The journey back to The Kingdom was one of the most peaceful moments I’ve had since I first came to the Midwest. Since I was the only non-flyer in the group of ponies, Wind Thrasher was willing to give me a ride. At first, I was worried about The Enclave coming after us, but my worries proved to be nothing. No pegasi came after us, nopony attacked, nothing happened. It was awesome, as I looked out at the Cadets flying in a long formation behind us with Doorstop in front of them. Shortcake was flying to our left, she was carrying Stardust since his wings were still broken, for the past hour they both spent the time talking about what they both had been doing in the past seven months. Stardust told her about his escape and Hailstorm’s death. She told him about what she’d learned after he left and how lonely she’d been without her two best friends.

On our right Solstice flew close to us, she hadn’t said much over the past hour. Even though I was on Wind Thrasher’s back I could still tell that had a haunted looked to her, like she hadn’t slept in days. Solstice, looked like she always did, pissed off and bored. Though I could see a slight satisfied smile on her face. I moved my head down to rest it on the back of Wind Thrasher’s neck. Watching my friends heading back to The Kingdom with me made me feel like I was finally at peace. I smiled again then asked Wind Thrasher, “You doing okay Wind Thrasher?”

She gave me a weak smile, “I’ll be fine Shadow. I’m just recovering from the bloodlust that’s all. It takes me a few days; my body goes through a form of withdraw.”

“It’s fine, I’m the one who lost control. It’s not the first time it’s happened and I’m sure it won’t be the last.”

Stardust turned his head toward Wind Thrasher and smiled at her, “If Shadow can help me get back to normal, I’m sure she’ll find a way to help you Wind Thrasher.”

I looked at her for a long moment, as Stardust said, “Thank you for helping Shadow, Wind Thrasher. I’m sure all of you played a big part in saving me from myself, I owe you all my life.”

Wind Thrasher’s blush brightened, Solstice just laughed, “I wasn’t doing it to help you or Shadow. This was the price I had to pay to The Stranger for his help in getting me into The Kingdom.”

Wind Thrasher looked over at Solstice, “I almost forgot Solstice, do you still have the Range Finder? The Stranger said you were going to be holding on to it until one of us could take it.”

Solstice reached back into the sling she had over her back and pulled out Solar Flare’s Range Finder. She gave it to Wind Thrasher, “I almost forgot about that. Honestly, I’m glad to be rid of the thing, it’s too much responsibility to hold on to.”

I couldn’t help but laugh a bit, “Yeah that’s for sure, it’s also terrifyingly easy to use for killing an enemy.”

All of us went silent for a moment. Memories of the blast that took out Mill City Tower still fresh in most of our minds. Finally, Stardust broke the silence, “How about you tell me what I missed while I was gone Shadow? How’s Silver doing? You haven’t said much about her since I was out of the machine.”

It was like he just stabbed me right in the heart, I closed my eyes for a long moment then asked, “Didn’t you hear about what happened at Halo One?”

“I may remember a lot of what I did as Pride, but some of my memories are a little fuzzy. I was hoping you could fill me in,” he said concerned.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, “I can tell you, but I’ll start from the beginning, right after you were taken. It’s going to be hard enough for me to talk about this, so let me finish my story before you ask me any questions.

“I can do that,” he said. So, relaxing again into Wind Thrasher’s mane, I started to tell him everything that happened since he was taken by The Sins. I told him about going to Crimson Canyon and the meeting with Aura’s family, the way I was fooled by Envy and forced to leave. I told him everything, not leaving out a single detail apart from the conversation I had with Gigi. I didn’t hold back about my rage, anger, fear, and my sorrow as I slowly went mad from the loss of Silver Snip.

Stardust listened intently, never saying a word so I could finish my tale. As I went on I saw that even Solstice looked sad as I recounted when I buried Silver and her recording she left for me. The story lasted most of the way back to The Kingdom. When I finally finished he asked me his questions, told me how sorry he was that he couldn’t be there for me when I really needed him. I realized then that even though he knew nothing could’ve changed what happened, he wished he could fix it. That’s what made Stardust such a great friend, he cared so much about the ponies he loved, because he’s a good pony.

Finally, we landed at the gates that led into The Kingdom. I slid off Wind Thrasher’s back and stretched, “Glad that’s finally over.”

“Tell me about it,” Wind Thrasher said, “I’m not sure I could have kept carrying you like that for much longer.”

Stardust grinned over at me as he got off Shortcake, “I know what you mean Wind Thrasher, her ass is heavy as FUCK!”

I struck a blow on top of Stardust’s head hard with my hoof “You’re impossible.”

Stardust grabbed the top of his head out of reflex and gave me his goofy grin laughing, “Geez Shadow it was just a joke.”

Stardust hugged me back “First ya hit me, next ya hug me, you mares are confusing.”

The Cadets looked up at the wall that surrounded The Kingdom in awe, Shortcake saying, “Damn that’s a big place.”

I giggled a little, “The Kingdom is big, but not as big as Saint’s Parish or The Crystal Empire. Still, this place is a good place to live, everypony here respects each other. I think all of you will like it.”

Solstice rolled her eyes walking past me saying, “I just hope that The Stranger got me put onto the list so I could go in.”

She looked back at me like I was a total idiot, “Duh, the list to enter The Kingdom. They don’t just let anypony walk right in.”

I couldn’t help but bust out laughing, “Solstice, they don’t have anything like that. The Empress lets in anypony that wants to live here, as long as she gets to meet with them first and they don’t mean any harm to anyone.”

The Stranger must’ve told her that as some sort of insurance to make sure she’d help him, “You’re so gullible!”

“Nope, I’m not kidding. There’s no list, The Stranger just told you that so you’d help him.”

Her lower left eyelid twitched as she stared at me, “W-what? He used me? I don’t get used, FUCK HIM! I hate The Wasteland.”

“I swear to Celestia, I’ll kick your ass. As my father would say; you wouldn’t have such a smart mouth with my hoof in your ass,” Solstice retorted.

Huh, the way they bicker reminds me of something, I just can’t put my hoof on it. Old married couple maybe? No, that can’t be it, “Guys, how about we just go into town and get on with things? I’ve gone through enough bickering between Aura and Stardust, I don’t wanna listen to you guys argue now.”

As we walked into The Kingdom, all the Cadets looked around as if they’d been transferred to somewhere in the past. That must’ve been what my face looked like when I first laid eyes on The Kingdom. They all huddled close to each other as we slowly made our way closer to the large mansion in the middle of town.

We didn’t even make it past the gate before The Emperor himself stepped in front of us all. He threw his hooves open wide saying, “Huzzah! The triumphant hero returns, and you’ve brought us new Guests! Though they all look a little lost! Don’t worry young fillies and colts, I’ll be sure to help you all get acquainted with your new home. Have some Candy!”

They all looked at Emperor Periwinkle Punch like he was crazy…which wasn’t far off. Shortcake moved closer to me and whispered in my ear, “Is he like the towns nut job and what’s candy?”

Rolling my eyes, I sighed saying, “This is Emperor Periwinkle Punch. Emperor this is the cadets from Stable 97. Your wife wanted me to bring them here once we got them freed from the Stable so she could help them.”

“Wait he’s the Emperor, I thought you said a mare ran this place and she was a Zebra!?” Shortcake said.

The Emperor laughed joyfully, “Oh that she is, my wife should be around here somewhere. Cutter spotted you coming in and told us you’d be here soon, I thought she’d beat me here.”

As he finished talking Empress Sheena walked up from behind her husband followed by a Stallion, no he wasn’t just a Stallion, he was probably the most handsome, beautiful Stallion I’d ever laid eyes on. His coat was a deep maroon, but also, he had vibrant dark blue stripes as well. Not as many as Sheena, he only had three over his back, two on his cheek, and one on each leg. His eyes were a beautiful hazel and shaped different than a pony but not quite like a Zebra’s. His mane was a mixture of red and blue that matched his stripes. I would have thought he was an oddly colored Zebra at first, but then I noticed he had a cutie mark. It was a heralding trumpet with a flag on the end that had a zebra glyph on it.

Sheena smiled as she looked at all of us, “Shadow it looks like you made it back safe and you were able to save not only your friend Stardust, but the rest of Stable 97 as well.”

“Uh-huh,” I said my eye still stuck on the tall dark and gorgeous stallion. Okay yes, I have feelings for Aura and all but damn this stallion’s just hard not to look at.

I shook my head and looked at Sheena, “Sorry Empress, yes I was able to help the Ponies from the Stable and I brought them here like you asked…who’s the pony with you?”

She looked back at the stallion who was politely waiting just behind her, “Oh my apologies Shadow, this is my son Fruit Stripe.”

The stallion moved forward and took one of my hooves in his own kissing it then saying, “It’s a pleasure to meet you Courier Shadow Star. My apologies that we didn’t get to meet last time. I was out of town.”

I couldn’t help the blush that came to my face as he spoke. In that moment I forgot to think before I spoke, “Wow, you’re really pretty.”

He blinked as if he was shocked then smiled and laughed nervously, “Why thank you.”

Sheena just shook her head, “Son would you mind showing our new guests where they will be staying?”

He turned toward his mother and bowed, “It would be my pleasure,” Then he looked back at me and smiled again, making me feel like my legs were going to melt, “It was a pleasure meeting you Shadow, later tonight or tomorrow if you’re free, I’d love to talk to you about your adventures in New Pegasus.”

“Sure…I mean if I’m not busy then no problem,” What the fuck’s wrong with me?

Sheena waited for her son to lead the rest of the Ponies from Stable 97 toward the mansion. Doorstop went with them saying something about making sure none of the Cadets did or said something offensive. When they were all gone and it was just Solstice, Wind Thrasher, Stardust and I with the leaders of the Kingdom, Sheena came up to me and smiled, “I am very happy to see that you made it back in once piece. I do hope that you are doing better, the pony wrapped in bandages said you were not in your right mind before.”

The Emperor chuckled, “That’s good to know, though I did find it kind of funny how much fuss was made over the destruction of that eye sore tower.”

Sheena sighed and looked back at her husband, “Periwinkle my love can you please keep your muzzle shut for a little while?”

“Thank you,” Sheena said before turning to look back at the rest of us, “Stardust, I’m sure Shadow has told you about me but I still would like to introduce myself, I am Empress Sheena. I am glad to see that you came back to your right mind. You had your friends quite worried.”

