Light as a feather

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!”