia asked. A number of ponies seemed to be hauling lumber into the town square - a surprisingly large amount of available lumber for such a small town, in fact.

"Oh, there was a little accident with some scientific apparatus," Twilight admitted. "I noticed how Pinkie never eats anything but sweets, and I thought I could use a blood sample to find a cure for diabetes, but when I put the sample in the analyzer well... kaboom!"

Luna and Celestia looked at each other. Then they nodded and looked back to Twilight.

"A noble goal, to be sure, Twilight, but haven't I told you about using proper protective measures before?" Celestia asked.

"I was using the blast chamber with a triple ward on it and extra rebar in the concrete," Twilight responded. "Honestly, I really thought it was overkill." She leaned in and added, "I know I should learn to just accept Pinkie being Pinkie, but sometimes, I just get curious. And I thought this would be safe!"

"And so Ponyville shall be rebuilt with funds from the Royal Treasury once again," Luna commented. "And its peas... citizens seem most pleased with this prospect."

"It's a good community-building exercise, and Lero and Sweetie say they've got some new music for us," Twilight said. "Actually, if you wouldn't mind, I think you might enjoy taking part?"

Celestia looked around. "This seems more a scene of devastation than one I ought to enjoy," she said dubiously.

"If the ponies of Ponyville are determined to make their town's devastation into a holiday, then we ought to aid them," Luna said firmly. "And it could perhaps even be fun."

Twilight levitated over a pair of scrolls, marked 'Contingency Script 7-E, Celestia' and 'Contingency Script 7-E, Luna.' Once the alicorns had begun to unroll them, she called out to the other ponies, "We're on seven-E, everypony! Places!"

Celestia looked up. "A parade, Twilight? Through the wreckage?"

Twilight nodded. "A parade," she confirmed. "Please?"

"Come, sister, let us trust our little ponies," Luna said, reading down through the scroll.

"Very well, Luna," Celestia agreed. "Then let us to our places."

"Yay!" Twilight said, and clapped her hooves.

"Good timing!" Vinyl called, the speakers magnifying her words enough to boom over Ponyville's remains. "Everypony ready?"

"YEAH!" came the cry from across town.

Lero and Sweetie took their spots. So did everypony else. The human and the singer-of-humans were positioned atop what looked like a cross between a parade float and a bulldozer, with the speakers mounted to it.

Celestia and Luna began to trot down the middle of what had been Main Street as the first burst of music came out.

EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!
Everything is cool when you're part of a team!
EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!
When we're living our dream!

To the amazement of the alicorns, despite the total lack of Harmony to the music, the ponies were staying in time; a trio of unicorns lifted the side wall of Sugarcube Corner back into place just in time for a passing pegasus with a rivet gun to seal it on, and then Pinkie Pie bounced by slapping Construction-Grade Frosting over the bolt heads to restore the building's confectionary charm. Lero and Sweetie were singing into their microphones, beaming at each other.

Everything is better when we stick together!
Side by side, you and I, gonna win forever, let's party forever!
We're the same, I'm like you, you're like me, we're all working in harmony!

Luna would scarcely have credited the sight; loads that by all rights should have demanded a half-score of unicorns were being completed by three, and pegasi were weaving through the air as nimbly as any warriors of old. But no feathers fell, no screams rent the air; indeed, they were beginning to join in the chorus. Celestia did too, and then Luna added her voice to the mix. Rainbow Dash flew by overhead, writing the words in her rainbow trail for all to see who were too busy to hold onto their song sheets.

EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!
Everything is cool when you're part of a team!
EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!
When we're living our dream!

It was two tired but exhilarated alicorns who flew back to Canterlot that evening.

"How is it that I can raise the entire sun every morning, but a day spent with Twilight Sparkle and her friends can leave me feeling more worn-out but more satisfied than ever?" Celestia asked her sister fondly.

"We are ponies, are we not?" Luna said cheerfully. "It is our nature to join the herd. It has been too long we spent apart, true?"

"Very true, Luna," Celestia agreed. "Perhaps I ought to write a friendship report of my own."

"That sounds a wondrous idea, my sister," Luna said. "Let us write it together."

Celestia smiled into the wind. "Yes. Let's do that."

Author's Note

TQM: Let it not be said that we don't listen to comments and suggestions.

SpinelStride: EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!

63: I can hear you singing to me in my sleep. (Hv)

I can hear you singing to me in my sleep
Chapter published 7th July 2013

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If changelings could swear out loud, the unfortunate pair struggling to carry an uncooperative Twilight Sparkle would be turning the air blue right about now. Just to make their lives that bit harder the unicorn had locked all four of her legs rigid part way through their journey back to the cells and it was taking all of her guards’ strength just to keep her off the ground while they pushed and pulled her down the tunnel, careful at all times not to let her either bounce off of the slick walls or allow her hooves to drag on the slick and uneven floor. Their queen had made it quite clear that no matter what happened no harm was to come to their ‘guest’ and she’d made it even clearer what would happen to any of her subjects who failed her.

Finally reaching the opening to their impromptu ‘jail’, the two changelings gathered their remaining strength and used their magic to rotate their infuriatingly cumbersome prisoner - all the while the unicorn remaining as annoyingly unhelpful as she could manage, her heavily swollen belly giving them one less place they could ponyhandle her by - before pushing her floating form through the doorway.

Allowing their burden to gently drift to the floor, the two escorts moved around their precious cargo eager to pass their troublesome prisoner off to the cell guard and get off back to their own posts as fast as their ragged wings would carry them.

Instead of a nice orderly jail with a guard ready to relieve them, all they found awaiting them was a scene of utter chaos and destruction. Much of the rag tag furniture in the room was smashed, pieces of wood strewn all over the room, two of the three ‘cell doors’ were what could only be described as ‘shredded’, obviously bludgeoned and torn with great physical force, their organic frames twisted away from the walls by what must have been some kind of large prying tool.

On the floor in the cell which had held that ugly biped lay the body of the cell guard, what remained of its once sleek face obscured by a mass recently congealed green goo, the lifeless head now sitting askew upon a grotesquely twisted neck.

The two changelings chattered in hisses and squeaks between themselves for a brief second - the first time Twilight had heard either of them verbalise at all throughout their entire journey - before one seemed to zone out for a second and then coming back to life again almost instantly. The two then chattered away between themselves once more for a few seconds before they turned as one back to their captive.

Changelings weren't particularly good at interpreting pony facial expressions unless they happened to be disguised as one at the time. But even now they could tell that the scathing look on the purple mare’s face was somewhere around the ‘vindictive’, ‘unimpressed’ or ‘right royally pissed off’ end of the scale.

