Andromeda felt like she was snuggling up against the most soft and warm magically heated teddy bear of all time. The sheets of her bed had turned into comforting clouds gifted to her by the heavens above. The heavenly sheets swaddled her tightly, but not to a point of being a restraint. She was free to roll around and get in the most pleasant position possible. All was perfect in the land of sleep and comfort. Nothing could possibly ruin it, besides Josh.
Andromeda could hear a faint voice in the living room. It wasn't strong, but it was enough to get her awake, which abruptly pulled her from her far away realm of tranquility.
“Uh woke josh hum.” Andromeda was trying to ask Josh why he woke her up, but all that came out were scrambled words. She groggily moved her head around to look in the direction of the door to her room. It was still closed. She sighed at the fact she had to get up. The day had unwelcomingly started and proudly displayed its rays upon Andromeda's room through the square window above her bed. She attempted to get out of her bed, but stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a voice that didn't belong to Josh. The voice was too faint to make out what it was saying, but Andromeda was sure she had heard it before. Somewhere…
With Andromeda’s awakening, her senses began to become more clear, and the gears in her head started to turn and power the mechanism that was her brain.
After waking herself up a bit more, Andromeda moved to get herself out of her room. Once out of her room, she saw something she was not expecting. Trixie, the traveling magician, was sitting beside and conversing with Josh. Trixie was a character Andromeda had heard about while on the streets. She knew that Trixie had caused some serious trouble in the past, which concerned Andromeda. Upon closer inspection, the two were looking at a drawing they were working on.
Josh looked up and noticed Andromeda. A warm smile formed on his lips. “Good Morning Andromeda, how did you sleep?”
Andromeda ignored Josh’s question and asked her own with a questioning glare. “Josh, what are you doing?”
Josh looked over at Trixie with a hint of realization and embarrassment and then back to Andromeda. “Um, yeah, uh…” Josh stammered.
Andromeda raised an eyebrow with an unamused expression awaiting an actual explanation. Her groggy composure and slightly disheveled mane added to the fact she wanted a good answer. She almost started tapping her hoof.
Josh was hesitant, hesitant as a soldier in a minefield. If that soldier took another step, he might be blown to bits, but Josh would be the kind of soldier to take a step forward. “I wanted to make it up to that unicorn who’s kite I threatened yesterday. Remember her?”
Before Andromeda could answer, Trixie butted into the conversation. “Starlight is one of Trixie’s best friends, and-” Trixie was stopped by the death glare given to her by Andromeda and shut her mouth.
Andromeda sat down and rubbed her eyes with her hooves slowly. “Listen, that's sweet of you Josh, but you woke me up. I was sleeping like baby Pegasus getting the first nap on a cloud she has ever had. Since I’m up, though, I'm going to go and test out my wings to see if I can fly and try to get over the fact that the best sleep I've ever gotten was interrupted by you two. While I'm gone, don't touch anything and stay out of trouble. You hear me Josh?”
Josh quickly nodded in response to Andromeda’s question. The answer was acceptable to Andromeda, but she still squinted at Josh. He gave her a swift solute to show he was serious. Andromeda pranced out the door and closed it behind her without looking back. Josh and Trixie let out held breaths of air.
Trixie spoke up. “That was-” But was once again interrupted. This time by the door opening.
Andromeda hadn't lost her stride when she came back through the door. She paid neither Josh or Trixie any attention. Her gaze was set on the kitchen. Josh and Trixie were both looking at Andromeda with questioning expressions while she made her way to the kitchen’s treasures it held within its cabinets.
Andromeda dug around in the cabinets until she found what she was looking for. A muffin. Actually three muffins. Large ones at that. Josh’s expression turned from one of uncertainty to one of bewilderment. Not a word escaped Andromeda’s mouth as she headed back outside. Her expression of unamusement still plastered onto her features after closing the front door.
Josh coughed out loud to get Trixie’s attention. “So, you want to get back to working on the present?”
“Yeah…” Trixie gave the door Andromeda left through one more quizzical look before quickly turning back to Josh.
“So, it’s going to be that?” Trixie was uncertain about Josh’s design.
“It's the coolest kite I've ever seen, if I do say so myself. There is no way she isn't going to love it. I didn't see any kite like it in her room.” Josh was confident, until he realized something. “Where are we going to get the supplies to make it?”