“I’m glad to be back and yes Shadow filled me in on what happened while I was away.”

The Empress then looked over at Solstice, “I take it you must be the mare who helped the pony in bandages, Solstice was it?”

“Yeah, Shadow calls him The Stranger. I helped him so he’d help me get here and because I owed him.” Solstice said with a huff.

“Well, you are more than welcome in my home and city, all I ask is that you give me an hour or so of your time sometime today so I may get to know you better. The same goes for you Stardust.”

“I see no problem with that, but first I’d like to go check on Wingnut and Aura, I have a lot to make up for.” Stardust said.

“I understand how you feel Stardust, but I must insist on you talking with me first. Also, Wingnut wanted Shadow to go see him alone as soon as she got back the same goes for Aura.” Sheena said, “Can you set aside an hour or so for them to speak with Shadow first? Also, it looks like your wings are broken, I would like one of my doctors to look at you to see if he can set those properly.”

The Emperor spoke up again, “How about I show these two inside while you finish up with Shadow and Wind Thrasher my love?”

“I’ll catch up with you later Shadow.” Stardust said as he followed The Emperor toward the mansion, Solstice following quietly behind them.

“Empress, I know it’s asking a lot, but do you have a place I could lay down and be away from everypony?” Wind Thrasher asked.

“I have plenty of places like that in my home. You do look a little ill Wind Thrasher dear. Are you okay?”

“She’s a little under the weather from a fight.” I said doing my best to keep what happened with Wind Thrasher secret.

Wind Thrasher however didn’t seem to mind telling Sheena about her mistake, “I’m sure you remember when I told you about my blood lust.”

“Let’s just say that I lost control for a little while when we got into a fight with some ponies. I need a quiet place to sleep and let my body and mind rest.”

“I understand, I’ll show you where you can stay when we get back inside.” Sheena said turning to head toward the mansion.

As we walked I couldn’t help saying, “Your Son, how did that happen, I mean your husband is a pony. He also looks a little different than any zebra or pony or whatever I’ve ever met.”

Sheena started to laugh, “Ponies and Zebras can have children Shadow, though they themselves cannot have foals of their own. My son is what’s called a Zony. They are very rare especially in the wasteland.”

“So, he’s not just an extremely handsome stallion, but he can’t get you pregnant either? I bet he’s broken a few hearts over the years.”

Sheena laughed again, “I am sure he would, if he was like other Zebra’s or Ponies who use their good looks for more sinister things. Fruit Stripe does not realize how handsome or charming he really is. He is a kind soul and never seems to pick up on the mares who are always trying to get his attention.”

Sheena laughed again, “Very much so, he is a lot like his father in that regard. Luckily he got his smarts from me.”

“Empress Sheena, do Aura and Wingnut really want to see me?” I couldn’t help but ask as we crossed the courtyard.

“They do, Cutter already told Wingnut that you were back and he told me he wanted to see you right away. Aura told me yesterday that if you got back to send you to her room right away as well.”

Sheena nodded, “It was a close call, but she made it through better than I thought she would. She still needs some time to recover, but I think seeing you will help. She has been worried sick about you ever since she woke up.”

Wind Thrasher put a wing on my back, “Don’t worry Shadow, you’ll be fine.”

“I know, but I’m still scared to tell her what I need to.” I said as we walked in the front door.

“Good, Wingnut is waiting for you by Aura’s room, it is the last one at the end of the hall right before you reach the I.C.U. I am going to show Wind Thrasher where she can rest up, I am sure you will be just fine from here.”

Wind Thrasher hugged me again saying, “When everything’s done come see me, no matter what happens with Aura or Wingnut, I’ll be here for you.”

The two mares left me at the bottom of the grand staircase. I waited for a moment as they walked off, then finally turned and headed down the hall that leads to the West Wing of the Mansion. It was still early in the morning, but already some of the Doctors were up and checking on patients. I did my best to stay out of their way as I walked past. Finally, I saw the room, standing in front of it was Wingnut.

He saw me slowly walking toward the room, his eyes locked on mine for the longest time. I stopped a few feet away from him and looked down, “Hey Kiddo….”

I wasn’t able to finish my apology. The colt ran up to me and hugged me as hard as he could, “I’m so glad you’re alive!”

It took only a moment for me to register what he said and the fact that he was hugging me instead of yelling. I could feel the well of emotions surging as I let my forelegs wrap around the colt, “I’m so sorry!”

For what felt like hours, we just sat there hugging each other letting our emotions flow freely. I didn’t realize how much I missed the colt. Finally, he pulled back and looked up into my eyes, “You’re sorry? Why are you sorry. I should’ve made sure you were okay before you left. You needed somepony to be there for you after what happened, but instead I stayed in bed.”

I could see him on the verge of tears again, so I took hold of his face and forced him to look up at me, “Wingnut it’s not your fault. I’m a grown mare, I’m responsible for my own actions. I’m sorry because I put you and the rest of our friends through a lot of pain and heartache.”

“I know that, but still I wish I could have done something to stop you from running away. When I first heard what happened it was Wind Thrasher who came in looking for you. I’ve never seen her so upset, she was worried that you were going to go out and get yourself killed. I worried about that too, after what happened in Appleton I knew something was going to happen. When it did…” he couldn’t finish, his face contorted and fresh tears fell again.

“Let me guess, when you saw Solar Flare again, you thought I killed Stardust?”

He nodded, “Either that or somehow he escaped and killed you. When the Stranger came here and told us what happened and his plan to help you and Stardust, it was the best news I’ve had in days.”

I smiled a little doing my best to push past my sorrow, “Wingnut, I promise you that I’ll never do anything like that again. I won’t leave you behind like that ever again, no matter what happens.”

He looked away for a moment, “You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

“Maybe so, but that doesn’t mean I’m lying. You see, I learned something while I was out there on my own. I learned that letting my anger get the better of me isn’t the answer, same goes for revenge. It won’t be easy, but I need to start learning to calm down and think before I act. I also learned that even though I can take care of myself, I still need my friends.”

Finally, he smiled, “I’ll hold you to that. So, did you manage to save him? I heard something from one of the doctors who said you came back with a lot of Pegasi, but I need to hear it from you.”

“I sure did, he’s back to his normal self. He’s a little beaten up with some broken wings, but he’ll live. If you want he’s here in the medical wing getting looked over, I’m sure he’d be happy to see you.”

He looked up at me with joy filling his eyes, “I think I’ll do that. Now that I know you’re okay, I’d like to see him as well.”

He looked at the door then back at me, “She’s doing better than she was the other day. Sheena and the doctor said she’s recovering fast for the kind of injury she sustained. They said she’s cleared to leave and go back to our room, but she won’t get out of bed. She’s been really depressed, I think she’s been waiting for you get back. I’ve tried talking to her to help her feel better. She only says a couple words in response though.”

I ruffled his mane a little, “Don’t worry, I’ll talk to her and hopefully she’ll feel better. I’m sure she’s just working through the trauma her body went through when she got shot.”

“I hope you can at least get her out of bed, that would be the best thing for her,” he said as he hugged me one more time then started to walk down the hall, “Oh and Shadow?”

“I like your new mane cut, it needs to be touched up a little, but it looks better than that silly braid.” The little shit ran off to find a doctor he could get directions from to find Stardust.

I just shook my head and walked over to the door. I was about to open it when something stopped me. What if she’s still pissed about what I did? What if she doesn’t want to see my anymore? I shook my head, no matter what I have to do this. Like I said, nothing will stand in my way from seeing her again. For better or worse I’m not going to hide from how I feel. Taking all the courage I had, I knocked, waited a moment, then opened the door to Aura’s room.

For a moment I had a quick flash back from when I last walked into a hospital room to find Aura hooked up to all kinds of things. I remembered the sight of her holding on to her life by a thread. I remembered the sound of that machine and the long never-ending beep as her heart stopped. Then I was back and I saw her laying in a bed too small for her, her back turned toward me her wings poking out from a blanket she had wrapped around herself. She didn’t move or say anything as I walked in, shutting the door behind myself.

When the door clicked she shifted in the bed and said in a low voice, “Is that you Shadow?”

I felt a lump jump into my throat for a moment before I was able to answer, “Yeah, it’s me.”

She turned and sat up looking over at me. Her face was drawn, her eyes had angry red veins in them like she hadn’t been sleeping or like if she’d been crying, “It’s good to see you made it back safe and in one piece, unlike me. I’m fine otherwise. Of course, if you hadn’t run off like you did you’d have known that.”

Yep she was very mad at me, she had a good reason too. “I know nothing I say right now will help, but it’s all I got. Aura I’m sor…” I started to say but she cut me off.

“NO! Don’t you DARE Shadow! Sorry isn’t going to cut it this time. Sorry is gone!” She yelled and coughed. My only reaction was to rush to her side so I did, but she pushed me away as her cough receded. “I got shot, I almost died, and when I wake up after all that, I find out you ran off to go after Stardust. Then I find out you didn’t just go after him, you were trying to kill him. I needed you here!” she yelled at me again.

I looked up at her icy blue eyes, “I thought he killed you, that’s why I left, that’s why I went to try and kill him.”

Her face softened a little, but I could still tell she was very angry, “And why would you care about that, I know we’re friends, but you know he wasn’t in his right mind. I’m a body guard, dying is a big hazard in my profession. You know that even if you don’t like it.”

I was starting to get angry now, “Maybe so, but you’re not just a body guard to me Aura.”

“Yeah, I know I’m your friend too, but this is my job. I don’t like it when I mess up like I did when I fought against Stardust. Sadly, it can’t be helped, either way you still didn’t need to go off and do what you DID!”

That was it I’m not going to sit here and let her yell at me like this no matter how angry she was, “Aura! I didn’t run off because I thought Stardust killed my friend or a bodyguard. I went after him because I thought he killed the griffon I LOVE!”

Well that shut her up, she sat there for a long moment just looking at me with her beak hanging open. Then she slowly closed it, looked away from me and started to chuckled a little, “You love me huh? I don’t believe it for a second. I’ll admit, that wasn’t something I expected to hear, so who put you up to it?”

“I’m sure you saved Stardust, if not you wouldn’t be here, not with so many Pegasi like Cutter said. So, I’m guessing that fucking cloud kicker told you what I said at the Bramble, or maybe it was Sheena. She was trying to get me to admit how I felt about you before the fight. Hell, I wouldn’t put it past Wind Thrasher to get you to say that to me.” She said looking away from me again and slowly sliding out of bed. I noticed as she turned that she had a few small scars on her chest and back from the gunshots.

