//------------------------------//
// Loving the Horizon 
// Story: The Immortal Dream 
// by Czar_Yoshi 
//------------------------------//

Sitting in the lobby of Wilderwind's tower, it was hard for me to make it through my explanation of where things currently stood because of how smug Flarefeather's grin was.

"See, I knew you'd come through for us!" Flarefeather aggressively purred, eyeing me with a look that suggested letting her feel my ears earlier had been a big mistake. "Didn't I? I totally did. Come on, say the magic words..."

I sighed, dropping the details and getting to the point. "So if you agree with our assessment of your situation, and Lissa is willing to be completely forthcoming about her own situation and P... I mean, the Black Knight thinks we can mitigate the risks there too-"

"Then we can come?" Flarefeather whispered under her breath, still not letting me finish.

"I... Yeah..."

I rubbed the back of my neck, processing how badly I had underestimated Flarefeather's desire for this outcome. Was I just this bad at evaluating what other ponies wanted when they weren't right in front of me? Or rather, at evaluating how badly they wanted things? Or was this a completely normal reaction, and I had just forgotten how to unapologetically crave something after how many times I should have been more careful what I wished for?

Flarefeather started to giggle, and I realized too late that I had been staring and was now probably about to eat a horny joke as payback. But she mercifully summoned the self-restraint to turn her gaze towards the elevators, even though I knew she was thinking it. "So, Lissa's back up in our room," she muttered under her breath. "Would it be more your thing to watch me break the news to her, or do you want in on the action?"

"Err, the news is that there are a really lot of conditionals," I tried to say, though Flarefeather clearly wasn't listening. "And you haven't even told me you agree with our assessment of the danger to you, forget about Lissa..."

Flarefeather whipped out her rose rapier and bapped me on the nose with the flat of the blade. "Trained. In. Combat. We are literally professional payrolled security guards and have been so since the moment we were old enough for a sufficiently degenerate executive to put us in these suits. Stop fretting!"

Well, at least Flarefeather's own assessment of the danger she would be putting herself in was low enough.

Flarefeather started hauling me toward the elevators. "Think of how much happier you would be if you replaced your thoughts of catastrophe with thoughts of the look on Lissa's face when she hears the news. She didn't believe you would come through for us! She's probably still moping about you-know-who not living up to her expectations. Don't needle her about it, only I am allowed to make fun of her for being a secret fan-filly. Unless you're willing to pay the price. And if you are, gimmie a heads up, because I want to watch."

"Right..." I said as the elevator doors closed behind us and Flarefeather keyed in the dorm level as its destination. "But seriously, there'll be plenty of time for getting excited while we're flying. Do you think you could take this seriously long enough to get a safety plan in place?"

"Who's not serious? I'm dead serious," Flarefeather insisted, clearly too excited to actually be serious. "I mean, fine, but can we at least wait until Lissa? Talking shop without her around would be kind of pointless anyway."

To my relief, she managed to contain herself as the elevator finished its ascent and we walked down the dorm hallway. I didn't want to admit it to myself, but Flarefeather's exuberance didn't bother me because it was annoying: it was because I was jealous that I no longer saw travel that way, myself.

I wanted to accept her invitation to join in, but even if I didn't have to keep my head on straight and be cognizant of the dangers, I wasn't sure I could anymore. And that was a painful thought to think about.

"Alright," Flarefeather whispered, hugging the wall and sneaking up on her room's door, which was presently closed. "She said she'd be in here. Watch and learn, because this'll be great."

I raised a skeptical eyebrow. Did that mean I didn't want to watch?

"...Hey, babe!" Flarefeather slipped up against the door, knocked three times, and then opened it without waiting for a response, swinging it slooowly open. "Hope you're indecent, because I had a fantastic day!"

Surprised Lissa sounds wafted out from the door, and I shook my head and sighed.

"Flarefeather," Lissa's voice groaned, "one of these days, you're going to barge in on something you actually don't want to see."

"Oh yeah?" Flarefeather strolled into the room. "I'm pretty sure as long as you're in the scene, that's impossible. But you'll want to hear this..."

