Prologue: Not That Long Ago...

Show Stealer suspected they shouldn't have paid the guards in advance.

He knew it wouldn't have made any difference, really, but if he made it out of this he was going to at least want his money back.

“I really need to get my priorities straightened out.” He poked his head out from behind the meager cover the remains of the wagon offered. He could see some of the other members of the traveling company trying their best to escape, while a few stayed behind to cover for others.

The wagons and supplies were a lost cause at this point. The griffins had flown off as fast as they could, and he would have too, had he had the wings. Not many ponies would willingly face off against a half dozen dragons, even if they were relatively young ones.

As more ponies broke off to run, he saw his brother hiding under some bushes at the other end of the clearing. “Good,” he thought to himself. “He's safe for now, so I can work on my own getaway.”

As he stepped out from behind the wagon, though, he noticed that the largest of the dragons, who could generously be described as looking similar to a large pile of phlegm, started walking over to where his brother hid trembling. He stopped, pupils narrowing as his mouth dried up instantly.

Time seemed to slow down as he imagined what might happen if the dragon found his brother. Eyes narrowing, he lowered his horn and took aim at the ugly brute.

The blast he fired off barely affected the dragon, but it was enough to get it to turn around. Unfortunately for him, it also got it angry. His knees quivered as it roared, and he stumbled as he turned to run from its charge.

Chapter 1: Fluttershy Is Repeatedly Surprised

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It had been a bad day so far. First, he had woken up while the cages were being moved, and had gotten yelled at for it. At least the ornery yellow unicorn, Show Stealer, had decided against any of the usual punishments. That probably had something to do with the workers loading him into the truck not being the usual ones. He had heard something about a show further away than their normal route, but still didn't understand enough Equestrian to make out the specifics.

After he and the others had been unloaded and set in a darkened area of a large structure, he had settled down to wait. Usually, the shows took place in the evening, and he would need to be well rested for that. Of course, he got in trouble again for being asleep when Stealer made his way backstage. He didn't expect that there would be a dress rehearsal; in fact, he had never been given time to practice before a performance. So it was that, being rather disoriented, he stumbled out of his cage and into the bright lights of the theater as it was tilted to one side.

“Watch it!” yelled Show Stealer, as he whipped his green mane away from his similarly-colored eyes and glared at him.. “You need to look sharp for tonight!”

He winced, but when no punishment came, he decided not to question it and began to go through the motions of his routine. Fortunately for him, he was unusual. That meant he had relatively little in his routine that was difficult; ponies paid to see something unusual, so the other animals had to do more tricks.

Walk, turn around, walk back, walk on two legs, do a flip, jump through a hoop, return to start. Some of the other animals had much more difficult routines, performing complex stunts or acts of teamwork. He was glad that Show hadn't decided to start him doing those; he could hardly understand what the ponies wanted when they talked to him most of the time, and he didn't like the results of failing to please. At least he wasn't with that Griffon troop anymore; he'd probably have been eaten by now.

That first stumble, however, managed to throw him off. He wobbled as he landed from his flip, and clipped the hoop with his foot as he tried to hop through. He cringed at the sound of the hoop clattering to the ground, and closed his eyes as he hung his head. He'd really get berated for that one.

He wasn't prepared for the rather large wooden setup that Show used for the weasel circus to execute their tricks to come barreling into him, surrounded by an amber glow. He heard several loud cracks as much as he felt them, and his last thought before he blacked out was a startled “I didn't mess up that badly, did I?”

Fluttershy woke with a start, blearily looking around to see what had caused so much noise. Her attention was drawn to the clear sound of somepony knocking on her front door. “Who could that be at this time?” she thought, glancing over to where her alarm clock which clearly said that it was 5 in the morning. She usually woke up at 6 or so to take care of her animal friends, but she usually didn't have visitors this early, and she hadn't made any plans to meet anypony today. She had her weekly tea with discord, but he never showed up this early in the morning (though he did never commit to a set time, so it might be him).

As she heard the knocking continue, she scrambled to get to the front door as quietly as possible. She didn't want to disturb her animal friends, especially if the person at the door needed her for something that might keep her from feeding them that morning. Before she could reach it, she heard the three rapid knocks repeat once more against the door.

As she opened the door, her eyebrows shot up as she slowly realized she didn't know the business-pony standing outside. Hiding behind her mane, she was about to introduce herself when the unknown pony beat her to the punch. "Hello, are you miss Fluttershy? I'm Cost Analysis. It's nice to meet you."

Fluttershy hid even further behind her mane before answering in a soft voice."Oh, um, yes, I'm Fluttershy. It's nice to meet you too, but what brings you here so early?"

"Well, I apologize, Miss Fluttershy, but your proclivity for animal care is well known to Misters Flim and Flam, and there was an occurrence in Las Pegasus which they felt you could help with. I can explain the rest on the way, but there is something of an animal emergency and we need you at the veterinary hospital in Las Pegasus."

"Oh my!” gasped Fluttershy. “Of course I'll do whatever I can to help. What's wrong? What happened in Las Pegasus?" Fluttershy asked, closing the door softly behind her before following rapidly to catch up with Cost as he trotted down the path.

"Well, you remember when you and Miss Applejack visited, correct?” Fluttershy nodded slightly and he continued. “After you left, Flim and Flam set up seasonal contracts so the performers in Ponet Magnifique could go on tour during the off season."

"That sounds nice... but how does that create an animal emergency?” Her eyebrows knit together. “Those poor pink prairie dogs didn't get hurt, did they?"

"No, ma'am. One of the performers who came to work in the off season was found to be mistreating the animals he used in his act, and one was in bad enough condition that they couldn't be brought to Canterlot for treatment..."

Fluttershy quaked as tears welled up in her eyes. "Oh my goodness! That's terrible!"

"We brought him to the local veterinary hospital, and Flim and Flam advised me to find you so you could help the doctors come up with a treatment plan."

"Of course I'll help! What's wrong with the poor dear?"

"I'm not entirely sure. The doctors will know more than me at this point."

Fluttershy paced around the train car as it trundled along to Las Pegasus. Biting her lip, she glanced out of the window to see the city getting closer as they pulled into the ground station beneath it.

She had rushed to the train station, but had stopped to let Twilight know she was leaving, and had asked her to take care of her animals while she was gone. She felt bad about asking her so suddenly, but she was the only one who lived between Fluttershy's cottage and the train station who would be up at that time of the morning. She would have asked Applejack, but the farm was out of town and she had wanted to get to Las Pegasus as quickly as she could.

As it was, she wished she could have gotten here sooner. She wasn't sure what she could do to help, but she was determined to do as much as she could.

"I'll be honest, Miss Fluttershy, his condition isn't very good.” Doctor Furry Heart stated solemnly as they walked into the room. The cat-like creature on the hospital bed was about the size of a young colt, and certainly looked like he had seen better times. His breathing was shallow and a bit unsteady, as a bag dripped liquid into an IV attached to a shaved patch on his foreleg. Wires ran from his barrel, giving unsteady readouts to his vitals. “We wouldn't have called you in otherwise, to be honest. It's just that we've never seen anything like him, and we wanted to give him the best chance we can to make it through today. After that, he'll have some recovery ahead of him but his chance for survival would shoot up dramatically.”

“Currently,” continued the doctor, “I have him on a saline and vitamin drip, as well as antibiotic and anti-fungal drips as a precaution. I believe he's suffering from a combination of some under-nutrition, a few lacerations, a lot of bruises, and a few fractures of various types. I think he might have a concussion, but can't be certain until I know what would be normal for his neurology.”

Fluttershy looked back at the strange animal in the bed with a frown. His right wing was wrapped up with a splint and was hanging more loosely than the other. His two right legs were also splinted, as were several toes on his front left paw. His back legs had similar paws to the front ones, but were covered in fur rather than scales.

His leathery wings hung loosely on either side of him, and she could see feathers along their tops. “I've never seen any animals that have wings quite like his...” Fluttershy trailed off as she looked him over more closely.

He also had a crest of feathers at the top of his head, running down the back of his neck, as well as some downy feathers on his chest. On either side of the crest, small stubs of what looked like juvenile horns poked out behind his large, roughly triangular ears. Glancing at the rest of him, she saw more feathers along his thighs and at the end of his long tail.

“I think he's had some of his feathers clipped,” continued Doctor Heart as he flipped a bit through the chart he was holding, in spite of the widening of Fluttershy's eyes. “And he appears to be suffering from mites. We've set what we could, and he appears to have no other complications at the time. However, we're concerned about any lasting psychological effects; this type of treatment was apparently typical in his care..."

"Oh my.” Murmured Fluttershy, turning slightly pale. “Who would do something like this?"

"Well, from what I was told, the perpetrator has already been arrested, so we can focus on getting this little guy better. The other animals were transferred to a larger facility in Canterlot, but his condition was too dire to wait that long for treatment.” He looked up at Fluttershy with a grave expression. “Unfortunately, I've never seen an animal like this before, so I was hoping you could perhaps help make sure that I'm not missing anything. I'm not sure how he would react to more advanced magical treatment; I had to reset the heart monitor three times as it is. I don't think there should be any lasting issues from his injuries themselves, but I'd like to be as sure as possible."

Fluttershy put her hoof to her chin in thought. "Well, I've never seen an animal like him either. He looks positively filthy, but he doesn't seem to have any open sores. And his feathers are a mess! No wonder he has mites, it looks like nopony ever taught him to preen correctly. His teeth look like a carnivore's,” she stated, pushing up his lips enough to inspect them as well as she could at the moment, “so he might need some special nutrients added to his diet. Other than that, I'll have to see if Twilight can help me identify him so we can help you make sure he doesn't get worse."

"Good idea. I have some nutrient packs around here for cat treatment, so we'll start him on one of those,” Mentioned Doctor Heart, scribbling a few things down on the chart. “I'll see if I can't clean him up some more while he's unconscious."

"Twilight?"

Twilight looked up from her latest research project. The purple alicorn had been convinced to get some sleep the previous night, which had proven fortunate in light of Fluttershy's early visit. Now she was eager to get back to her experiments on reinforcing thaumatic stability. She was hoping that she'd be able to decrease the energy required to maintain some enchantments that were necessary for some of her other experiments. She looked up from her notes, silently hoping that Spike didn't need anything urgent. “Yes Spike?”

“You got a letter, Twilight!”

“Huh,” Twilight pushed her notes together as she scooted off of her chair and stretched. “I wonder what Princess Celestia could need?”

Spike jogged over and handed her a loose sheet of paper as she finished. “I, uh, don't think that this is from the princess. It just showed up in the middle of the library.”

Twilight's eyebrows shot up. “Somepony else used an instant letter?”

Spike shrugged as she took the letter in her magic. “I guess?”

Twilight brought the letter up to eye level.

Dear Twilight,
I need your help in Las Pegasus. I can't figure out what kind of animal they're dealing with, and hoped you could help identify him if you have time.
Sincerely,
Fluttershy

Twilight stacked her notes and tucked them away into a drawer. “Come on Spike, we need to get to Las Pegasus.”

"I have no idea what this thing is!" Twilight exclaimed, snapping closed the last of the books she'd brought, her voice seething with frustration. She'd been unable to find any mention of the creature in Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them, nothing similar in Clover's Bestiary for Adventuring, and even her first edition volume of Beasts Beyond Equestria was proving to be useless. It always frustrated her to no end when a problem confounded her usual methods, and more so when she was trying to help a friend.

Fluttershy sat nearby in the hallway, trying to think of something to say to reassure Twilight. Spike, meanwhile, was not so subtly backing away to a safer distance.

"Twilight?" Asked Fluttershy softly, extending a hoof to rest on Twilight's shoulder.

Twilight let out a sigh. "I'm sorry Fluttershy. I know this must be frustrating for you as well, but I was so certain I could help you."

"It's alright. I know you're trying very hard. Maybe he's some kind of animal nopony's seen before?" Fluttershy guessed.

Fluttershy's efforts worked a little too well. "That's it!" Twilight gasped as she darted into the room holding the creature. "If I could just... There!" she exclaimed as a light from her horn started to envelop the still form on the small bed. "If I can just have a few minutes uninterrupted, this spell will help me determine whether he's some sort of unique specie of animal that nopony has discovered! Oh, think of how much we could learn from a new specie, Fluttershy!"

It was, of course, at this moment that the unfortunate creature managed to regain consciousness.

He woke up in a haze. It wasn't the first time he had fallen unconscious during a session of 'discipline', but he had never been hit quite that hard before. The first thing he saw was a distinctive sparkle of unicorn magic.

“No!” He yelled, startling both Twilight and Fluttershy, the former of whom dropped her spell at the interruption. Both stared, eyes wide, as the animal they had been discussing shouted in Equestrian. The machines hooked up to the creature started to beep in alarm as they detected a spike in his heart rate, and the sound of a nurse scrambling away from her desk drifted through the door.

“No, no! Sorry! No!”

Fluttershy and Twilight glanced at each other, taking a moment to register that the strange animal had just talked, then looked back to the bed to find the strange creature doing his best to curl into a small ball. The attempt was in no way helped by the numerous splints and bandages that he was struggling with, or by his rapid shivering. The nurse arriving did not seem to help matters, as she seemed to be under the impression that he was having some sort of convulsive fit, and of course was attempting to check him over.

It was around that time that the pain kicked in and he blacked out again.

“Maybe I should try after he calms down?” Wondered Twilight out loud after the nurse on duty had finished checking to make sure there was nothing new wrong with her unusual patient.

“Normally I'd agree with you Twilight, but there might be something that we need to know what he is to help with. I just can't imagine how nopony realized he could talk before this happened.”

“I'll see if I can finish it before he wakes up then. I just hope we don't have a repeat of last time...”

He woke to find the room empty with the lights dimmed, though he could he could hear voices from outside the singular doorway. He was thankful the lights were dimmed, but still found questions running through his head.

“What happened? Where am I? Who is that talking?”

Deciding to find an answer at least one of his questions, he started to look around before rapidly having his attention drawn to several realizations.

One, he was in pain. He felt his right side twinge when he tried to bend his neck around, prompting him to give up on that approach and see what his eyes could tell him.

Two, he was not in his cage. Show never let him out of the cage unless he was performing. Why was he here?

Three, he was covered in strange objects. Some seemed to lead to a noisy box thing, others to a bag that was hung up, and more were simply attached to him. He certainly hoped that none of the objects were hurting him worse, but there wasn't much he could do about it.

“I'm sorry Fluttershy, but all I could determine is that he's not something anypony has ever seen before. I wish I could help more.” Twilight apologized as they walked back toward the room the mystery creature was being kept in. They had left after the scan to let the receptionist know what they had found out.

“It's okay Twilight, I know you did your best. Maybe when he wakes up again, he could tell us something about himself. I think the doctors were mostly hoping you could figure out whether healing spells would work on him.”

“Well, I already told them what I could about his thaumic signature and matrix. They are pretty strange; maybe sometime I could see if he'd let me have a closer look.”

“I'm worried about how he woke up last time,” explained Fluttershy as she nudged open the door to the room. “He seemed so scared that...” Fluttershy trailed off as she noticed the frightened eyes staring at her.

“Oh dear. It's okay, little guy, we won't hurt you.” Fluttershy cooed, making sure to do her best to appear non-threatening.

His expression rapidly shifted to be slightly less frightened, with a healthy dose of confused. Taking this as a sign of progress, Fluttershy took a few small steps forward while he watched her. He didn't make any signs of trying to bolt, but she could still see him shaking. Then, once she'd made her way just inside the doorway, she sat on her haunches. Behind her, Twilight mimicked her actions, hoping that doing so would help calm him.

The silence went on rather awkwardly until the being on the bed broke it with a weak cough. Immediately he tensed, although he calmed again when neither of the ponies in the room moved from their current positions.

Finally, Twilight's eagerness overcame her, and she leaned slightly forward. “Can you speak?”

His eyes darted between the two ponies. “Yes?”

“I'm Fluttershy, and this is Twilight Sparkle,” She pointed to herself and her friend as she introduced them, smiling softly at the small creature. “Can you tell us your name?”

He glanced back to Fluttershy before answering. “Stupid thing?”

“What?” Fluttershy rapidly shook her head, her mane whipping back and forth. “No, your name. What ponies call you.”

“Yes. Ponies call stupid thing, freak, monster.”

“That's terrible!” Interrupted Fluttershy, managing to actually go above conversational volume in her outrage. “Those aren't names, those are... those are...” Fluttershy couldn't seem to help herself and started to tear up as she trailed off.

“Sorry! Stop say names!” Burst out the creature from the bed, quivering yet again.

“No, I think she means to say that those aren't meant to be names, those are insults.” Explained Twilight as she patted Fluttershy's back with an outstretched hoof.

“What... 'insult'?” Asked the baffled little beast.

Twilight switched to teacher mode, explaining absently even as she kept her attention on Fluttershy.“It's... well, it's something you say to make somepony feel bad. Do you have a name besides those?”

“No? Not know.”

“Well then,” stated Fluttershy, her eyes determined even as she blinked away tears, “We'll just have to find you a name.”

“Do you have any ideas for a name?” urged Twilight, obviously eager to have a more appropriate way to address him.

“Well” Spike piped up, causing the form on the bed to twitch and try to spot the source of the voice. “You named me after my spikes, maybe you could do something like that for him?”

“Hmm...” Twilight rubbed her chin with one hoof. “We could name him... uh... featherwings?”

Spike scrunched up his snout. “Ugh, that's horrible. What about Talon or Fang? Those sound pretty cool.”

“What do you think, little one?” Fluttershy turned to face him. “Do any of those sound good?”

“Talon?”

Chapter 2: Suddenly, Ponyville

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“Well, as far as we can tell, he should respond to the healing medications normally as long as we give him the nutrients he needs,” Explained Furry Heart. “I'll make sure this is all on his chart for the doctors in Ponyville. I'm not sure about any more advanced magic, so his stay there might be extended a bit compared to normal. Speaking of which, Princess Sparkle, do you have any idea who might be able to care for him afterward? Originally, I thought miss Fluttershy would be the obvious candidate, but seeing that he's not just a lost animal, I was thinking the Canterlot Orphanage might be more appropriate...”

“I'm not sure.” She answered with her hoof to her chin, having already given up on getting the doctor to simply call her Twilight. “I don't know whether an orphanage would be very good for his mental state. Not to mention he'll probably need some tutoring to help him catch up academically. We don't even know what he is, let alone how old he is, so there's really no good way to tell until he learns to communicate a bit more.”

“Um, Twilight?”

“Not to mention that with his wings in that condition, he's likely never been allowed to fly. He'd need a good bit of physical therapy to make up for that.”

“Twilight, I think that...”

“Well, Princess Sparkle, I agree with you on both points. He may also need additional therapies once he can tell us more about what happened. I'm not sure what other options you have besides the orphanage, to be honest. Perhaps you could come up with something that would fit his needs. I'm concerned for his well-being, but I'm useless at any of this bureaucratic nonsense, and he's being transferred over to Ponyville general tomorrow morning, assuming he's stable.”

“Excuse me...”

Twilight and the doctor both turned to Fluttershy, noticing her for the first time since they started the conversation. “Yes?” Twilight asked.

“Well, um, if it's okay with you, he could still stay at my cottage once he's a little better...”

“Really?” asked the doctor. “I thought you only boarded animals.”

“Well, I have a lot of the things he would need for treatment. My cabin usually doesn't have too many ponies around, which I think would be good for him. Twilight could help him with lessons, too, if that's okay with her, of course...”

“I'd love to tutor him, Fluttershy, but if you want to have him live with you, I'll have to get started on some paperwork. Are you sure about this?”

“Yes. Even if it's only for a little while, I'd like to help him. I think the poor dear has had enough trouble to last him for a while.”

“Well, in that case I need to talk to the Mayor about that paperwork. You should let him know that they're moving him in the morning.”

Spike turned back and waved as they left. “See you guys in Ponyville!”

“Talon?” Asked Fluttershy, peeking her head in the doorway. Talon blinked lethargically, turning his head slightly so he could look at her. His eyelids drooped over his yellow eyes.

“How are you feeling?” She asked, moving to sit in one of the chairs at the side of the room. He tensed when she began walking, but relaxed somewhat when she sat down.

“What feeling?”

“What does feeling mean?” Fluttershy clarified, frowning at the implications of what he did and didn't understand.

“What does feeling mean?” He asked, slowly enunciating each word, nodding a bit as he did so.

“Oh, um, it means... um... are you in any pain, or sick, or okay?”

“Pain, no sick.” He stated “What okay mean?”

“Oh!” she exclaimed, “it means that something is good, or even just... not bad.”

“Uh...” he trailed off, glancing at his wing and legs.

As Fluttershy sat waiting to see if he would say anything else, the doctor walked in, interrupting the rather awkward silence.

“Hello there, Just checking in before I leave for the night. Do either of you need anything? You're welcome to stay the night if you wish, Fluttershy.”

“I'm good, thank you. Did you want anything, Talon?”

Talon shook his head, keeping a wary eye on the doctor as he left.

“He won't hurt you, you know.”

“...”

“Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself, Talon? Where are you from?”

“Is far. Ger-fun-uh?”

Fluttershy scratched her head as she thought. “Um, do you mean Griffonia?”

“Um... not know.”

Fluttershy trailed off into silence, listening as tiny snores eventually came from the bed. Soon, she found her own eyelids drooping shut as well.

Fluttershy was woken by a soft prod in the foreleg. She glanced over, taking in the sight of a red unicorn mare dressed in scrubs.

“Good, you're awake,” the nurse whispered as she lifted Talon onto a small stretcher. “I gave the little guy some sedatives so he should be out for the whole trip, but I wanted to make sure you got the chance to come along. I'm Tender Care, by the way”

Fluttershy watched as Tender transferred Talon's IV bag to sit next to him. She followed along after her as she carried the whole assembly in her magic. “Alright, let's skedaddle.”

Fluttershy followed her outside to where a chariot waited with two pegasi hooked into it, ready to take off.

“Hey buddy, it's time for you to wake up.”

Talon groaned as he woke up. He was sore all over, and it felt like somepony had glued his eyes shut. He had to get up, though, or Show Stealer would push him out of the cage.

Wait, that didn't sound like Show Stealer...

“Don't worry, you don't have to go anywhere. I just need you to eat your breakfast.”

Talon's eyes shot open, revealing a red mare with white mane standing next to him. He tried to get up, managing only to fall over onto one of many pillows situated on the bed he was on.

Talon looked at the pillows, then at the surrounding room. “Where...”

“It's okay, sweetie.” Talon turned back to look at the mare beside him, scooting back until his flanks hit the railing at the edge of the bed.

Tender Care frowned as she watched him, before forcing her expression back to a small smile. “It's okay. I'm your nurse, Tender Care, and I'm here to help if you need anything. Would you like some breakfast?”

Talon glanced around the room once more, eyes locking onto Fluttershy where she sat to one side. “Break...fast? What breakfast?”

Nurse Care's eyebrow shot up as she glanced over to Fluttershy briefly. “Food?”

“Oh, uh... yes.”

“Well, then,” she responded as she trotted over to the open doorway. “I'll be right back.”

Soon enough, Nurse Care returned with a small tray held in her magic. Perched on top were a bowl and glass, the bowl containing some kind of porridge, while the glass held simple apple juice.

“Here we go. We wanted to start you on simple foods and work up from there. The oats have some extra nutrient powder in them, so it should help you get your strength back.” She explained as she placed the tray down where Talon could reach, drawing back a bit in surprise when he ignored the spoon in favor of simply shoving his short muzzle into the oats. His eyes widened in surprise as the taste hit his tongue.

“Sorry it's not the best, but you can't really expect too much with hospital food...” apologized the nurse.

“It's fine,” Fluttershy said, gesturing to Talon, who was eating with more enthusiasm than anypony Nurse Care had ever seen eating the hospital's food. Obviously he was enjoying it, in spite of her misgivings. “He seems to like it, at least.”

“Huh. You know what they say, one pony's trash and all that.”

“Good!” Interjected Talon, sitting up a bit while oats continued to drip down his face. He had even managed to get some in one of his ears, and was currently trying to get to it with his tongue.

Fluttershy chuckled a bit, eventually giving in and helping him with the spoon that would have saved him so much trouble. After he drank the juice (although a more accurate term might be guzzled), Tender Care took the dishes away before bringing back a styrofoam cup of water with a pitcher.

“If you need anything else, just let me know. I'll see if I can get it for you.” She offered with a friendly smile, heading back out of the room.

“Did you enjoy your breakfast, Talon?” Fluttershy asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.

“Yes!” replied Talon, nodding as much as he could without disturbing his injuries. “What oats?"

“Well, they're a pretty basic food. They grow pretty fast, so we use them for a lot of things. I think we might need to teach you about manners, though,” said Fluttershy, giggling.

Before Talon could ask what manners were, they were interrupted by Twilight backing into the room. She was closely followed by a large stack of papers with stubby dragon legs.

“Can I put these down now, Twilight?”

“Sure thing, Spike. I need to go over them with Fluttershy anyway.” Turning around, she paused as she took in the sight of Talon pressed as far as he could get into the back of the bed while dripping oatmeal onto the pillow. She turned to see Fluttershy with her mouth hanging open and her hoof held over a food tray.

“What happened to you guys?”

Twilight stayed to help clean up and sort through some of the paperwork for a few hours before leaving. She mentioned something about a CMC sleepover at a castle as she was leaving. Talon just wondered what a CMC was and why they seemed so nervous about it.

After talking a little more and teaching Talon a few new words, Fluttershy noticed the sun setting.

“Well, little one, I need to go. I'll come see you again tomorrow, but I need to feed my animals and you need to go to bed.”

“Go bed?” Talon looked at the surface he was resting on, significantly clearer of oats than it had been earlier.

Fluttershy giggled. “Oh, right. Going to bed is just another way of saying sleeping.”

“Sleep?” he asked. “Where cage?” He couldn't see any cage in this room. Maybe it was in the hallway?

“Huh? Why... Oh! No, you are going to sleep in the bed, alright Talon?”

“Oh...” Talon was unsure about that; he couldn't remember sleeping outside his cage before. It made him a bit nervous, to be honest, but it wasn't like he could move around on his own. Tired, he fell quickly into a dreamless sleep.

Breakfast for the patients consisted of apple slices and toast, but Talon was getting more oats. Tender Care knew they would have to find some way to figure out what else he could eat; the poor thing didn't need any more complications in his treatment. That, and he certainly seemed to enjoy the food here, in spite of its quality. She wondered if he could possibly get any more enthusiastic, in fact.

Knocking lightly on the door frame, Nurse Care stepped slowly into the room, trying to avoid startling Talon. Her eyes shot open when she realized he was already awake. At first he seemed to tense up at the sight of her, but he almost immediately relaxed when his gaze fell upon the tray she held on her back. “Evidently food is the way to get through to him,” she thought as she put the tray down for him.

After a breakfast that caused her to be concerned about whether he had chewed his food enough to actually get any nutrients from it, she changed out the IV bags for the new ones the doctor had ordered and turned to Talon.

“Sweetie, would it be alright if I came in later and helped you clean up a bit?”

Talon pondered this for a moment. “Clean up?” he chirped. “What clean up?”

“Oh. Um... here, let me show you. I take a rag like this,” she started, holding a rag in her hoof. Magic was easier, but she had heard about what had happened at the vet. “Then, I dip it in some water and use it to get rid of the dirt in your coat.” Doing so while she explained, she slowly wiped a bit of dirt off of an uncovered spot on his shoulder. “See?”

“Oh. Yes, alright.” He agreed, drawing out the syllables a bit as he tried out the new word. “Alright good?”

“Yes, it is, dear. Now I've got to go get the dishes from the other patients. You just wait here, I'm sure Miss Fluttershy will be here soon.”

Fluttershy hurried as she cared for her animals. Angel, sensing her urgency, directed some of the other animals who regularly helped in the mornings. Soon enough he watched her leave with a slightly worried look on his face before he turned back to his own breakfast, munching a carrot unhappily.

As she trotted down the road to the hospital, she hurriedly greeted passing ponies. She bought her breakfast from Applejack on the way, as she had neglected to get anything on her way out the door. As she continued on, Pinkie rushed up to greet her, stopping for a moment before deciding to bounce along beside her.

“What's got you in such a rush Fluttershy?” Ask Pinkie as she leaped alongside her friend.

“Oh, I'm just going to the hospital to visit Talon.”

“Can I come with you? I just got a wobbly knee, tail twitch, and eye flutter, and that means somepony needs fun today.”

“I don't know, Pinkie.” Fluttershy frowned. “Talon is awfully shy around ponies. I wouldn't want him to be scared of you, and you can be a bit... exuberant.”

“Oh Fluttershy. I know I can be energetic sometimes, but I don't have to be. Do you think he might like a cupcake, though?” she asked as she pulled a cupcake out of her mane. “I have a few extra that I keep for cheering-up emergencies.”

“I don't now if he can, Pinkie. He's not supposed to eat anything too strong or rich right now. We'll have to ask the doctor first.”

“Aw, he can't even have cupcakes?” Pinkie whined as she put said confection back into her mane. “That's terrible! Now I know I have to come along, just in case there's anything I can do to cheer him up.”

“Alright,” Fluttershy agreed with a soft smile. “Just try not to upset him.”

Chapter 3: Talon Really Likes Hospital Food

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Pinkie and Fluttershy arrived soon, checking in with the secretary before heading back to the room that Talon was staying in. As they got to the doorway, they saw the nurse gently wiping some dirt off of Talon’s coat and feathers.

“Talon?” Called out Fluttershy as she poked her head around the door frame, followed closely by Pinkie poking her head out from above her. “I brought a friend who wanted to see you. Is that alright?”

“Uh...” Talon stared at Pinkie while responding. “Yes?”

Talon's eyes widened when Fluttershy walked in, as Pinkie simply stayed where she was for a few moments before withdrawing and entering from the opposite side of the door. Fluttershy made her way over to one of the chairs at the side of the room, while Pinkie just walked over to stand at the side of the bed instead.

“Hi!” She extended her hooves into the air as Talon scooted to the other side of the bed. “I'm Pinkie Pie. It's nice to meet you, but Fluttershy never told me you were a...” she trailed off before putting her hoof up to her mouth and whispering far too loudly. “Psst, Fluttershy. What is he?”

“We don't know yet, Pinkie. As far as me and Twilight can tell, he's unique.”

“Ooooooh,” responded Pinkie, her eyes widening before she turned back to the bed. “Anyway, what's your name?”

“Name Talon,” he answered, glancing over to where Fluttershy sat placidly.

“Well Talon, I was wondering what you normally do for fun.”

Talon shifted a bit after the nurse finished and left, having gotten quite a bit of his coat to shift from brown to dull brownish-gray. Fluttershy even thought she could see a little blue peeking through his feathers. “What fun?” he asked.

Pinkie's eyes widened dramatically “You don't know what fun is?!” Pinkie cried, losing a little (or a lot) of her volume control and causing Talon to flinch away before Fluttershy placed a calming hoof on Pinkie's shoulder.

“Pinkie, he doesn't know Equestrian very well. You'll have to explain some words to him.”

“Oh, okay,” she replied, turning back to face Talon. “Well, fun is what you enjoy., I guess?”

Talon thought about that for a minute. “Oats?” he said simply, shrugging his shoulders.

“No, silly!” Pinkie chuckled. “Fun is stuff you like doing, not stuff you like eating. I guess you could like eating.”

“Oh. Not do.”

This caused Pinkie's poofy mane to droop suddenly. “You... don't have fun?” she whispered sadly.

“Sorry. Show Stealer say not do.” Talon explained, cringing away more the sadder Pinkie got.