“I’m not lying to you Aura and nopony put me up to this. I tried telling you before your heart stopped.”

She looked over at me once she was back on her talons giving me a sad smile, “Listen Shadow, someone told you how I felt about you I’m sure. It’s sweet of you to try and help me feel better by saying that, but please don’t do that to me.”

I walked over to her and got as close to her as I could, “I figured it out on my own Aura. I also know that I’ve been starting to feel the same way about you for a while now, but I was too scared to say anything.”

I sighed, “I’m not sure if I do, but I think I do. I can’t get you out of my head, when I saw you get shot it felt like somepony ripped my heart out, when I thought you died it was like somepony ripped-out my heart and stomped on it. When I look at you I see someone who cares about me, someone who understands me, I’ve never known that feeling before, not even when I thought I had feelings for Silver. I was scared to tell you how I felt because I thought it would be better that way.”

Now she was looking at me with a new kind of hope in her eyes, “How would keeping something like that be better?”

“Aura, I’m a ticking time bomb, sooner or later I’m going to lose myself to Aquila or at least that’s what I feel like. I thought it would be better to hide my feelings and ignore how much it hurt to turn away from yours. Because if I do become that monster, you’d be even more hurt. I didn’t want to do that to you.” I said not letting my gaze leave hers.

“So instead you decided to hurt me more by lying to me, by running off like you did when I finally worked up the courage to tell you how I felt when we were in the bath?” Aura said, a bit of hurt in her voice.

“Aura, I never had anypony to explain this kind of thing to me. I did what I thought I had too. Was it wrong? Yeah Probably. I may have made some really bad mistakes, but I want to fix those mistakes and start over. I want to be a good mare, a mare you can love as much as you did with Trip Wire. I know I’m young, naïve, and stupid. That doesn’t change the fact that I love you Aura and I’ll do anything to prove that too you.”

Aura sighed and pushed past me, “I don’t think you understand what it really means to be in love Shadow. Yes, I’ve developed feelings for you, that’s a fact, but I can’t give my heart over to a pony like you. You’re to impulsive and not in a good way, you let your anger control you, you don’t think about what your actions will do to your friends or the ponies around you. To put it simply you’re a selfish mare Shadow. I can’t be with somepony like that, no matter how much it hurts.”

As she said that I felt a piece of my heart crack, “But…if that’s true, why can’t we try to make this work?”

She slowly walked over to where her saddle bags were and put them on, wincing a little as she did, “The Doctors said I was okay to head to my room. I’ll be asking for a different room for Wingnut and I. Right now, Shadow, I can’t stand to be around you. I’m going to bring Wingnut back to New Pegasus in a couple of days to keep him safe, I’m sure he’ll be pissed, but I have to do my job. After that if he still wants to keep me on as his bodyguard then so be it, but I think it’s best for everyone if you stay away.”

My heart cracked again, sending a lance of pain through my chest, “Aura please don’t go! Why did you want me to meet you here if that’s all you wanted to say? Tell me what I have to do to prove to you that we can make this work. There has to be a way!”

She walked over to the door and put a talon on the knob. Then she sighed and looked back at me over her shoulder. I saw tears in her beautiful blue eyes, “If happy ever after did exist, I would be holding you instead. It’s a fairytale and all those fairytales are full of shit. I don’t deserve it, neither do you. Something will happen no matter what we do. Either you’ll find someone prettier than me or you’ll get bored. You’re young and don’t really know what it means to be with someone for life, because that’s the only kind of love I have. It’s stupid and blind and so deep and powerful that I feel like I’m going to explode at times. It makes me do stupid things like going into a fight I can’t win. I can’t just swoon and fall into bed with you, because you’ll just get up and leave me behind and get on with your life. I can’t do that, because when you tire of me and move on, I never will. The love I have is forever, it’s a life bond. That’s something you can never understand at least not at your age or in the state of mind you’re in.”

This time my heart shattered into a million little pieces. The pain was nothing like I’d ever felt before, but despite it all I looked up at her and said, “Maybe I can’t understand, but you can’t say that I’ll never understand. I will prove to you somehow that I’m serious about this. I don’t know how long I have left Aura, but I want to spend that time with you. I’m not asking you to jump in bed with me, I’m not asking you to forgive my mistakes right away. All I’m asking is for you to give me a chance to show you that I can change into the kind of pony you need me to be. Because life without you hurts too much and I won’t let that stop me.”

She blinked and a tear fell down her face, “You’re one stubborn pony you know that?”

A little smile came to her beak and she let her talon fall away from the doorknob. She walked over to me and slowly pulled me into a hug, I felt my heart reform in my chest. Did I say the right thing? Then I heard her whisper in my ear, “If you want to prove yourself then go ahead and try with what good it’ll do.”

Still whispering she said, “If you want me to believe it, then you have to figure that out on your own. You only have two days, that’s all the time you get. After that, if you can’t figure out what you need to do, then this is goodbye.”

I didn’t want to accept anything, but this was Aura and these were her terms. I said I’d do anything to show her how I feel, to show her I was worthy of her love. So, I said, “Okay Aura I’ll prove it to you.”

She slowly let me go, turned and walked to the door, “Thank you Shadow, and welcome back, I really did miss you.”

She left, closing the door behind herself. When the latch clicked, I finally let my tears fall, I let my sorrow out and I fell to the ground not caring if anypony walked in and saw my weakness. For the first time in weeks maybe months I wished my mom was here, to hold me and tell me everything was going to be okay. How was I going to make this work?

Over the next night and day, I spent a lot of time talking with my friends, minus Aura who refused to be near me until at least tomorrow, and told them everything that happened. Stardust was nice enough to compliment my now shorter mane then followed that up with a jab about me needing to see a mane stylist poking fun at how rough I made it. That’s Stardust for you, his compliments always came with a bit of sarcasm mixed in, even if he was right.

I also had time to meet with Prince Fruit Stripe, the sight of him still made my knees go weak, but like his mother said he had no idea how cute he was. Though with Aura on my mind his charm and good looks didn’t have as much of an effect on me as it did the first time. He took his time showing me around the mansion and grounds, telling me stories about growing up in The Kingdom before it was even The Kingdom. He also told me about some of the fights his parents were in when he was still young. I found that I really liked his company, after some time had passed and I was able to relax around him I told him about my trouble with Aura.

“I’m not that good at relationship advice, but my mom is. You could always ask her. Though I wouldn’t bother her today, she’s getting things set up for one of her big parties.”

He shrugged, “She likes to throw parties now and then, she calls it a Ball. She invites everyone from town to join in every time she does this. There will be music, dancing, food, and games. They’re a lot of fun, at least most of the time.”

He chuckled lightly, “That she is, I swear one day she’s going to work herself into an early grave. I don’t know why she does this to herself, it always stresses her out. My father doesn’t make it any easier, he always has some new gizmo or gadget he wants to show off when mom throws a ball.”

“He’s a strange Stallion.” I said forgetting for a moment that I probably shouldn’t say that around the Prince.

“That he is, but he’s also a brilliant inventor. He’s the one who designed this whole city and it’s defenses, he came up with the Bug Whistles to keep the Zap wings away too.”

“Hmmm, I need to ask him about getting one of those. Cutter used it on Envy and it stopped him from attacking us.”

“I heard about that, Cutter said Envy can’t keep his form when it’s being used. That Stallion has some strange powers for a Pegasus.”

I laughed, “That’s if he is a pegasus, though with what I’ve seen the other sins do I’m sure there’s a good reason for his power.”

“You know, I have no idea how you deal with all the enemies you have.” He said stopping next to the broken statue of the goddesses.

He smiled his charming smile, okay maybe he could still make my knees go a little weak with that, “Sometimes I wish I could try my hoof at adventure. My mother and father always have such great stories from their times roaming the wasteland.”

“Trust me, you don’t want anything to do with The Wasteland or adventure. Yeah from your side it may seem fun, but you have to realize there’s a lot of danger out there. You don’t know what it’s like to watch some monster kill ponies, to have griffons come after you for a bounty, the sight of slaves being taken from their homes or finding the mutilated body of the mare you love. Life out there is hard and short.” I said sitting next to the statue.

He sat next to me and sighed, “Yeah I guess you’re right. I’m not a bad fighter, but I’m sure I couldn’t hold my own against you or your friends.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that, “Maybe, but you never know. All you’d have to do against the mares in my group is smile and they’d melt.”

He looked at me with an odd expression, “Why would my smile make them melt?”

He chuckled, “Nah, I’m not that much better looking than any other stallion, I’m just exotic because I’m a Zony.”

Okay so Sheena was right, he has no idea how good looking he is, “Well still, I’d rather not see what happens if we got into a fight with you.”

“I second that.” he said with a chuckle, “So, what do you plan on doing with your griffon problem?”

I sighed and rested my head against the edge of the fountain, “I’ve been trying to come up with something for the past day and a half now. Tomorrow morning is the deadline and I still can’t think of anything that wouldn’t make me look like either a whore or a desperate mare.”

Throwing my hooves up in the air I yelled, “YES! Still it doesn’t mean I’m going to come up with a plan.”

Sheena’s voice echoed from the other side of the statue, “Then maybe you need to start asking for help.”

I got back to my hooves and bowed a little as Empress Sheena walked around the statue, another mare in a red cloak close behind her. I looked closely at the mare that was under the cloak and my eyes got wide, “Yaksha?”

The Zebra who saved me back in the Absent Ruins pulled back her hood and smiled, “Shadow, how nice to see you again. I apologize about not getting to your friends in time. By the time I had reached the gate I learned that your friends already flew off to save you. It is interesting to think about that though, it seems like they already knew you were gone. Has something like this happened before?”

Damn she’s perceptive. I could feel my cheeks getting warm from embarrassment and rubbed the back of my head, “You could say that.” I chuckled nervously.

Yaksha nodded, “Yes Empress Sheena, she is the mare I told you I helped out.”

“Oh, I didn’t think it was Shadow, I thought you were talking about something from a month ago or more. You don’t tend to stop by often.”

The red caped zebra nodded, “I do at least right now, I have been studying some strange reports about the place.”

Sheena nodded, “Yes, Yaksha is from the east. She wanders around Equestria looking into prewar tech and old zebra lore, she is also an amazing herbalist and apothecary, I sometimes ask for her assistance with my medical staff, most of the time she turns me down. She has been in the Kingdom for a few months now.”

