The Herd

Chapter 10

The water was cool and refreshing upon her face, the sense of cleanliness it brought slightly revitalizing. It wasn’t as enjoyable as a proper shower, but it was as much as Luna was ready to allow herself at the moment. Retrieving the wielders of Harmony had been a priority greater than her own comfort, and she had given the palace doctors only enough time to ensure her injuries weren’t life threatening before rushing off to gather them.

She still had much to do, but she felt she could at least see to her comfort and appearance a little now that they had a proper defense in place against Discord. Her armor was gone for one thing, for all the good the stuff had done her. Hundreds of thousands of bits and weeks worth of magical enchantment had gone into its creation, and she’d been taken out by a bucket because she’d been lacking a proper helmet. The indignity of it was worse than the headache.

Her sore head at least was easy enough to remedy. Spells to dull aches and pains were fairly simple and reasonably effective for most injuries. Such a spell cast by someone with Celestia’s skill and power could make an injury seem to all but disappear. The lump was still there of course, but between her sister’s magic and the illusion she herself had cast over the bandages, Luna looked and felt as if she had been fully restored.

She toweled off her face, checking her reflection in the mirror. She looked tired, which was no surprise given what she had been through and how much past her usual bedtime it was. She wasn’t expecting to get any sleep this day, nor the coming night. Raising the moon the coming evening was likely to be a chore if she was already feeling this worn out.

“You have endured worse,” Luna told herself. Which was perfectly true. Few things in life could compare to a millennium of exile with nothing but the madness of pure magical corruption as company. That her mind was as stable and whole as it was after such an ordeal was no small miracle. She sometimes wondered how much of that she owed to the Elements of harmony, and how much might be her own resolve. At the moment, she felt the Elements deserved the greater bulk of the credit.

Despite feeling relatively well physically, despite trading in the weight and bulk of the armor for the comfort of her normal attire, despite knowing that Equestria was as ready as it could be for whatever Discord might have in mind, Luna could not find much in the way of peace of mind. She’d been careless, and had nearly lost her life for it. The cost of her surviving that blunder had been high, and had been paid by those she already owed much. It was a cost that many others might still have to pay in the future as well.

“Time to start working my debt off,” Luna told her reflection as she reached for her magic. Her image faded from the mirror as darkness filled the room. For a moment the blacken glass showed her the endless void from which her power flowed. It was also the abyss that had taken her anger and bitterness and spawned the Nightmare of the Moon. And somewhere in that lightless realm there might still lurk the seeds of that terrible transformation.

That was a problem for another night however. The mirror and then the entire room vanished into the darkness as Luna left the natural world, falling into the lightless under realm. The feeling was always that of falling, regardless of the actual direction she traveled, and despite the complete lack of anything that she could be falling towards. The void wasn’t truly empty, but what did exist there was present merely as memory and idea, fleeting and insubstantial.

She appeared in a quaint and idealistic orchard of neatly ordered and spaced apple trees. The overhanging branches were thick with leaves and heavy with fruit, and the mid-day sun was muted and diffused beneath that green canopy. Light shadows danced and flowed across the mostly bare earth as the wind softly wound its way through the grove.

The peaceful silence was broken by the sound of a heavy impact, the rustling of leaves, and a rapid, irregular thudding. Luna turned towards the noise, but although it had sounded close by, she could see nothing beyond the nearest trees. She stood still and quiet, ears straining even as her mind tried to match the sound to some memory, but she was coming up blank. Her horn glowed faintly as she opened her mind to the currents of magic that were ever present within Equestria.

It was not through her horn that she sensed it though, but up through the soles of her feet. A pulse of earth magic rippled through the ground, and for a brief instant Luna felt herself rooted in place. The power pulled at her, connecting her to the enormity of the world itself, and she found herself as always in awe of the might of magic that flowed through the lands. Earth magic was subtle to the point of being nigh invisible, but that did not make it weak. Woe indeed upon anyone who doubted the strength of a master of such power, for the entire world itself would lend power to those who knew how to ask for it.

That was the real secret of earth magic; unicorns had to provide their own magic, and pegasi had to bully existing currents of weather into doing what they wanted. No one however had the power to make the earth do as they wanted. One had to make themself known to the land, had to earn it’s respect and good will, and even that only granted the right to ask if it would lend some of its infinite might. Being a practitioner of earth magic was not an art nor a science, it was a relationship.

