> The Crystal Story: Flurry's Tale
>  by Eltirions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Act 1: Chapter 1: The Beginning (edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

12 Young Moon 1008

Hooves clicked against the crystal floor as Star Tower made his way through the Crystal Palace. The unicorn passed by harried-looking administrators, grim-faced soldiers and occasionally, exhausted servants. The fact that it was past dinner time did nothing to change that.

And of course, most of them still spent time looking at him, even for a few seconds. Looks of awe mixed with surprise. Star Tower would be flattered, he really would, if it was any other time but now.

What chaos, he observed grimly. No one has any idea what they’re doing. Great.

As he got closer to the room he’d been summoned to, the number of ponies present went lower and lower, until the hallway was empty except for Star and a couple of stone-faced guards.

Have to appreciate the contrast between old armour and new rifles, Star noted with dry amusement.

‘’Sir,’’ one of the guards saluted as Star approached the door, ‘’the Princess said you were coming.’’ He turned and knocked on the door. ‘’Your Highness, Archmage Star Tower is here.’’

‘’Send him in!’’ Cadence’s voice requested from inside.

‘’Yes, your Highness.’’ The guard opened the door, then stepped aside to allow Star in.

Before he did so, Star glanced at his reflection in the wall.

Tired green eyes looked back. His blue coat and darker blue golden-streaked mane were both raffled. Maybe I should have brushed them, he admitted to himself.  His horn lit up golden, and a quick spell made his mane look somewhat presentable. Nodding to himself and then to the guards, he stepped into the room.

Cadence sat on the bed, her three-year old daughter huddled under her left wing as the older mare read her a story from a book. Both of them looked up at him as he entered.

‘’Starry!’’ Flurry squealed. She slipped from under Cadence’s wing onto the bed and flew over to him.

‘’Hello, Flurry,’’ he greeted her with a smile and a hug that the foal eagerly returned. ‘’How are you?’’

‘’I’m fine!’’ Flurry chirped. ‘’But there’s a lot of ponies in the Palace now. It’s kind of scary.’’

‘’Don’t worry, they’ll be gone soon.’’ Cadence assured her. ‘’They’re just here for a few days.’’

‘’Okay, mommy.’’ Flurry jumped back on the bed again and crept under Cadence’s wing again. It really was an adorable sight.

‘’Star, it’s good to see you’re up again,’’ Cadence said to him with a warm smile.

‘’It’s good to be up,’’ he replied with a smile of his own. ‘’What did you want to talk about, Cadence?’’ No sense in delaying.

Cadence glanced between him and Flurry for a moment. ‘’Flurry, why don’t you go play in your room? Star and I need to discuss grown-up things.’’

‘’Sure, mommy!’’ 

On queue, a side door opened and one of Cadence’s hoofmaidens took Flurry away to her room. Star watched them go with a smile. Flurry waved at him and he gave her a wave back.

Once the door was closed again, Cadence turned to face Star.

‘’You look terrible,’’ Star said dryly. And she really did. Make-up and styling only went so far, after all. Her eyes were red, presumably from lack of sleep and intense crying. Her mane was droopy and unkept, and her whole body seemed ready to fall over any minute now.

Even during the exams, I never saw her look so damn tired. Then again, war is harder than an exam.

‘’You don’t look much better,’’ Cadence shot back. And that was a fair point which he would graciously yield to her, and did with a tip of his head.

‘’What do you want from me?’’ he pressed. ‘’And speaking of, what is the situation? I’m afraid I haven’t had the time to check up on that.’’ Because he’d been unconscious for the better part of a week, but that was hardly Cadence’s fault.

Cadence let out a long sigh. ‘’We have roughly four hours before Nightmare Moon’s army reaches the city limits. We’ve got nowhere to retreat to.’’ She looked at him. ‘’I need you to take Flurry and run.’’

Very, very slowly, Star blinked. He raised his hoof to his forehead and pinched, hard. ‘’What.’’

‘’Flurry’s not safe here,’’ Cadence continued. ‘’Shining and I can’t leave, or the morale will plummet, and we’ll be found easily. But if we distract Nightmare and Chrysalis, you and Flurry can sneak away without being found.’’

It made a very twisted sort of sense, Star’d already recognized that. That didn’t mean he was going to agree with her on this.

‘’Cadence, I can’t- I won’t leave you here to die,’’ Star protested. He had promised Celestia he would keep them safe. He’d promised himself he’d keep them safe.

But he knew that Cadence was right. If she tried to run, Nightmare would notice and capture her and Flurry both.  And then they would be even more fucked than they already were.

‘’I don’t want to do it either,’’ Cadence said - as if it wasn’t obvious - ‘’but it’s the only way for Flurry to be safe. And you’re the only one that can do so.’’

He didn’t want it to be true. But it was true.

Cadence must have seen the acceptance in his eyes, because she nodded sadly. ‘’Star, I’m sorry for your sister,’’ she said softly, ‘’but you must go on. Please. For Flurry, if for no one else.’’

Sundamnit. ‘’I didn’t train you for this,’’ Star said quietly. ‘’You’re good, very good, and so is Shining, but…’’ He let it hang in the air.

‘’I know.’’ Cadence bowed her head. ‘’I know,’’ she whispered. ‘’I-’’

Star moved to sit on the bed beside her. ‘’I can hold her off,’’ he said, desperately. ‘’Buy you the time you need to escape. You can teleport away, run off to New Mareland, hide in my house there.’’

‘’Star, I can’t,’’ Cadence replied. ‘’If I disappear, there won’t be any resistance by the time Nightmare arrives, and then there won’t be time to escape.’’

Silence.

She’s right, she’s right. They’re hopeless already, if their leaders vanish without warning everything will fall apart. But-

‘’Stars fucking take every single one of those evil bloody bastards.’’

Cadence giggled. ‘’Language.’’

Star snorted. ‘’Noted.’’ He shifted on the bed.

Cadence put her wing on his back. ‘’Please, Star,’’ she begged. ‘’Take Flurry, and go. Let her grow up happy and safe. Please.’’

I never had a choice.

‘’Okay, Cadence. I’ll do it.’’




|-x-X-x-|




Fuck. Fuck. FUCK!

Calm, he ordered to himself. Don’t panic. Not in front of Flurry.

He took a deep breath, and smiled.

Flurry Heart sat on the bed, nuzzling her father, Shining Armour, while he whispered things to her meant only for them. The foal was wearing a snow-white parka, with the hood up. Cadence watched the scene with a smile, and next to her stood a emerald-green crystal pony mare with a red mane, who Cadence had introduced as Emerald Gleam, one of her hoofmaidens. He’d seen her before a couple of times, but why she had been picked out of all the hoofmaidens, he had no idea.

In the hoofmaiden’s hooves was a clear crystal vial, filled with a purple-pink liquid, and just like Flurry she wore a snow-white parka, and she carried two saddlebags on her back, which probably contained Flurry’s stuff. And some of her own, hopefully. There was an expansion enchantment on the pack, Star could tell that much. But the vial was much more interesting.

De-aging potion. Cadence had said it was for him, but Star could guess who it had been meant for: Shining, of course.

‘’Is it safe to take now?’’ he asked.

Cadence nodded, and motioned for Emerald to give it to him. Star took the vial from her, lifted it in his magic, looked at it for a moment to analyse its contents, and then knocked it back in one tug.

Immediately, it took effect. The few wrinkles and grey hairs that had been forming disappeared; while Star was only forty-two, he was already feeling the effects of his adventures on his body, and raising a foal hadn’t helped his stress levels. ‘’One moment.’’

He walked into the bathroom and took a look at his face in the mirror. He really did look like twenty-two. Excellent.

That ought to surprise anyone looking for me.

‘’It works perfectly,’’ he stated as he trotted back into the main room, tipping his head at Cadence. ‘’Thank you.’’

Shining looked up from the bed at him. ‘’Thank you, for doing this,’’ he said softly.

Star tipped his head in silent acknowledgement. Shining hadn’t been his student like Cadence had, but he was a good friend. 

He glanced at himself. Cloak, check. Saddlebags, check. He ran his checklist of things he should be taking with him, and concluded he had everything.

Star took a final look around his room. The books against the wall could be replaced, there were no expensive or rare materials left in his laboratory, and anything he didn’t want to fall into Nightmare’s hooves he had taken with him or destroyed.

‘’I’m ready,’’ he announced.

Cadence nodded. ‘’Emerald?’’

‘’Ready, your Highness,’’ the mare replied.

Cadence nodded again. ‘’Flurry, it’s time to go.’’

‘’Okay, mommy.’’ Flurry turned to Cadence. ‘’You’re coming with us, right?’’

Cadence smiled. ‘’Of course, sweetheart. We’re coming tomorrow.’’

Star had to look away. Fuck, this hurts to watch. He had never been very good at saying goodbyes, and he could only imagine what Flurry would feel like when she realized her parents weren’t coming. Were never coming.

He quickly blinked, wiping his hoof across his face.

‘’Starry?’’

He turned around to see Flurry was looking up at him, her parents standing behind her. ‘’Can I be on your back?’’

‘’Of course,’’ he replied, and with his telekinesis he lifted her on his back. She snuggled into the cloak he wore.

‘’Goodbye, Star,’’ Shining said. ‘’Take care of Flurry.’’

‘’Of course.’’ Star gave him and then Cadence a hug, before gesturing to Emerald to step closer to him. He had a destination already in mind.

Right then. Here goes nothing.

And with a flash, they vanished.
> Act 1: Chapter 2: Flight (edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

12 Young Moon 1008

 Emerald Gleam, hoofmaiden of Princess Cadence, had had a perfectly shit day, so far.

The Palace was filled to the brim with people, the Princess was panicking and it was all Emerald could do to keep Flurry from noticing something was off.

And then she had been summoned by the Princess, and ordered to pack all her belongings and then all of Flurry’s belongings into two saddlebags. TWO! Sure, they were magically expanded, but even that only went so far.

Of course, her anger had vanished when she realized what was happening: the Princess was sending her and Flurry away, but not herself or her husband. Emerald only knew Star Tower in passing and of reputation, a little, so she wasn’t sure he was the best choice as caretaker of Flurry Heart, but the Princess had insisted that he could be trusted.

Emerald didn’t like it, not a single part of it, but she had little choice in it all. Even if the Princess had offered her, not commanded her, Emerald was duty-bound to follow through on the request.

And besides, what does a stallion know of taking care of children?

The teleport was over in a flash. Emerald gasped as she realized where they were. ‘’You teleported us all the way to Rainbow Falls?’’ she exclaimed as she saw the cloud-city shining in the city, beyond the trees.

Star nodded. ‘’It is the upper range for my teleports, if I want to be capable of anything else other than levitation afterwards that is,’’ he explained.

‘’Uh-huh,’’ Emerald said, trying to wrap her mind around the fact they had just crossed over 200 kilometres in a few seconds. ‘’Aren't you cold?’’ she asked.

Star shook his head. ‘’Buffalo fur, and it's magically enchanted to keep me comfortable no matter the temperature.’’ He smiled. ‘’Flurry being on my back also helps.’’

‘’No problem, Starry!’’

Emerald should have guessed as much. ‘’That sounds convenient.’’ Even if a foal, by all rights, should be on the mare’s back.

‘’It is. Now, we should really be going.’’

Emerald made a noise of agreement, and they began to walk towards the falls. ‘’So, how long until you can teleport again?’’ Emerald asked after a few minutes.

‘’A similar distance to what we just did? An hour, give or take,’’ Star replied as his horn lit up with a soft light, illuminating the path. ‘’So in two hours, we'll be in Weter. From there, we're going to Vedina.’’

The light on his horn flared, and Emerald felt a comfortable warmth settle over her. Probably some strange spell.

‘’And once we're there?’’ she pressed on, curious to see what he had planned.

‘’Turhamn. One of the nobles there is a good friend of mine. I've sent a missive ahead to let him know we're coming,’’ Star answered. ‘’Any other questions?’’

Emerald shook her head, before checking on Flurry. The foal was snuggled into Star’s cloak, eyes wide open. 

‘’Starry, what’s Turhamn?’’ she asked.

‘’Turhamn is the capital of Vedina,’’ Star replied. ‘’It’s an old city, built around a castle and a harbour. It’s a very nice place, but it’s not as big as Crystal City.’’

Emerald snorted. That’s obvious. Crystal City is the largest city in the world.

‘’So what now?’’ Emerald asked. ‘’Are we going to stay in the snow for an hour?’’ She had lived under Sombra’s reign; she was used to hardship. But Flurry wasn’t.

‘’Well,’’ Star lifted Flurry from his back with magic, placing her on the ground before laying down himself under a large tree, ‘’I’m going to need to recuperate for a moment. So, come here and keep me warm while I recharge my energy.’’

Well.

Emerald sighed, before joining the other two under the tree, placing herself between the snow and Flurry. The filly had curled up against Star’s side, but as far as Emerald could see she was still awake.

The light at the tip of Star’s horn expanded, forming into a dome of a golden light around them. ‘’That’ll keep us safe and warm. Now we just have to wait.’’

Two hours in the snow later they were sitting in a small apartment on the outskirts of Weter. It had three rooms: a bedroom, living room with kitchen, and a bathroom. Nothing luxurious, but comfortable.

Emerald had put Flurry in the bedroom to sleep after giving her some water, and was now relaxing on the couch. Meanwhile, Star sat in a chair next to the window, and was looking out over the city. Snow gently fell down outside.

‘’How did you get this place?” Emerald asked. Star turned away from the window to look at her. Damn, those green eyes are intense.

‘’I bought it, some years ago,” Star replied nonchalantly, as if buying what was really quite a comfortable apartment was something one just did.

‘’Why?’’ Emerald pressed on.

‘’Because I was planning on searching Nova Griffonia for more ancient pony ruins,’’ Star explained. ‘’But I stopped the project after the Crystal Empire returned. I guess I just forgot to sell it.’’

That made sense and was a waste of money at the same time. Emerald was starting to reconsider her idea of just grabbing Flurry and running. ''How many properties do you own?" 

‘’Let’s see… Canterlot Family Manor, Family Holiday Villa on the Spa Islands, Apartment in Manehattan, this apartment, and another Holiday Villa, this time a private one, in New Mareland, which is where we're going to.’’

‘’Why did you buy a villa in New Mareland if you already had one on the Spa Islands?’’

‘’I was… planning on using it as a retirement home.’’

That was not what Emerald had expected to hear. They settled into silence, both lost in their own thoughts as Star’s magic recharged again.

An hour later, Emerald gently woke up Flurry, and they packed their stuff.

‘’Hold on,'' Star warned. ''this is going to be a rough one.’’

Before Emerald could ask what he meant by that, the world flashed golden again. Unlike the first three times, she felt her stomach lurch and for a few seconds, she experienced true weightlessness. Then the normal world reappeared. She saw a courtyard, surrounded by stone walls.

Star let out a groan as he rubbed his head. ‘’And that is why I don't do teleports longer than 200 km.’’

‘’That was fun!’’ Flurry cheered. 

‘’My friend!’’ Emerald looked up to see a male griffon, dressed in expensive clothing, make his way to them. He had black feathers and blue eyes.

‘’Ludvig! Good to see you again!’’ Star greeted his friend with a raised hoof.

The griffon grinned at him. ‘’Indeed it is, my friend.’’ Then he turned to Emerald. ‘’My lady,’’ he said formally, with a bow.

‘’Please, I'm no lady,’’ Emerald said as she offered him her hoof. ‘’But I'll gladly shake your claw, sir.’’

‘’As you wish,’’ the griffon said as he shook her hoof with his claw. ‘’My name is Ludvig, of the Noble House of Bergkvist.’’

‘’A pleasure to meet you, Lord Bergkvist. I'm Emerald Gleam, and this is Flurry Heart,’’ Emerald introduced herself and the filly on her back. This was a griffon who knew how it worked.

‘’Please, call me Ludvig,’’ Ludvig said with a smile. He looked at Flurry Heart. ‘’It is my pleasure to meet you, princess.’’ And he gave a very proper bow.

‘’Hello mister,’’ Flurry greeted. ‘’It’s nice to meet you too.’’

‘’Ludvig,’’ Star spoke up, ‘’Shall we take this inside? There are reasons doing multiple long-distance teleportations is not advised for unicorns.’’

''Of course, of course. Make yourself at home,'' Ludvig said as he walked over to a door. Emerald's eyes widened as she saw the large house the courtyard was connected to. She hadn't noticed it before.

‘’You live here?’’ she asked, before remembering her manners and adding, ‘’it’s beautiful.’’

‘’Thank you,’’ Ludvig said with a nod. ‘’Let’s go inside though. No sense in remaining out this late.’’

Inside, Emerald followed a butler as Ludvig and Star disappeared off somewhere into the house. The butler showed them their rooms; Flurry’s room was down the hallway, just a few doors away from Emerald’s.

That was good. Emerald wasn’t about to let this unknowingly-orphaned filly out of her sight or presence for long.

‘’Good night, princess,’’ she said as she watched the foal snuggle into the warm pillows.

‘’Good night, Emerald,’’ Flurry replied. ‘’See you tomorrow.’’

She’s so innocent.

Emerald nodded, then turned and left the room faster than polite. She quickly went to the room she had been given and crawled into the bed.

Poor, poor Flurry. She doesn’t know it yet.




|-x-X-x-|




Star and Ludvig sat in the latter’s study, next to the hearth. They clinked their glasses, then downed the wine in one gulp.

‘’Fuck me,’’ Star swore once he’d swallowed the drink. ‘’That packs a punch.’’

Ludvig chuckled. ‘’That it does.’’ Then his expression turned softer. ‘’I’m sorry about-’’

‘’Thanks,’’ Star cut him off. ‘’I guess… it has all yet to sink in.’’ He stared at the flames.

Stars, but he had missed this place. It had been nearly six years since he’d last been here, but everything still looked the same. A little stability in a time like this did wonders for Star’s state of mind.

‘’I understand,’’ Ludvig said sympathetically. ‘’How long will you be staying?”

‘’No more than a week, at most,’’ Star answered absently, eyes not leaving the flames. ‘’The plan is to go to my mansion in New Mareland, and we’ll see what happens after that.’’

‘’Hmm…’’ Ludvig hmm-ed. ‘’If you need anything, money, supplies, I’ll be happy to help.’’

‘’Thank you, my friend.’’ Star finally looked back at Ludvig. ‘’For now, just staying here is enough, and I still have access to a large part of my accounts in New Mareland.’’

‘’You prepared for this?’’ Ludvig asked, surprised.

‘’Somewhat,’’ Star admitted. ‘’It was more in the sense of having a pension established already. But I transferred as much as possible in the first days after the Manehattan bombing, as a back-up plan.’’

Ludvig nodded. ‘’I see.’’ Then his tone turned dry. ‘’I shouldn’t be surprised.’’

‘’You shouldn’t,’’ Star agreed with a cheeky smile. Then he frowned as he thought of the letter Cadence had given him. He pulled it out of his saddlebags.

And sank into his chair, staring at the paper.

Fuck me.

‘’What’s wrong?’’ Ludvig asked, with such concern in his voice that Star could only barely tell he was serious.

Star flicked the paper around so Ludvig could read it. The griffon’s eyes widened. ‘’Adoption papers?!’’

‘’Naming me and Emerald as Flurry’s parents,’’ Star confirmed emptily. ‘’To protect her, legally. Stars, they thought of everything.’’

It’s smart. If they make Emerald and me her parents, Nightmare can’t try a legal route to get Flurry back, or lay claim to the Sparkle and Mi Amore properties, since it’s all going to Flurry and therefore Emerald and me.

‘’Oh, stars,’’ Star repeated. ‘’How can I do this?’’

Ludvig’s gaze of pity and sympathy was the reason Star appreciated him so much. ‘’You raised Crystal,’’ he quietly pointed out.

‘’And she died!’’ Star snapped. His expression dropped, before he buried his face in his hooves.

Ludvig reached out and grabbed his shoulder. ‘’Hey. You can do this. The president of New Mareland is your friend, right?’’

‘’Jet Set and I are acquainted,’’ Star corrected without raising his head.

‘’Good enough. He knows his position; he’ll do whatever is necessary to help you.’’

‘’Perhaps,’’ Star allowed, finally looking back up. He smiled weakly at Ludvig. ‘’Break out the whiskey and get some pens and paper. I’ve got to plan.’’

‘’Just like old times, eh?’’ Ludvig quipped, a smirk creeping up his beak.

‘’Just like old times,’’ Star confirmed. ‘’Let’s get to work.’’

Ludvig nodded as he drew his claw back and stood up. With a snap of his claw, the butler entered. ‘’Sir?’’

‘’Two glasses and a bottle of whiskey, plus pens and a lot of paper,’’ Ludvig requested politely but firmly.

The butler bowed and left the room again, returning a minute later with the requested items. He deposited them on the table, gathered up the empty wine glasses, and left after receiving thanks from both males.

Ludvig poured them both a glass, then walked over to the table. ‘’What’s the plan?’’ he asked.

‘’Get to New Mareland, first of all,’’ Star informed him. ‘’No offense, but Vedina is too close to Equus and not strong enough to resist an attack from the Lunar Empire.’’

Ludvig nodded, accepting the point like the reasonable griffon Star knew he was. ‘’And once you’re in your mansion?’’

‘’Raise Flurry as best we can,’’ Star replied, and the enormity of that task would probably sink it sometime in the coming days, but not yet. ‘’I’ll try to give her a normal childhood, but…’’ he trailed off with a sigh.

‘’Wouldn’t somewhere like the Riverlands be safer?’’ Ludvig mused aloud. ‘’You have some contacts there, right?’’

‘’I taught River Swirl and visited during my travels,’’ Star said dismissively. ‘’But I don’t have any other connections there. I’ll consider it, but the main option remains New Mareland.’’

Ludvig frowned, but didn’t push it. ‘’And Equus?’’ he asked instead.

Star’s shoulders slumped. ‘’Twilight vanished into the Everfree with her friends. They’ll probably set up a resistance or something, but with Rarity in the hands of Nightmare Moon there’s no chance of using the Elements. If I had to guess, they’ll set up a resistance movement.’’

‘’You think?’’ Ludvig asked.

‘’Twilight is very scary when she’s set her mind on something,’’ Star supplied. ‘’She has many friends and connections and is almost universally popular across Equestria and beyond. She’ll be able to organize a resistance, I know it.’’

Ludvig hmm-ed. ‘’That is excellent.’’

‘’Quite,’’ Star agreed.

A short pause fell, during which Star drained his glass. ‘’I can get into New Mareland without a problem. It’s getting out of Vedina that will be hard.’’

‘’I know a guy,’’ Ludvig said. ‘’I’ll check if he’s available, but he’ll be able to sail you to New Mareland without any problems.’’

Star put his glass down on the table. ‘’That’s a relief,’’ he sighed. ‘’Thanks.’’

‘’No problem.’’




|-x-X-x-|




13 Young Moon 1008

Emerald sat in the room she’d been given, looking out at the street. At noon, it was quite busy, filled with griffons that were talking and laughing with each other.

Before she could muse on that, there was a knock on her door. ‘’Yes?”

‘’Can I come in?’’ That was Star. Emerald wondered what he wanted.

‘’Sure.’’

The door opened, and the unicorn stepped in. Held in his magic were two steaming cups of tea. He smiled at her. ‘’Care for tea?’’

‘’Thanks.’’ One of the cups floated over to her, and she grabbed it with her hooves. Unfortunately, it was still too hot to drink.

She shifted slightly as Star sat himself next to her. For a moment there was silence, as Emerald waited for Star to begin.

The unicorn sighed. ‘’I-’’ he paused. ‘’Fucking Tartarus, why are words hard?’’

Emerald couldn’t help it: she snorted. The faux-hurt look Star gave her just added to her amusement, sending her into a fit of giggles she just barely managed to contain.

‘’Yes, yes, I’m amusing,’’ Star said drolly, but there was nothing droll about his smile. If Emerald had been inclined that way, she might even have found it attractive. As it stood, she just found it amusing.

‘’But that’s not why you’re here,’’ she pointed out, once more turning serious.

She lifted the cup of tea to her face and took a small sip from it. It tasted of strawberry, but it wasn’t hot enough to burn her tongue anymore. Still small sips only, for now.

‘’It’s not,’’ Star admitted. ‘’I’m here because we need to know each other, if we’re going to be taking care of Flurry.’’

Ah. Emerald agreed with that, and would have sought him out herself in the next few days if he hadn’t done it. 

‘’Well, why don’t we start off by introducing ourselves?’’ she suggested.

Star inclined his head in acknowledgement. ‘’Sure. I am Star Tower of the House Spellweaver, former Royal Magician of Canterlot, Archmage, teacher, traveller and writer.’’

‘’Emerald Gleam,’’ she introduced herself formally, ‘’former Hoofmaiden of Princess Cadence.’’

‘’Born in Canterlot, 20th of Hunger Moon966.’’

‘’A little village on the Snowy River called Fairhall, 15th of Flower Moon, 22 BLB.’’

‘’Any family?’’

Emerald swallowed. ‘’Only my parents, and they’re dead.’’

Star nodded sympathetically. ‘’My condolences.’’ He paused, as if hesitant. ‘’Was there… anyone else you were close with?’’

Emerald shook her head, ignoring the stinging memories. ‘’I had a couple of friends, but no partners. You?’’

‘’My parents are dead too. It seems we have much in common, at least in that area,’’ Star mused. He tilted his head at her. ‘’Do you have any hobbies?’’

Again, Emerald shook her head. ‘’None.’’

‘’Shame,’’ Star remarked. ‘’I like writing or inventing new spells.’’ When Emerald raised her eyebrows at him, he clarified, ‘’I studied spellcrafting in school and during my travels.’’

‘’I haven’t read your books, can you give me a summary?’’ Emerald requested.

Star chuckled. ‘’Of course. I graduated from CSGU in 983, then spent until the summer of 990 travelling Equus and Griffonia. First I headed for the south-east of Equestria: I spent two weeks in Ayacachtli, before moving north and taking a ship in Baltimare to New Mareland. From there, it was Wingbardy, Griffonstone, Lake City, Rijekograd, Wittenland, and south to Kása. From Kása I took a ship which brought me back to New Mareland, and then I crossed through Aquileia into the Herzland via Fezera.’’

‘’Incidentally, that was where we met, back in 985.’’

Emerald’s head snapped towards the door, where Ludvig was lazily leaning against the frame. A wistful smile was on his face. ‘’Ah, good times, good times.’’

‘’Quite,’’ Star agreed with his own smile. ‘’Anyway, from Fezera the two of us moved up through Skyfall into Feathisia. And there, the trouble started.’’

‘’At the time,’’ Ludvig jumped in, ‘’the border between the Empire and the Republic was more of a front line. The Republic had just taken over Cloudbury in 981, and both sides constantly crossed borders. We were attacked five times while sailing up the Griffking, before we reached Mirabelle.’’

‘’And from there, we went north,’’ Star took over, ‘’into the Republic. The two of us must have fought with… what, twelve different raider bands before we reached Cloudbury proper? From there, we went further north, eventually ending up in Everfrost.’’

‘’Everfrost?’’ Emerald inquired, engrossed by the story.

‘’It’s the ‘capital’ of the Northern Tribes,’’ Star explained. ‘’They’re a wild collection of ponies and griffons that live in the northernmost part of Griffonia. Lud and I stayed with them from 987 to mid-988.’’

‘’And then we travelled to Turhamn,’’ Ludvig picked up the tale again. ‘’My father had died, and as his heir it was my duty to take over the house. Star stayed with me until he received the news that his sister would be born, in late 989.’’

‘’And that’s it,’’ Star finished. ‘’Other than a couple of trips to Haukhamn, I did nothing in the last year and a half.’’

It took Emerald a moment to condense all the information. ‘’That’s… quite a tale. I can see why your books were popular.’’ She peered at Ludvig. ‘’Pardon me, but you don’t look that old.’’

Ludvig chuckled. ‘’Bergkvists have always been slow to age. It’s got something to do with a blessing by the Goddess.’’

‘’I confirmed it: his bloodline is blessed. In twenty years, he’ll look thirty-five when he’s actually sixty,’’ Star added. ‘’And before you ask, the blessing kicks in once one turns nineteen.’’

Emerald frowned. ‘’Why nineteen?’’

Star and Ludvig both shrugged. ‘’Why indeed,’’ Ludvig echoed.

‘’So.’’ Star leaned forward. ‘’You’ve heard my tale. Your turn.’’

Well, here goes nothing.

‘’Growing up, I wanted to be a florist. And for a time, I was.’’ The cutie mark - a purple and white flower - on her flank was enough proof of that. ‘’But then Sombra happened. I don’t remember much from his reign, except for cold and darkness.’’ She shivered. ‘’After Princess Cadence took the throne, I initially worked as a florist in the Palace. One day, I must have caught her eye, because soon after I was one of her hoofmaidens.’’

Ludvig and Star were shooting each other looks, while also analysing her. Emerald didn’t really mind; she’d do the same in their position. Still, a distraction never hurt. ‘’So… is there anything between you, or…?’’

Ludvig barked out a laugh. ‘’Heavens, no! We are friends, close friends, but our interests don’t lie that way.’’

Emerald had guessed as much, but confirmation was always good to have. She nodded understandingly.

Ludvig suddenly turned his head around. ‘’Good morning, little one,’’ she heard him say. ‘’Did you sleep well?’’

‘’Starry?’’ she heard a little filly’s voice ask from outside.

Having already stood up, Star pushed past his friend and answered, ‘’I’m here. Good morning, Flurry.’’

‘’Morning, Starry. Morning, Mr Ludvig.’’ A pause. ‘’Where’s Emerald?’’

‘’In here as well, Flurry,’’ Emerald replied, having jumped off the bed and walked to the door. The foal stood next to Ludvig, looking uncomfortable.

‘’I need to go to the toilet,’’ Flurry shyly informed them. ‘’Can you come with me, Emerald?’’

‘’Of course, Flurry,’’ Emerald immediately agreed, brushing past Star and Ludvig. ‘’Where’s the toilet?’’ she asked Ludvig.

‘’Ground floor, door in the hallway,’’ Ludvig answered.

‘’Thanks.’’ Together, Emerald and Flurry walked down the stairs and to the toilet.

Flurry looked up at the toilet, then turned to Emerald. ‘’Where’s the potty?’’

Fuck.

‘’I don’t think we have a potty here, Flurry,’’ Emerald replied. ‘’Can you do it in the big pony toilet?’’

Flurry looked between Emerald and the toilet, frowning sceptically. Finally, she nodded.

‘’I’ll hold you.’’ Emerald lifted Flurry up, placing her on the edge of the toilet. Flurry instinctively spread her wings, as if scared she was going to fall in.

‘’Emerald, I’m scared,’’ she whispered. ‘’I don’t wanna fall in.’’

‘’Flurry, look at me.’’ Emerald’s golden eyes locked with Flurry’s turquoise ones. ‘’I’m holding you, and the toilet isn’t big enough to fit you. Nothing’s gonna happen to you.’’

Flurry’s lower lip trembled, but she nodded anyway.

‘’I’m done,’’ she announced a minute later. Emerald nodded, pulled Flurry off the toilet and back on the floor, and flushed the toilet down.

‘’Thanks, Emerald,’’ Flurry said, before giving her leg a hug. ‘’You’re the best.’’

Emerald’s breath caught in her throat as she looked down at the foal. ‘’N-no problem,’’ she managed to get out. ‘’Come on, let’s go have breakfast.’’

‘’Sure,’’ Flurry agreed, before frowning. ‘’Emerald?’’

‘’Yes?’’

‘’When are mommy and daddy coming?’’

Oh Amore.

‘’They promised they’d come today, didn’t they?’’ Emerald replied. ‘’But they might be delayed and arrive a couple of days later. We might even have to leave for New Mareland without them, but they’ll catch up to us.’’

Flurry nodded. ‘’Okay, Emerald. Thanks.’’

Don’t thank me. I lied to you.




|-x-X-x-|




20 Young Moon 1008

Ludvig’s guy was in Turhamn, and more than happy to take three refugees fleeing from the chaos of Equestria to the safety of New Mareland. Five days after they’d arrived in Turhamn, the three could leave again.

Star was more than happy with that arrangement. Turhamn carried many memories and he wouldn’t have opposed living there for the rest of his life, but it was neither safe nor the preferred outcome.

Especially with the rumours floating about. There was a bounty on his head, courtesy of Nightmare, and it wasn’t a secret that Ludvig and Star were friends.

They stood on Turhamn’s docks. Around them was a flurry of activity as griffons and other creatures went about their business.

‘’Good luck, my friends,’’ Ludvig wished them.

Star inclined his head. ‘’Stay safe. Don’t get yourself killed.’’

‘’No promises,’’ Ludvig chuckled. The griffon stuck out his claw, and Star gripped it with his hoof. They held their grip for a few seconds, then they let go. Ludvig turned to face Emerald and Flurry. The filly was sleeping softly on Emerald’s back, her wings hidden under the coat she wore. 

‘’My lady, it was a pleasure to meet you,’’ Ludvig said. ‘’I hope to meet you again sometime, under more favourable circumstances.’’

‘’So do I,’’ Emerald said. ‘’Your hospitality was too kind.’’

‘’Nothing too good for my friends,’’ Ludvig declared, before bowing. ‘’Good luck and safe travels.’’

Star and Emerald nodded, then turned around and boarded the boat.

With any luck, this’ll be a quiet trip.
> Act 1: Chapter 3: On the waves (edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

20 Young Moon 1008

The cabin that Ludvig had arranged for them was small, but comfortable and had all the necessities provided. It definitely wasn’t some first-class luxury liner, but that didn’t matter, at least not to Emerald. She put Flurry on the floor after waking her up as she laid the suitcases on the floor as well.

‘’I’ll do Flurry’s bed,’’ Star offered, and Emerald looked up to see his magic turn the couch into the second bed it doubled as.

‘’Thanks,’’ she said, before looking at Flurry. ‘’What do you want to do?’’

‘’Can I get this coat off?’’ Flurry asked with a small pout.

Emerald shook her head. ‘’Yes, sweetheart, but you’ll need to wear something whenever you’re going out of the cabin. Otherwise bad ponies might see your wings.’’

Flurry’s pout intensified, but she nodded anyway. ‘’Okay, Emerald. I’ll do that.’’

Emerald smiled reassuringly at the foal. ‘’I’m proud of you for listening so well to us.’’ And she really was. Flurry had been a surprisingly calm foal, for all that had happened in the past week or so. She had listened well to whatever Star or Emerald had asked from her, and hadn’t complained even once about her new situation.

‘’Thanks, Emerald,’’ Flurry chirped. ‘’I’m hungry. Can we go eat?’’

‘’Sure,’’ Star jumped in, and Emerald saw he had fixed the beds and unpacked some of the suitcases’ contents already. ‘’If you don’t want to put a coat on, there are some other clothes for you.’’

‘’I have a nice sweater for you,’’ Emerald offered as she pulled out the sweater in question. It was a thick, dark purple thing that would cover Flurry's entire upper body and half of her legs. Emerald had knitted it for her in the past days.

Flurry reached out with a hoof and touched the sweater. ‘’It’s soft,’’ she remarked, before looking up at Emerald. ‘’Can you put it on me?’’

‘’Sure,’’ Emerald agreed. She got Flurry out of her coat, and then slipped the sweater onto her body. Flurry wiggled back and forth to get it on fully, before smiling. 

‘’It’s so warm,’’ she said wistfully. ‘’I like it.’’

‘’That’s the point, I think,’’ Star commented. ‘’Shall we go to the mess now? And then we can look around the ship.’’

Emerald nodded. ‘’Sounds like a plan.’’ She’d have preferred the filly stay inside, but that was just cruel.

‘’Emerald, can I sit on your back again?’’ Flurry asked.

‘’Sure thing, sweetheart,’’ Emerald answered. As she kneeled so Flurry could get on her back, she reflected that she never expected to be this close to the young alicorn. After all, Emerald was only a hoofmaiden. At best, she could have been a faux-aunt-like figure. Now though, she was steadily turning into something more. For how long would that last?

Once Flurry was securely on her back, Emerald stood back up. Star was already standing at the door, watching them with a careful eye. He held open the door for them, and then closed it once they were out.

‘’Which way is the mess?’’ Emerald asked no-one in particular.

‘’That way.’’ Star pointed down the hallway, and then walked forward.

After finding the mess and having a quick lunch - the ship’s kitchen was nothing luxurious, but it wasn’t terrible either - which summarized the ship, if Emerald was being honest with herself - they made their way to the front of the ship. The shore was steadily fading away from sight, and the sun was at its highest point now.

‘’This is the sea, Flurry,’’ Star explained to the foal, who was staring at the waves with wide eyes. ‘’Think of it as a very big lake, filled with salt water.’’

‘’How big is it?’’ Flurry asked Star.

‘’This is the Eagleheart Sea, which is a part of the Celestial Sea, which separates Equus from Griffonia and Zebrica. It takes a ship roughly a week or two to sail from here to Manehattan. You know where Manehattan is, right?’’

‘’No?’’ Flurry hesitantly admitted.

Star gave her a reassuring smile. ‘’No problem. I have a map in my suitcases, we can look at it sometime.’’

‘’Yay!’’ Flurry softly cheered.

‘’What do you want to do now, Flurry?’’ Emerald asked the foal. ‘’Do you want to watch the sea, or do you want to go back to the cabin?’’

‘’I’d like to go to the cabin, Emerald. I’m sleepy.’’

‘’As you wish, sweetie.’’ Emerald smiled as she turned and began to walk towards the cabins, Star trailing behind her.

In the corner of her eye, Emerald caught something moving. She turned her head around, just in time to catch the claw headed for her face. In a burst of speed, she dodged.

Emerald took a few steps back, quickly glancing behind her to check if Flurry was alright. The foal was wide-eyed, but silent. Looking back, she saw her assailant was a black griffon.

He was also being held against the ground by Star’s golden aura. The griffon couldn’t even struggle; the only thing he could do was glare hatefully.

‘’Isn’t this interesting?’’ Star asked rhetorically as he stepped closer to the griffon. ‘’Now who in Tartarus are you?’’

‘’Gå till Maar, din jävel,’’ the griffon replied harshly. Emerald didn’t know what that meant, but she could guess based on the reactions of the other passengers.

‘’Thank you, but no,’’ Star pressed on, unfazed by the insult. ‘’Though you might be meeting him soon, if you don’t care to tell me what I want to know.’’

The griffon remained silent, and no one else dared to speak. Emerald could feel Flurry huddling into her coat, the foal’s feathers touching Emerald’s sides.

‘’Guess not,’’ Star said flippantly. ‘’This is on you.’’ He briefly lifted his head and looked around the crowd. ‘’Foals and easily-scared creatures should stop watching,’’ he advised, before looking back down. And the telekinetic aura began to… crackle.

The griffon’s face contorted into silent pain as he began to writhe on the floor. A few people gasped, horrified, and Emerald made sure that Flurry’s face was away from the scene. She watched herself, in morbid fascination.

Emerald was no expert on magic, but to her, it appeared as if Star was - somehow - electrocuting the griffon through his telekinesis. She had never seen someone be electrocuted before, but it looked painful. Very painful.

‘’Stop it!’’ a griffon cried suddenly. ‘’He doesn’t deserve such a torture!’’

Star looked at the griffon, one eyebrow raised. ‘’He tried to hit my friend. And seeing as I have every reason to be very suspicious of anyone that tries to harm me or mine, I am fully within my rights.’’

‘’Besides,’’ he pointed out, ‘’he could have just answered.’’

‘’ENOUGH!’’ the assailant shouted. ‘’Please! I’ll tell you!’’

The crackle vanished as Star loomed over the griffon. ‘’Well?’’ he asked after a moment.

‘’I was sent-’’ the griffon took a deep, pained breath, ‘’by P-Prince Ondska… to capture the filly.’’

Amore damm it.

‘’Hmm…’’ Star hmm-ed, ignoring the gasps of shock from the others. ‘’Since I already know what he’s after then, I don’t need to have you repeat it.’’ And he sent a bolt of golden energy from his horn at the griffon’s head. He collapsed on the floor, unconscious.

Of course, the crew chose that moment to arrive. ‘’What’s going on here?’’ A bulky sailor asked as he pushed through the crowd.

Emerald watched in interest as Star engaged in rapid conversation in Vedinian with the sailors. Star kept his face serenely calm, while the sailor went through anger, disbelief and rage in a minute.

Two more sailors arrived, and with a few words they took the unconscious griffon away to… somewhere. Some other sailors dispersed the crowd that had formed around them. A minute later, Star apparently finished his conversation with the sailor, as he turned back to Emerald and smiled.

‘’Everything’s been cleared up,’’ he said cheerily. ‘’The griffon will be locked in an empty cabin and released into local authorities' custody in the next port, that being Grifftonia.’’

‘’And us?’’ Emerald inquired, keeping her tone light.

‘’We’re free to enjoy the rest of our stay until we reach our destination,’’ was Star’s answer.

Translation: Everything’s fine.

Emerald let out a sigh, sagging her shoulders. ‘’That’s good.’’

She felt Flurry shift on her back. ‘’Is it over, Emerald?’’

‘’It is,’’ Star affirmed. ‘’Come on, let’s go to our rooms.’’




|-x-X-x-|




22 Young Moon 1008

‘’Attention everycreature, we have a pirate ship approaching from the west. Please return to your cabins.’’

Stars-fucking-damnit, he really couldn’t have a moment of rest.

As soon as the announcement ended, Star turned to Emerald. ‘’Stay in here, don’t go outside, keep Flurry safe,’’ he ordered as he slipped his cloak on and grabbed his sword from the table.

‘’What are you going to do?” Emerald asked. 

As if that isn’t obvious.

‘’I’m going to make sure those pirates aren’t going to bother us,’’ Star replied, before opening the door and leaving the room.

He calmly strode through the corridors, even as everyone else ran towards their cabins in panic. He stepped onto the deck, and for a moment enjoyed the wind blowing through his mane and cloak.

Fucking pirates. Honestly, Star should have convinced Celestia to invade Haukland. He probably could have, all things considered. It would have solved a lot of problems.

‘’Sir!’’ he turned to see a flustered griffon ensign. ‘’You have to go cabin! Not safe!’’ His Equish was laced with a heavy Vedinian accent.

