After his interesting conversation with Nightingale, Soren trotted back to Robin's home. He needed to press the grey mare for more information, but he didn't know where to start. He really wanted to know how average unicorns were supposed to use Ruby's uncontrolled magic for evil purposes. Soren slowed to a walk when he neared the house, which he realized this morning was curiously positioned on the opposite side of town. 'How many precautions is this mare taking to keep Ruby away from her mom?'
"...just trust him." Soren's ears perked at the familiar voice.
"But Auntieeee!" a filly whined.
"Ruby, we just need to wait for Soren to come back. You can trust his decision on whether or not you can see your mom."
"I'm not a very trustworthy pony," Soren interjected as he walked through the front door. He saw Ruby sitting on the couch while Robin spoke with her.
"Uncle!" Ruby exclaimed before running over to him, jumping up, and hanging onto his neck in a hug. "How was Mommy? Can I go see her? Huh? Can I, can I, can I?"
"Calm down, Ruby. Your mother is fine. She's quite the character. How about we go somewhere in town so you can play? Then I'll tell you about it afterward." Ruby tilted her head at Soren. 'I should have come up with a better reason to talk to Robin alone.'
"Okey dokey! I can show you my favorite park in town!"
"Lead the way." Soren looked at Robin, who was confused about what just happened.
Ruby took the lead as she led the two ponies to a playground near the center of Sanctum. The area had thin grass with slides and merry-go-rounds on top of it. A few benches were scattered along the perimeter of the playground; Soren and Robin occupied one of them as they watched Ruby run towards other kids playing. There were quite a few fillies and colts playing, some of which brought their very own balls and toys to share with the others. Soren was quick to notice that most of the children were not scared of Ruby as she attempted to join them.
"She's so innocent," Soren commented. Robin nodded in agreement.
"I want to help her have a normal life, but..." Robin started.
"From what I have seen so far, she mostly does. Her mother...I can't tell if she is particularly dangerous yet. She has strong magic, yes, but she doesn't necessarily appear to be a threat."
"What happened over there? Did she hurt you?"
"Not at all. We just conversed, and at the end, she put us on the ceiling. The fall wasn't pretty for me, but it didn't hurt."
"You couldn't use your wings to save you?"
"Did I ever tell you why I have been refusing to use my wings?"
"No. What pegasus, or alicorn, would refuse to fly?"
"I do it because...I hate being an alicorn."
"Why?"
"Maybe one day I'll tell you but back to business. You said certain ponies in this town can use Ruby's magic for evil. How?"
"Nightingale shouldn't be trusted. She has been trying to secretly take Ruby from me. It is true that her magic will be used negatively, but it's only my sister that wants that to happen. She has hired ponies to find Ruby and take her. Luckily, no one has found our house yet since it's located in an alley." Robin stopped, and Soren continued to stare at her. Feeling uncomfortable, she spoke up. "Stop staring at me!"
"Sorry, it's just...I have a big favor to ask of you."
"What is it?"
"Can I...live you two for awhile?" Robin's eyes widened. "I need to continue investigating Nightingale, and as you know, I'm a traveler so I have no home."
"I uhh..."
"Uncle! Auntie!" Ruby exclaimed, interrupting the conversation. "Some of the fillies and colts recognized Soren! I didn't know he was that popular."
"Neither did I," Soren muttered.
"Are you done playing, Ruby?" Robin asked. Ruby nodded excitedly. "Let's go back home then." Robin stood up, while Soren continued to lay on the bench. "Soren..." He looked up at her. "...you're welcome to stay with us if you need to." Soren smiled, touched that this mare, whom he had just met, had offered her home to him.
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Five Days Later
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Over the few days that Soren has lived with Robin and Ruby, he has grown very fond and attached to them. Even though he was is for business, Soren felt happy, as if he is on vacation. Most of the days were spent with Robin and Ruby, but he also had to continue to see Nightingale at night. Soren has met her three more times, each experience granting new knowledge to him.
Soren has learned that Nightingale was indeed randomly cursed; fine one day, the next...not so much. Not even the mother can accurately explain the effects to her physical and mental capabilities. This 'illness' seems impossible to cure, but Nightingale herself assures Soren that there has to be something. At first, he thought Nightingale was genuinely trying to better herself, but Soren soon realized that she was simply saying what he wanted to hear.