Princess Luna was not very good at earth magic. Her relationship with the world was one of mutual, begrudging respect of the other’s stubbornness. Polite but stiffly formal, and the very few times she had called upon that power the land had granted it to her mainly out of an understanding of the direness of the situation that had forced her to make such a plea. And it had been very smug about her having to ask for its help.

Celestia was on much better terms with the world, but even so, Luna had enough of a connection to recognize that whoever was calling on the magic was doing so with a casual air that spoke of a deep, personal affiliation. The energy held a sense of not just familiarity and respect, but genuine fondness as well, the magic given happily and without hesitation or reservation.

The magic was also lingering an abnormally long time, especially around where she stood.

“Oh stop that,” Luna chided the earth, forcibly breaking her connection with the land. Last thing she needed right now was the world bragging on someone else’s behalf. She strode off in the direction she had felt the magic coming from, pushing her way through the low hanging branches and into another row of trees.

What she found there made her steps falter, and she quickly stepped back to remain in the deeper shadows directly beneath the trees. She wasn’t quite certain why she hesitated to reveal herself, but some instinct told her to take a moment to study the individual casually making his way up the row. After a second to consider her feelings, Luna concluded that said instinct might not be one of her more pure minded ones.

He was not the biggest stallion she’d ever seen, not in height nor bulk of muscle, but he wasn’t far from the top in either. His build was not one for show however, not the carefully cultivated and toned look that often suggested more strength than was actually possessed. His was a working man’s build, solid slab muscle over a heavy, powerful frame. If there was any doubt of his physical prowess, and Luna had none but if there had been, it would have quickly been squashed by the casual manner in which he hauled along the wagon behind him.

It was a four wheeled behemoth, large and sturdy enough to have served as a dance floor for six. It was packed full with barrels, half of which were nearly overflowing with apples. The stallion was pulling it along with one arm, his steps slow but coming easily. The rough ground was no impediment to his pace, even as it tried and failed to trap the heavy wheels of the cart, its efforts defeated with simple tugs on the yoke.

Luna watched as he brought the wagon to a halt and began to unload a set of baskets, setting them out around one of the apple trees. Curiosity made her wait, even though she felt at this point she was verging on spying by staying hidden. Hardly appropriate behavior for a princess, to be sneaking around in the foliage to stare after a stallion, regardless of how impressively built he might be. Actually, that probably only made it worse, especially since he had shucked his shirt at some point with the rising heat.

Once the baskets had been placed, the stallion stepped up to the trunk of the tree, placing a hand gently against the rough bark. Even with her connection to the earth suppressed, Luna felt it as the land responded to his silent request, felt the energy gather. It was so swift, and so casual. The gathering of power was without effort or even much concentration. It was something done by rote, and with incredible precision. It was something he had clearly done literal thousands, if not tens of thousands of times.

With the same practiced ease and surety he brought his hand back, tucked in close to his side as he feet spread for stability. He thrust his arm out in a sudden blur and his palm struck against the tree in an impact of physical strength and magical energy. The power raced through the tree, excess bleeding off into the ground in another pulse of magic. And nearly the entirety of the apples popped right off their branches to fall neatly and precisely into the waiting baskets.

Luna felt her jaw unhinge from the shock of trying to process what she had just seen. She had just witnessed a true master of earth magic at work, someone who had cultivated a true connection with the land, to the degree that he could call upon the inherent magic of the world nearly as if it was his own. And he was using it to harvest apples! The absurd juxtaposition of such mastery used for something so utterly mundane left her flabbergasted.

The princess of the night half stumbled out of the cover of the tree line, walking towards the stallion in something of a daze. He did not notice her approach at first, his mind clearly turned inward on his own thoughts as he went about his day’s labor. He caught sight of her out of the corner of one eye as he was busy transferring his harvest from basket to barrel, and Luna saw him tense for just an instant, an expected reaction to being surprised. What was less expected was how he just as quickly forced himself to relax, to override his instincts before he would let himself respond.

Which was about the point he seemed to actually realize just who she was, as the tension came screaming back into his posture. The baskets went tumbling to the ground as they fell from his hands in his haste to kneel before her, his head bowed so low he’d have a hard time seeing anything but her feet. The apples went spinning across the dirt and sparse grass, scattering in a small wave of reds and yellows.

“Please, rise,” Luna instructed simply, her tone muted. Her magic flared, and the apples floated from the ground, depositing themselves back into the baskets in a brief flurry of motion, the baskets in turn hovering over to rest upon the waiting cart. “And tell us, might thou be known as Big Macintosh?”