‘’Not to worry,’’ Star replied in perfect Vedinian, silently thankful to Ludvig for teaching him the language. ‘’I’m going to take care of these pirates for you.’’

The ensign shook his head, but was too stunned to react as Star swept past him. The unicorn’s horn lit up as he looked over the seas, casting a projection spell. The image of a large destroyer appeared in gold.

Of course, it couldn’t be just any ship. It had to be one that Star recognized, because fuck him, honestly. Star sighed, and drew on his magic. Fireball, voice-projection spell, and that should be enough.

If not… Well, taking out a destroyer on his lonesome was not as hard as obliterating a tank column.

Even if he detested the smell of burning griffon.




|-x-X-x-|




22 Young Moon 1008

The pirate crew of the ‘requisitioned’ Feathisian destroyer Adelaar was in high spirits. There was an unarmed transport at twelve o’clock, and from the looks of it it was filled with moderately wealthy griffons. That meant profit.

They were not counting on a unicorn that was far too powerful for them to handle.

The pirates, collectively, stared in shock as a giant fire-ball soared through the air and punched a hole straight through the hull, mere centimetres above the water level.

‘’Message Meyer,’’ a stallion said, his voice perfectly hearable despite the distance. ‘’And tell that this ship is under the protection of Shining Sea.’’

Up on the bridge, the captain's eyes widened in recognition. ‘’As you wish, Shining,’’ he said.

The unicorn chuckled. Had he heard the captain? ‘’Hello to you too, Schultz. Good to know I’m remembered. Now scram, because the next fire-ball will be straight through the engines.’’

‘’Do as he says!’’ the captain hissed at his crew. ‘’I do not want to fuck with that guy. He’ll blow up this ship and then turn around to cuddle with his sister.’’

The crew, wisely, decided to trust their captain’s judgment and turned the ship around at a rapid pace.

Unbeknownst to them, the unicorn watched them leave with a smirk, and then strode back to the cabin he had booked.
> Act 1: Chapter 4: Down under (edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

1 Hunger Moon 1008

This morning, they’d be arriving in Sunset, New Mareland. But since they were trying to stay hidden, Star had created a plan to get them into the nation without anyone the wiser, or at least he claimed he had done so.

Emerald would reserve her judgment until she’d heard it.

‘’Now this is the hard part,’’ Star began his explanation. ‘’I don’t fancy going past the New Mareland border guard, so I’m just going to teleport us to the mansion once we’ve docked.’’

‘’That’s illegal,’’ Emerald observed dryly, idly combing Flurry’s mane.

‘’What’s illegal mean?’’ Flurry asked, turning her head towards Star.

‘’It means breaking the law,’’ Star answered off-hoofedly. ‘’It’s usually a bad thing, but in this case it’s a matter of practicality.’’

Why are you telling her this? Emerald wondered to herself. Flurry didn’t need to know this. She was just a young filly. Young fillies didn’t need to know about laws yet.

Flurry thought about it for a moment, before nodding. ‘’So it’s something you shouldn’t do?’’

‘’Yes,’’ Star affirmed, ‘’normally. But right now, doing it the lawful way would be dangerous. So we’re doing it another way.’’

Emerald had to admire his summarizing skill. From what she’d seen in the past days, Star had a gift for answering Flurry’s questions in a way that she understood the answer while also remaining factually correct. Even if the knowledge itself wasn’t necessarily something a filly of her age needed to know.

‘’How are we going to supply ourselves?’’ Emerald asked, slightly uncomfortable at the idea of living without money or supplies.

‘’I have food for a month or so,’’ Star replied, ‘’and I can go to the nearest village, undercover of course.’’ 

‘’And money?’’ Emerald pressed, as she checked her work on Flurry’s mane, before moving on to her tail.

‘’I have an account at the Royal New Mareland Bank which contains my retirement funds, as well as the funds used to pay the bills of the house and so on,’’ Star answered. ‘’Even if I can’t access the majority of my money, we can still live comfortably until Flurry’s an adult without ever having to work.’’

Emerald nodded. ‘’Speaking of work…’’ 

‘’That can wait for now,’’ Star cut in. ‘’Until we have gotten the lay of the land. I know Jet Set in passing, but that doesn’t mean much in this day and age.’’

‘’You’re not concerned they’ll sell us back to Nightmare Moon?’’ Emerald asked with a frown. That was a possibility she had considered. Ponies had done the same during Sombra’s reign, after all.

‘’No,’’ Star replied resolutely. ‘’And if they tried, we would escape.’’

‘’To where?’’ Emerald could think of a few options, but she wanted to know Star’s ideas.

‘’The Riverlands. I still have an in with White Star and River Swirl. But I think we’ll be safe here.’’ Star checked the time. ‘’Now, get ready for the teleport.’’

Emerald nodded. She lifted Flurry onto her back, checked if she had packed everything and if the saddlebags were secure, and then nodded to Star.

Star’s horn lit up, and they teleported away.




|-x-X-x-|




1 Hunger Moon 1008

Star’s mansion was a large, two story building, built on a raised stone foundation with walls of wood. Large windows stood out at the front of the building, looking over the land between the house and the fence, which was quite a distance away. Grassland surrounded the mansion and it’s lands on all sides, except for the south, where a low cliff gave way to a short stretch of beach. The fence stopped at the cliff, but Star’s property extended onto the beach as well, as did the wards protecting everything, but it hadn’t been worth the bother to close off the beach.

Star had bought the thing from an old couple with no kids for a price that was on the low side but still reasonable, and then redecorated and restructured it to his own pleasure. 

There was a small village of griffons and ponies some seventeen hundred meters to the north, to which the mansion was connected by a simple cobbled road, but Star hardly ever went there. The house kept itself clean through an appliance of meticulous spellwork, and the pantry was kept stocked and ready by some conservation spells that Star had modified to last far longer than normal, courtesy of some of the spells from the Canterlot Archives’ Starswirl the Bearded Wing.

‘’Wow,’’ Emerald said softly.

‘’Big house!’’ Flurry babbled excitedly, pointing her forehooves at the mansion.

‘’Quite,’’ Star agreed with a smirk. Nothing quite like reveling in the awe of others at things of his. ‘’Come, let us go inside.’’

The door swung open with a touch of Star’s telekinesis, allowing them to enter. A staircase dominated the central room, and you could look up from the ground floor at the first floor and the other way around. 

To their left was the living room and dinner room, with a table for six and a couch, two chairs and a hearth. Furthermore, the left also held a toilet and the kitchens. To the right was the library, which dominated the entire right wing.

On the first floor were the bedrooms. Star’s was on the left, and it was his study as well. The bathroom, with a large jacuzzi-like bath, a shower and all the other things expected in a bathroom, was also on the left side. The right side held two bedrooms.

‘’There’s a laboratory slash training room in the basement, as well as a supply room and another, small bedroom. There’s also an observatory in the trees around the pond, built into a large oak tree,’’ Star explained as they sat in the living room.

‘’Impressive,’’ Emerald remarked. ‘’When did you have this built?’’

‘’I bought it,’’Star corrected her, ‘’nine years ago.’’

Emerald tilted her head. ‘’You got your retirement home nine years in advance?’’

Star shrugged. ‘’Yes.’’

Emerald held her gaze for a moment, before smiling. ‘’Okay then. I’ll go unpack Flurry’s stuff.’’

‘’I’ll be in my study,’’ Star replied.

‘’Come with me, Flurry,’’ he heard Emerald request as he walked away, up the stairs and into his room.

He looked around. A large, two-pony bed stood on the right wall, opposite his desk and bookshelves. The wardrobe was opposite the windows, which were in front of him, showing the garden of the mansion and the parts of the fence that weren’t hidden behind the trees Star had planted to avoid just that.

It wasn’t home, not yet. And his study in the Spellweaver Mansion in Canterlot had been larger and far better equipped. But it would have to do.

He could always expand if he found the need to do so. Not that it would be easy, but it could be done, and that was what mattered.




|-x-X-x-|




4 Hunger Moon 1008

A few days had passed since the three of them had arrived at Star’s house. Emerald and Flurry both slept in the two guest rooms, while Star slept in his own room, of course. Their daily schedule was simple: wake up, eat breakfast, play with Flurry, lunch, play some more until it was time for her nap, dinner, and then sleep again.

One afternoon, the three of them were out in the garden surrounding the house. Star and Emerald watched Flurry as she played with her Whammy in the grass.

‘’Flurry,’’ Emerald called, ‘’it’s time for your nap!’’

‘’Aww,’’ Flurry pouted. ‘’But I’m not tired!’’ This statement was finished by a loud yawn from the filly.

‘’Perhaps not, but a little filly needs her sleep,’’ Star said, standing up and walking towards her. ‘’Come,’’ he requested, smiling down at her.

Flurry looked up at him in silence, and then sniffed. ‘’Okay.’’ Sniffing again, she grabbed her toy.

Star frowned. ‘’Flurry, what’s wrong?’’ It was winter, so she probably wasn't sniffing because of a cold.

Flurry’s big, turquoise eyes met Star’s emerald green ones. ‘’Where are mommy and daddy?’’ the little filly asked.

Star’s frown was replaced by a look of sadness. ‘’They… they’re not coming.’’

‘’But they promised!’’ Flurry said loudly. ‘’They promised they’d come!’’

Emerald got up and walked over to Flurry. ‘’And they wanted to, believe me,’’ she said. ‘’But… bad ponies are keeping them away.’’

Flurry’s lips trembled. ‘’But- but-’’

Star bent down and wrapped his forelegs around her in a hug, joined a moment later by Emerald. After a few seconds, Flurry started crying, tears falling against Star’s coat.

‘’Shh, shh,’’ Emerald said softly, ‘’it’s okay. You can cry.’’

Flurry continued to cry loudly, wailing, ‘’Mommy!’’ She held onto Star’s leg with all her might, her entire body shaking.

Star and Emerald had tears in their eyes as well. ‘’They loved you, Flurry Heart, never doubt that,’’ Star said reassuringly.

Flurry looked up at him with her tear-stained face. ‘’Then why aren’t they coming?’’

Star sighed. ‘’They’re dead.’’ Emerald shot him a cross look as soon as the words left his mouth. He gave a look back, daring her to say something, but she kept silent.

‘’What’s dead?’’ Flurry asked in a small voice.

‘’Like a very long sleep, that you don’t wake up from,’’ Star explained. ‘’It happens to everything.’’

‘’You’re gonna be dead as well?’’ Flurry sniffed, tightening her grip on his leg even more.

‘’I’ll always be with you, Flurry,’’ Star promised evasively. ‘’Just like your parents are still with you, even if they’re dead.’’

‘’I’ll be with you as well,’’ Emerald added. ‘’We will never leave you, Flurry, I promise you.’’

‘’Promise?’’ Flurry pleaded, looking at both of them with tears in her eyes and trembling lips.

‘’Promise,’’ both adult ponies repeated.




|-x-X-x-|




4 Hunger Moon 1008

Flurry had fallen asleep on Star’s back as they had walked back to the house. The two adults had tucked her in in her bed, and then made their way to the living room.

Star took a seat on the couch, Emerald sitting on the other end of it. For a minute, neither of them spoke, and only the birdsong outside sounded throughout the house.

Finally, Emerald let out an explosive sigh. ‘’Why did you tell her that?’’

Star’s eyes found Emerald’s. ‘’It is better that she learns it now rather than holding onto hope until she’s older,’’ he replied, as if he wasn’t at all bothered by it.

‘’Better? She’s four!’’ Emerald shouted.

‘’And her parents are dead,’’ Star retorted calmly. ‘’I don’t like it any more than you do. But she needs to know she can trust us, and lying to her won’t do that any good.’’

Emerald kept on glaring at him. ‘’She’s not your daughter,’’ she snapped. ‘’You don’t get to make that decision for her.’’

‘’I raised my sister,’’ Star snapped back, ‘’and Flurry was given to me by Cadence. You have just as much say in her life as I do.’’

‘’And what happened to your sister?” Emerald inquired before she knew it.

For a moment, there was silence. Star looked like Emerald hadn’t said anything. Suddenly, he growled, a low sound that made the hairs on Emerald’s back stand up straight.

A cold wind swept through the room, and the shadows seemed to lengthen. ‘’You dare?’’ Star hissed. ‘’You have the fucking nerve to question me about raising my sister, you-’’

I’ve made a terrible mistake.

Then, just as sudden as it had come, his anger evaporated, and he drew himself back. ‘’Very well.’’ His horn lit up, and with a golden flash, a file appeared. ‘’This is the file Cadence gave to me.’’ He levitated it over to Emerald.

Emerald grabbed it and turned it around. ‘’What?’’ she whispered, eyes wide as she read the file.

‘’I haven’t done anything with them yet,’’ Star said softly, watching her impassively. ‘’But do not for a moment doubt I would not sign them.’’

‘’We need to sign them,’’ Emerald concluded matter-of-factly, putting the file down on the table.

Star raised his eyebrow at her. ‘’I didn’t think you’d want that.’’

‘’Anything to protect Flurry,’’ Emerald declared. ‘’As long as we don’t need to marry,’’ she added a moment later.

‘’Just living together is fine,’’ Star assured her. ‘’Cadence made sure for that to be included.’’

Emerald sighed. ‘’Thank Amore for that.’’ She looked at the papers again. ‘’So, when are we telling Flurry?’’




|-x-X-x-|




4 Hunger Moon 1008

Later that day, the three of them sat at the table for dinner. Emerald had made potatoes with vegetables, and the three were all digging into the food.

‘’Flurry?’’ Star began the conversation after shooting a look at Emerald.

‘’Yes, Starry?’’ Flurry looked up from her food. Her eyes were still slightly red, but she hadn’t been crying anymore. That was good, Star knew that much.

‘’Before we-’’ Star stopped himself and began his sentence again, ‘’Your mother gave us a set of papers, and we want to discuss them with you.’’ He pulled the papers in question towards him with his magic.

Flurry looked at the papers attentively. She couldn’t read yet, of course, but they looked important.

Star cleared his throat, then continued, ‘’Flurry, these are adoption papers. For you.’’

‘’What’s adoption?’’ Flurry asked, tilting her head at Star.

‘’It’s something that beings do when a child doesn’t have any parents, sometimes other beings will adopt these children, raising them as their own children,’’ Emerald gently explained.

Flurry’s eyes widened as she caught on. ‘’So you’re adoptioning-’’

‘’Adopting,’’ Star corrected.

‘’Adopting me?’’ Flurry asked.

‘’If you want,’’ Star said with a nod.

Flurry’s lower lip trembled slightly. ‘’Do I… do I have to call you mommy and daddy?’’

Emerald and Star shared another look, before both shook their heads. ‘’If you want to, you can, but you don’t have to,’’ Star explained.

Flurry looked at them both for a long moment, before nodding. ‘’Okay. I want you to- to adopt me.’’

Star and Emerald both smiled. ‘’Thank you, Flurry,’’ Emerald beamed at her. ‘’That really means a lot to us.’’

‘’You mean a lot to us, Flurry,’’ Star added.

‘’You mean a lot to me too, Starry, Emerald,’’ Flurry admitted softly.

Star got up from his chair, walked over to Flurry and gave her a hug. Emerald, who sat next to Flurry, also gave her a hug, and Flurry hugged the two of them back.

‘’Shall we read a story after dinner?’’ Star suggested once they’d broken the hug.

‘’Yeah, story!’’ Flurry said excitedly.

Emerald chuckled. ‘’But dinner first, young lady.’’

Flurry stuck her tongue out at Emerald, before continuing with her food. After dinner, Star read to Flurry the story of the Little Ursa Major, while Emerald did the dishes and then joined them on the couch.

‘’And so they lived happily after,’’ Star finished the story. He closed the book and looked at Flurry. ‘’Did you like it?’’

Flurry nodded. ‘’It was fun! I wanna hear it again!’’

Star raised an eyebrow, before glancing at the clock that hung on the wall. It wasn’t Flurry’s bed-time yet.

‘’How about another story instead?’’ he suggested as he opened the book again, looking through the index. ‘’See anything you like?’’

Flurry poked her little head over the edge of the book. ‘’That one!’’ she pointed a hoof at a random sentence.

‘’The Markless Foal,’’ Star read aloud. ‘’Interesting.’’

Flurry nodded, before saying, ‘’But I want Emerald to read it!’’

‘’If Emerald has no problem with that, sure,’’ Star agreed, looking at the mare.

Emerald nodded, sticking out her hooves. ‘’Give it here.’’ Star hooved her the book, and she flicked through it until she reached the story Flurry had picked. Meanwhile, Flurry crawled over on the couch, laying next to Emerald.

Clearing her throat, she began, ‘’The Markless Foal. Once upon a time, there lived a foal in Equestria, in the village of Starry Town, in eastern Equestria. The foal had four younger siblings, and many friends to play with until the sun went down. But as the foal grew older, ponies started getting their cutie marks, one by one. Yet the foal’s flank remained blank. Ponies started to look at the foal and whisper, ‘’Look, a blank flank,’’ to each. The foal’s friends started drifting away, and the foal’s siblings gained their cutie marks as well later.’’

Emerald paused for breath, and glanced to the side, seeing Flurry was enraptured by the story. She continued, ‘’One day, the foal had had enough. In the middle of the night, the foal left it’s house, sneaking out of the door. The foal left Starry Town, deciding to head into the nearby forest. But at night, the forest was dark, and monsters stalked through the trees. In the darkness, the foal got lost, and to make matters worse, it had begun to rain.’’

Pausing again, Emerald reflected that this story was pretty dark for foals. Nevertheless, she went on, ‘’The foal hid under a large tree, shivering from the cold wet rain. That was when it heard the sound of hooves approaching. A old pony emerged from the bushes, looking down at the cowering foal.’’

‘’What are you doing here?’’ the old pony asked the foal.

‘’I’m running away from home,’’ the foal replied. ‘’I’m going to find my cutie mark!’’

‘’Stupid foal!’’ the old pony snapped. ‘’You’ll freeze out here!’’

‘’The old pony grabbed the foal’s ear and dragged the foal with him to the old pony’s home, a small cottage. Once inside, the old pony put the foal down in front of the fireplace.’’

‘’I will make tea for you, and you can stay here until sunrise,’’ the old pony said to the foal. ‘’Then, you will go back to your home.’’

‘’I don’t want to!’’ the foal said.

‘’You will!’’ the old pony said, and that was the end of that. The old pony put a pot of tea on the fire, then sat down next to the fire.

‘’How did you know where I was?’’ the foal asked the old pony.

‘’I have lived in this forest for a long time,’’ the old pony answered. ‘’I know it well.’’

The foal nodded in understanding, before asking the next question: ‘’What’s your cutie mark?’’

The old pony smiled, and showed his flank to the foal. To the foal’s astonishment, it was markless.

‘’Where’s your cutie mark?’’ the foal asked.

‘’Where is yours?’’ the old pony asked back. ‘’And why do you want one?’’

‘’Because then I’ll know what I’m good at!’’ the foal said, for this was obvious to him.

The old pony hummed. ‘’So you’re not good at anything?’’

‘’Well…’’ the foal’s face scrunched up as it thought. ‘’I’m good at drawing.’’

‘’Did you need your cutie mark to be good at drawing?’’ the old pony asked the foal.

‘’No, but-’’

‘’Then you have already discovered your talent,’’ the old pony declared.

‘’But I don’t want to be a blank flank for the rest of my life!’’ the foal shouted.

‘’Why not?’’ the old pony asked. ‘’What does it matter what other ponies think, when you are happy?’’

The foal thought about this, shaking his head. ‘’I need to have a cutie mark.’’

The old pony sighed. ‘’I do not see why.’’

‘’If I have a cutie mark, people will like me again,’’ the foal explained.

‘’If they don’t like you now, they won’t like you with a cutie mark,’’ the old pony said. ‘’There are plenty of ponies that don’t mind being friends with someone that doesn’t have a cutie mark.’’

‘’Not to be a stick in the mud,’’ Star suddenly cut in, causing Emerald’s head to snap towards him, ‘’but Flurry’s fallen asleep already.’’

Emerald bent her head, and blinked as she saw the filly had snuggled up against Emerald, her eyes closed and a happy little smile on her muzzle. Whammy was clutched to her chest.

‘’She’s adorable,’’ Emerald said softly.

‘’That she is,’’ Star affirmed. ‘’Shall we tuck her in?’’

Emerald nodded, closing the book and hopping off the couch. Star picked Flurry up in his telekinesis and placed her on his back. After making sure she wouldn’t fall off, he walked out of the living room, up the stairs and to Flurry’s room, together with Emerald.

Flurry’s room had been one of the two guest rooms, and it hadn’t changed much since it’s construction. What few possessions had been saved from the Crystal Empire were scattered throughout the room: a couple of toys and gifts from her family and friends, like a blanket from Rarity. The room wasn’t as big as Flurry’s room in the Palace had been, but it had everything she needed: a bed, a wardrobe, a chest to store toys in, and a desk with a chair. A large window looked out over the back garden.

Star pulled the covers of the bed away, lowered Flurry into the bed, and then pulled the covers back again. Meanwhile, Emerald closed the curtains and swept the floor clean of toys, putting them away into the chest.

Star stepped away from the bed, smiling at Flurry. Emerald walked forward and placed a kiss on Flurry’s forehead, just under her horn.

‘’Goodnight, Flurry,’’ she whispered.

Star flicked on the night light, and then the two adults left the room, closing the door behind them and leaving Flurry to her dreams.




|-x-X-x-|




5 Hunger Moon 1008

The sky around Star was exploding, as shells slammed into the ground around him. He kept up a golden shield as he ran through the streets of Canterlot.

Two thestrals landed before him, aiming their rifles at him. Without stopping he cast a spell that tore the flesh from their bones, their dying screams echoing in his ears.

Not that he cared. He had to get to his mansion.

A group of Equestrian soldiers rushed past him, and one of them called out to him, but Star ignored it. 

The gate of the mansion had been blown open, and Star saw that the door of the house was destroyed as well. He jumped over the remnants of the gate and ran over the stones that led up to the mansion.

His sister was inside. He had to get to her.

He blasted away the rubble that remained of his front door and entered the mansion. ‘’Crystal?’’ he shouted, but no reply came. ‘’Crystal? Crystal!’’

Think, Star, think. Where would she be?

The unicorn ran up the stairs, and kicked open the door of Crystal’s room.

Nothing. It was still completely untouched and intact. Star let out a sigh of relief. That was good.

‘’Star!’’

He whipped his head around. That was Crystal’s voice, and it came from the third floor. He ran out of her room and up the stairs again. ‘’Crystal!’’

‘’Star!’’ his sister called from somewhere, but he couldn’t tell what room she was in.

‘’Where are you?’’ he shouted.

‘’I’m-’’

The walls and roof fell away as the wooden floor turned to grass. Before Star knew it, four ponies pressed him down to the ground, one of them putting a band on his horn. He grunted as he tried to break free.

‘’Gentlecolts, please.’’

Star’s head snapped up. Nightmare Moon stood in front of him, looking down on him with a sinister smile.

‘’Hello, my little pony,’’ she said. ‘’Here to submit to me?’’

‘’Never,’’ Star growled.

‘’Bring the prisoner,’’ Nightmare Moon ordered, before stepping to the side.

Two other stallions dragged in a blue mare with a white mane. Her entire body was covered in bruises and there was a large cut on her flank.

‘’Your sister,’’ Nightmare Moon explained, ‘’will die, unless you surrender yourself to me.’’

Star glared hatefully at Nightmare, but said nothing.

‘’Take aim,’’ Nightmare commanded, and rifles were aimed at Crystal. ‘’Ready…’’

‘’STOP!’’ Star shouted, before bowing his head. ‘’Stop. You’ve won. I surrender.’’

Nightmare smiled sinisterly. ‘’Then I guess I’ll let you have your sister.’’

The ponies that were holding him let go, and Star immediately darted past Nightmare towards Crystal, who had been unceremoniously dropped on the ground. ‘’Crystal?’’ he whispered.

He turned her around.

She was dead.

With a crack, the band on Star’s horn broke apart. The stallion rose to his full height, and with a pulse from his horn everyone except himself and Nightmare was sent flying away.

‘’Your sister could have lived,’’ Nightmare hissed, unfazed by Star’s rage, ‘’if you had just surrendered.’’

‘’And let you take over Equestria?’’ Star hissed back.

‘’Look around you.’’ Nightmare spread her wings, the moon rising behind her, showing the field around them was full of corpses, of ponies, changelings, griffons, deer, yaks and more. ‘’I have already won. You won’t be able to hide forever. And when I do find you…’’ she licked her lips. ‘’I will make you pay.’’

‘’It won’t come to that.’’

‘’You couldn’t even protect your sister,’’ Nightmare cruelly pointed out. ‘’What makes you think you can defend yourself?’’

Star didn’t answer, he just glared at her. After a second of silence, Nightmare stepped forward-

‘’AAAAAAAAAAAHH!’’

Instantly, Star opened his eyes and jumped out of bed, horn jumping alight, illuminating his dark room. He pushed open the door and rushed across the floor towards Flurry’s room, where the scream had come from.

He came to a halt in front of the door, and took a deep breath before pushing it open.

Flurry was trashing madly in her bed, though her eyes were still closed. Star quickly walked towards her bed and called out her name. ‘’Flurry!’’ When she continued trashing, he repeated, ‘’Flurry!’’

The filly’s eyes snapped open. ‘’Daddy?’’

Before Star knew it, Flurry had pressed herself against him and was sobbing into his neck. Star wrapped his forelegs around her, sitting back on the floor.

‘’You’re safe,’’ he whispered assuringly to her.

‘’Flurry, what’s-’’ Emerald asked from behind him. A moment later, she sat next to Star and began to gently stroke her shaking wings in an attempt to calm her down, all the while whispering calming words.

‘’I-I saw t-them,’’ Flurry said suddenly, looking up at Star.

A sinking feeling appeared in Star’s gut. ‘’Saw what, Flurry?’’ he asked.

‘’I-I saw mommy and d-daddy… DIE!’’ And Flurry began to sob again.

Star continued to try and calm her, but inside he was seething. This had to be the Nightmare’s work, there was no other way. That bitch. Even if she hadn’t killed his sister and Flurry’s parents, Star would still kill her for this alone. What sick being tormented an orphaned foal by showing her parents’ deaths?

‘’We’ll avenge them, one day,’’ he promised quietly.

Flurry’s sobs slowly diminished, until they were little more than loud, sharp breaths. Still, Star didn’t let go of her, and Emerald kept on stroking her wings. Flurry let out a final, shuddering breath, and then she let her grip on Star’s coat go.

‘’C-can I stay with you tonight?’’ Flurry asked with a shaking voice.

Star nodded. It wasn’t like he was sharing his bed with anyone else. ‘’Of course, Flurry.’’

‘’Can Emerald be there too?’’

Ah.

Star’s eyes met Emerald’s. Star really didn’t have any problem with it: he wasn’t attracted to Emerald, and it wasn’t like they could have sex if Flurry was with them even if they wanted to.

Plus, he could use some comfort too. Seeing Crystal again… that hurt.

After a few seconds, Emerald nodded. ‘’As you wish, Flurry. Come on then, let’s go.’’

Flurry grabbed Whammy from the floor, and then walked next to Star. Once inside his room, Flurry spread her wings and flew onto the bed, laying in the centre.

‘’We’ll need more pillows,’’ Star mused aloud. He turned around, only to see Emerald was carrying a pillow in her mouth and another on her back.

‘’Or not,’’ Star decided, before crawling into his bed. He laid on the right, Emerald laid on the left, and Flurry was in-between them.

Star lowered the covers over them again. ‘’Are you comfortable?’’ he asked Flurry.

‘’Yeah,’’ the filly nodded before yawning, already drifting back to sleep. She cuddled Whammy close to her.

Star had to smile at the adorable sight, even if he felt a pang of guilt and sadness. No, he affirmed to himself, Flurry would have the best childhood he could give her, he would not be wallowing in self-pity.

‘’Goodnight, Flurry,’’ Emerald whispered to the foal.

‘’Sleep well,’’ Star added.

‘’G’night…’’ Flurry mumbled, eyes closed, ‘’mommy, daddy.’’ And she fell asleep.

Star and Emerald shared a look. Emerald quietly swept her hoof across her face. ‘’Night,’’ she mouthed.

‘’Night,’’ Star mouthed back, before resting his head on the pillow and closing his eyes.

And by the sun, if he, Flurry or Emerald got another nightmare tonight, he would personally beat it to a bloody pulp. 
> Act 1: Chapter 5: Important people (edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

11 Hunger Moon 1008

As she laid in bed, having just been tucked in by Emerald and Star, Flurry reflected on her life.

The life she’d lost, that of a princess. More importantly, her parents. Thinking of them sent a pang of sadness through her body, but it wasn’t as painful as it had been. 

Flurry had held an ever-fading hope, those first few weeks, the hope that her parents were simply delayed and would join them. That hope had steadily been dwindling as they sailed to New Mareland and then settled into Star’s house, but Flurry still held on, desperate as she was.

Then she had asked her caretakers, and they had told her the truth she already knew, but couldn’t put to words. Tears came to Flurry’s eyes as she thought back to that afternoon, already a week ago now. How Star and Emerald had comforted her, just like Mommy and Daddy had done whenever she had a nightmare.

Flurry turned in her bed. It was just as soft as her old one, and the room was nice, but it didn’t really feel like it belonged to her. Aside from Whammy - speaking of, she clutched him even tighter to her chest - and a few other toys and books, everything in the room had been there when Flurry had moved into it.

Flurry couldn’t bear it anymore. She needed to talk to Star. She kicked away the covers and jumped out of the bed. She placed Whammy on her back, and after making sure he wouldn’t fall off, she snuck to the door.

She looked up at it, focusing her magic for a moment. A light yellow glow sprung from her horn, and the door opened.

Flurry peeked her head out of it, looking around. The hallway was dark, and so was the ground floor. The only non-natural light came from Star’s room.

He was probably reading, Flurry thought, before she realized that she didn’t really know what Star did in his free time. She knew he was a mage, but what did mages do? Read books and practice spells all day?

As silently as she could, she put a few steps forward into the hallway, before remembering she had wings. She spread them and flapped them, gently ascending into the air. Without a sound she flew across the floor, landing in front of Star’s door.

There was light inside, but not a sound, at least not something that Flurry could hear. She stood in front of the door, deciding whether she should try it, or wait until tomorrow.

No, Flurry decided after a moment. She had to do it now.

And so, she focused her magic. After a few seconds, the door opened slightly, and Flurry peeked her head through.

Star’s room was bigger than hers. It had a larger bed as well, and a larger desk- basically, everything was larger for him. Which made sense to Flurry, because Star was a bigger pony.

Speaking of Star, the stallion sat on the bed. A book laid unopened in front of him, and he was staring at it with an unreadable expression.

‘’Starry?’’

Star’s head snapped towards Flurry. A soft expression appeared on his face. ‘’What are you doing here, Flurry?’’

Flurry stepped into the room. ‘’I… I wanted to talk.’’

Just like she’d hoped, Star didn’t send her away. He just nodded and said, ‘’Okay. Come here.’’

Flurry walked over to the bed, and with a couple of flaps from her wings she was on it. She sat on the bed, looking at Star.

She thought he would ask her why she was here again. But he remained silent, green eyes watching her patiently.

In an effort to distract herself, Flurry looked at the book that was on Star’s bed. It was a simple, brown book, with a metal lock. On it was written, in silver letters, ‘’Moments.’’

‘’It’s a photobook.’’

Flurry looked back at Star. ‘’Photobook?’’ she echoed.

Star nodded. ‘’Of me and… Crystal.’’

Flurry recognized Star’s tone. It was how she sounded whenever she talked about her parents. Flurry had met Star’s younger sister a few times, but she couldn’t really remember anything specific beyond a pair of yellow eyes.

‘’Starry?’’

‘’Hmmm?’’

Flurry walked over and nuzzled him. His coat was soft, for a stallion. ‘’It’s okay. You can tell me about her.’’ She laid down next to him and, after a moment, grabbed Whammy from where he had fallen off her back onto the bed, placing the snail between her and Star. ‘’Whammy and I will listen.’’

 Star looked at her. She could see tears welling up in his eyes, but he blinked them away and smiled sadly.

‘’Okay.’’ He took a deep breath, before flicking the book open with his hoof.

The first picture was a little foal, crying. She had a short white mane and a blue coat.

‘’That’s her,’’ Star said, so softly it was almost whispering. ‘’Just born.’’ A pause. ‘’My mother died birthing her. My father died in a carriage accident on his way to the hospital.’’

‘’Oh Starry.’’ Flurry crawled up against him, nuzzling his cheek again.

He glanced at her, before turning his head and nuzzling her back. ‘’I had just arrived in Manehattan, on a ship from Vedina.’’ His eyes glanced at the wall, lost in memory. ‘’The three letters from the hospital were intercepted by Celestia and sent as one by one of the Wonderbolts’ recruits. I got those letters two hours after Crystal’s birth.’’

‘’What did you do?’’ Flurry asked quietly. This wasn’t like the stories Star or Emerald read to her; this had actually happened.

‘’I teleported to Canterlot, breaking the teleportation-distance record for Equestria in the process,’’ Star replied flatly. ‘’As a sign of good faith, I took that Wonderbolt recruit back with me. She was pretty pissed off with me for making her lose her lunch.’’ A smile came over his face. ‘’No wonder she made Captain.’’

‘’Anyway, I’d teleported to my family’s house,’’ Star continued, ‘’and from there I sprinted through the city to Canterlot General. There, waiting for me in the arms of a nurse, was my little sister.’’

‘’And then you took her in?’’ Flurry guessed.

‘’Yes.’’ Star flipped to another page, showing him holding a sleeping foal. Flurry looked at Star; he didn’t look older, but there was an expression of love on his face as he looked at his sister.

Wait. Flurry recognized that look. Her head snapped towards Star.

‘’I was wondering if you’d notice that,’’ he said softly.

‘’Y-you…’’ Flurry couldn’t get the words out of her mouth.

‘’Flurry, look at me.’’ Flurry looked into Star’s eyes, and she saw the same look as in the picture. ‘’Cadence included a letter to me with the adoption papers.’’

What?

‘’Do you want to see it?’’

‘’Yes,’’ she whispered.

Star’s horn glowed as a crumpled letter was flown over. He placed it on the book and smoothed it out.

Dear Star,

if you’re reading this, I am gone. I don’t have much to say to you that I’ve not said already, so I’ll save the space and just tell you this.

Don’t blame yourself for Crystal’s death. You did everything you could do, and you did the right thing in staying with those refugees. If you had gone on, they would all be dead.

That’s not supposed to be a consolation.

Star, you’ve most likely seen the adoption papers. You know what they mean. I want you to care for Flurry Heart. Give her all the love she deserves, and make sure she grows up to be the best mare anypony could hope for.

Star, I know you don’t love Emerald Gleam. And Emerald doesn’t love you; she lost her lover long ago. But please, for Flurry’s sake, stay united and be there for her. Shining and I won’t be able to.

All my love,

the daughter you never had, Cadence.

Flurry stared at Star as he finished the last sentence. ‘’Daughter?’’

‘’I- your mother was adopted by Celestia at fifteen, after becoming an alicorn,’’ Star said quietly. ‘’She foalsat Twilight, and I was Twilight’s teacher. I was also the closest male influence she ever had in her life. But I never knew she considered me to be her father.’’

Flurry nodded.

‘’Flurry.’’ Star let out a long sigh. ‘’I’m sorry for everything that’s happened to you. I’m- I have never been very good at emotional talk like this.’’ He looked at her. ‘’But I promise you: I’ll do my best to care for you, and-’’

Flurry cut him off by hugging his neck and face. ‘’I know… daddy.’’

‘’And I love you,’’ Star finished, before blinking. ‘’Daddy?’’

Flurry nodded, her hug becoming more of a chokehold. ‘’Can I call you daddy?’’

‘’Of course, sweetheart,’’ Star replied, tears in his eyes. ‘’I’m honoured.’’

And he hugged her back.

Yes, Flurry thought as she snuggled into Star’s hug, enjoying the warmth of the stallion, this was nice.




|-x-X-x-|




11 Hunger Moon1008

Star laid on his back, a sleeping Flurry and her Whammy curled up against him, head barely peeking out from under the covers.

His mind was far away, contemplating the events of the past months. He’d lost his sister, his student had vanished, and his friends were dead. Well, Ludvig was still there, of course, but Celestia, Shining, Cadence… they were all gone.

But he had gained something as well: Flurry Heart. He had expected to be an uncle to her, not her adoptive father and caretaker.

Star did not spend his time trying to figure out what he could have done to prevent the Nightmare: reminiscing on the past hadn’t helped him after Crystal’s birth, or with any of the other losses in his life.

He glanced at the sleeping filly. Even after that afternoon, he had never expected that she would ever call him ‘daddy’. He had honestly thought that that time after the nightmare had been a fluke, an instinctive reaction of panic.

He should have known better, he mused. In those first hectic months with Crystal, Star had greedily consumed every single piece of information on foals and how to care for them, to the point that even Twilight, who had been obsessed by her own studies at that time, had pointed out him, years later, that he had been overreacting.

Foals latched on to the nearest adults, looking to them for protection. If kept away from their parents long enough, most foals would eventually slip into calling their new caretakers daddy or mommy, or variations of those words, like auntie or uncle. Star had done his best to keep Crystal from calling him that, and eventually she settled on brother or bro.

His mind drifted back to Twilight… Flurry’s aunt, and her rightful guardian. Well, not if the adoption would be ratified, which Star still had to do, but until then she would be. Star had absolutely no idea where she was, but like he had told Ludvig, she was probably building a resistance together with her friends.

He would have to find a way to contact her that didn’t risk their safety.

But that could wait. Star knew he could be scarily focused whenever he got interested in a single topic: foal care had been one after Crystal’s birth, but it had been spellcrafting while he was in CSGU, and the Crystal Empire after it had returned. Now his focus would be on giving Flurry the best childhood possible, and heaven help whoever got in his way.




|-x-X-x-|




12 Hunger Moon 1008

Flurry awoke to find a pleasant warmth was laying against her left side. She opened her eyes and saw a blue coat right in her face.

The coat moved, and then she saw Star’s - Dad’s - green eyes look at her. ‘’Sleep well, sweetheart?’’ he asked with obvious concern in his voice.

Flurry rubbed her eyes as she recalled what  had happened last night. She nodded. ‘’Good morning, daddy.’’ She stretched her forelegs out and hugged his neck.

Dad hugged her back, and placed a kiss under her horn. ‘’Good morning, Flurry. It’s time for breakfast.’’

Flurry nodded again, and jumped on Dad’s back after he had climbed out of bed.

‘’Want me to fix your hair?’’ Dad offered as Flurry rode on his back to the dinner room.

‘’Sure,’’ she replied.

Dad’s horn lit up, and her hair felt like it was being submerged in warm water. By the time they entered the dinner/living room, Flurry’s hair was untangled and no longer a mess.

Emerald - Mom -was already present, having done the plates and prepared breakfast. ‘’Good morning, both of you,’’ she greeted warmly.

‘’Morning, mommy,’’ Flurry chirped, jumping off Dad’s back and walking over to Mom, who had stopped her work to stare at Flurry. Flurry nuzzled her leg and looked up with hopeful eyes, hoping that she hadn’t made a mistake.

‘’Did you sleep well, Flurry?’’ Mom finally asked, and when Flurry nodded she smiled, before bending down her head and nuzzling Flurry back.

‘’I made pancakes,’’ she announced as she raised her head again.

‘’Pancakes!’’ Flurry cheered.

She got on the chair next to Mom, scooting it closer to the other mare as she sat down as well. Dad divided the pancakes equally amongst the three of them with a touch of teleportation.

‘’Do you have to show off?’’ Mom asked.

‘’No,’’ Dad countered, ‘’but I want to.’’

‘’Mommy, daddy, please don’t argue,’’ Flurry requested softly.

Both ponies froze for a moment, looking at her. Then Dad smiled easily. ‘’Of course, sweetheart.’’

Mom put her fork down. ‘’Flurry, where were you last night?’’

‘’With me,’’ Dad replied before Flurry could answer herself. ‘’She couldn’t sleep, wanted to talk, and ended up spending the night in my bed.’’

Flurry sent a thankful look at her- her daddy, to which Dad replied with a wink.

‘’That’s why you’re calling us mommy and daddy now?’’ Mom questioned.

‘’Yes,’’ Flurry nodded. ‘’If you don’t want me to, I’ll stop.’’

Mom’s look softened instantly. ‘’Oh Flurry, I’m not mad, just surprised. I didn’t think you would call us that.’’

To be honest, Flurry hadn’t thought so either, but she needed to fill the hole in her life somehow. ‘’I- I want a mommy and a daddy again,’’ she confessed.

‘’And we’ll be there,’’ Dad promised, eyes shining with determination.




|-x-X-x-|




19 Hunger Moon 1008

As soon as Star had left for his second weekly trip to Sunville, Emerald looked at Flurry. ‘’Flurry, do you know what day it is tomorrow?’’

‘’No…’’

Emerald smiled. ‘’It’s Star’s birthday tomorrow. I have a plan for a present, but I’m going to need your help, okay?’’

Flurry nodded. ‘’Okay mommy.’’ She tilted her head. ‘’What’s the present?’’

‘’Follow me and you’ll see,’’ Emerald replied, before turning around and beginning to walk towards her room. It had been hard, making a present behind Star’s back when leaving the mansion was impossible; Emerald could hardly show up in the village to buy something, after all.

Once in her room, Emerald crouched and grabbed the present from under her bed. ‘’Ta-da!’’

Now, to see what Flurry would think of it.

‘’What is it?’’ the little filly asked.

‘’This,’’ Emerald answered, ‘’is going to be a jacket.’’ 

Flurry’s face scrunched up adorably as she studied the fabrics in Emerald’s grasp. ‘’It doesn’t look like a jacket,’’ she said finally.

Emerald smiled. ‘’It’s going to, when we’re done. If you want to help, that is.’’

‘’Okay!’’ Flurry chirped. ‘’What do I have to do?’’

Such enthusiasm. Emerald prayed she kept it throughout her whole life. ‘’Well, first we have to stitch the fabrics together…’’ 

Flurry was a pretty good listener, Emerald thought as she explained the process of making a jacket to the filly. And she asked some good questions too.

