Light as a feather

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 16

Chapter 1

-Chapter One-

The voices of the ponies mingled so closely together it had become hard to pick out the individual conversations. He would catch a snippet now and then, merged together with altogether separate dialogue, which he had to admit made for some pretty interesting results. It had amused him for a while but he was beginning to feel the all too familiar twinge of boredom.

“Order up!”

The sudden outburst called his attention and only reluctantly did he answer it, his hooves dragging. The cook, a stallion by the name of Short Order, gave him an incorrigible look.

“Don’t drop it this time.” The burly stallion muttered dismissively.

“I got it.” The scruffy colt answered hastily balancing the tray, laden with a variety of exotic fruits, some of which couldn’t be found anyplace else, on the tip of his nose. He was careful to walk slowly as he wove his way through the numerous tables, until he found the one he sought.

“You’re quite good.” A sultry female voice spoke. “…For an earth pony that is.”

He chanced a glance at the mare who had complimented his skill. An insecure smile crossed his face as he set the tray on the table and stepped back, trying not to stare. She was extremely beautiful, long and lean, with pleasant green eyes. The blush rising to his face was hidden by his rusty orange pelt. The unicorn gave him a once over before turning her attention to the food. She levitated a strawberry to her lips, a motion that made the colt swallow uncomfortably.

“You weren’t here yesterday.” He muttered under his breath, not meaning for her to overhear.

“Oh?” She questioned biting down on the strawberry. A thin bead of pulp slid down her chin, but she didn’t seem to care. A mischievous smile turned her lips as her attention settled on him once more. “I suppose it was best I choose to come this day then was it not?”

“Amber!”

The colt tore his gaze from the unicorn as he heard his name called. Realizing he’d lingered too long, far longer than was proper for a simple waiter, he reluctantly left. Short Order raised a brow as the colt returned. “Don’t forget your place son. Mares like that are nothing but trouble.”

The ruddy colt frowned at the brawny stallion’s use of the familial term. His father was gone. He had been for some time now. Biting back his anger Amber balanced another tray and abated his emotions through work.

The night was cool and crisp, the stars shining brightly. Amber gazed up at them as he walked, knowing the streets well enough to navigate blindfolded. Not that he could ever think of a plausible reason to do such a thing.

It was a lengthy walk to his apartment, through a lesser known neighborhood, not tarnished by the energetic nightlife of others he’d been through. The rusty orange pony welcomed the silence allowing his mind to wander where it would. Not surprisingly he found it settling on the stunning unicorn he’d met that afternoon.

It was only now he thought to get her name, when the opportunity had long passed. He could remember nothing by way of distinguishing marks to identify her should he see her again and this made him angry.

“You’re a fool Amber.” He said aloud, thankful no pony was around to hear. He dug at the earth, biting hard on his bottom lip, suddenly overwhelmed by a white hot fury he struggled to withhold. After several quiet moments spent restraining his aggression he glanced again to the stars high overhead.

Princess Celestia must be tired. He thought quietly as one of them fell, a shimmering procession of sparks trailing behind it.

“Aren’t you going to make a wish?” A familiar voice asked. He swung his gaze toward the sound finding the beautiful unicorn stepping from the shadows, an amused smile on her lips. Her ivory coat glistened in the starlight, creating an ethereal aura around her being.

“Wishes are for fillies!” He snorted unable to hide the bitterness in his voice. At least that’s what his father had always told him. The colt shoved the memory away.

“Then, shall I make one for you?” The mare asked, closing her eyes and titling her head toward the night sky. Amber hesitated. She couldn’t be inviting him to look, could she? Swallowing the lump in his throat he dared a glance at the mares flank.

“The Royal Crest!” He exclaimed far louder than intended. He hadn’t meant to say anything at all. The coat of arms on her flank was surrounded by what looked to be small hoof prints.

“Are you surprised?” The unicorn merely smiled, glancing at his cutie mark in turn. He’d always been a bit ashamed of it. Cutie marks were meant to show a pony’s special talent; so why then was he, an earth pony, adorned with three white feathers?

Amber shifted on his hooves. He had never been very good at small talk, or talking in general, especially around pretty ponies. He found more often than not his words got him into trouble. The unicorn spoke suddenly taking the burden from him. “I meant what I said. You may not realize it but balance is a skill, a very rare skill in earth ponies.”

The colt didn’t look impressed.

“Perhaps I’d better explain myself someplace a bit more private.” She said. “After all, this is royal business, not meant for prying ears, of which here there are many.”

Though he hated to admit it he was intrigued if not curious by what exactly she had meant by prying ears. The colt saw no one but himself and the mare. Reluctantly he invited her to follow behind, as he continued his journey through the seemingly empty streets to his apartment building.

"Forgive the mess." Amber muttered distractedly as he led the unicorn into his apartment. She glanced around the large front room, unimpressed...or rather, confused.

"Mess?" She inquired. Aside from a couch and small table the room was empty. A large picture window allowed for a spectacular view of the city below, but there were no personal decorations of any kind.

"You live alone?" She asked as she glanced into a smaller room just off the first. Inside she found a torn mattress, the bedding strewn haphazardly across it. Another window, much smaller than the first, let soft moonlight in.

“Yes.” He answered his eyes narrowed suspiciously. Perhaps it had been a bad idea bringing her here?

How could one live in a place with so few comforts? The unicorn wondered inwardly, hiding her delight beneath a warm smile. He was perfect!

“Well that’s enough of that!” She said suddenly breaking Amber out of his temporary stupor. Her eyes shimmered as if she’d stumbled upon something grand but the earth pony had nothing of substantial value. “Amber I’d like to officially invite you to participate in Canterlot’s first ever fine dining expose being held in honor of Princess Luna's return to duty!”

“Fine dining…expose?” Amber repeated confused.

The unicorn gave a curt nod in answer. "Indeed. The younger princess is a fan of the culinary arts. Her sister thought it might be beneficial if she was to have a hoof in throwing an event of her own choosing. I am currently recruiting participants, at the princess's request of course."

“You’re recruiting me?” The colt asked disbelievingly. He had assumed she was merely a consumer, a patron at the restaurant, but now he knew differently. She hadn’t truly admired his skill! She was only looking for a plaything to amuse the princess at her party.

A frown creased her brow as the colt hesitated in showing any sign of exuberant emotion. Every other pony she'd invited had been absolutely ecstatic at the prospect of showing off their talents in front of royalty. “Do you not want to participate? There will be prizes I assure you, treasures of significant value.”

“No...I don't..." The colt took a deep breath and slammed his hoof into the floor. His flank quivered and the mare stepped back waiting for the explosion that seemed imminent. The colt gritted his teeth tightly, his words coming out in a tight hiss. "Leave..."

The unicorn opened her mouth to speak, perhaps reiterate, but the anguished colt interrupted her before she could. "NOW!"

"Forgive me. I did not mean to upset you." The unicorn apologized quietly as she moved carefully past the distressed colt. His eyes remained locked on the crack he'd created in the floor. The unicorn gave him one final glance before closing the door, leaving the colt to seethe in solitude. She flinched a moment as the thunderous crash of the young stallion bucking the apartment wall caught her unaware.

Chapter 2

-Chapter Two-

A loud crash and a short scream, not of fear but of surprise, pulled Short Order from the kitchen into the dining room. He saw Amber apologizing furiously to a pretty young unicorn, her dazzling white coat and exceptionally styled mane dripping with the contents of the tray the clumsy colt had just spilled.

She looked displeased, a bit surprised, but not angry. She said as much as she tried to calm the distraught colt.

"It's quite alright really." The unicorn said levitating the tray from the floor to the table, as the earth pony went to do so with his mouth. The broken dishes and spilled contents were likewise lifted by the unicorn's magic and placed in a rather neat pile atop the tray.

"See no harm done." The unicorn reassured, her voice faltering a moment and her eyes widening, the hint of a whine seeped into her words as she gazed in horror at what looked to be a rather expensive scarf draped around her neck. "Well, except for my new scarf, of course..."

The article of clothing had been ruined, even as novice a fashion pony as Short Order could see that. The fabric had shrunk where the liquid had splashed, the vibrant dyes running together creating an absolute mess of colors.

"I...I suppose I'll just have to make a...another." The unicorn rambled to herself, a stutter evident as she voiced her displeasure, levitating the scarf to a nearby wastebasket. Amber could feel his composure slipping. He wasn't angry at the filly but at himself for being such a hopeless klutz.

"Balance a skill my flank!" Amber grumbled with a clenched jaw. The unicorns eyes widened in surprise at his use of the term. Short Order saw fit to step in.

Short Order was a stocky stallion, larger than Amber gave him credit for, not in height but in girth. His size became evident as the two stood face to face in the back lot of the restaurant. Amber stared at the grass beneath his hooves, breathing deep and slow, as he worked to calm his temper.

"You look a mess more ways than I care to count." The cook pony said. The colt's normally disheveled mane was more a mess than usual, his eyes raw and bloodshot. He hadn't slept at all spending the remainder of the night pondering the mares offer. "What's eating you?"

Amber, unwilling to share, remained silent; doing everything he could to avoid the stallions gaze. "It was that Canterlot dame wasn't it?"

This caught the colt's attention. He looked up into the stallions eyes and an unsure smile replaced the frown. "She invited me to the palace... to show off... for the princess." He snorted disbelievingly.

"Show off for the princess?" Short Order mimicked his uproarious laugh startled the colt.

Amber ground his teeth together angrily. As much as he wanted to he knew better than to try and fight the stallion. Pound for pound Short Order outweighed him by nearly double, and Amber had never been in a real fight, not one he'd come out of conscious anyway.

"Why would the princess want anything to do with a clumsy half wit like you?" The burly stallion said taking a step toward the volatile pony. The disheveled colt quivered understanding what the stallion was trying to do. He had to fight it, the urge to destroy himself to satisfy the anger boiling up inside of him. Amber missed the smile that crossed the Short Order's face as he tried to derail the years of bitterness surging inside.

“You'll never be good enough for any pony?” The stallion continued prodding, his voice rising. “Is that what he told you?”

Amber quivered, trying very hard to keep his restraint intact. He couldn’t afford to lose this job. He had been run out or fired from every other job in town and word of his temper had spread to the rest scaring away several potential employers.

“Is that it?” The burly stallion spat. “Is that what you’re afraid of?!”

A vicious smile followed the stallion's biting words as he found the nerve he’d been searching for snapping the colt's fragile attempt at composure in two. His temper was taut already and the insult had quickly broken any reason he'd had left. Before he could fathom what course of action he had taken Amber was on his back, stars swimming behind his eyes, familiar feathers hooves on either side of his head.

"I won't make a fool of myself!" The young stallion cried his voice cracking as he refused to relinquish his anger.

"Is that what you think?" The stallion asked shrilly. Amber remembered only vaguely the stallion's claims of having once been a drill instructor for the Royal Guard. Had his head been clear he may have cared about that claim but as it was the thought was distracting and unwanted. "If you think you're not good enough then that's all you'll ever be, never mind that someone thinks you have potential."

"Why do you care?" Amber retorted his voice cracking for a second time. “You mean nothing to me!”

A long glare passed between them, the orange colt's anger ebbing in place of a steadily rising fear. His father's voice found him briefly, floating up from the deep dark well of his memory. The colt closed his eyes fighting back the phantom pain his remembering produced.

The stallion bit back his reply sensing the colt's distress. He released the young pony watching only long enough to see the colt roll to his feet, swaying unsteadily. Short Order made it to the rear entrance of the restaurant before glancing over his shoulder a menacing glare on his face, concealing the fact that inside his heart was breaking. "Get out of here son." The stallion said. "I don't need you anymore."

Amber spent the rest of the afternoon into late evening wrestling his temper, before deciding it was time to head home. As night rose he watched the sky, saddened as another of Celestia’s stars fell.

“Excuse me Mr. Glaze!” The reception pony said loudly as she noticed Amber enter the lobby. “Mr. Dart wishes to speak with you.”

The somber colt raised his head and looked to where she indicated a wooden door with a frosted glass window to the left of the stairway leading up to his, and many other, apartments. Bold black letters read:

-Barn Dart: Manager-

Amber stood there staring until the receptionist pony, a petite mare with a slip of parchment and quill for a cutie mark coughed audibly. “He’s waiting.”

The colt knocked before entering. He’d been in the office only once before, when he’d signed the lease. It was smaller than he’d remembered. A large bookcase was on the wall to his right overflowing with books and files. Across from it was a display case, housing trophies from Barn Dart’s days as a competitive dart player.

Amber admired the trophies until the aged unicorn brought his attention around. He looked to find a vaguely familiar face glaring back at him. The pony may have been getting on in years but he was still sharp as a whip.

“Amber Glaze apartment 3c, third floor.” The older stallion said, calling out Amber's apartment from memory. It wasn't so incredible a feat considering there were only twenty apartments in the building and many of the ponies had been living there for several years.

“Yes sir.” Amber answered not sure if it was rhetorical or not.

“You pay 300 bits a month am I correct?” The pony asked. Amber nodded. The umber stallion's eyebrows had grown to an intimidating length through the years shadowing his sunken pale blue eyes. It looked as if he were scowling even when he smiled, which he only did when the money from each months dues came in.

“You owe a substantial amount son,” The stallion said. Amber frowned at the use of ‘son’ by the older stallion, who either didn't notice or didn't care. “1200 bits by my count, not including the recent damages.”

Amber was able to catch a glimpse of the pony’s cutie mark as he moved out from behind a large mahogany desk; a target stuck with a blue dart. Turning his eyes up to the stallions face, the orange colt struggled to hold them there, so as not to look as if he were trying to evade any blame for either charge.

“I can get the money. It’s just… I’m having a bit of trouble at work right now…” Amber faltered. He couldn’t tell the old stallion he had been fired. He’d get kicked out immediately. Where would he go? He had no family to take him in, not on such short notice…

“I’m running a business here.” The unicorn remarked calmly. “We all fall on hard times now and then, I’ve been there myself so I understand, but I can’t go lenient every time some pony lapses or I’d be out on the street myself. I've given you more than your fair share of warnings.”

Amber thought back to the numerous letters he'd received with a frown. They were all piled together, unopened but for the first, in a wire basket sitting beside the couch.

“I’m sorry.” The manager muttered sincerely. “I’ll give you a few more days but if you cannot come up with the money I’ll have no choice. You understand don’t you?”

Amber nodded meekly. He did understand. He had known all along it would come to this, he just hadn’t been expecting it so soon. He’d only had the apartment six months, fallen behind after two. It wasn’t as if his rent was expensive, only that his wages were low, to low to afford even the most meager of residences.

Amber willed his legs to move but he remained frozen, rooted to the thin carpet. After what felt an eternity the elderly unicorn spoke. "I like you kid, I do. You remind me of myself at a younger age."

"Sir?" Amber questioned noticing a glazed look had come to the aged ponies blue eyes. A smile worked its way to the stallion’s lips and he gave a defeated sigh. "I'll make you a deal. If you get me the money you owe up to this point here, plus the added damages, by next month I'll scratch the remaining lease dues. If not I'll have to charge you the full 2700 bits"

The naive colt gave a weak smile. He opened his mouth to question the old stallion before deciding it would be best not to look a gift pony in the mouth. "I understand sir. Thank you."

Amber wasn't sure he would make it up the three flights of stairs to the third floor, and when he did he wasn't sure he would be able to make it down the hallway to his apartment, his legs were shaking so bad. Amber leaned wearily against the wall just inside his apartment as the realization of all that had happened finally sunk in.

1- He had been fired.
2- He had been evicted. (Though given Mr. Darts willingness to cut him a break he couldn't count this one as all bad, assuming of course he was able to fulfill the requirements...)

He had several days to pack and get out but that wouldn't be hard considering he had nothing to pack. The couch, the table, the mattress, nothing in the apartment belonged to him. They had been there when he moved in.

Had I been wrong to turn her down? He wondered thinking back to the offer the mysterious mare had proposed. Who in their right mind cared about a bunch of colts and fillies that waited tables, much less dedicate an entire expose to it? The more he thought about it the more it sounded like a load of horse apples.

His gaze was drawn out of the large picture window as he lay on the couch admiring Princess Celestia's night sky. The moon was visible only a moment before it was quickly swallowed by a cloud, allowing the light from the spattering of stars to shine through. He'd often admired Princess Celestia's nights as a way of escaping his turbulent foalhood but as the unicorn’s words found him again he wondered what it would be like to see one of Luna’s nights. Amber quickly fell into a dream in which he and Princess Luna flew together and hung the stars.

Chapter 3

-Chapter Three-

Amber hadn't always lived in a city. He had lived in a small town similar to this one when he was a foal, before things happened and he was no longer welcome. But those memories were far from his mind as he made his way toward the town center.

He stood aimless in the street, his hooves sore, his stomach aching. Three days of hoof hiking had gotten him nowhere but tired and hungry and his mood was worse for it. Slamming his hoof into the ground he created a small hoof shaped crater.

"Somepony’s grumpy today!"

Amber looked up at the bubbly pink pony bouncing in front of him, his head bobbed in time with her motion. He stepped back a little startled by her sudden appearance. He glanced around at the other ponies milling about the street to see if perhaps he was hallucinating. Surely this wasn't normal pony behavior?

"Excuse me?" He said quietly in case it was an illusion. He didn't want to be over heard, much less seen talking to himself.

"You heard me." The pink pony went on shoving her muzzle right into his, confirming she wasn't an illusion but an actual living breathing pony. "Do you know the cure for a grumpy pony? Well Do YOU?"

"I don't..." The colt began lamely, not in the mood for the odd pony’s antics.

"A PARTY!" The pink pony shouted. The rusty orange colt was showered with confetti from seemingly nowhere. He shook his head doing his best to dislodge the tiny strips of colored paper from his sloppy mane. He clenched his teeth tightly, restraining his emotion. "No thank you. I don't want..."

But the pink pony was already gone leaving the colt standing amid a pile of discarded confetti reaching to his knees. He screamed suddenly venting his frustrations to the sky garnering unsettling looks from the ponies on the street. Their whispered words of concern however, went unheard as the exhausted and half starved pony fell unconscious, all but buried beneath the vibrant party garnish.

"What's with that cutie mark? He hasn't got any wings..."

"Do you think he's a SPY?!"

"Oh dear, should we be talking so loud? What if we wake him?"

Several voices flooded into Amber's dreams as they slowly faded into reality. Realizing he was in the process of swallowing something bile he sputtered and gagged barely managing to keep from vomiting on the pony feeding him.

"Whoa there! Take it easy would ya?" The earth pony snapped as the semi liquid mixture dribbled from Amber's mouth. He flailed wildly, trying to escape his nightmares made real.

"Now ya’ve done it." The earth pony said as the sound of breaking glass roused Amber to full consciousness. "Granny Smith'd tan yer hide if'n you was family. That was some o' her best, uh, only China."

Amber rolled to his hooves bolting for the exit he had just managed to spot from his peripheral vision, hoping for a quick escape. He got only a few steps before wobbling unsteadily barely managing to keep himself upright. His head swam violently threatening to send him vomiting up what the earth pony had managed to shove down his throat before he woke.

"Where am I?" He mumbled his tongue thick and foreign in his mouth.

"Yer at Sweet Apple Acres sugarcube." The yellow pony answered. "Rainbow here found you passed out in a pile of confetti."

"Oh! Oh! I did that! That was me!" The bouncing pink pony from earlier shouted quite proud of herself. Merely watching her bounce made Amber's stomach flip and he put a hoof up to his mouth to suppress the sudden nausea.

"You've been unconscious for several hours." A voice the colt had yet to hear spoke up matter-of-factly. He tried to raise his head, to get a look at the pony who’d just spoken, but the thought alone made him sway precariously on his hooves.

"I...if it's ok would you tell us your n...name?" Fluttershy spoke up quietly stumbling over her words as was usual when she meet someone new. The other ponies looked at her surprised as she made to hide a blush beneath her frock of pink mane. "If...if you want to...that is...."

"Some pony has a crush on the new guy!" Rainbow Dash taunted playfully embarrassing Fluttershy even more. The yellow pegasus shivered noticeably as she attempted to disappear. The lavender unicorn frowned. "Rainbow that's not nice. I want to know his name as much as Fluttershy does."

The blue pegasus made to counter argue but was stopped as Amber spoke, unable to stand the ill treatment of the yellow pegasus by her so called friend. He tried to meet her eyes but she refused, staring instead at the floor between her hooves. "My name is Amber."
"It's a pleasure to meet ya Amber." The yellow earth pony said shaking the newcomers’s hoof excitedly. He balked and she stopped, stepping back out of the way. After the moment passed she introduced herself and the other ponies.

"My name is Applejack proud co-owner of this here establishment." The earth pony introduced herself a smile on her face, inviting him to glance at his surroundings. He didn’t.

"The rude pony behind you is Rainbow Dash." She said pointing to the rainbow maned blue pegasus that had taunted her friend only moments before. She seemed to have forgotten the incident as she fluttered near his backside scrutinizing his cutie mark as if she didn't believe he was an earth pony.

Amber groaned audibly as the apple pony introduced the bubbly pink pony he'd met earlier. "This here is uh... Pinkie what are ya doin'?"

The pink pony had placed a party hat on the colt's head while he was distracted and now hopped around him excitedly tossing confetti from a bag she hadn't had moments earlier. "It's not a party without party hats silly!"

Amber recoiled as she blew excitedly on a kazoo mere inches from his ear.

"My name is Twilight Sparkle.” A petite lavender unicorn introduced herself, momentarily distracting him from the ache in his temples. “I take care of the library here in Ponyville."

The unicorn gave a wry smile, pulling a party hat from her own head as she introduced herself. By that point Amber had managed to raise his head high enough to see the orange pony, Applejack, and the blue pegasus, Rainbow... something, dragging the pink pony away.

"Ponyville?" Amber repeated hearing the name of the town for the first time. He sat back on his haunches his legs suddenly unable to carry his weight. The name was familiar somehow but he couldn't place how he knew it or why.

"They can be exhausting, especially Pinkie Pie, but I assure you they mean well." The unicorn continued with a sincere smile assuming his question was rhetorical. After a moment, waiting for a reaction he supposed, she went on a bit sheepishly. "But I'm sure you could use some proper rest after all the excitement you've had, I know I would. There will be plenty of time for parties later."

With that she exited leaving Amber alone but for the yellow Pegasus in the corner. Judging by her reluctance to acknowledge him however he may as well have been alone. Slowly he stumbled back to the couch he had woken on and promptly fell into another nightmare laced sleep.

Chapter 4

The ruddy orange colt woke several times to a pleasant humming. The nightmares he had so often were less intense than those he remembered and for the first time in what felt like years he dreamt of his mother. It was impossible of course to dream of her; she had died giving birth to him, so maybe it was only what he always wished his mother could be.

She was a mare of many colors changing each time he envisioned what she might look like, each time he imagined what she might sound like. Right now she was pale yellow with a flowing pink mane and a beautifully shy smile.

Amber opened his eyes suddenly startling the yellow pegasus filly floating just inches above him. She squeaked and fell as her wings snapped tight to her sides, but still she managed to land on her hooves.

"I...I'm sorry." She seemed to shout though it came out no more than a whisper.

He felt something cold on his chest, shivers creeping the length of his body. Looking down he found a cold compress, leaking ice water onto his coat. He smiled and thanked her before realizing what had woken him so suddenly. His stomach growled hungrily as an amazing odor teasing his sense of smell. "Are you cooking?"

"Y...Yes." She said in answer before her eyes went wide and she flew from the room muttering 'oh no' to herself repeatedly in a frantic whisper. Amber followed after finding her in a small kitchen hovering over several pots, some of which were smoking. "Oh, now it's ruined."

She peeked over her shoulder, noticing he had followed her, and promptly dropped to the floor. "I…I'm so sorry. I…It was supposed to be a s..surprise."

"I'm surprised." He said with a smile as he stepped into the small room encouraged by the sweet enticing aroma. The smell alone made his mouth water and it took all he had to resist tearing the lids from the pots and wolfing down the contents right then and there. "Not only can you sing but you can cook."

"Y...you heard t...that?" The yellow pegasus said as she shrank back, slightly less than she had before. Her face was flushed a deep red and the young stallion chuckled softly. He hoped she was warming to him, even if only a little. He didn't want her to be afraid of him.

"I can take it back if...if that's what you want." He said lamely hoping to rectify whatever mistake he had made by complimenting her. After several long moments a very faint trickle of laughter met his ears followed by an equally faint smile.

In the hallway, unnoticed by the pair, Rainbow Dash rubbed her hooves together mischievously a smile spreading her lips wide. A swift tug on her tail by Applejack however ceased her playful plotting.

"Oh come on Applejack! This will be hilarohhmmff!" The rainbow maned pegasus shouted, the last bit muffled as the earth pony placed a hoof over her companion’s mouth.

"Rainbow, when was the last time ya seen Fluttershy laugh so openly with a strange pony, a colt no less!" Applejack inquired. Rainbow Dash scowled and crossed her hooves, her wings beating lazily to keep her aloft.

“But Fluttershy and Big Macintosh…” Rainbow began stopping at a look from Applejack. “Ya’ll know them’s just rumors and I’d suggest ya keep yer mouth shut about thing’s ya’ll know nothing about.”

“What’s that supposed to mean!?” Rainbow Dash continued stubbornly. Applejack turned on her giving a stare that would put a cockatrice to shame. She was a little angry at Rainbow’s suggestion that Big Macintosh and Fluttershy were an item, especially considering she knew for a fact her brother currently had his eyes on a certain cross eyed mail mare.

“It means let ‘em be Rainbow.” The apple pony said with a note of finality.

The large red barn had been decorated with streamers, balloons, banners and even more confetti, strewn randomly about. It would be too soon if he never saw tiny strips of colorful party paper ever again. A record player sat on a stool in the corner playing a twangy country song Amber didn't recognize and probably wouldn't admit if he did. The pink pony busied herself setting the table with party favors that looked like they'd be better suited for a foal’s birthday party.

At least there's food to look forward to. Amber thought quietly to himself. Outside the sweet scent of apples blew in from the surrounding orchards and he raised his head reveling in it, as well as the cool breeze playing with his mane. His thoughts however quickly turned sour.

"I hope yer planning on puttin’ a seed in that there hole yer diggin'." Applejack said noticing what he had not.

"Sorry." He apologized, clumsily replacing the dirt and patting it down. "I've got a lot on my mind right now."

"T'aint no reason to go puttin' holes in my yard." The orange pony shot back. "If yer looking for somethin' to do why don't ya go help Fluttershy with the rest of the food."

The young stallion trotted back to the house, feeling a bit on edge about just traipsing in. Still he supposed the apple pony had just given him permission, and it wasn’t as if he hadn’t been there before. He had woken in the house after all.

He found the yellow pegasus in the kitchen struggling to lift a tray laden with apple themed deserts. She must be more fragile than she looks. He thought as he quickly took the burden from her.

"Oh?” Fluttershy said surprised. “T...Thank you."

She watched curiously as he balanced the tray on his muzzle. "I...It's not too heavy is it?"

"'S fine." The colt said instead of nodding his head in any sort of answer. Even the slightest movement ran the risk of upsetting the balance he had going and he wasn't about to let this filly's hard work go to waste.

After the food had been delivered the pink pony decorated all the guests, including Amber, with party hats. The colt only vaguely remembered she'd done so once before. He couldn’t recall losing it in the time between but he must have if she was donning him with another.

With a great inhale of air the pink pony jumped onto the table, rocking the punch bowl and threatening to over turn the set up she had worked so hard on.

"LET'S PARTY EVERYPONY!!!!" (4)

Chapter 5

Early morning had crept up before the pink pony slowed down. She looked dead on her feet and it was no wonder considering she hadn't stopped dancing, or talking, since the party began. The rainbow pegasus and Applejack both lay passed out on the table, drool dripping from the pegasus pony’s mouth. Fluttershy hadn't passed out but rather excused herself some hours before to go sleep in the corner on a low pile of discarded hay.

Amber crunched absently on a carrot stick when the lavender unicorn, who had held up pretty well considering, sat near him.

"Does every new pony get a party or is it just the grumpy ones?" He wondered aloud watching the pink pony wobble unsteadily on her feet. She seemed to be fighting sleep and losing.

"This happens on a regular basis around here." Twilight explained.

"Well...thank you. I've never had a party before." He mumbled a bit ashamed he felt comfortable enough to share anything personal with the unfamiliar unicorn.

The pink pony snapped to attention. "YOU’VE NEVER HAD A PARTY!?"

Her cry woke the rest of the ponies, the rainbow one and Applejack wrestling to detangle from one another. The table they were on tipped over and both were splashed with the remainder of the punch, soaking both their manes in sticky liquid. He thought it was apple juice but couldn't be sure. The way those two had been acting the later half of the party it may have been hard cider.

Amber backed away as the pink pony, quicker than he could comprehend, was in his face assaulting him with a near incomprehensible torrent of words. "You've never had a party? Every pony has a party, a lot of parties in fact, several times a year, or a week even! Birthday parties, holiday parties, welcome parties, THE BIRTHDAY PARTIES ARE MY FAVORITE! When’s your birthday? Do you want a birthday party! I could throw you the biggest best birthday party ever in the history of parties!"