Mac paused in climbing back to his feet, something that might have been alarm in his eyes. He straighten up slowly, and Luna took the opportunity to get an appreciation for how large he really was at such a close distance.

“Uh, eeyup,” Mac answered simply. He didn’t quite look at her, but instead stared at a spot slightly above the princess’s head.

“Excellent,” Luna breathed, earning a confused blink out of the stallion. “We need you to come with us to the palace.” She could see the thoughts turning over in his mind as he tried to make sense of that request. Truth be told, she really should have eased into the conversation a bit more gently, but she was tired. And perhaps she was a bit curious to see how he reacted.

For a moment Mac’s gaze shifted down to meet hers. His eyes weren’t exactly afraid, but more cautious and a bit considering. He didn’t hold her gaze long enough for Luna to get a good read on him, but she got a sense of stubborn determination that definitely solidified him as being Applejack’s brother in her mind. His attention quickly returned to looking safely over her head, and he nodded.

“Alright,” he replied simply.

“Alright?” Luna asked with a quirked eyebrow. She knew she shouldn’t bait him. She had more important things to do, and it was hardly appropriate. But at that moment she just couldn’t help herself. She just had to know just what kind of man could not only catch the interest of Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash alike, but also manage their attention as a good herd stallion must. “Just like that? No questions?”

“Don’t see much point to em,” Mac answered with a shrug, his face becoming calm and impassive. It was a good mask, one of the better one’s Luna had seen even with her centuries of experience. “You’ll tell me what I need to know when I need to know it.”

“And if we never tell you anything?”

“Then I’ll just have to assume you had a good reason for the secrecy.”

Luna blew out a breath, not sure if she was annoyed or impressed. “We could want you to perform some act of vile wickedness or treason against the kingdom for all you know.”

“I suppose so,” Mac agreed slowly. He took a deep breath. “But if you are intending to ask such a thing of me, I should tell you now that you’d be better off finding someone else for the job.”

“We are your princess,” Luna informed him sternly. “Our word is law. If we command you, you are to obey.”

“Eeyup,” Mac agreed again. His bearing shifted slightly, a bit of tension coming into his stance as he lowered his eyes to meet hers. As good as his mask was, his eyes betrayed the turmoil of emotions raging behind them. “You are a princess. So is Celestia. And no offense your majesty, but she’s been my princess a good bit longer than you have.”

Luna’s jaw didn’t quite drop open in surprise, but only just. Now she was impressed.

“You would act on her assumed position in defiance of our commands?” She demanded in a dangerous tone.

“Eeyup,” Mac answered, rock solid conviction in his tone, his jaw set stubbornly. “It don’t take much assuming to judge her position on any kind of questionable acts. She’s a good person, good as they come.”

Silence stretched as the two traded glares, sweat beading along Mac’s brow.

“She is that, isn’t she?” the princess of the night said with a sudden, fierce smile. That finally made Mac blink. His confusion mounted as Luna tilted forward at the waist in a slight bow to him, her wings spreading in a mild flourish. “Our respect to thou Big Macintosh. Thy conviction and moral dedication are quite admirable.”

“Uh…thanks?” he replied hesitantly. He bowed back to her, his motions jerky with uncertainty.

“Please accept our apologizes, but we felt it necessary to take thy measure.” Luna straightened, folding her wings back down. “There is a dire situation developing, and thou might be able to help contribute to its resolution.”

“…me?” Mac asked, sounding thoroughly disbelieving.

“Indeed. Pinkie Pie suggested that thou might be able to help.” That did not quite have the reaction Luna was expecting. If anything, he looked even more concerned.

“I…see…” Mac said slowly. “And uh, what is it she thinks I can help with?”

“We may soon be needing the Elements of Harmony,” Luna explained, trying to make sense of his reaction. Surely the good word of one of his herd mates on his behalf should have been taken as a good thing, a sign of her confidence in his abilities. “However we are concerned for the emotional wellbeing of Twilight Sparkle in light of a family tragedy.”

The shift in his expression was startlingly swift. His uncertainty and concern morphed into an anxious worry, and she could practically see him restraining his imagination. “What happened?”

“Her brother was gravely injured in the line of his duties as captain of the guard,” Luna answered, her own imagination trying to rise up the fresh memories. “We do not know if he will survive them or not.”

Big Macintosh closed his eyes, his face twisted in sympathetic pain. “What can I do?”

