//------------------------------// // Chapter 53 - Meet the Family // Story: The Last Descendant // by Cup of Coffee //------------------------------// Magnus’ reception was what he expected, to say the least. They explained that they had heard the news about his arrival from ponies in town on their way to the castle, and of course that triggered a wave of confusion amongst Brilliant’s family as well as demands of explanation.  After her family found a place to sit, Brilliant began explaining it all to them, starting from the beginning. She also revealed who Magnus’ ancestor was, and wasn’t that quite the surprise for them? Her children, grandchildren, and some of her great-grandchildren who were old enough, were familiar with the stories concerning him, seeing as he was still a celebrity thousands of years after he died.  All in all, Brilliant’s family and their spouses took it very well. Once the initial shock had worn off, many had queries directed at Brilliant, and even more to ask Magnus. At one point, Brilliant stepped in and stated that him being here was not a game of questions and that Magnus wasn’t here as a sideshow but as a guest and new member of the family. That was enough to halt the endless parade of inquiries and allowed for all to sit for a nice meal. But introductions were also in order, and Brilliant’s family was quite large.  The majority of her family were bat ponies, with a smattering of the three other pony races mixed in. Her stepchildren consisted of two bat pony stallions, one bat pony mare, and one earth pony stallion. The rest were mixed. Their names became a flurry as they introduced themselves to Magnus. He missed the usual naming conventions of home. Heck, even a Chad or a Kyle would suffice. That sadly wasn’t the case here.  Another note of interest he discovered was that ponies usually didn’t have a common last name. Some families did have surnames, but it was an uncommon practice. Mostly it was used by the nobility to denote them as belonging to a particular noble house or family. Brilliant’s children didn’t use the Galaxy name at all.  From there on out, the night and early morning passed by with an undercurrent in the atmosphere that Magnus could not quite place as they ate dinner. Brilliant’s family regarded him with a mix of curiosity and awe, as well as a bit of apprehension. Regardless, he tried to explain it as just a big surprise being sprung on them. What should they do? Welcome him as just another pony? Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen.   ***  It was late afternoon when Magnus woke up. Turning his sleeping pattern around was easier said than done, and he suspected it would be some time before he would awake at a reasonable Hollow Shades’ hour.  Donning his clothes, he grabbed his toothbrush and headed for the bathroom. Just as he stepped into the hallway, he heard the rush of little hooves on carpet and noticed a maroon tail vanishing around the corner. The children were awake already, or at least one of them.  While brushing his teeth, he saw in the reflection of the mirror a small colt and an even younger filly spying on him in the doorway. He pretended to not see them while brushing, wondering how long they would be there. Probably a while, as all the children last night had stared at him in wonderment. After he was done, he walked into the hallway, and by this time, the filly and colt had gone into hiding. Not well enough, as he noticed two small bulges on a long tapestry hanging on the wall all the way down to the floor. Smiling to himself, he crouched beside it and asked, “Are you two playing hide and seek with me?” There was a moment of silence. “Nooo?” came the reply from a colt.  Stifling his laughter, Magnus asked, “Are you spying on me?” “No…” “Yes!” came the eager reply from the filly. “Ssh!” “But we are, Midnight.” “We don’t want him to know, Nightflower, that’s why we’re spying on him.”  Magnus couldn’t help it and started to laugh. “Why don’t you two come out from there, hmm? You can spy on me later, okay?”  There was a moment of silence before the tapestry moved and the two ponies, a colt and a younger filly emerged, both wearing guilty expressions. Magnus recognized them from the night before as Midnight Flash, a bat pony colt, and his little sister Nightflower, also a bat pony. Midnight Flash was around the same age as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, had maroon tail and hair, dark grey coat, and had no cutie mark yet. His little sister, Nightflower, was maybe two or three years younger, had a light purple mane and tail with two blue stripes, a very light, almost silver grey coat, and sported pink ribbons tied in her pigtails. Magnus smiled at the pair, still crouching. “Good morning, you two. Is there anypony else awake already?” Midnight Flash nodded and Nightflower eagerly said, “Mommy and daddy. They’re making breakfast in the kitchen. Mango jam!” Magnus nodded sagely. “Mango jam, ya say. You like mango jam?” Both Midnight Flash and Nightflower nodded in unison and grinned from ear to ear. “Mangoes are the best!” Midnight Flash stated with utter confidence. “Well then, maybe breakfast is ready. Maybe your mommy and daddy are eating it all up already?” He barely had finished his sentence before the two siblings were racing down the hall and down the staircase. With an amused smile on his face, he followed them.  