Trixie put her hoof to her chin for a moment in thought. “Oh, I know! There is a craft shop in the middle of town. It isn't very big, but it should have what we need.”
“Another problem is where am I going to get the money to buy what I need. I don't even know what the currency is here for crying out loud.” Josh ran his hands through his hair in thought.
Trixie sighed. She was going to take one for the team. “I'll pay for what you need.” Josh opened his mouth and was about to object, but Trixie put her hoof up before he could say anything. “It's fine Josh, but you are going to have to make it up to me later.” Josh was about to ask what he had to do, but Trixie spoke before he could. “When I say make up, I ment being in one or a few of my shows. You are a one of a kind after all. That would attract a lot of attention. Attention that would bring Trixie business.”
Josh shrugged. “Sounds fair enough. Being in one of your shows can't be too bad, right?”
“Oh Josh, you have a lot to learn.” Trixie trailed off with a slight chuckle.
Andromeda stood in a field on the outskirts of Ponyville. Every few seconds a gentle breeze would blow by, ever so slightly causing her to sway in its direction. Her mane blew in the breezes and she could feel It mimicking the motions of the wind as it blew by. It reminded her of the waves of the ocean, flowing harmoniously. The atmosphere was calming. It also reminded her of the one who taught her how to fly. The conditions of the day were similar to that of the day she learned to fly. The day she became free.
“Alright, I can do this. Just like when he taught me all those years ago. Wings out, head and shoulders down, eyes firm and forward, and also be sure to get a good running start.” Andromeda got in the stance to take flight, but stopped. A pang of sadness stuck her heart. A few tears ran down her soft cheeks and her stance lost its rigidness. There was too much grief in her to keep going.
“I know you wouldn't want to see me like this, but I miss you. After you were gone, I- I was lost. Lost and without any guidance.” Andromeda looked to the cold, snowy, ground in thought. “Those things I did- were wrong, and there isn't any way to make up for it. I'm sorry.” Andromeda picked her head up and to look to the sky. Tears streamed down her rosy cheeks as she shuttered in the chill of a breezes and memory. Her vision was a little cloudy from the tears, but she was able to observe the flamboyant clouds above her.
“Remember when we would always make familiar shapes out of the clouds?” A small, but sad smile appeared on Andromeda’s lips when she closed her eyes to remember.
“What's that supposed to be?” A young, yet, familiar bat pony asked with a playful giggle.
“Why, it's supposed to be you of course! How could you not recognize yourself? Did I get the eyes wrong?” A hearty chuckle was let out by the accompanying Pegasus.
“You're not very good at this. Here, I'll make you instead, but don't look until I'm done.” A bright smile beamed from the features of the young bat pony as she constructed a pony made of clouds. The Pegasus shared a similar expression while he was turned around with his eyes closed.
“You done yet?” The Pegasus playfully asked when he pretended to peek at the bat ponie’s work.
“Hey! I said no peeking.” Even though the words were disguised as being harsh, the small bat pony smiled on. She was having too much fun to be serious.
“Almost… and… done! Alright, you can look now.” The bat pony stepped to the side of her creation. She puffed her chest out and beamed with pride. She eagerly awaited judgement that was sure to come.
“Hum…” The pegasus trailed off in contemplation. He circled his cloud duplicate in search of flaws. His actions made the onlooking bat pony nervous and filled her with anticipation for his approval. The Pegasus slowly walked to the front of the cloud statue and made sure he was taking as much time as he could. His expression was one of pure mock concentration. His lips were folded outwards and he would rub his chin every few seconds as if he were making a difficult decision. Every second that passed made the bat pony more and more nervous. Finally, right before the little bat pony was about to burst from anxiety, the pegasus looked her straight in the eyes with an expression that could read the soul. He then squinted his eyes and opened his mouth to talk, but before he said anything, an ear to ear smile formed on his face and he fell to the ground on his back in a heap of laughter. This extraordinary display startled the bat pony at first, but she soon followed in the pegasus’s hoof steps and joined him in fits of laughter.
It took a few solid minutes, but eventually the pair’s laughter stifled down. They sat for another few minutes just observing the fluffy clouds passing overhead in the distance, until the pegasus decided to speak up. “That is actually a pretty good cloud statue of me.” He let out another chuckle and looked over at the bat pony, who returned the gesture with great enthusiasm.