“Looks like they got away. Oh, what a shame. Whatever will you do now?” The mare taunted, one end of her upper lip curling upwards slightly in satisfaction, the occasional glint of a tooth or two making it a full blow sneer.

On the floor by her hooves lay a discarded horn wrap (specifically designed to nullify the magic of any unicorn wearing it) and the canvas straps that had previously been used to bind Twilight’s pegasus herdmate’s wings to her sides.

“Ha. You are so bucked. I really wouldn’t want to be a member of this hive about now. Four out of five of your prisoners are at large, quite a few of which are highly trained combat specialists. Plus, reinforcements could be here any minute.”

Twilight sucked in air over her teeth while glumly shaking her head.

“Nope, it doesn’t look good for you at all. Maybe you should just think about letting us all go and hoping for the best, hmm?”

More chittering came from her captors before they slowly levitated their ward back into her own undamaged cell; the largest of the three and the only one with its old, small bed and its even older and even smaller wooden table still undamaged.

As she once again stood steady on her own four hooves, the door closed behind her, the mucus like substance that made up its bars hardening against the frame once more to keep her sealed within. Satisfied that she was properly contained, one of her guards left the room in total silence, the other lingering for a moment as if reluctant to leave their ‘guest’ unguarded.

After a few seconds the one remaining changeling zoned out as it had before (or was it the other one? They all looked alike) before coming back to life just as quickly and then scampering out of the door after its companion. Whether they had been ordered to stand guard in the tunnel just outside the jail or to head back to their queen for further orders Twilight didn’t know. Either way, she was just glad they were gone as she wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep up this facade.

Straining her ears for any noise coming from the tunnel outside of the jail, Twilight waited a few moments to see if there would be any other sign of movement. Satisfied she was alone for now she made her way over to her small table and the even smaller fruit bowl that sat upon it.

To refer to the bowl’s contents as ‘fruit’ would have been generous. There was something that might have been a banana once upon a time, what looked like shriveled up raisins on a withered vine and finally some... things that Applejack would rather have asked Princess Celestia to launch into the sun before she’d ever dare call them apples.

“Well, beggers can’t be choosers.“ The unicorn muttered, using her forehoof to lift one of the so-called apples to her lips, the magic inhibitor around her own horn preventing her from using even a simple levitation spell.

As she moved the piece of fruit ever closer to her mouth she gave it the evil eye. It was highly doubtful that it was poisoned - the queen had made quite plain that Twilight wasn't to be harmed - but she doubted her upcoming dining experience was going to be in any way pleasant.

Closing her eyes she almost threw the offending morsel down her throat, chewing as quickly as she could to get it out of her mouth and away from her already offended taste buds as soon as ponily possible.

Yep, she was right... that had not been pleasant.

Deep within her she could feel her unborn child squirm in protest. Looks like junior didn’t like dodgy fruit either.

“I’m sorry, baby.” Twi rubbed at her distended belly, hoping to sooth the foal within. “Looks like no tuna for you today I’m afraid.”

Eyeing the remaining ‘fruit’ she added “Nothing decent at all it seems. What I wouldn’t give for a bowl of fresh hay fries about now.”

Her unborn foal squirmed some more, maybe in agreement, before settling down.

“I know I’ve asked this before, but can you hear me in there?” The lavender mare continued to rub at her swelling, feeling her child fidget inside her as she did so. “I hope you can. That would be so nice. I’m not a huge fan of being all on my own anymore, too many of years of herdlife saw to that.”

Waddling over to the small (and particularly uncomfortable) bed she pulled the mattress free - a job made all the harder due to her current lack of magic - before throwing it on the floor. After pushing it up against the crooked bars of her cell she clambered on, turning in place a few times before gingerly settling herself down

After a few minutes of silence the heavily pregnant unicorn let her head slump against the bars, the organic material they were comprised of had long since dried and they were remarkably smooth to the touch.

“I’m scared.” She finally admitted out loud, the feeling of a great weight finally being lifted from her soul as she did so.

“Oh, not of all this.“ She waved a forehoof around her cell. “This is nothing. I’ve been in worse situations than this before. It looks like whatever the herd were planning as a jailbreak worked. They won’t be gone long though, your father will be back for us soon enough or mommy Rainbow will get out and go for help. They’ll figure something out, they always have before. Maybe Rainbow’ll bring the Shadowbolts, or the rest of the elements or maybe even Auntie Luna herself. They’ll come for us soon and then that stupid old queen won’t even know what hit her.”

Twilight laughed, though it wasn't a happy laugh.

“Especially if they bring Auntie Luna. Her idea of appropriate retribution would probably be to level the entire hive just to break us out and then convince Princess Celestia to use the sun to fry it from orbit. Which I guess is one way to be sure.”

For a few more minutes silence once again reigned until finally Twilight spoke again.

“Oh, who am I kidding?” She asked, rubbing her belly to reassure herself as much as it was for the unborn child. “I’ll be honest with you here, kid, I’m absolutely terrified. I don't think I've ever actually been this scared in my life.”

The rubbing continued as Twi thought about what she wanted to say next. There’d been a lot of thoughts rolling around in the back of her head over the last few months that for some really weird reason had decided to push their way to the front of her consciousness right now. Twi could (and possibly would) live to a thousand years old and she’d never be able to figure out either exactly how her brain worked or quite why it seemed to really hate her at times

“But to be honest this is nothing compared to how scared I am of being a mother. What if I’m like my own mother, what if I just don’t get it? What if the connection’s not there? What if I’m the worst mother in the world?”

Tears were building up in Twilight’s eyes by now and she fought to keep them at bay.

“I try with Sweetie, I really do, but I still need Lyra to help me at times. I don’t know why but we’ve just not bonded like she has with the others. There’s even times I think she likes Luna more than she likes me.”

Twi sniffed loudly, trying to pull back some of the mucus that was building up in her nose.

“Oh hay, even Rainbow’s heaps better with her than I am. I’ve got the biggest family, the most siblings out of all of us and I just… I… It’ s just so hard. Apart from Shiney I never got on with any of my own siblings, just never felt that special something that makes us all familly. So why on Celestia’s beard should I have thought that this would be any different?”

Lapsing back into silence for a few moments Twi continued to rub at the soft fur on her belly.

“Lyra said she could feel Sweetie’s magic radiating from deep inside her after only five or six months. That it felt like a portion of her own magic, her own soul had budded off and become its own being, that she could feel the ebb and flow of a new life flowing back into her from something that had originally started off as a part of herself. That the two of them could linked in a way that I can only dream about, it’s…”

Tears fell, rolling from her cheeks and onto her coat as she spoke.

