//------------------------------// // Chapter 54 - harvest day // Story: The Last Descendant // by Cup of Coffee //------------------------------// Over the next couple of days, Magnus had a lot on his mind; the ponies he’d gotten to know, but also the fact that Brilliant Star had once been a criminal. As Copper Nut told him, no one would speak of it, and Magnus wisely never asked anyone. Instead, he began to look for signs of what kind of criminal activity Brilliant had once been part of, something that could tell him if Brilliant had perhaps once been a con artist, a burglar, a bank robber—anything really. However, Magnus’ inexperience when it came to criminals was glaringly obvious; he had no idea what to look for. Brilliant was kind, caring, and held great empathy even for him, so what kind of criminal had she been? Selling illegal cookies? Cheating at Bingo? He seriously doubted she had been a hardened criminal in her youth. Celestia hadn’t mentioned anything of the sort to him either, and by now he trusted her enough to safely say that whatever Brilliant had done had to be in the past. During these days, Magnus also tried to spend more time with Brilliant’s family and making an effort in getting to know them all. After what Copper Nut told him—that some of Brilliant’s family were uneasy and even tried to keep their distance from him because they had a very hard time figuring him out—Magnus began to be more observant. It didn’t take long before he noticed the signs and could single out those who were distrusting and even a bit afraid of him. One pony would simply leave the room and go elsewhere whenever he came in, some would try to sit as far away from him as possible, or would not say a word unless they were spoken too, no matter how chatty Magnus knew them to be. In two days’ time, he could pinpoint how many of them were in the mistrusting camp, and was surprised to find out it was only six ponies. Thankfully, they were adults and not children. Adults he could deal with, but fearful children crying was another matter completely. As for the other ponies, they were all pretty much nice, upstanding ponies; bat, earth, pegasus, and unicorn, and each day, Magnus would spend time getting to know them all. After just two days, he knew the names of them all. Each day something different happened in Stargard Castle. Although Brilliant never planned for any activities, her family more than made up for it. Some of the younger ponies went exploring the castle, some went outside for walks and playing almost every night, and some found other means to entertain themselves and others with. Board games were played each day. A few of Brilliant’s grandchildren were fans of a board game, reminiscent of Dungeons and Dragons, and a game that was eerily similar to Monopoly, only its name being Monopony. The children were constantly underfoot, playing games or being hyped up on sugar, thanks to Brilliant herself. One thing Magnus noticed was that bat ponies had an affinity for fruit in all its forms, mangoes especially. Either eaten straight as a fruit or as frosting on cakes or filling in cupcakes or muffins, the bat ponies devoured them like a school of piranhas going to town on a buffalo crossing a river. But that was just the kids. The older bat ponies were also fond of mango, some of them to the extreme. At one point, Magnus even saw with his very own eyes one of Brilliant’s children, a mare, and a senior citizen at that, pounce on a mango in the kitchen and eat it greedily in a matter of seconds. Thing was, the mare thought she was alone, and when she had ferociously devoured the mango and turned around, Magnus backed away slowly into the hallway before releasing his laughter which he had held in for a while. This, he heard later, was actually a common thing for bat ponies to do, especially foals. Thus, Magnus came to the decision that bat ponies were a bit silly. *** It was the early evening of Harvest Day. Magnus had clothed himself for night, wearing his jacket and long pants. Brilliant’s family as well as Brilliant herself were also getting ready, clothing themselves for the night, carrying saddlebags with buckets instead of bags, and carrying berry rakes made out of wood. Brilliant had been asked if she wanted to stay at the castle, but the stubborn old mare was having none of that, and she loudly stated so. “I’ve participated in Harvest Day for decades, and it’ll be at least a decade more before I decide to stay at home,” she had declared. While the ponies were getting ready, Magnus waited patiently, playing with one of the foals to pass the time. He tugged on a string, the other end of the string tied to a mango, and pulling it around a corner slowly. As expected, a bat pony filly named Blue Wind followed it, sneaking like a cat around the corner, stalking the mango, her normally slit eyes widened like those of a cat tracking its prey. The poor mango stood no chance as Blue Wind wiggled her butt, pounced, and gulped down the mango, sans string. This was seen by quite a few of the family and was reason for a few laughs. “Moar!” she exclaimed excitedly, waving her little forelegs at