“No disrespect Empress Sheena but you know I like my isolation, ever since what happened to me back at New Pegasus, I have had a hard time with any sort of interaction. Also, it has been closer to a year since I have lived around The Kingdom.” Yaksha said.

Sheena’s eyes got big, “Oh yes, I almost forgot. I overheard you talking with my son about your troubles with Aura. What can I do to help?”

I blushed, “Aura gave me an ultimatum…or at least I think that’s what it’s called.” I told them about what happened when I spoke to Aura.

Both Yaksha and Sheena looked sad as I finished explaining everything, Sheena saying, “Shadow why didn’t you come to me with this right away?”

“I don’t know, you’ve been busy with helping the Cadets get acclimated to The Kingdom, talking with Stardust and Solstice and now your party tonight. I didn’t want to bother you.”

“Shadow you never have to worry about bothering me, even if I’m sleeping or busy I will always make time to help.” She said with a smile.

“Mother, I thought you had a lot of things to get ready for tonight?” Fruit Stripe said.

“Normally yes, but I asked Ribbon Dance to help me finish up with the last of the preparations. Speaking of which, are you and your friends going to be able to sing tonight?”

The Prince nodded, “We were practicing most of the day, I took a break so I could get to know Shadow better.”

“Wait a sec, he’s not just handsome and a prince, he can sing too?” what’s next, can he use magic even though he doesn’t have a horn?

The Prince blushed, “Yeah, it’s kind of my special talent. My four friends and I started a band a few years back and we always do a few songs for mom when she has a party.”

Yaksha looked over at the prince then me then Sheena, “I may have an idea about how we can help Shadow, but first I need to know more about this griffon.”

Sheena looked over at her curiously, “Oh really Yaksha, I did not take you for a zebra that cared about romance.”

Yaksha blushed and looked away, “Just because I spend most of my time around old ruins does not mean I do not have a romantic side Empress Sheena. Anyway, please Shadow tell me more about your griffon friend.”

I told her about how we met, our travels together, her anger over Sliver, how she used to be with Trip Wire and her loss. I told her as much as I could, not leaving a single detail out, “I just wish I’ve have realized how I felt before Sheena helped me. Maybe things would have been different, but now I feel like I’m losing her.”

Sheena put a hoof on my shoulder, “It is okay Shadow, you cannot change what happened, you can only fix it.”

Yaksha was sitting there for a long moment taking in what I just told her about Aura, “So, from what I can tell about, you said her name was Aura? I think she is not leaving because of what you did or because she is worried about Wingnut. I believe she is trying to run away from her feelings. She is scared to go too far with you.”

Sheena smiled, “I understand. Think about it Shadow, she is worried that you will end up just like Trip Wire. She said something about that when I talked with her before she was hurt. She is worried that you will die just like her last mare friend did. If she pushes you away now, she thinks it will save you.”

Yaksha smiled a little, “You said that Aura is descended from Greta, right? The same griffon during the war that fought on the side of Equestria. She was the griffon who was also a member of The Children of the Night.”

Okay now that was creepy, I thought not many ponies knew about them, “Yeah, but how do you know about The Children?”

Yaksha laughed again, “As Sheena said, I did come here from back east, but originally I am from New Pegasus. Many years ago, a friend and I found some old reports and files about them, I’ve spent years studying them as well. I’ve also been to Crimson Canyon and gotten a history lesson from an old griffon named Tonto.”

“Okay, but what does that have to do with Aura being worried about being with me?” I asked.

Yaksha took a moment to answer, “Well, I cannot explain it all right now, but it is said that a curse was put on Night Stalker and his team a few years before the end of the war. Every member that lived always found disaster in their life, or lost somepony they cared about. I know that the Bloodtalon family has seen its share of hardship over their generations, though Tonto would have to explain more, he knows the story better than I do. To put it simply, Aura believes that this curse that her family still thinks is upon them is the reason she lost Trip Wire and she may think it will happen to you too.”

I remembered that memory orb of when Captain Flash Sentry had pulled out that crystal and said something about ‘Let all of your descendants never find happiness.’ “So, she thinks if we ended up together that I’d die?”

“I am not sure, but it is the best I can come up with.” Yaksha said, “I am not an expert on curses.”

“Still I think it’s a little farfetched, but I could understand where you’re coming from. If that is the case then how do I fix it?” I asked.

Yaksha smiled, so did Sheena. Yaksha saying, “If Empress Sheena can help us as well, then here is what I am thinking!”

“Are you sure I have to wear this?” I asked Sheena as I looked myself over in the mirror in her room. Yaksha was off helping set up the rest of her plan with my friends. I was doing my best to get out of having to wear a dress. I hate dresses!

“Of course you do Shadow, this is a Ball. You cannot go to it naked and I am not letting you wear your barding or duster.”

“I’m not whining I’m complaining, there’s a difference!” Though even if I hated wearing dresses Sheena did have a point. She did her best to fix my mane so it didn’t look so uneven after my butcher of a job I did to it in Mill City Tower. I’m sure Sugar Buck could do better but Sheena was better than me. She added a barrette that matched the dress and was shaped like a Star. The Dress she found for me was a deep lavender color with a silver hem and silver sparkles throughout. It was lightweight and did fit me well, but It looked so weird to see myself in a Dress. I didn’t even wear a dress to my Cute-ceañera for fuck sake.

“Either way, if you want this to work you have to wear the dress. Just ask yourself is Aura worth it?”

I sighed, “Yes she is and I guess you’re right I don’t look half bad in this. Where did you find a dress that fits me?”

Sheena giggled, “You are not much smaller than me. My husband bought it for me a few years back and it was too small. I had a feeling it would be perfect on you.”

“It is, so please don’t ruin it.” She said with a big smile, “Ah doing this makes me wish I had a daughter sometimes.”

Sheena took a moment to look me over before responding, “Well at least you have me. I think I’m done.”

“It’s the wasteland, I have a feeling something bad will happen it always does when I start to have fun.”

“Well not tonight. My guards are posted everywhere you won’t have to worry.”

“Then your stuff will be in your room, I’m sure you can handle teleporting to it.”

“Too bad, now let’s get moving the party will be starting soon and I’d hate for you to miss out.”

Sheena led me out of her room and down the hall until we made it to the grand staircase. Ponies, Zebras and Griffons filled the entrance to the mansion, some heading outside to where some of the games and other activities were set up in the courtyard. The rest were moving into the large double doors at the top of the first set of steps. Sheena told me earlier that it was the Ball room. When Sheena made her way with me to the double doors the ponies and zebras bowed.

She took a minute to say hello to a few of them and hug a couple others. She told them she’d take time later to talk once she was finished with a few other things she needed to attend too. Thinking back to the Princess Luna Memory orb she did something like this at The Grand Galloping Gala only I felt I was in Nightstalker’s hooves and Sheena was in Princess Luna’s. Speaking of Sheena, she was wearing the same dress I’d first met her in though she added some extra jewelry to herself, making her even more beautiful than normal. I could see where her son got his good looks from.

We entered the ball room and I stopped as I took it all in. The room was two stories tall, large chandeliers hung from the ceiling, a couple of balconies were on each side of the huge room where ponies could relax and watch the party if they wanted, a stage was set up at one end with some ponies setting up to start playing music. On the far end I saw another door that lead to the back courtyard for the mansion and another balcony overlooking it. Ponies were walking all over the place talking or joking with friends. The lighting shined in such a way that the air looked like it was sparkling, very similar to the stars that glistened in Sheena’s planetarium. It was amazing to look at.

“Most of the city and also three of the smaller settlements that are part of the Kingdom also are attending tonight.” Sheena said happily.

“Don’t you throw this kind of thing all the time?” I asked as we walked in.

“Not all the time, at least not one quite this big. I wanted to throw this party because we are celebrating.”

She laughed, “Not all the time, what I mean is The Kingdom is celebrating the Cadets joining the Kingdom, the safe return of your friend Stardust, and we got word from Nimbus that they want to talk about a peace treaty with us.”

“From what their messenger said I believe so. That Nightshade who is now running things for both cloud cities seems to really want to change how things work for them.”

She shrugged, “I am not sure, but I have to at least try. If we do not have to worry about The Enclave all the time, it would free up a lot of my ponies from patrol and we can start helping more creatures around The Wasteland.”

“It does not matter if you trust him or not Shadow. The Kingdom’s dealings with him are between my husband, myself, and the Enclave. You have done more than enough over the past few days, it is your time to relax and enjoy yourself.” She said pushing me along and guiding me toward the other end of the room where I could see Stardust, Wingnut, Wind Thrasher, and Solstice all waiting around a small table.

“Hey look who finally decided to join us!” Stardust said grinning over at me as I approached. He was wearing what I assumed was a tux or something. So was Wingnut, Solstice had on a beautiful silver dress, Wind Thrasher wasn’t in a dress but a cute blue skirt and white blouse with a white trimmed red bow holding together her mane giving her a kind of side ponytail.

“Forgive me for a moment Wind Thrasher, but you look simply adorable. Where’d you all find such fancy clothes to wear?” I asked.

Solstice rolled her eyes, “This dress is mine, don’t ask me why I have it or why I brought it with me it’s none of your business.”

Wind Thrasher blushed, “Um…uh thank you Shadow…a-a mare who works with Sheena said I could borrow this for tonight. It’s not too revealing is it?”

“Yeah what Shadow said. As for me and Stardust, The Emperor said we could use these. The one I have used to be his son’s until he got older.” Wingnut said proudly.

“It was very…interesting talking to him.” Stardust said, “Though I’m not too sure why we need them.”

Sheena laughed as she came up behind me, “I like everyone to look nice for my bigger parties. I am happy you all were able to make it.”

“Hell, I owe you all for saving my butt, figured a party isn’t a bad price to pay.” Stardust said with a laugh.

As they talked I was looking around for Aura, as far as I could tell I couldn’t see her, “Where’s Aura at?”

Wingnut looked at me, “She’s sulking in one corner,” he pointed, “I said she had to come to this and dress up. She’s not happy about it.”

I could see her sitting in the far corner not talking to anyone. She wasn’t wearing a dress, she had on a blood red leather coat with a white shirt under it, she even had a little bow tie, “What is she wearing? I mean it looks amazing on her, but it doesn’t look like the kind of thing you’d expect at a party like this.”

