//------------------------------// // Chapter 32 // Story: A New Dragon in the Crystal Empire // by Vedues //------------------------------// WHACK. “Ow,” Heart Echo muttered, rubbing her head. “Correct me if I’m wrong,” Talon said, “but aren’t you supposed to hit your opponent with the staff, not yourself?” “Very funny.” Heart healed herself and went back to the first form of the sequence. “Have our scouts finished checking out that tunnel they found?” Talon winced. “That’s classified, remember?” “Fine, fine, I’ll ask again when we’re alone.” Shaking her head, Talon settled back down against Tornado’s back. She could feel her muscles, sore from two hours of squad training, soaking in the drake’s body heat. Maybe she was pushing the Squad too hard; they were doubling the required lengths for morning and evening training. Not to mention the fact that they were doing it without wyrm enhancement magic. Rune and Genesis were always busy helping Clodhopper make new staffs, and Heart was stuck in planning meetings with the Hurricanes. Next to her, Crystal was enjoying the warmth as well. Her folded wings pressed against Talon’s a little, but neither of them cared. Tornado’s thinking form wasn’t much larger than a wyvern, so they’d gotten used to sharing. About halfway through her sequence, Heart dropped the staff, which looked and felt like it was made out of polished bones. Clodhopper said it was just highly modified stone. Muttering darkly, Heart picked it up and started over again. “Perhaps she should seek guidance from an instructor,” Tornado said. “Don’t look at me, wyverns don’t have arms, remember?” Talon extended a wing into Tornado’s field of vision and waved her thumb at him. “An instructor who knows how to use a staff,” he clarified. Crystal shook her head. “I asked her about that. She said that she already took several years of instruction from her grandfather and just needs to get back into practice.” WHACK. “Desperately needs to get back into practice,” Talon said. She understood where Heart was coming from. Clodhopper’s staffs needed to be nearly as long as a wyrm was tall to fit in all the enchantments. Since she needed to carry that thing around anyway, Heart had decided to practice using the staff itself as a weapon. Unfortunately, as she was now, the wyrm dragoness was more likely to give herself a concussion than to harm any opponents. At least she wasn’t alone in her frustration. Nearly every other wyrm in the Thirty-sixth Cluster occupied the same part of the cave, stumbling through their own practice routines. “Do either of you know if any more ponies have evacuated to the south?” Tornado asked after a moment. Talon shook her head, scraping across the scales on Tornado’s back. “Apparently Celestia and Luna have been warping pony hatchlings out almost every day, but almost all of the adults have stayed.” Talon sighed. Some part of her had naively hoped that the ponies would leave or at least offer the Alliance some part of the Crystal Empire where they could mine the food they needed. She didn’t know why she’d let herself dream about peace. Equestria’s approval rates for the war were as high as ever. Several newspapers were even demanding for the Alliance to be massacred down to the last dragon. And they called the Dragon Alliance genocidal. Well, the Hurricanes were, but the drake lords and Heart always shot down the more horrific plans. Apparently their most recent idea had been to sneak into the Empire at night and unleash a wyvern hurricane, easily destroying most of the Empire and killing countless ponies. Talon didn’t want to imagine what the Hurricanes would do if they ever got a majority vote in the Council. “At least the hatchlings will be spared,” Tornado muttered. Talon closed her eyes and tried not to think about what was going to happen to the other ponies in the Crystal Empire. Even Heart couldn’t stop the Council from killing at least some civilians. Was it really so much to ask for one side to back down? She didn’t even care which side anymore. Equestria was calling for dragon blood, but everything she knew about Celestia and Luna indicated that they were extremely forgiving and merciful when their subjects weren’t being threatened. Talon honestly believed that the Immortal Sisters would give the Alliance the crystals they needed to live if they just declared peace, but she knew the Hurricanes would never put the Alliance’s survival in the hooves of a former enemy. Of course, she didn’t know why Equestria didn’t just offer the Alliance a part of the Empire either. A part under the Empire proper, that is, where the gem mines hadn’t been exhausted. Yes, the Alliance had attacked without warning and tried to force the crystal ponies out of their home, but they’d only done it because every negotiation in recorded history between dragons and ponies had