//------------------------------// // Chapter 13: Lose You // Story: The Lion's Roar // by I Am The Night //------------------------------// Lyon didn't know entirely what to expect going into talking with Celestia herself. It was the first time he'd ever had a proper conversation with her—apart from a snippet after the Grand Galloping Gala and the wedding. It made sense. She was a leader of a nation and surely had little time to herself except to sleep. But she didn't talk about herself much. Why would she? She was here to know about him. And so every question she or Shining Armor or even Princess Cadance asked, he would answer. Luckily, the questions were no different than those Twilight and the others asked. Even without the truth spell, Celestia could see he didn't utter a single lie. As she said, Celestia had lived long enough to tell apart liars from truthers. If Lyon was lying to her or Twilight, then he was exceptionally good at it. She didn't know if that was something to worry about. Hours had passed, and the topic had changed considerably from Lyon's background and his species' history, to the most mundane or ridiculous moments he had either heard of or experienced himself. "-And the worst part of it is," Lyon continued of another tale, "I spent weeks looking for the damn... sorry, darn thing, but nothing turned up. Eventually, I remember giving up and just going back home—Goatsay Island at the time and forgetting about it. Up until I threw it up one night in a drunken stupor. The exact same way it ended up down my throat." Some of the ponies, Rarity especially, couldn't help but feel a bit disgusted at the circumstances. Celestia, on the other hoof, couldn't stop laughing at how ridiculous it sounded. Cadance giggled, though it seemed more to be from her aunt's own laughter. Shining Armor smiled, but didn't laugh. Lyon chuckled; he could see Shining was that type of guy. He knew because he experienced that in his youth. A footnote in history now, but still... ugh. "Anyway," Lyon finished, "that's how I ate Shard's Grail." The moment everyone's faces contorted into this mix of horror, shock, surprise, and somewhat amusement would forever be seared into Lyon's brain. Celestia and Luna themselves were old enough to understand the significance of Shard's Grail, owned and discovered by King Shard Whisker of Silverstone, a now defunct kingdom bordering Old Equestria some two-thousand years ago. Nine-hundred years ago, it was stolen from the Relic Museum in Corshire, which is all that remains of the nation. But as Lyon himself explained: "I didn't even know the significance of it until I showed it to a friend at the time. He was a historian who immediately recognized it and wondered how I found it." "And what did you tell him?" Celestia asked both curiously and humorously. Lyon paused. "... Treasure hunt." Celestia broke into a faint giggling fit. She never mentioned anything, but Lyon was sure she had her own similar stories to share. Certainly less... riveting. But that would have to wait for another time. "This historian," Celestia asked after she calmed down, "wouldn't happen to be Valor Roses, would he?" "Val?" The very mention of his name brought back memories, a spark burst in Lyon's head. "Val." He hadn't heard that name in a long time. "Yeah. That's him. He's a good guy." Lyon stopped. "Was." Celestia's smile faded. She'd already forgotten he was far older than he looked. "I'm sorry." Lyon waved it off. "It's fine." Celestia could easily tell it wasn't. "But yeah... Val was the one who revealed that the grail was found again and returned it to its rightful place—where it's been for the last three-hundred years." "The ancient records tell that he was the one to find the grail," Princess Cadance noted with curiosity. "Was that not true then?" "True enough in the sense that I wanted him to take the credit for it. I don't exactly think folks would be very pleased to find out how it was really found," Lyon laughed awkwardly, only to stop himself a moment later. "But also... I wasn't willing to let myself into the spotlight anytime soon. "I must've spent a good week arguing with him about it. He said I deserved to be a part of history. But at the time... I didn't think I deserved it at all. And I still stand by that. And if Val were still alive today, he would still be arguing with me about it. That discovery made him rich, and he deserved that far more than I ever could." Cadance smiled warmly. "He sounds like a good friend." Lyon returned his own smile, though a melancholic contrast. "He was. Now that I remember him... I really miss him." Lyon couldn't stop staring at the floor, gradually remembering bits and pieces of history that for a short time were lost entirely to him. The mention of Valor was enough to trigger every moment he ever shared with a stallion he considered to be one of his closest friends, one he was willing to die protecting. At one point, he even considered revealing his identity to him. He trusted him that much, especially after he was—though begrudgingly—willing to take the credit for finding the Grail. It made him trust him even more. After he died, Lyon left Corshire and never returned. Now he was wondering if Val's grave was still there after all this time? Celestia mentioned him to begin with, so surely he's still remembered. "Lyon?" Celestia called to him, breaking him from thought. "Do you need a moment?" He broke from the thought and looked at her, then shook his head. "No," he said. "I'm fine now." As much as Lyon hated lying, he knew it was better than to stick to anything for too long. "So about your archery skills," Shining Armor asked to change the subject. "How long did it take to master it?" Lyon pondered back to that time. As a young hatchling, he fumbled plenty on maintaining good posture, aiming down the sights, breathing steadily... the list goes on. No one was perfect for a while. It was day in and day out of training, so long that his hooves blistered after a while. And Chrysalis still made him shoot, he