//------------------------------//
// Chapter 61 
// Story: The Last Descendant 
// by Cup of Coffee 
//------------------------------//

A cold fall wind blew through the forest of Hollow Shades. The breeze made dead leaves dance on the road and howled through branches nearly bereft of leaves. No birds sang this late evening, only the hooting of owls and sounds of distant animals deeper into the forest could be heard.

Magnus inhaled deeply and sighed. “Almost reminds me of Montana in the fall.” He buttoned up his jacket all the way. The cold wind was blowing from the north tonight, from the wintery Crystal Empire, a place in which the ponies’ coats shone and sparkled and their homes were actually carved out of crystals.

“Your grandfather’s cabin in the forest, you mean?” asked Brilliant. She was riding in her cart tonight while Magnus had decided to walk. He had done little of that, and his legs needed some more conditioning, as suggested by Doctor Silverheart weeks ago. Despite his lack of physical training, Magnus had gotten used to the extra weight his legs carried these days, but he was far from well-trained. A walk, even a short one, would help a little.

“Yeah.” Magnus sighed, smiling at the memories. “It was a nice place, a good silent meadow in the forest surrounded by tall trees. It was so far away from everything else; you only heard the wind and the animals there.” 

In his youth, Magnus had spent much of his time at Joseph’s cabin in the woods, hearing stories, learning about the tribe he was a member of, the Lakota or more specifically the Sihásapa, the Blackfoot Sioux, as well as a plethora of Native American legends and myths, shamanistic rituals, customs and traditions, of which Joseph was a walking encyclopaedia. His high standing in the Native community as a shaman and his knowledge concerning the old ways was well-known. Magnus had never really found out if Joseph intended for him to become a shaman, as it wasn’t a hereditary title, but he suspected that Joseph at least wanted him to have the knowledge he possessed and perhaps one day pass it on. 

Although Magnus had listened to what Joseph told him, the young boy had a tendency to drift out of the conversation and into his own world. Daydreaming often involved not just magic, but also wondering what was out there in the forest beyond the treeline of Joseph’s cabin. A hundred different ideas would pop into his mind, and the mind of a child was able to create a multitude of scenarios. In later years when Magnus began going for walks into the forest and began bringing a tent and sleeping bag, he’d begun exploring on his own. It was still an appealing idea in this new world.

Hollow Shades had certainly started to grow on Magnus. The village, the exotic ponies, the atmosphere, but also the forest itself. A walk first, maybe not a long one, but a few hours at least, just following the dirt road to see where he would end up, or perhaps just choose a random direction and keep going. If he did, he’d make sure it would be in daylight; navigating a forest with only a flashlight wasn’t the best idea.

“Brilliant, what kind of animals live in this forest? Anything dangerous?”

“Oh, I’d say nothing that will stalk or attack you if you do not provoke them. Lynx maybe—I saw one close to the castle a few years back, perhaps a few phoenixes,” she replied.

Magnus raised a brow. “Phoenix? As in the firebird, rising from the ashes? That sort of phoenix?” 

“The very same. Celestia has one for a pet; a clever bird and something of a prankster.”

Magnus didn’t even shake his head. Of course phoenixes existed here. Hell, there were dragons, pegasi, griffons, and God only knew what other fantasy creatures were around. Might as well throw in a bird that spontaneously came back to life.

Now that he thought about it, he had never seen Celestia with such a bird, but he had some vague memories of a fiery red and orange bird in his room during his… depressed state back in Canterlot.

“I’d like to see it when I get back to Canterlot,” he said, eliciting a smile from Brilliant.

They arrived in the town, Brilliant easily navigating the streets before finally finding a suitable spot to leave her wagon and disembarking. Ponies milled about on their business, be it work, free time, or errands to do. Tonight, Brilliant and Magnus had a specific errand.

“It’s this way.” Brilliant walked down the dirt road that led to the train station and Magnus following. They were going to the guard station; the bat ponies had a small barrack and office, although according to Brilliant, they really didn’t have much to do, other than receive applications to the Royal Guard. The bat ponies that applied would surely aim to be Night Guards one day. Still, the guard station remained, mostly out of tradition.

