//------------------------------// // Ch.12 - Every Rose has its Thorns // Story: The Witching Hour - Chaos is Change // by Chaotic Ink //------------------------------// Midnight flapped her wings vigorously as she and Sapphire stepped out of Canterlot Train Station. Arina, resting on top of Midnight's head, stretched her own legs out with several squeaky chirps. "Maybe we could fly up here once," she said. "It would spare us the cost of the tickets at least." "We could if we ever came up here for the fun of it," Sapphire told her. "We can't show up tuckered out from flying all the way for something important... and maybe bringing pets might also have not been the best idea." Arina chirped disgruntledly and Midnight snorted. "If this Lady Eden Rose gets uppity, at least we can end on a high note with her shrieking in terror when Arina jumps onto her face." Sapphire gave her a look. "Anyway... any chance Celestia found something? Didn't she say she'd try and get Eden Rose to spill?" Sapphire hummed unhappily. "She tried but Lady Eden kept changing the subject. The princess doesn't think she's just looking for a body guard, apparently she already has one. She wants to know exactly what Lady Eden Rose wants to see us for." Midnight nodded. She'd have no trouble telling Celestia about whatever they ended up talking about. On a more pleasant note, Honeysuckle had finally settled down with a job. It was a waitressing job, the same thing she'd had at Long Line's Seafood Emporium, at the recently opened Hay Burger and she seemed happier. Perhaps the return to a regular and familiar routine was what she needed to finally settle down. That and the free hay burgers were a nice perk, even if Midnight was sure Squeaks was going to stuff herself sick one night. As they reached the bottom of the stairs and stepped onto the sidewalk, a dark grey pegasus mare trotted up to them. "Excuse me. Are you Miss Midnight Storm and Miss Sapphire Breeze?" she asked with the air of somepony on official business. She gave them a quick once over, frowning slightly. "We are," Midnight said, instantly irritated. She wasn't about to take any nonsense of being called up to Canterlot just to be judged. The mare bowed her head. "I've been instructed to bring the two of you to Rose Thorn Manor. Please, this way." She waved a hoof at a carriage hitched to two stallions. Neither looked around or at their prospective passengers; they just stared straight ahead as if waiting for orders. Midnight didn't like any of it; stuck in a confined space with unknown ponies taking her and Sapphire to someplace neither had been to before, to meet with somepony who wanted to meet with them for a reason she was keeping secret even from the princesses. Laid out that way, the most sensible thing to do was turn around, get back on the train, and let the princesses order this Lady Eden Rose to explain herself. Despite this, Midnight had a weird desire to see this through. She wouldn't be stupid about it of course. "We'll follow you from the air," Midnight told her, sitting back on her haunches in a gesture of unmovable stubbornness. Arina laid lower on Midnight's head, imitating the gesture. Sapphire hesitated, then followed suit, staying close to the kirin. "Midnight?" she whispered. "I don't like this. I don't like that she's being so secretive about all of this and I'm not putting us in some position that could be dangerous." Arina chirped in agreement. The pegasus' gaze hardened just noticeably, but in the end she simply shrugged. "As you wish, Miss Storm." She returned to the carriage and the stallions started down the street. Midnight and Sapphire took to the air after them, keeping an eye out for landmarks as they flew down the city streets. ----------------------------- Rose Thorn Manor was located near the edge of Canterlot, nestled deep within the district that all the city's noble houses dwelled, with a main thoroughfare that lead straight towards the castle but still removed enough from the rest of the city that the nobility never had to see the commoners who worked and lived there except by choice. The manor itself was colored after its namesake, a soft, pinkish red with soft green highlights along the window shutters and eves. The road leading to the front door became a circle whose center was a fountain, shaped as a rose with water flowing out of the center of the flower. Beyond the manor, Midnight and Sapphire could make out large gardens and clearing that were almost certainly used for social events, all of which eventually tapered off into the sides and cliffs of the mountain the city was situated on. They landed on the front steps as the carriage pulled up and the pegasus mare stepped out. "This way," she said, motioning with a wing for them to follow. "May we take your bags?" "No," Midnight said shortly, covering her saddle bags with her wings. Midnight had insisted on brining them as she anticipated a day of shopping in the city proper. They trotted after her into the entrance hall, decorated with vases filled