//------------------------------// // Aftermath // Story: Northern Venture // by Chengar Qordath //------------------------------// The immediate aftermath of the battle consisted of me lying on a cot while the Machwing medics and Celestia looked me over. After a couple hours they came to pretty much the same conclusion I’d had within the first five minutes: I was really beaten up, but I’d survive. Not that I could blame them for wanting to check and make sure. It would really suck to make it all the way through a fight with Blackfyre only to keel over a day later because I had internal bleeding and didn’t bother to get it fixed. Once I’d been given a tentatively clean-ish bill of health, I went over to the other pony the medics had been working on. It seemed proper to at least quickly look in on Starlight considering I was the reason she was getting a bunch of stitches in her back, not to mention get some idea of how they were going to deal with her. When I got to the tent, I wasn’t exactly shocked by the guards outside it or by the fact that she was chained to the bed with a suppression ring on her horn. It’s almost like we didn’t trust her after everything she’d done. What did surprise me was that Argentium was there in her shrunk-down form, examining Starlight’s back. I guess it shouldn’t have been a huge surprise seeing as those runes would be a huge factor in deciding exactly what we would end up doing to her. The dragon gave me another one of her fangless smiles when I came in. “Sunset, the North owes you a debt I cannot begin to imagine how I will repay. Thank you.” I wasn’t sure what to say to that, so I kind of stood there in awkward silence. I mean, what do you say to an ancient, powerful, and fabulously wealthy dragon declaring they’re in your debt? I wound up settling on something really lame and trite. “Um, you’re welcome. I was just trying to do the right thing.” I cleared my throat, and tried to get my mind back on track. “Forgive me, but I actually wanted to speak to you about Starlight Glimmer.” “Yay,” Starlight groused, “I get to find out how I’ll be executed.” Argentium ignored that remark, regarding me with a raised eyebrow. “I see. We’ve yet to decide her fate. Naturally, your opinion would carry considerable weight.” “Right.” I took a deep breath. “I’d say execution would be a bit too much. She wasn’t a saint before Blackfyre got his claws into her, but she wasn’t a monster either. And I’m sure you can tell from those runes that she wasn’t exactly in control of her own actions.” “She was under considerable duress,” Argentium agreed, “but she was no puppet. She willingly pledged herself to Blackfyre and chose to obey him rather than suffer the consequences of his displeasure.” Starlight felt the need to speak up. “It’s not like I wanted any of this to happen! You do realize that when he recruited me, it was pretty much ‘Serve me or die.’” “Then perhaps you should have died,” Argentium snapped. “How many have perished because you put your own self-preservation above the greater good?” “You make it sound like Blackfyre wouldn’t have gone on a massive war and murder spree without me,” Starlight grumbled. “I was just a useful pawn to him. If not me, he would’ve grabbed someone else to do his dirty work. And I’m the one who talked him out of stuff like massacring the entire refugee convoy to ‘send a message.’ I even tried to warn everyone in Coldharbor before Blackfyre showed up, at least as much as I could with those runes in my back. If you think about it, I saved lives.” “Starlight, shut up before you manage to talk yourself into an execution,” I growled under my breath. I suppose I should’ve known she’d start trying to rationalize and reframe all her actions to make herself look less horrible, but now was not the time to do it. Argentium cocked her head to the side. “I take it by that remark that you don’t think she should die, then?” “Yeah.” I took a deep breath and tried to decide on the best way to explain it. “I know she’s not innocent in all this, but I don’t think she’s completely guilty either. She did some horrible things, but all of it was under constant threat of death and torture. And her past ... yeah, she has a criminal record, but it was for stupid stunts like robbing a bank and giving the money to the poor, not this. It seems like some level of clemency is warranted.” “I see.” Argentium settled back on her haunches. “So what would you propose?” “Maybe something like probation and a suspended sentence?” I suggested. “There’s going to be a lot of rebuilding to do, and I’m sure Starlight could help with that. That’d give plenty of time to keep an eye on her and see how she’s doing. If it looks like she’s learned her lesson, maybe she can get released once all the work is done. If she backslides, we can always just activate the suspended sentence.” Argentium frowned, scratching her chin. “A few of the changes Blackfyre has wrought upon her were not undone by Chainbreaker. Most notably, she still retains the power to sense his spawn. Many of them are already dead from the battles and more will likely follow in the coming days, but hunting down the last of them could be a long and difficult process. One made easier if we had a pony who could detect their lairs at a distance.” Starlight’s eyes lit up in desperate hope. “Yeah, I can do that. And when I worked on the commune I learned some stuff about construction and farming...” “It seems we are