//------------------------------// // Chapter 46 - In Stargard Castle // Story: The Last Descendant // by Cup of Coffee //------------------------------// It was shortly after sunset when Princess Celestia boarded her chariot, carrying her personal saddlebags with her. Four Royal Guard pegasi were already hitched to it, and as soon as their princess was safely seated, they galloped to gain speed. With powerful strokes of their wings, the chariot gently took off from the castle courtyard. Behind her and to her sides, another four pegasi flew in position, acting as escorts on tonight's journey. Their destination was Hollow Shades. With the moon rising over the mountaintops, Celestia knew full and well that Hollow Shades would be waking up by now, just like any other pony village would start their day in the morning. Since Hollow Shades was populated by mostly bat ponies, their day started at moonrise. Earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns eventually fell into the nocturnal lifestyle of the forest village the longer they stayed there, and the town was quite unique in Equestria because of this. Even the local baroness was a night dweller these days. The journey was one of silence and Celestia cherished it. It allowed her to simply gaze upon the scenery which consisted mainly of numerous farms and hamlets between Canterlot and Hollow Shades. On her left, she could see the lights from Ponyville, and on her right she beheld the lights from the settlement of Foaldale, just south of the Foal Mountains. As they crossed over the Foal Mountains and into the forest of Hollow Shades, the wind stilled into a whisper. This was bat pony country, their forest and their domain. They were naturals when it came to stealth, and the night and the shadows was their element. It was no wonder the bat ponies adored her beloved sister so much; she was akin to a goddess to them, the physical embodiment of the night. In the distance, the lights of the township of Hollow Shades came into view, and the closer they neared the town, the greater the sensation of being watched crept upon Celestia. Even her guards became more alert. Their eyes carefully scanned their surroundings and their ears swiveled constantly to discern any sound. It would be mostly for naught, though; a flying bat pony in the night was difficult to spot, and Celestia had no doubt that there was a young bat pony out there who wanted to play hide and seek with the visitors. While Celestia wished she could spare some time to do just that, her business at Stargard Castle held priority. Brilliant Star had received the letter and expected her. Just after passing over the town, Stargard Castle came into view. There were lights in some of the windows, so obviously the baroness was home. The chariot began its descent, gradually circling to scrub off some speed. As light as a feather, the guards touched down, their gallop slowing to a canter and then finally halting completely outside the black cast-iron gates set into the ancient, overgrown, crumbling stone wall. Princess Celestia disembarked, levitated her saddlebags over her back and began the walk towards the door. The four escorts fell in behind her while the chariot guards unhitched themselves and took up positions around the chariot itself. The iron gate opened easily with a push of magic, its hinges creaking ominously in the night. As usual, the garden was quite overgrown, not as it once was. Long ago, it was a testament of the inherent magic of earth ponies, each flower and bush and tree tended to with great care. Now it reminded her of the Everfree Forest, sans the dangerous beasts and wild magic that permeated the area. This garden still had a few places that were carefully tended to. Brilliant Star had never been a botanist or gardener, but her late husband and one of her herd wives had been once upon a time. Still, despite being overgrown, the garden carried with it a certain dignity, like a regal pony in its advanced age. Celestia approached the door and used the brass knocker to alert the owner of the castle. It didn’t take long before she heard hooves rapidly running to the door, and then the pony behind the door struggling to open them. When the door finally opened, it wasn’t an adult who answered, but a bat pony colt, no more than five or six years old, too young to even have a cutie mark. His short stature was obviously the reason why he struggled so hard to open the door; he simply couldn’t reach the door handle. He was quite diminutive, with tiny bat wings folded to his sides, a charcoal black coat, a mop of dark purple mane on his head, and a frizzled tail. The colt stood completely still, just staring up at Celestia with large eyes, looking at her in wonder, and his mouth slightly agape, revealing two tiny fangs. “You’re tall,” the colt said with a high-pitched voice and as honest as only children can be. Celestia smiled and lowered herself until she was nearly lying on the ground, just so she wouldn’t appear so