"How about me swinging a frying pan at your head for interrupting my sleep?"

"Aww, but you'd never do that. If you ruined my snoot, it wouldn't be as good for kissing!"

"Now that you mention it, that is true..."

I rolled my eyes and wandered into view before they could actually start kissing... and did a double take.

Lissa was naked, which for most ponies would be nothing unusual. But her teal fur, unbroken in hue across most of her body, morphed into a majestic purple halfway down her legs, and faded to a rich forest green by the time it reached her hooves.

"Oh, you're back?" Lissa blinked when she saw me, giving me a look that was much more sober than the one Flarefeather was giving her - and the one she had just been giving Flarefeather. "Can we help you?"

Flarefeather took a huge breath before launching into an explanation, which I didn't need to do, so I was faster. "Do you want to come with? I talked with the Black Knight, and she's willing to entertain the idea if there's a compelling argument for why it would be alright for your safety."

Lissa blinked again.

Flarefeather gave me an annoyed pout that morphed to a cheeky smile. "What she said."

"What kind of safety?" Lissa asked, completely oblivious to the fact that all I could think about was her legs. "Is this a 'do they know the rules of the road' thing, or do you have something else in mind?"

I gestured at her legs. "Well, we're going to Izvaldi, and I know Flarefeather has some political connections there that could turn dangerous. And I was going to ask what your deal was, why Wilderwind thinks you're valuable enough to keep around, but I guess that's kind of answered for me."

Lissa glanced at her legs as well, then held one up. "This? House Everlaste. It's what me and her initially bonded over." She nudged Flarefeather. "Sorry, could you give me a minute? This isn't something you just answer on the spot."

"You sure about that?" Flarefeather nudged her back, harder. "Because I'm pretty sure this one's a no-brainer, babe."

I said nothing, remembering that encouraging them to be smart and think things through was exactly what Leif had done to me, Corsica and Ansel back in Icereach. Was I really still carrying baggage from that incident? Apparently so, because I suddenly found myself thinking about how the roles were almost perfectly reversed... and this wasn't even the first time, either. I had felt that way when trying to tempt Coda out into the world, too.

Although, Leif hadn't been so bad once I got to know her, and it was Coda who suffered the consequences of following my temptations, not me. What if it wasn't my luck that was cursed, but the idea of exploring out into the world?

"Hold on," Lissa said, pushing Flarefeather gently away and focusing on me instead. "Why did the Black Knight change her mind? And more importantly, why did she advise against this plan while we were there? I can accept if she's a liar, but now she just sounds random."

Now I had to take a breath. "Because lived experience doesn't always match up with what you want to be true. She's trying her best, but she's been through enough garbage that it's pretty amazing she's still on her hooves at all. For your case in particular, it's because she's had Wilderwind Escorts die on her watch before, after taking the exact same deal that I just talked her back into."

Lissa instantly looked guilty. "I... guess that would be a pretty good reason."

Even Flarefeather's mood fell. "I haven't heard of this," she said. "Was it anyone we would have known?"

I shook my head. "Over ten years ago, so probably not. But you could ask her yourselves. Anyway, I agreed with her assessment. The amount of danger I've faced since leaving my own home, I would have been dead twice over if it weren't for... Well, you've seen it." I gestured to the window, and Flarefeather slowly nodded.

"Your cursed power thingy," she agreed. "So if both of you think it's a bad idea, why'd you talk her back into it?"

I stepped inside, shutting the door with my tail and steeling my heart for something a bit more personal. "Because I'm lonely. I've left behind almost everyone I know to chase after things that are important to me, and it feels like such a mistake, but I don't know a smarter alternative. But seeing how much enthusiasm you girls have for leaving... It reminds me of how I used to be, before it all started going wrong. And we get along well enough. If I'm going to try something different, why not do it here, with someone who clearly wants to?"

They looked at each other.