An amusing fact he learned last night was that bat ponies loved fruit, especially mangoes. It wasn’t something like “Oh, mangoes. Neat,” but more like, “MANGO!!! RAWR!!!” This he came to see for himself at dessert. When the fruit was served, the fillies and colts threw themselves at the fruit bowl, much to their grandparents’ amusement, and of course to Brilliant Star herself, and to the horror of their parents, who glumly watched their offspring display an utter lack of table manners. Still, while the adults had table manners, their manner of eating mango was pretty much the same as the kids; like a school of piranha devouring a bleeding pig.  The moment he entered the kitchen, Magnus found the kids already at the table, munching on mango jam with a slice of bread underneath. Next to the kids sat a stallion and a mare, while another mare stood at the stove, putting a kettle on. There was a brief moment of silence as Magnus appeared, but he was quick to break it. “Good morning,” he said with a smile.   There was a brief pause before the two mares and the stallion replied with, “Good morning.”  “Will you be joining us for breakfast?” the mare at the stove asked with an uncertain smile. “Yes please.” Making his way over to the large kitchen table, Magnus sat down. The table had been set for breakfast and there was hot coffee on a pot. Pouring himself a cup, there was an uncomfortable silence that stretched on as the mare sat down next to the stallion and the other mare. “Did you sleep well?” the stallion asked, breaking the silence. Magnus remembered him from last night as Winter Wind, a skinny and tall bat pony stallion with a deep grey coat, icy blue tail and long mane and his cutie mark was an icicle growing from a dark cloud. He was also Brilliant Star’s oldest grandchild. “I did,” Magnus replied as he buttered a slice of bread and added a liberal amount of cheese. “This castle is very silent. Must be the thick walls.” “Maybe even better than Canterlot Castle?” one mare asked. Her name was Free Flight, a bat pony mare and one of Winter Wind’s two wives and mother to Midnight Flash. She a red and white spiky mane, not unlike Vinyl Scratch in Ponyville, and her cutie mark was a pair of gilded wings. Whatever her talent was, Magnus had no idea. Biting down on his breakfast, Magnus chewed and swallowed before saying, “Not really. In Canterlot, I could hear the guards walking through the corridors, and their armour is far from silent.” His reply lured out a collective smile from the herd he had breakfast with. And speaking of breakfast… “How come you are up already? I thought bat ponies would sleep at least for a few hours more.” “We live in Manehattan,” the second mare said. “We all have jobs that involve normal hours, and there are no schools in Manehattan that are open at night, so we had to adjust to being awake during the day.” “I see,” Magnus replied to Silverlink’s answer. Silverlink had a very shiny silver grey coat, matching her jeweller’s kit on her flanks, and emerald green tail and mane, both braided into an intricate pattern. She was the mother of Nightflower. Breakfast eventually winded down, and after helping to clean up, they all retreated into the living room to relax. The children settled down on the floor with colouring books and crayons while Winter Wind, Silverlink, and Free Flight sat down on the couch with tea.  The atmosphere quickly turned awkward. Magnus felt like a third wheel just by being there, idly drinking coffee while lounging in a chair by the fireplace, now burning brightly. He felt as if he should say something, but anything he said would be nothing more than idle talk, just noise to cover up the silence, and if it was anything he disliked, then it was small talk about the weather or last night’s game. Safe to say, the silence was grating, so Magnus made the decision to make some noise. “So…” Magnus began slowly, swirling his cup around in small circle motions. “What do you guys do for a living?”  