intimidating. “You are quite observant,” she said with a warm smile that spread all over her face. “What is your name, little one?” “I’m Cloudy Moon. What’s your name?” “It is very nice to meet you, Cloudy Moon. My name is Celestia.” The colt stared at Celestia for a moment, then asked, “Are you a princess?” “I am. You’re a perceptive colt, aren’t you? How did you know?” “Because you have a tiara and wings and horn and-and-and you have a lot of pretty jewels,” the colt said with a slight stutter of excitement. “My mommy says there are four princesses and they live on a mountain.” The colt suddenly gasped. “Are you Princess Luna?” Celestia had expected this question, and it didn’t bother her in the slightest. Even the foals of Hollow Shades knew about Luna before they learnt of her own existence. “No, Luna is my sister. I’m sorry if you wanted to see her instead of me, but perhaps she will visit Hollow Shades in a week or two.” Cloudy Moon pouted for just a second, then began jumping around with childish glee at the mere mention of Luna. “Yaayyy!” Celestia smiled at the display, before seeking to get back on track. “Cloudy, can I ask you a question?” The colt nodded eagerly. “Is Brilliant Star home?” “Gram-Gram is foalsitting me. Are you here to visit her?” “I am here to visit her, yes. Can you show me where she is?” Cloudy gave a hop and skip out of sheer excitement. “I can! She’s in the living room! I can show you where it is!” he explained happily. The colt pushed the heavy door wide open and galloped back into the entry hall, waiting for Princess Celestia to follow him. She instructed her guards to wait outside while she spoke with Brilliant. The moment she walked in and closed the door, she felt as if she had stepped back in time. The great entry hall was as she remembered, and by its appearance, it hadn’t been subjected to any overhaul or rebuilding in ages, only careful maintenance to preserve its old glory. The grand staircase was straight ahead, wide enough for four ponies to walk shoulder to shoulder upstairs. Made of dark oak, its many layers of lacquer sparkled in the light of the old crystal chandelier hanging overhead. The walls were covered in aging wooden panels, each carefully carved with a fine star pattern, and a heavy layer of lacquer preserved the panels against rot and dampness. Once upon a time, the floor was a stone pattern work, alternating between blue slate, white marble, and a rare type of very hard Muscovite with a silver coloration, carefully polished to a near mirror-like surface. Now, however, thick oak boards had been laid down instead, sanded and painted with many layers of lacquer, but it didn’t cover up the wear and tear of metal-shod hooves. On the walls hung timeworn tapestries, bearing signs of being restored by needle and thread, the largest having the Galaxy family’s crest embroidered on it with silver, gold, and blackened copper thread, and decorated with gemstones of many colours set in white silver settings. Sadly, the tapestry was not in the greatest condition; like the family whose crest it bore, the fabric masterpiece had faded and begun to fray, despite the skills of whoever had attempted to repair it. Paintings also adorned the walls, the likeness of ponies from ages past and even some that were relatively new, only about a century old or so. From the main hall itself, there were a few corridors leading elsewhere, and besides the staircase were two open doorways, one of which Cloudy stood waiting. “Gram-gram is in here.” Celestia smiled and followed the eager colt, who ran ahead. She followed him, entering a very large living room. It too also had wooden panels on the walls, but here they were much simpler in design. Shelves and various curio cabinets stood along two of the walls, filled with a variety of books and other knick-knacks. One entire wall was reserved for photos and portraits, many of them containing the current baroness in them, either standing next to her parent herd, or alongside her deceased husband and herdwives. The ceiling itself was lofty and the windows were tall and majestic, made of old glass, some of which were collared. Rugs provided a barrier against the wooden floorboards, and unlike many things in this castle, they were actually new. Set against one side of the room was a cozy seating area formed into a square shape, with several couches, chaise lounges, elegant chairs, and a short table for the lady of the house to entertain guests. Finally, there was the fireplace, a solid creation of engraved black stone and a spark catcher of wrought iron. There, a fire burned merrily, giving off a reddish-golden glow and illuminating the room. In front of the fireplace stood several pillow chairs, resembling ordinary pillows but with a backrest to add. Near one such pillow stood a table holding an old tarnished silver platter, complete with fine porcelain teacups, a silver kettle, cream, sugar, and lemon slices. It was to one of the chairs that little Cloudy Moon ran up to and spoke