“Huh? Who's Show Stealer?”

“Pinkie... I think that Show Stealer must be the stallion who kept Talon locked up.” Fluttershy whispered into her ear.

“But that's... so sad...” Pinkie trailed off, looking listless. “I've got it!” Suddenly, her mane bounced back as she pounded one hoof on top of the other. “I'll just have to help you have fun. We'll have to start small while you're in the hospital, though.”

Talon looked over at Fluttershy. “Pinkie is... okay?”

“Yes, I think she'll be fine.” Fluttershy assured him while Pinkie trotted out of the room, asking the nurse for some paper and a pen. She came back in, a small smile on her face, brandishing her newly acquired items.

“So, Talon, this game is called dots and boxes...” she explained as she began to put down a small grid of dots.

After he and Pinkie had played dots and boxes, tic-tac-toe, and a few other games, Pinkie and Fluttershy left. Fluttershy promised to visit again that afternoon. He couldn't see why Pinkie had been so insistent on him participating in the games, but had gone along with it. At least it kept him from being bored while he was stuck in the bed, and he really didn't want to make any of the ponies angry.

After they had gone, Nurse Care came and brought in his lunch.

“Well, Talon, we wanted to try and see if we could figure out what food you can eat safely, so we have a few things for you to try. I have a spell crystal that will tell me whether your body can accept them as food, and I want you to know that it won't hurt you at all.” Finishing her explanation, she set the tray down next to him. On it was a smaller bowl of... something lumpy that reminded him of what Show Stealer fed him, a small plate with bits of grass, some green leaves, and some orange discs. Another plate held small bits of fruit of various types, while a dish held some white substance with yet more lumps. Farthest away from him were some flowers and a gemstone.

“We put together some barley beans, wheat grass, lettuce, cabbage, maple leaves, carrot slices, orange, banana, apple, and pear chunks, as well as some cottage cheese, dandelions, daisies, and emeralds,” She listed off as she pointed to each item in turn. “Of course, there are a lot more kinds of foods, so you can try those later. Don't worry about eating everything if you're not hungry, you can always try more later.”

Talon hesitated at the variety before him. He vaguely recalled some of the items from before his time with Stealer. Now he had words to go along with them. Scooting forward slowly, he decided to start with the cottage cheese. Carefully, he picked up the spoon provided and did his best to maneuver it as Fluttershy had shown him. Nurse Care's horn lit up, and a small ding sounded from a stone on her clipboard as it glowed green. Based on her smile, Talon guessed that was a good thing.

After he finished the cheese, he curiously picked up a few bits of the grass. He couldn't remember ever eating grass, but the nurse was looking at him expectantly, so he bit down on a piece. It tasted slightly sweet, but mostly bitter. As her stone let an unpleasant low buzz, the nurses expression fell in a frown. He tried the leaves as well, only about half of which got the good result.

He continued to try each item in turn, when suddenly his attempt to try the flowers was interrupted by a LOUD noise and Nurse Care hurriedly swiping it away with her magic. “Okay, that could have been bad.” After she had gotten both herself and Talon calmed down, she made some notes on her clipboard. “Can't eat wheat grass or maple leaves, and definitely not dandelions or daisies. Would you like to trying the emeralds, dear?”

Talon sniffed at the green rock warily. He really did not want to set off the spell again, and he'd never eaten rocks before. Hesitantly, he picked up one of the smallest ones and bit down on it a bit, keeping his eye on the nurse. Surprisingly, her stone let out several rapid dings, surprising both of them . Nurse Care motioned for him to continue as she released the energy powering the spell, and he slowly chewed the stone. It tasted like the apples, only slightly sour as well.

“Emerald good?” He could eat rocks? He didn't remember ever eating rocks...

“Evidently so.” Nurse Care reaffirmed, marking something down on her notes. “Tonight we'll try a few new things with your dinner. Tomorrow, though, nurse Redheart will be taking care of you. She can't perform the spell, so you'll have to wait until the day after to try anything new.”

Before he even realized he had fallen asleep, Talon woke to Fluttershy smiling at him from his bedside. Her smile subsided a bit as he flinched away, but settled back onto her face as Nurse Care trotted in with a tray across her back. Talon yawned as she set the tray down and encouraged him to try out the new foods. Oak leaves and bluebonnets set off the alarm this time, while trout, meal worms, and eggs received the fanfare. To everypony's surprise, roses appeared to be fine, as well as wheat germ, yogurt, honey, molasses, celery, and mashed potatoes.

“So far it appears that you can't eat most leaves, grass, or flowers. Everything else seems fine, and protein and gemstones seem to be the best for you. I think we can make some more educated guesses the next time we do this.” Nurse Care flipped through the list of foods she had brought, making notes in the margins.

“Protein?” Talon asked. He hadn't eaten anything but what was on the tray.

“Oh, she means things like fish, bugs, and eggs.” Explained Fluttershy, smiling at the thought of how quickly those particular items had disappeared from the tray.

“Well, it's good that we tried this before he managed to accidentally eat something he shouldn't,” commented Doctor Oath as he walked into the room holding Talon's chart. “Now that he's awake and we're figuring out his diet, it should only be a few more days before the fractures in his legs can bear weight. His wing will take longer to heal, but he should still be able to check out by then.” He glanced over the chart toward Fluttershy. “How is the paperwork going? Not too much trouble for the Princess, I hope?”

“Oh, she said that it will take a few weeks to get all the paperwork through to establish Talon as an Equestrian citizen, but that the rest of the paperwork would be very simple.” Murmured Fluttershy. She smiled a bit as she continued.“Knowing Twilight, though, it would probably take anypony else months to get it all done.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” Oath chuckled. “Maybe we should take a moment to explain some of this to our patient, though.”

“Oh my, I'd almost forgot.” Fluttershy suddenly turned to Talon “They say that you can leave the hospital in a few days, but it might take longer for you to get all the way better.”

“Oh,” muttered Talon, his ears drooping. “Okay.”

“What's the matter, Talon?”

“Sorry, is okay! Go Show Stealer...” he trailed off, looking down.

“What? No, of course not. You won't ever have to see that stallion again, Talon!” Burst out Fluttershy.

Talon froze, the gears in his head grinding to a halt. Eventually, however, his thoughts came together enough to give a well-thought out and eloquent response.

“Huh?”

Fluttershy had said something about coming to live at her house. He hadn't really understood the rest very well, and most of it was directed at the doctor anyway.

He had seen a lot of houses but had never been in one. Him and his parents had always camped out; he couldn't remember a time when they weren't traveling.

His main question was why he wasn't being given back to Show after he got better. He had thought that the hospital stay was simply a result of his being too injured for Show to care for. Now that he considered it, though, a lot of the things that the ponies had been doing made more sense now. Had something happened to Show Stealer? Were these ponies his new owners?

Eventually, he decided that there was nothing he could do about it, so he settled in to sleep as the ponies left.

That night, he dreamed of being back in his cage, with a crowd outside of it as Show Stealer announced the merits of his 'exotic beasts'. It had been a while since he had, and he certainly couldn't remember any dream where he knew it was a dream.

Soon, he realized there was one pony among the spectators who looked like a larger, darker version of Twilight.

“Who are you?” he asked hesitantly, then went cross-eyed as he tried to look at his snout. He didn't speak pony that well, so he had no idea how he had said that.

“I am Princess Luna, young one. Who are you, and why have I never before seen your dreams in my lands?” She queried as the crowd dissolved to allow her a walking path.

“I'm Talon. What do you mean, your lands?”

“I watch over the dreams of all beings in Equestria. Yet I have never before seen your dreams,” she explained.

“I think I might not have been in Equestria before.” Talon guessed, lowering his head a bit in apology. “I'm not sure, though. It's rather confusing.”

“What is confusing you, Talon?” Asked Luna as she sat next to him, the bars of the cage melting away to allow her access.

“I don't know where I am, really. One of the ponies said something about a 'Ponyville Hospital', but... I really have no idea where that is.” Slumping to the ground, he continued. “And I don't understand what's going on. I can barely understand the ponies around me, and they don't act like the ponies I'm used to.”

“Well, I know where Ponyville is quite well. It is actually not too far from where I live.” Smiling, she wondered aloud, “what are you used to ponies acting like?”

“Normally they either want to pet me or are afraid of me. Except Show Stealer, he gets mad a lot.” A thought crossed his mind suddenly. “Why can I talk so well? Normally I have a hard time talking with ponies.”

“In the realm of dreams, our minds can understand each other much more easily. Any lack of proficiency with language is made up for by my own knowledge.” Luna's smile turned to a frown. “And I certainly hope you have not been treated so by the ponies in Equestria. I will have to have words with my sister. In any case, it is time for you to awaken, young one. Perhaps I will speak with you at a later time.”

Chapter 4: On the Subject of Griffins

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Talon woke to a slight knock on the doorway to his room. That dream was... weird. He wasn't sure what to make of it at all.

His thoughts were interrupted by a pale pony poking her head around the divide between the room and the hall. “Hi there. I'm Nurse Redheart. You must be Talon, is that right?”

“Yes.” He responded as he hurried to sit up. “Name Talon.”

“My, I'd give anything to see the look on Twilight's face when she hears you talk like that,” the mare muttered to herself, before glancing back up to Talon with a soft smile. “Well, it's nice to meet you. I have your breakfast, some oats and juice with a few baked crickets on the side. From what I hear, you should enjoy them.”

As it turned out, she was correct. She could almost swear the crickets were jumping into his mouth by themselves, he was eating them so fast. After he had finished, Redheart took his tray with a practiced motion before turning back to him on her way out of the room. “I believe Fluttershy wanted to visit with you this morning. We're also going to take a look at your legs today to see if either of your casts can come off yet, but that will be later.”

As the nurse trotted out the doorway, Talon laid his neck down with a contented sigh. He was starting to like this place if for no other reason than that the food was so much better than the food he normally got.

Fluttershy, once finished with her usual morning routine, was surprised when Angel insisted on coming with her. Grabbing something quick for breakfast for each of them, she headed out toward the hospital once more. She hadn't gotten very far, however, before Twilight caught up with her.

Twilight for her part seemed even more flustered than usual. “Fluttershy, I need to come with you to the hospital.”

“Oh that's fine Twilight, I'm sure Talon would be happy to see you again.” Angel simply huffed and crossed his arms, completely at odds with Fluttershy's demeanor.

“No Fluttershy, I mean they won't let anypony in to see Talon unless I'm there.”

Fluttershy stopped, wondering what might have changed to warrant such a thing. “He's not getting worse, is he?”

“No, nothing like that,” Twilight rapidly replied, causing Fluttershy to visibly sag with relief. “No, it's... well, I got a letter from Princess Luna this morning. She's sending some guards to make sure nopony else goes to see Talon unless I vouch for them.”

“Not even us?” Fluttershy whispered, trying to think of why Luna would keep her friends out of the hospital.

Twilight fervently shook her head. “Nonono, that's not what I meant at all. You girls will still be able to see him, it's just that I wanted to see if I could figure out what's going on that prompted this. I have no idea how she found out about Talon or why she reacted by sending guards to isolate him. I have to go and sign for the nurses so they can get back to treating him.”

“They're... not letting the nurses see him?”

“Outside of an emergency, the only ones with clearance to see him already are me, you girls, and his doctor. She didn't even include Spike or Starlight. That reminds me, I have to add them to the approved list. I'm sure Luna knows what she's doing, but why...” Twilight trailed off, walking alongside Fluttershy as she got lost in her own thoughts.

Griffonia, high kingship of the kingdom of the griffons, was generally a pretty nice place to live. Even some non-griffons chose to emigrate there, though not as many as went to Zebrican or Saddle Arabian lands. Other griffon lands had more immigrants, but that was understandable given how most of the other kingships were closer to places where ponies were likely to come from. Griffonia's only immediate neighbors were Griffony to the south and the Drakovich Republic to the East.

They had won their high kingship fairly from kingdoms as large as Flittaly and Poultrand as well as kingdoms as small as Flierland and Griffinstone. Their economy was strong due to their access to many natural and magical resources, and they were well defended between their status as a peninsula and the warriors who valiantly defended their lands.

However, the kingdom of Griffonia had its fair share of problems.

Should you listen to a certain gray griffon named Gunnar, who was currently a high ranking member of the Storm clan and an ambassador to Equestria from Griffonia, all of the problems could be traced back to a few issues. Namely, banditry, assassins, and slave trade. This was one of the reasons he had been chosen as an ambassador; while their culture of war and honor often clashed with Equestrian ideals, he more or less agreed with them on the fact that these matters were a problem.

Tonight, somepony was listening to Gunnar, unfortunately for her. While she agreed that his intentions were good, she did not have her sister's experience with politics, especially in the modern age. That may be why the griffons had scheduled a meeting during her evening court session rather than try to meet with Celestia; they disliked political dishonesty as much as she did.. As flattering as that was, she had hoped that he would not take an entire half-hour block. In a way, her hopes were validated; he did not take a half-hour block. He had instead scheduled an hour-long block, and was currently approaching the 50 minute mark of his impassioned speech.

“And in conclusion,” he stated, causing Luna to mentally perk up, “I believe it would be of benefit to both of our kingdoms if we were to open international negotiations regarding the handling of smuggling and black market deals.” Luna had to admit, his energy had not diminished since he had started.

“I believe that would be quite beneficial, Ambassador Gunnar,” Luna replied. “However, we are nearly out of time for tonight, and we shall need even more time to go over the specifics of any such agreement. If you would see our court clerk, Time Table, he will assist you in finding a time for such a meeting that suits you.” Turning to Time Table himself, she added, “Time, see if you can give him a good spot. Personally, I would like to make it a higher priority, but we seem to be quite busy with those recently.”

“Very well, your highness,” said the stoic unicorn as he levitated out his quill and appointment book. “Sir Gunnar, would you be available to go to a meeting a week from now? The Princesses are having a meeting in Ponyville, and you should be able to see them afterward at Princess Twilight's castle.”

“That works quite well, thank you. Courier Rok, please note that on our own schedule as well.”

Talon was dozing when the doctor came into the room, followed by two strange ponies. The first, a dark gray mare, had cat-like eyes and bat wings. She was wearing a set of dark blue armor, and was sporting a small smirk. Her companion was... sparkly. And green. He kind of hurt to look at, to be honest, but Talon could make out the clear blue armor he wore and unicorn horn on his head.

“First that purple pony with wings and a horn, and now this. How many kinds of ponies are there that I don't know about? Next there'll be some sort of ponies with fins or bug wings or something.” Talon thought, surprised that he was being visited by these ponies instead of Fluttershy.

“I must ask, what prompted the Princesses to send guards here? We've had no problems involving Talon as of yet...” Doctor Oath trailed off. “Aside from his health, obviously.”

“We don't really know why they wants us to guard him, only that they do,” stated the mare, rolling her eyes.

The stallion was quick to follow.“Yeah, doc, we don't really get all the details behind some assignments. You'd be better off asking Captain Shield Burst, he might know more. So where is the little colt, anyhow?”

Doctor Hippocratic Oath valiantly kept his face stoic as he simply pointed to the bed upon which Talon rested. Talon started curl up a bit, uncomfortable with the scrutiny of the guards. His current state left him less than successful in doing so, however. The guards noticed him for the first time since entering the room, although only the mare showed her surprise at their charge who was decidedly not a pony.

Just then, much to Talon's relief, Fluttershy peeked into the room. “Um, I'm not interrupting, am I?” she asked.

“No ma'am, just establishing procedure with the doctor here.” The unicorn stepped a bit closer to her. “One moment ma'am, I need to cast a detection spell for security purposes.” As he said this, his horn lit up with a blue aura, and after a moment died back down. “All right, all good ma'am.”

“Oh, um, why do you need to cast a detection spell?”

“Well, ma'am, it's just a basic security precaution. I don't know what the princesses are expecting, but illusions are apparently within the realm of possibility.”

The crystal pony seemed like he would have continued his explanation, were it not for the appearance of one particularly perturbed purple princess. “Alright, I think that's taken care of. Both nurses, Starlight, Mayor Mare, Spike, and Angel are all certified to visit, and the secretary knows how to get in touch with me if anypony else wants clearance.”

As she entered, both guards bowed, though the night guard's bow was somewhat more reserved. After straightening from his bow, the unicorn stallion addressed Twilight. “Excuse me, your highness, but I still need to-”

“Yes, go ahead and cast the detection spell,” Twilight harrumphed as her patience had already begun to wear thin. “After you're done, please stand in the hall so we can give Talon a little more room. Who is your commanding officer?”

“Our CO is Captain Shield Burst, Princess,” stated the bat-like mare. “He's going to be working the night shift along with Radiant Dawn, so me and Emerald Cut can tell him you wanted to see him before we swap off.”

“Thanks,” Twilight replied, breathing out a sigh of relief. “That would be a big help... eh... what did you say your name was?”

“Day Break, Princess,” She answered. As Twilight's eyebrow shot up, she continued. “My parents had a bit of a sense of irony.”

Chuckling a little, Twilight moved to allow the guards egress before going back into the room herself. She made a mental note to mention Day Break's helpfulness to her captain before sidling into one of the chairs at the side of the room, sitting beside Fluttershy.

“Well, Princess, Fluttershy, he seems to be doing well. He should even be able to get the casts off his legs later today or early tomorrow, though he should avoid doing anything strenuous for a while yet. After he's out of those casts, we'd like to see about doing a deeper scan of his wing.”

“Don't forget that we can start giving him a mite bath.” Nurse Redheart walked into the room as she spoke, glancing over to Talon in his bedraggled state. “He really does need it, even if we won't be able to wash out his wing for another week or so.”

“A week?” shrieked Twilight, the room's other occupants wincing at the sudden sound. “But... Rainbow was only here for a few days, and she completely totaled her wing!”

“True enough, Princess,” agreed the doctor as he readjusted his glasses on his snout. “She, however, was able to be treated with more magic than we really feel comfortable using on Talon.”

“Oh. That makes more sense,” admitted Twilight, looking down and looking sheepish.

After Redheart had made a few checks on Talon and the equipment surrounding him, she and the doctor both left the room to attend to their other duties.

Once they'd left, Twilight didn't waste any time.“So... Talon. Is it alright if I ask you a few questions?” Talon, who had been staring at Angel while the ponies talked, turned slightly toward her and nodded slightly.

“Great! Fluttershy says you remember being from Griffonia. Do you know why you were there?” She leaned forward a bit expectantly, her quill and parchment levitating beside her.

Talon looked down before softly saying “Mom home.”

Seeing his reaction, Twilight's enthusiasm slipped down a few notches. “Oh.” Awkward silence settled over the group for a few moments before she continued. “Are... are you okay talking about your mom, Talon?”

His response was simple “Yes.” His demeanor, however didn't change at all.

“Well...” Twilight looked over to Fluttershy, who seemed as lost as her, and Angel, who was frowning at her. “Alright. Was she... like you?”

Fluttershy looked like she was about to interrupt that line of questioning, but Talon spoke up first. “No, not like. Griffon.”

At that, Twilight and Fluttershy both widened their eyes as their pupils shrank in surprise. Twilight's focus jarred, her quill kept on attempting to write, but only succeeded in tearing straight through the parchment. Twilight didn't even notice this as her mind worked on overdrive to process what she had just heard. Interspecies romance was not too rare, but she'd never even heard of a griffin hybrid before. Of course, she conveyed this in the most well-reasoned, thought-out way she possibly could.

“What?!”

Chapter 5: The Bath He Needed

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“Well,” said Twilight as she finished taking some calming breaths. She had started hyperventilating as she thought about the implications of a griffin hybrid even existing, but soon she was calmed down by Fluttershy. Fluttershy would have tried to help calm her anyway, and her quick response was not just because Talon's response to Twilight's panic was to look like he was ready to try running out of the hospital in spite of his injuries.

“I'm not even sure what to think of this.” She suddenly realized that this might be why the princesses had sent guards for Talon. However they had found out about him, his status as a hybrid would have many of those who found out about it wanting him for their own purposes.

She turned to where Fluttershy was now attempting to calm down Talon, and asked the first thing that came to mind. “What was your father?”

Talon seemed reluctant to answer her, if only to prevent her having another outburst. Fluttershy nodded slightly as he looked to her for reassurance. “Not know. Not griffon, not pony.”

“Oh.” Twilight sagged a little as she processed this. “Maybe I could bring a book of different creatures for you to look through?”

Fluttershy shook her head at Twilight. “Why don't you wait until he's feeling better, Twilight? Then maybe you can ask him some questions while you're teaching him.”

Twilight perked up at the thought. “That's a great idea, Fluttershy! That would be so much more efficient.” A small frown crossed her face. “I kinda hate to wait, though.”

As Nurse Redheart came in then with a tray of lettuce and pear chunks, Twilight realized just how much time everything had taken that morning. “Oh my gosh, it's lunchtime already? I'm sorry everypony, but I have to get back to the castle. Bye, everypony!”

“Bye, Twilight,” Fluttershy called as she disappeared out the hallway at a quick trot. As she turned back to Talon, she was glad to see he had gotten over his nervousness almost as soon as the food had been brought in. “Thank you for bringing him his lunch, Nurse Redheart.”

“I'm happy to, Fluttershy,” she assured, smiling. “To be honest, it's kind of refreshing to see somepony genuinely enjoy the hospital's food this much.”

Doctor Oath was just finishing up scanning Talon's leg as he turned to Fluttershy. “His leg isn't ready to come out of the cast quite yet, unfortunately. He should be fine to get it off tomorrow morning, however.” He glanced over to Talon. “You hear that? Tomorrow you should be able to start walking around again.”

Talon nodded silently.

“Okay Talon, I've gotta go for tonight. Me and Angel will see you tomorrow,” Fluttershy stated as the rabbit in question hopped up onto her withers.

As she meandered toward her cottage home, she was interrupted by the arrival of a cyan pegasus. “Heya 'Shy! How's it hanging?”

“Hi Rainbow. Today has been nice.”

“Yeah?” challenged Rainbow Dash as she flew alongside the path. “Watcha been up to?”

“Oh, well, I was visiting Talon at the hospital.”

“Huh?” Rainbow asked, scratching her mane with a hoof. “Who's Talon?”

“Oh, you haven't met him yet, have you? Talon is a half-griffon who-”

“Hold on a minute,” Dash interrupted. “A half-griffon? How does that even work?”

“Um... we're not really sure, sorry. We just know that his mom was a griffon.”

“Oh, well I guess you can't really – wait, we?”

“Oh, um, me and Twilight have been trying to figure out some stuff about him.”

“Oh, egghead stuff, huh? Count me out. See ya later, 'Shy!” With that Rainbow shot off into the sky, leaving Fluttershy's mane whipping around in her wake.

The next day, Fluttershy arrived as Nurse Care was testing a few more foods for Talon. Broccoli and cucumbers were fine, as well as spinach, rice, and sweet potatoes. The salmon hadn't lasted more than a few seconds. Grapes were evidently poisonous to him, much to Nurse Care's chagrin.

“Well,” she stated as she made some notes on her clipboard. “It seems like we've got a pretty good handle on what he can and can't eat. Still, you will need to keep an eye on him so he can get treated quickly if something does disagree with him.”

“That's good.” Fluttershy glanced over to where Talon lay placidly on the mattress, listening to them both with wide eyes. “Do you know yet whether he can get his cast off?”

“No, but Doc Oath should be here any minute for the scan... Speaking of which, here he is.”

Oath chuckled a bit at that. “Morning, everypony. Let's get this show on the road, alright? I have to do my rounds yet, and it seems like you're just waiting for me.”

After performing the scan, Doctor Oath nodded to himself. “Everything seems to be in order, so let's get these things off. We'll have to apply a new brace to two of his fingers, then Nurse Care can get a mite bath set up.” He tapped his chin for a moment. “Say, Fluttershy, do you think you could get Princess Twilight if she's free? I have an idea that she may be able to help with.”

Fluttershy looked between the doctor and the half-griffon before answering. “Can I wait until his casts are off before I go?”

“Certainly, that's no problem.”

Fluttershy trotted up the path to Twilight's palace. She wondered whether she'd be free for this; Twilight was often busy with various duties ever since she'd become a princess. She knocked softly on the front door, shuffling her hooves as she waited for someone to answer. She hoped that she wasn't imposing on her already busy friend.

The door opened to show Twilight's scaly purple assistant rather than the alicorn herself. “Fluttershy? What's up? You need something?” Spike waved a claw, beckoning her inside. “Come on in. Twilight just finished breakfast.”

As she followed the dragon up the stairs to the living area of the castle, Fluttershy explained the situation with Talon and how the doctor thought Twilight could help.

“Huh. I guess if anypony could do something like that, it'd be Twilight. Twilight!”

“What is it Spike?” Twilight inquired as she walked out of her room. “Oh! Fluttershy, what are you doing here? I thought that you were visiting with Talon this morning.”

“I was, but Doctor Oath had an idea that he needs your help with. He wanted to make it so that Talon's mite bath could clean off his wing without damaging it.”

“What does he need me to do?” Asked Twilight, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

“He wanted to know if you could make a spell that would let water and soap go through the cast without taking it off of Talon's wing,” Fluttershy explained. Twilight's other eyebrow raised at this, and she let out a low whistle.

“Selective permeability? That is quite a complex effect to achieve for a solid object. I think I should be able to put something together. I'll do my best, at least.” She turned to spike where he stood listening. “You wanna come along, Spike?”

“Eh, no thanks, I still have some cleaning to do.”

Twilight and Fluttershy arrived to find that Nurse Care had already gotten Talon into the bath with a generous helping of suds. His wing was wrapped in a thin plastic to keep water from ruining his cast, and Tender Care was currently scrubbing his side lightly. “Glad you could come to help, Princess,” She said, turning to the door. “We want to get as much of a head start on getting rid of these mites as we can so his feathers can grow back in right.”

In the tub, Talon was pawing at the water to make it splash in different directions. He didn't even notice the two mares come into the room as he focused on demolishing a tower of bubbles. When he did notice them standing next to the tub, he twitched violently to one side, thankfully landing on his less injured side.

“Ack!” Talon squeaked as he scrambled to get back up in the slippery tub, sending the three mares into fits of giggles.

Once they'd gotten the giggles out of their systems, Twilight stepped up to the side of the tub and addressed Talon. “Hey, I'm going to cast a spell so Nurse Care can wash your wing without taking off your cast, okay?”

Talon paused before nodding, his eyes still on his own unsteady paws. “Yes, okay.”

With his permission given, Twilight channeled the spell into the cast and splint on his wing. Soon, she leaned back and glanced over to the nurse. “He should be good now.”

At Twilight's cue, she reached over to get as much of the soapy water to run over Talon's wings as she could. She had had to empty the bathwater once already, but had to do so again as dirt ran off his feathers along with the rivulets of water, staining the edges of the tub slightly brown. After she had rinsed him and drained the tub, Talon shook the water off of himself, and right onto three unprepared mares. Laughing at the expressions on the other two's faces, Nurse Care went to get towels for each of them.

After they had gotten dried off, they returned to Talon's room. Twilight had used her magic to help dry Talon off; the warm air from the spell had caused his fur and feathers to puff out. He looked a much healthier shade of gray, and Fluttershy could actually tell that his feathers were varying shades of blue.

He wobbled a little as he walked, but the nurse assured them that he just had to get used to walking again. “We'll need to keep him here for a little longer just in case anything comes up. Doc wanted him to practice walking to make sure his balance wasn't affected by the concussion. Other than that, we should be able to send him off with you by this afternoon.”

After a small lunch, Twilight excused herself to return to the castle. She had a meeting with several nobles tomorrow, she explained, and wanted to help spike prepare the main hall for them. Fluttershy stayed and offered to walk Talon around the hospital while Tender Care attended to her other patients. She felt uncomfortable just having the guards follow silently along, though.

“So, um, where are you two from?”

“Us? I immigrated from Griffony, and green bean here comes from the crystal empire,” Day Break said with a laugh as she leaned her head toward her current partner. “The princesses have been letting some of us sign up for special assignments, so we usually work together on those. It's nice to switch up partners every once in a while, and I get out of my normal patrols.”

“Speak for yourself. I wish we could switch over to this full time. My regular partner is a real piece of...” Emerald trailed off as he realized that inadvertently teaching that word to an impressionable young colt of any species would not go over well with the princesses. “Err... he's... less than pleasant to work with, in any case.” He coughed lightly into his hoof before continuing. “As much of a pain as your humor is sometimes, you're infinitely preferable to Beryl.”

“Aw, you're a real flatterer, you know that?” Day replied, her voice dripping with blatant sarcasm. “What about you? Cloudsdale, right?”

“Oh, um, yes,” answered Fluttershy as she watched Talon canter up and down the hallway they were walking, occasionally stopping to stretch out his paws. “I moved here to Ponyville a while ago, though. I like Cloudsdale, but there are so many more animals here.”

As she turned back to Talon, she noticed he was hopping back and forth rapidly, a very uncomfortable look on his face. “Where... um...”

“Oh, do you need the bathroom? There's one back by your room.” Fluttershy lead him to the door of the Stallion's room. After he darted in, he stuck his head back out, a sheepish look on his face.

“Um... not know...”

“Oh! Oh my, um...” Fluttershy realizing what the problem was, turned to look at Emerald. “Do you think that you could... um... show him how-”

“Oh! Uh, certainly, miss Fluttershy.” Emerald followed Talon into the restroom, cursing his luck at getting what was apparently the most awkward guard assignment in all of Equestria.

Twilight paused in her preparations as she heard a knock at her door. “Coming!”

As she answered the door, she was greeted by a white unicorn in captain's armor. His lavender mane and tail were the same color as his eyes. His cutie mark, a popping shield bubble, made his identity apparent to Twilight.

“Captain Shield Burst! I wasn't expecting you so early. Come on in.”

“Thank you, Princess.” The captain bowed deeply before stepping over the threshold. “Day told me you had some questions regarding our posting here?”

Twilight sat at a low table and gestured for the captain to sit across from her. “Can I offer you anything to eat or drink? Some tea, perhaps?”

“Tea would be lovely, thank you,” Shield responded as he took the offered seat.

“Spike!” Twilight called out. “Could you make some tea? And maybe you should make yourself some cocoa. You can take a break while you wait for me.”

“Alright, just a sec,” he called back from the vicinity of the kitchen. Soon enough he arrived with a tray containing tea, cream, and sugar for each of the ponies, and a mug that contained more marshmallows than cocoa. He plopped down at the table and reached for his cocoa. “Is it okay if I sit with you guys?”

“It's fine with me,” responded Twilight. “You, captain?”

“Of course, Princess. In any case, perhaps we should get to the point?”

“Of course. Captain, I requested your presence here so I could ask whether you were aware of the reason the princesses sent you. I might have an idea, but I don't want to jump to conclusions.”

“Yes, well, all I was told was that Princess Luna happened upon a strange creature in a dream, and that we were to keep quiet about his true nature while we guarded him from anypony with ill intent.”

“Ill intent?” Twilight questioned, arching an eyebrow skeptically.

“Those were the exact words of her highness, actually,” replied Shield sheepishly.

Twilight chuckled a bit at the look on the captain's face. “I can imagine. What I'm wondering is how Luna found out Talon was here so quickly. I didn't even know about his stay here until Fluttershy told me about it. Maybe something in his dream gave it away?”

“I cannot say for certain, your highness. If so, then the dream may have given clues as to possible attackers as well?”

“Maybe. I'm sure if anything does happen, we'll be glad for the precautions.”

“Who would want to hurt some random colt? Or, er... whatever he is. Hatchling? Fledgling?” Spike asked, his brows furrowed as he thought.