“But I just can’t feel you.” She cried. “I know you’re there, I can feel you move, can feel you stretch and turn and kick... I just can’t ‘feel’ you. Not the way Lyra did with Sweetie, not like Gramma Velvet said she could feel Guiding Light.”

Twi lifted her head away from the bars before letting it fall back again, the sudden pain of the impact jarring her mind, in a strange way helping her to push out of her brain what it was that she felt she needed to say..

“Velvet said that Star couldn’t feel me either, when I was growing inside her.” Twi idly lifted her head and again banged the ridge of her eyebrow against the bars, a small part of her mind welcoming the physical pain. “What if you end up hating me like I hated Star? What if you end up blaming me the way I blamed her. I don’t think I could take it. I’m not like my mother. I couldn’t put that wall around my heart and just carry on regardless.”

Lifting her head from the bars as before, this time she pulled a moth-eaten blanket from the edge of the mattress and wrapped it around herself in an attempt to make some sorry approximation of a nest. Curling herself into as small of a ball as she could manage, her ears pressed back against her skull, she spoke again, quiet now, like a whisper, as if she didn’t want to be overheard.

“Sometimes I have these dreams. That I mess it all up so badly that I’m thrown out of the herd. That I end up old and unloved, sitting all alone in my big empty office drinking glass after glass of gin, just wishing that I could do it all over, that I could somehow go back and make it all right.”

Deep within her barrel her baby squirmed. Maybe she was sleeping? Maybe she was having dreams of her own? What dreams would the unborn dream? What visions would their young, half formed minds bring them? Could they have nightmares as their mothers did?

“But this isn’t doing us any good is it?” Twilight wiped at her eyes with a forehoof, looking around the cell for something to distract herself with, something to steer her mind away from the unwanted course it had plotted for her.

Table, bed frame, bowl full of yuck, nasty mattress and its ratty blanket. Yep, that was about it.

“It’s kinda silly, if you think about it. Here I am, one of modern Equestria’s most successful scientists, sitting here moaning about being disturbed by bad dreams.” The very thought made Twilight smile, even though it brought her no real joy.

“Some of these dreams have been getting pretty strange recently, let me tell you. There’s been ones about giant metal dragons that can carry hundred of ponies all the way around the world in a matter of hours, others about ponies fighting against each other just because their coats are different colours or that they don’t all follow the same beliefs about how the pony races came to exist in the first place. Or even this really crazy one where we mismanage the ecosystem so badly that Equestria’s struck by famines and floods and food shortages and all other kinds of disasters. Pretty far fetched stuff, eh? I really must stop eating cheese before bedtime... or at all actually.”

Twilight resumed her self-administered belly rubs - what she wouldn't give for a rub from Lero or Lyra about now - watching as her her forehoof moved against the grain of her fur, making the hairs stand on end just to lay back flat again when her limb passed back in the other direction..

“If that’s what’s going on in my head right now, maybe it’s better that we aren’t connected. I’m not sure I’d wish what I've been seeing on any pony.”

She watched the fur-show some more, letting her brain wander back to some of the better dreams she’d been having recently.

“You know, sometimes I have good dreams too. My favourite’s the one where you turn out to be just the prettiest little thing, just like your sister. And smart too, like me; fast and strong like your other mothers and bold and brave like your father. They’re the best ones, the ones where we all get to live together in a life full of love and happiness.”

Ears that previously lain flat against her skull lifted once more. While they were by no means back in a ‘happy’ position, they certainly weren't advertising their owner’s troubled state of mind in as uncertain terms as they were a few moments before.

“It might look a bit grim for us right now but your father will be here soon. He’ll get us some help and then he’ll come back for us, I just know it. I know it here.” She moved her hoof from her belly to her chest, just above her heart.

“And I know it in here.” The hoof moved up to her head.

“And I know it here.” Her hoof moved back to her swollen belly.

“He’ll never leave us, not while he’s still alive. He’s been through worse than this. We’ve all been through worse than this.”

And they had. They’d handled the return of the seaponies, survived griffin attacks, dealt with bigoted and belligerent ponies, cut through bureaucratical red tape galore and they’d even weathered the most irksome of all obstacles; the slings and arrows of Canterlot’s high society.

“Just think, in just a couple of months now we’ll all be together. You‘ll meet your father and your mothers and your sister. I think you’ll like them.”

Twi patted her stomach a few times, gently though, not hard enough to wake her young one if she was asleep in there.

“Your sister’s so smart. Everypony says she takes after me like that, even though we all know that’s physically impossible. Lyra keeps telling me that with the huge amounts of my magic I’d poured into her while she was pregnant at least some of it must have seeped through into Sweetie.”

Though highly unlikely Twilight thought it was a nice idea nonetheless.

“And your mommy Rainbow. She’s so awesome… but just don’t tell her I said that, okay. She’s one of the bravest ponies I’ve ever met. She’s got, well Lero says humans call it ‘the right stuff’ and though I’m not sure exactly what that means it sure sounds like her.”

Suddenly a loud noise echoed into the jail from tunnel mouth... no, not a single noise, much noise, many noises, a whole cacophony of noise even. Unintelligible animalistic screaming punctuated by the occasional ‘fizz’ and ‘pop’ of some kind of magic was the only way Twilight could describe it. But on the whole she didn’t care what it was, she just wished it would stop.

While the distance was hard to judge what with the way sound carried and bounced and echoed within this system of caverns, the purple mare was fairly sure that whatever it was making that Luna thrice-damned noise was a good way away from her little jail cell... and for this she was grateful.

Making herself as small as she could once more Twi tucked herself back into her little nest, intently stroking her belly whether her child was awake or not. Right now she needed all the distraction she could get.

“And mommy Lyra, you’ll like her.” She whispered. “She’s just so…so... so Lyra. Ha, I never could quite pin that mare down. She’ll be here soon. She’s probably the one making all that noise. Any pony’d think she’s trying to get caught. But I know her, if that is her then she’s trying to confuse them, keep them all on the back hoof. From the sound of it she’s doing a really good job too.”

The shrieks were getting further away now. Whatever was happening, whatever chaos was raging within the tunnels and caves of this damnable hive was moving away from her location.

“And your daddy, he’ll be right behind her. I bet he’s got it all planned out. He won’t leave us, he’d never leave us. He’ll have taken Rainbow somewhere he can get her out of these tunnels and back to the surface and then he’ll have sent her to go get help. She won’t have been happy about it all, was probably kicking and screaming the whole way out of the door. She’ll go though. She always sees sense in the end and somepony needs to get Sweetie away from here.”