Must be that famed ‘Sparkle intellect’ I’ve heard about.

‘’So,’’ she finished, ‘’do you think we can do it?’’

‘’Sure thing!’’




|-x-X-x-|




20 Hunger Moon 1008

Star woke up and checked the time. 09:47. Not too late, not too early. He slipped out of the bed and glanced at the calendar.

Oh.

Had he forgotten his own birthday?

It wasn’t remotely funny, but Star snorted anyway. For the first time in seventeen years, his sister wouldn’t be at his birthday.

He barely noticed that someone was knocking on his door. ‘’Come in,’’ he said, half-slurring. His sister wouldn’t be there on his birthday.

Emerald and Flurry entered the room together. Emerald was carrying a package on her back. ‘’Good morning, Star…’’ Emerald trailed off.

‘’Morning,’’ he greeted back. ‘’I-’’

His legs gave away under him. Great.

‘’Star!’’

‘’Daddy!’’

‘’I’m fine,’’ he slurred, but he wasn’t. Fuck him.

They shouldn’t have to see him like this. He needed to be strong, he needed to protect them. His sister was dead and there was nothing he could do about it. 

How can I protect them when I couldn’t protect her?

‘’Flurry, help me get him into the bed.’’ How-

Emerald lifted him up with her forelegs, and with help from Flurry’s telekinesis, he was laid down in his bed.

‘’Are you alright, daddy? Please be alright.’’ He couldn’t disappoint Flurry.

‘’I’ll be alright, sweetheart,’’ he promised to her, watching as she sat down in front of his face, looking down at him with such fear and worry in her eyes it almost broke Star’s heart. ‘’I’ll be alright.’’

‘’Look,’’ Flurry’s horn lit up, ‘’we made you a present. Can you open it?’’

‘’I’ll try,’’ Star replied as the present, a rectangular thing wrapped in green paper, entered his view.

With a nudge of telekinesis the paper fell away, revealing a thin linen jacket, coloured sea-blue with yellow buttons and magenta embroidery at its ends. 

‘’It’s beautiful,’’ Star said. ‘’Did you make this?’’

‘’Mommy and I made it together,’’ Flurry replied. Wondering where said mother was, Star glanced behind Flurry to see Emerald standing at the edge of the bed.

‘’What’s wrong, daddy?’’ his attention was drawn back to Flurry.

‘’It’s…’’ he couldn’t even say it. He swallowed. ‘’It’s… my sister.’’

‘’Oh daddy.’’ Before he knew it, Flurry had attached herself to the underside of his face and his neck. ‘’Mommy, daddy needs a hug.’’

Star couldn’t see Emerald move, but he felt her wrap her forelegs around his barrel as she snuggled against his backside moments later. Trapped between a filly and a mare.

‘’Thank you, sweetheart, Emerald,’’ he said after a minute of silence.

‘’Can we stay like this today?’’ Flurry asked. ‘’It’s really nice.’’

Star let out a weak chuckle. ‘’Sure thing…’’

‘’Thanks, daddy!’’

‘’... daughter,’’ he finished in a whisper, before closing his eyes.

They really were a family now. Not a normal one, granted, but still. 




|-x-X-x-|




28 Hunger Moon 1008

In the days that followed, the three of them settled into their new role as family. Star made a discreet trip to the village for the news, but Flurry and Emerald constantly remained in the home, only going out onto the beach sometimes. Flurry had never seen the sea before, but she loved it, just like she loved playing with sand. She said it reminded her of the snow. Star could see the resemblance.

Sadly, the peace was not to last.

''What in Tartarus is this?'' Star muttered as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He rolled out of bed and, blearily rubbing his eyes, walked over to the window and pulled the curtain away.

Parked just outside the gate were two military trucks, surrounded by soldiers who were watching the house wearily.

Well, it was supposed to happen someday.

''Star?" He turned to see Emerald standing in the doorway, looking outside with a concerned face.

He shook his head. ''Don't worry. I'll handle this.''

With a quick spell, he made himself somewhat presentable, and then he teleported to the front door. He unlocked it and walked towards the fence's gate.

''Good morning, ladies and gentlecolts. Might I ask what you are doing here?'' he said as he stood in front of the gate.

''Are you Star Tower?'' one of the soldiers asked.

Star looked at him. ''Yes… you know, whoever's in those trucks can come out. I'm not going to harm anycreature now.''

The pony who had asked the question shared a look with a pegasi mare, and then they nodded. ‘’Sir, it’s safe,’’ the mare said.

And just like Star had anticipated, Jet Set stepped out of the back of one of the trucks. He looked tired. Fair, Star would be too if he had to lead a country.

‘’Star Tower,’’ Jet Set greeted, smiling slightly.

‘’Jet Set,’’ Star returned the greeting. ‘’Good morning to you. I do have a telephone, you know.’’

Jet Set snorted. ‘’I felt this was a conversation we needed to have in person.’’

Star supposed he could ask how they knew he was here, but Jet Set had probably just had the house watched. After all, Star had followed the news with the radio and papers: Nightmare Moon had put out a bounty of a hundred thousand bits on his head, and five hundred thousand for Flurry Heart. If it wasn’t a danger to him, Star would be flattered.

‘’Shall we take this inside then?’’ Star suggested. ‘’I’m sure the citizens of Sunville are very curious right now.’’

‘’I assume Flurry Heart is inside as well,’’ Jet Set asked neutrally.

‘’You always were pretty quick on the draw,’’ Star chuckled. ‘’She’s probably still sleeping.’’

Jet Set nodded once. ‘’Of course. Still.’’

Star inclined his head. ‘’Follow me then.’’ He turned around.

‘’Sir-’’ he heard the pegasi mare from before say.

‘’Captain,’’ Jet Set cut her off, ‘’I’ll be fine. I’m not defenceless.’’

‘’With all respect sir, I don’t think Mr Spellweaver would be impressed by your shield.’’

Observant.

Jet Set chuckled. ‘’Don’t worry, captain. I’ll be fine,’’ he repeated. Star turned his head to see Jet Set was following behind him.

‘’So how’s Upper Crust?’’ Star began idle conversation as the two of them walked over the path up to the doors.

‘’Stressed,’’ Jet Set replied succinctly. ‘’Just like me. The world is in chaos right now, but you know that, of course.’’

‘’I do,’’ Star confirmed. ‘’You’ve passed a lot of bills in the last months.’’

Jet Set smiled painfully. ‘’New Mareland is woefully underprepared. The only reason we haven’t been invaded is because of the Celestial Sea Fleet fleeing here, but that’s brought its own set of problems.’’

‘’I can imagine.’’

Star idly pushed open the door with his telekinesis as they walked up the stairs to the doors. ‘’Emerald!’’ he called out as they entered.

The mare appeared at the top of the stairs. ‘’Star?’’

‘’This is Jet Set,’’ Star introduced him to Emerald. ‘’Jet Set, this is Emerald Gleam, one of Cadence’s hoofmaidens. Cadence sent her with me.’’

Cautiously, Emerald descended from the stairs. ‘’Mr President,’’ she greeted as she stuck out her hoof to him.

‘’A pleasure, ma’am,’’ Jet Set said cordially as he kissed Emerald’s hoof.

‘’The pleasure is mine, sir,’’ Emerald replied, before looking at Star.

‘’Can you go get Flurry?’’ Star requested quickly.

Emerald nodded, a moment too late. ‘’Of course. Give me a moment.’’ She turned and walked back up the stairs. Star and Jet Set waited, and Emerald returned half a minute later, with Flurry behind her.

‘’Hi daddy,’’ Flurry chirped as she jumped down from the stairs, using her wings to glide to the floor and landing in front of him before giving him a hug. 

‘’Good morning sweetheart,’’ Star said as he hugged her back. ‘’This is Mr Jet Set. He’s the president of New Mareland.’’

Flurry broke away from the hug and looked up at Jet Set, who was staring with his mouth slightly agape. Evidently this was not what he had expected.

‘’Good morning Mr President,’’ Flurry said with a bright smile. ‘’Are you here for breakfast? Mommy, what are we having for breakfast?’’

‘’I can make pancakes,’’ Emerald offered with a little smile.

Jet Set finally recovered. ‘’Good morning, princess,’’ he said officially. ‘’I guess I can join for breakfast, if it’s not a problem.’’

‘’Of course not,’’ Star said serenely. ‘’We can talk while eating.’’

As Emerald made her way into the kitchen, Star led Jet Set into the living room. Flurry nestled against his side as he sat down on the couch, with Jet Set sitting in the chair to Star’s left.

‘’So,’’ Star began. ‘’There is a lot we need to talk about.’’

‘’Yes,’’ Jet Set agreed. ‘’First off: how did you get here?’’

‘’Took a boat from Turhamn.’’ And that was all he would say about it.

Jet Set got the message and didn’t pry. ‘’Very well. Now then, what is your plan?’’

‘’To answer that,’’ Star replied, ‘’allow me to get something.’’ He focused his magic on the adoption papers, which were lying in the safe in the cellar. With a flash they appeared in the air between Star and Jet Set, held in his magic.

Now, to stun him more.

‘’Have a gander,’’ Star said as he passed the papers to Jet Set.

‘’I-’’ Jet Set stopped. ‘’What?’’ he asked after a moment of silence. ‘’Sweet Celestia.’’

‘’Indeed.’’ Star nodded, and then said, ‘’I’d like to have these ratified, please.’’

‘’Of course. Can I copy them?’’ When Star nodded, Jet Set cast the Paper-Copy spell and pocketed his copy in his suit. Impressive spellwork.

‘’Daddy, were those my adoption papers?’’ Flurry asked.

Star turned his face to hers and smiled. ‘’Indeed they were, sweetheart. Mr Jet Set will make them official.’’

Flurry nodded. ‘’Yay,’’ she cheered, before looking at Jet Set. ‘’Thanks, Mr Jet Set.’’

‘’No problem, princess,’’ Jet Set replied, softening before getting serious again. ‘’Star, are you sure you are safe here?’’

‘’Sunville,’’ Star pointed out, ‘’is out of the way, not on the map and tiny. It won’t get much safer.’’

‘’Maybe,’’ Jet Set allowed, ‘’but what if it leaks out that she’s here?’’

Star had worried about that. However, he also had a plan. ‘’Tomorrow,’’ Star said, ‘’the three of us will go out to the town, and talk with the people there. We’ll ask them to keep us a secret.’’

‘’It might work,’’ Jet Set said after a moment of consideration.

‘’I’ll make it work,’’ Star corrected, and dared Jet Set to question it.

The other unicorn wisely didn’t. ‘’I’m sure you will. But allow me to help.’’ He reached into his suit and pulled out a letter.

Star took it from him and opened it.

Well.

By order of the office of the President of the Commonwealth of New Mareland, Star Tower Spellweaver is hereby offered the position of Head of the Magical Advisory Council.

‘’That’s an honour.’’ And that was an understatement. ‘’But I’m going to need a little more explanation.’’

‘’Of course,’’ Jet Set agreed. ‘’In essence, you lead the top mages of the nation, and advise the government and parliament both on magical matters. You get to decide how often you meet, how long you meet, and as long as the government is kept advised I couldn’t give a hayball what you do.’’

That sounded far better than being the Royal Magician had ever been. ‘’And the catch?’’

‘’You won’t be earning whatever you made as the Royal Magician,’’ Jet Set admitted. ‘’Our budget is not sufficient for that. And you’ll need to hold press conferences whenever something becomes news.’’

Jet Set, for all his other faults, was pretty good at doing away with the bullshit of politics when it was necessary. It was one of the things Star liked about him. ‘’Very well, I’ll take the job.’’

‘’Excellent.’’

‘’Congrats, daddy!’’ Flurry gave his side a hug. Star lowered his head and nuzzled her face.

‘’Breakfast’s done!’’ he heard Emerald call out.

Star lifted his head up and slid off the couch. ‘’Shall we?’’

Pancakes to celebrate an adoption and a new job. What a time to be alive.
> Act 1: Chapter 6: Sunville (edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

29 Hunger Moon 1008

A day after Jet Set’s visit, Star, Emerald and Flurry left the mansion together.

A roughshod path led from the mansion’s gates to the village of Sunville. If it rained, the path would turn muddy, but for now it was just dry dirt, in which the treadmarks of the cars from yesterday were still visible. Flurry was nestled on Emerald’s back, looking out at the countryside that surrounded the mansion.

‘’Sunville is a farming community,’’ Star explained to the other two as he led the way. ‘’Not a lot of ponies live there, but they’re good folks.’’ He paused, then added, ‘’Unless they have some dark secret I’m not in on, but I don’t think so.’’

‘’Hear that, Flurry?’’ Emerald said, turning her head to look at the foal on her back. ‘’There will be plenty of other foals to be friends with.’’

‘’Yay!’’ Flurry cheered.

‘’Come on, it’s not far anymore,’’ Star urged them on. No sense in delaying.

Soon enough, the unused land gave way to crops and farmland, and the vague shapes on the edge of their collective vision formed into houses and barns.

‘’That’s Sunville,’’ Star affirmed.

The dirt path suddenly turned to cobblestones, still dirty. Lampposts stood on either side of them, signifying the end of the town.

They were still a ways from the centre of town, and on a Sunday morning, there weren’t many ponies out and about.

Or perhaps there were.

‘’Watch out!’’

Star spun around, horn already alight with a spell, to see two foals rushing past him in a haphazardly constructed soap car, made out of wood. He blinked, idly dismissing the spell he had been about to cast.

‘’Interesting,’’ he remarked dryly.

‘’Very interesting,’’ Emerald agreed with a nod.

‘’That looks like fun!’’ was Flurry’s addition.

Well. I guess it does. It’s certainly intriguing.

Emerald and Star shared a look. After a moment, Star shrugged. ‘’Might as well try.’’

The soap car came to a halt a few dozen meters away from the trio, screeching it’s wooden tires against the stones. The two foals climbed out of it. Both were earth ponies, one with a pale yellow coat and a blue mane and the other with a lilac coat and a mane of teal and orange.

‘’Sorry about that, mister,’’ one of them, the one with the blue mane, said politely. ‘’Car didn’t do like was asked.’’

‘’No harm done,’’ Star assured them smoothly. ‘’No one was hurt.’’

‘’But the car’s done in,’’ the other filly pouted, glaring at the wooden thing. ‘’Stupid.’’ She kicked it slightly with her foreleg.

‘’I can fix it, if you want,’’ Star offered with a reassuring smile. ‘’It would be a shame to see your hard work undone.’’

Both fillies’ eyes lit up. ‘’Really! That’d be great, mister!’’ the filly who had spoken first said. ‘’Oh, by the way, I’m Lily Bloom, and this is my sister Berry Light.’’

‘’My name is Star Tower,’’ Star introduced himself, ‘’and this is my friend, Emerald Gleam.’’

‘’Nice to meet you both, sir, miss,’’ Lily said. ‘’Are you the ones that live in that large house to the south?’’

‘’That we are,’’ Star affirmed with a smile, before turning his attention to the broken soap car. ‘’I’ll fix this soap car on one condition.’’

‘’What condition?’’ Berry asked with a tilt of her head.

‘’You’re going to have to share it with my adopted daughter,’’ Star replied. Here we go.

‘’Come on Flurry,’’ Emerald nudged the filly.

After a few seconds, Flurry spread her wings and flew off Emerald’s back, landing next to Star. ‘’Hi, I’m Flurry Heart.’’

‘’Hi Flurry Heart!’’ both fillies chorused.

No reaction.

‘’Can you fix our car now, mister?’’ Berry asked, looking up at Star.

‘’Of course, my dear,’’ Star said. His horn glowed as he lifted the broken car up, restoring the wheel that had broken off. ‘’That should do it,’’ he said as he put the car back down.

‘’Thanks a lot, mister!’’ Lily beamed at him, before motioning for Flurry to join them. ‘’Come on Flurry, let’s take this thing for a ride!’’

Tentatively, Flurry walked over to the car and hopped on, followed by Berry and Lily, the latter taking place behind the wheel.

‘’If it’s not too much trouble,’’ Emerald spoke up, causing all three fillies to look at them, ‘’can you show us the town?’’

‘’Sure! Follow me!’’ Lily replied, before the car inexplicably began to move. True, it had the speed of an average walking elderly pony, but it was moving.

‘’How?’’ Emerald asked Star.

‘’Earth pony magic,’’ Star said sagely, ‘’works in mysterious ways. These two don’t have a cutie mark yet, but I’ll wager something that it’ll be something to do with engineering.’’

Emerald reflected on this as the two adults followed behind the car, moving towards the centre of town. Then she realized something.

‘’They didn’t react to Flurry at all,’’ she said out loud, before glancing at Star.

‘’Children don’t notice those things unless pointed out to them,’’ Star answered her unspoken question. ‘’It’ll be a couple of hours before they start grilling her on her life.’’

‘’Do you think she’ll be alright?’’ Emerald asked quietly, casting a worried glance at the three foals.

‘’Probably,’’ was Star’s answer. ‘’She’s a strong filly,’’ he added after a moment of thought.

‘’Uh, miss, mister?’’

‘’Hmm?’’ The two adults looked at Berry.

‘’My sis was explaining about the town,’’ Berry said dryly.

‘’Sorry, we were caught up in our own business,’’ Star confessed. ‘’By all means, continue.’’




|-x-X-x-|




Flurry hadn’t ever been so close to other foals before. But Lily and Berry seemed very nice. Dad had warned her that people would probably be staring at her or asking not so nice questions about her, but Lily and Berry had done neither.

So far, they had just been showing Flurry and her two parents around. And Flurry had to admit, the car she was in actually worked. She could feel some sort of strange sensation that made it drive, made the wood move without any incentive. Dad had explained the difference between the three pony tribes to her, and Flurry knew that this was probably earth pony magic.

‘’This is the centre of town,’’ Lily explained, making Flurry snap back to reality. The alicorn looked around to see they had arrived in a large, empty square. Well, not completely empty. There were a few trees planted scatteredly around the square, from which unlit candles hung, and a couple of lampposts dotted the square as well.

‘’Normally it’s a lot busier here,’’ Berry took over her sister’s explanation, ‘’but market was yesterday, so we’re all sleeping in today.’’

Flurry could see that: aside from Lily and Berry, she hadn’t seen a single pony outside. 

 ‘’Interesting,’’ Mom said. ‘’When’s the next market?’’

‘’In a month,’’ Berry answered.

‘’Is there anything else important in town?’’ Dad asked next.

‘’School’s that way,’’ Berry motioned to the west with her hoof, where a street ran. ‘’The rest of the important, grown-up stuff is all here, on the market.’’

‘’Thank you,’’ Dad said, before Flurry saw his eyes dart to meet Mom’s. He then cleared his throat, and asked, ‘’And where do you live then?’’

‘’We live on a farm, to the south,’’ Lily answered, ‘’on the edge of town, together with Mom and Dad.’’

That stung more than Flurry liked to admit to herself. Her parents were dead; she’d never see them again. And these two fillies saw them every day.

Flurry closed her eyes and let out a breath. She wouldn’t be jealous. She had Star and Emerald, who both loved her. And she loved them.

‘’Are you alright, Flurry?’’

Flurry’s eyes snapped open, and she looked to see Berry’s concerned face. ‘’I’m fine,’’ she half-lied.

‘’Could you show us your house?’’ Mom asked after a moment of silence.

‘’Of course, follow me,’’ Lily requested, before turning the car around and beginning to drive away from the market. The same houses from just before flashed by again, and before she knew it the five of them were back on the edge of town.

‘’We need to follow the path for a few minutes, and then we need to go right,’’ Lily instructed.

Dad chuckled. ‘’Lead the way.’’

The car hobbled over the dirt, and Flurry thought about flying up. But she didn’t know how far it was to Lily’s and Berry’s house, and she didn’t want to draw their attention to her appearance. So she remained seated.

‘’And this is the path we’re supposed to take,’’ Lily announced after a few minutes, gesturing at a smaller path hidden slightly by bushes. ‘’The car won’t fit, we’ll have to carry it.’’

‘’I can do that,’’ Dad offered. ‘’You won’t even have to get out of the car.’’

‘’Star, don’t overtax yourself,’’ Mom warned.

Flurry frowned. She didn’t know what overtax meant, but if it meant to not do too much; she’d never seen Dad be tired after using magic.

‘’I’ll be fine,’’ the stallion said assuredly.

‘’That’s very kind of you, mister,’’ Lily said. ‘’Can we stay on?’’

Dad nodded at Lily. ‘’Of course, though I suggest you hold on to something.’’

Lily grabbed the wheel, while Berry clamped her hooves on the car’s side. Flurry just held onto her seat.

Dad’s horn lit up, coating the car in golden light. Slowly, it rose from the ground until it was a meter or so above it.

‘’Straight ahead we go!’’ Dad declared, before beginning to walk forward.

‘’Woohoo!’’ 

‘’Yeah!’’

Flurry didn’t get why they were so excited: it was just levitation. Then she realized that the two earth ponies hadn’t ever flown before.

Soon enough, the house Flurry’s two new friends lived in came into view. It was made of red-painted wood, with white support beams. Two stories tall, with a tiled roof. 

‘’We’re back!’’ Berry called out, jumping from the car as soon as Dad had placed it back on the ground.

The door opened and an earth pony mare stepped out. ‘’Children!’’




|-x-X-x-|




‘’Did they make trouble?’’ the mare, who was obviously the two fillies’ mother, asked. The resemblance between her and Lily was a little uncanny, even. They had all the same colours.

Star shook his head. ‘’Not at all, ma’am. In fact, they’ve been showing us around the town.’’

‘’Oh, you’re new here?’’

You could say that.

‘’I own the mansion down the road,’’ Star supplied in reply. ‘’I’m Star Tower.’’

‘’I’m Emerald Gleam,’’ Emerald added. ‘’That is our adopted daughter, Flurry Heart.’’

‘’I’m Sandy Grass…’’ Sandy trailed off as she saw Flurry Heart. ‘’Wut.’’

‘’It’s a long story,’’ Star cut off any other comments. ‘’Why don’t we let the children play while we discuss it inside?’’

‘’Y-yes, of course,’’ Sandy stammered. She glanced at her daughters. ‘’Girls-’’

Lily waved her hoof dismissively. ‘’You can go talk about grown-up things, mom. We’ll just play in the garden.’’

‘’Don’t break anything,’’ Sandy cautioned, before looking back at Star and Emerald. ‘’Come in,’’ she said after a moment.

Star stepped into the house. It smelled just like he expected farms to smell; of nature and rustic charm. Everything in this house was made of wood, which only added to the charm of it all.

Sandy led them into what appeared to be the living room. ‘’Have a seat,’’ she offered as she sat down in a chair. Star and Emerald both sat down on the couch.

‘’My husband is out on the farmland,’’ Sandy informed them.

‘’What do you farm here?’’ Emerald asked. Star didn’t know why.

‘’Wheat,’’ Sandy replied. ‘’We also have chickens.’’

‘’Sounds nice.’’

Small talk. Still better than discussing fashion trends.

‘’While I’m sure it is,’’ Star interjected, ‘’we are here for a reason.’’ He paused. ‘’I’m sure you’ve seen Nightmare Moon has placed quite the bounty on the heads of Flurry and myself.’’

Sandy’s eyes narrowed. ‘’I have.’’

‘’Then you can surely understand the risk in our home becoming public knowledge,’’ Star continued. ‘’Emerald and I want Flurry to have a childhood that is as normal as possible, so she can grow up free of care and worries. I am willing to go quite far to ensure, as is Emerald.’’

‘’Of course, I can understand that.’’ Sandy nodded. ‘’You care for her.’’

‘’We’ve adopted her,’’ Emerald clarified so Star didn’t have to. Presenting a united front would prevent it appearing as if Star controlled everything. ‘’Princess Cadence gave Star the papers before we left, and the president took them with him yesterday to ratify them.’’

Sandy’s eyes bulged. ‘’The president was herer!?’’

‘’One of the two military trucks carried him here,’’ Star smoothly explained. ‘’Secrecy and all prevented him from staying too long, but he offered me a job and I accepted his offer. To cut to the chase, we would like to ask you, and the other residents of Sunville, keep us a secret.’’

‘’From who?’’

‘’From the world,’’ Emerald replied. ‘’From reporters, from people, but also from any family you might have outside of Sunville. I know we’re asking a lot.’’ She frowned. ‘’But we want Flurry to be happy and safe.’’

Sandy remained silent for a good minute, which Star spent running increasingly unlikely scenarios through his head, up until the entire town turning out to be lunar cultists.

‘’I will need to talk with my husband, and with the other families,’’ Sandy finally said. ‘’Sunville doesn’t have a mayor, if you didn’t know; we make all our decisions democratically. But I don’t think anyone will object to you staying here.’’

Star had noticed that. It seemed to work splendidly for them, so Star had no problem with it.

‘’Nightmare is going to look for us,’’ Star couldn’t help but point out. ‘’I don’t want to endanger you; there are other places we could go, if necessary.’’ Jet Set had offered safehouses all across New Mareland to them, but they would have to remain hidden for years. It was not a life Star wanted to live, and certainly not one he wanted Flurry to live, locked away from the world.

‘’That is true,’’ Sandy agreed. ‘’But if she doesn’t know you’re here…’’

‘’She probably knows we’re in New Mareland,’’ Star admitted. ‘’She- Luna knew I had a mansion here.’’

Sandy’s lips drew into a thin line as she frowned, and Star could feel Emerald’s glare at his cheek. Maybe, I should have told her this beforehoof.

Too late for that now.

‘’I’ll call a town meeting this evening,’’ Sandy said. ‘’In the market square. I’ll visit your home to tell you when it is, but it'll probably be around seven o’clock. The three of you can come then.’’

‘’Three?’’ Emerald asked, and Star had to agree. Flurry probably would be bored by such a conversation.

Sandy smiled. ‘’You’re not the only ones with young children. Sunville is only a decade old, and we all moved here as students. Most of us got our kids three, four years ago. We’ve already built a school, and whenever we call town meetings, we all bring our kids and they play together under the supervision of one or two adults while the rest of us talk. It’s never failed before.’’

‘’That is ingenious,’’ Star acknowledged.

Sandy tipped her head. ‘’We’re trying a simple lifestyle. It works for us.’’

Star looked around the room.  Simple, yes, but not poor or rundown. He had tried to make his mansion look the same, but he was well aware that he had a tendency to go overboard on details. And of course, a self-made magical water filtration system, heating, and electricity were not things just anyone could afford. They’d cost a fortune, even for him, and he’d cut on the costs by doing everything but the actual construction of the things himself. 

 ‘’Of course.’’ Star tipped his head at her. ‘’Thank you. We’ll be ready for tonight.’’

Sandy glanced at the clock. ‘’Why don’t you stay for lunch?’’ she suggested. ‘’The children can play some more and when he gets back, I can introduce you to my husband.’’

Emerald and Star shared a look. Star shrugged. Fine by me, he wanted to communicate.

‘’We’ll take you up on that offer,’’ Emerald said a moment later. Evidently, she had understood his message.




|-x-X-x-|




‘’So after dinner we’re going back to the town?’’ Flurry asked to make sure she understood it.

‘’Yes.’’ Mom nodded. ‘’The grown-ups are going to talk with each other, and you can go play with Lily and Berry again.’’

‘’Yay!’’

They’d had a lot of fun playing in the fields around Lily and Berry’s house, running past the wheat stalks and playing with the toys Lily and Berry owned. Then they had all eaten lunch at Lily and Berry’s home, where Flurry had met her new friends’ parents. After lunch, they had played some more, until it was time for their naps and Mom and Dad had taken her back to the mansion.

‘’What are you going to be talking about?’’ she asked after a silence had fallen.

Dad and Mom exchanged looks. ‘’’Well, you know how Nightmare Moon is looking for us?’’ Dad finally said. When Flurry nodded, he continued, ‘’So we’re going to ask the grown-ups if they want to keep us a secret.’’

Flurry frowned. ‘’Why wouldn’t they?”

‘’Because it could be dangerous for them,’’ Mom replied. ‘’We don’t want to put them in danger, but we also don’t want to leave.’’

‘’I don’t wanna leave either,’’ Flurry admitted. I’ve just made some friends!

Mom smiled sadly. ‘’I know, sweetheart. With luck, we won’t have to.’’

‘’But we’ll handle that,’’ Dad spoke up, sounding confident. ‘’You just go and have fun. Maybe make some more friends?’’

Flurry nodded. ‘’Okay, daddy. I’ll see.’’

The smiles that got her warmed her heart.

They were just finished with cleaning up after dinner when the bell rang. ‘’That’ll be Sandy.’’ Dad got up from his chair and turned to face Flurry. ‘’Ready?’’

‘’Can I be on your back?’’ Flurry asked after giving him a nod.

‘’Of course.’’

‘’Thanks, daddy!’’ Flurry said as she flew up and settled herself on Dad’s back.

The three of them made their way out of the house and towards the gate of the fence, where Sandy stood waiting on the other side. ‘’Good evening,’’ she said as they came closer. A lantern stood on the ground next to her.

‘’Good evening,’’ Dad replied. ‘’Shall we?’’

Sandy nodded. ‘’Let’s.’’

Dad’s horn lit up, and the gate opened. The walk from the gate to Sunville was silent, and so Flurry kept herself busy with looking at the shadows of the trees and plants. The stars and moon provided some light, but most of it came from Dad’s horn and the lantern Sandy held in her mouth, plus the fading light of the mansion behind them.

‘’Everyone’s gathered in the market square,’’ Sandy informed them. ‘’We’ve set an area aside for the foals to play.’’

Dad hummed. ‘’I’m sure Flurry is eager to see her friends again.’’

She was, but Flurry didn’t feel like saying it. So she just nodded, and snuggled further into Dad’s coat. It was easy to do that, when it was so soft and warm.

Flurry almost dozed off, rocked to sleep by the stable steps of her steed, but Mom’s voice banished away the tiredness. ‘’We’re here, Flurry.’’

Flurry opened her eyes and saw they were indeed in the market square. The lamps and lanterns were all alight now, bathing the square in soft light and keeping the darkness away. Gathered in the centre of the square were many adult ponies, clustered around two long tables. And under one of the trees, Flurry saw Lily and Berry together with several other foals.

Flurry slid off Dad’s back. ‘’Can I go to the other foals?’’ she asked.

Mom smiled. ‘’Of course. I’ll walk with you.’’

‘’Have fun, Flurry.’’ Dad gave her a hug which she eagerly returned, before he turned and started walking towards the other adults together with Sandy.

I wish I could stay with them, Flurry thought as she looked at Dad go, and then back to Mom as the two of them walked towards the other foals. But I’m not old enough.

‘’Flurry!’’

Berry was trotting forward, smiling widely. ‘’Come on!’’ She grabbed Flurry’s hoof and dragged her to the other foals.

‘’Everyone, this is Flurry Heart!’’ 

All the foals stared at her, until the only adult besides Mom cleared her throat. ‘’Good evening, Flurry,’’ the unicorn greeted. ‘’I am Daygleam. Magic, come here for a moment, please?’’

A foal with the same sun-yellow coat as her mother, but with a brown mane instead of dark blue, walked away from the other foals. ‘’Mommy?’’

‘’Flurry’s new here,’’ Daygleam said. ‘’Can you make sure she’s comfortable?’’

The foal, Magic, nodded very seriously. ‘’Okay, mommy.’’ Then she turned to Flurry and offered her hoof. ‘’I’m Magic Tulip.’’

What just happened?

‘’I’m Flurry Heart,’’ Flurry said after a moment. ‘’It’s nice to meet you.’’

‘’Nice to meet you too,’’ Magic replied. Instead of letting go of Flurry’s hoof, she grasped it a little tighter, leading Flurry to sit down with the other foals.

‘’Have fun, Flurry,’’ Mom said.

‘’You’re not staying?’’

Mom shook her head. ‘’I have to talk with the other adults as well. But Miss Daygleam-’’

Flurry cut off her sentence by lunging forward and hugging Mom’s neck. ‘’Don’t leave, mommy,’’ she begged. 

She felt Mom sit down and wrap her forelegs around her. ‘’I’ll just be over there, Flurry,’’ she said softly.

Flurry was so afraid. She didn’t know why; she’d spent the afternoon with just Berry and Lily, her adoptive parents nowhere in sight. So why didn’t she want Mom to go now?

Suddenly, two more things pressed against Flurry’s back. ‘’You’re not alone,’’ Lily whispered into her ear.

‘’Make a little room,’’ she heard Daygleam say.

‘’Group hug!’’

Wha-

Mom and Flurry both fell over as Daygleam and the other foals piled onto them. After some writhing and shuffling, they all sat together on the grass, Flurry and Mom in the centre, surrounded on all sides by the foals.

‘’Thank you,’’ Flurry heard Mom say, to no one in particular it seemed.

‘’Anytime,’’ was Daygleam’s response, and Flurry believed her.

She wasn’t surprised when Dad came half an hour later and announced that they were staying.
> Act 1: Chapter 7: Developments (edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

3 Sap Moon 1008

The door of the cage was pushed open with a single nudge from her hoof. Nightmare Moon stepped inside the cage and looked down mockingly at the imprisoned alicorn.

Separating Luna from Nightmare had been a piece of cake after the bombing: new bodies were simple to create for someone as powerful as Nightmare Moon. Luna was now a shadow of her former self, but she still managed to glare up hatefully at Nightmare.

Nightmare gave a fanged, mocking grin back. ‘’Still spiteful?’’

Not that she had expected anything different. For all that Nightmare looked down on Luna, she had to respect her spirit.

‘’Go to Tartarus,’’ Luna spat.

‘’Hmph,’’ Nightmare huffed. ‘’Very well then.’’

She considered. When Nightmare had informed Luna about how Cadence and Shining had died, the alicorn had raged at her for days. But now, that anger had dissipated into a simmer, just waiting to be released again.

Not that she could do much. Nightmare had siphoned off much of Luna’s magic and her cell was surrounded by loyal guards willing to gun her down without a thought. 

But that wouldn’t be necessary. Before Luna could react, Nightmare sent a blast of shadow from her horn that knocked her out cold.

‘’Carry her,’’ Nightmare commanded two of her guards, who had waited outside the room. The thestrals quickly got into the room and laid Luna upon both their backs, then followed after her.

Nightmare strode through the halls of Canterlot Castle. Whoever happened to be on her path quickly stepped aside, bowing deeply for her. Nightmare basked in their reverence and fear. It is good to be Empress.

The doors to the plaza flung open. The new flag of the Lunar Empire blew next to that of the Changeling Lands, and the Lunar Guard patrolled together with the Queen's Guard. And standing in the centre of the plaza was the only mare Nightmare cared about besides herself.

‘’Hello love,’’ Chrysalis purred. Her oily mane flowed freely down her neck, and the armour she wore only served to draw attention to her beautiful body. In the light of her moon, she looked even more beautiful than normal. Though if Nightmare had her way, the light of the moon would become normal soon enough.

Nightmare drew close to her and met her eyes. ‘’Greetings,’’ she purred back.

Chrysalis’ eyes darted away from Nightmare’s after a moment, looking behind her. ‘’Finally then,’’ she declared. ‘’I have been waiting for this day.’’

‘’So I have,’’ Nightmare said, before stepping aside. ‘’You know what to do.’’

‘’That I do.’’ And Chrysalis strode forward. The two thestrals unceremoniously threw Luna off their backs, and Chrysalis loomed over her.

Nightmare was the only one to remain in the plaza itself, the other beings present retreated to the edges or inside. 

Chrysalis chuckled, then pounced on Luna.

Nightmare watched, entranced, as Chrysalis tore off Luna’s ear and swallowed it in one bite. Luna stirred, but did not wake up. She couldn’t. But Nightmare had made sure she could feel everything that was happening to her.

Chrysalis bit off Luna’s other ear, then broke her horn off and licked the spilling magic and blood up with her tongue. Nightmare knew from experience Chrysalis’ tongue was very smooth and slick. No doubt Luna did not see it that way though.

Chrysalis moved past Luna’s head, planting a trail of quick bites down her throat and on her side before taking a lunge at Luna’s cutie mark. Luna softly groaned in pain as Chrysalis tore away the moon on her flank.

When she is finished, she will be even more beautiful, Nightmare thought as she continued to watch her lover literally tear Luna to shreds. With her other senses, she watched the changelings and thestrals that stood at the edge of the plaza, watching in silence. Not one of them appeared to be unnerved or affected in any other way by the sight before them.

Good. Our troops ought to be loyal to the death.

Nightmare, on a whim, changed the spell keeping Luna in check, allowing her to scream.

The result was music to her ears; the dying sounds of the person she hated most of all in this world. 

Truly, who wouldn’t be pleased by such a thing?




|-x-X-x-|




3 Sap Moon 1008

Time to face the music.

Star stood in front of the New Mareland Ministry of Defense. Jet Set’s letter had explained that the Magical Advisory Council met once a week in a room in it’s own section of the Ministry of Defence.

In Sunset. Some two-hundred-and-fifty kilometers away from Sunville.

When he had left in the morning, Flurry had been close to crying, begging him not to leave. He and Emerald had spent fifteen minutes calming her down. It had been hard for Star too, and even now he was still thinking back to Flurry.

Star shook himself. Focus now, worry later.

He walked through the doors into the reception area. After a moment of looking and determining that no one was waiting on him specifically, he made his way to the reception instead.

Before he could address the mare sitting behind the desk, he heard a voice behind him. ‘’Professor!’’

Would you look at that.

Star turned around to see a pale yellow mare, wearing a black sweater with her red and purple hair done up in a bun walking towards him.

‘’Moondancer,’’ he greeted with a smile. ‘’I had forgotten you’d moved here.’’

‘’I didn’t know you had come here as well until the president told me,’’ Moondancer replied as she came to a halt in front of him. ‘’I’m part of the Magical Advisory Council as well,’’ she continued with a smile. ‘’Come with me, I’ll show you the way.’’

Well, he wasn’t about to refuse that offer. ‘’Lead the way then.’’

Star followed behind Moondancer past the security checkpoint - which Moondancer had passed with a simple showing of a card - and through the corridors of the building, past many offices filled with working ponies.

‘’We’re ecstatic to work with you, professor,’’ Moondancer said, and Star could hear she meant it.

‘’Please, call me Star,’’ he offered. ‘’I am no longer your professor. And I look forward to working with you as well.’’

‘’Of course, proff-Star. I know I can’t wait, and I’m sure the others can’t as well,’’ Moondancer gushed.

Alright, so she was laying it on a little thick. Then again, Star knew she meant it. Moondancer had always been a bit starry-eyed when it came to professors or authority in general. That evidently hadn’t changed between her graduation from CSGU and now.

‘’We’re here!’’ Moondancer announced, stopping in front of a set of double doors. A sign was placed above them, reading ‘Department of Magic’.

‘’I was under the impression,’’ Star said dryly, ‘’that New Mareland maintained the same system as Equestria and kept magic as an incorporated thing rather than a special department?’’

Moondancer blushed for a moment, as if she was responsible for that. ‘’I-I don’t know, Star. I think they made it a separate thing after the Cockatrice War? But I could be wrong about that.’’

‘’Calm, Moondancer. This isn’t a test,’’ Star lightly reminded her. ‘’It’s not important anyway. Why don’t we go inside and you can show me where I’ll be working.’’

‘’Y-yes, of course.’’ Moondancer opened the doors with a touch of telekinesis. Her fine control can use some work. It’s obvious she’s used to handling larger objects, like books.

Star stepped past her and found himself in a long hallway. Unlike the ones that had come before, this hallway was devoid of other life, and the offices were unoccupied. How interesting.

Star would have to consider what his funding was. While he had access to most of his accounts and his mansion was self-sufficient in everything except food, that didn’t mean he wanted to just throw money away when other solutions were available.

Or perhaps there was just no paperwork to be done. But Star sincerely doubted that.

‘’The meeting room is down the hall.’’ Moondancer once again took the lead, walking down the hallway while Star followed behind her. 

I suppose I could ask about the other members of the council. But I’ll meet them in a few seconds anyway, so there’s little use.

‘’And we’re there.’’

The door was quite unassuming, looking no different from the other dozen or so doors in the hallway. Star would have walked past it without a second thought.

‘’You can go first,’’ he offered.

Moondancer nodded, and so Star opened the door with his telekinesis - taking care to exercise more control than usual - and stepped aside to allow Moondancer in. Then he entered himself.

My word. Not what I expected.

Diversity of the three pony tribes, he’d expected. Griffons or thestrals, because those were significant minorities here in New Mareland, he’d hoped for.

A griffon, a thestral, two unicorns including Moondancer, a zebra, an earth pony and a pegasus?

‘’Good morning,’’ Star greeted the room. ‘’I am Star Tower Spellweaver, archmage and former Royal Magician of Canterlot.’’

‘’Sir,’’ rippled through the room. Everyone was looking at him with a mix of fear, respect and curiosity in their eyes.

Well. He’d expected them to know who he was and that they would show the appropriate deference; he hadn’t expected such a reaction. Not that he disapproved.

The seat at the head of the table was empty. With no other empty seats in sight - Moondancer had sat down in what was evidently her own seat, between the other unicorn and the zebra - Star made for the empty chair and sat down in it. It was a comfortable chair, but it probably hadn’t been designed for that.

Or perhaps it was. Meetings can take long, after all.

‘’Well,’’ Star began after a moment of silence, because no one was making any moves to speak up themselves, ‘’please introduce yourselves to me, and then we can get started.’’

The griffon - brown feathers, green eyes and a short grey mustache, though he was only in his early twenties - at the right end of the table cleared his throat. ‘’I am Guido Laviano, signor. My expertise is griffon magics, especially enchantments.’’

‘’Pleasure,’’ Star said, and resigned himself to saying that some more before this was over.

The pegasus - light grey on white, with intriguing eyes of violet - was next. ‘’I am Starfeather, archmage. I graduated top of my class at the Stratus Springs Academy for Pegasi.’’

Star had heard of that place. Stratus Springs wasn’t a cloud city, but it was New Mareland’s closest equivalent, with the largest cloud district on Griffonia and an academy for pegasi magic that was almost as distinguished as Cloudsdale’s or Fillydelphia’s. ‘’Pleasure.’’