“I'm not sure Spike, but I know the princesses know what they're doing. Everything should be fine, so we should quit worrying. Thank you for your time, captain. I'll ask Luna for some more details when we meet next.”

Shield Burst bowed his head momentarily. “It's no bother, your highness. Please, let me know if there is any other way In which I can be of service.”

Chapter 6: Deal With Discord

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After the captain had left, Twilight turned to Spike. “What's our schedule look like for the next few days, Spike?”

Jogging over to a scroll resting nearby, Spike brought it up to face level as Twilight resisted the urge to laugh at his chocolate mustache. “We've got that dinner tomorrow, and the day after that we have a meeting with Princess Luna and Mayor Mare to get ready for nightmare night celebrations. Then, this weekend...” Spike paused as he unrolled the scroll a bit more. “There's your monthly meeting with the other princesses, and some sort of ambassador after that. Then the next thing is a meeting with the Mayor on Monday to get ready for a presentation after school starts.”

“Boy, time sure flies. It seems like just yesterday was the Summer Sun Festival. Which... could have gone better.” Twilight shuddered at the memory this dredged up. “That reminds me, though, could you set aside some time on Tuesday to meet with a changeling representative from Thorax? We wanted to start seeing if we could find some places willing to accept changeling immigrants.”

“Sure thing, Twilight. Not like anypony has moved in recently anyway, so maybe this'll keep Pinkie busy.”

Angel glared at the guards from his perch on Fluttershy's back as they followed her and Talon down the path to her cottage. Fluttershy held a bag in her mouth that contained the anti-mite soap, nutrition supplements, special instructions for Talon's diet, and healing potions. He couldn’t eat most leaves or grass, and she had a schedule to acclimate him to foods rich in fat or sugar. There were some exceptions, but that's why they had made a list for her to take home.

As they approached the cottage, Day Break turned to Fluttershy. “So, we're gonna set up a perimeter around your cottage, ma'am, that way we won't bother you or any of your animals too much.” She turned to Emerald Cut with a smirk. “C'mon, Greenie, let's get to it; you never know when an enemy will need bathroom help.”

Sighing, Emerald trotted after her. “You're never gonna let that go, huh?”

“Not as long as it's still funny!”

“Well, Talon,” began Fluttershy, causing him to jump and tear his attention away from the antics of the retreating guards. He followed her into the cottage as she continued. “Here we are. I have a guest room set up for you, and I got some books from Twilight so you have something to read if you'd like. They're, um, not very advanced. I didn't know whether you knew how to read yet, sorry. Oh! I can introduce you to some of my animal friends after dinner, if you'd like.”

Talon spotted a few birds resting in various places around the cottage, and narrowly avoided stepping on a mouse as it scurried to some unknown destination.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Fluttershy exclaimed suddenly. “Everypony, this is Talon. I'll introduce you properly after we eat, but try not to rub up against him. He has some mites, and we don't want anypony catching those. He'll be fine in a couple of days, though.”

Walking into the kitchen at Fluttershy's behest, Talon noticed the birds watching him warily. “Whatever Mites are, they must be pretty bad,” he thought. Fluttershy made some cucumber sandwiches for their dinner, omitting dill from his until she could find out whether he was allowed to have it. Maybe she could talk to Twilight about a way to find out what foods he could eat safely.

As they ate, she watched his attempts to bite off chunks of the sandwich. It didn't really work; he would bite through the bread just fine, but would inadvertently pull the cucumber slices out entirely. After the third time he got a slice stuck on his sharp teeth, she offered him a fork and knife, showing him how he could cut the sandwich, and by extension the cucumbers, into chunks.

Afterward, he helped clear the plates off of the table. Of course, he merely copied Fluttershy's actions as best he could, but still managed to get his plate into the sink. She thought he would have trouble reaching the sink, but he simply hopped up and plopped his front paws onto the counter next to it.

As they walked back out to the main room, Fluttershy saw Harry lumber into view. Suddenly, it occurred to her that if Talon was afraid of ponies, then surely he must be... happily trotting up to Harry? Fluttershy froze,. He was afraid of ponies, but not bears?

As Harry and Talon exchanged a few grunts, Fluttershy turned to Talon. “You can talk with animals?”

“Not talk lot.” Talon looked away, his ears folded back.

“How did you learn to talk to animals at all? I've only met a few other ponies who can do that.”

Talon's look of shame faded as he stared at the floor. “Animals cages, with Show Stealer.” Suddenly, he looked up. “Where Show Stealer animals?”

“Oh, well, they went to Canterlot so somepony could take care of them. I suppose I could ask Twilight if she can find out how they're doing, if you'd like.” Talon nodded, a small smile on his muzzle. “Well, then you can come with me on Saturday. Twilight wanted us there for some sort of meeting anyway, and we still need to figure out what we're doing about lessons for you.”

Talon cheered up at the prospect as he followed Fluttershy up towards a different room.

“Here, this will be your room while you're here,” explained Fluttershy as she pushed open the door to her guest room. “Well, sometimes Discord stays here, but then it'll be more like a sleepover.” She looked over to Talon, who had a blank look on his face, and realized that her entire previous sentence had completely gone over his head. “Anyway, it's getting pretty late, so we should get to bed. I actually set you up a spot over in the corner with a lot of pillows if you'd like that better.” She gestured over to the corner with a hoof, where a basket full of pillows was tucked against the wall. “I thought it might feel more familiar than a bed.”

Talon looked around the room as he meandered over to the spot Fluttershy had mentioned. There was a bed that looked a lot fancier than the one in the hospital set up by the window. The room also had a set of shelves with rows of books, and a set of drawers along one wall. He lay down among the pillows in the basket, briefly adjusting himself to get more comfortable.

“The, um, bathroom is down the hall if you need it tonight, alright?” After nodded to her, Fluttershy smiled and bid him goodnight.

Luna sat with Celestia in the royal dining hall as they shared a breakfast of blackberry crepes. “So,” Celestia began, “Any news on that new arrival, sister?”

“No, though that is fortunate in this case. Last night his dreams were unusual, but benign.”

“Unusual?” Celestia wondered. “More so than usual dreams, Lulu?”

“Well, Tia,” replied Luna, jabbing back at the nickname, “Many dreams are unusual. An empty hallway filled to knee level with cottage cheese and various fruits qualifies as unusually unusual, however. The fruit even swam about like fish would.”

“Huh,” interjected the older alicorn, “that does sound quite odd. Like you said, however, it does at least seem rather benign.” Sipping at her tea, Celestia continued. “If what you said is true, I would like to meet this Talon at some point. Perhaps while we are in Ponyville this weekend I could speak with him.”

“Perhaps, sister. I would hope to see him after he became more coherent. From what he said in that first dream, he does not speak Equestrian very well.”

“Maybe so. I would still like to meet him, if for no other reason than to assess his mental state more accurately myself. We have that trial coming up for the one who treated him so poorly, and I'd like all the ammunition I can get to ensure that he is brought to Justice. It would certainly be more enjoyable than coming back here early to listen to petitioners for the new building code in the market district.”

“Fair enough, but we already have a dozen rabbits, three weasels, a dog, and five birds as 'ammunition'” Luna argued, taking a sip of her coffee before continuing. “Besides, I'm more worried about this Griffonian ambassador.”

“I thought you said he was agreeable when you met.” Stated Celestia , one eyebrow slightly raised in a questioning stare.

“Yes,but that's not why I'm worried. I'm more worried about my ears falling off from overuse.” Luna smirked over her coffee as her sister very nearly choked on her tea.

“Victory is sweet,” thought the princess of the night.

After she woke him up and he had breakfast, Talon watched intently as Fluttershy went through the routine of caring for her animals. He stayed away from them for now, heeding the warning from Fluttershy that he might give some of the animals mites.

“After you've taken the treatment for the mites, you can help me take care of the animals if you want,” Fluttershy said after she had filled a feeding tray for the birds who were soon to migrate. “You seem to get along with them pretty well.”

As she finished up, she turned to Talon. “Was there anything you wanted to do today, Talon?”

Talon looked over from where he was examining the feeding area for some rabbits. “Uh... not know. What Fluttershy do?”

“Oh, well, normally I have tea with Discord on Fridays,” Fluttershy suddenly went wide-eyed. “Oh my gosh, our last tea was moved to Tuesday, and I forgot all about today's! I need to put on some water to get ready! Oh dear...”

As Fluttershy started to rush off into the kitchen, she bounced off of something, landing with a soft 'oof'. Talon watched, frozen, as part of the room shifted. The moving piece of the room, however, soon turned out to be a strange, tall creature who was colored to blend in with the room unnaturally well.

“Sorry about that, Fluttershy, but you know how I like to make an entrance.” The strange creature's coloring ran off of it until it was a chaotic mess of browns, grays, and otherwise. “No harm, no foul, right?” he asked as he picked Fluttershy up, dusting her off and pulling a duck out of her hair before tossing it aside.

As Talon watched the events unfolding before him. All he could do was think to himself, “Where did the duck come from?”

“And, I was in such a rush to meet your little guest, I just lost track of myself.” The strange being's body started to walk into the kitchen as his head floated in midair. “You see, there I go again. Get back here, you!” he exclaimed as his beard and eyebrows shot out to wrap around the wandering body's torso. The arms on the body made a motion as if reeling something in, and the body was towed back into place.

Fluttershy looked to see Talon was more confused than frightened, much to her relief. “Uh... what is?”

“Oh, how rude of me.” He walked out of her back door and down her stairs to stand next to Talon. “I'm Discord, embodiment of chaos, friend of Fluttershy, former villain and part-time vending machine impersonator. It's nice to meet you...”

“Uh, Talon,” he responded slowly, staring at the paw that Discord had extended towards him.

“Um, Talon?” Interrupted Fluttershy. “He's offering a hoofshake. You grab each others' paws and move them up and down. It's a way of saying hello.”

As Talon took the offered paw and shook it. As they finished, it came straight off of Discord's arm. Discord turned to Fluttershy, sans one paw, and shook his head. “It just sounds silly when you put it like that, Fluttershy.” Talon hobbled over on three paws, keeping his balance as best he was able.

“Uh... Discord?” he asked softly as he reached them. He reached out his occupied paw towards the draconequus. “Is you.”

“I suppose it is. But we can't have you drinking tea while you're talking like that. Here,” Discord responded, snapping the fingers on his tail.

Discord, Fluttershy, and Talon were suddenly seated around her coffee table, which was covered in a lacy tablecloth. Each of them wore an immaculate tuxedo, top hats and monocles. Each of them also had a comically out-of-place mustache.

“I say, good sir, this is quite odd.” Talon went cross-eyed looking at his muzzle. “Well, this is quite unexpected. Although involuntary, this change could be convenient for some situations, at least in the foreseeable future.”

Fluttershy spoke up next with an exaggerated Canterlot accent“Truly, Talon, I prefer your normal lack of loquaciousness. While this facilitates communication and understanding, I feel that it is disconcerting to speak in such ridiculously exaggerated vocabulary.” Fluttershy looked sheepishly at the draconequus. “Dearest Discord, would you mind terribly allowing us to return to our previous mannerisms?”

Discord looked over as he sat sipping his tea. “Very well, Fluttershy, if it shall please you then I shall refrain from what would otherwise be an enjoyable session of facetiousness.” Discord's tail snapped once again, and the tuxedos vanished without a trace.

“Uhh, Discord?” Fluttershy asked, gazing down at the mustache still on Talon's face.

“Oh, let me have a little fun, Fluttershy,” Discord answered, a mustache still adorning his own face. “Besides, he doesn't mind, see?”

“Huh?” Talon queried. Fluttershy looked over to see that Talon wasn't bothered by the mustache at all. On the contrary, he was trying to reach it with his tongue, which froze in place before he slowly withdrew it as the others watched him.

Fluttershy shrugged and returned to her tea. It wasn't that big of a deal. “Hey Discord?” Fluttershy asked as an idea formed in her mind. “While you're helping him with his personal grooming, would you mind doing me a favor?”

“Sure, what do you need?” asked Discord as he watched the mustache lift off of Talon's face and run away, using its ends as tiny legs as it skittered away.

Chapter 7: Crusaders and Princesses

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Discord had grumbled about being used as “a glorified dry-cleaning service”, but had ended up doing as Fluttershy asked. After Discord had cleaned the mites out of Talon's coat he had mentioned something about bothering a sun-butt. Talon spent the rest of the morning practicing reading. He remembered the letters, but hadn't gotten to use them in a long time, so it was slow going. While the books Fluttershy had gotten were easy to read, he still ran into a lot of words he didn't recognize.

After they had lunch, Fluttershy offered to introduce him to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “It's important that you get to know some foals around your age, and they really are quite nice. Besides, they're going to Sugarcube Corner today, and maybe we can get you something from there.”

The store was in a lull as they entered, guards in tow, and the fillies were easy enough to spot at their usual table. “Hey girls, I wanted to introduce you to my new friend. His name is Talon.” She nudged Talon towards the table lightly.

“Uh... hello?”

“Hey there!” greeted one of the fillies. “I'm Apple Bloom.” She gestured to the two sitting next to her with a hoof. “And this here's Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. We're THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!” The others joined for the last part of her introduction, shouting at the top of their lungs in excitement. “We've got our cutie marks, but now we... wait a minute, where'd he go?”

Fluttershy glanced to where Talon had been moments ago to see only a few stray downy feathers.

“Oh dear...”

After a short yet frantic search, they went to enlist Pinkie to help find Talon.

“Whaddaya mean find him? He's right there.” Pinkie pointed her hoof towards a patch of ceiling. Talon was perched on one of the rafters, the beam held in a death grip. He looked toward them as he heard his name before tightening his grip and closing his eyes.

Fluttershy rushed to stand beneath him. “Oh my, oh dear, umm...” As she shuffled her hooves, the door opened and a familiar voice drifted in.

“Heya, Pinks, you ready to... uh...” Rainbow trailed off as she noticed the cluster of ponies standing to one side of the room. “What's going on in here?” Rainbow trotted over to look up where the rest of the ponies had fixated their eyes on the shivering Talon. “Oh, come on! Isn't anypony going to get it down?” Both guards looked at each other awkwardly.

“Well, I um...”

“Oh, hi, Fluttershy. Hold on a sec.” Rainbow took off, returning a moment later with a shaking Talon in her hooves. “Here you go. Hey, wait a minute...” Rainbow looked more closely at what she had just carried down. “What the heck is this thing?”

Talon looked up from his position in Rainbow Dash's hooves, still quivering slightly. “Hi.”

“Gah!” Rainbow dropped Talon, who let out a short 'oof' when he hit the ground. “It can talk?”

Fluttershy walked over to help Talon up, checking him over for any new injuries.“Um, Rainbow, this is, um, Talon.”

“Wait, this is Talon?” Rainbow looked him over critically for a moment. “He's kinda not what I expected. How did he even get up there?” She looked over to Fluttershy, indicating the cast and splint holding his win closed. “He obviously can't fly right now.”

“Umm...” The two pegasi turned to look toward Talon as he spoke up. “Talon jump.”

“What the hay? You jumped up there?!” Rainbow's eyes widened as it sunk in. “How did you do that? Why would you do that?”

“Um...” Talon shuffled his paws for a moment before muttering his answer. “Loud.”

The Crusaders looked away at that, and Rainbow could guess pretty easily what had happened. Scootaloo was the first to speak up. “I'm, uh... glad you're okay.”

“Yeah,” Apple Bloom said sedately. “We're real sorry fer scaring ya. It's,uh... it's nice to meet ya.”

After his initial scare, Talon was reluctant to sit with the three fillies. He reluctantly agreed after they promised to try and avoid shouting. While they chatted with each other, Talon mostly sat and listened. As the three ate their choice of pastry, Pinkie brought out a tray with a single small muffin on it.

“Here ya go, one fresh muffin from your auntie Pinkie. And Fluttershy, there is no way he's older than me!” Pinkie glared at Fluttershy for a moment before her smile reappeared. “Plus, I made this special using stuff I know he can eat, and some moonstones!”

Talon picked up the muffin and took a bite of it. That bite turned out to be the entire muffin, which was why his enthusiastic praise of Pinkie baking came out as “Umph!” as well as a generous spray of crumbs.

“I, uh, might need to teach him some manners...” Fluttershy admitted, smiling sheepishly toward Pinkie.

“That's okay.” Pinkie's tongue snaked out, capturing the stray crumbs off of her face in one sweep.

“So,” began Rainbow, “How did he jump that high?”

“I don't know,” Fluttershy admitted. “Maybe it has something one of his parents could do?”

Rainbow watched as the crusaders laughed at a comment Talon made. “I dunno, not even griffons jump that high without using their wings. You think Twilight might be able to cast some spell or something to figure it out? It's kinda bugging me.”

“We can ask her when we see her tomorrow, if you'd like.”

Fluttershy woke up the next morning with a slow stretch. That morning, she was planning on letting Talon help feed some of the animals. She hoped he'd help with the rabbits so they could get more familiar with him.

Her train of thought was interrupted by a small whimpering noise coming from under her bed. Puzzled, she looked down to find Talon curled up with a blanket in the small space underneath.

“What are you doing down there, Talon?”

“Dream bad. Fluttershy good.”

“Oh, dear. Talon, if you have any more bad dreams, feel free to wake me up if you need to.” Fluttershy extended one wing and used it to pull Talon to her side. She kept her wing tucked tightly around him until he stopped shaking. “How long have you been awake?”

“Not long.”

“Are you feeling a little better now?”

Talon leaned slightly into Fluttershy's side. “Yes, good.”

“Well then, why don't we go feed the animals. If you'd like to, that is.”

As Fluttershy closed her front door, Talon waited by the bridge that spanned the stream.

“Today, I'm meeting with Rarity for a spa day. You can get cleaned up while we do. You want to look your best for the Princesses, after all.”

“What spa?” Talon looked around as they walked, his eyes curious.

“A spa is a place ponies go to get special baths and do things to make themselves look nice.”

“Okay.” Talon smiled for a moment before frowning slightly. “What is princess?”

“Oh, well, a princess is somepony who is in charge of someplace. Equestria has four princesses. You've already met Twilight, but there's also Cadence, Celestia, and Luna.”

Talon froze for a moment before trotting to catch up “Luna princess?”

“Oh, have you met Princess Luna?”

“Dream Luna. Talk good.”

“Oh, that makes sense. Luna helps watch over dreams.” Fluttershy ushered Talon in the door of the spa as they arrived.

Lotus sat at the front desk, glancing up as they entered. “Hey there Fluttershy! Here for your appointment?”

“Yes, but can we add Talon to our reservation? He's coming with me to meet with the princesses later. He just needs some basic styling.”

“Nonsense!” Rarity swept into the room, followed closely by Sweetie Belle. “If any of your friends are meeting with the princesses, they simply must look as fabulous as possible!”

Sweetie rolled her eyes in exasperation before turning towards the others. “Hi! Nice to see you again, Talon. Rarity said I could come with you guys today.”

“Oh, is this that colt you met the other day, Sweetie?” Rarity examined him more closely. “He'll be a challenge, but I'm sure Lotus and Aloe can handle it. Right girls?”

“Oh, absolutely, Rarity. We have some treatments that we use for griffons on occasion that should do wonders for him.”

With a bit of encouragement from Fluttershy, Talon followed the others to a large tub situated in the middle of one wing of the building. Fluttershy was sure to carefully wrap his wing to prevent the cast from getting wet, and they all settled into the soothingly warm herbal bath.

As Talon soaked, he failed to notice Sweetie's slow approach until it was too late, letting out a surprised squeak as she dunked him quickly before paddling away.

Sweetie giggled as she watched Talon splutter. “Sweetie! It is not ladylike to play around in the spa,” Rarity admonished. Sweetie just shrugged and splashed her sister in return.

“Oh, that is it, Sweetie!” Rarity giggled as she used her magic to splash Sweetie from behind. Fluttershy and Talon joined in with them, Fluttershy using her wings to make tiny splashes while Talon flailed more than splashed.

As the splashing continued, Fluttershy noticed that Talon was starting to look green. As she was about to ask if he felt alright, she was preemptively answered by the sound of Talon retching over the side of the tub.

After they had helped clean up the mess on the spa's floor, which was thankfully tile, Fluttershy turned to Aloe. “I wonder why Talon got sick.” She watched as Lotus led Talon away so she could give his coat a good scrubbing and brushing.

“I honestly don't know, dear. The catnip bath you picked out usually helps settle upset stomach.”

Fluttershy's eyes widened as she put a hoof over her mouth. “Oh my. I wonder whether Talon swallowed some of the water by accident.”

Aloe turned to Fluttershy, one eyebrow raised slightly. “I can see how that would make him a little queasy, but not how it would make him this sick.”

“He can't eat certain herbs or flowers. They did some kind of test at the hospital, and some things we eat all the time are poisonous to him.”

A look of horror took over Aloe's face. “Poison?! Is he going to be alright?”

“Well, when he threw up he should have gotten most of it out of his system. He should be fine after a while. I'll keep an eye on him, though, just to make sure.”

After Talon getting sick, the rest of spa day went by with no problems. Each of them walked out more or less relaxed, with a glossy sheen to their coats, freshly manicured hooves, claws, and horns, and perfectly preened feathers.

Rarity and Fluttershy walked along in the front of their procession. “You know, darling, now that his feathers have been cleaned and preened, I can't help but notice that his feathers have a particularly lovely blue color to them. Do you think he'd mind letting me have a few?”

“I don't know, Rarity. He's still missing most of his primaries from when Show Stealer clipped them. Taking some of his feathers might remind him of that.”

Rarity glanced back to where Talon and Sweetie were doing their best to keep up with the adults. “Oh. Perhaps when he molts?”

Fluttershy looked back to Talon as well. “Maybe. You'd have to ask him.”

“Well, of course I'd ask him. What kind of barbaric pony would simply take somepony's feathers?” Rarity frowned deeply as they made their way into a cafe for lunch.

When the waitress came by, Fluttershy ordered plain toast and apples for Talon to help settle his stomach. She also made sure that he used his utensils; he had just gotten clean, after all.

Talon glanced around as they passed through the busy market, doing his best to stay close to Fluttershy as his eyes darted back and forth. The market was the fastest way to get to Twilight's castle, but the Saturday crowd was out in full swing. The last thing she wanted was for him to get scared and run off while they were outside, so she was glad that he was staying close. As they made it to the last stretch of path going to the castle, she smiled down at Talon.

“You know, I still get nervous in big crowds, too.” Talon nodded while keeping his eyes on the ground as they approached the door.

One knock was all it took before Spike opened the door. “Hey guys! We're still waiting for Rainbow and Pinkie before we can get started, but come on in.” Leaning around Fluttershy, his face took on a surprised expression. “Oh, hey, you must be Talon! Twilight told me about you.”

“Is Talon,” Talon affirmed before looking up at Spike. “Who?”

“Oh, I'm Spike, Twilight's number one assistant.” Spike puffed out his chest as he stepped aside to let the group in. Talon looked between him and the ponies a few times before standing up on his hind legs. Alarmed, Fluttershy, Rarity, and both guards rushed to catch Talon before they realized that he wasn't falling over.

“You can walk like me? Sweet!”

Talon walked inside a few feet before lowering himself back to the ground. “Show Stealer make walk.” A frown tugged at the corner of his mouth as he thought about that.

“Well, darlings,” Rarity began, hoping to salvage the good mood. “Let's get inside, shall we? No sense making the Princesses wait for us.”

As they stepped into the main hall, Day and Emerald taking up posts beside the entryway, they spotted Applejack chatting with Starlight, Cadence, and Shining Armor. Twilight was next to Apple Bloom, talking animatedly with Celestia, while Discord chatted with Luna, a smirk betraying her otherwise long-suffering expression. Several turned to see who had entered before returning to their conversations. Luna, however, came over after spotting them, her eyes wide as she approached.

“Fluttershy, I did not think you would be bringing Talon to the summit.” Luna turned to Talon. “It is nice to see you again, young one. How have you been?”

“Luna! Good.” Talon smiled up at her as she approached.

Rarity looked down at him. “My, you must have made a good impression, Princess. When did you two meet? If I'd known you were in town, I'd have invited you over.”

“Oh, I didn't come to Ponyville. I met Talon in a dream of his. In fact, It was due to that dream that I ordered your guards here.” Luna tilted her head to indicate the guards standing by the door. “I trust they have been helpful?”

Fluttershy turned to follow Luna's gaze. “Oh, yes. Emerald Cut even helped me with one of my animals.”

Luna looked shocked at that. “Really? I've never known Emerald to be very good with animals.”

“Well, he, um, actually distracted a badger for me by, um, letting it chew on his leg,” Fluttershy explained softly. “Talon was very helpful this morning as well.”

“Not in the same way, I hope?” Luna smirked.

“Oh no, he just fed the rabbits.”

“Well,” Luna sighed as Rainbow and Pinkie made their way into the hall. “We may as well see about getting this meeting started. I would like to have a break before I meet with that ambassador.”

As they walked up to the others to start the discussion, Talon noticed Celestia and had a strange look on his face as he glanced between her and Discord.

“What is the matter, little one? You need not be anxious around my sister. She is one of the kindest and most compassionate ponies I know.”

“Not afraid.” Talon still had that same look on his face as he glanced between Celestia and Discord.

“No? Did you perhaps have a question for her?”

“Yes,” Talon stated. He looked over to Discord as he pointed to the cutie mark on Celestia's flank. “Is Sun Butt?”

Luna didn't think she had seen Discord laugh quite that hard since he had been reformed.

Chapter 8: Bad News

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Celestia's mouth hung half-open, one eye twitching a she blushed slightly. What had he called her?

At the sight of Celestia's expression, Talon's ears fell flat, his eyes wide. He cringed and shrunk in on himself, eyeing the door. “Sorry!”

Celestia took a moment to collect herself, trying to ignore Discord's continued laughter in the background. Still wearing a look of righteous indignation, Celestia addressed the quivering mass before her. “Why did you call me that?”

“D-Discord say S-s-sun Butt. See s-sun. Not you?”

With a sigh, Celestia turned to Discord. “It appears you are a terrible influence. I'll discuss this with you later.” Turning back to Talon, her eyes softened. “Discord has referred to me as such before. However, I am not fond of the name, so I would ask that you refrain from using it. You need not worry, however; no matter how angry I may become, I would not resort to violence unless there were no other recourse”

Talon glanced over toward Fluttershy. She nodded to him reassuringly, and he gulped slowly.

“O-okay.”

As Talon made his way over to where Fluttershy was now talking to Cadence, he was stopped short by Applejack.

“Well hey there! I hear you're friends with my sis Apple Bloom?”

“Uh... yes?”

“Well my name's Applejack. It's nice to meet ya!” Applejack quickly extended her hoof towards him. He flinched at first, but then remembered that ponies used hoofshakes to say hello. He extended his claw and grasped her hoof tentatively.

He immediately felt himself rise up off of the ground and bounce around as Applejack' enthusiastic hoofshake met with little resistance.

“AAAAaaaAAAaaaAAAaaaAAAaaah!” As the hoofshake ended, Talon flopped down onto the floor, feeling dizzy and disoriented.

“Ehm...” Applejack glanced around to see who else had seen his strange reaction. “You, uh, might need to work on your hoofshake.”

Apple Bloom, meanwhile, rushed over to Talon, helping him up. “Ohmigosh, are ya alright?”

Talon stood slowly, his legs spread out underneath him, and shook his head. “Good?”

Sweetie Belle and Spike ambled over as the adult ponies filtered out of the room to go to the meeting. “Why are you so worried, Apple Bloom?” wondered Spike. “He'll be fine.”

“Ooooh, maybe she has a crush on him!” giggled Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom felt herself blush as Talon looked between them, confused.

“I do not! I was just worried, is all.” Apple Bloom shifted her gaze to the side. “'Sides, my sis was the one who got him all mixed up.”

“Suuuuuuure.” Sweetie Belle smirked at Apple Bloom while Spike rolled his eyes at their antics.

“Well, what about you and that one colt, Button something or other?” Apple Bloom accused. It was now Sweetie's turn to feel the heat in her cheeks.

“I don't have a crush on Button!” yelped Sweetie. “Besides, at least I know him. We just met Talon yesterday!”

“All you ever do with Button is play games! 'Sides, he-”

“Uhh...” Talon interrupted. “What is 'crush'?” Both fillies silently blushed at that, while Spike just snickered behind a claw.

“Well,” Spike explained, “A crush is when you really, really li-”

Spike was cut off as both fillies covered his mouth while Talon looked on in puzzlement.

“Aaaanyway,” Apple Bloom said, desperate to change the subject. “What was up with Princess Celestia? I've never seen her that mad, except at bad guys.”

Talon looked down, scuffing a paw over the crystal floor of the castle. “Uh... Talon ask Celestia is Sun Butt.” At the looks of shock the others had, he continued. “Discord say sun butt! Talon not know bad!”

“Oh, that explains it. She doesn't like Discord much.” Spike shrugged. “Maybe that's why she doesn't like that name?”

“Well how would you like it if somepony called ya 'pointy lizard'?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Yeah, I guess I can see your point. I certainly wouldn't call you guys 'Apple Butt' or 'Music Butt'.”

Apple Bloom turned to Talon as Sweetie and Spike argued about how he could even suggest her butt was musical. “Princess Celestia really is pretty nice, you know. You should give her another chance.”

“Okay...” Apple Bloom looked to see that he was staring at the floor again.

“Hey, look at me,” she instructed as she lifted his chin up. “I promise ya she won't hold no misunderstanding against ya.”

“What is promise?”

“It's when ya tell somepony that they can trust what you're saying, and they won't go back on it.” She stared him straight in the eyes. “Ya trust me, right?”

Apple Bloom kept her gaze leveled at Talon. “U-uh, yes, Talon t-trust Apple Bloom.”

“Aaaaaaw,” cooed Sweetie as Spike pretended to gag. “You two are just so cute together!”

Apple Bloom suddenly backed away a few steps as she blushed furiously. “We're not together, Sweetie!”

Talon simply looked between the others in confusion.

“Yep,” thought Emerald Cut as Day break smiled at the foals' antics. “Most awkward guard post ever.”

After the meeting and subsequent dinner, the princesses saw the others off. Talon hesitated at the door before rushing over and nuzzling Luna's leg as he said goodbye. He glanced over toward Celestia as well before lowering his gaze to the floor.

“It's alright, Talon, I understand if I've upset you.” Celestia glanced over to Luna. “In fact, it's nice to see somepony so affectionate toward my sister.”

Talon glanced up at her for a moment, then shuffled his paws. Suddenly, he rushed over and hugged her leg. “Not bad!”

As Talon dashed to catch up with the others, Celestia heard Luna giggling at her side. “I don't think I've seen you so flustered in quite some time, sister. Perhaps you should yell at more foals.”

Celestia huffed and turned away. “He's not a pony, so technically, he isn't a foal.” Luna just laughed harder as Twilight and Cadence returned from seeing off the others.

Gunnar Flew beside his courier and guards, eager to meet with the princesses. He had heard from the weekly messenger that sentiments against Equestria were rising. He hoped that he could negotiate terms to bring back to the embassy that would allay some of those feelings, but he had the feeling it wouldn't be very easy.

While he knew the ponies could help deal with international criminals, those were few and far between. Most of the average griffons were more concerned with either avoiding the ponies or outright trying to take advantage of them. Many of them didn't even consider that the ponies themselves were more than capable of retaliation. His mother had been on the receiving end of that, and she hadn't even done anything to them. How much worse would things get if they outright antagonized Equestria?