Another scream came from the tunnels again, louder than the others but just as far away. Twi could swear that last shout was almost masculine, the words almost but not quite understandable.

“Yes, that’s what he’ll have done. He’s a very clever stallion.”

The purple mare patted her tummy again.

“That’s why he’s your daddy.”

Poking her head out from under the blanket, Twilight rotated her ears to get a better handle on the diminished sounds still making their way onto her little jail cell.

“So yes, you’ll be here soon.” She whispered again as the sounds continued to fade away, the distant combatants getting ever further

“I’ll teach you all about magic. It’s powerful stuff, but it can be very dangerous too. Not something you can run off using willy-nilly. With great power comes great responsibility as your father says.”

By now nothing but silence was coming from the cave mouth; no screams, no shouts, no echoes of any kind. As she was becoming uncomfortable, all curled into a ball as she was, Twi took the opportunity to unfold herself and stretch out on the mattress, keeping the blanket close to hoof at all times. Before long she returned to her verbal wanderings.

“So, yes. Magic. You have to be very careful with what you’re casting. Not like this time I was working on an old unfinished spell Starswirl the Bearded had left behind. I’d been sitting on it for years and then like some kind of foal I just went ahead and cast it one day to see what it would do. The next thing we knew your mothers were stuck delivering mail and babysitting orphaned animals and your father and I were apparently married to BonBon and Rarity. You can bet your father’s never let me forget it since.“

Thinking back to that crazy, crazy week Twilight felt her cheeks start to heat up with what she was sure would be quite an impressive blush were anypony there to see it. For all the time she’d spent in Ponyville before that week she’d never realised just how… passionate their confectioner friend was. Nor had she had any clue about how domineering ‘Madame Rarity’ could be in the bedroom. Poor Lero hadn’t been able to make eye contact with either mare for weeks afterwards.

“Ahem, maybe best to save the rest of that story until you’re a bit older. Like thirty or something.”

While the unicorn struggled for a new subject of conversation - something she’d have never in a thousand years thought she’d have to do whilst chatting away to herself locked up alone in an underground jail cell only Celestia knew how many miles from civilisation - another mangled scream came from the tunnel mouth.

Pulling the blanket tight around herself again, Twilight waited for the sounds to fade away before attempting to restart her one sided conversation.

“Do you know what he does, your father?. He sings to you. I thought he was crazy when he started singing to Lyra’s bump when she was pregnant but it seemed to help. Sometimes, when we were back staying in Ponyville, Sweetie Belle would come over and and help him. She used to live next door with the rest of the Crusaders. It’s a shame she’s already left for Neighpon on one of my mother’s research trips, you’d really like her. Everypony does.”

Twilight’s unborn child took this opportunity to try out one of her limbs, probably a hind leg what with the way the kick (or buck) had felt against the unicorn’s insides.

“Woah, Easy honey, that’s mommy’s bladder right there and I don’t think our captors have a bathroom anywhere around here I can use.”

After a bit of squirming both mother and child settled back down again.

“So, your father, he sings to you. He sings these strange songs that humans sing to their foals. Would you like me to sing you one? I probably won’t be as good as daddy but I can have a go if you like.”

As no more kicks or wriggles came from within her, Twilight took this as a sign of agreement... well, that or abject disinterest. Either way she needed to keep herself occupied which meant the kid was getting a song whether she wanted one or not.

Taking a deep breath as she prepared to sing, Twi tried hard to remember the lyrics. Singing wasn't as easy to do when you didn’t have the magic of harmony to help you out. Remembering things like timings, how the verses were ordered, hitting the right cadences and keys were hard to do on the fly. How on earth humans managed it all alone was an eternal mystery.

The toe bone's connected to the foot bone,

The foot bone's connected to the ankle bone,

The ankle bone's connected to the leg bone,

Now shake dem skeleton bones!

“Actually that’s not particularly accurate, humans don’t so much have ‘toe bones’ as a series of phalanges which meet the metatarsals and then the cuneiforms before joining up with another group of other bones at the ankle before continuing on up the leg. Oh, sorry, I’m getting off topic. Mommy does that when she’s nervous.”

Twi allowed herself a childish giggle before launching back into her song.

The leg bone's connected to the knee bone,

The knee bone's connected to the thigh bone,

The thigh bone's connected to the hip bone,

Now shake dem skeleton bones!

“You know, it’s interesting that, unlike us, your father actually has two bones sitting side by side between his ankle and knee as opposed to our one. He says it’s to do with why he can rotate his ankle in ways that we can’t. Quite fascinating stuff really. Coincidently, your sister has an odd formation on the back of her metacarpus which may have been a proto-OWOWOW.”

Twi rubbed at her belly just in front of one of her teats where she’d just received a quite potent little kick.

“Okay, okay, I’ll get back to the song. Oh boy, everypony’s a critic these days.”

The finger bone's connected to the hand bone,

The hand bone's connected to the arm bone,

The arm bone's connected to the shoulder bone,

Now shake dem skeleton bones!

“Now, again this is a somewhat simplified representation of the skeletal arrangement of the human hand and arm but I think-ARRH. Okay, I get it. Maybe it’d be best we just leave that one for now, eh?”

Was it her singing that wasn’t working? Was it the choice of song? Whatever the reason was, it didn't seem to have gone down that well. Whenever their child was particularly unsettled it would usually only take a scant few minutes of Lero’s soothing voice to put her back at ease.

Well, as she was the only one here who could sing then the sole piece of advice that Twi’s analytical mind could suggest was changing her choice of lullaby and then checking the results. Now, if only she had a clipboard.

And quill.

And a scroll.

And her old lab assistant so he could dragon-fire a message to Princess Celestia to get her the buck out of here before the queen changed her mind.

No, she need to stop this train of thought right now.

“Okay, how about we try one of your father’s favourites?”

Some things in life are bad

They can really make you mad

Other things just make you swear and curse.

“And we’ll have no cursing from you young lady. That’s mommy Rainbow’s area of expertise and we’ve been trying to get her to cut down for years. Honestly, I think all these years in the Wonderbolts have just made her worse. Get her together with her flightmates for more than ten minutes and they’re drinking up a storm and swearing like troopers. Ooh, sorry, where was I?“

When you're chewing on life's thistles

Don't grumble, give a whistle

And this'll help things turn out for the best...

And...always look on the bright side of life...

Always look on the light side of life...

Pursing her lips to whistle, Twilight let herself sway gently from side to side, finding the motion strangely calming she moved onto the next verse..

If life seems jolly rotten

There's something you've forgotten

And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing.

When you're feeling in the dumps

Don't be silly chumps

Just purse your lips and whistle - that's the thing.

And...always look on the bright side of life...