“Comfort her,” Luna replied. “Her friends already do so, as well as her herd mates and her family. You can add to that comfort. She can use all she can get right now.”

Mac nodded. “Alright.” His expression scrunched up in thought. “This will probably take me away from the farm for a while I imagine.”

“Likely until the threat against Equestria is ended,” Luna agreed.

“Then I can’t just rush off into this,” Mac said, and Luna found her opinion of him rise yet again. He looked and sounded like he wanted to hurry to Twilight’s side, but he was making himself slow down and think. The nature of the stallion in Pinkie’s herd had been something of a source of concern for her, however much she had told her sister she was certain about her intentions towards joining them, even in an honorary position.

Luna knew something of Pinkie and the rest of the bearers, if in a jumbled and incomplete way. She didn’t know much of the details of their lives, but she knew what kind of people they were. Knew in a way few others could. She had felt them all when she had been subjected to the magic of the Elements. Being a bearer of Harmony was more than just having the right to wear the Elements and call on their power. One became part of the Elements, and the Elements part of the bearer.

She might not know their favorite foods or what goals they had in life, but she knew who they were deep down. They were nearly strangers to her, and yet she had come to know them on a frighteningly intimate level through the power of the Elements. It was how she knew Pinkie’s offer at the train station had been more than just a jest. It had been an opening, subtle enough to let her laugh it off as a joke if she wanted, but perfectly serious if she wanted to accept.

Luna knew that she could trust Pinkie and Twilight and Dash to accept or deny her for genuine reasons. She knew they just weren’t the type to use her and her position for their own benefits. It was that exact concern that had kept her from seeking a herd of her own since her return. A thousand years of isolation had left Luna with a nearly overwhelming desire for the comfort and closeness of others. It had been such an agonizingly long time since she had known any kind of physical or emotional comfort.

Her time with Celestia was the only thing keeping her from throwing all caution and care to the wind. And yet as much comfort and support as she provided, Luna needed more than just the care and attention of her sister. Her body craved the kind of intimacy that family couldn’t rightly provide, and the bearers of Harmony seemed to be the ideal fit. They were safe, a known factor thanks to the odd connection that had been bridged between them.

Their herd’s stallion however, he was an unknown. Luna felt he had to be a decent enough guy, though she wasn’t certain that she didn’t just want to believe that in order to simplify things. But she found the idea of him being anything like the self-serving, ego centric ‘elite’ she routinely had to deal with too unlikely. Surely that was not the type of person Pinkie or Twilight or Dash would go for. And he certainly didn’t seem like that type. His mastery of earth magic spoke well of his personality to her. Unless she was just hoping it to be so.

She was just so tired of being alone.

“Princess? Princess Luna? You alright?”

Luna jerked out of her thoughts, suddenly aware of Big Macintosh looking at her with some concern. She instantly composed her features, slipping on the familiar mask of royal serenity she had worn for countless centuries. There was no way to take back what he might have seen however, nor even know just how much she had given away in her absent minded reflection of her situation.

She stifled a sigh. Nothing to be done for it now but to press on.

“We are fine, pardon us our rumination,” Luna responded coolly. “The situation is merely troubling. We should be on our way, what doest thou need to prepare?”

“Well…” Mac paused, thinking. “I’ll need to pack some…”

“Unnecessary,” Luna interrupted. “Whatever material needs you have can be provided at the palace.”

Mac looked a bit uncomfortable with the idea, but he nodded in acquiesce. “I’ll need to let my family know what’s going on, as well as find someone to look after them. Applebloom is too young and Granny Smith…well they need someone to keep an eye on things if both me and Applejack are going to be gone.”

“And who would you consider appropriate for this task?” Luna asked.

“I guess I’d soonest ask my cousin Apple Fritter,” Mac answered after a pause. “She lives nearby, knows the farm well enough, and could probably handle Granny for a bit.”

“Very well,” Luna said. “Hold out your hands.”

“Uh, like…this?” Mac asked, presenting his hands to her palms up.

“That will do,” Luna said with a nod, placing her own hands palms down in his. He flinched.

“Hold still or this won’t work,” she scolded lightly. Her grip tightened on him, and he responded in kind almost automatically. Her hands seemed rather small, laying against his thick fingers, and Luna felt an involuntary thrill at the sense of strength in that grip. She really needed to have a talk with Pinkie Pie, and soon.

“Wait, what won’t work?” the big man asked nervously.