"This isn't just for me," I insisted. "I'd love it if you two had a brighter future to look forward to than living in a glitzy dorm and flirting with gross dudes until the political order collapses, then running for your lives. I think you deserve it. And I have no idea if this would be temporary or permanent or what. Maybe you'd tag along just for Izvaldi - that's where we're going next. Or maybe you'd never come back here. But, it'll be so dangerous that trouble is more of a certainty than a chance. So maybe, if we talk this out and decide we have accurate expectations of what could come for you and ways to mitigate that, this could be a learning experience so you're better prepared when you strike out on your own."

Something passed between them that I couldn't properly read, though Flarefeather was finally taking this seriously.

"When you talk about the stuff that might come for us..." Lissa said, choosing her words carefully. "You're talking about the reasons we have our jobs as escorts, right?"

I nodded. "The Black Knight explained it to me. They give you deals this good because you have something that would make you valuable as a political pawn. Collecting you and displaying you like this is basically a show of power. And if you leave their protection, someone else might try to use you instead. For you two, I'm guessing that's your lineage."

Lissa glanced between Flarefeather and me. "You mind if we discuss something alone real quick?"

"Sure." I stopped myself from phrasing it as a question or tilting my head, though all of my instincts told me not to: if they kept secrets about this from me or Puddles, we wouldn't be able to adequately plan and could get jumped more easily as a result. But Lissa had to know that, right? She was the one who put forethought into their travel plans. Odds were, she just wanted to discuss and make sure Flarefeather was okay with putting everything on the table before accepting this as a condition of coming along. Not that I hadn't already seen both of their legs...

I left the room, shut the door and walked a safe distance away, just in case. As tempting as it was to eavesdrop, I even covered my ears for good measure. Those two had yet to betray my trust. If something went wrong because of them, at this point, I had faced down the fury of the universe and lived to tell the tale. Odds were, they would have a worse time of any potential trouble than me.

Minutes passed, and eventually the door opened again, a once-more-clothed Lissa beckoning me back inside.

"Decided anything?" I asked as she shut the door behind us.

"Yep," Flarefeather answered, her smile gung-ho enough to be legitimate but relieved enough that I suspected she hadn't enjoyed their conversation. "So, it sounds like you pretty much know the important parts. Yes, Wilderwind Escorts are basically collectable trophies as far as the top brass is concerned. And we're here as Royal Spectrum bearers, me from Izvaldi and her from Everlaste. The only two in the collection! Sounds pretty dignified and uplifting when I put it that way, doesn't it?"

Lissa nodded. "Both of our existences are largely off the record to our home nations. Our legs are generally hidden from clients due to our uniforms, and we're a tight-knit group. Generally, only people important enough that Wilderwind would want to intimidate them are aware that the escorts are special at all."

"I told you about my parentage, right?" Flarefeather asked. "Old geezer who was Lord Victor's brother, noped off to Everlaste to avoid Victor's jealous wrath, had a tryst or three?"

"And my blood is Everlaste, but I was born closer to here," Lissa explained. "My mom was really young, single and probably transient. Only know what I learned from the orphanage, but presumably she was either a local who somehow got with a visiting Everlaste sphinx, or the daughter of such a relationship back in Everlaste who ran away up here when she got knocked up. Apparently that happens a lot." She shrugged for good measure.

"Sounds like another reason not to stick around," I pointed out. "So you think Everlaste will leave you alone as long as you hide your legs? If you grew up in an orphanage, wouldn't plenty of people have seen them then?"

Lissa bit her lip. "Dunno. The moment word made its way to the tower, they scooped me up. This was before I could even remember, and tracking down the place to learn even this much about my mom was basically impossible. So it's not an ironclad secret, but the important part is, even if Everlaste knows, it won't matter unless they can connect it to a random unimportant traveler like me. And even if they can do that, it won't matter unless they care. And Everlaste cares so much about sphinx blood these days, they'd probably treat me pretty well if they did get their hooves on me. Maybe even better than this."

Flarefeather nodded. "Her situation is different than mine. Lissa could likely get a good deal no matter where she goes, on bloodline alone. Since my bloodline is much less powerful, they spend more energy watching for threats than looking for trophies."