Amber felt his haunches touch the wall behind him before he fully realized he had been backing himself into a corner. He felt the shivers begin in his hooves traveling the length of his body as his mind began to play tricks on him. The pink pony was changing, becoming a stallion, the menacing dark brown stallion so often present in his nightmares. His father's blazing blue eyes and ever present scowl brought the normally moody colt to tears. Amber lay his ears flat and put his hooves over his head babbling like a foal beneath the barrage of angry threats and verbal abuse echoing up from the dark well of his memory.

"PINKIE PIE!" Fluttershy shouted waking to find the pink pony leaned on her front hooves over the quivering colt. The party pony turned her head before falling back on all four hooves realizing her mistake.

"I'm sorry." She apologized to no one in particular, her hair deflating. She hung her head and retreated to the back of the barn, looking dejected and ashamed. The yellow pegasus hurried after. "I'm sorry I yelled at you Pinkie Pie." Fluttershy said softly. "I just wanted you to notice that you were scaring him. See?"

The pink pony glanced over her shoulder at the colt quivering on the floor across the room. She nodded and smiled as Fluttershy wrapped her in a tight hug. "There there. Now, I want you to go over and apologize to him. Can you do that?"

The pink pony nodded before slowly crossing the room. "Um…Mr. Amber?"

She waited until the pony lifted his head. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you; it's just a surprise to meet a pony who's never ever had a party!" Pinkie Pie often forgot she had been just like him when she was young. Since then she had filled her life with so many parties it was as if she’d never been without.

The colt got to his hooves a quivering smile on his face. He wiped his muzzle on his foreleg removing the runoff. "I'm sorry too." He said apologizing to every pony in the room. "It was a great party. Thank you."

The pink pony brightened immediately, her hair springing into its usual poof once again. He had to say he preferred it that way, over the straight locks she seemed to acquire when she was feeling upset. It suited her personality much better, like cotton candy. He noticed the other ponies had smiles on their faces as well.

"Forgive me for noticing." The lavender unicorn spoke up suddenly pointing to a spot on his muzzle, more precisely a wide noticeable scar threading its way from the corner of his lip to the edge of his nostril. He was usually good at hiding it but with his breakdown the makeup he normally used to conceal it had been rubbed away.

"It's nothing important." He said, his renewed smile faltering.

The smiles around the room had faded as well at the sudden revelation, as each of them could guess at the cause of his breakdown. He apologized again excusing himself from their company. The ponies in the room exchanged puzzled looks.

A scattering of frightened birds pointed Twilight in the right direction. Since early morning they had been scouring the town for their newest friend, who had fled after Twilight foolishly brought to mind of his most painful memories.

As she approached the area it wasn't the colt she noticed first but a tree ever so slightly tilted with a distinct hoof shaped impression torn into the bark. Even Applejack's hardest bucks weren't able to leave such an impression, though her older brother, Big Macintosh, had been known to fell an entire tree now and then.

The colt was lying at the edge of a pond on the outskirts of the orchard swirling mud along the bank with his hoof. She was torn between alerting her friends as they had agreed, and comforting the colt, who seemed to be torn between a myriad of dangerous emotions. She waited and watched quietly as he smeared the mud over his scar, hiding it temporarily.

Her mind made up she trotted nearer speaking up so as not to startle him. "I'm sorry if I did something...bad. I meant nothing by it. I get a little curious at times and well… I just thought…"

The colt gave no reply and she moved a bit closer. Biting her lip she jogged her memory for tips on beginning a conversation, or in this case steering a conversation in a new, less dangerous direction. "I don't know if I ever thanked you for the help you gave Fluttershy last night. You were really something with… that tray and… all."

Twilight wasn't usually so clumsy with her words and she cringed at how that last bit sounded coming from her mouth. It was a lame start but it had the desired effect as the pony started talking. "I'm...was, a waiter at a restaurant in Hoofington up till about a week ago. I was fired after a particularly nasty spill just about snapped me in two."

Amber thought it best to keep the explanation simple and the details missing. He didn't need to go dragging these ponies into his mess; especially considering how nice they had all been to him. "I bummed around a bit looking for work but when nothing came of it I figured I'd best look someplace else. I'd heard of an event happening up at the castle, and I was hoping maybe to get my hoof in, but I ran out of strength shortly after arriving here. I guess you know the rest."

"Oh?" The unicorn brightened at the mention of the event. "You must mean the expose for Princess Luna! It's supposed to be closed to the public but I've been given special permission by Princess Celestia to attend, with all my friends of course."

"Special permission?” Amber wondered aloud. “…from the Princess!"

"It's not a big deal. She's my teacher so I get invited to things all the time." The unicorn explained. She bit her lip suddenly sorry for having brought it up. She hadn't meant to upstage him in anyway. It was only that she had received a scroll earlier in the week detailing the event, and since he was looking for a job, and seemed to have a knack for waiting tables, it was the perfect fit.

"I have the flyer here see?" She said producing the parchment from her saddlebag in an aura of purple magic. The colt's eyes went wide as he read through it, the prizes listed at the bottom garnering the most attention.

There were numerous categories the prizes for each ranging from a couple thousand bits reward money to the top prize of one hundred thousand bits. That was more than enough money to pay off the debt he owed including damages, and purchase a new apartment, or a small house even!

"I turned this down..." He whispered out loud getting a puzzled look from the unicorn pony. How could he have been such a fool! You hadn't known you would get fired or evicted with a massive debt to carry! He reminded himself.

"How far is Canterlot from here?" He said glancing up from the parchment. Twilight pulled it back, rolling it and placing it into her saddlebag as the colt got to his feet. "It’s only two hours by train."

"On foot?" He asked a bit sheepishly. He had no money for train fare. Realizing her mistake Twilight corrected herself. "It's a day’s hike on foot."

"You're really going?" She asked after a moment, a little surprised, though she shouldn't have been. She was the one who'd suggested it after all and with prizes like that what down on their luck pony wouldn't go for it?

"What choice have I got?" He said his vigor renewed. "I appreciate all you've done for me Twilight Sparkle, you and your friends. Tell them thank you for me."

"Don't you want to tell them yourself?" The unicorn shouted as the colt began a swift trot away from the pond toward the towering capital city in the distance. She gave a glance at the sun leaning toward the far horizon.

“At least wait until morning!” The purple unicorn shouted ineffectually.

Chapter 6

Amber lay in a ditch. The mud on his nose had dried long before, beginning to itch infuriatingly. The moon hung low, casting light enough to travel by but Amber's legs were still not up to par so he had stopped for the night. Working long hours, some shifts back to back, hadn't prepared him for the days of near nonstop walking he'd recently endured.

Was this all a mistake? He wondered silently.

It was all because of that unicorn. He thought sourly. If she hadn't complimented him he wouldn't have given her a second thought. She wouldn't have told him about the contest. He wouldn't have lost sleep. He wouldn't have snapped. He wouldn't have lost his job. He wouldn't have lost his apartment. He wouldn't owe a debt he wasn't sure he could repay.

A weighty sigh escaped his lips.

You're kidding yourself Amber. He mused inwardly. You would have snapped on your own eventually. You would have been evicted eventually. It might not have happened so quickly but it would have happened eventually.

He'd only just begun to drift into an uncomfortable sleep when he was awoken by the flutter of wings. He heard his name softly called the voice nearly undetectable. With a smile he revealed himself to the pale yellow pegasus standing in the middle of the road.

"Twilight said you..." The timid pegasus began hesitating when she noticed the frown on his face. "Oh....um, she only said you had no m..money for the...train..."

"She told you..." Amber said a hint of disappointment seeping into his words.

"I..I'.m sorry. " The pegasus spoke up in an attempt to make things a bit clearer. Fluttershy knew how bad Twilight was at keeping secrets, and when the unicorn came back without the colt the yellow pegasus had been a little worried. "I didn't mean to...p…please don't be mad at her....she only said you were going to Canterlot! I made her tell me the rest!"

The pegasus was breathing hard with her quiet outburst, her eyes brimmed with guilty tears. She hastily reached into the saddle bag on her back pulling out a small drawstring bag. She dropped it between the two of them scooting it forward with her hoof.

"I...It's enough for the train and maybe a...a meal." She explained. "I...we, all wanted… to… thank you..."

"Thank me for what?" The colt asked dumbfounded as he stepped forward lifting the sack with his teeth. He was ready to remark at how heavy it was, there was far more than he needed, when the yellow pegasus made his thoughts disappear. He could feel her lips on his cheek even after she'd fled, wobbling unsteadily in the air as she flew slowly back toward Ponyville.

Celestia's vibrant noonday sun was comforting as Amber admired an unusual statue in the Canterlot Palace garden. The statue had no name plate as the others did and no description. Outside of Ponyville few ponies knew of Discord’s antics, because he had not gotten much further than the small village. His exploits hadn't touched Hoofington, at least not to Amber’s knowledge; if they had then the colt wouldn't have been pondering the statue quite so curiously.

"You looking for something?" An unfamiliar and none to friendly sounding, voice said from just behind him. A dark shadow enveloped Amber’s own as the large dark shape above him blocked the sky.

"Me?" Amber asked finding a rather dour looking pegasus guard watching him expectantly.

"You see any pony else?" Came the sarcastic reply. Amber knew that answer already but he looked around anyway. "The gardens are off limits during the expose. If you're not a participant then I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"The expose!" Amber said excitedly. "That's why I'm here!"

The guard looked disbelievingly at the earth pony. "Have you got an invitation?"

"Invitation…?" The colt replied nervously. He hadn't known he'd need an invitation!

"You aren't getting in without an invitation." The guard reiterated.

"Luke, must you always be so rude to our guests." A vaguely familiar female voice said. "I have his invitation. It seems he forgot to tell me he wanted to participate." The mysterious unicorn from the restaurant gave the colt an accusing though amused look as she entered the garden. As she passed by, Amber stole a glance at the slip of parchment surrounded by an aura of light green magic, floating effortlessly in front of her.

The black parchment gave off a slight blue sheen in direct sunlight, the glittering silver script upon it near illegible to the pony. Not only was the size of the writing a problem but it was written in an ancient Canterlot dialect rarely used outside of history seminars.

"Amber Glaze?" The guard said glaring at him accusingly. The colt tore his eyes away from the slip of parchment looking instead at the menacingly large pegasus guard barring his way. The gold plated armor glinted in the sunlight and Amber wondered if it was heavy. It certainly looked like it was...

"That's me." The rusty orange colt answered.

"I knew a Glaze once." The guardsman went on almost conversationally. “Big bastard of a stallion. Looked a lot like you. You know a Glaze like that?"

"Honestly Luke let the colt through!" The unicorn mare interrupted anxiously. Amber was grateful sensing the disaster waiting to happen if the guard had kept the conversation going. "If you make him even one minute late I'll have you answering to the princess herself!"

The guard gave a half grin at the possibility, backing down as the unicorn continued to stare him down threateningly. The invite went onto a pile of others which vanished into the saddlebag at the guardsman's side. Without so much as a parting glance at either pony the pegasus leapt into the sky and disappeared amid the suns plentiful rays.

Two large double doors swung open at the beck and call of the royal unicorn guards waiting just inside. The colt took his time following as he marveled at the architecture, falling behind as a result. "Hurry up!' The unicorn ordered hastily. "There will be plenty of time for gawking later."

The colt trotted quickly to catch up, his hoof beats echoing in the expanse of hallway. Stained glass windows, telling the history of Equestria, reflected their colorful stories across the marble floors. The colt found himself staring down as much as up while he walked, the unicorn snapping him into attention more than once.

"I thought you weren't going to show up?" She said trying a different tact to keep his attention focused and their pace consistent. The hallway was long and the pace lagging.

"I wasn't." He answered honestly. "But some things happened and I guess I just decided why not."

The unicorn gave him a skeptical glance as the end of the hallway finally came within view. A smile caressed her lips as she stifled a chuckle. "This will be interesting if nothing else."

Chapter 7

The castle’s massive grand ball room had been divided into several smaller rooms, made from fabric. Amber followed silently as he was led down the long narrow aisle created down the middle, peeking into several of the open rooms as he went. Each was occupied by a unicorn or pegasus, fillies and colts alike, being groomed by one or more ponies.

“Here we are.” The unicorn mare said, stopping in front of one of the rooms, a number 48 painted on the curtain. Amber stepped inside more out of curiosity than anything else as the unicorn pulled the sheet aside with her magic. “Some pony will be by to help you in a minute.”

“Help with what?” Amber asked confused. “What is this?”

“This is the introductory round.” The unicorn answered as if it were obvious. “We can’t have you looking like that in front of the princess and her guests now can we.” A knowing smile crossed her lips as he stepped into the room, the unicorn poking her head in behind. “Perhaps you should have let me finish explaining before kicking me out.”

Introductory round!? Amber wondered silently. He hadn’t realized an expose had trials, though he should have expected it given there were categories and prizes.

The colt tapped his hooves impatiently for a time before deciding he’d had enough waiting. Gripping the thick curtain in his mouth he pulled it aside slamming into a pale white unicorn, who at that moment had the same thought, only she had used magic.

“Hello number 48.” She said pleasantly, a light smile on her face, despite the fact that she was sitting on her haunches in the center aisle. Amber ran a hoof across his mane embarrassed by his impatience. She had gotten to her feet by the time he thought to offer a helping hoof.

“Sorry.” He apologized before stepping back into the fabric room. “And my name is Amber, not 48.”

“Well Amber I hope you weren’t planning on leaving. I’m afraid they’ve locked the doors.” The unicorn explained. She was pretty in a made up sort of way, her white coat glistening despite the dullness of the room. Her deep purple mane and tail were styled quite nicely, if a bit frizzled, and bags were visible under her dolled up eyes as if she hadn't had a good nights sleep. He felt an allusion of familiarity as he watched the mare examine him but shoved it to the back of his mind.

“Have you been sleeping on the ground?” The unicorn wondered as she circled him, her nose wrinkling. His coat was scruffy and coated in dirt so thick it made him appear brown rather than his natural rusty orange hue. She levitated several strips of colored paper from his mane inspecting them suspiciously. “And why do you smell like…apples?”

“It’s been a long week.” He answered as she continued scrutinizing him.

“Well then, let’s get started shall we?” The unicorn said suddenly, a blazing determination reflecting in her blue eyes. “There’s nothing like a little challenge to perk a girl up!”

Amber nearly collapsed as a torrent of freezing cold ice water fell from above. He looked up, through the mane in his eyes, finding three sniggering pegasus pony’s holding upside down buckets.

“That will be all girls thank you!” The unicorn said. Amber looked back down as they flew away, finding the unicorn stepping carefully around the mud seeping outward from his hooves. She levitated a bar of soap and a shower poof, combining the two into a ridiculous amount of pink bubbles. The mare quickly got to work scrubbing every last bit of dirt from his coat, mane, and tail, using a pail of water sitting in the corner of the fabric room to rinse off the excess.

Despite the many uncomfortable moments Amber couldn’t remember a time when he’d felt so… sparkling. The unicorn smiled, her eyes lighting up as she marveled at the clean and dapper stallion standing before her.

“You are a looker aren’t you?” She said clapping her hooves together with a squeal of delight. Amber shifted uncomfortably on his hooves.

“Um…thanks?” The colt said unsure what to think of her statement. He had never thought so highly of himself before and all the attention he’d been getting from mares lately had him a little on edge, not to mention confused. The kiss from Fluttershy briefly came to mind.

“Don’t be so modest dear.” The mare went on as she began measuring his flank, his withers, his hooves, and his chest with a roll of tape she’d pulled from a satchel of supplies hanging near the entrance. A frown marred her lips as she moved around to his head noticing the ugly scar on his muzzle. “Oh that simply won’t do.”

Amber made to turn away embarrassed by the blemish. The pale unicorn used her magic to turn his head back, covering it up with a thick liquid substance, the smell of which made the colt wrinkle his nose in displeasure. “It’s only a temporary solution.” The mare said a bit sadly. “We cannot erase scars but we can hide them and that’s just as well don’t you think?”

The unicorn levitated a mirror so Amber could get a look. Had he not know exactly where it was he may have forgotten it existed, she had hidden it so well. “Wow.”

”Thank you darling.” The unicorn smiled approvingly. “A very good friend of mine knows a pony who happens to be a master at creating such abnormal concoctions. That particular salve should last a month given you don’t try removing it yourself, though I cannot imagine why you’d ever think of doing so.”

After several more minutes of primping, combing his mane and tail into proper gentlecolt style, and taking the final measurements, the chatty unicorn declared she was finished. “I don’t want you letting any other mare or stallion in this room lay a hoof on you. You are my project and I will make you fabulous.”

Amber wasn’t sure how to feel about that, but if she was as hard set on it as she looked, he at least had to know one thing. “Um…who are you?”

The mare’s eyes went wide realizing she had spent all this time coddling him and she hadn’t so much as introduced herself. “Forgive me darling! You may call me Rarity.”

The curtains fell to the floor shortly after Rarity left revealing every pony in the room to the scrutinizing eyes of an ebony black mare standing on a balcony over looking the ball room below. She wore a sheer black outfit glittering with diamond sequins, a similar styled cloth tiara on her head settling just behind her ears.

“My name is Prism Shine!” The ebony black mare said loudly, the volume alone carrying her voice easily around the room. Several ponies began to murmur excitedly as they recognized her. “From this point forward I will be your maître d’hôtel!”

Amber glanced around nervously, hoping and failing to find any pony he could share his anxiety with. His heart thudded inside his chest, and he was beginning to feel light headed.

“You are all here because you are the best at what you do!” The mare went on. “This is not a mere talent show my little pony’s! This is above all else a contest! Though you may now be friends, you will all soon become rivals.”

A smirk came to the mare’s face, unseen by all but those ponies near enough to the balcony. Amber was not one of those ponies. Another murmur went through the crowd. The colt swallowed nervously feeling the familiar quake in his withers. The pony beside him let out a cough, or was it a laugh, startling the rusty colt. “Are you okay mate?”

“Just nerves.” Amber answered taking a minute to study the unicorn stallion. His silvery mane and tail melded seamlessly into his ashen grey coat, his deep set brown eyes only adding to his ghostlike appearance. The cutie mark on his flank was a mortar and pestle. Around his neck he wore a black bowtie leaving Amber to wonder why Rarity hadn’t given him one.

“Each of you has been given a scroll.” Prism Shine said attracting Amber’s attention once more, moments before a scroll appeared at the hooves of every pony. More than he was startled the earth pony was impressed. It took a lot of magic to send one scroll let alone nearly fifty at once. Though he could not see her he knew of only two ponies that had the magical prowess to complete such a strenuous feat.

“Everything you need to know is contained within it! You need only to look!” The mare went on, the last bit said as a mother pony might address a relentless foal. “Do not lose this scroll as you will not be given a replacement!”

She cast a long look across the faces of the gathered ponies. Her eyes, for a fraction of a moment, seemed to hang on Amber far longer than he was comfortable.

“You are dismissed!” She said slamming a hoof onto the floor, the sound reverberating around the grand ballroom. Amber disentangled his legs from the sheet wrapped around them and followed the other ponies out.

The younger alicorn princess stood behind Prism Shine, hidden in the shadows at the back of the balcony. Her mane and tail, sparkling with the light of a million stars, floated freely in the still air. It was she who had transported the scrolls before the dozens of ponies gathered below.

“Do they meet your approval princess?”

This new voice caused the princess to turn her ears back while her gaze remained on the ponies filing out of the grand ballroom. Several of them had already formed groups, finding old friends and making new ones in the span of a few minutes.

“You have done well Lexis but…” The moon princess hesitated, her eyes narrowing sadly.

“Is it not to your liking?” Celestia’s voice rang out. She moved to stand beside her sister while Prism Shine excused herself from their presence. The green eyed unicorn did the same at a nod from the darker alicorn. Luna stole a glance at her sister finding her gaze pensive as she glanced at the now empty ballroom below.

The lesser princess bit her lip worriedly, her thoughts no longer on the coming events. Having only recently returned from her thousand year exile she wouldn’t have known what went on all those years ago to cause her sister’s unusual mood as of late.

The shimmering white alicorn waited only a moment longer before retreating into the hall, Luna close behind. Their conversation continued, as the dark alicorn’s gaze trailed out the tall windows, taking in the sky that in a week’s time would again be partially hers.

“For a thousand years you have carried my burden, and it has begun to show.” The younger princess said. “I cannot enjoy this gift so long as I believe you are not well.”

Celestia smiled at her sibling. “You have learned much compassion little sister and I am glad of it but I did not do this for you alone. I did this so that one day they would come to know you as I have always known you.”

Celestia had stopped at a window much larger than the other windows lining either side of the great hall. From it she could see beyond the castle walls into Canterlot proper. The ponies, who not minutes before had been gathered in the grand ballroom, now spilled out into the streets, which were lit by the soft glow of another of Celestia’s sunsets. Luna couldn’t help but admire her sister’s ability to raise and lower the sun without as much as a thought. It had become as near to her as breathing, just as raising the moon and setting the stars had once been to Luna.

“They shall know you as Luna once again and they shall love as I do.” The white alicorn said softly wiping away the tears that had formed in her younger sibling’s eyes. “I promise.”

Luna smiled as Celestia wrapped her in a tight hug. It had been too long since they had shared such a bonding moment. The moon princess wouldn’t have known how just how afraid Celestia was of losing her again, once the truth emerged. In time all would come to light but for now the sun goddess chose to savor the moment and keep her secrets hidden.

Chapter 8

Amber couldn’t help but envy his new unicorn companion as he levitated the scroll effortlessly in front of him. Flying above, in the quickly fading light of dusk, the pegasus ponies flew effortlessly; their hooves free to hold their own scrolls. The rusty orange colt’s scroll remained sealed growing damp in middle from the saliva in his mouth.

He fell back, his walk slowing to an eventual stop. He wasn’t about to admit he was embarrassed by his predicament. The silvery grey unicorn stallion glanced back, noticing the colt was no longer beside him. “You coming?”

“No.” Amber answered dropping the scroll so he could reply properly. He gave the stallion what he hoped was a convincing smile. “I think I’ll take a look around the city. I’ve never been here before…”

“Suit yourself.” The stallion said easily as if he didn’t care one way or the other. And why should he? The ruddy colt wondered angrily as he watched him disappear. I’m not special. I’m just an earth pony. The only earth pony…

As the truth sank in Amber began to second guess his decision to come. That mare, Prism Shine, had made no mention of the rules, no mention of the prizes, and no mention of the contest at all. The only thing he had was the scroll, now lying on the cobblestones between his hooves.

He pulled at the ribbon with his teeth and the scroll fell open. His eyes went wide as he found the parchment blank. As he watched however words began to emerge on the parchment, words that seemed to reveal themselves at the behest of his thoughts.

Entry # 48
Name: Amber Glaze
Race: Earth Pony
Occupation: Waiter
Previous Employment: Thyme and Dime Bistro, Hoofington.
Current Employment: ??

The words faded into the page as if the ink were being absorbed. As quickly as they were gone they were replaced by new words.

Directions to Clover Leaf Hotel room 312?

Amber nodded his head in reply before glancing around. He didn’t want to be seen talking to a piece of parchment and nodding to one was just as bad, possibly worse. They used to send ponies away for less.

A map appeared on the paper, the streets clearly labeled. He was expecting the ink to fade away as it had before but it remained stationary. Curiously he ran his hoof across it, pulling his appendage away clean and free of blemish. He had been expecting some sort of residue, or smear at the very least.

Clenching the map in his mouth once more he began a leisurely trot down one of Canterlot’s many side streets.

The moon hung like a dull bulb in the dark sky, its faint light deepening the shadows surrounding Amber as he walked. He had wandered for what felt like hours but had only been the span of thirty or forty minutes. A quick check of the map gave no clues as to his whereabouts and he sighed distraught at having gotten lost so easily.

He felt the vibration in his hooves long before he found the street blocked by a mass of ponies sporting unusual mane cuts and strings of glowing jewelry, pounding at the doors to a nightclub as several large vest clad pegasi struggled to hold them back. The colt tried and failed to make out the name they were chanting repeatedly, as if that alone were enough to make that pony appear.

“You told me she would be here!” A short unicorn stallion hissed, his question directed at one of the vest clad pegasi. Amber peered into the alley from which the voice had emerged. It was dark and littered with trash, a surprise considering how clean the rest of Canterlot was. The whole neighborhood was grungy when compared to the castle and the area immediately surrounding it.

“She’s not scheduled to show for another half hour.” The pegasus said in answer. “Find something to tide the masses until we can find her.”

“Hell, if I knew how to do that I wouldn’t even need to hire that punk princess of yours!” The unicorn shot back as he disappeared through a heavy looking steel door. Amber squealed like a mare as it slammed shut, the embarrassment rising to his face at the sound he’d just made the last thing on his mind when the security pony noticed him watching from the street.

“Hey!” The pegasus shouted as the red faced colt fled. “Get back here!”

After a length of time Amber slowed to a standstill panting heavily. Sweat had begun to form on his flank and withers, cooling uncomfortably. The night had only just begun and already he was exhausted. The map was useless and with no pony around to ask for directions he was ready to hunker down in the street.

The clatter of a metal trash bin and muffled voices sought his attention. Not a hundred feet up the street a hysterically laughing unicorn mare was pulling herself from a pile of garbage. Amber stepped into a shadow hoping to conceal his presence as he watched the scene unfold.

He realized that it wasn’t just a drunk unicorn that had clumsily tripped into the pile of garbage when two more ponies joined her. The first was a unicorn stallion, only slightly bigger than Amber himself, followed by a pegasus mare, who stood back near the alley the pair had emerged from.

As the colt watched silently from the shadows, the stallion shoved the inebriated mare back down before slamming his hoof into her face. A burst of blood erupted from her nose.

“You think this is funny?” The stallion snarled striking her again.

“Do you know who I am?” The unicorn asked through a fit of drunken giggles. The moonlight brightened for a moment highlighting her electric blue mane and dazzling white coat. “I’m famous!”

The stallion struck her again ripping her trademark sunglasses from her face. Her ruby red irises almost glowed, as her eyes were revealed to the stallion and his mare friend.

“You’re nothing but a filthy fillyfooler!” The stallion snarled as he bucked the white unicorn. Her body slammed against the wall, an audible crack echoing through the empty streets. The mare doubled over her drunken laughter turning into a wheezing cough. A smile replaced the stallions sneer as he made to buck the helpless mare a second time.

The stallion didn’t get that chance. His own air left his lungs in a burst as the unnoticed observer bucked him in the chest knocking him off his hooves. The colt reared, a cry tearing itself from his throat as he pummeled the downed pegasus repeatedly until he felt blood. The anguished cry of the stallion’s mare friend broke the colt from his frenzy. He stepped back revealing the bloodied mess of a stallion lying at his feet, an agonized moan escaping from his battered muzzle.

Slowly the mare coaxed the stallion to his feet and together the pair disappeared into the night, a few choice words and slurred insults echoing halfheartedly behind them. Adrenaline flowed unimpeded through Amber’s veins his head still reeling. A loud thunderous pounding roared through his ears. Once he’d calmed down enough to form coherent thoughts he stumbled over to the white unicorn still recovering from the vicious kick.

“Are you okay?” He asked offering her a hoof. She took it, ignoring the blood. On her hooves she wobbled unsteadily, leaning on the ruddy orange colt for support.

“Okay? Did you hear that scream?” The mare said with a chuckle, as if she found the whole ordeal amusing. She winced as the act of laughing, no matter how softly, tugged at the bloody split in her lip.

“Damn, it looks like he cracked a rib.” She muttered giving the same pained expression as she made to step forward without him, nearly collapsing with the attempt.

“Who was that and why the hell was he trying to kill you?” Amber asked confused and angry about what had just happened as well as unsettled by the blood on his hooves. The unicorn may have been able to brush it aside but he wasn’t about to, not after what he’d seen, and what he’d done.

“Have you ever tried to pick up someone else’s mare?” The unicorn said stopping just long enough to pick up her sunglasses. Amber watched as she levitated them to her face, a sharp inhale indicating she’d found a sore spot.

“Sure.” Amber said, though the truth of it was he hadn’t. He didn't get out much and when he did it wasn't to socialize with ponies.

“You’re lying.” The unicorn said with a smile cut short by her injuries. She gave a soft laugh that quickly turned into a fit of coughing. Amber didn’t elaborate and the unicorn didn’t press.

The silence hung for a while as the pair walked, the unicorn leaning on him heavily. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d been so close to a mare, but the reality of the situation prevented him from enjoying it. Even had she not been drunk off her flank, smelling of cheap booze and garbage, something about it just felt wrong.

It was true her body was warm, her fur luxuriously soft, her electric blue mane tickling him pleasantly as she leaned her head into his neck, but he felt none of the butterflies he felt when Fluttershy had kissed him.

A familiar throbbing tickled his hooves as he realized how far they had walked. He hadn’t bothered to notice where she was leading him this whole time so lost was he in on his own thoughts.

“Miss Scratch!” The vest clad pegasus from earlier shouted as he saw the pair approach.

“Shut up idiot!” The mare snapped inhaling sharply. “Do you want every pony to hear you?”

The pegasus stallion's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he saw the bruised and bloody state she was in. She limped away from Amber as the pegasus’s eyes moved to the blood on the orange colt’s hooves ignoring the obvious to connect the two unconnected dots. Amber let out a grunt as the pegasus slammed him into the ground.

