"Shy, I knows you can't help it, but youse gotta try fainting less."
I blinked. I still had the wrong wings, and now Angel looked giant. The room was nice, even if lots of it seemed to be the crafty sort of stuff Rarity didn't like. Personally I think the pincushion made a lovely seat for the stool, and the cut down apple barrel that housed my bed looked very nice. It had been cut with wavering lines, sanded, and then coated in some sort of varnish. Some of the furniture looked more normal but I got the feeling all of it was from found materials. I was looking at Angel, then I smiled.
"Oh, you're not big, I'm just small." I then giggled
"Yea Shy. See Willow figured taking you to the palace was a good idea since youse weren't really hurt or nothing. Even undid the spell once to check."
I looked back at my pretty fairy wings. "Uh…"
"Yea, thing is it wasn't some weirdness of the spell, but something you're doing. Even when you ain't awake. Second you're the right size, bam, breezy style."
"You mean my wings change?"
He shook his head. "No bossmare it's way more than that. Right now as far as anypony can tell, other than no antenna of course, you is a breezy. They know you ain't, but they can't tell otherwise."
I blinked. "Oh my. That's very strange."
"Not exactly. Way we figure it there is some fey out there that can do the same. We ain't sure youse got the skills of all the other fey, but we're guessing a lot."
"So what can do that?"
He looked away. "Yea, see that's the problem right there. We don't got no clue."
"That sounds dangerous."
Angel nodded. "A little but it ain't new. Fey love their secrets and most do a real good job keeping them. We pooka figure there at least seven types of fey on each side posing as another type of fey entirely."
"Applejack is going to hate me, isn't she?" I felt my head droop
"If you ended up like the other queens yea. But you ain't like that kid so forget that. Also I'm a little more sure that in the end if any of the other queens and kings, there ain't a lot of kings though, try to push ya, they're gonna find out you ain't the one moving."
"Huh?"
"Don't matter none. Now come on, Willow wants to see you in da throne room, and while I was going to give you a few more hours to wrap your head around me being a pooka we both know how things went when I left you alone with her."
I stood up, hanging my head. "I'm sorry. It's, just…"
"Yea, yea. Whatevers bossmare. Lets get going."
I nodded and then followed him out of the room and down the hallway. His little hop was only slightly less cute close up. The whole place was carved. None of the other buildings looked like they had been carved, so it was probably something special for the palace. Then I gasped.
"Oh my, do I need a new house?"
"It wouldn't hurt, but the grove is more likely to impress than anything ponies could build. Now a palace grown in the deer style though, that could turn some heads."
"A whole palace. Oh my I don't think…"
"Then don't worry about it none. Stuff ain't really the point, it's all about power. You got that in spades, more than most of those two bit queens could ever dream of."
"Oh." I sighed.
"Yea, you should try not to do that in front of no fey. They might think you're weak and that would just make things worse. Probably more for them than you, but you might not like it much neither if you gotta show em what's what."
"Eeep."
I stopped to cower. I thought this all sounded scary before, but now I might have to fight somepony, or something? I feel bad that I just let the others fight things when it comes up, but I don't think I could handle really fighting something. I still don't understand how I could possibly act the way I do when I lose control. What Discord did to me was the worst. I was so evil.
"Look they can't hurt you Shy, but pain ain't the only thing they can do to youse. I'll try to head off what I can, but that's why we gotta get this show on the road."
"So I can fight?"
"So you can convince them all nice like not to fight. A little show of power and nothing is gonna think to cross youse."
"Uh, okay, I guess."
I followed Angel down the rest of the hall which led into a large room with a ceiling made of broken glass all stuck together somehow. It wasn't quite stained glass because the pieces were so uneven and lots of them stuck out in strange ways. Or maybe that does still count? It was a scene of breezies in a forest. It was probably important somehow, but I couldn't see how or why. The throne was a golden flower with a big cushion in the center of the petals. One of the petals made up the back, but it didn't go very high so her wings had plenty of room. Whispy smiled.
"Hello again high queen. You like the ceiling?"
I nodded. "Oh yes. It's beautiful. I have a question. Why does everything seem to be made of well…"
"Whatever is lying around? A custom of our people. We don't really have to do it, but it fits with our belief. This throne is one of the few things in Breezyville to be entirely crafted from scratch, and even it was made from found materials."
"Breezyville?"
Angel laughed. "Yea, youse seen how it looks."