“I know, you are pretty easy to make. The hardest part was the beard though. That took the longest. The easiest was probably your cutie mark. I just had to indent a pick axe and a brush crossing over it into the cloud.” The young bat pony looked to her father’s cutie mark then to her own and sat down. She stared at it long enough to worry her father.
“Andromeda, are you ok?” His concern for her was growing every second she wore a worried expression on her face.
“Yeah, it's just- what is my cutie mark for? I don't remember getting it.” She sat with a slightly upset expression.
“You were- you were born with it, so I'm not sure what it's for. But whatever it is, it's definitely special.” Andromeda looked up to see her fathers determined smile. “And we'll figure out what you got it for together.”
Andromeda could feel the tears getting ready to form, but with much difficulty, she held them in. “Just like Josh told me the other day. I need to be positive. I need to get up and get moving. I need to keep going and not look back at my past!” Andromeda’s heart was filled with a raging fire that could not be quenched. A fire that burnt with the pure will of a bat pony that had lost someone. Someone that meant so much to her, she would crawl to Tartarus and back for him.
Andromeda assumed a flight stance once again. This time, however, she was unmoved by the passing wind. Unmoved by emotion. “You'll always be in my heart, dad.” One last tear rolled down her cheek. It slid slowly and painfully off of her from the oncoming wind. A cold sting took the warm tears place. Andromeda lowered herself and spread her wings out as far as she could. She took off into the air with a powerful leap and flapped her leathery wings harder than ever before. Grief was eating her down, but she managed to overcome her emotions with another powerful flap of her wings. Her wings were unpracticed and staying airborne became harder the longer she flew. “Come on, just a little longer...” A sharp pain shot through her body and her wing began to pulse with pain. Andromeda pushed on, but her wing could bear her weight no longer. It gave out and uselessly flapped in the wind. Andromeda closed her eyes and braced herself for impact. With a heavy grunt and a snap, Andromeda came crashing down.
She couldn't hold the tears back. She couldn't overcome her grief. It was a vain unending battle. Every time she would try to rise up and overcome her grief, she would get pushed back down twice as hard, like taking a step forward to just take two steps backwards. It was painful to see both the memory of her father and to see what she had become. A grieving, messy pile of sorrow. And who was she to blame? No one but herself of course.
Andromeda sat in her own misery for a few minutes before bringing herself back to reality. She was having a hard time breathing, even moving a muscle. Everything ached and every breath was a stab in the chest. She slowly opened her eyes expecting the worst, but was surprised at the outcome of her crash. She had hit a tree on her way to the ground and broke a few branches in the process, which no doubt cushioned her fall. She was lucky she didn't break her wing again. Or worse.
Andromeda slowly stood up. Her legs were wobbly at first, but she eventually started moving forward. Failure and grief were pain enough for the defeated bat pony, but all the physical pain just added to it. She felt heavy as she carried her loss and her damaged body back home. Her head was kept low and her ears were hugging her head. A real hug would have been medicine for the weary mare, but no one was there to give her one. Every once and awhile she would lose her footing and almost trip, but she kept on the perilous journey. To Andromeda, it was like carrying a saddlebag full of lead weights through a desert while on the walk of shame.
“So Josh, you think it will fly?” Trixie was doubtful of the kite's functionality.
“Definitely, but we should probably try it out before being certain. Know anywhere we can test it without too many ponies around Trixie?”
“I know just the place.” Trixie grew a smile.
“Dang Trixie, you were right. No one is here. Except for that dark blue pony walking slowly away- Andromeda?” Josh squinted his eyes to confirm his suspicion. “Here, hold the kite, I need to see what's up with Andromeda over there.”
“Ok, Trixie the saddlebag will just wait here for you.” Trixie sat down with a distasteful expression and kept her gaze on Josh while holding the kite in her grasp.
Josh ignored Trixie’s remark and ran over to Andromeda. He could tell something wasn't right. “Andromeda what's wrong? Are you hurt?”
There was no answer, but Andromeda stopped and turned around to face Josh. She kept her head low so he wouldn't be able to see what state she was in. She slowly walked a few steps closer to Josh, then grabbed him into a tight hug. Josh was surprised at first, but eventually started to hug back. Trixie mouthed a “What?” to Josh and had quite the confused face. Josh shrugged and to the best of his abilities, mouthed “I have no idea.” to Trixie.