“Hey!” The unicorn snapped. “Lay off him!”

“Not a chance Miss Scratch. It's obvious this colt here beat you something fierce.” The stallion persisted missing the facts. “Why he brought you back…”

“You boys really are as dumb as you look aren't you?” The unicorn interrupted dryly. A sly smile turned her lips up as she pushed the pegasus aside. She helped the confused colt to his hooves, fighting against the pain, and threw a hoof across his withers. "Since you’ve shown yourself to be less than competent I’ve decided feather flank here is my new body guard."

“But Miss Scratch!” The burly pony began in protest. The mare gave Amber a wink, her ruby red eyes glinting playfully.

“Too late!” She said as she cocked her head to the side listening to the chanting ponies. A smile grew on her battered face. “If I’m not mistaken I hear my loyal subjects calling my name! Let’s not keep them waiting!”

Chapter 9

Amber let out a shiver as he watched the blood from his hooves swirl down the drain. The mirror in front of him was cracked, his face staring back at him from a dozen awkward angles, but at least the place had running water. He stuck his head beneath the faucet letting the cool water run down his muzzle and behind his ears.

This was crazy.

You’re crazy! He scolded himself silently. The music, a generic techno beat devoid of life, drifted into the bathroom as the door opened. He looked up expecting to see another stallion but found instead the unicorn mare peering at him above her tinted shades, a coy smile on her face. “Hurry up Feathers! I got something I want you to hear!”

Feathers? Amber wondered glancing at his flank with a frown.

“My denizens are getting angry.” She said not waiting for his new nickname to register. “Find yourself a place at the bar. Drinks are on me!”

The barkeep, a middle aged pony with a waistcoat and crew cut mane, glanced at him casually as he moved to that bar. “You old enough to be in here son?”

Amber glanced up at him too tired to contest the familial term. “Are they?”

A smile grew on the barkeeps face as his eyes quickly took in the horde of underage ponies crowding the dance floor. “Touché.” He conceded. “So what’s your poison?”

“Barkeep!” The white unicorn’s voice sounded over the microphone before the colt could answer. “You keep that one sober. Feathers is taking me home.”

Curious eyes fell on the amber earth pony as well as several suggestive whistles. The DJ’s raucous laugh, followed by a low melodious note from the massive speakers on the stage, stole back their attention. The barkeep cocked a brow flashing the colt a cheeky smile. “You heard the lady. What’ll it be?”

Amber settled for a dark soda water. The bubbles fizzled welcomingly across his tongue as he sipped at it carefully. “What’s her deal?” He asked watching the barkeep mix drinks for over eager underage ponies, who just as quickly as they emerged disappeared again.

“Vinyl’s an enigma.” The barkeep said fondly, revealing her name. “She can be a bit reckless at times but that’s what makes her one hell of a DJ. This place would have gone under long ago if not for her and that awful racket.”

Amber smiled at that as his gaze drifted to the unicorn doing unknown things to a mechanical device in the corner of an otherwise empty stage, a loud throbbing chaotic resonance emanating from the massive speakers as a result. “You think so too?”

That comment garnered a laugh from the barkeep who refilled Amber’s half empty glass. The colt watched the bubbles pop for a while, the night’s events hanging heavily on his withers. Despite the volume of the music he found himself settling into a comfortable lull.

“Hey Feathers!” Vinyl’s voice snapped him out of it. “Am I boring you!?”

The colt snapped to attention as the lights shut off, bathing the room in total darkness but for the glowing jewelry round the hooves and the necks of the nightclubs patrons. A smattering of startled cries broke the silence before a single beam of white light settled on the ruddy orange colt drawing unwanted attention to him.

“Thank you.” Vinyl said, her voice nothing more than a whisper, enhanced by the massive speakers. “I mean it.”

Her voice carried a note of deep sincerity, something he was sure she reserved for the most deserving of situations, and Amber felt a warmth rise to his cheeks, thankful it was easily hidden beneath his natural hue.

A maniacal laugh tore the moment to shreds. A skull splitting composition began moments after dulled only by the chanting of the ponies gathered as the darkness behind the stage was lit by a neon blue streak of magic spelling out Vinyl’s DJ pseudonym.

“I can’t hear you!” Vinyl shouted into the microphone the resounding cheers from the club goers commanding her full attention once more.

Amber cast a glance at the unicorn furiously tuning the switches and dials on the turntables, the sounds emerging from the speakers not something he was sure he would ever grow to enjoy. Still, as he saw the smile on her face and the delight the seemingly random noise gave her he let out a shrill whistle. Through the poorly lit room and crowded dance floor Amber caught sight of the unicorn’s appreciative smile.

Either the barkeep had spiked his drink or the scruffy maned earth pony was an old soul who couldn’t handle modern music. Even the sting of a freezing cold shower and the cool tile pressed against his forehead, couldn’t quell the throbbing ache in his head.

He shut the water off, stepping from the shower, the sudden release sending shivers rippling beneath his fur. He caught sight of himself in the mirror and stared for long moments, a faint smile tugging at his lips as he vainly sought the scar so often present after his usual showers. He was immensely pleased to find it still hidden.
A low whistle startled him from his stupor as he entered the bedroom area of his penthouse suite. The princess’s had spared no expense, providing the contestant’s the finest of amenities. He had nearly the entire floor to himself, the space dwarfing his old Hoofington apartment by nearly double. He snapped his head up surprised to find Vinyl lying on her back across his king sized bed, her glasses falling over her mane revealing her ruby red eyes to the startled pony.

“Vinyl?”

“You were expecting somepony else?” She said rolling onto her hooves, her trademark shades falling into their proper place. The colt saw the flicker of pain cross her face at the motion, her injuries looking far worse in the light of day than they had the previous night. Two livid hoof shaped bruises were visible on the unicorn’s vibrant white coat, the split on her lip had scabbed over, and a less intense bruise stood out faintly on her swollen cheek.

“What are you doing here?” The colt inquired.

“You forgot this at the club.” She said using her magic to flick his scroll in front of his face. He cringed as Prism Shine’s words echoed in his head. He lunged for the scroll stumbling over his hooves as the mare pulled it away. She giggled amusedly as he fell on top of her, his weight pressing her into the bed ever so slightly.

From his position above her he could smell flowers, the odor wafting enticingly from her shock of vibrant blue mane. He placed his hooves on either side of her head, lifting himself away as she kissed the tip of his muzzle lightly, a fierce blush scorching his cheeks as a result.

“I may be a fillyfooler,” She teased a mischievous smile rising on her face. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t do both.”

Amber swallowed nervously as he attempted to work through the awkward situation. He had felt none of the butterflies he currently felt last night, so why was he feeling them now? What had changed in the short time between? A creak and a cough called his attention and he turned to the doorway finding the tall green eyed unicorn watching them from the dooray, a look of surprise on her face. “Excuse me…” She said. “I didn’t realize you had company.”

“Uh…No it’s…It’s not like that!” He stammered backing away from the mare. He tripped over his back hooves falling onto his flank. Vinyl burst into a fit of giggles as she rolled off the bed, leaving the scroll lying amid the crumpled sheets. His eyes followed her as she crossed the room.

“Catch you later Feathers!” Vinyl said with a chuckle as she moved past the tall unicorn, taking a moment to eyeball the older mare. She could be heard beat boxing from the other room the sound slowly fading as she retreated down the hall. Amber hung his head and sighed, the embarrassing turn of events causing his headache to return.

“I’ve had a rough night.” Amber said before the unicorn could ask.

“Be that as it may I’m not here about last night.” She said stepping into the room. “What you did to that stallion is both deplorable and commendable and I can see that mare is very grateful, but I must warn against such behavior in the future.”

“How do you know what happened?” Amber asked suspiciously.

“The princess’s know the goings on of everypony in Canterlot.” She answered. “That includes you.”

Amber frowned at this. He glanced around the room, wondering if it was bugged, and where those bugs might be hidden. The unicorn gave a smile before continuing. “I have been tasked with informing all participants that the next trial will begin at dusk. That leaves the remainder of the day for you to prepare.”

She levitated the scroll from the bed flicking it open, revealing a checklist. “You’d best not to keep Miss Rarity waiting.”

A small bell chimed as Amber entered the boutique. Though his slobber had saturated the parchment the ink lines of the map remained clear and visible. He had taken several wrong turns and backtracked to the hotel more than twice before finding the boutique on pure accident.

Bright afternoon sunlight flooding through narrow arched windows settled along the round walls. A counter with a register stood just to his right while to his left was a massive shelf running the length and height of the wall. It was stuffed in no certain order with fabrics of every color imaginable. At the bottom were several sets of drawers, bit of parchment and thread hanging out of them.

In the middle of the room was a swatch of red fabric hung from long lengths of chain dropping from the ceiling. Amber strode forward placing his hoof a hairs breadth from the sliver of opening in the fabric. He stumbled back however as Rarity poked her head from within. A hint of glittery white fabric briefly caught his eye before the white unicorn shoved him back, the curtain once more concealing the curiosity beyond it.

“Now Amber,” She chided pushing him away. “No peeking. Those dresses are for the princess’s…” The white unicorn paused catching herself before she could say anymore. “I shouldn’t have told you that.”

“What’s the big deal?” Amber said still drawn inexplicably to the red velvet curtain even as the unicorn steered him away. “They’re only dresses.”

The white unicorn stopped pushing him, her mouth hung open in shock. “Only dresses!” She snorted indignantly. “Only dresses indeed! I suppose next you’ll tell me that Princess Celestia is only a mare!”

“No. I didn’t mean…” Amber began realizing the gravity of his mistake, at least in Rarity’s eyes. She was obviously a pony of some standing if the princess’s would allow her to design their outfits. The mare’s angry expression softened considerably as she scrutinized him. “I suppose that was a bit harsh. Forgive me.”

“Uh, yeah sure…” Amber said unsure why she was apologizing. He had been the one in the wrong hadn’t he? The air cleared of any hard feelings Rarity pulled aside a separate curtain revealing an attire of a different sort. Amber bit his lip.

“Is…Is that what I’m wearing?” He asked pointing a hoof at the pony mannequin. The unicorn glanced at her creation briefly before turning to the colt again. “Is there something wrong with it?”

“It’s a bit…flashy, isn’t it?” He inquired. The mare furrowed her brow as again she looked over her creation.

“Flashy?” She muttered to herself. She circled the pony mannequin several times, dissecting every last possible detail, before making a decision. “Try it on.”

“What!” The colt said stepping back as Rarity began to undress the pony mannequin. “You aren’t serious?”

“I am always serious about fashion.” The mare said the various pieces to the outfit levitated in her aura of blue magic. She was surprisingly quick for a filly with such short legs Amber mused as she tackled him, managing to get him into the outfit with relative ease once done. She pulled a tall free standing mirror from the far wall setting it in front of him. “Have a look.”

It was a good design, and it did fit him well, but… “Is the hat really necessary?”

“Do you not like it?” Rarity pouted. Amber gave her reflection a deadpan stare, allowing her to answer that question for herself. With a relenting sigh she pulled the top hat from his head. “No. No it is not.”

“And the…the …” Amber didn’t even know what to call it as he pulled a round glass object, attached to a length of thin chain, from his jacket pocket. “This thing?”

“That thing,” Rarity said putting heavy emphasis on the word ‘thing’, “is a called a monocle and I suppose that too is unnecessary.”

“Is there anything else?” She wondered, her tone both angry and inquiring. It would appear that she was not as well versed in the design of stallion’s fashion as she imagined. Amber looked at his fetlocks adorned with hoof cuffs accented by gleaming diamond links. He bit his tongue sharply holding back his reply at seeing her awaiting smile.

“Are you sure I should be going out like this?” He asked instead. “I would hate to ruin all you’re hard work.”

The mare smiled sliding open a curtain concealing one of the narrow windows. At the very apex of it, Amber could see the subtle changes happening as dusk quickly fell in.

“Your carriage is waiting outside.” The mare replied holding the door open for him. He peered out finding a shining black carriage, drawn by two of the scariest ponies he had ever laid eyes on, waiting expectantly.

“Go on. Don’t keep the princess waiting. I hear she will be in attendance this evening.” Rarity said as she shoved him outside. The ponies drawing the carriage stamped their hooves and snorted impatiently.

Chapter 10

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight called boisterously from across the hall. Several ponies turned to stare at the young filly a sheepish smile crossing the purple unicorn’s lips as she noticed their stares. The princess’s smile was of a different sort as she greeted the group warmly.

“I am so glad you could make it.” She said giving her most faithful student a well deserved hug. “I know Luna will be pleased to see you again.”

“I thought that this was a private function.” Twilight began glancing around at the ponies she had upset only moments ago. “Who are all these ponies?”

“These ponies my dear student are those who have already been eliminated.” She explained. “They have been allowed to stay and witness the remainder of the contest should they so desire. Many of them have friends down there still.”

Applejack gave a low whistle as she leaned against the balcony railing, peering down into the ballroom below. “How many ponies are down there ya think?”

Twilight stepped up beside her curiously, doing a quick headcount. “Thirty seven.”

“How many were there to start?” Rainbow Dash asked her own eyes searching across the faces of the ponies below. Celestia’s voice rose from behind the group. “Forty eight ponies began. By the end of the week there will be only one.”

“Oh! Oh! I see Rarity!” Pinkie Pie interrupted excitedly bouncing up and down. All four ponies looked where she pointed spotting Rarity at the furthest end of the ball room talking with a familiar rusty orange colt. She used her magic to straighten his bow tie and smooth his mane, which had begun to frizz.

“She looks so pretty.” Fluttershy remarked noticing the simple dress the stylish white unicorn wore, unusual given her normally eloquent designs. Despite the contrast between the deep purple of her mane and the pale yellow of the dress Rarity still managed to look stunning.

“There will be time enough to catch up with Rarity in a moment my little ponies.” Celestia said shuffling the group to their seats, as an unknown pony called for their attention.

“I would like to congratulate you all on passing the introductory round.” The mare began her voice booming, but not in any way unpleasant. “To our esteemed Princess Celestia, and to our guests welcome.”

The dark pony stepped back, allowing Princess Luna to take the floor. The alicorn masked her nervousness well, as she spoke, her words coming out with a regal air despite their simplicity. “I would like to thank my sister for granting me the opportunity to hold this event. It is my deepest hope that each of you will do your best for me, for yourselves, and for all of Equestria!”

A resounding cheer rose from the balcony as Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie shouted their approval. Twilight groaned while Fluttershy’s cry barely managed to reach the ponies sitting right behind her. Luna cast an apprehensive glance at her sister waiting in the balcony, smiling as the shimmering white alicorn nodded her support.

Again the roles were reversed as Prism Shine took the floor. “There will be a momentary recess while the floor is prepared.” She explained much to the surprise of a certain earth pony who was quaking in his hoof cuffs. “I ask that all participants remain in the designated waiting area until this evening's trial officially begins.”

The ebony pony dismissed the participants to a steady murmur. Amber cast a glance about the room as he followed his peers. Princess Luna was watching him as the white unicorn Lexis whispered something into her ear.

“Glad to see you made it mate.” The ghostlike pony greeted as he joined Amber and the other ponies in the designated waiting area, which was really only the hallway leading to the grand ballroom. He remembered the stained glass windows from his first trip through. He had been admired them in the light of dusk, the hues of sunset changing the colors in ways he would never have imagined possible. The orange pony smiled, glad to see a familiar face. “You too…”

The colt hesitated realizing he had never learned the pony’s name. Sensing this, the stallion extended his hoof. “Name’s Mortar, but friends call me Mort.”

“Amber.” The orange pony replied shaking his fellow participants hoof.

“So what do you do on the outside Amber?” The pony asked, as if the contest were some sort of prison. Amber thought it best to spare the complicated details of his journey settling on a lie instead. “I’m a waiter.”

“Waiter eh?” The pony mused. “I’m a cook myself, though I didn’t start that way. I was at the bottom of the pile once just like you.”

Amber gave a wry smile at the comment. He wanted to be angry about it but he knew it wouldn’t do for him to start a fight with the only pony that dared bother with him. He needed friends in this contest, not enemies, especially if it meant he would have to move beyond balancing trays.

“Me and a few of my mates get together every now and then to talk strategy, gossip, and the like, you’re welcome to join us, if you ever find the time.” The stallion offered hopefully.

“Sure.” Amber answered lamely at the sudden invitation. With a gleam in his dark eyes Mort disappeared into the gathering of ponies leaving the colt alone again. Amber was content to hang back less eager to introduce himself. After fiddling his time away with random hoof tapping, and avoiding eye contact with those ponies willing enough to glance his way, Prism Shine emerged in the doorway, looking every bit the hostess pony she was meant to be.

“Each of you will be broken into groups of six, taking the floor two at a time.” She explained, stopping to assure each pony understood. When no questions were posed she continued. “You will begin by choosing one member of your team to act as waiter, the other acting as server. The choice will be made by your team as a whole, after which those chosen ponies will carry out their assigned tasks.”

Amber only half listened, more curious as to whom he would be paired with. Prism Shine’s next words caught him off guard. “One of you has been pre-chosen by the princess, to act as her personal attendant for the evening.”

A murmur went through the crowd as the ebony mare locked her gaze on Amber. “Please follow me.”

The princess sat at a dark clothed table, in the middle of the room, surrounded by several other tables, sheathed in white. While the flowers on those tables were variants of white and gold, the flowers at the dark alicorn’s table were a variant of the colors in her coat and mane with a single flower matching the hue of her beautiful teal eyes.

Amber fought the quiver in his flanks, aware that the suit Rarity had donned him with covered his cutie mark and at the same time his nervous tick. He was grateful it was not visible anywhere else. His father had an eye twitch for instance. The colt quickly shoved the thought away.

The princess was far more beautiful up close than he could have ever imagined. Even his wildest dreams, a few of which she had been a part of, could not fully capture her essence. The stories he’d heard, of the monster she had once been, were hard to believe given the light easy smile she gave as he approached.

He cast his eyes briefly around at the other ponies, those chosen to represent their respective groups. Mortar, the silvery ghost like pony was not among them. He hadn’t bothered to learn anything about the other ponies, their names or their professions outside of the event and he couldn’t say he cared much one way or the other.

“G…Good evening.” He muttered with a stutter as he turned his attention to the lunar princess. Was it evening? Had Celestia raised the moon yet? When did evening really begin anyway or dusk for that matter?

“Good evening sir.” Luna answered with an amused smile, her eyes brightening. Soft music played in the back ground, a low quivering hum, from a single gray earth pony playing an instrument as big as she was. So, he wasn’t the only earth pony, at least not entirely.

Amber all but forgetting himself hastily placed a menu before the royal alicorn. She levitated it with her magic, a trait he silently envied, as she perused the options available. Even he hadn’t seen the menu so should she order something like, an old horseshoe dipped in applesauce and deep friend, he would be inclined to believe her.

As he waited he listened to the voices of the ponies at the other tables. They mingled quietly, their conversations easily distinguishable from one another. Most of it seemed to center on politics or fashion, two things he knew next to nothing about. The colt opened and closed his mouth several times trying to find a proper way to say what he had on his mind. The princess watched him with a cocked brow.

“Your highness…er, majesty…P…Princess Luna…” He began stumbling over what to call her. None of it sounded right coming from his mouth. “Why…why did you choose me?”

A light chuckle left the princess’s lips and Amber slung his ears back holding his feet firmly. He’d wanted nothing more than to back away from her but felt that it would in someway be treasonous if he made the attempt. His hooves ached with the pressure he was putting on them.

“I heard tell of a young stallion who chanced upon and saved a young damsel in distress.” The princess answered simply. She did not watch his gaze to see his reaction, but she was listening as he spoke, his words tinged with emotions she wasn’t sure she understood.

“Is this some sort of punishment?” He asked. Inwardly he snorted at the very idea of Vinyl Scratch being any sort of damsel in distress. That fell more he imagined to that grey earth pony playing the giant instrument or perhaps Fluttershy, the pale yellow pegasus back in…Ponyville, the purple unicorn had called it. He wondered a moment what they were up to and if they were upset about his leaving so ungraciously. Did they even still care?

“It was meant to be a reward young pony.” Luna said with a confused look. “Though I can see that perhaps I was mistaken. I have been away for a long time and it would seem there is much I have yet to learn.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” Amber corrected. Now he really wanted to run, not just from the room but from the castle, from the city, from Equestria itself. How is the moon princess? Is it nice in summer?

“This is practice for us as well.” Luna said snapping the colt back to the present. She had slipped into some of her old habit of referring to herself in the third pony. He supposed being alone for a thousand years would do that but it still surprised him to hear her speak as if referring to more than one of herself.

“I’m sorry.” Amber said clearing his thoughts. He had a job to do and the least he could do to make up for insulting the princess, inward and outward, would be to do that job well. “Can I start you off with a beverage?”

“Please call us Luna.” She said amused, her voice just a bit teasing. Amber felt a twinge at her tone despite its pure intent. “And tell us what you would recommend.”

“That depends on what you eat.” Amber said not for certain that was true. He’d heard several ponies talking about it back in Hoofington, even Short Order had tried explaining it to him once or twice, but the colt hadn’t been listening properly. “Perhaps a light apple wine?”

The princess’s eyes lit up at the suggestion. She hadn’t had wine since she came back from the moon, what with Celestia treating her like a filly most of the time. She was older than all of the ponies in Equestria but for her sister, so she was of age to drink fermented beverages should she so choose. “I would like that.”

Amber stored the drink to memory, something he had learned to do quite well given that holding a pen and paper in his hooves or mouth was awkward not to mention unsightly. The princess glanced over the menu a moment longer before choosing a light radish salad, a bowl of hazelnut soup, and perhaps the most unexpected item, a blueberry scone, which Amber mused was the only item that would in any way compliment the wine.

“I’ll be a moment.” He said backing away, the tension in his shoulders relenting only slightly. He struggled to keep his walk to the kitchen casual so as not to upset the entire floor. Several of the other ponies were just as nervous, if not more so, about serving their own customers, who appeared as best as he could tell members of the royal court.

The kitchen allowed him only a brief reprieve as in a matter of minutes the princess’s order was ready.

Chapter 11

“I’ve missed you all so much!” Rarity exclaimed giving each of her colorful friends a hug, even Rainbow Dash who seemed rather reluctant. It had been nearly a month since Rarity had first traveled to Hoofington to pitch her latest designs to Hoity Toity, for his new spring line of mare’s formal wear. While there she’d received a summons from the princess seeking her help in preparing this event for Luna.

She had eagerly jumped at the chance, at the cost of missing out on the company of her friends for so long, but she hadn’t regretted a moment of it. Seeing the smile on Luna’s face as her newest project stumbled in the presence of royalty was worth it.

“He is quite fetching it is he not?” She quipped watching the stallion interact with the dark alicorn. She could not hear what was said between them but the princess seemed quite amused. “That stallion down there has become my personal project, aside from the princess’s gowns of course.”

“Personal project?” Twilight inquired as she gazed down at the stallion Rarity seemed fixated on, or rather the suit he was wearing. “I designed the outfit myself.” She explained pride in her words. “We had some minor disagreements but I see now why a top hat may not have been fitting.”

Several minutes passed in silence as Twilight watched Princess Luna. The dark alicorn fixed her gaze on her fellow diners. She was quietly judging their reactions, and in turn judging the ponies that had tended to them. She knew little about this world of which she was still becoming acquainted but she knew enough to read displeased and happy expressions. She made careful note of which tables carried which expressions.

“Your gowns are coming along quite marvelously I might add.” Rarity said drawing the attention of the white alicorn who had been watching the stallion with a different expression, one that Twilight did not miss and silently wondered at. The purple pony glanced over the rail hoping to glimpse the pony clearer but she found he had vanished, as had the other wait staff ponies.

“Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked concernedly, moving to stand nearer her friend.

“Just curious is all.” Twilight replied turning her attention Princess Luna. The mare was watching the ponies at the other tables, as if she were judging them. No. Twilight corrected herself with a smile. She was judging the ponies who had served them, seeming to enjoy herself while at it.

By listening to snippets of conversation from the eliminated ponies behind her she was able to gleam insight into which ponies were serving which tables, though she couldn’t be certain she had all of their names right.

“That was him wasn’t it?” Fluttershy mumbled referring to the colt that had waited on Princess Luna. He was no longer covered in mud, his mane and tail had been coifed quite nicely and most noticeably to the purple unicorn the blemish on his muzzle had been erased, or at least hidden. Twilight didn’t answer but she had her suspicions.

Amber had never been in a kitchen quite like the one in which he now stood. The small kitchen at the bistro had been little more than a stove, a sink, and some cabinets. Short Order and Amber could both fit comfortably, if all they had to do was stand still. Even with the hustle and bustle of this kitchen, as the royal cooks prepared the dishes ordered with great care, Amber had managed to find a little nook in which to hide, his head pressed against the wall.

The smell permeating the thick air was sickly sweet making his stomach tremble. It wasn’t quite nausea, but uncomfortable nonetheless.

“Ya gonna blow boy?” A familiar voice asked as the pale ghost-like unicorn found him. When Amber didn’t answer the unicorn gave a chuckle. “Wouldn’t be the first time a pony went and lost their sauce. Hell I got myself some moments I ain’t privy to share.”

“Likewise.” Amber said vainly wishing the pony away.

“We got three on seven coming up.” One of the chefs shouted loudly sounding confused, as if he didn’t understand the meaning of what he had just uttered. It was understandable since Amber had told him what to say, not what it meant. That information the bistro pony kept to himself. He heard Mortar repeat the code quietly, his voice just as confused as the chef.

Amber pulled his head from the wall, fixing his slightly out of place mane. The ghost pony watched curiously as the earth pony move toward a large serving tray, laden with the princess’s order. The colt shot a lopsided grin toward Mortar as he pulled the edge of the tray precariously close to tipping off the edge of the counter. With a confident air the pony carefully balanced the tray on his muzzle. The tray made nary a wobble as the pony pushed through the door separating the kitchen from the short hallway which in turn separated the grand ballroom from the kitchen.

“I’ll be damned.” The ghost-like pony muttered, impressed by the colt’s display.

“Tell us with a tale good sir.” The princess requested, levitating her utensils with an aura of alicorn magic. She looked pleased with not only the food he’d delivered but the way he had delivered it, which caught many of the unicorn ponies off guard. He was sure it was strategic on the other pony’s parts to have unicorns deliver the food while the pegasi had taken the orders, it an easy feet with levitation magic; he would have done the same had he been given a choice.

He didn’t enjoy being a waiter, he would much rather have done something, anything…else. He had a cutie mark but it told him nothing about what he was good at, or who he was. He certainly couldn’t fly, and he doubted he could walk on clouds. He’d never had the opportunity to try, and the mere idea of trying didn’t sit well in his gut.
“A story?” The colt inquired. He didn’t know any stories, at least not any he wanted to share with the princess, and making one up seemed ludicrous.

“Tell us how you got your cutie mark.” The princess suggested sensing his hesitation to discuss the mark expertly hidden beneath his formal wear. He hadn’t once seen her even look towards his flank, in curiosity or otherwise. “You do have a cutie mark don’t you?”

“I do.” Amber said recalling the moment he’d gotten it but the memory was unpleasant and one he did not wish for the princess to hear. It was a memory he often wished he could forget himself. “But I’d like to keep it to myself.” The colt said. “…If that’s okay with you.”

She was the princess of Equestria, if she wanted to hear the tale of how a simple earth pony had received his cutie mark she could order him to tell her. If he refused she could lock him in the dungeon, he was sure this castle had one and torture him until he spilled it. She could force him in any number of ways but the look on her face told him she was not that kind of princess. She may have been jealous once, she may have succumbed to the darkness once, but that was a mistake she was disinclined to repeat.

“Then we shall tell you a tale.” She said. The earth pony tried to hide his surprise but a sly smile told him he had failed. “Will you listen?”

Do I have a choice? The colt thought inwardly before acknowledging her request.

She seemed genuinely pleased, her hooves slapping together loudly, the clink of her gauntlets echoing off the walls of the massive room. She seemed to catch herself awkwardly lowering her hooves, a slight flush to her dark cheeks. The earth pony took a step back, his ears lowered as he felt dozens of curious eyes on him. He was receiving way more attention than he was comfortable with, far more than he deserved, but he listened quietly as the princess spoke, weaving a tale he couldn’t quite believe, but didn’t want to write off as nothing but fallacy. *

*Author’s Note: I did not write a story for Luna to tell Amber. Feel free to imagine for yourselves what sort of story that might be. Feel free to write one for yourselves if you wish.

Chapter 12

The lights emanating from the castle disrupted the star shine barely visible from the Canterlot gardens. Amber again found himself standing before the odd draconequus statue, admiring the way it seemed to shift in the moonlight as if it were alive somehow. The hour was late, and he was beginning to feel the effects of his long day, not to mention the sleepless night previous. He wondered a moment what Vinyl was doing.

“An odd creature is it not?” A pleasantly soft voice said from behind him. The colt recovered quickly from his startled stupor turning to find Princess Celestia quietly watching him. Celestia’s eyes betrayed the affectionate smile she offered the nervous earth pony with the shaggy mane and feather cutie mark.

“I’ve never seen one before.” He said lamely.