with roses, walls painted with roses and their thorny stems, and a chandelier above sculpted into, surprise, a rose. "And you said the house on Nightmare Night was borderline ridiculous," Midnight muttered to Sapphire as they were led under the main staircase and down a long hallway. Thankfully the rose theme quickly tapered off and was replaced by more variation the deeper into the manor they went, such as the hallway they were in having a blue rug and dark wooden paneling. Rooms they past with open doors showed varying soft colored walls and various styles of rugs or wood. The light fixtures were the only things still with the rose theme, their glass cases shaped as such. A few times they passed servants going about their work, some pausing to stare at the odd visitors while others ignored them completely, either too engrossed in their responsibilities or not caring. They eventually reached the end of the corridor, taking a right and then a sharp left through a set of double doors into what Midnight could only describe as an enclosed patio, glass panels letting them see out into the gardens and yards while keeping the cold weather out. Several potted plants, none roses, lined the edges and adding some color to the otherwise white and grey scene. A single table, set with trays of baked goods and a tea set and surrounded by chairs, dominated the center of the room. "I will inform Lady Eden Rose of your arrival," the pegasus said, swiftly turning and leaving them alone. Midnight moved forward and inspected the table. "So, why do you think this Lady Eden Rose asked to speak with me, if you had to guess?" Midnight asked, nudging one of the pastries with a hoof and sniffing the tea pot. "What's the deal with nobility and tea? Can't they just serve coffee?" Sapphire sighed and took one of the seats. "If I had to guess, I think she wants a body guard that she can parade around and show off to the other nobles. "Oh, have you met Midnight Storm, my personal body guard and hero of Equestria?" If she's anything like the others, then all you'll be is another jewel in the family crest." "That would also explain why she kept this meeting a secret; she doesn't want the other nobles to try for me first, but what about Celestia's opinion that she doesn't want me for one?" "Then she's trying to court you to her side strictly for some kind of gain, some influence she feels having you on her side will give her." Midnight cocked an eyebrow. "Influence? What possible influence could I have?" Sapphire sighed again. "Midnight, you helped defeat Discord. Even if you don't wield any of the Elements, you still fought him off long enough so that they could reconnect with their bearers and beat him. That's no small feat and almost nopony else can claim to have done so much against him. Then there's the fact you fought off a hydra-" "And nearly got killed doing it." "-and then fought off a dragon, and throw on top of all that you know the princesses personally... Midnight, you're much more valuable to them than you think you are. Listing that all out now, I'm surprised none of them have approached you sooner." Midnight grumbled but didn't argue. She stared at the floor in concentration while Arina chirped quietly and rubbed the base of her horn with a leg. "They can all offer me whatever they want," she finally said, "but I'm not biting. I'm not going to play their politics or their games." Sapphire smiled. "That's fine, but can you at least promise to be civil and hear her out first?" Midnight moved over and they nuzzled. "Nope." The sound of approaching hooves drew them apart and three mares entered. One was the same pegasus mare who'd brought them to the manor, another was a bright yellow earth pony mare in a maid outfit, and in between them was a third mare, a unicorn, done up in an expensive looking gown. "May I present Lady Eden Rose of House Rose Thorn," the pegasus mare said as the unicorn bowed her head. "It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Miss Storm," Lady Eden said with a deep bow of her head. "I hope the train and subsequent carriage ride were agreeable." She was light green with a light pink mane and tail wearing a dark green dress , green slippers, and gold pendant. "We didn't ride in the carriage," Midnight said bluntly with barely a nod in return. "We found it more agreeable to fly after the train." The pegasus mare's face darkened noticeably and out of the corner of her eye she could see Sapphire giving her a half pleading, half exasperated look. "But it was a kind offer," she added lamely. "It was no problem at all," Lady Eden said without a hint she'd noticed the tone Midnight had used. "And I hope the flight over the capitol was pleasant." "It was... alright." Lady Eden nodded and turned to Sapphire. "Am I correct in having the pleasure of addressing Miss Sapphire Breeze? The castle staff said you were now staying with Miss Storm." "Yes, my lady," Sapphire said with a nod. "Midnight insisted that I join her today." "No trouble at all," Lady Eden said with a