Andromeda eventually let Josh go and exhaled a heavy sigh. She look like she had been through a lot. Her mane was disheveled, she had cuts and bruises everywhere and she had this utter look of defeat upon her. Josh could feel the sadness emitting from his blue-grey friend and it hurt him. He hated to see anyone so down, especially someone like Andromeda.
A small smile formed on Josh. He figured out something that might make his dreary friend a little less dreary. “So, Angie, you ready to head home?” Josh asked with an inquisitive tone.
“Yeah- wait, what did you just call me?” Andromeda asked with a hint of sass as she shot a half hearted glare at Josh. She tried to act angry and sad, but she couldn't hold back a small smile. Josh’s plan was coming together.
“Oh, it's just a little nickname I came up for you. It's so I don't have to say your long name every time I refer to you when speaking.” Josh had a smug expression.
“I don't have a long name.” Andromeda sat down, leaned back, and crossed her front hooves. Her fuzzy ears were also down and she stuck her lip out.
Josh thought she looked like a sad little puppy, which caused a few chuckles to emit from him. “Well, I guess I should do the right thing and take this sad, little lost puppy home.” Andromeda was about to comment, but was cut off by Josh picking her up. She wasn't a feather, but Josh had no trouble picking up or holding Andromeda. She was lighter than he had anticipated. After being picked up like a filly, her hooves were still crossed and she wore an expression that screamed, “I don't like this one bit,” but deep down, she knew she enjoyed not having to walk on her weary hooves. Even after all of Josh’s attempts to get Andromeda’s mind off of being sad, she still couldn't help but continue to think about her gone father. Josh did manage to uplift her spirits enough to make her smile a little, which was a victory for him.
Even though Josh was quite curious as to why Andromeda was so upset, he would not dare bring back the subject by asking what upset her.
Josh turned toward Trixie while holding an upset looking Andromeda and motioned for her to follow him. Trixie wasn't sure what all was going on, but listened to Josh. She levitated the kite beside her and headed off to follow the human.
The trip was silent and nothing notable happened on the way to Andromeda’s house, except for a few odd looks and stares from the town ponies. Andromeda was feeling better the longer Josh held her. His embrace was comforting to her. The last time she had any close physical contact, such as a hug, was with her father.
“Alright, here we are.” Josh was at Andromeda’s front door when he made his quiet announcement. He bent down and opened the door while continuing to carry Andromeda. He remembered the door was unlocked since he and Trixie were the last to leave, and neither of them had a key to lock the door with. Andromeda didn't seem to mink though.
Josh slowly walked inside and left the front door open for Trixie to enter. Josh walked to Andromeda’s room. He opened her room’s door and placed her gently on her bed. Andromeda was still silent and wouldn't make eye contact with Josh. She was just staring with droopy eyes at the wall opposite of Josh. Josh was a bit disappointed at Andromeda’s lack of response to him, but he decided that she needed her space. He turned around and walked through her door. When was in the middle of closing it behind him, he was stopped by the voice of Andromeda.
“Wait!” Andromeda quickly called out. Josh didn't move his body, but turned his head so Andromeda could see half of his face. Josh stood in the doorway waiting for a response. He didn't have to wait too long for Andromeda to speak, but she did hesitate for more than a few seconds.
“Th-Thank you Josh.” A small smile formed on Andromeda’s face and she held her head up to look Josh directly in the eyes. Josh met Andromeda’s eyes with his own and returned her friendly smile with one of his own. He lightly nodded in response to Andromeda's “thank you,” and gently closed the door. She needed some time to cope with whatever she was going through by herself, and Josh understood that.
Trixie was sitting in the living room studying the kite to make sure every detail was aligned. When josh walked in the room, Trixie stopped what she was doing and looked at Josh with a skeptically.
“So, what was all that about Josh?” Trixie rubbed a hoof on her chin and maintained the skeptical pony look.
“To be honest, I'm not sure, but It's none of our business anyway. What do you say we finish what we started and take out the kite for a test flight?” Josh didn't want to prod in anyone's business, especially not the one who he was the closest to in the strange and magical world he had been abruptly thrown into. On another note, Josh hadn't forgotten about Andromeda knowing what a human was, he just decided to bring it up later. He figured he would wait for the right moment to ask the groundbreaking question, since the repercussions were quite unknown. It would have been a terrible time to bring it up.
