//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: Full Bat Consequences // Story: Evening Star Also Rises // by Starscribe //------------------------------// By the time Hayden returned to her room, she found a pair of Lunar Guard soldiers standing in the hallway on either side. Even the guards seemed a little intimidated by her strange appearance, though. They got out of the way as she approached, bowing, and scraping and moving so quickly it looked like they were afraid she might attack them. She was too upset with herself to let that feeling spread to anyone else. I ruined it. I can’t believe I was so stupid! She was an animal! I’m an animal! None of this makes any sense! If it hadn’t been for Nightbreeze’s reaction, she wouldn’t have known if this sort of thing was natural in Equestria. There were so many tribes, after all, maybe ponies could move between them by being transformed. She could hear voices from inside her room even before she got the door open—none of which sounded new to her. She opened it as quietly as she could. Inside, somepony had opened all the windows, filling the room with an unnecessary amount of light. Nightbreeze stood on the raised platform near the wardrobe Hayden herself often used to show outfits as she was dressed. Only there was nopony here to make her wear fancy clothes—Luna and Star Swirl appeared to be performing a magical exam of some kind. One of her wings was stretched to its full length, with Star Swirl’s horn glowing all the time. Star Swirl released the wing, slumping back onto his haunches. “Well… that’s everything I could’ve possibly searched for.” “You’ve found the spell?” Luna asked. She hadn’t been examining Nightbreeze so much as pacing violently back and forth near the end of the room, wearing a groove into the floor with the anger of her steps. “Dispel it at once! Before word of this spreads.” “I…” Star Swirl bowed. “Forgive me, Princess. I have determined this isn’t a spell.” “Impossible.” Luna vanished in a flash of angry light, appearing almost instantly beside Hayden. She nodded towards her. “She doesn’t have a horn! Obviously she couldn’t have cast anything! Whatever aspect she unknowingly spread, we need only to discover it, and…” “No, you misunderstand.” Star Swirl rose to his hooves again, walking along Nightbreeze. The poor steward was shivering in place, silent tears streaming down her face. She didn’t look up—not at the princess, not at Star Swirl, not at Hayden. Even from across the room Hayden could smell her profound sense of shame. “There is no spell because no active effect is upon her. Her pattern is as though there was no transformation at all. There is no trace of what she was—even her magic is fundamentally changed. Her weather magic is gone, replaced with… something I do not recognize. Even her cutie mark seems darker, which should not be possible.” “I-I’m… I’m…” Nightbreeze stammered. “Princess, I’m sorry! If I… I know I shouldn’t… Lady Evening Star had no idea… it was entirely my f-fault…” “Silence.” Luna made a harsh gesture with one hoof. “You had no reason to suspect this would happen. You will not be punished.” She looked away, back at Star Swirl. “If she was changed once, then she may be changed again. We must recreate its circumstances and observe closely. Once we observe the spell in action, we should be able to replicate it.” “Yes…” Star Swirl said. “But did you listen to her explanation of how this happened? I don’t think, err…” “It was my fault,” Hayden said. She took a few steps towards Nightbreeze, as though intending to stand beside her to give emotional support, but the bat only reacted with fear and discomfort. She didn’t approach any closer. I can still be the one to make it explicit. Not force her to do it. “I shouldn’t have slept with her. I thought since we were both mares, there wouldn’t be any danger of…” Her ears flattened to her head, hooves shaking as she spoke. But she didn’t balk from telling the truth, whatever the discomfort. It’s okay. Acting like sex doesn’t exist isn’t going to change the fact it happened. “Permanent consequences,” she eventually finished. “It would, ordinarily,” Luna said, completely unmoved by her admission. Star Swirl, on the other hand, seemed profoundly interested in the floor all of the sudden. “It seems your duty will soon be to recreate the experiment.” “No!” Star Swirl and Hayden exclaimed at the same time. Star Swirl was the one to continue. “Princess, that won’t help. Your steward has already been changed, the transformative effects are unlikely to target her a second time. Moreover, I suspect it wasn’t physical intimacy that was the culprit, but emotional. Merely bringing another pony from your staff and encouraging…” He trailed