//------------------------------// // How Did it Come to This? // Story: The Weaver // by Darkhanos //------------------------------// "I'll be back, children. I promise. I'm just going to go get some ingredients for breakfast tomorrow." I promise... Solstice could barely hear his words echoing inside his head. The rapid beating of his heart and the echoes of his frantic hoofsteps carrying him as fast as they could filled the eerily silent and empty alley, drowning out any thoughts that would occupy his mind. Yet despite his precarious situation, all the dark gray stallion could think about were the happy faces of the children he cared for and, most of all, their smiles. Smiles that exuberated the innocence of their youth. That showed they had not a care in the world. They were safe. They were cared for. As all foals should be. "Halt!” Even if there were those who seek to persecute them. Simply for being different. They deserved safety. They deserved peace. “By order of the Princesses, I command you to halt!” The gruff voice of the Royal Guard pursuing him commanded. His pace quickened, his patience reaching closer to its limit as his quarry continued elude him in this damp, slippery alleyway.. His steps were echoing loudly, heavily. "Dammit! I can't shake him!" Solstice despaired as he heard the Guard closing the distance between them. Yet no matter what he did, or how fast he ran, the Guard seemed to be closing in all the more. His legs were aching, his chest was burning, his breath was becoming more shallow. How long had he been running? What would it take to shake his pursuer? How did he know which paths he was taking? But above all... ...how did it come to this...? His thoughts were cut short when he realized he had reached a dead end, a massive wall blocking his path. There was nothing he could use to climb, no windows he could enter. Before he knew it, he heard the slow, heavy footsteps of an armored Royal Guard approach him. “End of the line.” the gruff stallion stated, “You’re under arrest.” “On what charge? I’ve committed no crime.” Solstice replied as he turned around to face his pursuer. As he suspected, he was armed with his sword at the ready. “You’re under arrest for conspiracy to commit treason.” He replied, approaching with a cold look in his eye, his hands gripping his sword tightly, “Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.” “Do you even know who I am? If my crime is as heinous as you accuse me of, then my name and face would be known all over Equestria. So tell me...what’s my name?” There was a slight hesitation in the Royal Guard’s approach, a slight flicker of doubt shining in his eyes, “It doesn’t matter. I have my orders. Now get on the ground! Now!” “I’m afraid that I can’t comply.” Solstice replied, reaching for his inner pocket, pulling out a gold and silver astrolabe, “I’ll ruin my most prized possession.” That thing from earlier! The Guard mused to himself, “Put that down and get on the ground! Now! I won’t tell you again!” “It’s just an astrolabe. An instrument that makes astrological measurements…” he said, turning the rete and aligning the star pointers with strange runes that lined the plate. “Freeze!” “Do not under any circumstances, let him use that focus! Kill him if he does.” The warning of his commander echoed in his head as he realized what she meant now. His heart skipped a beat as if he was now realizing that danger was imminent, and without warning, he charged forward with impressive speed, his sword ready to strike down the suspect, “I SAID…!” “I know, I know…” the runes on the astrolabe suddenly emitted a bright light, and his eyes were glowing a pale blue hue. He outstretched his free hand, an arcane circle lined with runes appearing before him. The brighter the arcane circle glowed, the more the surrounding moisture in the alleyway gathered, until finally, “...freeze.” in an instant, ice particles shot out like a jet, covering the alleyway in a thick blanket of diamond dust. When the ice cloud settled, it revealed the Royal Guard frozen in place, with a baffled expression. Solstice let out his breath, the runes on his astrolabe fading and the glow in his eyes dimming. “I apologize for doing this, but you forced my hand.” He said, approaching the frozen stallion, “In case you’re wondering, I’m not going to kill you. That said, I ask that you not come after me again." With that, the dark gray stallion walked off as he ran his hand through his light blue and white mane to remove the ice, leaving the unfortunate guard behind. It wasn’t often that he had to use