smile. "I too have an entourage with me today. May I present Miss Blade Dancer, head of my personal security, and Miss Sun Singer, my personal attendant." Both ponies bowed. Now that she knew her position, Midnight could recognize the gruffness of a soldier in Blade Dancer's mannerism, just like that of any royal guard. The blatant disrespect hadn't helped either. Arina made an indignant chirp from her spot nestled in Midnight's mane and behind her ear. "Oh, and this Arina, my pet spider," Midnight said. All three of them looked up at the arachnid. "I... see," Lady Eden said, her grin faltering slightly. "Why don't we partake in some refreshments before we begin?" she continued, motioning to the table. "I can't imagine you've had a decent breakfast this morning with the traveling." Once they'd all had something and had been sitting in relative silence for some time, Lady Eden turned back to Midnight. "I don't wish to waste anymore of your time than need be, so I'll get right down to business. I believe it's safe to assume that this is indeed you in the photo?" she asked, taking a rolled up newspaper from Sun Singer and opening it on the table for Midnight. "It is," Midnight said, shortly but with a notable drop in hostility. She was getting tired of the article. Lady Eden nodded. "Now that that's out of the way, then perhaps you can indulge me and tell us how you came to be here?" Midnight traded a look with Sapphire. "It's pretty much common knowledge by now," she said slowly. "Discord broke free of his bonds, stole the Elements..." "Forgive me," Lady Eden interrupted. "I don't mean how you came into the picture; I mean, how did you come to live in Ponyville? I've never heard of a hybrid living so close to a major city." Midnight's eyes narrowed. "I don't see how that's any of your business," she said with a growl. Dancer's hooves slammed onto the table, rattling the china. "And I don't see why you're so rude when all Lady Eden is asking is just a few simple questions!" Midnight's wings fanned out slightly and her fangs poked out. Arina raised up her front legs warningly. "Calm yourself Dancer," Lady Eden said, placing a hoof on Dancer's whither and pushing her back down. Sapphire similarly laid a wing on Midnight's own to calm her. "It would seem that Miss Storm has had some unfortunate run ins with my peers and has come expecting to be insulted." She turned back to Midnight. "I do not mean to pry or insult, but since I understand you've moved to Ponyville not even two years ago, you must have lived somewhere else first." Her eyes became much more focused on the kirin, even eager, and Midnight could sense they were finally coming to the heart of why she was here. "I want to know about the other hybrids you've met; specifically, the other pony-dragon hybrids." Midnight's wings flared out again, this time in surprise and bumped Sapphire's also flared wings. "Other... kirins?" "Kirins?" Lady Eden said, trying the word out for herself. "Is that what you call yourselves? I've never heard it before." Midnight nodded unhappily. "Not surprising. I'm the only one of my kind; there aren't any other kirins." "But..." Lady Eden started, then stopped. The positive mood she'd been keeping up began to slip as she processed what Midnight just said. "But... that can't be... that's impossible! There has to be more!" Midnight only shook her head. "My Lady," Sapphire interjected, "may I be so bold as to ask why you want to know about kirins?" Lady Eden looked at her, blinking, looked back at Midnight, then looked away when the kirin said nothing. Sun Singer placed a hoof on her back comfortingly while Dancer did the same with a wing. After a minute she sat straight again, took a swallow of her tea, and took a deep breath. "I've always been fascinated by hybrids," she began. "Ever since I was little, I found it amazing that ponies could have babies with creatures other than other ponies. It shouldn't be possible, yet hippogriffs and mules clearly exist. Living in Canterlot, one could never just run into one on the street, so all I had to go by was whatever I could convince my parents to let me read on the subject. Finally, when I turned eighteen, my parents let me go on a traveling vacation around Equestria; I used that to search out and meet any hybrids I could find. When we came to this one village, we were told that there was a zebra-pony hybrid living in the forest somewhere. A zebra in Equestria is a rare thing, but for a zebra-pony hybrid!" She shook her head. "I just had to meet them, so I snuck away from my attendants and made my way into the forest. I'm sure you can imagine how idiotic such as decision was, but I was young and impulsive. I learned my lesson quickly enough." She looked away and seemed to brace herself before she continued. "I never found the zebra-pony, but I did end up running into a gang of dragons. I... I tried staying in the underbrush but I guess either I wasn't hiding very well or the jewels on my dress caught the sunlight, or maybe both. Whatever the reason, they