I came out the other side on my back hooves and remembered just quickly enough to go back down on all four before falling over, and thankfully caught my sword and box of chocolates with magic before they fell to the ground. Sweet, sweet magic. It was so good to be back, why had I ever been anxious at all?
“Swordulan!” two voices cried at once.
Right, that.
Summer and Katana both tackled me with an embrace, which was surprising from Summer considering how I left her, and utterly shocking from Katana.
“I take it you’ve destroyed the entity?” Discord asked. “I don’t sense anything different coming back with you.”
Katana let go of me, though Summer still clung on. “I was starting to think you wouldn’t come back,” she said.
“I’m lucky I did,” I said, then levitated my sword and the broken crystal shards up to Discord. “All I had to do was destroy the crystal. The entity died with the enchantment.”
One of Discord’s eyes stretched up to the shards, and thankfully Summer let go to listen. “How curious, there’s no magical traces left. Well, I’m sure Celestia would want to reward you for your good deed, but seeing as she’s not here, I shall have to do so myself.” He snapped his claw, and suddenly the sword’s main crystal was back in its socket, completely unscathed. “There you are, better than ever.”
I blinked and took the sword back into my magic. It felt light as a feather again. “What did you do? Did you just revive the entity?”
Discord guffawed. “Nonsense! The entity may have been powerful, but it’s nothing compared to my own chaos magic, of which a miniscule amount is now imbued within your sword. Go ahead, try it out!”
I gave a cautious step back and tried to transform the sword into the usual surfboard shape I used for flying. It melted into a puddle that belched out a small puff of fire.
“What.”
“See? It’s clearly superior to the entity! Of course, it won’t do things like that all the time, but you never know what you’re going to get when you cast any spells on it. A fitting reward, perhaps even more than you deserve. Well I must be off now, many things to attend to.” Discord began walking into the floor as if it was absorbing him. “Is it just me, or does anypony else feel a tad under the weather? I think I’m starting to turn blue.”
And he was gone.
“Ow!” Something knocked me in the back of the head while I was shaping my sword back to normal.
“That was for taking so long,” Katana said. “They’ve kept me cooped up in this castle for over a week. A mare’s gotta stretch her wings. Can I please go now?”
“Not before I talk with Shining Armor,” I said, rubbing the back of my head and testing my magic on the sword before shaping it around my waist. Thankfully it didn’t do anything bizarre.
“Ughhh, fine. Hurry up, will ya? In fact, I’ll go get him for you.”
Katana stalked out of the room, leaving me and Summer alone. I awkwardly cleared my throat and levitated the box of chocolates over to her.
“This is for you. I uh… only took one. Couldn’t resist.”
She took the box in her magic, looked inside, and smiled. “Thank you. How are you feeling?”
Yikes, that question. “I’m fine. Happy to be back and no longer worrying about my sword. Well, I guess I’m still worried about it thanks to Discord, but maybe it won’t be so bad. Uh… you? How’s your head?”
“It’s good, doctor says fully recovered.”
“That’s good… good. You didn’t go back to Canterlot? What about your job?”
Summer blushed. “I sent them a letter saying I was indisposed for a while. I wanted to wait for you.”
“Oh. Sorry, I didn’t mean to… I didn’t want to keep you waiting.”
“I know, you said you wanted me to go back to Canterlot.”
“Right… Summer, I… the way I said goodbye wasn’t good. It was hurtful, and I’m sorry. A lot has happened the past couple weeks. It’s been a lot to take in for me, and I need to be able to sort through it all, one thing at a time. I need to ask if I can put this—you and me—on hold for a bit, just until I feel like I can breathe again.”