As Ponyville came into view, his sharp eyes picked out a group of ponies leaving the local princess's castle. Likely they were locals with some problem or other. It would at least explain why these ponies had brought foals with them.

As he descended to the roof's landing area, the princesses came out to greet him. They looked rather amused, except for Celestia herself, who seemed flustered, if that was even possible with her.

Luna chuckled behind her hoof. “Dearest sister, I have not seen you lose your composure like that in quite some time.”

Gunnar covered his chest with a closed claw, the traditional greeting given to griffon royalty.

“Your highnesses, I hate to ruin your cheerful moods, but I bring unfortunate news.”

“I admit, your highnesses, that we may already be too late. Griffonia's messengers take some time to arrive here.” Gunnar looked around the table. “Even in their most recent missive, our King's advisers have made ludicrous requests for concessions in our foreign relations. I fear they may have let our recent acquiring of the high Kingship go to their heads.”

“This is indeed grave news, ambassador.” Celestia looked to her fellow princesses with sadness. “While we desire peace between our people, we cannot accept these... demands. To do so would doom or cripple our little ponies' livelihoods, if not outright endangering them.”

“Sister,” Luna began, “perhaps there are other ways we could show our goodwill to the griffons? If we started a cultural exchange, they may be able to become more familiar with our subjects.”

“No, that won't work.” Gunnar looked sadly toward his claws resting on the tablecloth. “Most griffons would see such a move as either attempts to subvert our own culture, or as a handout. There is a reason griffons are often known for stubbornness and pride.”

“Perhaps Gunnar could help us to work out a solution?” Twilight suggested. “He would have a better idea of what would or wouldn't work to placate the Griffonians.”

Celestia nodded. “An excellent suggestion, Twilight. Would you be willing to help us, Ambassador Gunnar? We would need to set up another meeting to provide us with more time to do so, but you would be free to stay here in Ponyville until we come up with some sort of solution.”

“That would probably be best, your highness.” Gunnar bobbed his head before he continued. “I will do what I can to help.”

“In that case, let us meet here tomorrow after lunch.”

Show Stealer huffed in annoyance as the guard brought him yet another substandard meal. “I shouldn't be here,” he thought. “They're just dumb animals.”

Frustration flowed through him as he looked at his food with distaste. “If they want me to eat this slop, the least they could do is take of the magic suppressor so I could eat properly.” Sighing, he forced himself to eat the bread that had been provided. He refused to make the effort he would need to eat the soup without his magic. He wasn't quite that hungry yet, and would not make a fool of himself for these self-righteous ponies. He only had a few more days before the trial, so he could wait.

As he leveled a sullen stare at the dull brown soup, he heard a shout followed by a loud thump. Warily, he looked down the hallway of the jailhouse. He couldn't see into the other room, of course, but that didn't stop him from pressing his face to the bars of his cell in an attempt to glimpse what was happening.

“You'll hurt yourself if you try too hard, you know.”

Show jumped at the sibilant voice that came from the hall. He hadn't seen or heard the approach of the cloaked figure at all. He watched tensely as the hood was pulled back to reveal the grinning face of a light tan griffin. “What do you want?” Show hissed at the newcomer.

“Now, now, is that any way to address your emancipator?” Show perked up instantly and the griffin chuckled. “Yes, I thought that might change your tune.”

“Why would you free me? What do you want?”

“So you are capable of being perceptive. Good.” The mystery griffon turned a key in the cell door, allowing Show Stealer to step out into the hall. “You have a few minutes before the guards awaken. I simply want you to go to Ponyville.”

“What's the catch?” asked Show as he gathered his belongings from the other room.

“Well, the princesses are in Ponyville at the moment. I want you to cause as many problems for them as you can.”

“Are you crazy? Why would I draw attention to myself like that?”

The griffon grinned again, a murderous glint in her eyes. “Well, if you don't want to, an assassination of a politically charged prisoner will serve a similar purpose.” Her grin seemed to grow even larger as she stared at Show. “Where would I find somepony who fit that description?”

“Alright, I'll do it! Yeesh.”

“Good. Now get going, pony.”

As they passed the bridge over the stream, Fluttershy turned to Talon. “So, did you have a good time today?”

“Uh, yes, good.”

“Well, that's good.” Fluttershy opened the door and followed Talon inside. “I know there were a few unpleasant things that happened today, but I'm glad you didn't let them ruin the day for you.” Fluttershy paused by the base of the stairs. “ I still need to feed the animals tonight, Talon, but you should get to bed early. Tomorrow we're going to Twilight's for breakfast, and then she wants to set up some lessons and things with you.”

Talon heard the sounds of the animals running around downstairs as he settled into his basket nest. The sun was just setting, and the last dregs of light filtered in through the window. The light combined with anticipation made him restless, trying to find some way to sit comfortably without disturbing his wing as he drifted off.

Talon was woken just as the sun was peeking up above the horizon as Fluttershy nudged him. “Hey Talon, it's time to get ready and go to Twilight's.” After quickly helping him clean up, Fluttershy walked him through town to Twilight's Castle.

Talon froze up in the marketplace, however, so Fluttershy turned to see what he was looking at. The market had barely started to set up this early, only a few vendors trying to woo the early crowd with their wares. Talon's gaze was locked an a yellow unicorn trailing a set of luggage in a glow the same shade of green as his mane.

“No.” Fluttershy barely heard Talon's whisper.

“Not Show.” Talon huddled up to Fluttershy's foreleg as they slowly continued on their way to the castle. “No, no, no...” Talon repeated to himself as if trying to make it true by sheer force of will.

“It's okay, Talon. Show Stealer is in jail in Canterlot. We can even ask if Princess Celestia can check and make sure he's still there. Would that help?”

Talon nodded as they approached the door, keeping his head down as Fluttershy knocked.

“Hey, guys, come on in. I made Pancakes!” Spike smiled as he beckoned them in. Talon smiled back at him weakly as they entered.

“What pancakes?”

Chapter 9: Tests and Lessons

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Talon finished his pancakes almost as quickly as Spike, though with significantly less syrup. Twilight had even managed to convince Spike to share a few of his special gem pancakes. She'd made sure he could eat them safely, of course.

“I think it might be best to start you off learning some of the basics. Once you have some basics down, we can see about having the crusaders over for study sessions.”

Talon smiled as he nodded, his lips and muzzle still sticky from stray syrup. “Yes, good.”

Twilight frowned slightly. “Let's try some exercises while I finish up.” She looked down at her plate. “Okay, you already ate your pancakes. This is my pancake. Now, I want you to say that from your point of view, okay?”

Talon nodded again as Twilight carefully cut a piece of pancake and stuffed it into her mouth. “Okay.” He pointed at his plate. “ Ate my pancake.” He then pointed over to her plate. “You pancake.” He smiled at her, hoping he'd done it right.

Twilight coughed as she inhaled a few crumbs. “I'm no' a 'ancake!” She tried to yell through her mouthful as Spike fell off his chair, holding his gut as he laughed. Celestia smiled as her conversation was halted by Luna barely holding in her chuckles. Twilight looked around for a moment, chagrined, as she swallowed, trying to salvage what dignity she could. “I am not a pancake. In this situation you would say 'I ate my pancake' and 'that is your pancake', alright Talon?”

Talon just nodded once more, trying his best to follow along as Spike cleared the dishes from the table.

After a few hours of lessons, Twilight stood before Talon. “Alright, you seem to have gotten pronouns and a few conjunctions at least. We'll work on vocabulary and conjugation in later lessons. Does that sound alright to you, Talon?”

“I not know what is 'vocabulary' or 'conjugation'.” Twilight internally sighed as she added sentence structure to his later lesson plan in her head. “But I trust you know what is good.”

“Sounds good!” “That last sentence was even correct, if somewhat basic,” she thought. “Fluttershy, how often do you think you could bring him over for lessons? I also want to run some tests on him so I can answer your question from earlier; I don't know how long that will take.”

“Really?” interrupted Spike from where he was organizing a nearby bookshelf. “You don't have any other reasons you want to run tests on the poor guy?”

An embarrassed smile spread across her face. “Well, yeah, but the primary reason is to help him and Fluttershy.”

“Suuure,” Spike said, rolling his eyes.

“I, um, can probably bring him over pretty often. How often would you be able to teach him, Twilight?”

“Well, my schedule varies sometimes, but if we plan ahead we should be able to set aside a few hours for him about three or four days a week.”

“Oh, um, sure. Are you sure you can give up so much of your time?”

“Of course! You know,” Twilight spoke as she thought. “At that rate, he may even be able to attend school with the other foals, with some supplementary tutoring, of course.”

“Hey, wait 'til Celestia hears you've got your own personal student!” Spike guffawed at the thought as Twilight's eyes widened suddenly.

“Ohmigosh!” Twilight hopped back and forth on her hooves while her wings fluttered. “ I hadn’t' even thought of that! What if I'm not a good enough teacher?”

Luna smirked. “Surely teaching a single colt is less daunting than Tirek was, at the least. He might give Sombra some competition, though.”

Luna had managed to keep a straight face until she finished her statement, when she, Spike, and Cadence each burst out laughing.

“Really, guys?” asked Twilight as she rolled her eyes.

“Really,” Cadence said as she wiped a tear from her eye. “I had some pretty rough foal-sitting jobs, you know.”

“If you feel it would be too much, I would be more than willing to take some time to come help teach him,” Luna reassured her.

“I can handle it!” Twilight protested as a blush burned in her cheeks, before she dipped her head apologetically. “I, uh, appreciate the offer, though.”

Talon did his best to sit still as Twilight attached wires to various points on his body. She fiddled with them for a few minutes before positioning crystals at each corner of the room and setting up a few delicate-looking instruments on a nearby table.

“Alright, I'm ready. Now Talon, can you try to jump like you did in Sugarcube Corner?”

“I try.” Talon screwed up his face in concentration, crouched down, and jumped about a foot into the air.

Cracking open one eye, Talon looked around “No work?”

“No, I don't think it worked. Your jump was higher than a pony's, but not by much. I wonder if there was some sort of trigg-”

“BOO!” Talon jumped up six feet into the air as Spike shouted from where he'd snuck up next to him.

“Spike!” Twilight glared as she caught Talon in her magic. “That wasn't very nice! Why would you do that?”

“Sorry,” Spike began, scratching the back of his head with one claw. “I just thought, since Fluttershy said it happened when the crusaders spooked him, it might only happen if he was surprised.”

“Well... It might have worked, but you should still apologize to him.” Twilight motioned to Talon, who was nearly hyperventilating as he hid under the table.

“Yeah... sorry about that, Talon.” Spike suddenly adopted a serious look on his face. “I won't do it again unless there's a super-good reason.”

Talon looked over, managing to calm his breathing most of the way to normal. “Spike promise?”

Spike snickered behind his claw. “Yeah, yeah, I promise. Just don't expect me to promise like Apple Bloom did.”

Twilight looked between them as Talon raised an eyebrow at Spike. “Am I missing something here?”

“Aw, just something that happened while you were all in that meeting yesterday. I'll tell you later.”

Twilight raised her eyebrow as she and Spike walked Fluttershy and Talon to the door, but kept quiet. They had a meeting to get to, so she could ask him later.

The meeting had not gone as well as any of them had hoped. While the princesses had many ideas, each of them were shot down by Gunnar. The worst part was how well thought out each of his rebuttals were. Twilight hung her head as they walked down the hall.

“Do not worry, Twilight. I'm sure we'll figure something out.” Celestia reached out to her with a wing as she consoled her.

Twilight looked up at her with a weak smile. “I know, it's just...”

“Say,” Luna began, hoping to distract from the gloomy mood. “What did you find out from the tests you ran on Talon?”

“Oh!” Twilight perked up with renewed energy. “Oh my gosh, it's so exciting! He definitely triggered his magic when he jumped!”

“Celestia raised an eyebrow at her. “Are you sure, Twilight? As far as we know, griffons only have passive magical capabilities.”

“That's what's so exciting about it! His thaumic signatures definitely lined up with his brainwave patterns more than his electrocardiograph readings. He definitely has active magical capabilities, but I don't think he's really used them before. He definitely has passive magic similar to a griffin or pegasus as well. If we could figure out how his magic works, we might have another clue to his parents' identities.”

“So he's like a pegasus, magically speaking?” Cadence's voice drifted from the other side of Celestia and Luna as they reached the roof landing, where chariots waited for the three departing princesses.

“Yes and no.” Twilight brought her hoof to her chin, thinking how best to explain. “He has similar passive abilities to those of a pegasus, but his active magic seems to be at least partially conscious rather than purely instinctive. If we figure out how it works, we might even be able to teach him some spells, although I'm not sure how good he'd be at casting them.”

“Are... are you certain, Twilight?” Luna asked as Cadence and Celestia stopped to listen.

“No, but it looks likely. If it is true, it could change how we understand magical theory regarding the gap between active and passive magic. It certainly wouldn't hurt to have something to study besides alicorn magic that incorporates both.”

“In any case Twilight, We must each return to our duties. It has been nice being able to take some time to spend with you.” Celestia smiled as they moved to their respective chariots.

Fluttershy brought Talon back the next day, and Twilight set him up with a few grammar workbooks to work through as she and Spike did their morning chores. Afterward, she went through flash cards to improve his vocabulary. A few minutes into doing so, however, she was distracted by the sound of Spike belching out a letter.

Talon glanced back and forth between her and Spike as she trotted over to them. His eyes widened as she took the scroll in her magic and unrolled it.

“Thank you, Spike.” Twilight lifted the scroll to eye level and started to read.

Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,
We wish to inform you that we have assigned a squad of guards to assist Ponyville's local law enforcement. We fear that there may be some attempt to subvert relations with Ambassador Gunnar, and hope that the presence of our faithful guards may serve to give us early warning in such a case. We would appreciate it if you would be able to help Mayor Mare prepare appropriate accommodations. The guards should arrive within a day, and will be under the jurisdiction of Captain Shield Burst while stationed in Ponyville. Please let us know if there are any problems regarding this.
Your friends,
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna

Twilight looked up from her letter. “Well, the meeting with Mayor Mare isn't for a few hours yet, and...” Twilight stared at the look of shock on Talon's face. “Is something wrong, Talon?”

Talon opened and closed his mouth a few times as he glanced over to Spike. “Spike is okay?”

“Wha-Oh!” Twilight shook her head and chuckled. “Spike can breath fire, Talon. It won't hurt him.”

“No, Talon mean...” Talon looked down as he thought out what to say. “Is not bad to do fire?”

“Oh, well, as long as he doesn't hurt anything, it's fine. Plus, he can burn scrolls to send them to Celestia. Why do you ask?”

“Talon do fire?”

“Well, I don't think you can. Most species don't have any kind of magical breath capabilities, and – Oh sweet Celestia!” Twilight interrupted herself as Talon breathed out a small white flame. Her exclamation caused Talon to dive under the table for cover, cutting off the flame almost as soon as it started.

“What is?” Talon's small voice asked from the safety found behind several chair legs. “Twilight say not bad. Is bad?”

“What do you – no, no it's not bad, but...” Twilight hesitated as she pieced her thoughts together. “You can breath fire?!”

Talon poked his head out from under the table. “Um... yes?”

“That's... it's just...” Twilight sighed. “Let's get back to the flash cards. I'll talk with Fluttershy about it when she picks you up. Spike, could you go let her know I need her to come a little early?”

“He what?!” Fluttershy shrieked at Spike, reaching a volume that was only impressive due to the pony it was coming from.

“He breathed fire,” Spike repeated, “Except it was white. It was really weird, too, 'cuz he was freaking out when I burped up a scroll like something bad was gonna happen.”

Fluttershy frowned. “He's never done it before...”

“Yeah, well, we should get back before Twilight freaks out; she's already more worked up than I've seen her in a while. C'mon!”

As Spike and Fluttershy hurried into the library, they saw Twilight flipping through various books as they floated off of shelves and over toward a desk where an increasingly nervous looking Talon sat.

“No, no, maybe... definitely not... I'll have to run some tests...” Twilight muttered to herself, oblivious to the entrance of her friends.

“Fluttershy! Talon move now?”

“Yes, yes, just don't leave the library. Fluttershy, can you wait here with him until I get back from the meeting with Mayor Mare? I need to run some tests when I do.”

“Um, sure, Twilight.” Fluttershy looked over to Talon as he walked over to hide behind her. “Did Talon get lunch yet?”

“Oh, uhm... no. Feel free to grab him something from the kitchen. I've got to go.” Twilight stuffed an assortment of scrolls into her saddlebags and grabbed Spike in her magic as she cantered to the exit. “Okay, thanks, bye!”

“Twilight!” shouted Spike in indignation. “I can walk, you know!”

Fluttershy and Talon looked at each other as they heard the main castle door slam shut, followed by the pop of a teleport.

Chapter 10: Magical Mysteries

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Fluttershy looked across the table to where Talon was finishing a spinach sandwich. She had wanted to give him something else, but it was the only thing she could make with what was in Twilight's kitchen that she knew was safe for him to eat. She was saving some of the strawberries for him, though, in case he could eat them.

Twilight cantered into the kitchen, a few stray hairs standing out of her mane in various directions. “Okay, come on, to the lab.”

She picked up Talon and Fluttershy in her aura and towed them along behind her. Spike was still floating as well, his arms crossed and an exasperated expression on his face. His expression may have had something to do with the fact that he was slowly rotating as he floated along. “Oh, hey guys. Have a good lunch?”

“Uhh...” Fluttershy looked over to where Talon was frantically wiggling his legs in midair. “I guess?” So much for those strawberries.

“Here we are,” Twilight announced as she plopped her unwilling passengers down in front of several tables full of delicate equipment. “Spike, could you set up the thaumic detectors? I need to get Talon hooked up.”

Spike sighed as he picked himself up from where he'd face-planted onto the floor. “Yeah, I got it.”

“Uhh... what are you testing exactly, Twilight?” Fluttershy watched as Twilight hooked several electrodes to Talon's muzzle and barrel as he stood stock-still.

Twilight cantered over until she was standing just in front of her. “Fluttershy... he breathed fire. Do you know what this means?”

Fluttershy cocked an eyebrow as Twilight ran to get a few sundry objects and a pair or large tongs. “We, um, should teach him to be careful not to set things on fire?”

“No! Well, yes, but that's not what I meant!” Twilight ran back over to where Talon was doing his best not to draw attention to himself. “We can use the thaumic signature of his flame to try to reveal his parentage!”

“Uh... what 'thaumic'?” Talon asked, cringing as Twilight turned to him with a huge grin.

“Oh, thaumic is used in reference to magical studies. Now, breath fire on this.” Twilight held out a wooden block with the pair of tongs.

Talon blew out a small lick of flame, turning the block to ash. “Um, is okay to do magic?”

“What? Of course it's okay to do magic, why...” Twilight looked up from where she was preparing a new sample, her pupils shrinking. “Wait... Talon. Can... can you do magic?”

“Umm...” Talon looked to the side, avoiding making eye contact with Twilight. “Yes,” he finally squeaked out, jumping as Twilight teleported directly in front of him, a wide smile on her face.

“Please show me, Talon.” Twilight breathed out through her teeth.

“Twilight!” Shouted Fluttershy, startling both her and Talon. “I understand you want to learn more about Talon, but please control yourself.”

“You... you're right, Fluttershy.” Twilight took a few deep breaths, noticeably losing some of the tension in her muscles as she smoothed out her mane with her magic. “I'm sorry, Talon. Would it still be okay if I ran some tests, as long as I promise to stay calm?”

Talon looked over at Fluttershy and Spike with wide eyes. “Twilight is... okay?”

Spike shrugged. “Yeah, she should be fine now. She just needs somepony to snap her out of it once in a while.”

Talon looked back to Twilight. “Is okay. Talon...” Talon paused in thought. “Accept apolgee?”

“It's apology, Talon. And, uh, thank you. Now, would you mind breathing your fire on this?”

Twilight had Talon breath on several more objects. After her initial test on the balsa wood, she moved on to maple wood, oak, ironwood, iron, copper, rubber, and a marshmallow.

“Spike, that was supposed to be an apple!” Twilight glared over to where he sat next to the fruit in question.

“What? I wanted to see if he could roast marshmallows like I can.” Spike looked at the slightly sticky gobs of blackened marshmallow still dripping slowly off of the tongs. “Apparently not.”

“It's okay, Spike. Talon I'd like you to try to hold a small flame as long as you can, okay?” Talon nodded and blew out a tiny flame as Twilight pressed the button on a stopwatch. “Aaand... 3 seconds, not bad. Now,” Twilight held out a long, flat piece of wood. “I want you to breath your fire on this, but try to keep from burning it as long as you can.”

Talon looked down at the piece with as much concentration as he could muster, and breathed out onto it.

“Okay, then.” Twilight held up the board, which now had a clean hole in the center. “We might need to work on that.” Twilight then raised a barrier over one wall as well as one between Talon and the others. “Blast that wall as hard as you can, please.”

“Blast?” Talon's voice was slightly muffled by the magic barrier.

“Just breath at it like you want to melt the wall down!” Spike explained. Talon nodded before breathing out as much fire as he could toward the wall.

“Alright, that's at least 2.5 thaumic units,” Twilight muttered as she wrote some figures down and dropped the barrier. “Not as much as spike at that age, but not bad either. Talon, do you think you could do a spell for me?”

“Spell is magic?”

“Yes, it doesn't have to be anything in particular, just... something.”

Talon reached out with his front paw. Twilight arched an eyebrow in confusion until he pushed his paw forward and a gentle breeze wafted over toward her.

“Okay.” Twilight use her magic to smooth out her mane as she retrieved her notes. “Can you do any magic that isn't related to wind?”

“Uhhh...” Talon flicked his wrist downward and a tiny yellow flame appeared on the ground before burning out.

“Alright, anything else?” Twilight glanced up from writing in her notes.

Talon looked back and forth between her and the others before cringing. “Talon know one more magic. You not like.”

“Just show me, please?” Twilight took a few steps forward.

“Um, okay, but... not be mad.”

“Why would I be mad?” Twilight asked as Talon pantomimed grabbing something out of the air and throwing it in front of him, his eyes closed and ears laying flat. “Why are you-”

There was a loud flash and a thunderous bang before Twilight fell unconscious.

Twilight woke up with a loud ringing in her ears and black spots all over her vision. “Ugh, what happened?” Even her own voice sounded muffled. Through the spots, she could see two guards, Fluttershy, Spike, and Talon standing over her, all wearing concerned looks.

Talon fluttered his good wing and looked over to Fluttershy. “Twilight okay?”

“Yes, Talon, she'll be fine. Look, she's coming around now.”

“Yeah,” Spike reassured him. “It takes more than a lightning bolt to really hurt an alicorn.”

“HUH?” Twilight sat up, blinking her eyes blearily. “I CAN'T HEAR YOU! HOLD ON!”

All of them winced back at the volume of her speech as her horn began to glow. She stood up, growing steadier as her aura washed over her. “There, that's better. What happened?”

Before anypony else could say anything, Talon ran over to hide beneath a cushion sitting nearby. “Talon sorry!” The guards trotted out of the room, Emerald especially not wanting to intrude into what promised to be a strange conversation.

“Hey, it's okay, Talon. After all, you did warn me.” Twilight used her free leg to rub across his shoulder soothingly. As she did so, she looked over to Fluttershy and Spike. “What happened?”

“Well,” began Fluttershy, “You asked him to do another spell, and he, um, well, he...”

Spike ran over to Twilight, a huge grin on his face. “He threw lightning! It was awesome!”

“He what?” Twilight had a flat look on her face. “That's not funny Spike, nopony can just throw lightning around, especially without clouds. Now really, what happened?”

“He, uh, really did throw lightning, Twilight.” Twilight turned to where Fluttershy was looking at the ground bashfully.

“But that... he...” Twilight looked down to where Talon sat still beneath the cushion. “You know what? You guys head back to your cottage. I have a lot of data to go over.”

“So...uh...” Emerald Cut started as he walked to one side of Fluttershy and Talon. “What exactly happened in there? Did the Princess cast some sort of spell that backfired?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Oh no, it was... uh... Talon made lightning.”

Both guards froze in place. “He what?” Day Break asked. “Have you, you know, mentioned to him that he kinda... shouldn't do that near other ponies?”

“Twilight ask!” Talon exclaimed from where he stood next to Fluttershy. “Talon say she not like...”

“She... what?” Emerald asked, a baffled look on his face. Why would the princess ask to be hit with lightning?

They resumed walking, and Fluttershy explained the specifics of the situation to the guards, hoping to clear up any misunderstandings.

As they watched Fluttershy and Talon go inside, they spotted a mare running up to them, some kind of flower for her cutie mark.

“Oh, I'm so glad I found you! There was some sort of huge bang, you have to come quick!”

Emerald held up a hoof. “Calm down miss. Did this bang happen to come from the castle?”

“Yes! That's why we need to go, now!” She galloped off down the road, heedless of whether the guards were even following.

Day glanced over to him with a smirk. “You can go explain it to her. I'll keep the perimeter here.”

Sighing, Emerald cantered off after her. This was going to be an interesting conversation.

Fluttershy was woken up the next morning by something nudging her in the side. Yawning, she looked over to see Talon holding a tray in his muzzle next to her bed. The tray had some chopped vegetables on it, and an amused-looking Angel stood behind Talon.

“Talon? What are you doing?” Fluttershy asked as she sat up slowly. “Why are you up so early?”

Talon gently placed the tray next to her on the bed. “Talon want do good for Fluttershy. Angel say food good.”

“Well, it is nice of you, but that doesn't explain why you're up...” Fluttershy looked over to where Talon sat on his haunches, looking at her eagerly as his tail lashed back and forth. “But I suppose you can tell me later, after I oh my what happened to your paws?”

Fluttershy held one of his paws between her hooves, worry painting her features as she took in the numerous cuts he had.

“Uh, Talon not know how make food. Sorry.”

“Oh no, you don't need to apologize, Talon. Let's just get some bandages on your paws, and then we can eat breakfast, alright?”

Fluttershy sat yet again in a chair at the edge of a hospital room. She watched as the doctor's aura washed over Talon's damaged wing, pausing once or twice to make deeper observations.

“Well then.” Doctor Oath turned to face Fluttershy. “I imagine he's been pretty eager to get this thing off.”

“Oh, um, actually, he hasn't seemed to mind it at all, now that you mention it.”

The doctor turned back to Talon with an eyebrow raised. “Really? You haven't been missing flying at all? I mean, you'd have to wait a bit before you could do much more than hover, but still...”

“What 'flying'?” Talon asked. Fluttershy felt a pang in her chest. How long had he had his feathers clipped?

“Here, Talon, this is flying.” Talon turned to where Fluttershy was hovering above her seat. “Have you ever flown before, Talon?”

“No.” Talon looked between the two surprised ponies. “Talon fly?”

“Well,” Doctor Oath commented as nurse Redheart came into the room with the supplies to remove the cast. “He'll need some physical therapy, but his wing muscles don't seem atrophied, so he should be able to start it just as soon as his feathers come back in. I don't know how well he'll do, but...”

“Let's get his cast off before we worry about that, Doctor.” Redheart stepped forward with her supplies, and the two began to cut away the cast on his wing. The fur and feathers were matted and stuck out in random patches, still covered in almost as much dirt and dust as they had been when he had been brought in. It looked even worse next to his relatively well-cared for and clean coat.

“Alright, there we go. You'll probably want to get him cleaned up as soon as you can, and our secretary can get you set up with a flight coach for physical therapy. Let us know if anything comes up, okay?”

As Nurse Redheart cleaned up the remains of the cast, Fluttershy thanked her and led Talon to the reception desk.

“Hey, how can I help you?” asked the receptionist, a pegasus whose nametag professed was named Brighter Days.

“Oh, I just need to make an an appointment for Talon to see a flight coach for physical therapy.”

“Alright, just a minute.” Brighter Skies shuffled through some papers on her desk before looking back to Fluttershy. “It looks like the only available flight coach in Ponyville right now is a part-time volunteer, so if you want, we could try to schedule something in Canterlot or Cloudsdale...”

“No, it's okay. When would they be available next?”

“Well, she's a volunteer, so you'd have to schedule with her, and then she'd report progress to us. I have her contact information, just let me copy it down for you.”

Fluttershy looked at the paper she was handed quizzically. “But this is...”

“Is something wrong, miss?”

“Oh, no, not at all.” A smile settled onto Fluttershy's face. “I just didn't realize that Rainbow volunteered at the hospital.”

Chapter 11: The Misfortune of Emerald Cut

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Talon's next lesson with Twilight was the next day, so Fluttershy took him back to her cottage for lunch. She had decided that if Talon was going to try to cook, the least she could do was teach him how to avoid chopping apart his paws.

“You met Rainbow Dash already, so that's good. We can go by her place this afternoon and see when she has time to help you learn to fly.” Fluttershy explained to Talon after she showed him how to avoid hitting his paws with the knife. “I know she's already helping Scootaloo, and she's improved a lot since they started.”

“Scootaloo fly?”

“Well, not much yet, but she's much farther along than she used to be. I'm sure Rainbow will be able to help you fly. Did... did your mom fly you around at all?”

Talon's brow furrowed as he thought, trying to remember something from before he had been with Show Stealer. “Talon think... Talon remember dad fly mom and Talon.”

“Oh. Your dad must have been a pretty good flier, then.” Fluttershy smiled as he gave her the cucumber he had been working on and she added it to the stock on the stove. “You should do just fine in that case.”

Fluttershy ladled some of the soup into bowls and brought them to the table. Angel opted for some raw cucumber slices; he was never a fan of barley-vegetable soup.

Talon sat by the edge of the path, watching Fluttershy rise up to a particularly large cloud formation that was apparently Rainbow Dash's house. He wondered how she had made a house out of clouds. Maybe he could ask Fluttershy about it. She was a pegasus, so she might know.

Talon was distracted by a swiftly approaching orange and blue streak which kicked up dust all over the road. Coughing, he flapped his wings to clear a space around him, revealing Scootaloo taking her helmet off.

“Hey, Talon! What are you doing here?”

“Fluttershy get Rainbow Dash.” Looking up, he saw that both pegasi were now descending toward them. “What Scootaloo do?”

“Rainbow Dash is helping me practice my flying.” Scootaloo wore a huge grin as she fluttered her wings rapidly where she stood.

“Yeah, it looks like we've got a practice partner for ya, Scoots.” Rainbow gestured to Talon as she hovered just above the path. “Fluttershy says that Talon needs exercise so he can fly once his primaries grow back. He, uh, apparently never got to fly before.”

“So, he's kinda like me?” Scootaloo looked over toward Talon who was talking quietly with Fluttershy.

“Nah, Squirt, it's more like... the pony he was with before...” Rainbow looked from side to side nervously before lowering her voice and putting her muzzle right next to Scootaloo's ear. “He cut off Talon's feathers so he couldn't fly.”

“What?” Scootaloo's shout brought the attention of Fluttershy and Talon over to where she stood with Rainbow. “Why would somepony do that?”

“We're not sure Scootaloo.” Fluttershy trotted over with Talon right behind her. “But we were hoping you could help Rainbow teach him how to fly.”

“Really? Of course!” Scootaloo hovered in place with a look of glee.

Rainbow showed Fluttershy some exercises to have Talon do each day to strengthen his wings and told her to bring him by that Saturday so she could figure out what he needed to work on.

Scootaloo zipped off, shouting something about meeting up with a pegasus named rumble.

“So,” Fluttershy turned to face Talon as they walked down the road. “I was thinking of visiting Rarity for tea. Would you like to come with me?”

“Yes,” Talon answered, nodding. “What tea?”