The thestral next to Starfeather was almost an inversion of her neighbour’s colours: grey on charcoal black, with eyes that were deep blue like the sea. ‘’Ayalir is my name, sir. I wrote a thesis on thestral magic that was published in scientific journals across the nation.’’

‘’And in Equestria,’’ Star chimed in, now recognizing the mare from a picture included with the publication. ‘’You wrote a most interesting thesis.’’

Is that wise to say?

He decided to keep the knowledge that Luna had complimented the piece for its accuracy to himself for now.

Ayalir bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement. ‘’Thank you, sir.’’

Star gave her a nod back. The final person on this side of the table was the earth pony. He had a short mane of green and gold, and a coat of brown that matched his red eyes, and appeared to be the youngest of the group. ‘’Sir, my name is Dirt Catcher. I created a rune that can bypass most silence wards.’’

‘’Now why haven’t I heard of this?’’ Star asked no-one in particular. ‘’I would think such an invention would be news.’’

‘’It is not yet public, sir,’’ Dirt Catcher quickly explained. ‘’I presented my work to my teacher, and he told me to keep it a secret. A few days later I was visited by a representative from the Minister of Defence, and, well… here we are.’’ He chuckled nervously.

‘’If it’s possible, I’d like to see your rune in action,’’ Star requested. Of course a spell virtually every private meeting between mages requires can be circumvented by a rune.

‘’Of course, sir,’’ Dirt Catcher agreed easily.

‘’Excellent,’’ Star declared, before moving onto the most intriguing curiosity of the meeting: the zebra mare sitting on his left.

‘’Archmage,’’ she acknowledged his unasked question with a nod. ‘’My name is Nilinti. I am an expert in alchemy, taught in Tobuck.’’

That answered none of the questions he had about how she had come here, but that could wait.

‘’Pleasure.’’ Star passed over Moondancer with a nod and a smile, moving on to the final member of the council: the other unicorn. She had a lime green coat and an orange and sky blue mane, with brown eyes.

‘’Greetings, archmage,’’ she said. ‘’It is a pleasure to finally meet you. I am Gem Jewel. Unimaginative, I know.’’

Well, I can always appreciate someone with a sense of humor.

‘’Oh, and I graduated at the Sunset College of Healers.’’

‘’You’re a healer?’’ Star asked for clarification.

‘’That I am,’’ Gem affirmed. ‘’Mastery in it. I work at the Princess Celestia Hospital as a specialist.’’

‘’Admirable work,’’ Star remarked, before letting his eyes roam through the room. ‘’Ladies, gentlegriff, I’m afraid the president was not very descriptive in one thing: our current task. Do we have any matters to attend?’’

‘’The Magical Advisory Council is relatively new, signor; we’ve only known each other for two weeks,’’ Guido spoke up. ‘’So far, we have yet to receive a task; or anything else from the government, for that matter.’’

‘’Brilliant,’’ Star sighed. ‘’Well then, the president told me he didn’t care for what I did as long as I did my job. I’m sure the privilege extends to you as well, so if there is nothing to do, we might as well discuss topics that interest us all.’’

‘’Such as?’’ Ayalir asked.

Smiling, Star leaned forward. ‘’To start, do any of you have any experiments running, or research you want to talk about?’’

Gathering information while also making connections. At least this day won’t be a waste.




|-x-X-x-|




3 Sap Moon 1008

Flurry was laying on the couch, looking outside despondently. Lily, Berry and Magic had come by earlier, but Flurry hadn’t been happy to play with them. She missed her daddy too much to be distracted by playing, and the three other foals had left after an hour, when it became clear they couldn’t cheer her up.

Mom had tried her best to distract her with games and books, but no matter what she tried, Flurry’s mind kept on focusing on her adoptive father.

Please be alright, daddy. I don’t want to lose you too, she prayed.

‘’Flurry?’’

What did Mom want now?

‘’Yes, mommy?’’

Mom appeared in her sight, smiling softly. ‘’Do you want to go outside?’’

Flurry looked outside. The sun was shining brightly, and the sky was blue with a few white clouds. ‘’Sure,’’ she said after a moment.

Flurry slid off the couch and landed on her hooves, then followed after Mom as the mare walked into the garden. ‘’Let’s go to the observatory,’’ she suggested.

Isn’t the observatory the place to look at the stars at night?

Indeed it was, Flurry found out when they arrived. The observatory was built into a large tree, with a large telescope sticking out through the leaves and branches, while the floor was covered in a carpet that showed the stars. The bark of the tree had little alcoves carven into it, where books and instruments Flurry didn’t know the meaning of.

Flurry sat down on her haunches. The carpet was very soft, and as Mom sat down next to her, Flurry leaned into her side.

Mom looked down at her with a smile. ‘’Like it?’’

‘’Yeah,’’ Flurry softly replied.

‘’It’s probably better at night,’’ Mom continued. ‘’Shall we go here tonight as well?’’

‘’Okay,’’ Flurry agreed, before snuggling up further against Mom’s side. ‘’I’m sorry for being sad, mommy.’’

‘’Don’t ever be sorry for that, Flurry,’’ Mom immediately said in a tone that wasn’t angry, but also wasn’t cheerful. ‘’You don’t control the way you feel, and it’s perfectly alright to feel sad when your father isn’t there.’’

Flurry buried herself in Mom‘s side. ‘’Thanks, mommy. I love you.’’

‘’I love you too, Flurry.’’ And Mom nuzzled her head. Flurry turned her face up and nuzzled Mom back, while drawing one of her wings around Mom‘s back in a hug.

Hoofsteps behind them.

‘’Hello again,’’ her father’s voice said.

‘’Daddy!’’ Flurry jumped up and burst towards him, wrapping around his neck in a powerful hug. ‘’You’re back!’’

‘’That I am,’’ Dad replied as he nuzzled her face. ‘’I wasn’t gone for so long, was I?’’

That, Flurry would admit, was true. But it’d felt like a century. So instead of replying, she just held onto him, even as he sat down on the ground.

‘’So why come here?’’ Dad asked.

‘’I wanted to show it to Flurry,’’ Mom answered. ‘’I like it here.’’

Dad hummed. ‘’It isn’t night though.’’

‘’Does it matter?’’ Mom asked, and she sounded amused.

Dad chuckled. ‘’I guess not.’’

Flurry finally let go of Dad’s neck, but she still remained pressed up against him. ‘’What did you do, daddy?’’ she asked him after a moment of silence.

‘’Well, I met with the other members of the council,’’ Dad explained to her, ‘’and we had a grand old time. They’re all smart, eager young people, and I am the old wizard charged with keeping a leash on them all.’’

‘’Surely it’s not so bad,’’ Mom remarked.

‘’It isn’t,’’ Dad confirmed. ‘’They are all smart though. It’ll be a pleasure to work with them.’’

Flurry nodded, then hesitated. Should I? ‘’When are you leaving again?’’

‘’Not for the next few days,’’ Dad replied. ‘’We’ve scheduled our meetings to be at the same time, on this day, once a week. Other than that and some incidental matters, I’ll be here full-time.’’

‘’That’s good.’’ I can’t be without you, daddy, or you, mommy.

Her father must have seen her emotions, because he wrapped a foreleg around her and ran it over her wing. ‘’I’m sorry I have to leave, sweetheart,’’ he said softly.

‘’It’s okay.’’ She leaned into the hug. ‘’I love you, daddy.’’

‘’I love you too, sweetheart,’’ Dad replied.

Flurry relished in the peace and comfort which followed that statement. She could hear the birds sing outside, the leaves of trees rustling in the wind, Mom and Dad’s quiet breaths. It’s not like with mommy and daddy in the Crystal Empire. The Crystal Palace was never silent, even late at night when Flurry couldn’t sleep and stared up at the ceiling of her room.

In the Palace, her parents had always been close by. Sometimes one of them left for a short time, but they were always back quickly.

‘’Daddy,’’ she asked, turning her head up to look at his face, ‘’am I still a princess?’’

For a moment, Dad’s face was thoughtful, then he smiled and answered, ‘’Of course you are, Flurry. But… it’s complicated.’’

‘’Can you explain it to me?’’

Dad’s smile dimmed. ‘’I’ll try.’’ He shifted slightly. ‘’Okay, so you are still a princess. The Crown Princess of the Crystal Empire, to be precise. But, we are not in the Crystal Empire and probably won’t be for a very long time. And in New Mareland, your title means little.’’ He tilted his head. ‘’Do you still follow?’’

Not fully, but I think I get it. Instead of saying that though, Flurry just nodded.

‘’Great,’’ Dad said. ‘’Because we adopted you, it gets a little complicated. You see, I am not a prince, and neither is Mom a princess. Or well, we weren’t. It’s an interesting bit of legalese, but your… mother actually included an elevation of status for both of us along with your adoption papers.’’

‘’So you’re both princes now?’’ Flurry asked for clarification.

‘’Yes,’’ Mom affirmed, ‘’we are. Though as Dad said, it doesn’t mean a lot here.’’

‘’Most people who don’t know you all that well will probably address you as princess,’’ Dad interjected. ‘’I’m afraid they won’t do the same for us. Not that it matters.’’ The last part was said with a glance at Mom.

‘’Okay,’’ Flurry said after a moment of processing it all. ‘’Thank you for telling me, daddy.’’ And she gave him a hug.

A hug, which he eagerly returned. ‘’Anytime, sweetheart.’’ And he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
> Act 1: Chapter 8: The world turns (edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

5 Sap Moon 1008

Jet Set let out a tired sigh as he pushed away a document he had just put his signature under. The past months had been a stressful mess for him, and if it wasn’t for his wife, Jet wasn’t sure he would have had the strength to continue.

The phone rang. Brilliant.

‘’This is Jet Set,’’ he said as he picked up the horn.

‘’Mr President,’’ the voice on the other line replied. It sounded female, and her Equish was lined with an Aquileian accent. ‘’I am Cécile Gaudreau.’’

Jet’s eyebrows rose. Now what does the failed revolutionary want?

‘’Good evening, madam,’’ he said courteously. ‘’What can I help you with?’’

‘’The Second Revolution has failed,’’ she informed him. ‘’Verany doesn’t wish to see it, but our forces are rapidly retreating. We cannot hold.’’

Jet swallowed. ‘’That is a shame,’’ he offered.

‘’Indeed it is,’’ Gaudreau agreed. ‘’I have something to ask of you, monsieur.’’ A pause. ‘’If they can make it, will you allow refugees, soldiers included, into New Mareland?’’

Well.

Jet swallowed again. On one hoof, the refugees would no doubt be grateful to New Mareland, and they might help in restoring New Mareland’s slipping economy. On the other hoof, Aquileia could easily decide to invade, and Jet wasn’t sure if housing so many griffons, even on the sparsely populated New Freeside, was good for the stability of the nation. Not to mention those griffons might seek to return to their home one day.

‘’Mr President?’’

‘’Apologies,’’ he said, fully aware he had been silent for a time. ‘’I… will have to speak with my government, madam. It will not take long, I promise you.’’

‘’Of course,’’ Gaudreau acknowledged. ‘’Please hurry though. The situation is more desperate every hour.’’

‘’I shall call an emergency meeting of the cabinet tonight,’’ Jet told her after a moment of silence. ‘’Tonight, or tomorrow morning at the latest, you shall have our answer.’’

He heard the griffoness sigh. ‘’Merci, monsieur. You can contact me with this number, should you need it.’’

‘’I will,’’ he promised, once she had given him the number. ‘’If that was all?’’

‘’Oui, it was,’’ Gaudreau said. ‘’Good evening, Mr President.’’

‘’Good evening, madam Gaudreau.’’

Jet hung up the phone. Fuck.




|-x-X-x-|




14 Flower Moon 1008

‘’You’re safe here, Grover,’’ Gabriella whispered, before she closed the door to the young griff’s room.

The pink griffoness let out a sigh as she walked down the halls of her husband’s mansion in De Vleugels. The escape from Griffinheim had been a close thing, and many of her guards had paid with their lives so that she and her cousin could escape from the clutches of Ferdinand Dawnclaw.

Gabriella entered the reading room. Sat in a chair was her husband, Grand Duke Gerlach of Feathisia. A book laid on the armrest next to him, and the black night robe he wore made him look even more handsome than normal, in Gabriella’s humble opinion.

‘’Good evening,’’ he greeted her, looking at her with a smile.

‘’Good evening,’’ she greeted back as she sat down in the chair opposite him. ‘’Grover has been tucked in,’’ she informed him.

‘’Good,’’ Gerlach said. ‘’He has been through a lot recently.’’

Gabriella nodded in agreement. ‘’We have all been.’’

Gerlach inclined his head in acknowledgement. ‘’True.’’

For a time, there was silence. Gerlach opened his book and began to read, while Gabriella moved to look at the flames. There was something intriguing about them, and Gabriella had loved them ever since she was a child.

It was rare that they got a moment of peace, even rarer they could spend it together. Ruling their newly-formed nation was hard, especially in these times of war and chaos. The border with the Griffonian Empire’s heartlands was the site of constant skirmishes between patrolling forces, while the once-loyal dogs of Bronzehill had turned to a new, nationalist leader, their loyalty to the Grovers broken. And the less said of the nations in the southern Herzland, the better.

‘’Love?’’

Gabriella looked away from the flames to see her husband looking at her intently. ‘’Yes?’’

Gerlach leaned forward. ‘’Do you think we should look for allies? I am not certain we can defeat Dawnclaw alone.’’

That was true. ‘’But who to ally with?’’ Gabriella wondered aloud. ‘’Yale, Romau and Greifenmarschen are all together already, damn republicans. And Angriver and Katerin are not trustworthy at all.’’

‘’Perhaps we should look outside the Herzland?” Gerlach suggested. ‘’With Vedina’s intervention in the Republic’s civil war, we could, perhaps, approach them? King Wingstrom seems amenable, and his daughter is rumoured to be a paragon of virtue and knightly values.’’

Gabriella considered it. Vedina’s actions in the Republic’s internal struggles were looking to be promising: the monarchists and moderates on both sides had aligned themselves with Vedina, providing the support necessary for the kingdom to cross the Skyriver. Cloudbury had already fallen to them.

‘’I think it could work,’’ she said in reply to her husband’s words. ‘’Maybe we ought to send an envoy to Turhamn.’’

Gerlach’s eyes gleamed in the light of the fire as he rose from his chair. ‘’Then it’s settled,’’ he declared, before giving her a grin. ‘’Now, shall we retire?’’

A blush crept onto Gabriella’s cheeks. ‘’As my husband wishes.’’

They’d deal with the future of the nation in the morning. First, they had a night for themselves, and Gabriella had waited years for Gerlach. She wasn’t going to waste anything.




|-x-X-x-|




28 Flower Moon 1008

‘’Your Majesties, we believe to have located a local resistance cell.’’

Nightmare looked down at the changeling in front of her throne. After a moment of watching his composure not so much as twitch under her gaze, she waved a hoof dismissively. ‘’Do with them as you please, but make sure they are punished for their crimes. I will not have dissidents undermining the stability of my empire.’’

‘’Of course, your Majesty.’’ The changeling bowed. ‘’By your leave?’’

‘’Go.’’

The changeling bowed again, then left the room. Nightmare allowed herself a slight smile. Those traitors will learn their place under my rule.

Suddenly, Chrysalis’ hoof pressed against Nightmare’s. ‘’A wise decision, my love,’’ she purred softly.

Nightmare turned her head and locked eyes with her lover. ‘’Of course,’’ she agreed. ‘’Anyone who questions us should be crushed.’’

‘’Quite right,’’ Chrysalis said. She pushed up against Nightmare’s side, rubbing her head under the alicorn’s neck.

‘’Your Majesties?’’

Nightmare glared at the thestral that had dared to interrupt them. ‘’What?’’ she snapped.

To her credit, the thestral didn’t flinch at her goddess’ words. ‘’Rarity Belle has escaped from captivity.’’

What!?

Chrysalis stilled, then turned to face the thestral. ‘’And how did this happen?’’ she asked slowly.

‘’Twilight Sparkle and a group of resistance fighters broke into the prison and freed her, along with other prisoners. They escaped before we could catch them again.’’

I shouldn’t have left her locked up in Cloudsdale.

‘’I should have executed her when I had the chance,’’ Nightmare said to herself. ‘’Issue a search warrant for all the escaped prisoners, and place a bounty on their heads.’’

‘’Of course, your Majesty.’’ The thestral paused, then continued, ‘’We managed to capture one of the escaped prisoners. Shall I have him brought him?’’

‘’Do so,’’ Nightmare commanded. ‘’And then summon the Imperial Interrogator. We shall have need of her services.’’




|-x-X-x-|




4 Grass Moon1008

‘’Welcome to the 1008 Coltstream Summit, everyone.’’ River Swirl looked around the room with a bright smile.

There were a few new faces from last year: Metakeros had replaced the late Pegicles as the new leader for Nimbusia, and he was far more aligned with River’s views than Pegicles had ever been. Wavebreaker had been elected as the new Grand Mayor of Jezeragrad, and he too was more in-line with harmony than his predecessor.

‘’It’s good to be here again,’’ Queen White Star spoke up. ‘’We have much to discuss.’’

‘’That we do,’’ President Water Lily agreed.

‘’Then let’s begin,’’ River declared. ‘’The first order of business is the end of the Prywhen Civil War.’’

‘’The communists are spreading their influence in Lushi and Gryphus has allied with them,’’ Wavebreaker reported. ‘’But they are not intervening in the Gryphian Civil War, strangely.’’

River knew why. Arclight had visited her in private, and he had explained to her that Prywhen did not want for a war to spark between itself and the River Coalition. River had been doubtful of the truth, but had eventually agreed to a secret deal between the Coalition and the Internationale, detailing how the nations between them would be divided. Gryphia would become a neutral state, while Longsword, Gryphia and Lushi would all become satellite states of Prywhen. In exchange, Prywhen would stop supporting any socialist organisations in the rest of eastern Griffonia, effectively securing the Coalition’s dominance over the nations to the south and north of them.

But the agreement had to remain a secret. Oh, River was sure it would leak out eventually, but hopefully by that time nobody would care. As it was not that time yet, however, it was imperative she move the conversation away from the Internationale.

‘’Strange indeed,’’ she agreed with Wavebreaker. ‘’However, I am not convinced the Internationale is our biggest concern.’’

Princess Molly frowned. ‘’You mean Hellquill?’’

‘’I do,’’ River affirmed with a nod. ‘’Vartai’s alliance with Prywhen will keep Hellquill from invading them,’’ hopefully, ‘’but they might look northwards for expansion instead.’’

‘’I, for one,’’ Water Lily spoke up, ‘’fear that Hellquill will indeed go north, and Firtrees does not have the capability to stop them.’’

‘’Well, do they?’’ Meratekos asked, looking at White Star.

Who sniffed. ‘’They call themselves a magocracy, but they do not have the training or power to fight against griffon knights.’’

‘’Well, as long as there is no conflict yet, I do not think we should look for one,’’ Crimson nic Heart offered. ‘’And Barrad, in any case, is a more pressing issue, I should think.’’

As the discussion continued, River let out a quiet sigh. Crisis averted.




|-x-X-x-|




20 Grass Moon 1008

Ludvig had hoped to not have to fight again. He’d had quite enough of that, thank you very much. 

Yet here he was, wearing his armour and with his sword in his claws, standing in the ruins of Winghagen’s port.

‘’Lord Bergkvist!’’ a squire hurried over to him, stopping a few meters away with panted breaths.

‘’At ease, lad,’’ Ludvig said as he turned to him. ‘’What is your message?’’

‘’Prince Stridande has requested your presence at his headquarters, my lord,’’ the squire reported. ‘’If you would follow me?’’

‘’Of course,’’ Ludvig agreed easily. He had little better to do, and one did not disobey a direct command from the prince-marshal.

The younger griffon led Ludvig through the ravaged streets of Winghagen. They passed by groups of civilians tentatively approaching the celebrating Vedinian soldiers, as well as many corpses from both sides. 

Star would have been quite useful here, Ludvig mused. Though I fear he would have kept himself out of this war if he could. For all that he loves using his magic, he has an equal dislike of fighting for causes that aren’t his own.

‘’My lord, we’ve arrived.’’ The squire came to a halt in front of what appeared to be the remainder of Winghagen’s city hall. A few knights, members of Stridande’s personal retinue, stand outside, surrounded by ruined barricades.

‘’Thank you,’’ Ludvig dismissed the squire with a nod and a flick of his wing, before approaching the doors of the city hall. ‘’Sirs,’’ he greeted the knights.

‘’Lord Bergkvist,’’ one of them replied, ‘’the prince is in the office of the mayor. Up the front stairs, at the end of the corridor.’’

‘’Thank you.’’ Ludvig strode past them into the building. Up the stairs, and down the corridor. What easier road is there?

Ludvig entered the impromptu war room to find it was empty, with the exception of Prince Stridande and his squire. The golden-blond griffon looked up from the table as Ludvig entered.

‘’Ah, lord Bergkvist, good to see you,’’ he said. ‘’Did you receive any injuries in the fight?’’

‘’None, sir,’’ Ludvig replied. After a moment, he grabbed his helmet and lifted it from his head, putting it down on the table.

‘’That is good,’’ Stridande said. ‘’I have news: both our enemies have sued for peace.’’

Ludvig let out a breath. ‘’Excellent.’’

That meant the war was over, and he could fuck off back to Turhamn and maybe finally get himself a wife, or at least an heir. He wasn’t immortal, after all.

‘’Indeed,’’ Stridande agreed. He paused, hesitated. 

Oh for fucks sake.

Stridande cleared his throat. ‘’The Queen has requested your presence at the signing of the peace treaties in Cloudbury.’’

Well, that wasn’t as bad as it could have been. ‘’I will be there.’’

‘’See that you are.’’ Stridande gave him a nod. ‘’Dismissed.’’

‘’Prince-Marshal.’’ Ludvig didn’t salute, but he did bow his head slightly, before turning and leaving.

Perhaps he ought to write Star a letter. His friend had confided the address and location of his mansion to him before he had left, and Ludvig had wondered about them ever since their ship had disappeared off the horizon.

Yes, a letter sounds like a good idea, he thought as he stepped outside, sunshine warming his face.

He saw a couple of soldiers raise the Vedinian flag above the fortress on the hill in the distance, and couldn’t suppress a grim smile at the sight of it.

Maybe I should find some red paint and throw it on the flag, consequences be damned.

Even if that would end him in a trial, which he could bluff his way out of anyways.

Oh well.
> Act 1: Chapter 9: Friendships (edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

5 Grass Moon 1008

The house where Magic and her mother Daygleam lived was located near the centre of the town, just like most houses that weren’t farms, and it was made of wood painted in soft blue and pink hues, reminding Flurry a little of the Crystal Empire.

Maybe that’s why I like it so much.

She was sitting on the soft carpet. Daygleam laid opposite her, with Magic curled up against her side.

‘’Thank you for coming, Flurry,’’ Daygleam said cheerily. ‘’I know Magic’s happy to see you.’’

‘’Yeah,’’ the filly in question softly added. ‘’I am.’’

Flurry smiled. ‘’It’s nice to be here.’’ She looked around. ‘’It reminds me of my old home.’’

‘’The Crystal Empire?’’ Flurry nodded. ‘’Well, if you ever get home-sick, you can always come here.’’

‘’Thanks,’’ Flurry chirped.

‘’Flurry?’’ Magic suddenly asked, her magenta eyes peering intensely at Flurry. ‘’When is your birthday?’’

‘’Uhhh…’’ Flurry rubbed her chin. ‘’10th of Grass Moon.’’

‘’That’s in five days.’’

What?

‘’Oh.’’ Flurry glanced at the calendar on the wall. Indeed it was. ‘’I guess.’’

Daygleam and Magic were now both looking at her. ‘’What do you want as a present?’’ Daygleam asked.

That was a very good question. And Flurry did not have an answer for it. She shook her head. ‘’I dunno.’’

Daygleam frowned. ‘’Well, I’ll see about getting you something-’’

‘’What’s the party going to be like?’’ Magic interrupted loudly. ‘’Can I come?’’

Party?

‘’I…’’ She hadn’t ever had other foals at her birthday party before. Just her family, and her family’s friends. ‘’Sure.’’

‘’Yay!’’ Magic cheered. ‘’Thanks a lot! What are we gonna be doing?”’

Quick, think of something. ‘’Uh…’’

‘’I think Flurry doesn’t know that yet, sweetheart,’’ Daygleam said, eyes twinkling. ‘’But I’m sure it’ll be a lot of fun regardless.’’

‘’Y-yeah,’’ Flurry stammered. ‘’Sure.’’

If Daygleam noticed Flurry’s lie, she didn’t comment on it. Magic didn’t either, just smiling and nodding. ‘’Well, if you need tips, just ask!’’ she said.

‘’Okay…’’ Flurry agreed tentatively.

What could they even do for her birthday? Flurry’s birthday last year was the only one she could even vaguely remember, and it had just been her parents and other family, plus some of her family’s friends, all gathered together in the Crystal Palace. They hadn’t done anything unique.

She had to talk to Mom and Dad about that.




|-x-X-x-|




5 Grass Moon 1008

‘’A birthday party,’’ Emerald repeated. 

Star nodded. ‘’We have to organize one. Flurry’ll like it, and it’ll help connect with the other foals. Aside from Berry, Lily and Magic, she doesn’t really have many friends yet.’’

That was true, Emerald had to admit. Flurry was clingy to them; Daygleam getting her for a playdate with Magic at Daygleam’s home was the first time she was in Sunville alone.

‘’Does Flurry even know her birthday is in five days?’’ Emerald wondered aloud.

‘’Probably not,’’ Star admitted, like it was the simplest thing in the world. ‘’Which will make the surprise even better.’’

‘’You have something planned.’’ It wasn’t a question, it was a statement.

‘’Yes.’’ A smile crept up Star’s lips. ‘’It’s nothing big. We’re going to wake her up early and surprise her with breakfast with her friends. Then, I’ve arranged for the weather to be nice and sunny, so we can go and spend the day at the beach.’’

That didn’t sound too terrible. ‘’Let me guess: I’ll be making the breakfast?’’

‘’If you want to. I’m willing to do it as well,’’ Star offered. ‘’There are a few recipes I’d want to make again.’’

‘’By all means,’’ Emerald acquiesced. You could have offered it earlier though. Another thought came to her, and her eyes narrowed. ‘’What do you mean, arranged the weather?’’

Star chuckled. ‘’A discrete message to Manebourne’s Weather Management Bureau was all it took to get some sun for coming Monday.’’

Emerald blinked. ‘’You rescheduled the weather for this entire region so Flurry could have a rainless birthday?’’

‘’Yup.’’

Emerald shook her head. ‘’That is crazy,’’ she said. She’d never even dream of asking for different weather for any reason; certainly not for a birthday. The idea of just going to the weather bureau and doing so was absurd.

I wonder if Star is aware how insane it is that things like this are casual for him.

‘’Don’t worry,’’ Star suddenly said, ‘’I just told the head of the bureau that I would like it to be sunny on Monday above my home, and in return for a favour she agreed.’’

‘’What was the favour?’’

Star shrugged. ‘’Just have to take her out for dinner once. I told her I wasn’t really interested, but she insisted, and what is one dinner?’’

There was something about the underhoofedness and the casualness with which Star described said underhoofedness that rankled something in Emerald. Maybe it was her sense of fair play, but changing the weather for an entire region, causing unknown consequences, just so Flurry could have sun on her birthday? Where was the fairness in that?

‘’And when,’’ Emerald ground out, ‘’will this dinner be?’’

‘’Saturday the 15th,’’ Star replied cautiously, before raising an eyebrow at her. ‘’Did I say something wrong?’’

I’m not going to point out the obvious.

Emerald huffed, then turned around and walked away. It was time to get Flurry from Daygleam’s home anyway, and that would be Emerald’s very flimsy excuse if Star came after her.

He didn’t, for which Emerald was grateful. She looked behind her as she reached for the door, to see Star still sitting on the couch, having taken a book from somewhere and beginning to read it.

Well, Emerald wouldn’t bother him about it. She opened the door and began to walk to Daygleam’s house.

Fifteen minutes it took her to get there, and Daygleam was already waiting outside for her. Emerald couldn’t help but be a little surprised by that. They had agreed on roughly this time, true, but still.

Flurry and Magic were still talking animatedly, while Daygleam watched over them with a smile. As Emerald approached, Daygleam cleared her throat and said, ‘’Flurry, your mother’s here.’’

Flurry turned to look at Daygleam, then saw Emerald. ‘’Hi mommy!’’

‘’Hello sweetheart,’’ Emerald said. ‘’Did you have a nice afternoon?’’

Flurry nodded excitedly. ‘’It was very nice! Magic’s house is very beautiful!’’

‘’Thank you, sweetie,’’ Daygleam said with a tip of her head. For a moment, Emerald was captivated by that face, with an oh-so-entrancing smile.

Oh no.

Emerald quickly shook herself. That was not good. Not good at all.

‘’That’s good,’’ Emerald said quickly. ‘’Shall we go then?’’

‘’Okay, mommy!’’ Flurry gave Magic a parting hug, and then gave Daygleam a hug too after a few seconds of hesitation, before walking over to Emerald’s side and nuzzling her leg. ‘’Let’s go! Bye Magic, bye Daygleam!’’

‘’Bye Flurry!’’

‘’Goodbye Flurry!’’

As they walked back through Sunville to their home, Emerald looked sideways at Flurry. ‘’So what did you do?’’

‘’We played together!’’ Flurry replied. ‘’Magic has a lot of toys, ‘cause Daygleam makes them herself!’’

Emerald did not know that, but it did explain the wooden figure Daygleam had for a cutie mark. It also explained where all the toys in Sunville came from, as getting any from a store was pretty much impossible when they were a five hours drive away from any place that would have a toy store.

Perhaps she makes other toys as well- No.

‘’Mommy, why are you blushing?’’

Oh fuck.

‘’It’s nothing, sweetie,’’ Emerald assured hastily, before Flurry could get any ideas. ‘’I was just… thinking.’’

‘’About what?’’

‘’Things.’’

‘’What things?’’

‘’Things that aren’t for little fillies.’’

‘’I’m not little!’’ Flurry protested. ‘’I’m gonna be four in a couple of days!’’

So she knew? That made this easier and harder at the same time.

‘’Yes, that’s true,’’ Emerald agreed. ‘’What would you like to do on your birthday?’’

Flurry’s face scrunched up in thought. ‘’I dunno,’’ she admitted after a few seconds. ‘’I tried coming up with something, but…’’

‘’That’s alright,’’ Emerald said. After a moment, she added, ‘’Why don’t you let Star and me come up with something? We’ll do something nice, I promise.’’

‘’Okay,’’ Flurry accepted after a moment of what appeared to be intense thought. ‘’I can’t wait!’’ she squealed, before giving Emerald a quick hug. ‘’Thank you, mommy!’’

Emerald gave her a hug back. ‘’No problem, sweetheart.’’

Now to plan a birthday party. And try to forget about Daygleam’s smile while she was at it.




|-x-X-x-|




7 Grass Moon 1008

‘’Sounds nice,’’ Berry said.

They were sitting in the garden slash farmland of Berry and Lily’s family. Flurry wasn’t really sure where the garden ended and the farm began, but it didn’t really matter. 

‘’Yeah,’’ she agreed. ‘’I’m wondering what the surprise will be though.’’

‘’Don’t worry about it,’’ Lily said. ‘’It’ll be fun, and that’s the most important thing.’’

Lily’s right.

‘’I guess.’’ Flurry let out a quiet sigh, before looking around. ‘’So, what are we gonna do?’’

‘’We could play hide and seek again?’’ Berry offered.

Lily shook her head. ‘’Done that too much already.’’

Berry huffed. ‘’Says you.’’

‘’Do you know any other games?’’ Flurry asked before the argument could spiral into something more heated.

‘’Yeah,’’ Berry replied. ‘’I know something.’’ She grabbed a bunch of leaves with her hoof and threw them at Lily.

What.

Lily batted the leaves away, before gathering some leaves herself and throwing them at her sister. As Lily had grabbed a bunch of wet grass along with the leaves, her projectiles stuck to Berry’s coat.

‘’Oh, it’s on!’’ she cried out, before pouncing on her sister. Flurry watched in astonishment as the two rolled through the grass, scuffling with each other. After a minute, Berry stood on top of her sister, grinning down at her.

‘’I win,’’ she proclaimed grandly.

‘’... fine,’’ Lily huffed after a moment. ‘’Now get off me.’’

‘’Uh-uh.’’

‘’Get off me, please.’’

‘’Better.’’ Berry jumped off her sister’s barrel and smiled at Flurry. ‘’Wanna do it too?’’

‘’Uhh…’’ What had just happened? Flurry hadn’t ever heard or seen someone do this. Then again, these were her first friends, and Flurry didn’t have a sister. Was this just something sisters did with each other?

‘’It’s fun,’’ Lily added, having stood back up.

They do look like they had fun.

But they were also very dirty now. There were leaves and grass stuck in their mane, coat and tail, and Flurry thought she even saw a small abrasion on Lily’s left foreleg.

She’d never really gotten dirty before - snow melted pretty quickly, after all - So she didn’t know what Mom and Dad would say if she got back home looking like that. Would they get mad?

‘’Flurry?’’

She was reminded that she’d been silent for a time. ‘’Okay, sure,’’ she decided. ‘’I’ll try it.’’ And she already had an idea of what she could do.

‘’Great!’’ Berry beamed at her. ‘’How do you-’’

Flurry lifted up a bunch of leaves with her magic and dumped them on the heads of the other two fillies. She couldn’t help but giggle as they sputtered and shook themselves clean again, clearly surprised by her sudden and unexpected action. Just like she’d intended.

‘’Good one,’’ Lily complimented after she’d gotten the leaves out of her mouth, spitting them out onto the ground.

‘’What more can you do with that?’’ Berry jumped in, pointing at her horn.

Flurry’s face scrunched up in thought. ‘’Well… I can make a light, lift stuff up, and create a bubble, like this.’’ She focused for a moment, then a light yellow bubble appeared around her. It’s light was as comforting and soft as always.

‘’Wow!’’ both fillies breathed.

‘’That’s really cool!’’ Berry said, clearly awed and impressed. ‘’Can it stop things?’’

‘’Yeah,’’ Flurry said. ‘’Try to touch it.’’

Berry reached her hoof forward and did as Flurry had said. ‘’That tingles,’’ she declared, before pulling her hoof back again.

‘’Is it hard to do?’’ Lily asked.

Flurry shook her head. ‘’No. I can keep it up for very long.’’

‘’How long?’’

Ehh… ‘’Very long.’’ They didn’t need to know that she didn’t know how long herself.

Lily mulled over that for a moment, before nodding. ‘’Okay. Still cool.’’

‘’Yeah,’’ Berry agreed, before sighing wistfully. ‘’I wish I could do that.’’

Flurry didn’t really know how to reply to that. After a moment of awkward silence, she shrugged. ‘’Sorry,’’ she apologized sheepishly.

‘’It’s alright.’’ Berry smiled reassuringly. ‘’I’m thirsty though.’’

Flurry’s stomach rumbled, and her throat felt a little parched. ‘’Yeah.’’

‘’Well, let’s go back to the house then,’’ Lily decided.

That was fine with Berry and Flurry both, and they walked back to the house. Inside, the siblings’ dad, a large dark red stallion called Ground Trotter, made them a nice lunch: oatmeal with fresh hay and apples from the trees around the farm. 

As they sat at the dinner table inside the house, eating and talking, Flurry’s mind wandered to the table, of all things. In her parents’ house, the table was large enough for eight people, and it was made of light brown wood, polished finely. 

Flurry remembered that there were symbols of gold carved into the edge of the table. When she had asked about them, Dad had explained that they were simply decorative; little details he liked to add to things he owned. Flurry had gone looking for them afterwards, and found similar-looking symbols inscribed above the hearth. Not anywhere else though, but she hadn’t looked in Dad or Mom’s rooms, or in the basement.

‘’How do you like the food, Flurry?’’

It took her a moment to answer Ground’s question. ‘’It’s very nice, sir.’’

The stallion grinned. ‘’I told you, call me Ground. And that’s good to hear. Makes me proud.’’

Flurry wasn’t sure what she could say to that, so she just nodded.

‘’Oh, Flurry?’’ Lily suddenly asked, looking up from her plate with wide, excited eyes. ‘’Can you show daddy that thing you did?’’

What thing? It took Flurry a moment to understand, and then she nodded. The bubble appeared around her once again.

Ground whistled through his teeth. ‘’Hoo-ey. That looks mighty impressive.’’

‘’It can keep out stuff too!’’

‘’Don’t throw anything.’’ There was something about the speed with which Ground said that that made Flurry think Berry throwing things was a common occurrence.

Berry sulked and huffed, but did not throw anything, thankfully. For that, Flurry was thankful.

She dropped her bubble, continuing with her food. It was some really good food, after all.




|-x-X-x-|




10 Grass Moon 1008

The first thing Flurry did when she woke up was look at the little clock next to her bed. It had become a thing she just did.

10 o’clock.

That wasn’t late or early. Flurry had a bedtime, but she didn’t really have a wake-up time. She just woke up whenever she did. Sometimes Mom or Dad woke her when it was getting late, but otherwise they let her sleep as long as she wanted.

Flurry threw the covers off herself and slid out of the bed. Her stomach demanded food, and Flurry was going to give it just that.

But first, she grabbed Whammy. Couldn’t leave without him, after all. When she had placed him safely upon her back - after she had given him a hug and a nuzzle, of course - Flurry opened the door of her room and took a peek outside.

The curtains were all still closed, including the big one that kept the light out from the stairway. That was strange. Usually, Mom or Dad were up by now, and they always opened the curtains-

‘’SURPRISE!’’

Flurry shrieked as ponies appeared all around her. 

‘’Happy birthday, Flurry!’’ Mom appeared in sight and immediately wrapped her in a hug.

Flurry was so stunned it took her a moment to react, and then she hugged Mom back. ‘’I…’’ She didn’t know what to say.

She had totally forgotten it was her birthday!

Dad swept into view just as Mom let her go. ‘’Happy birthday, sweetheart.’’ And he gave her a hug that was just as strong as Mom’s had been.

Flurry smiled brightly at him and Mom both. ‘’Thanks-’’ She wanted to say more, but was interrupted as Lily, Berry and Magic all dogpiled onto her.

‘’Happy birthday!’’ they all cried into her ear. And before Flurry could respond, she was dragged down to the ground floor, into the living room, where a pile of presents stood next to the hearth.

‘’Open them up!’’ Berry cheered on.

Flurry hadn’t ever seen so many presents stacked together. Not on Hearthswarming Eve, and not on any of her birthdays. She had to crane her neck to see the top of it.

Wow.

Tentatively, Flurry reached out and grabbed the nearest present, a rectangular thing wrapped in bright yellow paper. 

‘’That’s mine,’’ Mom informed her. ‘’Go on, open it.’’

Flurry tore the paper away with her magic and gasped at what she saw.

A pink and white summer jacket, neatly wrapped up and with buttons made of some gleaming material Flurry didn’t recognize. The shade of pink used reminded Flurry of her mother’s coat.

‘’Thanks, mommy,’’ she said as she looked up. ‘’I really like it.’’

‘’That’s great to hear, sweetheart.’’ Mom smiled down at her. ‘’Can you try it on? I think I got your size right, but…’’

‘’Sure thing!’’ Flurry chirped, before putting the jacket on with her magic. It was very soft and light; perfect for summer, in other words.

‘’That’s a really cool jacket,’’ Berry said, and Lily nodded along with her.

‘’My turn!’’ Dad announced as he swept into view, holding a green and blue package with his magic. ‘’Go ahead, sweetheart.’’ And he hoofed his gift to her.

Flurry opened it and gasped again.

‘’A book?’’ Magic asked, tilting her head.

‘’Indeed,’’ Dad replied. ‘’This is the Friendship Journal, one of the few versions that Twilight hornwrote herself. She gave it to me, and I’m giving it to you now, Flurry.’’

Flurry wanted to thank him, but then she remembered something. ‘’But I can’t read,’’ she said dejectedly.

‘’That is the second part of my gift,’’ Dad said. ‘’If you want, I’ll teach you how to read and write.’’

Read and write?

‘’Really?’’ Flurry looked up at Dad , eyes wide.

Dad lowered his head, looking Flurry right in the eyes. ‘’Really.’’

Flurry was overwhelmed with gratitude. ‘’I…’’ Tears sprang to her eyes. All of this, for her? Everywhere she looked, she saw people smiling at her.

‘’Hey.’’ Dad’s voice drew her attention back to him. ‘’Is everything alright?’’

Was it?

Flurry nodded regardless. ‘’Thank you, daddy.’’ She reached forward and gave him a hug, which he warmly returned.

‘’Do me next!’’ Berry suddenly appeared in Flurry’s view.

Still smiling, Flurry allowed herself to be dragged away.

It’s a good day.

In the end, she got nearly two dozen presents. Aside from her adoptive parents and her friends, she also received gifts from her friends’ parents, mainly toys and candy. From Lily and Berry, she had gotten some hoof-made wooden toys, and from Magic she had gotten a book that Dad had taken one look at and then declared brilliant. 

A small package had arrived as well, from Mr Jet Set and his wife, Upper Crust. In it had been a letter from them congratulating her with her birthday, as well as a photobook showing the sights of New Mareland. Flurry had skimmed it, and she had seen a couple of places that looked really nice to visit.

Dinner wasn’t in the house, but in the garden instead. Sandy and Ground had moved a table large enough to seat everyone next to the pond, and Dad had made sure there were chairs for everyone, though most people chose to sit on the grass instead.

From the trees hung lamps, glowing softly, coating the pond and gardens around it in a pleasant light that drove away the darkness.

Flurry herself was sitting on the edge of the pond, together with the other foals of Sunville. They were playing with her new toys while eating the candy Flurry had been given and drinking the sweet lemonade someone had made. Flurry didn’t know who, but she had heard that the lemonade was self-made, and it tasted very nice.

‘’Flurry?’’

She looked away from her toys and saw Dad approaching her. ‘’Hi daddy.’’

Dad’s horn was glowing and next to him floated a letter, held in his magic. ‘’This letter just arrived,’’ he explained.

Flurry tilted her head. ‘’Who’s it from?’’