Summer stared at me for a moment, expressionless, then looked down. “Oh… yeah, I understand. Yeah. I’m sorry too, I thought…” She took a deep breath and looked back at me. “Swordulan, there’s something I need to tell you. I try really hard to always tell the truth, and this is the hardest it’s ever been. I feel like I haven’t been able to breathe either, not since I woke up in that cave. I’ve been so confused with everything, even being here in the Crystal Empire. It all feels so disconnected, and you’re the only one who’s given me any amount of connection to anything. While I was waiting for you to come back, I almost felt like I was going crazy. I guess what I’m trying to say is… I need you. I understand why you need to sort through things, but… I just don’t know what to do with myself.”
What. She… what?
Shining Armor trotted into the room followed by Katana, though she lingered near the entrance. “You made it back! What took you so long?”
Amazing timing, Captain. “The search for the entity. Took a week before I realized we were searching in all the wrong places.”
“So it’s done, then?”
“Yes, Sir. I’ll send you a full report if you’d like.”
“I certainly would. You hungry at all? Cadance left for Ponyville just a bit ago, so lunch is all up to me.”
“I’m good, thanks. What’s Cadance doing in Ponyville?”
“She’s taking the day to spend some quality time with Twilight.”
“Oh, good for her. By the way, have you managed to find out anything about Stonehenge? Or whoever that Lady Fate was?”
Shining Armor frowned. “Nothing. It’s like they’ve both vanished. I’ve called off the search, but my stallions are still keeping an eye out.”
“Ponyfeathers… Katana, please tell me you don’t intend to go looking for trouble trying to find him.”
Katana snorted. “When have I ever intended to look for trouble?”
“Stonehenge is trouble.”
“No, he’s family, conehead. What the hay happened to wanting to fix our family? The least you could do is help me find him.”
I sighed. “I will. But what’s your plan? Do you have any idea where to even start?”
“Sure, my instincts tell me he’s gone back to Manehattan. Whatever business he had here is over.”
“And if he’s run back to Fillydelphia?”
“Nope, I’m positive Fillydelphia is a trap. He’s not going back there.”
“How are you so sure?”
“Because I both understand the kind of trouble he’s mixed up in and how he thinks. Plus, of all cities to try disappearing in, Manehattan is the easiest.”
“Perfect,” I grumbled. “I’ll need to arrange things with Captain Morningstar in Canterlot. You go ahead. Try not to do anything stupid until I get there.”
“Thank Celestia.” Katana jumped into the air. “You be careful too. I’m starting to get the feeling that Lady Fate has eyes everywhere. I’ll meet you at your mom’s, okay?”
She flew out, and Shining Armor gave me a questioning look.
“You sure letting her go is a good idea?” he asked.
“No,” I sighed. “Just a necessary one.”
“Do you want any backup?”
“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”
Shining Armor nodded. “Flash Sentry is with Cadance right now, but I’ll send him down to help you once he gets back. He’s one of my best, and Katana seems to get along with him alright.”
“Thanks. If only she could always have a level-headed Royal Guard by her side, maybe she wouldn’t get into so much trouble. Anyway I better get moving. Summer,” I looked back at her, “let’s talk on the train back, okay?”
Summer hesitated. “Sure, okay. I’ll go get my things.”
I moved to follow her out, but Shining Armor grabbed me and waited until she was gone before he spoke. “Is everything alright with you two?”
Has anything been alright with me lately? “I don’t know. Things are weird right now, Cap. I’d rather not talk about it.”
Shining Armor nodded and we made our way back into the halls. “I understand. You’ll get through this. After all, I believe you just saved Equestria.”
“Yeah… somehow I did.” Why did I feel so hollow on that point? I should be on top of the world. “Is all my stuff still in my room?”
“Everything left as it was.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you later then.”
“Sounds good. Equestria Games?”
“Equestria Games.”
We went our separate ways. I found my room and things, packed it all back into my suitcase, and met Summer in the hall. I carried her large suitcase with magic, and without any words shared we were soon on a train to Canterlot.