remembered. "Give or take, ten years," Lyon answered. "My mother wanted us to be very precise." "How so?" Shining asked, both curiously and cautiously. Lyon leaned in. "Give me a good bow, and I can replace half your Guard." Shining Armor leaned back into his seat and raised an eyebrow. He wasn't sure whether to believe Lyon's claims, but after hearing of his wife's own account during the invasion, he felt there was more to that statement than Lyon was letting on. And after training for ten years—compared to Shining's one year training course on archery—and given his age, he'd be surprised if he wasn't one of the best archers in the heart of Equestria. Time continued to pass without worry or caution. Celestia and Cadance—and occasionally the others—would ask Lyon a question about whatever he felt comfortable with, and he would answer to the best of his ability. Sometimes there were questions he either didn't have the full answer to or dodged completely. Celestia knew there was always more to any of his answers, but he never acted against any question out of fear or met them with hostility. He was always calm and as collected as could be. Sometimes Lyon would glance out the front windows. A resident or two would pass by, look at the guards, then keep on walking without daring to look further. The personal guards of the Princesses were always the hardest of them all. Try to get through them, and... well, it wouldn't be a fun time. Speaking of... Eventually, the lighthearted talk started to come to an end in Lyon's household, but not out of suspicion. Celestia didn't only come here to make sweet talk with the strange stallion. She was curious, worrisome even. Lyon didn't blame her; honestly, in her hooves, he'd probably be just as. "So you don't know anything?" Celestia asked Lyon. "No," Lyon answered disappointedly. "When a changeling is cut off from their hive, it's usually permanent. And by cut off, I really mean by it. No communications, no locations, no intel... nothing. When the hive kicks you out, you're truly your own person. Forever." "Sounds like it was for the better, then," Cadance suggested in a sympathetic tone. Lyon smiled for a moment, then it went away. "Do you know where she could be now?" Celestia questioned. "Or where she will be?" "No. All I know is that your spell that day shot her east. She probably got as far as the Wastelands with how powerful it was. But... that's just a guess. I have no clue where she is now. And I can't imagine our hive is in the same place I remember." "And where was that?" Lyon looked up and squinted his eyes trying to remember the exact location. Enough time had passed that he'd forgotten the place down to the very pebbles on the ground—but at the very least, he knew the vicinity. "East Prussia. That was the Hive's fallback location after the kingdom fell." Lyon sighed and adjusted his position in his chair. "But who knows if it's even there today?" "Then why were you planning to leave...?" Twilight asked. She was staring at Lyon with sadness in her eyes. "Without giving us an explanation? Without saying goodbye beyond a letter?" Lyon looked back at her. "I thought my life here was over. Secret was out. Everyone here saw what changelings are capable of. The moment everyone else figures out I'm one of them, no amount of good deeds are going to ever convince them I'd never hurt them. Friendship can only do so much before people turn it away out of fear. So I said to myself... if my life is over, then I'm going to end it on my own terms, by doing something I should've done a long time ago." Lyon leaned back. "Then after last night... I realized how stupid that was. I don't know where my mother is, and I'm basing everything off centuries old memories. What good would it be to the world if I die finding a place that might not even exist anymore?" He sighed deeply before turning back to Twilight. "If I'm going to stop my mother, the least I can do is be smart about it." Everyone in the living room seemed to agree with Lyon's sentiments, even Twilight. But there was something about Twilight's response that didn't seem right. Nopony noticed it but him. She didn't disagree with him; that wasn't the issue. But she didn't seem too happy about it, either. Before he could speak up, Celestia got up from her seat on the couch. "I hadn't realized how late it already is," she said. Lyon looked over to the clock and she was right. It was already close to nine in the evening! The Princess took an entire day off of work just to hear his side of the story. "As much as I would love to stay here and hear more of your stories, Mr. Lyon, I believe it's time I began making my way back to Canterlot. After the last few days, the city still remains on edge. But... I believe now I can at least convince everypony they're in no immediate danger." Lyon gave a nod. "What happens now?" he asked curiously. Celestia didn't answer immediately, as if wrestling with the thoughts and choices in her head. "Based off your testimony... I can confidently say that there is no immediate need to arrest or imprison you." "But we would like you to help fix the wall at the Canterlot jai—ow!" Shining Armor spoke up, only to be elbowed in his ribs by Cadance, who only glared at him. "What...?" "The wall can be fixed tomorrow, Captain Armor," Celestia assured. "I'll give you any resources you need to ensure it's fixed by sundown." Shining Armor only nodded and awkwardly cleared his throat, while Celestia turned back to Lyon. "As I was saying, you will not be arrested or imprisoned. However, I would like to meet with you again sometime in the next week to discuss further matters regarding Queen Chrysalis. In the event that she plans to attack again—whether in a week or a hundred years—I believe it would be best that we are brought up-to-date, however you can do so." "Of course, Princess," Lyon said with a firm nod. "I'll do my best." Celestia smiled and briefly nodded back. The few remaining minutes of their visit went by quickly, but inevitably Celestia, Cadance, and