‘’Your aunt.’’

‘’Auntie Twilight?’’ Flurry asked for clarification. ‘’What did she write?’’

‘’Well, I haven’t read it yet,’’ Dad said. ‘’Do you want me to read it to you?’’

Flurry glanced around. Berry, Lily and Magic were all looking and listening intently, but most of the other foals were still playing and not focusing on them.

She nodded. ‘’Sure.’’  She shifted a little so she was more comfortable.

Dad gently opened the letter and held it before him. ‘’Ahem. Dear Flurry, congratulations on your birthday. I’m sorry I can’t send you any presents or be there with you. I hope that wherever you are, you’re being taken good care of by people who care for you. Unfortunately, I can’t write to you more: I have no idea where you are, and I can’t tell anyone where I am right now, for safety reasons. But never forget that I love you, Flurry. Signed with love, your aunt Twilight.’’ Dad then pulled something else out of the letter. ‘’It’s a picture. Here,’’ he levitated both items over to Flurry.

Who took them with her own magic as gently as she could manage. She couldn’t read what the letter said, of course, but the picture said enough.

Auntie Twilight stood in the centre, smiling at the camera. Uncle Spike stood next to her, smiling and waving. Auntie Twilight’s friends stood around the pair, smiling as well, and they had all signed their signatures onto the back of the pictures, Flurry discovered as much when she flipped the picture around.

‘’I’ll…’’ she looked up to see Dad hesitate. ‘’I’ll see if I can find some way to contact Twilight safely, let her know we’re alright.’’

That would be so cool!

Flurry missed her auntie. Not as much as her parents, but she still missed her. Uncle Spike too, and Uncle Sunburst, and Grandma and Grandpa, and-

Before she knew it, Dad had drawn her into a hug. Only then did Flurry realize she was crying. She buried her face in his coat and took some deep breaths.

‘’It’s okay,’’ Dad said softly, and she felt his magic stroke her back. ‘’I miss them too.’’

Flurry didn’t respond verbally, instead deciding to hug him back. Dad’s coat wasn’t as soft as her birth mother’s, but softer than her daddy’s rough coat or Mom’s smooth but thicker one. Dad also didn’t have her father’s muscles, nor did he have her mother’s soft flesh. It was, all in all, very nice.

The moment after Dad had let her go from his hug, her friends rushed towards her and gave her a hug as well, and just like Dad’s one Flurry eagerly returned it.

‘’Thanks,’’ she whispered.

Magic nuzzled her face. ‘’It’s what friends do.’’

And Flurry found she couldn’t object to that.




|-x-X-x-|




10 Grass Moon 1008

Flurry had made some good friends.

‘’They’re good for each other,’’ Daygleam suddenly said.

Emerald barely suppressed a yelp. When had she gotten here? ‘’They are,’’ she acknowledged a moment too late.

Daygleam turned to face her. ‘’My Magic is a little shy,’’ she admitted. ‘’It’s good to see her opening up a little.’’

‘’Flurry’s pretty shy too,’’ Emerald put in.

‘’Was she always?’’ Daygleam asked.

‘’Not as much, but yes.’’

‘’Huh.’’

A little silence fell between them as they watched the foals. The party was slowly winding down. No one had left yet, but they soon would, once the foals had finally tired themselves out.

‘’Hey…’’ Daygleam smiled shyly, before leaning in closer. ‘’What say we have our own little celebration?’’

What.

Emerald’s breath caught in her throat. ‘’W-what do you mean?’’

Daygleam tilted her head and smiled in a way that could only be seductive. ‘’I think you get what I mean, dear.’’

The way she said ‘’dear’’ made Emerald shiver a little. ‘’S-sure,’’ she agreed, eyes darting to Flurry. ‘’Right now, or…?’’

‘’Hmm… that might be a problem,’’ Daygleam admitted. ‘’Maybe not today then. But why don’t you come by my home tomorrow evening?’’

‘’I would like that very much,’’ Emerald managed to say.

Daygleam smiled, then leaned in even closer and pressed a chaste kiss against Emerald’s cheek. ‘’It’s settled, then.’’

‘’Y-yes.’’ Emerald shakily nodded, before turning her attention back to the foals.

She was definitely going to need something tonight.
> Act 1: Chapter 10: Dates (edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

11 Grass Moon 1008

Emerald approached Daygleam’s house with some manner of uncertainty. Getting away from the house hadn’t been too difficult; Star had agreed to stay with Flurry for the night. He probably suspected her true reason for going out, but he didn’t comment on it, for which Emerald was grateful.

She placed a hoof on the door, then knocked thrice.

After a moment, the door opened and Daygleam’s face appeared, smiling. ‘’Good evening,’’ she greeted.

‘’Good evening,’’ Emerald replied, stepping inside.

She was reminded of what Flurry had said a few days ago, and agreed with it: the inside of Daygleam’s house did look similar to the Crystal Empire, more specifically Crystal City.

‘’Your house looks nice,’’ Emerald commented.

Daygleam inclined her head. ‘’Thank you.’’ She led Emerald into the living room, where two glasses and a bottle of some sort of alcohol stood on the table. ‘’Have a seat, please.’’

Emerald sat down on the couch, watching as Daygleam opened the bottle with her magic - the colour being bright purple, a shade different from her eyes but still very similar. 

‘’Here you go.’’

Emerald accepted the glass with a nod, studying it for a second before taking a swig. The alcohol tingled pleasantly, but that was about it. She couldn’t really pin down what it tasted like though.

‘’It’s nice,’’ Emerald said anyway. ‘’Where did you get it?’’

‘’Tap. He runs the bar here, if the name didn’t give it away,’’ Daygleam replied.

Emerald frowned. ‘’I didn’t see a bar anywhere.’’

‘’He doesn’t show it off or anything,’’ Daygleam explained. ‘’People just go to his house, and he fixes them up with a drink. And a conversation, if they need it.’’

That would probably only work in a place like this, where everyone had grown up together and there was little contact with the outside world. Still, it made sense.

Emerald nodded in understanding. ‘’So where’s his house?’’

‘’Directly north of the square, down that street all the way to the end. Tall, brown building, with yellow windows.’’

‘’Thanks.’’

‘’No problem,’’ Daygleam waved her off. ‘’I’m always happy to help.’’

‘’Yeah.’’

Silence fell between them as they drank. Emerald wasn’t sure how to continue the conversation and it appeared Daygleam wasn’t either, so Emerald let her eyes wander around the room, admiring the work that must’ve gone into painting the walls. Multiple questions about the house and Sunville sprang to her mind, but she didn’t want to turn this date - if one could call it that - into an interrogation, so she kept silent.

Finally, it appeared Daygleam had come up with another topic of conversation. ‘’So, uhh… I actually don’t know how to ask this. This is not appropriate at all, now that I think about it.’’

Emerald blinked. Something like this seemed unchararestic, to her at least. ‘’You can ask whatever questions you want,’’ she assured.

‘’Okay.’’ Daygleam took a deep breath, then leaned forward and looked intently at her. ‘’What happened that you and Star got to escape with Flurry?’’

I wasn’t expecting that.

It took Emerald a moment to collect her thoughts, and in that moment Daygleam got a horrified look on her face. ‘’I’m so, so sorry,’’ she apologized quickly, ‘’I shouldn’t have asked, that’s private.’’

‘’It’s alright,’’ Emerald said. ‘’I’ll tell you.’’ She made sure she had all the facts straight, then began. ‘’I was one of Princess Cadence’s hoofmaidens. She picked me to accompany Star and Flurry.’’

There was little more to it.

Daygleam blinked. ‘’That’s it?’’ She sounded surprised. ‘’I was expecting something a little more thrilling.’’

‘’Well,’’ Emerald laughed, ‘’the journey was more than a little thrilling. Over the course of three hours Star got the three of us from Crystal City to Turhamn with some teleports, we stayed with a friend of his there for around a week, then we got a ship down to New Mareland. Survived a kidnapping attempt and a pirate attack, before Star teleported us from the ship to here.’’

Daygleam stared at her for a moment, mouth slightly agape. ‘’Wow.’’

Despite herself Emerald couldn’t help but smirk. ‘’Satisfied?’’

Before she knew it, Daygleam had teleported in front of her - since when could she-

Those eyes. Emerald was completely entranced.

‘’I’m going to kiss you now,’’ Daygleam said, but she sounded very faint, as if she was shouting from very far away.

Emerald barely managed a nod, and then Daygleam’s muzzle was against hers as they fell back on the couch, and Emerald’s world became bliss.

Emerald opened her mouth and Daygleam seized the opportunity, her tongue darting into Emerald’s mouth and wrangling with her own.

Emerald didn’t know how long they were kissing, but when their muzzles finally parted, both she and Daygleam were left breathless.

‘’How’s that for a first kiss?’’ Daygleam quipped.

‘’B-beautiful,’’ Emerald breathed. ‘’That was… oh Amore.’’ She was shivering, and her nethers were positively soaked.

‘’Let’s do it again, hmm?’’

That was the best suggestion Emerald had ever heard.




|-x-X-x-|




12 Grass Moon 1008

Star wasn’t in the least surprised when he found that Emerald hadn’t returned last night. Guessing what had happened wasn’t very hard, with how distracted Emerald had been yesterday. 

Guess I’m making breakfast.

Star entered the kitchen and looked around. What to make, what to make. So many choices.

He could make pancakes, or sandwiches, or any other meal out of hundreds that popped up in his mind. In the end, he settled on pancakes, just for Flurry and him. If Emerald hadn’t gotten back last night, she wasn’t going to turn up at breakfast either.

‘’Flurry!’’ he called out as he began to work on the pancakes. ‘’Breakfast in ten minutes!’’

After ten seconds, he heard a faint ‘’Okay daddy!’’, which was good enough for him.

Star hadn’t made food in some time, and as such, had to keep an eye on the pancakes to make sure he didn’t fuck anything up. That would not be a good start to the day.

By the time he was putting the first pancakes on the plates, he heard Flurry hopping down the stairs. For some reason hopping was how she liked to get down the stairs; Star didn’t question it, mainly because the sight was adorable.

‘’Good morning daddy!’’ Flurry chirped.

‘’Good morning sweetheart,’’ he replied. Using magic to lift the three plates, he then bowed his head and gave Flurry a kiss on her forehead. ‘’Did you sleep well?’’

Flurry nodded, following behind him to the table and sitting down in the chair next to him. ‘’Daddy, where’s mommy?’’ she asked as Star placed the plates on the table.

‘’She hasn’t gotten back from Miss Daygleam’s house yet,’’ Star replied. ‘’Don’t worry, she’ll be back today, I’m sure. Now dig in.’’

‘’Okay,’’ Flurry said after a moment, and proceeded to eat. 

He had made some very good pancakes. Evidently, he hadn’t lost his cooking skills yet. That was good.

‘’Do you like them?’’ Star asked Flurry.

‘’Yeah,’’ the foal said between bites. ‘’They taste a little different from mommy’s, but that’s alright. I like it.’’

Star smiled. ‘’That’s good to hear.’’ He took another bite, before asking his next question. ‘’So, do you want to get started on reading and writing lessons today?’’

‘’Already?’’

‘’We don’t have to,’’ Star demurred, ‘’but it’s best to start early, no?’’ 

‘’I guess,’’ Flurry agreed after a moment. She didn’t really sound convinced. ‘’Daddy, when is mommy gonna be back?’’

Star sighed, before reaching out and putting his leg around Flurry in a half-hug. ‘’Sometime today,’’ he replied. ‘’If she’s not back after lunch we’ll go to Daygleam’s house, alright?’’

Flurry leaned into the hug. ‘’Okay,’’ she muttered. ‘’I guess she must’ve had a nice sleepover then.’’

Sleepover!

Star barely managed to stifle his chuckle. ‘’Yes, I imagine so,’’ he agreed.

After breakfast, Star moved the plates into the kitchen, then looked down at Flurry. ‘’Where do you want to go read?’’

‘’Can we read in bed?’’ Flurry asked in reply. ‘’It’s so soft…’’

‘’Sure thing,’’ Star agreed easily. ‘’Do you want to read on my bed or yours?’’

‘’Yours. It’s bigger!’’

‘’Well I am a big pony,’’ Star joked, chuckling a little. ‘’Come on then.’’

Once settled in his room, Star pulled the materials he had prepared for this from his desk with his magic. He’d made a chart with all the letters of the alphabet on it, with a simple word underneath each letter that started with the letter above it.

‘’See this?’’ he asked, glancing at Flurry, lying next to him on the bed with Whammy between her hooves.

‘’Yeah.’’

‘’These are letters,’’ Star began his explanation. ‘’Letters form words. There are twenty-six letters, which we call the alphabet. It starts with A and ends with Z.’’

This was simple, of course, and Star was pretty sure Flurry thought so too, if the look on her face was any indication.

‘’So, just to try, can you point out the letters in your name?’’

A decent beginning challenge, at least in Star’s opinion. And Flurry was more likely to try and find the answer because it was connected to her.

Flurry’s look turned thoughtful, as she looked at the chart. ‘’It starts with… this one.’’ She pointed her hoof at the F.

‘’Yes, that’s right! Very good!’’ Star complimented her. ‘’What comes after the F?’’

‘’Uhh…’’ Flurry looked up and down the chart, but didn’t answer for the longest time. Star waited patiently as the minutes ticked by, until Flurry looked away from the chart, up at him and admitted, ‘’I can’t find it, daddy. I’m sorry.’’

‘’You don’t have to be sorry,’’ Star said immediately. ‘’Normally you would be learning this two years from now. It’s not that strange that you’re not that good at it.’’

‘’I did manage to get the first letter though,’’ Flurry pointed out, a small smile coming to her face.

‘’That’s true,’’ Star acknowledged with a tip of his head. ‘’Shall I show you the other letters in your name?’’

Flurry was silent for a few moments. ‘’I want to know,’’ she said eventually, ‘’but I also want to figure out myself.’’

Star blinked. ‘’That’s very admirable, Flurry. But don’t be afraid to ask me if you can’t figure something out, alright?’’

‘’Okay, daddy,’’ Flurry promised, before tilting her head. ‘’What’s admirable mean?’’

Another thing to explain to her. It’s like I’m teaching all over again.

‘’It means something about someone you think should be respected. In this case, your ability to…’’ he searched for a word Flurry would understand, ‘’your ability to keep yourself from the easy way out.’’

Flurry blushed slightly. ‘’Thanks, daddy,’’ she muttered.

‘’Well, let’s just start with the alphabet, then,’’ Star suggested after a moment of silence, where he was smiling pridefully at Flurry. ‘’This is the A,’’ he pointed at the A. ‘’A of admirable, apple, and so forth.’’

And on this went.




|-x-X-x-|




15 Grass Moon 1008

The location of Star’s date had been an odd one. Skystreak  had told him to expect a casual setting, true, but Star had still expected an actual restaurant, not a pub in Manebourne’s small cloud district.

He was waiting at the entrance to the cloud district, a bouquet of flowers he’d picked himself from his gardens held in his magic.

People looked at him, probably wondering what he was doing here. To prevent anyone from recognizing him, Star had cast a spell on himself that made other people’s memory of seeing him foggy and unusable. A little amoral, but he didn’t really care.

‘’Hello!’’

Star looked up as his date, Skystreak, landed. The pegasus swept her long, two-toned green mane out of her face as she folded her wings to her side.

‘’Good evening,’’ he greeted courteously, before holding out the flowers. ‘’For you, my lady.’’

‘’Why thank you,’’ Skystreak  said, taking the flowers and admiring them. ‘’They are very beautiful.’’

Star tipped his head. ‘’I try my best. Shall we?’’ And he offered his hoof to her.

Skystreak  looked at it for a moment, before raising an eyebrow. ‘’Do you realize where we are going?’’

‘’Yes,’’ Star replied without missing a beat.

After a long moment, Skystreak  took the offered hoof. Star took the flowers in his magic again, and together they entered the cloud district.

They weren’t the only couple around, far from it, but as far as he could see he was the only unicorn around. How interesting.

‘’So what is this pub we’re going to like?’’ Star asked.

‘’It’s an old thing,’’ Skystreak  replied, ‘’has that rustic charm old buildings have, if you get what I’m saying?’’ When Star nodded, she continued, ‘’Anyway, I go to this place a lot on the weekends, with a couple of friends.’’

‘’Sounds nice,’’ Star offered. ‘’I hate to sound like an interrogator,’’ he added a moment later, ‘’but, and I don’t mean to offend, how did you earn your position at such an age?’’

‘’Don’t think I deserve it?’’

The venom in that reply told Star enough. ‘’From what I have observed you more than deserve it,’’ he placated. ‘’I was merely curious, m’lady.’’

‘’Don’t call me that,’’ Skystreak  scolded, ‘’it makes me feel old. I’m twenty-four, not forty-four.’’

I am almost forty-four, Star thought wryly. And here I am, on a date with a twenty-four year old.

‘’As you wish,’’ he agreed, before looking around. ‘’Is it far yet?’’

‘’Nope!” Skystreak pointed down the street at a lovely old building. Star wasn’t intimately familiar with cloud-architecture, but even he could see the signs of age in the clouds that formed the thing. Lights shone out of the windows, and a sign hung above the door.

‘’The Merry Cloud,’’ Star read aloud. ‘’What an inventive name.’’

Skystream giggled, quite a pleasant sound admittedly. ‘’Well, the name’s not what draws people,’’ she said mysteriously.

Star turned his head to her and raised an eyebrow. ‘’Then what is?’’

‘’You’ll see.’’

I guess I will.

Courteously, Star held the door open for Skystreak, before stepping inside himself. 

The inside smelled just like any other pub Star had ever visited, and he’d visited a fair few.




|-x-X-x-|




15 Grass Moon 1008

‘’Do you think daddy’s having fun on his dinner?’’

Well not yet.

Emerald didn’t say that, obviously. Instead she said, ‘’I think he is, yes.’’

Flurry sighed, and pouted a little. ‘’I’m sad we couldn’t go with him.’’

Emerald reached over the table with her hoof and patted Flurry on the head. ‘’We’ll all go out for dinner another time, alright?’’

‘’Yay!’’ Flurry cheered, her sadness vanishing like snow in the sun. ‘’I can’t wait!’’

‘’Neither can I,’’ Emerald said with a smile, drawing her hoof back to her side again. ‘’But first this dinner.’’

Some very fine baked potatoes with a hayburger for both of them. And after that was done, a far more daunting task than eating food was to be done.

‘’Excited for the sleepover?’’

‘’Of course!’’ Flurry replied as if that was obvious. ‘’I can’t wait! It’ll be so much fun!’’

Good, because it’s probably going to happen a lot more in the future.

Emerald smiled. ‘’Did you pack everything?’’

Flurry nodded. ‘’I got Whammy, my pillow, my toothbrush and the Friendship Journal.’’

‘’That’s all you’ll need.’’ But Emerald made sure to check Flurry’s saddlebags again, just in case.

After they had finished eating and Emerald had checked if they had everything, they left the mansion for Daygleam’s house. Emerald carried a lantern in her mouth so they had some light, but Flurry had a small light at the tip of her horn as well, which added some extra illumination that Emerald was grateful for.

Maybe they would have to make some lanterns for the road between the mansion and Sunville proper, to make sure the path was lit. Especially with how early nightfall was nowadays, that was probably a good idea. Star probably knew some way to make magical lights that went on and off out of themselves.

But that could wait. First, Emerald had to survive the evening intact.

They arrived at Daygleam’s house without any sort of distraction. Emerald knocked on the door, which opened a moment later.

‘’You’re here!’’ Daygleam greeted them. ‘’Come in, come in!’’

‘’Good evening,’’ Emerald replied, stepping into the house and giving Daygleam a hug that was a little tighter and lasted a little longer than socially acceptable.

‘’Hello honey,’’ Daygleam sultrily whispered into her ear, sending shivers down her spine, before breaking the hug and looking down at Flurry.

‘’Hi Miss Daygleam,’’ Flurry chirped.

‘’Good evening, Flurry! Shall I take those saddlebags from you?’’

‘’Sure,’’ Flurry replied, before hoofing her saddlebags to Daygleam with her magic, who took it with her own magic.

The three of them walked into the living room. Magic was laying in front of the burning heart, a couple of toys spread around her. ‘’Hi Flurry! Hi Emerald!’’

‘’Hi Magic!’’ Flurry jumped forward and rubbed noses with Magic. 

So adorable.

‘’Good evening, Magic,’’ Emerald greeted. ‘’How are you?’’

‘’I’m doing great!’’ Magic answered excitedly. ‘’How about you?’’

‘’I’m doing great as well,’’ Emerald replied as she sat down on the couch, but Magic had more or less tuned her out already to talk with Flurry instead. Emerald didn’t mind, because at that moment Daygleam stepped into the room, four glasses of lemonade held in her magic. ‘’Drinks!’’ she called out.

Flurry and Magic both pounced on the table as soon as Daygleam had placed the drinks down. Meanwhile, Daygleam sat down next to Emerald.

So, Emerald turned to face her. ‘’We tell them today?’’ she whisper-asked, just to be sure.

Daygleam nodded almost imperceptibly. ‘’Yes,’’ she whispered back. ‘’Wanna do it?’’

‘’Now?’’

Daygleam glanced away, and Emerald followed her eyes to see they were pointed at the foals. They weren’t paying any attention to the two of them, just playing with the toys Daygleam had hoof-made. Or horn-made. Maybe both.

Emerald looked back at Daygleam. ‘’Okay.’’

Daygleam reached out with her hoof and squeezed Emerald’s, before turning back to the foals and clearing her throat? ‘’Girls?’’

‘’Yes mommy?’’

‘’Yes Miss Daygleam?’’

‘’Emerald and I want to tell you something.’’

That caught their attention. Both of them scrambled over to the front of the couch, looking up expectantly.

What if they don’t like it? What if Flurry doesn’t want me to be with Daygleam? What if she thinks I’m going to abandon her? What if-

‘’Emerald and I,’’ Daygleam’s smooth, soft voice cut through Emerald’s increasingly panicked thoughts, ‘’have been meeting each other a lot over the past few days. We’ve found out we like each other quite a lot.’’ She wrapped her hoof around Emerald’s. ‘’So, we’ve decided to try out dating with each other.’’

Silence.

Flurry blinked. ‘’Dating?’’

‘’Yes,’’ Emerald confirmed, looking Flurry straight in the eye. She saw confusion.

‘’Mommy,’’ Flurry asked, ‘’what does dating mean?’’

Before either Emerald or Daygleam could answer that question, Magic said, ‘’It means they kiss and stuff.’’

Flurry thought about this for a second, before nodding to Magic. ‘’Thanks, Magic.’’ Turning back to Emerald, she continued, ‘’I’m happy for you, mommy.’’

Emerald smiled so widely, her face was probably going to split in half. ‘’I’m glad to hear that, Flurry.’’ After a moment, she added, ‘’Just so you know, I’m going to spend a lot of time here, and Daygleam is probably going to spend time in our home too.’’

‘’Okay, can Magic come over?’’

‘’Of course she can,’’ Daygleam answered, ‘’just like you can always come over, with Emerald or not, Flurry.’’

‘’Really? Thanks, Miss Daygleam!’’

‘’You can just call me Daygleam, sweetie,’’ Daygleam said with a smile just as wide as Emerald’s probably was.

‘’And you can call me Emerald, Magic,’’ Emerald added for good measure.

‘’Okay.’’ Magic didn’t look nearly as excited as Flurry about their little announcement. A few seconds later, she explained why.

Magic put her hooves on Emerald’s legs and looked up, a serious look on her face. ‘’Promise me you won’t abandon mommy like my daddy did.’’

Daygleam made a strangled noise that probably meant something. Emerald just blinked. What was she supposed to say to that? She didn’t even know what had happened to Daygleam’s husband! She’d been meaning to ask, but, well…

She couldn’t honestly promise it. But she couldn’t say that without upsetting Magic.

‘’Sweetheart, Emerald can’t promise such a thing.’’

Emerald wasn’t sure if that was the right thing to say, but nonetheless she squeezed Daygleam’s hoof in acknowledgement of the save.

‘’Why not?’’ Magic asked.

‘’Because we might not want to date each other anymore in a month, or a year, or ten years,’’ Daygleam patiently explained. 

‘’But- but-!’’

‘’Hey,’’ Flurry softly cut in, placing a wing on Magic’s back. ‘’I’ll always be your friend, Magic. If our mommies are dating or if they aren’t.’’

Magic stared at Flurry for a moment, before throwing herself forward and hugging the other filly. After a second, a surprised Flurry hugged her back, while the two adults watched in content silence.

Suddenly, Daygleam placed her head against Emerald’s neck, pushing up under her head. Emerald stiffened.

‘’Thanks,’’ Daygleam whispered.

After a moment, Emerald replied, ‘’No problem.’’
> Act 1: Chapter 11: Celebrations (edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

7 Flower Moon 1008

Flurry was laying under one of the trees, enjoying the shady reprieve from the sun. A book was in front of her, but Flurry wasn’t reading it right now, and so it was closed.

Flurry liked reading. It was fun and it helped her understand the world. She could definitely understand why auntie Twilight liked reading so much.

Maybe, she thought, I like it because it reminds me of auntie?

When Flurry had asked Dad about auntie Twilight, he had said that she was likely fighting against Nightmare Moon and that Flurry wouldn’t be able to see her. Dad couldn’t say when Flurry would see her aunt again.

Auntie, I hope you’re proud of me. I can read!

Not very fast, true, but she was getting better every day with Dad and Mom’s aid. When Dad had first suggested that she’d be taught to read, Flurry had immediately jumped at the chance, especially when it became clear she could manage it.

Flurry saw something move out of the house. Her father looked at her and waved his hoof, before gesturing that Flurry should come to him. Curious, Flurry grabbed Whammy and her book, then spread her wings and flew over to him.

‘’Hi daddy,’’ she chirped as she landed in front of him.

‘’Hello sweetheart,’’ her father replied with a smile. ‘’Do you know what day it is the day after tomorrow?’’

‘’No?’’

‘’Mother’s day.’’

Immediately, an image of mommy Cadence appeared in Flurry’s mind. Last year, her daddy and her had baked a cake and presented it to mommy in the morning. Mommy Cadence had loved it.

‘’Flurry?’’ She looked up to see Dad was watching her with a concerned look on his face. ‘’Are you alright?’’

Sniffing, Flurry nodded. ‘’It’s fine… I was just thinking back to what we did last year.’’

Dad reached out and put his foreleg around Flurry, pulling her close for a hug. Flurry hugged him back, enjoying the softness of his coat and the safe feeling she got from being in his embrace.

‘’Do you want to get Mom something for mother’s day?’’ Dad asked after a minute of comfortable silence, looking down at her with a soft smile.

Flurry nodded. ‘’Sure.’’

‘’Excellent!’’ Dad declared. ‘’I have an idea, but I’m going to need the help of you and maybe your friends.’’

‘’Okay, daddy. What do we have to do?’’ Flurry asked him.

‘’Find the prettiest flowers you can - but don’t steal from other people’s gardens!’’ Dad waved a hoof half-threateningly. ‘’Then weave them into a flower crown, or flower crowns. And then you and I can go into the town and bake a cake or something similar tomorrow. How does that sound?’’

‘’It sounds great, daddy! Let’s do it!’’ Flurry cheered.

Dad pressed a kiss to her forehead, then let her go. ‘’Go on then. Remember, pretty flowers. I think white and yellow match well with Mom’s mane, and maybe some blue and yellow for you?’’

Flurry imagined it in her mind. Since when can daddy match colours?

‘’Daddy, can you take Whammy and my book?’’ When Dad nodded, Flurry gave him both items. ‘’Bye daddy! See you at dinner!’’ Flurry spread her wings and flew away from Dad into the gardens.

‘’Bye Flurry!’’ she heard Dad say behind her. ‘’Good luck!’’

Flurry flew to the edge of the gardens, landing next to the fence. She kept her wings open to relieve some of the heat. How people lived through temperatures like this every year, Flurry didn’t know. It was warmer in spring here than it was during the summers in the Crystal Empire!

Time to find some flowers!

Flurry kept the fence on her left and followed it, looking around for any flowers that looked nice. By the time she reached the corner of the fence, she had gathered eleven flowers, three blue ones and eight yellow ones. They weren’t the flowers of the Crystal Empire, but they were pretty nonetheless.

Flurry peered down the fence. It ran all the way down to the end of the grass, where it gave away to a cliff and then the beach. She could go on and search for some more flowers, but it was getting late, and she was feeling thirsty.

I should go back to the house. Don’t want Dad to worry.

Flurry held the flowers to her chest as she flew back to the house, quickly making her way up to her room once she got there. She spread the flowers out on her desk, sorting them by their colour. When that was done, she quickly got a glass of water from the kitchen.

Only to almost bump into her mother as she was walking out of the kitchen. ‘’Hi Flurry,’’ Mom greeted her.

‘’Hi mommy,’’ Flurry replied. ‘’What are we having for dinner?’’

‘’I was thinking mashed potatoes with some carrots,’’ Mom replied. ‘’Why, are you hungry?’’

Flurry shook her head. ‘’Just a little thirsty.’’ She took a sip from her glass, enjoying the cold water running through her mouth and down into her body.

‘’Okay.’’ Mom smiled at her. ‘’I’ll go start on dinner now.’’

‘’’Kay,’’ Flurry said. ‘’Bye mommy!’’ And she trotted past Mom.

‘’I’ll call you when dinner is ready!’’ Mom called after her.

‘’’Kay!’’

Once she was back in her room, Flurry sat down at her desk and stared at the flowers. What am I supposed to do now?

Just as she was about to get up from her chair, there was a knock at her door. She turned her head to see Dad standing in the doorway. ‘’Found the flowers?’’ he asked quietly.

Flurry nodded. ‘’Now what?’’

Dad entered the room, closing the door behind him with his magic. ‘’Let’s see…’’ He peeked over her shoulder. ‘’Beautiful flowers, sweetheart,’’ he said after a moment. ‘’I’ve gathered a few myself.’’ Seven flowers, green, yellow and blue, dropped onto her desk.

‘’What do we do with them?’’ Flurry asked him.

‘’We weave them into crowns,’’ Dad replied. ‘’Want to know why?’’

Flurry had been curious about that. ‘’Sure!’’

‘’It’s a tradition in the Crystal Empire,’’ her father explained. ‘’Flower crowns are worn during important celebrations. It used to be a sign of wealth to be able to get live flowers that far north, especially in winter. Nowadays that’s different, but the tradition persists.’’

I wish I knew about this earlier, Flurry mourned. It’s my home, I should know about it.

‘’Come,’’ Dad said, oblivious to her inner musings, ‘’let’s see how much of a crown we can make. We need at least three.’’

Flurry nodded, and together they started to work on it. By the time Mom called for dinner, they had made one flower crown already and were well on their way with their second.

‘’We’ll need more flowers,’’ Dad mused softly as they made their way downstairs. ‘’No matter, we can get them tomorrow.’’

‘’Sure, daddy.’’ Flurry brushed up against his leg. Dad stopped, turned his head to look at her, then nuzzled her back.

Mom was waiting for them when they finally got into the living room. ‘’What were you two doing together?’’ she asked.

Dad immediately replied, ‘’Flurry and I were just talking about the day.’’

Even Flurry could see that Mom didn’t fully believe Dad, but she nodded anyway. ‘’Okay. And how was your day, then?’’ The last part was addressed to her.

As Flurry began to talk about her day, she saw her father give her a wink out of the corner of his eye. In return, she smiled brightly at him.




|-x-X-x-|




8 Flower Moon 1008

Emerald didn’t miss that Star and Flurry left for Sunville together early in the morning. What they were going to do, she had no idea of. Star’s excuse of simply visiting the town held little worth when it wasn’t even noon yet.

Oh well. If it was something for her, then Emerald would allow herself to be surprised. She had something to occupy herself with anyway.

The library Star kept was impressive, both in size and in variety. Emerald had expected only books about magic, but she had found a number of other topics as well, such as politics, geography, history, science, and even mundane things like cooking and basic economics.

She had picked out a few that had caught her eye, and with Star’s blessing - ‘’Everything in the library, you are free to take with you,’’ - she was now sitting with them on the couch. The sun was falling through the windows and the hearth was crackling softly but merrily.

Emerald opened the first book. The cover read ‘’Magic for the uninitiated’’. Why Star would keep a book like that in his home, when he was one of the most knowledgeable mages in the world, Emerald didn’t know. But she was eager to find out more about magic.

Half an hour in, and Emerald was starting to understand why magical studies took so long to complete. Her mind was filled with terms she barely understood, and this was a book for those that knew nothing about magic! She put the book away and slipped off the couch.

Let’s get some air. The windows could not be opened safely without destroying them, which Emerald had no wish to do, and so she walked to the outside of the mansion.

The pond seemed like a great idea. Star had made a small stone bench, partially overgrown with vines, next to it, built against the bark of a large oak tree. It was out of the sun for now, but still comfortably warm even in the shade.

The water sparkled in the sunlight, and the wind blew in her face softly, caressing her cheeks. Emerald swept her mane behind her head again, and considered.

All things considered, she was settling into New Mareland rather well, she supposed. It was certainly different from the Crystal Empire in many ways, but Sunville reminded her of Fairhall. That too had been a small, close-knit village, where everyone knew each other.

Emerald missed it, to be sure. But she was determined to give Flurry the same loved childhood she had enjoyed herself, no matter if the location was different.

One thing she wasn’t sure she liked was the warmth. Flower Moon in New Mareland was warmer than summer in the Crystal Empire, and Emerald wasn’t used to it yet. Perhaps she would grow used to it, in time, but that time had yet to come.

Emerald rose from the bench. The fresh air was nice, but she wanted to do more than sit around all day. Occupying herself was hard at times, but she managed.

Perhaps I should start a little garden. Star has enough space, he won’t mind if I take a little patch for myself.

Emerald had noted a distressing lack of flowers inside the house when they had first arrived, and in the past months she had done her best to remedy that. She was happy with what she had done now, but there was always more that could be done.

But before she worked on that, she was going to take a walk on the beach. Star had made a path down the cliff and set up a tent which contained a set of beach chairs, towels, and anything else one could need at the beach.

The sea wasn’t like the river Emerald had played in with her friends in the summer. Instead of gravel and rocks, soft white sand was under her hooves. Emerald didn’t know if she liked it, but Flurry certainly did.

Emerald considered getting one of the beach chairs out, but decided against it. Simply walking would be enough to clear her mind, as long as she took care to not stray too far from the mansion.




|-x-X-x-|




8 Flower Moon 1008

‘’So daddy, what’s the plan?’’

Flurry had had the good sense to wait with that question until they were far away from the mansion. Star appreciated that about the filly.

‘’Well,’’ Star said, ‘’it’s simple: we go to the bakery and ask if we can borrow one of their ovens this afternoon. If we can’t, we shall have to order one instead. And in any case, we’ll have to gather some more flowers for the final crown.’’

Flurry nodded seriously. ‘’Okay, daddy. I can do that.’’

‘’I know you can, sweetheart.’’ Star gave her a kind smile as they continued walking, Flurry beaming at his words.

They entered the village, idly greeting back to those ponies that were outside and greeted them with waves and hello’s.

The bakery was, in Star’s opinion, quite a beautiful building. No two houses were alike in Sunville, for it’s residents had had quite enough normalcy in their lives. Star could sympathize: their story had been a tragic tale.

Flashback

There were some fifty ponies in total, gathered around the trees of the market square. Most of them were earth ponies, the rest were pegasi and a few were unicorns.

Star was not afraid. He had not been raised spoiled, but he had been raised amongst the Canterlotian elite, and the looks of curiosity were far better than the thinly veiled mistrust or dislike so many of his supposed peers had worn. 

A glance behind him showed Emerald and Flurry approaching the group of foals, who were watched over by a unicorn mare. If it was needed, he could teleport to them, grab them both and teleport to the mansion in seconds. The shock and confusion, plus the distance, should give them a few minutes to flee. But surely that wouldn’t be necessary.

‘’Good evening,’’ Star greeted the assembled villagers.

A chorus of careful greetings came back to him. They’re fearful, cautious. They know who I am and who Flurry is.

Star introduced himself anyway. ‘’I am Star Tower Spellweaver, formerly the Royal Magician of Canterlot.’’ With that done, he waited.

It was Sandy that spoke first. ‘’Star has a request for us.’’

He inclined his head at her, before clearing his throat. ‘’As you might have guessed, I live in the mansion down at the coast.’’ He glanced behind him, and saw Flurry and Emerald hugging each other.

‘’How did you get here?’’ The question came from a bulky pegasi stallion, watching him with more displeasure than curiosity. Star could not fault him for that.

‘’I escaped with Emerald and Flurry from Crystal City as it was being sieged, on command of Princess Cadence. We made our way to a friend of mine in Turhamn, in Vedina, and after staying there for a short while we took a ship to New Mareland. Before it docked, I teleported us off it to the mansion.’’

He saw a few faces, mainly the unicorns’, light up at the mention of teleportation. I am powerful, yes, thank you for noticing.

‘’And your request is?’’ the same stallion asked after a moment.

Star swallowed. Here goes nothing.

‘’For the three of us to stay here in secrecy.’’

Silence greeted that statement. Star saw the hesitance, the caution, but there was something else. Sympathy? Star would take it.

‘’And what of the trucks in front of your house yesterday?’’ a mare suddenly asked. ‘’What did they mean?’’

‘’The president paid me a visit,’’ Star replied casually. ‘’He offered me a job and ratified the adoption papers for Flurry that Cadence had given to me.’’

‘’The president,’’ the bulky stallion echoed, doubt lining his voice.

But doubt was something Star had anticipated. ‘’I can show you his job offer, if you’d like me to,’’ he offered. ‘’Though I’m afraid I don’t have it with me.’’

The stallion shot a look at an orange unicorn, then nodded. ‘’We’ll do that later,’’ he said. ‘’I think we should vote on if Star’s request will be granted.’’

‘’Aye,’’ rippled through the crowd.

‘’Very well.’’ The stallion looked around the group. ‘’All in favour?’’

Star had expected a close vote.

The almost deafening chorus of aye’s had not been his expectation. He blinked rapidly. It seems there is a story here.

‘’Welcome to Sunville,’’ the stallion said, and now he was smiling. ‘’My name is Featherbulk. I apologize if I sounded rude.’’

‘’No harm done,’’ Star soothed, now smiling as well. ‘’Though before I go tell my daughter the good news… I’d like to know why the vote was so overwhelmingly in my favour.’’

The silence that greeted him made him wonder if he had just massively fucked this up. It was Featherbulk that broke the uneasy silence after a long moment or ten.

‘’We’re all orphans.’’

Star was definitely interested in this story.

‘’Oh?’’ he asked.

‘’Yes,’’ Sandy said. ‘’It’s a long story. Basically, we all grew up together in the same orphanage, in Manebourne. Nobody wanted us, for reasons we’ve never figured out. Our orphanage did not have the money to support us all, and so when the oldest of us reached adulthood, they took us - with permission of the orphanage, mind you - and we made our own little village here.’’

That was… not what Star had been expecting, and he was not sure how to react to it. It did explain why they had not balked at secrecy, and why there was no one older than thirty-five present.

‘’I am impressed,’’ Star said, and now he understood how the town had suddenly sprung up when he visited here again, two years after the mansion had first been constructed. ‘’I’ll want a longer story in time, but for now I think it’s best if I go to my daughter.’’

Flashback end

‘’Daddy, we’re here!’’

Star shook himself, and looked up to see the yellow and green building that was the bakery. A trail of smoke blew out of it’s chimney even at this early hour. And unlike the busy bakeries of Canterlot, there was no line in front of this one.

They stepped inside, a bell attached to the door announcing their arrival.

‘’Good morning!’’ a shapely pegasus mare called out. Her mane was white and yellow and her coat was a pale shade of pink. ‘’What can I do for you two?’’

‘’Good morning,’’ Star replied. ‘’Flurry and I were wondering if we might use one of your ovens and ingredients to bake a cake for tomorrow.’’

‘’Of course you can!’’ the mare replied excitedly. ‘’Oh, but I didn’t even introduce myself! I’m Strawberry Spike, but you can just call me Berry. Is it going to be a cake for your wife?’’

Wife?

‘’Emerald is not my wife,’’ Star explained. ‘’She is- was a hoofmaiden of Princess Cadence and the Princess sent her with me to care for Flurry.’’

‘’Oh!’’ Strawberry - Berry - gasped. ‘’I’m sorry for assuming!’’

‘’It’s alright,’’ Star dismissed. ‘’It was a logical conclusion.’’ And he could never fault those.

‘’Okay,’’ Strawberry said, sounding eager to move on to another topic. ‘’You wanted to bake a cake?’’

‘’Yes,’’ Flurry replied before Star could. She slipped past Star and looked up at Strawberry, eyes wide. ‘’Can you please help us?’’

It took Strawberry all of two seconds to capitulate to Flurry’s cuteness, and the mare led the filly around the room, Star following behind the two of them with an indulgent smirk on his face.

Brilliant.




|-x-X-x-|




9 Flower Moon 1008

‘’Good morning, mommy!’’

Groggily, Emerald opened her eyes. As she yawned and sat up in bed, she saw Flurry was standing next to the bed stand. Now what could the filly want at this hour?

‘’Good morning, Flurry,’’ she replied, before looking at the clock.

9:00. Huh.

‘’Why are you up so early?’’ Emerald wondered aloud. ‘’Is something wrong? Are you sick?’’ It hadn’t happened yet, but it could, and Emerald had worried that if it happened, she wouldn’t be able to help and everything would be terr-

Flurry shook her head. ‘’I’m not sick, mommy. I’ve got a surprise for you. Come on!’’

Emerald let out a sigh of relief, before sliding out of the bed. She grabbed her hairbrush from her bed stand and ran it through her mane and tail. She would have to do it properly later, but that could wait for now.

‘’Where’s the surprise?’’

‘’In the living room, mommy.’’

‘’Why there?’’ Emerald wanted to ask, but didn’t. Flurry probably wouldn’t tell anyway.

So instead, she just followed after her adopted daughter, walking down the stairs to the living room.

Emerald looked around, and proceeded to see nothing out of the ordinary. Everything looked just like she had left it last night, before going to bed. 

She glanced down at Flurry. ‘’Are we waiting on something, sweetheart?’’