Magnus. “I think you had enough now, Blue. I don’t think your mommy will let me feed you more mangoes, not when we’re going outside.” Magnus smiled as he stood up. “Nuuh! Moar mango. Mango smol, Bloo tol!” Blue Wind complained, sitting on her hind legs while reaching up for Magnus. Reaching down, he picked up little Blue Wind like a cat, cradling her in his arms. “It was a small mango, yes, but that means you have space for many more mangoes in your tummy later today, okay?” “Many mango?” Blue gasped, her eyes and irises growing larger. “Bloo can wait for many mango!” she exclaimed happily. The concept of even more mangoes was enough to satisfy the filly, at least for the moment. Magnus wasn’t making idle promises either; he’d seen some of Brilliant’s grandchildren smuggle a box of the stuff into the castle last night. “Atta girl! Now, where do you want to land?” Magnus walked over to the nearest pony, that being one of Brilliant’s children, and leaned down to him. “Wanna land on grand-uncle?” “Nuuh! Wanna sit on da-da!” Blue complained as she tried to run away while being held under her armpits and hind legs. “Or… maybe land on great-granny?” Magnus proceeded to hover Blue over Brilliant, who smiled up at her great-granddaughter. “Nuuuuuu! Da-da!” Blue giggled. Magnus then went from pony to pony, asking Blue if she wanted to land on them, and Blue protested more and more, giggling up a storm as she went from pony to pony, wiggling to get free. Finally, Magnus placed her on her father’s back, and the filly proceeded to nuzzle into his mane, almost trying to hide in it while still giggling. “Alright then, everypony, we all ready?” Brilliant asked, adjusting her saddlebuckets with her magic. Nods and yes went all around, and they walked outside into the brisk evening air. Wagons were ready outside, and some ponies hitched themselves onto them, letting the foals ride on them. Brilliant also had a spot in a wagon, one she didn’t decline. Despite loudly saying she was going as well, her children insisted she could ride in the wagon because of her unsteady legs. That argument was not up for debate. As a group, they all left the castle grounds and headed south, straight into the forest. Some ponies carried lanterns to light up the way for the non-bat ponies. While walking, Magnus paid attention to the forest around him. Although dark, he felt as if this forest was very peaceful and not dangerous in any way. No sounds were heard, except for those of nightly creatures, such as the chattering of bats in the sky. Magnus noticed recently that the usually warm days had begun to grow colder, and now that they trekked through the forest, he saw leaves falling from the trees in yellow and red colours. Fall had arrived. “The forest’s nice during fall,” a voice spoke up beside him. A mare, one of Brilliant’s grandchildren, walked beside him with a smile. Her name was Dawn Dew. A bat pony of small size, black coat, golden eyes and reddish-purple mane, she was surprisingly small for an adult. “It is,” Magnus said wistfully, his mind on the forests and mountains back home. “Almost reminds me a bit about Montana. Although, this forest feels strange, like, it’s welcoming in a weird way.” Dawn Dew laughed, saying, “Maybe it’s because we bat ponies have lived here for so long. This forest belongs to the bat ponies of Hollow Shades, and we take good care of it. It’s our home; we take good care of our homes.” “That explains it. No one likes a mess in their own house.” Magnus let his eyes wander for a while. From the light of the lanterns they carried, he noticed the berries growing wild and dense among the heather underhoof. However, the lanterns were not so close that he could see their colour or what type they were. “Dawn, what kind of berries are these? One of the types we’re looking for?” The bat pony glanced down for a brief second. “Blueberries. This could be a nice patch to forage in. But we’re going further into the forest; they grow larger the further in we go.” Magnus hummed and continued walking. “Seems like you know your stuff. You’ve done this before, haven’t you?” Dawn fell in line next to him, saying, “I know because I have a berry farm in this forest; many ponies around these parts do. As a matter of fact, Hollow Shades sells berries to many cities around Equestria.” Magnus glanced down to Dawn’s hips. Sure enough, her cutie mark was a cluster of blueberries. “I didn’t know that. Is berry farming profitable?” “We make do. I mostly harvest and sell lingonberries and bog bilberries. Some ponies don’t like them as they are, but add a little sugar and make jam out of them and I guarantee they’ll sell,” Dawn explained happily while cantering along. Magnus didn’t doubt Dawn at all. He knew well how delicious fresh picked berries could be. He’d visited Glacier National Park several times and there were several good places to find wild raspberries, blackberries, and even strawberries, enough for a grown man to eat his fill and then some. “Sounds like a man, or a pony, wouldn’t starve in this forest at all. What other types of edibles can I find in this forest?” he asked, looking around. “Oh, a whole