With a buzzing and crackling of magic, a blue portal opened into the upper chambers of the Crystal Palace. Twilight, Spike, and Flash staggered out of the swirling gateway first, all of them groaning quietly and massaging tender muscles. Then Phillip and Daring exited, both of them equally exhausted. Finally, the Emperor and Empress came out with their squadron of Royal Guards.
“Fuck, I need a drink,” Daring groaned, spotting a minibar stocked with bottles. Snatching a hard bourbon, she unstoppered the cork and downed several gulps in one go.
Twilight turned and stared out the window to the north, studying the sky that was crossed with faint oranges and yellows from the setting sun. “What’s going to happen to Colonel Frostbite?” she asked Shining.
Shining Armor mopped his sweaty mane as he headed over to the bar, taking a bottle of Frangelico and two glasses. “I’m going to have to speak to the district attorney,” he said. “He needs to be sent to a hospital, not prison. But he still has to answer for his crimes.”
Cadance collapsed into a chair like a heavy weight with a long exhalation, mopping her eyes as she accepted the drink that Shining was offering her. “An entire village..." she panted. "Thirty-six dead, more than a hundred wounded...Madonna, it was like the war again…” She sniffled and feebly choked back a sob.
Shining climbed onto a chair next to her and gently pulled her into his arms. “Sergeant, please take the...thing down to the secure archives,” he instructed the Guards, nodding to the large metal box that they were holding between them with their magic. “We’ll deal with it later. And triple security on that, understand?”
“Yes, Your Highness,” the Sergeant nodded with a bow, then turned and led her cohorts out of the study.
“You guys,” Shining said, nodding to the others. “Thank you for all your help with the cleanup today.”
“Least we could do,” Daring said, taking another long draught of alcohol. She closed her eyes as she swallowed down the sweet taste, trying to banish the images of blood and broken bodies from her mind, the sounds of bodies being placed onto rattling stretchers, of ponies wailing and sobbing over parents, siblings, children. One memory clung to the forefront of her mind: two young foals sitting on the grass outside their home, staring at their father as he sat on the curb, head bowed as he stared at his bloodied hooves, the rain failing to wash the crimson away. The kids were looking at their father with a mixture of grief and apprehension, simultaneously wanting to approach him and repulsed by him.
“If you head down to the banquet hall, the servants will get you something,” Shining continued. “Just...Cadance and I need a moment.”
“Right,” Flash nodded, heading for the door.
“And Flash?” Shining called, causing the younger stallion to pause at the door, meeting the monarch’s solemn eye. “Thank you for taking care of Twilight,” Shining nodded.
Flash blinked in surprise for a moment, then nodded back. “My pleasure,” he said and exited, giving Twilight a brief, shy smile as they left.
Her belly full of daisy pasta salad and Frangelico, Daring stared out from the balcony of their room, her eyes tracing Draco’s tail through the sky. She took a drag on her cigarette and exhaled the smoke, watching as it drifted over the sleeping city. A wind whispered up over Cuore and she shivered slightly.
“You coming to bed?” Phillip called from inside, where he was already laying down on the mattress, raising his head to look at her.
Daring sighed. “Yeah, I…” She paused, then doused the cigarette in an antique ashtray.
“What is it?” Phillip pressed.
“It’s nothing,” Daring shook her head as she reentered the bedroom, closing and latching the doors behind her.
Phillip watched as she trotted over to him, moving as though she had a great weight over her shoulders. “It’s obviously not nothing,” he frowned at her.
She gave him a feeble glare for a moment, then sighed as she sat down. “I wish we could do more,” she mumbled.
“So do I,” Phillip nodded. “But the survivors need help that we can’t give. That said, I know Cadance will make sure that they’re taken care of.”
Daring nodded, then moaned and rubbed her heavy, weary eyes. “I don’t really want to speak to Luna tonight,” she admitted. “It’s just...a lot happened.”
“I know,” Phillip replied, taking her hoof in both of his. “But that’s probably why you should talk to her. And to me if you want to. And if nothing else, you need to sleep.”
“I hate when you’re logical sometimes,” Daring grumbled, placing her free hoof over his.
“Maybe this is what parenting is like,” Phillip said with a smirk.