Wingnut looked over and sighed, “It was the best Yaksha could get her to wear I think. It’s Aura’s, she said it’s a formal wear for when a griffon is made a full member of the Red Talons. She said that even though she’s not a talon it’s still okay for her to wear it.”

“I said the same thing, but she refuses to talk to anypony, she said this is all stupid and she can’t wait until it’s over.” Wingnut said, “I hope this plan of Yaksha’s works, I hate seeing her looking so sad.”

Sheena beamed, “Oh trust me it will, now if you will excuse me I need to make a quick appearance on stage so everything can start.”

We all said our good byes to the zebra as she walked off toward the stage. When she was gone Wingnut came over to me saying, “You doing okay Shadow?”

He smiled up at me, “If you keep thinking like that then it won’t work out. Put all that shit out of your head and stand tall. Show her how you feel and don’t worry about what may happen. If you tell yourself everything will be fine, then it will.”

He beamed up at me then gave me a big hug, “If it helps, I told her that no matter what happens or how she’s feeling, I’m not leaving you…none of you. She can try and drag me away all she wants but I have nowhere to go. You’re all my family and I’m staying with you all, if she doesn’t like it then to bad.”

Solstice just rolled her eyes, “You’re all so pathetic, I can’t believe any of you have been able to get away with what you have.”

“There’re with the Cadets, they want to make sure they do okay tonight. It will be the first time any of them have been around so many ponies like this.” Stardust said.

I was about to ask him more when Sheena’s voice echoed around the room. Looking up I saw her speaking into a mic on stage, “Good Evening Every Pony, Zebra and Griffon. Thank you all for joining us once again for another special night here at The Kingdom. My Husband and I are both so happy to have you all here tonight to celebrate all the good things that have happened over the last few days. I will not bore you all with a long-winded speech, so please eat, drink and dance. Tonight, is about all of you and the ones who help keep this wonderful Empire working. Now have fun.”

Everyone cheered clopping their hooves on the ground before bowing as Sheena took a quick bow herself and headed off stage. Right then Prince Fruit Stripe, two ponies, one zebra and one griffon started to play a song and everyone in the room moved out of the way of the others who started dancing in the middle of the large dance floor. As they did Wingnut nudged me saying, “That’s your que, everything’s in place for you, now act on it.”

I took in a deep breath extremely nervous looking back to Wingnut, “Thanks kiddo, now you all go enjoy yourselves. This is something I have to do on my own.”

As I walked away from my friends I heard Wind Thrasher say quietly, “I know she can do it!”

That put a smile on my face as I walked around the side of the room doing my best not to get knocked over by ponies as they pressed past me to either go chat with friends, or get drinks from the open bar. I almost wanted to go there too and get a little help from my friend Wild Pegasus, but Sheena told me that if I wanted to do this right, I had to stay sober. That sucked more than having to put on this dress, I’m no good at this kind of thing. At least when I drank a little it was easier to push my cares away, but I knew she was right. Aura would lose all respect for me, what little there was, if I walked over to her, liquor on my breath.

Finally working my way through the party-goer traffic, I reached her. For a moment I was frozen by the sight of her. Up close I could tell that Aura had done more to get ready for tonight than I thought at first. She’d cleaned up a little, somehow, she made her eyelashes more prominent, her head feathers were styled a little different and her tail had been groomed. She may have told Wingnut she didn’t care about this party, but she still took the time to make sure she was made up for it. She was beautiful.

She saw me standing there looking at her, for a moment I saw a small smile come to her beak, but she hid it a second later, “You look really nice tonight Shadow, I guess Sheena made sure to find something nice for you too.”

I shied away a little trying to hide my own blush, “Yeah, she said I had to wear it, but I’m not so sure it suits me.”

Her eyes flashed for a moment then this time she did smile, “Nah, you look extravagant, you don’t need to act like you don’t.”

I moved over to her and sat down, watching the ponies and Zebra’s dance only a few feet away, “You look really nice too. Not something I would expect to see at a formal party, but I’m glad you stand out.”

Unsure of her remark, a million things started going through my head, like ‘shit did I say something wrong?’ or ‘I suck at this’ come on Aura show me something, I’m really trying here.

My worries immediately drained as I saw another genuine smile. “I may not be big on this kind of thing, but I thought I owed it to Sheena for all her help.” She looked down at me, “So, I’m guessing you have some plan set up so you can try and prove that I’m wrong about what I said the other day aren’t you?”

I just smiled, I knew she’d catch on, so did Yaksha and Sheena, but I tried to play it off, very poorly, but I tried. Regardless It didn’t matter if she thought we planned something anyways, “You’re too smart for your own good Aura. Yes, you could say that, but I did say I’d do something to prove I can change.”

She laughed, “Figured as much, though I have no idea how you’re going to do that. There’s nothing you can do to change my mind Shadow, I just want to get through tonight so life can go on.”

“I agree, that’s why I’m not going to try some desperate plan or try to convince you otherwise on how you feel. Tonight, might be the last time I ever see you, as much as I hate that, I respect it,” I said looking up at her, doing my best to smile, “Aura, I wasn’t lying to you when I said I love you, you told me I had to prove it but in reality, I don’t know how.”

“Yeah, I know that Shadow, I didn’t expect you to. I know you better than you know yourself. I care for you a lot, but as I said before, being with a pony like you would be a disaster.”

I smiled wider, “Maybe, but sometimes disasters aren’t as bad as they seem. All I know is that I care about you, I also lied to you, acted like a child, let my stupidity get you and others hurt and I made the decision to hide how I felt so you wouldn’t get hurt in the future.”

I cut her off, “I wasn’t finished. I did a lot of bad things and made stupid mistakes, I can’t deny that. I have to own it and I will. What I can do is show you that I’ve also learned from those mistakes and I’m going to do better in the future. If I was too late with you then that’s just one more mistake I’ll have to live with for the rest of my life, but because of it I know that I’ll never let someone as good as you slip away from me ever again.”

“It’s not like I’m doing this because I want to hurt or punish you Shadow.”

She sighed, “I’ll admit that whoever you end up with one day, will be lucky to have you by their side.”

The Prince finished his first song and the crowed applauded. As they did I looked over at Aura, tears threatening to fall as I said, “Aura, no matter what happens I’ll always love you. I said I understand what you decided and I do, but all I’m asking is that you at least understand where I’m coming from.”

She looked at me with just as much sadness as me on her face, “I do understand, more than you’ll ever know.”

I held out a hoof right as The Prince started to say something to the crowd, “Give me one dance? One last dance before our lives have to change forever.”

I nodded, “I do, after that I’ll drop it and you’ll never have to worry about me bothering you again. Can you at least give me this one night, this one dance?”

I saw a tear fall down her left cheek, “Yeah, I think I can manage that for you Shadow.”

She took my hoof and I started to lead her out toward the dance floor as The Prince said, “Now, we have a special song planned for you all, but I’m dedicating it to a special griffon. This song is for you Aura Bloodtalon from Shadow Star.”

“Fuck you planned this didn’t you?” she said with a sigh as we reached the center of the dance floor.

I looked back at Aura and smiled, giggling a little, “That one was Sheena, but yes. If it bothers you, don’t listen to the song, just dance with me. No one else matters right now, this moment is just the two of us. Think you can manage that?”

She sighed then laughed, “Yeah, I did promise you I’d give you one last dance, but you realize this won’t change a thing.”

“Yeah I know.” I said as I stood on my hind legs and took Aura’s talons in my hooves.

Prince Fruit Stripe’s band started to play, a moment later The Prince started to sing. His mother was right, his voice was as beautiful as he was, “I figured it out…I figured it out from black and white…Seconds and hours…. maybe they had to take some time…”

As the music started to play and the Prince started to sing, Aura and I started to move. I put a hoof back, taking the lead right away. One of the best things so far about getting my memories back was some of the lessons I’d gotten from Elder Apple Jam. He used to take a couple of hours every few days to teach me what he knew about what he called ‘Proper Dancing’ he said it was something every young mare should learn. I was a natural he said, it used to make me so happy when he’d tell me things like that. Back then I used to think he was just trying to escape his day to day hard work, but now I knew the truth. He was trying to make a sick filly feel special, he took time out of his day to show me how to be a proper young mare one day. He mostly failed, I’m nowhere near proper or elegant. At least this one thing he passed on to me I could do, Aura was right I did plan this. I couldn’t tell her how I felt with just words, I had to show her with my actions, my body, my heart and soul. If this didn’t work, there was nothing else I could do.

Aura followed my lead and moved a paw to follow my hoof as I took another step back, then we both twisted around as the song went on. I felt her start to relax, she pulled me closer to her as the music picked up and we moved. I pulled away for a moment and twisted around as she held on to one hoof. I smiled and twisted back toward her letting her forearm wrap around me as I came back into her. This time my head rested against her chest as we both moved in small circles. I could hear her heart beating in time with my own as we kept going. The ponies that were around us dancing as well seemed to fade away as I lost myself. At that moment, no one else existed but her and me.

I didn’t look up at her, I could feel small shivers running throughout her body as she slowly cried. I pulled her closer to me fearing if I let go she’d vanish, “I don’t know any other way to show you how I feel, that’s why.”

“I mean why do you keep trying when I told you this was just a fairytale? It’s not fair, this shouldn’t be making me feel like this. I made up my mind Shadow, how are you able to break me down with one stupid, yet wonderful gesture?”

I felt tears in my own eyes as we twisted around faster, our bodies moving in time with each other like we were one creature, “Maybe happy ever after does exist, I want to hold you like this, and maybe fairytales aren’t always full of shit. Didn’t you say something similar?”

Aura laughed in her tears “That’s not fair Shadow, using my own words against me like that.”

I laughed back with my own tears streaming, “I’m not going to let anything stop us from being together Aura, you deserve to be happy.”

She was crying now, “No I don’t, I don’t deserve such kindness. I was always meant to be alone Shadow. That’s why I lost Trip, that’s why I was kicked out of my family, that’s why such bad things keep happening to you. My family is cursed, we can’t be happy. Something will go wrong and I’d rather lose you on my own terms and not from something worse. I can’t watch another pony I love die because of me.”

“And I can’t let you give up on us, just because you’re scared of a stupid curse. No matter what happens, I’m not going to die on you, not ever. I heard about the so-called curse that was put on Night Stalker and his team.”