bunch. There are mushrooms, roots, some herbs to spice up your food, maybe the occasional fruit tree, but they are very rare since we’re so far north of the main fruit tree growing lands.” Dawn stopped and pulled at Magnus’ leg with her forehoof, stopping him. “But don’t pick any mushrooms in this forest. There are some that are very dangerous; some can make you very sick while others are likely to kill you. You have to know which ones are edible and which ones are not,” she warned him sternly. “Thanks, Dawn, think I’ll let the experts deal with any mushrooms we find tonight.” The group continued their trek through the forest, and it soon became evident they were not alone. Magnus spotted several lights moving far away in the forest, other ponies of Hollow Shades searching for anything to put on their tables. With the amount of berries he’d seen so far, and even some ponies in his group making brief stops to pick mushrooms, he had no doubt that the forest was a veritable breadbasket, or in this case, fruit and vegetable basket. Eventually, they reached deeper into the forest. A large clearing marked their place to begin. As they all gathered around, Brilliant stepped up onto a large stump and cleared her throat. “Everypony, it’s another fine fall evening and another good Harvest Day. I’m happy to see so many beloved faces, new and old,” she began, her voice loud and clear. Magnus saw her eyes briefly glance at him. “Hollow Shades’ Harvest Day has been celebrated each year for over a thousand years in Hollow Shades, even since the bat ponies first came to Equestria, and their first year here, a year that almost ended in disaster, due to a food shortage. But the forest saved them the first year, and by the second year, they had plenty of crops to harvest. Still, that didn’t stop them from gathering food in the forest.” Magnus looked around; all the ponies smiled, but the bat ponies wore wider smiles, obviously proud of the fact that they started it all. “And ever since that day, we ponies of Hollow Shades follow the traditions that began as a necessity, but have since become tradition. The forest will provide for us as it always has. Now then, let’s sort out the groups.” Brilliant then began to divide them all up into groups, ranging from four to five ponies, all of them equipped for gathering whatever edibles they could find. Magnus was assigned a group and given a lantern, bucket and berry rake, and together with four ponies, he set out into the forest, with the others going in different directions. Magnus’ group consisted of Power Chord, two teenage ponies, a mare and stallion, cousins to each other, named Daisy Dumpling, a unicorn, and Sweet Corn, an earth pony. Sweet Corn was a botany student, thus he became the pony in charge of the mushrooms. The others simply had to point out any mushrooms they found and Sweet Corn would check them over to see if they were edible. The last one, an adult pegasus mare, stood out, at least when it came to Magnus’ view of ponies. For instance, she wore clothes. Always. Second, he didn’t even know if the concept of subcultures was a thing here, but Inky Rose could easily fit into the Goth category. Her all black outfit with spider web decor as well as her subdued mane and coat made her all but invisible if she walked out of the reach of the lantern light. Furthermore, Magnus was well aware that she was one of the ponies who just wanted to leave when he was nearby. It was a wonder she didn’t protest back at the clearing. All she had to do was say no, and she’d be swapped for someone else, but she never said a word. After a short walk away from the clearing, they found a nice patch of relatively open ground where the blueberries flourished like stars in the sky amongst the heather. “This looks good,” Daisy Dumpling said, levitating her saddlebuckets off and depositing them on the ground. “You all okay with this place or should we check somewhere else?” “This looks great!” The group turned toward the owner of the voice, that being Power Chord; he was already seated on the ground, scooping up berries and chewing loudly. “I say we empty this place, right into here.” He patted his belly. “I like this place,” said Inky, the first words she spoke that evening, at least so Magnus could hear. “It’s dark, a bit dreary, and that dead tree over there gives this place character.” Magnus stared at Inky. ‘Thank you for your input, Wednesday Addams,’ he thought. Inky sounded very dark compared to other ponies, but the rest of the group didn’t say a word or stare at her like he did, so that meant they had to be used to Inky’s unique personality. “That settles it; we start here,” Sweet Corn announced, already walking around with his lantern, looking for mushrooms. And so they began foraging. Magnus began eagerly, kneeling and raking his berry picker across the heather and moss, but soon remembered how monotonous work picking berries was. Just rake, rake, rake, deposit berries into the bucket, and start all over again. Still, the effort would be worth it. He’d heard some of the ponies talking about what Brilliant had in store for tonight. Not only that, but some of