The herd in the couch looked up, and the stallion, Winter Wind, glanced at each of his mares, smiled, then closed his book. “I’m a weatherpony in Manehattan.” He tapped a wing claw to his flank. “My mark means I’m good at shaping ice; from icicles to snowflakes, my specialty is creating freezing rain.” “Weatherpony,” Magnus parroted, scratching his head. He did that a lot after coming to Equestria. “And how do you make snowflakes? That’s impossible. They’re so small.” “You need patience, the right tools, freezing temperatures, and a good microscope in order to see the details,” Winter explained. Magnus shook his head in disbelief. “No no no, I mean, you shouldn’t have to. Snowflakes form naturally. No two snowflakes are alike.” Winter’s explanatory smile faded as he looked to the mares flanking him, as if asking them if they understood what Magnus meant. “Um, no. If naturally formed snow falls, the snowflakes are flat and perfectly spherical. At the weather factory, snowflake shapers carve them into different shapes following a variety of different geometrical patterns. We have tens of thousands of shapes to choose from, but we try to make each as unique as possible. The chances of two different snowflake shapers creating the exact same snowflake are nearly impossible.” Magnus wasn’t even going to nod; he wanted to throw his hands in the air and explain in detail, but as with many things these days, he knew better than to argue. So much was different in this world. Even something as natural as snowflakes had to be made. Was Mother Nature a lazy bitch around here? “You said snowflakes form naturally?” Free Flight asked, now having taken an interest in the conversation.  “Snowflakes forms naturally on Earth—no one works them into shape. It’s all the work of nature,” Magnus explained as he thought over the, honestly, mind-boggling work that went into creating a winter’s worth of unique snowflakes. He then looked at Free Flight’s mark. “What do you do for a living, Free Flight?” The bat pony mare smiled and looked at her flank. “I’m a flying instructor and wing therapist in Manehattan.” Flying instructor? Now that piqued Magnus’ interests. “What does your job involve? Teaching flying itself?” “Partially. Some children learn later than most how to fly, and by that time they’ve tried so hard to fly that they might have gained some bad habits that could impair their ability to fly. We also help children who hurt their wings to fly again.” To Magnus, it sounded like training with physical therapy mixed in. Perhaps that could be something Scootaloo in Ponyville could need. The little orange hummingbird always flapped her wings but not once had he seen her even take off or even hover slightly. Magnus set his eyes on the last mare. “What about you, Silverlink? I recognize your mark as parts of a jeweller’s tool.” Silverlink was watching the kids draw when Magnus called her by name, and quickly looked up when she heard him. “What? Oh, yes, I’m a jewel maker. My speciality is gem carving, I prefer rubies and emerald, but I also work a little with jade. How did you know my mark was a jeweller’s kit?” “My grandfather.” Magnus leaned back in the chair, relaxing a bit now that the conversation was flowing a bit better. “He was a silversmith, and a good one too.” “Really?” Silverlink sat up and straightened her back, looking more interested in the subject. “Did he have a specialty? Rings? Necklaces perhaps?” “A bit of both, I guess. He excelled at filigree work, but he was also good at taking inspiration from nature.” Silverlink clapped her hooves together happily. “Oh, I would have loved to see some of his work. Filigree may be simple to make, but it can take oh so many different shapes.” She practically flew out of the couch and out through the door. Magnus looked to Winterwind, who chuckled. “Now you got her going. Hope you can draw.” He laughed alongside Free Flight. A minute or two later, Silverlink returned with a sketchbook and quill in her mouth and dropped them in Magnus’ hands, smiling expectedly. “Can you please try drawing one of his works, if you can remember any of them?” she asked, her huge slitted eyes shining. Magnus wasn’t exactly in a position to say no, not to eyes like that, so he grabbed quill, paper, and ink and began drawing. Although not an artist, the drawing he made was quite true to the ring he had in mind; the wedding ring his grandfather gave to his grandmother.  It was a beautiful design. Squared silver rods, triple braided and double braided filigree, and in the centre a square cut garnet. Once it rested on Magnus’ grandmother’s finger. “My goodness. Simplicity, yet so elegant,” Silverlink commented, intently studying the drawing. “Could you draw another? Please?” "Again with the doe eyes? Why are their eyes their go-to weapon of persuasion?" Magnus ruefully thought to himself. But the truth was, he didn’t mind as long as it made the awkward silence go away. *** Later on that evening, everypony had gathered in small groups around the castle in various rooms. Some ponies relaxed in the living room, talking, chatting, and catching up with what was new and what had happened since last they met. Others met in the gallery or other rooms meant for gathering, reading and playing games. And speaking of games, who knew that the old castle could be so lively with so many little fillies and colts running around, playing games and whatever else came to their minds? Almost a museum, the castle held untold opportunities for inquisitive fillies and colts. Yes, everypony enjoyed themselves, even