Shining all exchanged their goodbyes. Shining gave his sister a tight hug and felt himself tense up. "Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" he whispered to her. She only smiled faintly and said, "Yeah. Don't worry about me." "No promises." The two exchanged a bit of laughter, before pulling away from their embrace. Shining caught up beside Cadance and started for the door. As expected, the two guards that were stationed just outside the house were immediately at attention and ready to transport the three back to Canterlot. The carriage that they presumably arrived in was still there and ready at a moment's notice. Lyon and the others waved goodbye as the three entered the carriage and disappeared behind the door. The two guards hooked themselves to the front, and with a whisk of their hooves—and of course, a quick run down the road—the carriage took flight, destined for Canterlot. It quickly blended into the night sky, As soon as they were gone, Applejack let out a yawn. "Speaking of late nights," she began, "I think it's time I head home myself. We've got a bit of harvesting to do in the morning, and I'm not willing to let Big Mac and Apple Bloom go it alone again." It didn't long for the rest of them to agree on heading out for the night. Today was no doubt one of many days they were going to come by and ask Lyon about things, but it was probably the last day for a while they'd take off work for it. But while the girls discussed their coming busy work days, Twilight spoke up with uncertainty ringing in her voice. "Hey," she began, "could you guys take Spike home for me?" She turned back to the couch, as did Lyon and the rest of them, to notice Spike had passed out. He was snoring so quietly, neither of them noticed until Twilight pointed it out. He'd probably been sleeping for the last couple hours. "Sure, I can take him home," Applejack answered. "What's the occasion?" "Nothing, I just... I need to talk to Lyon for a moment. Alone, if that's okay." Despite her initial confusion, Applejack nodded in realization. "Of course, Twi." Reading the room, Applejack went over to the couch and lifted Spike onto her back, before making her way to the front door. The rest of the girls waved silent goodbyes to Twilight and Lyon, before shutting the door slowly behind them. As their hoofsteps faded out, Twilight turned to the door and rested one of her hooves against it. Her head was lowered, eyes half-open, and her breathing was unsteady yet nearly silent. She wasn't facing Lyon, but somehow he felt she was staring right through him. Lyon carefully approached the mare from behind, even raising a hoof up to her shoulder. Suddenly, she whipped around and forced a burning gaze down on him. Her eyes were angry yet sad all the same. Tears welled up at their bases, and her mouth was scrunched in a furious bite. Her face was one of pure upset. It was probably the worst thing Lyon had seen in a long time. And it being Twilight? That made it worse. Neither of them said a word to each other. Instead, Twilight slowly approached; every step against the floor was firm and calculated, yet full of tense anger. Lyon didn't move from his spot, but he soon found himself pressed up against the side of the living room couch. Twilight's form grew over him, even though he was considerably bigger. As her face stood mere inches from his, he was able to see hers in more detail; her lips were quivering, and a couple of fresh tears finally streamed down her face. It was like she was trying desperately to hold back her emotions, whatever they might've been, and was only barely able to do so. Her nostrils flared, blowing warm air onto Lyon's face. Her body was shivering. And despite all that, she was staring into his eyes, glancing between one and the other, watching as if to see any indication that there was some kind of fallacy, a hint that he was lying. He knew the look almost too well; she wanted so badly to see that he was toying with her, that it was just some cruel sick prank, one that she would almost undoubtedly never forgive him for, yet still... love him. She wanted... Before he could react, Twilight moved forward and pressed her body against Lyon's, and their lips met with minimal resistance. The sudden affection caught him off guard, but Lyon was sure it was nothing more than desperation, her mind conflicting with her emotions, any emotion. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she forced herself deeper into the kiss. Lyon resisted at first, but inevitably gave in. He knew it wasn't a good thing to let it happen, but he also knew better than to try to stop it. Maybe it was because part of him wanted it. But he knew even more that this wasn't out of romance or lust. It was sad. Twilight started sobbing into the kiss, holding Lyon tightly against her and sucking in fevered breaths while mashing her lips against the stallion's own. Her body was shaking, making his body shake with it. After a minute of this, Twilight pulled her lips away and rested her forehead against Lyon's, all while continuing to cry. She tried her best to stifle it, but her sniffling and shaky breaths made it hard. "Hey..." Lyon said softly, trying to caress her cheek with the back of his hoof. Twilight said nothing. Without anything to say, she whipped back around and ran to the door. "Twilight!" Lyon called for her, but she didn't respond. Twilight swung open the door, ran through it, and slammed it shut behind her in the span of two seconds. Lyon ran over to the door with the full intention of chasing her, but stopped before he opened it. He knew it wasn't the best decision to talk to her now. Not like this. It was never a good idea. And after what's happened so far, it would only be worse. So he reluctantly pulled himself away from the door and moved over to the window. He watched as Twilight's familiar form disappeared into the night. Soon enough, he found himself growing shaky. He was better at controlling it. It didn't make it better. Sleep didn't come to him tonight.