"We don't usually form villages with such a level of structure, and the inspiration is obvious, so we figured a similar name as well once we decided one was called for." She smiled. "Of course if you object we can change it, especially since the Everfree has now been bestowed upon you."
"Oh no, it's fine. I didn't see any big building like this though. Is this really in town?
She shook her head. "Not really. It's special. A deer molded the basic shape of a tree to our needs. From the outside it looks normal until you get to the top. That's also where the main entrance is. It lets you come almost strait into the throne room."
"There is an underground entrance too." Said Angel "It's well hidden and I'm probably the only one that ever uses it."
"Not quite, but yes, we breezies rarely use it. The actual town is a notable distance south of here, closer to your home. Though it is no great trek either."
"So lets get down to business princess. The bossmare needs some combat training."
I gulped. "Uh, could we maybe not. I don't want to hurt anyone."
Whispy blinked, staring at me.
Angel laughed. "That ain't quite what I meant Shy. We gots to get you up to speed with magic see? So ah meant combat spells."
"Oh my, that sounds worse. I mean training with daddy and mommy was sort of fun, it's just afterward that…"
"Yea, yea. I know."
"Would you stop that." Said Whispy "I have been giving you leeway here but she is the high queen and…"
"You're the one that don't get nothing. Bossmare, you'd be more upset if I started treating you like some sorta prissy queen, right?" His little ears drooped again. "Wait, I ain't going to far again am I? Cause you say the word and I'll grovel like a good little mook."
"Oh no, it's okay. It's still odd you're talking but other than that it's, comforting."
I smiled. It was still weird. But so was fighting the spirit of chaos and the avatar of the moon. Or all this weird magic stuff. There was also that thing with that red duck with horns, though he wasn't nice enough once you got to know him. Cerberus suddenly breaking free like that. He's such a good dog usually. Weirdest of all was being a supermodel. So much attention and I barely even did anything. It was also really scary, though not quite as bad as facing Nightmare Moon and Discord before we gave all his powers to the crusaders. Of course there is all the weird things they do too. I blinked.
"Wait, am I less scared of the unknown because of my friends too?"
"Moving on." Said Whispy "Clarify your stance Sir Rabbit."
"I mean specifically what nature is best at. Spells that disable and constrict, without actually harming. Also right behind some physical defense spells."
I smiled "Oh, that doesn't sound bad at all."
"Of course nature does have some dangerous attack spells, even if they are not flashy as fireballs and lightning." Whispy nodded "Poison can be especially deadly, and if done right your opponent might not even realize they have been effected."
I froze.
"Ugh." Angel face pawed. "Willow you're a stand up dame, and I know you, and know you like Fluttershy, so why in the name of the great mother are you being this dense?"
"Vhat?"
"I mean do you really think the bossmare cares at all about having more ways to hurt anything? Methods to make sure things can't hurt her she wants, but more than anything she doesn't want to hurt them in return. Kindness, hello."
Whispy blinked. "Oh." She was then in front of me on her knees. "I'm so sorry your majesty. Please don't…"
"Oh come on." Yelled Angel while at the same time rolling his adorable little eyes. "Kindness. She isn't like any of the others queens. Heck she's actually nicer than your moms and you know how much I like her. Shy is what we actually need rather than what we tend to get."
"Vhat?" Whispy and I echoed, well almost echoed. It was the same word really.
"Forget that. I'll just let you think for a bit. Come on Shy, there is one thing I might be able to teach you and if it works it make things easier all around."
"Uh, okay?"
"Size magic. Never tried to teach it, and I certainly can't teach you how to cast it on others like the mooks around here, but right now we might as well give it a shot."
He then hopped out of the throne room. Whispy just sat there, staring at me. I looked between them not really sure what to do.
"Oh." Said Whispy
"Uh, should I go or…" I began
"I think I get it." Whispy then smiled "Could you order me to treat you as an equal?"
"What?"
"Please, it vill help."
"Well, okay, it would be really nice if you could treat me like an equal, unless that's too much trouble. I don't mind if you treat me as even less than that if…"
She started, falling backwards on her rump, her wings now crunched against the floor. "Oh I could never do that. Especially if he's right and…." She trailed off
"And what?"
"Kind and powerful. I knew it but never considered. The undeniable power that allows one to never relent in kindness. To give even your most hated enemies mercy because you can afford to."
"I'm, just going to go."
I then flew after Angel as quickly as I could. It was only after I was catching up to him I realized I was using wings I never had before like I had them all my life. Why does everything have to be so complicated and scary?