"So you're not afraid of exploitation at all, then," I told Lissa. "Beyond... this. Which is stifling, even if it's safe."

Lissa hesitated. "Well, yeah. I mean, there was that assassin way back when who cleared out the Everlaste royal family. Gottlieb something or other. He got executed by a military tribunal, but apparently he somehow still has fans in Wilderwind."

Flarefeather patted her rapier. "Good thing we know about dealing with hooligans, right?"

"Anyway, that's probably the worst danger my presence could bring down," Lissa said. "Though Wilderwind would probably be unhappy with you if Everlaste started making overtures for me to join them as a result of anything that happened. Actually, Wilderwind in general will frown on this. Our employment here is... 'voluntary.' We're allowed to walk away on paper, but the top brass have taken great pains to drive home that we won't find a better deal anywhere else."

I blinked. I hadn't really thought about how Wilderwind itself would take this... Puddles had good rapport with Geirskogul, and Geirskogul had enough seniority to merit a huge fancy office, but places like this surely didn't enjoy their toys getting up and leaving. At least, not unless they benefited from it-

Nope. No, definitely no. I stomped that thought down before I could finish it: I was not about to make any deals, on my behalf or my friends', with Wilderwind to find a way for this to be profitable for them. Those deals were always how everything went wrong. Maybe Puddles could do it, but not me.

"I'll ask the Black Knight to see if she can throw her weight around," I told them. "But you're sure about this? She said she can probably make Lord Izvaldi leave you alone as well, Flarefeather. So we've got some insurance in case your identities become known, but do you think this is good enough?"

Flarefeather looked hopefully at Lissa. Lissa nodded.

"Sounds like it to me," Lissa said. "Is she here too? The Black Knight? I'd like to talk with her for a bit first, just to make sure we can work on a team together."

Nope. I had left her at the ship... "Should I go get her? It might be a bit of a walk."

Lissa shook her head. "I'll do it. I'm faster. Flarefeather, while me and her sort out logistics and legal stuff, pack for both of us. I haven't made a decision yet, but it sounded like they wanted to leave at dawn tomorrow."

Flarefeather saluted with a sharp wing across her chest. "You got it! Hallie, you're drafted as my assistant, because we'll have a lot to carry. Let's do this thing!"





The state of Flarefeather and Lissa's room told me a lot about how much they valued organization and tidiness. Those expectations led me to believe packing would be a herculean effort: surely paring down what to bring would be even harder than it was for Corsica when we left Icereach together.

Instead, it involved the procurement of several industrial bins, into which everything - literally everything - was shoveled, unsorted. I didn't know why I was surprised.

"If you don't sort this now, do you really think you're going to do it later?" I asked, pushing one such bin out into the hallway and hauling an empty one back in. "Do you even know which of these are yours and which are hers?"

"If the color scheme works, you get dibs," Flarefeather primly replied, emptying the contents of her vanity into a sack, and clearly considering trying to take the vanity itself as well. "Sharing clothing is hot."

I leaned against the wall, taking a breather and watching her work. Even someone this disorganized wouldn't take absolutely everything on a mere practice run. Whether we brought them back here or not following the trip to Izvaldi, Flarefeather was preparing to move out, and enjoying every second of it.

How long had she been living here, anyway? As long as I had been living in Icereach?

That couldn't be possible, since I was probably a little older than her. Though not by much, and I had been gone from Icereach for a while now... Maybe it was exactly the same.

Silently, I made a vow not to let the same fate befall her that landed on me, and got back to work.

An hour passed, and some of Flarefeather's other friends poked their heads in, all receiving the same story: it was a secret. I couldn't tell if it was self-restraint or a deliberate tease: Lissa hadn't made her decision yet, whatever she was discussing with Puddles. Nothing was final. But by the two-hour mark, the dorm's early risers were starting to retire to bed, leaving Flarefeather with admonitions not to make too much noise and invitations to enjoy herself in equal measure. We finished our binning soon after, and found ourselves with nothing more to do, sitting against the empty desks next to open, empty windows.