“Be thankful for that.” She said her gaze drifting absently over the cold stone. There was something sad about her stare for a moment, but as fast as it had come the notion was gone, her attention once more on the colt in front of her. She suggested a walk and Amber obliged. The pony didn’t have to look to know that every other pony in the garden had turned their attention toward him as he walked with the princess.

“Lexis spoke well of you.” The sun princess said. “I can see her assurance in you was well placed.”

“I don’t…I’m not….” Amber stumbled, his words tripping over his tongue. The colt bit his lip his eyes flitting between the shimmering white alicorn pony and the ground beneath his hooves. He was abashed and uncomfortable being so near the solar princess, finding her even more intimidating than her younger sister, though he didn’t understand why.

“Your performance tonight was praiseworthy.” She interjected drawing the colt’s eyes for a moment up from the ground. “Do you not agree?”

“Not exactly…” The colt murmured rubbing a hoof along his mane as the Princess stopped to admire another statue. “I mean… I don’t deserve your praise. I didn’t do it because I wanted to…” The colt flushed a deep red, the color just visible beneath his rusty orange hue. He mentally kicked himself for speaking so blatantly. A small trickle of laughter reached his ears but he shared in none of the mirth his host displayed.

“You have made my sister happy.” Celestia said lifting the colt’s hung head with a wingtip. He stepped back reflexively, noticing a moment of uncertainty cross the princess’s face before he recoiled. “I only wish to thank you for it.”

For a long moment her stunning blue eyes held his gaze, drawing him in. The sounds of the garden and the murmurs of the other ponies fell away in those brief moments. He shook his head, pulling his eyes away and stepping back. “Y…You’re welcome.” He answered, fighting the urge to turn tail and run.

He lost.

His hoof beats echoed on the cobblestones, the screams of the ponies he upset in his flight falling on deaf ears, as he shoved past them. He ran blindly, jutting between statues and along hedge rows looking for seclusion he wasn’t sure he would find.

The garden may have been large but it wasn’t endless. Eventually he found himself slowed to a walk, breathing heavily, a clammy sweat coating his fur beneath the uncomfortable outfit he wore. Rarity was going to be upset with him but at that moment he couldn’t care less, if he ever cared at all. A trail of clothing marked his passage toward a lonesome looking gazebo as he shrugged out of them, the seams pulling apart as he did so.

A chill crept up his spine brought on not by the temperature but an eerie musical note flowing from within the structure where a pony, her colors muted by the shadows crawling across her fur, plucked on the strings of a curiously large instrument that easily dwarfed her petite frame. As he silently watched she pulled the bow across several more strings sending a series of notes floating into the darkness. The old wood creaked beneath his hooves as he ascended the rotting steps, alerting the pony to his presence.

She turned her head only slightly, to acknowledge his audience and nothing more, the somber notes she played breaking his heart little by little. When the song had finished, or when she simply decided to stop playing he wasn’t sure which, she turned and offered him a small smile.

“This is the second time you’ve noticed me.” The grey earth pony said as she observed him silently. The barest hint of an accent he couldn’t begin to identify trailed her words. In the absence of the grey ponies melancholy notes Amber could hear the crickets chirping, and the rustle of a faint breeze through the grass.

“Why are you out here?” He asked curiously. “Don’t you want the others to hear you play?”

“They had all evening to listen but they did not.” The mare scoffed, rolling her pretty violet eyes. “And I do not play to be heard by ponies that do not care.”

“So, you’d rather play for nopony?” Amber wondered.

“It wouldn’t be the first time.” The mare answered cryptically, pulling the bow across the strings again ending further conversation. Amber admired the sound, a smile coming to his face as he thought about how such a sound could only improve that rubbish Vinyl Scratch called music.

“Tia?” Luna murmured stepping up behind her sister. The white alicorn stood apart from the other ponies mingling nearer the castle walls, basking in the warm glow of artificial light. Celestia’s stars had lost their luster and thus their appeal, what little they had garnered, and for that reason they were not admired as they ought to be. “Are you alright?”

“I had hoped they would notice.” Celestia said aware of her sister’s presence. The smaller alicorn glanced up at the stars, shining dimly in the dark night, the faint moon hung among them.

“It is not that they do not notice.” Luna said. “But that they do not care…”

“Luna!” Celestia snapped whirling on her younger sibling. Her tone was harsh though she had not meant it to be so. Still the darker pony did not seem to mind, instead she smiled wryly as she directed her sisters gaze toward the night sky.

“Do you think it false?” Luna asked. “You of all ponies know it to be true, whether your night or mine, none among them care.”

“Do not say such things!” Celestia warned. “They have yet to see the wonder of your night.”

“Do you honestly think they are here for me?” Luna went on. Her somber tone was betrayed by the smile on her face. “Had I not included prizes how many of them do you think would have come, how many of them would have participated?” She asked heatedly. “I understand your intent but they do not care for me as you do. They never will.”

“Luna…” Celestia said noticing the hurt in her sister’s eyes even as she tried to hide it.

“Please, do not worry yourself over me.” Luna said smiling reassuringly at her sister. “That you alone wish for my nights to be admired is more than enough.”

Luna’s eyes brightened a bit as she caught sight of Twilight Sparkle, watching from the shadows. The purple unicorn flinched and made to turn and leave, unsure if she had been wrong for eavesdropping but Luna’s voice pulled her back. “Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said softly a pleading glimmer in her teal eyes. “…Would it be forward of me to ask a favor of you?”

“I understand you are my sisters favored pupil.” Luna continued and Twilight nodded her concurrence. “Am I right to presume you and Celestia are also friends?”

Twilight nodded again.

“Might I implore you to…speak with her? I fear her mood of late is worrisome and my attempts of console have gone unrewarded. I thought perhaps you might have more luck than I have had.”

“Of course.” Twilight Sparkle answered. She waited a moment more, until Princess Luna was out of sight and earshot, before stepping nearer to the white alicorn. Watching the siblings encounter the purple unicorn’s earlier suspicion was all but confirmed. “Princess, are you feeling alright?”

The princess gave Twilight a welcoming smile her eyes lighting up at the presence of her favorite student. “It is kind of you to worry Twilight Sparkle but I assure you I am fine.”

Twilight bit her lip eager to contest but she didn’t know if it would be appropriate. She had gotten in trouble before with the princess and she was in no way looking for a repeat of the disappointment she had felt that time. Before she came to a conclusion about what to do next however the princess spoke again. “How did you and your friends enjoy the event?”

“It was…interesting.” Twilight admitted. She hadn’t thought she could enjoy it as much as she had, not that she had enjoyed it immensely. It took a certain kind of pony to enjoy something as ordinary as a dining expose with any sort of enthusiasm. She immediately corrected herself remembering how much Luna had seemed to enjoy it.

The princess chuckled slightly at the faint flush that rose to Twilight’s cheeks. Her laughter was a welcome sound, something the unicorn hadn’t realized she’d been missing. The pair began to walk, touring the garden as Celestia observed the ponies that had and had not been in the contest taking pleasure in each others company. Twilight recognized none of them.

“The pony that waited on Princess Luna is a recent friend.” She began noticing the antics of her Ponyville companions, as they mingled among the other ponies.

Rarity was surrounded by a group who seemed rather infatuated with whatever she was discussing. Elsewhere Applejack and Rainbow Dash where challenging a pair of wait staff stallions to feats of endurance using various platters and heaping mounds of leftover food. Fluttershy was catching up with Philomena, who was looking rather regal in her shimmering red and yellow feathers. Twilight didn’t even want to know where Pinkie Pie was or what she was doing while there.

“Is that so?” Celestia wondered her words laced with a genuine curiosity. That surprised Twilight, who would have said the Princess’s conversation up until that point had felt rather obligatory, or forced even. “I’m afraid I scared him off not long ago. He was rather flighty.”

Twilight gave an ironic smile as she recalled Amber’s brief stay in Ponyville. Before she could utter a response the already weak conversation was stalled as Prism Shine called for everypony’s attention. Her dark coat and jeweled garment shimmered in the light from the castle, that alone seeming enough to keep all eyes on her. “I would like to congratulate each of you on a wonderful first day and inform you that the next round will begin the evening after next. Instructions, as well as directions are available on your scrolls.”

“I have also been told to inform you that any altercations outside of the events themselves will be treated as acts of negligence and susceptible to proper protocol. Consider yourselves warned.” A few murmured groans went up from the crowd, which were quickly silenced by Prism Shine’s menacing glare.

Princess Luna stepped forward as Prism Shine retreated to the back next to Lexis. Twilight sensed a visible change in Celestia, a slight tenseness, as she watched her sister speak. It made the purple unicorn a bit uncomfortable to say the least but she did her best to focus on Luna.

Several cheers went up as small menial awards were given and accepted. The brief ceremony happened rather quickly and Twilight hardly noticed it at all. She was too focused on her inner thoughts to really notice what had gone on. Rainbow Dash breathing into her ear snapped her out of her trance with a squeal.

“Welcome back space cadet!” The rainbow maned pegasus said with a laugh. Twilight glared daggers at her, realizing the princess was no longer by her side, and had not been for some time, nor was she in the garden as far as the purple pony saw. For a moment Twilight fell into her thoughts again but was quickly brought back to the present as her friends included her in their revelry. With a smile she let her worries about the princess slip to the back of her mind…

Chapter 13

Amber tossed uncomfortably beneath the silken sheets, sweat beading across his entire body. He was stuck in a nightmare, a vivid dream he couldn’t escape from. Slurred words left his lips as he fought against bitter memories.

The focus of his nightmares was his father, Honey Glaze, who before Amber was born, had been a part of Celestia’s personal guard. He was a decorated general in fact, but he didn’t wear his armor proudly. He wore his armor like an anchor. The dark chocolate brown stallion was a massive force more akin to a bull than a pony in more than just size. He had a temper to match and the stamina and endurance to back it up.

On a dull winters night, when the moonlight was obscured by cloud cover there came a knock at the door of a small unassuming cottage on the outskirts of Ponyville. The cottage was in disrepair, no pony brave enough to live so near the mythical Everfree forest, none but a disgraced ex-guard. Honey Glaze had thought to live down his dishonor, drowning his sorrows in hard cider and sugar cubes, but fate had other plans. His deeds were not so easily escaped or forgotten.

The foal was swaddled in a blanket so as to protect him from the bitter winter chill. The stallion leaned down and nudged the bundle with his muzzle, frowning as he was rewarded with a faint squeak.

“You don’t talk much do you?” He snorted sarcastically as he gripped the bundle callously in his teeth and carried it inside. He placed it on the floor amid a pile of discarded cider bottles. After several minutes of nothing the stallion nudged the foal with his hoof. “Do something will you?”

The foal struggled to free itself from the bundle. After several minutes of useless wriggling the stallion sighed and pulled on the cloth dumping the tiny pony into the pile of bottles. A slip of parchment fell alongside him. The massive pony flicked his eyes over the writing, which was hasty and near illegible, as if the pony writing it had been in a hurry.

He is your son - of this I have no doubts.
Raise him as I cannot.

Honey Glaze stared blankly at the foal for a long time after that, his mind void of emotions. He felt no joy at the discovery he had a son, nor was he angry that its mother was unable to raise it. What was he supposed to feel?

“I suppose you’ll need a name then?” The stallion muttered after a moment more of staring. The tiny colt was wriggling among the scattered cider bottles, sucking on their tips in need of nourishment, a need which his father ignored in his hunt for something to call the foal.

The stallion lifted the foal up from the floor turning him so he could see into his eyes, deep blue eyes that left no doubt as to his heritage. They matched the chocolate brown stallions own eyes perfectly. An indifferent smirk touched the edge of his lips as he looked between the foal and the bottles he had been trying to nurse. “You seem to like those bottles…” The stallion said as he placed the baby pony back on the floor. “Amber…”

The rusty orange colt woke to weight on his chest and hooves crushing his windpipe. A well placed, and lucky buck, sent his assailant into the opposite wall. Sucking in a lungful of air Amber quickly recovered bracing for a second attack as the pony charged him.

The pair fell in a tangled heap of flailing hooves. After a minute of struggling Amber managed to buck the stallion away again, this time not waiting for the attack that followed. Instead he tackled the pony. Together they crashed through the bathroom door, the strange pony crying out in pain as his back slammed against the edge of the counter. Mercilessly Amber pounded on him with his hooves, managing to land more blows than his attacker.

The pony wobbled on his legs, as Amber’s fury gave no openings, before he collapsed near unconscious on the bathroom tiles. Amber grabbed the stallion’s neck in his teeth and dragged him to the shower dropping him into it. The winded colt turned the water on, its icy stream snapping the woozy stallion into wakefulness.

The pony had some sort of metallic contraption around his muzzle, keeping his jaw shut tight. But the fury in the stallion’s eyes spoke more than words ever could, and given that Amber had apparently broken his jaw during their previous meeting the pony couldn’t speak at all.

“I could kill you for what you did to Vinyl.” Amber said quietly watching the pony’s reaction as his eyes wavered between holding onto his anger and giving into his rising fear. A shiver ran across the rusty colt’s spine as he remembered how it had made him feel the first time he’d nearly beat the stallion to death.
A choking sound, which Amber quickly realized was meant to be a laugh, came from the pony’s throat. “Something funny?”

The edges of the pony’s lips tweaked into a smile and suddenly Amber wished he hadn’t broken his jaw. That smile, a scornful mocking smile, left Amber unsettled. “Did you do something to her?” He shouted angrily grabbing the stallion by the mane and slamming his head into the tile. “I swear to Celesta if you’ve done something to hurt her…!”

A second voice, coming from the other room pulled Ambers attention away from the twice battered pony. With a frown he crept to the doorway, listening, his ear pressed up against the cracked and leaning door. He was rewarded as a soft female voice called out a name he didn’t recognize. A quick glance at the water logged stallion in the shower however confirmed his suspicions.

“You can’t talk,” Amber said with a crooked smile, “but she can…”
Within moments Amber had the female pony, the same that had been with the stallion when he’d attacked Vinyl, in the bathroom. She glanced between the two males, concern and fear fighting for control of her expression.

“What do you want from me?” She asked her voice quivering slightly.

“Given that you didn’t try to kill me in my sleep? All I want is information.” Amber answered. “If I like what you have to say then maybe I’ll let you go, but if I don’t…”

He let her mind fill in the blanks.

The club was near deserted now that nighttime had become late morning. The few ponies that remained were either passed out or to hung-over to even think about moving from where they sat or lay. Barkeep busied himself cleaning the counter top and nearby tables, the bottles and glasses clinking together rather loudly.

A groan came from the white unicorn filly lying in the middle of the stage. She lay on her stomach, her hooves throw across her bare eyes. Sometime during the night she’d again lost her trademark glasses. “Keep it down will ya?” She whined languidly. “…Ow.”

Barkeep rolled his eyes and clanked the bottles together on purpose, as loud as he possibly could without breaking any of them. “Maybe this’ll teach you to have some restraint?”

The mare made a sound with her lips and lazily waved the question away as if it were something she could shoo with a hoof. “Restraint is for mares.”

“You seem to forget you are one.” Barkeep muttered sarcastically under his breath. For once he wished that filly would act like well, a filly. In the months that he had known her she had drunken more stallions under the table than he cared to count and romanced more mares than most of the stallions he knew combined. She wore her bruises like a trophy rather than a reminder of the trouble that caused them.

Though he would never admit it out loud he was worried about her and the train wreck of a lifestyle she lived. The jukebox in the corner kicked on, a melancholic rock ballad breaking the stagnant silence as the stallion disappeared into the kitchen.

Vinyl hummed lazily to herself, occasionally interrupted by the splitting throb of her incessant headache. She rolled to her hooves, whining a bit at the sledgehammer pounding against her skull. Three steps were as far as she got before slamming into a rock hard…pegasus guard? The filly smiled up at him, her ruby red irises nearly hidden beneath her tightly squinted eyelids. “Morning officer…” She quipped cheerfully. “You uh, haven’t seen my shades have you?”

The unicorn stallion’s expression remained stiff even as he spoke. “Are you Vinyl Scratch?”
“That’s DJ Pon3 to you!” The filly chirped proudly offering him a mock salute. The guards expression remained stoic the shimmer of a frown playing on his blank expression so briefly that the filly couldn’t be sure…oh hell she couldn’t be sure of anything, not even the presence of Princess Celestia who at that moment was watching the scene with an amused smirk.
“I will take it from here.” She said stepping forward and releasing the guard from his appointed task. The white alicorn smiled at the suddenly sober filly who was watching her with glazed red eyes. Her drunken inebriation had nearly vanished in matter of moments as the ruler of all Equestria addressed her. “Miss Vinyl Scratch I presume?”
“Oh um yea, I mean yes your holiness!” A chuckle left the alicorn’s mouth as a vibrant red blush covered the DJ’s face. She ran a hoof along the stage floor, her gaze looking everywhere but at the princess. “Am I in trouble?” She asked sheepishly.

“Indirectly yes.” The princess answered.

“It’s not his fault!” Vinyl groaned loudly. “I lied about my age. I told him I was old enough, I have a fake ID to prove it!”
Vinyl quickly trotted to her turntable and shuffled frantically through her saddlebags looking for the card. She grew increasingly frustrated as she searched, littering the stage with odds and ends of junk from her bags all the while pleading with the princess who watched the spectacle in silence. “Please don’t arrest him. He’s a good pony. He would never serve underage ponies on purpose!”
Celestia made a mental note to look into the matter later as she placed a reassuring hoof on the young mare’s shoulder effectively stopping her frantic search.

“I am not here for that.” The princess said softly.

Vinyl’s face visibly relaxed. “You’re not?”

A vaguely familiar voice shouted angry threats at the unicorn filly from the doorway. The sound sent shivers down her spine and the DJ froze up unconsciously, her eyes locked on the pony struggling to free himself from the guards holding him back. The pony’s voice vanished before he could describe his contempt of Vinyl fully, much to his astonishment and anger. The faint aura around Celestia’s horn vanished at the same time.

“What was that?” Vinyl whispered, shaking visibly. She had been scared of him she realized, truly deeply scared. Her chest ached with the awareness of that fact.

“A mind to voice spell.” The princess answered. “Since he can not speak properly on account of his jaw being wired shut, and you seem to have no clear recollection of meeting him I thought it needed. Forgive me.”

“I don’t understand.” Vinyl murmured falling to her haunches as her legs suddenly gave from beneath her. “Who was he?”

“A very bad pony.” Celestia said sadly.

Rays of sunlight fell in through the tall narrow windows of Rarity’s temporary Canterlot boutique. It had not changed in the time since Amber had been there last, unless you were to include the timid yellow pegasus filly sitting in the corner, and his torn suit sitting on the counter. He was a bit curious how it had gotten there, he was under the impression he’d left it strewn about the castle garden.

Fluttershy sat in the far corner looking nervous and flighty. She hadn’t said a word to the rusty red earth pony since he’d arrived, though every so often she’d cast a small glance his way, or at least to the bruises on his neck.

She hadn’t asked about them and he was glad for that. It was all he could do to keep himself in check as it was. Already he’d bucked three windows and threatened to send an unsuspecting pony on the street to the moon for accidentally bumping into him.

“Fluttershy!” Rarity called from behind the red curtain. The yellow pegasus perked up at her friend’s voice and trotted forward disappearing behind the red veil a bit to eagerly. Their voices could be heard from within but Amber paid the pair no mind. His attention was focused on the scroll at his hooves, its ink repeatedly writing a list of names alongside the various bit amounts they had earned for their participation the previous night. His name was not among them.

I served the princess personally! He fumed silently. That deserves something!
He stood abruptly as Twilight emerged in a shimmering aura of purple light. Her jaw dropped a bit as she saw the startled expression cross his face. “Oh? Amber? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I don’t normally teleport great distances but the walk would have taken to long.”

“Oh.” Amber said flatly. He’d nearly bucked her! “If you’re here to see Rarity or Fluttershy they’re behind the curtain…”

“Actually I came to see you.” The unicorn answered matter-of-factly. “Princess Celestia mentioned something about a friend of yours being in trouble…”

“Vinyl!” Amber perked up. “Is she okay?”

“She’s fine, apparently.” Twilight answered. She had no idea who Vinyl was, or why princess Celestia was so vehement that Amber knew as soon as possible about her well being but she’d delivered the message as asked. Amber took a deep breath and sighed falling to his haunches in relief.

Curiosity pulled Rarity and Fluttershy’s attention from behind the veil. The white unicorn looked angrier than she had previously at once again having her work interrupted, even if it was by her own curiosity, but the yellow filly simply looked worried. “Is…Is everything okay?”

The rusty colt smiled appreciating her concern. “It is now.”

“Can I ask you a favor?” Amber asked Twilight as Rarity slunk back behind the curtain pulling the yellow filly alongside.

“A favor?” The purple unicorn inquired uncertainly.

“It’s about my friend, the one the princess sent the message about.” He explained. “I’d like you to look after her.”

“Foalsitting?” Twilight wondered curiously.

“More like ‘hanging out’?” Amber said. “She’s a grown mare but it’s just that she can be a bit reckless, and it’s gotten her into some trouble lately. I know it’s a lot to ask given I only just met you and your friends, but please, I don’t know who else to ask.”

Twilight considered it a moment before nodding, a smile crossing her face. Amber sprang forward, wrapping his hooves around the unicorn’s neck. She fumbled a bit at the unexpected action but slowly gave in and returned the embrace a little uncertainly.

Chapter 14

Luna snapped awake her eyes brimming with tears, sweat soaking her silken sheets. She lay there for several long moments catching her breath and willing her heart to slow its frantic pounding before she began to even think about what it was that had woken her. She turned her head and glanced out the window noticing Celestia’s sun still hung in the cloudless blue sky.

She got to her hooves a bit shakily, spending several more moments composing herself before venturing out into the hall. A lone guard greeted her as she wandered, and she smiled warmly at him. She couldn’t be sure he caught the notion however as he was already past her, his patrol never ceasing even for her.

“I should be asleep.” She whispered to herself as she admired the stained glass windows lining the hall. Twilight Sparkle and her friends were depicted in many of them she realized, their defeat of Nightmare Moon gaining them the privilege of being immortalized in colored glass. She shivered at the memory.

Several long moments of wandering led her to the throne room. Celestia noticed her sister enter out of the corner of her eye and her attention turned as she realized that something was off about the younger alicorn.

“Luna?” Celestia wondered fearfully. “Why are you awake? What happened?”

Luna stepped further into the room offering Celestia a small smile as she approached. “I had a dream…I think.” She said in response to her sister’s worry. She couldn’t remember it well, only that in it Celestia was fighting with a shadow that vaguely took the shape of a pony. She shivered noticeably. “Perhaps calling it a nightmare is more fitting.”

It was never a simple matter when Luna dreamed and it was not unusual for the young alicorn to have visions, often walking into the dreams of other ponies on a whim or an accident. Only her recent millennial long absence had ceased this practice. Having a nightmare, something bearing a much more sinister connotation than a simple dream, as the first of such occurrences since her return was upsetting.

“Will you speak of it?” Celestia coaxed softly.

“It was about you.” Luna began taking a shaky breath as she did her best to recall the memory as perfectly as she dared. Remembering how it had brought her to tears the first time made her reluctant to delve too deep however. “I saw you fighting with a…a shadow I suppose, a shadow resembling a pony. It was vague but you, you were so clear. Your pain…You were crying, screaming for this, shadow pony to cease its attack.” Luna took a shaky breath fighting back the eruption of emotion. “I…I can’t say anymore…”

Celestia was quiet a moment as she held her younger sibling. I don’t expect you to understand. The white alicorn thought inwardly. Not yet.

“It was only a dream Luna.” She said bringing her sister’s upset eyes to her own in an attempt to comfort and reassure the distraught alicorn. “Nothing more…”

“You know better.” Luna retorted quietly burying her head into her sister’s mane. Celestia gave a soft sigh hoping her younger sibling would not press the issue further. Seeming content with the physical comfort the dark alicorn slowly dropped once more into a quiet slumber while Celestia remained beside her, awake and thoughtful.

“A shadow…” Celestia murmured softly as she lightly kissed her sisters brow. “I wish that’s all it was.”

The night was cold, colder than Amber had expected considering it was summer still, yet the temperature was cool enough to see his breath at each exhale. He trotted leisurely behind his newest companions, the six mares from Ponyville. They chatted idly with one another, only the occasional glance thrown his way to assure he’d not snuck off while they weren’t looking. The sky was dark already, the stars shining dimly. He stared up at them on occasion, imagining what they would look like once Luna regained her throne.

The whisper of a voice beside him went ignored at first. He had not realized the yellow pegasus pony had spoken until she lightly brushed him with a wingtip. “I thought maybe we…we could walk together.” She mumbled a sliver of pink touching her cheeks. “You just seemed a bit lonely. But, never mind if…if you don’t want to.”

Amber gave the timid yellow filly a smile. Fluttershy caught her eyes trailing across the bruises on his neck before she pulled her gaze away. She wanted to ask about them, being mildly curious, but at the same time she wasn’t so sure. She had to admit she didn’t know the first thing about this rusty orange colt she found herself awkwardly attracted to.

Was he a bad pony?

She glanced up from where her gaze was set firmly between her hooves, not realizing until Amber spoke up that she had in fact stopped walking. “Are you okay?”

“Oh…yes.” She answered, trotting to catch up to him.

They walked in silence a while longer Amber content to watch the stars spread across the sky like dull uncut jewels. Beside him the yellow pony drug her hooves, slowing their pace to a near standstill.

From the corner of his eye Amber could see the filly desperately trying to think of something to ask without asking the obvious questions like, ‘Where are you from?’ or ‘What’s your favorite color?’.

He would have gladly answered those if she’d asked them but she didn’t.

“Are you afraid of them?” She asked before continuing, realizing that asking such a generic question could lead to an unexpected response. “You’re parents…I mean. It’s just back in Ponyville you said things…in your sleep…” A faint squeak left her lips before she quickly apologized for asking the question at all. “I’m sorry if I’m out of line….”

What brought this up? He thought about ignoring her, or getting angry, yelling would certainly scare her off. Amber took a deep breath exhaling slowly.

“My mother wasn’t around.” He admitted quietly. As the upwelling of memories began Ambers legs grew weak. He trotted to a patch of decorative grass and sat down before he collapsed under the weight of his childhood memories. The yellow filly quickly followed her expression both curious and ashamed.

“My dad was…” Amber trailed off as his father’s imposing figure cropped up in his minds eye. He dug at the earth scouring the grass until he’d created a shallow depression. Fluttershy watched silently her eyes glancing elsewhere every so often, looking for an escape from the mess she had gotten herself into.

She was sorry she’d brought it up, sorry for being curious, but more than anything sorry for reminding Amber of everything he’d spent his entire life trying to forget.

“He never wanted a son.” The rusty orange pony explained the distinct hint of anger in his voice. He felt a tickle at the base of his mane, and he knew without turning his head that the other five ponies had backtracked upon realizing that the pair was not with them. He continued talking without acknowledging he knew they were there, listening. “I was a burden to him, nothing more than a yoke around his neck, growing tighter and tighter. He reminded me everyday just how unwanted I was. After a while, though his words still hurt, I got used to them and then I became angry. When I started breaking things to spite him…”

Amber wiped away the makeup Rarity had used to hide the wide scar on his muzzle. “It was my fault for provoking him I guess. It was the one and only time he struck me and I suppose he was sorry for it, but I never got the chance to ask. He left me there…unconscious…bleeding…”

“That’s harsh.” Rainbow Dash snapped angrily, a scowl on her face. Pinkie Pie was remembering the party, the gears winding in her head as she realized why exactly he had been so frightened of her exuberance. He’d not equated it to a good thing as she had been expecting but rather the verbal abuse he’d endured as a young colt, leading up to the injury and an ever present reminder he could never truly rid himself of. Somehow her apology didn’t seem near enough to make up for it…

The colt was silent for a while longer and Fluttershy was a bit startled by his voice when he picked the story up again and began to tell the rest of it. “When I woke up I walked home expecting to find him there, hoping to confront him, but the house was dark and empty. I thought if I waited he’d come back, but…he never did. He abandoned me just like my mother before him…”

“Do you…do you think he’s still alive?” Fluttershy asked quietly, her words nearly inaudible.

“He’s dead to me either way.” Amber said quietly as he got to his hooves. Understandably he no longer felt in the mood to dine with his friends, and they no longer wished to spend the night in revelry. With heavy hearts the group parted ways.
Fluttershy lingered a moment more, glancing between the retreating colt and her friends. She knew nothing she said would comfort him now, not when she had been the one to bring to light his painful past, and unwittingly shared it with her companions.

“I’m sorry.” She murmured quietly.

Amber had broken the vanity mirror over the sink in the bathroom of his hotel suite, a shard of which had sliced into his hoof. In consequence blood now dribbled into the crisp white porcelain bowl, deluded by the steady stream of room temperature water from the tap. The remains of splintered and razor sharp glass littered the tile at his hooves, creating a dangerous situation when, after near a half hour, he finally made up his mind to leave.

He found his room once again playing host to a pony other than himself. Mortar stood in the doorway, concern and curiosity playing across his face. His eyes lingered a moment on the wide scar across Amber’s muzzle before settling on the blood soaked rag wrapping the colt’s hoof, his concern replaced by amusement.

“You’re that sort are you?” The ghostly pony inquired.

