//------------------------------// // Chapter 25 // Story: Prim Rose's Redemption // by Hope //------------------------------// "Again.” Prim’s heartbeat run in her ears, and she blinked her eyes a few times to clear the glittering spots from in front of them. Her legs ached, and her horn felt like an ice rod sticking from her head, numb from the unusual exertion, and cool in her mind, stifling her thought. But two bodies in her memory laying on cold stone tile drove her to breathe again and step back into the circle outlined on the stone ground. She spread her legs to take a strong stance. She then channeled magical energy into her horn. But rather than targeting it at an object to lift it, or turning it into light or heat, she began going through the poem she’d been taught, in her head. “A shield in phase is twin arcs turns cross ways. Spin and force, deflect upon new course. Focus on heart, to ground in bone, the shield that has grown.” The magic that bloomed from her horn formed a flower at first, an aspect of her personal magic that Glass Belle reassured her was perfectly natural for a beginner. The petals then spilled outward to form the spherical shield around her, slowly solidifying into a solid surface without any petals or lines, made of yellow magic. She knew not to smile, or lose her concentration, as she grounded the shield in her body and turned to face Glass. Glass Belle was a pure white unicorn with a pale blue mane and silvery eyes. She had a look of darkness in her eyes that never seemed to fade, no matter what she was doing, as though she was constantly agitated by her surroundings. She was also the only unicorn trained in advanced combat that could be found to teach Prim in the week since the murders. Quite possibly she was the most dangerous individual in the castle except Luna, at the moment. The unicorn examined the shield before giving a nod and bringing a spear down to hit it, hard. There was a shower of sparks and a sharp pain in Prim’s side, as the force of the blow was distributed throughout her body, but the spear was deflected to the side before the shield dissipated. Her stomach hit the floor as the spear bounced and rattled away, her sides heaving to pull in more air. “This is an improvement. Thou art making good progress for one so young and inexperienced,” Glass said as she sat in front of Prim, not bothering to pick up the spear. “Do not think that just because I demand more, I do not notice that. If the griffins do attack, at the least thou shalt be able to negate the advantages their arrows give them. Though I would recommend to avoid any direct combat. A half pound arrow and a three hundred pound griffin have vastly different force vectors.” Prim nodded, slowly standing, but stumbling as she realized just how weak she was, and settling in to sit instead. “I want to be capable of defending myself, and another,” Prim insisted. “So I shall improve still further.” Glass raised an eyebrow before shaking her head. “There becomes a point where a unicorn has reached their limits. There are few ways to circumvent this, but if thou art certain to improve in some way, it is my belief that thou art capable of greater flexibility. Return tomorrow, and we shall continue thy training. Begone.” Despite Prim being in sole control of the whole castle and everyone inside of it besides Luna, Prim struggled to her hooves and bowed before following Glass’s command. There was a certain respect granted to a skilled warrior, regardless of title. She then limped from the courtyard back into the castle, resting for a moment once she was inside, leaning against the wall. She had to fight against the urge to fall asleep while standing. “Lady Rose.” Prim opened her eyes, groaning a little at the realization that her fight had failed, and she’d passed out while leaning on the wall. She wobbled back to a less comfortable stance and looked to the guard who had spoken. He looked nervous, his spear resting against his shoulder, and standing a few paces away. “Yes, sir…” “Lavender,” he said quietly. “Dark Lavender. M’lady, General Fury wishes to speak with thee. If thou shalt be retiring, I may advise her that thou art unavailable…” Prim shook her head, walking carefully up to him. “Lead me,” she instructed him, realizing that every bone in her body ached, and she really would have to find a way to heal her body to keep up with her training. But for the time being, she had to focus on walking. It was silly how difficult such a simple act became when tired and hurting. She had to focus on her hoofsteps, right fore, left rear, left fore, right rear, and so on in an endless cycle. One benefit of it all was that she didn’t see those two bodies. She just saw stone tile. “General Fury, Lady Rose is here to see thee.” “Please, Prim. Come sit.” Prim noted she was in the new guard building they’d rapidly built in the last month, and was still half done. She walked into the room and took a seat on the cushion provided, before offering a weak smile to Fury. “What may I do for thee, General Fury?” Fury took a large amber bottle from beneath her desk, and then two small glasses, pouring some gold liquid from it into the glasses. “Please, Prim. I am Night, to thee. These days have passed too quickly, and… there is a ritual we must perform.” “A… ritual?” Prim asked, her mind spinning to try and catch up. “Yes. A rite we Thestral perform, when a loved one falls in battle.” Prim sat up a bit straighter, confused and frowning as she shook her