enthusiastically, “Gram-Gram, there’s a princess here!” “Oh, there is?” an old mare’s voice responded. “What does she look like?” The pillow chair was facing the fireplace, and Princess Celestia couldn’t see the baroness, but her voice was unmistakable. “She’s really tall and she’s white, she has beautiful mane, and she has a horn and wings,” Cloudy Moon said, occasionally peeking at Celestia to confirm he was right. “Mmm, I know who she is. Why don’t you go get your crayons and paper, and draw something by the couch? The princess and I must talk.” “About what?” A thin almond-coloured foreleg appeared from the chair’s backrest and proceeded to gently ruffle the colt’s mane. “It’s grown-up talk, Cloudy, the boring kind.” "Aww," Cloudy pouted. “But can I draw something for the princess to take home? I can draw something for Princess Luna too.” A chuckle came from the chair. “I think they would like that.” Cloudy Moon let out a happy giggle and ran out of the room, obviously to get his artistic tools, leaving Celestia by the door. “Well, Celestia? Take a seat,” the baroness invited. The princess walked over to the cushions and sat down on the one closest to the baroness, placing her saddlebags by the chair. It had been years since the last time she used this type of cushion chairs; some ponies felt that they were hard on the posterior while others adored their old charm. The baroness belonged to the latter. Celestia turned to the baroness; she was filling a cup with tea and used her magic to levitate it over to Celestia. At the same time, she used her magic to handle knitting needles and yarn. It seemed that she was making a scarf. “I was surprised when I received your letter. Even more when you asked to meet me again. ‘What could Princess Celestia want?’ I asked myself. Considering we recently buried the lost remains of Star Swirl, I’m inclined to think it has something to do with him, or it could simply be that you wanted to catch up with me. It has been ages since we last sat down to just talk over a nice cup of tea.” Celestia allowed the flavour of the tea to wash over her taste buds. Forest berries, a local specialty in Hollow Shades. “It has. Sadly, the court leaves me with very little spare time. There is always something that needs doing.” Brilliant hummed. “I suppose so. I would think that having your sister back would allow you to take a vacation. That protégé of yours, Princess Twilight, isn’t she fit to take over the reins, so to speak, at least for a week while you spend time on yourself?” “Luna is still adapting; much has changed in her absence. As for Twilight, she is still young, but she will learn. Although she has done great deeds for Equestria, I feel that she needs time before she is ready for royal responsibilities. Nevertheless, I am confident she will become a good and wise ruler of Equestria,” Celestia stated with not a single doubt in her mind. Twilight had achieved so much already, only time would tell what other great deeds she would go on to accomplish. “We’ll see. Well, not me, but you and Princess Luna,” Brilliant quipped with a mischievous grin. “Why don’t you tell me why you really wanted to see me, Celestia, hmm? I promised Cloud that we would go into town later and visit the bakery. You know foals; very impatient when it comes to sweets, and Cloud loves cinnamon buns.” Brilliant then focused on her knitting once more. “I suppose I should.” Princess Celestia nodded and took a deep breath. Now was the time for the truth. “Have you heard of the human that my sister found in the sea several weeks ago?” Brilliant hummed and nodded. “I have. Strange business, that is. Made quite a stir, hasn’t it? For weeks it was the talk of the town. Who knew that life existed elsewhere, other than our world? Then again, many ponies over the many eons have asked themselves the same question, and every time it was answered, such as when the minotaurs came to Equestria long ago, and again by the zebra and diamond dogs. The world is full of surprises.” “It is. But there is more to the story, as I have no doubts you have heard; a magical construct followed Magnus the human to our world, a construct in the likeness of its maker, and what was truly special was that the construct was imbued with the memories of the maker.” “Oh? I didn’t know it was possible.” Celestia paused. “It shouldn’t be, but the maker had the determination and was wise enough to make it work, somehow. And he had the power to do so; the maker was Star Swirl the Bearded.” The knitting needles of Brilliant Star, which had been tapping against each other all throughout their conversation, suddenly halted, and Brilliant’s warm smile fell as she turned to Celestia, obviously confused. “I… I don’t understand, Celestia. What are you saying?” *** Brilliant Star’s magic glowed around the photo of Magnus, Princess Luna, and the journalist. She held it seemingly steady, but Celestia’s sharp eyes caught the occasional flicker of her magic, usually a sign of distraction. The