“Then you know that nothing can stop it. Every griffon in my family has lost something, my mom lost her sisters, my brother died, my sisters have their own issues and I lost the mare I loved because of my stupidity. I thought I would be the one who’d finally break that damned curse, but I was wrong.” She said, her breaths coming out in small gasps.

“I didn’t have a chance to tell you before, but Aura, I got a lot of my memories back and you know what I found out? I’m descended from Minuette, if this so-called curse is real, then my family has suffered from it too. I cannot face it alone Aura I need you to face this with me, together we will show everypony and griffon from our families that this curse is nothing but bull shit. We are’t them, we don’t follow the path our families set out for us, we are different and that’s wonderful. It’s you and I against the world Aura, I’m brave enough to face it, the question is are you willing to face it with me?”

“I’m not sure, but I want too…I’m just scared I’m going to lose you in the worse way possible.” She said,

Finally, I looked up into her tear streaked face and smiled, “I told you I won’t die on you, let’s live the rest of our lives day by day. If this lasts for a few days or fifty years, every moment with you is better than the rest of eternity without you. Now Aura, what are you waiting for?”

Finally, Aura stopped crying, she stopped protesting, she stopped letting the world she thought she was trapped in hold on to her, “I love you Shadow!”

I found myself moving up toward her, my body moved on its own, it just happened. It felt like the right thing to do. My lips came up and parted at the same time as her beak. If I would have taken a second to think about what I was doing I would have thought ‘How do you kiss a creature with a beak?’ I didn’t let that enter my mind. I just kissed her, as far as kisses go it was different than anything I’d done with Silver, it was nothing like when I kissed Little Buck. Somehow even though we weren’t the same creature, even though it was a little weird, that kiss was the best thing I’d ever felt. In that moment, I knew what Aura meant when she told me that I didn’t know what true love was. In that moment I knew that what I felt for Aura for all this time was true love. She made me feel like I was the only pony in the world that mattered. I also knew in that moment, we were always meant to be together.

I held her tighter to me and let tears fall as the kiss went on. Aura doing the same as she opened her wings and started to lift the two of us into the air. We slowly moved higher than anypony else in the room. Even this I understood, we belonged in another world, we belonged among the stars, with the Goddess. As we flew, the song reached its peak at the same time as we did. Slowly she pulled back and looked down into my red eyes with an expression I’d never seen before. It was the first time I’d seen Aura truly happy, truly accepted.

I blinked as the song ended and we finally landed as ponies, zebra’s, griffons, and my friends started to cheer, “What do you mean?”

She just winked, “What took you so long to finally kiss me? Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for you to do that?”

I was lost for a moment, then Sheena walked over with my friends saying, “I knew my plan would go perfectly.”

I looked over at The Empress then her husband as he walked up beside her, “You’re plans always go off without a hitch my love, though I thought Shadow would have figured it out.”

Aura laughed and kissed me again then said, “Shadow, I meant everything I said to you before, but I did lie a little.”

“Nope,” Wingnut said, “This was all Aura’s plan from the beginning, she wanted you to finally show her how you felt. She knew after what happened in the ruins that you’d blame yourself, and turn into a crazy murder junkie.”

Aura smiled and set me down, “I was afraid I was going to lose you, Sheena told me while you were gone about the feelings you had for me. I wasn’t sure if you really did feel that way or not, or if you just “loved” me like you thought you did with Silver. I had to make sure.”

She frowned and blushed, “It’s still true, you of all ponies should know. I just decided that I didn’t care, I’m not going to let my family’s curse stop me from being happy. You said it yourself, you’re descended from Minuette who was also inflicted with that curse, and you didn’t care. Once I lost Trip Wire I swore that I wouldn’t try to get close with any pony or griffon, that much is true, but then I met you Shadow, some random pony lost in the wasteland with a priority contract on their head who, if I caught them, I thought I could bring them back to my home, and go back to my family. However, you showed compassion towards an enemy trying to capture and maybe even kill you, because you’re a good pony. A kind act rarely seen in The Wasteland. That one act made you all the more interesting so I followed you. Once I joined up with you and got to know you better, after a time, I started having feelings for you. Yes, I was hesitant and yes, I did believe in that curse at the time, but once I saw you out for a week from pride’s fight I couldn’t stop thinking about you, it was then I decided that I wouldn’t let some stupid curse decide how I lived my life. That’s why I tried expressing myself to you and failing, either by being a fool or what seemed like you pushing me away.”

Wind Thrasher smiled saying, “She told us this while you were gone, that’s why we all decided to help her. When we heard what you did in Whinnieapolis, we knew we had to help you get your mind on the right track again then help you find some kind of happiness in your life.”

“I was the one who told Aura that she should lead you on a little and force you to show her your true feelings.” Wingnut added.

I frowned and looked down “You’re all ass holes…but I know your hearts were in the right place. I hate being tricked, but I guess it’s for the best.”

They all laughed and soon I found myself being hugged by all my friends, then others from The Kingdom congratulated both Aura and I, the party went on and it was the best time I’d ever had since I left the Stable 28. Soon more music was being played, all of us danced, drank and enjoyed that fact that we were alive. The entire time Aura stayed next to me, laughing, joking and being what I expected was the Aura Trip Wire knew.

Hours later I found myself sitting on the balcony overlooking the back courtyard with Aura, “It’s a beautiful night isn’t?”

I was resting my head on her shoulder. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, “Not as beautiful as you are Shadow.”

“It seems so strange that we’re here right now. A few weeks ago, I never would have thought I’d meet someone like you, let alone feel the way I do.”

She giggled, “Trust me, I never saw this coming either, but I’m glad it did.”

“Same here, I feel like I’m going to wake up any second now and this will all of been a dream. I keep thinking that when I do wake, reality will hit and I’ll realize that I lost you.”

“And I’ll do my best to make sure you never have to worry about me like you did when I got shot.”

“Let’s not talk about that tonight. Tonight, I just want to sit here with you and just act like The Wasteland doesn’t exist, just for one night.”

She pulled away from me, I moved my head up to look at her confused. She just kept looking out at the other guests as she spoke, “Funny, because I’m getting kind of bored. I really don’t want to sit here all night.”

I cocked my head to one side, “I guess we could go dance more, but I’m a little worn out.”

She cocked a grin at me, “I don’t feel like dancing either Shadow, though what I do have in mind will be more tiring than dancing. Though I’m sure you’ll enjoy it, even if you are tired.”

She got up and took my hoof, “Oh you’ll see shrimp, come on now, I’m not going to take no for an answer.”

She pulled me alone back inside the grand ball room, past the ponies who were still drinking and dancing to another band who took the stage after Fruit Stripe and his friends finished. I was starting to wonder what Aura was thinking as she led me back to the grand stair case and up the side stairs, “Um…Aura where are we going? The party’s only in the courtyards and grand ball room.”

“Yeah I know,” that’s all she would say as she led me down the hall toward the room Sheena had set aside for my friends and me. She paused just outside the door and listened for a moment then swore quietly, “Damn it why is Solstice in our room? Fuck it.”

She turned and pulled me back down the hall. As she did I asked, “What’s going on?”

“I wanted to do this in our room, but Sheena said we may not get privacy in there so she said we could use another room.”

She ignored me, we reached one of the rooms a few doors down from our own. Aura pulled a key out of one of the pockets on her red jacket then unlocked the door. As it opened I saw that it wasn’t anywhere as big as the one down the hall, but it was still a nice size. There was a big bed right in the middle of the room with a glass door and balcony behind it, large curtains could be drawn shut to give the occupants more privacy. There was a dresser and a vanity, I could see a small bathroom to one side as well. I also noticed our saddle bags and weapons had been moved into the room as well.

“Huh, I guess Sheena saw to it that our stuff was moved over here, that was nice of her.” Aura said as she walked farther into the room.

I couldn’t move at all; my knees were shaking and I could feel a lump in my throat. My heart was racing as well as I watched Aura slowly walk toward the bed, hear rear sifting back and forth, demanding my attention with every step. Did she really want to do this…so soon? What if I messed something up like I always did? How do you even do things like this with a griffon? Why can’t I take my eyes off of the gorgeous griffon in front of me!?

She stopped when she got to the bed and looked over her shoulder at me. The look on her face made me feel like I was about to melt into a Shadow Star puddle, “Are you going to just stand there and stare at me or are you going to join me?”

“I…I…” I shook my head, took a deep breath then tried again, “I’d love too, but first…I need to pee.” I was mortified. You don’t say something like that to someone who’s giving you…that look!

I blushed harder, “I won’t!” I rushed into the bathroom closing the door behind myself. I waited a moment then turned on the faucet then said, “Oricalcos?”

A moment passed then I heard the voice of my uncle, “Star I hope this is good, I’m still tired and weak.”

“I’ll make this quick, how much can you see or hear while you’re in my shadow?”

“I can see a few things, but it’s fuzzy, but sounds are coming through fine.”

“Star, I’m here to protect you. If I go somewhere else I can’t do that, I understand you want to spend some alone time with that…griffon, but I can’t risk it.”

He sighed again, “I don’t like it, also where am I going to go while you’re having fun with her? I need to stay in a living ponies shadow to get stronger.”

“Then go to Stardust, at least he knows about you. Just tell him I sent you away for the night, he’ll understand.”

“Goddesses you want me to spend the next few hours with that idiot? Fine, at least I’ll still be close, just remember that I don’t like this and you owe me.” He said.

“Fine whatever just go before Aura starts wondering what’s taking me so long to pee.”

A piece of darkness pulled itself away from my shadow saying, “Don’t expect me to do this every time you want a little ass though, I’m not your servant.”

“Yeah, I know and thank you.” I said as he slipped under the door and was gone. With a sigh I shut off the water and opened the door to walk back into the room. Aura was sitting on the bed looking out the window as she waited for me. When the door opened she looked back at me and smiled.

“If you’re nervous you could have just said something, you didn’t need to hide in the bathroom.”

Walking over I joined her on the bed and rested my head against her leg, “I am nervous, but that’s not why I hid in the bathroom.”

She moved to lay back, pulling my head to rest on her belly. She started to run her talons through my shorter mane before she asked, “Then why’d you hide in there?”

“Oricalcos didn’t die back in Appleton, long story short he cut a piece of himself off and attached himself to my shadow to stay alive. He figured out who I was and has been trying to protect me.”