ended in the ponies either forcing the dragons to give up everything or going back on their word and attacking the dragons. Could they really blame the Alliance for trying something new when their very survival was at stake? Talon was sure that there was some solution that would make both sides happy and end all this pointless killing … Why couldn’t she find it? … Somedragon was shaking Talon awake. “Huh?” Talon opened her eyes and saw an orange wyrm standing over her. “Oh, Sweet Song,” she yawned, “what’s going on?” “There’s an urgent message from one of our spies.” She held out a sheet of metal. “You should have let her sleep,” Tornado said. “I’ll take it if you’d rather sleep,” Crystal added. Talon rolled her eyes. “It’s fine you two.” She took the sheet and started reading through it while Sweet Song left. A confused frown worked its way across her face. “It’s our spy in Manehattan. Remember that weird creature she stumbled across about a month ago? The one that looked like a pony but wasn’t?” Crystal and Tornado nodded. “Apparently its queen is offering her entire army to boost our spy network.” “That seems ideal,” Tornado said. “It’s too good to be true is what it is.” Talon regretfully stood up. “I’d better get this to the Council. They can figure out how to respond.” “What do you think they will say?” Tornado asked, sliding out from beneath Crystal and hurrying after her. “I think they’re going to use that tunnel we found to finish this war as soon as the ceasefire ends,” Talon said. “They probably won’t care about getting new allies until after that.” -_-_-_-_-_- “Good morning, Fluttershy.” Dr. Insight motioned her inside. “It’s good to see you again.” Fluttershy closed the door behind her and stepped farther into the office. “It’s good to see you again too, Dr. Insight.” “That’s sweet of you to say.” She held up a plate of miniature tarts. “Apple and cream cheese, if you’re hungry. Both are high in protein.” “Thank you.” Fluttershy accepted one and took a bite. The pastry was still warm and tasted delicious. Dr. Insight stood up and moved to the chairs at the other side of the small room. “Is your mother still forcing you to eat beans and legumes every meal?” Fluttershy nodded, frowning. “I know my baby probably needs protein, but I just don’t like beans very much.” “I understand the feeling. During my second pregnancy, I had the strongest craving for spinach, even though I can’t stand how it tastes.” She groaned softly. “That was a very long eleven months.” “Was your baby okay?” Fluttershy’s voice quavered a bit and her ears fell. Dr. Insight nodded. “Yes, Dawn was a beautiful little foal with the most adorable blue eyes. She’s living in Fillydelphia now with a family of her own.” The older mare sighed wistfully. “I’m sure she’d love to meet you one day.” “I’d like to meet her too.” Fluttershy finished the last of her tart, but she couldn’t bring herself to meet Dr. Insight’s eyes. It had been nearly two weeks since she learned that she was pregnant, and in spite of everyone’s best efforts, there were still a lot more questions than answers. “Has there been any word from Pinkie Pie or those royal guards that Luna sent out?” Dr. Insight asked. “Not yet,” Fluttershy said. “Twilight says that the spell should create an egg for my baby if I do go into labor at the same time as a wyrm, but they haven’t been able to test it on anypony yet.” She swallowed. “There’s a chance it won’t work.” Dr. Insight got up and gave Fluttershy a hug. Fluttershy clung to her. “I don’t want to lose my baby. Everyone is saying it’s a miracle that I got pregnant in the first place. If something happened …” She didn’t want to finish that thought. “Shhh,” Dr. Insight whispered. “Twilight and Princess Celestia developed that spell just for you, and every expert in Equestria has studied it and declared that it will work. Pinkie Pie promised she would find a kumiho to help, no matter what. Whatever happens next, all of us are here to support you.” Fluttershy didn’t say anything, she just hugged the unicorn a little tighter. After a few moments, an incredibly loud voice echoed through the room, “It’s okay, everyone, they’re here to help Fluttershy!” Fluttershy and Dr. Insight both pulled back enough that they could look at each other. It wasn’t hard to recognize Pinkie’s voice, even distorted through a megaphone. “Perhaps we should go outside,” Dr. Insight suggested. Fluttershy was already at the door. She rushed out onto the street, looked up, and froze. Hovering above the buildings of Everfree Village, Pinkie and Cheese Sandwich stood on the back of a giant purple drake wearing a spiked collar. More drakes were coming into view behind them, dozens, maybe even hundreds of them. Drakes. Fluttershy’s back legs gave out, dropping her onto the packed dirt. Why did it have to be drakes? “What in the