Always look on the light side of life...

While she wouldn't have been able to say exactly why, Twi felt that the song had done some good, both for her child and also for her own state of mind. Maybe it had helped to make small connection in her mind to her stallion, wherever he was right now. Maybe it had made her face the fact that she couldn’t actually do much to help with the dire predicament she found herself in at this moment in time so getting herself all worked up would do her no real good.

Or maybe the crazy idea that facing the situation with a positive attitude could actually help push back her worries, even if it was for a short time, was really working It certainly wouldn’t be the first time that PInkie had been right all along, maybe sometimes you did just need to ‘giggle at the ghosties’ after all.

Well whatever the reason, it had done the trick and right now that’s all that mattered.

“He’s got hundreds of songs like that you know, thousands of them maybe. All these amazing, funny, or just plain weird human songs that no pony’s ever heard before. He’s been teaching them to other ponies for years now and he never seems to run out of new ones. “

Once Lero had gotten his head around the fact that there were a lot of ponies that would like to hear his songs - an idea that he’d apparently found awfully hard to accept for the longest time - he’d thrown himself headlong into the act of teaching them to any pony that wanted to learn. And to everyone’s amazement there had been a shockingly large amount of those.

After a few years It had even gotten to the point where the Royal Canterlot Conservatorium had offered him a position as both a part time lecturer and as the co-head of the “Preservation of Human Music” program, a project he now managed along with two good friends of Herd Bellerophon - Octavia Melody and DJ PON-3.

“Both Miss Melody and Professor Scratch tell me that if he carries on at the rate he’s going then Equestria will eventually have more songs written by humans written down and recorded for posterity than there are written by ponies.”

Twi turned her head to look up at the slick rock ceiling of her cold, dank cell. She imagined that she could see beyond the walls of her jail, through the layers of rock and earth above her to the sky and its stars beyond. In her mind’s eye she could see humans, untold numbers of them standing on their own world, looking up at their own stars, wondering to themselves just as she had ‘Are there others like us out there beyond those stars?’”

For the inhabitants of Equestria, that question had long since been answered. Both the stallion... no, the man in her heart and the child in her womb were a testament to that fact.

“Just think, all these far flung voices from a distant star, written by humans who by now might be long since passed away, their bodies returned to the star stuff from which they were made while the words of their songs are being kept alive by generations of ponies that they’ll never meet.”

Turning her attention back to her belly and the child growing within, she leaned her head closer, so her unborn foal could better hear her words.

“And you, you’re my own little star song. My little bit of whatever this magic is that Lero’s brought with him. Equestria’s own little piece of him that will keep on living long after he’s gone, to carry on his lineage through your children and their children and their children’s children after them.”

At that instant Twilight found herself struck by that fleeting flash of inspiration that many mothers-to-be talked about, the brief but insistent touch of the magic of harmony in the moment the name of their unborn child was brought to them on the magical winds.

“That’ll be your name, ‘Star Song’.” Twilight smiled wide for the first time in what felt like forever. “It’s nice to meet you; Star Song, Second child of Herd Bellerophon, Future Duchess of Smaragdvea.”

Form deep within her came a response, a small but definite kick which thankfully just about missed her bladder.

“Hey, it’s not that bad. Though I’ll agree that the fancy title is a bit pointless but trust me, you’ll get used to it. Technically I’m Professor Lady Twilight Amaranth Guinevere Sparkle, Bearer of the Element of Magic and Future Duchess of Smaragdvea... give or take a middle name or three.”

The unicorn wiggled her head from side to side in a mock-pompousity as she regurgitated her full name, of which she was not particularly fond even now.

“Yeah, I don’t like it much either. ‘Amaranth Guinevere’... pah. I mean, who names their foal Amaranth Guinevere? Perhaps they thought it was funny? Can you guess what Malachite Shard was like once he found out “Amaranth’ can mean ‘Purple Heart’? Up to that point I hadn't thought he could make my life any harder than he already did. Boy, was I wrong.”

While Twilight had unashamedly adored her eldest brother Shining Armour as a child (to the point where other ponys had stated to use the phrase ‘brother complex’ behind her back), to say there was no love lost between her and her other elder brother would have been an understatement.

No, better words to have used for the foalhood relationship between Malachite and Twilight would have to have been along the lines of ‘dislike’, ‘distrust’ or ‘detest’, depending on how kind the speaker wished to be at the time. Also, quite how much of these attitudes could be attributed to Mal’s birthmother Scintilla would also depend on the speaker’s level of kindness... though the general opinion was that it was mostly her fault.

“But it could be worse. Don’t you ever tell your sister this but her name actually came from Lyra's favorite curse words from whenever she was struck with a really nasty case of morning sickness. We tried to get her to change it to ‘Sweet Surprise’ but ooooh noooo, she was adamant. So far we’ve just been telling Sweetie she’s named after Bon Bon and leaving it at that. Heck, even Rainbow’s promised to keep that particular secret a secret and you know she’s just dying to tell. I give it about three more years until Sweetie figures it out.”

Twilight gave her tummy another little rub while she suppressed a laugh at the memory of the her nigh-on permanently unflappable unicorn herdmate’s surprisingly vulgar and unladylike responses to months of unannounced nausea, uncontrollable vomiting and some of the wackiest food cravings that ponykind had ever seen. Even now some of AJ or Fluttershy’s animals still ran and hid whenever they saw the minty unicorn approaching.

“No morning sickness for me though, you’ve been so perfect, it’s me that hasn’t been. I can read a million books about pregnancy and I have no idea what I’m doing. All the advice I gave Lyra and I still know next to nothing. When it comes to doing what comes naturally, I'm anything but a natural I guess.”

As she again fidgeted on her uncomfortable mattress, trying and failing for not the first time to get settled, another bout of screaming and hollering came from the tunnel mouth, much closer this time than ever before. As she strained to make out one scream from another she recognised Lero’s voice, his deeper voice and masculine tones making their way to her ears as she pushed herself against the bars of her cell.

He was alive! And if he was alive then that meant that either Lyra or Rainbow were probably still with him. They’d survived and come for her just as she’d known they would.

Just as quickly as it had begun, the sounds of the fight were over. All that could be heard from outside the doorway was silence, no screaming reached her now, no sounds of violence echoed from the walls to her ears.

Eventually the silence was broken by some kind of shuffling noise, which made its way slowly closer to the threshold of the small jail.

Twilight pulled herself from her little nest and pushed herself against the back wall of her cell; afraid that the figure making its way out of the gloom and into her field of vision might be a changeling, that what last shred of hope she had held that her herdmates might had survived would be cruelly stolen away from her.