“Well, it's kind of like soup. The only ingredient is a mixture of leaves, though. If I remember correctly, she has some apple rose tea you should be able to try. I hope Twilight can come up with something soon so we can be sure about stuff like this, though.”

The door to Rarity's boutique was open, Rarity emerging from the stairwell as the overhead bell chimed.

“Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where – Oh! Fluttershy, how nice to see you, darling.” Rarity finished coming down the stairs and trotted over to Fluttershy. “I was just helping Sweetie get ready for something or other with some of her friends. Here for that tea date?”

“Yes. I brought Talon with me; I hope that's okay.”

Rarity glanced at Talon before looking back to Fluttershy. “Well, of course. Do you think he'd be able to have any tea, though? With what happened at the spa, I'd hate to make the poor dear ill.”

“Do you still have that apple rose tea? I think he might-”

“He can come with me. We're just going over to the park, anyway.” The three turned to see Sweetie Belle trotting downstairs with a set of saddlebags slung across her barrel.

“Why Sweetie, dear, that's an excellent idea. Especially after what you told me happened the other day, Ap - ahem, your friends should certainly enjoy his company.” Rarity winked as she said this, and she and Sweetie burst into giggles. “Is that alright, Fluttershy?”

“I don't see why not-”

“Okaythanksbyeguys!” Sweetie rushed out the door, dragging Talon behind her by one paw.

“Um, okay...” Fluttershy turned to Rarity, confusion and worry evident in her eyes.

“Oh, don't worry about them, Fluttershy. They'll be fine, they'll have Big Mac with them.”

“But... what was that all about?”

“I'll tell you while we have tea, darling. Now did you want the Chamomile like usual?”

Talon ended up half hobbling, half fluttering down the path in Sweetie's grip on the road to the park where the Crusaders occasionally hung out. They soon approached a group of foals running around and chasing after a kickball. Next to the group stood two stallions. The first was a rich red color with a dirty blond mane, while the other was yellow with a green mane and tail. The yellow stallion was talking animatedly, gesturing with his hooves while the other simply listened as he watched the foals.

Talon suddenly stopped his attempts to keep up, resulting an a sudden drag on Sweetie's hooves which she pointedly ignored. “Hey Big Mac!” she shouted out as she dragged Talon closer.

Big Mac and the yellow stallion turned at the sound, facing Sweetie as she approached.

“You see, just like these two here!”The yellow stallion exclaimed. “We're having our opening act Friday night, so spread the word around!”

“Opening act of what?” Sweetie asked from in front of the furrow she's plowed in the process of transporting Talon.

“Why, Show Stopper's Circus Extravaganza! Patent pending.” The stallion held out a hoof and smiled as Sweetie shook it. “I myself am Show Stopper, bringing with me some of the greatest talent in the business. Friday night at six o' clock, we'll be having our first show here in Ponyville, so spread the word around.”

Show Stopper turned to Talon, holding out a hoof. “Bring your little coltfriend, too!” Talon remained completely frozen, except to glance at the proffered hoof. “He's a, uh, real lively one, it seems...” He pulled back his hoof, coughing quietly behind it.

“Oh, he's not my coltfriend.” Sweetie pointed off to where her friends were currently playing something that vaguely resembled buckball. “He's Apple Bloom's!”

Suddenly, both Apple Bloom and Big Mac turned to face Sweetie Belle. “He's what?” questioned Big Mac as Apple Bloom got smacked in the face with the ball.

“I'll... uh... just go.” Show Stopper trotted off with one last glance toward the group.

“He's, uh, Apple Bloom's coltfriend?” offered Sweetie.

“He is not!” Apple Bloom shouted, drawing attention from the other foals. It was hard to tell whether her face was redder due to the ball's impact or the furious blush she was sporting.

Apple Bloom had cantered over to Sweetie and Big Mac, hoping that the other foals would go back to their game. While most did, the situation had attracted the attention of a few fillies. Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and Dinky all made their way over to find out what was going on.

“Apple Bloom has a coltfriend?” Diamond Tiara asked.

Silver Spoon was next to voice her concerns. “Why didn't you guys tell us? I mean we've never been the best friends, but...”

“He's not my coltfriend!”

“Well, of course not.” The others turned to look at Dinky as she interjected. “I mean, he's not a pony, so he wouldn't be a colt. Or does that matter?” Dinky sat back, stumped by the linguistic quandary.

“He's not my coltfriend, girls!”

“Sure he is, he just doesn't know it yet.” Scootaloo waved towards where Talon was still recovering from his stupor. “Right?”

“NO!”

“Gee, Apple Bloom, don't you think that's a little harsh?” Sweetie motioned to where Talon was introducing himself to a very confused Big Mac. “What if he wanted to be your coltfriend?”

“Well, but, I...” Apple Bloom looked over towards Talon, who looked as lost as her brother did embarrassed. “You think he might?” she muttered to Sweetie.

“Well, I think it's a good thing he's not your coltfriend. That would make flight practice kinda awkward,” Scootaloo interjected before Sweetie could answer.

“Hey, keep your mitts off of him!”

“Wait, now I'm confused.” Dinky frowned as Apple Bloom turned back to her. “Is he your coltfriend or not?”

Apple Bloom threw her hooves in the air. “I don't even know, okay?!”

Talon's breathing returned to normal as the red stallion tried to get his attention. “That couldn't have been Show Stealer,” he thought. “He'd have tried to take me with him, right?”

He noticed suddenly that the red stallion was staring at him. “Um, hello? Is Talon.”

“So ya can talk. Name's Macintosh. Most call me Big Mac.” Big Mac extended his hoof toward Talon, who took it gingerly, thinking back to the last time he had accepted a hoofshake. To his surprise, Big Mac's hoofshake was firm but gentle.

“Is nice meet Big Mac.”

“So,” Big Mac began with a baffled expression, “Are ya really Apple Blooms coltfriend?”

“Talon not know. What coltfriend?”

“How do ya...” Big Mac shook his head, then leaned over and whispered the fastest explanation he could of what a coltfriend was.

Talon blushed as Big Mac continued. He didn't know half the words the stallion was using, but it sounded like... “Big Mac, coltfriend is like married?” Talon whispered back.

“Something that can lead up to it, anyhow. So are ya or not?”

“Uhh... not think so...”

Sweetie and the others eventually convinced Talon to play with them. Truthfully, Talon had no real idea of how to play, but nopony else was really sure what they were playing either, so he fit into their game just fine. Mostly they just chased after the ball.

The fillies even managed to keep from “accidentally” bumping Apple Bloom into Talon more than three times, giggling as their friend blushed. The third time, they managed to launch Apple Bloom higher into the air than they had intended, drawing a collective gasp from the nearby foals as she flew through the air.

As she started to fall back toward the ground, she screwed her eyes shut. “This is gonna hurt,” she thought to herself before she felt a sudden pressure under her shoulders and a strong wind.

She felt herself touch gently onto the ground before she opened her eyes. “What the hay?”

Noticing that everypony was staring at her, she turned to see Talon sitting right behind her, panting and holding his shoulder. “Is... okay?”

“Uhhh...” Apple Bloom started to turn red when she heard a cheer rise up from the crowd of foals.

“That was AWESOME! How did you do that?” Scootaloo shouted, rushing out of the crowd. “I thought you couldn't fly!”

Talon scooted away a bit as Scootaloo approached. “Not fly. Jump.”

“Dude, that was like, 6 feet straight up! How?”

“Talon not know. Is bad?”

“What?” Scootaloo grabbed him be the shoulders. “No, it's not bad, it's awesome! Wait until you can actually fly!”

It was to this scene that Fluttershy arrived.

“Oh my, did I miss something?”

Fluttershy looked worriedly at Talon as they walked to her cottage. He had a slight limp from overusing his hurt wing. Maybe she shouldn't have let him go. Then again, her talk with Rarity had been particularly informative.

“What happened? Did somepony hurt him? We were trying to keep our distance while he was playing with the other foals, but...” Fluttershy was suddenly reminded of the fact that there were guards assigned to Talon.

“Oh, um, hi, Emerald. Talon just overexerted himself playing in the park. He should be fine in a day or two.”

“Oh,” Emerald turned to look at Talon. “Well that's a relief. What was he doing, anyway?”

“Uh, Talon help Apple Bloom.” Talon explained, staring at the ground.

“Apple Bloom? Is she... you know what, never mind. Just tell us next time you change your plans, in case we need to know where you are.”

“What's the matter, Greenie, you don't like gossip?” Day Break smirked over at Talon. “She must be quite the lucky little filly if her coltfriend is getting hurt just to help her out.”

Fluttershy paused, a shocked expression on her face. “Oh, are you really her coltfriend, Talon? I thought Rarity might be looking too much into things, but...”

“Talon not know.”

“Wait, whaddaya mean you don't know? Do you not know what a coltfriend is, or...”

“Uh... maybe? Big Mac say is like married.”

“Oh goodness,” Fluttershy exclaimed, a bit of pink coloring her cheeks. “That's... not quite right.”

“Hey, why are you both looking... at...” Emerald cut let out a sigh in defeat. “Okay, come on, kid. This is gonna be awkward.”

As Emerald retreated to what he gauged was a safe distance with Talon, he heard Day Break call after him. “Make sure you explain it reeeaaal good, Greenie!”

Emerald could swear he heard the princesses laughing at him.

Chapter 12: Tests and Findings

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After Emerald Cut led a very red Talon back to the others, Fluttershy led him the rest of the way to the cottage for the night. Talon collapsed into his bed, exhausted from the day's activities, before succumbing to a dreamless sleep.

“So, today you've got more tutoring with Twilight.” Fluttershy watched as Talon helped clear away their breakfast. “I wonder if she found out anything about your magic. That would be nice, wouldn't it?”

Talon looked over from the sink after he set his bowl down. “Yes. Twilight teach magic?”

“Oh, I'm sure she'd love to teach you magic. She's very good at it, and she loves having somepony to teach things to. The crusaders will be having a lesson with you today, though, so she might not be able to teach you much. After all, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom can't use magic. How is your wing feeling?”

Talon looked over at his wing as he flexed it experimentally. “Is good.”

Fluttershy checked over his wing in concern. “Well... maybe you could try some of those exercises Rainbow showed us before you take your bath? If you're feeling up to it, that is.”

Talon slowly pulled his wing back in toward his side.“Talon try.”

After Talon did the exercises, though Fluttershy noticed he held his wing pretty tightly to his side afterward. She made sure his bath was extra warm, hoping it might help soothe his muscles. It seemed to work, as he had none of the previous night's limp as they walked through town to the castle. Suddenly she heard a familiar voice call out to her.

“Howdy Fluttershy! What're you doing out this early today?”

“Oh, hi, Applejack. I'm just bringing Talon over to the castle so Twilight can tutor him.”

“Well she does love teaching ponies things. Just make sure she doesn't fly too far over his head with any of it, you hear?” Applejack planted one of her hooves on the stall's counter.

Pinkie Pie popped out of one of the barrels of apples. “Speaking of flying high, have you guys heard about the CIRCUS?!”

Applejack sighed. “Have I? Between ya'll and Apple Bloom, I ain't heard the end of it.”

Fluttershy glanced to the side. “I,um, hadn't heard of a circus in town.”

“Well, it's gonna have balloons, and baboons, and cotton candy, and clowns, and trapeze artists, and..."

“Ah well, anywho,” Applejack said as she leaned across the counter, ignoring Pinkie's ramblings to focus on Talon where he had retreated behind Fluttershy, “Is it true what I hear about you and Apple Bloom?”

“U-um, what A-Applejack hear?” Talon stammered out, fighting to keep from blushing.

“Well, I heard you saved Apple Bloom from some silly stunt her other friends pulled.” Applejack squinted hard at him. “But you're acting mighty strange about it, and the way Apple Bloom talked about it... I feel like she didn't tell me the whole story. Wait, are you the coltfriend Sweetie and Scootaloo were going on about? I thought they were just teasing Bloom, but...”

“Uh... not know.”

“Huh, nopony told ya'll 'bout the birds and bees and such?” Applejack scratched the back of her head with a hoof. “Well, y'see, when a stallion and a mare love each other a whole lot-”

“No explain! Emerald explain, Talon know!” Talon's face was quickly becoming a battleground between his embarrassment and his rapidly rising panic.

“Okay, okay already! I get it. What did you mean, if that's not what you didn't know?”

It was evident that panic was rapidly retreating as embarrassment won this round. “Uh... not know if Talon coltfriend.”

“Well, if you don't know then you prolly ain't. You might wanna talk to her about that, though. Anywho, I'd best let ya'll be on your way. Don't want to keep Twi waiting too long.”

“Alright. I'll see you later, Applejack.”

“...and puppies jumping through hoops, and somepony being shot out of a CANNON, can you believe it, Applejack?”

Applejack stared flatly at Pinkie. “Yep, I reckon I can believe it alright.”

Twilight answered her door on the second knock. “Oh good you're here.”

“Yes, well, I'm sorry we - eep!”

Twilight dragged Fluttershy and Talon in the door with her magic, practically galloping to the library with them being towed along in her magic. “You won't believe it!”

Spike slid down from the ladder he was using to put away books and rolled his eyes. “Pretty sure they will, Twilight.”

Twilight rolled her eyes before she plopped her friends down on a comfy reading chair currently situated in front of a flip chart.

“So, first, these are the readings for ponies.” Twilight held a pointer in her magic as she explained the contents of the graph. “These each show the active vs. passive magic gradient for the different tribes of ponies.”

Twilight flipped to the next chart. “Here are the gradients for buffalo, changelings, and zebra.” Another flip. “And these are for griffons, dragons, and alicorns.”

“This,” she pronounced with a flourish, “is Talon's gradient.”

Fluttershy squinted at the indecipherable graph. “Um, Twilight... I'm sorry, but... I don't understand.”

Twilight sighed as she flipped to a new graph. “See, Talon's magic is between the charts for a dragon or alicorn, closer to dragon, but shaped a little more like a griffon's.”

Twilight levitated a book over, flipping rapidly through the pages. “Here, Talon, do you remember what your dad looked like?”

“Not good.”

Twilight turned the book to face Talon. “Well, did he look anything like this?”

“Umm... yes, is like.”

Twilight bounced around the chair where Talon and Fluttershy were seated. “I knew it! I just knew it!”

“Um... knew what, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked in confusion.

“I think... no, I'm fairly certain that Talon's father was...” Twilight paused, taking in the expectant looks on the faces of the other three. “...a dragon.”

They heard a heavy thud from behind Twilight, and looked to see Spike standing with his mouth agape, the book he was shelving forgotten resting unnoticed on top of his foot.

“I don't believe it!”

“So...” Fluttershy looked over to Twilight as she helped bandage Spike's foot. Limestone Dust's Compendium of Mineral Affinities was almost as heavy as the subject it professed to provide a comprehensive knowledge of. “That's why Talon can breath fire?”

Twilight nodded beside her as Talon watched them work. “Yes, and it's why he can cast magic. His thaumic matrix is geared towards the active mana channels, but the mixing with passive channels like those used by griffons or pegasi makes it so he's able to bypass the thaumic restraints that would normally restrict certain types of active magic usage.”

Fluttershy stared at her in confusion, a bandage still help in her mouth.

“Uh, Twilight?” Spike asked. “I didn't understand that, and I live with you.”

“Oh.” A blush crept onto her face. “Um, basically, he can cast magic because dragons use active magic, but he's not as restricted in how he uses it as a dragon is. He should also be able to manipulate weather like a pegasus or griffon. I had some tests I wanted to do, in fact.”

“Well, any other shocking revelations, Twilight? Or do those only come when I'm carrying one of the top ten heaviest books in the Library?” Spike crossed his arms, one eyebrow raised as he gazed at Twilight critically.

Twilight smiled sheepishly. “Sorry Spike. I don't think we have any more of those today.”

“Eh, I'll be fine. I'm just messing with you. C'mon, Talon, let's see what she's got for you this time.” Spike smirked over his shoulder at Twilight as he left. “Maybe she can manage not to blow something up this time.”

“Spike! That's so unfair! Explosions happen less than 40% of the time when I'm in the lab!”

Talon looked over to Fluttershy and shrugged, following Twilight and Spike out of the room.

“Alright, first thing is to test your weather manipulation ability. Here, hold this.” Twilight ripped a chunk off of a cloud that floated in the corner.

Talon reached out and grabbed the errant wisp of cloud before it floated back up to the ceiling of the lab.

“Okay,” Twilight muttered from where she had her face buried in her notes. “Tactile cloud response is normal... Now Talon, try and make it a different shape.”

“Okay...” Talon squeezed the cloud slightly and it burst into mist.

“Okay... so fine control isn't very good...” Twilight gripped a thick piece of cloud, laying it across the floor. “Here, stand on this.”

Talon walked over and hopped onto the cloud, bouncing slightly as he landed. Intrigued, he bounced a few more times. “Fun!”

“Yep, that definitely works.” Twilight smiled at Talon's antics as she scribbled in her notes. “Okay, now can you put this back with the rest?”

“Uhh... okay...” Talon pressed the puff of cloud into the main mass. “Good?”

“Yes, just one more test.” She levitated goggles and earmuffs to everypony in the room. Once certain that each of them had been provided adequate gear, she pushed the cloud together until she held a dark black mass about twice the size of her head.

“Alright, Talon! Just get the lightning out of this cloud!” Twilight yelled so she could be heard through the earmuffs.

“Twilight? Are you sure this is a good idea?” Fluttershy interjected. “Last time, you-”

“Uhhm, Twilight?” Twilight looked over to see Talon holding a bright white orb crackling with energy, standing next to the now-white cloud. “What do?”

One impromptu game of hot potato later, and Twilight had the orb floating in the center of a blue crystal box. Spike remained hidden under a table as she trotted over. “You can come out now, Spike, it's safe.”

He looked up and snickered. “You sure? That mane-do looks pretty dangerous.”

“Oh, hush, Spike. I'm still wondering how Talon did that.” Twilight turned to Fluttershy. “I'll get something set up by next week for some more experiments, but today I wanted to go over verb tenses and equestrian history with Talon.” Twilight trotted out of the lab. “Let me get freshened up first, though. I'll meet you in the library, okay guys?”

Fluttershy sat quietly waiting in the library while Talon read a book about Equestrian grammar and talked with Spike. Soon enough, Twilight reappeared and floated a few books down, stacking them neatly next to them.

“We'll go over some math when the crusaders get here, but for now, let's have a review.”

Spike turned to Fluttershy as Twilight began to quiz Talon on vocabulary. “I'd kinda given up on meeting any other dragons here in Ponyville. Well, half-dragon, but, y'know.”

Fluttershy turned to Spike. “I didn't realize it was that big of a deal to you, Spike.”

“Yeah, well, I've kinda always wanted to have a little brother or something to teach all about dragon stuff and just hang out with.” Spike shrugged and looked over toward Talon. “This is pretty close, right?”

“I guess it is.” Fluttershy looked over to where Talon was filling out a worksheet. “Maybe I could bring Talon over more often so you two could spend some time together.”

Spike's eyes lit up as he turned back to Fluttershy. “That'd be great!”

The crusaders had shown up shortly after Twilight started actually teaching. They had decided to help Talon learn math rather than do the refresher lesson Twilight had prepared for them.

“Hey, Talon,” Talon looked up as Sweetie called out for him. “We were going to go to the circus tonight, wanna come with us?”

Fluttershy looked over from her seat nearby. “Um, girls, I don't know if-”

Scootaloo dashed over and put a foreleg over Talon's shoulder. “Yeah, c'mon, it'll be way better than that boring old math!”

With that, he was half following and half dragged by the crusaders out of the library.

“Well, they look like they have him well in hoof, don't you think?” Fluttershy turned to see Discord floating above her in a soap bubble.

“I don't know, Discord. I'm afraid that Talon might-”

“You've got to let the little scamp loose a little. Grow some hair on his chest, or... whatever it is he grows. Besides,” he added with a snap of his fingers as they were suddenly in her cottage along with an inordinate amount of doilies. His voice shifted to that of the posh Canterlot elite. “We have a teatime to attend to.”

Fluttershy looked worriedly out the window toward the setting sun. “Oh dear.”

Chapter 13: Circus Shenanigans

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Talon found the festival surrounding the circus to be very distracting. Every couple of feet, there was something new, colorful, bright, shiny, loud, or some combination thereof. This made progress down the streets slow for the crusaders, who had to drag him away from or past each distraction.

“C'mon, Talon! We already got snacks, let's go!” The crusaders trotted, tumbled, and otherwise made their way through the crowd of ponies outside the oversized tent. Ponies meandered through the bleachers, trying to find seats that matched their tickets. The smell of candy, popcorn and fried foods wafted through the air as the heat from so many ponies in an enclosed space made the tent seem more like an oven.

“Hey girls! And Talon! Where are you sitting?” Pinkie pie waved from her place between a bag of popcorn as large as her head and a clump of cotton candy that looked just like her hair.

“I think we're sitting around here,” Sweetie guessed as she looked at their tickets. “Let's see, F20 through F24.”

“Hey, I'm F25! You guys are right over here!” Pinkie shoved a hoofful of popcorn into her mouth as she waited for them to make their way over to her row. “You're just in time; the clowns are about to start!”

The crusaders shuffled in to sit near Pinkie, with Talon on the end of the row. He was a little thankful for that, as Pinkie's excited antics showered them with popcorn, and the distance meant he missed the worst of it.

Talon plucked a piece out of his crest, examining it before popping it into his mouth. “Is good. Apple Bloom, what is?”

“Huh?” Apple Bloom tore her attention from the performers below, who were forming some kind of pyramid. “What is what, Talon?”

Talon spotted several pieces of popcorn in her mane, and reached over to grab one. “See, what is?”

Apple Bloom flushed as she felt his paw tugged on her mane. “Uhh... it's... popcorn.”

“Popcorn is good.” Talon snapped up the piece out of his claw.

“You never had popcorn before or something?” Scootaloo interjected. Putting a hoof up to her mouth, she whispered toward Apple Bloom. “And, did he just...”

“Yes, Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom hissed through gritted teeth. “Let's just watch the show.”

The clowns soon cleared out, allowing for the trapeze artists to start doing flips and twirls through the air. Some of the pegasi among them acted as hoofholds for their fellows on occasion, themselves converting the momentum into graceful twirls and spins before letting themselves be caught by another pony. Scootaloo was especially enthralled by them, sitting on the edge of her seat while her wings fluttered.

Soon enough stunt ponies came out, getting shot out of cannons and performing acrobatic jumps and tumbles. Other ponies joined in, sword swallowers and fire breathers strutting and mingling with the others.

Talon looked wide-eyed at the performance. “Ponies breath fire?”

“Not really,” Apple Bloom explained. “It's a special trick they do, now hush.”

Talon glanced beside him at Apple Bloom. “Okay.”

“Ladies and gentlecolts,” Show Stopper announced as he stepped up onto the podium in the center of the ring. “I am Show Stopper, the proprietor and ringmaster of this amazing circus. Can I get a round of applause for my amazingly talented employees?”

Hoot, hollers, and hoof stomping erupted from the crowd, as Show Stopper bowed deeply. “Thank you, thank you. Our performers may work for bits, but I can tell you they live for a happy crowd!” Laughter erupted from the crowd as he smirked and glanced around.

“Pretty good so far, huh girls?” Pinkie nudged Sweetie before she noticed something off. “Girls?”

Pinkie turned to the crusaders to see their attention fixed on Talon, who was gripping the wooden bleachers so hard his knuckles turned white as he tore small holes in the wooden surface. “What's wrong, girls?”

“We don't know! He just froze up like this! Talon, what's going on?” He flinched away as Apple Bloom placed a hoof on his shoulder, but it snapped hi out of his stupor.

“I-is like Show S-Stealer,” he managed to get out, pointing to where the ringmaster was introducing his next act, some sort of stage magician.

“But he's not Show Stealer,” comforted Pinkie from his other side. “That meaniepants is in jail. And even if he wasn't, you've got friends all around you, so you'll be safe, okay?”

“O-okay.”

“Good!” Pinkie called to him from back in her seat. “Now let's watch this circus!”

The stage magician turned out to be an earth pony, and the only actual magic his act used was for lighting and pyrotechnics, his assistants carefully showing that they weren't using their magic otherwise. His tricks made the crowd ooh and aah, wondering at the fact that anypony could do things like that, let along without magic.

The rest of the acts were equally impressive, although Talon felt uncomfortable when the animal tamer came out. He felt much better when he saw how the animals acted so friendly to their tamer. He ended up laughing at the antics of the puppies, cats and monkeys along with the rest of the crowd.

Twilight was relaxing at the castle, having just finished up some plans for her experiments the next week. If she was lucky, she might be able to increase the magical community's understanding of weather manipulation. For now, though, she settled into a chair with a good book and relaxed.

“Hey Spike, do we have any of the jasmine tea left?”

Spike poked his head in through the doorway. “I dunno, but I can-” Spike was interrupted by a large belch as his fire formed into a letter.

Twilight scanned the letter swiftly. “Why would Celestia send a letter so late?”

Twilight suddenly went pale, running to grab her saddlebags and hurrying to stuff a few scrolls and bits in with the newest letter.

“Hey, what's the rush, Twilight?”

“You know that circus that's starting tonight?”

“Yeah, I think we saw them a long time ago in Canterlot, why?” Twilight lifted Spike in her magic and set him on her back.

“I have a bad feeling about it. I just hope I'm wrong about this...”

The door slammed shut as Twilight galloped towards the gigantic tent on the edge of town.

Dear Princess Twilight,
I regret to inform you that Show Stealer escaped from his imprisonment several days ago. We are still unsure of how exactly he did so, but it appears he had outside assistance. I would have informed you sooner, but it was only recently brought to my attention as part of a weekly report.
While it is unlikely that he will do so, I fear for the possibility that he will find some way to target Talon. Such an incident would be unfortunate for many reasons, not the least of which is the trauma it would bring to poor Talon himself. I also fear that such an incident may tip the already precarious situation with Griffonia's high king toward disaster, should he hear of it.
The guards are currently conducting a full investigation into his disappearance as I write this letter. Hopefully, it will shed some light on his current goals and relieve my suspicions.
I have included a picture of Show Stealer for your reference. I truly hope this turns out to be nothing, but it is best to remain vigilant.
Your friend,
Princess Celestia

A photograph of a surly-looking yellow unicorn with a green mane was attached to the letter which now bounced with every stride Twilight took, galloping between teleporting from place to place.

“Twilight, wha-”

“t's so impor-”

“tant that y-”

“ou can't slow d-”

“own?”

Twilight panted as she flew over a few pony pedestrians.

“Show Stealer... got out... might be... at the circus... go after Talon.”

Spike reeled back in shock, struggling to keep his balance atop Twilight. “Wait, what?”

Twilight simply continued to fly over the crowd of ponies chattering excitedly as they exited the big top, dodging the occasional pegasus. She spotted Talon walking with Pinkie Pie and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, swooping down to land beside them.

“Thank goodness you're alright!” Twilight looked around, trying to spot a particular pony in the crowd.

“Whaddaya mean? Of course we're alright silly!” Pinkie gestured to the gaggle of foals behind her. “Auntie Pinkie's got everything under control, Twilight.”

“Alright, just...” Twilight's face scrunched up and in a flash of light they were all suddenly in the castle. Twilight rushed around, her horn glowing as she did so.

A cold, calculating gaze stared into the still pool. You didn't really need one for scrying, but some things were just traditional. The image cut out just as Twilight started to place spells around her castle.

“Hmph, he hasn't even started, and already this much chaos. This,” the figure hissed, drawing out its breath as it grabbed a nearby unicorn's vacant face and turned it to either side. “This is why they need me and my father. It's just such irony that the road there is paved with discord.”

The figure sighed as she turned away from the mindless unicorn. “So much work from one simple bandit raid. Father must have been so close to finishing, too.” She turned to look at the pool, once more clear and still.

“Oh, well. Eventually, they will all languish in their misery just as I and my brother have.”

The five of them stared as Twilight finished her magic and trotted over to them. “Okay, we should be safe from almost anything for a while.”

“Safe?” Sweetie swiveled her head to look around the room as if something was going to jump out at them. “Safe from what, Twilight?”

Twilight shook her head, trying to clear it. “I'm not sure, Sweetie. We need to be prepared in case Show Stealer gets here.”

“Huh?” Pinkie gasped. “But I thought meanie mcmustardface was in jail!”

“I just got a letter from Celestia. Apparently, he was broken out several days ago, but she just heard about it today. I was afraid he might try something while you were at the circus.”

“Uh, Twilight... I don't think Talon is doing too good.” Apple Bloom pointed over to where Talon was hyperventilating as he lay on the floor.

“Okay, we just need to calm down. My spells should let us know if anypony tries anything. We need to focus on figuring out whether Show Stealer is in Ponyville. If he is, then we can try and figure out what he might do.”

Pinkie raised a hoof into the air, waving it frantically. “Ooh, me, me, I know!”

“Of course we'll need to alert the guards to be on the lookout for him. We should get Talon's guards to accompany him just in case, and I'll see if I can set up a tracking spell on him to help.”

“Twilight!”

Twilight sighed in frustration. “Yes, Pinkie?”

“I think I might know where to start looking for Show Stealer.”

Twilight's head shot up, her eyes open wide. “How? Pinkie sense?”

“Pffft, no, silly.” Pinkie waved her hoof dismissively. “I just thought the ringmaster at the circus looked a lot like Show Stealer, but I thought he couldn't be 'cuz he was named Show Stopper, and anyway Show Stealer was in jail except now I know he wasn't.”

Twilight's eye started twitching, her face unable to hold a single expression. “He was at the circus? This whole thing could just be some sort of distraction. I'll alert the guards, you get Talon and the crusaders home!” With a pop, they were suddenly left alone in the castle.

“So, who wants some more cotton candy?”

After they had managed to calm Talon down, Pinkie escorted each of the crusaders home. Partway through doing so, she had elected to drape a sleepy Talon over her back for ease of transport.

Fluttershy cracked her door open as Pinkie knocked, leaving her tapping her hoof against thin air. “Hey Pinkie what- ohmigosh, what happened to Talon?!”

Pinkie looked over her shoulder. “Oh, he's just worn out. Probably the sugar crash, or finding out that Show Stealer is probably in Ponyville. Or both.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah, I might have given him a little too much cotton candy, but can you blame me? He looks super funny when he eats it.”

A mismatched face glanced up from the welcome mat between them. “That does sound rather amusing, wouldn't you say, Fluttershy?”

Pinkie Pie waved until her motions jostled Talon off of her back. “Hey discord! You missed out on the circus.”

Fluttershy let out a heavy sigh. “Let's go inside.”

Chapter 14: The Sleepover

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Having Pinkie Pie and Discord in the same room was tiring, to say the least. Fluttershy just hoped Discord cleaned up after both of them. Fluttershy decided to take Talon to his room, setting his unconscious body down among the pillows in his basket.

Fluttershy heard more knocking as she came down the stairs, followed by Discord shouting “I'll get it!” And a girly shriek of surprise. Fluttershy hurried down the stairs, intent on keeping Discord from doing too much to the poor mare who had come calling.

As she entered the living room, she saw Discord and Pinkie struggling to hold back chuckles, titters, guffaw, chortles, and other assorted sounds of amusement. She then saw the unfortunate stallion currently rolled up in the welcome mat as he inched his way into the room.

“Oh my, was that you, Emerald?”

“I-I uh...” Emerald turned an odd shade of maroon as he lay on the floor. “Yeah.”

Pinkie failed to contain her laughter at that moment, followed quickly by Discord. Fluttershy unrolled Emerald cut and he stood up as they rolled on the floor, roaring in laughter.