agreed, then,” Argentium murmured. “She will serve Northmarch as penance until such time as her debt is repaid, or she shows herself unworthy of the trust we have offered her.” She frowned at me. “Though as I recall, Freeport also has an interest in her for theft and murder. Will you want her extradited once I finish with her?” I thought about it for a bit. “That’s ultimately going to be the Council’s call, but I think they’ll be a lot happier if they just never have to deal with her again.” That was certainly how I felt about Starlight Glimmer. Especially since if she did come back, odds were that someone in Freeport’s seedy underbelly would decide that a unicorn with lots of magic and a poor moral compass would be useful. “I imagine we’ll at least keep that suspended sentence in our pocket, just in case she does come back or cause more trouble.” Starlight’s eyes shot open. “So wait, you’re saying that I’m basically exiled from Freeport?! You’ll toss me in jail if I ever come back?!” I shrugged. “Not necessarily, but I think the Council would like to keep that option open.” That would certainly be what I would suggest to them, and like Argentium said, my suggestions carried a lot of weight right now. I hoped Starlight could use this second chance to sort herself out and stop making horrible mistakes that hurt herself and everyone around her, but I wanted a backup plan after everything that had happened in the last… Celestia, had all this really happened in just a couple weeks? The only potential complication was if they needed someone to publicly take down for the theft, but even if that was the case they’d probably be satisfied with me dealing with Blackfyre. It wouldn’t be hard to cobble together a story about how he was the one behind the theft and the Council had sent me to deal with him. Starlight slumped down on the cot, her chains rattling. “Okay, I guess I get it. I bet once I finish up all this community service I probably won’t be all that welcome in the North either.” Argentium frowned at her. “Assuming we reach that point, I would prefer if you settled elsewhere once your debts are paid.” “Great.” She sighed and tried to run a hoof down her face, but couldn’t quite pull it off. “I guess there’s no point in saying I’m sorry for all of ... everything.” “We are well past the point where a mere apology can mend anything,” Argentium rumbled. “Though the sentiment is appreciated, if it is genuine.” I added in my own two ducats. “Don’t be sorry—be better.” I frowned and pointedly put a hoof on Chainbreaker’s hilt. “Because if you screw this up, I won’t be telling anyone you deserve another chance. I’d like to see you turn your life around and do something good with all your power, but if I have to fight you a third time I won’t be disabling your horn or slicing the control runes off your back. We clear?” Starlight grimaced. “Crystal.” Despite getting a tentative clean bill of health from the medics in Machwing Company, I still spent a few days in the hospital once we got to Canterlot. I guess there’s a big difference between a field medic saying I probably wouldn’t immediately keel over and getting properly fixed up. The Machwing medics probably hadn’t even worried about anything past whether I was in good enough shape to actually get to a hospital and making sure it was safe for me to walk around on my own. The hospital stay took up most of a week. On top of the latest round of injuries from my fight with Blackfyre, they wanted to re-check everything from all the previous fights. Considering I had a worryingly long list of major injuries including brain damage and a full-on amputation, I couldn’t exactly fault them for wanting to be thorough. They eventually let me go with several fresh bandages and a new prosthetic. I was supposed to come back in a bit to get a more permanent one made and start physical therapy. Not to mention they’d scheduled me for psychological therapy too, just in case I was traumatized. I wasn’t exactly looking forward to that, but I guess that was just going to be part of my life from now on. I’d deal with it. Somehow. Once I was out, I headed back to the palace and my old tower. Celestia already told me I could stay there for as long as I wanted. I’m sure part of her hoped I would end up moving back in permanently. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted to spend a while just relaxing and decompressing after ... everything. The old tower was pretty much exactly like I remembered, with the only thing out of place being Chainbreaker resting in a nice freshly installed sword rack. Unsurprisingly, the hospital hadn’t wanted me carrying a sword around while I was a patient. As I started settling in, I couldn’t help but feel like something was out of place. I took a quick look around, trying to figure out what it might be. I didn’t exactly remember every last detail of how my old room looked, but it wasn’t quite what I remembered. Then again, maybe it wasn’t the room that had changed. Maybe I was the one who was out of place here. One hay of a lot had changed since I’d run off a couple years ago. I pulled out one of my old notebooks, idly flipping through the pages. I recognized my own writing, but some of the comments were ... I dunno. It was weird. I mean, it was almost like looking at a stranger’s words, even though they were mine from just three years ago. I frowned and shook my head. No point dwelling on the past, I had more than