caught me. I was so scared that I didn't even fight back as this big grey and black one with fins for ears, the leader if I had to guess, held me upside down by a leg, picked off the jewels from my dress and ate them like popcorn, and laughed at how scared I was. I figured that if I just stayed still and didn't make a fuss, they'd let me go." She stopped there, and both Dancer and Singer leaned in to comfort her. Midnight looked over at Sapphire; found her looking right back with a look of dread growing in her eyes. It matched the growing pit in Midnight's stomach. Eden couldn't mean... "I guess," Eden continued, "that my being so quiet was ruining their fun, because he started shaking me and asking if I was stupid. The others goaded him on and finally he said that if I was just going to hang there like a piece of meat, that's what they'd treat me like. I... I started to panic then and begged them to please just let me go. He laughed and asked what I'd be willing to do in exchange and I said I'd do anything. It... was a bad choice of words... but I was so panicked by that point that when he asked me "Anything?" I just nodded..." She trailed off and hung her head, her body shaking noticeably. Midnight felt sick. Even the realization of why Eden was telling her this... what she was implying... that a kirin could be conceived in such a way... such a situation had never even seemed possible to her. While Celestia or Luna had never mentioned kirins being born from ponies mating with dragons, it stood to reason that if kirins had wyvern parents, some could also be the offspring of dragons. The sickness mixed with a rising tide of anger. Midnight felt dirty as she realized that by just being here she was probably reopening these old wounds for Eden. It made Midnight wonder just how many of the old kirins had been born and subsequently scorned from something similar. It was a dark and very ugly stain on her image of them. If enough had been born like this, was that why they were gone? Had ponies simply had enough of the walking, talking reminders? She suddenly wanted to curl up next to her mother. She flinched as she felt something touch her hoof, and she looked over to find Sapphire looking up at her, her own eyes wet. How was this affecting her image of kirins? She felt the touch again and realized it was Sapphire's hoof. She gripped it beneath the table and Arina made low, mournful chirps. Dancer and Singer were busy consoling Eden, Singer even asking if she wanted Midnight and Sapphire to leave. Eden finally shook her head and levitated a bunch of napkins over to wipe her face and blew her nose. When she'd finished, she straightened up again. "Once... once it was over the dragons flew off, leaving me alone in the forest. I managed to pull myself together and make my way back to town. I didn't want anypony to know what happened, so I told them I fell down a hill and through a thicket. We left that night; I just wanted to leave and never think about it again. I... it turned out it was out of my hooves." "You got pregnant," Midnight said gently. Eden nodded. "Yes. Several months later I started showing the signs and my parents accused me of sleeping with a stallion. I had to tell them what actually happened and they immediately began talking of getting rid of the "abomination"." Midnight snorted but said nothing. "I begged them to let me carry it to term; it wasn't the child's fault, what happened to me, and I promised that as soon as it was born I'd give it up. I was horrified that they would want to have something so innocent killed just for existing. They finally agreed, but only on the condition that I stay in the manor and never speak about this to anypony. "So, I spent the remainder of my pregnancy locked up in the manor. It wasn't so bad... I got to work on my painting..." She paused and took a sip of her tea. "For the first few months, I never once picked up my books about hybrids; I didn't even want to think about the child I was carrying. Then, I suppose, my own words came back to me. It wasn't the child's fault, so why should I neglect it. I began to read my books again and over time... I began to care for it. It was a life growing inside me, my child, and I was ready to throw it out into the world to grow up thinking itself a freak of nature and unloved. The more I thought about it, the less I was willing to follow my parents' ultimatum. At the start of the eleventh month, I convinced one of the servants who was less devoted to my parents to volunteer to take the baby away and let me know where they'd brought it to, so I could at least try and see it again and maybe even reveal myself to it when the time was right. "But... it didn't happen that way. I suppose my parents caught wind of this scheme, maybe the servant was even bribed to tell them what I was planning, but the day I went into labor my parents fired the servant. Somehow I'd been able to take the pendant I scrounged up from old family heirlooms in the delivery room with me and I had just enough time to slip