Magnus. While Magnus generally felt out of place in this world since he was the only one of his kind, even in Brilliant Star’s castle, he felt it as well, but not as strongly. Now that he’d gotten to know ponies and break out of his shell of awkward silence, he found that Brilliant's family, although inquisitive, didn’t harass him with endless questions, just as Brilliant had asked them. And for that, he was grateful. Currently, he was in the gallery, sitting alongside two of Brilliant’s grandchildren and talking with them. These two were roughly Magnus’ age. “So you plan to live in Canterlot?” the bat pony stallion named All Star asked. He had the appearance of an athlete, had a spiky black mane and a number of sports paraphernalia as well as a wrench as a mark. “That’s the plan,” Magnus answered, trying to control All Star’s little bundle of joy crawling all over him. The bat pony colt was the same guy who had wanted Magnus to read for him the night before. Shooting Star was his name, and what an active little fella he was. “Seems like Canterlot—Woah, easy there kid—just has more to offer in terms of job opportunities.” All Star laughed, seeing his son, only five months old, try to climb onto Magnus’ shoulders. “Want me to take him off you?” “Nah, this is fi-III-ne!” Magnus yelped as Shooting Star dug his little wing claws into his shoulder, much to his father, All Star and All Star’s brother, Power Chords, amusement. It wasn’t the first time the colt did it, and it would certainly not be the last. Weird as it sounded, Magnus didn’t mind being used as a jungle gym by a bat pony. Shooting Star was adorable enough to give him diabetes, and would just as easily climb on Magnus as on any member of Brilliant’s family. Funny enough, this actually made Magnus feel as if he didn’t stand out as much. If a five month old child could accept him that easily, then things were indeed looking up.  “Canterlot is great!” Power Chord suddenly said. He was as black as midnight with a long grey and white striped mane and tail, and with a burning electric guitar as his cutie mark. He seemed like a stereotypical metalhead. “There’s all the bars, the clubs, all the best places to play a gig, and the nightlife! Wow, Canterlot is pretty close to Manehattan, Las Pegasus, and Phillydelphia if we’re gonna talk about partying.” “I haven’t seen much of Equestrian nightlife yet, though, but I can imagine,” Magnus responded.  “No problem; we’ll show you around one day. Both of us live in Canterlot so we can give you a tour,” said All Star. “I’d appreciate it,” Magnus replied earnestly.  Little Shooting Star finally made the difficult climb onto Magnus’ shoulder, and supported by Magnus’ hand, the colt sat on his shoulder, grabbed a hold of his ear with both forehooves and began gnawing on the tip of his ear. “Ow, hey kid; easy there,” Magnus warned, booping the colt on his nose. It just didn’t work. Thankfully, the kid didn’t have a strong bite and his stubby fangs were too small to draw blood. All the while, All Star and Power Chord laughed at the sight. “So, what do you all do for a living?” Magnus asked, drawing the attention away from the nibbling colt. “I’m a musician,” Power Chord said, tapping a wing to his flank. “I’m the lead guitarist in a band called Hot Trots.” “That’s cool. What kind of music do you play?” Magnus inquired. “It’s called rock music. Heard of it? Some ponies think it’s just a bunch of noise, but what do they know? We’re also working on our first record these days,” Power Chord replied confidently. Magnus nodded and looked to All Star. “What about you? I’m guessing from your cutie mark that you’re an athlete.” The aforementioned pony grinned. “Not really. I manage a sporting goods store in Canterlot. We sell and repair training equipment, training clothes, everything you need to stay in shape. This beauty appeared when I repaired some old training gear belonging to the old Night Guard station here in town. A few years later, one of the guards there said she had a sister in Canterlot who was looking for ponies to help her out in her store. I got the job and moved to Canterlot the next week.” “It kinda came naturally to you, fixing stuff,” Power Chord laughed, turning to Magnus. “He always tried fixing stuff around town, even things that didn’t need fixing. Remember the water wheel at the smithy? That wheel never ran as fast as it did after you ‘fixed’ it. Then he began working on training equipment, and began training, just because of a certain filly in town.” “Shaddap!” All Star shouted, slapping his brother lightly on his withers It didn’t take long before he also began laughing alongside Power Chord. “And look! Here comes that filly now!” Power Chord grinned, nodding to the entrance door. Two bat pony mares, one of them carrying a small filly on her back walked in with a few other ponies, such as All Star and Power Chords father and mothers. “Look, Blueberry; there’s daddy,” said the smiling mare with the filly