Letting out a feeble chuckle, Daring collapsed onto the massive bed. She snuggled up against Phillip, letting out a quiet sigh of relief as she felt his arms gently wrap around her barrel, and his soft lips gently brush against her cheek.
“I love you,” he breathed.
“I love you, too,” she whispered, closing her eyes and allowing sleep to steal over her.
When she opened her eyes again, she was laying in a meadow surrounded by trees that whispered in a gentle breeze, stars swirling through the purple sky overhead. The dew on the grass tickled her feathers as she sat up.
“I didn’t expect to see you tonight, Princess,” she admitted, turning to see the lunar monarch standing behind her. “I thought you’d be busy.”
“Aye, I am going to have my hooves full with the traumatized villagers,” Luna nodded sadly. “But I will always have time for those in need. And tonight, you are also in need.”
Daring stared at her right foreleg, studying the cursed brand dispassionately. “I…” She sighed. “I don’t know. Even if I get rid of this brand...even if that works...it won’t erase what I did.”
“Nothing can,” Luna admitted, draping a wing around her and gently pulling her into a hug. “But you’ve spent the last year and a half trying to make up for it. And the lives that you’ve helped save, in mine and my sister’s opinion, weigh far more than those that you’ve hurt.”
Daring shifted in the grass, saying nothing. Luna’s embrace held her a little tighter, the comforting warmth soothing the pricks of doubt that were running through her veins.
“That brand is not what is holding you in the past, Daring,” Luna said. “It is you. Only you. As many talks as we can have, you are the only one who can forgive yourself. You are the only one who can let go of the past, because you are the one holding it.”
“How?” Daring asked. “How am I supposed to forget?”
“Not forget,” Luna said. “Forgive. See what you have learned, what you have done since then, how you have grown and changed.” She waved her hoof and the grass before Daring’s hooves turned into a pond, the pure water reflecting the violet sky and twinkling stars.
Daring hesitated for a moment, then leaned forward to look onto the smooth, mirror-like surface. She expected to see the ghost of her younger self once more, glaring back at her from beneath the water, but instead, she saw herself: clad in her green vest and pith helmet, haggard face shadowed by doubt and maybe a shred of hope, gently held by Princess Luna, who was gazing at her with a look of motherly compassion and concern.
“Look into yourself and see that you are no longer the angry, scared, broken mare who made those choices,” Luna said. “But instead, a strong, brave, intelligent mare who fights for justice, to protect and avenge the innocent. A mare who sometimes makes mistakes, who sometimes has doubts, just as any creature does, but does what she knows is right no matter what.” She beamed down at the smaller mare. “In short, a hero.”
Daring just continued to stare at her reflection, who stared back at her in silence, head cocked to one side in contemplation. She reached out with her right forelimb and gently touched the cold surface with the marked hoof, sending gentle ripples through the water that distorted her reflection for a brief moment. Then the ripples ceased and her doppelganger was there, still touching her blemish against hers, still unchanged save for a small, tangible note of relief around the edges of her countenance.
“I know it is hard,” Luna whispered, nuzzling the crown of Daring’s head. “But you must try, lest you carry that weight with you forever.”
She looked up into the purple sky as if divining something from the swirling stars. “I must go now,” she declared, slowly releasing Daring from her embrace and spreading her wings. “But remember, Daring: you are never alone. Through all the doubt, all the fear...you are not alone.”
A rustle in the trees prompted Daring to turn around, smiling at the sight of Phillip emerging from the treelines, smiling back at her.
“I know,” Daring said, rising and trotting over to him. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her warmly. She returned the embrace with greater warmth and enthusiasm, pushing him down onto the dew-kissed grass. He smiled, stroking her cheek, admiring the way her scarlet eyes twinkled down at him against the backlight of the stars.
“You feeling better?” he asked.
“Much,” she replied, nuzzling him.
“Told you,” Phillip smirked.
“Shut up and cuddle me,” Daring replied.
The morning was a rush of press conferences, messages to the press, making statements and affidavits, and reassuring witnesses and survivors from Collina Nord. While the Emperor and Empress handled the press and public, the others spent most of the day in the palace, hiding from the swarms of hungry reporters.
“I kinda preferred the anonymous life, to be honest,” Phillip said into the phone, staring at a small cluster of reporters hanging around outside the palace like an unkindness of ravens.