I didn't have anything to say, and Flarefeather didn't either, though not for lack of emotions. I could feel her gratitude and appreciation like a heat lamp on a cold day, and watched her staring out at the night sky with eyes that lusted for the horizon.

"Hey," I eventually said. "You really want this, yeah? Like, you look really happy."

"Feels like a dream," Flarefeather said, smiling out at the sky. "A week ago, I had never met you. Crazy, right?"

"Where do you want this to lead?" I asked. "I'm sure part of what Lissa and the Black Knight are talking about his how long this will last, but you didn't pack like you're on a quick vacation. What are your plans for the future?"

Flarefeather shrugged happily. "Who needs plans? That's Lissa's strong suit. I just go where she takes me. Hasn't led me astray so far, right?"

I said nothing.

"But, I definitely know I'd like to see something beyond this city," Flarefeather promised. "I can't talk about my expectations without sounding silly, 'cause I'm a sheltered bum. My only expectation is to have my expectations blown open. Even if it's dangerous, I'm fine with that. I just want something more than the same boring day-by-day, flirting with the same bureaucrats and guarding the same glitzy tower from trouble that never comes. And I've got it on good authority that there's something better out there than what I've got right here."

"Whose authority? Lissa's?" I tilted my head.

"My own!" Flarefeather patted her chest. "It's just common sense. Sure, I know it won't all be sunshine and rainbows, but variety is the salt of life, right?"

"Spice," I corrected.

Flarefeather nodded along. "Yeah, that. But you came from outside of Wilderwind, and you're plenty interesting. So I rest my case."

A pang of sadness drifted over me as, once again, I remembered my final days in Icereach. "I used to feel exactly the same."

Somehow, Flarefeather laughed. "Not as good a time as you thought, right?"

"You don't sound discouraged," I pointed out.

Flarefeather shrugged. "I mean, I believe you. I've seen your friend, remember? But so what? I've got a fresh set of dice to roll. And you can't have had it that bad if you still appreciate having a cute friend like me around. I mean, sure, I had to put some serious leg work into breaking you out of your shell, but you weren't evil or nothing. Just an awkward little mare with a crazy story! So I think I'll be fine. In the ways that matter."

I joined her in looking out the windows. "I might not be evil, but that doesn't mean I'm particularly good, either," I told her solemnly. "I've made a lot of tradeoffs in pursuit of what I want that most people wouldn't make. And, I'm not that good or consistent at hanging onto goals, either. Honestly, at some point or other, I've left behind every single friend I've ever made... including one who was really counting on me, I think. I don't... know if I can promise that I won't do that again. I'm trying to be better, but-"

Flarefeather interrupted me with a smile. "Good news: we're ready to go wherever the winds take us. So I don't think you'll be faced with any hard decisions like that for a while on our behalf, unless you decide to go somewhere we literally can't follow."

"Like across the Aldenfold?" I asked.

Flarefeather blinked. "To the Plains of Harmony? I mean, Lissa's already planning to go there eventually..."

"But you don't have writs," I said, shaking my head. "And I... actually do. If I had to go there, you wouldn't be able to come, not unless I miraculously find a pair and give them away."

I almost said another pair. But that would have invited a story I didn't particularly want to think about.

Flarefeather sat back, stumped.

After a while, she said, "Well, I guess in that case we'd go it on our own. That's what Lissa has been preparing for all this time, anyway. But I assume you'd only do that with a good reason."

"Yeah," I agreed. "A reason like trying to get back to my previous friends, some of whom are still there."

Flarefeather tilted her head. "Does Coda have a writ too, then?"

I froze. As far as I knew, she didn't, and I had never even considered that.

Hopefully... I would be able to meet up with my friends in Ironridge, and it simply wouldn't be a problem. And maybe Princess Twilight had enough authority to get me more writs, to give to whomever I wanted. In which case it wouldn't be a problem for Lissa and Flarefeather either. But that was banking on circumstances outside my control, and if anything went wrong with that plan, the first step would be going back to Equestria to look for a solution. And leaving everyone behind again.