If the conversations lasted longer than half an hour, Soren would begin to see her insanity. She obsesses over seeing Ruby, which is understandable considering it's her only child, but the measures she is willing to take slightly frighten Soren. Nightingale claimed that nothing will get in her way, no pony will stop her, and he will not convince her otherwise. The next night, after Nightingale warned him of her determination, Soren voiced all of his findings to Robin.
"I told you she is dangerous!" she exclaimed softly. The two were in Robin's room. The door was closed so they hopefully wouldn't wake up Ruby. "You have to stop her!"
"And what would you expect me to do? Kill her?!" Soren retaliated. The stress of the situation was getting to both of them. "The more I talk to her the more determined she becomes. I fear the next time I see her...I really don't want to think about what would happen."
"You have to keep talking to her. Keep her at bay. Please. I-I-I just don't know what to do! I feel so helpless on the matter." Soren put a hoof on her shoulder.
"Calm down. I'll be able to deal with anything she throws at us...hopefully. It's always best to accept every possibility, even if failure is involved. Tomorrow I have to see her again. There's still more she isn't telling me."
"Don't go tomorrow. Go now. One of these days Ruby is going to run from me and follow you there. Faust knows how that will turn out." Who is Faust? Soren wondered to himself. He shrugged off the thought and agreed with Robin.
"Fine. I'll head over there now. Hopefully Nightingale isn't asleep."
"Be careful." Soren nodded once again before exiting the bedroom.
"Goodnight," he said before he walked past the doorway. He gently closed the door and proceeded to leave the house. Grabbing his cloak, Soren closed the front door then pulled the hood over his head. Although he was stealthily walking through Sanctum, Soren didn't hear the small noise of a window opening and closing. He also didn't hear the soft sounds of hooves running on dirt.
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"So what do you think caused your curse?" Soren asked Nightingale as they once again sat facing each other at her table.
"I've already told you, I don't know."
"I'm not asking if you know, I'm asking if you have any guesses."
"Are you honestly making me play a guessing game?"
"Why not? I can tell you want to find the cause just as bad as I do. What do you think it was? An evil spirit? Poison gone wrong?"
"Now who is the cliché pony?"
"Oh I know! Is it Uncle?" The new voice caused Nightingale to arch an eyebrow and Soren's heart to drop. 'No...' "What does cliché mean anyway?"
"R-Ruby...?" Soren breathed.
"Dearest Ruby!" Nightingale exclaimed. "We finally get to see each other. You have grown so much!"
"Hi, Momma!" Ruby ran over to her mother's side of the table and jump-hugged her. It would normally be a touching moment, if the mare holding the filly wasn't on the brink of burning the town to get to her child in the first place. "I would have been here sooner but Auntie and Uncle wanted me to wait." I'm dead... Soren gulped.
"So...Soren...you purposefully...kept my child...away from me?" Nightingale asked darkly.
"It-It's not like that," he weakly defended.
"Oh! 'It's not like that?'" The now angry unicorn mare flung the table towards the wall, leaving nothing to stand in her way of Soren. "Tell me what it is then!!!"
"Ruby, I need you to go see your Auntie," Soren ordered as calmly as possible.
"No! You just want to take me away from Momma again! I'm not leaving her ever again!"
"That's right, my darling," Nightingale added while leaning down to almost eye-level with Ruby. "You're not leaving my side ever~ again~." She touched her horn to Ruby's forehead, and Soren immediately rushed at the mare, only to have her levitate Soren without even glancing at him. As he hovered vertically, Soren watched as Ruby became hypnotized.
"No! Let her go!"
"It's too late, Soren!" the mother exclaimed while flinging Soren's cloak off. "You betrayed me! And to think, I was actually beginning to like you. This...is what you deserve!!!"
Nightingale's dark blue aura intensified around Soren's wings, making them stick out horizontally. He quickly felt massive force on them and knew what was about to happen. A simultaneous snap from both wings ushered a yell and tears of pain from Soren. He was then released and flopped to the floor, unable to move from the excruciating pain. Nightingale, with a hypnotized Ruby blindly following her, walked up to Soren, who felt like he would pass out from the pain.
"This is a warning for you and that traitor," she whispered intensely. "Get in my way again and it'll be much more than your wings that get broken." Soren watched Ruby and her mother leave the rundown house, then everything faded away.