Emerald coughed gently into his fetlock, turning to face Fluttershy. “Thank you Fluttershy. myself and Day Break were informed that we needed to increase security for Talon.”

“Where is... oh.” Fluttershy stopped as she realized that there was laughter coming from outside as well.

“Heehee... sorry, that, heh, I just...” Day Break wiped a tear from her eye as she leaned on the doorway. “Heheh, we really do need to talk, just heehee give me a minute...” She took a deep breath, straightening her posture as she did so.

“Alright, so apparently, Princess Twilight has put the guards stationed here on alert. Something to do with a jailbreak and a prisoner who might try to go after Talon, so we're supposed to tighten security here.”

“I think,” Discord began, floating in midair as his arms stretched to pull all of the ponies in close, “That this calls for a sleepover, wouldn't you say, Fluttershy?”

“Why-” Fluttershy was interrupted by the sound of Discord's tail snapping, leaving the five of them laying in sleeping bags arranged in a semicircle, Talon's basket propped against the corner nearby. Everypony was wearing comfortable-looking pajamas. Emerald frowned at his pajamas, which consisted of a hamster-eared onesie, complete with face paint. He looked over to Day Break, who shrugged and sipped on the cocoa that had appeared in her hooves.

“Why, you ask, Fluttershy? Does it get much safer than with me, you, Pinkie, and some of Celestia's finest guards staying nearby?”

Fluttershy hid behind her mane as she smiled softly. “Thanks, Discord.”

“Yeah, thanks Discord! This'll be so much fun! I haven’t had a sleepover in ages!” Pinkie sat on top of her sleeping bag, bobbing back and forth in excitement.

“In retrospect, agreeing to a game of truth or dare was a bad idea,” Emerald thought as he licked the cactus. “Especially with Discord.”

“Awwight,” He began, his tongue still stinging as the cactus disappeared with a flash. “I chooth Day Bweak.”

Day Break chuckled at him, glancing to where Angel fluttered nearby on his new wings next to where Fluttershy was sitting in a tub filled with strawberries. Discord had enable the dares to get out of hoof quickly, and it turned out that Fluttershy was very good at asking questions nopony wanted to answer. He wasn't even sure how Angel had gotten involved. “Okay, truth.”

“Weawwy?”

Day snickered.“Yeah, why not? Anything you can ask'll probably be safer than a dare.”

“Hmmm...” Emerald tapped his chin with a hoof in thought. “Tew uth youw motht embawwathing thtory.”

Day took a few moments to compose herself and figure out what Emerald had said. “My most embarrassing story, huh? Are you sure?” Emerald nodded, his confident look marred by his swollen tongue. “Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you.”

“And that's how my first coltfriend got kicked out of the guard. I'm kinda surprised he didn't get banished or something, actually. Anyway, I joined up later, but it took them so long to clean up the mess that it still came up when I applied.” Day Break was too entertained by the reactions of her companions to be more than slightly embarrassed.

Around her, Pinkie and Discord were both laughing hysterically, while Emerald and Fluttershy were holding a sudden contest to see who could blush the hardest. “When you... and then he... oh, what I would give to see the look on Celestia's face when she went for breakfast!” Discord choked out before literally dissolving into giggles.

Fluttershy cleared her throat, hiding as much of her face as she could behind her mane. “I, um, I'm glad Talon wasn't awake for that.”

Day chuckled to herself. “Yeah, can you imagine how much trouble I'd get in if he told the other foals about that?”

Emerald laughed as his blush died down somewhat, his tongue mostly back to normal. “Yeah, I'd pay money to see your face if-”

They all turned with horror to the sudden sound of a sneeze to see a small hole burned into the side of Talon's basket, which Talon was now sticking his head out of. “Sorry!”

Fluttershy stared, eyes wide. “Talon, how much of that did you hear?”

“What?” Talon sniffled and blinked groggily. “I wake when sneeze.”

The look of absolute panic on Day's face turned to relief. “Oh, thank Celestia!” she exclaimed as she keeled over.

Fluttershy did her best to explain to Talon why Emerald was laughing so hard while his partner had fainted. Eventually she got him to go back to sleep with a promise of a new basket. “Maybe we should get to bed as well,” she said, looking around the group as Day slowly came back to consciousness.

“So, you brought him in?”

Captain Burst nodded. “Yes, Princess Twilight. I'm just glad he didn't try anything sooner. We've seen him around town, and his disguise is so transparent it's embarrassing; we just didn't know what to look out for.”

“Yes, it's fortunate that he didn't. Where are you holding him?”

“We have him in custody at the Ponyville jail. We thought that we'd let you question him first, see if a Princess can get him to open up more easily than a guard.”

“Alright,” Twilight stated as her horn lit up, and suddenly they were at the jailhouse. “Let's get this over with.”

Show stood rapidly before bowing. “Princess thank goodness you're here! Can you tell me what's going on? The guards are acting as if I murdered somepony, but they won't tell me anything.”

Twilight jabbed a hoof toward the cell. “Drop it, Show Stealer, you're not fooling anypony. We know you escaped from Canterlot jail.”

A confused look passed over his expression. “Show Stealer? No, I'm Show Stopper. Show Stealer was my brother, but I haven't seen him for- did you say jail?”

The captain nodded as Show's face shifted from confused, to surprised, to... happy?

“He's alive?”

Show Stopper sat forlornly on one of the chairs around Twilight's main table. After Twilight verified that he wasn't lying, he was been quickly released from custody, but had gone with Twilight at her request to answer some questions.

Twilight sat across from him, staring into her tea as Shield Burst sat silently to one side. “We're sorry again for all the trouble, Show Stopper.”

“It's not a big deal, Princess. Me and my brother always did look alike. When that accident happened all those years ago, I thought he had died. Something must have happened to him, though. Those things you said he did, I just... He was never that cruel. Especially that poor colt, I mean...”

He trailed off as a tear slid down his face before he felt a hoof on his shoulder. “We're doing everything we can to help him.” Twilight looked aside and bit her lip. “If you could tell us anything about that accident, it might help us figure something out.”

He took a few deep breaths before nodding slightly. “Okay, well, we were near the east side of Griffony, traveling with a troupe of performers, when we were stopped by these dragons...”

“So, let me get this straight.” Twilight looked up from the parchment she had been taking notes on. “The griffon guards just... left?”

“Yeah. After that we just scattered. I was lucky to make it out. I've only ever seen one of the troupe members again, but apparently most of them made it out. I hadn't heard anything about Stealer making it out, so I just assumed...” Show Stopper hung his head. “I mean, we always knew the gypsies in the troupe were pretty slippery, and the griffons could get away on their own. Me and Stealer, though, were just jugglers back then. If I'd known, maybe...”

“Hey.” He turned his eyes upward to see Twilight smiling gently at him. “Don't beat yourself up about it. There wasn't any way you could have known.”

“Yeah, I guess you're right.” Stopper sniffed as he wiped the tears from his eyes. “Look at me, what would my crew think?”

“I'm sure that they would be glad you're getting this off of your chest.”

“Yeah, probably. Say, speaking of my crew, do you know that pink mare I've been seeing around town? I wanted to see if she could teach my acrobats some new tricks.”

Twilight looked at him incredulously. “Pink? You mean Pinkie Pie?”

“Maybe? She's all pink with this really poofy mane and tail.”

“That's definitely Pinkie Pie, ” Twilight confirmed with a smile. “She's Ponyville's party planner.”

“I'd still like to know if she could teach my crew any tricks. Some of what she does is pretty great.”

Emerald was woken by a steady set of knocks on the front door. Grumbling, he stumbled toward the door. Yawning, he opened it to find Rarity standing just outside with her saddlebags.

“Oh! You're certainly not Fluttershy.”

Emerald looked over himself before turning back to her. The pajamas were gone, but so was his armor. “Uh... yep. Definitely not. Sorry, we were all up pretty late.” As if to punctuate his statement, he yawned once more, covering it with a hoof.

“Oh, well, I was just going to ask Fluttershy if she wanted to join me and the girls at the spa, but if she has guests I'd hate to intrude.”

“Oh, well, we're not exactly... guests. Well, Discord is, I didn't even know he could sleep...” Emerald trailed off, noticing the scrutinizing look on Rarity's face.

“Emerald Cut? Is that you? I'm sorry I didn't recognize you , but I've simply never seen you without your armor. Or in Fluttershy's house, for that matter.”

Emerald rubbed his mane with his hoof, hoping it might make it slightly less unruly. “Oh, well, we were told to tighten security around Talon and sort of... got invited to a sleepover by Discord. Forcibly.”

“Well, you, Discord and Day Break would be more than welcome to come along.” She paused, looking over his mane. “You look like you could use a good spa day, to be honest.”

“Okay, well, I'll see if any of the others are awake. Come in, I guess?”

The others had woken up and were starting to eat breakfast by the time Emerald led Rarity inside. Talon was halfway through a bowl of berries and yogurt as the others enjoyed heaps of haycakes, Discord wielding a spatula and wearing a batter-covered apron.

“Ah, my favorite diva dress designer! What brings you here? Haycakes?” Discord's smile widened as a plates animated themselves and ran on spindly legs to where Rarity and Emerald had seated themselves around the table. Chasing after them was the pitcher of syrup, roaring with what sounded like a gargle as it caught one of the plates and ate it, only to spit it out a moment later with perfectly drizzled syrup. Emerald shrugged and grabbed a fork in his telekinesis.

Rarity held up a hoof. “Thank you, Discord, but I already had breakfast, and a figure like mine doesn't come without a little sacrifice. Perhaps later?” She turned to Fluttershy, tossing her mane back with a hoof. “Me and the girls were going to have a spa day, and we were wondering if you might like to join us, darling. Your guests would be welcome to come along, of course.”

Fluttershy swallowed her current mouthful of haycakes. “I'd love to, Rarity. Would you all like to come along?”

Discord turned around as he tossed the remaining haycakes out the window, resulting in a muffled explosion. “How could I refuse with company this entertaining?”

As the motley group approached the spa, Emerald sighed and turned to look at Day Break trotting next to him. “You know Day, I don't know how you talked me into this.”

“Oh come on,” Day Break replied, rolling her eyes. “You know you'd have to come along anyway. We're Talon's personal guards now, remember?”

“Yeah, but how exactly did you all manage to convince me to let Miss Rarity order a treatment for me?” He looked over to where the mare in question was eagerly pointing out several options to a giggling Aloe. He sighed as he stepped inside. “Might as well get this over with.”

“Oh, and he'll definitely need one of those, he'll feel like a new stallion afterword.” Rarity turned to look at him with a broad smile as he approached. “There you are darling. I just know you'll love this.”

Aloe couldn't keep the grin off her face. “Oh, it's been too long since we had somepony order this. Crystal ponies don't come to Ponyville all that often.”

Emerald cringed. “What exactly did she sign me up for?”

Aloe just giggled more as she led him into another room. “Oh, you'll see, silly. I think you'll enjoy it, really. ”

Chapter 15: A Day Out On the Town

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Talon lay on the table situated between Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo.

“Awwwww yeaaaah.” Rainbow's voice vibrated as the masseuse struck her back before moving on to deeper muscle massage. “These deep tissue treatments will help keep you from pulling muscles when I put you guys through your paces later.”

“Yeah, I thought the spa was only for girly stuff, but these help a lot with practice.”

“Yeah, hehe...” Rainbow laughed nervously while averting her eyes. “Girly stuff.”

Talon, who had already gone through a fur conditioning, claw polish and trim, scale moisturizing, and horn buffing, and was still scheduled for a full coat styling, looked over from his position on the central table. “What girly?”

“Oh, girly stuff is just froufrou stuff that make you look 'pretty'” Rainbow explained, making hoof quotes as she answered. “Rarity is all about that, but I stick with the massages and muscle relaxant baths.”

“Not allowed take spa bath.” He frowned as he remembered his previous experience. “Water make Talon sick.”

“What?” Scootaloo didn't even bother looking over to them, instead opting to keep her eyes closed as she relaxed. “How did a bath make you sick?”

“Water have leaves. Sick if eat leaves.”

Rainbow looked over at him in confusion. “You drank the bath water? Why?”

Talon glared at Rainbow indignantly. “Not mean to...”

After Talon had gotten his coat styled, he emerged to see a very uncomfortable and very shiny Emerald Cut. Rarity was regaling him with the positive benefits of the treatments he'd received, but neither she nor the giggles his partner had were making him any less embarrassed as he levitated his armor into place. Somepony had polished it while he was busy, resulting in several surprised shouts of pain as he trotted outside into the sunlight.

Rarity tossed her mane behind her with a practiced flourish. “I guess some stallions just can't handle a simple spa treatment.” She turned to face the others. “Well, darlings, would you like to join me for lunch? I heard that Garden Green's place has a new type of salad.”

“Sorry, sugarcube, but me and Bloom gotta get back to work on the eastern orchard.”

Apple Bloom waved as she trotted off with her sister. “See ya later, everypony!”

“Yeah, me and Scoots gotta work on setting up for this afternoon. Ya coming, squirt?”

“Of course!” Scootaloo mounted her scooter and zoomed off after Rainbow, who had already started zipping down the road.

Pinkie glanced down the street in the direction of Sugarcube Corner. “I would, but I have to help the cakes with this big order somepony put in. I didn't know there was that much of a demand for butterscotch cinnamon pie, but I guess there is. See ya later, girls!” Pinkie playfully pranced past, intent on making as many pies as the bakery could hold.

“Well, me and Spike are free for a few hours, so I don't see why not.” Twilight turned to where he sat on her back. “You wanna come with us, Spike?”

He shrugged his shoulders, scales still glossy from the spa day. “I guess. What kind of salad is his new one?”

“Oh, he said he whipped up some sort of raspberry dressing for the spinach salad. From the way he was going on about it, it turned out very well.”

“Um, me and Talon can come along, but do you know if they have anything on the menu that Talon can eat?” Fluttershy looked down at her newly-preened charge, concern evident on her features.

“Oh, Garden is such a dear, I'm sure he could whip something up for little Talon.”

“Oh, good.” Relief flowed over Fluttershy's features. “I wouldn't want him to get sick while he was training with Rainbow Dash this afternoon.”

“Oh, of course, darling, that would be simply... wait, this afternoon? But he just got his coat styled!”

Garden Green, proprietor and head chef of the Galloping Gardens, was used to waitstaff occasionally entering the kitchen in a state of panic. After all, they were known to cater to the tastes of many high-class visitors. The pony doing so now, however, usually had a reputation for being calm and collected. Green was about to ask what had his head waiter in such a state when said pony beat him to the punch.

“Princess Twilight is here!” The normally smooth voice of the stallion had gone up at least two octaves. Perhaps three.

“Is that it? You need to relax about this sort of thing, Sommelier. She lives in Ponyville, it makes sense she might come here. Take her order, and let me know if they need anything in particular.”

Sommelier attempted to slow his breathing, straightening his apron as he did so. “She has friends with her.”

Green rolled his eyes. “Fine, take their order, then.”

Rarity had spent the walk over to the restaurant alternating between recommending salads for her friends and repeatedly ensuring that Fluttershy promised to take Talon to the boutique the next morning to get his coat styling redone.

“... so you can't let him go to sleep without a bath, but make sure he dries off first, or we'll never get his coat to sit down properly. Oh, good, we're here!.”

The group entered through an ivy-laden lattice archway, passing the outdoor dining area to get to where a waiter stood ready to bring them to a table.

“I'm sorry madams I'll be right back so sorry.” The stallion, a light gray unicorn with a dark maroon mane and mustache, bolted as soon as he had finished his sentence.

“Huh.” Rarity glanced over to the others. “I hope nothing's wrong. I've never seen Sommelier act quite like that.”

Soon enough, Sommelier returned to them with a nervous smile on his face. “Sorry about that, everypony. If you'll just follow me, I'll get you to your table.”

They were led to a large table situated on a raised deck, providing a particularly nice view of the nearby countryside. Sommelier pulled out a notepad and pen using his magic after everypony had gotten themselves seated around the table.

“Good day, everypony, I'm Sommelier, and I'll be your waiter today. What can I get you to drink?” After the ponies had given him their preferences, he floated several menus out of his apron. “I'll be back with your drinks momentarily, everypony.”

After they'd gotten their drinks, everypony around the table sipped at them as they looked over their menus. Talon sat patiently between Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle; even if he could have ordered off the menu, many of the dishes had fancy names he didn't recognize. Soon enough, Sommelier returned, taking orders and retrieving menus with his normal poise. “Is that all for you today?”

“Actually, there is one other thing.” Rarity took a sip of her raspberry juice before continuing. “Could we possibly borrow Garden Green for a moment? We need to ask him about something.”

Sommelier nodded and tucked his notebook away. “Certainly.” Significantly calmer this time, he made his way to the kitchen.

“So, what can I help you with?” Green asked after he finished bowing to Twilight.

“It's nice to see you, Garden dear.” Rarity began. “It's just that Talon here can't eat a great many things and we were hoping you could make something he could eat.”

“Well, I'd need a minute, but I think I could manage that. What kind of dietary restrictions does he have?”

Fluttershy peeked out from behind her mane. “Oh, I have a list in my saddlebags, if you'd like.” She reached down to where her saddlebags rested on the floor, lifting out a scroll and handing it to him.

“Hmm... that's a lot to keep out of a salad, but... If I substitute rose leaves for those, and switch to a sweet cream for the sauce... add a few vegetables... yes, I should be able to whip something up. I might even put it on the menu, now that I think of it.”

“Oh, thank you.” Fluttershy turned to Talon and gestured to Garden with her hoof. “Talon, why don't you thank this nice stallion for helping you out?”

Talon turned to look at Garden, a smile on his face as his tail agitated the tablecloth slightly. “Thank you!”

“Well, it's no big deal, really. I'll have all of your...” He trailed off as he took in the sight of Talon. “That certainly explains a lot of that list.”

Sommelier brought out their salads just as promised, barely interrupting the ongoing conversations as he set the plates in front of each pony. The others had already started on their salads by the time Garden returned bearing a platter. “I give to you, the fruit sweet!” he announced. He opened it with a flourish, revealing a platter of mixed romaine, spinach, and rose petals. Apple, cucumber, carrot, and orange slices dotted the top, as well as crumbled soft cheese. Lightly steamed wheat lay in a pile on one side of the platter, as did a small dish of a creamy sauce with a few julienned pieces of celery sticking out on one side. “The sauce is an emulsion of honey, rose, and raspberry, mixed into a cream sauce.”

“Wow!” Sweetie looked up from her own plate. “I gotta get that next time!”

Talon looked to the platter, which was half the size he was. “Uhh... share? Good, but too much.”

“Thanks!”

Even with Sweetie and Fluttershy trying some of the salad, Talon had plenty left over. Emerald and Day followed him and Fluttershy back to the cottage, where they dropped off the salad before heading over to the field that Rainbow's house floated over.

Rainbow swooped down, kicking up a cloud of dust as she landed next to them. “Sweet, we can get started. C'mon, everypony.!”

They followed Rainbow Dash as she zipped over to a different part of the field, next to a series of bars and planks that had been put together haphazardly.

Fluttershy looked at the equipment worriedly as she poked a balance beam. “Rainbow, are you sure this is safe?”

“Yep.” Rainbow patted a set of bars and it wobbled momentarily. “Even had Scoots help me test it all out.”

Scootaloo beamed, her wings fluttering. “Yeah! It's totally ready for me and Talon!”

Rather miraculously, the afternoon had gone without too much incident. Only three of the structures broke during use, and none of the falls were bad enough to result in more than minor scrapes and bruises. Considering the role Scootaloo had in the construction, Fluttershy was more relieved than anything.

Talon grunted as he tried to lift himself by pressing his wings against the bars to his sides, collapsing after Scootaloo shouted “Five!”

Rainbow walked up, a clipboard held in one hoof. “Well, you did good in agility and flexibility, but your wing strength definitely needs work. Fluttershy, could you help him with endurance training and form practice during the week? He'll need at least those by the time his feathers grow back in.”

Fluttershy nodded. “I guess so. I'll need you to write down the directions, though.”

“Yeah, sure thing.” Rainbow scribbled something down on her clipboard. “Day, you should help with those. Your wings are more like his, so he should probably use thestral wing form, at least to start.” Rainbow looked over to Scootaloo. “You think you could practice with him after school this week, Scoots?”

Scootaloo saluted as she stood at attention. “Sure thing! I'll get the girls to come running with us, too! Sweetie needs to work on her cardio anyway.”

“Fluttershy, you'll need to make sure he gets a decent caloric intake and eats lots of protein. It's important for pegasi, so for him, it'll probably be even more important.”

Rainbow trotted back over to stand before Talon, who just continued to sit on the ground. “You should also practice using your wing's magic, okay? You ever done that?”

Talon stood up shakily. “Um, I think?”

Rainbow wave a hoof about wildly. “Well, come on, show me what you got!”

Talon closed his eyes and dug his claws into the grass as he flapped his wings as hard as he could, stopping only when he felt his wings start to get sore again. Panting, he opened his eyes to find that the others were gone. “Hello?”

Several heads poked out from behind the heaviest piece of equipment.

Rainbow was the first to speak up. “You know what, maybe you should do some control exercises instead.”

Chapter 16: Emerald Needs To Do More Cardio

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Talon trudged next to Fluttershy on the path back to her cottage. He just wanted to eat and sleep. Maybe not in that order, depending on how long he could stay awake.

Fluttershy made her way into the kitchen as Talon slowly followed and plopped himself onto a seat. He let out a large yawn that startled several mice who were having some sort of get together on one of the counters. “Talon is tired.”

“You should eat before you head to bed. I don't want you to be tired in the morning, too. Here” Fluttershy slid a plate of sliced fruits and vegetables. “I would have made more, but I'm afraid you'll fall asleep while I do.”

Fluttershy ended up carrying Talon to bed after he'd fallen asleep on the apple slices.

Talon woke up to Day Break shaking him lightly. “C'mon, Talon, wake up.” Day's whispers sounded urgent as she continued. “I don't wanna wake up Fluttershy if we can help it.”

Talon stepped out of his basket, yawning. He looked over to the window, the moon just setting on the horizon outside. “What you need?”

“We're supposed to do exercises in the morning, remember? Well, this is when I exercise. Thought it might help if you had somepony to work out with.” Day tiptoed out the door, followed by Talon's soft padding and the occasional small clacks from his claws.

Emerald sat waiting outside, already wearing his armor. “You manage to get him without waking up Fluttershy?”

“Yeah, you know me, I'm the definition of subtlety.”

He snorted as they trotted over to a nearby field. “Yeah, not buying it.”

Talon looked over to Emerald. “Emerald do wing exercise?”

“What? Heh, no, he's just gonna practice his magic while we do the wing exercises. He'll be doing the endurance training with us, though. He probably needs it more than you.”

“I dunno, Day. He is just a colt.”

Emerald panted as he ran. “How... are you... so fast...”

Day and Talon waited for him to come to a stop near them. Talon was panting almost as hard as Emerald, but Day had barely broken a sweat. “Fliers have to have better lungs, Emerald. You know that.” She held back a chuckle. “Still, wait 'til I tell the captain you were outraced by a colt.”

“Ugh... just... don't...”

Talon looked to Day Break as the sun stated to rise above the horizon. “Wing exercise?”

Day smirked as she trotted off. “Yeah, come on, we'll just leave Greenie to do his magic stuff. We can do the wing training by the cottage.”

Fluttershy woke to the sound of birds outside as the sun peeked into her window. Yawning, she stretched and ambled to the stairs so she could feed her animal friends. As she was heading toward the kitchen to make breakfast for her guests, she heard familiar voices outside.

“No, you need to rotate your wings more, or you'll push yourself down when you raise them.”

“Okay, I try.”

Fluttershy made her way to the door and looked out to see Talon with a look of concentration, slowly moving his wings in a flight pattern. Every once in a while, his wingstroke would create a small blast of wind. “When you're done out here, come in for breakfast, okay?”

Talon turned to look at Fluttershy and was halfway to agreeing to come in when he smacked himself in the face with his wing.

Day chuckled and shook her head as he glared at the wing. “Don't worry, it gets easier. I think you're good for this morning, though, so why don't we head inside?”

They trudged into the kitchen after Fluttershy, who took out a waffle iron and started gathering ingredients. She started on a strawberry syrup while the first waffle cooked, pausing to take it out when the iron beeped. Soon, the sweet smells filled the kitchen as Talon and Day sat quietly eating. Soon, Emerald stepped through the doorway, wiping sweat from his forehead. Fluttershy set a plate in front of him as he sat down.

“Thanks.” He turned to Day before taking a bite of waffle. “Maybe we should do this more often. We could pay for some of the food of course. We practically live here right now anyway.” He turned back to Fluttershy. “We really do appreciate everything you're doing for us.”

“Heh, yeah. Don't know how long we're going to be here, and there's only so many times you can eat at sugarcube corner for breakfast and still fit in your armor.” Day poked Emerald's side with a hoof. “Case in point.”

“Hey! It's not my fault they have my favorite flavor of... everything, actually.”

“Pfft... hahaha! No wonder you're so pudgy!”

After everypony had gotten cleaned up, Day and Emerald accompanied them to Rarity's boutique so that Talon could get his coat restyled. Rarity was waiting for them as they entered, fiddling with a few touches on a hat before floating it back over to a ponyquin.

“Oh, good, there you are. I was almost ready to come over and get you myself. I'm sure that Talon's coat was just terribly ruined by Rainbow yesterday. Here, come along dear.” Rarity's horn lit up as she picked him up in her aura.

Talon immediately went stiff, His eyes going wide and his pupils shrinking as much as they could.

“Wait, Rarity!” Fluttershy galloped after her, but by the time she had caught up, Talon was standing on a small pedestal while Rarity brushed his coat.

“Now dear, you simply must take better care of your coat. You can't go to the spa or come over here every day, after all.” Rarity brought out a few bottles of conditioning oils she kept on hoof for just such emergencies. “And you really do look quite nice when your coat has a nice, healthy sheen to it. Why, I have no doubt you've already caught the eye of some filly in town.”

Once she had his coat taken care of, she turned her attention to his mane. “Hmm... your mane is more feathers than fur, so there's only so much I can do with it.” She turned to Fluttershy, who had decided to simply let Rarity finish. “What do you think, dear? Any ideas for a good manestyle for him?”

“Um, not really...”

“Oh, well, I can always try a classic. Hold still, dear.” She brought out a pair of scissors and some mane gel, rapidly making small adjustments to streamline his mane while allowing the feathers to stick up just the right amount. “There, what do you think?”

“Oh, um, it looks great, but I think you freaked Talon out when you picked him up.”

Talon looked around, still standing stiffly. “Rarity done?”

“Yes dear, you can get down now. Here, have a look.” Rarity floated over a full-length mirror, angling it to give him the best view of her efforts.

“Um... why is shiny?”

“Why dear, that's what a healthy coat should look like! Just a slight sheen is all.” Rarity glanced over at the clock. “Oh, but I simply must be going now. I have a lunch with a friend in town; you know Octavia, don't you Fluttershy?” Rarity paused as Fluttershy nodded. “Well, I'd love for you to come. I know Octavia has been positively enamored with the stories I've been telling her about Talon.”

“So,” Octavia leaned over after they'd placed their orders, her hooves crossed under her chin. “You're the colt Rarity has been telling me about. Although, I suppose colt isn't the most accurate term in this case.”

Rarity put her hoof on Octavia's shoulder and shook her head, her mane flipping about as she did so. “Darling, he's a unique creature. I don't think there is a technically correct term in his case. We've just been going with colt because it's easier.”

“Well, that does make sense.” She turned back to Talon. “I've heard quite a bit about you, you know. All good things, of course.” She waved her hoof at him. “Why don't you tell me about yourself, though?”

Talon's brows furrowed as he thought. “Um... I... like fruit? And fish?”

“Well then, it's a good thing that's what you ordered.” Octavia smirked across the table. “What else do you like?”

The waiter arrived with their drinks, which for everyone except Talon was a tea blend that Octavia had recommended. She sipped at hers as Talon hastily gulped some of his water. “Um... bugs, and Fluttershy, and Discord, and Rarity, and Twilight, and Apple Bloom, and...” Talon hesitated slightly before continuing. “And Scootaloo, and Sweetie, and Pinkie, and, um, magic...”

It was around that time that their food arrived, interrupting Talon as his mouth became otherwise occupied. Octavia's eyes widened slightly and a smile tugged at her lips as she delicately ate her own lunch. “That's quite a list. Though it doesn't seem that table manners are anywhere on it at this point.”

As the mares around the table tittered softly, Talon looked to where Emerald sat next to him, eating large spoonfuls of a cucumber bisque. “What is table manners?”

“Well,” Emerald dabbed at his face with a napkin and turned to him. “It's... pffft... it's just... heheha, I'm sorry, but...” He trailed off as Talon looked in puzzlement at the others, bits of fish and barley clinging to his muzzle, with a raspberry stuck to the fur at the base of his ear.

“Here, dear, let me get that.” Rarity floated over a napkin, wiping away the debris of his latest demolished meal. Talon shrugged and picked up the raspberry from where it had landed on his plate and ate it.

“Eeeew!” Sweetie Belle shouted, giggling as she stuck her tongue out at him. “That was on your face!”

While the conversation continued, two fillies approached their table. “Hey, everypony!”

Sweetie turned to look over to the new arrivals. “Hey Scootaloo, hey Apple Bloom! What are you guys doing here?”

“We were just on our way to help somepony with getting their cutie mark.” Apple Bloom paused, looking between Sweetie and Talon. “Ya'll wanna come along?”

“Sure thing!” Sweetie jumped up, grabbing Talon and dragging him along. The guards scrambled to follow as Octavia yelled after them.

“Have fun, everypony!” She sighed as she looked down at her half-finished plate. “You know, girls, it's times like this that remind me how much me and vinyl have been wanting a foal of our own. We're starting to think about fostering as a way to adopt, but we really don't know where to start.”

Rarity wiped her mouth with her napkin before turning to speak to Octavia. “Well, I know Twilight is working on some paperwork to get Talon set up to be fostered. She might be able to help.”

Octavia smiled as she returned to her lunch. “Thanks. We just might do that.”

The rest of the group waited at the meeting spot so that Emerald could catch up.

“I gotta... stop... eating donuts...” Emerald panted as he trotted up to them.

Day Break glanced at him before returning to surveying the empty field filled with rocks. “That or you need to run more. Anyway, what are all of you doing out here?”

“Well,” Apple Bloom began, “Fine Detail is trying to find his cutie mark, and we reckon he might get it for finding or identifying gemstones.”

“I still say we should have had him try paragliding,” Scootaloo huffed.

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “Yeah, 'cuz that sounds like it wouldn't end with anypony in the hospital.”

“Hey, I was only in there for a day!”

“Girls! Stop arguing!” Day Break admonished as she continued looking around the field. “If he wants to try identifying gems, why didn't you all just meet at Rarity's? I'm sure she has plenty.”

Sweetie frowned, her gaze downward. “We're, uh, not allowed to crusade around the boutique. Rarity already pays too much for insurance on it.”

Emerald looked at them from where he stood near the road. “What did you do to her boutique?”

Sweetie cringed as she remembered that particular adventure. “Well, you see...”

Twilight stood on the path to the boutique, gaping at the wreck that used to be her friend's residence and place of business. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were working together to operate a fire extinguisher to put out a small patch of flames that had sprung up.

“Girls! How did you even do this? I thought you were trying to make dinner for your sisters?!”

Sweetie cringed as she turned to Twilight. “Well, you see...”