his Weaving to stave off his enemies. It drew too much attention. After all, an earth pony wasn’t supposed to be able to tap into magic. Or pegasi for that matter. “Did you hear that?” a random mare asked. “It sounded like it came from that alleyway.” As I suspected, I drew too much attention to myself. Solstice berated himself. He rounded the corner to avoid any onlookers, making sure his tie and blue overcoat was pristine and to avoid any suspicion. Putting his astrolabe back in his inner coat pocket, he continued down the path until he made it to the city street. It didn’t take long for additional Royal Guards to flood the alleys. He let out a sigh of relief, taking the familiar path home, blending in with the crowd with practiced proficiency. He couldn't stay here any longer. It wasn’t safe for him or the children anymore. As Solstice reached his house, he let out a defeated sigh. How did it come to this? Earlier that day… "Wintermoon! Sunrise Storm! What happened here?! I demand an explanation!" Solstice sternly demanded, "I'm away for only a moment and...and…" the more he saw the scorched wall and cake batter plastered all over the kitchen the angrier he became. He stopped himself and took a deep breath, somewhat calming his nerves. He turned his attention to the earth pony filly and the pegasus colt, "Alright. Answers. Now!" The two foals in question could only look at the hardwood floor, finding it much more appealing than the wrathful glare of their guardian. "Well, you see...I-I was trying to bake a cake…" Wintermoon started, her hands behind her back as she drew small circles on the floor with her hoof, her gaze still fixed to it. The way her stylized ice blue mane with white streaks covered her left eye would have been adorable, were it not for the severity of the situation at hand. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!" Solstice demanded. The filly complied, "And? Go on." "And...and I...maybe couldn't get the oven started. So I asked Sunrise to help me." "It's true. She asked me to help her get the fire started." Sunrise Storm concurred, "And when I looked for the matches I couldn't find any…" "And what have I told you two about dealing with fire?!" Solstice berated. "To...to ask you for help." the burnt orange colt answered dejectedly. "And you both deliberately disobeyed me?! Why?! You both could have been seriously hurt!" "We...we're sorry, Solstice!" Wintermoon sobbed, wiping her free flowing tears from her alabaster face, "We...we just wanted to bake you a cake to surprise you for your birthday." Solstice was taken aback by the revelation. He felt a lump form in his throat, unable to say anything edgewise. "We just wanted to do something nice for you." Sunrise Storm informed, "We never celebrate your birthday. We know you say that it's just another day for you, but everyone should feel special for their birthday…" Solstice let out a long sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Thank you for the sentiment. Truly. I admit it's touching that you'd go so far as to try to make me happy." He kneels before the twins, a hand on each of their shoulders, his earlier anger now spent, "But you must understand that the rules in this house exist for a reason. Can either of you tell me why that is?" "You mean it's not because you're a meanie sometimes?" Wintermoon answered earnestly, still sniffling. Solstice's eyebrow once again twitched, a deadpan expression on his face, "No. It's certainly not." "It's because you don't want us to get hurt. It's for our own good. That's what you keep saying to us." Sunrise Storm offered. "Precisely. We're all that we have left." Solstice confirmed, "Your parents entrusted me to raise and protect you while they’re gone, and I intend to honor their wishes. We may very well be the last of our kind, after all, so we have to look out for one another." "But there's lots of earth ponies like me and pegasi like Sunny." Wintermoon stated, "I don't know what makes us so special." Solstice couldn't help but chuckle at her youthful innocence, "Well, it's complex. You're no ordinary earth pony nor is Sunrise a normal pegasus." "That's right! We're Weavers!" Sunrise proudly declared, taking a superhero pose, "We can use the ambennnet magic around us to create Weaves!" Solstice smiled at his pupil's attempt to emulate him, "It's 'ambient' magic. And that's correct. We can create Weaves that produce a magical result through the use of the runes on our focuses." "So...does that mean other earth ponies and pegasi can't use magic at all?" Wintermoon asked. "Not the