Why was this always my first course of action...!?

"You're looking a little haunted over there," Flarefeather pointed out. "Hope I didn't just blow a hole in your own machinations."

"No, I can fix this," I said, talking more about my tendency to jump to this as a solution than Coda's lack of a writ, and also lying through my teeth in the hope that saying it enough would make it the truth. "This is fine. A problem for later, anyway. And it won't matter if this turns out to just be a round trip to Izvaldi and back, which I still think is way safer and smarter than the alternative. I don't even know how much longer I'll be traveling with the Black Knight myself."

Flarefeather grinned. "In other words, if we don't do this now, we could miss our chance? Where I'm from, that's called an excuse to get while the getting is good."

You know what? Sure. Let's go with that. I nodded, and started psyching myself up for a reply when Lissa stepped in through the open door, Puddles appearing in her full plate mail behind her.

"We've reached an accord," Lissa announced, staring around at the boxes. "This... is certainly a pack job."

Flarefeather and I both perked up. "It's happening?" we said in sync.

"...Those look heavy," Puddles said, speaking in her characteristic Black Knight grunt. "I'll fetch a trolley."

"It's happening," Lissa said, breaking out in a reassuring smile and nuzzling Flarefeather. "HQ does need you to sign this, though."

"Paperwork?" Flarefeather frowned as a clipboard was shoved in her face.

Lissa shrugged. "Waiver saying that you agree they'll hold your job for you, you agree that they can't provide normal amenities including security and legal protections while you're outside of province borders, that you're still bound by normal provisions of employment including secrecy and code of conduct even while you're not collecting benefits or reporting for work, the usual. Essentially, we're still employed, on an unpaid leave of absence, and we keep our responsibilities to do right by them but they don't keep theirs to do right by us until we're back."

"Gross." Flarefeather stuck out her tongue and scribbled her name, spitting the pen out the moment she was done. "Glad you've got a head for legalese, because I sure don't want to read this whole thing."

Lissa took the clipboard back and glanced around the thoroughly looted room. "You remember that we're not leaving until tomorrow morning, right? There aren't any blankets here. And I don't see my nightie."

Flarefeather winked. "In the box. And I figured we could just crash on the ship! Get a feel for the new quarters, just in case it's so abjectly horrible that we change our minds and run away screaming in the night."

"That probably won't happen," I reassured, knowing that with my luck, it still very well might.

Flarefeather gave me a sidelong grin. "Let's be real though, it would be pretty funny if it did, right? You think we could prank someone that way, or are shipyard attendants not known for their senses of humor?"

Lissa tapped her on the back. "I'd let you prank me that way, but the night watch probably doesn't deserve it."

Flarefeather broke down giggling.

"Alright..." I rolled my eyes, turning to the bins. "Dunno how big of a trolley we're getting, so let's start carrying a load. You two can carry these, right?"

"Excuse me, are you calling my fitness into question?" Flarefeather pouted. "You think I could have this much self-esteem if I couldn't bench a measly cargo bin? Watch me."

True to her word, she was able to heft an entire bin on her back, stabilized by her wings, and so was Lissa, both mares managing their loads with a skill that suggested they had frequently done this before. What did Wilderwind make them do, rearrange furniture in conference rooms?

Either way, I had a magic bracelet, and had spent years undergoing military strength training with creatures thrice my size and ten times my weight. So, not about to be outdone, I benched two bins at once, and could have easily managed the weight of a third if I thought it would fit through the door.

"Showoff," Lissa quipped. Flarefeather just grumbled.

And so we left, leaving the rest of the bins for Puddles. I wasn't surprised to learn that the tower had a cargo elevator for purposes just like this one, and we exited through a warehouse connected to the back of the structure that completely avoided the main plaza. I led the way, by now familiar enough with the city to get around even after finding myself somewhere new from the back exit, and we marched through the streets, drawing all sorts of looks for our odd combination of garb and cargo.