off, looking increasingly flustered. “Even if it would work, even if we knew for certain we could recreate its effects, would it be moral of us to condemn some other pony? Would it be moral to condemn another pony to living their life this way if we are unable to reverse the magic?” Nightbreeze whimpered, but didn’t say anything further. “Suppose one observation wasn’t enough? How many more ponies would you leave this way? How high will our chances of discovery rise?” Princess Luna visibly deflated at that, some of the stars winking out of her mane. She looked like she might be about to fall over, and very well might have had there not been so many watching. Hayden knew what that could feel like. And this disaster is my fault. Even if she hadn’t known about the consequences of this relationship, she knew it wasn’t okay. If only I’d been more responsible, we wouldn’t be in this situation. “So, what do we do?” Luna asked. “I can’t abandon her to this. Nightbreeze has always been faithful to me. Her family goes back to Equestria’s founding. I have a responsibility to protect them.” “So you do,” Star Swirl said. “Forgive me, but your question exceeds my understanding. I do not know what method might be used to insulate her or her family from the consequences of… this. That is your decision to make. Though…” He lowered his voice, becoming quiet, somber. “I suspect if your sister were to learn of this, her reaction would be… extreme. There is no touch of the void on poor Nightbreeze, but Celestia is… prone to paranoia on the subject. Considering what she witnessed in Carcosa, that makes sense. You weren’t old enough to see what she did.” Hayden waited, wondering if perhaps Nightbreeze might come up with something. But she didn’t—the silence stretched on and on, with Luna looking down at her hooves, Nightbreeze crying, and Star Swirl’s horn glowing again as he resumed his examination. Maybe Luna hoped his search would turn up some new detail, but Hayden was skeptical. “I’m making some assumptions here…” Hayden began, her voice quiet and tentative. “From what you had me study.” She waited a moment, waited for Luna to shout her down, or throw her against the wall with terrible magic. Maybe to banish her entirely. But Princess Luna did none of those things. Star Swirl and Nightbreeze both looked up though, apparently surprised by her daring. Hayden didn’t wait for her to second-guess herself. “My, uh… history… contained quite a bit about your ancestral lands. Those taxed by your house, which pay your portion of Equestria’s upkeep. You have many smaller palaces on this land, and lesser nobles, including my ‘family’. Does this sound right so far?” Luna and Nightbreeze both nodded, though Nightbreeze herself wasn’t coherent enough to form words. Tears continued to cascade down her face. “We could, uh… double down on the fiction you’ve created. Maybe all that fancy magic of yours could make her look… normal… for a little bit. Have a huge row, dismiss her in disgrace…” Her words were not helping poor Nightbreeze, not even a little. Obviously not, based on the surface of what she was proposing. Probably sounds like I’m trying to cover up my mistake as much as Luna is. I’m so sorry. It was, a little, but it also wasn’t. “Once that’s over, you secretly send Nightbreeze away to one of those palaces… maybe close to where I came from. Get her a new identity… related to my fake one, maybe. You’ve already got so much invested in making it plausible, so just throw another branch on the family tree.” She gestured with one wing, holding it out for a second so her thin bones could serve for branches. Nightbreeze stopped crying. The others looked only confused—Star Swirl most of all, though even Luna seemed a little perplexed. “What good does this do? What have we accomplished, except to publicly disgrace one of the oldest families in my land?” “Well… Nightbreeze can stay out of the way, out of mind, until things settle down. I don’t know how long that takes for rich ponies, but if they’re anything like rich humans it shouldn’t take more than a month or two. Pick someone out for your replacement steward who’s awful at their job… and when things get bad enough, you bring in a replacement from my house. You’re so happy with the job I’ve done, you see, you take a lesser cousin of mine. Your sister’s court is already bloated with nepotism, so it wouldn’t be strange for you.” She gestured back to Nightbreeze. “She’s a different pony then, new name. Just make sure she dresses and acts a little differently, and nopony’s the wiser.” Luna sat back on her haunches, no longer confused so much as astonished. “You… came up with all that on your own?” Hayden nodded. “Well… sorta. I ripped part of it off from