“Shhh,” Luna instructed as the aura of her magic enveloped her horn. “Now, picture in thy mind thy cousin’s home.”

She felt it as the spell locked onto the thought her words conjured from his memory. It tugged at her, providing a sense of distance and direction that she fed into her teleportation spell, and the pair of them vanished into the void for a split second. The trip was short, almost absurdly so for her brand of teleportation, and the darkness came and went so quickly it could have been mistaken for a long blink.

For a moment Luna thought something must have gone wrong, as their surroundings had hardly changed at all. Rows of neatly spaced and ordered apple trees spread out around them, the only thing missing was the wagon. A second later a voice came drifting through the trees, accompanied by the light crunch of footsteps on dry dirt.

“So ah tell the lyin’ weasel, ‘Mister, if ya’ll from the ‘partment of agra’culchah, ah’m princess Cele…’”

The words stopped dead as a mare stepped through the tree line, her foot frozen in mid-stride as surely as her speech was in mid-word. She was a bit taller than average, built like a runner, and had a lush green mane split into long pigtails down either side of her face. She was currently goggling at the sight before her in a way that made Luna realize just what a scene she was presenting. She was holding hands with a stallion; a shirtless stallion at that, off in the potential privacy of an orchard.

Big Macintosh seemed to realize just what things looked like at the same time she did, as they both released the other and pulled their hands back at the same time. Luna suppressed a wince; that reaction was not likely to make their situation seem any less innocent.

“So what’d he say after…oh my word…” A second mare stepped into view, her progress likewise coming to a sudden halt as she laid eyes on the scene before her. She was a little shorter than the first mare, a bit more solidly built, and with a wavy blonde mane she kept tucked behind her ears.

The two mares looked at each other as if hoping one of them knew what to do or say.

Luna cleared her throat pointedly as she took a step forward, and the pair jerked in response. They dropped into bows, tension starting to build in their posture. She turned to look back at Mac.

“Thy cousin?”

“Apple Fritter and Apple Tart,” the big stallion replied with a nod towards the green maned mare and then the blonde.

“Good, then explain so that we may be on our way.” Luna took a couple steps away, giving him a small offering of privacy with his family.

“Uh, are we allowed to, ya know, stand up or sum’thin?” Apple Fritter asked quietly, peering over at the princess out of the corner of one eye.

“I reckon so,” Mac said, offering out a hand each to help them up.

“…Mac,” Fritter said by way of greeting as she let him haul her up.

“Fritter,” Mac replied in kind.

“Mac,” Tart mirrored, politely refusing the offered hand.

“Tart,” Mac nodded back.

Silence.

“So uh...” Apple Fritter began. “Sum’thin’ ya’ll needed to tell me?”

“Right, um,” Mac coughed. “I was hoping I could ask you to mind my farm for a bit.”

“Oh? You going somewhere?” Tart asked.

“Eeyup,” Mac answered. “Canterlot, couple of days like as not.”

“Applejack?” Fritter asked.

“Already there,” Mac replied.

“Ah,” Fritter said by way of acknowledgement.

More silence.

“So…are you and the princess…?” Tart ventured.

“No!” Mac said quickly, straining to keep his voice down. “It’s not like…I was…she caught me at a bad time is all, I was out working.”

“Right…” the blonde said slowly, glancing over first at Luna, then at Fritter. The two mares looked at each other in that way that Mac had come to recognize as two women practically communicating telepathically.

“So if it ain’t…like that…” Fritter said in a far too reasonable tone. “Then what is it like, that one o’ the princesses herself is the one collecting ya’ll?”

Mac rolled his eyes. “It ain’t really about me. It’s got to do with my sister and her friends. You know, Elements of Harmony and all that.”

“Oh,” Tart said thoughtfully. “Oh…” she added a second later.

“That sounds a bit troublin’ ta me,” Fritter put in darkly.

“It…it could be,” Mac agreed. He glance at Luna, and dropped his voice even further. “Look, I get the feeling I should be keeping my mouth shut…”

“Big task for you,” Tart cut in with a smirk. Mac ignored her.

“But could you see to it that the family is…well ready for anything, just in case.”

“’Course we can,” Fritter assured him quickly. “And don’t ya’ll worry none about ya’ll farm, we’ll keep an eye on things for ya’ll.”

“Thank you,” Mac said gratefully. “Bit of warning, I did not have time to tell Applebloom or Granny Smith what was going on, so you’ll need to fill them in.”