“Things were simpler back then, weren’t they?” Bobby chuckled on the other side of the line.
“Too right, dad,” Phillip nodded.
“How are you two doing?” Daring asked, leaning in closer to the hoofset so she could speak into it.
“We’re holding up alright,” Rain replied. “Playing at the Apple Pie is a bonzer time, and Rara, AJ, Pinkie, and Steamed Carrot are all so sweet. Oh, by the way, Daring, Rainbow Dash sent a letter yesterday, we’re holding onto it for you.”
“She’s got, what, a couple weeks of boot left?” Bobby said admiringly.
“Yup,” Daring nodded with a small grin. “Rainbow Dash, Air Force reservist, and one step closer to being a Wonderbolt.”
“Fair dinkum?” Bobby said. “Well, ripper for her. Not many fillies would bounce back as well as she has.”
“I know,” Daring replied, feeling a rush of pride rushing through her center.
“Are you all okay?” Rain asked. “We heard about what happened over the radio news, and we…”
“We’re all aces, mom,” Phillip replied. “I know you worry, and I’m sorry for that.”
“Maybe we should’ve gone with you,” Bobby replied.
“Dad, no,” Phillip cut him off. “Mom needed to stay for her operations, and you needed to take care of her. Besides, there wasn’t anything you could’ve done to help.”
Bobby sighed. “You’re right, of course. Just wish we could be of more help to you.”
“You’re a huge help,” Daring replied. “Just having you around to take care of us after…” She swallowed and gently pushed away the lurking memories before they could overtake her. “After what happened and just being there for us to talk to meant a lot to us both. And it still does.”
There was a brief pause that was filled with warm compassion transmitted over the thousands of miles. “We’re so proud of you both,” Rain said.
Phil and Daring beamed at each other. “We know,” Phil said, then sighed. “Listen, we should go.”
“Okay. We love you, ampa,” Rain said.
“Love you, too, mom,” Phillip said.
“Love you, too,” Daring added, the words surprising her as they fell out of her mouth.
“We’ll see you when you get home,” Bobby said, then the line clicked. Phillip hung up the phone with a contented sigh.
Daring looked out the window, briefly frowning at the reporters outside, then looking up and studying the clear blue sky.
“I need a fly,” she declared, stretching her itching wings. She shot a grin at Phil. “You wanna come?”
“Do I have a choice?” Phillip asked.
Daring rolled her eyes upwards with a grin, making a show of thinking about it for a moment. “Well, I’m not gonna force you,” she said.
Phillip studied her for a moment, then sighed and spread his forelegs slightly. “Fine. I need to get out of here anyway.”
Daring grinned, then in the blink of an eye, snatched him beneath the forelegs and shot out the window in a blur of gray and black, laughing over his startled shout.
That evening, deep in the halls of the Palace, a serious discussion took place.
“You can’t tell me you like Black Lioness more than Owlmare,” Flash protested, frowning at Shining.
“Owlmare is a rich mare with issues,” Shining Armor defended himself, folding his forelegs. “Black Lioness is a queen. I think it’s clear which one is superior.”
“Black Lioness is just Owlmare as a zebra!” Flash said. “More proof that Marevel Comics is just a bunch of copycats.”
“How are they similar?” Shining protested.
“Dress in black, super-rich, angsty, both named after scary animals, lots of ridiculous high-tech gadgets, use stealth and martial arts…” Flash replied, ticking off points with his feathers. "But Owlmare is superior in one aspect."
"What's that?" Shining asked skeptically.
"Black Lioness just needs to eat that magic fruit to get her powers," Flash declared. "Owlmare doesn't have any powers; she had to work to get to where she is."
“Oh, you’re gonna tell me that a mare who can survive in space for forty seconds and dodge point-blank gunshots doesn’t have any powers?” Shining snorted.
Flash opened his mouth to protest, then frowned. “Okay, fine, you have a point,” he grumbled.
Spike cleared his throat. “If we could get back to this?” he asked, gesturing to the sheets of paper and sketches of maps that were spread out on the table before them. “We’ve still got a village to sneak through.”
“Right, right,” Shining said, returning to his character sheet. “Um…I’ll have my rogue try to sneak up on the night watchpony guarding the street.”
“You sure?” Spike asked, raising an eyebrow.
“You guys have a better option?” Shining asked.