Amber glared daggers at him, disliking the connotation. “What sort would that be?”
“Violent.” Mortar answered stepping forward and lifting Ambers hoof. He pulled the rag away in a glow of silvery magic, inspecting the wound momentarily. Only when Amber made an attempt to retrieve his leg did he notice the second aura of magic holding the limb firmly in the unicorn pony’s grasp. “Care to talk about it?”

“I’ve done enough talking for one night.” Amber shot back. A ghostly smile touched the unicorn’s lips as he removed a shard of mirrored glass still embedded in the colt’s hoof before binding the wound properly.

“Another subject then…?” The stallion suggested casually.

With a heavy sigh Amber relented shutting the cracked bathroom door with a hind hoof. A victim of his previous guest encounter, it hung from the bottom hinge slightly crooked, the top hinge having dislodged itself from the door jamb altogether, a splintered fragment of wall clinging to it. Another rung in his ladder of increasing debt…
“Why are you in my room?” Amber asked.

“With all the fuss about you these last two nights count yourself lucky I’m the only one.” The stallion said with a chuckle as he moved to the large picture window overlooking Canterlot proper. “Half of them are scared of you and the other half… well, let’s just say they didn’t take to kindly to that filly you had up here the other morning.”

“She’d enjoy their company more than I would.” Amber muttered disdainfully.

“One of those fillies is she?” The stallion noted.

“It seems I’m the exception.” The rusty colt muttered with a snort, his cheeks flushing for a moment as he recalled her less than successful attempt at seduction, his part in it being the only flaw. She played him like a fool and he swallowed it… then choked.

“You would be.” Mortar said his voice ripe with amusement. “I haven’t seen so many mares take fancy to a stallion since Hoofner.”

“You didn’t come here to talk about mares...” Amber said steering the conversation back to where it belonged. His hoof had begun to ache on top of his already foul mood and increasing need for an uninterrupted dreamless sleep.

“Right then, back to business.” Mortar said. “You and I are partnered for tomorrow evenings event. Since you haven’t been around I thought I’d take this opportunity to fill you in.”

“Tomorrow’s event…?” Amber asked. He’d completely forgotten about it!

“I take it you did not read your scroll?” Mortar inquired. Amber shook his head. He hadn’t touched it since that morning at Rarity’s boutique, and that had only been to lament over the lack of prize money he’d been awarded. With a smug smile the ghostly pony began to explain, or rather he read straight from Amber’s scroll currently levitating in front of him. The colt felt another twinge of jealousy at the display.

“The next evening’s event, hereby known as the Chef’s Challenge, is meant to show the versatility of the wait staff in the occurrence of understaffing. Consisting of two rounds, separated by a half hour grace period, each pair of competitors will take turns preparing a dish of their own choosing, as well as serving said dish in a timely and courteous manner to the guest.” The stallion stopped to assure the colt was following along.

Mortar hid his smug smile as the colt’s cocky indifference turned to thinly veiled panic. “Each pony will be responsible for creating one dish or desert in their allotted time, while being subsequently responsible for distributing said dish to the appointed guest - to be formally announced that evening.”

“I…I can’t cook!” Amber stuttered his eyes growing wide. His flank quivered as he fell to his haunches, his prospects for the future looking bleaker than ever before.

“Being partner’s means if you fail then I fail.” Mortar said with a rueful smile as he placed a comforting hoof on the colt’s shoulder. His tone was half mocking and half deadly. “Celestia to hell if I’m gonna let you pull me down with you!”

“So what,” Amber asked incredulously. “You’re going to teach me how to cook, in one day?”

“I don’t want to loose this contest any more than you do and if that means teaching you to cook in one day then yes.” The stallion answered. “I’ll be back here bright and early to pick you up. Sweet dreams!”

Chapter 15

Luna stifled a yawn as she watched her sister raise the sun, pulling it up from beyond the distant horizon. Its rays shone brightly, overwhelming the lingering shades of the night sky and swallowing the stars, as at the same time the alicorn set the moon on the opposite horizon.

The darker alicorn said nothing, content to observe her sister in silence. Careful observation gave no answers to the myriad of questions and concerns regarding her sisters well being as of late but she spoke them in silence, and only to herself knowing she would not get a straight answer if she dared express them out loud.

“You should rest sister.” She said drawing Celestia’s gaze away from where it stared distant.

“He has his father’s eyes.” The older alicorn said in a hushed whisper, seemingly oblivious to her sister’s suggestion.

“Who…?” Luna ventured stepping forward quietly.

“That colt…the one from the event…” Celestia answered her words fading even as she spoke them. The white alicorn’s gaze fell to the floor and she closed her eyes her expression pained. Luna’s heart tightened in her chest as she noticed her sister’s legs quiver. She rushed forward leaning against her older sibling, supporting her should she fall.

“Are you feeling well sister?” Luna asked concerned. “Need I summon a doctor?”

“I am fine Luna.” Celestia reassured regaining her composure and her footing. “But, thank you.”

“I do not believe you.” Luna said a bit childishly. A frown creased her lips and her brow furrowed as she studied her sister closely. The alicorn’s pastel mane and tail seemed to hang limply, while her shimmering façade was dull and lifeless. “I understand you do not wish for me to worry but how can I not when you act as you do?”

“If it pleases you then summon a doctor.” Celestia relented after a tense minute of inner debate. In response Luna wrapped a wing around her sister’s shoulders pulling her into a loving embrace. The action brought a genuine, all be it small, smile to Celestia’s lips. “Until then I believe it best I retire. Should you need me I will be in my chambers.”

Amber woke to a pair of lively blue eyes watching him as he slept. His surprised cry was cut short as he recognized them, and the long locks of pink mane hung limply around the head of the mare he’d come to know as Pinkie Pie.

“Pinkie,” Amber asked as he realized the vibrantly colored mare was sitting on his chest. “What are you doing?”

“Watching you sleep.” She said with a smile her hair regaining a significant amount of its curly nature. Her hesitant smile widened as he made to sit up but found he was unable due to her weight, which for such a small looking pony was rather considerable.

“Why?” Amber asked laying his head back on the pillow. He watched the dust float in the rays of brilliant morning sunlight falling in through the gaps in his curtains.

“Well,” The mare took a breath before words began streaming from her mouth at a near incomprehensible rate. “Last night after you told your story I realized that my apology wasn’t enough. I’d done something unforgivable and I wanted to make up for it, but I didn’t know how. So when I was wandering around town trying to think of something I ran into a ghost, or I thought he was a ghost but he was only a pony that looked like a ghost…”

Amber heard a chuckle over her words and he turned his head finding Mortar waiting in the doorway a brow cocked in amusement at the suggestive positions the colt found himself in. Amber shot the stallion a dangerous glare in response before turning his attention back to Pinkie Pie. “…So I’ve been here all night waiting for you to wake up so I could teach you how to bake!”

“Wait, what?” Amber asked, managing to catch the last few words of Pinkie’s monologue. “You’ve been here all night?”

“Not all night,” The pony quipped. “Only most of it.”

Amber ignored the fact that Pinkie Pie had been watching him sleep in favor of her second revelation. “And you can cook?”

“Bake.” The pink pony corrected. “Who do you think made the cake at your ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party?”

Sensing the question didn’t require a response he shifted his focus to removing the mare from his chest. Mortar stifled a snicker at this while Pinkie glanced between them her expression bewildered, as if she didn’t understand the silent exchange.

Amber glared daggers at the stallion as he shoved his way past the pink mare to the bathroom, slamming the broken door as best he could without tearing it off the jamb completely. After a quick shower, more an incentive to wake than the need for actual hygiene, he rejoined his companions; but not before a glance into the remaining chunk of broken mirror still set in the frame reminded him why it was broken.

Twilight wrinkled her nose at the stench of alcohol and hard cider permeating the air of the nightclub. It wasn’t deserted, there were ponies present but they were hugging the walls, avoiding any semblance of light like those vampire ponies in one of Rainbow Dash’s comic books.

“Are you old enough to be in here?” A dust colored unicorn stallion inquired noticing her as he emerged from a set of double doors tucked in a far corner of the club. He wore a figure flattering waistcoat and his cutie mark, she noticed with a faint blush on her cheeks, was a martini glass and a shaker of salt. Twilight stepped back, stammering her reply. “I…I’m looking for V…Vinyl Scratch?”

“Over there.” He replied with a wry smile nodding his head toward the far wall. Twilight shifted her gaze in the direction he indicated. “You might try pushing a few buttons.” The stallion nickered as the purple pony nodded in acknowledgement before quickly trotting toward the stage.

A white unicorn mare lay in the middle of the slightly raised platform, her foreleg thrown across her eyes, a pair of large purple tinted sunglasses lying close by. Twilight stepped nearer startled as the white mare snorted in her sleep. Slowly reaching a hoof out the hesitant pony nudged the mare’s shoulder but rather than wake, as she’d expected, the pony flipped over and curled further into herself.

Twilight glanced over her shoulder noticing the brown stallion was watching her expectantly his forelegs crossed. He inclined his head toward a mess of electronics at the corner of the stage, a sly smile playing on his lips. After a minute of thought in which she realized his earlier statement about buttons had not been a metaphor but in fact a suggestion, the purple pony trotted toward the machine. She spent several long moments staring before hesitantly reaching out a hoof and pressing a button.

A shriek of feedback nearly knocked Twilight off her hooves as she frantically stabbed at random buttons and twisted dials in an attempt to stop the noise blaring from the speakers. The continued unpleasantness wasn’t near enough to mask the rage expressed by the unicorn mare it had awakened.

“WHO THE HELL IS TOUCHING MY TABLE!” Twilight shrank back as Vinyl raged, more upset that her equipment had been tampered with than the fact that she had been woken so abruptly.

“Let the mare alone Vinyl.” Barkeep said between bursts of raucous laughter effectively stealing her attention as the noise was dulled. The unicorn mare looked swiftly between the purple pony and the brown stallion her anger slowly ebbing in place of a steady throbbing ache in her head that was quickly making itself apparent.

“Vinyl Scratch…?” As Twilight looked the mare over she realized the extent of the wounds Amber had told her about, the cuts and bruises he’d spoke of still clearly visible.

“Who’s asking?” The white unicorn snapped groggily as she pushed the purple pony away from her equipment. She busied herself from several minutes doing things with the machine Twilight could only guess at before she appeared content.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle.” The purple pony introduced herself once she felt comfortable enough to address the volatile pony. “Amber asked me to keep you company….”

“Who?” A confused look crossed the white mares face.

“Your little coltfriend...” Barkeep answered before Twilight could explain. The stallion busied himself preparing a cocktail to settle Vinyl’s’ raging hangover as she stumbled to the bar a sarcastic smile on her lips, Twilight following after. “I like Feathers better.”

Chapter 17

Chapter 17:

The ‘Apple Dumpling’ reminded Amber of Thyme and Dime though he didn’t understand why since it was at least twice as big and much more elegant. For a moment he let himself wonder what Short Order was doing and who the old stallion had gotten as his replacement, but being a rather antisocial pony Amber assumed it wasn’t someone he knew and stopped caring.

Mortar gave a low whistle as the pair followed their escort into the kitchen through the back door. It was a large kitchen, easily dwarfing every kitchen in which Amber had ever been, the exception being that of Canterlot castle. Stainless steel appliances and fully stocked cabinets alongside a walk in freezer gave even Mortar pause.

“They really went all out for this didn’t they?” He mused.

“The bigger question is who are we feeding?” Amber muttered tersely as he trotted to the swinging doors separating the kitchen from the dining hall. He peered through the narrow window his eyes scanning the sparsely occupied tables around the perimeter of the large room. He recognized, only vaguely, several of the previously eliminated ponies sitting around them, not as patrons but as spectators.

It was flamboyantly clear which table was meant to accommodate the special celebrity guest given it was not only in the center of the room surrounded by vacant tables, but was decorated almost acrimoniously with the rest of the décor.

His anxiety about unintentionally poisoning some strange Canterlot celebrity pony with his sorry excuse for desert was quickly replaced by a very different kind of anxiety as the restaurant doors opened and a very familiar pair of ponies trotted in. The always eccentric Vinyl Scratch, her ever present goggles perched on her muzzle was accompanied by a timid less assured Fluttershy, doing her best to hide behind her pretty pink mane.

Amber swore between his teeth.

“Problem…?” Mortar inquired curiously stepping up beside the cowering colt and glancing out the window. The smile on his lips widened as he spied on the pair of mares.

“Our celebrity guest sees me as the exception.” Amber answered hinting at his earlier conversation with the ashen grey pony. A malicious chuckle left the stallion’s lips as he turned back to the kitchen proper. “This should be entertaining.”

“Bastard.” Amber swore at the unicorns retreating form before glancing one last time out the narrow window. His flank quivered slightly as his stomach swarmed with butterflies and roaches, nervous anxiety and eager anticipation fighting for control of his stomachs contents.

“The hour for visiting our sister is late Twilight Sparkle.” Luna observed turning to find her sister’s apprehensive protégé standing in the doorway. The dark alicorn stepped from the shadows, her lithe form bathed in swatches of faded moonlight as she approached. The starlight in her mane put the actual starlight to shame with its vibrant intensity and her expression emulated her unspoken worry.

Twilight hesitantly stepping forward. She had been here many times before, when she was still a young filly, but never at night and never alone with the younger royal. Luna was still exiled when she’d first become Celestia’s student and it had only been a matter of months since Luna had been freed from her imprisonment as the vessel of Nightmare Moon.

“Do not worry yourself Twilight Sparkle. A full night’s rest should see her well enough by morning.” Luna answered softly. “Our sister has yet to relinquish her control as you can clearly see. Were it my night again the stars would not weep as they do now.”

As she glanced out the window, where the stars indeed fell like tears, Twilight scoured her thoughts for a reply but found she had nothing to say in response. She did not know Luna as she knew Celestia, and she found she was afraid to speak should she inadvertently incur some dormant wrath swirling in the depths of the dark alicorn’s heart. A smile touched Luna’s lips and for a moment Twilight was taken aback by the serene essence emanating from it.

“She’ll be alright won’t she?” Twilight asked quietly.

“Our sister is stronger than you realize Twilight Sparkle.” Luna said draping a wing around the conflicted filly. Twilight flinched a moment beneath it but quickly embraced the comfort the youngest royal sister was offering.

The evening passed quickly, with Mortar flawlessly executing both tasks with an exuberant air and a mocking smile when it came time for Amber to do the same. The rusty orange colt fared equally well for a reason linked more to who he was than to his actual performance, which though good was not without its flaws. Mortar stifled his laughter as Amber emerged into the kitchen, a scowl replacing the cheery facade he’d worn not moments before.

“Guess we got lucky.” Mortar said distractedly as he watched Amber prep the cake he’d prearranged for Vinyl. Regardless of what she’d ordered he’d have fed her cake, even if she asked for pie, or cherry crumble, or ice cream.

“What makes you say that?” Amber asked inattentively.

“That mare’s got it bad for you.” He answered. “And because of that she’s going to say she likes it, and give you an equitable score, no matter how disgusting it is.”

Amber snorted derisively. “She’s not that shallow.”

“You want to bet?” Mortar challenged.

“What are you offering?” Amber retorted. A smirk rose on the grey unicorn’s lips at how quickly Amber took the bait. “If you’re right and she doesn’t like it, then I’ll give you half my prize money.”

“And if I lose?” Amber asked narrowing his gaze suspiciously. The grey pony pondered a moment. “If you lose then you owe me.”

“Owe you what exactly?” Amber asked warily. The grey pony leaned forward, so as to whisper and not be overheard despite the lack of any other ponies in the room. His voice was tinged with enmity and fervor alike. “Anything I want.”

Amber agreed to the terms with only mild hesitation as he settled the tray on the tip of his muzzle, confident in his ability to repulse, if not poison, the unicorn mare with his culinary fare. With the promise of extra prize money at the forefront of his thoughts, the distracted colt wasn’t prepared for what happened next…

Amber’s eyes flew wide as Vinyl rose from her place at the table and kissed him, her lips tasting like the charred cake she had just sampled. His own lips parted slightly to accompany hers, his body eager to embrace the kiss while his mind whirled with confusion and surprise. Several long seconds passed before he regained his sagacity and stepped back, his hock slamming against the vacant table behind him.

The white unicorn gave him a playful smirk before she addressed the spectators an assortment of unexpected expressions adorning their faces. “You all got a problem with a mare appreciating some damn fine service?”

Several curious eyes suddenly found they had better things to ogle and turned away while Amber recovered from his sudden shock and awe, the bet he’d made with Mortar only a moment ago the furthest thought from his mind.

“C…Can I get anything else, for you, or um…your guest…?” Amber stammered his lurid embarrassment clearly visible beneath his rusty orange pelt. Fluttershy was looking down at the tablecloth, her bottom lip clutched tightly between her teeth.

Vinyl shoved another forkful of the charred blackened desert into her mouth and chewed noisily, it seemed for no other reason than to annoy the dozen or so still gawking observers. Amber gave a sidelong glance to Fluttershy as he left without an answer, her pale blue eyes brimming with unshed tears.

He withheld his exhaustive sigh until he was fully within the kitchen where he promptly slammed his head onto the counter, repeatedly. Mortar’s wide excited smile stretched across his muzzle, his dark eyes glistening deviously. “Guess that means you owe me.”

Rainbow Dash hovered near the rooftops, her dark magenta eyes watching as the buttery yellow form of her friend fled the restaurant, tears falling from her eyes. For a moment she thought to follow but something, or rather somepony stopped her.

A familiar voice echoed up from the nearby alley, followed by a second one she didn’t recognize. Curiously she fluttered to a nearby balcony, careful not to disturb anything that might give away her hiding place. Through the darkness she was able to make out two forms, one a recognizable rust colored stallion, the three feathers on his flank clearly visible, seeming to glow with an odd luminescence in the moonlight. The second pony, a filly by the look of her, was less visible, her ivory white coat dull in comparison to the colt’s glowing cutie mark.

Rainbow Dash’s ear twitched as she realized the ponies were arguing. Intrigued by the pair she leaned closer, curiosity winning out over her better judgment. In truth she should have been looking for Fluttershy, asking why she was upset, trying to comfort her, but something about the argument was far more interesting.

“What the hell was that Vinyl?” Amber asked angrily.

“What did you expect me to do?” The mare retorted. “That cake was disgusting! I had to get the taste out of my mouth!”

“And that was your first choice?!” Amber snorted. The mare matched his glare and his anger ebbed a bit. Her vibrant ruby eyes were really beautiful in the pale moonlight, and for a moment his heart skipped a beat.

“It’s not the kiss that I’m upset about.” Amber explained awkwardly, scuffing his hoof on the ground as he spoke, his anger quickly failing as it was replaced with embarrassment. “But did you have to kiss me in front of her, in front of everyone?”

From her perch on the balcony Rainbow Dash caught the hesitation in Amber’s voice at the allusion to Fluttershy, and suddenly the yellow filly’s tears made sense. Rainbow hovered a moment intending to find her friend and explain the situation but again the conversation stopped her progress.

“So, you liked it when I kissed you?” Vinyl asked curiously.

“Yeah,” Amber answered honestly. “I did.”

He had been kissed before, but they had always been fleeting, and from mares he’d never seen again, the last actual kiss years previous, from a classmate who had made a bet and lost. Never before had he found himself wanting to embrace the feeling, or return it, like he had with Vinyl. Regardless of how wrong it felt, it was something he sought, for reasons he couldn’t explain. He almost wished she were wasted again, so that she would repulse him, and the feeling would go away.

“Then why are you upset?” She wondered uneasily.

Amber was quiet a moment. “…Because you don’t like colts.”

A quivering smile touched Vinyl’s lips and she laughed shakily. She failed to hide the sudden sob that tore through her fragile laughter and her cheerful disposition was easily broken by the tears that fell like rivers across her cheeks. “But I like you…” She managed to say her words choked by her continued sobs. “More than I’ve ever liked a stallion.”

“Vinyl…”

“Please, don’t push me away…” She interrupted.

The stallion bit into the hem of his coat sleeve and prayed that Rarity would forgive him for what he was about to do. With a swift pull he tore the sleeve from his coat, surprised to find the seams came apart clean, and offered it to Vinyl. She stared at it blankly for a moment before a small smile creased her lips and she took hold of it. Amber cringed as she cleared the gunk from her face, tears and mucus alike soiling the expensive fabric.

“Better?” He asked earning a nod and a smile from the white unicorn.

“I always thought this would feel different.” She admitted her voice cracking beneath the weight of her confession. “I’m sorry...”

“Don’t apologize.” He murmured softly, admiring the crimson hue across her muzzle before leaned in pressing his lips to hers. The faint taste of char and the salt of shed tears remained, but beneath those it was all pony, all Vinyl Scratch. After a length of breathless moments he pulled away, finding a silly grin spread across the mare’s face, her lips still slightly puckered.

Rainbow Dash hovered several inches above the balcony. She had taken to the air to dispel the tingle in her wings at the exchange, warmth rising to her own features. She hoped she’d be able to hide it the next time she saw him face to face; the thought of explaining her sudden blushing wasn’t something that she wanted to have hanging over her head. Giving the pair one final glance she murmured quietly, “Sorry Fluttershy.”

Chapter 18

Lighter than a Feather
- Chapter 18 -

“She’s weak.” Lexis answered thoughtfully, “but she’ll recover given enough time.”

The unicorn mare’s horn glowed faintly, illuminating the darkness around her only enough to distinguish between the shadows and the dark pony hidden within them. The stars had ceased to fall by early morning, though the sky appeared darker with their absence, even as the sun waxed on the far horizon.

“And the other…?” A deep guttural voice inquired.

“She is of little concern.” The mare answered confidently.

“Forgive me if I find your assurance lacking.” The dark vaguely pony shape retorted his voice significantly less convinced.

“What would you have me do?” Lexis queried.

“If time is what she needs then take it from her.” The deep voice responded, a note of finality creeping into his words. With a resigned sigh Lexis stepped back, diminishing the glow from her horn and basking the alley in darkness once more.

“Remain vigilant Lexis. Remember what is at stake…” The voice resonated from the steadily fading shadows, the threatening tone far to clear to be ignored. A shiver slithered down the unicorn’s spine as the dawn loomed.

Amber gritted his teeth against the blistering hot stream of water beating across his back. His flank quivered despite his varied attempts at distraction, the twitch running the length of his legs, as a tingling numbness crept into his hooves. He gagged on the taste of blood and bile, the reopened wound on his muzzle bleeding into his mouth. The colt had torn off the bandaging and broken the fragile scabbing during his frenzied sleep and woken in a puddle of blood, the dark wet substance staining his cheek and pillow.

“Is everything alright in there?” A kind sympathetic voice wondered from the other side of the door. His ear twitched towards the sound and he choked on his words. After several long moments he managed to croak out a reply, his voice muffled by the pounding water as much as the locked door. He pressed his face against the tile, his eyes squeezed so tight his head had begun to ache from the strain.

“When you’re ready to come out,” The kindly voice answered, sounding hopeful, a wet throaty cough interrupting before she was able to continue, “I’ve prepared breakfast. I…I hope you’ll join me.”

He waited for the sound of hooves and continued coughing to fade away and the water to become tepid before he stepped out of the shower, a puddle quickly forming beneath him as he hesitated to soil the crisp clean towels the kindly old mare had set out for him to use. Blood still leaked from the gash despite the towel he had wrapped it with, pooling in a small puddle beneath his hooves.

He caught the reflection of his flank in the mirror above the sink, finding something that wasn’t there when he gone to sleep only a few hours previous. Where there had been nothing but rust colored fur the night before, there were now three crisp white feathers forming an odd semi circular pattern.

His cutie mark…

After several long minutes staring at it the smell of muffins, blueberry if he had to guess, drew him toward the kitchen where the kindly old voice from beyond the bathroom door took shape, that of an aged white pegasus pony. The mare’s small wings were bent and crippled - from rheumatism - she’d explained the previous evening when she’d caught him staring at them, his mind swirling with the possibilities available if only he’d been given such wondrous appendages. He’d looked away then, unable to meet her gaze the rest of the evening.

Now he found her gaze still and unflinching, the clear blue irises staring unresponsively forward. One of her crippled wings was crushed beneath her lifeless body the other sticking upwards, as if reaching for the sky she had so long ago been forced to abandon. Black smoke rose from the oven, the tantalizing scent of blueberry muffins becoming a sulfuric poisonous reek.

Amber began to quiver as a scream tore itself from his throat…

Luna woke abruptly, her body coated in a slick blanket of sweat. She struggled to untangle herself from her damp sheets, falling out of her bed painfully as a result of trying to reach the door as quickly as possible. Her mind reeled with her most recent nightmare, already beginning to fade with her sudden consciousness.

Her frantic heartbeat echoed the rhythmic pounding of her hooves in the expanse of castle hallway down which she fled, her mane billowing out behind her in her flight. She ignored the protests of the guard posted outside her sister’s chamber as she burst in, her fears quickly alleviated by the sight of her sister laying on her bed, a faint blue aura surrounding her horn, as she drew the sun into the sky. Twilight Sparkle lying curled beneath the solar princess’s wing, snoring lightly, a smile on her lips.

“Is something the matter Luna?” Celestia asked softly her voice tinged with concern. Dismissing the startled guards with a slight nod of her head, she gave her full attention to her distraught sibling. Luna composed herself before addressing her sister. “Forgive me for intruding Sister.”

The large white alicorn maneuvered herself away from her student, careful not to disturb the sleeping filly as she did so. Sensing the empty space the purple pony began to reach for something that was not there only alleviated when Celestia offered her a pillow in replacement. Seemingly satisfied with the substitute Twilight happily snuggled into it.

“She insisted on remaining by your side the entire evening.” Luna explained with a sheepish smile.

“It would seem.” Celestia answered giving Twilight a parting glance as she and Luna vacated the room. In the hall the guards who had been safeguarding the princess all night were given the task of guarding Twilight Sparkle while Luna and Celestia went for an early morning stroll through the castle gardens. The oldest alicorn sister smiled inwardly at their apparent devotion, they would guard a wheel of cheese if she told them to, no questions asked.

“Did you have another nightmare?” Celestia asked with a sidelong glance at Luna, who walked a half step behind. The sunlight had yet to penetrate the inner courtyard, resulting in the steely glow of early morning.

“Yes sister.” Luna said slowly. “I was worried that perhaps it was a premonition of ill intent but I see now my fears were misplaced.”

“You should know better.” Celestia warned. “You know as well as I the dangers that come from idle negligence.”

“I do.” Luna answered somberly, memories of her time as Nightmare Moon still an all too common occurrence. Her sour mood was lessened as the sun’s vibrant rays broke through the lingering darkness and residual chill. Her head inclined upwards and her wing spread slightly to bask for a moment, the sight raising a smile on her sister’s drawn lips.

“Many things have happened in your absence.” Celestia said. “Several of which you yourself have born witness. Others remain in shadow, brought to light in the strangest of ways.”

Luna blinked and turned her attention to her sibling. The shimmering white alicorn had never looked so pale, her normally prismatic mane dull and lifeless. It hung limply, touching the ground, the ends tipped in dirt and grime gathered since she’d begun their walk. “You do not mean…” Luna began her brow furrowed as she worked through her sister’s statement. “The dreams could not be…real?”

“I had hoped to tell you after you regained your throne and duties.” Celestia said quietly. “Seeing you again, knowing that for the first time in millennia it was within my power to make you happy, I did not wish for anything more. Yet, if I had known that in turn would reveal something I had hoped to forever bury then…” Celestia hesitated. “Please do not ask this of me. Not yet.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting the upwelling of emotion threatening to break through. Luna stepped nearer draping a wing around her sister and nuzzling her comfortingly. “I will not ask if you do not wish it of me.” She said. “I only hope that someday there will be no secrets between us.”

“Thank you for understanding Luna.” Celestia said grateful for her sisters understanding. The upset in Luna’s gaze however was clear, and it broke Celestia’s heart to see it again. Was it not that same look that had splintered their relationship all those centuries ago? “I promise, someday soon you will understand.”

Amber recoiled slightly at the tug of magic that pulled at the pouch of bits clutched in his teeth. It was a sickly yellow aura, the same color as the unicorn wielding it. There was no usual twinge of envy this time. “I’d say you’ve got a strong buck but seeing as you’re an earth pony it’s really no surprise.”

The bored colt listened patiently as the stallion continued to ramble about the differences between unicorn and earth ponies. There was no admiration in his voice for Amber’s apparent strength, as there shouldn’t be considering any pony can break a window. What finally got a hint of emotion was the old pony’s approval of Amber’s offering and the sincere apology that went with it. The promise of bits to repair the window and compensate for damages had been what kept both shop owners, the pegasus pony that owned the flower shop only a block away, and this unicorn, whose shop he could only guess had been a furniture store of some kind, from calling the royal guard.

The difference was that the pegasus pony had given him a flower in appreciation of his making good on his promise while the unicorn gave him a withered look and slammed the door in his face once the money had been passed and his rant about the superiority of the unicorn’s had been spent.

“So much for settling my debt with Barn Dart...” Amber mumbled beneath his breath lamenting the bit’s he’d lost settling the debts he’d created here in Canterlot, failing to notice at first the familiar grey pony staring at him from the numerous flyers tacked to the walls beside which he walked.