on her back. The little filly promptly jumped off her mother’s back and began galloping towards her father. However, Blueberry made it no more than a few feet before she suddenly noticed Magnus and promptly ran back to her mother, hiding behind her legs. “You’ll have to excuse Blueberry Twist, Magnus; she’s a bit shy,” the mare with dark amber mane said. Her name was Sugardrop, and she was a waitress in Canterlot and married to All Star. Blueberry Twist was her and All Star’s daughter and firstborn. The other mare was Moonrise Wonder, also a bat pony, and the second mare in All Star’s herd. Also, she was Shooting Star’s mother. Her coat was unusually light in colours, a very light grey, close to white, and her mane and tail was a combination of blues, greens, and a splash of red. “Kids can be that way when it comes to strangers,” Magnus replied, feeling the colt on his shoulder shift. “Well, almost all,” he chuckled, steadying the diminutive human climber. Shooting Star had seen his mother and wanted to go to her, fussing lightly as he tried to reach out for her. The colt began wiggling his rear end like a cat ready to pounce, and with a little flap, spread his wings, and prepared himself to jump. Magnus was about to stop him when Moonrise Wonder spoke up.  “Don’t worry, Magnus; bat pony children do this all the time. It’s how they first learn to fly: by gliding short distances. Blueberry Twist did it too,” she explained, smiling at her little wonderful kid. “Come on, Star, you can do it! Fly to mommy.” With a short jump, Shooting Star was airborne and began a short glide of no more than three meters towards his mother, who easily caught him in her forelegs and began cradling him. However, it quickly became evident that Shooting Star was hungry. He wanted to go down to the floor, and the moment he was on solid ground he began seeking out the local cafeteria, wanting his meal au natural. It was about this time that Magnus saw fit to leave. Although he wasn’t one of those who saw a woman breastfeeding in public as shameful or indecent, he himself wasn’t sure about the social norms applying to him in this case, and not wanting to make a blunder or faux pas in any way, shape or form, he excused himself, explaining he was going to the kitchen for something to drink. He made it to the hallway when one of the older members of Brilliant’s family caught up to him, saying in a gruff voice. “I think I’ll join you; been talking so much, my throat’s drying out,” the older stallion said, slowing down to match Magnus’ pace. Magnus had barely spoken to this stallion, but knew his name and a bit about him that he picked up over the day. Copper Nut was married to one of Mossflower’s daughters, and used to be a plumber in Hollow Shades, but now he was retired. Magnus estimated that Copper Nut had to be somewhere in his late sixties to early seventies, had a dark brown coat, blond hair that had begun fading, a moustache, and a metal pipe and some tools for a cutie mark. “I wouldn’t mind the company,” Magnus replied. Now that he began to open up a bit more, he certainly didn’t mind conversation. “Nice to change the subject for a bit. That, and Shooting Star has some seriously sharp claws.” Copper Nut guffawed. “I’d think so. Goodness, when my kids were growing up, I think I constantly had tiny red spots on my back. But that’s children; they always look for a way to get up high so that they can try to fly.” Magnus smiled. “It gets that bad, huh?” “It gets worse when you live up in a tree like most bat ponies do. If you ever walk into town, be sure to keep one eye on the sky. You never know what’ll drop on your head. And because you are so tall, foals might aim for you as a landing spot,” Copper Nut ended with a loud bout of laughter. “I’ll keep an eye on the sky then.” After coming to the kitchen and putting the water to boil, Magnus and Copper Nut sat down at the table while waiting for the water to be done. “Harvest Day is in a few days,” Copper Nut mentioned, looking out through the window. “Has Mother asked you to come?” “Harvest Day? No, she didn’t. What’s Harvest Day anyway? Some kind of festival?” Magnus inquired. He wasn’t even aware of any farms in town anyway, and as far as he knew, none of Brilliant’s family was involved in any agriculture either. Copper Nut smiled thoughtfully. “Each fall, just like now, all of Hollow Shades’ people go into the forest to harvest wild berries, herbs, and mushrooms. At the end of the day, we make dinner of what we find, and the rest is preserved for winter. It’s a tradition that’s been going on in Hollow Shades for a long, long time.” “That sounds nice,” murmured Magnus. His outdoors experience had taught him a few things over the years, and if he were home in Montana, surviving outdoors wouldn’t be a problem. Here though, he seriously doubted his chances of surviving a week in an Equestrian forest without any knowledge of what was safe to eat and what was dangerous to his health, not to