head. “I don’t understand, I had no relation--” Night gestured for Prim to stop, and she did. “There are some terms from my homeland, and the lands to which I’ve traveled, which do not translate well… Prijátel. To me, ‘friend’ does not fill it, there is more to it than that. So I say loved ones. We loved Tao and Evenstar. More than fellow guards or servants of the crown. More than friends we may have had. These two lost souls…” She slid one glass to Prim and took her own as she lit a candle on the table using a lamp’s flame. It was a short stubby candle, but made with valuable black wax. Prim felt some greater pain in her heart as she contemplated the gesture of value. The black candle, the alcoholic drink that clearly was meaningful and rare. The time taken away from their schedules, it all added to the weight on her back she’d been bearing. “We mourn them, so that they know how we cared for them. We mourn so that our hearts may let go of them, so they may become stars in the sky, not bound to us.” She raised her glass and after a pause, Prim lifted her own and tapped it against the glass surface, before drinking it all in a smooth motion. She shouldn’t have, she coughed and spluttered, and her eyes watered, but Night nodded, smiling a little. “Not a drinker.” “No,” Prim admitted, her eyes still watery as she contemplated her second glass. “I am only twenty.” Night laughed a little, shaking her head. “In my village growing up, the water was unsafe, unless we made alcohol with it or boiled it, and it still tasted terrible.So I have been drinking all my life. Not like many in Equestria, certainly.” “Thou didst not grow up in Equestria?” Prim asked, surprised, as she sipped her glass. “No, no… Tao came from the same place as I,” Night said reverently. “Evenstar though, she came from a small place North of Canterlot.” Prim couldn’t help but frown. She had been told the goal of all this, but it hurt so horribly. She didn’t want to speak of Tao and Evenstar. She wanted to learn about Night, as though somehow that wouldn’t come back to the two guards who had been so close to her. “They spoke of thee, when thou first came to the castle,” Night said with a bit of a smile, looking into her glass like a tiny mirror back in time. “Spoiled unicorn given a post she did not deserve?” Prim guessed, getting a laugh out of the General. “At first, perhaps, but not for long. They spoke of this brave little filly who struck out into this strange world and seemed to dare any to step in her way. Amusing at first, but something worth protecting, they said. Something precious.” The first unexpected sob shook Prim’s body so violently that she nearly dropped her glass, catching it in her magic and roughly dropping it onto the desk as she shook her head, curling up a bit. Night put her things down and flew over the desk, landing next to Prim and holding her. In that moment, Prim realized that Night had been the one to comfort her behind the throne so many nights before. No wonder, she’d been close to her princess in case military action was needed. Prim tried to push Night away, but Night just held her tighter as the crying shook her body. “I can not do this!” Prim wailed, too weak to really fight back, too distraught to truly reject the care. “Thou art stronger than thou may believe,” Night said calmly. “This, this is a part of life. One of the worst parts of it, behind the act of killing itself, but a part. We cannot avoid it forever, we cannot flee without doing grave damage to our own hearts.” Again, Prim hit Night’s leg, but her energy was waning and she fell mostly still as she cried. After several minutes of watching the candle flame burn, she spoke, her voice raspy. “I was not worthy of their praise,” Prim concluded in a whisper. “Are any of us ever truly worthy? Or do we grow to deserve the praise given?” Prim didn’t have an answer, and again fell quiet until she thought of another subject. “Did they love eachother?” “Yes,” Night said, without hesitation. “We of the night do not recoil from such things. Those of us close to them knew.” There was another period of quietness, until again Prim found words she had to say, having lost all her inhibition and reluctance to speak, while Night held her. “Why did she wish me dead? How could I matter enough for an assassin to seek me out?” “Thou art the closest pony to Princess Luna’s side, her closest confidant, and according to the worshippers of Daybreaker, the cause of her fall. Clearly they wished to inflict a blow upon Princess Luna’s heart, and achieve a moral victory. Something which our guards and soldiers train to prevent at all costs. They gave their lives to prevent harm to Her Majesty, and any of my soldiers would do the same.” Prim whimpered, she didn’t want to be valuable, she didn’t want to matter. She just wanted to do her job and be allowed to love Princess Luna. She might as well wish to rule the world, as it seemed just as impossible. “They did not deserve that,” Prim finally growled, trying to stand and managing to get to her hooves with Night’s help. “In that, we agree,” Night replied with a firm nod before pressing the glass into Prim’s hooves. “I should not,” Prim sighed, shaking her head. “So much to do…” “No,” Night said as she gestured to the candle. “We have much time, and much to speak on. We must come to peace with Tao and Evenstar, to complete this time of mourning.” “I knew them only briefly!” Prim cried out, waving her hooves at the castle walls around her. “This place, only