“...and that's why she won't let us crusade around there anymore.”

Emerald opened his mouth, the words refusing to come. Eventually, he closed it without a word.

Scootaloo sat nearby with a frown. “Yeah, but we learned not to let Sweetie make souffle after that, so I don't know why Rarity is still upset.”

Day trotted over to her partner.“Hey Greenie, you okay?”

“Yeah, just...” Emerald gestured at the fillies who were eagerly greeting a unicorn colt who'd just trotted up. “Do you think we should be guarding Talon from them?”

Chapter 17: Feeding Instructions

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Finding gems to identify was dirty work. Fine Detail was very good at it, even able to point out the different qualities of gem and how they might be used. Unfortunately, it turned out that Fine Detail's cutie mark was not in identifying the gems. Eventually, the Crusaders had to head home, chatting amongst themselves as they went.

“We might not have gotten him a cutie mark, but I think we're on the right track.”

Scootaloo looked back to Sweetie as they walked. “Maybe we should have gone with paragliding.”

Apple Bloom sighed. “C'mon, ya'll, can you just let it go? We're not gonna get everyone their cutie marks on the first try. Hay, look what happened with Gabby. Actually, we should see if her or Babs can visit sometime...”

They all paused as they reached Scootaloo's street. “See ya tomorrow, guys!”

“You know...” Sweetie Belle's forehead scrunched up in thought. “We never did see if Talon wanted to be an honorary crusader.”

“I dunno, Sweetie, he's been kinda busy. Today's the first time he went crusading with us.”

“What is honorary member?” Talon asked as they paused outside of Carousel Boutique.

“Oh, uh...” Apple Bloom brought her hoof to her chin. “I dunno how to explain it, exactly...”

“Isn't it basically saying he's a crusader even though he probably can't get a cutie mark?”

Talon peered back at his flank. “Not have butt mark?”

Their answer was interrupted by an exasperated shout from the boutique behind them.

“UGH! Again?!”

After Rarity had berated the crusaders for messing up Talon's coat after she had just fixed it that morning, she ushered Sweetie inside, waving goodbye to the others. A little way down the road, Talon suddenly remembered something he wanted to ask.

“Apple Bloom, who is coltfriend?”

Apple Bloom froze for a half second before dashing off down the path toward Sweet Apple Acres. “Todaywasnicegottagonowthanksokaybye!”

Talon watched the dust cloud she kicked up as she left.

“What?”

The next day, Talon trotted alongside Fluttershy as they made their way to Twilight's castle, flanked by Emerald and Day. Not much had happened that morning until Spike showed up saying that Twilight wanted to see them a little earlier than they had originally planned.

Spike chatted with Talon the whole way back, bringing up anything from his favorite gemstones to stories about fire-breathing mishaps. Talon interjected with an occasional question, but otherwise listened through the whole walk.

Spike let them in as they arrived, leading them into the kitchen where an excited-looking Twilight trotted in place. “Fluttershy, good to see you! Thanks for coming on such short notice, but I thought you might want to see this.” Twilight floated over a metal ring held up on three stubby legs and placed it on the table. Talon winced as she plucked a hair from his muzzle with her magic.

“Sorry Talon, but it needs your thaumic signature to attune it to you.” Wondering what this thing needed his fur to do, he leaned up against the edge of the table. He watched as Twilight placed the fur in a small covered receptacle on one side of the device.

“Now I just need to test it to make sure it works for him.” Twilight opened her fridge and brought out a few items. A daisy, a bowl of beans, a stick of celery, and a small plate of grass soon found their way to the table. Twilight placed the daisy in the ring and the cover of the compartment with the fur turned a smoky red. “So far, so good...”

The grass resulted in a pale gray, the celery a mild blue, and the beans a sort of greenish blue.

“Good, everything works just like it's supposed to.” Twilight levitated the items back into her fridge. “This will tell you whether Talon can eat whatever is placed in the middle of it. Red is detrimental, gray is inedible, blue is edible, and green is for things that are really good for him. Pretty nifty, if I do say so myself.” Twilight nodded to herself as she patted the device.

“Uhh... Twilight?”

“Yes, Talon?”

Talon pointed to where her hoof was draped across the rim of the device, the indicator glowing a stead, vibrant green. “It think you food.”

The four ponies shuffled away from Talon as he poked the device curiously.

After Twilight very firmly explained to Talon why he couldn't eat ponies, occasionally remembering to use words he could understand, she had set out with the others in tow to the market, intent on running her new device through its paces.

“Alright, that should just about do it.” Twilight checked off one last item on her list of things available from Ponyville's regular vendors. The proprietors of some had looked confused when she had explained what she was doing, but none more so than the owner of Quills and Sofas, who initially thought she was there for new quills. Many of the vendors had been surprised that she might even consider them a source of food, but she had remained adamant that they needed to be thorough, especially after one stop revealed that he could eat some metals, with aluminum being the most notable exception.

“I still think that the furniture stores were a little overkill, Princess.” Emerald grinned as they walked back to the castle. “Although it's a good thing you got that one hiccup fixed.”

Twilight grimaced.“Hey, how was I supposed to know that a termite infestation would give a false positive?”

Day snorted, her sniggering barely contained. “That didn't mean you needed to force feed Talon a table leg. Pfft, the look on that salespony's face was priceless.” Her voice took on a slightly higher pitch as she gesticulated wildly with a foreleg. “Don't worry, it's just part of an experiment!”

Twilight blushed and turned to Talon. “I really am sorry about that, Talon.”

Talon spat out a splinter.“Table taste bad.”

Talon sat working on his math worksheet, glancing up every so often at the crusaders as they sat around the table. Twilight had decided to catch him up to the math curriculum first, since he learned it more easily than social studies and it would take less time than science.

He watched as Scootaloo chewed on her pencil pensively before looking at his own pencil and licking it.

Immediately, Talon scrunched up his muzzle in disgust. “Eugh! Table taste better!”

The crusaders looked at each other, surprised at Talon's sudden outburst, before Sweetie decided to ask “Why'd you lick your pencil?”

“Scootaloo eat pencil.”

Apple Bloom snorted before she slumped onto the table laughing. “I keep telling Scootaloo that's a bad habit!” Suddenly, a thoughtful look crossed her face as she put a hoof to her muzzle. “Wait, how do you know what a table tastes like?”

Talon grimaced.“Twilight try make Talon eat table.”

The three stared blankly at him before Scootaloo got up, a flat look on her face. “Yeah, I'm getting Twilight. There is no way I'm hearing him right.”

The others sat in silence for the minute it took Scootaloo to bring Twilight back to the room. “You guys got done pretty fast. I thought it would be at least another half-hour before you would need me to give you the next set of problems.”

Scootaloo shook her head as she sat next to the table. “No, Twilight, that's not why we needed you here.” She waved a hoof over toward where Talon sat. “We need you to tell us what Talon means.”

“What he means by what?”

It was Sweetie's turn to wave a hoof at Talon. “He said you tried to make him eat a table, but that doesn't make any sense.”

Twilight glanced nervously to the side. “Well, it was just a table leg, not a whole table...”

As the three fillies gaped at Twilight, Talon spit out a sliver left over from that morning.

“Blegh!”

The next few days passed by calmly. Talon spent his time between tutoring reading and learning some of the basics of cooking. Fluttershy was preparing for the few pets belonging to those who were taking a trip during the fall. A general atmosphere of last-minute preparations hovered over the town as parents spent the last week before the school year started running errands, making sure that only a few things would be forgotten.

Fluttershy had gotten workbooks, paper, and pencils so that Talon could attend school with the other foals. Twilight had deemed his progress with math and Equestrian satisfactory, explaining to Cheerilee that he would be receiving additional tutoring in other subjects until he was able to keep up with the rest of the class.

She had realized that morning, however, that he didn't have any saddlebags. None of the ones she could find would fit Talon, as his wings connected to a larger portion of his body than those of a pegasus.

That was why she and Talon stood at the door to Carousel Boutique as Rarity answered it. “Oh, hello darlings. I'm terribly sorry, but I have my hands full with an order, and Sweetie is out with some friends doing school shopping.”

“Actually, Rarity, that's why we're here. I can't find any saddlebags in town that fit Talon.”

“Well that just won't do at all!” She stepped aside, motioning them in. “Come on in. I have to finish this order before I can work on anything for Talon, but I can certainly take his measurements and get started on it later.” Rarity paused for a moment, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

“Now, I believe that something dark might be best to contrast his lighter colors. Perhaps a navy or royal purple? I'll have to try a couple of combinations later. In any case, please step up here, dear.”

Talon hopped up to the low pedestal, moving only occasionally as Rarity adjusted him to get different measurements. “So, dear, are you looking forward to starting school? The schoolhouse here is quite nice, and I'm sure Cheerilee will be more than understanding of your situation. Plus, you'll get to make plenty of friends.”

Talon shrugged, momentarily displacing the measuring tape that had been laying across his shoulders. “I like Twilight lessons.”

“Well then I'm sure you'll just love it.” Rarity floated her measuring tapes and fabric swatches back into their drawers. “Now, you two go ahead , I still need to finish these. It was nice to see you two.”

“Hey, who are you? What do you need?”

Spike stood just inside the door to the castle, Show Stopper frozen momentarily with his hoof still raised to the door.

“Well,” Stopper paused, clearing his throat. “If the princess has the time, I was hoping to discuss something with her.”

“Well, we just finished lunch, so she should have some time. Speaking of, you want anything?”

“No thanks. Honestly, I'm not too hungry right now anyway, so-” Stopper bowed to Twilight as he entered the room. “Good afternoon, your highness.”

“Please, no need to be so formal. What brings you here, Stopper? I thought you were scheduled to leave today.”

“Well, I had hoped that you might give me some advice.” Twilight motioned for him to continue. “You see, My retirement has been coming up anyway, and I've been training my nephew Spectacle to take over as ringleader.”

Twilight's brows lowered in concern. “Your nephew? He's not...”

Stopper looked to the side and sighed. “I... I didn't have the heart to tell him. I've been taking care of him ever since his mother passed away, and for him to hear that his father is alive, but doing those horrible things...” Stopper shook his head and sighed. “I don't think he'd be able to take it. Maybe someday I will, but for now, I just don't think I can.”

Twilight placed a consoling hoof on his shoulder. “I understand. Was that what you needed advice about, or...”

“Oh, no, that's not it.” Stopper drew in a deep, shuddering breath to steady himself. “I was wondering if you had any thoughts on where I should retire to. I was thinking staying here might be the best option. I'd steer clear of Talon, of course. I don't think he's too keen to see me after what my brother did.”

“Okay, but why did you need my input?” Twilight asked incredulously. “It sounds like you've already decided.”

“I thought that if I stayed here, perhaps you and the other princesses could put out an order to be on the lookout for Show Stealer without me being mistakenly brought in every other day.”

Twilight rubbed her chin with a hoof. “That does make sense, I guess. I'll have to talk to Mayor Mare about getting you registered as a citizen. Do you have someplace to stay already?”

“No, but I have enough funds for a small home here.”

“Well, if that's all, I'd like to officially say-”

Twilight was interrupted by Pinkie jumping onto the table, spraying confetti over the other two ponies. “Welcome to Ponyville!”

Twilight blew a stray piece of confetti off her muzzle. “Thank you, Pinkie.”

Chapter 18: Weathering the Storm

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After Twilight had seen Show Stopper out and cleaned the confetti up, she and Spike set up the lab for Talon. They had invited Rainbow over as well, promising her a chance to show off her weather manipulating skills. She had even given Twilight a few ideas for her tests, mostly indirectly due to her bragging.

They had set up several areas by the time Spike heard knocking and ran over to open the door. The now familiar group of Talon, Day, Fluttershy, and Emerald trotted in, following him down to the basement where they gaped at the extent of the preparations Twilight had made.

In one corner, there was a sealed box with a spring pushing the top panel down. The side of the container had a gauge, currently set to zero. Along the left wall were stacked a series of glass boxes, each containing a small cloud about the size of Spike. The wall across from those had a large wooden tunnel with a fan on one end, hooked to yet another gauge. Just outside of the entrance to the makeshift tunnel was a weather vane bolted to the floor, next to a drain in the corner.

In the middle of the basement was a decent area roped off with a lightning rod in the center. Just in front of them was a table containing, among other things, a thaumometer, a thermometer, a barometer, a voltmeter, and several foam balls.

Twilight cantered over to them after making some adjustments to the gauge for the wind tunnel, jotting down something on a clipboard. Smiling, she flipped a page over. “Hello, everypony. We've got pretty much everything set up, so right now we're just waiting on Dash to get started. Day, I'd like you to help us with making sure that nothing goes wrong with the weather while we experiment. Emerald, I'd appreciate if you could help me with some of the equipment during the experiments.”

The two guards nodded as they all sat to wait for Rainbow to show up. “So,” Fluttershy broke the silence, hesitantly looking out at the others. “How is Talon doing in the lessons?”

Twilight smiled as she straightened up. “He's doing pretty well. He seems to like learning about things, at least. He's best at the things that are more conceptual, though. He picked up pretty quickly on the principles behind some basic science, but he needs more time to learn large quantities of information. I think that geography and history will take him the longest. Honestly, though, outside of those, he should be able to participate in class with-”

A rainbow contrail suddenly blurred into the room, kicking up a small cloud of dust on landing and blowing back everypony's manes. “Hey everypony! Sorry I'm late!”

“Alright. Everything is ready, so let's start.” Twilight had given everypony lab coats and goggles. She didn't have any lab equipment that would fit Talon, so she settled for giving him flight goggles. Twilight levitated one of the foam balls over to sit in front of Talon. “Let's start basic. Talon, try to levitate this.”

“Levitate?”

“Here, like this.” Twilight's aura flared up as she picked the ball up in her magic momentarily.

“Okay...” Talon stuck his tongue out in concentration as he reached out with one claw. The ball briefly floated as a tiny gust of wind blew it up from beneath.”

“Alright, so levitation is probably a no, but you can float objects with wind, which is fairly interesting...” Twilight scratched something out before scribbling a quick note. “Maybe we can still use the basic control exercises for you...” Twilight absentmindedly grabbed a jar from the table with her magic.

“Wait!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in surprise. “What are you gonna do with a jar of rainbow, Twilight?”

“Well,” Twilight began as she set the jar on the floor. “I thought that with his magic being so unique, he might be able to do something with it. After all, I've never seen anypony manipulate lightning like- wait, don't eat-”

Talon looked up from the jar he had scooped a handful from. Swallowing, he looked back and forth between the others guiltily. “Sorry!”

“Uhh...” Twilight stepped towards Talon carefully, hoping that there wasn't some sort of delayed reaction. “Do you... feel okay, Talon?”

“Yes?” Talon looked around once more as a small stream of rainbow dribbled down his chin before he wiped it with a paw. “What is wrong?”

“Um, Talon, isn't that, um, spicy?” Fluttershy asked.

“What is spicy? Is bad?” Talon looked over to Twilight with his ears pressed back. “Sorry.”

“What? Oh!” Twilight shook her head rapidly. “No, it's just, most ponies who eat rainbows end up, well...” Twilight glanced away and her eyes fell on Emerald. “Emerald, perhaps you could demonstrate. It's somewhat hard to explain with his current vocabulary.”

Emerald sighed, walking over to where the jar had been abandoned on the floor. “Yes, Princess Twilight.” He carefully extracted one drop of the multicolored liquid, making sure Talon was watching as he placed it on his tongue. “Ah, ah, hot!” Emerald danced in place and panted before he ran over and shoved his head into a cloud, sucking in the water vapor for relief.

“Most ponies who eat rainbow end up like that. Even pinkie, and she loves spicy food.” Twilight shuddered before turning to Talon. “I was going to ask if you could control the rainbow in any way, but I think I'll set up something more extensive for later.”

Twilight led Talon over to the large, spring-topped glass box, clipboard in her aura's grip. “Talon, I want you to squeeze the air in this box. Can you do that?”

“Squeeze... air?” Talon brought a paw up to his chin as Twilight nodded. “Okay...” Talon reached forward with the paw that was still slightly stained with rainbow. Twilight glanced back to the center of the room, noting the trail of multicolor paw prints with a frown before turning back to watch Talon. He looked as though he was struggling to squeeze an invisible object in his paw, his brow wrinkling as his claws started to glow with a soft white light.

The lid of the container creaked as it was pulled downward by the compressing air. “Hmm...” Twilight checked the gauge, recording the readings in her notes. “This would be high for the average unicorn your age , but I'm starting to think you have an affinity for weather magic.”

“Gee, really, Twilight?” Spike rolled his eyes. “What gave you that idea, the lightning or the other lightning?”

Twilight stuck her tongue out at Spike before turning back to her notes. “You know we can't assume things like that, Spike.” She trotted up and looked over a thermometer attached to the box. “Okay, Talon. Try to see if you can make the air inside the box hot or cold.”

Talon flexed his paw, which felt oddly sore, before looking back up to see Twilight happily scribbling in her notes. The last thing had worked, so maybe this one would as well. Talon focused on trying to make the box heat up. Sweating, his claws started to glow again before Talon was launched backward with a loud pop.

Fluttershy was the first to rush over, the others quickly following suit. “Are you alright, Talon?”

Talon sat up, shaking his head and holding his forelimb awkwardly in his other paw. “Paw feel...” he hesitated, trying to find a word to describe the current zinging, tingly feeling in his affected appendage. “Weird.”

Twilight's quill scratched rapidly at the clipboard. “You're suffering some magic burnout, so we'll need to take a break. Spike, could you grab an apple and a few gems for Talon?” She sighed as he pouted at her. “Yes, Spike, you can have a few too.” Twilight rolled her eyes as he pumped his fist in victory. “It makes sense that you'll need to build up your reserves after so long not really using them for anything but the most intuitive magic. It is interesting that your claws appear to be your focus for channeling your magic.”

Spike soon returned with the food, which Talon downed in a few bites. Twilight started on some calculations while Talon recovered.

“So, you raised the air by 0.6 degrees, the box is a meter to a side, the heat capacity and density of air around Ponyville...” Twilight mumbled to herself as she did some quick calculations. “That's about eight and a half thaums, not bad for somepony just starting out with magic.”

Twilight smiled softly as she returned to the group. “How about we try something that won't strain your magic for a little while?”

Talon nodded vigorously as he went to stand up, momentarily forgetting his numb leg as he tumbled back down to the floor.

“This test is actually something they use in flight schools. Rainbow told me about it, but I'm going to make it a double blind study.”

Rainbow looked at her in confusion as she hovered over to sit next to the wall of cloud containers. “We're gonna wear blindfolds?”

“No, but Talon is.” Twilight levitated said item and tied it over Talon's eyes. “Double blind means that you'll bring a random cloud over from the first set of sixteen, writing down what kind they are as you go. I won't know what kind of cloud you bring over, and I'll write down what kind of cloud Talon thinks it is. This way, I can't accidentally give him any clues or push him toward a certain answer. I'm even blocking my own weather senses.”

“Okay, whatever.” Rainbow grabbed a cloud container from the pile, checking off what kind it was on the sheet Twilight had given her before she flew it over to the other side of Talon.

“Okay, Talon, can you tell what kind of cloud this is?”

Talon sniffed at the air for a moment before hesitantly answering. “Wet?”

“Okay,” Twilight checked a box on her own chart. “Rain cloud. Next one, please, Dash.”

After Twilight had checked off a normal cloud, snow cloud, lightning cloud, and another rain cloud, she looked over to Rainbow. “Are you just bringing them over in the order I put them there, Rainbow?”

Rainbow quickly put the box she had been lifting off of the pile back down. “What? No, of course not! Heh, that would be bad science or whatever, right?” She picked up a different crate from the pile as Twilight resisted rolling her eyes and settled for an exasperated look.

Twilight looked up from her chart after the last box had been checked. Rainbow had rushed the cloud boxes back to the wall in a haphazard pile before bringing her chart over to Twilight.

“Looks like his weather sense is just as good as any pegasus. Though it seems he senses it through smell, which is odd, even for him...”

Rainbow thrust her forehooves out before her in exasperation. “Really, Twilight? Wouldn't it make more sense that he can just smell what kind of cloud it is?”

Twilight suddenly looked sheepishly at the others. “That... would make more sense, yes. I'll have to look into it. I did have a few more tests that I wanted to finish before the crusaders come over, though.”

After testing the strength and control he could put into his wind magic before he started to strain himself again, as well as his control over rain, Twilight looked at her last page of test procedures.

“Okay, we're almost done for today. I just want to test some of the ways Talon interacts with lightning.” Twilight floated over two crates, one with a dark storm cloud, the other a puffy white cloud. “Talon, if you could, I'd like you to take the lightning out of this cloud and put it in the other one.” Twilight stood a small distance away on the other side of the lightning rod and erected a shield around the group.

Rainbow hovered with her forelegs crossed. “Twilight, this is crazy. Nopony can just take lightning out of a – holy turnips! What the hay? How did he do that?!”

Twilight watched as Talon placed the ball of lightning in the center of the pure white cloud, which quickly turned a dark gray. The other cloud had changed form dark gray to almost white.

Twilight wrote furiously as her thaumic detectors hummed in the background. “Okay, now can you take the rain out of one of them?” Rainbow gaped as Talon grabbed the inside of the now white cloud, his paw emerging with a ball of water the size of a grape. The cloud rapidly dissipated as they watched.

“Now put the water in the other cloud, please.” Talon pushed the water into the cloud which turned a churning a dark gray and black in swirling motions.

“Is good?”

“This is great! I've never seen readings like these, but if I cross-reference them with records of pegasus thaumology I might be able to find out some amazing things about weather magic!”

In her excitement, Twilight dropped her shield, bouncing in place.

“Uh, Twilight?”

There was a familiar loud boom, and Twilight vaguely noticed a sparking and blackened Talon flying past her and crashing into one of the cloud crates.

Chapter 19: A Harrowing Encounter

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Twilight sat once again in a hospital chair next to Fluttershy, a sense of deja vu creeping over her even as she went over her notes, trying to figure out what had gone wrong with the experiment.

Sitting on the floor next to Twilight's massive pile of books, notes, and printouts, Rainbow Dash struggled to keep her eyes open. She had brought Fluttershy and Talon to the hospital while Twilight had waited to make sure the crusaders knew that day's lesson had been canceled. The three fillies sat whispering to each other and Spike on the other side of Fluttershy, worried looks occasionally directed toward the hospital bed.

The occupants of the room turned to look as they heard Nurse Tender Care greet the guards standing in the hall. She trotted in with a small smile on her face. “So, the good news is, he doesn't have any full fractures. He cracked his ribs, and his wings have plenty of cracks, bruises, and cuts, but he should be fine in a day or two. We're going to bandage him up and he should be good to go once he wakes up. He should take it easy for a few days, though.”

Rainbow Dash stomped a hoof on the tile floor of the hospital room. “Aw, man! That means he can't do flight exercises this weekend!” She pointed over to Twilight. “This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't had him overload that cloud!”

“I didn't know that would happen!” Twilight cried. “I'm just glad he didn't get hurt worse.”

The crusaders looked over to them with wide eyes. Sweetie Belle was the first to speak. “Is that because he landed on the cloud crates? What if he hadn't?”

Fluttershy looked over to Sweetie, shaking her head. “I think they meant the overloaded cloud, guys. I've never heard of somepony getting hit by one and not getting hurt pretty bad, or even...”

“But he's fine!” Rainbow cut her off, seeing the others start to tear up. “He'll be fine in a few days, and now everypony knows not to overload clouds, right?” Rainbow stared pointedly at Twilight, who shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. She opened her mouth to defend herself when there was a rustling sound from the bed.

Talon groaned as he woke up, using one paw to shield his eyes from the light. “What happen?”

Twilight averted her gaze as she rubbed her mane. “I, uh, kind of accidentally made you overcharge a cloud.”

Talon blinked tiredly as he lay on the mattress. “What?” Suddenly his eyes shot open, though they squeezed back shut as he sat up quickly, a paw rushing to the side of his head momentarily. “Everypony is okay?”

Talon sat on Fluttershy's back, his wings and barrel bandaged together as Twilight finished the checkout paperwork with the receptionist. He had tried walking himself, but had winced in pain with each step so Fluttershy had offered her assistance.

Twilight trotted up to where they were all waiting by the exit. “So, who's up for some dinner? I don't think any of us are in the mood for a lesson right now. Maybe we can go for ice cream afterward?”

The crusaders and Spike cheered as Twilight smiled nervously at Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.

The group trotted into Sugarcube Corner, Twilight levitating several bags from the nearby Hayburger along behind them.

Pinkie perked up at the register. “Hey guys! How's it going? You want anything?”

“Hey Pinkie. After we finish eating these, we'll order more, but for now can we just get a large muffin for Talon? The Hayburger really doesn't have anything he can eat.”

“Okie-doki. Just let me know whenever you're finished.” Pinkie zipped back to the kitchen as they took their seats at one of the large tables. She trotted back out with a tray in her hoof.

“Okay, here's that muffin for Talon, with some rubies on- oh my gosh, what happened?” Pinkie reared up, her hooves pressing on the sides of her face as she gasped. The tray flipped into the air, the muffin landing safely in front of Talon while the tray clattered into place atop others like it on the counter. Talon looked between her and the muffin before he shrugged and started eating.

“We, uh, there was an accident?” Twilight smiled nervously, shifting her gaze between Talon, Pinkie, and a particularly fascinating point on the opposite wall.

Pinkie sat at an empty chair, looking seriously at Twilight. “What happened?”

“I, uh... you see, um, well, there was maybe, just a little...”

Rainbow swallowed a large bite before she cut in, rolling her eyes. “She made Talon overload a cloud and it blew up.”

“WHAT?! Twilight, why would you do that?”

Twilight looked at her half-finished hayburger with her ears laid back. “I was trying to figure out how his magic worked. I had him move some lightning. I didn't know the cloud would overload.”

Pinkie grabbed Twilight by the shoulders as she stared intently at her. “I thought you knew better than to experiment on your friends. Don't you care what might happen to Talon if something worse goes wrong?”

Talon looked up from the half muffin that was left in his paw as he heard his name. Crumbs covered his muzzle and two unblackened spots around his eyes showed where he was wearing goggles earlier.

“Of course I do, Pinkie! But how am I going to help him with his magic if I don't know what he can do with it or how it works? I promise to be more careful about doing experiments that could get Talon hurt, okay?”

Pinkie jabbed a hoof at her. “Pinkie promise?”

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Twilight intoned, pantomiming the actions as she spoke.

Pinkie squinted at Twilight. “Okaaaaay...” Suddenly, a sound rang out from the kitchen. “Ooh! That's the last batch of cupcakes for today!” She zipped away, intent on making sure the confections didn't burn.

“So.” Discord set his teacup down and looked over to Talon, who was sipping from a cup of juice. “You two have had quite a busy week, haven't you?”

Talon placed his cup on the table and nodded while he got a cookie to nibble on, wincing slightly as the motion stretched muscles in his chest.

Fluttershy grimaced at the pain in Talon's expression. “Busy is one way to put it.”

“Try to look on the bright side, Fluttershy.” Discord's face lit up before he pulled on his beard with a click and it went back to normal. “Talon will be fine, and I daresay he wasn't too bored this week.”

Fluttershy sighed. “Well, at least Twilight promised to be more careful with any experiments. She's a good friend, but sometimes she doesn't think things through if she gets excited.”

Discord chuckled as he picked up his teacup and poured its contents into his ear. “Pretty ironic if you think about it.” He tilted his teacup over the teakettle, a thin stream of tea pouring itself upward into his cup.

“So, I was thinking, since he can't go see Rainbow today, maybe he could come over to make up for the lesson we missed the other day?” Twilight smiled anxiously as she stood at the doorway of Fluttershy's cottage. “I thought that maybe, as sort of an apology, I could start his magic lessons?”

“Oh, well, we don't have anything planned, so I'm okay with it. You should probably ask him, though. Come in, I'll go get him.”

Fluttershy trotted over to the stairs as Twilight took a seat on the couch in the main room. She shifted nervously in her seat as she heard Fluttershy trotting back down the staircase.

Twilight did her best to put on a smile as Talon approached. “Hey, how are you doing? Feeling better?”

Talon glanced down to his bandaged chest before nodding. “Yes, is not as bad.”

Twilight sighed, letting out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. “That's good. I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I know I should have been more careful. Would you maybe want to come over and I can teach you some things to help you practice your magic? Besides,” she continued with a small chuckle, “Spike has been bothering me about having you over anyway. Something about a guys only night?”

Talon turned to Fluttershy. “Is okay?”

“Oh yes, it's fine with me. If you want to, that is...”

Talon nodded before turning his gaze back to Twilight. “Is okay.”

Fluttershy sidled up next to Twilight as Talon sat waiting by the door. “Are you sure you'll be okay taking care of him for the afternoon?”

“Yeah, don't worry. I already got lectures from Redheart, Spike, and Rainbow Dash. The crusaders probably would have, too, if they had the chance. As it is, they just sat there with puppy eyes. Remind me to ask AJ if Apple Bloom has been practicing hers.”

A shocked expression settled on Fluttershy's face. “Rainbow Dash... lectured you? That's...”

“It was certainly odd.” Twilight smiled over to where Talon was sitting patiently by the door. “She's right, though. I need to remember that my friends come before my studies, no matter how excited I get.”

After she had promised to bring Talon back around sundown, Twilight had trotted off with him and Day Break in tow. She and Emerald had agreed that they should split up so that one of them could keep an eye on Fluttershy's cottage.

As they turned onto the path that lead to her castle, Twilight saw a lone figure walk out from the other side of the castle, their features obscured by a heavy cloak. “Excuse me, Princess.” The figure's voice was distant, as if it was directed at the town of Ponyville rather than any particular pony. “I have business I need to discuss with you.”

Cautiously, Twilight slowed to a stop. Checking to see that Day was between Talon and the mysterious figure, she took a small step forward. “What do you need to talk to me about? And why don't you take that cloak off?”

“You needn't worry yourself over him, Princess. I have no intention of harming him. Quite the opposite, really. Why would I want anything to happen to my brother?”

Twilight's Eyes shot open in surprise before narrowing in suspicion. “Who are you? If your intentions are so good, why don't you show yourself?”

Deep chuckles came from the figure on the path ahead, though they stood perfectly still. “Such persistence is admirable. Remaining unchanging in the face of uncertainty is something I can admire. I will reveal this face if you so wish, but I am not the one who stands before you.”

Twilight paused, her face flashing with uncertainty for a moment before being filled with determination. “What are you talking about?”

The figure raised a hoof to pull back its hood, revealing a pale blue unicorn stallion's face. By the look of it, he was from Canterlot, even sporting a tuxedo collar under his cloak. His eyes, however, were a milky white, fixated on some point in the distance.

Twilight froze at the sight until a thought struck her. “I thought you said Talon was your brother, but that can't be right. He's clearly not a unicorn. Who are you?”

“I told you, Princess.” The stallion continued to stare listlessly, his mouth open but unmoving as he spoke. “I am not the one you see before you. This one is merely a vessel. Without any magic left, he has lost his usefulness to me.”

Twilight's eyes expanded in shock. “What do you mean, vessel?”

Chuckles once again issued from the motionless mouth. “And here I thought you were supposed to be quick on the uptake.” The unicorn's eyes turned suddenly to fixate on Day, a chill sweeping across her wings as he did so. “You may wish to stop Talon from seeing this. He needn't suffer any more than he has, wouldn't you agree?”

Day glanced down to where Talon peeked from behind her, turning and flaring her wings downward to block his sight.

The stallion’s horn glowed with a sickly, weak light. The same deadened glow momentarily surrounded the clasps of the cloak and the collar as they popped open.