“Considering we got the one watchpony in fiction who actually pays attention, not really,” Flash commented as Shining scooped up the twenty-sided die. He blew on his hoof for luck, then threw it out onto the table. The blue die clattered across the stone surface, then stopped, displaying its result for the three to see.
A two.
Shining grimaced as Spike chuckled to himself. “Ghost attempts to creep up the alleyway, but slips on a banana peel and stumbles into a garbage can. The clatter causes the watchpony to whirl around and spot him!”
“My paladin moves to a covering position so he can take the watchpony out,” Flash declared, checking his character sheet and grabbing another wingful of popcorn from the bowl. He chewed on the snack and glanced up at the door, fidgeting in his seat slightly.
“Twilight and Cadance will be back when they’re done,” Shining told him, giving him a reassuring smile. “Now, how about you roll that die and save my ass? I’m going to try to Fast Talk the watchpony to keep his attention on me while Sun Shield--” He paused to give Flash another querying half-smile.
“Oh, and Ghost Pact is such an original name?” Flash snarked.
Shining chuckled in acquiescence. “--moves into position.”
A roll of 11 resulted in the confused watchpony regarding the clumsy hooded unicorn laying before him, covered in trash, listening to his slurring explanation about coming home late. Sun Shield moved into position around the block.
“Shield nocks a dart into his hoofbow,” Flash narrated, licking his lips. “He raises it up and takes aim at the watchpony…” He gripped the little plastic die, feeling Shining and Spike’s gazes boring into him, then closed his eyes and threw it. The die bounced once, twice, three times, each hit seeming to echo disproportionately loudly. Finally, it came to a stop. Flash kept his eyes shut: Shining and Spike’s silence hit him like a ton of bricks.
Finally, he dared peek one eye open and stared at the result.
Twenty.
“Direct hit!” Spike shouted. “The sleep dart hits the watchpony right in the neck and he collapses unconscious in the blink of an eye! Ghost scoops him up before he hits the ground and drags him into the alleyway, all without being spotted!”
Shining and Flash both cheered and slapped hooves against each other, laughing.
“Having fun, boys?” Cadance smiled from the door. She and Twilight were standing at the threshold, holding a scroll between them.
“We need to do this more often,” Shining grinned at Flash.
“I’d like that,” Flash nodded.
“I really hate to interrupt,” Twilight said, lifting up the scroll. “But we’re ready to try again.”
Once more, Daring found herself staring into the Crystal Heart, the others all arranged around it, standing in Twilight’s arrangement of circles. Twilight was currently staring at her notes, muttering to herself as she made a few last-minute adjustments.
“Now,” Twilight said to Daring. “If it doesn’t work--”
“It’ll work,” Daring cut her off. “I’m sure it will.”
Twilight gave her a brief, nervous smile and a nod, returning to her work.
“It will,” Phillip added, giving her an encouraging smile from the other side of the Heart. She smiled back at him, returning the nod.
Once more, Twilight, Shining, and Cadance all lit up their horns and fired a spell into the Heart, which began to spin in its setting once more, the ethereal music slowly rising to an angelic pitch. A rainbow fired from the Heart and struck Daring Do, washing over her body. Golden lightning danced around her feathers and a soothing warmth covered her like a blanket.
Once more, she stared into the Heart.
And once more, past the swirling colors, she stared back at the accusatory glare of her younger self.
You can’t erase what you did, her past self accused her.
I know I can’t, Daring replied. I’ve accepted that. But that doesn’t mean I have to hold onto you anymore.
Hold onto me? the phantom sneered. I am you, you idiot! You can’t let go of yourself!
Yes, I can Daring replied. I can let go of my past. Of my mistakes. Of the guilt. I’m done letting you define me, holding me back. My past is not today. I was a thief. A murderer. A criminal. But I am not those things anymore. And I’m ready to move on.
She lifted her right hoof, a tingling coldness swirling around the cursed mark, and stretched it out to her past. The younger Daring glared at the proffered hoof for a moment, then slowly, almost reluctantly, extended her right hoof. The two cursed brands met, burning hot against the cold, but Daring did not flinch.
I forgive you, Daring whispered to her past self.