enough to deal with in the present and future. For starters, a new prosthetic. The doctors just wanted to fit me with something standard and traditional, and that wouldn’t work. Those might not be all that great for an active lifestyle, not to mention I had a few resources available that would be just a bit out of reach for the average pony. I pulled out one of my old quills and some parchment, then got to work sketching out a few concepts. Kukri staggered in through the front door, carrying a trunk that was nearly as big as she was. I took the baggage off of her with a quick spell and set it to the side. Kukri let out a relieved sigh, wiping some sweat out of her eyes. “Thank you. This one wanted to get everything you would need for the stay. Can this one get you anything else, Shimmer-mare? Are you hungry? Thirsty? Did you need any books? What about—” “I’m fine,” I assured her, “just thinking.” I sketched out a couple ideas, but none of them seemed all that great. After all, the standard design for a prosthetic leg didn’t have any obvious room for improvement. Probably because doctors and engineers had already spent years working on how to make the best replacement limbs. I might be smart, but I wasn’t going to outthink trained professionals in their chosen field of study. If I wanted to improve on the design, I needed to get a bit more outside the box. An idea was just starting to come together in my head when someone knocked on the door. I had a pretty good idea who it was, considering the subtle aura of power I could feel from the other side of the door. “Come on in, Celestia.” The supreme ruler of Equestria stepped through the front door, smiling at me. “Hello Sunset, Kukri. I hope this isn’t a bad time for a visit.” I smiled back, setting the work aside. “Not at all. I was expecting you to come by.” Kukri smiled nervously up at her. “Hi! Again! Hi, um, come on in?” She shuffled over a bit closer to me. “Um, this should be fine. Now that we’re out of the hospital there aren’t any sort of visiting hours or anything, so you can come whenever you want and stay as long as you like. Especially since this is your castle, after all. Though this one supposes that if you had wanted to visit the Shimmer-mare outside of normal visiting hours at the hospital nobody would tell you that you couldn’t...” “Being a reigning monarch does come with a few perks,” Celestia agreed, stepping over and wrapping a wing around me. “I imagine you’re quite happy to be out of the hospital.” “You have no idea.” I sighed and hugged her back with my good leg. “I know I needed the stay, but by the end of it I was getting a bit stir-crazy. Hope you don’t mind if I use my old room while we’re in Canterlot.” “Not at all.” She gave me another squeeze. “In fact, when I sent out that job offer a few months ago I asked the staff to come in and freshen the place up a bit just in case you wanted to stay here. It’s ... good to have you back, though I wish the circumstances were better.” “Yeah, same here.” I shrugged. “You know, for it being my old hometown I didn’t really have many places to go. I know Puzzle’s staying with Strumming, but otherwise ... I mean, it was here or the Shimmer Estate, and I haven’t been back there in even longer. Not to mention it’s empty right now.” “Ah. Yes.” Celestia sighed. “I tried to get word to Solar, but I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how hard it can be to get in touch with him while he’s in the field. As for Scarlett ... I cannot disagree when she says that the situation in Northmarch is still very delicate, and we need an Equestrian Archmagus on the ground. Blackfyre might be defeated, but that doesn’t undo all the damage he caused or the refugee crisis in Coldharbor. I’m sure we’ll be dealing with new blightspawn nests for years to come as well.” I sighed and nodded. “Yeah, I know. There’s a ton of really important work to do up north. If not for everything I’ve gone through I’d still be up there helping out. It’s just...” I shook my head. “Never mind. I’ve got plenty of stuff to deal with too.” Celestia gently put a hoof on my shoulder. “I could always recall her to Canterlot if you want.” She hesitated for a moment. “I’m sure you know I’ve always wanted the two of you to be on better terms. It’s no small part of why I hesitated to take as active of a role in your life as I should have. As much as you needed a mother and I wished to be one...” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “But nothing good will come of dwelling on past mistakes we have already learned from.” “Yeah, I know what you mean.” I grimaced. “But that’s kinda the problem, isn’t it? We’ve both tried to learn and grow, but I’m not sure she has.” “Perhaps not yet,” Celestia agreed. “But there is always the potential for it, and she has been through a great deal these last few weeks. I know she wasn’t the mother you deserved, but just like Starlight Glimmer deserved the chance to atone for her own crimes, I think Scarlett should also have the chance to make amends.” “I’m fine with giving her a chance,” I answered, “but it’s on her to actually follow through and do something with it. I’m not going to go out of my way to reach out to a pony who spent years ignoring and neglecting me. And if you have to order her to do it, it doesn’t really count.” I sighed and ran my good hoof through my mane. “Plus ... I mean, there is a lot of really important stuff going on in Northmarch right