No one messed with us, though. In fact, everyone took great care to get out of our way. I really couldn't blame them; if I was a civilian - or even a criminal - and I saw a squad of movers coming through, carrying twice their weight in industrial-looking crates while wearing skimpy neon dresses and cartoonish armored noir swordfighters' garb, I would get out of their way too.

The ship was locked when we got there, and I felt like shadow sneaking in to unlock it would be poor form, even when I was currently living there. So instead we waited, eventually getting bored enough that Flarefeather and Lissa decided to stack both of their boxes on mine as well to see if I could lift all four. With a bit more help from my bracelet, and the pegasi participating in a delicate balancing act, I succeeded... and I started to relax, as well.

Flarefeather's excitement and gratitude was right there, pointed straight at me, and at Lissa too. Lissa was more calm and guarded with her emotions, though I could tell that watching Flarefeather enjoy herself was like a reward to her. Lissa was pleased with herself. And I felt like I could be pleased with myself, too.

The intensity of the feeling faded a little as they disassembled the box tower and I finally got to stretch my back. As contagious as it was, I was still an observer, living out through them what I didn't feel myself...

I frowned, blinked, and caught hold of that train of thought, and turned my bracelet just a little back on.

It felt like a physical rewind. I hadn't not been able to read the pegasi when my bracelet was off, but turning it on made it easier for me to empathize with the spirit. I felt less like an outsider, like this joy was something I could observe, but not partake in. To make sure, I flicked my bracelet on and off a few more times, and the effect was undeniable: with it on, I was more empathetic.

Did turning it off cause some sort of blockage, or...?

Well, we are a receptacle for emotions, Faye pointed out in my mind. That's just how changeling queens work, I think. We're like an empty reservoir. It makes sense that engaging with our power would make us more receptive to the emotions around us.

I tilted my head, considering the implications.

I don't have a great precedent to base this on, Faye mused, considering Coda had a whole throne and altar setup to help her absorb emotions. But it's possible we can absorb emotions through activating our bracelet, like what happened that time when it got broken after we used it too much while walking from Sires Hollow.

Could that be what was happening? Was I turning into some kind of mirror when I used it, reflecting or absorbing the emotions around me? I focused, and Flarefeather's happiness clearly was directed at least in part at me. And when I turned my bracelet on, it felt much easier to reciprocate.

Was this smart? Was it ethical? Was I rendering my mental state vulnerable to change and manipulation? Was that any different from what normal ponies did when their own feelings were influenced by the actions of those around them? Was I taking something from Flarefeather that wasn't meant to be taken? Did it matter that it was freely given? And if emotions were energy, what happened to the things people felt about each other when the other person wasn't a magical emotion energy battery, anyway?

So many questions, some of which could probably stump even a god. I shook my head to clear it, and decided that the worst course of action would be to let this make me a wet blanket and kill the mood.





Puddles showed up eventually, with all the remaining boxes in tow. I let myself tune out as Flarefeather and Lissa picked themselves a room to share, and another room to use as storage for all their stuff. It seemed I wasn't needed for that, and nothing was going wrong that I needed to fix.

The two pegasi went back to the tower shortly after, to say their goodbyes and conduct a sweep for any personal trinkets they may have missed, never mind that Lissa's official agreement with the tower meant they would be coming back after the Izvaldi trip, and Puddles was adamant that this wouldn't turn into a more permanent arrangement without a solid month of discussion and planning. Then they returned, and spent the night in a room far enough away from mine that they wouldn't wake me up with any late-night chitchat.

In the morning, they were gone again, back to the tower for yet more goodbyes and yet another final final check for missed belongings. My last chance to rethink this came and went, and I spent it in my room, staring at Coda.

I would learn my lesson. I wouldn't fail again. This time would be different. I would keep them safe, save Coda to undo my past failure, and eventually return to Equestria and make things right with Corsica. And along the way, I would find a middle ground between leaving my friends behind and inviting them into danger. A middle ground that was better than my previous modus operandi of achieving both negative extremes at the same time.

My moment of resolve came and went, and we lifted off, pointed our backs to Wilderwind and set sail for Izvaldi.