But what was making its way out of the shadows was too large to be a changeling, too upright to be a quadruped. It was Lero, her stallion had taken on overwhelming odds and returned to her alive.

The beaten and abused human looked a state; his clothing was badly torn, almost every patch of visible skin covered with bloody cuts, his right arm hanging limp and useless at his side. What looked like a broken table leg covered in something Twilight didn’t even want to think about dangled loosely from his left hand.

Lyra came in after him, slowly walking backwards as she kept watch down the tunnel behind them. She was limping quite badly, a forehoof twisted at an angle that didn’t look at all healthy and, from what little Twi could see in the dim light, parts of her mane appeared to be missing.

As the mint green unicorn turned to check on her human herdmate Twilight could see that her face was a mess, dried blood caking one side of her head while fresh blood dripped from her nose and mouth.

Making his way over to Twilight’s cell, moving through what was obviously a great amount of pain, Lero slumped against the bars of the door, letting his body slide down to the floor. Desperately the unicorn rushed forward, pushing a forehoof through a gap in the bars so she could cradle his head.

From his spot on the slick, cold floor Lero smiled up at his wife, one eye locking onto her worried face as the other refused to focus.

“Hey baby, we’re back.” He whispered, his voice hoarse from shouting.

Letting the table leg fall from his grasp, he lifted his good hand and placed it over his wife’s forehoof.

“I told you I’d never leave you.“

Author's Note

Disclaimer. Now this is a surprise... Dem Bones was written by a white guy called James Weldon Johnson back like a hundred years ago. Without starting a whole discussion about race or anything here, I'd always assumed the person behind it was black. Talk about preconceptions.

So, Ford own Mazda and Jaguar? That explains why I always though the 323 looks like a Fiesta with a better paint job and the XK8 felt like driving a Mondeo on performance enhancing drugs.

Oh, and 'Bright Side of Life' is a Monty Python song... as if you didn't know already. Sshhhesh.

75: I was lost until you came.

I was lost until you came.
Chapter published 19th January 2015

***********************

Royal City of Canterlot - Public Horticultural Park and Gardens
April 1226AC

While spring was very much in bloom, the city air still had a definite chill to it as Lero made his way along a thin path bordered by vibrant, and aromatic, rose bushes. Hands pushed deep into the pockets of his beloved - and by now rather old - olive-green greatcoat, he stopped to smell one of the closest blooms.

Leaning forwards, his battered old satchel hanging from his body, he took the time to move from a bright pink rose, to a nearby vanilla yellow bloom and then onto a peach coloured flower just beyond. Moving slowly from flower to flower, inhaling deeply at each one, he was reminded of a particular perfume that Rarity(1) liked to use on special occasions, though usually mixed with a subtle undercurrent of strawberries and cream.

As he came close to one of the Royal Horticultural Society’s newest creations - a fragrant, dark purple rose recently designated as Rosa Selenicus - he was caught unawares by a single honeybee that buzzed its way out from between the flower’s soft petals, bouncing harmlessly off of the human’s nose before wending its way across the park and off into the city beyond.

Watching the tiny bee fly until he could spy it no more, Lero noticed a group of young fillies and colts - almost all about eight or nine years of age except for a pair of older fillies who must have been somewhere in their early teens - gathered out on the grass. Most of them were clustered around a pile of saddlebags that had been haphazardly thrown in a pile, their collective attention focused on a trio of blank-flanked fillies who were trying - and failing miserably - to put up a large tent. Lero could almost imagine the three of them in matching red capes, declaring their desire for a cutie-mark in camping, whatever that may look like.

“BELLEROPHON!”

Turning at the sound of his name, Lero was just in time to dodge out of the way of a fast moving pegasus colt flapping away furiously at roughly human chest height. While Lero had managed to take himself well out of the danger zone, the frantically fleeing foal had unfortunately not been so sure of the large human’s ability for swiftness and had taken last-minute evasive action... directly into a rose bush.

As Lero reached into the foliage to try to extract the both the young lad and his overstuffed saddlebags - before the youngster either scratched himself to pieces or ended up eating his way out - a pale yellow pegasus mare came running to his side.

“Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry, Sir. He didn’t hit you, did he?”

“No, no. We’re good. He’s just bit scratched up. Here you go. You all good there, kid?”

Placing the colt on the floor by his feet, Lero had to stifle a grin as the mare - obviously the lad’s mother - gave him a good once over, despite the boy’s desperate pleas that he was absolutely fine and that his friends might be able to see and ohhh, Mom, please don't embarrass me.

“Now, Bellerophon, what have I told you?”

“*Mumblemumble*should look where I’m going.”

“Yes, you should always look where you're going. You almost bumped into this nice stallion. Now, say you're sorry.”

“*Mumblemumble*sorry.”

“Not to me... to him.”

“I’m sorry, Mister.”

“Not a problem. No harm done.”

“Very good. Now, do you have everything? Good, off you go then. I’ll see you Sunday night... ahahah, where do you think you're going. Come on, give me a kiss before you go.”

“Mommmm.”

“Don’t you ‘Mommmm’ me. Come on- before I walk you all the way to your friends. And don’t think I won’t, young stallion, I can see them from here.”

**kiss**

Duty dutifully done, the young colt took to the air and shot off towards the group of foals Lero had earlier observed gathered out on the park’s lawn. As he reached his friends every colt in the group, and at least two of the filles, dogpiled the lad into the ground before he’d even had a chance to remove his luggage.

“Again, I’m sorry about that, Sir.”

“Really, wasn’t a problem. Kids will be kids, eh?”

“Yes, I guess they will.”

“Nice kid. Yours, I take it?”

“Yes, yes he is. Um, thank you, Sir.”

“You’re welcome. I’m Lero, by the way. Bellerophon Michaelides.”

“Yes, Sir, I know, Sir.”

“Hey, less of the ‘sir’. Just Lero’s fine.”

Crouching down on his haunches, Lero put himself closer to the young mare’s eye-level. Even with more than a decade in Equestria under his belt he still had a tricky time with ponies’ ages. This mare, she had to be somewhere in her twenties, somewhere around the higher end maybe but definitely younger than each of his wives. She was well exercised though, nowhere near as sleek as Rainbow but lacking most of Fluttershy’s curves. Her mane and tail were cut on the shorter side - giving her a functional, no-nonsense air - and her wings were both well maintained and well-used. This was a mare that worked hard for a living.

“So, whom do I have the pleasure of making the acquaintance of today?”

“Oh, yes. Sorry, Sir. I’m Dandelion, Sir. Dandelion Daydream.”

“Come on, what did I tell you about the ‘Sir’ thing?”