it in the swaddling before my parents had him taken away from me." She fiddled with the gold pendant around her neck and for the first time Midnight noticed it was made up of only half a rose. "All I know about my son is that he's the same grey color as the one who sired him; that's it. I tried so hard after my recovery to find out where he'd been taken to, but I never found him. My parents finally had enough and threatened to have me institutionalized if I didn't stop what they called "this insane need to play mother to an unnatural creature". I couldn't do anything for him if I got locked up, so I stopped. Anything I did after that, that was in any way about finding him, I had to keep absolutely secret and at a snail's pace. It wasn't long after that, that they hired Sun Singer and Blade Dancer as personal attendants for me, as a way to distract me, I suppose. I can't tell you how much they helped me look for him; helping me sneak behind my parents' backs to make discrete inquiries to as many orphanages as we could. "As horrible as it might sound, without my parents I've been able to search for him unimpeded and we've made more progress in the past year then in all the previous years put together." "How long have you been searching?" Midnight asked. "He'd be about thirteen or fourteen years old now, but I doubt anypony could fail to misidentify him," Eden told them. "Once we checked every orphanage we could find, we set out to check Equestria's borders again, thinking that maybe my parents had him dropped off somewhere along it, since that's where..." She shook her head and continued. "We found nothing. Not even the hybrids I met during my first trip and who I'd been in secret correspondence with had any clue." "If I could interrupt for just a second," Midnight asked, "I'd just like to know if they told you why no hybrids live in the cities. Until I moved to Ponyville, they were the only kinds of places I'd live in." Eden looked a little shocked at this bit of information. "I did ask about that, and they told me that many only have family in the small towns and hamlets and would rather stay with those that know them rather than face the same kind of treatment that creatures such as cows and donkeys face in the cities. Some feel they'd have it even worse." Midnight only hummed to herself at this. It was a good reason. "I didn't want anything to do with the nobility my parents were part of while we searched, so I deliberately ignored news from the capitol, which is why we didn't find out about you until about two months ago. We had a lead, which is why we didn't come back right away. When I saw you in the picture, a dragon-pony standing unfazed right in the middle of Celestia's court surrounded by other ponies cheering, I thought I finally found the key to getting my son back. You'd be surprised how often hybrids stumble upon one another completely by accident, and I thought that since you were one of his kind... I can see now I put too much blind faith in it." Midnight and Sapphire looked at each other. "Lady Eden..." "Please, accept my apologies for any inconveniences this meeting might have had for you; I promise I'll compensate in any way I can." "Lady Eden Rose," Midnight said, more firmly and even spreading her wings a little for emphasis. "There has been no inconvenience; any news of another kirin is never unimportant, and I'm very grateful you've told us about him. I'm sorry I have no news about your son, but please know that I am ready to help in your search for him in any way I can." "And I think I speak for all her friends and family," Sapphire added, "that we will do all we can to help as well." Arina chirped loudly in agreement. Eden looked up at them, searching each of their faces for a long minute. "Thank you," she said finally, when she was sure they were sincere in their announcement. "Thank you so very much..." ----------------------------- "The family name goes back almost fourteen hundred years," Eden told them as they left the library. "We're one of the oldest noble houses." "I guess after what happened with Discord, they had to establish new nobles," Midnight said as she, Sapphire, Arina, Dancer, and Singer followed. "Although why they had to have nobles I have no idea," she whispered to Sapphire. Eden had invited them to stay for lunch as a thank you for their pledge of support and neither had refused, Midnight wishing to try and make up for her earlier attitude. Until then, Eden had offered them a tour of the manor as well as giving them the history behind it. "It would appear so and my ancestor was one of those who helped the princesses during that struggle," Eden said, turning a corner and stopping by a set of double doors. "I believe this room will be a bit more interesting for you than all the studies, bedrooms, and bathrooms," she said, opening the doors wide. Midnight felt her jaw drop slightly. The walls to either side were practically covered with bladed weapons, some looking new, some looking very old. Oddly enough, the floor was padded, as