briefly! How may I be anything but an acquaintance to them?!” “Because of thy spirit. Thy willingness to interact with them, a rare thing for us. Thou wert willing to treat them as equals, they had told me.” Prim sipped her drink, noting that the burning in her throat wasn’t as intense, and she was wearily accepting of her role in this ritual. “The first I met them, Tao bullied me, playing at denying me an audience with Princess Luna, while Evenstar laughed. But… after that point they began to treat me fairly. Once I’d proved I belonged. They saluted, which baffled me…” “But any guard could salute thee,” Night said as she leaned heavily on her desk. “What made them unique?” “They didn’t have to,” Prim said quickly. “They… they meant it. They respected this little filly from a far away town, in a post too big for her hooves, and once they knew I belonged, they never hesitated again to show me respect.” Night nodded and poured a little bit of the alcohol from her glass on the candle, watching it flare up before she blew it out. “Respect. They were respectful and they paid close care to the chain of command, when they served under me. Never did I have a complaint, or any sign that they wished to go against my commands. They trusted me to command them, and that is a certain sort of respect that is too rare.” They sat for a little bit, watching the flame flicker. “Thoughtfulness,” Night added. “They took care to care for not only each other but for all of us. To understand how each guard preferred to act, and to reply in kind. Humor, or upright professionalism… They knew that I preferred to be briefed on any small details, it helps me feel in control of the guard.” Prim nodded in agreement. “They knew my schedule, and they knew it was best to wake me early, so I would not be flustered. Yes, respect and thoughtfulness.” She lifted her glass in her magic to pour a bit on the flame, but hesitated, unsure if she was doing it properly. Night showed her how to touch the edge of the glass to the wax and let a little drip down the side of the candle, catching both the candle and the glass, before both were gently blown out, leaving the wick still burning. When Prim set her glass down, she laughed softly, shaking her head as she smiled. She looked up towards the ceiling as though it could keep her eyes from tearing up. “They were brave. Before that killer could strike me down, they were already upon her, and without a moment of hesitation.” Night nodded quickly, stomping one hoof on the ground in a sort of applause. “Yes, yes. They had the same training as any other guard, and yet they were always swift to volunteer for the more dangerous duties, to put themselves in harm's way to protect others. Ever brave, ever strong,” she agreed as she performed the pouring again. Prim could tell, through the thin haze of tears, that each time they poured the liquor out it caused the wax of the candle to spread slightly into an ever growing pool on the desk’s surface, shortening the burn of the candle slightly. “What happens when the candle has burned through?” Prim asked before going back to her drink. “Tis a balance of sorts,” Night explained, passing a hoof over the flame and watching a few short hairs curl from the heat. “When the candle gutters, the spirits pass onward. For each pour, we show an appreciation, instead of pain. It is easier to go. A less painful passing. If there is only sorrow and no joy in it, then we would sit here in silence for the whole hour, and in that time learn to care more for those we care for, while they live.” “I wish they were here,” Prim said as she rubbed an ache in her side, head hung low. “Why?” Night pressed, leaving her own focus on her glass. “They… I had felt safe,” Prim admitted, licking her dry lips before drinking again. “Now, I train, I burn myself to forge a stronger pony, and yet still I feel… There are not enough guards in the whole of Equestria, now that they have gone.” Night pondered the declaration for some time before lifting her glass. “They brought us joy in their dedication. They lifted our spirits, in the knowledge we were secure,” Night proposed. To that, Prim nodded and toasted her glass, before pouring it and hushing the flame back into it’s wick yet again. Night nodded in approval, and they both turned back to their glasses. “Respect… Thoughtfullness… Bravery… Joy… Only an aspect of honesty needs be present, and the Elemental forces would all be aligned,” Prim sighed. But whereas Prim seemed dejected, Night lept to her hooves and began pacing. “Yes, yes! That is why they were such fine friends, and so precious! Is it not clear to thee?! Thestrals! One from a far away land and the other raised here but still apart from it by birth, and they embody thy elements so perfectly, do they not?” “I…” Prim smiled as she thought it over, again sipping before holding her glass up. “To Tao and Evenstar… Friends. Friends to us all, and the finest Equestrians we shall ever know.” Night took her own glass and held it against Prim’s as she added a line. “May Equestria ever be exemplified by those who chose to come to it’s shores, and embrace its values, while keeping precious their unique and wondrous cultures.” Together, they poured another layer of flame out across the black wax, and as the sun began to rise higher in the sky outside of Night’s window, and Prim approached her time of sleep, they spent a few precious hours remembering those they had lost, and rejoicing in the privilege of having known them in life.