world?” Dr. Insight said, coming up beside her. “Everydragon, land over there in the training grounds then shrink back down. We don’t want to scare everyone.” Pinkie turned away from the small army of drakes and back to the village. “By the way, does anyone know where Fluttershy is?” “I … can go meet her and bring her back to the office,” Dr. Insight said, “or would you prefer to speak with her at your house?” “At the house, if you don’t mind,” Fluttershy whispered, looking firmly at the ground. “Not at all.” Dr. Insight knelt down and wrapped her hooves around Fluttershy briefly. “Can you make it there on your own?” “Yes.” “Okay, I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Then she took off at a quick trot. Fluttershy forced herself up onto her hooves and set out as well. She eventually reached her front door, in spite of the crowds, and pushed it open. Pinkie was standing just inside with a giant grin. “SURPRISE!” she somehow managed to shout quietly. “Is that quiet enough? I didn’t want to startle you.” Without waiting for a response, she pulled Fluttershy inside and shut the door. “Cheese and I did it. We found a kumiho, and now,” gestured to a giant cake with the words, ‘Everything’s Going to be Fine!!!’ spelled out in bright pink frosting. Angel was sitting on top of the cake, holding a pair of sparklers, wearing a party hat, and glaring daggers at Pinkie. Next to the cake stood Cheese Sandwich, Fluttershy’s mother, and a creature that Fluttershy had never seen before. He looked like a mix between a gray fox and a red fox, only the size of an adult pony and with six tails that waved gently behind him. Fluttershy’s attention was so focused on the new creature that she barely even noticed the streamers, party hats, and snacks that filled the front room and dining room. Dr. Insight stood next to the dining room table, looking at all the decorations with an expression of bafflement. “We only got here a few seconds ago …” Pinkie ignored her and guided Fluttershy to the fox creature. “Meet Zephyr, a six-hundred-year-old kumiho. Pinkie Promise fulfilled. Aw yeah.” Zephyr rolled his eyes but smiled indulgently. Fluttershy stepped forward nervously. She had never met a kumiho before. What was the polite thing to say? “Um, thank you for coming to help me?” The front door burst open, making Fluttershy jump, and Twilight ran inside. “Pinkie, were you able to find a kumiho? Where did all those drakes come from?” “A kumiho?” a voice from behind Fluttershy asked. “What’s that?” Turning around, Fluttershy found Zephyr gone, and in his place stood a reddish-brown earth stallion with a black mane and tail. “The creature that they went out to find,” Twilight said automatically before she noticed the stranger. “Excuse me, but who are you?” “Zephyr, but you can call me Zeph.” He stepped past Fluttershy, winking at her as he did, and extended a hoof to the alicorn. “It’s nice to meet you, Princess Twilight.” “It’s nice to meet you too, Zeph.” Twilight shook his hoof quickly before turning back to Pinkie Pie. “Were you able to find a kumiho?” “We found Zeph,” Pinkie said brightly. Twilight glanced at Zephyr then gave Pinkie a deadpan look. Zephyr put a hoof to his chest and sighed dramatically. “Yes, I am quite the disappointment, aren’t I?” “I didn’t mean that,” Twilight said quickly. A light blush coated her cheeks. “It’s just that Luna said that kumihos can help with kirin pregnancies.” “Congratulations!” Zephyr grabbed Twilight’s hoof and shook it. “When are you due?” Now Twilight was bright red. “Uh, I’m not pregnant, Fluttershy is, and we need a kumiho to make sure that everything goes well. Pinkie,” she glared at her friend, “was supposed to find one and ask for her help.” “Yes, Pinkie did mention something about that on the flight over here,” Zephyr said. As he spoke, his tail split into six behind him and everything but the tips turned the same color as his coat. “A kumiho would be extremely useful in a situation like this.” Pinkie giggled. “This is no laughing matter!” Twilight walked toward Pinkie. “That child could need an egg by the end of the week, and we have no way of knowing what other surprises could be in store for us.” Zephyr’s ears began expanding and his muzzle started to slim down. “You must care about Fluttershy a lot.” “Of course I do,” Twilight said. “She’s one of my best friends and my sister-in-law.” She shook her head and sighed. “I just hate feeling helpless now when she needs me most.” “I don’t think you need to worry.” The last of Zephyr’s pony features melted away, revealing his true form. “After all, you might say that helping in situations like this is my special talent.” “It is?” Twilight turned back to Zephyr and froze, noticing his transformation for the first time. Zephyr just grinned wolfishly. “I did Pinkie Promise to find a kumiho,” Pinkie said. “You