“Not it!” Tart said quickly, earning a stink eye from Fritter.

“Fine,” the green maned mare grouched. “But now ya owe me one Mac.”

“I’ll make it up to you,” the big man promised. He glanced over to where Luna stood, one foot starting to tap in impatience. “I best be going I think.”

“Right right, go help save the world or something?” Tart asked.

“Or something,” Mac replied.

“Well what’ver it is, be careful ‘k?” Fritter told him, stepping forward and giving her cousin a brief hug.

“I will be,” Mac said, hugging her back.

“You better,” Tart said, giving and receiving her own hug. “I’m going to need Fritter back here before the fall harvest.”

Mac rolled his eyes, but gave her an extra squeeze before letting the hug go.

“Art thou ready?” Luna asked as he made his way over to her, and he gave her a simple nod. “Very well, let us be on our way then.”

Mac steeled himself as the princess’s horn glowed, and the shadowy presence of her magic engulfed them both. His stomach felt like it was trying to climb its way up into his chest for a moment, and then it came slamming down again as his feet reclaimed purchase on a solid surface.

He had only a brief second to take in the richly decorated surroundings of the royal throne room before something pink and blindingly fast streaked across the room and latched onto his arm with a squeal of “Macky!”

“Pinkie,” Mac said, stumbling a bit for balance as the mare started hauling him along like a small child. He was partly aware of others in the room; a few guards staring after him quizzically, some other fellows in fine dress looking rather affronted by the whole scene, princess Celestia looking like someone trying not to smile…

The big man took a firm step in the direction Pinkie was hauling him, getting a foot planted solidly for just a second. It was all he needed however to bring the excitable mare to a halt by the simple means of lifting the arm she was holding until her own feet came off the ground, leaving her treading empty air.

“…something wrong Macky?” Pinkie asked conversationally, as if she wasn’t hanging a good foot off the floor.

“Could we slow down just a bit?” Mac asked reasonably. “At least until I can pay proper respect?” He nodded over towards Celestia.

“Oh that’s quite alright Macintosh,” Celestia spoke lightly, her efforts to keep her smile under control losing ground. She hid part of her face behind a scroll she had clasped in one hand. “Go with my blessings.”

"Uh, thank you your maje…” Mac started, only to be cut off as Pinkie somehow reclaimed traction with the ground.

“Thanks Celly!” the hyperactive mare said as she resumed stallion-handling her man out of the throne room, much to the amusement of one princesses, amazement of the other, and general bewilderment of everyone else present.

“You couldn’t even let the poor fellow get fully dressed sister?” Celestia asked as the pair vanished out the door, her tone playful.

“We were merely being expedient,” Luna answered back primly, well aware of the looks the guards and nobles were pointedly not aiming in her direction. It was the kind of false privacy that always made her feel more self-conscious than if they just stared outright.

“Of course,” Celestia agreed amicably. “Though you know, sometimes speed isn’t everything. Be sure to pace yourself.”

Luna felt her face heat as she glared daggers at her sister. As if her teleporting into the palace with a half-naked stallion wasn’t rumor material enough as it was. “We will take your advice under consideration,” she replied with a forced cheer that missed the mark far enough to make everyone else present look like they were trying very hard to go willingly deaf. Celestia of course just smiled pleasantly back at her as if completely unaware of the pot her words were stirring.

“I’m sure you will act with good grace and forethought as usual sister,” the solar princess said brightly. She paused to sign the scroll she was holding. “He’s rather nicely built isn’t he? Good pick…”

“Sister!” Luna gasped, her outburst echoing off the walls as the royal voice came unbidden. “How could…you can’t just…at least pretend!”

Celestia put a hand to her mouth in an effort to stifle her laughter. “I’m sorry sister,” she giggled.

“This is highly inappropriate, especially at such a time,” Luna groused, getting her voice back under control. That knocked the laughter out of Celestia, though it didn’t entirely wipe the smile from her face.

“On the contrary Luna, I believe that more than any other time, mirth is necessary in times of crisis and in the wake of travesty. We cannot let ill times rob of us of the joys that make life worth living.”

“Including needling one’s sister apparently,” the princess of the night said tartly.

“Oh most especially that,” Celestia agreed with mock seriousness as she handed the scroll over to a guard, who looked quite relieved at the excuse to leave.