old mare’s eyes also squinted slightly as she stared at the photo, carefully examining the human-pony hybrid. After explaining to Brilliant all about Magnus and how the two were related by way of Star Swirl, the elderly mare still remained silent and had been so for quite a while. Celestia didn’t want to interrupt; she gave Brilliant Star the time she needed in order to process the information. Finally, Brilliant broke the silence. “A human, you say?” Brilliant asked, not looking away from the picture. “Yes, that is the name of his kind. Star Swirl’s construct told us much about them. They are the only sapient beings on their planet, unlike us ponies who have many others that we share our world with. Their world is very similar to ours, with one major exception; Star Swirl said it was nearly barren of magic, only enough to sustain life. There are no humans who can use magic.” Brilliant nodded absently, but never tore her gaze away from the photograph. “Long hair on his fetlocks—it runs in the family, at least amongst the stallions,” Brilliant observed. “My father had it as well. He believed we came from the Friesland region of the old unicorn kingdom. At least all those old stories say so. But what of his kin? His human kin?” “Sadly, there are none left.” Magnus had revealed much of his closest family, but many he had never mentioned. “His grandfather raised him. His mother passed away, along with his father. His maternal grandmother passed before he was born, and he has never mentioned his paternal grandparents. We do not know what became of them.” “He has none left on his own world?” Brilliant murmured. “No.” Celestia shook her head. “You are his closest living relative. He has no one here, Brilliant. I know he feels separated from us, from ponykind, despite his connection to us. He is a stranger in a strange land. Our world is so different from his in great many ways. Even some things that are natural to us are alien to him. It has frightened him more than once. I believe he hides it well, but he fears Luna and me because we can raise the sun and the moon,” Celestia explained before continuing, “Luna and I hope that he can make a life for himself here amongst us. He has stayed in Ponyville for the last two weeks with Twilight Sparkle and her friends, simply to learn about us and get comfortable around ponies. There have been… issues, but I believe they can be solved with time and patience. All he needs is time to settle, to grow accustomed to us and our ways, but I also firmly believe he needs somepony who can act as his anchor to Equestria, somepony who can tell him where his second kin came from.” Brilliant didn’t smile, her face still covered in a layer of confusion caused by Celestia’s revelation. “Does he know about me?” “Yes. I revealed that he had distant relatives in Equestria and told him your name. I asked him if he wanted to meet you, but he dismissed my inquiry, saying that after all this time, any relation would be next to nothing.” Brilliant hummed. “What made him change his mind?” “That I cannot tell. In my experience, Magnus can be quite stubborn. To be perfectly honest, I thought he would dismiss the offer of meeting you. When he changed his mind, I was pleasantly surprised.” Celestia had told nopony but Luna, but his dismissive and outright demeaning way of referring to Star Swirl and his human mate had led her to believe that he would refuse this meeting. It didn’t take a genius to conclude that Magnus did not approve of relationships between different species, an archaic opinion in this modern age. “And what made you think I would meet this... colt?” Brilliant asked, eyeing Celestia suspiciously. In response, Celestia glanced over to the couches, where Cloudy Moon lay on the floor with a sheet of paper in front of him and with a crayon in his mouth, eagerly working on his next masterpiece. “Need I say more, my dear friend? You are a herdmother, herd-grandmother, and herd-great-grandmother. You are a family mare,” Celestia stated with a smile. Brilliant chuckled but nodded in approval. “Yes, I think you have me there, hmhm. It would be interesting to meet this odd fellow and to hear him speak of his world and his human kin.” Brilliant put the photo down on the tea table and picked up her yarn and needles, idly working on the scarf. “Tell me about him. What is he like?” Celestia paused to think back to the conversations she had had with Magnus and the impression he had left. What was Magnus really like? She had yet to see him relaxed and comfortable, as if he had lived in Equestria for years. So far, all interactions and conversations with him had been as a new creature to Equestria. Hopefully, that would change in time and she would get to know him better. “Well, as I said, he can be stubborn, but he is also surprisingly accepting of the changes he has undergone recently, aside from being separated by his closest friends. They were like brothers and sisters to him, you see. As one can imagine, he was also very close