now. It’s ... I don’t know. I guess it just depends on what she does next. If it’s nothing, I’m fine with that. If she does something ... I guess we’ll see.” Kukri latched onto my remaining foreleg. “Right. And in any case, the Shimmer-mare already has a real family.” Her eyes flicked over to Celestia. “Um, that is, this one meant the White Pony. Not that it wouldn’t like to see itself as...” “I know.” I gave her a quick hug, though she winced when my prosthetic brushed against her back. “Anyway, I've got plenty to deal with right now without adding Scarlett and Solar to the mix. The good news is that I had a lot of time to think while I was in the hospital, and I think I have one or two solutions coming together.” “Oh really?” Celestia looked quite intrigued. “What sort of solutions? Or perhaps I should take a step back and ask what problem it is you plan to address.” I reached down and tapped my prosthetic. “This is a bit basic, don’t you think?” “I believe the doctors were planning to get you something a bit more permanent.” She glanced over my shoulder, spotting the papers on my desk. “Assuming you didn’t have something entirely different in mind.” I shrugged. “If I’m using it for the rest of my life, I might as well make the best I can manage. Not that I doubt what your doctors would come up with, but I’ve got a few options that they probably couldn’t pull off.” “Alpha-Plus unicorns do have a few advantages,” Celestia conceded. Kukri’s eyes flicked over my missing leg. “But you’re sure you can’t fix it, right? This one doesn’t understand why. If Blackfyre could do it, surely you could too.” I grimaced and shook my head. “I think I’m fine with not trying to figure out all the ugly secrets to Blackfyre’s fleshcrafting.” Maybe there was some sort of legitimate medical use for some of his techniques, but after seeing how gleefully and horrifyingly Blackfyre had abused them I wasn’t eager to see anyone try building on his work. “And I am sure Sunset is more than capable of coming up with a truly impressive prosthetic,” Celestia agreed. “Especially since Argentium and I would be more than happy to help with that. I daresay money isn’t going to be an issue either.” That remark was intriguing enough to make me curious. “What do you mean?” Celestia chuckled softly. “Ah, I suppose nobody would have mentioned it to you yet. We’ve discovered where Blackfyre hid his hoard. Naturally, there was a great deal of curiosity about where all his treasure was after he was slain. The exact percentages for how we’ll split it up haven’t been entirely settled on, but everyone agrees that since you led us to his lair, conducted most of the fight with him on your own, and struck the killing blow, you’re entitled to a large portion. “Oh.” After everything that had happened, money had just about the last thing on my mind, but I guess I should have seen that coming. All the stories said that dragons were supposed to be fabulously wealthy, and whoever killed them got to keep that treasure for themselves. Not that I cared about that kind of thing. I mean, I did care about money in terms of being able to pay bills and buy things I needed, and a couple little luxuries that I didn’t strictly need, but I didn’t care about being fabulously, extravagantly wealthy. “I guess just use my share to help all the people in Coldharbor and everywhere else. Blackfyre did a lot of damage, and I’m sure there are a lot of people who need help.” Kukri stared up at me, her jaw hanging open. “That’s ... you’re giving away an entire dragon’s ... that’s ... wow. That’s really kind of you, Shimmer-mare!” “It is,” Celestia agreed with a faint smile. “Though I think you underestimate both the generosity of others and how large your share of Blackfyre’s hoard is. Argentium and I both intend to donate to the relief efforts as well, and by our estimates there should still be a substantial sum left behind once all expenses are met.” “Oh.” I guess I should’ve known Celestia and Argentium would be doing the same thing. Still ... “So, um, how much treasure does he have?” Celestia chuckled softly. “There’s only a rough estimate for exactly how much the total hoard is worth, but suffice to say that after accounting for it being divided up between the relevant parties and all the relief aid to Northmarch, you're still going to be quite rich.” I swallowed. “How rich?” “I believe you got some measure of Argentium’s wealth?” Celestia smiled. “Blackfyre hasn’t been particularly active over the last thousand years, but back when he was younger he was quite the scourge on the land and gathered an immense horde. While we did take a portion of his hoard in the last war he still had quite the fortune, and quite a bit of it is considerably more valuable now that it’s been perfectly preserved for over a thousand years.” Her smile turned a bit wry. “Though I fear the antique coin market might be in danger of collapsing on account of the incoming flood of new coinage dating back to the Crystal empire. And the gold and gem speculators are also a bit nervous...” While Kukri’s jaw hit the floor, I tried to keep my cool. “Okay. Enough money to actually shake up the market. That’s ... well ... um...” My eyes flicked over the rough sketches I’d hammered out for my new prosthetic. “Okay, so I guess I don’t need to worry about material costs anymore. Hay, his hoard probably has a lot of what I’d need anyway.” “He certainly has no shortage of precious metals