The front door to Andromeda's house had once again been closed. The Human and the magician had left to test out the kite they made for Starlight. The only one still left was the bat pony. The owner of the house. The one who waited for the others to leave.
Andromeda heard the door close with a thud. Not a thud that one would hear from a door slamming, but one that is produced by a heavy door merely closing and making a loud bang when meeting with the door frame. The bigger the door, the louder the noise. Andromeda rolled to the side of her bed and slid off onto the floor. She crouched down to where her belly was touching the floor and gave her room a good look around. To the average pony and human eye, her room would be pitch black and unseeable, but for a bat pony, it was as clear as day. Andromeda’s pupils were made for the looming dark. The dark that haunted fillies dreams. The dark Andromeda would often use as a cloak. A cloak to hide under. A cloak that could be used to hide something that was not to be seen by the eyes of onlooking inquisitors. That is why Andromeda possessed no light besides the window in her room. She had total and complete privacy, and if, by some odd chance, a pony or human were to enter her home, she would be quite aware that she was no longer alone under her cloak. Her cloak of solitude and stealth. She used it for more than hiding herself. She used it to also hide secrets. Secrets she didn't want others to know or wonder about. They were safe under her cloak of darkness she placed them under, a cloak she could control. In order to make a cloak, a material is needed to weave together. A dress cannot be sown without the cloth or the needle. Both are needed to produce the desired object. The same could be said about Andromeda and the dark.
Satisfied with the lack of others anywhere near, Andromeda reached under her bed and removed a floor board to reveal a small indention in the floor that was in the inverse shape of a hoof. She placed her right hoof into the groove and twisted it left and right in a combination only she knew. After she twisted out the correct combination, a few more floorboards separated, which revealed a chest being kept under tight security. The chest was old and had an ancient vibe to it. Andromeda studied it close and her eyes quickly became ensnared by the rolled up note on the top of the chest. She had read it many a time before, but each time she did, she felt like something new was being revealed to her by the one who wrote it. The one she cared so deeply for. The one she lost. Andromeda took the chest out of the hole and held it close, as if squeezing it would give her what she wanted. She set the chest back down and took a deep breath before unraveling the rolled up letter and once again gazing upon the meanings it gave her.
“My dearest Andromeda. I have had more of a life with raising you than that of all the other ponies in Equestria combined.” Andromeda let a tear roll down her cheek. “If you are reading this, well, it means I'm gone, for good. This is a part of my will, of course. Your old man might not have been good at talking about sad subjects, but he was heck a good at planning ahead, henceforth this letter. I've left all of my possessions and money in your capable hooves. I know it's a lot to ask of you, but please do take care of yourself. For me. I've enjoyed every second I was able to spend with you, and my only regret in life, is that I didn't have one more. I'll always be with you my little nightingale, and there is one more item I need to address. The chest this letter is attached to. Don't, and I repeat, don't open the chest until your twentieth Hearth’s Warming Eve. Also, I know you aren't the social type, but please, for Celestia’s sake, make some friends. I love you, and I hope you live a wonderful life. Don't think about me or the past too much, just, keep going. You can do it and I believe in you.”
Andromeda let out a heavy sigh. She missed her father, but she was done with crying and getting all bent out of shape about it. Josh had cheered her up a bit, and she wasn't about to go back to the petty state she was in previously. She knew her father would have hated to see her that way.
‘It's a good thing Josh was there.’ A light chuckle escaped Andromeda and a small smile formed on her face.’You would’ve had a time meeting Josh. There's no telling what type of trouble you and him would've gotten into, like getting lost in the Everfree Forest…’ Andromeda trailed off in thought.
‘I guess that's actually where I'll go tomorrow with Josh. To the wild Everfree. I hope things go better than last time because, well, last time things didn't go so great with Josh there. Normally trips go smoothly and there isn't much trouble. I guess trouble just follows in that humans wake. Then again, I’m not so different. Overall things have been pretty good though.’
One of the hardest things for Andromeda over the years was holding herself back from opening the box before her twentieth Hearth’s Warming Eve. The anticipation had been killing her, but soon it would all be gone. ‘Thank Celestia and Luna this year is the year to open the box. I don't think I could have lasted another year without opening it.’ Andromeda had a content look. She was going to find out what her father had been waiting so long to reveal to her. It would only be a few short days until her twentieth Hearth's Warming Eve.