Flurry glanced at a corner in the room, before looking back at her and nodding. ‘’Just a few more seconds, mommy.’’

One, two, thre-

‘’SURPRISE!’’

Emerald yelped in fright at the sudden sound, coming both from Flurry and from the corner. Her eyes darted towards it to see Star suddenly standing there, smirking at her. She looked back at Flurry, and-

That’s a cake.

‘’It’s for you!’’ Flurry said, gesturing at the cake with her wing. ‘’Happy Mother’s Day, mommy!’’

Mother’s day?

The cake looked really good. Emerald suddenly smelled it; had Star masked its smell with a spell? She smelled strawberry, and pear and apple too. 

The strawberries were laying on the frosting of the cake, sticking out among the green frosting. The pear and apple she smelt had to be inside the cake then. 

Emerald stared at the cake, then looked at Flurry and Star’s smiling faces. ‘’I…’’

‘’Do you like it, mommy?” Flurry asked. ‘’Daddy and I worked really hard on it.’’

‘’Sure did,’’ Star chimed in.

‘’Thank you,’’ Emerald breathed. She felt a tear run down her cheek.

‘’Mommy, don’t cry.’’ Before Emerald could reply to that, Flurry had wrapped around her leg, hugging her tightly. ‘’Did we make a mistake?’’

‘’No,’’ she choked out. ‘’I-’’

She was a mother.

‘’It’s okay, mommy.’’ Flurry’s voice was muffled because her mouth was pressed into Emerald’s leg, but she could still hear the understanding in it. ‘’I love you.’’

‘’I love you too, Flurry.’’ Emerald used her other leg to hug Flurry back. ‘’Thank you.’’

She pressed a kiss to Flurry’s forehead, then lifted her leg up and used it to wipe her tears away.

Star approached them, three plates with neatly-cut slices on them floating along in his magic. ‘’Here you go.’’

‘’T-thanks.’’ Emerald grabbed one of the plates and sat down on the couch, before taking a bite from the cake.

It tasted heavenly. The taste of still-warm pears and apples entered her mouth and lingered in it even after she swallowed the piece.

‘’This is delicious,’’ she remarked.

‘’It was a lot of work,’’ Star said, acknowledging her compliment with a nod. ‘’It’s what we spent yesterday doing. But it was a lot of fun as well, and the final product is very tasty.’’

‘’Can we do this more often?’’ Flurry asked. 

Star chuckled, before leaning forward to brush the crumbs away from her mouth. ‘’Sure,’’ he agreed.

‘’Where did you make it, then?’’ Emerald inquired. She was definitely ordering this one again.

‘’The bakery. It’s owner helped us make it.’’

Flurry suddenly frowned. ‘’Daddy, what about the flowers?’’

Emerald looked at Star, whose face could be summed up as ‘Oh shit’. ‘’What flowers?’’

‘’The flowers I left on my desk,’’ Star answered absently. ‘’One moment.’’ He vanished in a golden flash, only to reappear five seconds later with flower crowns?

‘’Here you go.’’ Star gave one of the crowns, with blue and yellow flowers in it, to Flurry. He put another with white and red on his head, while giving her the final one, which had purple and blue flowers in it.

‘’Thanks,’’ she managed to say, before putting the crown on her head. ‘’How did you know about this?’’

‘’Come now,’’ Star said, ‘’I spent two years in Crystal City reading through every book I could find and talked with dozens of ponies about the Empire. This was one of the first things they told me about.’’

Emerald reached up and touched the crown to make sure it was placed on her head correctly. ‘’You made these yourself as well?’’

‘’Yes. We picked the flowers yesterday and the day before that, and then made the crowns together.’’

‘’I helped a lot!’’

‘’You did,’’ Star confirmed with a smile.   
> Act 1: Chapter 12: Sparkling Start (edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

20 Flower Moon 1008

Ponyville was burning.

That, in itself, wasn’t such a surprise. Twilight had expected fires to break out during the short but decisive Battle for Ponyville. It was just a part of war.

But the battle had been six months ago. By now, Nightmare Moon controlled all of Equestria and the Crystal Empire, and her wife, Chrysalis - and Twilight had no idea how they had ended up together - ruled the Changeling Lands. There was no conflict anymore, no battle, just underground resistance.

Resistance that Twilight was desperately trying to organize and coordinate. Processing all of the information she received here, in her hideout in the Twilight Mountains, was a job that never rested, even with the help of her friends.

One such piece of information was lying on her desk. It was a report written by Fluttershy, who had asked one of her many animal friends to fly over Ponyville and check on the state of the town.

Twilight hadn’t known that Fluttershy could write so detailed and clinical. When she had asked about it, Fluttershy had explained, in her usual meek way, that as Ponyville’s veterinarian she had to write many reports about the condition of the animals she cared for, so she knew what information was important and what could be left out.

The report itself was short, just two pages, but reading it had made Twilight sick and disgusted, but also relieved that she and her friends had evacuated as many as possible in time. 

Nightmare Moon had initially left Ponyville alone, aside from imposing the standard rules for everywhere in Equestria. But after Chrysalis’ coronation - which had been the day after the horrifying ritual that Twilight had received a second-by-second description of via a turncoat Lunar Guard - Nightmare Moon and Chrysalis had travelled together to Ponyville a few days later. Everyone that was still in town - roughly half of the population - was put on a train to the north, and anyone who made trouble or refused to leave was executed.

Then, the two whorses - Twilight refused to call them by their titles - had descended upon her castle. For hours they had assaulted it with magic: Rainbow had said she had been able to see a constantly colour-changing light from her cloud a few kilometres to the west.

The castle hadn’t cared half a damn. Apparently, the crystals hadn’t so much as chipped. Twilight was glad for that, if nothing else.

When Nightmare and Chrysalis had finally determined that they could not destroy the castle, they had unleashed their fury on Ponyville itself. For two more hours they rampaged through the town, before finally leaving.

And now, it was still aflame. If Twilight didn’t know better, she’d say that they would have placed fire-repelling spells on the place before burning it, as no fire could burn for that long on just wood and stone.

A project for another time.

‘’Twilight?’’ That was Starlight. What did she want?

Twilight looked up from her desk at the other mare as she stepped into the tent and instinctively shuffled closer to one of the magical lamps Twilight had created to keep the camp warm. ‘’Hi Starlight.’’

‘’Hello Twilight,’’ Starlight said with a smile. ‘’I’ve got some good news.’’

Twilight leaned forward. ‘’What is it?’’

Starlight’s smile widened. ‘’Sunburst’s alive, and he’s headed here!’’

That was good. Maybe he knows what happened to Flurry.

Twilight smiled as well. ‘’That’s good news indeed, Starlight. When will he be arriving?’’

‘’In a couple of days,’’ Starlight replied. ‘’Sunburst’s letter said that he had to flee from Crystal City and then he followed the Snowy River down south until he reached Whinnyapolis. He’ll be arriving from the west.’’

Twilight nodded. ‘’That sounds logical. I’ll tell Rainbow to watch out for him.’’

‘’Thank you.’’ For a moment, there was silence. Then Starlight tried, ‘’Twilight, I know you’re busy-’’

Twilight cut her off with a kind yet firm smile. ‘’I’ll join you in a few minutes,’’ she promised. ‘’Who’s cooking?’’

‘’Pinkie.’’

‘’Delicious.’’

Pinkie, even without sugar and other sweet stuff to add to the food, could cook surprisingly well, and Twilight always felt revitalized after one of her dinners. She, Applejack, and Sunset had been taking turns cooking for their small group, using their supplies as well as gathering from the nearby forest.

Worst comes to pass, we can always eat the grass, Twilight thought grimly, though she wasn’t intending to stay here indefinitely.

In fact, they had already been staying too long, in her opinion. But she also didn’t know where they could go.

There were more than enough places in Equestria they could hide: the Badlands, San Palomino, the Everfree, the jungles in the south-east, Fairflanks, or in the north around Neighgara. But all of them were out of the way: and if Twilight was going to create a resistance movement against Nightmare Moon, she needed to be in a location that was easily reachable from all around the nation.

‘’Hi Twilight!’’ Pinkie suddenly appeared in her view. ‘’Whatcha thinking about?’’

Twilight smiled at her friend. ‘’Hi Pinkie. What are we having for dinner?’’

‘’Pie Family Recipe!’’ Pinkie replied. ‘’It’s a surprise!’’

‘’I’m sure it’ll be tasty,’’ Spike remarked. He was sitting on a branch, holding a cup of something, either water or tea. Sitting next to him was Sweetie Belle, and if either of them thought anyone didn’t notice the looks they shot each other, Twilight would call them fools.

‘’Hi Spike, Sweetie. Where are the others?’’ she asked as she sat down on another branch.

‘’Scootaloo and Rainbow are up there,’’ Sweetie gestured up at the clouds, ‘’Fluttershy is out with the animals somewhere, Applejack and Sunset are over there,’’ she pointed at their silhouettes, standing next to the small waterfall providing their water, ‘’Applebloom and Starlight are doing… something, and I don’t know where Trixie or Rarity are.’’

‘’Thanks.’’ Twilight nodded. ‘’Had a good day?’’

Spike shrugged. ‘’As good as any lately.’’

That was about what Twilight had expected. There wasn’t a lot to do here, after all. Twilight had reluctantly agreed that they should all take up shooting with guns, but they didn’t have a lot of ammunition or weapons, so it was mostly just learning how to handle the things.  

In the corner of her eye, Twilight caught Applejack and Sunset walking towards them, each carrying large canisters that were probably filled with water from the falls.

‘’’Lo, Twi,’’ Applejack drawled. ‘’Finally got outta that tent of yers?’’

‘’I had to get fresh air sometime,’’ Twilight quipped before anyone else could. ‘’How are you, Sunset, Applejack?’’

‘’I’m good, all things considered,’’ Sunset said with a shrug.

‘’It’s not ideal, but Ah’we lived through worse. Hay, we all have,’’ Applejack drawled. ‘’Gotta ask though, Twi: any idea where we’re leaving fer?’’

Twilight could only shrug. ‘’Not yet,’’ she admitted. ‘’I’m open to ideas, and we could always stay here, but, well…’’

‘’Ah’m gonna pass,’’ Applejack declared as she sat herself down next to the fire. ‘’Ah don’t mind camping, but we’ve gotta build some houses or find some other shelter. Ponies weren’t made to live in tents.’’

Twilight suppressed the instinct to tell her that ponies did live in tents for years during the Great Migrations. Instead, she said, ‘’If we do decide to stay here, we could probably build some small cottages.’’

‘’Hide ‘em with some wards?’’ Sunset picked up on Twilight’s train of thought. ‘’That could work.’’

‘’What kind of spellwork would you need?’’ Spike asked.

Well… ‘’We’d need to mask the trees we’d be cutting down, and then the houses. Runestones could work, but making those takes time.’’

‘’Time we have,’’ Sunset put in. ‘’Power, on the other hoof… It’d be noticeable.’’

‘’True,’’ Twilight acknowledged. 

‘’Which would kind of defeat the point… so magical hiding is out,’’ Sweetie concluded. ‘’What if we skipped that part?’’

‘’Then we’d be found by the first patrol with unicorns in it. They’re bound to know life-detecting spells if they’re searching for us,’’ Sunset replied. ‘’We’d-’’

‘’Wait, what is Rainbow doing?’’ Spike pointed his claw up at the sky.

Twilight followed where he was pointing at, and raised an eyebrow. The faint streak of Rainbow’s flying was visible, and it was headed from the clouds down to the ground. She’d obviously seen something, but what?

Twilight spread her wings. ‘’I’ll go have a look.’’

‘’Twi, you’re the leader,’’ Sunset cut in. ‘’You can’t go out and face a potential unknown threat by yourself.’’

‘’I should be doing that because I am the leader,’’ Twilight retorted. ‘’And if they are friendly, we’ll need to talk.’’

‘’Oh, they’re friendly!’’ Scootaloo’s voice called out from above. ‘’Heads up down there! We’ve got a group of friends headed here! Rainbow is talking to ‘em now!’’

‘’Who are they?!’’ Twilight shouted back.

After a moment, the reply came. ‘’It’s our friends from Ponyville! I see Diamond Tiara, and Rumble next to her, and a lot of others!’’

The only reply Twilight had to that was silence as she tried to think, and it seemed the rest shared her idea.

‘’Well,’’ Spike quipped after a few seconds, ‘’I guess we’re going to need more tents.’’

‘’Oh Celestia, what if something happened to them?’’ Sweetie asked, sounding horrified.

At that moment, the trees burst apart to reveal Rainbow and Fluttershy, followed by a group of ponies. Twilight saw Lyra and Bon Bon walking together, and many other ponies as well.

‘’Hey guys!’’ Rainbow greeted as Twilight approached the group. ‘’Look what I found!’’

‘’Princess,’’ Diamond Tiara said with a bow of her head. ‘’Forgive me if I don’t bow.’’

‘’Of course,’’ Twilight said. ‘’And congratulations! What’s her name?’’

Diamond glanced down at the giggling foal attached to a harness on her chest. ‘’Amethyst Rich,’’ she replied. ‘’She’s already a month old.’’

‘’Congratulations,’’ Twilight repeated.

‘’Thanks,’’ Rumble said, and just now Twilight noticed he had put his wing around Diamond. Adorable.

And Twilight wasn’t sure why they’d come here. ‘’How did you find us?’’

‘’Uh, I led them here,’’ Fluttershy confessed. ‘’One of my friends found them wandering about two days ago. They were looking for us, and I thought we needed the help.’’

‘’Fluttershy,’’ Twilight chose her next words very carefully, ‘’I appreciate that you did that, but please tell me in the future. It could be dangerous.’’

Fluttershy nodded very seriously. ‘’I will, Twilight.’’

‘’Princess?’’

Twilight turned around to see Bon Bon and Lyra had broken off from the main group, who was talking with Twilight’s friends, and approached her. ‘’Yes, Bon Bon?’’

‘’We want to help,’’ Bon Bon declared. ‘’And I have to apologize for not doing so from the beginning.’’

‘’Bon Bon was being very worried about me,’’ Lyra added as an explanation. ‘’It’s cute, but I had to convince her I could handle myself.’’

Twilight didn’t need to be told how that convincing had gone. So, she just nodded. ‘’Well, you’re all welcome to help. But I’m afraid we don’t any way to feed and shelter everyone.’’

‘’We’ve got our own food and tents,’’ Rumble spoke up. ‘’And Bon Bon knows a lot about keeping things out of sight and setting traps.’’

Of course she does, Twilight thought. It used to be her job.

She clapped her hooves together. ‘’In that case, welcome!’’
> Act 1: Chapter 13: Fall (edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

20 Flower Moon 1008

‘’So, how do you like being sisters?’’ Berry asked.

Flurry turned around to look at her. ‘’It’s nice,’’ she replied. ‘’Magic and I see each other a lot now. Daygleam’s house has a lot of toys, which we always play with.’’

‘’Sounds nice,’’ Lily said. ‘’What about you, Magic?’’

All three fillies looked at Magic with curious eyes. I wonder what she will say, Flurry thought.

‘’It’s very nice,’’ Magic finally said after a few seconds of silence. ‘’I get to have a lot of sleepovers, and Flurry is a very nice friend.’’

‘’You’re very nice too,’’ Flurry immediately said. She took a step towards the other filly and nuzzled her cheek.

Magic turned her head slightly and nuzzled Flurry back. ‘’Thanks,’’ she whispered softly, so softly that Berry and Lily probably didn’t hear it.

Magic pulled her face away and looked back at the drawings on the floor. She had drawn a couple of houses from Sunville, which honestly looked better than Flurry’s own drawings of her family. 

‘’Hey,’’ Berry suddenly said, ‘’let’s go play tag.’’

‘’Wha-’’

Berry almost punched her sister, shouting, ‘’You’re it!’’ as she galloped away.

For a moment, the other three were silent. Then Magic and Flurry both galloped in different directions, away from Lily.

Flurry went right, heading for the fruit trees of Berry and Lily’s home. She knew where to go there; she’d hid there a couple times before. She could fly up and hide in the tree branches, and no one ever found her.

She reached the trees, but didn’t fly up to their branches. They were too close to the edges. She needed a higher tree, with a little less light. By now, her friends knew she would hide in the trees.

But the whole point of Tag was to tag her, which they couldn’t do if Flurry was up in the tree. She wasn’t allowed to fly away, but nobody had said anything about flying up to a place.

Smiling, Flurry slowed as she went a little deeper into the forest. It was a little darker too, but everything was still clearly seeable, so that wasn’t a problem.

She found a good tree, with lots of thick branches, and flew up to them. She settled herself between the leaves, careful to not let too many of them snap off and fall down. That would make it easier for Lily to figure out she was up here, and that was bad.

It wasn’t really comfortable, between the branches and the leaves, but it was hidden, and there was something comforting about being surrounded on all sides. It gave Flurry a sense of safety she didn’t often feel when she was away from Mom and Dad.

And that was getting confusing. What was she going to call Daygleam? Just her name didn’t seem right, but she already had a mommy, and calling both Mom and Daygleam mommy would get very confusing very quickly. 

Something else, but what? Auntie? But-

She fell before she knew what was happening. There was no time or space to spread her wings, and she hit the ground with force. ‘’Oof!’’

What just happened?

Flurry was dizzy, she realized, and her barrel and legs hurt. She looked up, but there wasn’t anything she could see that would explain why the branches had suddenly broken.

‘’Flurry!’’

Lily appeared from behind a tree, staring in shock. ‘’What happened?’’

Good question. ‘’I fell,’’ was all she answered.

‘’Are you alright?’’

‘’No.’’ She tried to stand up, and failed.

Lily’s look of shock became determined. ‘’Stay here,’’ she ordered, ‘’I’ll go get Dad.’’

Like Flurry could move right now. She could fly, probably, but flying in the forest wasn’t very smart.

Just to test though, she lifted her wings and flapped them. They still worked.

At that moment, Ground appeared, with Lily behind him. ‘’That looks nasty,’’ was the first thing the stallion said as he moved over to her. ‘’How do you feel?’’

Flurry looked up at him. ‘’Everything hurts.’’

Ground frowned, then grabbed her with his foreleg and lifted her on his back. ‘’Then let’s go see a doctor. Lily, can you get Flurry’s parents and tell them to come to Doctor Light’s house, please?’’

‘’You got it, daddy!’’ Lily chirped, before galloping away.

‘’You comfortable?’’ Ground asked her.

‘’Yeah.’’ Flurry laid her head down against Ground’s coat. It was thick and warm, and soothing to her hurting body.

Ground nodded, then galloped out of the forest. Flurry didn’t know where this Doctor Light’s house was, but hopefully it wasn’t very far. It hurt a lot. She wanted it to stop.

‘’We’re here,’’ Ground said suddenly. Flurry lifted her head to see they were on the edge of the village.

‘’Doctor!’’ Ground shouted as he knocked on the door.

Flurry thought she heard someone walking inside, then the door opened. ‘’What is it, Ground?’’ a stallion’s rough voice asked.

‘’Flurry fell down a tree,’’ Ground explains. ‘’She says everything hurts.’’

‘’It does,’’ Flurry quietly added.

A sand-brown head with a white and grey mane appeared next to her, golden eyes looking kindly at her. ‘’Everything is a lot,’’ he said. The roughness sounded teasing, which didn’t make sense. ‘’Can you point out where it hurts the most?’’

‘’My legs and my barrel. I couldn’t move my legs at first.’’ She jiggled them a little. ‘’Now I can.’’

The stallion hummed. ‘’And you can still use your wings and horn?’’

‘’Yes.’’

After a moment, the stallion nodded. ‘’I’m going to have to take a look at this inside. Do her parents know?”

‘’I sent Lily to tell them,’’ Ground answered.

‘’Smart,’’ the doctor said. ‘’Now come.’’




|-x-X-x-|




20 Flower Moon 1008

‘’Miss Emerald!’’

Emerald looked up from her flowers at Lily. ‘’Hello Lily,’’ she greeted. ‘’How are you?’’

‘’I’m good, but there’s a problem!’’ Lily replied.

‘’Problem?’’

‘’Flurry fell out of a tree, and now she’s with the doctor. Dad said I should tell you and take you there.’’

Fell?

‘’What happened?’’ Emerald asked, trying very hard not to panic.

‘’Well…’’ Lily looked away. ‘’I dunno. We were playing tag and I was looking in the trees of our home, and suddenly I hear someone falling. Turns out it’s Flurry, and she can’t move. So I go get my dad, and then my dad says he’s taking her to the doctor and that I had to get you or Mr Star.’’

Couldn’t move?! Please, let her be alright.

‘’Take me to the doctor,’’ Emerald commanded, and Lily did so.

The first thing Emerald saw when she entered the doctor’s house was Flurry, sitting on the couch while the doctor talked with Ground. ‘’Flurry!’’ she cried.

‘’Mommy!’’

Emerald gave her daughter a well-measured hug. ‘’Are you alright?’’ she whispered.

‘’It hurts a lot,’’ Flurry replied as she leaned into the hug, ‘’but I’m fine.’’

‘’Are you sure?’’ Emerald pressed. ‘’What happened?”

‘’I was hiding in a tree during tag,’’ Flurry explained, ‘’but the branches broke and I fell down.’’

‘’Oh you poor thing.’’ Emerald placed a kiss on Flurry’s forehead. ‘’Let the doctor take a look at you.’’

Emerald let go of Flurry and they both turned towards the stallion, who gave a reassuring smile. ‘’Don’t worry, I’m just going to see what exactly is going on here,’’ he said.

‘’Okay,’’ Flurry agreed. Emerald smiled at her, and rubbed her hoof over the filly’s back.

The doctor, over the course of approximately half an hour, determined that there would be no lasting damage, but that Flurry should be more careful next time. He gave her a pill for the pain, and now it was Emerald’s duty to make sure Flurry took those pills once a day for the coming week.

Emerald carried Flurry home on her back, after assuring her three worried friends that everything was going to be fine.

And it will be.




|-x-X-x-|




20 Flower Moon 1008

‘’Everything is ready, your Majesty,’’ the guard reported.

Nightmare Moon dismissed him with the flick of a wing. The guard fell back in line with the other guards, following behind her as good guards should.

Spellweaver Mansion was admittedly a beautiful building. Tall, stately, and drenched in nearly a millennium of magical protections, it was no wonder that it had survived Discord’s return, the Changeling Invasion and Nightmare’s own conquest of Canterlot unscathed.

It was almost a shame to destroy it.

Chrysalis had decided to not accompany her today. Instead, she was in Vesalipolis, dealing with Changeling business. Nightmare didn’t mind it overly much: this was her fight, not her lover’s.

‘’Begin,’’ she commanded as she came to a halt in front of the mansion’s gates.

The unicorn and changeling mages that had taken up positions around the mansion began their work. They poured their magic together in an effort to strip the old building of its protection.

Nightmare did not aid them, merely watching as the tug of war between the building and the attackers began. She could help them, but she wanted to save her power for later. No doubt there was more than one layer of defence.

After all, even Celestia would not have chosen someone who could not defend himself and his home as her Royal Magician.

There was a shimmer in front of her.

‘’Your majesty,’’ one of the mages called out, ‘’we have broken the defences.’’

‘’Already?’’ Nightmare questioned. ‘’It’s a trap,’’ she decided without waiting for an answer from the mage. ‘’Step away from the mansion, now.’’

The commanding tone in her voice was enough to make everyone pull back from the building. Nightmare approached it, horn lit with a protection spell.

She reached out with her armoured hoof, touching the metal gate. Nothing happened. 

What is your game, Star?

The answer came to her, in his voice. Death.

And the mansion exploded in a brilliant display of rainbow light.

Nightmare immediately reeled back and extended her shield, but the force of the explosion stopped at the boundary of the wards, which contained the magic that was currently erasing the house, while also being part of said magic.

It was a paradox, and it was a token of extreme skill on Star’s part. He had, somehow, made the kill-switch of his home in a way that the explosion of magic would be kept from damaging the rest of the city - it would have taken out the block otherwise, Nightmare quickly calculated - and then drawing on the power of the wards when the initial magic had run out.

Thirty seconds later, the house was gone, and all it’s magic with it.

Nightmare, despite herself, laughed.

That trap had never been meant for her to die in. It had been meant to stop anyone from taking the house’s secrets for themselves. And with that much magic used in it’s destruction, there was no possibility of restoring or recognizing anything that might have been in there.

Clever, Star. Very clever.




|-x-X-x-|




20 Flower Moon 1008

Death.

Star didn’t think that hearing his own voice could be so unnerving.

With a loud sigh, he put his fork down. ‘’I’ve lost my appetite,’’ he announced.

Of course, that made all eyes look at him. ‘’And why’s that?’’ Daygleam asked. ‘’Is something wrong with the food?’’

Star shook his head. ‘’It is delicious,’’ he assured her. ‘’But… Well, I suppose I might as well tell you.’’

‘’Tell us what?’’ Flurry asked besides him.

‘’If you’re silent, Star’ll tell you,’’ Emerald gently reprimanded the filly.

‘’Sorry, mommy.’’

‘’It’s alright,’’ Star said, taking a moment to smile at his daughter. Then he took a deep breath. ‘’My ancestral home in Canterlot just activated it’s self-destruct matrix. It’s gone.’’

Emerald gasped, while Flurry and Daygleam both frowned. ‘’What happened?’’ the white unicorn asked.

Star liked her bluntness. ‘’Nightmare Moon, most likely. I don’t have details, obviously, but I imagine something will be in the news.’’

‘’You knew this was going to happen,’’ Emerald realized.

Star inclined his head to her. ‘’I prepared. Spellweaver Mansion is - was - nearly a thousand years old, and all of my ancestors with some talent in magic added their own protections and enchantments to it. I created a way to pull on all of those, and have them destroy the house, without damaging anything beyond it’s property.’’

No one in the room would get the more technical explanation, so he parked that for when he met with the MAC again. They would appreciate it.

Flurry reached out with her wings - she was under doctor’s orders to not use her legs too much, of course - and gave Star a hug with them. ‘’I’m sorry you lost your home, daddy.’’

Star slipped a leg around her and hugged her back. ‘’Thank you, sweetheart.’’

Emerald and Daygleam exchanged a look. ‘’I’m sorry for your loss, Star,’’ Daygleam said.

‘’So am I,’’ Emerald added.

Just as Star wanted to reply, he felt a warmth press into his other side. He glanced down to see Magic was hugging him from the other side, looking up at him with grey eyes. ‘’I’m sorry you lost your home, Mr Star.’’

‘’Thank you all,’’ Star replied after a moment of silently marvelling at the unicorn foal that was hugging him. Never would he have expected it from Magic of all ponies, shy as she was. ‘’It means a lot to me.’’

And the loss of Spellweaver Mansion wasn’t unovercomable, after all. Family mattered more than the house ever had, and while Star would mourn it’s loss, everything truly important had been secured before he left. 
> Act 1: Chapter 14: Trip
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

25 Flower Moon 1008

Flurry had an idea. A very good idea. She just needed to convince Mom and Dad to go along with it.

So, she hopped down the stairs and walked into the living room to see Dad sitting at the table, looking down at something.

‘’Hi daddy,’’ she greeted him as she used her magic to pull out a chair next to him. ‘’Whatcha doing?’’

‘’Hi sweetheart,’’ he greeted back. ‘’I’m just looking over some stuff from work.’’

‘’Okay.’’ Flurry peeked her head out onto the table. The papers in front of Dad were filled with letters and drawings she didn’t recognize or understand. She pulled her head back and asked, ‘’Can I ask you a question?’’

Dad looked sideways at her. ‘’Sure.’’

Flurry lifted the book Jet Set had given her on her birthday onto the table. ‘’Can we go here?’’

‘’Stardew Forest,’’ Dad read aloud, ‘’a beautiful forest in southern Sunset that is home to many rare and unique flora and fauna. Huh.’’ He looked away from the book at Flurry. ‘’Why there?’’

Flurry shrugged. ‘’I didn’t want to go to the mountains, and the rest is all very far from here.’’

‘’How do you know that?’’

‘’There’s a map at the end of the book.’’

Dad raised an eyebrow. ‘’And the map says where Sunville is?’’

Flurry nodded. ‘’Mr Jet Set put a red dot where Sunville is.’’

‘’Ah.’’ Dad nodded. ‘’I see. Well, it certainly sounds interesting. Are you sure you can manage it?’’

Flurry scowled. ‘’I can walk, daddy,’’ she said, a little harsher than intended. ‘’It doesn’t hurt anymore.’’

‘’I know,’’ Dad said, ‘’but the doctor said to be careful, and we’re going to be doing a lot of walking. I don’t want you to be hurt.’’

‘’I know.’’

Dad smiled at her. ‘’I’ll talk about it with Emerald, and with Daygleam. It’ll be a family thing.’’

‘’Yeah.’’ Flurry leaned against him. ‘’Thanks, daddy.’’

‘’No problem, sweetheart.’’




|-x-X-x-|




25 Flower Moon 1008

‘’So where is this forest, exactly?’’ Emerald asked Star.

‘’In Sunset, the state that is.’’ Star pointed at the map, more specifically at a couple of trees to the south-west of the city. ‘’I can teleport us to Manebourne, and we can take the train north from there. See, there’s a stop at Stardew City.’’

Indeed there was. Emerald still wasn’t convinced. ‘’How long is that journey?’’

Daygleam shrugged. ‘’Five hours?’’ She tapped her chin. ‘’Unless we go early in the morning we’ll have to stay the night there, but that’s not a problem.’’

‘’Except for Flurry,’’ Emerald pointedly reminded them. ‘’I	don’t think she’d like having to hide her wings for so long.’’

‘’True,’’ Star conceded with a slight frown.

Daygleam turned to face Star. ‘’Can’t you hide her wings with magic?’’

‘’Unfortunately not.’’ Star shook his head. ‘’I have never been very good at illusions and invisibility spells. And, they’re actually more risky than wearing a jacket.’’

Now that, Emerald needed to have explained to her. ‘’Why’s that?’’

‘’Clothes make sure that Flurry doesn’t use her wings. If I hid them with magic, they’d still be there, people just wouldn’t see them. But if they accidentally bump against her, they’ll notice. And with clothes on, Flurry can’t accidentally use them if she forgets they’re supposed to be hidden.’’

That… made a lot of sense. Emerald inclined her head in acknowledgement. ‘’Okay,’’ she said, ‘’so she’ll have to wear a jacket.’’

‘’I say we leave early in the morning,’’ Star announced. ‘’If we arrive at around eleven or twelve, we can stay until six.’’

‘’And be back at eleven?’’ Daygleam questioned, and Emerald shared her marefriend’s concern. Eleven was far too late for Flurry and Magic.

‘’If I could get us back earlier, I would,’’ Star said, ‘’but while teleporting myself isn’t  a problem, teleporting the five of us is too tiring for me, I’m afraid. I’d be dead on my hooves.’’

Emerald frowned. ‘’You got the three of us to Turhamn,’’ she pointed out.

‘’Teleportation gets harder with more people,’’ Star replied without missing a beat. ‘’Distance is a factor too, but a lesser one. One filly and two adults is easier than two fillies and three adults, obviously.’’

 ‘’If you say so…’’ Emerald trailed off doubtfully. There was, of course, no question that Star knew more about magic than she did, so she really shouldn’t question him on that, but still.

‘’I do.’’ Star gave her a slight smirk. ‘’So, shall I get the tickets while you two tell the girls?’’

‘’Sure.’’

‘’Give them my love.’’ And with that, Star teleported away.

Emerald turned to face her. ‘’Them?’’ she asked.

‘’Them,’’ Daygleam confirmed, mirth evident in her eyes. She reached forward and gave Emerald a chaste kiss. ‘’So let’s inform our daughters of our oncoming trip.’’

Well, Emerald wouldn’t mind that in the slightest. ‘’Let’s,’’ she agreed, and together they walked out of the living room.

Flurry and Magic, of course, were playing in Flurry’s room. Daygleam had put her toymaking skills to good use in the past weeks, and if she had to guess, Emerald would say that Flurry now had the same amount of toys, if not more, than she’d had in the Crystal Empire.

It did suck to clean up. Emerald was probably going to pass that on to Flurry herself, in a few months.

‘’Hello sweethearts,’’ Daygleam greeted as the two of them entered Flurry’s room.

‘’Hi mommy!’’

‘’Hi Daygleam!’’

‘’Are you having fun?’’ Emerald inquired as she sat down.

Flurry lifted up one of the toys, a soldier by the looks of it. ‘’We are! Look, this is the knight! He’s going to save the princess,’’ she pointed at the wooden mare on top of a pillow, ‘’from the monster!’’ And she pointed at Whammy, who stood behind the mare.

‘’Yeah, and if the knight is too late, the monster is going to eat the princess!’’ Magic picked the tale up where Flurry left off, with far more enthusiasm than Emerald was used to from the filly.

Daygleam gasped very convincingly. ‘’That’s bad!’’ She slid a wink at Emerald as she said those words.

Emerald played along. ‘’Will the knight rescue the princess in time?’’ she asked the two fillies.

‘’Of course!’’ Flurry replied, as if that was obvious and Emerald needed to go berate herself for thinking otherwise.

‘’He wouldn’t be a very good knight otherwise,’’ Magic pointed out.

Emerald chuckled. ‘’No, I guess not.’’

‘’Sweethearts,’’ Daygleam spoke up, ‘’we’ve got news. Tomorrow, we’re going on a journey.’’

Both fillies looked up at that. ‘’To where?’’ Flurry asked.

‘’Stardew Forest,’’ Emerald explained. ‘’We leave early in the morning, so no late bedtimes tonight. It’s a long train ride north, and then we can spend the entire afternoon there, before we head back in the evening. Does that sound like fun?’’

‘’Yeah!’’ Flurry cheered, before jumping over the toys towards Emerald and grappling her in a hug. ‘’Thanks so much, mommy!’’

‘’Oof!’’ Emerald grunted as she almost fell down on the floor. She managed to keep herself from doing so, and gave her daughter a hug back. In the corner of her eye, she saw Daygleam and Magic were giving each other a hug as well.

She didn’t want to mar Flurry’s happiness, but there was something else she needed to know. ‘’Flurry,’’ she said softly, ‘’you’ll have to wear something to hide your wings, just like on the ship.’’

‘’Aww…’’ The filly sighed. ‘’Okay, mommy.’’

Emerald smiled, and pecked her under her horn. ‘’Thank you, sweetheart.’’ For being so agreeable.

Now our luck just needs to hold for fourteen years. Floriona, give me strength.




|-x-X-x-|




26 Flower Moon 1008

It was far, far too early.

Not that Flurry cared. They were going to Stardew Forest today! She was going to see the Cloudleaf trees, and the Jewel Stream, and the-

‘’I can’t wait to see the Comet Trails!’’ Magic told her excitedly.

Yes, those. ‘’I can’t either,’’ Flurry admitted with a grin.

Magic opened her mouth to say something, only to yawn instead. ‘’Sorry,’’ she said after she had finished yawning. ‘’I just don’t like getting up so early.’’

‘’I don’t like it as well,’’ Flurry agreed. ‘’Look how dark it is outside.’’

Out the window, the night sky was filled with stars, and the Moon was as bright as ever. But it was still very dark. Flurry couldn’t even see the grass!

‘’Yes, it is,’’ Daygleam said. Flurry turned around to see her enter the room, saddlebags on her back. ‘’Are you two ready? Teeth brushed, manes combed?’’

‘’Yes, mommy,’’ Magic replied, while Flurry just gave the mare a nod.

‘’Good.’’ Daygleam smiled at them. ‘’Then let’s go downstairs. Star and Emerald are waiting on us.’’

They were, Flurry saw when she got down. Just like Daygleam, they were both wearing saddlebags.

‘’Good morning, Flurry,’’ Dad greeted as they came down the stairs.

‘’Sleep well?’’ Mom asked.

Flurry nodded. ‘’Yeah. It’s still early though.’’

‘’You can sleep on the train,’’ Dad said. ‘’Now, do you remember what we said?’’

‘’I do,’’ Flurry replied. ‘’You’re mommy’s brother, and I have to wear a jacket. Also, my name’s Snowy Sparkle.’’

Mom gave her a sorry smile. ‘’I know it’s hard, sweetheart, but it’s for your own safety, alright? We don’t want bad people to find you.’’

Flurry could understand that. And Snowy Sparkle was a nice name. Flurry liked snow, and she also liked her family.

And the jacket was warm and soft as well. Flurry wasn’t going to complain about wearing it.

‘’And remember the other rules,’’ Dad continued. ‘’Don’t wander off without telling us and keep us in sight. If you lose us, stay where you are, and we’ll find you soon enough. Got all that?’’

‘’Yes, daddy.’’ It wasn’t hard at all. And Flurry wasn’t going to walk away anyway. She didn’t want to get lost in the forest.

‘’Yes, Star.’’

All three of the adults smiled. ‘’Well, then I think it’s time to go,’’ Mom said while looking at the clock. ‘’Do we have everything.’’

‘’We do,’’ Dad and Daygleam said at the same time.

Flurry and Magic giggled as Mom snorted. ‘’Right. Gather around Star, and we’ll be on our way.’’

They all stepped closer to Dad. Then his horn lit up in golden light, there was a flash, and they stood in a street.

Immediately, Dad exhaled audibly, and muttered something under his breath that Flurry didn’t hear enough of to understand, but it probably wasn’t a nice word.

‘’Are you alright, daddy?’’ she asked, brushing her leg against his.

He smiled down at her. ‘’I’m fine, sweetheart. Don’t worry.’’ But he seemed tired anyway. Was he lying to her?

‘’Come on, we’ve got a train to catch,’’ Mom urged them on. ‘’We can rest once we’re in there. It’s a long trip anyway.’’

It was a pretty short walk to the station, and the train was already there. It was blue, with a dark roof, and there were lots of pretty lights inside.

‘’Did they-’’ Dad promptly began to laugh. ‘’That’s ingenious. They’ve used glitterflies in the lamps.’’

‘’What’s a glitterfly?’’ Magic asked before Flurry could.

‘’Flies that glow in a lot of different colours,’’ Dad explained. ‘’They charge their lights by drawing on the emotions of whoever’s close, kind of like changelings do with love, but different.’’

Huh. That sounded- ‘’Cool.’’

‘’Isn’t it?” A mare dressed in a uniform said. ‘’Tickets, please.’’

‘’Here you go.’’ Dad got the tickets out of his saddlebags and hooved them over to the mare.

‘’Looks good,’’ the mare declared after a few moments. ‘’Go on in, everyone, and have a nice trip. There’s more than enough space at this hour.’’

‘’Thank you.’’ Dad took the tickets back, and they got on the train.

The lights were even more pretty up close, blue and yellow and purple and green and red and all other sorts of colours. If she wasn’t wearing a jacket, she might have flown up to one of the lamps to take a closer look at them.

‘’Can we get those glitterflies at home?’’ Magic asked someone - probably Daygleam.

Daygleam chuckled. ‘’We can certainly look for one,’’ she replied. ‘’But for now, let’s focus on getting to Stardew Forest, alright?’’

‘’Okay mommy.’’

‘’This is our cabin,’’ Mom said suddenly, and she pulled open a door to reveal a small room with a large window, a table and a bench on either side.

Flurry sat down at the window seat on the left, Magic opposite her. Dad was next to Flurry, and Mom and Daygleam sat together on Magic’s bench.

She might be sitting at the window, but there was nothing to see outside through the darkness, except for a few streetlights.

‘’When does the train leave?’’ Flurry asked Dad.

‘’In fifteen minutes,’’ he told her, ‘’so you won’t have to wait that long. But it’ll be sometime before the sun rises and you can see stuff.’’

Mom pulled out blankets and pillows. ‘’Why don’t you try to go to sleep, sweethearts?’’

That wasn’t a bad idea. She was still very tired, and with the pillow and blanket, it actually wasn’t that uncomfortable.

Flurry curled up against Dad, and after the train pulled out of the station, fell asleep.




|-x-X-x-|




26 Flower Moon 1008

Flurry sleeping against him was something he’d thought lost when Crystal grew too old for that, but he didn’t mind it in the slightest.

Daygleam, from the looks of it, enjoyed the fact that not just Magic, but also Emerald, were sleeping against her sides even more.

‘’So,’’ Star softly began the conversation, because awakening anyone in here was sure to earn him some ire regardless of who actually woke up. ‘’How are you doing?’’

Daygleam gave him a kind but tired smile. ‘’Well enough,’’ she replied. ‘’You?’’

Star shrugged. ‘’Work’s not bad.’’

‘’What are you working on right now?’’

‘’Nothing important,’’ Star answered truthfully. ‘’Just some research on varying topics. You?” He wasn’t truly interested, but it was a nice way to keep the conversation going.

‘’Orders have slowed down over the past few weeks,’’ Daygleam admitted with a scowl. ‘’There’s not much I can do about that.’’

Star hummed. ‘’Any reason why?’’

Daygleam shook her head. ‘’I think, by now, mostly everyone has enough toys to last them a lifetime. I’ll probably still make new ones because I like doing it, and something’s bound to break eventually, but the market has dried up.’’

‘’That’s unfortunate.’’ And really, what else was he supposed to say to that.

Star looked out the window again. The sun should have risen by now, but one of Nightmare’s more petty acts was purposefully halting it’s rise and descent for longer than normal. Petty to the extreme, but also a show of her power.

‘’Star?’’

‘’Hmm?’’

‘’What is your plan?’’

Star looked back at an intense-looking Daygleam. ‘’Plan?’’ he echoed.

‘’For the future.’’ Ah.

‘’Strange location to discuss this,’’ he couldn’t keep himself from commenting, and snickered a little inside at Daygleam’s supremely-irritated look.

‘’Just answer the question,’’ Daygleam hissed. ‘’You obviously have a plan to go back to Equus.’’

‘’Do I?’’ He chuckled, and shifted his foreleg a little so he was more comfortable. ‘’I do. However, it’s nothing more than vague ideas at the moment.’’

‘’And those vague ideas are?’’ Daygleam questioned.

‘’Raise Flurry as best as possible, aid Twilight and her resistance as best I can from here,’’ he listed off. ‘’There’s not much more I can do. Eventually, when Twilight’s resistance is strong enough, I’ll go over to Equus and help her more directly.’’