and high-quality gemstones,” Celestia agreed. “I would say that as long as you wisely invest your new fortune money won’t be a problem for you ever again, but I know you have some rather ambitious plans.” “Like creating my own magic academy in Freeport.” An academy I’d been spending months trying to find the startup money for. “So would Blackfyre’s hoard be enough to...” “Easily,” Celestia answered with a smile. “At least, as long as you don’t plan on immediately making something ten times larger and twenty times grander than my own school.” “Right.” I wouldn’t deny that I liked the idea of eventually eclipsing her school, but I didn’t think I was likely to do it by that much. Especially not at first. “I was planning to start it off pretty small anyway, just to build up infrastructure and reputation, not to mention iron out all the kinks. Even with the funding taken care of, I can’t make the whole thing spring up overnight.” “Building a school takes considerable time and effort,” Celestia agreed. “And while I’m sure you’ll want to handle it all on your own, if you ever need any help...” She smiled and gently put a hoof on my back. “Not to mention you could always build your school in Equestria. It would give us quite a few options for exchanging students and faculty, coordinating plans...” I smiled and slowly shook my head. “Thanks for the offer, but Freeport is my home. Besides, I need to bring back Chainbreaker.” Celestia smiled, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Yes, I expected that would be your answer. Still, you cannot blame me for trying. And even if you want to set your academy up a few thousand miles away, I would still be happy to help in whatever way I can.” Kukri grinned and nudged me. “So the Shimmer-mare will be taking on new students? If nothing else, she'll have the cleanest school in all of Freeport.” She glanced over at Celestia, and I had a feeling I knew what she was about to do. “Out of curiosity, did you ever have the Shimmer-mare clean your lab when she was your student? She always tells this one that doing so is an important part of learning the magical arts, but this one remains unconvinced.” “I asked her to clean up after herself whenever she used anything of mine,” Celestia answered. “She was usually very careful about that.” Kukri frowned. “But she only had to clean up after herself? Not take care of the rest of the lab or your tower or anything else?” “No.” Before Kukri could follow that up, Celestia continued. “But then, I had a full castle staff to take care of things like cleaning up any messes. Sunset had her share of chores and lessons, they just took different forms. She did have a bad habit of trying to skip past all the basic foundation work and get straight into using the most advanced spells in the book.” “Usually because I knew what I was doing,” I countered with a faint grin. “Usually,” Celestia agreed, matching my smile. “But on the occasions when you were wrong, the results were quite ... memorable. I certainly don’t think anyone is likely to forget about the Broom Incident for at least another decade.” Kurki snickered. “Okay, anything that gets called an ‘Incident’ has to have a good story behind it. This one needs to hear it.” “No you don’t,” I grumbled. “Nobody needs to hear that story. Ever.” “That just makes this one want to hear it even more,” Kukri answered with an entirely too sassy grin. This is what I get for having an almost-teenage apprentice. Come to think of it, she was only a month away from being an actual teenager. Might need to do something for her birthday. Celestia chuckled. “Well, I do always say that it’s wise to learn from the mistakes from others. It’s much less painful than making them yourself.” She grinned and poked my side with a wingtip. “I did warn you about touching some of my personal magic items, didn’t I? And promised that I would teach you what they did later? But somepony just couldn’t wait to try her hoof, and was so certain she knew what she was doing. Who could have guessed that would end with a huge mess and a bunch of very grumpy castle staff?” “This one wants to hear everything!” Kukri whined. “Getting just a couple little details makes this one even more curious!” “Just remember I have material on both of you.” I smirked at Kukri. “I’m sure Celestia would love to hear all about what happened with the birdhouse.” Kukri’s eyes widened and she shrank down a bit. “But you promised you wouldn’t tell...” I shrugged. “Turnabout is fair play. If you want someone else to share my minorly embarrassing secrets, I’m going to share yours.” Celestia grinned, mischief twinkling in her eyes. “So you’re saying that after I share the story of the Broom Incident I’ll also get to hear all about something involving Kukri and a birdhouse? This sounds quite delightful.” “Maybe.” I moved in to secure my victory. “But of course I’d also have to tell her about a certain incident involving the Grand Galloping Gala and some pudding cake.” Celestia’s eyes shot open. “How did you...?” “Um.” I cleared my throat. “Just a quick heads up, but you might want to put a better locking spell on your personal diary.” Celestia frowned down at me, crossing her forelegs over her chest. “Sunset...” “I was thirteen and you told me not to do it!” I pointed out in my own defense. “Really, who could resist the chance to learn your deepest, darkest secrets?” “Evidently not you,” Celestia murmured. “Though I think I’ll