“So you’re famous too?” He asked the flyer once he did catch on, recalling that he and the grey mare had parted without exchanging names. It was advertising a free concert in the park by a young up and coming cellist, one Octavia Philharmonic. A dapper looking stallion sidled up beside him, his grey eyes trailing across the text a moment before he thought to question the colt.

“You know Miss Philharmonic?” Amber swept his gaze toward the stallion a moment before answering. “We’ve met.”

The stallion said nothing to this and after a moment more tipped his hat to the young stallion before continuing down the street. Amber watched him a minute before he looked to the flyer again and gave chase.

“Excuse me sir!” He called out catching the pony’s attention. He pointed his hoof toward the location named at the bottom of the poster. “Where is this place?”

The stallion thought a moment before offering up directions, which Amber stored in memory for all of a minute before forgetting them. He thought it silly to ask the stallion a second time so instead he resided to the fate of not knowing what he’d moments ago been told. Maybe Vinyl knows? He thought a smile gracing his lips as the memory of last night’s events rose to the forefront of his mind.

After nearly an hour walking to and wandering the back streets of Canterlot’s shadier district Amber found himself in somewhat familiar territory. He only just recognized the grey brick building in the light of day, though the stench once he’d managed to find the front door and make his way inside was unmistakable. It took several minutes for his eyes to adjust fully to the low light.

“Been wondering when you’d show your face again.” Barkeep greeted as Amber trotted up to the bar.

“Didn’t really have a reason...” Amber answered.

“And now…?” The stallion challenged nodding his head toward the stage where Vinyl was, as usual, passed out. “Filly came stumbling in here this morning with a shit faced grin like I never seen mumbling something about cake. Care to elaborate?”

“I may have kissed her once or twice,” Amber revealed. “Then she threw up on me so I sent her home.”

The brown stallion chuckled. “This is the first time I seen her sober come morning in,” The stallion seemed to ponder for a bit before he continued, “Well, ever.”

“Ever?” Amber pondered his gaze hung on Vinyl for a minute before giving his attention to Barkeep in time to see the stallion shake his head in reply.

“So prince charming,” Barkeep continued quickly, changing the subject as a sly smile tugged on his lips, “How about it? Third times the charm and if I had to guess I’d say the time for throwing up on you has passed.”

Amber smiled mischievously. “I’ve got a better idea…”

“Ow...” Amber muttered nursing his aching jaw. Drenching the sleeping mare in stale apple cider had not been his best idea, though he couldn’t say it wasn’t all worth it to see her soaking wet. A smile alighted on his face and he chuckled lightly.

“Laugh it up now,” Vinyl said emerging from the mare’s bathroom. She had spent the better part of a half hour in there trying to wash the sticky residue from her coat and mane, succeeding in ridding her self of nearly all but the lingering smell. “Revenge is an impulsive mare…”

“I like impulsive.” Amber said. Barkeep raised a brow at this while the colt looked embarrassed, his blush thankfully imperceptible beneath his coat. Vinyl snorted out a strained laugh which quickly resulted in her rolling on the floor in ecstatic glee. The brown stallion busied himself behind the bar cleaning glasses and the like, while his ear remained cocked in their direction for curiosity’s sake.

“I’ve got some free time before tonight’s event so I thought maybe we could go to the park. A pony I know is putting on a concert and I figure since you like um, music and she plays music...” Amber blurted before he could talk himself out of it.

“Okay.” Vinyl, still lying on the floor, answered rather nonchalantly. “A concert sounds like fun.”

“That’s it?” Amber wondered his tone dripping with disappointment. The white mare clambered to her hooves. “Would you prefer I said no?”

“You’re planning something aren’t you?”

“You’d like that wouldn’t you, Mr. ‘I like impulsive’…” Vinyl teased as she trotted past him. Blindingly bright sunlight flooded the dimly lit room as she opened the doors, her body silhouetted against it while she waited for Amber to follow suit. The rust colored colt shot the chuckling stallion behind the bar a warning glare to which he received a wink. With a conceding groan, punctuated by a contented smile Amber followed Vinyl out the door.

Chapter 19

Chapter 19 -

A huge grin was plastered on Vinyl’s face as she bobbed her head to the music wafting through the still Canterlot air. Amber couldn’t help but watch her, wondering just what it was she was listening to and why he couldn’t hear it. The soulful heart rending composition which Octavia was currently playing wasn’t worthy of a smile much less a head bob.

“What are you doing?” Amber whispered nudging her gently in the ribs.

“This song is perfect,” Vinyl replied in a hushed whisper. “For the wicked sick beat I’ve been working on.”

“Wicked sick…beat…” Amber wondered aloud before sighing in resignation. He gave a trivial smile ignoring Vinyl’s continued head bobbing the remainder of Octavia’s set, which lasted another thirty minutes. He watched intently as the grey pony bowed, appreciative of her audience given how small a crowd had gathered. Her eyes found his and she smiled, nudging her head to one side. He took that as an invitation and prodded Vinyl again. “Come on, there’s somepony I want you to meet.”

“Is it over already?” The unicorn muttered confusedly, looking as if she had just woken from sleep.

“Were you even listening?” Amber muttered.

The pair made their way along the edges of the gathered ponies, many of whom remained where they had been eager to watch the next pony, a cream colored filly with a purple mane carrying what looked to be a violin. Octavia was behind the temporary stage amid a group of admiring fans.

“You know her?” Vinyl squealed, realizing who Amber had intended her to meet. Before Amber could explain that it had only been for a couple of hours two days ago, the grey earth pony excused herself from the huddle of fans.

“Did you enjoy the performance?” The grey mare asked as she approached them.

“That was perfect!” Vinyl burst quivering from nose to tail tip. Amber had half expected her to fall asleep during the show, not silently arrange music while listening to Octavia perform, and even less so get excited over meeting the classical musician. Amber wouldn’t have pegged her for the type to appreciate it much less incorporate it into her own composition.

“P…Perfect?” Octavia stuttered. “It was far from perfect…”

“I’m telling you it was!” Vinyl insisted. “What you just played, that’s exactly what I’ve been looking for!”

“What is she talking about?” Octavia wondered giving Amber a questioning stare as Vinyl rambled to herself. “She makes um, music…” Amber explained. “Not like you, it’s more uh…electronic? She’s been composing something in her head for the past thirty minutes.”

Octavia smiled slightly, the smile of a mare unsure of whether she should be grateful or disappointed. Vinyl had scampered off somewhere and before Amber noticed had returning with a quill and a slip of sheet music. She wrote her name and address on the paper, ignoring the lines and notes already on it.

“Go here tonight. It’s the club where I work and sleep usually, so odds are I’ll be there, unless I’m with him.” Octavia flicked her eyes in the colt’s direction a moment before returning them to the blabbering unicorn beside him. “If I’m not there wait, get a drink, and mingle with the ponies! If the blowhard behind the bar gives you any lip tell him to put it on my tab.” Vinyl said quickly as she handed the paper to Octavia.

“You want me to meet you here,” The mare began her eyes quickly scanning the paper. Amber wondered if she could even understand what was written as he peered at Vinyl’s atrocious hoofwriting. “And you want me to bring my instrument?”

“And I won’t take no for an answer!” Vinyl amended. For a moment it looked as if Octavia was about to run but slowly her uneasiness became approval and she nodded her smile returning, albeit hesitantly. “I guess…I guess I could use a change of venue.”

“Thank you!” Vinyl shouted throwing her hooves around the startled grey pony. After a moment of uncertainty Octavia quickly patted her on the back, before the unicorn nonsensically trotted away, a giddy smile on her lips.

“She’s um, interesting?” Octavia said watching Vinyl’s retreating form a moment.

“You have no idea.” Amber said with a smile. “My name is Amber by the way. I didn’t introduce myself when we met the other night.”

“Octavia,” The mare replied with a casual bow, “But you can call me Tavi, if you’d like.”

The white unicorn was walking slowly beside the taller colt, her hooves scrapping the cobbled pathway on which the pair walked. The park was bustling with a myriad of activities, from family outings to couples dates. Amber flicked his ears around listening to the laughter of foals as they played, catching snippets of conversation as they passed mares discussing the latest gossip. A light smile played on his lips as he watched the pegasi creating the cloud formation above that was to be the venue for that evening’s event.

Being an earth pony, not known for walking on anything but the solid ground he wondered just how he was meant to accomplish such a feat. Was it a disqualifier meant to sort the contestants in favor of the pegasi?

“Hey,” Vinyl said quietly, stealing the colt’s attention from the sky. She was chewing on her bottom lip, a frown on her face. “Did you really mean it?”

“Mean what?” He asked his brow furrowing. Vinyl had moved toward a patch of grass vacant of anypony else and flopped down onto it her shades flipped up onto her mane. The contrast of her eyes was shocking and hypnotic and Amber quickly turned his gaze away lest he get pulled in again.

“You weren’t lying when you said you liked me?” She inquired her voice worried. The colt sat near her, returning his gaze to the sky. “I meant it.” He answered. “Does it bother you?”

“A little,” She admitted rolling to her side so she was facing away from him, her hoof tracing shapes in the grass idly. “It might sound strange but stallions have always repulsed me, even when I was a little filly. I’ve never been attracted to them, not like I am with you, but there’s something about it that just, feels wrong, like it’s something I shouldn’t be doing. Last night, when I realized just how much I liked you…it scared me.” Vinyl admitted. “It still does.”

“Then why did you do it?” Amber asked an aching tightness in his chest. He wouldn’t say he was ‘in love’ but the thought of losing Vinyl hurt too much to think about. She understood more than anypony else what it was like to be hated.

“You’ve done more for me in three days than anypony has my entire life and I don’t know how to repay you for it.” She mumbled. “I guess I’m just afraid I’ll never get the chance to show you how much it means to me having you as a friend.”

“You can start by calling me Amber.” The colt answered a laugh clearly evident in his tone. “Calling me ‘Feathers’ draws far too much attention to my flank.”

“But I like your flank,” She answered as she got to her hooves. “So instead of that...”

Amber’s abashed smile quickly turned to surprise as her field magic enveloped him. He let out an astonished cry as he was lifted off of the grass and into the air, the difficulty of lifting his weight evident in the strained expression across Vinyl’s face. Her bubble of magic popped quite suddenly dropping the colt into a rather small body of water, larger than a pond, yet to small to be a lake. He broke the surface moments later, his mane plastered to his forehead, water dripping into his eyes. A wicked grin teased his own lips as he quickly made for the shore.

“Oh it’s on!”

“Is this your first time up?” The pegasus stallion observed noticing the nervous discomfited gait with which Amber walked. The rusty colt smiled sheepishly at his companion, a pale blue stallion with a blue and white mane, acting as his tour guide in Rainbow Dash’s stead. The vibrantly colored mare was currently indisposed with her search for the various members of the Wonderbolts, an autograph book and pencil in hoof. “Don’t worry your scruffy little head; I’ll be sure to catch you should you tumble.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” Amber answered as he cast his attention toward what appeared to be socially gathered groups of the remaining contestants whom he recognized by looks alone. The stallion at his side was one of them, a talkative pony who had a serious wing issues. He couldn’t seem to settle on whether or not to hover or walk and his wings seemed to constantly shift between folded and spread. He offered up a cheeky grin and an apology as he barely missed clipping Amber with one of his wingtips. “I don’t know about you but I didn’t think I’d make it this far.”

“This far?” Amber wondered. So much had happened in the short time he’d been here that he had no idea what day it was much less where in the contest they were. He hadn’t even bothered looking at his scroll in the time between playing with Vinyl and seeking out Twilight as the start time of the contest drew near. The magically gifted unicorn had lifted him up to the clouds with relative ease, an amazingly nauseating sensation he recalled. He could still feel a slight tingle in his hooves, lingering effects from what she explained was a spell allowing ponies not of the pegasi variety to traverse the clouds.

“This here’s the semi finals.” The stallion clarified.

“That would explain the significantly dwindled contestant ratio,” Amber thought out loud as his gaze trailed over the last of the recognizable contestants, fifteen if his count was right. There were far fewer unicorns than he’d hoped, but seeing as it was such a strenuous undertaking to get up here he supposed he was just lucky Twilight Sparkle knew a cloud walking spell and had been more than willing to use it on him.

“Be lucky you aren’t one of them.” The stallion said as he nudged Amber in the ribs and swung his wing toward a couple of ponies leaning into buckets. The earth pony gave a wry smile at that, his own quelled nausea rising at the sight of the pair. Before he could succumb to his urge to vomit he was gratefully interrupted by a familiar winged blue mare.

“Hey Amber got a minute? I ran into a pony looking for you,” She said, ignoring the stallion at Amber’s side. “A grey unicorn, said you owed him a favor and he was looking to collect.”

Amber let out a groan.

“Does it have anything to do with last night?” The mare questioned after a moment of hesitation, the inner struggle visible in the expression on her face and the note of bitterness in her suspicious tone. Amber blinked, taken aback by the sudden accusation. “Why would you think that?”

“Because Fluttershy has been crying her eyes out since she got back from there,” Rainbow explained her tone softening a bit as she realized she may have revealed too much. Too late to take back her words she decided that it warranted an explanation if nothing else. “She’s locked herself in the bathroom and won’t come out.”

“She’s been in the bathroom since last night?!” Amber asked genuine concern in his voice as he cast his eyes to the sky. Night had already begun to set in. Rainbow felt a twinge of relief at hearing his concern, immediately berating herself for thinking otherwise. She couldn’t let her loyalty to Fluttershy get in the way of her budding friendship with Amber as weak and near nonexistent as it was.

“More or less...” The mare responded. “Look, I don’t know what exactly happened between you two but I’m worried about her alright? Can you just, I don’t know, talk to her or apologize or something?”

“You think she’ll listen to me?” Amber asked.

“Well, she’s not listening to any of us,” Rainbow Dash replied, “And it is kind of your fault…” The colt gave her a withered glare which she answered with a sheepish smile, “Guilt trip too much?”

“Come on out sugarcube.” Applejack said gently, doing her best to coax the yellow filly out from the bathroom in which she had ensconced herself. The door was locked and short of bucking it open, assuming that was something three non pegasi ponies with cloud walking abilities could accomplish, her three worried friends were out of ideas.

“This is my fault.” Twilight replied with a sigh as she paced discontentedly. “I shouldn’t have left them together! If I had gone instead…”

“I don’t see how that would have made a lick of difference.” AJ replied. “If Amber’s gone and found himself a filly other than Fluttershy then there’s no way finding out later would have hurt the poor thing any less.”

“Fluttershy dear, other ponies need to use the restroom,” Rarity coaxed, looking as if she genuinely meant what she was saying. Rainbow slid to a stop in between her friends while Amber stumbled over the tufts of cloud until he too was among them. “Do you mind if I try?”

The three mares watched as Amber stepped up to the door resting his hoof on the cloud surface. Normally it would have sunk in; dumping his entire body through the cloud layer then through the cloud floor before plunging headlong to the ground waiting far below, but as it was the cloud reacted like any solid door would and held his weight as he leaned against it. He spoke softly realizing from previous encounters how fragile the filly was. “Fluttershy, it’s Amber. Can we talk?”

He got no spoken response from the filly but he could hear her sniffle from beyond the door. He pressed his ear against the cloud finding that unlike his hooves his face was not immune to the effects of the clouds. He pulled it out flicking the built up moisture away with a swift shake.

“I’m sorry about Vinyl.” He said aware of the curious stares burning into his back. Only Rainbow Dash understood fully what he meant, even better than Fluttershy. No pony caught the flush across her face as she recalled the previous night’s events. Amber took a breath before he continued, thinking on his words carefully. “I know she didn’t mean to hurt you and were she here now I’m sure she would apologize. She’s a good pony, but her life is a little messed up right now. She…She meant nothing by it.”

Amber waited for a reply but like before he received nothing. “If you want to talk about it, then I’ll listen, okay?” Disappointed by her lack of response he waited only a moment more before slowly backing away from the door. Applejack placed a reassuring hoof on his shoulder noticing the visible disappointment in his stance. “You’ll be late for your shindig ifn’ ya don’t hurry. We’ll keep an eye on her and let you now if she changes her mind, that all right with you?”

Amber nodded smiling slightly appreciative of the gesture. Rainbow Dash watched him trot away her head aching with misplaced aggression. She vented her frustration with a hoof strike on a cloud pillar, puffs of misplaced condensation sprinkling to the clouds surface. “Damn!”

Chapter 20

-Chapter 20-

“You look worried.” A familiar ashen gray unicorn stallion pointed out as he met up with Amber once the contestants gathered for the briefing with Prism Shine. The colt had been hoping to avoid Mortar until after the event; he couldn’t afford to get any more distracted than he already was, as he found his thoughts trailing toward ways he could settle Fluttershy’s broken heart.

“What do you want?” The colt inquired with a harsh whisper his voice carrying an edge that brought a smile to Mortars face.

“Somepony woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning,” Mortar quipped happily, “Though I suppose to wake up you’d have to sleep. How is your little filly friend? Sore in all the right places I’d expect.”

“What do you mean by that?” Amber asked through clenched teeth even though he understood the implications just fine. His hooves were tingling and he fought to suppress the demon all to willing to beat the unicorn to a bloody pulp should he continue his ridicule. The unicorn’s laughter drew curious glances from the ponies nearest them, a few of them, those who had played audience to his unexpected lip lock with Vinyl, sniggering in understanding.

“You look tired is all,” Mortar said with a tinge of malice, throwing his hoof across Amber’s withers assuring the colt couldn’t escape. “I think that perhaps it would be in your best interest to say, sit this one out, if you catch my drift?”

Amber’s eyes narrowed, no attempt made to hide his suspicion. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with that ‘favor’ I owe you would it?”

“However did you guess?” Mortar feigned surprise poorly, his expression overly animated. Amber quickly decided he was either a very good actor or a very poor one.

“I can’t do that.” Amber explained heatedly. “I need the money for…reasons.”

“Reasons,” Mortar repeated intrigued by the vague reply. “We all have reasons. What pray tell makes your reasons better than my own?”

“I don’t give two kicks about yours!” Amber snapped his voice cutting into the dim of Prism Shines instruction of which he’d not begun to have even the slightest interest. The ebony mare scrutinized the pair with a keen eye, her lips drawn and tight. The expression in her gaze bordered on disdain and it made Amber rather uncomfortable as he felt she had again singled him out. “Is there a problem?”

“Not at all Mrs. Shine,” Mortar replied merrily, jostling a less than animated Amber in turn. “Please continue.”

After a long moment the mare turned her attention elsewhere. She thrust her black wings outward, the gesture creating a loud snapping sound that carried across the ever darkening sky. A low thrumming whistle broke the stillness that settled not long after rising in volume to an almost painful pitch as six jumpsuit clad ponies burst through the cloud layer just behind the makeshift stage. The clouds trailing behind them crackled with electricity drawing everyone’s eye upward as they coalesced into a tightly rotating ball of vibrant light mimicking the sun before bursting outwards creating a live pony version of a firework. After each demonstrating a variety of acrobatic feats the six featured members of the Wonderbolts, the three mares and three stallions, settled on either side of Prism Shine, notes of electricity flickering across their uniforms.

“With that captivating display of skill I would like to welcome you all to Cloud Nine,” The mare said loudly once the theatrics had concluded. “As well as congratulate each of you on making it to the Semi Finals!”

Three or four ponies cheered ecstatically and the mare offered them a condescending smile in response. “Yes, you have all done well to make it this far. I trust that you were all paying very close attention when I explained the rules; as such I will not be repeating myself!” The mare gave the ashen unicorn and the rusty colt still tucked beneath his leg a less than pleased visual reprimand, before a devious smile flickered across her lips. “Good luck my little ponies.”

“I’d be careful if I were you,” Mortar whispered his breath hot against Amber’s ear. The malicious glint in his eye was reflected by the smile on his face, as Prism Shine dismissed the contestants. Uneasiness crept into Amber’s stomach at Mortars next words. “It’s a long way down…”

The throne room stood empty as Lexis entered, the shadows within deep and foreboding, as if they contained more than simple darkness. She opened her mouth to speak but stopped, inhaling her courage and trying again, the waver still clear in her voice though she tried to hold it down. “I am here!”

After a moment the shadows shifted and a figure emerged, a semi corporeal pony making his presence known to the unicorn, a smile playing on his dark lips. “What news have you brought?”

“Only that she is resting,” The unicorn answered cautiously. “And recovering...”

There was a great exhale of breath from the dark figure as he made his grievance known. Lexis took a step backwards as the shadows shifted again, the form within not moving physically yet seeming to grow larger in essence alone. Were she not so afraid she may have been curious as to what kind of magic allowed such a being to exist for surely he was not a mere pony.

“I’ve done as you asked.” Lexis repeated casting a weary eye about the remainder of the room as she did so. “Now let me see them!”

A chuckle resounded from the darkness, after what felt a much longer time than that which had passed the sound sending shivers down the unicorn’s spine. She spun about, her eyes seeking his form among the gloom. “Do you think me a fool?” The voice inquired, the humor in his tone far outweighing the disappointment. “You’ll see them when I say so, no sooner.”

“You promised!” Lexis retorted angrily careful to keep her voice hushed.

“I did.” The voice acknowledged after a lengthy moment of contemplation. “So, I can only hope this will motivate you to try harder.”

The shadow shifted once more as moonlight emerged from a passing cloud. From within the darkness a figure walked, followed closely by a second, the pair mirror images of one another, in all but gender, for one was a filly, the other a colt. They were as white as freshly fallen snow, their manes pink and purple in the palest pastel, their flanks as blank as the day they were born. The colt moved his lips as if speaking but no sound came forth while the filly pressed against his side seeking the comfort her sibling’s presence gave. The unicorn rushed forward eager to embrace her foals but found they were nothing more than a fleeting illusion, their seemingly solid forms vanishing at the slightest touch.

“Where are they?” Lexis inquired in a hushed whisper as the pale shapes reassembled. “Where are my foals!?”

“They are quite safe I assure you.” They voice replied a teasing malice trailing his words. “And will remain as such so long as you continue to do as I ask.” The shadow stamped his hoof and the pale forms flinched as if hearing it themselves before vanishing in a shimmer of mist and moonlight. His parting words hung in the air, “Do not disappoint me again.”

“Lexis?” The voice was familiar, yet for a moment the unicorn was unaware of who had spoken so lost was she in her thoughts. Only when she saw the pale form of the solar princess step lightly into the room was she certain it was not her imagination. The traces of sweat buildup from her frantic pacing and anxious worry glistened in the pale moonlight falling through the narrow windows.

“Princess Celestia!” She said her voice echoing off the wide walls and high ceilings of the throne room. She cast her gaze quickly about the shadows lining the deepest recesses of the room but the dark presence to which she had been speaking not moments before was absent. “Forgive me. I did not mean to disturb you.”

“Do not worry about that.” Celestia answered casting her gaze around much as she had seen Lexis do. “Is somepony here with you?”

Lexis only just managed to conceal her surprise and relief at Celestia’s apparent inability to sense the dark soul to whom she had been speaking. “N…No my lady, I was merely conversing with myself.”

“Oh?” Celestia pondered her brow arched speculatively. After a length of tension that had Lexis near suffocating from holding her breath, the princess’s expression softened. “I find that speaking with oneself leads to naught but confusion. Perhaps I can lend an ear?”

“I’d rather not.” Lexis answered and after a moment of thought changed the conversation to a more comfortable topic. “The hour is late princess, should you not be sleeping?”

The princess smiled as, crossing the room, she approached a narrow window pushing it open with a hoof before gesturing for the white unicorn to join her. Together at the window the pair could observe the temporary cloud cover containing that evening’s event, bathed in the twilight’s fleeting glow. A small smile alighted on Celestia’s lips, while Lexis sported a pensive frown.

“I’m sorry,” The pale unicorn said quietly after a length of tranquil silence. Celestia glanced at her a moment her frail smile falling at the distant look in the unicorns eyes. “But they need me, more than you…”

Celestia fell to her knees, a throbbing pain in her head. She managed to hold on to consciousness long enough to see the shadows shift and a vaguely familiar form emerge from the darkness. Her eyes flew wide in shock as the dark figure smiled warmly at her.

“Sleep now Celestia.” It spoke. “We will talk again soon.”

Chapter 21

Chapter 21 --

Amber envied pegasi wings at this moment more than he ever had before. Despite the feathers on his flank he’d never felt any compulsion or need to fly, in no way before had he found himself admiring what they as a race were capable of, not like he had with unicorn magic. He was an earth pony, a fact he was quietly proud of, yet as the night wore on he found he was missing the ground, and the compulsion to acquire a pair of wings grew steadily larger, if only to keep Mortars threat from coming to fruition.

The colt tapped his hooves nervously, missing the hollow thudding sound they usually made when he did the same on packed earth. There was no feedback from the clouds, no resistance and he found he was unable to escape the harsh reality for even a moment.

He allowed his thoughts to wander toward Vinyl and Octavia. He knew they were down there somewhere, no doubt playing the most awkward sounding duet ever thought up, and as much as he hated Vinyl’s music he sorely wished he were there, drunk off his flank and smelling of cheap booze. A small smile touched his lips before his thoughts were interrupted.

“You’re up next ground pounder.”

Amber flinched noticeably as the mare right next to him spoke, her insult barely even registering. He turned his head finding an off white colored mare donning a blue lightning adorned jumpsuit waiting expectantly beside him. Her mane was a mess of pale blues and she was short, shorter even than an average sized mare. The pony nudged her head impatiently.

“You got a nasty case of the jitters rock herder.” The mare quipped conversationally, her insults taking on an almost affectionate tone. Amber was to busy fearing for his life to object to their use. “You’d think somepony were biting your flank they way your twitching.”

“It’s a nervous tick.” He muttered, explaining the annoying quiver. He thought he heard the pegasus pony snicker but he couldn’t be sure. Just where were they going anyway? He hadn’t realized they would be leaving the cloud…

“That magic one is a sorry sort.” The mare continued eager for conversation, her insults toward the unicorn race seeming less insolent, or perhaps they were simply harder to think up. “You friends?”

“No.” Amber scoffed at the suggestion. Once, when he thought Mortar’s intentions nothing more than sociable, he may have considered it.

“You want I should tell them to drop him?” The mare asked in an attempt to ease Amber’s discomfort. A slight chuckle told him she was only speaking in jest but for a fraction of a moment he wondered.

“You sure you can lift me?” He asked, changing the subject. He meant for it to be witty and comedic but found as the words left his lips they were more unsure and worried. In his haste to move forward he missed the slightly amused smile cross his escorts lips. She flexed her wings and hovered a moment before rising above him and settling her hooves lightly across his shoulders.

“Ready?” The mare inquired sounding bored. He swallowed nervously and closed his eyes nodding swiftly. Before he could think about changing his mind he felt his weight lift from the clouds, while at the same time his body tensed and an uncomfortable queasy feeling settled in his stomach.

He felt the small Wonderbolts grip tighten as his own body tensed at the images that thought brought forth. Rather than Mortar dropping from the sky he saw himself, his limbs flailing uselessly as above him the unicorn leered sadistically.

“Are we going to be up here much longer?” Amber whined after a length of silence in which he had no choice but to think on his current predicament, or any of several other topics either to uncomfortable or to out of reach to provide any lasting distraction.

“I’ll be cheering for you mud pony.” With a flick of her tail and an encouraging wink the Wonderbolt set him down on a small tuft of cloud barely large enough to stand upon, a faint blue streak trailing in her wake as she took flight. Several more moments passed as Amber gathered his wits about him. Mud pony? The miniscule pegasi’s insults made Vinyl’s nickname sound downright appealing…

Amber was floating in darkness, unsure if he was actually falling or merely suspended in a senseless void. He racked his brain, searching for answers, why, where, how? All he found were memories; instances of his foalhood, reminiscences of things he’d rather have forgotten. As soon as he realized his questions had no answers he was no longer floating haplessly in the void but standing in a familiar house, with a pony he knew to be dead and buried.

The wrinkled white pegasus mare, whom he’d shared a home with for a number of days sat on a pile of cushions. A fire crackled in a not often used fireplace, while the smell of muffins floated faintly in the air. Amber blinked several times, rubbing a foreleg across his eyes, hoping to wipe the memory away.

“You’ve grown into a fine young stallion.” The mare said as she admired the colt standing in front of her. “Come closer. Let me have a look at you.” Amber obliged the mare unconsciously, only realizing when he stopped well within the confines of the room that he had moved.

“You aren’t real.” He heard himself mumble.

The mare merely smiled as Amber caught his eyes looking to her wings in order to avoid her gaze. They were as he remembered them, crippled and bent, from rheumatism he recalled. “Who’s to say what’s real and what isn’t?” She wondered absently.

Amber didn’t have an answer so he remained silent. Instead his eyes fell on an old jar sitting on the mantle above the merrily crackling fireplace, a jar that may have held preserves at some point or perhaps it had always been empty until it was filled with its present contents. The question must have been evident on his face because the old mare did not need to hear him ask to know what he wanted to inquire. Whose feathers were in that jar?

“They belong to Princess Celestia,” The mare answered with a smile. “And those,” she pointed a hoof to a second jar setting just beside the first containing a second set of feathers, these smaller and far darker than even the darkest night, tinted despite the lack of viable light with a luminescent shade of perceptible blue, “Belong to Princess Luna.”

“You have Princess’s Celestia’s feathers?” Amber wondered in disbelief. The wrinkles at the edges of the old mare’s eyes deepened as she smiled mischievously. Amber cried out suddenly as an indescribable pain flared where his cutie mark now stood. “As do you it would seem.”