It took a bit of persuading, but Big Macintosh managed to convince Pinkie Pie that he was perfectly capable of walking without her half pulling his arm out of the socket. While she did reluctantly release her death grip on him though, she would not hear anything that suggested they move any slower than a brisk walk. Mac wasn’t usually one to hurry, but he was tall enough and had legs long enough that he could cover ground quickly when pressed.

And Pinkie was certainly pressing him.

She alternately lead, shoved, and directed him down several halls, stairways, and even cut through a couple rooms without regard to whether they were or were not occupied. Eventually the pair found themselves standing before a simple but well-crafted door of solid oak. A plaque was hung upon the door, perfectly centered. Upon the golden surface was etched in flawlessly crisp lines an image of a shield, a six pointed star contained within. A trio of smaller stars hovered over the shield.

And a trio of guards stood before the door, eying him and Pinkie warily. Though after a moment to properly consider them, Mac had to upgrade it from ‘warily’ to ‘nervously’. He also was forced to cut himself entirely out of the equation, as all three guards’ gazes were in fact resting solely upon the pink maned mare besides him. He wasn’t really certain what to make of that, or to expect as they crossed the final few feet between themselves and the tensing guards.

“Hi guys!” Pinkie said in her overtly friendly manner.

“Miss Pie,” came a much less enthusiastic, indeed even reluctant, response from the largest of the sentries. His eyes traveled over her as if trying to figure where she might have a weapon stashed. “No…cake this time?”

“Oh no,” Pinkie said with sudden and startling seriousness. “Not after last time.”

“Ah, very good,” the guard said, the tension in him easing a fraction. “No doughnuts either?”

“Never again,” Pinkie responded solemnly.

“Mmhmm. And what about…cupcakes? Or dumplings? Éclairs?”

“Fritters…” one of the other guards put in accusingly.

“Nope, nu uh, nadda, and no way,” Pinkie responded firmly.

“Mmm…well…” the first guard hedged, clearly looking for an excuse but finding none. “Ah, very well then.” His attention shifted to Mac, and he looked slightly hopeful. “And just who might this be?” he demanded.

“Big Macintosh,” Pinkie answered. “You know, Twilight Sparkle’s herd stallion.”

“Oh…yes of course.” The guard deflated. He spoke reluctantly. “Very well, you are both cleared to enter.”

“Thanks!” Pinkie said brightly, slipping on by the guards and pushing the door open. Mac waited a moment for the disgruntled trio to give way before following after her.

The room beyond was fair sized and well organized. A small reception area was set up immediately opposite the entrance, several chairs placed around a circular table atop a richly colored rug that hid most of the stone floor. A trophy case sat nestled in the corner, the glass front polished to a sheen. An assortment of medals and ribbons dominated the top half of the cabinet, arranged in four neat rows, all crisp and shining. The lower half of the space however contained a bare handful of dirty, worn, and damaged bits of armor and the broken hilts of weapons.

Mac didn’t get a chance to take a closer look at the display however as Pinkie once again seized his arm and hustled him down a side hall, towards a room at the far end. Her pace slowed just as they reached the doorway, and with unusual calm and reserve she reached out to rap softly upon the wooden frame.

“Come in,” came a dull response from behind the door. Pinkie gently pushed the door open, her grip sliding down Mac’s arm to take him by the hand, giving him a reassuring squeeze as she lead him inside.

The bedroom was a small affair, mostly taken up by a sizable bed and two dressers. A few chairs had been squeezed around the bed, though only two were currently occupied. Twilight sat side by side with Princess Cadence, their hands clasped. Both mares looked slightly haggard, though Cadence’s multi-hued mane hadn’t quite frizzed out as much as Twilight’s. The dark lines under both their eyes however were identical, and were magnified by the sharp shadows cast from the glowing auras about their horns.

Almost as one they glanced over to see who had arrived. Cadence looked politely puzzled as she regarded Mac. Twilight looked like someone being thrown a line while struggling to stay above water. She gave Cadence’s hand a slight squeeze, and the pair traded a look much the same as Fritter and Tart had. Whatever the message was, it was clearly communicated, as the light blue aura of the princess’s magic intensified even as Twilight’s own died away.

The violet maned unicorn stood up, moving carefully around the bed, and came over to embrace Mac in a hug tight enough to do Pinkie proud. The pink party mare meanwhile slipped into the seat Twilight had just vacated, putting an arm comfortingly around Cadence, who gave Pinkie a tired but warm smile.

“Thank you for coming,” Twilight whispered into his chest.