“Yes and no, he’s nowhere near as powerful as he was before. I went into the bathroom to make him go away for the night. I don’t know what you wanted to do in here, but if it’s what I’m thinking… or even if it’s not, I really don’t want anypony here.”

Something hit me just then, “Wait you don’t seem surprised about him still being alive.”

She shrugged, “With you Shadow, I’ve learned to expect the unexpected. It’s a lot easier that way.”

For a long time, we both just laid there looking out at the night, finally Aura said, “I like your new mane cut, what made you decide the cut it?”

I winced a little, “I disguised myself as a scientist named Dr. Stormy while I was in Mill City Tower. Her mane was shorter than my own so I cut it off, I wasn’t in my right mind at the time. Though I’ll admit it feels kind of freeing now that all that hair is gone.”

“It makes you look a little older and it doesn’t look like your trying to hide behind it anymore.”

“Stardust is an ass,” She said with a laugh, “Yes it could use a touch up, but it’s not bad.”

I closed my eyes and pressed my head back into her belly as she continued to run her talons slowly through my mane. As she did I asked, “So…what did you want to do tonight?”

“I had something in mind, but I don’t want to do anything if you’re not ready for it. I’m just fine with sitting here with you. This moment right here and now matters more to me than doing something naughty.”

I blushed again, “I’m just scared and nervous, I mean doesn’t it feel too soon?”

“Maybe, but the thing is that kiss we shared on the dance floor, kind of rattled me, in a good way, besides you’ve done things like this with Silver.”

I blushed a little, I didn’t know that kiss would affect her that much, but in a weird way I don’t mind, “Yeah, but only a couple of times and once with Laser, but I was drunk that time. Silver was spontaneous, she always took the lead and never let me think about what we were doing. If I did I would have been just as nervous as I am now, also I don’t know anything about what it’s like to do things with a griffon.”

She laughed again, “Shadow, I understand. When I first started seeing Trip Wire I had no idea what to do with a pony. That’s the best part about being with some pony, you get to learn new things with your partner.”

I blushed even more this time, “A relationship huh? I remember us kissing, but do you really want to consider us in a relationship?”

“You really are new at this. That’s okay though it’s cute.” She laughed lightly, “I really do consider this a relationship Shadow, that’s the only way this can work. You felt it in that kiss too, same as I did. If you want us to be together then there’s no going around and sleeping with other ponies, or getting drunk and screwing around. Griffons as you know live by a contract and the same goes with being with someone. Like I told you my love is powerful and I know yours is too. So how about it? Are you ready to be in a committed relationship with me? Because if you aren’t ready, then I want to know. Don’t say you do just to make me happy.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” I buried my head deeper into Aura’s chest “When I said that outfit made you stand out, what I meant was, I wanted you to stand out, I wanted to say out loud that’s the griffon I fell in love with, and I would do anything to keep her.”

She giggled again, “I’m happy to hear that, still if you don’t wat to do something with me tonight that’s fine as well. I’m willing to wait until you are ready.”

I turned to look up at her, “Aura, I’ll never be as ready as I am now. I may be a little scared and nervous, but that’s normal for me. I’m always like this with new things in my life. I love you and I want to be with you in every way possible.”

I felt her move and a moment later she was kissing me. This time it didn’t feel as weird as it did the first time. I kissed her back turning my body so my belly was laying against hers. I felt her forelegs warp around me as we sank into each other, our passion, love and need flowing through us as the kiss went on. Then I felt one of her talons moving down my back, then over my rear, a second later a new sensation filled my body and I couldn’t hold back a moan.

I broke away from the kiss and shivered, pressing my head into the griffon’s chest as her talon moved. This was definitely different than it was when I was with Silver. I’ll admit, a hoof can only do so much, having digits is in a league of its own. Oh! How the hell did she do that? furthermore, her talons were normally sharp, how can she do this without cutting me up inside? Why am I thinking about this right now!?

I started to breath heavily as my body responded to the griffon’s attention. My stomach got tight and out of reflex I bucked back into her. She giggled and pulled her talon away, “Damn, that was faster than I thought.”

I blushed heavily and hit her in the chest with a hoof (Not hard) “Shut up! That’s the first time I’ve felt something like that!”

I pouted trying to ignore her comment, “Oh really, then maybe I can see how long you can go. I may not have much experience, but it’s been a lot longer for you than it has for me.”

“Oh, you think it’s that easy huh…” she shut up as I began to kiss slowly down her neck.

I kept moving down kissing her belly, then along her thigh, then more. Finally, I heard Aura making the cutest chittering sound I’ve ever heard as I hit the spot. I could go into detail about how she…well I’m sure you can guess. Let’s just say that as hard as I tried and with how much I knew she liked what I was doing, thanks to what I learned from Silver, it still took me longer to get the same results. Soon, I found that I didn’t know half of the things Aura did about making love with another female. Silver was good at what she did, but she also like to be kinky and hot headed with her love making. Aura was all about making sure she pleasured me as much as I did with her, and more if she could. It was a game to her, but also, she was able to get across how much she wanted me.

Over the next couple of hours, I did all I could to learn from her and to show her how much I loved her, how much I wanted her and how much I needed her. She was right, this was way more exhausting than dancing, but way worth it. When we started, neither of us took off what we wore at the party. I don’t know if that was because we didn’t think about it or if our passion got in the way, but as time went on, somehow both of our outfits where tossed across the room.

In the end we were both hot, sweaty, and panting as we lay in each other’s embrace. I almost felt like getting up and showering to get the mixture of sweat and other stuff off my body, but I didn’t even have enough energy to stand up let alone walk to the bathroom. I was laying on Aura’s chest, a lot like I had when we were in Trotston, only this time I felt good.

“I thought I did, but I think you have a little more. I’m sure if I said let’s go again, you’d be ready in a heartbeat.”

She winced and laughed, “Please don’t tempt me, I don’t think I can stay awake through another round, I’m not as young as I used to be.”

“Well I’m also still recovering from a bad gunshot wound. Wait till I’m back to my old self, then we’ll see who can last longer.”

Both of us laughed and I hugged her again. I still couldn’t believe that this was real, “I love you Aura.”

She hugged me back, “I love you too Shadow. Now we should probably get some sleep, I have a feeling were going to be heading back tomorrow.”

I sighed, “Yeah, we’ve been away from New Pegasus for too long, though I wish we could just stay here forever.”

“Yeah me too, but you have responsibilities. As much as you don’t want to deal with them, you have too. You are the Courier.”

I let my smile fade a little, “Yeah I know, as much as I don’t like it, I know.”

“Personally, I’m not looking forward to the trip back to New Pegasus, it’s such a long flight. At least you can dive into those memory orbs to help pass the time.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think I have any new ones I can watch right now,” I started to say, then I remembered the notes from Nightshade and the memory orb he gave me, “Oh shit I forgot.”

I sat up a little and used my magic to pull my saddle bags closer to myself. I dug in them for a moment until I found the box, “Major Vas gave me this memory orb and the two notes from Nightshade, with everything going on I forgot to read them.”

She looked down at the box asking, “You really want to do that right now? You’ll have plenty of time to read those and go into the orb while we’re heading back home.”

“I’m not going to go into the orb tonight, but I think I should at least see what the notes say. It may be something I need to know before we leave this area.”

I popped open the box and pulled both notes out. First, I opened the older one first, the one that only said ‘To Star’ on it. Nightshade’s could wait, I had a feeling this one would mean more to me.

I don’t know how long it will take for you to get this letter, but I hope that it finds you well. I’m sure you’re wondering who this is from and why you’re getting it now. This is from daddy, I’m writing this letter two years after your mother took you to New Pegasus in hopes of finding a cure for your sickness. I’m sure you have a lot of questions, about why I couldn’t join you two or why I’m currently hunting your mother. It’s hard to explain everything to you in a letter, but I’ll do my best to explain. You see the project your mother is trying to find is a secret that few ponies in the Enclave know about. It’s dangerous and could spell doom for everypony in Equestria. Our family has done its best over the centuries to keep its knowledge out of pony’s hooves who would misuse this power for evil. When Grim decided that it was the only way to save you, I agreed with her, but I also told her I’d have to hunt her down.

When she left home and took you with her, I was given orders to kill her and bring you back as soon as I could. I’ve done everything I can over the past two years to fail at capturing you both. I believe in what Grim is doing and I know she will find a way to save you. At least that’s what I believed at first. But over the past two years I’ve kept in eye on what’s going on in New Pegasus and the lands around it. What I’ve seen makes me wish I never let you two leave. I want nothing more than for you to get better so you can have a normal life, but I also know that it’s a fool’s dream. Right now, I’m doing everything I can to bring you home, even if you don’t have much time left, I want you to have as normal of a life as you can before you go. I just want you to be happy and from what I’ve seen of you in the past few weeks, you don’t look happy at all. After I finish with this letter I’m going to take a team and assault the Steel Rangers in Hidden Sands and force them to give you back to me.

I don’t know if it’s a stupid plan or not, I may not live through this fight, but I’ll do whatever I can to help you Star. If you’re reading this now, I’m guessing I failed and Grim did not. Honestly, I don’t know which one is better. Anyway, I just wanted to write this letter to you, my daughter, just in case a miracle does happen and you live to see adulthood. If that is the case then I want you to know that no matter what you may hear about me, Daddy loves you with all his heart and I hope that you grow up to be a good mare. Remember that I did this for you, my Little Star. If we never see each other again, just remember that you’re strong, remember to always be brave and to always help those who need you. Good luck and good bye…

I finished reading the letter with tears in my eyes. I could see that as my father wrote this, he must have been crying as he finished this letter, because dried tear drops stained the ink on the paper, “He knew that his mission was a suicide mission and yet he still went through with it. Here I thought from the memories I got back that his death must have been a lie.”

“No, if he was I’m sure Nightshade would have said something before. If he’s giving me this letter, it means my father is gone.”

Before I tell you what I need, first I want to make sure you read the other letter first. It’s from your father, he entrusted it to me before he went off on his last mission ten years ago.

Now, if you’ve read the letter then I can tell you what needs to be said. I’m sure you’re confused about everything that’s happened over the last few days and more over the last weeks since you’ve left Stable 28. When we met in Mill City Tower, I didn’t know all the details yet on what happened to your griffon friend. The Guardian, I think you call him The Stranger, told me the state of mind you were in. First, I want to apologize for using you in my scheme against the High Council. I know it’s unforgivable, but it was the only thing I could come up with to set my plan in motion and keep you from attacking me.