Soon the train station came into sight and just beyond that stood a two storey house made of wood and stone. There was little to indicate it served a military function, other than two ornate banners in Celestia’s and Luna’s colours hanging on each side of the entry door.

Brilliant didn’t bother knocking, opting instead for just walking in as if she owned the place. The first room was a large hall with doors labelled as offices and officer names and rank on them. The walls were decorated with portraits and photos of bat pony soldiers, medals and diplomas and a variety of military decorations like flags and banners with a variety of symbols and unit names on them. 

In front of them stood a desk and seated behind it a golden-eyed bat pony stallion in full armour sans helmet, resting on the desk beside him. The moment Brilliant walked in, he immediately perked up.

“Baroness Star, welcome! Have you come to inspect our barracks?” he asked eagerly, standing up and donning his helmet.

“Not today, Wind Burst,” Brilliant replied with a good-humoured chuckle. “No, Magnus and I are here to have a message sent to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna with the next courier. Celestia said that when Magnus wanted to return to Canterlot, he should come here and send them a letter for just that.”

“Oh! That’s right.” Wind Burst clapped with wings together on his back, as if they were hands. “After the disturbance at your castle, Princess Celestia actually came here and told us to give you this. just a moment.” Wind Burst ducked behind his desk again and began rummaging through the drawers, mumbling to himself while searching for something. Judging by the amount of papers and documents he had to move, having things in order was not one of the soldier's strong suits.

Magnus meanwhile, crouched until he was at level with Brilliant. “Was he joking or can you actually perform a military inspection?” he asked, wondering what sort of responsibilities she had that came with her title.

“As a baroness, I do have some say in things, but only minor, and I have rarely exercised that right. From a military point of view, I cannot command the guards in Hollow Shades, but I can ask to inspect the soldiers if I want to, just to make sure they aren’t being a bunch of lazy colts. In the old days, it was the duty of the nobility to report to the diarchy on the state of the soldiers garrisoned in the lands they were responsible for. In those days, it was important that the army was ready in case they were needed, and the old law was never removed. These days, however, inspections are usually carried out by the highest ranking officer at the garrison and province officers anyway.”

“Aha! Found it!” the soldier suddenly exclaimed, appearing from behind the desk, this time with a scroll held in his wing and presenting it to Brilliant, a scroll with a gold silk ribbon and red wax seal.

After Brilliant opened it, she spent a few moments reading it, smiled, and thanked Wind Burst. “I knew it,” she said knowingly. “Come Magnus, our business here is done. Goodbye Wind Burst; tell your mother I said hello.”

“I will. Have a nice night Baroness Star, and you too, Magnus.”

Once outside, Magnus had to ask. “Brilliant, can I ask what Celestia wrote to you?” He assumed it had something to do with the return to Canterlot, seeing as they hadn’t made any arrangements whatsoever.

 

“Oh, just Celestia being predictable,” she answered, opening the scroll and producing two tickets from within the rolled up piece of paper. “It seems Celestia wants to make amends after our little debate about law a while back. She left two train tickets for us to be used any time we wish, and she has also formally invited me to Canterlot as her guest to stay at the castle.”

“Oh, that sounds nice,” said Magnus, a bit relieved that the alicorn and the old unicorn could sit down and talk things over, seeing as they hadn’t parted on the best terms. “Has it been long since you visited Canterlot?”

Turning a corner and heading back into town, Brilliant hummed to herself. “Let’s see… It might have been the last time I attended the Grand Galloping Gala, nine or ten years ago. It was nice to see some old friends again, but Faust how terribly boring it was. Ponies dressed up like they were competing with the peacocks in the garden, bragging about this and that.” Brilliant laughed and shook her head. “I left early and found an old bar I used to go to in my youth, still owned by the same family and they still made a drink called Pirate’s Dive, once my favourite.”