was the wall the doors were connected to. "What is this?" "My father collected blades as a hobby. After his passing, I helped Dancer turn it into a training room." She blushed. "She's actually been teaching me self-defense with them since she learned about... the incident." "And I suspect she learned this from time spent with the royal guard?" Midnight asked, hedging a guess and diverting attention away from the unpleasant topic. "Long before that actually," Dancer told her. "I was a performer in a traveling circus before I joined and I believe you can guess my act." She sauntered past them, any resentment from Midnight's actions that morning forgotten, and shook her flank to indicate her cutie mark, three knives dancing around each other. Sapphire actually snorted a little hotly at the display and Midnight looked down at her with surprise. Which quickly turned into a mischievous smirk. "Sapphire, are you actually jealous?" she whispered. Sapphire's wings popped out. "W-What!? I am not!" she hissed back. "Don't worry; I prefer gems over steel anyway," Midnight whispered back, nipping at her nose. Sapphire jerked back, still looking ruffled but less indigent. "So, why did you leave for the guard?" Midnight asked, straightening back up. Dancer sent her own smirk the kirin's way. "How about I tell you while we spar? I've got a feeling you know your way around a fight," she said, moving to one wall and pulling out some chainmail from a cabinet before tying her red mane back in a pony tail. "With My Lady's permission of course." "Miss Storm?" Eden said, differing to the kirin. "I'm game," Midnight said, moving towards the opposite wall and pulling her armor slippers out of her saddle bags. "Midnight!" Sapphire said, shocked she'd brought actual weapons while Arina climbed up on her. "What!?" the kirin said, trying to look innocent. "I brought them in case we got mugged on our way home or something!" Sapphire face-hoofed. "You sure those slippers will help?" Dancer asked, stretching her wings. The slippers swiftly became gauntlets with blades similar to what the thestral guards used. "I'm confident. So, you were part of the circus?" "Since I was a foal," Dancer said, starting to circle. "You aren't going to wear anything else?" "Don't aim for anything vital," Midnight said, flexing her wings and tail. "Besides, it probably won't fit. You were saying?" "My father was a manticore tamer, but I preferred the sharp objects that moved only when you moved them." She shot at Midnight, swinging the dagger in her right hoof. Midnight deftly blocked it with her blades, then caught the one from Dancer's left wing with her wing claw. "Impressive," Dancer complimented, then ducked when Midnight twisted away and swung her tail blade at her. She wing-hopped back to put some distance between them. "I trained with our knife thrower, sword swallower, jugglers, even the clowns to create my own acts and I got pretty good." "What made you leave?" Dancer pulled out four knives, one in each hoof and one in each wing. She shot to the left, threw the two in her wings, jinxed to the right, then shot back at Midnight again. The kirin ducked and rolled to her left, once again swinging her tail blade up. Dancer blocked the blow with her remaining knives and once again, only to hop back when Midnight shot up, her blades and wing claws coming at her like pincers. She stayed back, but thrust her knives back at her. Midnight dodged one, then caught the other sideways with her teeth. She eyed Dancer smugly, then put noticeable pressure on the blade. "Please don't," Dancer asked, alarmed. Midnight smiled, then released her hold on the knife. "Well?" Dancer backed away again, inspecting her blade. "We arrived in Canterlot and put on our show like usual, however it turned out that Princess Celestia and some of her guard were in attendance that night." Satisfied her knife wasn't ruined, she went back to circling again. "I thought one of them was particularly good looking and after the show I got to talking with him. I ended up absolutely smitten with him." She stopped, took out more knives from under her wings and began to juggle them. "He said the guard could use somepony with my talents and I thought he was talking about me specifically. When we were heading out of the city a few days later I jumped ship and signed up for guard training. I put my heart and soul into that training." She changed up her routine, forcing Midnight to keep her attention split between the story and the knives. The kirin, in turn, kept her wings and tail poised. "Then, I find out after boot camp graduation that he's purposed to another mare!" Both her wings flexed, and Midnight was dodging and blocking knife after knife. One grazed her side during a roll, and she landed to find Dancer holding a knife to her throat. "Really bummed me out." "I can imagine," Midnight agreed. "So focused on the prize you didn't see the competition." She looked purposefully downward. Dancer followed and found Midnight's tail blade poking the spot just below