A long time ago I was a very good friend of your dad. I wish I could give you better news, but when he gave me that letter ten years ago, it was the last time I’d seen him. No pony ever found his body, but from the reports we got about the attack against the Steel Rangers, we know no pony could have lived through that fight. Before he left though, he first entrusted me with that letter and made me swear to watch over you if you lived. I’ve been doing that ever since you left Stable 28, that’s why I sent The Guardian to Cartwheel to watch for you. I’m sure you’re wondering where we got the intel on where Stable 28 was. Well it’s not as well hidden as you’d think, we got its location a couple of years after you and Grim entered it, from a spy we have in that area. He said he overheard some mare talking about it to somepony at a bar. We investigated the area it was rumored to be in and found it. We set an alarm to go off if the Stable ever opened. The first time it did is when Grim left.

At the time I was a solider in Nimbus and Saints Parish, but when the alarm went off I was visiting friends in Stratus. I went after her and found her, she told me you still lived and lost all your memories. She told me what you looked like and asked that I keep the promise I already made to my old friend. I should have taken her in then, but I let her go for old time sake. I waited for years for that alarm to go off again, while I did I worked my way up the ranks in the Enclave, doing my best to change the laws and the way Pegasi look at Wastelanders.

I’m sure you know most of this, but I wanted to at least explain a little. What I really want is for you to trust me, I’m on your side, I’m trying to help you in any way that I can without losing my position on the council. Things are going to be hard for the next couple of months while I fix a lot of the damage from my predecessors. Though I’m still going to make sure The Guardian helps you whenever he can. I know it’s hard for you to trust a pony you don’t know, but I hope you can find a way to. He’s a good stallion and he’ll never betray you, even if he is a little hard headed at times.

Anyway, the real reason I wanted you to get this letter is because I know you’re trying to find out whatever you can about Grim’s past. I know you’re having a hard time understanding the program she’s going after. Personally, I don’t know much about the program itself, but The Guardian said he’s been able to dig up some info on what your mother is working on. He thinks it has something to do with the same program his own family has protected for centuries. He’s still looking into it but as soon as he finds out more information I’ll make sure he passes it on to you. Also, if you want to know where Grim has gone, that information I do know. After I disbanded The Sins I found that she left for Los Alicorn with three former members. I sent soldiers to find her and bring her in for questioning. The strange thing is, she’s vanished, the city is mostly destroyed so she wouldn’t have many places she could hide.

I believe the only thing that makes sense is that she’s working with either The Steel Rangers still, only now with the Los Alicorn branch ran by a pony named Elder Wolfsbane, or she’s working with The Ministry. I’ve looked into the matter over the past couple of days and found that Dr. Stormy was sending messages to a pony she called The Director. I’m not an expert on Steel Rangers, but I’m sure that’s not a title they use, so I’m thinking she’s working with The Ministry. If so then it’s possible that you won’t be able to find her. The location is a mystery, I still don’t even know if I believe it’s real. If it is I wouldn’t be surprised that Grim found them.

She came back to The Enclave a few months ago with no memory of what happened to her over the past twelve years. The Council let her back in because she gave them information she’d collected over the years from all of the factions she joined during her time away. I think there’s something else going on and since I can’t hunt her down myself I’m leaving this up to you. If she really did go to The Ministry then I’m sure she may have notes or something that says where it is and how to get in. I got intel from one of The Sins today who said Grim left all their stuff at their bunker in New Pegasus. Start there and see what you can find and when you do, let The Guardian know. He’ll be checking up with you every few days from now on. The location of this bunker should be inside an old looking shack a little outside of Trotston.

I wish you luck Shadow, and once again I’m sorry for all the trouble. I hope that the next time we meet, it will be under better circumstances.

“Well I guess that answers that.” Aura said as she finished reading over my shoulder.

Aura pulled me close to her and held me for a long moment, “I wish it could have been better news.”

“Yeah me too, but I kind of expected it. On the bright side, at least I feel a little better about what he had to say.”

“Oh, I don’t, but I don’t think he’s trying to kill me either. He probably has something big planned and I’m sure it has something to do with me or my Pip-Buck, but for now I’ll see what happens.”

“As far as I can tell, we have two choices. Either we go home and forget about what Nightshade said about your mom, or we go to this bunker, then head to Los Alicorn.”

“I’m not sure I need to go to this bunker, Mr. Topps already told me where he believes The Ministry is. He wants me to go there and find out how they make Synths so he can get a new body for himself.” I said.

I shrugged, “I’m not sure, he said something about his body is dying, but he didn’t go into detail.”

Aura took a moment to think, “Either way, we need to get home first and talk to a few ponies maybe even my family to see what they’ve heard about all of this. We shouldn’t just follow the path Nightshade sat for us, if we talk to Gigi, she may have a better idea.”

“I agree, I also want to check in with Box Tape and see how things are going. I also want to talk to Vervain about Wolfsbane more, I know mom used to work with him and I’m sure Vervain knows more about what that work was. I need to get all the information I can about what happened back then before I go after her.” I said.

Aura took a moment to think about that, “I think we should talk this over with Stardust and the others, but I think we should. They also deserve to know what’s going on.”

I sighed and rested my head against her chest again, “I just have this feeling that I’m missing something, I just can’t put my hoof on it.”

She pulled me close again saying, “Don’t worry so much, we’ll be okay. Now get some sleep, we have a lot to do tomorrow.”

My eyes felt heavy already and I slowly closed them as I responded, “You’re right, we can talk about it in the morning.”

“Sooooo, I’m guessing you two had a lot of fun last night!” Stardust said as Aura and I both made our way down the stairs. We’d only gotten a few hours of sleep before being woken by Wingnut knocking at the door asking if we were going to sleep all day.

“Maybe not, but I’m still going to give you shit for staying up half the night keeping other ponies awake with how loud you were Shadow.”

I blushed bright red as Aura laughed next to me, “She does have a good set of pipes on her, doesn’t she?”

“Is that was that was? I thought some animal got into the mansion grounds last night.” Wingnut said with an evil grin, “Damn Shadow, I’m impressed, I don’t even think Wind Thrasher can make that much noise.”

“Hell no,” Solstice said with a grin as evil as Wingnuts, “This is the punishment you get.”

“For making us all worry about you so much,” Wind Thrasher said, “But don’t worry, you’ll only have to deal with it for a few weeks, I’m sure we’ll all get tired of it by then.”

This time I couldn’t help laughing along with them, “Well I’m glad my private moments with Aura was so entertaining for you all. Anyway, we have some decisions to make. I got some info from Nightshade that I’d like to look into before we go home.”

Aura spoke up this time, “Because it has to do with helping Shadow figure out why her mom left.”

“Why should she care if her mom left?” Solstice asked, “And what does this have to do with me, I’m not part of your merry band of freaks.”

“It doesn’t, you just decided to stay in our room last night taking up all the bed space and followed us down here this morning,” Stardust said.

“Solstice I’m not asking you to join in with us, if you want to come with then I’m okay with it, you did help me a lot over the past few days, but I know you were just trying to get away from The Enclave,” I said, “Nightshade got some info form one of The Sins, I’m assuming it’s Greed since he doesn’t want to be a Sin anymore, about where we can get information about mom and where to find her in Los Alicorn. He believes she’s at The Ministry helping them, he wants us to go find it and her. So, we have two choices, either we can do what Nightshade wants us to and find this bunker then go find mom at The Ministry, this is also where Mr. Tops wanted me to go to help him. Or we can go back to Cartwheel, see what we can learn from Vervain and later we can see what The Red Talons know about this place. I want to know if you all think we should do what Nightshade wants or do this our own way?”

“Fuck that, I’m not going anywhere near Los Alicorn, Stratus, or The Ministry. I’ve heard stories about that place for years and it’s fucking creepy, also I don’t wanna be too close to home yet, it may put my parents in danger,” Solstice said, “I’m happy staying here and seeing what I can do to help Sheena with The Kingdom.”

“Same for me,” Wind Thrasher added, “But, I think we should go talk to Vervain and Gigi to see what they know. I could also check with my contacts in the NLR to see if they have any info on Los Alicorn that can help us. I don’t think we should do exactly as Nightshade says though. If we’re going to find your mom and help her remember you, we should do it our own way.”

Stardust took a little longer to respond, “I’ve heard horror stories about that place, but if you really need to go there then I’m in.”

Before we could start planning for what we were going to do next I heard Yaksha’s voice say from behind me, “Shadow Star, you are not going anywhere just yet.”

I turned around to see the older Zebra walking in through the front door, “What do you mean Yaksha?”

She didn’t look like she was in a good mood, “I assume you are heading back to New Pegasus today am I right?”

“I have decided that my work here has hit a dead end. I will be accompanying you back to New Pegasus. Shadow owes me her life for saving her when she was attacked in the Ruins,” Yaksha said.

“There is a pony back there I need to see, a mare who thinks I am dead. I would like to let her know I am alive. Furthermore, after I saw you fight in the ruins I noticed that you do not have much control over your magic, you also are a poor hoof to hoof fighter. I would like to help you with both of those.”

I sighed, “Well I guess it can’t hurt to bring you alone, though I’m not sure why you want to travel back there with us, we may not even go right to New Pegasus. If I were you I’d find a better way to go to the city than tag along with my group of friends.”

Yaksha walked over to me and got close to my ear, whispering so only I could hear, “I know what you are and the evil that lives inside of you. Do not try to deny it. I am going with you for the reasons I said, but also I am keeping an eye on you, Servant of the Stars!”

She backed up with a small smile on her face, I could barely breathe as I looked into those deep violet eyes of hers. Finally, I gave in, “Fine…welcome to the group Yaksha…”

[FOOTNOTE: LEVEL UP!]

NEW PERK ADDED!

Lover’s Embrace: After spending some quality time with your special somepony…somegriff…whichever, you feel completely relaxed and ready for anything! +15% XP earned for a limited time, whenever you sleep in the same bed as your lover.

QUEST PERK ADDED!

AURA AFFINITY LEVEL AT 100%

Eagle Eye: You’ve reached full affinity with Aura Bloodtalon. Do to your closeness with the Griffon, she’s had an effect on how you see things! Do to this your perception goes up by 1 whenever you are in her presence.

Fallout Equestria: Falling Shadows

by Drako Moon

Chapter 40: You And I