should know I’d never come back without one.” “Bu- you- what?” Twilight gasped. “You’re a kumiho?” “Last time I checked, yes.” Zephyr chuckled. “I think that’s one prank point for me.” “And one for me,” Pinkie said. “I played along after all.” Cheese Sandwich shrugged. “I was just giving you two a head start.” Silver Lining facehoofed. “My grandchild is doomed.” “Not if I have anything to say about it.” Zephyr’s mischievous smile fell away, replaced by a look of calm professionalism. “I like a good joke, but I take my role as a guardian spirit seriously. If you’re alright with it, Fluttershy, I’d like to check on your baby now.” “Yes, of course.” Fluttershy approached the fox creature a little self-consciously. “Um, what do you need me to do?” “Just hold still. This won’t hurt at all, but it may tingle a bit.” Zephyr closed his eyes and sat down. When he opened them again, they glowed white. Behind him, each of his six tails waved back and forth in unison. Fluttershy did feel a little tickle along her coat, but that was it. Zephyr smiled. “She’s doing fine, better than I was expecting, actually.” “She?” Fluttershy repeated. He nodded. “Your child is female.” A daughter … Fluttershy didn’t know if it was Zephyr’s magic that made her suddenly feel so warm and happy, but she didn’t care. She would have been happy with a son too, of course, but knowing that she was carrying a daughter made the tiny life within her feel so much more real. “Some of her traits have already been resolved, but most are still changeable.” Zeph squinted at Fluttershy’s stomach, like he was studying something the others couldn’t see. “Do you have any preferences on what she inherits?” “You can change the child’s DNA?” Twilight asked. “It’s changing itself as we speak,” he replied. “I can just influence how some things turn out.” He turned back to Fluttershy. “So?” Fluttershy thought about it. “I don’t care what,” she grinned, “my daughter inherits from Cliff and me, as long as she’s safe and healthy.” “I am sensing the ability to switch between battle and thinking forms,” Zephyr said. “From what Pinkie’s told me, that’s a big problem for wyrms. A wyrm kirin probably wouldn’t be able to control her battle form either. Unfortunately, that ability is already resolved. I can’t change it now.” The yellow mare winced and covered her stomach with her wings. “Oh no.” “It will be okay, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, putting her hoof around Fluttershy. “We haven’t lost a wyrm to the berserk transformation since Everfree was founded.” Fluttershy nodded but didn’t trust herself to speak. “By the way, Zephyr?” Twilight asked. “I told you to call me Zeph.” “Oh right.” She gestured toward Fluttershy’s stomach. “What do you mean when you say that some of her traits have already been resolved?” “To understand that, you have to know more about kirins in general.” Zephyr frowned a little. “With your permission, Fluttershy, I’d like to accelerate your daughter’s growth. This pregnancy is going to be rough on both of you, and cutting off a few months will help minimize complications.” Fluttershy hesitated. “Well … if you think it’s for the best.” “It is,” Zephyr said. “This will take a few minutes. I can answer your question while my tails are doing that.” He smirked and muttered something under his breath. “What?” Fluttershy asked. “Nothing, they’re just being lazy.” Shrugging casually, Zephyr moved so that he didn’t have to look over Fluttershy to see Twilight. “Anyway, kirins can only be conceived between a dragon and a pony that both have extremely high levels of magic flowing through their systems. Most creatures never reach those levels normally, but intensive magical workouts can give the kind of boost they need.” Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “Both of us were training hard when I was in heat.” “And you had batteries to recharge the magic you were depleting,” Twilight said. “The ambient magic in your systems was so high that we worried about it harming you.” She sat down hard. “I don’t understand, though. Magic levels that high should attack magic with a different signature. That’s why I never tested it in the lab, the sperm and egg would destroy each other.” “The two signatures need to be almost equal in power,” Zephyr said. “If they’re close enough, they’ll exhaust each other before they can harm the genetic material, and all the fused magic floating around in the aftermath jams that material together and makes fertilization possible. Even then it’s rare, but without those conditions, you’ll never be able to get a kirin at all.” Twilight pulled a quill and paper out of a cabinet on the wall and began taking notes. “Please continue.” Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, please.” Zephyr seemed happy to comply. “Well, once the embryo starts growing, the magic signatures of the two parents reassert themselves and each individual trait starts fighting with its counterpart for dominance over which one will be inherited. More powerful traits in the parent obviously have an advantage. For example, I’m sensing a lot of magic in the channels around Fluttershy’s eyes, and a similar pattern exists in her daughter. Her husband was probably using some kind of magic that related to his eyes as well, because the duel, I suppose you could call it, between those traits isn’t quite resolved yet. If I don’t step in and change things, the daughter’s eyes will be about ninety percent pegasus, including whatever trait Fluttershy has that uses magic in her eyes, with some superficial wyrm characteristics thrown in. Her teeth, on the other paw, are probably going to be more like a wyrm’s. She’ll get pegasus wings more or less by default, because there’s no opposing trait for that to fight against.” “What about traits that wouldn’t work together?” Fluttershy asked nervously. “Like if she can breathe fire but she isn’t immune to it?” “That’s one of the reasons you need a kumiho to guarantee a healthy kirin child,” Zephyr said. “I’m actually influencing a lot of smaller traits right now to prevent those sorts of problems. Protein generation versus proteins needed, digestive processes, what sort of immune system she’ll need, and so forth.” The yellow pegasus hugged her stomach with her wings again. “Zephyr, thank you so much for helping my daughter.” “It’s what kumihos do,” he smiled, “and how many times will I need to repeat it? Just call me Zeph.” -_-_-_-_-_- An octopus has about two-thirds of all neurons in its arms, so basically each one has a brain of its own, with the actual brain just giving basic directions to them. Spirit didn’t know why he knew that, but it was a pretty accurate metaphor to his role in the Everfree Platoon. He and Autumn were in charge of twenty teams of five, and it was their job to know what each team did best and direct them to problems as needed. So morning training was a very different beast for Everfree’s commanding ‘brain.’ A ray of energy shot through Spirit’s invisibility sphere, skimming the tip of his armor’s nose. “A shield would be nice.” Spirit gave a smug look to Autumn. “Or are you too distracted by your impending defeat to focus?” Meanwhile, he sent out commands for his teams to press harder. The center of her line was starting to give. “Oh hush.” Autumn finished crystallizing the air around them into a dome just large enough to hold them both. “Be careful not to let your illusion slip when I turn the tides.” “Yeah, sure.” Spirit ducked as a boulder shattered against the dome next to his head. Noteworthy, the pony that thrown it, yelled something to his teammates and charged at Spirit and Autumn’s hiding place. “Time to leave.” Autumn dissolved enough of her dome that both of them could scramble away. Spirit kept both themselves and the old dome invisible as they ran to a new spot. Directing a battle while hiding in the middle of it was tough, especially since any team that knocked out him and Autumn was excused from cooking and cleaning duty for the day. “And I win,” Autumn said triumphantly. Spirit looked around and realized that pushing at the center of Autumn’s line had just made it easier for her sides to extend and wrap around, completely encircling his forces. “Oh, that’s just playing dirty.” He ordered his flying teams to cluster and fly over the enemy lines before ramming back hard, opposite his heaviest earth-pony team. That bought him a a narrow corridor out of the trap, but Autumn’s teams were hitting his forces hard as they rushed to escape. “Eyes,” he sent, “I need your team to stand still. Everyone else, get out of there.” “I hate you,” Eyes sent back, but her team dutifully held their position as Autumn’s forces closed in around them. Spirit waited until most of his teams were clear before he sent the next command, “Appleboom, max power.” Big Mac reared up and slammed both forehooves down. The resulting earthquake collapsed most of the training field, leaving Autumn’s forces rolling down a slope toward Eyes and her team. Dash struck next, zooming into the ground like a meteor and filling the newly created pit with an explosion of rainbow-colored light. “Surround the pit,” Spirit ordered the rest of his teams. “Hold position at the edge and snipe anything that moves.” Autumn smacked him in the side. “You never told me that Big Mac was capable of such a thing.” Spirit grinned. “I never told you that he wasn’t either.” The sound of a bell rang out across the field. “Time’s up,” Spirit sent to everyone. “Report in with your losses.” Not that they were actually losses, of course. A loss was anyone that had depleted the first of their suit’s batteries. He waited for them all to get back to him before turning