her chainmail tunic. Had this been a real fight, it would have disemboweled her. "Young and dumb," Dancer said sagely, backing off and offering a hoof up. Midnight took it. "So, when the call went out for volunteers for security for the nobles, I took it, figuring that at least I wouldn't have to see him every day. As it turned out, I ended up as the personal guard for Lady Eden and you could say she's been a close friend ever since." "You miss the circus?" Dancer shrugged. "Sometimes, and when they come back around to Canterlot I plan to apologize for ditching them, but right now I'm happy where I am." "That's the important thing." "You could have at least tried to put on some armor," Sapphire scolded as they put things away. "You could have gotten hurt!" "But I didn't. Besides, I'm a fast healer, remember?" "And what if she hit you some place vital!?" "She promised she wouldn't." "Accidents happen!" Midnight hid them with her wings. "You're cute when you're upset, you know that?" She stole a kiss before Sapphire could respond. "So, Sun Singer, how'd you come to work here?" "Oh, no special way, really," Singer insisted. "Her mother got hurt and she gave up her singing carrier to help take care of her," Eden said. "M-My Lady!" Singer protested. "Sun Singer, your cutie mark is a singing sun! Furthermore, you're wonderfully talented at it! It's practically a crime that you're working here!" Eden sighed. "I just wish you would take my offer..." "I could never take money from you my lady; it would be highly improper!" "Singing career?" Midnight asked, hoping for some clarification. "Oh, yes. Sun Singer was taking offers from clubs all over Canterlot to get her name and talent in view of some talent agents but stopped when her mother got hurt one day working here at the manor." "She fell off a ladder while dusting a bookcase in the library," Sun clarified. "Then the ladder fell on her leg." "Since her mother was a long-time and well-respected member of the staff, my parents had no problem hiring her so she could take over her duties." "Most of her duties," Sun said. "They wanted me more as a personal attendant to Lady Eden." "She's most definitely a singer first and foremost, though," Eden said. "I have had her give me private performances and I can say with certainty she could be a star." "My Lady flatters me," Sun said, blushing. "Perhaps you could entertain us during lunch and let our guests decide for themselves?" Eden suggested with a wink. "Speaking of which," Dancer said, nodding at a stuffy stallion in the doorway "My Lady," he said. "Lunch is served." ----------------------------- "Miss Storm, Midnight, I've had a thought," Eden said as she followed them to the front door. "Yes?" "You've said that you've only met one other hybrid. I, on the other hoof, have met many from all across Equestria. If I may be so bold, perhaps I could host a get-together, a party of sorts, so that you may all become acquainted with one another. You are rather popular in their circles at the moment." "So Scarlet tells me," Midnight grunted, not too thrilled with the idea of more "fans". "I... suppose it would be nice." "Excellent! I'll start the planning immediately and you'll be the first to receive an invitation!" When they reached the front door, Eden held out her hoof. "I hope this is the start to a long and prosperous friendship." Midnight took the hoof. "Same here. Lady Eden," she said with a respectful bow of the head, followed by Sapphire. As they trotted out onto the driveway Sapphire moved closer to her. "It went better than we could have hoped, I think," she said. Midnight nodded. "I certainly wasn't expecting an ally in the nobility. It's too bad Blade Dancer is in Eden's employment, or else I'd ask her to join the bearer guard." Arina chirped in agreement. "So maybe next time you won't be so hostile or bring weapons with us?" Sapphire asked her pointedly. "No promises," Midnight teased, taking off into the sky. From a window, Eden, Dancer, and Singer watched Sapphire chase after Midnight. "Another dead end, then," Dancer sighed. "Maybe... but maybe not," Eden said, making the other two look at her questioningly. "Something tells me Midnight is still an important piece of the puzzle." "And what if she finds out we've been keeping an eye on her longer than we've led her to think?" Dancer asked. "She seems like the kind of pony, kirin, that would take it personally." "She'll be miffed, I'm sure, but if we find my son before that, then I think I can justify it to her. I have to; she's important, Dancer. She might just be the key to a whole new Equestria." Dancer mulled that over a bit. "And a party inviting almost nopony but hybrids is certainly one way of announcing your views to the other nobility." "Who wouldn't dare say anything with the princesses there." She smiled. "And even if they do create a fuss, they know not to do it publicly. My family legacy is well known to them". She turned and nuzzled both of them affectionately. "After all, every rose has its thorns, does it not?"