way we can, sweetie. It's why…" Solstice's eyes lost their gleam as he stopped himself, his joyful expression falling. He looked at the curious faces of the foals before him, once again feeling a big lump form in his throat. "Solstice? Are you alright?" Wintermoon asked, her eyes full of worry. "Um, y-yes, quite so. Now explain to me how the wall got cake batter again?" The foals once again brought their gaze to the floor. "Well...when Sunny got the wall on fire, I didn't know what to do. I didn't have my focus, so I couldn't make a Weave to put it out. So I used the cake batter to put it out, but it didn't work. Then I threw eggs at it but the fire got big again!" Wintermoon explained. "That explains the scorched eggs, then. Wait...you said Sunrise Storm started the fire? How did he manage that when he couldn't find the matches?" Solstice asked. "Erm...you see, I saw that there weren't any matches, and I tried to...maybe...use a fire type Weave?" Sunrise answered with a nervous chuckle. "You what?! Storm, you know you haven't found a proper focus yet! Didn't I tell you that obtaining your Cutie Mark was a big first step towards that endeavor? You've yet to earn it, and attempting to use one otherwise would not only destroy the object, but could potentially harm you as well!" Solstice berated. “What did you use as your focus?" "Ha, ha, I...didn't…?" He answered with a sheepish smile. Solstice gave him an incredulous stare, making the colt laugh nervously. Wintermoon let out a defeated sigh, "You may as well tell him. He's gonna find out anyways." "...I don't like where this is going." Solstice dismayed, "...what did you use?" Storm swallowed hard, sweat pouring off his face, "Y-your...favorite chess piece." Solstice's heart froze, "...not my…" "Yup...that one." Storm answered. "The one made…?" "Out of glass...and maybe it was in S-Starswirl the Bearded's image." "...not the one with…!" "...the removable hat?" An exasperated scream was heard throughout the house, and the street. Solstice let out a contented sigh, crossing his arms as he stood back to appreciate his handiwork. The drywall looked as if nothing had ever happened to it, giving away no sign that it was brand new and repainted to blend in with the rest of the house perfectly. Carpentry wasn't a talent of his, but he's used it enough to become decently proficient for small projects as this. For bigger jobs, he'd refer to the yellow pages for real professionals, rare as that was. "Solstice!" Wintermoon called as she made her way into the kitchen, "I have a request!" "Oh? And what would that be?" The stallion responded. "Sunny and I wanna try to bake you a cake again!" "N-no, please don't! I-it's okay! Truly!" Answered Solstice, frantically waving his arms in protest, "N-not I think you wouldn't do a good job, but I only just finished replacing the wall, and I'd rather not have a repeat of this morning. I'll take a rain check for the cake." "Oh...okay." the young filly answered dejectedly, disappointment written all over her face. Please don't give me that look, Wintermoon. Wintermoon's eyes seemingly grew larger, brimming with tears. ...my willpower may as well be an ice cube laying on hot concrete in the middle of summer when she looks at me like that. Solstice gave the young filly a small smile, "Actually, there is something I'd like for my birthday." "Really?! What is it?!" She beamed. "There's nothing that makes me happier than seeing you and your brother smile. As such, I'd like to make you both your favorite breakfast in the morning." "Aww! But it'll be too late by then!" she groaned. "It wouldn't actually. My birthday is tomorrow." Solstice answered with a sly grin. "What?!" Wintermoon dismayed as she ran to the nearest calendar in a panic. Upon examining the partially scorched object, she let out a sheepish chuckle, "um...oops?" "Quite alright, child." Solstice chuckled as he waved a dismissive hand, "We all make these mistakes from time to time." "Yeah, like Sunny using your rare chess piece as a…" she stopped cold when she noticed Solstice giving her a baleful glare upon mentioning his now ruined possession, "Uhh...what are we talking about?" "I believe we were discussing my birthday present for tomorrow." He answered with a cheery smile, his anger all but gone now. This guy is scary… "I'm not scary. I just act accordingly." "Oh, okay. Wait, what?" I'm pretty sure I didn't say that out loud… "And now you're pondering if you said that out loud." Gah! How does he do that?! "I know you, Wintermoon." He said with a wink. ...yup. definitely sca- um… adaptable. I'm