The fabricated memory shifted. He stood in the kitchen once more, the corpse of the white mare lay on the floor as he remembered her, the stench of burning overwhelming his senses much as it did all those years ago. Amber screamed in agony though no perceptible sound left his throat. Her cold lifeless eyes flicked towards him, her lips turning into an eerie smile.

“That is enough.” A familiar voice uttered calmly. Through the blurry haze crippling his vision Amber could just make out the lunar princess as she emerged from the darkness lingering at the edges of the room, her adornments glimmering in the shimmer of starlight coursing through her mane. The white mare gave a regretful smile before disappearing, the room and all of its contents dissipating alongside her.

“What the hell was that?” Amber spat once he’d regained enough of his cognition to form words and voice questions. His cutie mark throbbed painfully, his voice hoarse from the silent scream that had moments before torn from his throat.

“Forgive us Amber,” Luna said uneasily. “It was wrong of us to meddle in your memories.”

“Memories…” Amber said almost nostalgically, as he struggled to his hooves. His legs felt weak, unresponsive, even now he swayed dangerously. Around him the darkness that had housed his subconscious had become nothing more than a small room, its only entryway cloaked by a gently fluttering curtain made of thin wispy cloud and starlight.

“Were you truly so curious about my mark?” He spat venomously his anger flaring. “I told you it hurt…I told you…”Amber stopped realizing he was speaking out against the lunar princess, against royalty, against a deity far older, stronger, and wiser than he. He stopped because it hurt to speak.

“You will remember nothing of this.” Luna answered softly, her voice dripping with guilt. She wore an expression of deep regret. Despite this Amber held onto his anger, unwilling to part with it. She had violated his trust by rooting around in his subconscious, pulling up memories, twisting them for answers he himself was not fully aware he knew.

“Why?” The colt wondered not realizing he had voiced his curiosity out loud. He was aware of the raw stinging grating of his throat only after the words emerged. He found himself unable to stop them by that point.

“You, little pony, cause our sister immense grief,” The alicorn responded gently. “I seek reasons for that grief, reasons you possess, reasons I little understand.”

Amber stared blankly at her, his anger hidden by a facade of indifference. He could not afford to strike out against her, though he wanted to for her blatant violation of his privacy. Was it not his right as a pony to keep what secrets he wished?

“You have greatly taxed my magic young one.” Luna said more to herself than to him. His cutie mark writhed on his flank, as if it were not merely an image but something alive. He glanced to it briefly finding it was not writhing as he expected yet it still ached. Had she done more than merely pry into his subconscious? Had she in some way tainted his mark?

Luna disappeared as the darkness swallowed him fully…

A steady rhythmic beeping mimicked Amber’s heartbeat. His eyes fluttered open briefly before he was forced by the sheer brightness awaiting him to close them again. Slowly he adjusted well enough to realize he was no longer on Cloud Nine but in a bed, tubes and needles shoved deep into his veins, a cloudy purple substance dripping from a clear plastic bag hooked to a pole just beside his head.

Voices he didn’t recognize floated from the hallway, or what he guessed was the hallway. If they were in the room with him he would be able to hear them much clearer, wouldn’t he? Shoving the voices aside he attempted to sit up, but a shooting pain stopped what little progress he was able to make. After several moments waiting for the pain to subside he gave up.

“Where…?” He said murmuring his confusion. “What the hell?” A shuffling of hooves responded and a white curtain he only just realized was surrounding him was drawn back. His pupils shrank to pinpricks as the pony revealed smiled awkwardly.

“Hey son,” The massive chocolate colored earth pony spoke. “It’s been a while.”

Chapter 22

-Chapter 22-

I’m not strong enough. Amber thought even as he propelled himself toward the massive stallion at his bedside. I wasn’t then…and I am not now.

The needles and tubes tore free as he threw himself at his father, fury burning in his identical blue eyes. Hitting the ex-royal guard pony was like slamming into a brick wall, it hurt, but the colt persisted as together they tumbled into the hospital wall. The machine reading his vitals flat lined as it was no longer attached to him, the steady blip becoming a long wail of sound that hurt his ears.

“Why the fuck…are you…here!?” Amber screamed slamming his hooves into his father between couplets of words. It became apparent in short order just how weak he had become as his strikes did little to shift the leering smile on the brown stallions face, nor alter the amused contempt in his matching blue eyes. “What the fuck…gives you….the right….to call me….your son?”

Amber realized only when he was mid flight that he had in fact been bucked. His body slammed into the bed he had occupied not moments before, the metal frame creaking as it absorbed his weight briefly before he continued rolling, falling to the floor on the other side with a heavy thud. Ignoring the sudden and severe flare of agony resulting he shrugged free of the blankets and sheets he had taken with him, as he tried to stand realizing he couldn’t feel his left hind leg. The large earth pony’s hoof steps resounded heavily as he crossed the floor.

As it is you’re hurt enough for the both of us whelp.” The stallion remarked as he came into view, rubbing absently along his jaw where Amber had managed to land a glancing blow. Standing over the colt as if he were a foal again the massive earth pony smiled humorlessly. “I’d praise you for that much were I so inclined.”

Amber lay on the cool tile floor; his eyes brimmed with tears, blood seeping from a fresh cut above his eye. The colt scrambled away, pressing himself as deep into the corner as he was able, memories and real life coalescing into a living nightmare. He was inadequate, worthless… weak…

“Still scared of your old man?” The stallion chuckled at the sight of his son quivering. Amber squealed as the stallion approached and slammed his hoof into the wall at side of his son’s head. Taking the pony’s jaw in his other hoof he turned the colt’s head side to side studying him. The muzzle scar was clearly visible amid the bruising and the blood trailing down his face, the makeup having been stripped away in the time between the fall from the cloud and the present moment.

“Look at me.” The stallion ordered expectantly. Amber squeezed his eyes shut tighter. A scowl crossed Honey Glaze’s face before the large pony slammed his hoof into the wall again splintering it, powder showering the colt’s mane and the top of his head. His ear flicked unconsciously to rid himself of it. “LOOK AT ME!”

With a staggered cry Amber’s eyes shot open meeting those of his father. A smirk settled on the massive stallions face at the colt’s submission turning to a scowl when he realized their eyes were still and would always be the same. He snorted his contempt of this fact.

“That color ill befits you.” The stallion snarled, his tone laced with malice, a bit of his Canterlot elite upbringing slipping through amid his disapproval. With a shove the stallion released Amber, the gesture knocking the colt’s head into the wall. The rusty orange pony slumped, his body sliding down to rest completely on the floor. He curled into a fetal position, quiet sobs escaping his throat.

Twilight burst into the room not a minute later alerted by all the noise. She stopped short at seeing the mess the dueling pair had created. A smile flitted across Honey Glaze’s face upon her entrance. "On your hooves boy," He snapped pulling the colt upright by the scruff of his mane. “You’ve got company.”

Twilight paled at the sight of her friend, primarily the gash across his head. The left half of his face was soaked with blood, the viscous fluid dripping to the tile. The stallion smiled wider as her eyes narrowed dangerously, a very un-pony like growl escaping her throat as she voiced her displeasure. Amber wobbled unsteadily but remained standing as a tense minute passed.

"Aren’t you going to introduce me?" His father mocked, lifting Ambers gaze from where it stared into the floor up to the purple unicorn. Twilight strained to hear Ambers whispered reply. The stallion cuffed the colt roughly across the back of the head, causing him to stumble forward. "Speak up boy!"

"My name," The unicorn said defiantly, her horn glowing with magic "is none of your concern."

"It’s okay Twilight." Amber said meekly. The lavender unicorn reluctantly cancelled her magic, stepping back as the chocolate colored pony stepped forward exultantly. In the span of a few moments she’d studied him, burning his image into her brain, recognizing him as a bad pony. His sand colored mane was streaked with grey, the same grey peppering the dark chocolate brown coat along his chest and flanks. His honey jar cutie mark had faded with age as had the numerous scars littering his pelt.

"Twilight…Sparkle?" The stallion queried with a spiteful jeer.

"How do you know my name?" She asked, her innate curiosity winning out over her anger, but only for a moment.

"I know more than your name Miss Sparkle.” He answered with a smirk. "Celestia’s most prized student, element bearer…”

"Princess Celestia…” Twilight interrupted annoyed at hearing her mentor’s accolade defaced.

"Oh she and I are well past titles.” The stallion replied cynically, a smirk settling on his lips as he drew nearer to the angry unicorn, his face scant inches from her own their eyes locked. “You see, I know your dear princess in ways you loathe to imagine.”

She gave no reply, the calm expression on her face conflicting with her swirling thoughts. The stallion took his leave, his self-satisfaction evident in his patronizing gait. She did not watch him go.

Instead she rushed to Amber’s side concern for his well being winning out over her argument with his father. The colt wrapped his hooves around her and without the even the slightest hint of hesitation buried his head into her chest. It wasn’t as uncomfortable as she had been expected being hugged by a male, rather it was calming, like a foal embracing it’s mother after having a nightmare. He shuddered violently as he cried and Twilight held him, indifferent to the tears and blood discoloring her fur. She stroked his mane and made reassuring mumblings as her gaze drifted out the window, where from the sky the stars fell like rain.

“Hast thou located our sibling Captain Armor?” Luna asked, not bothering to acknowledge the presence of the guard pony with a look. Her eyes instead scanned the pages of several texts spread out on the table before her, her attention divided between research and the words of the Captain.

“I have ponies on it as we speak Princess Luna.” Shining Armor answered. “I myself intend to join them as soon as I have seen to your well being.”

“Then join them.” Luna muttered dismissively. She waved a hoof flimsily indicating he was free at anytime to leave the room and begin his search, but he did not leave. He stood in the doorway, watching the pages of the books flip with an almost monotonic precision. He could not help but wonder if she was truly reading them to their full understanding or merely gaping at sentences hoping one would jump out at her with the answers she sought.

“Idle hooves are the Nightmares plaything Captain.” Luna muttered perilously. “Speak if you will.”

“My sister, Twilight Sparkle, she was on that cloud when it fell,” Shining Armor began his voice resolute, “She was hurt…” he hesitated recalling that several ponies had not made it, fully aware that had things gone differently she could have been among them. “I want to know why.”

“You seek answers I do not possess Captain.” Luna said turning to meet his gaze for the first time. “While my sister is missing you will know only what I know, which is little more than you do at this moment. I suggest you find my sister should you wish to know the whole of what plagues us.”

Shining Armor hesitated to voice further thoughts on the subject and instead bowed politely, excusing himself from her presence. He wandered the halls lost in thought, while at the same time struggling to subdue the steadily building anger. Eventually his gaze found it’s way out of the window, where the stars fell, streaking across the dark night sky in a vibrant display that, were it not a bad omen, may have been considered beautiful. After only a moment more the stallion donned his helm and trotted quickly toward the doors intent on beginning his search for the solar princess and what answers she held.

Amber woke the next morning, he had no idea how he surmised it was morning considering the sky had been dark since Celestia’s disappearance, to find the twitchy pegasus stallion pacing near the bathroom door, the Wonderbolt mare, minus her blue jumpsuit, watching him with an expression of annoyance. She was the first to notice he was awake, the relieved smile touching her lips turning to a scowl as the fidgety stallion realized the same moments later.

"I told you I would catch you!" The pale stallion, his name escaping Amber at the moment, remarked as he smiled broadly. His wings were enveloped in bandages and immobilized by an ugly harness around his midsection, having been apparently injured at some point. He had moved his ceaseless twitches to his hooves, the action causing him to tap or pivot irrationally, when he wasn’t ceaselessly pacing. The whole spectacle was enough to make Amber dizzy.

"You alright?" The small Wonderbolt at his side asked, concern replacing her usual insults. Amber nodded in response, unsure about opening his mouth to speak lest he vomit what little hospital food he’d been able to stomach. The gash on his head had been wrapped in a bandage, and every so often he would catch her gaze trailing to it, questions about its origins evident in her steely grey eyes. She seemed to realize it was not one he’d sustained from the fall, but thankfully left her suspicions unvoiced.

“Bad news,” A tall unicorn pony in a white coat stated as he emerged rather suddenly into the room flipping idly through a chart, not bothering to look up and see if anypony was listening first, “The cloud is gone, vaporized, kaput. Good news, all non winged participants escaped with their lives, including you.” He continued encouragingly his gaze directed toward Amber, a genuine though somber smile on his lips. There was an unspoken sadness in his eyes however.

“You have been out for three days." The doctor continued muttering half to himself as his eyes scanned the chart some more. What the hell was so interesting that he couldn’t look Amber in the eye when he addressed him? "And it would seem your injuries are less severe thanks in part to your friends here."

The little Wonderbolt flushed and looked away, while the twitchy one couldn’t smile any wider if he tried. "However I’m afraid there is still some bad news. You’ve sustained permanent damage to the nerves in your left rear leg,” The twitchy pegasus gave a sheepish grin to which the Wonderbolt swatted him on the back of the head with a wing an unspoken understanding between them. The doctor ignored their antics as he continued, “As a result you will have a slight limp for the rest of your life, occasional numbness, as well as…”

The doctor hesitated before directing Ambers gaze to his cutie mark. The feathers of his left flank were covered by a mess of bandages. The doctor explained what waited beneath them, “…massive scarring caused by a pattern of wounds that when properly mended will cover the entirety of your cutie mark.”

“I’m sorry.” The doctor apologized somberly seeming to understand Amber’s downtrodden expression. Amber had always secretly hated the mark but it saddened him to see it marred.

“I’ve still got the other one right?” Amber joked mirthlessly. The sliver of a smile on the twitchy pegasus’s lips was shot down as the small Wonderbolt again swatted him with her wing. The disheartened colt’s eyes flicked a moment toward their marks, a snowflake with a pair of wings, and …what was that supposed to be? Amber turned away from the stallion’s flank, at which he realized he had been staring to long, in his attempt to decipher just what the image was supposed to be. It looked like a warped orb of some kind, the edges bent and battered.

“It’s a bubble.” The stallion said with a smirk understanding Amber’s intent.

“A bubble…?” The colt repeated slowly.

“It’s a long story.” The stallion looked embarrassed as the Wonderbolt beside him blinked quizzically and sat on her haunches a wicked grin teasing her lips. There was a malicious glint in her eye, and Amber could almost see her hooves grinding together in anticipation. She tapped her hoof on the floor impatiently. “Are you going to tell us or not?”

“Only if you tell me yours,” The stallion shot back with a devious smile. Amid a shrug and a sigh the mare agreed twirling a hoof in a gesture of impatience. The stallion began to speak, his twitchy hooves tapping a steady rhythm on the tiles.

Chapter 23

-Chapter 23-

Celestia opened her eyes finding her vision blurry, the edges of her sight etched in darkness. Casting her gaze about the room gave little in way of answers, and she found upon trying that she had no use of her magic. Her ears perked at the sound of dripping, a steady regularity that produced an echo alerting her without the need for sight that the room was immense.

“”Hello…?” She called, surprised by the sound of her own voice as it echoed off the walls. “Is anypony there?”

“I’m glad to see you are finally awake.” A voice responded. Celestia flinched whirling toward the sound only to find it was no longer coming from that direction but from another. After spinning several times, the voice sniggering at her foalish antics, she stopped her flailing, breathing heavily. “Show yourself!”

The laughter solidified directly behind Celestia. She turned one final time to find a pony; tall, massive, familiar in the darkest parts of her memory. She could not hide the tremble of fear in her voice as she spoke. “You…”

She crouched low, her wings flared, a snarl marring her otherwise elegant, though withered as of late, features as the all too familiar stallion emerged from the darkness. A smile touched his lips, his dark blue eyes glinting spitefully. “Come now Celestia,” He chided. “Such hostility is unbecoming of a princess.”

Celestia spat at his hooves. He took a moment to stare at it before flicking his eyes up to her, a reserved smile on his lips. “Use your words Celestia.” He teased. “Or have you forgotten how to speak?”

“I have nothing to say to the likes of you!” She hissed venomously. She couldn’t suppress the sudden squeak that left her lips as a tendril of dark magic snaked around her throat dragging her toward his much larger bulk. Her wings were crushed against her sides as the magic tendrils wrapped around her like coils of rope. The stallion pressed against her leaning across her neck to nibble at her ear. More than tempt her, the action repulsed her. “Tell me something Celestia,” The stallion inquired lustfully into that same ear, “How many stallions have lain with you? Of those stallion how many ever truly cared for you, truly loved you, not as a divinity but as a mare?”

“You never were one to mince words Glaze.” Celestia muttered recoiling at the bluntness of his question. He spun the alicorn to face him, staring into her eyes with his own. She turned her gaze away, looking anywhere but into his stunningly beautiful eyes. They were the reason she’d been drawn to him all those years ago, tempted in ways she would later come to regret.

“Your silence speaks volumes Celestia.” He muttered darkly dropping her onto the pillow upon which she had woken. She shoved her curiosity about his dark magic to the back of her mind for the moment daring to ask something far more pressing. “You would destroy Equestria for some petty revenge? Is that it?”

“Revenge?” He laughed turning to face her, dark wisps of unfamiliar magic, the same still wrapped around her body, leaking from his pores. She visibly withdrew as much as she was able given her restraints, the motion not failing to catch his eye. He hesitated before continuing his voice growing noticeably softer, yet despite this the angry and bitter tone remained.

“I gave you a foal Celestia!” He snapped, “A child of your flesh and my blood! I did what no other stallion dared in giving myself to you and as a reward you had me decommissioned, exiled, and for what? To save face in front of your subjects, your country!”

“What would you have had me do?” She queried refusing to be intimidated by his accusations. “I could not lower myself to stand among them! I am a princess lest you forget!”

“You are not some god to be revered!” The stallion said angrily, his voice echoing around the chamber. He softened it a bit as he saw her draw back in fear. He longed to comfort her in some small way but stubbornly pushed that notion way. “You are a mare; beautiful, powerful, commanding, ageless, but a mare all the same. You would have resisted the temptation I set aflutter in your heart were you more.”

Celestia hung her head unable to deny this fact. She had flirted with her more primal urges and been shown the error of her conduct by way of the uncontrollable acts of a rapacious stallion. She had naught to blame but herself for that terrible memory and the consequences it bore.

She kept her gaze at the floor as the stallion paced venting his anger through snorts and grunts and half mumbled words. Her thoughts fell to that colt, the one that bore her feathers on his flank, the one that gave her sister such joy, fleeting though it was. She saw naught of herself in him, yet she knew he was indeed of her flesh for she had born witness to his birth. He was not maimed by her genes as she had once feared but emerged from her womb the simplest of pony breeds; perhaps with a dormant magic, perhaps not, time had yet to tell.

And his eyes…

“You, not I, have condemned him to a life of misery Celestia!” The stallion continued snapping her from her musings. He was calmed, better composed as he went on. “The moment you shunned his existence, the very moment you choose your life over his…”

“What of your part Glaze?” Celestia interrupted daring to meet his stare. She got to her hooves, striding forward with a new found resolve, the dark bonds that held her falling away. “I have seen the hurt you have woven in him; the pain, the misery. You’ve renounced his worth, maimed him both in mind and body! You seek naught here but to console your own guilty conscience!”

“Perhaps.” The stallion conceded quietly and Celestia’s angered resolve stumbled, as did her body. Again the tendrils snaked toward her, helping her up and drawing her nearer to the dark earth pony wielding such an unnatural magic. She did not turn her gaze away this time; instead she poured all of her loathing, all of her guilt, all of her heartbreak into it. Gazing into his eyes she remembered she had loved him once, as a mare loves a stallion, and again she felt compelled to flirt with danger in its most primordial form.

His lips were unsympathetic as they met hers, the kiss they shared deep and lingering. For a moment she wondered, but that moment passed and she was left breathless and emotionally torn at the hooves of her dirty little secret. As he made to leave she called out to him, seeking answers to her final curiosity. “That magic you wield, what is it?”

The stallion glared at her a moment, his eyes bitter and sad. With a grimace he turned away his head hung low, his gaze drawn someplace beyond the hard stone beneath his front hooves. “A necessary sacrifice,” He explained vaguely his words tinted with regret, “One I swore to keep secret, and so I shall.”

Amber lay awake in his hospital bed, the steady ticking of the clock on the opposite wall grating on his nerves. Outside the sky was dark, sprinkled with the few stars that had yet to fall. Occasionally he would see one do just that and for a moment he thought about making a wish, but his fathers words and the throbbing ache still present in his head stopped him.

A slight sound drew his attention to the door where pale light flooded in from the hall. Fluttershy stood in the doorway, her shadow thrown across the floor. “Is it okay…” She mumbled, the remnants of tears glistening in the faint light able to reach her face, “I…I just want to…” She took a hesitant step closer, flicking her eyes up for a fraction of a moment, glancing away when they met his briefly.

“I’ve been such a fool!” She cried suddenly flinging herself forward, crossing the distance with the help of her wings, and wrapping her hooves around his neck. Startled by the brazen act from the normally docile pegasus Amber hesitated in returning her embrace as she cried quietly into his shoulder.

“Hey now, it’s okay…I’m okay, see?” Amber said gently pushing Fluttershy away from his shoulder. “Besides I’ve cried enough recently for the both of us.”

The colts smile fell as he realized how similar that statement sounded to what his father had said not hours before. It seemed they had more in common than he was comfortable admitting to himself if even their speech was comparable. Shoving his feelings aside he addressed Fluttershy, as a means of quelling his feelings as much as comforting the distraught mare.

“I thought…I thought I wouldn’t see you again.” She said softly, her voice only slightly higher than a whisper, but in the ambient silence of the hospital room her voice was almost loud. “I didn’t think I’d be able to a…apologize for how I’ve been…behaving.” She flushed faintly. “You said we could talk about…her…”

“You want to ask me about Vinyl?” Amber picked up where the mares words had dropped off. The filly gave a small nod. Amber thought a moment before speaking, a faint smile touching his lips.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for what you’ve done for me, all of you,” He began slowly, with a bit of hesitation as his thoughts trailed over all the moments he had shared thus far with his new group of friends, “but Vinyl, she doesn’t see me as somepony broken.” He flicked an ear toward the open doorway, listening intently for several brief moments. Had he heard hooves just now?

“Hell, she’s more messed up than I am on her good days.” He continued with a wry smile. “It’s just that when were together she isn’t trying to fix me, she’s simply there…because I’m there and she wants to be with me.”

Out in the hall, a pale white unicorn slumped against the wall, a bouquet of ‘get well’ flowers lying on the floor beside her. Tears rolled down her cheeks, dripping from her muzzle to pool between her hooves. She rubbed a foreleg across her eyes trying desperately to wipe them away before glaring viciously at a passing nurse, who had slowed to stare at her like she was some sort of circus spectacle. With an obstinate scowl the nurse walked on.

Twilight Sparkle stood alone in the courtyard, a small rectangular area centered between the separate wings of the Canterlot General Hospital, gazing curiously up at the evening sky, which appeared darker with so few stars in spite of the moon’s bright glow. Celestia may have had the power to control both the celestial bodies but Luna had no such freedom. It was only by inheritance she was able to control the moon so easily despite her sisters continued pull. Wherever she was, the solar princess had yet to relinquish her hold on it. The purple unicorn was grateful for that much, it meant her mentor, her friend, was still alive, perhaps not well, but alive.

Chapter 24

Chapter 24:

“What news have you to report Captain Armor?” Luna demanded upon hearing the door to her chambers creak open.

“Do you always address your subjects before you look upon them?” An unfamiliar voice replied mildly amused. “I fear greatly for this nation if that is indeed so.”

“I was expecting…somepony else.” Luna replied standing cautiously upon the realization of her mistake. The shadows at her back shifted silently, something that easily caught the stallion’s attention for he too, on many an occasions, moved in such a manner. The stallion gave a smile as he approached the dark alicorn, her expression remaining impassive as her guards, the two unusual bat ponies always at her sides stepped forward taking up protective stances despite their meager size in comparison to the ex royal guard. “We feel we should know thee but we do not.” Luna mused. “Who are you?”

“You would not know me Princess Luna; we have yet to meet…formally.” The chocolate coated pony spoke. “Let’s just agree that I was in your sister’s employ for many years.”

“Employ,” Luna mused eyeing the stallion cautiously, though with a fair amount of curiosity despite herself. He was large, toned and muscular, scars littering his pelt. That trait was a fair bit unusual given that Equestria had seen little by way of violent conflict in recent decades. “You were a guard?”

“A captain,” The stallion amended his tone tinged with sarcasm as has gaze trailed around the room, “But I was demoted due to…conflicts of interest.”

Shelves lined the walls, overflowing with books on subjects both new and ancient, while a desk heaping with parchments and scrolls stood at the room’s center. Along the opposite wall from the entrance were windows allowing for a pleasant view of Canterlot proper and the lands beyond. He found no interest in these however as his attention drifted once more to the dark alicorn standing before him. “But I’ve not come to introduce myself,” The stallion said, “That is a conversation for a later time, and with a different pony.”

“Speak then of they purpose if thou would!” Luna demanded slamming a gauntlet clad hoof onto the floor, cracks slivering outward from the sight of impact. “Relay thy words swiftly or begone! I have little time for idle chatter!”

“She often spoke of your impatience.” The stallion mused as he strode around the room lifting books with his arcane magic. He flipped through their pages idly as Luna watched him cautiously, her brow furrowed in thought, the notion of familiarity tugging at her subconscious. She bid her guards to remain vigilant, to observe and nothing more lest the need arise as they melted once more into the darkness.

“That magic…” She breathed unable to voice her full thoughts aloud.

“Familiar is it not?” The stallion said with a crooked smile as Luna’s curious expression hardened into one of suspicion and disbelief.

“Thou dost not know with what you mettle.” She exclaimed, fear wilting her composure. Tendrils of dark magic flew toward the younger alicorn wrapping her in coils while separate tendrils snaked toward the shadows, doing much the same to her guard ponies. “I believe I do.”

Amber stared blankly at the caskets waiting to be lowered into the cold earth. He had counted them several times, each time the number the same; seven caskets, seven dead ponies, seven too many. He hung his head fighting back the guilt rising from the deepest recesses of his mind. He didn’t understand why but he couldn’t shake the feeling that in someway he was to blame for this. The notion was ridiculous he knew; how could he, an ordinary earth pony, fell an entire cloud? Still the guilt remained.

He lifted his head as a wailing sob shattered the quiet mournful ambiance that had settled over the funeral service as the names of the deceased were read out loud. A tear slid down his cheek followed in quick succession by several more, a flood he was unable, and unwilling, to stop. But…why was he crying? He had lost nopony, he was alive, he should be happy...right? Vinyl held him as his body shuddered with quiet sobs.

Octavia’s eyes scanned the crowd as she made her way onto a small platform to one side of the caskets.
They lingered the longest on Amber, his head buried in Vinyl’s mane. The sky overhead rumbled.

"My name is Octavia," the grey mare began softly, her voice able to reach across to every pony in the crowd hushed though it was, "some of you may know me," her violet eyes searched the faces in the crowd; she wasn’t surprised to find empty hollow stares as she continued unperturbed, this wasn’t for her after all.
"Most of you will not...”

Another peal of thunder interrupted her, the dark storm clouds overhead seeming to mimic the very mood of the funeral over which they had settled.

“I’m here today because this…this is all I can do…” She was composed as she went on, quiet unspoken sadness only evident from the faint tremble in her words, as she readied her cello. “Vinyl?”

A few curious looks trailed the white pony, as she nuzzled Amber comfortingly a moment before heading to the front, standing beside the grey earth pony atop a small platform. Octavia pulled the bow across the strings of her cello, the single deep note quickly accompanied by others, each one more haunting than the last. Vinyl began to sing, her voice quiet but gaining confidence as the song progressed. The unicorn stopped only part way through the second verse as her voice faltered, the words catching in her throat. Octavia continued to play the faint lift of her eyelids revealing the reason for Vinyl’s hesitation.

Burial had begun as the rain started to fall.

“She’s an interesting choice is she not?” Honey Glaze said with a devious smile as he watched the ceremony. He stood at the back of the gathering; hidden from view alongside an ashen grey unicorn Amber would easily recognize despite the bandages covering a majority of his face.

“How do you figure?” Mortar replied, curiously.

“He’s found a pony more broken than he is.” The dark stallion replied casually. “I would like to meet her.”

“That can be arranged.” The grey unicorn replied, a sinister smile tracing its way across his lips.

Twilight Sparkle paced the length of the throne room, her features marred with worry. Though her instincts told her it was near mid afternoon the sky outside remained dark, thick patches of storm clouds yet to be dealt with remaining. Through the occasional breaks in them, the faint starlight could be seen.

It had been a matter of days since Celestia’s disappearance, and with no word from Shining Amour, Twilight had become worried even more. Her request for an audience with Princess Luna had likewise gone unheeded or perhaps pushed to the wayside, in favor of more pressing matters. With Celestia missing Luna was the only ruler after all.

Twilight’s pacing was not fruitless as she used her time to think theory and speculate in what was happening around her. The cloud fell, that much she understood, but the reasons for it were still vague. The ache in her right temple and the beginnings of fatigue brought on by many sleepless nights had given her a tremendous headache. She closed her eyes and tried to envision the events she had hoped to forget.
Perhaps by reliving them she could find some answers?