her immediate family were apparently excellent cooks too. One of her granddaughters, Silver Casserole, was a chef in Manehattan, employed at some high-end restaurant catering to the 1%. With a resume like that, she’d have to have a black belt in cooking. But monotonous the work was, no matter what. Magnus looked around; everypony was hard at work, picking berries, chatting to each other, while Sweet Corn went from tree to tree, inspecting mushrooms and picking a few. The closest pony to him was in fact Inky Rose. She was nose-deep in heather, her berry rake strapped to her foreleg, raking and looking completely disinterested in her work. Interesting enough, she wasn’t paying attention to Magnus, and a plan formed in his mind. While Inky was focused on the task at hand, Magnus began working his way towards her back, raking up berries as he went and making a trail towards her. When he was just a few short steps from her, he knelt in the moss and continued working as if nothing had happened, but now he was close enough. “Why are you afraid of me, Inky Rose?” The pegasus mare gasped and spun around, knocking over the bucket with berries, spilling them on the ground. For a few seconds, Inky stared wide-eyed at Magnus, then at the bucket of spilled berries, and then back again. Although she didn’t exactly look terrified, she certainly seemed unsure about the whole thing. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you like that.” Magnus began scooping up the spilled berries into Inky’s bucket. “Still, I’m curious as to why. Makes me feel awful being scary to you when I can’t help it.” Inky did not respond for a few seconds, but finally she sighed. “It’s a… nothing you did. I’ve… I’ve a bad experience with tall bipeds.” “Wanna elaborate?” Magnus asked, glancing at Inky. “Bad boyfriend?” Inky’s normal coat color blushed red on her cheeks, and when she spoke she lacked her normal almost indifferent voice. “No-no! I don’t have a coltfriend anyway! It’s…” She sighed and sat down on the mossy ground. “It’s silly, but I can’t help it. I’m afraid of tall bipeds, it’s a phobia.” “You’re afraid of tall two-legged creatures?” Magnus crooked a brow, wondering just how that could’ve happened. Inky nodded. “Yes. I’ve been afraid of bipeds for years. I always feel nervous around them. Minotaurs, diamond dogs, even some tall ponies. I always feel as if they are about to fall if I’m close to them, and I’m afraid I’ll be squashed under them.” Magnus had to agree—it was a silly phobia, one he hadn’t heard of before, but apparently real enough to make Inky Rose feel uncomfortable around him. “How did you get afraid of tall bipeds?” “I’m a seamstress, I’ve been making dresses since I was a teenager,” explained Inky. “I began working as an apprentice tailor in a store in Phillydelphia. One day, when I was about fourteen, we had a new customer, a minotaur, visit the store I worked at. He wanted a full suit, jacket, vest, and shirt, tailor made for him, and the store owner asked me to deal with the customer.” “That minotaur was my first non-pony customer and I was happy to make something new and interesting,” Inky explained with a smile, which quickly vanished. “But during the fitting, I accidentally pricked him with a needle in a sensitive spot. He jumped, lost balance, and he fell from the fitting platform he stood on. He fell on me.” Magnus cringed; he had first-hand experience with minotaurs and knew a bit about how much a grown bull could weigh. But a grown bull falling on a pony? Inky shook her head. “He was heavy, so much heavier than I could ever expect. I broke both of my wings that day; two bones in my right wing, three in the other. Do you know how sensitive wings are? How many nerves are in them?” Magnus shook his head. He had absolutely no idea, but considering how vital a part of a pegasus the wings were, he could easily conclude that breaking a wing could easily rank pretty high on the pain scale. “I was in the hospital for weeks. I even had to learn how to fly again. I was grounded for over a year afterwards,” Inky continued with a sad voice. “Ponies do not lose balance so easily. Four legs, you know? But bipeds? I couldn’t even go close to bipeds after that. I still can’t.” When it became clear she had said all she had to say, he spoke. “I’m sorry it happened to you, Inky. I really am.” “It’s nothing you did, Magnus,” Inky replied and looked up, the beginning of a small smile on her face. “You can’t help it. I’m the one with a problem. I’ve spoken to psychologists about my problem, but it doesn’t help at all. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression these last few days. I think you’re an okay human, but it’s the, you know, height.” “It’s okay, Inky, I understand.” Magnus smiled. “I thought you were afraid of me because I’m human. Some ponies actually are.” He wasn’t about to tell Inky that it was because he mentioned eating cows. Things were somewhat balanced right now, and he didn’t want to tip the scales any more. “So, are we okay?” Inky carefully inquired, to which Magnus nodded. “We’re okay. From now on, I’ll try to keep myself in your line of sight and make sure you see me whenever I enter a room you’re in. I’ll also keep a bit of distance between us if it makes you feel better.” “Thank you,” Inky murmured, looking visibly relaxed to the point that Magnus saw her muscles loosening, easing away the tension she held on to. As they got back to work, chatting and raking berries, the general atmosphere between him and Inky felt better, more relaxed and casual. Not only that, he wondered if perhaps Princess Luna could help Inky Rose with her phobia. It couldn’t hurt to ask. *** As the night progressed, Magnus and his group slowly began filling their buckets to the point that they had to return to the meeting spot in the forest to leave the full buckets with the wagons and get empty ones. They were not the only ones; when they reached the clearing, they found a few full buckets and some ponies leaving with empty ones. Clearly, the rest of Brilliant’s family had had as much luck as they did. With empty buckets, they chose a different direction to look for more edibles. However, as the night went on, it became clear that the entire forest was full of ponies. Many lights were visible among the trees, and chance meetings frequently began to happen between Magnus’ group and ponies from the village. Word of Magnus being in Hollow Shades had spread far and wide and there was absolutely no lack of inquisitive ponies who wanted to say hello to the human. Most were simply curious about him while others asked the rest of the group why he was with them. It was at this point that Magnus became aware of something Brilliant had told her family, and that was that they could now tell ponies that he was part of their family. Still, Star Swirl’s name was never mentioned. When told that Magnus was part of the Galaxy family, as Power Chord happily informed the ponies they met, ponies at first became surprised and then happy on behalf of Brilliant. The townsponies had known for a long time that she was the last of her long family line, and now that there was another ‘Galaxy in the castle’ as some ponies mentioned, it was certainly a time to be pleased on behalf of Brilliant Star. This Magnus saw as yet another sign of pony families being so closely knit. As was usual with all the attention, Magnus took it all in stride and patience, but after several interruptions over the course of two hours, even he felt the need to go into the depths of the forest, an excuse to look for an edible leaf or something. Nevertheless, he endured as far as he could. After all, it was for the sake of integration. Truth be told, he was actually happy to be seen joining in pony activities and traditions; the more normal things he did, the more normal he’d be in pony eyes and society at large. *** Many hours later, the moon had begun its slow descent. The number of lights in the forest had waned as ponies began to return home with their bounties. For Brilliant and her family, it was a successful haul. In all, they had gathered enough so that everypony, even ponies from out of town, could bring back home and eat throughout winter. And according to Brilliant, this year had been the best in two decades. Magnus’ group had been especially lucky stumbling over several large bushes of raspberries deep in the forest. Lucky in that Magnus was very fond of raspberries. A good couple of hours had been spent filling up several buckets, and now trudging through the forest, Magnus, Power Chord, Inky, and Daisy Dumpling carried their precious cargo with them while Sweet Corn had found plenty of edible mushrooms. The walk back to the castle was filled with talking, laughter, and snoring coming from the carts they brought with them, filled with sleeping fillies and colts, their tiny bellies bulging with all the berries they ate. As children went, they had spent the time outside playing with each other and running around the forest and sometimes snatching delicious berries from the buckets the adults had filled up whenever they got hungry. Now, they were all tuckered out and sleeping soundly. Upon arrival, the adults carried everything inside, storing the food in the cold basement for tomorrow since it was too late to start sorting everything and make dinner out of it this close to morning. Then everyone would help sort the berries, mushrooms, and herbs, and prepare everything for preserving. The berries would be jam, the mushrooms pickled, and the herbs dried. As for Magnus, he had been quite happy traipsing around the forest for an entire night. The air was fresh and crisp, the sounds of the night had reminded him of nights in the forest in the past, back in the forests of Montana. His company had been pleasant and fun, as everyone had something to tell, either stories or silly little jokes. But something special happened to Magnus this night, something that never crossed his mind at all. For the first time since coming to Equestria, he hadn’t felt homesick. *** The next evening everybody was busy. In the kitchen, Brilliant held court in the kitchen with an iron-shod hoof, directing one of her children and several grandchildren on how to prepare food for winter. Berries boiled merrily in pots and cauldrons, becoming