to his grandfather. When Luna and I told him that he could not return home, it nearly broke his spirit.” Brilliant shook her head. “The poor colt.” “He is also very fond of life outdoors, such as camping and fishing. I believe he told me that it stems from his mother and grandfather; both of them were also fond of the wilds. He also has a deep fascination with magic; I think it stems from lacking it since childhood. He has learned levitation and how to focus his rather meagre amounts of magic mostly on his own within days of coming to Equestria,” Celestia explained. Brilliant turned to Celestia, a spark of interest ignited in her. “Oh? All on his own?” While such focus came naturally to unicorns at a very young age, it was nearly unheard of that other creatures could do the same. Celestia nodded. “It was quite fun to watch him learn a spell by trial and error. Luna and I offered a few helpful hints along the way, but he did all the work. He was so excited when he managed to make the tiniest stone levitate for just a few seconds, he almost acted like a colt who received his cutie mark,” Celestia finished with a giggle. Brilliant joined in as well. “Little fillies and colts will always be the same, no matter where they come from,” she said. “He has also begun looking for a job and a place to live. I thought he would like Ponyville, but there seems to be a lack of jobs there.” “Well, it seems that even though that sleepy town got its own princess, a city haven’t sprung up around her yet,” Brilliant commented. “Give it some time,” Celestia commented with a small grin. “Magnus mentioned that he plans to live in Canterlot, as he believes he can find a job there, and no doubt he can find a place to live too. For now, he is welcome to live in the castle for as long as he likes.” “Good, good, the colt needs a safe place to live.” Brilliant nodded in approval and picked up the photo again, her eyes gazing at the bipedal figure in the centre. A faint smile formed on her lips the longer she looked at him. By the union of unicorn and human, this odd, tall creature came to be. Brilliant had to suppress her urge to laugh; a few hundred years ago, this kind of offspring would be the shame of the family. Now, not in the slightest. But a thousand years ago? Two thousand years? Three? This creature would be left in the forest to die as an infant. What made her urge to laugh grow stronger was the fact that this Magnus character came from the most powerful unicorn ever produced by the Galaxy family, namely Star Swirl himself. Brilliant could imagine her self-important grandfather rotating in his grave a short walk away from the castle. Always such an old school noble, that one was. “I think it would be interesting to meet this colt, to see how far from the mother tree this sapling has grown, so to say,” Brilliant said after a long moment of silence. Celestia practically beamed at hearing the news. “Wonderful! I will make arrangements upon my return to Canterlot.” “Can we wait with setting a date? I would like to send letters to the children and grandchildren so that they can meet him as well,” Brilliant asked. “Of course. I believe Magnus would like to get acquainted with Canterlot in the meantime. Luna and I will take good care of him, as we promised Star Swirl.” With the matter settled, Brilliant Star refilled hers and Celestia’s teacups. An agreement had been made, and Celestia looked forward to see what would come of this meeting of very distant relatives. With both Brilliant Star and Magnus being quite friendly individuals and both valuing friends and family, she hoped that perhaps a bond could be forged. What that bond could be, only time would tell. “Gram-Gram! Look what I drew!” Cloudy Moon said excitedly as he galloped to his great-grandmother with a paper hooked onto the tiny claw extending from one of his wings. Brilliant accepted it and took a gander. “Aww, what a good artist you are,” Brilliant commented, smothering Cloudy with a shower of nuzzles. “Look, Celestia. He drew us.” Celestia levitated over the drawing and smiled. While Cloudy’s masterpiece might not make the Canterlot Museum of Art, stick ponies drawn with the correct-coloured crayons was still highly valued by great-grandmothers of colts, and to Celestia herself of course. Cloudy Moon, however, the target of vicious great-grandmotherly love, objected. “No, not in front of strangers!” Sadly for Cloudy, the nuzzling assault continued as he struggled to get away from his great-grandmother's magical grip. Then he suddenly stopped attempting to escape the love attack as his eyes saw something else. “Who is that?” he asked. “Who?” Brilliant asked. Cloudy pointed to the photo still held in Brilliant’s magical grasp. “That one, between the princess and the other pony, the funny-looking one. It looks weird.” “Oh, he does look a bit strange. But do you know who that is?” Brilliant asked, pulling Cloudy up onto her lap. “That,” Brilliant gave Cloudy a final nuzzle, “is a long lost family member.”