“Yes, Sir... oh nuts!. I mean, err, yes, Master Lero... Sir.”

The human couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Oh well, it was close enough. One of these days he’d get Luna to stop using that darn title in public... the Royal Guard as well... and the Wonderbolts... and any ponies he bumped into at the university... and only god knew who else.

“Seriously, just Lero’s fine. So, your son... odd name for a pony. Got any more like that at home?”

“Oh, err, no, si- Mister Lero. Just him, he’s an only child. I really lucked out with a colt right off the bat. He’s a good lad. Strong too, and fast, like really fast. Just needs to look where he’s going a bit more.”

“Fast, eh? Reckon you might have a junior Wonderbolt on your hooves, then?”

“Quite likely, Sir- oh darnit.“

“Ha. I’ll tell the wife to keep an eye out for him in a few years. He must be quite a handful, especially being a pegasus, flying all over the place. I got two myself, kids that is.”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah. Both unicorns though, not pegasi. Two girls. Oh, they’re quite enough as is, even without wings. One’s almost two years old, but she thinks she’s closer to twelve. Wants to know the hows and whys of everything. Give Twi half a chance and she’d have the poor girl’s entire university career planned out already.”

“And the other one?”

“Oh, she’s still just a little tiddler, just turned six months and already flaring like crazy. Last week she made the entire dining table disappear- we still have no idea where it is. But you should see her- she’s so cute I swear she can give out cuteness proximity heart-attacks at like twenty paces or something. She has to wear these little knitted onesies because she's cold all the time and it’s just so adorable that... ermm. ahem, yeah. Sorry, got a bit carried away.”

“Sounds nice.”

“Yeah. Yeah, it is. So, your boy, how old?”

“He just turned nine last month. He was a plagurrr... he was a surprise baby(2).”

“Oh? Oh. I’m sorry.”

“Oh? No, please, don’t be. He’s the best thing that ever happened to me. I was so lost before he came along. I look back now and it’s like part of me was frozen inside, right here. Now, I don’t know what I’d ever have done without him. He... he just makes my day, every single day.”

**sigh**

“Glad to hear it. Kids are great like that, aren’t they? I never saw myself as being a dad, but now it’d seem odd not to be one. The ultimate life changer.”

“Very true... Sir.”

“Ha, stop that.”

“Of course, Sir.”

“Ha. So, must have kept you on your toes, especially being a surprise and all. How’d your herd take it?”

“Don’t have one.”

“Oh... Sorry.”

“No, it’s all good, just me and him. I was never really what you’d call a pony-person- never very good at getting along or opening up. Never really got into the whole ‘herd’ thing either. To be honest I rarely thought much about anypony but myself until he came along. Having a kid made me grow up, even it it was still me doing most of the kicking and screaming the whole way. Ha. By Luna’s teats, I was such a brat. It wasn’t easy at times, I won’t deny it- but I’ve got him and he’s got me, what else would we need? Oh I know that in another decade or so some pretty little fillies are going to catch his eye and he’ll move on with his life, but I’m ready for it, or at least I’m trying to be. Hey, maybe I’ll be a grand-dam by the time I’m forty. That’d be nice. ”

“Yeah, sounds like fun. So, err, if it’s not too personal a question, do you know who his sire is?(3)”

“No, not really.”

“Not really?”

“At the time, when I first found out I was... I just didn’t want to know. Didn’t want to know much of anything really. The FPS know who he is; they said he was a good stallion- herd and foals of his own. They also said it was just an ‘accident’ and that the guy had no memory of... it happening. Once they came to the conclusion that neither side had taken advantage(4) they left it at that."

“So, has he - your son, I mean - has he ever asked about him?”

“No, never. He might when he’s older, I guess, and if he does then I’m not going to stop him. he’s just never seemed bothered by it. It’s not like he’s ever been left wanting for affection. All my parents adore him and helped out whenever they could, especially both of my dads, so he’s always had plenty of male role models around. The girls at the station adore him, most of them spoil him something rotten when they think I’m not looking. Ha, even our old duty sergeant used to stop being uptight whenever he was around. She used to let him wear her hat and sit next to her at roll call.”

“I’m guessing you're a City Guardsmare, then?“

“Yes, Sir. Auxiliary Support Servicemare, First Class, Community Policing, Canterlot Twelfth Division, Sir”

A yellow forehoof snapped to salute as a pair of rear ankles came together.

“At ease, Miss Daydream.”

“Thank you, Sir. Good return there, very crisp movement.”

“Thanks. I get plenty of practice. You wouldn’t believe the amount of Wonderbolts or Royal Guards that still insist on saluting me whenever we meet.”

“I don’t doubt it, Sir”

“Hey, cut that out. You're doing it on purpose now.”

“No idea what you mean, Sir.”

“Okay, you win. So, the twelfth? Where’s your patch?”

“We’re up on the highest levels, covering everything from the air-cargo docks to Little Griffonia.

“The air docks? **whistles** Tough crowd.”

“That’s true. But, we’re working on it. Give it another year or so and you won't even recognise it.”

“I look forward to it. You know, I take Sweetie, that’s my oldest, up there sometimes, especially when Dashie’s out on tour. I think watching the airships come floating in or the griffons returning to their aeries helps remind her that her mom’s never gone for too long and that she’ll fly herself back home soon enough. It’d be nice if more people got to go up there. Though they think I don’t notice them, there’s always a guard keeping an eye on us up there, just in case.”

“Don’t worry, Sir. We’ll have that place safe as houses soon enough. You can count on us.”

Out on the lawn, the kids had finally managed to get all of their tents pitched and their bags stowed away and now one of the teenagers was trying her best to whip the younger campers into some kind of order. She might as well have been trying to herd cats instead for all the success she was having. After a few minutes the exasperated filly decide to give up on appealing to the kids’ non-existent sense of order, hopped straight over the idea of negotiating, and tried bribery instead. It was super effective.

“You know, I remember you. We met before, years ago.”

“Really, where was that?”

“Holding paddock twenty seven, Sir. It was one of the outdoor corrals set up in the palace gardens. Big canopy over one end, tasty grass underhoof... You’re one of the few things I can remember, from towards the end, once the fog started to fade. You used to come and stand by the fence sometimes, like you were watching over us, like a shepherd with a flock of sheep. You’d have just needed one of those curly stick things and the picture would have been complete. I think you were looking for your wives. You always looked so sad, and a bit lost maybe? I’ll always remember the day you came to collect Captain Dash- it was the first time I’d ever seen you happy. That was the day I started to have actual, proper thoughts again, the day I realised that I was a person, and not just a grass eating machine. Even now, it’s still odd to think about that day. According to the guards, the first thing I did after you took her away was come and ask them who you were... apparently it took me a full hour to actually get the words out. After all that, your name’s the first thing I remember anypony saying to me, the first thing that managed to cut through the cream. For months it just kept on bouncing around my head, through all the good and all the bad that happened later. When my son was born, I knew it was the right name for him. So, thank you for that... thank you for giving my boy a name.”

