So, where were we in the story of… Icarus? It was either the story of Icarus, or the story of Behemoth… Ehhh, they both end somewhat similarly…
Did we reach ‘the burning’ before the story ended last time? ...I’m going to guess by your curious expression that that is a no…
Wait! I remember now!
…
So, the next several days pass without incident. The old man, I find out, is a genius, and I don’t use the term lightly. This guy was someone who Hephaestus looked up to for his inginuity.
“Who’s Hephaestus?” I ask the foal, while looking at it with a confused ex- “...Riiight, forgot about that.
“Alright, Hephaestus was a big guy who could literally create anything he set his mind to. Hephaestus looked up to my friend’s old man because he created hundreds of inventions that Hephaestus didn’t even think about creating.
“Anyways, my friend’s old man was a genius, in fact his plans for escape with his son might have actually succeeded even without my help.”
The foal looks a bit startled, given how I’ve built this situation in the story up to be very bad I suppose I could understand. “I suppose I should explain. The first thing you should understand is that everything- and I do mean everything has magic. The grass I’m walking on has magic, the rain coming down from the clouds has magic, hell even the dirt has magic. There are only like, five exceptions to that rule, but we’re not talking about those and we probably never will.”
The foal looks curious, and I knew I had to nip this in the bud now. “The only thing you need to know about magicless beings is that: if you come across something that doesn’t have magic you get the fuck out of there.” I tell the foal with pointed gestures with my striped hooves to get my point across, “I do not care if the damn thing is sucking the magic out of me, if you do not run, I will personally drag your flank out of the void and beat the stupid out of your ethereal fur.
“Do you understand me!?” I ask the wide eyed spirit, and it vigorously nods its head in confirmation.
“...Good, moving on.
“The second thing you need to understand is that having magic and utilizing magic are two totally different things. Most of the time mortals can’t use magic by themselves, they need a higher power to help utilize the magic they have. This does not apply to races that have evolved to utilize magic naturally such as unicorns and pegasi.
“Anyways, I’m getting off topic. I suppose an example of having magic versus using magic would be building a clock. The gears, the minute hand, the hour hand, and the wood frame all have magic but the clock doesn’t use the magic stored in its various parts, it simply tells the time. The magic it has doesn’t affect the world around it, it’s just there.
“Now here’s the thing about my friend’s old man, his mind was so… advanced… that he could mix magic and science. His inventions didn’t just use magic parts, his inventions utilized the magic in them to influence the world.”
The foal has a blank look on its translucent face, and I have a feeling that I have lost its interest… “Too much to understand? Alright, I suppose a simpler way of saying it would be…
“Daedalus, a completely mortal individual, my friend’s old man, was able to enchant items without a medium. A feat that I thought was completely impossible.”
‘Okay, seriously,’ I think as the foal nods its head in understanding, ‘How the fuck did you understand that, but not my explanation?’
“What does this lesson and geekout have to do with the story?”
I stop and blink, going over everything that happened because of Daedalus’s ability, and once again floored by just how much could be laid at his feet.
“...Quite a bit actually.”
…
So a couple of days go by and I continue to bring Icarus and his old man more feathers laced with magic. It is during one of those days that I noticed that the maze their tower was located in was… different.
It was the day that I got my first taste of just how small I was, even when serving my goddess! I later learned that the maze was called the Labyrinth, and even eons later scholars could not even begin to comprehend just how the Labyrinth worked the way it did.
Most could not even comprehend one of the simplest facts about the Labyrinth - the fact that the Labyrinth was alive. The maze utilized the magic it had to such a degree that it could shift and change according to its desire, and believe me, it had feelings, and gods have mercy on your soul if you pissed it off. One of the most amazing things I discovered about the Labyrinth was that it could literally take anyone anywhere, as long as the maze knew about it. Of course most individuals learned quickly that they shouldn’t piss off the maze that could send them to the planet Pluto…
I’m getting off track again aren’t I? The point of note is that the maze liked me enough that it didn’t imped my efforts to help its creator. Why would it? I wasn’t in league with the king that shackled it to his land…
Then again… most magical constructs don’t need a reason to make your life that much more annoying, so I suppose I could count myself lucky in that respect.