just gonna go… "To your room? That would be an excellent idea. I have to clean this mess up. A is client dropping by soon to pick up her astrolabe she ordered. Be a good filly and keep quiet while she's here. That goes double for Sunrise Storm." Taking great care in not thinking any thoughts, Wintermoon left the room wordlessly. After a time, Solstice had cleaned up his workspace, returning the stove to its original spot, tossing the scorched drywall in the dumpster, sweeping and mopping the floor and lighting some scented candles to get rid of the smell of burned cake batter and drywall. Finally, that's done. He mused to himself, taking a look at the clock. Hm. I still have some time to shower before Ms. Minuette arrives. I'd hate to leave an unprofessional impression with my offending odor. If it wasn’t for her, business wouldn’t be this steady, and I'd hate to risk losing any potential business she may bring my way. “You know she might like you. She comes by a lot.” said Storm. “Hm? What are you on about?” asked Solstice. The young colt placed a small cardboard box on the kitchen counter with a smug smile on his face, “Minuette. You know, she seems to always have a friend that’s just getting into astronomy, or there’s always something wrong with her own astrolabe.” “Perhaps she truly does have friends that are just getting into astronomy and she’s spreading her newfound passion for it. Have you considered that possibility?” “I did.” “But?” “I dunno. How long ago did she get into astronomy?” “I believe it was roughly a year ago.” “And how long have we lived here?” “A year.” “How many friends did she make orders for?” “Around thirty...maybe thirty-five.” “How many times did she need repairs for her astrolabe?” “Twenty times.” “Oh, okay. But how many of them were easy fixes?” “...That’s beside the point, Sunrise Storm. She’s brought a lot of business to me and I, for one, am grateful for it. She’s responsible for ⅓ of my income this year.” “But you didn’t answer my question…” “That’s none of your…” “All twenty times! I was there every time Minuette came.” Wintermoon revealed. “Wintermoon!” The stallion berated. “It’s true! I saw everything!” “Listen, she’s merely a customer that likes my products and-” “And you too, apparently.” “It’s all just a big coincidence you’re telling me. There’s nothing concrete that proves she’s infatuated with me!” “There is too! She bites her lower lip and wraps her mane around her index finger every time she sees you, like this!” Wintermoon proceeded to bite her lower lip and wrap her mane around her index finger. “...as adorable as you look doing that, I’m going to have to insist that you stop.” Solstice demanded flatly, “At any rate, I need to shower. Ms. Minuette will be here soon, and I can’t go around smelling like…” “Like toenails?” Wintermoon and Sunrise Storm said simultaneously. “...’like this’. I was going to say, ‘like this.’” Solstice deadpanned. Sunrise Storm and Wintermoon were in their room, each of them reading a book. There was a companionable silence that was between the siblings, save for the sound of running water in the bathroom down their hall. “He’s doing it again.” Sunrise Storm said flatly as Solstice’s poor whistling skill was echoing throughout the house. “I believe that with enough practice, anypony can master anything…” as if on cue, Solstice attempted to whistle a high note, but instead let out something akin to a hard blow with a barely audible, low-pitched squeak, “...but I don’t think he’ll live that long.” Wintermoon cringed. “I don’t think anyone’s ever told him that he’s no good at it.” the pegasus colt commented as he turned a page. “I did once…” “And what happened?” “He just smiled and patted my head and said ‘Then I’ll try harder until I am good enough.’ He’s strange like that. You tell him he can’t do something, but it just makes him try harder.” “Hmm. Maybe we can tell him that he can’t give us a bigger allowance?” “Tried that. He didn’t fall for it.” “Bummer...” Just then, the doorbell rang. “I bet that’s Minuette.” Wintermoon commented, getting off her bed. She walked to the bathroom door and knocked. “Solstice! There’s somepony at the door.” Her advisement was met with a botched series of high-pitched whistles. “Solstice! SOLSTICE!” She was met with more whistling. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she walked back to her room, “He can’t hear me! He’s too busy whistling! How can he not hear the doorbell?!” A moment later, the doorbell rings again. “Maybe you can take her astrolabe down to her. It doesn’t look like he’ll be done in time.” Sunrise Storm advised. “Alright, but where is it?” “I think we left it on the kitchen counter. It’s in a cardboard box.” The filly nodded and rushed downstairs, “One minute, please!” she yelled to the door, rounding the corner to make a beeline to the kitchen. She grabbed the box, looking to make sure it had the unicorn mare’s name on it. Not paying attention to her surroundings, she tripped on the free standing coat hanger near the front door, knocking it over along with Solstice’s coat. “Owie…” she said to herself rubbing her throbbing knee. As she got her bearings again, she realized that during her fall, she dropped the box containing Minuette’s astrolabe. To her chagrin, Solstice’s own astrolabe also fell out of his inner coat pocket. Side-by-side, they looked identical, down to a tee. “Uh-oh…” She picked them both up, panic began to set in. Which one was which? The doorbell rang again, “Hello? Is anypony home?” Minuette called from outside. I gotta hurry! Picking one, she hurriedly stuffed it into the cardboard box and picked up the standing coat hanger. She put on her best smile and answered the door. “Oh, hi, Wintermoon! How are you?” Minuette asked politely. “I-I’m fine, thank you.” the young filly replied. “I was wondering if Solstice was in? He said the new astrolabe was finished and ready to go.” “He’s um, taking a shower right now. He’ll be done…” A loud, horribly executed series of whistles was heard from upstairs, “...after a while.” “O-oh, I see…” “Are you getting hot? Your face just turned really red. I can give you a glass of water…” some more bad whistling was heard in increasing frequency, “...if it doesn’t shatter first.” she deadpanned. “N-no! It’s okay, I’m fine! I wasn’t thinking of anything wrong!” Minuette answered, waving her arms frantically. Wintermoon’s confused expression made the unicorn mare all the more nervous, “I-I can come back later if it's a bad time.” “No, it’s okay, I have your astrolabe here!” She presented the box happily. “Alright! Thank you!” Minuette said happily. She had a quizzical look, bouncing the box in her hand a few times, “Huh. It seems heavier than the other astrolabes I’ve ordered before. Anyways, here’s my payment. Make sure your dad gets it.” she said, handing her a large bag filled with bits. “He’s not my dad. He’s my...what did he say? Leg...legale…” “Legal guardian?” Minuette helped out, a little more hopeful than she should have been. “Yeah, that’s it! He’s just taking care of us until our parents come back.” “Okay. So...do you have another legal guardian? Or somepony that acts as a mommy for you?” “Nope! Just Solstice. The only one that comes and talks to him is you.” Wintermoon answered. “I see. S-sorry if I seemed like I was prying.” Minuette apologized, biting her lower lip and twisting her hair around her index finger, “I have to get going. See you later!” she said, walking off happily. Wintermoon let out a sigh of relief, “Glad that’s over with.” upon stepping inside, she saw Solstice coming downstairs, “You take really long showers!” “Heh, I suppose I do. Is everything all right?” Solstice asked. “Yeah. Minuette just left.” “Oh, dear, did you give her the astrolabe?” “Uh-huh! She gave me the bits, too!” She said, proudly presenting the payment. “Well done. My apologies for taking so long. Was she well?” “I...think so? She looked like she got really hot though.” “Oh, no. Did you give her some water?” “No, she said she was fine. She didn’t turn red until I told her you were taking a shower.” Solstice froze in place, a blush steadily growing on his face. “Um...do you need a glass of water?” Minuette hummed happily to herself as she entered her home, unceremoniously tossing her purse on her couch before flopping down on it. She turned her attention to her new purchase, giving it a discerning look. Strange that his is heavier than I expected it to be. Opening the box, she slid the astrolabe out, looking utterly confused. Wha-? I-I didn't order a pure gold and silver astrolabe. What's with these weird markings on the plate? It's marvelous, but... Her line of thought was interrupted when she heard her phone ring. "Hello? ...Hey, Twinkle Shine! ...Yes, I got the astrolabe for you! But, I think he may have given me the wrong order. ...because it's made of gold and silver! ...I can't do that! What if Solstice made this for somepony else? ...I guess I can show you. But I'm gonna take it back right after! ...Let's meet at our usual spot. Okay, see you in five!" With that, Minuette grabbed her purse and astrolabe, then headed out the door.