mention what animals were out there. Besides, freshly picked berries stirred into vanilla ice cream was great, and mushroom was a fantastic addition to any soup or meat dinner. “I should ask Brilliant if I can join too.” “You should; it’s a good way to get to know ponies. The entire town will show up,” Copper Nut encouraged him. “We’ll split into groups and spend the entire day together searching for anything edible. It’s a good way to get to know your neighbours. But I doubt Mother will come this year,” Copper Nut sighed. “She’s getting older, and walking through the forest is just getting harder for her. Last year we had to let her ride home in a cart.” Magnus nodded. Time, even here, was an unforgivable bitch. In one way, he was glad that he hadn’t seen his usually active grandfather wither way. Joseph, once strong, would have hated to grow feeble and weak. Even his bad leg couldn’t slow him down. Forest or mountain, he’d conquer them all. The kettle whistled and Magnus stood up to bring the hot water, tea, and two cups back to the table. After man and stallion had a cup each of warming liquid in front of them, they sat in silence for a while. Copper Nut still gazed out through the windows into the night. “It was a shock for us.” Magnus looked up, blowing on his tea. “What was?” “You.” Copper Nut turned to Magnus. “We read about you in the papers. We all wondered who you could be, but none of us could have imagined you being related to my mother. Imagine our surprise when we saw you in the living room reading to Shooting Star.” “I guess that looked a bit strange, yeah,” Magnus admitted. Having a stranger like him in the house, taller than ponies, sitting there with a few months old foal on his lap. He was surprised that Shooting Star’s mother hadn’t taken immediate action. “And what we heard in town yesternight. Some ponies told us that you were in town with Mother, that she bought you cake, that you helped her with her groceries. If I’m to be honest, I had some doubts about you.” Copper Nut slowly sipped his tea, swirling the liquid around before looking up. “Then my mother vouches for you, and even the three princesses too. That’s good enough for me. Can't say the same for some of the others though.” Magnus’ eyes shot up. “What do you mean?” Copper Nut sighed. “Some members of the family are just a bit unsure about you. They… they can’t… how did they put it… figure you out. They can’t read you like we do other ponies. The way you talk, act, your face. You’re not a pony, they said, and that makes you difficult to predict.” Magnus exhaled, resting his head in his hands. “Dammit,” he muttered under his breath. Even being what he was caused problems. “Hey now, it’s not that bad.” Copper Nut leaned across the table, patting Magnus’ hand with a hoof. “Even I can’t figure you out the way Mother does, but I can tell you’re not a bad character. And so far, you’re doing good. The kids are warming up to you, Mother probably did days ago just by reading about you, and All Star, his wife and girlfriend, Power Chord, and some others are all interested in getting to know you. All it takes is a little time, so don’t hang your head like that. Things’ll turn around before you know it, all you have to do it be patient,” he finished his reassuring speech with a smile. Magnus nodded, grateful for Copper Nut’s advice. Sure, time he had plenty of, and whatever activities the coming days held, he could probably work with what happened. “Thanks, Copper Nut. Didn’t know my ugly mug could frighten ponies.” “Heh, compared to some ponies I know, you are the image of Princess Luna.” Magnus couldn’t help but laugh a little. At least Copper Nut knew his kind of humour. “Yeah, I’m a pretty human princess with a tutu and—”  Magnus’ next word never came out as something briefly caught his eye. Copper Nut saw Magnus’ joking smile vanish in the blink of an eye. “What’s wrong?” Magnus stared at the window behind Copper Nut, not moving his eyes away from it. “I swear I just saw someone lurking outside the window behind you.” Copper Nut spun around and stared at the window. “What did you see?” “I’m pretty sure it was a pony, a bat pony, one with white hair, peeking through the window for a split second.” “White hair…” Copper Nut turned back to Magnus, asking, “with a thin white moustache too?” “He might have. In fact, I’m pretty sure I saw something white beneath that nose.” Copper Nut sighed and jumped off his chair. “It’s him again. Princess Luna’s tail, why won’t he stop?” he stated, sounding both angry and exasperated. “Him? Him who?” Magnus asked, following Copper Nut. Copper Nut walked straight into the living room where Brilliant Star and some of her children and grandchildren sat engaged in lively conversation. Without a word said, the earth pony stallion walked up to his step-mother and whispered in her ear. Brilliant’s face fell for a just a moment but she quickly smiled again. “Excuse me, there is something I need to do,” she said and got