have to remember to tell my next apprentice that it’s not my private diary, but just a very uninteresting collection of charts and records about utterly boring minutia. Clearly not even a millennia of experience is enough to keep out a nosy teenage genius. How did you even…?” I smirked. “Sorry, a magus never reveals her tricks.” Celestia’s frown deepened, thought it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I suppose I should have known that giving you tantalizing secrets behind an advanced locking spell would encourage you to practice ways to get past it.” “Honestly, for a while I wondered if it was one of those weird unconventional lessons of yours,” I answered. “Like how you hid cake on the top shelf so I would practice my levitation spells and get really good at fine control.” “That’s wasn’t—” Celestia let out a sigh that turned into a chuckle. “I guess I finally solved the mystery of who kept raiding my secret cake stash.” She shot a look my way that was just a touch too amused to really be annoyed. “Now I have a new reason to wish you would consider staying here to teach at my school. I clearly owe you a bit of retribution for all the things you somehow managed to get away with.” “Kukri, get us on the next ship out of here.” My apprentice blinked. “Um, this one—” “I was kidding,” I cut her off. Celestia chuckled. “I’m sure you realize that if I really wanted to I could stop you from leaving. Besides, I can’t imagine you’d want to leave before the rest of your business here is concluded.” She nodded at the rough sketch I’d been working on. “I imagine you’ll want to finish your new prosthetic before returning.” I sighed and nodded. “Yeah, might not be a bad idea.” Celestia would certainly have a ton of resources I’d have a hard time getting in Freeport, not the least of which was Celestia herself. Not to mention that showing up in Freeport without a good leg might go badly. The last thing I needed was for someone to think I was a weak cripple and try to steal all that new wealth I’d just come into. Kukri’s eyes flicked down to my missing leg. “Uh, right. This one would like to stay for that, and to get to see more of Equestria. It’s already very happy it had the chance to meet the White Pony, and it would like to finish up its genealogy research...” Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Genealogy?” “She’s trying to find out if I’m secretly related to Torch Charger,” I explained. “Ah.” Celestia looked between the two of us, then her eyes flicked over to Chainbreaker. “Well, I suppose it’s only natural to try and find a connection between the two of you.” Kukri stared up at her hopefully. “Wait, you were there! You met Torch once! You would know if they were related, wouldn’t you White Pony?” “Well, I can’t perfectly recall every single family tree over the course of hundreds of years.” Celestia took a seat. “Though from what I recall of Torch’s visit to my court ... well, he was a dashing young freedom fighter, the last survivor of his clan, and most of the ladies of the court seemed to approve of his looks. It’s certainly possible he had a liaison of some sort in his time here. As I recall one of Sunset’s ancestors did have a child about a year after his visit. She was married, and quite happily so, but I suppose it is possible—” Whatever she was about to say next got swallowed up by my apprentice’s delighted squeal. I groaned as Kukri started all but bouncing off the walls. “Why did you have to encourage her?” “Because young children and apprentices should always be encouraged to follow their dreams and believe in them,” Celestia answered with a playful grin. “Really, Sunset, I would have thought you would know that already.” I rolled my eyes. “It’s different when those dreams involve me.” I lowered my voice a bit. “And I’m probably going to have enough trouble from being set up as Torch’s heir without someone going around saying I’ve got his bloodline on top of his sword.” “True.” She frowned and gave me a quick once-over. “Of course, that’s not the only thing of his you have. I’m sure you remember that the medical tests said your own magic seems to have been altered to some degree.” “Yeah.” I sighed and shook my head. “They didn’t really have a lot of details about what happened, but I guess it’s not really a surprise considering ... everything that happened.” Kukri must’ve heard that, because she winced. “This one ... um, that is, this one thought that lose ... that what happ—” She paused and took a deep breath, and her voice shifted to something that tried to sound academic and detached. She still couldn’t hide the tremble in her words, though. “Major traumatic events have been known to substantially alter a unicorn’s natural magical aura, including spellcasting color, alteration of spell manifestation, and other phenomena.” “Right, that.” I glanced down at my plans for a new prosthetic. “At least the leg is something I can fix.” “Yes, it is.” Celestia wrapped one of her wings around me. “I want you to know that you are every bit the wonderful pony I made my apprentice all those years ago. Whatever has happened, that hasn't changed. I am incredibly proud of you and everything you’ve accomplished.” “Thanks.” I took a deep breath and leaned in a bit closer to her. “But ... well, I’m not gonna say it doesn’t help to hear that, but it’s not a magical cure-all. I just—it’s not like I regret the choices I made or think it was a bad call. I get that