“Of course,” Mac replied, putting his own arms around her, completely engulfing her in the hug as she pressed her check against him, her eyes closed. The big man glanced down at her for a moment, then finally let himself really look at the figure laying in the bed.

There wasn’t much to see.

Most of the prone form was covered up under a thin sheet, and what did protrude was so entirely covered in bandages that it was hard to tell it was a person. Shining Armor’s condition was further muted by the glowing aura of magic encasing him, blurring out the fine details. It was just possible to make out the slow rise and fall of his breathing through it all.

“Come on,” Twilight said softly after several long moments. She released her hold on him, and Mac let her slip from his arms as she turned for the door. He followed after her, and the pair soon ended up back in the reception area at the front of the living quarters. Mac pulled out a chair for her, and Twilight dropped into it as if she had just run a marathon.

“How is he?” Mac asked gently.

“He’s fighting,” Twilight replied mutely. “The doctors weren’t very optimistic at first, but Celestia turned things around by lending her expertise and power to their spell work. They say if he pulls through the next few hours, he’ll be out of the worst of it. Still have to watch closely for infection though, his burns are almost a hundred percentage coverage.”

“Is that what you and the princess were doing in there?”

“Yeah,” Twilight nodded. “And keeping him sedated and under.” She rubbed at her face wearily. “Cadence is also holding some kind of dream spell on him, something she said princess Luna had shown her. She can talk to him through it, kind of.”

“Kind of?”

“It’s a very complex thing to do,” Twilight explained. “The only reason she can manage it at all is because it has some overlap with her Love talents, and because of the connection she and Shining have.”

“Oh,” Mac said, not really understanding at all. She gave him a small, knowing smile.

“Sorry, I could explain better, but I’m just so tired right now…”

“Don’t you worry about it,” Mac told her. “You should get some rest, and some food.”

“I will, in a bit,” Twilight told him. “I was just waiting for…”

She cut off as the door opened, and a pair of unicorns were admitted in by the guards. The mare was nearly a mirror image of Twilight, save for her mane was equally striped with violet and white, and she carried some extra years in the lines of her face. The stallion was a tall but slender man, with a dark blue mane that stopped just shy of purple.

“…my parents,” Twilight finished, getting to her feet. She crossed over to the pair, embracing them both at once.

Mac felt his spine stiffen as he considered his appearance. He was still shirtless, his pants slightly sweat stained, and he didn’t want to think about how his mane probably looked. It was not the kind of condition he would have chosen to be in for meeting one of his herd mate’s parents. Unfortunately there was neither time to fix himself up, or even to duck out of sight, as Twilight was already directing their attention his way.

“Mom, dad,” she was saying. “This is Macintosh Apple. Applejack’s brother. Mac, these are my parents, Twilight Velvet and Dusk Shadow.”

Mac got to his feet, nodding politely and doing his best to ignore his own state of partial dress. “Ma’am, sir,” he said, offering a hand.

“Ah yes, I think we’ve heard of you,” Twilight’s dad said, shaking hands. “Pleased to meet you.” Something about the man’s tone made Mac hesitate a second; it was not exactly indifferent, but hardly as interested as he would have expected from a parent meeting his daughter’s stallion.

“Likewise,” Velvet agreed distractedly, her gaze drifting towards the hallway leading to Shining Armor’s bedroom before returning to Twilight. “How is he?”

“The same,” Twilight answered somewhat hesitantly, and Mac had a sudden sinking feeling as his mind started to suggest an unwelcome idea. He wasn’t the only one to notice Twilight’s sudden discomfort.

“What is it dear?” Velvet asked.

“Oh, nothing,” Twilight responded awkwardly, and smiled nervously as both her parent’s sighed.

“Sparkle…” Dusk Shadow said with exaggerate patience.

“Uh…well…” Twilight muttered, meeting Mac’s eyes. Her expression was equal parts a plead for help and an unspoken apology. He repressed a sigh of his own at the confirmation that look gave to the idea knocking around in his head.

“Ma’am, sir,” Mac said, pulling out a pair of chairs for them. “Maybe you should have a seat. I think there is something we need to talk about.”

Dusk Shadow regarded his daughter for a moment more, then his gaze slowly turned to take in Big Macintosh. His eyes widened a bit and Mac could see understanding starting to form in the man’s face.

“…Twilight?” Velvet asked in a tone that suggested she was starting to think along similar lines to her herd stallion. “Twilight. Dusk. Sparkle…”

“Uh…surprise?” Twilight laughed nervously.