up. Brilliant headed straight into the entry hall and stopped. “Where did you see him?” she asked, her voice serious while opening a small door, revealing a small broom closet. Magnus was a confused and silent bystander, wondering what was going on. Was it a burglar, a peeping tom, or the local nutcase? “Outside the kitchen. Magnus saw him,” Copper Nut replied, his voice as serious as his mother. “That old bark biter, now he’s gonna get a spanking.” Brilliant proceeded to levitate out several brooms which she placed on the ground in front of her. Then her horn began glowing crimson and the glow enveloped the brooms. One by one, the brooms stood up in a line. Brilliant then walked to the door, opened it and stepped aside. “Sic ‘em.” In a single swift motion, the brooms took to the air and flew out the door like witches brooms out of hell, vanishing in the darkness. Ten seconds later, what sounded like a yelp was heard outside. Magnus was at the door in an instant alongside Copper Nut, and what Magnus saw outside made him speechless. An older bat pony with white hair, white moustache, and bluish-grey coat was flying towards the gate as if his life depended on it. Or at least, his flanks. Just behind him, the brooms gradually caught up, spinning like crazy, giving the bat pony an epic spanking. Each rotation of a broom resulted in several small, but probably, stinging hits. It was like a flying fan with fly swatters instead of fan blades and computer guided accuracy. Copper Nut and Magnus completely lost it, and they weren’t the only ones. Half of Brilliant’s family had seen what was happening and now stood behind them, looking at the spectacle unfolding. But the bat pony finally managed to get away. He reached the wall, nearly colliding in the process and finally tumbled behind the wall and out of sight. As if on cue, the brooms flew back to Brilliant, their magic fading and they dropped lifeless to the ground. The bat pony emerged outside the gates, snarling, grumbling, and waving a curled up hoof at them. “This isn’t over, Brilliant! You hear me?! You’re up to something! Once a criminal, always a criminal!”  “This will be over if I catch you sneaking around my castle one more time, Nocturne! Next time I’ll raise a mast on my castle and tie you to it for two days! Now get outta here or I’ll tell Moon Kisser you’re seeing me in secret!” Brilliant shouted back angrily. The bat pony gasped. “Y-You wouldn’t dare!” “I wouldn’t?” Brilliant smirked, her eyes half-lidded. “Try me, you saggy old branch crasher!” The bat pony stood his ground outside the gate for a few moments, staring daggers at Brilliant, then turned around and began walking. “You belong in prison!” he shouted back before he vanished from sight. The laughter had long since died down just after the verbal barrage began between the two. With a huff, Brilliant picked up the brooms and floated them back to the closet, closing the door with a sigh. “Sorry you had to see that, everypony. Why don’t we go back to what we were doing and try to pick up where we left, hmm?” She shot Magnus a brief glance as she passed him, heading back into the living room with some of her family in tow. Magnus himself was more confused than anything and more than a bit curious. According to Copper Nut’s reaction, he was intimately aware of what was going on. That made him the pony to ask. “Copper Nut, you got a minute,” Magnus asked the earth pony just as he was about leave. The earth pony stopped and turned. “What’s on your mind?” Magnus knelt and looked around; none of the others were near. “What the heck just happened? Who was that pony?” “Mother’s nemesis,” Copper Nut replied with a heavy sigh and sat down in front of him. “Sometimes, Nocturne Watch tries to spy on mother because he thinks she is up to something involving crime. Mother usually manages to dissuade him with a variety of methods, such as the brooms you just saw or by threatening to tell Nocturne’s wife, Moon Kisser.” “Why? Why does he accuse Brilliant of being a criminal?” “Because she once was.” Magnus had to make a double-take. “She was? When?” He had difficulty even imagining Brilliant as a criminal of any kind. The sweet little old mare as a mafia boss or a thief? It was unthinkable. “Long ago. Mother’s been on the right side of the law ever since. We all know about it, but we never speak about it, for obvious reasons.” Standing up, Magnus rested his hands on is hips. Brilliant Star, noble of Equestria and a former criminal. It was hard to imagine her as anything but a little old mare in a castle. “Surprised?” Copper Nut asked, standing up. “I’d be too, if I didn’t know my mother,” he said, wandering off, but suddenly stopping. “By the way, we don’t talk about it. Ever.” Magnus nodded. “Ever?” Copper Nut smiled. “Ever.” And then he walked off. Back at the entry hall, Magnus scratched his head at the night’s biggest revelation. A criminal? That was new. At least Brilliant’s name wasn’t removed from the tapestry.