Magnus laughed. “Getting hammered sounds more fun than a fancy gathering like that.” A bit of alcohol was a well-known social lubricant that could get even the most tight-lipped characters talking.

hey arrived in the town centre and sat down on a bench so that Brilliant could rest her legs for a while. For being as old as she was, she could move quite some distance before having to rest. No human being even close to her age could match her. Then again, humans had overall shorter lifespans. It made Magnus wonder what kind of lifespan he could expect. Would it be close to that of a pony, or would he be lucky to turn ninety? He didn’t know, but he was quite sure that his lifespan would be closer to that of a human, unless magic somehow could extend his life. However, if that was the case, wouldn't Equestria be filled with geriatrics or near immortal ponies? No, chances were that such magic didn’t exist.

Brilliant rubbed a thigh with a hoof while looking around. They sat near the town hall on a bench watching life pass them by. A stallion hauling a wagon full of fruit, the mail pony flying by, a young couple seemingly infatuated with each other, the children of the local school having a small outing with their teacher and all the foals staring with open mouths the moment they spotted Magnus. Magnus simply gave them a small wave and smile while their teacher tried to get them moving again.

“The guard house was the only errand we had in town tonight. Do you have an idea when you want to return to Canterlot?” Brilliant waved a hoof to a passing elderly mare who waved one of her wings back at her. 

“Maybe the day after tomorrow, or the day after that? I’m sure you want some time to pack some things, and we might want some time to get our sleep schedule back to daylight time.” He had gotten used to the nightly hours of Hollow Shades fast, and going back to Canterlot meant turning the day around again.

“Mmm, it’s always difficult to get used to daylight hours, believe me. It’s even worse for bat ponies who have lived their entire lives in Hollow Shades and then go elsewhere. There’s always stories going around town about bat ponies who join the Royal Guard and then have to stay awake during the day; always some good stories each year.” Brilliant chuckled. “Shall we say three days? I think we both need a little time to adjust before going to Canterlot.”

“Three days suits me fine. The sooner I can get back on track working on my future, the better for me”

Brilliant nodded and the two went back to watching village life life pass by in silence.

“Magnus, now that you have stayed here in Hollow Shades and with me, what do you think? Please, be honest,” asked Brilliant after a few long moments spent silent, looking at a few young fillies and colts walking by, teenagers by the looks of it. Braces on bat ponies looked very strange, but the colt desperately needed them.

Brilliant’s question came as a surprise to Magnus. He thought he had been nothing but honest ever since he came here, both in language and otherwise. Then again, some ponies had trouble reading him. Had he said or done something that she’d interpreted the wrong way? Nothing came to mind, but he was well aware of the fact that although he’d learned a few things about pony society he would be a student to it the rest of his life.

“Honestly?” Magnus sighed and leaned back on the bench. “When Celestia and Luna told me about you, I didn’t know what to think. I wasn’t sure if you’d even approve of me, not being a pony and all, and knowing I had a pony as my closest relative bothered me for a while.” Being related to an equine was such a surreal feeling, and slowly coming to terms with it even more. All in all, Magnus felt he had handled it pretty well over the weeks since he came here. 

“Approve?” Brilliant turned to Magnus, appearing surprised at his choice of words. “Oh no, hearing that my family tree had such distant saplings was a surprise to me too, but a pleasant one. That you are not a pony doesn’t bother me in the slightest.”

Magnus smiled, feeling a slight tinge of tenseness leaving him. Twilight told him that ponies were very family oriented, and at the time he didn’t know how far they’d go. Brilliant Star was a fantastic example of how far they’d consider any creature family, even non-ponies.

“Thank you. As for how I decided to come here, well, I took a gamble; either I’d be here for a few hours at most or my stay would last for a while. And to be perfectly frank, I… am glad I decided to visit.” The latter part of the sentence was buried deep. Although he was not the type of guy to talk openly about feelings and things like that, he hoped at least hinting towards it would make Brilliant happy. After all, she was the closest to a relative he had—in TWO worlds—and he had actually come to care for the old mare in such a short time.