Luna struggled against the bonds that held her, the writhing chains of darkness merely tightening with her effort. So tight had they become that even her flesh had begun to open, drops of dark crimson blood splattering against the floor of her small prison. A mangled cry tore from her throat, her eyes flashing a gleam of teal not seen for nearly three years. Not since she had been Nightmare Moon had her eyes shone such a putrid color.

“Oh the things this magic can do.” A newly familiar voice taunted. The princess turned her attention toward the voice, finding only darkness. “A shame you relinquished them so easily.”

“Do you think us a fool?” She cried her nostrils flaring. “Come forth! Show thyself coward!”

“The only fool I see is you dear princess. You think to break your bonds with force?” The voice spoke. Luna kept her expression placid though the sound of the voice was grating to her ears. “You of all ponies should know such effort futile.”

“What trickery is this?” Luna spat, her wounds becoming a mere after thought next to the hopelessness of her current predicament.

"This is no trick dear princess." The stranger replied stepping from the darkness into the dim moonlight falling through the barred window near the ceiling high above her. Even were she able to fly she could never hope to fit through. Luna winced as the bonds holding her tightened threateningly at the mere thought of escape. The stallions eyes shone with the magic she herself had once wielded, the same darkness she had given up in order to rule by her sisters side once more.

"You..." Luna whispered realizing she recognized, though only vaguely, the stallion as the pony she had met mere hours before. The forbidden magic writhing about his form coalesced along his shoulders tightening into threads which reformed into massive black wings, wings rivaling those of even her sister Celestia. Luna snorted jerking her head away from the writhing darkness as the stallion traced it along her cheek. A sneer crossed the stallions lips in response and the bonds wrapping her form grew tighter, squeezing her painfully.
She let out a gasp as her breath left her lungs, a faint filly like whimper escaping her throat. Gathering her courage she spoke, her defiance unwavering despite the circumstances. "You won't get away with this!"

"I already have." The stallion said backing away, the ever present sneer crossing his lips once more, his voice lingerin long after he had faded into the shadows. "I will return when you are feeling more...cooperative."

A spark of illumination magic lit the tip of Twilight's horn, barely lighting the recesses of the dim lit halls she traversed. Her hoof beats echoed loudly, but there was nopony present to hear them. She paid little mind to the odd absence of the castle's occupant's. The purple unicorn assumed it was due to he disappearance of Princess Celestia, and that of Luna as well; given Twilight had not seen the Lunar Princess for near as long as her elder sister had been missing, and she reasoned the ebony alicorn was absent also. Not wishing to divert her attention from her current mission she gave no further thought on the matter. If need be she would come back to it but for now she could not allow herself to be distracted.

After several more minutes, several long hallways, and three flights of stairs the purple unicorn found what she had been seeking. It was just as she'd remembered, the faint images in her mind becoming crystal clear as the huge door of the lunar archives loomed before her. The crescent moon insignia shimmered despite the darkness and she couldn't help but be mesmerized by the sight of it. As a filly she had traversed every library of which she was allowed, and several she wasn't, being rightly scolded for doing so, however this particular library had been carefully guarded, and the young pony she had once been had been unable to gain access through any means of magic or otherwise.

Twilight gingerly pushed the door open, swinging her eyes side to side as she did so lest any guard ponies happened to be near. She wasn't sure whether or not she was allowed in Luna's personal library without permission, but she couldn't find the spell she needed in the more modern texts. Surely a thousand year old spell would be more effective anyway given the restrictions set upon such magic’s had not been so severe when the sisters shared power.

Inside the dark room she found a library... of sorts. Luna's chamber room was cluttered with countless books, scrolls, and tomes containing long forgotten languages only the princess's themselves remembered. Several minutes, or perhaps it was several hours, passed before she was able to find what she was looking for, and several more minutes after that before she was able to translate the words into the common tongue.

Soft candle light lit the worn papyrus scroll, the spidery script upon it faded with age. Twilight squinted hard, doing her best to decipher the words written on it. Her old equestrian was not as good as it had once been, her fillyhood lessons with the princess having lapsed due to her absence from the castle while she studied the magic of friendship.

The words sounded harsh as she spoke them, the candles flame flickering in response to the tingle of magic coursing down her spine. She closed her eyes as a surge of wind blew through the room. Despite the vicious gale the purple unicorn remained vigilant, unaware even, as the wind did not so much as move a hair out of place as it coursed around her concentrated form. A cry left her lips as she suddenly felt herself torn backwards...

Chapter 25

--Chapter 25--

Octavia was surprised by the reception to Vinyl’s new sound, a far more subtle mix that included snippets of Octavia’s orchestral melodies. The gray mare was surprised at how well the two sounds accompanied one another. She cast a sidelong glance to the white unicorn, her friend furiously working the turntables. The white unicorns coat glistened in the neon lights, slick with sweat. She had been mobile all night, in between her sets dancing and mingling with the ponies in the crowd.

Octavia had settled for lingering on the sidelines during her downtime unused to such a crowded venue. She had been to concerts far more abundant than this one; however they had been in much larger venues, many of which were outside.

The mare was almost caught off guard by the sudden absence of sound, as Vinyl cut her set. The deep resonating thrum lingered for a moment as she pulled her bow across the strings, Vinyl ending the song with an unexpected warble of sound that made Octavia visibly flinch. The crowd burst in a frenzy of uproarious applause and shrill whistles. The mare flattened her ears against her head and smiled sheepishly at the ponies cheering as she walked off stage.

The pony behind the bar gave her an amused grin as she took a seat. She brushed a lock of her errant mane out of her eyes before returning the smile though hers was one less of amusement but of relief. "I'll have what he's having." She mused pointing to the stallion sitting a couple of seats away.

"Rough night?" The stallion replied as the bar pony poured her drink and moved away to attend to the throngs of others waiting to fill themselves with as much liquor as they could fit into the remaining few minutes. Octavia sipped at the drink finding it 's bitter tang nearly as intolerable as it's smell.

"I'll admit it's not what I'm used to," She replied shoving the drink away. "But a pony needs to step out of their comfort zone on occasion."

The stallion seemed amused by this, smiling as he drew another long gulp from his large glass. "Your friend has an ear for sound. Not many of these ponies would admit to liking classical music before tonight."

"I had my doubts as well." Octavia answered glancing at Vinyl. The unicorn was laughing with some of the stage hands as they disassembled her equipment. "She may not look like much but she's got talent."

Twilight Sparkle shivered at the sensation of water squelching beneath her hooves. The surface she stood upon was different than she remembered despite the similarities. The differences between the memory in which she now stood and the memory in her own head were night and day. The most striking was the color, an dull grey world in which she did not reside in her body but in an entirely different plane. She could see herself and her friends and every other pony doing what they had done but they could not see her, nor could they hear her, or experience any other sensation where her current form was concerned. To them she did not exist.

The purple mare smiled giddily as she waved a hoof in front of her own face her purple doppelganger continuing the conversation unhindered. Twilight was tempted to push her memory further, poking her other form to see if her hoof would pass through but she hesitated. She knew the dangers associated with tampered too deep into unfamiliar spells. The consequences and the urgency were too great for her to spend more than a few brief moments reveling in her curiosity.

With a bit of disappointment the mare turned her attention to the task at hand leaving her double behind she trudged through the clouds her eyes scanning for anything suspicious. Trotting through the ponies milling about she smirked as she found herself muttering 'pardon me' to ponies who couldn't hear her.

A shiver crept up the unicorn spine suddenly stopping her in her hooves. Her eyes grew wide as she realized she recognized the sensation. With a startled yelp she turned stumbling backwards over her hooves as a figure stood behind her. The pony, a stallion she realized after only a moment, stood among a shroud of writhing blackish blue magic. She bit her tongue swallowing it down with her fear.

Instead she chose to watch the stranger, who seemed to be far more interested in the ponies he observed than her. For a moment she felt relief. He did not seem to see her. Could it be that she was invisible to him as well?

Her momentary relief was shot down as a sly smile tore the stallion lips in two and he turned to face her. Her eyes shone a sadistically familiar sheen as he took steps toward her. She counted each one and backed away accordingly, so he did not actually gain any ground on her.

“Miss Sparkle…” The stallion spoke. “This is a surprise.”

Twilight swallowed the lump in her throat as her hoof touched the void at the very edge of the cloud. Could she fall in a memory? She often heard that if a pony died in a dream they would die in real life, but this was a memory, not a dream. Did the same rules apply?

“You show great talent for one so young Miss Sparkle. After all a spell of this caliber is not so easily accomplished.” The stallion said with sincere admiration as the writhing magic encompassing his body wrapped itself around her quivering form. “Perhaps I could find a place for you yet.”

“A place…?” Twilight managed to gasp her curiosity never ceasing despite the peril. A smirk replaced the leering smile as the stallion turned away, his eyes preoccupied with searching the dull memory.

“In my new regime,” The stallion replied casually releasing her. Twilight flinched as the stallion reared them slammed his hooves to the cloud surface. The writhing magic seeped into it’s surface, staining the clouds with streaks of darkness that moved between the hooves of ponies oblivious.

“Wait!” Twilight shouted.

“Have you forgotten Miss Sparkle,” The stallion said as the cloud began to crumble, ponies crying out in terror as they began to fall. “This is only a memory.”

The purple mare leapt forward intent on tackling the demented stallion. Instead she found herself falling as the truth of his words struck her. He was right. Those ponies, the one she watched plummeting to their deaths, they were gone and no means of magic or otherwise would bring them back.

Focus! Twilight shouted inwardly. The answer is here! Concentrate!

Above her the moon shone brightly, drawing her attention through the breaks in the cloud. A sliver of dark magic encased her form. There was a comfort with the aura of magic, a warmth that reminded her of her mother's embrace. Before darkness engulfed her scattered thoughts she glimpsed a place she had feared for most of her life and the answer was clear.

"Everfree..."

Celestia stood in the garden admiring the gentle glow of the late evening sun, stretching her wings and basking in it's comforting warmth, as she it began it's descent toward the horizon. The castle grounds were empty save for herself, something she would have found odd but for the fact that it wasn't odd at all. With a small smile the princess tucked her wings to her sides and began the lonely trek through the garden to the castle proper.

"Sweet dreams dear princess." Honey Glaze murmured as he peered into the sleeping alicorn's thoughts. "Equestria no longer has need of you."

Chapter 26

//Chapter 26//

Celestia was tired. Not the same tired as if she needed sleep, but rather the kind of tired she'd occasionally felt before the world had known it's present peace. The constant chaos surrounding the earlier periods of Equestrian history was a lengthy and oft forgotten period in Celestia's long rule, one not recently felt by its current citizens.

Even the more recent threats had not taxed her so greatly given she had admittedly passed the burden of fighting those threats to her pupil and her friends. She was mildly ashamed by this yet she did not choose to dwell on it. She could not bear the burdens of her rule alone forever.

The eldest princess had not spent the hours idly, in fact she had done much with her day, yet she felt as if nothing had been done at all. True she had not toiled in her usual manner; there was no royal paperwork to fill, no delegates to welcome. She was in fact hard pressed to find any pony at all, aside from herself, a fact that lingered only briefly as strange before she was once again content in her aloneness.

Celestia smiled as she gazed at the murals of stained glass along the hall, the sunlight reflecting their depictions along the carpeted floor. Her serenity was broken suddenly by a chill coursing the length of her spine.

She couldn't quite see what she was looking for, it was more a sensation than a physical presence, but not so much that she couldn't make out a vaguely pony shape standing before her. The pony was dull, her colors muted to little more than various shades of gray. Her edges were blurred, fading even as she struggled to make them out.

The shadow smiled, but it wasn't a happy smile. It was a sad pained smile. The pony;s blurred lips parted and she spoke without sound. Celestia furrowed her brow, as she tried to understand. She pony seemed to sigh before she pointed to the windows. Celestia glanced a moment where the pony's hoof pointed. She saw nothing unusual. It was a starry moonlight sky, the dark glass unable to keep the blazing sun at bay. Celestia turned back her brow furrowed in confusion.

She could not remember why she was in the hall or whee she had been going. With a shrug she cantered towards the kitchens.

A steaming cup of tea awaited her when sh entered the dining hall, the kitchen furthest from hr mind. She had forgotten where she had been going shortly after setting out for the kitchens and ended up the nearest there she could manage. She did not know the difference between the two however. There were plenty of times she would wish to visit the gardens only to forget she where she was going or why once she found herself at the doorways leading outside.

The span of many days had passed since she had been trapped inside but to her it felt as if it as a single day, a very long day. She found herself growing weary of this constant boredom, yet at the same time everything felt new. The steaming cup in front of her drew her attention at the moment, it's steaming herbal scent enticing. She did not remember that she had already had three cups not long before.

A chill crept along her spine the cup in front of her growing cold. The steam shifted into a pony figure as a voice floated from nowhere and everywhere all at once.

Wake.

–

Twilight Sparkle had come to respect the many dangers of the Everfree forest. She had likewise come to marvel at the many wonders held secret within it's dark depths. Though she had traversed it's confines several times before she did not do so lightly. This time was no different.

"What gives you the idea to look here darling?" Rarity said in a hushed whisper. She flinched noticeably at the snap of twigs underhoof and balked quietly at the mud touching her hooves but made no verbal complaints.

"I saw it in a dream." Twilight replied distractedly. "More of a memory..." The purple mares voice trailed off as she studied the map levitating before her. She took a moment to glance above it. Seeming satisfied she continued on.

"And why of all ponies did you choose me as a companion? Not that I don't trust your judgment dear but surely Rainbow Dash or Applejack would be more suitable for your expedition?" The unicorn grimaced as a tangle of spiderweb strung across the path brushed her cheek. Twilight stopped suddenly. She frowned a bit to herself before flicking her tail in a gesture of dismissal. "We had better hurry. I have a bad feeling about this place."

The shadows deepened the further in the two mares traveled, broken only by the faint traces of moonlight showing through the breaks in the dense canopy overhead.

"But where are we going?" Rarity asked, "and why?"

Twilight replied glancing at the map once more. "I know where the princesses are and I intend to rescue them."

A ghostly howling resonated through the silence, the sound sending shivers up Rarity's spine as the castle loomed into view. The gaping cavern separating the land looked ever more eerie and foreboding in the pale moonlight, it's deep abysmal darkness seeming to beckon the pair of ponies. Twilight Sparkle, who had traversed the forests far more often the her companion, seemed only slightly more comfortable with the prospect of crossing the rickety old bridge spanning the gap.

Rarity stood back a way's between the immediate edge of the forest and start of the bridge where the other unicorn stood, a look of curiosity and remembrance on her face. Rarity opened her mouth several times only to close it, when words failed her. Sh wanted to suggest turning back, or perhaps waiting until morning, but the sheer determination on her friends face stopped her.

She loved the princess's s as a loyal subject would, perhaps even so far as to say she was a consultant of sorts, but the extent of her acquaintance with the pair was not near as familiar as that between themselves and Twilight Sparkle. The purple unicorn was like a daughter to Celestia, and she was far closer to Princess Luna than the white unicorn could ever hope to be.

So engrossed in her thought's was Rarity that she failed to notice th gleaming sets of eyes staring at her from the darkness. While Twilight Sparkle fussed over the strength of the bridge, stepping precariously forward before retreating, the creaking and swaying of the centuries old structure foreboding at best, the white unicorn was being set upon by the creatures from the darkness.

Her cries were stifled in her throat, not so much as a muffled murmur escaping as she was hoisted into the air by a pair of possessed ponies, their shape only fleetingly familiar. Below the crumbling castle of the two sisters was revealed, it's full glory diminished by the eons old scars and the centuries of further wear. Shadows shifted deep within it's depths, far darker than those residing within the confines of the forest. These shadows were ancient, and not of this realm. The unicorn knew not why this knowledge was revealed to her through the mere sight of them but her heart raced at the thought of what that darkness could do were it unleashed upon the world.

Rarity hovered for an indeterminable amount of time, hung limply in the arms of the pair of ponies holding her aloft. They were not carrying her away, they had not begun to devour her, instead they simply waited while she took in the scenery below her.

Her eyes scanned the terrain searching for something, she knew not what. These ponies had not hurt her, and the longer she hovered the less afraid she found herself. The was a quieting calm spreading through her, her surprise at so suddenly being lifted and the shock of her fear abating as she turned her attention to finding whatever it was the ponies wanted her to find.

Below Twilight continued to test the bridge, her hoof steps growing daring as she worked on finding a way to get across. Rarity smiled inwardly as she thought of Twilight's teleport ability, something Rarity herself had not learned, her own magic being more succinct with the creative arts, and less functional for quick getaways, or moving between spaces. Had Twilight not thought to use it for crossing the bridge? Surely it would be a simple feat, for one with so much latent magical ability as that of her purple unicorn companion.

Rarity found her gaze traveling toward the gaping maw of he abyss, then past it to the structure waiting just on the other side. She would have thought after centuries the forest would have taken back the castle, swallowed it as nature so often did to structure's long abandoned, but she was surprised to see the castle though crumbling was quite safe from the encroachment of nature. She could little fathom the reason but the tree's encircled the castle, leaning away from it slightly, as if afraid. Even the ivy and moss that had managed to grow upon it looked sickly at best.

As she continued searching something caught her attention. A muffled shriek escaped her lips, though the sound was nary audible given the hoof across her muzzle, as she watched the shadows rise up, their assumed shape distinctly pony in form, though a twisted shifting demonic version.

The moonlight flared a moment, as the shadowy beast become a pair, then a quartet of thrashing writhing demon ponies. The mouths of the massive beasts opened in silent cries of what Rarity could only guess was agony as the moonlight seemed to stab through them, their forms dissipating slightly. Wisps of darkness broke away, fading as the moonlight further assaulted the writhing form.

Rarity found herself sinking, or rather the pair of ponies holding her were carrying her back down. The ground slowly rose up, the castle and the demonic shadowy form within vanishing with her descent. Her legs quivered as they met the earth, the sound as her body collapsing turning her companion from the task of finding a way across the bridge.

"Rarity!” Twilight cried, any further inquiry trapped at her throat as she caught sight of the pair of ponies flanking her fallen companion. There was no mistaking their origins, for ponies of their breed did not wander freely outside the servitude of Princess Luna. They were members of her princess's personal guard, though she had rarely ever seen them outside the confines of the castle walls and only heard rumors of their existence beyond that. The larger of the two stepped forward, his form flickering faintly at the edges. The pony fell to one knee mere steps from where she stood.

“We bade you good evening Miss Sparkle.” The pony spoke. His voice was a deep baritone, the hint of a growl escaping at the ends of his words. Twilight bowed slightly in response, unable to find the words to express her confusion. The purple unicorns eyes flicked briefly toward her friend, finding her companion being helped to her hooves by the second bat like pony, and looking more than a little confused.

“Good evening.” Twilight squeaked, a faint blush coloring her cheeks at the meekness of her greeting.

“Forgive us our weakness,” The stallion continued struggling to rise from where he had fallen. Twilight hurried to his side, helping him to his hooves, her hooves own coming away slick with blood, as he regained his balance once more.

“You're hurt!” She exclaimed, noticing the dark patch of fur along the stallions side, the majority of the wound hidden beneath his armor. Twilight hurriedly unsnapped the cinches holding it on, throwing it away with a burst of hurried telekineses.

“It is difficult to manifest outside the presence her Majesty.” The stallion explained, as she prodded the wound with her hooves. She did not understand the severity of the wound beyond that it was gaping and bleeding, thin rivulets of blood pooling beneath him. Such a wound was beyond her ability to heal. She was not a medical pony by any stretch of the imagination.

Rarity, who had composed herself in the brief moments, strode forward her saddlebag glowing with an aura of blue magic. Several strips of torn fabric emerged, wrapping themselves tightly around the stallions middle, just beneath his wings, staunching the flow of blood momentarily. The pony gave a wince of pain, falling to his belly.

“We haven't much time to talk Miss Sparkle.” The stallion spoke, a note of urgency in his voice. “Even now our Majesty struggles. She is weakening and we fear she has little time left.”

Rarity busied herself examining the second ponies less severe wounds, bandaging them with even more cloth she pulled from her bigger on the inside saddlebag. Twilight had long since stopped wondering about the infinite strangeness of her companion's quirks, simply accepting them as fact, and much welcome at this point.

“The moonlight?” Rarity muttered. “Princess Luna is using her charge, manifesting moonlight as a weapon? She is fighting to contain that...thing, inside the castle?”

“What thing?” Twilight inquired confused. She had not seen what Rarity had. Her companion hurriedly explained what had happened and what she had witnessed while in the air. A frown creased the purple mare brow.

“I don't understand.” She muttered after a few moments in thought.

The second bat pony spoke, his voice startling Twilight from her reverie. “Thou seeks to rescue our princess without full knowledge of the threat confining her?”

His eyes were hard, accusing. Twilight stepped backward, tripping over her own hooves and falling to her haunches. The bat pony spread his wings intimidatingly, scars littering the membranes between the bony protrusions. She noticed many such scars across his body glistening silver in the moonlight. Twilight's voice came out as little more than a squeak, her words again lost at her throat.

“WRATH!” The larger stallion shouted, his booming voice only a few octaves shy of reaching the royal cry. The smaller pony seemed to have been momentarily cowed but the verbal assault. Rarity watched helplessly as he nibbled at the bandages covering his wounds.

"Forgive our companion Miss Sparkle.پh The larger pony apologized. پgHe is not one for subtly when it comes to the well being of our highness.پh

Inside the castle the two princesses waited. Celestia lay quietly on a pile of pillows he breathing shallow. A far away smile touched the edges of her lips while her eyes gazed at someplace only she could see.

Princess Luna gazed out the sliver of window in her own quarters, the thick chains binding her hooves coursing with dark magic. Sweat beaded her brown as she struggled to wield the moonlight against the shadowy beast. The moonlight however could only do so much for so long and her power was weakening. Soon it would be of no use at all.

Chapter 16

Amber slammed his rear hoof into the low counter behind where he stood the steel plate along its front buckling beneath the force of his aggravation. “Somepony’s grumpy!”

Pinkie Pie emerged beside him, her hoof poking absently at the charred chunk of cake that was meant to be the rusty orange colt’s crowning jewel but was nothing more than a shriveled lump of coal. Crumbled bit’s of burnt flake fell to the counter top, immediately licked up by the pink mare. She made a contemplative face before it was quickly wiped away by one of disgust.

“You’re not very good at this are you?” She quipped happily.

“How could you tell?” Amber muttered sarcastically.

“I know what we need!” Pinkie Pie squealed determinedly, ignorant to the colt’s mood as she happily began to hum, her humming quickly escalating into a quirky song and dance number. Mortar gave the colt a shrug as he watched from the far end of the kitchen where he was idly flipping through a cook book.

~ All you have to do is take a cup of flour ~
~ Add it to the mix ~

“She’s not…” Amber began with a pleading look to the ashen pony. The stallion matched the colt’s gaze a moment before a satisfied smirk turned his lips and his eyes returned to the book. “You son of a mule,” The irate colt hissed venomously. “You’re enjoying this!”

The grey pony’s response was lost to Amber as Pinkie Pie grabbed his hooves and twirled him back toward the prep counter. She shoved the flour toward him and he smiled uncertainly while doing everything her song dictated with some trepidation.

~ Now just take a little something sweet, not sour. ~
~ A bit of salt, just a pinch. ~

He hastily prepared the ingredients and mixed them together while the comically intimidating pink pony watched him absently. Amber stared at the mixing bowl of ingredients he’d combined finding his batter was grey and lumpy, with the faint odor of rotting cheese.

That couldn’t be right…

The vibrant pink filly was currently bouncing around the kitchen half singing and half shouting ‘cupcakes’ at the top of her lungs. Her song had been vague at best, listing only a few meager components and leaving out vitals like cooking time and temperature. With a sigh the colt poured the concoction into a pan and shoved it into the oven turning the knob to an arbitrary number.

Here we go again…

“Good afternoon Miss Luna.” Lexis stood in the hall outside Celestia’s chambers, a tray of uneaten food held in her levitation field. Luna glanced briefly at it before nodding her acknowledgement to the white unicorn. “How is she?”

“The doctor says she just needs rest.” Lexis answered. “I’m afraid she won’t be able to attend the event tonight as planned.”

Luna frowned. For over a thousand years Celestia had risen the moon along side the sun, and though that was an extensive feat in and of itself, there was no reason she should have succumb to the strain so quickly upon Luna’s return. It had only been a matter of months since the stars had begun to dull and a matter of weeks since they’d begun falling. Late afternoon sunlight fell in through the high narrow windows along the expanse of hallway, casting colorful shadows along the floor and opposite wall.

“Has she eaten?” Luna wondered vaguely as she watched tiny particles of dust float in the vibrant rays. Even in her illness Celestia’s command over the sun was infallible. Lexis shook her head indicating the tray held in her magic. “Not a bite, but I thought perhaps I’d try anyway.”

The white unicorn hesitated a moment before speaking again. “Perhaps you should postpone the event until Princess Celestia recovers?”

“No.” Luna replied quickly her tone adamant to such a degree as to prevent any further argument about her decision. “I wish for you to find my replacement, an easy task I assure you since I have already chosen the pony I wish to fill it.”

“Did you know this would happen?” Lexis inquired accusingly before she could stop herself.

“I’ve had suspicions since the beginning.” Luna replied absently her thoughts elsewhere. A long moment of silence fell between them before the alicorn spoke again. “The stars had a thousand years to reject our sister’s embrace, why they should start now perplexes us.”

Luna thought a moment about her dream and the shadowy pony she had seen attacking her sister in her nightmares. “Many things perplex us.”

Amber shifted uneasily on his hooves as Rarity fussed over his outfit. She glared at him wordlessly refusing to speak more than required to assure he was comfortable and able to carry out his tasks. He assured her he was and she had accepted his reply almost dismissively. He supposed she was still upset about his shrugging out of it so carelessly, not to mention leaving it trailed across the castle gardens. Her tone, more than her voice, startled him as she spoke up. “I would suggest you not shrug out of it this time.”

In that moment the moody young stallion realized he hadn’t apologized for doing just that. His shoulders sagged a bit as the gravity of that realization weighed him down. When had he become so heartless? Sure he did not adore ponies, he found them obnoxious and less than worthwhile at the best of times, much preferring his own company to that of a vast majority of them but this mare, and her friends, had shown him nothing but kindness. Could he not at least pretend to do the same?

She smeared her special scar vanishing concoction across his muzzle non to delicately, in what he assumed was another tactic of her anger, and regardless of the reasons the colt appreciated the notion. Though harsh in its application she did not cover the wound because it was garish or unsightly, but rather as a gesture of good will and perhaps apology for Fluttershy having reminded him of wounds he’d long thought buried.

“I’m sorry.” He muttered earning a snicker from Mortar, who was leaning against the wall not a dozen hoof lengths from where the pair stood, watching with a bemused smirk. Amber took a moment to assault him with his gaze before focusing on Rarity once more. “I know you put a lot of work into making this for me, and I appreciate it.”

“I suppose I’ll have to accept that as the best you can do?” Amber was about to contest her reply before a slim smile graced her lips followed by a light good-humored titter. She pecked the dapper colt on the cheek much to Mortar’s delight and the colt’s embarrassment. “For luck...”

“Jealous?” Amber quipped out of nothing more than spite for the old stallion once Rarity had gone. The ashen grey pony leaned away from the wall pausing to place a large heavy hoof on the lanky colt’s shoulder as he passed.

“Ask me again when you’ve had more than a feather peck from a pretty mare.” Mortar retorted with a playful smirk.

The colt followed somberly behind the ash grey unicorn as they joined the remaining contestants gathered in the back of the grand ballroom. Again Amber recognized none of them, but then that was no surprise since he’d not bothered to learn any of their names. It was only by Mortar’s own curiosity the pair had met in the first place.

The lights in the room dimmed ever so slightly as Prism Shine stepped onto the balcony over looking the dining hall her gaze trailing across the remaining contestants dubiously. Amber glanced around the room, avoiding her stern gaze. He found the room vacant of the set up previously occupying the grand space, which only led to confusion.

“I regret to inform you that Princess Luna will be absent during tonight’s event due to pressing personal matters that are no concern of yours. Only know that she wishes the best of luck to all participants.”

Dusk had fallen over the city, hues of stagnant red and orange falling in through the tall narrow windows lining the palace walls. The colt noticed it only briefly before his attention was again stolen by the ebony mare now accompanied by a small group of royal guards.

“Each of you will be given a slip of parchment on which has been written the name of a local eating establishment. For tonight you have been given permission to utilize these facilities to the best of your abilities. Present at each establishment will be a local celebrity figure who you will act as judge of not only your performance but also your culinary fare.”

A slim blue unicorn filly raised a hoof. She appeared unsettled and her voice quivered slightly as she voiced her inquiry. “What if we don’t agree with our partner?”

“This is a challenge not a cakewalk.” Prism Shine replied flatly.

“And if we have further questions?” A second pony, male by the sound of it, wondered with far less anxiety than the filly.

“I suggest you consult with your escort before arriving at your destination,” The black mare answered tersely. “Upon arrival to your designated refectory the challenge will commence. Good luck my little ponies!”

A/N ~ Some of you are going to hate what I do these next couple of chapters...
But I am going to do it anyway...