“I, err. No, thank you for giving it to him. It’s kinda weird, knowing there’s some pony out there named after me... a good weird though. Makes me feel a bit... special.”

“But you are! Special, I mean. I heard about what you did for us during the plague, everypony did. And what you did with the seaponies-”

“-well, that was more of a group effort. I think Miss Doo did more than me really-”

“-and how you got an entire hive of changelings to surrender-”

“-well, no, that was down to Rainbow and the Shadowerrr... err, I mean, they surrendered on their own, it wasn’t me.”

“Either way, lots of ponies look up to you, Master Lero, the girls on the force sure do. Hay, I’ve even heard some of the Griffons in our district speak well of you, which is a surprise as they hardly like anypony.

“That’s... nice?”

“**stage whispers** Sir, word around the guards has it that you managed to stop Princess Luna from laying down a right royal flank-whooping on the Changeling Queen with nothing but a few choice words and only one of your hands. Is that... I mean, is that true?”

“I... errr.. no comment?”

“Of course, Sir. Your secret is safe with me.”

“Oh, I, yes. Hang on a sec, I’ve just thought of something.”

Pulling a pen and one of Rainbow’s autograph photos(5) from beneath all the containers in his satchel, the human scrawled a word onto the back of it, then took the time to ever-so-carefully write a second word underneath that.

Bellerophon

Βελλεροφῶν

Once he was done he handed it over to Dandelion, who accepted it in much the same way that an ancient human named Moses might have accepted some big slabs of rock... very carefully and with their mouth hanging open.

“It’s from Greece, the name, I mean. That’s a country back on my homeworld- my dad was born there. See the bottom one there? That’s how it’s spelt in its original alphabet. This bit at the start- it means, err, dart, arrow, projectile, something that moves really fast through the air in a straight line. This second bit- it means to slauaa... err, to defeat, or prevail, or win, I guess is close enough. Back home it was the name of an ancient hero of myth and legend. He was a human, like me, and he did a lot of heroic things. The thing he was best known for though was... um, befriending a powerful and free-spirited pegasus. Then they fought together, defeated bad guys, had adventures, got turned into a constellation- all that kind of stuff.”

“Really? Wow. Was it a romance story? Did they live happily ever after.”

“Well, they were both guys, but yeah, I figure you could say that it had a happy ending.”

“So romantic. Two bold, brave, masculine warriors- facing the heat of battle together. Sounds kinda hot.“

“Ha, yeah, okay, well... that’s one way of putting it. Oh nuts, look at the time. I better get going. I said I’d meet my wife for lunch. She’s been getting so wrapped up in her work lately that she keeps forgetting to eat. Plus, the university canteen’s okay but nothing beats a big bag full of home cooked food.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to have kept you. Thank you, for your time, and for this- I’m sure Bellerophon will love it.”

“It’s been a pleasure. And if you ever want me to tell him more about where his name comes from, just let me know. The palace guards always seem to know where to find me so just drop a note off with them, it’ll get to me in the end.”

“Okay, I will. But, before you go, could I... would you mind... can I give you a hug?”

“Of course. I’m always up for hugs.”

Rearing up on her hind legs, Dandelion put her forehooves on the human’s shoulders and leaned in for a hug. Despite the lack of fur, he was nice and warm, and the hug made her feel quite... content. Squeezing him tightly, her head against this strange stallion’s neck, she rocked from side to side, just a little, before letting him go and stepping away.

Right before her eyes, the human unfolded himself, legs straightening and pushing him upwards. In less than a second he was towering over her. It made her feel so small, yet reassured at the same time, that he was so big.

Giving her one last smile, and a small wave, Bellerophon Michaelides bid her farewell before turning and walking back out of her life for the second time.

As she watched him turn a corner and disappear from view, she could hear the sound of children playing in the park behind her, the chatter of the birds in the trees, the myriad of distant background noises that gave the fine city of Canterlot its life.

Today was turning out to be a really good day.

1) And by extension any other mare within spraying range. Rainbow Dash had started buying her own fragrances for formal occasions just so that the fashionista would stop ‘marking’ her. Rarity considered this to be a success.

2) ‘Surprise babies’ - or less politely ‘Plague babies’ - was a colloquialism used to describe any unplanned births that occurred roughly eleven months after the blank plague swept through Equestria. While the plague itself suppressed more than 99% of the nation’s reproductive cycle and associated sexual drives, a small number of mares who were on the cusp of entering their heat stage when the affliction hit were still both as fertile and as pheromonal as normal even during their own period of infection. Although the plague was extremely effective at quashing both the intellect and most of the baser instincts of its victims, some instincts are more deeply ingrained than others.

3) While plague recovery paddocks had been segregated to keep males and females separate - especially once it had been noticed that some mares were still fertile - in many cases the damage had already been done by the time an infected mare was brought in for processing. Also, try keeping a pegasus mare who’s in heat - or any downwind pegasus stallion for that matter- trapped in a paddock using only wither-height wooden-fencing and see how effective that is. Nature always finds a way.

4) The Foal Protection Services (FPS) enlisted the services of the best Scryers and Forensic Chronologists that Equestria had to offer to not only identify the sire of each unborn foal, but also to ascertain whether there had been any ‘foul play’, ‘distasteful intentions’ or ‘advantage taking’ involved in each instance of conception. In all but three instances the unions had been categorised as ‘no-fault accidents’ and the details kept in sealed files until such a time as either dam, foal, or sire, requested access to them. The remaining three cases were passed directly to the crown and any ponies found to be at fault were immediately pulled in, questioned and cautioned(4.1).

4.1) By Princess Luna herself, who made it quite plain, and in no uncertain terms,(4.2) that not only were the perpetrators’ actions both deplorable and reprehensible (and that all three mares were extremely lucky that each of the stallions involved had decided not to press charges) but all three should thank every single star in the heavens that it was the Princess of the Night that was handling their cases and not her sister, who would not have been so lenient.

4.2) One of these three mares reported suffering from night terrors for an entire six months after Princess Luna was done ‘talking’ to her. Of the three, she was the lucky one.

5) These were of course so that Rainbow could pass them out to any fans that approached her in the street and not at all carried in her stallion’s satchel for vanity reasons- not even her ego was that big(5.1).

5.1) Most of the time.