Brilliant smiled, patting his thigh with an old wrinkled hoof. “Thank you, and the feeling is mutual.”

The two fell into a comfortable silence once more, watching life pass by. The air was crisp and cool, and Magnus felt quite well about his life right at that moment. He didn’t lie to Brilliant; he was happy he decided to take a chance in Hollow Shades. Although back in Ponyville he was a skeptic, in hindsight, being wrong was a good thing.

Brilliant sighed, smiling up at the night sky. “The pantry is stocked; I have enough yarn to last me until spring comes along, and I’ve already bought firewood for winter. Going back to the castle at this hour seems a bit early.” She turned to Magnus. “Come to think of it, you spent most of the time here in my castle, or spending time with us one way or another. Is there something you wish to do before going back to Canterlot?”

Magnus scratched the stubble on his chin; he hadn’t shaved for a few days now and it began to show. When coming to Hollow Shades he hadn’t really made any plans other than see what Brilliant Star was like, get to know her and then just wing it from there. And he wasn’t disappointed with how things had turned out. However, with everything that had happened lately, he hadn’t spared any time doing something he wanted to do like he did back home in Montana. Sure, he had done a lot of reading on magic since coming here, but perhaps now was the time for a more familiar activity. 

“You know, I’ve wanted to go for a walk for a while now. Doctor Silverheart back in Canterlot recommended it, what with my legs turning into hooves. He said it would help me familiarize myself with my new legs and help me get used to the extra weight.” He rested one copper-coloured hoof on top of his knee. It looked strange but didn’t feel uncomfortable, what with the leg being digitigrade instead of a normal human leg.

“A walk? Of course, just let me find my cart and I’ll join you. These old legs aren’t what they once were.”

Ten minutes later they left the village behind, following the dirt road east out of town venturing deeper into the dark forest. The sounds of the village gradually began to fade until all that remained was the sounds of the forest at night and the creaking sound of the wheels of Brilliant’s car-like wagon and the lamp at the front of her wagon lighting the way.

The road was made of packed dirt; just like any other road in town, centuries worth of ponies and wagons had made the road quite solid. Still, to Magnus the dirt felt better to walk on than the cobblestone streets of Canterlot or the hardwood floors of Brilliant’s castle. Even though the ground was cold and wet, the cold didn't bother him as much as he expected. His hooves never slipped or stumbled upon the road and his gait was relaxed, like a normal walk. Thinking back, he hadn’t stumbled once since the day he got out of that hospital bed so long ago. Strange how quickly he got used to them, but since they had always been there then it made some manner of strange sense.

“This path here goes to Wobbly Gear’s house, a young stallion who likes to style himself as an inventor,” Brilliant stated as they walked along the main path that branched off to smaller, less-used paths, like driveways to private houses. “And if you go up there you’ll end up at Moonblur, Figtree, and Orchid Petal’s home. Poor Moonblur, I hope her cataract surgery goes well. She is almost completely blind you know.”

On and on Brilliant fed a near constant stream of information to Magnus. Who lived at the end of that road, who built that tree house, whose berry patch or orchard lay at the end of that and those dirt paths. Magnus almost felt a bit like home, in that some of his neighbours had been elders who loved to talk about their family and their recent accomplishments and developments. While some might have gotten tired of it after a while, Magnus became surprised when he realized that he liked it when Brilliant spoke like this to him; the feeling of homesickness sort of abated after a while.

“Where does this road go?” he asked Brilliant when he spotted a brief pause in her explanations, pointing to the right. The road split into two, both roads equal in width as the one they walked on, one going straight ahead while the other road branched off to the right.

“Ah, that's one of the old roads that goes to the Foal Mountain range to the south,” replied Brilliant, further explaining, “Long ago ponies from Foaldale, a large farming village on the other side of the mountain, used to haul their wagons over the mountain in order to sell their produce here. This road was built by my ancestors to make transport easier.”

“What did they grow there that the bat ponies couldn’t grow?”