‘’And if that happens,’’ Daygleam asked, ‘’what about Flurry?’’

Star smiled at them. ‘’She has Emerald, and you. I think she’ll be okay if I leave for a few months, by that time.’’ At least, I hope so.

‘’What time would that be?’’

Good question. ‘’When she’s older than ten, at least. I don’t want to say that I hope the resistance won’t be ready until then, but that’s an age where I can trust that she’ll be able to go for a long time without me.’’

After a few seconds of tense waiting, Daygleam nodded. ‘’Okay.’’ He saw the tension leave her body as she sat back and exhaled. ‘’Good.’’

Star inclined his head, then went back to looking out of the window. 




|-x-X-x-|




26 Flower Moon 1008

Those trees are very big, Flurry thought.

Her neck hurt as she tried to look at the top of them. She managed for a few seconds, before lowering her head. The trees were brown, but their leaves weren’t green but white, like the clouds.

‘’So this is Stardew Forest,’’ Dad said as he stood next to her. ‘’Certainly looks impressive.’’

Daygleam pointed at the entrance. ‘’That must’ve cost a fortune.’’

Flurry looked at the entrance. There were two white stone towers, and between them was a path where lots of ponies walked. Flurry couldn’t see what was so special about the towers.

‘’White crystal?’’ Mom said, sounding surprised. ‘’That’s expensive even in the Empire.’’

Flurry looked closer at the towers, and then she saw that the roofs of the towers were made of white crystal. The sunlight reflected off it in a very nice, likeable way.

‘’I wanna go in!’’ Magic said suddenly, grabbing Daygleam’s leg and pulling at it. ‘’Come on, mommy!’’

Daygleam chuckled as she was led to the entrance, with Mom and Dad and Flurry following behind them. They passed the gates, and Flurry gasped as they entered the forest.

It was so beautiful!

There were butterflies everywhere, and glitterflies too. The flowers next to the path were all red or yellow or orange, and the grass looked even greener than it normally was. Above her, the Cloudleaf trees loomed, branches blowing in the wind. Birds’ singing filled the air, and all in all it looked like she had stepped into a fairytale.

‘’Follow the path,’’ Dad told her. ‘’And remember the rules.’’

‘’Yes daddy!’’ Flurry turned and gave his leg a nuzzle. ‘’Now come on!’’

Stardew Forest only got better the further they went into it. The birds came down so they could be petted, and the flowers got brighter and brighter. There were lots of other ponies and a few griffons in the forest, also visiting. Flurry didn’t stop to talk with them.

She giggled as Dad pulled in a swarm of glitterflies with some sort of spell. When they flew away again towards her, they were all glowing golden.

Magic reached out to touch one of the birds, but it flew into her face with a squeak. Magic yelped as the bird vanished into the skies again, while Flurry just laughed at the funny scene. 

They came across many different signs with text on them. Flurry could read some, but not all, of it. All the signs explained things about the forest, like the Cloudleaf Trees (The tallest was nearly a hundred meters tall!); the various birds (there were over two hundred species of birds in the forest. Flurry couldn’t count to two hundred, but she knew it was a lot.); the flowers in the forest (there were lots of those as well, all with names Flurry couldn’t pronounce, but Dad seemed to be interested in a few of them, and Mom in all of them.)

Mom also got some stares and comments, because the other ponies were interested in her crystal coat and mane. Dad and Daygleam managed to keep people away though, so that was good.

And then, she suddenly felt tired in her legs.

‘’Daddy,’’ she said, ‘’my legs are tired.’’

Dad was by her side in an instant. ‘’That’s not good, Snowy,’’ he said. ‘’I think if we go that way, there’s supposed to be a restaurant of some kind. Why don’t we go there for lunch, and then you can rest.’’

That sounded very nice. Flurry was a little hungry. ‘’Okay, daddy.’’

‘’We brought our own food, remember?’’ Mom said. ‘’Doesn’t mean we can’t go to the restaurant, but…’’

‘’Aww…’’ Magic pouted. ‘’I wanted to go to the Jewel-Stream.’’

‘’Then why don’t you and Daygleam go to the Jewel-Stream, while I take Snowy to the restaurant,’’ Dad suggested.

‘’Are you sure, Star?’’ Mom asked.

‘’It’s fine, mommy,’’ Flurry said before Dad could reply. ‘’You can go and have fun without me.’’

She didn’t like it, but then she shouldn’t have climbed into that tree.




|-x-X-x-|




26 Flower Moon 1008

‘’Bye, Flurry!’’ Magic waved at her friend as they walked away.

‘’Bye Magic!’’ Flurry waved back.

Magic kinda wanted to go with her and Star, but she also wanted to see the Jewel-Stream, and while being with her new sister was a lot of fun, she could always do that back home.

‘’Come on, sweetheart,’’ Mom said to her. ‘’Let’s go down to the Jewel-Stream.’’

‘’Yes mommy.’’

The Jewel-Stream was a few minutes of walking away from the crossroad. As they came closer, Magic could already hear the sound of water rushing down through the forest. She walked even faster, and there it was!

The Jewel-Stream was beautiful. It’s water looked more blue than any water Magic had ever seen before, and under the water, she could see all sorts of shining lights, green and blue and purple and all other colours.

‘’Wow,’’ Emerald breathed as she came to a halt next to her. ‘’This is enchanting.’’

‘’Just like you,’’ Mom said, and Magic turned away from the kiss she got for that. Nothing wrong with kissing, but Magic didn’t wanna see Mom do it. Even if she liked Emerald a lot.

Magic leaned in a little closer, and touched the water with her hoof.

Cold!

She pulled it back immediately, and didn’t try to touch the water again. ‘’Don’t touch the water,’’ she warned, ‘’it’s really cold.’’

‘’Then we won’t touch it,’’ Mom promised, Emerald nodding along. ‘’Shall we follow the path down the stream?’’

‘’Sure.’’ Magic joined them again, and together they walked down the path along the Jewel-Stream. 

The Jewel-Stream left the forest through a cave, and that cave wasn’t accessible to normal ponies, sadly. So, they had to stop at the place it entered the cave, and there they had lunch.

Then they went back up the Jewel-Stream to the restaurant where Flurry and Star were, and they had lots of fun.

Until...




|-x-X-x-|




26 Flower Moon 1008

‘’Right,’’ Daygleam raised her voice a little so everyone heard her, ‘’time to leave.’’

‘’Awww…’’ Flurry and Magic both pouted.

‘’I know,’’ Daygleam soothed, ‘’but we’re all tired, and if we don’t get the train in time, it’ll be too late.’’

‘’Too true,’’ Star butted in. ‘’Let’s go.’’

It was quite a long walk back to the train station. By the time they got there, the train was filling up with ponies, and the sun was setting already.

They got on the train without any trouble, luckily, and their reserved cabin had some very comfy seats.

They settled into the same places they’d been in on the trip there, and Daygleam gave Emerald a brief kiss which should have dragged on longer but was interrupted by Magic tugging on her leg.

‘’Look! It’s so beautiful!’’

Daygleam didn’t quite agree with the notion that anything other than her marefriend was truly beautiful, but she looked away anyway.

And found herself revising her opinion, for the setting sun through the glass roof of the station was beautiful indeed. There had to be some magic at work there: light didn’t just shatter like that.

‘’Impressive spellwork,’’ Star remarked softly. ‘’That must be some self-invented spell, because I am pretty sure there isn’t a spell that does that.’’

Well, the more you know.

As the train left the station, the light faded, and Daygleam turned back to Emerald and kissed her again.

So nice.
> Act 1: Chapter 15: Surprise
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

27 Flower Moon 1008

‘’Let’s go to Berry and Lily,’’ Flurry suggested. ‘’We promised them we’d tell how the day was.’’

‘’Oh yeah, we did,’’ Magic remembered. ‘’Where do you think they are?’’

‘’At their home?’’ Flurry guessed. ‘’I dunno. Let’s go look for them there.’’

They walked down the path from the mansion to Sandy’s farm. Sandy was working in the garden in front of the house, and she told them that Berry and Lily had gone to the square with some other foals.

So, Flurry and Magic went to the square. And just like Sandy had said, Berry and Lily were playing on the square, and they weren’t alone.

Not that Flurry minded having more friends to play with. Even if she wasn’t friends with the other foals like she was with Berry and Lily, they were still all nice to her.

‘’Hey guys!’’ Flurry shouted as she and Magic walked closer to them. ‘’We’re back!’’

Berry and Lily turned to them and smiled brightly. ‘’Flurry! Magic!’’ Berry cheered. ‘’How was it?’’

Flurry knew what she meant, of course. ‘’Stardew Forest was so cool,’’ she told Berry. ‘’And we got to stay up late on the way back!’’ She didn’t tell them she’d fallen asleep before reaching home.

‘’What did you do?’’ Lily asked. ‘’Did you see the Cloudleaf trees?’’

‘’We did,’’ Magic spoke up. ‘’They were very tall. There were a couple we could climb in, and we were up very high.’’

Flurry would have liked to fly there, but she hadn’t been able to, but she’d watched some other pegasi foals fly between the trees. Dad had given her a sympathetic look and a nuzzle when he noticed it.

‘’That sounds nice,’’ Berry said. ‘’I hope we can go there too sometime.’’

Flurry smiled at her. ‘’I’m sure we can.’’

‘’Yay!’’ Berry cheered. ‘’Now come on! We’re playing tag!’’

‘’But I can’t really run,’’ Flurry pointed out. ‘’My legs, remember?’’ They didn’t hurt as much anymore, but it still wasn’t nice.

‘’Oh yeah.’’ Berry’s face fell. ‘’We can go play something else, if you want.’’

‘’It’s alright,’’ Flurry replied. They didn’t need to stop playing just because Flurry couldn’t play with them. Watching was fun too, after all.

‘’Okay.’’ Berry turned around and jumped back in the game, with Magic following behind her.

But Lily didn’t. ‘’They can play without me,’’ she said. ‘’I’m gonna stay with you.’’

Flurry smiled a very big smile at Lily. ‘’Okay!’’ she chirped, before laying down on the grass. ‘’Thanks, Lily!’’

It was nice to have friends.




|-x-X-x-|




1 Hot Moon 1008

‘’Good morning,’’ Star greeted as he entered the room, and for his efforts, he got a chorus of good-mornings back.

With a smile, he sat down in his seat. ‘’So, before we begin, how are you all?’’

‘’I’m doing good,’’ Moondancer, surprisingly, was the first to speak. ‘’I finished all of the research I’d planned on doing.’’

Translation: I spent the entire week working.

‘’I look forward to reading the conclusion then,’’ Star decided to say. ‘’Anyone else?’’

‘’You know,’’ Ayalir butted in, ‘’this isn’t a classroom, and you’re not a teacher.’’

‘’At the moment,’’ Star couldn’t resist remarking, ‘’but very well. I actually have a question. Are you familiar with Stardew City Station?’’

Seven faces all stared back at him with blank expressions that he just couldn’t resist chuckling at. ‘’No? I’ll explain, then. A couple of days ago, I was in that station, and I noticed something. See, the roof of the station is made of glass, but at certain locations, there’s some sort of spell - or rune, I don’t know for sure - that breaks the light into a lot of smaller beams. It’s definitely magical, but I’d like to know how they did it.’’

And now, I have their attention.

‘’There ought to be records of that somewhere, right?’’ Moondancer mused, ‘’We could check there.’’

‘’I can go there and take a look,’’ Dirt offered. ‘’If it is a rune, then I can probably find it.’’

‘’I’ll go with him,’’ Guido spoke up. ‘’It might be griffon magic.’’

‘’Griffon magic? Please, explain,’’ Star requested.

Guido cleared his throat. ‘’Well, signor, griffon magic is primarily rooted in enchantments, and this sounds like something an enchantment ought to be able to do, though I must confess that I do not know what enchantment could achieve an effect like this off the top of my head.’’

Disappointing, but Star wasn’t able to name every spell he knew as well, so he didn’t have any room to complain. ‘’If you two could do that, it’d be much appreciated. Try and find out what it is and how it works. Then, we can see what it can work.’’

They didn’t have an entire laboratory and several testing rooms for nothing, after all.

Guido nodded. ‘’Then do that we shall! But not today. Tomorrow.’’

Dirt shrugged. ‘’Fine by me.’’

‘’Right, thank you,’’ Star inclined his head at both of them. ‘’Now then, does anyone have anything? If not, we’ll move on to Moondancer’s research.’’

When nothing came forward, Star turned towards Moondancer. ‘’Moondancer?’’ he prompted.

Moondancer cleared her throat. ‘’Well, as you know, last week I took the research we compiled home and worked on it further. I think - think! - I have something now.’’

She pulled a notebook from her saddlebags and put it on the table. ‘’It was a lot of work, but I figured out how to store magic in small crystals.’’

Star’s eyebrows rose. ‘’Can I see?” he requested.

Moondancer passed the notebook to him.

Sweet Tree of Harmony.

If he needed any proof that Moondancer was brilliant, this was it. Star’d worked on this project himself occasionally, but for all the time he spent in the Crystal Empire, crystals were never his forte. He’d never been able to figure out how to circumvent the size issue, and thus, any research he made inevitably got stuck.

The fact that the Crystal Empire’s crystals behaved differently from the rest of the world’s crystals only made the problem harder. Anything Star could confirm worked on them, he would have to retest on crystals from outside the Empire, which was tedious.

‘’This is most impressive,’’ he complimented, before passing the notebook around. ‘’I think with this we’re definitely onto something.’’

Now we just need to continue working on it.




|-x-X-x-|




8 Hot Moon 1008

Who is that?

Flurry stood up and watched the yellow mare that was circling around in the air, slowly climbing down to the ground. She didn’t look like anyone in Sunville. Maybe she was family of someone?

Suddenly, the mare dove down to the ground. It almost seemed like she was going to hit the ground, but she managed to stop just before that, and landed with grace in front of the gates.

Flurry wasn’t sure what to do. The mare was probably here for a reason, but she wasn’t supposed to show herself to people from outside Sunville.

‘’Hello? Is anyone there?’’

If I don’t get too close to her, I will be safe.

With that decided, Flurry walked out of the shadows of the tree. ‘’Hello miss,’’ she said. ‘’Can I help you?’’

The mare looked down from the gate at her. ‘’Hello, sweetie,’’ she said. ‘’Do you live here?’’

‘’Yes,’’ Flurry replied. ‘’Are you looking for someone?’’

The mare suddenly didn’t look happy anymore. ‘’Does Star Tower live here?’’

Flurry hesitated. Her first instinct was to answer truthfully, but Dad had told her to be cautious of strangers, especially strangers asking after him specifically. 

‘’I just want to talk to him about something important,’’ the mare continued. ‘’Is he home?’’

The mare didn’t look dangerous. And if she was, Flurry could always run. ‘’He’s home,’’ Flurry finally answered. ‘’You can come in, the gate’s unlocked. I’ll walk with you, miss.’’

‘’Thanks, dearie.’’ The mare opened the gate a little and slipped through it, before walking over to Flurry- and suddenly stopping.

‘’You’re- you’re Flurry Heart!’’ the mare said excitedly. ‘’Look at you! You’re so adorable!’’

Adorable? ‘’Thanks?’’

‘’And look at your wings!’’ the mare continued. ‘’They’re big for your age! And so pretty!’’

Flurry couldn’t help but feel a little proud of that. ‘’Thanks,’’ she repeated, more resolutely this time. ‘’Who are you?’’

‘’Oh, didn’t I say? My name’s Skystreak.’’

Skystreak?

‘’You’re the mare Dad took on a date, right?’’ Flurry asked with a tilt of her head.

‘’Dad- Oh, you mean Star? Y-yeah, I went on a date with him,’’ Skystreak said. ‘’That’s actually why I’m here. Sort of. It’s complicated.’’

Flurry narrowed her eyes a little. ‘’Complicated like what?’’

Skystream suddenly looked very nervous. ‘’Uhhh… let’s just say it’s a big thing. A very big thing. I’d rather not talk about it here.’’

Flurry watched her for a few more moments, before nodding. ‘’Okay. Come on then.’’ She spread her wings and flew down the road, Skystreak following behind her.

‘’Your flight is really stable,’’ Skystreak said when they landed. ‘’You’ve got such big wings, yet you’re still able to fly that well. I’m impressed.’’

Flurry blushed a little. ‘’Thanks.’’ She folded her wings to her side again, then walked up the stairs and knocked on the door. ‘’Daddy, I’m back!’’

She saw a golden flash through the windows, then the door opened. ‘’Hello-’’

‘’Hi,’’ Skystream said nervously.

Dad looked at Skystream. ‘’Hi,’’ he said after a few seconds of silence. ‘’What are you doing here?’’

‘’Can I come in?’’ Skystream asked. ‘’We need to talk.’’

Dad glanced at her, then nodded. ‘’Sure, come in.’’ He stepped aside, and both Flurry and Skystream walked in.

‘’Shall we talk in the living room?’’ Dad suggested as he closed the door. 

‘’Sure.’’

Flurry felt a little excluded. Dad’s attention was completely on Skystream, and he seemed very interested in why she was here. Why was a mystery, but Flurry wasn’t sure if she liked it.

‘’So why are you here?’’ Dad asked as they entered the living room. ‘’Not that I’m complaining, mind.’’

Skystreak stopped and turned to him.

‘’I’m pregnant.’’
> Act 1: Chapter 16: Decision
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

8 Hot Moon 1008

What.

Star stumbled back, as if he’d been struck. 

Flurry, bless her sweet little heart, immediately reached out to him. ‘’Are you alright, daddy?’’

Keep the panic for later, Star reprimanded himself, before nodding. ‘’I’m very surprised, that's all,’’ he said.

‘’Oh thank Celestia,’’ he heard Skystreak  mutter.

‘’I…’’ Whatever he was going to say stopped in his throat as he saw the raw panic and fear in her eyes and stance. Celestia, she was terrified.

That, more than anything, convinced him that she truly believed it was his child. If she’d been lying to him, for whatever reason, she wouldn’t be so afraid. But it was, and she feared what he might do.

Not that he would do anything to her for something that was his fault.

‘’I’m- are you alright?’’ It was a stupid question, but it was the only thing he could think of.

Tentatively, Skystreak  nodded. ‘’Y-yeah,’’ she said softly. ‘’Aside from some stomach aches, that is.’’

‘’And you’ve seen a doctor?’’ Star pressed on. Better to cover all your bets at once.

Again, Skystreak  nodded. ‘’I did, and he confirmed it.’’

Star sighed. ‘’Okay.’’ Time to plan. And as always, first things first.

‘’Flurry,’’ he said, looking down at the filly, ‘’this is a conversation for us two. Why don’t you go play in your room?’’

‘’Okay daddy.’’ Flurry gave him a quick hug, before walking out of the room. However, she stopped in the doorway, and turned back around.

‘’So I’m getting a sibling?’’

Star couldn’t help but smile even as he tried to figure out the best answer to that. ‘’Yes,’’ he decided to say.

Flurry smiled brightly. ‘’Okay! Bye!’’

‘’Bye,’’ Star and Skystreak  both replied.

As soon as Star estimated Flurry was upstairs, he cleared his throat. ‘’So…’’

‘’I want to keep the child,’’ Skystreak  said immediately. ‘’And… I want to raise him or her together. Or try to, at least.’’

‘’That’s what I want to do too,’’ Star admitted. He was not going to run away from this.

Skystreak  stepped closer to him. ‘’I haven’t told my parents, or anyone else,’’ she confessed. ‘’I just found out yesterday.’’

Star nodded. ‘’Okay.’’

‘’Are you sure you want to do this?’’ Skystreak  asked. ‘’I mean, it seems like-’’

Star held up a hoof. ‘’Of course I want to be there for my child!’’

‘’But- but I tricked you!’’

Tricked me? Star tilted his head. ‘’I don’t follow.’’

‘’You don’t even like me!’’ Skystreak  cried out. ‘’I just forced you to go on a date with me, and then we- and now I’m pregnant!’’ Tears were starting to leak out of her eyes.

Before Star could say anything to that, she wailed, ‘’It’s all my fault!’’ before turning and running away.

Star leapt to action after a split-second of indecisiveness, cutting off Skystreak ’s escape by teleporting in front of her. ‘’It’s not your fault,’’ he said.

Skystreak  cursed under her breath, or at least it sounded like that. She attempted to get past him, but he wouldn’t let her run away from this. Not without talking about it first, at the least.

‘’Sit,’’ he commanded gently, before grabbing Skystreak ’s shoulder and pulling her down with him as he sat down on the floor. ‘’Breathe.’’

‘’O-okay.’’ Skystreak  settled herself in front of him, leaning in close as she slowly took deep breaths.

Star leaned in as well, and Skystreak  hesitantly rested herself against Star, her head craned around his neck. They sat in silence, broken only by their soft breaths.

‘’Thank you,’’ Skystreak  said after a minute. ‘’I’m sorry for freaking out.’’

‘’It’s alright,’’ Star said. ‘’I don’t mind.’’

‘’Thanks,’’ Skystreak  said. Then, in a very surprising move, she leaned against Star fully, exhaling contently after a moment.

For once, Star had no idea what to do. The best thing he could think of was trying to comfort Skystreak , but how to do that? With Crystal, it had been easier: she trusted him no matter the situation, and he had always been able to help her. Star wasn’t sure how he could help with this.

‘’Do you want anything?’’ he asked eventually. ‘’Something to drink or eat?’’

‘’No, but thanks,’’ Skystreak  replied a moment later. ‘’Can we… stay like this for a time?’’

‘’Sure,’’ Star agreed. Hesitantly, he put his forelegs around Skystreak ’s neck, giving her a very loose hug.

This was going to be a lot of chaos. A lot of chaos.




|-x-X-x-|




8 Hot Moon 1008

‘’Pregnant,’’ Emerald repeated for the sixth time in half as many minutes.

This was just terrific beyond all measure. Star, on his one-night stand, had gotten that mare pregnant. 

Amore, give me strength, she prayed, because she was definitely going to need it.

Flurry, of course, was ecstatic at the news, and so was Magic when she’d been told. Daygleam, on the other hoof…

‘’Why didn’t he use protection?!’’ Daygleam asked angrily. ‘’It’s not that f- it’s not that hard, is it?’’

That was a very good question - one of several Daygleam had asked, if one listened closely to her rant - that Emerald wanted an answer about too.

But Star had sent Flurry to tell Emerald and Daygleam of this revelation, and also to tell them to keep away from the mansion for a while, while he and his… whatever they were, talked.

Emerald didn’t agree, per se, but she did appreciate his request for privacy, at least for now. Emerald would like privacy too, in this situation.

‘’Mommy,’’ Magic asked, ‘’why are you so angry? Isn’t it nice that Flurry is getting another sibling?’’

The wonders of a child’s mind.

‘’I’m not angry about that, sweetheart,’’ Daygleam said with the most intense tonal switch Emerald had heard in a while. ‘’I’m angry about how it happened.’’

Magic and Flurry both frowned. ‘’I don’t get it,’’ Magic said after a moment.

‘’Yeah, me neither,’’ Flurry added.

‘’Well, come here and I’ll try to explain, sweethearts,’’ Daygleam said, and Emerald took the cue to make space for the two foals, who laid themselves between the two older mares.

‘’So, let me explain why I’m angry.’’ Daygleam cleared her throat. ‘’There’s lots of things you don’t need to know until you’re older, and how foals are made is one of them. For now, let’s just say foals are made when a mare and stallion love each other very much.’’

Magic nodded understandingly and Flurry said, ‘’Okay.’’

‘’But, they don’t have to keep loving each other,’’ Daygleam continued. ‘’It just has to happen for a short while, and then there’s going to be a foal.’’

‘’So Dad and Skystreak don’t love each other?’’ Flurry asked.

Emerald jumped in. ‘’That’s what they’re talking about now, Flurry. Having a foal is a big thing for both parents.’’

‘’But Dad knows how to take care of foals!’’ Flurry protested. ‘’He’s taking care of me, and he took care of his sister!’’

‘’That’s true,’’ Emerald agreed, ‘’but he wasn’t there for the pregnancy of either his sister or you. It’s different.’’

‘’Oh, okay.’’ Flurry snuggled up against Emerald’s side. ‘’But I still don’t get why Daygleam is angry.’’

Daygleam sighed, and reached out with her hoof to pat Flurry’s head. ‘’It’s because I’ve seen lots of foals and parents get into bad situations because of things like this,’’ she explained, ‘’and I don’t want that to happen here.’’

Flurry and Magic both looked thoughtful, and then Magic nodded. ‘’Thanks for explaining, mommy.’’

Daygleam bent her head down and nuzzled Magic. Not to be left behind, Flurry looked up at Emerald, and who was she to resist such an invitation?




|-x-X-x-|




8 Hot Moon 1008

‘’So.’’ Star cleared his throat, and looked around the room.

Skystreak was sitting next to him, while Daygleam and Emerald sat on the other side of the table, and Flurry and Magic next to them.

‘’Everyone,’’ he began, ‘’I’d like you to meet someone.’’

That, of course, was Skystreak’s cue. ‘’I’m Skystreak,’’ she introduced herself. ‘’I work at the Manebourne Weather Bureau, and I am twenty-four years old.’’ She glanced at Star, and he squeezed her hoof as he looked back reassuringly.

They’d agreed on what to say, of course. This conversation was likely to dissolve into an incoherent mess otherwise.

‘’I am pregnant with Star’s foal.’’

There. She’d said it. Now the cat was out of the bag, and Star could only hope all went well.

‘’Flurry told us as much,’’ Emerald remarked calmly. ‘’What is your plan?’’

And this, this was the deal-breaker. ‘’We’re keeping the foal.’’

Emerald exhaled. Daygleam’s brow twitched. ‘’And?’’ she asked.

‘’And…’’ Star picked up the thread Skystreak had left dangling. ‘’We’re going to try and make this relationship work.’’

Decidedly not easy.

‘’Okay,’’ Emerald said after a few seconds. ‘’Okay. Good.’’

The most awkward moment in Star’s life passed by in silence. Then, Flurry spoke up. ‘’So, I’m getting a sibling?’’

‘’Yes,’’ Star said immediately. ‘’You are.’’

He was becoming a father. The prospect was no less terrifying now than when he’d held Crystal for the first time. 

‘’Yay!’’ Flurry cheered, and that was, of course, adorable.

‘’I am going to stay in my apartment in Manebourne for the time being,’’ Skystreak continued. ‘’At least, for the coming months.’’

They’d agreed to this too, of course. Skystreak still had a job, and while Star’s funds were more than sufficient for paying for all of them, it would still be a strain he’d rather not have.

‘’And you’ll come around regularly?’’ Daygleam asked politely.

‘’Of course,’’ Skystreak replied. ‘’There’s no reason not to.’’

Daygleam nodded. ‘’Well, congratulations, both of you. This is a life-changing thing.’’

‘’It is,’’ Emerald agreed. ‘’So indeed, congratulations.’’

‘’Congrats, daddy!’’ Flurry chirped.

‘’Congrats, Star,’’ Magic added a little more softly.

‘’Thank you, all of you,’’ Star said after a moment. ‘’Truly, I’m grateful.’’
> Act 1: Chapter 17: Not-so glittering caves
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

16 Hot Moon 1008

‘’Yes, move those books over there, please,’’ Twilight requested, pointing at the corner.

‘’As you say, Twilight,’’ Spike replied, before lifting up the box and walking away with it to the place Twilight had just pointed at, before setting it down again. ‘’What’s in this?’’ he asked as he tapped his claws on the lid of the box.

‘’The more expansive spell books,’’ Twilight answered. ‘’They’re like encyclopedias, and cover basically every avenue of magic not illegal or dark.’’

‘’I thought all dark magic was illegal,’’ Sweetie mused from her seat at the table, where she was busy laying out a set of maps that, if Twilight remembered correctly, showed Equestria, Equus, and the most recent acquisition, a map of the Rambling Rock Ridge.

‘’Well, most of it is,’’ Twilight admitted, turning to face Sweetie, ‘’but some minor spells are allowed, and some aren’t even regulated! Like the lineage rituals, for instance. All blood magic is considered dark magic, but the lineage rituals and a few others are all legal to use as long as you have the proper training and certification.’’

‘’Huh,’’ Sweetie said, before turning her head to look at Spike. ‘’Is she always this detailed?’’

‘’You should know that by now,’’ Spike returned with a slight grin.

Sweetie blushed, and averted her head back to the table. Twilight saw Spike blush too, and couldn’t help a smile of her own forming.

Even if they are taking an awful long time for it.

Twilight had tried her best to help it along by giving Sweetie duties that put her in proximity to Spike as often as possible. If either of them had noticed it, they probably hadn’t put two and two together yet.

Well, Twilight wasn’t going to spell it out for them.

But…

‘’I’m going to check on the others,’’ she said. ‘’You two can continue your work here, alright?’’

‘’Sure thing, Twilight,’’ Spike said a moment too late. Was he still trying to inconspicuously stare at Sweetie?

‘’Y-yeah, sure,’’ Sweetie agreed. ‘’I’ve still got plenty to do, after all.’’

‘’I’m sure you do,’’ Twilight said. ‘’I'll tell the others you said hi, alright? Bye!’’

‘’Bye Twilight!’’

‘’Bye!’’

As soon as the door was closed behind her, Twilight’s smile turned into a grin. Time to listen in.

She turned around and cast a listening spell on the door, before casting another spell to make herself invisible. That done, she leaned close to the door and listened.




|-x-X-x-|




16 Hot Moon 1008

The silence after Twilight closed the door was deafening.

After a few very awkward seconds, Spike cleared his throat. ‘’I’ll just…’’ he trailed off, unsure of what he could actually do. His eye fell on another box. Perfect.

‘’Move this,’’ he said, grabbing the box and lifting it up. He had no idea where Twilight wanted it to go, but he’d just put it somewhere out of the way for now.

And in doing so, keep himself from thinking about that beautiful mare…

Focus.

The box was moved, and now he had nothing to do again.

Sun, he was embarrassing himself so much! Sweetie probably hated just being in the same room as him.

‘’Spike?’’

‘’Wuh- yeah?’’ Oh fuck.

‘’Can you come here, please?’’ Sweetie asked. Her voice was like a sweet - pa-dum bsssh - caress to his ears.

‘’Of course,’’ he agreed, quickly walking over to the table. Sweetie pulled out a chair for him with her magic, and he sat down in it, trying to ignore the flowery scent of Sweetie’s shampoo entering his nose.

He hadn’t been this close to her in months. Intentionally, of course, but the point remained. ‘’What do you need?’’

Sweetie was silent for a moment. ‘’I’ve been thinking,’’ she then said.

‘’About what?’’ Spike asked when Sweetie said nothing more.

‘’About…’’ Sweetie’s eyes, which had been looking at the table even as her face was turned to him, looked up and met him. ‘’Us.’’

What.

‘’Wu-’’

‘’Want to go on a date?’’

It took Spike all of one second to reply to that. ‘’Of course!’’

‘’Great,’’ Sweetie said.

And then silence.

‘’Well this is awkward,’’ Spike managed to say after a full minute of silently staring at Sweetie’s face.

Sweetie giggled. ‘’Yes, a little.’’

‘’So…’’ Spike wasn’t used to searching for words like this, but eventually he found them. ‘’What’s our date gonna look like?’’

‘’Good question.’’

Not the answer Spike would have wanted to hear, or maybe he would have. He didn’t know for sure. ‘’Well, there’s not much we can do,’’ he thought aloud. ‘’Maybe just find a place to talk? One that’s nicer than this.’’

Sweetie giggled again. ‘’Yeah, this place is a little stuffy.’’

‘’Twilight would probably object to that,’’ Spike pointed out.

‘’Probably,’’ Sweetie agreed with a smile, before blushing a little. ‘’I should have thought more about this.’’

‘’I don’t mind,’’ Spike said reassuringly, and he really didn’t.




|-x-X-x-|




16 Hot Moon 1008

Well, that’s interesting.

Twilight leaned away from the door and turned around. She needn’t know anything more about Spike’s dating life, thank you very much.

Instead, she made her way to the central chamber of the hideout. The caverns were spacious but rough, though the underground was stable enough. Still, if this was to be their headquarters they needed to refurbish.

Luckily, that was what the others were doing. Or at least, it was their assigned task. Whether they were actually doing it was another thing.

Twilight arrived in the central chamber pretty quickly; she hadn’t placed her own rooms too far from the centre of everything for a reason.

The central chamber was currently filled with ponies moving all sorts of things, mostly crates containing various items that Twilight could probably remember if she put her mind to it.

‘’Princess Twilight!’’

Since they had joined the resistance - which they still needed a good name for, and a logo, and so much more - Rumble and Diamond Tiara had taken a leading spot in the directing of new members. Rumble did more work than Diamond, obviously, what with the foal and all, but Diamond was a natural at directing ponies, when she wasn’t scolding them.

‘’Good day, Rumble,’’ Twilight greeted with a smile. ‘’How are you and Diamond?’’

‘’We’re doing good,’’ the young pegasus replied with an easy smile of his own. ‘’Amethyst has been getting better at staying quiet through the nights too, so that’s a plus.’’

‘’I can imagine,’’ Twilight chuckled. ‘’Whenever Spike woke up as a baby, my mom would have to be careful or she’d end up with a burnt muzzle.’’

Rumble winced. ‘’Yikes. Nasty. The worst I can expect is her vomiting all over me.’’

‘’Still not a pleasant experience,’’ Twilight remarked. ‘’But let’s move to a different topic; how’s everyone settling in?’’

‘’Well, I think,’’ Rumble replied. ‘’I’ve only heard a few complaints and I’ve addressed all of those as best I could.’’

‘’Good, good.’’ Twilight nodded at him. ‘’We need everyone to be happy; we’re going to be staying here for a while.’’

‘’And then?’’

That was a very good question. Building up a nation-wide resistance was no mean feat. But Twilight had ideas, and she had her friends. They could make this work.

‘’We’ll build a resistance,’’ she told Rumble. ‘’To make sure Amethyst can grow up in peace.’’

Rumble smiled, and nodded. ‘’You’ve got my wings, Princess.’’

He stuck out his hoof, and they shook it.
> Act 1: Chapter 18: The world continues to turn
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

22 Hot Moon 1008

If there was one thing Ludvig hated about Turhamn, it was the rain. Even in the summer, it never stopped raining, with the exception of a few swelteringly hot days, maybe two weeks in total, between Thunder Moon and Barley Moon. 

At least Everfrost, for all that it did homage to its name from Harvest Moon to Sap Moon, had a pretty dry summer as well. And the snow was unpleasantly cold, but warm enough clothes and a good fire had kept it away. But nothing prevented Ludvig from being rained on.

With a soft curse, he pulled his cloak a little tighter around him. The wet stones under his boots were slippery and not completely stable, and Ludvig had no intention of falling on his beak.

I swear to the Lady. if this informant was wrong, I will turn his body into mincemeat.

Ludvig turned right, departing from the street into an alleyway. He tensed for a moment, assessing the dark alley with his claw on the grip of his sword. 

When, after a few seconds of waiting, nothing came forward, Ludvig allowed his grip to relax. For the time being, everything seemed clear.

Still alert, he continued on into the alley. For being quite far away from the centre of Turhamn, it was surprisingly clean. 

Curiously clean.

Suspiciously clean.

Suddenly, a door opened. Ludvig dove to the side as a griffon poked his head out of it, trusting on the enchantments of his cloak, the darkness of the alleyway and the rain to keep himself hidden from sight.

The griffon pulled his head back after a moment, and then stepped outside fully. He wore a black cloak and some similarly-dark clothes underneath, or so it at least appeared. Ludvig couldn’t see if the griffon was carrying a weapon, but he didn’t think so. Perhaps a clawgun, but no more than that.

Ludvig considered his options. He could trust in his cloak to allow the griffon to pass by without seeing him, or he could step out of the shadows and act. A quick glance over his shoulder showed no one was passing by the alleyway.

The griffon turned and locked the door.

Here goes nothing.

With a burst of speed, Ludvig crossed the distance between him and the other griffon. Before he could react, Ludvig knocked him out with a single punch. The griffon would have fallen against the door, if Ludvig hadn’t caught him and dragged him into the shadows instead.

Once he was sure he wouldn’t be seen, Ludvig began to search in the griffon’s clothes. He quickly found the key of the door, as well as the evidence that confirmed his informant’s claims: this was a dark magic cult.

With a sigh, Ludvig turned away from the griffon and approached the door. The key effortlessly slid into the hole, and after figuring out which way he had to turn it, the door opened.

Ludvig poked his head around the edge and saw a stairway, again immaculately cleaned, leading up into the building. As soon as he set a claw inside the building, he felt a shiver run up his back.

Right then, time to do the Vakt’s job for them again.

Ludvig preemptively drew his sword, holding it ready should anything appear to be in acute need of a treatment by it. With that, he carefully walked to and up the stairs.

Once he had finished climbing them, he - predictably - was greeted by a hallway. Strangely, there was only one door, all the way at the end of the hallway. Ludvig scowled as he felt the dark magic emanating from that door.

Ludvig advanced on the door as softly as he could. Luckily, the planks forming the floor didn’t creak or otherwise work in tandem with his body to create something that might be able to alert the possible contents of the room he was approaching.

Ludvig laid his claw on the door, and pushed.

The door opened.

Someone screamed, and a dark shape charged him.

Without looking Ludvig raised his sword and cut down the charging figure, sidestepping it’s corpse as he paused to assess the room.

Seven cultists, all wearing the same dark clothes as the one he’d knocked out. Another one was on the floor, bleeding from his single cut. Terrific.

‘’Right then,’’ Ludvig said, managing a smile, ‘’what do we have here?’’

‘’Kill him!’’ one of the cultists shouted, and they all pulled out long, wicked daggers, before charging at him.

Ludvig parried the first attack, cut off three claws at once, swatted someone away with his empty claw, and by that point the rest decided to throw their blades. 

‘’Wise,’’ Ludvig remarked. ‘’Though I was expecting a better challenge, it has to be said.’’




|-x-X-x-|




29 Hot Moon 1008

‘’Welcome to De Vleugels, Prince Stridande,’’ Gerlach greeted, rising from his throne. Gabriella rose with him, putting on her best smile for the Vedinian delegate.

Prince Stridande bowed, as was customary. ‘’It is an honour to be here, grand duke, grand duchess.’’

‘’Did you have an amicable journey?’’ Gabriella inquired.

‘’I did,’’ Stridande replied. ‘’The train was most comfortable.’’

‘’That is good to hear,’’ Gerlach said, taking over again. ‘’Shall we continue this discussion in a more relaxed setting?’’

‘’Of course.’’

It was the dance of nobility, as old as the concept itself. Sometimes exhilarating, sometimes mind numbingly boring. But always intriguing. And Gabriella loved every minute of it.

They’d picked the dining hall to meet with Stridande. If the negotiations lasted longer than expected, they could simply have food brought in to continue without having to pause. Gabriella’s only concern was that Grover might get sad if she or Gerlach didn’t visit him, but there was nothing they could do about that.

‘’Please, have a seat,’’ Gerlach offered, before pulling out the seat next to his own for Gabriella, like the gentlegriff he was.

‘’Thank you,’’ Stridande agreed, sitting down as well.

‘’Wine?’’ Gabriella offered.

‘’Please.’’

With a snap of her claws, Gabriella summoned a servant and commanded him to serve some wine. As they waited for said wine to arrive, Gabriella let her eyes wander across the paintings decorating the wall, admiring the skill of the painters to represent those Weijermars of past days. From Gerlach I the Negotiator, who united the fractured duchies and baronies of Feathisia into one realm, to Godrin the Explorer, who led the first fleets down to Zebrica, establishing contacts with Hippogriffia and even far-away Kiria.

‘’My lords, my lady, the wine.’’

Ah.

‘’Thank you,’’ Gabriella said, taking the glass once it had been poured full. The rich scent of authentic Strawberry Wine entered her nose, and she couldn’t help but sigh as the warm liquid fell down her throat.

‘’Shall we begin?’’ Gerlach suggested. ‘’We’ve plenty to discuss, after all.’’

‘’Very true,’’ Stridande agreed. ‘’Let’s start with the business at claw: the so-called ‘Lord-Protector’ in Griffinheim.’’

Gabriella balled her claw as thoughts of revenge on that murderous, insane bastard flowed through her mind. He was contained in the lands around Griffinheim for now, but he was going to try to break free eventually. That was why they needed Vedina.

Of course, the Vedinians knew that. That’s why they had sent a prince-general to negotiate instead of just a prince or a royal delegate. 

Gabriella placed her glass on the table. Here goes nothing. 




|-x-X-x-|




2 Thunder Moon 1008

‘’It’s a pleasure to meet you, madam Gaudreau,’’ Jet said as he offered the griffoness his hoof.

The claw he got in response was firm and warm. ‘’The pleasure is all mine, monsieur President,’’ Cécile Gaudreau replied. ‘’And thank you for travelling all the way here.’’

Over the past three months, the Aquileian refugees had been spread throughout the towns of New South Bales, most notably Canmarea, the capital of the province. Per agreement, no Aquileian was allowed to leave New South Bales, though Jet Set was certain a few had done so regardless, either ignorant or uncaring of the rule. As long as the amount was kept to a manageable level, it wasn’t too much of a problem.

‘’Of course, though I must apologize for the delay in our meeting,’’ Jet said.

‘’It is no problem,’’ Cécile Gaudreau replied. ‘’Ruling a nation, especially in turbulent times as these, is a time-consuming task, and I would not want to take your attention away from it.’’

‘’I don’t disagree,’’ Jet remarked, ‘’but this is also important, and I can’t let you and your people languish here, ignored.’’

‘’Quite,’’ Cécile Gaudreau agreed. ‘’We have managed well enough. The ponies here have been very kind and generous.’’

‘’Well, I’ll be sure to tell the Governor that the next time I see him,’’ Jet said. ‘’For now, let’s move on to the main topic of today.’’

Cécile Gaudreau inclined her head. ‘’Indeed, let’s.’’

They sat down in comfortable chairs, and then the negotiating could start in earnest.

‘’You cannot continue your war from New Mareland,’’ was the first thing Jet told the griffoness. ‘’I respect your struggle, but I will not have my nation dragged into a war that isn’t ours.’’