it’s probably for the best. I don’t need to follow the family tradition of latching onto an obsession that ruins my life. But still it’s not going to be easy to adjust to the fact that I’m never gonna be an alicorn.” “Yes you are,” Kukri immediately cut in. “It’s your destiny.” I suppose I should’ve known she wouldn’t take it well. “Destinies can change.” Kukri scowled and stubbornly planted her hooves. “You’re the wielder of Chainbreaker, the savior of Coldharbor, the Magus of Freeport, the slayer of Blackfyre, and a ton more past that. You’re going to make it. There’s no way you couldn’t.” Celestia sighed and shook her head. “I’m sorry, Kukri, but she won’t. Fate and destiny are not immutable absolutes. Quite the opposite, in fact.” I used my remaining foreleg to pull her in for a half-hug. “I had to give it up to beat Blackfyre.” Kukri shook her head. “It’s just a setback. You’ll get it eventually.” “No, I won’t.” I took a deep breath and tried to come up with the best way to explain it. “I had to make a choice about what really mattered to me. I thought about it a lot, and I decided that ascension wasn’t something I needed. No, more than that—chasing after it would make me lose sight of more important things.” “But ... that’s not...” Kukri latched onto me, sniffling as she buried her face into my chest. “That’s not fair! After everything you did...” “Life isn’t always fair.” I sighed and gently rubbed her back. “But it’s always worth living. Like I said, I made a choice. It wasn’t an easy one, but I’m pretty sure it was the right one.” “How can that be right?” Kukri whimpered. “You shouldn’t have to choose between getting what you deserve and...” “But I did.” I gave her another reassuring squeeze. Celestia shifted her wing to cover both of us. “Many ponies have achieved great things without ever ascending. Starswirl, Shadow, Sunbeam, Ushabti, Torch ... and now Sunset. You marched into Blackfyre’s lair and brought about his ruin. Even I wouldn’t have dared to try that unless I had exhausted every other option.” “That’s true...” Kukri rubbed her eyes against my chest, then pulled back a bit. “You didn't need to be an alicorn to beat Metal Mome, or the Glimmer-mare, or save this one from the Proto-Mind. You’ve—” She sniffled one last time, trying to quickly wipe it away before I could see. “You’ve done so much for this one, and for all of Freeport. And you did all those amazing things without being an alicorn.” “I’ve got things more important than wings to worry about,” I agreed. “Especially since if the fight with Blackfyre is anything to go by, I can do just fine without them.” “Indeed.” Celestia smiled down approvingly. “You’ve accomplished amazing things, and I am quite impressed and very proud. While you might not be an alicorn, you do have a unique connection to Torch and Ushabti thanks to Chainbreaker.” Kukri grinned. “Well yeah, she has their sword, and she’s Torch’s heir.” She cleared her throat. “Um, this one still thinks you should change your name. After all, now we have proof that you’re a direct descendant from Torch. And ... well there’s not really any reason to keep your old name considering all the—” “I’ll think about it,” I muttered, mostly just so I wouldn’t have to debate it with her. I was pretty sure that only Kukri would think ‘Sunset’s happily married ancestor had a kid a year after Torch was in the same city’ was ironclad proof that I was descended from him. “Ah.” Celestia looked me over. “I think perhaps there are a few more things to cover. I could try to explain it all, but I think perhaps it would be faster and more effective to show you.” She conjured up a pair of blindfolds. “If the two of you wouldn’t mind putting these on, this should only take a minute.” I groaned and rolled my eyes. “Really? Blindfolds?” “It’s a necessary part of the demonstration,” Celestia explained. “If you could see everything this wouldn’t work.” “Uh-huh.” I frowned at her. “You know, you could just admit that it’s because you’ll enjoy springing a big surprise on me.” “A happy coincidence,” Celestia shot back with an impish grin. “Nothing more. It really wouldn’t work as well if you could see what’s going on.” Kukri hesitantly raised a hoof. “So why does this one need to wear a blindfold too?” Celestia frowned, then chuckled and shook her head. “Oh very well, it’s because you might spoil the surprise for Sunset. It’s been a very stressful few weeks for all of us, and I was hoping you would all stay here for much longer. Let me have my fun.” When she put it like that... “Okay, okay.” I used my magic to lift the blindfold into place. Once my eyes were covered up I realized she’d woven a bit of extra magic into it, shutting down any scrying or detection spells I might have tried. “No spoilers,” she whispered into my ear. I felt her work a few more spells, though with my eyes covered and my magical senses dampened I couldn’t tell what they were. That probably should’ve bugged me a lot more than it did, but I trusted her. I felt the entire world shift around me, and I didn’t need my eyes or my horn to recognize a teleportation spell. Just because I couldn’t see didn’t mean I wasn’t paying attention to the rest of my senses to try and work out where we were. It was a bit chillier than my room in the tower, and I felt a breeze. So we were somewhere outside. No obvious smells or sounds to give away that she’d taken us the gardens or somewhere else in Canterlot. And the ground... The