“Oh, many things. Foaldale is a very large farming community, you see, one of the largest in Equestria in fact. Wheat, barley, oats, rye, corn, plenty of vegetables, and of course orchards. That is not to say that Hollow Shades is void of cereals, just that bat ponies prefer berries and fruits, and they have become very good at planting, caring for, and harvesting them.”

As they walked, Magnus noticed smaller roads heading into the forest here and there. Some had wheel tracks on them, indicating they were used recently. Perhaps a bat pony farm was somewhere at the end of the road.

Further ahead, they came upon a bend in the road where the road split into two once more.

“We take a right here, then we’ll end up near the Foal Mountains and loop around and go back to town,” said Brilliant. “If we keep going straight ahead, we’ll come to Narrow Wagon Gap, a narrow road in the mountains which leads outside Hollow Shades and into Whinnying Hills.”

Magnus had to suppress the urge to laugh; ponies really did come up with some interesting names. That made him wonder if other races did the same.

But they kept to the right and continued on in silence. Magnus glanced to the side and at Brilliant. Although the weather was far from warm, Brilliant didn’t seem to mind. Her wool blanket and shawl seemed to be everything she needed, despite the cool fall night. Just to be sure, he kept a close eye on her in case she was shivering, but her wool garments did a good job.

Just as the silence of the forest became prominent, Magnus felt his shoulders loosening up, his body relaxed, and his breathing slowed down. Just like at home in Montana when he went camping in the forest, he felt a change come over him as soon as he left civilization and went into the wilds. It was difficult to explain, but he felt different, freed from some invisible bonds that kept him chained to concrete and steel, taxes, exhaust, the buzzing of mobile phones, and all the sounds and smells that followed civilization wherever it was found.  And the further he left civilization behind, the stronger the feeling became.

This sensation Magnus had always felt whenever he ventured into the forest or mountains, even as a kid. Living in a small town was just fine for him, but sometimes he just wanted to leave it all behind for a while. Even just a couple of days spent alone in nature made his batteries recharge and his internal clock adjust to the cycle of nature.

But going for a walk or spending a few days in a tent always made him feel better. Joseph had been the same, and according to him, Magnus’ mother Julia was similar in that regard.

It was something liberating, a feeling of peace that came to Magnus during these times. A feeling of adjusting to a different cycle of time, not that of an alarm clock or traffic noises, but the time that nature decided, perhaps the internal clock that resides in all people and in all animals, in all living things. But not only spending time outside made him feel this way, but living off of what the land could provide too. What one could fish in lakes and rivers and maybe even hunt for, although Magnus had never gone hunting before. However, he knew how to set traps, a skill he learned from Joseph and from other people, tribe members and men and women of native heritage at various events and “the wacipi” he attended as a teenager with his grandfather. 

Yes, Joseph was keen on Magnus learning about his heritage and that was why he had taken Magnus to the wacipi, or powwows at an early age, various events held in Montana, and North and South Dakota. There Magnus met with youngsters like himself and were taught many things, like history, culture, as well as many other aspects of Lakota culture. One year, when Magnus was around eight years old, they had guests from other tribes having a sort of youngsters workshop where they taught children and teenagers how to set traps to catch small animals and how to make fish traps from vines and flexible saplings.

These lessons, although learned a long time ago, were still fresh to Magnus' mind, and with some luck, perhaps come summer, he could put some of them to use. It had been so long since the last time he had packed his tent, sleeping bag, fishing rod and just chosen a direction at random and just kept going for a day. The last time, he remembered, was shortly before Joseph’s passing. After that day, the visions brought from the staff and Starswirl’s magical construct made doing so difficult, and the countless happy memories of Joseph joining Magnus for a trek even more so.

Perhaps it was high time to do it again? To go somewhere someday? However, Magnus knew he would be a fool to do so unprepared. He had next to no knowledge about Equestrian wildlife and plantlife, so that was something he had to research. Winter was coming and that meant time he could spend preparing, reading, and studying for such a small adventure. Oh yes, another plan was already taking shape in his mind.

After all, now he had an entire world to explore.