Anyway, I dropped off the feathers I collected that day, and I watched as Daedalus weaved a pair of bronze wings. Most inventions similar to the wingpacks made later in the century would not come even close to being flight capable, but Daedalus used feathers I brought from various birds in the area to create the necessary magical effect. Daedalus literally built something that gave his son and himself the ability to fly like a bird!
Staying around as Daedalus wove the magic and metal to his liking was similar to listening to a symphony that I have never heard replicated by a lesser being.
Of course, no plan survives contact with the enemy. The day I noticed that the Labyrinth was alive, the king broke down the doors to the family’s room.
…
“They took Icarus,” I whisper, remembering the final days I was with the father and son duo. “The kid put up a fight, the stupid idealistic fool thinking that he could overpower the guards and king by himself. I hid myself beneath the workbench trying to keep anyone from knowing about me.” I could feel myself shaking as the memory played through my mind. “The stupid boy kept screaming, and screaming, and-” I force myself to take a deep breath, and go through the nightmare that happened after that night.
“Daedalus… Daedalus was almost broken that night. Listening to his son scream himself hoarse. In the end, the king and his men threw Icarus back into their prison. Only after Daedalus made sure his son was still breathing was when I realized my mistake.”
I gave the translucent foal a bitter smile, “You see, when my mistress told me that I could not allow anyone to know that I was there… She meant it, and… well, Daedalus was a Genius, with a capital G… I failed my mission to help the duo, because the very next moment, Daedalus admitted that he knew that I was a servant of the gods…”
I couldn’t bring myself to continue with the truth about what happened with me, so I came to a decision, Icarus and Daedalus would only be a story. History is written by the victors, and as the only survivor of that time, I can write the story as I see fit.
“It didn’t matter in the end that I failed my mistress, because I had given Icarus and Daedalus everything they needed to escape their prison.” I slipped on a metaphorical mask that conveyed a smug attitude to the translucent foal. “Do you know what happened to Icarus and Daedalus?”
The foal leaned towards me and I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face as I lean towards her, “Daedalus completed the inventions, and both of them flew off into the sunset,” I whispered to the foal, and I was treated to the sight of the filly’s mouth dropping open as I gestured with my striped hooves to emphasize just how far the small family flew. “They flew across the ocean and reached a new land that welcomed them with open arms…” I booped the filly’s nose with a white hoof, I could feel that my body changed once more as I could feel the wings at my side. The filly’s nose scrunched up, and my right wing darted forward to grab the girl before she could move away. I pressed the spectral foal to my side, ignoring the chill that went down my spine, and looked at her with a soft smile on my face, “Icarus and Daedalus won their freedom.”
The foal looked up at me with wide eyes, “I suppose if there is one thing that you should take away from this story, other than the lessons, it is that while things might not always work out for the best, there are still happy endings… You just need to fight for them.”
The rain starts to let up as if it was waiting for me to finish the story before leaving. The foal is looking at me as if she believes I hang the stars in the night sky.
All of these things can’t help the jaw cracking yawn that escapes my mouth a second later. Glancing down at the filly I can see it trying to hold back a-
…
“Did you just giggle?” I ask the filly with narrowed eyes. The filly is trying to hold back her laughter an-
“You did giggle!” I exclaim, and the foal just starts laughing! It takes me a moment to process what is happening before promptly shoving thoughts about this development into a mental box clearly labeled, ‘stuff to deal with later.’
Shaking my head in exasperation, I walk over to a convenient tree and lie down on the grass beneath it.
“Whatever, I’ll deal with you silly filly in the morning,” I tell the filly still tucked securely under my wing. “Sweet dreams, sleep tight, and don’t let the bedbugs bite, Little One.”
I wake up after some time has passed. I feel refreshed, but the immediate thing that grabs my attention is the absence of a certain chill in my side.
Lifting my right wing I look down and see…
See…
‘Oh gods…’ I can feel myself pale as I look down at the flesh and blood filly that is pressed up against my side. The blue coated filly scrunches her nose in a very familiar way before letting out a squeaky yawn. The filly’s tiny horn on its head and wings pressed against its sides leave a cold feeling settling in the pit of my stomach.
The filly looks at me as if asking why I moved her makeshift blanket…
I don’t know when I open my mouth, but, “Nyx, your name is now Nyx.”
‘Now… How do I take care of a flesh and blood filly?’