ground felt really weird. Kinda spongy and ... well not exactly damp, but it kind of reminded me of how Freeport’s streets would feel after several really humid days. I felt around with my hooves a bit more, trying to get the lay of the land, but I didn’t get much. Everything was just the same sort of soft, spongy, damp-ish ground. Celestia spoke up, and I could hear the amusement in her voice. “Do you want to take your blindfold off, or would you rather spend a few minutes trying to solve the mystery?” I was tempted to make some appropriately snappy comeback, but I couldn’t think of any. After a couple seconds of awkward silence, I just gave up and pulled off the blindfold. I was ... on a cloud. I was standing on a cloud, along with Celestia. Kukri had already taken off her own blindfold, and was staring at me from her perch atop Celestia’s back. “Shimmer-mare, you’re—how are you?” I sighed and shook my head. “It’s just a cloud walking spell, don’t get too excited.” “Is it now?” Celestia asked with a faint smile. “I don’t recall casting one of those on you.” “What?” I threw out a quick analysis spell, and sure enough there wasn’t one of me. Kukri had a cloudwalking spell—which I wasn’t even sure she needed—but I didn’t have one. Which begged the question... “If you didn’t put a cloud-walking spell on me, then how am I standing on the clouds? Shouldn’t I just drop straight through them?” “You would,” Celestia confirmed. “If you didn’t have pegasus magic.” She chuckled softly. “I have a minor confession to make: I know the doctors were a bit confused and concerned about the changes to your magical aura. This little experiment confirmed my own theory as to what happened.” She winked at me. “Though I suppose I can’t fault them for not recognizing that there are now traces of Torch and Ushabti’s magic mingling with your own. I am one of the only living ponies to have ever met them.” Kukri flitted off Celestia’s back, squealing as she flitted over to hug me. “You’re not just Torch’s descendant, you have his magic too!” She latched on, doing her best to squeeze the life out of me. “You really are amazing! Nobody could deny you’re his heir now!” She gasped and tried to pinch my torso in half. “Wait! You’re a unicorn and Torch was a pegasus and Ushabti was an earth pony, so wouldn’t that mean that you’re...” “Not precisely,” Celestia took a seat. “An alicorn has the magic of all three pony kinds in equal balance. Sunset’s magic is still overwhelmingly that of a unicorn.” She shrugged. “Though in all honesty this is unexplored territory. I’ve never seen a unicorn inherit magical powers from an earth pony and a pegasus, especially not from the likes of Ushabti and Torch Charger. All I can say for the moment is that she’s grown considerably stronger.” She grinned at me. “And you’ll probably have a much easier time learning the spells Ushabti and Torch were known for.” “So just being able to walk on clouds without a spell is kinda just the tip of the iceberg?” I sighed and ran a hoof through my mane. “I guess I should’ve known it would be complicated.” “Life often is.” Celestia watched as I took a seat next to her. “I know you’re eager to return to your home in Freeport, but I do hope I can prevail upon you to remain at least a few weeks longer. I would like the chance to study exactly how your magic has changed, and it would give you a chance to test out that new prosthetic you’ve been designing.” “Seems like a good idea,” I agreed. “Although ... well, I know Puzzle needs to get back and take care of his business, and I’d bet Kukri’s parents are going to want her back as soon as possible.” I couldn’t even imagine how terrified Knives and Codex would be once they heard about what happened to Coldharbor. Getting Kukri back to them as fast as possible was the only decent thing to do. I really should’ve done it as soon as Blackfyre had been dealt with, but being in the hospital was a pretty good excuse for not dealing with that right away. “Oh.” Kukri’s ears wilted. “Right ... this one does need to go home. But it doesn’t want to leave you behind in Canterlot. This one is your apprentice.” “It’ll only be a couple weeks,” I promised her. “And as much as I’d like to have you around, I’m not going to make your parents wait that long when they’re already worried sick.” Kukri hesitated, worrying at her lower lip. “You’re sure you’ll be okay? And you won’t need this one for anything?” “Sunset will be fine,” Celestia assured her. “I haven’t noticed any instabilities, and the doctors were quite sure all her injuries are stable and either healed or healing well. I want to keep an eye on her for a bit longer just in case, but there’s no reason to think she’s in danger.” “Just that if something comes up, it’d be better if it didn’t happen in the middle of an ocean, a week away from the nearest hospital,” I finished for her. “Getting the new leg finished up will go a lot faster in Canterlot, and Celestia’s pretty much the best source of information I have for all the other changes.” “And I think my castle staff will be more than sufficient to see to any of Sunset’s other needs,” Celestia shot Kukri a wry grin. “Including cleaning her tower.” Kukri sighed and reluctantly nodded. “Okay.” She latched onto me for another hug. “You promise you’ll be okay?” I hugged her back. “Yeah, I will be.” I glanced down at the clouds I was sitting on top of as easily as if they were solid ground. “Never better.”