jam and jelly, mushrooms were sliced and submerged in brine and vinegar alongside onions, pepper, and fresh herbs, while in a pot on low heat, herbs were carefully and slowly dried out to last over winter. All this Magnus witnessed for himself as he carried small buckets of cleaned and sorted berries into the kitchen. Brilliant was a hard ruler of the Land of Kitchen, but her reign was effective. Under her leadership, the precise amount of sugar was added and the contents of the pots bubbled at the correct heat, and the stirring done by two of her grandchildren was done with adequate speed and force. Magnus didn’t even know there was a wrong way to stir hot jam until it was sufficiently cooled enough. “More lingonberries, Brilliant,” Magnus said as he entered the matriarch’s domain and dumped it into a large pot soon ready for the stove. Their total haul was more than enough for everybody. Brilliant walked over to the pot, peering into it with a trained eye, perhaps looking for any invisible impurities. She hummed to herself, “Good, good, the next batch will be ready soon. The raspberries?” she inquired, looking up at Magnus. “We’re working on them; should be ready soon.” Brilliant gave a satisfactory nod. “Good. Now raspberries are tricky; they need the perfect temperature, or else the taste will evaporate too. It’s all in the juices.” Magnus didn’t doubt her. Just the sheer scent in the kitchen convinced him that Brilliant knew her stuff. Although Brilliant’s entire family could fit in the living room, it would have taken too much space, not leaving enough for the edibles and buckets, so they ended up using the living room and the gallery. Magnus’ place was in the living room along with several of Brilliant’s grandchildren around Magnus age, and alongside ponies around his own age conversation went from topic to topic that they had some common interest in. Magnus sat down and began sorting and rinsing berries in cold water before throwing them into an empty bucket, all while talking about random topics. “Magnus, you been into town yet?” one bat pony stallion named Silver Nugget asked, deftly manipulating his wing claws to pick up individual berries and washing them. “Yeah, just helped Brilliant with her groceries. Didn’t have time to look around much,” he replied, focused on his work. “Well, not really much to see in town, to be perfectly honest. No wonder some ponies tend to move to other cities. Manehattan is as much alive at night as Hollow Shades is,” a bat pony mare called Smoky Frost said. “I like living there, so much more to do there than here.” “The reason I asked,” Silver Nugget continued. “We’re planning to head into town tomorrow morning. Hayburgers first and then go to Cold Brew’s bar. Heard that some local ponies are playing. Wanna come?” “Don’t have to ask me twice. I could go for a cold beer... or ten,” Magnus replied, feeling eager to taste what bat ponies could brew, considering their love for fruit. Probably a lot of colourful drinks. “They also have a jukebox. Know what it is? Like a record player, but it can play records one after another,” said Power Chord. “I’ve heard of something similar.” Magnus cracked a smile, thinking of his phone resting in his pocket. “Well then, we’re all in then?” Silver Nugget looked around at his assembled kin. No one shook their head. “Alright, tomorrow we’ll drain Cold Brew’s inventory dry!” *** Night began to turn to morning by the time all the berries had been rinsed, cleaned, and cooked, and the entire house smelled of sweet cooked berries of different varieties. Now it all rested in glass jars, five for each pony and man, one jar of pickled mushrooms, and also small vials filled with dried herbs to season whatever warm foods were made during winter. With the provisions for winter ready, Brilliant and some of her cooking-minded children and grandchildren got to work making dinner. By the time dinner was done, the scent of berries had been replaced with the smell of a three-course dinner. A creamy soup made of mushrooms and seasoned with fresh herbs. Vegetables on skewers and spicy seasoning grilled in the oven and with a sweet and sour sauce drizzled over it. And the dessert? Warm raspberry and lemon pie with ice cream. With such a dinner and the recent Harvest Day over with, the atmosphere in the castle was positively throbbing. “Now children, settle down.” Brilliant knocked on her glass with a teaspoon, getting her family’s attention and stood up, all conversation ceasing in an instant. “I’m not one for speeches, so I will keep this short. We have worked hard these last two days, all of us, bringing in the forests bounty. Now we can have a taste of warmer days when the snow comes, something to remember another year passing. “Seeing you all here fills my heart with joy. The familiar faces…” Brilliant looked to her step-children, or herd-foals as Magnus had heard the term used a few times. “The young ones….” Brilliant then turned to her grandchildren, numerous in number as they were, as well as their spouses. “And finally, the very youngest,” Brilliant smiled at the great-grandchildren, especially the foals, babbling