Twilight felt herself becoming nauseous. Under the collar, there was a gaping, jagged hole, cut straight from one side of his neck to the other.

“You see, this one is no longer useful to me, so I had him come here. I hoped that I might persuade you to give my brother to me.” Twilight shuddered as she realized that the voice was not coming from the stallion's mouth, but directly from the hole in his neck. She wanted to look over and tell Day to run, but found her eyes fixated on the dead pony in front of her.

“However,” the sudden shift in tone from the voice left Twilight feeling like there was ice in her bones. “You seem rather unlikely to do so, so I shall simply have to take him myself. After all-”

Twilight shuddered as a bolt shot out of her horn. Sweat dripped from her coat, a symptom of both the unnatural cold and the effort the spell took. The voice cut off, the dead stallion flopping over as soon as it did so.

Somepony was using necromancy. And they were likely close by, somewhere in the heart of Equestria itself.

Chapter 20: Zombies and Schoolfoals

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Dear Princess Celestia,
I must inform you of something dire that has occurred only minutes ago.
Day Break, Talon, and I were walking back to my castle when we were accosted by a strange pony wearing a heavy cloak. After some attempts to convince us to give Talon over, including claims that Talon was in fact his brother, he revealed himself to us.
The pony was... undead. I haven't even heard of this happening outside of history books, but it's true. The body is being guarded as I write this, awaiting your decision for how to handle the investigation and funeral services that will no doubt need to be done.
Further, the one speaking to us was merely using him as a sort of communication device. As soon as I realized the true nature of the visitor, I cast a disruption spell at him. As you know, disruption spells give different feedback based on various factors. Based on the large amount of feedback I received as I cast the spell, the one who was using this stallion is either very powerful, very close, or both.
I await your guidance,
Your fellow princess,
Twilight Sparkle

Twilight paced in the library, waiting for a response from Celestia. It didn't help her nervousness that the guardsponies she sent to get Fluttershy were taking so long. She was probably insisting on helping her animals before she left, but Twilight couldn't help imagining her being kidnapped and used the same way that stallion had been.

She looked over to where Spike and Day Break sat on either side of Talon, who looked more nauseous than she felt. Spike hadn't seen the body, and Day was an experienced guard, yet they both looked deeply disturbed by what had happened. Talon, on the other hand, had seen the body, Day being too surprised to notice when he peeked out from behind her. Worse, whatever had done that claimed Talon was their brother.

Twilight's musings were interrupted by the sight of Fluttershy entering and rushing over to comfort Talon. At the same time, a belch and a spout of green fire announced the response from Celestia arriving through Spike.

Dear Princess Twilight,
Unfortunately, I cannot make it to Ponyville tonight. Luna will visit you in my stead, and help ensure that Talon is protected. I will see to it that I have time tomorrow to visit and help ensure things are going smoothly. I only wish my visits were not so often darkened by the events surrounding them.
I have dispatched twenty additional guards to increase security, and have also sent word to Ponyville's guard post that one of my researchers should be there by the morning to assist in finding out who this stallion is and what happened to them. Hopefully, doing so will aid us in apprehending the culprit of this dreadful crime.
I find the idea that somepony has been secretly practicing necromancy on my little ponies abhorrent, as I'm sure you have guessed. I thought I had stomped the last of that practice out sometime after they started corrupting it with dark magic, but apparently I was not thorough enough.
For tonight, I would advise that you stay in the castle with Talon, if for no other reason than for his peace of mind.
Your friend and fellow princess,
Celestia

Luna had entered shortly after Twilight had finished reading the letter to the others. “Greetings, everypony. I wish my visit were under more auspicious circumstances, but it is nonetheless good to see you all.” She glanced over to where Talon sat among the others. “How is everypony faring? Is there anything I can do to help?”

Twilight followed Luna's gaze, shaking her head slowly. “Not unless you know where this necromancer is.”

“Twilight.” She turned to find Luna looking at her. “What were you coming to the castle for before this dreadful occurrence?”

“Oh, I was going to give Talon some instruction with his magic. Sort of as an apology for what happened earlier.”

Luna's eyes widened as she glanced back to Talon. “He can perform magic? How?” A suspicious look crossed over her face as she processed the other part of Twilight's statement. “What happened that you feel the need to apologize for?”

Twilight's ears lay flat as she rubbed her mane. “Well, I kind of, maybe... blew him up? It was a complete accident!” Twilight recoiled at the sudden anger that flashed across Luna's face.

“Relax, Twilight. I would never think you capable of doing such a thing purposefully. Still, I trust you will be more careful in the future?” Twilight nodded sheepishly. “Good. Perhaps you could teach us all a little about Talon's magic. Something to keep our minds off of things.”

Twilight perked up. “Good idea, Luna! I'll go get my notes!”

“Talon.” Twilight looked to him from the other side of the table that her notes were spread out on, thin strands of magic connecting certain passages. “I think this might help you with your magic.”

Talon looked over to the tall jar holding a tiny rubber ball inside. “How?”

“Well, I want you to spend some time each day trying to make it float, the same way you made the one in the basement float. The only difference is, this one is heavier, and I want you to do your best to keep it in the middle of the jar.”

“Okay, I try.” Talon reached over toward the jar, his claws glowing slightly as he concentrated. Suddenly, the ball shot upward, arcing in midair before coming back down and bouncing erratically around the room, finally coming to a stop as it hit emerald in the side.

Twilight peeked over the table she had hid behind, glancing over to where Luna had dragged Talon behind the couch. “Maybe I should get a ball that doesn't bounce...”

As Twilight and Spike retrieved the last of the blankets and pillows, the others settled into place at various points around the room.

Luna turned to where Fluttershy sat on the couch, next to Talon who was laying in one of Spike's spare baskets. “So, Fluttershy, how are the guards we sent behaving? I know Day Break was something of a troublemaker before she joined the guard.”

Day suddenly went pale. “You know about that?”

“Well, there is only so much time one can spend around the night guard before picking up on certain pieces of gossip. Personally, I find it highly amusing, though I doubt my sister has such a fond view of that particular morning.”

“Well, we probably shouldn't talk about it, seeing as...” She gestured toward Talon with a wing.

“What are you guys talking about?” Spike asked as he came up, handing out bedding to everypony.

Day blushed furiously as her wings twitched. “Oh, uh, nothing at all! Right, guys?”

Luna smiled down at Spike. “I was merely asking Fluttershy if the guards me and my sister assigned were proving to be what she expected. After all, I was thinking of assigning more guards for her cottage, and I wouldn't want to do so if it made her uncomfortable.”

Fluttershy looked over to where Luna was still smiling. “Well, it wouldn't bother me, but why would you need to?”

“I was merely considering the fact that this may not be the last time our mystery aggressor may make an attempt to get to Talon. They may also try to get to him through you.”

Fluttershy's eyes went wide as the beanie bag Talon was practicing levitating knocked the jar over. “Oh my, I hadn't thought of that.”

“Bad pony hurt Fluttershy because of Talon?”

Luna looked down to where Talon was clutching his blanket, tears at the corners of his eyes. “Perhaps, but remember that this is through no fault of yours, little one. We will do everything we can to prevent such a tragedy. I suspect that we may have some help with that, though. After all,” she turned to where Fluttershy sat with one hoof over her mouth. “Discord would likely aid you in case of anything too dangerous, would he not?”

Fluttershy calmed down as she considered that. “Yes, he probably would. He seems to be rather fond of Talon, as well.”

Talon, meanwhile, had started to drift off to sleep, and the last they heard from him was a soft “hmm” before he started snoring softly.

The next day, Fluttershy, Talon, Day and Emerald made their way back to the cottage to see a group of a dozen guardsponies. The half wearing night guard armor were leaving as they approached, flying toward the castle they had just come from.

Fluttershy stared after the night guards that had disappeared around the bend. “Where are they going?”

“Captain said something about Twilight letting them use her barracks while they're in town.” Emerald frowned pensively at the departing squad. “Hopefully, them being here will help.”

They paused to greet the two sentries at the door, the others having taken up a patrol around the area. They were only inside long enough to grab a few things before trotting back out and heading toward Rarity's boutique.

Rarity greeted them at the door, ushering them past the pair of guards standing outside. “I've been expecting you, dear. I had Talon's bags finished last night, but from what I hear, It would have been a bad time for you. I do wish we didn't need to have these guards here, though. Nothing against them, but some of my customers are either getting the wrong idea or getting skittish with them around.”

“Anyway, here we go.” Rarity brought over a pair of deep blue bags attached to three loops. “Since his wings are the main concern, I designed them to fit around his front legs and throat.” She put the set over Talon's head, adjusting the straps somewhat before taking it back. “Hmm, needs a little more give in the main strap.”

After a few minutes of tightening, loosening, and conversation, Rarity declared the bags complete. Talon was brought out, bags fixed in place with silver buckles. Each of the bags had shimmering, sky blue embroidery in a cloud pattern, as well as silver buttons with tiny lightning-bolt shaped azurites, polished and filled with tiny rings of differing shades. “I hope you like the buttons. There's this adorable colt who recently got his cutie mark for doing gem settings, and I couldn't resist buying a few.”

“Oh, it looks wonderful. Thank you so much, Rarity.” Fluttershy looked over to Talon, who was sniffing the gems embedded on the buttons. “Do you like it, Talon?”

Talon glanced over to the full-length mirror, looking at himself from different angles. “I like. Is nice.” Talon looked back to the others. “Why give Talon?”

“Well, darling, you need bags for school, and of course you'd want them to look nice. I'm not sure what kind of bags you've had before, but...” a frown made its way onto her face as she trailed off. “Right, sorry. All that... slipped my mind for a moment, but I am more than happy to be the first to design something for you. In any case, they are yours now, and I know you'll look dashing in them.”

Talon looked at the bags on his shoulders, confused. “Make Talon look like Dash?”

Rarity and Fluttershy looked at each other for a moment before bursting into giggles. “No, I meant that they'll make you look good, dear.” Rarity clarified, still chuckling slightly. “Wouldn't want to make a bad first impression after all.”

Talon stood uneasily by Cheerilee's desk, shuffling back and forth on his paws as he waited for the others to find their seats. His wings were still sore, though he had been able to get the bandages off last night, and the others watching him as they filed in reminded him of when he was on display with Show Stealer.

Day and Emerald stood guard outside the door of the schoolhouse, their presence contributing to the murmurs that were steadily increasing in volume as more of the colts and fillies filtered in.

Talon's attention was drawn back to the front of the classroom as Cheerilee called for silence. “Everypony, this is Talon. He'll be joining us for classes this year.”

Chapter 21: Introductions

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After Cheerilee had seated him near the front and between Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, several of his classmates had raised their hooves with questions at the ready.

“Why does he have guards?”

“Where is he from?”

“What is he?”

“Children!” Cheerilee cried over the cacophony of voices, bringing silence back to the classroom. “You'll be able to ask him yourself during recess, or after school. Now, everypony get out your math workbooks and copy this down, please.”

Talon copied down the problems, thankful that he had gone over the math lessons with Twilight. He was able to work at about the same rate as the other ponies, stopping once Cheerilee called for a break. Apple Bloom turned to him as the classroom erupted in conversation.

“So how are ya liking school so far?”

Talon put his pencil down as he put his math book away. “Miss Cheerilee is nice.”

“Yeah,” a tiny colt behind Talon piped up. “She really makes the lessons more fun!” He extended a hoof toward Talon with a smile. “I'm Pip, by the way.”

Talon shook the offered hoof. “I am Talon. It is nice to meet you.”

“So where are you from?”

Talon frowned slightly as he answered. “Am from Griffonia.”

Pip frowned in bafflement. “What's wrong with that?”

“Griffonia not good time.”

“Alright, class,” Cheerilee interrupted. “It's time for history. Everypony get out your books, and we'll take turns reading.” Talon got out the book that Twilight had given him to read during history. A few whispers passed between some of the students when Cheerilee passed over Talon in the reading order, but quickly quieted down with a look from her.

Soon enough, the lesson came to a close, and the class was let out for lunch and recess. The others ran out while Talon grabbed a paper bag out of his pack, following quickly behind.

As he sat to open his lunch, several of the schoolfoals ran up, brimming with questions. Before he could try to answer, the crusaders shouted out to interrupt the crowd.

“Why don't ya'll actually let him answer ya?” Apple Bloom asked as the noise subsided.

The crowd of foals looked at each other sheepishly, before taking turns asking questions at a more reasonable rate. Talon let the crusaders answer as many questions as they could, but by the time the bell rang for the class to return to the schoolhouse he had barely finished his apple slices, stuffing the celery in his mouth at an alarming rate as the others filtered back into the schoolhouse.

After a few hours more of lessons, they were let out, Talon's guards following at a slight distance.

“Hey, you wanna come over to our clubhouse?” Scootaloo asked as they walked along. “We can initiate you as an honorary crusader.”

The three fillies turned as they noticed Talon had lagged behind with a strange look on his face. Just as Emerald caught up with him, he let out a sneeze, the sound coming out as a large boom.

As Emerald picked himself up from where the sound had blasted him, Talon noticed the others staring at him.

“Umm...” Talon sniffed as he looked around. “Excuse me?”

“Well, at least now Talon can't say we're the loud ones.” Sweetie Belle giggled as they entered the clubhouse.

Talon looked around as they entered the clubhouse. “I say excuse me for sneeze.”

“That's not really the point.” Scootaloo pointed out as they entered.

“Yeah, but now we can induct you into the crusaders. Look, we even made you an honorary cape!” Apple Bloom exclaimed as she pulled said cape out of a nearby trunk.

Talon poked the fabric slightly, watching as it fluttered at the disturbance. “What is cape?”

“You wear it like this, see?” Sweetie put her own cape around her shoulders, showing it off so Talon could see.

“But first we gotta initiate ya.” Apple Bloom stood behind a small stand as she hit it with a wooden hammer. “I hereby call this meeting of the cutie mark crusaders to order. The first order of business is the induction of Talon as an honorary crusader. All in favor?” She looked around with a serious expression as Sweetie and Scootaloo raised their hooves into the air. “All against?” She nodded as no hooves were put up. “Alrighty then, I declare Talon an official honorary crusader. Plus, this time we got witnesses.” She jabbed a hoof in the direction of the guards standing by the entrance to the clubhouse.

“Yeah,” Sweetie agreed, “and they're royal guards, too, so this is super-official!”

Scootaloo and Sweetie ceremoniously draped the cap across Talon's shoulders, nodding solemnly before all three fillies burst into giggles.

“Okay, enough seriousness for today. Let's go find something to do.”

The crusaders trudged into Sugarcube corner, followed by Talon and several other young ponies who had joined in their game of tag. All of them were covered in dirt and dust to some degree, Talon being one of the worst. Once again, he felt a tickling at his nose from the dust.

Thinking quickly, he covered his snout with his paws, successfully stifling the sneeze, though his magic still caused a puff of air to shoot outward from him for a few feet. This had the fortunate side-effect of cleaning most of the dust out of his fur and feathers, as well as the unfortunate effect of covering the nearest ponies in even more dust.

“Boy, that sure seems like a handy way to get clean.” Pinkie stood before them, her front covered in a thin layer of dust. She reached up to her own nose with a hoof, blowing a puff of air that inflated her slightly before she settled back into her normal size. The dust drifted off onto the floor as she turned to the rest of the small crowd. “What can I get you guys?”

After each of them had given their order, they meandered over to a large table. “So we never really got around to introducing ya'll to Talon.” Apple Bloom pointed at the other ponies around the table as she named them.

She started with a gray coated pegasus. “This here's Rumble...”

“Hey.” Rumble waved to him with a wing.

“Button Mash...” she next pointed to a brown colt wearing a propeller hat and concentrating intently on his Joy Boy.

“Yo. You like video games?” he asked, attention still firmly glued to his game.

Talon looked curiously at the device in Button's hooves. “What is video game?”

Button's eyes suddenly shot up in surprise. “You don't even know what a video game is?” He was interrupted as an angry beep came from his game. “Aah! Pause! Pause!”

Sweetie leaned over and whispered something into his ear as he frantically paused to avoid losing any more lives. “What do ya mean he... wait, really?” A serious expression settle over his features as he thrust a hoof into the air. “By all the powers of Middle Equus, I swear to right this great wrong.” He pointed at Talon as Sweetie facehoofed. “Tomorrow, you all need to come over to my house so we can introduce Talon to the greatness that is gaming!”

“Um, Talon have Twilight lesson tomorrow.”

Button didn't shift at all as he continued. “Wednesday, you need to come over to my house so we can introduce Talon to the greatness that is gaming!”

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes as she pointed to the next foal in line. “Anyway, this here's Peppermint Twist,” she said before shifting her hoof once more. “And ya already kinda met Pip Squeak.”

“Hey!”

“Hi again!”

Talon looked around the table at each smiling face. “Is nice to meet you.”

Pinkie trotted over to them then, a large tray balanced on her back. “Milkshakes for everypony. Don't worry, Talon, yours is safe for you, I checked.”

After Pinkie had distributed the shakes and left, Button exclaimed, “Hey, I have an idea! Milkshake race! Threetwoone go!” He jumped for his milkshake, missing it as Sweetie pulled it away from him.

“Button! Don't you remember what happened last time you did that?” Sweetie admonished him.

Button hung his head as Sweetie handed him back his milkshake. “Oh yeah. Never mind, then. Slurping contest! Threetwoone go!”

Button proceeded to make the loudest, slurpiest sips of milkshake he could. Soon Pip, Rumble, and Talon joined in, a cacophony of slurps echoing through the bakery as the fillies giggled and made noises of faux disgust at the display.

The contest ended when Talon, in an attempt to make a louder, longer slurp, had accidentally gotten some milkshake in his nose, and the resultant sneeze managed to spread it into a fine mist that covered Pip, Twist, and Rumble completely. Fortunately, they had already finished their shakes, and Pinkie had been ready with several towels.

After Talon and the others had quietly finished their milkshakes, they all headed their separate ways, intent on getting to sleep after a long day. Talon got back just as Fluttershy was finishing with her chores for the evening.

“Hey Applejack, hey Big Mac. Where's Granny?”

Applejack turned at the sound of her little sister's voice. “Granny done got tuckered out already and headed up for bed.”

Apple Bloom nodded tiredly. “I reckon she's got the right idea. I'm plum tuckered out.”

“Well, didn't ya want any dinner first? We saved ya some apple crumble.”

Apple Bloom nodded as she pulled up a chair at the table. “Thanks, sis.”

Applejack watched with concern as Apple Bloom poked at the crumble on her plate. “Something wrong? It's not like ya to pick at yer food like this.”

Apple Bloom sighed and took a bite before answering. “Just a lot on my mind, I guess.” After a minute of chewing in silence, she continued. “How do you know if somepony like, like likes you?”

“Wait, you wanna know if somepony wants to be your special somepony?” Apple Bloom nodded her head, prompting Applejack to continue. “Well, I'd say you'd have to ask to be a hundred percent sure. They'd prolly want to spend a lot of time with ya, but everypony acts different.”

Big mac smiled from where he sat across the table. “Is it who I think it is?”

Apple Bloom blushed as she swallowed her current bite. “Maybe...”

“Wait.” Applejack looked over to Big Mac. “You talking about Talon?”

“Eeyup.”

“Well, talking to him, he don't seem opposed to the idea. Just a mite confused is all. I mean, with what happened to him, I wouldn't be surprised if he ain't never had a fillyfriend.”

Apple Bloom looked down at her now empty plate thoughtfully. “You really think so, sis?”

“Well yeah. 'Sides, you'll never know 'til ya ask him.”

Apple Bloom hopped down from the table, her plate forgotten. “Thanks, guys. I think I'm gonna hit the hay.”

After school the next day, Talon and the crusaders made their way down the path to Twilight's castle. Apple Bloom had asked the other two to help her with asking Talon out. Sweetie had surprised her by agreeing on the condition that they help her ask out Button. Scootaloo had grumbled, but promised to help them, “only since we're such good friends.”

So it was that Apple Bloom nervously glanced to her promised backup as they walked. The first order of business was for Sweetie to ask Talon if he liked Apple Bloom.

“Hey Talon!” Sweetie called out as she trotted ahead of Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, quickly catching up to where Talon was as the other two surreptitiously slowed their pace.

“Hello Sweetie. What need?”

Sweetie took a moment to phrase the question in a way that would be clearest. “How much do you like Apple Bloom?”

“Umm...” Talon's cheeks turned red as she asked.

“Well,” she thought, “That's either good or bad.”

Talon swallowed and glanced behind to see if anypony else were in hearing range. Day and Emerald, in on the plan, had stayed back far enough to be unable to eavesdrop. “Talon like... I...”

Suddenly, Twilight popped out of the door of the castle as they reached it. “Good, you're here. Sweetie, there are workbooks in the main room, I need to borrow Talon for some tests, okay?” She turned and trotted off as she dragged Talon along with her magic.

Sweetie stared after them, mouth hanging open. “Oh come on!”

Chapter 22: From Light, Darkness

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Fluttershy had promised to arrive at sundown to pick up Talon and the crusaders, making sure they all got home safely.

She trotted along the path to Twilight's castle, followed by the two guards who had decided to accompany her. They had insisted that for the time being, they couldn't let her walk alone after dark. She appreciated the thought, though she would have been more appreciative if it weren't for the fact that the ones insisting had been exclusively stallions. While she was sure they all meant well, she suspected that some of them simply wanted an excuse to look at her flank.

Fluttershy shook her head to clear it as she approached the door of the castle, knocking softly. She waited a moment before knocking again, more firmly this time.

After another few minutes with no response, Fluttershy began to worry. Why wasn't Twilight answering? Had she taken the foals somewhere else?

She pushed the door open gingerly, stepping inside as the guards took up posts outside the door. She almost called out to ask them to come with her, just in case, before dismissing the thought.

“Hello?” When nopony answered her soft greeting, Fluttershy slowly crept down the hall until she heard voices coming from the main room, rising and falling in pitch. She strained to distinguish words as she approached, only able to make out the occasional phrase.

Fluttershy arrived to a strange scene in the main room. The crusaders were huddled around one of the chairs in the corner, trying to get at something underneath. Celestia stood near the doorway, calmly issuing orders to several attentive guardsponies.

Twilight, meanwhile, was alternating between watching the crusaders and apologizing profusely to Pinkie Pie, who sat on one of the couches looking peeved.

“Oh my,” Fluttershy exclaimed softly as she walked over to where Twilight and Pinkie were conversing. “What's going on, girls?”

Pinkie turned to face Fluttershy as she approached. “Twilight broke her Pinkie promise!”

“What?” She looked over to Twilight. “Why?”

Twilight sighed and hung her head, her ears drooping. “I didn't mean to. I didn't think it would be dangerous, or I would have asked Celestia if we could have done something else.”

Fluttershy looked over to where the crusaders still sat around the corner chair, her eyes widening as realization slowly dawning on her. “Did something happen to Talon?”

“Nothing that will do lasting harm, though I fear it may give him yet more cause to be wary of myself, and perhaps magic in general.” Celestia walked over to the group as she spoke, a slight frown forming as she shook her head. “Not that I have given him any reason not to. Do not blame Twilight; neither of us foresaw this outcome, and the test we performed is normally perfectly safe.”

Fluttershy trotted over to where the crusaders chatted among themselves. “Girls, is Talon under there?”

The fillies looked at each other for a moment. “I think so,” Apple Bloom finally answered. “None of us can fit under there, but he hasn't come out yet, so...”

“Huh?” Fluttershy leaned down to look under the seat, seeing only shadowy darkness. “I don't see him under there...”

“He's using his magic,” explained Twilight, who had moved over to sit nearby. “I'm surprised he hasn't burnt out yet. He doesn't have that great of a magic reserve built up, so how...” Her eyes shot open as she gasped. “Oh no!”

The others turned to Twilight, confused. “What is it, Twilight?” asked Fluttershy.

“Well, the scan showed that he can use dark magic, so it's possible that that's how he's avoided burning out. But he's never had any magical training, and dark magic is emotionally powered.”

Fluttershy stared in confusion as Celestia and Pinkie Pie moved to join them.“What do you mean?”

“What she means,” answered Celestia, “is that his magic may be running out of control. The only way to stop it is to calm him. If we do not, his own magic may consume him with despair and fear. He could perish, or...”

Fluttershy hung her head in understanding as Twilight finished her mentor's thought. “Or he could be the next Sombra, and we'd have to be the ones to stop him.”

“There must be something we can do!” The others turned to Apple Bloom as she spoke up. “We can't just give up, right?”

Sweetie turned to her friend sadly. “Apple Bloom, we can't even reach him, how are we supposed to help him?”

Celestia stepped forward as her horn began to glow with a bright golden light. “Perhaps I may be of assistance in that regard. It is the least I can do for him.”

The light of her aura crept outward, each of the assembled ponies feeling a comforting warmth as it passed over them. As the glow reached the edge of the darkness under the chair, however, it slowed to a crawl.

Slowly, the light inched forward, dissolving the chair itself into nothingness as it banished the patch of darkness.

Soon, they could all see Talon, trembling in the corner, tears running down his muzzle while he bore his teeth and growled.

None of them missed the way his eyes were radiating a familiar purple smoke.

Twilight popped out of the door of the castle, looking for Talon. “Good, you're here. Sweetie, there are workbooks in the main room, I need to borrow Talon for some tests, okay?” She turned and trotted off as she dragged Talon along with her magic.

“Come on, Talon,” Twilight said with a smile as she dragged him in her magic. “You don't want to keep Princess Celestia waiting, do you?”

Talon remained silent as he floated along behind her, finally arriving in the Library, where the furniture had been pushed away to make a clear space near the center of the large room.

Celestia turned to face them as they entered, a serene look on her face as she sat on a large chair. “Ah, good. You were able to find him without too much effort, I hope?”

“Actually, he was at the door just as I was leaving.” Twilight placed him on a cushion near the center of the open space. “I asked Spike to help get the girls set up so they can work on their lesson until we're finished with this. He should be back in a minute.”

Soon, Spike walked in, grumbling to Twilight. “I don't see why you couldn't let them at least come and watch. It took me forever to convince them to wait for you guys.”

“Spike, it could be dangerous for them if Talon gets a magic flare. You have natural resistance to magic, so it wouldn't be as dangerous for you.”

Spike crossed his arms in frustration.“Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Of course, you two would be fine, cuz you're alicorns,” he admitted. “Talon's guards were even harder to convince.”

“Well, if we are ready to begin, I should first explain to Talon what we are doing, as well as why we are doing it.” She turned to face him, leaning down to be as close to his eye level as possible.

“Talon, do you remember a few days ago, when you encountered a... strange pony near the castle?” Talon nodded slightly, frowning as she continued. “We think that whoever did that to that pony might do it to others. We need some way to help us find them, so we can stop them before they have the chance to do so.”

Celestia turned to Twilight, who took a deep breath before continuing where Celestia had left off. “We haven't had any success tracking the magical signature from the, er, victim.” Twilight sighed before continuing. “I thought that maybe, if we had a relative of the caster, we could use them to help us triangulate their magical signature.”

Twilight paused as she turned to Spike, coughing gently into her hoof. Spike sighed before jogging away and returning with a spreadsheet on an easel.

“So, this shows the ways a spell can lock onto something. Either using physical characteristics, as you can see labeled on this axis as sympathy, or by using magical characteristics, labeled on this axis as resonance. Some spells can use both, increasing the chance of success, but also exponentially increasing the difficulty. However, between me and the other princesses, we would be able to cast a spell that could potentially get past any attempts to obscure magical signatures.”

Twilight looked over to Talon, who was staring blankly at her. She sighed as Spike struggled to restrain a chuckle, looking over to see that even Celestia had a bemused smile on her face.

Twilight glared at Spike before continuing. “What this means is that, if we have somepony who closely matches the caster, we can use their DNA and magical signature to help locate them. So, if, say, we knew their brother...”

Talon frowned and hung his head. “Is not brother.”

“Talon, listen to me.” Talon looked up, surprised at the forceful tone Twilight had adopted. “If this pony turns out to be your brother, it doesn't mean anything. Look at me and Spike. We're obviously not related by blood, but that doesn't mean anything. I'm as close to him as I am to my brother Shining Armor, probably more.” Twilight looked up to see Spike blushing as she continued.

“Just because you're related to someone doesn't mean you're similar. It doesn't mean you love them, or that what they do is somehow your fault. And it doesn't mean you have to be like them. I think the ponies here in Ponyville are more of a family to you than this pony has ever been.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, giving Talon time to absorb what had just been said. He looked up as Spike came over and put a claw on his shoulder.

“I had to go through this whole thing when I found out what other dragons are like. Most of them are jerks. I didn't even wanna be the same species as them. But you know what I realized?”

Talon shook his head slightly and Spike continued. “I realized that there are bad ponies, too. But that doesn't mean all ponies are bad. I'm me because of who I am, not what I am.”

Talon nodded slowly. Silence reigned for a few more moments before Celestia cleared her throat to gather everypony's attention. “What this means is that if you are in any way related to this pony, you could help us find them. To help us find out if you are, as well as to help us with our spell in that case, we need to do an induced CTS. A complete thaumatic scan, meant to give us a complete reading of your magical signature. If it matches closely enough to that of the necromancer, we will be able to use it to help locate them.”

“It will include some unpleasantness, but if we succeed, we will help many of my little ponies. I ask if you would do this for me, Talon.”

Talon gulped as he nodded.

“Okay. Talon no matter what, I want you to hold as still as you can.”

Talon glanced to where Twilight and Celestia sat next to each other, their horns glowing and pulsing in sync. Their magic swirled together in front of them, turning a pale peach color as the spell took shape. His gaze locked onto Twilight as she spoke again.

“Okay Talon, we're going to cycle through the major schools first.” Twilight and Celestia's eyes opened simultaneously, glowing the same white color.

The first thing Talon felt was a wave of nausea as the cushion under his front claws changed color briefly.

A series of strange sensations followed as the spell forced his magic to try and perform various feats. Everything from headaches to indigestion distracted him between bouts of his claws lighting up.

“Alright, Talon, we're almost done. Just a few more elemental magics and this whole thing will be over.”

Talon felt something in him being pulled down, hard, but just lay on the cushion, hoping to get it over with.

Then he felt sadness start to well up inside of him. Thoughts of being sent back to Show Stealer popped into his mind. He knew it didn't make any sense, but he felt the tears start to well up as his own dark fantasies assailed him. He couldn't sit still any longer.

Twilight and Celestia watched in shock as their spell ended and Talon bolted from the room, faster than they'd ever seen him run before.

Talons of the Storm

by Storm Talon

Prologue: Not That Long Ago...

Chapter 1: Fluttershy Is Repeatedly Surprised

Chapter 2: Suddenly, Ponyville

Chapter 3: Talon Really Likes Hospital Food

Chapter 4: On the Subject of Griffins

Chapter 5: The Bath He Needed

Chapter 6: Deal With Discord

Chapter 7: Crusaders and Princesses

Chapter 8: Bad News

Chapter 9: Tests and Lessons

Chapter 10: Magical Mysteries

Chapter 11: The Misfortune of Emerald Cut

Chapter 12: Tests and Findings

Chapter 13: Circus Shenanigans

Chapter 14: The Sleepover

Chapter 15: A Day Out On the Town

Chapter 16: Emerald Needs To Do More Cardio

Chapter 17: Feeding Instructions

Chapter 18: Weathering the Storm

Chapter 19: A Harrowing Encounter

Chapter 20: Zombies and Schoolfoals

Chapter 21: Introductions

Chapter 22: From Light, Darkness