to Autumn. “Seventeen casualties. You?” She frowned. “Twenty.” Spirit let his teams know the result and excused them to go do whatever they wanted until lunch. “Good match, sexy.” “Good match.” She dissolved the dome around them, and they relocated to the edge of the training yard to watch the next group train. Spirit pulled off his helmet and settled down next to Autumn. His arm wrapped around her back, with his clawed hand coming to rest against her flank opposite him. It was strange, having his hand there would have left Spirit all kinds of awkward and aroused just a month ago. Now it was no more strange or noteworthy than if he’d wrapped his arm around her shoulders instead. Spirit preferred it this way. Some kind of barrier between them had disappeared, and he could just enjoy being close to his marefriend. Autumn leaned into Spirit’s shoulder with a slight smirk. “Any excuse to touch my flank, I see.” Spirit chuckled. “If that were my goal, I would have waited until you weren’t wearing full body armor.” “Well, maybe at lunch …” Autumn trailed off and twisted to look behind them. Like a switch had been flipped, anger and confusion began to wash through her in equal measures. Even her coat faded to a steely blue, and her eyes narrowed dangerously. Spirit followed her gaze and found a company of crystal ponies approaching, led by a white crystal pony with a blue mane and tail. All of them were wearing full armor. He looked back at Autumn. “What’s wrong?” The leader’s eyes locked onto Autumn. “Autumn,” he said sharply, “I bring orders from Princess Luna for you.” Autumn’s eyes narrowed, and when she spoke, her voice was like the hissing of a blade across stone. “My name is Counselor Autumn Gem of Everfree Village.” She stood up. “Give me the orders and then leave.” The stallion’s coat flushed gray with hints of purple, and Spirit could sense anger exploding within him. “You’re still acting like a petulant child, Counselor Autumn Gem.” “The orders,” Autumn said, grinding her hooves into the ground. “Now.” “The Eighth Legion will be Everfree’s opponent in mock battles starting tomorrow.” The stallion glanced at Spirit before returning his attention to Autumn. “We look forward to testing ourselves against you and Prince Spirit Shield.” Autumn’s expression reminded Spirit of the phrase ‘if looks could kill.’ “I see.” She turned, grabbed her helmet, and walked away. Spirit almost had to run to keep up with her, shoving his own helmet on as he went. “Okay, what just happened?” “Why would Luna assign us to train with him?” Autumn muttered. “I don’t know,” Spirit said. “Shake things up and keep us from getting complacent, maybe?” Autumn just kept walking, or stomping. Yeah, stomping was definitely a more accurate description of what she was doing. Spirit threw a nervous glance over his shoulder. That crystal stallion was watching them go, and he was staring at Autumn a little too intently for Spirit’s liking. “Seriously, who was that guy?” Autumn turned a corner toward her mother’s house, but she fell against the back of a house before she had gone more than a few steps. “Autumn?” Spirit grabbed her. She was shaking like she could collapse at any moment. “I can do this,” she whispered. “I can do this.” Spirit gathered her into his arms. He wanted to say something, but … what was he supposed to say? He didn’t even know what was going on, and so he just held her close. Ever so slowly, she leaned into his embrace. “Thank you.” She took a few deep breaths before gently pushing him away and setting out once more. Unsure what to do, Spirit followed after her. “… That stallion,” Autumn said quietly, “do you really want to know who he is?” Now there was a question Spirit hadn’t been expecting. “Yes, please.” Autumn slowed until she was barely moving and looked up at the clouds. “I was nothing more than a spoiled brat when Sombra took power. I honestly thought I could overthrow him, and many of my friends had that same blind trust in me. When we were discovered, many of them sacrificed themselves to buy time while I escaped.” She stopped walking entirely and let her gaze sink to the street beneath her hooves. “I lost five friends on the night that he captured me.” “He?” Spirit looked toward the training field, even though there was a house in the way. “You mean that he was-?” “Liberty Valiant,” Autumn spat the name, “the pony that turned me over to King Sombra and condemned me to months of slavery, starvation, and whippings down in the mines. He even transferred to the prison just to make sure I never escaped.” “You …” Spirit’s mind reeled with what he had just heard. “You never told me that you were a prisoner.” Autumn didn’t respond. A few tears fell to the ground in front of her, but then she wiped her cheeks and kept walking. Spirit watched her go, too dumbfounded to even call after her.