to each other in their high chairs, their faces covered with tiny bits of food. But the old mare’s eyes also rested on Magnus for the briefest of moments, smiling warmly, and this Magnus noticed. Did she mean to imply that she saw Magnus as part of the family already, as the youngest member? Sure, the youngest foal was five months old, and Magnus was twenty seven, but he had been in Equestria for just a couple of months. Still, if that was the case, then pony family bonds were stronger than he thought. “All working together to make this meal before us, and to help each other with food over winter. So,” Brilliant levitated her glass into the air, “I wish to propose a toast to all of us. To us, and to this fine dinner before us. Well done everypony.” As one, the many ponies and one human raised their glasses into the air and toasted each other and dinner. And without further ado, it was time to dig in. *** It was late in the morning when the Harvest Day celebration dinner began to wind down. Everyone had had their fill and then some. Even then, after dinner, when the children were put to bed, the adults moved to the gallery where they enjoyed a few glasses of wine and something stronger from Brilliant’s wine cellar. ‘Laid down by my grandfather. Should be good by now,’ she had said and opened a bottle of wine older than her. While Magnus wasn’t a fan of wine, he did like the contents of the dusty old bottles brought from the cellar. A rich taste of grapes, yet highly intricate in its many flavours, so many in fact that he tasted some he didn’t know existed. But if the wine was good, Magnus loved the fruit brandy. A favourite of Brilliant’s late husband, the brown liquid had a strong initial taste, but mellowed quickly, like silk on the tongue, tasting of pears and grapes. Oh yes, it instantly became his favourite. But after such a rich meal, good drink, and hours spent in good company, the party began to wind down and it was near noon when everyone returned to their assigned rooms for a good night's sleep. Shuffling into his room, Magnus closed the curtains and began to undress. Tonight had been a good night. While the work was monotonous, the end product was definitely worth it. And the company wasn’t bad either. Now that Brilliant’s family had begun to warm up to him, he wasn’t plagued by endless inquiries as he had so many other times. No, he wasn’t treated as something special, not like a dignitary or someone of high social value. He was simply treated as… a guest, or perhaps even something other than a guest. He had seen it during the night, how the ponies conversed with each other, acted towards each other, and even joked around when a bit of wine and brandy had been consumed. There had been laughs all around and the atmosphere had felt warm and pleasant. Even better, he didn’t feel separated by it and them because of his race. He felt included, welcome even, by Brilliant’s family. He wasn’t Magnus the human there, he was simply Magnus. They had paid no attention to the horn or the hooves, never mind the bipedalism, just friendly talk and laughter, as well as some funny stories from past gatherings of the family. Magnus had to admit when he finally laid his head on the pillow and pulled the duvet up to his chin and closed his eyes: things went very well. *** “Magnus, wake up!” The human was rustled from his sleep, barely able to form a coherent thought, but managed to open his eyes. Blinking a couple of times, he saw a pony standing over him, on the bed. “Power Chord?” Magnus muttered, blinking wearily. The bat pony didn’t look as sleepy as Magnus felt. On the contrary, Power Chord was wide awake and looking shocked. “Power Chord, what—why—” Magnus turned to the nightstand and the watch there. “I’ve only been asleep for two hours!” “I know, I know,” Power Chord excused himself and jumped down. “But we have a problem.” “A problem, yeah, a man can’t get a good night's sleep around here because ponies are waking him up!” Magnus grumbled and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “No, we’ve a bigger problem.” Rubbing his face, Magnus huffed. “I can’t see what can be a bigger problem right now,” he complained, looking back at the warm bed. “Come over here and see for yourself,” Power Chord replied and walked over to the window. “And uh, since you like keeping yourself covered, might wanna put on some pants first.” Throwing his hands in the air, Magnus put his pants on and walked over to the window. “Before you look outside,” the bat pony said, “I have no idea who said anything.” Sighing, Magnus pulled the curtains aside and immediately wished he didn’t. “There he is! Starswirl’s descendant!” several voices cried out at once. Ponies. There were ponies. Everywhere. A huge crowd. Hundreds of them. On the ground. In the air. Even inside the walls. And then the flashes began, flashes from cameras on the ground, from pegasi in the air, and from cameras levitating right outside his window. And the last thing Magnus saw before he closed the curtains was a hat on a pony’s head, a hat that had a small card in the brim that said one word. Press. Castle Stargard was under siege.