I wasn’t sure what to say to Summer. She said nothing, and I suspected she was waiting for my response. My thoughts were so jumbled between her, Katana and Stonehenge, and defeating the entity in that strange world. I couldn’t understand how I felt no sense of accomplishment with defeating it. Equestria was saved by my ho—well, hands at the time—but I had done it. The thing surely had to be powerful enough to threaten that world and Equestria. So why had it felt like any other insignificant afternoon patrolling Canterlot’s walls?
“You know,” I said, and Summer perked up to listen, “my whole life has been about trying to live up to my father’s expectations. I’ve told you about this before, but you probably forgot. Well, my father died a few weeks ago. No need to say anything about it, I’m not sad. Or maybe I am, I don’t know. Maybe the only reason I’m upset about it at all is that I know my relationship with him can never be fixed. My thought was that, through you, and perhaps also saving Equestria, I could consider myself reconciled with him. I guess not, though. Right now, I don’t feel like he would be happy with me. I’m not happy with me. Not as much as I’d like to be anyway. What about you? Are you happy with me?”
Summer looked confused. “Swordulan, I already told you how I feel.”
“I know, but are you happy with me?”
“I don’t understand what you’re trying to get at.”
“Please just answer the question.”
Summer frowned. “Well… I’m happy you’re back and safe. I wasn’t happy that you were gone so long, especially after leaving me like that. You apologized though, and I forgive you.”
I ground my teeth in frustration. “But are you happy—with—me? With who I am?”
“I…” She looked lost in thought. “I don’t know. I’m not unhappy, but… it’s all so confusing. It’s like I know I can trust you, that I’m safe around you, but at the same time… I feel like I should know you better, but I don’t. I don’t know that I’m happy with you because it feels like I don’t know you.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you for telling me. Summer, I feel the same way.”
She looked shocked. “You? But you didn’t lose—”
“I lost the you that shared special memories with me. Right now all we really have together is our time in the cave and the castle.”
“Oh… I suppose that’s true. So does that mean we should start over?”
“Yes, I think so. But things are complicated right now. Family problems, obviously. How about in two weeks? We can go to the Equestria Games together.”
“That sounds good. Are you sure you’ll be able to find your cousin before then?”
“No, but if Katana and I still have no leads by then, I’m going to need a break from searching. So, we have a date?”
“Yeah, a date. Looking forward to it.”
I smiled. “Me too.”
I just hoped everything with this Lady Fate and Stonehenge could be wrapped up quickly.
The rest of the train ride was spent mostly in silence with a few idle comments between us. There really wasn’t much to be said; we were starting over in two weeks. Conversation could wait until then.
We arrived in Canterlot and I helped carry her things home. We said our farewells, and there was enough light left that Justice should’ve still been out, so I trotted up the streets until I reached the barracks. Justice was at his desk sorting through the end of the day reports. He looked up as I entered, his eyes going wide.
“You’re back!” he said. “From what Princess Celestia told me I was thinking you’d be gone a month.”
“Not quite,” I said, saluting. “But if it’s alright with you, I still need two extra weeks away.”
“More work from the Princess?”
“No, I’ve finished that, and you can tell her for me. It’s Stonehenge. Katana thinks he’s in Manehattan, so we’re going to try searching for him. I don’t know if Shining Armor sent you word about what happened in the Crystal Empire, but—”
“I have a full report. Seems like this Lady Fate is some real trouble. I assume she’s connected to your cousin’s problem?”
“It seems so. We’ll be on the lookout for her too.”
“Alright then. We’ve been managing without you so far; a little behind on the paperwork, but nothing too terrible. As far as I’m concerned, you’re on a search and rescue and a covert bust operation.”
I nodded. “Thanks. I’ll send the full report on my last mission for Princess Celestia once I get to Manehattan. Anything else, Sir?”
“No, that should be everything. Oh, actually, keep an eye out for Skybreaker; that burglar managed to get away from us here and reports from Manehattan seem to indicate she might be there.”
I gave a salute. “Yes, Sir.”