‘’I would not ask so,’’ Cécile Gaudreau said. ‘’You are right that it is not your fight. The others in the Conseil révolutionnaire d’Aquilée might not see it that way, but I do.’’

Well, that was a start, at least. There were still a great many things to discuss, but this was the most important.

‘’That is good,’’ Jet replied. ‘’Will it remain that way?’’

Cécile shrugged. ‘’I’ll do my best, monsieur President, but I am only one griffoness.’’

‘’And a very fine one at that,’’ Jet quipped.

‘’Indeed!’’ Cécile laughed. ‘’But you have my promise that I shall ensure the Discrets have no cause to go to war with you.’’

And, in the end, that was all Jet could ask for, on that front.




|-x-X-x-|




10 Thunder Moon 1008

Arclight was many things. Director of the OHS, for one. Stallion of great importance, for two. Lonely, always.

But one thing he found himself being far too often for his liking was concerned. And right now, he was very concerned.

There were several reports on his desk, from agents all across the Riverlands. They all had a common topic; prophecy.

The Wave-Gazers of Bakara, the Conclave of Divination of Wittenland, the Fate-Weavers of Deponya, the Stone-Seers of Diamond Mountain and various Oracles in Nimbusia had all, over the past days, received a mostly-similar vision of doom and darkness.

Now, one such vision would have been concerning enough, but it seemed that everyone with a modicum of precognition ability was getting the same dream. That was downright disturbing.

There wasn’t much Arclight could do about it; visions rarely gave actionable intelligence, and this one was no different. He couldn’t do much against ‘darkness’, except for turning on the lights.

Well, he would try his best regardless. And that included increasing operations outside the River Coalition. Of course the main focus would still be on the member states of the Coalition, but there were threats outside it that could not be ignored any longer.

Arclight reached over and pulled an empty piece of paper and a pen towards him. He needed to plan.
> Act 1: Chapter 19: Summer's End
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

20 Thunder Moon 1008

‘’Like this?’’

‘’Yes…’’ 

‘’Ow!’’

‘’Sorry!’’ Skystreak  apologized immediately. ‘’I should have been more careful!’’

‘’It’s alright,’’ Flurry said before Mom or Daygleam could say anything. ‘’Pain’s already gone.’’ It had only been there for a second, and then it was gone again.

‘’Still should have watched better,’’ Skystreak  replied, smiling sheepishly. ‘’This braid is more difficult than I thought.’’

‘’You just have to keep a steady hoof,’’ Mom explained gently. ‘’Keep in mind what you want to do, and do it carefully.’’ The twin-linked braids in her hair showed her point.

‘’Sound advice,’’ Daygleam added. ‘’It’s good advice for life in general too.’’

‘’I guess,’’ Skystreak  said. She glanced down at her barrel and smiled. ‘’Though sometimes not being careful can end up good as well.’’

Daygleam and Emerald both smiled, and Flurry smiled as well. She couldn’t wait for her sibling to be born!

‘’Speaking of, how is the little one?’’ Daygleam asked.

‘’He’s been quiet so far.’’ Skystreak  was beaming as she spoke. ‘’I’ve only felt him a few times.’’

‘’He doesn’t keep you up?’’ Daygleam pouted. ‘’Magic did with me. Though I guess you’re not that far along yet.’’

‘’I’m sorry for keeping you awake, mommy,’’ Magic spoke up, before rising from the floor and walking over to her mother.

Daygleam turned to her and nuzzled her face. ‘’It’s alright, sweetie.’’

‘’Okay.’’

I wonder if I kept mommy awake at night, Flurry thought.

‘’Do you know if it’s gonna be a colt or a filly?’’ Magic asked, and it was a pretty good question.

Skystreak shook her head. ‘’We’ll have to wait a little longer for that,’’ she answered. ‘’But when I do know, I’ll tell you, alright?’’

‘’Yay!’’

‘’So what do you want it to be?’’ Mom asked either Skystreak or Magic. Maybe both, Flurry wasn’t sure.

‘’I think it’s going to be a colt,’’ Skystreak answered Mom’s question. ‘’But I’d be just as happy with a filly. As long as they are healthy.’’

‘’Hear hear,’’ Daygleam said, before raising her glass of lemonade. ‘’To health!’’

Mom and Skystreak raised their glasses as well. ‘’To health,’’ they repeated. Then the three of them drank at once. 

Flurry lifted her own glass, but instead of raising it she just drank from it. What does raising your glasses even mean?

‘’Mommy, why did you all raise your glasses when you said that?’’

Looks like I’m not the only one.

Daygleam laughed. ‘’It’s called toasting, sweetheart. It’s something you do when you want to celebrate: you raise your glasses and sometimes touch them together, and then you all drink at the same time.’’

‘’Okay,’’ Magic said, before turning to Flurry and whispering, ‘’Grown-ups are weird.’’

‘’Yeah, they are,’’ Flurry agreed.




|-x-X-x-|




20 Thunder Moon 1008

The things Star had to do were numerous. However, one matter currently held precedence above all else: expanding the mansion.

They didn’t need too much, just a room for the foal; however, Star wasn’t going to do this halfway. Aside from a new room for the foal, a more public study might not be such a bad idea, considering Skystreak’s work also covered doing paperwork, and a lot of it at that. Emerald didn’t even have a job, at the moment, but Daygleam would probably appreciate a small working space as well; Star had yet to decide if Skystreak’s study and Daygleam’s workplace would be in the same room or split.

Before he decided that, however, he needed to know what was possible. And for that, he’d headed into Sunville, to the house of one Wide Woods, who had apparently led the construction of Sunville.

Wide Woods’ house was located on the other edge of Sunville, close to one of the many small forests sprawled outside the village. Like all the houses in town, it was made of wood, painted in sandy colours and with a blue roof.

And someone was, evidently, working with wood, if the sawing noises were any indication.

Probably so far away from town because of the noise, Star noted amusedly.

The noises came from the garden behind the house, and so Star walked around it until he arrived in the backyard.

There stood a big earth pony stallion, deep purple coat with a chocolate brown mane, and a log with a saw in it for a cutie mark. 

‘’Excuse me?’’ Star asked.

Wide Woods evidently heard him over his noise-making, as he turned around. ‘’Good afternoon, Mr Spellweaver,’’ he greeted with a smile. ‘’Can I help you?’’

‘’Good afternoon,’’ Star returned the greeting, ‘’and yes, you can. I’m planning to expand my home and I heard you designed and led the construction of Sunville.’’

‘’That I did,’’ Wide Woods acknowledged. ‘’What kind of expansion do you have in mind?’’

‘’On the left wing, when you approach it from the gate,’’ Star began to explain. ‘’I want another room on both floors. Or rooms, I suppose.’’

‘’Well, you’ve certainly come to the right stallion,’’ Wide Woods quipped with a grin. ‘’Do you have schematics of the house?’’

‘’I do,’’ Star affirmed, bringing the rolled-up paper out of his saddlebags. ‘’Is there a table here?”

Wide Woods pointed at a table on the porch, which Star hadn’t yet seen. They both got on the porch and Star spread the schematic out on the table.

Wide Woods took a quick look at it, and whistled. ‘’That probably wasn’t cheap.’’

‘’Well, I didn't build it, I just bought it from the previous owners,’’ Star explained. ‘’But it did cost a pretty penny to buy, yes.’’

Wide Woods hummed. ‘’I’ve got a feeling this’ll take a while,’’ he said after a few seconds. ‘’You want something to drink?’’

‘’What do you have?’’

‘’Beer?’’

‘’Sure.’’

Wide Woods nodded, then went into his house and came out again less than a minute later with two bottles of beer.

One of the few things they import, Star noted, seeing the label on the bottles.

Wide Woods set the bottles down on the table, which was big enough to fit both those bottles and the schematic, though not by much, and popped one of the bottles open. Star followed his example, and after a quick toast they set to work.




|-x-X-x-|




29 Thunder Moon 1008

Thunder Moon was almost over, and on the first of Harvest Moon, school would start in Sunville for the very first time. Flurry’s class - which also held Magic, Berry and Lily, as well as the other friends of the latter two - was the first class Sunville School had ever had, seeing as no foal was older than four yet.

Emerald was worried, even though it really wasn’t necessary.

Flurry had all her friends with her in the class, and there were only twelve or thirteen foals in the class aside from those four. She was only ten minutes away from home, and Emerald had already met with the teacher, a nice and quiet stallion who sounded like he knew what he was doing.

And still, she worried. What if Flurry didn’t like it? What if she couldn’t keep up with the work? What if-

‘’Evening,’’ Daygleam breathed into her ear as she slid up on her left side. ‘’What’s got your mind in a knot?’’

‘’Nothing,’’ Emerald replied, before realising Daygleam was probably thinking about the same things as her. ‘’Flurry,’’ she admitted.

‘’School, huh?’’

‘’Yeah.’’

Daygleam put her foreleg around Emerald’s neck and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. ‘’They’ll be fine,’’ she said, softly but confidently. ‘’Don’t worry about a thing, love.’’

‘’Hmm....’’

‘’I know White Quill,’’ Daygleam continued, ‘’he’s a good stallion. And if he does turn out to be shit at it, Star can always sub in.’’

Emerald snorted. ‘’He’d love it.’’

‘’Of course he would.’’

Emerald returned Daygleam’s earlier gesture of kissing her cheek. ‘’Thanks,’’ she whispered.

‘’You’re welcome.’’

And they watched the sunset together.
> Act 1: Chapter 20: Character Sheet 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Family

Name: Star Tower Spellweaver

Age: 42

Race: Pony (Unicorn)

Cutie Mark Talent: Understanding magic

Parents: Star Tracker Spellweaver née Lilyheart (father, deceased), Roseglimmer Spellweaver (mother, deceased)

Sibling(s): Crystal Star (younger sister, deceased)

Relationships: Skystreak (marefriend)

Children: Flurry Heart Mi Amore (adopted), unborn and unnamed child (with Skystreak)

Skills: advanced magic, combat magic, teaching, writing

-

Name: Emerald Gleam

Age: 33

Race: Pony (Crystal Pony)

Cutie Mark Talent: Working with flowers

Parents: Crystal Gleam (mother, deceased), Heart Worker (father, decased)

Sibling(s): None

Relationships: Daygleam (marefriend)

Children: Flurry Heart Mi Amore (adopted), Magic Tulip (daughter of Daygleam)

Skills: cooking, making clothes, gardening

-

Name: Flurry Heart Mi Amore

Age: 4

Race: Pony (Alicorn)

Cutie Mark Talent: None

Parents: Cadenza Mi Amore (mother, deceased), Shining Armour Sparkle (father, deceased), Star Tower Spellweaver (father, adoptive), Emerald Gleam (mother, adoptive)

Sibling(s): None

Relationships: None

Children: None

Skills: Reading and writing (for her age she’s quite good)

-

Name: Daygleam

Age: 31

Race: Pony (Unicorn)

Cutie Mark Talent: Making toys

Parents: Unknown, presumed deceased

Siblings: Unknown, suspected none

Relationships: Emerald Gleam (marefriend)

Children: Magic Tulip (fathered by unknown), Flurry Heart Mi Amore (adopted daughter of Emerald Gleam)

Skills: Woodwork, drawing

-

Name: Magic Tulip

Age: 4

Race: Pony (Unicorn)

Cutie Mark Talent: None

Parents: Daygleam (mother), Unknown (father)

Siblings: None

Relationships: None

Children: None

Skills: None yet

-

Name: Skystreak

Age: 24

Race: Pony (Pegasus)

Cutie Mark Talent: Weather working

Parents: Stratus High (father), Firebolt (mother)

Siblings: None

Relationships: Star Tower Spellweaver (coltfriend)

Children: unborn and unnamed child (with Star Tower Spellweaver), Flurry Heart Mi Amore (adopted daughter of Star Tower Spellweaver)

Skills: Flying, storm working, thinking out loud




|-x-X-x-|




Residents of Sunville

Name: Lily Bloom

Age: 4

Race: Pony (Earth Pony)

Cutie Mark Talent: None

Parents: Ground Trotter (Father), Sandy (mother)

Siblings: Berry Light

Relationships: None

Children: None

Skills: Playing games

-

Name: Berry Light

Age: 4

Race: Pony (Earth Pony)

Cutie Mark Talent: None

Parents: Ground Trotter (Father), Sandy (mother)

Siblings: Lily Bloom

Relationships: None

Children: None

Skills: Playing games




|-x-X-x-|




The Equestrian Liberation Front

Name: Twilight Sparkle

Age: 28

Race: Pony (Alicorn)

Cutie Mark Talent: Magic

Parents: Night Light (father), Twilight Velvet (Mother)

Siblings: Shining Armour Sparkle (brother, deceased), Spike Sparkle (adopted brother), Cadenza Mi Amore (sister-in-law, deceased)

Children: None

Relationships: None

Skills: Magic, reading, making friends

-

Name: Spike Sparkle

Age: 18

Race: Dragon

Cutie Mark Talent: Not applicable

Parents: Birth parents unknown, Night Light (adoptive father), Twilight Velvet (adoptive mother)

Siblings: Shining Armour Sparkle (adopted brother, deceased), Twilight Sparkle (adopted sister), Cadenza Mi Amore (sister-in-law, deceased)

Children: None

Relationships: Dating Sweetie Belle

Skills: Taking notes, reading comics, organising events

-

Name: Sweetie Belle

Age: 18

Race: Pony (Unicorn)

Cutie Mark Talent: Singing

Parents: Hondo Flanks (father), Cookie Crumbles (mother)

Siblings: Rarity Belle (sister)

Children: None

Relationships: Dating Spike Sparkle

Skills: singing, organising, writing

-

Name: Amethyst Rich

Age: 5 months old

Race: Pony (Earth Pony)

Cutie Mark Talent: None

Parents: Diamond Tiara (mother), Rumble Clouds (father)

Siblings: None

Children: None

Relationships: None

Skills: None




|-x-X-x-|




The Changeling and Lunar Empires

Name: Nightmare Moon

Age: 1000+?

Race: Pony (Alicorn)?

Cutie Mark Talent: Control over the Moon, Stars and the Night

Parents: None

Siblings: None

Relationships: Chrysalis (engaged)

Skills: Combat magic, dark magic, strategy, tactics, dream magic

-

Name: Chrysalis

Age: 78

Race: Changeling?

Cutie Mark Talent: Not applicable

Parents: Visylia (queen, deceased)

Siblings: None

Relationships: Nightmare Moon (engaged)

Skills: Combat magic, manipulation, strategy, tactics, infiltration




|-x-X-x-|




Other Characters

Name: Ludvig Bergkvist

Age: 41

Race: Griffon

Cutie Mark Talent: Not applicable

Parents: Hendrik Bergkvist, Madeline Bergkvist née Asplund

Siblings: None

Relationships: None

Children: None

Skills: Sword fighting, politics, tactics, strategy

-

Name: Jet Set

Age: 38

Race: Pony (Unicorn)

Cutie Mark Talent:

Parents:

Siblings: None

Relationships: None

Children: None

Skills: Politics, public speaking, administration
> Act 2: Chapter 1: School
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

1 Harvest Moon 1008

‘’Ready for school?’’

Flurry looked away from the mirror and up at Emerald. ‘’Yeah!’’

She was tired, sure, but that was because she wasn’t used to getting up so early. And the tiredness was ignored in favour of excitement for her first school day.

There was a pair of saddlebags on her back, light brown things with crystal buttons that shimmered like a rainbow. Inside, Flurry had put some crayons for drawing, a notebook, some oats, a small canteen of water, and of course, her Whammy.

 ‘’That’s good.’’ Emerald smiled, then leaned in and placed a kiss on her cheek. ‘’Then I think it’s time we go.’’

Together, they walked out of Flurry’s room, down the stairs where Star was waiting.

‘’Ready, sweetheart?’’ he asked after nuzzling her face.

‘’Sure!’’

‘’Let’s go then. Don’t want to be late, after all.’’ Star opened the doors and walked out into the garden.

The walk down the road to Sunville was spent in comfortable silence. Flurry walked between Emerald on her left and Star on her right, occasionally brushing against one or the other with her wing or her leg. The little touches reassured her and calmed her nerves.

‘’Hey Flurry!’’

Lily and Berry were standing at the beginning of the side-road leading to their home, together with their mother. 

‘’Hi girls!’’ Flurry greeted, slipping away from her parents to give the two of them hugs, which they eagerly returned.

‘’Are you excited for school?’’ Lily asked her when they had finished hugging.

‘’Of course!’’ Flurry replied.

‘’So am I!’’ Lily said. ‘’It’s going to be fun!’’

Berry, however, didn’t look very convinced. ‘’Why does it have to be so early?’’ she said mournfully. ‘’I wanna go back to bed.’’

‘’You’ll get used to it,’’ Sandy told her daughter, before turning her head and smiling at Flurry. ‘’Good morning, Flurry.’’

‘’Good morning, Sandy!’’ Flurry said back.

After the adults had greeted each other as well, they moved as a group towards Sunville proper. They came across a few other foals who were also heading to school, and the adults talked with each other as the children did the same.

When they arrived at the school building, there was a tall white-coated earth pony stallion waiting at the door. Flurry liked the way he smiled; something about it was just likeable to her.

‘’Good morning, all!’’ the stallion called out after a few moments, and the two groups quieted down. ‘’My name is White Quill, and I shall be your teacher for the coming years! I’m pleased to see so many of you!’’

He smiled. ‘’Now, say goodbye to your parents, and then we can come inside and start your first lesson.’’




|-x-X-x-|




1 Harvest Moon 1008

Emerald watched Flurry head inside, talking with her friends.

There she goes.

‘’Well,’’ Star said next to her. ‘’There she goes. If I was a more poetic stallion I’d probably have some commentary, but alas, I am not poetic.’’

‘’Indeed.’’ Emerald smiled as Daygleam stepped closer to her, their tails brushing together.

‘’They’ll be alright,’’ Daygleam mused aloud as the crowd started to disperse; there was work to be done, after all, regardless of the circumstances. ‘’White’s a good guy. He’s one of the few of us that actually got a higher education after we founded Sunville; most, including me, get by with self-taught skills and what our cutie marks give us. He knows his job.’’

‘’If not I can always take it,’’ Star quipped.

‘’You’re a teacher?’

Star was quicker than Daygleam. ‘’I taught Magical Theory and Spellcrafting, at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Teaching four-year olds is a whole different thing, of course, but I could at least try.’’

‘’Well, if White’s ever sick we’ll have a replacement,’’ Daygleam joked. ‘’Come on, let’s go back home.’’

‘’I’ve research to do,’’ Star remarked, ‘’so I’ll sequester myself in my room. Scratch that, I’ll go to the observatory.’’

‘’Okay,’’ Emerald agreed, ‘’We’ll be at Daygleam’s place.’’

‘’Skystreak should be here around dinner,’’ Star informed them.

‘’Then we’ll have it at your place.’’

‘’Sure thing.’’

They said their goodbyes, and then Emerald and Daygleam walked back to the latter’s house. As they did so, Emerald spent the time contemplating Flurry’s experience at school.

Hopefully she’ll like it.




|-x-X-x-|




1 Harvest Moon 1008

Mr White led them to a room filled with mats and toys. ‘’Please, lay down everyone, and gather around me.’’

Magic, Lily, Berry and Flurry all laid down together on one of the mats, one that was close to where Mr White was.

‘’Good, good,’’ Mr White said after a moment. ‘’So, welcome! This is your first day at school! Now, I think you all know each other at least by name, but just for now, please say your names, one at a time.’’ He looked around the room for a moment, then his eye fell on Flurry. ‘’Flurry, why don’t you start?’’

‘’Okay, Mr White. My name is Flurry Heart Mi Amore.’’

‘’Nice to meet you, Flurry Heart Mi Amore,’’ Mr White said. ‘’Next, please.’’

One by one, all the foals in the room told the others their names. Most of them Flurry already knew, but there were a few she didn’t, so that was nice.

‘’Well, that’s done!’’ Mr White said when they were finished. ‘’As I said, it is nice to meet all of you! Now, I’ve got a few things planned for today. First off, we’re going to draw.’’

Flurry wasn’t a very good drawer. It was nice, but she couldn’t get the hang of it. Magic was better than her at it.

As Mr White passed out paper and pencils, he said, ‘’I want you to draw your home or your family, or both. You have thirty minutes, and the time starts when everyone has pencils and paper, alright?’’

Flurry nodded, then grabbed a brown pencil and started drawing the shape of Dad’s home. It was big and shaped like a box, so that wasn’t too hard luckily. Once she had the shape done, she grabbed a blue pencil and started to draw some windows on the walls as well.

She looked over to see Magic was carefully drawing her own home, while Berry and Lily were working on both their family and their home, the former taking charge of the family while the latter drew the home.

‘’That’s a nice drawing, Flurry,’’ Mr White commented as he passed them by. ‘’Keep at it.’’

‘’Thanks, Mr White!’’

Well, she could certainly keep drawing. 

And then she ran into a problem.

Who was she going to draw as her family?

She could Dad and Mom and Daygleam and maybe Skystreak, but should she also draw Mommy and Daddy?

‘’Mr White?’’ she asked, raising her hoof in the air.

‘’Yes, Flurry?’’ Mr White replied as he walked over to her.

‘’Do I need to draw both my daddies?’’

‘’Both- Oh.’’ Mr White frowned. ‘’Hm… just draw whoever you want to draw, Flurry.’’

‘’Okay, Mr White!’’

Mr White gave her a sympathetic look. ‘’I’m glad you’ve got such a big family,’’ he said after a moment of silence, before moving on.

Flurry didn’t say it, but she was glad too.
> Act 2: Chapter 2: Shade
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

5 Harvest Moon

Today, it was a Friday, and thus the last day of the first school week of the fillies and colts of Sunville. Emerald and Star had decided to take their lunch into the garden, as it was a warm, sunny day with little in the way of clouds. Perfect weather for sitting outside, thus.

‘’It’s a bit weird,’’ Star said, ‘’having to get used to this again.’’

Emerald nodded. ‘’I had to get used to it,’’ she agreed. ‘’The house felt… empty, if you know what I mean?’’

‘’I do,’’ Star acknowledged with a nod. ‘’But you get used to it.’’

Emerald surely hoped so. It wasn’t like she didn’t see Flurry at all - school ended at 3 o’clock in the afternoon - but it was still far less than the previous months, and she missed the filly quite a bit.

‘’It’ll be getting colder soon,’’ Star noted. ‘’Perhaps we should do this again tomorrow, with Flurry.’’

‘’Sounds good.’’

Star shifted how he laid on the ground slightly, and then a small orb of golden light formed at the tip of his horn. It kept at the spot it had been created for a few seconds, then drifted off.

‘’I like to keep simple spells like this in shape,’’ Star remarked before Emerald could ask what the Tartarus he was doing. ‘’It’s quite useful to be able to cast these things on the fly.’’

‘’Can you explain it to me?’’ To say Emerald knew little of magic like this was an understatement.

‘’With pleasure,’’ Star replied as he turned his head to face her. ‘’Is there anything in specific you’d like to know?’’

There was not. ‘’Just start from the beginning.’’

‘’As you wish.’’ Star cleared his throat. ‘’Some call magic a muscle, but that’s not quite right, in my opinion. Magic is a skill that one must develop and train with, with the end goal of course being to become a better spellcaster. Some people have more aptitude for magic than other people, and this can be because of a variety of factors. For example, from a young age I was already shown to be quite powerful, and this is in part because of my lineage. The Spellweavers can trace their family back to the Kingdom of Everfree, though it becomes muddled after there.’’

The Kingdom of Everfree?

Emerald hadn’t known that Star’s family went back all the way to the precursor of Equestria, founded by the Three Tribes in the Heartlands of Equestria. Very interesting.

‘’Of course, lineage is not the only thing that determines one’s power. Cutie Marks can also play a role, and you can train your magic to an extent. Plain dumb luck is also a factor. In any case, magic is a skill like any other in that you must use it lest you forget it. It’s a common strategy for spellcasters to continually train a few useful spells so that those are always ready if necessary.’’

‘’Why this spell in particular? Can’t all unicorns make a light like that?’’

‘’It’s one of the few instinctive bits of magic every unicorn with a working horn can cast, yes,’’ Star acknowledged with a nod. ‘’But my spell is a little different; it’s a standard one they teach in Spellcrafting. The first project you embark upon in that subject is creating a new version of one of the three standard spells - those being Telekinesis, Light and Bolt - as a way to understand how basic spellcrafting works. Mine differs from the standard in that it is brighter and follows rudimentary commands - Go there, stay, brighten, et cetera - at the expense of being a little harder to cast.’’

 That sounded… reasonable. ‘’And you use it for making a light, I assume.’’

‘’Correct, but it’s actually pretty versatile. It can serve as a distraction, for example.’’

Star turned his gaze away, and Emerald followed it to see the orb of light had nestled itself in one of the trees, sitting snugly between the leaves. ‘’How long does it last?’’

‘’However long I can keep the spell running,’’ Star replied. ‘’Like this? Hours, at least.’’

Emerald gave him a flat look. ‘’And for a normal person?’’

Star shrugged. ‘’Fifteen minutes? They’d get tired at around ten or so and they’d be red-lining it by fifteen.’’

The spell dissipated. ‘’I’m not exactly standard, of course. I’ve got a deal of natural magical power from my lineage, exposure to magic from an early age to help my understanding of it, a magic-oriented Cutie Mark, and a great deal of training and experience with magic. Barring alicorns or powerful artefacts like the Idol of Boreas, I’m about the most powerful that a unicorn can get.’’

Star chuckled. ‘’I’ve been told by multiple people that it gave me a bit of an inflated ego when I was younger. Of course, none of those people are exactly free of that sin themselves, but I digress, seeing as I am rambling and I do not think you are very interested in said ramblings.’’

‘’I’ve been less interested in things before,’’ Emerald replied diplomatically, smiling slightly. ‘’But thank you for the explanation; it was quite informative.’’

‘’You’re welcome.’’ Star cast a glance at the crowd. ‘’Now then, I do believe it is high time we continue with our lunch.’’

‘’Agreed.’’

Lunch was eaten, and afterwards Star made himself scarce to… somewhere. Emerald had no idea, and she wasn’t that interested in finding out either, seeing as Daygleam had just arrived.

‘’Done working?’’ Emerald inquired after they’d exchanged a quick hug and kiss.

‘’Yes,’’ Daygleam replied, a brilliant lovable smile shining on her face. ‘’I have to do something while Magic’s at school.’’

‘’Can’t you do m-’’

‘’Whenever you like, love, but it’s a little hot for that now, don’t you think?” Daygleam cut her off, then kissed her again before she could reply, which was more than fair. Like Tartarus she was going to complain about being kissed.

‘’Mhmmm…’’

‘’That’s what I thought.’’ Daygleam’s smile was now mischievous, and Emerald found she loved it no less regardless. Everything about this mare was just so… so… the lack of words described exactly what she meant.

‘’Shall we head somewhere in the shade?’’ Daygleam suggested, snapping Emerald out of her haze. ‘’The sun’s bloody hot today.’’

‘’That it is,’’ Emerald agreed. ‘’There’s enough shade around here; choose your pick.’’

‘’As long as you are there…’’

‘’For someone who claims it’s too hot, you are coming on pretty strongly.’’

‘’Oh hush you.’’
> Act 2: Chapter 3: Promise
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

6 Harvest Moon

There was a grand plain, stretching out endlessly towards the horizon. It was grassy, the sort of grass you’d pass over without a second thought. There were barely any changes in height, save for one spot.

Flurry hadn’t ever seen something this flat before. Even the plains outside Crystal City hadn’t been this flat!

She had no idea where she was or how she got here, but somehow she wasn’t panicking. There was nothing to be afraid of here. It was just a plain.

Suddenly, the grass vanished! Flurry jumped back and found she wasn’t standing on anything anymore!

What’s going on?

Something bright and shining-blue appeared before her; a tree? But even the trees of Stardew Forest hadn’t been this blue!

Then, the tree shattered into a million shards without warning. Flurry turned away, but none of the shards hit her, somehow. When she looked back after a few seconds, she saw that the tree was completely gone, replaced by a void of darkness.

She awoke screaming.




|-x-X-x-|




6 Harvest Moon

‘’Was it Nightmare Moon again?’’ Emerald wondered aloud. ‘’But why? If  she knows Flurry is here, why hasn’t she come here yet?’’

All questions that Star had no conclusive answer to. Oh, he would have liked to have answers to them, but the things he liked and the things he wanted often didn’t overlap in a positive way. 

‘’I don’t know if it was Nightmare Moon,’’ he said. ‘’Your second question makes me think that it isn’t. But perhaps she does know we are here, and is merely waiting for the right opportunity. I cannot say with any certainty.’’

‘’So are we still safe here?’’

‘’Sunville’s as out of the way as you can get,’’ Star responded after a moment of thought. ‘’If need be, there are ways to escape.’’

‘’And where to? Besides, I’m not leaving Sunville behind so easily. You know what will happen to them.’’

She had a point there, as much as Star hated to admit it. ‘’I have friends across the continent,’’ he pointed out. ‘’But yes, we shouldn’t leave Sunville at the merest sign of danger, I agree with you on that. Still, if push comes to shove…’’

He let the end of that sentence dangle in the air, and Emerald didn’t bother to finish it for him. That was appreciated, if nothing else.

‘’In any case,’’ Star went on after a moment of silent introspection, ‘’until we know more, there is no need for undue panic. I will inform Jet Set of this and see what he thinks, but there’s no need for the rest of the town to know.’’

‘’You think?’’

‘’It would only make people afraid for no good reason.’’

‘’And what if she’s coming?’’

‘’Then why show that she knows where we are? I don’t think she can get to us, and if she could, I have faith that we could hold off any force she could send here that isn’t a full-scale invasion.’’

‘’And you think that Flurry can keep quiet about it?’’

‘’If we ask her to. She’s a smart filly, wouldn’t you agree?’’

Emerald let out a drawn-out sigh. ‘’Fine,’’ she agreed. ‘’But Amore help us if this goes wrong.’’

‘’Amore help us indeed,’’ Star agreed. ‘’Now, shall we go talk to Flurry?’’

‘’Let’s.’’

The filly was sitting in her room, holding Whammy rather more tightly than usual. Really, the poor thing would need some repairing in the future if this continued. Yet another concernto file away for later.

‘’Good morning, sweetheart,’’ Emerald greeted.

‘’Hello mummy!’’ Flurry replied, reaching up to nuzzle Emerald, who nuzzled the foal back. ‘’Are you done talking?’’

‘’We are,’’ Star confirmed as he gave Flurry’s cheek a customary nuzzle too. ‘’We’re going to have to ask you to keep that dream to yourself for now, alright? So don’t tell Magic or anyone else about it.’’

‘’Why?’’

‘’Well, we have a reason,’’ Star said, leaning into his ‘teacher’ voice a little. ‘’You didn’t like seeing that dream, right? And I don’t think that others will like hearing about it. It could make them afraid too, when we don’t even know what it means.’’

I have my suspicions, but I’d like to triple-check those first, thank you very much.

‘’Which doesn’t mean that you can’t talk about it with us,’’ Emerald picked up where Star left off. ‘’You can always come to us with anything, okay? But for now it’s better that you don’t talk about it with anyone else. Can you do that for us, please?’’

Flurry seemed to think for a moment, and then nodded very convincingly. ‘’Okay, mummy!’’

‘’Thank you, sunshine. Hug?’’

‘’Hug!’’




|-x-X-x-|




7 Harvest Moon

The light of the Moon danced through the windows of the Tower of Vision. Once, this had been Celestia’s suite, from where she looked out over her pathetic kingdom. Now it was being put to much better use.

‘’Love,’’ Chrysalis purred from the bed that had oh-so-conveniently been placed there. ‘’Come back to bed, hmm?’’

‘’I’m busy, starling,’’ Nightmare replied. ‘’There are so many things I need to take care of.’’

‘’Like me?’’

‘’Of course; you are a priority,’’ Nightmare admitted immediately, taking a moment to glance at Chrysalis’ form upon the bed. Then she looked away again, lest she be tempted even more than she already was. This work needed doing, no matter what her body wished for. ‘’But you are, sadly, far from the only thing that needs doing.’’

‘’And what is taking your attention at-’’ there was a pause, in which Chrysalis was presumably looking at the clock - ‘’three-thirty-one in the night?’’

‘’Dreamcrafting.’’

Chrysalis made a noise that was many emotions at the same time; Changelings were rather good at those kinds of noises, and many other noises besides - or so Nightmare had discovered, anyway. ‘’For anyone in specific?’’

‘’Mhm. Star Tower, little pest that he is.’’

‘’Are you still concerned about him?’’ Chrysalis yawned. ‘’We’ve won, love. If anyone, we should be focussing efforts on hunting down Twilight and her posse of fools.’’

‘’Twilight’s been countering my work,’’ Nightmare pointed out - like Chrysalis didn’t know that - with some small manner of chagrin. If she could just figure out what that damned jumped-up unicorn was doing…

‘’And Star has not? Isn’t he supposed to be one of the greatest magicians in Equestria?’’

‘’Even the greatest have flaws.’’

‘’Yet this seems like an obvious problem to fix for him, if Twilight Sparkle can do it.’’

‘’I think Twilight might have invented the magic herself,’’ Nightmare admitted, ‘’or perhaps her influence as an Element of Harmony is protecting her. Whatever the case, Star Tower evidently does not share her protection, even if I can only reach him incidentally due to the range and the fact that I am unsure of where exactly he is.’’

‘’So you’ve told me.’’ Chrysalis yawned again. ‘’Come back to bed?’’ she tried again.

‘’In five minutes.’’

‘’I’ll hold you to that.’’

Nightmare hummed, before turning her full attention back to her work. This was a delicate craft, and she would have to pour her full focus into it if her plan was to succeed. If it did, there would be no more rest for Star and his charge. But it would be an immense commitment, one that would most definitely test her limits and maybe even push them.

For five more minutes. Even Alicorns needed sleep at some point, after all.
> Act 2: Chapter 4: Commitment
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

21 Harvest Moon

‘’So how are you?’’ Star asked.

Skystreak shrugged. ‘’I’ve been worse, I guess.’’

They were walking through one of Manebourne’s many parks; Star had once heard the city be called ‘’Tall Tale of the East’’, and by all appearances that moniker appeared to hold up. It was quite a lovely park too. If he lived nearby, he would probably spend time in it, but oh well.

‘’That’s something, at least,’’ he remarked after a moment of silence. The conversation certainly wasn’t very natural, in fact it was probably the most unnatural thing in this entire park. Any communication between the mare that was going to be the mother of his child was better than no communication, however, and so they continued their casual stroll through the park.

Eventually, they came upon an empty bench that looked out over a pond. A few duck families were happily swimming through the waters, and the sun coated the bench and most of the pond in warm light. How enchanting.

‘’Shall we?’’ Star suggested, gesturing with one hoof at the bench.

‘’Sure.’’

Once they were seated on the bench, a comfortable silence descended between them. A part of Star didn’t mind, for stilted conversations were not something he enjoyed, but a larger part of him did mind, because damn it all, they needed to at least be able to talk with each other, if nothing else.

But nothing wise to say came to mind, so he kept his thoughts to himself.

Perhaps… no, she’d never go for it. Even if I could convince her it’s safer, she has a job, friends - she has a life here in Manebourne. And the mansion doesn’t have room for one, soon-to-be two more, I’d need to remodel or expand- maybe have an extra wing built? But I can’t hire contractors, I’d need to do it myself, although I could ask the village for help-

‘’Star?’’

‘’Hm?’’ He jerked up to see Skystreak had turned . ‘’Yes?’’

‘’We should tell my parents.’’

Oh for the love of-

‘’I’d thought you’d told them already,’’ he admitted. 

Skystreak blinked. ‘’Without you? I’d rather get through the awkwardness in one single go, if you don’t mind.’’

‘’That’s fair,’’ Star allowed. ‘’So, we should go and visit them then, I take it?’’

‘’Yeah. They live in a village about an hour out from Manebourne with the train,’’ Skystreak said. ‘’I can send them a letter, see if we can’t plan a date.’’

‘’Sure thing. I’ll clear my schedule.’’

‘’Don’t you have work for MAC?’’

‘’Bah,’’ he dismissed. ‘’They can do without me for a week, if need be. Don’t you worry about me, just make sure it’s convenient with your job too.’’

‘’About that…’’

This keeps getting better.

‘’Yes?’’

‘’I’m thinking of working less,’’ Skystreak admitted, ‘’maybe even quitting altogether. For a time, of course. But I want to have the foal with as little stress as possible.’’

‘’Can you manage?’’ He could always provide money, of course; Tartarus, he could provide housing too if necessary. But Skystreak seemed like a mare who liked her independence, and in any case he didn’t want to make her dependent on him. That would be unfair to her.

‘’I’ve got some savings,’’ Skystreak replied, ‘’and I’m not going to quit tomorrow. Maybe in a few months, when this little colt or filly gets more uppity, but I’m fine for now.’’

He nodded, refusing his instinct to glance at her barrel to see if the pregnancy was noticeable yet. It wasn’t - not really, unless you looked for it - but it would only become more and more noticeable over time, of course. ‘’Alright.’’

Skystreak smiled at him, and scooted a little closer. ‘’We’ll be okay,’’ she said softly. ‘’I’m sure my parents will be happy to get a grandchild, if nothing else.’’

‘’Mhm.’’ Star didn’t fail to notice how she was almost curled up against his side. ‘’I don’t think you’ve told me a lot about them.’’

‘’Mum’s a Pegasus, dad’s an Earth Pony. They’re cooks, if you can believe it. Run their own restaurant. Great food, but not the life I wanted to live. Noble Springs is a nice little village, though. Just… not for me.’’

Star nodded. ‘’I can relate to that. Although I wouldn’t say Canterlot was necessarily the worst place for me, it certainly didn’t fit me in my early twenties.’’

‘’Yeah, didn’t you travel all over the place? I thought you said something like that on our date.’’

‘’I did,’’ Star confirmed. ‘’Went to a few places in Equestria and saw a lot of Griffonia. Even visited Porto Alto in Macawia once. So yes, I’ve been around the world.’’

‘’How was it?’’

He considered that question for a moment. ‘’Well, it was a journey of about seven years. It was an experience, for sure. I can’t summarise it any better than that, I’m afraid.’’

‘’Then don’t summarise, and tell me about it in as much or little detail as you want.’’

Star raised an eyebrow. ‘’That’ll take a while.’’

‘’I’ve got the time.’’

‘’Suit yourself then.’’ Star cleared his throat, recollected his thoughts, and began to speak. ‘’So, to get to the heart of the story, we have to go back to the beginning…’’




|-x-X-x-|




26 Harvest Moon 1008

Slowly, piece by piece, her resistance was coming together. They’d set up their headquarters good and proper now, safe from any Lunarist spies or soldiers. It would take time for true resistance to begin, of course, but the seeds were being sown.

Twilight gave the map of Equus a good once-over. It was a new one, updated to include the most recent political developments.

And so, where once would have been Equestria was now written ‘’Changeling-Lunar Empire’’, spread across all of Equestria - even Stalliongrad, though as far as Twilight knew it hadn’t yet been invaded - and also including the Changeling Lands. The Crystal Empire had also been marked, shown as the ‘’Crystal Governorate’’.

It was horrible.

How has it come to this? How in Caepasia’s name did Chrysalis and Nightmare Moon ever ally with each other, much less marry? There’s no reasonable way that could have happened!

She’d already pondered over this for many nights, but no answer had ever presented itself. At least, no answer that satisfied her. The facts just didn’t add up!

‘’Twilight?’’ She looked up from the map to see Rarity approaching. ‘’Do you have a moment, darling?’’

‘’Of course, Rarity.’’

‘’Thank you.’’ Rarity came to stand next to her. ‘’I’ve been meaning to ask you something, if you don’t mind.’’

‘’Go ahead.’’

Rarity hesitated, then asked: ‘’So, what do you think of Spike and Sweetie?’’

Twilight furrowed her brow. ‘’If they like dating each other, I’m not going to interfere with their happiness. We could all use a little more of that right now.’’

‘’True, true,’’ Rarity agreed, ‘’but I do worry for them. We are not exactly in the safe position I’d want them to be in.’’

‘’We’re as safe as we can be, Rarity,’’ Twilight pointed out. ‘’They’re both adults, they know the risks. Besides, they’ve been on plenty of adventures themselves. And don’t forget; Spike’s a dragon and Sweetie’s definitely more powerful than your average unicorn. They can take care of themselves.’’

‘’And yet they remain inside.’’

‘’Because I haven’t found a good mission for either of them yet,’’ Twilight rebutted. ‘’Until I do, it’s better for them to continue training here.’’

‘’And when will that be?’’

‘’Do you want to send them out there? You’ve seen the same reports I have, Rarity. Entire villages have been destroyed by the Lunarists. Anyone who disagrees with the new regime vanishes. There’s propaganda everywhere, and it won’t be long until Ponies start believing it.’’

‘’I know that, Twilight.’’

‘’Then you should realise why I’m not sending out anyone that’s not trained properly yet. First you were worried, and now this? What’s going on?’’

‘’I don’t know, Twilight, I really don’t,’’ Rarity admitted. ‘’I’m just… I’ve not the words to properly describe it. Not defeated, not afraid, but…’’

Twilight sighed. ‘’I understand, Rarity. We’ve all lost so much in the past months - Tartarus, it’s almost been a year! - but we’ve got to keep going. We’re the last remnants of Equestria that haven’t fled to New Mareland or somewhere else yet, and we’re going to stay here and keep the light of harmony alive.’’

‘’And how will we do that? We have no armies, no cities aiding us, no wealth! We have nothing, Twilight!’’

‘’We have each other!’’ Twilight snapped back. ‘’And you’re right, we don’t have much right now, but that will change! Mark my words, I will restore Equestria if it is the last thing I do, and for that, I will…’’

Rarity looked at her intensely. ‘’You will what, darling?’’

Distantly, a part of Twilight’s moment noted that this felt like a deciding moment. Just how far was she willing to go to bring back harmony? How much was she willing to sacrifice?

‘’I will fight,’’ she said in a soft voice.

Rarity nodded, as if she had expected that answer all the time. ‘’Then I’ll fight with you, darling.’’ She gave a little smile. ‘’Now come, let’s go see what the lovebirds are up to, hm?’’