The anger in the reflection faded away, replaced by a deep, exhausted relief. The reflection began to change and shift before her eyes, growing up, age lines fading over her youthful face. The dark clothes were replaced by the green cargo vest and pith helmet.
Thank you, her reflection whispered and vanished. The colors and lights and warmth faded away as well, and the music emanating from the Heart slowly faded to a quiet, soothing coda. The magical circle that Twilight had formed slowly faded away and vanished.
“Daring,” Phillip said, staring at Daring’s right hoof with wide eyes.
Daring looked down at her limb and gasped. The skin was whole and unblemished. The brand was gone. She flexed the hoof, then slowly ran a wing over it. The skin tingled in response to her touch, the damaged nerves responding.
Daring let out a little noise that was half-laugh and half-sob, her face splitting into a wide smile. Phillip hustled over to her and they embraced, both of them softly laughing as the tears began to fall.
“Thank you,” Daring breathed to the others.
“Anything for a friend,” Twilight said as she, Spike, and Flash all joined the hug.
Twilight sat at the desk in the great crystal bedroom, scribbling down some notes on the grand piano-sized desk of amethyst, the surface littered with books on Crystalline magic and history.
“What’re you working on?” Flash asked, checking over her shoulder.
“I’m making some notes on the memory spell I used to help Daring,” Twilight replied, writing down a complicated magical formula. “Maybe it can be used to help trauma victims in the future!”
“That’s really cool,” Flash smiled. “I love that you’re always thinking of others.” He paused for a moment, then smiled. “You know what would be really cool? If you could do that awesome dragon spell that Cadance did.”
“The Vicit Draconis is a complicated, powerful spell that Empress Amore invented,” Twilight replied. “The exact details are mostly secret, but I’d have to be an alicorn to pull it off.”
“Well, you’re a princess to me,” Flash grinned, wrapping his forelegs around Twilight’s barrel and squeezing her. She giggled and pressed the back of her head against his chest, lifting her chin up to allow him to kiss her on the lips.
“Blech,” Spike grumbled from the small circular bed next to the queen-sized mattress covered in magenta sheets, scowling at them over the top of his Power Ponies comic. “If you two are gonna be acting like that, maybe you should get a Trojan out of the drawer next to the bed.” He nodded to the small claw-foot table next to the larger bed.
“Spike!” Twilight cried as she and Flash blushed furiously, the pegasus quickly releasing Twilight and backing away.
Spike flipped the last page of the comic over and put it down with a sigh. “Great job, Humdrum,” he mumbled to himself, rolling over and covering his head with the deep purple blanket. “G’night, you two.”
Flash and Twilight stared at each other as Spike’s soft snores filled the room. “So…” Flash chuckled, rubbing the back of his mane. “Who put...those there?”
“Probably Cadance,” Twilight said, rolling her eyes. “Her idea of a joke. A welcoming present for you.”
“Right…” Flash mumbled, rubbing the back of his mane and deliberately trying not to look at the bed. “So, um...I’ll be going back to my quarters now...unless, um…”
“Um…” Twilight mumbled. “You could...stay with me, if you wanted…”
“Do you want me to?” Flash blurted out.
Twilight shrugged a little, her blush increasing to match Flash’s. “I mean...okay.”
They both grinned nervously at each other and climbed onto the cloud-soft mattress, crawling beneath the covers.
“You know,” Twilight said, cuddling up to Flash with a grin. “If I’m a princess, then I guess that means that you’re a knight, right?”
Flash chuckled. “I thought the cheesy stuff was my department, Twilight. And aren’t I supposed to save you from the dragon?” He nodded to the small bundle of snoring cloth next to them.
“That trope is a tad cliche, anyway,” Twilight smiled, then kissed him deeply on the lips. Flash kissed her back with a small moan of delight, rubbing her warm back.
His moan became a muffled grunt of surprise as the kiss became deeper, more forceful. “Uh, Twi…?” he stuttered.
“A princess should reward her knight,” Twilight cooed, a strange glimmer in her violet irides and a glow around her smile that made tingles run down Flash’s spine.
They paused for a moment, staring at each other in uncertainty like two divers looking over the edge of a cliff to the churning sea below. Then Flash lunged forward and kissed Twilight again, both of them opening their mouths to welcome each other. Flash’s hoof flailed for the night table’s drawer as Twilight lit up her horn and cast a Silence Spell around them.