a historical drama I saw once. But it’s not history here, so nopony should recognize it.” “Interesting.” Star Swirl’s horn stopped glowing, and he turned to her. “You are changing, Lady Hayden. If your skills become Luna’s at any appreciable rate, there may be one success in this. Despite the, uh… consequences.” He looked back at Nightbreeze, not shying away with his eyes as Luna or Hayden had done. “But even so, Princess, there is a more pressing matter here.” He walked over, until he stood beside Hayden. “Transformative magic like this has never been seen outside of Alicorns. We knew she might be able to manifest your powers. But is it ethical of us to allow something like this to remain? With the future danger she might pose to the kingdom, will you allow her to change more ponies as she did to your steward? Perhaps the time has come for her to be sent back, just as she wished. Before things get worse. There are more traditional ways to improve your image. Tutors, and trainers and such. I’m sure your sister—” “No,” Princess Luna said. Hayden had felt the words even before they were fully formed, permeating the air and into her own mind. Luna was very confident about this decision. Hayden couldn’t imagine why, given the chaos she’d just caused. “Hayden will not repeat this… indiscretion in the future, will she?” “No,” Hayden answered immediately. “It was only because I didn’t know. If I’d thought there was risk involved…” “Enough,” Luna waved her off with one hoof. “The spell is working, like you said.” She walked over to Nightbreeze, stopping only when she was right in front of her. “Loyal steward. It is I who bare the blame for this. You could not have known that a relationship with my… experiment… would have such a serious consequence. I give you my word that no matter what becomes of your reputation as a result, your family will not ever fall from my memory. I will continue their support exactly as I have done for all these years.” “I-I know…” Nightbreeze croaked. “I-I… I’m grateful for everything my princess has done for me. F-for whatever mercy she decides to share, after this… mistake.” Despite everything, Hayden felt just a twinge of pain in her chest as she heard that last. Entirely deserved, considering everything she’d been saying about Nightbreeze until now. “Star Swirl and I will endeavor to reverse your condition as quickly as we can. Star Swirl, I know your duties here are far too important, but would you have an apprentice you might send? Someone who could remain with her, in case there is some treatment that could be divined with further study?” “Certainly,” Star Swirl said. “But now, you must act. Before rumor spreads of whatever happened here. Before… before the consequences play themselves out. If it becomes general knowledge that Hayden’s unique condition can be spread, it won’t matter that the circumstances are specific and intimate. I do not doubt that the consequences would be very severe. If that happens, I expect you’ll have to return her to her realm. Whatever realm that truly is. The princess must not forget the dire consequences of having her daemon slain.” “I haven’t,” Luna said. “I am sorry for what will come next, steward. Star Swirl, cast your illusion. Before my sister comes to investigate, and attempts to forbid me again.” The next few hours saw Hayden’s plan put in motion, or close to it. Luna had only one palace of any notoriety near the fictional home of Hayden’s family, a pegasus village located in the clouds with a cloud palace to match. Nightbreeze would live as a minor noble there, as though in training to take over running the nearby village and the weather it made. Nightbreeze would have moved up in the world, not down. Except that her condition made her a freak, and everypony who saw her might react with fear. Hayden lived with it every day, and she did not wish it on one she had cared about intimately enough for what she’d done. She did not get a chance to say goodbye, but then maybe that was for the best. Nightbreeze barely even looked at her during the next few hours, even though illusion spells covered her whole body. She carried the act through with skill, culminating in the row that got her “dismissed” from Luna’s staff, the flight in disgrace, everything. An impressive job. Under cover of midnight, a solemn detachment of the Lunar Guard delivered an unmarked case of “magical samples” and one of Star Swirl’s young apprentices to study in a distant outpost. Only their captain knew their true destination—even Hayden didn’t know all the details. It sounded as though once she had come up with the idea, Luna had a better idea of how to put it into motion than she did. For Nightbreeze's sake, she could only hope it worked.